Disclaimer: All characters belong to HiT Entertainment.

Chapter 1

It was one of those mornings when all I wanted to do was sleep in. It had snowed overnight, at last, and my bed was the prefect temperature, so the last thing I wanted to do was get up to go to work – especially considering it was Christmas Eve. But, knowing that I had no other choice, I reluctantly got up, showered, dressed into my uniform, and went downstairs to prepare a nice, hot breakfast for myself.

On the doormat, I saw some envelopes, so I picked them up on my way to the kitchen. Postman's come early today. I'm amazed at how he manages to get his rounds done while the rest of us are still asleep, especially at this time of the year. Let's see now…Looks like they're all Christmas Cards. That's good. Last year, I got a bill on Christmas Eve. Hmm… That one's postmarked London, so it must be from Auntie Donna and Uncle Mark. It's been a while since I last heard from them.

While I was eating my breakfast, I opened the cards and listened to the radio, so I could hear the morning news and weather.

"It's going to be a white Christmas, as predicted. Four inches of snow fell overnight in parts of Wales, with drifting in places. And with these colder fronts moving in from Scandinavia and Russia, there's more on the way."

I turned off the radio, having heard all I needed to hear. "Hmm… Well, I hope the snowploughs have done their job. I wonder if Sarah and James are up yet? They're going to have some fun today!"

I was now nineteen-and-a-half-years-old, and I'd been back living in my hometown of Pontypandy for about eighteen months, after spending a year living in Cardiff to attend the Fire Academy there. My parents had died shortly after my graduation, so I doted on my six-year-old twin niece and nephew, Sarah and James. I also passionately loved my job as lead Fireman at the Pontypandy Fire Station.

After I'd finished my breakfast and washed up, I left my house and headed off to work on foot. I'd just walked down the hill near Dilys' shop, when I came across some black ice in the middle of the road.

"Oh!" Perfect! Time for a bit of fun! I took a look around. "Aye, well there's no-one looking…" I stepped onto the ice, and I skated down it, laughing with glee. "Oh!" I exclaimed again as I reached the end of the ice. Stepping off it, I saw Dilys outside her shop, clearing the path. I hope she didn't see me. That would be rather embarrassing. I cleared my throat to get her attention. "Morning, Dilys!"

"Well! I don't know what's good about it!" Dilys retorted crossly as she kept shovelling. "No, indeed! Norman's off sledging, instead of helping… There's snow all over my shop front…" She stopped shovelling and stuck the spade into the snow. "And just look!" She pointed to the awning. "My life's in danger, from icicles the size of spears!"

Oh! They're not that big, Dilys! At worst, they'd give you a nasty headache. "I'll deal with those, Dilys!" I said with a chuckle. It'll put her mind at ease at the very least. "Ladder round the back, is it?"

I turned to go and get it, when I heard the door to Bella's café open and close.

"Oh, Sam!" Bella called out. She tip-toed across the road towards us, carrying a brown paper bag. "Don't-a forget your-a sand-a-wichs!"

"Oh! Thanks, Bella."

Bella sighed heavily when she reached me safely. "I make-a them with-a pepperoni. It keep-a you warm, the pepperoni."

Lucky I love pepperoni! I took the paper bag from her.

"That's right," Dilys agreed, and she pointed at me like a mother telling off her adult child. "Inner warmth and thermals. That's what I always say."

Yes, mother! I turned away so Dilys wouldn't see me smirking. Does she honestly think that I don't know how to look after myself? "Aye, well, quite right, Dilys," I muttered.

"Er, Sam?" Bella began. "Why is there no Christmas tree in the park yet?"

"Bit late, isn't it?" Dilys added. "It's Christmas Eve. Should've been up already! Council couldn't afford one, I expect?"

"Aye…" I agreed. "Well, it's a shame that…" It is the Council's responsibility, so if they couldn't afford one… "I wonder if…" they'd let us cut one down in the forest? "Aye, well, we'll have to see about that later. Right! Now for those icicles."

"Oh! Thank you, Sam!" Dilys called as I headed around the back to find a ladder. "Oh, and mind you don't slip now… Oh!"

Hearing Dilys scream, I turned around just in time to see her slip over.

"Whoopsie-daisy!" Dilys muttered, clearly embarrassed.

