David tiptoed to his bedroom door and opened it. His mom was nowhere to be found. Good. He was supposed to be taking a nap, but at five years old, he knew he was too big for that. He made his way down the stairs carefully. His mom was probably doing laundry or something. There was no telling how long he'd have before she decided to check on him, so he'd have to move fast. There it was, the door to his dad's office.

For a moment, David considered turning around. Maybe he should just go upstairs. Even if he didn't want to take a nap, he could always play with his toys. He'd been told numerous times not to go in his father's office. Especially when he was busy. But his dad was at work now. This was his best chance to get to see all his dad's stuff up close. The few times he'd seen the room, he'd noticed the desk, which was always covered in papers. And there were a bunch of picture frames, which David figured held pictures of his mother. But what really fascinated him were all the shelves. There were bookcases full of huge books, ones David knew he'd never be able to read, even though he already knew all the letters of the alphabet. There were also a lot of plaques and awards on the wall. David wondered what other cool stuff his dad was hiding.

With another glance behind him, David cautiously opened the door. It seemed there were more bookshelves here than he'd remembered. Quietly, he slipped into the room, gently closing the door behind him. "I can't believe it worked," he whispered under his breath. Grandpa would be so proud, he thought. He pretended he was a detective, checking out a crime scene. For a moment, he wondered what to do first. But he knew he couldn't waste time thinking, he'd just have to look around. He looked again at the bookcases. He walked closer, seeing a dragon statue on one shelf. He picked it up, wondering where it came from. He'd have to ask his parents. But then he remembered: this was top-secret.

He put the dragon back, being careful to place it just as it had been. His dad would surely notice even a slight difference in how things were arranged. Then his attention was drawn to all of the books. David had never seen so many, except in the library. All of the titles had big words. David tried sounding them out, the way he'd been taught, but he soon gave up.

Suddenly, he noticed a small table in one corner of the room. How come he'd never seen that before? He slowly walked toward it, seeing that there was a pile of stuff on it. It wasn't like his dad to leave anything disorganized. When David got closer, he realized some of the things were in shopping bags. And he was pretty sure he recognized the logo of the toy store on the mall. His heart began to beat faster. "Christmas," he whispered, remembering that the holiday was just a few weeks away. Even if David had wanted to, he couldn't stop himself now. He walked toward the bag, peering inside. He gasped. He couldn't see everything, but he definitely saw a game, one he'd likely play with his mom or grandpa sometime.

The second after David registered all of this, he heard a sound. The door was opened. "David Martin Crane," Niles said.

David looked at his father, not knowing what to say. "Uh….."

Sensing that something was the matter, Daphne quickly joined her husband. She was about to ask what was going on, but it didn't take long to figure it out.

"Well," Niles said. "What do you have to say for yourself, David?"

David knew he was in trouble. Big time. How had this happened so fast? He tried to think of some explanation, but nothing came to him. Finally, he realized there was nothing left to do but tell the truth. "I didn't want to take a nap. I wanted to come down here instead, to see all the cool stuff Dad has in here. I didn't know you had a dragon."

"But, David, you know you're not supposed to be in here," Niles said, working to keep calm.

"I know," David said, hanging his head. "But I just thought….." He shrugged. He didn't know what he'd been thinking.

Daphne could see that Niles was clearly upset. But she could also tell that David was sorry. "OK, let's just calm down," she said. "David, why don't you go upstairs to your room? I'm going to talk to Daddy, and then we'll come and see you, all right?"

With obvious relief, David nodded. He wasted no time in leaving.

The moment their son was gone, Niles turned to Daphne. "He clearly disobeyed us. You heard him, he knew he wasn't supposed to be in here!"

"I know, Darling. But he's just a little boy. He really didn't do anything wrong, did he? I mean, nothing is broken, is it?"

"Didn't do anything wrong?!" Niles asked in astonishment. "He was clearly looking for his Christmas presents. And he found them!"

"David didn't say anything about his presents. My powers usually tell me when he's lying to me, and I don't think he is. I think he was just curious, and he wanted to look around. He just happened to come across that bag."

"But now his Christmas is ruined. He's not going to be surprised." Niles always loved seeing David's face each year as he opened each gift.

"That's true," Daphne admitted. "And he did disobey us. But still, I don't think we should make a federal case out of this."

Niles sighed. He could tell he wasn't going to win this argument.

Daphne put her arms around Niles, seeing he still wasn't happy. "I know you think I'm being soft, but he is me son. Can you blame me if I can't quite be mad at him?"

One look into Daphne's eyes, and the rest of the anger Niles was feeling faded away. One of the things he'd always loved about Daphne was the way she cared about others. He kissed her, falling in love with her all over again. When he finally came up for air, he slipped his hand in hers. They would speak to David together, reminding him of the importance of doing as he was told. But Niles would make sure of one thing: he would not ruin David's Christmas. Nor would he allow this to ruin his own holiday. Yet again, Daphne had proven herself to be the greatest blessing in his life.

The End