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His phone stayed stubbornly silent. Maybe if he stared at it long enough it would ring. That had to be it. He could make it ring with his mind. Who was he kidding? He'd been sitting there for too long, his chin resting on his arms as he stared at his stupid phone waiting for it to go off.

It was Christmas Eve. It was freezing out. Jack and Katherine were snowed in at the Pulitzer's mansion. Judging by the last text he'd gotten from his best friend, things were pretty tense. Race had gotten caught at work, he was probably stuck there. Now Crutchie was left with nothing but his phone and a much too eager six year old running around the apartment that was getting smaller and smaller by the second.

"Charlie!" Speak of the Devil. "It's Christmas Eve! Come out of your room!" The boy was whining at him. Crutchie had locked himself in his room an hour ago, waiting for this call, hoping that Rudolph would keep the kid occupied until it was finished. He was wrong.

"Romeo, would ya keep it down?! Go watch anotha' movie!"

"I don' wanna! I wanna make cookies f'r Santa!"

Of course the kid wanted to make cookies for Santa. He was six years old. Here Crutchie was waiting for the one call on Christmas Eve that he always got and all Romeo wanted to do was make cookies. But Crutchie must've stayed silent for too long, because Romeo just knocked on his door and cried, "C'mon Crutchie!" The seventeen year old had to admit that there was a kind of desperation in that young plea, like the boy was scared of being alone.

Scared of being alone again on Christmas.

But Crutchie couldn't afford to miss this. It was the one time of the entire year that she called. He couldn't just ignore it. Jack told him to. Ignore it, that is. He said she wasn't worth it.

He was probably right. But that didn't stop the longing for him to hear from her again.

It was funny how everyone but him remembered only the bad. He remembered the bad all too well. Sometimes the words still got to him and he had to wake Jack up at night to make it all stop. Jack told him he didn't mind. He'd do it again and again without any kind of complaint. But that didn't make Crutchie feel any less guilty.

But there had been good, once. A long, long time ago, when his life had been whole.

"Charlie?"

"Not now, Romeo..." the teenager whimpered. He'd been sitting there staring at his phone for at least an hour. Maybe she'd just be a little late this year. He buried his face in his arms and tried to hold back his tears. This was stupid. Waiting for the woman who'd made him so depressed to call him and wish him a Merry Christmas and make sure he was okay because Jack told her she couldn't see him again. Crutchie didn't argue. She was toxic.

But she was also his mother.

The buzzing made Crutchie's head shoot up. His heart skipped a beat and he grabbed his phone, looking at who was calling for him, only to groan at the name on the screen. "What, Race?"

"Well Merry Christmas ta you too, Mr. Grumpy," Race teased on the other end, though he sounded absolutely exhausted and more than anxious.

"What d'ya want?"

"Ta talk ta someone who ain't my boss or my asshole co-workers. What's a' matta' wit' you?" Crutchie let out an aggravated sigh. He was more irritable than he had been in a long time. And that was all the answer Race needed. "She ain't called yet, huh?"

"Think she forgot?" the younger boy laughed out bitterly. He hated that he still loved her. He hated that he wanted to see her again. He hated that he missed her smile. She was awful and manipulative and degrading. He shouldn't care. But he did. "I j'st... I-"

"I know, Crutch... why d'ya think I went home all those years ago?" Race asked. Crutchie could hear his friend's throat tighten. "I missed my Papa... but he ain't the same no more, pal... you're Ma ain't the same either..."

"I j'st wanna talk ta her... Jack won' let me see her again. She said she was seein' a docta', Race... maybe shes betta'..." he prayed everyday that she was. She had to be. That woman that had told him all of those awful things... that wasn't his mother.

A sigh from the other side of the call made Crutchie's shoulders sag. "Crutch... there weren't a scarier minute in my life th'n when Jack called me an' told me what happened... I thought you was dead... she did that, n' I don't like the idea a' her callin' either..."

