Christmas Morning

Christmas morning had finally arrived, and with it a fresh coat of snow that covered Rhy'Din - or at least, Maple Grove - all in white - a winter wonderland worthy of a Currier and Ives print. Not only was it Christmas morning, but it was the morning after the big Granger Family Christmas Eve party at the main house the night before, hence a good many of Maple Grove's inhabitants would be found sleeping late that day, but when Jasmin finally awoke, she'd find the other half of the bed empty, Jack nowhere to be found.

Used to late nights, Jasmin wasn't asleep too late, but late enough and deep enough not to have noticed Jack slipping out of the bed and leaving her. As she rolled onto her back, blinking up at the ceiling, her first thought was that he must have woken and gone to the bathroom, but the sheets on his side were cool. "What happened to lying in until we have to be up?" she grumbled to herself, moving to climb out of the bed. She shivered, the air a little too cool for comfort, and groped for a cardigan to wrap around herself over her tank and shorts. After a moment's thought, she stuffed her feet into her favorite pair of winter boots, too, finally venturing out onto the landing and down the stairs with a weary yawn, rubbing a hand through her hair. "Jack?"

No response came from anywhere in the house, no sound at all, like the line in Clement Moore's poem, "Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse." Or so it seemed. Nothing was heard but the occasional creak of the wind in the eaves, though the smell of coffee brewing was proof that someone had been about, at least for a little while.

Bemused, and a little irritated that she'd been left to wake up all alone on their first Christmas morning together, Jaz thumped down into the living room, hugging her cardigan about herself as she yawned once again. "Baby' Are you here?"

There still came no reply or response but the sound of silence, though if Jasmin was observant, she'd noticed a stocking beneath the tree that hadn't been there the night before. Further exploration would prove that Jack's jacket and boots were missing, as if he'd gone somewhere.

Bereft of her boyfriend, Jaz didn't notice the stocking for a long moment, moving to pour herself a cup of coffee and begin her day's intake of caffeine while trying to work out where Jack could have gone. The remains of his breakfast were there on the counter. Perhaps he'd stepped over to Willow Manor to wish Tommy and Lena a Merry Christmas. She smiled to herself, thinking of her cousin and Jack's friend, who had gotten engaged the night before during the Granger party. She was happy for them, despite the faint flash of envy that went with it for their happiness together.

Sipping her coffee, her attention was caught by the sight of the unexpected stocking under the tree, next to the one she'd put there when she'd woken up at the crack of dawn in need of a glass of water. Tempting though it was to open it, she wanted to know where Jack had gone, instead turning to open the front door and step out onto the porch, ignoring the chill around her knees as she squinted across the brittle white landscape.

It was when she stepped outside onto the porch that it became a little more apparent where Jack had gone, as his footsteps in the snow clearly led toward Willow Manor. But that wasn't quite as puzzling as what else she found there. There were other footprints in the snow, along with Jack's, and from the look of them, they didn't appear to be human, but it would be hard to tell from the porch just what sort of creature had made them. Jasmin didn't have to wonder too long, however, as the silence of the snowy morning was broken by the sound of Jack's voice, followed by what sounded like a dog barking.

Puzzling, yes, but not immediately inexplicable. Cosmo was in the habit of barreling across the grounds to pounce on Jack if he could get loose from the big house, and it wasn't beyond reason that he might have done just that this morning. In which case, Jack taking the hyperactive collie for a walk would make perfect sense. Stifling yet another yawn, she smiled as she heard Jack's voice, a little confused by the unfamiliar bark, and moved to lean on the porch railing, sipping her coffee. "Hey, isn't anyone gonna wish me a Merry Christmas this morning?"

Jack's voice was heard again, a little more distinct this time. "Shh, you're gonna ruin the surprise!" he scolded someone or something. After a moment, he peeked his head around the corner of the house and flashed a bright, but slightly guilty smile up at Jasmin, his face flushed red from the cold. There was no telling how long he'd been out there. "Morning, baby! Didn't wake you, did we, er, I?"

