Matt didn't tell anyone about his plans for the 20th. He had legitimate business in the city on that week that he could cover with, so no one would be suspicious. He was taking a late evening flight out on the 18th and stay over until the meeting. After that he would return home and see how things were different if they were different at all. He had only about 10 more hours until he would get on that plane to New York. It was 9:00am. How would he ever get through the day?

Matt was not the only Cory who was busy and preoccupied with the other thoughts that day. Amanda, was in a state of almost panic the night before. It was less then a week before Christmas and she still had not found the perfect gift for Cameron. She had other stuff for him, a sweater, new sneakers for running, but nothing that was the special gift she so wanted to give him. All of that changed however, on that same morning that Matt was worried about his meeting.

Amanda was doing just a little light work at the office. Mostly sending out business/Christmas cards, when she went into the coffee room to freshen her drink. There were two other people in the room as well, Mark from accounting and Tracy from advertising. They all cordially said hello and Amanda went to pour coffee into her mug when she caught a snippet of the conversation that was taking place in the room.

"Honestly, Mark, I don't know what I'm going to do with them," Tracy was saying. "They get into everything."

"Well, isn't your sister coming to take one of them today?" Mark asked.

"Well, yes, but that leaves me with one left. The problem is, no one wants a new puppy in their home right around Christmas time," Tracy replied.

Amanda finished filling her mug and went to leave, but when she heard the words 'new puppy' and 'Christmas' all in the same sentence, the baby inside her gave a swift kick as if to say, "Hey wake up Mom! There's a great idea!" Amanda stopped and turned around and walked back into the room, just as Mark was walking out. "Excuse me, Tracy? I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to interrupt or listen in, but I couldn't help but hear that you have a puppy that your willing to get rid of?"

"Oh, yes Mrs. Sinclair. Are you interested?" Tracy asked.

Amanda walked over and sat down at the table. "What kind of dog is it?"

"Oh, it's a wonderful breed, Golden Retriever. Our dog, Chloe is a wonderful, extraordinary, gentle dog. And we also know the dog that she bred with, our neighbor's retriever and her, we found them together in the yard a while back so we know it's Fletcher's puppies is also a great dog. The batch, if you want to call it, had 6 puppies in it. We've given all the puppies away except the one, a little girl pup," Tracy said and watched Amanda.

Amanda smiled and nodded her head. The baby kicked again and Amanda patted her stomach. "Tracy, how about you take off the rest of the day and I meet you at your house to see the puppy in about an hour or so? I want to give the puppy as a present to my husband and I want my daughter involved, so I have to go and get her from home," Amanda said.

"Sounds great!" Tracy said and the two women parted company. Amanda went back to her office and picked up the phone to dial home. Ali answered, a minute later.

"Hey you! Drop everything you have for this afternoon! Your never going to believe what we're getting for Christmas!" Amanda said.

Amanda finished signing her check and handed it over to Tracy. The puppy and Ali fell in love instantly and Amanda herself was taken with the little dog. Tracy said that the puppy was free, but Amanda had given her a generous check if she could keep the dog here until Christmas Eve. Tracy agreed when Amanda handed her the check for $500. They spent another hour there with the dog and Amanda learned all she could from Tracy about the breed. She knew people who had Golden Retriever dogs and was happy to learn that the dog was well devoted to the family, very, very gentle and loving with the members in it, but yet, was protective enough to act as a watchdog without being trained to be so. When they left, Ali was even more excited about the dog then Amanda.

"That was such a great idea!" Ali said, a huge smile on her face. "He is going to love this gift from you!"

"From us!" Amanda said and Ali smiled back even brighter then before.

"Oh, Mom, you know what we should do? We should go and get Cameron dog stuff for his other gifts, you know stuff to go with the puppy," Ali said.

"Good thinking!" Amanda said. "You must take after your mom." Amanda turned the car and they headed off to the mall to get some more gifts. As she drove, sitting in the car with her daughter, signing carols, knowing she had gotten her husband a gift he would love forever and also knowing that her baby was safe inside her and sleeping peacefully, Amanda felt it all leave her. The slight darkness that was always in her mind since the incident with Josie floated out of her soul and into the snow outside. It was almost as if could look hard enough, she might see it melt into the whiteness. But she didn't stop to look, she kept on driving and vowed to herself that she would never look back at it again.

The pulled up to the mall about twenty minutes later. Inside the pet store, Ali and Amanda had a ball (and they got one for the young dog as well) picking out accessories for the puppy. In the end, the total shopping spree resulted in a blue collar with a matching leash, puppy food, a water and food bowl, some treats, brushes, toys, and a book on how to raise a healthy and happy puppy. They went back to the Brava offices and wrapped everything there, because taking it home might run the risk of Cameron finding out about it before the big day. If they could keep the secret for just five more days, until Christmas Eve....... well, they were busting, but they had to keep quiet in order to save the surprise. It would be hard, but they had to do it.