He remembered. He remembered all too well Jack catching him and holding him tightly while he called Race to come and get his things so they could take him out of that hell. He remembered how Jack could barely get through a sentence because if he'd decided to wait thirty more seconds before walking into that room, Crutchie would be dead. He remembered it all. He wished he couldn't buy he could.

"Look... I know ya wanna hear fr'm her... but could ya wait with my kid who's still used ta spendin' Christmas alone in his room?"

Yes, Crutchie felt guilty. This was the third year in a row that the snow had been too much. Race was supposed to be home hours ago to help Romeo make cookies for Santa and Jack wasn't supposed to be stuck in a house with his girlfriend's father.

"Fine. I'll help him make cookies..." Crutchie sighed, pushing away from his desk and grabbing for his crutch.

"Can I talk ta him?"

With a roll of his eyes, Crutchie opened his door to find the little boy that had been living with them for the past year simply sitting crisscross outside the door, waiting for the thing to be opened. "Here," the boy with the crutch said dryly, handing his phone down to the curious boy sitting in front of him. Romeo looked at the thing for a minute before hesitantly taking it from Crutchie.

"Hello?" Limping over to the couch, Crutchie dropped down, not really wanting to see Romeo's face light up when he heard his big brother's voice. "Race! I miss you! When 're ya comin' home?"

The seventeen year old tuned out the one side of the conversation that he could hear. All he could do was sit and stare blankly at the menu for Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and wonder why this was his life.

He loved his brothers more than anything in the world. And Romeo was absolutely adorable. He loved the kid with his whole heart and he was more grateful everyday that Race had decided to go through with the adoption. But it wasn't normal.

He wished he could still see his mother. He wished his father hadn't been pushed into the street all those years ago. He wished that driver had been paying attention. He wished he could have two working legs and play sports and wrestle with his friends and be normal. He wished he could talk to his mother. He wished she could be his mother again.

"Okay... I love you, 'Tonio... bye..."

Crutchie had barely even heard that. But the next thing he knew, his phone was on the table next to him and a small child was in his lap. "Charlie... why are you sad?"

"You wouldn't understand, Romeo..." was the response that slipped from his lips. Romeo shouldn't have to understand.

"Race said that you w's waitin' f'r someone..."

"It ain't nothin'... j'st... I thought you said you wan'ed ta make cookies..."

Maybe a distraction would help.

An excited gasp escaped the child and it was then that Crutchie remembered that last year had been the first time ever that he'd had a visit from Santa Claus. The boy was practically bouncing up and down as he jumped to his feet and started rushing towards the kitchen with a wide grin. "Okay, slow down there kid... ya know I can't run..." despite that awful sentence, there was a small smile pulling at Crutchie's lips. He loved seeing that kid so excited.

Sharing a room with a six year old Romeo reminded him painfully of sharing a room with Race when they'd first been saved from their awful homes. Romeo rarely got through a night without calling for someone. Mostly, Race came running before Crutchie could even think of what to do. Sometimes Jack would get there first. The kid was normally hysterical. Jack would try to tell him he was going to hyperventilate, but Romeo didn't care. Some of it was normal things that could scare a child. Ghosts, falling, being chased. They'd all been through it. But waking up in a fit because he'd just watched his father murder the man who fought like hell to adopt him wasn't something that Crutchie was familiar with.

The boy was as energetic as they came though. During the day it was a miracle if someone could get him sit in one place for five minutes. He almost always had a smile on his face. But Crutchie knew a fake smile when he spotted one.

Seeing Romeo genuinely excited and not scared out of his mind was a win in Charlie's book.

"Charlie we should make cookies f'r Race n' Jack n' Kitty because they ain't here."

Charlie laughed a little at that. He was thinking more along the lines of buying Jack some whiskey and getting Race a warm blanket and a new pillow. He couldn't imagine what they had to be going through right then.

"I think that's a great idea, kiddo. I think they's gonna love that."

