Chapter 5: Old Friends

It was the holiday season once more and it was back to that cabin.

It's been a tradition every since Annie's first trip. And, after her getting kidnapped by robots earlier this year, it's a well deserved chance to unwind.

Still, her father had some doubts on somethings.

"Are you sure about this?" Danny asks.

"Of course." Tucker said.

"My boy and little girls need time away from the big city. Maybe a chance to get away from the insistence of corporations trying to insist people eat those poor geese, turkeys and pigs." Sam insists.

"Uh, Sam? We're having those." Danny points out.

"Oh... well... uh...well, you're all old friends so that's a pass." Sam said.

While Sam stepped away to make a phone call, the two man whispered to each other.

"How is she so clueless?" Tucker asks.

"No idea..." Danny whispered back.

"What was that?" Sam asks from the door.

"NOTHING!" They both went in unison.

Later

The family drove until they arrived to their destination.

"There's the cabin!" Manny went.

"Yay!" Frannie went.

"You know it's gonna get more amazing when we actually get there, right?" DJ asks.

"Yeah, but we like how it looks from here." Manny said.

"Plus, this gives us time to find out where we'll do our snowball fight." Frannie said.

"Count me out." DJ said.

"Too bad, little bro. I agree to be on Frannie's team, so you're teaming with Manny." Annie said as she wrapped an arm around DJ.

DJ sent one annoyed look at Manny, who grinned innocently.

"Great..." DJ sighed with sarcasm in his tone.

"No snowballs until we unpack." Kim ordered.

Her kids pouted at that.

"Aww... do we have to?" All four went in unison.

"Yes, because our kitchen was a mess. I'm not naming names... but the walls and ceiling were covered in grape jelly. So, until further notice, you're all going to stay well behaved." Kim reminded.

Flashback

As Danny and Kim came home from work together, giving each other bedroom eyes, they stopped at the sight of the kitchen being a mess.

Their jaws dropped as the walls and ceiling were covered in grape jelly, which was in handprints and smears.

They then saw Annie, arms crossed, as she glared at the twins, who smiled innocently as they were covered in grape jelly.

Flashback over

The twins flinched and tried to pass the blame to someone else.

"Annie was in charge, so it was her fault!" Manny said.

"Yup, her fault!" Frannie went as the two pointed at her.

Annie responded by rolling her eyes at them.

One hour later

All four of the kids stood in front of Kim, having finished unpacking. All of them had their hands behind their backs, trying to look innocent.

They were silent as Kim marched back and forth in front of them like a drill sergeant, giving them a stern look.

"So… your father has convinced me to let you four have your fun in the snow. Now, stay close to the house." She said.

"Yes, Mom!" All of them went.

"No roughhousing!"

"Yes, Mom!"

"And no powers!"

They were about to go, but Kim continued.

"And no snow inside the cabin!"

"Yes Mom."

"And don't lick anything!"

"Yes… Mom…" They all went, now sounding more tired and bored than anything.

They were halfway to the door when Kim spoke up again.

"And don't even think of touching the yellow snow! That is not lemonade!" Kim said.

"Mooomm!" All four went, sounding embarrassed she'd even shout that.

"Hey, I have to be stern!" She said with that stern expression on her face.

With that, Danny walked up to his wife and smiled as he wrapped an arm around her.

"So… while we wait for the rest… movie, romance or a little exercise?" Danny asks.

"All 3…" Kim said as she rested her head on his shoulder.

In the next hour, the Fenton kids were playing.

Annie and Frannie were preparing a fort as DJ sighed at hiding behind his and Manny's snow fort.

"Ready, big bro?" Manny asks, holding a snowball.

"Just to be clear, winner gets double marshmallows in their hot chocolate?" DJ said.

"Yup!" Manny went.

"Okay, sure…" DJ said.

Meanwhile, Annie and Frannie were keeping a watchful eye from their own snow fort.

"Ready, big sis?" Frannie asks.

"Yup. I'll follow your lead." Annie said.

"Please and thank you." Frannie said.

"FIRE!" Manny and Frannie shouted in unison.

The boys and girls braced themselves as all of them got up and threw snowballs.

All of them were hit in the chest.

They all pretended to be wounded as all four laughed together.

We so needed this… Annie thought.

"Okay… I guess we should call it a tie." Annie said.

"Okay." DJ said.

"Okay." Manny said.

"Yeah…" Frannie agreed.

