In any family with small children, the night before Christmas is anything but quiet and still. There are last minute preparations to make, presents to wrap, stockings to fill ....and in this particular house, Des had done most of that himself while ever so slightly tipsy following the Granger Christmas party, while Lyneth slept upstairs and Piper was at Midnight Mass.

Bedtime for the adults in this house had come about around 2 am, and unfortunately for them, the tiny Fae girl they loved so well was already awake at the crack of dawn. Thankfully, however, Lyneth had been distracted by the stocking left at the end of her bed, losing at least an hour in unpacking the goodies from inside with the help of her fairy friends. But sadly, all good things must come to an end, and as the morning sunlight peeked through the blinds to illuminate Piper and Des where they slept, their bedroom door burst open to disgorge one very excited two year old, singing at the top of her lungs. "Get dressed, you merry merchants, may you play and play and play, for it is Christmas, Christmas, Christmas, Christmas, Christmas Day!"

Lyneth's merry singing might have amused a well-rested Desmond, but a sleepy, groggy, slightly hung-over Desmond who hadn't gotten more than a few hours of decent sleep only managed to mutter a groan, roll onto his side away from the chirpy little girl, and bury his head beneath a pillow.

Piper was a little more inclined to deal with it, sitting up to gather Lyneth into her arms. "And Merry Christmas to you, too, little woman," she smiled, hugging her daughter warmly.

Lyneth beamed, cuddling into her mother's embrace for a moment before poking her little toes into Des' back and resuming her song from where she had left off. "It's Christmas, Christmas, Christmas, Christmas, Christmas, Christmas Day - it is Chri-i-i-i-i-istmas Day, Chrissy-mas Day, it is Chri-i-i-i-i-i-istmas Day!"

Des groaned again, his voice muffled beneath the pillow. "Yes, I know it's Christmas Day. You needn't remind me!" He wasn't cranky exactly, just half-asleep. After another moment, he sighed and peered one eyed-out from beneath the cover of that pillow. "What time is it?" he asked, groggily, knowing it was morning. It was light out at least, just barely, but he'd only fallen into bed a few hours ago.

"It's the mornin', silly!" Lyneth declared, wriggling out of Piper's arms and under the covers to cuddle up against Des whether he wanted it or not.

Piper chuckled, sliding out of bed herself. She was rather relieved Lyneth had come into them, rather than gone downstairs, seeing as there was a living present down there who needed to be checked on before the tiny girl got her hands on him.

Oblivious to her mother's retreat and disappearance, Lyneth crawled over Des underneath the covers to plant a big wet kiss on his cheek. "It's Christmas mornin', an' you said we could have strawberries an' popcorn for breakfast."

He groaned again as he got climbed on, though he could never stay grumpy for too long in Lyneth's company. "Popcorn is not breakfast, young lady, and you know it. I said strawberries and waffles. You can have popcorn later." Des glanced over at the clock to find it was just barely past dawn. He wasn't over surprised, though. He'd been expect an early morning wake-up. It was Christmas, after all. "You haven't cheated, have you?" he asked, as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I had my stockin'," the little girl confessed, quite happy to be cuddled up in his arms. She was pretty sure Mummy would be making breakfast and letting Loki out to poop and all the other things Mummy did first thing in the morning. "And I didn't blow my whistle even though I had it because I knew you and Mummy was sleepin' and I had my orange and the fairies were playin' with my nuts, and I like my neckliss an' and my bracelit, and my fluffy hair thingy, and why was there a aminal collar in my stockin', Daddy?"

Oh, god. He'd had about four hours sleep and she was already hyper, but he patiently listened to her as she relayed her morning in that perfectly cute Lyneth way of hers. "Was there?" he asked, tilting his head and feigning surprise at her question.

"Yes, there was," she nodded firmly, enjoying a little bit of quiet time with her sleepy Daddy under the covers until the excitement got too much. "An' it said Ker-nip on it, that's what Oisin said, and then he wouldn't say anythin' else and he went downstairs, and I played with my puzzle box a bit and then the sun came up and then I came in here, and here I am!"

"Does it?" Des asked, trying hard to hide the smirk from his face now that he was finally waking up. He pushed a tangle of hair away from her face. "Hmm, I wonder what that means. Should we go downstairs and find out?" he asked, though he didn't mind staying in bed as long as he could. In another few minutes, the scent of perking coffee and frying bacon would make its way up the stairs drawing them both from bed.

