2

This would be the first Christmas that I'd spend with my father since I was two years old.

The first rays of sunlight coming in through my curtains brought me out of my sleep. I blinked as I laid in the bed, slightly confused by my unfamiliar surroundings, but the memories of the day before quickly came back to me. That was right. I was in my room at my dad's house. My grandmother had sent me to live with him the day before.

I didn't feel any kind of sadness as I thought about this. Instead, I was smiling as I sat up and stretched. For the first time in a long time, I felt good as I woke up. I moved to the head of my bed, looking out of the large window at the snow-covered earth. It had stopped snowing some time before, and everything was now blanketed in white. It was so beautiful. I'd never seen anything like it before.

I quickly got up, changing and cleaning up in my bathroom, then headed downstairs. Coming to the top of the stairs, I stopped and looked over the banister. For the first time in a long time, I was excited about Christmas. I reasoned that it was from the warmth I felt being in this house with my dad. The atmosphere here was like night and day compared to down south with my mom.

I headed downstairs and to the den, taking in the sight of the tree there. It was one of the most beautiful trees I'd ever seen. Lined with silver and gold glass ornaments and silver garland, the white lights glowed like tiny stars.

Moving closer, I also noticed that there were ornaments here and there that came from our family. A few were homemade ones that I'd done as a little kid. I spotted a hand painted clay star, and the memory of making it came back to me.

I'd made this ornament in Florida on a very rare trip out with my mother. She'd snuck us out on Christmas Eve, and we'd gone to a small store near our house that let kids make their own ornaments.

It's funny how certain memories tend to stand out in your mind. Walking into that pretty little store that was full of different Christmas decorations, smelling the fresh baked cookies that they were selling. It had felt like such a magical place to me, even though I was nine years old at the time.

But then, part of the magic for me was that I was there with just my mother, and she was actually somewhat stable. They'd started her on a new medication, and it had been helping a lot. To celebrate that, she'd brought me there in hopes that we could do something special together for Christmas.

But right after I finished the first ornament with her, Mom suddenly looked like she was thinking deeply about something. A soft smile crossed her face as she turned to me.

"Why don't we make one for your dad too?" she'd suggested.

I was pretty shocked when she suggested this. I never thought that she'd want me to do anything for him. She still wasn't that comfortable with me getting to know him.

"Really? Is that okay?" I asked her, feeling very unsure.

"I think it would be nice now that you know him again. I still don't really like you going back to him, even if it is just for the summer, but it's the least I can do since he's been so good to you. It's too bad that he is like he is." Mom replied.

"I guess." I agreed.

I decided to ask her a little more as I started working on that star. If she was willing to talk to me about my dad, then I wanted to know all I could. After all, I had no idea of what had happened between them, and after meeting Michael the summer before and getting to know him, I didn't understand why she'd dislike him so much. He was so kind and loving to me.

"Mom, why did you leave Dad?"

My mother was quiet for a minute. I almost regretted asking. Maybe she didn't want to talk about all of that. Yet there was no anger in her eyes as she sat there. It looked more like sadness and regret.

She finally relented and gave me an answer, "You're too young to understand baby. It's not that I don't love your dad. I'll always love Michael. I just can't stand to be around him anymore."

Even standing there now, looking at that ornament and the date inscribed on the back of it, I didn't understand her answer. How could you love someone but not be able to stand being around them? At nine, I'd chalked it up to being grown up. They had problems that I couldn't understand as a kid.

But now that I was sixteen, I wondered if it had been something else, something that she never wanted to talk about, even in her more lucid moments.

I wished that she'd been able to continue on that medicine, but unfortunately, it was too expensive for our family, and she had to be taken off of it. Nothing they'd put her on since had worked half as well, which was sad to me, but at least I'd gotten a little bit of time with the mother I should've known.

"Ah, there you are."

I stepped back from the tree as I heard Michael's voice. I hadn't even noticed that he'd come in there. I turned around and found him standing in the large doorway to the den room. He was holding a cup of coffee and dressed in dark pants and a white dress shirt.

"Good morning. Merry Christmas." I greeted him, walking over and giving him a hug.

"Merry Christmas sweetheart. Looks like this will be our first together since you were a baby." Michael responded.

