It's finally here! The sequel to "The Book Which Is Our First"! Rejoice and be glad, as my holiday story finally kicks off.

Now, the scheduling for this is I'll post the first chapter today [as it's December 1st], and the rest of the chapters will be posted on Sundays, and perhaps, around Christmas, I may do a "12 Days of Uploads" again like last year. We'll see!

Now keep in mind that nothing from this AU series affects the main storyline, and vice versa. These are new personalities, backstories, and "different-but-the-same" characters. This is my happy-go-lucky-with-a-bit-of-evil story series that I'm excited to write. And who knows? There may be a sequel to this one. Maybe two. ;)

So sit back and enjoy reading "A Holiday to Remember".

Part One – Five Years Later

Many seasons passed on the grounds of Country Bear Hall in Pendleton, Tennessee. Many things have changed since the fire six years prior, and most for the better.

The new music hall was bigger than before, able to hold more concert goers, with a larger kitchen, eight-stall bathrooms for both genders, and a game room attached to the practice room. All the new additions were on the same side of the building, while Henry's office had been rebuilt and was on the opposite side. On the same side as the office was another exit in the shape of wooden barn doors.

Henry and Helen, towards the middle of the construction of the new music hall, were able to move into their new home more towards the forest and wolf sanctuary that Helen loved so much. New flowers had been planted in a lovely garden, and she kept herself busy in the spring, summer, and early fall in a large vegetable garden. The home was one and a half stories, with the upstairs only covering half of the downstairs. The upstairs had one large bathroom with both a shower stall and a tub, and two large bedrooms – one of which was Beary's. Downstairs had a full dining room, comfortable living room, an accessible kitchen with plenty of counter space, and three more bedrooms, including a modest master bedroom.

Two bedrooms were towards the front of the house, jutting out like a magnet head with the front porch between them. The one on the east side was next to the living room, and the one on the west was on the same side of the house as the master bedroom and downstairs bathroom, which also had a tub.

The band, too, had changed. Henry was still the manager and owner of Taylor Enterprises, and went with the band while Helen worked at the office when she was feeling up to it/was having a good day.

Zeb and Méngméng had completely reaffirmed their relationship, and were very happy together, raising their three cubs Fēnglì, Sawyer, and Nolan, with more [a litter] on the way.

Fred was able to visit his cubs whenever he wanted, but he and his ex-wife had not been able to repair their relationship like Zeb and Méngméng had. Fred was currently dating a brown bear named Tyrion, who was currently in France.

Ted and Jade's relationship had fizzled out after five years, even though they had a two-year-old black with brown faced, green eyed son named Aiden. While having been engaged for a ridiculous four years, with Ted beating around the bush about setting a date, they had broken up due to simple stupidity. While Ted had been on their current tour, within the first few weeks, a fan had singled him out and started kissing him. It had turned out that she'd been paid to do so and she had wanted her fifteen minutes of fame, which she had gotten as the picture circled the internet and tabloids. Jade had seen the image, decided that he'd been enjoying himself way too much, and had broken up with him after a phone call the next day, telling him not to expect to see her at anymore of his concerts and possibly not even for Christmas. Ted had been left heartbroken and upset, but hadn't let that stop the tour – which only cemented Jade's belief that he'd fallen out of love with her and was just a player.

Trixie and Tennessee had been happily married for the past five years, and had two more children with another on the way. Zak was an energetic five-year-old, while his younger brother, Riley, was three and rather shy. While their parents were on tour, Jewel would take care of them while living at the new Taylor home in the large bedroom opposite Beary on the second floor. She got the big bedroom because she lived with the Taylors fulltime while the band was away, and Méngméng would occasionally stay with the Taylors, but stay in one of the lower bedrooms with her three cubs.

Even Allison and Norbert Barrington, living in the small town of Pendleton, were doing well with their family. Three years prior, they were able to watch their oldest child, Dex, walk across the stage to get his high school diploma. Kristina, their youngest child and only daughter, was now almost six-years-old.

