It was probably the fifth time today that Jade heard "Jingle Bells" playing at Maggie's Diner. The fact that it wasn't even close to closing time and she would be working all day made her scared for her sanity. She wasn't sure how many more times she could take it before she would finally snap. Who even had come up with this playlist? Lou? Jen? Why had no one consulted her? After all, she was the spokesperson for the open mic nights they held at Maggie's every now and then. Because if they had consulted her, she would have let them know that there were other songs out there for this holiday season-and most of them were less annoying as well.

The only comfort Jade was able to find at this point was that after today, she probably wouldn't hear the song again for the next ten months until the radio stations and shops decided that it was time to bring back Christmas in the middle of October, and at least listening to "Jingle Bells" over five times in a row meant that she was working on Christmas Eve and that meant she would make few extra bucks.

"So, how do I look?" Mitch asked Jade as they were at the back of the tack section, getting him ready to face the kids in a Santa costume. He made few poses, clearly loving his new figure that included, among other things, a pillow tucked under the red, fuzzy coat.

"Your beard is all wrong," Jade said, pulling it over his face from under his chin. The elastic band snapped against Mitch's face when Jade made sure the beard was positioned right. "You can't just let the kids see your face and expect them to believe you're the real Santa. They know these things."

"I know, but it keeps driving me crazy if I pull it over my mouth!" Mitch said, sighing. The beard moved along with the movements of his jaw and made his speech slurry. "I can't even speak properly. Besides, it's only a matter of time before one of the kids realizes that they can pull this thing-that'll screw it all up. I was just thinking ahead," he tried, but Jade could see right through him.

"Tough luck," Jade said, making last checks before the man would be good to go and meet the kids on the other side of the diner. "You agreed to do this, so do it properly. I mean, the kids are the least of your concerns; you not only have Lou to face now but Jen as well. And when those two put their heads together, everything has to be PER-fect."

She rolled her eyes, knowing all about how the new Maggie's manager was almost like Lou's clone when it came to arranging everything. Lou and Jen had found this strange sisterhood from doing things the same way-the only way: perfectly.

Mitch sighed. "You're right." He had to give it to Jade, pulling himself together. "Besides, what wouldn't we do to make kids happy?" he said, but Jade knew almost for sure that Mitch wasn't doing this for the kids.

She wasn't sure what was going on with Lou and Mitch-one minute they were on; the next they were off-but one thing she did know was that Mitch was still not over Lou and that was probably the only reason he agreed to do this Santa thing in the first place: to be close to her and maybe even impress her a little. Why else would someone in their right mind even volunteer to do this?

"Right. Or to make money." Jade expressed her side of things and gave Mitch a little shove so he would go out there and face the situation.

The diner side was full of kids due to an event Jen had organized for charity. Since her arrival to Hudson and to Maggie's, the diner had been having all sorts of events almost weekly, and while that was exciting to Jade in a way-it brought that nice little buzz along to this half-dead little town-she figured it was somewhat Jen's way to make up for the emptiness her husband's passing earlier this year had brought with it. Organizing seemed to make her happy, so Jade figured that it was what people should allow her to do, as it wasn't as harmful as some other ways to deal with a loss.

At the door, Jen was welcoming the kids and their parents to the first ever "Maggie's Gingerbread House Work Shop." The idea was to have kids come in, build their own version of the gingerbread house provided by Maggie's, and at the same time give parents time to just relax and meet other parents from the area. In return, Jen had figured the kids could bring toys they didn't need anymore that would then be given to a children's hospital during this holiday season.

So far, things seemed to be going well. The place was almost packed, and Jen's own son, Brick, was there with Lou's daughter, Katie, helping other kids with whatever needs they had. It seemed like it was in their blood to help other people as well.

To Jen, Katie had been the secret weapon that Brick had needed to open up to the world again after his father's death. Jen couldn't have been happier to be here-despite the unfortunate circumstances-as it seemed Hudson was just the place to be to help her and her two sons to form new traditions that didn't have painful memories attached to them. They would never forget Curtis, of course, but it would've just been too much to stay where they'd lived and celebrate Christmas with just the three of them. Starting over on some level had felt like the best thing to do, even though it was still going to be their first Christmas without Curtis and nothing could ever fully make them feel okay about it.

