For pleaseactsurprisedxx. Early Merry Christmas.

Noelle Rebecca Kringle is second in line to the Santa throne behind her sister, Fat Amy. What happens when her sister runs off with her grinch boyfriend, Bumper? And what about when her elf sidekick Chloe gets lost in the search for Santa? Can Beca find her sister and convince her to come back to the North Pole in time to save Christmas? And what about Chloe? Beca certainly can't bear to leave the elf behind.

Inspired by Noelle (2019) with lots of artistic leeway

"AaahhhhAAAHHHHaaaaaahhhh." The melodic voice rang out over the snowy scene. "AaahhhhAAAHHHHaaaaAAAhhhh." The brunette stomped her foot. "Yo! Snowcone! Dude!" The girl leaned out the window, searching for something when a small white reindeer came swooping up, bobbling in the air. "Oh!" He seemed almost as if he was wriggling in the air. "Yes, who's my hyperactive little reindeer? You are!" He began to wobble with excitement and she took in her breath. " Oh! You got it," she cheered when he stabilized himself.

"Beca!"

"Mmm," the girl didn't turn from the window.

"Morning, princess." A redheaded elf walked into Beca's bedroom carrying a tray. The elf's mother had been Beca's nanny when she was growing up. Now that her mother had retired, the task of caring for the youngest Kringle fell to Chloe.

"Thank you, Chloe, but I don't want breakfast."

The elf put the tray down on a desk. "Yes, you do."

Beca took a seat at a mixing board and some portable turntables. "I'm very busy."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "I have been out in the forest, chopping firewood, carting it on my back, so that I could heat up the cottage and make your breakfast waffles, while I picked up all the dirty clothes, but none of that's really been a problem."

Beca huffed out an annoyed air. "I don't need you to do any of that stuff. Honestly."

The elf's next comment was sarcastic. "You would starve and die if it weren't for me."

Beca wandered over to the tray of food Chloe had brought in and plucked a cookie off a plate. "That's what you think. Oh, my garland. This is delicious."

"Those are for dessert." Chloe swatted at Beca's hand. "You were supposed to eat the waffles and fruit first."

Beca shoved the rest of the cookie in her mouth and went back to her mixing board. "Oh, my partridge-in-a-pear-tree underwear needs washing."

"Oh, well, then my Christmas wish has been granted." With that, Chloe gathered the laundry thrown around the room and left the room. As she shut the door to Beca's room, she leaned against the doorframe thinking about the heir to the Kringle legacy, second in line to be the next Santa.

The girls had grown up as playmates despite Chloe's mother, Polly, ensuring her daughter that she remembered her place in Beca's life. She didn't recall the moment her feelings towards the Kringle shifted. Despite her grumbling to Beca about all the tasks she did to make sure Beca's life was simple, Chloe didn't mind. She lived for Beca's happiness, and that was all that mattered.

Rebecca Noelle Kringle was the second child of Kris Kringle, the current Santa Claus. Her sister, Fat Amy, was next in line for the Santa gig – whether she wanted it or not. A few Christmases ago, Santa had given Amy her own Santa hat and coat then declared time had come for his eldest child to start training to be Santa. "I'm not getting any younger, kids." Amy had never taken her training seriously, and Beca often felt her sister didn't even want to be Santa.

Amy Holly Kringle would become the twenty-third Kringle to wear the red hat. She'd been practicing her sleigh flying here in the North Pole, even before the snow had fallen enough to cover the rooftops. One time, Beca made the mistake of riding with her. She held onto the reins and shrieked, "Am I supposed to land on the house?"

"Slow down," Beca shouted. "Slow down, Amy! No, no, no!" When the sleigh crashed into the chimney and the sleigh came to a halt, Beca sighed in relief.

Fat Amy looked at her. "We can work with that, right?"

"Sister, you're going to need a lot more practice. And put on some Santa appropriate clothes."

Amy looked down at her shirt, "This shirt has a picture of a stocking on it," she said innocently.

"'Well hung' isn't something children appropriate."

When Amy and Beca's father passed away about five months before Christmas, the girls' mother and elves ramped up Amy's training. The only way Beca could keep her sister motivated was to remind her of all the treats the children would leave at every stop on Christmas Eve. "Just think, Santa Amy, every bit of exertion at each house is rewarded with a special treat baked especially for you."

Sometimes that reminder was all Amy needed to keep up with her training to become the next Santa of the Kringle generation. Food.

Beca stepped onto her skates once she was outside. Her earmuffs had built-in speakers so she could listen to music when she was outside. "Hey, Snowcone, let's go. I'll race you." The tiniest Kringle began racing towards the Sleigh Command Center. "Ahhhhhhhhh, move!" A group of puffins scattered as she skated through them. "Sorry, guys," she yelled over her shoulder. Ice shavings flew from her skates as she slid to a stop in front of the command center. A blonde and brunette with cute candy cane stockings with notebooks came trotting up to her.

"Rebecca Noelle! Elf Jessica and Elf Ashley. Daily Carol. Can we ask you a few questions?"

Beca unwound her scarf and moved her candy cane headphones to around her neck. "I'm all earmuffs. Fire away."

"We know it's been a whirlwind preparation since your father, and our dearly beloved Santa Nicholas passed away."

Ashely piped up. "How is your sister doing?"

With the briefest of hesitation, Beca piped up, "So jolly. We're all very proud of her."

Jessica glanced at Ashley. "And the big question is: will she be ready by Christmas?"

"Of course! She's a Kringle. Okay, girls. Time to go inside. Love your tights by the way."

Beca knocked off her skates and stepped into the Reindeer Control Center. After shedding her coat, she hung up her outerwear before stepping inside. When she saw her sister sitting on a chaise with her feet propped up, she got confused. "Amy, what happened? Mother! Santa, I thought you were at sleigh practice."

