Disclaimer: I own nothing, my writing is for amusement and sanity.

Here's my Take Three! Or is it Four? I've messed with my other story "Reindeer to the Rescue", from edits to deletes and redo tries...I'm not satisfied with it, and can't make myself fix it at this point so let's try this!

Read and Review please!

Chapter Four

Xxx

Abby was indeed successful, and Carol couldn't get the smile off her face once she saw the elegant dress appearing from the dress bag.

While Franklin adjusted the slacks Carol was trying on, Lana and Judy were carefully setting up the newly found dress on a mannequin already set at Carol's measurements. The A-line shaped dress was a smooth, ruby red satin that shimmered like frost on glass. Simple in its design, sleeveless, and with a jewel neckline, if it weren't for the magical look to the fabric it would have appeared basic. Until she saw the overcoat. Deep red velvet that matched the Santa coat, and lined with soft white fur the glistening color of pure snow at the sleeve cuffs, collar, and the bottom hem that draped long in the back and shorter in the front to overlap beautifully with the satin.

Judy was shining a pair of slippers, simple ballet flats for Carol instead of low heels, Lana had refused to find a pair as she had guessed the principal wasn't too fond of them. And the seamstress was right. The goal was to have the entire outfit ready by the party, Franklin was confident-Lana was not.

The pair were fussing back and forth, all around setting up Carol with a few outfits to last until she could stop by her house. It was a mix between adorably professional of bantering coworkers, and a culture shock as some of the quips were history references in fashion that Carol couldn't track even with her education background. Judy noticed the confusion, smirking when she caught the woman's gaze.

"Fashion people…huh?"

Carol giggled, trying not to twitch too much while Franklin was adjusting the lay of her blouse and the tucks he'd been pinning.

"Oh snowflakes Judy!" Lana snarked, holding up a bolt of fabric towards Carol's face to judge the tone with her complexions, "Not like you aren't as fussy with your cocoa recipes!"

"Twelve hundred years to perfection!"

Blushing at the ease of their age differences, Carol slipped off the blouse when Franklin waved, stepping down from the pedestal to go change back into her pajamas. Before she could though, a new set of clothes had appeared in the changing room already. Jeans and another tunic sweater, and a pair of sturdy winter boots with gold glitter laces awaited her.

Tying the bows in a flourish at her ankles, Carol stepped out to find Judy carrying a bundle of clothing and Abby holding out Carol's light brown trench coat.

"Where to next ladies?"

Both elves giggled, nodding to Lana's curt dismissal as the red head turned her focus to the dress-Judy lead the way to the door, "How about the welcome area? There's the training classrooms for different departments, recruitment station, and orientation center. And the school Santa told you about, it's mostly used to catch up elves on events elsewhere in the world, but a curriculum change would be greatly appreciated."

Carol smiled, bundling up in her coat and taking one of the bags Judy carried to share the light load, "That sounds wonderful."

Xxx

Two hours later, Carol stepped into a small room on the top floor of the workshop, not quite the highest point in the building, but definitely up there. It was almost like a science fiction command center, though this one looked to be a very solitary work place with two computer stations and only one chair.

That seat was occupied by Bernard, the elf slumped over on the console and staring at flashing screen with varying lines of data and uneven pulses.

Scott on the other hand, was laid out on his back under the second console, fussing with the wiring and muttering under his breath. The Head Elf glanced up when Carol mounted the spiral stairs, waving a little before tapping the keyboard in front of his arm to keep the screen on track.

"What's all this?"

"For lack of a better descriptor," Bernard gestured to the various monitors and readouts, "Magic Monitoring Center, no one's come up with a better name yet. Helps us keep track of the Pole's magic influx and distribution throughout the year."

Carol nodded, scanning the tiny labels written in old fashioned calligraphy displayed under each monitor or gauge and mostly understanding the names, "I'm guessing something's not quite lining up?"

Bernard snorted, "What gave it away?"

"Ow!"

Glancing down at Scott as he grumbled unintelligibly, Carol's eyebrow rose when she looked back to the elf, "Oh you know, just a hunch."

Chuckling a little, Bernard pointed to the screen he was mostly following, the lines pulsing across the display almost like a heartbeat but extremely irregular and with no discernible pattern to any of them.

"These track outward flow of magic, spreading of holiday cheer, the hope of the coming new year, wonder in presents, and the joy in giving." His finger tapped one of the lines when it stuttered visibly, the elf cringing a little at the same time, "With the issue of Santa not being married for so long all coming to a head in an extremely short period of time…on top of the Fake Santa causing so many problems, the distribution isn't rippling properly. Like a blocked pipe, and the buildup-"

Before he could continue, Bernard grimaced and rubbed at his eyes, cringing in pain while Scott slid out from under the console to see his new wife.

