Disclaimer: Garfield and all related characters are the property of Paws Inc. and ViacomCBS/Nickelodeon at the time of this story's creation.

Chapter 6: A Brother's Consultation

Doc Boy, now in his old bunny rabbit pajamas, yawns as he opens the door to his bedroom, which happens to be the old room that he and Jon used to share long ago. The younger brother sighed as old memories began to flood in his head.

Jon and Doc Boy were once an inseparable duo, the bestest of friends, and partners in crime. Every year, they would decorate the Christmas tree, wire up all the colorful Christmas lights, and would attempt to get an early peek at their Christmas presents before inevitably getting caught and grounded by their parents. He even remembers how they'd barely got a wink of sleep every Christmas Eve night, just thinking what those presents could be and impatiently waiting for that sun to rise.

But ever since Jon left the farm, it was as if the brotherly bond they once shared had started to fade away. Little did Doc Boy know this was only the beginning of their soon to be downward spiral.

Doc Boy attempts to shake these thoughts out of his head. He couldn't bear to remember any of those stupid old memories that had his so-called "brother" in them.

He couldn't dare to even call him his brother anymore.

Not ever since what happened last time.

*KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*

"Who is it?" Doc Boy asked, not wanting to speak to anyone in particular right now.

"It's me, your brother."

ESPECIALLY not him.

Doc Boy sighs heavily as he reluctantly opens the door and sees his brother Jon, in his orange striped pajamas, carrying an extra pillow with him.

"Hey, Doc Boy!" Jon happily waves at him.

"What do YOU want!?" Doc Boy asked harshly.

"Just thought I would crash in the old bedroom for the night with my favorite brother." Jon said, taken aback by his brother's rudeness.

"Oh, so you've finally remembered you had a brother." Doc Boy said sarcastically.

"Doc Boy, please." Jon said. "Just let me explain…"

"I TOLD YOU, DON'T CALL ME DOC BOY! NOW GO AWAY, AND MUCH PREFERABLY FOREVER!" Doc Boy furiously yells.

*SLAM*

The sheer force of the door causes the whole house to slightly shake. Jon sighs depressingly, feeling the immense guilt he had when he made that horrible mistake. More desperate than ever to make amends, the determined Arbuckle makes his way to the door again.

*KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*

"I SAID GO AWAY!" Doc Boy shouts.

"Please! Just hear me out!" Jon begs.

Doc Boy ponders for a moment if he should actually listen to Jon and let him in. On one hand, he could never forgive him for what he said, but on the other hand, his pleas seem to sound very genuine. With a heavy sigh, he reluctantly opens the door.

"Alright, come in." Doc Boy said calmly as he allows Jon to enter the bedroom.

"Wow. I see you've kept the old room the same as it was before." Jon said, remembering all the good memories he shared with the old room.

"Yeah, nothins changed since you've left." Doc Boy said.

"Well, it's good to be back at the old farm, spending Christmas with my favorite little brother!" Jon places a hand on his brother's shoulder, attempting to provide some much needed optimism.

"Oh, don't give me any of that crap, Jon! Especially not after what you said!" Doc Boy slaps Jon's arm off his shoulder, diminishing any chances of any optimism between them.

"Come on, you know I didn't mean it like that!" Jon argues back.

"He was like the brother I never had!" Doc Boy said in a very mocking tone.

"I didn't mean it that way!" Jon said, starting to fume up himself.

"Oh, really!? Cause that was exactly what I heard you say!" Doc Boy argues back.

"Hey! I was grieving, okay!?" Jon shouts. "I know what I said was wrong, but you have to understand!"

"Oh, I understand perfectly." Doc Boy mutters to himself, crossing his arms.

"What was that?" Jon asked.

"N-Nothing. I said nothing." Doc Boy said, turning his back on him.

"Really? Cause I could've sworn you've just said something." Jon retorts back.

"I didn't say anything!" Doc Boy angrily shouts.

"Doc Boy, is there something you're not telling me?" Jon glares at his younger brother, demanding to know what he's hiding from him.

"N-No! There isn't!" Doc Boy shouts.

"Then why are you getting so defensive!?" Jon points out.

"I'm not getting defensive!" Doc Boy raises his voice.

"Yes, you are!" Jon raises his voice.

"No, I'm not!"

"Then what are you hiding!?"

"I'm not hiding anything!"

"Yes, you are! Stop lying to me!"

"I'm NOT lying to you!"

"Just tell me the truth!"

"You know the truth!"

"No! I don't!"

"Don't you dare play dumb with me, Jon! You know perfectly well!"

"Know what!?"

"YOU KNOW WHAT!"

"NO! I DON'T KNOW!"

"YES! YOU DO!"

"KNOW WHAT!?"

"THAT I WAS NEVER GOOD ENOUGH TO BE YOUR BROTHER!"