Dex and Roxi Matthews [Roadie's daughter] had been dating for the past five years, and had continued their relationship while at the University of Tennessee. The current gossip was that things were getting fairly serious as they had been living together for two years.

There had even been changes in the Taylor family as well. Three years prior, fifty-three-year-old Helen had found herself feeling very ill for several days in a row, but did not have a fever. Just a few days before her illness started, Henry and the band had gone on an international tour. After having Méngméng take her to the hospital, Helen learned that she was pregnant.

Little Lyra Hymn Taylor was born on April 1st, 2005. Henry, who had been unreachable throughout most of the pregnancy due to being overseas with the band, had thought that Helen had been simply joking with him about being pregnant, and had laughed when she told him on April Fool's Day that she'd given birth, thinking it was all an elaborate prank. It wasn't until the band had gotten home in late May that Henry discovered that Helen had not been mistaken and was indeed telling the truth.

Henry, of course, had felt awful about not being there for her, but was grateful to Beary, Allison, and Norbert, who had taken care of his wife during the pregnancy.

Beary had teased his father endlessly, calling him a non-believer and walking around saying "shun the non-believer, shun!" He'd even gotten Jewel and a few others to go along with it.

Sadly, while Lyra was born healthy, she was also born blind. Her bedroom was in the front room on the west side, across the foyer from Henry and Helen's room, and despite the fact that she was now three, they still used a baby monitor to make sure she was all right, and had to make sure that she stayed in her room in the morning instead of getting into things. Thankfully, they had been able to get her a seeing-eyed dog, and while she was not used to him, he looked out for her and stayed in her room at night.

While Beary did indeed love and dote on his little sister, he was also jealous of the attention she got. Everyone else focused on her, and sometimes, on a few occasions, they forgot about him. On one of their tours, they had brought back souvenirs for everyone, but while they had gotten gifts for Lyra, they had somehow forgotten about him. Of course, being the way he was, he didn't bring it up, and waited for them to figure it out towards the end of the gift giving when they would all notice that out of everyone, only he had received nothing.

Beary didn't mind too much, though, as he was just happy to have a big family filled with so many that liked him, though at times he felt more alone than ever. He couldn't figure out his feelings and emotions very well at all.

Five years was a lot of time, and as time goes on, cubs grow older...

Fire surrounded him, but he couldn't move. A scream was left in his throat as he couldn't open his mouth to release it. Hot flames leapt at his skin, biting at his fur and melting it.

He could hear a voice, calling to him. It was hers, Jewel's. What was she doing here? She wasn't in the fire!

He looked around, letting out a gasp when he found her tied to a post, surrounded by the fire as well. However, that wasn't the only danger to her. Reed Thimple stood in front of her with a gun.

Beary struggled, trying to get up. To fight whatever held him down and to get to her, but no matter what he tried, he failed.

"He can't protect you, girly. You belong to me, and I'm going to make sure you get what you deserve this time." Reed raised the gun and pulled the trigger.

An audible bang woke sixteen-year-old Beary Taylor from his nightmare with a silent scream. Heart pounding, he turned on the light on the nightstand. He lifted his head and jumped back in fright when he saw himself in the mirror that was hung on the back of his door, across from his bed. Once his initial fright was over, he studied himself in it as he climbed off the bed. He was taller than he had been, towering at six feet in height and still growing, and had grown out his hair a bit. During the day, he held his hair back in two low ponytails, but since it was night, he let his shoulder-length hair flow free.

Glancing around for the source of the noise, he found his beautiful brown-black Bengal cat, Tabitha, standing next to the fish tank on his dresser, and his bamboo plant on the floor. "Tabs," he grumbled, shaking his head. "You're lucky I switched to a plastic container, considering how many times you climb up there to look at my fish." He picked up the plant and put it on the other side of the dresser, and then ventured into the hallway and to the bathroom to relieve himself, happy that this time the nightmare didn't cause him to accidentally wet the bed, which it had twice before a few years ago. It was something he refused to tell his parents about. Not even Jewel knew, though she knew of his nightmares.

