Lucas' fever spiked again the next day, and he stayed in bed for the morning, although by the afternoon he was allowed to sleep on the sofa near his friends, half watching the endless stream of Christmas movies that Gina insisted on putting on.

Tony and Gina lay on cushions on the floor next to the sofa, and after a few minutes Dagwood joined them.

"Um, why are we sitting on the floor?"

"Cause it's fun, silly!" Gina admonished, and he said no more.

They ate popcorn, sharing a huge bowl of it between them. Dagwood watched the movies avidly, and they talked so much about them that Tony wondered how Dagwood could have any idea what was going on. Maybe Dagger hearing could allow him to talk and listen to Gina, and hear the dialogue? With Gina it didn't matter, since she'd probably seen every Christmas movie ever made, at least three or four times. Surprisingly, Lucas seemed very familiar with the films as well, making Tony wonder if he usually just spent Christmas watching the television on his own.

It was the first time since they'd been on leave that they got to enjoy a quieter day. The boys had gone to a friends house to play video games, and the parents sat at the dining table and gossiped about mutual acquaintances under the guise of playing cards. Every now and again, one of the women would check on Lucas, and try to make him eat something if he was awake. The rest of them picked at the leftovers and made ridiculous sandwiches out of things they found in the fridge, like mashed potato and linguine, which they would then declare to be disgusting, although Dagwood was happy to eat all of them.

Lucas once again felt better by the evening, and they all gathered around the table to play Monopoly, which was apparently another thing that Lucas had never done before. The game seemed to be played with an enormous amount of cheating, with only Angie and Lucas sticking to the rules and therefore losing quickly. Lucas couldn't remember the last time he'd had so much fun.


The next day was the day they had to leave.

Everyone was miserable, and to distract them, Tony asked Lucas to show Ricky and Eddie some of the shortcuts with the video game. This was a great idea, since Lucas revelled in being able to show off a little. After feeling so weak and useless during his stay, he enjoying hearing their gasps and whoops as he moved from level to level, completing the game in record time and thoroughly impressing them.

By the time the game was over, Tony and Dagwood had finished all the packing, and they just had time for a quick lunch before they left.

Angie had tears in her eyes and hugged all of them so hard that even Dagwood thought he might get a bruise. Gina was crying, and couldn't be consoled. Marie was also in tears, and Nick and Tony shared a rare but fierce hug.

They sat quietly in the van heading back to the SeaQuest, each lost in their own thoughts, even though all of their thoughts were the same.

It had been, without a doubt, a Christmas they would never forget.