It took a fair amount of effort, but Jaz kept the suspicion out of her expression as she grinned over at Jack, noting his flushed face and the fact that he was apparently not alone. "No, I was all alone, that's what woke me up," she told him, twisting to face him. "Why didn't you wake me?"

"I, uh....I wanted to surprise you," he blurted, flushing further either from the cold or embarrassment, unable to lie for long, even when it was because of a surprise. And then there was that sound again, which sounded like a bark, but was definitely not the familiar sound of Cosmo.

Her smile softened at his unintentional confession, touched by the effort he'd obviously put into this surprise of his. "Want me to go back to bed, then?" she offered quietly through her tender smile. "I'd hate to spoil anything."

"No, I, uh..." He stumbled over the words a moment, as if he wasn't quite sure what to do or say next. His little surprise wasn't going quite they way he'd planned, but before he could do anything about it, there was that sound again, something small and furry was bounding its way through the snow past Jack on its way toward the porch.

Startled, Jaz wasn't entirely sure what to make of the furry bullet headed her way. She assumed it was a dog of some kind, given the barking she'd heard before, but beyond that was something of a mystery while the creature was in full flight. Chuckling, she dropped onto one knee to let the little canine greet her, looking up at Jack with a grin. "Is this a dog, or an over-excited rabbit with a few mutations?"

"It's good practice," she chuckled back to him, lips already nuzzling close for more Christmas kisses. Milo, it seemed, wasn't quite ready to give up his brand new humans, though. Hopefully Jack was paying attention, or one very determined little puppy was going to have his pants off him in very short order.

Jack smiled into Jasmin's kiss, chuckling when he felt the puppy tug at the ankle of his trousers. "All right, all right! We didn't forget about you!" he told the dog as he broke Jasmin's kiss. "I'll get a towel. There's some things under the tree for him." Thankfully, Jack had already provided most of the necessities, chiefly consisting of water and food bowls and puppy chow.

Letting Jack retreat in search of a towel, Jaz swooped down on the puppy, scooping him up and wrestling him onto the ground to scritch at his tummy and generally keep him amused. Her glance strayed to under the tree, where presents and stockings had been left, just in time to be captured by Milo as he gently gnawed on her finger. "Ouch!" Laughing, she pried her hand free. "You adorable little monster, we don't eat people!"

Hopefully, Jack had a few chew toys, too, amidst the wrapped gifts. The pet store had provided some things and suggested others, and never having had a puppy before, Jack had taken their suggestions to heart. He returned momentarily with a thick bath towel to wrap the furry little thing up in, only to find Jasmin on the floor with him. He laughed to see them together, the puppy gnawing on Jasmin's hand. "There are a few chew toys under the tree," he told her, crouching down to rescue her from the playful little thing and wrap him up in a warm fuzzy towel to dry him off.

"That is a relief," she laughed fondly, arrested for a moment in the action of seeking out one of those chew toys by the sight of Jack wrapping up the newest member of their household in a towel. "Gods, you're so cute together." A brief rummage under the tree came up with a rope bone that would probably be ideal once Milo was all dried off. "I need to work out which one of your presents compares now."

Of course, Milo thought all this was a game of some sort, but cooperated long enough for Jack to get him dried off enough that he wouldn't catch a chill. He flashed a shy smile at Jasmin's compliment, having thought nearly the same thing just a moment or two earlier. "So are you," he said as the puppy tried to escape from the towel. "Not so fast, you little scamp!" Jack said, laughing as he scooped the puppy up to dry him off.

Sitting down beside the pair of them as they wrestled and laughed, Jaz waited until Milo was dry, his fur sticking up all over the place, and booped the puppy on the nose with the toy, letting him seize it and chew to his heart's content. With any luck, he'd pass out for a nap after his exciting morning.

"It's a little like having a baby, isn't it?" Jack asked, as if he was only just starting to realize this. He had already grown fond of the puppy and they'd only been acquainted a short time. He just hoped Jasmin loved him as much as he did. He wasn't stupid enough to know that having a puppy wouldn't be hard work, but he thought it would be worthwhile in the end. It was no big secret that he adored Cosmo, so he'd thought why not a dog of their own" He reached over to wriggle his fingers in the puppy's soft fur as he gnawed away on his chew toy.

