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"Okay, everyone, can I get the room for a minute? Thank you," Curtis called out to the Elves within the room he was standing in along with Santa, Bernard and Noelle -- who had left Nicholas with Abby to watch over him while they all handled the current situation. "One minute. Take a cocoa break," Curtis encouraged as the Elves slowly moved out of the room, "Have a nice long break. I want to show Santa and Noelle some improvements on the pantograph." Noelle and Santa shared a look as Bernard stood behind Noelle, his hands resting on her waist as he watched Curtis with narrow eyes.

"Walk with me," Curtis told the father and daughter duo, they followed behind Curtis with Bernard pouting causing Noelle to grab his hand in her own, a smile appearing on his face when she did so. "I've tripled the RAM and reconfigured the circuitry," Curtis explained to Santa as they stood at the control panel of the pantograph. "I see you've externalised the power source to make better use of the electromagnetic energy," Santa replied to Curtis with an impressed smile. "No, it's just there 'cause it looks really cool," Curtis corrected. "Yeah, it does," Santa agreed with a chuckle.

"Wait a minute," Santa spoke up with furrowed brows, "You tripled the RAM, I see where this is going. I am not getting in that machine." Noelle's eyes widened at that, "Whoa! We are trying to resolve this situation not kill my father." Curtis shook his head, "It won't harm him, I promise!" Noelle was anxious about it, she leaned into Bernard who had picked up on her concrrns straight away. "Besides, creating a copy of Santa won't solve our problems. The Elves'll know," Bernard spoke up with his narrowed gaze. "But this would be a special toy!" Curtis defended his plan with determination, he knew Noelle had the power here.

"What do you mean, Curtis?" Noelle asked softly, she'd at least hear out his idea rather than tell him no outright. "I added a fuzzy logic circuit. The duplicate will look and think just like Santa," Curtis answered her before turning to Santa, "When you're with your family, dealing with Charlie, looking for a wife--" Santa spoke up, "The toy will be up here melting in front of my fireplace." Noelle snorted at that comment before clearing her throat and signalling for Curtis to continue. "No, the toy Santa will be dealing with business up here," Curtis told Santa with a smile. "I can deal with business up here," Bernard spoke up with a stern tone.

"Santa, if the Elves find out we've made a switch--" Bernard cut himself off with a groan, "No! No! This machine is not the answer!" Noelle wrapped her arms around Bernard's waist, his arms instantly went around her shoulders and he rested his head on top of her hers to ease his own stress and anxieties. Their attention was taken by a mouse scurrying into the machine, it powered up and the mouse eventually comes out on the other side with a copy following behind it. "Look, you can't get much better than that!" Curtis exclaimed, "And I promise -- It won't hurt a bit!"

Noelle locked eyes with Santa as they stood in silence, she was pleading with him to let Bernard take the lead, he could do it perfectly and the Elves would understand if they just explained the situation; Hell, some of them would help but like a common man, they had to do it their way. "I'm goin' in," Santa exclaimed suddenly. "I can't watch this!" Bernard exclaimed, he hid his face in the crook of Noelle's neck with her combing her fingers through the curls hanging at his shoulders. Noelle winced as her father went through the machine, she felt Bernard peek before covering his eyes again.

Noelle, Bernard and Curtis moved around the machine to the other side as the real Santa walked out. "It's perfect!" Curtis cheered while Noelle rolled her eyes with an amused smile. "That's because it's me, Einstein," Santa told Curtis with a bemused expression. "Santa, are you all right?" Bernard asked quickly. "Yeah, I got a shock in there," Santa answered before looking at Curtis, "Is there supposed to be a shock?" Bernard covered Noelle's eyes, "Love?" Suddenly, Curtis shrieked and the three males spoke, "It's naked!" Santa looked at Bernard gratefully for him quickly covering Noelle's eyes.

"Throw something over it," Santa exclaimed and Curtis reached for a cloak while Bernard help escort his girl away from the scene. "I'm going to handle this, you go rest, my precious snowflake," Bernard cooed before kissing her. "Only because my feet are sore," Noelle replied before making her way out of the room, she wasn't sure about this plan but what Santa says, that's how it goes. And so she headed back to her cabin, telling Abby she was free to go. "Hello, my son," Noelle greeted as she took him into her arms. "Mama?" The two-year-old cooed. "When will you start talking, huh?" Noelle pondered with a slight frown, Nicholas was a slow developer but she was patient; he'd talk in his own time.

