Merry Christmas

Chapter 12

After a little time they had worked out a good schedule. They knew where the closest grocery store was and where the closest fresh produce stand was located.

It took weeks into months but they had a working vegetable garden and four new fruit trees. Apparently they already had two papaya trees so they added a banana tree, lemon and lime trees, and an avocado tree.

All of their stuff had finally arrived but they had also lost a few things. They had apparently not been packed well enough for the long trip and the rough handling they got.

oOo

Kate was home from school and was alone yet again. It was fine with her. She knew how to cook and when times like this happened she did all the cooking and was done and ready when her parents got home.

"Santa, please." Her dinner was in the oven so she had some spare time till her parents got home.

"Hi, Kate." Rick was always smiling.

"It's almost Christmas," Kate reminded him.

"Thanksgiving is tomorrow. Who's doing the cooking? You or your mom?" Rick had been told what was presently going on in her house and her life.

"Probably me at least until Mom gets home." Kate didn't mind much.

"Have you found any bare chested surfboarders that catch your fancy?" Rick teased her.

"No!" She wasn't interested in any of them. Yes, she and the family had gone to several beaches and done some swimming but not much more than that yet. Kate had no trouble noticing that she was being watched but she was holding out for Rick.

"You better not be even one second late, mister," Kate warned him.

"I will make doubly sure that I'm on time. It will be good to have you back." Rick was actually looking forward to it.

"So you admit that you miss me," Kate challenged him.

Rick avoided her question. "Alexis is placing Xs on the calendar. Counting down till Christmas this year." He was now convinced that Alexis loved her. Alexis was talking about Kate more and more often.

Kate wasn't going to let him. "Answer my question. You miss me. I'm eighteen years old now." She wasn't a sixteen-year-old kid any longer.

"I'm looking forward to seeing you, yes." What he did now that she wasn't a sixteen-year-old kid he wasn't yet sure. Somehow in his mind she was still sixteen years old.

"Shoot! Parents are home. I have to go. Remember, I still love you." This time Kate ended the call and went to meet her parents who came home with food for Thanksgiving which included fresh produce from the produce stand.

oOo

Kate was lugging yet another box of canned goods out to the truck. Her last for this trip. It was Thanksgiving and for breakfast they were out buying food to give to food banks in the Honolulu area. Then they dropped Kate off at home and went into work. It left Kate almost all day to get ready for Thanksgiving. She didn't have school today.

She had a lot to do if they were going to eat a Thanksgiving dinner.

Kate was taking a step back and looking over the kitchen, deciding what was done and what was left to do and decided she had some free time.

"Alexis, please." In almost no time she saw Alexis's smiling face.

"KATE!" Even Alexis knew she usually only talked to her dad so having her talk only to her was a treat.

"Hi, Alexis. Are you and your dad celebrating Thanksgiving?" Kate asked her.

"Yup! Are you coming?" It wasn't Christmas yet but Alexis didn't care.

"No, I'm spending it with my parents. I'm even doing all the cooking." Kate was actually proud of herself.

"You can cook?" Alexis didn't know that.

"Yes, I know how to cook." Why was everyone so shocked that she knew how to cook? "Have you been a good girl for Santa? You need to be a good girl to get a present," Kate told her.

"I'm always a good girl. Daddy always gives me a present." Alexis turned the tables on her. …"Have you been good?"

"I hope so, I really hope so." She so desperately wanted off the naughty list. She needed for what had happened to her to be in her past. If she was going to be naughty it wasn't going to be naughty any longer since she was eighteen now.

"Please come, Kate." Alexis so wanted to wrap herself around Kate and hold her tight.

"I'm coming, Alexis, I'm coming. I promise. Now do me a favor and go find your daddy and tell him that I love him." Kate was going to make sure that Santa knew that.

"Okay." Alexis smiled wide since she really liked the idea that Kate loved her dad.

"Bye, Alexis." Kate waved at her and watched Alexis wave back. Kate ended her call. She felt so much better now.

oOo

"Dad, can I borrow the truck?" She had a license. School had taught her how to drive.

"Why?" Jim asked after looking in the refrigerator for his once weekly beer.

"I need a new dress. I'm using my money." She didn't need to ask for any money.

This had Jim thinking. Christmas was only about a week away. Maybe Kate needed the excuse so she could buy Christmas presents. Jim pulled out his keys and handed them over. "Be home by dinner." And he gave them to Kate.

Kate was suddenly giddy. "Thanks, Dad." Kate took the keys, got her purse, and ran out to the truck. She needed a new dress that told Santa that she wasn't a kid any longer. She was an adult and Christmas was almost here. After all these months she just had to last one more week. Just one more week.

oOo

"Goodnight, Katie. Don't stay up too late and Merry Christmas." Jo hugged her daughter and let Jim get in his hug before they went to bed.

