As the time went by, the amount of kids and parents on the street dwindled to practically nothing. Soon, only Charlie and Rose were left on the street, looking up at the sky as
Charlie shook the snow globe desperately while Rose spun the vial on her necklace around several times, calling out Santa.
Laura came out the house and called for them to come inside.
"Mom, the stupid ball's not working!" Charlie complained, looking sad. "Rats!"
"And if my necklace is, he's taking forever!" Rose complained.
With that, Charlie and Rose started walking back towards the house. Suddenly, Santa appeared. "Heya, Sport, Princess." He said. "What? You both miss me already? I've been gone what, 15 minutes? Give me a break. I was on my way to Cleveland." He softened at his kid's expressions. "Come on over here and give me a hug." Immediately, both of them raced over to hug their dad. "Do you two wanna go for a quick ride? If it's ok with your mom, of course."
"Go on! Get outta here, you two!" With that, Santa took hold of Charlie in one arm while Rose grabbed onto her dad from the other side. Santa grabbed his bag and they were all lifted into the air. "Just a quick one!" Laura called. "And not over any oceans, Scott!" Santa made no mention of having heard her at all as he loaded his kids up in the sleigh. "Scott! Scott! Santa!!!"
The Calvin's laughed as they settled into the sleigh. Charlie showed Rose all the modifications they'd made to the sleigh and soon all three were enjoying cookies and hot cocoa.
* * * * *
Rose and Charlie acted like elves, helping their dad deliver presents. After a few houses, Charlie began to yawn, rubbing his eyes as he started to fall asleep. Santa figured they needed to head back home so they could get some sleep. He dropped them both off and Charlie ran back into the house where Laura was waiting.
Rose hesitated before following her brother. "Dad, if you move to the North Pole, where does that leave us?"
Santa shrugged. "I guess you'll be staying with Laura and Neil. Think you can handle that?"
Rose looked over to where her mom was waiting. "Yea I think I can. But you better visit me often."
"You can count on it, princess." He said before giving her a big hug. "And I'll see what I can do about getting you over to the Pole for when you want to visit me...or Bernard." He suggested, smiling.
Scott was no idiot. He knew his daughter more than he knew himself. He saw how her and Bernard looked at each other. They might not realize their feelings for each other yet but he could tell there was something there.
"That sounds great. Thanks, dad!" She hugged her dad again.
Then she made her way over to where her mom was waiting. Laura opened her arms for a hug and Rose accepted it. Standing at the door, Rose, Laura, and Charlie waved goodbye as Santa took off again.
Laura escorted her kids back inside the house. Charlie fell asleep in her arms and she carried him to bed. When she came back to the living room, Rose was sitting on the couch, watching a movie.
"So," her mother started, "you really were at the North Pole all that time we thought you were missing?"
Rose smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry, mom. I would've told you where I'd gone but I didn't think you'd believe me."
Laura sat down. "True. I wouldn't have. Just...don't scare me like that again."
Rose laughed. "You're a little late on that one, mom. Dad already told me off earlier."
Laura laughed with her. "So...what Charlie said...you really went to the North Pole?" Rose nodded. "What was it like?" So Rose told her mom everything about the place and what had happened when they were there. "So...this Bernard...he's kinda cute, isn't he?"
Rose blushed and said, "Oh. Well, I think he's pretty cute. But I'm not...I mean we're not... we're just friends."
Laura raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "Are you sure about that?"
Rose sighed in exasperation. "Of course I am, mom! It's not like that."
"If you say so." Laura gave her daughter a knowing wink. "Well, if you want to talk to him, I only ask that you don't stay up late and don't wake anyone up. 'Night, sweetie." Then, with that, Laura headed upstairs to bed.
Rose just sat there, confused. What was her mom implying? Whatever it was, she had no idea. She did know one thing, however, she missed Bernard already.
Staying quiet, Rose snuck back outside the house and gave herself a second to get used to the cold again. Taking a deep breath, she spun the vial on her necklace and called out, "Bernard!"
This time, she immediately was greeted with Bernard standing in front of her, a smile on his face. "Hello, Snowflake." He whispered. Rose couldn't help but to start smiling at seeing him. Bernard let out a little laugh as he said, "Did you miss me already? Cuz that was quite a jump from last time when it took you almost a year to--"
He was cut off as Rose leaned in, took Bernard's face in her hands, and pressed her lips against his, silencing him. She stood up on her toes to reach his height and closed her eyes, leaning into him.
To say Bernard was surprised was putting it mildly. The last thing he expected was for Santa's daughter to kiss him just a few feet from her parent's house!
Although, he couldn't help but enjoy the kiss. Without much hesitation, he leaned into her kiss, bending down so she could reach his lips better and closing his own eyes. One arm wrapped around her waist line while the other went to the small of her back. His fingers tangled in her hair.
It was a beautiful moment.
* * * * *
Meanwhile, Laura walked into her bedroom where Neil was sitting on the bed, reading a book. He looked up when she entered.
"Hey. The kids in bed?"
"Charlie is. Rose is outside with her boyfriend." Laura said, knowingly.
"Ok." Neil went back to reading his book before he realized what she had said and looked up quickly. "Wait. What? Boyfriend?"
He immediately ran over to the window and opened the blinds. Both he and Laura looked outside to see Rose and Bernard kissing.
"Wait! She's dating the elf guy??"
Laura rolled her eyes and shut the blinds. "Yes, Neil. She's dating the elf guy."
* * * * *
Outside, Rose and Bernard didn't even hear anything. They were too caught up in the moment-- and each other.
I know you guys are probably thinking, "hey that was fast!" I would just like to say that just because they kissed doesn't mean they're gonna automatically get together. What do I mean? You'll have to find out! Mwahahahaha! Also, the next chapter will be an interlude of a sort to help get things ready for the second movie.