Swans Crossing: The Return

©1997 by Stephanie Blydenburgh

Sarah Gellar Pages does not use cookies. - Privacy Policy.

Chapter Twenty-Nine Co-written by Maxiom)

The red, glowing numbers on Mila's alarm clock red 12:45 A.M. She sighed, crumpled up another piece of paper, and tossed it across her room. Her usually immaculate pink bedroom was littered with rejected essays thrown around in a fit of frustration.

"I am never going to get this finished," she moaned. It was her first all-nighter, something that actresses never had to go through. Back when she was acting, whenever she had a paper due in school and was having problems writing it, she got her private tutor to help her... and she could turn it in any time she wanted. And of course, there was no competition. She was one of the only young people on the set of Three O' Clock Dreams, so that meant there was no one who "set the curve" or was the teacher's pet. Mila was rather surprised with the competitiveness at Swans Crossing High. And she couldn't admit to any of her friends that she was quickly falling behind in many of her classes.

"Not that I have anyone to talk to anymore anyway," she said out loud, remembering her fight with Sydney. In all of Mila's life, she had never had as close a friend as Sydney... but she had also never had anyone treat her the way that Sydney did.

Mila put aside her homework and crossed her bedroom. She opened up the closet door and pulled out a hat box sitting on the floor. Inside were pictures, many cut from magazines in which she appeared. Also inside were her black and white photos of Garrett, Billy Gunn, and J.T. All of her past relationships were now just photos buried in a box. "And all because of Sydney," she said wryly.

She placed the lid on the box and shoved it back into the closet. One of the photographs floated out of the box, and she knelt to pick it up. It was of Mila and Sydney.

Mila studied the picture for a few minutes. She and Sydney were standing by the Swan Club pool, smiling with their arms around each other. For a moment she felt nostalgic, wishing she still had Sydney for a best friend. "She was never your friend Mila," she told herself. But she couldn't bring herself to throw the picture away, and instead, she put it back in the box... and returned to her homework.

After Jimmy and Callie kissed, they stared at each other, awestruck. The one thing that they'd wanted to happen sine they met each other so many months ago had finally come to pass. A few silent moments passed between them as both were letting the last words, "I love you," that they had said hang in the air. Then, coming to reality, they sat back down at the table.

Jimmy raised his water glass in the air. "Here's to... reconciliation," he toasted. Callie clinked her glass against his and smiled.

The both sipped their water, trying hard to wipe the silly grins off their faces. It didn't work. "You want to go do something?" she suggested.

"Yeah," he quickly agreed. He couldn't think of anything he wanted more than just to be with her. All he wanted was for them to be with each other, anywhere, doing anything.

They paid the bill with the money Pedro and Ana had left them, and then they walked down to the beach. The stars were burning brightly in the sky, and the roar of the ocean set a perfect romantic scene. As they walked down the beach hand-in-hand, Callie pointed out the Southern Cross to him, and went on to tell him how her dad had first shown it to her when she was a child. They were lost in conversation for the longest time before realizing they'd walked a very long distance, away from the city, and they decided to sit down on the beach to rest.

Jimmy held her in his arms, and they just sat there silently for a few moments, relishing in the feeling of finally being so close to each other. As many times as they'd pictured being in this situation, imagined what it would feel like to be so close to each other, neither had imagined it as pristine as this... the strength in his arms, the softness of her hair, the periodic synchronization of their breathing, the pounding of their hearts. Each breath was not exhaled, but released, like mini sighs of relief. Their hearts pounded not from their long walk or even of nervousness (in fact, neither had felt more calm and at ease in their lives). It was more like something had been awakened, as if their hearts had discovered a delicacy more precious than blood and were eagerly engorging themselves, feverishly working to fill a seemingly bottomless void.

The sounds of the calm surf and night sounds from the jungle behind them blended together into a kind of background music of nature, which was appropriate because there was nothing more natural than what was going on between them. It was the first time in Callie's memory that she was not looking to the future, hoping for what might be, but living in the now, relishing in the splendor of all that was. And it gave her a sense of security and satisfaction, just as hoping for what might be gave her a sense of uncertainty and fear. There was a oneness, an openness, between them. Anything could be said. The deepest thoughts... the most repressed longings.

"Jimmy, do you know I've always loved you?" she whispered over the ocean sounds.

"I think I felt it," he replied thoughtfully. "But I didn't want to face it. I was afraid, but I don't know exactly what I was afraid of. I mean, I saw so much of myself in you. You were so different from the other girls. I just loved being around you, Callie. Whether we were fighting or arguing or whatever, it didn't matter. I loved being around you. I admired you so much," he confessed, feeling as though he could tell her anything. It felt so good to be able to tell her all of the things he had hidden for so long.

"Then what was the problem? Why did you constantly push me away?" Callie asked, referring to the time when she had just moved to Swans Crossing and they weren’t together yet.

"I didn't want to, Callie. I just... this was all new to me. With Sophia, it was just a mutual admiration. We both understood that. But when I met you, it was different. I could relate to you in a way that I couldn't with any other girl. I had genuine feelings for you, and it scared me. So I looked for any opportunity to push you away. I didn't want to deal with it. But you know what? At the same time, I was holding out for you. I could've gotten another girlfriend right after Sophia split. But I didn't want to date anyone. I was afraid if I did, you'd give up on me and go after someone else yourself. All that conflict going on in my head... it was so stupid! But I could never admit it to myself. If I did, I would have realized how foolish the whole thing was."

Callie pulled back far enough to look in his eyes, her smile showing a mix of warmth and admiration. She raised an arm off his shoulder and ran her hand through his thick, dark hair. "I could tell there was something eating away at you, but I could never figure out what it was. I mean, you had everything going for you. I couldn't understand what was going on in your life that was causing all that distress."

"Part of it was Barek," Jimmy began. "I really looked up to that guy. He was like a brother to me. I couldn't understand what you and Saja had against him. But that time you caught him in a lie about the cotton balls, that's when I began to suspect him myself. I saw that you were right to be suspicious of him. That made me realize how much I admired you, and it gave me the confidence I needed to finally make my move. I had to get you alone somewhere. I just used going to the Tool n’ Die as an excuse. I didn't want you to suspect anything, just in case I lost my nerve."

Callie smiled to herself, remembering how Jimmy had first made a pass at her that night. She did have that crazy fantasy in the back of her mind about Jimmy having ulterior motives whenever they were out sleuthing together, but she would always suppress it. "The higher you raise your hopes, the harder they come smashing to the ground" was one of life's lesson's she'd learned. But once they were at the Tool n’ Die and Jimmy unexpectedly made his pass, everything became like slow motion...

Is this really happening? Or are my fantasies finally overcoming me? Callie had thought to herself as Jimmy started leaning towards her.

A split second later, just as she'd snapped back into reality and realized this was actually happening, and braced for the moment she'd longed for... Saja had kamakazied through the door.

Saja realized what he'd interrupted, and he went into some kind of explanation. But Callie didn't hear whatever it was he was saying. She didn't feel like listening to his foolishness, not at a time like this. She could only look at Jimmy. Although she had been furious at being interrupted at such a critical moment with him, the realization that he actually was attracted to her in that way had the effect of canceling out her anger.

After they'd left the Tool n’ Die, Jimmy and Callie didn't talk about what had just happened between them. For that reason, she supposed that it was more or less spontaneous.

"I wanted so much for something like that to happen," Callie said after recalling that night. "I just wish Saja and Barek hadn't shown up when they did. But even they couldn't spoil what went on between us that night. It was the first time I realized you cared for me, and it gave what I felt a legitimacy."

Jimmy pulled her close to him once more. Contrary to the tough exterior Callie so often projected, she felt soft and delicate in his arms, as though she might break if he wasn't careful how tightly he held her.

"I've always loved you, Callie," he told her softly. Then he blurted out impulsively, "I want you to come back with me to Swans Crossing."

Callie was lost in thought for a moment. "I want to go with you, Jimmy," she finally answered. "Believe me, I don't want to be away from you ever again. I just don't know how I would tell Dad."

"I won't be going any time soon," Jimmy assured her. "I'll stay with my brother for a little while longer. That should give us time to tell Captain Walker. But when I go, I'm taking you with me, whether he likes it or not."

Glory was dreamily brushing her hair before school when Garrett came bounding into her bedroom. "You look happy," she commented. Her brother responded by giving his sister a warm hug.

"Well, why shouldn't I be? Things between me and Sydney are really working out," he said, looking over Glory's shoulder at his reflection in the mirror.

"Sydney, Mila. Mila, Sydney... it's all the same," she sighed.

Garrett gave her a cross look. "I guess you don't think this is serious, do you?"

Glory walked across the room and grabbed her backpack. "I have my doubts. You were always playing games with Sydney."

"Well, this time is different," he insisted.

"If that's the case, then I'm happy for you." She smiled. "And, maybe we could double date sometime," she suggested slyly.

Garrett winced. "Oh, don't tell me you and Neil hooked up. If I have to have that tech-weenie running around my house--"

"It's not Neil. I got back together with J.T.," she told him.

"Even better," he muttered.

"Garrett," she began warningly.

"All right, all right. I won't say anything negative about you and J.T. as long as you lay off me and Sydney," he bargained, holding his hand out for her to shake.

"Agreed," she said, shaking his hand.

"Agreed on what?" Grant asked, appearing in the doorway.

Garrett and Glory looked up at their brother, their eyes growing wide. "Nothing, Grant. I just, uh, promised to help Garrett with his math homework," Glory answered quickly.

Grant looked at them strangely. "But you're a grade lower than him."

"Uh, well, you know how terrible I am at math." Garrett laughed, hoping Grant would buy that.

"All right, well, I'm here to take you guys to school. Come on, let's go."

Glory and Garrett exchanged a glance. Glory brushed past her brother and gave him a look. "You can't keep this a secret from him forever."

Sydney twisted the combination on her locker over and over, not able to actually hit the numbers and open the locker. She was far too distracted. Even though things were working out perfectly with Garrett, other things were bothering her. For one, her mother was acting very strangely. Mayor Rutledge was a very independent woman --usually at the office, or giving a speech, or dedicating some new building-- but lately, she was always at home. She had Ralph cook big meals and then insisted Sydney sat down with her to eat them.

Sydney exhaled loudly. "I guess it's just my imagination," she muttered, finally opening her locker. She tossed in her books and caught sight of the photos she had hung inside. There was one of her and Mila at the pool. And then of course, there's Mila, she thought to herself, which just made her more depressed.

The night before, she had called Mila three times and just got the machine. She knew Mila was at home... but she just didn't want to talk to Sydney. That hurt. Sydney never would admit it, but the fact that her friend was upset with her was actually causing her to feel depressed.

And who do I really have to talk to now? she asked herself. She had Garrett, of course, but which one of her girlfriends could she call up and spill all the details about her date with Garrett to? Mila wasn't even speaking to her, Callie had moved away and hadn't even called Swans Crossing since she did, Glory was Garrett's sister, and...

"Sandy!" Sydney said, suddenly spotting her friend coming up the hall.

Sandy came over to Sydney's locker. "Hey Sydney, what's up?"

Sydney smiled. Of course, I forgot about Sandy! "Nothing, Sandy. I just wanted to say hi. How are you doing?"

Sandy checked her watch. "Pretty good, but actually, I gotta run."

"Oh? Where to?"

"Choir. We have an early morning practice preparing for the holiday concert coming up soon," Sandy explained, moving a few steps away.

"Well, then I'll see you at lunch?" Sydney asked.

She chewed her bottom lip. "Actually Sydney, I’m having lunch with Saja. We're going to go over our chemistry notes for the big test tomorrow."

Sydney couldn't help but roll her eyes. "What is it with you and Saja anyway?"

Sandy shrugged. "I really like him. It looks like something's happening between us," she stated simply.

Well this is new, Sydney thought. She had never seen Sandy be so straight forward about anything. She usually would feel embarrassed about something until she got the approval of Sydney and Nancy and just about everyone else around her. But here she was, smiling and telling Sydney that something was happening between her and Saja. "That's nice," Sydney muttered.

"Anyway, I gotta go," Sandy said, waving and heading back into the crowd of passing students.

Sydney furrowed her eyebrows and watched after Sandy. She had been surprising her a lot lately, but never as much as right now. It seemed as if Sandy had morphed into a confident, beautiful Swan. In fact, she was acting a lot like Sydney... and Sydney, who was worried that she had no friends left, had become more like Sandy.

Sydney held her head in her hands. "This is awful!" she exclaimed out loud.

"What's awful?" asked a voice from behind her.

"Nancy! Just the person I wanted to see," Sydney said, putting on a bright, wide smile. Nancy was better than no one. "How are you doing?"

"Spectacular. My date with Kevin was simply wonderful," she gushed. "And yours with Garrett?" she asked.

Sydney grinned. Finally, she was going to get to confide in someone. "It was perfect Nancy, I had-"

"Can you spare me the details until lunch? I must be running," Nancy interrupted.

"Oh, and where are you off too? Charm school classes?" Sydney asked sarcastically.

"No," Nancy answered, pursing her lips. "Actually, I have a peer helpers meeting."

"Peer helping? Since when are you in any clubs? I thought you only signed up for them for your resume."

"Well, I happen to like this one. I'll see you at lunch, Sydney-O! Ta!" And with that, Nancy was gone.

Sydney but her lip, clutched her books to her chest, and walked to first period by herself.

Callie looked up at Jimmy slowly. "Jimmy, I know it’s the right thing to do. There isn't any other way it can be, unless dad jumps for joy and starts making wedding arrangements." She could feel Jimmy silently chuckle to himself at the thought.

"No, Walker Woman," he replied in a light but deliberately sarcastic tone. "Somehow I just don't think that's going to happen." Then he said in a somewhat upbeat and sentimental tone, "It would be nice, though. It would make what's going to happen a lot easier for everyone."

Callie pulled away and sat right in front of him, holding his hands and looking deeply into his eyes. "Jimmy," she began in a gentle but serious tone. "What's coming up isn't going to easy. When we tell dad, he's going to freak. Right now is a very special time for me; it’s very special for both of us. I don't want anything to spoil this. I want to be able to enjoy you without a hitch for once in my life. We have to be careful not to give him any idea of what we have planned, at least not until we get a sense of what it’s like to enjoy being with each other."

Jimmy squeezed her hands affectionately. "Don't worry about anything, Walker Woman. I promise you the next few weeks will be the best time of our lives. I won't allow anything to spoil this for either of us. All I want is to make you happy."

Callie’s looked into his eyes and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "I'm as happy as I've ever hoped to be," she told him with a wide smile. "And I never thought I'd hear myself say that."

None of this is making sense! Mila's mind screamed at her as she tried her hardest to understand the complicated geometry problem on the chalk board. She pushed her pencil across the paper in her notebook, but it was as if she was writing in another language. Hidden underneath her math notes was her history essay, unfinished from the night before. She was wildly switching back and forth, trying to write the essay and take notes at the same time. As of late, it was not working. The essay had gone from bad to worse... she knew it wasn't worth anything higher than a C-, and she needed at least a B on the paper to even pass the stupid class.

Her mother's words from several weeks ago rang in her head. She had said that if Mila didn't pull up her science grade, she wasn't going to be able to sing or be on the cheerleading squad. The Countess didn't even know that her geometry and history grades were just as bad as the science one.

"Miss Rosnovsky?" Mr. Pahl said, snapping her back to attention.

"Yes?" she replied, wincing. Even if Mr. Pahl didn't think she had been zoning out in class, Mila still wouldn't be able to answer any of his questions. She simply couldn't grasp the concept.

"I just asked you to apply the Pythagorean theorem to problem number eight in your book to find side c," he stated.

"The Pythagra-what?" she asked. The class snickered.

Mr. Pahl did not look amused. "Miss Rutledge, would you please answer the question for us?"

Sydney, who sat a few desks away from Mila, punched some numbers into her calculator and then smiled. "Fifty," she answered confidently.

The teacher smiled. "Correct."

Mila groaned and went back to finishing her history paper. Where was Sydney when she really needed her?

