The Spirit of Christmas

[Ryanmo97]

The Spirit of Christmas
By Ryan T. Morris

Note: This story is a crossover between The Facts of Life and the made for TV movies Once upon a Christmas and Twice upon a Christmas. They star John Dye as Bill & Kathy Ireland as Kristin.

Once upon a Christmas, Mr. & Mrs. Claus lived happily at the North Pole with their two daughters Rudolfa and Kristin. But, all was not well, Santa, fearing that people had lost the Christmas spirit, was making plans to retire. Rudolfa, seeing her chance, hatched a plan to ruin Christmas forever, by turning Christmas Day into Christmas Fool’s Day. And she almost did, until Kristin saved the day, resurrecting Santa’s hope by getting a mortal family, the Morgan’s, to embrace the true spirit of Christmas. And along the way, she fell in love with this family, widowed dad, Bill, his children, Kyle and Brittany, and the kid’s Uncle Johnny. Thus, Kristin, sacrificed her own immortality and all memory of who she was to save Christmas and foil Rudolfa’s sinister plan.

The next year, a couple of weeks before Christmas, Bill proposed to Kristin, she said yes, but only if they could find out who she really was. While they all searched for Kristin’s true identity, Rudolfa was exacting her revenge by selling off The North Pole, piece by piece. Kyle and Brittany saw the commercial on TV that Rudolfa was running and deiced that few pieces of The North Pole would be the perfect Christmas present for Kristen. Among the items they received was a doll that Kristin got when she was small. They knew this because attached to one of the doll’s arms was a note that read: “From Daddy to Kristin: Those who believe are always rewarded with the truth.” They were convinced that Kristin was Santa’s daughter. So, they deiced to give the doll to Kristin as an early Christmas present. When she opened the box, and saw the doll, her memories flooded back to her and she remembered that she was Kristin Claus, Santa’s daughter, just in time to save Christmas again, and on Christmas Day, Kristin and Bill were married, and they lived happily ever after. But that was two years ago, and this is a new story…


In his office in New York City, Tad & Blair Warner were looking over some new advertising ideas for Warner Hotels. “Well, what do you think?” asked Bill Morgan, a medium build man with short brown hair.

“Bill, this is some of the best work I’ve seen I along time,” said Tad.

Bill smiled, “Thank you, Mr. Warner.”

“I agree,” said Blair, “This is a very impressive advertising campaign.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Warner.”

“This is a defiant step in the right direction for Warner Hotels. And, we’ll start to implement it at the start of the New Year,” said Tad.

“Plus,” said Blair, “We want to sign an exclusive five-year, 5 million dollar contract with you and your company.”

“Really?” asked Bill.

“Really,” said Blair, as she pulled the contract out of her briefcase.

Bill looked over the contract and signed and handed it back to Blair.

“Well, Bill,” said Blair, as she put the contract back in her briefcase, “this should be the start of a very profitable business relationship.”

“I hope so,” said Bill.

“By the way, Bill,” said Tad, “what are you and your family doing for Christmas?”

“Well, usually we spend Christmas at home. Then, we go to my in-laws on Christmas Day and stay until New Year’s with my wife’s family. Why do you ask?”

“Well,” said Blair, “we were wondering if you and your family would like to join us and our friends and family for Christmas at our home in Peekskill.”

“I don’t know,” said Bill, “I mean I don’t mean to intrude on a family Christmas.”

“Nonsense,” said Tad, “you wouldn’t be intruding. We’d love to meet your family.”

“Well, I’d have to talk to Kristin.”

“Naturally,” said Blair, “you go back to your hotel room, rest, relax, call your wife, and let us know tomorrow. OK?

“OK,” said Bill, as he shook Tad and Blair’s hands.


A short time later in Portland, Oregon, the rest of the Morgan family was busy decorating the Christmas tree. In charge of this effort, was of course Kristin Morgan, a very beautiful brunette with long flowing hair, helping her were her step-children Kyle and Brittany, and the kids’ Uncle Johnny, who was the brother of Kyle and Brittany’s birth mother.

“Here, Mom,” said Brittany, as she took a handcrafted Christmas angel out of a box.

“Thank you, Brittany,” said Kristen, as she took the angel from Brittany, and placed it on the top of the tree, “There. What do you think?”
“It looks great,” said Kyle.

“It’s perfect,” said Brittany.

“Yeah,” said Uncle Johnny, “you’ve really out done yourself, this year, Kristin.”

“Thank you,” said Kristen, as she climbed down the ladder, just then the phone rang. She walked over to it and picked it up and said, “Hello?”

“Hi, honey,” said Bill.

“Hi, sweetheart,” said Kristen, “How did your meeting go?”

“Better than I could have hoped, they offered me a five year, five million dollar contract.”

“Bill, that’s wonderful!”

“Yeah, And there is something else.”

“What’s that?”

“They invited us all to there home in Peekskill for Christmas.”

“Really, what did you say?”

“I said, I had to talk to you first. They really want to meet you and the kids.”

“Well, it’s fine with me. I’d like to meet them too. I’ll have to ask the kids and get their thoughts.”

“OK.”

