Title: Kerry's Surprising Christmas Adventure

Pairing: It's a surprise (at least until you read the Spoiler notice). It does include Kerry though.

Spoilers: None for ER. Takes place X-mas 2009 after the end of the series. (About Eight months after the end of the series). But, if you haven't seen Santa Clause 2 and 3 (The Mrs. Clause and the Escape Clause respectively) then you'll either be lost, or you'll be spoiled. :) Though, I do sorta change the ending.

Disclaimers: I own none of these characters. Though some of 'em I made up. And though at some point I want to make money writing, not writing fanfiction.

December 23rd, 2009

"Mama, what if Santa doesn't find me. We moved again, and, what if he doesn't know yet, or, or, what if..."

Kerry wrapped her arms around her only son and hugged him close as the wind outside whipped through the city. It had been a few years since Kerry or Henry had been through a Christmas that really, really included snow. "Hey, hey bud, he's Santa right?"

Henry nodded and then looked up at his Mom again, "Do you believe in Santa Mama?"

The question caused Kerry to fall silent. She tried to never lie to her son. But he was only five, almost six, and he still seemed to believe. Kids got to only be kids for so little time in the current world. "Hey, wasn't I there when you sat on Santa's lap?"

Henry made a face, "That's not really him. Duh Mama. He's a... a..."

"Surrogate." Henry frowned at the unfamiliar word and Kerry rephrased, "A stand in."

Henry nodded, "Yes Mama. Real Santa's too busy up at the North Pole to see kids and, and... you don't hafta tell him what you want like Mall Santa, he just knows. That's how you know it's really Santa."

"Oh?"

Henry nodded, "Yes. And you didn't say if you believed Mama."

Kerry smiled and stood with Henry still in her arms. She tickled his stomach and he laughed, "You are correct my, getting heavier every day, son. Now it's time for you to dream of sugar plums."

"Mama.. is only the twenty third night. Sugar plums are Christmas Eve, tomorrow night."

Kerry nodded, seriously, "Of course Henry. Sleep well kiddo."

Henry yawned, "Love you Mama."

"I love you too Henry."

Kerry was almost at the door when Henry spoke again, "I know what I want for Christmas Mama."

Kerry shut off his light, "Well, if you think about it really hard as you go to sleep, maybe you'll get it."

"Night Mama."

"Night Henry." She closed the door most of the way and made her way back into the living room and sat down heavily on the couch and put her head in her hands. She had a pretty good idea what Henry wanted for Christmas and it had nothing to do with Toys or things at all.

Nanna and Poppa Lopez's deaths were taking their toll on him, even if he couldn't verbalize it. When Guillermo had died unexpectedly Kerry and Henry had moved back to Chicago. Unfortunately at the same point Courtney had gotten an offer from a New York station, an offer that didn't include Kerry. Kerry and Courtney had gone their separate ways.

It had only been a few weeks after they'd arrived in Chicago when Florina had also died. That had been a month ago. The Doctors had said that she literally died of a broken heart. Part of Kerry's brain understood that, the other bristled because it felt like if she didn't get to give up when Sandy died, why should other people get to give up when their love died.

Kerry sighed and stood from the couch. She had to keep moving, it was how she had always been. Before Henry, before Sandy, even before County General. She had to clean the dinner dishes, then she needed to wrap some presents. She yawned and resisted the urge to leave it for the next day. It was getting too close to Christmas to do that, and she'd never liked having to wrap all her presents on Christmas Eve.

"We're going to wind up having to do everything on Christmas Eve Curtis."

Curtis the Arch-Elf shook his head, "No Sa... Carol. No, everything's on schedule exactly." Curtis jerked forward as something hit him in the legs. He looked down. He was one of the taller elves as well as being the Head Elf so he could still look down at SJ Claus. "SJ."

"Cur..." He quickly lost interest in the Arch-Elf. Toddled over to his Mom and held his hands up, "Up, Mommy?"

