Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed only what I make up.
Summary: This is part two of Santa's Helpers also set about a year in the future. When Santa goes missing the gang is once again called into action to help save the day.
Christmas Miracle
It had been two weeks since the gang had helped Santa out at the North Pole it was a crisp bright Saturday morning six days away from Christmas. For Chris Halliwell his otherwise peaceful morning was broken up by the fact that he was watching his six month old baby brother Jack and at the moment the child was giving him fits.
If he wasn't crawling all over the apartment that Chris shared with his two cousins and his brother he was orbing off somewhere. At the moment Jack was making a b line for the Christmas tree going as fast as his little knees would carry him the shiny objects had caught his eye and they looked like fun.
Chris sighed and rolled his green eyes he now knew why his mother had needed a break this morning this kid was a little demon. "Hey you get back here." he called after his little brother as he chased after him catching just before he could do something harmful like pull the tree on top of his head. "Jackie Bear we have talked about this you can't drive your brother out of his mind." Jack only giggled at his big brother he thought his worry was amusing. Chris and Henry's dog Memphis came walking into the room at the sound it had roused him from his sleep.
The baby crawled over to where the dog was the two of them checked each other out each trying to get a feel for the other. Jack's little blue eyes lit up and he formed his mouth into a 'O'.
Chris shook his head and laughed before picking the child up off the floor "You wanna see the dog Jackie ?" he asked he pulled his dog over to him by his collar and he placed his brother's hand on top of his head "Ah Jack you two play so nice together. Now I know why mommy made daddy orb you over here at five this morning I take it you're not sleeping good seeing as it's only eight and you're up getting into trouble. I'll tell you what you lay on the floor and play with the dog I have a surprise for you remember no orbing." he said sitting him back down on the floor.
Chris walked into the kitchen watching over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't getting into anything. He turned his back for just a second so he could get him something to eat he knew better than to turn his back on a magical child. Because he next thing he knew Wyatt and Liz were walking into the living room Jack was in Liz's arms.
"Hey Chris did you lose something ?" Liz asked him highly amused.
Chris turned around from what he was doing and he saw that his little brother was with Liz "Apparently I did where was he this time ?" he asked resigned to his fate as his mother's built in babysitter.
"He decided that his other big brother had, had enough sleep for one day and he orbed in bed between me and Liz." Wyatt answered chuckling at the look on his brother's face.
"Laugh it up Wy at least dad didn't orb into your bedroom and put him in bed with you at five this morning. He is choosing not to sleep real well right now and he is driving mom insane." Chris said flustered running his hands through his dark hair.
"And my guess would be he is testing out his orbing skills now." Liz smiled at Chris who just glowered at her.
"Come here big man lets go in the kitchen I have something for you." Chris took Jack from Liz and sat down at the kitchen table he was not about to feed him in the living room. Chris opened the cup of pudding that he had set on the table and put the spoon in it before he put it to Jack's mouth.
"Chris mom is going to kill you for feeding him that and mostly because she wasn't here to see how cute the face he is making looks right now." Wyatt informed him watching the his baby brother's eyes lit up at what Chris was feeding him.
Liz came walking back from Wyatt's bedroom where she had gone while all three of the Halliwell brothers were distracted. "That is why they invented cameras Wy get next to your brothers." Wyatt did as his girlfriend told him and then she took their picture "Ah that is so sweet the little one is the best looking out of all three of you." she chuckled.
"Lizzie of course he is he gets all his good looks and charm from me." Wyatt said he had an ego the size of the room.
Chris smirked at him "Just for that blondie you now get to deal with the demon child while I go take a shower don't let him eat all of that he will get sick." He sat Jack on Wyatt's lap and headed to the shower before his brother could say anything to him.
Wyatt smiled down at his baby brother "Alright you know the deal just don't cry and we will get along fine." he reminded the little boy.
"Wy if you relax he will relax." Liz informed him like she was some kind of expert.
"I know that is what you keep telling me." Wyatt rolled his blue eyes they weren't quite the same blue as Jack's but they were close.
"Because I need you to be ready for when we have one I want one more every time I see him." Liz said not that he needed reminding of that.
"I know you do Lizzie but I would like to be married before that happens." Wyatt smiled at her.
"Wy is that a proposal ?" she questioned him a grin coming to her face.
"Do you want it to be one ?" He asked her right back.
Liz pursed her lips and pretended to think for a moment "Yes but you will have to do much better than that Mr Halliwell I expect the works and you know it."
Wyatt nodded his head "Ok just let me work on that one for you soon I promise."
Liz sat down on the knee he didn't have Jack on and wrapped her arms around his neck "I'm going to hold you to that."
"You always do Lizzie I would expect nothing less from you." Wyatt grinned before he kissed her Jack voiced his displeasure about being stuck in between the two of them by letting out a little yelp.
"Come here Sweet Pea you're mad because he stopped feeding you I know." Liz said taking the small child in her arms so she could continue feeding him.
Things at the north pole had been running smoothly for Santa since he had enlisted the help of the Halliwells two weeks before. Everything on the operations side of things was running smoothly no now Santa was worried about his personal safety it seemed like someone was out to get him. Every time he was alone he couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching him and he knew that it wasn't just idle paranoia. He swore that a couple of times he had saw a figure lurking in the shadows but every time he went to get a closer look it was gone.
What made things worse was last night his security detail had caught someone attempting to break into his mansion where he and his family were sleeping. He hadn't tried to do anything other than break in and that was the scary part. Santa didn't know what to do. Every time he turned around it seemed like he was doing something these days. More like things were happening to him. Just last week he had fallen down a flight of stairs he hadn't hurt himself. And then he kept misplacing things like right now he was on a mad hunt for his glasses.
"Roy!" he bellowed out if the head elf didn't know what he had done with his glasses he would at least know where his spare pair was.
Roy ran into Santa's office just as fast as his legs would carry him " St. Nick I already know what you want here is your spare pair of glasses I don't want to know what you did with the others. I have still yet to find the pair of gloves that you lost." he handed his boss his glasses.
Santa took them from him "Thank you Roy I don't know what is with me these days I have been so scatterbrained lately." he sighed sitting down in his chair he cringed when he heard something break. He picked up what was underneath him it was his the pair of glasses he had been looking for.
"Don't worry St. Nick I'll get the elves to fix those right up for you they will be good as new." Roy assured him taking the broken glasses from him.
"Roy do me another favor while you're at it call the Halliwells back here there has to be something behind this I am never this clumsy and I don't lose things so do that and then have them get back to me." Santa ordered he longed for the days when things were simple. He drove around the world delivered toys and everything was good if only he could go back to that.
"Sure thing you got it St Nick I'll have that done for you just as soon as I can." Roy said walking out of the office.
Opening Credits:
Starring:
Wyatt Halliwell- Wes Ramsey
Chris Halliwell- Drew Fuller
Henry Matthews Jr- Channing Tatum
Cooper Halliwell Jr- Paul Walker
Charles Bradford- Jonathan Rhys Meyer
Lila Nicolae- Jordana Brewster
Roman Nicolae- Ben McKenzie
Elizabeth Shane- Bethany Joy Galeotti
Parker Halliwell- Eddie Cibrian
Troy Shane- David Boreanez
Bianca Hoyt- Marisol Nichols
Calleigh Cavanaugh- Anne Hathaway
And
Prue Halliwell- Jennifer Love Hewitt
With:
Melinda Halliwell- Amanda Bynes
Valerie Halliwell- Eliza Dushku
Penny Halliwell- Daneel Harris
Carly Matthews- Sophia Bush
Patty Matthews- Rachel Bilson
Ricky Bradford- Taylor Lautner
And
Emily Bradford- Hilary Burton
"What the hell is this daycare central in here I get in the shower for five minutes and this happens ?" Chris asked when he walked back into the living room after taking a shower and he saw that in addition to his baby brother being there two of his baby cousins were there as well.
