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"... Santa didn't put anything in the adults' Christmas socks! You know what that means for us, don't you? We have a new mission - plan - the Christmas Present" - Cincinnati was sitting on the desk of the 6th year old Ibiza, who sat next to her 4th year old sister Malindi on the floor and looked seriously at the small group.
All his friends were in attendance for this play date, while the adults were downstairs in the living room and talked about some topic the 8 childrens fantasy could not imagine.
"No present in a Christmas sock? It's soooo sad!", came it in shock from the 5th year old Madrid, who had leaned against her twin brother Edinburgh and almost knocked the glasses off his nose. The little boy who looked so much like the Professor pushed it back on his nose with a flowing movement and nodded in agreement.
"Yes! Paula also got a Christmas sock and she is a teenager, but Paula was also happy. Mama and Papa have one too...but it was empty i guess...." said Edinburgh thoughtfully.
"Maybe the adults were naughty?. Mommy said that they wouldn't get anything than?", came the answer from the 5th year old Veince, the daughter of Rio & Tokyo, who had made herself comfortable on the Ibizia bed and held a tablet in her hands.
"Daddy and Papi sometimes say that the other parents are ´exhausting´ ... is exhausting also naughty?", asked the 4 year old Toledo, the child who was adopted by Palermo and Helsinki.
"I don't know. Eddie? You know that - right?" Veince said, shrugging her shoulders. Edinburgh shrugged his shoulders and looked invitingly at CC.
"CC needs to know. He's the oldest of us", said Edinburgh with a grin and Madrid gave him a high five for it.
"Can we ask Victoria? Aunt Alicia said she wanted to come over with her, didn't she?", added Madrid and an unsatisfied grumble came from Berlin's almost 4-year-old daughter Andalucía.
"Tori can't bake. She always eats cookie dough," said the daughter of Berlin and his ex-wife Tatjana unhappy.
Even if Andalucía made friends with the 5th year old Victoria and thought it was great to have a new mom by her father's side, maybe soon, Victoria was sometimes just impossible to stand or play with. There was a little jealousy from Andalucía, especially when her father praised the older girl for doing something right.
"We have to do that too! Cookie dough is so delicious. Aunt Alicia and Victoria aren't there yet?", Veince giggled, amused now.
Pouting, Andalucía snatched a cuddly toy and threw it in Veince's direction.
"Is anyone jealous? Having new siblings is great Andalucía. You can have a lot of fun together and have twice as many ideas for birthdays and surprises", said Ibiza with a laugh and hugged her own little sister Malindi lovingly.
"Ibizia is right. Eddie and I are always annoyed by each other, but we also love each other very much - and having a big sister is great. Paula always secretly gives us sweets and candy", said Madrid and winked at Andalucía with a smile.
The little girl looked at the siblings in surprise and her friends wouldn't lie to her, would they?
"Maybe Victoria can help us ..... so what do adults like for christmas?", said CC and the children turned their attention back to the essentials. The further planning.
***
"Please tell me, that you have already opened the eggnog? Victoria had the grandiose idea, to put a Christmas costume on the Cat and we had to bandage the wounds first" - Alicia Sierra walked into the large living room, which belonged to the house which Nairobi and Bogotà got two years ago - and the little 5th year old Victoria followed her with a grin.
"Actually we wanted to open the other eggnog, that Palermo and Helsinki brought with them - but someone thought it was better to drink already opend eggnog first," Berlin stood up, first kissed Alicia on the mouth and then tossed little Victoria's hair before he did poured his new partner a glass of eggnog.
"That smells yucky. Why do you want to drink that? Hot Cocoa tastes much better," Victoria grimaced as the eggnog was poured into the glasses. And cocoa tasted much better honestly.
"Yeah, right, we get through the holidays with cocoa - the kid has almost as crazy ideas as the Inspectora ..... um ... the two former Inspectoras," Denver laughed and ran through his hair , as both Alicia and Raquel take a skeptical look at him.
"What does former mean here? I still work for the police but in the field....Sort of...." Alicia countered and took a sip of the drink.
"Mommy has a lot of cool costumes. One of them is with sunglasses and great shoes and ketchup", giggled Victoria, amused.
The child did not notice the professor giving the red-haired adults a skeptical look when the word ketchup was uttered. It must have been an undercover thing and it was actually blood.
"I would take the shoes. Not the rest," said Tokyo, amused, who had made herself comfortable on Rio's lap and toasted her drink with Oslo, who, like almost everyone in the living room, was wearing something Christmassy.
In Oslo's case it was a sweater with a reindeer on it. Helsinki wore the same sweater but with a green pixie on it.
"Victoria? Why don't you like to play with the other children? They are upstairs in Ibizia's room", Nairobi had stood up and gave the little red-haired girl a friendly smile and Victoria nodded radiantly , before she left the adults alone in the living room and there was little later heard the five-year-old child clatter up the stairs.
"Please tell me that there is something stronger than eggnog Nairobi. I bet that dear Bogotà has a supply of scotch somewhere, huh?" said Palermo, when the joyful shouts of the other children was comig from upstairs.
"Is there also wine...ore Beer?", Raquel and Monica recommended as Bogotà rose from his chair and gave Palermo, Raquel and Monica a hand signal to follow him into the cellar .