Carol smiled and handed the toy she was holding to Curtis. She picked up her son with a look of happiness and relaxation. "Did you escape from school again buddy?"

A young woman elf came rushing up to Curtis, panicked, "Curtis, Curtis, we los... we can't find..." She trailed off as she looked over Curtis' shoulder. "Oh, Santa, we thought..."

Carol winced at the name, even after three years of being Santa it didn't sound right for someone to call her that. She'd tried to convince everyone at the North Pole to call her Carol, or even to call her ma'am, though she didn't like that too much better, but it was a losing battle. "I'll bring him back to the school in a couple of minutes Moira. Okay?"

Moira nodded, "Of course ma'am. Of course."

Moira went off and Carol started towards the big toy workshop that sat in the middle of the North Pole. "Are my parents here yet Curtis?"

"No, no... nearly though. But there was a storm."

Carol raised an eyebrow at her Arch-Elf, "It's winter in the Northern Hemisphere, there's always a storm somewhere. And Charlie, Laura, Lucy, Neil?"

"They decided not to come this year."

"Oh..." Carol shook her head, "Of course. And Dasher's all ready for tonight? My short trip?"

Curtis nodded, "Yes, yes..."

Carol shook her head again and put SJ on the floor. She got down on one knee next to him. "Now, you'll be good for your Grandma and Grandpa tomorrow until I get back? I won't be gone long."

SJ's bottom lip quivered. "Promise not long?"

Carol kissed her son's forehead, "Promise. Can't miss Christmas can I? Now, try to pay attention to what Moira says, and do not leave until she tells you that you may young man. Okay?"

SJ nodded and dashed off. Carol called after him. "I love you Scottie." She sighed and stood, "Why am I not somewhere with my son in the continental United States, preferably where it's warm, and you're doing all this yourself Curtis?"

Curtis shook his head, "Only a human can wear the Coat."

"And why am I trying to find a wife again?"

Curtis bristled, "Because it is the Mrs. Clause, and unlike Bernard I am not a procrastinator. I mean, we can try again to get it changed by the big guy. The Council of Legendary Figures said that they'd back you again. Changed to the Mr. Clause instead of the Mrs. Clause."

Carol sighed as they got to her living quarters. "No, you know that the female part is not the problem Curtis."

"Ah, yes, that was, quite a surprise to us Elves."

Carol looked at Curtis groaned, "Males of all kinds. One brain. And then Bernard even coming out of his forced retirement to give me grief and claim that I didn't love Scott too."

Curtis put up his hands, "We were all surprised when..." He shook his head and backed up, "I need to get ready. Judy has everything ready and Dasher is prepped and ready to go. Good luck finding your Mrs."

Carol watched the door close and caught sight of herself in the mirror as she turned. She didn't look much different than when she'd met Scott Calvin seven years ago. Still was skinny. Apparently although she still had to get a wife she didn't have to gain all the weight. It was a weird world she lived in. She still had her long and straight blonde hair, and her blue eyes. Though the skin around those blue eyes looked much more tired than when she was simply a principal.

It had all been going so well after she'd stopped being a Principal and had become Mrs. Claus. Sure Scott had disappeared right before the Christmas of 2006, but then he'd reappeared and everything had been set right. There had been quite a lot of excitement as Scott decided that they would tell Carol's parents that he was in fact Santa Claus. Then Frost had appeared and all hell had broken loose. An elf, one of the fire elves, Tobias, had gone after Frost with a carving knife. He gotten Scott by accident first, and then succeeded in killing Frost. Carol had held Scott's head in her lap as he simply disappeared and Santa's Coat had gone flat.

In the present Carol shook herself out of it and took a pair of pants and a sweater out of her closet. It was best not to ride Dasher in a skirt.

