A few minutes later, while Rose was finishing up her packing, Bernard went out to check on Santa who was arguing with Comet, the reindeer griping about having to leave.
     "Santa! I came to see you off."
     "Thanks, Bernard. Where's Rose?"
     "She'll be right behind you. I thought it would be too conspicuous if two reindeer were missing. I'll just bring her down there once you're on your way."
     "Fair enough." Santa said. "So did you two make up?"
     Bernard blushed as he remembered just how you had made up. "Yes we did. And I...uh...I proposed."
     Santa grinned. "About time! Everyone's been waiting for the two of you to get married!"
     Bernard frowned. "The only problem is if this doesn't work. I can't marry her while she's human. It's against the rules."
     Santa patted Bernard on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it. I'm not letting you two lose each other. I will find a wife and we will be back to normal in no time."
     Bernard nodded. "Anyway, enough of all this boo-hooing. I wanted to give you something before you go."
      He pulled out a watch with a set of numbers from 0 to 10. "Oh Bernard, that's beautiful!"
      "It will help you keep track of how much magic you've used."
      "Well that should be handy."
      "But," Bernard warned, "any time you use magic, the level drops. Santa, if it reaches zero, you won't be able to return to the Pole. Neither of you will."
      Santa beckoned Bernard closer. "Then let's not let it get to zero."
      Bernard placed his hands on Santa's shoulders. "Now, what's the most important thing?"
     "For you not to touch Santa?"
     "For you to get back."
     Santa laughed. "I was only kidding. Don't forget to send Rose after me. Imma need all the help I can get with this."
     Bernard nodded. "Consider it done."
     With that, Santa took off into the sky. Bernard hesitated, waving after him before turning and making his way back to Santa's quarters where Rose was zipping up her messenger bag.
     Curtis was in the room as well, showing Toy Santa and Toy Rose how to do little things. Bernard rolled his eyes. He still thought this whole thing was a bad idea.
     "Hey, B." Rose said, smiling as she saw him. "Finally finished with the packing."
    On the bed sat her suitcase, her father's, and her messenger bag. He gave her a sad smile as he approached her and enveloped her in his arms. "You know I love you, right?"
     She pushed away from him, giving him a glare. "Bernard, I swear if you break up with me again after just proposing..."
     He laughed. "I'll never make that mistake again, Snowflake. You mean too much to me for me to lose you. I just wanted to have this moment with you, just in case."
     Rose rolled her eyes. "We're gonna do this, B. We will be back."
     "I don't doubt you can." He whispered. "There's something else. I put a charm on your necklace. With you losing your powers faster than your father, I wanted to make sure you had a little reserve just in case things go downhill. Unfortunately, there's not a lot left. Just enough for one use so use it wisely. And, sadly, it's not enough to bring you home to me. If worse comes to worse, call me and I'll come for you. And call me often so I know you're ok."
     Rose smiled. "I'll be just fine, B. Thank you." Then she hugged him tightly.
     "I think this is the memory I want to keep." He whispered before kissing her forehead. "C'mon. We'd better get going."
     He helped her with the bags and, a moment later, they were standing outside the Miller's house. Dropping the bags, Bernard embraced her and kissed her one final time, very desperately just in case he never saw her again, and then vanished into thin air.
     A moment later, Comet landed and Scott followed his daughter as they set their things in Scott's old car. Then, the two of them got in the car and Scott drove them to Charlie's school.
     They met up with Laura and Neil who were waiting for them since Scott had called them earlier. They each hugged. "Aww, Scott! You trimmed your beard!"
     The four of them entered the principal's office and sat down to listen to the principal prattle on. After a few minutes of Scott banging his head against a filing cabinet, he talked to the principal on how she was acting.
      When she explained that Christmas decorations weren't that important, Rose scoffed. "Not important? They go cheer to children who desperately need it! You know what's not needed? This whole school system. You don't teach kids what they need to survive in the world and you act like jerks about it! And what is your problem? Do you have nothing better to do than to pick on my little brother?"
     Scott was the one to break the tension, simply by explaining Charlie wouldn't do it again and handing the principal some money to "buy a wreath".
     Carol was astounded. "So I can see where your daughter gets her temper and sarcasm from."
     "Well they both have a point." Laura said before dragging Charlie and Neil after her.
                                * * * * *
     "Wait. You're being desantified?" Laura asked after Scott and Rose had explained the situation. "That can't happen! Become Santa is the best thing that ever happened to you and this family!"
     "Well there's more." Rose explained.
      She showed her dad, mom, stepdad, and little brother the ring that Bernard had given her. "Oh! Rose! He proposed?" Laura said, enveloping her daughter in a hug.
     "Congratulations, sis!" Charlie said, laughing and hugging her.
     "So when's the wedding?" Neil asked, taking his turn to hug her.
     Rose frowned. Leave it to Neil to ask the one question that would ruin the mood. "Well, if we can't get the Santa situation sorted out, there might not be."
      "What do you mean?" So Rose explained her situation, showing how her hair was back to its original shade, save for a few highlights, and her ears that were half pointy, half rounded.
      "If I'm human....we can't be together."
      "What are the two of you gonna do?" Laura asked. "We dated for three years before you got up the courage to propose to me."
      "That's a serious commitment issue, isn't it, Scott?"
      "Why yes it is, Sigmund." Scott rolled his eyes. "I was afraid I'd mess up. I'm even more afraid now."
      "Don't think like that, dad. You're a great dad!"
      "Dad, she's right!" Charlie said, knowing he was already on thin ice and could get in a lot of trouble but knowing also that he was speaking from the heart. "You can't just give up! There's never been a better Santa than you!"
     Scott smiled. "Well I appreciate that, sport, princess. But maybe it's for the best. If I spent more time with you, maybe you'd spend less time supporting the spray paint industry."
     "Don't do that to yourself, Scott." Laura said. "You have been a great dad, just like Rose and Charlie have said and being Santa has made you a better man. Besides, if you hadn't have become Santa, Rose wouldn't have been as happy as she is now."
     At that moment, Lucy walked through the door, effectively ending the conversation...for now.