http://clampfix.fanworks.net/x-fix/xmasfic.txt </head><body><pre>Disclaimer: SHE'S MINE!!! (Three guesses who's in this fic *grin*) Category: WAFF, like you wouldn't believe Summary: Karen gets a better Christmas than usual For Kerianne. Merry Christmas darling! ^___^ BTW, love your newest fic!! * It was with tears in her eyes that four-year-old Yuka Aoki greeted her favorite "auntie." "What's wrong?" Karen asked Seiichirou while she took the distressed girl in her arms. Seiichirou leaned heavily against the doorframe of her apartment. He looked just as upset as his daughter did. His wife was at home with the police, too shock to follow her husband and child. Karen looked at them worriedly. The last thing she wanted in the world was for anything bad to happen to the Aoki family. "Santa Claus stole all our presents," Yuka whined. Karen gaped at Seiichirou. "Santa Claus?" she said in the voice that implied Yuka might have well said that she had been abducted by aliens. "It was somebody," Seiichirou said blankly. "I was away pulling a late night at the office and Yuka-chan was alone with Shimako. Yuka- chan heard a noise in the middle of the night and went down to investigate. She saw someone dressed up Santa Claus who told her to not wake up her parents. He said he was there to distribute presents to family, sent her up to sleep, and then took all the presents." "All of them?" "Every single box." Seiichirou patted his crying daughter on her back. "The bracelet I brought Shimako is gone. The toys for the Yuka and her cousins. The stereo system Shimako bought. They even took the box of cookies Yuka-chan baked for us." The missing gift wasn't the thing Yuka was heartbroken about the most. "I thought Santa Claus was supposed to be a nice person," she said to Karen sadly. "But he's just a crook." This loss of trust in humanity hit Karen harder than it would with normal people. She had lost her innocence when her mother hit her as a child, and she never wanted anything like that for Yuka. Yuka will learn that the world was a big bad place when she was older, but she was child right now. Karen didn't want her to learn the pain of life quite yet. "Santa Claus is a nice person, Yuka-chan," she assured the girl. "That man in your house just wasn't the real Santa Claus." "But I thought only the real Santa Clauses could come into people's houses," Yuka mumbled. Karen stroked the girl's hair. "Santa Claus wouldn't come on any nights but Christmas. It's too early for him to be the real Santa Claus." Seiichirou suddenly look at Karen. It was as if a light bulb was turned on. "Yuka-chan," he said softly, kneeling beside his daughter, "did you tell anyone about the presents under the trees? Any friends at school?" Karen understood what he was talking about. The culprit had to be someone who knew the Aokis put their presents under the tree earlier than most people did. Yuka thought about it. "I told Mrs. Tomoko that Daddy got Mommy a bracelet and I told Chihayo and Miaka and Setsuko and - " As the little girl ran off her class list, Karen and Seiichirou looked at each other with a pained expression on their face. The parents of any of the children could be the culprit. "And Santa Claus -" "Santa Claus!?" both adults shouted. "When?" "Before everything was taken?" "Which Santa Claus?" Yuka looked confused, not sure which question to answer first. "Mommy took me to see Santa Claus when we went shopping," she said, unaware that she had just given them the crux of the puzzle. Her father closed in on her. "Yuka, did you tell Santa Claus about the presents under the tree?" Yuka nodded her head. "He asked me what presents we had so he wouldn't get me the same thing." "Did he ask you where you lived?" Seiichirou asked. "No," Karen answered for Yuka and was confirmed when the little girl shook her head. "That would have aroused Shimako's suspicion. Did he ask for your full name, Yuka?" "I told him Yuka Aoki," Yuka responded, and when Seiichirou asked if Santa asked for the names of her parents: "Seiichirou and Shimako." The two adults looked at each other, thinking, "there are such things as phone books." Seiichriou then smiled at his daughter. "Karen is right," he said. "Santa Claus is a nice person. He's just checking the quality of the presents for you. He'll return them to you soon." "You really mean it?" Yuka said, disbelieving. "We can get the name of the mall from Shimako," Karen said to Seiichirou. He nodded. ""Don't worry, Yuka-chan. Santa is going to return all your presents." * Aoki hung up his cellphone. "Apparently there's been another case of a burglar dressed up as Santa Claus stealing presents," he told Karen. He and Karen had dropped off Yuka with her mother, telling Shimako to phone the police to let them know about the Santa Claus in the mall. Shimako had phoned back to let him know about the other case. "Apparently, the family went to the same mall. They think it's the same Santa Claus." "If he is, we'll catch him," Karen said. Seiichirou admired her confidence. Where most people would be annoyed and ticked off, Karen was sweet and optimistic. ""You really didn't want Yuka-chan to believe Santa Claus was a crook," he said. There was an absentmindedness in Karen's eyes as she walked up to the mall. It was snowing lightly, and Seiichirou admire how pretty she looked right then, with the snow in her hair and the flush in her cheeks that the cold brought. "I want her to have a good Christmas," she said lightly, but she had her face turned away. She didn't want him seeing the look on her face right then, as she remembered her Christmases when she was the same age as Yuka. Seiichirou put a hand on her arm. "Thanks." aren looked up and returned the smile warmly. The interior of the shopping centre was stunning. Christmas lights and wreaths hung from the ceiling in the shapes of stars and candles and candy canes. The man in the middle of the fountain spouting out water had a little Santa hat on his head. The dragons smile when they say it. "What are you doing for Christmas this year?" Seiichirou asked as they stood by the fountain, staring at the pennies in the water. Karen blinked. "The usual, I guess. Stay home, watch the