To sapphyr2016, you didn't log in so I can't reply to you personally. Thank you for your kind comments. I'm glad you like my story.

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As the adults prepared to go to bed, Joe asked, "Same bet as before Pa?"

"Sure, why not. Maybe I'll even win this year."

"What bet are you talking about?" asked Rip.

"Ever since Cat started spending Christmas here when she was five, we have been betting on what time she'll wake us up on Christmas morning. The loser does the winner's chores the next day. I'm predicting she'll wake us up at five."

"I think she'll have us up at four thirty," said Joe.

"She's got friends here, so I think she'll sleep until five thirty," said Hoss.

"I don't think she'll sleep that late," said Adam. "She'll probably have us up at four."

"Is Cat always an early riser?" asked Victoria.

"No," answered Matt. "Only on Christmas morning. Any other day, especially on school days, she'll stay in bed as late as possible. What happens if Cat wakes up on the quarter hour instead of the half?"

"It depends. If she wakes up at four fifteen, Adam and Joe would win so Hoss and I would have to do their chores. If she wakes up at three forty five, Adam would win and Hoss would have to do his chores. If she wakes up at five fifteen, Hoss would win and Adam would have to do his chores. By the way Victoria, did you ever find out why Audra was so mean to Cat the day of Kate's funeral?"

"Yes. She was and still is under the mistaken impression that she was going to inherit all of our parents' money because she was the only girl. Even after Jarrod told her that if Cat had not been born, the money would have been split equally between all eight grandchildren, she still insisted that she was supposed to get all of it. We also learned that Audra tried to kill Cat after her baptism. Nick spotted her and told Tom who took care of our daughter. Needless to say, Audra was not pleased when Nick said he was the one who told their father what she was doing."

But Mother, didn't you say that you were jealous of your sister?" asked Heath.

"Yes I was Heath but my reasons for being jealous of Kate had nothing to do with money. Everyone was surprised when Mother said she was expecting another child. She was thought to have been too old to get pregnant again, so when Kate was born, our parents spoiled her rotten and I was jealous of the attention she was getting. When I was nineteen and your father asked my father for my hand in marriage, he decided that I was needed to help take care of my sister and would have to wait another two years before he would allow me to marry. Kate was eight and didn't need me taking care of her except to try and keep her from getting into fights. The funny thing is that I was more upset over it than Tom was. He just laughed and said he'd wait as long as he had to because he loved me and that was all that mattered."

Ben looked at the clock and said, "We had better go to bed. I know of at least one child that will be up very early tomorrow morning. Just so all of you are aware, tomorrow is the only day she does not have to knock on closed bedroom doors in the morning, so be prepared to be pounced on early."

Rip laughed. "I experienced that in June both on the way to the fort and when she was there. I regret making her stay in the Grant's hotel room on the way there and before I was given command of the fort. Cat needed me, not her Godparents but, knowing very little about young children, I didn't think it was appropriate for my niece to share my room. I know now that I was wrong and would change it if I could. However, you are right Ben. Our little Wild Cat will be up early and we're going to need all of the sleep we can get."

At four o'clock Christmas morning, three girls and a boy crept silently down the stairs at the Ponderosa and gazed in awe at all of the gifts under the Christmas tree. Cat ran upstairs and into Ben's room. She pounced on him and cried happily, "Pa, Pa, Santa came! Come see!" Ben looked at the clock and groaned. "Come see Pa! Santa came! Come see!"

"Alright Kitten. I'm coming. Go wake your brothers, grandfather, aunt, and uncles."

Cat ran into Adam's room and pounced on her brothers. Forgetting that Andy was sleeping on a cot in there, she cried, "Adam, Joe, Santa came! Come and see!" When they didn't want to get up, she cried again, "Wake up! Santa came! Come see!"

"Not so loud Cat," said Joe. "Andy's sleeping in here too. Don't wake him."

"That's alright Joe. I don't mind," said Andy. "Hearing Cat makes me wish I had a younger brother or sister to wake me on Christmas morning."

