On the eleventh day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me
Eleven children looking for Santa,
Ten intruders prowling,
Nine dancing trees,
Eight hours of therapy sessions,
Seven Brotherhood members shaking,
Six teachers on a hunt,
Five scary rounds,
Four students playing hooky,
Three musicians out of tune,
Two dancing lovebirds
And a Wolverine in a pear tree.
Xavier was tired. It had been a trying few days. Now, Christmas Eve and a major snowstorm were upon them. The entire school had just finished watching Kitty's production and the teachers graded all of the tests. The students had proven their worth and aced their exams. All of them benefited from talking. Now, they set the children to work on finalizing their presents and waiting for the best moment of the year.
At the same time, he had to sigh too. It was frustrating to hear that the government decided to send more men to investigate his school. He sent the ten that arrived last week on their way, with promises that there was nothing to hide in the building and most certainly no conspiracy. While tending to their wounds was no issue, keeping Logan back was another. It was hard to keep him in line when diplomatic talks had been best after force.
But there was another day to contemplate the matter of Logan. For the time being, Xavier found happiness in listening to the children patter up and down the stairs and across all of the hallways. He wheeled himself to the door of his office, willing it opened. In the entranceway, he watched, entranced.
It was almost like a beehive, the way the building buzzed with anticipation of the coming event. He had to be proud of this moment. It was the first holiday in years that he felt so much joy and love. It did not matter how many there were, how old they got or if they were blood related. Xavier likened the scene to that of the perfect family.
Storm joined him. "How soon do you think we can get the children to bed?" she asked.
"Oh?" Xavier was interested. "Is staying up late a problem?"
"Not much of one," she replied carefully. "You see, Santa Claus is supposed to be here soon and we don't want them up to see him bring presents."
The Professor chuckled. "You ringed Logan into being old Saint Nick, didn't you?"
"How could you tell?"
"You cannot hide much from me, Storm. I'm sure that, if presented with the option of being here or elsewhere, Logan would be outside in the snowstorm, smoking his cigar."
Storm smiled. "With your permission, I'd like to round up the youngest and send them off the bed. I think the teenagers can watch a movie while Santa works."
"But not for too long," Xavier warned. "They cannot see him either."
Storm left and met up with Jean. Xavier watched as the two whistled and told those under ten to go to bed. They will see their gifts in the morning, they promised. Then, he wheeled himself into the common area and helped Scott herd the rest into the living room for their promised entertainment. There, Scott put on a movie. It wasn't to Xavier's interest, but he held onto the hope of the season symbolized in the plot. It was the best he could do.
After the allotted two hours, everyone (except the teachers) was off to bed. Xavier waited until the floor was quiet before trying to see what Logan was up to. He remained in the living room as Logan worked with Storm, Jean and Scott. Indeed, he already heard Scott and Logan arguing about some inane subject matter. Jean and Storm were trying to keep them from waking everyone up, but decided that enough was enough and backed away. There was only so much they could do.
Xavier soon saw the spectacle. It was comical to see Logan dressed so ridiculously. It was worse to see Scott as an elf. In the dimly lit hallways, with several bags dragged behind them, the two banged and crashed into everything, distracted by who was better than the other. Eventually, as they stopped, they managed to fill the trees almost halfway high with presents.
Xavier noted that the noise was not enough to keep the children at bay. At the last stop especially, as Logan was finishing up on one side of the tree, Scott turned the wrong way and bumped into it. As Xavier watched, half in horror and the other in merriment, the poor tree – decorations and all – fell over and hit the fireplace. Ornaments shattered, the angel on top was dented and the trunk broke into two.
It also meant one thing. Xavier wheeled himself back into a corner to avoid the stampede he knew was coming. Scott and Logan realized this too. It did not take long before the first child was awake. Before long, another opened their eyes. Then, the whispers began and the excitement grew. Santa was here and had delivered their presents. He had to be met!
"Oh, shit!" Logan yelled. He ran for the nearest closet nearby as the thunder of footsteps grew louder. Scott followed suit.
Keeping to his new dark space, Xavier laughed all the same. As the clock struck midnight, he saw the lights flash on and the thrilled chatter of children. All eleven of them sang the same name, passing the hiding spot Logan and Scott sprang into. As soon as they arrived at the trees, cooing over the fallen one all the same, they began the systematic ritual of shaking the boxes and hoping to open them.
"Oh, Santa came! Santa came! He came, he came, he came!"