Mrs. Kringle came in with a pint of ice cream in a baggie to put on Amy's head. "Santa tried to land again, this time on our house. She missed the roof and hit the den this time."

A tall brunette was at a large control panel. "It was a horrible example of what can go wrong when you're using, well, outdated technology. After Cousin Amy crashed, the…"

Beca crossed her arms with an indignant look on her face. "I'm sorry, Cousin Stacie. Did you just refer to her as Cousin Amy? Shouldn't you be calling my big sister 'Santa'?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just thought that since we were all family, that..."

Beca interrupted her. "Well, she's Santa to you. She's Santa to everyone. She's even Santa to herself."

Amy chirped up, "Well, actually, I'm pretty informal when I'm alone. I'm just Amy."

"Alone. That's a jolly idea." Beca was livid. "Why don't we all just give Santa a moment."

"Before you all leave, can someone get me a sandwich or five?" Santa loved having a whole crew of elves at her beck and call.

"Excuse me, Beca." Stacie had a concerned look on her face. "This really isn't going well. Dasher nearly broke an antler. And we're way, way behind schedule at the workshop. You need to do your job and give your sister some Christmas spirit, or else we're not gonna be ready for Christmas."

By this time, Amy had stolen a stash of elf candy canes and was wandering around the control center shoving canes at elves shouting, "Well get to it. These candy canes aren't going to suck themselves."

"The Book of Santa." Fat Amy groaned. "I've read it. I've memorized it. I've listened to it on tape. I just don't get it." She shoved another candy cane in her mouth.

Beca looked fondly at Santa. "Okay. Well, we are gonna read it together, and we're gonna figure this out. But let's get a change of scenery." The two Kringles skated to the Chocolate Factory and took the best seat in the house.

"Two double hot chocolates, please." Beca smiled at the server. "One with extra whipped cream and peppermint." The sisters enjoyed the silence until the server returned with their order. "Thank garland for hot chocolate and peppermint. Now let's tackle this book." Beca and Amy went through procedures for going down chimneys and what to do if a residence didn't have a chimney.

"How am I supposed to know which is the right present to give each child? If I don't know who's naughty or nice, how can I pick their present?"

Beca flipped to the back of the book. "This is the list of names. Some are nice, some are naughty, and the rest you have to decide." She also talked about language barriers in different countries. "Amy, haven't you been attending any of your Santa lessons?"

"They are always during lunch." She motioned for the server to bring her another muffin. "Beca, since you already know how all this works, why don't you be Santa? I don't even want this job."

"The Council thinks I'm too tiny. Besides tradition is clear – Santa descends to the first-born child of each Kringle generation."

"You'd still make a better Santa than me. You're jolly, and I'm a grinch. I dream sometimes you know, of getting out of the North Pole. Finding someplace warm where I can stretch and relax. Just breathe, you know. This Santa training is stressful."

"Hang in there, sis. I have faith. Once this first Christmas is over, you'll be a total pro."

Chloe taps on Beca's door. "Beca?" Not hearing an answer, the redheaded elf slowly opens the door. Beca is laying on her bed, wireless earphones in, her feet going back and forth in time with the music. After watching for a few minutes, Chloe launched herself onto the foot of the bed, startling the youngest Kringle.

"What the mistletoe?" Beca pulled the earphones out of her ears. "What if I had been mixing, Chloe? I could have messed up my equipment."

"But you weren't. When you mix, you wear those big headphones, not the ones that go in your ears." Beca arched her eyebrow, shocked that the elf had noticed. "What were you listening to?" She reached for one of the earphones and stuck it in one ear. Immediately she began to shimmy and dance with the music. "This is really good," she shouted. "Oh, I guess that was kind of loud."

Beca laughed as she turned off her music. Something about this elf intrigued her. She'd known Chloe for as long as she could remember. Since Chloe had become responsible for Beca's care, things had changed. Beca felt she was taking advantage of Chloe's sweetness. Plus the elf was pretty adorable - and attractive. Chloe seemed like she'd be fun to be around away from the household chores. Beca made a mental note to search the by-laws for rules around elves dating. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. "What can I do for you, Chloe?"

The elf shyly handed the headphone back to Beca. "Your mother wants to know if you have seen your sister. She missed Santa lessons today."

Groaning, Beca pulled on her reindeer slippers and told Chloe she'd go down to talk to her mother.

"Mother, Chloe said Amy didn't show up for Santa lessons today. There are only four weeks left until Christmas Eve, and she needs all the lessons she can get."

"I know, Rebecca, which is why I wondered if you knew where she went. Would you be a dear and find her?" Mrs. Kringle leaned in and kissed her daughter's cheeks. "Take Chloe. Two sets of eyes are better than one."

Beca glanced at the elf who was smiling sweetly. "Let's go, Chlo. You need to get out of the house anyway."

Chloe and Beca slipped on their blades and began to randomly skate around the North Pole. They checked the Chocolate Factory, Dasher's Diner, Cookie Cottage, and even Cupid's Corner where the best candies were served. "I think that's all the food places," Beca said. "That's normally where she hides."

"The North Pole isn't that big, where else might she go?"

"Amy was supposed to practice with the reindeer again today. Let's try the barn." As Beca pushed off to skate to the barn, Chloe slipped her gloved hand into Beca's. The feeling was so natural that Beca just swung her arm back and forth with the elf's. And there was an extra feeling - a tingling Beca had never felt before. When she looked over at the redhead elf, Chloe was beaming her captivating smile at her.

When they got to the reindeer barn, the doors were open wide and it was empty. The deer wranglers were mucking stalls and cleaning up like they normally did when the sleigh was out on a run. "Frost, where's the sleigh?"

