Authors note, Ok, I think there is an Army base in Italy, if I'm wrong tell me please.

Standing in front of the world map on the living room wall Jordan asked, "Where the hell are we going again?"

Across the living room on the couch Robin made a face of discontent, "Why do we have to travel the day before Christmas? All our presents are going to be packed away."

Jordan ignored her question, asking, "Did Dad say where we were going? Or is it a surprise?"

Robin sat up, storming across the living room, hissing at the cat that lay under the tree. She took the thumbtack from his hand and slammed it onto a country in Europe. "Italy! We have to go to Italy!" At that she stomped from the living room full of cardboard boxes packed full. Jordan stared at the map, "Huh. You would think she'd be happier, she loves Italian food."

She stomped into the hall, into Sanderson who gently took her arm, "Hey. No one is happy about the flight ok? So stop yelling and go finish packing ok? If you wake up Daniel your mother will beat your ass, and then she'll yell at me for letting you wake the baby up."

Robin smiled, then sighed, "Fine! But I call dibs on the window seat here and now."

"Too late, your sister already called dibs on it."

Robin pouted, "That bitch!"

Sanderson glared, "Hey! Language! What did I tell you about swearing?"

Robin thought about it, "Not in front of Mommy?"

He thought about it, then nodded, "Good girl. Now go fight your sister for the seat."

"You bet your ass I am," she declared on her way to the kitchen, where the cookies were, where Rachael would be.

"Atta girl," he encouraged, with a quick peek in the living room, "What'cha doin sport?"

Jordan looked up, "Italy?"

Sanderson walked into the living room and behind his son, looking at the map that Diana had got the kids into. There were five thumbtacks so far. "Dad, I know we don't do the Christmas thing, which is fine and all, but I wanna open presents, so can we like, bring them on the plane?"

Sanderson looked over at the tree, then shook his head, "No. But you can bring the cat on the plane."

Jordan looked up at his father, "Cat?"

The look and tone told Sanderson that there shouldn't have been a cat in the house. Jordan looked over at the cat under the tree, "Dad, we don't have a cat. We have a bunny rabbit."

"Really?" Sanderson mused, trying to remember if he had seen a rabbit.

Fear filled Jordan, "Where's Bugs?"

Jordan then realized what happened, "Oh no! The fish! I have to go check on the fish!"

Sanderson watched his son run out of the living room. Then called after him, "Did you pack?" He then looked over at the cat. Who looked like it had a rather full stomach.

Sanderson walked out of the kitchen, and headed for the stairs. He waited to be sure there were to screams or sounds of fighting. Then he climbed the stairs and headed for the nursery. Avoiding cardboard boxes that filled the hall.

When he came to the nursery he peeked inside and saw boxes on the floor. An air mattress on the floor beside the crib where the baby, Daniel, slept. When he slept. Daniel clung to his mother like a little monkey while he nursed, seated in the rocker, one of the few things left unpacked.

"Psssst."

Diana looked up, "Hmmmm?"

He remained in the hall, "There's a cat under the tree."

"We don't have a cat. We have a bunny and fish."

Sanderson ran a hand through his hair, "Yeah, about that bunny and fish."

Diana sighed and made sure Daniel was finished, then she put everything back in its place and stood, careful not to wake the suddenly sleepy child. He'd been up all night and day, and finally crashed. As gently as she could she patted his back until he burped.

Out in the hall Sanderson grinned at the noise.

Without waking Daniel she walked to the crib and laid him down on his stomach, then pulled a blanket over his legs. She waited to be sure he wouldn't wake up, then she turned the baby monitor on and walked out of the nursery, into the hall where Sanderson waited.

"How do you think he'll do on the trip?"

Diana made a face, with her eyes on her son she shrugged, "I don't know, he's almost a week old, Sanderson. He eats, sleeps, and shits."

He nodded, knowing the activities of infants.

Diana leant against the wall and looked to Sanderson, "He's too young for shots. I don't want anyone touching him. Sneezing on him. I don't want anyone near him. The last thing I need is him to get sick so young. You know how everyone loves babies and wants to touch them."

"Well the kids are carrying all their own stuff, I can carry his diaper bag if you wear that papoose thing, I'll make sure no one touches him. We just have to be sure we don't loose the other four."

She smacked her forehead, "Damn. I forgot about them, its too bad Eversman isn't flying out till the twenty eighth."

"Don't worry, I'll run out and buy one of those leash things for kids, we can tie them all together and hook them up to the diaper bag," Sanderson suggested.

Diana nodded, "Well if we loose them all the airport won't let any planes leave until they find their parents. That's actually a good idea."

"Besides if we loose them all think of the money we'll save on college."

