A/N: This fic is for the Banna Secret Santa Exxhange on Tumblr for lemacd123. Merry Christmas.
Disclaimer: I do not own Downton Abbey nor any of the characters.
"What?" John exclaimed loudly.
"Please," Anna said as she ran a hand along his clothed chest. "For Jack."
"How could you possibly think I would make a good Father Christmas?" he asked with an absolute bewildered look on his face.
"Jack's class needed a volunteer to play Father Christmas for their class party, and I couldn't help but think you'd be a great one."
John limped to the other side of the room as he ran a hand through his hair in frustration.
Anna followed him while continuing to speak. "This is his first year in school, and it would be a shame for there not to be a Father Christmas for their party."
John turned around to face her as quickly as his leg would allow.
"Why can't one of the other dads do it?"
"Because none of them would play a better Father Christmas than you," she tried to compliment.
John looked over her head before he replied, "So, I have a belly that shakes like a bowl full of jelly do I?"
Anna couldn't help but giggle. She was actually proud he knew The Night Before Christmas pretty much by heart. That wouldn't have been the case five years ago before their son had arrived.
"I'm guessing since you're laughing at me I am indeed out of shape," he sulked.
"John," she chided as she placed one of her palms to the side of his face drawing his attention. "You know that isn't true, and you also know how handsome I know you are."
"Being asked to play an old jelly belly doesn't make me feel like it," he pouted.
Anna fully laughed then, and she was pleased to see him chuckle as well.
"You're insane, you know that?" she swatted his upper arm.
"You married this willingly," he countered as his smile started giving him away.
"Yes, I most certainly did. Now, I didn't volunteer you because I thought you old. I volunteered you because you're tall, your voice is lovely, and you are wonderful with children."
"I'm not sure a limping Father Christmas would be that appealing," he remarked.
"Those innocent children aren't even going to notice a thing like that," she insisted.
"Jack notices," he said deflated.
"Jack may very well notice because he sees you every day, but it's not what he sees when he looks at his father. Do you not see the picture of you in a Superman suit and cape drawn by him on the refrigerator," Anna said as she pointed to the hand drawn picture Jack made of John earlier in the week.
John's eyes followed to where Anna was pointing, looking at the picture. He suddenly felt guilty for bringing their son into the middle of their conversation.
He looked back to Anna and apologized, "I'm sorry. I should never bring Jack into the middle of anything. It was wrong of me."
She pulled his free hand into one of hers and said soothingly, "It's okay. If you are dead set against it then I'll tell Jack's teacher we need to find someone else. I was wrong to think it wouldn't be a problem. So, I'm sorry, too."
John sighed and set his jaw in the manner in which Anna knew he was thinking the situation over. After a few seconds he squeezed her hand and smiled warmly at her.
"All right," he relented softly, "For Jack."
Anna loved how he turned into a softie when it came to their son.
"Are you sure?" she asked with a side glance.
"I am. I want his class to have a nice party, and if that means me playing Father Christmas than so be it."
"You are an amazing father," she stated as she slipped a hand up his chest and to the back of his neck.
"As long as the two of you think so," he commented as their eyes locked.
"Oh, we do, Mr. Bates," she whispered hotly against his cheek as she raised to her tiptoes.
She angled her head just enough to captured his bottom lip between hers, hearing his groan of approval as she did. They had been married for eight years and together for a total of ten, and still they craved each other like no time had passed at all. She nipped at his lip and then soothed it with her tongue.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
They both broke away quickly, and Anna turned around so they were both looking at John's mother, Margaret, who had just entered the kitchen.
"You're up late," John stated not wanting to talk about what he and Anna were just doing.
Margaret pulled her robe tighter around her as her slippers made a scuffing sound across the tile floor as she walked closer.
"I woke up, and my throat was dry as the desert. I just came in for some water," she explained.
"Are you feeling okay?" Anna asked.
"Fine as a fiddle, dear. I'll just get my glass of water and be out of your way."
"Don't be silly," Anna began as she moved to get a glass out of the cabinet for her, "You're never in our way."
John stood a little taller at his wife's words. He was so thankful his wife loved his mother and vice versa. It had his heart swell to see how much they cared for the other. He couldn't ask for more.
Anna filled the glass as she said, "John has agreed to play Father Christmas for Jack's class party."
"He never," Margaret gasped as she looked from Anna to her son.
"I did," John confirmed with a nod of his head.
Anna handed Margaret the glass as Margaret said, "Well, isn't that just lovely. You'll make a good one."
John almost rolled his eyes but stopped himself. He knew if he rolled his eyes at his mother he'd get beat around the head.
"Yes, so I've been told," he said instead.
"What day is the party?" Margaret asked before taking a sip of her water.
"The Friday before their Christmas break," Anna supplied.
"Be sure to take lots of pictures," Margaret said.
"I was hoping you'd be there actually and take video," Anna replied.
Oh God, John said internally. Him being Father Christmas was going to be forever etched into time and space. He was certain he would be reminded of this for the rest of his life and well after he was gone. The things he did for his son's happiness.
"Oh, I would love to," Margaret answered.
"Wonderful," Anna said as she clapped her hands together.
"Well, off to bed for me. I'll see you both in the morning."
"Goodnight, Mam," John voiced.
"Goodnight to the both of you," she replied as she turned and walked out of the kitchen.
John took a couple of steps until his body was pressed up against Anna's back. Leaning his head down, he whispered, "What have you gotten me into, Mrs. Bates."
The vibration of her giggle against him made his pulse quicken.
"I guess I'll have to make it up to you," she reasoned.
"And how do you plan on doing that?" he said lowly.
She pressed herself closer to him as she turned her head to look back at him.
"You may not have known, but Mrs. Claus is rather a bad girl. Mr. Claus always finds her on the naughty list," she whispered.
