Winter Dream (Bernard the Elf x Reader)

Chapter 31- A Bad Feeling

I smiled to myself as I heard Carol singing Jingle Bells to her baby bump. I sat down beside her on the couch and handed her a mug of warm apple cider. "Thank you, (yn)." Carol gratefully spoke.

"I'm happy to help!" I smiled in reply. I had decided to spend the afternoon at my Dad's house with Carol to keep her company while Dad worked, and I was glad I had done so; I always enjoyed spending time with my stepmom.

As Dad tended to the fire in the massive fireplace shaped like Santa's face in the living room, Carol continued singing. Suddenly, she stopped singing and let out a small laugh. She placed my hand against her belly and sang a couple of notes, and I felt a little kick in response. Carol and I giggled. "Scott! Scott, come here!" She exclaimed. "Come here for a second!"

Dad looked up from the naughty and nice list with a wide grin. He stood up but continued scanning names on the list, despite Carol's calls. I frowned. I could tell he desperately was trying to get his work done, while also being there for his wife. "Okay." He finally spoke, walking away from his desk and over to us.

As her husband sat on the other side of her, she took his hand and positioned it against her baby bump. "Ready? Wait for the kick. Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way~" She sang.

Dad brightly smiled when he felt the small kick. "He's a genius!"

"'He?'" I skeptically asked. "I think you mean, 'she.'"

"What makes you so sure of that?" Dad chuckled.

I shrugged. "I want a little sister."

"Okay then...she's brilliant like her mother," He corrected. "With rhythm like her dad, and spunk like her sister."

"Yes, but not amazing timing." Carol sighed. "I wish that the baby had come this afternoon, or last week like we thought. I'm going crazy. I mean, I'm really going crazy." She frantically nodded her head.

"You just need something to take your mind off things." I gently spoke.

Dad smiled as a jolly twinkle filled his eyes. "(Yn)'s right." He stood up and headed to the door.

"No, no, Scott." Carol quickly exclaimed. "No more gifts. You already gave me a birthstone necklace, the oven mitts, the cheese wheel..."

"This is not for you." He chuckled. "This is for the baby. I'll be back in a jiff." And with that, he left the room.

Moments later, Carol and I heard a sound coming from the roof. I laughed a bit and rolled my eyes at the all-too-familiar scenario.

"Ho ho! Ho! Ho!" Dad exclaimed, coming down the chimney. The Santa head fireplace's mouth widened, and Dad stepped back into the living room, holding his sack. Carol giggled a bit as Dad said: "That never gets old. Okay, now what do we have in a bag for a baby?" He reached inside the sack and pulled out a smaller red bag. "Well, oddly enough, we have a baby bag. And inside that baby bag, let's see what it is...we have..." Dad pulled out a small chain.

"Oh..." Carol stared at it, a bit of disappointment showing on her face. I could understand why; a small chain was definitely not a good gift to give a newborn. Suddenly, Dad shook it a bit, and a baby mobile magically appeared off of the chain. "Oh, Scott! Oh, honey, it's beautiful! The baby's gonna love it." Carol happily exclaimed joy flooding onto her face.

"Yeah. It spins around like this." Dad spoke, admiring his work.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and Dad quickly shook the chain on the mobile to magically make it disappear. "Oh. Later. Come on in!" He called.

The door to the living room opened, and Carol's doctor, Dr. Hismus, an elf with very distinguishable red hair, entered the room. "Dr. Hismus, I'm glad you could come," Carol said with a sigh of relief.