It was a long walk back to Callie’s house, but it was a journey in which time and distance meant nothing. Both Callie and Jimmy were completely content to be with each other. Finally, they reached the house. Neither wanted to part from the other, but each knew it was the best thing to do for now. They knew that soon they'd never have to be apart again.

Before they departed, they looked intensely into each other’s eyes. Jimmy noticed a touch of sadness in Callie’s eyes. He felt the same way she did, but he didn't want to show it.

"I love you," Jimmy said. He knew that was what she needed to hear one more time and watched the sadness in her eyes melt into warmth and admiration as she smiled at him.

"I love you too, Clayton," she told him.

Jimmy put his arms around her and pulled her close to him. When their lips met, it was a new connection between them that they hadn't felt before. And it was so ironic, because how could anything impact so intensely after the deluge of bliss they'd already experienced between each other that night? Their kiss slowly went from being soft and tender to more and more profound and impassioned. Their embrace slowly constricted like the tightening of a knot. This was unmitigated ecstasy. Callie felt as though she suddenly had no strength in her legs, and she earnestly hoped Jimmy would hold on to her if her knees gave way.

"Jimmy..." she began, trying to regain her composure... and catch her breath.

"Shh... don't say anything," he replied gently. He put his hand on the side of her face.

Callie put her hand over his and squeezed it. "I’ll see you tomorrow," she said.

Before Jimmy departed, they gazed into each other’s eyes, and it was like a whole new means of communication they'd just discovered. But yet, it was a language both spoke fluently, something each knew by heart. Their gaze spoke volumes. It was a meeting of minds, a communion of the heart. It spoke of sheer love, undying friendship, ardent companionship, and that they were colleagues in the discovery of something that was just as new and exhilarating to one as it was the other. As Callie watched Jimmy walk away, she felt no pain or loss... no feeling of separation. Instead, she felt an extraordinary sense of contentment and gratification, mixed with utter fondness and admiration. There was an ardent sense of security knowing that he belonged to her completely, and there was no force that could keep him away from her the next day.

Callie stepped inside the house and barely noticed her father studying his beloved nudibranchs in one of the many aquariums that decorated the living room. "Callie, my dear," Captain Walker greeted her. "How was dinner?"

"Oh... it was... okay," she answered dreamily with a contented smile. She wandered through the living room going nowhere in particular, looking off into space.

Captain Walker smiled. "You patched things up with Jimmy, didn't you?"

Callie eyes widened as she snapped back into reality, and she immediately gave him her full attention. Her mouth opened, but she didn't know what to say.

"You don't know how much it means to see you looking so happy!" her father exclaimed, walking over to her and giving her a warm hug. "You've been nothing but miserable since the moment we left Swans Crossing."

"You... you know about me and Jimmy?" she asked, confused that he knew so much more than he should.

"I should. That dinner was planned by your twin friends and myself. We were hoping you and Jimmy would get back together if you were left alone. And from the looks of things, it was an overwhelming success."

Callie’s eyes widened once more. Normally she would have been furious at being set up by anyone for anything. She didn't like being used. But this was one very forgivable exception. "You mean it’s okay? Me and Jimmy?"

"Okay?" Captain Walker repeated with a smile. "I wish you both nothing but the greatest happiness as being a couple once more."

"Dad, I love you so much!" Callie exclaimed, hugging him very tightly. "Now I know everything is going to be okay. Thank you so much."

"You're quite welcome," he said, returning her hug.

Callie pulled away and began to tell her father about her evening. "Everything went perfectly at the restaurant," she told him. "Jimmy and I finally talked to each other about our break-up. He told me he loves me, Dad. He loves me more than anything in the world. And I told him I felt the same way. We walked on the beach for hours, and it was just beautiful."

The Captain looked a little concerned. "My dear child, why did you pledge such allegiance to him? You should know better than to get yourself so involved, since you know he's going back to Swans Crossing soon. He can't stay here, you know." Callie didn't know what to say, but looked indifferent by this fact. "So am I to understand you already discussed this matter with him?" Captain Walker asked her.

Callie thought quickly. "Yeah Dad, and we decided we’d just try to make the most of things while he's still here. And we're definitely not going to part on such a sour note as we did last time. He even said he's going to visit Johnny again in about four months so we can see each other again soon."

Captain Walker immediately sensed that there was something wrong. Johnny had told him not long ago that his job was going to have him traveling all over the world for the next year and a half at least. But the Captain hid his concerns from Callie expertly. He was well-practiced at keeping things from her that she didn't need to know. He could certainly lie for the thousandth time still keep a straight face. He smiled at her warmly. "I'm so glad to hear that, my dear!"

Callie smiled back at the Captain. He bought it, she thought. Now realizing that the next few weeks were guaranteed bliss, she went back to dreaming about Jimmy again. "Dad... it’s kinda late. I guess I’ll go to bed."

"Good night, my dear. I'm so happy that you're no longer the miserable shell that you once were. I love you very much," he told her.

"I love you too, Dad. Good night," she said distantly. She strolled into her bedroom with a dreamy, care-fee smile on her face that was quite out of character for her. As soon as her door was closed, Captain Walker's smile vanished. It was replaced by a look of doubt and concern. He sat down and placed one hand over his mouth, looking into space, lost in deep thought for a moment. Then he picked up the phone and dialed.

"Pedro? Captain Walker. Yes, everything went well. In fact, it may have gone too well. I want Ana here the first thing in the morning. And you're going to pay a little visit to Mr. Clayton."

The scenes including Jimmy and Callie were written by Maxiom. Much thanks to him for letting me include his wonderful story in my novel!

Chapter Thirty (co-written by Maxiom and Miss Swan)

"I’ll get it!" Callie yelled as she raced toward the ringing phone. She grabbed the receiver before Captain Walker could react. "Hello?" she asked, with a hopeful, expectant look on her face.

"Walker Woman!" Jimmy’s voice exclaimed on the other line. "What's up?"

Callie held her hand tightly over her mouth, trying to suppress the joyous laughter that demanded to surface. "Hi Jimmy," was all she could manage to say. She couldn't help to smile, but she knew it’s intensity may tell her father more about her feelings than she'd like for him to know. She turned around so as not to face him, and motioned with her hand for him to leave the room.

Captain Walker would have liked to hear his daughter's side of the mysterious conversation, but was content not to. All in good time, he thought to himself as he complied with her wishes and stepped outside into the warm, tropical morning air. He picked up the newspaper and sat down in a chair on the front porch. Before opening it, however, he scanned up and down the street, looking for an "unexpected" guest to arrive.

"Hi yourself. I was just wondering... do you have any plans for today?" Jimmy asked.

"Oh, I don't know. I was thinking about spending the day with my boyfriend, but I don't know if I will or not," Callie teased. "Why, do YOU have plans for today or something?"

"Yeah, I was thinking about going to the beach and scoping out the babes. Maybe I’ll pick up a few of them," Jimmy replied.

"Whatever!" Callie said, playing along.

"I wasn't planning on taking you or anything, though. I just thought I'd call you and tell you that," he quipped.

"It’s not like I would have gone anyway, gear-head. Don't flatter yourself."

"Fine."

"Fine," she countered.

"I'm hanging up now," he told her.

"Whatever," she repeated sarcastically.

"Click!"

"The time allotted for you to dial has been exceeded. Please hang up and try your call again," she said, mimicking a recorded voice.

This meaningless, lighthearted conversation went on for quite a while, because both lost track of time. But somewhere in the senseless chatter, Jimmy said he'd pick her up and they'd go do something. Callie asked him to give her some time to get ready first.

Ana came over before Jimmy did, and she hung out with Callie until he arrived. Pedro was with him, and the twins kept quizzing them and bugging them about what went on with them the night before. They finally confessed their plans to leave Brazil together, and when Pedro and Ana still wouldn't leave them alone, Jimmy and Callie decided to go to Johnny’s house in order to get away from them. When they arrived at Johnny’s house, Jimmy went in first and held the door open for Callie after him.

"Hi Jim," Johnny said, hardly noticing him. "I didn't expect you back so soon. I thought you were..." Then Johnny saw Callie walk in, and he quickly rose to his feet and walked over to them. "Hey Jimbo, is this your woman?" he questioned him with a curious grin on his face.

"I'm not anybody's woman," Callie returned firmly but politely. She looked at Johnny with a confident smirk that announced that she wasn't going to tolerate any amount of belittlement from anyone just because she was a woman. Jimmy was secretly impressed by her fortitude, as he had always been whenever she stood her ground. "So you're Jimmy’s brother, huh?" she asked him. She was amazed by how much Johnny reminded her of Barek. If she'd known him when Barek first showed up at Swans Crossing, she would have been much more tolerant of him, for Jimmy’s sake. She could now see how easy it was for Jimmy to sympathize with Barek, and how easy her suspicion of him would appear to Jimmy as rude.

"Johnny, I'm going to spend a few hours alone with Callie," he informed his brother. "So make yourself scarce."

Johnny’s eyes widened involuntarily, and he smiled slyly. He glanced at Callie, who looked pleasantly contented at knowing what was in store for her. "Um... yeah, sure," he replied, flabbergasted. He was surprised by Jimmy’s boldness. He opened the door behind the couple. "See you guys later." Before he stepped out, he winked and smiled at Jimmy knowingly.

"Don't rush back, " Callie said cheerfully as the door closed. They waited a few seconds until they heard Johnny’s Mercedes start up and drive away slowly. Then they faced each other. Callie put her arms on Jimmy’s shoulders and he tightened his arms around her slim waist, pulling her close to him.

As their lips met, she closed her arms, returning his embrace. They kissed slowly, gently at first... relishing the moment. Their kiss soon became more passionate. Jimmy led her to the couch and they sat down. They continued for a few minutes, but then he painfully weaned himself from Callie’s lips and loosened his embrace.

"Umm... could I get you anything?" he managed to ask.

Callie laughed, and he smiled back at her. The question was totally unexpected, and she was at a loss for words. She suddenly realized she couldn't remember any name of any drink.

"How about a Coke?" Jimmy suggested.

"Oh yeah, that would be fine." She smiled at him, trying to imply that that's what she'd had in mind. As soon as she'd spoken, she couldn't remember what she'd agreed on having.

"Cool. Be right back," he said, getting up. She held onto his hand loosely until he walked away, then let it fall playfully. She watched him, transfixed, until he disappeared into the kitchen. Then she relaxed, sitting back and savoring the glorious situation she was in. I'm in Heaven, she thought. I'm not complaining a bit, but I sure wish I had my friends to share this with. Then she had an idea. "Jimmy, do you mind if I call Glory?" she asked excitedly.

"Go ahead, Walker Woman," his disembodied voice emanated from the kitchen, along with the sound of ice being dropped in glasses. Callie took the phone and placed an international call to Swans Crossing, USA.

"Hello?" Glory's familiar, cheerful voice erupted in her ear.

Callie immediately felt like she was back home in Swans Crossing. "Hey Glory, what's up?" she asked, unable to suppress a warm smile upon hearing Glory's friendly voice.

"CALLIE!" Glory shrieked, sounding overjoyed. "What have you been doing? Why haven't you called?"

"I meant to. I just never got around to it. Sorry," she explained cheerfully. Before getting back together with Jimmy, she felt so homesick that hearing the voices of her friends would only have made her feel worse. So she dreaded the idea of speaking with them. But now it was something she relished.

"Callie, we miss you so much! Have ...you met Jimmy yet?" Glory asked hesitantly. She knew Jimmy was a sensitive subject to bring up with her. "He went down there to see you."

"Um yeah," Callie replied, trying to suppress her laughter. Then she whispered, "We're back together. I mean, we're really back together."

"That's great!" Glory exclaimed enthusiastically. "We've been hoping you guys would work everything out. I mean, you guys deserve it after all you've been through."

"I know, I couldn't be happier," Callie told her honestly.

"So, how ‘really’ back together are you?"

"Glory, he looked in my eyes and told me he loves me."

"That's so romantic!" she gushed. "Did you tell him you love him back?"

"Yes..."

"Have you seen him today?"

"He's with me right now. We're alone at his brother's house," Callie explained.

"Is he listening?"

"No, he's in the kitchen."

"Having fun?" Glory asked slyly.

"Yeah..." Callie laughed.

"I see." Glory laughed knowingly in return. "Wait, I'm going to put you on hold a sec..."

A minute later, the line exploded with voices. "Callie!" "How are you doing, Callie?" "Hey!"

Callie recognized the voices of Sandy, Sydney, and Mila. Glory had called them and put them all on extension. Callie felt overjoyed at talking with all her friends again. She hadn't felt so at home since she'd left Swans Crossing months before. She chatted with them a few minutes. Then Jimmy walked back in the living room carrying two glasses. He handed Callie one and sat down beside her.

"Is Garrett there?" he said.

"I’ll ask," she replied. "Glory, Jimmy wants to talk to Garrett."

"Oh man, this is going to be great!" Glory exclaimed. "Shhh, you guys..." A minute later, Glory brought Garrett into her room told him who it was.

"Clayton?" he asked.

"Yeah man, I'm here," Jimmy answered.

"Hey, I'm glad you made it down there okay," Garrett told him. "Glory's acting all excited over something. How are things going with Callie?"

"Couldn't be better. She's with me right now, and we're more together than we've ever been," Jimmy commented, smiling at Callie.

She smiled back at him, and then got up. "I’ll be right back," she said.

"Okay," he replied. After she left, Jimmy told Garrett in a low voice, "Man, we are so together. Everything is so perfect between us."

"I knew it would happen sooner or later. Everyone knows you guys were meant for each other," Garrett remarked.

"Coming here was the smartest thing I ever did, Garrett," Jimmy confided to him. "It wasn't easy at first. But then we just opened up to each other and I told her how much I love her."

"How did she take it?"

"She kinda had tears in her eyes. She was still pretty hurt from that argument we had back in Swans Crossing, and there was a lot of uneasiness and stuff. But we finally said we love each other, and it was like a big weight had been lifted off our shoulders."

"How long have you guys been together now?"

"Since last night. We were alone on the beach and everything went just perfectly."

"Just how perfectly?" Garrett asked slyly.

"Well, that didn't start until later. But man, she's a great kisser." They both laughed. Then both were surprised to hear the line explode in additional laughter.

"What the...?!" Jimmy exclaimed.

Callie walked back in the room, laughing heartily. "Gotcha, Jimmy!" she said.

"Glory!" Garrett shouted angrily. Glory could be heard in the background laughing as well.

"Ooooh, loverboy," Sydney said between laughter.

"Happy Birthday, Mis-ter Pre-si-dent..." Mila mocked, doing a surprisingly good Marilyn Monroe impersonation.

"Me next, Jimmy!" Sandy exclaimed.

"Man, can't a guy have a decent, private conversation?" Jimmy asked, half-joking.

"It didn't sound too decent to me," Sydney commented.

"You should talk, Sydney," Jimmy countered.

"I'm not saying anything," Garrett announced.

"You'd better not, Booth. Or I’ll tell them about the time..."

"Sydney, shut up!" Garrett shouted. Sydney chuckled knowingly. "I'd better go, Jimmy," Garrett said. "Take care of Callie."

"You know it, man. Later Garrett. Later you guys," Jimmy told them.

"Wait, let me talk," Callie said, and Jimmy handed her the receiver.

"So Callie," Sydney began. "Gonna be busy tonight, huh?"

Callie laughed nervously. "Yeah, maybe. We'll see." She glanced at Jimmy, who was sipping his Coke and smiling at her.

"Well, don't do anything I wouldn't do," Sydney instructed her.

"Sydney, coming from you, that doesn't mean a whole lot," Callie replied rather matter-of-factly, but cheerfully.

"I know," she quipped, and everyone burst into laughter again.

"Callie, follow your heart. You can't go wrong if you let love lead the way," Glory advised.

"Oh, give me a break," Garrett muttered in the background.

Jimmy put his Coke down and put his arms around Callie. She playfully screamed in surprise and laughed. He began making growling sounds into the receiver. "Guys, I think Jimmy wants to borrow me for a while," she told them.

"Callie, Swans Crossing hasn't been the same without you. Say you'll come back," Sandy whined.

