Lilo & Stitch 1. Monsters

A cool breeze flowed through the house. Autumn had hit the island harder this year than normal. While not getting cold by normal standards, it was a noticeable difference from the usual tropical heat. When Lilo woke up that morning, she noticed Stitch was missing. She grew increasingly worried as the day went on. He was still rather new to the island, and they didn't like him being out on his own. They weren't worried he would get hurt, they were worried that someone else would.

Jumba had brought to their attention that Stitch might revert back to his destructive programming at any time. It wasn't that long ago that he had been created, anything could be possible. Lilo however stood by the fact that Stitch was good. His badness level was at an all-time low, and was continuing to drop each day.

She put down her coloring book and looked out the living room window. A few birds flew by suddenly, startling her a bit. She let out a sigh, turning her record player up. The soft sounds of Elvis' voice filled the air, calming her worries a bit. Even if she fully believed in Stitch, she couldn't help but wonder where he had gone.

Lilo had begged Nani to let her go out to look for him, but she was told it would be best to wait for him at home. Nani had to go to work, so Jumba went out looking for him while Pleakley stayed home to watch over Lilo. Her sister assured her that it was more likely that he had just stepped out for a moment to see something and would soon return.

Lilo's face lit up when she finally heard the door burst open.

"Lilo?!" Stitch shouted as he frantically ran into the house. He instantly found her sitting by the couch and rushed to her side.

"Where did you go, Stitch?" Lilo asked, but it seemed like he hadn't heard her question. She only saw fear in his eyes as he took her hand and started pulling her to their room.

"Weega have to hide." He said. "Meega keep yuuga safe."

"Hide? What are we hiding from?"

"Kaphong!" Stitch burst out, slamming the entrance to their room, making sure it was locked.

"Kap…what?"

Lilo hadn't yet grasped Stitch's language. She had been trying her best, learning what she could from association. There were a few words she had started to understand, ones he used a lot. She knew he could speak English but preferred his own language, and so decided it would be better for her to learn his instead.

"Meega saw monsters out there." Stitch had begun to block the stairway to their room. Their dressers and desks did a fine job of making sure no one would be able to get up.

"Monsters?" Lilo became a little excited. She had always wanted to be a part of a horror movie. This was real life though, not one of the old cheesy films she and her dad used to watch together. She started to help barricade themselves off in whatever way they could.

After Stitch felt they were safely secured, he took a quick look out the window. There was no way he was going to let a monster get at Lilo while he was on the watch.

"Looks clear." He said, hoping down from the window and joining Lilo under their bunk bed. "Meega naga see any monsters around here."

"What's going on?" Lilo asked, the fear starting to take hold of her. "Where did you go? What kind of monsters are out there?"

Stitch hesitated for a moment. He didn't want Lilo to be scared, but he knew she was a strong girl, despite her size. They were up almost every day watching scary movies. He was sure that if anyone could handle what he had witnessed, it would be her.

"Meega woke up and yuuga were still asleep." He began, recounting his actions from the early morning. "Meega waited but yuuga naga wake up. Then meega smelled something strange coming from outside. It smelled like vegetables, but naga one meega ever smelled before."

Lilo wasn't sure what this had to do with monsters, but she hung off every word. She was at least happy to know he wasn't off doing anything bad.

"When meega got to town, everything looked strange. Like one of the movies weega would watch. Meega found the odd smell. There was these big round orange things everywhere. They were butifa big." He put his arms out as wide as he could. "Meega was about to eat hakkiah when meega saw the monsters. Meega ran back home as fast as meega could. Isa naga safe out there."

As Stitch was finishing his story, a sudden realization came over Lilo. "Oh no! Nani and Jumba are out there right now. What if the monsters get them? We have to save them, before it's too late."

Stitch hesitated at first. His job was to make sure that Lilo was safe. After letting her get captured by Gantu, he made it his sole duty to protect her and not let anything bad happen to her again. However, to leave Nani and Jumba out there would mean utter doom.

"'Ohana means family." He repeated to himself.

"Nobody gets left behind."

The two started working on unblocking the door. They were going to need to do a full rescue operation to rescue their family members. Hope filled their hearts that it wasn't already too late.

Un-piling the stuff from their room, Lilo picked up her 'strange desert animal' calendar. Doing what little she could to help once again. As she placed it down, something caught her eye. The picture of the month was a jerboa standing on top of a jack-o-lantern. Seeing the picture got her thinking.

"Hey, Stitch?" She asked, interrupting him as he lifted their full bookcase. "What did these big orange things look like?"

"Um…" He began, scratching his head as he thought about it. "Like a beach ball with a green stick on top."

"Kind of like this?" Lilo pointed to the picture on her calendar.

"Ih. Ih. Exactly like that."

Lilo looked back to the calendar as Stitch continued dismantling their barrier. Going over the days, she finally found the one she was looking for. October thirty-first had a huge circle around it in red pen. She started to laugh, her joyous realization quickly reaching Stitch's ears.

"Gaba funny?" Stitch asked, setting down the table as carefully as he could.

"There's no monsters out there, Stitch." Lilo giggled. "Tomorrow's Halloween! With everything that's happened I almost forgot."

Stitch titled his head in confusion. "Halloween?"

"You haven't heard of…? Okay. We need to educate you." Lilo went to the bookcase Stitch had just recently put back, and quickly found the book she was looking for. She motioned for Stitch to sit next to her as she began leafing through the pages. "Halloween is the best holiday of the year, except for Elvis' birthday. Long live the king."

"Long live the king." Stitch repeated.

"Halloween is the time of year where people celebrate monsters, the dead, and all things spooky and scary. They dress up like vampires, werewolves, zombies, ghosts, anything and everything!" She pointed to a group of trick-or-treaters on one of the pages. "Kids get to go door to door and ask for candy. You really need to plan ahead to get all the good stuff. Or else you get stuck with those yucky ones. Or even worse, vegetables."

"Naga." Stitch gasped.

"Yes. There's also a lot of fun traditions too. My favorite is carving pumpkins. Those things you saw in town. You carve them and leave them on your door step to ward off evil spirits."

Stitch took the book from Lilo and started looking through all the pictures. Each page showed people having tons of fun. He looked up at the room around him, still in a rather messy state.

"Meega do bad." He said as his ears dropped.

"You didn't do bad." Lilo told him. "You were just looking out for me. Thank you." She gave him a kiss on the nose, bringing his spirits up. "Did you want to dress up too?"

Stitch nodded enthusiastically. "Ih."

It didn't take long for Lilo to find clothes for their costumes. She never threw out anything that she thought was creepy and cool. She lost most of her costumes when the house blew up, but there were still a few things. She always felt that simple was the best way to go anyway. A suit jacket, cape, necklace, robe, and a witch's hat was all she needed for their perfect costumes.

"There. You make an amazing Dracula." Lilo said, holding a mirror for Stitch to see him in his vampire costume.

Stitch smiled greatly, he had no idea there were such fun traditions. "Yuga make a great witch."

"You think?" Lilo asked as she twirled. "Maybe I could cast a spell on Myrtle and turn her into a frog."

The two burst out laughing at the thought of Lilo casting a spell on Myrtle. They would certainly enjoy the look on her face as she turned into a warty old toad. Sadly, they wouldn't get to see it, but it was fun to imagine.

"Weega go trick-or-treating now?" Stitch asked, wanting to go have fun like the kids in Lilo's book.

"No. Not yet." Lilo said. "You have to wait until the last night of the month. That's when we get the candy. We can do something else though."

Lilo took Stitch back into town. This time around, he wasn't scared or worried about seeing people dressed up like monsters. Everywhere they looked, Halloween decorations littered the shops and streets. Skeletons, cobwebs, giant fake spiders, and tombstones had taken over their small town. Truly, Lilo's favorite part of the holiday was that she could be herself without anyone calling her weird. At this time of year it was normal to dress up and like the scary and creepy things. It made her feel like she belonged.

Stitch was lost in wonder at the transformation their home had taken. Now that he took a closer look, it was clear everyone was just wearing costumes. He felt a little silly for thinking that they were really monsters. That feeling was completely washed away by the smell of the pumpkins returning to him.

"Aloha, Mrs. Hasegawa." Lilo said, dodging the old lady's water hose as she turned around.