He stopped raking straw. "Why Santa took it out on a practice run a few hours ago. I'm impressed they've been gone this long. Normally she gives up pretty quickly."

Beca looked at Chloe with fear in her eyes. "Come on."

They speed skated to the Sleigh Control Center. Barely taking time to take off her blades, Beca burst through the doors. "Stacie," she panted breathlessly. "Please tell me you installed that fancy GPS tracker you were talking about. You know, upgrading Santa's sleigh technology?"

The tall brunette turned around and looked at her cousin. "We are still testing the equipment, but yes, we're upgrading. Plus the sleigh still has its old technology installed."

"Can you tell me where the sleigh is? Like right now?"

Feeding off her cousin's nervous energy, Stacie spun around to the control panel and began clicking keys. After a few moments, she announced. "The sleigh… is pulling into the barn… right about… now." She turned to face her cousin.

Relieved, Beca spun, grabbed Chloe's hand and raced back to the barn. They arrived right as Frost was rubbing down the last reindeer and the other elves were cleaning the harnesses. "Frost, where's Santa?"

"Santa didn't come back with the reindeer. The auto-pilot was set, and they came home on their own. We drill on this a lot in case Santa ever gets hurt or, heaven forbid, falls out of the sleigh." He turned his attention back to his four-legged charges, making sure their buckets were filled with grain and they each had fresh water.

Beca looked at Chloe. "So if Santa took the sleigh out this morning, but the sleigh is here now, where is Santa?"

The elf was perplexed as Beca. She suggested they head back to Sleigh Control Center and talk to Stacie more about where the sleigh had gone.

"Stacie, I know the sleigh is in the barn." Beca's frustration was about to boil over. "But where has the sleigh been? Santa didn't come back with the reindeer. DId she run away? Is she hurt? Did she fall out of the sleigh over the Andes? Help me out, Stace?" Chloe stood next to a frantic Beca, rubbing her back in comforting circles.

"See, the Kringle family does need me. And Santa needs new technology."

Chloe could feel the tension between the cousins and offered to go to the Chocolate Factory to get hot cocoas for everyone. After collecting orders, Chloe went off and soon returned pulling a sled chock full of chocolate drinks for everyone in the control center. And Beca. "Extra whipped cream and peppermint," she said shyly to the youngest Kringle.

"Thank you, Chloe. But you didn't have to do this." Beca sighed as she looked at the elf's sparkling blue eyes. "Once this crisis is over, we need to have a discussion about your responsibilities." The redhead's face dropped and had sadness written all over it. A pang of guilt flooded Beca's chest. She grabbed the elf's hands. "No, Chloe. I don't mean anything bad about it. I just… well you do so much for me. And I don't feel I deserve the way you treat me."

Chloe perked up. "But it's my job, Beca. You are a Kringle. I'm supposed to serve you."

Exasperated, Beca replied, "But Chloe, I don't want you to serve me. I want you to… Ugh. This is all so complicated." She stopped before she said much more.

Chloe handed her another cocoa from the wagon. "I got you an extra." She winked as Beca gratefully took the drink.

Beca went over to the displays Stacie and the tech-elves were huddled around. "There," one shouted as he pointed to a spot on the map. "The United States."

The youngest Kringle bent down and examined the name of the city. "Fooo-neeeee-nux, A-riz-ena. Hmm, weird name. Well, let's go get Santa."

Stacie put a hand on her arm. "Wait, Beca. I don't think it's going to be that easy." She pulled up a grainy video on the large monitor. "She wasn't alone." The images showed two people in the sleigh with Santa urging the reindeers to fly as hard as they could.

"She could fly that sleigh. Ugh, she was pretending to not be able to control the reindeer during her lessons." Beca looked at the video again. "But who's that?" She tapped the face of the other person.

Stacie looked again. "I believe that's Bumper Allen. He works in maintenance."

Beca went home to tell her mother what had happened with Santa. "I'm going to that place to get her, Mother. Everything's going to be okay."

"Promise you'll be careful, Beca. Going out in the world like this isn't like your father delivering presents on Christmas Eve." Beca assured her mother she'd be safe and come back with Santa in time for her to deliver presents on Christmas Eve.

"Just remember that not everyone is as nice as they are here at the North Pole. People may try to trick you, and whatever you do - don't tell anyone who you are or where you are from."

When she got to the reindeer barn, Frost had the harnesses on the reindeer and sleigh hitched up. "You sure you know what you are doing?" He eyed Beca carefully.

"Of course," she said with an air. "I'm a Kringle." Beca crawled into the sleigh and picked up the reins.

Before she could give the command to take off, another body crawled into the sleigh. "Chloe, what do you think you're doing?"

"I'm coming with you to get Santa."

"No, you're not."

"It's my job to keep you safe; your mother will not be jolly with this." Chloe glowered at Beca.

"My mother and I talked about this. She's okay with me going. Now get out of the sleigh."

Chloe crossed her arms and settled back in the seat. "I can't keep you safe if I'm here, and you're in Phoenix."

Beca heard a tiny squeaking from the ground. Snowcone. "Oh, hey, little guy." The tiny white reindeer bounced again, squeaking. Beca got uncomfortable. "Uh, I've gotta go away." Snowcone became even more excitable. "I know you wanna be on the team, you're just not ready yet." Her favorite reindeer double stomped his front feet and nodded his head, insisting he go. "So keep practicing, okay?" Snowcone gave a pitiful cry and danced off.

"I don't suppose you'll stay here, Chloe?"

"Not a chance."