For some reason, that question made something profound happen to Jasmin's expression. She seemed to glow without any flicker touching her smile, her gaze softening tenderly as she looked at Jack. "Yeah, it is," she agreed quietly, settling close to him to watch as he petted the playful pup. "Like I said ....good practice."

His smile turned a little bashful as he realized what she was getting at, that they, too, would have a family someday and that having a puppy was good practice at learning how to be responsible for someone other than yourself. But first things first. Jack came from a different era - one in which it was important to do things in the right order, even though they had already skipped a few steps by living together. "I, uh....I got you something else."

"Not so fast, man cub," she chuckled, tweaking the end of his nose between forefinger and thumb teasingly. "You gotta give me a chance to even the balance here before you give me anything else." And she was just stubborn enough to block her ears and close her eyes if he tried to insist. "Give me a sec." Pushing herself onto her feet, she disappeared behind the Christmas tree for a moment, reappearing with a large, relatively shallow, rectangular box, which she set down in front of Jack with a nervous grin. "Not quite a puppy, but I thought you'd like it."

He chuckled at her pet name for him, as well as the nose tweaking. The puppy was happily chewing away at his rope bone, allowing his humans to swap gifts in relative peace. "For me?" Jack asked, stating the obvious with a pair of arched brows as she set the very large box down in front of Jack. There were only so many things that could fit inside a box like that, assuming she had not wrapped a very small gift inside a very large box.

"Yes, for you," she assured him with a grin, setting herself down beside him once again. "Don't think I haven't been paying attention when we've gone window shopping over the last few months." She certainly had been paying pretty close attention to have picked this one out - he tended not to linger over such things unless Jaz wasn't in the shop.

Jack had a sneaking suspicion what was inside that box; there were only so many things it could be, but he didn't dare hazard a guess, afraid he'd be wrong and disappoint her with an incorrect guess. "You didn't have to get me anything," he tried to object, even as he started to tear the paper away from the box, his stomach all tied up in excited knots. The most he'd ever gotten from anyone recently in the way of gifts was a surfboard Tommy had made specially for him.

"You didn't have to get me anything," she pointed out, a little surprised to find that her present was crawling up into her lap to settle down for a good long nap, rope toy in his mouth. Touched by the puppy's unerring sense of where to poke to find the soft heart only Jack was familiar with, she melted, subsiding to watch as her boyfriend tore open his present to reveal the beautiful Cuban mahogany acoustic guitar she had found for him. It was performance ready, too, something she was very pleased to be able to say she'd insisted on.

He had bought her stocking, as he had no skill with knitting or crocheting and would have had a hard time mastering that skill without her knowing it anyway. Inside her stocking were also found the usual things one was likely to find there, some of which matched those in his own stocking, along with a few small personal items - chocolate coins, an orange, a silver dollar, a marshmallow Santa, a few bottles of nail polish and tubes of lip gloss, a pack of guitar picks, a small gold heart-shaped locket with their photo inside - which he'd obtained with a little help from Tommy and Lena. And in the toe of that stocking was also a small wrapped box.

It took a little while for them to reach those similarly stocked toes, enjoying teasing one another about how alike they had been in preparing for Christmas. Chewing on a piece of her orange, Jaz paused with her box in her hands, wondering if maybe they'd been linked telepathically or something. "So, uh ....how are we doing this?" she asked with a faint grin. "Both at once, or one at a time?"

His brows lifted curiously as they both reached the bottom of the stocking and came up with nearly the same thing. "Uh..." he started, uncertainly. Had she bought him the same thing he'd bought her or was there something entirely different in that little wrapped box" "Both at once, I think," he replied, though he was half-tempted to make her unwrap hers first.

