Carey looked over at her boys as the credits began to roll. They were huddled together on the couch under a blanket and both were still giggling from the movie. Carey grinned as Zack looked at his brother and said "fa rah rah rah rah" and Cody broke into laughter again. Once he got himself under control, Cody returned the favor with "how's the little piggy eat his mashed potatoes?" Zack oinked and it was on again.

The credits ended and Carey announced that a certain set of twins needed to get ready for bed. "Okay, boys, it's time." She looked at the clock above the tv and saw it was already well after nine. "Actually, it's past time."

"But Mom, it's coming on again," Zack pointed out. "And we already have our pajamas on." Carey silently cursed Ted Turner and his yearly A Christmas Story marathon.

"I know. It'll be on again and again and again through tomorrow night."

"So we can watch it again now?" Cody asked hopefully.

"No, I don't think so. You've already watched it twice tonight."

"C'mon, Mom! Please!" Puppy dog eyes in stereo accompanied the plea.

"No way, boys. It's Christmas Eve. Santa comes tonight, remember? At least he will if you two ever go to bed."

"Why can't we wait up for Santa?"

"That's not the way it works, Zack. He doesn't come if you're awake."

"Why not?"

"Because that's part of the rules. Paragraph nine, article three. Or maybe it's paragraph three, article nine. I don't remember right now. Either way, Santa won't stop by for a visit until you're asleep."

"So is that a yes?" Zack asked.

"Not a chance," Carey snorted. The boys reluctantly climbed out from under the blanket and headed back to their room. "Hands and and faces washed, teeth brushed, and ready for bed in ten minutes," she called after them. They weren't gone for ten seconds when she saw two little blonde blurs wearing reindeer pajamas tearing back down the hall.

"Mom!" Zack yelled as they raced back into the living room. "We didn't put a snack out for Santa!"

"Yeah, we have to leave some cookies out or he'll get mad," Cody added as they skidded to a halt in front of Carey.

"Okay, okay," she said as she led them to the kitchen. "We'll put the rest of the gingerbread cookies out and everything will be perfect." She rummaged through the cabinet. "Or, we would put them out if someone hadn't eaten them all." Cody stealthily pointed to Zack. "That's okay. I have it on good authority that Santa also loves Oreos."

"He does?"

"Absolutely." He also loves margaritas with salt, too, but that's neither here nor there, she added to herself. She pulled the package out and put a handful of Oreos on a plate.

"Can we leave a beer out for Santa?"

"Can we what? Carey laughed. It was almost as if they'd just read her mind.

"Everyone else leaves him milk. I bet he'd want a beer after flying all night."

"I don't know, boys. He might get pulled over so we'd better stick with the milk." The idea of Santa waking up to a blinding hangover in a drunk tank secretly amused her to no end.

"I'll pour it," Cody said and got to it.

"Alright," Carey said after he'd set the cup on the table and put the jug back in the refrigerator, "I think you've stalled enough for the night. Vamoose, boys. Finish getting ready for bed and I'll be in to tuck you in in a little bit." After she saw them disappear into their room, Carey picked up a cookie and took a bite. "Oh yeah, Santa loves Oreos." She dunked the remaining half in the glass of milk and finished it off. Carey leaned against the counter, smiling, and wondered how many more Christmases she'd have with them while they still believed. One more? Almost surely. Two? Maybe if she was lucky. "Stay seven forever, kids," she said softly and dunked another Oreo.

Carey waited until after she'd heard the tell-tale sounds of the toilet flushing and the sink running before she ventured back to the boys' room. Zack was just climbing into bed when she stepped through the doorway. "Everything done?" Both boys nodded. "Good." She leaned over and tucked in the covers around Zack before turning and doing it for Cody. "Now try really hard to go to sleep, okay? You two have a really big day tomorrow."

"When is Dad getting here?" Cody asked.

"He'll be here when you wake up."

"And then we get to open presents!" Zack exclaimed and pumped a fist in the air.

"That's right. And then after that we'll eat breakfast and be lazy for a while before we go see Grandma."

"Mom? You don't think Grandma got us underwear again this year, do you?"

"I don't know, Zack. Why?"

"Because underwear isn't a very good present, that's why."

"Well, remember, Santa gets you what you want, Grandma and your father and I get you what you need."