"It would seem so mom had no place else to take Phil and as a general rule of thumb it is only fair to ask grandpa to watch two of the little ones. Aunt Prue had already asked him and all the girls claimed that they had things to do." Prue answered her cousin.
"Actually I don't know why I even asked nothing in this family even phases me anymore." Chris threw up his hands.
"Chris calm down dude you are going to have high blood pressure one of these days if you don't stop." Henry pointed out to his cousin who didn't seem to care for his assessment of the situation very much.
Wyatt was sitting with his chin resting on his hand deep in thought "Chris what did you get mom for Christmas ?" he asked he had no clue what to get his mother.
"Free babysitting any time she wants it apparently and she is cashing in early." Chris shot out sarcastically. But then he saw that his brother was serious " Wy seriously I got her a bracelet that has all of our birth stones in it. That is the hardest woman in the entire world to shop for if you want I can put your name on it too."
Wyatt shook his head "No Chris that is fine I will do my own thing I just never know what to get mom like you said that is a hard woman to shop for."
"I have a better question what did you guys get Aunt Prue ?" Prue asked her namesake wasn't the easiest person in the world to shop for either.
"Oops I forgot to tell you not to worry about that all five of us went in and got her she pretty sweet camera equipment so you and Coop are both covered." Henry said just now remembering that he was supposed to tell his cousin that.
"Hank you going senile on us ?" Liz smirked at him and he stuck his tongue out at her.
"You go a month of pulling doubles and then tell me you can remember everything." Henry replied he was laying on the couch with his legs dangling over the edge he had Alan laying on his chest.
"At least we're not Jackson dude he has been pulling doubles with a rookie at his side." Chris reminded him.
"So that is why I never see my sweet innocent baby sister any more." Wyatt said like it was all becoming clear to him now.
"That and she spends all her free time with Roman." Prue stifled a giggle or two she knew that he hated being reminded of that. Wyatt frowned in response but he didn't say anything.
There was a knock on the door and Chris got up to answer it he had no clue who it could be everyone he knew didn't bother with knocking they just orbed or shimmered in. He was a little surprised when he opened the door to see Mel standing there. Not for the first time he marveled at how much she looked like her mother she had the same brown hair and brown eyes she could have been Piper's twin sister and she acted a lot like her mother too.
"Lyn what are you doing here ?" Chris asked his only sister.
Mel arched an eyebrow at her brother "A girl can't come see her favorite brother now ?" she questioned him right back.
"Of course she can come in sweety I warn you though we have all the kids but Joe and Ally." Chris replied opening the door wider so she could come in.
"So I heard mom and the aunts kicked me out of the house so the could finish wrapping presents." Mel answered his previous statement.
"Hey Mel long time no see you graduated high school and forgot all about your girl Prue who taught you all about men." Prue said a jocular tone in her voice.
"I could never forget about you Ladybug you mean entirely too much to me for me to let that happen you are the big sister that I never had. I have been working nonstop for the last month between that and going to school I barely have time for myself much less anyone else." Mel replied hugging her cousin.
"You are preaching to the choir cousin of mine those doubles suck so bad and I can't imagine what is like for you being stuck with Jason for that long. But you are doing great keep up the good work. If it hadn't been for you the other night the guy we were chasing would have totally got away." Henry agreed with her they were being worked to death.
"Hey I put a ban on shop talk when we all have a free moment I do believe otherwise all I hear about is social work, police work, and doctors it's not fun for me." Liz said wagging her finger at them.
"You don't mind it so much when Gypsy Boy talks about his work because that normally means he is in the process of cooking you something." Wyatt pouted.
Mel gave him a seething look "You are so lucky that you are holding Jack right now or I would blow you up. We have been through this I don't say shit about Lizzie so you need to leave Ro alone. For the love of God Wy we have been together for well over a year."
"You're right I'm sorry I am a jerk I will admit to that much he is good to you and that is all that matters to me." Wyatt threw his hands up in a sign of surrender Liz had gave him a look he couldn't fight both her and Mel.
Mel smirked at him "I'm glad you see things my way I didn't want to have to explain to mom what happened to her first born."
"Don't you two start you are making Jake and I look tame at least we never threaten to kill each other which is more than I can say for the two of you." Prue said it wasn't entirely true her and Jake did threaten to kill each other just not as much as Mel and Wyatt did.
Chuck shimmered into the apartment unannounced a moment later just in time to have Phil heart into his arms he suspected that Prue had taught him how to do that to wear him down about her wanting to have one of their own. It caused him to drop the stack of papers he was carrying in his arms. "Hey there little guy I'm happy to see you too." he said grinning.
Prue stood up to hug her boyfriend and take her brother back from him "Hi Chip what are doing here ? I thought you had papers to grade ?" she asked after she had kissed him hello.
"The neighbors were singing Christmas Carols at the top of their lungs I couldn't concentrate so I came here. I'm used to this kind of chaos I can ignore it." Chuck answered going to sit at the kitchen table.
"You came at the wrong time Lizzie just put a ban on all shop talk." Wyatt smirked and then he rubbed the back of his head because Liz had popped him.
"Well I need to talk shop a little because I really have to inquire into if Carly and Penny or stupid of if they took lessons ?" Chuck asked he had them both in his advanced gym class again.
"Butterfly took lessons from Leigh everyone knows that and Leigh got taught by Val making Coop the one to blame for them all acting that way because he taught Val everything he knew." Henry answered.
"Chuck why do you ask that baby ?" Prue wondered there had to be a good reason for her boyfriend to ask those types of questions.
He held up two papers in response to her question "I think they might be under the impression that I'm stupid there is no way both of them got the same two question wrong on their final not even Lilly and Ro think that much alike and they are twins. And I have a pretty good idea of how they managed to cheat they were sitting no where near each other."
"The joys of telepathy Lizzie saved my ass from failing more tests that way." Wyatt announced solemnly.
"I have a riddle for you guys what is worse than teaching a bunch of magical juvenile delinquents ?" Bianca asked shimmering in she was giving herself a break from her grading for magic school.
Chuck grinned he knew how she was feeling "Teaching magical juvenile delinquents that also happen to be Halliwells."
"Bingo right on the money Jellybean. How did you know ?" Bianca asked him surprised.
"Carly and Penny I have both of them." Chuck answered hanging his head.
"Just Penny thank God I refused to have both of them in the same class." Bianca looked at him like he had lost his mind no good ever came from those two Halliwells being in the same place as each other.
"I don't miss going there that place sucks so bad." Mel said reclining on the chair she was sitting in.
"Mel you dropped out of magic school just like your middle brother and my boyfriend you knew too much there was no point in you going anymore that is why you didn't like it you were bored." Bianca reminded her.
"We did not drop out we just stopped going there is a difference." Chris defended the three of them.
