DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN CODENAME: KIDS NEXT DOOR

A/N: Man, it's been a while. I'm gonna save my all comments for the end of the chapter. So read on!

NOW LOADING:
KIDS NEXT DOOR MISSION

OPERATION:
S.E.C.R.E.T.S.A.N.T.A.

SECTOR'S
ELATED
CHRISTMAS
REMINDS
EVERYONE
THAT
SILLY
ANGST
NEVER
TRUMPS
AMITY

CHAPTER 1: 'TIS (ALMOST) THE SEASON

Rachel giggled. "So, would you say the mission was a success?"

The operative standing before her, one Nigel Uno, crossed his arms and gazed at her overtop his sunglasses. "Well, everyone came back alive, so I guess we can call it that."

Rachel giggled again, both at his comment and his demeanor. Simply reliving the previous weekend's events had clearly annoyed him; it made her wish she had been there herself, to see how he must have blown his top at the time. Hey, that's what friends do, right?

She bore a big smile until he mirrored it himself. He crossed his arms, probably as a half-hearted form of protest. "Still, I don't think I'll be going camping with the team again anytime soon. Or ever."

"I'm so excited!"

An ear-piercing shriek echoed across the bridge, turning the pair's gazes to the far side, where the rest of Sector V had just appeared. Everyone near Kuki seemed to be reeling from shellshock, holding their ears and grimacing.

"Yeah," groaned Hoagie, stumbling out of the elevator. "I can tell."

Abby chuckled, garnering a grin from her portly friend. She led the group over to their leaders, where she tilted her hat in an old-fashioned salute. "Numbuh 362."

Rachel nodded in return, then turned to Kuki. "What are you so excited about?"

Kuki was positively beaming, actually shaking with excitement. "I saw my first Christmas commercial of the season today! It's officially Christmas time!"

Her cheer was infectious; even Wally was smiling. "Eh, we're gettin' there," the young Aussie said with a shrug. "I'd sure like to see some snow before I get too excited."

Hoagie patted his blond friend on the back. "Don't worry, Numbuh 4, I heard the weather girl say this is gonna be one of the coldest winters our town has seen in years!"

"Really? Suh-weet!"

"Bleh!" Abby frowned, shivering at Hoagie's statement. "Numbuh 5's not a fan of the cold. Especially those freezin' winds."

"But isn't that worth just the chance for snow?" Kuki asked, tilting her head a little to the side.

"Yeah, Numbuh 5," Hoagie added with a smirk, nudging his friend with his elbow. "Would you really rather go to school than deal with a slight, refreshing breeze?"

Abby shot him a glare, even if her grin betrayed her attempt at intimidation. "So, we're still having our usual Christmas day get-together and gift exchange this year, right?"

The question turning everyone's attention to Nigel. who nodded. "Of course we are." The group's remaining grins and smirks to widen into full-on smiles. "We'll all meet in the treehouse that afternoon, after we finish with our families. Once everyone's there, we'll get started, as usual."

"Yeah!" Wally exclaimed, pounding his fist into his open palm. "This year is gonna be the best!"

The Sector V operatives all spun around and headed back toward the elevator. Nigel exchanged a final glance with the Supreme Leader before following his team. Their excited buzzing quickly blended with that of the surrounding workers until it could no longer bet distinguished.

Rachel heaved a sigh and scanned her surroundings. Though the bridge was huge and always bustling with activity, its occupants tended to stay clustered together at several work stations. Outside of these particular spots, and the direct routes between them, most of its space went unused—a grand example of the Kids Next Door's tendency to overdo things. Still, from time to time, Rachel would take advantage of the faux seclusion. While she couldn't escape the constant droning of distant conversation, she could keep it at a distance, at least for a moment.

She strolled over to a section of railing as far from her subordinates as possible. Sure, it was in plain sight of everyone, but it was still out of the way. This was her favorite spot on the bridge, both because of privacy, and because it was the only spot where the extraordinary view of the Earth by the hexagonal dome support beams. She often considered building a shack there, or maybe a fence that shocked anyone who tried to annoy her while she was in her happy place. If nothing else, the thought always made her smirk.

Sadly, the effect was short-lived, and the smirk was trumped by a frown. She leaned forward, resting her forearms on the railing, and dropped her gaze to the deck below. It was too far to recognize or hear any of the operatives scattered about. Good. That meant none of them would see or hear their great leader sniffling. At least she'd be able to hear anyone approach her from behind.

"At least everyone else will still have a merry Christmas."

"Is something the matter?"

Rachel jumped up, twisting around. Nigel was strolling toward her, certainly within earshot already. Darn it!