Shaking my head in amusement, I hurried around the back. I found the ladder, half buried in the snow. After I'd brushed it off, I took the ladder back around the front, and I propped it up against the awning. Dilys and Bella watched on as I climbed the ladder.

"Right then, ladies. Stand well back, please."

One by one, I pulled the icicles off, and I let them fall safely to the ground. When I'd finished, I carefully moved the icicles to a safe area behind Dilys' shop, and I returned the ladder.

"Oh, thank you so much, Sam!" Dilys said once I'd finished.

"No problem, Dilys. I'd better get to work now, or I'll be late. Have a nice day, ladies."

"You too, Sam," Bella replied sweetly.

…

When I arrived at the fire station, Station Officer Steele saw me coming, and he kindly opened the front door for me.

"Morning, sir," I greeted him cheerfully as I stepped inside where it was nice and warm.

"Ah, greetings." Station Officer Steele promptly closed the door behind me.

Elvis was in the kitchen, preparing the Christmas turkey.

"Hello, Elvis. Preparing a wonderful Yuletide feast for us, as usual, I see," I said as I removed my helmet. Station Officer Steele blew into his hands to warm them up.

"Er, yes," Elvis replied. He kicked the oven door open with his foot. "Turkey, with all the trimmings, Sam." He tried to push the tray into the oven. "The, er… The only tr-trouble is it won't, er…it-it won't..." He pushed the tray in harder, but it ended up at a forty-five-degree angle. He jiggled it a bit more, and it straightened itself out. "Oh, there we are!"

I placed my helmet on the shelf. "Well, I hope you've trimmed it inside. Nothing like a bit of chestnut stuffing."

Elvis was now trying to close the oven door. "Um, chestnut…erm…er…oh, crumbs! I-I forgot that." Elvis reached inside the oven, and he tried to pull the turkey and its tray back out again. "Um…oh!"

"Last year, it tasted more like a rubber duck, than a turkey," Station Officer Steele remarked. "Rubber duck! Haha! Hahahaha!"

Please, don't remind me of that, sir! My first Christmas back at home, and Elvis ruined the turkey. Oh, well. At least he didn't cremate it, I suppose. Now for the Christmas tree… "Uh, c-could I use your telephone for a minute, sir?"

"Ah, yes, yes. Carry on, Fireman Sam."

"Oh!" Elvis groaned as he continued struggling to get the turkey out of the oven. "Come here, you!"

And the turkey did. It finally came out of the oven so quickly, that Elvis tumbled head over heels backwards into the kitchen table. Hearing the clutter, Station Officer Steele and I turned back around to see what had happened.

"Oh!" Elvis exclaimed in surprise. He clutched a drumstick in one hand, and the rest of the turkey in the other.

"Turkey's protesting is it, Criddlington?" Station Officer Steel quipped.

"Yes!" Elvis replied sadly. "And it's not fighting fair, sir!"

I would too if I knew I was about to be roasted by Elvis! I hurried into Station Officer Steele's office, so that poor Elvis wouldn't be offended if he heard me laughing. Besides, I had a very important phone call to make to the local council.

To my great surprise, I managed to get straight through to Mr Roberts, the mayor, who was widely known for being a Scrooge, especially when it came to festivities.

"Mr Roberts? It's Fireman Jones from the Pontypandy Fire Brigade. I've had a few queries as to why the town hasn't received its Christmas tree yet, so I thought I'd phone you to see if we can have one, please."

"I'm afraid we haven't been able to budget for Christmas trees in every town this year," Mr Roberts replied, somewhat gruffly. "We only budgeted to have trees sent to all the major towns in the council. But, you're more than welcome to cut down a tree that's on Council property for you to use, as long as you don't cause any other damage. Oh, and Merry Christmas to you and your colleagues. You all do a splendid job keeping everyone safe."

"Well, yes. Thank you, Mr Roberts, and the compliments of the season to you too."

He hung up without saying goodbye, but I didn't care.

"Well, well!" I hung up the phone. "Shiver me tweekers!" I stepped out of Station Officer Steele's officer, so I could announce the good news to Station Officer Steele. "That old Scrooge, Roberts, has seen the light at last! We can have a Christmas tree! Mind you, we've gotta go and chop it down ourselves."

"Nothing like Christmas spirit, Sam," Station Officer Steele remarked happily. "Gets to everyone, in the end."

At that moment, the alarm went off.