Forever Our Mistletoe (Bernard the Head Elf x reader: 3rd book of the Trilogy)

11.

Scott and Frost ended up right back where they were previously standing in the North Pole. Jack had been stripped of all resemblance of Santa, and Scott had regained his normal, jolly, Mr. Claus appearance.

"Carol," Scott said in realization. He looked around and saw her walking across the snow with Bud, Sylvia, Y/N, and Bernard. "Carol!" Scott ran towards his family, leaving Jack alone.

"Well, that didn't work out the way I'd hoped," Jack said in disappointment.

"Carol," Scott said as he caught up to her.

"Oh, Scott!" Carol said with a sigh of relief. "We've been looking everywhere for you."

"Come here," Scott said as he pulled her away from her parents and into a hug. "Oh, Mrs Claus, I've missed you." He whispered. "I missed you so much, so much."

"Wait, it's just been a few minutes," Carol whispered back with a giggle.

"It's only been a few minutes?" Scott asked. "Yes. Of course. But, it only takes a few minutes to see the truth of an entire lifetime."

"I don't understand."

"A man goes in the world," Scott began. "And expects his dreams to come true, and then... the unexpected happens. Pick up a coat and become Santa. That's huge! A lot of pressure, taking care of the children of the world, and the elves and the SOS, and the North Pole, but he loses sight of what's important: The woman who falls in love with him..." He touched Carol's stomach. "...and gives him a baby. I love being Santa and I love you."

"I love you, too," Carol grinned in delight. "Have you been drinking cocoa?"

"No. I'm back," Scott said. "I've missed you very, very much."

"I missed you too." Carol said.

Scott gestured to Bernard and Y/N. They walked over to him and he hugged both of them. Bernard's eyes went wide, not expecting the interaction. "I've missed you two so much. And, I'm sorry for giving you such a hard time with your relationship. Bernard, you're the only person I'd want my daughter with. And, Y/N, Bernard loves you, don't ever give him up."

Y/N chuckled. "Are you sure you're all right, Dad?"

"Never been better," Scott nodded. He turned to Bud and Sylvia. "Hey, you guys know what happened?"

"No," Bud answered.

"We ticked each other off," Scott said. "That's it. Like families all over the world do on Christmas Eve that love each other, ticking each other off. They don't have to be perfect to be good families. We just have to be together."

"I'm still so very sorry that we added to all this pressure that you're under," Sylvia apologized. She turned to Bud. "I think that we should apologise. Don't you?"

"No. It's good I'm tough on him," Bud stated. "I'm his father-in-law. It's my job."

"As long as you promise to do it every Christmas, it's fine," Scott teased.

"We'll see about that," Bud shrugged. "I'm a busy guy."

"And so am I," Scott said as he came to a very important conclusion. "And I'd like to show you guys what I do."

"The SOS," Bernard quickly reminded.

"The SOS is about secrets," Scott pointed out. "Secrets aren't for families. I'm tired of keeping Carol from her family. So if you guys would follow me to my factory."

Bud and Sylvia complied and they all followed Scott to the large building. Scott walked in and called out to the elves. "Elves? Elves! Stop working for a minute. I'd like you all to say hello to the in-laws."

"Hello, in-laws!" All the elves said in unison.

"Hello," Sylvia greeted nervously.

"How ya doin'?" Bud said. "Elves."

"Oh, my," Sylvia said as she realized the truth. "They're not Canadians. They're elves. Never said... in person..."

"Listen, if they're elves," Bud began. "This is not a toy factory. This is probably Santa's workshop. And if this is probably...If this is Santa's workshop, then... he..." Bud pointed to Scott who had gotten into his red and white outfit, topped off with his hat. "Then he's the guy. Hey, you... you're the guy. You're Father Christmas."

"It's a little freaky, but..." Scott trailed off. "You'll get used to it."

"If you're Father Christmas that means I'm Father Christmas' father-in-law." Bud said. "That means I'm...I'm Father-in-law Christmas. "

"And I'm Mother-in-law Christmas!" Sylvia said with a bright smile.

"Hi, Santa!" A voice shouted. Everyone turned to see the Easter Bunny pushing a cart. "Hi, Bud!" He waved flirtatiously to Sylvia. "Sylvia. Oh, the little pellets behind me? I'll clean those up later."

"Santa, where do you keep the Phillips screwdrivers?" Cupid asked as he flew down in front of him.

"Oh, elf construction. Talk to Irv, OK?" Scott said. "Oh, oh, Cupid!" Cupid looked back at him. "At this altitude you might want to consider an underdiaper."

"I don't mind the draft," Cupid informed, before flying off.

Scott turned to his in-laws. "That was Cupid."

"Yeah,"

"Hello, Santa!" Another voice chimed in.

"Father Time,"

"Father Time. What next?" Bud rhetorically asked.

"Well, hello, Santa," A soothing, feminine voice greeted. "This is a blast!"

"Mother Nature!" Y/N beamed as she hugged the legendary figure in front of her. It was easy for anyone to tell that Mother Nature was almost like a mother figure to Y/N.

"How can I ever thank you for this?" Scott asked.

"Oh, don't thank me," Mother Nature. "He's the one who brought us here."

"Dad,"

"Charlie!" Y/N and Scott shouted in unison.

"Hi, Santa!"

"Hey, Tooth,"

"Hi, Santa," Said Sandman.

"Sandy,"

"Checked in with Curtis and Bernard, and found out you were behind, so I called in the professionals," Charlie grinned with pride.

"Uncle Scott!" A distressed voice cried.

(Hope you enjoyed it! As always have a good day/night! TOODLES!!!)