"No you three know the book of shadows inside out you know as much about demons as mom and the aunts do there I don't know what more you could have learned." Wyatt said he envied the three of them they were by far the smartest out of all the Halliwells and they didn't even have to work at it. And yet they chose a simple profession he on the other hand had to study his ass off and he had chose to become a doctor proof enough that he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed.
"Wy I'm bored of this topic lets talk about something else like how badly I beat Chris at decorating." Mel smirked at her middle brother she knew that would strike a couple of cords with him.
"Mel you did not look around this place it puts the north pole to shame Hank and I worked very hard on this." Chris disputed pointing around the apartment. He had snowflakes hanging from his ceiling and lights on every surface that would take them. But in his mind the tree was the best part it was adorned with ornaments of every color and it had lights strung all around it.
"Chrissy the manor looks so much better than this that it isn't even funny." Mel was laying it on thick she knew how competitive he was.
"Melinda Paige Halliwell if you are going to insult my decorating skills then you do not get to call me Chrissy I will revoke your nickname privileges just like I did with Coop I don't think you want that." Chris threatened.
"As long as you are fighting with Chris now I can ask you this what did you get mom for Christmas ?" Wyatt asked he was trying hard to wrack his brain for what to get his mother.
"I can't tell you that because I don't know yet either. But from what she tells me all I have to do is show up on Christmas and that would be enough for her." Mel shrugged.
Jack started fussing in Wyatt's arms because he wanted down to get into stuff. "All he does is cry with me I don't understand it." he bitched.
"Wy he wants to get down on the floor he thinks he is going to get a hold of that Christmas tree and I am very tempted to ground that boy's orbs." Chris ran his hand through his hair he didn't know how his mom had done it with him and Wyatt both at the same time.
Mel shook her head at her oldest brother "No you are not watch this," she held out her arms "Jackie come here sweety." her little brother orbed into her arms and giggled when she set him down on the floor.
"Did you teach him that because if you did you and I are going to fight ?" Chris asked.
"No I didn't teach him that Carly taught him that." Mel defended herself.
"Of course she did that girl I swear I love her to death she is my baby sister but I would love to kill her." Henry groaned.
Bianca was sitting on the couch with him and he had his feet in her lap "you are not killing anyone before Christmas now if you want to afterwards that is up to you but I can't let that happen before then."
They all should have known better than to let themselves get in such a relaxed state every time they did something always happened and today was no exception. They all stared in wonderment and awe when what looked like an indoor snow shower appeared in the living room. It was Roy straight from the north pole.
"What is it this time Roy ?" Chuck asked mildly annoyed not quite sure he wanted to know the answer.
"You guys are gonna wanna hold onto your hats for this one it is huge." Roy replied standing with his hands on his hips and they all groaned.
Piper, Phoebe, Paige, and Prue were sitting around the living room at the manor wrapping present they had gotten rid of their husbands and kids for the day so they wouldn't get sidetracked.
"Listen to that." Piper said sighing they all listened but gave up after a moment of not hearing anything.
"Uh Piper I hate to break it to you but I don't hear anything." Phoebe said wearing a look of confusion on her face.
"I think that is her point goober it's quiet." Paige explained to her older sister like she was slow or something like that.
"This is nice no kids crying at the top of their lungs I forgot what this was like." Prue said smiling in contentment.
"Don't get used to it I have a feeling that payback is going to be hell when the oldest five start having kids because that is who we dump the little ones off on all of the time." Piper reminded them.
"We don't do it all the time only when we are all busy taking care of demon stuff or something like that. And outside of us the safest place they can be is with their older siblings and cousins they can protect them. Besides that I don't abuse my babysitter like you do yours seriously I can't believe you had Leo orb him into Chris's bedroom he is going to flip out." Phoebe told her in a sing song tone.
"Don't start I have a very important question why does it look like a fairy threw up in the living room ?" Prue asked looking around where Mel had went way overboard with her Christmas decorations. She had gone insane there was garland hanging from the ceilings, every doorway had lights around it and the tree didn't look bad but the girl seriously needed help.
"Melinda happened I want you to note that I didn't call her Mel because she seriously went overboard she and Chris have this competition whoever decorates better wins. That would be why my house looks like the north pole on steroids." Piper replied she wasn't that happy with her daughter at the moment she had tore up the house and she wasn't even home half the time.
"I happen to think that my niece is a wonderful young woman and she can be no worse than my oldest son he is a freak when it comes to Christmas too." Paige cracked that was where Henry got his joking nature.
"I think that the three of them had to get it from Paige she is a Christmas freak too. Let us not forget that her house has been decorated since before Thanksgiving." Phoebe pointed out.
"That was the younger of the two twitches not me she said she wanted to make her little brother's first Christmas amazing." Paige defended she had only had a little hand in it.
"Paige we are trading husbands you and Andy are two peas in a pod he decked out our apartment after Halloween." Prue replied bartering.
They all looked up when they saw shimmers ripple in the room they didn't think too much of it because it was probably Jake looking for Phoebe.
"Hmm that is odd Jake wasn't home when I left I thought he was with Lilly." Phoebe mused.
They were all shocked when the man standing in front of them wasn't Jake Halliwell but instead his father Cole Turner. They shared the same icy blue eyes but other than that they looked nothing alike.
"Cole please tell me that you are here because you missed your family and not because we have another demon issue." Piper pleaded with him.
"I don't only shimmer over when there is a demon problem you need to take care of. I was over here just last week because you asked me to have dinner with you guys you have so little faith in me I am hurt." Cole said pretending to be wounded by her words.
"Then what the hell are you doing here Cole ? The guys are down at Paige's where you should be if you are going to hang out." Phoebe informed him.
"I needed to see my four girls first so that I might have the courage to face them without wanting to kill them when Coop, Leo, and Andy attempt to cheat Henry and I at cards." Cole professed solemnly.
Paige looked at Cole with her eyebrow arched and her head cocked to the side "Cole did you by chance find them and convince them to come home ?" she asked hopefully.
Cole ran his fingers through his hair "I found them and they are fine but they said they just aren't ready to come home yet but they both send their love. They told me to tell you guys they need a little time to think."
"Those two are starting to piss me off just a little." Piper fumed throwing her hands up in the air.
"Piper you need to understand that just a few months ago they both lost everything that they have ever known and they had their older brothers come down on them like a ton of bricks for lying to them. It is going to take them just a little bit of time to get back in the groove." Prue reasoned with her sister.
"I'm with Piper they are being very stubborn right now." Paige said taking Piper's side.
"I don't know what else you both expect they are Halliwells after all." Cole said looking anywhere but at the sisters when he said that.
"I'm going to ignore that because at least you can tell me where my baby is." Piper almost begged him she just needed to know that he was alright.
"Piper I found them Mississippi of all places but you know as well as I do they packed up and left as soon as they could get me to leave they are not stupid enough to stay in the same spot once someone finds them I know I wouldn't." Cole replied he wished he had more to offer them than that but that was all he had.
"Thanks for trying though Cole now get out of here and go hang out with the other guys where you belong. Before we have the kids babysit you to make sure you do what you're told." Prue threatened him but she had a smile on her face.
"I can't believe that we are here again." Parker groused running a hand through his dark hair his brown eyes scanned the area outside the toy factory where they had orbed in. Just a little over a year before he had thought he was an only child that was until he found out about his four sisters and all his nieces and nephews there had been ten at the time instead of the fifteen he had now.
