Sarah somehow managed to fall asleep in the back of the Sleigh as the reindeer took them home. Only…they didn't take the Calvin family home. At least not in the sense any of them thought they would. As the reindeer land on cleared ground of snow and ice with frosty flakes falling from the sky, Sarah woke up with a yawn. "We home yet?"

"Not exactly," Scott replied then shouted at the reindeer. "Does this look like home to you guys?!"

If Sarah didn't know any better she would have sworn the reindeer nodded before pulling the reins from Scott's hands and running of. "Isn't this dream over yet?" She couldn't believe this was still going on and her mind was about to explode. All Sarah wanted was to be back in bed and sleeping late. Apparently that wasn't about to happen.

Even Charlie was starting to worry a little bit because he didn't know where they were. "Is this okay, Dad?"

"No, it's not okay!" Scott answered with emotional emphasis. "Where the hell are we?!"

It seemed like they were going to get their answer. At least they hoped they would because each of them heard the sound of approaching footsteps walking towards them in the snow. Sarah stood up a bit from the back of the Sleigh and leaned forward because she couldn't believe her eyes – there was someone there who didn't look much older than Charlie who pulled up a crystal ball looking thing that was attached to a candy cane striped pole.

Sarah chuckled incredulously as Scott called out to the apparent kid asking where they were and what was going on an what not, but they didn't answer. She was so focused on the pole thing that she missed half of it and said aloud, "Don't say it."

Charlie instantly answered that by telling them what he thought was going on. "I think that's the North Pole."

Sarah felt like her head was about to explode. "You said it."

"That's the North Pole?" Even Scott wasn't buying it but there was to be no further discussion thanks to the ground beneath them grumbling before lowering into the ground below.

"I don't like this!" Sarah shouted as they were lowered into who knows where then gasped at all the sights when they cleared the ice. "No way." There were decorations everywhere, and young appearing people with pointy ears, and toys, oh wow the toys among everything else. "I cannot believe I'm saying this but…is this Santa's freaking workshop?!"

"You bet it is!" Charlie laughed happily because this was the coolest thing ever!

"Uncle Scott…I want to go home now." Sarah honestly thought she was gonna have a mental breakdown or something. This whole night was too much Christmas and it was bringing back the things she would have much rather forgotten but they flooding her mind now and it was breaking her heart.

"Trust me, Sarah, the feeling is mutual," Scott turned back to tell her and finally the Sleigh reached its destination on the floor of…well…Santa's workshop. "Where are all the grownups?"

"This is so cool!" Charlie exclaimed and wanted to get right out but his dad stopped him.

Scott addressed both kids when he said, "Stay here," before getting out of the Sleigh in hopes of getting some answers from someone.

"Do you seriously think I'd willing go anywhere?" Sarah called after him and caught his 'hush up' look he shot her way before talking to one of the…well…Elves.

Charlie turned around to look at Sarah in the back seat. "Believe in Santa now?"

"I believe my milk was spiked and I'm so gonna have Uncle Scott call a lawyer in the morning to sue them. But only if your mom's lawyer because…" She cleared her throat. "I'm not discussing that with you." Sarah crossed her arms and faced forward, refusing to take in any of the sights or even attempt to acknowledge that this was truly happening.

Charlie climbed into the back seat with her and said, "You'd be happier if you believed."

Sarah looked at Charlie, not wanting to hurt him but not wanting to put up with this anymore either. "You don't know what you're talking about, Charlie."

"I heard Mom and Neil talking, Sarah," Charlie answered. "I know what happened." He gave her a hug before climbing out of the Sleigh.

Sarah didn't even have time to react to what Charlie said, only what he was doing. "Where do you think you're going?!"

Charlie turned her words around on her with a bit of a twist, "Do you seriously think I would not willingly go anywhere?" He laughed at her expression before going off to find his dad.

"Charlie!" Sarah called after him. "Charlie, get…" shoe groaned in frustration, "…oh, forget it," and climbed out of the Sleigh as well to go after him.

She quickly caught up with him where he was talking to Scott about being hungry and thirsty but they weren't alone – There was a an Elf present who looked to be around her age. If he was anything like Legolas, odds were he wasn't as young as he looked. It didn't stop Sarah from doing a 'double-take' though before tuning in to what her uncle had to say.

"Didn't I tell you both to stay in the Sleigh?" Scott asked both of them.

"Your son doesn't like to listen and I'm not gonna let him wander off alone," Sarah replied as she pulled off her mittens and put them into the pockets of her coat.

"Who are these two?" the teenage-looking Elf asked Scott.

Scott placed his hands on the shoulders of Sarah and Charlie. "This is my son Charlie and my niece Sarah. Kids, this is..B – buh…"

"Bernard," the Elf reminded him with emphasis.

Sarah gave him a bit of a wave in greeting as Charlie said, "Hi, Bernard."

"Hiya, Sport," Bernard replied with a smile then looked at Sarah. "Hello, Sarah."

Sarah's face started to turn red without her realizing it but Charlie did so he asked, "Are you alright, Sarah? Your face is getting all sorts of red."

