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 Eight

Xxx

April 8th

Spring Break

11:38am

Xxx

Grumbling under her breath, Carol struggled to reach the top shelf of the closet, trying to shove the boxes into their proper places. Logically, a step ladder would have been useful, for all that the North Pole was set up for elves it wasn't like there was a shortage of ways to accommodate those lacking in height.

Carol was just too stubborn to go find one whilst deeply entrenched in her organizing.

Every weekend or so, depending on school board meetings and incumbent interviews, Carol spent her time at the North Pole settling in to the Santa Suites that had been rapidly remodeled via the elves and the town's own magic. It had been a huge shock to come back one weekend, right after the Valentine's Day long break, and find the rooms Scott occupied off the workshop had suddenly moved themselves to accommodate another person.

While still functional for Scott's work life, the small seating area and office had expanded enough to actually hold a decent crowd if needed, and the desk had slid forward to allow space for another one just to the side so Carol and Scott could work nearby one another. In the bathroom, the cabinets had expanded and better lighting had been installed around the vanity mirror, as well as a second sink being placed so each Claus had their own to use without being right on top of one another. Scott had appreciated the details, and the creamier paint scheme as a change to the snow and icicle theme, he hadn't quite been as amused having to stay in the guest lodgings for a week while the plumbing team had fixed up the bathroom.

But in all honesty, Carol really loved the bedroom. And the closets.

While previously, the room was very simplistic in furnishings; now the sleigh bed had new side tables built into the headboard, that lead to more shelving for Carol's personal library she was slowly transferring. Along both sides of the room under the windows were plush window benches, covered in festive pillows with just enough plain ones that it wasn't overpowering, storage cabinets and drawers were built under the benches, replacing the trunks and tall shelving Scott had had originally. The dressers had moved into the separate closets, each Claus having a new walk-in space custom designed for their needs.

And Carol was trying to straighten up hers as she put her things away.

"Oh C'mon!"

Staring at her feet, Carol gave the fallen boxes the stink eye, huffing out her nose impatiently at the bigger mess.

"I think this is a good time for a break."

Turning at the slightly giggle filled voice behind her, Carol fought to calm the frustration on her face before passing a smile to Abby, "You know, I think you're right."

Xxx

Xx

Xxx

One minute, they were enroute to the movies.

The next…everyone was screaming.

Xxx

Xx

Xxx

Sitting in the tiny café appropriately named The Kringle Kjeks, the cozy establishment was perfect for a cocoa and sandwich break, and a happy distraction from the chaos that was moving belongings from her house to the North Pole. Carol hummed softly around her Nistepakke, loving the bite of pepper to counteract the sweetness of the cheese.

Nibbling on her own cookies, Abby was content to let the new Mrs. Claus take her time on her lunch break, and take a few moments to immerse herself in Elfsburg without all the fanfare Carol's presence usually drew when out and about. She'd been forewarned, that her current in and out residence with finishing out the school year would attract attention, any time Carol was in public around the Pole she would likely get a bunch of elves wanting to meet her and get to know the new Lady.

Today, it had mostly been just waves and a few cheery greetings, everyone extremely busy during the Spring Review. With April underway, the Workshop was starting to swing into gear, as Summer began the long haul of mass production kicked up and late spring was organizing and finalizing any new prototypes and production methods. Scott was off doing just that, meeting with department heads and streamlining everything he could to make the season go smoothly and allow the workshop to be well set up for when the Claus couple took their summer honeymoon.

Carol couldn't wait, it was still a toss-up between a Bed and Breakfast excursion to Dublin, Ireland; or a Ski Chateau trip near Charmonix, France; but she and Scott would be leaving three days after her school contract ended and be gone for a month.

For now though, she was emptying her house bag by bag or a few boxes at a time, depending on what she'd managed to pack after work during the week around cleaning her house and preparing it for the realtor. Plus, she had to be careful with the weight distribution when she packed, with only one reindeer allotted to the transport sleigh, and having to make a rapid round trip without the Christmas Time Distortion, Scott was careful with how much was packed into the sleigh each trip. After the Valentine's Day Fair ending, Bernard hadn't been readily available to help Carol on the weekends, meaning Scott was slowly teaching his new wife how to drive a sleigh on their almost weekly flights.

Speaking of the absentee Head Elf, the quiet of the café was broken up by the clink of the bell over the door, just loud enough to echo back in the kitchen without disturbing the patrons, Bernard stepped inside without glancing around, head down and focusing on the cell phone in his hand. To the point Carol watched the impending disaster, and stopped it with a subtle cough. Bernard jerked at the sound, and stopped before he could collide with the front counter.

The sheepish grin he gave Carol in appreciation was met with a smirk from Mrs. Claus, and the woman waving to one of the spare chairs at her own table. Nodding in agreement, Bernard focused back on the elf lad at the counter, placing his order.

