I am out on a walk when I see Scott with a sad expression. I quickly run over to him asking if he's alright. He informs me of what has been happening with Charlie and how Laura was granted full custody. I give him a side hug and softly pat him on the back as we walk. I look up to see that we have made it to Laura and Neal's house. Scott watches the three have dinner with a solemn look. It's obvious that Charlie is just as upset as his father.
Scott works up the nerve to ring the doorbell and I follow him. Neal opens the door and Scott quickly lets himself in.
"Scott? You're not supposed to be here."
Scott closes the door behind me and turns to Neal, "Don't make me beat you up, Neal."
"Oh, would Santa really beat someone up?" Neal retorts.
"I'm this close," Scott makes a pinching motion.
"So you still believe you're Santa?"
"I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know?" Charlie questions. "Of course you are, Dad. How can you say that? Think of all those kids."
"The only kid I'm thinking about is you," Scott answers.
"Dad, I'm fine. You can't let them down. They all believe in you."
"Charlie listen," Neal walks over to Charlie and Laura.
"You listen! You think you know who he is. You don't!"
Laura bends down to him, "Charlie. Honey, listen. You're confused."
"I know exactly who he is," Charlie claims.
Neal leans down, "Charlie! He's not Santa."
"He is, too, Santa. We went to the North Pole together. I saw it. The elves are real old even though they look like me. Bernard called me sport, 'cause he knew everything. Right, Dad? Remember!" He tosses the snow globe at Scott.
Scott swiftly catches it and looks into it and I peer over to look, too. The snow globe comes to life causing my eyes to widen. Scott smiles and looks at Charlie. He smiles back and runs over to his father, giving him a tight hug. "Thank you, Charlie. Thank you."
"I love you, Dad," Charlie whispers.
They pull out of the hug and Scott turns to the couple, "Could you guys leave us alone for a minute? I mean, so I can say goodbye to him properly?"
Laura agrees causing Neal to storm off in annoyance. She looks upset for a moment before following him. Immediately after, Charlie turns to us.
"So! You saw the ball come to life."
"You bet I did," Scott responds while I nod with a smile. "Well, Charlie, I guess we better go."
"I'll get my stuff," Charlie goes to run, but Scott stops him.
"I think it's a much better idea if you stayed here with your mom."
"I want to be with you, Dad."
Scott chuckles, "Boy, I love hearing you say that."
"You mean I can go?"
Scott goes to respond but is interrupted by a familiar voice. "Boy, this bird is dry. Haven't you people heard about basting?"
The three of us turn to him with wide eyes. "Bernard!" Charlie cheers.
Bernard grabs his coat and walks up to him, "Hiya, sport."
"Bernard, can I go? Please, can I go, Bernard?" Charlie pleads.
"It's okay with me."
~~~
Charlie and I are currently helping Quintin work on the sleigh. Bernard introduces Scott to Quintin.
"Hello, Santa," Quintin turns to us, "Charlie, Y/n, and I have put our heads together. I think we've got a few surprises for you."
"This is some of the best stuff that's come out of the workshop since the ball," Bernard states.
"Fabulous. What happens if I fall off the roof?" Scott questions.
~~~
Santa gets in the front of the sleigh with Charlie while I sit in the rear. "All right, let's go! You ready to go, sport?"
"You betcha, Dad."
"Now Dasher, now Dancer! Now Prancer and Vixen!" Scott begins.
"On Comet, on Cupid! On Donner and Blitzen!" Charlie finishes.
The elves wave us off as we fly into the sky.
"Charlie, stay in your seat."
"I gotta show you this. Radar-jamming jingle bells, snow screen, DC-10 alert, and air freshener."
"Wow!"
"And most important of all, your hat."
"My hat?"
"It's lined with a two-way radio. The microphone's in here. It connects you directly to Judy."
"Wait a minute. What's this?"
"Oh, that's a CD."
"Compact disc."
I chuckle softly, "No, Scott. It's a cookie/cocoa dispenser. That was all Charlie's idea."
"The cocoa comes out nice and hot. And out pops a cookie," Charlie explains.
~~~
Charlie points at a street, "Look, there's Mom and Neal's street. Can we go there next?"
"Sure."
"I made something for them at the workshop."
Scott parks the sleigh on top of the roof and goes down the chimney while Charlie and I stay. After a few minutes, Charlie and I begin to worry. He goes to the radio to contact him. "Santa, are you okay? Over, over."