Squinting through her spectacles, the woman managed to make out Lilo's face. "Aloha, Lilo. A little early for trick-or-treating isn't it."

"Everyone's already dressed up though."

"They are?" She asked shocked. "I haven't noticed."

"Do you have any pumpkins left? It's Stitch's first Halloween so I want him to get the full experience."

"Pumpkins?" Mrs. Hasegawa thought for a moment. "Ah yes. Here you go." She handed Lilo a little pumpkin from her vegetable stand. "Enjoy!"

"Um…" Lilo looked at the tiny pumpkin. "Thanks Mrs. Hasegawa. But I was hoping for something a little larger."

"Larger?"

"Yeah. For, you know, carving and stuff."

"Why didn't you say so?" She gave a toothy grin, pointing to behind her shop. "All the big ones are in the back. Go help yourself to whichever you like."

Lilo and Stitch ran around back as fast as they could. Once they got there, their hearts leapt. It was like a small field of orange. Pumpkins everywhere, even stacked on top of each other. All it needed was to rain candy and they'd be in Halloween heaven.

After a couple hours of playing in the small pumpkin patch, Lilo let Stitch pick out a pumpkin for them to take. Along the way home, they ran into Jumba who had been looking for Stitch the entire day. He was out of breath, and it looked like he was hiding in the trees.

"Little girl! Six-two-six!" Jumba whispered from his hiding spot.

"Jumba?" Stitch asked, titling his head.

"What are you doing behind a tree?" Lilo finished for her friend.

"My Earth disguise is not working." He explained. "People keep running up and are telling me I have an amazing costume. Somehow I have been found out. We need to hurry before I am being taken away and experimented on like in your movies." Jumba's worries were quickly made light of by the two's laughter. "What is so funny?"

Along the way home, Lilo explained to him the concept of Halloween. As well that the people weren't talking about his disguise, but that he looked like a real alien. Jumba wasn't as interested in the holiday as Stitch was. He did find the concept of trick-or-treating fun though.

"So it is allowed to go around tricking people?" Jumba chuckled as ideas filled his mind. "This might be best holiday yet."

It was a long wait until nightfall. It felt even longer with the anticipation for the next day. That would be when the real fun began. Before that though, Lilo had a plan for the pumpkin they had picked out that afternoon. What she didn't know was that Stitch had his own plan. She had just finished carving the small pumpkin as an example for the larger one before meeting Stitch outside.

"Where's all the carving stuff?" Lilo asked, holding her small jack-o-lantern. Nani had told them to do the big one outside so they wouldn't make too big of a mess indoors, it was Stitch's job to bring the tools after Lilo cleaned up everything else inside.

"Meega had an idea."

With that, Stitch pulled out one of Jumba's plasma guns. Lilo looked confused until Stitch turned and shot at the pumpkin. In a matter of moments it was transformed into a green glowing jack-o-lantern unlike one Lilo had ever seen before.

Finished with his work, Stitch covered his face with his cape and raised his eyebrows in the best impression of Dracula that he could manage. "Gaba yuuga think?"

"It's the best jack-o-lantern I've ever seen!" Lilo placed the tiny jack-o-lantern on top of Stitch's, liking the idea of a one giving the other a piggy back ride. "Everyone is going to be completely jealous. If they come that is…" She saw Stitch tilt his head, curious by her words. "It's nothing. This is going to be the best Halloween of all time!"

"Stitch do good?"

"Stitch did great."

She gave him a kiss on the nose. "Happy Halloween, Stitch."

"Happy Halloween, Lilo."

Lilo started running back to the house. "Come on! We need to plan out our route tomorrow. We don't want to be stuck with all the bad candy."

Stitch took one last long look at his pumpkin. He was still new to this world, and he didn't understand everything it had to hold just yet. But he was learning, and having a lot of fun with Lilo along the way.


	2. Thankful for You

Light slowly filled through the blocked window. It was already past midday already, but Lilo and Stitch were still asleep. The little blue experiment sprawled across Lilo's top bunk of the bed, slightly nudging her in the process.

"Uhn." Lilo winced a moaned at the disturbance to her sleep. "Move over Stitch, you're taking up all the room."

Stitch rolled over best he could in his sleeping state. "So…ka…" He replied with a deep breath.

The two had stayed up late once again reading scary stories and eating junk food. Since Lilo started up school at the end of summer, their weekend evenings were spent staying up late and having fun to make up for all the time they ended up losing. Stitch would sometimes come to school with her, but normally pets weren't allowed. As well, ever since Halloween came along, Stitch gained a completely new fascination for everything scary. He had already enjoyed monsters because of Lilo, but seeing people dressed up as them in real life gave him a whole new appreciation of them.

He continued to take deep breaths, trying his best to fall back asleep. However, something quickly caught his attention. With a quick inhale, Stitch's nose twitched at the sweet aroma of food wafting from downstairs. The smell of breakfast had long since passed, and this was something he had never smelled before. Unable to ignore it, he slowly pulled himself from bed, dropping to the floor with a clang.

"Stitch?" Lilo looked over the edge of the bed, still half asleep. She rubbed her eyes, trying to get her vision to go straight again. "Are you okay?"

"Ih." Stitch said, shaking his head. "Meega oketaka."

"That's good." Lilo climbed down safely to join him. Even if she was still tired, there was no way she could get back to sleep after Stitch fell like that. "Why did you fall?"

"Meega smell something good." He stated simply, getting back up on his feet.

"You do? I don't smell anything. Are you sure you're not imagining things."

Stitch was sure that he smelled something though, and nearly dragged Lilo to the kitchen.

"Okay. Now I smell something." She admitted once they got to the bottom of the stairs. "And it does smell really good!"

They ran the rest of the way together, almost crashing into Nani again.

"Hey!" Nani said pointing a baster at the two. "What did I say about running in the house?"

"Only do it if there's an emergency." Lilo and Stitch recited at the same time.

"And is there an emergency?"

"No." They both once again said at once.

"Then no more running. Especially not in the kitchen while I'm cooking."

Lilo and Stitch looked around the kitchen. Half prepared food laid everywhere. Some failed concoctions as well as some burnt food, most of it was unrecognizable. The family still had trouble with dinners now and then. It was hard to get into the swing of things with so many more mouths to feed all of a sudden. Especially when one of them was able to eat entire plates whole. It was because of that that Nani didn't remind Lilo that Thanksgiving was coming up, and why she made sure that Stitch had no idea. If he had known about all the food she had hidden in the house, they wouldn't be having supper that night. It soon dawned on Lilo what day it was, and was about to explain it to Stitch when they were interrupted.

"I am ready to help with the holiday!" Pleakley suddenly announced as he entered the room. Everyone turned to look at him and burst out laughing. "What? Am I not wearing this right?"

Pleakley looked down at his black and white suite, with his buckled shoes and readjusted his buckled hat. He shifted around, trying his best to wear things properly.

"No, Pleakley." Lilo said, trying her best to stop laughing. "You're not wearing it wrong. It's just, why are you wearing it?"

"Well, after that fascinating Halloween, I started looking up other Earth traditions and events." Pleakley's eye lit up like a star. The thought of Earth customs immediately raised his excitement to the max. "I came across this interesting one called 'Thanksgiving.'" He started to help out Nani like he had promised, not seeing her roll her eyes. "It stems back many generations. Where one group of people gives another a large stuffed bird. As well as a bountiful amount of food that spills out of a large horn. And while doing so, you wear one of these silly, yet very comfy suits. I was about to read about the ones wearing the leather clothing and beautiful headdresses, but I realized I was supposed to be helping."

"Well… you almost got it at least." Lilo giggled.

Stitch eyed up Pleakley's outfit and looked to Lilo. "Do meega have to wear that too?"

"No, Stitch. You don't. Actually, no one wears those. I don't actually think anyone ever did."

"What?!" Pleakley exclaimed, dropping a plate. "But everyone dressed up during the last holiday! I didn't even get the chance."

"Sorry, Pleakley. We dressed up because that's the point of Halloween. It isn't for Thanksgiving though."

"Pleakley!" Nani yelled. "Would you watch what you're doing? We're low enough on plates as it is."