"Okay then, hold on. On Dasher," Beca called out as she slapped the reins on the reindeer's back. They snorted, stomped their feet, and clashed their antlers together before taking off into the falling snow. Beca bent down and fiddled with a newly installed device on the dash of the sleigh. "There, destination – Phoenix, Arizona."

"Whooooooa," Beca pulled back on the reins. "Good boys," Beca cooed as the reindeer slowed to a stop in a grassy area beneath some trees.

"You're a natural, Beca." Chloe's face glowed.

"Of course," Beca puffed out her chest, "I'm a Kringle."

"So is Santa, but she sure can't fly a sleigh," Chloe twittered.

"I'm beginning to think a lot of things Santa did was for nothing more than attention. Just yesterday, I saw her flirting with that maintenance guy. Told him she wanted him to stuff her stocking," Beca grumbled. "Nonetheless, she's still Santa. Let's go find her."

Beca and Chloe worked together to unhitch the sleigh and remove the harnesses from the reindeer. They spaced the animals out and sprinkled North Pole dust around them as an invisible fence. Nobody would be able to see them unless they were from the North and the reindeers couldn't pass the barrier.

Beca and Chloe began to walk the streets of the neighborhood looking for Santa. About a half-block down, Beca saw a Santa ringing a bell in front of a store. "Amy? Amy!" Beca rushed forward and stopped when she realized that Santa was male and wearing shorts.

"Fifty percent off everything." Clang. "More you buy, the merrier you are." Clang.

Beca marched up to the fake Santa and chastised him. "Sir, it's a privilege to wear that suit. Put some pants on." She and Chloe scurried off. Beca looked over her shoulder and muttered, "So naughty."

The two North Polers kept wandering showing pictures of Santa. "Have you seen this person?"

When one person outside of a place called Santa School leaned in and closely peered at the picture, Beca's hopes soared.

"Mmm-mmm," he pondered. "Definitely not one of ours. Cheap suit, no one's gonna believe that."

Chloe saw a sign and pointed to a building. "Let's ask there."

"Merry Christmas. Rebecca Noelle Kringle." Beca held out her hand like she'd seen other people in Phoenix do in greetings. "Are you Florencia Fuentes?" The woman quietly stared at her. Beca nervously gestured to the door. "Saw your name on the sign."

The woman pointed at Chloe. "Why are you so red? And why are you wearing a winter hat and mittens in Phoenix?"

"Because it's an ensemble," Chloe chirped, proud of her North Pole outfit. She dressed the best of all the elves, in part because she worked for the Kringles.

Beca cleared her throat. "I'm here because I'm looking for my sister. I'm worried something might have happened to her."

"Like what?"

Remembering her mother's warning about revealing too much to strangers, Beca cautiously replied, "Well, my father ran a business, and after he passed, my sister was supposed to take over, but she left and came to Phoenix. But we have to find her because I know, in her heart, she wants to run the family business."

The private investigator thought about this for a moment. "I find that most people don't know what's in their own hearts. Let alone anyone else's. That's if they even have a heart in the first place."

"Oh! That's pretty stocking half empty."

"Yeah, well, I'm a private detective. You get stocking half-empty pretty quick. Do you have a picture of this sister?"

Beca handed over her picture of Santa. "Yes. Her name is Amy Kringle."

"Amy Kringle? And you're Rebecca Noelle Kringle."

"That's me, but I go by Beca."

"You're pretty deep into Christmas."

"The best day of the year!"

Flo handed Beca a business card. "Come see me tomorrow."

Before Beca and Chloe could leave, a little boy burst into the office chattering a mile a minute, upset at something, tears streaming down his face. Sad but nice.

"La policía. La policía vino y consiguió a papá en el trabajo. Se lo llevaron. estoy asustado, mamá."

Tilting her head sideways, Beca listened before leaning over and whispering to Chloe. "Oh my garland, someone took his father. Why would someone do such a thing?" Before she could ask any further, Flo shooed them out the door and began to comfort her son.

Meanwhile back at the North Pole…

The head elf did a daily check-in with Cousin Stacie on a solution if Santa didn't return in time for Christmas eve. Stacie pushed her glasses on top of her head and rolled back from the triple computer monitors that had held her attention for the past several hours.

"I've written my algorithm several ways and the results are the same. Factoring in aspects of what one would consider as a nice child versus a naughty child, the calculations are consistent. There are only 2,738 nice children in the world" Stacie pushed a few buttons on her computer and paper began to spit out of the printer. She stacked it up and readied to go see the council with her suggested plan.

"So you see elders and master elves, with less than 3,000 nice children in the entire world, there's no reason to send a sleigh out for a full run. "The presents can all be delivered by Amazon Prime or drone."

"But what about the naughty children."

"I suggest we email them each a notice telling them to do better for next year."

The elders gasped. The master elves gasped. The gallery of North Pole residents gasped. Mrs. Claus fainted. The head elder banged his candy cane mallet on the table. "Are you telling me Santa shouldn't go? And that all naughty children should get official North Pole emails?"

Stacie looked down at her papers. "Yep. That about sums it up. You have to admit; it's a pretty good solution. You see, we don't really need Santa."

By now, nobody was hiding their murmurings. Most of the room was shocked that Cousin Stacie would even consider mentioning that Santa wasn't needed. The stunned gallery became silent as they filed out of the room.

Back in Phoenix

Chloe seemed sad as they walked around, continuing their search for Santa. "How did you know what he was upset about? He was speaking another language."

"I just did. And he was speaking Spanish." Beca shrugged her shoulders and thought nothing more of it.

Because of the heat, they stopped in front of a boarded-up shop that had flyers plastered over the windows. "CHLOE! Look." She pointed at a flyer. "Food and lots of it! B. Booooo-fffffff-etttttt. Boofet." I bet that's where she's at. All you can eat sounds like a place Santa would go." She ripped the paper from the window and headed in a direction she thought might lead her to the restaurant.

