The Santa Clause Fanfic

Secrets and Changes

After winter break, things weren't looking so jolly for Charlie. Ever since the North Pole incident, Charlie had been going around saying his dad was the new Santa Claus. This causes kids to bully the 8-year-old and tell him that there was no such thing as Santa Claus. Even Neil was trying to convince Charlie that Santa wasn't real through therapy. Nothing seemed to work, which also made Merry twice as worried about both her brother and her dad. She decided to head straight home after school, making sure no one was home to summon Bernard and talk to him about it. Once she made it to the kitchen, Merry pulled out the silver bell and rang three times to summon the head elf. The noise comes from the pantry, which Merry opened to reveal Bernard browsing through the tight area, "Could use a bit more ingredients in here" he said before turning towards Merry, "How's the Sanctification process coming?"
"Nothing yet" said Merry, "But that's not why I called you here and please get out of the pantry, Neil will think there's mice roaming around again"

Bernard steps out of the pantry with a snack in his hand, eating it without a care as Merry takes a moment to think of what to say. "It's about Charlie" she said, "He's been going around saying our Dad is Santa Claus and because of that, kids have been bullying him in school. Our parents try to reason with him, but nothing seems to work"
Bernard pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration after hearing Merry's words, rubbing his temples as a way to calm himself down, "This goes under the laws of the SOS" he said to himself
"I'm sorry, SOS?"
"Secret of Santa"
"That makes more sense"
Bernard explains that the SOS (Secret of Santa) is a strict rule when it comes to becoming Santa Claus, as well as the very existence of Santa. If anyone talks about the location of the North Pole, the very existence of Christmas would cease to exist. This was certainly worrying Merry, devising a plan to make sure Charlie doesn't say another word about their father becoming Santa, at least for a while.

"I'll try to talk to him" said Merry, "Hopefully Charlie doesn't get upset"
Bernard could sense Merry's stress and walks over to her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, "I'm sure Charlie would understand" he said, "You're a great older sister, remember that"
"Thanks, Bernard. The next time I call you, it'll be a report on the Santafication process"
"Be sure you do"
Right before her eyes, the head elf vanishes into thin air until Neil steps into the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea. Charlie was dashing his way through the hall toward his bedroom.
"Everything okay, Neil?" asked Merry
"I wish I could say yes" said Neil, setting up the kettle, "Charlie's been going on about the North Pole and Santa is real. You don't think he's been influenced by your Dad, do you?"
"I certainly hope not. Why don't I talk to him? I am his sister after all, maybe he'll listen to me"
"Thank you, Merry. I appreciate it"
Merry nods and leaves the kitchen to check up on Charlie. Neil takes a step into the pantry and notices the small mess, "What the?" he asked himself, "Are the mice back?"

Merry knocks on Charlie's door gently, hoping he would respond.
"Who is it?!" called Charlie, "Have you come to see if you're on Santa's naughty or nice list?"
Merry couldn't help but giggle until she finally spoke up, "It's Santa's elf, Merry" she said, "May I come in?"
"Sure thing!"
Merry opens the door to see Charlie's room was decked out like he was riding a Santa's sleigh.
This did concern the teenager but kept a straight face before taking a seat on Charlie's bed. "Can we talk for a bit, Charlie?" she asked
"Come on, Merry!" said Charlie, "Santa's counting on us to save Christmas!"
"That's what I want to talk to you about"
Merry stops the music midway before gently removing Charlie's hat and settling him down on her lap. Charlie pouts in disappointment before looking up at his sister with big round eyes, "Did Neil tell you to come check on me?" he asked
"No, I came on my own" said Merry, "I just wanna make sure you're okay"
"I'm alright"
"Anything going on in school? Maybe someone's bothering you?"
"Well, kind of"

Charlie tells Merry about what happened at Show and Tell in school, kids laughing at him after saying their dad was Santa Clause and being sent to the principal's office because of it. The teenager listened to her brother until he was finally done talking. It was then, Merry turned Charlie to come face to face with one another. "Listen Charlie, I'm proud that you believe that Dad became Santa Claus" she said, "But you have to keep it a secret okay?"
"Why?" asked Charlie
"Well, it's kinda hard for people to believe in Santa, it's how grownups are"
"Do you believe in Santa?"
"Of course, I do, Charlie. Even though I was told he doesn't exist when I was your age, that didn't stop me from believing in him"
Charlie smiled a bit until Merry continued to speak, "I think Dad would appreciate it if we keep the North Pole and Santa to ourselves for a while. Just to be safe, okay?"
"I'll try" said Charlie, "But it's true isn't it?"
"Maybe to us, but not everyone else"

Charlie nods and gets back to playing as Merry turns the music back on, lowering the volume a bit so it's not disturbing the rest of the household. Outside the house, Laura and Scott were bickering with one another, possibly about this morning's incident with the Santa Claus business. The next couple of days wasn't too bad, that was until Charlie and Merry went to the Zoo with their father. This time, Charlie decided to bring the snow globe Bernard gave to him at the North Pole as a reminder of what happened Christmas Eve. On their way out of the Zoo, Charlie looked up at his dad and said, "I know who you are, Dad. You'll figure it out soon enough"
"Charlie's right" said Merry, "There are a lot of kids out there that believe in you"
"Yeah, you can't let them down"
Scott sighs, "Kids, you're wrong"
Charlie and Merry glance behind their dad, seeing something rather unexpected. Charlie tried to hold his laughter while Merry tried to keep a straight face. Scott raised a brow at both of his kids, confused by their reactions to something. "What's so funny?" he asked
"Nothing" said Charlie and Merry as Reindeer started following their Dad, giving the zookeepers a bit of a struggle to bring them back.