Christmas update! I'm sorry this hasn't gotten an update in a while. Writer's block and medical stuff got in the way, but I found a bunch of Christmas starters and decided to stuff as much of them into this chapter as I can.

Later that morning, Emma and Roni walked downstairs to find the foyer decorated ceiling to floor in Christmas decorations.

"Ho-ho-holy shit! It's almost Christmas." Emma commented. "I actually forgot it was almost Christmas."

"Lenny's going to eat half of these decorations before Christmas is even here." Roni added. They spotted Snow hauling a box of decorations into the living room. Upon noticing them, Snow put them to work on cookie duty. There were a lot of cookies to be made and not a lot of time to bake them. They were given recipe cards and aprons and shoved towards the kitchen.

The two of them got to work- Roni on the gingerbread and Emma on the sugar cookies. They worked into the afternoon when Henry and Neal came home. The boys smelled the sweet scent of cookies baking and bee-lined it straight for the kitchen. It was just like when he was a kid. Every Christmas, Henry and his mom would make gingerbread cookies and decorate them with silly faces.

"You boys can either pick up an apron and help or stay out of the kitchen." Roni said. She got a glance at her cuff and remembered herself. This wasn't her house, she was only a guest. "Um... sorry, I... I forgot I'm not-" Henry surprised her by getting an apron and waiting for her to instruct him.

"Could you get started on the icing?" Roni asked.

"Red, green, and white?" Henry asked. Roni nodded and Henry got to work. Meanwhile, Neal had dragged his stepping stool over to the island where all the cookies were cooling. His pudgy hand reached for a cookie, but Emma smacked it away.

"DON'T TOUCH THE COOKIES THEY'RE NOT READY YET!"

"Cookie!" Neal demanded.

"No. Go away!"

"COOKIE!"

"Stop fighting, both of you." Roni said in her strict mom voice. She picked up Neal and calmed him down.

"Neal, dear, I have a very important job for you. Think you can do it?" Neal smiled and nodded his head. "Okay. I need you to go help your mommy with the decorations. Can you do that?" Neal wiggled from her arms. Roni put him down and he took off like a jet.

"I should have given him a cookie first." Roni grinned, imagining Snow trying to deal with a hyper two-year-old and putting up the decorations at the same time. Emma snorted in amusement.

The cookies cooled and now it was time to decorate. Henry filled three bags with the different colored frosting and stuck on the frosting tips. Henry, Roni, and Emma each took a bag and decorated the gingerbread cookies. Emma happened to glance at Roni's cookies and noticed a theme.

"I see that you purposely gave the gingerbread men horrified expressions. I suppose it's so we feel bad as we eat them?" Emma asked.

"Yep." Roni answered, focusing on her cookie victims. Henry's cookies were quite similar. Any cookies who lost a limb to his "taste tests" got turned into zombies. Emma joined in, creating ridiculous faces for her cookies. They were so focused on their creations that they didn't notice Snow enter the kitchen.

"What is this?!" Snow cried, looking at the dozens of cookies looking scared, scary, or dead. "How are we supposed to give these to people when they look like this? Christmas cookies need to be festive, not terrifying!" David came into the kitchen to see what was going on, Neal in his arms.

"What's the problem?" He asked. He noticed the cookies and laughed. He picked up a zombie cookie and made it "talk" to Neal.

"Raaaawr! Eat me before I eat you! Om nom nom!" Neal squealed in delight before snatching the cookie for himself. It was then David noticed Snow glaring at him. "What?"

"David, we're supposed to give these to our friends. What will they think when their cookies look like this?" Snow motioned to a cookie that looked like The Scream.

"They'll think we have a great sense of humor?" Henry answered. Snow sighed. She couldn't be mad at him, but Regina... She was probably the one who started it.

"I suppose there's still the sugar cookies..." Snow huffed.

"I think that means we get to keep the cookies." Henry said.

After the cookies were packed up, it was time to decorate the tree. Roni felt like she should stay away, choosing instead to put on a Christmas movie to keep Neal occupied and from getting into the fragile ornaments. The little boy laughed at Buddy's antics on the TV. Roni was able to keep him occupied for all of ten minutes before Neal wanted in on the action.

"Mommy, me!" Neal tugged on Snow's pants.

"Sweetie, these are too fragile for you to touch. Why don't you keep watching your movie?" Snow suggested, but Neal was adamant that he help.

"Neal, do you want to help me?" Roni asked. Neal nodded. Roni scooped him up and picked out an ornament. "What color is this?" Roni asked.

"Mmm... blue!" Neal guessed.

"No, this is red. Where do you think this one should go?" Neal pointed to a spot on the tree and Roni put the ornament there. This continued until the entire tree was decorated. Emma smiled at how easily Roni fell into a mother role. She tried to stay distant, but Neal already had her wrapped around his little pudgy finger, as did Henry. Not that Henry had pudgy fingers, but... Anyway, it felt nice to have her around.

"Henry, will you put on the star?" Snow asked. Henry took the star and pulled a chair close to the tree. Roni hovered close by in case he fell. But all was well as he placed the star on top and climbed back down. Emma plugged the lights in and the tree lit up. Neal gasped dramatically. He stared in wonder at the tree.

"Do you like the tree, Neal? Isn't it pretty?" Snow asked Neal, taking him from Roni. Neal nodded and babbled to his mother.

Roni joined Emma on a shopping trip in town to get some last-minute Christmas gifts. Emma checked off everyone on her list she bought presents for: Henry, Mom, Dad, Neal... who else? Emma looked to Roni, who seemed to be lost in thought. Of course! She needed to get her a gift! But what should she get her?

"So... what do you want for Christmas?" Emma asked Roni only shook her head.

"Nothing you can get me." Roni answered.

"What do you mean?" Emma questioned. Roni sighed.

"I want... I want this town to stop draining me. I want to be able to go to the store without people running from me. I want go back to being a regular person." Roni adjusted her jacket, her armor.

"You're right. I can't give you that, but I can try." Roni looked to Emma with a confused look. Emma put her arm around Roni's shoulders, pulling her closer. "People tend to do what others around them are doing. But I'll show them they're wrong." Roni smiled and put her arm around Emma's waist. They walked down Main Street together until they nearly passed Granny's.

"Let's drink our sorrows out with the elves and some eggnog." Roni suggested. Emma shrugged and followed Roni into the diner. The merriment inside withered when Roni entered. All eyes were on them and Roni knew Granny had her hand on her crossbow. The women sat at the bar and placed their orders.

"What does Henry like?" Roni asked Emma.

"What do you mean?"

"I want to get Henry a present, but... I feel like I don't know him anymore." Roni frowned.

"I don't know, he loves books and heroes and comics. Don't let his height fool you, he hasn't really changed much. Except he does have more friends, now."

"Good. But what would he like for Christmas?" Roni asked.

"How about that trip to Seattle?" Emma asked.

"Yes. That's perfect. Thank you, Emma."

After their drinks, the two of them walked home to Mifflin. Emma dumped her bags in her closet to wrap later when she noticed something above her door., above Roni's head. The eggnog pushed away any doubt in her brain and she walked up to Roni.

"You know, it's cool that we're friends and everything. And... oh, hey! Look at that! Where'd this mistletoe come from?" Emma pointed up. Roni glanced up and saw the piece of greenery. She laughed at Emma's total failure at subtlety, but the eggnog had her holding Emma's face and pecking a kiss to her lips.