A/N: So, I've decided to post the Christmas episode after all, but I'll be posting the next one too because I don't particularly enjoy this chapter here. Let me know what you think though, and I hope you like it!
"Hey, guys." Mr. Schue said as he walked into the room where the New Directions were decorating the tree, singing and enjoying their time together before Christmas break. "What's this?"
"We're trying to get into the Christmas spirit, Mr. Schue." Finn said. "Christmas is totally my favorite holiday. And check out this awesome tree. I found it on the side of the road. It must have fell off some guy's car."
"And the ornaments?" Mr. Schue asked.
"The guy who lives next door finally killed off his elderly mother. When they carted him off, they left the house wide open." Santana shrugged. "I think she was a holiday hoarder."
"And the presents?"
"I lifted them from a display at the mall." Puck said, as Mr. Schue shook his head in disbelief at his students. "But don't worry. They're empty."
"Guys, I appreciate the effort, but this isn't what Christmas is supposed to be like." Mr. Schue said as they frowned a bit.
"For us it is." Mercedes argued. "This tree is like a mascot for Glee Club. We won sectionals two years in a row and according to everyone at this school, we still suck."
"Yeah, we got slushied again just three yesterday." Emily agreed as she pointed at herself, Mike and Tina.
"I'm pretty sure they just added food coloring to real slush from the parking lot." The boy said, as Tina nodded.
"No. I am not gonna let you guys throw yourselves a pity party." Mr. Schue said. "Look, I'm the first one to say that things haven't turned out exactly how I would have liked them to this year. But Christmas is all about being grateful for the things that did."
"I thought that was Thanksgiving." Finn frowned, confused.
"And this year Glee Club is gonna lend a hand to the McKinney-Vento Homeless Children and Youth Program right here in Lima." The teacher continued.
"How are we gonna do that?" Rachel asked.
"The only way we know how. By singing about it." Mr. Schue smiled. "We're gonna go classroom to classroom,caroling, to raise money for McKinney-Vento."
"Wait. Classrooms in this school with students in them?" Tina asked, clearly as worried as the rest of them about the results of this.
"Well, if there are no students in them there will be no one to put money in the collection box while we sing." Mr. Schue said, not really understanding the seriousness of what he was proposing.
"We're gonna be killed." Quinn whispered as Emily nodded from beside her.
"Yeah, and One Three Hill is still on TV..." She whispered, causing Quinn to giggle quietly.
"No, guys, it's Christmas, a time for miracles." Finn spoke up then. "We gotta try this."
"Finn's right." Mr. Schue nodded. "So let's start rehearsing. This year, Glee Club's going full Santa."
***
So, unsurprisingly their caroling hadn't gone too well and after running off the classroom they were singing to, they regrouped in the choir room.
"I can't believe that that teacher let those students speak to us like that." Rachel scoffed as she took off her coat.
"I can't believe she threw her shoe at us." Puck said.
"I guess we're done caroling." Tina spoke up as Emily nodded.
"No, we're not." Finn shook his head. "Guys, we can't let what just happened ruin our Christmas spirit. Mr. Schue got us this beautiful tree to inspire us. We're gonna practice now and gear up for round two tomorrow."
"Pretty soon, no one will bully us." Brittany said, as everyone turned to look at her. "Santa Claus can do anything and this year I asked for the Glee Club to stop getting picked on."
"She's kidding, right?" Lauren asked, absolutely shocked, brea,ing the stunned silence that filled the room.
"Guys, this is serious." Artie said, wheeling himself away from Brittant as everyone joined him while Brittany distracted herself with a stocking on the other side of the room. "Listen up. Brittany still believes in Santa Claus."
"You cannot be serious." Mercedes gasped, looking up at Brittany before looking at Artie again.
"Last week, Brittany believed a comb had magic powers." Sam pointed out. "This is kind of a pattern."
"She's gonna find out sooner or later." Quinn said.
"Okay." Lauren said. "Somebody needs to break the news to her."
For some reason then, everyone turned to look at Puck and upon noticing it, he shook his head.
"Don't look at me." He said. "I'm cruel and all, but that's just hard-core."
"Right? That's my point." Artie agreed, causing everyone to look at him again. "Hear me out.Remember when you were a kid, how excited you would get when you would think about Santa Claus,how awesome it was? Christmas was the highlight of the year. Why wouldn't you wanna keep someone's world magical for a little while longer?"
"How?" Mike frowned, confused.
"I've got it all figured out."