"Thanks, Sandy. I’ll certainly come back if I can. Hopefully soon." She smiled at Jimmy knowingly. "I have to go you guys. I love every one of you." After what seemed like five minutes of good-byes and well wishes, Callie finally hung up the phone.

Glory set her phone in the cradle back in Swans Crossing and sighed. "That was really fun, but I sure miss Callie," she commented to Garrett.

"Yeah," he replied. "I wish Jimmy were here, too. There's so much going on right now. I never even got to tell him about me and Sydney."

Glory looked at him seriously. "Speaking of that, Garrett, when are you planning on telling Grant that you and Sydney are an item?"

Garrett gave his sister a distasteful look. "Why do you think I should do that? It's obvious that he liked her too, since he thought it was her he was asking to homecoming. It's only going to make things tense around here if I tell him."

She nodded. "True," she said slowly. "But don't you think that he's eventually going to find out?"

Garrett shrugged nonchalantly. "Nah, he's probably going back to school pretty soon anyway."

Glory avoided Garrett's eyes, and stood up. She crossed the room, careful to keep her back to him. "I'm not too sure about that," she said vaguely, in a distant voice.

Since Garrett knew his sister pretty well, he picked up on it right away. "What's that matter, Glory?"

She chewed on her bottom lip, deep in thought. "I heard Grant talking to Mom and Dad last night."

"And?" Garrett prompted.

"And... Daddy says he might not be able to afford Grant's tuition for another semester. You know how things are financially for us."

Garrett rolled his eyes, thinking of his back-breaking job at Swans. "Don't I know it," he muttered. "So what would happen to Grant?"

Glory looked at him carefully. She knew he wasn't going to react well to what she was about to say. "Well," she told him slowly. "I guess he would just stay here."

After Callie had hung up the phone with the girls in Swans Crossing, Jimmy sat beside her with his arm around her shoulders. She picked up her Coke and sipped it. She grinned at him and Jimmy just looked at her with a slight smile on his face, shaking his head in semi-disbelief.

"That wasn't very nice, Walker Woman," he remarked.

"What?" she asked.

"Letting the girls listen in on my conversation with Garrett."

"Oh, that? Well, who said I was nice?" she replied, raising an eyebrow and smiling slyly at him. He smiled back at her knowingly.

Callie changed her position and leaned on him, putting her head on his shoulder. "That's a nice stereo system," she commented, looking at the massive entertainment center in front of them.

"Yeah, Johnny likes everything top-of-the-line," Jimmy explained.

"Does he have any movies?"

"Yeah, he has about every movie ever made. Want to watch something?" he asked. Callie nodded.

After deciding on a movie from Johnny’s extensive collection, they watched it with the lights out. Jimmy was laying on his back on the couch, and Callie was laying next to him. It was getting late in the evening, and the atmosphere inside was becoming dark and cozy. Little was said as they watched the movie, but neither paid a great deal of attention to it. It was more of an excuse for them to just spend quality time together. The real gratification came from just being together.

At one point, Callie broke the silence between them. "Your heartbeat is so faint."

Jimmy was a little taken aback. He thought she was just lying there watching the movie. "To tell you the truth, Walker Woman, I didn't think I could be this relaxed without being asleep or something," he told her.

"I almost went to sleep earlier," Callie said. But she didn't want to confess that being with him was too exciting to allow sleep. Jimmy ran his hands slowly up and down her back, and she closed her eyes, cherishing how good it felt. "Jimmy, can I ask you something?"

He picked up the remote and lowered the volume on the entertainment center. "What is it?"

"I was just wondering... where are we going to live back in Swans Crossing?"

"Maybe over the Tool n’ Die, where Barek used to live. But, I mean, you don't have to live with me. If you didn't want to do that, you could stay with Glory or something. It’s completely your choice."

Callie raised up and looked at him. "No, I want to. I really do." Then she kissed him tenderly. "I want to," she said again between kisses, now whispering. They kissed for awhile, then suddenly, there was a loud, firm knock on the door. Callie raised up quickly, surprised, with a somewhat angry look on her face.

"Who could that be?" Jimmy wondered, insulted by the interruption.

They scrambled off the couch and walked to the door. Jimmy opened it, and there stood Captain Walker, with a stern look on his face.

Sydney sat at her window, working on her geometry homework. It wasn't difficult by any means -- in fact, school was coming to Sydney quite easily this year, but she was very involved in it and didn't hear when her mother entered the room.

"Sydney?" Mayor Rutledge called, trying to bring her daughter back to earth.

Sydney snapped back to attention. "Oh, Mother. I didn't see you come in." She set her pencil down on the book and smiled. "Is something up?"

"No," Mayor Rutledge answered, returning the smile. "I just wanted to talk to you about something,"

"Go ahead," she said with a shrug.

Mayor Rutledge sighed, as if she didn't quite know where to start. Sydney frowned... whenever her mother started a conversation with a sigh, it was never good news.

"Is something wrong?" she asked carefully.

"No, no, nothing's wrong," her mother replied, playing with the pin on her blazer. "I just have something I need to discuss with you, which you probably aren't going to like too much."

"Oh," was all Sydney could say.

"It's just that, well, I've been asked to speak at the capitol for a convention," she started.

Sydney exhaled with relief. "I thought you said I wasn't going to like it," she said, smiling. "I think that's really good news."

"Yes, I do too, but the thing is the convention is being held the day after Christmas. So I'd have to be gone for most of your vacation from school," Mayor Rutledge explained. "I know we usually take a trip over the holiday season but--"

Sydney hugged her mother. "Would you stop worrying? I'll be all right here," she assured her mother.

"Are you positive? I mean, I know it might be kind of lonely, but you'll have Ralph..." Mayor Rutledge prattled on. As her mother spoke, Sydney's eyes lit up. She had a perfect idea... and this was the perfect time to bring it up.

"Well," Sydney broke in, putting on a disappointed face. "I will feel kind of lonely, your not being home and all. Maybe I could throw a little get together, you know, have a few friends over to keep me company?" she asked hopefully.

Her mother thought about this proposition for a few minutes. "Will you promise to make it a small gathering?"

Sydney nodded eagerly. "Close friends only. Very exclusive."

"And Ralph must be present," she instructed.

"He'll be the guest of honor if you want him to be," Sydney offered. Her mother just gave her a cross look.

"And must you invite Grant Booth's son?"

Now it was Sydney's turn to scowl. "Mother," she began warningly.

"All right, all right. Agreed," Mayor Rutledge gave in. Sydney embraced her.

"Thank you!" she exclaimed. As she hugged her mother, a wide smile spread across her face. It was going to be the party of the century.

Captain Walker scowled at Jimmy silently, as if he were looking at trash.

"Dad..." Callie said, standing behind Jimmy. "What are you...?"

Captain Walker looked past Jimmy, not even speaking to him. "Callie, I am so disappointed in you."

"We... we were just..."

"I don't want to hear it," he broke in sharply. "I know all about your plans to go back to Swans Crossing together. Well, guess what? It isn't going to happen." He pulled something out of his pocket and held it up. "Take a look." Callie studied it, not recognizing it at first. Then the Captain opened it, and she saw that it was her passport. "You're not going anywhere without this."

Callie didn't know what to say. She realized there was no way she could go back with Jimmy without her passport. She suddenly felt extremely helpless and very angry. Everything was ruined! She could only glare at her father furiously, all her dreams fading away as harsh reality began to rear it’s ugly head.

"Come on Callie, we're going home," Captain Walker commanded. "You're not going to see this low life mechanic ever again." He reached out to Callie, as if to take her by the arm. But Jimmy moved between them. "Get out of my way," the Captain sneered at him.

"No," Jimmy said firmly, not backing down.

"Callie, come on. We're going home," he told her.

"I'm not going anywhere with you," she replied slowly.

"I’m warning you, Callie," the Captain said more firmly this time, attempting to walk around Jimmy. But he stood his ground. "Get out of my way!"

"No," Jimmy responded flatly. "Callie isn't going anywhere. She's staying with me."

Captain Walker made one last attempt to move around Jimmy, but realized it was fruitless. Jimmy wasn't about to let him near her.

"You're going to be sorry, Clayton," Captain Walker threatened him with gritted teeth. "I'm calling the police. I'm going to have you deported for kidnapping." He walked away angrily.

Jimmy watched him for a few seconds, dumbfounded, not sure of what to do next. Then he angrily slammed the door.

"I can't believe this is happening!" Callie yelled, throwing her head back in frustration.

"How did he know?" Jimmy wondered angrily.

Callie composed herself and looked at him. "Pedro and Ana," she concluded. "They were the only ones who knew."

"They wouldn't do something like that," Jimmy protested, although he was becoming more uncertain by the second. "Why? Why would they tell him?"

"Who knows? I thought they were our friends!"

"It doesn't matter now, though. He knows all about us. The police will be here soon," Jimmy said, sitting down on the couch and looking despondent.

Callie shot him a frantic look. "Jimmy, we’ve got to leave! They can't find us. If they do, we may never see each other again!"

Humming to herself, something Sydney rarely ever did, she grabbed a dark gray cardigan and headed towards her front door. She had to tell Garrett all about the good news: that her mother was going to let her throw a party. Sydney could picture it now -- her friends standing around dressed up for the holidays, helping her decorate the large tree in the living room, sipping apple cider, and exchanging gifts. Maybe Callie would even be able to come back and visit, since she had talked to her that afternoon.

"Yes, it should work out perfectly," Mayor Rutledge's voice said from behind the slightly ajar door of her study. Sydney, who was reaching for the doorknob, stopped in the foyer. "Well, all you need to do is make the arrangements and it should be just fine." The mayor paused, allowing whomever she was speaking to respond. After a moment or two, she let out a girlish giggle. "Oh, you," she gushed, still laughing.

The hair on the back of Sydney's neck stood up instinctively. She wasn't sure, but there was something very mysterious about her mother's conversation... it almost sounded like--

That's silly, Sydney, she quickly assured herself, pushing all of those thoughts out of her head. There's just no way.

"Leave?" Jimmy asked Callie slowly. "Go where? There's nothing left for us here in Brazil."

"I don't know," she answered, feeling helpless.

Then Jimmy said thoughtfully, "Johnny has a Harley in the garage. It’s got a huge fuel tank. You wouldn't believe how fast it can go."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

Jimmy’s despairing look faded into a sly grin. Callie smiled back at him knowingly. He stood up and embraced her roughly, kissing her hard. She welcomed it, kissing him back.

Suddenly, Jimmy pulled back, still holding her in his arms. He had a look on his face as if he were realizing something. He began turning his head and scanning the room.

Callie looked up at him questioningly. "What is it?"

He let go of her and started heading into another room. "I’ll be right back."

Jimmy, come on... she thought to herself, peeking outside through the curtains.

Shortly, Jimmy walked back into the room. "I've got the keys, and about two-thousand dollars Johnny has lying around," he announced. "Pocket change to him, so I'm sure he won't mind. And if he does, tough. I mean, I'm in enough trouble as it is. So what does it matter?" He smiled at Callie and she smiled back at him.

"I'm as deep in this as you are, Clayton," she told him. "Now let's ride."

He kissed her one more time, and they stepped outside. They listened for sirens, but thankfully they heard nothing. Jimmy opened the garage and, wearing a helmet, soon brought out the Harley.

It’s beautiful, Callie thought.

Jimmy gave her a helmet. "Get on."

She complied eagerly. She couldn't wait to ride it. "When you get tired, I'm taking over," she said excitedly from behind him.

"Fine by me, Walker Woman. We're outta here!" Jimmy fired up the motorcycle and Callie was startled at the sheer volume of the engine. He let out one of the trademark howls that he did when he was in an especially good mood, and gunned the engine. Their heads went back in unison as the motorcycle bolted down the driveway and onto the darkened road.

Saja strolled through the halls of SCH, subconsciously searching for Sandy. Ever since the homecoming dance the two of them were spending nearly everyday together. They were sort of unofficially official, and this had put Saja in a very jovial mood... until he spotted his sister walking towards him with a look he knew very well.

"Saja," she called, waving to him.

"Oh boy," he muttered to himself, walking over to Sophia's locker. "Yeah?" he asked, not disguising the annoyance in his voice.

"I have one little favor to ask you," she told him matter-of- factly, smoothing out her dark hair.

He sighed despairingly. "What is it now, Sophia?"

She placed her hands on her hips. "Is that any way for you to talk to your sister? Let alone a senior." She shook her head disgustedly. "Anyway, I just have something I'm planning for my winter vacation, and I need you to help me pull one over on Mom and Dad."

Saja shook his head firmly. "If I'm going to end up in trouble like the time you used me as a cover to see a rated R movie when you were thirteen and I ended up stranded at Little League practice for three hours, there's no way."

"I'm surprised you remember that," she remarked loftily. "Anyway, it's nothing like that. I just need you to go along with my story and everything will be fine."

He checked his watch. "Hurry up, what is it?"

"Well, see me and a few of my friends want to go skiing in Vermont," Sophia began.

"What's wrong with that? You're seventeen. I'm sure Mom and Dad wouldn't be opposed to that, even though one should be doing something a little more important on such a spiritual holiday such as Christmas."

"Saja," she said warningly. "The reason they would never go for it is because I'm going with my friends and Edward."

Saja groaned. "You’re still seeing that frat boy?" he asked distastefully. "Well, you're right, they'd never go for it."

"That's why I'm telling them that I'm going to visit the University of Vermont. You'll go along with that, right?" she questioned him. Saja opened her mouth to protest, but Sophia continued on. "Great! Thanks," she said, without even waiting for a response.

"But Sophia!" he yelled at her, but she was already half way down the hall... and there was nothing he could do about it.

Jimmy opened the front door and hung his leather jacket on the coat rack.

"Daddy!" yelled the little auburn-haired child who ran up to him. Jimmy got down on one knee and greeted his three-year old son with open arms.

"How's my little Hell's Angel today?" he said, picking him up and kissing him on the cheek.

"I'm okay," Johnny replied.

"Daddy loves you, do you know that?"

"Uh-huh," he said innocently.

"Do you love Daddy, too?" Jimmy asked, smiling warmly at his son.

"Uh-huh," he said again.

"’Uh-huh?’ Is that all you can say?" Jimmy wondered, trying to suppress his laughter.

"Uh-huh," Johnny said once again. Jimmy laughed openly, and Johnny laughed heartily with his father. Jimmy put him down and they both walked up to a pile of toys on the living room floor.

"Son, looks like you've been decorating the house again."

"Look, Daddy," Johnny said, holding up a toy race car. "It won't go."

"Let's take a look at it." Jimmy sat down on the floor beside his son. He examined the car momentarily, then turned it over and removed the battery cover. "Well here's the problem. It’s out of gas. Looks like it has an oil leak, too. This may be pretty expensive," he commented. "How are you going to pay? Cash or charge?"

"Umm, charge."

"Okay, I hope you're not over your limit."

"I'm not," Johnny told him innocently, not really knowing what his father was talking about, but enjoying his attention.

"Here goes," Jimmy said, doing make-believe work on the car and making funny sounds with his mouth, and Johnny laughed heartily once again. Finally, Jimmy pushed the loosened battery back into place and the car came alive in his hands.

"Yea!" yelled Johnny. "Daddy, you're cool!"

Callie stepped quietly into the room, out of their sight. She watched Jimmy on the floor playing alongside Johnny almost as if he were one of his playmates, not his father. It never ceased to fascinate her how Johnny brought out a hidden side of Jimmy that she'd never seen before. "Are you two gear-heads finished trashing my living room? Dinner's going to get cold," Callie told them.

Jimmy immediately stood up and greeted his beloved wife with a kiss. "I am now." He embraced her and kissed her again.

"Jimmy, come on, stop." She laughed, trying to hold him back. They glanced at Johnny, who stood nearby grinning at them.

"Supper smells delicious. I'm starving," Jimmy said. Then he asked Callie, "So what's up tomorrow?"

"I'm going to be checking on the other Tool n’ Dies," she replied. "Newport has some trainees, and then the Boston manager called to tell me they had a small fire. Not much damage, but I have to do an assessment and make sure everyone's following proper safety procedures." She gave him a pointed look. "You shouldn't have shown them how to make grilled cheese sandwiches with the blow torch."