Beca was on a mission and somehow found the restaurant on the flyer with no problem. She reached down to grab Chloe's hand but discovered the elf was missing. Somewhere between outside the P.I.'s office and the restaurant, she'd lost track of Chloe. An unfamiliar pang crept into her chest. She didn't know whether to rush inside to look for her sister or backtrack and find Chloe.

As much as her heart told her to find Chloe, Beca decided Santa was high priority. Chloe wouldn't have strayed far from where they last saw each other. If Santa wasn't here, she'd find Chloe next.

Beca opened the restaurant door and was immediately entranced by the sights and smells. One thing in particular that caught her eye was a shiny gold cat with red ears and a red collar with a bell. One paw was waving up and down. Beca stood in front of the cat, mimicking the back and forth motion of the cat's arm. The motion was mesmerizing

Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice shout from the dining area. "Beca? Beca!" The brunette's trance was broken when she was hefted in the air by her sister and squeezed. "What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I came after you, Santa. Where's your Santa suit?" Beca looked Amy up and down, frowning at yet another inappropriate shirt her sister wore. Show me your North Pole. "What's this?"

"Oh, that's for Bumper." She motioned back to the dining room. "Come on."

Santa led her sister to a large table towards the back of the room. Plates were stacked high, all around the table. "Bumper, this is my sister, Beca. Beca - Bumper."

Beca gave the man a quick nod. Naughty. "I've come to take you home, Santa."

"Why is your face so red, Beca? Oh, yeah, the heat here."

Beca nodded. "It's like being locked in the cookie cottage during toll-house season, right?"

"I don't see anything wrong with that," Amy replied looking dreamily into the air.

"Oh, by the way... You scared me so much." Beca punched her sister in the arm.

"Oww!" Beca punched again.

"Come on." Amy rubbed her arm.

"You had me worried sick, Santa."

"Shhh, don't call me that. I'm just Amy here. Actually, I go by Patricia."

"Mom's been beside herself. You need to come home."

"Listen, I like it here. Okay! I like the weather and all you can eat food places are amazing." Amy patted her stomach. "Besides, I donated all my thermals to charity."

"Weird, you can tell me about it in the sleigh."

Amy crossed her arms. "No, listen. I'm... I'm not going back."

"I'm sorry." A look of surprise crossed Beca's face before quickly turning to anger. "I must have cotton candy in my ears."

"I can't pretend to be someone I'm not anymore. I just can't."

The siblings talked for a while longer but Amy's mind was set. There was no way she was going back. Much to Beca's dismay, she had to accept reality and get back the sleigh back to the North Pole in time for Christmas Eve.

Being separated from Beca and in an entirely different country with a different climate, Chloe was quite discombobulated. She wandered around the neighborhood and went into a convenience store. She was sweating profusely and needed to find relief. "Uh, do you have any ice?"

The clerk looked at her flushed face, afraid she was about to have a heat stroke. "You can buy a bag of ice, but I'm not sure that will help. We have a beer and wine cooler in the back. You can go in there to cool off."

"Thanks." Chloe flashed him a smile and found the glassed-in room. When the blast of cold air hit her, she sighed. "Ahhhh, better." She took a seat on a case of beer and could feel her body start to relax. As Chloe was starting to feel more herself, the door opened.

"Oh, excuse me." A tall blonde stood there, confused at why there was a woman dressed like an elf? sitting in the beer and wine cooler. She closed the door, looked around to see if she was being pranked before opening the door again.

"Hello, Merry Christmas."

"Ummm hi, can I get a six-pack of one of the beers behind you? The green container."

"Sure." Chloe found what the woman asked her for and handed her a six-pack. Then handed her another.

"Thanks?"

"Anything else?"

"No, I think I'm good. Thanks."

Chloe looked at the woman's red skin-tight leggings. "I like your pants. They're jolly."

The blonde tilted her head. "Yeah. They're yoga pants. Like yours."

"Yes. And these are my yogurt pants," Chloe chirped.

"No. Yoga... pants," the woman said, drawing out an emphasis on yoga. The blonde looked at her with pursed lips like she'd taken a swig of sour milk.

Chloe ran her hands up and down her striped leggings. "Oh, yeah. I love yogurt pants."

"Never mind." The blonde closed the door to the cooler and went to check out.

"Okay. Bye." Chloe said to nobody but herself. Something about the blonde drew her in, some type of connection. Since she was thoroughly chilled, Chloe decided to follow her.

After walking several blocks, the woman entered a building. Chloe snuck in behind her, quietly closing the door. She stood in the foyer for a while until she heard music coming from the interior room, Christmas music, instruments, and singing. She crept to the entrance to the other room and peeked in. The longer she watched and listened, the more in awe she was. She saw no speakers for music nor any instruments.

At one point, the group stopped singing. The blonde who she had followed broke the girls into groups, one which began working on instrument sounds and the others on segments of the singing. Chloe took another step in, looking for a place to sit. When she tripped over a metal folding chair, she froze as all the women looked her way. The blonde got a stern on her face and marched over to Chloe.

"You were the one sitting in the cooler at the store, right?" Chloe gave a timid nod. "Did you follow me here?" Another nod.

"You looked nice. And," Chloe motioned to her pants, "your yogurt pants are lovely."

The woman's eyes softened and she extended her hand. "Aubrey Posen."

Chloe tentatively grasped her hand. "Chloe."

"Just Chloe?"

The redhead made a quick decision. "Chloe St. Cane." Elves didn't have last names, but she didn't think she was up to that explanation.

"Where are you from, Chloe St. Cane?"

"A little town up north."

"You mean Canada?

