A/N: Okay the next chapter is almost done. As a few of you know I have a lot of future stories planned and I do tend to get burned out after writing for the same character for too long (I did this with my NY story). And well, it seems I have gotten burned out with Jack :( So I got half of the next chapter before I decided to take a break and clear my mind by starting one of my future stories, which happens to be a Death Sentence one, focusing on Billy not Joe. I have half of that chapter done and once I finish it I will finish the next chapter of this story. I won't let this get behind don't worry but I needed a break.
MissIndependent101-Haha...Yeah, no Jack's, for now, but that's still a maybe...lol! We'll see how well Emilie can help him and what his real reasons are for not wanting kids. :) I was damn proud of myself for that popsicle joke...lol! Thanks! :)
BEG75- Yes, you were the only one! But that's okay. Some of my funny rubbed off from Joli to Jack in this one...lol. Again, I was so proud of myself for that last part.
Berries-R-Blue- He's a Mercer! Need I say more? :)
SexySadie88- Yes, they are slowly working out a real relationship. :)
StraightEdgeQueen- Thanks! :)
It was Christmas Eve morning. The sun was glistening over trees and melting the tiny top layer of snow that fell last night. The streets were still and almost silent. This one of the only days Detroit seemed like a calm city and not a war zone. It was the only two days of the year kids would let their kids play outside and not worry about them getting killed or kidnapped. It was two days that should have meant the world to Jack and Emilie but there was something that was missing.
Evelyn.
"Jackie?" Emilie whispered, walking out behind him on the balcony. She had felt him toss and turn all this morning before finally getting up and walking outside. He knew they were all going to meet this morning and go see Evelyn and he wasn't sure if he was ready. He had been leaning over the rail for half an hour and it wasn't the cold that was freezing him from the outside in.
"How did you do it?" he asked her suddenly. She laid her chin on his shoulder and watched him blow the smoke from between his lips. She knew what he was feeling. She had gone through it almost two years ago and she wanted to tell him it was easy but it wasn't.
"How did you find the motivation to get up in the morning and walk around knowing she wasn't there anymore? How did you sleep or eat?" he asked, throwing the cigarette over the rail. "How did you do it? How did you deal with it?" Emilie wrapped her arms tightly around his chest and kissed his neck.
"I had you." she whispered. Jack's body stopped trembling and he almost forgot to breath. He took her hands in his before turning around and pulling her to him. "I had you to keep me going everyday, to keep me breathing and alive. If I didn't have you, Jack, I wouldn't have survived."
Jack held her tight and buried his nose in her hair. He never really knew how much he had done for her after Abigail died. He didn't realize that the only reason she woke up in the mornings were so that she could see what he had planned for that day. Whether it was showing her Detroit, taking her to the park or to play pool. She was curious as to what he wanted them to do that way. It was Jack the kept her from going in too deep, it was him that held her the nights she cried and it was him that gave her the motivation to continue living.
Now she got to return the favor.
"We better get going. We got a long day ahead of us." Jack mumbled into her hair. She nodded and slowly pulled back, grabbing his hands.
"It'll be okay." she promised and kissed his hands. He smiled down at her and nodded.
"I know." he whispered. They walked back inside the apartment and Emilie turned to him.
"I already have the girl's presents and Jerry and Camille's presents in the car." she told him. They were letting the girls and them open presents today so they could spend Christmas Day with Camille's family.
"You don't think Bobby and Angel will still be mad at us, do you?" Emilie asked as they drove to the cemetery.
"Em, I think they are worried that we're mad at them." he laughed. She sighed and felt the nerves build up in her as they reached the cemetery. She couldn't help but glance at Jack and felt her heart break seeing his face drop and his body go rigid. He hadn't been here since the funeral and they both know it would be hard on him.
Emilie's main heartache was looking over at him and then at the cemetery and realizing how close she came to loosing him. If he hadn't made it to the hospital in time, he would have died. Then not only would she be going to see Evelyn here, but Jack as well. That thought scared her and ate her up on the inside.
I didn't want to be here but I knew I had to come. I couldn't just hide forever, I'd be a hypocrite. I said those exact words to Emilie before Abigail's funeral. I told her she couldn't hide and that goes for me too. And the last thing I wanted to do was ignore the fact that my Ma was gone on Christmas Eve. It's bad enough she isn't here in person but that doesn't mean I can't go see her in the only way I can.