Lilo and Stitch sat at the table, enjoying the aroma of the cooking turkey. It completely filled the house, along with the smell of the vegetables that Nani had cooking. Stitch was absolutely fascinated by all the effort put into a single meal. And both he and Lilo got a good laugh at Pleakley trying to help in the kitchen. To say the least, cooking wasn't his forte.

"What is going on in here?" Jumba asked as he bounded into the kitchen. "I am sitting in room trying to come up with my next great invention when I am smelling most delicious smell. And now I see one eyed noodle is cooking?"

"It's Thanksgiving." Lilo said cheerfully. "It's a holiday."

"Another holiday?" Jumba asked surprised. "Didn't you just have that hallowy one a short while ago?"

"Yeah. But this one's different. This ones to remind us what we are thankful for and to spend time with your family. Your 'ohana."

"Silly Earthlings need special day just to remember to be thankful? Bah. Do you need a celebration for everything?"

"It's not silly!" Lilo pouted. "It's really fun. Right, Stitch?"

"Huh?" Stitch's eyes had drifted over to the oven. The smell of the cooking turkey was almost intoxicating. He had long since stopped paying attention. "Ih. Butifa fun."

"See?" Lilo sat up proud, as if she had just proven her point with Stitch's input. "Besides. Didn't you have any holidays or celebrations back home?"

Jumba sat down at the table, trying to think of any when he was rudely interrupted.

"We do!" Pleakley said, almost dropping a pot of potatoes out of excitement. "My favorite was Grosketery. Every thirteen Earth months we would choose the best warrior, and they would battle the new wave of groskets. It was so much fun to watch."

"I don't know what a… gorket is, but that sounds really dangerous."

"Oh it was! Many people died." Pleakley said, somehow sounding even more excited. "But it is such an honor to be chosen. And if we didn't, the grosket population would get to large and we would be wiped out."

"Please don't talk about people dying in front of Lilo, Pleakley." Nani added, snatching the pot away from him.

"Hehe… Sorry."

"Jumba naga have any?" Stitch asked with great curiosity. His brain was faster than a super computer, and he knew a great many things. Yet he still needed to learn things like traditions, manners, celebrations, and friendship. Jumba never programmed knowledge of any of them into him.

"Me?" Jumba almost burst out laughing at the thought. "No. None. Kweltikwan is very simple planet. We saw no need for things like this. Although… I suppose day ex-wife left would be worth celebrating." Jumba started to giggle at the thought.

"Well now you get to celebrate all the holidays with us! We're one big happy family now." Lilo rested her arms and head on the table with a big smile on her face. "I'm so excited I can't wait. We haven't had a big supper like this since…" She trailed off as the smile began to fade from her face.

The atmosphere in the kitchen quickly changed and everyone became tensed. As much as Lilo and Nani were okay with talking about their parents passing, it still hurt them deeply. Afterwards, they didn't do a whole lot of celebrating. David tried to get them back into the spirit, and they would do a little bit. However it was never the same. This was the first big family supper they were going to have in what felt like forever. Jumba soon excused himself from the table, eager to get to the work he really did have to start. After a while, Pleakley was also dismissed. Nani had had enough close calls of him almost ruining dinner, and she was not going to stand to have their first big family meal become a disaster. Grumbling, Pleakley went back to his room to change, disappointed about all the work he had put into his outfit.

Lilo and Stitch started playing to pass the time. They knew they were going to stay up late after sleeping in for so long. It was the weekend, so Lilo didn't really care. She just wanted to spend as much time with Stitch as she could. Which Stitch was more than happy to oblige. The house was so much more boring without Lilo around. Mostly he just sat and waited for her to return from school. The weekend was always what he looked forward to most.

In the midst of their games, they heard a knock at the door.

"Lilo, sweetie?!" Nani called out. "Can you get it? My hands are a little full right now."

"Okay." Lilo called back with a sigh. She put down her crayon and got the door, hearing another knock just as she reached it. "Hello-Cobra!"

In the doorway a tall man stood, dressed in a completely black suit.

"Hey, Lilo." Cobra said, getting down on one knee. "How've you been?"

"Good!" Lilo instantly jumped up, wrapping as much of her arms around his neck as she could. "What are you doing here?"

"It's Thanksgiving isn't it? Aren't I allowed to be with my 'ohana?" Stitch came over the moment he realized who it was. He actually had a lot to owe to the social worker. He had to pull a lot of strings to let Nani and Lilo stay together. "Hey there, Stitch. Nice to see you again." He petted Stitch on the head before finally entering.

Nani managed to get to the door after scrambling to get all the food settled for her to get away. "Oh Cobra. It's nice to see you again."

"Everything still going good?" Cobra asked as he gave her a small hug.

"Peachy. I had a feeling you might show up." Nani's face went white as she heard pot lids starting to rattle. "One second." With that, she rushed off.

Tilting her head to see into the kitchen, Lilo saw a bit of smoke coming out of one of the pots. Thinking it best to keep Cobra out of there, Lilo pulled him over to her and Stitch's drawings.

"So why yuuga naga with yuuga's 'ohana?" Stitch asked as Cobra looked at Lilo's picture.

"This is really nice." Cobra said to Lilo before answering Stitch. "I am. You guys are my family."

"Meega mean yuuga's real family. Where are they?"

"That's classified information." Cobra said deadpanned before laughing it off. "I'll still see them. Don't worry. Just can't today is all. So I thought I'd stop in. It's not a problem I'm here is it, Nani?" He called out.

"Not at all!" She replied. "Actually. Could you come help out? Once David gets here we're going to eat, and I lost my only helper."

"You kicked me out!" Pleakley said as he walked by, still pouting.

"Sure thing, Nani." Cobra answered.

The two went back to their coloring and games. Supper wouldn't be too much longer, and they were both starving. The smell from the kitchen didn't help them any, and eventually Stitch's stomach began to rumble loud. Lilo laughed at the sound until her stomach also began to growl. She stopped and blushed a little as Stitch found it his turn to laugh.

Eventually, David finally arrived, finding the house smelling delicious.

"Aloha everyone!" He called out as he came into the house.

"Hey, David." Nani said, giving him a hug. "Thanks for coming."

"Wouldn't miss it." He said, returning her hug. "Everything went okay?"

"Yeah… It was hard. But I think it was good. It was a nice suggestion."

"Hey. If you're looking for words of wisdom, I'm available anytime."

Lilo and Stitch bounded over, carrying their drawings. "David! David! Look what we drew."

David took the papers from them and smiled. "Hey, these are awesome. You two are regular artists."

He took the two pictures of their whole family eating supper together and taped them to the fridge. There wasn't a whole lot of room left on the door, but they would make as much as they needed. Lilo and Stitch beamed proudly as they looked at all their pictures.

"Okay everyone!" Nani yelled out, trying to get Jumba and Pleakley's attention. "It's time to sit down and eat!"

Dinner looked absolutely amazing and the table was set beautifully. Everyone was overly eager to eat the delicious smelling turkey, as well as the rest of the food. However, Lilo had something else in mind.

Just as Jumba was about to dish some of the vegetables onto his plate, Lilo called out for everyone to wait.

"This is our first big holiday together as a family! We need to take a picture."

Everyone sighed, stomachs begging for them to eat. Nani just smiled at her with kind eyes. "Okay, sweetie. Go get your camera. Stitch, you can grab the turkey."

Stitch was more than eager to help, and Lilo quickly set up her camera. No one wanted to wait around for the picture to be taken, so Lilo just set it on a timer. Everyone looked in awe as Stitch set the turkey on the table, just as the camera took the photo. The flash caught Pleakley's attention, making him look away just as Stitch dropped the plate on the table in surprise. Everyone gasped, but thankfully it landed safely on the table.

"Okay." Nani said with a deep breath. Her heart stopped from seeing all her hard work almost go to waste. "Stitch, would you carve the turkey before anything bad happens?"

"Ih. Ih." He laughed, pulling out the new chainsaw.

"No!" Nani yelled. "Cobra, how about you do it? With a knife please."

"Of course."

A disappointed Stitch sat down at the table, sad he didn't get to use the fancy new chainsaw. Lilo patted him on the head, telling him he could do it next time.

