He was warm. Small and warm like a teddy bear. I buried my face in his neck and his hold tightened. It had been nine days, only nine. But it was a rough nine. He had a comforting scent about him and I soon relaxed.

"How are you?" he whispered in my ear. A nuzzle was my only response.

"What's all this damn noise down here?" Malcolm came stumbling down the stairs.

"Ey, where've you been?" Cliff asked from the living room.

"Sleepin', till I woke up from all your nonsense." Angus turned around.

"Mal! It's Christmas, thought you'd be the first one up!"

"There was a change of plans mate." Malcolm winked at me. Angus looked at me in confusion.

"I'll tell you later."

"And what in the bloody hell happened to the tree?" Malcolm asked walking over to it.

"Well," Linda laughed nervously. "Uh, it was a bit tricky to keep it standing so we gave up."

"Still better than the one in 1980," Angus said. He had one arm around me rubbing my shoulder. As for Ellen, well the whole time she kind of stayed away. An indistinctive look spread her face. She never looked me in the eye and I was scared. Actually scared. But she surprised me.

"Those were my cookies you know," she smiled at him.

"Oh yeah, I know that," he smiled back. Malcolm meanwhile had begun to stand the tree up himself.

"The tree's taller than you Mal," Cliff said watching.

"And the damn needles are fallin' off," Malcolm mumbled. He stood it up, before it fell over again. "Fuck it," he said throwing an ornament behind him.

After dinner that evening, everybody had a good time laughing and remembering old times. We didn't have too many presents this year, can't say we had the time to find any. But that didn't matter.

We watched another soccer game on tv. Angus and Malcolm started going for opposite teams and everyone placed bets on who would win. It was a 0 to 0 tie.

"Bullshit," they both said. Night fell and Angus and Ellen left. Without me. Malcolm said to wait a while longer just to be sure things had settled. But how long was I supposed to wait? The 1997 tour was gonna start soon. Was I going with them or not?

Or would Ellen tag along to watch us? To watch me? To make sure I wouldn't do anything I'd regret. I wouldn't, even if she didn't come. But with how I'd been feeling lately, I wouldn't be on tour very long. I might not even go at all.

I was gonna have to tell Angus what happened with Malcolm and I that night. That I almost left and Malcolm stayed up to make sure I wouldn't. I'm surprised Malcolm didn't tell him. Or maybe he did...

I stayed at Malcolm's house the whole next week and after New Year's. The tour was scheduled for March that year, and it would continue until 1998. How did these guys get any rest?

"Well my birthday is here. Yet again," Malcolm said with an accomplished look.

"Hey, how old ya' turnin'?" I smirked at him.

"Ha, ha. Joke's on you, I'm thirty three."

"Hmm, that's interesting. Last I checked you were older than Angus."

"Did he say that?"

"Yes."

"Well of course he was lying."

"Aw shucks. Years of academy training, wasted!" Malcolm chuckled.

"What does that mean?"

"It means all that stuff I learned about you guys was a lie."

"All that stuff? What stuff?"

"Just-stuff I learned."

"About us."

"Yeah."

"Like what?" Malcolm crossed his arms.

"Ages, birthdays..."

"Oh really? What's my middle name?"

"Mitchell."

"Phil's birthday."

"May 19th."

"Angus' favorite cartoon as a kid." Oh boy.

"Didn't he have a few?"

"Name one." I raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, Beany and Cecil?" I shrugged. Good enough right?

"Holy hell. You see that show?"

"A few times, it's alright."

"Man, wait till he finds that out." He cleared his throat. "I suppose we have to tell him what happened on Christmas Eve. That feelin' you got an' all."

"He's not gonna like that..."

"I don't like it either, but that's tough love. Besides. It'll kill him if you leave before he says goodbye." Malcolm sat next to me at the table. "I'm actually quite surprised you haven't left yet. It's been two weeks now? Almost?"

"Yeah. Guess it was just a false alarm."

"Or a warning," he thought aloud.

"Maybe." We thought for a minute. "Do you-do you ever think Angus could just, visit us? Or me visit him?"

"I don't know, I mean Ellen's still sore at you."

"Him visit us, just him then. Maybe?"

"You really miss him huh?" I nodded. "How come you don't go on and on about your brother then?" Malcolm asked lifting a hand to himself.

"Of course I miss you, when we're apart. But now, I mean..." I waved my hand between us.

"Mmm, I see."

"Thank you, by the way."

"Thank me? For what?"

"For uh, keeping me here. The day-night before Christmas."

"Oh yeah. No problem." He smiled. "Still a bit tired from that endeavour."

"I was just scared and-"

"And what?"

"I don't know, I wanted you to help me. I mean you specifically."

"Me, really?"

"Yeah." His smile got bigger.

"I feel important." He moved his arm to show his importance when he knocked over the salt shaker. "Oh dammit."

"Nnnnnn..."

"What are you doing?"

"nnnn..." He raised an eyebrow. "nnnnniiiiicccceeee!" He began laughing.

"'M still the same old klutz though."

It wasn't that he had taken Phil's assumed advice. This wasn't what had solved their problems. It hadn't even been planned. But one thing led to another, and the evening turned into night which turned into two in the morning.

Tension had been relieved some. Sure they were exhausted, but not out of arguing. It started off as a one time thing, but neither one had had enough and neither one was willing to call it quits. So it went on and on, eventually ending in a truce.

"So-" Ellen breathed. "What's next?"

"I don't-I don't-know-" her husband answered, in a seemingly worse state. Or from a man's point of view, better. His breathing was heavy, and his mind couldn't form a clear thought. Not yet.

"Catch your breath honey," she laughed slightly.

"Speak-speak-for-" He couldn't finish. They both lay there for a while thinking. Or at least, trying to regain some form of thought. But it only resulted them asleep the rest of the night.