A/N: I'm sorry that the Elf on the Shelf confused some of the non-Americans. I can't manage to post a link here but if you Google it you'll definitely find it. Basically, it's a toy elf. It shows up at the house as Christmas nears, and every morning (between Thanksgiving and Christmas, or whenever your family starts Christmas preparation) the elf appears in a different spot in the house, having "traveled to the North Pole" the night before to report to Santa about the child's good behavior. It's much like you'll see in this chapter - some people get very involved, and some hate that it's a commercialized Christmas thing. (And some people think they're just damn creepy.)

My thanks to brenna-louise who is still so faithfully beta-reading this neverending story. Any mistakes herein are wholly mine as I struggle with getting this to update properly. I had it all set and the Wi-Fi where I am blipped off. So I went back, but feel like it's still a bit wonky.

Thanks to all of you for your amazing reviews. They're so very much appreciated, and I feel blessed. xx

CSotA


December 5, 2015

10:10 p.m.

"It needs to move, right?" Charles looked at Elsie, a silent pleading in his eyes.

"Of course, but I'm not sure if she's asleep."

"Well, just so long as you do it. I'm not touching it. It's … disturbing, I think."

Elsie looked at her husband pointedly and rolled her eyes. They were standing opposite one another in their bedroom doorway - a stand-off if you asked Elsie - and she crossed her arms across her chest.

"You're fifty years old, Charles Carson. Surely you can handle moving one elf?"

He stood a little taller on the hallway side of the door , his lips pursed, and flicked his eyes back and forth from the stairs leading to Daisy's room to his wife's eyes. And then his own eyes lit up, which made Elsie's narrow in suspicion.

"What?" she asked slowly.

Her husband's face broke out in a grin, and he even let out a little chuckle. He grabbed her by the hand and pulled her into the bedroom, then promptly shut the door behind them.

"What if," he began slowly, "we ask Tommy to do it?"

Elsie opened her mouth to argue, then immediately shut it again. She knew how the elf thing worked, having heard the stories of a few friends at work. She also knew how, well, creative Tommy could be.

Yes, she thought, with some adequate guidelines, that may be the most fun for Daisy.

"Alright," Elsie allowed. "With restrictions. Nothing inappropriate, of course."

"Inappropriate?" Charles huffed. "Such as what?"

Elsie pulled out her phone and searched Bad Elf on the Shelf. She ignored the YouTube videos and clicked "Images," and then she held the phone out to Charles.

"Such as those," she said.

Charles scanned the first two photos - of elves in precarious positions with Barbies - and promptly shoved the phone back into Elsie's hand.

"Restrictions," he nodded. "Absolutely. But he'll be good at it. And he'll come up with some appropriate things, won't he? I have to say, aside from it being creepy as hell, I'm afraid I'll forget to move the bloody thing."

"Precisely why parents hate them."

"Then why do they buy them?" Charles asked.

"Because it's such fun for the kiddies," Elsie said, smiling as she patted her husband's cheek. "Now, let's get out of here. We've got to tell Tommy about his new responsibilities, and then this Mummy needs one serious foot massage from her doting husband."

"As you wish," he said, rising and then extending his arm around her waist. He leaned over and placed a tender kiss to her lips. "You're beautiful, Elsie. Did you know?" he murmured as his lips brushed up her cheek to her temple.

"Beautifully enormous," she chuckled, leaning her forehead into him, "but I thank you nonetheless for the sweetness."


"Wait … Santa … and the elf … aren't real?" Tommy looked horrified. His eyes grew as big as saucers and his bottom lip quivered.

"Erm," Charles sputtered, but Elsie swatted the boy playfully on the arm.

"Oh, you," she chided him, tilting her head sideways toward Charles. "You'll give him another heart attack if you keep on like that!"

Tommy smiled instantly, laughing a bit at his trick. "Gotcha," he said.

"That wasn't nice," Charles grumbled.

"But a good indicator that I can lie about Christmas, and the elf, like you need me to," Tommy countered. "And, to answer your question, of course I'll be in charge of the thing. I've already got some ideas."

"About that," Elsie began, but Tommy put up his hand.

"I know," he said, already nodding. "No booze, cigarettes, sex, or other inappropriate things. My friends had these too, you know."

"I do know. Alright, then, here are a couple of ideas I had in mind." She held out her phone, and Tommy peered at the screen, which now showed appropriate elf placements in various houses. He nodded, humming as he scrolled through. He bookmarked a few, then handed the phone back to her, pointing.

"That one's tonight," he said. "Start her off right."

