(A/N: Here's the first chapter of my "T.U.F.F. Puppy" Christmas fic! The story begins on Black Friday, but it takes place years after "T.U.F.F. Thanksgiving" does. Enjoy!)
It's morning in Petropolis, and today happens to be the day after Thanksgiving. We all know what that day is supposed to be, but I'm not concerned about that! I think we should get to Dudley and Kitty's house and see what's going on!
We arrive at Dudley and Kitty's house to find that everyone is up and about. Kitty is going to do some Christmas shopping, and Dudley plans on getting the Christmas lights set up, with a little help from the children.
"Are you sure that everything will be fine?" Kitty asked as she got ready to go shopping.
"Sure I'm sure. When you get back, the lights will be set up. Besides, the kids are going to help me." Dudley replied.
"Do they want to help you?" Kitty asked.
"We wanna help." the kids said.
"See?" Dudley said.
"Yeah. I guess I'd better get going." Kitty said. So she gave her husband a quick good-bye kiss, then she turned to the kids and said, "Be good for your daddy, okay?"
"Okay, Mom." the kids said. Then Kitty kissed the children good-bye, got in the car, and drove off.
"Let's get to work." Dudley told the kids.
"Dad, how long is this going to take?" George asked.
"Depends on how much help I get from you guys." Dudley replied.
"Is this going to be an all-day activity?" Molly wondered aloud.
"No, you know that Dad doesn't put up a lot of lights. He just sets them up around the garage, the front door, the living room windows, and the bedroom windows. He's also usually done in good time, but he'll be done even faster if we help him." Summer said.
"And I'd appreciate the help." Dudley told the kids.
"You got it!" the kids told him, ready to help.
So they all went up to they attic and got the boxes containing the Christmas lights, ready to get to work. But first, Dudley tested the lights to make sure that they all worked. He didn't want to set up the lights and later find out that half, some, or none of them lit up. Luckily, all of the lights lit up.
"All right. Now to get these set up." Dudley said. And the kids followed him outside to set up the lights. The lights were all set up in no time, and after Dudley set the timer (for the lights to turn on and off), he and the kids went inside to do some work around the house.
Later that afternoon, Kitty got back from a busy day of Christmas shopping. At this time, Dudley and the kids were in the den, playing Nintendo.
"Dudley! Kids! I'm back!" Kitty called as she walked in the door. Upon hearing her voice, Dudley and the kids turned off the game and ran to the living room to see Kitty.
"Hi, Mom!" the kids exclaimed, running towards their mom to give her a hug.
"Hey, Kitty! How'd it go?" Dudley asked as Kitty hugged the children.
"It wasn't easy, but I got a lot of presents for the kids." Kitty said.
"Did you get me anything?" Dudley asked, pulling Kitty into a loving hug after the kids let go of her.
"That's for me to know, and you to find out." Kitty replied before giving Dudley a kiss. Then she turned to the kids and whispered, "I got some presents for your daddy, but don't tell him."
George, Molly, and Summer nodded, as they understood.
"What did your mommy tell you?" Dudley asked the kids, having seen his wife whisper something to them.
"Nothing." the kids replied.
"Dudley, forget about it. How about you help me wrap the kids' presents?" Kitty suggested.
"We can't do that with the kids in this room. They'll see what they're going to get!" Dudley told her.
"I'm aware of that. But I know how to get them out of the room." Kitty whispered. She turned to the kids and said, "All right! You 3 are grounded from the living room until further notice."
"We're what?!" George exclaimed, hoping his mother didn't say what he thought she said.
"Did you say we're grounded?!" Molly asked, wondering why.
"But we didn't do anything bad!" Summer cried.
"Kids, your mom is saying that you can't be in the living room for a while." Dudley told them.
"Why?" the kids asked in unison.
"Because your daddy and I are going to wrap your Christmas presents out here. And if we wrap the presents while you're in the room, you'll see what you're getting." Kitty said.
"What if we promise not to look?" George asked.
"Yeah, we won't look!" Molly said.
"Promise!" Summer said.
"Nice try. How about you go play some Nintendo games in the den until we're done?" Dudley suggested.
"Okay!" the kids said, running back to the den to play Nintendo.
"You knew what they were planning?" Kitty asked Dudley, looking surprised. She had known what the kids were up to, but she hadn't expected Dudley to know it, too.
"I tried that trick with Mom when I was their age. Mom wasn't fooled, and what makes you think I'm going to fall for my own trick?" Dudley asked.
"Good point, and good job." Kitty said as she went out to the car to get the presents she bought for the kids. When she came back, Dudley got out the wrapping paper, the bows, the 'to-&-from' tags, a pair of scissors, and a tape dispenser.
"Let's do this." Dudley and Kitty said together, and they got right to work. When they finished, it was dark out, and the Christmas lights were on.
"Mom! Dad! Can we come out now?" the kids asked.
"Of course you can!" Dudley said.
"Finally!" George said, and he turned off the game.
"It's about time." Molly said as the kids made their way to the living room.
"It's dark now, and we want to know what's..." Summer began, but her sentence trailed off when she looked in the room. A big pile of wrapped gifts sat there in the living room. The kids yelled, "WHOA, BABY!"
"Look at all those presents!" George exclaimed.
"Are those for us?!" Molly asked.
"There are so many!" Summer gasped in disbelief.
"Those are your presents, but there will be more of them soon." Kitty said, smiling at the kids' reactions.
"Now what were you going to ask?" Dudley asked the children.
"Oh, that's right. What's for dinner?" George asked.
"There are plenty of leftovers from the Thanksgiving feast last night. We're having those." Kitty told the children, and they didn't seem to mind. Later that night, after dinner and a movie, they all went to bed, feeling very satisfied.
And the first chapter is done. Stay tuned for Chapter 2!