A/N: I realize the chapters are really, really short, especially for me. But I'm trying so hard to get this done by Christmas Eve that I have to sacrifice fluff in the process, lol. Well, I meant for this to be a quick read anyway. Any longer than what it is and the fluff would be overwhelming.

Thanks for the reviews! Glad you're all liking the story!

Oh, and as I'm running short on "Twas the Night Before Christmas" verses, this will be the last chapter with a verse for each section. The rest will have one for the chapter.

I know, you're so disappointed.

Rachel tucked Emma in, in bed the child was put,

But to wait for Uncle Joey, not the sound of a reindeer hoof.

Concern for Monica's floors Rachel did lack,

As she dumped out the doll house for her friends to attack.

Chapter 6

Rachel kissed her daughter's forehead as she tucked her daughter into the twin bed in the house's guestroom. "Have a good nap, sweetie," Rachel cooed, and brushed the toddler's brown hair to the side out of her brown eyes.

"Do I have to take a nap, Mommy?" Emma whined.

"Just a short one. You had a long car ride, and played a fun game with Daddy and Uncle Chandler," Rachel explained.

Emma giggled. "Uncle Chandler is silly."

"Yes he is," Rachel agreed, more than Emma could know. "Anyway, I don't want you falling asleep before dessert Aunt Monica made doughnuts!"

"How come she didn't buy them?" Emma asked in confusion.

Rachel didn't get that either, but she'd go with it. "They're a Jewish tradition, and Aunt Monica wanted to make them."

"I like being Jewish," Emma said.

Rachel laughed. "Daddy will be glad to hear that. He wants you to so much." She patted the blanket over Emma's legs and stood up. "You get some sleep, you hear? You know who will be here when you wake up?"

Her eyes widened with hope, Emma guessed, "Santa Claus?"

"No," Rachel laughed. "Uncle Joey, silly!"

"Uncle Joey! I'm gonna sleep real fast," Emma promised. Then, to demonstrate, she turned on her side and closed her eyes tight.

A smile on her face, Rachel dimmed the lights just low enough that her daughter wouldn't be scared. "Good night, sweetie."

She let the touching moment stay with her until she reached the bottom of the stairs. Then she faced in the living room and ordered, "Okay, people, we've got a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it."

Monica, Chandler, Phoebe, Mike and Ross did not snap to attention, but remained in the relaxed positions on the sectional watching Miracle on 34th Street, the original, on TV. They were all taking a break from other holiday activities, since Joey called and said that unfortunately his train would be delayed "What are you talking about, Rach?" Monica asked, her eyes still on the television.

Rachel rolled her eyes at the lack of attention and stomped over to the Christmas tree. From under it she whipped out the large box and planted it in right in front of the television. "Hey!" they all shouted.

"'That's 'Shin'," Chandler remarked in a mock of a child's voice, while Ross choked on suppressed laughter.

As she gave them both a weird look, Rachel shook her head and turned back to the box. With a flourish she destroyed the wrapping paper to reveal…

"Barbie Dream House!" Phoebe exclaimed. She looked as if all her childhood fantasies had come true in one instant.

Monica nodded and agreement and went to stand next to the rather large box. "This is amazing, you guys! Emma will totally love this! And her Aunt Monica can help her organize the furniture!"

"I think 'Aunt Monica' needs to be reminded that it's a present for Emma," Chandler joked, causing the rest of the group still on the couch to laugh.

Mike helped Phoebe up and went with her to also stand near the box. "Are you sure it's that complicated?"

"Oh, I'm sure," Ross said as he leaned forward on the end of the sectional to join the conversation. "I remember when I helped Dad put together a 'Barbie Dream House' for Monica. We were up all night."

Monica's eyes widened. "I remember that! That's why you fell asleep when you were playing with your new chemistry set! Mom was stuck cleaning purple goo off the ceiling for a week!"

"Guys, that was thirty years ago. I'm sure Barbie Dream Houses are at least a little easier to assemble these days," Rachel said while she ripped open the box's top and dumped the contents on the floor.

The six frowned in disappointment when dozens of plastic bags spilled onto the hardwood floor. They were filled with hard plastic pieces of every kind in light, pastel colors. A few pages of stickers that would surely take an hour to apply in just the right places were mixed in.

"Rachel, my hardwood floors!" Monica moaned at the thought of plastic against wood.

Determined not to be discouraged, Rachel pulled out the instructions. "Well, that's why we have these!"

Ross grabbed the instructions, examined the paper, and glanced back up at her. "Rach, these are only in Spanish. Is the English version in there?"

"Well, let me check…" Rachel leaned in, then surfaced with a weak smile on her face as she replied with some of the only Spanish she knew, thanks to some of her co-workers. "Habla espanol?"

The friends worked like elves but were not merry,

Into the work, themselves they did bury.

But the dinner Monica made with the sweat of her brow,

Was uncooked thanks to an oven temperature so low.

A frustrated scream in her throat, Monica put her head in her hands and let the scream escape. She sat cross-legged on the living room floor with her friends. It had been an hour, and they barely managed to assemble the bare bones of the house. There were still tons of plastic pieces to free from their holders and stickers to apply.

Her brother and Rachel were rushing them for fear that Emma would wake up soon. Though the others had suggested that the couple just assemble the whole thing after Emma had gone to bed, the two had insisted that they wouldn't be able to do all this work on their own, or else be cranky on Christmas morning from lack of sleep.

Since they couldn't leave the doll house in the living room, they were using this time to just assemble the house and pop out the plastic furniture and other pieces. Ross and Rachel still had to get up early to drag the house out of the coat closet and arrange all the furniture and accessories.

"Come on, we can do it!" Monica cheered once she recovered from her display of frustration. The others were more worn down than she and Ross were. Gellers were hard workers. "Only a few more bags to go and we can start on the stickers."

"Oh, joy," Chandler deadpanned as he snapped "silverware" out of a plastic holder.

As she took a five-minute break, Rachel lied on the floor on her back and let out a deep sigh. "Oh, Mon, those doughnuts are calling my name, they smell so good! It's almost a shame the fish smell is going to come in and ruin it."

At that, Phoebe paused and sniffed the air as well. "Hey, she's right. You put the fish in fifteen minutes ago….shouldn't it smell by now?"

"I'll go check," Monica answered. She leaned on Chandler's shoulder to push herself up and headed into the kitchen. Hopefully her friends were just being paranoid, but she wanted the fish to come out perfect.

She grabbed an oven mitt and opened the door.

There was no whoosh of hot air like she'd expected.

"Oh crap!" Monica swore.

The oven had turned off. Though she had made sure it had pre-heated before, there was now only the faint drift of warm air. The fish looked so raw she wouldn't be surprised if it started flopping around in the baking pan.

Something must be wrong with the oven, Monica thought. Thankfully it was electric, so she didn't have to worry that the house would blow up. She tried the oven knobs, but nothing kicked on. She would have to call a repair man when businesses reopened on the twenty-sixth.

But for now, her dinner was toast.

Figuratively speaking, unfortunately.