When in Lapland...

Chapter 3

The drop off in Africa as a whole, had gone as well as could be expected, and thanks to the magic of Christmas and of Santa Clause, they didn't have to go back to find the sleigh parked up in Kenya; as it had appeared at the other end of the continent, in Morocco. With all eight reindeers still strapped in tight, they were raring to go after they'd enjoyed a well-deserved pit stop, where they had gulped down buckets of water and had eaten their body weight in carrots. And so, with relief and sore bottoms, Charity and Vanessa were thankful to spot them waiting, as both they and the reindeers had survived the trip without being attacked by poachers or savanna animals.
 The sleigh flew over the Atlantic Ocean and they'd dropped off plenty of gifts in Brazil and South America. Some places were still awake and partying as they secretly whipped by overhead, skipping certain cities to loop back on. "Reckon we could take a break and get our hips moving?" Charity asked as she danced in her seat to the upbeat tunes of parties below. "I wish" Vanessa smirked, picturing herself upon the beach with a drink in one hand and a burrito in the other. "What do you think the old guy thinks of all this? Can you imagine Santa boogying with the best of them?" Charity scoffed. She couldn't imagine Father Christmas, or any of his other aliases bumping and grinding with Mrs Claus. "Don't put that thought in my head" Vanessa chuckled as a gyrating Santa thrusted away in the back of her mind. "Here's our next stop" Vanessa pointed out, carefully landing the sleigh upon the roof of their first Mexican home. As Charity unloaded gift after gift from their never-ending sack, Vanessa admired the giant Nativity scene that had been set up in the middle of the town in Cancun. "I played Mary in the school Nativity once. I'd been an angel every year until my big break came" Vanessa announced, remembering her childhood Christmas play fondly. "I only did the whole Nativity thing once. I didn't have a big role like you though" Charity spoke loudly as she stood at the furthest side of the sleigh. "What were you?" Vanessa asked, wondering which role Charity's teachers would have assigned. "Technically, I shouldn't have been in the play at all, because I don't think Mary and Joseph erected a Christmas tree in that barn while she was going into labour" Charity sighed, heaving and hoeing as she lumbered herself up to pop down the chimney sack. "I bet you looked hilarious", "Hilarious? I was covered in dusty old tinsel, a sparkle you apparently love at Christmas time" Charity winked, teasing Vanessa as she gulped back her embarrassment. "Back in a sec" Charity laughed, and with that she disappeared into the house.
 In Mexico, Christmas is widely celebrated, with the vast majority of the country being very religious. Like millions of others, this home was decorated in true Mexican fashion, and with a lot of Catholic symbolism. Upon the windowsill, Children had left out shoes for Santa Claus to fill with sweets and chocolates, of which Charity had to pull out of her ever-growing pockets. "These kids will need a trip to the dentist, not gifts under the tree" She said to herself as she was amazed by the number of goodies she had to leave behind. As she knelt down to clear a space under the tree for her flying parcels, she heard the unmistakable sound of a floorboard, creaking. Quickly, she turned and glanced over her shoulder where she found two little feet stuffed into pink slippers. 'Shit' she thought, as she realised, she'd woken a child, and panicked. "Santa?" A thick Spanish accent filled the room as the child looked Charity up and down. "Uh, yeah, that's me" Charity said in a deep voice as she quickly yanked her beard up from around her neck and fastened it firmly so that it sat in the right place, before she stood up to face the child. The little girl cocked her head to the side as she realised that there was something different about Santa Claus as she stared Charity down from across the room. "What are you doing?" The girl asked. "I'm just leaving you and your family some Christmas presents" Charity told her, wishing there was something she could do to shoo the child away to bed without being rude. The little girl took a step closer, still studying Charity's face. "You're not fat" The child