Chapter 8: My December

(Human world, the day Shaun disappeared)

After Shaun ran into the woods Rad called the police to tell them about the murder of his sister and the disappearance of Shaun. He explained to them what happened and where he was with Shaun before coming to Amy's house. They told him to look for him and talk to any of Shaun's friends and ask their parents if they had seen him and if he wasn't found in 48 hours he would be classified as a missing person, and they would send teams out to find him. As for Amy, the police sent medical examiners and detectives to figure out who killed her. They figured out she was beaten before the killer slashed her throat and there was no sign of forced entry. All of the windows were locked, meaning the suspect had a key to the house and left no clues or evidence behind.

Rad was devastated, the two most important people in his life were gone, but he remained hopeful that the police would locate Shaun and that he was okay.

(one week later)

After two days had passed the police sent teams of people with search dogs into the woods behind Amy's house to search there and the surrounding area to find Shaun but they came back with no leads. Meanwhile Rad contacted friends of Amy's and the Parents of Shaun's friends to tell them the bad news. Despite Shaun still missing Rad was still holding on to hope.

(back with Shaun and the Heelers, five months after Shaun's 9th birthday)

It was Christmas Eve, and Shaun was feeling a bit out of place, mostly because back home it would be snowy and cold during December while here in Brisbane it was warm and humid. Today would be Shaun's first Christmas here, Bandit and Chilli are celebrating it at their house. Bandit's Younger brother, Stripe, his wife Trixie, and their two kids, Muffin and Socks are also going to be there as well. Before they showed up, Bandit and Chilli were setting up decorations, Bluey and Bingo were playing games in their playroom, and Shaun was in his room at his desk, drawing in his Sketchbook. Chilli has been teaching him and he has gotten pretty good, and Bandit has even put some of his drawings he made of them all together up on the refrigerator. Right now, Shaun was feeling a bit down and he was drawing his mother and Step-uncle. He heard a knock on the door and quickly closed his sketchbook.

"C-come in!"

"Hey kiddo, you wanna help put some ornaments on the tree? You can also put the star on the top." Bandit said standing in the door frame.

"Yeah, sure Dad!" Shaun replied happily as he got up from his desk and followed Bandit into the living room.

Shaun grabbed some glitter balls and candy canes and put them on the tree where he could reach. Not long after, Bluey and Bingo came into the room and asked if they could help too, of course, Bandit said yes, and they all helped while Chilli left to start cooking food for everyone. After they filled the tree with ornaments it was time to put the star on top. Shaun grabbed it out of the box, Bandit lifted him and Shaun placed it on. Bandit turned the built-in lights on, and everyone looked at their work until the doorbell rang. Bluey and Bingo ran up to the door and opened it. Stripe, Trixie and their kids have arrived.

Bandit followed Bluey and Bingo to the door and greeted his younger brother.

"Hey bro. How have you been?" He said hugging Stripe.

"Good, it's always nice seeing you." Stripe replied, hugging Bandit back.

After they hugged, Trixie walked inside to see Chilli while the kids, besides Shaun, all went to play. Stripe noticed the grey Husky standing next to his older brother. He keeled down to his level.

"Hey there mate, you must be Shaun. Nice to meet you in person, Bandit likes talking about you." Stripe said.

"Really? What does he say?" Shaun asked wondering what his dad told him.

"I tell him what great a kid you are!" Bandit replied scruffing the fur on top of Shaun's head.

"Aw, thanks Dad." Shaun replied, blushing slightly.

(meanwhile in the kitchen)

Chilli was in the kitchen slow cooking a ham in the oven when Trixie walked in.

"Hi Chilli!" Trixie said as she hugged her sister-in-law.

"Hey Trix, how have you been? Chilli replied while hugging back.

"Oh, I've been fine, do you want some help in here?" Trixie asked.

"Sure! Thanks for the help!" Chilli said happily.

"Oh, it's no problem. By the way, how are things going with finding Shaun's uncle?" Trixie asked, worried for the little husky.

"Not good I'm afraid." Chilli replied sadly. "Bandit and I called people we know in the States to see if they knew anyone named Rad or if they had seen Shaun before, but they all said they didn't. I still can't believe someone would do something so bad to his mother. Shaun is a great kid; he reminds me so much of…"

Chill couldn't finish her sentence without starting to tear up.

"It's okay Chilli, I was there for you when it happened. You'll find his uncle, I'm sure of it." Trixie said hugging her sister-in-law.

Chilli wipes a tear from her eye. "Yeah, you're right. It's just hard to not think about him." Chilli walks over to the sink and splashes cold water on her face. "Okay, let us finish in here and give Shaun a good Christmas!" She said, refocusing herself.

(meanwhile in the playroom)

While all the adults were together talking all the Heeler kids and Shaun were playing. Shaun was helping Bingo and Bluey build a big castle of blocks for their favourite stuffed animals while Socks and Muffin were nearby drawing pictures.

"This castle is amazing!" Bingo said happily. "Yeah! Thank you, Shaun!" Bluey added on.

"You're welcome you two." Shaun replied wagging his tail, glad he has two awesome sisters. He looked over to see what Muffin and Socks were making.

"What are you drawing Muffin?" Shaun said curiously.

"It's me wearing a cowboy hat!" Muffin said while showing him her picture.

"I'm drawing flowers!" Socks said showing Shaun a drawing of lots of different coloured flowers.

"Not bad you two, I think you'll both become pretty good artists when you're older." He said patting their heads.

"Muffin can I use the pink? I need it." Socks asked her older sister.

"I'm still using it!" Muffin said moving away from her sister.

Socks tried to grab it and Muffin quickly stood up to run but she tripped and fell over onto the block castle and broke it apart.

"Muffin are you okay?" Shaun said moving blocks off of his cousin.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Sowwy for ruining your castle." Muffin replied looking down at the floor.

"It's fine Muffin. We can rebuild it." Bingo said hugging her cousin. "yeah, it didn't take that long." Bluey said while hugging her.

Muffin felt a bit better. "Can I help?" she asked. "Can I help too?" Socks asked.

"Sure! And this time we can make it even bigger!" Shaun replied, finally cheering up.

"Horray!" The rest of the kids shouted in unison.

After rebuilding the block tower even bigger this time, Chilli yelled out to the kids letting them know it was time to eat. Everyone sat at the table and complimented Chilli and Trixie for making wonderful and delicious food. After eating, the kids started to get sleepy and Stripe and Trixie went back home but not before Chilli gave them some leftovers for tomorrow. After saying goodbye, Bandit and Chilli gave the kids baths and got them ready for bed. Bluey and Bingo fell asleep soon after getting cosy in their beds and Shaun was in his bed about to fall asleep before Bandit walked in.

"Hey kiddo, you have a good day?"

"I did Dad. It was nice seeing everyone." Shaun replied with a yawn.

"I'm glad mate, goodnight Sweet dreams." Bandit said as he walked out the door.

"Goodnight dad, I love you." Shaun said while shutting his eyes and falling asleep.

Bandit looked back to him with a smile and wagged his tail. "love you too." He whispered and quietly shut the door.