"You look just like him," she muttered, sleepily.

Zayne hummed, "it's been said."

"Did he love us?"

There was a pause.

Then, "Brynn, if I ever had any certainty about anything in this life, it would be for his love for us, for you. He would have moved oceans, changed continents for us, of that I have no doubt," Zayne said seriously, surely, firmly. "He was a good man."

Brynn's breathing was almost at normal pace as she nodded numbly against his chest.

"I love him," she stated softly.

Zayne squeezed her harder. "He loves you infinitely."

She laughed and sobbed at the same time, then gradually lifted her head up to look at him properly.

"I love you, too."

For the first time ever, Zayne's eyes softened to such an extent, Brynn believed that the man holding her was not her eldest brother.

He forced her head back down under his chin and rocked them slowly.

"I love you infinitely, too."

---

Sometimes Brynn wondered if her brothers loved their mother as much as Brynn did.

If her love felt the same for them as it did for her. If they missed her like Brynn did.

Because her mother's love always made her feel warm. Had it made her brothers feel warm, too? Did they feel her love as Brynn had done so long ago?

Because she must've loved them. How could she not have done? She must have loved them as much as Brynn did.

Brynn sighed into Zayne's shirt and leant her cheek against the soft material, vaguely acknowledging that this is the first time, the only time, she has seen Zayne in anything but a suit.

She scrunched her eyebrows, slowly turning her head so that her other cheek leant against the shirt and so she could look into the empty adjacent playroom, to the same piano set that she had just watched in the video.

Except, this one didn't have her father sitting behind it, looking on to the rest of the room, to his children around the room. To his wife, recording aforementioned children.

Because who else could it have been recording? Who else would have wanted to document their family life and the sanctity that their home used to have?

Brynn looked to the spot where her mum would have been sitting to make that recording. She envisioned it in detail, the way her mum would have been sitting. The way she used to when it was Christmas Day, when they had sleepovers in living room, when she messed up their new couch delivery order day and got rid of their old one too soon; on her knees, shins tucked neatly and toes curled up in thick socks because she always had cold feet.

She envisioned the blinding smile on her face as she spoke to her children from behind the lens.

All of her children.

The way crinkles probably encased the sides of her eyes and smile lines intensified as she gave them a warm look and Brynn is hit with an intense feeling of utter longing.

She missed her mum's tender looks. Her unwavering smile. Her hair that Brynn never saw in anything other than a messy bun. Her shiny jewellery that she let Brynn try whenever she was caught looking too long at them. Her voice which Brynn hadn't heard in so long. Her clothes. Her.

She couldn't help the sob that burst its way out her mouth, into her older brother's shirt. Holding it tighter, she closed her eyes, ignoring the rough wetness of the material digging into her face.

"Why didn't you like her?"

It was a whisper, but Zayne heard it nonetheless, because his arms tightened and the steady breathing movement in his chest halted. He knew what she asking.

But he wouldn't reply.

Why wouldn't he reply?

Brynn curled her fists and toes, ignoring the shake in them. "I hear the way you speak about her."

Zayne still said nothing, but the rocking slowed so Brynn bravely continued, quietly. "You call her my mum, not yours. Why?"

She turned her head back around, to look down and face the box full of pictures and the camcorder. Zayne was looking there too.

When, after a minute, he still had not spoken, Brynn closed her eyes disconsolately. The silence of the room wasn't suffocating, but it still didn't feel right.

It's Christmas tomorrow, Brynn thought dully. And this wasn't how her first Christmas with her brothers was supposed to go, slumped miserably in Zayne's arms as she ached for more.

She was about to move away, create distance between herself and Zayne so that they could go back to bed and not drag out this moment any longer than necessary. However, Zayne's arms had shifted and he was reaching back into the box and lifting the camcorder out to bring it in front of her.

She watched as he flipped it back open to the same clip that Brynn had just watched tearfully, and held it there so that she could watch the extended scene. The camera was on her dad and Zayne and their practically identical faces that were looking at the file Mika held out to them by the piano.

The same sense of longing from before clenched in Brynn's belly, twisting itself from the inside out as the camera shifted as the person behind it stood up and got closer to the men.

"So serious, Mr Verlice," she teased and Brynn inhaled shakily. She hadn't heard that voice in so long, although it sounded less friendly when addressing her husband and eldest son.

Brynn watched with a furrowed brow as the camera zoomed in on her father's face, then panned to Zayne's, both still entirely focused on the file still. Behind the camera, she heard a sigh, and the lens zoomed back out. Static noises from the camera became louder and the frame glitched for second before it went back to normal.

"And will the Verlice men actually be joining us for dinner tonight?" her mum pressed, which made both men look up from the file, over the camera lens, presumably at her face.

Now it was her father's turn to sigh. The reference for Zayne's own impassive face was obvious, but Brynn didn't get to focus on that because her father spoke. "Marie."

And it wasn't friendly. It wasn't welcoming, it wasn't tolerant. But Brynn wanted to hear it, she wanted to hear it all, it didn't matter what he said.

After he had spoke, Zayne stepped away. The camera followed him from the piano to the centre of the playroom, where the younger Ezra still held younger Brynn, staring between his two parents uncertainly.

Her eldest brother tutted softly, sneaking his hands underneath the littler girl, muttering a small "come here."

Ezra snapped his eyes away from his parents, to his older brother with a meaningful look, except Zayne wouldn't look at him, only Brynn.