They got their first test about an hour after the wrapping party had finished up. On arriving home, Amanda and Ali walked in to the hall and looked into the living room to see Cameron standing at the desk sorting mail. He looked up and smiled at them as they walked in.

"Well, it's nice of you two to show up some time today," Cameron said.

Amanda and Ali looked at each other and then at Cameron and erupted with laughter. They laughed as poor Cameron stood there feeling like he was the butt of a bad joke. He didn't like it and Amanda could see that so she went to him.

"You are going to be so surprised!" Amanda said as she gave him a hug. "You are going to be so surprised!"

Cameron looked at her and at Ali. "I don't know if I should be afraid or excited."

With that comment, Amanda and Ali burst into another fresh cluster of giggles.

Matt reached up and pulled his carry on down from the luggage rack above him. He slung the bag over his shoulder and walked off the plane into the busy airport. He had taken the three hour flight from Bay City and was now in New York until the day after tomorrow. He had told everybody that he was going to check on the progress of Cory Publishing, New York Offices, which was partially true. He walked down to the luggage claim and waited patiently for his bags to come down. All the while he was thinking about the meeting tomorrow. It was 10:33pm, only 17 more hours until he was scheduled to meet Canonata. What would it be like? Maybe he shouldn't have ruined a good thing by suggesting this meeting so soon. Maybe it would have been better to have seen how the friendship progressed at a safe distance. What if it all blew up in his face? With many doubts, Matt gathered the rest of his luggage and went outside to get into his limo that was waiting for him. The driver who was waiting for him took his luggage and Matt got in. The driver and he exchanged pleasantries and Matt leaned back to watch the scenery pass. The driver pulled up and stopped at a signal just by Central Park. Matt looked out the window and saw the park all lit up with lights. Matt leaned forward and spoke to the driver, "Hey Tim? Let me out here and take up my luggage to the hotel. I think I'll walk the rest of the way." Matt opened the door to the limo and stepped out into the frosty night air. Matt walked around the park and saw all of the people hustling and bustling around him. It was lightly snowing and the lights that were decorating the park caught on the snow and made the snowflakes twinkle like there were diamonds falling from the sky. There were a few homeless people who were standing with their hats off and singing a carol. Matt stood to one side of the crowd and listened for a moment. Their voices created a beautiful melody and Matt took a hundred dollar bill out of his wallet and tossed it in the hat.

He continued his walk along the park path and looked at the lights. He didn't know why he felt so melancholy and lonely. He had everything that could make a person happy. A loving family, friends and money enough to make him comfortable and secure for the rest of his life. But it always felt like something was missing. He continued walking down the street, out of the park. All around him were signs that this was the season of Christmas, a time for family and love. Matt walked up the street some more and place money in each of the collection baskets that he saw. As he turned a corner, he came face to face with Saint Patrick's Cathedral. The warm glow of the church seemed to beckon to Matt as he walked up the stone steps. He entered and the warmth surrounded him and his ears were filled with the music of the practicing choir. He took a seat and listened to the choir sing their song. As he sat there and listened, Matt never felt so lost in his life.

Matt sat there, among the other people and listened to the words as they were sung. The harmony floated out into the church and Matt looked at his watch and stood up to leave. As he was leaving through the main entrance, a flash of red caught his eye and Matt turned to see a girl wearing a red coat, a petite girl, with dark hair, exiting out of the side door. As she was just about to leave, she paused for a minute and looked back at the church. Matt blinked his eyes as if to make sure what he was seeing was real. It was, it had to be.

"It can't be," Matt muttered to himself. He watched the girl as she walked out and Matt was broken out of his unmoving shock. He dashed over to the door, yanked it open and ran out into the sidewalk outside of it. He swung his head from either side, looking for the girl that he just saw. The sidewalks were a bustle with people, but not a one of them, the person he was looking for. She wasn't there. Matt watched a few more minutes and then went on walking, shaken by the person he had, or who he thought he had seen. Matt walked on, deep in thought until he reached the hotel. He checked in, he took a shower and climbed into bed. Sleep would not be easy coming tonight, Matt knew that. He rolled over and stared into the darkness.

Amanda looked up and Cameron rolled his eyes again. She and Ali snickered again. They were wrapping presents and watching Christmas movies that night and all through the day, Amanda and Ali had been eluding to some sort of huge secret and making little comments at Cameron's expense. He took Amanda's word that he would like the secret when he found out about it, but for now, he was annoyed at the fact that they knew something big and he didn't.

