Katie was swamped with last minute work as she hurried to try and complete everything before she left. She had fallen behind and so many things were needed as last minute photo shoots, interviews and promotional spots were done. The guys were just as busy as they finished up recording and mixing their 6th album and promoting it across the nation. Their lunch time rendezvous on Tuesday was the last time they saw her before she caught her flight back to CT.
Although the Christmas season was just beginning, Katie had much work to do before getting ready for the busiest and most festive time of the year. Thanksgiving had already passed and since she was in LA at the time, her parents wanted to have her around for the occasion so they were celebrating it over the weekend. She didn't have time to make a feast for her employees but they were well treated to the meal offered in the cafeteria for the students although it was a lower quality. Her employees understood and were grateful for her generosity anyway, and they returned the favor with gifts.

Katie was well liked at the Academy, it was the only place that really accepted her and liked her, she knew that most people would just like her because she signed their paychecks and diplomas but there were many people who liked her regardless of her position. Katie treated everyone on campus with respect and although she had a great presence on the campus she never ordered anyone around. All of the best books on how to run a business all said not to get close and be a friend to your employees and Katie followed that guideline but with her own twist on it. She commanded presence to get people to take orders but she was gentle enough not to create too many enemies.

As Christmas got closer, Katie took a break from all of her paperwork and went all out, selecting a team of staff to help decorate the halls for Christmas. Christmas was her favorite holiday and just loved all the decorations and festivities but she didn't overlook the other holidays such as Winter solstice and Hanukkah, which had their own place in the student center, each holiday taking up an entire floor. The campus soon got very festive as the groundskeepers did the outside decorating with flags, lights, ornaments and small trees. The students did their part by decorating their dorm rooms and halls for the upcoming holiday. Christmas was big on this campus and due to its large size, there was plenty of room to house all kinds of decorations.

The academy competed with the nearby park, known for it's elaborate decorating schemes and unique light pieces. Katie had her fixtures custom designed and as such they were highly valuable and bolted to the ground to prevent theft. Cars came from around the state to see the lights in the park but also added the academy to the list. Katie had started charging a small fee to go around the campus before stopping private ventures when crowds had gotten so large. She used her own buses and gas to chauffer tourists around the campus. Even during the weak economy, the academy received several thousands in donations each year just from the flat rate with an additional few thousands from benefactors and other generous donations.

It was very festive at the academy Christmas carols and other songs played in the arena during class, Christmas specials played on a loop in all the lounges and the atmosphere was a buzz with all the joy and warmth. Katie and Liam spent a lot of time together once she returned as always, he missed his best friend and crush every time she left. He got over the fact that she wouldn't return his feelings and kept their bond similar to sibling love. Katie explained how she didn't want to lose their friendship that they had if they started dating, especially if things didn't work out. She was hurt that she couldn't return his feelings and wondered if she was making the right choice, but she soon settled with the fact that if she couldn't make up her mind to begin with, then maybe she just wasn't ready for such a big step. She was still in a fragile state and had only just come out of her shell a little bit, she wasn't ready to trust people enough yet. She wasn't incapable of love, she just had a hard time feeling it then showing it.

As the weeks passed, the campus was still festive and busy but quickly dying out as the preparations to close down had begun. In a few short days, the campus would be closed for the holiday season until mid January. Many students were staying on campus, since it was either too far or expensive to travel and for them they were on their own for the most part. The main cafeteria would be closed but one of the mini café's would be open from 11am to 5pm each day, selling sandwiches, soups and snacks. Finals were being taken and grades were due at the beginning of next week and Katie was rushing to finish all of her grading by the deadline as well as process all the new applicants and other paperwork for the upcoming semester and year as a whole.

Despite the rush to get things done and the ample amount of time she had, Katie was still going to work on December 23rd, the day before Christmas Eve. She wanted to be home but things were just too stressful there so she came in to do some extra paperwork that was lying around in wait to be processed. Katie was dedicated to the Academy so it was no surprise that she was there; she greeted the skeleton crew that was on duty during that day and continued to her office, Shadow in tow. Shadow got free run of the building when school was closed like this; when it was busy, he tended to get underfoot or bother others while they worked as he looked for attention. He wandered around for a little bit but ultimately settled in her office after she called him back when he was gone for too long. Despite his advanced training, he could still get into trouble in his old age. She spent the day at the academy and returned home just in time for dinner; she had more work to do but it could wait until tomorrow. When her parents asked her if everything was done and she replied no, they immediately got on her case about working the holidays.

"You better give yourself a huge bonus for working on the holiday."

"I cant do that, I'll get audited!"

"Then you're not going back!"

"I have to take care of the animals."

"have someone else do it then. Get one of your lower waged workers to do it though, that way the overtime wont be so bad."

"Uh, no, because the lower waged employees don't know how to properly feed, care and handle the animals. Its an accident waiting to happen, along with a lawsuit!"

