Josh stared. "You're… what?" He turned to Orli. "Jen's pregnant?"

"It takes him ten minutes," Orli said in disgust, speaking to nobody in particular.

"So…" Josh ventured timidly, still somewhat perplexed, "now what?"

"Now what?" Michelle echoed. "You want us to tell the baby we know it's in there, and maybe it should come out now that we've found it out?"

Josh gave her a look.

"I'm shutting up now," she added.

"Orli!" Jen yelled, annoyed. It was about two weeks after she'd learned she was pregnant, and she was getting sick of needing to blow her way through a box of tissues every three hours.

Her husband came running. "What?"

"Is this obnoxious cold part of being pregnant or is that just my bad luck?"

"It's winter, Jen," Orlando pointed out mildly, amused. "Josh says Michelle's sick too. And we're pretty sure she's not pregnant."

"You never know with that girl," Jen sniffed. "She probably just doesn't want to tell us."

Orli laughed. "You've been a bit sick for awhile now. And you're so grumpy every time you get something as little as the sniffles. It's… cute."

"There is nothing cute or attractive about sniffling and coughing and sneezing eighteen times in a row," Jen muttered, feeling like a little girl all over again. She sighed and blew her nose, muttering under her breath about incompetent husbands who thought they knew everything. Stopping abruptly, she broached a topic the two hadn't talked about in a few weeks. "Orli?" she asked, tentative, feeling as though she were eight and asking her mother to see if her friend could come over to play.

He looked at her and cocked his head to one side inquisitively, but said nothing.

Jen continued anyway. "What did Rachael want with you?"

Orli looked as though someone had slapped him in the face, and Jen felt bad, but there was no way to take back her words, and besides, the question had been eating at her for weeks. So she waited patiently for Orli to speak.

He looked down at the ground and muttered something about sex, status with friends and quite a bit about wanting to act in an R-rated movie together.

Jen stared.

Orli was blushing; he refused to look at her. "I heard her talking to that Mark in another room when I left to find you," he explained. "She was yelling at him for leaving me alone and saying something about why it was so imperative that I be there in the first place. So…"

"Oh, wow," Jen whispered. "Were you ever planning on telling me?"

"No," Orli sighed, still seeming fascinated by the carpet. "What good would it do? You have enough to worry about." Deliberately changing the topic, he added, "Did you tell your boss you're pregnant?"

Jen winced. "Not exactly. Like you said, it wouldn't do me much good. I'll tell him soon enough," she continued, "but right now I'm still trying to secure this whole job."

Orli smiled, relieved at having found solid ground on which to build a conversation. "How's it going anyway? You don't talk about it too much."

"You're probably not all that interested," Jen responded. Upon seeing Orli's offended look, she clarified, "Right now it's a lot of paperwork and picking out songs and paperwork and worrying about whether I should sing Christmas songs at this concert the company's hosting, and some more paperwork."

Orli had stopped hearing after a certain point. "What's this about a Christmas concert?" he asked, surprised that he hadn't heard about it yet. Cutting off Jen's response, he cried, sounding angry, "You never tell me anything anymore!"

Jen looked startled, and hurt. She opened her mouth to speak, but Orli stopped her again. "So, how about dinner over the weekend, if you're feeling better? We can catch up on everything. My treat," he added as an afterthought.

Jen glared at him. "Orlando I-Wish-You-Had-A-Friggin'-Middle-Name Bloom!" she yelled. "Don't go making me think you're angry with me when all you want to do is go out to dinner together!"

Orli could think of nothing to say, so he grinned sheepishly and commenced tickling her. She shrieked and swatted at him ineffectively. "Orli!" she gasped when she'd had enough. "This might be bad for the baby!"

Orli stopped immediately, looking repentant. "Is it really?"

"No," Jen answered, breathless from laughing, "but it worked like a charm. I'll be using that one a lot for the next seven months of your life."

Orli groaned. "And it'll work every time, because I'll never know if you just might be telling the truth."

Jen laughed. "But that's the beauty of it."

Orli couldn't suppress a laugh of his own. "So, where should we go for dinner?"

