Greetings and Salutations!

Okay so here's the next chapter. More Jack creepiness, more WTF moments, lots of stubbornness, humor, angst, and heartbreak…. and of course, what happened with the cake. Hope you guys like it. J

Pardon any mistakes.

Oh, and (Insert Usual Ownership Disclaimers here.)

All the Best to you and Yours,

etiquette-faux-pas

6. Wait…what just happened?

Ellington watched as Bernard's expression shifted between that of confusion, anger, and surprise. His gaze kept moving from the cake to Ellington, as if unsure which was more confusing: that the Workshop was somehow miraculously running again, or that Ellington was being…well, nice.

She raised an eyebrow, and nodded at the cake. Uncertainly, Bernard lifted the fork, and took a bite.

Now, arming herself with the knowledge that Bernard didn't often give compliments, Ellington watched his response closely. And she wasn't disappointed. It was obvious that he was fighting letting his eyes roll back into his head in delight. Ellington beamed. Whoever said words were necessary for compliments, anyway?

But then, rather suddenly, Bernard's face filled with steely resolve. His eyes grew cold, calculating. It was disturbing. Then, without any warning, he spun on his heel, and marched out of the Kitchen without looking back.

He did take the cake, though.

Looking after him and wondering what it all meant, Ellington felt her stomach fall. She normally took rejection in stride, but this… this felt like she'd just been slapped across the face. She looked down at the ground, mortified; feeling her cheeks redden in shame. She had been so sure that would work.

"Now what?" One of the elves asked.

Ellington wondered the same thing.

What the heck was going on?

The cake had been the last straw. Really it had. The progress with the Workshop was one thing; the fling with Curtis had been another. Ellington had gone too far. Screw the Clause, Bernard had thought, and how it's trying to screw me over. This was the end of it: the fighting, the tension, the sarcasm. It was time.

Bernard stormed into Santa's study without knocking. Santa, who was sitting at his desk looking over some notes from the Council meeting (which had just finally adjourned for the week), looked a bit surprised. Ignoring this, Bernard plunked the plate down on Santa's desk, his expression wild.

"Try this," he demanded, pointing to the cake.

Santa looked up at him warily.

"Try it!"

Carol walked in. Observing the looks flying between the two she asked, "Anything wrong, boys?"

"Bernard wants me to try this cake," said Scott carefully.

"Well then, Scott. Try the cake," Carol affirmed. She had, of course, heard about what happened in the Kitchen.

Santa picked up the plate and, ever so gingerly, took a bite.

He couldn't stop his eyes from rolling back into his head.

"Silver bells," he breathed. "Who made this?" Seeing Bernard's look, Scott said, "Ellington? No way! Honestly, is there anything that girl can't do?"

"Remind me to ask her," said Bernard solemnly.

Scott turned back to his Head Elf. "Wait, you two are talking again?"

Bernard shook his head. "That's beside the point. If things go the way I hope, we won't have to worry about…communication issues anymore."

Scott shared a look with Carol. "Go on."

Taking a deep breath, Bernard began. "We've all seen what Ellington has done with the Workshop…in my absence."

"Yes," Carol agreed tentatively.

"And we all know what she's like when she's working. I've heard the rumors: she's sweet, kind, a natural leader. A big sister figure that the elves haven't had yet. They like it, and what's more, it works. I mean, look at all that's been accomplished in the past week!"

"Right." Scott had known this since the balcony incident. "We know this better than you do, Bernard; we've seen it firsthand."

"Where are you going with this?" asked Carol, genuinely intrigued.

Bernard sighed. He knew that, under no circumstances would he ever live this down. But he really didn't have much choice, did he? The facts were right there, glaringly obvious. He couldn't ignore it anymore.

"I know there are a lot of things that could seem to be in the way, protocol and such, not to mention certain…racial details; but I think…I mean, in light of the circumstances…"

And so, pushing past the thick wall of resistance he had built up in his mind over the past month, Bernard said, a bit too forcefully….

"What?"

