A/N: Hey guys! I know, I know, I said I wasn't going to update or put any new stories up until my science fair project was done. But hey, it's my FIRST Christmas here on FF. I wanted to make a Christmas fic. So, here it is. It's going to be multi-chapter. The next chapter WILL be up by today or tomorrow (Probably tomorrow, but hey, you never know.) It WILL be finished by Christmas night, though. :) ENJOY

Christmas time. Oh the joy. (Note sarcasm.) Okay, I can hear my Dr. M now, "Max! It's Christmas time! Be happy!" and Gazzy's voice, "C'mon Max! Have some holiday spirit!"

Yeah, I know, have some freaking holiday spirit. Well, it's sort of hard to have 'holiday spirit' when you've never actually even celebrated the holidays before. The flock and I are celebrating our first actual Christmas with Dr. Martinez, or in other words, Mom. (I still have trouble saying that.)

The kids have been thrilled. They've heard so many legends of the jolly old elf, Santa Claus. I don't see what the deal is though. He's just some creepy stalker that watches you in your sleep and is allowed into your house at the break of dawn. I mean really, he even says "Ho, Ho, Ho!" What's so awesome about that? I mean, he's saying ho, ho, ho. That's like, he's calling you a Lissa, and you know being a Lissa is not very honorable. It's one of the worst things ever!

"Hey," I jumped at the sound.

"God! Can you stop doing that?" I yelled at Fang. He's so silent sometimes. He scares me half to death!

"What? Breathing?" Fang replied. He always liked to use that on me. It was so annoying. "Anyways, why are you sulking in a corner?"

I looked at where I was. I was standing in the emo-corner. I was definitely not sulking. That was Fang's job, not mine.

"Why do you need to know? Oh, I know. It's your turn isn't it? I'm so sorry." I stepped away and gestured with my hands. "It's all yours."

Fang just scowled at me. I just shrugged and smiled.

I turned around me. Christmas decorations were everywhere. Fake poinsettias were set above the cupboards. Cinnamon-scented pinecones were in baskets that littered the house. Candy canes hung on strings in front of the windows. Colorful Christmas lights were strung around the stair banister. The Christmas tree was already up, too. The angel stood at the very top, shining brightly. Ornaments and sparks of light were scattered on the tree. Toy train tracks encircled the tree. Everything seemed normal… except for one ornament.

The ornament was quite unusual. It was shaped like a pickle. A pickle-shaped ornament, really? Really?

"What the hell?" I voiced my thoughts. Fang came up behind me.

"What is it?"

"It's a pickle." I said, emphasizing the word 'pickle'.

"Where?" he asked me. I pointed towards the pickle hidden in the tree.

"What the hell?" he said. (He freaking copied me!)

"Language!" We heard Mom yell. Ah, always caring about our language. Well, she can't hear what's in my mind! Hell! Shit! Crap! Ass! Bastard! Bitch! F*CK!

I CAN HEAR YOU MAX!

Dammit.

MAX!

Stupid Angel.

MAX!

Okay, fine. Angel, get out of my head or I'm going to start swearing even more!

…

Ah, peace and quiet at last.

Okay, well anyways, away from stupid Angel and her mind reading, back to my stupid story about pickles.

"Fang, why do you think there's a pickle shaped ornament on the tree?"

"I have no clue." Fang answered. Well, thank you Mr. Know-It-All, for your oh-so-wonderful information.

Hey Angel, I called in my mind.

Hmph, I thought you wanted me to stay out of your mind.

Oh shut up. I have a question.

Nope.

It's important!

I don't care.

You're a bitch, Angel.

Yay! You kept your promise!

What?

You said, and I quote, "Okay, Angel. Get out of my head or I'm going to start swearing even more!"

Really, Angel? Really?

Yup.

Okay, anyways. I have a question. Will you answer it now?

Yeah. I answered it. The Angel-Answering-Questions Booth is now closed.

ANGEL!

I heard silence after that. I looked at Fang. He was staring at me like I was a freak. (Which I was by the way. I was a mutant bird freak, to be exact.)

"Having an argument with Angel again?" He asked me. Oh, how he knows me. I just nodded my head in response. He would know, because after all, that's the only thing he ever does.

"Alright, let's go ask Dr. M" Fang said, he grabbed my arm and pulled me down the hallway.

"Oh! Hey guys! What's up?" Mom asked, wiping her hands on a towel. I smelt chocolate chip cookies somewhere… yum.

"Why is there a pickle on the Christmas tree?" Fang asked straight out. Fang was never the one to beat around the bush. He just came out and said it.

"Oh! The pickle! You saw that?" Dr. Martinez exclaimed. (I decided that I'm just going to call her Dr. Martinez or Dr. M, because Mom isn't working out for me. I'm even having trouble saying it in my head!)

"Yeah, we saw it. Why is it there? It's a pickle for calling out loud!" I said. She just smiled sheepishly.

"Well, you see, there's this really old tradition…" Dr. Martinez started out.

So, turns out that there's this German tradition about hiding a stupid pickle ornament in a tree. The first child on Christmas morning to find it gets an extra gift. Yeah, stupid.

"What the hell?" was the first thing I had said after she explained the tradition. Fang's "What the hell?" also followed after me. Then, Dr. M's famous "Language!".

"So, let me get this straight. The parent hides a pickle in a tree, and on Christmas morning, the kid finds it and wins an extra present?" I asked.

"Yup! Exactly like that."

"Okay? So, what's the extra gift?" I asked excitedly.

"It's a surprise that only the winner gets to know." She explained to me. I nodded.

"Well… since I already know where it is, it's a guarantee that I will be the one who finds it, so can you just tell me what it is now?" I asked hopefully.

"Nope."

"Please?"

"Nuh-uh."

"Pretty please?"

"Nada."

"Pretty please with a cherry on top?"

"Sorry, but no."

"Fine."

Dr. M just smirked at me. I mean, really, what mother smirks at her daughter? I thought smirking was Fang's thing, not Dr. Martinez's.

"So… you really want to know what that extra present is, don't you?" Fang asked me. I looked at him and nodded. He just laughed at me.

"Jerk."

"Well… a jerk is a tug. A tug is a boat. A boat floats on water. Water is nature. Nature is beautiful. So yeah, thanks for the compliment Maxie. It really means a lot to me." Fang said.

I growled at him. He just laughed at me, again. Jerk.