Jen was feeling much better over the weekend, so she and Orli headed off to a hopelessly fancy French restaurant together, complete with orchestral music playing softly in the background and candles as the only means of light.

After they'd ordered their meals, which they needed the waitress's help to pronounce, Orli leaned across the table and smiled. "This is where we were when I proposed, remember?"

Jen smiled, her eyes glazed over as though she weren't really seeing Orli, but rather the past. "How could I ever forget?" she whispered dreamily. "We were sitting at that table over there-" she pointed "-and I thought, when you told me we needed to talk, you were going to break up with me. You looked so serious…"

Orli laughed. "You did look pretty nervous. I remember that much. And I was wearing this formal jacket with way too many pockets and I couldn't remember which one I'd left the ring in."

"It took you a few minutes, and I was just sitting there wondering what you were doing. I didn't want to believe you were trying to find an engagement ring because that would be too good to be true and I didn't want to be disappointed when that wasn't what you were looking for," Jen remembered.

"And I wasn't even sure I was ready to propose, ready to be a husband," Orli went on. "I actually just wanted to find out what you thought about the whole thing, because I had grown to love you so much and I was too afraid of rejection to just ask you to marry me right then and there."

"What convinced you to then?" Jen wondered, fascinated.

"I don't know," Orli confessed. "I was just sitting there, and I was watching you, and then I became more afraid that if I didn't propose right then, I would lose my only chance to. So, I did. And it was the smartest thing I've ever done."

Jen's lips curved into a soft smile. "I can't argue with that."

"And now look at us," Orli murmured. "This time next year, we'll be parents."

Jen looked alarmed. "Do you really believe we're ready for that big a step? We've only been married for six months. I'm scared of messing up, somehow. I'm scared of being responsible for an innocent little baby's life," she admitted.

Orli reached for her hand and held it in his. "Every parent is," he insisted. "It's normal. But you know what? Of all the people I've ever met- and I've met a lot- you are the first person I would think capable of raising a child. You are loving, and compassionate, and stern without anger, and you have a great sense of humor, and you are mature and responsible. Don't be afraid."

Jen sniffed, feeling tears prickle in her eyes at the enormous weight of responsibility she was only now beginning to realize she was burdened with. "What about Michelle? She's all of those things, and more."

"No, she's not," Orli said firmly. "You are two completely different people. Don't ever compare yourself to Michelle. She'll make a good mother in her own way, someday. But you are not Michelle, and everything I love about you, the reasons why I am in love with you, are completely different from the reasons I love Michelle. You will make a wonderful mother. I know it."

Jen's smile was slightly teary. "Do you really believe that, or are you just saying it?"

Orli's dark eyes fastened onto her own, serious and intent. "I really, truly believe that, Jen." He lifted her hand and kissed it gently. "And you should too."

After dinner they took a walk through Battery Park. The nice thing about New York, Jen reflected, was that you could get away from the hustle and bustle of the city without ever really leaving it.

The park was quiet. An elderly couple sat on a park bench, laughing fondly about their youth. Jen fought the urge to rush over and ask if, sometime in the youth they were so affectionately remembering, they'd managed to raise children, and how.

A mother nearby scolded a toddler for wandering off. Jen wondered if that would be her someday, displaying anger to mask her terror, because for a heart-stopping instant, she was afraid she had lost her child.

A teenage couple strolled by, hand in hand, speaking softly, love in their eyes. Jen wanted to run over and warn them of what they could be facing in just a few short years.

Is this how I'll be the rest of my life? Jen asked herself. I'm just trying to enjoy a date with my husband, and all I can think about is everybody else and their hypothetical children.

Orli nudged her gently. "You want to sit down?" he asked softly, indicating a vacant bench.

Jen nodded and sank gratefully onto the cold bench. Orli sat next to her and waited for her to make the first move.

The world spun dizzily. Jen leaned her head on Orli's shoulder and cried in earnest, silent sobs that racked her whole body and left her breathless, physically exhausted, unable to speak.

Orli stroked her head gently and murmured words of comfort. But if Jen had been looking up, she would have seen the lost, anguished look in his eyes as they stared uncomprehendingly at something nobody else could see. He was just as scared as she was. But he had to be strong for her.