That's just plain selfish.
So that now left me and Emilie walking hand in hand over to my brother's who were gathered near the grave. I squeezed Em's hand as we got closer and saw Bobby and Angel look over at us.
"Jack, Emilie." Bobby nodded, softly. I nodded and I saw Emilie give him a small smile. Angle shoved his hand's in his pocket's and stared at the ground. "Listen, we want to apologize for our actions since you got home."
"We were only trying to look out for you." Angel added, looking at me. He slowly turned to Emilie and sighed. "And the thought of him touching you, Diddle. I blamed myself for that. If we hadn't have started this war it wouldn't have happened."
"Oh Angel." Emilie cried and stepped to hug him. He pulled her into him and kissed the top of her head.
"It's not anyone's fault." I whispered, looking at my two brothers. "We all knew there would be consequences and even though some unexpected things happened, we're all okay." Bobby nodded and reached over to hug me.
"But we're sorry. We didn't mean to go overboard there." Bobby finished. I nodded and shook Angel's hand when he let Emilie go to hug Bobby.
"You are forgiven." She smiled. "Just don't do it again." she warned. I wrapped my arm around her neck and pulled her to my side as we walked over to meet Jerry and his family.
"Uncle Jack!" Amelia screamed and ran over to me but Emilie caught her before she ran and grabbed a hold of my leg. The little girl squealed and Emilie set her on her hip as Daniella walked over.
"You dummy, Uncle Jack's hurt. You can't jump on him." she said, glaring at Amelia.
"Don't call me a dummy, D!" Amelia cried out.
"Girls, girls. Not here." Jerry scolded them and walked over to hug me. "Jackie, how's the leg? I see you got your cast off."
"Yeah, got it off yesterday. Feels so much better." I smiled. Camille walked over to grab Amelia from Emilie and she smiled.
"I'm glad your doing better, Jack. You had me worried for a minute." she smiled and reached up to kiss my cheek.
"Yeah, what a meanie." Amelia teased, poking her tongue out at me. I pinched her cheek and smiled.
"Just wait 'till I can run again. I'm gonna find you and tickle you to death." I warned. "You too, D" I added when Daniella snickered.
"Aunt Emmie, will save us!" Amelia cheered. We all laughed and when it all calmed down we slowly walked over to the grave.
We stood surrounding the knee high stone and one by one laid our flowers down and said a tiny hello and goodbye. Jerry and Camille had one girl each pressed to their fronts. Both looked heartbroken knowing that Evelyn wouldn't be here this Christmas. Bobby looked almost like a statue as he looked down at the ground and Angel was leaning on Emilie's other side. No one said anything while we stood there. No one needed or wanted to say or hear anything. We all let it sink in that this would be one of the most saddest Christmas' in a long time.
You'd think she was cooking for an army. She not only had the two counters filled with food but the table was also full. Bobby made the mistake of asking her why she cooked so much and earned a hot roll to the back of his head. He didn't think it was too funny but everyone else did.
"You look deep in thought there Jackie-Pooh." Angel said walking up behind me. I smirked over at him and flicked the ashes off my cigarette.
"Yeah, a little." I admitted. He leaned over the rail with me and scratched his head.
"You wanna share?" he asked slowly. "I mean, I know I ain't Diddle but, contrary to what Sofi says, I do listen."
"Just not to her?" I laughed and he nodded. "It's just weird. We're upset one minute and now we're joking around. Part of me feels guilty for being happy."
"But you know what that is?" he asked. I looked over at him and he smiled. "It's a reminder that life goes on. Even when the happiness catches you off guard, it's only saying that it's okay to be happy." I stared at him for a minute and noticed his eyes were slightly red.
"You just got done talking to Em, didn't you?" I asked. He laughed out loud and nodded.
"Yeah, you think I can actually come up with that on my own?" We laughed and slowly fell silent again.
"There it goes again." I whispered. "I always thought I'd be miserable after she was gone, but I don't. I'm sad, pissed and upset that she's gone but I don't feel like I thought I would."
"Well, we never really know how we will act until it happens." he told me. "And that came from me, not Diddle." he smirked. I chuckled and put my cigarette out in the ashtray.
