Chasing Santa |Pushing Daisies Christmas Story|

Chapter Eight: A Message

Chapter Eight: A Messgae

It wasn't long until both Chuck and the Piemaker came to and realized that they were still in the storage room, just each tied up to chair and unable to move.

"We keep finding ourselves in these situations." Ned joked.

Chuck smiled, "We really should  be more careful."

Ned glanced over at her and realized he hadn't seen her genuinely smile ever since that day she had brought up becoming a family. As he gazed upon her now, he appreciated her smile more that he ever thought he could.

It gave him courage to finally talk.

"Chuck," He began with a deep breath. "I want to start a family."

Chuck met his gaze, "Why did you hesitate then."

"The thought of being a father scared me, since I never really had a good example of how to be one." Ned said biting his lip. "Plus this season stirs up a lot of bad memories and I just don't want my child to ever experience what I had to."

"Have you ever thought that just by you acknowledging that, means that you will do your very best to not make the same mistakes?"

Ned paused, his brow scrunching in thought as he took in her words. He always thought he was damned to make the same mistakes, a curse passed on like a disease.

"Ned, you'll be a great father! I have absolutely no doubt about it." Chuck said smiling, "And you'll have me, you won't be alone."

Ned looked up at her again, his brown eyes sparkling with only love and admiration for the girl named Chuck.

"That's nice that you're doing this now, I don't have to ask if you have any last words." Damien joked darkly as he came out from the shadows, Nightshade painted red in his hands.

"It was you." Ned's eyes grew wide.

He was disappointed he hadn't seen it before.

Mark had commented that it was strange for Damien to be gone, and that just so happened to be at the same time of the murder along with a missing suit.

"With all the murders you and your friend claimed to have solved, I'm surprised it took you this long to figure out it was me."

"What did you have against Lucas Abad?" Chuck asked as she tugged at the ropes.

"Nothing." Damien scoffed, "Aaron needed someone gone so I provided the solution to the problem."

"That's a lot of commitment for a job like yours."

"I'm more his friend than his assistant."

"Is that true or only what you believe to be true?" Chuck asked narrowing her eyes."From my perspective it looked as if that relationship was only one-sided."

Damien was visibly getting upset by the minute but Chuck continued. "He used you Damien, can't you see that?"

"You die first!" He screamed in frustration and lunged toward her.

Ned and Chuck thought it was truly their end until they heard someone yell, "Oh hell no!" and Emerson sprang into the room and threw Damien into a shelf, where he fell, completely out cold.

"This Christmas is getting weirder and weirder." He said wiping the sweat off his brow.

Ned and Chuck stared at him with a mix of thankfulness and disbelief.

The facts were these:

Betsy Baker had not died of a stroke those many years ago, but by the hands of none other than Aaron Merrock. Tired of never being acknowledge for his brilliance he confronted the old woman, which didn't end well for Miss Baker. After the argument hadn't gone his way, Aaron snuck into her office nights later and slipped the juice of nightshade berries into her coffee. With Betsy Baker out of the picture, Aaron stole her recipe and made his name off of her own creation. Everything had gone perfectly.

Well, until he noticed that a woman named Holly Berry had witnessed him slip the poison. He tried to eliminate the treat by leaving a note on her desk that simply read, 'Stay out of this and you will live.'

Holly, fearing for her life, left town and Aaron didn't think much of her for many years. Holly, who couldn't get the injustice out of her head, found Lucas Abad years later to warn him of the true nature of Aaron.

But Aaron was two steps ahead.

Damien, who knew all about Aaron's past had alerted him that Holly had come into town and was spotted talking to Lucas. Aaron feared that Holly had gained the courage to come forward so he sent her another message with the help of Damien.

That message was sadly Lucas Abad.

"Nightshade painted as Holly Berries." Emerson said. "Not as a special touch, but a message to stay away."

"Like the box at our door." Ned said pointing behind him at the door of the Piehole.

He was happy to be safe and where it felt like home on that Christmas Eve night.

"It turns out that Holly was the one who hired me, she finally had the courage to approach me just before I walked into the bakery."

"Well," Chuck began, "I'm just happy we are able to celebrate Christmas without any murder looming over our heads."

Ned hummed in agreement. "I still don't like Santa."

"Point taken."