A/n: Just a little christmas angsty fluff for you even though its only september. Oh well. This is slightly based off of the 'Psych' mid season finale. If you do watch that show you might notice some similar dialogue.
Emma wasn't sure how she wound up walking down the hallway that led to the choir room. She should have left an hour ago, just after the student body stampeded out of the school. She had some paperwork to do but it was only something that would take her a half an hour at the most and yet there she was, an hour after the school was emptied for Christmas vacation.
She had finished all of her paperwork, she refused to leave until all of it was done, and she planned on leaving but some unforeseen force pulled her away from the lobby and towards the choir room.
Her heart started pounding because underneath her confusion she knew the reason why she was drawn to choir room.
The faculty parking lot was right outside of her window and part of the reason it took her twice the time to do her paper work was because she kept getting distracted by the bright yellow sports car that was parked right outside her window. Will had had the car for a few months but it still put Emma into a state of awe every time she saw it. By the time she finished all of her paperwork she noticed that the car was still in the lot which only meant one thing: Will was still there.
The kids had just won sectionals for the second time around and for the first time in months Emma actually saw a true smile on his face. She had forgotten how much she loved seeing him happy. Despite everything that was going on between them, Will's smile could always brighten her day.
Since the kids had won sectionals, Will was already working hard for regionals. Over the course of the few months that school had begun again, Will and Emma slowly started their road to friendship. It was clear to Emma, due to the various attempts to try and impress her (which, she hated to admit, actually worked) that Will was intent on winning her back. However, she really liked Carl, possibly loved him even and Will was slowly being pushed out of her heart. Will finally came to realize that it seemed when he stopped his attempts to win her back, when he stopped flirting with her, when he stopped glaring at Carl any chance he got and when he came into her office and talked to her; just talked to her. His conversations didn't have the words "I love you Emma" or "I'm not giving up Emma" anymore they were just simple, every day conversations about glee club, about teaching in general, and sometimes he mustered up the courage to talk about Carl and how great it was that he was helping her with her OCD.
It was almost like old times and it would have been exactly like old times except two years ago Will would talk to her with a gleam in his eyes and a smile on his face and even if what they talked about had him down, he'd leave her office with a smile on his face. Now, the rare smile on Will's face was clearly forced, the light in his eyes were gone, the emotion in his voice had evaporated and he carried himself like a sloth; slow moving and careless.
Emma hated seeing Will like that and she wished she could do something to make him feel better. Something that didn't include having her heart ripped out again. She was always tempted to advise Will to move on, go on a few dates, there were surely enough women who found him attractive and with his new car, they'd be never ending. But she never could muster up the courage to tell him and so she sat and could only watch as he suffered.
As Emma continued her walk towards the choir room, she contemplated the reason why she was being drawn there. She and Will had become friends again so it wasn't a bad thing to want to wish your friend a Merry Christmas, was it?
She wouldn't be seeing Will until school started up again in January and it was very impolite to leave for the short recess without saying goodbye and Emma was never one to be impolite.
She had no reason to dread walking down that hallway. She was just going to wish her friend a merry christmas, that was all.
As she neared Will's office she could hear the mumble of his voice and she wondered if he was talking to himself or to somebody else. She saw all of the glee club members leave with the rest of the students and Emma thought, aside from the janitors, that she and Will were the only two faculty that were there.
She approached the door quietly and peered in through the small window in his door. Will was hunched over his desk, his head rested in the palm of his hand while his other hand held his cell phone to his ear.
There was a crack in the door and Will's clear voice finally reached her ears.
"I don't know Dad I just...I kind of want to be alone this year."
Emma frowned at the word. She knew that Will had been lonely lately and that was mostly her fault but she still hated to see him like that.
"I've spent almost every holiday with you and Mom since I was born Dad, I won't be missing anything."
Emma moved to the other side of the door and leaned against the wall, looking over her shoulder to get a glimpse of Will. She hated how bitter he sounded, bitterness is not something she was used to hearing in Will Schuester's smooth vocals.
