Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 52nd cycle. Now cycle 53!

THIRD ANNIVERSARY CYCLE: It's late October again, and within this cycle I will be completing my third year of daily gleekathon stories and commencing a fourth! As in previous years, this means special things happening. I've selected my favorite stories from throughout the year, and I'll be treating them to something special. In previous years this included Prequel, Sequel, and POV Swap, and then Additional Scenes and Alternate Endings. This year I'm adding two new treatments: Genre Swap (I think that's pretty straightforward) and Element Change (I change one thing in the story, see how it affects the rest). Note that in both these cases and some of the others, there may excerpts directly transferred from the story it references. Also, since this year saw the addition of 'shift days', and since I suck at picking, I have selected 42 stories, to be treated two per day! So here we go!

This story is an Alternate Ending to A Christmas Carol, a Sylvesters series story, originally posted from December 20 to 24 2011.

This is a double shift day. There will be one more upload today: Trains on a Track.

"On Best Behavior"
Sue, Brittany, & the Christmas Ghosts (Kurt, Emma, Santana)
Sylvesters series extra
(all series now listed under the communities tab in my profile)

The ghosts were standing, and somehow she knew this meant they would be leaving soon, disappeared before she could do a thing. There was so much at stake, so much more than she could ever grasp, and still she knew she had to do something, so she took a step. "Wait! Please…" she hoped politeness would work in her favor. The three ghosts paused. "Take me back. Five minutes, no more. If I swear I'll make a change from now on, I need to see that there's still… that I can still help them," she pleaded. This was not her custom, but for her daughter, and as no one appeared to be able to see these people except for her…

"But it wouldn't be… well…" Ghost Emma looked to the ghostly versions of Kurt and Santana.

"Hey, it was your idea," Ghost Santana told her.

"What did you two do?" Ghost Kurt asked them, and Santana gave him a look to say 'what do you think?' "Again?" he looked to Emma, who waved him off innocently.

"Hey!" Sue raised her voice so they'd pay attention to her. With the woman's request being her domain, the ghost Santana straightened out her robes, giving a side glare to her colleagues, before turning back to their client for that night.

"Five minutes, I'll grant you that. Never let it be said that I can't be a little flexible," she bowed her head. "But there's something you need to understand. What you saw is not exactly the future that will be but the future that could be. It's like I said, it is Christmas yet to come…"

"I know, I don't care, I just need to know they'll be alright," Sue shrugged.

"But it can still happen, if you don't change," Ghost Emma was sure to remind her, and Ghost Kurt frowned at her before looking back to the robed ghost.

"Mind if we tag along?" he asked, and Ghost Emma chimed in with an excited nod.

"Sure, because that didn't end badly the last time," Ghost Santana sighed, signalling them forward. They came and stood on either side of her as she faced Sue again. "I don't want you to promise to me that you'll change. Promise it to yourself, and we'll see what happens," she offered her hand. Sue took it, and the other two ghosts sandwiched those two hands between their own. A moment later, the group of four had moved. Sue had closed her eyes when she'd felt those two new hands, and for a moment she was afraid to open her eyes again.

She had done nothing yet. All she'd done was to make a promise. She didn't know how she would put those words into action yet, or if they would work… Would she find that nothing had changed, because she'd been too late or because she had not held her promised? Would everything suddenly be better, for her daughter and her granddaughter-to-be? Would little Susie even still exist?

"Sue, open your eyes," Ghost Santana told her.

"I can't, I…" she shook her head, hearing fear in her voice, which took her by surprise even now.

"I've promised you five minutes, the clock is ticking," the ghost reminded. There was something, making her nose tingle, and then she realized…

"Cinnamon?" she opened her eyes, and she blinked.

This was not the same house they had visited before. Well, it was the house, but she wouldn't have recognized it if she didn't really look. The last time they had visited it, the place looked almost bleak in how it showed absolutely no holiday cheer of any kind. Only now… now it felt like what Christmas had always been in her own house, for her and her daughter, her dear girl, her…

"Susie, come on, they'll be here soon!" she heard the voice, Brittany's voice, and Sue turned to see her walk from the kitchen. She remembered the image she'd gotten of her grown up daughter just minutes ago really, and the difference was remarkable, so much it made Sue's eyes water… She was right again, full of life and light, down to the glittering snowflake earrings Sue had gotten her when she was eight, a staple of Christmas day for her.

