merry christmas eve to all! It's been a while...this update's a bit more fall than winter, but an update nonetheless!
hope you all are enjoying the holidays, or whatever holidays you celebrate, or that tomorrow's another friday! woohoo! you made it!
best wishes to y'all! i hope you all get to hang out with family and friends, curl up by the fire somewhere, and eat cookies straight out of the oven!
with all being said, I'm off to play board games and laugh at stupid videos! ah, traditions.
cheers to everyone!

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)

"Fuck your pumpkins!"

"Ellie." Maria's voice holds warning, and she delivers another half-hearted kick to the already-smashed pumpkin, "Yah! Suck it!"

"I don't think it's gonna hit you back." I remark, from atop the wagon filled with pumpkins. I'm scrubbing the dirt off a few when Ellie retaliates against the pumpkin, kicking it once more before finally letting it go.

"So...they're doing pumpkin carvings?" I ask, and Maria gives me a nod, "Yeah. We've got all the freezers filled to the brim, and so they decided to give some to the schools."

"But...why pumpkins?" Ellie asks, moving a few to the wagon and handing them to me. Maria shrugs, "Tradition. Halloween and all."

"What's that?" Ellie asks, and I nudge her with my cane, "That thing people used to celebrate before the outbreak. It was...it was the last night of October. And kids would put on costumes and knock on neighbor's doors. The neighbors would give them candy."

"Just for knocking?" Ellie presses on, and I grin. Maria straightens from where she's been cutting at a few vines, "Well, that's all fine and true. The pumpkins actually came long before that. In the olden days, when everyone feared vampires, it was said that vampires hated the smell of pumpkins more so than garlic."

She comes around and takes a seat on the wagon beside me, drinking from her canteen before continuing. "So, when vampires were said to be afoot, people would decorate the entrances to their houses with pumpkin in order to ward off vampires. That tradition stuck, and then the carving and all came later."

"Humans had some weirdass tendencies." Ellie remarks, and picks up the shards of the pumpkin she's shattered, "Think clickers would hate the smell of pumpkins?"

I laugh, and Maria whistles, "Y'know, some people tried to do that when the outbreak first happened. They tried to figure out what the clickers didn't like. But it backfired."

"That stuff takes over their face. They don't exactly have nostrils." I say, and she shrugs, "They were convinced they could find something they'd hate the smell of."

"Were they ever...successful?" Ellie asks, and Maria shrugs, "Hell if I know. Doubt it, though. Those crazy bastards were probably the first to go, throwing garlic and perfume at the clickers to ward 'em off."

The thought makes me smile, and Ellie gestures towards the pumpkins, "Have we picked enough or do we need more?"

"I think we're good for now. Best not to overpick the patch in case we need extra." With that, Ellie hops onto the wagon beside me while Maria moves up front to drive it. The truck coughs and spits, but soon begins to settle down to a rumble as Maria drives us and the pumpkins out of the patch.

Ellie and I lean against the wooden walls of the wagon, eyeing the sun setting over the farm as we drive away. Our breath comes out as vapor, and I shiver involuntarily.

She looks over, cocking an eyebrow, "You cold?"

"A little bit." I admit, and she crawls over, seating herself down beside me, encasing my hands in her own. The tips of her ears are growing red, and I sigh, "The cold's coming, isn't it?"

"It's only October." She replies, running her thumbs over my knuckles, and I look down at my leg. Alicia says the circulation's alright for now, but as it begins to get colder, I'll have to start wrapping my leg up more and more.

She lets out a puff of vapor, beginning to smile, and I nudge her, "Excited about snow?"

"Yeah. I'll finally be able to enjoy it this year. We'll go sledding and snowboarding and I'll dominate everything." Ellie says, shifting herself so she can put her head on my shoulder. We stay like that, bumping along in the back of the wagon cart like the rest of the pumpkins, admiring the view as it grows farther and farther away.

I guess we nap or sleep on the ride back, because before I know it we've stopped and someone's shaking me awake.

"Help unload the truck." Maria says to us, and we wipe our eyes and nod, getting to our feet and leaping off. At least...Ellie does that. I move towards the pumpkins and begin to hand them to Ellie and the other people who've come to help. Before I know it we're surrounded, and more people have joined us, handing out pumpkins to keep in storage. They'll be put there to keep fresh for the winter months.