Elsie looked at the phone and nodded. "Okay, but nothing that interferes with our daily life. No putting him in the sink or, heaven forbid, the oven or the washing machine."

"Gotcha."

Tommy took the elf from Elsie's hand and headed to Daisy's room. He peered in the door to verify that she was asleep and then he tiptoed in.

"C'mon, Sprite," he whispered to the elf. "We're about to have some fun with a few of Daisy's buddies."

He helped himself to a few items from the basket in the corner by Daisy's door, then scurried downstairs to fetch the other necessities for his plan.


Daisy woke early, with remnants of a dream about the farm in her mind. She sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes, still fuzzy for a bit about where she was. But as she looked around her room and listened to the sounds of the tide, she remembered.

We've moved, she reminded herself. Because of the baby. It's the new house.

By that point she was wide awake, but she snuggled down under her covers again for a few more minutes and allowed herself time to imagine what things might be like when the baby finally arrived.

The nursery was wonderful, and Daisy was so happy that Papa and Elsie had liked it, that they'd not been angry about any of it. She remembered how Tommy had said she (and he) would be able to help take care of the baby - to hold it, and feed it, and play with it - and how Elsie and Papa reassured her that this was true.

But she also remembered talking with Marigold at school the other day, about how Peter used to keep her awake all night, crying at all hours. Of how he was fussy sometimes, didn't want to be held, and how annoying it was that he could just scream and no one would know what to do. She wasn't so sure she wanted to deal with that, although she did acknowledge that the baby's nursery was downstairs with Papa and Elsie's room, and far from Daisy and Thomas. Chances were good that they'd not be awoken as easily as Marigold had been, with Peter just the next room over.

Papa and Elsie … Daisy pondered them for a minute. They were so happy, and it was so unlike how Papa had been with Mummy. He and Elsie were always looking at each other sweetly, giving one another little kisses, and it had never been like that before. Still, Daisy knew her Mummy had loved her very much, and it was making her sad trying to remember things about Mummy and finding out that some of them were fading. Daisy could barely remember the sound of Mummy's voice anymore, and that worried her. She tried very hard, but whenever she thought she had it, some of Elsie's voice would creep in, with phrases like I love you, sweetheart being the same words, but the sounds all a jumble.

Tommy had asked Daisy last night if she'd ever consider calling Elsie Mum. Daisy knew that Tommy was struggling himself with what to call Elsie and Papa, sticking with first names for now but feeling a bit odd about it. But he and Daisy were agreed that they had parents, not friends, and that when the baby came it might be easier if they just all called them the same thing.

Maybe.

Daisy wasn't sure she was ready for that, and she was pretty sure that Tommy wasn't ready, because he'd just lost his own Mum such a short time ago. But still … Plenty of kids at school had weird families of all sorts: stepparents, grandparents who lived at home, one who lived with an auntie, and twins who had two fathers. They all managed to find a way.

Marigold calls Bertie "Papa" now, she reminded herself. And while she knew Marigold's Papa had been gone for a very long time, she knew that giving that name to Bertie had been hard for her friend; now, however, it just rolled off Marigold's tongue as though Bertie had always been Marigold's Papa.

Best to think on it some more, she told herself, and she sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed …

… and almost stepped on Sprite. And about five of Sprite's friends.

Her squeal was quickly silenced behind the hand she clapped over her mouth.

"What are you doing?" she giggled to the elf, who was just looking at her pointedly, as if to say, "Watch your step!"

Sprite, two Barbies, and three Beanie Babies were having what appeared to be a sack race across the middle of Daisy's floor. They weren't moving, but it was clear that Sprite was coming in dead last. Still, she was smiling, and Daisy laughed. She carefully stepped around them all, making sure she didn't touch the elf*, and flew downstairs to the kitchen.

She turned the corner to see everyone already seated at the table.

"You have to see what Sprite's doing!" she shouted. "Come on!"

"Daisy, I've just poured my tea," Charles explained gently. "Give an old man a minute, please. And good morning, by the way."

"Good morning," Daisy replied dutifully, bouncing from one foot to the other, and Charles gave in after only a few moments.

"Alright," he said, groaning as he rose from the table, tea in hand. "Let's see what you're on about."

He followed her up the stairs, and Elsie gave Tommy a wink across the table.

"Well done, you," she said softly, and her boy beamed with pride.

"Just wait until you see what it gets up to tonight," he cautioned mischievously.


The next week was filled with school, snow, Christmas shopping, and obtaining a tree. Charles piled the entire family into Elsie's truck and drove them to the Bates Tree Farm, where Tommy and Daisy trudged through a foot of freshly-fallen snow for almost an hour before they found the perfect tree. Tommy texted a picture of it to Charles, who was holding down the fort in the truck with Elsie as they drank hot cocoa from a Thermos.