Kristen put her hand over the receiver, “Kids…” Kyle and Brittany looked at their step-mother, “Mr. & Mrs. Warner have invited us to spend Christmas with them at their home in Peekskill. What do you think?”

They looked at each other, and Brittany said, “Will we still go to Grandpa and Grandma Claus’s for Christmas Day and New Year’s?”

“Of course,” said Kristin, “Mom and Dad love having you kids around.”

“Then, we’re OK with it,” said Kyle.

Kristin uncovered the receiver and said, “The kids say yes.”

“Great,” said Bill, “I’ll give them a call in the morning and let them know that we accept their invitation.”

“OK,” said Kristin, “When are you coming home?”

Bill smiled a little, “I have one more meeting with the Warners in the morning and then I’m on a plane home.”

“Good. I really miss you.”

“I miss you too,” Bill kissed in the phone, “I’ll see you tomorrow. Good bye.”

Kristin kissed back, “Good bye.” Kristen then hung up the phone.

While all of this was going on, up at the North Pole, everyone was hard at work getting ready for Christmas. Santa was at his desk going over the present list when some sparkles of magical dust came in through the key hole. At first, only a few sparkles were very noticeable. They swirled around in the air and grew in number quickly. Suddenly, they began to form the shape of what appeared to be a human. From the feet up, the sparkles solidified and turned to flesh, forming a living and breathing person. Santa looked and smiled, it was Christina, The Spirit of Christmas. Santa stood up and walked over to her and said, “Christina? What a pleasant surprise. What brings you here?”

“It’s close to the time,” said Christina.

“What time is that?” asked Santa.

“My time as The Spirit of Christmas is all most threw.”

“Really? Has it been 250 years? My, my, my. I suppose that you’ve all ready picked your replacement from the mortals of the world.”

“That’s why I’m here, Santa. I have, per tradition, 16 years before the end of my reign, I picked a mortal baby girl to be my replacement.”

“Then, what’s the problem?”

“My replacement has lost the Christmas spirit. She no longer cares about Christmas at all.”

“Oh my.”

“When she was 12 years old, her best friend and her friend’s family were killed in a terrible car crash on Christmas Eve, going home from my replacement’s 12th birthday party. Ever since that, my replacement has hated this time of the year.”

“That is very tragic. But, what can I do to help?”

“Someone needs to go to her and show her the way.”

“There is only one person I can spare. Rudolfa.”

“Do you think you can trust her?”

“I’m not sure. But, we have to try. If your replacement doesn’t regain the Christmas spirit by midnight on Christmas Eve, It could be the end of Christmas as we know it.”

“I know.”

“I’ll send her as soon as possible, what’s your replacement’s name?”

“Christina Eve Warner, daughter of Tad and Blair Warner of Peekskill, New York.”

“All right, I’ll let Rudolfa, know.”

The Spirit of Christmas smiled, “Thank you Santa,” she then gave Santa a quick hug, “I shall see you soon.” and with that she de-materialized and vanished. When she was gone, Santa headed off to the reindeer barn.

[Ryanmo97]

Rudolfa, Santa’s oldest daughter, was in the reindeer barn shoveling reindeer droppings. Not because she wanted to, it was her punishment for selling off the North Pole, piece by piece. As she shoveled she talked to herself, “I hate this. I can’t believe I’m stuck here cleaning out the barn. And why? Just because I tried to make others happy. Dad does it every Christmas. Sure I tried to sell the North Pole, brick by brick, piece by piece and turn it into a high rise hotel and casino, with timeshare condos. I mean is that so wrong?” Just then Santa came in, Rudolfa, looked up and said, “Oh, hi Dad.”

“Rudolfa, I’m releasing you from your punishment,” said Santa.

“Really?”

“Yes, I have a very important job for you. Get cleaned up and meet me in my office in 10 minutes.”

Rudolfa smiled, “OK.” Santa turned and left the barn. Then, Rudolfa continued to talk to herself, “A very important job? Well, it looks like good ‘ol Dad has finally come around.”

A short time later, Santa was at his desk when Rudolfa walked in and said, “OK, Dad, what’s this big job you have for me.”

“Have a seat,” said Santa. Rudolfa sat down in the chair in front of Santa’s desk. “Rudolfa, As you know, every 250 years a new Spirit of Christmas is chosen among the mortal girls of the world.

“Yes, but what does that have to do with me?”

“It’s close to the time of the transfer of power, and the girl chosen by the current Spirit of Christmas has no Christmas spirit. Rudolfa, it is going to be your job to revive the Christmas spirit in her, before Midnight on Christmas Eve.”

“Me? Why me?”

“I can’t spare anybody else.”

“But, what about Kristin? This would be a perfect job for her.”

“I can’t ask Kristin to leave her family at Christmas. No, it has to be you.”

“Oh, OK. So, what’s her name?”

“Her name is Christina Eve Warner. She lives in Peekskill, New York, with her mother, father and her twin sister, Joanna Marie. Here is her picture…” Santa handed her a picture of Christina, she had blond hair and looked a little like her mother.

“OK, Dad, I’ll start to work.”

“Good Luck.”

