A/N: Well here it is, the last chapter of this story. I want to thank
everyone who reviewed this story, you guys are all awesome! And a quick
thanks to
Lauren for reviwing 2,3 and 4!
A/N #2: Now this is another long chapter, and as it is the last one, I would really appreciate two things when you review. The first is to give me a review of what you thought of the whole story, like what was your fave chapter, that kind of stuff. And the second thing is I want a review of this chapter. I will be writing a sequel to this, but when it shall be posted, I know not.
Hopefully it will be soon.
A/N # 3: The lyrics in this song don't belong to me, they are the lyrics to
the song 'Beautiful Night' written by Paul McCartney. It's a really wonderful song, and since (on McCartney's cd) the basic instruments of the song are the piano and drum, I thought it was something Jack would be able to play on the piano.
Disclaimer: I don't own Will and Grace or its characters. Nor do I own the
song 'Beautiful Night' (as I mentioned above) or the other songs I mention in the chapter. The chapter title is another song by Paul McCartney.
Chapter Thirteen Wonderful Christmastime
"Kare," Jack whispered.
"Hmm," Karen answered sleepily.
"Are you still awake?" he then asked.
"Barely," Karen mumbled. She sighed and then turned over in the bed to
face Jack. "If you don't sleep you know you won't get any gifts tomorrow."
"I think you mean today Kare," Jack said, kissing her temple.
"Whatever, just go to sleep Jackie," Karen said, turning over and closing her eyes.
Jack raised himself up on his side and looked down at Karen. "I can't sleep though," he said to her.
Karen sighed and then sat up. "Hand me my robe poodle," she said. When she had pulled the blue robe on her body and tied it, she got out of the bed.
"Where are you going Kare?" Jack asked, watching her from the bed.
Not answering him, she grabbed the unopened bottle of champagne and two
glasses. She walked back to the bed and sat on the edge next to Jack.
"Are you going to get me drunk so I'll sleep?" he asked, watching as she opened the bottle.
"That would have been a good idea," Karen said. "But no, I just realized that we didn't drink the champagne." She poured out the liquor in the glasses and handed one to Jack, putting the bottle on the night stand.
"To our impending marriage," Jack said, tapping Karen's glass with his own.
"Lord honey, you make it sound like like a prison sentence," Karen said, after she drank her champagne. After a few moments of silence, she noticed
that Jack was staring at her. "What?" she asked, looking at him and drinking the last of the champagne in her glass.
Without a word, Jack took her glass and his own and set them on the night stand.
"Now try and get some sleep poodle," Karen said, crawling over Jack to her side of the bed. She slipped under the covers without taking off her robe and lay on her side.
Jack snuggled up behind Karen, draping his arm across her stomach. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but he was being distracted by Karen. He looked at the back of her head for a few moments before tugging at the knot on her robe.
"What are y-" Karen said, turning over to face him. She was quickly silenced by Jack kissing her deeply. When he pulled back, she said, breathlessly, "Help me get this robe off Jackie."
Working quickly, he got the robe untied and pulled off of Karen in a matter of seconds. After he had flung it on to the floor next to the bed, he quickly turned his attention back to Karen and they made love for the rest of the night.
~~~
Jack woke up the next morning, turning over to wake Karen up. He was surprised when he didn't feel her there. He opened his eyes and saw the other side of the bed was empty, the covers drawn back. He then got out of bed and put on a pair of pajamas. After he had buttoned the shirt, the door to the
bathroom opened and Jack turned around to see Karen come out.
"Merry Christmas Jackie," Karen said, walking over to him and kissing him firmly.
"Merry Christmas Kare," Jack answered. "When do we open our presents?"
Karen smiled and then pointed over to the fireplace.
Jack turned around and saw that the small pine tree that had been set up under one of the windows had a pile of presents around it. "Are those all mine?" he asked Karen incredulously. When she nodded, he smiled and said, "Wait here, I'll go get yours." He turned and ran over to his closet. A few seconds later he came back into the room with a bag of presents in his hand. He hurried over to the tree and put them underneath it among his presents. "Here Kare," he said, taking the last gift out of the bag and walking over to where Karen was sitting on the bed. "You open this one first."