"I don't know. What else can I do?"

Ellington was sitting with Judy at an outdoor café, the snow falling in wisps around them. Judy had her hands around a mug of cocoa, dressed only in her everyday clothes. Ellington, on the other hand, was buried beneath her scarf and coat like it was her last hope of survival. Bernard had been right; the weather was still sometimes a bit of a shock to her, even though she had been raised in Seattle.

But Ellington didn't feel much like thinking about the things Bernard was right about just then.

"He just stared at me with this totally unreadable look…and then like he had just figured out what kind of a person I was." She sighed, and sipped at her apple cider. "I feel so stupid, Judy! I really had to fight myself to be so…friendly, I guess; and he just threw it back in my face! I don't even know what to do. I think he hates me–whether for stealing his job, or for being alive… I just don't know." Things had yet to seem so hopeless since her arrival to the Pole. Ellington was really at a loss.

"Oh dear," Judy said sympathetically, setting her hand on top of Ellington's. "I know Bernard can come off a bit…gruff, sometimes; but he only rarely hates anyone, least of all you." She paused momentarily, before saying, "And I think the Curtis incident got back to him. It made him pretty upset." Aw, snowballs; that had been her fault.

"Then why the heck doesn't he say so?!" Ellington cried, brushing a stray curl away with the back of her hand. "This is bogus! I put my everything into this, the one thing he seems to care about, and what do I get? I just piss him off even more!" She hid her face in her hands. "I don't know what to do, Judy. Carol made me promise not to tell Santa what I was doing, and now Bernard's probably telling him everything I've done…I'm gonna be SO busted."

"Wait…Mrs. Claus told you not to tell Santa?"

Ellington nodded.

"Then there must be a good reason for it," said Judy. "Mrs. Claus wouldn't set you up. Most likely she's already told him herself….and anyway, even if she hasn't, all you have to do is tell Santa that she told you to do it!"

Just then, Archie's voice cut over the loudspeaker. "Attention, attention! An announcement from Santa: the position of Number Two Elf has been filled."

Countless disappointed sighs filled the air, coming from all directions. Apparently many elves had had their eyes and hopes set on a promotion. Ellington raised her head and looked at Judy, horrified.

"The new Number Two will be announced this evening. Thanks for your time, everybody! Happy holidays." That was the end of it.

It suddenly occurred to Ellington that with the position filled she would no longer be needed in the Workshop. Her schedule would go back to the boring one she had had before: in short, trailing after Bernard for days on end. It was more than discouraging.

Without a word, Judy and Ellington rose and headed back to the Workshop. Neither knew why, they both just wanted to get back to work…or in Ellington's case, to now not being able to work.

But when they arrived at the Workshop and stepped inside of its great double doors, they saw an odd sight. All of the elves were standing still, waiting for them. Ellington froze in the doorway, embarrassed to be caught in the headlights during one of the worst moments she had ever had. One elf approached her. "They'll be briefing the new Number Two now," said the elf, whom Ellington remembered was named Margot. She seemed very sad. "We're all sorry that you won't be helping us anymore." She paused to wipe away a tear. "Even though you weren't technically our Number Two, you did more work in a week than Curtis did over the entire period of his tenure. If you hadn't helped us, we wouldn't have had any hope for Christmas this year. And whoever the New Number Two is, he or she won't be as much fun as you. These…these are from all of us. To show our appreciation. " Margot handed Ellington a big bunch of red roses…had Ellington told them these were her favorite?

"Thank you," said Ellington, her voice cracking. She gave a small nod. "I…I need to go to my room," she said, sounding choked. She tried clearing her throat, but it didn't seem to make a difference.

Judy nodded, saying solemnly, "I'll walk you back." It wasn't ever fun walking home alone sad.

They set off through the crowd of elves, all giving Ellington sad looks, through the Workshop where Ellington knew she would no longer be of any use to anyone. She would go back to being the 'thorn in the side' of the Head Elf; nothing more than a nuisance. Someone to shun until the Council finally came to a decision, and she could be sent home. Out of Bernard's curly flop of hair.

