Hello lovelies! I hope everyone is safe and happy. :) So my plan was to have this chapter out in August, but time got away from me. Oh well, hopefully that won't happen again and I'll be able to get chapter ten out in September like I want. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, or even just read this story. It really makes me smile knowing you guys are enjoying my little story here.
I want to give a big ole WARNING! to you guys about some mentions of injury and references to blood in this chapter. And mentions of a fire. That sounds terribly dramatic and worrisome, I know, but I swear it's not like that lol. But since that stuff is mentioned down below, I want to give a heads up to anyone who may not like to or can't read about that kind of stuff. You know I care about each and every one of you and want you to take care of yourselves, especially if you choose to read on.
I'll have a sad (sad?) little tidbit at the end of the chapter for anyone who's interested. It's sort of just a headcanon about one of my own characters that probably won't ever make it into the story, but I wanted to share it with you! (Does it count as a headcanon if its my character? I'm not sure...)
Anywho, on to reading my dears, and I'll see you later!
9. August '96
August flies by. Scott doesn't think he's ever been so busy. He has family counseling at the beginning of the month, which even though he's gotten used to it and can admit Dr. Sanchez's advice has been helpful sometimes, it still gets on his nerves. He has dinner with Louie and Loretta, where the older man tries to go over some potential buyers for the townhouse until his wife scolds him for talking business at the table. He takes Charlie to the pool and then, together with Laura and Neil, they go back-to-school shopping. They buy new clothes and whatever supplies Charlie needs for the new school year starting next month. He can tell his son isn't as excited as he used to be to go back. Before this past year, Charlie would spend every August talking nonstop about seeing all his friends again and what he thought his new teacher would be like. This time, it's almost impossible to get the boy to say more than a few words about anything to do with school. He's worried. This isn't like his son. He even brings it up to Laura and Neil, and actually feels relieved when the other man says he'll give Dr. Sanchez a call to ask her for some advice on what to do.
Up at the North Pole, the workshop is busier than ever. Scott is constantly bouncing back and forth between departments, trying to help the elves as much as he can. He does finally talk to Irv about redecorating his office. So, for two weeks there are construction elves going in and out off the office from the start of the work day to the second the clocked chimes, letting everyone know it's time to call it a night. He has two-by-fours laying in piles in the middle of the floor, paint buckets stacked on his desk, and furniture dragged every which way as the floor is torn up and redone. It's a mess. One he does appreciate though, because the room finally feels more like his own space, instead of like he's just borrowing it from someone else. The walls are done in reds and greens, the floor in a pretty cream tile that sparkles like fresh frost. His desk and the tables in the room are a lovely cherry stain. All the chairs, including the high backed leather one he's been complaining about for months, have been replaced. In their places are overstuffed sofa's and squishy armchairs with red velvet upholstery and soft throw pillows embroidered with snowflakes and reindeer. The whole room just looks brighter and warmer. The magic puppets spend an entire evening oohing and aahing at all the changes. And Bernard even helped him clean out the desk, most of the nonsense in the drawers thrown away, though the elf did insist on keeping the chipped teacup and he refused to say why.
All in all, he'd had a pretty hectic month, and today is no different. He's already had to help in both the Stuffed Animal department and the Wrapping department. And right now, when he should have been up in his office looking at blueprints and reading the latest batch of letters the post office dropped off, he's on the main floor settling an argument about what color the doll houses should be painted.
"Alyssa, Violette, why does it have to be one or the other?" he says, placing a hand on a shoulder of each of the elves. "Just paint each house a different color. I think some variety would be nice."
Alyssa, the taller of the two with a short black bob and round glasses, wrinkles her nose. "I guess we could do that."
"Yea," Violette agrees, twirling her long blonde hair around a finger. "But I get to pick the first color we use."
"Why do you-"
"Ladies, please-"
"Santa!" a voice interrupts. Scott looks up to see Curtis pushing his way through a large group of elves.
"There you are," he says once Curtis is closer. "I haven't seen you or Bernard in a while. I thought we agreed there'd be two of us on the Main Floor at all times now?"
"Sorry, sorry," Curtis says in a rush. "We got hung up in the Ball Room. And Bernard was on his way, but then he got a call from Larry. So we went down to help him in the stables, but nothing's working. Bernard thought maybe you'd have an idea, not to mention you're a lot taller than the rest of us, and it's starting to get ridiculous at this point really and-"
"Curtis!"
"Yea?"
"You're rambling. What's going on?"
