The Yule Clause

Chapter Twenty. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Bernard and Mackenzie appeared in the kitchen, she started to leave the room, but stopped when she saw her boyfriend grabbing a piece of pita bread, she rolled her eyes, then ran to the living room, where she heard talking and Charlie crying. Bernard smiled. "Uncle Scott!" everyone turned to see the red head running over to her uncle and threw her arms around him. "You're okay!"

"Yeah, don't worry, Mack Attack." Scott smiled wrapping an arm around her.

"I'm going to miss you, Mack." Charlie said looking up at his big cousin.

"I'll miss you too, Charlie." She tried not to cry but couldn't help it, especially when Charlie hugged her and his dad and told them that he loved them. It became even more heartbreaking when Charlie called his dad "Santa".

"I love you son." Scott answered.

"I love you too Cousin." Mackenzie added. Laura started crying as her ex tried to comfort their son, saying it was okay. Scott looked at her. "Laura, what do you think? Christmas Eve you guys spend with Charlie, and the Summer with Mack?" Scott asked. That's when it hit Laura, and she believed again. Scott, Mackenzie, and Charlie smiled at each other, then looked at Laura. "It's really you! You're really Santa Claus!" she said with tears in her eyes. Neal couldn't believe that his wife was falling into this craziness as well. Scott made a comment about Laura's parents not believing in him, the two chuckled. Scott stood up. "Oh, don't go yet. I have something for you." Laura ran off. "It's Santa!" she whispered to her husband. Neal looked at Scott. "Scott?" the man turned at the sound of his name. Neal slowly walked up to him and stared at Santa, and he stared back. "Santa?" Neal asked like a little kid. His eyes widened. "It's alright." Scott said, Neal grunted and turned away. Laura returned with a file. "This is...it's my Christmas present for you, it's the custody papers." She explained. Dr. Miller turned around surprised as she threw it into the fireplace. "You can come see Charlie as often as you can, and also Mack can live with you again." Laura smiled. "That's not how the law works." Mackenzie muttered. "You can count on that." Scott smiled back. "Thank you, Aunt Laura." Mackenzie said. Laura picked Charlie up again. The room was dead silent and sad. "Merry Christmas..." Scott finally broke the silence. "What's all this Boo-hooing going on in here?" Bernard asked entering the room. Neal freaked out and fell against the wall. Mackenzie almost forgot that the elf was here. "Hey, how you doin'?" the elf greeted walking past the doctor. "It's nothing, Bernard. Mack and I were just saying goodbye to Charlie." Scott said. "Goodbye?" the elf was confused. "You still got the snow globe, right?" he asked Charlie. "Yeah?"

"Well, when you want to see your dad, all you do is shake it." The elf explained. "Is that what you and Poinsettia did, when your dad was Santa?" Charlie asked, not knowing how much his question would hurt. "Yeah, that's right. Sport." Bernard smiled. "He and Mackenzie can come back to visit anytime." Laura and Charlie were smiling. "Has there ever been a time when I steered you wrong?" the head elf asked. Charlie shook his head; he was happy that he could see them whenever. He was sure that Mackenzie would be able to visit more often than his dad.