Disclaimer: Judging by what you've read so far, does it sound like I own the Santa Clause charas? I mean, come on! No, I dun't own the Santa Clause. Either of them. Are you happy now, Disney? But I DO own April, Sarah, and Maigri, so just back off!

A/N: Okay, this is a transition chapter. In other words, I don't have anything planned for this one, so I'm making it all up as I go along. I suspect it might get a bit fluffy, so be warned! I've never written romance before, and heck, I've never even been in a steady relationship with anyone before, so um yeah...But I've read enough romance fics to be able to fake it pretty convencingly, I hope.

Chapter 3: Uncharted Waters

"You seem a bit distracted today, Bernard. Is anything wrong?" Judy handed him a silver cup, filled practically to the top with her special blend cocoa. Hot but not scalding, just the way he liked it.

He took it and stared at the rising steam, his eyes glazing over. "There's a lot wrong, Judy. Where should I start?" She opened her mouth to suggest something, but he interrupted her. "I've been having bad dreams lately."

She leaned forward, her interest perking. "Really? What sort of dreams?"

He responded in a hollow tone, "Apocaliptic ones. Nightmares. I don't get nightmares...Usually...And when I do, they're nothing like these. I feel like things are about to change for the worst, and there's nothing I can do to stop it."

"Bad dreams are normally triggered by a radical change in one's life. Anything happen to you that would make you upset or unhappy or unusually stressed?"

He snorted and took a gulp of the cocoa. "In answer to all three, I have one but word: April."

"What on Earth do you do to keep from going insane, locked up all day like this?" April sifted in the chair from which she had been commanded not to move. She simply itched for something to keep her mind occupied.

Sarah folded her hands on the table and sighed heavily. "Nothing, really. I've learned how to be patient with Bernard's long absences. He really likes his job."

"How long have you been his slave, Sarah? If you don't mind me asking."

Sarah stared up at the ceiling, trying to remember the exact date. She'd stopped keeping track a while ago. "Well, I guess about three hundred years now, but I'm not entirely sure about that."

April groaned and banged her head against the table several times. "No, no, no! I'm going to be stuck serving that jerk for the rest of eternity!"

"Bernard isn't nearly as bad as you make him out to be."

April shot the girl a death-glare. "Easy for you to say, he treats you like an old buddy. He has something against me. I would prefer to just make friends with him, but no! What'd he do? Snapped this Enforcer thing on my wrist and made me his slave!"

Sarah pointed to her own wrist where the little red light blinked pointedly. "But you're right, he does seem to treat you differently. If you want, I could talk to him about it."

"No. Thanks." She ran a hand threw her curly strawberry blond hair nervously and pounded on the table. "I just need something to do! Anything, I don't care what it is!"

"You could clean...I haven't scrubbed the tile in the bathroom for at least a week."

April made a face, but concented. "Lead the way, girlfriend. I said I'd do anything, and I meant it."

Bernard drained the last of his cocoa and stared at the bottom of the cup like more would magically appear there. "I've only had her for a month, and she's already making me miserable. It's always, 'I wanna go home' or 'that is so unfair, why does SHE get to go out?' and stuff like that. A-and she fidgets."

Judy raised an eyebrow. "Fidgets?"

He waved his arms, eyes flashing with pent-up frustration. "With everything! I swear, that girl has way too much energy. Why couldn't she be calm, laid back, and (no offense but) dense like Sarah? April thinks too much about everything. Asks way too many questions."

Judy smiled, more to herself than to Bernard. "She reminds me of you, from your description."

"What? You're crazy!"

"She's loud, opinionated, emotional...Likes to keep busy...Is probably as head-strong and as passionate about things as you are...I think if you would stop getting at each other's throats you'd find yourself a really good friend. Maybe even more than a-"

He smacked the countertop, making her jump. "Just stop right there, Judy. I know what you're thinking, and you're wrong. I could never like that girl. She's too...Disagreeable!" He angerly threw her some change for the drink and spat bitterly, "Besides, she's human."

He stormed out, mind clouded in emotional distress.

She smiled to herself again and collected her money. "Oh, but I saw that look in your eyes, Bernard. I think you're already falling in love with her. And if what I suspect is right, I bet she's falling for you too."

Curtis entered the café, scratching his forehead. "What was Bernard so upset about? He practically flattened me, and didn't even appologize."

"I can't tell you that, Curtis. Customer confedintiality, I'm afraid."

"Oh, come on! Just a hint?"

She blushed. Always was a sucker for his puppy face. "Let's just say, he's encountering something new that's making him extremely uncomfortable."