At last Jen was able to lift her head. Eyes teary, mascara running in rivers down her cheeks, she looked at Orli and whispered, "I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" he whispered back.

"I don't know… I just am," Jen answered quietly.

Orli held her close. "Don't be. I want children. Don't you?"

"Yes," Jen responded, "but… Oh, I'm being ridiculous, I'm sorry. It's these raging hormones. In another minute I'll start giggling hysterically."

"We better leave before that happens," Orli suggested, trying to lighten the mood.

A small giggle escaped Jen, and a smile formed on her lips. Orli grinned. "I saw that smile, Jen," he teased.

"I'm not trying to hide it," Jen insisted. "But nobody's said that to me since I was six."

"Well, then somebody needs to tell you again," Orli exclaimed.

Jen laughed through her tears, joy mixing with sorrow, anticipation with anxiety.

The phone rang. Jen groaned and stretched her arm as far as it would go, attempting to reach the phone on the end table. When that didn't work, she tried telling it, in very explicit terms, to shut up. And when that too failed, she sighed and listened to the machine.

After the beep came Michelle's voice. Jen sighed again, hoping Michelle would provide her with a little bit of entertainment; she could use the humor. But no.

"Jen dear," Michelle began, the mechanism of the answering machine making her voice sound tinny. "I was talking to my dear sister the other day, and she was telling me about how she talked to you online, and how you told her that you were in a dance downtown, but that you wouldn't tell her where it was, and also that it was sold out. So I was just wondering."

Jen, wincing, braced herself for the inevitable round of furious yelling that was about to come.

"Did you FORGET to tell me about The Christmas Angel? Did it just SLIP YOUR MIND? Or did you think I wouldn't FIND OUT about it? Or was I supposed to not be FURIOUS? I mean, forget HIGHLY OFFENDED, I've been MORTALLY WOUNDED." Michelle took a few deep breaths to calm herself before continuing. "And that is all I have to say. Good-bye forever."

Jen frowned. "Oh dear," she thought to herself.

Orli stepped out of the bedroom, clad in only a fluffy white bath towel. A tidal wave of steam issued from the room behind him. He looked at her. "What's wrong with Michelle?"

Jen shrugged. "Who ever knows."

"Ah." Orli shrugged. "Well, I'm off to go get dressed."

"Nah," Jen muttered. "Don't bother. You look great ass is. Ass is. As is!" She sat up straight suddenly, eyes wide. "I did not just say that. Forget I said that."

Orli laughed softly as he stepped back into the bedroom and quietly shut the door behind him.

Five minutes later he came out again, this time fully clothed. But instead of going to sit next to his wife, he headed for the answering machine to listen to Michelle's message.

Apparently, he found it very funny, although he did ask what The Christmas Angel was, and did demand to know why Jen hadn't told him about it, being as he was her husband, and not at all eccentric and likely to do something embarrassing if he attended her dance, unlike the person who had left the message on the machine. Jen had to make up a quick excuse about how the company owners would probably let famous people in, even if the play had been sold out for months, whereupon Orli slyly suggested that perhaps Josh and Michelle would like to go to.

Jen did not favor this particular idea.

Orli, trying to suppress an unseemly laugh, changed the topic before he was forced to do so anyway. "Jen, when exactly did you get pregnant?"

Jen frowned. "You know," she said thoughtfully, "I don't know."

That weekend found Jen onstage at a prestigious downtown dance theater, and (not terribly surprising) Orli, Josh and Michelle in the front row, Michelle loudly applauding even though nothing had happened yet. Jen flashed briefly back to the email Michelle's friend had sent her, entitled Fun Things To Do At The Movies. She only hoped Michelle wasn't going to put any of the suggestions into practice at her show.

Luckily, Josh and Orli made Michelle behave, for which Jen was immensely grateful. She was already slightly nervous just having her friends there and focused so hard on not messing up that she almost tripped once or twice. Fortunately, she was pretty sure nobody noticed, and anyway most people would forgive her for one little mistake.

David, who played a major role in preserving Jen's dignity when he had to carry her, was not the same. Jen knew he had a wild crush on her best friend and was a little worried that he would try very hard to impress her.

