A/N: So here we are, the end of the fic. I'll have a big sappy speech at the end, but now let's focus on the chapter. This is a long one, because it's the Christmas one, and I've been working on it all day in between Christmas dinner courses. Enjoy my LITs!

Chapter 25: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

The Librarians all gathered in the annex the next day, electing to spend Christmas morning together. Jenkins had just brought out the tea and coffee, and presents filled the tree they'd bought together at the beginning of the month.

"Merry Christmas!" Cassandra yelled. She hadn't been still since she opened her eyes that morning. There were reasons this was her favorite holiday.

"Shall we start with the Secret Santa gifts?" Flynn asked.

"Yes! Mr. Jenkins, I think you should open yours first!" Cassandra reached under the tree and grabbed the box wrapped in snowman filled paper, excitedly thrusting it out to Jenkins.

The caretaker smiled, still not physically showing much Christmas spirit, and grabbed the gift. He unwrapped it to find a small wooden box.

"It's a tea box!" Cassandra explained. "And if you open it up, there's all different kinds of teas in there"

"Thank you Miss Cillian this is lovely" He really did love the gift. He had to admit, there were parts of Christmas he really didn't mind that much after all. He put his gift to the side and sipped his tea.

"Well I suppose I should go next then" he said. "I believe that's how these things work. Mr. Carsen, you'll find your gift wrapped in the shiny green paper with the white bow."

Cassandra looked at Jake confused as Flynn removed the wrappings from his gift.

"You told me you had Flynn" she whispered.

"Awesome!" Flynn proclaimed, though she barely heard him. "It's a Christmas tie!"

"It sings too" Jenkins said.

"I lied" Jake whispered back to Cassie. "You'll see why in a bit."

"Jones" Flynn said. "Yours is in the Santa shaped envelope"

"A Gamestop Gift Card!" Ezekiel proclaimed. "Thanks mate! Here Colonel Baird" He reached under the tree and handed Eve a box wrapped in shiny red paper.

"You can promise me this isn't stolen this year?" she asked.

"I promise. And I have witnesses this time."

Eve chuckled and unwrapped the box, which contained a mug, hand painted with the phrase World's Best Guardian

"This is really sweet Jones" Eve said. A "World's Best" mug: sometimes that kid really did make her feel like a mother

"Melody wanted to go to this ceramics place the other day" Ezekiel explained. "So I figured I'd make something for you."

"Well thank you. I really love it."

Eve presented Stone with his present next, revealing a brand new cowboy hat. Jake beamed and put it on his head.

"To replace the one you lost that day we met" Eve said.

Cassandra laughed at her boyfriend, who looked ridiculously adorable in that hat.

"Well" Jake said. "I guess it's up to me to finish things off" He reached under the tree and dragged out a large box covered in reindeer covered wrapping paper. "Merry Christmas Cassie"

Cassandra laughed at the idea: of course he'd gotten her for secret Santa. She should've known it, the way he'd told her that he picked Flynn's name. When she finally got the box open, she found a photo album, a picture of her smiling decorating the front cover. She looked up at Jake, not sure what to think.

"Open it" he whispered.

Slowly, Cassandra turned the pages and found different images of herself on each one. Everything was there: the selfies with Rudolph, her smiling next to the Christmas tree the day they'd picked it, the picture they'd taken with Santa. Jake had even included pictures she didn't know existed: one of her ice-skating, a shot of her hanging an ornament, and a gorgeous side profile of her watching the TV, the Christmas lights illuminating her face. She looked towards Jake with tear-filled eyes.

"I remember you said you didn't have any real pictures of yourself" he said. "So I figured I needed to change that. You just look so beautiful all the time, and I thought you deserved to see what everyone else sees while you're living your life."

Cassandra was crying as she turned to meet Jake's eyes.

"Jacob" she muttered. "This is the most wonderful present I've ever gotten. Thank you"

She rushed over and wrapped her arms around him. She'd never felt this strongly that someone really cared about her. It was clear now that he noticed her, and that he'd been noticing her, long before they had their first kiss.

"I've got something else for you later" he whispered.

Cassandra suddenly became aware again that everyone else was still in the room. She wiped the tears from her eyes and laughed.

