Hello, this is the final chapter of this story; I hope you enjoyed it. On with the show…
Epilogue: May Your Christmas Wishes Come True
Hayley Marshall felt happy. Like gooey, sappy, silly happy. She hadn't felt this way since she was Hope's age and believed in Santa, elves, reindeer and happily ever after. Childhood ended too early for Hayley and she suspected that the same held true for everyone else that gathered with her that evening.
"May I have this dance?" Elijah asked her and Hayley grinned, taking Elijah's hand. They walked into the middle of the courtyard and began to dance to the stains of "Jingle Bell Rock."
"You can cover them up with this," Davina told Kol from the other side of the courtyard. The witch held up a Santa hat and Kol grimaced at it. He crossed his arms over his chest; refusing to look at the hat until Klaus came by him.
"I always wanted a cat to scare away the most annoying of wolves," Klaus taunted Kol who glared at him, yanking the hat away from Davina and pulling it over his pointy ears.
Toby appeared with Sarah at his side, their elf friends from earlier in the day. The two elves looked happy as they entered the courtyard. The red haired male had changed into a suit and his blonde…fellow elf had changed into a blue dress. "How good of you to arrive," Elijah greeted their guests.
"Well, you did invite us," Sarah replied with a laugh. "But we've got to get home before Abby wakes up tomorrow. She gets bored when we're off-season. Don't want to leave a teen elf by herself, you never know what she'll get up to. She's been hanging out with these fairies who were up to no good during the spring last year. Cast a spell on a town in Virginia."
"That's who did that?" Caroline demanded, coming over to them and narrowing her eyes. "My friends have been cleaning up after the town well blew up and the high school got turned into a pile of rubble!"
"Let's go mingle," Hayley suggested, tugging Elijah away from the conversation. She felt too good and did not want her night to get ruined.
"Mommy, mommy, this is Ariel, she said she could stay for the next month. Her mommy and daddy said its okay," Hope said, dragging the pink haired elf—she'd tried to keep for herself—along with her.
Ariel grinned up at them. "Yeah. My parents have been at me to see more of the world 'You hang around the Pole too much, Ari. Go find something else to do.' So, I figure—what the hell—looks like you've got your hands full with this one. Besides, my boyfriend, Derek, is going to hang around here. Maybe join a band. He's a great singer." She waved at the funny, purple haired elf.
"Great," Hayley said with a strained smile. Dragging Elijah further away, Hayley sighed. "Now my kid's going to be corrupted by a pink haired elf."
"Who are you calling elf, wolf?" another elf demanded, glaring up at Hayley. "Yeah. We know about your kind. Pack almost ate my entire family one time," a black elf with an Ed Sherran T-Shirt informed Hayley with a glare.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Hayley looked to Elijah for help.
The new elf laughed. "Man, you're gullible. My friends are going to laugh so hard." The elf walked off, whistling a tune that Elijah had never heard before, or maybe he didn't care to remember it.
Cami came over to them with Finn. "This has been a…memorable Christmas," she said with laugh.
"Yes, it has been," Elijah replied with a smile.
Finn shook his head. "I think we should go somewhere else next year. Somewhere quiet, where my family can not find us," he suggested to Cami who shook her head and they walked off.
"Kol, it's not that bad!" Davina cried.
Aiden began to chuckle. "It's kind of cute," he said and Elijah glanced in his brother's direction.
"It is not!" Kol yelled at them, leaving the party.
"What's his problem?" Hayley asked Rebekah.
Rebekah paused, took a sip of her drink and glanced at the house. "Kol's growing a tail," she told them.
"Which means he's a what now?" Marcel prompted his girlfriend.
"Reindeer," Josh told them as Davina headed into the house.
Elijah heard Kol let out a wail. "Hooves, Davina, please, convince them to turn me back! Darling, I can't go around like this! What if that bloody bunny-eating Salvatore comes to town and mistakes me for a deer?"
Klaus let out a laugh and Elijah turned to see that Klaus must have heard Kol's comment. Klaus nodded at Elijah and Elijah nodded back. They'd work out a deal to save Kol from further embarrassment. It might take them 'til New Year's to hash out the details but they'd think of something. After all, Kol was family no matter his faults.
"Nik, stop yanking on my dress!" Rebekah shouted.
Elijah's head spun in the direction of his sister to see Hope's present yanking on the hem of Rebekah's dress. "He's just like his namesake," Marcel said. "Always has to be the center of attention," he told the group.
"Bad dog!" Rebekah scolded.
Hayley laughed and Elijah wrapped an arm around her waist while Hope ran over to collect her dog, Nik. "Who's a good doggy?" Hope cooed. "Yes, Nik, you're a good doggy."
"Oh, that is too much," Caroline giggled, looking at Klaus who sighed heavily.
Elijah laughed, too, and spun Hayley in a circle before pulling her to him. "Merry Christmas, Elijah," Hayley whispered, eyeing his lips.
"Merry Christmas, Hayley," Elijah replied, his head dipping down to kiss her.
Hayley felt warm and happy as Elijah pulled back. She scooped up her daughter who still held her puppy. "Merry Christmas, Hope."
"Merry Christmas, Mommy, Uncle Elijah and Nik," Hope said, nuzzling her dog. "Can we do this, again, next Christmas?"
"No," Klaus said, coming over and wrapping an arm around his brother.
"Time for a picture!" Rebekah announced, pulling out a camera.
"Not that infernal thing," Klaus snapped.
"Come, Santa Klaus. Just one!" Rebekah begged. "Please, Nik."
Nik the puppy barked and Klaus glared. "One," he said.
"Kol!" Rebekah shouted. "Davina, it's time!"
Kol could be heard grumbling all the way down the stairs until they were standing in a large group, some kneeling, some squeezing in close to be included in the family photo. That year a group of elves, wolves, vampires, witches, a human and a puppy appeared in the family album.
"And to all a good night," Hope sang in her little girl voice.
"Ba humbug," Kol snorted and then ran off again, his hooves pounding up the stairs.
"I'm buying a sled for him to drag me about in," Klaus announced merrily.
On the way out, Mickey stopped to speak to Klaus. "Good job this year, boss," he said, clapping Klaus on the back and walking out the gate.
Elijah and Hayley stood off to the side while Klaus turned around and glared at them. "Not a word," he warned them before walking back to the house.
"I knew it," Hayley said. "Now, that is scary."
"He has a split personality," Cami told them. "I wrote a book on it but then Klaus made me forget about it but then I found the manuscript. You should look forward to it being published sometime next year."
Elijah and Hayley looked at each other and then began to laugh. Their lives had gone from horror movie to Disney-style silly in less than seventy-two hours. It was time to get some sleep. They went up to their room only to hear the sound of a patter of hooves on the roof and Klaus ho-ho-ho-ing. "Away, Kol!" he cried.
"Can we fly over Europe?" Caroline's voice asked.
"And to the North Pole? Nik wants to see the North Pole," Hope added.
"Should we check on them?" Elijah asked Hayley.
Hayley shook her head. "As long as he has her home by morning and doesn't drop her through the chimney, I'm not worried." Falling to sleep, Hayley dreamed of snow and a little girl who believed in Santa and who would never make her little girl worry about feeling alone, ever again.
The End
Thank you for reading, faving, following and reviewing this story. It was a lot of fun to write.
Peace,
Jessica