She was, it can be safely said, not wrong.

In a certain part of the show, Jen was supposed to be riding on David's back. Obviously nervous, he stumbled and dropped her. Jen heard Josh trying to stifle a snicker, and Orli elbowing him none too gently in return, but Michelle just looked bemused for some incomprehensible, obscure Michelle-type reason.

Backstage Jen yelled at David, mortified though he already was, and in the next show he didn't drop her. Instead, he lost his balance and she couldn't stay on him, which, technically, was just as bad and ultimately produced the same disastrous end results.

Jen was highly embarrassed, but even she couldn't keep the grin off her face when David went outside after the last performance, immediately located Michelle and practically started drooling on himself trying to talk to her. Orli was laughing silently, Josh looked annoyed and Michelle was pointedly glaring at Jen, who gave her a friendly smile and wave.

But then, consenting slightly to Michelle's unspoken demand, Jen walked over to her friends and very politely introduced David, suggesting that the five of them go out to lunch in an hour.

Josh and Michelle hastily made some excuse about how they had to go get their Christmas tree.

"You already have one," Orli pointed out kindly.

Michelle gave him a Look. "Yeah, well, we need another one," she stated as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I heard you laughing when David dropped me, Josh," Jen commented sweetly.

"I did not," Josh denied.

"I had to elbow him in the side to get him to shut up," Orli contributed solemnly, his dark eyes dancing.

"So I'm just saying, maybe you two should come out to lunch with us, to make up for that," Jen continued. "Your Christmas tree can wait."

"No it can't!" Michelle cried, sounding panicked. Jen and Orli burst out laughing.

"You two are hilarious," Michelle said dryly. "But, regretfully, we really do need to get that other Christmas tree as soon as possible. So, we'll just be off…"

Jen laughed at the heartsick longing on David's face. He turned to her and asked anxiously, "Was it something I said?"

Jen attempted to look sympathetic. "She's just very, very into the holidays."

"Has a Christmas tree in practically every room. I think I even saw one in the bathroom once," Orli added, straight-faced.

"So you'll just have to catch her another time… I'm sure there'll be another time," Jen finished. "But for now, we should catch up with them. I have to see how they think I looked onstage!"

Orli grinned and kissed her dramatically (David muttered something to the effect of "Ew" and left). Jen burst out laughing as soon as they pulled apart. "Thank you for getting him away from me."

Orli snickered. "I don't think it was you he was after. But I would've done that anyway," he declared. "You looked beautiful up there."

"Yeah?" Jen asked, feeling conceited but wanting to hear more.

"Yeah," Orli said.

"So should we go out to lunch to celebrate?" Jen asked, knowing what the answer would be.

"I think I'm supposed to ask that," Orli teased affectionately.

"Yeah, well," Jen said, unabashed, as they went to catch up with Josh and Michelle, who were waiting by their Beamer, Michelle's favorite and highly impractical car. Michelle leaned against it with her arms folded across her chest, looking comfortable even though it was only forty-five degrees out, with a look on her face that told Jen she was getting ready to research black magic just to use it on her best friend (which indicated some kind of odd aspect of their relationship, Jen thought, but she wasn't sure).

Michelle held up a hand as if to ward off anything Jen might have had to say. "I'm not even going to get started here. Are we going out to lunch?"

Jen looked slightly relieved. "Don't you have to go get another Christmas tree?" she asked slyly.

"Christmas tree?" Michelle repeated, puzzled. "What do we need another Christmas tree for?"

Jen laughed as the four friends recounted the dance recital and basked in their praise of her performance (still feeling a bit vain for it). When she had heard enough and was no longer entirely sure if the other three were being completely honest, she heard herself wonder aloud, "What are we doing for Christmas?"

That stopped the conversation as they all thought about it. "I have no idea," Josh admitted blankly. "We have to get together somehow, but are we planning to do anything special?"

Jen shrugged. "I don't know, I just wondered if we were doing something together. You two could come over to our place and we'll exchange presents."

Michelle smiled. "Sounds perfect. Hey, Jen, are you singing at your company's Christmas concert next weekend?"