There's something nice about seeing the unspoken teamwork that goes on, about seeing the community working together after reeling from that bandit attack. There hasn't been much talk of it lately, and things seem to have settled down.

Jokes are told and we're all laughing as we work. A part of me panics at the prospect of seeing my mom, but I don't. She works with the makeshift democracy, not in manual labor.

It's hard to believe it's been a day since our fight. This morning was a little hard, but Ellie and Joel made french toast for breakfast, and with the house being as loud as it was, it was easier to forget and push it aside. When Ellie ducked out of the kitchen to go to the bathroom, Joel even took it upon himself to talk to me. He sat himself across from me with a serious look on his face.

"I ain't gonna tell you that your mom's gonna come around to this." He said, sounding not quite stern, but not quite calm either. "You've got to understand that I'm not gonna bullshit you."

I swallowed hard and nodded, curling my fingers around my mug, and his expression softened. "But that doesn't mean she's stopped loving you. She may not support what you're doing, dating Ellie, but she ain't gonna stop loving you."

I nodded, blinking hard this time around, and Joel cleared his throat, "When...when you have a kid, you love 'em unconditionally. No matter what shit they get into, that'll be the one thing that'll never change. And if you do stop loving your kid...if you don't take 'em head-on, well..." Joel drifted off into a shrug, taking a sip of his coffee before continuing, "You don't deserve 'em. You don't bring something into this world just to leave it. And if your mom leaves you, if she stops loving you..."

The possibility sent chills down my spine, but Joel only gave me a half-smile, leaning across the table to ruffle my hair, "Then she doesn't deserve a good kid like you, Maria. And I mean it."

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)

After pumpkins, Maria takes us to her dad's place, so that I can get a check up. The scars on my stomach are beginning to heal, looking like pulpy white veins. But they're not open and bleeding, so I'm not one to complain. The bullet holes on the rest of me have all closed up as well.

Dr. Mundell runs his hand over my stomach, pressing tentatively below my ribs and around the new scars. They lack the technology to do in-depth searches of my body, of how it's healing up internally. So mostly it's a touchy-feely thing, along with a lot of warning to me about what I'd feel if my internal wounds opened up.

There seems to be a thousand of memories from then until now, from getting shot to recovery to therapy, of watching everything heal, of days where it felt like I could take on the world to days where the thought of leaving my bed terrified me.

In a way...I wasn't sure whether or not getting shot had sent me back, of making me more fearful of guns and the world itself that we lived in. Or had it just brought up old memories that I thought I repressed, but now had a chance to come forward and remind me I was not as invincible as I had thought?

Ellie stands quietly by Maria's side as Dr. Mundell rolls up the legs of my jeans, bending back my numb leg and comparing it to my working leg. The muscles haven't atrophied as much as they predicted, which is a happy sign.

Just as we're nearing the end of the physical, the doors open up, "Dr. Mundell, you've been requested up at the front."

"Tell them I'll be a minute." He replies, seemingly calm as he rotates my ankle, checking up occasionally at my face to see if I can feel anything. The nurse looks quizzical for a second, and then clears her throat, "Doctor, I don't think you can ignore this."

He then rises, facing me before facing her, "Alright."

And then, before any of us can react, there's Jamie, bursting in through the doors, "I need help! Nana isn't awake!"

Dr. Mundell's face drops, and he hurries out of the room with the nurse, while Jamie heads for me. I guess to her I'm a comforting face, and she crawls up beside me, burying her face in my middle, clenching my t-shirt with her hands as she cries. I only hold her, not sure of what else to do.

Ellie and Maria are quick to react as well, coming around to our sides, and then Jamie pulls herself away from me, sniffling, "I don't k-know if Nana's okay."

"The doc'll do all that he can." Maria says, quick to reassure, while Ellie musters a smile, "Yeah. She'll be...fine."

Jamie sniffles once more, wiping her eyes with the heels of her hand, and begins to talk, talking and stumbling over her words as if she can't help the momentum with which they come out of her mouth, "We...we were at home and she was making dinner. And then she just fell and...and I ran all the way here. And I don't know if she's gonna be okay."

