Jeff was alone in Pierce's massive car garage in pitch darkness, wearing a ridiculous costume. He shivered slightly then went to the door. His nice warm bed was calling to him. He would get back there and sleep maybe his last night as Jeff Winger away. He yawned and pulled the fake beard he wore. It didn't come off.

He tugged again and it just stretched his skin out. He took a deep breath and gave it a firm yank! Then he heard a 'riiiiip' and he gritted his teeth at the pain. When he looked down he realized he not only pulled off a good deal of his stubble with that gesture, he also only got the mustache and the beard off… the sideburns were still stuck tight.

Releasing another sigh he grabbed the doorknob and tried to twist it. Only to have it turn just enough to 'click' and let him know it was locked. Jeff jiggled it back and forth. It only clicked in protest.

Finally he slammed his body against the door. When it didn't budge he spat out a cuss word and kicked the door. Which led to more cussing and him hopping around on one foot. He glared at the door and cursed fine carpentry and hand carved mahogany.

He put a little weight on his foot but winced at the pain. Then his eyes spied the cane he had brought along as a prop and he grabbed at it. He would just have to go out the garage and go back in through the front door.

It took him a little while of fumbling around in the dark but he finally found the switch and the garage door started sliding open. That's when Jeff noticed a long shadow flowing from the widening crack of light the garage created. The figure of a man. Someone was standing right outside the garage.

"Whitman?" Jeff said. "Whitman if you're wondering if I changed my mind, you might as well turn around. Because as far as I'm concerned, death can't come too quickly!"

The moment his eyes fell fully on the person behind the garage door, Jeff regretted his words. It wasn't Whitman, or anybody else he'd ever want to meet in the dark and the cold. A thing right out of his nightmares a thing he knew would haunt him for the rest of his life…

"The Human Being?" Jeff said.

The Human Being nodded and Jeff shivered, not just from the cold but because it looked far creepier than usual. Someone… maybe even it… had changed the outfit and inverted the colors. Almost like a photo negative. Now it was all black with a white mouth, white eyes, and a white 'G' on its chest. Jeff by far preferred the icicles.

"Wait…" Jeff eyed the Human Being. "Are… are you here because of Starburns?"

It nodded.

"So you are the 'Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come'?"

It nodded.

"Which means you're going to pretend kill me…"

It nodded.

Jeff looked past it, to the windswept snowdrifts that now dotted the estate and the road further on. Part of him just wanted to make a run for it, but he had to consider that it might cause him to actually die than to just fake it. Then he returned his eyes to the grim figure before him and noticed the snowmobile.

"Wait… are we going somewhere?"

It nodded.

"Dammit," Jeff looked at his clothes. "I can't go out like this!"

The Human Being held out its hand and pointed. Its shadow led the way to a nearby coat rack, where a heavy wool coat hung, along with a scarf.

"Better than nothing," Jeff muttered as he went over to coat rack.

But on his way there he managed to step on his injured foot wrong. In an instant he slammed his cane down, which would have worked if it hadn't landed on a patch of ice. Before he knew it he was on the ground and his head was spinning. He glanced up to see the Human Being advancing on him. The last thing he saw before everything went black was the horrible grin on the Human Being's face.

The first thing he realized when he came to, was that he felt warm air on his face. For a moment, he feared that warmth belonged to the Human Being, breathing down on him.

Luckily that turned out to be wrong. Unluckily the truth was much worse.

"I'm at Greendale..." Jeff muttered as he sat up.

He narrowed his eyes when he actually looked down at himself. He wore the wool coat and scarf from the garage. Both of which, like the pajamas beneath, were covered in snow. Had the Human Being lugged him all the way to Greendale unconscious?

The shadow of the Human Being appeared to Jeff's right and he forced himself to ignore the heebee jeebees it gave him. How the hell did Starburns get mixed up with this guy? And who thought it doing fake murders was a good idea?

Jeff stood and brushed himself off. It took him a moment but he soon realized they were in the supply closet... Again, a place he never wanted to be at with the Human Being.

"So what now?" He said. "Do I get to pick which "accident" does me in? I was thinking it should be something awesome, like an explosion."

The Human Being merely pointed at the door.

As it turned out, Greendale was even creepier at night. With the lights put out, and each footstep echoing down the hall... Jeff could almost believe in actual ghosts with unfinished pen related business.

Of course, having the Human Being shadow his every step didn't help matters.

