He wanted to do it, he just wasn't sure he could. How many store Santas did this every day during the holidays" He'd thought it wouldn't be hard, but now that they'd arrived, he thought this just might be his most difficult role yet. "What if they ask me to make them better?"

"They won't." Vicki glanced away from both of them, her smile almost gone as she studied the grey building in front of them. "The most they'll ask for is for their parents not to be so sad." She shook her head, her smile returning with a faint trace of remembrance. "So, are we going to to this?"

"Sh*t.." Terasa mumbled softly and opened the door and slipped out, leaving them to talk. Yep she knew she was in trouble.

"Yeah, we don't want to disappoint them." He gave her hand a squeeze, more for himself than for her, to bolster his courage. He felt more jittery than he did on opening night at the Shanachie, but once he got into character, he'd be okay. He reached around to snag his beard out of the back seat. "You wanna let Rudy know I'm not going to fire her?"

Chuckling, Vicki leaned over to kiss him before he got the beard on. "If I have to," she sighed laughingly, opening up the door again and climbing out, glad she'd gone with the white tights and not the stockings for her Mrs Claus outfit. It was basically Santa, but with a skirt and no beard, for which Vicki would be eternally grateful. "Hey, blondie," she called, winking to her friend. "You are far too easy to tease, you know that?"

Terasa was already circling the car and heading for the hospital doors. Sorry Santa! You didn't have a choice! She paused briefly at the doors and gave Vicki a empty expression. Something that wasn't quite normal. Just before she went into the hospital. Had to check the bag in the lobby!

Frowning in surprise at the lack of response from her friend, Vicki paused, biting at her lower lip. What on Earth was wrong with them, she wondered vaguely. They were supposed to be enjoying this, not upsetting each other before even getting in there.

Jon put on the beard, glancing in the rearview mirror to make sure it was on right and secure and then climbed out of the car and made sure it was locked. He swung a quick glance around, not wanting any small children to see Santa getting out of a car instead of a sleigh. He arched a heavy white fake eyebrow at Mrs. Santa when he saw his elf disappear into the building. "Was it something I said?"

"I have no idea," Vicki murmured. "I think it might have been me." She wasn't stupid enough to suggest that she not go in, though; Jon would likely start obsessing about something that didn't exist, and it would probably hurt Tera's feelings. Instead, wiping the frown away, she offered Santa her arm. "Shall we?"

He smiled behind the beard and took her arm, promising to find out what was eating Terasa before the night was through. "Do you think Mr. and Mrs. Claus ever had children, or just lots of elves and reindeer?" he asked as he escorted her toward the door.

Startled by the question, Vicki found herself chuckling softly. "I never really thought about it," she admitted, falling into step with him as they approached the forbidding doors. "Maybe the elves are the Claus kids?"

"That's a lot of kids, Vic! Santa must be pretty virile."

"Well, it's a long time between Christmasses," she cackled wickedly, waggling her brows as she looked up at him. "They can't spend all that time wrapping pressies."

Inside they would find a pair of nurses ready to escort the two of them into one of the cubical lobbies where Tera had taken the time to set up quite a spectacle. There was a sleigh chair waiting for Santa with a big bag of boxes. The chair sat upon a fluffy red carpet with white trimming and a red carpet heading from the door to the carpet itself. There were banners of green and red, a Christmas tree with tons of globes and lights.

He pushed open the door, hoping they weren't expecting too many "Ho Ho Hos" while he was there. "Nothing much else to do while you're stuck in North Pole." He grinned back behind that beard and waited for her to step inside before following.

Blushing as an image of Santa getting naughty in the snow trotted across her mind, Vicki flashed Jon a smile that threatened retribution before schooling the expression into something a little more appropriate, stepping into the hospital. "I have no idea what it is Mrs Claus does, you know," she murmured to him, looking around for Tera.

Tera was no where in sight! The nurses guided them to the room then left them to get ready.

"She fattens Santa up and helps him work on his Ho." Blue eyes twinkled mischievously between all that white hair, those same eyes widening as they stepped into the room. He whistled in appreciation. "Wow, someone's gone all out."

"His Ho?" Vicki's jaw dropped as she laughed, rolling her eyes. "Santa needs to get his head out of the gutter before the kids arrive." Her own usual grin made a brief reappearance. "Shame he doesn't have time to get a pearl necklace to give Mrs Claus."

He arched a fluffy brow. "Does Mrs. Santa want one?" He'd been thinking more along the lines of sapphires and diamonds, not pearls.

