"Ya' know, sugar," Savannah offered, leaning over Kermit's busy form, "that might go easier if you used the directions." Kermit was trying to assemble what seemed to be a hundred plastic pieces into a Little Tykes First Dollhouse for Kat's first Christmas. The item forming before them held little resemblance to the picture on the box.

"Directions are for wimps. Right, Kermit?" Jason was enjoying his moments as his uncle's assistant. Having a male presence in his home was a welcome change to his mother and sister.

"Oh yeah," agreed the uncle, discreetly accepting the instruction sheet his wife slid over beside his leg. He winked his thanks to her and began to reassemble the parts.

Kermit and his family were spending their first Christmas together with his sister Marilyn and her two children. Marilyn had been thrilled to have them there with the baby. Mitch and Jason had long since given up the illusion of Santa Claus and having a little one in the house to surprise on Christmas morning would be a pleasure. Especially on her very first Christmas. That is, if 'Santa Claus' could put together her presents before Easter.

Kermit watched Savannah and Marilyn chatting on the sofa beside the window. The injuries his wife had suffered during the accident two months prior were still healing. Her leg was still giving her trouble and she was using a cane to help support her weaker limb. Savannah's Great Aunt Mattie had sent it to her saying that "a cane was just slap full of personality....a sight better than tacky ole crutches." She still had a lot of pain - but at least she hadn't lost her leg and she was alive. *Best Christmas present I could ask for,* he thought, watching her laughing with his sister.

Last Christmas had been hell for both of them. Kermit had been recuperating from his gunshot wound but at least he'd had Marilyn and the kids. He'd been less than joyous but they'd held onto him and forced him to participate. Savannah, on the other hand, had been entirely alone. Abandoned by her loved ones, him included. He'd asked her once what she'd done during that holiday and she just never answered. It made him want to shower her with holiday spirit this year to make it up to her.

She seemed to be enjoying things but Kermit could sense her longing for her family in Memphis. Being here was great but she still missed her brother, and though he couldn't fathom why, her parents. There had been one tiny signal of defrosting from Kermit's in-laws. Last week, a huge package had arrived for Kat from her grandparents. A beautiful new baby doll that she'd spent the past few hours kissing and babbling to, and a box full of new dresses. There was a short note saying Merry Christmas from Grandma and Grandaddy. Kat's Uncle Billy had sent his own present. A tiny tape player and ten blues recordings that he expected them to "begin her education with" immediately.

Savannah's reply to the gift from her parents was, "Bet his secretary did it. That doesn't look like his handwriting."

Kermit walked over to his wife, who was now standing by the window alone. Watching it snow. "Why don't you just call them?" He patted her back and stood beside her.

"Why don't they just call me?" Stubbornness evidently was genetic.

"Come on, Scarlett. Maybe they tried but you're here. How could they reach you?"

"Look, Kermit, I just don't feel like gettin' beat up on Christmas Eve." With a forced smile, she left and walked over to watch Jason finish putting together Kat's mound of presents.

Marilyn strolled over to him and whispered, "Don't push, big brother. She's just like you, you know?" He nodded and they both went into the kitchen.

After about an hour, Kermit heard Savannah on the phone in the living room. Unable to help himself from eavesdropping, he listened.

"Billy? Is that you?" A broad smile ran across her face and she sat down to chat with her brother. "Merry Christmas! Sorry I didn't get your call. We're here at Kermit's sister's house. Yes, Kat's asleep and Kermit finally got all the toys put together. Have you found a job yet or are you still freeloadin'?" Suddenly, she threw her head back in amused surprise. "YOU DID WHAT?! A blues band? Have you told them yet?"

Pausing to listen to his response, she shook her head and noticed her husband in the doorway. She smiled and responded, "Good idea. Get the presents first. Gee, for once you'll get to join me in the 'Black Sheep Club.' Yeah, yeah, yeah. Membership card is on the way."

Turning away from Kermit's view, she asked, "How is everybody?....He does? Well...put him on." Taking a deep breath, she greeted the next family member, "Hi, Daddy. Merry Christmas."

Kermit could see her fighting to level her voice. The last time she'd spoken to her father was over a year ago. It hadn't been pleasant. Lots of name calling. Mostly on his side. This conversation could make or break any attempts to reconcile father and daughter. Though every urge Kermit felt made him want to punch the self-centered jerk in the mouth, he'd buried them. He only hoped that his tiny attempt at pulling them back together would make her happy.

"Yes, Daddy. My leg's fine. Billy shouldn't have made such a big deal out of it. Just a little car accident."