"How about a death involving the chicken finger fryer?" Jeff said. "That would be pretty memorable."

Naturally the Human Being said nothing.

Jeff nodded to himself and continued forward until they turned a corner. Far down the hall he spotted a pair of students. With the way they're voices echoed on the walls, he recognized them to be the Red Headed Student and Leonard... And by the looks of it they were going through his locker.

"You sure he's not going to miss this stuff?" The red headed student said?

"Positive," Leonard pulled one of Jeff's emergency shirts over his head. "I got a fat tip that Winger bought it tonight."

"Winger's dead?"

"That's what I heard."

"Awesome. These belonged to a dead guy."

"They're taking my stuff!" Jeff said to the Human Being. "They're going to get my expertly faded jeans! I have to go stop them!"

He didn't make it a single step before a surprisingly strong hand gripped his shoulder and pulled him back. The Human Being didn't say anything. It just slowly shook its head then waggled a finger.

"Right," Jeff said. "Dead men don't beat people up that take their stuff."

"Wait..." The red headed student said. "What about his group? Won't they come looking for his stuff?"

"Bah! Don't you follow twitter? They had a massive fight just before he croaked. They hate his guts. No one will miss these things! Now come on and help me get the loot to the truck. I got more of his things stored in another room."

The Human Being grabbed Jeff's hand and tugged him away. Instantly Jeff recoiled... Why did it have to touch him? He clenched his fists and glared at it. Apparently it got the message and merely pointed their new way.

Together they forged ahead and Jeff had to stop himself from pausing every few seconds and looking around. This would be the last time he would ever walk through Greendale. The last time he would ever have to smell that funny smell that came from the math lab. The last time he would have to see one of those weird random posters.

Shouldn't he be feeling awesome about this?

They passed by the Dean's offices and Jeff almost smiled as he remembered the times he helped Troy and Abed sneak in and pull pranks. Or when they discovered the cache of paintball supplies their second year.

A few more turns down the halls and they passed the cafeteria. Jeff almost stopped but kept right on going, even though he could remember countless lunches, squeezed together at one table. Sometimes so tightly, Britta or Annie would practically be on his lap.

What was going on with him? Did he really have to remind himself what a crap hole this was? The Math lab smelled like butt! The posters were probably all sex offenders! The cafeteria benches gave him cricks in his back!

He couldn't possibly be getting nostalgic! Not now! Not when he finally found an escape hatch!

He pulled the top hat a little tighter on his head and followed after the Human Being. He couldn't doubt himself now. His study group had all but abandoned him, Leonard was pilfering away his things… and somewhere Starburns was living the good life! The dean probably got him a Dalmatian themed male teddy for Christmas!

Then they passed the Study Room. Then he froze in his steps.

Even in the dark and the emptiness… this place somehow still seemed… nice. Jeff stepped in and swore that it was just a couple of degrees warmer than the rest of the building. He ran his hand over the scar on the table, left from when he attacked it with an axe. He had been so sure after that, that he didn't want to be alone in the world. What had changed?

He circled around, noting that Abed had put in a few more notches on the 'Classic Wingers' tally, and Troy's side was covered in notches. How many hours did he spend in this room? Talking, arguing, laughing, eating… having sex.

Once on Annie's side, he noticed a line of notches of her own. She'd scratched out what they were for, but Jeff found it odd that she would even have done it in the first place. Defacing school property wasn't her style. But… sometimes he had noticed her moving her hands down there… after they had exchanged one of their looks...

No! He couldn't get like this! He didn't want to have to wear a disguise just to see if they actually did miss him! If he just blocked them he wouldn't have to. He could do this!

He glanced up at the Human Being, standing silently in the doorway. Just watching him and waiting for him. He pulled his coat a little tighter around him and stepped forward.

"Okay, let's get this over with."

The Human Being left first, and Jeff followed behind. Try as he might, he couldn't help but cast one last spare glance back at the study room, feeling his stomach sink as he gazed at it. The last time he would ever see it…

A door ahead opened wide and the cold winter air rushed in. They were going outside again. Jeff adjusted his scarf and stuffed his hands in his pockets and forged ahead, with each footstep sinking a foot down into the snow. The Human Being led the way until the pair of them came to the Luiz Guzman statue.

Jeff glanced over the quad, his eyes falling to where he had shared his first kiss with Britta. The time he was supposed to seize the day. Then he spotted the remains of Joshua's secret trampoline garden. Finally they rested on the spot, in front of the cafeteria, where he had kissed Annie after the Tranny Dance.