Upon finishing, he flushed and washed his paws, before moving over to Jewel's door, quietly opening it, letting the light from the hallway flow over her bed. He knew he had to be quiet, as her younger brothers were in the room with her.

He could see the rise and fall of her chest as she slept, and he smiled as he leaned against the doorway. She was alive. It had been just a nightmare yet again.

Part of him wanted to walk over to her and climb into bed beside her, pulling her close to his body as he gently kissed her neck. Feel her purr loudly as he held her.

'Whoa, what the heck? What brought on that idea? She's just my friend! Why would I kiss her? She doesn't like me like that! It'll just make things awkward between us! Stop thinking like that, Beary!' he told himself, backing away from the door and closing it once more.

He didn't want to go back to bed; he'd not be able to sleep anyway. Quietly, he crept down the stairs and looked around the foyer of his home, making sure he hadn't woken anyone else up. Thankfully the house was silent.

He ventured out onto the back deck, sighing softly as he curled up on the large bed-like chair and looked up at the sky. A cool breeze blew through, reminding Beary that it was December 22nd, 2008. He wished he had brought a blanket as he shivered.

"Beary?"

He blinked and glanced back. "Oh... I thought you were sleeping."

Jewel smiled fondly at her friend as she shut the glass door behind her. She had a large blanket draped around her, and immediately went over to him, sitting down and snuggling up against him, not afraid of boundaries or personal space. In her eyes, they were best friends and, if she could only get him to realize it, lovers. She knew she loved him. Always had. And that love had grown from familiar to romantic. Only problem was, she wasn't sure if he felt the same way about her. A purr left her throat as she felt him wrap an arm around her and pull the blanket over them both.

"You're purring?" He rested his head against hers, and found himself wishing he could just kiss her, but he held back, afraid of her reaction.

"I'm happy," she responded, listening to his heartbeat. "Did you sleep with your hearing aid on again?"

He reached up and fingered the device. "Yeah, I kinda forgot to take it out before bed."

"I was wondering why you could hear me so well." She laughed and burrowed her head under his chin. "I don't mind, actually. It's nice to be able to talk to you under the stars."

He looked up at the stars she spoke of and smiled. "They are beautiful tonight. Nothing compared to..." He froze, realizing what he was about to say, and backed down.

"Are you going to finish that sentence?" she asked, finding herself wishing he'd say her name. To her disappointment, he fell silent. Deciding that she didn't mind, she closed her eyes and simply purred. "I'll keep you safe from your nightmares, Beary... Go back to sleep, okay?"

He nodded and closed his eyes as well. He must have fallen into a blissful sleep, for the next thing he knew, his mother was shaking him awake.

"Beary. Jewel. Wake up. No sleepy outside!" Helen laughed a little as she looked at her son and his friend. She was dressed in a robe, and her long hair flowed around her.

Beary blinked slowly, glancing around in confusion. Why was he outside? Jewel? Why was she curled up beside him? He was holding her close to his body and didn't want to wake her up. Gently, he brushed the hair out of her face and glanced up at his mother, feeling embarrassed. "Oh, um... Hi, Mama," he murmured.

"Is you date?" Helen questioned, looking out at the lawn and the trees, smiling when she heard a wolf howl.

"Date? No! We're not dating!" He pulled away from his friend, startled.

Jewel woke with a start and almost fell off the giant cushion. "Dating?" she groaned, shaking her head in confusion. "We're not dating, Helen. No... I heard Beary go outside late last night, and I went to see what was up, and I guess we fell asleep."

"Oh." Helen frowned, studying them for a moment before looking out at her daughter's husky as he searched for a place to squat. She leaned onto one side before realizing that she'd forgotten her cane inside and fell off the porch with a startled cry.

Beary shot off the chair in an instant. "Mama!" He hurried to be by her side and whimpered, checking on her. "Are you all right?"

