Madianna- Glad you like my insight into Hal's personality! Poor Clarence and Gloucester indeed! Lennie is sweet, Mercutio does rock, and yes, that is a plot about the Lancaster inheritance you're seeing! ;-D

YorkistGirl- RUN! The Duke of York is a terrible cook! Run, before he burns the house down with the toaster!

Keep it in mind, that Ned is NEVER SUBTLE!

Some of the Gang members get presents! What do they get?

"STOP! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DAD, STOP!" Ned yanked the pan off the hob, and Clarence switched it off. Ned yelped as he touched it, and dropped the hot contents all over the floor. "OWWW!" he cried, clutching his hand. "F*ck!"

York sighed. "Go and run some warm water under it for fifteen minutes, Ned. You silly boy!"

Edmund giggled. "Silly Ned! You dumbass!"

"OI!"

"You buffoon!" Clarence snorted.

"You lazy b*stard!" Richard laughed.

"What is this?!" Ned wailed. "'Pick-on-Ned-Day?!'"

"No, silly!" Clarence grinned, hands on hips. "That's everyday! Now, go and wash that burn!"

"Yes, Dad…" Ned muttered sarcastically, walking off, still clutching his hand.

Still laughing, Richard turned to his family. "Now," he said. "Since Dad's a failure at cooking-"

"OI!"

"And he burnt our toast-" Richard continued.

"And Ned dropped the already burnt scrambled eggs on the floor," Edmund added.

"I suggest we leave the cooking to me," the dark haired Plantagenet finished, rubbing his hands together.

"Can't we just go out for breakfast?" Clarence whined. "I want a Big Mac!"

"For breakfast?"

"What can I say? When you have a craving, you have to act on it!"

"Can I have waffles?" Edmund asked.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I said so," Richard said.

"Who died and made you boss?" Clarence asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No one, but-"

"I WANT PANCAKES!" Ned yelled from the bathroom.

Richard rolled his eyes. "Honestly, I'm trying to do us all a favour here. We all know that Dad can't cook-"

"I'm right here, you know!" York stated angrily.

"And I don't want to wake up Mum-"

"Darn straight!" Edmund sighed. "You all know what she's like in the morning!"

"So I just want to help lay off the burden for you all by cooking breakfast myself this morning."

"But I want a Big Mac!" Clarence wailed.

"Shut up, you'll wake your mother!" York responded.

"PANCAKES!" Ned yelled again. "NED WANTS PANCAKES!"

"SHUT UP, NED!" everyone in the kitchen yelled back. "YOU'LL WAKE MOTHER!"

Silence...

Footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. The men looked at each other and Richard shouted: "CHANGE OF PLAN! LEG IT!"

And they all dashed out the backdoor, Ned hopping along behind them, clutching his hand and slamming the door behind him.

The Duchess of York walked into the kitchen. She took one look at the mess on the floor, and the door that was now flapping open noislly in the wind, and rolled her eyes.

"Typical men…" she sighed, before going to the cupboard to get the mop and wipe up the mess they'd left for her. "Always leave a mess for the women to clean up for them. Lazy gits..."

"Clara! What a nice surprise! Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, old friend…" the other woman replied, holding out a wrapped present. "For you."

Mary Milton took the present, and smiled down at Clara's nephew. "Hello, Lennie," she smiled. "Merry Christmas."

"Do you have a rabbit for me?" Lennie asked, eyes wide and excited.

Clara frowned and hit him on the back of the head. "Lennie!" she admonished. "That's no way to greet friends! Honestly!"

She turned to Mary. "All that boy can think about is rabbits! Damn kid has 'em on the brain!"

Mary smiled at the tall boy. "Not this year, but I'm sure George has something for you."

Lennie gave a great big smile. "Oh boy!" he chirped.

The two women laughed, and Clara ruffled her nephew's hair affectionately.

"Speaking of George, he isn't up yet. Will you wake him up for me, Lennie?"

Lennie nodded, and together, he and his aunt went into the house.

Tiptoeing into his friend's room, Lennie looked around. As usual, everything was stored neatly on the shelves. It was never untidy in George's room. He liked to keep everything neat.

Grinning, Lennie made his way over to the bed. George was lying on his side, and his fringe almost covered his eyes. He had a small frown on his face.

Taking a few steps back, Lennie ran forward and leapt onto the bed, causing a massive thud, as he was so strong and heavy.

George shot up, terrified. He stumbled, tripped and fell off the bed, landing on the floor on his back.

