Whoo! Another chapter. This one is kind of long. Lol. I am going to dedicate this chapter to kiss the girl54…happy birthday! (:

Reba's birthday had passed, which meant Christmas was right around the corner. She had every gift bought and stored away.

Except for one.

It was the hardest one. The one she thought about the most and the one that took the most time to find. She would really have to pay attention to his words the next couple of weeks. For some reason, she knew this Christmas would be different. She could feel it.

"Hi mom, bye mom." Kyra walked from the kitchen to the front door without stopping.

"Wait a second! Where are you going?"

"I'm going to Kendall's Christmas party." The younger redhead replied.

"Fine. Just be careful." Reba said and hugged her daughter goodbye.

She sighed and sat down on the couch. Her peace was short lived, though, when Jake came rushing down the stairs.

"Bye mom!" he shouted, almost making it through the door.

"Freeze!" she commanded. "Where are you going?"

"Dylan invited me over, remember? I asked you last week." She sighed, realizing how forgetful she had been.

"Okay, go have fun." She waved him off and shut the door.

"So, I guess it is just Van, Cheyenne, Elizabeth, and me tonight." She said to herself.

"Hey mom, see ya later." Cheyenne stated with Elizabeth and Van tagging behind her.

"Y'all are leaving me too?" Reba asked sadly.

"We are only taking Elizabeth to see Santa. Calm down, ma."

"okay." She smiled at her granddaughter. "Have fun Elizabeth!"

The door slammed shut, slamming the door on her heart in the process. She moseyed back to the couch and flopped down. Her babies were growing up before her eyes. She could not believe it. They all had lives of their own. She used to think these times would be wonderful, when her children grew up. This was supposed to be the time when Brock would light a fire in the fireplace he promised he would build her. They would sit by the fire holding each other. Then they would reminisce about how wonderful their life was, and fall asleep in each other's arms.

She chuckled as she lay down on the couch. "I guess that will never happen." She sighed. "I do not have a fireplace, nor do I have Brock."

Slowly, her dreams consumed her as she fell asleep.

Hours later, Brock walked through the door. He smiled seeing the redhead soundly sleeping on the couch. She was beautiful, but he could never tell her that. He made his choice five years ago. Unfortunately for everyone though, it was the wrong choice.

"You're beautiful." He whispered, and gently kissed her forehead. Then he headed home to giver her some peace.

You're beautiful, you're beautiful

You're beautiful, it's true.

I saw you're face, in a crowded place

And I don't know what to do

Cause I'll never be with you.

Reba awoke to an empty house. Slowly she sat up, yawning tiredly. Figuring she would have no other time, she headed up to her room to wrap presents.

She smiled as she saw all the gifts laid out in front of her. She wished she had another pair of hands to help her.

Brock smiled as his phone buzzed and he read his text.

I'm wrapping presents…wanna help?

Moments later he was at Reba's house. Remembering that they had always wrapped gifts in their room, it was the first place he looked.

She glanced up, feeling another presence.

"Hi!" she smiled brightly at Brock, who was leaning against the door frame.

"Need some help?" he inquired, giving her his classic prince charming smile.

"Yes! There are so many gifts! It would have taken me hours if you would not have come over!" she exclaimed.

Swiftly, he took off his shoes and sat cross legged by Reba, grabbing the first present he saw. In this case, happened to be a gift for Kyra. "Did you have a nice nap?"

She laughed. "Yes, I did."

"I came over earlier to see you, but you were sleeping." They both smiled as a comfortable silence fell upon the room.

"This sure does bring back old memories doesn't it?" Brock asked, grabbing another gift.

"Yeah, it sure does." She agreed with a smile, remembering how much she used to fret on Christmas Eve. She always wrapped the gifts, while Brock was getting buzzed on eggnog and playing with the toys.

"What's this?" Brock asked curiously. It was a velvet box that most likely had a ring in it.

"Nothing!" Reba's heart jumped to her throat as adrenalin rushed through her veins.

She dove for the box, but Brock was too fast. He quickly moved his arm, causing Reba to land in his lap.

Realizing how awkward their position was, she moved abruptly.

Brock opened the box, only to find Reba's wedding ring.

"Who's getting married?" he question, in a perplexed manner, then quickly jumped to conclusions. "Oh gosh, tell me it is not Kyra. Why on earth would she be getting married now? Oh dear Lord…She's pregnant, isn't she? Who's the father? I'll kill him!"

"Brock! Calm down!" she said, a little harshly, but enough to pacify him. "Kyra is not getting married." She reassured him, squeezing his hand in a comforting way.

"Then, why are you wrapping your ring?"

She really had no idea what to tell him.

"I, uhm…well…" she stuttered.

How was she supposed to tell him that her wedding ring was the reason she never moved on? How in the world was she supposed to tell him that ring was her gift to herself every year?

Today I took some wrapping paper

And wrapped the wedding ring you left behind

And I addressed it to the man

Who vowed to love you

And on the little card

I wrote these words inside.

Brock was still staring at her with his comforting, deep blue eyes and waiting for an answer.

There was no way out of this… she had to tell him the truth, even if it did mean swallowing her pride.

"okay." She confessed. "That ring is a gift to myself every year."

Brock was confused to say the least. Why was it such a big deal that she gave herself her ring for Christmas?

"Why is that such a big deal?" he echoed his thoughts.

Merry Christmas to me

Just one gift beneath my tree

For the fool who let you leave

Merry Christmas to me.

"Because Brock," she continued. She was not sure if she should be defensive or embarrassed that she was telling him this. "I give myself this ring every year to remind myself that I was a fool who did not fight for you."

"Why would you do that to yourself Reba?" he brought her into a hug. "You realize you are only hurting yourself."

"That's the point." She stated bluntly, trying her best to hold back tears.

"What?"

Then I sat down in my chair

And thought about you

About the many reasons why you're gone

And I opened up the present that I gave to me

And realized how much it hurts to be alone.

"Seeing that ring under the tree every year keeps the pain of the affair fresh in my heart. It is the reason why I have not been able to move on."

Realizing she had given too much insight, she quickly shut down. She was 'Grr, I'm Reba' again. Once again, she put the brick wall up around her heart.

"Never mind why I do the things I do. It is not important anymore." She said and quickly stepped out of Brock's arms.

I did not leave this one with much of a cliffhanger…

Tell me what you think! Review! (:

oh, and the songs i incorporated were:

You're beautiful ;; James blunt

Merry Christmas to me ;; Alan Jackson