"Is there a aminal called Ker-nip downstairs waitin' for me?" Lyneth asked with a sudden upsurge of excitement. They'd been downplaying any hint toward a pet of any kind for the last couple of months so much that she'd been certain that none of her presents would have a pulse this Christmas. Even the suggestion that one might be alive was enough to send her into hyperactive overdrive.

"I don't know. Are you sure it's not a new collar for Loki?" he asked, teasing her just a little, having fun playing this little game with her on their first real Christmas together as father and daughter. "Maybe it got in the wrong stocking," he suggested.

"Why'd a collar for Loki have a wrong name on it?" she demanded, sitting up and taking his covers with her as she poked at his stomach. "And even if it was in the wrong stockin', that still means someone's gettin' a new aminal or maybe a small person like a troll. Ooh, are we gettin' a troll" Only they smell unless you keep 'em very clean, an' Oisin doesn't have time to clean the house an' me an' Loki and a troll called Ker-nip."

Known for his ticklishness, Des flinched when she poked at his stomach, biting the insides of his mouth to stifle a chuckle, both at her and at the poke. "We are most definitely not getting a troll," he assured her, poking her back the same way she'd poked him. "You, Little Miss, are too curious and too smart for your own good!" And with that said, he rolled over, pushing her onto her back and tickling her sides to pay her back for waking him and Piper so early.

She squealed happily, knocked over onto her back and wriggling around under the onslaught with delighted giggles. There was no threat to wee this time, although it was a pretty safe bet if he didn't let up in time. Lyneth hadn't had a proper family Christmas before, so this was going to be a very special day, no matter what happened.

As soon as Desmond smelled breakfast downstairs, he eased off on the tickling, knowing Lyneth could only take so much. "See what happens to little girls to wake their fathers too early on Christmas morning?" he teased, repaying her smooch with one of his own, just as wet and just as loud against her cheek.

Out of breath and flushed with giggling excitement, the tiny Fae-girl beamed up at him, flopping back onto the bed cheerfully. "They get tickled and then they get strawberries and popcorn for breakfast?"

"No, they get tickled and then they get waffles for breakfast!" he insisted. "And maybe if they're really good, they can have popcorn for dessert. How's that?" He really had no will power when it came to Lyneth and was in danger of spoiling the little girl, though he was of the mind that little girls were meant to be spoiled by the Daddies. He smooched her cheek again, softer this time. "What do you say we go say good morning to your mother?"

She grinned, throwing her short arms around his neck so he was essentially picking her up as he drew back from that kiss. "I love you, Daddy," she informed him quite seriously, kissing his cheek in answer as she settled herself with her legs wrapped about his hip. Apparently he was carrying her downstairs. "But can I go to the toy-lit first?"

Once they arrived in the kitchen, Desmond set Lyneth down, not in her usual chair, but in a chair that wasn't facing the living room so she wouldn't catch sight of a certain present who just might get curious enough to peek his head into the kitchen. Des knew Lyneth wouldn't let this little change to their routine go unnoticed, but he had an answer for even that if she asked. "There, now....orange juice and....What are we having for breakfast today, Piper darling?"

"Well, somebody made a request for strawberries, but I couldn't for the life of me find them anywhere when I got down here this morning," Piper answered the query, trying very hard not to smile and failing completely. She sat herself down at the table, which had already been laid up with plates and a stack of waffles ready to be eaten. "Where do you suppose they could have gone?"

Lyneth's eyes went wide the moment it was suggested that her strawberries were gone, shocked and disappointed that she wasn't going to get the breakfast she'd been petitioning for weeks to have. "They're gone?"

"Maybe someone hid them! Maybe one of your fairy friends, Lyneth. Maybe someone is playing a game of Hide and Seek!" Desmond looked around the kitchen as if he was seeking the lost strawberries, but they were nowhere in plain sight. He snapped his fingers, as if a thought had just come to mind. "I have an idea! Why don't you see if Knip has them?"

"Who's Knip?" Now the little girl just looked confused, not even thinking to look down at the collar clutched in her hand. The name didn't sound right to her, purely because Oisin was the one who had read it to her, and he had pronounced it "Ker-nip". "If somebody's stolen my strawberries, I will cry."

"Lynnie," Desmond started, gentling his voice and taking pity on the poor little girl. He offered a soft smile and reached over to touch her cheek with a gentle fingertip. "Look at the collar in your hand. The name on it is pronounced Nip," he told her, saying it differently from the way the brownie had said it, the K being silent. It was a small hint as to the origins of the new pet, though he wasn't sure if Lyneth would follow.