Scared of the reaction that he'd received, Lennie had fallen off as well, and landed on top of George with a scared cry.

"W-what?!" George frowned when he saw who was on top of him. "Lennie! What the hell are ya doin' in my room?! And what the hell are ya doin' on top of me?!"

"Morning, George!" Lennie gave him a toothy grin. "Merry Christmas!"

"Hal!"

The crying teen looked up as Kate came running towards him, tears were streaming down her face. When she reached him, she swooped down and hugged him tightly. "There you are!"

She pulled back and looked at him. "What are you doing out here in the cold? On your own?" she gasped. "What happened to you face?!"

She reached out and touched the wound, receiving a hiss of pain in response, and she immediately pulled her hand away. "What happened?" she asked, worried.

"Nothing…" Hal mumbled in response. "Nothing happened."

"But where did you get that wound on your face? Did your father-"

"Kate," Hal held up a hand. "Please. I don't want to talk about it."

"But-"

"Please."

Nodding slowly, Kate looked at him with concern as he wiped away the tears that covered his face. She turned his face to look at her, and she leant in and kissed him gently before pulling away again.

"Everyone was so worried," she said. "I rang up to talk to you, and your mother said you'd ran off. Oh, Hal! What happened? Please! Tell me!"

Hal looked up at her, and gently caressed her cheek in his palm.

"My father hit me again," he told her, and Kate gasped in response. "I wasn't doing anything wrong. He told me to grow up, leave my York friends and behave. I ran off and Falstaff found me. They pulled me into The Boar's Head Tavern and everyone was there, waiting for me. I started to get drunk again, but I realised what I was doing, and ran off. I went here. They're probably looking for me right now."

"How can he hit you?" Kate asked, disgusted. "You're his son! His heir!"

"I'm a disappointment to him," Hal stated. "I deserve it. I've been misbehaving. I'm going to leave them. I'm going to behave."

"You're Hal!" Kate replied, holding his hand tightly as it rested on her cheek. "You're you!"

"I'm a disappointment," he repeated. He stood up suddenly, causing Kate to stumble backwards. "I'm Hal. I'm Prince Hal of Lancaster. I will rule my father's lands someday, and I need to grow up. First, by leaving Falstaff and the others."

"What about Richard? Ned? Edmund? Mercutio? You won't leave them, will you?"

"I don't know…"

"What about me?" Kate asked after a moment's silence. "You won't leave me, will you?"

Hal turned to look at her, surprised. "I'll never leave you, Kate. I love you. I could never leave you."

Kate took his hand. "And I you," she replied. "Hal, can we put this behind us for awhile, and go and celebrate Christmas with our friends?"

"The Gang?"

"Yes."

Hal gave a small smile. "I need to give them my presents. I need to give you yours."

Kate closed the distance between them, and looked up at him. He was taller than Ned! And Ned was 6ft 2 inches tall!

"You're my present, Hal. And I wouldn't change you for anything: reckless or not. You're my prince forever."

Hal smiled at her, before he pulled her closer to him, and kissed her, forgetting his worries for a moment.

He was lucky to have her...

"Anne!" the girl walked over to her window and looked out, trying to locate the voice that just called out to her. "Down here!"

Richard stood below her window, holding up a bunch of flowers. "Merry Christmas!" he called.

Smiling, Anne made her way down to the back door, and walked out into the garden. Richard stood there in the snow, wearing his black coat and red hat. He gave her a soft smile as she approached him.

"What's this?" Anne asked, as he handed her the flowers and then a small box.

"A present," Richard said. "From me."

Opening it, Anne gasped in surprise, and looked up at Richard's happy face, before looking down at the box again. She pulled the present out.

A glimmering white necklace with a white boar pendant hanging off it shone in the winter sun. It sparkled with the snow and Anne looked delighted. "Oh, Richard…" she looked up at him. "It's beautiful."

Richard stepped forward. "Here," he offered. "Let me put it on."

There was something in the movement of his hands that made Anne gasp, but not in fear. He was so gentle around her. His hot breath sent shivers of pleasure down her back, and she had to stop herself from shaking in delight.

However, she still felt a sense of fear when his hands touched her neck.

Then, he pulled away.

"There!" he marvelled. "It's done!"

Anne looked down at the boar pendant in the middle of the necklace, and looked back up at him. "Did you make it?" she asked.

Richard smiled. "Actually, Harry helped me make it."

"Tell him that it's lovely, then."

"I will."

Warwick's youngest daughter smiled. "Thank you, Richard. It's lovely."

"I knew you'd like it."