"So… I'm gonna take a rest. You three keep doing this for now…"

The older sister walked away as the three resumed their snowball fight.

Annie stretched her arms, taking a deep breath in.

After all the craziness, what with the Bebes and the Ghost King on Halloween, we needed this… She thought.

"Hey there, Annie Phantom." A familiar voice went.

Annie turned around and saw a friend of hers.

"Tuck?"

"Not just him who arrived."

She saw another friend of hers and smiled.

"CJ?"

''Hey..." He greeted.

"Where's RJ?" Tuck asks.

"He's... not coming." Annie said, sounding down. "His dad's Jewish, remember? They don't celebrate Christmas."

"My mom's Jewish though." CJ points out.

"Yeah, but your dad's not. Plus, the holidays are the one time she's not... well... how she normally is. Uh... no offense." Annie went.

"No, I'm with you." CJ went, not defending how his mother usually is. "Just last month, she tried to protest selling turkeys by showing elementary schools the history of turkey killings and showing them in graphic detail." He shuddered. "The floor had more gravy on it than the actual food in the video right when the blood was being dried out of the turkey..."

Knowing what that "gravy" actually was, his two friends blanched at that.

"I could have lived my whole life without hearing about that, now it's in my head..." Tuck went.

''Same..." Annie said, just as disturbed.

"So, snowball fight?" CJ asks.

He did it mostly to change the subject. His friends nodded and they began their own snow ball fight.

After about 15 minutes, they decided to take a break and catch up.

"So, how are things with Tawnie?" Tuck asks.

"Honestly? Pretty cool... she's using my nickname of Ceej now." CJ went.

''I still can't believe you're keen to date her..." Annie muttered before sighing.

"Hey, your dad got Kim Possible to fall for him before learning he's got powers, and Erica's hot mom had her with a guy who's like 10-15 years older, so I got a chance!" CJ insisted.

At least she's not Erica... Annie thought.

Meanwhile

After getting ready upon a phone call 10 minutes earlier, Danny and Kim were all dressed and ready for their guests.

They went to the door and saw their guests waiting for them.

"Guys!" Danny said.

"Hey man..." Tucker said as he high-fived his friend.

"Thank you for inviting us." Velma said politely.

"Of course..." Danny said before seeing Sam and her family. "Hey Sam, Christopher..."

"Hey Danny." Sam said as she hugged her friend.

"Hello..." Christopher said politely.

"Come on in, make yourselves at home." Kim said.

They all did as said.

While Kim was watching the kids with Sam and Velma, Danny was the one getting dinner started, with some help from Tucker and Christopher.

"So...let's see what you're cookin' up..." Tucker said as he rubbed his hands.

"We got goose, turkey, ham, pie, mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes and, for the Morgans, salads and tofu..." Danny said as he gestured to the fridge.

Christopher, who was a vegan, spoke next.

"Well, I'm glad you made the effort for us, but I don't mind if you guys eat meat, we need the proteins after all..." The blonde man said as he gave a thumb's up. "I mean, I don't mind if anyone in my family eats it too..."He said, in a way that sounded like he has no issue with it.

Danny raised a brow at that.

Does he know about CJ's secret? He thought.

Meanwhile, the mothers were all watching their kids having fun together.

"Together!" The twins said as they threw snowballs at the others.

Sam had her two daughters in her lap, both still too young to get involved in a snowball fight.

"I got experience here, kids!" Tuck shouted only to be hit with snowballs.

"Careful, son!" Velma called out before redirecting her attention to Kim. "So… about this creature Danny saw? Are you sure it was real?"

"I was asleep. Plus, he said his ghost sense went off, so it was without question real. Plus, Jake says that thing is still a vegetarian." Kim answered.

"A cannibalistic monster converting to vegetarianism out of fear? Hmm…" Sam went, pondering before seeing a glare from Kim.

"Danny is not going to scare people out of eating meat…" She said flatly.

Sam rose her hands defensively.

"Just kidding…" She claims.

"Well, I should check on how things are in the kitchen, right after I call my sister and make sure Shaggy isn't eating all our fridge's contents… again." Velma said.

She loves her friend/brother-in-law but he really is too gluttonous. The brunette woman sighed as she left, leaving the two other women left.

"I see that Shaggy still has a big appetite." Sam said.

"Yeah, and it's no wonder Bob put restrictions on him and his dog." Kim said.

Sam nodded before an awkward silence came between them.

"So… how's Annie been? After, y'know, the robots?" She asks.

