A Firehouse Christmas Page #6

Maybe it's just time that

you try to just be yourself.

You can do this.

I know you can.

Merry Christmas.

May I join you?

Hey. Of course.

I want to thank you.

I need to apologize.

Parker can be quite

hard-headed sometimes...

I'm meeting him here

in five minutes.

He wants to talk.

Really?

Probably gonna give me

a restraining order

but at least I'll get

to see him.

I hope things work out

for you two.

Thank you.

Can I grab a beer?

Daddy?

Hey, sweetheart.

What're you doing up

in the chimney?

I can't really say.

Just don't look up here,

ok?

The falling dust is really bad.

He needs help.

I'll help him.

No, grandpa!

Just a few whacks

and he'll be loose.

Come on.

Open up.

This is stuck.

I'm calling 911.

Hello, my name is Sadie

and I need Jenny Jenkins

to come to my house.

Ok, what seems

to be the problem?

My daddy is stuck

in the chimney.

Stuck in the chimney?

Mmmhmm.

Let's get him out of there.

Thank you.

Mmmhmm.

Relationships are tricky.

Hey, Jenny.

Hey, Parker.

Dad.

I got this.

You stay with your dad.

You sure you don't have

to go?

No, I'm I'm off

the clock.

Can I get that beer, please?

Thank you.

Look, I talked to mom.

Just tell me one thing.

Why didn't you call?

Or come visit?

I waited every day so I could

hear your voice

or see your face again.

I was afraid of what you

might say.

Does that really matter?

Of course I was mad!

Of course I wanted to hate you.

But I can't.

I loved you, dad.

I missed you,

and all I wanted was to be

a part of your life.

I wanted to hear your voice,

even for one brief moment.

I'm sorry.

Parker, I am so sorry.

Um... mom told me

about the entire thing

I'm so sorry I didn't...

Parker, that's long done.

We don't need to rehash

all that.

I saw a photo of your family

on the internet.

They look great.

You're a grandpa.

Grandpa.

I like that.

I like that a lot, man.

It's good to see you.

I missed you, dad.

Open up!

Man.

Tom?

Jenny!

What are you doing?

Thank god you're here.

We had a date.

Yeah, I'm running just

a little late.

Holiday traffic and all,

you know.

Not funny.

What was wrong

with the door?

It was locked.

Hey, look.

I'm doing this for Sadie.

No.

No, you're not.

You're doing this for you,

and what you're doing I can

no longer be a part of.

I know, I'm stupid.

Look,

can we just get me out of

here and then talk about this?

Yeah. Yeah, sure.

Here.

Stretch a little further?

Come on.

Unstuck...

Stretch.

Almost.

Come on.

Just a bit further.

You can do it.

I know I can do it.

We got this.

You're right we got this.

Come on. Come on.

Tom.

No, don't pull me in!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Daddy! Jenny!

Yes!

I knew she'd save you.

Hi.

Jenny, do you wanna stay for

the first Christmas present?

We always open one

before bed.

Sadie, honey, can I talk

to your dad for a moment?

More secret meetings.

Hey.

I am so sorry about all this.

Tom.

Jenny...

You ruined everything.

Hey.

Tom.

I need to break up with you.

All this?

It's way more than I can handle.

No, Jenny, please. I...

No, the games, Tom.

You're still playing them.

I can no longer be a part of it.

It is over, ok?

You got that right.

Jenny...

Jenny.

Christmas Eve.

What is this?

Put.

That.

Down.

I will not allow my

granddaughter to play boy sports

when she has the natural

ability to be something great.

She will not play hockey

anymore!

You are unbelievable.

She is your granddaughter!

Yeah, who will follow in her

superstar mother's footsteps

but without the mistakes.

Like marrying you.

Look at you.

You were never

in Mary's league.

Sadie deserves

so much better.

Really?

Really?

Can any of us live up

to James Hamilton's

out-of-reach standards?

Stop!

You're always fighting

and having secret meetings!

I can hear you!

I wish I could just be

like Jenny

and break-up with all of you.

Sadie!

Sadie.

Tom, you caused this.

Get back down here!

James! Stop!

What did you say?

You're done controlling me.

You took Christmas away

from me

too many times

when I was a young kid

and you're not gonna

do this anymore.

If my daughter wants a tablet

or to play hockey,

she can.

You're not turning her into me.

A... a champion?

Do you even remember my eighth

grade Christmas?

You made me practice

at 7am and work all day.

I didn't even get to open

my Christmas gifts

until the next week.

All that pounding in my head

of winning and look at me now.

I'm still living in your house.

I'm practically broke and

the book that I wrote,

you cheated the sales.

And my daughter,

she hates me.

I'm a bitter woman,

and Sadie is not gonna

turn into that.

You made me proud.

I'm a trophy on your mantle.

A gold medal in a box.

You should have given me

a Polly Dolly instead

of those skates.

You're done controlling me.

I'm moving out tomorrow.

I'm going to start my life over.

I didn't know

you felt that way.

And those books,

they're for my customers.

You made it worse.

The New York Times knows

that it was you

and now they think

that I'm a cheat.

You're a winner, Mary.

I want you to always have

the best.

And I want you to be

a grandfather

and a father who

is supportive of us.

Not someone who's

controlling us or the situation.

Mom understood.

She was happy no matter the...

the medal or the trophy

that I won.

She was happy just to hold me.

I miss her.

I'm... so sorry, Mary.

Please... forgive me.

I love you.

I love you, too.

I'm really sorry about all this,

sweetheart.

It's ok.

Now that the chimney's fixed

Santa will have no problems

getting down.

That's right.

Here.

Thank you.

They're really amazing, dad.

I love you, honey.

I have something for you

and Jenny.

You do?

What?

Why is grandpa all alone?

Thank you, sweetie.

I love you, sweetheart.

I'm gonna go downstairs

and check on things, ok?

I need to say sorry to mom.

I didn't mean what I said.

Ok. Come on.

Mom, I'm sorry.

It's ok baby. Come here.

Where did you find this?

It wasn't easy.

You really love Jenny,

don't you?

Well, love is a two-way street

and I think we just

hit a dead end.

Come off it.

It's because of you.

Me?

You never stood up to me,

Tom.

Even when we were married

I pushed you around

and you let me.

This time... this time,

you pushed back.

And you got stuck in my

father's chimney doing it.

That firefighter,

she's lucky to have you.

You dropped something.

So if you love her,

then go get her.

One more thing.

What's that?

Sadie's rightfully

yours tonight.

And tomorrow morning.

But... why do we have

to spend it apart?

Why can't we all spend it

together?

We're all one family,

aren't we?

She's right.

We are still a family,

and I realize now that I made

a lot of mistakes in my life

and maybe I pushed

a little too hard.

Maybe?

Ok, ok.

So, I pushed too hard and

I forgot about the details.

I forgot about what Christmas

really meant.

Your mother's favourite time

of year.

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