"No kidding. At least I can remember this one." I joked, glancing at the tree.

Michael walked over there with me, "Come on. I already had your gifts under here, so you can have them now."

It was a new experience for me to be able to open my gifts there on Christmas day. In all of the years past, I always got my gifts from him for my birthday and Christmas when I came to visit for the summer.

There was a good reason for that too. Michael always feared that my grandmother wouldn't give them to me if he sent them down to Miami. The two had apparently never gotten along, and my grandmother had objected very strongly when Mom had agreed to let him start having me for the summers. Due to that, there was concern that she may not let me have packages from him.

But that was okay with me. I liked coming up there and getting my gifts every year. It was like Christmas twice a year for me.

Our morning went by very smoothly, and I loved Michael's gifts. He always did get me nice things, and usually stuff that I'd be able to use in my every day life. This year he had gotten me a new Windows laptop, along with a new purple iPhone.

But my favorite gift was definitely the gold cross he'd had made for me. I loved collecting them, and having one so personal was like a dream come true.

Sitting on that couch as the afternoon rolled around, I was going through the music list I'd downloaded onto my new iPhone. I was really liking this new cell phone. I could do just about anything I wanted on it. Not to mention with the iTunes gift card Michael had included with it, I was able to put some of my favorite music on there. Yep, my dad definitely got the best gifts.

I was so into listening to my music that I didn't even notice someone walk up behind me. I almost jumped when I felt someone wrap their arms around my shoulders. I immediately relaxed though as I realized who it was.

"Hey, welcome home." Raziel greeted me.

I returned his smile, "Thanks. It's good to be back."

Raziel hopped over the top of the couch to sit beside me, "New iPhone huh? Got anything good on here?" he asked as I let him see my phone.

"Just a little right now. I'm still playing with it."

I was studying my cousin as we sat there. He looked like he'd grown a little more since I'd seen him the summer before. I had to admit that Raziel had become a very handsome guy now, although he'd always been a good-looking boy. He had the same white blonde hair and blue eyes that seemed to run in the Renaldi family, and was almost as tall as my dad.

I shook my head slightly. Even just dressed in blue jeans and a casual looking long sleeved black shirt, he was still incredibly handsome. Too bad I didn't get the Renaldi looks like he did.

"So what was it like to finally have Christmas back here?" Raziel went on as he handed my phone back.

"It's been different, but I've been enjoying it. So, what about you? How was your morning?" I asked, leaning my arm on the back of the couch and facing him completely.

"The usual, at least for Christmas. But I really wanted to get down here. I still can't believe what happened yesterday. So your grandma really decided that you should just live up here with Michael now? That's a complete one eighty from everything's she's ever said before. Has she finally lost her marbles too?" Raziel commented.

"Come on Raziel. Don't say that about Mom. You know it's not her fault."

"Sorry. Bad habit. But seriously, why do this so suddenly? They could've just left you here when you came for the summer."

I shrugged my shoulders, pushing my hair back, "I don't know. Grand mom just decided she wanted to do that, so I ended up here. But it's not like it was a bad thing."

"No, it's not. In fact, it's the best thing that could've happened." I heard Raphael say.

We both looked over to see him coming in with Michael. Both sat in the chairs near us.

I always felt like neither of them had changed since I'd begun coming there as a child. Raphael had always come off as the oldest when it came to the Renaldi siblings. He was a little taller than Michael and seemed to have a bit more of an air of superiority to him at times. Of course, those eyes of his didn't help with that either. Like I said before, Raphael had the most powerful eyes in this family.

But there was one person aside from Michael and Gabrielle who had no issue in rebuffing Raphael when he felt like it. That would be his son, Raziel.

"Maybe, but seriously, there's nothing good about her kicking Mia out on Christmas Eve and not saying anything to us." he argued.

Yep, this was just like Raziel. He loved challenging Raphael whenever he had the chance. I believe that they had a personality clash a lot of times, and as I stated, Raziel was always far less intimidated by his father than anyone else.

"And what's done is done. I told you that last night. There's nothing more that you need to worry about with this. I'm sure Mia is more than happy to be back now and she doesn't need you to keep bringing this up." Raphael informed him.

"Yeah, I am." I agreed. I smiled at my uncle, "Merry Christmas too."

