Disclaimer: I do not own power rangers or The Grinch, and I really wish I did own Rudolf, but I still don't. All original characters and creative ideas are all mine though!

A/N: Hi, this is my first fic posted, and before you go asking me why I'm doing a Christmas fic in March, all I will say is that I just needed a starting point, and a friend wanted me to write a story for him that was about Santa for no apparent reason, so I came up with this. I hope you like it, and don't worry, it will not always be about Christmas. In the scheme of things, I will actually try to take it after Samurai. This may loosely tie into Power Rangers Samurai during and after "Christmas Together Friends Forever." Enjoy!

Mia watched as her friends dashed from tree to tree trying to figure out which one would be perfect to bring back to the Shiba House. She lets out a loud sneeze then says to herself, "Ah, Christmas, the one time my allergies bug me inside and out! Whose dumb idea was it to have a Christmas tree anyways? What's wrong with a Christmas herb or a Christmas shrub?"

"The problem is when you are given a cheap ornament every year from your sister-in-law, then you would run out of room very quickly." An older man with snowy black hair* stated, "Plus, watching you guys pick one out wouldn't even be half as fun! I still can't believe you don't like Christmas!"

"When you're as allergic to it as I am you'd understand!" Mia snaps.

"You could at least give it a chance!" He defended that obnoxiously calm way he usually does. She begins to open her mouth to retort when she lets out a series sneezes. Mia rubs her nose. It is not hard to tell that this is the last place she would like to be right now and Mentor certainly wasn't making things any better. "Fine, this can wait, but this is not over. Here," he hands her an envelope and a little container, "your mother had me pick up your allergy medicine and told me to give you this letter. Remember you will have to tell me eventually." She sighs, pockets the letter, and takes the medicine.

This little exchange has been going on since Thanksgiving day when Mentor let Mia help him cook dinner, so long as she followed his recipe to a tee. They were in the middle of making the stuffing when Mentor asked her what was her favorite Christmas memory. She tried to explain to him that she didn't like Christmas, and he freaked out when she said that she was allergic to Christmas trees.

Right as she begins to walk away from the older man, a hyperactive curly blonde rushes right up to her and drags her from tree to tree, seeing if each one is the right hight, with, and is green enough. She has Mia hold up at least twenty five trees as she inspects every single one for at least five minutes at a time. By the time they were done Mia's arms were as red and swollen as Mike's face the time he accidentally did the symbol for poisoned ivy instead of vine. She hid them under her jacket so her friend's wouldn't notice.

On the way back to the Shiba House, Mia walked slowly behind the others. She looked around at all of the decorations. Every shop was lined with lights and trees with gifts were in every window. Kids looked in awe at all of the toy stores filled with every item on their Christmas list. She sighed at the thought of how she never had the chance to be like those kids, even able to imagine that someone might give her her one wish. She looked ahead at her friends who were all smiling and laughing while helping Mentor push the wheelbarrow that contains the big green tree. She reaches into her pocket and grabs the letter. Mia looks at it for a few seconds, then she opens it up and a picture fell out. She put that aside and read the note. It said:

Dear Mia,

I hope that you are doing well, and that you are having a good time despite the issue with the nilock monsters. Terry, your father, and I miss you very much. It hasn't been the same without you. Terry wants me to tell you that since you are not hear, he forced us to get a real tree this year. You should have seen him at the Christmas tree sale, running from tree to tree like a maniac! You would have been laughing so hard! I got it all on video for you. When you get home, we have to watch it together! He wanted me to put in a picture of him next to it in the letter. I will admit, there is something special that a piece of green and brown plastic just cannot provide.

Listen, I know that this time of year is not particularly your favorite, but please just try to enjoy it for the sake of the other rangers. Don't you dare say that you hate Christmas around them! They like it, and I don't want you to ruin it for them. Mentor nearly had a heart attack. This is the one thing that Jayden has when it comes to a normal life, and he was right outside in the hallway when you said that. Just pretend that you do like it, for his sake, and things will run as smoothly as possible. In regards to your allergies, I told Mentor to pick up your medicine, if they ask you to help with the ornaments or the decoration, just suck it up. It won't kill you (and before you mentally retort, I checked with the doctor. She said it won't kill you)! You're a strong kid, and I know that you'll do it for your friends. Mia, I know that you don't want me to write this, but Merry Christmas!