"Ohh, that one's lovely," she cooed. She looked at Charles with bright eyes, and he texted back a quick Looks good. I'll send John over. What's the tag number?

38.

Got it, Charles texted back. After conversing briefly with John, he sent Tommy one additional text: He's on the way up.

"We've got a tree?" Elsie asked.

"We've got a tree," Charles confirmed. "I hope Tommy and I can get it in the house by ourselves; otherwise, it'll have to wait until John gets out of work which, judging from the throngs of people here, won't be anytime soon."

"Mm," Elsie agreed, resting her head back on the seat and closing her eyes. "And then we can decorate it, which should be lovely. Have you many ornaments?"

"Quite a few, yes," Charles thought, his mind bouncing around as he mentally catalogued the contents of his ornament boxes. "You?"

"Not terribly many," Elsie said. "Most from when Becky and I were children, and a few others I picked up over the years."

"Half of mine are from the Crawleys," Charles mused. "And I've a fair few that Daisy has made over the years, which are the ones we put on first. They're quite sweet."

Elsie beamed. "It'll be a true family tree, then," she said. "Oh, wait. Do you think Tommy has anything?"

"He does, actually. I asked him last week. He said he has a small box of them that he took when we emptied out the house."

"Good."

Elsie's phone buzzed and she checked her text.

"Oh, fabulous timing!" she exclaimed.

Charles looked at her expectantly, and she added, "Phyllis has finished the stockings."

"Ah, wonderful. Did she send a picture?"

"She did." Elsie held it out to show him, a colorful array of five Christmas stockings spread out over the screen.

"She's truly a talented seamstress," he commented.

"She cross-stitched the front panels and then embroidered their names. I can't believe how much I love them!"

"Well, she'll have to go back and a name," he said, speaking to the baby, "because you are forbidden from making an appearance this early."

The phone buzzed five more times in succession, and Elsie flipped through the other pictures Phyllis was sending. Each was an individual Christmas stocking: Charles had a gingerbread man on his, Tommy's was a toy soldier, Daisy's a rocking horse, Elsie's a Christmas farm scene, and the baby's had a teddy bear with a red bow around its neck.

"You're sure Daisy won't mind?" Elsie asked.

"Positive," Charles answered. "She had a very hard time hanging her old stocking last year. Too many memories." He reached over and took her hand. "I think making some new ones will be good for her. And we're not disposing of it; we'll pack it up and let her take it when she's grown."

Elsie nodded. "I hope Tommy has the same reaction."

"They'll love them," Charles reassured her. "And speaking of the devils …"

John drove up in his pickup, the tree in the back and Tommy and Daisy riding up front.

"Here we go - they chose a beaut!" John said.

Charles handed over his payment and John pocketed it with the ticket from the tree.

"I'll grab you some change," he tried, but Charles shooed that idea away with a shake of his hand.

"Keep it," he said. "We should have cut and transported it ourselves."

"Fair enough." John knew when to argue and when not to, and if Charles was involved it was usually a no.

Charles and Tommy managed to secure the tree in the bed of the truck with very little help, reassuring Elsie that they'd be able to get it back home and up into the stand with minimal trouble.

"Give Anna and Fiona a kiss from me," Elsie said as she closed her door, and John nodded. He patted the hood, and Charles headed back to the house, thinking of how they looked very much like a quintessential New England family during the holidays.


The remaining days between then and Christmas were laid-back and low-key. Elsie was still working, albeit with a trainee nurse helping out. The young woman's name was Jen, and Elsie already adored her.

"You're like a breath of fresh air in this place!" she'd said, making Jen laugh and shake her head, her blonde curls bouncing as she did so.

"Hardly, but I do love the kids. And you've got a great system here, too. I'm sure we'll be just fine."

After school hours, Elsie was restricted to what she considered to be bedrest. She'd been experiencing a bit of swelling in her feet, not uncommon but nonetheless something to watch, and so she'd come home, change, and head to the living room or - occasionally - directly to bed. Charles was taking care of all the meals and housework, and it reminded Elsie of when she was laid up with her back. It was a hard pill for her to swallow, being waited on hand and foot again, but whenever she felt her baby move she knew that a bit of pride was a small price to pay.

And you're up for dinner and to tuck the kids in, she kept reminding herself. So there's that.