We watch as he is dragged out of the house and thrown into the back of an officer's car while a few children beg for his release. Charlie begins to shiver so I drape my coat over him. Weirdly enough, the cold doesn't seem to bother me.
~~~
Four elves with jet packs fly over to us. "Charlie and Y/n?"
"Yeah?" We respond.
"Don't worry. We're the good guys. Come on. Let's go save Santa."
"We can't. The police are watching this place," Charlie frowns.
"Yeah, they probably are. But you see, we weren't figuring on walking out the front door. We find that we can get around a lot faster if we fly. Now grab hold of my hand. And hang on tight. And Charlie?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't ever try this without elf supervision." They fly off the roof. Another elf walks over to me and takes my hand before following.
We fly over a cop and my hat falls off, but I adjust my hair to cover it. (Sorry if you have short hair)
~~~
We walk into the police station and face the man behind the front desk. "We're looking for Santa Clause." The main elf states.
The officer looks us over. "Go home, kids. Visiting hours are over."
"We're not kids, and we're not visiting."
"We're here to bust out my dad."
The cop's eyes widen, "You're the Calvin boy. Who are these other kids?:
"We're your worst nightmare. Elves with attitude." The elves swiftly tie him to his chair before we run to the cells.
"Charlie! Y/n!" Scott smiles.
"Are you okay, Dad?"
"I am now."
The elves use tinsel to detach the door from the cell.
~~~
We make it to Charlie's house and let ourselves in. "Mom? Mom! Neal? I'm home!" Charlie calls.
Neal comes running, "Charlie?"
Laura comes after, "Charlie? Oh, my God, Charlie! Sweetheart. Oh, God. Come here, come here." She joins Neal in the hug. She continues to hold and coddle him as Scott places the rest of the presents under the tree.
I wave slightly, "Hi, Neal."
"I don't have a lot of time," Scott states.
"Did you leave the gifts I made under the tree?" Charlie asks.
"You bet I did."
"We better go."
"No, Charlie. No, no, no. Actually, I... I think it's a much better idea that you stay here with your mom and Neal."
"But, Dad..."
"No buts, Charlie. I can't be selfish. I can't be with ya all the time. We're a family. You, me, your mom... And Neal. And they need to be with ya, too."
Charlie hugs his father, "I miss you too much." He begins to sob.
"Come here a minute. Listen to me. Come on, listen. There's a lot of kids out there. Okay? Millions of kids. They all believe in me. They're counting on me, Charlie. I'm not gonna let 'em down. I got a lot of work to do."
"So I can't be selfish either," his tears slow.
"You gave me a wonderful gift. Listen, a wonderful gift. You believed in me when nobody else did. You helped make me Santa. Selfish? Come on. You're the least selfish person I know."
Charlie hugs him again, "I love you, Santa Clause."
"I love you, son. Shh... It's okay. Okay. It's okay. Shh..."
I wipe the tears that were streaming down my face and take a deep breath.
"Laura, what do you think? Christmas Eve you guys spend with Charlie?"
She smiles, "Oh, my God. It's you. It really is you. You really are Santa Clause."
Neal rolls his eyes, "Oh, my God."
"And your parents thought I'd never amount to anything," Scott chuckles.
"Wait. Don't go yet. I have something for you," She runs off. She comes back with the custody papers and throws them into the fire.
"What's all this boohooing going on here?" Bernard walks in. "Hey, how ya doing?" He asks Neal.
"It's nothing, Bernard. I'm just saying goodbye to Charlie."
"What goodbye? You still got the glass ball, right?" He asks with his mouth full. "Well, all you got to do is shake it whenever you want to see your dad. He can come back to see you anytime, day or night. Hey, have I ever steered ya wrong?"
He turns his gaze to Neal, "Nice sweater. Hey, did we make this?" He pulls on the sweater to look at the tag.
"Laura. He's sucking us into his delusions. Look at the elaborate measures he's taken," Neal motions to Bernard before snatching the food from his hand.
Bernard disappears as soon as Neal turns his head. "Where'd he go?" Neal looks around.
(1499 Words)
Sorry, this came out so late! I've been distracted the last few days. We're almost done with the first movie! I'm going to add more moments with Bernard after this. I wanted it to be a sorta slow burn.