"Finally joining your family for dinner as well, Zayne?"

Brynn's breath caught in her throat for a moment and her brows scrunched harder. That didn't sound like her mum. That tone didn't seem like her at all.

But Zayne acted as though he hadn't heard her, settling the entirety of his little sister's weight into his left arm and holding his right hand out expectantly to Zaiden on the floor, who took it certainly.

He led them out of the playroom, the rest of his siblings following them, like moths to a flame, simply ignoring his mother, who slowly lowered the camcorder as they left.

Shuffling noises were heard from the background, before, "Marie-" and then the video cut off.

Brynn stared at the pitch black screen, at herself and her reflection in the black screen that perfectly illustrated her confusion, unable to repress it. Did her parents argue? Did they do that a lot?

She inhaled shakily, out of breath from doing nothing. Zayne lowered the camcorder and placed it uncharacteristically gently into the box once more.

"That is enough movies for one night, I believe," he muttered.

Brynn was too tired, too confused, to protest as he lifted the both of them up off the floor. And she was half-asleep before he even made it out of the main room.

Conscious enough, however, to feel herself be laid out onto a mattress and covered with a thick, soft sheet, heavier than her own one. A few moments after that, the bed dipped down next to her and a few more moments after that, a hand came down on the side of her face, barely there, barely hovering, but there.

It smoothed the hair away from her face and rested there for a while. Although it could have only been a second, because Brynn was asleep instantaneously.

And then she was awake, flitting in and out of consciousness, so sure she was imagining the firm hand on her face and the soft voice telling her to go back to sleep.

It felt like the momentary lapses of sleep she managed to grasp were only in blinks, but every time wakefulness captured her, the voice released her. Until the final time she came to, and the room was noticeably brighter.

A white kind of brighter. When she opened her eyes, she immediately narrowed them in confusion. Because instead of being met with one of the walls that were on either side of her bed, there was a large bow window. She sat up quickly, anchoring herself with one arm and looking towards where her hand connected with the bedsheet that certainly wasn't hers.

She looked around the room, taking in the decor. Dark oak walls, dark oak chests of drawers, dark oak doors; a stark contrast to the brightness the outside was offering through the window, which didn't have the curtains closed.

Slowly, she pushed back the heavy sheets, dangling her legs off the side of the bed, noticing that they hovered a few feet off the ground. The carpet of this bedroom was the same as her own and just as soft, she found, as she went towards the window.

It was snowing.

Her hands clamped down on the windowsill. It was Christmas.

She looked to the doors around the room. There were more in this room than there were in her own, and the first one she tried only revealed an expansive wardrobe, much like her own except filled with many, many suits.

Was this...?

The next she tried led her out to the hallway, to directly in front of her own bedroom door, making her look back at the room she had just come out of in shock.

Zayne's.

His bedroom door closed behind her slowly, ominously, as she turned to look down the rest of the hallway. All the other doors were closed, as they usually were; her brothers valued privacy.

But it was Christmas.

Were her brothers still sleeping? Was it still early? Did they know that it was Christmas today? Did they care like she did?

Zach would care, would he not?

She knocked on his door first, quietly incase the others truly were still snoozing.

She rolled back and forth from her heels to her toes and waited patiently. One whole minute before she knocked once more.

He didn't answer.

Brynn pursed her lips and her eyes scanned over the door twice before moving on to Callan's bedroom door, only to be met with the same result.

Then she tried Brayden's.

Nothing.

She looked around the hallway restlessly. They weren't answering.

Silas' door was the one she tried next and last, although this one took more courage and the knocks were slightly lighter.

Silas wouldn't forgo the opportunity to express his displeasure at being woken up.

But it appeared he would today.

They were tired, she reasoned.

Taking a few steps back away from the door, she scanned each of their doors once more, checking for any signs of movement.

They had the entire day to spend together, it didn't have to start in the morning.

Brynn almost smiled, double-checking Callan's door again before turning and walking away. She'd wait in the living room for them.

Unconsciously, her feet picked up in excitement as she made her way downstairs. Her first Christmas with her brothers.

She'd wait on the couch. Maybe watch a television show as she waited. She'd sit and wait for them to come down. Legs crossed and laid back, perhaps, so she didn't seem too eager.

Or maybe just at the edge, so her brothers could choose their spots first, and then they could spend the day watching one of those Christmas movies Zach cherished so much. Surely Zayne, Ezra and such wouldn't stay for long, but maybe just for one movie they would.

However, any plans she had formulated from the top of the staircase to the bottom were diminished in an instant the second Brynn came around the corner to the living room. She was halted in her tracks, face contorted in confusion.

Because Brynn couldn't even see the couch, nor the beautiful Christmas tree she had helped decorate, only the angel at the top of it barely peeking out over the mountains of wrapped gifts that were scattered across the entire floor.

In various colours and various sizes, presents were everywhere.

She heard footsteps come up behind her and turned to Callan, in his pyjamas, like she was, with a mug in his hands. He glanced into the overflowed room and drank from his cup casually. Like Brynn's entire world hadn't been shattered by the sight.

"He came," she said, causing Callan to look back down at her and lower his mug with a grin.

"So he did."

Brynn was practically buzzing with excitement, her toes furling and unfurling in her thick socks, and looked back at the room.

"There's so much," she said, unbelieving.

Callan placed a hand on her shoulder and leaned down slightly, "perhaps he is making up for lost time."

Brynn swallowed as her eyes tried to take it all in, but there was too much to take in.

