Okay, now this is impressive. The third chapter. Also, I would like everyone to know that Cupid is the only girl reindeer, as you probably figured out in the last chapter. But, male reindeer loose their antlers in November so, in reality, all of the reindeer should be female to possess antlers in December. But, because they live in NeverNever, the world of faery, they're magical so they're not only immortal but also incapable of loosing their antlers. That's my excuse and I'm not changing it.

On Dasher on Prancer!

Chapter Three: The Holly and Ivy

The holly and the ivy, when they are both full grown,

Of all the trees that are in the wood, the holly bears the crown.

From where they were flying the sky, Gaara could see the track had been shoveled and polished once again by bored elves and his stomach churned. That wasn't good. After crash landing in the back yard, one of the runners had come loose and was trembling under the sleigh. He could feel it as they flew and he knew as they landed it wouldn't be pretty. He gripped the sled as hard he could, his hands burning from the effort. The reindeer were trying their best to lower it gently but it wasn't working. As soon as they skimmed the surface of the runway, the sleigh bounced up before crashing back down. There was a loud crack of splintering wood and out of the corner of his eye, Gaara could see the runner fly off into the distance, disappearing into the snow. There was another loud crack as the side of the sleigh without the runner met the ground. The front of the sleigh tipped forwards, the back end sticking up and looming over the reindeer team in front. They hit a bump and the sleigh smashed all its weight down on the back and Gaara couldn't utter a sound as he went soaring off of the sled and smashing into the runway. He hit it once, did a flip over his side and bashed his head into the runway, causing his vision to turn black for a terrifying moment. It cleared up slightly so he could see blurry colors but it wasn't much use as he twirled into the air again, his shoulder cracking on the ground first before his the side of his skull. He rolled once more, landing on his back and his head striking the runway once last time.

Gaara blinked and tried hard to concentrate on his surroundings but found nothing but blurriness. He heard his sister screaming at him, his name coming out a ear piercing shriek that made his head throb even more. She must have pulled off her gloves for her hands were warm as they rubbed on his face, which was numb with bitter cold. He tried to focus his gaze on Temari but found it hard with all the other screaming and sounds of movement. His sisters voice was becoming clearer and less distance, closer. She pushed her lap beneath his head so she could hold him closer and he nearly wrenched himself off, the sudden urge to retch overcoming him for a horrible, sickening moment. Steadily and slowly, Temari began to push him up and his body felt limp, dropping to the side. His sister caught him under the armpits and held him up right. The world around him twirled and a sound escaped his lips. Temari hummed-hysteria still evident in her voice-to try and sooth him but it didn't work.

'Gaara? Are you alright? What happened?' Kankurou was kneeling in front of him and his face swirled and distorted until finally clearing to the point Gaara could make out his features. The red head opened his mouth to speak but gagged once again. Kankurou leapt out of the way just in case. 'What happened?' his brother repeated again, more aggressive and the youngest saw a bright lights moving in from the corner of his vision.

'Uh...' He couldn't speak and his stomach churned. Gaara lurched to the side and the contents of his stomach spilt out of his mouth. His head pounded and a crimson liquid fell down his cheek like a tear, sliding over the rim of his nose. It was warm and the boy first thought he was crying. He wasn't for he noticed the lack of stinging in his eyes and brought up a shaky hand to touch the warm, damp spots. When his hand pulled away he spotted the blood, glistening over his pale skin and a terrified noise gurgled from his throat. His sister continued to rub his back, her other hand holding him close to her.

Elves were gathering around, waiting for the arrival of the replacement Santa and his team. This had not been what they were expecting. People continued to ask him what happened but Gaara found he couldn't remember. Every part of him throbbed with agonizing pain and his head was about to explode. He closed his eyes are his throat burned with bile. He spat it out but ended up coughing, mucus sliding up his throat into his mouth and mixing with his saliva. He spat that out also. 'What...?' he managed to get out, pushing himself up from the runway ground. 'What time...' no one answered, not quite understanding what he was asking, 'The time.' he asked again, slowly, praying that he didn't retch again. His stomach tossed and seethed.