Not another word was spoken as silence filled the room. For what seemed like an eternity, the two brothers do nothing but stare at each other, the older one completely shocked from the words that he just heard. Words that he thought he'd never hear from his little brother.

"Wait, what?" Jon was the first to speak, a look of concern on his face.

"I was never good enough for you, wasn't it!?" Doc Boy shouts, tears dropping from his eyes. "Ever since you've met him, you completely forgot about me! You might as well have called HIM your brother!"

"That's not true!" Jon said. "I always thought about you!"

"Oh, really!? Then when was the last time you've called me!?" Doc Boy demanded an answer.

"I….Uhh…" Jon couldn't think of an answer.

"Yeah, that's what I thought! *Sniff* You've abandoned me, Jon! I thought we were the bestest of brothers! *Sniff* I…*Sniff*...I guess I was wrong!" Doc Boy covers his face as his tears drop onto the floor.

Jon could feel the immense guilt all over his body. He couldn't bear to see his little brother like this. He slowly walked towards his sobbing brother and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Listen, Doc Boy...I mean...Dave." Jon corrected himself. "I never meant to ignore you. I would never ever abandon you. If that's how you really feel, then I'm truly sorry for hurting you." He tries to comfort him, but couldn't figure out what to properly say to him.

"Just go." Doc Boy shoves his brother's hand off his shoulder.

Jon lets out a depressed sigh. Realizing that there's nothing else he can do, he picks up his pillow and walks out of the bedroom.

"Merry Christmas, brother." Jon said sorrowfully before closing the door.

Meanwhile, Anna and James finish placing the rest of the presents under the Christmas tree. The former noticing both her mother and eldest son's cat staring out the window while rocking away on her mother's favorite chair.

"Mother, are you coming to bed soon?" Anna asked.

"I'll be along momentarily, sweetie." Grandma said before directing her attention back to Garfield. "I'd best be getting my shuteye, dear." She places the cat down.

"Thanks for being there for me. It means the whole world to me." Grandma kisses Garfield on the cheek before getting up from the chair and walking away to her bedroom. "Merry Christmas, Garfield.

"Merry Christmas, Grandma." Garfield waves goodbye to her before she disappears from his sight.

"Ah, they just don't make 'em like they used to." Garfield said to the reader. Yawning, the orange feline retreats to the fireplace to catch some well deserved Zs.

While making his way to his destination, he spots a treasure trove of well wrapped presents that are just begging to be ripped open.

"Wonder what this could be?" Garfield asked, picking up one of the presents.

"Gee, I hope it's for me!" The excited cat shakes the present as hard as he physically could.

*CRACK* *CRASH*

"Gee, I hope it's for Odie." Garfield said before sliding the now broken gift back under the tree.

Upon walking to the fireplace, he sees his owner Jon, who's clearly not in a jolly mood, entering the living room.

"Uhh...hey Jon." Garfield grins sheepishly, hoping that he didn't see him break the gift. "I didn't touch anything! Honest, that package broke all by itself!"

Jon, clearly not in the mood for his cat's shenanigans, simply ignores him and walks straight to the couch.

"Huh, wonder what got into him?" Garfield ponders for a second. "Nah, best to not get involved." The cat yawns as he lays down near the fireplace and closes his eyes.

*CREAK*

Nermal slowly opens the back door and quietly sneaks through the living room, making sure to not wake up either Jon or Garfield, who are both fast asleep. He makes his way to the closet and scavenges the area for anything useful.

"Aha! This'll be perfect!" Nermal takes a plunger and removes the cup from its handle. After sneaking back out of the living room, the kitten carefully opens the back door and makes an exit.

"H-Huh?" Garfield wakes up shaking from the cold wind that found its way into the house. Desperate to put an end to his constant shivering, the cat finds an open window letting the wind inside. Upon closing the window, he spots a familiar dog and kitten heading back into the shack.

"Odie? What's he doing out there with that little scamp?" Garfield quickly heads out the back door and follows them into the shack.

"This is a brilliant idea, Odie!" Nermal said, drilling a hole into the board. "He's gonna love this!"

*MMM HMM* Odie places the plunger handle onto the board and ties a gardening tool onto it.

"I wonder what they're making?" Garfield whispers, quietly climbing onto a stack of boxes and hiding behind them to get a better view.

"All finished!" Nermal proclaims, placing a grocery bag to cover it up. He and Odie pick up the gift and rush out of the shack.

"W-Whoa!" Garfield, unable to handle his balance any longer, falls off the stack of boxes.

*BONK* A stack of letters lands right on Garfield's head.

"Ow!" The cat moans in pain, grabbing the letters from his head.

"Holy crap!" Garfield exclaimed upon further inspection. "These old letters must be at least 50 years old!"