Will sighed heavily and switched his phone to his other hand and lowered his free hand to the desk to fiddle with a pencil. "I know Dad and that's why I don't want to go. They'll be throwing all these questions at me about Terri and I don't want to deal with that right now. I don't want to bother explaining that the reason I'm not myself is not because of Terri either." His voice became lower and developed a sad undertone at the last phrase and Emma's heart sunk. She placed her hand over her pounding heart and holding her breath, waited for him to speak again.
"Yes its because of Emma." Emma's heart fluttered and she stifled a gasp at Will's defensive tone. Will's free hand moved back up to his hair and he gripped at his curls tightly. "She's all I can think about these days." His voice softened and Emma swore she heard it shake. "I still can't wrap my head around the fact that she's dating someone else. It's-" He paused and took a shaky breath, running his hand all the way through his curls and down his neck. "It's killing me Dad."
Emma's eyes widened and her breath caught in her chest. She closed her eyes tightly as Will's quick response to his father came drifting out the door,
"I know, Dad, I know it isn't fair and you're right, you're absolutely right, Emma loves this guy who am I to stand in the way?" Will's sounded dejected and Emma wanted nothing more than to run in there and hug all of his pain away.
"You think I don't want her to be happy?" Will continued on, his voice raising slightly. "I want her to be happy. All I've ever wanted was for her to be happy, especially after what I did to her. But-" He trailed off and sighed again as he ran a hand over his face. "But I want to be happy too." His voice shook again and he pushed back from the desk to slump against the back of the chair. It was then that Emma got a good look at his face. She had never seen such a miserable look on his face before, not even when he told her about Terri's fake pregnancy. To realize that she was hurting Will more than Terri did made her nearly burst into tears at the spot. She always thought Terri was a monster for hurting Will like that, she never thought anyone could be so cruel as to break that man's heart. Emma had become that cruel and even crueler because she had not only broken his heart once, but over and over again.
"And for some reason..." Will continued, shaking his head and staring miserably at the ground. He shrugged his shoulders and gave a pathetic laugh, "For some reason I can't see that happening without Emma."
Emma's hand flew to her mouth and she fought desperately to contain a sob. If the littlest noise escaped her Will would surely notice that she was there and she wasn't sure if she could handle that.
Will turned in his chair so his back was facing the door to the hallway and he spoke again. "Maybe I'm crazy..." He mumbled something else but Emma took off towards her office before she got a chance to hear what it was.
She wasn't sure if Will could hear the loud click of her heels as she raced down the hallway but at the moment she didn't really care. She ran through the dimmed hallways until she reached her office, flung the door open, slammed it closed and then leaned up against the glass, wishing that her office wasn't so see through.
She brought her hands to cover her mouth and fought back the tears that were threatening to fall with all her might. She had cried over Will Schuester one too many times and she refused to cry over him again especially when she almost had herself convinced that she was over him.
The only problem was it wasn't Will's fault that she was on the verge of tears, it was hers. She had broken Will's heart and though she tried to ignore his pathetic looks every time the heartbroken look crossed his face her heart broke too. She cursed herself for feeling guilty about hurting Will because she knew it was stupid of her. He was the one who hurt her, she should be glad that he was in misery.
But Emma wasn't and never could be that type of person. She could not boast in someone else's misery especially when she was the one who was causing it.
The truth of the matter was, she still cared about Will. She cared for Will a lot more than she would like to.
She had a wonderful man after all. Carl was respectable, gentlemanly, patient, clean, baggage free and one of the best men she had ever known. Her heart fluttered when he smiled at her, her pulse raced when he held her hand or kissed her, she felt loved and best of all she felt happy.
Another truth that she hated to admit to herself was that she was only happy when she was with Carl, physically with Carl. Carl made her forget about all the drama involving Will when they went out together but as soon as she was left alone, her thoughts drifted towards Will. She was supposed to be on top of the world all of the time, isn't that what if felt like to be in love?