John felt himself tingle all over. She always knew what to say to put his nerve endings on edge.
"Maybe he'll have to check the list more than twice to make sure," he growled.
"I should hope so," she quipped with the naughtiest grin spreading across her face.
"I'm thinking the sooner Mr. Claus starts checking the better," he said as he leaned his head down until his lips were almost touching hers.
"He likes to be thorough," he barely whispered onto her lips.
She closed the tiny gap between them and kissed him fully. Pulling back, she took him by the hand and lead both of them out of the kitchen.
"Grammy," Jack said as he looked at the cooling sugar cookies in front of him on the kitchen island.
"Yes, my lad," Margaret said as she turned to give her grandson her attention.
She smiled as she looked at the clone of her own son sitting at the island looking excitedly at the different shaped Christmas cookies.
"Can we have blue icing, too?"
"I think blue is a Christmas color as well, so I don't see why not," she replied as she wiped her hands on a tea towel.
"And orange?" He asked with a smile as he looked to her.
Margaret chuckled, "I don't think orange would work. I think the red, green, yellow, white, and blue is more than enough, yeah?"
"Okay," he relented as he swung his feet back and forth in anticipation.
"The other batch will be out in a little bit, and then these should be cool enough for us to start decorating," she informed, so he wouldn't get too antsy.
"Awesome!" he replied.
"What's going on in here?" Anna announced as she walked into the kitchen.
She kissed the top of Jack's head as she looked at what was happening.
"Me and Grammy are decorating Christmas cookies!" he exclaimed.
"Wow, I can't wait to see your creations," Anna replied in wonder.
"I'll make one spe..cally for you mummy," he tried to say.
"I know I will love it, love bug," Anna replied as she ruffled his chestnut hair.
She then walked over to Margaret who was at the oven.
"Thank you for doing this with him. John and I got overwhelmed there for a bit," she said as she crossed her arms in front of her chest and leaned her right hip into the work top.
"What happened?" Margaret inquired.
"Jane's son ended up poorly over night, so she called in for her shift this morning which meant I took over her housekeeping duties. I don't mind. I know it's hard on her with her husband passing to take care of Freddie on her own."
"It's a challenge that's for sure but rewarding, too," Margaret added.
She had taken care of John by herself since he had been Jack's age. It had been the most difficult yet fulfilling time of her life.
Anna nodded her head knowing she was reflecting on her own experience with John.
"We also found out Andy had double booked a room, and with it being the holidays we were completely booked. John had to refund the couple, who were fuming, and he offered them a large discount for their next stay. I highly doubt they'll be back though."
"Can we make them now?" Jack asked with a mild whine in his voice.
"Not yet," Anna answered, "How about you go play with your transformers until Grammy says it time?"
At the mention of transformers, Jack wiggled himself to the edge of the bar chair and hopped down before running off to his room.
Margaret said quietly, "Johnny didn't yell at the lad too harshly did he?"
Anna sighed, "Just when I've convinced him he should give more responsibility to Andy so he can have more free time. I couldn't hear the details because his office door was closed, but I know he was having a go at him."
"John needs to realize we all make mistakes. The lad is a good egg. He's doing well for the most part."
"I know. Andy has been wonderful, but you know how John is. He hates it when the B&B isn't running like a well oiled machine."
Both women jumped when they heard the back door slam. They looked in the direction of the sound to see John coming through the room with authoritative strides and a face like thunder. He was so wrapped in his own little world he didn't see them standing to the side before he walked into the next room.
"If I've told him once I've told him a million times, he needs to control that Irish temper of his," Margaret stated, rebuking her son's behavior.
"It's more on the rare side that he's like this nowadays," Anna said in light defense of him.
"Only because of you, dear," Margaret insisted which made Anna smile.
Both of their gazes shifted as John was seen coming back into the kitchen and making his way towards the back door; his demeanor unchanged. Neither one of them had any inclination of speaking to him quite yet as they heard the back door open then close loudly.
"I'd better get work to off before I'm the next one in his office," Anna said teasingly.
"If my son ever talks to you that way you had better knock him into next week," Margaret said with a serious work on her face.
Anna laughed, "Oh, believe me I would."
"That's my girl," Margaret winked.
An hour or so later Anna returned to the kitchen. She saw her son sitting at the island with Margaret both clad in aprons and unsurprisingly her son's hands covered in different colors of icing.
"Mummy!" Jack said as his mother approached them. "Look what Grammy and me did."
Anna scanned over the icing covered cookies. It was clear who had decorated which ones, but that only made them more special.
"Wow," Anna said with wide eyes as she looked back to him. "These Christmas cookies look amazing."
"Grammy said I was a big helper," Jack said, looking pleased as punch with himself.
"Is that so?" Anna asked looking to Margaret who was smirking.
"That is it. Young Jack is my big helper," she agreed.
"Yeah! And..." Jack started again as he looked on the work top. He pointed to a specific cookie and continued, "and that one is for you mummy."
It was a cookie in the shape of an angel with yellow icing piled on thickly for the halo and hair and blue icing smeared across the body it of. She felt so much love in her heart for her little boy.
"It's beautiful. Thank you so much," she praised before pressing a kiss into his hair.
"You're welcome. I made one for daddy, too," he informed.
"That is so nice, Jack. Which one is daddy's?"
"That one," he said happily as he pointed to it.
An idea came to Anna's mind right at that moment, so she looked back to Jack and said, "I have an idea."
"What?" Jack asked as he licked his fingers.
Anna shook her head and chuckled.
"How about we get you cleaned up and then you can take daddy's cookie over to the inn and gave it to him?"
"I can?" Jack asked.
Anna nodded, "We'll put it on a plate, and you can carry it over like a big boy."
"Okay! Can I go now?" he asked as he began wiggling himself to the edge of the seat, icing smearing on the bar stool.