Abby smiled widely at the pair, passing Carol the last of the cookies as she stood up, "I think you'll be in better company without me. I'll go let Santa know you're in town and not the suites."

"Thank you, Abby."

Waving in parting, the she-elf wove around Bernard with ease, ignoring the look he gave her as he passed with his plate and mug.

"Figured Abby would show you this place eventually, it's the best place in Elfsburg." Bernard eased into the chair across from Carol, breaking one of the cookies in half and shoving the entire piece in his mouth.

"Compared to Judy's?" Carol teased, nibbling on a gingerbread man's leg while the elf dug into his sandwich.

Bernard shrugged, "Don't tell her I said that, though she prefers baking to cooking, and her cocoa experiments are definitely more unique."

Nodding in agreement, Carol sipped at her iced cocoa, wishing there was a bit of expresso in it as well, "That is true, I do prefer her recipe to anything I've attempted to make, though today I wouldn't mind a little more caffeine…still have an entire closet to clean up."

"Sounds like moving is annoying."

"It can be," Carol drained her cup, "Ever moved?"

That earned a vaguely contemplative look, before the Head Elf grinned a bit, "Honestly? I sort of remember arriving at the North Pole when I was…a long time ago, and there were a couple moves for learning and then promotions. But I don't think I've had to move like you're talking about, most elves haven't, really."

"Well, I don't recommend it," Carol replied.

"Noted," Bernard gestured in the basic direction of the workshop outside, "How do you like the closet remodel? Need anything adjusted or changed?"

"Nah, I just need to figure out where to put everything, and stop dropping my boxes on my head, but apparently gravity has other plans."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I should probably find a step ladder for the higher shelves, was being a bit stubborn about it all, but I-Bernard are you okay?"

The elf didn't answer, pinching the bridge of his nose tightly and huffing out what sounded like a pained breath before he staggered to his feet.

"Bernard?"

Shaking his head abruptly, the Head Elf did let Carol follow him outside and around the side of the café, not looking up until they were out of sight from anyone else. Forcing out a sharp exhale, Bernard leaned against building with a soft hiss, wincing as he met Carol's worried gaze, "Something's wrong."

"Scott?"

"N-no…this is…" Bernard hissed again, pressing a hand to his chest, "This isn't him…"

Carol carefully gripped the elf's shoulders, trying to get Bernard to focus on her, "Bernard…what's going on, I need you tell me."

"It's…Charlie."

Xxx

Scott was half inside a conveyor belt underbelly, trying to replace a set of gear cranks, when Levi-the elf in charge of the teddy bear department, kicked at his boss's boots to get his attention. Sliding out on the creeper, he was expecting to find another department head or Curtis needing his help. He was definitely shocked to see Carol and Bernard rushing over, both looking panicked.

"What happened?"

Xxx

Xx

Xxx

Within ten minutes, Carol was speeding across town, hovering right over the speed limits on the roads between her house and the high school. Bernard had had to take an extra minute to focus, before teleporting the Clauses down from the Pole. At least with the normal weekend, the principal's house was empty and easy to get into without anyone noticing.

Though with the rapid jump, Bernard was too unsteady for Carol to let him go back to the Pole, insisting he stayed with them as he was also the only one able to tell it was Charlie that was in trouble. Once stable after the teleport, he'd been able to get an inkling that it involved the high school, but other than that the elf was admittedly too dizzy to focus.

Before Scott or Carol could ask why, the principal shoved a spare sweatshirt at the eld to hide his brighter clothes and rushed them all into her car.

Halfway to the school grounds, Scott glanced over his shoulder at his Head Elf, finding Bernard had slumped against the back window and appearing rather sick.

"You alright back there?"

"Yeah…"

"Sure don't look it."

Bernard grunted, about to reply when Carol's cell phone screamed in her bag.

"Scott can you pass that to me?"

Complying, Scott barely glanced at the screen to see Superintendent lit up before Carol took the device to answer it, pressing the cell phone to her ear with her shoulder.

The conversation was stilted, Carol more focused on her driving.

Until she hit the brakes so hard they all flew forward when the vehicle was jerked to the side of the car.

"They did what?!"

Scott stared at her in shock, watching the horror drain any remaining color from his wife's face, her hand was shaking when it clasped the phone to keep talking, "Is the…yes of course, no-all that info is in the main office, Rhonda is on call this weekend. No, Mr. Calvin is with me now, we'll be there in five minutes and will call the Millers. You work on the rest. Right, I know. Yeah."

Almost throwing the phone at her husband, Carol gunned her car down a different road, pushing the gas to make the engine growl in its urgency.

"Carol, what is it?"

"Call Laura and Neil, tell them to meet us at the-"

"School! Yeah, it's the other way!"

"They're not at the school!"

That wasn't what he wanted to hear, "Not at the-then where's Charlie?!"

She struggled to answer, bordering on tears from frustration and a myriad of other emotions.

"The hospital."

Thank you for reading! Review Please!