Wreath with Blinking Lights

An Unexpected Gift

Many thanks to my wonderful editors, Kyrie and Janette, for dealing with all my hideous mistakes, and a disastrous experiment with tenses.  Quote the Mary, Nevermore! :)

This is my submission for the Jixemitri CWP #4.  The elements are as follows:

This story is doing double duty, as it is also my submission for the Trixie Belden Home Page Christmas GWP!  When I checked out the elements, I just couldn't resist!

 

Universe notes: this story takes place approximately one month after "Come in From the Cold"

 

Katy Frayne, age 4, opened her eyes and knew bliss.  It wasn't just any morning; it was Christmas morning!

She leaped out of bed, running into her parents' bedroom, skidding to a stop at the sight of them fast asleep.  Hmm...  Mommy and Daddy were always awake before she was.  And why was it so dark? 

Should she wake them?  Maybe it wasn't really morning.  Katy brightened as the thought occurred to her.  There was only one sure way to tell if it was Christmas morning or not.  She had to go downstairs and look under the tree.  If there were presents for her, then Santa had come!

The little girl with shooting stars all over her flannel pajamas, wearing only one bright red sock, crept cautiously down the stairs.  What if Santa was still there? Maybe she'd get to meet him!

The thought filled her with excitement and she forgot her solemn promise to her parents about being careful on the stairs, running pell mell down them.

Santa had come!

Katy squealed before remembering that the whole house was asleep.  There were brightly wrapped packages under the tree that hadn't been there the night before.  She circled the tree, her green eyes shining with excitement when she heard it.  

Meow!

Katy's eyes widened with wonder.  The sound was coming from right behind the front door.  

***

Trixie Belden-Frayne registered the sound but didn't want to believe it.  "Tell your daughter it's too early to be awake," she murmured to her husband, burying her face back into his stomach.

Jim Frayne yawned.  "Isn't she your daughter too?"

Trixie groaned.  "Not at five in the morning."

Katy decided to take action.

 "It's Christmas, it's Christmas! And Santa's come and he's brought me a kitty!"  Going back to sleep was no longer an option as the little girl scrambled onto the bed,  jumping up and down in sheer excitement.

Brought me a kitty?

Trixie lifted her head, more fully awake.  "Kitty?"

***

There was a black kitten with white paws in her living room.  It had already knocked several ornaments off of the lower branches of the tree.

"Angel, where did this kitten come from?" Trixie asked as the ball of fur rocketed around the living room.

"Santa!" Katy responded, happily plunking down in front of the tree.

Jim and Trixie glanced at each other.  Jim cleared his throat.  "Where did you find him?"

Katy didn't pause from her vigorous unwrapping.  "He was on the front porch!"  She beamed at her parents as if to say, "Ain't life grand?"

Clearly, this needed to be handled delicately.  

"Um...I hear the baby crying," Trixie said before bolting back upstairs.  It was Maddie's first Christmas and time she joined the rest of them anyway.  At least, that's what she told herself.

Jim briefly considered the flier he received in the mail the other day, "Are You Single? Hundreds of Lonely People Just Waiting to Meet You!" but dismissed the thought.  "Sweetie, I don't think Santa brought the kitty.  He's just a stray."

Katy's nose wrinkled.  "Stray? What does that mean, Daddy?"

"It means he doesn't have a home."

Katy considered the explanation for a moment.  "He can live here!" 

Jim didn't like cats much. He preferred dogs.  Dogs were loving and kind.  Dogs were always glad to see you.  Cats didn't care if you lived or died as long as their food dish was full.  "We'll see," he finally said, his tone non-committal.

Trixie came back downstairs, carrying a baby girl who was energetically waving her fists in the air. "We'll see what?" Trixie asked, shooting her husband a wry 'sorry I bailed' glance.

Katy smiled widely, tearing into another present.  "The kitty needs a home cuz he's a stray."

The kitten, evidently tired of zooming around in frantic circles, stopped at Trixie's feet, batting at her slippers and purring.

Trixie looked down, sighing.  No collar. It was awfully cute.  But cats scratch and claw. Unlike dogs, cats cannot be trained to obey.  Cats consider obeying humans beneath their dignity.

"Let's open presents," she said, laying Maddie into her bassinet.

Some time later, Katy happily showed the kitten her new toys as he ran back and forth in front of the large Christmas tree.

Maddie, like all babies, was far more interested in the box and paper, gurgling happily as she gnawed at a large bow.