Really. She had known Bernard didn't like her much, but it was obvious now that he really hated her. Loathed her. And that hurt, on more than one count. Because she had just finally begun to believe that she could come to terms with like like-ing him. But that was all over now.

A ways down the hall, Ellington found her eyes filling with tears. "That was..." She gave Judy a crushed look.

"Oh my," Judy said, a bit taken aback. "Oh my dear girl. I'm so sorry." She could see just how much the job had meant to Ellington, even though she had only been serving in an unofficial capacity.

Ellington had just begun to glumly think of the less interesting things she could spend her time doing at the Pole, when Judy's phone buzzed. She was too preoccupied in her own misery, but Judy, although sympathetic to the hilt, was not under the same emotional strain as the girl. Plus, it was her phone. She picked it up and read the text on screen. She started, and stopped walking to read it again.

It took Ellington a few more steps to realize that Judy wasn't with her. She turned back to see Judy looking very confused. "What is it?"

Judy looked up, seeming very surprised. "Um…Santa wants to see you. In his study. I'm to bring you there immediately."

Ellington didn't know what to think. But she went with Judy, without a single protest.

When they had arrived at the door of the study, Judy seemed worried. "Good luck," she whispered, opening the door for the girl.

Upon stepping into the room, Ellington saw there were three other people there, beside herself. Santa, of course; and Carol. But there, standing ominously by a bookcase, was the person she least wanted to see:

Bernard.

Oh joy.

It felt like Ellington's stomach had just plummeted below floor level. She looked down after it….at least, that was the idea that came to her mind as her eyes flew to her feet.

"Ellington!" said Carol, rushing over to give her a quick squeeze. "Don't worry; its good news," she whispered in Ellington's ear, and gave her a glowing smile.

Now far beyond confused, Ellington glanced up at Santa. He too was smiling.

Bernard still looked worried.

"Ellington, we've seen the excellent work you've been doing in the Workshop," Santa said. "And even though Carol told you not to tell me what you were up to"–Ellington cringed–"you couldn't have done better if I had given you permission myself."

"Wait…I'm not in trouble?" said Ellington, feeling both relieved and unsettled.

Scott and Carol shared a look. "No," said Santa. "Far from it."

With a sigh, Ellington laughed softly. "Well, that's good."

"Nice roses," Scott said. Ellington jumped, and looked down at them.

"Oh! I'd forgotten."

"Beautiful," Carol agreed. "Where did you get them?"

Stiffening, Ellington said quietly, "The um, the elves gave them to me. A few minutes ago. As a…parting gift."

"Well, that was a little preemptive," Bernard said with a snort.

Something inside of Ellington snapped. He could take away her happiness, he could snub her until the reindeer came home, but he would not scoff at the elves. "At least they know how to appreciate what others do, instead of treating them like trash," she snarled. ""But you wouldn't know how to do that, would you? So how about after you completely ruin someone's day, you don't throw it back in their face!"

Bernard stared for a moment. What had he just gotten himself into? "Why do you hate me so much?"

"I don't, actually. But I was about to ask you that very question myself."

"I don't hate you!" argued Bernard, appalled.

"Well, you don't like me either," said Ellington. "You disliked dragging me around, and now that I actually did okay without you, doing what you should have been doing, you're pissed!"

"Well, on some level, yes! I am…annoyed!" This was turning into a fully fledged argument.

"Um, guys…" Santa said cautiously. He was ignored.

"I knew it! I only wanted to help, Bernard! It wasn't about you, or your job!"

"Then what was it then? Showing how much more intelligent you are? How much better? Or was it just a chance to float around bossing people like a prima donna/pageant queen?"

Scott sucked air. "Yikes."

"That is totally not true, Bernard," Carol said sharply.

Ellington's jaw dropped. "You," she spat, "are such an ass. I can't believe I actually wanted to meet you."

"You wanted to meet me?" A bitter laugh. "Yeah, right."