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"I myself think he looks absolutely terrific!" Bernard cheered as he stood on the stairs of the Workshop looking down at all of the Elves. Noelle frowned as she stood at the bottom of the stairs, she held Nicholas in her arms. "Better and fresher somehow than he has in years," Bernard continued, "There's now a more supple veneer to his skin and an added lustre to the thickness of his hair. You could almost say there's a -- a toy-like quality to him." He locked eyes with Noelle who lowered her hand to signal him to tone it down a little, he nodded and took a breath. He smiled as Nicholas waved up at him, Noelle grinning at the interaction.

"Most importantly, he's very happy with his new look, and I would caution you all not to point or stare or use the word 'plastic'. Okay? Okay," Bernard nodded with his words, "Thank you. That's all. Back to work, please." The Elves all moved to get back to work, some greeting Noelle and Nicholas as they went by. Bernard walked down the stairs to his fiance and son, "How was that?" Noelle leaned forward and kissed him, pulling back with a sympathetic smile. "That bad?" Bernard asked making Noelle laugh. "It wasn't too bad but... I still have a very bad feeling about this," Noelle told him, Bernard placed his hands on her waist and leaned closer to her.

"It'll be okay," Bernard assured her, his forehead resting against her own, "And after Santa returns and marries the one he falls in love with... I'm gonna finally see you walk down the aisle." Noelle grinned and shook her head, "I thought we were gonna wait until this one was born." She pointed at her stomach and Bernard moved one of his hands to rest on her stomach. "I don't want to wait any longer to call you my wife," Bernard whispered to her before they shared a kiss ignoring the Elves 'oh-ing' and 'awing' around them. "Let's go give my father the gift you made him and say farewell," Noelle told her love, he nodded and they made their way to the stables.

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"Comet..." Santa dragged out causing Comet to grumble before Santa continued, "Because I don't want to take Prancer. I want to take a trip with you. When's the last time we had a cruise?" Comet garbled for a moment in agreement before Santa spoke, "I love you, buddy." Comet purred with a nod. "Besides, Prancer had too many apples. We know what that means," Santa added as he saddled up Comet. "Before you go, take a look at your watch," Bernard spoke as he and Noelle approached Santa. "Hey! Can't go anywhere without that," Santa exclaimed as he took the watch from Bernard's outstretched hand. "I've done some work on it," Bernard told him.

"It's beautiful. It really is," Santa complimented making Bernard light up, he still wasn't used to feeling appreciated. "You like it?" Bernard asked him while Noelle grinned at the sight. "The workmanship's fabulous," Santa complimented further which added to Bernard's pride. "It has a power reserve that measures how much magic you have left," Bernard expressed to him, "It's at ten." Santa nodded, "That should be enough." Noelle nodded in agreement in hopes to keep positive thoughts running through her mind, Nicholas cuddled closer to his mother. "But if you use up any magic got any reason the level drops," Bernard warned him as he grabbed Noelle's hand.

"Dad," Noelle spoke to get his attention, "If it gets to zero -- you won't be able to return to the Pole." Comet looked up at them, "Uh-oh." Santa looked worried before he pushed it away and grinned at his daughter, "Then let's not let it get to zero!" Bernard agreed before putting his hand on Santa's shoulder, "Now, look at me. What's the most important thing?" Santa glanced at Bernard's hand before looking at him, "For you not to touch Santa?" Bernard pulled his hand away with a chuckle. "For you to come back, dad," Noelle spoke up with worried eyes. "I know, sweet pea," Santa assured her before kissing the top of her head.

"See you soon, Nicky," Santa told his grandson, kissing his head making the boy giggle. Santa climbed up onto Comet and settled, "Comet, please just chill out a little bit, okay?" Comet continued to complain, "Come on! It's not like we're pullin' the sleigh, right?" Noelle leaned into Bernard's arms as they stepped back. "There's no packages, it's one stop," Santa encouraged before Noelle spoke up, "And he forgot to mention... you're going to see Charlie." Comet perked up happily at those words, he ran forward startling Santa as they left the North Pole. "Let's hope this goes well," Noelle muttered. "I'm sure it will," Bernard told her, hoping he was right.

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Rosemary Speaks

It feels weird writing a Christmas story when its February but I'm not leaving it finished til next Christmas... figured having it finished means next Christmas, people will have a book to read.

Also, I think next Christmas, I'll write a new Christmas book 'cause its my favourite holiday.

Anyway, how are we feeling about this chapter? Any questions or suggestions?

See you in the next chapter!