And they got down to business. Crutchie laughed a little bit as Romeo threw some flour at him and he tossed some flour right back. By the time they got the cookies into the over, the kitchen was an absolute mess and both of them had food all over them. But Romeo was sitting happily, frosting at least ten cookies at once while simultaneously eating as much of the sugary substance as he could. Crutchie simply watched him and decorated his own cookie, almost forgetting about his phone.

Almost.

"Are all those f'r you?" Crutchie asked, ignoring the tug in his brain to check his phone again. Maybe he'd missed it, or hadn't heard it ring.

With a shake of his head, Romeo simply stated, "Race."

"Not Jack?" Crutchie asked with a laugh. He knew damn well that the kid looked up to Jack almost as much as he looked up to Race. It made sense with how much Race looked up to Jack.

"You's gotta make the cookies f'r Jack."

"Why's that, kid?"

"Cause Race is my brotha' n' Jack is yours."

Crutchie wasn't entirely sure why that statement hit him so hard. He had no idea that Romeo had no idea that him and Jack weren't actually related. "Romeo... ya know that me an' Jack ain't..." he trailed off, not knowing how to put it exactly.

"Ain't what?" The boy paused in his cookie making. He looked up with those big brown eyes and Crutchie felt himself melting.

Jack was the closest thing he had to a brother. Him and Race. And they were brothers. Just... not by blood. Not like Race and Romeo. Not like real family... right?

But Jack was his family. Jack had taken on the role of... well... everything. He'd taken him in when Crutchie was no older than twelve after trying to-

Jack was his family. Jack was everything rolled up into one. Jack had taken care of him and protected him and told him how amazing he was and how much he loved him everyday. Jack held him when he cried and celebrated with him when he was happy.

"Nothin'. Never mind, Gio..."

The child shrugged and moved on like nothing had even happened. He began to ramble. Crutchie wasn't sure half of the things he said was English. He was only eight five percent sure it might be Italian.

Crutchie just shook his head and began to send videos to Race and pictures to Jack, more to distract them both from anything else. Race responded almost almost immediately with a laughing emoji and Jack simply left the text on read, probably in the middle of a tense conversation. With a second to think, Crutchie sighed and knew what he had to do. "Ya wanna talk ta Jack, Romeo?"

"Yes! An' we c'n tell him that we made him cookies!"

Another laugh escaped him as he dialed in Jack's number and put the thing on speaker letting it ring a few times before a very stressed voice began speaking. "So help me God, please tell me you found a way ta get me outta here."

"First of all, careful with your words. There's a child present," Crutchie replies quickly, knowing that Jack had a tendency to start swearing when he felt trapped or anxious. "Second of all, is it really that bad?"

"Every time Katherine leaves the room he treats me like I's some kinda creep that broke outta jail!" Jack sounded irritated enough. But Crutchie still couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"You did break outta jail, Jack..." he muttered with a smile.

A sigh was heard and Crutchie looked up to see Romeo looking very confused up at him. But Crutchie didn't answer his silent question. "That was different. But seriously. I'm about ta walk through the snow ta get home. Racer's about the same way."

"I know... I talked ta him not too long ago..."

He wished they were all together. Katherine too. She was part of their makeshift family now, and judging by the gift that Jack was gonna give her tomorrow, she probably would be for the rest of their lives. That is, if she said yes.

"Jack, it's okay! We made you cookies!"

And just like that, Jack's tone changed from on the brink of screaming to a light, happy tone within seconds. Hearing Romeo's voice must've been like magic to him. Crutchie could understand that. They continued talking like that for a while. It would be the first Christmas Eve they spent apart and the only from that moment on. That didn't stop them from calling each other constantly.

She never called. But that was okay. Crutchie had a family. And they were just perfect for him.

They weren't normal. They were family.

There you have it, folks! The last chapter of this story!

I thought this would be the last one, but alas I was wrong. One more is on the way! I'm gonna try really hard to get it up before Christmas! So keep an eye out!

As always, thanks for reading! Make sure to tell me what you liked, what you didn't, what you'd change or what you'd improve by leaving me a review! Love ya, fansies!