Disclaimer: The only part of Castle that I own is the TV on which I watch the show.

It was so early in the morning that it was still dark, but Scrapple and I were awake. I decided to go across the hall and see the twins since I could hear them making their gurgly noises. Otis was standing in his crib holding on to the rail and Abby was sitting up in hers.

"Do you guys know what day it is?" I was whispering so Mom and Dad couldn't hear me on the baby monitor.

"Duh, Eliot. Everybody knows. It's today."

"Otis, don't be so bratty. It's Tuesday, right, Eliot? Because yesterday was Monday. I remember you told us that Tuesday comes after that."

"You're right, but it's something else too. I'm going to tell you, but not Mister Snooty Pants."

I got right up to the edge of Abby's crib and whispered even quieter, "It's Christmas! Santa came and I bet he brought tons and tons and tons of presents."

"Oooooh!" Abby said that out loud. She looks just like Mom when she gets excited, even though she's only a baby.

"You might as well tell me because I'm going to find out when Mom and Dad come up here."

"Yeah, well you can wait then, Otis. Because I'm not telling."

"It's Christmas, Otis. Santa!"

"Hey, Abby, that was a secret. I told you because you were being nice. Scrapple and I are going back to bed."

I guess that was dumb of me because then they both started to cry. Scrapple and I went back to our room and I stood on my tiptoes so I could get It Happened on Broome Street off my dresser. I put it under my quilt so Mom and Dad wouldn't see it when they came in and it was just in time because all of a sudden there was Dad leaning over my bed.

"Merry Christmas, Eliot! Do I have to tickle you awake?"

"No, Dad, me and Scrap up!"

"Okay. Let's take you to the bathroom and then you put on your slippers and we'll go downstairs."

"Santa come?"

"Oh, I do believe he did. There are tons of presents under the tree, and the stockings are so full they look like they might explode."

"Boom?"

"Yeah, boom. They're not really going to explode, though."

"Good."

After I went to the bathroom I put on my slippers. I like them but I hope Santa brought me some penguin ones that I asked for. They would be fun to wear with my PJs that I have on which have pictures of sea lions. Penguins and sea lions live in the Galapagos Islands. That is my favorite name for a place, besides Schenectady which is a city in New York State. I know a great joke about it. Here goes. "Can you use Schenectady in a sentence?" "This lamp is disconnected, he said." Isn't that funny? Ernie told me.

Dad and I went into the twins' room to see if Mom needed help getting the hellions into clean diapers and onesies, but she is so fast she was already done. She was holding Abby on one side of her and Otis on the other. I ran up and hugged her around her leg and wished her merry Christmas.

"Merry Christmas, sweet pea."

"And Scrap."

"Right, and Merry Christmas to you, Scrapple." Mom scratched him under the ear, which is his favorite spot.

"Thank you. I hope Santa didn't forget me."

"He didn't. I promise. I put things for you in my letter."

"You're a good boy, Eliot."

"You're a good dog, Scrapple. Let's go downstairs."

Dad wasn't kidding. You should have seen the living room. There were presents all over the place, not just under the tree. But first we opened our stockings while we had breakfast. I got to help with Abby's and Otis's because they make a mess and drop everything all over the floor if you don't. When we opened our presents I helped Scrapple, too. There was a big squishy package from Santa and inside was the soft blanket I asked for. It's dark green and SCRAPPLE is sewn on it in white letters. It will go right on my bed at night for him but after we opened it Scrapple went round in a circle and then curled up on it and went to sleep!

I loved everything I got from everybody, but the best thing was about a zillion blocks with five different fonts which Dad explained to me. I can spell out everything I ever want. The blocks were from Mom and Dad, not Santa, because he and the elves don't have time to make something that is especially just for one kid. I know how to spell thanks so when the twins were taking their nap I made five towers of blocks that said THANKS and went and got Mom and Dad to show them. Then I wanted to get the book while Otis and Abby were still asleep so I went upstairs all by myself with Dad watching just in case and I got the present and came back down.

"Mom, Dad, come sofa."

"You want us to sit down, Eliot?" Mom said.

"Yeah, sit."

"I think Eliot must have a surprise," Dad said. "Is this the project you were doing with Docky?"

Dad is smart! "Yeah. I get up tween."

"You want to sit in between us?"

"Yeah, Mom, tween." So I got up there and gave her the package because Gram says "ladies first" even though that makes Mom roll her eyes.

"Why don't I untie the ribbon and Dad can take the paper off?"

Mom is so smart, too. "Okay."

And when they did and saw IT HAPPENED ON BROOME STREET, they both said, "A book!" At exactly the same time, which they do a lot. It's one of their trademarks. That's a word I learned from Ernie.

I held up three fingers. "Three!"

"Three?" Mom opened the cover. "Three chapters, I bet."

"Yeah!"

"Wow, this is a really long book," Dad said. "How about if we take turns? Mom reads aloud the first one, and I'll do the second and we can do the last one together?"

I clapped. "Yeah! Good!"

They did. They stopped sometimes if they wanted to ask me how I knew something or to say they really liked a part or to laugh. When they were reading the last page about them not thinking I was weird I felt something land in my hair and I looked up and it was Mom crying and one of her tears had gone on my head. Dad had to finish reading because she stopped. And at the end she hugged me so tight and said, "je t'adore, mon petit magicien," which she told me later was French for "I love you, my little magician." And Dad hugged me and said he'd better be careful now that there was another writer in the family.

That's me, Eliot.

Merry Christmas!