"He came for all of us?" she asked.

She couldn't see Callan's face, but he took a moment to reply. Then, he said, "yes, he did."

Brynn felt a burn in her eyes and in her chest that she pushed down. "Really?" she replied in a whisper.

Callan stood back up straight, "in fact, I believe that most of this is yours."

Brynn spun her head around, mouth agape, "no."

Callan looked amused. "No?"

She shook her head and didn't say anything more, choosing instead to look back at the piles and piles of presents, finding it hard to believe that a single one of them could be for her.

Callan let her look at them a while longer before he asked, "shall we have breakfast first?"

Brynn nodded, letting Callan turn her back around and walk them past the bustling kitchen, full of the entire kitchen staff, to the dining room, where everybody else was. Brynn scrambled to her seat, taking a single piece of buttered toast after seeing her brothers had already started, and chewing it in small bites.

Her legs swung back and forth repeatedly, eyes oftentimes trailing to the entryway, where she could just see Omar in the kitchen over the stove, and then to the main door of the dining room, as if she'd be able to see the living room from there.

It was all so exciting.

She spoke with Zach the most at breakfast and spent most of that conversation wondering if he was excited as she was.

The large patio doors in the kitchen were just barely in sight but she could still see the snow piling up outside, the forest surrounding their home almost completely encased in white.

She wondered what her brothers would get for Christmas, if they'd get what they wanted; she hoped that they did.

Zayne sat at the head of table, as accustomed, and Brynn was distracted for a moment by the fact that, like last night, he was simply in a t-shirt and loose pants, matching the rest of his siblings in pyjama attire.

That meant he wouldn't be in work today. Brynn hid a smile behind her half-eaten toast.

The breakfast across the table was extravagant, over the top in every way from the amount of food to the sparkly tinsel and holly used for decoration, much like the rest of the house was.

When it came time to go into the living room, Brynn's nerves were practically fried and vibrating. The lack of space meant she was sat on the carpet and Callan and Brayden kept handing her things.

The very first gift that was handed to her, she hadn't noticed at first, too busy smiling, watching Zach open a new set of headphones. Callan had to move it into her line of vision for her to see it.

She took it, confused, taking a glance at Brayden to ensure she was okay to open it, before slowly taking the wrapping paper off.

She made sure not to rip it, lifting up the corner pieces and unwrapping with careful measure, until the inside was revealed.

A book.

She turned it over and read the title, Matilda.

First edition.

And it was signed.

She gasped, searching for Zayne first, who had a glint in his eye, then Callan to show him it excitedly. Then Brayden, then Zach.

And then she was being handed more. And more and more and it felt like too much. She felt undeserving. Many a time, she had to brush underneath her eye before anything could fall.

She had received more than she could have asked for, and there was still more.

Including more books, bracelets, fluffy socks and blankets, rings, her very own video camera.

She handed Callan his presents, too. He got a new watch and a coffee machine, which Brynn found was fitting. He did like his coffee.

Brayden received a new leather wallet, new sweaters and an iPad, which he was having some difficulty navigating. Ezra called him a grandpa.

Brayden almost threw the iPad at him.

Ezra, himself, opened up a new box of cologne and rings. Like Brynn had! Except his rings were clunkier.

Silas got something called vinyls, Callan had stated, and new trainers.

Zaiden and Zach received new headphones each and Zaiden got some tech stuff, which Brynn didn't understand, but Zaiden looked happy to receive it. Zach also got new Dutch books, which he handed Brynn to look at.

She read it, not understanding much, but pretending to for Zach.

Zayne even opened his presents, too, which Brynn was so happy he had, because Zayne deserved a happy Christmas, too and to receive the things he wanted. Such as, what looked to be, old books and a lavish new watch.

And there was still so much to open. Brynn's pile was pushed up next to the tree, still tall even though Brynn felt like she'd made a dent in it, and her brothers' piles were on the other side. To open for later.

They took a moments' reprieve, Brayden choosing to find something to watch on the television, and Zach placing his new headphones on Brynn for her to try them.

The second he placed them over her ears, it went dead silent. Brynn opened her mouth in shock and lifted them back off, letting the background noise of the rest of them flow into her ears before she put them back over. The sudden silence made her look at Zach, stunned.

He looked like he was laughing, but Brynn couldn't hear it. Cool.

"Cool, right?" she heard once she took them off, after a few more test trials.

"Really cool," she responded.

Brayden found a movie and Brynn watched it for a while, before the quiet peace of the room was interrupted by Silas getting up from his spot.

Wrapping paper dropped from his lap, and shifted around his feet as he made his way to the tree and reached down to pick up a small box.

"I have my own gift to give, actually."

The entire room was quiet and Brynn thought that Silas looked a bit uncomfortable. But he still continued.

He walked over towards her, which she wasn't expecting.

Swiftly, he held out the black box and when Brynn hesitated to take it, he pushed it forward and grunted.

She took it, slightly stunned and heart pounding in her fingertips as she undid the black ribbon and lifted the lid up. She could feel her brothers trying to take a peek at the inside of the box, meaning that they didn't know what was in it either.

A key.

Silas let her stare at it, perplexed, for a moment before he came to kneel down in front of her and took it out the box.

"I thought that that gap in the garage needed filling in," he said, only looking at her.

Brynn opened her mouth to question what he meant, but he pressed one of the buttons on the key and through the window, she could see a light flicker and the sound of a car being opened.