"We have to clean the icing off your hands first," Anna said as she helped him down and began taking the apron off of him. "Go get the step stool to wash your hands."
Jack did so eagerly as Margaret spoke to her.
"I like your thinking. John will become mush as soon as Jack gives him that," Margaret said as she pointed to the cookie.
"That is the plan. We can't have him grumpy the rest of the evening. It'll also give us time to clean this up," Anna replied as she took a small plate out of the cabinet and placed the cookie on it.
"Got it, mummy!" Jack said as he raced to the kitchen sink with the small step stool.
"Great, let's get you cleaned up."
Anna watched through the window to make sure Jack made it the short distance to the B&B. She had been allowing him to travel to the inn by himself from time to time now that he was a little older, but never without her eyes on him until he stepped through the door.
She smiled as she stepped away from the window.
Jack closed the front door to the inn as he carefully balanced the cookie on the plate. He let out a short boyish giggle as he completed the task and walked further into the room. He noticed Andy standing behind the counter looking sad as he looked through a large book lying there.
"Hi, Andy," he greeted.
Andy looked up at him quickly, being startled by hearing his voice.
"Mr. Jack, I didn't even hear you come through the door," he said in an almost apologetic tone.
"S'Okay, I'm just here to see my dad," Jack replied.
"He's in his office," Andy said as he peered down the hall. "Looks like his door in open slightly."
"I made him a cookie," Jack informed as he raised the small plate to show it off.
Andy looked back and over the counter to see the cookie on the plate. "Wow, mate. That looks awesome. Mr. B is going to love that."
"Thanks," Jack said quietly before he started tip toeing down the hall to his dad's office.
John rubbed his temples as he looked over the accounting for the second time. The whole day had been one big headache starting with Andy's screw up, and he had been irritated and stressed ever since.
He heard a faint knock upon his door. With a scowl, he sighed heavily and leaned back in his chair.
"Come in," he said forcefully.
He heard the office door open wider as he swiveled his desk chair around. He was caught off guard to see his son entering the room.
"Hi, dad," Jack said with an unsure smile forming on his face.
John felt like an idiot for answering so abruptly, especially finding out it was Jack who had knocked. He felt himself relax and smiled warmly at him.
"Hello, son. Does your mum know you're over here?" he asked in a much nicer tone.
"Mhmmmm. She said I could bring you this," Jack said as he lifted the little plate.
John turned back a little ways and reached for his glasses on the desk. Putting them on, he turned back to see what Jack had in his hand.
"Come closer so I can see," he encouraged, motioning a hand towards him.
Jack took a few steps closer until he was right in front of his dad.
"I made you a Christmas cookie. I decorated it myself," Jack said with hopeful eyes, seeking his father's approval.
John placed his left hand on his son's back as he pulled him closer. He looked to the small plate to see a toy solider cookie decorated with blue, red, and yellow icing mixed into one another with red and green sprinkles. It was messy, overly decorated, and it was most beautiful cookie John had ever seen.
"You decorated this for me?" John asked as he rapidly began to soften.
Jack nodded, "Yeah, see it's a toy solider; a solider like you, dad."
His eyes crinkled heavily in the corners as he looked to his son; a smile spreading wide.
"I see that. It is beautiful. I love it so much," he praised genuinely.
"You do?" Jack asked as a smile began to form.
"Mhm. I love it because you thought of me, and you did a really great job."
"Grammy and I made bunches of them. I made one for mummy, too. Hers is an angel cookie."
"An angel, yeah? Your mummy is an angel for sure, and we always want to be nice to mummy don't we?"
Jack toppled the plate a little, so John took it from him and held it in his right hand.
"Yeah, and tell her we love her and that she looks pretty," Jack added.
"That's my boy," John encouraged in a rich, full tone. "Mummy does so much for our family, so we need to appreciate her and love her."
"And Grammy," Jack insisted as he squirmed in John's embrace.
"Yes, Grammy, too. She was nice to bake cookies with you today. Did you thank her for letting you help?"
"No," Jack replied shyly.
"Well, when you get back into the house I would like for you to thank Grammy. Okay?"
"Okay."
John sat the plate on his desk before he wrapped both his arms around Jack, pulling him into a big bear hug.
John growled like a bear as Jack squealed in delight.
"Dad!" Jack giggled, bringing a bigger smile onto John's face.
"There's no dad here only a big ol' bear," John continued in his bear voice.
Jack giggled even more and tried his best to get away. After a few seconds, John let Jack slip from his grip, letting Jack think he was stronger than he was.
"I escaped!" Jack exclaimed as he took deep breaths after laughing so hard.
"You're getting too strong for your dad. Let's get you back to the house."
"Okay but dad," Jack prompted.
"Yes?"
"Andy is sad. I think I should bring him a cookie later too to cheer him up."
John looked down the hall and couldn't see Andy from his point of view. He had more than likely been harsher on the young man than he needed to be.
He looked back to his son and said, "I think we could do that, but maybe tomorrow."
"You'll need to be at the school tomorrow by eleven," Anna mentioned in a whisper as she took four mugs out of the cabinet and placed them on the kitchen counter.
"All right," John sighed as he settled in behind her placing his left hand on her waist as she started to prepare their hot chocolate.
"We can discuss the details more when he's in bed," she replied as she pressed her backside up against him with a slight smirk he couldn't see.
"Discussion isn't exactly what I had in mind," he quipped.
"Mr. Bates, that sort of talk is beneath you," she hummed as the kettle whistled.
"I stand corrected," he murmured as he moved away from her and leaned against the counter.
Anna added cocoa to the mugs and poured the boiling water. As she placed the kettle back on the hob she looked to see John with a scowl on his face.
"Is it really bothering you that badly?" she asked as she stirred the cocoa mixture with a spoon.
"What?" he asked as he looked to her.
"Tomorrow," she replied simply as she moved to the next mug with the spoon.