"Merry Christmas Mia. It's good to see that you're finally back, although the circumstances could've been better." Raphael admitted.

"It's okay. I'm doing fine now, and I'm glad to be back." I assured him.

Raziel seemed to be giving up on his argument. He'd pulled out his iPhone and was typing a quick text.

"Yeah. It's good to have you back too, and it looks like you'll be going to school with me when we go back. Now that's going to be interesting." he commented.

"I'm taking it that you didn't have any problems with the records from Penny." Michael noted, turning to attention to Raphael.

"Not really, although she didn't want to talk to me. I think she prefers talking to you. But I don't take anything from her and she's well aware of it." Raphael replied, a slight smile crossing his face.

He was right about that. If there was one person on my dad's side of the family that my grandmother couldn't stand more than my father, it was my uncle. There were many times when I was younger that I'd hear her talking to my grandfather about Raphael. She had a habit of referring to him as a devil. I don't know what went on in their conversations, but it must not have been anything good in her eyes.

"Well, I suppose if she tries to rebuff you then we can start Mia without the records for a while. It wouldn't surprise me if she gave us a hard time. Maybe I should've called her myself." Michael lamented, looking a little put out now. Maybe he hadn't considered the hostility between my grandmother and uncle until now.

"You can't deny that she tends to be a very shrewd woman most of the time. I've told you before this that you should've fought more for Mia staying here. Missy wasn't in any shape to keep her and Penny didn't have full court custody." Raphael reminded him.

"And this is an old argument. You and I both know that Penny would've found a way to drag things out and make Mia's life more difficult. Besides, she's here now and it's over with. Hopefully she'll be able to start school on time and everything will go smoothly." Michael countered.

Raziel smiled, "No kidding. Like I said, this is going to be a very interesting year now. Two Renaldi kids in one high school and the same grade."

He typed another quick message on his phone. I wondered who he was talking to on there. It seemed a little rude to do on Christmas with your family, but far be it for me to say anything to him.

"Just remember, no trouble Raziel, and get off of that phone before I take it again." Raphael warned him.

"Me? Trouble? Never." Raziel responded, ignoring him about the phone.

"Raziel..." Raphael started. I could hear the disapproving tone in his voice, even if he didn't bother raising it.

Raziel put his phone back in his pocket, "Okay, okay. It's gone."

I giggled to myself. Raziel wasn't really bad, but he did tend to be a troublemaker at times, and he really enjoyed seeing how far he could push his father wherever he could.

My attention was drawn away by the sound of a car pulling up outside. Michael looked at the nearby window.

"It looks like she made it after all." he commented.

"She did tell me this morning that she'd finally gotten the holiday off, although I didn't get to mention to her that Mia's here." Raphael admitted, looking over at the window too.

That caught Raziel's attention, "Hold up. You didn't tell Aunt Gabrielle that Mia was here when you talked to her this morning?" he said in disbelief.

"No, I didn't. I forgot to mention it, considering I was too busy this morning asking you to get off of your phone so we could get ready to leave." Raphael replied curtly.

I laughed as Raziel made face at him, although he didn't argue. Michael got up and went out to the foyer to answer the door.

Raziel flashed me a smile, "Come on. Let's go."

Coming to the doorway leading out to the foyer, I saw Gabrielle stepping inside and making sure the snow was off of her boots.

"Merry Christmas. It's great to actually see you on the day." she was saying to Michael.

Like the rest of the Renaldis, Gabrielle was a very beautiful woman. Dressed in dark blue jeans with knee high boots and a blue turtleneck, her long auburn hair fell down her back and framed what I considered to be a model's face. She had the same eyes as Michael, sky blue in color, and they were accentuated by her shirt.

Michael returned her smile, "Merry Christmas to you too. It's good to see that you got off this time around. How'd you manage it?" he asked her.

"I lucked out in having a friend want to switch shifts with me the other day, so I'm actually getting all of Christmas and tomorrow off. It was a great early present." Gabrielle explained, sounding thrilled. She probably was when I considered it. Being a doctor, she probably never got any holidays off.

"No kidding. I got an early present myself last night." Michael told her.

"Really? What was it?" Gabrielle asked.