"Thank you poodle," Karen said, kissing his cheek. She tore off the wrapping paper and then opened the velvet box. "Oh..." she said, looking at the necklace that was inside. "It's beautiful Jack." The necklace had a large
sapphire pendant cut in a teardrop shape with diamonds and pearls alternately surrounding it.
"I thought it went really well with your ring," Jack said anxiously, watching her. "So you like it?"
"Oh honey, I love it," Karen said. "Would you put it on for me?"
Jack quickly took the necklace out of the box and put it on Karen's neck while she held her hair up out of his way. When the clasp was fastened, he
put his hands on her shoulders and kissed the nape of her neck, causing Karen to shiver slightly.
Touching the sapphire pendant, Karen gave Jack a very long and passionate kiss. When they pulled apart to breathe, she said, "Your turn poodle." She got up from the bed and picked up one of his presents that were under the tree.
Taking the gift, Jack held it up to his ear and shook it. "Hmm, it sounds like this is clothes," he said.
"Just open it Jackie," Karen said laughingly.
Jack nodded and tore of the paper, he opened the large box and whistled. "Sarah Jessica Parker, Kare!" he exclaimed. He took out a long wool black coat and held it up. "This is fabulous."
"Try it on poodle, see if it fits," Karen urged.
Jack stood up and pulled on the coat over his pajamas. He ran his hand
over one of the sleeves and nodding. "It's perfect Kare," he said, pulling her up to her feet. He then hugged her tightly and gave her a kiss.
"Come on Jackie," Karen said when they had pulled apart. "We've got more stuff to open."
~~~
Later that afternoon at three, Katherine and Amber arrived at the penthouse. They were let inside by Rosario and taken straight to the living room/parlor where Jack and Karen were waiting for them.
"Merry Christmas!" Amber cried, running over to Karen and hugging her tightly. "Guess what I got today Auntie Karen?"
"What'd you get honey?" Karen asked.
"Santa gave me a new bike!" Amber exclaimed.
"That's great Amb," Jack said smiling. "You and I will have to go out riding one day in the park."
"You've a bike too Uncle Jack?" Amber asked.
Jack nodded and then said, "Where's my Christmas hug?"
"Oh!" the little girl cried. She let go of Karen and hurried over to Jack, hugging him tightly.
"Merry Christmas Kare," Katherine said, going over to her sister and giving her a hug. She let of her and was about to go over to Jack when she
stopped. "What's that?" she asked, pointing to the ring on Karen's hand.
"Oh," Karen said. "Jack asked me to marry him last night."
"What?" Katherine cried. "That's great!" She hugged her sister again,
but paused for a moment. "You did say yes right?"
Karen laughed and said, "I did."
"Congratulations then," Katherine said. She let go of Karen and then walked over to Jack. "Have you told Will and Grace about this?"
"I asked for their blessings last night," Jack said. "So they know."
Katherine smiled and gave Jack a hug.
"Good acting there Kat," Jack said softly.
"Let's open presents now!" Amber cried. While the three adults had been talking, she had gone over to the tree and was looking at large pile of gifts underneath it.
"Amber love, come here," Katherine said, sitting down in an armchair.
"Did I do something wrong Mummy?" Amber asked.
"No, I just want you to understand what's happened," Katherine said. "You're Aunt Karen and Uncle Jack are going to get married soon."
"Oh," Amber said. She looked at the floor, seeming to be deep in thought and then said, "So Uncle Jack is going to be my real uncle?"
"That's right Amb," Jack said, smiling at her from the couch where he and Karen were sitting.
Amber jumped up and ran over to Jack, throwing her arms around his neck. "I'm glad you're going to be my real uncle," she whispered.
"And I'm happy that you are going to be my niece," Jack whispered back.
"Come on you two, I thought you wanted to open presents?" Karen said, smiling.
Amber let go of Jack and went over to the tree. "Who goes first Auntie
Karen?" she asked anxiously.
"You," Karen said laughingly. "Open that one gift that has blue paper and a red ribbon."
It took Amber a moment to find the present and then she sat down near the tree, tearing off the wrapping paper as quickly as she could.
After all the presents had been opened, Jack, Karen and Katherine remained in the living room, watching Amber play with the toys she had gotten from Jack and Karen. At six o'clock, a servant announced that dinner was ready, and the four got up to go eat in the dinning room.