"Hard to say," he responded cryptically.
"John, you know I said I'd make it up to you," she said as she laid the spoon down.
"Mmmm... that you did," he recalled as he face grew mischievous.
She noted his look and said quietly, "None of that until later."
"What if I said I wanted something now?" he ventured as he took a step closer to her.
"What in the world could that be?" she said as a curious smile curved her lips.
"Play chubby bunny," he said as he opened the cabinet and took out a bag of large marshmallows.
"Darling, you know I have never beaten you. It's foolish really," she commented as she looked unsure at the bag.
"But maybe this time you will. Come on let's play."
John took out a marshmallow and reached it over towards her with a waggle of his eyebrows.
"Oh, fine."
She took the marshmallow from his hand and popped it into her mouth moving it to into her right cheek.
John took the next marshmallow and waited.
"Chubby bunny," Anna said.
Satisfied, he placed his first marshmallow into his mouth and moved it also to the right side of his mouth.
"Chubby bunny," he replied.
Anna took a marshmallow from the bag and placed it in the left side of her mouth.
With more difficulty, she said, "Chubby bunny."
John chuckled which made Anna chuckle as well.
"This is how yoo mak me loo," she tried to say.
"What?" John laughed before he popped another into his mouth.
"Chubby bunny."
Anna stuffed a third large sugary fluff into her mouth, cramming it in to make more room.
"Chubby bu- bun..ny"
"Ready to lose already?" John provoked.
Anna shook her head. She was too competitive to lose so soon.
John crammed his third in his mouth and said, "Chubby bunny."
Anna was just cramming her fourth into her mouth when Margaret and Jack when into the kitchen.
"I didn't know hot chocolate could take so long," Margaret stated until she saw the pair of them with puffy cheeks and a bag of marshmallows between them.
"Mum, dad," Jack laughed as he looked his his parents looking very silly.
Margaret shook her head, "Aren't you two a little too old to be playing this?"
Anna pointed her finger at John in an accusing manner. John looked to his mother and said, "Never."
He then turned back to Anna and looked at her expectantly.
"Chooby boony," she said.
"Doesn't count," John replied.
Anna 's eyes widened and she nodded her head.
"It counts. Mummy said it," Jack exclaimed as he got himself up on the stool by the kitchen island.
Anna pointed to Jack and winked.
"Fine," John said as he pushed another one in.
"Chubby bunny," he said with more effort.
"You can do it, mum!" Jack cheered as Margaret took the stool beside him.
Anna packed in yet another one. She knew she was out of room, but she would make her best effort to say the words. Her eyes met John's, and she could tell her knew she was about to lose. The things she did to amuse her husband.
"Hubby unny."
"Good try mum, but if dad says it after one more then he wins," Jack informed.
He gave her the smuggest look as he placed another one in his mouth, and she couldn't wait to wipe that smug look off later.
"Chubby bunny," he got out.
"Dad wins!"
John collected the waste bin and both he and Anna removed the marshmallows from their mouths.
"What a waste of marshmallows," Margaret commented.
"We don't play very often," John shrugged.
"Thank goodness for that. No one can ever beat you with your big mouth," Margaret retorted.
Anna laughed heartily at Margaret's comment which earned her a look from John.
"Can we have cocoa now?" Jack asked.
"May we," John corrected.
"May we?"
"Yes, let me add some more hot water first," Anna chuckled.
The next morning was coated with a thick frost as Anna, Margaret, and Jack opened the front door to leave for Jack's school party. The air was sharp as the wind met their skin, and Anna quickly told both of them to hurry to the car as she handed Margaret the keys to start it up. Once they were on their way she closed the door back and turned to see her man standing in the foyer with a mixture of uncertainty and sulking etched into his features. It reminded her of Jack when he was having to do something he didn't want to do, and it made her smile as she walked over to him.
She placed her gloved hands onto his warm clothed chest and said sweetly, "We'll see you soon. I'll slip away in enough time to help you get dressed if you'd like."
Trying to keep as much of his dignity as he could, John replied, "As kind as that offer is I think that is something I need to do on my own."
"Very well," she said as she raised up on her tiptoes. "Jack and I are so lucky to have you."
She kissed him tenderly before she lowered her heels back to the ground.
"I'm the lucky one," he corrected with a soft gaze.
It was later that morning when John parked his car in the school car park. He only allowed himself a few seconds to think about how he really didn't want to go inside before he was opening the car door and getting out. There was definitely no turning back now. He couldn't possible let down twenty or so aged five when they had already been told if they were good 'maybe Father Christmas would stop by'. It was hard to fathom he was now old enough to be the one playing the part. It didn't feel all too long ago he was the young lad waiting for Father Christmas, and at the same time it felt like a lifetime ago. It was funny how time worked.
Pulling the door open, he stepped inside and strode over to the administrative office Anna instructed him to stop at first. He slowly stepped inside and looked around the room. There were two ladies sitting at computers behind a long solid blue counter, and one of them raised their head to look at him.
"Hello, how may we help you?" asked the woman which in turn made the other woman look up to him as well.
He walked up to the counter and addressed the both of them.
"Good morning, I'm John Bates."
He took a breath before he said the next part.
"I am playing Father Christmas for Ms. Williams class."
"Oh!" the first woman said. "Yes, your costume is down our small corridor behind us to the left. You can change into it in there."
"Thank you."
He made the path around the counter and down the small corridor to the room he was asked to enter. Once inside he saw the bright red and white suit laid out across a table along with the hat, beard, belt, gloves, and boots. He even noticed a rounded pillow for him to put inside the suit to make him look larger, which made him feel better about himself actually.
With a small huff, he closed and locked the door and walked over to the other side of the room.
"Here we go," he muttered to himself, trying to bolster his own confidence.