During that very brief time that she and Will were happily together, Emma did feel on top of the world. Instead of going home with a loneliness in her heart or tears behind her eyes, she went home with a smile and she was truly, truly happy.
Carl didn't make her feel that way no matter how badly she wanted him too. She begged for a release from the chains that Will unknowingly held on her but release never came. Just when she thought the chains might be loosening and she would be able to slither free, Will's recent words snapped her back in and held her tighter than ever before.
The scary part of all of that was that she didn't want to fight the chains anymore and it was more than just giving up out of sheer exhaustion. She wanted to stay chained.
No. She gasped with a startling realization. She didn't want to be chained, she wanted to be free because the chains that were holding her were not Will's they were Carl's.
With Carl, she was safe, her heart was safe. He was easy to be with because he was so understanding and helpful in her problems and he was mess free both physically and emotionally. Carl was helping her a lot with her OCD and mysophobia, she stopped cleaning every surface before touching it and her panic attacks had calmed whenever she created a mess. But Carl had yet to tackle her biggest mess of all: her relationship with Will.
Emma knew there was nothing that Carl could do to help her with that mess but she could use the advice he already gave her. He once told her to fight back against the mess and not run away from it like she always had in the past.
She had avoided all topics of their past with Will because she wanted to avoid a mess. Her heart had become a mess when she found out about Shelby and April and she knew that hearing Will's excuses about it would only make it worse.
But she never gave him the chance to explain himself not that any explanation was needed but she still should have given him the chance. It might not have made a difference but at least it would not be sitting between them as a giant mess that Emma refused to clean up.
Carl kept Emma behind the fence of her heart and after experiencing what heart break truly felt like, Emma was content to stay behind that fence. That was until fate tempted her again.
Will beckoned her to break free and to take a chance on him and deep down in her heart she knew that he'd protect her from all harm that was certainly to come but Emma hesitated because she liked the feeling of being safe.
As Emma dried her teary eyes and made her way towards her desk she wondered if it was really worth the risk. Was she willing to break the chains that held her to safety risking the chance that she might get hurt again?
Will had taken a lot of risks and it wound up breaking his heart. He was suffering but he took the risks just to get the chance to have the one he truly loved. Even though the fight seemed pointless, Will still never gave up at his shot until recently. Will was kicked and bruised and beaten so badly that he clearly debated throwing in the towel. He had the chance to move on to greener pastures where someone else could mend his wounds but he stayed where he was, refusing treatment with the hope that maybe one day she'd be the one to clean him up.
Will said he wanted her to be happy and that he wouldn't stand in her way anymore. Emma wanted Will to be happy too but the only way he could be happy was if she was with him.
And...
the only way she could be truly happy...
was if she was with him.
The force of what just occurred in her thoughts hit Emma hard and a tremor ran through her body. She placed her hands on her desk and closed her eyes for a fleeting moment.
She opened her eyes a few moments later and was floored when she saw Will standing outside her door. Her heart leapt into her throat because she thought for a moment that Will had heard her outside his door.
But Will only smiled sadly and pointed to the door to which she nodded silently. Will pushed open the door and slowly walked in.
"Hey," He breathed warmly as if he hadn't been venting to his father about how much he needed her just fifteen minutes ago, "I didn't expect you to be here. I thought you would have left."
Emma swallowed over the sudden lump in her throat and then shrugged. "Well, I um.. had alot of paperwork to finish."
Will nodded and Emma's eyes were glued to him as he stepped further. Will hesitated at seeing her look and paused right behind his usual chair.
"So," He cleared his throat and forced a bigger smile, "Do you have any plans for the holidays?"
Emma's heart plummeted deep down into her stomach and subtly placed a hand over her suddenly nauseated stomach. "Um..." She whispered and glanced down at her desk before quickly snapping her gaze up to his face, "Yeah, uh yeah. I'm going to my parents' house in Virginia...with Carl."
Will's forced smile quickly dropped and she could see the flicker of pain in his eyes. Will shifted uncomfortably for a moment and then the forced smile returned.
Emma's heart clenched once again at the obvious pain he was in.