"She's fine. She is my daughter, after all. Not to mention, she's Danny daughter too…" Kim said.

"Right…" Sam said before sighing sadly.

"You okay?" Kim asked.

"It's just that...The other day, I saw some old photos of our little group as kids, before that summer." Sam explained.

"Oh… and…?" Kim asked, wondering where's she's going with this.

"Back when it was just him, and me and Tucker...and I thought that it would be just us. Truth be told, I wanted to hate you just for being the girl Danny was falling for. I won't deny my attitude was wrong, no matter who you are or what you do. I… I think I had feelings for him, but as time went on, I feel like Chris and I had more… I guess, chemistry? In any case, I know I've said it before, and I meant it, but I'm sorry for how I acted before."

Kim smiled and waved a hand dismissively.

"No big."

Sam smiled and shook her head.

"Some things never change…" She said.

"Nope." Kim responded.

Dinner time

Everyone was gathered at the table, eating the feast while The Morgan family stuck to the vegan food.

"Here you two go…" Sam gave her two daughters their tofu and veggies. "All safe, nutritious and yummy…" She cooed to her children.

That, Mom, is a matter of opinion… CJ thought bitterly.

He eyed his dinner and frowned in displeasure. His eyes darted to the hams and turkey on the others' plates and envied them.

"Mmm… good ham." Tuck went, chewing slowly as he savored the taste.

Lucky... CJ thought as he saw Tuck stuffing his face.

"So, how's work?" Sam asks.

"Great! We just managed to finish our biggest project this year, the latest in entertainment, goggles that stream movies and shows!" Tucker said with a big grin.

Danny and Kim raised eyebrows before answering.

"Helped stop an attempted alien invasion." Danny said.

"Apprehended a group of crazed Monkey Fist supporters from attacking the Yamaouchi school." Kim answered.

"Stopped the Ghost King from making another comeback." Danny added.

"Saved the maximum-security prison from an uprising." Kim added.

"Helped GJ pick potential new recruits with superpowers, since I'm their consultant." Danny added.

"Found all the remaining Bebes and melted them down." Kim said.

Tucker's smile dropped.

"I feel less impressive now…" He muttered.

Meanwhile, Annie saw CJ wasn't really eating his food, just pushing it around with his fork.

I wish he'd just talk to his mom about this already... Annie thought.

"So, CJ? How's the tofu steak with soy beans?" Sam asked.

CJ wanted to throw up, but tried to be nice.

"Yummy…"

"Great…" Sam said as she got up and placed more on his plate. "Here's some more."

CJ's face went pale.

"Oh…"

"Hmm… that might be a lot, don't you think?" Chris asks in an oddly knowing tone.

"Don't be silly, he loves this as much as we do." Sam insisted.

Seeing the look on CJ's face, Annie could only pout for him before she had an idea.

"Hey, Mrs. Morgan? I think there's a pie still cooking in the kitchen, can you check on it?" Annie asked loudly.

Danny wanted to speak up, but he got an idea of what she was doing and kept quiet.

"Uh...sure, I'll check..." Sam said as she went to the kitchen to get them.

Once she was out of the room, Chris got up.

"I should go too. Make sure she's not back too late… or too soon." He said with a wink.

He followed his wife, leaving Danny with an eyebrow raised.

"Huh… you don't think…?" He asked Kim.

"Probably?" Kim responded, seeing it too.

Annie then motioned to CJ.

"Want something a little more… tasty?" She asks playfully.

"Yes! Please…" CJ begged.

"Gotcha." Annie said as she fired a ghost ray that reduced CJ's dinner to ash.

As this went on, the kids were at a smaller table, watching the whole thing. Manny and Frannie were pouting.

"Sure, when we don't want to eat veggies, we gotta. But when CJ doesn't, he gets what he wants?" Manny questioned.

"Unfair age discrimination…" Frannie said as she crossed her arms.

Once done, Annie winked.

"There's some left, we'll keep your folks busy." She assured.

"Thanks Annie, you rock..." CJ whispered to her, almost crying tears of joy.

Just in time for his mom to come back with the pie.

"Here it is..." Sam said as she took her seat.

"Hope we didn't miss anything." Chris said as he followed.

Sam noticed that CJ's plate was empty.

"I see that you finished your dinner, CJ..." Sam said, oblivious.

"Yeah...can I be excused?" He asked.

"I don't see why not..." Sam said, surprised by his sudden getting up and running off. "Huh… he was hungry…" She said, seeing the plate was spotless. "Did he lick the plate clean?"