"It cant be that hard. Write it all down then."

"Its not that easy. It's my business, I went to school for business, I know what the hell I'm doing. This is my money anyway, not yours, so don't keep eyeing my bank account like it's yours when you retire, because it's not."

"All the work we did for you, and you're not going to give us any money?!"

"What about all the money you guys were supposed to save? As soon as I became rich and famous, I saw brand new TV's, appliances, and more. You bought a brand new house!"

"You wanted a new place to live!"

"I had already picked my place, this is not it. This house, caters to your needs and not mine. I wasn't even thought of when you had this place built!"

"What do you mean? There's room for you!"

"My bedroom is in the basement!"

"So?"

"Over 4,000 square feet in this house, 3 bedrooms upstairs and I get the half finished basement as my bedroom, kennel AND office?!"

"I didn't want all the dogs running around and making a mess."

"I'm a world renowned dog trainer, did we not go over this?"

"You train them not to listen to me!"

"I did not! I trained them to behave using commands and learning their place in the pack. You guys didn't bother setting your place, that is not my fault. I told you exactly what to do and you told me I was being mean to the dogs. Well now look, they listen to me and walk all over you without a care. Don't try to pin this on me. I'm tired of living here with you guys to be honest. I'm famous, rich, successful and smart, yet none of that seems to matter to any of you. Its like I'm not good enough no matter what. You cant keep controlling my life, I'm 22 and soon I'll be starting my own life, my own family, my own choices. You need to loosen the leash already and let me experience life. You guys arent going to be around forever and I need to learn how to handle things on my own before I'm suddenly all alone with no one to fall back on. Not only that, I want us to stop fighting and enjoy the time we have together. This used to be the one place I could come to and relax from all the stress, to get away from all the drama. Now this is one of the places I want to avoid; I look forward to flying across the country for months at a time and working long hours because I dread coming home. Without the warm welcome I always used to get, it's not worth coming home anymore. I have no place to go now and get away from everything. Instead I have to suffer through it with no help and that's not fair to me. It's getting to the point where its just not worth getting out of bed anymore." she said loudly. She walked away to the kitchen to go down to her bedroom, leaving her parents to think about what she left them with.

She spent a few hours on the computer, just searching the web since she didn't have the motivation to do any work now. She was still adamant on going to work tomorrow, it was already scheduled plus she had to finish a few things before the holiday. She shut everything down and packed up some of her stuff so she could leave almost as soon as she got up before turning into bed for the night. Her mind was racing with so many thoughts and it seemed like she would never be able to fall asleep but soon enough she awoke to see the sun shining through the basement doors, telling her that she did indeed get some much needed shut eye last night.

She was a bit tired and slow moving as usual, more so because it was so cold in the basement, there was no heat. She was not allowed to have much of it since the space wasn't insulated, it was a waste of electricity to warm it so she had to muscle through it. Shadow was standing on the other side of the door leading to the backyard, waiting to come in now that he saw her up. She let him in before making her way to the bathroom to start her day. Her parents weren't home which surprised her, what could they possibly have to do today, on Christmas Eve? She grabbed some breakfast and once she was finished she headed out the door, leaving Shadow behind today.

Since it was so early, Katie was the only one there for the moment. She locked the doors behind her and went straight to her office, wishing she brought Shadow. Unable to focus on her work because she was alone and felt a bit intimidated at the silence, she went to the kennel and brought out the Great Dane for protection if she needed it. To save on some heating bills, the dogs were moved to the original kennel that was attached to the main building, so Katie didn't have to leave the building to get the protection she needed. Soon enough her secretary showed up but she also kept the door locked.

Liam arrived through the back door and alerted the girls to his presence before he went straight to work caring for the animals. He had plenty to care for but he only needed to feed, water, exercise the dogs and clean the cages daily. Depending on the weather they were groomed and only if needed for the breed or if someone rolled in the mud. Liam was efficient at his job and could do all the daily chores for the animals in only a few hours before moving on to the next project. He was just about finished when he was paged to the front desk where Katie's secretary was.

Sandy, the secretary was working along side Katie, helping with paperwork and past records from when Katie was in LA. Rango the Dane was wandering the halls just outside Katie's office when he got antsy. He had heard something but wasn't sure. Katie noticed his behavior but he didn't seem frantic so she brushed it off. Rango sat down after a minute and wandered to the library down the hall. Sandy returned to her desk after Katie was set with her work and she began her own. A knock on the door made her jump at the sudden and unexpected intrusion. She looked up to see a man at the door, she didn't recognize him but then again it was kind of dark both inside and outside of the building. A snow storm was brewing for later tonight and it was going to be cloudy all day as it moved in. Sandy turned on some lights to see better but she still didn't recognize the man.

