New Year's Day 4:57pm

Jack was amazed at how quickly things change. He was shocked at how fast moods switch. One day you are happy and joyful, then the next you are crying your eyes out. Well, he wasn't crying his eyes out but his heart was breaking faster and more painful that ever on this day.

He couldn't keep his eyes off of her, which was dangerous seeing as he was driving and it was already dark. But he didn't want to look away. Her pale face, red nose, tear blotched face and puffy eyes were a huge contrast to the face and girl he had seen yesterday. In fact he could vividly remember the smile spreading across her face when she held up the bottle of whiskey in their hotel room.

***

New Year's Eve 8:27pm

"It's New Year's." she grinned and set the bottle on the small table. Jack chuckled and looked at her.

"Yeah and?" he asked, trying to sound indifferent. Emilie frowned at his response but recovered quickly with sly smile.

"Do I need to remind you how to celebrate with a bottle of Jack D. on New Year's in a hotel all alone with moi?" she asked in an innocent voice and a wink at the end. Jack tapped his chin a few times and smirked.

"Maybe." he whispered huskily. Emilie pulled the top off the bottle and grabbed two plastic cups from the counter in the hotel room. She walked over to the bed he was laying on and crawled up to straddle his lap.

"Well, how about we get started?" she asked seductively and poured a shot sized amount of whiskey in each of the cups. She handed one to Jack and set the bottle down.

"Toast?" he asked looking up at her. She nodded her head and bit her lip as she thought of a proper toast.

"Umkay." she smiled brightly and held her cup to his. "To a being alone for once and not having Angel around to freak out on us." Jack laughed out loud and tapped his cup to hers in agreement. Their eyes never left one another's as they tossed the liquid down their throats. Emilie winced a little and scrunched her face up.

"Light weight." Jack teased when she made a soft gagging noise. Emilie looked at the bottle in disgust and looked down at her boyfriend.

"How can you drink this shit? It's gross." she grumbled and set her cup down.

"Blame Bobby." Jack told her." If I didn't drink it,"

"You weren't a man." Emilie finished for him and waved her hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. He's full of it, eh?"

"That he is, babe." Jack agreed and reached for the bottle. Emilie took it from him and before he could protest, she poured both of them another round. "Oh you're tough." he teased her. Emilie stuck her tongue out at him and set the bottle back down.

"Your turn to toast." she told him and waited patiently as he thought of a toast.

"Here's to Bobby not breaking the hotel door down for dumb ass reasons." he declared and Emilie burst into laughter. He watched as she threw her head back and laughed, loving the way her eyes shined and her cheeks crinkled into tiny laugh lines and dimples.

"True, true." she finished laughing and they both took their drinks. She didn't have as much problems with the second as the first one. And through the night it got better and better.

"Humm...here's to not having to hear Sofi and Angel bumping uglies all night!" Emilie yelled. They were on about their tenth toast, which meant tenth shot, and both were far beyond drunk.

"Oh thank God, yes!" Jack nodded and took his shot right after Emilie. She set her cup down next to the bottle and slowly laid her body down on top of Jack's. He, too, set his cup down and wrapped his arms around her. "You okay?" he asked softly and brushed the hair out of her face.

"I'm good." she whispered back and turned her head so she could kiss his chest. Jack's eyes closed at the feel of her lips on his skin and sighed softly. A small smile crossed Emilie's face when she saw him relax and she placed another kiss next to where her last had been.

"I love you, ya know?" Jack mumbled and ran a hand up and down her back, each time lifting her shirt up a little more.

"I know." she breathed and slowly moved down his chest. He tensed a little when she got to his stomach and she smiled again.

"Shouldn't we have resolutions?" he asked breathlessly. Emilie stopped her attack on his hot skin and looked down at him, a confused look on her pretty face.

"Yes, we should." she nodded. "But we don't have any yet, do we?" she asked and Jack shook his head.

"Humm well, I know one resolution." Jack stated and Emilie moved to crawl next to him and under his arm. He chuckled and pulled her closer to him.

"Tell me." she demanded playfully and laid her head on his shoulder.

"My New Year's Resolution is to quit smoking." Jack declared and Emilie snorted. He looked down and glared at her.

"That's a stupid resolution." she told him before he could ask.

"How so?" he asked, a little offended.

"You can't quit smoking." she told him, holding back a tiny smirk. Jack saw this and wondered what she was thinking.

"Why is that?" he asked.

"Because you look sexy." she announced to the empty room and started laughing. Jack shook his head and sat up on his elbows.

"What's your resolution?" he asked. Emilie stopped short in her fit of hysterics and pondered that question.

"I'm not sure." she whispered and looked up at him. "Let me get back to you on that." Jack nodded and laid back down on the bed.

"I got another one." he told her and Emilie looked over. "My other resolution, if you won't let me quit smoking, is to make love to you every chance I can." he grinned. Emilie sat up quickly and looked over at the clock on the wall. Jack saw her frown and sat up again. "What?" he asked.