"Well, I think I'm done for the night," Ali stood up and stretched. "Good night Mom, Cameron." Ali bent and kissed Amanda. As she was walking out the door, she said in a sing-song voice, "I know something you don't know!"

Amanda laughed and Cameron just gritted his teeth and stuck a green bow on top of a gift. Amanda reached over and gave him hug. "Your so cute when you pretend to be annoyed!"

"Oh, you think I'm pretending to be annoyed?" Cameron asked, as he and Amanda slid down into the crumpled up wrapping paper, tape, ribbons, bows and stacks of gifts. She smiled up at him and Cameron leaned down and kissed her. He pulled away and put his head on her stomach. He rapped lightly on the bulge in her belly with his knuckles, almost like he was knocking on a door. Amanda laughed, tucked one arm under her head and with the other, ran her fingers through Cameron's hair. She smiled down at him as Cameron addressed their child. He "knocked" again on her abdomen. "Excuse me, little baby?" Cameron looked up at Amanda. "I think he's sleeping, and I just want to wake him up," he explained. He placed his head back on her stomach and continued his little pep talk. "This is your father talking here, so listen up. Now when you pop out of your Mom here, we'll be divorced, because she and your sister, her name is Kid, you see, they have a big secret that they keep tormenting me with and I've had it. So tonight, I'm packing my bags and leaving." Amanda laughed again and Cameron sat up. "You think I'm kidding with you? I'll go and pack my bags now and you can just watch me go."

"Fine," Amanda said and smiled back at him. "Just send me a check when you get a chance and then we'll be square."

"Check? What are you talking about?" Cameron asked, really not knowing what she was talking about.

"The check for you bail money that I had to fork over for your bail money. After you give me the quarter of a million dollars you owe me, your free to go," Amanda said and smirked up at him.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that," Cameron said and that was the truth, he really had forgot about that. He put his head back and Amanda continued his speech as Amanda continued running her fingers through his hair. "Okay, little baby, I'm back. Your Mom just informed me that I'm an indentured servant to her so I can't leave." Amanda snorted in amusement at that, but Cameron ignored her and continued talking. "It's Christmas time and this time, next year, you'll be celebrating your first one with your family." Amanda felt the tears well up in her eyes as she listened. "Only about three more months and you'll be here with us. We can't wait for you to come out. Your sister is looking forward to having someone to boss around, but let me tell you, she's not that bad. And your Mom, well, you know her. Make sure you thank her for the accommodations that she's been so willing to give you for the past nine months. She'll be there when you come out. If she's screaming, don't be afraid, that's the way it's supposed to be. She won't scream for long. I'll be right there too. I'll be the one holding her hand as you come into the world..." Cameron paused as Amanda gasped. He looked up worried for a minute. "What's wrong?"

"The baby is kicking," Amanda said. She placed her hand over the spot and took Cameron's hand and put it next to her's and sure enough Cameron felt a tiny thrust beneath his hand. He looked back at Amanda and with his other hand, brushed the tear off of her cheek. He pushed her shirt over a little bit and kissed her exposed, soft, skin. The baby was still slightly kicking and Cameron looked back at Amanda.

"We have a little soccer star in there, don't we?" he said and put his head down right on the spot next to where the baby was kicking. "You just stay in there and take you time coming out. We want you perfect, like you Mom is," Cameron said and Amanda felt many tears slide down her cheeks as Cameron continued to talk to their unborn child. "We can't wait until you can come out here and be with us. But until then, go back to sleep. I'm sorry I woke you up, I just had to tell you how much your Mom and I love you. Good night baby," Cameron said and kissed the spot where the baby had been kicking. He reached up and wiped the rest of the tears off Amanda's face and kissed her again. "I love you more then anything else in this world, Amanda. Thank you for giving me a child and carrying it for me. I know it's not easy, I know you don't always feel the best and your more tired then usual. But I can promise you something. When this baby comes, I'm going to be there for you in the delivery room, I'll change diapers and do late night feedings and I will never leave your side and we will raise this child together. I promise you that, no matter what, you, Ali and this baby will be the only, only things..." Cameron had to pause for a minute as the lump that was in Amanda's throat, swelled up in his own. He cleared his throat and went on. "The only things that will ever, ever matter in my life and no matter what, I will always keep you safe," Cameron said as he continued wiping the tears from Amanda cheeks.

Amanda leaned up and grabbed Cameron by the collar of his shirt and the back of his neck. She pulled him down to her and there, in the Cory family room, among the gifts, wrapping paper, with "A Christmas Carol" playing on the TV and as their baby slept safe, under her heart, Amanda showed Cameron how much she loved him.

(* "O Come All Ye Faithful" was written by John Reading in the 17th century. It was translated to English in 1841 by Fredrick Oakeley.)

"Just Call Me Angel of the Morning"