"Am fine, Beary. Not far. Mama okay," she reassured, sitting up.

"You know better than to walk around without your cane, Mama," he scolded softly. "Your sense of balance is terrible." He helped her up and up the step to the porch, and over to a chair. "Are you sure you're all right?"

Helen smiled and kissed his forehead. "Yes."

The teenager nodded and led her back inside to sit down and rest. He then started upstairs to prepare for the day. He was planning on going into town and taking Lyra with him to pick out a Christmas gift for their parents. Jewel and her siblings, along with the Seillean [Zoober] cubs were joining them all, squeezing into the cars belonging to the teenagers.

Picking out an outfit was simple enough; a gray hoodie and a pair of jeans. Standing in front of his mirror, he lifted his hairbands and brush off the hooks on the door and brushed his shoulder-length hair into two low ponytails, and then clipped bangles over them. He then picked up the ear clamp bands he had and put two on each ear. The only reason he wore such things was to draw people's attention away from the horrid scar on his ear and the hearing aid. To top it off, he added a long-bead necklace of fairly neutral colors. "Perfect." He turned his upper body a few times to examine himself and grinned. Maybe Jewel would say something!

He pulled open his door in time to find Jewel letting her younger brothers, five-year-old Zak and three-year-old Riley, out of the room fully dressed for the day in pants and sweaters. Both hurried down the stairs to go play with Sawyer, Nolan, and Lyra in Lyra's playroom [which was also her bedroom].

Jewel then stood up and smiled at Beary. "You look very nice today. Comfy?"

He gave a small nod in response as he looked her over. Jewel wore loose jeans, a red with black hem v-neck sweater, and a fashionable red tartan scarf. Her ears, actually pierced, had looped earrings of silver and black, and her slightly-past-her-shoulder hair was separated into six different long-bead ties, and she wore one small braid on the left side in front of her ear. "You look... amazing," he murmured, stunned by her beauty.

As the two had aged, they had lost their baby fat as they grew into their adult bodies. With their active lifestyle, both were in excellent shape. Jewel was four inches shorter than he was as well. Such a perfect height difference, in his opinion.

She smiled and hooked an invisible strand of hair behind her ear. "Thank you. So, what kind of present does Lyra want to get?"

"She's really into the scent of candles lately. If it wasn't for her, I probably wouldn't have gotten past the fear of lit candles. I mean, there's other parts of this stupid pyrophobia, but I can at least stand candles again." He grinned and held out his paw to her. "Shall we go downstairs?"

"We shall, good sir," she laughed, taking his paw and walking down the stairs with him to find everyone sitting at the dining room table eating breakfast. "Good morning! Fēnglì, do you need help braiding your hair?"

The fourteen-year-old red-tabby striped silver panda laughed. "Yeah. Mǔqīn was too busy with Sawyer and Nolan to help me out with it, Jewel. I'm still bad at doing all this hair, but soon I'll be able to donate it!"

"Well, Beary can get my breakfast. I'll help you out with the brushing and braiding." Jewel, having already let go of Beary's paw, went with Fēnglì into the living room.

"Has he asked you out yet?" Fēnglì questioned as Jewel brushed his waist-length natural silver, black, and red hair. He could see in the reflection of the TV that she was looking into the kitchen where Beary was filling two plates full of bacon, eggs, sausage, and some fish, along with two glasses of orange juice.

"No, not yet. I don't think he even notices all the hints I've dropped him," she murmured. "Maybe he's not into me and really does just want to stay friends."

"Or he's just extremely dense to not ask out someone as beautiful as you. If I didn't already have my eyes on this beautiful girl Rādhikā Miśrā, I'd ask you out." Fēnglì smiled and laughed when he saw her embarrassed expression in the reflection. "Jewel, you have nothing to worry about. Why don't you just ask him out?"

"But what if he says no?"

"Or you could just do what my parents did."

"Uh, no. For one, we're teenagers."

"Eh, true. Who needs that baggage? You two are always together anyway. Go to movies, get ice cream... You're dating, but not dating, ya know? You just haven't made it official."

