a/n: I was struck my the plot bunnies. They crawled out of my moleskin and attacked me..so now it's about 2am and I am writing this oneshot. And I was going to wait to upload this until around Christmas time…but having it sit in Document Manager for six months is just cruel! So, everyone, it is now officially Christmas in July! Happy Christmas, guys! Oh, please note that Catie is four years old in this oneshot and so the word choice and grammar in her sentences is obviously wrong…it's not a mistake..it's on purpose to make her speech seem more four-year-old like. Thanks. Enjoy and please review! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Covert Affairs. I'm sick of writing this, but I really don't want to get sued.

Raw Carrots

Christmas Eve, 8:00 PM.

"Time for bed, Catie," Auggie sighs as the movie ends. How The Grinch Stole Christmas, their favorite Christmas movie. He watched that movie so many times as a child that he can actually see the movie scenes in his head, despite not being able to truly see them now of course. Everyone watches this movie as a child. It's old, but timeless, as most holiday movies are.

Catie, who is just a couple months shy of turning four, jumps up from her seat and stomps towards the kitchen, "I has to get cookies first, Daddy!" She exclaims loudly.

"Shh!" Auggie whispers quickly, "Your baby sister is asleep upstairs, Catie. Please don't wake her. Mommy just got her back asleep."

"Mkay, Daddy," Catie changes her steps to a near-tiptoe pace, moving silently slow into the kitchen.

Annie grins as she bends over to give Auggie a quick kiss on the cheek before getting up off the couch to help Catie get a paper plate and a glass, because you can't have cookies without milk.

Catie picks out the two biggest cookies in the jar for Santa. She can't pour the milk; it's too heavy for her, so Annie helps her.

"Can I weave a carrot for the reindeer?" She asks, her sky blue eyes smiling at her mother.

"Alright, just a couple. You wouldn't want the reindeer to get sick," Annie says, "But after that it's time for bed."

"Ok Mommy," Catie nods, rummaging in the refrigerator for a carrot. She pulls out the biggest one and sets it on the table beside the cookies and milk.

"Is that everything?" Annie asks, smiling at her daughter.

"Yes," Catie answers decisively, "Everything is weady for Santa now."

"Except that you're still awake," Annie reminds her.

"Not for long," Catie says with a wide grin, hugging Annie around the middle, "Night," Releasing her mother's waist, she says, "I love you, Mommy."

I smile, "I love you too, Catie."

She then wildly sprints from the kitchen, pouncing on her father's waiting lap and engulfing him into a fierce bear hug, "Night, Daddy. I love you too."

"Love you too, kiddo," He tells her as she runs up the stairs and off to her bedroom.

"How long do you think it will take her to get to sleep?" Annie asks, walking back into the living room and turning off the television and the lights.

"She'll be up until midnight if I know her," Auggie replies, getting up from the couch and stretching.

"We'd better get to bed too then."

Christmas Day, 2:00 AM.

Annie peers into her eldest daughter's bedroom cautiously. Catie lays sprawled out on her bed, fast asleep. Annie grins because it's obvious that excited near-four year olds could never pull an all-nighter on Christmas. When Ally woke up fussing around midnight, Annie was sure that the cry had woken up Catie. But both girls were now peacefully asleep.

Annie closes the door quietly and walks into her bedroom down the hallway.

"She finally asleep?" Auggie whispers, sitting up in bed and rubbing the sleep from his sightless brown eyes.

"Yes," Annie whispers and nods, "It's showtime."

Auggie and Annie creep downstairs and into the living room, arms loaded with piles of gifts that were previously hidden in their closet and under their bed. They gently flick on the light (more for Annie's sake than Auggie's) and Annie arranges the presents under the decorated tree. Auggie grabs his dress shoes from near the front door and places them in front of the fireplace before tiptoeing to the kitchen for the flour. Returning to the fireplace, he sprinkles flour around the shoes, careful to not put too much, but still enough that Annie says the shoeprints show. Then he takes the shoes and wipe them off to destroy the evidence. One thing left, the cookies and milk.

"She always picks the big ones doesn't she?" Annie whispers.

"Of course. She's my daughter." Auggie replies simply.

"That she is," Annie smiles, "We could put them back in the cookie jar, she'll never know."

"Ok, we could take a smaller cookie instead, so that there are crumbs left," Auggie suggests.

"And what about the carrot?" Annie asks, taking the cookies gently to the cookie jar to be eaten another day.

"I guess we have to nibble at it," Auggie says, taking the milk, now warm from sitting out for so long, and dumping a good portion of it down the sink.

"That's your job," Annie decides, taking out a small cookie to munch on.

"You get the cookie and I get the carrot?" He asks in disbelief.

"Um, yeah," Annie responds through a mouthful of cookie.

He dumps out the rest of the milk in the glass, "Lucky me."

Annie dumps the cookie crumbs on the paper plate and looks at Auggie expectantly.

He trades the glass for the carrot and take a few bites, hoping it will be convincing enough before setting it back on the table.

"Next year, we're using baby carrots," He huff, bits of carrot flying out of his mouth and onto the table.

"Sounds like a good plan," Annie whispers, "But for now, let's just go back to bed."

Annie takes hold of Auggie's foreharm and he follows her upstairs, swallowing the last few bits of carrot left in his mouth. Next year, Auggie thinks, he gets a cookie too.

Christmas Day, 7:00 AM.

Any moment now Catie will burst through the bedroom door and jump and land on me yelling about how Santa came and we have to come see everything. Auggie grins at the thought, eating that carrot will be worth it to hear her so full of joy.

He will miss it when the magic ends. When shoe prints in flour will no longer be amazing, when cookies won't be left out half the night with milk and carrots, when she won't come bursting into their bedroom on Christmas morning yelling about how they have to get up right now and come see what Santa left. Children grow up, and before he knows it, her five-mile long Christmas list of stuffed animals and games will turn into a five-inch long list of money and electronics and CDs.

"Mommy! Daddy! Santa came! Santa came!" Catie screeches excitedly, launching herself onto the bed, "It's 7:01 you have to get up wight now and so we can go open the pwesents he left!" Her blue eyes sparkle with excitement and wonder, the one night a year that was truly inexplicable for every young child. Auggie wishes he could see the magic painted on her face, but the picture in his mind will have to work instead.

Annie grins and sits up, stretching, "We're coming Catie, why don't you go start sorting them into piles for us?"

"Ok, Mama," Catie says with a smile, leaping off their bed and running downstairs and into the living room.

Auggie sit up and dangles his feet off the side of the bed, sliding on his slippers before standing, stretching with a groan. He leans over and grabs his robe from a chair near the foot of the bed.

"I'll get Ally if you make the coffee," Annie stands and slips on her robe on the other side of the bed.

"Okay."

Yea, Auggie's going to miss this when his baby girls are teenagers and too old for Santa Claus and reindeer or the Easter Bunny or ghosts and vampires. But for now, he'll enjoy every minute of it. Even if it does taste a little like raw carrot.

a/n: I hope you guys liked your Christmas in July present! For clarification, Catie and Ally are about three years apart. Thanks for reading..please review!