A/N: Sorry it took so long to post this one – my 24th birthday was on Friday and I've been studying for a HUGE exam (which I am going to take immediately after this is posted so wish me luck!). But I hope this chapter was well worth the wait ;) Oh and thanks so much for all the incredible feedback you guys have been giving! It makes my world go round! Enjoy! &*

On the last night of the year, a bonfire bellowed on the Quinn property near the lake, keeping the family warm as they tried to bring in the New Year together. It was still a few hours away from midnight, yet Lucy had already fallen asleep up on Jolie's shoulder as she sat in a foldout chair next to Linda. A few yards away, Coop and Jesse lit sparklers and small firecrackers for Lia, who was loving the one on one attention from the two men in her life.

"Jeez, kid, don't burn yourself!" Coop warned as a few sparks popped Lia's hand.

"I'm okay, Grandpa Coop!" Lia insisted, brushing him off. "Look, I can spell my name!" She twirled her arm around, spelling her name in the air with the smoke from the sparkler.

"Spell my name!" Jolie suggested, enjoying the sight of her niece so enthralled by the fireworks.

"Okay!" Lia complied as she moved her arms widely through the air.

Jolie smiled as she watched her niece spell her name then random words with her sparkler until it fizzled out.

"Ready for this one, Lia?" Jesse asked as he kneeled down to light a few firework fountains that he had strung together to go off at once.

"What's it gonna do?" She asked as she stood behind him, observing him intently.

"Watch," he said as the tip quickly ignited and the flame began traveling down the fuse.

He turned around, scooped Lia up backwards with one arm, and rushed away from the impending detonation. She giggled as she bounced in his grip, and once he was a few yards further, he slowed to a halt then put her back on her feet. He crouched down beside her, wrapping one arm around her waist, just in case the firework went awry, and waited.

Instinctively, Jolie covered Lucy's exposed ear so it wouldn't startle her in her sleep, and waited for the blast as well.

Within seconds, the fireworks erupted, shooting multiple sparks a few feet into the air, which popped in a multitude of colors and bright flashes of light, and fell to the ground in a fountain-like shape.

"Ooh!" Lia squealed as her eyes lit up. "I like this one!"

Jesse smiled at her excitement. It was a mediocre firework in his opinion, but it impressed the young girl, and that was all that mattered.

When the sparks died out, Lia clapped her hands happily. "Do another one! A bigger one!"

Jesse laughed as he stood to his feet and walked over to the table that contained their fireworks. "Slow your roll, kiddo. Let's set off some smoke bombs first or something. We gotta save the good stuff for later."

"Okay, I want a pink smoke bomb!" Lia insisted.

"Duh, I knew that," he teased as he held out two little pink spheres in his hand.

"Yay!" Lia cheered.

Jolie watched as he held the two bombs between his fingers and lit them simultaneously then threw them out into the yard. Moments later, pink puffs of smoke floated into the air.

"Can I go run through it?" Lia asked Jesse.

"Go for it," he encouraged, laughing when she instantly darted toward the smoke, leaping and jumping through it. She waved her arms around goofily, wafting the pink swirls in different directions.

Jolie couldn't help but smile. It had only been a couple days since she and Jesse reconciled after their chat about his past, and though she was still weary about him, she was so glad to have him back around and to see him back with the girls. They were so much happier with him around. And he was so good to them.

Jesse glanced over at her, instantly smiling at the sight of her smiling at Lia. He was so goddamn thankful that she accepted his past and forgave him for it. She took a huge leap of faith when she allowed him back into their lives, and he would forever be in debt to her.

He walked over to her and placed a soft kiss on the top of her head, which only made her smile more, then placed one on the top of Lucy's head. It was almost a reminder, to her and to himself, of how grateful he was. He wanted to make sure he would never take them for granted again, and he wanted her to know that.

"Need anything?" He asked her.

She smiled up at him sweetly and shook her head. He leaned down again, this time kissing her cheek, then walked back over to the table and started messing with some more fireworks.

She knew it wouldn't take long before things went completely back to normal. Especially with the way he's been treating her. He's always been such a sweet and gentle person, but she could tell he was going above and beyond to prove himself to her. And she appreciated it. She was still hesitant at times, but it got easier with each kiss and each smile and each touch.

"I'm about to head inside. Do you want to come put Lucy down?" Linda questioned as she stood to her feet.

"Are they sleeping at your house tonight?" Jolie wondered.

