Rebecca sat on her chair at the front of the church,  waiting quietly as everyone came in. She smiled slightly, and winked at Joel. He gave her a goofy grin, and a thumbs-up. She smiled, opening her small book. He had caught a glimpse of the song title. It was called The Feet Of Jesus, and he was excited. If she was anything more like Sydney, she definitely had a beautiful voice. Steven stood beside him, smiling.

"You ready to finish up your journey here?" Joel sighed, watching as the pastor began speaking.
"Part of me wants to stay, but the rest of me is ready to fix things with Sydney." He chuckled.
"Understandable. You ready to hear her sing? She's getting ready." Joel smiled, watching her. She was moved to the piano, and she smiled, placing her book on the stand. And then, a violin started playing, and she started singing.

"At the feet of Jesus, I will lay my burdens down.
I will lay my heavy burdens down.
In the stillness, I can hear my savior calling out.
'Come to me, and lay your burdens down.'

So I will lay down my struggles,
I will lay down my shame.
And all the fear I've dragged around through this life,
Like a ball and chain.
And I will sing hallelujah
To the one who sets me free.
And you will find me at the feet of Jesus,
You will find me at the feet of Jesus.

In the arms of Jesus, I will find my peace and rest.
I hear him calling come to me and rest.
Carried by my shepherd, cradled tightly, to his chest.
There and there alone my soul finds rest.

So I will rest in the shelter, of my Savior's embrace.
Hidden safely in the refuge, of his mercy and his grace.
And I will sing hallelujah to the one who sets me free.
You will find me in the arms of Jesus.

And at the feet of my savior,
At the feet of my King,
I will bow down and worship.
And I will lift my voice and sing,
Hallelujah, hallelujah to the one who sets me free,
And you will find me at the feet of Jesus.
You will find me at the feet of Jesus."

Joel saw James and Hannah smiling broadly, watching their daughter sing. Billy was smiling, a tear or two trickling down his cheeks. As Joel looked around, he saw that there were very few people who had managed to not cry. The service finished, and everyone started to exit. It was snowing, and Rebecca laughed, slipping a hand out to catch some. After a few minutes of playing in it, he showed up. Nathan. He stared at Billy, a look of pure fury in his eyes.

"Traitor. You betrayed me." Billy took a deep breath, and shook his head.
"No. You were already gone. It wasn't God's fault she died. It's nobody's fault." Rebecca had started shivering, and James noticed.
"Nathan, just stop. Let it go, please. It's Christmas." He stared at everyone, and slowly walked away, his head hanging. After a bit of cocoa, everyone headed to bed. The next morning, Rebecca was the last one up, and she knocked on the wall to get someone's attention. James came in, smiling. He scooped her up, smiling. She wrapped her arms around his neck, grinning as they went into the kitchen.

"Merry Christmas!!" She chirped, and James set her at the table. Hannah smiled, setting a plate of bacon, eggs, and hotcakes in front of her.

"Merry Christmas to you as well. Eat, and then we're going to David and Grace's." She nodded, and coughed slightly. She bit into a piece of bacon, and Billy came out.
"Happy Christmas." He said, a goofy, sleepy grin on his face. He rubbed his eyes, sitting across from Rebecca. They finished breakfast fairly quickly, and Hannah gave Billy, Rebecca, and James each one gift. Rebecca's was a simple, but beautiful lavender coloured dress, with white embroidery on the bodice and the skirt's hem. Billy got a forest green vest and white shirt. James got the same as Billy, except his was peppermint red. Joel smiled as James came out, wearing his outfit, and carrying Rebecca. He grinned, and she smiled. She was beautiful. James set her down, and she grabbed his hat.

"Hey! What are you doing?" She tied a matching red ribbon to the hat, and stuck her tongue out at him, grinning. Billy came out, and James tossed his hat to her, laughing. She tied a green one to his, and returned the hats. Hannah came out in a yellow dress that looked like Rebecca's.

"Everyone ready?" Everyone started heading for the door, except Rebecca.
"Hey! What about me? What am I, forgotten?!" She asked, grinning. Everyone laughed, including Joel. He loved the little things like this. Her dad came back, scooping her up. She wrapped her shawl around her shoulders, and they all headed out. The night was thoroughly enjoyed, but he noticed Rebecca kept coughing and was looking really pale. He chalked it down to the excitement so soon after being sick, and the snow outside. At about ten o'clock, they headed back to their house. Hannah helped Rebecca get into her nightgown, and hung the beautiful dress on a hook in her room.