"Jack, can you come here for a sec?" Katherine asked as Karen and Amber
left the room.
"Sure, what is it?" Jack asked, walking over to her.
"I was really debating on whether or not to give you this," Katherine said, taking a large book out of her purse. "And at the last minute I decided to."
Jack took the book and looked at the light blue cover. "There's no title," he said.
"Open it," Katherine said.
Flipping over the cover, Jack saw that the first page had 'Classical' written in calligraphy. He turned the page and saw the sheet music for 'Fur Elsie.' Going through the other pages, he then stopped at one that said 'Modern' in calligraphy. Turning that page, he saw sheet music for a song called, 'Hey Jude,' with the lyrics included too. "Kat, this..." he stopped for a minute, not sure what to say.
"My mum made that for me the Christmas before she died," Katherine answered, tears in her eyes. "She knew I loved rock 'n' roll, so she had a friend of hers write down the notes and lyrics for a bunch of modern songs she knew I loved. She intended for me to learn to play them on the piano."
"Why are you giving this to me?" Jack asked.
"To thank you," Katherine said. "You saved my life six months ago, and I thought this was a good way to partially repay you."
Jack just looked down at the book for a long while. He then closed the
book and hugged Katherine tightly. "This is great Kat," he said, letting her go. "I'm going to enjoy having you as my sister."
Katherine blushed slightly and smiled.
"Are you guys coming to eat?" Karen said, standing in the doorway.
"Yep, I'm starving," Jack said, he tucked the book under his arm and went over to Karen. He wrapped and arm around her and then they walked to the dinning room, Katherine following them.
~~~
After Katherine and Amber had left the penthouse later that night, Jack
went into the living room and sat down at the grand piano. He had the book of sheet music in his hands and set it up on the holder. He uncovered the keys and was about to start playing a piece by Brahms, when a piece of white paper sticking out of the side of the book caught his eyes. He took the book in his hands and opened it to the back where the piece of paper was in. The white
paper was actually a note in Katherine's handwriting, and Jack read it quickly.
'Jack,
This song was written by my all time favourite singer, Paul McCartney.
I've always loved it's lyrics and I think that you should play this to Karen one night. And mayhap if you play it while you guys have an argument (God forbid that should happen often), you'll remember that no matter what, you two will always belong together.
K.E.R'
Putting the note into his pocket, and looked at the sheet music for the
song 'Beautiful Night.' Placing his fingers on the keys, Jack started playing, singing the lyrics softly as he did so.
'Someone's gone out fishing Someone's high and dry Someone's on a mission to the lonely Lorelei Some folk's got a vision of a castle in the sky And I'm left stranded, wondering why'
Karen had come downstairs from her room to get something to drink when she heard the piano being played and someone singing. She went over to the
living room doorway and saw that it was Jack playing and singing. She had seen Katherine give the song book to Jack earlier and had heard their conversation, so she knew that he was playing one of the songs from there. She stayed hidden, watching him play and listening to him sing the beautiful song.
As he played the notes in between the first and second verses, Jack could feel that someone was watching him in the doorway. He knew without a doubt
that it was Karen, and when he started the second verse, he sang a little louder.
'You and me together Nothing feels so good Even if I get a medal from my local neighborhood I won't need a castle, they've got castles in Versailles And I'm still stranded, wondering why'
After Jack finished singing the second verse, Karen walked into the living room slowly, not really realizing she was doing it. She was amazed by the lyrics and the amount of passion that Jack was singing them with.
Feeling Karen get nearer to him, Jack smiled to himself and then started to sing the chorus of the song.
'Make it a beautiful night for me It's a beautiful night for love A wonderful sight for lovers of love to behold Make it a beautiful for me It's a beautiful night for love A wonderful sight for lovers of love to behold'
Listening to the chorus, Karen stopped walking when she was only about a foot from where Jack was sitting. She was a little startled when Jack turned his head and inclined his head as a gesture for her to sit on the bench next to him. Karen quickly sat down as he continued to play and sing the third verse.
'Some boat's on the ocean We're here in this room Seems to me the perfect way to spend an afternoon We can look for castles in the sky No more wondering, wondering why'
The next part that Jack sang, he looked directly at Karen as he was singing the words.