"Oh, right." Curtis straightens his glasses and takes a second to catch his breath. "Larry radioed and said something is wrong with Blitzen."
"What? What's wrong with him?"
"We're not sure. He just won't calm down. Blitzen's kind of too big for most of the elves, so Bernard could really use your help right now."
"Okay, well, let's get to the stables. You can fill me in about anything else on the way." Scott says, steering the boy towards the hall that will lead them to the reindeer stables.
All Curtis can say is Larry had radioed about fifteen minutes earlier panicking because Blitzen was going crazy. Apparently, he'd just put him back in his stall and hadn't even finished removing the equipment on him when the reindeer started kicking and rearing. No one in the stables had been able to get him to calm down since. Bernard had tried when he and Curtis first got to the stables, but it hadn't worked. Scott wasn't so sure he'd be able to help. He spent some time down in the stables, but probably not as much as he should. And usually when he went he'd go see Comet. He really needed to work on bonding with the other reindeer.
The sounds of panicked shouting and frustrated grunting reaches his ears before he even sees the door to the stables. He and Curtis push the double doors open. There is a whole crowd around Blitzen's stall. Most of the elves there are just watching. The only two in the stall with the reindeer are Bernard and Larry. Larry is standing by Blitzen's shoulder, the lead in his hands. Whenever the reindeer goes to rear, the boy pulls down on the lead to keep his head lowered. Bernard is at the reindeer's side, one hand gently pushing on his rear legs.
"What's going on?" Scott calls as he joins the group of elves.
"Blitzen started freaking out out of nowhere!" Larry answers. The reindeer starts stomping his hoof right by the elf's feet. He stumbles away. "Whoa! Watch, the toes, buddy!"
"Does anyone know why? Is he in pain or something?"
"No, I don't think so." Bernard says, rubbing at the Blitzen's side. He rears again, too quick for Larry to stop him, and both boys have to move to the side as he kicks out with his front legs. The group of elves around Scott all let out panicked shouts. Bernard snaps at them, "stop with the noise! I told you lot to move back. You're just making him more afraid."
The elves don't listen. One boy even moves closer to the stall gate. "I saw a mouse in the stable earlier. Blitzen hates mice. Maybe that's what's wrong?"
"This is a heck of a way to act about a mouse!" Bernard grumbles at the same time Larry growls "and you didn't think to catch it?"
Scott nudges the boy to the side and enters the stall. "What can I do to help?"
"C'mere." Bernard waves him over. "Put some pressure on his rear legs and try to keep them moving. I'll take over for Larry and try to keep his front legs on the ground. Be gentle, though. We don't want to hurt him."
Scott does as he's told. Bernard takes the lead from Larry and starts gently clucking while pulling the lead down so the reindeer can't throw his head up. The odd noise seems to be working. Blitzen still stomps a few more times, nearly hitting Scott's foot, but for the most part he's calming down. Scott thinks they've got it, and is about to ask Bernard if he should back away, when one of the elves on the other side of the gate shouts.
"Look, the mouse is back!"
The little brown rodent races passed the reindeer. They don't even get a second to move. Blitzen pulls away so hard, the lead gets ripped out of the Head Elf's hand. He rears back and kicks out with his front legs, catching Bernard right in the chest. The boy is knocked back from the force, falling backwards and smacking his head on the wall.
"Bernard!"
Larry manages to grab the lead again. Curtis hops the gate and rushes over to Bernard. Scott rubs at Blitzen's side as he tries making that same clucking noise Bernard had done. Larry snaps at a stable elf to grab the mouse before it scares the reindeer again. He pulls on the lead so Blitzen can't rear up again. Together the two of them manage to calm Blitzen, the reindeer letting out a few more angry snorts before finally settling. Larry starts patting him on the neck, murmuring soothing words. Scott catches his eye and the elf gives a nod over in Bernard's direction, which lets him know the boy's got this under control and Scott can go see to his Head Elf.
"Bernard? Buddy, you okay?" Scott asks, moving over so he can kneel next to the elf. Curtis is beside him, on his radio.
"Tell him to get to the stables right away. I'm afraid to move him," he says into the device. He hooks it back onto his belt and then scoots over so Scott can lean over to check Bernard for injuries. He's sure his chest is hurt, since that's where he'd been kicked. He doesn't see any scrapes or anything from when he fell. The boy's hat is on the ground, so Scott picks it up and hands it to Curtis before looking over the Head elf's face. He reaches out a gentle hand and brushes the back of Bernard's head with his fingers. They come away stained red.