declared, pointing at Charity's slim figure. On the inside, Charity was smug, grateful for the compliment from the little girl, but in order to stay in character she had to quickly come up with an excuse for not harbouring a big jolly belly. "Ah that's because I've gone vegan" she spat out, cheerfully but not with much confidence. "Vegan?" The child questioned. "Yeah" Charity grimaced, wishing she'd come up with a better excuse. "Anyway, what are you doing awake? You know you're supposed to be tucked up in bed when I get here" She quickly added. "I heard the reindeers on the roof, and somebody was singing", "Singing?" Charity asked. "Yes, a girl like me. She was singing Feliz Navidad", "Oh, was she?" Charity sniggered. "That's my elf. Sometimes she gets bored of waiting for me", "Is she on the naughty list?" The child asked, laughing. "Oh yes, she is very naughty" Charity nodded, then shook her head at her inappropriate thoughts when she remembered she was talking to a child. "Right, come one then. You need to go back to bed before anyone else wakes up" Charity insisted. "No one is home. They have all gone to mass", "Mass?", "Yes, midnight mass is very important at Christmas", "Then why haven't you gone?" Charity asked, wondering why the child had been left behind. "I'm sick" The little girl said, then coughed to prove it. "Oh" Charity whispered. "What's the matter with you?" She added, hoping the child had a cold and nothing too contagious. "I was sick", "Sick? I bet you ate too many chocolates, didn't you?" Charity asked. The little girl gasped. "How did you know?" She questioned, still not noticing that the person she thought was Santa Claus was actually an English woman. "I'm Santa. I know everything" Charity boasted, proud with how quickly she had thought up her reply. "Now, if you go to bed and snuggle up nice and snug, I can leave you with lots and lots of lovely gifts before I go" She explained, hoping it would coax the little girl into going back to sleep. The little girl grinned. "Okay" She said, and with that she ran towards Charity and threw her arms around her waist. "I love you Santa" She told Charity, in a beautifully innocent voice. Charity felt a tidal wave of emotion sweep over her as the little girl clung on to her. "Santa loves you too. Now, off you go up to bed, and don't forget, you can't tell anyone that you saw me okay? It'll be our little secret" Charity said. The little girl nodded vigorously, her little brown curls bouncing and her honey golden eyes glittering in the light that shone from the hallway. "Okay, Goodnight" she squealed, loosening her grip and running away. "Night, night" Charity whispered.
  Back on the roof, Charity appeared with wet eyes that startled Vanessa. "What's wrong?" She gasped, wanting to take Charity's face in her hands. "Nothing. I'm good" Charity wavered. "I met a kid. She thought I was Santa", "Oh no. What did you do?" Vanessa gasped again. "I told her I was a Vegan" Charity spoke with a far off look in her eye. "You did what?", "She was so sweet Babe, her family are at mass so luckily no one else was home", "You need to be quieter on your landings. It must be the clumpy boots" Vanessa suggested, pointing towards Charity's feet. "No, it wasn't me. Someone woke her up by singing loudly from the roof" she told, folding her arms ready for Vanessa's reaction. As expected, Vanessa threw her hand over her mouth and stammered. "I'm so sorry" She said, and then laughed as she noticed a smile break out across Charity's face. "It's alright. I'm glad it happened really. She was really excited, even though she hadn't been feeling well, and she told me she loved me. And I know she didn't mean that she loves me, but for tonight I am Santa. And it's just like the old man said himself. It doesn't matter who leaves the presents, as long as someone does. And tonight, I am that someone, bringing cheer and joy to children all over the world. I can't tell you how good that makes me feel right now" Charity spoke from the heart. Vanessa smiled along to every word Charity said and teared up with her as she watched her fiancé dip into her feelings so freely. Charity stepped onto the sleigh and shared a hug with Vanessa, where they sat holding one another for a moment in their own little bubble of happiness, before dashing off to the next house.