"You okay Bernard?"

Grunting, the elf waved off his boss, not looking up while Scott rolled to his feet and reset a couple of the screens.

"Not a good thing for too much magic buildup?" Carol surmised, watching two of the gauge lines bounce and this time Bernard actually groaned aloud, Scott winced as well, tapping a couple keys in response.

Scott huffed a breath, "It's annoying on a good day, painful otherwise. The workshop…the elves…myself, are all tied to the magic. Technically you will be as well, but not to the extent like Bernard and I. You might feel static in the air when things act up, but in this case-"

"I have a massive headache and we're trying to reset the connection." Bernard finished.

Carol watched them work for a bit in silence, the lines remaining erratic while even Scott looked to be getting a headache the longer this occurred. While not fully understanding exactly what she was looking at, Carol did break up the tense discussion between the elf and her husband after staring at one screen for a few minutes in contemplation.

"Could the distribution be blocked because of the Toy Santa? Division of sourcing and then rerouting of flow?" Carol's questions made two very weary pairs of eyes turn to her, one more pained than the other, "I mean, from someone who has never been here before, I would have thought the North Pole would feel joyful and wonderful all rolled up into Christmas Magic. But it felt more like frustration and condescension, like an argument taking place."

The dawning on Scott's and Bernard's faces was almost comical, at least until the elf almost slammed a set of codes into one of the keyboards before dashing for the stairs.

Scott was just a few seconds behind the Head Elf, holding out a hand for Carol and heading out.

While he'd started out faster, Scott and Carol caught with Bernard just before the R&D center when the elf visibly stumbled. Neither of them commented, but the shared look between them was enough for a silent agreement to bring up later.

Shoving at the too long sweater sleeves, Bernard lead them into the room and around the Pantograph that was no longer glowing and the side panels all torn open. Set up a workbench with a couple mechanical display Santas, was supposed to be the shrunken Toy Santa locked in a small display case.

None of them were expecting to find the entire case smokey black and ruined with melted plastic oozed all over the interior.

"Well…that's one way to solve a problem." Scott leaned over to examine the case better, nose wrinkling in disgust at the smell of burnt fabric and wiring.

Bernard squinted at the wreckage, "I am going to say the Pantograph was not as stable as we thought."

"Tripling the RAM probably did it, I doubt Curtis took the electromagnetic discharge into account that the field gave off with the extra power. Wouldn't surprise me if the circuitry is out of whack as well." Scott poked at the case in contemplation, he stepped to the side as if to go investigate, being paused by Bernard's arm blocking his path with a well-practiced look of exasperation on the elf's face.

"Thought we were leaving it alone for a few days."

"Yeah, but-"

"Santa-"

"Boys."

Both turned on Carol, Scott having the brains to look sheepish, while Bernard just looked tired. She had been at the Pole for less than forty-eight hours and already had discovered the pair's dynamic.

This was going to be fun.

Smirking, Carol waved at the case and machine, "So now what do we do?"

Staring at the case, Bernard alternated between rubbing at his temples and glancing at Scott, lost in thought for several long moments. "Santa-"

"Yeah?"

"Where's your globe?"

Scott huffed softly, "In the Hall, where else? If there's anything I can remember, is to leave that alone."

The Head Elf nodded, burying his face in his palms, "Could you go get it? I think I can reset this."

"Here?" Scott turned, "Or the office?"

"The…" Bernard sighed, trailing off abruptly with the heavy gust of air.

Carol met Scott's gaze, nodding subtly towards the door. Agreeing without a word, Scott lightly nudged Bernard's shoulder to get his attention, voice lowered to keep it from echoing.

"Hey…mind showing Carol back to my office? I'll meet you there."

A tight nod was his response, and Scott managed to school his expression when the elf finally looked up. Trying to look encouraging, Scott headed out while Carol waited for Bernard.

The walk back to the Santa Suite was silent, Carol taking the slower pace to glance around and observe more of her surroundings. Without being ostentatious or extravagant in a pompous way, nearly everything in the building was intricately detailed. It was almost a game to find all the hidden uniqueness as she walked.

There was a plain garment bag draped over the couch opposite the one Bernard had slept on when the pair arrived at the Suite. Not even sparing it a glance, Bernard sagged back onto the cushions, sinking into the pile of blankets and pillows.

Carol examined the bag instead of settling in to wait, finding Franklin's note of fresh clothes for Carol's use and that the dress would be delivered on time for the coming party. Taking the garment bag to the bedroom, Carol gave Bernard some space while waiting for Scott. There was a set of hooks on the back of the bathroom door in the bedroom, perfect for temporary hanging.

