A/N: Well, it seems life got insane RIGHT AFTER I started having time to write again. Seriously, what happened to the days when I had hours upon hours to write? Ugh! Anyways! MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! I thought it would be good to at least get one more chapter before the big day, so here you are. Thanks for all the reviews and I hope you have a fantastic Christmas day!

Chapter Six – Is that a Polar Bear directing traffic?

The temperature in the park seemed rather warm for the middle of the night in December. Tabs figured it had something to do with the magic that Bernard was using. Or maybe, winter was just warmer in New York then it was where she was from. The park was beautiful, even at night. It all felt so surreal, but then again, there was still a chance this could all turn out to be just a dream.

"So, I have to ask, how do you think the Council of Legendary Figures is going to react?" Tabs shoved her hands in her pockets and breathed in the crisp, air. She had never quite figured out what it was, but something about cities made her feel so much more alive.

Bernard shrugged. "I have no idea, to be honest. Obviously, the SOS…" he paused and looked over at her. "Do you know what the SOS is?"

"Yeah, the Secret of Santa."

"Right. There are probably going to be some fears about that. And then there's the whole Santa thing. It might make for a very tense meeting."

"Who meets with them when Santa… can't?" She didn't feel the need to point out that even if they asked the new 'Santa' he wouldn't believe them.

Bernard furrowed his brow slightly, looking stressed again. "The task falls to me, as head elf. I haven't had to meet with them in over two hundred years. The last time I did, it didn't go over so well."

Tabs was surprised. Bernard was so organized and on task – she couldn't imagine him failing at an update meeting. "What happened?"

"Cupid and I got into it a few times," he admitted sheepishly.

Tabs laughed. "Honestly, that doesn't surprise me."

Bernard raised his eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Well, he kind of seemed like a bit of a dick in the second movie."

"Wait… there's more than one?"

Tabs nodded. "There's two. The third is rumoured to be coming out in two years."

"Hmm." Bernard wanted to ask her more about the movies, but her fear of ruining the time space continuum seemed pretty intense, so he tried to ignore his curiousity. "Yeah, Cupid is a bit of a … jerk. He's pretty full of himself and thinks he's this big hot shot just because he can make people fall in love."

"But people fall in love without his help, right?"

"Exactly."

Tabs shook her head. "I don't think I'd get along with him very well."

Bernard laughed. "Very few do." He appeared thoughtful for a moment. "You know… maybe you should come with me to the meeting tomorrow. It might ease their fears on the whole SOS thing if they meet you… and might make me look a little less crazy."

"Wait, are you SERIOUS?" Tabs looked at him, eyes wide and a huge grin on her face. "OHMYGOSH that would be AMMMAAAZZZINNNG!"

Bernard smiled. "How old did you say you were again?" he asked with a smirk. He had never seen anyone get that excited at meeting the Council. Then again, most people he knew were from the worlds where magic existed, and meeting the Council typically meant they had screwed up.

She stuck her tongue out at him. "There is nothing wrong with acting childish sometimes. It's good for your health."

"That's the first time I've heard that."

As they approached a line of benches, surrounding a small ice rink, Tabs noticed a young girl asleep and shivering. She didn't look much older than herself.

"Can they see us or hear us?" Tabs asked, unsure of how the magical barrier worked.

Bernard shook his head, as he looked over to where Tabs was already walking. "What are you doing?"

She didn't respond. Instead, she fumbled around in her pockets and pulled out a couple Canadian twenty-dollar bills and tucked them into the girl's pocket cautiously. When the girl didn't react, Tabs unzipped her jacket and laid it over the other girl.

Bernard was moved by her display of compassion. Most humans he had observed seemed more likely to pretend the homeless didn't exist.

Sighing, Tabs walked back over to him, and hugged herself to keep warm. "I wish there was more I could do," she said sadly.

"I think you just did more than most," he replied as he took off his own jacket, then offered it to her. "Here, I'm used to the cold. It's natural for me."

She smiled slightly and accepted it. "I hate seeing people homeless. My family once took a trip to Toronto at Christmas and I saw so many kids my own age begging on the streets. After the first one, I couldn't even look at them, because I was trying so hard not to cry. I hate to even think of what would drive a kid to choose the streets over living at home, whether it's in their heads or reality. Everyone should have a place to feel loved and call home."

Bernard didn't know what to say. Of course Christmas elves knew the harsh realities of the human world, but up in the North Pole, it was often easy to forget just how real and harsh they really were. There was no such thing as a homeless Christmas elf, or of someone feeling unloved or unwanted. Sure, there were dark times, and things were not as happy-go-lucky as the humans seemed to think, but being loved was never a question there. If things did not work out with one's family, there were plenty of relatives and friends ready to open their doors.

