Disclaimer: Mine is mine, Marvel's is Marvel's. This ( blabby) is private thought, (((( Flashback))))

"Okay, so how many of them have you found?" Bobby DaCosta asked his wife.

"Well, Rictor is living in Mexico, presumably with his family. Shan is in Vietnam, and Skids is in Colorado still. Rahne, Dani, Sam, Shatterstar, Terry, Jimmy, you, and me are all on one X-Team or another. And that is all the people I could find." Amara listed to her husband.

"Did you get addresses, or phone numbers?" Bobby asked, earning him a glare from his wife. "Stupid question huh?"

"Wot about that other girl, what you say her name was? Tabitha�somethin' or other?" Kit asked, sitting in an overstuffed chair with her swollen feet propped up.

"Tabitha Smith?" I could not find anything on where she may be." Amara informed the pregnant Englishwoman.

"You looked?" Bobby asked in surprise.

"When I said everyone, I meant everyone." Amara stated firmly.

"Besides, maybe this girl had a reason for running off. Did you ever think of that 'Berto?" Kit asked.

"It would have to be one hell of a reason." Roberto growled under his breath.

***

"So we are trying to get everyone together for the holidays." Amara explained on to Julio Richter over the phone.

"Sounds like a good idea. Who have you got so far?" Rictor agreed.

"Just everyone who is still on a team. You are the first person I have called that is not." Amara answered, twirling the phone cord around her finger.

"Who else not on a team are you planning to invite?" He asked, his voice betraying his curiosity.
"Well, I have found you, Shan, and Skids. " Amara told him.

"What about Tabitha?" Rictor wanted to know.

"I could not find her! It is like she wiped her existence off all legal documents!" Amara cried in exasperation.

"I know. She did that so you guys couldn't find her." Rictor said softly.

"Do you know where she is Ric? Do you have an address or something?" Amara asked.

Rictor was silent for a long time. Then he said, "I do but I won't give it to you. I'm sorry Amara, but you, well you don't know, but just ask Bobby or anybody who knew her. They'll tell you how stubborn she can be."

Amara sighed. "Oh."

"But I'd love to come." Rictor was quick to add. "Can I bring some one with me?"

"Of course. How many rooms do you think you'll need?" Amara asked him.

"One�no two." Rictor amended.

"That should be all right. Why two rooms though? Can't we just put you in separate beds?" Amara asked, confused.

" 'Mara, I won't promise you anything, but I'll try to talk Tabitha into coming. Well that be okay?" Rictor asked.

"That would be wonderful!" Amara replied.

"Well, I'll try. No promises. But I do know that I'm coming, but I'll have to check with Demi. And I'll work on Tabitha." Rictor said.

"Can you make it up here by, let's see, December 20th?" Amara asked.

"Yeah, that should be fine." Rictor answered.

"Great! I'll send the plane tickets." Amara started.

"No don't do that. I think we'll drive up." Rictor answered.

"Are you sure you want to do that? It is a long way up here from Mexico." She reminded him.

"We were planning on driving to Vermont for Christmas anyway. Demi is from Germany. She's never seen America." Rictor explained to Amara.

"Oh. Then we will expect you sometime around the 20th." Amara replied.

"Alright. I'll call if there's any problem." Rictor promised.

"Goodbye." Amara said.

"See ya."

****

Samantha Zacharia Smith was what some people would call an exceptional child. She would turn four on Christmas Eve, but already she could read short sentences and spell simple words. She had a large vocabulary for someone so small, and could already do simple adding. She was also an amazingly empathic child, able to sense others moods quicker then almost anyone. Added to all of these other amazing attributes the child also possessed a sweet disposition and was very difficult to anger.

But Sami, as she was commonly called, was also as hyperactive as her mother, Tabitha, had ever been. When she got going on something she could talk a mile a minute and it was very difficult to make her calm down when she got excited. Which was what she was at this moment.

