~*Christmas Eve, 6 Years After "Ice Cream" Series*~
"And in they go," Pete said as he put the cookies in the oven.

Pete smiled as he watched Peterick, Demetri, and Casey twitter away about how they were gonna stay up all night and watch for Santa.

"Alright, alright. Out of the kitchen," Pete said as he ushered the children into the living room.

Joe and Andy were curled up on the couch watching a Christmas movie. Patrick was coming down the stairs when the children entered the living room, followed by Pete. Patrick took one look at Pete (or rather, the frilly apron he was wearing) and burst into laughter.

"I look better in the apron than YOU do!" Patrick squealed.

"Then YOU wear it," Pete said as he balled up the apron and threw it at Patrick.

"Daddy Joe, me and Casey and Peterick are gonna stay up all night to see Santa!" Demetri squealed as he climbed into Joe's lap.

"Really? Well, I hope you see him," Joe said, secretly eyeing the lack of presents under the tree.

"You know, you're gonna have to stay up awfully late to see Santa... You sure you can stay awake?" Andy asked.

"I'm sure," Demetri said.

"Alright..."

~*Time Jump: One Hour*~
"WE NEED A SANTA!!" Pete and Joe screamed simultaneously at Patrick and Andy.

"We do?" Andy asked.

"You heard the kids squealing about how they're staying up all night to see Santa! What if they DO manage to stay awake all night?! If they don't see Santa, it'll break their little hearts!" Pete said.

"Well, I have an old Santa costume from a few years ago... but which one of us can fit it best?" Patrick asked.

A pause. Then all eyes turned to Andy and his 6-months-pregnant stomach.

"NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT," Andy said firmly.

"But Andy... think of the kids... imagine their tired but sad little faces when Christmas morning comes and they found that Santa didn't come..."

Joe and Patrick added some (obviously fake) crying and sobbing behind Pete.

"Dejected and hopes dashed, they trudge back to their rooms-"

"ALRIGHT! I'LL DO IT! JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!!" Andy screamed in frustration.

"Great! Follow me!" Patrick exclaimed.

"You owe me..." Andy whispered to Pete as he followed Patrick out of the kitchen.

~*Christmas Morning, 1:29 AM*~
Patrick quietly walked into the living room and checked to see if the children were awake or asleep. As expected, all three were fast asleep. He rushed back upstairs, stuck his feet into a pair of shoes, and went out onto the roof where Pete, Joe, and Andy were. Andy shivered, even in the Santa suit.

"Kids are fast asleep," Patrick reported.

"Alright. Andy, you remember the plan?" Joe asked.

"Yeah," Andy replied as he tied the rope around his chest.

"And remember to eat the cookies and milk they left for you... and yes, I made SURE everything was vegan," Pete said.

"Alright... are you sure this is safe for the baby?" Andy asked.

Joe sighed. "Yes. We got the chimney cleaned two days ago and haven't used it since then."

"Alright..." Andy said as he swung his legs over the side and began climbing down. Still skeptical, he held his breath as he climbed down.

Andy reached the bottom and stepped out into the living room. Peterick, Demetri, and Casey were all on the couch, sleeping.

Andy smiled. I knew they wouldn't make it all night... he thought.

"Alright, sent the presents down!" Andy shouted up the chimney.

The first present bounced against the walls a few times before falling into Andy's hands. He put the present under the tree and signaled for the next one.

~*~*~*~
Demetri’s eyes fluttered open. A large figure in red put something under the Christmas tree.

“Santa…?” Demetri whispered.

The figure looked up, then came closer to Demetri.

“Santa!” Demetri squealed quietly.

“Hello, Demetri,” Santa said, smiling.

“You know my name…” Demetri whispered in awe.

Santa laughed. “Of course I do! I know you, Peterick, Casey, every girl and boy in the world! I have to know so I can keep my list in order.”

“I have to tell Casey and Peterick you’re here!” Demetri said as he moved to wake Peterick.

“No no, let them sleep. This’ll be our little secret, okay?”

“Okay,” Demetri giggled. “You wear glasses like my Daddy Andy and his friend Uncle Patrick!”

Santa pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. “Well, Santa can’t see as well as he could when he was younger. So he has to wear glasses to see better.”

“Santa… Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure. Ask away.”

“…Does Rudolph’s nose really blink?”

“Only when he’s sick.”

“Oh. Well, I hope his nose doesn’t blink anymore. ‘Cause that means he’s not sick.”

Santa chuckled. “I’ll tell him you said that.”

“And tell Mrs. Claus I said ‘hi.’”

“Okay, I will. Time to go back to sleep now, okay?”

Demetri giggles. “Okay… and we made you cookies! They’re over there,” he said as he pointed to them.

“Oh, that’s nice! You’ve been very good this year, so I put something extra-special under the tree for you.”

“Thank you, Santa,” Demetri said.

Santa ruffled Demetri’s hair. “You’re very welcome.”

Demetri laid back down and was asleep within moments. Santa drank the milk and ate the cookies before climbing back up the chimney.

~*Christmas Morning, 8:10 AM*~
“SANTA CAME!! SANTA CAME!!” the three children squealed as they ran into their parents’ rooms to wake them up.

“Come on, Daddy Panda! Let’s go see what Santa brought us!” Casey squealed as Pete climbed out of bed.

Peterick ran to the other side of the bed and began poking Patrick in the shoulder.

“Come ON, Daddy Trick! Don’t you wanna see what Santa brought you?!” Peterick asked.

“I do, but you’re gonna have to stop poking Daddy Trick in the shoulder,” Patrick replied.

Peterick immediately stopped poking him and patiently waited as Patrick stretched and got out of bed. Peterick and Casey grabbed their parents’ hands and led them downstairs, where Andy, Joe, and Demetri were waiting for them to arrive. The dads sat on the couch and watched as the children opened their presents and squealed at what they got.

“So did you guys see Santa last night?” Andy asked.

“No…” Peterick and Casey sighed. “I guess we’ll wait until next year.”

Demetri only giggled. He wouldn’t share his little secret with anyone.