It took her a second, staring at the window like everybody else, except Silas, was doing before she gasped and looked back at the man.

He had a slight smirk and mischievous glint in his eyes.

Him standing back allowed her to get up quickly and almost sprint out of the living room, barely hearing the "Silas." Zayne chastised.

She barely heard the rest of them following her to the front door and out onto the porch.

She barely heard Callan yell, "Brynn, shoes!"

The car at the bottom of the steps was magnificent. Pure white and sleek, like most of Silas' cars were.

She made her way down the cobble steps, mindful that it may be slippier due to the snow, and around to the driver's side which was open, presumably from whatever button Silas had pressed on the car keys.

Her car keys.

She looked up at where they all stood on the porch. Zayne trailed after Silas, "I think a discussion beforehand-"

"Brynn, watch your head," Brayden fretted.

"Don't start it!" Callan warned. "And where are your shoes!"

And Ezra leant against a pillar and laughed with Zaiden.

Brynn grinned, watching them laugh, then got in the vehicle.

Silas got into the passenger side and reached forward to press one of the buttons. Brynn watched as the doors slid shut, the commotion from outside going silent. Like Zach's headphones did.

She took it all in, stretching her legs out to reach the pedals but to no avail.

A low chuckle was heard from Silas' side before he leaned down and shifted her seat farther forward. Now she could hold the wheel.

"Do you think I could drive to school?" she asked, excitedly, half-joking.

Silas' face didn't look impassive for once; he looked interested and let out another low chuckle. "Maybe we should just enjoy the interior for the time being."

Brynn nodded. She didn't think she was ready for the road either. She was all up on the wheel and her feet still couldn't reach the pedals.

Tapping her fingers on the leather, she chewed the bottom of her lip.

"Thank you so much for my gift," she said.

Silas looked as uncomfortable as he had in the living room handing her the box, and shifted in his seat, clearing his throat.

When it became clear he wasn't going to respond, Brynn chose to look at all the millions of buttons the car had.

"Do you think I could park it in the garage?"

Silas eyes widened, a little, almost in fear?

"Perhaps I should do that for you, zusje."

Brynn smiled, probably for the best.

Suddenly, one of the back doors opened and Zach came in with a grin. He took in the interior with a long, appreciative whistle then grinned down at Brynn in the driver's seat.

"So where are you driving me first?"

"Nowhere!" Callan yelled from the outside.

---

Silas did end up parking the car in the garage, because Brynn couldn't have.

Brynn might not have been able to do so for some time anyway, if the looks and fussing Callan and Brayden gave her were anything to go by.

Zayne locked the keys up himself.

Mika and Jacob visited at around lunch time and gave Brynn more beautiful rings to match the ones they'd already given her.

Derek visited briefly, too, giving Brynn a new journal for her to write in, and scented candles, which Brynn had never had before, but couldn't wait to try.

She showed them all what she had got. Especially the car. They weren't allowed to sit inside it, but Brynn still pointed things out for them through the window. Such as explaining what all of the buttons did, which Silas had explained for her.

When Mika, Jacob and Derek left, more gifts that were still in the pile were opened and, at 6pm, a sumptuous Christmas dinner was served.

Brynn didn't eat much, full from breakfast, but she did pull crackers, winning against Callan and Zach.

After dinner, Brynn, Zach, Zaiden and Silas sat in the living room lazily, bellies full.

It was peaceful, until Callan broke the atmosphere, telling them to go get ready for church. Callan was already ready, out of his Christmas pyjamas and dressed formally with his new watch which he consistently checked as he waited for Brynn to finish getting ready.

"Why do we go to church?" she asked, patting down the simple dark red dress Callan had picked out for her with white tights. Her brothers never seemed to be religious.

Callan smiled as she came out, taking in the dress before going into the closet himself to retrieve a winter coat, woolly gloves and hat for her. "Father always took us on Christmas Day."

He pulled the gloves over her hands, "he liked listening to the hymns." Then he concentrated on putting the hat over her head, "and he always lit eight candles." He finally looked at her, "one for each of us."

Brynn nodded, a lump in her throat forming as it always did whenever their dad was mentioned.

Similarly to Callan, the rest of her brothers seemed to be dressed in their best. They were wearing gloves like she was, but not a hat and scarf. Brynn hoped she looked her best, like they did.

She travelled with Zayne, Callan and Ezra, trailing after them as they entered the stunningly large and decadent church with a large nativity display outside. Brynn had seen the scene in R.E class before.

The hymns had already started by the time they all entered and a man was speaking upfront. There were rows and rows of benches. Some were full and some were empty.

It felt like everybody was watching as her brothers made their way to one of the middle ones and sat. Brynn was the last one to sit after Callan.

Brynn furrowed her eyebrows as she took her hat off, wondering where Zayne went.

She leant forward, scanning the row of her brothers, but not finding him.

Subtly, she looked around the church, until she finally spotted him. At the back, by the candles, lighting them.

He lit eight, carefully placing the lighter down in the pot next to the stand and gracefully making his way to his siblings, sitting next to Brynn and listening to the man up front.

Brynn entwined her hands on her lap like he did, and listened, too.

After some time, the warmth of the church began to seep through her clothes, so Brynn loosened her scarf a tad and shifted in her seat, playing with the fingertips of her gloves and trying to concentrate on what the man was saying at the front.