"Oh, uh, Num... uh, Nigel! You surprised me! I thought you'd already... uh... Y-you don't make much noise, do you? Hear like a bat, though... So, uh, is there something else...?" She trailed off as Nigel settled his elbows on the railing next to her, his gaze fixed upon the Earth outside. She stared at him for a long, bewildered moment, waiting for him to speak. He didn't. Well, darn it all. With a deep breath and a sinking heart, she returning to the railing.

The two stared out the Earth in silence. It certainly seemed like a peaceful scene, but Rachel couldn't have been more anxious if there an actual elephant between them. Was he going to make her speak first? He'd be waiting for a long time, then!

"What's wrong, Rachel?"

Dang it.

She opened her mouth, ready to deflect his concern... but she knew she it would be for naught. He knew her too well. Did he notice during his debrief, or did she let her guard down too quickly when he turned away? It didn't matter now. She took another deep breath, then forced a smile. "I'm just feeling a little under the weather today. It's nothing serious, Nigel. Really."

Nigel glanced at her over his sunglasses. She didn't meet his gaze. "If it's bothering you, it's serious enough."

There was no rush to answer. She wanted to talk about anything else, but knew that wouldn't happen. There was no escaping the subject. Neither of them was going anywhere. At any rate, it's not as though he wouldn't find out sooner or later anyway, so... screw it, may as well get it out of the way now.

"My parents are going to be out of town for a few days." Her voice was calm, if a little hushed. "Daddy had a last-minute business meeting come up... somewhere in Europe, I don't know where. He wanted mommy to go with him so they could still spend Christmas together. Don't get me wrong, I hope they have a great time! But I'm still left here with Taylor and Harvey while they're gone."

"I can see how being stuck with Harvey would stink," Nigel muttered. "But you still have family at home. I thought you three all got along?"

Rachel scowled. "Not anymore."

Nigel furrowed his brow. "Go on..."

Rachel balled her fists. "This year, we could do anything we want for Christmas! So what does she decide to do? Make plans with her friends for the entire time mommy and daddy are gone! Didn't even talk to me about it!" She let out a sigh, and her anger seemed to leave with it. "She is a teenager, I guess..."

"Rachel, I—"

The young blonde slowly shook her head. "So I'll either be spending the break at home—alone—or here at work. Probably also alone." She let out a derisive snort. "Still haven't decided which one is more appealing yet."

"Alone? I thought you said Harvey was—"

"Harvey's been hiding out at his treehouse since me and Taylor's fight. Probably going to stay there once mommy and daddy leave. Until New Year's, or whenever. I don't blame him."

"You guys had a fight?"

"Yeah... After daddy called to tell us about his trip, she ran up to her room. I followed to talk to her, and heard her already making plans with her friends. I... might have blown my top. A little bit."

"What did she have to say for herself?"

"I don't know, I... I didn't really ask her. I mean, what excuse could she really have, Nigel?! I told her I'd rather be with my friends, anyway."

Nigel nodded slightly as she finished. "That's... unfortunate." She nodded gloomily, and there was an uncomfortable silence. "Hey!"

Rachel was taken aback by his sudden outburst. "What?!"

Nigel straightened up and stepped away from the railing, and she did the same. "Come spend Christmas with me! I mean, us! At the treehouse!"

"Huh? I... Uh... A-Are... But... You...?" She paused, pursing her lips. "Are you sure? I mean, I'd hate to intrude..."

"Nonsense, you can't intrude when you're invited! And if you aren't doing anything, my family would love to have you over Christmas morning. You know, if you want."

"Why, that's... that's an awfully generous offer, Nigel. I..." Her cheeks flushed pink. "I-I don't know what to say."

"A simple 'yes' will suffice."

There was no holding back the smile now. "Yes."

A LITTLE LATER, IN THE COOLBUS...

"So Numbuh 362 is gonna join us for Christmas?" Abby asked.

"YAY!" Kuki shrieked, throwing her arms up and spinning her chair. "The more the merrier! And she could use a break anyhow!"

"Yeah," Hoagie agreed from the cockpit. "She's always super busy, what with being the Supreme Leader and all. She shouldn't be working though the holidays."

"And she's a cool kid to have around, anyways," Abby tacked on.

Wally mumbled something to himself, and all eyes fell on him.

"Do you have a problem with this, Numbuh 4?" Nigel asked, eyebrow cocked.

"Huh? OH!" Wally's eyes widened, and he waved his hands in front of him. "No, no, no, not like that! I like Numbuh 362! It's just, I'm gonna be a little pressed for cash to get everyone gifts as it is..."