"Oh, jingle bells, that's not good," he mutters. "Bernard? Can you say something to me?"
"Ow," the elf groans. His eyes are squeezed shut in pain and his breaths are coming in shallow gasps.
"Curtis-" Scott starts, but the boy cuts him off.
"Dr. Hismus is on his way right now. He'll be here soon."
As if that was his cue, a voice calls from the other side of the crowd. "Alright, move it! Move it people! Doctor coming through!"
An elf who looks no older than a twelve year old boy, wearing a stethoscope and an over-sized medical coat, pushes his way through the crowd of elves. One of the stable elves opens the gate for him. He walks over to Bernard's other side and kneels down so he's on the injured boy's level. He looks at Bernard's head and then undoes the top few buttons on the older boy's shirt so he can place the stethoscope against his chest. Scott sees that a bruise is already forming from where he'd been kicked. He feels that familiar buzzing of magic in the air as Dr. Hismus looks over the wounds.
"Can either of you tell me exactly what happened? Decius was too busy panicking to really explain."
"I told Bernard, Deci' gets too worked up to be helping you out in the Elfirmary." Curtis sighs. "Blitzen kicked him in the chest."
"And then he fell and hit his head against the wall," Scott answers as well. He looks over his shoulder to where Larry has the reindeer on the far side of the small stall. Blitzen looks upset, but not like he's still afraid. He watches the reindeer try and get away from the boy and come back over to Bernard, like he wants to see for himself if he hurt the elf.
Dr. Hismus talking grabs his attention again. "Well, from what my magic is telling me, he probably has a minor concussion, but that'll be an easy fix. He definitely has a broken sternum, which is going to take a nice chunk of my magic to heal. Other than that though, I think he's okay."
Neither of those things sound very good to Scott, but Dr. Hismus doesn't seem worried. Scott watches in fascination as Dr. Hismus places one hand against the back of Bernard's head- the younger elf's fingers getting smeared with red too- and the other hand flat against his chest. He's never seen Healing magic before, so he's surprised when the air around them turns hot, like when you sit too close to a campfire. He gets the impression that the magic isn't very comfortable, because Bernard's face scrunches tight with pain. It takes a minute or two for the magic to do its job. When he's done, Dr. Hismus removes his hands and then he and Curtis help the Head Elf sit up.
"How do you feel?" Scott asks.
"Like I got kicked by a reindeer," Bernard grumbles. He rubs the back of his head, wincing when he touches the injured spot. "Think you could give me something for the leftover pain, Doc?"
"Of course, I'll have Decius bring it over to your apartment for you."
"Just have Deci' bring it here. I don't want to wait until I get home tonight to take it."
"Uh, no," Dr. Hismus snorts. "It'll be at home, with you. You're not working for the next three days and I want you taking the rest of today off too. Doctor's orders."
Bernard's mouth drops open in shock. "You're joking. I can't take time off! We're way too busy for that."
"Too bad, you're injured-"
"You just healed me. I'm fine."
"You know as well as I do that it takes time for Healing magic to do its job. I don't want you working for three days." When Bernard opens his mouth to argue more, Dr. Hismus raises his voice. "Keep it up and I'll make it more!"
"You're taking the time off, Bernard. No buts. Now let's get you up so you can go home. And don't you dare try to get Curtis or Quintin to bring any work home to you." Scott says, getting to his feet. Bernard is mad, he can tell, but he holds out a hand and lets Scott pull him up without another word. The crowd of elves is still there, and they swarm around Bernard when he exists the stall. He has to shush them when their jumbled cries of "are you okay?" and "is it bad?" and even one "are you dying?" gets loud enough to make him wince. Scott puts a hand on Bernard's shoulder and steers him towards the doors, calling over his shoulder for all the other elves to please get back to work.
He walks with Bernard all the way back through the workshop and to the town square, turning right at the bottom of the stairs so they can walk down a side street to the rickety stairs over the cafe that lead to his tiny apartment. Bernard lingers at the steps for a moment, before turning to face Scott with a worried look in his eye.
"Alright, look, I'll take the time off like Dr. Hismus wants, but only if you promise to come see me if you really need my help."
Scott shakes his head. "Bernard, we'll be fine. It's just three days. Curtis and I can handle things."
"I'm not saying you can't. It's just... this is your first year up here. I'm supposed to be there whenever you need me."
"You can't help it that you got hurt, buddy."