Though she became quite restless after some time, deciding to admire the large, intricate stained glass windows and high ceilings that seemed a million miles tall. The wooden carvings in the ceilings looked like angels, reaching downward to those seated.

Brynn focused on the one directly above her. It looked sadder than the rest of them did.

She furrowed her brows and moved her eye-line to the next angel nearest to it. It didn't look nearly as melancholy.

Her mouth parted, closing abruptly when she felt a delicate prod at her side. She looked up at Callan, whose eyes looked amused and shone with mirth. "Would you like to explore?" he asked.

Brynn bit the inside of her lip, she hadn't meant to make her boredom as noticeable. She looked at the rest of her brothers. They all looked as apathetic as they usually did, but they were still listening to the man at the front and the choir behind said man.

Turning back to Callan she shook her head, "no, thank you."

Callan narrowed his eyes, playfully, and Brynn watched as he trailed them off to somewhere at the back of the church. Suspiciously, she followed his line of sight, finding two children around Brynn's age wandering the back of the church and looking at the stained glass windows.

Brynn saw younger children quietly playing with their toys on the floor near the entry doors, too. She balled her hand up into a fist and turned back to Callan. "Maybe I could go outside and see the snow again?" she asked.

Callan looked up and over her, at Zayne, so Brynn did, too. Their oldest brother was already looking down at the two. He stared at Brynn for a moment before looking to the back of the church, like Callan had done, except he had a more precise location.

Brynn searched for what, or rather who, Zayne was looking at.

Carlo, stood at the back of the church with his hands behind his back.

Brynn hadn't even noticed he came with them.

Her eyebrows and eyes crinkled in perplexity. He was very good at his job.

Zayne nodded once at him, to which Carlo returned with his own nod and began making his way to the church entryway.

Brynn felt a gently nudge from Callan and her woolly hat being placed on her head again, pulled down until her ears were completely covered.

"Stay close to Carlo," he instructed, seriously. Brynn nodded and stood uncertainly. She felt the eyes of her other brothers watch as she shuffled out from the bench, and then the eyes of the other people in the church as she passed them on her way to the open door Carlo was holding for her.

She said thank you to him, going back out into the biting outside air and sitting at a bench, the thick layer of snow acting as an uncomfortable, liquifying pillow. Still, she sat and watched as more snowflakes fell on the landscape ahead.

The larger houses further away were lit up to the extreme, vibrant lights on their front lawns and exterior colouring the fallen snow surrounding them.

After watching the scene for a while, she breathed out softly, turning to look at Carlo, who was, predictably, only a few feet away from her, scanning the area for Brynn didn't know what.

She wondered if his legs ever got tired from being stood up so long.

If he found his job boring. If he found Brynn's daily activities boring. If he told his other bodyguard friends how boring it was. If they concurred.

It occurred to Brynn that her mind had wandered. So when she heard a metal slam from somewhere in the distance, she jumped.

Carlo's reaction was instantaneous. His suit jacket was pushed back , hand hovering over his side and head whipped around to pinpoint the exact location the noise originated from. Somewhere close to the large nativity display.

Brynn focused on Carlo more than she did on finding the source of the sound, her heart pounding in her ears as she watched him slowly raise his other hand and gesture for her to come closer. She did so, cautiously, the snow crunching under her feet loudly, until she was right next to him and he pulled her behind him in one swift movement.

For every single step he took toward the direction of the sound, Brynn had to take three. The grip he had on her shoulder, keeping her in place behind him, was firm, but it didn't stop the pounding in her ears.

They got further and further behind the nativity display. Now the sound was rattling metal and, eventually, Carlo sighed and stood back up straight, his hand moving from his side and Brynn's shoulder.

The latter furrowed her eyebrows because there was still a rattling metal noise just in front of them. Carlo began walking back, giving Brynn a clear view of what Carlo hadn't perceived as a threat.

A small, tawny rabbit was scurrying on the spot, only succeeding in burying itself further in the snow as its leg was caught in a trap.

It was making low whimper sounds whilst its leg seemed to be getting more torn the more it pulled and tugged to get free. Brynn winced and stopped Carlo in his tracks when she said, "he's hurt."

She heard Carlo stop, but she didn't hear him respond, so she turned her head swiftly, feeling a sense of urgency the more the animal struggled. He was looking at her, intently.

"We have to help him."

Carlo stared impassively for a moment, and Brynn felt that sense of urgency increase.

When he didn't make a move, Brynn turned back and dropped into the snow next to the manic rabbit to do it herself.

The second she did so, however, Carlo finally moved. He came down into the snow more gracefully than she had and lightly moved her backwards, so he could lean over and inspect the trap.

He reached forward and held both sides of it and pushed down hard. The rabbit's leg was released and it flicked its feet once, twice, then remained still where it was, shaking.

It hadn't ran away, like Brynn thought it would have. Instead, the white snow underneath it gradually turned a deep crimson as blood from its injured leg seeped out.

Brynn's face contorted, the gap between her eyebrows creased almost painfully and lips screwed up. She looked up at Carlo, helplessly. The man just simply watched her again for a few seconds.

She looked down at the quivering bunny, then back at the man.

After what felt like a whole minute, Carlo sighed, and reached forward, sliding his hands under it and lifting it up off the ground. The moment it was touched, it started squirming and tried to kick away, but its leg didn't let it get far.

Brynn winced in sympathy when she saw the twitching, bloody leg, now clear in view seeing as Carlo was holding it out in front of him, instead of close to him.