"Alright Squirt," said Adam. "We're awake. Go wake the rest of the family."

Cat repeated her actions in every bedroom until everyone was awake. When they went downstairs, they found that Hop Sing had anticipated what time Cat would wake the family and had coffee and hot cocoa ready. Once everyone was settled in the great room, Ben said, "You children may have your stockings now and the gifts under the tree after breakfast." He took the stockings down from the mantle, handed one to each child, and said, "Alright children, you may look in your stockings now."

The children happily dug into their stockings. "An orange!" exclaimed Mary. "We got an orange!"

"And a peach!" added Laura.

"Another orange!" said Cat.

"And another peach!" said Mark. "We each got two oranges and two peaches. That is really great. I haven't had an orange or a peach in a long time."

The children continued digging in their stockings and found two peppermint sticks, two chocolate cookies, two licorice sticks, a silver dollar, four nickles, two dimes, and ten pennies. None of the children, especially Mary and Laura, could believe how much money Santa had given them.

"I'm going to eat one of my oranges at breakfast," said Mary.

"Me too," said the other four.

Caroline laughed at Carrie. "A whole orange is too much for you all at once. I think we'll just give you a few pieces so you'll be able to eat them and your breakfast."

"That's an excellent idea Carolyn," said Ben. "Why don't you older children each eat half of an orange? Then you'll still have room for breakfast. You can do the same thing tomorrow morning and each of you will still have one orange left to eat when you want to."

During breakfast, Cat asked, "Uncle Matt, will you please put my silver dollar in your safe with my other one? I want to keep them forever and don't want anybody to spend my new one."

"Of course I will Cat. I have the one you got last summer in an envelope with your name on it and I'll put your new one in there too."

"Gee thanks Uncle Matt."

"You're welcome Sweetheart. You know I would do almost anything for you."

After breakfast, the children headed for the great room and the Christmas tree when Ben stopped them. "Before we see what Santa left under the tree, there are two presents outside that need to be given to the recipients. Get your hats, coats, and mittens or gloves on."

"What does reeceepeants mean?" asked Cat.

Ben chuckled at Cat's pronunciation. "The word is ri-sip-ee-uh nts Kitten. It's the plural of recipient. A recipient is a person who receives or is given something. For example, when you get a letter from one of your Godfathers, you are the recipient."

"Oh, ok."

Everyone went outside and the first things they saw were the mare and cart for Caroline. The people who hadn't seen it before were amazed at what they saw. "It's beautiful," said Caroline. "Who is it for?"

"There's a note pinned on the reins," replied Adam. "Why don't you go and read it?"

Caroline unpinned the note and read it aloud. "Merry Christmas Ma. Love Mary, Laura, and Carrie." Caroline was moved to tears and hugged her daughters. "Thank you girls. That is a wonderful, thoughtful gift and I will always treasure it. I can't wait to drive it. What is the mare's name?"

"We were going to call her Starlight, but Adam said you should be the one to name her," replied Mary.

"I think Starlight is the perfect name for her because she looks like the night sky when it's full of stars. Look Charles. It has runners and wheels."

All of the visitors looked at the cart and were very impressed by what they saw. "Charles," said Adam. "We made it so it would be easy for you to take the runners off or put them on. Look at them and see what we did."

Charles and the others looked at the wheels and runners. "I like the way you did those Adam," said Lucas. "The runners are held on by door latches that won't work their way loose. Girls, I second what your mother said. That is a very wonderful and thoughtful gift to give her."

After everyone had finished admiring Caroline's cart, Ben asked, "Cat, would you please go and get the other gift out of the barn?" Cat ran over to the barn and walked out leading Ginger. She handed the lead rope to Laura and Ben said, "It was Cat's idea for the family to give Ginger to you girls. You've both ridden her so you know how gentle she is. She'll easily carry both of you to and from school. I understand you three girls, Jasper, and Michael are all reading the same book and Cat wanted all five of you to be able to talk about what you read on your way to school. We're giving you a saddle, blanket and bridle also."