He loved being part of a big family but he was also part of a big destiny that sometimes was a pain in his ass. His nieces and nephews got him into more things than he cared to count but he wouldn't trade them for anything in the world and he would gladly lay down his own life for any one of them. But he wished like hell that if they were going to get him dragged into messes that it would be warmer than this.
Chris rolled his eyes at his younger uncle "Parks this is what we do you know that don't complain it only makes it worse. I right there with you though I wish we would get sent some where nice at least every once in a while." they were supposed to meet Roy out at the stables today so they had to walk a little ways behind the factory in order to get to them.
"Explain to me why it takes all thirteen of us to do a consultation. I'm fairly certain that it should only take three of us to come in and assess the problem the other ten are just wasting space." Troy asked logically it didn't take all of them to talk to one person and find out what the problem was there were times it turned out to be nothing those were few and far in between but it still happened sometimes.
"Honestly Troy what are private detectives now ? That is how you are making us sound." Lilly asked sarcastically if it was at all possible this place was way colder than she remembered it. She had dressed for the cold this time too but she still didn't have enough clothes on.
Jake seeing her shiver against the cold being the gentleman he was took off his coat and wrapped it around her. He would gladly freeze to death if it meant her being warm. "There you go baby I can't have you being cold." he said putting his arm around her shoulders.
"I wonder what it is we have to help with this time." Calleigh wondered out loud.
"Cal if I had any idea I would tell you but we were just sitting there in baby sitting hell minding our own business when Roy showed up and said he needed our help." Wyatt replied shrugging he had no clue what was going on he wished he did not knowing was the worse part.
"We help the helpless and defend the defenseless so I'm pretty sure that it falls somewhere in one of those categories it always does." Roman offered trying to be helpful.
Prue rolled her eyes "No shit Ro I would have never guessed that and here this whole time I thought it was our job to make people's lives harder. I was kinda wondering why we were helping people instead of the other way around." her voice was thick with sarcasm as she shoved her hands deep in her coat pockets so her fingers didn't freeze off.
"Prue there was no need for the sarcasm he meant well."Chuck corrected her he knew it was the wrong thing to do when she looked at him her brown eyes blazing with fury.
"I know this is too much to ask but it would be good if we could refrain from having any kind of lover's spats today." Bianca said she really did feel like there mother at times.
Henry chuckled and smiled at his girlfriend "B you know that is not how this works we fight while we're in the middle of battling demons it's just who we are."
They walked on in silence for a little bit the snow crunching under their boots as they trudged to the stable where they were supposed to meet Roy. He had better of had a damn good reason for asking them to come there they had lives to live too. It wasn't too much to ask that they be given a break every now and then they did a lot it had been a rough year for all of them.
Chris sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose "it's times like this I wish we could hand some of this stuff off on the girls. But at the same time I want them to have as normal lives as the possibly can. Since most of this stuff falls on us they won't ever be confined like we are." he rambled on.
"I know what you mean I want them to have everything that we can't have because of destiny but it would be nice if we could get a break just once in a while." Jake agreed with his cousin he would go to the ends of the earth to make sure that his sisters stayed safe but this whole destiny thing was getting old fast and they had only been at it a year. Their moms had done it for eight before they had gotten any kind of break.
"You two don't go all doom and gloom on us here it will get better. We had a few setbacks this year that has never stopped us before at least we didn't lose anyone. We will get over this we always do. Now cheer up before I kick your asses for dragging us down." Liz tried to get the two younger men to cheer up.
Wyatt shook his head "Lizzie Chris was just thinking the same thing I have been thinking for a while. We were so hard on the two of them I wouldn't be surprised if they never came back home. We didn't even take into account that they lost everything they have ever known and loved."
"We're Halliwells we never stray far from the flock they will be back driving us all crazy in no time. They saved my brother you guys know that he is one of the most important things in the world to me I never did get a chance to thank them for that. After Christmas is over we'll track them down and bring them home even if we have to drag them back against their will." Prue assured them.
They were soon at the stable where they were supposed to meet Roy. "Alright lets table this talk for later like we do everything else we have work to do now. We need to go into this with a clear head so that we don't lose anyone." Lilly advised she really was wise beyond her years she just didn't always act that way.
"Wow would you guys get a load of this." Parker said in wonderment when he walked into the stable. There were dozens of reindeer sure he had heard them talk about the animals when they were there before but seeing them made this all real for him.
Prue's eyes lit up she was like a kid in a candy store here there was so much for her to see. "This is so cool. What I would really like is to see them fly."
"Prue your childlike nature never ceases to amaze me." Troy was grinning and shaking his head at his best friend.
Henry walked over and put his hand out to one of the reindeer and let it sniff it before he attempted to pet it. He rubbed it on the head in soft strokes "Now I really wish the girls were here to see this. They don't believe us when we tell them about half the stuff we do."
Chris let a thin smile cross his lips despite what he was feeling on the inside "This reminds me of when we were kids and grandpa used to take us to those stables to see the horses." he was also petting one of the reindeer.
"O would have really liked this she loved Christmas as much as you and Hank do." Bianca said shaking her head sadly but she was smiling.
Roy had been watching them since they walked in he decided to let them have their moment it really looked like they needed it. "They really are beautiful animals aren't they ?" he asked making his presence known.
"Yeah they are." Roman replied he was just staring at the majestic animals.
"Alright Roy lets cut to the chase here what do you need with us ?" Calleigh asked all businesslike.
Roy sighed and let a deep frown come to his face "St Nick is missing no one has seen him since before I came to see you guys he just disappeared into thin air." he explained.
"You said that he had been really clumsy and losing things lately ?" Liz questioned double checking something he had told them earlier.
"Yes he fell down some steps the other day and he has been misplacing things that is not like him. I know that someone took him he would never just get up and walk away like this not this close to Christmas." Roy replied running his hand over his beard.
"That sounds a lot like trolls and fairies to me." Henry said stroking his chin his brown eyes were intense looking like they got when he was thinking about something. He arched an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side in true Paige fashion.
"I think you're right Hen there is no other explanation for this," Wyatt agreed "Roy what do you need from us ?" he asked turning to the head elf.
"I need you guys to stay here until you bring him back without some sort of authority this place will turn into utter chaos and I figured they would listen to you better than they would listen to me." Roy replied after giving it some thought.
"We're going to need some help on this one I think that it's time we trust the girls a little bit. There is no way we can do this all on our own." Jake suggested.
Chuck nodded his head "As much as I hate to agree with Cookie Dough he is right we need help on this one lets bring them in."
"We have no other choice Parks you and Cal go get the girls while we get things started here." Chris ordered.
Calleigh took Parker's hand "Ok we won't be long but I warn you Piper is not going to like this one bit." she said before she and Parker disappeared in a flash of green light.
"Tell us something we didn't already know Cal, ok Roy where do we start ?" Lilly asked.
Roy started walking away and gestured for them to follow him "First we're gonna go meet the family." he said as they started following him up the hill to the mansion that sat there.
"Remind me again why we are doing this ?" Carly asked as she watched her twin sister bounce their baby brother up and down in an effort to quiet his crying. As far as twins went the two couldn't have been more different they both had dark hair and brown eyes like their mother but that was where the similarities stopped. Carly was the more loud and outspoken of the two she liked to get into trouble. Patty on the other hand was quiet and reserved she didn't go out looking for trouble it would find them sooner or latter but she had inherited the Halliwell temper.