Her eyes widening, Anne grinned at him. "I have something for you!" she exclaimed. "Wait here! I'll just go and get it!"

Richard nodded. "Always."

Anne ran back into the house, back up into her room, and came back down, holding a soft looking wrapped up present.

She ran up to him, and held it out. Smiling, Richard took it.

"Thank you," he said gratefully.

He pulled back the wrapping, and held up a red scarf. White roses were woven neatly into it, along with a bear and ragged staff and a white boar.

Richard looked amazed. "You made this?" he asked her, stunned.

Anne nodded and blushed. "Yes. It took me almost a year."

"Almost a year?!"

"Yes!" Anne laughed. "It did. I didn't want to rush it. I wanted it to be perfect for you."

"It's stunning. I love it. It's perfect, Anne."

Anne gave him a delighted smile. "I'm so glad!"

She stepped up to him, and gently wrapped it around his neck. She stepped back, admiring her friend and his gift. "There."

"I love the boars. Why is your father's symbol on it?"

"From Neville to York," Anne said. "Is it wrong? Do you not like it?"

"No, no!" Richard laughed. "I love it! I was just curious, that's all."

"Oh," Anne mumbled, blushing. "I just thought that I did something wrong…"

"No, no," Richard repeated. "It's perfect."

Anne still blushed, and Richard came up to her, and took her hands. "It's a lovely gift," he smiled. "Thank you. I shall wear it always."

"Even when it's sunny?" Anne asked.

"It's not very sunny in the UK, so yes, but when it's warm, I shall wear something lighter."

Anne looked at her necklace. "And I shall wear my gift always… Whether it's sunny or not!"

Richard laughed.

Anne looked down at the floor, embarrassed, and felt shivers run through her body when she felt a hand gently pull her face up to look at his. Two grey blue eyes smiled down at her brown ones, and Richard gently tucked back a strand of loose hair.

"Merry Christmas, Anne," he whispered.

Anne smiled. "Merry Christmas, Richard…"

Gloucester looked at her for a moment, before he gently leant in and kissed her. Anne felt butterflies of delight explode in her stomach, but a sense of fear rushed through her. Flashbacks of Edouard's sneering face appeared before her, and she was about to pull away, but Richard did that first.

He gave a worried frown. "Are you ok?" he asked. "Did I do something wrong?"

Anne shook her head. "No," she said. "No. I was just… thinking."

"About what?"

"Nothing important."

"Oh… Ok, then…"

Anne smiled up at him. "I love the gift, Richard. Thank you."

"And I love you."

Warwick's youngest looked surprised. "W-what?" she stuttered.

"I love you, Anne Neville. I always have, and I can't hide it anymore. I love you."

"R-Richard. I-I-"

"It's okay. It's surprising to hear, but I thought that I should tell you. It's Christmas Day, and I thought that it would be perfect to-"

He was cut off as Anne pressed his lips to his for a moment, before pulling away, embarrassed.

"I-I-I- love you too, Richard Plantagenet, Duke of Gloucester. I always have. A-and, I think that you're the kindest and sweetest boy I've ever known."

Richard smiled at her. "And I think that you're the gentlest, sweetest and most beautiful girl I've ever known."

Anne blushed a deep scarlet. "You… You really mean that?"

Richard nodded. "I do."

He held out his hand. "Dance with me?"

Anne's head shot up. "Dance?! But we're outside, and there's no music!"

"So? There doesn't need to be any music. And it doesn't matter where we are, as long as we have each other."

"But what if someone sees us?" she whispered.

"It doesn't matter if anyone sees us. We don't need to be ashamed."

Anne looked at his extended hand, and then his gentle smiling face, before nodding, and stepping closer to him.

She took his hand.

And they danced together in the snow, oblivious of the cold, the sunlight radiating them in its warm glow.

Behind the garden gate, Clarence, Ned and Edmund watched, and tittered to themselves as they held up a phone.

"Wait till he sees this…" Ned snorted.

"On Youtube!" Clarence giggled.

"And Yahoo!" Edmund chortled.

"Don't forget Facebook!" Ned added.

"'Richard dances with a hot Neville Chick,'" Clarence grinned. "Won't he love us for it?"

"He'll adore us."

"He'll worship us."

"He'll kill us!" Ned gasped.

"He'll haunt us for life!" Edmund gulped.

"He'll send pictures of us to Edouard, Clifford and Somerset and abuse us!" Clarence whimpered.

The three looked at each other.

"But we're gonna do it anyway!" they chorused.