Christine swiftly shook her head before looking at the Newman family, still sitting next to the fireplace. They spoke for a few minutes, and she had no idea what to do. It wouldn't have made a difference, anyway.
"I feel bad." Carol spoke up. "I didn't mean to say that to Scott."
"Of course you didn't, sweetie." Sylvia rubbed a hand on her back. "It's just how you're feeling right now." Carol then placed a hand on her pregnant belly, knowing exactly what her mother meant.
"There's no reason to feel bad." Bud scoffed lightly with a shrug.
"Dad, please don't." Carol said with pleading eyes. He stayed silent after that. "Let's go find Scott. I want to apologize to him."
"Ok, whatever you want." Sylvia said with a sad smile.
The three of them started to walk out of the room, Christine followed behind. She was glad that they decided what to do amongst themselves and that she didn't need to be exactly involved.
Unable to find Scott in the hallways and any of the rooms that wouldn't cause suspicion about their location, since they still didn't know they were in the Pole, they walked outside. They hoped to find him somewhere soon. It was getting late and Carol said something about how "Scott has a busy night tonight at work." Christine, being the only one that knew even though it was unknown to Carol, gave a short nod and looked around the area.
"Carol!"
They were able to see Scott make his way over to the group. With a wide smile, he embraced his wife.
"Oh, Scott. We've been looking everywhere for you."
"Oh, Mrs. Claus, I missed you so much, so much."
"Wait, it's just been a few minutes." Carol said with a confused look as they broke apart and held hands.
"It's only been a few minutes?"
"Yes."
"Of course! It only takes a few minutes to see the truth of an entire lifetime." Scott laughed and Carol nodded her head, unsure of where this was going. "A man goes out into the world, and expects his dreams to come true. And then," he paused to wave at Bud and Sylvia, and Christine since she stood there as well. "The unexpected happens. Pick up a red coat and become Santa Claus. That's big, that's huge, that's huge! And it's a lot of pressure." Carol nodded along again. "I mean, taking care of all the children of the world, and the elves and the S.O.S. and the North Pole, but he loses sight of what's really important." He gave her a loving look. "The woman who falls in love with him and gives him a baby." He leaned down and lightly kissed her belly. "I love being Santa Claus, and I love you."
"I love you too." Carol whispered. "Have you been drinking cocoa?"
"No." He laughed. "I'm back."
"I've missed you very much." Carol got teary eyed as they hugged again.
"I missed you, too."
The two of them laughed as they held each other. Christine couldn't help but feel a slight pain in her chest watching the scene. It was so cute, and it made her a little angry. Why was she angry? She had no idea where these alien emotions were coming from.
"Hey, you guys know what happened?" Scott asked, walking over to them with his wife.
"No." Bud shook his head.
"We ticked each other off. That's it." Scott stated. "Just like families all over the world are doing on Christmas Eve that love each other: Ticking each other off. It's okay. They don't have to be perfect to be good families. We just have to be together." Sylvia looked on with an emotional smile when Scott and Carol hugged once more. Christine refrained from rolling her eyes. This was much more than just being 'ticked off' by her family.
"I'm still so very sorry that we just added to all this pressure that you're under." Sylvia then took a deep breath, looking at Bud before saying the next thing. "And I think that we should apologize. Don't you, honey?" Scott started to shake his head and wave it off.
"No. It's good I'm tough on him. I'm his father-in-law." Bud stated with a small smile. "It's my job." Carol chuckled at that, looking at Scott with a wide smile.
"As long as you promise to do it every Christmas, it's fine with me." Scott said.
"Well, we'll see about that." Bud said jokingly. "I'm a very busy guy."
"And so am I." Scott said. "And I'd like to show you guys what I do." He looked at Christine. "You too, Christine. You're also a part of this family."
"Oh, Scott, the S.O.S." Carol whispered in his ear.
"The S.O.S. is about secrets," Scott stated. "And secrets aren't for families. I'm tired of keeping you from your family," He said to Carol. "And Christine would be suffering through the secrets, as well. Lucy tells me how close the two of you are, so it only seems fair." He then looked at all of them. "So if you guys would follow me to my factory."
Curiosity crossed both of the Newman's features as they followed slowly behind Scott and Carol. Christine shrugged and followed suit.
"I have already known for a couple of hours." Christine stated slowly to Scott.
"How did you find out? Did Lucy tell you? Charlie?" Scott asked carefully.
