4. Believing in Christmas

'Verse: Runaways-verse
Timeline: Our Little Corner of the World
Date: December 2011

"Santa coming! Santa coming! Santa coming!"

As Tori went rushing by for the fourth time, Jess leaned down to grab her and haul her up onto the couch with him.

"Okay, time to calm down now," he advised, putting his daughter in his lap.

"Santa coming!" she repeated, grinning wide and still trying to dance around even now.

"I know, but you have to be asleep for that to happen, Tor," he reminded her. "Santa doesn't visit little girls who are running around the living room like their mom on a caffeine boost."

"I heard that," said Rory, wearing a mock serious look, as she came through from the kitchen with a tray of cookies and milk.

"You were supposed to." Jess smirked at her. "Where's Jack?"

"He went to the bathroom a while ago." Rory frowned. "I'll go check."

She headed for the stairs and walked up, finding her son sat at the top with his chin in his hand. He looked awfully sad for a seven-year-old boy on Christmas Eve.

"Jack?" she checked, sitting down beside him. "What's wrong?"

"Tori thinks Santa is coming," he said grumpily.

"Well, it's Christmas Eve and we just laid out his snack, so I'm pretty sure he will come," his mom told him. "You and your sister have both been good, so-"

"But he can't," said Jack, staring up at her with sad eyes. "Santa can't come here because... because he's not real," he said, tears forming that Rory so hated to see.

"Oh, Jack," she said, pulling him into a hug. "Sweetie, why would you say that?"

"Toby Anderson told me. He said Santa wasn't real," he explained, sniffling.

"Toby Anderson?" she echoed. "Well, you don't believe him, do you? I thought he was never nice to you."

"He's not. He's always mean," Jack agreed.

"Well then, who would you rather believe in, sweetie? Some mean boy who doesn't know anything or Santa Claus, who has always been nice to you and brings you great gifts every year?"

"Santa coming! Santa coming!" Tori yelled from the living room, clearly having paid no mind at all to Jess' words about calming down.

"Yeah, Santa's coming!" Jack yelled back, getting up from the step and rushing downstairs just as fast as he could.

Jess almost got bowled over as his son ran to his daughter and they both danced around the living room like crazy people. He ran a hand over his face, wondering how he was ever going to calm them down as Rory wandered down the stairs to join him.

"Any bright ideas?" he asked his wife tiredly, throwing an arm around her shoulders.

"Not really," she admitted, her own arm around his waist as she leaned into him. "But I guess they can go a little crazy this year. It won't be long until they're too grown up to really enjoy the whole magical part of Christmas."

Jess laughed as Jack and Tori literally skipped and jumped all over the room and right around the Christmas tree. It was tough not to be amused by their antics. Then he looked at Rory and saw her smiling at him.

"I don't know," he said, planting a kiss on her cheek. "It's pretty magical from where I'm standing too."