"Ha ha, very funny," Jimmy quipped. "Yeah, I heard about the fire. I would have gone myself, but I was too busy. Can you believe it? Ralph is STILL having problems with that jet ski. I must have worked four hours on it. With the money he's put into that thing, he could have bought an entire fleet of them by now."

"I guess it must have sentimental value to him," she remarked. Then she saw Johnny walking to the dining room. "Hey, hey, hey, where do you think you're going?"

"I want supper," he said.

"Come here first," she told him. She knelt down and wrapped her arms around her son lovingly. "What did I tell you about putting away your toys?"

"Oh, yeah." Johnny smiled guiltily.

"Oh yeah." Callie laughed, mocking him. She gave him a kiss, and he giggled in her arms. Jimmy stood beside them, quietly admiring Callie.

Jimmy suddenly woke up in the motel room he had gotten the night before, and had to smile at the dream he had of this possible future with Callie. It was so beautiful, and idealistic... but then his smile faded. He wasn't sure why, but he was disturbed by the dream, too. Quietly, so he wouldn't disturb Callie who was sleeping, he went out on the balcony of their room. As he realized their current situation, he asked himself, Would I want to bring up a child who was alienated from his grandfather and uncle because of our selfishness? It was a tough question for someone his age to contemplate, but suddenly, thoughts of lonely holidays and no family interaction flashed in his head. It hit him like a ton of bricks. Being with Callie seemed like the thing to do now, but they were going about it the wrong way. He felt truly ashamed of himself for running away with her.

He walked back into the motel room, trying to be careful not to wake her. As soon as he quietly stepped into the room, Callie sat up in bed, obviously shaken. She looked confused, and was breathing heavily. "Callie, are you all right?" Jimmy asked, sitting down on the bed beside her.

"I'm okay," she replied, making it clear that she didn't want to talk about it. "I just had some dumb nightmare." She tried to change the subject. "Where were you?" she asked, waking up a little more.

"I stepped outside for a minute to get some air," he said, still studying her with concern. "What's wrong?"

"I... just had a bad dream, that's all," Callie told him, somewhat embarrassed.

Jimmy put his arms around her to comfort her, and she put her head on his shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Callie sighed reluctantly. "I just dreamt that Dad showed up here with the police and had you arrested," she explained. "It’s no big deal."

"Well, you don't have to worry. That's not going to happen, Walker Woman. I’ll never leave you," he assured her. Although he was sincere in not wanting to leave her, he wondered how he was going to justify this lie when the time came to end this charade go back to Rio. "Let's try to get some sleep, Callie," he said, lying down with her gently, still in each other's arms. "It’s still early. We've got a lot of rest to catch up on."

"Thanks for being here, Clayton. It really means a lot," she told him, lying snugly in his arms, her eyes closed.

"I'm never going to leave you, Callie," Jimmy promised her again. "I love you."

"That's so nice to hear," she commented quietly, subtly urging him to repeat himself.

"I won't leave you, Walker Woman," he whispered to her, realizing she needed some reassurance at the moment. "I love you more than anything in the world." They embraced tightly, and a contented smile graced her lips.

Jimmy felt his heart break as he looked at her happy expression, assuming that no one would ever separate them... he knew it was going to happen eventually, but the fact that she didn’t realize it made him feel even more helpless. Why are you making this harder on us, Callie? he thought to himself somewhat sadly, although he felt no animosity towards her. Only compassion... and perhaps pity.

After school, Mila shuffled through the mail before taking the elevator up to her room. The maid had brought it in, and her mother had obviously not taken a look at it yet. A small, thin letter fell out of the pile, and Mila bent down to pick it up.

It was addressed "To the parents of Mila Rosnovsky", and was from Swans Crossing High School. Mila's stomach fluttered as she looked at it. Even though she had never attended a real school, she knew that it wasn't good news to get a letter home from school. She quickly glanced around her, and seeing that her mother was not in the room, she tore the letter open.

To whom it may concern,
I am writing to acknowledge that Mila Rosnovsky is not
doing well in my geometry class. She has been doing work from
other classes during my class, and has not been understanding
the material. Her class participation is low, and her test
scores are very poor. I suggest that Mila work with me after
school sometime, or gets herself a tutor in the subject. If
you have any questions, call 555-7235.
-- Andrew Pahl

Mila's throat had gone completely dry, and she ran her fingers nervously through her blond hair. There was no way she was letting her mother see this letter. If she knew she was doing poorly in another class, she would make her give up cheerleading and her singing career right away.

She stuffed the letter in the back pocket of her jeans. "I'm not going to let that happen," she declared aloud, and headed up to her bedroom.

It was late afternoon, but the sun was still up. Callie walked back over to the spot under the trees where Jimmy had parked the Harley. When she got there, she saw that he was sitting down on the ground silently with his back against the motorcycle. He looked lost in thought and was staring off into space. He didn't seem to notice Callie approaching him, so she stepped closer to him, hoping to catch his attention. It didn't work. Jimmy appeared to be completely oblivious to his surroundings, almost as if he were in a trance. Callie studied his face carefully. It was wooden and distant. The look in his eyes was unrecognizable and scared her. The only explanation she could come up with for Jimmy's lack of expression was that something was seriously troubling him.

What's wrong with him? Callie wondered to herself. He must be upset about something. But how could that be when we've been living out a fantasy for days now? For the very first time, we're completely alone together. No adults, no responsibilities, just the two of us. I thought this was what we both wanted.

Callie sat down on the ground beside Jimmy in an effort to snap him back to attention. "Jimmy?" she called softly. "Earth to Jimmy... come in Jimmy," she said more loudly, doing a mock impersonation of a radio broadcaster.

Finally, he snapped out of his trance and looked at Callie. "Hey, Walker Woman," he greeted her with a smile. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. "What's up?"

"That's what I should be asking you," she replied. "Why were you so quiet just a few seconds ago? I kept calling your name but it took you forever to answer me."

"Oh." Jimmy paused, somewhat sheepishly. "I was just thinking...."

"About what?"

For a moment, Jimmy contemplated giving her a short, light- hearted answer, but he knew that she wouldn't buy whatever he made up. She was already sensing that something major was on his mind and he didn't want to lie to her. He had been thinking about this for awhile now. In fact, he had been thinking about it ever since they left on their motorcycle adventure, and he couldn't keep quiet about it any longer.

"Jimmy?" Callie prompted him, her voice and expression full of concern. "What's wrong?"

He took a deep breath. "I was thinking about your dad," he admitted. "I feel so guilty about taking you away from him."

Callie reached for Jimmy's hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "Hey, that's not your fault, okay? I was the one who made the decision to leave Rio with you. You didn't force me to come with you, it was entirely my choice. In fact, I was the one who came up with the idea for us to run away, believe it or not. Remember?" She laughed slightly, trying to make him smile. "So don't blame yourself."

Jimmy looked into her eyes, wanting to believe that what she was saying was true, that running away together was the right thing to do. But he knew deep down that it wasn't. "I can't help blaming myself, Walker Woman. Look, I've thought about what we did for awhile now and began realizing that it was wrong of me to try and take you away like this."

"Jimmy, I already told you, you didn't take me away. I agreed to come with you, remember? Will you just stop blaming yourself?" Callie replied, her tone still light.

He shook his head, his expression still serious. "You may have agreed to come with me, but I should've stopped you when I had the chance. I was only thinking of myself. Now I keep thinking about your dad and how much he must miss you... and how much he probably hates me now."

The carefree expression left her face as she began to understand how troubled he really was. "Don't worry about my dad, okay? If our running away together is anyone's fault, it's his. I don't care how angry he may be with the two of us right now. He brought it on himself for not letting us be together back in Rio."

"But I can't blame him for hating me," Jimmy insisted. "What I did was wrong; it was stupid! What was I thinking when I decided to take Johnny's Harley and ride off into the sunset with you? That's not reality, it's just a fantasy. We can't keep running away forever. It isn't fair to your father and it isn't fair to you. I was only thinking of myself, and how I'd do anything I could to be with you. But now I understand that if I really love you, I wouldn't try to take you away from your father. I'd never do anything to you that would ruin your life and make you resent me later on."

"Being away from you is the only thing that would ruin my life," Callie told him, her voice breaking with suppressed emotion.

But her voice was so soft that he couldn't hear her, and he continued on, "That's why I think it's time that we head back to Rio."

As the "Moving Brazil" storyline comes to a close I would like to thank Miss Swan and Maxiom for their immense help and writing submissions. This storyline, which was introduced several chapters ago, was created by Miss Swan, and she and Maxiom wrote many great scenes, scenarios, and chapters for this story. I could never had come up with some of the things that they have, and I would like to give them both a huge thanks! They are both very talented writers, and I feel honored to have had their writing published with mine.

Chapter Thirty-One

Thanksgiving went on without a hitch at the Booth's, despite Mr. and Mrs. Booth’s worries. They managed to scrape up enough money for a nice, home cooked meal. It was like any other Thanksgiving, and the kids didn't notice the foreboding atmosphere amongst their parents, but Mr. and Mrs. Booth were worried about how they'd pay the bills... and how they'd afford Christmas.

Mila's mother had a huge staff of cooks create the Thanksgiving feast to end all feasts... and they shared a lovely meal, just the two of them. But Mila's mind was somewhere else... worrying about her grades, and her fight with Sydney.

Things at the Rutledge home weren't much different from those at the Rosnovsky's. Sydney, Mayor Rutledge, and Ralph had a quiet dinner... very quiet because Sydney was a little distracted. She kept thinking of her mothers vague vacation to speak at the capitol, and the strange phone conversation she had overheard. Was there a connection? And if so... what was it?

Upon returning to Swans Crossing, Jimmy did nothing but mope around the house. He kept replaying what had happened back in Brazil:

"NO!" Callie exclaimed firmly when Jimmy told her they needed to go back to Rio. "We can't go back there, Jimmy! Don't you get it? The moment we get back to Rio, my dad is gonna separate us! He'll lock me up forever and he'll definitely ship you back to Swans Crossing as fast as he can. And judging from what we've tried to pull now, running away like this, he'll probably try to arrest you for kidnapping! And we'll never see each other again. Jimmy, I don't want to- I can't lose you."

Jimmy took her in his arms and hugged her tightly. "I know. I can't lose you, either. I just don't know what else to do. I'd never be able to forgive myself as long as I knew you were being kept away from your only family just because of me. We really can't keep running away forever."

As Jimmy continued to hold Callie in his arms, she suddenly quieted. Her anxious cries and tears stopped. Her silence scared him more than her yelling had.

"Walker Woman?" Jimmy asked gently. "Are you okay?"

Callie lifted her head from his chest and looked up at him. Her face was still tear-stained, but it had a sad calmness to it, as if she had realized something that depressed her but she knew it was for the best. "Yeah," she told him, her voice wavering slightly. "You're right, you know," Callie admitted slowly. She knew in her heart that every word that was coming from Jimmy's mouth was the truth. She just didn't want to face it. And it was so ironic, because Callie was usually the one to say things like that. She was the one who prevented people from getting into any trouble and always had a mature, reasonable approach to tackling dilemmas. But ever since she was faced with the danger of losing Jimmy, every sense of logic slipped out of her head. This was the first time in her life that she felt incredibly desperate, wanted something so badly that she was willing to go to extremes and do something impulsive and irrational to hold on to it. If she didn't quite know it before, Callie realized now that she truly loved Jimmy. She reached into her pocket, and pulled something out, carefully placing it in his hand.

"Here," she said. "I want you to have this."

Jimmy looked down, and saw a picture of him and Callie taken at Swans, right after the big concert a few months ago. They were smiling, looking completely carefree. "Where did you get this?"

"Glory gave it to me," she explained. "It helped me get through all the time we spent apart... and now I want you to have it."

He stared at it for several minutes before putting it inside his jacket. "Maybe.... I'm not good enough for you," he said, changing the subject. "It seems like all I've done since we met each other is hurt you. Maybe you deserve better than what I can give you."

"I want you," she told him without hesitation. "I don't care what happened between us in the past. What matters now is that we love each other."

"The past..." his voice trailed off as he recalled what they had been through upon their first encounter. All the meaningless fights, the suppressed longings, the denied emotions, and the pain of not being with one another sooner just because of their foolish pride, which always held them back. "Looking back on all that right now, I can't believe how much we hurt each other. I'm never going to do that to you again, Walker Woman. That's why I have to let you go back to your dad. I don't want to cause you any more pain than I already have."

"I'd do it all over again, relive all that pain again, just to be with you like this right now," she declared.

"I wish I could hold you forever," Jimmy told her, his voice just above a whisper.

"Never let go..." Callie murmured. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

"But we have to," he admitted, saying the words slowly and reluctantly. "For now," he quickly added. "But just in case this is the last time--"

"No," she interrupted. "Don't say that. We have to believe that we'll be together again someday... no matter how long it'll take."

"I know we will, Walker Woman," he agreed. "One day.... but for now, we need to accept that we'll probably be kept away from each other the minute we get back to Rio. This is gonna be our last moment together before..." He paused and sighed sadly. "Before they separate us."

They said nothing, but leaned together for one last kiss... kissing urgently for several moments so they would never forget exactly how the other felt.

"I love you," Callie told him firmly, as if trying to implant her words into his brain so he would never forget.

"I love you, too," Jimmy replied, stroking her face tenderly. "Always."

"Always."

Jimmy and Callie painfully released their arms from one another. Letting go was the hardest thing both had ever had to do. The emotional agony that both were enduring at this moment was so penetrating, it could be felt physically as well. As they left one another's grasp, both felt an incredible pang in their chests. It was as if someone was repeatedly stabbing them in the heart.

Captain Walker had not taken it well when he and Callie returned to Rio. He had looked at them, his expression stone cold, a disgusted look on his face, and then he slammed the door on Jimmy. The last thing he saw was Callie's face, crinkled with pain, stained with tears. He had nowhere else to go but home to Swans Crossing. When Jimmy arrived there, he got on his bike, and just rode around town. There was no snow yet, so he sped through the back roads as fast as he could, trying to escape the memory of Callie being pulled away from him, and their last good-bye. He stopped at the Tool n’ Die, which he discovered was in shambles after Garrett and Saja had taken such poor care of it. Besides, it brought back too many memories... he could almost hear Callie's voice in the shop. He pulled out the picture Callie had given him and tacked it to the wall. He closed the Tool n’ Die, and vowed not to open it until she was back in Swans Crossing and they were smiling the way they were in the picture.

Sandy had a much happier Thanksgiving, as she had a lot to be thankful for. Nancy, as well, ranked Thanksgiving of 1992 as one of her best ever. She ate a nice meal with her parents, and then Kevin came over just to wish her a happy Thanksgiving. He brought flowers for both Nancy and her mother. Needless to say, Mrs. Robbins was quite impressed.

Owen's Thanksgiving was pretty conventional, although his head was in the clouds. Neil's head, too, was in the clouds, although for a very different reason. Owen was smitten by Mila again, while Neil was working on coming up with a new project. UB2B was pretty much finished and ready to be tested, and he was getting restless. J.T.'s holiday was more of the same, he took countless calls from Neil who was trying to trouble shoot some equations, and he played the "Muffin Meets Moonbeam" board game with Katie six times. The highlight of his evening was when Glory called him, and they talked for an hour.

Saja's holiday was a little less uneventful... over turkey and mashed potatoes Sophia told Mr. and Mrs. DeCastro she wanted to go to the University of Vermont over Christmas break. She was well prepared-- she produced a detailed explanation of where she would stay (with a few college girls in a freshman dorm), and she displayed a glossy brochure of the university, full of pictures of the sprawling campus, and a list of courses she could possibly take if she decided to go to the U of V next fall. "It would be a great opportunity," Mrs. DeCastro agreed. The next thing Saja knew, Sophia had a check in her hot little hands, and Saja couldn't do anything about it. Sophia was going off to ski in Vermont with her boyfriend... and he couldn't tell a soul.