He seemed friendly enough, he was calm and welcoming but she was a bit timid at the idea of opening up. The campus was supposed to be closed so no visitors were allowed but something was telling her not to open it up. She held up a finger to tell the man to wait a sec and she picked up the phone, keeping an eye on the patiently waiting man who know wore a confused look on his face. After she hung up she waited for a bit, avoiding eye contact with the man. He tapped on the door again and tried to speak but Sandy just stood at her desk before looking to her left and suddenly getting up and leaving. The man tried to follow her but lost her with his limited view.

Sandy soon came back in, Liam at her side and he walked up to the door confidently, talking with Sandy and the man soon got the hint that Sandy was just unsure. Liam walked up to the door and unlocked it and the man stood back to allow for some space.

"Can I help you?" Liam said strongly yet friendly enough.

"Sorry to bother you on the holiday, I'm a bit lost and I was hoping you could help me?" the man replied

"Where are you trying to go?" Liam questioned

"Well I'm looking for an animal school and I saw a busted sign out front that had something similar. Is this the Academy of Canine Science?" the man asked

"Yes it is, but we're closed. How did you get in here?" Liam answered

"The security guard at the front just asked for some ID and then let me in." the man explained

"I see, he's not supposed to let anyone in." Liam sighed

"Oh, I'm sorry, I don't mean any harm and I didn't want anyone to be in trouble." the man apologized

"It's alright for now. Is there a reason you're here?" Liam asked

"Yes actually, I'm looking for Katie Pryszweic, I was hoping she was here?" the man replied

"Sandy, is Katie here?" Liam asked her.

"Yes, she's in her office catching up on the records and such." came Sandy's reply

"Oh, she's busy? I didn't think she would even be here today let alone still be doing work." the man sighed

"Did you have an appointment?" Sandy asked

"No, I'm a friend of hers and was just looking to surprise her." the man replied

"I can tell her you're here, what's your name?" Sandy offered

"I'd prefer to surprise her if I could. I know you're all being cautious and I understand that. You can escort me if it helps, I would just really like to say hi and take care of some business I left unfinished." the man said.

Liam and sandy looked at each other unsure. His words sounded innocent enough but they knew that someone was trying to kill Katie in LA over a year ago. What if this guy with the unfinished business was someone from the gang that was supposedly eradicated. The two kept a watch on him and he looked unarmed, his hands were visible but that didn't stop Liam from drawing his tazer gun. The man stepped back in surprise, putting his hands up in defense.

"Sandy!" Liam shouted keeping his lock on the man.

She ran to a box on the wall and opened it before releasing a lever and an alarm sounded off in the distance. In mere seconds the floor was surrounded by echoes and light vibrations as a pack of 20 dogs came barreling down the halls. The man pinned himself against the wall as the dogs soon turned to defense seeing, Liam with his tazer drawn. The man was clearly scared and confused at why all of a sudden he was facing his possible death. He tried to retrace his words but couldn't get very far as growling filled his ears.

Katie had heard the alarm and looked to her monitors to see the emergency situation unfolding. She grabbed her gear and made her way out to the hall quickly and quietly. Rango had come out of the library and although they spooked each other, he quickly took her side and stayed low, seeing her defensive stance. All the dogs were trained to attack and be defensive when appropriate based on cues from the handlers. Katie tip toed down the hall and peered around the corner to see Liam holding the stranger at bay with the pack and his gun. Katie couldn't see the man very well with his heavy coat and hat so she stayed alert as she took the flank and appeared out of the safety of the hall.

"State your business!" She ordered, from behind her tazer. Rango started growling and showing his teeth as a warning. The bundled man turned sharply to her voice and went to speak but Rango jumped forward to ward him off.

"Katie, its me!" The bundled man said. He hurried to take off his cap and struggled with the tie. Katie and Liam both had a lock on him and waited until the hat fell to the ground. Katie lowered her gun at the sight of the familiar blond haired boy in front of her.

"Kendall?!" she said in confusion. Liam held his position. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to surprise you, we never got to hang out and I didn't get to say goodbye since we were both so busy."

"So you came all the way across the country to say goodbye? We have the internet out here, it's not that much of being in the sticks."

"I know. But I had to talk to you too and I didn't want to do it over the phone…" he started. "can we talk or is now a bad a time?"

"Now is alright I guess, you're here anyway."

"Then can you…uh…?"

"Oh, right." she began "Dogs! Stand down!" she ordered and like clockwork the dogs stopped their growling and defensive measures while Liam held his position with Rookie the German Shepherd at his side still growling. "Liam, everything's cool."

"You sure?" he asked

"Positive." she replied

"Ok. Rookie, stand down." Liam said. Rookie snorted in acceptance

"Dogs go home" Katie ordered and the pack trotted off out the door to the kennel where Sandy followed them to be sure they all returned to their own pens and everything was locked up.