"Going to meet the parents, hm? Must be really getting serious then."
Emma could tell he was trying, and failing, to keep his voice even. She sighed heavily because up until fifteen minutes ago things were getting serious but now doubts filled her mind so all she could do was nod.
Will rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well um...I hope you have a good time. I mean, I know you will. There's nothing better than spending time with your family especially if you have someone there that you care about...and you do." His lips twitched in a sad smile. "Your family is going to love Carl, he's really good for you Em."
Those words combined with her nickname nearly stopped Emma's heart. Of all the semi-nice things that Will had said about Carl that had to be the nicest of all. His words were completely selfless and with them she knew that he had completely given up the fight.
Well he might have, but she wouldn't.
"How long will you two be staying there?" Will asked.
"Two weeks." Emma whispered. "We'll be coming home a few days before school starts up again."
Will's face fell and he nodded slowly. He licked his lips and wrung his hands together behind his back.
"Oh...well then, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I really hope you enjoy every moment of your vacation because you deserve it more than anyone Em. And don't sweat the small things, alright? Enjoy them because those little memories are the best memories of all and you'll hold onto them for the rest of your life."
Emma slowly stood up from her chair and walked around her desk, slowly approaching Will.
Will followed her movements with his eyes but they didn't seem to question her actions. He shrugged and let out a breath of a laugh, "At least that's how I see it anyway I don't know about y-"
He was suddenly cut off when Emma closed the distance between them and pressed her lips against his. Will blinked in surprise as Emma's hand came to rest on the side of his face and she pushed herself further into the kiss.
Underneath her she could feel Will's lips moving against her own but his body remained frozen. She broke their lip lock for a second only to move in again moments later for a more gentle and loving kiss.
Then suddenly, with her hands rested on his chest, she pushed away from him, a panicked look on her face. Will's eyes slowly blinked open and he stared at her in a mixture of confusion and hope.
Emma's breath caught in her chest and she slowly dropped her hands to her sides and backed away slowly. Will lifted an eyebrow but said not a word.
Emma bit her lip and continued to back up until she collided with the desk but never took her eyes off of Will.
She wasn't sure what had just happened, she had never acted on an impulse like that before and it scared her. But she had been suppressing her feelings for him for so long and after hearing how much Will needed her she realized that she needed him too and she couldn't let him go even if he was willing to let her go.
Will cocked his head as the two of them continued to stare at each other. Emma swallowed hard and shrunk under Will's questioning gaze. She wished she could answer his unasked questions but she was just as clueless as he was.
Her panicked expression slowly faded into something more calm and her lips twitched slightly. A flicker of hope and joy started to light his eyes and just when a smile started to form on his lips a knock sounded on her door.
Emma jumped and looked past Will. She inhaled sharply at the sight of the handsome dentist outside her door, smiling and waving at her.
Will's smile immediately fell and he furrowed his brow, turning to face the door and his whole body visibly slumped at the sight of Carl.
Without a word from Emma, Carl pushed open the door and stepped inside. "There you are Emma." He flashed a grin at her that usually made Emma melt but that day only made her want to crawl under a rock and hide. "I was looking all over for you."
Carl then noticed Will and he flashed a friendly smile in his direction. "Hey there Will."
Will tried to force a smile and he nodded once. "Hey Carl."
Carl turned back towards Emma and took a few steps toward her. "Are you almost ready to go Em? I have my apartment set up for our date."
Will's eyes narrowed slightly at he use of the nickname and Emma caught his look. Will's face softened and the downcast look returned to his face. Despite the kiss that they just shared, Will still had lost Emma to Carl.
"Merry Christmas Emma." Will whispered breathlessly and then without another word, rushed out of the room.
Emma frowned and was tempted to call after him but Carl's looming presence stopped her. Carl shrugged off Will's odd behavior and smiled at Emma, moving to wrap her in a one armed hug. Emma half smiled up at her boyfriend and held back a dejected sigh when he pressed a kiss to her cheek.