Brynn didn't particularly like that. Unsurely, she held her hands out.

Carlo looked at her open gloved hands, his face neutral but Brynn could feel his skepticism.

Once he did some deliberation, he decided to hand it to her, carefully and steadily, Well, as steadily as he could with the flailing animal and the half-hearted fight it was putting up.

It was soft, Brynn could tell through the gloves, and light. It had a lot of fluffy fur and a lot of it was matted, either by the wetness of the snow or the blood from its leg.

She supported its back and behind and held it firmly against her chest, hoping her coat would keep it warm.

It calmed down and stilled in her arms, giving Brynn a chance to look at it closer. Its terrified brown eyes started back into her own and the shaking didn't cease.

Frowning, she moved to support its lightweight with one hand, using her other to scrupulously unwrap her scarf from around her neck.

She manoeuvred the material to cover the rabbit, like a blanket, hoping that the shaking would stop soon.

She wondered whether the shaking was due to its fear or the cold. Possibly both.

Once the scarf was settled, she looked down at the offending device. The jaws of the trap were coated in blood.

Brynn glared at it, trailing her eyes across the snow to a few feet away, where she could see the jaws of another trap peeking out from beneath the snow.

She looked at Carlos.

"That's cruel," her voice shook as she tightened her hold on the bunny a little so it wouldn't slip down.

This time, Carlo gave a single nod.

"Brynn?"

The girl turned around. Callan looked confused for a moment, Ezra next to him, before his eyes locked on to the bundle in Brynn's arms and the smudge of blood running down her coat.

He stepped forward, eyes immediately on Carlo as he demanded, "what happened?"

Brynn stepped forward, too, to meet him in the middle, pulling back the scarf to show the fluffy head underneath.

Callan looked even more confused, hand hovering over the back of the bundle and the other behind Brynn's head as he took in the sight.

"He's hurt," Brynn explained, holding it even more firmly, like it would be ripped away from her.

Callan looked conflicted and as it looked like he was trying to formulate a response, the rest of her brothers appeared. Zayne was at the front, observing the scene. Brynn avoided looking at him.

Ezra was heard shifting his feet in the snow before saying, "just leave it, it'll heal."

Brynn looked away from Callan to Ezra, but he looked away from her, instantly.

She turned to Zayne, then Zaiden, then Zach, then Silas, then Brayden.

As a last resort, she looked back at Callan, pleadingly.

The man's eyes softened and his hand came down fully onto the back of the rabbit, causing it to jump. He looked away from her eyes and turned to Zayne.

"Perhaps, we can just ensure it is alright for the night?" he suggested.

Zayne's face didn't give anything away, even as Brayden took a step forward and addressed him. "I could wrap its leg up so it heals faster." He looked toward where its wounded leg was half peeking out from the scarf.

Brynn finally looked at Zayne with the same look she had with Callan. She wanted to make sure this rabbit got better.

"Please, Zayne."

Zayne's face twitched so briefly Brynn thought she was seeing things. He gave a slow, single nod. "Very well."

Brynn felt relief being poured over her, a warm contrast to the cold battering against her cheeks.

She tried not to smile too widely, shifting the rabbit up a little higher and muttering a small, "thank you."

Zayne nodded once more, before turning around, heading back to the car with his siblings in tow.

---

Brynn leaned over the table and watched as Brayden delicately cleaned the little leg, even as it flicked and tried to twitch away from him.

She stroked the rabbit's head gently, to try and calm it, although it wasn't able to move far anyway.

She looked into its big brown eyes, full of fear and tried to reassure it with a soft shush. It didn't appear too scared of her, letting her brush her fingers over its head every now and then.

Occasionally, she would wince in sympathy when it would whine, checking what Brayden was doing, but always reassured when she could see that Brayden was being as delicate as possible.

He looked up from what he was doing with a soft smile, "nothing broken from what I can see, just a cut."

He reached over for the gauze, placing it over the wound that wasn't bleeding so much anymore and then picked up roll of bandages.

Brynn looked away when she heard footsteps coming into the med room.

Zach grinned, back in his Christmas pyjamas, unlike Brayden and Brynn, who were still in their church clothes. Brynn hadn't even taken off her hat and gloves, yet. Her scarf lay next to the bunny, probably in need of a wash, but Brynn didn't tend to that at the moment.

He came further into the room, hip resting against the table, next to the spot Brynn was resting her chin on to gain a better vantage point to see the rabbit. "What's the prognosis?" he asked Brayden, looking down at Brynn with a smirk.

Brynn lifted her chin off the cool table surface and smiled as Brayden answered.

"Nothing too dire, just a cut which should heal rather quickly if not irritated." He finished wrapping the bandage and taped it up. "Patient should live," he said, sending a playful wink to Brynn.

She chuckled, as did Zach. She, also, moved her hand away from the rabbit, to give it some space.

Zach watched the action and stared at the animal for a second.

"Have you given him a name?" He furrowed his eyebrows a second, then looked to Brayden, "or her?"

Brayden chuckled, "him."

"Ah," Zach nodded, turning to look at Brynn. Truth be told, Brynn hadn't even thought about it.

But she didn't get to answer because Zayne's deep voice sounded from the doorway.

"There won't be any need for a name, he goes back out tomorrow." He sent a pointed look at Brynn.

The girl's fingernails pushed into her palms so hard it would have left half moon indents, had she not even wearing her gloves. She nodded once at him, not entirely settled at the thought of leaving the rabbit out alone in the wild.