'It's six fifty four.' it was Sasori who answered, for he was anal about the time. He hated waiting and making people wait. It didn't surprise Gaara that he possessed a watch of his own. Most of the other department heads didn't, for it wasn't important enough for them. It was before seven, before everyone woke up. Relief flooded his every pore. Perfect. He had made it. Of course, he hadn't been as fast as his father had been, who could make it back a half an hour earlier but it was good enough for him. He made it back before seven and that was all that mattered.

Sasori seemed to know what he why he was wondering for he grinned widely, something that was very rare, before kneeling in front of him, his face gentle, 'Good job.' his hand sat on his fluffy red hair and Gaara tried nodding to the best of his ability.

'I have to admit kid, I think that landing was much better than the take off but then a again I was always one for blood.' Shukaku spoke as he walked up to Gaara, eying the blood that was dripping from his head. Gaara didn't quite process what he said but nodded, feeling uneasy by the way the Sandman was looking at him. For as long as Gaara could remember, the tanuki had always been rather blood thirsty. He pushed his head again Temari, who was smoothing back his unruly hair though was mostly unsuccessful.

'We need to get him inside.' Temari ordered, looking around at the elves seeing who was willing to help. A whole bunch of them took off running back to the factory while others tried to back away indiscreetly. Her anger fumed but before she could blow, Sasori wrapped his arms around Gaara's body, who was much tinier than him, for the younger red head had been born prematurely and settled him in his arms bridal style.

'I'll take him back to his room.' Sasori told Temari, walking as quickly as he could without jarring the boy's body to much. He didn't fancy the idea of the young boy puking all over him.

Gaara had a hard time keeping his head from flopping side to side and he tried to focus on Sasori's face, which was still rather distorted. Getting lifted up hadn't helped much and his stomach gurgled, discontent with the whole situation but had nothing else to regurgitate, for he had already emptied all the contents that had been in him previously.

It wasn't hard for Sasori to find Gaara's room for they lived in the same wing. While Gaara's father, Temari and Kankurou shared their own wing in the mansion, Gaara shared one with the department heads, one of the reasons why he knew them so well.

With great skill, Sasori maneuvered the door open without banging or smacking Gaara on the frame. Tossing him on the bed, the force jared his head, startling him back to his senses. His head nearly split in half from the pain and Sasori, who had left to rummage through the cabinet in his bathroom, hurried back with a small potion. 'Drink this.' he ordered the young boy. Gaara snatched it from him, desperate for some relief and drank its contents greedily. He was promptly knocked out a second later.

The holly bears a blossom as white as lily flower,

Last Night. He had delivered the presents last night. He had nearly missed Christmas day -Heaven forbid- because of the stupid concussion he had suffered after his fall from the sleigh onto the runway. Gaara wondered if he had achieved an all time first.

The boy pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time. It was the afternoon of the twenty fifth. He rubbed at his forehead which still throbbed from earlier events. Musingly, he thought about the human girl; Hinata. Did she like her presents? He hoped she did. Would she remember him? He had taken a first. And even if he hadn't taken a first, he had given one. The should count for something.

Unlike his father, Gaara didn't have access to the Divination Room, where a large table that could locate every human in the world sat. In the center of the large table was a screen, very much like an overgrown tablet and just by touching it, you could zoom in and out on different places and see all the occupants of the house, for as soon as you fell on a home, the files of each one of them showed up. Gaara wasn't allowed into the room, but he sure knew of a way to go see the mortal girl.

That plan was what made him bundle himself up and trudge through the knee deep snow and enter the barn the reindeer lived in. 'Comet!' he called, keeping his voice soft, as if afraid that someone from the factory would hear him, 'Come here boy.' he whispered, clicking his tongue. The sound seemed loud in his ears.

Comet picked his large head up from the bed of hay he was sprawled on. He quirked a large, fuzzy eyebrow before pushing himself to his feet, his knobby knees shaking with the effort. When he approached the red head, Gaara took out a cloth and whipped the sleep from the animal's eyes with a smile, 'We're gonna be going somewhere to check on someone, okay Comet?' Comet gave a throaty grunt, wonder in his dark eyes, 'It's just a girl...'