"I was going to take you up on that resolution but it's not the New Year yet." she pouted. Jack grinned again and reached out for her hand, watching as the smile spread across her face.

"Let's call this a practice run for the New Year, okay?" he asked and Emilie answered him with a long, sweet kiss.

***

Jack only shook his head at the memory that was last night. She had been so happy. Drunk, but happy. It was like the day prior, when she went to see Abigail, was just something she had to deal with. It was the inevitable and she knew that she could drown in it or deal with it.

And she dealt with it.

All that day, as gloomy as it was, was perfect. They walked around Salem and Emilie showed him the home where Abigail had picked her up at. She showed him the house that her and Abigail lived in before they moved to Boston. She showed him her childhood, the good and the bad.

But the worse was saved for today, he thought as he continued to drive back to their hotel. He still couldn't take his eyes off of her. Her soft whimpering let him know that even though she was asleep, she still felt the effects of today.

He now wondered how long it would be until he got his Emilie back. The one that was happy. The one that he loved more than life itself.

The one he made love to last night.

***

New Year's Eve 10:02pm

"Jack." His name came off of lips so easily. He loved the way it sounded coming from her. The way she closed her eyes and parted her lips just a little. It never ceased to amaze him.

Another soft gasp came from her lips as his own traveled down her neck and throat, savoring every inch of her soft skin. He smiled against her skin and moved his hands to her hips to peel the last of her clothing of. She rose from the bed to help him and rolled her head back when he nibbled the skin on the inside of her thigh.

"Jack, please." she breathed and ran her fingers through his hair, tugging it lightly to get her point across. But he only smirked up at her and moved a little higher.

She knew this was payback for her earlier teasing. At the time, it sounded like a good idea but now that karma was making its presence known, she wished she would have given him what he wanted when he was practically begging.

"You made your bed, Em." Jack whispered to her. "Now lay in it." He licked a small spot on her thigh and blew lightly, smiling when she whined and writhed under him.

He loved this. Payback. But he couldn't hold it off much longer. Her earlier actions had him ready to go right there but he had to take control and make her pay. So he was licking and sucking everywhere except the place she wanted it the most, just like she did him.

He chuckled when she pushed her hips down and glared at him. He moved from his spot and slowly up the length of her body. When he was hovered over her once again, she quickly took his face in her tiny hands and kissed him deeply. A faint taste of whiskey was still present on both of their tongues and made them crave one another even more.

Emilie moaned into his mouth and pushed herself up against him, trying to feel as much of him as she could. Jack responded to her request in another way and sealed their bodies together with one swift movement. Emilie's mouth moved from Jack's immediately and a loud moan filled the room.

***

Jack remembered her moans from last night, as well as the feel of her skin and the feel of her surrounding him in the mist intimate way.

"Damnit." he groaned and moved to adjust himself in the seat. He sighed and reached down to grab his cigarettes. He knew Emilie would flip if he smoked in her car so he rolled the window down just enough to let the gray smoke drift out. There were only a few more miles until they got back to the hotel. He wondered if she would want to pack and leave tonight or if she would still stay after today.

It would be a toss up really. There's no telling if she would think she was strong enough to stay in this town one more minute or if she would just run. If the other day with Abigail would be any indicator, she would stay.

But today was not like that day.

***

Earlier New Year's Day 1:23pm

"Are you ready?" Jack asked, looking over at Emilie in the passenger's seat. She stared out at the green pasture spotted with gray stones and looked at him with wide childlike eyes.

"I think I am. I mean, I handled Abby's really well so I think this should go real smoothly. Right? It's not like it won't cry because I will but maybe I won't freak out completely. I don't think I ever really freaked out. Granted, I've had my hysterical crying fits but nothing that one would call abnorm-"

"Emilie!" Jack shouted. Emilie stopped mid rant and looked over at him, this time with sad eyes.

"I don't know if I can do it." she whispered, tears already filling her bright eyes.

"It'll be okay. Just like with Abby, I'm right here." he promised her and kissed her knuckles. She nodded once and they left the car slowly.

Jack reached out and grabbed her hand as they slowly walked through the tiny cement path that winded around the cemetery. He didn't know where they were buried but he knew the area they were in. It was the direction that Emilie's eyes were glued to, the west side of the grounds near the trees. He felt her hand grip his tighter as they made their way to her parents' grave.

He glanced at her every once few steps to see how she held up. For the most part she looked calm but he could see that her body was shaking as they got closer. He saw the pain take over her eyes and fill them completely. He almost expected tears but they weren't there yet.

"Stop." she whispered suddenly and let his hand go. It was then that he realized how hard she was holding it. He looked down at it and her hand print was clearly visible in a white print around his hand. He rubbed both hands together to get the feeling back into his one.

His eyes focused in on two marble gray headstones on front of them and the girl that was now sitting Indian style between them.