Jim gently took it away, popping a pacifier into her mouth before her whimper could turn into a scream.

"What are we going to do about this cat?" he asked, sinking next to Trixie on the sofa.

Trixie put down the negligee she had just unwrapped and sighed.  "I don't know."  She flashed him an elfin grin, indicating the lingerie.  "And why does this strike me more as a gift for you rather than me?" 

"I'll make it worth your while," Jim promised, a lascivious smile lighting up his face.  He leaned closer and began singing softly in her ear a decidedly non-Christmas song.

"Love in an elevator, lovin' it up till I hit the ground..."

"Jim, this is a holy day," Trixie joked, her face growing warm as the memory of their first time suffused her.  

"No kitty! Don't eat that!"

Trixie's head turned toward Katy in surprise, and the kiss Jim aimed at her mouth ended up on the back of her head by mistake.

"Now I'm sure I don't like cats," Jim muttered as Trixie laughed.

"Poor baby." Trixie leaned forward, kissing him in a way that made him forget all about stray kittens that show up unannounced on Christmas morning.

***

"But sweetie, I don't know if Grandma will like having the kitty in her house," Trixie said as Katy's face got a suspicious looking quiver.  She had successfully gotten the little girl washed and dressed in her pretty new Christmas dress, but the little girl balked at leaving the kitten behind.

"He'll be lonely!" she wailed.

He'll be lonely?  He'll probably make a meal out of the sofa cushions!  Trixie looked at the kitten making himself at home on Katy's bed, his purrs sounding like a miniature motorboat.

"Okay, we'll bring him," she decided.  It's safer this way. Boy, I sure hope Moms and Dad don't mind!  

Katy could hardly wait to show her grandparents her new kitten and they didn't disappoint her, oohing and ahhing over the small ball of fur in Trixie's arms as they entered Crabapple Farm through the kitchen entrance.

"What a cutie," Helen Belden commented, stroking the wee nose with her finger.

Trixie sighed, handing the kitten to her youngest brother Bobby.  She waited until he took his niece into the living room, where several members of the ever-growing family had gathered.  "I don't know, Moms.  I keep thinking about Margery's cat, Junior.  He's eleven now and still likes to destroy a set of drapes every now and then.  And I get the feeling that even though he loves all of us, he's really thinking that we're just not all that bright!"

Helen Belden laughed, checking the large ham in the oven.  Trixie's mouth watered at the heavenly smell.  "Cats can be a handful," she agreed.  She shut the door and straightened.  "It's Christmas; no worrying allowed."

"No worrying," Trixie agreed, and the two women joined the rest of the family in the other room, where a spirited rendition of 'Oh Christmas Tree' came to an abrupt halt.

"Oh no!" Trixie gasped, observing her two older brothers lifting the tree back into place while their wives hastily picked ornaments off of the floor.  Jim finally managed to scoop up the errant feline in one arm, Maddie safely tucked under his other one.

"Peeves here decided to play with the lights," Mart declared, restringing the tree while Brian replaced ornaments as fast as Diana and Honey could hand them to him.

"Peeves!" Katy said happily as Jim and Trixie exchanged a trapped look.

"Thank you, brother dear," Trixie hissed at Mart.

But Mart just grinned at his almost-twin.  "Lighten up, sis.  It's Christmas!"  He took the mischievous cat from Jim, singing, "Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, how broken are thy branches!"

The mood festive in spite of the mayhem, Trixie stuck her tongue out at him as her mother-in-law handed her a plate with a delicate sliver of cheesecake on it.  

"I'll never forget Miss Trask bringing Junior into the house.  Remember how he stole an entire turkey?" Madeleine Wheeler asked Jim, who chuckled at the memory.

She turned back to Trixie, smiling at this woman who was as dear to her as her own daughter. "I know we'll be eating soon, but take a deep breath and eat this, dear.  It's divine.  Some even call it 'sex on a plate'!"  She took baby Maddie from Jim, kissing her rosy cheek.  "Yes they do!" she burbled as Maddie smiled toothlessly at her and grabbed a strand of her honey-colored hair.

Trixie smiled at her normally reserved mother-in-law who lifted and lowered her granddaughter, crooning nonsense words.  "Thanks, Madeleine; that's just what I need!"  She took a bite and moaned in pleasure as the deliciously rich taste hit her taste buds.

"Where's Dad?" Jim asked, accepting the bite of cake that Trixie offered him.

Madeleine Wheeler rolled her eyes.  "He's out back.  Peter got a new chainsaw for Christmas, and he just had to cut up some wood with it.  Honestly!"