"Yeah, I promised them that they could sleep over tonight and help make breakfast in the morning." Linda answered.

"Are you sure? She's okay for now if you want to stay outside a little longer."

"I'm too cold; I'm ready to go in," Linda stated.

"Alright," Jolie said, adjusting Lucy in her arms and standing to her feet.

She went inside with her mother and took Lucy upstairs then tucked her into 'her' bed. She thanked her mother then went back outside, where she was immediately greeted by an overly enthused Lia.

"Can I stay up until midnight tonight, pleeease?!" She pleaded. "I want to see the big fireworks show over the lake!"

Jolie laughed. "You really think you can stay up that late?"

"Can I at least try? Please, please, please!" Lia begged. "We don't have winter camp or school tomorrow! Please!"

"Sure," Jolie agreed nonchalantly, knowing her niece would fall asleep well before the New Year began. "If you think you can handle it."

Thirty minutes before midnight, Lia was still bouncing around in the yard with Coop and Jesse as they continued setting off fireworks closer to the lake. Jolie sat on a blanket on the ground near them, amazed that her niece was still awake this late. She prayed it wouldn't come back to bite her in the butt when she was cranky as hell tomorrow.

"Go sit by your aunt, Lia," Coop instructed his granddaughter as he leaned over to light a firework that Jesse had placed on the edge of the lake. "This is a big one."

Lia obeyed, rushing over to the blanket and plopping down next to Jolie, waiting impatiently for the next round of flashes and colors to go off. Jesse quickly joined them, sitting on the other side of Jolie as Coop lit the fireworks and rushed away from the impending explosion.

A few seconds later, the aerial repeater fireworks began erupting from the tubes on the ground, rocketing high into the sky and bursting into willows of colors. Each flash of light sent new sparkles of color throughout the sky, illuminating the darkness. The booms were loud, tightening Jesse's chest when they resembled the familiar sound of gunshots.

He had been fine for most of the night, but the bigger fireworks brought louder explosions and they were beginning to get to him. He had been able to keep his cool through the first few, but small beads of sweat were beginning to line his forehead.

He shut his eyes and bowed his head, taking deep breaths and trying to shake the memories.

Jolie immediately noticed his sudden change in demeanor. "You okay?" She asked quietly, terrified of alarming Lia again after she walked in on her puking violently the other night.

With his eyes still shut, he nodded softly.

But through his heaving chest and sweaty forehead, she recognized the distress in him. She had seen it before, but something about it was different this time – now she knew about his past and she knew some of the things he went through. She was able to understand and sympathize with him more realistically now.

Only to an extent though, because she knew she still didn't know about everything.

She knew he hadn't told her the whole story, and she partially wondered what else he had gone through, but she figured she was better off not knowing it all. She didn't want to hear about him being tortured or in pain. She couldn't handle knowing that he suffered at the hands of someone else.

She leaned over and placed a small kiss on his cheek, but lingered for a moment.

"I know I don't know everything about your past, and that's okay, but I am so sorry that you had to go through whatever it is you had to go through," she told him, loud enough to be heard over the fireworks, but quiet enough to not reach Lia's ears. "I can tell it's really affected you, and I'm so sorry you had to suffer."

He opened his eyes finally and glanced over at her. She was looking at him with loving yet concerned eyes. They stared at each other for a few seconds, sharing a moment of full connection. Things might not have been fully back to normal yet, but it was obvious that all of their initial feelings for each other were still there. And to them, that was a good sign that things would be okay between them.

"Well," Coop chuckled, interrupting their moment as he walked over to them. "She almost made it."

The two broke their gaze and glanced over at Coop then followed his gaze to Lia, who was curled up and asleep next to Jolie on the blanket.

Jolie laughed. "Of course she managed to stay up all night yet fall asleep during the loudest of the fireworks."

"Ah, jeez," Coop groaned. "Well I'll take her on inside. I was only out here doing this shit so late because of her anyway."

Jesse and Jolie chuckled as Coop bent down and lifted Lia into his arms.

"You two enjoy the big show at midnight," he said. "Happy New Year."

"Night, Coop," Jesse replied. "Happy New Year."

"Yeah, Happy New Year," Jolie added. "Thanks, Dad."

"G'night, kids," Coop said as he departed and walked toward the house carrying Lia.

Jesse and Jolie turned back to face the lake, staring at the fog that hovered over the icy surface of the water. It never got quite cold enough in Louisiana to freeze their little lake for more than a few hours overnight, but it painted a great picture of winter when it did.