She laughed and shook her head. "Now hush, you." She started braiding, just a simple braid, and smiled as she thought about what Fēnglì had said. He was right, as usual. She and Beary did do a lot together that usual couples did. They would even hang out in secluded areas and just talk. So why weren't they dating?

"There, you're done," she said finally. "Did you eat yet?"

"Mhm. It was delicious. Just glad I got out of there before the other littles got there. Are we heading to town? To the Barrington Bakery before shopping?"

Jewel nodded. "Make sure you get the money from Méngméng for you and the twins, and I already have the money I saved up from working at the grocery for my brothers, and Beary has his from working at Allison's bakery. Anyway, make sure you have everything ready."

"Are you going to get something special for Beary?"

Face heating up, Jewel looked away. "I don't know what would be special enough..." Sure, she had some ideas, but an art kit wasn't special enough, even though she had already ordered him a fancy one.

"You could give him a kiss."

"What?! No! Fēnglì! Bah!" She backed away and went into the kitchen, flustered.

Beary walked out just then, having already finished his meal in the fifteen minutes it had taken Jewel to braid Fēnglì's hair. "What's up with her?" he asked the teenager in confusion.

"Oh, she's just flustered over something I said, that's all. Say, when are you going to ask her out?"

"Ask her out? She doesn't like me like that, and you know it. She's perfection and I'm damaged... No matter how much I love her, what's it going to do? Look at me. I'm scared of fire, I have scars on my leg and ear. I'm half-deaf, Fēnglì. She deserves so much better..." His ears flattened and he sank into the large couch cushions.

His fourteen-year-old friend rolled his eyes. "Shouldn't she be the one who decides who she wants? Who and what she deserves?"

"Yeah, but..."

"No, none of that. You just need to ask her out and stop beating around the bush. It's obvious you're into her, bro." Fēnglì sat on the other couch.

"What makes you such a love expert?"

The panda laughed. "Do you not realize what my parents did when they dug each other? What they still do a lot?"

"Oh, we're all well aware that they, uh, had a great time. Jewel and I are not like that, though, and you know it." He glared at him. "And at least while your Dad's on tour they can't keep you up anymore with their shenanigans."

Fēnglì laughed. "I've learned to put in ear plugs or listen to music on my headphones when they get up to it. It's amazing how active they are."

"Well, it explains why she's pregnant with four." Beary snorted. "Had to make up for lost time. Your Mom's huge. At least her pregnancy's almost over, right?"

Fēnglì nodded. "It's going to be hell, having four crying babies at home. Ugh. Not looking forward to that. And Mǔqīn's not happy about having to take such a long time from work. She's been talking about strangling Papa."

The older teenager laughed. "I'll bet. She's been ordered to sit down a lot. So sad for such an active she-bear. That's why she's been staying over here because she needs the help."

"Mhm. But at least with this pregnancy they haven't been... Wait, why are we talking about this?"

"That's what I want to know, young bear," a very pregnant Méngméng asked, up and walking for the first time in days. She was leaning against the doorframe, tapping her foot against the wooden floor.

Beary sunk down in the couch while Fēnglì sunk a bit and slowly turned, peering over the top at his mother, his black ears flat against his head.

"Nǐ hǎo mǔqīn. Nǐ hǎo ma?"

She glared at him and started speaking in a heated Chinese tongue.

Beary took the opportunity to sneak away. While he didn't understand Chinese very well, he knew enough that Fēnglì was being rebuked for their conversation. Though, Méngméng was right. Why were they talking about such things? Bah. Not something to hook his mind onto, yet immediately the thought of him and Jewel...

'Gah! No, no, no! What the hell?!' His eyes went wide and he gasped.

"Uh, Beary? Are you all right?" Jewel was staring right at him, and he realized he had wandered into the dining room.

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine." He looked over at his mother and all the cubs.

Jewel nodded and went back to her food.