Cupid raised her head and gave a snort before jumping to her own feet and prancing over to the water trough, loosing the tip of her snout into it. Gaara rolled his eyes before turning his attention back to Comet.

'Come on, you're with me, right?' the reindeer nodded his tremendous head and let Gaara throw a saddle blanket and a specialized saddle onto his back, fastening the girth around his belly with expert hands. The other reindeer watched, Blitzen's eyes not pleased. Gaara wasn't worried though. No one really came into the stables and if they did, they couldn't understand the reindeer like Gaara could.

The boy threw his leg over the body of Comet and hoisted himself up, gripping onto the leather reins. Dancer shuffled on the spot, looking uncomfortable, his eyes flitting from side to side. 'Oh,' Gaara announced, getting their attention, 'If any of you guys tell on me, even you Cupid,' her head shot up, 'I'm putting you in the Cone of Shame.' they all looked aghast, taking steps away from him in horror. Of course, Gaara wasn't worried. He just wanted to make sure none of them tried.

'Let's go then Comet.' with the shake of his head, Comet trotted to the door, Gaara closing it behind them. As soon as the door was closed and Gaara was settled, Comet took off running, snow flying around them in a torrent. Then, with a great push, they were off.

The holly bears a berry as red as any blood,

Christmas was great, it really was. Despite it being winter, the house was warmer than ever. The air was hung with crisp pine and lingering hot cocoa and the gentle crackling of the fire and the crunching of the wrapping paper filled the background.

Hinata and Hanabi's father, Hiashi, had flown back from America and had arrived home at around eight in the morning. Hanabi had gotten up an hour later, peeked down stairs, shrieked, before rushing into Hinata's room and leaping onto the bed, pile-driving her awake, still squealing. The oldest Hyuuga child had never had such a good night's rest before, and was rather dispirited when her baby sibling forced her back into reality.

She didn't tell her father or her sister about her dream of the enchanting Santa Claus, who was her age and without a beard hanging from his face.

Grabbing the bundles of wrapping paper, Hinata shoved them into the garbage bag, 'Is that it, Hanabi?' she asked, peering around herself, spotting some little balls of tape to add to her cache of wrappings.

Her sister also took a quick, noncommittal look around, 'Yup.' before going back to her presents, pulling open the boxes to get to the actual gifts inside.

Tying a knot into the garbage bag, Hinata slung it over her shoulder and headed for the back door where the garbage bin was. Shoving on an old pair of her father's boots, she exited the house. It was snowing ever so faintly but the air itself wasn't cold just barely cool, caressing her skin with a light breeze.

Opening the top, Hinata shoved the fat bag deep into the can, closing the lid after with a satisfactory slap. She was about to turn on her heel back into the cozy warmth of her house when she heard it.

When she heard him: 'Hey.'

The holly bears a prickle as sharp as any thorn,

Gosh, he was impressed with himself. Gaara had managed to maneuver Comet, his faithful reindeer companion, all the way back to Hinata's house in less than half an hour and he managed to land with out causing a disturbance or hurting anyone. The crow from earlier didn't count either.

He and Comet had landed down in nearly the center of his mortal girl's yard, but to avoid detection, the red head led the reindeer over underneath the spruce tree. Comet was content with falling down into the snow, burying his snout into the coldness and closing his eyes. He was also content with letting his caretaker handle petty things, such as girls. Comet himself, found no interest in the fickleness of the two leg creatures.

Gaara leaned against the trunk of the tree, crossing his arms over his chest to guard himself from the chill. He had been through much harsher weather, but he wasn't sure how long he would be standing there. He could see her though, moving around her house. She was slightly blurry through the foggy window but he could make out her shapes and colors. Her hair was dark and long, flowing with every movement and her skin pale and porcelain resembling. She was dressed in large pants, blue in color with a plaid pattern and a simple black t-shirt, an undecipherable image on the front over her chest.

