Chloe pinned on her other earring. She was running late and she knew it. Shannon had waited as long as she could, but she couldn't wait forever. Chloe grunted as she tried to fit her foot into her shoes. THey pinched, evidence of a growing foot. "Not now foot! I've got to go!" Chloe laughed at herself for talking to her foot. She was startled by a knock at the door.

Chloe rushed to it. Her breath stopped when she saw who it was. "Brent."

"Ready?" Allan asked, smiling his brightest smile.

"As I'll ever be. Let's go," Francesca brushed aside a strand of her thick brown hair.

The two walked under the stars on that Christmas night. Several cars passed by them, all of them heading to the Kennedy Christmas Party. It was the most important event of the season, next to the upcoming Madison's Ball. As the two lovebirds walked on, their thoughts were on nothing but each other. At least that was the case for one of them.

"If you know what's good, Amante, you will not show up here. God please, keep Amante away from here," Francesca pleaded internally.

"I have a feeling that this is going to be the best Christmas ever. After all, I do have you," Allan said into the air, though speaking to Francesca.

"When we get there I want you to meet someone. She's new, but she's the sweetest doll I've ever known, ok?"

"If it'll make you happy, then I'll do it."

Amber walked up to the gate of the Kennedy Gardens. The gardens stood before her, beautiful and radiant in the night, as she produced her invitation to the gatekeeper. He opened the gate and let her in. She smiled. Amber had a feeling that this Christmas was going to be an extra special one.

Amber was so occupied in her thoughts that she didn't notice someone running her way. Finally, a shout yanked Amber out of her thinking. She turned around, and saw Carrie Emerson running towards her. "Carrie? What on earth are you doing?"

Carrie finally slowed down. Her silky black pants halted their swishing. "I saw you across the lot, so I thought I'd ask you what was going on with the Francesca situation."

Amber smirked. "Everything is going just the way I thought it would. But where were you? I asked you to help me!"

"I've been busy with my own situation, Amber. Jessica came out of her coma and I'm afraid she's going to tell all. Blast that wench!" Carrie cried vehemently, slamming her fist on the cement wall next to them.

"Just calm down, my friend. You don't get mad, you get even. I say pay a visit to little Miss Jessica and tell her exactly what will happen if she dares cross you, understood? Don't just make idle threats. Prove to her that you mean business."

Carrie pondered on the idea for a moment. A slow smile began appearing at the corners of her mouth. "I think you're on to something, Am. I think I will do that. Thanks. I'll see you around."

Gemini walked to the gardens with Ariel. Though Gemini had forgiven Ariel, the two were far from the best friends they used to be. Things had never been the same after the Rusty situation.

Thinking of Rusty, Ariel inquired, "Where is Rusty? I haven't seen him for the past week or so."

Gemini stopped walking. "Didn't you hear? Rusty moved."

"Moved! When?" Ariel shouted.

"His mother remarried. They left a week and a half ago. The sad part about it is that Rusty didn't even know his mother was dating anyone. It came as a real shock to him," Gemini explained without batting an eyelid.

Ariel's mouth and eyes were all O's. "I can't believe this is happening. Rusty was our best friend!"

A sly smile appeared on Gemini's face. "Yes, I suppose he was."

At that moment, Gemini spotted Sloane talking to Robin near the entrance of the gardens. "It's been nice chatting, Ariel, but I've gotta run. See you soon."

Chloe walked with Brent back to Eve's room. She was thrilled just to be near him, but didn't let him know it. She was just a friend, that was all. "Is Eve OK with me walking with you guys?"

"Yeah. There's no reason for her not to be."

Chloe turned her head the other way. She didn't want to betray any secret she kept well-hidden. "Of course not."

The two quickly picked up Eve, dressed in long, loose brown pants, before leaving for the gardens. "Hello, Chloe," Eve greeted, looking sidewise at Chloe.

"Hello, Eve," Chloe replied without even looking back. Chloe was convinced this would be a night to remember.

Mel finished talking with Zach before walking towards Chantal, who was talking with Melanie and Karen. "Hi, Chantal."

Chantal didn't even turn around to look at him. She continued talking to her friends. Melanie and Karen looked uncomfortable.

"I think it's Mel, Chantal," Karen said.