The rest of Thanksgiving dinner went off without a hitch. The family took turns saying what they were thankful for, even Jumba. He still thought that it was a silly tradition, but he joined in none the less. He would never admit it, but he had a lot of fun. Pleakley kept going on and on about all the things he learned about Thanksgiving. Most of which was untrue, but no one wanted to take away his fun by telling him the truth.

Mostly, Lilo and Stitch sat in silence, enjoying the time with their family. It was nice to have a reminder of all the good things in life. Lilo was able to smile genuinely at all the fun they had. It was still hard not to have her parents, but her new 'ohana made everything much better.

That night, Lilo and Stitch laid awake in the bunk bed yet again. Having slept in so late, they were still wide awake. Not to mention the food that was still processing in their stomachs. They had ate so much it almost felt like they were going to explode.

"Hey, Stitch?" Lilo said from the top bunk. "Are you awake?"

"Ih." Stitch called back. "Naga sleep."

"Me neither. Wanna come up here?" Stitch didn't answer, but Lilo could hear the creak of the bed as Stitch climbed up to her. "Thanks." She said as she felt Stitch cuddle into her. Her mind swirled with thoughts of the day. Of her family and how much she loved them. Of the fun she had with Stitch. But most of all, of how much she wished her parents could be there with her. So they too could enjoy all the new friends they had made. Just to know that they are all okay. It didn't occur to her until she felt Stitch hold onto her tightly, that she had started crying.

For so long she had kept these feelings inside. She and Nani didn't talk about mom and dad very often. At most, they pretended nothing had happened. In silence, they shared a wish that it was all a bad dream.

"Lilo naga cry." Stitch said, wiping her tears away. "Lilo will be able to sleep."

She was able to smile at his silliness. Lilo knew Stitch was smarter than that, that he knew what was upsetting her. She still cried herself to sleep every now and then, and Stitch was always there for her. He just wouldn't talk about it so that she wouldn't get more upset. Always, he did his best to make her feel better instead. He wasn't a replacement, all he ever could be was her best friend, and he would always be there for her.

"Stitch? I know what I said downstairs at supper. But I'm really most thankful to have you. You're the best thing to ever happen to me. Thank you."

"Meega thankful to have yuuga too, Lilo. Yuuga meega's best achi-baba."


	3. To Nani

"Stitch!"

Stitch awoke with a start at the sound of his name being called. Still in a daze, he looked around, awaiting some sort of danger to emerge. Instead, Lilo ran up the stairs calling his name again.

"Stitch!" Lilo called, rushing to the bedside. "Are you up?"

"Meega am now…" Stitch yawned.

"Sorry." Lilo apologized, but she was too excited to keep still. "Come on. We have to get going."

Stitch was fully awake once he felt his arm being pulled. Rather than question it, he decided to just let himself get dragged along.

At the bottom of the staircase, Lilo looked up and down the hall before starting to tip-toe with Stitch close behind.

"Where weega going, Lilo?" Stitch asked.

"Shhhhh." Lilo interrupted. "Be quiet. We need to sneak out. Nani can't know we're leaving."

"Oh okay." Stitch was still confused, but he went along with it.

He noticed people starting to act strange as the days went on. Everyone was much happier, but also seemed to be more secretive. Especially Nani and Lilo. Jumba and Pleakley noticed too, but when he asked them about it they just claimed not to know. Once Lilo finally did start explaining, Stitch didn't fully understand what she was talking about.

Why the tree they put up in the living room was so important, and why there were a bunch of boxes beneath puzzled him. When he went to try to open them, everyone yelled at him to stop. Since then, he decided it was best not to question things. The last thing he wanted was for everyone to get mad at him.

Once they were outside, Lilo stopped sneaking and returned to a normal walk. While in town, Stitch saw many decorations he had never seen before. Large balls and lights hung from buildings, as well as large cut out snowflakes. He didn't know why, but he felt an odd chill run through his body at the sight of them. To make himself feel better, he instead looked at the large decorative balls. All the colours fascinated him greatly. Lilo had to stop him from taking some a few times.

"You can't take those, Stitch." She said, putting another one back on its hook. "They're for Christmas."

"Gaba Christmas?" He had heard the word many times, but still he didn't know what it meant.

"I've already told you haven't I?"

"Yuuga talk about presents, trees, dinner…" Stitch counted on his fingers as he went on. "Carols, candy canes, chocolate… naga Christmas."

Lilo giggled at his cuteness as the continued their way towards the mall. "Those are all a part of Christmas." By the look on her friend's face, it seemed that that wasn't enough of an explanation though. "Christmas is probably the biggest holiday of them all. It comes at the end of the year, and everyone basically counts down the days to it. It's a time for giving, and being with your family."

"'Ohana?"

"Yeah. You're 'ohana." Lilo rubbed his head. She was proud of how much Stitch had learned already. "You see. You're supposed to spend time with your family during the holidays and you give each other gifts. Like Thanksgiving and Halloween combined. And on the night before Christmas, Santa visits the homes of all the good boys and girls in the world and leaves gifts under the Christmas tree."

Stitch started getting confused again. "Snata?"

"Santa… Him!" Lilo pointed to the Television in the shop window they passed by.

Stitch looked in awe. A cartoon man wearing a big read coat and hat was handing toys to a bunch of little boys and girls. The smiles on their faces were bigger than Stitch had ever seen. Clearly, this Santa fellow held a lot of power over children. But then, Lilo's words started to worry him.

"Gaba about the bad children?" Stitch's mind jumped to all the things he had done in his short time on Earth. As good as he had tried to be, his badness level was still rather high.

"The naughty ones get nothing but coal." Lilo said menacingly. Stitch gasped and then she understood why he was asking. "Don't worry, Stitch. I'm sure Santa has made notes on all the good things you've done. After all, it's not your fault you were made to be destructive. You've done a lot of work to be good."

After a little more explanation, Stitch got more and more excited. He could see now why everyone was getting so happy and anxious. Everything about Christmas seemed like so much fun. Once they reached the mall, Lilo headed straight to the store she was looking for. Stitch didn't particularly care for the crowds. Being around big groups of people made him feel anxious, like his original programming was trying to take control again. While the city was normally okay to be in, the large amount of shoppers during this season was more than he liked. Quickly, he stayed on Lilo's heels the best he could.

"There!" Lilo said, grabbing the soon to be gift off the shelf. "This will be perfect for Nani. What do you think, Stitch?"

Lilo showed Stitch what she had picked out and he grew a big grin at the sight of it. "Oh. Oh! Isa butifa. Nani will love it."

"Alright. We'll get her this one."

Lilo trotted up to the cashier, eager to get her sister the gift. "Aloha, Mr. Kame. I'd like to buy this one please.

The store owner took the gift from Lilo and smiled at the girl's thoughtfulness. He had known the Pelekai family for years, and was glad to see Lilo getting into the holiday spirit again. "I'm sure Nani will love this, Lilo. Did you want it gift wrapped. It's only three dollars extra."

Lilo counted what she had brought. It was only enough for the present itself.

"Do you have any money on you, Stitch?" She asked hopefully.

Stitch outstretched his hidden arms, checking both his hands for anything. All he had on him was a button from a shirt, and a lollipop.

"Hey!" Lilo gave him a dirty look. "That's _my _lollipop. I was looking for that."

Stitch let out a guilty giggle and retracted his arms. "Naga money."

"I guess we'll just wrap it ourselves then."

Feeling a little bad for getting the girl's hopes up, Mr. Kame changed his mind. "Eh. Don't worry about it. I'll wrap it free of charge."

"Really!?"

"Yeah. Just wait a minute."

"Mahalo plenty, Mr. Kame." Lilo was absolutely ecstatic. She couldn't wait for Christmas to come now. It was sure to be the best one ever.

The energy on the island became a buzz as Christmas day approached. Stitch learned many things about the holiday from Lilo, and the more he learned the more he got excited. They watched movie after movie to get into the spirit. Stitch's favorite being 'Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer.' Even Jumba got into the holiday mood this time around. Something about getting something without obligation to give, even if that wasn't the idea, made him giddy. Though, Jumba and Pleakley had become rather secretive as the day slowly approached.

Soon, Christmas day had finally arrived and it was harder to tell who was more excited.

"Wake up, Lilo." Stitch said, jumping on Lilo's bunk. "Wake up. Isa Christmas."