*Dammit!* thought Kermit. *Some little car accident. Came this close to spending Christmas alone with my daughter...forever.*

Savannah sat perfectly still. Listening to every holiday-cheer inspired word. "Yes. Kat's gift is wonderful. She's been kissin' that baby doll for hours....You got the pictures?" She flashed a puzzled look over her shoulder then smiled. "I'm glad you liked them."

More listening, then a response. "For Kat's birthday? Well...sure. If you want to. She'd love that. You'll love her. Uh...is Mama around?" She'd gotten brave enough to ask. Finally.

"Oh...I understand. I know she's busy with the party." Savannah closed her eyes and whispered. Voice breaking. "Well, you'd better get back to your guests....Love you. Bye."

Kermit had already left her. Giving her a chance to put her happy face back in position for her return to the den. Mitch, unable to contain her excitement a moment longer, had retreived Kat's premier Christmas present from the pantry.

Jason, a disgusted look on his face, asked, "Kermit...tell me you didn't pick out that rat? You could have had a Lab or a Doberman. But a YORKIE? You've gotta be kiddin' me."

Savannah took her place behind Kermit on the sofa and patted his back in support. "Jason, dear. Your uncle wanted to be sure that Kat's puppy would never be bigger than she was. It left him with every few options."

Marilyn laughed. "It's the name I can't figure out. Mary Sue? Where did that come from? Why did you name it that?"

Savannah rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Kermit, too. Well, Santa, I think we should go to bed, don't you?"

As they slowly ascended the stairs, Kermit got an unexpected hug and kiss. "What's that for?"

"That's for the pictures of Kat you sent them for a Christmas gift, you little green elf."

Kermit just smiled and, deciding to give her leg a rest, picked her up and carried her the rest of the way up the stairs.

THREE MONTHS LATER:

"Donald! Watch out for that car!"

"I see it," the older man snarled as he attempted to traverse the busy streets of Sloanville. "God, I don't believe it! This city is insane!"

*My kinda town,* thought the young man irreverently. He was in the back seat, hands and head propped over the front seat, watching his father trying to avoid playing bumper cars. People screaming and talking in seven languages. Cars driving every which way....*Wait, wait, wait! What was that??* He spun around and looked at the entrance of a ritzy club they just passed. His eyes sought out Nirvana and found it - a sign posted on the door that said 'Open auditions.' *YES!!!* he crowed to himself silently as he looked for the street corner signs so he could come back and investigate later.

"NOW what?!!"

The young man looked at his father, who was now seriously approaching his boiling point. Although that wasn't exactly hard these days....

"Oh, good heavens," his mother exclaimed. "I wonder how long THIS is going to take."

"It takes as long as it takes," the older man snapped. This was hard enough without traffic problems! His mood wasn't improved by the fact that traffic seemed to slow down to one inch a minute. "There must be a wreck up there," he surmised.

"I'll go see-"

The young man reached for the door handle only to be stopped firmly by his mother. "DON'T you move from that seat, Billy! We've got enough problems...."

After what felt like an eternity, they finally crawled close enough to get the barest glimpse of what was going on. There were two cars involved in a pile-up. One was even upside-down. One cop was directing traffic while a whole host of cops were swarming around the other two.

Billy examined the area with interest when he caught something out of the corner of his eye, whipped around...and began to grin. Sitting right there, plain as day, was a lime-green Corvair. Billy, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing, surreptitiously examined the crime scene, looking for his brother-in-law.

*****

Kermit walked up to the totaled cars, shaking his head. *What a mess,* he thought.

A uniformed cop began to put up a hand to detain him and Kermit, flashing his badge to gain passage, walked through the police line cordoning off the passersby.

Mary Margaret was already on the scene and walked up to him. "I sure hope you were right about this, Kermit."

He flashed a grin. "I'm always right, Mary Margaret." As she rolled her eyes, he went to the back and jimmied the hood open. The boxes were supposedly filled with computer paraphernalia. *Yeah, right,* he thought, opening a box to reveal hardware, all right - hardware in the form of semi-automatic weapons.

The uniformed cops were helping the would-be smugglers out of the car when suddenly one reached under his coat...and cried out as the weapon was shot from his grasp. The cops quickly subdued the young thug as Mary Margaret looked at Kermit. "Nice shot," she complimented.

*****

*Nice shot!!!* Billy complimented silently. His eyes were as round as saucers, taking in the whole scene.

His mother gasped, "I don't believe it! That man...just pulled out his gun and shot that man in broad daylight - in the middle of a crowd!!!"