Like Will had told his father he had stayed home alone for Christmas even after his mother got on the phone and begged him. Even though he told Emma that being with your family on the holidays was one of the best feelings in the world, the last thing he wanted to do was be with his family. His mother and aunts would be drunk, his father and uncles and younger male cousins would be huddled around the television watching something sports related and his younger female cousins would be whining, complaining that they lost their gossip buddy. He was going to get pity and he didn't want pity. He didn't want to be swarmed by millions of questions about his divorce about the loss of his "baby" and about Emma and since he didn't feel like talking about what had happened in any of those situations he opted to stay home.
His father tried to convince him that he'd have to answer those questions someday but Will responded that he'd do it someday but that someday wouldn't be soon. He was in no mood to celebrate and since he knew he'd be the party pooper he thought it'd be best if he just stayed home.
His parents offered to cancel their annual Christmas get together with the rest of their family and come down to his apartment to spend it with him and him alone but he turned them down. His parents would have a lot more fun with the other members of their family then they would with just him especially because of his mood.
Christmas was supposed to be a jolly, happy time but all Will wanted to do was cry. He had had Emma for a brief second and then she was violently snatched away from him before he even got a chance to enjoy it.
He never thought something could hurt so much. Losing Emma was bad enough but losing her because of his own stupid mistakes and seeing her happy with a man who was a lot better for her than he was was torturous. He wanted to see Emma happy and that was why he was letting her go, because keeping her away from Carl when she had a chance to be happy after he broke her heart was incredibly selfish and wrong. It might kill him to do so but he had to let her go.
For the days leading up to Christmas Eve he submersed himself in glee club work. He barely slept at night and came up with so many song ideas and arrangements it would even be too much for Rachel to process.
The evening of the twenty third of december he passed out on his couch from sleep and food depravation. He had eaten over the course of the last few days but only what remained in his refrigerator and cabinets and since he hadn't gone shopping in a while, was really not more than some cans of soup and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The latter food choice only made him think of his lost love which sent him spiraling down into a deeper depression and forced him to work even harder on the glee club work to distract him from his misery.
He woke up close to noon on Christmas Eve and didn't move for practically the whole day. He turned on the television to ABC Family where Christmas special after christmas special ran. He watched everything from Rudolf The Red Nosed Reindeer to The Santa Claus until his eyes started to water from watching the screen for too long.
Throughout the day, his phone kept ringing and he could hear his parents voices floating through the answering machine and as the day progressed he could hear the noise in the background and the slur in his mother's words. He ignored their desperate pleas to return their calls and curled into the backside of the couch as he fell asleep to the background noise of 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas'.
He slept soundly through the night, his dreams surprisingly free of the red head who had claimed every bit of his conscious and unconscious mind for the last few months.
He woke up on Christmas morning with an emptiness deep inside him and not just because he hadn't eaten in over twenty four hours. He hadn't spent a Christmas without Terri in years and he was so miserable he actually found himself missing her company. Her face was always so jovial and bright on Christmas morning and it was one of the times, in the last few years of their marriage, that he actually enjoyed her company. She didn't snap at him, possibly because she was a little hung over from the alcohol she would consume at his parents house, and although he splurged alot to get her the gifts she wanted it was one time he was happy to do it because it was Christmas and it was his wife.
He glanced around at his barren of all Christmas paraphernalia apartment and tried to remember last years Christmas. Though that only brought back more bad memories because he had bought her alot of baby clothes that still remained in a bag in his closet because he didn't have the heart to throw them out.
He blinked and suddenly the scene was transformed around him. The apartment was decorated in pretty decorate wreaths and tinsel hung from atop the curtains. There was a fake but beautifully decorated tree in the corner where the TV usually was. There were a few shiny gifts under the tree and two stockings hung from the wall where a fire place he didn't know he had appeared.
His name was written neatly in script on one of the red stockings and next to it another four letter word sunk into his heart.
He suddenly sat up and found himself covered in a blanket stitched with pictures of santa claus, reindeer and snow covered pine trees. He looked propped himself up on his knees and looked around the apartment and only saw more Christmas decorations. He stumbled onto his feet and stepped across the soft carpet as he was drawn to a framed picture on the table in the far corner of the room.