Then, to his surprise and delight, she was moving to the door. He could almost make out the details of her face. Generous red lips, large opal eyes and flushed features was what he could make out. The door opened and she stepped out, pushing a black bag into the garbage can. At first, he couldn't believe his luck. He was barely there two minutes and she just came out. She didn't seem to notice him, much to the boy's disappointment. Making his presence known, he announced, 'Hey.' she spun to look at him with wide eyes, before whirling to look back inside her house.

Realizing that no one else in the house had noticed his unexpected appearance, she turned back to him, 'Santa? What are you doing here?' the question was so innocent and full of childish wonder Gaara had to swallow done his laughter but couldn't hid the smile playing on his lips. Being called Santa, the name that was usually given to his father, a title of great respect, sent a naughty thrill through him. He had two options: he could play along and say he was Santa and get the respect he deserved but would later have to suffer the consequences when she found out or, he could tell her the truth.

Gaara didn't know much about mortals, other than the lessons his mentor Shukaku had taught him -and Gaara had a feeling that his sensei didn't know much either- but he didn't want to risk loosing her because of his lust for acknowledgement.

'Actually,' he moved closer to her, making his decision, 'I'm not Santa Claus.' the girl's entire body tensed, ready to make a run for it.

'If...' her bottom lip quivered, 'If you're not Santa, what were you doing in my house last night?'

The red head struggled for words, hoping to the Gods he wouldn't scare her away, 'Well, Santa Claus is my father...'

Her hands came up to slap her face, covering it from his view, 'Oh God, I feel like I've just fallen into a corny Christmas movie...' she shook her head and Gaara moved closer, afraid she was going to end up ripping her face off by how hard she was gripping it. 'You're the son of Santa Claus?' she spread her fingers apart to peer at him.

His throat went sauna dry but he managed to get his voice working, 'I know how odd this must sound but it's the truth!' he waved his hands in front of himself, 'You're the first mortal I've ever met and I really don't want to screw this up so I'm just gonna give you the truth! I've lived my entire life up in the North Pole, my father is Saint Nick and we have a whole bunch of elves living in the factory where all the toys are made!' she blinked stunned, 'and my father has his own village, with a population of a hundred and four, and I take care of all the reindeer! See, this guy behind me is Comet, he may not look like much-,' Comet lifted up his head and gave a snort, giving a glowering gaze to his caretaker, '-but he's brilliant!' Comet seemed pleased and snuggled back down into the snow, keeping an eye open to watch the two legs. 'And, he can fly!'

Hinata stared at the boy with large, incredulous eyes. During his rant, he had walked over to her and nearly picked her up, wrapping his strong and calloused hands around her upper arms, excitement building in his tone causing his entire body to shake. The sensible part of her whispered that he was crazy, very crazy, psychotic crazy, while the other part of her, the less sensible side, murmured that he was telling the truth. He had, after all, delivered presents to her house and now he was in her backyard with a reindeer, not something every teenage boy had. Not to mention his ears. His ears were carved like elegant pieces of wood, pointed and sharp, poking out of his unruly vermillion hair.

While her 'Shoulder Angel and Devil' fought, Hinata reached up and touched on of his ears. It was cold and smooth, as expected. Her gaze flicked to meet his eyes; one of his hairless brows were raised but he let her continue. 'Do you believe me, Hinata Hyuuga?' she jumped and her mouth fell open.

'Well...' her eyes fell to her feet but he tipped her chin with the edge of his index finger, making her look back up into his gaze, 'your ears...' how was she suppose to describe them? Pointy? Cold? Lord of the Rings like? Perhaps she should point out the resemblance he possessed towards Legolas Greenleaf? 'Have they always...'

'Have they always been elven?' he finished for her, amusement twinkling in his aquamarine depths. 'Yes, they have.'

'So, you're an elf?' she could here her sister running up the stairs to her room before rushing back down, collapsing on the plush carpet and talking a mile a minute to their father. When the boy nodded, she pointed out, 'But, isn't Santa just immortal and everyone else an elf?' in all the movies and stories she had seen and heard, she was use to Santa being very human looking, while all his little helpers were tiny elf people. Gaara was not a tiny elf person. 'Shouldn't you be human?'

