+1′C would have been perfectly cold enough for any other day, but for Katie Fleming Morris it was not enough on Christmas Eve. She had hoped for a white Christmas, but despite few snowfalls during the week, no snow had stayed on the ground, and currently, as she looked outside through her bedroom window, it looked grey and gloomy as if it was early November.

This did not please the little girl.

Not only was the white cover magical in her eyes, but no snow on the ground made her worry about the real issues at hand.

"Lisa, if there's no snow, how can Santa make it to Heartland?" Katie asked as she turned from the window back to her grandmother, Lisa Stillman, who was going through her phone.

The woman looked up from her cell, taken aback by her granddaughter's question, and wondered how could she possibly explain it to Katie without giving away the secret and making it too unrealistic for her - as in some weird way flying reindeer probably sounded much more believable for Katie than Santa driving a truck.

"Well, you know… Santa has his ways," Lisa said briefly, putting up a weak smile, hoping the girl would be done with the questions with that.

But Lisa had worries of her own which probably didn't make it seem assuring enough, as Katie continued: "What do you mean…?"

"I mean, I don't want you to worry," she explained a little further, as gently as she could. "He'll get the presents here one way or another," Lisa said, hoping that she was right - for personal reasons as well.

At the moment, a big stash of her own Christmas shopping was on their way to Heartland - or, well, should have been - but unfortunately, as she was told, they were currently stuck in customs. Lisa was trying her best to get them here where they were supposed to be, but right now her attempts to contact anyone who knew anything seemed desperate.

As she looked back at Katie, who had again turned back to the window, Lisa pressed her cell phone to her ear and tried to call another number that she had just been given by someone at customer services.

If "Santa" didn't make it here, Katie's Christmas would be ruined.


Meanwhile in the kitchen, Jack Bartlett was preparing his famous stuffing for the Christmas turkey. As per usual, he was in charge of the turkey, while the others helped with the rest of the chores. Some of the food was coming from Maggie's Christmas serving this year, as his granddaughter and one of the diner owners Lou Fleming and her daughter Georgie Fleming-Morris were working in town, handing out food for the poor and trying to spread the Christmas spirit, thus leaving less time for Lou to spend at Heartland to help her grandfather.

Jack didn't mind, in fact, he loved having the kitchen to himself, as he didn't have to worry about the hustle these kind of big family dinners usually brought with them.

Not to mention he was proud of Lou for arranging something like this. Christmas wasn't about the material, but the kindness of the heart for Jack Bartlett.

And maybe a little bit about the best turkey in the world.

Some thanks for the Maggie's Christmas happenings went to a family friend, Jade Virani and her sponsors at Chuck Wagon. The girl had made it possible for Maggie's and ChuckWagon to work together to help those who were not as fortunate as other families were at Christmas.

But Jack's moments of serenity were soon gone as his ex-son-in-law - emphasis on the word EX - Tim Fleming stepped inside the ranch house, doors blazing, with his girlfriend Casey McMurtry.

"I got it, I got it!" Tim tried to argue when he and Casey were getting into the mud room and the door was giving him and his sore shoulder tough time.

Casey backed off, but kept eye on her man. Tim had been grumpy ever since he had injured his shoulder - again - by putting on Christmas lights outside and then taking an empty step back down from the ladder, resulting him falling off and, of course, landing of on his bad shoulder. He was now back to wearing a sling and bellyaching about it.

Casey figured the bad mood had to do with the fact that Tim could not - or more like refused - to take any medication and that's why he was in constant pain. She understood his decision, after all he had come clean about his past with mixing drugs and alcohol, and taking pain relief was always a risk for any addict, even if they had been clean for years.

Casey decided that despite Tim's mood, their entrance would have to be more cheerful one as they were guests in the Heartland house. Tim might not have manners, but she did, so when they were properly inside, she said: "Merry Christmas!"

"Well, hello," Jack said delightfully, mincing an onion for the stuffing by the sink. "Good to see you, Casey," he continued, smiling and looking how she was helping Tim with his coat. "And how's the patient…?" he had to ask, even though he could pretty much guess the answer already.