They would never say no to wine. Especially not when it came to spending Christmas with this crazy family.
***
"... and then the cat ran under mum's bed. The costume looked so beautiful on her. But look at the cool plasters. They are with Dragons", Victoria ended her story by saying that all of her children would one day Throwing a look at the pavement. Nobody had such cool plasters with Dragons on them as she did.
"Cool. We are currently planning what kind of gift we want to give the grown-up because there was nothing in her Christmas socks," said CC, explaining the plan to the red-haired girl.
"Well? What do adults like for Christmas?" Victoria asked everyone. The answers to that were ..... failed. As unusual as a group of children between the ages of 4 and 6 could think of.
"Dad likes cars and dancing," said CC.
"Pictures ..... and chocolate," came it from Victoria and Andalucia.
"Origamy paper," said Madrid proudly.
"And mom likes shopping & cuddling with Papa", came it from Edinburgh.
"Mommy likes a nice handbag," said little Malindi happily.
"And daddy likes mom ... and football," added Ibiza.
"Video games - Mommy like that like music that she can dance to", Veince said with a chuckle.
".... oh! Paula and Axel like Christmas cookies!" shouted Toledo proudly. They weren't adults but teenagers and that kind of counted, right?
"Where are Paula and Axel actually?", asked CC to Madrid and Edinburgh.
"They're at a Christmas market in town. Mary and I wanted to, too, but Dad said no", Edinburgh explained, slightly reproachful.
"But Axel and Paula have promised to come. And teenagers rarely break their promises," added Madrid honestly.
".... So the ideas are all great, but we can't bring them here. Do we want to bake Christmas cookies ... but secretly? As ins Secret?" suggested CC and the children gave a loud approval. The only question was how the now 9th children should manage to secretly bake Christmas cookies without the adults noticing.
"Oh I know! We're just going to ask Uncle Pamplona for help," suggested Toledo.
"Yes! He lives nearby or Ibizia and Malindi?", - the girls nodded in agreement and Ibizia even knew the way.
"When we ask Grandpa Moscow, he just takes pictures again. As with the Save the Chocolate plan", CC giggled.
"But we have to hurry and be quiet. Our parents will otherwise hear it, when we sneak out", Victoria warned her friends.
"Well - let's start - very quietly!" agreed CC and the 9th children got up from their seats to start an attempt to sneak out of the house quietly - without the adults noticing.
***
Shortly after the nine children had managed - some of them had to leave the house inconspicuously, Marseille met them in the front yard and the children told him about the plan - because Marseille asked where they were going alone and because Marseille was responsible, he decided to accompany the small group and help them bake Christmas cookies for the other adults in Pamplona's small apartment.
Also because it could be dangerous when such young children roamed the residential area alone. And of course Victoria and CC each took a hand from the animal lover. So your plan couldn't go wrong, could it?
***
Matías Caño looked speechless into his kitchen. The former bank robber had agreed to secretly bake Christmas cookies with Marseille and the 9 children. But his kitchen was like a battlefield. There was flour, decorations and chocolate everywhere. The Christmas cookies were baked, but everything else was a mess. Andalucia and Victoria paint little hearts and smileys on the floor with strawberry jam, CC and Toledo fought a ´fight´ with a wooden spoon and a whisk, Edinburgh and Veince threw eggs at each other and the remaining children ´decorated´ the baked biscuits.
"Tell me that I overslept and that this is a nightmare?", Matías muttered, stunned.
"No, not a nightmare, but the professor called and the adults wondered why it was so quiet - too quiet according to Alicia and Raquel. I had to tell them and now everyone comes to you to keep celebrating and ... look at the chaos," said Marseille - loud enough for the playing children to hear and panic.
CC ordered the gang to put the decorated cookies in a tin and look as innocent as possible.
Which resulted in further chaos and more problems in the young adult's kitchen. And some falls on the ground. In the end, Andalucia and Edinburgh had to be comforted by Marseille - while Pamplona tried somehow to get the chaos under control.
A loud bang made the small group pause and suddenly all the adults were standing in the small apartment. A mixture of shock and a strong urge to laugh out loud stood out on their faces.
"Don't look! It's a secret!" shouted CC and his friends - with the exception of Andalucia and Edinburgh - stood next to him. In the middle of the chaos.
"I knew there was a reason it was so quiet," Raquel said, grinning.
"At least it happened this time not at your place - it also has advantages," commented Rio with a smile.
"You always wanted to redecorate your apartment - now you have the opportunity, Boy !" Alicia punched the owner of the apartment on the shoulder playfully.
"Maybe you should take a picture of Pamplona's face Moscow - oh or we all take a group picture with the kids together?" suggested Stockholm and before the small and large gang could realize it, everyone was in the mix of chaos and poor Pamplona had to take the group photo.
CC and the others went to their parents - and hugged them without warning. Denvers and Helsinkis laugh through the silence and when the nine children proudly announced , that they had baked Christmas cookies for the adults - because they hadn't got anything in their Christmas stocking from Santa - the parents returned this hug - even if that meant they would all come afterwards had to take a bath - this memory would stay with Pamplona for a long time and the Rest of the gang with the crazy city names as well.
Oh and the baked christmas cookies taste good too - even Paula and Axel, who join the group a few moments later said that - and the children were convinced that Plan - the Christmas Cookies was a complete success.
THE END