Then he looked at the Human Being, standing next to Starburns memorial plaque, and a brand new one, covered in snow.

This was really happening! He was really about to fake his death and create a new identity! He really never would see Greendale again, he really never would argue with his study group again… he really never would see if anything would happen with…

"Wait…" Jeff said. "Let's say… let's say I give this whole fake death thing a whirl and I decide I don't like it. I can always come back right? I mean there's no law or contract that stops me from coming back. So I could always come back to life if I wanted… right?"

The Human Being shook its head.

"What do you mean no?" Jeff said. "All night you guys have been trying to talk me out of this! Duncan! Whitman! Both of them were telling me it was a bad idea. Now that I finally agree you're saying it's too late!?"

The Human Being nodded.

"Don't give me that! I'm a lawyer! There's no legally binding document! Nothing telling me I have to go through with this! My fake death isn't set in fake stone!"

The Human Being stretched out his hand and brushed away the snow from the new memorial. Jeff felt himself shake at the sight of it. From the moment he saw it, he knew what it would say but… as long as you could always not say something or not see something you could deny it! But there it was, engraved in solid brass.

IN HONOR OF JEFFERY WINGER 2009-2012.

"No!" Jeff said. "I didn't sign up for this! I can't fake die right now! Don't you see!? I get it! I get what Duncan and Whitman… hell, probably all of you were trying to teach me! Every year we've set out to do something to 'save' Christmas, and each time the answer was the same! I just didn't really want to know it. Christmas is about family, and the Study Group is my family! Each year what made everything better… after all the crap and the insanity was coming together with them! I understand now! I want to live so I can show them that I know that now! I want to seize the damn Christmas Day! Human Being! Tell me that there's some way to avoid this! You all got this plaque here in the matter of a few hours! There's no way this wasn't planned to teach me a lesson! Tell me you can take it away!"

The Human Being lifted a hand up to his mask and peeled it back. Jeff's breath caught in his throat… he'd wondered who was under that thing ever since the dean created it… and now… for some reason, it was revealing itself to him, showing him who it had been all this time. The mouth got free of the mask and Jeff could make out a horrible grin.

"Of course it was to teach you a lesson!" An all too familiar voice said.

"No…"

The cowl came all the way back to reveal the horrible, grinning face of Chang.

"You never appreciate what you have until you're gone!" Chang bellowed and started cackling. His hands reached down and he brandished a snow shovel.

Jeff fell backward in the snow as Chang filled the empty quad with is maniacal laughter.

"No!"

"Jeff Winger! The coolest memorial plaque on the quad!"

"No!" Jeff cried out. "I'll change! I'll change!"

The shovel swung at his face and the last thing Jeff heard was Chang's laughter, ringing in his ears.

It could have been a day, it could have been a year, but all Jeff knew was that… he wasn't dead. In fact his head didn't even hurt when he opened up his eyes. It certainly didn't feel like he'd been beaned in the face with a snow shovel by Chang.

Jeff popped up. He was in his bed in the Pink Room. The curtains were drawn and the heater was running outside. Maybe it had all been a dream? Considering the fight he'd had with the study group that wouldn't be entirely surprising.

Then he looked down at himself. He still wore the pajamas, the coat, and the scarf. He felt up on his face, the mutton chops were still there. His hand continued upward until they struck the rim of Starburns' top hat. It had all happened! He had made a deal to fake his death with Starburns!

But the real question was… did the deal actually go through? And if so… how long was he out? Did they already do a funeral for him and then redeposited him here in the Pink Room? Was he fake-dead and not able to see his study group again?

Jeff threw the curtains open… the room looked exactly like it had before… except… except for the plaque he'd seen at Greendale. It was there. Sitting on the mantle. Jeff ran over to it and examined it. When he did his eyes widened and a smile lit up on his face. It was empty. His name had been scratched out! The deal hadn't gone through! He wasn't pretend-dead!

With a whoop and a holler Jeff leaped into the air and cheered like some character at the end of some cheesy 80's movie. Without even thinking about it he ran to the window and threw it open. He breathed in the crisp, clean winter air and looked over the mansions yards, with the snow drifts piled high. Then he spotted Garrett, stomping through the snow like he was on some sort of Alaskan expedition.

"You there boy!" Jeff shouted and Garrett looked up at him. "What day is it?"

"What do you mean what day is it?" Garrett's voice cracked as he shouted back. "Why it's Christmas Day of course!"