While everyone was admiring Caroline's cart, Charles took Carrie aside and warned her against having a temper tantrum because Cat would be getting more gifts than she would. "I am warning you now, if you have a temper tantrum because Cat gets more gifts than you, the consequences will not be pleasant. All of those people are Cat's Pa, brothers, grandfather, aunts, uncles, and cousins and she will be getting gifts from all of them and Santa. The Cartwrights were nice enough to invite us to join them for their Christmas celebration and I will not have you spoiling it for everyone else like you did on Mary and Laura's birthdays because you didn't get any gifts. You are five years old now and that is too old to be having temper tantrums because someone gets more gifts than you do. That will not happen today. Do you understand?" Carrie responded with a very quiet yes. "Alright then. Let's join everyone else and see what's under the Christmas tree."

Once the two horses and cart were put back in the barn and everyone was in the great room, Kitty and Victoria helped Hop Sing bring coffee and hot cocoa to everyone so they could warm up before Ben started handing out the gifts under the tree. Seeing six packages under the tree that were all the same size, he said, "Cat, why don't you give one of your gifts to someone?" Cat handed a gift to each family member and waited to see their reaction to the gift. When they opened the packages, all six men were surprised to see that they contained winter gloves with each glove bearing their name on it. Upon seeing his gift, Adam was extremely sorry he had tried to find out what Cat had been doing at Gerald Miller's shop and was happy nobody would tell him. He vowed to never again to try and find out what Cat was doing when she had permission to do it. He picked Cat up, hugged and thanked her and kissed her on the forehead before handing her to Joe who did the same things before handing her to Hoss. By the time she had been hugged and kissed by all six of her family members, Cat thought she had been squished almost to death. Ben was curious as to how she had managed to get all of their sizes correct but decided not to ask.

Ben handed the next gift to Cat. It was a rag doll from Mary, Laura, and Carrie. "Gee thanks. I never had a doll before except the dolls Adam gave me for my doll house but this one is special. She can sleep with me, Lassie, and Chief."

Next, Ben handed Mary, Laura, and Carrie's gifts from Cat to them. Ben wasn't sure who was happier to see that the presents were hats and mittens made from deer hide and rabbit skins, the girls or their parents. Mary's were died blue to match her eyes, Laura's were green because that was her favorite color and Carrie's were red.

After everyone had received one gift, Charles asked Matt to help him outside for a minute. Charles took the tarp off an object in the back of the wagon and asked Matt to help him carry it inside. Ben stared at a porch swing Charles had made. A Ponderosa pine and everyone's name had been carved into it. Caroline took a large package out from under the tree and handed it to Ben. He opened it and found that Caroline had made a beautiful cushion for the swing seat. "Charles, Caroline, thank you very much. This is a wonderful gift and I can't wait until the weather is warm enough to use it. We'll hang it tomorrow after church."

Ben handed out more gifts. When Hop Sing opened his, he couldn't believe the apron Cat gave him. His face was embroidered in the middle and everyone else's was embroidered in a circle around his. Each face had their name embroidered in both Chinese and English. Cat was also surprised to see the beautiful apron Caroline had made for her to give Hop Sing. He hugged Cat tightly and thanked her profusely for the apron. "Missy Cat give wonderful gift to Hop Sing. I wear when I make dinner today."

Adam gave Cat a child sized guitar. "Gee thanks Adam. It's real nice but I don't know how to play one."

Adam laughed. "Silly girl. I'm going to teach you how to play it."

"Oh. Ok. Thanks."

Ben kept handing out gifts. Cat gave Victoria four colorful scarves, Jarrod and Heath both received bandannas, Lucas got a new saddle blanket for his horse, Matt was given several new vests and she gave Rip a new bridle for his horse. Mark was very happy to see that his gift was a new knife that he'd been wanting. Kitty was thrilled with her new hat. "I don't know how you did it Cat, but this hat is the same color as that beautiful parasol you gave me last summer. Thank you so much. This is a lovely gift and I think I'll wear it to church tomorrow and Sunday."