And thousands of miles away, Callie sat staring out the window at the foreign scenery. She had been staring for countless hours, not speaking to her father. He wasn't pleading with her to patch things up either. Instead, the house was eerily silent, and Callie was more depressed than ever. Without a word, she went into her bedroom. She picked up the phone once she had closed the door and dialed the Clayton's number. She knew her father wouldn't approve, but she didn't care. It had been so long since she'd even talked to Jimmy--well, a week--and she needed to hear his voice.

After three rings, the machine picked up. At the beep, Callie sighed into the receiver. "Hey Jimmy, it's me. I uh... well... happy Thanksgiving first of all. And I miss you," she said emotionally. Her call waiting beeped. "I gotta go. Bye," she whispered, and pressed the button on the side of the phone to answer the other call.

"Hello?" she said, quickly drying her tears.

"Is Captain Elia Walker there?" a male voice asked.

"Who's calling?" Callie questioned suspiciously.

"A colleague," the man answered in a curt tone.

Callie rolled her eyes and headed out of her room. "Dad!" she called. "Telephone!" `

"I didn't hear the phone ring," he said, raising one eyebrow.

"I was on it," Callie replied monotonously.

He picked up the living room extension, and waited until Callie hung up her phone before speaking. "Hello, this is Captain Walker."

"Captain," the voice said. "We have reports that we were right in the first place... Swans Crossing is where you need to be."

He slammed his fist against the table. "So I accepted this new job for nothing?"

"Looks that way," the man answered dryly. "We'll make sure that you get another sub to continue your research."

"Fine, fine. But are you absolutely sure? I don't really want to go back to Swans Crossing. I'm trying to keep my daughter away from this trouble-making mechanic," Captain Walker snapped bitterly.

"Hey," the man said. "If this isn't important to you..."

"It's important," the Captain insisted. "All right, book my daughter and I on a flight to the U.S. We'll pack and be ready in a few days." He set the phone in the cradle and exhaled a heavy sigh.

"Callie," he called up the stairs. "Pack your stuff. We're going back to Swans Crossing."

"What are you so hard at work on?" Garrett asked Sydney in the library at school the day after Thanksgiving vacation.

She held up her pad of paper and grinned. "I'm working on the guest list to my Christmas party."

"Christmas? It's only the beginning of December," Garrett said, snatching the paper away from her. She hit him in the side playfully.

"One has to be prepared," she answered.

"God, who are all these people?" he exclaimed, surveying the list. There were over seventy names on it, some people Garrett didn't even know.

"Friends, acquaintances, people... you know," she explained, waving her hand dismissively.

"Your mother will never let you have that many people at your house."

Sydney suddenly had a faraway look on her face. She had, when her mother first agreed to let her have the party, thought she was just going to invite the core group. But then she had overheard her mother's telephone conversation, and she knew in her heart of hearts that the mayor was up to something. So if Mother is going to hide something from me, well then I'm going to hide something from her. "Mother won't be home."

Garrett's eyes widened. "So you're throwing a party without her permission?"

Sydney thought back to the way her mother was abandoning her. "Why not? She'll never know."

Garrett smiled slyly and took Sydney's hand. "I'm there."

"’Have yourself a merry little Christmas, let the Yuletide gay, from now on our troubles will be miles away...’" Sandy sang in her choir class with ease. She was working on her solo for the SCH Christmas Festival, even though school had already ended for the day. From the back of the auditorium she heard applause.

She stopped singing and looked up. "Saja!"

"Beautiful... as always," he complimented her shyly.

She lowered her eyes. "Thanks, I'm just trying to get the notes right. We only have a week and a half until the concert."

"You'll do well. Just let your inner light guide you," Saja advised.

"You know," Sandy said as she gathered her sheet music and backpack. "What you've been saying lately makes a lot of sense."

"It does?" he asked in surprise.

"Yeah. You give good advice. Everything you've been telling me about letting my inner light guide me, and to project my hidden talents makes a lot of sense. And you're so intelligent."

Saja pasted on a phony smile. They were nice, all the things Sandy was saying, and no doubt she meant them... but in Saja's heart, he knew they weren't true. If he was so nice, such an upstanding person, so intelligent, he wouldn't be letting a person get away with lying... and he wouldn't be lying himself.

"I can't wait to get back!" Callie exclaimed eagerly, fidgeting with her tray on the airplane.

"I know," Captain Walker replied dryly. "You've said that five times already."

Although they weren't getting along completely... slowly but surely Callie and her father were making amends. Captain Walker didn't want to hold a grudge against his own daughter, even though her running away had terrified him. She should have known he wouldn't be able to handle another...

"Dad? Do you think I did the right thing by not telling anyone I was coming home?" Callie wondered, interrupting his thoughts.

"Well, my dear, I think you did indeed make the right decision," he answered distractedly. "What a great surprise for," Captain Walker cleared his throat, "all your friends."

Callie didn't look him in the eye. "Right," she echoed.

But there was an unspoken understanding between Callie and her father. Captain Walker knew that the second they stepped foot in Swans Crossing, Callie was going to run to the telephone and call Jimmy. He knew this, but didn't say a word about it. He knew that if he did, she would simply disobey him again, and this did more harm than good. His daughter was independent, headstrong, and for the most part made wise decisions. As long as she was safe he wouldn't have anything to worry about.

Glory was humming Christmas songs while J.T. leafed through a science magazine. Both had been waiting in the University of Maine's lounge for twenty minutes and there was still no sign on Neil or Carolyn.

"Where is he?" J.T. asked no one in particular, glancing at his watch. "That bonehead! We have work to do!"

"I know." Glory smiled slyly, then said, "I have work to do, too." She pulled something from her backpack and held it up for him to see.

"Mistletoe?" he asked, seeing the leaves she was holding up above him.

She smiled again, and continued humming.

"Isn't it a little early for mistletoe?" he questioned her with a quizzical look.

"Oh... so I guess it's too early to test it out?"

A grin spread across J.T.'s face. "It's never too early for that." He leaned towards her.

"J.T.!" Neil called.

He and Glory stopped moving closer. "Hosed," J.T. muttered, and Glory quickly stashed the mistletoe under a pillow on the couch.

"Where have you been? We were supposed to work today!" J.T. said crossly.

"Done and done," Carolyn replied. "Neil and I met here early, fixed the problems with the trajectories, and still had time for a soda."

Neil nodded. "And now we're off to the campus library."

J.T. stood up from his seat on the sofa. "Why are you going there?"

"To do some research," Carolyn answered.

"Yeah. There's gotta be some discovery still to be made out there," Neil guessed. "And we're not going to stop until we've found it." And with that, he and Carolyn were off, talking and laughing like old friends.

"Looks like my plan worked," Glory remarked, standing up next to J.T.

"Yeah," he said in a faraway voice. "Too well."

It was dusk in Swans Crossing when Callie stepped off the airplane. She rushed to a window, and quickly took in her scenery. The trees were bare and although there wasn't snow on the ground yet, she knew it was cold outside.

Every nerve ending in her body felt like electricity. She was nearly bouncing off the walls as she and her father claimed their baggage at the carousel, and got into a taxi. The taxi ride, which felt agonizing long, took Callie and Captain Walker to the Swans Crossing harbor where a sub just like their old one was docked.

"Dad! How'd this get here?"

Captain Walker, who looked emotional, explained that a friend had arranged for him to continue his work in Swans Crossing, and had gotten him a sub. They had sent their things ahead... and Callie's bike sat on the docks.

She glanced at it, and then back at her father with a hopeful look on her face. "Do you think I can go out for a ride?"

Captain Walker looked resigned. He was fully aware of what she was asking... to go find Jimmy. He sighed, deep in thought, and was silent for several moments. "You can go," he finally answered.

Callie looked up at her father, tears gleaming in her eyes. "Thanks Dad." She wrapped her arms around him and he returned the hug.

"Just be careful," Captain Walker advised. "You're a wise young lady, and I know you'll always make the best decisions you know how. Just look out for yourself... someday I may not be there."

Callie, who was nearly in tears at this point, whispered, "I love you Dad," and got on her bike, heading into the dark, cold night.

Mila's coffee tasted bitter, and she wished she had put more sugar in it. She would have gotten up to get more, but the kitchen was so far away. Instead, she just held her nose and gulped it down. She needed the caffeine if she was going to stay up all night once again. She had chemistry to work on, and then geometry.

It never ends, she thought to herself as she mindlessly worked through equations. Her telephone rang and she reached for it.

"The Rosnovsky prison," she answered wryly.

"What?" a confused Sandy asked on the other line.

Mila put down her pencil. "I know it's almost ten, but I was wondering if you could come over for a little while. Just a half an hour," Sandy said, her voice hopeful.

Mila was growing annoyed. "What? Why?"

"Well, we haven't practiced in awhile, and Owen wants us to," she explained.

"Look, not right now, okay?" Mila said in a strained voice, massaging the sides of her temples. The headache was really getting to her.

"Well, when?"

"Later, Sandy," Mila groaned, hanging up the phone. She glanced back at the book, the equations and words in her chemistry book swirling as her eyes unfocused. It looked like another language... and she wasn't in the mood to translate.

I'll do it in ten minutes, she thought to herself, closing the book. She set her head on top of the stack of books and within a minute, she was fast asleep.

The streets of Swans Crossing were deserted as Jimmy walked along them, not paying attention to where he was going. Just nowhere... everywhere.

He had to get himself pulled together. It was going to be his first day back at SCH since he had gotten back from Brazil, and he wasn't sure how he was going to handle it. After what he had experienced trying to get back together with Callie, and then running away and living on the lam with her, he knew it was going to be hard to jump back into carefree high school life.

A few blocks away, Callie was walking in the opposite direction, bringing her bike with her.

She shivered, not quite used to how cold it was in Swans Crossing. She had gone from summer to winter within a few days. Callie had been walking for a long time, not having any destination in mind. She walked past Swans, but didn't go inside. She wandered the residential streets, admiring the Christmas lights. At the Booth's, she could see in the front window. A fire was roaring in the fireplace, and Glory was reading by the light of the flames. Callie couldn't go to the door just yet. She was a little apprehensive about jumping back into things in Swans Crossing. She knew her friends missed her, and she missed them too, but her time spent in Brazil was full of emotions that she was sure they could never comprehend... or understand. She needed one thing to make it all right...

"Jimmy," she said along with surprise. He had appeared from the shadows out of nowhere and stood before her in the glow of the street light.

He was speechless. He had been strolling along, lamenting about Callie; playing her message on his answering machine over and over in his head, when she appeared... a mirage he hoped was real. "Callie?" he whispered.

She stepped closer to him, and took his hand. "My dad needed to come back," she explained.

His eyes searched hers as if he still couldn't quite believe she was in front of him. "You're back to stay?" he whispered again.

"Yes," she answered. With a grin on his face, Jimmy lifted her into his arms and kissed her slowly. This time they really did have all the time in the world, and as they kissed a few flakes fell from the sky... the first snow fall of the winter.

Glory set her book down on the couch when Garrett came into the living room. "Garrett?" she called.

He stopped on the stairs. "Yeah?"

She cleared her throat. "Do you notice something different?"

Garrett thought for a minute. "You didn't do something with your hair again, did ya?"

She sighed and folded her arms in front of her chest. "No. Garrett, I'm really worried. It's December and Mom and Dad haven't said anything about Christmas yet. We don't have a tree, or any lights outside. There's no Christmas music, baking cookies, or wrapping gifts. You don't think we're in such trouble that we can’t afford Christmas... do you?"

Garrett strolled to the front of the window, looking at the bright lights on the beautiful New England homes, the flurries falling from the sky... all signs of Christmas in Swans Crossing. He ran his fingers through his hair and looked back at Glory. He honestly couldn't answer that question.

Snow fell all night long, blanketing Swans Crossing with a record of two feet of snow in one night. It was unheard of for that much snow to fall in such a short period of time, and when Sydney looked out her bedroom window and saw the pure white streets, she rushed to the radio. "School in Swans Crossing," the announcer on WSCR said, "is canceled."

"Yes!" she exclaimed, jumping up and down.

"You seem happy," Mayor Rutledge commented, stepping into her room.

Sydney was caught off guard. She was still a little put off by her mother's mysterious upcoming vacation, but she tried to push those thoughts out if her mind. "School just got canceled. Of course I'm happy."

Mayor Rutledge smiled nostalgically. "Ah yes," she said, clasping her hands together. "I remember being a young girl and looking forward to snow days. So, what are you going to do today?"

"Ice skating," Sydney replied quickly, referring to her favorite winter past time. "I have to practice for the big competition. I guess I'll go call everyone and see if they want to go."

"That's a good idea. Let me know when you're done. I need to use the phone."

Sydney eyed her mother suspiciously. "What for?" she asked, once again feeling that her mother was hiding something from her.

"Just business," she replied vaguely, retiring to her study.

Sydney reluctantly went to her phone to call her friends... wondering just what exactly her mother was up to.

The pink bedroom came into focus as Mila struggled to wake up. The fist thing she realized was that she was seated at her hippo shaped desk instead of asleep in her bed. Then she noticed she was still dressed in her light colored jeans and pink knit sweater from the day before. Lastly, her eyes fell upon the unfinished geometry and chemistry homework.

"Oh great," she muttered. "My teachers are going to kill me for missing another assignment." She gathered up the books, silently praying for a miracle.

"Mila, my angel?" the countess called, appearing in the elevator.

Mila quickly stashed away the homework. "Yes Mama?"

"You're not going to believe what happened," she said with a laugh.

"What's that?" Mila asked, silently hoping the teachers had gone on strike.

"It snowed all night!" the countess exclaimed. "School is canceled and you can spend the rest of the day doing whatever you please. Isn't living in this charming New England town glorious?"

Mila caught sight of the school books peeking out from under her bed, and a smile spread across her face. "Yes Mama, it is glorious."

"What a lame excuse!" Sydney exclaimed angrily, tugging at the laces on her ice skates.

Garrett draped his arm around Sydney, trying to lend a sympathetic ear. "Maybe she really had to study."

Sydney rolled her eyes, dismissing this idea. "Please! School gets canceled for the first time this winter and Mila has homework to do? Spare me. She's still mad about the whole Grant thing."

The two stood up and headed out to the frozen pond where they were going ice skating. Immediately, Sydney began twirling on the ice. She always looked forward to winter because she was an exceptional skater. Garrett could skate, and he and the guys often played hockey against one another in the winter months, but he had to push himself to keep up with Sydney.

"So who else did you call?" he asked as they skated around on the ice.

"Everyone. You, Mila," she rolled her eyes at the latter, "Glory, J.T. Neil, Nancy, Saja, Sandy, Owen, and Jimmy."

"I doubt Jimmy will come. He's been kinda bummed lately," Garrett said with a frown.

Sydney took both of his hands in his and started skating backwards. "Well, if you had to leave me in some foreign country, wouldn't you be bummed?"

He grinned devilishly. "I don't know. Maybe."

"Maybe?! That's it, Booth!" she yelled, letting go of him and skating in the direction of a pile of snow. She grabbed a handful of it and flung it at him. Within a few minutes, they were engaged in an all out snowball fight. They were laughing and launching snow balls at one another, so involved that they didn't notice someone arrive.

"I don't think you're going to win the skating competition by playing around in the snow," Nancy remarked, placing her hands on her hips and staring Sydney and Garrett down like they were children.

Sydney stood up and brushed herself off. "Well, I don't think you'll win against someone who has real talent."

"What are you two talking about?" Garrett broke in.

"The skating competition. This year the state is holding the competition here in Swans Crossing," Nancy explained.

"And the two of you are signing up?"

"I already did," Nancy replied smugly.

"I am tomorrow," Sydney said, slightly disappointed she couldn't top Nancy.

Garrett let out a low whistle. "This is going to be interesting."

Sydney was about to respond when they heard the crunch of snow in the park. They all looked up and Garrett's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Jimmy?"

Jimmy smiled, which also surprised Garrett. "Yep. Sydney called me to go skating so I thought, what the heck?" He grinned again. "And I brought someone with me, if you don't mind."

"No..." Sydney said slowly.

Callie came out from behind a nearby tree. "I'm back!" she announced.