"Of course it is!" Jeff beamed. "They did it all in one night! I still get to celebrate with my friends… wait… my friends… Garrett! I need you to do me a favor! I have a gift to give and I need your help. If you can get it done in an hour I'll give you five bucks, get it done in a half hour and I'll give you dating advice!"

"You got it Mister!" Garrett said.

Annie came into the main sitting room a little bleary eyed and groggy. They'd all stayed up a little too late. Mostly because of the Christmas Revenge Party that Shirley through and partially because her room was next to the dean's and she could hear him snoring through the vents. In fact, she would still be asleep if she hadn't smelled the Christmas breakfast that Shirley had been cooking.

"Good morning An-nie!" Shirley said from the kitchen. "Happy Holidays!"

"Merry Christmas!" Annie smiled back.

"Merry Christmas Auntie Annie!" Elijah and Jordan ran over from the tree and hugged her.

Annie laughed and hugged them back, then smiled as she saw Britta holding a gift in front of Ben. She somewhat shuddered when she remembered what it was. She just didn't think Shirley would approve of 'Baby's first Origin of Species'. But that was Britta's battle.

"Troy and Abed on Christmas Morning!" the familiar duet called from the other end of the room where they sat in their Christmas sweaters and did the Christmas edition of their show.

Pierce sat at the Hawthorne family piano and tinkled away at the keys, playing Good King Wenceslaus. He waved at Annie and she waved back before finally making her way to the coffee, thankfully pouring herself a cup and delivering herself a much needed caffeine boost.

"I think Father Winter brought us all gifts!" The dean said from the tree. "I know what I asked him for!"

"I'm sure you did," Annie said while she mixed in her sweetener.

She glanced out the window and had to smile at all the snow. Sure it had been trouble last night and prevented all of them from going home. But it was beautiful now… and it had led them to have a great Christmas party together. She couldn't really ask for much else.

"These gifts are going to be good!" the dean said. "Merry Happy everyone!"

Annie opened her mouth to answer but was interrupted by a loud 'Humbug!'

"Oh my God Jeff!" Britta said. "What happened to you?"

Annie spun around to see Jeff standing at the doorway… looking in every conceivable way like Ebenezer Scrooge. Top hat, big bushy sideburns, cane, heavy coat over pajamas, even a pair of spectacles; literally everything someone would wear as a Victorian man on a spirit quest. Had he slept on a bed of asbestos over the night?

"I don't know what you're talking about Britta," Jeff said as he walked in. "I woke up like this. Probably somebody's idea of a joke. Are you all having a good time without me?"

The initial shock of seeing Jeff dressed like he'd walked off the pages of one of the most famous Christmas novels quickly wore off and Annie felt the familiar anger she'd felt for him last night returning. She'd hoped that after sleeping on it he would have actually felt bad about trying to destroy Christmas last night and apologize. But it seemed like he was taking it to the next level, literally dressing up like a guy that hated Christmas.

"As a matter of fact we did have a good time without you Jeff," Annie said. "And we'd like to keep having a good time. So if you'll excuse us-"

"I won't!" Jeff snapped. "Not until I've said my piece! Last night… all of you insisted I come and fix things and I refused because I felt like I deserved better treatment than what I was getting! I was putting what I wanted first. And after a long night… I've come to realize that you were all right!"

"That's great Jeff but if you could get your things and go… wait… what?"

"You were right!" a smile lit up on Jeff's face. "All of you! Every Christmas! You were right and I was wrong! I know we're not all Christians but we all like to celebrate Christmas together because that's what makes it special for us. I'm here, right now because I want to say I'm sorry… and I want to spend Christmas with all of you… my family."

"His heart grew three sizes…" Annie heard Abed mutter in the corner.

"Oh Jeff!" the dean burst forward, with tears streaming down his face. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas dean," Jeff actually hugged the diminutive man back then looked to all of the rest of them. "Come on guys! Bring it in here!"

The study group all rushed forward and joined he dean in giving Jeff a massive group hug. Annie trailed behind, just a bit before she came in to and spread her arms around Troy and Abed's back. This was why they kept forgiving Jeff… for as douchey as he could be… he could apologize with the best of them.

"Jeff," Troy said. "You want to join Abed and me for the Christmas edition of our show?"

"Sure thing," Jeff said. "Just give me a moment too…"

"Jeff I'm making Christmas waffles!" Shirley said. "Do you want yours shaped like a 'J' or a 'W'?"