"How's she been doing with your grandpa gone?" Maria asks, and Jamie shrugs, "S-she misses him a lot." Jamie gulps before adding, "And...and I do too."

"You're allowed to feel sad." Maria murmurs, rubbing her back and seating herself down beside her. Jamie stares at her swinging feet before her face crumples, "I can't lose Nana too."

"Doc'll do the best he can with your grandma." Maria says, her voice steady. A part of me takes note of how she's not jumping to smiles and saying, "Oh, sure, she'll be fine and you'll be back home tonight!"

It seems like Maria's...more upfront with this sort of thing. Like she isn't about to give false information or try to get your hopes up.

Jamie draws in another shaky breath, and I hear the commotion outside of the door. Ellie does too, and we lock eyes before she crosses the room to peer out the cracked window.

"What do you see?" Maria asks, and Ellie comes back to us, avoiding eyes, "They're...moving some people around."

When she finally lifts her head to face us, her and Maria exchange looks, keeping the conversation between their expressions silent from Jamie.

In just a few minutes, Dr. Mundell's pushed the door back, his face flushed, "Jamie...come see your grandma."

Jamie scooches off the table and Maria follows her out of the room. Dr. Mundell closes the door behind them, and then Ellie hands me my canes, "We should check it out too."

"Yeah." I say, remembering how Jamie's grandparents helped my mom when we first showed up. Her and her husband were always telling great stories, talking about their children and familiy. Their youngest had just gone off to college when the outbreak started, and they talked about driving cross-country trying to round up all of their kids. Some attempts were successful, but most weren't.

Ellie holds the door open as I exit, and we begin to head down the corridor together, walking in sync for the most part. The lights above don't seem as bright as when I was being rolled down last time.

"You know which door it is?" I ask Ellie, who nods and turns the corner. I follow suit and then we're outside of the room, where Jamie's grandma lies on the bed with Jamie and Maria on one side. Jamie's fighting back tears as her grandma continues to push her hair back away from her face, seemingly calm as she murmurs something to her. From where me and Ellie are standing, we can't hear it.

Maria notices us standing outside of the doorway, and motions us in, we which do hesitantly. Jamie and her grandma both look up at us, and then, her grandma (her name's Grace, if I'm correct), smiles. "Look at you, Maria. Out and about."

I manage a smile back, shifting my weight from one cane to another, and Grace looks over at Ellie, "Joel's girl, huh? I always heard about you from Archie, but I never saw you for myself."

"Here I am," Ellie begins, her voice weak, but she forces a grin anyway, bowing as Jamie giggles, "In the flesh."

Grace smiles, continuing to stroke back hair from around Jamie's face, and then she frowns when she hears Jamie sniffle, "What did I say about dripping noses on my deathbed?"

"They...get cut off." Jamie giggles back, and Grace sighs, tweaking her nose, "We're gonna have to take this off if you can't stop."

Jamie wipes her eyes with her hands, and Grace's face softens, "Now, now, don't get all sad. I lived a good life, you hear? I raised four boys, two girls, and one beautiful granddaughter. And I had one helluva husband too, till that fool got himself killed."

I don't know whether to laugh at that last statement, seeing as Grace's eyes are watering, but Ellie snorts beside me. When Grace hears it, she chuckles, "Good to know you've kept your sense of humor."

"I'm gonna miss you." Jamie murmurs, and Grace sighs, "And I'm gonna miss you too, bug. Me and Archie'll be looking down on you from up high, so when you start doing all sorts of crazy shit, we're gonna know."

That gets us all laughing, and Grace looks over at me and Ellie, "Get over here, girls. I ain't got the energy to bite no more. And if you two are gonna be raising this crazy kid, you're gonna need to hear my wisdom too."

We grin and shuffle over, and Grace holds Jamie's hand, "I don't have the time to repeat myself. So I'll say it quick. You gotta take what you want from this world, before this world takes you. You gotta listen to your gut instinct. And most of all, you gotta treat people with love. There sure as hell ain't enough of it in this world."

Jamie's started crying again, and Grace blinks hard herself, "I know, bug, I know it's hard and I'm gonna miss you so much. I love you to bits, Jamela."

"I love you too." Jamie hiccups out, and Grace smiles, "That's my girl. You've got a village to raise you right."