"Come on now, a single line little ones." If Tera's voice echoing the halls didn't lead them to know..the multitude of little voices accompanying hers would. There was a bunch of little ones following Tera down the hall, a little boy at her side with his fingers curled tight around her palm.

"Could you see her in pearls?" Vicki chuckled, glancing toward the doorway as the sound of Rudolph leading the gullible youth of Rhy'Din toward them made itself known. "Showtime, Santa."

He blinked, a little startled by the multitude of little voices and slippered feet he heard shuffling along the hallway, Tera leading them all in a straight line like a mother hen. "Aren't you gonna tell me to break a leg?" he whispered back as he settled himself on Santa's chair.

She lead the youths down the carpet, making the line stop about half way to the chair. Pulling her hand free she gestured to them. "Okay! I need to have a quick word with Santa! " She turned and pranced herself to the chair, the tail on the dress wiggling left to right.

"Nope, I'm trying to remember the words to any Christmas song ever," Mrs Claus chuckled back, moving to kneel down at the edge of the white-trimmed red rug and trying not to look utterly terrified as the children came in.

Tera moved up to Santa's left and dipped at the waist to whisper to Santa's ear. "(w) Don't you worry you will do fine. Just remember..you are Santa and they are all really happy to see you. I've got the presents covered and the names. The first one is Michael." And she had a sneaky way to give him names after that. For now she bopped back and motioned Mrs. Claus to stand next to Santa. She moved to the bag so she could hand out boxes over to Mrs. Claus and she to Santa. Present line!

He was not really used to children, and felt a bit nervous about playing Santa, worrying they'd be disappointed and find him a fraud, but his instincts as an actor kicked in and suddenly, like a light switching on, he fell into character, a wide grin beneath those whiskers, blue eyes dancing merrily. He leaned his head to listen to Tera, nodding at her advice, before waving the first child in line on, the boy named Michael. "Hello, Michael! Come tell Santa what you'd like for Christmas this year!"

Unfortunately, Tera's good idea was just a few minutes too late to rescue Vicki from the children crowding in. With an ever so slightly hopeless look cast to Santa and Rudolph, Mrs Claus found herself face to face with a small boy hanging onto his drip stand and peering at her intently. "Are you really Mrs Santa?"

Poor, Poor Mrs. Claus. Tera watched Santa and the little boy, making sure that Vicki wasn't overrun while she toyed around the boxes in the big fuzzy bag.

Santa and Michael chatted amicably, and before long Jon was Ho Ho Hoing just like he was expected to. Though he had to appear cheery, his heart was saddened to see the line of kids who were stuck spending Christmas in the hospital.

While rather too quickly surrounded by small people either waiting to see Santa or not wanting to leave before he did, Vicki dived straight into Christmas with a vengeance in her own way, carefully censoring her holiday jokes to make them suitable for small ears as the line slowly wound into the room. Curled up on the floor with a few of the smaller ones cuddled close, the redhead eventually gave up on storytelling and went back to singing, surprised and touched when they joined in with her. All they needed was snow falling outside, and Tera would have successfully brought the North Pole to Rhy'Din.

Child after child, boys and girls alike, climbed onto Jon's lap and shared their utmost secrets and wishes, some so shy they'd whisper into his ear, some brash and loud, but each wish special in its own way. In return, he promised to do what he could to grant their wishes and handed them a gift, which often seemed inadequate in his eyes, but brought a smile to many a small child's face.

A box was presented to Jon almost right at his nose. Tera gave him a big bright smile in hopes to ease whatever his worries were. "Oh! Mrs. Claus! Don't forget the gingerbread cookies and candy canes you made!" Her eyes flicked flicked flickkeeddd a hint to the smaller bag hiding behind Santa's. And she did check ahead to make sure the kids could have them!

He took his hints from Terasa as to the boys and girls names, getting each one right, sometimes rewarded with a kiss from the girls and a giggle when his whiskers tickled. When he had a chance, he'd risk a look over at Mrs. Claus, touched by her gentleness, and imagine her with their own brood of children one day.

" ....many times, many ways ....Merry Christmas to you ..." While Vicki's voice wasn't the best, it was warm and enthusiastic enough to hold the attention of the little ones who were clinging to her, reminding her of how intimidating she had found Father Christmas as a child. Hearing Tera, she looked up from the floor, rolling her eyes at her friend. "Why, Rudolph, you told me the elves had eaten them all!" she answered, although her eyes were pointing out in amusement that had Tera mentioned goodies, Vicki wouldn't have spent the last hour singing and telling off-colour jokes. Rising to her feet with one little girl - Soraya - on her hip, she moved to pick up the bag, taking it back to the little gaggle of children before opening it up.