He placed his cane on the back of the chair near the table and began to take his coat off. Laying it in the chair, he wondered how much of his own clothes he should keep on. He wouldn't be getting in the suit without any on that was for sure, so he decided to just take his red jumper and his shoes off while keeping his vest and jeans on. He deposited his keys and his phone into the chair as well. It wouldn't be very believable for Father Christmas to be getting a phone call on his cell phone.
He made quick work of removing his shirt and shoes, and went for the trousers first. He placed his right hand on the table for balance as he got the trousers up and over his jeans. They were too big for his waist which made him smirk smugly. If it had been the other way around and they had been too tight, he probably would have been looking at treadmills online later that day or gym memberships. Next, he collected the coat and shrugged it on. When he got it adjusted on his shoulders he grabbed the pillow and stuffed it into the band of the trousers and tried his best to position it so he looked like a big round belly.
"Dammit," he swore as the pillow fell to the floor, and he scolded himself.
A cursing Father Christmas wouldn't be very appropriate.
Picking the pillow up from the floor he tried again, this time he secured the pillow by grabbing the belt and wrapped it around his waist and the pillow. This made the pillow less likely to move and helped hold up the trousers as well. He buttoned up the rest of the gold buttons on the coat before he scanned the table and decided to go for the boots.
Sitting down, he reached over to begin placing the first boot on. The extra around his middle made it harder for him to do the task, and he thought to himself he should have down the boots after the trousers. But there was no going back now.
After considerable effort, he got the black boots on his feet and laced up. He sat back in the chair and allowed himself to breathe for a minute. The suit was already starting to feel warm on him. He could only imagine what it was going to feel like with children climbing all over him. He pushed himself to his feet and took hold of the thin white gloves. He wiggled his hands into the fabric until they were in place and took the beard in hand. He slipped the thin elastic band over his head until it was resting on the back of his head. He fiddled with the large white beard until the mustache and the area for his mouth was in the right place. It was immediately itchy. He closed his eyes and grimaced at the feeling of the beard on his face and neck. He needed to get on the with party before he wanted to rip the beard from his face and throw it in the nearest bin. He quickly took hold of the hat and placed it on top of his head, adjusting it so his own hair would not be visible. The hat was large enough to make the task an easy one.
He wished there was a mirror in the room so he could see what he looked like, but he could only hope he looked the part. After a few more adjustments he unlocked the door and opened it. As he walked down the short corridor he practiced trying to walk as evenly as he possibly could without the use of his stick. He grumbled to himself when he could still feel his uneven gait.
"Look at you, Father Christmas!" One of the ladies gasped and began to clap, making the other clap and smile as well.
"Doesn't he look just like him, Shirley?"
"He does, Wendy!"
He looked back and forth between the two women, and he wasn't sure if he should take their praise as a compliment. He didn't particularly want to look the picture perfect image of Mr. Claus, but at least he would be believable.
"Here's your sack," Shirley said as she reached for a small red sack and handed it over to him.
"Kinda small isn't it?" John commented as he looked at the small velvet bag.
"Well, you're only giving out candy canes today, Santa. You're big sack is only for Christmas," Wendy informed.
"Right," he simply replied.
"Okay! Let's get you to Ms. Williams classroom!" Shirley said a little too excitedly.
When they reached the door Shirley knocked on it and waited until Miss Williams opened it and stepped outside.
Closing the door behind her, Ms. Williams whispered, "Mr. Bates, we are so thankful you have volunteered for this."
John immediately pictured Anna talking him into doing this. The minx.
"You're welcome."
"The children will be over the moon to see you. We'll place a chair at the front of the class for you to sit on near the Christmas tree. Any questions?"
"How will I know when to leave?"
It probably wasn't the most kind question to ask, but he wanted to know.
"I'll make an announcement you have to get back to the North Pole, and you should have plenty of time to change and sneak away before Jack can spot you."
"All right."
"Here we go."
Ms. Williams opened up the classroom door and as she entered she said, "Class, guess who is here?"
John heard several 'who's' and 'I don't know's' from inside and felt himself already chuckling.
"Well, you all must have been good this year because Father Christmas has made a special visit just for you all!" She said animatedly.
John heard gasps, cheers, and clapping. They sounded so excited, and he could picture his son's face awaiting Santa's arrival.
"He's here now?" John heard a little girl squeal.
"He is. I think I hear him now," Ms. Williams replied while also prompting John to enter the room.
John cleared his throat and readied himself to get into character. With one final breath he walked into the room.
"Ho, Ho, Ho," he greeted, lowering his voice as he did.
He was sure he had gone momentarily deaf from all the high pitched squealing and yelling.
He was thankful when the teacher attempted to calm the children down. This gave him the opportunity to walk more to the center of the room.
"Hi, Santa!" called out a girl with her hair in bunches.
She was sitting on the front row and looked very eager to get closer to him.
Ms. Williams had strategically placed their names on festive paper and taped them to the front of their desks. It was a nice touch in his opinion.
"Hello, Carly," John said in his Santa voice.
Carly gasped loudly, "He knows my name!"
"Of course he does. He's Father Christmas," Ms. Williams chimed in.
John looked up from the girl and noticed several parents and grandparents towards the back of the room where there was a table of Christmas themed refreshments. His eyes scanned across until his eyes met with his wife's. She was beaming brightly at him, and he knew this whole ordeal was worth it to see her so happy. He smiled back and shifted his gaze to see his mother recording next to her.
"Wonderful," he thought.
"Father Christmas, please have a seat near the tree," Ms. Williams offered.
John made his way over, paying careful attention to his gait, and sat down on the chair provided to him. From this angle, he could easily see his son; his pride and joy. He was smiling and fidgeting in his seat. Just when he thought Anna's smile had made it worth it. The look on Jack's face was one he was sure he would never forget.
"Father Christmas, did you bring Mrs. Claus?" asked a girl towards the back of the room.