They were going to open their presents in the morning and open them with what Santa left them. They believed and while they might not be little kids they were big kids.

"Night." Kate watched them leave for their bedroom and looked at the clock. She had time to waste.

oOo

Kate was all dressed up. She was in heels. She was wearing as much makeup as she dared and she had even done her hair. A quick look in the mirror and she was satisfied. Then she picked up her beach bag that held a change of clothes and shoes as well as a packet of condoms and went out into the living room to sit down and wait.

Their house still didn't have a chimney and they had learned that very, very few houses had fireplaces. Hawaii just didn't get cold enough for them. Actually if you opened up all the windows you could and let the ocean breeze blow in it kept the house pretty cool most days.

oOo

Kate was waiting and watching the clock. Minutes seemed to be turning into hours. But what she hadn't done was turn on the TV or radio to try and keep herself occupied. So she had no idea just when she had gone to sleep.

oOo

Rick landed and exited his sleigh. In a heartbeat with his bag in hand, he was inside. He saw the Christmas tree and left two presents, one for Johanna and one for Jim. And then he moved over to a sleeping Kate.

He really wasn't prepared for what he saw. She was all dressed up and looked so cute. Yet she was so beautiful. Worse, at least for him, the way she was lying on the sofa showed off some cleavage. Kate had clearly done some growing since he had last seen her.

Rick was down on one knee. "Kate?" Rick pushed some hair away from her face. "Kate, you need to wake up now." Except she didn't move. All she did do was let out a puff of air which he found to be cute.

This was a bad idea but he leaned in to kiss her. He realized that she actually puffed her lips a little to kiss him back. "Wake up, Kate." Rick tried again and watched as sleep slipped away and she started to wake up.

"Time to go, Kate," Rick told her.

"Santa?" All she saw was white mostly. Then a little red till her mind woke up. "SANTA!" Kate bolted to a sitting position. "You're here. You're actually here." She had waited forever for this day.

Rick was still on one knee as Kate looked at him. "Santa. Are you proposing?" He was down on one knee. She was teasing and she knew it but she grinned as his cheeks matched the colors of his nose.

That had Rick getting up onto his feet. "I'm actually early. Shall we go? You're my very last stop."

"YES!" Kate got up. "Oh!" She picked up her beach bag and now she was ready. Kate wrapped her arms around his neck and let her bag rest on his back. "Ready." Oh, was she ready!

She watched it snow and suddenly they were on her roof. "Prancer!" She saw him turn his head and snort and grunt at her. "No Rudolph?" Kate questioned him since there were just eight reindeer.

"No storms so I didn't need him. Ladies first." Rick let her get into the sleigh, then followed her, and picked up his reins.

"Now Dasher! Now Dancer! Now Prancer and Vixen! On Comet! On Cupid! On Donder and Blitzen!

"To the top of the porch! To the top of the wall! Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

Suddenly Kate found herself flying and while keeping hold of her bag with one hand she grabbed the front of the sleight with the other one.

"You sure this is safe?" It certainly felt scary.

"Scared?" Rick teased her.

"No!" Kate had no intention of admitting that. For a second she took a peek over the side but it looked even more scary doing that. So she went back to looking forward.

After about maybe a minute she noticed that there was no wind. There was nothing in front of them but there was no wind and she wasn't even a little cold.

Then she saw snow but none of it was hitting them. "Is it supposed to do this?" Kate questioned but Rick didn't answer her.

Suddenly they were going down. "SANTA!" He was trying to kill them. Just like that she saw the North Pole that she had called home. The reindeer barn was getting closer and closer till they landed right in front of it.

Kate couldn't stop herself from giggling. She was back in the North Pole.

"KATE!" Alexis yelled and Kate decided she could get out of the sleigh on her side. She watched Alexis run to her and Kate knelt down and hugged her tight. Kate felt tears starting. She didn't really know just how much she missed Alexis till now.

"Are you staying?" Alexis was crying. Her dad kept saying that Kate was coming soon but soon never came. Alexis really didn't want her to leave again.

"I have twenty-four hours. …Why are you still awake?" Wasn't her it past her bedtime?

"Daddy let me stay up. He said you were coming today." Finally soon had become today.

"I'm here now." Kate stood up and took Alexis with her. She put her on her hip and felt her weight. "You've grown." She looked taller and she was certainly heavier.

"Santa." Kate turned to find him since she had come here for him mostly. Then suddenly she was laughing and couldn't stop.

"Very funny." Rick wasn't amused. This was the worst part of this job. His job was over so he didn't look like Santa any longer. No more white hair, no white beard. His coat was now way too big for him because he had lost his belly so it was hanging off him. Worse he was using both hands to hold up his pants since they didn't fit him any longer.

"Take her home, Pumpkin, I'll be right there." Rick made it snow and he was gone.