Sprite had been up to some shenanigans, as expected. Daisy had woken one day to find the poor thing with the tip of one boot stuck in the window, not quite having made it back in before it had shut. On another day, the elf had been hiding in the Christmas tree, and it had taken Daisy ages to find her. She'd also been spotted hiding on the piano strings, tucked into a jar on a shelf with only her hat and eyes peeking out, and even popping up in the cereal cupboard. Daisy had been absolutely delighted each and every day when she found the elf, and even Charles had to admit after a week that it wasn't such a bad thing at all - Daisy's behavior had been impeccable the entire time Sprite had been at the house, and they praised her thoroughly, hoping it would continue.

"She's never been a bad child, surely," Elsie said one evening.

"Oh, but before Christmastime, she can be a bit edgy," Charles replied. "It used to be a want of every little thing on the telly; now it's just a hard time for her. This has put a spark of fun back into it all, and I do have to say that I'm glad."

"I remember last Christmas when you were at Mary's place. You making cookies and a tree at both houses."

"And some special time on the sofa, if I remember correctly."

"Ha! Yes, I do believe so, now that you mention it." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "And look where that sort of thing got you," she added, bumping him with her belly.

In contrast to Daisy, Tommy had been a bit more sullen than usual, but working with Sprite had provided the unexpected bonus of alleviating some of his sad mood. He been thrilled by the creativity of it all, in coming up with new ideas. Elsie shook her head in wonder at the amount of time he was putting into it, and told him more than once how touched she was by it all.

"Never had a sister," he'd mumbled one night as he was writing Daisy a note from Sprite. "It's fun."

Elsie had simply nodded, rubbing her abdomen as she'd headed back to the couch, wondering if he'd have another one in approximately a month and a half.


December 25, 2015

"Here you are," Charles said softly, bringing Elsie a cup of tea in bed. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, love," she replied. "Are they up yet?"

"No, miraculously. This is the first Christmas that Daisy has ever slept past dawn, I think," he chuckled. He climbed back into the bed, careful not to move enough to spill the tea, and scooted down so that his head was by Elsie's belly.

"Merry Christmas, little one," he whispered, placing a kiss to Elsie's now-popped-out belly button. "Your Mummy and I can't wait to meet you."

Elsie carded her fingers through his hair gently, noting the appearance of a few more silver strands than he'd had when she'd met him.

"I love you so much, Charlie," she said, tears in her eyes. "I feel so very blessed to be on this journey with you. I just needed to tell you that."

He came back up to her side and kissed her soundly, and she sighed a bit when he parted her lips with his.

"I'll spill this," she warned after she managed to break away.

Charles promptly took the cup and placed it on the nightstand before returning his attentions to his wife.

"It's me who's blessed, Els. You've given me an entire family that I never thought I'd have. It's the most precious thing in the world to me."

"I know," she whispered, kissing him again. "And, as it's still early …"

Just then, the pounding of two sets of feet could be heard coming down the stairs.

"Typical," Charles groaned, and Elsie smiled apologetically at him. "Well, here we go!"


A half hour later, Elsie was laughing as Charles looked at the living room floor, horrified.

"They'll clean it up," she said.

Paper and bows were strewn about, and Daisy and Tommy were huddled in front of the tree, swapping contents of their stockings: his peppermint cane for her chocolate orange, her chewing gum for his strawberry candies, and each of them taking pieces of the smashed Christmas pig.

"Come on outside with me," Elsie said to Charles. "I've something to show you."

"Now?"

"Yes." She rolled her eyes and tugged on his hand, and they made their way out to the deck. There, tucked in the corner, was a brand-new grill.

"But … But that's the same as the one …" Charles stammered.

"From the honeymoon, yes," Elsie verified.

"But … How did you know?"

"Charlie, give me some credit! Every time you'd walk by it, you'd brush it with your fingers. If I were the jealous type, I'd have been furious with the thing!" she joked. "But, seriously, I wrote the model number down one day when you were in the shower, and I texted it to John. He ordered it and kept it hidden at the farm until yesterday, and then he snuck it here for me and put the bow on it. I was terrified you'd spot it before now, to be honest."

He kissed her forehead. "You're the best, Elsie. I love it."

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him soundly on the mouth. "Let's go back in and relax with the kids for a bit."

"Well, perhaps for a little while, but I remind you that we're to have guests in …" He checked the clock. "Four hours."

"It'll be fine, Charles. It's just Isobel and Richard anyhow. Is the roast ready to go in?"

"It is," he said, holding the door for her. "And Daisy will set the table after her shower."

"Perfect. Then I suppose all I need to do is … absolutely nothing?"

They sat together on the sofa, noting that the kids were still discussing their gifts, as if they'd not even noticed that Charles and Elsie had stepped out. "Precisely."

