December 24th, 1993:
Scott Calvin strolled through the empty hallway of the company building, grumbling to himself as he approached his office, slamming the door behind him.
He glanced at the stack of papers waiting for his signature and then at the clock above his desk.
"Three... two... one... Merry Christmas." He said to himself as the clock chimed twelve times.
It was supposed to be his day with his five year old son, Charlie and his first Christmas without Laura. Well, not necessarily. In the days where he was climbing the cooperate ladder, he spent many late nights up in his office, even on Christmas Eve. Their arguments began when Laura accused him on not spending enough time with her or their son.
Arguments turned into fights, which soon turned into a nasty divorce with Charlie in the middle of the mess.
Now, here he was. Alone in his office, surrounded by papers. It was better this way. Scott wasn't really one for big holiday celebration anyway and Christmas was just another day to get work done. He actually enjoyed the peace, where he could work without interpretations.
He really didn't have a choice anyway. His boss insisted that he stay and over-see the newest doll productions. It was a new toy, Scott's own design called Do-It-All-For-You Dolly. It wasn't set to be released until next December, but there will still plenty of bugs to work out, which was why Scott was here now.
I guess I should say I'm used to it now, Scott thought to himself. More then once he had been referred to as a workaholic, mainly because he was often the one to offer to work late.
He regretted it this time because he had forgotten to pack supper. No matter, wouldn't be the first time he'd skipped a meal this week.
And even if he had the option, he was afraid the stress wouldn't permit him to eat.
I'm gonna develop an eating disorder cause of this place, he thought bitterly.
He finally sat down and began to go over the work. It was nearly one in the morning when his stomach started protesting it's lack of contents. But Scott pressed on, knowing if he didn't finish this now, it'd just be another late night the next day.
He was unaware that outside a snow storm had begun.
Finally, around three, he put down his pen and ran his hand frustratingly through his hair.
Time to call it a night, he thought. He glanced outside and saw the storm he had unwillingly ignored. He groaned. "No way I'm getting home in that." He said as he lay his head down on the desk. He eyes, barely able to stay open, let alone allow him to drive, finally closed and Scott drifted into an uncomfortable sleep.
~~~
November 29th, 2001
Scott shot awake and immediately regretted the swift movement as he felt a small pain creep into his neck. This was the third time this week he had fallen alseep at his desk.
If Bernard finds out, he'll lecture me like a mother hen, Scott thought. Quickly, he fixed his hair and adjusted his suspenders to make it look like he had been hard at work this entire time, which wasn't untrue. But Judy was going to get suspicious one of these days if his bed wasn't slept in at least one of these nights.
He pushed aside the paperwork for a new toy line up and placed the Naughty/Nice list in it's spot, hoping a change in work would re-focus his attention.
A knock on his door made him jump slightly. "Come in!" He said.
The owner of the knock opened the door and entered and Scott released a small sigh of relief when he saw it was not Bernard, but Abby.
His relief turned to discomfort when he saw the plate of food in her hands. His appetite had been non-existent these last few days due to the approaching Christmas season. He wasn't sure why, but this year had been particularly stressful, though he'd never admit to his elves. Lord knows they worried about him enough.
Ever since he had taken up the mantle of Santa Clause, he had been told time and time again that the world childrens' happiness had gone up 70 percent. That and, unlike the previous Santas before him, Scott made an effort to get to know his elves and help them with the production lines. Being a former toy executive, he had just about the same knowledge as the elves themselves.
Just about.
He surprised everyone his first year as officially Santa when he made Bernard take him around the workshop to get to know the area. It wasn't long before he started helping them build toys as well assist in any mechanical issues that occured. He was the first Santa to be hands on and that both confused and thrilled the elves.
And they weren't the only ones happy. The Legendary Figures, who normally met only four times a year, during the season conferences and year end meetings, now had dinner with Scott at the pole every month. These dinners were often filled with laughter and merryment. Tooth Fairy, despite his occupation, had an occasional sweet tooth and Mother Nature enjoyed the egg nog provided.
Depsite not having the best history of being a family man himself, Scott managed to bring the Council together as one.
Today was the Year-End-Holiday conference which started in nearly 10 minutes. Scott glanced at the plate of food and frowned as he took it and dropped it in the fire. The flames rose up at the strange content but within seconds returned to a normal height.
Scott placed the plate on his desk and went to grab his coat.
As he did, the room suddenly began to spin. He grabbed his chair for support and covered his eyes, in order to recover.
"Santa?"
He looked up and saw his Head Elf, Bernard entering the room. "The council had arrived." He announced.
"Great, thanks, bud." Scott replied.
Bernard frowned, noticing the state of his boss. "Are you feeling all right?" He inquired.
"Yeah, just tired."
Bernard approached and placed a comforting hand on Scott's shoulder. "We can cancel this meeting if you need to. I'm sure they'll understand. You've been working hard this year, what with new construction of the RAM and the training of that new Keeper of the Handbook."
"Curtis?"
"Yeah, him."
Scott chuckled. "Curtis will do fine. You should cut him some slack, number one."
"I will, when he's proven he's competent. The stuffed animal department still hasn't lost the burning smell." Bernard huffed.
Scott laughed in reply. "Come on, or I'll be late."
"Santa!"
Both Santa and his Head Elf paused and turned to see a very looking Judy standing in the entrance. "I need to talk to you."
"Sure, what's up?" Scott asked, though he had sneaking suspicion of what she wanted to speak to him about.
"You've been skipping meals."
Bernard snapped his attention to Scott, he eyes narrowed. "What?"
Scott felt a bead of sweat forming on his forehead. He quickly place his cap on to cover it before facing Judy once more. "What're you talking about?"