"It's true!" cried Ellington angrily. "You were my favorite character, because you weren't always super friendly and chummy with everyone…something that obviously strikes home with me!" She wasn't really sure why she was saying this. "So yes, I did. I was fool enough to think we'd get along, even…but obviously I was wrong. I'm too much of a bore for you to even treat like a human being. And then, on top of everything else, you snitch to Santa, and cost me the one thing I was even good at here?"

Whoa whoa whoa," Scott said, holding his hands up in a peacekeeping way. "Bernard didn't snitch. I already knew about what you were doing. Carol showed me yesterday."

Ellington glared, but said, "Well, that's good, I guess. One thing in his favor."

"Bernard came to recommend your being offered a job."

Whipping her head around, Ellington asked, "What?! Yeah right."

"Yes, as a matter of fact I did," Bernard said, with an injured edge in his tone. "I'm not such a monster as you might think."

Ugh, guilt pang.

"Wait." Carol was thoughtful. "Did you hear the loudspeaker announcement?"

"Who didn't?" said Ellington in a small voice. She had gone back to admiring the floorboards.

Scot and Carol exchanged looks, again.

"So you know we've found a new Number Two elf?" said Scott.

"Yes."

"And…you know that your…volunteer position has just been eliminated."

Ellington sighed, fighting off tears yet again. She never cried this much! This sucked. "Yes."

"Well, then," said Santa brightly. "That simplifies things! Do you accept, or not?"

Ellington's brow furrowed in confusion. "Accept what?"

"The job, of course!" Carol laughed. "That was what Bernard came to tell us. Not to steal your position away…but to practically demand Scott gives you an actual appointment."

"What?" Ellington looked at Bernard, who shrugged. Bernard wanted her to work with him?

"Not that we hadn't already come to the same conclusion on our own," Scott explained, his eyes shining. "After all, who else could have pulled the Workshop up by its theoretical bootstraps like that? Not Curtis…even if he hadn't been demoted."

"Oh." Still horribly confused, Ellington's eyes narrowed. Where was this going?

"You have no idea what we're talking about, do you?" Carol asked gently.

"Um, not to be rude, but no."

"Ellington," Santa said with a laugh, yet rubbing his temples at the same time, "We have found a new Number Two."

"Yes, I know."

"It's you."

What the…? "What? Are you kidding me?! This is totally not funny, Santa. Like, at all."

"I'm not kidding! You're the one we want as the Number Two. Obviously you can handle it, so it's really only a matter of your accepting the position."

"But...but…." Ellington stuttered. "I can't, obviously! I'm a human girl, I'm only seventeen, and also, there's the whole thing with my family!"

"We know," said Scott solemnly. ""Ellington, the Council has come up with a solution. Well, Father Time has."

Ellington was stunned. It was about Time…..ooh. Pun. "Well, shoot."

"If you accept the position, we will be able to stabilize the Pole. We will then have enough magic to save your father's life…but only if the stability is maintained."

"And…that means?"

Now Bernard spoke up. "Ellington, if you accept the position… you will have to stay at the Pole permanently."

Speechless, Ellington froze.

"With your father's health restored, he will be able to go back to caring for your mother. You won't be needed for that anymore."

"But…my family. They won't know where I've gone."

Santa looked grim. "Father Time has already agreed to alter history. You will technically have died at birth…your parents will only have two children. All other events will remain the same."

"So…I'll never see my parents again?"

"No."

"And…after Christmas I'll…I'll never see my sisters again?"

Carol was tearing up. "I'm afraid not, dear. Even if you did, they wouldn't remember you."

No more Annise. Ever. Again. She wouldn't even remember Ellington had existed. "Dottie," she said. "Will Dottie be different than she is now?"

"Without you there, Dottie will be less jealous and mean. She will be a major part of your family, and her Christmas spirit will be restored…in fact, it will never have left at all."

Well, that was good. But still… deep breaths, Ellington told herself. Deep breaths. "But…my dad will be okay?"