"Because once again our older siblings have gotten themselves drug into some sort of mess that they would rather the aunts didn't know about. So we had to watch the boys while they went on their little adventure meaning Mel is going to get no sleep at all before she has to go to work." Mel explained she was laying on the couch in her brothers' apartment in a vain attempt to get some rest.
"Yeah well they better be paying us for this because this is no walk in the park." Emily groused.
"I agree with my sister on this one they owe us big time." Ricky nodded his head in agreement while rolling his brown eyes the things he did for the love of his girlfriend. He had gotten looks somewhere in between Lilly and Chuck. While Emily and Roman could have been twins instead of him and Lilly who looked nothing alike.
"Don't worry I'm not doing this for free." Penny chimed in up until six months ago she had been the youngest Halliwell cousin at only sixteen now she fell somewhere in the middle not that she minded she had a vain hope it would get her older siblings and cousins off her case a little but she had no such luck.
"Penny you're not even doing anything I have Phil." Val corrected her baby sister as she was feeding her little brother. Jack was the only one sleeping.
Patty had just about given up on trying to get Alan to stop crying it was a lost cause she had tried everything she knew. The best she could guess he was either crying for their mom and dad or their big brother. "Ok it's someone else's turn with him this isn't working for me. I changed him and I fed him I don't know what else could be wrong." she handed him to Ricky who was the closest person to her at the time.
Ricky settled the infant in his arms and his crying stopped instantly "Maybe he just wanted a guy to hold him I think he misses Hank." he offered lamely to the look his girlfriend gave him.
"That is a man for you Charlie everything just comes so easy to them." Emily griped she wasn't feeling very kindly to anything male these days not since her boyfriend skipped town without a word a few months ago.
"Emily what is wrong ?" Mel asked sitting up on the couch so she could look at the girl sitting across the room from her.
Emily gave her a fake smile "Nothing is wrong Mel I am absolutely peachy keen." she said in a sickly sweet tone that wasn't typical of her.
"Em something is wrong you just sounded like Grams. That is not a good thing she hates men you and I on the other hand love them." Penny reminded her a worried tone in her voice her best friend never talked like that.
"I can't imagine why there would be anything wrong my boyfriend who told me I was worth being stuck in this time just got up without a word to me or anyone else and took off. Look I get it he lost a lot and then it didn't help that Chris was on his case but he could have stayed. Hell at the very least he could write and let me know that he is ok." Emily ranted on sarcastically rolling her eyes.
"Sweety Jack will come back probably a lot sooner than any of us think and when he does I swear he is going to answer to me for hurting you." Ricky promised his little sister.
"And that is after I get done with him he knows better he seems to be scared to death of me." Mel assured her. The two young men they were talking about were the adult versions of Jack and Alan they had gotten stuck in the past when they fixed their time line.
"I just wish I knew where we stood I like him a lot I would love for us to have something more but I can't talk to him if he isn't here for us to talk." Emily replied smiling just at the thought of him she loved the way his blue eyes danced when he was getting into mischief which was almost always.
"I'll tell you right now that the blond went along with anything the brunette told him to do so I will personally kick both their asses then I will kick Cole in the ass for not stopping them they listen to him." Patty listed off.
"You four do know that if they heard you they will never come back right ?" Val asked scrunching up her face in a question.
Penny would have thrown something at her sister had it not been for the fact she didn't want to hurt her little brother "Val put a sock in it of course they are coming back they are Halliwells we can't even stay mad at each other for long much less stay away from each other. Point in case is our sister and our three older male cousins share this apartment."
Thankfully for them since they didn't know how to change the subject Parker and Calleigh appeared in a flash of green light a moment later.
"Dimples there you are I haven't seen you all week." Penny yelled jumping into his arms.
Parker almost dropped her but he got a good hold on her "Hi Butterfly I'm glad that you're happy to see me."
"I guess they are never happy to see me and I do them all kinds of favors." Calleigh said mock pouting.
"I would be even happier to see you if you told me you had a hot single brother." Penny joked she was the only one without a boyfriend or a prospect of getting one.
"You know that I do and you know why I will not set you up with him he is a man whore and I don't know what you might catch from him." Calleigh protested she wasn't about to turn him loose on the Halliwell girls.
"So what are you guys doing here ?" Mel asked she knew she wasn't going to like the answer and she couldn't even see into the future like Penny and Val could.
"We need your help so someone else is going to have to watch the babies." Parker said ready for an explosion of either Mel or Patty's temper. They both set their jaws like they wanted to yell at him.
Calleigh was used to this Henry and Chris had the same temper that they did they all four had gotten it from Piper. She walked over to Val and held her arms out "Do you mind if I see Phil ?" she asked.
Val gratefully handed him to her "Hell no I don't mind you can burp him for me here is his burp rag." she gave it to Calleigh.
"Hi big boy I know that you are about to get mad but I won't take it personally I have met your big brother he gets cranky when we take his food away from him too." Calleigh was holding Phil up in her face and he was getting ready to cry.
"Who the hell are we supposed to get to watch the boys ? I'm not telling my mom why we can't watch anymore or why we were watching them in the first place." Mel asked she was not about to face the wrath of Piper for this.
"Relax I've got this one," Val assured her "Cole we need help here." she called out she knew that her mother and father both trusted him with their lives he had proven his loyalty to the Halliwell family.
Cole shimmered in a minute later an energy ball in his hand ready to vanquish any demon after his adopted family. "What is it is a demon after the kids ?" he asked in a panic.
Val chuckled when she saw him in his fighting stance "Calleigh give Phil to Cole we need to go since you insist on making us help." she said and Calleigh did what she asked her to.
"Well hello Phil it's nice to see you but your sister is crazy there is no way I can watch you and your two cousins all by myself." Cole cooed at the little boy and he smirked at Val. Who couldn't help but think there was no way this man had fathered her older brother Jake wasn't a thing like him thank God.
"Cole please we never ask you to do anything for us and you said we were the only family that you have and you would do anything we asked you to." Carly said sticking her bottom lip out giving him a puppy dog face.
"Oh alright but what am I supposed to tell your mothers ?" Cole asked resigned to his fate.
"Tell them that we went to the north pole to help out their retarded older children and we don't know when we will be back." Penny offered off hand.
"And tell me again how you made it to sixteen with that mouth ?" Cole asked her a smirk on his face.
"Because Aunt Phoebe is her mom and not Aunt Piper who has grounded her more times than her own mother." Patty answered it was a known fact that Phoebe was the easy parent.
"So you'll remember to tell them right ?" Ricky asked hopefully he wasn't going to stick around to see how they reacted he was going with them. He handed Alan over to Cole as well.
Cole sighed "Yes I will tell them but I want you all to know how unfair this all is I shouldn't have to face the wrath of Piper while you get off free and clear."
"Don't worry we'll have to face the music when we get back Aunt Piper will have all our asses rest assured on that one Cole." Emily assured him they were all in deep shit this time there were no two ways about it.
"Ok then Jack is sleeping in the playpen, Phil is in the middle of eating, and Alan is fussy good luck with them. And tell them we had no other choice." Mel instructed him kissing him on the cheek. She grabbed Patty's hand so she could orb them it was not fair that all her brothers could orb but she couldn't.
Carly smirked at Cole really they were both two peas in a pod with their smart ass comments "Bye, bye Al be good for Uncle Cole he is doing the best he knows how."
