A/N: Little bit happier with this one... And it is, once again, later than planned since I had to work all afternoon and hadn't written this in advance. Therefore, this has not been thoroughly profread; all mistakes are result of that: Gomen'nasai in advance because there are probably mistakes. (This chapter and the one before inspired by the amount of snow my hometown received a couple of days ago.) Enjoy. (:

Special thanks to ElodieKumari94 for reviewing and to LuvsManga for adding to his/her faves. (: (It may sound slightly pathetic, but, seriously, this is all it takes to make my day...)

Mood Music: Home for Christmas by -as strange as this may be I really used to love them when I was younger- N'Sync.

Disclaimer: If you haven't figured it out by now then we have a serious problem.

I'll Be Home for Christmas

The snow storm had somehow gotten worse over the night and into the next day – so bad had it gotten that the group of mages who had dared to venture out were now stuck in the guild building. Natsu had attempted to melt his way out to no avail; the storm had turned into quite possibly the worst blizzard that Magnolia had ever seen. But, the group had collectively decided, that the situation wasn't all bad; after all, the guild had rooms so they wouldn't be without a comfortable place to sleep, and since Mira was also one of the mages stuck there, they certainly wouldn't be without great food or drink.

And as long as the supply of marshmallows didn't run out, Gray and Natsu would, undoubtedly, provide the entertainment.

So, in the end, no one really seemed to mind being stuck at Fairy Tail. Except for one person.

Cana was inconsolable.

"Cana, dear," Mira tried, "at this rate, there won't be anything left in the entire guild within the hour… You really should at least pace yourself… Besides, just because it's storming, that doesn't mean that Gildarts won't be home in time for Christmas; after all, there is still three days. He'll be here."

Cana hiccupped. "It's not fair… The only year I really care if he's here, and he won't be…"

"Are you even listening to me?" Mira sighed, irritated.

"He was never here for Christmas," Cana continued, undeterred. "I always wanted him to be, even before he knew he was my father. Don't really know why since he didn't know, but I still did. I guess because then I could at least pretend I had my biological family around for the holidays…" She downed another glass. "Why can't he be here just this once?!"

Mira smacked the mage on the side of her head. "You just need to wait and see what happens. Gildarts has never broken a promise. So he will be here in time for the party the day after tomorrow. I don't think I need to tell you how much he cares about you, Cana; if I do, there is something wrong with you because it's as obvious as the snow falling from the sky outside. He will be here because he loves you. He wouldn't dream of letting you down and missing the first Christmas he can spend with you as your father. So stop worrying so much!"

"I can't help it," Cana hiccupped again.

Mira grinned. "So you were listening after all! And here I thought I was talking to a brick wall."

"It's hard to miss when you just keep yapping like that…"

"I wouldn't have to 'just keep yapping' if you'd actually listen."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" Cana sighed. "You really think he'll make it through?"

The waitress nodded firmly. "I know he will. You mean too much to him for him to miss."

Just then, the door banged open, an icy blast of frigid wind and snow cascading into the guild hall, freezing everyone to the bone instantly. As soon as the door closed, everyone turned to see who in his right mind would even attempt to make it to the guild in this weather, much less actually be able to make it there!

Cana's eyes widened slightly as she saw who stood just inside the door, shaking snow from his cloak.

Mira smiled widely. "Welcome back, Gildarts!"