Stitch barely slept a wink all night, but he would be okay. He was far too excited to sleep. Lilo tried to stay up as late as she could. Every year, she would try to listen for Santa Clause and meet him. She knew the one at the shopping mall was only a stand in.

"Santa is too busy making toys to go around everywhere beforehand." Lilo told Stitch before he rushed off towards the mall Santa. "So he hires people to find out what kids want for him. That way, he can make any last minute changes."

Sadly, neither of them were able to catch Santa the previous night. Stitch was sure he was awake the whole time, but figured he must have dozed off at some point to have missed him. He felt bad too, because he wanted to ask Santa to leave a special gift for Lilo. He knew it was too late this year, and he didn't think his letter to the North Pole would have made it in time.

Either way, Christmas morning had finally arrived, and it only took Lilo a couple of moments to yawn and stretch before it finally hit her.

"It's Christmas?" Lilo asked, watching Stitch jump up and down. "It's Christmas! Come on!"

Stitch didn't have to be told twice. He made it down the stair case before Lilo did, crawling along the walls straight to the living room. Once Lilo caught up with him, they stood in awe at the Christmas tree. Santa had indeed come, there were far more presents under the tree than the night before, and all of their stockings were actually full.

"Well?" Nani asked, standing in the door way with a mug of coffee and a Santa hat. "It's time to open presents."

The look on the two of their faces was priceless. The amount of joy they shared as they rushed to the tree was immense. Wrapping paper went everywhere as Nani sat down to join them. As nice as it was to see them enjoy themselves. She wanted to at least have a bit of an organized time.

"Here, Stitch." Nani said, reaching over for one of his boxed gifts.

"Meega?" Stitch was excited. This was his first Christmas, and it was the first time he was ever getting real presents.

"Yeah. This one's for you."

Just as Nani was handing Stitch his gift, the door suddenly opened. They had almost forgotten about Jumba and Pleakley as they came in completely dressed up.

"Heeheehee, Merry Christmas!" Jumba said, dropping his large sack.

"That's 'hohoho,' Jumba." Pleakley said, rolling his eye. "Merry Christmas, everyone. Hey! You didn't wait for us?"

"Sorry." Lilo said bashfully. "We just got so excited…"

"It is being okay, little girl." Jumba said with a large grin. "I am having special surprise gift for you and six-two-six. Quickly, go get dressed."

"This better not be another quantum powered toaster." Nani said, watching Lilo rush off to her room.

"I am still saying that using radioactive energy would give better toast." Jumba said. "But no. This is much better."

When Lilo returned, her jaw dropped at what was awaiting her. "I get a car?!"

She rushed over and admired the small yellow vehicle. It was just her size, and from the looks of it, it would actually be drivable. She hoped Nani would be okay with it, because it would be the best present ever. Not even Myrtle would have a better toy to show off.

"It is being more than just a human Earth vehicle." Jumba motioned for Lilo to get in, to which she happily obliged. "Okay. Now hold on."

Jumba pressed a button on the dash board, and suddenly the car started to lift off the ground as the tires rotated underneath. Lilo felt a rush as the weightlessness take hold of her.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down." Nani rushed over and pushed the button again, brining Lilo back to Earth. "No flying in the house." For a moment, Nani saw the joy escape Lilo's eyes making her feel bad. "If you want to. Take it outside."

"Okay!"

Lilo rushed outside, followed by Jumba Nani and Pleakley. Stitch was already outside with a similar red hover car. Lilo was too eager to join him, and beckoned Jumba to start it up again.

"You press this pedal to go forward." Jumba explained how the vehicle worked, though he was sure that Lilo barely heard a word from him. "This one stops it. And you just need to pull on the handles to go up."

With the instructions done, Lilo took off. She couldn't believe how amazing it was to be free of the ground. It was like surfing without the command of the water. Not only that, but she was the only one on Earth to ever feel the sensation. Together, she and Stitch ruled the skies. For a short period of time. There would be plenty of opportunities to fly now, but she had something she needed to do first. Stitch understood her nod, and they landed back down in front of the house.

"Back so soon?" Nani said, checking her watch. "You weren't even gone ten minutes."

"There's something we need to give you." Lilo took hold of one of Nani's hands, while Stitch took the other.

"For me?" Nani laughed as she felt herself get pulled up the stairs, she had no idea what they could possibly have in store for her.

What she didn't expect, was to be given a present that was carefully hidden behind the tree. All it said on it was 'To Nani. With Love. Lilo and Stitch." There was even a small drawing of Lilo and Stitch faces on it, just in case she wasn't sure who it was from.

"You guys didn't have to get me…" She trailed off as she opened the gift. The surfing trophy held a great deal of weight in her hand. However, what really got her was the engraving on the bottom. "Nani Pelekai." She whispered. "The Best Sister in the Galaxy."

Nani looked down at the two before her. Their eyes sparkled with hope that she would like it. Almost feeling herself start to cry, she had no idea what to even say. Or where to start.

"I know you haven't been able to surf since you started looking after me." Lilo began. "And you haven't gotten any new trophies… but you absolutely deserve more and more."

"Yuuga took meega in even when meega naga deserve it." Stitch continued. "Meega naga ever be able to repay yuuga for it. Takka."

"You guys." Nani pulled them into a great hug, feeling herself finally begin to cry. "This is the best gift ever. Next to you two of course. Mele Kalikimaka."

Stitch tilted his head, he had never heard that phrase before. "Mele…?"

"It's what we say instead of 'Merry Christmas.'" Lilo quickly explained.

"Oh." Stitch smiled, happy that Nani enjoyed her gift. "Mele kalichamelon."

"We'll have to work on that one." Lilo giggled.


	4. Will You Be My Valentine?

"I hate this!" Lilo shouted, slamming the door.

Nani nearly dropped the dish she was cleaning from the sudden outburst. _Oh no._ She knew from experience that when Lilo was upset, normally it had to do with school. And most of the time, it had to do with Myrtle Edmonds.

"I hate it. I hate this stupid holiday!" Lilo tossed her bag to the side, jumping onto the couch face down. "Valentine's Day can fall in a volcano for all I care!"

Stitch watched with concern from the house entrance, having just run in through the doggy door. He was with Lilo at school all day, but didn't really know what had gotten her upset. She was fine all the way up until he asked what the kids were doing at the end of class.

"What happened today, sweetie?" Nani asked, sitting next to Lilo on the couch.

"It's this dumb holiday."

"What? Valentine's Day? What's so dumb about it?"

"It's just a stupid made up day to make people who don't have anyone special feel bad about themselves." Lilo's words were muffled by the couch and blanket, but Nani was able to make out most of it.

"Wait. You're upset because you don't have anyone special?" Nani knew Lilo was starting to grow up. But even she seemed too young to be worried about something like that just yet. "Lilo you're only six, you don't need to be worrying about having a boyfriend-"

"It's not that!" Lilo said, rolling her unseen eyes. "I don't have any friends."

Nani's eyes wandered over to Lilo's tossed bag. Extra Valentine's Day cards sprawled out from the undone zipper. "Oh. Your class handed out cards today didn't they? And you-"

"Got none." Lilo interrupted. "Again. As usual."

Stitch picked up the cards, looking at the pink and red cardboard with wonder. He didn't understand what was so special about them. The hearts weren't realistic by any means, and they seemed a lot cuter than Lilo was normally interested in.

"Lilo?" Stitch asked, making his way over with an armful of cards. "Gaba isa Valentine?"

"Huh?" Lilo finally lifted her head, wiping away the familiar tears as she looked at the curious experiment.

"Why it make yuuga sad?"

"A Valentine is someone special." Lilo explained. "Valentine's Day is a day about love and caring. For grown-ups, it's normally a day to spend together as a couple. You give the one you love flowers or chocolates, or teddy bears." She glanced to her sister, then leaned in close to whisper something to Stitch, using her hand to block her voice. "David always sends Nani flowers and chocolates. But she turns them away. I think she's playing 'hard to get.'"

"I am not!" Nani argued, hitting Lilo with a pillow as her face grew flushed. "I just don't have time for dating right now."

Not wanting to get into the tired argument, Nani left to let Lilo finish explaining the special day.