"I think he's a cop, too, Mom," Billy contributed, grinning. Oh, this trip was going to be verrrry interesting now!

"That's even worse! Couldn't they have subdued him without-"

"All cops nowadays are like that, Betsy," her husband told her. "Shoot first, ask questions later. They probably don't even think any more. I mean, what if that cop had missed and shot someone in the crowd-!"

*Him, miss? Not likely,* Billy thought.

"That's what the world is coming to, Mother," Donald told his wife.

"And Savannah had to MARRY a policeman," Betsy moaned. "She'll probably get kidnapped for ransom or have a criminal break into her house for revenge or even be widowed in a year!"

"Mom," Billy said, "I think you've been watching too much T.V."

*****

Kermit surveyed the rest of the scene in silence. Deciding he didn't need to hang around anymore, he walked to his car - and stopped right in the middle of traffic.

Leaning casually on his car hood was a woman, ash-blonde, brown eyes...his worst nightmare.

HONK!

Kermit quickly got out of the traffic's way to approach the woman. "Vanessa," he greeted.

"Aren't you going to say hello?" she grinned, walking up to him.

"Wasn't planning on it," he said.

She looked at him studiously. Without warning, she stepped closer, wrapped her arms securely around his neck and kissed him.

*****

Betsy gasped. "Isn't that disgraceful! Billy, don't look-"

"I know what kissing is, Mom," he said, watching the couple curiously as their car inched by the accident scene.

Turning around, he noticed Detective Griffin reach up, pull the blonde's arms down, and firmly disengage himself from the kiss. But, turning back to his parents, he realized that they were completely unaware of this scene.

Billy sat back in the seat with a sigh. Looks like Fourth of July fireworks would be early this year....

*****

"What do you want, Vanessa?" Kermit asked icily.

"Who says I want anything?" After a moment, she continued. "All right, we have to talk about something. Privately."

Kermit had a very good idea what it was about but decided not to air his private business all over the street. "Get in the car," he ordered, going around to the driver's seat.

Frowning, she complied. She never thought that Kermit would hold this bad of a grudge. It was going to be hell telling him....And what was the deal with the wedding ring on his finger???

Kermit was glad for the dark glasses. *Shit shit shit,* he thought, *Why NOW?* Just what he needed! Savannah was expecting her parents to come in later this afternoon and he was resolving himself to be the epitome of the perfect husband. They were going to have enough troubles as it was without Vanessa.

"Why are you so mad, Kermit?" she asked, unable to take the silence.

"This is not a good time for me to do this," he told her shortly. "However, maybe I can shorten this meeting up a bit. I know about Jim already."

Vanessa gaped, her surprise evident. She knew Kermit was good about ferreting out secrets but she thought this was one secret she thought she would carry to her grave. "How did you find out???"

"Ran into someone who saw you when you were carrying the baby to term. Kept track of the kid over the years - he's doing just fine. A Major in the Air Force, no less. Was that the only thing you wanted to tell me?"

"No, actually, it's not." She couldn't help but grin despite her news. It was a pleasure to actually know something that Kermit didn't. "He wants to meet you."

"WHAT???" Kermit glanced over to look at her. *Oh, God, she's serious.*

"He found out he was adopted and tracked me down."

"And you TOLD him about me? Thanks for nothing, Vanessa!" Kermit gripped the wheel, restraining the urge to kill her.

"Look, our marriage wasn't that big a secret, you know! He could have found out from anybody! I just saved him some time. Besides, I want him to talk to you-"

"WHAT THE HELL FOR?!!" he yelled at her. He fastened his eyes to the road, not liking the feeling of losing control. He took a deep breath and continued a bit more calmly. "He was doing just fine with his adoptive parents. They're good people. Why the hell would he look us up-!"

"Believe it or not, Kermit," Vanessa spat, "I said exactly the same thing to him. The last thing I want is to start playing Mommy."

"Then why did you tell him-?!"

"Because he wants to join the business."

Kermit froze.

"He ran into a group of mercenaries a couple of years ago. He decided he liked the life and wants to get into it."

Kermit closed his eyes briefly. *Oh, shit....*

"I want you to talk him out of it."

*****

Savannah decided that she might as well skip the Christmas rush and go crazy now. Her parents were coming in, Kermit was tied up in a case and probably wouldn't be free for at least two hours, she was trying to prepare seven dishes at the same time, three of which needed to go into the oven at different temperatures, and Kat was screaming to be changed. At times like these, she wondered why she just didn't become a nun.

