"Put this one near the top," Gwen instructed, handing a delicate blue glass ornament to Jamie.

"I wanna help!" Jesse yelled, jumping up and down. He opened his hands, expecting an ornament to be dropped at his command.

"Not this tree, Little Man," Jamie said, rumpling his hair. "This is Grandma's special tree. You and Chris get to do the one at home. Now go see what Chris is up to over by the fire place." He reached up and hooked a ball over a branch, stepping back to see how it looked. "I can't believe you still care what people think about your Christmas decorations, Mother."

"Of course I care! And so should you. After all, when I am dead and gone, you and Michaela will be left to carry on what I have built for you here," she admonished, picking out another glass ornament.  

"Oh that's positive," Dane called from the other side of the tree. "I'm sure that's just what Jamie wanted to hear."

"Thank you Dane."  

"Honestly, Jamie," Gwen cut in, exasperated. "I do so much to make something of our family and you continue to ignore my efforts. Hallie is more grateful than you are!"

"Thanks, Mother. You've just officially made me feel like an ingrate. It really is Christmas after all!"  

"Are you finished being sarcastic?" Gwen asked, cutting through him with a cold stare.  "Because if you aren't perhaps you should go find your cousin out on the terrace and tell him to come inside. It's far too cold for him to be out there without a coat on."  

Jamie shrugged briefly, before handing over head decorating duties to Dane. Jude hadn't been the same since his unfortunate afternoon at Connie's. Thankfully, he'd stayed away from Cynthia Mitchell, but his mood was somber and foul. He found Jude leaning against the stone railing, staring at the grounds. It wasn't as cold as Gwen thought, Jamie thought aimlessly. It was a bit foggy but not too bad.  

"Hey." Jude turned around, giving him an empty gaze. "Don't you want to be in on the festivities in there? Having Mother tell me where to hang her balls is a blast," he added trying not to smirk at his own dumb joke. Jude gave him a baleful look and shook his head.

"I'd rather..." He stopped himself from replying and turned away. "I'm not in the mood," he said instead.

"You haven't been in the mood for much of anything since last week. You still upset over Maura?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but yes. I am still upset." Jamie drew back, pulling himself up to his full height.

"Don't speak to me that way Jude. I'm on your side. Remember? We're cousins. Best Friends. Brothers? Remember that?" He asked, the memory of their vow as children to be loyal to one another always, surfacing. It had been the obvious thing at age ten, vowing to be there for the other. He was holding up his end of the bargain. "If you can't talk to me about how you feel, who can you talk to?"

"I'm sorry." Jude's shoulders slumped, the tension easing at Jamie's words. "I found someone I thought was damn near perfect and it turns out she's not. And I'm...Jesus Christ, I am disappointed. How wrong is that?"

"Not so wrong. Actually, I think it says a lot about how you feel about her," Jamie commented. Jude frowned at him. "I mean that you thought she was perfect to begin with. Sounds like that first flush of love. But no one is perfect. It takes a bit to realize that in any relationship. Hell, Michaela and I...well our first weird thing was pretty harsh. But you move on. You realize the woman you love may not be perfect and that you aren't perfect either. There are feelings there still, so you go back and you look at her in a new light. If you still like what you see, you work your way through it and see her for who she really is."

"You should be on Oprah," Jude said after a moment, his mouth twitching slightly.  

"Am I a joke to you?"

"No, Jamie. You're not. You're my best friend and my cousin. I should listen to you. But right now, I doubt very much that Maura wants to see me. Let alone see how imperfect I am."

"You said yourself, she was mostly unconscious. Maybe she didn't know what she was saying. You at least should see how she's doing," Jamie remarked.

"Fine, you win. I'll make sure she's okay." A loud crash from the ball room interrupted them.  

"That would likely be Jesse," Jamie muttered running at breakneck speed to the ball room to find the tree on the floor and Dane pinned under it. "What happened?"

"Grandma can't deco-ate our tree! She made the tree fall on Dane!" Jesse cried from where he and Chris played checkers.

"What is going on down here?" Hallie demanded, throwing the doors to the ball room open. She spied Dane under the tree and rushed over to him. "Dane are you all right?"

"I will be, if someone will get this tree off me!" Dane growled from under pine boughs. Both Jude and Jamie rushed forward, pulling the tree upwards. "You are a menace," he said wagging a finger at Gwen. "Find some other lackey to wrap your garland!" He stormed, stomping towards the hallway, bumping into Maggie and Stephen Roth on his way out. "Hey, unless you want to be Gwen's slave, run. Run now."

"I think I can handle Gwen," Stephen said into the room of Masons. "Am I interrupting anything important?" He asked, eyeing Hallie. She turned a bright scarlet, flicking her eyes over him and then over Maggie.

"Are you and Maggie going out on a date?" She asked sweetly, glaring daggers at him. Stephen shook his head briefly and detached himself from Maggie's side.