But it was here tonight, and that was enough for now.

Brayden cut through the tension in the room. "Brynn."

After he saw he had grabbed her attention, he gave a nodding gesture to the door where Zayne still stood. "Why don't you go and find some vegetables for our friend here," he gestured to the bunny. "I'm sure he must be starving."

Brynn nodded, giving a lasting look to their "friend", and made her way past Zayne, to the kitchen.

Most of the kitchen staff had gone home by this time, only a few remained to finish the washing up, so Brynn assumed it was okay to go to the fridge without being in the way.

She opened it, scanning its contents before opening the fruit and vegetable drawer. There was lots in there, she didn't know what to choose.

She was brought out of her own musings when she felt her hat being plucked off the top of her head and turned to the culprit.

Zaiden threw the piece of clothing onto the kitchen island, then leant back on said island. Brynn kept a hand on the fridge door to keep it open.

"I hope you're not getting attached to it," he said casually with narrowed eyes. It wasn't playful, but it certainly wasn't hostile.

Brynn gave a small shrug, "I'm not," and turned back around to survey the drawer contents.

As she was reaching in to grab some parsley, Zaiden spoke again. "Zayne isn't very fond of pets."

Brynn shrugged again, reaching next for the pre-cut, wrapped apple slices.

She shut the drawer, then the fridge door with her hip, quickly finding the food plucked, like her hat was, out of her hands.

Zaiden moved across to the cupboards, pulling out a bowl and placing the food into it. He moved to the sink, splashing cold water into it for a few seconds before swishing it around.

Brynn played with her hands, awkwardly, as he did so, not having thought of washing the food beforehand.

Maybe it was for the best that she didn't have a pet.

Zaiden drained the bowl, then handed it back to her. She stayed where she was a minute, eyes trailing from the bowl to Zaiden's shoulder, to the bowl again.

Finally, Zaiden sighed and leaned down. "Just don't get too crazy about him."

He walked past her and out the kitchen. Brynn waited a few moments to follow, going back to the med room where Brayden and Zach still were. She brought the bowl up to show them what she found.

Brayden approved, taking the parsley and apple slices out and placing them a few centimetres in front of the rabbit, who looked like he still hadn't moved. Brynn would have been worried, if not for the steady movement of breathing he could see from him.

He didn't move from his position, even as the fresh veg was placed in front of him.

Brayden didn't seem concerned, like Brynn partly was. He left it alone. "Let's leave him be, shall we?"

Brynn didn't want to, but she was being guided out anyway.

"He'll be okay?" she asked, swivelling her head as far around as she could so he didn't leave her sight. That became impossible once the med door was closed.

"He will be fine, sweetheart. He just needs plenty of rest and not to be too crowded at the moment," Brayden explained.

Brynn stared at the door for a while, as if string hard enough would enable her to see through it, before she relented and looked up at Brayden to nod slightly. "Okay," she said.

Brayden smiled. "Why don't you go and get your Christmas pyjamas back on? It's almost time for supper in the lounge."

Brynn furrowed her eyebrows. "Supper?"

Her brother hummed, "go on," gesturing for her to go upstairs. She did so, changing back into her fluffy pyjamas and coming back downstairs to find everybody else already in the living room.

The only light in the room was from the Christmas tree and the television.

The table in the middle was full of bowls of steaming soup and buttered bread. She took the place on the couch between Calan and Brayden and as she did, she was handed her own bowl by Callan.

She thanked him as everybody else took their own bowls and Zach held the remote up and found a movie.

Home Alone.

He pressed play and it started. Brynn hadn't watched it before, but she liked it. Although half way through, she felt her eyes droop.

In an attempt to stay awake, she scooped a spoonful of warm soup into her mouth, and trailed her eyes across the room. To the pile of presents she had still yet to open, to her brothers watching the movie with more attention than she was.

She smiled, her eyes drooping once more and head falling back softly against Callan's side.

She felt the bowl being removed from her lap and a blanket being placed over her as she drifted off, belly and heart full, and the most content she'd felt ever.

---

When she woke, it was clearly later into the night. Everybody else was asleep, even Zayne, with his head down and hands clasped over his chest. Her lips twitched.

The empty bowls were stacked on the table and a new Christmas movie was playing, though Brynn didn't know which one.

She sat up from her spot nestled underneath Callan's arm and pushed the blanket down. She thought about the rabbit.

Looking towards the living room entryway, she really tried to resist.

But he was alone, and probably scared.

Just checking on him wouldn't do any harm, would it?

Sneakily, she got up, tip toeing around Zaiden, who lay on the floor, as well as Zach. Before fully leaving, she looked behind to ensure they were all still sleeping, then made her way to the med room. The light was still on, thankfully.

Brynn turned the doorknob, slowly, not wanting to spook the skittish thing. She pushed it open and found the rabbit lying there, in the same position, his eyes closed.

They opened immediately, however, the second the door creaked, which was somewhat relieving for Brynn.

She walked forward and rested her chin on the table again to look at him.

He had definitely noticed her and was watching her.

"Hello," she whispered.

She looked at the fruit and veg in front of him, noting the now-discoloured apple slices, and frowned. He hadn't touched any of it.

She scooped up the apple slices, "let me go get some more for you," she said.

He watched her as she left the room to go to the kitchen to get fresh slices, and when she returned, she caught him mid-stretch as he let out a big yawn, sharp teeth on show.