Love,

Mom

Mia rolls her eyes and looks at the back of the picture. In big, sloppy letters, her brother wrote Merry Christmas Grinchie! Underneath it is a ginormous smiley face wearing a Santa hat. She sighs when her eyes reach that obnoxious nickname that her brother gave her especially for this time of year. She flipped the picture over to see the image on the front. Her brother was wearing a big, tacky, red, Christmas sweater, smiling, and pointing at the obviously not fake tree. He looked so proud. She can only think of how happy he probably is. There was no possible way that anybody could deny that the reason that he couldn't have his big tree until now was her fault. That wretched nickname Grinchie keeps on slipping back into her mind. She had never let it really bother her, but now as she remembers every time he said it, and how true it seems, it stings like a swarm of bees.

"Hey, Mia, are you ok?" a concerned Emily (previously known as the hyperactive blond) asked.

Mia looks up and quickly hides her arms back under her jacket along with the picture. "Yeah, why?" she responded with her eyes to the ground.

"Your eyes are tearing up, and you've been really quiet."

"Em, I'm fine. I've got allergies."

Emily narrowed her eyes, and bluntly asked "In December?"

"Evergreen." Mia replied sheepishly revealing her right arm from under her jacket. Making sure to keep the left, with the note, hidden.

When Emily saw Mia's arms her eyes widened. She screamed, "Oh, my gosh Mia! How? Was that from the trees? Are you..."

"Emily, calm down! I will be fine. My mom sent Mentor my allergy medicine, and once that starts to kick in I'll be fine, you know." When Emily's concerned look did not wipe off her face, Mia continued, "I'm used to this, me and my brother pick one out every year, see?" She slipped out the picture of her brother. Emily looks at it and smiles.

"Well, I guess that Christmas wouldn't be the same without a real tree. Green and brown plastic just wouldn't give the same warm feeling, you know."

"Yeah, I know." Mia sighed. "Terry says that his favorite part of real Christmas trees are the smell, but I barely even know what it smell like."

Once again, Emily was shocked, "Really? That's what makes the whole house feel like Christmas! How do you not know how they smell?"

"It's simple really, every time I get close enough to get a whiff of one, my nose gets stuffed up and I start sneezing like crazy!" Both girls started cracking up. Emily wraps her arm around Mia's neck and trails behind with her friend, giving her company while she tries to breathe.

The guys are working on the tree while Mia is in the kitchen baking her "delicious" cookies. Emily is finishing up an email to her older sister, Serena. Kevin and Mike are talking and decorating the tree. Jayden, Mentor, and Antonio are nowhere to be found until Jayden storms into the house looking furious.

"Hey guys, get in here! What did you do?" Jayden yelled. Mike, Kevin, and Emily run and meet their leader in the foyer.

"What are you talking about?" Kevin inquired.

"You know! Mentor's hopping mad, you guys better get out there. Where's Mia?"

"Right here!" the exasperated girl panted, "I was taking my cookies out of the oven when you called. I didn't want them to burn."

"Guys, get outside right now, before Mentor freaks!" Jayden insists. The rangers run outside only to find Mentor and Antonio with a huge grin plastered on their faces. Mentor had prepared a small surprise for the rangers with the enlisted help of Jayden and Antonio. Somehow they have managed to lug a projector and a ginormous tarp into the training area. They hung it on the cabana where Antonio usually cooks lunch (unbeknownst to Mia generally to save the others from her culinary horrors). All around were Christmas lights, and on the wooden ground where they spar, several mattresses were sprawled on top.

"You guys are not in proper attire! Antonio, did you do the laundry like I asked?" Mentor questioned, trying not to burst out laughing.

"Oh no! Must have slipped my mind!" Antonio replied in an extremely rehearsed tone.

"Oh, well I guess you'll have to wear these." he said in the same tone Antonio used, and handed out Christmas decorated footie pajamas with colors corresponding with their ranger colors. The rangers giggles as they received their "uniform." As they all walk off Mentor yells after them, "Be quick or else!" Causing the rangers to laugh even louder.

When they came back Mentor was wearing his own set of pajamas that were white, and had brought out blankets and popcorn. They all sat down and wrapped themselves up in the big fluffy blankets. The cold air felt nice with the warm attire. Mentor walks up to the projector stationed in front of them, and began playing a movie. Mia's heart sunk the moment the narrator began his monologue. The Grinch. She watched, heart getting heavier minute by minute. Every time the Grinch tries to steal something, or acts like a grouch, a different memory pops into her head.

"Hey, Mia, guess what?" Fourteen year old Mia opens her eyes to see her hyperactive little brother's pimply brace-face inches away from her own. She lifts her head from the pillow just enough to see her clock. It reads 5:26 a.m.

"What, Terry?" Mia groans. She knows what he will say, but she decides to let him have his fun. It's not like she can get back to sleep any time soon.