"Canada wishes," Chloe scoffed. Her family's work with the Kringles gave her a solid understanding of geography.

Aubrey chuckled. "I like you Chloe St. Cane. Come meet the rest of the girls." They walked over to the group. "Bellas, this is Chloe. Chloe, the Bellas." The girls went around introducing themselves. Chloe was relieved to find everyone kind, much like at home. "So, Chloe, do you sing?"

Chloe shook her head. "Well, I like to sing, and I love music. But, I've never sung in front of people. What were you guys doing earlier? I thought I heard instruments, but I don't see any."

Aubrey explained the Bellas were an acapella group which meant all the music came from their mouths, including the instruments. Chloe was riveted as the group gave her snippets of examples of the Christmas concert they were working on.

When the rehearsal was over and most of the girls had left, Aubrey turned to Chloe. "Why do I get the feeling you don't have any place to go?"

The normally chipper elf burst into tears. "I-I-I was looking for Santa. I got separated from Beca - she's Santa's sister - and now I can't find my way back to the reindeer or the sleigh… or Beca."

Aubrey's face didn't give away her thoughts at what Chloe had said. Santa, reindeers, sleighs. She wondered what she'd gotten herself into. "Well, I'm sure we can find them. Or they will find you.

"You were sitting in that cooler because you were overheated, right?" Chloe nodded. "I fear your flush may be more of the beginnings of a sunburn." Aubrey dug in her purse and pulled out a small tube. "Here, take this."

"This, thank you." Chloe opened the cap and sniffed. "Wow, it's, uh… Oh mmmm." She squeezed some out on her hand. "Oh, my gosh, it's magical." After sniffing it again, Chloe licked the blob in her hand. "Uh... Ugh. Stuffed chimneys! It smells like it should taste good, but it doesn't." She frantically wiped at her tongue.

Aubrey chuckled. "You're supposed to put in on your face. Haven't you ever used sunblock before?"

"Yeah, sunblock. No, I love sunblock. It's for blocking the sun. It's great." Chloe dabbed large globs around her face. "Is that good?"

The blonde smirked. "You might wanna spread it around." She reached over and began to spread the lotion on the elf's face.

Flustered, Chloe sputtered, "Oh, no, yeah, I forgot to spread it around. Just like that." She rubbed her face some more before shouting. "It's burning. Oh, my God, it's in my eye! What do you like about this product?"

Aubrey couldn't tell what to make of this odd woman in the Christmas styled yoga pants. She gently gripped one of Chloe's arms. "Stay still. Let me... Stop. Just gotta rub it in." Chloe wiggled more. "Just stay still."

"Worse than getting hit with a slush ball." Chloe was flustered. Arizona wasn't agreeing with her or her elf-sensibilities.

"Ummm, there. You just gotta… you got a couple of extra coats." Aubrey did the best she could.

"Never know when you're gonna need an extra coat. It is winter. Thanks."

Aubrey looked outside at the blazing sun and laughed at her new friend. "No problem. Are you hungry?"

Amy was adamant about not returning to the North Pole. The cold didn't sit well with her and neither did the suit. Beca wasn't sure she could face her mother and all the others at the North Pole if she didn't return with Santa.

Once outside, she slid down the wall to sit on the ground outside the restaurant with her head buried in her head. When she looked up, a long line of children had formed outside the buffet, patiently waiting. No sooner had she wiped the sweat from her forehead had a little boy crawled into her lap.

"Well hi, Michael." Nice . "What do you want Santa to bring you for Christmas this year?"

"I want a Minecraft t-shirt, walkie talkies, and a Sony Playstation Five." He smiled and scurried off.

Next up was a cute little blonde girl. "Merry Christmas, Jennifer." Naughty. "What do you want for Christmas?"

"A purple, unicorn night light lamp, ballet slippers, a puppy, a Disney princess tent, and an Apple watch. Oh yeah, and an iPad."

Fat chance Beca thought as the girl got up and went to her dad. The kids seemed to keep coming, the line seemingly endless. Suddenly a familiar face appeared. Beca looked through the crowd of parents and found Flo standing there.

"Hola, Miguel. ¿Me recuerdas? Estaba en la oficina de tu mamá. ¿Qué quieres para Navidad?"

The young boy shyly looked up at Beca. "¿De verdad eres Santa? Pensé que Santa era un niño."

"Santa es quien quieras que sea. Ahora, ¿tu lista de Navidad?"

"I want some drawing pencils and paper, a new set of tennis shoes." Miguel paused and looked at his mom before whispering in Beca's ear. "Y no quiero que mi papá tenga que volver a Guatemala"

Beca's eyes teared up as she gave the lad a hug and sent him on his way. Her tears quickly dried when she heard a familiar tap-tap-tapping sound. A familiar tiny white reindeer came prancing up to Beca.

"Oh! Snowcone! What are you doing here? How did you get here?" He stomped his feet. "Did you fly here all by yourself?" Snowcone puffed out his chest and proudly nodded. "Chloe, look who it is!" Beca frowned as she remembered that Chloe wasn't with her. The elf was lost somewhere in Phoenix.

"You're so brave. You must have picked up my scent from all the people in Phoenix. How many people wear gingerbread deodorant?" Snowcone snuck out his neck which had a shiny red ribbon with an envelope. "Oh. What have you got?" Beca opened the envelope. "It's from Mother." Then Beca began to read.

"Rebecca Noelle, I know I'm angry with your sister. She has acted selfishly, and foolishly and immaturely, and... disrespectfully, childishly. But you must find your sister and bring her home. Stacie says there are only 2,837 nice children, and wants to deliver their presents by drone or something called Amazon Prime."