"Beawy! Beawy!" Lyra called from where she was sitting. "Hugs! Hug, hug, hug!"

Grateful for the distraction, Beary went over to his little sister and, upon finding she had finished her food, picked her up out of her chair and wrapped his arms around her in a warm hug.

Helen smiled, watching the two. "Beary, clothes her?" she asked, hoping Beary would dress the little cub because Helen's fall earlier was still causing her leg to hurt a bit.

Beary nodded and carried his sister into her room. "All right, Lyra Hymn, what shall we wear today?" He set her down to let her play with her train set, and went over to her colorful wardrobe to search for something worthy. After a few minutes, he pulled out a simple emerald green dress with a black faux fur hem, and black pants. After helping her get dressed, he then grabbed her brush and ran it over her exposed fur and then through her hair before braiding and fixing it in a bun. As a final touch, he fixed a band around the bun, letting some blackish-blue-green feathers hang down.

"Oh, you are so beautiful! Yes, you are!" He pulled her into his arms and smiled happily as she snuggled against him while purring loudly.

The little cub seemingly stared past him as she smiled, but that was normal as her eyes could see nothing but darkness. "Candle?"

"Of course. But first, we're going to go to a bakery, honey. We have to wait for everyone to finish their breakfast, okay? Do you want to play with your train set?"

"Uh-huh."

Beary nodded and set her down in the center and guided her paw to the engine. "There you go. Have some fun, all right?"

"Stay, Beawy! Pway!" she ordered, not wanting him to leave.

"All right, all right." He smiled and picked up another engine, putting it on the track. "Here comes the train! Choo, choo!"

"Chuggah, chuggah, choo, choo!" she repeated happily as she moved her train around, gleefully crashing it into anything she ran into.

"Oh no! A train crash!" Beary made explosive sounds. "Those poor people!"

"Huh? No! Peeple okay, Beawy! Peeple safe! No hurty!" Lyra was alarmed by this news and made to quickly rectify it by picking up her train cars and putting them back on the track to the best of her ability. "See? All bedder!"

He kissed her nose and smiled. "Don't ever change, little Lyra. You're too special." He lifted her into his arms, gave her a snuggle, and set her back down to play.

.~*~.

"Mom! We're here!" Beary called as he walked into the bakery belonging to his human mother. His tone was a bit shaky as he felt the traffic ticket he had stuffed in his pocket. On the way there, the gas pedal in his black '67 Chevy Impala had gotten stuck and sped him up for a few minutes, and he'd gotten pulled over. Typically, as soon as the lights and siren wailed, the pedal became unstuck and he was able to safely pull over.

Thankfully, the officer had taken pity on him and, knowing him and his family, decided to simply give him a ticket. He would have let him go, but there were little cubs in the car.

Beary knew his parents would kill him if they found out about the ticket, so he'd tell them after the holidays so as to not spoil the mood.

"Beary? Is that you?" Allison stepped out from the back and grinned as she hurried over and hugged her furry son. "It's so good to see you!" While she was no longer legally considering his mother, she quite enjoyed him calling her "Mom", just like old times. Ever since Henry had gotten them out of prison all those years ago for what really was a misunderstand, Allison had been indebted to him and paid her debts by loving their shared cub.

"See me? Mom, I was just here yesterday!" Beary laughed and hugged her back. "This time, though, I've brought the army of cubs. It's time to shop for presents!" He looked down at Lyra, who was eagerly sniffing the air. "Do you smell the yummy food?"

"Uh-huh!"

Allison smiled. "Lyra, can I have a hug?"

"Hug!" She held out her arms and Allison carefully picked her up. "Yay!"

"Oh, you are a sweet little girl. Tell you what, I'll sneak you a muffin. One for each of you." Allison looked over as all the cubs entered the bakery. "My, my, look at you all! Looking spiffy! Beary, would you go get the muffins I set aside?"