Sydney's jaw dropped, and she ran to her friend's side. "Callie!!!" she shrieked. "I can't believe you're really here!"

"Well, my dad had a change of heart," she explained, feeling a little overwhelmed by Sydney's enthusiasm, but pleased at the same time.

"I am SO glad! There's so much to tell you, and I want to hear all about your trip." Sydney took Callie's arm and lead her in the direction of the warming house to get some her some ice skates, and she was talking a mile a minute.

Garrett and Jimmy exchanged glances, laughed, and then silently followed their girlfriends.

Two hours later, Mila slammed her book shut and groaned.

"I should be thankful, but it's going to take an even bigger miracle than a snowstorm to get this chemistry homework done," she muttered.

She crossed the room and carefully stepped out on the balcony. It was cold outside, and the balcony was covered in snow. Outside, heavy white flakes weighed down the evergreen boughs and below the room, neighborhood children were sledding down a hill, tumbling off every now and then, and dissolving into a fit of laughter. Mila sighed.

"If I wasn't so dumb, I could be outside skating with everyone. I'd even tolerate Sydney just to get away from this homework."

But Mila just didn't understand it. She was doing well in English. Ever since her fling with Chandler--Garrett--she had a true passion for poetry and literature. History wasn't much of a problem either. But geometry and chemistry were merely formulas and equations floating high above her head, completely out of reach.

Mila decided she had to get out of the house. She put on her hat and gloves, coat and scarf and headed outside. She planned to walk to the library. There she could get some studying done but could still enjoy the beautiful winter day on the long, leisurely walk.

As she crunched along in the snow, she started humming one of Inspiration's songs. She had completely blown off the band the past few weeks. She'd blown off cheerleading too, but luckily she still had until after winter break to get ready to start cheering at hockey games. Mila's mind was wandering, thinking of all the responsibilities she had shirked, the friends she'd deserted, the homework she'd put off. She didn't even notice when she walked nearly head first into Grant Booth.

"Mila," he said in a friendly voice, snapping her back to reality.

Her heart started pounding, but she ignored that sensation. Grant wanted Sydney. Everyone wanted Sydney. "Hello Grant," Mila greeted him stiffly.

"So where are you off to?" he asked.

"The library," she replied.

"The library? On a day like this? You should be off sledding or skating with your friends," he told her.

She gave him a steely look. "Why? Because I'm just a child?"

"You're not a child," he said defensively. "When did I ever say that?"

"Well, I guess we all can't be as mature as Sydney," Mila continued.

"What makes you say that?" he asked.

"You think I've forgotten about how you really wanted to go with Sydney to the dance."

Grant lowered his blue eyes and then looked back up at her. "I'm sorry I hurt you before."

"You didn't hurt me. It doesn't really matter," she insisted, avoiding his eyes.

"Do you want to go get some hot chocolate at Swans or something?" he asked, changing the subject abruptly.

"I can't. I have to do my chemistry homework," Mila said softly.

"Chemistry? Chem is one of my majors," he told her enthusiastically. "Why don't we go get that hot chocolate and I'll give you a hand with your homework?"

Mila thought about this for a minute. She felt uncomfortable around Grant, because in her heart she knew she was not the one he wanted, but she desperately needed help on her assignment... no matter whom it came from. "All right," she agreed, and she and Grant headed to Swans.

Callie rubbed her hands together, trying to warm up. She and Jimmy had just spent two hours skating with Sydney, Garrett, and everyone else in the park, and he had asked her if she would go to the Tool n’ Die with him afterwards.

"I've truly never been happier," she told him as he unlocked the padlocks on the door. "It feels so good to be back."

Jimmy stopped what he was doing and looked into her eyes. "It's sure good to have you back. And just in time for Christmas."

"Yeah," she agreed. "I almost forgot that it's time for Christmas."

He gave her a funny look. "How could you forget when Christmas is? You do celebrate, don't you?"

Callie smiled uncomfortably at him. "Sort of. I mean, we do... but I've never had a traditional sort of Christmas. I mean, there really isn't room on a submarine for a tree, and there aren't many shopping malls underwater."

"I guess you're right," Jimmy said slowly, an idea forming in his head. He unlocked the door, still thinking, and let them into the shop.

Callie looked rather taken aback when she entered the Tool n’ Die. "It's a mess!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, I guess it wasn't the greatest idea letting Garrett and Saja take care of the shop while I was gone," Jimmy remarked, laughing. "But it really doesn't matter. We're both back, and we'll get it cleaned up soon enough."

She clapped her hands together. "Let's get started."

Jimmy looked up, and feigned surprise. "Well, that's going to have to wait for a minute. Look." He pointed to the doorway, which had a sprig of mistletoe hanging from it.

Callie laughed, and he tipped her chin towards him. They leaned forward, and their lips met in a long, tender kiss. "Now we should get to work," she told him, her voice much more breathless. They walked together to the table, which was cluttered with engine pieces, and Callie started to clean it up.

"Walker Woman," Jimmy said, pointing to the ceiling once again. More mistletoe was hung there. "Looks like we've got to take another break."

She smiled, and eyed the ceiling. Then she burst out laughing, and nudged him. "Clayton! You hung it everywhere!"

He gave her a fiendish smile. "You caught me. But it's a Christmas tradition." He stood, waiting for her to kiss him again.

"Well," Callie began, "I guess we can't break a tradition." She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. They kissed again, this time for much longer. "And a great tradition it is," she murmured after their lips parted.

Jimmy smiled, the wheels in his brain turning. He was going to give Callie the best traditional Christmas ever.

After ice skating, Glory and Garrett returned home. "This is so great," Glory commented. "It's officially winter and Christmas is just around the corner."

Garrett nodded, and hung his ice skates in the front closet. "Yep. I've got Sydney, you're back with J.T., and all is right with the world."

Glory smiled, and a romantic look crossed her face. "You're right. This is going to be the best Christmas ever."

The front door opened, and Grant walked in. "Hi guys!" he greeted them cheerfully, hanging his coat up in the closet and shivering from being out in the cold.

"Where have you been all day?" Glory asked.

"I went for a walk, and ran into Mila Rosnovsky," Grant explained.

Garrett gave him a look. "What happened? Did she chew you out?"

Grant looked confused. "How did you know that she was mad at me?" he asked suspiciously.

Garrett and Glory exchanged a glance, and Garrett sighed. "Look man, there's something I've got to tell you."

"What's that?" Grant questioned him.

"See, I know that you had thought you were going to homecoming with Sydney, but you didn’t because... Sydney went with me." He winced, waiting for Grant to get angry.

"Hey, that's all right."

Garrett did a double take. "What?"

"Yeah. I mean, I wanted to go with her to homecoming, but it wasn't like I'm in love with her or anything. I thought she wanted me to ask her; that was the impression she gave me," Grant explained, his voice calm and good natured.

Garrett sighed again, this time with relief.

"See what I mean?" Glory said with a wide smile. "Things are just perfect. So what were you doing with Mila?"

Grant gave his siblings a strange grin. "I was just helping her with her homework. But I don't think she hates me anymore."

"Do you guys want to get out the Christmas decorations?" Glory suggested. "Mom and Dad aren't home, so maybe they went to pick up the tree."

"Without us? But it's always been tradition for us all to go together," Garrett said.

Grant shrugged. "Who knows? They've been acting sort of strange lately."

Garrett stared out the window. "I know. I mean, it's about money obviously. But I've been getting paid pretty good money at Swans, and it's not like we shouldn't have Christmas at all this year. I don't think we've lost that much money."

"I'm sorry to say this," Mr. Booth said, opening up the front door. He and Mrs. Booth had just gotten home, both looking forlorn.

Garrett, Glory, and Grant huddled closely together, all frightened by what their father was about to say.

"Kids... I don't think we can have Christmas this year."

Sydney lay sprawled out on her bed, carefully lettering people's names on the bright red and green invitations. She was so ready for her Christmas party, it wasn't even funny. She just had to buy the food and decorations and make sure all the invitations were sent out on time. And of course, she had to figure out a way to get Ralph out of the house.

She tapped her finger against her cheek, deep in thought. Then an idea struck her. She pulled out one of her invitations in the box, and wrote one up for Ralph. She signed Mr. Han's name to it, saying that he wanted to meet Ralph for Christmas tea at the Swan Club. It was corny, she knew, but completely believable. She placed it next to the rest of the invitations, planning to mail it the next day so it would be even more realistic.

"Now I just have to get a few people to help me with the decorating and I'm set," she said aloud, climbing off her bed and crossing the room. She wanted to call Mila and ask for her help, but she knew her friend still wasn't speaking to her. It hurt a little; Sydney wasn't used to people being angry at her, especially during the holiday season. Nancy will have to do, she thought to herself, picking up her telephone.

"No darling, my daughter doesn't suspect a thing," Mayor Rutledge said on the phone.

"Well that's just wonderful then. I will meet you at the airport on Wednesday," a male voice replied.

Sydney's eyes widened. Her fears were confirmed... the trip to the capitol wasn't business at all... it was a romantic rendezvous! She knew she shouldn't, but she covered the mouthpiece and continued to listen to her mother's conversation.

"I feel bad about leaving Sydney during the holidays, but I'll be back on Christmas day, and we never get to have any time alone," Mayor Rutledge said in a breathless voice that Sydney didn't recognize her mother ever having used before.

"Yes, my dear. It is so difficult dating a mayor. You have your political reputation to worry about," the man told her with a laugh.

"Ah yes. Well, I need to be going. I'll see you on Wednesday."

The man made a kissing noise on the other line. "Until then. Good-bye Margaret."

"Good-bye."

Sydney heard the dial tone, and with a shaky hand, replaced the phone. A few tears fell from her eyes. Her mother was in love with some strange man, and she wasn't even telling her own daughter about it! Not only that, she was running off to spend the weekend with him, and abandoning Sydney during the holidays.

Sydney wiped at her wet cheeks with the back of her hand. "Mother has to realize that everything has a consequence," Sydney declared, growing angry. She took her invitations out of the bag, and started filling them out for other kids at school. Two could play at this game.

After the gang's last day of school before winter break at SCH, the girls headed to the Swans Crossing Mall for some Christmas shopping, even Mila. She wasn't speaking much to Sydney, but she had still agreed to go.

The mall was decorated in lights, garlands, and a lovely Christmas tree for the holidays. Christmas carols were being played over the loudspeaker, and just being in the mall was putting Sydney in the Christmas spirit. She was still upset with her mother, but her being gone was giving Sydney the perfect reason to throw the party of the century. Mayor Rutledge had left the previous day, still not breathing a word to Sydney about this new love affair. Oh well, I'm not even going to think about it, she told herself, plastering a smile on her face.

"So you're all going to my party, right?" Sydney asked the girls as they strolled through the mall, stopping to admire the displays in the windows.

All the girls chorused yes, and Mila just shrugged. "I suppose," she said. Every one else exchanged tense glances.

"Mila, it's been almost a month since homecoming. Aren't you ever going to forgive me?" Sydney wondered.

Mila stared at her coldly. "I don't know."

Sydney sighed. "Mila. You're one of my best friends. Please, I don't want to fight on Christmas." Her eyes filled with tears, which surprised her. She usually was not an emotional person.

Mila thought for a few moments. Sydney had hurt her in many ways. But she had to admit that she meant well... at least this time. And she wasn't angry at Grant anymore. She had let him help her with her homework, and buy her some hot chocolate. Mila had known Sydney a lot longer, so she really should do the same. "All right Sydney, I'll forgive you. On one condition."

Sydney smiled. "Anything."

"You stay out of my love life!"

After several hours of shopping, the girls were weighed down with packages. All except Glory.

"Hey Glor, aren't you in a shopping mood?" Callie asked, surprised. She even had a couple of bags of gifts for her father and Jimmy.

Glory had a faraway look on her face. "Not really," she whispered.

"Oh come on!" Sydney said. "Everyone likes shopping. You only have a little time to buy presents for your family."

"I have plenty of time," she muttered.

"Glory, what's wrong?" Callie questioned her, immediately able to tell that something was troubling her friend.

Tears clouded Glory’s blue eyes. "I really shouldn't say."

Mila put her arm around her. "We won't tell Glory." The rest of the girls nodded.

Glory drew in a deep breath. "I guess it's no secret that my family isn't doing very well financially anymore, considering you all know about Garrett working at Swans. But..."

"But..." Sydney prompted.

"But we're apparently even worse off than before." Tears trickled down her cheeks and she didn't bother to wipe them away. "We're not having Christmas this year," she choked out.

Everyone gasped, and then lent their sympathies to Glory. But Sydney didn't say anything. Garrett hadn't given her any clues as to what was going on. But she had an idea... she was going to bring Christmas to the Booth’s if it killed her.

Jimmy caught himself humming a Christmas tune as he dismounted his mini-bike. He had been all over town gathering things for Callie's surprise: tinsel, poinsettias, garlands, and lights. After dropping all those things off, he drove to a local Christmas tree lot to pick up the finishing touch.

He smiled as he looked at all the sweet smelling pine trees. He was happier than he'd ever been. He was back in Swans Crossing and the girl he loved was back with him. And he was determined to make their first Christmas together one she would never forget.

"Jimmy!" Sydney said with surprise, her manicured hands lugging a giant Christmas tree.

Jimmy grinned. "Hey Sydney!" he greeted her jovially. "What are you doing here?"

She stepped closer to him confidentially. "Promise not to tell?"

"Sure," he agreed.

"Well, I found out that Garrett's family isn't going to be able to have Christmas this year."

Jimmy's smile quickly turned into a frown. "Gosh, that's pretty rough."

She nodded. "I know. But I'm going to bring Christmas to them!"

"Ah, well, I'm bringing Christmas to Callie," he explained.

Sydney smiled knowingly. "Well, good luck."

He continued on his tree hunt and started humming again. "Good luck to you, too."

"’He sings a love song, as we go along, walking in a winter wonderland’," Sandy sang grandly, standing in the spotlight at the Swans Crossing High auditorium. She was wearing a long, red velvet dress, and her hair was piled on top of her head. She had sung with the rest of the choir throughout the Holiday Festival, and then took center stage and was concluding her solo--a medley of Christmas songs.

She finished, raising her hands high in the air and holding the note. The crowd jumped to their feet and applause rung in her ears. She had never in her life felt so popular, so sure of herself. Standing in the bright stage lights in front of all those people made her feel beautiful.

After the concert, Sandy met her family in the lobby. They hugged and congratulated her, and so did her friends... even some people who she didn't even know. Sandy was just about ready to leave when a pair of hands covered her eyes. "Guess who?" a voice from behind her said.

"Saja!" she exclaimed, knowing right away who it was.

"You were so terrific out there!" he commented enthusiastically. "You were like a vision, something only the gods could create."

She laughed. "Thanks... I think."

Saja shuffled his feet, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "Uh Sandy?" he asked nervously.

"Yes?"

"I just wanted to..." his voice trailed off, and he impulsively took her hand and pulled her into his arms. "Merry Christmas," he said before planting a sweet kiss on her lips.

Sandy’s heart was beating, and had jumped into her throat. Everything was spinning... and she didn't know what to say. She simply smiled weakly and replied, "Merry Christmas."

Nancy was spinning around on the ice at the park the next day, while Kevin smiled from his spot on the bench. "Are you sure you don't want to come out here?" she asked him.

Kevin laughed. "Positive! There is no way you're getting me on that ice... every bone in my body would be broken just in time for the holidays!"

She smiled, enjoying his attention. She had been practicing all afternoon, determined to become as good as Sydney, better even, in time for the competition in a few weeks. Nancy made another trip around the ice, and then jumped, trying to perfect her axle jump. She looked perfect in the air, but when she landed her left foot slipped a little, causing her to awkwardly flail her arms.

"Nice job, Nance!" Sydney said, appearing in the park, her ice skates slung over her shoulder. She clapped her hands snootily, and grinned. "Really, if you're going to even enter the competition you need to practice that jump a little more."

Nancy skated over to Sydney. "Well, unlike the way you acted when we were horseback riding last fall, I plan to actually show up and practice. Just because you're talented doesn't mean you'll necessarily win. I plan to practice every day from now until the competition."

