Alan pouted as he stood in front of his daddy's closed office door. He held the plaster ornament that his kindergarten class had made and painted just three days before and sniffled as a single tear fell from his eye. Glancing down with hiccups, Alan stared at the broken angel he held. He'd painted it for his daddy and planned to give her to him…but he slipped and fell on the ice outside their house and broke her.

Knocking timidly, Alan waited to hear his daddy reply. When he heard a 'not now' Alan's bottom lip stuck out and Alan sniffled as he tried to hide his tears. Turning away Alan decided to go upstairs. Maybe he'd just have to ask Scotty to make him a new one. He could do that…right? As he walked up the stairs, Alan had to dry his tears when Scott bustled past him with a toboggan in hand. He didn't even notice Alan, nor did he stop to find out why his baby brother was crying.

Scott was out the door in a matter of minutes, Virgil and Gordon following with their sleds. Neither of them bat an eyelash to their tearful baby brother and that just stung all the more to the upset five year old. His daddy didn't have time to fix the angel he'd named mommy and neither Scotty, Virgil or Gordy spared him a passing glance. Alan hiccupped as he went into the kitchen instead and dropped the angel he'd called mommy into the garbage. Her head was broken as well as her wings…he couldn't give her to his daddy like this.

"Hey Sprout…what are you doing in here?"

Alan turned slowly at the voice and he tried to look like a big boy who didn't cry. He puffed his chest out and if it wasn't for the tears in his eyes – John might have found this pose endearing and adorable…instead he just found it heart rending and all he cared about was finding out why his baby brother was crying.

"What's the matter big guy?" John walked over, placing his book down on the counter before he lifted his little brother in his arms, cradling him to his chest.

"N-Nothing J-Johnny…" Alan hiccupped as he sniffled loudly, wiping his runny nose on the sleeve of his sweater.

"Don't lie to me kiddo, what's wrong?" John walked over to the island in the middle of the kitchen and grabbed a couple spare tissues from the pocket pack that Virgil had tossed on the counter that morning while he dug haphazardly through his backpack for his homework assignment. "Blow your nose for me kiddo."

John gripped Alan's nose with the tissue and motioned at his little brother to do as expected and blow his nose. Alan had been crying a bit too long obviously if his nose was running like Niagara Falls. After Alan did as John commanded, John gently wiped at Alan's nose before pocketing the wad of tissue in case Alan needed them again.

"Tell Johnny what's the matter." John said as he ventured into the living room to sit on the hearth by the fire place.

When Alan didn't speak, John set Alan on his knee and began shuffling his leg to bounce Alan up and down. Using an old trick that usually got Alan to quit crying in the past, John began in a sing song voice. "Ride a little horsey down to town…you better watch out or you might fall down…" As he said down, John tipped Alan off his knee but held onto the little boy as his head dipped to the floor before bringing him back up. "And Up!"

Alan gave a sniffle but didn't laugh jovially like he used to. John did it again and again…and again and each time Alan's response was a sniffle, never a laugh or smile.

"Okay bud…I think this calls for an orange-peppermint squish and then you can sit and tell Johnny all about your day." John picked up his little brother off his lap before going back into the kitchen. He grabbed a couple of navel oranges in his free hand before placing Alan on the countertop. John gently began rolling the orange on the countertop before judging both of them to be the right softness. He quickly grabbed a couple of peppermint sticks and pushed them into the orange before handing one to Alan and giving it a light squeeze while Alan sucked on the peppermint stick that acted like a straw.

Quickly grabbing both goodies and Alan, John went back into the living room returning to his place by the fire place before he and Alan both sat down for a nice long talk.

… … … … … …

"He- He said my mommy angel wasn't pretty Johnny…why'd he say that?" Alan asked, his big blue eyes shining with unshed tears. John looked on in sympathy as he listened to his baby brother's good day gone bad story.

