Christmas Addek fluff. If times were different, happy and dappy. Set in the same universe as Chapter 7 - Cookie Monster. . . .

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

"Mommy Add'son Ad'anne Shepherd! You got some 'splainin' to do!"

Addison flinches, pushes on red velvet chest as she attempts to hurry out of limbs over limbs and heat and cologne, the angry little voice still ringing across the entire living room, accompanied by stomping of small feet down the steps. She sees tiny arms being folded forbiddingly over an equally tiny chest, and two little bright blue eyes narrow in accusation.

They look familiar.

"Aurora! I - I - It's not -" she exclaims, stuttering through her words while shooting anxious glances at the man beside her.

It's not what it looks like?

For a second there, Dr. Addison Shepherd, Head of OB/GYN and Neonatal Surgery, the Meryl Streep of Maternal-Fetal Medicine (that's what the magazines are calling her now) and veteran of hundreds of births, if not, thousands, and fetal surgeries, almost, almost felt cowed to speak truth - like a guilty teenager caught in the act of rebellion.

Like that one time when she was caught kissing ... and amongst other indiscretions, James Van Der Beek under the bleachers by the school security, which resulted in their parents getting called into the Headmaster's Office to discuss possible repercussions (which in preparatory school terms means hefty donations for a certain swimming pool and expansion of a certain library).

But, but - wait a minute, she's the mother here, her mother, she's the one with the authority - so she rallies, summoning a narrow-eyed glare of her own. No wonder her daughter's look of death looks oh-so familiar. "You're supposed to be in bed, Aurora."

"But you're 'upposed to not be kissin' Santa!" her daughter retorts angrily, with Hugsy, her stuffed penguin, tucked under her arm, and reaching the bottom of the stairs, advancing across the room towards the transgressors, a fearsome scowl twisting her features. "Only kissin' Daddy! Not Santa!" she repeats for emphasis.

Wow, the little beast does have answers for everything. Well, she didn't get that trait from her, she will say that for certain.

She swallows, looking sideways again at the tall man in the red suit and bushy white beard. "Well, I can -"

I can explain. I know that's what people say. I know that's what get said.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty," the man interrupts, his eyes twinkling at the child as he surreptitiously shoves the sprig of mistletoe into his pocket and lowers his voice to a stage-whisper and asks, "Can I tell you a secret?"

The little girl's expression doesn't budge, but she undoubtedly takes a step closer. Her daughter, Aurora Solenn Shepherd, cannot resist a secret.

"What kinda secret?" she asks suspiciously.

The man in the red suit drops into a crouch, gesturing her closer. She cast a quick look up at her mother, who nods encouragingly with a wave of a hand, and takes another step, then another.

"Don't get mad, okay," the man says earnestly, "but the thing is, see, I'm not really actually Santa."

"You're not?" the child peers at his face, her anger subsumes into curiosity. "You look jus' like him," she looks down at the stuffed penguin, whom she's been holding by the wing and nods in agreement. "Hugsy tinks so too because you have the Santa beard."

"I know and Hugsy, over here, has a point." The man nods and taps the penguin on the beek. "See, Santa let me borrow his costu - uh, I mean, his suit. His clothes. Because he's so busy tonight, you know? Delivering allllll those toys to all the kids everywhere?"

"It takes allllll night," Aurora puts in with a wise nod and Hugsy, again, nods in succession. Addison bites the inside of her cheeks, struggling to keep a straight face.

"Yeah, it takes all night," the man agrees. "So since Santa is too busy reading stories to the sick kids at the hospital, I said, "Let me have your red suit, Santa, and I'll go read the stories too, so kids everywhere can have their presents on time for Christmas morning. Okay?""

He reaches up to his face, moving very slowly, making sure that Aurora is watching.

And she is.

"See."

Her bright blue eyes are riveted as he detaches the fake beard and carefully peels it away.

The loud, dramatic gasp that escapes Aurora's lips almost made Addison choke on her own tongue. Oh, how she wishes she had her phone out to capture this moment. She bites her lip, hard, and stifles the laughter that bubbles up her throat.

"Daddy?" the little girl breathes, her expression a picture of pure astonishment as she turns from her dad to Hugsy, who for some reason looks surprised too.

"It's me, Beauty," he confirms, holding out his arms for a hug. Aurora melts into him with Hugsy in between, but immediately pulls back, a strange look on her face.

"Dat your belly?" she asks in confusion, patting his midsection.

He grins, ruffling her hair with one hand.

"It's a pretend belly, sweetheart. Daddy's not quite as chubby as the real Santa, is he?"

Aurora shook her head, but her little face is suddenly, and all too quickly, she must add, scrunched up in thought, so Addison hasten to intervene before her daughter's clever mind could start making connections.

"Come on, Princess, let's get you and Hugsy back to bed," she says, lifting the child against her hip, "Daddy will be up in a minute to tuck you back in."

"Hugsy too, Mommy." she whispers, patting her little palm to her cheek.