"Uh… yes." Annie said.

"Uh uh!" Manny said.

"That's not true!" Frannie said.

Sam was confused before Annie got up and stood in her view of the twins.

"What they mean is…" She thought fast. "He… wiped it clean with a napkin just so you'd have less plates to clean. He… gave it to me to incinerate."

Sam smiled, buying it.

"I see…"

The twins wanted to speak up, but Annie went to them and whispered.

"Help keep his secret, and I'll give you a secret extra package of cookies Mom didn't see me sneak in…" She offered.

The twins grinned and nodded while DJ watched in amusement.

"She can bribe them to do anything for sweets…" He said in amusement.

Morning, 5:30 AM

"Annie?" She heard her father speak. "Annie-bear?"

"Mmm… w-what?" She asks, feeling groggy. She saw her father standing above her, having shaken her by the shoulder to wake her up. "Dad? What's up? Did you get a call from NASA or something?"

"No, your mother and I had an idea. Would you… like to see the light of Christmas morning with us?" She asked.

''Light of Christmas morning..." She repeated as she stretched her arms and yawned.

"That's right." Danny said.

"Why do you guys have this weird tradition?" Annie asks.

"It was kind of your mother's idea that we'd check it out since she fell in love with it the first time that we did it. There's just something so beautiful and special about the sunrise in the mountains...almost like nature itself greeting us with a warm smile..." Danny explained.

Yawning again, Annie rubbed her eyes before smacking her lips.

"I guess… that could be cool." She said.

"Then brush fast and get dressed." Danny said as he got up.

Annie took in a deep breath as she got up. She looked around and saw her siblings were still asleep. She paid no mind as she figured they were too young for this.

Soon enough, without making too much nose, she did her hair, brushed her teeth and put on winter clothes, her green pants, red jacket and blue beanie.

She followed her parents, who were a few feet away. They were used to this, so Annie was going slower.

"Come on, Annie." Kim called out.

"Coming…" She said sounding groggy.

Yawning once more, she saw they were walking uphill. Groaning, she resumed following.

"Don't complain. You could just stay in bed." Danny said.

"True, but I'm curious as to how this little tradition of yours goes." Annie says.

She resumed walking as she yawned again before they arrived to their destination.

"We're here…" Kim said.

Once she made it, Annie's eyes widened as the sun began to rise.

"Whoa…" She said under her breath.

She saw how beautiful the sun looked now, the brightness of the light and colors of the sky and various shades in the clouds.

Her eyes sparkled at the sight as her parents smiled at her enjoying the sight.

The two held hands, smiling at each other a moment before Danny's eyes darted to his daughter and had an idea.

He let Kim's hand go and placed his on Annie's head.

Annie was stirred out of her thoughts as she saw her father smiling at her. She was aout to smile back when she felt her mother's hand on her shoulder. She turned her head and saw her mother smiling too.

Annie smiled at her too when she redirected her attention to the sunrise.

"Okay… it's a pretty sunrise. I'll admit that." Annie said.

"Sure is…" Danny said.

"Yeah, it's spankin'." Kim added.

Annie nodded as she went back to watching the sunrise.

"Someday, we should really show DJ and the tweebs…" Annie said.

New chapter up thanks to Flower princess11.

What's that? It's not Christmas time anymore? Well... as long the radio stations are still playing Christmas music, I can get away with it.

guardian1989: Thanks. And yes, like Shego making an occasional come on to Danny to mess with Kim, Erica does the same regarding RJ to annoy Annie.

Invader Johnny: Definitely sad.

Jebest4781: Thanks.

RonaldM40196867: Yup, it's been upgraded over the years.

danifan3000: It was the omelet part. Pretty sure those trees would still freeze if it's cold enough.

DJ Rodriguez: Thanks.

Luiz4200: Yup.

BeConFuzzled Writer: I left it ambiguous who he ends up with, so don't expect her to be the mother of his son.

pokemon fan 1991: Thanks.

William Escobar 608: 1) Después de Vlad, antes de la graduación. 2) Sí. 3) Está tan desesperada, probablemente contenta de no necesitar tener hijos ella misma. 4) Nop. 5) Sí. 6) Sí. 7) Seguro que lo es. 8) No te metas con esos dos. 9) Seguro que lo es. 10) Quiere que su hija sea dura. 11) Algunas cosas nunca cambian. 12) Sí ... 13) Podría ser. 14) Lo intentaré este año.