Work Text:
Buckaroo loved being the very best fire dog he could be all year long, but he especially loved it at Christmas time. He was always so happy as the station was decorated and lit up. Buckaroo adored the smell of pine as garlands were strung up and down the stair railings mixed with all the holiday baking Captain Bobby did through the month of December. He could never stop looking at the great big tree that stood so high you could just lean over from the loft to put the topper on it.
This year would be even better, because he got to share Christmas with his two best friends. Eddie and his son Christopher, who used to be the alley cats who lived behind the 118 firehouse, were now the first two fire cats of the 118. Buck couldn't wait to let them see all the wonderful things Christmas brought to their firehouse.
When it was time to decorate Chris ended up loving every minute of it, as Hen and Chim trimmed the tree. Chris was bouncing from shiny bauble to shimmery garland to draped icicles. Both of them took time from decorating to play with Chris, and even an ever so stoic Eddie let loose to pounce with Chris at the shiny garland trail Chim was dangling behind him through the firehouse while laughing at their antics. Buckaroo snuggled in next to Hen and watched with a big grin on his face.
Once the tree was trimmed, Chris still loved everything about it. He would climb the trunk of the luckily, very secured tree, and settle on a branch content to just watch the blinking lights reflecting from inside, mesmerized by the shifting reflections. Once or twice, Buckaroo found both father and son, staring out from inside the tree, laying together just watching.
Another thing Buckaroo loved about Christmastime at the station was the yearly toy drive. People from all over would stop by the station and drop off toys, before enjoying one of Captain Bobby's holiday treats. The station would fill up with toys waiting for Santa.
For a couple weeks before Christmas every firefighter spent their downtime organizing, wrapping and labeling gifts, and then sorting them into groups. Several of the toys were put under the Christmas tree in the station, while others were set aside for a special trip.
Those presents under the tree, Santa passed out to kids who came to the 118 for a big party a few days before Christmas. Everyone was happy and had cocoa and treats, and listened to Christmas music, while they waited their turn with Santa.
After the party ended, a few pieces of leftover wrapping paper were dragged off by a fascinated Chris, who spent several fun hours batting the pieces around and pouncing on them, until he was too tired to do much more than curl up under the tree for a nap.
On the eve of Christmas Eve, Santa returned to the 118, and there were all kinds of people helping load up the fire engine for an important trip. Eddie and Chris were loaded into the cab, after tiny green hats had been put on their heads, and Buckaroo was called to a smiling Hen, who put a pair of antlers on his head, and a red shiny ball on his nose. There were tiny bells slipped onto his collar too.
Santa climbed into the captain's seat where Captain Bobby usually sat, and when they drove through town the sirens didn't play, instead it was the sound of jingle bells.
The cats and Buckaroo looked out the windows of the firetruck as Santa, who was being helped by Chim and Hen, both in green with bells on their funny shoes, pulled out bags from the truck each time they stopped.
Santa would 'HO HO HO' and they'd pass along bags of wrapped presents, yummy food and even a turkey or a ham to people who needed it. They did this over and over again throughout the city, until the truck was empty, then they returned to the 118 and loaded it up again.
Buckaroo was never so proud to be a fire dog as he was on that night. He could tell Eddie and Chris felt the same way. He watched as they spread Christmas cheer, occasionally being called out of the truck and petted and patted by happy children.
Eventually their job was completed, and they returned to the 118 and Santa disappeared, probably to get ready for his own set of deliveries the next night.
On Christmas morning the fire house woke up to a special Christmas breakfast cooked by Captain Bobby, before he started work on all the yummy things he was planning for Christmas Dinner. After everyone ate, they opened a new batch of presents that had appeared under the tree overnight.
There were more than a couple presents for the mascots of the 118, including tins of homemade cat treats and dog bones for each of them, along with a few toys. Chris's favorite though, was a tiny tree toy, that crinkled like wrapping paper when you batted it around, and as the light caught it, it threw off rainbows of reflected light. Buckaroo recognized it as a little bit of the magic of Christmas for Chris to keep all year long.
Yes, Christmas time at the 118 was absolutely Buckaroo's favorite time of the year, and now his friends both agreed.