"I don't need instructions I have watched them for your mothers before they owe me one and now your older siblings do too I will collect and it won't be pretty what I make them do. I know that it has to do with my paper work at the office though." Cole assured them they were in good hands with him. He would give his life for any of the Halliwells but he was invincible so he didn't have to worry about that. He would protect those boys though he was their magical godfather the girls did it to show that they trusted him and for how he helped them out with everything that went down.
"Yeah we know but we have to tell you just to be sure we even get told thanks Cole." Penny gave him a wave before they all orbed out.
Cole looked at each child in his arms "Don't look at me they're your sisters your mommies are going to kill Uncle Cole and he didn't even do anything. Except of course not bring big Jack and big Al back but a guy can only do so much. Lets call your daddies the longer we put this off the more trouble we will be in. Remember boys it is always better to tell the truth."
The eleven remaining friends were at the moment sitting in the middle of a large living room with a tree that made the one in their apartment look like a seedling. The sweet aroma of cookies and cakes was wafting on the air tinsel and garland hung from the rafters of the high vaulted ceilings throughout the house. The gang were all either seated on a plush couch or plush arm chairs that decorated the living room.
Across from them sat a middle aged woman with two teenage children on either side of her. One a dark headed boy of about seventeen he had sparkling brown eyes and a pretty good tan considering he lived at the north pole.
The other was a girl of about eighteen her hair was light brown in color and her eyes were an enchanting blue it was almost enough to make Troy forget that he had a girlfriend. Almost but not quite he was brought back to reality when he saw the hard stare Prue was giving him if he ever hurt her sister he would have her to answer to.
"Mrs Claus do you know of anyone who would want to hurt your husband ?" Chris asked it was a standard cop question he would ask if this was a missing persons case. He wanted to make sure he had all his bases covered he had things to deal with back home.
"No my dad is Santa Claus for crying out loud everyone loves him. No one would want to hurt him or see him gone that was a stupid question." the young man answered for his mother his name was Blake.
Henry turned and shared a look with Chris they were being allowed to take point on this since it was what they did for a living they had a better chance of finding him that way than they did any other way at the moment. "We weren't suggesting that it was just something that we had to ask to give us an idea of who might have taken him." Henry explained the reason for all the questions he made a mental note of the young man's defensive posture.
"Are we done here for right now or are you going to subject us to more torture when you should be out trying to find my dad ?" Blake shot back hotly there was definitely something going on with him. His pupils were dilated and he was sweating.
"Yeah we're done here we will just go out else where and continue our search. Thank you for your time if you think of anything else just tell Roy you need to see us I have a feeling that we are going to be here a while." Chris said making his cousin back down he knew what he was thinking without using his telepathy because he was thinking the same thing something was off about that kid.
"Roy could you come in here please ?" Mrs Claus called to him and he came right away.
"What did you need Mrs C ?" Roy asked it was his aim to do whatever he could to make this easier on her.
"See that they have whatever they need to bring Nick back in time for Christmas." Mrs Claus told him.
"Will do ma'am." Roy said nodding his head in acceptance of that order. "You guys know the drill follow me." the eleven got up and began to follow him out the door to where ever he was taking them this time.
Wyatt paused to give the daughter Sara an encouraging smile on the way out "Don't worry we'll bring your dad back home. It won't take us long we know what we're doing." he assured her.
"Thank you so much for helping." Sara gushed she just wanted her father back home where he belonged.
"No problem it is what we do," Liz informed her grabbing her boyfriend by the elbow " come on Wy we wouldn't want Roy to get Cranky because he had to wait on us."
Roy led them back out to the stables where he had an envelope in his hand for each of them. "Blake is such a lovely kid isn't he ?" he asked sarcastically.
"Yeah and I have a grandmother that could be said about too that woman is as much fun as a bag full of rattlesnakes." Henry rolled his eyes that kid had done something and he knew it he just didn't know what that something was.
"Cool it Hank I know that you think something is off but don't push it just yet." Chris ordered him he never knew when to back down it wasn't a bad thing it just wasn't going to work here.
Just then Calleigh and Parker orbed back in with the girls and Ricky in tow. "Wow this is so cool !" Penny exclaimed when she saw they were in the stable with real live reindeer.
"Let me guess she is twelve." Roy said rolling his eyes at the young woman.
"No worse she is sixteen almost seventeen don't pay her any attention." Jake said smiling sweetly at his baby sister.
"Want to explain to me just what the hell is going on here ?" Mel asked as usual her and her gang were not dressed for the occasion and it was more than a little cold.
"Don't tell me I know this one Piper is your mother she has to be." Roy guessed giving the young witch a charming smile.
"It's pretty obvious she didn't get that temper from just anywhere not to mention she looks like mom." Wyatt cracked she was going to kill him before the day was out the look she gave him told him that much.
"Mel listen we'll explain later just listen for right now." Roman said trying to sooth his girlfriend who went to him and allowed him to slip his arm around her.
"Roy quick while we still have their attention what is with the envelopes ?" Troy asked before the girls could get off on another topic they were known for that even more so than the thirteen were.
"In these envelopes I have your job assignments all of you will be overseeing a different area. And before you say anything to me I didn't pick these jobs they were picked for you magically." Roy explained handing them each an envelope.
Wyatt tore into his first "This is nice I got chief north pole medic." he said that wasn't much of a change for him he was studying to be a doctor.
Troy opened his next and a smile came to his face "this is going to be sweet I got research and development for toys."
"Hmm of course I got special events photographer." Liz mused
"Family security detail that should be a barrel of fun." Chuck frowned when he opened his envelope.
Chris went next "Someone needs to stop poking fun at the fact I'm a cop but I like it the chief of north pole police." he grinned he could work with this.
"Nice we get no respect I got head of special investigations." Henry said he was glad he already had ideas about what to do.
"High school teacher of course I get no breaks around this place." Bianca frowned she got enough of that back home.
"Human resources lets pick on the social worker here I really like that." Prue groused she would have to find something to bitch about even if it had been what she wanted.
"At least you didn't get the legal department I swear I have changed my mind about wanting to be a lawyer." Jake shook his head he wasn't even sure what he had to do here.
"Oh yea I get to be a writer for the north pole news paper." Lilly said giddy with excitement.
"Sweet head pastry chef I can cook anything that is edible." Roman bragged a smug look on his face.
Parker had to laugh when he opened his "head bartender I didn't even know that the north pole had bars." it wasn't the kind of bar he was thinking of.
Calleigh opened was the last out of the thirteen to open hers "north pole events planner I like it finally I get some control over something."
Mel hung her head when she opened her envelope "I just can't get away from work I'm with Hank in special investigations."
Val and Carly both switched papers and smiled at each other they had the same thing "north pole stylists I like it." Carly smirked.
"Me too." Val agreed the two of them might never go home.
"Chief mechanic slash stable boy life is just not fair." Ricky said but it could have been worse he could have been a waiter.
"Naughty and nice list checker that sounds like so much fun I'm going to die from paper cuts." Patty complained outside of Chris she was the only one anal enough to make sure it got done right.
"Don't be so dramatic Charlie they stuck me in the mail room." Emily replied.
"Me too Em at least we will be together here." Penny said bumping knuckles with her best friend.