"Now that you mention it, Numbuh 5 is a little low on funds, too."

The compartment grew quiet as the rest seemed to come to the same conclusion.

"So, what?" asked a flustered Wally. "We gonna assign who to get presents for or somethin'?"

"YES!" Kuki cried.

Hoagie raised an eyebrow. "Uh..."

"Aaah, Numbuh 5 gets it!"

"Well, Numbuh 2 doesn't. Care to explain?"

"Secret Santa, fool!"

"'Secret Santa'?" Wally repeated. "I don't get it."

"It's easy!" Kuki exclaimed, directing everyone's attention to her. "We'll each write our names on a piece of paper, and then we'll put them in a hat, and then we'll draw names! Whosever name you get is who you get a present for!"

"What if I get my own name?"

"Then you draw again, silly!"

Abby smiled. "Numbuh 5's down for some covert Christmas operations."

"Yeah, me too!" Hoagie proclaimed.

"Sounds good to me," Nigel agreed.

"Hm... I think I get it," Wally said, rubbing his chin. "Alright, let's do it!"

"Secret Santa, huh?"

The five operatives stood assembled before the huge screen in the briefing room, on which the image of Rachel was displayed.

"Yep!" Hoagie confirmed.

"Ha! Alright, sounds like fun. When will we pick names?"

"We've already got the names ready to draw!" Kuki said, pointing to Abby, who was holding her hat upside-down in her hand, much like a magician holding his top hat before he pulls a rabbit out of it.

"So, whenever you wanna start, sir," Abby said.

"Okay. I'll let you guys draw first."

Everyone in the group looked around at each other.

"Um... maybe we should go by number?"

"Alright, I'll go first then." Nigel stepped up to the hat and stuck his hand in. He dug around for a few seconds before pulling out a small, folded up piece of paper. He backed away from the group as he unfolded it, and, once he was sure no one else could see the name, read it. He grinned, and tucked the paper away in his pocket.

Hoagie, who was already standing next to Abby on the opposite side of the others, reached in and took the first piece of paper on the top. He opened it and immediately burst into laughter. He stifled it as quickly as he could, stowing the paper away in his pocket.

"Yay, my turn!" Kuki exclaimed, gleefully skipping up to Abby. She fished around in the hat, as if searching for a particular one. She withdrew her hand—well, sleeve—and retreated to a spot behind Wally to read her pick. She giggled wildly, and then concealed it in her sleeve.

"Hmph, alright," Wally muttered to himself, still watching Kuki as he approached the hat. His tongue stuck out the side of his mouth as he seemed to concentrate hard on judging which paper was the right one for him. Satisfied with his selection, he plucked the one from the bottom and stepped away, eyeing the group suspiciously as he began to unfold it. Nigel and Hoagie exchanged glances, probably wondering if they should tell him that he had his back to the huge screen behind him. Luckily for Wally, Rachel cleared her throat. He looked at her over his shoulder as if he'd just noticed her there, and shuffled over to a spot where no one was behind him. He double-checked, and then finished unfolding the paper. A sinister grin appeared on his face, and he snickered forebodingly.

Abby shook her head as she grabbed one of the two remaining pieces, unfurling it in her free hand. She smirked and nodded to herself, but stayed quiet.

"Alright, Numbuh 362, hope you're ready!" Kuki announced. She grabbed the remaining paper, walking up to the screen. She opened it facing the screen. Rachel grinned.

"Aaand that's it!" Abby announced, donning her now-empty hat. "Everyone good to go?"

Everyone nodded, and looked up at the screen.

"Then... let the reindeer games begin!"

A/N:Oh yes, it's this nonsense again.

I haven't done much writing in the past few years. When I haven't been really busy—which I have been most of the time—I've been working on other things. I've wanted to come back to this story, but never found the time during the past couple winter seasons. This one wasn't much better. But, I'm going to keep going with it, even if it's Christmas In July by the time I finish the last chapter. My goal is to work on it at least a little bit every day, even if no one reads it, because I need to get better about finishing what I start.

I'll say it now: my lack of writing practice will show. This writing will be faaaaar from professional quality. My priority was to keep things easy to read, since I know many in this fandom are pretty young. With that said, I've had fun with it, and I'm content enough with how it's turned out. Wish I had the extra time to better do it justice, but it is what it is.

If you made it all the way down here, please do leave a review, even if it's just two words (or whatever the minimum may be—it's been a while). If you don't feel like it, that's cool too. Thanks for reading!

Cheers,
- Marty