This is a story I wrote for my friend Bratette for the Forum's annual Secret Santa. She gave me the idea for it, though she didn't know it at the time. I'd have posted it sooner, but it's been a busy month for me, lol.
I hope you like it, please be sure to review :)
Theodore stood in front of the stove, looking in through the glass front and humming "Silver Bells" to himself as he watched the cookies bake. He looked up at the timer and decided that, even though the recipe said they needed another two minutes, they looked and smelled fine to him. He put on his big pink oven mitts and carefully slid the tray from the oven rack and set it down on the stove top.
"Are those cookies almost done Theodore?" he heard Alvin call from the living room. Theodore put the mitts on the counter and wiped his brow.
"They're cooling now, and then I just have to decorate them," he called to his brothers.
"Excellent, I'm almost finished with the final part. We just need the bai…I mean, the uh…treat, for Santa," Simon called back to him.
"Can I come in there now?" Theodore asked, taking a few steps into the dining room and towards the living room where Alvin and Simon had been all night.
"NO!" his brothers called out together. Theodore winced and hurried back into the kitchen, not wanting to make his brothers angry.
"O-okay, I'll just finish the cookies then…" he said quietly before getting his frosting gun and putting the finishing touches on the now cool cookies. He didn't see Alvin and Simon poke their heads through the door to make sure he wasn't sneaking into the living room.
"Do you think he knows what we're doing?" Alvin asked.
"I don't think so, but maybe we should come up with a cover story, just in case," Simon replied as he and the red capped chipmunk returned to the living room. It looked like a normal living room on Christmas Eve. A fire was blazing and lights twinkled on and off from their Christmas tree. Stockings hung from the mantle, with the boys and Dave's names printed on them in large gold letters. It was truly an ideal setting for Christmas….aside from the addition Alvin and Simon had made to the room. A few feet in front of the fire place was a large circle of rope, which led to the ceiling and along it by a series of pulleys, leading to a rope dangling by the wall furthest from the fireplace. Resting on the arm of the couch was a large camera, with an enormous flashbulb on it. Alvin hurried over and picked it up and aimed it at the fireplace.
"How about this?" he said, his eye to the camera's view hole, "We'll tell him that there have been reports of a burglar dressing as Santa and stealing people's presents, and we want to make sure he doesn't take our presents away."
"Hmmm, I think that sounds at least plausible," Simon said with a nod as he checked over the ropes, "It's not like he would approve of what we're doing."
"He's the one saying we should have gotten Dave a better present," Alvin said, setting the camera down, "With the money we make selling pictures of Santa to the National Blabber, we'll be able to get Dave anything we want to for Christmas."
"I don't see why we have to sell pictures of him, couldn't we simply ask Santa for a present for Dave?"
"Well," Alvin said with a grin, "We can do that, and still sell the pictures and get ourselves something really great for Christmas instead," he rubbed his hands together and thought of what he could buy with all that money.
"I could get new beakers, and a new Bunsen burner," Simon said with a smile, checking the last pulley, "I think its all set, we just need the cookies, and then we need to get Theodore into bed." Alvin grinned at his bespectacled brother.
"Leave Theodore to me."
Theodore had put the finishing touches on the cookies and had arranged the best looking ones onto a plate and was about to hop down off his stool when Alvin came into the room. He walked over and took the plate off the counter and gave his little brother a bright smile.
"These look great Theo, now you need to get to bed. Dave called and asked if Simon and I would stay up til' he got home, just to make sure that everything is okay." Alvin said, as the chubby chipmunk hopped down to the floor.
"H-he did? But I didn't hear the phone ring," he said, giving the phone a confused look.
"Oh, well, you see…." Alvin quickly thought up an excuse, "I happened to be holding the phone, and I felt it shake a little before it rang, so I picked it up before it even started ringing"
"Ooooh, that makes sense," Theodore said, "Did Dave say when he would be getting back?"
"Not until late tonight," Alvin said. The two of them had been walking as they talked, and Alvin had led him out through the music room to the stairs, "Go ahead and go to bed, Simon and I will be up when Dave gets home," Alvin told him. Theodore quickly climbed the stairs, eager to get to bed so that it could be Christmas morning.