Sarah rubbed her face, saying, "I'm cold."

Bernard smiled at them both and said to Charlie, "Hey, you know what, I got something for you." He reached into his satchel, saying, "Okay, now hold on your hand, alright?" Once Charlie was ready for it he handed over the Snow Globe. "Now, be very careful. This is very old, just like me."

Charlie held onto the Globe like it was the most precious thing in the world.

Bernard looked at him proudly. "Shake it up, Charlie."

Charlie carefully shook the Globe and inside he saw Santa's Sleigh and reindeer fly over the houses inside the Globe. "Whoa…"

"Why don't you hold onto it for me for a little while?" Bernard suggested. "It might come in handy."

"Thanks. Thanks a lot. I promise to take good care of it." Charlie smiled and turned around to show it to Sarah. "Look at this, Sarah!"

She hadn't like snow globes in a long time. "Charlie, please…"

Once again he turned her words back to her with a twist. "Sarah, please…"

Sarah saw the look in his eyes and she caved. She crouched in front of Charlie and put a smile on her face even if she didn't feel it. "Show me."

Charlie carefully shook the Globe again and showed her how the Sleigh and reindeer flew over the houses and smiled wide at the shocked expression on her face.

"How…what…" Sarah went over to Bernard when Charlie showed Scott the Globe and asked, "How does it do that?"

Bernard answered her like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Magic."

Now that she didn't buy one bit and her face made that pretty clear. "Magic, right," she scoffed.

Bernard looked at her curiously. "You don't believe in magic?"

"I don't believe in anything anymore." Sarah cleared her throat and was glad when Scott came over and said, "Hey, Barabas."

Bernard didn't appreciate that on multiple levels. "Bernard!" he corrected again.

Scott said dismissively, "Bernard, right. Look, can we get a direct flight back to reality or do we have to change flights in Denver?"

Bernard didn't answer him and addressed a passing Elf. "Hey, Larry, take Charlie and Sarah here to get them some chow."

Charlie took right off to catch up with Larry the Elf and didn't listen to his dad trying to stop him. This made Scott turn to Sarah and say, "Don't take your eyes off him."

"When do I ever take my eyes off him?" Sarah scoffed in a seriously fashion with raised hands before going to catch up with them.

Sarah sat at the table with Charlie in the huge kitchen. There were dozens of Elves in there wearing chef's outfits and the smell of cookies filled the air. It reminded her of her mother baking cookies in the kitchen at this time of year. Sarah took after her mom where being a horrible cook but an excellent baker was concerned.

She bit the head right off one of the gingerbread men cookies and grimaced a bit because something was missing.

"What is it?" Charlie asked as he dug into the meal placed in front of him.

"My mom's were better." As soon as those words came out of her mouth there were half a dozen baker Elves surrounding here. This appearance almost made her choke on her cocoa. "Good Dickens, you're like ninjas!"

"What is your complaint about our cookies?" one of the Elves asked with crossed arms and narrowed eyes.

"There's nothing wrong with them," Sarah emphasized. "My mom's were just better. For one thing, there's no vanilla. And they'd be moister with applesauce instead of egg."

The Elves conversed amongst themselves in hushed tones before one said, "Show us."

Sarah held her hands up in a 'no way' fashion. "Ohhhhh no, not me. I don't do that anymore." She shooed them away so she could get out of her seat and since Charlie was done eating, she added in, "We should go find your dad. Come on."

Charlie chugged the last of his milk and went off with Sarah. "Why didn't you go bake cookies with them?"

"I don't bake anymore," Sarah replied, not wanting to talk about it.

"You don't seem to do anything anymore," Charlie said with a disappointed tone but neither of them spoke any more about it and met back up with his dad in the main part of the workshop, taking in all the amazing sights as he went.

Sarah on the other hand didn't take in any of the sights beyond remembering the path in case she got turned around or something. All she wanted to do was go home and soon. Hopefully that would be possible.

It didn't take them long to find Scott talking with Bernard. Ignoring Bernard, she asked, "When can we go home, Uncle Scott?"

Scott looked from Sarah to Bernard in an inquiring manner.

Bernard sighed at Sarah, "You leave tomorrow morning," then turned to Scott. "You have eleven months to take care of your affairs, and you're due back here Thanksgiving."

Scott was going to have none of that. "I'm not coming back here Thanksgiving."

"I'll ship the list to your house," Bernard informed him firmly.

Scott had no idea what he was talking about. "What list?!"

Bernard looked at him incredulously. "Come on, now. The List." Scott still looked clueless so he started singing in a hushed tone, "He's making a list…"

Charlie picked up from there, "Checking it twice."

And the entire Elf community with Sarah whispering along, "Gonne find out who's naughty or nice."

Bernard put his face into his hands with a groan before getting back on track. "Look, you put a P next to the nice kids and C next to the naughty ones."

Scott was even more confused. "P and C?"

Charlie instantly answered with, "P for Presents and C for Coal. Right, Bernard?"

Bernard was, once again, proud of Charlie. "Right."

"Yeah, Uncle Scott, everyone knows that." Sarah couldn't help but tease him about this.