"All right, then." Shoulder to shoulder with him, Jaz began to unwrap her little box, removing the paper and checking to see how far he'd gotten before opening the lid of her own box at the same time he opened his. What greeted Jack's eyes was a silver ring, engraved with an Irish Claddagh - two hands holding a crowned heart.

He wasn't very familiar with the meaning behind the ring, so she would have to explain it, but he did think it was lovely and even more so because it had come from her. "Oh!" he exclaimed once he had unwrapped the paper and opened the box, unsure which finger it was supposed to go on. "It's..." He broke off, unsure what to say about the ring, since he didn't really understand its meaning. "Why are there two hands holding a heart?" he asked curiously. As for her gift, there was also a ring inside that wrapped velvet box, though the meaning of hers was quite clear as the ring was clearly an engagement ring - a delicate slender band made of platinum featuring a diamond set in a rose-shaped setting and surrounded by 20 smaller diamonds along the front of the band. He looked expectantly and nervously over at her as she unwrapped her own gift.

"It's an engagement ring," she told him, pausing in her own unwrapping to explain the significance of the ring he was looking at. "Called a Claddagh. It's Irish. The hands represent friendship, the heart is love, and the crown is for loyalty. Because I love you, and I want you to know that I will never stop loving you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Jack, if you'll have me." With a shy smile, she finally looked down at the contents of her own box, her mouth falling open with soft surprise and delight. "Oh, Jack, this is ..." Her eyes widened as she looked up at him. "I thought you weren't ready?"

If his heart could melt anymore than it already had, it would have as she explained the meaning behind the ring, and though he didn't really want her to see it, he couldn't help the tears of joy that welled up in his eyes. He looked back at her with tear-filled eyes of blue, a serious look on his face. "It's not that, Jaz. I love you more than anything, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I just don't want to be like my father, but Tommy says I'm being an idiot and I'll never be like him."

"Tommy's right." She edged closer, gently taking the Claddagh ring out of the box he held to slip it onto his finger. It seemed a little loose for a moment before fitting itself snugly about his flesh, the perfect fit for him. "Marry me, Jack?"

He brushed an errant tear from his cheek as she slid the ring onto his finger, smiling softly back at her, deeply touched by this gesture of love. He only nodded for a moment, too choked up to find his voice. "I will, Jasmin," he said finally. Doing the same, he took the diamond engagement ring from the box and reached for her hand to carefully slide it onto her finger. "Marry me, Jasmin?" he countered with a hopeful gleam in his eyes.

She nuzzled fondly to him, almost surprised by how at home the delicate band felt about her finger. Who would have thought, when Lena had introduced them just a few months ago, they would have got to this point' Diamonds sparkled in the light from the fire as she curled her hand to his cheek. "Just as soon as you want me to, baby," she promised him, capturing his lips in a kiss to seal the promise the best way she knew how.

Now that he'd made up his mind and conquered his fears, today wasn't soon enough to link his life to hers, officially and permanently, but no one got married on Christmas. It was unheard of, and with two more family weddings looming in another week's time, he thought it might have to wait. "I'd marry you today, if I could," he replied quietly, as their lips parted, his nose circling hers affectionately.

She bit her lip, mischief in her eyes as they lingered together. "We could, you know," she commented softly. After all, there were enough ministers of religions other than Christianity in Rhy'Din - Christmas wasn't considered a holiday for everyone. "Unless it's just a little bit too soon for you."

"Really?" he asked, brows arching upwards at the realization that they could make this their wedding day, if they so desired. It wouldn't be hard to find a couple of people willing to stand in as witnesses, what with Tommy and Lena just a few steps away and a whole bevy of other Grangers to choose from. His heart skipped a bit in excitement at the prospect of making Jasmin his wife this very day, the happiest day of the year.

"Really." She sat back on her heels, unable to keep the smile from her face as she linked her hands with his. "We've got the rings, we've got witnesses less than five minutes away, and, uh ....you met my cousin, Dom, last night, didn't you? He's got the authority in three different religions to marry us." And wouldn't object to being roused out of the house he was staying in with his mother and two sisters for an hour or so today.