Rudolfa left Santa’s office and started walking down the hall, then a smile crossed her face. “This could be the break I’ve been looking for.” Rudolfa walked outside to one of the buildings, looked up, and threw a snowball at the window and when there was no response, she screamed, “Wahoo?! Are you in there?”

Just then one of the windows opened and an elf looked down at the street below, “What do you want, Rudolfa?”

“Wahoo, get down here. We’ve got work to do.”

“Oh no, Rudolfa, not this time. You caused to much trouble in the past for me.”

“I’ll make it worth your while.”

“Oh, all right.”

Soon, Rudolfa and Wahoo were walking in Rudolfa‘s room, “Wahoo, this is the most perfect plan. And, Dad just handed it to me on a silver platter. We go to Peekskill and just lay low.”

“But, won’t we get in trouble for not helping Christina?”

“No, the Spirit of Christmas and Dad will be to busy with other things to keep track of us,” Rudolfa sat down at her desk and turned on her computer, soon she was on the Internet and logged on to santasmells.com, a website she created to convince Santa that nobody cared about him anymore. She started looking through the membership listings, “Ah, ha, I knew that name sounded familiar. Look, Wahoo, she is has been a member for the past 3 years. And, come to think of it, I’ve chatted with her a few times. This is going to be easier than I thought.”

So, Rudolfa and Wahoo headed to Peekskill, she made reservations for them at The Little Inn of Peekskill. And for the next few days, they went skiing, shopping, and Rudolfa chatted with Christina over the Internet, Rudolfa was delighted to find out that she was not looking forward to the big Christmas get-together that her mother had planed.

Soon, it was the 20th of December, and the whole Eastland family had gathered at Tad & Blair’s home. There was Tootie, Robert, Tisha, Natalie, Harper, Jo, Rick, Jamie, & of course, Mrs. Garrett. And they were all helping, Blair, Tad, and Joanna decorate the Christmas tree. They were laughing, talking and drinking hot cocoa. Christina was sitting on the couch reading a book, she looked up from her book, at the group and rolled her eyes, then she continued to read. Just then the doorbell rang, “I’ll get it,” said Blair. “It’s probably the Morgan’s.” She walked to the door and opened it and sure enough it was the Morgan’s.

“Hi,” said Bill, “Sorry, we’re late. Our fight was delayed.”

“That’s OK, Bill,” said Blair, “Come in, Come in,” Blair stepped aside to let her guests in. Once they were all in, she said, “Here, let me take your jackets.”

“Thank you,” said Kristin.

“Blair,” said Bill, “I want you to meet my family. This is my wife, Kristin, my kids, Kyle and Brittany, & the kids’ Uncle Johnny.”

“It’s nice to meet you all,” said Blair.

“Thank you for inviting us, Mrs. Warner,” said Kristin, “I hope we’re not putting you out.”

“Of course not,” said Blair, “and please call me, Blair.”

“OK,” said Kristin.

“Come on inside and meet everyone.”

Blair led them to the living room and introduced them to everyone, and soon they were helping the others decorate the tree. After the tree was done, everyone gathered around the piano, Jo and Rick played and everyone sang, but not Christina, when the singing started she went up to her room. Kristin saw Christina leave and it concerned her.

Each of the couples had their own room, Christina slept in her own room, and the rest of the kids all slept in the den. Kristin laid in bed thinking about Christina and couldn’t get to sleep, so she carefully got out of bed, put on her robe and went down to the kitchen to make herself some hot cocoa. She was a little surprised to see Blair all ready their making some, “Hi,” said Blair.

“Hi,” said Kristin.

“Would you like some cocoa?”

“Yes, thank you,” said Kristin, as she sat down on a barstool. Blair poured her some cocoa. “Mmmm, I would like to thank you for inviting us, Blair. We are having such a good time.”

“Your welcome.”

“How long have you known your friends?”

“It’s been almost 25 years.”

“I can tell. The way you four act is more like sisters then friends.”

Blair smiled and took a sip of cocoa, “Yeah, we’ve been thorough a lot together.”

“I hope you don’t mind me asking. But, is there something wrong with Christina?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” Kristin took a sip of cocoa, “while we where all trimming the tree, Christina just sat on the couch, and when we started singing she left.”

“This isn’t her favorite time of year… You see when she was 12, we had a big birthday/ Christmas party for Christina and her sister, since their birthday is Christmas eve. When the party was over Christina’s best friend, Allison, was picked up by her parents and they headed to Allison’s grandmother’s house for Christmas. They where involved in a horrible car crash and where all killed. Ever since then, she hasn’t had any Christmas spirit. That’s why did all this, to help her try to regain at least a little Christmas spirit. But, it doesn’t seem to be working.”

“Oh, I don’t know, Blair, there is still hope, after all there is still 5 days until Christmas.”

“Do you think you can help? Bill told us that you’re an expert on Christmas.”

“Well, I’ll give it a try…”

[Shelley]

I like it.

[james_baby87]

Great!

[Ryanmo97]

12 new stories have been added to the fan-fiction site and I'll add more to this story ASAP

[Rebel Queen 1980]

Great story Ryan!,Keep it up!