Ben gave copies of the photographs Abel Goss had taken, the article Sam Clemens wrote, and the drawings Adam had made to the Barkleys, Matt, Kitty, and Lucas. They admired the photographs of the entire family and laughed at the ones of Cat sitting on the beaver dam, the article, and the drawing of Cat wearing Adam's coat. He also gave Caroline and Charles copies of the drawings Adam had made of Laura, Mary, and Cat asleep in Cat's bed with her puppies sleeping at their feet.

When all of the smaller gifts had been given out, Cat had given Joe the dress boots he had been interested in, a new holster, winter gloves gloves, and a new hat. She gave Ben three vests, winter gloves, the holster she bought for him in Carson City, and some bandannas. Hoss received several vests, winter gloves, a saddle blanket, and two carving knives. Adam was given six books, winter gloves, and the drawing and sketch pads, and colored pencils she picked out in Carson City. Adam read the titles of his new books aloud "War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, The Whites and the Blues by Alexandre Dumas, Leaves from Australian Forests by Henry Kendall, The Earthly Paradise Volume 1 and volume 2 by William Morris, and The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes. Thank you for everything Cat. The Whites and the Blues is the sequel to a book I already have and I am looking forward to reading it. I have read some reviews of War and Peace and The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha and had been hoping to read them soon. The books of poetry are great too. I have been looking for some new books of poetry to read. Thank you little sister. These are wonderful gifts."

Cat gave Abel the boots he had wanted, winter gloves, the drawing, and pine cone project she had made for him. He admired the drawing and pine cone project, passed them around for everyone to see and said, "Thank you Granddaughter. The drawing and pine cone creation are very thoughtful gifts that I will treasure for the rest of my life."

Besides the guitar from Adam, Cat received a new saddle blanket from Ben, a bridle Joe braided for her, and a set of figurines of the whole family, including Grandpa, Hop Sing, the dogs and Fury that Hoss carved and painted. Hop Sing gave her a new quilt one of his cousins had made, Matt gave her a new quiver for her arrows, Kitty gave her two new pair of moccasins, Rip gave her two pair of buckskin pants and two buckskin shirts. The Barkleys gave her a pink dress that was full of ruffles, as well as pink ruffled petticoats and pantaloons. Cat hated them but politely thanked her aunt and cousins and silently vowed that the hateful things would end up in the rubbish heap as soon as possible. She also received more dolls for her doll house and more toys from the entire family and an apron similar to Hop Sing's except her head was in the middle, from the Ingalls. Her biggest surprise so far came when she opened a package from Abel and found a model of the Wanderer. "Thanks lots and lots Grandpa. It looks like the one in Adam's room."

"That's because it is a model of the same ship. Her name is the Wanderer and she's the ship that your Pa and sailed on."

Forgetting her father's warning, Carrie started getting upset that Cat was getting a lot of presents. Charles saw a tantrum about to happen, took her outside, turned her over his knee and gave her two hard smacks. "I warned you what would happen if you had a tantrum because Cat got more gifts than you. If you continue with this behavior, I will take you home and use my belt on your bottom. There will be no more presents, no special dinner and no playing with your sisters and Cat. Nor will you be allowed to play with your toys. You will spend the rest of Christmas Day in bed. The choice is yours. Either behave like the polite young girl I know you are or we can go home right now." Carrie ran back into the house and tried to get sympathy from her mother and sisters, who gave her none.

Hop Sing was overjoyed to receive the new pots, pans, cooking utensils and herbs. He hugged Cat tightly and, seeing two small cake pans in the crate, resolved to make a small chocolate cake just for her.