"Well now that you guys know what you're going to be doing come on and let me show you around I have a feeling you're going to be here for a few days but that is just a little guess of mine." Roy gave them all a big smile and piled them into the back of a mail van to take them down to the factory.
"Cole Turner you let my baby go where ?" Piper questioned cole incredulously she couldn't believe he hadn't at least tried to stop them
Cole put up his hands in a sign of self defense "Piper I didn't let her do anything she told me what she was doing I wasn't about to argue with her she would have blown me up."
"I can't believe the older five didn't tell us they were leaving." Paige said she was in shock they normally kept her in the loop when things like this were going on.
" I can't imagine why they would want to miss this fun I am going through right now and I didn't even do anything." Cole pouted and Prue who he was sitting next to smacked him on the chest.
"They at least should have told Andy he is their whitelighter not that anyone would know that for all that they keep from him." Prue looked pointedly at Andy who should have been keeping a closer eye on his charges.
"Only three of them are my charges and they can all block themselves from being sensed a couple of them are Kyle's charges not to mention I do believe that Paige and Parker are your charges. Paige is right here but where is Park ?" Andy replied to his wife.
"Parker is at the north pole I know where he is he doesn't block me." Prue smirked at her husband she got him on that one.
"Piper sweety you need to calm down the kids are fine I'm sure that they are just working on something for Santa they will be fine and they will come home when they are done I'm sure that it won't take them long." Leo assured her more surely than he felt.
"Piper it's not like they can get into any trouble we have to trust that they know what they are doing. And if they do get into a bind I know four women and one former source of all evil who are going to go bail them out." Phoebe said looking pointedly at Cole who grinned sheepishly at them.
"No I know two whitelighters, a cop, and a Cupid who will help get them out of a bind Uncle Cole is going to have to watch the kids if anything goes wrong." Henry smirked at Cole.
"No joke we didn't make him the magical godfather for nothing that is what he is here for." Coop agreed. Cole could only shake his head he knew that he was going to be in trouble for this one.
Five days had passed since the gang had landed at the north pole it was the day before Christmas Eve and they still had no clue where Santa was. Henry and Mel had tracked down every lead they had got but it was still no help at all. Chris he also got into it by doing everything he knew.
Everyone had checked out who they were working with but they still had no promising suspects. They had well decided that it was time for them to try a little bit of trickery they had no other choice in the matter.
It didn't make their job any easier that Piper had someone orb her up there every few hours to make sure they were all doing ok. She was going to be severely pissed off if they didn't make it home for Christmas Eve she wanted them all to be there.
Right now Mel and Henry were both trying out their luck with Santa's kids they had decided that Mel would take Blake and Henry would take Sara.
"Blake just for the record where were you around the time that your dad disappeared ?" Mel asked him her note pad out and at the ready.
Blake gave her a slow sexy grin thinking he would be able to play her that way "I was probably out that day with some friends of mine playing hockey. Yeah as a matter of fact I was now that I think about it."
Mel was not phased by his smile she had a boyfriend "Who were these friends ?" she went on not about to let him think he was playing her for a fool.
"They were friends from school." Blake answered not going into much more detail than that he was hiding something and they couldn't figure out what it was. But Mel knew that he was lying the last time he had been asked that question he had given a different answer.
"How do you and your dad get along ? I have to ask this question don't take it personally." Mel smiled at him she knew that she had an effect on men and she wasn't ashamed to use that to her advantage.
Blake stiffened a little at this question "Like I've said before everyone loves my dad there is no reason that I know of that anyone would want to hurt him."
Mel's ears perked up at what he was saying never once did he say I love my dad he mentioned everyone else. He had done something she just didn't know what it was that he had done. "Ok I think we're finished here just let me go see how my partner is coming with your sister." she smiled at him as she got up and walked over to the next room where Henry was with Sara.
Henry was right in the middle of questioning her when Mel walked into the room he smiled at Sara who was being cooperative telling him everything she knew which wasn't much. "Henry Blake knows something about what happened I'm telling you he does. See what she knows." Mel's voice filtered in his head.
"Sara if your brother was going to hide something or go off somewhere to think where would he go ?" Henry asked staring into her eyes to see if she was telling him the truth.
"If Blake isn't down at the hockey rink he might have been in the mountains on the south side. He goes there a lot when he needs to think. He says it is the closest he gets to being normal for just a little while." Sara answered truthfully and Henry was sure of it.
"Thank you for your time we are done here now you can go meet your brother outside if you want." Henry said smiling at her again he was trying to build trust.
Sara got up to go "For the record if my brother did anything I didn't know about it. He really is a good kid he just wants to be normal sometimes."
"We can relate to that but sometimes normal is what you make it." Mel said she sounded just like a whitelighter when she said that. It was a side effect of her being Leo's daughter.
Henry waited until Sara was gone before he spoke "Ok so what is up ? I know that look in your eyes you just found something out."
Mel broke out in a wide grin "You bet I did he slipped up lets go get Peanut I have a feeling that this is going to be a long night but we will find him. And I know just where to start looking."
"This had better be good I swear if the three cops in this family think that I'm happy about being woke up at seven in the morning on Christmas Eve they have another thing coming to them." Bianca grumbled the next morning when she had been roused from her sleep.
"With those three trust me this is a good thing. They know what they are doing." Wyatt said putting his blind faith in his younger siblings and his younger cousin.
Prue looked around the office they were standing in "Where is Penny ?" she asked looking to Jake for the answer she was his responsibility. He just shrugged in answer to her question.
"Mel came and got her she said she needed her help I am left to wonder what for this is Penny we are talking about. She is the only person I know who gets in as much trouble as I do." Emily offered a thought that didn't comfort anyone.
"Don't remind us Em." Chuck shook his head.
"Well I think I can help you with what is going on." a voice behind them said. They all turned to see that Santa had been found.
"Santa they found you." Carly said excitedly.
"Yes they did and if you will just look right at this screen over here you will figure out how they found me." Santa replied he looked fine he was no worse for the ware he just looked tired and it would be a long time before he got to get any rest.
They all turned their attention to the screen and they saw Penny walking with Blake out around the stables.
"Well that explains where Butterfly went." Calleigh offered dryly.
Out at the stables Penny was walking arm and arm with Blake she looked up at him with her dark brown eyes and batted her eyelashes at him. "So Blake it must be really cool living here like this all the time." she tried to strike up a conversation.
Blake looked down at her "It's alright I mean sometimes I would like to know what is was like to be normal." he mused.
"Blake I can't help you with normal I'm not normal but sometimes normal isn't all that great." Penny said wisely.
"But I bet you that your dad always has time for you and isn't too busy with everyone else to know that you exist." Blake warmed to the subject.
Penny scoffed at him "My dad is a cupid he is off at all hours of the night helping people all over the world find love. But he is never too busy for me, my brothers, and sisters. I know what it's like to want to be anyone other than who you are. It's not easy having these powers that you can't tell anyone about and never knowing when some demon is going to attack and try to kill you. I would trade places with you if I could."
"You wouldn't want to do that nothing is so great about a man who has time for every child in the world but his own. I can't begin to count the number of my hockey games he has missed because he has been too busy down in that factory of his." Blake groused he felt that his dad didn't pay enough attention to him.
Penny could feel everything that he was feeling out of her siblings and Wyatt she was the best at being an empath. "Do you ever tell your dad how you feel ?" she asked being an empath she knew what keeping feelings bottled up could do to you. And she was getting a lot of anger and resentment off of Blake.