She placed the new fresh slices down, "there you go."

He didn't make a move for them, instead just watching Brynn as she watched him.

She took a deep breath in, before pulling herself up onto the table, back resting against the wall.

The fruit and veg were the only thing between the two and he hadn't tried to scurry away from her, so Brynn counted that as a good thing.

She bit her lip as her eyes scanned over his little body to check he wasn't as shaky as he had been.

"How is your leg?" she asked, looking at the appendage wrapped in white, still in good condition, meaning he hadn't tried to take it off. That was good.

Brynn smiled.

She leisurely pushed the food closer to his face, "aren't you hungry?" she asked.

He ignored her and the food, so she sighed and stopped pushing.

Hardly minutes later, she dropped her head back against the wall and let sleep overtake her for the second time that evening.

Her dream was odd. An array of colours, and images, most from the day she had just had.

She was back in the church. Between Callan and Zayne, looking up at the angels. The angel above her head, the sad one, and the others around it.

The man was speaking at the front of the church, although Brynn couldn't understand what he was saying. His words sounded jumbled. And the hymns didn't make sense either.

Suddenly, she felt a prod at her side and turned to Callan, brows furrowed. He didn't say anything

He prodded her again, and again. And again, and again-

She woke up was a gasp, feeling a firm prod at her hip again, but this time, it was real.

She looked down to see what it was, only to find the rabbit staring up at her on his two back legs, upright, head tilted.

Shocked, she didn't move at first, causing the rabbit to drop back down on his front feet and nudge at her side again with his head.

Blinking, she looked around, still waking up. Another nudge directed her attention back to the table.

The fruit and veg were gone.

Relief filled Brynn and she received another nudge. The rabbit looked up at her with those big brown eyes and Brynn understood.

"Do you want some more?" she asked.

She shuffled off the table, going back to the kitchen to retrieve more parsley and apple slices, adding cucumber to the bowl for good measure.

Washing it like Zaiden had, she drained the bowl and went back to the med room. Sitting on the table like she had done, she took an apple slice out and offered it to him.

The rabbit seemed a lot less hesitant, sniffing the slice once before taking it out of her hands with more force than Brynn believed a bunny could have.

He finished the slice quite quickly and Brynn mustn't have offered him the next one soon enough because he was nudging her side once more repeatedly.

She chuckled, "alright, alright," she got another slice out and he took it with the same amount of force.

She watched him work his way through the slice, cheeks full. She chuckled some more. "Maybe I should just call you Nudger."

True to his dubbed nickname, he nudged her once more, going as far to place his front feet on her thigh in an attempt to reach her empty hand. She gave him another slice.

"You're hungry," she mused.

Now that he was dry, Brynn had a better look at his fur. Tawny and brown and fluffy with some white tints. Long whiskers and ears and a twitchy nose.

He was incredibly cute.

Brynn tried her very best not to get attached, she really did, but she thought maybe it was too late.

Fittingly, Zayne appeared after a few minutes of hand feeding him.

When Zayne came in, the rabbit's ears went down and he stopped reaching for food. He reinstated his previous, unmoving position.

Brynn pursed her lips and instead took the food out and laid it in front of him like before. She moved the bowl to one side and watched Zayne come in, his eyes roaming over the scene, lingering on the rabbit longer.

Brynn felt like she needed to say something.

"I'm not getting attached," she said, lied?, shifting to sit up straighter against the wall.

Zayne didn't look convinced, but he left it alone, bringing his hands behind his back.

"I believe I have yet to give you your Christmas present from me," he stated perfunctorily, revealing a crimson box with a white ribbon.

Brynn felt like saying she'd had too much today, already. She didn't deserve any more. Her gratefulness surpassed itself every time she was given a new gift, or whenever a new, happy memory with her brothers, her family, cemented itself into her mind,

She undid the ribbon and opened the box, revealing a watch.

It was like Zayne's, except the band was thinner and white.

Zayne took it out of the box and gestured for her left arm. Brynn put the box down next to her and let him put it on.

"Father bought this for you the day you were born," Brynn breathed in shakily, taking the detail of it in and the fact that her father had chosen this, held this in his hands.

"I believe that this is the right occasion for you to start wearing it," he finished tightening the band.

"I'll never take it off," Brynn assured, extremely serious.

Silence overtook the room as Brynn admired it and Zayne didn't move.

It took Brynn time and courage to strike up more conversation with her eldest brother, because what she wanted to say needed to be said right, with the correct amount of feeling.

"This has been the best Christmas of my life," she stated, seriously, forcing herself to keep eye contact with him, as if that helped push the genuineness out more.

"Thank you so much." She stared a little longer before she had to break the contact by looking down at her newly adorned wrist.

She felt a finger go under her chin and bring her head up to re-establish that contact.

"And there will be many more Christmas' as such in the future, now that you are home," his eyes trailed over her entire face, "exactly where you belong."

Brynn's eyes welled with tears. She closed them and nodded, leaning forward to hug him.

He held her back with such fierceness that her breath was momentarily knocked out of her.

Then her reverie was broken by a nudge to her thigh. She broke away to look down at the rabbit with a smile.

Zayne sighed, pulling back and straightening his shirt out.

"It's going back where it belongs tomorrow, zusje," he said. He left soon after, leaving Brynn to keep feeding the rabbit some more apple slices.

She stroked him gently over his ears and leaned down.

"We'll see," she whispered.

---

everyone thank beyoncé for the chapter.

<3