"I don't know what to say." he heard her whisper. "I've thought about this moment many, many times. I thought about what I would say and what I would do. Would I cry? Would I scream? I wasn't sure."

He watched as she warily held a hand out and went to touch one of the stone's but stopped short. He looked to his left and stepped over a few feet to sit on a bench next to an oak tree.

"I'm still not too sure about what I should. Part of me feels like I should cry. Isn't that what you're supposed to do, cry? Cry whenever you think about a lost one? Cry when you come to this dreaded cemetery and see them? Let people know that you still feel the pain. That you still miss them." she whispered, her voicing cracking at the end but from where Jack stood, he saw no tears.

"That's what I see on TV. It's what I see when I look around. People crying. Trying to show that they are hurt and mourning. Grieving." she chuckled a little. "Well, let me tell you this, if you don't already know. I've mourned a lot. I've grieved a lot. I've cried so many tears its unreal. I've had my heart broken more times that the people of the world can count.

"Nothing has ever gone like I wanted it to. For the most part, it's gone the complete opposite. I didn't want you die. I didn't want to loose Richie. I didn't want to go with Abi at first and then in the end I didn't want to loose her either. Nothings ever gone the way I wanted. Never." she told them. "I didn't want Jack to leave me wither, but he did."

Jack cringed and bowed his head.

"But he came back." she said with a smile. "And if I hadn't have lost everyone that I did and lost everything that I did, I wouldn't have him. I wouldn't even be alive if it weren't for him. He saved me in more ways than one. And I am so grateful to have him in my life. I really wish you two were here to meet him. You'd love him." she looked back at Jack.

"I know I do." she smiled. "He's always there for me. Even when he doesn't realize it, he's there." Jack smiled at her and took the change in mood as a sort of beckoning. He moved over to her slowly and sat down next to her. She smiled at him again and then turned back to the stones.

"I miss you guys." she whispered and the tears filled her eyes finally. "I do miss you, so much more than anyone can imagine. And words cannot even begin to describe how hard it is to live without you. To not see your faces everyday or hear your voices. I'd give everything and anything to hear you yell at me for leaving my shoes in the middle of the floor again." she chuckled and Jack reached over to wipe the falling tears away. "I'd give anything to be a family again."

"I think now I know what to do." she continued and took a deep breath. "I'm proving the people on TV wrong and showing the people here that you don't have to cry." she whispered and looked over at Jack. "You don't have to grieve forever; you don't have to cry hysterically.

"You can smile. You can laugh. You can live." she nodded and Jack wrapped an arm around her. "I'll cry still but not for the reasons I have been. I'll cry because I'm happy or because I laughed too hard. I'll cry because one day, I know I will see you again," she paused and choked on a tiny sob. "And I won't hurt anymore. I won't feel the emptiness that I feel now and that I have lived with. I'll be whole again. Completely whole." Emilie looked over at Jack and sniffed a little.

"I'm ready to go now." she whispered and took his hand. He stood up first and gently pulled her to her feet. He watched as she leaned over and placed a kiss to each headstone and then turned to him. "I'm okay." she promised. Jack nodded and held her hand as they walked back to the car.

***

He didn't expect her to do that good. Honestly, he expected her to go hysterical and force him to commit her. But she didn't. She cried a little. She laughed a little. But she healed a lot. She had her closure.

"Jack."

He looked over to the passenger seat and saw Emilie peeking out from under her hoodie at him.

"Hey babe." he whispered and reached out to move the hat off of her head. He smirked when her tangled hair feel free and she ran a hand through it. "Sleep good?" he asked and looked back to the road.

"It was okay." she whispered. Jack nodded once and dropped the conversation. Emilie knew he took her short and soft answers at as a sign that she didn't want to talk but that wasn't it.

She was thinking. She was thinking about earlier that day. She was thinking about last night. Thinking about the present and the future. Today had been an eye opener for her. Today made her realize how she has spent her life mourning and unhappy. In a sense she had pushed everything and anyone who tried to make her happy away from her. Granted, she let some people in but when things got tough she pushed them away again. She drowned herself in the fact that people she cared for were gone instead of living life.

She had let most of her life slip away. She had lived an unhappy life until now. And even then she still waited for the pain.

This wasn't a life to live. And she didn't want to live it anymore.

"Jack?" she called. He looked over at her again and she smiled at him. "Is it too late to make my New Year's resolution?" she asked. Jack smiled a little and shook his head.

"It's still New Year's. I'm sure it will count." he told her. "So what is it?"

"My New Year's resolution," she smiled and grabbed his hand. "is to be happy. Really and truly happy." Jack stared at her for a second before turning back to the road and squeezing your hand.

"That's a good resolution, babe." he told her. "I think we can make that work, don't you?" he asked and looked at her out the corner of his eye. She smiled brightly and picked his hand up to kiss it.

"No, I know we can make that work."