Christmess

This fanfic by AKK exists on the web at the following location(s) and we suggest visiting the following link(s) rather than viewing the material here: Archive of Our Own/706491 or http://www.annkniggendorf.de The text here has been included to allow searching for character availability and author recognition. Please note that the text is most likely not formatted and may be hidden by a spoiler tag.

"What's this?" Niko held out a silvery star with sharp points blinking in the colored lights of the Christmas decoration. A tiny ribbon is knotted around it. Doc looked up from arranging some plates with cookies.
"Goose brought them. For decoration."
"But what is it originally?" He put the last plate on the windowsill and took the star from her, holding it with three fingers like a frisbee. It swirled across the room, cut through two of the green and red paper chains and got stuck vibrating in the wall just above the band with the socks (There are no chimneys in BetaMountain!). Niko sighed. "Seems, there are still some questions left between Goose and Christmas." She quickly counted the stars in the box, than looked around the reg room. Her eyes finally rested on the Christmas tree. "Let's put them on the high branches where the children can't reach them."
Doc showed a mocky smile. "You insisted, that everybody added something for the party."
"I didn't deny that!" She pulled the ladder closer to the tree, a broad pine Walsh gave for the room of the S5s, and stretched balancing on the highest rung to put the stars in place.
"Be careful. You aren't Goose."
"I know."
"Really looks good." Doc grinned. "If you don't know, what they are." "We simply won't tell anybody about." She opened a box with tinsel and started to scatter it on the lower branches, while Doc started to collect the coloured paper and glitter foil, that covered most of the table. "Oh, no!" Niko turned in alarm.
"What's wrong?" Doc seemed totally horrified to her.
"We'll really get problems." He murmured. "Really big problems. We'll never fix them before the others arrive."
"Stay calm, Doc. We'll finish it just in time. Look, the tree's almost decorated and..."
"That's the problem." He unwrapped a formless parcel he found under the heap of papers and foils. "Do you remember the thing, Jessie brought us? This should-to-be-a-star like those you put on tree top?"
"Yeah, horrible. But she's very proud of it. And..." She turned abruptly to the tree. "we forgot it!"
"She'll be very disappointed."
"We have to get it on there before she arrives."
"How?" The tree was more than two and a half meters high and at least as wide. It simply was perfectly round. A wonderful tree nevertheless. But how to get something on the top when it was already covered with decorations? Maybe... "I've got an idea! Wait for me..." He hurried out off the room. The ladder was almost knocked down by the slamming door.
Niko sat on the table turning Jessies star in her hands, when Gooseman arrived. She looked up. Her view whizzed back and forth between him and the tree. "Goose, you can help me!" She jumped to her feet. "I've got to get this on top." He turned to look at the broad pine.
"Why you didn't put it on when the tree still liing?"
"It slipped our minds." She snorted. "It's from Jessie. Can you reach it?" "Let me try." He climbed the ladder, stretched for the pines top. "Think. it's possible." He took the thing from her, leaned over...
"Hey! Let's try it with my..." Doc rushed into the room. The door hit the foot of the ladder. Shane lost balance, fell head over into the tree. In a torrent of pine needles, glitter, popcorn chains, and garlands he crashed to the floor.
"Ouch!" Tinsel softly rained down on him, on the tree above him, on Nikos and Docs hairs, on Jessies creation lying on top.
"...fishing rod." Doc finally finished his sentence. "Did I do this?"
"What's going on here?!" They both jumped at attention, trying to hide the mess behind their backs from Zach and his family and...
"We are decorating the tree, Commander." Niko managed to explain. "We just had a little..." Doc searched for the best word for it. "accident, Sir."
"I see. But what is it exactly, Rangers?" Walsh demanded to know. Niko grapped the thing from the heap behind.
"We tried to put it on the tree when decoration was almost finished." Jessie squeezed past her father, grapping her creation. "On the tree?" She looked puzzled at Doc and Niko. "But it's a lantern. You put a light inside and on the star points you'll see some Christmas scenes like Santas arrival and the stable to Bethlehem." She giggled. "It'd look awful on the tree." Niko and Doc stared at each other, at the mess behind them, and started to laugh...
When the laughter finally faded a faint tapping was heard - fingernails on the floor - and a growling voice demanded: "Can - damn hell - someone help me out off here?!"