When Laura, Mary, and Carrie received two pair of dungarees and two shirts from the Cartwrights, they and their parents were confused. Caroline would never allow her girls to wear pants, even for doing barn chores. Ben just gave Charles and Caroline a mischievous smile and continued handing out gifts. With Adam, Hoss, and Joe helping, four large boxes were taken from under the tree and given to the girls. "Ice skates!" exclaimed Laura. "We got ice skates! Thank you Mr. Cartwright, Adam, Hoss, Joe. Now we can go skating with our friends." All three older girls hugged Ben and Cat's brothers but Carrie sat on the floor by her mother and didn't say anything. Charles was going to take his youngest daughter outside again but Caroline just shook her head no at him so he decided to let his wife handle their five year old.

"Thank you girls, but if you look at the tags, those ice skates are from Santa," said Ben. "Adam, would you please help me get those two crates from under the tree?"

When the crates were opened, Cat, Laura, and Mary were thrilled to see that they contained books. All three girls hugged Ben, Adam, Hoss, Joe, Abel, and Hop Sing. "Look Ma, Pa," said Mary. "There are even easy books in here for Carrie."

The biggest surprise came when Cat, Mary, and Laura received sleds from Santa. Each sled had a girl's name burned into it and Cat's had the Ponderosa brand burned into it also. "We got sleds!" exclaimed Cat happily. "Now we can go sledding with Jas and Mike." After seeing the sleds, Charles and Caroline understood why their girls had received dungarees and shirts from the Cartwrights.

"Mark," said Joe. "My sled is either in the attic or the loft above the tack room. I believe my old ice skates are with the sled. I'll look for them later and you are more than welcome to use them while you're here. If the skates are too big, I'll give you extra socks to wear and we can stuff newspaper in the toes."

"Thank you Joe. That's very nice of you."

"You're welcome. Nobody wants to see you sitting here alone while everyone else is out having fun."

"Charles, Caroline," said Ben. "You also will be receiving several gifts from us. First, your hayloft is full and will remain that way." Then he handed Charles a tube with papers rolled up inside of it. Charles took them out and was confused about what he was seeing. "Those are plans Adam drew up for some modifications to your barn and house. Come spring, we will be enlarging your barn and kitchen, and putting another bedroom on your house. You'll need room for the new baby and the loft is already full with Mary and Laura sleeping up there." Charles and Caroline were surprised at Ben's words and extremely grateful for the gifts they would be receiving.

Andy sat in the great room with the family, watching the children open their gifts and wished he had a younger sibling or a child of his own to spend Christmas with. After the gift wrappings had been cleaned up, the children went outside to play in the snow. Andy looked at Ben and said, "Mr. Cartwright, being here with your family today makes me wish my parents would have had more children. You are a very lucky man to have your family around you today."

"Yes I am Andy and I give thanks for my family every day. Maybe one day, you will meet the right woman and have children of your own to share Christmas with."

"I hope you are right. If you are, I would like to get married here on the Ponderosa. I spent many happy days here as a child and always considered it my second home."

"And I always considered you to be part of my family. Of course you can get married here when the time comes. I wouldn't dream of you getting married anywhere else."

The children played outside for hours, taking turns pulling each other and Carrie on Joe's old sled, which he had found in the loft above the tack room, and pushing each other and Carrie on the swing. Ben called them in for a light brunch as they would be having a large meal in a few hours. When everyone was finished eating, Caroline told Carrie she had to take a nap. When Carrie protested, Charles told her she could either take a nap or he would take her home and she would spend the rest of the day in bed. With the argument with Carrie settled, Ben said, "Girls, Mark, I think the four of you should rest also. You woke up very early this morning, have been very busy all day, it will be late before you go to bed tonight, and everyone has to get up early tomorrow for church." When Mark and the girls complained that they were nine and eleven years old and too old to take naps, Ben replied, "You don't have to nap, just rest. You can read, write a letter to someone, draw, or lay down, but I want you resting. After all, you don't want to fall asleep during Christmas dinner, do you? I'm sure that Jasper and Michael will enjoy teasing you if you do and I know for a fact that Adam, Hoss, Joe, and the rest of the family will tease you if you fall asleep during dinner."