"Anyway." Lilo said, taking one of the cards from Stitch. "For kids, it's a time to show your friends how much they mean to you. We give each other these little cards with cheesy lines in them. It's really fun actually. I'm not overly into the cutesy parts, I try my best to find some with monsters. Sadly, my requests for the Halloween themed Valentine's Day cards seem to go unnoticed every year."

Nani heard what Lilo had said from behind the doorway. She made a mental note to make monster cards for next year.

"On the day before Valentine's we all make a little box. Then everyone places the cards in their friend's boxes. Sometimes candies and chocolates get put in as well…"

Lilo became very quiet all of a sudden. Stitch remembered sitting in the corner of the class, watching everyone making the boxes Lilo described. Normally he wasn't allowed in the school, but sometimes he snuck in to spend time with Lilo. The teacher didn't care as long as he didn't make a mess or cause any problems. In fact, he was even able to help quite a bit with their lessons on space. He watched with curiosity as everyone talked and laughed while making the paper heart shaped boxes. Afterwards, the teacher directed everyone to start handing out the cards. He didn't know what was happening at the time, but he enjoyed seeing the chaos that ensued as the children frantically ran around.

Lilo quickly handed out all of the cards she had brought. Once she had finished, she carefully watched to see who put cards into her box. After a while, her smile began to fade, seeing everyone avoid her desk like a disease. On the other side of the room, Myrtle had already begun bragging about how much her box was overflowing with cards. After a few years of the same thing happening, Lilo had grown used to it. She had almost made it all the way home before it finally started getting to her.

"So would Lilo be happy if she got lots of cards?" Stitch asked, tilting his head.

"Yeah." Lilo said, looking down at the card. "But it won't happen." Lilo crumpled up the card into a ball and tossed it away. She didn't want to think about Valentine's Day anymore. She just wanted the next day to come and go as quickly as she could.

Stitch looked at the crumpled up ball, the gears of his mind starting to turn.

"Then Lilo gets cards." He said happily and idea coming to him.

By bedtime, Lilo had already forgotten about the whole ordeal at school. That night however, while everyone was sound asleep, Stitch quietly snuck out of the house. Halfway out of the window, he heard Lilo start to stir awake. He quickly rushed over and managed to get her back to sleep. Happy to have not been caught, he quickly made his way out and to the school eager to begin.

Sneaking into the classroom through the window, his eyes switched to green, night vision making everything absolutely clear. He could see all the boxes sitting on the children's desks, awaiting the moment they would be open. Stitch already knew what he was going to do.

Within minutes, each and every box was completely torn open. All the cards, candies, chocolates, and little gifts all the kids gave to each other were taken from their containers. All except Lilo's, whose now held the contents of all the destroyed boxes. Stitch looked proudly at Lilo's box, imagining the small smiling face that was decorated on it would be just like Lilo's when she saw what he had down for her.

Realizing he had made a mess during his small misadventure, he quickly picked up all the cardboard from the floor, placing it nicely on the children's desks. As he went to leave the room, he walked past Myrtle's desk, and stopped to think to himself. Doubling back, he grabbed the torn box from her desk and tossed it across the room. As he exited the window, it landed in the trashcan, causing the bin to spin in place before coming to a stop.

"Morning, Stitch!" Lilo said. She quickly got herself ready for school, waiting for the groggy Stitch to finally get out of his bunk. "You okay? Didn't you sleep at all?"

"Nnnn." Stitch yawned, still tired from his late night. "Naga…"

Lilo placed a hand to his forehead, like Nani would do to check her temperature. He didn't feel hot, but she didn't know if illegal genetic experiments would get fevers like she did. "You don't feel warm. Maybe you should stay here today though. Get some rest so you'll feel better."

"No!" Stitch nearly shouted, suddenly completely awake. "Meega okay. Stitch go with Lilo to school."

Lilo was hesitant at first, but decided it would be okay for him to come. If things didn't go well, she could always send him home. At the very least, he wouldn't cause any problems if he was too tired. If she had known what was waiting for at school, she would have feigned sick herself.

"It was her! Weirdlo did it!" Myrtle said the moment Lilo walked into the room.

Lilo stopped dead in her tracks, seeing all of her classmates glare at her.

"H-hey, guys." She said, stepping back defensively. "What's going on?"

"Don't play dumb." Myrtle took lead of the class, as usual. "Or are you not playing? We know it was you that did this."

"Did what?" Lilo didn't need to ask though. One look of the room gave her all the answers she needed. The students that weren't currently angry towards her were looking sadly at their destroyed boxes, or trying to carefully tape them back together. "What makes you think I did this?"

"Because your box is the only one not broken."

Lilo's eyes made their way to her desk, seeing that it was in fact the only one still intact.

"Not only that." Myrtle continued. "It has all the Valentine's in them. And we know no one would give you a Valentine."

"Lilo?" The teacher asked, making her way over. "Is it true? Did you take all the Valentine cards?"

Lilo looked around at the angry and sad faces. "No." Lilo looked up at her with sorrow filled eyes.

"She's a liar." Myrtle said to the side.

"That's enough of that." The teacher said, shooing the other students away. "Go fix your boxes, and get your Valentine's sorted again."

Lilo was forced to watch as her box was tipped over, cards spilling out onto her desk and the floor. Stitch growled, making a move to go stop them, however Lilo held him back. He looked between her and the other students, torn on what he should do. He really wanted to go stop them after all the hard work he had done, but it seemed what he did only managed to cause Lilo even more problems. He sat back, ears dropped, already feeling guilty.

"Now tell me the truth, Lilo." The teacher asked again. "Did you come back after class and take all the Valentine's cards?"

"I really didn't. I would never ever never ever ever do something like that." Lilo tried to sound as genuine as possible. "Well… Maybe I would to Myrtle. But not everybody else!"

"Then who did it?"

"I don't know." Lilo looked back to the class. Everyone already seemed to get most of the things in order. Despite the shabby looking boxes, they were all having fun again. As her eye's made it over, Myrtle stuck her tongue out, holding tightly onto her taped up box. She could feel herself start growing angry, but she really didn't know who had done it. Not until she looked at Stitch, who looked away from her in an instant. Putting two and two together, she realized it must have been Stitch. "It was, Sti…. It was me." Stitch ear's perked up at her words. "I did it."

"Why would you do something like this, Lilo? You're always so good."

"I was tired of not getting any Valentine's. I was angry. I'm sorry."

The teacher let out a long sigh. "I'm sorry too, Lilo. But I'm going to have to send you to the principal's office."

"I understand." Lilo turned to head back out of the classroom, motioning for Stitch to come with her.

"You're not going to be able to take your dog with you. He'll have to go home."

"Okay."

Each second that ticked by made Stitch feel worse and worse. He waited patiently for Lilo to return home. Nani had already been called about the incident, but Stitch fessed up to what he had done. Why Lilo took the blame for him, he wasn't sure, but he couldn't feel sorrier for what had happened. Once Lilo had finally gotten home, he instantly apologized.

"Why would you do that?" Lilo asked, sounding angrier than she had meant to. She started tossing her school supplies out of her bag onto the floor of her room.

"Because Lilo was sad." The low and sad tone in his voice made Lilo stop what she was doing and look at him. "Yesterday, Lilo was really sad she naga get any cards. Meega wanted to make Lilo happy. Meega thought that if meega got yuuga all the cards… yuuga would be happy."

"I'm not going to be happy if everyone else is sad though, Stitch." As much as she wanted to, Lilo couldn't be mad at him. Especially not when he had done it for her. She walked over to Stitch, wanting to make sure he fully understood what he had done. "And in the end I got in a lot of trouble."

Stitch flinched at her comment. "Why naga yuuga say meega did it? Yuuga naga do anything wrong."

"Because I didn't want to see you get in trouble." Lilo admitted, dropping to her knees. She wrapped her arms around him in a warm hug, not wanting him to think she was upset with him. "I can't let anything bad happen to you. You're my best friend. And Valentine's Day is the day you show your friends how much you care about them."

"Meega care about yuuga." He said as he returned the hug, a smile finally appearing on his face.

"I know. Just don't do it again okay?"

"Oketaka. Meega smish."