"Momma, I had so much fun today! I got to play with Paxton's new doll, and when I said something to her, she talked back! It was so neat! And then me and Andrew went outside and played on the swing set and I swung higher then him! Then Brittany threw up all over the counter! It was gross!" Sami rambled about her day, while her mother sat and listened with and indulgent smile. (She really is your daughter Tabs. All anyone would have t do it listen to her talk!)

"Momma, what's snow feel like?" Sami asked, tugging on her mother's shirtsleeve.

Tabith a looked at her child in amazement. Sami had been born and raised in Arizona, where it never snowed, so of course she didn't know what snow felt like. Tabitha had always wanted to take her somewhere where there was snow for her to play in, but she had never gotten the chance.

"Well, baby, snow's very cold." Tabitha started to explain, trying to remember. It had been awhile since she had seen snow herself.

"Like ice?" Sami asked, her blue eyes round.

"Somewhat. But snow is soft, kinda of like sand. And you can build things with it, if you pack it tight enough." Tabitha grasped for an explanation.

"Like the sand at the lake?" Sami asked, her eyes glowing in understanding.

"Yeah, a little bit like that. Only snow's a lot more fun. It's even fun just to watch snow fall." Tabitha explained to her little girl.

"Wow!" Sami said, as a huge smile split her face.

"So," Tabitha asked, "have you decided what you wanna do for Christmas?" Tabitha had found that it was much easier to combine both her daughter's birthday and Christmas into one holiday. As much as she would like to be able to get her daughter two separate sets of gifts, she simply did not have the money. Two people living on a secretary's salary made things difficult at best.

"Is Uncle Ric and Aunt Demi comin' up this year?" Sami asked excitedly. Sami loved her mother's best friend and his girlfriend to death.

"I don't know. I haven't talked to them for awhile." Tabitha told her.

"Oh." Sami looked out the window as the dry Arizona landscape pasted. Suddenly she turned to her mother with a smile that could light the room. Tabitha felt a pang of loss. (God. Sami looks more and more like her father everyday.)

"Momma, I wanna see snow for Christmas!" Sami suddenly cried.

*****

Sam Guthrie stared glumly out his window. (This is gonna be the worse Christmas Ah have ever had.) Sam predicated mentally. (Ah gonna be surrounded by a bunch of people who wanna know what's wrong with me, and are gonna try and help me. Why don't they get it? Ah don't need to be helped. Ah need Tabitha back.)

She was going to be twenty-one in February. Did she even remember the promise he made her?

((((Sam looked over at the girl by his side. Tabitha was gazing down at the jewelry display in fascination. She loved pretty things.

"What are you lookin' at?" Sam asked Tabitha. She looked up at him with a guilty look on her face, but her eyes glowed like the emeralds she was looking at.

"Rings." She smiled.

"What kinda rings?" Sam asked, a smile pulling the corners of his mouth up. Tabitha blushed.

"Engagement rings." She admitted.

Sam jumped in surprise. He looked over at her and noticed that her blush had gotten deeper.

"Oh yeah?" He asked. "Which one do you like the best?"

Tabitha looked over at him in shock. Then she smiled and looked down at the display again. "Umm, that one!"

She was pointing at a beautiful yet modest ring. It wasn't probably more then a half caret but it was still pretty flashy. The band was slim, but there was probably enough room to inscribe something. Sapphire and emerald chips surrounded the diamond, and there were vines etched onto the surface of the band. It was a strangely beautiful ring.

Sam looked over at her. A soft smile caught the corners of his lips. " What would you say if Ah bought you that ring for your twenty first birthday?"

Tabitha looked at him in shock, understanding what he was trying to say. "I would say, thank you very much."

"Then what?" Sam prompted, holding his breath.

"Then I would take it from you and wear it. Forever." Tabitha told him.

"Then Ah'll buy you that ring for your twenty-first birthday. Ah promise." Sam promised her.))))

He'd gone back later that day to put a down payment on the ring. It was now sitting in the bottom of his top dresser drawer. Pulling it out, he whispered, "Ah kept mah promise girl. But are you gonna keep yours?"

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