Christmas specials." "Why don't you join our family for Christmas?" Seiichirou asked kindly. "No one should be alone for Christmas." The corner of Karen's mouth twitched. She couldn't tell him she rather be alone for Christmas than be with his family. It was all right the other times they had her over for dinner, but Christmas would hurt too much. She hid the pain and broke into smile. "I won't be alone. I met a very nice man the other day. I think he wants to watch those Christmas specials with me." Seiichirou didn't buy the act. Although he didn't realise how deeply Karen loved him, he realised that she was embarrassed and uncomfortable about being involved in a family scene during the holidays. "If the plans change," he said, "you know our door is open for you." Karen was genuinely touched. "Thank you," she said. She was about to walk away when she felt something being pressed in her palm. It was a coin. "Make a wish, Karen," Seiichirou said, his eyes twinkling. Karen chuckled, and her eyes were shining as well. "I haven't done this in years." She took a step towards the fountain and closed her eyes. After making a silent wish, she tossed the coin in the fountain. "What did you wish for?" Seiichirou asked when she walked away from the fountain. "If I tell you, it won't come true," Karen reminded him playfully. She laughed, then twirled, and saw a lineup of kids. "Seiichirou," she called. "There's the Santa Claus Booth." There was a huge line-up at the booth. A boy was telling Santa that he wanted a fire truck for Christmas. "You think that's him?" he asked. Karen shrugged. "The police will find out soon enough." "True," agreed Seiichirou. He grinned. "There's no need for us to dress up as elves and sneak up to capture him." Karen burst into laughter. "Dress up as elves?" Karen saw a vision of Aoki dressed up in the green outfit, complete with a pointy hat and green tights. He would look hilarious!! And adorable too. Very adorable. The thought left a dreamy smile on her face. "Yeah." She was feeling good all of a sudden. And so was Seiichirou. He was beaming at her. "We'll leave it for the police." * Two nights later, Shimako gently woke up Yuka. "Yuka-chan," her mother whispered. Yuka opened her eyes and yawned. "What is it, Mommy?" Her mother beamed. "Somebody's here to see you." The little girl rubbed her eyes and sat up in her bed. When she opened her eyes again, she saw Karen in front of her. "Hi Auntie Karen!" Yuka cried, scooting off the bed and running to give her friend a hug. Karen kissed her hair. She never thought she could love a child so much. "Hello, sweetie." Yuka yawned again. "What are you doing here? What time is it?" "It's three in the morning so it's no wonder you're sleepy," Karen answered. "But somebody is waiting downstairs for you." "Who?" asked Yuka, but Karen gave her the look that told her it was surprise. Yuka tiptoed down the stairs into the living room. She let out a squeal of delight when she saw the presents back under the trees, carefully wrapped with pretty strings holding them together. Santa waved at her. "Hi Santa!" she called. "Hello Yuka-chan," Santa Claus replied, and both Shimako and Karen had to bit their lip to keep from laughing. Seiichirou didn't sound very old, but he was he was doing a good job with the jolly bit. "You returned all our presents," Yuka said quaintly. Karen and Seiichirou grinned at each other for a second. The police had just captured the culprit a couple of hours ago. Two of them went undercover as elves ("It wasn't such a farfetched idea, now was it, Karen?" "I never thought it was") and a got a list of the kids who told Santa what their full name and parents was, who also told him their presents were wrapped and under the tree. Karen and Seiichirou had watched the arrest together from Tokyo Tower. They didn't say much, but it was for Karen just to sit there beside him, sipping coffee and watching the snow fall. "I was checking the quality," Seiichirou continued. He had gone for the Santa Claus outfit after Karen had left to retrieve the presents from the culprit. It was clear from his eyes that he was enjoying everything. Karen and Shimako watched Seiichirou put Yuka on his lap and assuring her that all the presents were in excellent condition. Karen couldn't stop smiling, especially when Seiichirou promised Yuka he would never take the presents without first telling her family about it. Yes, it was very wrong of him to do so and make her parents worry so much. It was the first time in her life that a wish came true. Shimako chuckled. "Okay, Yuka-chan," she said. "I think Santa has other presents he has to return to other houses. Time to say goodnight." "Goodnight, Santa Claus! Thanks for returning the presents and I hope you got me something good!" Yuka exclaimed, and her mother ushered her up the stairs. Karen had to laugh when she was gone. "I'm glad everything worked out," she said. Seiichirou laughed with her. "So am I." He gave her a kind look. "Thank-you." Karen was surprised. "For what." "For getting the presents back." She flushed and opened the door to show herself out. "It was nothing." He smiled the smile she loved so much and said, "it means a lot to me and my family." He walked up to the doorframe and kissed her cheek. "Thanks." It was a good thing Karen was already flushing because the second flush didn't show. She knew the kiss was a strictly nonromantic one, and did not wish for more, did not imagine it could be more. The kiss was nothing more to her than a touch of friendship. Still, the simple caress meant a lot to her. She smiled. "Merry Christmas," she said softly. She walked out of the apartment out into the cold. She could have dance out at that moment, but she walked the way home, not feeling the snowflakes or the cold, only the warmth of the season she never had enjoyed before. She was beginning to believe there really was a Santa Claus. * End of Fic MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE ^___^</pre><p><a href="./">Back</a></p><p><a href=http://www.dreamhost.com/donate.cgi?id=216><img border=0 alt="Donate towards our web hosting bill!" src=https://secure.newdream.net/donate1.gif></a></p></body></html>