"I got my little girl back for good."

Gabrielle looked surprised as she glanced at the doorway that Raziel and I were standing in. I waved a little, smiling in spite of myself.

"Better go over and say hi or she'll think we didn't want to see her." Raziel whispered jokingly.

I walked over there with him, "My goodness, this is a surprise. How are you?" Gabrielle asked as she hugged me.

"I'm good now. This was kind of sudden, but I'm glad to be back." I answered as she pulled back.

This was all so familiar now. The soft embrace of her hug, the smell of her perfume. It only added to the warm feeling that I kept having from the moment I'd walked back into that house the night before.

Raphael was watching as well, "You certainly lucked out this year. You're actually able to grace us with your company today." he commented.

"Like you're complaining. You've been telling me for the last five years that I needed to make sure to take off for the holidays more." Gabrielle teased. She smiled at Raziel, "And how's my favorite nephew been?"

"Fine. although Dad's on me a lot with school again." Raziel replied, crossing his arms.

"I wouldn't have to be if you actually did like you're supposed to, and I know you can." Raphael countered.

"I'm doing better. I keep telling you that Miss Harris is boring, and it makes it harder to pay attention to her." Raziel retorted.

"Oh, the dreaded Miss Harris huh?" Gabrielle noted, nodding her head like she knew exactly what this was all about.

Michael chuckled, "We all know about that one. The woman couldn't really stand us either."

"No. She didn't even like me that much and I was the lovable one." Gabrielle complained. She turned her attention back to me, "I wish I'd known you were coming back Mia. I feel bad now. I didn't have a chance to bring you any gifts." she continued.

"It's okay. It was kind of a sudden thing." I assured her.

Nope, I wasn't touching the truth about this right now. I'd leave that to Michael.

"Why don't I make up for it tomorrow? We'll go shopping and I can get you a couple of new outfits. How does that sound?" Gabrielle suggested.

She looked excited now. In the years I'd been coming there, I'd found that Gabrielle tended to treat me like the daughter she'd never had. Whenever she had time off during the summer, she'd insist to Michael that she needed to have the opportunity to do something girly with me. Not that I ever minded. I loved hanging out with my aunt. She was a lot of fun to be around, and we usually ended up doing some pretty neat stuff.

"Okay. If Dad thinks it's all right." I agreed.

"I don't see why not. It'll give me some time to get things in order for her to start school, not to mention that there is something else I'd like to look into." Michael responded.

I didn't like how he said that. He was planning something.

"Wonderful." Gabrielle chimed.

I couldn't really argue the enthusiasm in this. I felt a little bit of it myself, and the more time I spent around my father's family, the more I felt at ease.

We ended up spending the next two hours just hanging out together and acting like a family should. I'll admit that it was a huge difference from what my home life had become down in Miami. I usually just ended up hanging out in my room or out in the back yard. It was nice to actually be around others on Christmas and in a loving and open atmosphere.

After dinner, Raziel pulled me aside in the hallway.

"Hey, want to get out of here for a bit?" he suggested, giving me the same smile he always did when he wanted to get into something away from our parents.

I couldn't see myself passing him up on the offer. For as much as I was enjoying my time there with the rest of our family, I also wanted to get back out into Madison. I'd never seen this town during the winter before, and especially never with snow like we had now.

"Sounds good, but do you think it's okay for us to go out like this?" I asked him as I glanced back towards the den room where my father, aunt and uncle were sitting and talking.

"I don't think they'll mind, but I'll bring it up." Raziel replied. He walked over to the doorway, "Hey, is it okay if I take Mia out and show her around with all the snow on the ground? We'll be back before it starts getting dark."

Raphael nodded, glancing at my dad, "It's your call Michael, but I don't think it will hurt anything."

"I suppose. Just be careful out there and watch for black ice. Even though they've salted the roads ahead of time there still can be some." Michael told him.

"Sure. We'll see you soon." Raziel agreed.

"That was easy." I noted as we grabbed our coats.

"I didn't think they'd have any problem with it. It's not like Madison is that big of a place. Besides, the roads were fine when me and Dad came here." Raziel assured me. He opened the front door, "After you."

