A/N: Originally posted in The More the Merrier: Suite Life 2010 Collection, chapter 11. Fix-it ficlet. Enjoy.
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THE GIFT OF GIVING
Bailey knocked gently at the door to quarters she'd only visited once before. She was nervous. She hadn't been down here in months and she wasn't sure the cabin's occupant would appreciate the intrusion, no matter that her intentions were good.
"Come in," a muffled voice called through the door.
Cautiously, Bailey turned the knob and poked her head around the bulk of the door to peer inside. "Miss Tutweiller?"
"Bailey," Miss Tutweiller said as she caught sight of her student half-way through her door and waved her in, "Come in! What can I do for you?"
Bailey stepped fully into the room and closed the door before any of Miss Tutweiller's cats could escape. She smiled to see Mr. Whiskers happily snoozing on her teacher's lap, obviously taking advantage of the prime nap-time space while Miss Tutweiller took in a book. "I was hoping to speak to you," Bailey started, "Well, actually, to give you this." She handed over an envelope with a golden bow on it.
"What's this?" Miss Tutweiller asked as she took the envelope. "Should I open it now?"
Bailey smiled and nodded, "Please do. It's for you, after all."
Miss Tutweiller gave Bailey a confused little grin before carefully removing the bow and sliding a nail under the flap of the envelope. She pulled out the soft pink paper inside and exclaimed, "Bailey! A coupon for a free mani-pedi at the salon? This must have cost a fortune! What-Why would you give this to me?"
Bailey swallowed nervously and rubbed her hands along her jeans before abruptly taking a seat and facing her teacher. "I wanted to thank you," Bailey began and rushed to continue when Miss Tutweiller looked about to interrupt, "for helping me when I broke up with Cody. You didn't have to spend the day with me the way you did. You didn't have to be so nice. But you were wonderful to me and I wanted to thank you for it. It really did make me feel better playing with your cats, eating ice cream, and just talking about it. And I felt like such a jerk when London and I ran off without you after you'd been so great."
"Bailey," Miss Tutweiller said quietly. She remembered the sharp stabbing hurt that went through her when the girls had left her behind without a second thought. That rejection still stung and brought up other painful memories for her but she'd put that pain behind her, willing to forget it had ever happened. Teachers weren't really supposed to be friends with their students anyway, so what else should she have expected from two teenaged girls? She shook her head wonderingly, "That was months ago. Why bring it up again now?"
Bailey looked down a little bashfully, one foot reaching out to lightly kick a cat toy across the floor and sending three cats scurrying after it, "Well, I didn't have enough money at the time to make it up to you but I've been saving my allowance and finally had enough to get that for you. And since it's the season of giving I thought there really couldn't be a better time."
Miss Tutweiller smiled tremulously and willed herself not to cry at the gesture. When she felt she had her emotions under control she spoke, "You didn't have to do this, Bailey, but thank you. It's very sweet."
Bailey grinned up at her teacher, "You're welcome. Oh!" she patted her pockets and reached into an inner one in her jacket and pulled out a packet to hand over, "I also had my mom send this to me."
Miss Tutweiller opened the packet and dumped its contents onto the cushion between them. Out of the bag fell a feline sized cowboy outfit, complete with tiny chaps and gallon hat. "Oh!" Miss Tutweiller laughed, "This is perfect!" She immediately snatched up the hat and fitted it over Mr. Whiskers' head. The cat merely looked at his owner and her guest with a particularly catlike expression of disdain but he didn't leave Miss Tutweiller's lap, he yawned and sat up a little farther knowing what to expect when the outfits came out. Miss Tutweiller clapped, "He's so cute! Thank you, Bailey."
"You're welcome," Bailey smiled. She hesitantly stood and said, "I should probably go."
Miss Tutweiller looked up at her now standing student and said, "Are you sure? You could help me get Mr. Whiskers here into the rest of this outfit and we could have another tea-party if you wanted..."
Bailey grinned, "That actually sounds like a lot of fun." She sat down again and picked up the vest, "Hey, it's got a sheriff's star on it!"
"Really?" Miss Tutweiller picked up another piece of the outfit, "Cow-print chaps," she shook her head before laughing, "With mini spurs! These are adorable."
Bailey watched as Miss Tutweiller finagled her cat's limbs into the appropriate pieces and couldn't stop grinning. "Miss Tutweiller?"
Miss Tutweiller looked up from her rag-doll imitating cat with more joy easily readable on her face than Bailey had ever seen before, "Yes Bailey?"
"Merry Christmas."
Miss Tutweiller smiled widely, "Merry Christmas, Bailey."
THE END
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A/N: Happy Holidays everyone.