Lilo giggled at his proud demeanor. As if he had just done something profound, and not just get her in trouble for the biggest mischief her school had ever seen. Still, he did it because he cared about her, and that's all that mattered to Lilo. "I guess I didn't get a Valentine this year again though."

Stitch remembered Lilo saying that a Valentine was someone special to you. Scurrying over to her bag, he pulled out one of the extra cards and ran back to her.

"Would Lilo like to be meega's Valentine?"

Lilo eyed the small card in his hand. It didn't have either of their names on it, but that didn't matter. It was the gesture that was important. And for a moment, Lilo almost forgot just how special Stitch was to her. Even though he caused problems sometimes, he really was her little Angel. Her best friend in the whole world.

"Of course, Stitch. I'd love to." In an impulse, she kissed him on the nose, just like she did when he had rescued her almost a year ago.

Taking the card, she held it tight. It would be something she would treasure forever. Her first real Valentine.


	5. Happy Creation Day

Stitch's eyes shot wide open. The day he had waited for so long had finally arrived. For a moment, he wondered if he was wrong. Every day for the past week he had thought it was the day when it wasn't. From the smell of chocolate chip and pancakes wafting from the kitchen, he knew it wasn't.

Climbing up the pole of the bed, Stitch poked his head over the side to see if Lilo had yet awoken. She gently tossed and turned, moaning as light hit her face, but she wasn't yet awake. Smiling, he carefully climbed down the pole and quietly headed downstairs.

"Good morning, Stitch." Nani said. She had an apron on and was covered in flour and pancake mix.

"Ahua shalom bye." Stitch said back.

She had figured, based on previous mornings, that he had said 'good morning' back. However, she was too engrossed in her work to take the time to ask. It was an incredibly important day, and she wanted everything to be special and perfect.

Stitch looked around, wondering what he should be doing. It felt weird to just do nothing. "Where isa Jumba and Pleakley?"

"Don't know. Don't care." Nani said as she flipped another pancake. "As long as they're out of the kitchen and not breaking anything, I'm okay with it."

"Meega help?"

"Thanks for the offer, Stitch." She smiled and patted him on the head. "But I'm actually all done. You ready to start the day?"

Stitch nodded enthusiastically.

Nani tossed all the pancakes on a plate. Shaking a can of whipped cream to see if they actually had any left, she just shrugged at the sound and sprayed some beside the cakes. With a final nod of approval, everything was ready.

As they reached the top of the stairs, Lilo had apparently woken up. She had already turned to climb down the ladder when she heard the two enter the room.

"Happy birthday!" Both Nani and Stitch said in unison.

Excitement filled Lilo as her face light up. The day had finally arrived. She quickly hopped back into her bed and under the covers, awaiting whatever it was Nani had planned.

"Breakfast in bed?!" Lilo exclaimed.

"Yep. Made pancakes." Nani said proudly. "Used mom's old recipe. But I made them extra special."

"They're shaped like Elvis! He even has a whipped cream collar."

Stitch titled his head to get a better look at the breakfast. It was by no means a perfect match for the kind, but Nani had done her best. They at least looked better than some of the other foods that Lilo had shown him in pictures that people claimed looked like Elvis. Either way, she gobbled them up with relish, enjoying the familiar taste of love and home held within them.

"Do yuuga always eat pancakes on birthdays?" Stitch asked, still curious about the special day.

"Not always." Lilo said. "It depends on what you want. Like I said before, a birthday is your special day. A day to celebrate you and what you want."

Stitch remembered back to when he first heard about birthdays. It was only a few weeks before Lilo's seventh birthday. Together, he, Lilo, and Nani were out in the town doing chores. Lilo wasn't yet out of school for the year, but she could already feel the joy and excitement of the upcoming summer vacation.

It would be the first big break that she and Stitch could spend together. The last summer vacation when Stitch first crashed on Earth was one of the best times of her young life, and she couldn't wait to continue playing and going on adventures. The break seemed to pass a lot more quickly with Stitch around.

While in town, they walked past the local video store. Normally, the shop would have televisions playing dramas of the newest movie. Today however, it held a large display showcasing the brand new addition to one of Lilo's favorite horror franchises.

Eyes completely transfixed on the large cardboard cutout, she instantly called out to her big sister.

"Nani!" She nearly screamed. Her sister ran back, thinking Lilo was in trouble, but put her hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow when she saw she was fine. "Nani. Nani. Nani. Can we get this?!" She asked, pointing into the window.

"'It Came From Outer Space: Again?'" Nani read the title on the card.

"Yeah. Yeah!" Lilo nodded in excitement. "Scarier and Spacier. We have all the other ones."

"Not today, Lilo. Maybe next time."

To Nani, that was the end of the discussion. They had a lot to do and she wanted to try to make some time to relax on her rare day off.

"But, Nani." Lilo said. "I need to have it."

"I'm really sorry, sweetie." Nani pulled Lilo away from the display, and quickly grabbed Stitch before he could break through the glass to grab the video cassette. "Maybe if you're good you'll get it for your birthday."

Stitch tilted his head at the new word and looked to Lilo for an answer as always. "Gaba 'birthday?'"

Lilo giggled at the question. Over the past year, she had had to explain a lot of things to Stitch. Mostly things she never thought would need explaining. This just proved how different the world was for him. He was incredibly intelligent, and could work things in his head faster than anything else in existence. But he still didn't know all of Earth's simple concepts.

"It's the day you celebrate being born." She explained as simply as she could,

"'Born?'"

"Uh-huh. The day you start living as a baby and start to grow."

"Where babies come from?" Stitch asked.

Lilo was about to answer, but realized she didn't really understand. They both looked to Nani for answers instead. Feeling the gaze on her, she looked back and felt her face grow red.

"That's…um…" She knew that the baby question would come up eventually, but she wasn't quite ready to make that explanation. It would be enough to try explaining it to her younger sister, but trying to explain it to an alien that didn't even understand holidays completely would be more than enough of a challenge. "We'll just save that discussion for another time, okay?" Taking advantage of reaching the hardware store, Nani quickly ran inside to start getting the tools she needed.

Lilo sat on the curb and watched the various people pass by. She and Stitch were no longer allowed in the hardware store after an incident with a new chainsaw. Stitch sat by his friend, mind filled with questions yet again for the world.

"Gaba yuuga do on birthdays?"

"Whatever you want." Lilo said with a smile. "It's a day to celebrate you, so you're just supposed to have fun. Most people have a Birthday Party where you invite all of your friends. You play games, open birthday presents, and eat lots and lots of cake!"

Stitch's ears perked up at the thought of presents. "Presents? Like Christmas?"

"Exactly." Lilo patted his head. "It's two times of year that you get presents. It's not really about the presents though. As nice as they are, it's more about the celebration."

"Oh." Stitch was fascinated by the idea of birthdays. It was strange and exciting to think about a single day being so important for an individual. A day that's just about them. "So… meega have a birthday?"

Lilo looked at him. His eyes were wide with curiosity. It wasn't something she had thought about before, but she thought Jumba would have the answers. Unfortunately, what he had to say wasn't exactly the answer they wanted to hear.

"Birthday?" Jumba nearly dropped what he was working on in the lab when he heard the question. "Well of course you are not having a birthday. You were created in my lab. You were not being born."

The answer had lowered Stitch's spirits, and Lilo could tell he was sad. He wanted to be able to join in all the fun she was having. But without a birthday he was unable to celebrate like everyone else. Despite being upset though, he did his best to stay happy for Lilo on her special day.

"Alright, Lilo." Nani gave her sister a kiss before David picked her up. "Have fun with David. You two can do whatever you want while you're out. And when you get back it's time for your party."

"We're going to go swimming, and surfing, and watch some movies, and go get ice-cream." Lilo was so caught up in the excitement, she couldn't stop listing off all of the things she wanted to do.

"Stay safe." Nani told David.

"Don't worry. I can handle this." He smiled his usual goofy smile before carrying Lilo down to the car.

Nani watched the two drive off, hoping they didn't get into any trouble. Cobra was going to stop by to join in the party, and even though he wasn't coming as a social worker, he always managed to make her a little more nervous than she would have liked.

"Okay." She said to herself. "Time to get started."

"Stitch help?" Stitch asked, tugging on her pant leg.

