The taxi ride back was uneventful. They walked up the snow-covered steps, Dave smiled as he watched Hal have a bit of difficulty as he always did. The clerk at Eyewire wasn't the only one who knew about his splay issues. Dave put the key into the lock and opened the door without making a noise. He let Hal enter first and went to a flowerpot long dead and unscrewed the bottom to reveal a key.

"You can use the extra key for now," he said as he walked into the house. "I'll make another copy later." Hal nodded as he took the key into his hand and set down his bag.

"I haven't been here for years," he said as he put the key into his jacket pocket. "Do you mind if I get something to eat?" Hal went on as he felt himself getting dizzy with hunger.

"All I got is sandwich supplies and noodles." Dave said sheepishly. "But I won't stop ya from helping yourself." Hal walked over to the fridge. The house looked so empty.

"Beggars can't be choosers right?" he said as he grabbed a few supplies and began to slowly make himself a sandwich. "I haven't eaten at all."

"Considering your position," Dave thought aloud, "it's understandable." Hal nodded as he placed fresh cut cheese atop a small pile of lunchmeat and put the sandwich together.

"Are you hungry?" he said before putting the meat and cheese back into the fridge.

"I ate before I went to your house." Dave said coolly, "but thanks for the offer." Hal finished his duties and sat at the table where Dave joined him. "I actually came over to ask you something," he continued as Hal looked at him questioningly. "I wanted to know if you'd come over for Christmas dinner."

"Are we going to have sandwiches and noodles?" Hal said jokingly, forcing an all to memorable husky laugh out of Dave.

"Yeah about that…" he started, "you wouldn't mind helping me food-shop, would you?" Hal shook his head.

"You always hated shopping for anything," he laughed, "leave the shopping to me."

"Thanks," Dave said with a nervous smile, "I can handle the stuff, but I'd rather Sunny eat healthier at some point." Hal gave him an odd look.

"Sunny's living with you?" he said slightly excited. "Is she at school? I haven't seen her in a long time."

"You're going to have to wait a bit longer," Dave said as he grabbed his wallet. "She's staying with Lark and Hidehiko for the holiday." He reached over to Hal and gave him the money.

"Isn't this a bit much?" Hal said as he counted the money. There was almost a thousand dollars there.

"You're doing my shopping," Dave said as he put his wallet back, "I don't mind giving you money to buy yourself something." Hal shook his head quickly.

"I understand you letting me move back in with you," he said, "but I don't need a handout." Dave laughed as he got up.

"It's not a handout," he said, "if you want to pay me back later then go ahead, but maybe you can use it for Christmas shopping." Hal gave him a weird look, then slipped the money into his pocket.

"You're always so impossible," he said dryly.

"You're just a pushover," Dave said with a smile, "I'm not the one who was dating someone I didn't love."

"That's different," Hal said, somewhat offended. "I was trying to forget… Something."

After a while, Hal finished his sandwich and readied himself to go to the store. Dave watched him hail a taxi and begin to drive off. The guy always seemed to be going through something, it wasn't right. Dave stepped out the door and went to hail his own cab. He wasn't going to stand for it this time.

"I'm seeing a lot of you today sir," the driver said as Dave got in. He noticed it was the same driver from before. "Where to?"

"Back to Madison street apartments," Dave said as he fastened his safety belt. The driver stepped lightly on the gas without question and drove forward. He watched the snow begin to fall harder from the window. Knowing Hal, he'd of been out there long enough to catch a cold if Dave hadn't of found him. The man was excellent when it came to computer smarts, but real life situations just didn't apply to him.

"What happened to your friend?" the taxi driver said. "You two seemed to have been talking it up a while ago."

"He's doing some shopping…" Dave said trying to avoid a conversation with a strange cabdriver.

"I know what you're thinking," he said with a slight giggle. "I'm not following you, I just dropped someone off a block away from yours and was heading back into town." Dave shook his head.

"Never said you were," he said bluntly. "I just don't normally get friendly cabdrivers." The car went quiet as the cab found the next street. Dave thought about his words, it wasn't a lie but it wasn't the whole truth. His own car was getting an alarm setup, but even if he did go anywhere save from picking up or dropping off Sunny, it wouldn't be by cab. The last time he went near a cab, Hal was moving away and promising he'd still visit. It had been a long three years.

"Here we are sir," the driver said as he parked in the same spot as before. "Do you want me to-"

"Leave the motor running," he interrupted as he got out of the cab and began walking up the steps and into the door.

"Welcome," came the voice of an old man from behind the front desk. "How may I help you sir?"

"I'm looking for my friends apartment," Dave said as he approached the desk. It looked old and tattered and seemed to have the word 'Sexy' carved into it. "His girlfriend kicked him out today and I'm here to pick up his things before anything bad happens." The man nodded.

"It's that Vanessa huh?" he said with a sigh. "She won't go easy on you." Dave nodded his head in understanding. "But the best of luck to you." He wrote the apartment number on a piece of paper and sent Dave off to an elevator. After fumbling about with a few buttons, he was on his way.