Orli looked at his wife in mock outrage. "Michelle knew about this and I didn't? Since when do you ever tell Michelle anything you don't tell me?"

The cause of Orli's indignation frowned at him. "Orlando Bloom, do not say my name like it's a bad word."

Jen frowned too. "I didn't even know she did know about it."

Michelle looked smug.

Jen stared at her.

Michelle stared right back.

"Oh, all right," Michelle surrendered. "I read it online. I don't even remember the site, but after Janine had to tell me about The Christmas Angel, I looked it up myself. Surprise, you and Orli are all over the Internet. It didn't take that long to find the site for the company you sing with. Apparently they like to brag about you."

Jen looked slightly ill. "I'm… flattered. It's that easy to find whatever you want about me?"

Michelle grinned, a big, cheesy grin that she was well known for. "It's that easy. But," she added hastily, seeing the look on her friend's face, "there's nothing about you and Orli having a baby, or anything. Nobody knows yet, except us, I guess. So, are you going to be singing at the Christmas concert?"

"Yes," Jen muttered reluctantly. "Can I count on your being there in the front row making fun of me the whole time?"

Michelle's eyes opened wide. "Me? I would never."

The next weekend Jen was onstage again, this time belting out lyrics to "Angels We Have Heard on High" and "Joy to the World" in her clear soprano voice. Michelle, Orli and Josh were, of course, in the front row again. Michelle had her head cocked to one side like a little girl (Jen privately thought Michelle would have looked even cuter if she were wearing pigtails but didn't dare suggest it), smiling along with the music and for once in her little life, not making fun or being obnoxious.

"You sounded beautiful, Jen," she told her sincerely when it was over. "Let's go to a movie to celebrate! I've been good for two hours and that's all I can take."

"Sure, why not," Jen muttered, voice a bit raw after all that singing. "I bet you have a copy of your Fun Things To Do At The Movies in the car with you, don't you?"

Michelle looked faintly surprised. "Not actually. But I do remember a lot of it," she added with a devious smile.

"That's it, we are not going to the movies," Orli put in firmly.

"I am highly offended," Michelle sniffled, and walked dejectedly over to the Beamer, hunched over, pulling a tissue out of her pocket as she plodded miserably along.

"Now look what you've done," Josh said, sounding both exasperated and amused.

"She's such a little kid," Jen said, shaking her head.

Orli smiled repentantly. "I'm sorry… go chase after her and pass that along. Jen and I want to be alone right now, I think."

"Ya DO," Josh exclaimed, sounding exactly like Michelle when she was surprised, but in a somewhat deeper voice.

"We DO," Orli answered, mocking him. "Goodbye."

Josh laughed as he followed Michelle. "Don't have too much fun."

Jen fell into bed that night, exhausted and hoarse. She was still pondering Orli's question of weeks before: When had she become pregnant? The question was keeping her up. She could not figure it out and it was driving her crazy. But, after a while of thinking, she found that she could vaguely remember that she'd first noticed she was missing her period around the time she'd accepted the idea of singing for a career, and taken that job. Of course she'd dismissed the abnormality, thinking it was just a result of stress at the time. But now she was beginning to realize that it was more than a coincidence.

She remembered needing a pep talk from her husband because she was so scared of changing her entire life with one decision. What had he told her? "Children can wait… I didn't think we were ready for them anyway." And then, of course, they'd gone and been careless, and now they were going to be parents. What else had Orli said? "I love you, Jen… I want you to be happy." Was she happy now? Was this what she wanted? Jen had always believed in God, and knew that some things were just… meant to be, but was this one of them?

Still thinking about it, Jen realized more and more that she had always wanted to be a mother. She'd thought, of course, that she would marry an everyday man, settle down, help him pay the bills and maybe, when they were financially stable, have two or three children. She'd never dreamed that she would actually marry a famous actor and would never have to work if she didn't want to, or pay the bills or even worry about money.

Jen was almost asleep when she remembered something that suddenly struck her as ridiculously important. The night she'd become pregnant, she'd seen a thousand images flashing through her brain as she tried to sort through the turmoil inside, of her and Orlando, Josh and Michelle… and a sweet, innocent face, untainted by the secular worldA/N: at the very end of chapter 7 She wondered…

"Happy birthday, Jen!" Orli half-yelled in her ear a week later.