Dr. Mundell, who's been standing in the corner this whole time, uncrosses his arms and moves to the other side of Grace's bed, "You're certain?"

"Yes, I am. I'm ready." And then me and Ellie are leading Jamie out, both of us sniffling ourselves, and Maria's closing the door behind us, and then we're sitting on the floor of the hallway. We sit and sniffle and wipe our eyes, the only one excluded from the mess of emotions behing Maria, who lets Jamie crawl on her lap and stays quiet.

What happens beyond that door now is a mystery to us.

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)

"I've...never seen a death like that." Ellie remarks, as we walk home that night in the cold air. Maria's staying with Jamie at her house tonight, in order to help her get her stuff together and figure out the next step.

I shuffle my jacket sleeves down, "What do you mean? Peaceful?"

"No." Ellie murmurs, taking the next step slowly. "Satisfied. Like...Grace didn't care she was going. I mean, she did, but she was ready. Everyone else has been killed or killed themselves and they're always caught off guard."

She reaches for my hand and I hand her a cane to carry before taking her hand, "I never thought of it that way, El."

"Crazy, right?" Ellie smiles. "I hope...whenever I go...I feel ready, too."

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)

"Taking your revenge on that pumpkin?" I ask, and Ellie plunges her butterfly knife into the orange side, "Of course. I never thought I'd be using my knife for this."

"Oi, follow the instructions." Stefano groans, and Diego clucks his tongue, "They're girls. They never do."

I kick him in the back with my good leg and he laughs, stumbling to catch his balance, "Oh, did I offend the poor María?"

He rolls the 'r' effortlessly, and Ellie kicks him as well, "Nah, more like both of us."

Stefano sucks in a sharp breath, "Watch who you're kicking-you've got the pumpkin!"

"Relaax." Ellie waves him off with her hand before returning it to the handle of her knife and yanking it across the pumpkin. "We're gonna win the carving contest."

"We better win the carving contest." Diego pipes up. "Winning group gets that free pass at the warehouse."

"Don't take advantage of it," I remark in a pinched tone, as Ellie and Stefano discuss the design they're trying to carve on the pumpkin. "Or else they won't give it out next year."

"If they even do the contest next year." Stefano murmurs from where he's shearing off layers of the pumpkin skin, and Ellie shoves him, grinning when he cusses, "Always the optimist, Stef."

"Anyone need my help?" I turn to face Mitzi as she opens the door while knocking. Ellie turns and breaks out in a smile, "Yes! Secret weapon!"

"I doubt this is legal." I say, as she crosses the room and begins to unload her stuff, giving me a look, "Of course it is! Who's to say you can't have a little bit of help every now and then?"

"Help is fine. But...doing it all by yourself..." I trail off as she takes the pumpkin from Ellie and Stefano, beginning to work on it alone. At least it gives us peace of mind to know we've got our asses covered when it comes to this contest.

"When did you get her help?" Diego asks to the room, and Ellie blows a raspberry, scratching her neck, "Weeelll..."

"Teachers aren't allowed to enter. I mean, they are, but not alone. There's one teacher pumpkin." Mitzi says, frowning at the pumpkin before she too begins to shear layer upon layer of the orange skin. "But their idea was primitive, so I was recruited by Ellie and Maria."

"Please." I scoff, as she lays down the knife she's been working with and grabs a pair of scissors. "You begged us to let you join."

"I asked. I didn't beg." Mitzi corrects, although it's a miniscule change to make. Stefano and Diego stay quiet, and the rest of us fall as silent watching Mitzi go to work. Instead of carving the pumpkin to the center, she's merely carving into the side of it, underneath the tough orange skin and into the soft yellow.

"I'm hungry." Diego mutters, and Stefano shoves him, "Then go get food."

"I'm down for snacks." Ellie says, and Diego follows her out the door. Stefano sits awkwardly on the desk in the abandoned room, and Mitzi chuckles, "What? Not used to seeing a teacher out of her natural element?"

He shrugs, and I glance at Mitzi, "Were you able to celebrate Halloween?"

She frowns at the pumpkin, scratching out something with the edge of her knife. I'm about to say something else when she replies, "Yeah."

"Did they really dress up in costumes?" I ask, and Mitzi pauses, taking the time to look at me, cocking an eyebrow, "What do you mean with this 'did they'?"