"A 'J'," Jeff said. "But I really need to-"

"Come open presents with us!" Jordan and Elijah said. "Aunt Britta has something really cool she says!"

"Maybe a bit later," Jeff said. "Right now I really want-"

"Jeff!" Pierce said. "I've got some special Christmas morning egg-"

"That's great Pierce!" Jeff said and looked around the room. "All of you! I want to spend some time together doing whatever you guys want. But right now I need to borrow Annie!"

"Me?" Annie raised a brow as Jeff clasped her hand.

"Yeah…" he said. "It will only take a minute. Come on!"

She barely had time to place her coffee cup down before he practically dragged her out the door. They got as far as the hallway before Jeff stopped and started handing her, her winter clothes. Annie looked around for any clue as to what was going on but all she saw was a creepy picture of Cornelius Hawthorne.

"Jeff… what's going on? Did you hit your head? It looks like you hit your head."

"I'm fine Annie," Jeff said then his brows lifted up a bit higher and he held up a finger. "Hold on… your right… something isn't right."

With that he ripped off the sideburns, grunting slightly as he did, but as painful as it sounded, Annie had to admit it was an improvement. Jeff turned back to her and tapped the pile of winter clothes in her hands.

"Go ahead and put these on, it's cold outside."

She couldn't help but give him a skeptical look for the first few seconds, she was getting a Goldblooming, monkey gassed vibe off of him. But his eyes actually looked earnest and even sparkled! What else could she do but start pulling on her winter gear and follow him outside?

Soon enough they were trudging through the snow. Around the corner of the mansion and straight on back to the rear. The entire time, Jeff clasped her hand and took shorter steps than usual, as if to make it easier for her to step in his tracks so she didn't sink so deep into the snow.

Finally they reached the backyard.

Annie couldn't help but grin when she surveyed Jeff's surprise.

There, sitting around a snow-table, were seven snowmen. Each decorated just a little to look like the study group.

Jeff gripped her hand just a little tighter and guided her over to the snowmen. Once they reached them Annie pulled her hand away and cupped it over her mouth. The snowmen were perfect! Abed's was thinner than all the rest, Britta's had straw to make her blonde hair, and Jeff's had an unusually large forehead.

She turned to her snow-woman and grinned as she saw it had a stack of snow-books sitting in front of it. Jeff came up behind her and placed his arm on her shoulder. Together they just stood and took in the entire group.

"I can't believe this!" Annie said. "You did all of this for me?"

"Well, I had help," Jeff said. "I know it's not that great a gift but…"

"It's wonderful!" Annie turned and looked up at him. "Jeff! I… I'm sorry… I really thought you'd forgotten and I…"

"No, I'm sorry Annie," Jeff said. "You know better than almost everyone what it's like to have a disappointing Christmas. You deserve to have a few good ones."

"Aw… Jeff… thank you!" Annie leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "No one's ever gone to this much effort for me on Christmas."

"Well…" Jeff said. "I also got you a gift card…"

"Thanks for that too!"

The two of them stood in the snow for a few minutes longer before Jeff insisted that Annie stand with the snowmen so he could get pictures. She felt her smile just keep widening as he snapped shots with first his phone and then hers. Finally they were done and she could feel the tip of her nose stinging just a little with the cold.

"So before we go in," Annie said to him. "Just tell me one thing… what's with the Scrooge outfit?"

"You'd never believe me if I told you," Jeff said, taking her hand. "Let's just say it was a Dickens Special… and I'm glad it worked."

"Me too!" Annie squeezed his hand, just as a snow drift on the roof collapsed and dumped all over Jeff.

Jeff just shook his head. "You think I'll get in trouble if I say humbug to that?"

Annie laughed and then looked up. The snow hadn't fallen randomly. Instead she spied Professor Whitman on the roof with a wide grin on his face. Then she saw him hold out a rod with some mistletoe attached to some string. Annie raised a brow but Whitman just gave a thumbs up.

"Jeff," Annie motioned up at the mistletoe.

Jeff spotted the mistletoe and then Whitman. He shook his head then pulled Annie close. Merry Christmas Annie"

"Merry Christmas Jeff!"

She closed her eyes as he drew her in for the kiss… only to freeze up when she heard the window open and another snow drift dumped on them. She blinked through the snow to see the Dean poking his head out the window and waving his hand wildly.

"And God Dean us! Every one!"