He looked over the things that Daisy and Tommy had opened: art supplies, a book on clock making and repair, some clothes, a couple of movies, a microscope, and a magic kit. "Maybe I'll teach them some of the magic tricks while you're resting."

"Oh, that'd be lovely," she said, tucking herself underneath his arm. "They can do a little show for us later on. They'd love that!"

"As would Richard and Isobel, I'm sure," Charles said fondly. "They really adore the kids."

"They do. Charlie, I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Mm?"

"We need to choose Godparents for this baby," she said.

"And you're thinking of Richard and Isobel?"

"No, but my mind brought me around to the people we're friends with, and those in our family."

"Alright …"

Elsie shook her head. "Sorry, I'm not making much sense. I would like to ask Becky, but then we need another."

"Hmm," he said, thinking. "A man?"

"Doesn't have to be, but that's typical," she said. "It also doesn't have to be someone who could take the children if anything ever happened to us," she added under her breath. "We can ask separate people for that; Becky certainly couldn't manage, of course, but she'd be devastated not to be the baby's Godmother."

"Yes, she's a definite," he agreed. "Well, what about Tom?"

Elsie's face brightened. "Really? You'd do that?"

"Of course I would," he said, running his fingers up and down her arm. "He's a great friend to you. And I presume you'd propose John and Anna for the other?"

"Yes, I think so. God forbid, but we know more than most that you just can't count on anything going the way you plan it."

"Any indication that they'll be having an addition of their own?"

"Not yet," Elsie sighed. "But hopefully soon."


Christmas dinner was low-key and jovial, with Charles - as promised - leading the children through a magic show once the main course was finished. He then surprised them all with a true Christmas pudding, of which Elsie only had a small bite but which everyone else made quite a dent in.

"I'm so very glad you joined us," Elsie said to their friends. It just makes the day more special to be able to share it with you." She reached over and squeezed Isobel's hand.

"Well, we have something else that might make it a bit more memorable," Richard said, the tips of his ears reddening.

"Oh?"

Charles looked at Isobel and could read the truth on her face in an instant, but it was Elsie who gasped and clapped her hand over her mouth.

"No," she whispered. "Really?"

Richard smirked. "What are you thinking, exactly?"

"Are you getting married?" Elsie asked.

"In July," Isobel confirmed, reaching over to take Richard's hand. "In London, so we hope you'll be able to join us."

"We wouldn't miss it for the world," Charles assured her, getting up and going to give her a kiss on the cheek and a warm hug before offering his hand to Richard. "Congratulations to you both."

"Thank you," Richard said softly. "It was the greatest Christmas joy that I can remember, watching Isobel as she said 'yes.'"

"Well, you're clearly perfect for each other," Elsie told them, and she and the children all offered more congratulations.

"A toast," Charles offered, "to wonderful friends who are like family. May we always remember the joy we found in sharing this Christmas together."

Everyone raised their glasses together.

"To our friends," Isobel echoed. "We're truly lucky to have you."


Elsie climbed into bed beside Charles, who was sitting reading the book she'd gifted him.

"How is it?" she enquired.

"Very good, actually," he said, placing the bookmark and closing the cover. He put the book on the nightstand and folded his glasses, setting them on top, and then turned his attentions back to his wife. "And I must say, that looks rather lovely on you," he added, raising his eyebrows and pointing to the nightie he'd gotten her.

"It's amazing that it fits."

"It is not," he argued, tugging her hand.

She held his hand and straddled his lap, kneeling gently and demonstrating rather clearly that the nightie was the only thing she was wearing.

"I had plans this morning," she murmured, caressing his face and the hair behind his ears with her fingertips, "plans that were rather abruptly interrupted by two now-sleeping children."

"Is that so?"

"It is." She tilted her head forward a bit and kissed him passionately, shivering as she felt his hands meander underneath the nightie and caress her back.

"Mmm," he hummed. "I see. I presume these plans involved me?"

"Oh, most definitely," she whispered in his ear, just before nipping at his earlobe.

He moved her over a bit to shed his pajamas, then she quickly resumed her previous position. Charles reached to remove the nightie, but she placed her hands gently over his.

"Leave it," she said.

He didn't have time to argue as Elsie very quickly put her plan into action.


This is the second time I've tried to update this, so hopefully it goes with minimal issues! I apologize if it was riddled with typos.

Next up, some VERY exciting times! I promise! :) If you have the time and inclination, I'd love to know what you thought. x

*- according to Elf on the Shelf instructions, children must not TOUCH the elf, or its magic will disappear.