"I know..." Bernard looks down at his feet, his hands clenched in tight fists. He's a lot more upset about this than Scott thought he'd be.
"What's going on?" he asks.
"Nothing," Bernard mumbles, and he turns to start climbing the stairs. "I'll see you later."
"Whoa, whoa." Scott stops him with a hand on his shoulder. "It's not nothing. Talk to me."
Bernard tries to avoid looking in his eye, but Scott's not having it. Finally, the boy lowers himself onto one of the steps, wincing a little and rubbing at his chest as he does so. The steps are too small for Scott to join him, so instead he leans against the wooden railing. Bernard looks up at him, a deep frown on his face.
"I... I know you've been overwhelmed lately. And the workshop's been pretty crazy this month. I just don't want to abandon you when you need me the most."
"You're not abandoning me. You're hurt. It's okay to take some time off if you need it."
Bernard lets out a snort. "This coming from the guy I had to fight tooth and nail to actually take his vacation."
"Alright, I admit, I'm not winning any awards on 'setting a good example,'" Scott laughs. "But I mean it. You don't have to worry. We're going to be okay while you're gone."
"If you say so..."
Scott taps his fingers against the railing, thinking over his next words. "Is this... are you worried about the Escape Clause?"
Bernard doesn't answer at first. He just sits there quietly, playing with a loose thread on the cuff of his sleeve. Scott waits for him to gather his thoughts, until finally after a few moments he turns to face him again. "I... I guess so. I'm not saying I think you're just going to up and disappear on us one day. But I know this year's been pretty hard on you so far, what with you're house not selling, and everything going on with Charlie. I just worry that if everything gets too much for you, you might find it easier to... you know."
"Escape?" At Bernard's nod, Scott asks "am I doing a good job as Santa?"
"Of course you are! You're doing great. All the elves like you and you've come up with some great ideas to help us- like reorganizing the Wrapping department and getting those reports if a Field Elf gets spotted. Most Santa's don't bother changing too much around here, they're always afraid they might get in our way. Some of them never really bothered with anything besides checking the list and delivering presents. But not you. You're actually trying to be a good Santa. It's really nice."
"Well, thanks. I'm glad you think so. And I'll agree, I've had some tough times this year. But there's been nothing so bad that it's going to make me want to quit this job, Bernard. I promise. I like being Santa. Heck, becoming Santa was probably the best thing to ever happen to me. My son and I are close again. I actually get along with Laura and Neil. I'm happy with the work I'm doing. I honestly don't even want to imagine what it'd be like if I never put on that coat. I'd probably still be that same jerk who couldn't even be on time to spend Christmas Eve with his son."
"Eh, I'm sure you'd have gotten it together eventually," Bernard jokes.
"Maybe, maybe not," Scott shrugs. He claps the boy on the shoulder. "But I mean it. I'll still be here when you get back. So, feel better?"
By his expression, Scott thinks Bernard's going to make a joke or give a snarky response- what he'd usually do when things got too mushy between the two of them. Instead though, he starts to smile, a genuine one that really makes him look like the seventeen year old kid he appears to be, instead of the magical being whose real age Scott can't think about without his head hurting. "Yea, I do. Thanks, boss."
Bernard gets to his feet and, after saying goodbye, finally climbs the stairs and enters his apartment. Scott heads back to the workshop, feeling pretty good about being able to help Bernard. The boy was always giving him advice and lending an ear whenever he needed to vent. It felt nice to be able to do the same for him. And he'd meant it when he said things were going to be fine while Bernard was out. He was positive he and Curtis could handle things. It was just three days. What could possibly go wrong?
Apparently, a lot could.
The first day Bernard's gone, one of the elves brings their cocoa onto the Main Floor and it somehow ends up spilling into the box where the motor for the conveyor belt they're working at is. It starts sparking and smoking immediately, and grinds to a halt with a dozen of toys on it. They have to shut that belt down for the rest of the morning while the maintenance elves fix it, and grab a ladder to reach the toys stuck too high up on it. Afterwards, Larry finds Scott in his office and he has to spend an hour trying to calm the boy down. He's still so mad his stable elves let a mouse run around the reindeer when they know if they see one, they're supposed to catch and release it somewhere else, because both Blitzen and Donner are afraid of them. A good twenty minutes of that time Scott spends arguing, because Larry keeps insisting that- as the Head Stable elf- he is to blame for Bernard getting hurt. Scott tells him no, accidents happen, and that if Bernard doesn't blame him, he shouldn't make himself feel so guilty over it. He finally gets Larry to calm down when he promises to have a talk with the stable elves on why following Larry's rules are important, and if they don't understand why they need to do something, they need to come talk to either Larry, Scott, Bernard, or Curtis about it.