"Alright!"Flynn said. "Who's going to give out their presents first?"

That afternoon, Jake and Cassandra approached his older sister's house. He walked slowly and squeezed Cassandra's hand tightly. He'd become a different man since the last time he came here.

"We can still turn back" Cassandra said. "If you don't think you can do it, we will. I don't care what we do for Christmas, as long as I'm with you. We could leave right now and go get some Chinese food for all I care."

"No, no, I wanna see everyone. Besides, Virginia told me mom and pop have got other plans tonight."

"Well then I'll be right here" Cassandra assured him.

"Oh!" Jake exclaimed, suddenly remembering something. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wrapped box. "This is your other present. Merry Christmas Cassie"

"Well then I should give you yours too" she said, reaching into her bag and handing him his own wrapped box. "You go first" She insisted.

Jake's eyes grew wide as he picked up the pocket watch she'd picked weeks ago. She was beaming: there was the look she wanted to see from him.

"Is this?" he asked.

"Yes. Lord Byron's. I should've known you'd pick up on it."

"I love it!" Jake exclaimed, before leaning in to kiss her. "Now open yours."

Cassandra excitedly ripped away the bright paper and froze as she saw the jewelry box in her hands.

"Jake" she insisted, knowing that whatever this was, she wouldn't be able to accept it.

"Just open it" he urged.

Cassandra lifted the lid to reveal a beautiful necklace: an emerald stone shaped like a heart resting on a golden chain.

"Oh Jacob" she gasped. "It's gorgeous"

"I picked that one cause I did some research and it turns out the highest average density of emerald is 2.78, and I know that the accepted value of Euler's number is…"

"2.718" Cassandra finished. "It's so thoughtful Jacob I love it" she said

"Let me put it on you"

Cassandra handed him the necklace and turned around excitedly as he clasped it around her neck. They kissed again before grabbing hands and finishing their walk to his sister's house. Cassandra leaned her head on his shoulder and he rang the doorbell.

His older sister opened the door, wearing an apron and a huge smile.

"Jake!" she exclaimed. "I'm so happy to see you!"

"Hey Ginny" he said, moving to hug his big sister. "Merry Christmas"

"Merry Christmas! Is this the girl you told me you were bringing?" she marveled, turning towards Cassandra.

"Yes"

"Hi" Cassandra smiled. "I'm Cassandra" She held out her hand to introduce herself, but to her surprise, Virginia pulled her into a hug.

"I'm Virginia. So glad you could join us"

"UNCLE JAKE!" A scream rang out through the living room, and soon a horde of children was racing towards them, all jumping on Jake at once.

"Hey guys!" he shouted. Everyone was laughing and smiling. In that moment, he couldn't be happier. He was sure now that nothing could ruin this Christmas.

"Jake" A stern voice came from behind the kids. He looked up and immediately knew how wrong he was.

"Hey pop" he stuttered.

"Uh oh" Cassandra said.

"I'm sorry Jake" Virginia whispered. "I didn't know until last minute"

Jake stepped back and grasped Cassandra's hand. The night was about to be very different.

"That could've gone better" Eve sighed, walking out of her parents' house with Flynn.

"Come on, it wasn't too terrible" Flynn assured her.

"Really Flynn? How would you describe my father's reaction to me leaving the military"

"Well it could've been worse. They could've seen the ring!"

Eve sighed and threw her head into her hands.

"I came tonight because I thought we could have a nice Christmas" she said. "I didn't want anything to go this way"

Flynn put his arm around her and rubbed his hand up and down her back.

"Come on" he said. "Let's go home"

It was never the plan that all the Librarians would end up back in the Library that night, and yet it was 10 PM, and there they all were. Everyone had brought left over dishes from their various failed dinners. Half eaten pecan and apple pies sat on the annex table, along with plates of Jake and Cassandra's leftover cookies.

The room was full of friendship and love. Everyone was joking and laughing, and all three couples sat together,

"This is nice" Eve said. "This feels more like Christmas than anything else I had planned today."

"You're right" Cassandra said. "I don't know if I've ever had a better Christmas"

Jake had brought his old guitar from home, and he now absentmindedly strummed it in his chair. Cassandra sat cross-legged at his feet on the floor. In a moment when everyone was silent, he began to play the chords to a familiar Christmas tune.