I smiled as I stepped outside. The air was cold yet felt crisp and fresh. I laughed as I saw my breath. Nope, never had anything like that down in Miami. Even though the nights could get cold, they didn't get this cold.

Stepping off of the stairs, I looked down at my feet as they crunched in the snow. As silly as it seems, I felt like a little kid again. Guess that's what happens when you experience something like this for the first time.

Raziel followed me out, standing by the steps and laughing at me.

"You look like a little kid doing that." he teased.

"So what? I feel like a little kid. In case you've forgotten, I've never seen snow before." I informed him.

I didn't bother turning to look at him. I was busy picking up some snow in my hands and throwing it into the air.

Raziel took my hand, "Okay little kid. Come on. I want to show you something."

"Show me what?" I asked, following as he pulled me along to the cars in front of the house.

"My birthday present. Isn't it awesome?" Raziel gestured with his free hand to the pretty black SUV parked near us.

I stared as the reality sunk in, "Are you serious Raziel? That's your car?"

Raziel grinned, "Yep. Dad finally agreed to let me have a car for my birthday, as long as I took care of it and helped with the payments. He even let me pick it. Nice, huh?"

"Nice? It's beautiful. Is this a Lexus?" I asked, walking around the SUV to get a better look.

"Yep. It's an RX350. I kept telling Dad that I loved these cars, so he finally let me get one. Come on. Get in and I'll show you what it has." Raziel offered, opening the passenger door for me.

I was really shocked as I got into that SUV and looked around. I couldn't believe that Raziel had gotten a Lexus. But I had to admit that I loved it. This thing was beautiful. The seats were a light grey leather and the inside very spacious.

Raziel hopped into the driver's seat and turned on the car, getting it warmed up for us.

"Does this thing have a navigation system in it?" I continued, looking at the large screen on the console.

"Yeah. It's also got a rear-view camera, so Dad says that I don't have an excuse if I back into something. The seats are heated too. That's great in this kind of weather. Seriously, when Michael buys you a car, you should look into one like this." Raziel responded.

"Raziel, I really don't think that Michael is going to buy me a car."

I could hear how unsure I sounded. I honestly couldn't say for certain that Michael wouldn't do that. After all, he did like spoiling me, and he'd bought me expensive things before.

Raziel wasn't put off, "Trust me, it's gonna happen. I bet he's already thinking about it now that you're back for good."

He put the car in drive, and we began riding down the long driveway. Looking at the surrounding trees, I smiled as I took in the snow covering them. It was like being in a landscape painting.

"This car rides pretty nice too. You're lucky that Raphael was so liberal about this." I commented as we pulled out onto the main road. Thankfully it all looked clear.

"I know and I'll admit it. But I meant it too when I promised him that I'd take good care of this car. I really like it and it's something I'm proud of." Raziel told me.

"I could see that." I looked at the passing scenery around us, "So where are we going?"

"Just into town. I thought you might want to see it all decorated."

"Sounds fun."

It didn't take us that long to get to town from where we lived. Although the stores were closed for Christmas, they still had their window displays lit for the holiday. With the fresh snow it was all very pretty.

"So what do you think?" Raziel asked as we rode out of the last block.

"I think it looks beautiful here, although it's kind of nice to get out of the house too. As much as I like being there, I was feeling a little suffocated." I confessed.

I sat back in the leather seat and took a long breath. Things were starting to weigh on me a little bit. I still didn't understand what could've happened with my mother and it made me worry about her.

Raziel glanced at me as we sat at the stop sign, then rubbed my shoulder, "Hey, stop worrying so much. Everything's going to turn out fine here. We'll make sure of that." he promised.

"I know. I just don't get it. It was all so weird when Grand mom made me leave." I told him.

Raziel pulled into a parking lot off of the side of the road between the houses and the woods, turning to me after he put the SUV in park.

"You know, maybe we should talk about this now. It's not like you've told me a lot about what happened yesterday. How come you suddenly got sent up here with us?"

He was sounding gentler now, being genuinely concerned for me.

I drew in a breath before answering. Time to make myself strong again. I didn't like others seeing that I was vulnerable. It was a force of habit for me. Never let others think you're weak. Maybe it was because of how I was raised.