***
"God, I love Brittany, but I honestly can't believe I'm doing this." Emily crossed her arms over her chest as she stood in the line to talk to Santa in the mall while said blonde cheerleader talked to one of the ladies dressed up as an elf.
"I'm not sitting on that guy's lap." Quinn was quick to agree with her best friend. "Santas' laps are always really warm, and it's creepy."
"We all have to sit on Santa's lap." Artie insisted. "If Brittany sees that we all still believe it'll make her strong enough to withstand all the Santa naysayers in the world."
"Which is everyone over the age of six." Sam said. "I mean, not even my brother believes in it anymore."
"I'm pretty sure this isn't gonna work." Tina added. "That guy doesn't even look like Santa."
Everyone took a moment to look at the black man dressed as Santa that was sitting on the velvety red chair a few feet away from them. Turning back to Artie, they all gave him a look, but the boy was dead-set in helping his girlfriend keep her Santa fantasy for just a little longer.
"Trust me. All Brittany's gonna see is the suit. She wants to believe in him." He said, before turning to Mercedes. "Mercedes, get up there."
With a heavy sigh, she obeyed, walking up to Santana as Brittany smiled, excitedly.
"Go, Mercedes." She cheered as the girl walked up to the Santa guy. "Go, Mercedes. Go."
"I've been a very good girl, Santa." Mercedes said, as soon as she sat in black Santa's lap. "I want a pony and a doll that laughs and cries and... One of us smells like McDonald's."
After that, they all took turns, walking up to Santa and sitting in his lap as they told him their Christmas wishes.
"I would like Puckerman to love me. He's a fox." Lauren said. "I would also like sweet potato fries."
"I want bling. I can't be any more specific than that." Santana said, before gasping and getting up, outraged. "Okay, wait. Hold up. Please tell me that is a roll of Certs in your pocket."
"I just want a boyfriend." Emily admitted, before sighing. "Or chocolate. Whichever one comes easier, it's not like I really mind..."
"Do you have anything for stretch marks?" Quinn asked.
"Chap stick." Sam said, simply. "Lots of Chap stick."
"I want Channing Tatum to stop being in stuff." Mike said.
"When does Asian Santa arrive?" Tina asked, when it was her turn.
And then, finally, it was Brittany's turn and everyone crowded around Artie to get closer to the two of them so they could hear their conversation to know what exactly to get Brittany to make her believe it had been Santa instead.
"Ho, ho, ho. What's your name?" Santa said, as Brittany moved to sit on his lap.
"Brittany." She introduced herself with a sweet smile. As Emily watched her so excited over it she realized that, no matter how crazy that was, Artie was sort of doing the right thing. "You've gotten really tan."
"That's because at the North Pole, there's a hole in the ozone." Santa responded and Emily snorted quietly.
"You're amazing." Brittany chuckled. "I know you're really busy, so I only want one thing for Christmas. Do you see my boyfriend over there? For Christmas, I want him to be able to walk. You can do that, can't you, Santa?"
Everyone gasped at that, not expecting that at all. Artie shook his head at Santa but either he didn't understand the signal or he just really didn't give a shit because he turned back to Brittany with a smile.
"Sure. I'm on it." He said.
"Thank you so much, Santa." Brittany practically squealed as Artie sighed.
"Now we're screwed."
***
"Hey."
Emily stopped going through her locker then, turning around to face Sam instead as he stood beside her with a smile on his face. She smiled back at him, then.
"Hey." She responded.
"I know it's a bit early, but I heard what you asked Santa for Christmas and if I don't give my gift to you now, they'll be ruined by the end of the day, so... Here it goes." He said, offering a box of chocolates to Emily as she laughed. "Merry Christmas, Em."
"Thank you, Sam. That's very sweet." She smiled, taking the box from him and pulling the lid open to peak inside.
"The gesture or the chocolate?" He asked, as Emily rolled her eyes.
"Both." She shrugged, picking up one of the chocolates and popping it into her mouth before offering the box to Sam. He shook his head and she closed the box, before reaching inside her locker. "I also heard what you asked Santa and got you these. I was going to put them in a pretty package, but since you gave me my present, it's only fair I give you yours, right? So... Merry Christmas."
Sam smiled as he grabbed the package of chap stick from the girl. Looking down at it for a second, he felt a wave of warmth taking over him at her thoughtfulness, but before he could say anything, from down the hallway, he heard Quinn calling out his name. At that, both Sam and Emily looked at her and she smiled at them before waving her boyfriend over. He nodded at her before turning to Emily again.