"Yes."

There was another option. "What if I don't accept?"

Scott sighed, and ran a hand through his thick white hair. "Mother Nature has examined your father. If magic is not used…he will be dead by February."

The roses tumbled to the ground as Ellington buried her face in her hands.

"I'm so sorry," said Santa quietly.

"Isn't there anything else they can do? Anything easier?" Bernard asked. This was horrifying.

"No. This is our only option left. Especially with the Unknown hindering our magic as it is."

Ellington looked up with a tear streaked face. "What Unknown?"

Bernard came and took her by the elbow, led her out onto the balcony and pointed out over the mountains, at the darkening ice. "That," he said, "Is the Unknown. If we can't stop it, the Pole will be destroyed."

"Well…that's lovely. I knew there was something," Ellington said thoughtfully. "So uh, how do we stop it?"

"We're hoping you can help us find out," said Bernard. But no one had actually said that. It was his own hope.

But…the thing with Bernard…

She turned to the Head Elf. "I won't accept this if we can't agree to…I don't know, work this thing out. Somehow, we're not communicating well, and I, for one, have no idea what you think of me. I can't work with someone who I think hates my guts."

"Neither can I," Bernard agreed. "We've already gotten off on the wrong foot once…I think we just went and made the same mistake twice. We only really talked to each other that one time; I've been so busy that I ignored you. That won't happen again…because it just can't. We're going to be working together; I'm going to have to get to know you. And…" He hesitated before giving her one of those heart melting smiles. "I think I just might enjoy it."

Turning away, Ellington hid her face again (which was good, because she was blushing furiously.) Faced with such an obvious and obviously difficult decision, she really had no choice. She had to follow her gut, as usual, and her gut told her that she needed to sacrifice–the worst sacrifice she could imagine. But there just might be a rose-tint to the storm cloud…

"I'll do it," she whispered. Then she turned back to Santa. "If my family has a chance to be whole and happy again–even without me–I'll do it." She shivered, as a cold breeze came in through the window, "I just…I'm going to be so…alone."

Carol walked over and put her arm around Ellington. "We're here, honey. You'll always have us." And for once, Ellington accepted the hug.

"Plus, you'll be stuck with the world's crabbiest elf for company," Bernard said sarcastically. "It'll be nearly impossible to get rid of me."

"Which I might not find as awful as you're implying," said Ellington, eyes twinkling in a way that made Bernard's head spin.

"But Ellington, please think this through carefully, before accepting the position," Santa warned her. "I would have wanted to, if I'd had a choice to stay here or not. You're not only agreeing to give up your old life. You're agreeing to start a new one here. As Number Two, you will…well…" He couldn't seem to finish his sentence.

"I will' what?" Ellington asked, full of dread.

Bernard was still trying to ignore how weird it made him feel to see Ellington so vulnerable. Almost…protective. Or maybe that was just because she was going to be his Number Two. It was going to be his job to keep her out of harm's way…"You'll become just what you're agreeing to become," finished Bernard. "The Number Two Elf."

It took a moment for this to sink in. "Wait…I'm going to become an elf?!"

"Yeesss…" said Santa hesitantly. It was hard to see the girl's expression when her face was buried in Carol's sweater. "It will begin immediately, but the transformation will be complete by midnight on Christmas eve."

But the reaction was promising. Pulling away from Carol, Ellington was smiling–albeit weakly. "Well then. There's the upside."

"Sounds like you're going to be 'Elfin Cinderella'," Carol said in jest.

"Yeah," sniffed Ellington, "only minus the handsome prince."

Bernard rolled his eyes. Damn, damn damn this Clause! She still didn't know how much of a set-up this was. Nobody but him knew; and he was trapped in it too.

And for the third time, Scott and Carol exchanged looks. Maybe she was just missing it.

She wasn't. We're going to have to be friends, him and I? Just friends? Do you have any idea how hard that's going to be, when you're living for hundreds of years as his Number Two… I mean, right hand girl? Even THAT doesn't sound right…I'm so confused….and Elfin Cinderella?! AUGH!