"Seven more days till Christmas! Are you excited? I bet you're not as excited as I am! I can't wait for Santa to come and bring me all kinds of stuff! I bet you're gonna get coal, 'aint that right, Grinchie?" Terry laughs at his joke as his sister roll over so her back is facing him. "You're a mean one, Missy Grinch! You're a nasty wasty skunk!" he sings, "Your heart is full of unwashed socks, your soul is full of gunk, Missy Gri…HEY!" he yells as Mia throws her pillow at him.

"Get out, Terry!" Mia screams. She turns around and throws another pillow at him.

"But…"

"Now!"

He pouts, "I'M TELLING MOM!"

"GROW UP!" she yells back.

Eventually her mind wondered off to the picture, and then back to the wretched nickname. The Grinch is about to drop all of the presents off the mountain, and she feels like she is going to cry. She slowly distanced herself from the group. "If I could get inside, I could just go to sleep." she thought. She was about to sneak off, when Kevin grabbed her heal.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Restroom" she replied.

"Ok, come back soon." he whispered, and then faced back toward the screen. He makes it a bit obvious that he has never seen this movie. His eyes are wide and expectant, almost as if he is waiting to find out whether or not he will actually drop all of Whoville's presents off of the mountain.

Mia tip-toes back inside the Shiba house, to not disturb anyone else, and when she clears the doorway, the tears start flowing. She goes as fast as she can to her room, only to figure out where Mentor got all of the mattresses from. She slumps down on the floor next to her bed frame and shakily takes out the picture one more time. She stared at the crude lettering and then, her brother's smiling face. Then, Mia put the picture down in her lap, reaches up into her bedside table drawer, and pulls out another picture. In it she sees six smiling faces, all with the same jet-black hair and chocolate eyes, none wearing anything posh. They are gathered around a small Christmas tree the size of a chihuahua. Two adults each had one of the younger children sitting on their laps. The woman had a little boy only about four years old, and the man had a little girl who could not have been more than a year older than the boy. Standing behind them were two twin boys leaning into the picture. They were about nine, or possibly ten years old, and could not be told apart by anything other than their torn and well-worn Christmas sweaters. One is read and the other is green. The two younger children are wearing hand-me-down sweaters like the ones their older brothers are wearing. The mother is wearing a black training uniform with pink stripes and the Shiba symbol and a Santa hat. The father is wearing a navy uniform, reindeer antlers, and a red nose. The room has tacky wallpaper that is peeling at the edges. It is tainted with stains and blotches of unknown origin. She still remembers that small apartment on the base. That was when she still actually liked Christmas.

Four year old Mia watches as her mom sets up a beat up old camera on a beat up, old tripod. She has no clue where she's been for the past few months, but she's glad that she is back. The truth is, she really likes Mom's surprise visits because they always do fun stuff like eat ice cream and go to the zoo, but whenever the fun just starts, the man in red comes and makes her go back to work.

"Hey, James! That's mine. I always wear the green sweater!" Jackson yells at his twin.

"Yeah, but I don't like red, I want to wear green for once!" James retorts. They go on like this for a while until they notice their little sister watching them. "Hey, what are you looking at, Squirt?"

She giggles, "Nuting, Jamie!"

The boys smile, and Jackson pipes in, "You sure? 'Cause it looks like you're looking at something."

"I'm chure, Jackie!" she giggles some more. The two boys look at each other, then back at their sister.

"Ok, Squirt!" James says as Jackson walks behind her. In a split second Jackson lifts her in the air and makes airplane noises. The little girl is hysterically laughing now. James comes right up to her and tickles her tummy, making her laugh even harder.

James looks down and sees his little brother pulling on his pant leg. "What's up, Terry?"

"My turn! My turn! My turn!" the little boy squeals.

"Okay!" he yells as he hoists the little boy in the air. They don't realize that their parents are watching the whole scene snapping pictures of it as they go. Once the boys get tired, they put Mia and Terry down. They then put on their sweaters after a little more bickering and get into the position around the Christmas tree. James presses the button on the camera, and runs into the picture before the timer goes off.

Mia looks up from the picture with a river of tears streaming down her face. "I miss you guys. I hope you know it. I'm still waiting for you to come home." she whimpers in a low voice. She puts her head between her knees and begins to sob softly. Her shaky hands clasp behind her neck and she gently bites her bottom lip to keep quiet. Seeing the most gentle and kind ranger in so much pain could bring a grown man to tears, and it did, because unknown to her, there was an unexpected visitor standing outside her door hearing every word she said.

A/N: I'm not good at writing romance, so any ideas would be helpful. Right now I'm going for Kia, but it could also become a Jia if any ideas come my way. Please Review!

*Snowy Black-a polite way to say black hair with grey streaks (my family uses it all the time)