~~

I snuck into Mikey's room that Christmas Eve. He looked down at me as I crawled into his bed.

"Hey, what are you doing?" He asked sleepily.

I shrugged, snuggling up to his side. I closed my eyes, slowly falling back asleep as Mikey wrapped an arm around me.

A few hours later I heard a noise from downstairs. I sat up, looking at the clock that said it was three in the morning.

"Mikey," I whispered, shaking his shoulder.

He grunted, looking up at me through bleary eyes.

"What?" He muttered.

"I-I heard something downstairs," I hissed.

I grabbed Dee and his hand, pulling him up with me. We walked downstairs--well, Mikey moreso stumbled down. I went to the family where our Christmas tree lit up the dark room. I shrieked, seeing none other than Santa Claus standing there with a sack of presents.

"Santa!" I exclaimed, running up and hugging him.

"Hello there, Gee," he said in a deep voice. "I heard you thought I wasn't real."

"I'm sorry," I said quietly.

"Oh, that's alright," he said as he pulled away.

"You know, you sound kinda like my dad," I remarked.

I saw Santa looked passed me at Mikey.

"We should go get my dad too!" I cheered.

I started to the stairs but Mikey stopped me.

"You should just let him sleep," he recommended.

I smiled and nodded, giggling happily as Santa finished putting all the presents out.

"Are you gonna go up the chimney now?" I asked.

"Oh, no, that's just a myth," he said. "No way I could fit up that thing. That's why I have my magic key."

He held up a key and I squealed happily.

"Mikey, it's the magic key!" I exclaimed, tugging on my brother's arm.

He laughed, patting my back.

"I have to go now, there's so many other kids I have to deliver presents to," he said.

I ran forward, giving Santa another hug.

"I love you, Santa," I said.

He patted my back before letting go. I waved goodbye, watching him walk out the front door. I turned to Mikey, giggling happily.

"We just met Santa!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah, c'mon, back to bed," he said.

I pouted but followed him up the stairs. I crawled into his bed with him and laid my head on the pillow. My hand held onto his as I closed my eyes and fell asleep quickly.

The morning sun woke me up, casting a faint glow in the room as it slowly rose. I jumped up, squealing happily and jumping on the bed. Mikey groaned, burying his face into the pillow.

"Come on! It's Christmas!" I shouted.

I ran out to my dad's room, jumping on his bed. He chuckled quietly, running a hand down his face. I hurried into the hallway, seeing Mikey going into the bathroom.

"But we gotta open presents," I complained.

"Just a minute," he said, shutting the door.

I sighed, sitting down against the wall. He finally came out but then my dad walked in after him.

"That's just mean," I pouted.

My dad snickered as he shut the door. I went downstairs, looking at the presents that surrounded the tree. I sat on the couch impatiently as they finally came down. Mikey handed me Dee and I giggled happily.

"Here, stockings," my dad said, he said, handing us the red socks.

He had a camera, taking pictures while we dug through them. It was mostly filled with candy, along with things like socks and little toys.

"Ornament!" I cheered, letting it dangle from my finger. "It's Hello Kitty!"

I jumped up, hanging it on the tree. I hurried back to the couch and sat beside Mikey.

"Here we go, first one is for Mikey," he said, handing it to Mikey.

Mikey smiled, unwrapping it. Inside was a small case and I frowned in confusion.

"What is that?" I asked.

"It's a video game," he said.

I raised my eyebrows as I looked at it in interest.

"Gee, here you go," my dad said.

I smiled, tearing off the wrapping paper. It was a big box but on the front of it I saw there was a picture of a laptop.

"Oh great, now you won't always steal mine," Mikey said.

"Laptop!" I cheered, hugging the box.

My dad laughed and continued passing out presents.

"Alright, the last one is for Gee," he said, handing it to me.

I smiled, ripping it open.

"Barbie!" I exclaimed. "Mikey look! I got a Barbie doll!"

He laughed as I shoved it in his face. He pushed my hand away and I smiled.

"Alright, how about you two clean up all this wrapping paper and I make breakfast," he suggested.

We nodded and grabbed a garbage bag. The two of us stuffed all the wrapping paper into bags as I smiled happily. I giggled, looking at the toys I got. Mikey picked up one of his presents, the one he was the most excited about.

"Frankie has a guitar too," I said as he strummed it softly.

"This isn't a guitar," he said, laughing quietly as he looked up. "This is a bass."