"I still love you, you know?" Jolie said softly out of nowhere. For some reason, she felt the need to say it, to clarify her feelings for him, just in case.

Jesse glanced over at her to gauge her emotions. "I know."

"I mean, I was angry and confused, but I was never going to just give up on you," she explained. "I wasn't going to write you off just like that."

He smiled softly and nodded, remembering when he accused her of writing him off 'at the drop of a hat' during their small argument in the shop.

Just then, a loud boom erupted from across the lake. Jesse jumped as images flashed through his mind of Gale falling to the floor with a bullet hole in his forehead. His heart raced, startled from the explosion, as he whipped his head in the direction of the sound and saw a huge burst of colors over the lake.

"They do a huge fireworks show on the Tchefuncte River every year," Jolie explained, concerned by his reaction. "They pop some really beautiful crazy ones at midnight, but we never have to go to it because we can always see it from right here across the lake."

He clutched his chest, breathing heavily, realizing the sound came from fireworks. He mentally kicked himself – a damn gun wasn't that loud, though it did sound that loud when it echoed in his dreams.

"It's okay," Jolie rubbed his back sympathetically. "You're okay."

Fireworks continued to litter the night sky as his heart finally slowed to a normal pace, thanks to Jolie's comforting arms around him.

He turned to her to thank her but paused when he realized his face was only inches away from hers. She could feel his warm breath on her lips as he moved closer and closer until his lips were touching hers. Gently, he kissed her.

At first, the only thing her mind could think of was Jesse as a drug dealer. She pictured him selling drugs, doing drugs, counting money, and the like. The images flipped through her mind like a silent movie. She wanted to protest the kiss, move away from him, and run, but when she felt his hands urgently hold her face to his, as if he was reading her mind, she involuntarily began kissing back.

He needed her. She could feel it in his kiss and in his touch. How dare she try to run away from him when he needed her so badly?

He moved his hands from her face to the back of her neck, tangling his fingers in her hair and deepening the kiss as desperation took over his body. All the emotions he pent up over the last few days were pouring out as he realized how badly he would've crashed and burn if she had truly left him for good.

She lost all train of thought as his kiss turned her mind to mush. How did she manage to stay away from him for more than a day? She missed his scent, his taste, and his body. She wrapped her own arms around his neck as she maneuvered to sit on his lap facing him.

His hands moved to grip her hips as he began to throb in his pants. A familiar warmth pulsated between her own legs as she straddled him, kissing him intensely.

"Take me inside," she muttered against his lips.

Inside her bedroom, Jesse slowly laid Jolie down on top of her bed. She smiled as he climbed on top of her, kissing her again, unable to keep his lips off of her. His lips traveled from her mouth down to her neck and across her collarbone. He was infatuated with her, tasting and smelling every inch of her skin.

Her hands moved to his belt, attempting to loosen it despite the fact that her eyes kept rolling into the back of her head with pleasure. As she pulled off his belt, his hands moved up her shirt, feeling the soft bare skin of her toned stomach against his fingertips. He broke away from kissing her briefly then unbuttoned her jeans and pulled them down, revealing her smooth legs and a lacy black thong. Jolie sat up on the edge of the bed when Jesse stood back up on the floor, watching as he pulled his shirt over his head.

She leaned forward, kissing his bare abs, admiring his muscles, as her hands moved to his pants, finally undoing the button then zipper. She took her lips off of his body to pull her shirt over her head and snap off her black bra, baring her size C breasts, and then she pulled down Jesse's pants and underwear simultaneously, exposing his fully hard manhood.

A wave of pleasure erupted through Jesse's body when he felt Jolie's warm mouth around him – he couldn't remember the last time he felt that sensation, but it had been well over a year. He grunted with desire, grabbing a fistful of her hair as she bobbed her head up and down, wetting his shaft with her warm saliva. She couldn't help herself; she was lusting so hard for him, she could've kept her mouth on him for hours.

He pulled her off him when he felt an orgasm building up, knowing damn well he was not ready to release yet. He worried, for a moment, how the hell he was going to last more than a minute when he was actually inside of her. It was fine when they were having a quickie and not even fully naked. This time was much different.