Jen groaned and rolled over in bed, still mostly asleep. "What?" she muttered.

Orli shook her. "Wake up! You're twenty-three!"

Jen chanced a look at him, even though the sunlight hurt her eyes. "I am?"

Orli rolled his eyes. "Je-en!" he cried. "Come on! I shouldn't be more excited than you are!"

"Well, what are we doing today?" Jen mumbled. "Twenty-three is special. We should do something special."

Orli smiled. "Whatever you want."

"That's a lot of choices," Jen said obstinately. "You pick."

"Jen, it's your birthday!" Orli cried, exasperated.

"Let's make a cake," Jen suggested.

"Is that all?" Orli stared, slightly confused.

"Yeah," Jen muttered, rolling over and pulling the quilt over her head. "That's all."

Orli ripped the quilt off her in one swift, fluid movement. "AH!" Jen yelled. "Too cold! Gimme back blanket!"

Orli laughed. "Get out of bed," he ordered. "Go put on a sweatshirt and you'll be nice and warm again."

Jen reached for the blanket, but Orli held it out of her reach. "No," he told her firmly, speaking as if to a dog. Jen glared, plodded over to the closet to find something warm and muttered something to the effect of, "It's my birthday, and I'm stuck with the husband who won't let me sleep in. Figures."

Fully awake and shivering, Jen peered into the closet. "Heeeey," she said, sounding surprised. "Where'd the very beautiful red dress come from?"

"Happy birthday," Orli smiled.

"It's so pretty," Jen cried, already feeling like her day was complete. "And you even got a sweater to go over it since it's a bit chilly out."

"Twenty degrees," Orli clarified automatically.

"Yeah," Jen agreed.

"And I have tickets to the Matchbox 20 concert- you still like them, right?"

Jen gasped. "I love them! That concert's been sold out for months! Where did you manage to get tickets?"

"I pulled a few strings," Orli told her with false modesty, leaning back against the bedroom wall in a cocky stance.

Jen laughed at the sight of him. "What time does it start again?"

"Seven-thirty tonight, and before that, dinner, which is admittedly cliché after all the times we've been out to dinner, but it's a classic."

Jen smiled. "Dinner and a concert… sounds perfect."

"Now, do you still want to make that cake you were talking about before?" Orli asked innocently.

Jen looked at him inquisitively. "Cake? I don't make cake."

The concert that night was packed. Jen was afraid she would seem out of place in the red dress and sweater Orli had given her, but since he was beside her in a black tux and there were VIPs there dressed equally nicely, she didn't feel so awkward. She relaxed and sang along with the music but turned down the several offers she received to go onstage and sing, although she was flattered. She leaned her head on Orli's shoulder and basked in the sheer delight of just being at a concert she'd wanted to go to so badly, and been so upset about when she learned that it had sold out three days after tickets went on sale. She had a perfect husband, she reflected contentedly.

"So, what did you think?" Orli asked on the way home, in the back of a stretch limo with slow music playing softly in the background.

"It was great," Jen told him, snuggled up against him. "Thank you so much for doing it for me."

Orli kissed the top of her head. "I wanted to make today perfect for you."

"You didn't have to," Jen protested unconvincingly. "But I'm glad you did," she added honestly.

The next day Michelle delivered a peanut butter cheesecake, a book of baby names and Jen's favorite brand name perfume to her doorstep and made only one snide comment about how she hadn't been able to deliver them the day before, since someone was obviously too busy for her. From Josh there was a painting of her and Orli, drawn from one of their wedding pictures, which Michelle confided that he'd been working on for months.

Jen hung the picture over her and Orli's bed, placed the book of baby names on the night table, spritzed on some of the perfume and sat down to eat some peanut butter cheesecake. In the spirit of generosity, she offered Josh, Michelle and Orli little pieces as she cut a rather large one for herself.

All three declined.

After three hours of just sitting around talking and bouncing around ideas for last-minute Christmas presents, Josh and Michelle decided they had to go home and wrap some presents, and left.