"Ugh… sorry, I just totally killed the Christmassy-mood," Tabs apologized, shaking Bernard from his thoughts.

"What? No, don't apologize. You didn't kill the mood. An act of kindness is always part of the Christmas spirit."

They walked over to the skating rink, and Tabs sighed. "Do you ever watch movies up in Elfsburg?"

"Sometimes."

"One of my favourite Christmas movies was filmed partially at this rink. Well, in my world." She looked up at the sky and smiled. "Cassiopeia."

Bernard followed her gaze, up to the constellation.

"Do you know the story of Cassiopeia?"

Bernard shook his head. "I just know the constellations. We use them to guide Santa. We've been using star maps since the first Santa Claus."

Pushing herself up on the small wooden wall, Tabs jumped up and slowly lowered herself onto the rink. Bernard laughed and did the same.

"You realize without skates, we're going to end up falling a lot right?"

Tabs just smiled, and pushed off the wall, gliding somewhat gracefully backwards.

"So the story goes like this. A long time ago in Ethiopia, Cassiopeia was queen, and she thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world. Everybody in the kingdom was offended by her vanity. I'm not sure what exactly she did, but one day, she royally screwed up and pissed off the gods. Poseidon punished her by placing her in the heavens, upside down on her throne for eternity, with her skirt hanging over her shoulders and her blood rushing to her head. Now, she's just a constellation in the sky."

She glided around the rink a bit before she slipped and sprawled rather ungracefully across the ice, laughing as she hit the ground with a loud thunk.

Bernard slid after her, waving his arms around to try and keep his balance. He was a little wobbly, but managed to make it over to her without falling. "Is that what the movie is about?" he asked as he helped her to her feet. "Because that doesn't sound very Christmassy or happy."

She chuckled. "No, but it's a part from the movie. The lead man tells the lead girl about Cassiopeia the night they meet, while they are at this rink." She sighed again, and began to skate around on her shoes. "It's a movie about love and destiny. Two random strangers have a chance encounter while shopping for a gift for their significant others, and after running back into each other again by accident, they spend the evening together. They fall for each other, but she wants to leave their relationship to destiny. So they do a test to see if destiny means for them to be together, and miss running into each other by mere seconds. The rest of the movie, they move on with their lives, but their hearts still belong to one another, and so they search to find each other."

"You're such a girl," Bernard laughed. "Do you realize your eyes light up and you get this silly little glow about you when you talk about this movie?"

Tabs shrugged. "What can I say, I'm a hopeless romantic. I just love the idea of two strangers knowing in an instant that they are meant to be together."

He shook his head. He couldn't believe how much he had managed to learn about this girl in one night. She was unlike anyone he knew. She was so alive and animated, yet grounded at the same time. Silly and childlike, but yet calm and mature. It was an odd combination, but it worked with her.

There was a time when Bernard had clung to stories like the movie Tabs had described. When he was in his teen years, which for Christmas elves, lasted about five-hundred years, he had been a hopeless romantic. Though he had met many a beautiful elf in his lifetime, none had ever really drawn him in. As he got older, he lost that romantic flair. His life became about work, about Santa and keeping the North Pole in order. For a moment, as Tabs had gushed about this movie, he had felt that hopeless romantic inside of him coming to life again. But it was only a moment.

It was as he snapped out of that moment that he realized how much time they had spent in the park. Their hour was nearing an end, and if he didn't get them back before that hour, they would be stuck in New York.

He skated back over to the wall. "We've got to go," he said, as he climbed back over the wall.

Tabs followed him, noticing the change in his demeanour. For a moment, he had become the light-hearted Bernard she recognized from the movies. But now, the crease in his forhead was reappearing, and the worried expression was replacing the smile.

"Everything okay?"

Bernard looked over at her, startled. "I'm fine, why?"

"You just are starting to look stressed again."

"I'm almost out of magic. And I still have to figure out what to do with Scott Calvin… and you."

When Tabs had hoisted herself back over the wall, she walked over and gave Bernard a hug. "Thank you, for letting me take you for coffee… and for taking me through Central Park."

Bernard was a little taken aback at first, but then hugged the girl back. "Thank you, Tabs." He blushed slightly. "I can't remember the last time I've actually done something… fun."

They pulled apart, and Tabs looked slightly awkward. Hugging him had been a natural reaction, but she hadn't expected him to hug back. She knew it was just a hug, but suddenly she just felt awkward about it. "You're welcome," she said, trying to hide her discomfort.