Going by the impression from Judy, Carol was suspecting there would be a change to the rooms once Judy was able to pin down Scott and the building team together.

"…you say this is happening all so fast…"

Abby wasn't joking; December first, Carol was dreading the end of the school semester and holiday rabble within the school-all while just waiting for the phone call from her family to say their plans had changed yet again. December twenty-fourth, Carol was married and touring the most magical place she'd ever seen.

Putting all that aside, Carol focused on the present. Today, was figure out why Scott was getting a…magic headache…that's the best her mind could come up with, and why Bernard was in nonstop pain. Get that to stop…and then Carol was likely going to go back to sleep and tackle tomorrow in a more productive manner; as with only one meal and a walking tour after the tailor stop…it was almost ten o'clock at night and she was tired. Her time schedule was almost completely messed up.

Behind her in the office/living room, Scott appeared and was speaking quietly, trying to discern if Bernard had fallen asleep or not. Judging by the lack of response, the elf had.

Stepping up behind her, Scott hummed approvingly as she examined the blouses and sweaters within the garment bag.

"Franklin's good, and he likes you. He doesn't use that blue color for just anyone," Scott said, lightly brushing his fingers down a royal blue wrap blouse with matching black slacks.

"And who came up with those sweaters of yours?" Carol teased, getting the very mature response of Scott sticking his tongue out at her childishly.

"That is…" Scott shrugged, "I don't have an answer. Probably a mix between Maggie and Lana, though others probably helped and were prompted by Charlie."

"Is Bernard-?"

"Part of the sweater scheme?" Scott shrugged, "I doubt-"

Carol snorted, "Scott."

"He's asleep, was going to give him a minute, never been a good idea to wake him up in my experience."

Glancing towards the office, Carol lowered her voice a bit more with the open doors, "So…is it just me…or does it take a bit to separate…umm…"

"Children from elves?" Scott nodded, "Give it a few months, takes some practice and just being up here. The majority will be not only entirely understanding but also mature beyond their years on purpose. Though, there's a handful who insist on maintaining the other side and that's how I end up with tinsel all over the workshop."

"Tinsel football?"

"That too." Scott smiled, "And I know that look, the bordering on teacher/parental feeling. That's normal too. I can't really explain it, but I'm going to go with it's the 'caring for others' thing Santa and Mrs. Claus represent. And…"

Gesturing to the office, Scott's smile turned sardonic, "Bernard's known for almost burning out this time of year, hard not to try and keep track of him no matter how much he complains."

Nodding, Carol relaxed a little, "I feel like I'm going to overstep, but I got into higher level education because I wanted to teach and help older students who often get ignored. I know he's not-"

"A young adult who forgets to eat?" Smirking, Scott completely understood, "Yeah, I know the feeling. But just wait til he makes you question any and all understanding you may have had about your history education and then rethink that."

"I can hear you."

Scott snorted, not even bothering to glance over his shoulder at the elf's grumble from the other room, "Anything to say in your defense?"

"Plenty."

"Anything to say that is relevant to this century?"

Grumbling instead, it sounded like Bernard stood up, and Scott motioned for Carol to follow him back. She did pause when she caught sight of the snow globe Bernard was holding. And ornate silver base stylized like carved wood to encircle the bottom of the glass, insets of carved toys were placed around in tiny frames to almost hollow out the base and lead up to the fancy scrollwork actually holding the globe part steady. From a distance, it looked like a forest was sitting inside the glass world. Once she was closer, Carol could see the finer details of a town within the globe.

"It's…beautiful."

Scott beamed, taking the globe to show her better with a slight roll of his wrist to get the glittery snowflakes moving.

"It's actually misbehaving, Charlie showed you his, right?"

"Yes."

"That magic you saw, mine does the same, but it's not reacting right. Just a sec." Scott glanced over at his Head Elf.

Bernard huffed in response, shaking out his wrists before holding his hands above and below the snow globe Scott was holding between his own, "Remember how we did this last time?"

"You mean almost seven years ago?"

"Very funny."

Shrugging Scott held out his arms a bit straighter, fingers flexing on the silver base in preparation, "Am I reaching or are you?"

"You hold still," Bernard's hands slowly closed to cup the base and the top of the globe, "This time you're just holding the door open-"

"Easier said than-"

Zzzt!

Carol did admittedly yelp when the lights went out, throwing the Suite and the majority of the buildings outside the window into darkness for a few seconds before everything hummed back to life. The lights came last, flickering and stabilizing just before the phone rang on Scott's desk.