Jen shut the door and collapsed onto the nearest sofa. "I should probably go wrap some presents, too," she said thoughtfully.

"What did you get me?" Orli asked pleasantly.

"No," Jen answered. "I will not tell you. No no no!"

Orli laughed. "You make it so easy to get you worked up. Do you need any help wrapping my Christmas present?"

Jen gave him a Look, custom-made for him. Orli cringed. "All right, all right. I'll just… go away," he said, sniffling loudly.

Jen shook her head at his back as he left the room.

Christmas day dawned bright and cold. A thick layer of snow covered the ground, and more fell gently from the sky. Jen smiled. Snow was such a beautiful thing.

The bell rang at ten o'clock in the morning, just as Orli was beginning to stir and Jen was sliding her feet into her old, world-weary cotton slippers. Orli muttered incoherently; the only words Jen caught were "Stupid people… stupid bell… stupid morning."

Jen shrugged and went to let in Josh and Michelle herself. Returning to the bedroom, she remembered how Orli had pulled the covers off her to make her get up on her birthday. So, she creatively decided to yank them off of him.

That was poetic justice, she thought.

Once Orli had stopped yelling at Jen and located a bathrobe and slippers, he plodded out to the family room and glared at Josh and Michelle. "It's a little early, don't you think?" he demanded.

Josh looked amused. "And merry Christmas to you, too."

"Yeah, whatever," Orli muttered. Yawning, he pulled two packages from under the tree and handed one to each of them. "Happy Christmas… Leave now."

"Jen!" Michelle protested, vehemently opposed to this dismissal.

Jen smiled. "Orli, be nice," she scolded.

Orli turned his glare on her. Apparently, the fact that he had decided to marry and live with her did not mean he was going to obey her.

Jen cringed slightly. "Or you could just go back to bed while I make hot chocolate and coffee and tea for the rest of us."

"Coffee!" Orli cried, sounding awake. "I'll be good now."

Jen shook her head again and went to put the kettle on.

From Orli, Jen received four CDs, a new bathrobe (her old one was getting worn out and had holes in interesting places) and matching slippers, the earrings she had seen in a department store and fallen in love with, but hadn't been able to afford, and a special copy of Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, which, Orli confided, was technically illegal, but he was special and could sweet-talk his way out of trouble if need be. From Josh there was the extended Lord of the Rings four-disc DVD set she had wanted, and the necklace that matched her new earrings from Orli (Jen suspected a conspiracy there, but had no time to ponder it). From Michelle there was a photo of Jen and Orli that Jen had forgotten she'd taken. It was of the two of them on the day they celebrated the completion of one year of steady dating, and Michelle had enlarged it herself and had it framed. She also gave Jen two of the CDs Orli had not already given her.

At that point Orli and Josh exchanged a look that the girls completely missed, and Orli left. He came back moments later, bearing a small box for Jen, from him and Josh.

Jen looked puzzled. "Didn't you two already give me enough?" She glanced at Michelle, who looked back just as blankly and shook her head slightly. She had no idea either.

Jen shrugged and tore into the M&M wrapping paper. She pulled out a CD, but not one that she recognized immediately. After reading the cover, comprehension dawned.

"Hey," she whispered, awed. "I didn't know they made a CD of that Christmas concert."

Josh and Orlando smiled at each other above her head. "The two songs you sang are on there. We thought you might like it, as a memory."

Jen hugged them both, touched. "Thank you."

"There's more in there," Josh reminded her.

Jen, returning to the box, pulled out a videotape. "Let me guess… The Christmas Angel?"

"It has special sections about the professional dancers who were there, and you're one of them," Orli explained.

Jen was shocked, but happy. "Thank you both so much."

"Don't cry, Jen," Josh exclaimed as tears slipped down her cheeks.

Jen laughed. "I'm not… I'm just feeling sentimental right now."

"Oh, and there's more…" Orli slipped away again.

Jen stared up at Josh. "There's more?"

"The rest isn't exactly for you," Josh answered, sounding a bit sheepish.