Her mind went back to the horrible Christmas Eve three years before. She'd not only lost her husband, but as she sat there with the empty Santa Coat in her lap she'd felt her water break. She'd had Scott Jesse Calvin just before midnight and slept through the entire next day. She still wasn't quite sure how Curtis had gotten the Christmas deliveries done without having someone else put on the Coat. Her working theory was with a lot of help from the Council of Legendary Figures.

It was on December 26th, 2006 that the conversation had happened. The conversation about who would put on the coat. Charlie wanted to, but both Neil and Laura Miller nixed it quickly. Carol's mother had also taken Carol's father from the running, though Buddy seemed to think it might be interesting. Neil Miller was willing, but everyone in the room could see that his heart wasn't really in it.

It was ten year old Lucy who broached the subject to Mother Nature if a woman could be Santa Claus. Both Mother Nature and Father Time couldn't think of any reason or rule that said that Santa had to be a man, that a woman couldn't put on the Coat. Though they also had no idea what would happen if one did.

Everyone's eyes had gone to Carol. If she was honest with herself they'd all taken advantage of the fact that she'd just given birth as well as just lost her husband, the husband that was her only connection to all her friends at the North Pole.

They'd brought a sleeping SJ to her from the nursery and left her alone to decide. She'd stayed in bed for a few minutes, taking the time to feed SJ as well as feeling quite sorry for herself. Finally when SJ was done and she'd burped him she got up. She could hear subdued elf voices outside her door, debating something. She opened the door with the hand supporting SJ in his sling and surprised the two elves. They looked petrified, the female elf was Judy, and the male was Angelo.

Judy was the one who spoke, "Mrs. Claus, we didn't, we didn't mean to wake you."

Angelo nodded, "Sorry ma'am."

"Just tell me what's wrong?"

Judy paused, and then gestured that Angelo should speak. He did. "It's Tobias' son Perrine ma'am. He won't stop crying. He's distraught that the new Santa will do something to his father. He keeps asking for you, but... we can deal with it ma'am. You should..."

Carol shook her head, "Can you deal with a two day old baby for a few minutes?"

Angelo's eyes got large as Carol handed the little boy to him. "Uh..."

Carol pointed, "Judy, take me to Perrine."

Carol jerked to a stop, and realized that she'd gone back into her head. She was in the stable, and had just bumped into Dasher. She put a hand on his head. "Sorry Dasher. I don't know where I was. So, are you ready to take me to my future Mrs. Claus?"

Dasher made some noises and nodded. "You don't mind who's Santa Claus do you. As long as you guys get fed and get to do your thing, it's all okay."

"You made the correct choice Carol Claus."

Carol looked over, Bernard, the former Arch-Elf, was standing in a patch of shadow, which was impressive, since there weren't too many shadows in the North Pole. "I thought that you were of the opinion that I shouldn't have put on the Coat?"

Bernard walked out of the shadow, brushing a lock of his dark curly hair from his eyes, "Perhaps I was wrong. In some ways the elves love you even more than they did Scott. And you do not get flustered with all the work, even with the added pressure of being a mother."

Carol let a smile come to her face, "Are you giving me your blessing Bernard?"

Bernard opened and closed his mouth and shrugged, "I guess I am. I am Elf enough to admit when I am wrong."

Carol walked over and hugged the surprised elf to her. "Thank you." She stepped back, "And don't forget to stop by and check on SJ. He's growing like a weed."

"He's Three this year, right?"

Carol nodded, "We'll celebrate on Christmas Day when I'm done with all my..."

"Deliveries?"

Carol smiled as she got on Dasher, "Exactly."

It was somewhere above Ontario and then the Great Lakes that Carol realized that Dasher wasn't going where he was supposed to. She leaned forward to tell him that, to redirect him towards warmer climes, at least if she had to find someone to become Mrs. Claus she could do it without a sweater.

The leaning forward was a bad idea as Dasher made a turn and then Carol was falling, and falling, and falling, and then she stopped.