Alan had a good morning, until he went out for morning recess and tripped over his bootlaces – thereby scraping his ungloved hand on the mean snow as Alan put it. Then when he got the chance to go back in he hadn't been given permission to go potty and he'd had an accident in class– but that was why Scott always made Alan pack a spare pair in his backpack because he was prone to having accidents, then when it was nap time, Alan wasn't sleepy as he was hungry so he didn't get his afternoon nap and then when it was lunch time he'd been more sleepy than hungry and he'd groused over the food they were having for lunch.

Then came their fun end of the day activity – painting their plaster ornaments and setting them out to dry before going home. Alan had chosen an angel design rather than the customary snowman or gingerbread man…even refusing the candy cane, Santa Clause and reindeer designs for the angel. He'd painted the angel to look like his mommy and he wanted to give her to his daddy, but then he slipped outside the house and fell, dropping his mommy angel and when he recovered from his fall had discovered his mommy angel's head had fallen off as had her wings. That just made the curtain fall on his bad day and then it only got worse. His daddy was too busy to help him put her back together and neither Scott, Virgil or Gordon stopped in their haste to go play in the snow to find out why Alan was so upset.

John nodded solemnly before he stood up, placing Alan on the hearth of the fireplace. John left momentarily, before returning from the kitchen – his hands cradling something with the utmost care. When Alan saw what John was holding, he felt his tears gathering in his eyes as the tears were renewed. John placed the broken mommy angel down beside Alan before silently leaving Alan to his tears. Alan looked at his broken mommy angel and gave a sob. He broke her…he broke her and it was all his fault.

John returned quietly, before picking up the body of the broken angel. He placed a small tube of something against the break and gave a light squeeze. Noxious fumes burned Alan's nose and he covered his nose as he watched John place the head of the broken angel back over the break. He pressed together firmly before blowing on it. After holding it for a few moments, John repeated his actions and replaced the wings on the angel. After holding the figure gently in his hands, and blowing on the figure, John wiggled the appendages that he'd replaced and nodded to himself that it'd been a job well done.

"Here you go Sprout, good as new." John handed Alan the fixed angel and smiled as Alan's tears dried up. Alan gently hugged the angel, going so far as to kiss the angel lightly on the head apologizing for dropping her before he returned the favor to John.

"Thanks Johnny, you're the greatest."

"It's no problem Sprout. I was happy to help." John smiled as he accepted the hug from Alan before picking his baby brother up and gently setting the angel down. "Now what do you say to helping me decorate the tree? I could use the help."

Alan nodded fervently as he agreed to help John decorate their Christmas tree. The approaching holiday was in a week and the tree needed to be decorated before long and the few presents that were wrapped needed to be placed beneath the tree.

AN: So I hope you all enjoyed this little Christmas story between two of my favorite blonde brothers. A little back story on the plaster angel. When I was in elementary school, it was a favorite activity for all of us kids, grades k-6 to make plaster ornaments and paint them three days before Christmas break...I actually made an angel for my mom in remembrance of my grandma who'd died of breast bone cancer earlier that month. I was probably in the 3rd grade. When I walked outside the school, I actually slipped on the ice and dropped my angel and broke her. One of my classmates didn't have superglue like Johnny did but he had the heart of a saint and gave me his angel that he'd painted for his mom so I could still give an angel to my mom. Needless to say the guidance councilor who had made the ornaments had seen me fall, had seen my classmate give me his angel and had come out to give the both of us new ornaments. I still have his angel he painted and gave to me and it hangs on my parent's Christmas tree every year since it was made.

Hope you all have a safe and wonderful Christmas and hopefully you can expect an update for Rising from the Ashes maybe on Christmas day or the day after.

Also, anyone that would like me to go ahead and post what I have for the sequel to Never Stop Looking please let me know. I've hit a road block in writing and wondering if a little feedback might help me to get past it. The title of the story is Never Look Back - Belonging.

Anyway I'll shut up now. Hope you all enjoyed this story and hope to see some reviews.

~Angel~