Trixie and Jim laughed. It's easy to laugh at Christmastime.

***

"Maddie's first Christmas is almost over," Trixie commented as they walked in the front door of their own house.  She switched on the tree lights and let that be the only illumination for a moment, the soft glow of the blinking lights bathing the room with iridescent beauty.

She set Peeves down and watched him bolt, shaking her head.

"I'll go put her down," Jim replied, taking the baby upstairs.  

"Bedtime for you too, Katykins.  Did you have a nice Christmas?" Trixie asked her oldest daughter, smiling down at the face tilted up to hers.

Katy nodded so vigorously her curls bounced.  "Mmm hmmm!  The best part's my kitty.  Mommy, can I keep Peeves?"

Trixie knew what she was about to do was pretty stinky.  "Ask your father," she hedged.

"Ask him what?" Jim asked, walking back down the stairs.

Trixie watched as Katy climbed onto him when he stooped to receive her flying hug.

"Daddy, can I keep my kitty?"  Trixie could see by his face that he wasn't 100% thrilled with the idea.

"Katy..." he began.

"Pleeeeeeease?" Katy begged.  Her eyes were wide and beseeching; it was obvious that a negative answer would destroy any hope she had for a happy future.

Jim sighed the sigh of defeated fathers everywhere.  "Yes," he finally said.  "If you promise to take good care of him. Now go to bed."

"I will!"  Eyes shining, Katy wriggled down after bestowing an enthusiastic kiss on his cheek, running up the stairs to her room.

Jim looked at Trixie.  "Not one word," he warned.

Trixie smiled, coming up to him and slowly looping her arms around his neck.  She pulled him in for a lingering kiss complete with body grind.

"Mmmm...what was that for?" Jim asked, rubbing his hands along her bottom, keeping her pressed into him.

"For being such a sucker," Trixie replied.  

They kissed some more, their mouths sliding wetly over each other until they were both out of breath.

"Go upstairs.  I'll get Mr. Cat settled and join you in a second." Trixie was  breathless and thanking whatever fates led her to a certain deserted mansion, oh so long ago.

"Don't forget the negligee!" 

Trixie grinned as her husband of almost six years loped up the stairs.  It seemed like she wanted him more every year.  Now where is that damn cat?  

In the drapes hanging over one of the living room windows, the kitten picked its silent way down through the folds.  The kitten crept, flattened down, froze; its tail straight as an arrow as he clung to the fabric.  Its head moved from side to side, no no no.  But what looked like weird pantomime was really deadly triangulation. The bright red bow down below didn't stand a chance...

Trixie marched over and gave the drapes a quick shake.

Peeves let out a startled maw, landing with a soft thud at Trixie's feet.

"I'm on to you.  You stay off my drapes!" Trixie warned as the animal lay there for a moment, awkward, uncatlike.  Suddenly, without a warning tremble or even a lifted head, it streaked away, crossing the room.

"Oh boy," Trixie muttered.  There was only one course of action available and wise.  Peeves must never become acquainted with Junior.

She scooped up her brand new negligee, the black silk running through her fingers.  She imagined Jim slowly removing it and smiled, Peeves forgotten as she made her way up the stairs, humming a certain Aerosmith tune under her breath.

From one of his new hiding places, Peeves watched her go, licking his paw and delicately washing his face.  This family isn't half bad, he decided.  A little naive, sure, but that's to be expected with humans.  He knew he could expect a lot of petting and loving from the little girl, and the tall red-headed man was clearly no threat.  It was only the curly headed blonde woman he really needed to be careful with.  But he could tell she was a soft touch.  A few purrs and snuggles in the right place and he was safe as, well, a kitten!

He'd already found several promising shedding places on his earlier reconnaissance runs, as well as great spots to sharpen his claws.  No point letting all that antique furniture in the guest room go to waste. Sure am glad Junior recommended this place, Peeves thought.  

Junior'd taught him everything he knows in his young life.  He'd have to give him a proper thank you later.  After all, there was loads to eat around here.

He jumped onto the couch, clawing the pillow until it was just right.  Plenty of time for night patrols later.  He was bushed after his long day.

Christmas really is the best time of the year! He'd heard a few of the humans say that earlier. Maybe they did know a thing or two after all.  

His pillow was soft and comfortable.  Peeves drifted off to sleep, happy and secure.  He was home.

The End

Cat on Couch

I Love Cats

Angel's Web Graphics

Animated Wreath provided by

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