Jen started; she'd completely forgotten about Michelle. But when she looked over, the other girl was sitting comfortably on the floor in front of the Christmas tree, a big package in her lap. Jen cocked her head at the package inquisitively.

"For you," Michelle explained. "This one is from all three of us. And you can share it with Orli."

Jen looked at her apprehensively as the package jumped and whined.

Michelle laughed, the long, genuine laugh of someone who is truly amused and enjoying herself, the sort of laugh that cannot be simulated merely by the desire to do so. "I promise you we didn't get you anything sharp, or pointy, or explosive," she gasped through her laughter.

Jen took the package away from her and opened it.

A chocolate brown puppy sat inside, looking up at her with inquisitive, dark eyes. Jen held the puppy's gaze for a moment before asking, "What kind of dog is this, and boy or girl?"

"Cocker spaniel, boy," Josh told her.

"He's so adorable," Jen gushed. "You guys do too much for me."

"Yeah, well," Michelle said, falsely modest.

Orli returned. "This is more from Josh, but since we were already giving Jen the same kind of joint present, we're saying it's from both of us," he explained as he handed a small parcel to Michelle.

She looked at him for a moment, puzzled, then shrugged. "Thank you."

"Open it before you thank us," Josh suggested, sounding slightly nervous for some incalculable reason.

Michelle obeyed. When she saw what was inside she gasped quietly. "Josh, what…?"

Josh looked down at the floor. "I hope you're not mad."

Michelle stared. "Mad?" she repeated. "No! When did you do this, and how did you manage to keep it from me?"

"You're not mad?"

"I said I'm not! I'm very grateful. Just… confused."

Josh finally looked up. "One day when you were out, I just talked to a publisher, and he said he was interested. If you don't like it," he added hastily, "that's the only copy in print, unless you want it all to be published. I just thought…"

Michelle interrupted him with a big hug that also included Orli. "You two are the best," she whispered, overwhelmed.

Jen, however, did not share the intense emotion. This was due mainly to the fact that she had clearly missed something important, and had no idea what Michelle was so happy about, or why Josh would be nervous about it, and at the rate things were going she wouldn't know for a long time. So, she interrupted. "What did I miss?"

Her three best friends broke apart and remembered that she was, after all, still present. Michelle held up her present from Josh and Orli: a small book of poetry. Jen was a bit lost for a minute or two as she looked at it and tried to figure out why it was so special. Then she realized that Michelle was the one who had written it. "Wow," she whispered.

Orli glanced over at Jen. "Hey! Do you like the puppy?"

"He's so cute!" Jen cried happily. "Who picked him out?"

"We all did," Orli said. "I decided that you liked cocker spaniels, Michelle decided the dog should be brown and Josh decided you needed a boy, for some obscure reason."

"That would be because we bought Michelle a female dog of the same variety, only in tan," Josh chimed in.

"We did, didn't we," Orli said thoughtfully.

"You did?" Michelle repeated. "Well. Today is just full of surprises."

"But they're good surprises," Jen reminded her.

"I know it," Michelle smiled. Turning to Josh and Orli, she asked plaintively, "Where's my puppy?"

Orli laughed and produced a small crate from the other side of the tree.
Michelle looked at the dog inside for a minute. "She's adorable. Thank you so much!"

"And to think we have nothing of the kind for you," Jen added.

Michelle clearly didn't care. "We still bought them stuff. It counts."

"What did you buy?" Orli inquired mischievously.

Jen grinned, remembering. For Orli there was a bow and arrow (he complained bitterly that he didn't have any, post-Lord of the Rings days) set, which alone was nice enough to constitute about three-quarters of the cost of one of the puppies, as well as new pajamas embroidered with a picture of Legolas and LOTR written in gold over the shirt pocket. Josh received more art supplies (apparently he'd been running low) that would probably last him for another year, and a gift certificate to the barbershop, which made him laugh.

They all spent the whole day together, and went out to dinner at Fazoli's instead of a nice restaurant, at Jen and Michelle's insistence that their breadsticks were to die for, and midnight found them sitting around the Christmas tree with no other lights on, recounting the past, reflecting on the present and contemplating the future. Jen summed the day up perfectly with, "And we'll all live happily ever after."