Work Text:
Christmas Mission
by Irena Adler
"Now, team," Nena said to the attentive felines. "Our ub`jective iz clear."
She looked around. "Grannpa Alan is gone `til lunch and Missus Singh fell `sleep in front of her `indeeun stories.' We have `til lunch time to low-cate and `dentify our Chrizmas prezens. Unnerstand?"
The two cats were still looking at her intently, but it probably had more to do with the cheese she was holding in her hand. "Okay, this is our strat'gee. I bet there `re gifts for you twos along with my gifts, so we're gonna search eve'ywhere for somethin' that smells like kitty prezens."
She gave each cat their small bit of cheese then walked through the dining room. The cats followed her and she showed them that her hands were empty. The cats continued to follow her anyway, and she made a slow circuit of the room.
"Are you sniffin'?" she asked them. They sat and looked at her. "I whish I hadda b'oodhoun'!"
That seemed to sting their pride, because Monster began to sniff a corner and Dragon jumped up onto the dining room table and looked around. Nena knew she was supposed to yell at the cats if they got on the table or kitchen counters, but this was a covert mission where the rules were different.
None of them found anything in the dining room, so they quickly checked out the laundry room then moved on to the family room. The TV was playing one of Mrs. Singh's funny shows, which were in a different language and people in bright colors were always dancing and singing and smiling.
Koota, Mrs. Singh's big dog, was up on the couch, his head in Mrs. Singh's lap. That was also against the rules, but Nena didn't want to wake up her babysitter by making the dog get off the couch.
With a soft woof, Koota lifted his head to look at Nena, probably wondering if she was going to yell at him. The dog then noticed Monster and quickly hid his head in Mrs. Singh's lap again. Koota had developed a strange fear of Monster, and was giving Dragon a wide berth, too.
Nena tiptoed over and patted Koota, soothing him. His stumpy tail wagged, which made his whole body wiggle, and Nena backed off quickly, making calming gestures. Mrs. Singh still hadn't moved, her chest moving up and down with regular snores.
Nena looked at the cats to make sure they were searching this room. Monster was searching in Mrs. Singh's knitting basket and Nena had to shoo him out of it. Mrs. Singh had special radar for when a kitty was messing with her yarn.
While Nena wasn't watching, Dragon had crept up behind the couch and was about to pounce on Koota. Nena waved her arms silently and Dragon hunkered down, looking guilty. She decided that the presents probably weren't hidden in this room anyway, since people were always in here.
Tiptoeing to not wake up Mrs. Singh, Nena hurried upstairs, the cats on her heels. Nena just glanced at her own room and the bathroom across the hall. She was sure that she'd notice something in those rooms.
She herded the cats onwards, through the Solarium. She couldn't see anything that wasn't always there and the cats didn't find anything particularly worth smelling.
They looked more closely everywhere in Daddy and Charlie's bedroom, careful not to topple over Charlie's piles of books and paper. Dragon seemed to find something under their bathroom sink, but it turned out to just be a spider. Nena pulled Dragon away from the spider, telling him, "Missus Sing' sayz spiduhs are good, `cause they eats bugs that eats her roses."
Monster got distracted by the dust bunnies under the bed in the guest bedroom. Nena pulled him out from underneath it, the cat covered in dust and sneezing. She had to get a towel from the bathroom and wipe him down. That gave her a sudden idea, but no, her presents weren't in the dirty clothes hamper.
They searched Grandpa Alan's room the most thoroughly, rifling through drawers and getting out a stepstool to look on the shelves in the closet. Nena even held Dragon up above her head so Dragon could sniff the upper shelves. All they found was a boomerang that Grandpa Alan had taken away from her that summer and a bag of stinky candy that Grandpa Alan had in a box on his dresser.
The upstairs exhausted, the search team crept outside and went to the garage. There they found a lot of dust, more spiders, a box of really old-looking toys, and some rubber rainbow balls that she'd lost. But no presents.
They came slowly back from the garage. Nena shut the house door loudly and heard a stirring from the family room.
"Nena!" Mrs. Singh called. "You ready for lunch?"
Her stomach rumbled. "Yes, Mrs. Singh," she called back.
"Oh!" Nena said to herself. She hadn't checked the kitchen yet. She hurried into the kitchen and looked around. The cats went past her and straight towards a particular cabinet. Nena's heart leapt with excitement. She ran over to the cabinet and threw it open ... to find the cat's treat jar.
"Guys!" Nena groaned. She gave the cats a treat each anyway. They'd found what she'd told them to look for, after all.
With a sigh, Nena collapsed into a kitchen chair. "Maybe Daddy and Grannpa Alan hid `em at the Unkas' house." She sat up straight. "Maybe theyz not getting me anythin' for Chrizmas! Maybe Daddy gave all hiz money to Mommy and Charlie has to buy growshrees and Grannpa Alan spen' all hiz money on my birfday!"
Nena slumped into her chair, heavy with despair. "No Chrizmas prezens! Leas' Unka Wiw and Unka Don `z gonna gets me somethun ..."
Alan came home for lunch to find a grumpy Nena picking at her sandwich of cucumbers and sour cream on wheat bread. It was usually her favorite and Alan had to hide a smile. He had guessed that Nena had planned on searching for her presents this morning, and her sulking told him that she'd had no more success than Don and Charlie had ever had. The two big Maine Coon cats were crouched in a corner together, looking chastened. Nena had probably made a joint effort of it.
"Everything okay, sweetie?" Alan asked.
"Yeah ..." Nena mumbled.
"Were you good for Mrs. Singh this morning?"
"Yeah ..."
"You know that Santa's watching to make sure you're good, right?"
"Santa's just your mommy `n daddy," Nena said crossly. "Evun babies know that."
"Ooh," Alan responded solemnly.
Nena returned to picking at her sandwich and Alan let his eyes go to the special cabinet. It might look like a normal cabinet, one that held cat treats perhaps, but it was actually much deeper than the other cabinets, with an `L' shape that went behind the garbage compacter. He and Margaret had discovered the false back on the cabinet and had changed it into a sliding door. It was perfect for hiding lots of presents. His boys had never found their hiding place, not even with years of trying.
Smiling at the memories, Alan turned back to Nena. "Why don't you go eat lunch with Mrs. Singh and Koota?"
"'Kay," Nena said with a shrug.
As Nena gathered up her plate and glass and headed towards the kitchen door, Alan said casually, "It's too bad that you don't believe in Santa, because Santa wouldn't have to keep presents around the house because he'd bring them on his sleigh on Christmas morning."
Nena stopped and stared at him. Her fingers clenched around her plate and her eyes grew wide as Alan could almost see the logic percolate through her brain. She hadn't found any presents, therefore ...
"Missus Sing'" Nena called, pushing open the door and running towards the family room. "Santa knowz I'z been really good, right?"
Alan grinned.
END