"I heard there was lots of candy." Stefano pipes up, and Mitzi wipes her hands on a rag, looking as if she's thinking hard. "It's hard to forget you guys grew up without all that stuff."

But then she smiles, eyeing the two of us, "Yeah. Everyone dressed up in costumes, and there was candy at almost every door."

"Every one?" Stefano presses on, and Mitzi's smile turns wistful as she looks down at the pumpkin, "Yep. Every single house had candy."

I try to imagine it, imagining houses lining streets with kids running around in costumes in the dark of the night. What's it like, to run around neighborhoods and not feel scared of clickers or bloaters or anything else?

To interrupt my melancholy thoughts, Ellie and Diego return, promptly throwing the door back to our empty classroom with a bang, with Diego announcing, "We've brought snacks!"

"Good." Mitzi says, wiping her brow before eyeing the entirety of us four. "We're gonna need some energy to finish up this pumpkin."

"You mean that you're gonna need some energy to finish up this pumpkin." Ellie deadpans, beginning to grin, and her correction has us all laughing, Mitzi included.

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)

We take home second prize for our pumpkin, intentionally messing up as to not put ourselves in first, since we had Mitzi helping us out. Our prize is two free homework passes each, eligible to use in any class. Mitzi already told us we're not allowed to use them in her class though, since she helped us to win them.

After the pumpkin contest and presentation is over, I head to Alicia for more physical therapy. We make some chitchat about the pumpkin designs before she begins stretching my leg.

I suck in yet another sharp breath as she begins to push below the knee, and then, "Do you think...they'll ever celebrate Halloween again?"

"With the costumes and all?" She asks, jotting down some measurements before straightening my leg. I grip the edge of the counter tightly, worried that some tendon or ligament will tear in my leg as it's being worked on.

"If you want to have that happen...I'm sure there's more than enough people that would pitch in." At this remark, Alicia smiles at me, giving me enough indication that she's on my side for this crazy idea.

And then the door creaks open, and she calls out to whoever's entering, "I'm helping a student at a moment. I'll be with you in a minute."

"Uh...I don't need help."

I peer out from the counter, and there's Mikey, standing at the doorway. He looks so normal in comparison to what these past few days have been, and I bite back tears, "Mikey..."

Alicia glances between the two of us, and then claps me on my good knee, heading out, "Y'know, I just realized I forgot something. I'll be right back."

Her and Mikey exchange nods before she slips out the doorway, and then Mikey's crossing the room and giving me a big hug and I'm crying, burying my forehead in his chest and just bawling my eyes out.

"Knew I'd find you in physical therapy, you idiot."

I laugh between cries at his remark, and then pull away, swiping at my eyes before looking at him, "I meant to talk to you..."

"Yeah, well, that didn't happen." He pulls up a chair and plops himself down. "I come home from an orientation meeting to you gone and Mom not giving out any answers."

I let out a haughty breath, looking down at my lap, and Mikey's voice softens when he talks again, "What happened?"

"What didn't happen?" I challenge with a laugh, as more tears come forward. "I tried to come out. I did, and I told Mom Ellie's my girlfriend, and she didn't take well to it."

I heave a sigh, scrubbing at my eyes, sure they're red enough now, "So...I've been at Ellie's house. Just to...collect my bearings and all."

"You're not gonna come back home? Not even for my last year?" Mikey asks, and I eye him, "What do you mean...your last year?"

"I've been going to enough meetings for the trip up north that I've already been told I'm a shoe-in to go." He smiles, but then it fades with his next remark, "I guess Mom isn't taking well to either of us being gone."

"She brought up Dad and Rachel..." I begin, and his face blanches, "Jesus."

We stay quiet for a bit, and then I shrug, "So what. If she doesn't want me as her daughter, then she doesn't deserve me as her daughter."

"Give it time." Mikey urges. "You never know. She could always change her mind."

"I'm sure that'll happen." I remark ruefully, and then we're both caught off guard by the bell.

Mikey crosses the room to give me one final hug, "I'm here if you need to talk, sis."

"Thanks." I say, hugging him back tightly, knowing he could very well be the last family I have that's left alive.