"No. I came to see Jamie on some business. I had no idea there was a family...gathering going on. Please excuse me," he nodded to Jude and Jamie. "I thought you might like to know that we closed the deal on Tidal Technologies. I can give you details tomorrow. I'm really sorry to have intruded." He turned on his heel and left the room. Hallie threw a vicious gaze at Maggie and hurried after him, catching up to him at the door. 

"What are you really doing here Stephen?" She demanded, blocking the door. Stephen cocked his head to the side and smiled.

"Would you like me to tell you I came for you? Is that what you want to hear?" He asked softly. "I think you would," he continued without waiting for her answer. "But I haven't yet. I will come for you though. Just not quite yet. I won't let you marry that idiot Conlan. So get ready Hallie. You'll be the talk of the social set when I crash your wedding," he warned. "Now, my love. If you'll be so kind as to get the hell out of my way." Hallie stepped aside and watched him leave. Ruin her wedding? Not if she had anything to say about it. 



Scene 2:

"Maura if you're not feeling better maybe you should go back to bed," Kevin admonished seeing the flush creep up Maura's neck. She'd been in bed for three days and was more than a little antsy to get back to life. She pulled a box of ornaments away from Jory, giving him an "I dare you to cross me" look and set it down on the couch. 

"Okay, as always, I start with the first ornament," she said ignoring Kevin's comment. She caught Luke rolling his eyes from his spot in Kevin's recliner and stuck her tongue out at him. "So, after you and Hallie are married, will you be spending Tree night, here or with the Masons?" She asked, hanging a sad looking reindeer on a branch.

"Both places, as long as they are on separate nights. Where's Jillie?" He asked picking up a snowflake. "She's next after me."

"JILLIE!" Kevin bellowed. 

The sound of footsteps thundered down the stairway, though Jillie took a moment to compose herself before peeping around the hallway door. "Yes?" she asked innocently, as if the family occasion had completely skipped her mind.

"You're next," Luke said tossing her a pathetic pink Santa Claus. 

Jillie threw it back at her older brother, ignoring the admonishing looks from Maura and their father. "After twenty or so years of use, isn't there an ornament retirement home for some of these things? I think Santa finally qualifies as a fire hazard this year," she muttered as she hung a delicate glass angel from one of the tree's branches. "Then again, I bet Hallie would love to find a place for him on the Mason family Christmas tree," she commented, grinning wickedly at Luke.

"Have you seen the Masons' tree Jillie?" Luke asked, taking his place back in the recliner. Usually they all hung one ornament as It's a Wonderful Life played in the background and then Maura and Kevin took over decorating. He had no plans to let this year be any different. "It's a work of art. *That* would be an eyesore there," he sniffed.

"I'm sure The Barracuda could put it someplace useful," Jory commented innocently enough, hanging a reindeer made of macaroni. "Your turn Piper."

Piper had her legs draped over the top of the couch where she hung upside down reading the Taming of the Shrew. She dropped the book and flipped herself over. She chose to sit back and watch the family gatherings, read, and do what when asked. She dug through the ornament box, wrinkling her nose at some of them.

"Jillie's right, a lot of those are rather ugly," she murmured, finding a pretty, little figure skater. She hung it on the tree and returned to her spot on the couch and back to her book.

"These are heirlooms, Piper. They're not ugly, they're well-loved," Maura said, fingering the lace on a miniature doll. She sighed and wished for the one millionth time that their mother was there to join them. 

Kevin nudged past Maura to hang a candy cane. "Your friend checked up on you today," he said casually.

"Jude?" Maura asked hopefully. 

"Ah...no. Rick," he replied softly casting a glance at Jillie.

"Luke, sweetie," Jillie said as she perched on the arm of the recliner, watching Piper and Jory, "I think some people might consider *you* an eyesore in the Mason household, as well," she teased. "I, however, think you'll fit right in. Instead of sitting on your butt watching Dad and Maura work, you can watch all of Gwen's lackeys. Or would they be classified as minions?"

"If you mean Jamie Mason and Jude Fontaine," Luke replied, as loudly as he felt like. "Then I would definitely call them minions. Those two boneheads do whatever Gwen tells them to. Makes me ill."

Jory snorted. "Yeah and you put your foot down with Gwen's niece," he said sarcastically. "I never realized how similar Gwen and the Barracuda were until just now."

"Jude is not Gwen's minion," Maura cut in from her side of the room. "He is loyal to Jamie. That's all."

"He's loyal to Jamie, Jamie's loyal to Gwen. What's the difference, Maura? What could Jamie ask him to do that he wouldn't at least *consider*?" Jillie asked rhetorically, before shrugging it off. "Don't worry, I don't mean to insult your boyfriend. We all know how big family loyalty is for you...not like we'd expect anything different for our little Mo. But I can't fault Luke for going into this marriage with his eyes wide open."

"I'm not faulting him either. In fact, I think he should know what he's getting into. You and I both know what Hallie is like," Maura replied, trying to keep the choked sob down that threatened at the mention of Jude as her boyfriend. She had loused that up thoroughly. "And if you ask me, he's getting the raw end of the bargain."