"Thank you for coming. Feel free to sit wherever you want," Jen said to the parents and a kid coming in after they had given her a stuffed bunny toy. "Everything you need to build a gingerbread house is on the table, and the counter and the tables at the back are for parents to sit and enjoy a hot cup of cocoa. And Merry Christmas to you all!" She gave them her warmest smile.

"Merry Christmas," the family replied.

Lou walked over to Jen now that Jade was done with Mitch and had taken over the counter. The owner of the diner was impressed with the work Jen had done with organizing this event while she had mostly been in New York getting the new Maggie's diner open.

"Wow, so many people," Lou admired, a glimmer in her eyes. "I have to be honest with you, and I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but I didn't expect the turn-out to be this good, especially on Christmas Eve. I thought people would be going crazy at home with the cleaning and cooking. I'm very impressed."

"Maybe that's why they're here?" Jen suggested, glancing at her boss. "Maybe they need a break from all that? I mean, maybe it's just me, but I'd rather have peaceful time and not stress about things when Christmas should be all about spending the time with your loved ones."

Lou could hear Jen's voice crack a little, but the widow put up a brave front. Lou looked at her sympathetically and could see that Jen was so focused on holding it together that she was almost trembling. Lou had to ask if it was too much for her.

"Are you sure you want to be here? I mean, you could go and be with Casey and the boys; we'll be fine here," Lou offered, putting her hand on Jen's shoulder as a comforting gesture.

"No, it's fine," Jen protested. "Besides, Casey's somewhere with Tim, and Wyatt said he was okay being at Heartland with Georgie. I feel like the best thing to do right now is to let him do whatever feels comfortable for him. And look at Brick; he's having a blast," she said, tears forming in her eyes as she witnessed her son teaching other kids how to "glue" candy on top of the roof. "I'm right where I'm supposed to be," Jen concluded. "But thanks, Lou. I appreciate it."

"Okay... if you're sure," Lou said, smiling weakly. Even though she could see that her friend was hurting, at the same time she believed in what she was saying; it seemed like Jen was really in her element here, organizing and entertaining people. How could she take that opportunity away from her? She couldn't.

Lou knew that first Christmases without a family member there were hardest. She had once gone through a Christmas without her dad after he'd been kicked out of the house; then without her grandmother, who had passed; and eventually without her own mother, who they'd lost in an accident over ten years ago. It wasn't as if they'd lost Peter as well, but being divorced made things a little different too. Lou no longer felt the magic of Christmas like she used to, but she was glad to have her own kids, who were somehow able to revive some of the happiness she too had once felt about the family holiday.

Lou returned to the counter to make sure Jade was doing okay, but she let her eyes slip and suddenly she was just standing there, staring at Mitch Cutty in the corner, sitting on his Christmas-y throne with kids on his lap and listening to the list of things they wanted for Christmas. The sight made her smile. It had been nice of Mitch to offer to be the Santa after the previous one had bailed out because he'd driven his car off the road last night from being under the influence. Lou hadn't wanted to risk it with a hung-over Santa, so she'd needed a replacement as soon as possible. The only problem was that most rental Santas were no longer available at this point, so she'd had to ask people from her immediate circle.

Mitch had been the only one available.

"Lou." Jade's blunt voice pulled her back from her thoughts as she stepped in front of her and blocked her view.

"I was just making sure the kids aren't scared of Mitch." Lou answered a question no one had even asked. But she didn't want to get caught daydreaming about the guy who she was supposed to be over by now. "Because some kids don't like Santa Claus..."

"Yeah, whatever." Jade didn't really care about whatever Lou was talking about. "I just wanted to say that if I'm going to be working all day here, I need to insist on becoming a part-time DJ. I can't hear another version of 'Jingle Bells' without kicking something!"

"Yeah, sure-fine, whatever. I didn't have time to come up with a good playlist anyway, so I just figured I'd choose one that's already been made by someone," Lou replied and gestured toward the stereo system. "The laptop's over there; help yourself."

"Thanks. I let you get back to your daydreaming now." Jade said her snide remark and made Lou blush.

She sure hope Jade was the only one who'd witnessing her thinking about the guy under the Santa suit...