Meghan opened her eyes, no motivation to slip out of bed coming to her. Carly laid snuggled beside her, still deep in sleep, and Meghan smiled at the sight of her. After what happened the previous night, Meghan had cried herself to sleep for the first time in months. And that time, it wasn't even over Gordon.

A dull ache began drumming through her chest, but there were no tears left at the moment to stain Meghan's cheeks. She shifted slightly and slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes. The clock beside the bed said enough for her to know that - no doubt - Gordon was already up making breakfast. The smell of food that wafted into the room only strengthened her assumption.

Leaving Carly to continue sleeping, Meghan slipped out of bed and walked across the cold floor to the closed door. As she exited the bedroom, leaving the door cracked open behind her, she took a peek into the kids room where Ryder was sprawled on his stomach in bed, his face hidden beneath the blanket draped over him.

"Good morning, Nutmeg," Gordon greeted softly from the tiny kitchen, flipping a pancake on the frying pan. He studied her face as she sat on the couch. "Did you sleep well?"

"What do you think?" she snapped, rubbing her burning eyes again. A texture like sandpaper dried her mouth but she didn't get up to look for water. Instead, she leaned back, sinking into the cushions. "Did Marcus leave?"

"Yeah, he's going to stay at a hotel," Gordon said.

Meghan nodded slowly, glancing at the two bodies still sleeping on the floor in thick sleeping bags. She was surprised they hadn't woken up yet, but then again, Brek was always a very heavy sleeper. Gwen just inherited that from him.

The conversation that took place last night had went surprisingly well. Especially when the fawn named Blitzen decided to take that moment to float in the air; confirming what the police officer was telling them. What happened afterward, however, had ripped away at something inside of Meghan.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Gordon asked, rummaging through the fridge for syrup.

"No, we already made our decision," Meghan mumbled.

"Well, I'm here to talk if you ever need it." He offered her a genuine smile. One that lit his whole face up. Meghan's stomach fluttered at the sight but she quenched the feeling by standing back up, clearing her throat.

"I'll get the kids up," she told him, moving back down to the bedroom doors.

She went to wake Ryder first. He hadn't been disturbed at all the previous night during the late night the adults had and Meghan was happy about that. She knew he was losing sleep over their stressful situation, as well, even if he didn't like to admit it. But that just meant he didn't know that Brek and Gwen were there.

"Ryder," she said gently, nudging his shoulder. He groaned and rolled onto his back, squinting as he opened his eyes to look up at her. She smiled. "Breakfast is about ready."

"What time is it?"

"Time to get up," she said, ruffling his already tousled hair. "Come on. Today is another busy day."

Ryder sat up slowly, wincing slightly. Meghan noted the unusual paleness of his skin. "Busy, but not in the normal holiday way, right? I'm guessing it's going to be another depressing day knowing our lives are on the line."

"No," Meghan assured him. "I have a feeling today will be better."

"Just like you said things would get better after Dad left." Ryder shook his head, yawning slightly. "You can tell Carly all you want, but I'm not fooled."

At least he was saying "Dad" without disgust or anger. Meghan patted his shoulder. "Just get up. There's a surprise in the living room."

"I hate surprises," he mumbled.

Meghan only smiled through the churning worry that was no doubt showing through her eyes. She left him to go into her room to find Carly spread out, taking up most of the bed space with her arms. She sat down and nudged Carly's side. "Come on, sleepyhead, time to get up."

Carly's groan was nearly identical to the one Ryder gave as she, too, rolled over to look at Meghan. "I'm still tired."

"Well, that's your fault for staying up late," Meghan laughed. "Come on. Uncle Brek and Gwen are still here."

"Really?" she gasped, jumping out of the bed and rushing to brush her hair.

"Breakfast is ready!" Gordon called from the kitchen. The smell of chocolate pancakes caused Meghan's stomach to growl.

Meghan watched Carly disappear out the door before following after her. Just as she closed her door, Ryder emerged from his room. He froze when he saw Brek and Gwen seated at the small table near the kitchen. Brek clapped when he saw him. "There he is!"

Meghan gave Ryder a shrug when he looked at her for an explanation. Brek and Gwen both got up to give Ryder tight hugs. Meghan slipped into her seat as greetings were extended. Gordon watchef them for a moment before looking away and gathering the pancakes onto a pan, setting it onto the table.