"Sure." He went back, listening as his 'adoptive' mother spoke to Jewel, Fēnglì, and the army of cubs, knowing she was glad for the company. Since he didn't see Kristina, he assumed his little human sister was most likely spending one last day with her friend, Tiffany, before Tiffany's family went on their trip to visit family in New York.

Finding the muffins, he sniffed and grinned. Apple cinnamon. Perfect. However, as they had all eaten already, he packed them up in to-go boxes to have later for a snack. Carrying the three boxes out, he put them in a bag and took them out to his black '67 Chevrolet Impala.

"Well, Mom, we'll be back later, all right? When are Dex and Roxi getting here?" he asked upon walking back in.

"Tomorrow. They're packing up suitcases tonight and we'll pick them up when we go to the tree farm and bring them home," Allison responded as she started preparing the register for opening the store. She had passed Lyra to Jewel. "Where's the pup?"

"At home being fit for a Christmas surprise. We figured that since Lyra's with all of us, she doesn't need him today." Beary grinned. "We're gonna get going, though. Do you need any help today?"

"No. Barb's going to be in for her last day before her trip, and I'll be working hard finishing orders. Thankfully there aren't many left. And then I'll be closing for the next few days for the holiday before being back in business for a few days, and then going closing for New Year's." Allison shifted back her hair and looked over at her 'son'. "Are you okay? You look tired."

"I'm fine." He shifted his gaze away from her. "Jewel, ready to get going?"

The golden beauty nodded and spoke quietly to Lyra as she went back outside.

"Beary, you're alone now. What's going on?" She moved away from the register and reached up, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Talk to me, honey."

The teenager frowned and sighed. "Just didn't sleep much last night, that's all. Excited for everyone coming home, I guess. It'll be a nice break from having to be all responsible all the time."

"Henry never should have put all this on you. Sure, Méngméng, Fēnglì, and Jewel are there, but there's other cubs to help out with, and you... You have to take care of two handicapped bears. And during school time? He was irresponsible in doing this. How does he expect you to work at the grocery with Jewel, do well in school, and be able to help out around the house?"

Beary shrugged and sat down at one of the small tables. "I just feel useless at times. I know he told me to tell him if he needs to come home, but... I don't know why I don't. Maybe I'm just mad? I want to prove myself, and right now it's just stressing me out."

"Of course it is. You're only sixteen. You shouldn't have had this put on your shoulders." Allison grabbed two juices from a fridge beneath the counter on her side and went back to the table, sitting down and giving him one.

"But why should I complain? Jewel doesn't, and she's taking care of her younger brothers. She even helps out with Méngméng and the little Seilleans. She gets her homework done, and works tirelessly at the grocery. She even worked extra shifts the last couple of months to save up money to take her brothers on a shopping spree today." His ears lowered and he took a sip of his juice after opening it. "She helps out and gets so much more done, and here I am complaining. What right do I have, Mom?"

"You have every right. You're dealing with a young, blind child, and a mother who sometimes can't even remember how to turn on the faucet and has issues talking, as well as can get stressed and overwhelmed fairly easily. You've had your work cut out for you, Beary. Personally, I think Jewel got off easy." Allison sighed, thinking back on all the changes over the past several years. The responsibilities set upon her bear cub's shoulders. She knew he was becoming more and more sad as the years went on, and there was nothing she could do to help him other than offer the help he refused to take.

"Yeah, I guess so..." He took another drink. "I'm just glad they'll be back and I can relax for a little bit. Finish wrapping presents for everyone, help prepare for that blizzard that's promised over the holidays, dig out the sleds... Yeah. I'll have a vacation." He smiled at her. "And everyone will be there, and things will go back to normal. At least for a little while."

Standing up, he took a long drink and recycled away the bottle. "I'd better go catch up with them. Gonna see if my present for Jewel's done being fixed, too. See you soon, Mom!" He gave her a hug and walked out the door.

Allison managed a small smile, hoping he was telling the truth about being alright. She wasn't able to dwell on the thoughts as the first of her customers walked in.

Please review, as I want to know what you all think! Thanks for reading! See ya next time!