G Em Am D7

To everyone's surprise, he began to sing.

"Have yourself a merry little Christmas"

"I didn't know you sang Stone!" Eve said. He stopped playing for a moment to address the shock in the room.

"Yeah well" he said. "Music is just art we listen to so…"

"You sound good!" Melody added. "Like some kind of country singer or something"

"Well I may have thought for a few years when I was little…" He noticed all the eyes staring at him, and saw Cassandra giggling madly. "Never mind" He continued playing, starting over

Have yourself a merry little Christmas, Let your heart be light

From now on our troubles will be out of sight

Eve glanced around at the room around her. Before the Library, her life was crazy, running from place to place, seeing death and destruction every day.

She almost had the same job here, but it was different somehow. She was with people that she loved dearly, and that she knew loved her. It was a feeling she'd never really had: home.

Tonight, it was stronger than ever. Through everything they saw, everything they'd been through, it didn't matter. It was Christmas, and they were together.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas, make the yuletide gay, From now on our troubles will be miles away

Flynn glanced at Eve cuddling next to him, and then at the ring on her finger. It had been a complicated year. He'd met her, fallen in love with her, and almost lost her, all within nine months. It didn't matter now though. They were together. They were getting married.

He looked around at the people surrounding him, the home he'd denied for so long, then closed his eyes. Flynn Carsen was learning to not be alone, and it was a lesson more valuable than any degree he'd ever earned.

Here we are as in olden days, happy golden days of yore

Jake watched Cassandra swaying back and forth as his fingers danced across the strings. This was how he remembered Christmas feeling when he was a boy: peaceful, right. He'd gone home because he thought it was what he needed to find Christmas with his family again, but now he knew that wasn't the case. This was what he needed. The Library was his family in the truest sense.

Fateful friends who are dear to us, gather near to us, once more

Ezekiel smiled as Melody laid her head on his shoulder. For the longest time, Christmas had meant nothing but a time that it was easier to steal, and he thought that was what made him happy. Now, with his best friend back by his side, he realized that the Christmases that had really made him happy were the ones he spent with her. With the Librarians the feeling was double. With new friends and old together, the season had new meaning for him.

Through the years, we all will be together, if the fates allow

Cassandra closed her eyes and shut off her senses as best as she could, focusing instead on where she was. She'd never had a Christmas like this one: filled with love, and joy, and cliché traditions, and the feeling of home. After enough years passed, she'd accepted that she never would. Now all of that changed. She didn't know what lay in store for her future, but if she could have more years like this, she didn't care.

Hang a shining star upon the highest bow

Jenkins walked in on the scene, having just returned from dinner with Nick and Gretchen at the North Pole. He looked up at the star that he had hung, weeks ago, remembering how they'd all convinced him to join in their decorating. He glanced at the room, full of merriment and remembered everything they'd done during the month. The old caretaker simply smiled.

And have yourself a merry little Christmas now.

A/N: This is my favorite Christmas song of all time, and I always have to end Christmas fics with it. So that's all she wrote. I'm really about to start crying as I write this. Endings make me cry. I started this as a fun little thing to make me happy. When I do projects like this, I of course always dream of getting a huge following for it, but it's never really happened, and I've come to a point where I don't expect it. You guys were amazing. I still cannot believe the incredible response to this fic. Every kind review made my heart get a little warmer.

This was a rough Christmas for me this year, for reasons I won't mention, but writing this fic and seeing all of your reactions always brought a smile to my face. You guys put up with a lot: late postings, cheesy plotlines, and an excess of Jassandra, but you still always had such kind things to say. The Librarians has become such a huge part of my life, I love the fandom, and after this the feeling is even stronger.

I'd like to thank everyone who played a part in this: everyone who sent me a prompt, all my offline friends who inspired certain ideas, and of course everyone who read along, and celebrated this dorky Christmas season with me. Maybe this won't be the last of it. If you guys want, maybe I can add in a few bonus stories: new years and such.

With that, I hope you all had a very blessed Christmas, I wish you all a wonderful New Year, and thank you again for reading my work. Ciao LITs.