Author's Note: The ending of "Holly Jolly Jimmy" never quite sat right with me for punishing Cindy and Libby when it was Jimmy who made Carl feel bad, and in their own way, the girls were trying to help. This story assumes 'last year' as when that particular episode took place. Feel free to request prompts for this series.

Last year:

"No, Humphrey, don't eat that!" Cindy pulled her dog back away from the bed and the lump of coal sitting there. Libby had left an hour ago, after the two had spent several hours commiserating on their so called 'present' from Santa Claus. She grabbed the trash can from the corner of her room and swept the coal inside, frowning at the stain left behind on her bed sheet.

To be fair, the gifts from her parents were pretty good this year – a new camera, some video games and a new karate gi. But she couldn't quite figure out why she had been selected for the naughty list.

"Is this about torturing Neutron?" she said to her empty room, apparently intending to pose the question to the universe, or maybe even Santa himself. "That didn't count against me last year..." she muttered. Pretty sure I was just as mean to him last year as I was this year. And he had it coming every time, for that matter. Jerk.

She heard the doorbell ring downstairs, but ignored it. "Cynthia!" her mother called. "Visitor!"

"Tell them to come on up," Cindy shouted back to her mother. Normally her mom did not approve of her shouting down the stair case, but Cindy chanced it. Her mother was usually more lenient around the holidays.

She was examining the sheet to try to figure out the best way to get the coal out (peroxide? Spray-n-clean? She wasn't sure), when Jimmy walked in. "Umm...hey."

Cindy's eyes narrowed to slits as she whirled around to face the boy genius. "What do you want, and why are you in my room?"

"Hey, do you really think I want to be in a girl's room?" Jimmy gave a slight shudder as he glanced over to the boyband posters on Cindy's walls. "What do girls see in pink, anyway?"

"If you don't want to be here and I don't want you here, then why are you here?" Cindy planted her hands on her hips. Jimmy tugged at his collar.

"So...get coal?"

"What do you know about that, Nerdtron?" One eyebrow suddenly raised in suspicion.

"Huh...um...now, keep in mind that I thought Santa was a mythical construct at the time, you know, like a permanent record, the Loch Ness Monster..."

"North Dakota, according to the bumbling duo you hang out with," Cindy added. Jimmy didn't comment. "What did you do?"

"I may have added yours and Libby's names to the Naughty List when we were at the North Pole," Cindy raised her arm as though she was going to hit him, fire raging in her eyes, "Like I said, I didn't think he was real at the time...he sounded like Mel Brooks, for Pluto's sake! I thought he was just an actor! It was supposed to be a joke, and it went too far. I'm sorry, and I did hack back into his list to fix it, but I guess I wasn't fast enough. For the record, you really were on the nice list."

"Get. Out."

Deciding it wasn't worth it to continue this particular battle, Jimmy produced a small box that he placed on Cindy's bed, then left without another word. Cindy didn't speak to him for two weeks after that.

This year

This time, Jimmy was expected when he arrived at the Vortex house. Mrs. Vortex ushered him in, then called for Cindy. The blonde hurried down the stairs and grabbed his arm, yanking the boy genius after her and rushing him into her room.

"Did you get a gift from Santa this time?" Jimmy asked, feeling nervous. If she answered negatively, it might mean that he had never correctly fixed his mistake from the previous year. Which might mean another two weeks of stony silence.

"Two. And a note apologizing for what you did last year and for him not catching it," Cindy produced a note to prove it. Jimmy had actually expected this. His own present from Santa this year (plutonium) had included a note reprimanding Jimmy for his prank last year (and a warning that Santa would deny all awareness if Jimmy used the plutonium irresponsibly).

Cindy produced three boxes. Presumably, two were from Santa, but Jimmy wasn't certain where the third box came from. "I was so mad at you last year I never opened the present you left," Cindy explained. "But I couldn't bring myself to throw it away," she opened it now. "Earrings?" she took the earrings out and examined them. At first glance, they appeared to be crystals, but after a moment of examination, she realized that the light they had seemed to be reflecting they were actually producing.

"I was trying to mimic a star effect," Jimmy explained, rubbing his neck and looking down at the floor.

Cindy smiled. "If I had known these were this nice, I might have forgiven you a lot faster last year. Thank you." She moved the box the earrings had been in and stacked one of the gifts from Santa on top of it. "That's just a letter of recommendation to any college of my choice," she explained. Jimmy smiled. They were probably the only twelve year olds he knew who would ask Santa for such a thing (then again, he supposed that not many twelve year olds, especially ones of their intelligence, still believed in Santa).

"The note said to open this one when you were with me," she explained, beckoning Jimmy forward. "You open it."

As soon as Jimmy tugged on the red ribbon that the present had been tied with, the box seemed to spring open and something zoomed around the room before stopping above the pair's head. "Mistletoe," Jimmy said, almost blankly. "Did you know that mistletoe is actually poisonous? It..." But Cindy shut him up. By pressing her lips firmly against his.

When they broke away a few minutes later, Cindy whispered "Merry Christmas, Neutron."

"Merry Christmas, Cindy."

"I've got something for you," she shoved a box into his hands. "It's not plutonium, but it should meet your needs." Jimmy opened a corner of the box to peer in.

"Hydroquantum screwdriver? How did you know my last one got busted?"

Cindy rolled her eyes. "Because I listen, Neutron." Jimmy handed her the present he'd selected for her. She eyed the present carefully. It fit easily in the palm of her hand.

"A key?" She said as she opened the box. "What's it to?"

"The lab."

"Really?" Cindy tried to control her excitement, but she could tell by Jimmy's amused expression that she hadn't masked it well enough. As nonchalantly as she could, she continued. "I mean, don't you use a DNA scanner?"

"This is more symbolic," he explained, "the key really will work, but the DNA scanner has now also been programmed with your DNA, so it will let you in. I've sectioned off part of the lab exclusively for your use, and you can get in any time. Just don't change any settings for VOX and stay away from anything that's behind glass."

In spite of herself, Cindy smiled. "That's actually pretty lenient, Neutron. And the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me..." she thought back, "Well, maybe not including the pearl," she indicated the pearl on the thin gold chain around her neck.

"So...it's all right, then?" Jimmy asked. Cindy rolled her eyes. Jimmy had always gotten her cool presents, even when they'd been supposed enemies. Still, he seemed almost scared to give her anything since they'd started dating.

"It's perfect, Jimmy. So, now there's just one thing left to do today..."

"And that is?"

"Something I've always wanted to say, but if you tell Sheen or Carl that, I will never admit it," Cindy dramatically pointed into the air, "To the lab!"

Author's Note: I think Cindy and Jimmy, once they became official, would probably have a rocky start. I'm sure they'd smooth things out as they went along, but dating can be hard, and both of them have a stubborn streak. I think a major turning point towards the right direction would be giving Cindy access to the lab, even if it is restricted a bit (much as I love Cindy, I don't think she could resist being Special Girl again if Jimmy remade the essence of N-Men powders).