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COLD CHICAGO WIND BLOWS while Santa screams on the reins.Not for long though. "Alright, Teddy, stand up!" Santa grips the reins, passing them to Teddy in an instant. "Take em!" "What?" "Come on!" Teddy gulps, keeping himself focused. Not so deep inside, he's a nervous wreck. "Alright, you gotta hold them. Now we're gonna see what you're made of!" Kate glares doubtfully, squeezing Ziggy's hand. Just to make sure she isn't going to fall of the sleigh again. "Now, just think about where you wanna go...and go!" Teddy panics. His hands shaking profusely. "Oh, no, no, no, no! Santa, I can't do this!" Teddy turns back to see Santa already with the girls, ready for their plan to go forward. "Eh, some things we gotta figure out on our own, Teddy. You can do it." Teddy clutches the reins, struggling to keep the reindeer controlled. As Santa explains Kate's job, Ziggy worries for Teddy. He looks distressed trying to keep control; he's not very good under pressure. "Teddy! Teddy!" He turns back to meet Ziggy's gaze, gulping nervously. Ziggy gives two hard thumbs up, showing her white, toothy smile. "I believe in you!" She laughs, leaning back down to Santa and Kate's level. Teddy's heart warms as his a smile creeks from his worried expression. The boy's chapped lips stung, making it hard to smile too wide. At this moment, he doesn't care; not after that. The reindeer swiftly curl across a glowing building, catching Teddy's attention. He struggles to figure out what to do. He pants nervously. "Ah! Don't be afraid! Don't be afraid. If there's one thing reindeer can smell, it's fear!" Oh, great. Teddy thought. "Santa, help him!" Kate frets. The three loose their balance, the reindeer fly out of control, going anywhere in the night sky they pleased, Kate yelps, falling to her knees. Ziggy clenches onto Santa with him leaning on the divide between the front and back of the sleigh. "I can't control them! Santa, this isn't funny!" Teddy yowls, wrestling with the reins. "Eight reindeer! How tough can it be?" Santa scoffs trying not to be pulled down by Ziggy. Things are not looking good with the sleigh coming straight towards a large billboard with a big, fat Santa holding a coke. "Teddy!" Ziggy shrieks, warning him of the sign they are about to head through if Teddy doesn't move. The sleigh breaks straight through the billboard, putting a gaping hole into Santa's fat belly on the now broken board. Santa laughs in triumph over the children's screams. "Take that, fat man!" Santa continues laughing with Ziggy about to the take the reins for him. "Santa!" Ziggy screams, shaking him. She doesn't want to doubt him but they don't have much time left. The reindeers cut closer towards the ground, hovering them over a train track. Rails screech, leaving the kids fretting. Not just for Christmas, but now for their lives. "They won't go up! What do I need to do?" Teddy shouts over the screeching. A train speeds towards them; blaring it's horn, blinding Ziggy's eyes. "You've always just had to do one thing, Teddy," Santa says. The train coming closer seemingly louder and brighter. "Believe..." "But I do believe in you!" "No, no! I'm not talking about me. You have to believe in yourself. The way your mother believes in you. And your sister, and Ziggy. The way your father believed in you." The horn grows louder, now seeing every detail on the front of the train. Ziggy looks to Teddy, his eyes red now matching his glowing nose, his hazel grey eyes glowing in realization. All he has to do is believe the way she and everyone else around him does. It's the greatest gift she can give to Teddy; and it might just save their lives. "You are a Pierce, Teddy! And a Pierce..." "ALWAYS SEES IT THROUGH!" Ziggy screams at the top of her lungs with joy, hugging Santa and Kate tight. They shoot up into the starry sky, the wind piercing their faces in the best way possible. Teddy's tears wipe away hearing Ziggy's cheers. "On, Dasher! On, Dancer! On, Prancer! On, Vixen! On, Comet! On, Cupid! On, Donner! On, Blitzen!" Teddy echoes into the night. Ziggy gasps. He did it! They all did. Teddy just needed that one last push. Something Ziggy will always be grateful for that Santa did. She would've traded all her Christmas presents just so Teddy could hear that sooner; but that time is now, and she's embracing it all with the warmest of hugs. Like she's giving Kate and Santa. Teddy hears a lot of people laugh. Every day. But Ziggy's laugh is something he wouldn't trade for the world. It's only a visceral reaction for him to smile when he hears it.