He pushed her back onto the bed, pulling her black panties down her legs and letting them fall to the floor then leaned forward and softly kissed her slit. She inhaled deeply at his touch. Using his fingers to part her lips, he exposed her wet folds and very delicately skimmed his tongue around and along them. He inserted a finger inside of her, satisfied at how wet she was. A moan escaped her lips as she bucked her hips; in return, he flicked his tongue on her sensitive, swollen spot. She yelped in pleasure.

"I can't take it," she sighed, already squirming. "Get up here."

Jesse did as he was told but took his time. He kissed a line up her thigh to her hips, letting his tongue flick the spot where her hipbone protruded beneath her skin, loving the little bulge it made. She sighed softly, feeling immaculate while he adored every inch of her body. He continued kissing up her stomach, doting on the little protrusions from her ribcage. She ran a hand through his short buzzed hair and down the back of his head then rested it on the back of his neck as she watched him kiss between her breasts.

He climbed fully back on top of her then used his knee to guide her legs open. He placed his throbbing head at her warm entrance, already about to melt into the floor at the feeling.

But as he looked down at her and into her eyes, something changed. He saw the beautiful blonde below him, but she was so much more vulnerable and exposed than he had ever seen her before. The way she looked up at him, lovingly yet nervous and eager, made his heart pound. He was no longer filled with lust, only love. He slowly began to slide inside of her, furrowing his brow at the pleasure. She loved the sight of him being so aroused by her.

"God," he groaned when he was fully inside of her. She exhaled deeply, not even realizing she had been holding her breath.

With one hand, he reached up and moved her hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear then caressing the edge of her ear. She smiled at him subtly, and his heart melted. His hand traveled down to her neck, where he held the side of it as he pressed his forehead to hers then began kissing her softly and sweetly.

A soft whimper escaped her lips as he pulled out of her then slowly pushed back in. He was being so delicate with her, and it made the butterflies in her stomach go crazy. She was no stranger to sex, but the gentle passion she felt radiating from his body was a new experience. She could actually feel his adoration for her through his movements. This was not about sex. It was about love.

She ran a hand down his toned shoulder and arm as he began to thrust into her softly, feeling him move against her in more ways than one.

He observed her closely as he plunged into her, watching as her body moved with his movements. Her hips rolled forward and backward, meeting his so he wasn't left to do all the work. His member slid in and out of her with ease due to her natural lubrication.

Jolie shut her eyes, focusing on the feeling of his body against hers and the aching sensation between her legs.

"Mmm," she moaned softly as the clock struck midnight, signaling the New Year.

He pressed his forehead to hers again, beginning to breathe heavily. She kissed his cheek then his neck then nipped his collarbone softly with her teeth, eliciting a pleasured groan from deep within his throat. She continued her kisses up his neck to his ear, where she softly nipped again.

He moaned softly as he shut his eyes, overwhelmed by the feeling. He tucked his arm under her, holding her close to his chest as he began to push deeper and deeper into her as the urgency returned. But he never quickened his pace, wanting to maintain a gentle momentum and cherish the moment.

Her mouth slowly opened and her eyelids fluttered as she felt the pleasure building up in her body. She slowly leaned her head back and arched her back, pressing her torso against his.

Jesse tried as hard as he could to hold off on his own orgasm until she had hers, something he never worried about before. He never paid so much attention to a woman during sex before. Hell, he had never even felt this way during sex before. He was very aware of every move she made; especially when her body tensed below him and he felt her muscles tighten around him.

A minute later, a mind-blowing orgasm exploded throughout Jolie's body, rolling from her shoulders down to her bucking hips repeatedly. She cried out Jesse's name, holding him close to her with one hand around his neck and clutching his arm with the other as she writhed beneath him. Her toes curled and she pulsated around his throbbing dick, which he knew was going to send him over the edge.

Her body finally relaxed as Jesse continued rolling his hips against hers. He lifted his head to look at her adorably blissful face then pressed his forehead against hers and kissed her lips. She ran her hands down his back and began moving her hips again to help with some of the work.

She moaned with the aftershock of her orgasm and Jesse buried his face into her neck, pumping deeper and harder into her. Soon after, he felt a surge of pleasure throughout his entire body. He grunted into her neck, letting the feeling take him over. It was unlike any orgasm he'd ever had before. His hips bucked sporadically as Jolie felt him spill inside of her, feeling him throb with each load. Another groan escaped his mouth then he collapsed on top of her.

They both laid still on the bed, him breathing heavily into her neck and her clutching the back of his neck, unable to wrap their minds around what had just happened.