"Would you hurry up please? My brother will be here any minute." Katherine pulled back the lace curtains to peek out her bedroom window that overlooked her driveway. She had called her brother Joey immediately after her sister had left. Her brother had an eye for style and would be the perfect person to chaperone Dylan on his shopping escapade for something more presentable than Santa pants. Katherine had pulled the most unisex things from her closet for Dylan to wear as he shops.

After about fifteen minutes the bathroom door finally opened to reveal a rather unhappy looking Dylan. He wore a baby blue Christmas sweater, complete with glittered snowflakes and sledding snowmen. The sweater was baggy on her so she figured it should fit him fine, but instead it seemed to hug every curve of his muscled chest and the sleeves stopped just short of his wrists. He also wore a pair of old jogging pants that she had bought a few years ago for lounging in. She wasn't much of a runner. Katherine bit her tongue as she stifled a giggle.

"I look ridiculous." Dylan said as he walked into her room, "I'm seriously considering retracting my earlier statement about not being a killer."

Katherine's eyes widened and her face went slack. Dylan gave a throaty chuckle.

"It's a joke, relax. I said I owe you for not turning me in, remember?"

She gave a relieved sigh and strained a small smile. She leaned back and rested her hands on the window sill behind her as he walked to her vanity and shook his head as he tsked at his reflection. Her smile eased at his humor. He sauntered over and stood in front of her. He raised his hand slowly and leaned his head closer. Her breath started to quicken as she looked up at him. Her eyes fell closed as she imagined feeling his hand stroke her cheek as his lips caressed hers. But the feeling never came. She opened her eyes tentatively to find his hand holding back the curtain as he looked past her shoulder out the window.

"Looks like you brother is here." He whispered close to her ear.

"Oh, good." Was all she could utter with him this close.

He looked down as her, "Don't look so disappointed," he brushed the back of his knuckles down her cheek softly, "I'll be back." He gave her a surprisingly comical wink before turning for the door. This man was definitely going to keep her on her toes.

Once downstairs, they met her brother at the door. Joey was tall and slender, but had a solid frame. He was dressed in an argyle sweater with a cotton scarf tucked neatly around his neck. Even with the snow on the ground he wore polished brown loafers on his feet. Yes, this was the man for the job of wardrobe makeover.

Joey greeted Katherine warmly with a tight hug then stepped back. "Okay, so where is this fashion disaster?" he asked.

Katherine turned to look behind herself as Dylan appeared, in all his glittery glory.

Joey had to stifle a chuckle behind a closed fist.

"Oh Kat! All I can say is, thank God you have me as a brother."

Katherine smiled and gave a relieved sigh as Joey beckoned Dylan out side with a...charming new nickname.

"Alright, come on Sparkles, to the car!"

Dylan gave a half annoyed, half amused glance toward Katherine before he headed out to the car. Joey then took a moment to lean in to her, "Where ever did you find him and where can I get one?" he asked suggestively. She hesitated for a moment before responding.

"Oh you know, just leave a window open and I'm sure one will find his way in." She gave a nervous smile that she hoped looked sincere. Joey stared at her for a second of confusion before shrugging it off and bursting out with laughter.

"The window! Ha-ha yeah okay Kat, you're too funny! I'll be sure to have him back to you by dinner tonight." And with that, Joey strode out to his car, giggling under his breath the whole way about windows.

Katherine stood at the front door and watched as her brother's BMW Coupe backed out of the driveway with Dylan in the passenger seat. Now to pass the time until they return.

***

As they drove into town, Dylan absentmindedly picked at a glittered snowflake on his sweater.

"Don't pick at it." Joey said quietly, "It will only make it worse." He smiled as he joked, as if ugly sweaters were a disease capable of spreading.

"So how long have you been with my sister?" Joey asked, "And how did you come to end up with no clothes?"

Dylan thought quickly to construct a short easy answer that wouldn't require further questioning.

"We met a short time ago. I recently broke up with my girlfriend and she kicked me out, I didn't have a chance to pack my things and Katherine was kind enough to let me stay with her for a while."

Joey nodded, seeming to accept this answer.

"She's a very kind person, my sister. Sometimes kinder than some people deserve. I swear she'd take care of the devil if he were sick and showed up on her doorstep." Joey laughed at the thought.

Dylan smiled to himself and gazed out the window thinking how lucky he was to have found her house and not someone else's.

A short time later they arrived at a small shopping center and headed for a men's clothing store. Dylan looked around a bit and picked out a couple things to try on, only to turn and find Joey walking toward him, holding an armful of clothes.

Joey ushered him to a fitting room enthusiastically, "Let's get started, shall we?"

***

While the boys were gone, Katherine made use of her time by cleaning up. She started with the kitchen, cleaning up the remains from her surprise breakfast. Once everything was in order downstairs, she made her way up to her bedroom. She collected the strewn about Santa suit, for a moment wondering if she should wash it, then decided to just hang it up for now. She began searching for Louie, she hadn't seen him yet. She kneeled down and peered under her bed. No cat. Though she did find Dylan's discarded loot. The big red bag, stuffed with his findings, was shoved between some boxes. She sighed, shaking her head as she pulled out the bag along with a couple of the boxes. She emptied one of the boxes contents into another and shoved the full one back under the bed. She then dumped the thieved items into the empty box and placed the red sack with the suit.

Maybe Dylan was sent to her for a reason, she mused. Perhaps she was meant to lead him back toward the right path. It was completely possible he was a good guy who had just made some bad decisions in his life. Feeling better about the situation, thinking just maybe she could actually help him, Katherine brought the box down to the kitchen and taped it up. After filling Louie's food bowl, he'd probably come out from hiding once the house was quiet, she took the box and headed out the door.

A/N: So it's literally been ages since I've updated this story. Mainly because I had been writing it on my laptop which was...inaccessible for a while. But alas! An update! And I also made a new cover, I'm way happier with this cover than the last. Please don't hesitate to leave any thoughts or comments.

DCMurphy