"Thank you for these, Em. It was very nice of you." He said, waving the chap stick in his hand as the girl forced a smile on her face. "I'll see in Bio?"
"Yeah, see you." She nodded at him, watching him go and jog up to Quinn before throwing an arm over her shoulders as they walked off.
Huffing in annoyance, Emily turned back to her locker and looked at the box of chocolates Sam had given her. Grabbing another one and putting it in her mouth, she hoped the sweetness of it would calm her down a bit, because as much as she enjoyed the candy Sam had given her, that was not what she actually wanted for Christmas that year.
Emily
Last night I took a walk in the snow
Couples holding hands, places to go
Seems like everyone but me is in love
Santa can you hear me
I signed my letter that's sealed with a kiss
I sent it off, and just said this
I know exactly what I want this year
Santa can you hear me
I want my baby, baby
I want someone to love me
And someone to hold
Maybe, maybe (maybe, maybe)
I'll be on my own and I'll be thankful
Santa can you hear me?
I have been so good this year
And all I want is one thing
Tell me my true love is here
He's all I want, just for me
Underneath my Christmas tree
I'll be waiting here
Santa that's my only wish this year
Christmas Eve, I just can't sleep
Would I be wrong, for taking a peek?
'Cause I heard that you're comin' to town
Santa can you hear me
I really hope that you're on your way
With something special for me in your sleigh
Oh please make my wish come true
Santa can you hear me
I want my baby, baby
I want someone to love me
And someone to hold
Maybe, maybe (maybe, maybe)
We'll be all alone under the mistletoe
Santa can you hear me?
I have been so good this year
And all I want is one thing
Tell me my true love is here
He's all I want, just for me
Underneath my Christmas tree
I'll be waiting here
Santa that's my only wish this year
I hope my letter reaches you in time
Bring me a love, I can call all mine
'Cause I have been so good this year
Happy alone, under the mistletoe
He's all I want and I'll be thankful
Santa can you hear me?
I have been so good this year
And all I want is one thing
Tell me my true love is here
He's all I want, just for me
Underneath my Christmas tree
I'll be waiting here
Santa that's my only wish this year
He's all I want, just for me
Underneath my Christmas tree
I'll be waiting here
Santa that's my only wish this year
Santa that's my only wish this year
***
The New Directions stood in the choir room, shocked when they saw all the decorations they had put up either gone or destroyed.
"They took everything." Mercedes said sadly as Emily crouched down to pick up one of the broken christmas balls she remembered having put in the three not two days before.
"Including all of Sue's Secret Santa gifts we were gonna give to the homeless kids." Tina said.
"Only further proof that everyone in this school hates us no matter what we do." Rachel said.
"It's not the school." Mr. Schue said, causing everyone to look at him. "It's Sue. She did this."
"It wasn't Sue." Brittany spoke up as Emily turned to her with a frown. How wasn't this coach Sylvester's fault? "It was Santa. A light was out in the tree. He'd fix everything. We need to let him do his thing."
"O-kay." Mr. Schue said, unsure. "Are you sure Santa was a boy and not a girl, Brittany?"
"I swear on my life." Brittany said. "Santa's a boy. Everybody knows that."
"It was probably one of the boys on the football team, then." Emily whispered to no one in particular.
"I guess it wasn't Sue." Mr. Schue relented.
"So our tree is gone." Finn said. "So our presents are missing."
"Santa's probably fixing any dents or chips as we speak." Brittany said, as Finn ignored her.
"All around the world today way worse things have happened to people than this." He said. "Sorry, but I'm not gonna let this get us down. 'Tis the season."
"I agree." Mr. Schue said. "Come on, guys. Let's clean this up. Come on."
***
The next day at glee, the kids had decided what they were going to do to try and raise money for the kids, but not one of them was actually happy about the outcome.
"This was my dad's." Finn said, as he looked at his watch in his hand.
"He'd want you to do it..." Mike encouraged. "For those kids."
"This was my uncle's." Puck said holding up his own watch. "It's the first thing I ever stole actually."
Across the room, the girls reunited around the piano.
"I'm gonna look terrible..." Quinn muttered, holding her ponytail protectively.
"Shut up." Tina scoffed. "With your bone structure, you could rock the Rosemary's Baby look and still look good. I'm gonna look like Jackie Chan."
"If Barbra can pull off a bob, so can I." Rachel muttered to herself.
"Oh, I hate this..." Emily frowned, twirling a piece of her own pony in her finger.
"Enough yapping." Santana decided, reaching for the scissors. "Let's do this."