'Things can go wrong, things can go right Things can go bump in the dead of the night So let me be there, let me be there Let me be there with you in the dead of the night'
Karen felt her body shudder slightly when Jack sang that. The look he was giving her was a mixture of pure love and a little bit of lust. It was a look that held a promise of things to come.
'Make it a beautiful night for me It's a beautiful night for love A wonderful sight for lovers of love to behold Make it a beautiful night for me Such a beautiful night for love Such a wonderful sight for lovers of love to behold
Yeah, it's a beautiful night Yeah, it's a beautiful night'
Jack took his hands off the piano's keys and looked over at Karen. "Pretty song," he said quietly.
"That was beautiful Jack," Karen said, whispering. She reached over and took one of his hands in her own. "Come to bed with me."
After Karen had let go of his hand and stood up from the bench, Jack closed the key cover and stood up. He then snaked an arm around Karen's waist and together they walked toward the stairs.
Inside their room, Karen led Jack straight to the bed where they would spend the rest of the night and most of the next morning making love to each other.
The next morning at eleven, Jack and Karen were snuggled together in bed after having just woken up.
"When will we get married Jack?" Karen asked softly from where she was laying on top of his chest.
Jack sighed and said, "I think we need to do it as soon as possible."
Karen nodded slowly and said, "Once the holidays are over, we'll start planning. Do you want a big wedding or a small one."
"A big one," Jack said, picking up one of Karen's hands and kissing the
fingertips. "I want everyone in the city to see how lucky I am to have you."
"You keep flattering me like that Jackie, and I'll have to give you a reward," Karen said, lifting her head up.
"Hmm," Jack said, raising his eyebrows. "Well then, you have the most beautiful expressive eyes I have ever seen before Kare."
Karen smiled and then kissed Jack pushing him back down on his pillow.
Jack slid his hands around her back and pulled her to him.
Eventually their kisses became more passionate and frenzied as they made love once again. Afterwards, while they were getting their breath back, Jack leaned his forehead against Karen's and whispered, "Love you Kare... I love you."
Karen turned to him so that they where forehead to forehead and said, "I love you too Jack. I can't wait to be your wife."
A few seconds later, they both fell asleep again, their arms wrapped around each other, both looking forward to their wedding day.
A/N #2: Now this is another long chapter, and as it is the last one, I would really appreciate two things when you review. The first is to give me a review of what you thought of the whole story, like what was your fave chapter, that kind of stuff. And the second thing is I want a review of this chapter. I will be writing a sequel to this, but when it shall be posted, I know not.
Hopefully it will be soon.
A/N # 3: The lyrics in this song don't belong to me, they are the lyrics to
the song 'Beautiful Night' written by Paul McCartney. It's a really wonderful song, and since (on McCartney's cd) the basic instruments of the song are the piano and drum, I thought it was something Jack would be able to play on the piano.
Disclaimer: I don't own Will and Grace or its characters. Nor do I own the
song 'Beautiful Night' (as I mentioned above) or the other songs I mention in the chapter. The chapter title is another song by Paul McCartney.
Chapter Thirteen Wonderful Christmastime
"Kare," Jack whispered.
"Hmm," Karen answered sleepily.
"Are you still awake?" he then asked.
"Barely," Karen mumbled. She sighed and then turned over in the bed to
face Jack. "If you don't sleep you know you won't get any gifts tomorrow."
"I think you mean today Kare," Jack said, kissing her temple.
"Whatever, just go to sleep Jackie," Karen said, turning over and closing her eyes.
Jack raised himself up on his side and looked down at Karen. "I can't sleep though," he said to her.
Karen sighed and then sat up. "Hand me my robe poodle," she said. When she had pulled the blue robe on her body and tied it, she got out of the bed.
"Where are you going Kare?" Jack asked, watching her from the bed.
Not answering him, she grabbed the unopened bottle of champagne and two
glasses. She walked back to the bed and sat on the edge next to Jack.
"Are you going to get me drunk so I'll sleep?" he asked, watching as she opened the bottle.
"That would have been a good idea," Karen said. "But no, I just realized that we didn't drink the champagne." She poured out the liquor in the glasses and handed one to Jack, putting the bottle on the night stand.
"To our impending marriage," Jack said, tapping Karen's glass with his own.