"We better get inside before Camille send a search party." I said and turned to the door. Angel slapped a hand on my shoulder and squeezed.
"It'll be okay, Jack." he told me. I nodded and pulled the door open. We walked through the back hallway and into the kitchen where everyone was standing.
"I was about to come find you two." Camille smiled as she set the ham on the table. I chuckled and walked over to Emilie.
"Where are we going to sit?" she asked. I scratched my head and looked around. Before he could open his mouth Camille instructed people where to sit.
"Me and Jerry will take the ends and I'll have the girls on either side of me. Everywhere else is free game." she smiled again. I nodded and pulled the chair on the right side of Jerry out for Emilie.
"Why thank you." she winked and sat down. I sat down between her and Amelia while Bobby and Angel sat in front of us.
"Who wants to sat Grace?" Jerry called. Amelia and Daniella threw their hands up and we all laughed.
"We learned one at school before we got out." Daniella spoke up.
"You girls can say it together, okay?" Camille warned, so they wouldn't fight. They nodded and everyone grabbed hands and closed their eyes.
"God is great. God is good. Let us thank Him for our food. Amen!" the girls smiled when they opened their eyes. Me and Em couldn't help but chuckle and clap when they were done.
"That was amazing girls." Bobby smirked and kissed Daniella's head.
"Now let's eat damnit." Angel cheered and earned a smack from Bobby. Angel glared at him and pouted like a child.
"What you think because La Vida Loca ain't here, you won't get slapped?" Bobby asked, grabbing a roll.
"Man, it's Christmas, why you gotta talk about my girl like that?" Angel whined.
"Show some respect. We got kids in the room." Bobby told him.
"Show some respect to my girl then." Angel threw back.
"Why should I show her respect when she don't even respect herself?" Bobby laughed. I threw my head down and laughed as they bickered through dinner. I almost expected Camille to yell at them but she was in tears by the end of dinner from laughing so hard. I couldn't help but smile finally seeing that life does go on, we don't have to mourn forever.
"Alright, everyone get in here! It's getting late and the girls need to go to bed." Camille yelled from the living room. Bobby, Angel, Jack and Emilie laid down the cards they were playing in the kitchen and walked into the living room seeing the girls sitting in front of their presents.
"Any special order you want them opened?" Jerry asked.
"Open mine and Em's last." Jack told them. The girls nodded and grabbed the wrapped boxed that were from Bobby.
"I didn't know what to get you girls but I figured a new pair would be nice." he told them bashfully. The girls ripped the boxes open and squealed as they pulled out a new pair of ice skates. Daniella's had the letter D on it in pink and Amelia's had an A in purple.
"Thanks Uncle Bobby!" they squealed and ran to hug him. They showed their skates off to their parents and smiled.
"I was thinking they needed new ones, Bobby. Thanks." Camille smiled gratefully.
Angel smiled as they tore into a few tiny boxes from him and Sofi. They went out and bought them new clothes for the rest of the winter and summer. The girls fought for a moment when they were told they couldn't open the presents from Jerry and Camille but Bobby was quick to remind them that they still had presents from Jack and Emilie.
"Open this one first." Emilie smiled and handed the box to Amelia. She sat at Emilie and Jack's feet as she peeled the paper off the box and looked inside.
"It's a book." she smiled and pulled it out. She opened it to the middle and smiled up at Emilie. "You got it."
"Got what?" Jerry asked.
"A while back she was asking about my nick-name. I told her it was from a rhyme and she got interested and said she wanted to read more of them. So when Pais called me and told me there was this really old book of rhymes, poems and lullaby's, I had to." Emilie smiled over at Jerry and Camille.
"Aww that was sweet Em." Camille smiled. Amelia looked over at Emilie and Jack and smiled.
"Can you read me some tonight before we go to bed?" she asked. Emilie looked over at Camille who nodded.
"Of course, only a few though." she promised.
"Now for D's." Jack smiled and set the long box in front of her.
"Jesus, Jack. What did you get her?" Angel laughed. Jack smiled and sat back.
"You'll see." he told them. Emilie smiled and scooted down to the floor with Jack as Danielle ripped the paper off. Her eyes lit up when she looked in the box.