"Of course. Hugsy too." she says as she looks back at her husband, who seems to have taken the hint and he swiftly disappears into their bedroom while she goes up the stairs with Aurora and Hugsy.

The righteous indignation that had sustained Aurora throughout her dramatic entrance gave way to exhaustion, and the little girl now is slumping bonelessly on her mother's shoulder.

It had been difficult to get her to sleep a couple of hours ago, the excitement of Christmas Eve making her manic, but this time there is barely a peep of movement as she settles her daughter back into bed with Hugsy tucked warmly next to her, pulling up the covers over her slender shoulders.

"Sleep, baby. Santa can't come deliver your presents until you're asleep," she murmurs.

Aurora's eyes are already closed, her breathing beginning to even out as she brush a kiss to her forehead and withdrew.

Derek appears in the doorway, having hastily divested himself of the top part of the Santa costume - the wig, hat, coat, and fake stomach - though he still has the red pants and shiny black boots on. "Out already?" he whispers.

"Hopefully for good this time," she whispers back. He nods, slipping into the room to place his own kiss on their daughter's pudgy cheek before they both slip back out again, pulling the door shut and moving quietly back down the stairs.

"Good save there, Santa," Addison comments as they reach the living room. "That was a close one." she glares at him, before adding, "If someone hadn't been so eager to take advantage of the mistletoe ..."

"How was I to know she'd wake up?" Derek protests. "And besides, I didn't hear you complaining about a little Santa/Mrs. Claus roleplay," he adds with a smirk.

She huffs, a slight flush spreading across her cheeks - she can't tell a lie. "Well, let's just hope she doesn't start thinking too hard and figure out where the presents really come from."

"Yeah, she's much too young for that." he agrees. "If we're lucky, she'll just think it was all a dream or something." he pauses, thoughtful. "Although, if she really believes that I know Santa personally, that would definitely be an asset for my cool dad status."

"Your cool dad status doesn't need any more help, Derek," Addison replies with a roll of her eyes. "She already thinks you hung the moon and the stars. I'm the one who's in trouble here - if she remembers catching me kissing some strange guy! God, Derek, she'll hate me."

"True," he muses with a twinkle in his eye. "You certainly were in the doghouse for a minute there. Good thing your favourite person in the whole wide world was there to save the day."

"Yeah ... I'm off the hook for now, but just wait until she finds out what Santa's already brought her for next year."

"What do you mean?" Derek asks, frowning, bemused, as a slow smile crept over his wife's face. "Addie?"

"There's one present you have to open tonight, honey," she murmurs, catching his hand in hers as she moves past him toward the mantelpiece and the enormous tree, sparkling with garlands and ornaments and twinkling coloured lights.

Addison plucks a small box from the huge pile of festively wrapped gifts underneath the tree, and turns back toward Derek, pressing it into his hand. "I know our family tradition is to open all the gifts together on Christmas Day, but this one doesn't need an audience," she says, biting her lip, lifting her eyes to his face.

He cocks his head to one side, still confused. "Um, okay ..." Her soft smile seem to reassure him, and he shifts his attention to the gift in his hands. Quickly he undoes the ribbon and lifts the lid.

"Oh, Addie," he gasps when the top comes off the box, revealing a slim white plastic stick with two pink lines on it. "Oh my god. Really?" he looks from the box to his wife's face, shining now with a wide, full smile as she nods in confirmation.

"We're going to need another stocking next year," she says, and then lets out a squeak as her husband swept her off her feet and into a hug, both of them laughing as the gift box hit the floor.

"Another baby!" Derek exclaims in delight. "I don't know if you can tell, but I'm very very very happy. This is the best present ever, Addie." he peppers kisses all over her face until she huffs and grabs his ears, bringing his mouth to hers for a proper kiss.

"Did you see Dr. Geller? What did she say?" he asks when they came up for air.

She shakes her head. "I made an appointment for next week, after the New Year. We can go while Aurora's at preschool. I knew you wouldn't want to miss it."

"You know me so well." He kisses her again, and again, his broad palm settling over her still-flat abdomen, a reverent caress. "God, I love you."

"I love you too," she smiles against his lips, "but now that Aurora's back to sleep, we better get to work." she pats his chest and then slips out of his arms, tugging him toward the laundry room where the remaining gifts were hidden. "Come on, we've got a lot of stockings to stuff."

"I'd rather stuff -"

"Derek!"

He chuckles, sliding his arm around her waist and falling into step beside her. "Okay, okay. Back to work. I didn't know Mrs. Claus was such a taskmaster."

Addison smirks and arches an eyebrow at him as they move across the room. "Oh, don't worry. After we get all the presents into place, there might just be something else for you to unwrap."

"Ho, ho, ho!" Derek pronounces with a wide grin on his face and a twinkle in his eye. "And to all a good night."

Thanks for reading! Just a little silly fluffy fluff.

Happy Holidays guys!