"Lord honey, you make it sound like like a prison sentence," Karen said, after she drank her champagne. After a few moments of silence, she noticed
that Jack was staring at her. "What?" she asked, looking at him and drinking the last of the champagne in her glass.
Without a word, Jack took her glass and his own and set them on the night stand.
"Now try and get some sleep poodle," Karen said, crawling over Jack to her side of the bed. She slipped under the covers without taking off her robe and lay on her side.
Jack snuggled up behind Karen, draping his arm across her stomach. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but he was being distracted by Karen. He looked at the back of her head for a few moments before tugging at the knot on her robe.
"What are y-" Karen said, turning over to face him. She was quickly silenced by Jack kissing her deeply. When he pulled back, she said, breathlessly, "Help me get this robe off Jackie."
Working quickly, he got the robe untied and pulled off of Karen in a matter of seconds. After he had flung it on to the floor next to the bed, he quickly turned his attention back to Karen and they made love for the rest of the night.
~~~
Jack woke up the next morning, turning over to wake Karen up. He was surprised when he didn't feel her there. He opened his eyes and saw the other side of the bed was empty, the covers drawn back. He then got out of bed and put on a pair of pajamas. After he had buttoned the shirt, the door to the
bathroom opened and Jack turned around to see Karen come out.
"Merry Christmas Jackie," Karen said, walking over to him and kissing him firmly.
"Merry Christmas Kare," Jack answered. "When do we open our presents?"
Karen smiled and then pointed over to the fireplace.
Jack turned around and saw that the small pine tree that had been set up under one of the windows had a pile of presents around it. "Are those all mine?" he asked Karen incredulously. When she nodded, he smiled and said, "Wait here, I'll go get yours." He turned and ran over to his closet. A few seconds later he came back into the room with a bag of presents in his hand. He hurried over to the tree and put them underneath it among his presents. "Here Kare," he said, taking the last gift out of the bag and walking over to where Karen was sitting on the bed. "You open this one first."
"Thank you poodle," Karen said, kissing his cheek. She tore off the wrapping paper and then opened the velvet box. "Oh..." she said, looking at the necklace that was inside. "It's beautiful Jack." The necklace had a large
sapphire pendant cut in a teardrop shape with diamonds and pearls alternately surrounding it.
"I thought it went really well with your ring," Jack said anxiously, watching her. "So you like it?"
"Oh honey, I love it," Karen said. "Would you put it on for me?"
Jack quickly took the necklace out of the box and put it on Karen's neck while she held her hair up out of his way. When the clasp was fastened, he
put his hands on her shoulders and kissed the nape of her neck, causing Karen to shiver slightly.
Touching the sapphire pendant, Karen gave Jack a very long and passionate kiss. When they pulled apart to breathe, she said, "Your turn poodle." She got up from the bed and picked up one of his presents that were under the tree.
Taking the gift, Jack held it up to his ear and shook it. "Hmm, it sounds like this is clothes," he said.
"Just open it Jackie," Karen said laughingly.
Jack nodded and tore of the paper, he opened the large box and whistled. "Sarah Jessica Parker, Kare!" he exclaimed. He took out a long wool black coat and held it up. "This is fabulous."
"Try it on poodle, see if it fits," Karen urged.
Jack stood up and pulled on the coat over his pajamas. He ran his hand
over one of the sleeves and nodding. "It's perfect Kare," he said, pulling her up to her feet. He then hugged her tightly and gave her a kiss.
"Come on Jackie," Karen said when they had pulled apart. "We've got more stuff to open."
~~~
Later that afternoon at three, Katherine and Amber arrived at the penthouse. They were let inside by Rosario and taken straight to the living room/parlor where Jack and Karen were waiting for them.
"Merry Christmas!" Amber cried, running over to Karen and hugging her tightly. "Guess what I got today Auntie Karen?"
"What'd you get honey?" Karen asked.
"Santa gave me a new bike!" Amber exclaimed.
"That's great Amb," Jack said smiling. "You and I will have to go out riding one day in the park."
"You've a bike too Uncle Jack?" Amber asked.
Jack nodded and then said, "Where's my Christmas hug?"
"Oh!" the little girl cried. She let go of Karen and hurried over to Jack, hugging him tightly.