"Smells good, Dad," Carly said.

"Thanks, Ladybug." He kissed her forehead. Ryder, Brek, and Gwen took their seats.

The eight fawns were still huddled together on the ground. With only a limited amount of food, they'd been forced to give them cows milk. Hopefully, it didn't hurt them. They were reindeer, so hopefully, their diets weren't the same as one of a regular deer.

Ryder, with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, continued watching Brek and Gwen in disbelief. "When did you guys get here?"

"Last night," Gwen said.

"But..." Ryder looked at Meghan questioningly.

"We told them," she stated, biting into one of the fluffy pancakes.

"Yeah, we know about...Santa and the fawns and all of that," Brek said, clearing his throat uncomfortably. He looked at Meghan. "And have you considered my proposal?"

Meghan froze, looking up at him. "I did."

"And?"

She didn't like it at all. She was up almost the whole night dwelling on it. It's been said that mothers are very protective over their children, but Meghan never knew that thinking about sending them away would cause such heartache for her. That was what she cried herself to sleep about. And she would do it again.

"And," she said slowly, looking at Gordon who nodded. "And...we think that it's the safest option."

Brek smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. Ryder frowned as he passed Carly the syrup. "What's going on?"

Meghan shifted, wincing at the question. "Do you want to tell them?" she asked Gordon, pleading with her eyes for him to save her from saying those words.

Gordon shook his head with the same reluctance. "You tell them."

Carly fidgeted nervously, not entirely sure of the tension in the room. "Tell us what, Mom?"

"Um." She took Carly's hand, squeezing it softly. "We've decided that...that we're...we're going to send you away for a while."

"What?" Ryder was the first to exclaim, his face written with shock. "What do you mean?"

"It's not safe here anymore, Ryder," Meghan explained shakily, "so we're going to get you and Carly out of here until we can at least catch Santa's brother if not...kill him."

"How long will that take?" Carly asked worriedly.

"Well, we're going to send you to-" she winced at the following words "-your grandparents for two months. That way things can...things can be dealt with and repaired, and then you can come back home."

"But what about Christmas?" Carly asked, glancing at Ryder who was almost as immobile as a board, his eyes dark with emotion.

"We're sorry," Gordon said. "But anything can happen now. This isn't a game at all. We will die, or we will not. We'd rather you two stay alive."

"But what about you guys?" their daughter asked, tears brimming her eyes. "What will happen to you?"

"We..." Meghan choked on the words. "We don't know."

Carly's tears spilled over and she climbed out of her seat to hug Meghan tightly. Ryder's shoulders sagged. He hunched over, his voice hoarse when he said, "So now you're sending us away."

"Not permanently," Gordon said.

"You don't know that." Ryder gripped the sides of his head agitatedly. "How can you know that when there's a possibility you'll be killed?"

The thick emotions in his tone mad tears fill Meghan's eyes. Brek put an arm around Gwen who blinked her own tears away. Carly's tears soaked into Meghan's sleeve as she said, "He's right. I don't want you dying!"

Meghan swallowed. "It's not that bad, Carly. I don't think we're going to die." Her words didn't come out as encouraging as she wanted them to. All she could think of was that dreadful, chilling feeling that overtook her body every time she was in the presence of their stalker. The sense that she was going to die that accompanied the raspy moans Santa's brother made. That moment when she had a knife pressing into her stomach. One small shove and she would have been bleeding to death.

It's no game. But the more she repeated that to herself, the more realistic the situation got. No matter how abnormal and unrealistic it all seemed, there was no denying that death could be around any corner. And she'd rather not have her children there to witness it.

When a noise sounding suspiciously like a restrained sob came from Ryder, there was no holding back her tears. Meghan felt the warm liquid slide down her cheeks as she hugged Carly more tightly. Gordon started to get up to approach Ryder, but their son jumped up from his seat and raced down into the bedroom, slamming the door and locking it.

Meghan watched Gordon head over to the door. She pulled Carly away from her, meeting her daughter's watery eyes. "Carly, listen. This is just like a vacation away from home for a while."

"But you don't even like your parents," Carly whispered. "What if they're mean?"

"They won't be," she assured her. "And if they are, just call me and I'll bring you right back home. But try to stay, okay? You'll be safer there."