 Now, North America was a lot different from the South. For starters, the weather changed from fine to wet along the way, causing the temperature to drop rapidly as they arrived in the Capital, Washington DC. "Do you think Mr President will have gifts this year? I should put coal in his stocking" Charity joked, but then weighed up the options in her head, daring herself to do exactly that as she waited for the sack to produce Santa's gifts for The White House. "Too right. The audacity of that man, if you can even call him that" Vanessa tutted her disapproval of the president as she touched them both down onto the roof of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Charity blew into her cold hands and rubbed them together as she trudged along the roof in the snow. "Are you sure I'm not going to be shot at up here?" Vanessa asked as Charity positioned herself ready to shimmy down the chimney stack and into the warm building. "This is America babe; you can't really be sure of anything here. Back in two ticks" Charity shrugged, with widened eyes. Once inside, she'd got the feeling that she shouldn't be there, and so she tiptoed carefully along the hallway, afraid that somebody was going to spot her breaking and entering into the most guarded home in America, forgetting momentarily that the magic made her invisible to all, besides those who believed in Santa Claus, and something told her that the armed security protecting the President weren't likely to believe in the magic of Christmas. "Alright, where to now?" She questioned aloud to herself as she began to get lost amongst corridors filled with giant portraits and expensive looking pottery. When she finally came across a fairly large sized living quarters where a ten-foot tree stood smack bang in the middle of the room, surrounded by golden furniture. Charity pulled a face and let out a slight scoff as she eyed up the huge tree. "Compensating for something hey, Donald?" She said loudly, wishing that Vanessa could have been there with her to laugh along as she carelessly threw the neatly wrapped boxes across the room. Upon the fireplace hung an array of stockings, of which one read 'The Don'. Charity rolled her eyes in disgust at the, also gold, stocking. "That doesn't even surprise me" Charity muttered as she stared it down while her pockets grew. Unimpressed by the overly Trumpish decorations, Charity boredly stuffed her hand into her pocket, but was met with a strange texture inside. "Oh, yes" She gasped as she produced a single large lump of coal. "Thank you, Santa," She laughed as she plopped the coal into the stocking, then wiped her black dirty fingertips into the white fur that ran along the top of it. Before leaving, she spotted milk and cookies on the mantelpiece and decided to punch the chocolate chip cookie, causing it to break into pieces upon its china tea plate, then poured the glass of milk onto the carpet. "Merry Christmas America" She addressed the Nation with a bow before heading back to the sleigh.
 Leaving America far behind them, Charity and Vanessa set off for the UK, where Sarah and Noah should be asleep by now, though they weren't going to bet the house on it. Flying over the Village filled Charity and Vanessa with a new emotion on this night as they got to see their hometown lit up in warm lights from the sky. The village was quiet. The cafe was in total darkness, and the pub had not long closed up for the night with just one light left on downstairs. All seemed quiet at Jacob's Fold when they finally arrived home for a quick pit stop. Charity was surprised and pleased to see that the house was clean and tidy with nothing left out of place. Even the dishes had been washed and put away. As an abundance of presents trickled down through the chimney and out of the fireplace behind her, Charity stepped forwards and switched off the television that had been left on, but as she turned, she noticed something she hadn't expected to see. Asleep, but not in their beds, Sarah and Noah lay across the sofas in the living room. Having not heard from their family for hours, the kids had been worried sick as to where their loved ones were. Upon the coffee table was an opened notebook where one of them had written down the details of the family's flight, alongside a list of reasons why they may be out of contact with home. No signal, flat battery and accident were each circled in red felt tip pen, and caused a searing of emotional pain to erupt in Charity's heart as she felt an immense guilt for putting them through the stress that they had endured. According to Noah's notes, their flight had taken off two hours later than their scheduled time and had landed safe and well back in the UK, but Charity and Vanessa had not called to say they had made it home safe with everybody else. "Oh son" Charity mouthed, knowing she shouldn't wake him while disguised as Santa Claus. As she hesitated, she knelt down and kissed him upon the cheek, before quickly scattering each of their gifts beneath the tree. "I'll be back before you know it" She whispered, taking one last glance at the teenagers, who looked so peaceful sleeping in their Christmas pyjamas, and yet their minds must have raced with worry.