His eyes met Anna's, and she placed a hand over her mouth to keep from giggling.
He broke his stare and addressed the girl.
"Oh, no," he said in a rich, full tone. "Mrs. Claus is back at the North Pole. She has the most important job of them all."
"But you take presents all over the world in one night," a boy exclaimed as he threw his hands up in the air animatedly.
"That's just one night of the year. Mrs. Claus takes care of all the elves and makes sure the North Pole is in ship shape."
"Does she make hot chocolate?" another boy asked.
"Oh, yes," he said as he patted his rounded belly, making the kids and some of the adults laugh. "She keeps all of us well fed. I don't know what we would do without her."
He figured it was true enough. He honestly didn't know what he would do without Anna, so he knew Mr. Claus would feel the same about Mrs. Claus.
"Did you bring Rudolph?" Jack asked.
John saw his mother move to get a better angle of Jack and "Father Christmas" interacting.
"Not this time," he answered.
"Then how did you get here from the North Pole?" Jack dug deeper.
Leave it to his son to be the one to ask the tougher questions. In truth, he felt a surge of pride in it.
"I brought a reindeer, but magical reindeer can only be seen by others on Christmas Eve," he replied, trying to sound confident in his response.
"Cool," said a couple of others.
This seemed to satisfy his son who nodded and crossed his arms in front of his chest as the others said 'cool'.
"Okay, parents and children let's all get something to eat and then we'll see about sitting on Father Christmas' lap."
During the time eating Anna had more than once wandered in his direction to make sure he was okay and compliment him on how good he looked, to which John rolled his eyes and told her she owed him. Her saucy wink out of the sight of the children gave him all the confirmation he needed that he indeed would be rewarded.
The room was warm. His attire was making it warmer than it should be, and he felt empathy for all those men who played Father Christmas at the shopping malls. He was only doing this for a few hours; he couldn't imagine all day.
Ms. Williams had instructed the children to different activities; one of those being him. He was glad the whole class wasn't waiting in line for him at the same time. The small groups were much better.
He carefully sat each child down onto his left knee. He spoke to them, asked them if they had been good that year, and what they wanted for Christmas. When their time was up he reached into the small velvet sack and handed them a candy cane and wished them a Happy Christmas.
He found it wasn't so bad speaking with them. Most were filled with wonder and had that child-like glow of excitement. A couple had even whispered some secrets about either themselves or their parents in hopes a confession of some sort would keep them on the 'nice list'.
When it was Jack's turn, he had to keep his actions the same as he had with all the other children which was harder to do. It was so instinctual for him to cuddle him and speak to him in certain ways that now as he was sitting on his knee he had to mentally think about what he was doing and saying.
"Well, hello there," John said with a rich voice.
"Hi, Santa," Jack said with a shy smile.
John looked up briefly to see his mother quite close with the video camera right on them. He then looked back to Jack and continued to talk.
"How are you?"
"I'm great, Santa. We're having a party instead of class today."
John did his best Santa laugh and replied, "I see that. It's okay to take breaks sometimes, but school is very important. Are you enjoying school?"
"Yep," he said shortly as his fidgeted with nervousness.
"Oh! I can count to one hundred. Do you want to hear me?" Jack asked with a louder voice and a big smile.
John, Anna, and Margaret had been listening to Jack count to one hundred for a few weeks now. He loved the fact his son was learning, but hearing someone count to one hundred aloud after so many times can grate on anyone.
"I don't think we have time today, but you keep up the hard work. I know you're proud."
Jack's face fell a little, but he nodded in agreement.
"Now, have you been a good boy this year?" John asked as he had to keep himself from wrapping him up in his embrace.
Jack nodded quickly, too quickly, which almost made John laugh.
"I've been good."
"That's good. I like to hear we've been good all year."
Jack ran a hand through his hair. He was his father's child. "I've been good all year but one thing."
"Oh?" John remarked.
At this point, he felt bad his son didn't know it was him, but whatever it was he was going to reveal he would let it slide because how would he know? Only Father Christmas would know.
"Yeah. A couple months ago I wanted my army men to do water training, so I placed them in the toilet. I flushed it so the soldiers would have to swim to the top, but they didn't and it broke the toilet. My mummy and daddy asked me if I flushed something and I said no."
Jack looked as though he had been living with this guilt ever since he told them the fib. When they had the toilet looked at nothing came back through, so the small toys must have been pushed out the other end. He wanted to hug his son even more when he thought he saw tears forming.
"Well, fibbing to our parents isn't nice, but you were brave enough to tell me today."
"So, I'm not bad?" Jack asked with puppy dog eyes that were killing John.
"No, you are not bad. Just promise Santa you'll tell your parents the truth when they ask you. I know they love you very much."
Jack nodded and a small smile made it's way back to his face.
"My mummy and grammy are here," he whispered.
"They are? Where?" he asked in a whisper back.
Jack pointed to where Anna and Margaret were standing. They both waved to Jack, and Jack and John waved back.
John and Jack looked back to each other and John commented, "What a wonderful family you have."
"Yeah, but I wish my daddy was here."
There was that pain in his chest again. The sensation he only felt when his son or his wife was disappointed or upset.
"I'm sure he'd love to be here."
"I know. He works a lot, but soon I'll have more sponsbilies and can help my dad more."
He hadn't talked in this much detail with any of the other children, but he just couldn't help it. He needed to know more.
"Does your dad work too much?"
"Sometimes, but my mummy says he is providing for us. He takes care of us, but sometimes I wish we could go on adventures more," he whispered.
"Mmmm... I'll have to see if I can use my magical powers to make that happen."
"Really?" he asked as he perked up.
"I'll find a way to help your dad out with that."
"Cool! My dad is my bestest friend, and I want to be like him one day," Jack stated loudly and genuinely.
John raised his head to see Ms. Williams handing Anna a tissue. He was sure he was almost to the point of needing one himself.