Carly nodded, sniffing loudly. "How are you paying?"

Meghan smiled softly, looking at Brek. "Uncle Brek has offered to pay for you, Ryder, and Gwen to go over there. And guess what? They're in Hawaii until January, so you'll get to be in Hawaii for the rest of this month."

Carly's lips quivered slightly. "Yeah, but we won't be having Christmas together."

Meghan squeezed her back into a hug, listening to the sound of Gordon trying to reason with Ryder to open the door. She whispered, "I know."

There was a pause before Carly asked the question Meghan had begun dreading to hear. "When do we leave?"

The air hitched in Meghan's throat. "Today."

❄⛄❄❄⛄❄

With one last kiss on the cheek, another broken utter of goodbye, and a final wave of the hand, Meghan was watching as Ryder, Carly, and Gwen begin retreating toward the line for their plane. The tears filling her eyes were quickly blinked away on her part. Gordon wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. "They'll be okay, and we'll see them again before you know it."

His words should have helped her to feel better, but they had the opposite effect. She'd never been separated from her children before. And now, counting down the days of two months would be the only thing keeping her from following them onto that airplane. If she was to ensure their future, she would have to make their home safe again.

The option to move out of the country had been mentioned several times but, ultimately, they all knew that they didn't have the money for that. And it wouldn't matter where they went anyway. If Santa's brother got what he wanted, the world would no longer be safe.

Once they watched their childrens' plane depart and grow into nothing but a tiny speck in the dark blue sky, Gordon led Meghan away with Brek by their side. Meghan's parents were very eager to take Carly and Ryder in and asked very little questions about it. To some extent, that bothered Meghan. They weren't even concerned for her and why she was sending them away. Some parents.

Once inside the car and driving down the freshly salted road, Meghan heaved a heavy sigh, running her finger down the fog on the window. "So...now what?"

"Now we try and catch this guy," Gordon said. Meghan knew he was just as upset about the kids' departure as she was.

Brek nodded in the backseat. "I'm still not sure what I'm expecting though."

"Expect fear," Meghan bluntly replied. "Lots of fear."

Brek cleared his throat. "Okay. But, now that the kids are gone, I want to ask. How are you two doing?"

Meghan knew that question was coming. From the moment he walked into the apartment, Brek was studying Gordon and Meghan and their interactions. He hadn't been able to make it when the paperwork had been officially signed and their divorce legalized. It wasn't until after Gordon was deployed that Meghan finally saw Brek, and she had spilled her heart out to him about it all.

"We're doing fine," Meghan said tersely. "Still friends. Right, Gordon?"

Gordon nodded, eyes on the road. "Yep. Still friends."

"But everything's good?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"I don't know." Brek shrugged nonchalantly. "I mean, I'm not an expert with sons - seeing as I only have the one daughter - but Ryder doesn't seem to think that you two are fine."

Meghan frowned slightly. "Let's not do this, Brek. Ryder's gone. Hopefully, this break helps him to feel better about this whole thing." She suddenly cringed at a thought. What if her parents made Gordon out to be a monster in front of their children?

"I'm just saying I've noticed some tension between you two." Brek leaned back, folding his arms.

"Why don't you mind your own business?" Meghan snapped, interrupting whatever Gordon was about to say through the rearview mirror.

Brek sighed loudly. "I just don't want what happened between me and Carrie to happen to you two."

Meghan swallowed. Carrie had been a beloved sister-in-law - until she started on heavy drugs. After that, things went downhill and she and Brek decided to divorce. It ended completely in a custody battle for Gwen when the girl was only ten. Meghan remembered it clearly. Especially the memory of how suffocating and painful it was to sit in the court room defending her brother against a woman she had loved like a sister she never had.

"That won't happen between us," Gordon said.

Meghan looked out her window at the passing buildings and shops. If it did, who would win custody? Who would the judge see fit as a better guardian? She tried not to dwell on the disturbing questions. That wouldn't happen to them. She knew it wouldn't happen.

"So how are we going to go about finding this guy?" Meghan asked, fiddling with a strand of her hair.

"I'm sure he'll find us first," Gordon replied.

"Well, let's not sit around to test that assumption," Brek said. "Where's your police officer friend?"