Beca paused for a moment to let the shock settle then she continued to read. "As Kringles, for 2,000 years, we've dedicated ourselves to bringing the joy and happiness that is Christmas to the world and we must make sure nothing changes that. So I sent you the last flying reindeer in the North Pole to help you rescue your sister."

"Okay, Snowy, I have some bad news. I found Amy and she refuses to come home." The reindeer hung his head. "But I need your help. I've lost Elf Chloe, and I need your help to find her. She smells like hot chocolate and peppermint." Beca smiled when she thought of how Chloe smelled.

"I'm not sure where she is, but I need you to track her. Okay? But we can't take you out looking like this." Beca slipped into a pet store and picked out a snazzy green collar and a bright red leash.

"Just walkin' my dog, you know." Beca followed the reindeer who was sniffing the air like crazy. People passing her looked at her strangely. "His name is Rover. Which is a dog's name. That's why I named him that. It's a very rare breed. He's a white Polar Poodle."

Suddenly, Snowcone got excited and began to tug so hard at his leash. "You smell something? What do you smell?" His feet lifted off the ground and he tried to fly. "Whoa! Rover!" Snowcone landed in front of a non-descript building. " Posen Dance Studio." Beca muttered. The reindeer began pawing at the front door. "What do you smell, boy? Was Chloe here?" Snowcone pranced with his front legs – tap, tap, tapping on the sidewalk. "Yeah? What do you smell? Where'd she go? Did she go this way?"

Snowcone looked left, looked right, then stamped his feet out, and stuck his chest out. "You look very Dasher junior. But we gotta find Chloe. Once I find her, I can go back to the North Pole. She banged on the locked doors. "Nobody's here, Snowcone."

The tiny reindeer huffed and took off again. A few blocks down, Snowcone tugged on his leash. Hard. And Beca accidentally let go. "Sn… Rover! Come back." He was flying about two feet off the ground until he came to the window of a diner. He began to hover higher. By the time Beca caught up with him, he was eye level to the women sitting at the table by the window. She caught a glimpse of bright red hair and pointy ears. "Chloe," she whispered. Beca's heart started beating just a little bit faster as relief enveloped her.

And then, Chloe saw Snowcone. She tapped on the window and pointing. And then Chloe saw Beca. She threw her napkin on the table and rushed outside. "BECA!" Chloe threw her arms around the youngest Kringle, "You found me."

Beca blushed. "Actually, Snowcone found you. He's my good little hyperactive reindeer." She scratched his head between his antler nubs. "Come on, we've got to get back to the North Pole."

"What about Santa?"

"She's refusing to come back." Beca rolled her eyes. "Typical Amy." She grabbed Chloe's hand and pulled.

"No, wait~ You have to meet my friend." Chloe led Beca inside and introduced her to Aubrey. "She knows who you are," Chloe whispered.

"Ummm, hi, Aubrey. Nice to meet you."

Aubrey primly folded her hands and nodded. "Nice to meet you, too. Especially with your Kringle stature."

"Ummm, I'm sorry, but we have to run. Polar emergency." Beca stood up. "I apologize for being rude. Thanks for feeding Chlo."

Chloe gave Aubrey a huge hug. "Don't forget to write. You remember the address, right?"

"Chloe, Head Kringle Elf, 123 Elf Road, North Pole, 88888." Aubrey struggled to keep from rolling her eyes when she recited the address. But the "elf" had been so genuine in believing she was Santa's helper and lived at the North Pole, she had to let herself believe a tiny bit.

"Perfect. I'm really glad I met you, Aubrey."

Beca and Chloe turned to leave the cafe. "Didn't you really like her yogurt pants?"

Before long, Beca and Chloe made it back to the reindeer who had about eaten all the grass in the circle. They quickly hitched up the sleigh and were on their way back to the North Pole. "I disappointed everyone, Chloe. I don't know what to do. Why couldn't Amy stop being her selfish self and just come home?"

Chloe rubbed circles on Beca's back trying to calm her. "Becs, you know you have never had any influence over Amy's naughty behavior. What makes you think that's going to change now." Beca gave a deep sigh. Chloe tried a different tactic to pull Beca from her funk. "Tell me what all happened after I got lost."

Beca told Chloe everything - how she found the buffet and Fat Amy, met naughty Bumper, and Amy's refusal to return to the North Pole. She warmly told the elf about the children outside all patiently waiting to sit in her lap and share what they wanted for Christmas. "Knowing if they were naughty or nice was … like instinct. I could feel it as soon as they sat down."

She shared about Flo's son, Miguel, who asked for Santa to keep his dad from being deported. And then she pulled out her letter from her mother and let Chloe read it.

"No! Only 2,837 nice children? That can't be right."

"Stacie must have messed up on her algorithm. But what's worse is that she doesn't want to use the sleigh to deliver presents."

Both women sat in silence for a while. "Beca?"

"Mmmm?"

"Why don't you be Santa? You are a Kringle after all. And the kids flock to you. You know if they've been naughty or nice. I'm sure you can speak more languages other than English and Spanish. You have all the natural abilities of Santa. You even fly the sleigh like an expert."

Beca thought for a few minutes. "I'm too small to be Santa."

Snowcone stuck his head from beneath the blankets he'd been buried beneath. He shook off the covers, snorted and stomped his feet. "I know. I know little feller. I told you you weren't ready, but you found me all the way in Phoenix, Arizona." Beca ruffled the reindeer's hair. "People have to have more faith in us little ones."

When Beca and Chloe had returned to the North Pole and explained how Amy was refusing to return to fulfill her duties, the whole village was shocked. Panicked more like it. Nothing like this had ever happened before. Chloe jumped in and shared what all Beca had told her about the naughty and nice people, the lines of kids everywhere she went, and even the ease in which she understood other languages. Beca couldn't believe that the elf was standing up for her in front of the highest-ranking people in the village. The thought made her tingle. The council finally agreed that the youngest Kringle could act as Santa for at least one year in the emergency.