Looking back on it, the first day wasn't so bad. The second day though...
No one knows how, but one of the ovens in the kitchen catches fire, ruining the cookies inside and messing up the wall behind it pretty badly. The fire elves put the flames out quickly, and thankfully no one gets hurt. But they shut that oven down until they can find out what caused the small fire.
"Were you cooking, Santa? I know you caught that turkey on fire two Christmases ago," a kitchen elf jokes.
"How does everyone know about that?" he wonders.
After that, a bag of letters to Santa goes missing somewhere between the Elf Post Office and the workshop. Curtis tracks it down two hours later at the shoe store, strangely enough. Abby accidentally spills cocoa on some blueprints on Scott's desk. Theo cuts his hand open- on what, Scott can't figure out, and Theo doesn't know either. He just saw it was bleeding when he went to help one of the Stuffed Animal department's elves with their sewing machine- so they radio the Elfirmary to let them know he's coming to have it healed. But apparently, Deci' got mixed up because he comes to the workshop instead and by the time they find him wandering around looking for Theo, the other boy has been waiting at the Elfirmary for an hour and a half. Curtis could rival Bernard for the world's worst temper in that moment, because the mix up puts that department really behind for the day and now those elves will have to work twice as hard tomorrow to catch up to where they're supposed to be.
"I swear Santa, Bernard's going to have to rethink who should be Dr. Hismus's nurse." Curtis grumbles as he and Scott close up the workshop for the night. This is normally something Bernard does with the boy, but Scott doesn't mind having to do it. He actually thinks it's something he should know how to do, and makes a mental note to tell Bernard he'd like to take turns with him shutting everything down for the night.
"Oh, I'm sure he was just having an off day," he says as he sweeps under the work tables.
"Every day is an off day with Deci'."
"Curtis!"
"What? I'm just saying, Decius is kind of... flaky."
"What made Bernard assign him to the Elfirmary in the first place?" Scott wonders. Curtis holds a dustpan out, so Scott sweeps the dirt and bits of fabric and wood chips into it, and then watches as the boy empties it into the nearest wastebasket. "Where was he before?"
"He's kind of bounced around departments over the decades. Deci' was never the type to stick to one thing for very long. Bernard decided he should go help the Doc out about ten years ago, and he's refused to move him since. He keeps insisting he'll get the hang of it."
"Does Deci' like it at the Elfirmary?"
Curtis shrugs. They're done cleaning up, so the elf goes to grab that night's paperwork from where he'd left it in the Naughty and Nice Center. "From what I've heard, he loves it. He says it's his favorite job he's done so far."
"Well, then maybe it's a good thing Bernard doesn't want to move him," Scott suggests.
"But just liking it doesn't mean he's good at it."
"Hm..." Scott thinks over his next words. It sounds to him like Bernard just wants the elf to be happy where he's working. Which is kind of nice, he thinks, because sometimes enjoying what you're doing is more important than excelling at it and rising through the ranks. He would know. "I think this might be one of those things you have to learn in order to be Head Elf. You should ask Bernard about it when he's better."
Curtis looks confused, but he drops it when Scott tells him he's heading to bed. He bids goodbye to the boy, and then finally starts making his way to his bedroom. Today has him completely worn out. He doesn't think he's ever been so excited to fall asleep.
He thinks the third day is going to go smoother, because nothing terrible happens during the morning, but that all changes once the afternoon rolls around. Today his trouble is mostly up in the Tower. Titus radios him because there's a plane showing up on the radar and nothing they do will make it change its course. Scott makes his way up into the cramped metal room with wall to wall switchboards. He knows that every once in a while a plane will pass over them, and when that happens it's up to him or Bernard to decide how serious of a matter it is. Bernard had told him before that, depending on how close the plane is, they sometimes have to halt all work being done in the workshop below- what he called "silent running." It's nerve wracking, being up in that tiny space, all the elves up there looking to him for what should they do, and if they should be worried. The plane is headed straight for them, so Scott decides silent running is their safest option. He hears an alarm go off somewhere below his feet, and then the oddest, most unnatural quiet takes over the entire building. His breathing sounds too loud, and when one of the elves in the room accidentally knocks a pen to the floor, he actually jumps a little in fright.