 Charity found Vanessa again on the roof, but unlike her fiancé, she appeared with a prominent frown that etched across her entire face. Vanessa's excited smile fell as she noticed the sadness emanating from Charity. "I've had enough of this now. I want out, and to go home" Charity told her as she slumped down into the sleigh. Confused at her turn around in emotion, Vanessa asked what had happened to have affected her so much. "While we've been flying about here, there, and everywhere, Noah and Sarah have been worried to death because they've not heard as much as 'boo' from us all day. They think we've been in an accident, Babe" She explained with a sadness that she didn't normally express so freely. Vanessa's heart sunk as she imagined the kids spending their Christmas Eve worrying about them, and she too felt an urge to give up and stay home, but they couldn't. With one more continent to go, they had almost finished delivering presents to the whole world, and it would have been a shame to give up now. So, with heavy hearts, they headed off to Europe in the hopes of leaving gifts twice as fast so that they could get back to their family sooner rather than later.
 As always, the people slept in their beds, unaware that their house was being visited by Santa Claus. Millions of children were dreaming of jingling bells and happy reindeers as Charity snuck in and out of their living rooms with piles and piles of gifts. Carelessly, she left presents and drank milk, dragging her feet as she went from house to house, her Christmas spirit at a record low. It wasn't until they made it to Germany, their last stop of the night, when they ran into real trouble. Flying high over Berlin, the sleigh began to jolt as the reindeers struggled to fly. Pushing hard and trying to force the sleigh to stay up, Charity and Vanessa urged the reindeers to keep pushing as they worried about falling from the sky. "Oh no, we're going down" Vanessa cried. Holding on tightly to the sleigh, they braced themselves for a bumpy landing. With a thump, the sleigh hit the ground, almost toppling over in the process. The city was quiet, and apart from a few streetlamps, the road itself was in darkness. "Now what?" Charity asked when she finally drew breath enough to speak. Stranded on a backroad in a country where they didn't speak the language, they tried not to panic. "Alright, stay calm" Vanessa pleaded as Charity's frustration soared. "Stay calm? We're in the middle of God knows where, with a sack load of undelivered gifts, and to top it off we have kids on opposite sides of the world with no way to get to them" Charity shouted, her voice echoing loudly across the small street. Trying her best not to lose focus, Vanessa jumped down from the sleigh and paced back and forth from pavement to pavement, racking her brain with questions as to why they had been forced to land. "It can't be the reindeers, they pushed against landing. I don't think I did anything wrong" she spoke aloud to herself, and then turned to Charity. "Oh, what so this is my fault?" Charity asked, throwing her arms in the air in defeat. "I didn't say that'' Vanessa said, pointing her finger at her grumpy fiancé. "Wait a sec" she blurted out as an idea came to mind. "Before we left, Santa told us that the magic only worked if enabled by cheer and joy. You're in a mood, and this place doesn't even look like its celebrating Christmas this year-", "So what you're getting at is?" Charity interrupted, in a tone that just about confirmed Vanessa's words. "We need to raise the Christmas spirit and make our own joy" She announced, excitedly and sure of her conclusion. "Alright, so what's the plan? Shall we hold hands and sing jingle bells? Or how about we knock on some of these doors and tell jokes?" Charity asked, sarcastically. Vanessa furrowed her brows and turned her back on Charity. "You're not helping" She shouted from over her shoulder. Charity sighed, "Sorry, okay, I just want to go home", "And so do I" Vanessa replied, facing her again. "So, what should we do?" Charity asked, only this time without any sarcasm. As a minute or so past them by, voices could be heard in the distance, and so they took this as a sign. Running towards the nearing voices, Charity and Vanessa threw caution to the wind and decided it best that they were seen by these people, in the hopes that