"Hold the door…not slam it open." Scott pulled away to answer the phone, scowling to himself before reassuring whoever was on the other end of the line that the power glitch was okay and everything was fine. Carol watched Bernard instead, the elf rubbing his hand lightly and not focusing on her. At least until he noticed her scrutiny.

That made him gently take the snow globe from Scott's hand, carefully shaking it and passing it to the woman in silence.

This time, the tiny town lit up with sparkles of candles and lights, elves running between buildings and reindeer dashing across the rooftops and circling the trees, it all cascaded to an end with falling flakes in a flash of fireworks and magic all contained within the glass.

Smiling like crazy, Carol couldn't quite hold back the happy tears once she could pull her gaze away, "That's...wow…"

The smile on Bernard's face was the best Carol had seen since her wedding, a full face expression that lit up the elf's very being. It honestly expounded her wonder tenfold when she looked up with the last of the sparks fading out.

Just that, her simple wonder, and the Head Elf was beaming like a little kid.

And in a lot less pain as he turned to Scott when the phone was hung up,

"Blew a fuse up in the Crow's Nest, but Porkchop double checked the Monitoring Center and it's leveling out finally." Scott stated, fussing with his desk and finding the watch he'd been wearing since Charlie's parental conference, "And! Aha! Back on the top."

Old-fashioned and elegant, the watch was stuck firmly on the ten of the gauge Carol hadn't fully seen until Scott's botched explanation date, she hadn't paid it much mind then, but now stared in wonder as Scott passed her the leather and metal wrist watch. "This is incredible."

"It really is, helped guide what I was doing, even if a bit too much technically, but I will say the school Christmas party needed assistance, because whoo-boy, that was a disaster-"

Carol chuckled, looking up long enough to stop Scott's ramble while focusing back on the watch in her hand, fingering the leather band delicately.

"I meant the craftmanship, this is amazing." Carol held the watch up to the light, catching the finer details on the metal watch frame and back plate, "Really stunning."

Scott hummed in appreciation, catching her eye before nodding to Bernard with a smile.

"You made this?"

"Well-"

A low snort slid from Scott, and he nudged the elf lightly, "He did, customized and everything. Oh stop blushing Number One, it's amazing!"

Bernard just shook his head, the blush high on his cheeks making the sparkled freckles stand out more in comparison to the exhausted tint he wore earlier.

Carol yawning put a pause on anything further, and Scott copied her only half a second before the elf did, "Alright, anyone hungry?" At double shakes of heads, Scott nodded to himself, "Bed it is, Bernard, how's your arms?"

Pausing his idle scratching, the elf tried to brush it off, until not only his boss stared at him, but Carol did as well.

"Yeah," Scott jerked a thumb towards the bathroom, "Not getting out of this one."

A faint smirk slid from Carol, and while her new husband went to answer a knock at the outer door, the principal followed Bernard to the bathroom and its first aid kit.

At least the welts were looking better, scabbed over and the swollen edges having calmed down with time. The bruising on the other hand, had only gotten darker, less distinct as the colors had faded together. And this time, Bernard did actively grimace when Carol cleaned the marks and rewrapped the elf's forearms.

"I won't bother trying to say it looks better," Carol said, "But the bleeding stopped."

Shrugging with one shoulder, Bernard leaned back against the counter and watched the white gauze cover up the darkened bruises, "Is what it is, thank you."

"You're welcome," Smiling as genuine as she could, Carol met the elf's gaze, "And I mean always."

"Hmm?"

Carol waved at the room, "I'm great at managing a school…but it's not the North Pole. And I have had a total of two dates with Scott and that's not even close to my set number before I try to do something more involved than dinner and a movie. While I don't doubt we'll work well together…I have no idea what I'm doing."

She pulled a better smile with that, and went on when the realization started to dawn on Bernard's face, "And while I want to learn as much as I can, I honestly failed human relations-"

Bernard snorted abruptly, stifling it behind a hand and unable to meet her gaze for several seconds.

"Charlie…"

Nodding in agreement, Bernard composed himself while Carol rolled her eyes, "I don't want us to get off on the wrong foot, Scott obviously cares about you and looks to you for just about everything he can't himself handle. And I don't want to hinder that or anything that's so magical about this place."

That honest smile came back, Bernard losing a little of the tension he'd still been carrying, likely without realizing it as the relaxed stance took over, "You know…I think everything is going to be just fine."

Straightening when the elf stood up, Carol held out her hand, "Carol, pleased to meet you."

"Bernard," He took it gladly, a wry smirk appearing, "Welcome to the North Pole."

Thank you for reading! Review Please!