"Merry Christmas Kare," Katherine said, going over to her sister and giving her a hug. She let of her and was about to go over to Jack when she
stopped. "What's that?" she asked, pointing to the ring on Karen's hand.
"Oh," Karen said. "Jack asked me to marry him last night."
"What?" Katherine cried. "That's great!" She hugged her sister again,
but paused for a moment. "You did say yes right?"
Karen laughed and said, "I did."
"Congratulations then," Katherine said. She let go of Karen and then walked over to Jack. "Have you told Will and Grace about this?"
"I asked for their blessings last night," Jack said. "So they know."
Katherine smiled and gave Jack a hug.
"Good acting there Kat," Jack said softly.
"Let's open presents now!" Amber cried. While the three adults had been talking, she had gone over to the tree and was looking at large pile of gifts underneath it.
"Amber love, come here," Katherine said, sitting down in an armchair.
"Did I do something wrong Mummy?" Amber asked.
"No, I just want you to understand what's happened," Katherine said. "You're Aunt Karen and Uncle Jack are going to get married soon."
"Oh," Amber said. She looked at the floor, seeming to be deep in thought and then said, "So Uncle Jack is going to be my real uncle?"
"That's right Amb," Jack said, smiling at her from the couch where he and Karen were sitting.
Amber jumped up and ran over to Jack, throwing her arms around his neck. "I'm glad you're going to be my real uncle," she whispered.
"And I'm happy that you are going to be my niece," Jack whispered back.
"Come on you two, I thought you wanted to open presents?" Karen said, smiling.
Amber let go of Jack and went over to the tree. "Who goes first Auntie
Karen?" she asked anxiously.
"You," Karen said laughingly. "Open that one gift that has blue paper and a red ribbon."
It took Amber a moment to find the present and then she sat down near the tree, tearing off the wrapping paper as quickly as she could.
After all the presents had been opened, Jack, Karen and Katherine remained in the living room, watching Amber play with the toys she had gotten from Jack and Karen. At six o'clock, a servant announced that dinner was ready, and the four got up to go eat in the dinning room.
"Jack, can you come here for a sec?" Katherine asked as Karen and Amber
left the room.
"Sure, what is it?" Jack asked, walking over to her.
"I was really debating on whether or not to give you this," Katherine said, taking a large book out of her purse. "And at the last minute I decided to."
Jack took the book and looked at the light blue cover. "There's no title," he said.
"Open it," Katherine said.
Flipping over the cover, Jack saw that the first page had 'Classical' written in calligraphy. He turned the page and saw the sheet music for 'Fur Elsie.' Going through the other pages, he then stopped at one that said 'Modern' in calligraphy. Turning that page, he saw sheet music for a song called, 'Hey Jude,' with the lyrics included too. "Kat, this..." he stopped for a minute, not sure what to say.
"My mum made that for me the Christmas before she died," Katherine answered, tears in her eyes. "She knew I loved rock 'n' roll, so she had a friend of hers write down the notes and lyrics for a bunch of modern songs she knew I loved. She intended for me to learn to play them on the piano."
"Why are you giving this to me?" Jack asked.
"To thank you," Katherine said. "You saved my life six months ago, and I thought this was a good way to partially repay you."
Jack just looked down at the book for a long while. He then closed the
book and hugged Katherine tightly. "This is great Kat," he said, letting her go. "I'm going to enjoy having you as my sister."
Katherine blushed slightly and smiled.
"Are you guys coming to eat?" Karen said, standing in the doorway.
"Yep, I'm starving," Jack said, he tucked the book under his arm and went over to Karen. He wrapped and arm around her and then they walked to the dinning room, Katherine following them.
~~~
After Katherine and Amber had left the penthouse later that night, Jack
went into the living room and sat down at the grand piano. He had the book of sheet music in his hands and set it up on the holder. He uncovered the keys and was about to start playing a piece by Brahms, when a piece of white paper sticking out of the side of the book caught his eyes. He took the book in his hands and opened it to the back where the piece of paper was in. The white
paper was actually a note in Katherine's handwriting, and Jack read it quickly.
'Jack,
This song was written by my all time favourite singer, Paul McCartney.
I've always loved it's lyrics and I think that you should play this to Karen one night. And mayhap if you play it while you guys have an argument (God forbid that should happen often), you'll remember that no matter what, you two will always belong together.