It really didn't matter. Ellington's mind was made up; and there, in Santa's study, she signed on the dotted line.

Ellington Connelly, a seventeen year old human girl, was officially the Number Two elf of Santa's Workshop.

And where was Annise during this long, difficult week; during which Ellington signed away her rights to a human life?

She was making a connection with the sister she would be spending the rest of her childhood with (though she didn't yet know it): Dottie.

It was bad enough that Dottie lacked Christmas spirit; but what was worse was how she didn't want a relationship with her sisters.

As the sweet, caring one of the family, Annise felt it her duty to try and change that.

She had gone to Charlie first. Unfortunately, the cocoa/flirting thing hadn't worked out the way he'd hoped–they'd ended up fighting over what the True Meaning of Christmas was. Dottie held firm to her belief that it was about the kind of presents you got: if the presents were good enough, so was your Christmas. Charlie, on the other hand, having been raised part time in the North Pole, knew that it wasn't about the presents; it was about the people, and the loving, giving spirit of the Season.

Annise believed that someone in particular was the True Spirit of Christmas; but Ellington had taught her not to proselytize others with her beliefs, so she kept this to herself. Instead, she went to convince Dottie of the simplest fact: that she was indeed in Santa's Workshop.

How? By sneaking her out, of course.

It had taken her all week to convince Dottie that it was safe to break out. Because, of course, it wasn't.

"But Nissy," Dottie had whined, using the pet name that Annise loathed, "there are kidnappers out there. I've told you a million times: those midgets are evil!"

Annise sighed. "And I've told you a million times, Dottie: they're elves, not midgets, not small people, not children. Okay? And they really dislike it when you call them short."

"Well, they are," said Dottie stubbornly. But then she smiled. "But actually, so am I. Five foot two isn't considered very tall where we're from."

"You're right," laughed Annise, who was a whopping five foot for her ten year old self. "But there are some…girls that I want you to meet. You'll like them."

"Is Charlie going to be out there too?"

With an eye roll that was completely Ellington worthy, Annise said, "Yes. Charlie is…the boss' son. You'll see him around."

"Well…okay then." Obviously Dottie had her motivations for leaving her room; but Annise wasn't picky. All she needed to do was get Dottie to take a look at the Workshop, then, she would really understand where she was.

Ellington had been so busy helping the elves clean up the Workshop that she hadn't noticed what Annise was up to; so on Tuesday, when the loudspeaker announcement rang out the news of Ellington's demise, sad though she was for her oldest sister, Annise knew this was her big chance. She had brought a big fluffy pink coat for Dottie to throw on, and dragged her out onto the balcony while the guards were away, paying tribute to Ellington's leadership.

They watched the whole thing.

"What are the midgets…I mean elves…doing?" Dottie asked curiously.

Annise gave her a sideways look. The self-correction was an improvement. "They're thanking her for all she's done to help. One of the boss-elves–his name's Curtis; he's a great guy, but a bit accident prone–made a huge mistake that ruined all the toys in the Workshop."

"All of them?" Dottie gasped. She was, thankfully, very gullible.

"Well, most of them. Ellington helped them clean everything up….mainly by showing them what to do. The Head Elf wasn't around to lead them, and Curtis got demoted because of the mistake."

"Ellington sort of does that a lot, doesn't she?" Dottie said. "Show people what to do, I mean. It's pretty annoying. Like, how boring is that?! She never wants to do anything fun! I'd rather be doing pretty much anything else… and, she told me that the Biebs is stupid. Like, how screwed up is that? She should be arrested." Dottie had an obsession with Justin Bieber. Hmmm, Annise wondered. Was that transferring over to Charlie?

"Yeah, well. This time, she literally helped save Christmas."

"How would you know? It's only November. And anyway, I don't see why you guys care. You celebrate Christmas in January."

"Hey!" Annise was getting angry. Dottie could be rude and bitter all she liked, but nobody made fun of her faith. "You don't even celebrate Christmas at all, let alone believe in God!"