The four children went up to Cat's room and took books from her bookcase and settled down on her bed to read with Lassie and Silver Chief at their feet. Ten minutes later all four of them were sound asleep. Joe went upstairs to get something from his room and seeing Cat's door open, looked in to see what the girls and Mark were doing. He laughed quietly at the scene before him, went downstairs and said, "Adam, you need to get your drawing pad and sketch what's happening in Cat's room. It's very cute."

Everyone went upstairs and looked in Cat's room. Adam drew a picture of the children and puppies on the bed and said he'd make copies for anyone who wanted them. "And they thought they were too old to take naps," laughed Rip. "I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they see Adam's drawing."

When they awoke from their naps, Mark and the girls endured some good natured teasing about taking naps after they said they were too old for them. After finishing some hot cocoa and cookies, Ben said, "The four of you need to dress for dinner. The Kings, Devlins, Joshua, and Thaddeus will be here soon."

The rest of the guests arrived around three and after admiring everything Cat had already received, more gifts were exchanged. Cat received chaps and bandannas from Joshua and Thaddeus. "We can't have the newest hand working cattle without chaps to protect her legs and bandannas to keep her from eating too much dust," said Thaddeus. Cat hugged the two men. Victoria could see that a deep friendship had formed between the three of them and wondered if someday, Julia Grant's prediction that Cat and Thaddeus were going to marry, would come true.

Mike and Jasper gave her a pocket knife and a sheath for her hunting knife with her name and the Ponderosa brand burned into it. "Jas and I pooled our money," said Mike. "After we bought the knife, we had enough left over to pay Mr. Miller to make the sheath for you."

"You need a pocket knife for ranch work," said Jasper. "They're great for getting stones out of horses' hooves and cutting rope and fishing line and we saw that you keep your hunting knife in your quiver. This way you can keep it on your waist and get to it easier."

Cat hugged her two friends and said, "Gee thanks Jas, Mike. The knife and sheath are really swell. You're right, it is hard finding my knife inside my quiver."

Just then, Hop Sing came out of the kitchen and said, "Dinner almost leady. Set table." To everyone's surprise, not only did the six older children start to set the table, Joshua and Thaddeus also helped. When he announced that dinner was ready, Cat and her friends carried the bowls of vegetables, biscuits, potatoes, and gravy to the table. Hop Sing gave Carrie a plate with butter on it to carry so she wouldn't feel left out.

Once all of the food was on the table, before Cat could sit down with her friends, Matt and Rip picked her up and sat her in a chair between them. "Sorry kids," said Matt. "You get to see Cat six days a week when you're in school but her Uncle Rip and I only get to see her twice a year so we're keeping her for this meal."

Before Ben could sit down, Cat asked, "Pa, can I please talk to you outside for a minute? It's real important."

Ben had a feeling about what Cat was going to ask and said, "Why don't we just go in the kitchen for a minute? Everybody is hungry and we don't want to keep our guests waiting too long, now do we?"

"Ok. I just have to ask you something real important. It won't take long."

They went into the kitchen and Ben asked, "What's on your mind Kitten?"

"Can I please ask Uncle Rip to leave the Army and ask Uncle Matt to quit being the marshal in Dodge and move here while we're eating dinner?"

Ben thought for a moment and, knowing how important Cat's request was to her said, "Yes, of course you may. Just be prepared for them to say no and listen to their reasons when they do."

"Ok. I will but I really want them to say yes."

"I know you do. Now let's go and enjoy our Christmas dinner with our family and friends."

They returned to the dining room, Ben said the blessing and started passing the food around the table. While everyone was eating, Cat said, "Uncle Matt, Uncle Rip, I really like all of my Christmas presents but I want both of you to give me one more very special present."

"What is that Cat?" asked Rip, surprised that his niece would be allowed to ask for a gift.

"I want you to leave the Army and I want Uncle Matt to stop being the marshal in Dodge and I want both of you to move here. Those would be the bestest presents ever."

"Why do you want me to leave the Army?" asked Rip.

"'Cause I hate the Army just as much as I hate guns. If it wasn't for the Army and guns, my mama and daddy would still be alive and you might get killed because of the Army."

