Magical

Chapter 37

     Just like before, there was a huge ordeal as Scott pushed his wife through the village to get to the delivery room. Once again, Rose shouted at the elves, "Move it! Pregnant woman in labor here!"
   Bernard was by his own wife's side, gesturing for the elves to move. Laura, Neil, the in-laws, and the kids all rushed toward the delivery room.
   When they finally arrived, Dr. Histmus came running in with a couple of nurse elves. "Alright!" They shouted. "Only Mr. and Mrs. Claus in the delivery room!"
    The rest of the family waited outside. Rose sat in her husband's lap as he stroked her hair gently. "I can't wait til it's our turn." He said, softly.
    Rose shook her head, "I can. I'd like to actually have some time to enjoy this pregnancy with my husband."
    Bernard smiled at his wife. "So.... what all happened while I was gone?" He turned his attention to the in-laws. "And I do need to get to know the two of you, seeing as you are a part of this family."
    Silvia shook her head, laughing. "I'm still processing all this. My daughter is married to Santa Claus. My stepgranddaughter is his guardian, a part of the Council of Legendary Figures which includes Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Sandman, Father Time, Mother Nature, Cupid, and Jack Frost, as well as their guardians, AND she's married to an elf. He's still close to his ex-wife and her husband who are watching over his son and their own daughter. And now we're somehow part of all this!"
    "It is a lot to take in." Rose admitted. "Trust me. It took a lot of time for me too."
    "So...how did all this happen?"
    Rose then launched into the tale, beginning with how her family used to be and everything that had happened from her dad putting on the Santa suit to the day he decided to invite them to the Pole.
    Around the time she finished, her father came out to give them the news. "He's a Claus!!"
   Rose jumped up to hug her father. "Dad, that's wonderful!"
    Each member rose in turn and went to visit the mother and the little boy. "What are you gonna name him?" Laura asked her ex-husband.
    "Oh that's easy!" Carol responded. "After his grandfather of course."
    "That's right!" Santa added. "Say hello to Buddy Claus!"
    The family gushed over Buddy for a few minutes until a nurse came to collect him so the mom could get some rest.
    Bernard looked at his watch and called for his father-in-law. "Santa, it's time."
    Santa checked his own watch. "Sure enough. Who's gonna come see me off?"
    Rose and Bernard volunteered as well as Charlie, Lucy, and Neil. Laura and the in-laws stayed to keep an eye on Carol. Santa, Rose, Bernard, Charlie, Lucy, and Neil made their way out to the town square. Giving the sleigh a once-over, they found, to their relief, nothing was missing. Santa got in his sleigh and gestured for his kids to join him. Lucy and Charlie gladly accepted. Rose declined at first but then changed her mind and climbed in next to her brother. With that, the sleigh took off into the night sky.
                            * * * * *
    While they were gone, Bernard spent some time getting to know the in-laws and chatting with him. Bud ended up respecting the man/elf's work ethic while Silvia found him charming.
    The rest of the elves cleaned up the workshop then invited Jack to have cocoa-chinos with them. He gladly accepted.
    After awhile, everyone grew tired. The question arose on where the in-laws and Scott's family would stay. They were given rooms in Santa's house. All the elves left for their houses and all the council members left for their own homes. Carol was staying overnight in the hospital until she was cleared to leave.
     Santa returned promptly an hour and a half later to return his kids. Charlie and Lucy headed to his house to sleep. As for Rose, for the first time since Bernard's accident, she went home to their house. It didn't take more than a few minutes before they were off to sleep.
                             * * * * *
    The next day, Carol was released from the hospital, along with Buddy. With Christmas over, Santa decided it was the perfect time for a paternity leave for him so he could help his wife take care of Buddy.
    A couple days after their return, the Miller's decided to return home as they had their own things that needed to be done.
    A few days after they left, Bernard decided it was finally time to return to fixing up the house. One morning, after drinking a piping hot mug of cocoa, he gathered up his tools and a belt and got ready to return to fixing the roof.
    Rose stood in the kitchen, drinking a cup of Jack's herbal tea, worry in her eyes. He didn't blame her.
    "B, I don't think this is a good idea."
    "Don't worry about it, Snowflake. This time, I've got help."
    Rose raised an eyebrow. "Who?"
    With that, Bud came into the kitchen, whistling a tune. "Hey, Bernard! We gonna start fixing this roof or what?"
    "Bud? Why are you helping?" Rose asked, utterly confused.
    "Well, if we're gonna be a family, might as well start acting like it, right?"
    Rose smiled before walking over and hugging her step-grandfather. "Thank you. I can't tell you how much I appreciate this."
    "How about that? I think I finally won you over, eh? All it took was us almost killing each other over a crazy ice man and a job!" He laughed.
    With that, Bernard shook his hand, declaring, "Trust me. When my wife claims you as family, she's gonna be really overprotective!"
     "Imma hold you to that, Rose! So...roof?"
    "Roof!" Bernard repeated, waving a hammer in the air.
    The pair of men headed off to work. Rose just stood there, smiling as she shook her head. They'd be alright...