"Goodnight, sweet girl. Sleep well. I love you." She smiled at Hannah.
"I love you too, mom." James came in, smiling.
"Goodnight, baby. Love you." She smiled, hugging each one in turn.
"Love you too." She said, laying back down as they headed out. Joel sat beside her, and she simply lay there for about an hour, and then looked at him.

"Guess I shouldn't have gone." She whispered, smiling weakly.
"What do you mean?" He asked, and spotted Steven in the doorway. She saw him as well, and smiled at him.
"It's been awhile. So....I was right, wasn't I?" He nodded sadly.
"I know I'm sick. I never completely recovered, and then today and yesterday messed with it." Steven nodded again, a tear slipping down his cheek. She smiled again, laying back and looking at Joel and Steven.

"I'm ready. I know my parents won't be, but....I am. Just answer me one thing. Does he win? Does Nathan win the town's support, or does the church survive?" Steven sat down beside her and Joel.
"I don't know. I'm not God. But if I had my way, no. He wouldn't. But God knows what he's doing." She smiled again, looking up, and starting to sing quietly, a smile on her face.

"So I will rest in the shelter of my Savior's embrace. Hidden safely on the refuge of his mercy and his grace. And I will sing hallelujah to the one who sets me free. You will find me in the arms of Jesus. And at the feet of my Savior, at the feet of my King, I will bow down and worship. I will lift my voice and sing, Hallelujah, hallelujah, to the one who sets me free. You will find me at the feet of Jesus. You will find me at the feet of Jesus." She still had a smile on her face as she closed her eyes, and Joel finally realized what was going on. He looked at Steven, struggling to fight the tears.

"Can't we do anything?" He shook his head, allowing a couple more tears to slip down his cheeks.
"No. It's time for her to go home. She's being called home." Joel closed his eyes, and she still had a smile on her face as they heard her whisper one last thing.
"Father, forgive Nathan. And help my parents." And then, just like that, she was gone. About ten minutes later, Hannah came in to check on her. She stood in the doorway, smiling for a moment. Then she realized something was wrong. She came over, gently taking her wrist.

"Rebecca? Rebecca, wake up, please. Rebecca? Rebecca!" She hit her knees, crying.
"James!" She screamed, sobbing. He came in, quickly, and realized what she was screaming about. He started crying, wrapping his arms around Hannah and gently leading her out. Joel closed his eyes, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Are you ready to go home? Or do you want to see one last thing here?" He shook his head.
"I want to go home." He whispered, hoarse. Steven nodded.
"Alright. And remember this. Whatever you do, don't let Sydney go again." Joel nodded, and everything went black. He heard a beeping, and heard Sydney's voice.
"I know, uncle Luke. Yeah." He forced his eyes open, blinking at the bright light. She looked over at him, freezing. She nearly dropped the phone, whispering something. He smiled sadly at her, and she nearly shot across the room. He wrapped his arms around her, gently rubbing her back.

"Oh, baby. Oh, thank you, God." He was crying, and she started sobbing. She finally let go, and picked up the phone.

"Sorry....I just....dad....He woke up." She winced at the whoop that Joel even heard. He chuckled, smirking at him. She glared at him, switching ears.

"Thanks for making me go half deaf. Yeah. No, she's downstairs. Ok. See you in a bit." She hung up, and Joel scooted over, patting the bed beside him. She texted Moriah something quickly. 'Come upstairs, now.' He put one arm around her shoulders, and looked at her.

"Where?" She looked at him, confusion obvious on her face.
"What?" He smiled at her, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"Where are we going when I get out? And when I say that, I mean just you and me. Lunch, ice cream, movie, you pick. That's why I called you whenever it was. I finally realized how bad of a father I've been. And you....you deserve more than I've been to you. And I want to fix things, even if it takes until I'm a hundred." She smiled.
"I'd love that. And I'll think about it." Moriah came in, and there were even more tears. But.....Joel was happy. He was finally home.