they could help them get the sleigh going again. They soon learned that the grumbling voices that they could hear from down the road belonged to a group of men who were all leaving a pub that had finally shut its doors for the night. Drunk and disorderly, the men didn't seem like the type you'd hope to stumble across on an ordinary night, but having no other choice, Charity and Vanessa locked eyes with them as they approached them a few feet away. Not yet knowing what to do, or say, Charity stared down the men who began shouting at them. "Look, it's Santa Claus, and his little Elf'' One of them called out, laughing slightly at what they could see. "Wait a minute, you're women'' Another gasped, adding to the laughter as he pointed out his find to his friends. "Very clever" Charity wheezed, clapping her hands and dipping back into her sarcasm. Vanessa spat Charity's name from behind gritted teeth as she tried to keep the men on side. "Hiya, boys" She added, in as friendly voice as she could summon. The men stopped in their tracks opposite them, each of them swaying from side to side as they attempted to stand up straight without having to prop themselves up against a bin or lamppost. "Look, we could really do with your help" Vanessa told them, hoping they didn't get too rowdy and aggressive. "Oh yeah? And what can we help you with little elf?" The man in the middle of the pack asked, a little intimidatingly. "You see, our sleigh, won't start because your town doesn't have enough Christmas spirit to keep us in the air" Vanessa began, causing Charity to cringe as she expected the fallout of their bizarre and unbelievable story. "Your sleigh?" The same man questioned, with a confused chuckle, much to the amusement of his friends. "Are you telling us you're Santa Claus, I mean The Santa Claus?" he laughed, almost as heartily as the real Santa himself. "Yeah" Charity barked, already fed up. "But you're women, and the last time I checked, Santa had a big sack" the middle man replied, causing an uproar of laughter from the others. "Well, I do have a pretty big sack actually, it's right there" Charity shouted, stepping aside to reveal the giant sack on the back of the sleigh, which thanks to her inviting the men to see it, was now visible, clear as day a few yards away. The men, after laughing at the women's audacity, soon dropped their jaws in shock as they spotted the sleigh and all eight reindeers attached to it. "Well, I wasn't expecting that" one announced, scratching his head. "I'd be surprised you could drive that thing", "Why? Because I'm a woman?" Charity asked, defensively. "No, because it doesn't have any wheels", "It's a sleigh, it's supposed to fly" Vanessa chipped in. "I know, I was only messing with you", "Well don't please, this has been a long enough night as it is" Charity spat, folding her arms. "Alright, don't get your beard in a twist" the man laughed. Charity clenched her eyes, and her fists, tightly, and attempted to talk herself out of punching him in the face, while Vanessa shifted from foot to foot, stuttering out a reply. "Will you please just help us out so we can get on with our job, and then you guys will be free to go home too?" She pleaded. "Okay, what do you want us to do? Give you a push?" another man piped up from towards the back of the group. "Why don't you come back to mine for the night, we'll get your sleigh flying in the morning" the main talker of group added. Charity, who had already lost all of her patience, received that comment like a red flag to a bull. And so, in one quick pump, she punched him square in the nose. The man staggered backwards, only staying on his feet because the others managed to break his fall. Vanessa gasped in shock horror at Charity's actions, and jumped on the spot, covering her face with her hands. "Get your own girlfriend, pal" Charity spat, her head twitching as she jolted herself towards him, showing that she was ready to fight. "Woah" He called out, holding his hands up in surrender. "How was I supposed to know that she was your girlfriend?" He added, eyeing them both up and down. "You weren't" Vanessa blurted out, trying to keep the situation calm as she stepped in between him and Charity. Charity immediately realised she was going to be in the dog house, and so decided to stay quiet and let her handle them. "I didn't ask for a black