"I really don't know why it happened like it did. I was out window shopping yesterday afternoon, and when I came home, I found Grand mom packing my suitcase; and when I asked her what she was doing, she told me that I had to leave and live with Michael now." I explained.

"So she seriously was packing your stuff for you and just told you to leave?" Raziel asked.

I shook my head, looking down, "I don't know why. It was so weird. It was like she was scared of something, and she said something about what Mom said and what she saw. But Mom was always saying weird things, so I don't understand what was so different about this." I went on.

Raziel was quiet. I watched him as he sat back in his seat and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel.

"It does sound weird, and not to be rude or anything, but it makes me wonder if she was losing it too." he finally said.

"It's not really rude Raziel, but I don't think that she was losing it. It was like she was scared of something. But I don't know what. Maybe it was better that she sent me back here though, if that was the case. Maybe she was scared that Mom might be dangerous, and she didn't want me to get hurt." I reasoned.

"Yeah. Maybe." Raziel muttered. He looked like he was really thinking hard about something. There was a set look in his eyes as he looked out of the windshield.

I just sat there, looking out with him. I could see the woods looming in front of us. With the white of the snow on the pine trees and all of the leaves gone from the other trees, they looked so different now.

But as I looked at them, I realized that there was a bit of movement in the brush towards the entrance. Tilting my head a little, I stared at the spot where I'd seen it. But just as quickly, it seemed like it was gone.

"Hey Raziel, did you see that?" I asked without thinking.

Raziel blinked, "Huh? See what?"

"There. I thought I saw something moving in the woods."

Raziel shook his head as he looked, "No. I don't see anything. It was probably just the snow shifting. It looks like things sometimes when it falls off of the branches in there." he told me.

"Yeah. I guess you're right." I agreed, although I didn't really think so. I wondered if I was seeing things. Maybe I was just over tired and stressed with everything that had happened to me in the last twenty-four hours.

Raziel put an arm around my shoulders, "Stop worrying so much. I told you, everything's going to be fine. I'll make sure of it as much as Michael will, okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Raziel."

"No problem. Come on. Let's get back. I don't think we need them to get worried about us."

But even as he pulled back out of that parking lot, I kept looking back at those woods. Something about them felt strange now. In fact, it was the same strange feeling that I'd gotten the night before. Like someone or something was watching me.

But I decided not to say anything about it to Raziel. I just turned away and listened to the soft crunch of the snow under our tires as Raziel pulled out onto the open road. There were still spots where it was piled on the roads, and each time we went over them I heard that familiar crunching sound. Shivering slightly, I played with the vent near me. Thank God this car had a good heating system. I wasn't used to this yet.

It wasn't a long ride back to the Michael's house, although I couldn't say that I would've minded too much if it was. I really liked Raziel's new car. The snow had started falling again as we pulled up to the house. Looked like the winter weather wasn't quite done in Madison.

Raziel parked the car and looked closer out of the windshield, "Looks like that second system's coming in earlier than they thought. Good thing we got back here now. Dad probably won't want to stay much longer with what's coming tonight." he admitted.

"Is it supposed to be bad?" I asked him.

"Just some heavy snow through the night, but it should clear up by morning. Come on. Let's get back in."

I opened my own and stepped out into the snow again, although it still felt a little strange to be standing there in it. Everything about it was just so different from what I'd known before.

But as I stood there, that same distinct feeling of being watched came over me again. Looking at the nearby woods, I tried to see if I could tell where it was coming from, but all I saw was the white of the snow and slight green of the pine needles still on some of the trees.

Raziel stepped over beside me. "Hey, come on. It's starting to get really cold out here." he said quietly.

"Yeah." I whispered, making myself look at him. To my surprise, he was looking in the same direction of the woods that I had been looking at. There was a set look in his eyes, almost like he was staring something down. But before I could say anything, he forced me to turn with him.

"Seriously, come on. You're going to make yourself sick out here. I know you're definitely not used to this kind of cold." he told me. A smile crossed his face as he said the last part.

I smiled back, "No kidding. I'm not sure I like this cold part of all of it."

I sighed in relief as we stepped into the warm house. Yeah, it was definitely very cold out there. Putting our coats away, we found Michael, Raphael and Gabrielle in the kitchen. They were sitting at the bar in there, talking quietly among themselves.