"Not Ker-nip?" Lyneth turned the collar over in her little hands, peering down at the tag. She hadn't yet learned to read, but she was beginning to understand the shape of words. "Knip?" A low rumbling purr sounded from behind her as the animal in question answered his name spoken by the little girl he had chosen to be his almost a full month before. Twisting in her seat, she looked toward the living room to find a large, ginger-tabby feline padding toward them with a basket of strawberries held in his mouth. He was too big to be a simple cat, his eyes too intelligent for a simple animal, and she knew him at a glance. "A Kneazle, you got me the Kneazle!" she declared happily, scrambling down from her chair to drop onto her knees and hug the creature. Knip carefully set the basket down before submitting to that hug, rubbing his chin on the little girl's shoulder as he purred like an express train, his fluffy tail as upright as it could get with pleasure.

Desmond moved over to Piper to slide an arm around her shoulders, smiling fondly at their little girl and her new pet, the likes of which he was only just starting to understand. It made him happy to make her happy, and wasn't that what Christmas was all about really'

Loki padded in behind Knip, choosing to lean against Des' leg as he, too, watched Lyneth reacquainting herself with the Kneazle who had made such an impression when she, Piper, and Loki had met him in the Marketplace in November. Piper wrapped her own arm around Des' waist, her smile wide and warm. "You know, I think strawberries just got bumped way down on the list of things that absolutely have to happen right this second," she commented to her fiance softly.

On the floor, Lyneth sat back on her rear end, giggling as Knip sat down beside her, taller than she was in that position, and proceeded to groom her cheek affectionately. "You hold still," the tiny girl told her new pet. "I gotta put this on you." She showed the Kneazle the collar, letting him inspect it for a moment, and to everyone's surprise, the creature actually lifted his chin and stuck his neck out to have it put on him. This was definitely not any old cat.

"What are we gonna do with him while we're on our youknowwhat?" Des asked Piper quietly, for her ears only while Lyneth fussed over her living Christmas present. In another week, they were supposed to be getting married, followed by a honeymoon, accompanied by a certain little Fae-girl. Des watched while Lyneth tended to her Kneazle. He still wasn't quite sure exactly what it was, but somehow he knew this was no ordinary cat.

"I think we should be able to leave him with Humphrey along with Loki," Piper murmured back, tucking her arm around his back as she leaned into him. "He's been staying at the big house for a while, so he knows them all. As long as Lynnie is the one who tells him, he might agree to stay behind. Otherwise we might end up with Knip on the youknowwhat as well."

"Would he even be allowed on the youknowwhat?" Des asked quietly, unsure whether pets were allowed where they were going. They hadn't yet told Lyneth where they were planning on spending their honeymoon - it was another unexpected surprise that awaited her.

"Well ..." She twisted, hugging her arms around his waist as she smiled faintly. "Given that it's my parents paying for it, and my mother is not exactly shy about throwing her title around, even on the wrong Earth, I highly doubt they'd object too much if they're properly compensated accordingly." She shrugged a shoulder. "I would rather Lynnie convinced him to stay behind, though, if we can manage that."

"You don't think Loki is going to be jealous, do you?" Des asked, wrapping his arms around her as she turned to face him. The malamute was very protective when it came to both Piper and Lyneth, but if he could get used to fairies, there was no reason to think he couldn't get used to something as strange as a Kneazle, as well. "This house is getting a little crowded," Des remarked with a smile before touching his lips to Piper's. And if things went according to plan, there'd be another addition to their little family in the not too distant future.

Piper looked down at the Malamute leaning against Des' leg, and grinned. "He managed to cope with me having a baby," she pointed out. "I think he can handle Lyneth having a new friend in the house. Besides, Loki's more attached to you and me than he is to her. He loves her, but he does hide from her on occasion." She chuckled softly, following the dog's gaze toward Lyneth and Knip. The Kneazle was sitting on his rear end, gently batting at the loose strands of his new owner's bedhead hair to move them out of her face as she giggled wildly.

Des rolled his eyes at the interaction between Knip and Lyneth. "I think I'm jealous," he said, with a teasing smirk, though he was only kidding. He knew how much Lyneth's new pet meant to her, and he thought it would be good for both of them. He cleared his throat to try and get Lyneth's attention. "If you can pull yourself away from your new pet, breakfast is ready."