"You know this your fault, right?" Tim chimed in, "If it wasn't for you and that stupid turkey of yours, I wouldn't have fallen down the ladder."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Well, Merry Christmas to you too… Nice to see you in such good Christmas spirits. – You know I had to get the turkey when I asked you to put up the lights - and besides, you could have said no, anyway; I would have just asked Mitch to put them up instead. – And how is it my fault that you don't watch where you're going?"

"And you're telling me this now…?" Tim scoffed, acting like a martyr. "This is what I get for being helpful?" he continued, now making his way to the kitchen. "I get nothing… Besides pain!"

"I feel the same way…" Jack mumbled to himself.

"Sorry about the Grinch, Jack…" Casey followed Tim's steps, wanting to apologize for him, because even though she knew that this was typical for these two men, she didn't like this kind of mood shadowing Christmas.

"I'm used to it," Jack said, appreciating Casey's efforts anyway, "so don't worry about it."

"Anything I can help you with?" Casey offered, watching the many bowls and ingredients laid out on the table. "I'm not much of a cook, but… I'm sure there's at least something I can do. – Doesn't have to be cooking."

"Well, not really," Jack said. He had his system and he didn't want anyone to spoil it for him. "Although… you could go help Caleb. He's out there in the barn", the man explained, gesturing to the barn's general direction, "saddling up a horse so he can go and get the Christmas tree. I'm sure he could use the company, especially since Cassandra still hasn't gotten here. He said something about her working at the clinic."

"And what about you? Will you promise to get along if I leave you two alone?" she asked, gently squeezing Tim's other shoulder. The man sighed, acting as if Casey's question was ridiculous.

"We'll be alright. And if not, Lisa's in the other room. She'll keep us in check," Jack answered, making Casey chuckle.

"Alright then", Casey said, giving Tim's cheek a kiss. "You - behave."

"I will," Tim replied, glancing over his shoulder as he watched Casey leave, but then complaining due to the pain and turning back toward Jack to help him ease it. "I thought I was done with this damn sling, I even had the surgery - and now this…" he hissed.

"I know, but you can't blame me. It was your own fault," Jack pointed out, putting down the knife and scooping the onions into a bowl.

"Grandad!" Katie's voice reached them from the living room, making Tim look at her direction.

The little girl bounced toward Tim and was ready to climb on his lap, when he had to stop her. "Woah, hey! Sorry, honey, but I can't hug you right now… Because, well, you see this sling? Grandad hurt himself." He pointed his finger toward it.

"You did…?" Katie looked worried, stepping back from him.

Tim nodded, "Uh-huh."

"I could get my medicine kit and treat you better," she offered.

"You do that, hun…" Tim smiled a little and watched as Katie ran off. She almost knocked down Lisa on her way back to her room.

"No running in the house!" Lisa reminded her and watched where she was going. When she noticed that Katie was just off to her own room, Lisa turned her gaze back to her phone, walking to the kitchen at the same time. "Hey, Tim."

"Hey," Tim replied.

"How's it going with the mail service?" Jack asked as he put the celery on his cutting board and started chopping.

"Not great… Everyone is off work, naturally, so it's next to impossible to track down these presents," she sighed heavily.

She looked so beaten, that Tim's curiosity grew. "What are you talking about?"

"Lisa ordered pretty much all of her presents online and they still haven't gotten here. It's getting a bit too close to the chalk lines, if you ask me," Jack explained.

"Can't you just go into town and buy everyone something else?" Tim suggested, turning back to Lisa.

"I used a lot of time picking those things, I'm not going to give people presents just because I can afford to get them seconds," Lisa protested, "And it's just not the same… Not to mention, nothing's open now."

She tried to go through the numbers again she had received again, even though she knew it was hopeless.

But she couldn't not try either.

"This is why you should never do this kind of shopping online," Tim started talking to Jack, keeping his voice lower now that Lisa was on the phone. "Remember what happened to Lou's wedding dress? It was a disaster!"

"Oh, I remember… But do you remember who saved the day?" Jack replied, glancing at Lisa who was walking aimlessly in the kitchen and biting the end of her thumbnail as she was hoping someone would pick up. "That woman right there. I have faith that she will figure something out," he continued, smiling proudly while thinking about his wife.