Waiting for Santa

Summary: Laura and Neil are woken up as Scott drops off Charlie; then are visited by a distraught Carol.

A/N: Came up with the idea for this after watching Santa Clause 2 on ABC Family (they've had it on constantly this season – I'm willing to bet anybody that next season it's Santa Clause 3). They kind of phased Laura and Neil out, which was a shame, because I thought they added a nice touch of reality to the overdose of fantasy. They didn't address how those two handled Scott's secret, so I think Laura and Neil at least deserve this.

Oh, and by the way – I didn't get to see the third movie, so sorry if there's any inconsistencies.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Sitting at the freestanding kitchen counter, Laura Miller circled her spoon in her cup of tea. It was a quarter after midnight on Christmas Eve, yet here she was, wide awake and worried about her eldest child and ex-husband. Scott had hitched a ride to the North Pole from the Tooth Fairy (she was still wrapping her mind around that one) a few hours ago. Shortly after, Charlie got it in his head that he needed to go help…

"Hey, Mom – where's Dad?" Charlie asked, coming downstairs the next day. It was Christmas Eve, the morning after Scott left for the North Pole. Well, more like noon – Charlie, despite who is father was, did exhibit signs of being a normal teenager.

Laura stared at him in a daze, still reeling from the overload of Christmas fantasy she'd witnessed during the night. "Uh, he left…for the North Pole…"

"What? I thought he was out of magic," Charlie replied.

Neil sighed. "He got a ride from the Tooth Fairy."

That got Charlie to raise an eyebrow. "You're kidding."

"I wish I was," Neil confessed, looking as if he may faint. It was common for both him and Laura to just sit in shock for a while after one of Scott's visits, though their tolerance for the inexplicable had grown over the years.

Charlie hesitated, processing the information. "…what's he planning on doing? He doesn't have a wife, so he can't be Santa anymore…there's no way he's going to be able to take down that Toy Santa by himself."

"He doesn't know exactly what to do," Laura said honestly. "He was thinking of maybe trying to get the elves to help him, but he couldn't give up on this. Your father and I have had our differences over the years, but that's one thing I have to give him credit for – he doesn't give up on things that matter."

His voice quiet, Charlie replied, "Like being Santa."

Laura nodded. "Right."

"But even if he does somehow manage to save the North Pole, he won't be able to be Santa anymore because of that 'Mrs. Clause' he mentioned," Neil reminded him, looking as if he didn't believe his own words.

Not replying for a long moment, Charlie finally sighed. Then before they could ask what he was doing, he grabbed his jacket and the snow globe off a nearby table. "Not if I can help it."

"Charlie, get back here!" Laura shouted, her and Neil rushing to the door. "Where are you going?"

Charlie didn't even stop walking as he replied, "To see my principal!"

Left alone, Laura and Neil had concluded that he went to try to convince Principal Newman to take Scott back. She couldn't imagine what happened after. Of course, she hoped that Charlie did convince Newman that Scott really wasn't crazy…but what in the world would they do after that? Call up Mother Nature?

Laura's eyes widened at that last thought. If there was a Tooth Fairy, who was to say that summoning Mother Nature was entirely impossible?

Listen to yourself, Laura thought with disbelief. Never in a million years did I think this would ever happen, but…here I am, near midnight on Christmas Eve, worried about Santa Claus, the father of my child, who has gone to fight for the North Pole.

Feeling a headache coming on, she put her head in her hands.

I need serious mental help.

She looked up as her current husband walked into the kitchen. "How's Lucy?"

"Sound asleep," Neil answered, making a cup of tea for himself. "It's amazing that she can sleep so peacefully through all of this…but then again, she has no idea what's going on."

Letting out a deep breath, Laura replied, "About that. Maybe we should tell her. It really isn't healthy for a parent to keep important secrets from a child, especially a secret like this one."

"No, Laura. She's too young to carry around a huge secret. I mean…look what it's done to Charlie," Neil argued. "We always agreed that we would try to put off telling Lucy because of that. Remember the fights Charlie got into over this? Around the holidays, his classmates with more 'mature' thinking would start bashing Santa, and Charlie would have to do something…because that's his father they're talking about, though inadvertently. And just the pain of keeping the secret is enough of a reason."

Laura considered his argument, and knew he made sense. But in her heart, she couldn't agree. "But…she's going to find out on her own, maybe soon. She's a curious girl, Neil. And Scott can't be the most inconspicuous Santa there's ever been. Honestly, what was he thinking bringing Comet down here?"

"Never met a reindeer who liked chocolate so much…" Neil grumbled, clearly still mourning the loss of almost all the candy bars in the house.

Chuckling, Laura added, "And not to mention the other odd occurrences that happen over the course of an average year. When Scott's visiting, elves are always popping in and out. She was just going on and on about 'Uncle Scott's coworker from Buffalo' and his pointy ears. We can't hide it from her forever."

Neil didn't say anything as he sipped his tea. Reluctance in his voice, he replied, "Maybe. But I think it'll do us good if we talk about this during the…well, 'off season' to get some objectivity…"

"Hey, Mom and Neil. I'm back," Charlie called as he walked into the kitchen.

Leaping to her feet, Laura embraced him in a tight hug. "Oh my goodness, are you okay? Where's Scott?"

"What happened?" Neil asked.

Charlie hugged them both back, a huge smile on his face. "Everything is back to normal."

"Define 'normal,'" Neil replied with a smirk.

Laughing, Charlie explained, "Well, after I left I brought the snow globe to Princ…I mean, Carol. After that, she came around…and said she wanted to talk to Dad. I told her where Dad was and, she wanted to help."

"Principal Newman went to the North Pole?" Laura exclaimed in disbelief.