"Goodnight Alvin, goodnight Simon!" he called down to them as he hurried into their room and shut the door.
"Goodnight Theodore!" they called in unison, Alvin from the bottom of the stairs and Simon from the living room. Alvin took the cookies into the living room and stepped carefully into the rope circle and places the cookies in the center, next to a folded card which read 'For Santa'. Alvin carefully left the snare trap, and dove towards the couch. He picked up the camera and quickly hid behind the side of the couch to begin waiting for Santa to appear.
"Alvin, aren't you forgetting something?" Simon asked from his hiding spot. Alvin looked around the room, checking off all the things they'd needed.
"Cookies, rope, camera, you, me….no, I think that's everything," he replied.
"Well I doubt Santa will want to come down a chimney with an active fire, but I could be wrong," Simon said quietly.
"The fire!" Alvin cried, and dove out of cover to quickly put it out, "What if it's too late now, what if he already passed us, what if…" Alvin would have kept going if Simon hadn't cut him off.
"Alvin, it's only nine thirty. He probably hasn't even made it to the US by now." Simon said with a roll of his eyes and an exasperated sigh. The room had gotten dark with the fire out, the only light was given off from the tiny lights sparkling from the tree.
"How long do you think we'll have to wait for him?" Alvin asked, looking up over the arm of the couch at the fireplace.
"Who knows, we could be waiting all night for him to show." Simon said, looking through the branches of the tree, "but I hope he won't be too long."
"Why, are you sleepy already?" Alvin asked with a cocky grin.
"No, if he doesn't show up soon, Dave may get home before he arrives, and I'm certain he wouldn't approve of us detaining Santa," Simon replied.
"Good point," Alvin said, and then suddenly yawned.
"And you were worried that I was getting sleepy" Simon sighed, which turned into a yawn just as loud as Alvin's had been, "Great, your yawn was contagious, now I'm doing it!" he said in an exasperated tone.
"Hey, don't look at me if you're feeling sleepy, I could go all night!" Alvin told him with a glare. He yawned again, but acted like he was coughing, so Simon wouldn't notice.
"You yawned first, not me," Simon shot back with a glare of his own. They went back and forth for a little while, each telling the other that they weren't sleepy and they could stay awake all night for Santa to appear.
"….and that's why I'll be able to stay awake Alvin," Simon yawned out, and waited for his brother's reply. When he didn't hear Alvin say anything, he looked out from his hiding place and saw Alvin leaned back against the side of the couch, his cap slid down to cover his eyes, and he was breathing steadily, a sign that he had fallen asleep.
"Hmph, told him he'd fall asleep first," Simon said smugly, then yawned again, "I'll let him sleep, and then wake him up in a little while, so he can keep watch for him," Simon settled back into his spot to watch the fireplace. He checked his wrist watch, it was just a little after ten now, still plenty of time for him to show up before Dave got home.
"I hope he makes it soon, I don't know if….." his thoughts trailed off as his eyes got too heavy to keep open, and he fell asleep behind the tree.
Dave arrived home sometime around midnight. He let himself in quietly, not wanting to wake the boys, who he thought would be upstairs in bed. When he heard snoring coming from the living room, he stuck his head in and saw Alvin with his back to the couch and his cap on the floor, it must have fallen off at some point, and all he could see of Simon were his little shoes sticking out from under the tree. He turned the light on, and saw the elaborate trap they'd set up.
"What is all this?" he wondered aloud. He stepped carefully over to Alvin and picked up his oldest son carefully, trying not to wake him. Alvin was completely limp with sleep, and didn't even notice that he'd been moved. Dave took him quickly upstairs and tucked him on, giving him and Theodore a kiss on the forehead before returning downstairs and carefully taking Simon out from under the tree and taking him upstairs as well. He tucked the tallest of his boys in bed and set his glasses on his nightstand before giving him a kiss on the forehead and going to the door.
"You boys better have a good explanation for all that, but it can wait til' the morning. Sleep well fellas, Merry Christmas" he said softly, as he closed the door. He still had a lot to get done before morning, which included taking apart….whatever it was the boys had made downstairs. He couldn't wait to hear what the story was this time.