Epilogue - Christmas Eve

"Come on, Chloe," Santa pleaded. "Go with me?"

The redhead gazed at her blue-eyed Santa. "You know Santa has to fly solo on Christmas Eve. Pull yourself together."

Chloe settled Santa's hat on her head and straightened the lapels of Santa's suit. "I adore you in this suit. It's sexy." Chloe winked, bringing an immediate flush to Santa's cheeks.

"Sexy?" Santa gulped. Chloe thought she was sexy?

"Pleaaaase go with me," Beca whined. She stumbled over every excuse she could think of but Chloe wouldn't budge.

Looking around to make sure they were still alone in the changing area of the barn, the redheaded elf flung her arms around Santa's neck. "How about I give you some motivation to get in that sleigh? The sooner you leave to deliver presents, the sooner you get back to the North Pole." Chloe pulled Santa in close.

Santa licked her lips which had suddenly gone bone dry. "Ummm motivation?" Her mind went blank.

Before Santa knew what was happening, she felt soft, warm lips pressed against hers. Chloe, the elf she'd known all her life, was kissing her. Santa. Electric shocks shot from her lips all the way down to her toes. Santa melted into the kiss as she separated her lips to accept Chloe's gentle sweeping tongue.

While the kiss probably only lasted a matter of seconds, Santa felt as though she could kiss Chloe forever. They jumped apart when the sound of a clearing throat came from the dressing room door. "Santa, it's time to go." Frost, the lead barn elf was grinning from pointy ear to pointy ear.

Santa gave Chloe another quick peck, tightened her broad black belt, and smiled broadly. "I'll be back in the twinkle of an eye, Chloe."

As she walked past Frost, he quietly sang under his breath, "I saw Chloe kissing Santa Claus."

"Hush."

Santa crawled into the sleigh and picked up the reins. She looked around. "Wait, someone's missing."

"AaahhhhAAAHHHHaaaaaahhhh." Nothing. "AaahhhhAAAHHHHaaaaAAAhhhh." Still nothing. "Snowcone! Dude, this is supposed to be our song, come on!" Snowcone came racing up, skidding to a stop with his harness in his mouth. She waited until the white reindeer was ready to go. "Okay, Snowy. I need all the help I can get." He nodded. "You're my guy, right?" He stomped. "Fly straight?" Double stomp. "You're facing the wrong way." He looked at the ground and at his feet then flipped around to face the front.

"On Snowcone!" The tiny reindeer began to run as hard as he could, snow flying from around his feet, but being held back by the other reindeer.. The other reindeer looked at each other before standing at attention. Then they snorted, stomped their feet, and clashed their antlers together and began to run forward, following Snowcone's lead.

Santa followed the GPS as it took her all around the world, stopping at each child's house. After seeing her sister struggle so much with her training, Santa was surprised at how easy the night went. Everything went off like clockwork. When she flew into Phoenix airspace, she patted her Santa coat pocket for her most precious, priceless gift.

She made her way into the Fuentes household and tiptoed around the many children sleeping around the tree. Santa found the stockings and quietly slipped the wrapped green card into the one with Miguel's father's name printed on it. When she snuck back to leave the rest of the presents, Miguel was staring at her with big brown eyes. She put her finger to her lips then nodded her head as she put a paper/pencil drawing set next to him along with a brand new pair of Air Jordans. She took a bite of the bunuelos left behind and left as quietly as she entered.

Santa had one last stop to make before she left Phoenix. She pulled out a slip of paper with an address written in Chloe's flowery cursive writing. When she went down the chimney in this house, she was stunned by the most beautifully decorated living room. The tree was stark white, along with the lights and ornaments. Santa stood a few minutes enjoying the efforts that had been put into all the decorations.

Finally, Santa put the package down beneath the tree, chuckling at the card she knew Chloe had written.

Dear Aubrey, I got your letter. Thanks for believing enough to write to me. I thought you might like your own official pair of North Pole yogurt pants. Love, Elf Chloe.

Santa finished her rounds and finally made it back to the North Pole, no worse for wear. "Do you think Dad'd be proud of me tonight, Chloe?" The redheaded elf was snuggled next to Santa who just wore her fuzzy pants, suspenders, and a white undershirt.

"Of course, he would be." Chloe squeezed her arms around Santa's waist. "Why wouldn't he? You are a perfect Santa." She reached up and kissed Santa on the cheek. "Did you at least have fun?"

Santa nodded. "Especially because I had something to get home to."

Chloe smiled. "Something? Or someone?" She kissed Santa's cheek again and slowly kissed her ways to Santa's lips. She slid Santa's suspenders off her shoulders.

"Definitely someone." Santa wriggled out of her pants and deepened the kiss with her favorite elf. Most certain to be the best Christmas Eve ever.

Three Years Later - Santa's POV

I'm definitely one to challenge the system. If there are rules I think are unfair, I'll change them. Why? Because I can. I have a lot of power as Santa but don't abuse it.

Amy and Bumper returned during the year after my first Christmas Eve. She's lost a lot of weight and looks fabulous. I guess the stress of Santa training kept her weight on, and now that she doesn't have to worry about Santa, she's more relaxed, zen.

And Chloe, my dear Elf Chloe. That was one of the first regulations I changed. Chloe no longer serves my family, not unless you count her duties as Mrs. Claus. She's more than I could ever ask for in a wife. We're even starting to talk about having children.

Becoming Santa wasn't easy, but being Santa certainly is. Especially when I have Mrs. Chloe Claus in my corner.

There's not much left to say but - Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!