Charlie nodded. "Uh huh. Since we didn't have any reindeer, I remembered what you said Dad did, and I took out one of my teeth…"

"What?" They both shouted.

"No, it's okay, see?" Charlie said, pointing to his teeth, which were all intact. "That's the magic of the North Pole, I guess. Anyway, it's a long story…Dad and one of his elves were tied up in the back of the workshop, but I freed them, then we had to battle all these giant toy soldiers. But the coolest part was that Dad got into this aerial fight with the Toy Santa while riding one of the reindeer-in-training…"

Laura and Neil traded bewildered looks, neither comprehending anything Charlie was saying. Her headache coming back, Laura just put a hand on her son's shoulder. "Charlie, it's late. As long as everything's okay...why don't you just go to bed, and we'll talk about it in the morning. I take it your dad…left?"

"No, his waiting on the roof," Charlie answered. "Lucy's been asking about the Santa thing, and we were going to ask you guys if…well…"

Once again, the two parents traded looks, this time having a silent conversation. Finally Laura nodded. "Go ahead. You want us to come?"

Charlie shook his head. "If you don't mind…not really. It's been a sensitive subject between Lucy and Dad for a while and we just want to clear it up ourselves."

Glancing at Neil, who seemed okay with it, Laura replied, "Um, sure. We can always talk with her in the morning."

"Okay, 'night," Charlie called, already on his way up the stairs to wake his sister up.

Alone in the kitchen, Laura and Neil stared after Charlie. Neil whispered, "'Giant toy soldiers'?"

"'Reindeer-in-training'?" Laura added, also in shock. Putting her hand to her forehead again, she said to Neil, "Sometimes I wish I had a normal ex-husband."

Twenty minutes later, Laura and Neil had finished their tea and were cleaning up the kitchen. They had both put an excited Lucy to bed after Scott left, and were now intent on getting some much needed sleep themselves. Charlie had explained some of the events of the night a little more clearly in the meantime, so the two were discussing the changes as they cleaned up. "I still can't believe it," Laura said as she put their cups in the dishwasher.

"What?" Neil asked, putting a half-eaten box of cookies back in the cabinet. "That the Tooth Fairy apparently provides taxi service to the North Pole?"

"No…"

"That a toy Santa took despotic control over the workshop and tried to ruin Christmas?"

"No…"

"That your ex-husband rode a reindeer-in-training alongside the sleigh to take down aforementioned toy Santa?"

"A little, but that's not it."

Neil turned around to stare at her with exasperation. "Then what?"

"Scott's married!" Laura exclaimed, as if it should've been obvious. "My ex-husband, who took three years to propose, found a girlfriend, proposed to her, and married her in twenty-eight days."

Raising an eyebrow, Neil remarked, "Your ex-husband is Santa Claus, and you just find it odd that he's married. There has to be some psychological condition for that."

"But this is Scott. He's…it's just that…I haven't really gotten a chance to get used to the idea, that's all," Laura argued with a sigh.

Neil stared at her, his eyes wide. "That's what this is about! You're jealous!"

"No, not at all," Laura said, then gave in when he just narrowed his eyes. "Okay, yes, maybe. I'm not still in love with Scott, of course. It's just…he has this new wife now, and I barely even know her outside of parent-teacher conferences."

But her husband wasn't listening anymore, as he was staring at a spot behind Laura with surprise on his face. "Ms. Newman?"

"What the…" Laura began, turning around. Her jaw dropped when she saw none other than the new Mrs. Claus standing before her. "Oh my gosh, I didn't see you…come in?"

Carol gave an apologetic shrug. "I didn't. Apparently, the title of 'Mrs. Clause' comes with its own list of magical powers…oh, I can't believe I just used the phrase 'magical powers' in a sentence…"

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it," :Laura said, indicating the stool next to her. "Please, have a seat, Ms. Newman. I've heard that congratulations are in order."

Sitting on the stool, Carol blushed. "Thanks, and please, call me Carol. After all, we are family now…somewhat."

"Okay, Carol…" Neil began, joining in their conversation. "What are you doing here? Not that we're not happy to have you, of course."

Smiling, Carol explained, "I was hoping to catch Scott. After he took off, I just got so nervous and wanted to have a calm conversation with him. And I think I just needed to get back to the 'real world' for a little while…so, did he get here yet?"

"Yes, you just missed him. He dropped Charlie off about a half hour ago," Laura answered.

Carol let out a deep sigh. "Oh, well, sorry to bother you then…"

"Wait…" Neil said before she could disappear. "How are you? This all happened alarmingly fast…are you happy with what's happened?"

Carol hesitated, then looked them both in the eye. "Yes, I am, but…can I be honest with you?" When they both nodded, she continued, "Look, Scott's a wonderful guy, and I have somehow fallen in love with him, but…I just don't know him! Sure, we've known each other since Charlie came to the school, but I only really started to get to know him a month ago…I'm sorry, but whenever I stop to think, I have to wonder…am I crazy here?"

"No, you're not," Laura assured her. "It's perfectly normal to question your sanity when you just married Santa Claus, trust me."

Chuckling, Carol remarked, "Oh, that's right, I can get advice from you – you're the former 'Mrs. Claus', right?"

Laura shook her head. "No, actually. Scott and I divorced about a year before he became Santa."

"What? How…huh…w-what?" Carol asked, totally bewildered. "There was a time when Scott wasn't Santa?"

Smiling to himself, Neil answered, "There was also a time when we thought Scott was crazy because he thought he was Santa."

"Okay, I'm confused…" Carol confessed.

Laura gave her husband a sidelong look, and she could tell he was thinking the same thing – it was time. Carol wouldn't be an official member of the family unless she knew the whole story. Smiling as she took her mind back through time, she began, "It all started on Christmas Eve eight years ago…"