Diana smacked his arm, "Go buy a dozen of those kiddy leashes and Benadryl."

Sanderson looked puzzled, "Benadryl?"

She nodded, "If they get too unruly we can drug them, it'll wear off by the time we land."

"My God you're a genius," he commented.

"I know," she answered, then headed down the stairs as he went to his bedroom for his wallet. Diana grabbed the baby monitor off the cardboard box she had left it on earlier and hooked it on her jeans, as she made her way down the stairs she turned the monitor on. Hearing her son sleeping.

She made her way in the kitchen where Robin was sitting on her sister, while Rachael tried to strangle her older sister.

Diana sighed and went to the two, lifting Robin up, "Enough!"

Immediately they stopped.

Diana put Robin down, "Did you two pack?"

They both nodded.

Diana put her hands on her hips, "So if I go upstairs in your room there will be nothing that belongs to you unpacked?"

The two girls thought about it, Diana then said, "Upstairs!"

Both of them ran from the kitchen.

Diana then shouted, "Jordan!" She heard his feet as he came running from the laundry room, "Yes?"

"Did you finish packing?"

"Packing what," he asked.

It wasn't his question but tone that made Diana curious, "Why? What did you pack?"

He then told her, "I packed everything in the bathroom, the pantry, the linen closet, my stuff, and Daniels." It took everything she had to keep a straight face. Diana then asked, "Where's your sister?"

Jordan shrugged.

Diana then jerked her head toward the kitchen doorway, "Go make sure Rachael and Robin are all packed, then check on Daniel please." He mimicked a Buddhist Monk he had seen, palming his hands he bowed, then ran upstairs.

Jordan passed Sanderson on his way up, "Where you going Dad?"

"The store," Sanderson answered.

"Pick me up a pack of camels," Jordan called on his way up, making Sanderson turn, "I don't think so."

Sanderson watched his son bound down the hall and rolled his eyes. On his way out Diana caught his arm, he looked down into her green eyes, she told him, "Alexandria's been gone since dinner."

With a look around the hall he asked, "Where's her hiding spot?"

"The tree house."

Sanderson nodded, "I'll bring her along with me to the store."

Diana watched as he grabbed his leather coat from the coat rack and headed outside into the snowy night.

Sanderson made his way across the snow covered backyard and saw a dim light up in the single tree which held a wooden box like tree house.

He made his way under the tree then climbed up the wooden pieces of wood nailed up the trunk, until he came to a wooden hatch, which he knocked on.

He listened to his daughter crawl along the floor, then open the wooden hatch, "Daddy?"

Sanderson crawled up into the small fort.

Being in much smaller places he didn't mind the cramped space.

He looked around and saw his wife's old prayer matt, her old prayer beads, and her Koran. He looked at his daughter who quietly told him, "I wanted to pray one last time here."

Sanderson understood, Alexandria had turned to her faith when her mother had died while his son had shunned it. She prayed a dozen times a day while her brother prayed now and then. Alexandria became more religious while Jordan didn't want anything to do with any religion.

"You'll get to pray in the morning," he offered.

Watching as she carefully rolled up her prayer matt, then tied it closed. She picked up the beads and put them in a cloth pouch. Then sat on her knees and laid the book upon her lap, she ran her hand over it softly. "Not outside. Mom used to love to pray outside."

"I know," he softly told her.

Alexandria looked up at her father, "Do you believe in any God?"

Surprised by her question, he thought about it. He had been drug to church as a child but never really paid attention. As a teenager he had been distracted by a leggy red head. As an adult he had converted to Islam but only to get married, after that he didn't really do much religiously.

"I believe we were created by a higher being. There is just too much that cannot be explained by science, and lots of science that just seems far-fetched. But I don't know which God is real."

Alexandria looked down at her book, "Diana takes me to the mosque to pray, she sits outside and waits with Jordan. Jordan is mad at God."

"I am too," Sanderson told his daughter.

With a forced smile, Alexandria looked up at her dad, "I think Jordan hates God."

Sanderson shook his head, he crawled over to his daughter and kissed her forehead, "No he doesn't. He's just angry….he's too young to hate, or know what hate is."

Alexandria leaned against her dad, she laid her head against his arm, "He doesn't even like missionaries that come door to door."

Silently Sanderson agreed with his son, but he told his daughter, "He just hurts. But you're lucky."

Confused she looked up at her dad.

"You found comfort in your faith. That's something special, you are very very lucky." He told her, looking down into her mothers brown eyes. Wishing he had the same faith and trust that his daughter did.

Alexandria then asked, "When he gets older, and less mad, would you come to the mosque with us?"

"Absolutely, I'll take you to the mosque now if you want."

"Can we go now? One last time before we go?"

Sanderson nodded, "All right, lets go."