For a moment, Raziel and I stood by the doorway and listened as they spoke. Apparently, they were talking about my grandmother and hadn't noticed that we were back yet.

"I'm telling you, something sounds really strange about that. Maybe you should check on them later. Penny was always so adamant that she wasn't giving Mia back. Something must have happened there to make her change her mind that quickly." Gabrielle was saying.

"Perhaps, but I don't think we need to question it that much. After all, it did work to our benefit to get Mia back for good." Raphael told her.

"It did, although I still feel bad for Missy. Even with as sick as she's been, she was still trying to do her best for Mia when she could. This may be for the best, but I have to agree with Gabby. Something's odd about it." Michael admitted.

The three became quiet for a few minutes. I looked up at Raziel.

"Is something else going on?" I whispered.

Something about this felt strange to me. Almost like they knew something more about my grandmother's actions then they wanted to tell me.

Raziel shook his head, taking my shoulders and quietly guiding me out to the den room, "I wouldn't worry about it. I think they're just wondering about all of it too. But let's stay out here. I don't feel like getting into the middle of all of that."

I smiled as I sat down on the couch with him and he turned on the TV. After flipping through a few channels, he finally stopped on the first Jackass movie.

"Are you serious? You know this is a stupid movie." I complained.

"Oh come on. It's funny." Raziel defended.

"Only to boys."

"All right, all right. I'll find something else."

Nope, nothing unusual here with us. While we tended to hang out together a lot, we never quite agreed on what shows to watch.

The debate went on for another five minutes before we finally settled on a rerun of Family Guy. Yeah, it wasn't much better, but at least it was something to make me laugh. I could remember my grandmother always telling me how terrible this show was, but I really liked it. Something about it just drew me in.

Curling up against Raziel, we grabbed a nearby blanket and enjoyed the warmth and funny TV show; and sitting there, I finally began to relax again.

We were almost through the second episode when Raphael came in there.

"I thought I heard you come back. But we need to get going Raziel. The weather's starting to get worse." he told us.

"Oh come on. I want to finish watching Family Guy." Raziel complained.

"And you can watch it at home if you're really that interested. We need to get going."

I hadn't wanted to move from my comfortable spot against him, but I knew that I didn't have a choice. Raphael did have a point about the weather turning worse outside. I could see the snow falling harder through the front bay window.

"I guess I should get moving too. It was good seeing everyone though, and I'll be back tomorrow for Mia." Gabrielle was saying to Michael as we walked out to the foyer. She already had her coat on.

"Thanks for coming today. I think this has turned out a lot nicer this year with all of us here." Michael commented, giving her a quick hug.

"Oh, I do too. I'm going to start taking the holidays off more." Gabrielle agreed. She gave the rest of us a quick hug as well, then stepped outside to her car to get going.

It was shortly after her that Raphael and Raziel left, although not without one last debate about who was going to drive. Raphael made no bones about the fact that he didn't want Raziel driving in this yet. Raziel swore that he could. Their home wasn't that far away.

After a good five minutes of this, Raphael finally decided to go ahead and let up just a little bit. However, he did tell Raziel that he'd have to pay for any repairs if anything happened. Raziel just shrugged him off. He wasn't worried at all. But watching them leave, I hoped Raziel's confidence would be proven.

Michael ran a hand through his hair, "This certainly has been a busy day, but at least it turned out well." he commented.

He looked a bit tired, but I would've imagined that my dad had a lot on his mind from the night before. Today was actually more of a letdown for both of us.

"Do you really think it was okay for Raziel to drive?" I asked as I faced him.

"I personally don't see where it hurts anything. He's a good driver from what I've seen, and Raphael needs to let him do more now that he's bought him that car. Besides, it's not like Raziel doesn't know that Raphael would take the keys if he didn't do right." Michael assured me.

The two of us walked into the den and sat down together on the couch. I curled up with my blanket again. Even though the house was warm I still felt the chill from where the front door had been opened and closed. I guess I wasn't getting that used to this weather after all.

"Still cold?" Michael asked as I leaned against him and he put an arm around me.

I nodded, "I'm not used to this yet."

"I'm sure it will come in time. After all, you haven't been up here in the winter since you were two years old."