When the plane is gone, Titus gives the all clear. He thanks Scott for the help, but stops him before he gets the chance to leave. It seems several of the radios went on the fritz the evening before and no one had thought to let Quintin know before he left so they could be fixed first thing in the morning. So- after getting no answer when he tried radioing the boy- Scott makes his way to Research and Development. Lyla lets him know Quintin was supposed to be looking at something in the Candy Room. Scott heads there instead, but when he arrives Meabh says Quintin left forever ago. He asks her if she knows where he went, and she says she thinks to see Reggie in the Ball Room. So Scott goes there- no Quintin- and then Reggie tells him to try the Clothing department- also no Quintin. Edna, through a mouth full of pins, tells him to try the kitchens because Quintin is always one of the last elves to grab lunch. So Scott, now a little annoyed, tries there. Judy takes pity on him once he sees Quintin is not here either and uses her radio to call Curtis instead, because the boy used to be in Research and Development and knew how to fix the Tower's radios. Except fifteen minutes later, Curtis calls to let them know Quintin was already at the Tower and just about had everything fixed.
He's frustrated, his feet hurt, and when the clock finally chimes for the end of the work day, he is more than happy to drag himself upstairs to his bedroom and curl underneath the covers.
The next morning, he's woken by the sound of knocking. He sits up with a grunt and flicks the switch by his bed that turns on the candlestick-shaped lamps above the headboard. Through a big yawn he calls, "I'm up, Abby!"
The door opens, but it's not Abby who enters. Bernard walks in, carrying a tray with enough breakfast food for three people. "Morning, boss."
"Bernard!" Scott greets him with a smile. "How are you feeling?"
"A lot better than before." He sets the tray down on the workbench and starts filling a plate up. He hands it to Scott, along with a cup of cocoa, and then makes one for himself. Scott sets the drink on the bedside table so he can dig into the food- scrambled eggs, berries, and a waffle he swears is the size of his head.
"Did the Doc' clear you to come back?" he asks between bites.
"Yes. I knew better than to come back without making sure it was okay. Both you and Judy would have just dragged me back home if I did."
"Sure would have." Scott agrees. Bernard snorts and then sits down at the workbench so he can start shoveling his own food into his mouth. Scott tells him, "I am glad to have you back."
"How ba' was da las' three days?" At least he thinks that's what the elf says. It's hard to understand him with his mouth full of waffle.
"I'm getting you a book on manners for Christmas, I swear."
Bernard just laughs. He does make sure his mouth isn't full when he speaks again, though. "How bad was it? You didn't have too much trouble, did you?"
"Well..." He thinks about how frustrating the past few days have been, and almost tells Bernard about it. But then he remembers the real worry on the boy's face when he told him he was afraid Scott was getting to overwhelmed. In hindsight, everything that happened wasn't too terrible. There's no reason to make Bernard feel bad about being gone. "Nah. It wasn't anything Curtis and I couldn't handle."
By the look on his face, Scott knows Bernard doesn't quite believe him. Instead of pressing the matter, though, the boy just smirks at him. "Right. Maybe I should take some more time off then. Since you two have got things covered."
"Uh, well, I don't-" Scott splutters. Bernard laughs at him, big and loud and wild, like a kid.
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding! I was bored out of my mind these last few days. I'm not missing any more work if I can help it."
"Good." He smiles. "We missed you around here, buddy."
Bernard returns the look. "I missed you guys too."
"Promise not to get hurt again?"
"Trust me," the elf laughs, "I don't plan on it."
Sad tidbit time! (Skip this if you don't want to read anything about death please.) That chipped teacup has been mentioned twice now and I keep going back to it because in my head, it was really important to the previous Santa. The little story of it goes like this: Previous!Santa and his wife had a daughter before they became Mr. and Mrs. Claus. Tragically, she passed away at twelve years old, from an accident. The teacup was her favorite and she always used it when she had tea parties with her mom and dad. Previous!Santa kept it in his desk because it helped him feel close to his daughter. I had Bernard take it because he didn't realize it had accidentally gotten left behind when a new Santa was chosen and he didn't want it to get lost or thrown away. If you remember from an earlier chapter, in the MYA Universe when a person either can't or doesn't want to continue being Santa, they can either retire to where the old Legendary Figures go, or they can become fully human again. I imagine the previous Mr. and Mrs. Claus decided to become human again, so Bernard was able to bring them the teacup after work one day. They were very happy to have it back. :)