"I don't need underwear," Zack retorted.

"Trust me, you do. What would you sit around the house in if you didn't have any?"

"Nothing."

"Exactly. You need underwear," Carey laughed and bent down to kiss him on the forehead. "Good night, Zack." She turned and did the same to Cody. "Good night, Cody."

"Good night, Mom," they replied in unison.

Carey pulled the cord on the light between their beds and left the room bathed in the soft glow of their nightlight. "Sleep tight," she said as she shut the door halfway as she left.

"Will you go to sleep already? You're keeping me up with all your tossing and turning," Cody grouched to his brother. They'd been laying in bed for going on twenty minutes and Zack hadn't stayed in one position longer than twenty seconds.

"I can't help it. I'm not tired."

"How can you not be tired? It's almost ten o'clock already. I'm beat."

"I drank a can of Mountain Dew earlier. That might be what's keeping me awake."

"You think?" Zack could almost hear Cody's eyes rolling. "And when did you do this?"

"I snuck it from the 'fridge when Mom was cleaning up after dinner and drank it in the bathroom."

"Zack, I swear that if Santa doesn't come because you're still awake, I'm going to punch you. Hard."

"Relax, Cody. He'll come."

"He might not. Think of all the houses he has to hit tonight. He has to do it in some kind of order or he'll never get it all done in a night."

"Wow. That's the nerdiest thing I've heard you say in a long time, Cody."

"Whatever. It's not nerdy, it's realistic. I don't want to get screwed out of presents because your dumb self decided to shotgun a Mountain Dew before our bedtime."

"I love Mountain Dew."

Cody rolled over and harrumphed in the semi-darkness. "Santa better come, Zack. That's all I'm saying."

"And all I'm saying is that he will come. Besides, who said he's bringing you anything anyway?"

"What? Bringing me anything?"

"Yup."

Cody sat straight up in bed. "In case you forgot, I'm the good son. You're the...whatever that word is that Mom calls you in Spanish when she thinks we're not listening. You know, the one that starts with 'd'."

"No way. I've been good all year."

"Who was it that filled Mom's bottle of lotion with the dish soap again? Oh, it was you."

"I had to fill it with something after I spilled it."

"You could have just told Mom you spilled it."

"Yeah, as if," Zack retorted. "So maybe I was bad once all year. I think that's pretty good."

"Uh huh, one time if you don't count when you flushed two of her little potted plants down the toilet. Remember that?"

"I wanted to know what would happen. It was for science!"

"You didn't figure it out after the first one went down?"

"It was a different plant, Cody! The spiky leaves could have made it float or something."

"You're not making it out of second grade, Zack. Sheesh." Cody flopped back down on his side and pulled the blanket up to his neck.

"Whatever. I'm going to be a scientist."

"No you're not. You're going to be a garbage man."

"Or that."

"Will you just go to sleep, Zack? Please?"

"I'm trying. I just can't. I keep thinking about all the loot we'll get tomorrow."

"We won't get anything but Grandma's underwear if you're awake." Cody sighed and rolled over again.

"We could probably both wear Grandma's underwear at the same time." Zack snickered.

"Not the underwear I meant, Zack." Cody told him, trying to keep a straight face but started giggling along with his brother. "Hush, Zack! Mom's coming," he whispered after he saw Carey's shadow moving along the hallway. Both boys immediately went into full silent mode and buried themselves in the blankets.

Carey had heard them laughing and was a step away from their door when they quieted down. She held her ground, ready to put the fear of Santa into them if she heard so much as another peep. Cody played possum with his mother, keeping one eye barely uncovered enough to spy and doing his best to not move. He yawned quietly as her silhouette stood outside his door. He saw her arms cross and then saw her head poke in just as his eyes were beginning to get heavy. He blinked slowly and glanced at his brother's bed and saw Zack sprawled out on his back, fast asleep. Cody knitted his brows at his brother's sleeping form and looked back to the doorway, determined to win this small battle with his mother. He yawned again and slowly settled into a more comfortable waiting position. His tired eyes stayed closed longer and longer with each blink until they finally didn't open again.

Carey heard her younger son's breathing change into the deeply rhythmic cadence of sleep and smiled to herself. "Merry Christmas, boys," she said as she pulled their door a bit further closed and returned to the living room.