"Santa, I am an Elf. As an Elf, we share a close connection to humans, especially to their physical as well as mental well-being."
"I didn't know that..." Scott said, glancing at Bernard who was till glaring at him.
"Well, know this, when a elf is near a child who is being abused or threatened, we know, it's a like a feeling. Usually when we find this out, we alert the local authorities, but that's beside the point. Santa or not, you are still considered human, therefore I know you've been skipping meals. That and you have a few extra notches on your belt."
Scott inwardly groaned as he glanced at the clock. "I have a meeting in less then three minutes. Can we talk about this later?"
Not giving her a chance to answer, Scott left both his elves and made his way to the meeting room.
Tooth was first to welcome him. "There he is!"
"Right on time, if not by a few seconds." Father Time said, smiling underneath his beard.
Sandman walked by and patted Scott on the shoulder. When his eye caught Scott's, he narrowed his own. "You haven't been sleeping."
It was more of a statement then a question.
"How'd you figure?" Scott mused.
"I'm the Sandman, sleep is my life. You've spent too many nights using your desk as a pillow. Not good for bone structure."
"Are we ready to begin?" Mother Nature asked as everyone took their seats. "Good. Santa, do you want to begin?"
The keeper of Christmas shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Actually, why doesn't E.B. start us off?" He asked.
"Gladly!" Easter Bunny smiled as he went into detail about his latest egg count.
Once he was through, Cupid went next, followed by Tooth and his annual changing on his name. Once more, he received zero votes.
While Sandman gave his reports, Tooth leaned over to Scott. "You alright, buddy? You're looking a little pale." He whispered.
Scott waved off his concern. "I'm good."
"Santa?" It was finally Scott's turn.
He stood and adjusted his coat. "Well, as you know we're busy as usual, toy production is up-" Scott paused as the room began to spin.
Noticing him sway, Tooth quickly stood to stabilize him. "Whoa, buddy."
"Are you alright, Santa?" Mother Nature asked in concern.
"No, he's not." A new voice chimed in.
Scott's vision cleared and his elves came into focus.
"What's wrong with him then?" Cupid asked, floating nearer.
"Santa has been skipping meals." Judy fumed.
"What!?"
Scott winced at the sharp tone that came from Mother Nature.
"It's not a big deal." Scott argued. "I lose my appetite when I get overwhelmed."
"You haven't had an appetite in two days." Judy snapped. Her boss looked startled for a moment. He had never seen the elf so angry.
"Abby takes away a clean plate, every time. Where are you putting the food?" Bernard demanded.
Scott slumped into a chair, feeling his energy evaporating quickly now that he had been caught. "I put it in the fire place." He confessed.
Tooth crossed his arms. "You're going to eat something right now. Judy, mind bringing something for him?"
"Happily." Judy replied.
Bernard frowned as he approached and Scott braved himself for another lecture. But to his surprise, Bernard leaned down and his expression turned to one of concern rather then anger. "I suppose you've done this more then once."
"On occasion..."
"How often are these occasions?" Father Time asked.
Scott huffed as he leaned forward and attempted to bury his face in his hands. "When I worked for the toy company, there were days where I either got too busy or just too stressed to think about food. It wasn't a big deal. I didn't completely starve myself. I had a granola bar handy. And it was only a few times a year. Ironically around Christmas time, cause, like it is here, it got pretty hectic."
"We know. We watched over you from time to time during the change. It's amazing you survived. Starving yourself, working yourself to death. It's not healthy." Bernard pointed out.
"I didn't-"
"Where were Laura and Neil?" Sandy asked.
"We weren't on speaking terms." Scott admitted.
"Your job wasn't worth killing yourself over." Tooth said.
"Work needed to get done and I was usually the only one capable of doing it." Scott shrugged.
Bernard sighed. "Scott, listen. If the work is too much for you up here, TELL me. The work can easily be lessened, especially if you're struggling. We have an important mission, yes, but you're not doing it alone. We need our Santa to be fit and healthy to do this job and be there. We can't have you getting lightheaded 50,000 feet in the air."
Mother Nature nodded. "And if you fall behind, we are only a call away. We'd be more then happy to help you."
"Absolutely!" Tooth agreed.
Scott raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You guys in the workshop? But-"
"It's never been done before, but it'll be done now. Belive it or not, Santa, we've grown quite fond of you and we don't want to lose you. You are one of the best Santas we'veever had the pleasureof knowing." Father Time winked.
Scott blushed at the praise. "I'm honored."
"I know our monthly dinner isn't until next week, but what say, considering the circumstances we have it today?" Tooth asked. "That way we can rest assured that our Santa is actually taking care of himself."
"Sounds good to me. The roasted carrots Judy made last month have been really be a craving lately." E.B. said.
"To the kitchen then!" Bernard announced. He turned to Scott. "As a fellow Workaholic, I understand where you're coming from. But I learned long ago from a certain someone that if you can't take care of yourself, you can't help others."
Scott tilted his head. "Who gave you that advice?"
Bernard smirked. "Judy. And believe me, that's a lecture I will never forget."
"I'll bet."
Bernard's expression soften as he reached out his hand. "I'm serious, Santa. There's never been a better Santa then you. And I plan to keep you at the reigns for a long time."
Scott took the elf's hand and stood. "I plan to stay."
"Then come on, I had Judy make your favorite, roast beef."
Scott smiled and for the first time in days, he was starving.
I watched an interview for the The Santa Clause 2 and learned that while Scott was looking for a wife, he was on a nervous diet, meaning he doesn't eat much when worried, which is why we don't see him eating anything a majority of time, even when other characters are eating. So I wanted to do a fic where this is addressed. Just a quick one.