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)

I yank back my arm and then let it fly forward, watching as my elbow straightens and my hand curves and my knife sinks into the target. Then I pull another one out of my holster and repeat the method, enjoying the satisfying 'thwock' it makes once it's latched itself into the cork target.

"And on one cane, too." Ellie comments from behind me, giving a whistle. I grin, and pull out another knife, letting it sail once more to the target. So far, all of them have been in the yellow circle, which is more than I could say a few weeks back.

It's quiet as I continue to train, throwing knives, practicing balance on my canes, sprinting alongside Ellie as fast as I can. Recently we've been going outside to train when it's not too cold, so I can practice on terrain that's not the wooden or tiled floors of the school.

Not to brag...but I'm starting to get good. I'm starting to get better at matching her pace, at jumping over obstacles and changing directions. My arms and shoulders kill at the end of every day, but they're starting to get used to the extensive training.

I actually feel...good, about having a dead leg and being on canes, seeing how well I can use them now. Alicia warns me that there may be a period of time when I get the exo-skeleton that I may still need to use my canes, because I won't be used to my two legs at first. It seems weird, to consider a day when I'm back walking on two legs instead of two canes and a leg.

"Do you still think about running away?"

This time the knife veers horribly to the right and impales itself in the cushioned gym walls. I turn to face Ellie, "What?"

"The other day...you talked about leaving. After having that fight with your mom..." Ellie shrugs, sitting on her hands and giving me a shrug, "I don't know. Do you still think about it, about leaving and all?"

I go to reach for another knife in my holster, but instead think better of it and pause, scratching my head. "Y'know...I don't really know. Why? Do you wanna leave?"

Another shrug, but I see something else in her expression, and smile myself, "You do, don't you?"

"We called Lizzy insane for thinking about leaving." Ellie remarks, and then shrugs, "I don't know now."

"Am I hearing that you're starting to understand...her?" I tease, and Ellie laughs, "I don't know, Maria! Geez...too many damn questions."

"When would we leave, anyway?"

"You could ask her for one of her hideouts. Because she obviously knows so many."

To this we make eye contact and promptly crack up, me stammering in between chortles, "I a-am not going to ask her!"

"C'mon!" Ellie's practically pleading by now. "Let's just go. Just the two of us."

"That's tempting." I admit, and she makes her eyes all big, "You know you want to."

"You're no mind-reader." I retort, and her expression hardens, "Well fuck you too then, assclown."

I laugh, and then shrug, "It's tempting. Let's think about it first, though. Just consider it."

"You love teasing me." She says with a sigh, and I reach for a well-worn handle in my holster, turning back to face the target, "Yep. I do."

It's quiet between the two of us, and then I walk over to the targets to pull out my knives, "It's been four days since I moved out of my mom's house. If I still want to go after everything's calmed down, then let's go."

"You and your fucking ultimatums." Ellie groans, pinching the bridge of her nose, and I smile, crossing back to the center of the gym, setting up to shoot again.

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)

October comes and goes, and then we're into November. The days become shorter and the nights longer. It's been two weeks since I've left my house. Mikey's been a pretty good brother in that he's being transorting stuff back and forth, whether it be clothes or other supplies.

We walk by my house on the way to and from school, and I can't say that it's not painful. I wish my mom would at least give a shit about me, or try to find me, or at least say, "Let's agree to disagree. Come back home." But she doesn't. And Ellie has to lead me away with her arm around my shoulder.

And then, one day, as we're doing some math work, a gasp goes through the room. I turn to look and people are pointing, "Look!"

Snow. Snowflakes, big and fat and heavy, falling fast and thick. People leap out of their seats, pressing their faces against the glass. The teacher tries to get us all back focusing, but I catch Ellie's eye and we can't stop smiling.

When the school day finally ends, she takes my backpack, tosses it over her own, and says, "What's to say you and I run away?"

"With this snow? This cold front coming in?" Then I really eye her. "Why do you want to go?"

"It's just...something we've considered. And, why not now?" Her green eyes sparkle as her cheeks turn red from the cold. "Let's just go out there."

I think of here. I think of school, and of my mom, and of a house that's not mine.

The snow falls between us, and then...I take a deep breath.

"Okay."

She grins wider and throws her arms around me, taking me to the ground as my canes slip. And I'm laughing and she's smiling, and the snow's falling, and something in me feels right for once.

Let's go.