A/N: I wrote this story after re-watching the episode where Rick and Minmei spend Christmas together because I thought Lisa needed some attention instead of that spoiled attention whore Minmei. Kind of an AU story, so just go along with it...

It was a cold night for a walk about town. The few golden leaves of the oak trees were ready to fall with the others, as the threat of an ice storm approached the scene. The decaying oak leaves crunched beneath his footsteps as Rick counted the number of sidewalk cracks he overstepped, along with the garland decorated streetlamps, in a poor attempt to distract himself from his thoughts. Despite his efforts to ignore a certain someone, she always found a way into his very eager mind. And it was only getting worse.

With the holidays approaching, Rick found that his loneliness was as dominate as ever without his big brother. He remembered how every Christmas, Rick and Roy would chop down a pine tree themselves, as Roy always said, "it takes a real man to chop down his own Christmas tree," and then, they would spend the next few hours hauling a huge tree to Roy's house, lassoing colored lights and throwing bright ornaments about it. But what Rick loved more than anything, was when Roy gathered all his toy planes and stuck them onto the tree, placing a model of his own plane on the top with a small Lego version of Rick inside the cockpit.

This tradition made Rick think of his father, who even with his mother's disapproval, would insist on am aero-circus themed Christmas tree every year. Nothing in the world could compare to those wonderful holiday memories he had with his family. Sadly, with the Earth nearly destroyed, and his big brother gone, he was to spend Christmas alone, again.

He did have others who would be more than delighted to have Rick share in their holiday fun: Claudia was always a very loving and amusing person to be around when she and Roy were together; however, his death seemed to change her once cheery mood. Rick certainly considered her as an older sister, and knew spending time with her during this trying time would be what Roy wanted, but Rick had a feeling she would be staying with her brother's family. Maybe being with her new nephew would relieve her of some emotional pain—Rick could only hope.

And there was always the Sterlings. Max had offered Rick to their Christmas Eve dinner, but he declined, not only because Miriya had planned to cook a ham, but because he knew being a part of their family dinner would remind him of his utter loneliness.

Asking Minmei to dinner was out of the question due to her busy movie star schedule. Currently, she would be out of town, shooting the sequel to her kung fu/ horrid romance film with that no-good drunk bastard Kyle. Ugh, how Rick hated Kyle, but not as much as he hated the fact that Minmei put up with him when she deserved so much better.

So, of course, this last thought led him to the object of his trouble. He knew thinking of her would continue to confuse him further; however, it was only a matter of time before she crept back into his head, tugging at his sanity and his heart. Should he ask her to spend the dreadful holidays with him, maybe make a dinner and just watch Christmas movies so he can feel like his holidays weren't a complete failure? But Rick didn't even decorate his home, or much less know how to make a decent meal. And would she even accept his pathetic invitation? He was sure even his work-a-holic captain had Christmas traditions of her own, and if so, Rick was truly the only person left alone for the holidays.

A cool breeze whispered through the trees, ruffling Rick's already disheveled hair. He desperately tries to stuff his hands into his pockets, regretting not bringing his jacket on his walk. Looking up from the sidewalk, he glanced around the street, finding himself in front of a house, unable to ignore the motionless figure lying on the porch.

If you want more, please review so I know how you like it so far!

Thanks for reading! =)

Alicia Strange