"What's the difference?" I asked. "They look the same to me."

He smiled as I sat down and looked at the presents I had gotten. I hugged a new big stuffed puppy I got. He was so soft and so fluffy. I loved him.

"Breakfast is ready!" My dad called.

We went to the table and I sat Dee in the chair next to me. The three of us ate happily while I kicked my feet excitedly.

"Can I go to Frankie's?" I asked.

"Fine, but be back by dinner," my dad said. "But first, let me get a picture of you two by the tree."

Mikey groaned quietly as we stood by the tree and he took a picture. Mikey went off somewhere and my dad gave me a tight hug.

"I missed 16 Christmases with you," he said quietly.

He kissed my forehead and grabbed his keys.

"C'mon, I'll drive you," he said.

I grabbed a bag of stuff and my coat and went out to his car.

"Did you forget your hats and gloves again?" He asked.

I giggled, running back in. I put on my white hat that had a fuzzy white ball on the top and my pink mittens. I ran back out as he drove me to Frank's house. He waved goodbye as I knocked on the door and Frank pulled me in happily.

"Gee, did you eat already?" His mom called from the kitchen. "We've still got plenty of food left from breakfast."

"I'm okay," I said.

"Manners, baby, what'd I teach you?" Frank asked.

"No thank you," I corrected.

I tugged on Frank's hand and pulled him over to the couch. I grabbed the box that I had wrapped all by myself.

"Open it!" I exclaimed.

He laughed, taking it into his hands and look it over.

"Did you wrap this?" He asked.

"All by myself!" I said proudly.

He looked at the crinkled paper and tape that wrapped all around it. Frank ripped it open and looked in the box. He picked up the pink guitar pick and smiled.

"I picked it out all myself!" I said.

"I love it, baby, thank you," he said, giving me a kiss. "Here's mine for you."

He reached onto the table and handed me the present. I opened and gasped.

"Hello Kitty!" I exclaimed.

I hugged the stuffie tight and he smiled. I looked at the Hello Kitty plushie lovingly.

"There's a second one too," he said, handing me another.

I pulled off the wrapping and giggled. There was a coloring book and I couldn't wait to use it!

"Oh, you're doing presents now?" His mom asked as she walked into the room. "I got you something too, Gee."

I opened the gift and saw a book, my eyes furrowing as I read the title.

"Animal book!" I exclaimed, showing it to Frank.

Ms. Iero smiled, walking back into the kitchen. Frank took the book from my hands and smiled, pulling me into his lap. He flipped open to a random page and pointed to the animal on the page.

"'This is a cheetah. Do you know what a cheetah is?" He asked and I shook my head. "It's sort of like a cat except bigger and they have spots on them. The cheetah is also the fastest animal on the planet."

"Really? How fast?" I asked.

"Faster than my car," he said.

"Wow, that's fast," I mumbled.

Frank flipped to another random page and pointed to another animal I didn't recognize.

"This, my pretty little princess, is the blue whale," he said. "They're one of the biggest animals in the world. They live underwater in the ocean. And this, this is a shark. They have lots of teeth and are always getting new ones. Within one lifetime, they have get 29,880 teeth."

I gasped, looking at the picture of the shark as he changed it again.

"This is a dolphin," he said. "They're seen to be like the smartest animal in the world. Scientists are actually attempting to communicate with them."

"Did it work?" I asked.

"Not as of yet," Frank said, turning the page again.

"Penguins!" I exclaimed. "I know penguins! They're so cute!"

He turned to another page. "This is a hummingbird. They can flap their wings anywhere between 40 to 80 times per second."

I looked at the little bird on the page as I smiled. I turned the page and pointed to another animal.

"What's this one?" I asked.

"This is an elephant," he said. "They have tusks made of ivory. They're very tough and strong."

"Like you, tough and strong," I said.

"Well, I've never been compared to an elephant before," Frank mumbled. "Thank you, though, I think."

I smiled and nuzzled my face against his chest.

"What about monkeys?" I asked. "I like monkeys, I just don't know a lot about them."

"Well, I think there's about 250 species of monkeys," he said. "Humans used to be monkeys too, before we evolved."

"Really?" I asked.

"That's right," Frank confirmed. "Although, I think you're a lot cuter than a monkey."

"Even baby monkeys that are so cute and small?" I asked.

"Yes, you're even cuter," Frank said, kissing my forehead. "You're my adorable baby monkey."