'If my father was human, do you think he would still be alive if he was born during the eighteenth century?'

She shrugged, tossing her hair over her shoulder, 'I don't know. He does it the same way he makes it around the world in twenty four hours?'

Gaara gave a scoff, 'I made it around the world in twenty four hours with a broken rudder on the sleigh,' he puffed out his chest, 'and it was my first run. It's not that hard, especially for my father, whose been doing it for over three hundred years.' okay, she couldn't argue with that. Comet, behind them, snorted. He had noticed how his master conveniently left out the fact he did a couple of barrel rolls on the runway, puked, had been carried like a princess by a good-looking elven department manager and suffered form a minor concussion at the end of it all.

'Why were you delivering the presents?' her back was pushed against the door, the frozen glass sinking through her shirt to chill her skin. His hands were resting on either side of her head, boxing her in between himself and the door.

The redhead looked reluctant to answer, his eyes flitting to her family within the house. They quickly moved back to the opal gaze of the mortal girl, 'Father has taken ill.' the statement was hollow sounding, distant by the way he worded it. Hinata was observant enough she could hear the inhospitable lace that was woven through the statement. She longed to ask him, but it wasn't her place. She had known him how long and she was going to ask him about the relationship he had with his father? That would be rather brazen. Fortunately enough, Hinata possessed a timid enough nature that she didn't start blurting out inappropriate inquires.

'Will...' her brow furrowed, 'Will he be alright?'

He bared his teeth; they were all sharp looking, feral. 'He's fine, the old coot.' a hiss made its way up from his throat and his hot breathe fanned across her flustered face. She blinked, taken aback by his hostility. Yes, it seemed there was some harsh feelings passing through son to father. She wondered if his darling dad knew the way he felt about him.

Gaara must have realized that he had shocked her and, he being such a great detective, noted the spark of fear of his outburst, hidden in the milky depths. With great willpower, he forced his body to relax and an awkward smile quirked onto his lips. She returned it.

'What are you doing today?' he asked her, glancing over his shoulder to look at Comet, just in time to see the reindeer rolling his orb like eyes.

'Spending time with my family, I suppose.' Well, it was mostly her keeping Hanabi from breaking everything in the house. Her father was going to go back into his room and sleep off his jet-leg, while Hanabi would play a bit in the living room, get bored, grab all her stuff before rushing back up to her room and slamming the door. Just on Que., Hinata heard her father speaking in a deep, sleep deprived voice to his youngest before moseying up the stairs to his bedroom, the door, like Hanabi always did, slammed and echoed through the entire house. Hanabi made a cooing sound of disappointment and her sister could hear her gathering her toys, stumbling after her father.

Gaara cocked a hairless eyebrow, 'Spending time with your family?' he repeated, his voice harmonious and soft. Deep inside though, he understood how it felt being shunned by blood. It hurt. But, he won't allow her to spend Christmas by herself. He knew the feeling too well. It was either be alone, be with people who hate you, or suffer through horrible Christmas parties with hundreds upon hundreds of elves with over twenty bowls of eggnog, mixed in with pure alcohol that was created in the chemistry department. Not like that had ever happened to Gaara... He mentally winced at the thought.

'Well, my family is very introverted,' she lied and the red head snorted at her, shaking his handsome face, negatively. 'Why, what are you doing?' her fist rested on the curve of her hip.

He smiled, 'Spending the day with you.'

'What!'

The holly bears a bark as bitter as any gall,

I would like to thank everyone who read, reviewed, alerted me, my story or favorite-ed either one of us. It's all very appreciated and keeps me motivated! Constructive criticism is appreciated. Your thoughts are welcome. Also, if you have any suggestions for a better title than 'All I Want', go ahead and suggest! And, because I love my reviews so much, send in Christmas songs! I may use one! I'm very openminded so go ahead and suggest; title or song! Or just review! *hint hint*

IMPORTANT NOTICE

I won't have this done before I leave to Mexico since I'm leaving tonight -where I can't work on it- so I won't be doing any writing/updating for a week... Sorry. Hopefully this story will be completed while we're all still in Christmas Spirit!