Scott shot her yet another 'hush up' look and followed after Bernard with Charlie and Sarah in tow. "Wait a minute! How do I know who's good and bad?"

"You'll know," Bernard replied, a bit impatiently.

"What if I don't want to do this?" Scott had zero intention on playing this whole Santa Claus thing out.

Bernard turned right around and went back over to Scott. "Don't even kid about a thing like that!"

Scott wasn't kidding. "Why not? What if I don't buy into this whole Santa Claus thing? What if I take a page out of my niece's book and choose not to believe it?"

The entire workshop was filled with an eerie silence once he finished his sentence. Sarah moved a bit closer to Charlie because this was freaking her out just a little bit. "Uncle Scott…I'd sleep with one eye open tonight if I were you."

Scott already knew he stepped in it so he didn't really need her input. How he looked at her made that clear tenfold.

Bernard's tone of voice was hurt but also serious at the same time as he said, "Then there would be millions of disappointed children around the world. You see, children hold the Spirit of Christmas within their hearts. You wouldn't want to be responsible for killing the Spirit of Christmas, now, would you, Santa?"

Bernard headed down the staircase and changed the subject. "Judy will take you to your rooms. Get out of the Suit, it needs to be cleaned."

"And taken in," Scott interjected, pulling at the way loose waist of the pants.

Bernard ignored that and pointed up at him from the floor below. "Then get some sleep. We have a lot of work to do and only a year in which to do it."

During this exchange, Judy came over to lead Charlie and Sarah to the train which would take them to their rooms then made her appearance in front of Scott. "Santa," Judy greeted with a smile.

"Scott Calvin," he corrected.

Judy ignored the correction. "Follow me."

"I'll just take the next train," Scott replied until he saw both Charlie and Sarah wave at him from upon the train. "Wait!"

"Pick up the pace, Uncle," Sarah called out to him with a bit of laughter in her voice as he sprinted after the train.

Sarah was brought to a room down the hall from where Scott and Charlie were to sleep. She declined the offer of the Christmasy pajamas and stuck with her shorts and t-shirt beneath the warmer outer layer.

She tried to sleep, really she did, but she just couldn't. Everything around her – all the Christmas stuff – was so much of a reminder of things she wanted to forget that it was like living in a nightmare. "GAH!" Sarah threw off the blankets and walked out of the bedroom with the intent of getting back to the kitchen because she hoped a glass of warm milk would help.

Wearing her Eeyore print shorts pajama set and boots on her feet, she walked down to the kitchen ignoring all looks that were given to her along the way.

With it being so late she figured – or at least hoped – the kitchen would be empty. It pretty much was, except for one person; Bernard.

"I'm fairly certain I advised you all to get some sleep," Bernard stated as he poured himself some cocoa.

"Can't," Sarah answered, searching for the milk. "I'm surrounded by everything I hate."

Bernard set his mug beside him on the large wooden table and leaned against it with crossed arms. "How can you possibly hate Christmas?"

Sarah found the milk but put it back because she didn't want to talk about this and said so. "I don't want to talk about it."

"You're the one that brought it up," Bernard pointed out. "You can't blame me for asking a question in reply."

Sarah swallowed a lump in her throat and only said, "Christmas took something important away from me." She had no intention of speaking any more about this and headed for the exit.

Bernard caught the flash of pain in her eyes and quickly caught up with her to keep her from leaving just yet. "I have something for you."

Sarah scoffed a chuckle at that. "Another Snow Ball?"

Bernard chuckled himself as he went into a small satchel pocket on his belt. "Not exactly." With the item in hand he held it out and let it drop. It was a snowflake pendant on a silver chain.

Sarah reached out and touched it gently with slight awe upon her face. "Why?"

"Like Charlie with the Snow Globe," Bernard replied. "It might come in handy." He unclasped the necklace with an, "Allow me?"

Sarah nodded and moved her hair out of the way so the necklace could be placed. Why she accepted the gift she had no idea but she couldn't seem to bring herself to refuse. Her hand touched the snowflake with a slight red tinge to her cheeks. "Thank you…goodnight, Bernard."

"Sleep well, Sarah," he replied and watched her as she walked out of the kitchen.

Judy stepped out from behind the cocoa station, saying, "You gave her the Snowflake? Why?" She couldn't understand why Bernard chose her of all people to give it to.

Bernard didn't answer her question and left the kitchen as well with a bit of a smirk upon his face.

When Sarah got back to her room she went out onto the balcony and laughed at the sight of polar bears below. She used to love polar bears so much. Her room was once full of decorations and stuffed animals of the like but then she associated them with Christmas and didn't want anything to do with them again.

Sarah held onto the Snowflake and sniffed back tears as she thought about her past – what happened to her parents. That wound was still so fresh and just when maybe there was a chance it was starting to heal, Christmas came around and it opened it up all over again. More than that…she felt like salt was being poured in it.

With a deep breath she wiped the tears from her eyes and climbed into bed, finally falling asleep – Not once knowing that Bernard was standing outside her door until she did.

End Part 2