It was Blake's turn to scoff "No that would mean that he had a minute to listen to what I had to say with more than passing interest."
"Sometimes you have to make people listen to you trust me I know. Keeping your feelings all bottled up inside is not good for you. You have to let it all out sometimes." Penny replied she felt like she was getting through to him.
"Penny I feel like I can tell you anything so I'm going to tell you a little secret," Blake said and Penny smiled encouragingly at him. "I know what happened to my dad me and some of my friends took him to the other side of town and we kept him there. I thought that if just maybe I could make him forget about all of this then he would have more time for me."
"And what about the demon ?" Ricky asked walking out of the stable where he had been the whole time listening. Chris and Henry thought he would come clean to people his own age who didn't have a badge.
"That was me too I just wanted him to spend some time with me I didn't know what else to do." Blake admitted.
"The trolls and fairies were you too I guess." Ricky replied.
Blake nodded his head "Yeah they were I'm really sorry I never meant for it to go this far."
Mel, Chris, and Henry came walking out of the stable "Blake it's fixed now but you need to tell your dad how you really feel. Trust us it will make you feel better. We know when we're not straight with each other our powers go all out of control." Mel offered the girl really should have been born a whitelighter.
"But how to I get him to listen to me now ?" Blake asked ashamed of the actions that he had taken.
"Just talk to him and tell him that you need him to listen you have something you have to say. He will listen parents are funny that way they want to know everything that is wrong with us. If we hurt they hurt." Henry spoke repeating what he had been told hundreds of times when he was grieving over his wife.
Chris put a hand on the boy's shoulder "come on lets go take you to see your dad." he said leading him down the hill.
Santa was very grateful to the Halliwells for helping him out if it hadn't been for them there was no way he would have been able to do the job he was now preparing to do. He was loading up his sleigh he had to admit that they hadn't let anything fall by the wayside while he was away. They had done a great job of keeping things in working order. When he had put the last package in his sleigh he turned over his shoulder and called "You ready to go ?"
Blake broke out into a wide grin he was dressed in a Santa suit just like his dad it had taken some doing but Val and Carly had managed to make one in his size before they left. "Yeah I'm ready dad. Lets go deliver some toys to some kids." he said excitedly this was the first time that he had been allowed to tag along. He climbed in the sleigh along with his father.
Santa handed his son the reigns "Lead us on Blake the boys know what to do."
Roy was in the back of the sleigh with a crash helmet on "Blake the boys do the work but I swear if you make us crash I will be a very unhappy elf."
Blake looked over his shoulder and laughed "Roy you're always a very unhappy elf that is nothing new for you." he pointed out.
Early on Christmas morning the Halliwell cousins were gathered around their Christmas tree with the rest of the thirteen. They did Christmas together first before going to their childhood homes.
Chuck saw this as the only opening he was going to get so he took it "Prue I need you to stand up a minute because I have to give you this present right now." he said.
Prue stood up in her purple pajama pants and her tank top "Ok Chuck I'm standing now what ?" she asked she was giddy with excitement.
Chuck smiled at her "I have been trying to do this for a while and this is the only chance I have got with everything that has been going on." he answered.
"Chuck cut to the chase already while we're still young here." Wyatt yelled at his friend a grin on his face.
Chuck mock bowed at Wyatt then he pulled the ring box out of his pocket "Prudence Elizabeth Halliwell you are not an easy woman to propose to I have tried this ten times. But I love you with all of my heart any way. So I am asking you here and now in front of everyone we love. Will you marry me ?" he asked getting down on one knee he opened up the ring box and slipped the ring on her finger.
Prue was at a lose for words at the moment this was the last thing that she had expected tears clung to her thick dark eyelashes she didn't trust herself to speak so she nodded her head "Of course it's yes Charles Derek Bradford I love you with everything that I am. I want nothing more than to marry you." she answered him he got up off his knee and kissed her. Everyone in the room clapped in approval.
"Alright I don't know how I am supposed to top that now but lets get on with this. We all have other places to be in like an hour." Chris joked and Prue rolled her eyes at him.
"Mel I don't understand what you are making me close my eyes for." Piper groused to her daughter who had made her close her eyes and cover them up so she couldn't see what was going on.
"Mom I think that is so she can give you your present." Chris offered his mother who sighed in frustration at him.
"Sherlock Holmes I would have never guessed that one I'm glad you did." Jake shot at his cousin they were now in the middle of doing their huge Halliwell Christmas.
"Well why did I have to close my eyes ?" Paige asked.
"Because mom Mel and I both worked extra hard on this." Patty informed her mother.
"Alright Cole you can come in now." Mel called to him. Cole walked in the room a moment later followed by two young men one had blond hair and blue eyes he looked like Leo. The other resembled Henry Sr with his dark hair and blue eyes.
Mel stood the one who looked like Leo in front of Piper and Patty stood the one who looked like Henry in front of Paige. "Ok you can both open your eyes now." Patty said.
Piper open her eyes and came face to face with the adult version of her infant son "Jack your home." she threw her arms around his neck.
"Hi mom I'm sorry that I stayed gone so long." Jack replied hugging his mom back.
"Alan ?" Paige asked barely above a whisper and her son nodded his head.
"I'm home now for good." Alan said hugging his mother.
"How did you guys get back ?" Leo asked.
"We had no choice in the matter you try fighting Uncle Cole, Mel, and Charlie when their minds are made up." Jack informed his father.
"Uncle Cole is leaving now before he gets into anymore trouble." Cole said preparing to shimmer out.
"Benjamin Coleridge Turner Jr you are not going anywhere you are family besides your God Children got something for you. Now you hold Phil for a second." Phoebe ordered him sitting him down on the couch by Coop.
"I wouldn't argue with her if I were you Cole she means it." Coop offered his wife's exhusband who was oddly enough his friend.
"Here Cole this is from Alan, Jack, Phil, Joe, and Ally." Phoebe said handing him a present.
Cole opened it to see a picture frame it had a picture of him laying in the floor of his sleeping while he was supposed to be watching all five kids. They were propped up on their elbows on his side. "Thank you how did you guys get this ?" he asked getting choked up.
Prue and Jake raised their hands "Prue made me brake into your apartment so we could take that she is an evil genius I only do as I am told." Jake defended himself.
A swirl of golden orbs appeared in the living room it was Grams and Patty. "Mom, Grams what are you guys doing here ?" Parker asked.
"Santa thought that you guys could use a little more company this is his way of saying thank you." Grams explained.
"Oh this is just great I can't have my favorite day out of the year without someone summoning Grams." Hank groaned but he was smiling. The Halliwells might not a have been a conventional family but they sure had a lot of love to give.
-End-
Guest Starring:
Piper Halliwell- Holly Marie Combs
Phoebe Halliwell- Alyssa Milano
Paige Matthews- Prue Halliwell
Prue Halliwell- Shannon Doherty
Leo Wyatt- Brain Krause
Henry Mitchell- Ivan Sergei
Coop Valintine- Victor Webster
Andy Trudeau- T.W. King
Jack Halliwell- Jensen Ackles
Alan Halliwell- Chris Pine
Cole Turner- Julian McMahon
Penny Halliwell- Jennifer Rhodes
Patty Halliwell- Finola Hughes
And
Santa- Joe Pesci
A/N: Here is the last installment I hope you enjoyed it Merry Christmas. Until next time please review.