"No. I walked into the factory and Jack told me." She said distantly. Where was Jack, anyway? She thought she saw him when they found Scott, but he wasn't there seconds later. So where did he go?
"I should have known." Scott sighed. "Well, this makes it a lot easier to explain it now."
Walking through the stained glass double doors, Sylvia and Bud were mystified. The people in there were the same small Canadians that they've been seeing the whole time here. Except they weren't Canadians.
"Elves!" Scott called into the room, causing the elves to stop what they were doing and look up. "Stop working for a minute." Elves stopped walking to where they were going and turned towards Scott. "I'd like you all to say hello to the in-laws!" Scott announced.
"Hello, in-laws!" The elves chanted with smiles and waves.
"Hello."
"How ya doin'?
Sylvia and Bud were both confused and watched as the elves went about their business. It was as if the two of them had a revelation.
"Elves." Bud muttered. "They're not Canadians, they're elves."
"Never said...like in person..." Sylvia was at a loss for words.
"Listen! If they're elves, this isn't a toy factory. This is probably Santa's workshop." Bud said, starting to get excited. "And if this is probably..." He trailed off as his wife continued, both looking at Scott, who was now dressed in his red coat and hat thanks to a few of the elves.
"If this is Santa's workshop..." Sylvia pointed at Scott. "Then he..."
"Then he's the guy." Bud finished. "Hey, you," Scott looked at them with a smile. "You're the guy. You're Father Christmas."
"It's a little freaky, but," Scott grinned with a shrug. "You'll get used to it."
"Whoa!" Bud and Sylvia were both grinning, as if they were children again. Speechless. "If you're Father Christmas, that means I'm Father Christmas' father-in-law. That means I'm Father-in-law Christmas!"
"And I'm Mother-in-law Christmas!" Sylvia laughed.
Christine sighed deeply. The surprise was obviously ruined for her. Of course, this only made her think about how she felt about her aunt and uncle. How mad she was. Her disappointment and anger seemed to grow over the past hour. She was almost seething in her anger.
Suddenly, there was a humanoid rabbit hopping around, pushing a cart. Christine was dumbfounded before realizing that since Santa Claus is real, why shouldn't the Easter Bunny, or anything else for that matter. But what was he doing here, in the North Pole?
"Hi, Santa!" He called over. "Hi, Bud! Sylvia!" He then looked at Christine. "Christine! You grew up!" He then paused. "Oh, the little pellets behind me? I'll clean those up later."
"Santa, Santa," A small, middle aged man wearing white robes and hovering with feathered wings approached Scott. "Where do you keep the Phillips screwdrivers?"
"Oh, uh," Scott thought for a second. "Elf construction. Talk to Irv, ok?" Just as he started flying off, Scott called him back. "Oh, Cupid!" He made his way back quickly. "At this altitude, you might want to consider an underdiaper."
"I don't mind the draft." Cupid shrugged, flying back to the direction he was directed in when Bud walked over to Scott.
"That was Cupid." Bud pointed at him.
"Yeah." Scott nodded.
"Hello, Santa." An elderly man with a long, white beard, a walking stick, and purple robes gave a peace sign in greeting from the second floor.
"Father Time." Scott smirked.
"Father Time, what next?" Bud was in disbelief.
"Well, hello, Santa." A tall, dark skinned woman wearing an elaborate headdress and a purple dress with various foliage around the skirt. "This is a blast!" She spoke in an excited voice.
"Mother Nature." Scott looked up at her. "How can I ever thank you for this?"
All of these legendary figures was almost as overwhelming for Christine as it was for Bud and Sylvia. She was sure even Carol felt the same when she was first introduced to this world.
"Don't thank me." She said with a smile. "He's the one who brought us here." She looked off to the side, where there was a familiar face sitting amongst the elves, helping build toys.
"Hey, dad!" Charlie called to Scott with a smile. "What's up, Chris?" He waved at Christine and she had to suppress a glare. Next to him sat Sandy, Scott's "associate," now wearing tan robes and a sleeping cap, yawning loudly. On the other side of Charlie was a man with pixie-like wings and a blue, dentists coat.
"Hi, Santa!" The man waved.
"Hey, Tooth." Scott waved. Christine could only assume it was the Tooth Fairy. And that Sandy was the Sandman.
"Checked with Curtis and found out you were falling behind," Charlie stated. "So I decided to call in professionals."
Christine was overwhelmed. Almost feeling dizzy. What a day, this was.