Nani looked down, seeing Stitch's large hopeful eyes looking up at her. Whenever it came to Lilo, he always wanted to do his best to help in whatever way he could. However, he also had a tendency to destroy things on accident. Taking into consideration that Lilo didn't really have a birthday party the previous year, she wanted it to be absolutely perfect for her little sister.

"Sure, Stitch." Nani said, trying to think of a way to keep him away from anything destructible. "Do you think you can watch and make sure Jumba and Pleakley don't come into the kitchen?" Stitch tilted his head in confusion. He was unsure of how that would actually be helping. Nani noticed this and decided to elaborate a little more. "You know how they can be. Pleakley will try and use a recipe he read, probably putting cat food in the cake. And Jumba will try and make something 'more advanced' and end up destroying the kitchen. I need you to keep them out if they try to come near. It's an important job."

"Oh." Stitch perked up at the mention of being given an important job. "Oketaka. Meega lookout."

Nani was both delighted at Stitch's willingness to cooperate, as well as a bit guilty. Tricking him wasn't exactly what she had wanted to do that day, but she felt it needed to be done. Especially with everything she needed to do.

Stitch stood guard at the entrance, watching Nani's every move. It was amazing how quickly she had managed to get the cake together. Never before had he seen her work so hard on a meal, not even the Thanksgiving one. Every detail and ingredient was put in exactly as Nani read in her mom's old cook book. She planned on giving Lilo the party of a lifetime. If this was truly going to be the new start for their 'ohana, it had to begin with an amazing cake. Their mom had always made the best cake, and she had seen it made enough times that she felt confident enough to bake it.

Once the cake was in the oven, Nani moved on to the decorations. With a good hour having passed, Stitch started taking his eyes more and more off of the front door, and more and more on the kitchen's transformation. Every now and then, Nani had to remind him to get back to his post. But it wasn't long before his curiosity got the better of him and he wondered into the kitchen. Nani was so caught up in decorating that she hadn't even noticed Stitch enter.

By the time the cake had finished baking, Stitch had already secretly helped out with setting up the table. Nani had eventually noticed, but decided not to say anything. She could tell he was having fun acting like he hadn't yet been seen, and she wasn't going to ruin that. As long as he didn't break anything she was fine with it. It also helped that she was more or less done getting ready.

"Okay, Stitch." She said, holding up the fully decorated cake. It was covered in chocolate icing with red and pink trim along the sides. "Think you can put this on the table for me while I clean up?"

"Ih." Stitch nodded, happy to finally be asked to help.

A few steps after taking the cake in hand, he slipped on some stray cake batter. As the cake went into the air time had slowed down. Stitch watched in horror as Lilo's birthday crashed into a giant mess before him. Nani heard the clatter of the tray and felt a shiver run throughout her body.

Turning to look at the disaster, her stomach fell.

"No. No. No. No." She ran to the cake, but there was nothing she could do. "This is not good. Stitch!"

She looked to him with fire in her eyes, causing him to cower in fear.

"Soka…" He managed to say.

Nani closed her eyes and took a deep breath with a sigh. "It's okay." She looked to the clock, becoming even more crestfallen. "I don't have time to make another one, I have to go get Lilo's present still… I'll just have to pick one up on the way home."

She quickly grabbed her things and rushed out the door, leaving Stitch alone with his mess and thoughts. Clutching the empty cake tray, he looked down at the cake. Thoughts of Lilo happily blowing out the candles he was told about disappeared from his mind. Replaced instead with the disappointment she would feel when she returned and found it ruined.

With a sad sigh, Stitch started cleaning up the cake until he heard a knock at the door. For a moment he froze, thinking it was Nani, or even Lilo and David coming home early. He eyed the rest of the mess before reluctantly making his way to the front door.

Ready to face whatever was to come, Stitch opened the door only to be surprised to see a tall man in a black and red hibiscus print shirt.

"Cobra?" Stitch said, surprised to see him.

"Aloha, Stitch." Cobra said as he removed his glasses. "Nani informed me it was Lilo's birthday. I thought I would drop by. May I come in?"

Stitch stepped aside, letting Cobra enter. Before closing the door, he looked around to make sure no one else was coming.

"So is everyone out?" Cobra asked. He had never seen the house so empty before. It made the entire place oddly quiet. A little too much for his liking.

"Ih." Stitch tried to avoid the kitchen. He hadn't yet finished cleaning up and didn't want to let out what he had done. "Naga nota where Jumba and Pleakley isa. David took Lilo out for birthday. They will be back later. Nani isa…" He trailed off, feeling guilty about her needing to run and get a cake.

"Nani is…?"

"She went out to get present… and a cake…"

"Really? I thought she said she was making a cake."

Stitch looked to the ground. Cobra instantly picked up on Stitch's actions. Since his arrival, Stitch hadn't acted his normal self.

"Is everything alright?"

Stitch nodded, but then shook his head. He led Cobra into the kitchen and explained what had happened. Afterwards, the two finished cleaning up the kitchen, getting it ready for the party. The mess wasn't actually as bad as Stitch imagined, but he still felt guilty over the incident.

"So, Stitch." Cobra said as he put the last of the paper towels in the garbage. "You still feel bad about it don't you?" Stitch nodded again. "Then why don't you fix it?"

"Gaba?" Stitch was unsure that he could fix it. Even though he was getting better, it seemed a lot easier to destroy than to create. "Meega make cake?"

Cobra nodded, he was sure Stitch would be able to do it. It would be a good opportunity for Stitch to not only apologize for doing something wrong, but also fixing the mistake and making up for it.

"I'm sure Lilo would love it."

Being told that was all Stitch needed to suddenly become motivated. His eyes went wide before he ran to the cabinet for the cookbook. He wouldn't be able to make the cake Lilo and Nani's mom used to make, but he could make a cake that was special in its own way.

Cobra sat back and watched as Stitch went to work. Every now and then he would eye the clock, he was sure there would be enough time. Or at the very least, that Stitch could make it in time. Although, he had to stop Stitch from putting odd ingredients in the bowl a couple of times. Lilo may have had a taste for the bizarre and strange, but putting actual plastic spiders and such in the cake wouldn't have been a good idea. Stitch was having a lot of fun baking the cake for his friend, he even managed to find a chef's hat to complete the scene.

When Stitch finally put the cake pan into the oven, he did a couple of quick calculations and readjusted the temperature. There was no way the cake he made would cook at the normal rate, so he had to adjust a little. And after a few minutes went by, he put on the oven mitts and checked the oven. The cake was ready, and with a little effort, the cake the size of the inside of the oven had come out. It looked magnificent, something that shouldn't be possible but was because of him. The best part of all, was that he was sure Lilo would love it.

It was soon time for Lilo to get back. But before David returned with her. Nani rushed through the front door to find Stitch and Cobra sitting on the couch watching the television.

"Is the kitchen cleaned up? I wasn't able to get a cake. What kind of bakery closes this early?" She asked Stitch before even noticing Cobra was there. "Oh. Aloha Cobra."

"Aloha, Nani." Cobra replied. "The kitchen is fine. We cleaned it all up."

"That's good. But without a cake…"

"Who said anything about going without a cake?"

"What do you mean?"

Cobra looked to Stitch. "It wouldn't be proper for a little girl to have a birthday without a special cake. Right, Stitch?"

"Ih." Stitch said with a nod. He was brimming with joy.

When Lilo finally did see the cake, her eyes were wide in shock and amazement. It was by far the biggest cake she had ever seen. And it was absolutely perfect with the vanilla and red frosting. She didn't even care that is wasn't the one her mom used to make. When she heard Stitch was the one who made it, she was even happier.

The party was nothing but fun and games. Lilo and Stitch had the most fun of all, and Nani was able to see Lilo truly enjoy her birthday again.

The best part, was that at the end of it, Lilo handed a small gift to Stitch.

"Gaba this?" He asked, shaking the box.

"It's something David and I picked up." Lilo said. "Just because you don't have a birthday, doesn't mean we shouldn't celebrate that you're around too." Stitch lost his breath at her words. He didn't even open the present before rushing into Lilo for a hug. She was taken by surprise, but returned the gesture to her best friend in the whole world. "Thank you, Stitch. This has been the best year of my life. Happy Creation Day."


End file.

Lilo & Stitch, Friendship