K.E.R'
Putting the note into his pocket, and looked at the sheet music for the
song 'Beautiful Night.' Placing his fingers on the keys, Jack started playing, singing the lyrics softly as he did so.
'Someone's gone out fishing Someone's high and dry Someone's on a mission to the lonely Lorelei Some folk's got a vision of a castle in the sky And I'm left stranded, wondering why'
Karen had come downstairs from her room to get something to drink when she heard the piano being played and someone singing. She went over to the
living room doorway and saw that it was Jack playing and singing. She had seen Katherine give the song book to Jack earlier and had heard their conversation, so she knew that he was playing one of the songs from there. She stayed hidden, watching him play and listening to him sing the beautiful song.
As he played the notes in between the first and second verses, Jack could feel that someone was watching him in the doorway. He knew without a doubt
that it was Karen, and when he started the second verse, he sang a little louder.
'You and me together Nothing feels so good Even if I get a medal from my local neighborhood I won't need a castle, they've got castles in Versailles And I'm still stranded, wondering why'
After Jack finished singing the second verse, Karen walked into the living room slowly, not really realizing she was doing it. She was amazed by the lyrics and the amount of passion that Jack was singing them with.
Feeling Karen get nearer to him, Jack smiled to himself and then started to sing the chorus of the song.
'Make it a beautiful night for me It's a beautiful night for love A wonderful sight for lovers of love to behold Make it a beautiful for me It's a beautiful night for love A wonderful sight for lovers of love to behold'
Listening to the chorus, Karen stopped walking when she was only about a foot from where Jack was sitting. She was a little startled when Jack turned his head and inclined his head as a gesture for her to sit on the bench next to him. Karen quickly sat down as he continued to play and sing the third verse.
'Some boat's on the ocean We're here in this room Seems to me the perfect way to spend an afternoon We can look for castles in the sky No more wondering, wondering why'
The next part that Jack sang, he looked directly at Karen as he was singing the words.
'Things can go wrong, things can go right Things can go bump in the dead of the night So let me be there, let me be there Let me be there with you in the dead of the night'
Karen felt her body shudder slightly when Jack sang that. The look he was giving her was a mixture of pure love and a little bit of lust. It was a look that held a promise of things to come.
'Make it a beautiful night for me It's a beautiful night for love A wonderful sight for lovers of love to behold Make it a beautiful night for me Such a beautiful night for love Such a wonderful sight for lovers of love to behold
Yeah, it's a beautiful night Yeah, it's a beautiful night'
Jack took his hands off the piano's keys and looked over at Karen. "Pretty song," he said quietly.
"That was beautiful Jack," Karen said, whispering. She reached over and took one of his hands in her own. "Come to bed with me."
After Karen had let go of his hand and stood up from the bench, Jack closed the key cover and stood up. He then snaked an arm around Karen's waist and together they walked toward the stairs.
Inside their room, Karen led Jack straight to the bed where they would spend the rest of the night and most of the next morning making love to each other.
The next morning at eleven, Jack and Karen were snuggled together in bed after having just woken up.
"When will we get married Jack?" Karen asked softly from where she was laying on top of his chest.
Jack sighed and said, "I think we need to do it as soon as possible."
Karen nodded slowly and said, "Once the holidays are over, we'll start planning. Do you want a big wedding or a small one."
"A big one," Jack said, picking up one of Karen's hands and kissing the
fingertips. "I want everyone in the city to see how lucky I am to have you."
"You keep flattering me like that Jackie, and I'll have to give you a reward," Karen said, lifting her head up.
"Hmm," Jack said, raising his eyebrows. "Well then, you have the most beautiful expressive eyes I have ever seen before Kare."
Karen smiled and then kissed Jack pushing him back down on his pillow.
Jack slid his hands around her back and pulled her to him.
Eventually their kisses became more passionate and frenzied as they made love once again. Afterwards, while they were getting their breath back, Jack leaned his forehead against Karen's and whispered, "Love you Kare... I love you."
Karen turned to him so that they where forehead to forehead and said, "I love you too Jack. I can't wait to be your wife."
A few seconds later, they both fell asleep again, their arms wrapped around each other, both looking forward to their wedding day.