"It still feels a little bit strange, but I'm starting to get used to it." I thought about what he'd been talking about with Raphael and Gabrielle when I'd come back with Raziel, "Hey Dad, do you really think something was going on with Mom and that's why Grand mom sent me back here?"

Michael considered his answer. I listened to the laughter on the TV as we sat there. Seinfeld had come on and the background laughter reminded me of the happy time of year that this was supposed to be.

Michael finally spoke, "I can't really say. Your grandmother has never liked talking to me about anything, and she hasn't made an effort to since yesterday. Of course, maybe letting your uncle talk to her earlier wasn't the best idea. I may give her a call later, just to check on things. This does concern me a little that perhaps your mother is getting worse, and I'm still open to offering any help I can."

His words didn't surprise me. I knew from the first day that Michael and I had seen each other again that he still cared deeply for my mother. He hadn't wanted things to turn out like they had. But he also didn't blame her for anything. She was just very sick. At least, that's what he'd always tell me as a child.

"Don't blame your mother for the things she does or her having to leave here." he'd say, "She's just very sick, and hopefully one day they can find the right medicine for her."

I closed my eyes as I leaned against him and snuggled. That familiar feeling of comfort was back. The soft feel of his shoulder as I laid my head against it, along with the familiar scent of his cologne. They were all things I'd become easily accustomed to as a child after coming back to him. Every touch, every scent was always comforting to me.

Michael broke the comfortable silence after a few minutes.

"You know, on a different subject, I have been thinking too."

"About what?" I asked, lifting my head a little to look at him.

There was a pleasant smile on his face now. I wasn't too sure that I liked it. Anytime Michael looked like this and said he was thinking about something to me, it usually meant that he wanted to do something big, and far be it for me to try and say no. That never worked.

"Well, I've been considering the fact that I didn't know that you were coming down here this soon. It's kind of put a dent in my plans for next summer. So maybe we can just go through with them tomorrow after Gabrielle brings you back from your shopping trip." Michael replied.

"What kind of plans?" I asked, sitting myself up completely.

"You'll see tomorrow. I think you'll like them though."

"Come on Dad. Nothing too big, okay? I just got back."

"Don't worry. It's nothing too terribly big, and like I said, it was something I'd planned for this coming summer anyway."

"I guess."

I felt a bit defeated. It was hard to tell what Michael was planning with all of this. But I'd learned a long time ago that it was better to just to go with it. Like I said before, I wouldn't win by saying no.

Michael laughed softly, "I promise it won't be that bad. Just relax sweetheart."

I laid back against him again. But looking out of the nearby bay window at the falling snow, I thought about what I'd thought I'd seen in the woods earlier with Raziel.

"Hey Dad, are there a lot of animals around here?" I had to ask.

"There's always been a fair amount, even around town. Why?" Michael responded.

"I don't know. I just thought I saw something in the woods earlier when I was riding with Raziel. I've seen the deer and all before, but this looked like it was white. I'm not even sure if I really saw it or not." I admitted.

"You could've seen a deer. Their pelts get covered by the snow sometimes and it makes them appear white in the woods. Plus, I wouldn't rule out an albino showing up here and there. We do tend to have a lot of deer around here. Be sure to watch out for them when you're driving from now on. They're known to cause a lot of accidents on these roads." Michael warned me.

"I will, although I don't have a car right now, so I don't think I really need to worry about it."

"Maybe not, but we'll get you one eventually."

"I'm not that worried about that."

I really wasn't that keen on him saying that I'd be getting a car. As much as I liked Raziel's, it still seemed like it was a bit too much for me.

"Anyway," Michael went on, "getting back to the subject before, you probably just saw a deer blending in as it moved around the woods. That's all that was. There's nothing really dangerous around here."

"Okay. I guess that makes sense."

Michael gently pushed my hair back, "Don't worry about anything. You're here with me now and I won't let anything happen to you. Things are going to be better from now on." he promised me.

I took that promise to heart as I nodded. I'd always trusted Michael, no matter what. He'd been nothing but good to me since the day I'd been able to come back there with him, and deep inside, I think I knew that everything would be okay too. Living with Michael would be much better for me. I had nothing to worry about.

Or at least that was what I assumed at the time, before I started learning some of the truth.