Sydney stepped up to her, and placed her hands on her hips. "Why? It's not going to do any good."

"Because I want to prove once and for all that Sydney Rutledge doesn't win everything in life," Nancy shot back, and then turned on her skates, and went back to her practicing. She caught sight of Kevin when she skated around the pond... and saw the disapproving look on his face.

Carolyn glanced over at Neil, and caught his eye.

"Yes?" he asked, wondering why she had been staring at him. It was making it difficult for him to work.

She lowered her eyes. "Oh, nothing."

Neil sighed and placed his pencil down on the pad of paper where he and Carolyn were working out equations. "No, what is it?"

"Well, it's kind of silly, but I..." her voice trailed off and she leaned down. She unzipped her backpack and pulled out a crudely wrapped present. "I got you a Christmas gift."

He took it from her hands and gave her a small smile. "Well, uh, thanks, but I didn't get you anything."

Carolyn laughed. "That's okay. I don't give gifts to get stuff back." She noticed that he was turning the package over and over in his hands. "Go on, open it," she told him.

Neil pulled back the wrapping paper carefully. Carolyn rolled her eyes. "I should have guessed you wouldn't be the kind of guy to tear into it."

A moment later he had opened the gift, and he gave her a smile. It was a violent looking computer CD-ROM game. "Thanks," he said enthusiastically. "I guess you know that I don't really have any of these things on my computer."

She grinned. "Yeah, I figured you needed a little fun in your life."

They looked into each other’s eyes for a minute... Neil not sure exactly what to say.

Sophia dragged another suitcase out to her powder blue convertible and tossed it into the backseat. "Well Saja, I'm off."

He scowled at her. "You know you're making a big mistake, don't you?"

She smiled. "Please. I'm going to ski with Edward and some of my friends. What's the harm in that?"

Saja sighed, annoyed at his sister's dense attitude. She never seemed to get the big picture. "Don't you understand Sophia? You can't just lie to everyone and run off with your boyfriend to Vermont and expect everything to turn out okay. Your karma is going to be so bad... something is bound to go wrong."

Sophia opened her car door and got in, started the engine, and rolled down the window. "Well, Bobby," she said, making a point to call him by his real name, "You're lying too. Looks like you're in as deep as me! See ya later!"

Saja watched her tear out of the driveway, a knot tightening in his stomach. She was right. He was in as much trouble as she was.

On Christmas eve, late in the evening, Jimmy opened the hatch to Callie's sub. He was surprised that it was so much like the old one, and it brought back memories of when he and Callie had first met. He had called Captain Walker's line, and asked if he could come in to set up Callie's Christmas "present". Captain Walker had sounded irritated, but agreed nonetheless. Jimmy walked down the ladder, and pulled the large Christmas tree down with him. Needles fell from the branches, sticking in his hair and getting all over the ground. He suppressed laughter... knowing how upset her father was going to be when he saw how messy Christmas trees were.

He set it up in the middle of the room, and then went to work. He hung tinsel all over the tree, and hung some ornaments on the branches as well. He set up the poinsettia plants around the room, hung a wreath, and hung lights all over the tree and the sub. He placed a tape of Christmas songs in his boom box and hit play. Within about thirty minutes he was done, and was grateful that Callie hadn't gotten home yet from spending time with Glory.

Just as Jimmy expected, he heard her pull up on the docks a few minutes later. He stood anxiously by the tree as he watched her climb down into the sub.

"Surprise," he whispered when she was all the way down, and gaping at him.

"Oh my gosh..." Callie murmured, her eyes wide. She marveled at his decorations, the tree.. everything. "What is this?"

Jimmy smiled and took one of her hands. "It's Christmas, Walker Woman. Just the way we do it here in Swans Crossing."

Her eyes filled with tears and she threw her arms around him. "It's beautiful!"

"You like it?" he asked, returning the hug.

"It's the best Christmas present I've ever gotten," she replied emotionally. He looked choked up as well when she said this. "Merry Christmas, Clayton."

"Merry Christmas, Walker Woman."

Sydney tiptoed across the Booth's porch, even though she knew they weren't home. Grant and Garrett had gone to the mall--Garrett was going to spend his paycheck on Christmas gifts for the family. Glory was at Swans with Callie and J.T., and Mr. and Mrs. Booth were at the bank, trying to work out their savings account problems, otherwise they weren't going to be able to pay any of the bills.

Sydney lifted up the welcome mat, and of course, as she had figured, there was a key to the house. She inserted it into the door, and let herself in. As she groped for a light, she prayed that no one would find her. Imagine the headlines: Mayor's daughter arrested for breaking and entering!

As soon as she was safely inside, she went to work quickly. She wasn't sure when any of the family might be home... but she didn't want to chance it. She set up the tree, hung stockings above the fireplace, and then decorated the tree and hung lights. It took a rather long time... and Sydney Rutledge wasn't used to doing manual labor. But when she was finished, she had to admit it looked very good, perfect even.

She let herself out of the house, and locked the door behind her. She dashed across the lawn, and hid near the wall in No Man's Land. She wanted to watch their faces when they returned home, but didn't want to be seen.

After what felt like years, all of the Booth's appeared on the porch. None of them looked particularly happy. Garrett had a few bags with him, but he had realized when shopping with Grant that a minimum wage job did not buy lots of Christmas gifts. Mr. and Mrs. Booth were talking amongst themselves.... not optimistic about their meeting at the bank with the financial advisor. Glory opened the door, and turned on the light.

She gasped, and when the rest of the family saw what Sydney had set up in their living room, they gasped too. "Who could have done this?" Glory wondered.

The whole family checked out all the beautiful, expensive decorations, the gorgeous tree, all oohing and ahhing.

Glory and her mother were crying, and the men of the family were looking a bit emotional. Garrett glanced out the window, snowflakes whirling past, and then turned back to his family. "It's a miracle."

I just wanted to wish all of the Swans Crossing fans a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy New Years! I know time in Swans Crossing passed pretty quickly in this chapter, but I wanted everyone to share the holidays with the Swans gang! Thanks for reading... I don't think The Return would have lasted an entire year and counting without all your comments, suggestions, and support! Thanks everyone and have a very happy holiday season! Plus, look for chapter 32, when Sydney throws a New Years/Christmas party... and things get out of hand!
-Steph

Chapter Thirty-Two

Someone knocked on the door at the Booth house on Christmas morning, and Glory jumped to answer it. So far, she was having a wonderful Christmas. Even though there weren't tons of presents under the tree, the Booths were happy for the things they had received this Christmas. None of them knew who--or what--had set up a tree and hung stockings... given them all the things that they were almost forced to go without this holiday season. But whoever was watching over their family had made them the happiest people in Swans Crossing.

When Glory opened the front door, she had to smile even wider. J.T. stood on the porch with a beautifully wrapped package in his hands.

"Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!" he shouted happily, handing her the present.

She accepted it, and stepped away so he could enter the living room. "Did you have anything to do with this J.T.?" Glory asked, motioning to the decorated tree.

He gave her a confused look. "What? No, why?"

"I just thought that since you were the person behind the mysterious money on homecoming, that maybe you were our Christmas angel."

"Nope, you’ve got the wrong angel. But, I did bring you something," he said shyly.

She gave him a romantic smile. "Oh, J.T. You didn't have to do that. You know getting back together with you is the best Christmas gift I could ever receive."

Gently, he took her hand in his. "Thanks. I feel the same way. But open it up."

Glory removed her hand from his and carefully tore at the wrapping paper. Inside was a long, gray box. Looking up at him, she opened the box, and inside sat a delicate silver necklace. "Oh, J.T.! It's beautiful!" She looked at it again, and noticed that the charm hanging from the silver chain was a small angel.

J.T. laughed as she looked up at him through teary eyes. "I really had no idea that there really was an angel watching over you, but something just told me you'd like this."

"I love it," she breathed sincerely. He pushed aside her shoulder length hair and clasped the necklace on.

Glory grinned, admiring how wonderful it looked on her, and stared up at J.T. He kissed her gently on the lips, and she sighed with content. No amount of money could buy the happiness she was feeling right now.

It wasn't until Christmas morning that Captain Walker came up to the living quarters of the submarine from down below. He had been hard at work on some sort of research, not even really knowing that he was working straight through the holiday season.

He did a double take when he came on deck, surprised at all the stuff cluttering the room. "What is the meaning of this?"

Callie, who had woken up early and was having breakfast, laughed. "It's Christmas morning, Dad."

"I've been alive many years and I haven't ever had a Christmas with all this junk! Where did it come from?"

Once again, his daughter laughed. "Dad! You told Jimmy he could give me a Christmas surprise," she reminded him.

Captain Walker reached for a broom, and began sweeping up the pine needles that had fallen off the Christmas tree. "Of course it would be the work of that young man," he grumbled. "Doesn't he know when to leave well enough alone?"

Callie's smile faded. She had thought her father’s grumpiness about the tree was amusing at first, but now she wasn't sure if he was serious or not. He seemed genuinely disturbed that the boy who had convinced his daughter to run away with him was still in their lives, and messing up his home. Without another word, Captain Walker retreated back to his work, leaving Callie very apprehensive... and ruining her joyous Christmas mood.

Several days later, Sydney scrubbed the floor, grunting and looking up at her friends in desperation. "This is the one problem with not having any of the grownies involved in the party planning. I'm stuck doing the dirty work!"

"And dirty work it is Sydney-o," Nancy said smugly, sitting down at the dining room table. She hadn't done any manual labor since she arrived early that morning at the Rutledge's. In fact, she was doing more criticizing and giving more orders than anything else. "Where do you want these?" She held up a set of wine glasses rimmed with 24 karat gold.

"Should we really use those?" Sandy asked skeptically. "They look sort of expensive."

"Don't worry about it. It wouldn't be New Year's Eve without those glasses." Sydney stood up, and brushed herself off. She eyed the floor critically. She knew nothing about housekeeping, so the floors didn't look much different than when she first started. Oh well, she thought. If I can't tell the difference, than neither will the guests.

"So, has your mother called?" asked Mila, who was folding cloth napkins.

Sydney averted her glance. "Not yet," she replied softly. If her mother wasn't with some man, Sydney wouldn't really be upset. Sometimes the mayor went on business trips and didn't call; she was simply busy campaigning or signing contracts. But the reason Mayor Rutledge hadn't called had nothing to do with business.

"That's probably better anyway," Mila said. "I mean, if she had any idea that you were throwing such a huge party, she'd be on the first plane back to Swans Crossing."

Sydney turned away, and nodded... even though she had no idea as to whether or not that was true.

Glory sat in Swans Soda Shop with J.T., dreamily playing with the necklace he had given her the day before. "They are coming, aren't they?" she asked.

J.T. glanced at his watch. "Yeah, they're coming."

She noticed his voice sounded a little bitter. "What's wrong?" she questioned him.

"I don't know," he answered honestly, thinking aloud. "It's just that, well, Neil is trying to come up with a new project."

Glory furrowed her brows in concern. "Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, after that happened with UB2B?"

J.T. thought back to the disasters that had occurred during the summer and fall--Glory's kidnapping, Barek's taking the group hostage, the trial. "Well, you know Neil. Now that there's no danger, no excitement involved in UB2B, he wants to move on to something new."

Glory looked up at him sympathetically. "And this hurts you, doesn't it?"

"Well, it's just that it was such a big part of who we were... of what our friendship was. And now he's coming up with new ideas and new equations with... with her," J.T. concluded.

"Carolyn?" Glory asked with confusion. "I thought you wanted them to hook up."

"I did. I do. It's just that... well, I thought they were going to get together romantically. I didn't think she was going to take my place," J.T. said, looking embarrassed. He wasn't entirely sure why he was feeling the way he was, and he surely didn't know what to do about it.

"J.T., she's not taking your place! You and Neil are best friends. There's no one who could take the place of you," she told him.

He smiled at her sheepishly. "I guess now I know how Neil felt about you and I."

Glory took his hand. "I guess you do." She looked up and saw Neil and Carolyn walk into the soda shop. They waved, and made their way towards the table. "You probably better not say anything," she said warningly.

J.T. rolled his eyes.

Neil greeted them with a smile. "Hey, you guys! How are you?"

J.T. put on a phony smile. "Great," he lied.

Looking over the rims of her dark sunglasses, Sydney checked the interior of the store to make sure that no one she knew was there. She didn't know what she would do if one of her mother's friends saw her in a liquor store. Of course, she was just there to get some sparkling grape juice in a champagne bottle. No one was going to drink at her party, but her friends had to have something to toast in the new year with.

She reached for a bottle on the shelf, and then grabbed it. She examined the label, saw that it was non-alcoholic, and then placed five more bottles in the shopping cart. "That ought to do it," she muttered aloud, and then pushed the cart towards the check-out counter.

"Sydney Rutledge!" a voice called from behind her.

Startled, Sydney turned around, and removed her glasses. Standing before her was a young man, well-dressed, carrying a bottle of expensive wine. "Do I know you?" she asked, not able to place his vaguely familiar face.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten already," he said, placing his hand over his heart in mock anguish.

It suddenly hit her. She flashed back to the night at the Caboose a few months ago when she went to hear Sandy, Owen, and Mila play....

"What's going to be different?" a voice asked from behind Sydney.

"Oh nothing," she told the man standing before her, her face flushing from embarrassment. She hadn't meant for anyone to overhear her.

The man smiled, realizing he had embarrassed her. "Aren't you a little young to be in a club like this?"

Sydney tried to keep her cool. She certainly didn't want anyone to tell the owners of the club that there were a bunch of underage kids there. "How old do I look?" she questioned him cautiously.

He gave her a grin. "Well, I would say you're around sixteen, although with the outfit and makeup I can see how they let you in."

"How did you get to be so perceptive?" she asked coyly.

The man smiled again. Sydney noticed he had a very charming smile. "Well, I'm a psych major, and I am also pre-med."

"Pre-med. Very impressive." Sydney glanced over her shoulder, wondering what was taking Garrett so long. She didn't mind the man's company, and it would make her feel sort of important if Garrett got jealous from the innocent conversation. But another part of her wanted to keep things honest. She and Garrett had played so many games in their lifetime, and this time she wanted things to be easier for them. "What's your name?" she asked the man.

"Danathan," he answered. "My name is Danathan Hartfield. And you are?"

"Sydney," she told him, not offering up her last name. He for sure would recognize the last name Rutledge.

A flicker of recognition flashed in Danathan's dark brown eyes. "You're Sydney Rutledge, the mayor's daughter... aren't you?"

"Well... yes," she said softly. "But look, my mother would kill me if she knew I was here..."

Danathan smiled. "Don't worry," he assured her. "I was in high school once too."

Sydney looked up, and saw Garrett heading in their direction. "Um, it was really nice to meet you," she told Danathan. "But I really have to go." She quickly excused herself, and went to meet Garrett. She was acutely aware of the fact Danathan stared after her the entire time.

Sydney turned back to the man and smiled. "That's right! I met you at the nightclub a couple months ago. Don something?"

He flashed her a engaging smile. "Danathan," he corrected her. "Danathan Hartfield."

She nodded politely. "Right. So how have you been Danathan?"

"Pretty good. Things are more of the same, you know, the stresses of law school and all."

She narrowed her eyes. "Law school? I thought you were pre-med."

He faltered. "Uh, that's what I meant. It's so stressful, I've forgotten what field I'm even going into!"

Sydney put her sunglasses back on. "Right. Well, if you'll excuse me." She pushed her way past him. There was obviously something a little off about this Danathan character, and she really didn't want to stick around and find out what it was.

"I certainly keep running into you in the strangest places. First an over eighteen night club, and now a liquor store." Danathan smiled, and although it was meant to be alluring, it sent an involuntary shiver down Sydney's spine. "You really should stop playing grown up, Miss Rutledge."

"Who says I'm playing?" she countered. She couldn't believe the nerve of this virtual stranger!

"Well, what's in the cart?" he asked, looking around her.

She reached into her shopping cart and produced one of the bottles. "Grape juice," she said superiorly. "Are you happy?"