"Can they see us?" Sue whispered to the ghosts.

"Not this time," Ghost Santana assured her, and Sue approached her daughter, observing her from up close. It wasn't that she was completely unhappy when she'd seen her last, but there had been something missing, something that made her Brittany, and it was clear that what once had been lost was now returned to her… and Sue just felt her heart swell with hope, none more than for what she saw next.

Even hearing her name had not truly connected with her until she followed her daughter's gaze up the stairs and spotted the four-year-old blonde standing there in what seemed to be a ballet costume, all rosy cheeks and blue eyes. "So you're going to stay a fairy?" Brittany asked with a smirk, and little Susie nodded. "Alright, if that's what you want," she motioned for her to come down, which she did, one step at a time until she was close enough to leap and be caught by her mother. Brittany laughed, pulling her daughter upright. "Your recital was two days ago," she reminded her.

"But Grandma and Grandpa they did… didn't see," Susie pointed out. "Can I show them?"

"I think they'll insist," Brittany beamed. Just then the phone rang, and Brittany carried Susie over so she could pick up. "Hey, did you pick them up yet?" she asked with a smile. "Okay… yes… yes," she smirked at the last question, looking to Susie. "Right, we'll be waiting. Me too." She'd just hung up when the doorbell rang. "I wonder who that is," she asked 'herself.'

"It's Nana!" Susie told her knowingly, as Brittany put her down and the tiny fairy ran to the door, reaching up for the knob and pulling open… Sue paused, stunned to see an older version of herself walk in. "Nana! Merry Christmas!" Susie greeted her with giddiness unbound. The older Sue, putting the bags she carried down at her sides, scooped up her granddaughter.

"And a merry Christmas to you as well," she told her, while Susie pressed warm hands to her frozen cheeks. "Oh, thank you, that feels better," she reported, making the girl smile. Older Sue moved up, smiling at the sight of her daughter, who smiled right back.

"Merry Christmas, Mom," she came up to embrace her. The younger Sue watched, the image of her older self, hugging her daughter, with her granddaughter sandwiched in between, being the last thing she saw before she felt the hands of the ghost and she knew they were returning to where she belonged. She let out a breath, needing a moment to recover.

"I… Thank you…" she turned to the ghosts… but they were gone, and she wasn't standing, she was lying in bed. At this realization, it took her a moment to process everything she had seen that night, from her past, to her daughter's past, their present and their supposed future, bad and good… She couldn't decide if it had all been a dream, or if it was really all as they'd…

The next thing she knew, she was getting dressed, or at least she was throwing a coat and boots on, and she was in her car. She arrived at the Pierce home within minutes, and she rang the bell, waiting… waiting… "Sue?" she turned and found Joe had answered the door.

"I… I'll be there."

"Sorry?" he asked, confused.

"Christmas," Sue clarified. "I know I said I wouldn't, but… well… if you'd still have me, then… then I'd like to come, if that's alright."

"Of course," he smiled.

"Okay, good, I… Brittany, is she awake, I…"

"She's upstairs with the girls. Come in," he stepped back.

"I shouldn't, I don't want to look like I'm checking up on her, but… h-how's she doing?" she didn't want to look like she was prying, but she had to know if it was true, what she'd seen, the accident… it still didn't feel right in her head, but she had to know.

"She's fine," Joe looked confused. "Excited for Christmas," he smiled.

"Yeah, sounds about right," Sue couldn't help but smile back. "Alright, well… I'll see you at Christmas. Should I bring something, or…"

"Whatever you want," he told her. She nodded, and she walked back to her car. Maybe they were in a difficult period, but she had made a promise, to the ghosts and herself and her daughter… she was going to be better, she would try… Now she knew she could.

THE END

A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!