Chantal rolled her eyes, but because her back was to Mel, he didn't see.

"Look, Chantal, could you please just give me a minute to apologize for some things I said earlier."

"Why?" Chantal wheeled around, facing him angrily. "Why should I waste time on someone who spends his time meddling in other people's business? Answer me that!"

"Because this meddlesome person is truly sorry and doesn't want you to be mad at him." Mel gave his best puppy dog face, making his eyes so wide they looked like they'd pop out of his head any minute, and puffing out his bottom lip until it could go no farther.

Chantal laughed in spite of herself. She laughed until she had to double-over, and tears were coming out of her eyes. "OK, OK. Just don't make that face again! Bwahahaha!"

Mel put on a mock offended look. "I didn't know I was so ugly."

"No, of course you wouldn't," Chantal said, then stopped herself. "I mean, you wouldn't know how funny you looked. Come on, let's go up to the Fountain."

Chantal took Mel's arm and the two walked up to the front of the gardens.

Francesca and Allan, entering the Kennedy Gardens, looked around the place with shining eyes. Everything was so beautiful. Everything from the golden lights that lined the paths that winded through the gardens to the gardens filled with flowers of all kinds themselves.

"Francesca! Francesca!" a young woman clad in a long brown velvet dress called.

"Oh, Allan! This is the person I wanted you to meet!" Francesca exclaimed, grabbing Allan's arm and taking him over to the young woman. "Allan, this is Adrienne DeMaise. Adrienne, this is my boyfriend Allan Benton."

"Pleasure to meet you," Allan bowed.

"Same here," Adrienne managed a curtsey. "I hope you don't mind if I steal Francesca from time to time. She's really the only I know here."

"Sure, that's no problem. I'm used to letting other people borrow off my girl, just not other men," Allan laughed.

Francesca laughed uncomfortably.

Shannon tapped on the microphone to make sure it was working. "Hey, everyone!" she called to the crowd.

A chorus of "Hey!"'s came back. Shannon laughed.

"OK, I think it's time that we get this party started! I know most of you don't like this part, but I think you really need to hear it anyways. As you know, the members serving on the Kennedy Gardens Board always elect someone to give the Christmas speech of that year. I'm proud to say that this year I've been chosen. If any one of you leave this area right now, I'll shoot you!"

"But I've gotta go to the bathroom!" someone shouted back. Everyone laughed.

"It can wait. Now, for my Christmas speech," Shannon pulled out a sheet of paper from her short brown leather jacket. "Well, everyone, this is it! This is the last Christmas of the 20th Century. So I think that this year we need to remember what Christmas really is. I'll admit, I love to wake up on Christmas morning to a huge truckload of presents from my family and friends. In fact, that's what makes Christmas one of my favorite times of the year! But there's something other than that that makes Christmas special. Now, I certainly don't offend anyone here who doesn't believe in the birth and death of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, but I have to put this in my speech because it has a lot to do with what Christmas is all about."

"Christmas is a special time of year, much like Thanksgiving. It's on this day that we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, who most people believe is the Messiah. Yeah, historians have been debating over the real birthdate of Jesus, but that doesn't matter. It's today that we honor the memory of Christ. You see, Jesus lived his entire life giving to others. He didn't have much himself, but he used what he have to give to others. There were many times that he could've just said 'Forget it! No one believes me, no one thinks I'm worth anything, and no one cares! Why should I waste my time on them?' But he never did. Jesus's entire life is a testimonial to the spirit of giving. Do you think that we could maybe just spend one day doing what Jesus did all thirtysomething years of his life?"

"Over this Christmas break, if you go home to the hundred-and-one presents that await you under an enormous tree, think about the people out there who only have one present, or maybe none at all. Maybe you could donate one of your presents to someone who could use it a lot more than you. Isn't that what Christmas is all about? Isn't it about sharing, caring, and giving to others? It's time for us to remember who Jesus Christ really was, folks. And whether you believe in him or not, it should be a universally accepted thing that it is better to give to others than to receive from others. All I ask is that you spend a little time thinking about, praying about, or possibly even helping the billions of people who could use your help. Just spend a few hours giving of your time to others. If you ever see the smile on a little child's face resulting from someone taking the time to care about them, it will hit you. That is what Christmas is all about."

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