"That's wonderful. I know he is proud of you and that you are his best friend, too."
Jack giggled in response, and John continued, "Now, what would you like for Christmas?"
"Lego pirate ship!" Jack exclaimed.
He had known. Jack had been talking about it for a while now. John and Anna had both tried to keep Legos out of the house for as long as they could, but now that was all he seemed to want. Their poor feet would just simply have to get use to the idea of them being on the floor.
"Is that so? Well, if you keep being good to others and your family then I'll bring you a Lego pirate ship," John whispered.
"Yay!" Jack yelled, making others look in their direction.
John did another Santa laugh and said, "Thank you for talking to me."
He reached down and collected a candy cane. Handing it to his son, he said, "Happy Christmas."
"Happy Christmas, Santa!" Jack said as he took the candy cane and lifted himself off John's lap.
"Dad!" Jack yelled as John came into the kitchen from the back door.
"Jack. Inside voice please," Anna asked as she placed a jug of water onto the table.
"Sorry," Jack said as his grandmother placed a generous helping of mash onto his place.
"Hi, everyone," John greeted happily as he walked over to Anna first.
He gave her a kiss on the cheek before he took his seat at the table.
"How was the party?" John asked as he poured some water into his glass.
"It was awesome! There were cupcakes and cookies and punch!"
"Yes, and now we are seeing the benefits of the sugar," Margaret chuckled as she sat down.
John and Anna both stifled a laugh as she joined them.
"Father Christmas came, Dad, and there were games."
"Wow, sounds like a wonderful day."
"It was. I wish you could have been there."
John didn't like fibbing to his son, but this was one of those cases where he wanted his son to keep his child-like imagination for as long as he could.
"Me too."
Later that night when everyone was in bed John was propped up on pillows against the headboard. Anna flicked off the bathroom light as she rubbed in her moisturizer and then climbed into bed next to him.
"Thank you again for today."
"It wasn't so bad after seeing how happy it made them."
"You know..." she began as her hand snaked around his waist, hugging him tightly.
"Hmm?" he hummed.
"You looked rather dashing today."
John let out a short burst of laughter, "Anna, you can't be serious."
"And why not? I find Father Christmas to be rather sexy," she replied as she slipped a leg over one of his.
"Tis the season," he quipped.
She mocked gasped before she giggled, "John Bates, I don't find every Santa attractive. You're crazy."
"It's a shame though," he prompted as he pulled her closer to him.
"What is? That you couldn't bring that suit home?"
The sultry look on her face was enough to make John blush, and he rarely blushed.
"My, my Mrs. Bates. Someone seems to have made it onto the naughty list."
"It's odd how I always end up on that list but get presents anyway," she teased.
"Father Christmas doesn't always mind naughty sometimes he prefers it."
"Is that so?" she said before her lips made contact with his jawline.
"So, all of a sudden you want to be Father Christmas?"
"As I was saying it's a shame you don't have a Mrs. Clause costume."
"It isn't Christmas yet, Mr. Bates. Who's to say what might be hidden away," she said coyly before pressing her lips to the pulse point on his neck.
John growled in the back of his throat before a thought came to his mind to make him sober. He had a habit of thinking about things at the worst times, and it made it even more inconvenient that his wife knew almost every time.
"Where did you go?" she asked as she pulled back to look at him.
"It's nothing. Where were we?" he replied in attempt to not talk about it.
"John, it's not nothing."
There was no use. He knew she wouldn't let it drop until they discussed it.
"Just something Jack said to me, well Santa, today."
"Oh," she replied, waiting for him to fill in the details.
"Long story short he thinks I work too much. Have I neglected him?"
"You most certainly have not! You are a wonderful father," Anna responded.
"I'm there for the big things, but it's the little things isn't it? I miss the little things when I work too much."
"We've both always done what we felt was right, and Jack understands how important the B&B is."
"The three of you are more important," he stated as an idea began to brew.
"You can be a real silly beggar sometimes. We know work isn't more important to you."
John formed a slow smile as his idea bloomed in his mind.
"What's got you smiling?" she asked with a smile of her own.
"It's almost Christmas. No asking questions," he said before he kissed her forehead.
"But you do know we love you, don't you?"
"Of course I do, and I love you."
"Mummy! Daddy! It's Christmas!" Jack exclaimed as he climbed onto the end of their bed.
He flailed his limbs excitedly which ended up hitting John in the ribs before he tumbled onto Anna.
"Ow!" John said hoarsely. "Jack get off your mother before you hurt her."
Anna had woken at the sudden impact of her son. She couldn't help but giggle at his excitement.
"Sorry!" Jack exclaimed, making John wince at his volume.
"Grammy is making breakfast!" Jack continued as he squirmed in between them.
"How about you to help her, and after we eat we'll see what Father Christmas brought," Anna said cheerfully.
"Yeah!" Jack gasped as he clamored back off the bed and ran out of the room.
"I'm getting to old for this," John commented as he stretched his limbs.
"I would beg to differ," she replied before leaning in for a kiss to which he accepted with a hum of appreciation.
"Happy Christmas," she said quietly.
"Happy Christmas, my darling," he replied as his eyes crinkled in the corners.
"We better get ourselves out of bed before we are attacked again," she chuckled.
"He's your son," John said in a sing song voice as he vacated the bed.
After breakfast they all made their way into the sitting room. John and Anna shared the settee, Margaret the arm chair, and Jack sat on the floor near the tree.
"This one is to me from Santa!" Jack said as he pointed at a box at the very front.
"You must have been a good lad this year then," Margaret commented with a smile.
"Can I open it?"
"May I," John corrected lightly.
"May I?" Jack asked as his hands took hold of the box wrapped in transformers paper.
"I'm just as curious to see what he brought. Go ahead," Anna encouraged as John slipped his arm around her waist.