eye for Christmas, but thank you I guess, Santa'' The man joked, so humoured by his own response that he didn't seem to care that he'd just been punched in the nose. Charity all of a sudden, shivered, as an idea came to mind. "What's your name?" She asked him. The man looked taken aback. "Why?", "Just tell me" Charity muttered with a loud sigh as the man wasted time. "Lukas Fischer'' He spoke, a little arrogantly, smirking as he watched Charity rush off towards the sleigh. "Lukas Fischer'' She announced, loudly, and for all to hear as she reached the foot of the sack. As the men stood wondering what she was up to, Charity returned Lukas' smirk as a gift flew up and out of the sack, slowly, but with magic. As the gift floated down to Charity's outreached hand. The men watched in silence. "What did you ask for, for Christmas?" Charity asked as she re-joined the group and handed the gift to Lukas. Lukas tilted his head to the side as he studied the neatly wrapped gift in his hands. As if he was embarrassed, Lukas mumbled his reply. "A Yoda dressing gown" He said in a slight whisper. One of his friends huffed out a breath of laughter at his response, while the wrapping paper tore open. As the gift tag fell to the floor, Lukas unfolded and revealed a dressing gown, whereupon the hood bore the face of Yoda. Lukas looked at the gift, and then to Charity. "How did you do that?" he asked, his mind boggled by what he had just witnessed. "Hey, do me next" Another man called out. Vanessa turned to Charity, who now stood with a mischievous grin as she had the men eating from the palm of her hand. Together, all seven of them walked towards the sleigh, where Charity called out the names of each man, providing them with one gift each from the sack. The men tore apart their presents and all were astounded by the magic Charity possessed. Like children, their faces lit up as they showed off their gifts, which included; Hair clippers, a car radio, limited edition trainers, aftershave and an expensive bottle of whiskey. Each man was amazed by the magic, and whether they truly believed it or not, their moods had lifted tremendously and because of that, the Christmas spirit had risen. Vanessa jumped onto the sleigh and checked on a dial upon the controls that showed that they were just over halfway on the gauge. "We just need a little bit more Christmas spirit" She shouted excitedly, so glad that their terrible plan had worked this far. "What else can we do? I don't think I have anything more impressive than magic to show them" Charity whispered to Vanessa as the men inspected one another's gifts. Vanessa sat back in the sleigh and thought hard for a moment, until a light bulb worthy moment sprang to mind. "We need to sing", "What? No, I was just kidding back then" Charity panicked, having never been a fan of singing in public. "We have to try," Vanessa insisted. Charity sighed and groaned but agreed to try. "Okay guys, we just need one last thing from you before we can go," Vanessa explained, drawing the men's attention once more. "What do you need, little elf" Lukas joked, ready to do whatever it was these weird magical women asked of them. "Just sing along with us, as best as you can" She began. Not really knowing which song to pick, Vanessa began to fluster, until Charity took a deep breath. "We wish you a Merry Christmas" Charity sang, avoiding eye contact. Vanessa smiled and joined in. "We wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year". The men, dumbfounded and willing to go with the flow, shrugged and sang out the next part of the song, with Charity and Vanessa. "Good tidings we bring to you and your Kin, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year" they all sang loudly, with cheer and joy, and with every word, the magic of Christmas spirit powered the sleigh more than enough to rise from the ground. "We did it," Vanessa squealed. As she grinned, she took Charity's face in her hands and kissed her forcibly upon the lips, causing the men to cheer and whistle as the reindeers began to run and kick out. "Thank you" Vanessa called down to the men, who started to shrink in size as they rose higher off the ground. "You're welcome, little elf" Lukas shouted back. "See you later Santa" Another added. And with that, the sleigh disappeared from sight and headed off through the starry night sky.
