Brian Kinney sat in his office proofing ad copy and trying to ignore the sounds of merriment filtering through his door. Gardner Vance had decided, in his infinite wisdom, to have a holiday party a couple days before Christmas and close up shop 'til after the New Year. Despite Brian's best attempts to dissuade him, Vance hadn't listened and now Brian was stuck. Although decidedly not in a celebratory mood, Brian knew that eventually he'd have to at least make an appearance in the outer office. As a partner, it was all but mandatory. "Fuck". Brian breathed as he tossed the copy onto his desk. Rubbing his eyes and setting a forced smile on to his face, Brian opened the door. He was hit all at once by the sound of holiday music and laughter. In all directions nothing but smiling faces. "Fuck." Brian whispered again as he waded into the crowd. "So, decided to join the living, have you?" Vance called from across the room. Brian looked at him and nodded an acknowledgment then went to camp out at the punch bowl. He knew from past experience that the punch would be spiked beyond all reason. He then lifted the ladle and sniffed. Ah, rum, he thought as he filled a glass. "Careful." Cynthia said. "That stuff should have an octane level." Brian smirked and took a huge gulp. The warm liquor ran down his throat easily. "I’m impressed." Cynthia said with a grin. "Years of Irish tradition." Brian announced pouring more punch into his now empty glass. "Easy, Luigi." Cynthia warned. "I really don't feel like carrying your ass home." "Fat Chance." Brian shot back downing the second glass as quickly as the first. Cynthia shook her head and went back to the celebration keeping an eye on her boss the whole time. -- The party went on for several more hours as Brian continued to load up on punch. At 6pm the party began to break up. Everyone smiled and wished each other a Merry Christmas. Bah. Brian thought and almost added ‘humbug’, but decided it was far too clichéd. He just waved to everyone, grabbed his coat and brief case and quickly headed for the elevator and the safety of his Jeep. Once inside the Jeep, the realization that he had no one to hurry home to stole of Brian like a tidal wave. He sighed as he fired up the Jeep and pulled out of the parking garage. As he drove, he could think of only one thing, well, one person, who could make his Christmas bright, but he refused to allow his mind to wander down that road. Justin had been gone for several months now and wouldn’t be coming home. No sense wasting time thinking about what could have been. Brian knew he was driving way too fast for the road conditions, but what’s the worse that could happen. He soon found out as he went into a skid. It took longer for him to recover than it should have but he did finally get himself straightened out. Deciding that he didn’t want to die tonight, Brian slowed down and began to drive much more carefully the rest of the way home. When he got to his building, Brian paused a moment before heading up. Since the break up being alone in the loft was almost more that he could stand. It seemed unnaturally quiet without the comforting chaos of Justin. His stuff dropped everywhere, music blaring, and the smells of whatever concoction the teen had come across and decided to prepare for dinner. And being quiet was only the beginning. It was also clean. Brian would no longer be confronted with a sink full of dishes that Justin had yet to put in the dishwasher or his homework spread out on the counter or coffee table. Brian no longer tripped over Justin’s forgotten backpack or sat on anything from his books to his shoes when he wanted to watch TV. They were all things Brian never thought he’d miss until they were no longer there. He sighed heavily before exiting the Jeep and hurrying into the building. He walked into the silence of his loft and put his briefcase on the bar laying his coat on the back of one of the stools. He looked around, sighed again and headed into the bathroom. He needed to shower and recklessly drug himself in order to get through one more lonely night. Undressing and allowing his clothes to fall where they may, Brian climbed into the shower. As the warm water sluiced over him, Brian thought about the night of prowling that lay ahead of him. He smiled his patented predatory smile, but it soon faded as he realized that the fun was more in the hunt lately. How many times he had brushed a guy off after spending most of the evening pursuing him, Brian didn’t know. But, it had become far more prevalent lately than Brian was willing to admit. Brian had pulled on his jeans and was preparing to put on his shirt when he lost all motivation to leave the loft and dropped the shirt back onto his bed. He pulled on his robe instead and went into the kitchen. He’d picked up food at the diner earlier in the day knowing that Justin would not be working at that time. He popped it into the microwave and got out a plate and utensils. When the microwave dinged, he put the food onto his plate and went in to watch TV. Brian channel surfed for several minutes and was about to shut the damned thing off all together when he happened upon ‘A Christmas Carol’ starring Alistair Simm. This version had always been Brian’s favorite as a child. He had lain on the floor in front of the TV mesmerized by the story that unfolded on the screen. The fact that it was in black and white made it even better as far as Brian was concerned. In his 6th grade production of ‘A Christmas Carol’, Brian had been picked to play Scrooge. He had loved it. He already knew all the lines and had done a wonderful job. At least, that’s what his teacher and the other parents had said. His parent hadn’t been there. They’d complained of driving in the bad weather until Brian had told them that they didn’t have to attend. He caught a ride with the boy who’d played Bob Cratchet instead. Brian knitted his brow at the unhappy memory and shook his head to clear it. He ate as he watched the movie. Mesmerized now as much as he had been as a child. He finished his meal and laid the plate on the coffee table. He lay down on the couch to get more comfortable and soon fell asleep despite the movie. -- "Brian?" And insistent voice called. "Brian?" The voice said more firmly now. "Wake up, Sonny Boy." Brian came to slowly. He was warm and comfortable and did not want to wake up and deal with who or whatever was calling him. He slowly opened his eyes and stared at the vision before him. Standing next to the bar was Jack Kinney. Brian sat up and stared at his father not quite believing his eyes. "Pop?" "Hey there, Sonny Boy." Jack breathed. "What the fuck?" "I've got a message for you." "Yeah?" "I'm here to warn you." "About what?" "About the path your life is on." "Really?" "Yeah, I mean, you don't want to end up like me, do you?" Brian just stared at his father. "But, you're going to have to see a few things to help you understand." Jack shrugged and took a deep breath. "Tonight you will be visited by 3 spirits." "Spirits?" Brian said with smirk. "Let me guess. The ghost of Christmas past, the ghost of Christmas present and the ghost of Christmas yet to come, right?" "These spirits will take you on a journey." Jack continued ignoring Brian's comment. "You can learn a lot from them, Sonny Boy, so you need to pay attention to what they show you, okay?" Brian didn't answer. "Okay, Sonny Boy?" "Yeah, sure, Pop. Whatever." "Listen to what they say, Brian." Jack stated flatly. "Might change your life." ---------- Brian snapped awake and looked around the loft. No Jack. He shook his head and took a deep breath. "Fucking dream." Brian hissed. Looking up at the TV, Brian realized that the movie had gone off. Then he remembered that he had been watching 'A Christmas Carol'. "That explains it." Brian said aloud. Flipping the TV off, Brian gathered his dirty dishes and took them into the kitchen. He loaded them into the dishwasher then headed to his bedroom. He yawned widely and lay down on his bed. Thoughts of his father and so-called spirits forgotten, Brian fell into a sound sleep. End Chapter One