On top of all that, the doorbell rang.

"Oh, no, no, no, no," she cried out. "Not now! Please not now!"

She rushed to the door, trying to smooth out her disheveled hair and failing, and pulled it open. "Oh, it's only you!" she gasped.

"Well, thanks!" Peter Caine looked at her oddly. "I've had nicer welcomes...!"

"Sorry, Peter," she said, pulling him in and closing the door. "I didn't mean it like that...."

Peter watched, bemused, as she ran like a bat out of hell back to the kitchen. Following, he grinned, "Excited about your parents coming, I see."

"Don't start, Peter," she warned, making sure nothing would burn while she took two minutes out to change Kat's diaper. "I only have two hours to spare!" Her dinner saved, she raced to the nursery with Peter behind her. "Okay, baby doll," she told Kat, "we'll have to make this quick." She took the diaper off and carried the baby to the warm bathwater waiting for her. Glancing back at Peter, she asked hesitantly, "Did you need something?"

"Well, I thought I did but this is infinitely more entertaining-"

Savannah splashed a few droplets of water in his direction. "Well, if you want something, you can get it yourself. I only have five arms...."

Grinning wider, Peter strolled out of the nursery before he got run over and began looking for the papers Kermit had asked him to bring to the precinct when the doorbell rang.

*Now what?* Savannah thought. "Peter," she yelled, "would you get that for me?" *Helluva time for Girl Scouts,* she thought.

Peter opened the door to see an older couple and a young man about early-20ish. He was surprised to see the couple look him up and down appraisingly and looked down at himself. *Is my fly open?* he thought.

"Well, well, well," the man said, holding out his hand. "You're a fine figure of a man. Guess I can understand the situation now...."

Peter raised an eyebrow and quickly put two and two together. "You must be Savannah's parents. I'm-"

"We're so happy to meet you," Betsy March gushed.

"Can't we come in, young man?" Donald March asked gruffly.

"Oh! Of course!" Peter stepped backwards to allow them entry while Savannah's younger brother, Billy Ray March, was grinning from ear to ear.

"How are you doing?" he asked Peter, winking. This was getting better and better....

"All right," Peter said, looking confused. As the couple made themselves comfortable, Peter said, "I'll go get Savannah-"

"Oh, she'll be out in a moment, I'm sure," Betsy March said, her eyes glittering appreciatively. "We want to get to know you better! My, my, you are a handsome young man!"

"Umm...thanks," Peter said, confusion growing in leaps and bounds while Billy fought hysterics.

"So, how did you get into police work, young man?" Donald March asked.

"Me?" Peter hemmed and hawed in confusion. "Well, my foster father was a police captain...."

"Oh, well, this shouldn't be that bad after all," Betsy March declared. "Your father probably taught you how to be a *responsible* police officer. Not like some others we've seen so far!"

Peter decided he was now in over his head. "I'd better get Savannah-"

"Momma? Daddy?"

Peter turned gratefully to see Savannah looking at her parents in horror.

"What are you all doin' here two hours early???" Savannah supposed she should have said hello first but she was too startled and had asked the most important question that had sprung to her mind.

"We caught an earlier flight, dear," Betsy March said, smoothing out her dress. "We tried to call but the line was busy. Your father decided to just rent a car...But, Savannah, sweetheart, let me TELL you how much we like this young man of yours!"

Savannah looked blankly at her mother, not knowing what she was talking about, as Donald March rose from the couch and extended a hand to Peter, who took it hesitantly. "Yep. He really seems to know where he's coming from."

As her father slapped Peter on the shoulder and shook his hand, Savannah and Peter exchanged worried looks as the misunderstanding finally became clear. "Daddy, Momma, no, you don't understand," Savannah said quickly. "This isn't Kermit!"

Donald March pulled his hand away as Betsy gaped in astonishment. "Who the hell is he?" her father demanded.

"This is Peter Caine, Kermit's best friend."

Billy Ray couldn't hold onto the laughter any longer and cut loose, making his entire family stare death-daggers at him.

"You knew?" Betsy demanded of her son.

"Sure," Billy Ray gasped. "Savannah described Kermit in her letter-"

"You could have told me!" his father snapped.

"You said you didn't want to know!" Billy Ray defended himself. "Besides, you guys should have known - Savannah doesn't fall for the 'pretty boy' type!"

"So, where's Kermit?" Betsy March demanded.

"'Pretty boy'!?" Peter protested.

Savannah looked from one family member to another - and decided that going crazy wasn't such a bad idea after all.

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