Meghan shrugged. "He said he would be swinging by the apartment today."

As silence followed her words, she took that as a moment to think more about the ladybug sticker on the car's dashboard. The corners were peeling slightly, but other than that, it still looked brand new. Even after being there for three years. Meghan smiled at the memory.

Carly always hated ladybugs. Every little thing about them set her on edge, whether it be the red, black splotched back, or the sight of it flying through the air towardd her, she would scream like her life were on the line. It wasn't until she found one drowning in the bathtub when Gordon had been bathing her when she was five-years-old that, instead of screaming and trying to get away, she had gasped and picked it up, cradling it in her palm and giving it a kiss before letting it go.

After that rescue, she had an obsession with them. And Gordon nicknamed her "Ladybug" for all the time she spent holding and playing with each one she could get her hands on. She had even tried keeping two in a small box as her pets.

As Gordon stopped at a red light, Meghan opened the diary she had on her lap to the scrawled writing of each fawns name. Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen. Eight fawns. Eight reindeer. Eight babies that needed to be returned to Santa Claus. She skimmed her finger over the strange names, the smooth paper almost soothing beneath her fingers. As the light turned green, Meghan looked out her window at the quiet morning sky. If only life were as calm as the day was. No storms. No downpours. Just a clear, bright world to live in.

"So," Meghan started, clearing her throat, "how did the family react when you abandoned them on the island?"

Brek cleared his throat as well. "They didn't get why I would leave a place like that to come spend time with a family member who didn't even bother going at all. Dad's words."

Meghan scowled but didn't respond. She asked. He only answered. Despite her assurances to herself that their family would eventually see eye-to-eye, she harbored the same hollow feeling of defeat. Deep down, she knew they wouldn't ever truly love one another, and she would never feel that love she longed from her parents.

"WATCH OUT!" Brek suddenly shouted, making Meghan jump. Gordon jerked the steering wheel harshly, making them fling to the side, but the six deer managed to ram the car anyway.

Meghan screamed as the car spun out of control, flipping over. Her face cracked against the dashboard only to have the airbag pop out of where it was stashed, knocking her back into the chair. An abrupt sear of pain blinded her vision as a warm liquid trickled out her nose.

The car came to a slow stop on its side. Meghan groaned softly, reaching up to hesitantly prod at her tender nose. Gordon winced as he shifted to try and unbuckle his seatbelt. His voice was hoarse as he asked, "Are you two okay?"

Meghan gasped out loud when she shifted her left leg. The airbag guarded her view of seeing it, but she was a doctor, and she knew something is wrong. The pain was agonizing, shooting through every nerve in that limb. "Gordon, my...my leg is hurt."

She could hear Brek shifting behind her, letting out a small moan. "Meghan?"

"Yeah," she croaked. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he replied, seemingly dazed.

Blood trickled down Gordon's arm and face from his shattered window as he reached toward her. Meghan inhaled shakily, willing herself to remain calm. It was just a little bit of pain. Just some pain. Gordon helped her move the airbag out of the way.

"Oh my gosh," Brek said, his tone pitched with terror. She could hear him frantically struggling with his seatbelt.

"What?" Meghan turned her head to look at him but frozen at the sight outside the window.

Santa Claus's brother stood directly in front of the door, the six deer standing rigidly behind him. Small elves climbed up the side of the car, baring horrifyingly sharp teeth to match their crazed, dead gazes. Meghan whimpered softly, finding Gordon's bleeding hand and holding it tightly. He stared, petrified as well, at the sight. The brother had his head still hidden beneath the cloak's hood. A raspy moan reached them through the closed door.

"Is th-that him?" Brek whispered.

"Yes," Gordon breathed, squeezing Meghan's hand.

Meghan felt a single tear slide down her cheek as the elves managed to pry the door open, their cackles sending chills down her spine. The figure's decaying hand reached inside. The gingerbread-man knife was clenched in its other hand, the tip gleaming menacingly.

❄️⛄️❄️

Wow. This book is nearing its end! Only five more chapters to go! Combining thirty-something chapters together to narrow that number down to only eighteen was a fun hassle. :P

Question: So, they're sending Ryder and Carly away. What do you think is going to happen next? Now that the kids are hopefully safe, will this become easier for Meghan and Gordon to get through?