Thankfully, before she could actually cut off her hair, Mr. Schue walked into the classroom.
"Whoa! What are you guys doing?" He asked, as Santana put down the scissors again.
"We're going all Gift of the Magi to raise money to buy homeless kids those school supplies." Mercedes said.
"The guys are gonna sell their watches, and the girls are gonna sell off their hair." Sam explained further.
"You can't do that." Mr. Schue shook his head.
"No, it's cool." Santana shrugged, clearly unbothered. "Most of this isn't mine anyway."
"No, I mean, that's not the answer." The teacher said. "There are other ways to raise money at Christmas time."
"No, but we tried caroling, and it didn't work." Rachel said.
"Wait." Artie said, looking from Rachel to Finn. "I thought you and Finn were getting us a new tree."
"We went, but Finn bailed before we could get one." The girl rolled her eyes.
"Nice Christmas spirit, Finn." Brittany scoffed.
"Wait. Guys, no more fighting." Mr. Schue interrupted them before a proper argument could even begin. "Have any of you ever actually read Gift of the Magi? None of you?"
"You don't have to read Gift of the Magi." Quinn said. "Everybody knows what it's about."
"Well, if you actually read it, you'd know what it's about." Mr. Schue said.
"Yeah, I know what it's about: life freaking sucks." Santana scoffed.
"Actually, you're right." Mr. Schue said. "The first Christmas you remember having is the greatest day of your life. Your family's all together. There are loads of presents, cookies. The magic is alive and well. But before you know it, you grow up. Work and school and girlfriends take over and Christmas becomes more of an obligation. A reminder of what's lost instead of what's possible.And all the trees and the presents and even the mistletoe can't change that. And then when you get to my age you're so desperate to get that magic back... You'd do anything to be able to feel how you did that first Christmas."
"So, what should we do?" Emily asked.
"Put your scissors down. Put your watches back on." Mr. Schue smiled at his students as an idea just popped into his head. "We're gonna go out and find some people who really need some Christmas spirit. And we are gonna sing for them."
***
"Hey. Uh, so we're your students." Finn started, as him and the New Directions stood in the teacher's lounge getting ready to carol for them. "All year long you suffer through dealing with us. I imagine having some of us in your classes would slowly chip away at your hopes and dreams until the whole world just felt like a never-ending nightmare of pain."
"Get to the point, Finn." Mr. Schue interrupted him as Emily shook her head. Who even allowed him to be the one to speak in the first place?
"Right." He said. "Uh, anyway, we're here today to help raise money for children that have a lot less than we do. And I know some of us have had a hard Christmas. But what we've come to learn is that no matter how tough things get there isn't anything that more Santa or a couple more jingle bells can't cure."
***
After a few songs for the teachers, the New Directions were walking back to the choir room with some money in their hands and shoes thrown in their direction, which was definitely a win in Emily's book.
"So, how much did we raise?" Finn asked.
"210 bucks. And that's after my cut." Puck said, as everyone turned to glare at him. He raised his hands in surrender. "I'm kidding."
When they got to the choir room, however, they all stopped as soon as they saw the scene in front of them: Artie Abrams was standing. Not only that, Artie Abrams was walking. By himself. Sure, his legs were attached to some type of weird, big machine, but he was taking some steps, with Brittany standing nearby, squealing in excitement. Emily felt her jaw dropping at the scene and everyone stood there in stunned shock for a second, before Tina spoke up, her voice soft and tender.
"Artie." She whispered.
"It's called a ReWalk." He explained, taking another step as he leaned into some crutches. "Some guy in Israel invented it. I can't use it all the time, but... Check me out."
"Where did you get it?" Emily asked, as she approached him, careful to stay at a safe distance not to disturb his balance.
"We went home, and it was sitting under my Christmas tree." Brittany told her friend with a bright smile on her face.
"How the hell did you afford that thing?" Sam asked, moving to stand closer to Emily.
"I didn't buy it." Brittany said. "I didn't know what it was. I thought it was a Transformer."
"I assumed her dad got it for me, but he has no idea where it came from. He went to take a long poop, and when he came back, it was there." Artie said.
"So if no one we know bought it for you, then..."
"Santa brought it." Brittany finished Rachel's sentence as everyone just stood there in complete shock.
"Santa." Mercedes smiled
"Santa." Artie agreed.
"A real Christmas miracle." Quinn whispered and as the glee kids stood around watching Artie take a few steps, none of them noticed coach Beiste in the distance, watching them with a smile as she filled herself with joy knowing she had made those kids happy, even if for a little bit that Christmas week.