Rip hugged his niece. "No one is sorrier than Matt and I are that your father was killed in the war. Remember, he was our little brother. I like the Army but I don't like being so far away from you. I had just written a letter to your Uncle Sam asking him to transfer me to Fort Dodge or Fort Churchill when I got the telegram about your mother being killed. I was going to ask him to transfer me when we got back to the fort after the funeral, but he took one look at the mess Major Bush made, promoted me and made me the commanding officer. Since I've only been in charge there for six months, I can't ask to be transferred yet, but I promise that I will just as soon as I possibly can. I will write to your Uncle Sam on your tenth birthday and ask him to transfer me to Fort Churchill. I can't promise that he will, but I promise I will ask. I know that's not the answer you wanted to hear but it's the best I can do for right now."

"Oh ok."

"I can't just stop being the marshal in Dodge," said Matt. "There's nobody who can take over if I leave."

"Festus and Newly can."

"I'm afraid not Sweetheart. They're only deputies and I can't make them marshals. United States Marshals are appointed by the government. Besides that, Doc is teaching Newly how to be a doctor and he might go away to medical school. Also, a marshal has to be able to read and write and Festus can't do either of those things."

"Can't you ask the marshal in Carson City to trade places with you?"

"Unfortunately, I can't do that. I can write to my boss in Washington and ask him to let me be the marshal in Carson City but transfer requests usually aren't approved unless they're for a very good reason. I'll write and ask but the answer is liable to be no."

"Do you think Uncle Sam will say yes if I write to him and ask?"

Matt and Rip laughed. "Of course you can write to him and ask, but remember, he has a job to do and can't say yes just because his favorite Goddaughter asks him to," replied Rip.

All of the guests were surprised that Ben would allow one of his children to ask for a gift. Victoria was ready to scold her brother for allowing such rudeness but changed her mind when she heard Cat's requests. After all, Rip and Matt were the only connection she had to her father. She found herself wishing there was a way to grant her niece's requests but realized her brothers-in-law had excellent reasons why they couldn't give up their jobs and move immediately. Even though it probably wouldn't do much good, Victoria decided that when she got home, she would write to President Grant and ask him to transfer Rip to Fort Churchill and Matt to Carson City. Cat needed both of them near by and she wasn't above a little blackmail. She knew the truth about why Michael had gone back into the Army and could accidentally let that information slip out when Cat was within hearing distance. She would ask how that information would affect his, Sherman's, and Sheridan's relationship with Cat. Victoria knew that the family would counsel against her plan but decided to do it anyway.

After dinner, Adam and Andy got their guitars and everyone sang Christmas carols. It started getting late so the Ingalls, Devlins, and Kings headed for home while Joshua and Thaddeus remained with the family. Ben asked, "Would anyone like to take a moonlight sleigh ride around the Ponderosa? It will be tight, but everyone should fit in the sleigh, especially if Mark and Cat ride in someone's lap." Everyone except Hop Sing wanted to to go, so Cat and Mark told him they wouldn't go unless he did.

When everyone was outside at the sleigh, Cat asked, "Can I drive?"

"Not tonight Kitten. You don't know your way around the ranch well enough yet. Besides that, don't you think your uncles would like to spend some time hugging you?"

"I guess."

"You guess?!" said Rip picking Cat up and hugging her. "You should know by now that we want to spend all of our time hugging you and that's just what I intend on doing while we're on this sleigh ride."

It was a tight squeeze, but with Cat and Mark sitting in laps, all of the adults managed to fit in the sleigh. After riding around the ranch for several hours, Ben told Joe to start for home because it was late and Cat and Mark needed to go to bed. "We want to stay out all night," said both children together.

"Sorry kids," replied Ben. "We have church in the morning and you need some sleep."

"But we're not tired." Having heard the same statement many times before from their now grown children, Ben and Victoria just smiled and didn't say another word. Cat and Mark were sound asleep before the sleigh was half way back to the house.