"Uncle Jack!" she shrieked and picked the small guitar up. Jerry and Camille groaned a little as she picked at the strings.
"Jack." Jerry scolded. Jack smirked at him and looked over at Daniella.
"Only condition is you have to let me teach you to play it. No messing it up or using it as a toy. It's not a toy." Jack told her.
"I won't mess it up, I promise. I won't touch it until you come over to teach me, I promise." she smiled then looked over at her parents. "Can Uncle Jack teach me? Please!"
"Yes, but don't be going around the house trying to play it when you can't." Camille laughed along with every else.
We went up stairs with the girls when we were done cleaning up. Jack sat with Daniella on her bed and I sat on Amelia's bed with her. After both were ticked in I pulled the book out.
"Do the one with your nickname first." Daniella smiled, pulling the covers up to her chin. I smiled and flipped through the pages and looked around when I found it.
"Ready?" I asked. Everyone nodded, including Jack and I began to read.
"Hey diddle, diddle. The cat played the fiddle. The cow jumped over the moon. The little dog laughed to see such sport. And the dish ran away with the spoon." I recited.
"That's wrong." Jack spoke up. I frowned and look over at him.
"Please, do explain." I asked. He smirked and sat up.
"Hey diddle, diddle. The cat and the fiddle. The cow jumped over the moon. The little dog laughed to see such a sight. And the dish ran away with the spoon." Jack recited. "That's the one I grew up with."
"Well, that's not in the book and I grew up with this one." I smiled and stuck my tongue out at him.
"Another." Amelia cheered. I smiled and flipped through the book. I found the one and I smirked, while looking over at Jack.
"Jack be nimble, Jack be quick. Jack jump over the candle stick. If Jack had jumped a little higher, he wouldn't have caught his pants on fire." The girls giggled and Jack just shook his head.
"That's real mean, Em." he smirked. "How about we read a Christmas story?" The girls nodded and I grabbed a book from under the nightstand.
"Both of you." Amelia told us. I moved to sit on the floor between the beds and Jack sat next to me as the girls finally started to fall asleep.
"'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there. The children were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads and mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap, had just settled down for a long winter's nap; When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter." I softly read out loud and passed the book to Jack. He sent me a tiny smiled and started to read.
"Away to the window I flew like a flash, tore open the shutters and threw up the sash. The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below. When, what to my wondering eyes should appear but a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer, with a little old driver, so lively and quick, I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick." he read. I smiled listening to his deep voice so soft and soothing. "More rapid than eagles his coursers they came, And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;" I closed my eyes and spoke with him.
"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen! On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen! To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall! Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!" We said together and he passed the book back to me but I knew the rest by heart. I laid it down between us and moved into his arms as he laid his head back on the bed.
"As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly, when they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky, so up to the house-top the coursers they flew, with the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too. And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof the prancing and pawing of each little hoof as I drew in my hand, and was turning around, down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound. He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot, and his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot." I whispered into the silent room, smiling as Jack nuzzled my neck.
"A bundle of toys he had flung on his back, and he looked like a peddler just opening his pack. His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry! His cheeks were like roses, his now like a cherry! His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow, And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow; The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth, and the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath; He had a broad face and a little round belly, that shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly." Jack whispered back, pulling me tightly to him.
"He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf, and I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself; A wink of his eye and a twist of his head, soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread; He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work, and filled all the stocking, then turned with a jerk, and laying his finger aside of his nose, and giving a nod, up the chimney he rose" I pinched Jack's arm to let him to know finish it with me.
"He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, and away they all flew like the down of a thistle. But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight," we whispered. His lips moved for mine as we whispered the last bit. "Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night." His lips covered mine and his tongue sought mine greedily as we shared a long, soft kiss. It was a moment of pure tenderness and love. The reading of a Christmas story and relishing the fact that we were able to spend this day with each other.
"Why don't you want me to get you anything for Christmas?" I asked, when we pulled apart. He smiled softly and grabbed my hand.
"Because nothing can top the present that I was already given." he whispered. I tilted my head and looked at him intently.
"What's that?" I asked. He's quiet for a minute and looks away but when he looks back at me there's nothing but love swirling in his eyes.
"The second chance to live my life." he whispered. "And the chance to live it with you."