 After one more German town, Charity and Vanessa finally began their last flight, that would take them back to The North Pole having successfully delivered every gift that had been safely packed into the sack. Just up ahead the glistening lights of Santa's grotto, lit their way across the snow filled land. "I hope the boys are okay" Vanessa said, giving the reins one last flick. "I hope they behaved" Charity added, more worried that the sugar filled five-year-olds had given Mrs Claus the run around. "Boys will be boys" Vanessa shrugged as they finally touched down into the open barn. "Welcome back" A familiar faced elf cheered, along with two others who jumped up and down at the women's arrival. "You did a great job" the second celebrated, high fiving the third. "Mummy" Two voices called out loudly, followed by fast stomping feet. Johnny and Moses had burst into the barn with Mrs Claus, having had lots of fun playing with toys that the elves had whipped up for them. Both mothers embraced their sons, dropping to their knees to hug and kiss them on their chocolate covered faces. "How did you find it?" Mrs Claus asked cheerily. "Oh, it was a heck of an experience" Vanessa told her, as Mrs Claus led them from the barn and into the warm, fire lit living room, where Santa was sat in the same arm chair they had left him in earlier on, though he did look a lot better seeing him now after having rested. "Welcome back" Santa cried, sitting more upright in his chair as they entered the room after having changed out of their costumes, looking more like themselves in their warm winter clothes. "Never again" Charity said to him, "It was amazing, and terrifying and beautiful, but never again" She added, with a laughter that came out like a wheeze. Vanessa carried Johnny in, who clung to her as if it had been more like weeks since he was able to be in his mother's arms, while Moses ran around in circles; soaring his toy car over and around every piece of furniture in the room. Santa slowly stood, steadying himself as he made it to his feet. "Thank you, both, for doing this. You really have saved Christmas, and me. Next year you both get a free pass to the nice list" He chortled his usual 'Ho Ho Ho' laughter. Charity and Vanessa turned to each other; Charity pulled a mischievous face that was soon forced away by a 'Don't you dare' expression from Vanessa. "I won't" Charity whimpered, "Anyway, it feels good to do good, sometimes" She added just to make it clear that she planned on staying on the straight and narrow from now on. Mrs Claus chuckled from near the fireplace, where she handed the boys one last candy cane. "Don't worry, they're sugar free" She whispered to Vanessa. "Right, well, I suppose you want to get off" Santa interrupted as he pulled back his sleeves ready to conjure up some magic for what they all hoped was the last time that night. "Yes please" Vanessa sighed, thinking fondly of her warm bed. Charity took Santa's magic hat from the top of the pile of clothes and forced it over his head. "Ready when you are" She said, picking Moses up from the ground. "Say bye boys" Vanessa coaxed. Johnny and Moses chirped out a happy goodbye and waved to Santa and Mrs Claus, as Santa cleared his throat. "Thank you so much once again. And Charity, don't worry, those kids of yours back home won't remember any of their worries from today. I'll make sure of that" He said, with a smile that Charity returned. "Alright, let's do this'' He added. "Fly through the skies, Emmerdale Village lies. Past the stars and through a black hole, home you go, to Jacob's Fold" Santa spoke loud and clear with a thankful tear in his eye as those familiar lights danced down and around them all, sweeping the family up and transporting them through time and back home, safely.
 Christmas Morning came around fast, and as Santa promised, Noah and Sarah awoke happy and stress free with the rest of the family as Johnny and Moses burst into each bedroom declaring that 'Santa came'. Excitedly, Charity and Vanessa peeled themselves away from their bed and stuffed their feet into their slippers before following the kids downstairs where the presents that Charity had left sat beautifully wrapped up beneath the tree. Once the kettle had boiled, they all sat comfortably on the sofa, taking it in turns to rip open their gifts. Noah was chuffed with his bundle of Xbox games, trainers and tracksuits. Sarah's eyes lit up when she received a new handbag, endless makeup palettes and jewellery, while Johnny and Moses roared with shock and excited giggles as they seemed to unwrap every toy ever made. Vanessa opened her presents after the kids and kissed each of them as she had been given a new designer coat, a laptop and a framed photo of herself and Tracey with their father, Frank. Which just left Charity, who had been wondering what gifts she'd been instructed to leave for herself. Opening each box and package with no clue what was inside, she was happy and thankful for the jewellery, clothes and expensive wine that she had actually written on the bottom of her Christmas list weeks ago. "Hey, there's one more under here" Noah told as he stretched beneath the tree and pulled out the last box. "Oh, it's for you two," Sarah said, reading Charity's and Vanessa's names from the little tag. Looking to one another wondering what it could be, they opened the gift that was signed 'from Santa'. "Ooh" Vanessa gasped, then followed it up with a laugh as they had been given the elf hat and elasticated beard that they had worn all through the night. "What's that all about?" Noah asked, confused as to what their gift meant. "It means; When in Lapland, knock out an old man and go on an incredible journey" Charity said, causing Vanessa to spit out her tea in laughter. As they giggled to themselves; the kids basked in confusion, not knowing that their Mother's had saved Christmas, for everyone.