Kate watched as elves unhooked the reindeer and led them into the barn. The bag got taken away and the sleigh was taken away.

Kate didn't let Alexis take her to her old apartment. She went into the barn and headed straight for Prancer's stall. "Hi, Prancer." God but she had missed him too.

Prancer, for his part, snorted, grunted, and pressed his nose into Kate and let both of them pet him. "We're going flying later so don't go anywhere." She was riding a flying reindeer again before she left. Prancer simply grunted his acceptance.

"Okay, Alexis, let's go home." Kate felt Alexis hug her tight again. Kate carried her to the transit wall and pressed for the hospital like she had done a number of times, then walked around the hospital to reach her apartment.

Opening the door she saw Santa or really Rick standing there. Looking past him showed her that it hadn't changed any.

"Lucy made sure the place is ready for you. It's past your bedtime, young lady. Say goodnight to Kate. She'll be here in the morning and you can spend the day with her. No school for you." Rick reached out to take his daughter from Kate, held her and made it snow on them. They were gone.

Kate went to her bedroom, dropped her bag on her bed, then went back into the living room to wait. A knock at her door had her going there instead. "You don't have to do that, Santa." Kate opened the door. "Lucy." She wasn't expecting to see her tonight.

"I came to make sure you're comfortable. …Don't you look nice." Kate didn't look like the Kate she remembered any longer.

"Thank you." She had worked hard to look like this. "You think Santa will notice?"

"If he doesn't he's blind and I'll never make him hot chocolate or bake him cookies ever again." That had Kate laughing. "Come see me tomorrow; we have something to talk about. Santa has nothing to do tomorrow. Actually he's on vacation for a week as are the rest of us so he is all yours," Lucy informed her.

"Thanks, Lucy, for everything." Kate took a risk and hugged her and felt Lucy hug her back.

"Good luck, Kate." Lucy left her and Kate closed the door, looking around. Being there just felt so very right to her. She was supposed to be there. She was meant to be there. Then she watched it snow and saw Rick; he was all dressed up.

"WOW!" He was wearing a suit. A business suit. It was mostly white with blue snowflakes. Each snowflake was a different size and they were in three shades of blue. His jacket, pants, and even his tie. His shirt was white and his shoes were white.

"Very handsome, Santa." Damn but he looked good in that suit. "Like my dress?" Kate spun for him so he could see all of it. She had done her best.

All he did was stand there so she was starting to get nervous. "I'm still on the naughty list, aren't I?" He wasn't even going to touch her. She was ready to start crying.

Rick was looking alright. What he saw was a well dressed woman. A very damn sexy-looking woman. Not the sixteen-year-old girl that he remembered from last time.

She looked taller, her hair was longer, her legs were longer, her breasts were bigger. She was drop dead gorgeous. He really couldn't stop himself. He had been debating just what he was going to do once she was here.

Right now he wasn't even thinking about what was going to happen when Kate had to go back home. She had asked for a day and by the rules he had to give her a day and only one day.

Kate watched him walk toward her and take her in his arms which had her putting hers around him. Then his lips got closer and closer. He was going to kiss her. GOD but she wanted him to kiss her.

Kate kissed him back with as much passion as she could put into the kiss. The longer they kissed the softer it got. When he broke from the kiss to look her in her eyes, she took that opportunity to raise her arms around his neck and play with the hair on the back of his neck.

"Am I still on the naughty list?" Kate asked and teased him.

"Definitely," Rick told her and kissed her again.

oOo

Kate was awake and was very softly running her forefinger across his bare chest. She had her leg between his and his leg was actually almost touching her core. She had her hand under her head and her elbow on the bed and was watching him sleep.

They had made love for she didn't know how long, but they had done everything. Kate had scrambled out of bed to get her beach bag and find her condoms. She had worried that she wouldn't want him after being raped, but she wanted him and she wanted him badly.

She had given him the very best blow job she had ever given anyone. He in turn had done something no man had ever done. He had traveled down her body till his head was between her spread legs. The second his tongue touched her she knew she loved him and the feeling was like nothing she had ever felt. The fact that he even wanted to do this was amazing.

She still had a few condoms so she was thinking about doing it again. "Santa?" Kate kept playing with his chest. "Santa!" Kate pinched his nipple between her fingers and watched his eyes snap open.

Kate smiled at him. "Hi."

"Hi." Rick couldn't help it, he looked down at her breasts. He had already seen that she wasn't a sixteen-year-old child any longer.

"Am I still on the naughty list?" Kate asked him and smiled at him.

"Not yet," Rick smiled back at her.

"Good. Make love to me again. Please, Santa, and can you do that again? You know, lick me down there." She had found that incredibly pleasant and wanted him to do that again.

"I believe you've already gotten your Christmas present from Santa. But I think Rick can afford to give you a Christmas present." Rick smiled and reached up to pull her head down so he could kiss her.