"Well, no wonder," Dottie snarked. "All you guys ever do is try and shove your stupid 'Christmas cheer' and 'faith' down my throat! It's stupid!"

Annise gasped. "You're gonna be on the Naughty List for sure for that one," she whispered.

"Who cares?" Dottie shrugged. "Naughty List people have more fun."

Annise's face darkened into a scowl. "You're going back to your room," she said angrily. "You can rot there, for all I care! Guards!"

"Big whoop," Dottie said bitterly. "Who would want to wander around this dump, anyway?"

"Pretty much anyone but you," said one of the elves who came to escort her back. To Annise he said, "You realized you're going to be in heaps of trouble for this, right?"

"I had to try," said Annise sadly. "Now I know that it really will take something magical to save Dottie." She watched regretfully as Dottie was led back to her room.

Someone else was watching from the shadows. Having heard his own words come from Dottie's mouth, Jack Frost knew that he had found just the right accomplice–one that would be easy to play.

Ellington had better watch it, he thought gleefully. She'll be completely under my sway in no time flat.

"Worried?" Bernard asked. As Ellington walked alongside Bernard, towards where she would be presented as the new Number Two, she really was glad that he was being genuinely nice. It was such a relief to her, because she didn't think she could have handled his grouchiness on top of everything else.

"Yeah," Ellington admitted, about several things. Annise wasn't the only one worried about faith. Ellington, now facing a seemingly endless life without her family, was wondering if she would be the only Orthodox Christian in the Workshop. Maybe some of the older elves will be, she thought. But that wasn't all. She was nervous; despite knowing that the elves would most likely be very happy to have her, based on their farewell. Because once they knew, she had a whole Workshop of elves keeping her from backing out.

Not that she could back out anyway. Her father's life, and her family's happiness, was at stake.

"Don't be," Bernard said. "You'll do fine. Hey: you really couldn't do much worse than Curtis. Plus, you have the advantage that the elves absolutely adore you." Thank God he was being serious.

"Fine isn't good enough," Ellington said quietly yet firmly. "If I'm going to spend" –she choked– "forever here, doing this, then my work must be my absolute best. I can't live with it any other way."

"Which is exactly why you're the one for this job. So stop worrying." Turning down the hall towards the Main Room, Bernard laughed a little, inwardly. She was practically as obsessed with perfection as he was.

Well, with one exception. She wasn't obsessed with herself.

Bernard didn't know what had come over him when he had asked…well, commanded really, for Ellington to be made Number Two. He knew that he was becoming attracted to her; why would he set himself up like that? He was as bad, if not worse, than Santa and Mrs. Claus!

He just hoped they wouldn't start egging them on, trying to get them 'together'.

Ugh.

His own mind was bad enough.

Because he knew that the real reason wasn't Ellington's skill. It had played a large part, yes; but the deciding factor had been the realization that he didn't want to have to say goodbye to the girl who could change his mind with only cake and a smile.

"Are you worried?" Ellington asked in return.

Bernard smiled–actually smiled at her. "No," he said, and it was true. Despite all of the troubles they were facing, it didn't worry him.

Maybe, just maybe, because 'they' were facing the troubles, not just 'him'.

And by the way the elves cheered when Santa presented her as the new Number Two, Ellington knew that Bernard was right.

Everything, in one way or another, was going to be fine.

OH JOY! (Literally.) The romance has begun!

I am holding Chapter 7 for ransom: REVIEWS! I have recently checked my story stats, and people! There needs to be more feedback. How can I know how to please my readers without feedback?

JUST LINDSEY and APPLEJAX XD, you two are the only exceptions. You are quite possibly my favorite readers. Thank you both! :) All of you are great though…but I'd love to hear more from the peanut gallery!

Oh! That reminds me:

ELLINGTON'S CHOICE: The Only Exception, by Paramore

Hoping to hear from you soon…all of you! Or most of you! Or some of you…;) heh heh heh

-Ana