It was obvious to Bernard that something had suddenly started bothering the girl, but he wasn't sure he wanted to know what. He had felt her flinch slightly when he hugged back, but wasn't exactly sure what that meant. Now, her cheeks were flushed, and she wouldn't meet his gaze. It seemed human girls were just as confusing as elves.

Trying not to put much thought into her reaction, he pulled out the miniaturized jet-pack and pressed the button to bring it back to a normal size again.

When he had secured the jet-pack on his back, he reached out and took Tabs' hand. "You gonna be okay this time?"

Again, the flinch.

Tabs' was doing everything she could not to go all girly on Bernard. She knew his hug and grabbing her hand meant nothing, but it had been a while since a guy had paid any attention to her, and her crush on Bernard was causing the girly side of her to read into non-existant signs.

"Sorry," she said. "I'm just nervous, about the flying."

He knew it was a lie, but didn't push the question. Her sudden change in behaviour was strange, but he had more important things to worry about.

"I'll be okay this time, I think," she said, taking a deep breath as she answered his question.

He fired up the jet pack, and they raised slowly into the air, then took off into the night.

As they flew through the skies, Bernard started to tell Tabs about life as a Christmas elf, and about the North Pole. He didn't know how much the movies she kept referring to explained about their lives, so he just kept talking. If he was telling her information she already knew, she wasn't letting on, as she listened intently.

"We're not actually called Christmas elves," Bernard said. "I mean, we are, but that's not what we really are. We got the nickname just over 1500 years ago, when we first came to help Saint Nicholas, the original Santa Claus. It was started as a joke by some of the other elves. It just made sense for us. Unlike our brethren, who are tall, slender and majestic, we have always been shorter and more childlike. It takes a very long time for us to look like adults. We were dubbed 'Christmas elves' because it seemed to be the only thing we could do well."

Tabs was enthralled by his stories. She had always wondered about the elves beyond the movies. Where they came from, whether they were strictly Christmas elves or not.

"Most elves leave the North Pole once they reach adult-hood. By then, they've saved enough that they choose to leave and start families of their own. Elves at the North Pole are usually between five hundred to a thousand years old. They leave after that."

Tabs looked over at him. "So how old are you then?"

Bernard flushed slightly, suddenly feeling very old. "1457."

"Well, you don't look a day over twenty to me," Tabs smiled.

Her earlier awkwardness seemed to fade the more they talked. Or rather, the more Bernard talked and Tabs listened.

She wasn't sure if pushing why he had stayed was a good move at this time, or if that should wait.

"Thanks, though, twenty for an elf looks like a baby for a human."

"Way to make me feel even younger then," she teased. "Until today, I was starting to feel like I was getting old!"

As they began to descend onto the North Pole, Tabs took in everything. It was so majestic and beautiful from the air. As she looked around, she noticed a polar bear directing traffic.

"Oh my gosh! It's actually true!" she exclaimed.

"What is?"

"Polar bears directing traffic!" She giggled.

Bernard smiled. "It's amazing isn't it?"

"Beyond words."

By the time they landed and put away the jet-pack, Tabs had begun to yawn.

"Good timing, I am definitely ready for bed," she said as she launched into another yawn.

"Goodnight, Bernard," she said softly as she turned to go down the hall to the 'guest' room.

Bernard paused, wondering if he should offer her a better place to stay. He wasn't sure how he felt about asking a girl he had just met to stay in his apartment, but he knew for a fact the couch in his living room was more comfortable than the guest room. He bit his lip slightly as he decided, then called out to her.

"You know, my couch is way more comfortable than that bed," he offered.

Tabs turned around, surprised. "Are you sure?" she asked. "I mean, we barely know each other."

"It's not like I'm asking you to sleep in my bed with me," he pointed out. "Trust me. You'll get a better sleep. And you need your rest if you're going to be facing the council with me tomorrow."

Tabs squinched her nose as she thought. Although her parents would seriously disprove, the thought of a more comfortable sleep was far too tantalizing.

"Okay… just let me get my things."

Bernard's apartment was smaller than Tabs had expected, but cozy and warm. She had expected it to be decorated like Christmas, but instead, it was a perfect blend of deep blues, blacks and rich greens. The kitchen opened up into a small living room with a large-sized two-cushioned couch and a coffee table in front of it. A hallway off the living room led to the bedroom and the bathroom.

They didn't talk much before Tabs curled up on the couch and passed out, and Bernard went off to bed, stressing about what would happen at the council meeting the next day.