In the picture he was sitting in what looked like a horse drawn carriage and cuddled into his side, with her cheeks tinted as red as her hair, was Emma with a smile so bright it could light up the lights on the Christmas tree in the other corner. Snow freckled her green pea coat and her fire red hair that stood out against the white background. He picked up the frame in his hands and flipped it over a few times to make sure it was real then he placed it back down on the table and then noticed a framed piece of paper with a phrase written in Emma's beautiful handwriting: 'I will always love you'. He let out a breath and turned to get a closer look at the apartment. He realized that he wasn't in his apartment at all, he was in another apartment that he had never seen before.
His eyes widened as he spotted another picture on top of the fireplace and he raced over there to grab it in his hands. The woman dressed in green and fire red in the carriage ride was now dressed in white, the same smile on her face as her arms were thrown tightly around his neck. His smile matched her own and it was then that he noticed the gold band around his finger. He nearly dropped the beautiful wedding photo out of shock and placed it back on the shelf before he broke it. He glanced down at the gold band and twisted it around his finger.
"You're awake." A voice brought his attention away from the ring and towards the source. Emma was leaning in the doorway, smiling at him, dressed in a powder blue nightgown with white snowflakes printed all over the material.
His jaw dropped and as he tried to take a step forward, he stumbled over his feet and almost fell on his face.
He heard a squeak from Emma and then her adorable giggle as she practically floated across the room. Her hand landed on his upper arm without hesitance and then she slipped her arm around his waist.
"I am never letting you drink egg nog at your mothers again." Emma scolded lightly and he could only stare down at her in shock. She giggled and pecked his cheek, "You better lie down Will before you hurt yourself."
She took him by the hand and led him back to the couch. She pushed him down and then leaned down to press a gentle kiss to his forehead. "Go to sleep Will."
"No!" He practically yelped and Emma's eyes widened in surprise. Then she chuckled and ran her fingers through his hair. "You're way too tired to function honey. Your presents can wait Will, they're not going anywhere."
Will felt his eyes growing heavy as Emma continued to stroke his hair and he struggled to keep them open. Emma started to hum quietly into his ear and Will felt it increasingly difficult to stay awake and soon surrendered to the darkness.
His eyes opened only moments later and he was met with his bland and barren apartment. His heart clenched painfully at the realization that that was just a dream. He didn't even realize he had fallen back asleep. He sat up and ran his fingers through his hair and immediately regretted it because he could still vividly feel the softness of Emma's hands as they gently rubbed his scalp.
His whole upper body ached, from hunger and from heart break and he decided to do something about the only thing he could do something about. He was shaky on his feet and his legs felt like jello as he stumbled his way towards the kitchen.
Still on the counter from nearly two days earlier laid the bag of bread and the peanut butter and jelly containers. Clenching his jaw to keep it from quivering he slowly made himself a sandwich.
After cleaning every utensil and dirty dish he had left in the sink, for its what Emma would do, he took the sandwich back to the couch and ate it quietly, trying to distract himself again by watching whatever special was on.
Just as finished his sandwich, his phone rang and he reluctantly answered it to assure his parents that he was alive. Once again they extended the offer to come over but he assured them that he was fine but the truth was he didn't need his parents to see him in his worst state.
After he hung up with his parents, he took a shower in order to feel not completely disgusting. He dressed in some old gray sweat pants and a green Christmas sweater his mother had got for him last Christmas and retreated back to his place on the couch.
He felt slightly more refreshed now that he was clean and fed and his mood was slightly lifted. He flipped the tv station to a football game in order to feel slightly more manly than he had been lately.
The game was almost halfway over when he was suddenly startled by a knock on his door. He wasn't really in the mood for company but his curiosity got the better of him and he made his way towards the front door. He spied through the eye hole and upon seeing who was outside his door, unlocked and flew open the door faster than he thought possible.
