Christmas with the Calvins

Chapter Forty-Five

"Everything is going to work out fine Bernard, you'll see." Jessie insisted as her husband paced the room nervously. "Sit down and relax. Day off, remember?"

"Day off?" Bernard huffed. His wife truly didn't understand the gravity of their situation. They had six months before the Christmas busy season began and twelve months before a baby elf would be sharing the home with them. That meant that that later stages of her pregnancy would be the busiest months of the year! There was so much prepping that need to be done; So much work! There was no time for a day off.

"Yeah, you know a whole day where you don't go to the workshop. You don't yell at Curtis, you don't check on the reindeer..."

"I know what a day off is!" He snorted. "But Darling, you understand that we have twice as much to prepare for now and..."

"And if you're going to work, then so am I." She said, folding her arms over her chest defiantly. Bernard opened his mouth to counter argue when there was a knock at their front door.

"Hello? Anybody home?" Scott Calvin's voice called into the charming home.

"In here, Dad!" Jess answered. Dragging Bernard with her, she stepped out of the bedroom to greet her father. Scott and Carol were standing in the kitchen both looking concerned.

"Hi there Princess! How are you feeling?"

"Better Dad." She assured him. "Much better."

"I need to sit down." Bernard gasped. The Head Elf practically collapsed in the nearest kitchen chair.

"Bernard?" Carol's eyebrows knit together in worry. She knelt down and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Take it easy, breath for me, okay?"

"What's happening?" Scott asked. "Jess has this ever happened before?" Jessica shook her head.

"He's having a panic attack. I've seen it before in students during mid-terms." Carol explained. "Someone get me a glass of water." Jess raced to fill a glass. Her step-mother accepted the glass and forced it into Bernard's hands. "Barnard, listen to me, you need to steady your breathing and drink this water, slowly, if you can." The Head Elf did as he was told and after a few minutes he was able to control his breathing.

"Thank you Mrs. Claus." He said once he had calmed himself.

"Call me Carol, please." She smiled.

"Carol." He repeated with a nod. "Sorry about that everyone. As a was just telling my wife, I have some work to do." Bernard go to his feet and put his now empty glass in the sink.

"Well hang on, I thought you were taking the day off? What happened?" Santa wanted to know. "Did Curtis set the kitchen on fire?" He joked.

"It's my fault, Daddy." Jess interrupted. "I had asked Bernard to stay home with me because I wasn't feel well. But the doctor came by this afternoon and I feel much better. And I didn't realize how much damage still had to be cleaned up from this whole Toy Santa business."

"Bernard if you're feeling overwhelmed, you know Carol and I are here now, you don't have to deal with everything alone. You've got Curtis and the other department heads, lots of help. So why don't you take the rest of the day off? As a matter of fact, that's an order."

"But Santa I..."

"Now, I'm not going to argue with you about this." Scott asserted. "You're taking the day off, so why don't you and Jessie both join us at the workshop. We still haven't given you your presents."

"With all due respect Santa..."

"We'd be happy to join you there, Dad." Jess agreed, shutting her husband up. "Give us a few minutes and we'll meet you in your office, alright?"

"We'll see you there." Carol smiled. She and Scott excused themselves from the house and started trekking through the snow.

"Something is up with them." Scott remarked as they headed home.

"What makes you say that?" Carol asked, looking over her shoulder to stare back at the elves' house.

"I've known Bernard for years. He's never once had a panic attack. And he certainly isn't panicked about work. That guy lives for work. He has me start checking my list in July."

"Well there's a first time for everything, Scott. Maybe some rest is really all he needs."

"What just happened to you?" Jess questioned Bernard in a panic. "Are you alright?"

"Like Mrs...Carol said, it was a panic attack." He shrugged. "I haven't had one in a very long time. But seeing your father here and knowing that your...you know. I can't imagine what he's going to think once he finds out."

"You think my dad is going to be mad when he finds out we're having a baby?" His wife laughed at him."My dad loves kids! He worked for a toy company before he was Santa! And now, well what kind of a Santa would he be if he didn't?"

"But you're still so young!"

"Not to a human." Jess sighed. "I understand that I still don't get exactly how all this elf stuff works but for humans, 23 is a fairly acceptable age to have kids. My parents were younger than that when I was born. Besides, even if Dad stays Santa forever, which we know is very unlikely, Neil and Mom won't live forever. I'm sure they'd like to be around to see our kids."

"I suppose you're right." Bernard sighed. "There's just so much to..."

"Don't think about how much work there is to do! Day off, Santa's orders!" She reminded him before getting a change of clothes and stepping into the bathroom for a shower.