�
Strong arms enfolded her and she felt safe for the first time in� a long time. �Thanks for coming home, Dad,� she breathed.
��Someone had to save the world in our backyard,� he joked, but then the arms around her waist grew tighter, and he sighed, �When Rick called me this morning that you had gotten here safely, I realized everyone important to me was going to be at Christmas in Springfield except me, that it was going to be one more Christmas where I wasn�t with you and Rick, and Abby, and Bert, and even one Christmas without you all was too many� It was time to come home.�
��It�s time for all of us to come home.� She smiled. �Let�s going to find Rick. I can�t wait to see his face��
�Outside Casa Bauer
Same town, same street, same house, same window. But everything was different.
Leaves rustled, waking Bert Bauer from a restless Christmas Eve slumber. Hopping off the bed, she tore for the window; Bert Bauer was going to the first one to greet Santa THIS Christmas.
She halted when she got to the window. �You�re not Santa.�
The man in the black leather jacket gripping the house�s siding shook his head. �Is this the Bauer residence?� he asked the little girl in the window.
She nodded.
Of course. Long dark brown curly hair instead of blonde, chubby cheeks, but same big brown eyes.
She peered more closely at him in the darkness of the Christmas Eve night. It was definitely him. �You came back,� she announced.
�Excuse me?�
��You came back, after she sent you away. You came back for the princess,� she explained as she leaned her elbows on the window sill, and held her face in her hands. �Aunt Michelle told me all about it,� she whispered.
�Oh, she did, did she?�
��Uh, huh. But she had to go before she could finish the story.� She examined him far too shrewdly for a three-year old.�
��She�s at the country club with Mommy and Daddy.�
��Ummm, thanks.�
�As she watched him climb down the siding again, she smiled. Maybe she�d hear the end of the story after all.
�The Springfield Country Club
��. I can�t get over how big Peter is! I swear I saw him making eyes at Lizzie Spaulding!� Michelle gushed happily to her cousin over the dinner table. �I�m so glad that you and Dylan came back to Springfield. For a while, I thought Matt was going to be the last of the Reardons.�
��Not by a long shot, buster.� The handsome redhead laughed, holding her bulging middle. �We just had to gather reinforcements. But seriously, we�re glad we came back. Minnesota was wonderful, wide open spaces for Peter to grow up. But Dylan�s heart has always been Lewis Construction. We had to come home.�
��There�s been a lot of homecoming lately,� Michelle watched Harley Cooper cut her ex-husband dead at the buffet table.
Bridget nodded. �I don�t know what Mallet was thinking when he came back. As if Harley would ever really forgive him.�
��And I heard that Dr. Burke is back.�
�Bridget nodded.
�I can�t believe that the Dr. Burke that died in the explosion was another clone!�
��Uh, huh. He says that he did it to distract Annie from the cloning formula. The district attorney�s been investigating the whole mess,� Bridge chuckled. �Of course, I�ve heard some of District Attorney Marler�s questioning, has, um, become rather personal��
��Michael Burke and Ross?!� Michelle�s eyes crossed in their sockets.
�Good God, no!� Bridget was laughing so hard, she was heaving. �Sam Marler�s back in town, and SHE�s the district attorney now.�
�Springfield has TWO attorneys now? When was the last time that happened?� Michelle was laughing almost as hard now, before she suddenly stopped. �Sam Marler�s back in town? Isn�t that difficult? I know that she and Dylan were engaged��
�Bridget squeezed her cousin�s hand. �It�s fine. It really is. I know Dylan and Sam were first loves, but� it was a long time ago. Life goes on.�
�Rick sidled over to the table, resplendent in his Santa Claus suit. �Ho, ho, ho,� he bellowed. �And how are two of my favorite ladies?�
��Very well, Santa.� Michelle grinned. �And where is Mrs. Claus?�
�Ho, ho, ho. Mrs. Claus is helping Mrs. Lewis fix her streaking mascara in the ladies room.�
��And where is Grandpa Claus?�
��Grandpa Claus is talking to Dr. Grant and Dr. Reade about rejoining Cedars.� Rick leaned down to whisper in her ear, �I think there�s a good shot if we can make sure the malpractice premiums aren�t too bad, clone doctor, Dr. Bradford, you know.�
�Michelle nodded sympathetically. �So, Santa, what have you got in your bag for us?�
��Well, ho, ho, ho, what have we here?� Rick reached into the red sack, and pulled out a flat, gaily wrapped box. ��To Michelle Bauer�� this is for you.�
�As she took the gift from Rick, she felt even warmer inside than she�d ever thought possible. It had been so long since she�d received a gift straight from a person�s hand.
Even though she knew it would be the standard bottle of perfume the country club gave out as party favors every year, somewhat guiltily, she began tearing into the wrapping paper.
��To Abigail Bauer�� I�ll put that aside for Abby. And Bridget, somewhere in here�.�
��Oh!�
�Bridget and Rick�s heads snapped to Michelle who, white as a sheet, clutched a shiny pair of handcuffs.
In an instant, she fled out the doors to the snowy patio.
�Michelle!� Rick called after her. �What�s wrong?�
�He paused to consider the handcuffs.
�What have you been doing in Europe?�
�(to be continued)