"Well, no one is asking you!" Luke returned angrily. "At least, she has balls. More than I can say for Jude...or Rick," he snapped, aiming the last at both Maura and Jillie. 

Jillie grinned. "So you're saying Hallie is the one who wears the pants in this relationship? Or is there something about Hallie we've just failed to notice...?"

"That's it, I don't need this abuse. Dad! Tell Jillie to keep her comments about my fiancée to herself!" 

"Jillie, keep your comments about Hallie to yourself," Kevin parroted. "Hallie is a nice girl. And Luke can pick whomever he wants."

Maura rolled her eyes and went back to tree decorating. Luke's love life wasn't going to spoil her one tradition. Her year was pretty lousy so far and she wasn't about to finish it on a bad note.

Jillie tried not to laugh, shoving Luke's shoulder when Kevin wasn't looking. "Speaking of balls -- you know who I miss? Noah. Where is he these days, anyway? Used to be I couldn't walk down the hall without hearing some racket coming from your room, Pipe."

Maura shook her head at Jillie, trying to get the conversation dropped. Piper most certainly wouldn't want to answer that question. But then, no topic was taboo when Jillie was around.

"Probably creating a racket in Dinah's room," Piper remarked snidely, ignoring the looks everyone shot her. Bitter? Naw. She returned to the Taming of the Shrew.

"You're still seeing that guy you met at Hallie's engagement party, aren't you?" Jillie asked.
Piper arched an eyebrow over the book she was reading. She knew she probably should have left the snide remark unsaid.

"Yeah," she replied, keeping her face behind the book since Luke was in the room. 

"Jillie," Maura warned. "Let it go."

"I thought so. He was cute. But he's no Noah," Jillie continued, virtually ignoring Maura's warnings. "Oh well. Are you two getting, you know, serious?"

Really, she was trying to enjoy Shakespeare. Piper laid the book down, shooting Jillie an annoyed look. That depended on what Jillie considered serious, knowing Jillie..."what's it matter?"

"Testy, aren't you? I'll take that as a no. You definitely wouldn't be so tense." Catching another look from Maura, she sighed. "Of course, that's a good thing, you know, if you aren't...." She rolled her eyes and sent Maura a look back. "So anyway, when does your play open?"

Piper had not even entertained the thought of getting 'serious' with Chase, the idea repelled her. Noah...and the idea of Dinah kissing him...much less touching him...made her want to throw up her insides. She returned to her book, not giving Jillie so much as a glance as she replied. 
"This Friday."

"Wow. You sound so thrilled," Jillie replied dryly, biting back an added, 'So is that thing on your back a little pre-play celebration and, oh, by the way, have you told Dad?' Because *that* would have gone over well.... Still....

"You know, I've been thinking about getting a tattoo," she said to no one in particular, though she smiled at Jory. "What do you think? We could get them matching?"

"Are you out of your mind? Do you know how much those things hurt?" Jory replied staring back at Jillie.

"No daughter of mine is getting a tattoo," Kevin cut in. "So forget about that one, Miss Jillian."
Of course, she knew it wouldn't take long for someone to notice.

"Yeah, Jil, then mine can say, Jillie, my favorite sister, and yours Piper, my favorite sister," she replied in the same tone Jillie had used on her. She was probably encouraging Jillie to rat on her, but she didn't care...at the moment. 

"I happen to think it's kinda sexy," Jillie told Jory before looking to Kevin. "I'm twenty-seven, Dad. I may still live at home, but I can make my own choices. Of course, it would be different if I were, say, Piper's age...."

"Piper won't be getting one anytime soon either," Kevin admonished. "And if that is the way you feel, then maybe you should find a new place to live!"

"Ooooh, sounds like permission to live in sin, Jillie! Better go now while you have permission!" Jory chuckled ducking a cuff from Kevin.

Piper hid a cringe from behind the safety of her book. Maybe not. She went back to reading the book, completely ignoring Jillie and everyone else in the room. She really hated people.

"I've always relied on the kindness of strangers," Jillie quoted playfully, affecting the deep Southern drawl of Tennessee William's Blanche Dubois. "Come on, Dad. You know you'd miss me if I was gone. Honestly, with Luke *and* I out of the house, who would be around to disappoint you?" she asked good-naturedly, deciding to let Piper off the hook for the moment.

"Hmmph," Kevin muttered keeping whatever comment he was about to make to himself. Maura placed the last ornament on the tree and stood back to view her work. Not too bad considering she was still a little sick. It would have to do. She lifted Maeve's porcelain angel from it's protective box and unwrapped it, laying the tissue back in the box carefully. She handed it to Kevin, who placed it gingerly at the top of the tree. Someone, she thought it was Jory, turned the lights off and the six of them stood looking at Maeve Conlan's angel sitting majestically atop the great pine. Some things, Maura decided, were just the right thing to comfort a family. She looked around at them. Kevin had his arm wrapped around Piper's waist and Luke and Jory grinned at it, making silent jokes together. She glanced at Jillie and shrugged, offering her a tired smile. Some things, she decided, made you feel like a family again.

On the next Episode of Secret Horizons...

Episode 67