Jon smiled, touched by the boy's innocence. "Maybe they do, Marco. The doctors have even more magic than Santa. They made me better, and they'll make you better, too."

Exhausted even by this short little conversation, the boy relaxed back against his pillows, cuddling close as his sister stretched herself out next to him. Whether he believed Jon or not, just knowing that Santa came to see him in hospital was enough. "Happy Christmas ....Santa."

"Happy Christmas, Marco." Jon leaned in and brushed a fuzzy kiss against the boy's forehead. Drawing back, he smiled at Emily, knowing he didn't have to tell her to take care of her brother. She was already doing that, and he felt saddened, thinking about his broken relationship with his own sister. "Happy Christmas, Emily."

The children had almost identical smiles for him as they both settled, Marco falling asleep almost immediately. Discreetly, Vicki moved back out into the hallway, keeping her face deliberately turned toward the wall as she fought to keep the tears that stung her eyes from falling. It was heartbreaking how accepting some of these children were of their situation, even down to little Marco wanting his mother to have another child to replace him. She wasn't sure she could do much more of this.

Jon watched as the boy fell almost immediately to sleep and then turned to exit the room, glancing out the window to see light fluffy flakes of snow drifting from the sky. He looked for Vicki as he stepped out into the hallway, feeling on the verge of tears. He wasn't sure he could do much more of this either, but it was what he'd come for, to try and put a little light in their otherwise gloomy lives. "Vicki..." he whispered, as he reached for her, trying to comfort her, even as she comforted him. "I can't do this," he whispered in her ear.

Swallowing hard, Vicki drew in a deep breath, turning to hug Jon as the door closed quietly on the upsetting little scene they had left behind. "Yes, you can," she whispered back, ignoring the tickle of the false beard on her cheek. "You're doing so well. We can't give up now." She held on tightly, desperately needing Tera to come back and take their minds off what they'd just witnessed.

"OH COME ON GUYS!" Tera spluttered and laughed as she escaped a room and waved as she left a few of the bed ridden kids. She was carrying a huge red card that was..well..half the size of herself! It, along with the P.A was covered in hand prints. Really colorful paint.

Jon swiped the tears from his eyes before anyone else besides Vicki noticed, distracted by the shout from their jovial elf slash reindeer helper person when she called to them, laughing. He found himself chuckling a little through his tears at the sight of her covered in paint. "Good lord."

Grateful for Tera's boisterous return, Vicki let herself laugh at the sight of her friend bouncing through the hall. "My god, what have you been doing?" she grinned, her hand sliding into Jon's to pull him toward Tera. "Cian's going to have a fit when he sees you!"

"He can help me take a bath." She knew by those tears they had an emotional trip. There were a few of those in the hospital. "You know you are doing really good here, right' They may be sick but you bring hope and joy to them." Her eyes landed on Jon seriously then held out the card, opening it up. More little hand prints and kids trying to leave their name or marks. Smiley faces and little scribbles galore. "This is for you two."

"For us?" Jon asked, arching a white brow and looking from Terasa to the card. He pulled Vicki closer to take a better look at the card. "You two are amazing," he told them both as his eyes moved over the names. He couldn't have done this without them, at least, not quite so well.

"I'm just here for moral support," Vicki murmured, her eyes skating over the card as it had the desired effect. Her own tears retreated, softening into a wide smile at the sheer effort the kids had put into making a thank you card for Santa. "You should have something, too, Tera. You arranged all this."

"Yes, she should," he agreed and reached for Tera's hand, pulling her in for a group hug and a fond kiss against her forehead. "You're the best P.A. ever," he told her quietly, his jovial mood turning sentimental.

"Eh' Was just doing my job.." She smiled a bit and blinked when she was pulled in for a hug. "Aw shucks Boss. Didn't do it for you. Well not all of it." She glanced to Jon then to Vicki. "You two were the stars. I just set the stage. These kids are all lit up in a Christmas spirit because of you guys." She winked to the two of them.

"I beg to differ," Vicki smiled, squeezing both of them affectionately. "He's the star, you're the brains. I am, of course, the looks." Her eyes twinkled with cheeky humor as she glanced between Jon and Tera. "Come on, let's make some more smiles before we all go home and have a good cry."

Jon smiled at them both and drew back, feeling like there was nothing he couldn't do without their help. "Sounds like a plan, Mrs. Claus." And off he went down the hall to make sure each and every child got a visit from Santa Claus tonight.

((A huge thank you to Vicki and Tera's players for the above scene. Thanks for the fun! :grin:))