They both gave each other a quick glance before they both looked to their son with big smiles on their faces.
Jack eagerly ripped the paper from the box to reveal a logo pirate ship.
"Wow! A logo pirate ship! I can't believe it!" Jack said happily as he looked at his present.
"Did Santa do a good job?" asked Margaret.
"Yeah, Grammy! This is awesome!"
Margaret winked at John and Anna who were both still beaming.
"Looks like we'll be needing to wear slippers around the house from now on," Margaret teased.
"I agree," John stated.
"Can I play with it now?"
John was just about to correct him again but decided against it as Anna began to speak.
"We can try it out later. We've got more presents to open."
Jack very reluctantly laid his new toy to the side and said, "Okay."
"Jack," John said, gaining his son's attention.
"Yeah."
"How about you give grammy her gift from you?"
"Okay!" he replied before he searched under the tree for the box he had wrapped specifically for her.
"I can't find it," Jack said as anxiousness crept into his voice.
"Here let me help you," Anna immediately offered.
She got to her knees and crawled the short distance to the tree.
John inwardly chuckled as he watch Jack and Anna on their hands and knees looking under the tree. Christmas had most certainly changed for him over the years. For the better, always for the better. Jack's tongue poked out the corner of his mouth just a tiny bit in concentration just like Anna's would when she was focused. It melted his heart all over again. Their son was a beautiful, precious gift. Anna and Jack had been the best gifts he had ever received.
"Aha!" Jack proclaimed as he found it tucked under a couple other boxes in the back.
Anna moved back onto her haunches, and Jack stood to his feet. Carrying the box over to Margaret, he placed it in her lap.
"Happy Christmas, Grammy," he said sweetly.
The look he gave her was one of hope in that she would like it.
"Thank you, my sweet grandson," she replied before pressing a big kiss to his round cheek.
Jack giggled, "Grammy, open it."
Margaret looked to the box in her lap. The paper had been ripped a few times and taped back together and the wrapping was definitely lumpy, but it meant so much her grandson had wrapped this gift himself.
She began to tear the paper away from the box and opened the lid. Inside was a wooden sign with carvings on it. She carefully lifted the sign out of the box to look at it in more detail. There was a tree with flowing branches with little heart floating off the branches like leaves, and writing to the right side.
Grammy
You have a place within my heart
that no one else can fill.
You're a dear and special Grammy
who I love and always will.
Love,
Jack
"Oh, my," Margaret commented as she used the back of her hand to wipe at her eyes.
"Don't cry, Grammy. I can get you something else," Jack said as his voice wobbled.
He wasn't usually an emotional child, but it always upset him when his grammy was sad. He would end up crying every time he saw her crying. He couldn't bear to see her that way and was now on the verge of crying himself.
Margaret placed a loving hand onto his shoulder and said, "These are happy tears, my lad. I love this gift so much. Thank you for thinking of me."
"Really?" Jack asked as he started to calm back down.
"Yes. I'm so happy, and I love you very much," she said before she sat the gift down and pulled Jack into a big hug.
"How did you find something with my name on it? There's not too many grammy's around," she chuckled as she hugged him.
"Dad helped me find it," Jack said as he pulled back, now smiling.
"There was a man doing personalized signs. Jack picked out the whole thing," John added.
"Well, this will be hanging up in my room. Thank you, Jack."
"You're welcome," he said before heading back over to the tree.
The rest of their morning was filled with thoughtful gifts, love, and laughter. They took their time to simply enjoy each others company as they presented each other with brightly wrapped packages.
When they were done opening gifts, John stood to his feet and made an observation.
"Hey, what is that over there?" John asked as he pointed to the bookcase at the other side of the room.
Everyone looked in the direction he was pointing, and they could see a red envelope propping up against some of the books.
"I didn't see that before," Anna said aloud.
"Looks like Father Christmas left something else," John informed.
Anna stood up and looked at her husband with a confused look on her face. They always discussed all the gifts from Father Christmas.
"Son, go see what it is," John instructed.
Jack made his way quickly to the bookcase, grabbed the envelope, and brought it back over to John.
"To Jack from Father Christmas," John read aloud.
"What?" Anna asked.
"Open it up, son. Let's see what else he left you," John encouraged.
Anna shifted her gaze to her son who was now opening the card. She felt as excited to know what was inside as he was.
Jack pulled out a Christmas card and opened it. There were airplane tickets inside and a brochure.
Jack held up the brochure and said, "Mickey Mouse."
Anna gasped and looked to John who was smiling so big it looked like his face might split in two.
"Looks like Father Christmas is sending us to Disney World," John said.
"Disney World!" Jack yelled as he jumped up and down.
Anna's mouth fell slightly open as she looked from John to Margaret. Margaret looked just as stunned so clearly she hadn't known about it either.
"Father Christmas made it happen like he said he would," Jack said happily.
"And what was that?" John asked.
"He would let us go on an adventure to spend more time together."
"Well, we will be doing that because we'll be on holiday for two weeks," John added.
"Two weeks? What about the B&B?" Anna asked.
"I've decided Andy can handle the responsibility. I've been missing out on too much, but no longer. My family comes first, and that means a holiday is in order."
"He can do it, dad," Jack insisted.
"I know he can, too. Father Christmas helped me to see that," he said softly.
Jack laid down the card and went to hug his dad. John leaned down to embrace him better.
"I can't either."
They backed out of the hug and John said, "Happy Christmas, family."
"Happy Christmas, my darlings," Margaret added.
"What a wonderful surprise. Happy Christmas, my loves," said Anna.
"Best Christmas ever! Can we leave today?" Jack said.
"No," John chuckled. "In a few days."
Though John had thought playing Father Christmas was going to be a horrible thing. It had ended up reminding him to spend more time with the ones he loved most, and he would surprise them with adventures more often through the years to come.