Chapter 6 - December 20th They know that Santa’s on his way He’s loading lots of toys and goodies On his sleigh And every mother's child Is gonna spy To see if reindeer really know how to fly... For the last couple of days everything had come to a stop. After the meeting with Debbie a few days ago, Brian had brought Justin home and gone straight into bed. The thoughts of Justin were still apparent in his head, but somehow, after a few days, Brian had begun to retreat into himself. He never talked about the day at the tree lot again, and never mentioned the blond. Gus had tried talking to Brian, but his dad just wouldn't listen. He knew his father was hurt by the thoughtless words said by both Debbie and Michael. Even though he was excited to meet them, in the beginning, it had gone downhill fast. His grandma and his uncle had said some really mean things to his dad. He just hoped that his dad hadn't forgotten that Justin was coming today. He didn't want the blond to see his dad like this. Gus looked back from the bedroom to the living room and sighed. The Christmas tree they had bought still wasn't decorated, but that would soon When Brian had sunk into his sort of depression, Gus had called Justin and asked him if he would help him change. to decorate the tree, because he honestly didn't think his father would come out of his funk anytime soon. He'd tried everything, but his dad just didn't seem to care, and well, it seemed that Justin really was the only solution now. Gus had even talked to the reindeer/fairies about what to do with his dad, but they too only shrugged their shoulders, because this was something even they couldn't deal with. Brian had to sort his problems out by himself. The doorbell finally pulled Gus out of his thoughts. With a last meaningful glance at his father, Gus turned around and went over to the door to open it. This could only be Justin. "Hey Justin!" Gus said and hugged him tightly. "Hey there, Gus," Justin answered and kissed Gus ' forehead. "I take it your father's still depressed?" The little, brown haired boy just cocked his eyebrow, like his father often did, and sighed. "That's all the answer I need," Justin said and went over to the bed, only to see Brian with his head buried under a pillow. "Brian?" He asked quietly, so as not to frighten the man. Justin only heard Brian growling as he put his head further under the pillow and rolled "Okay, so I take it you don't want to talk right now around a little bit more into the middle of his bed. ," Justin mumbled and turned around again, surprised that Gus was standing directly behind him. "Jesus, you scared the hell out of me !" he said, surprised, and grabbed to his chest. "I'm sorry . I just wanted to let you know that I put the ornaments on the dining table, and that I don't think dad will get out of his funk anytime soon," Gus said and pointed to the dining table. Justin just nodded his head and went over to it. "What about we send the three of them to the North Pole?" Blitzen asked her two men, who were sitting beside her on Brian's other pillow. "You're kidding, aren't you, honey? Santa wouldn't be amused if humans visited the village," Donner said and turned to his wife. Rudolph just rolled his eyes, his father really should listen more closely when his mother and Mrs. Claus were talking. "In fact , dad, Santa and Mrs. Claus completely agree with mom. Mom talked it over with them a few days after Mr. Kinney went into his Christmas depression, and they all agreed that it was time to show Brian that there's something to believe in," Rudolph told his father, who now looked at him, surprised. "How come I'm always missing these things?" he asked and exchanged looks with his wife and son. "Because you never listen , dear," Blitzen answered and flew away to the Christmas tree, to add a little magic to it, even if the Kinney-Taylor clan wouldn't really see it much. She sighed deeply, she hated to do this to them, but as soon as they finished the decorating, they'd have to fall asleep. When Gus noticed Blitzen sitting on top of the Christmas tree , he looked at her with an confused expression. Somehow the little boy knew that something wasn't right, and he looked over to Justin, as if to ask him for help, but when he saw that Justin couldn't see the little fairy either, he just shook his head and sighed. Justin was still trying to get the ornaments to stay on the tree, not noticing that Brian was standing in the bedroom door with a shocked expression and slightly pale. "There... there's a fucking fairy on top of the tree!" he shouted and looked at Justin who looked at him confused and Gus who looked at him amused. "Watch your language around Blitzen, would you?" Gus asked and snickered. Blitzen just smiled and winked at Gus. "It's okay , Gus, I've heard worse," she said and put the star on top were she had sat just before. Justin still couldn't see Blitzen, and was confused about Gus and Brian's behaviour, but suddenly a small figure with a shiny bright nose was flying in front of his face, and with a shriek Justin jumped backwards and fell flat on his backside. "Holy..." Justin mumbled and stopped his curse when he remembered that Gus was still around. "We're really sorry to do this to you, but there's no other way to get you to believe in Santa again ," Blitzen said and looked from Brian to Justin, who still lay on the ground, afraid to move. "Both of you have lost the ability to believe , after the accident at the tree lot, and it's on us to change that, because we weren't able to prevent you from it." With that said, Blitzen looked over to Donner and Rudolph and, like after a blizzard, the whole loft was covered in thick snow. Gus, Brian and Justin lay on it, fast asleep. "Okay, how do we get the three of them to the North Pole now?" Donner asked and Blitzen just pointed to the window, where Mrs. Claus was waiting in Santa's sleigh.