He coughed, and looked up at her sheepishly. "Hey, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to be rude."

"Right."

"So, uh, are you having a party tonight?" he asked, trying to make conversation.

Sydney looked longingly at the exit. "Yes," she answered sharply.

"You know, I think I'm going to be in the neighborhood. Why don't I pick a cake up or something at the bakery and bring it by. You know, to make up for my rudeness." Danathan smiled at her again, his eyes shining with sincerity.

Sydney wanted to say no, but heard herself accepting.

"Great. Then I'll see you tonight. Nice to see you again, Sydney." He waved good-bye, paid for his groceries, and left.

Sydney stared after him, wishing she had never even set foot in the store.

Pressing a forest green dress to her chest, Mila looked at her reflection in the mirror. "No!" she exclaimed out loud, tossing it over her shoulder. She had very little time before the party was going to begin, and there was nothing in her immense wardrobe to wear.

She pulled out a long skirt, and eyed it critically. She groaned in frustration and threw that in the "no" pile. The telephone rang, and Mila lunged to get it, glad to have a distraction from her hunt.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Well, hi there! Are you able to talk, or are you still buried under a mountain of homework?"

Mila smiled, recognizing Grant's voice on the other line. "Nope, I got it all finished. Right now I'm buried under a mountain of clothing."

"What?" he asked.

She giggled. "Nothing. Anyway, what's up?"

Grant cleared his throat. "Well, I was just calling to see if you were in need of some more homework help."

"Homework?" she repeated incredulously. "Grant, it's New Year's Eve. Aren't you going to Sydney's party?"

"I don't know. I'm not a big partier," he admitted.

"Oh," she said. "Thanks for offering, but I'm going to Sydney's party. We're not fighting anymore."

"That's good to hear," he told her sincerely. "Well, since you're going to be there, maybe I'll stop by and say hello."

Mila's heart rate quickened. Even though she had been convinced that Grant didn't like her, he seemed to be insinuating that she was the one and only reason he would attend the party. "That'd be really nice," she said, feigning calmness.

"Great. I'll see you then."

She grinned, and started rummaging through her clothes. "See you then."

The music came to an abrupt halt when Sandy hit the stop button. "Owen, you're not paying attention."

Owen snapped back into reality. "What?" he said distractedly.

She sighed, and flopped down at the seat behind their keyboard. "You haven't been listening at all! We need to practice to play a set for the party tonight."

His reply was a blank stare.

She rolled her eyes. "What's wrong with you today?"

Owen got up and crossed the room. "I can't really say," he answered vaguely.

She walked next to him. "Come on Owen, you can tell me. We're friends."

He was silent for several moments, contemplating whether or not to tell Sandy. "You know that I've sort of... liked Mila for awhile?"

She smiled at him coyly. "Hadn't noticed."

"I think I'm going to tell her tonight," Owen suddenly concluded. "I'm tired of waiting around while she goes through boyfriend after boyfriend. I'm going to tell her the first minute of 1993."

Sandy rose her eyebrows. If Owen had declared this during the summer, she would have been heartbroken. But so much had changed since the summer, and she had Saja, and could accept that Owen had feelings, strong feelings, for Mila. "I think that's a good idea," she told him finally. "I mean, it feels good to stand up and get what you want," she said wisely. She had learned standing up for herself was the best feeling in the world.

"So you think it's a good idea?"

She nodded. "Definitely."

Owen twirled his drumsticks between his fingers and bounded towards the door. "Then I'm going to go get ready for the party!"

"Hey Jimbo! You ready for the party tonight?" Saja asked, bounding into the Tool n’ Die.

Jimmy looked up from his work and grinned. "Couldn't be readier! I'm so glad to be going to my first party in Swans Crossing since I've gotten back."

Saja jumped up on the counter and sat down. "And this one is going to be great. After all, Sydney's mother won't be there."

"Right," he said, raising his eyebrows. "So do you have a ride there?"

Saja quickly looked away. "Uh... not exactly."

"What do you mean? Your sister's not one of the million people Sydney invited?" Jimmy wondered casually, returning to his fiddling with an engine.

"No... she was invited," Saja admitted.

Now Jimmy was slightly curious. "So she's invited, but she's not going?"

Saja sighed with resign. "Do you promise not to tell a soul about this?" he asked.

Jimmy nodded. "Of course."

"I mean it, Jimmy, this is really big. I promised Sophia I wouldn't tell anyone. Not a living, breathing human being..."

"Saja," Jimmy said, motioning for him to stop. "I promise. Now what's going on?"

"Sophia told my family that she's visiting a prospective college in Vermont. And she is in Vermont. Just not at a college," Saja explained, nervously cracking his knuckles.

"So where is she?"

"She's skiing with Edward," he blurted out. As soon as he did though, he felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

Jimmy was silent a moment. "Oh, wow. That is pretty big. Are you worried?"

Saja nodded slowly. "Yeah, I mean, you can't tick the gods off like that. She's lied, she's made me lie, and now we're both in for it."

"Saja," Jimmy began warningly, which he did any time his friend launched into the ninja warrior, spiritual talk. "She's a big girl, and I'm sure she can take care of herself."

Saja studied Jimmy's face for a moment. "You're worried too."

Jimmy turned away. "No I'm not," he said unconvincingly. He saw Saja looking at him crossly. "It's just that, well, no one should get into a situation that they can't get out of. It doesn't mean that I care or anything."

"Care about what?" Callie asked, entering the shop from behind them.

Saja and Jimmy looked up at her, and exchanged guilty glances.

"Are you sure you can handle this, Miss Sydney?" Ralph asked as Sydney ushered him towards the door.

"Of course I can, Ralph. I'm just having a small gathering, and mother approved. Besides, you wouldn't want to keep Mr. Han waiting." She opened the front door, and Ralph stepped outside.

"No," he said slowly. "But still, are you sure about this?"

"Good-bye Ralph." Sydney shut the door on him, and sighed. She had been decorating and cleaning all afternoon, and then she had spent two hours getting herself ready. She turned and admired her reflection in the full length mirror. She was wearing a short, black slip dress and a cropped red jacket over it. Half of her brown hair was pinned up, and she had curled the rest of it. She looked good... and knew it.

The doorbell rang, and she hurried to answer it. Her first guest! Mila stood on the front porch, a dish in hand.

"What's this?" Sydney asked, taking the plate from her friend and letting her into the house.

Mila rolled her eyes and took off her jacket, revealing the light pink sweater and pleated black skirt she was wearing. "It's fruit cake. Mama made me bring it."

Sydney laughed, and took it into the dining room. "Well, thanks."

Mila looked around at all the gold and white decorations Sydney had put up since she was last there. "The place looks great! Am I the first one here?"

"Yep, but I'm sure the rest will be here soon," Sydney answered, taking one last look around her house.

"You're not going to believe who called me today and said he was going to meet me here," Mila gushed.

"I'm sure I'm not. So who is it?" she urged.

"Grant!"

Sydney raised an eyebrow. "Grant Booth. As in the one who stood you up at homecoming? The one who almost ruined our friendship?"

"It's not like that this time," she insisted. "After he helped me the other day on my homework, we've been talking, and we're sort of becoming friends," Mila explained in a dreamy voice.

"Well, that's good," Sydney said slowly.

"I think this is the way to go. You know, instead of just jumping into things. I want to really know the next guy I go out with."

Sydney was about the respond when the doorbell rang again. "Hold that thought," she told her, opening the door to a large group of kids she barely knew. They barged into the house without a word to Sydney, and it was then that she realized it was going to be an interesting night.

"Care about what?" Callie asked again. The boys just gave each other nervous looks. Callie placed her hands on her hips. "What is going on you guys?"

"We were just talking about my esteemed older sister," Saja replied sheepishly.

Callie looked slightly taken aback. "Oh."

"Callie, please don't get the wrong idea," Jimmy told her quickly.

"What is there to get a wrong idea about? I mean, I turn my back for ten minutes and you and Saja start chatting it up about Sophia. Why should I be worried?" she said sarcastically.

Jimmy looked back at Saja. "Would you tell her what you just told me?"

Saja buried his head in his hands. "I knew this was going to happen!"

Callie looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean? You knew what was going to happen?"

"I tell one person, and next thing I know, the whole world knows!" Saja continued.

"Saja," Callie began, stepping closer to her friend, "I'm not the whole world, okay? Whatever you tell me, I promise it won't go any further than this room."

Saja sighed, knowing Callie was trustworthy. "All right. See, Sophia and her boyfriend of the moment, Edward, are off gallivanting around Vermont as we speak."

"Ah," she said, suddenly understanding. "And this wasn't approved by your parents, I take it?"

He shook his head. "They would kill her if they knew where she was. And," he added, "they'd probably just maim me for being a part of it."

"So you get it now?" Jimmy asked Callie.

She gave him a teasing look. "Yes, I get it," she replied, imitating his voice. "But I don't see what the big deal is. I mean, Sophia doesn't seem like the type who will get caught, so I don't think you have to worry Saja."

He jumped off the counter and started pacing in front of them. "See, that's just it. I am worried. I have this awful feeling that something's going to go wrong, that our karma is going to get the best of us."

"Ah, not the karma thing again," Jimmy said with a laugh.

"Look Saja, I don't think there's anything we can do now. You just have to hope your sister will get back okay and everything will be fine. Until then, you just have to stop thinking about it," Callie advised. "Come on, we have a party we've got to get to."

Saja shrugged. "I guess so."

"And here's a little something for my favorite hostess," Garrett said as he stood in Sydney's doorway.

Sydney smiled upon seeing him. He pulled a red rose from behind his back and handed it to her. "Why thank you," she told him, bringing it to her nose. "It's beautiful."

He glanced over her shoulder, and saw that there were countless amounts of teenagers already making themselves at home. "Looks like the party's in full swing."

Sydney looked into Garrett's blue eyes. "It is now. Now that you're here." Garrett laughed, and was about to give Sydney a kiss, when the doorbell rang.

She sighed. "If that thing rings one more time..."

Garrett reached for her hand. "Come on, I'll go with you."

They walked to the door together, and Sydney pulled it open. Standing on the front steps was none other than Danathan Hartfield, carrying a bakery box.

"Well, hello Sydney Rutledge," he greeted her flirtatiously. "It's wonderful to see you again."

Garrett stared down this handsome young man hitting on his girlfriend. "And you are?"

"Danathan Hartfield. Friend of Sydney's."

"I know all of Sydney's friends, and uh, you're not one of them," Garrett remarked. Sydney quickly intervened.

"Garrett, Danathan. Danathan, this is Garrett Booth. My boyfriend," Sydney added carefully.

"Oh," Danathan said, stepping inside. "You never said anything about a boyfriend." He didn't say another word, but disappeared into the crowd. Sydney watched after him, and although she didn't know why, she felt a little upset by what had just happened.

Loud music nearly shook the walls of the Rutledge mansion when Callie, Jimmy, Saja, Sandy, and Owen arrived at the party. Kids were everywhere--on the couch, dancing, eating her food... and things looked like they were snowballing out of control.

"I don't think Mayor Rutledge has any idea what she's gotten into," Sandy said, eyeing the scene.

Jimmy smiled. "Well, she's not here now, so I guess we should just go with it!" He took Callie's hand and led her onto the dance floor.

Owen wandered off, in search of Mila no doubt, and Sandy and Saja were left alone. "You want to go dance?" she suggested.

"Uh, I don't know," he replied.

"Is something wrong?" she asked with concern. Saja tried not to look her in the eyes. He knew if he did, he was going to spill to Sandy what he was worried about.

"No, I'm okay," he lied.

"No you're not. Is it... me?" Her voice sounded vulnerable, much like the way she used to sound.

Saja broke immediately. "It's my sister." He told her the whole story, including the fact that he was getting the strangest feeling that something was going to go wrong. It was like he was getting a premonition.

"I'm sure everything will be okay," Sandy assured him.

He raked back his dark hair with his fingers and sighed. He was sure it wasn't.

"Cut it out!" Sydney shouted as some kids she didn't know smacked each other with her mother's throw pillows. "I said, cut it out!"

The kids didn't listen, but just ran out of the living room. She sighed, blowing a strand of her hair that had fallen in her face. She turned around, and saw a girl rummaging through one of the boxes sitting on the floor.

"Excuse me! My house is not your personal shopping mall, so kindly keep your hands off my stuff!" Sydney yelled. The girl's eyes widened, and she quickly darted away.

Garrett heard Sydney yelling from the other room, where he was talking to some of the guys, and he quickly went to her side. "What's going on?"

Sydney groaned. "This is getting totally out of control! I've had to deal with the immature, several thieves, and..." her voice trailed off when she noticed a paper cup sitting on one of the end tables. She picked it up, and sniffed it. "And now the drunken have entered the race."

Garrett took the cup and threw it into the trash can. "Do you want me to ask them to leave?"

She thought about it for a moment. "No. I've gotten myself into this mess. And the night's almost over. What else..." her voice trailed off again when she heard a loud crash.

She quickly rushed into the kitchen and discovered two of her mother's wine glasses on the floor, broken into many shards of glass. She buried her face in her hands and sighed. "This is a disaster!"

At 11:50, Sydney was covered in sparkling grape juice. She and Garrett were pouring the juice into paper cups; she wasn't about to trust the crazy people loitering in her living room with champagne glasses.

"Will you please remind me why I threw this party?" she shouted over the music.

Garrett wrapped his arm around her sticky shoulder and laughed. "Because you are socialite of the year."

She groaned, and pulled open a fresh bottle. "Can I turn in my crown?"

A group was gathering in the living room around the television set, which was set to the live countdown in Times Square in New York. Sydney handed the bottle off to Garrett, and went into the living room. "Hey you guys!" she called. No one was listening. She swept a bunch of garbage off her coffee table and jumped on top. She whistled, and everyone grew silent. "Listen!" she yelled. "There's sparkling grape juice in the kitchen for you to toast the New Year with. Go get it... but not all at once!" It was too late; everyone stormed her kitchen at once.

Garrett stumbled his way through the crowd, and handed Sydney an elegant, tall champagne glass. "Here you go," he said.

She smiled gratefully at him. "Thanks."

The rest of her friends gathered around her, as they only had a few minutes to go before midnight. Sydney rose her glass. "1992 has been an incredible year. I want to make a toast to the new year, to friendship," she smiled at Mila, "and to a second chance," she gave Garrett a meaningful look.

Glory rose her glass. "Here's to miracles."

"And true love," J.T. supplied.

Jimmy rose his glass, and glanced over at Callie. "I second that one!"

"Here's to spending my first year in the most wonderful place I've ever lived," Callie toasted. Mila nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah, here's to Swans Crossing!"

Sandy lifted her glass into the air. "Here's to self-confidence."

Nancy rolled her eyes. "Or lack thereof."

"Here's to the band," Owen toasted.

"And to science," Neil added.

"Here's to hoping this year begins without a disaster," Saja muttered.

Garrett reached for the remote. "And here's to the countdown we're about to miss."

Everyone quieted down as the lighted ball began to drop in Times Square. "Ten!" they all chanted. "Nine, eight, seven, six," the rest of the party joined in, "five, four, three, two, one... Happy New Year!!" they all chorused. Someone released confetti into the air, and everyone took a sip of their drink. Garrett planted a kiss on Sydney's lips in front of everyone, while they all cheered. Jimmy kissed Callie, J.T. kissed Glory, and Owen rushed to Mila's side.

"It's 1993 now," he said to her as she looked at him with a polite smile.

"I know it is, that's why we're here," Mila replied, laughing.

"No, I mean, now that's it's 1993, I have to tell you how I feel about you. Mila, I've been in love with you since the first day I saw you on the pier," Owen declared in an emotional voice. Mila's eyes widened, as she was completely and utterly blown away.

Sandy looked up at Saja, expecting her New Year’s kiss, when the telephone rang. Something tightened in Saja's stomach, and he reached to answer it.

"Hello?" he said. He was silent for several moments, and then he dropped the phone. "Sophia's missing."

©1998 Stephanie Blydenburgh. Happy 1998 Swans Crossing fans!

NEXT CHAPTER

---