He shook his head, disappointed. "Okay, whatever. I want a-"

"Gotta love that pine scent, don't ya?" Sarah leaned against the doorframe and watched April attack the floor with incredible vigor.

April grunted. "Everything around here smells like pine...Or cinnamon...Or nutmeg...Or pumpkin...Or chocolate, but I'll never get tired of chocolate. I mean, even his shampoo smells like gingerbread cookies, I swear! Although, I think I kinda like the smell of that stuff..."

The timer buzzed in the kitchen. "Hey, I'm gonna check the turkey in the oven. Are you going to be okay without me?"

"Yeah, I think I'll live."

Sarah scuddled off, leaving April alone with the porcelin tiles that weren't really dirty. She sighed and looked longingly at the clawfoot bathtub. It would be so nice to steal away sometime and take a nice steamy bubble bath...She resumed her activity, and became so absorbed in it that she didn't even sense the other presence in the room until it spoke from right behind her.

"Enjoying yourself?"

She jumped and came very close to tipping over the bucket of soapy water. "DON'T DO THAT! You practically scared the crap out of me!"

Bernard smiled curtly. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm cleaning, what's it look like?"

He crossed his arms impatiently. "Do those tiles look like they need to be cleaned?"

She looked around at her reflection in the floor and frowned. "I guess not."

He snapped his fingers, delivering an annoying but not painful shock to her arm. "Somebody moved, after I distinctly told her not to."

She took off her rubber gloves and threw them on the ground. "Oh, come off of it, Bernard. You can't expect me to sit there and do absolutely nothing all freakin' day."

"Says who? Last time I checked, I was your master and you were my slave. I can make you do whatever I want." He grabbed her arms and yanked her roughly to her feet, while subconsciously taking a certain amount of care not to hurt her. (After all, according to the Handbook, if he did, he'd hafta free her. Or so he'd like to tell himself.)

She looked him square in the eye and declaired boldly, "I'm not afraid of you."

He lowered his voice and shook her slightly with every word, "Oh, but you will be, April. I'll break you yet, and when I do it will be very sweet indeed."

She didn't back down, but didn't say another word to enrage him further. She looked into his eyes for so long she realized for the first time that they were a deep chocolate brown. Funny, she'd been thinking he had cold, black eyes, but now they seemed almost warm. Then again, that was problably the fire of his hatred making them that way, but suddenly she didn't even feel angry at him anymore. All the negative emotions drained away, leaving her tranquil in his arms. They were so close she could feel his breath on her face and on her neck and...

"Why are you looking at me that way?" He loosened his grip on her, his stomach tightening into a knot at the serenity softening her features.

She replied in a thick whisper, "I told you I'm not afraid of you. I meant it."

They stared at each other for another solid minute, too lost in each other's eyes to speak or even move.

"Dinner's ready!" The sound of Sarah's voice barking at them from the kitchen table made them both snap out of it with a jolt. He hastily let go of her and they wondered out dazed and tried to act as though nothing had happened. But Bernard's racing pulse led him to wonder with a certain amount of dread if maybe Judy had been right after all.

That night, he had another nightmare.

He tossed and turned as the images flashed by, watching the scenes play out in fast motion and not being able to do anything to stop the terror. He groaned and sat up with a gasp, suddenly wide awake. The memory of the dream evaporated from his mind immediately, conveniently leaving the panic behind. He looked around, and locked eyes with April. She sat in the chair next to his bed, staring at him with wide, concerned eyes.

He swallowed hard, and attempted clear his reeling mind. "What are you doing in here?"

Her voice came out small and choked, "Y-you called my name...I figured..."

He ran his shaking hands through his hair and took some deep breaths. "Okay, um...Uh, get me a glass of water."

"But you already have a-"

He thrust the full glass into her hands and nodded forcefully. "A FRESH glass, if you would."

She went to the bathroom and returned with some more. He gulped down about half the glass and absent-mindedly uttered, "Thanks, dear."

Thinking he was being sarcastic, she answered equally sarcastically, "You're welcome, honey."

He raised his eyebrows at her. "What did you just say?"

"I said 'You're welcome, honey'. Because you called me 'dear'."

"I...Did?" The color drained from his face. Good thing the room was still dark. Boy, how out of character was that? There was definately something wrong going on with him. Strange dreams, strange...Pet names...Ugh...

"Ye-ah." She rolled her eyes. "Now, if all you wanted was a fresh glass of water, then I'm going back to sleep."

He grabbed her arm. "This never happened, okay? It was all a dream, nothing more."

"Whatever." She slipped her hand out of his and returned to her bunk bed next door. Needless to say, she couldn't sleep. That's why she'd been in there staring at him in the first place, but now...

Both couldn't help but ask themselves one question:

What the holiday was that?