Emma was standing in his doorway, smiling shyly up at him, dressed in a green peacoat. "Hi Will."
Will blinked in shock for a few moments and then he let a smile tug at his lips. "Hey."
Emma blushed under his gaze and she cleared her throat. "Can I um, can I come in?"
"What? Oh yes, yes of course!" He stepped aside and Emma smiled gratefully and stepped into his apartment. Will followed her every move, afraid that if he took his eyes off of her for one second she'd disappear again.
Will slowly closed the door and Emma turned to face him and Will noticed a small rectangular box in her hands.
Will stared at the box for a few seconds and then snapped his gaze to her face and locked eyes with her. "I'm a little confused...what are you doing here, Em? I thought you said you were going to be in Virginia...with C-Carl."
Emma sighed quietly and shifted on her feet. "Yes, um, I was in Virginia but I came home early."
"Why?" Will whispered, not daring to hope.
"Carl and I broke up Will." She answered quietly and his breath caught in his chest.
"What happened, Emma?" Though he was ecstatic on the inside he showed his true concern for her on the outside. "I thought things were going good with him."
"They were." Emma nodded. "They were going good, really good but..." She licked her lips and shook her head, smiling hesitantly at him, "not good enough." She let out a breath and took a few steps towards him.
"I'm sorry." Will whispered and he truly meant it. He wanted to see Emma happy and if things didn't work out with Carl then she probably wasn't feeling too great.
"Don't be." Emma whispered with a hint of a smile. "Carl and I we just weren't meant to be. I should have realized that a long time ago."
"I don't understand Emma." Will shook his head. "Carl was a really good match for you."
"He was." Emma agreed. "But he wasn't my perfect match and that title only belongs to one man."
Her eyes locked onto his and Will suddenly found it hard to breathe.
"I hope you find him one day." Will murmured breathlessly.
"I already found him." Emma replied in the same tone. "I found him on September 5th, 2007 and I feel terrible for making him wait this long for me."
As soon as the date left Emma's lips, Will's heart almost stopped beating. He remembered that date like it was a national holiday. It was the date that Emma first started working at McKinley High and it was the day he had met the love of his life and didn't even know it.
"Emma..." He whispered, shaking his head slowly.
She smiled up at him and gave him a curt nod. She licked her lips and her warm smile faded into a stern line. "We have a lot to talk about Will but first I want to give you this."
She extended her hands with the rectangular box resting in her palms. Opening his mouth so he could let some air into his lungs, he reached out to take the box from her.
"Emma, you didn't have to get me anything."
Emma smiled shyly and shrugged. "It's just something little but I think it'll mean alot to you."
Will stared into her eyes for a few moments and then gently tore off the paper to reveal what looked like a jewelry box. He lifted his head and raised his eyebrow at Emma, who smirked and motioned for him to keep going.
He let out a breath and pulled off the cover of the box and tears immediately sprung to his eyes at the contents.
Resting in the rectangular box was a piece of paper with a handwritten message:
I will always love you.
It was the same exact image that remained imprinted in his brain from his dream. A tear slipped down his cheek and Emma's face fell at his reaction.
"I'm too late aren't I?" Her voice was meek and Will lifted his head and she blushed in embarrassment. "I'm sorry Will..."
Will placed the cover back on the box and placed it down on the table in the hallway then he bounded forward and captured Emma in his arms.
Emma froze under his touch, but purely on shock alone and then she relaxed into his arms. She closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest, inhaling his scent.
"You're never too late." Will whispered fervently into her hair. "I would have waited forever just to hold you again."
"Will..." She sighed into his chest and his arms tightened around her. He started to place feather light kisses all over the top of her head.
"Emma, Emma, Emma." He whispered her name over and over again and Emma melted further into his arms.
Words could not describe how relieved he was and the joy he felt. He knew that he and Emma still had a lot to talk about and alot more hurdles to jump over but for now Emma was his and he would never let her go again.
As he sighed an "i love you" into her ear and felt her snuggle into his chest he knew that could not have wished for a better Christmas present.