JC entered through the kitchen door just shy of an hour later. The dispersed scent of apple and cinnamon warmed the air and his eyes immediately fell to the dessert that Leah had left to cool on top of the stove.

The area was quiet.

He quickly noticed the oven wasn't turned on, and the kitchen counters had gone regained their untouched shine. The only thing left on the island was a moist washcloth and from the disappearance of the dishes, JC assumed the food dishes had been moved into the dining room.

Leah's Christmas dinner was done.

JC set down the keys on the marble before he made his way upstairs. He had decided to leave the bag of stockings in the trunk of the BMW. The purpose of its existence was fading as much as the lights on the shined brighter as the late evening continued.

A few moments later, JC found himself subconsciously eyeing at the ground in case he had indeed missed something before he had left. It wasn't long before he realized his feet led him into the main bedroom.

"I'm back," he said aloud.

Leah sat on the edge of the bed, her body halfway covered by the white towel that was wrapped around her and folded in under her left arm. Her laptop sat next to her.

"Hey," she replied. "Did Tyler like his shirts?"

"Yea, I guess," he shrugged after he pulled off his shirt. "What'd you doing?"

"Returning some Christmas emails."

JC smiled as he stared at her through the full length mirror that faced them both. "Baby, downstairs smells incredible. You could give my mom a run for her money."

"I don't know if my turkey's going to be as tasty as hers was last year but we'll see."Leah got up off the bed and began to tie her hair into a messy bun. "Your present's under the tree now, just so you know," she smiled. "You can't peak until it's time to open it."

"Yea, look, um, babe," JC started as he approached her and rested his hands on her waist. She looked up to him with slight concern. "I need to tell you something."

"What?" she asked. "Oh, gosh, you didn't see it already, did you?"

"No, I didn't, promise," JC assured her. "It's just... I thought I'd be able to give you your last present tonight but it didn't come in on time."

"That's why you look so bummed?" Leah chuckled. "Jace, that's fine."

"I just knew you would love it," he said softly. "This one in particular. And I wanted to see the look on your face when you opened it."

"Well, you'll see the look on my face whenever it comes in," Leah told him. She stood on her tip toes to kiss his lips and lifted her boyfriend's hands off her. "I already got everything I wanted this morning, and then some, so don't worry about it."

JC could have kicked himself right then and here.

*****

Leah bent forward over the vegetable platter on the wooden dining room table to light the two, tall red candles that stood as their centre piece. The food was uncovered and ready to be served. She set down the box of matches on an empty chair away from where she had arranged for her and JC to sit.

Just as she lifted her head to look at the clock, a low whistle came up from a few feet behind her.

"Hey," Leah smiled when she turned her head to identify the source. "You finally came down. I thought you forgot we were gonna have dinner down here."

"Who needs snow when I've got a vision in white right in front of me?" JC grinned. He eyed the white sweater paired with the matching colour of skinny jeans that she wore. "You look great, Lee."

"You got all dressed up," she noticed, walking up to him and running her hands over the chest area of his turtleneck. "Very handsome."

"Dad called," JC told her. "He wants everyone to take a swing by the house later. He and mom are having old friends over and want them to see everyone."

"Sure, okay," Leah nodded.

She took his hand and led him to the seat that was at the head of the table. "Sit."

JC pulled out his chair and sat down as she began to dish out their meal of the night. Slices of turkey and portions of stuffed peppers, a dinner roll, vegetables, and crispy potatoes all took over both their plates.

"You're amazing," JC told her as she took her place in the chair to the left of him.

"I did well?"

"You did incredible," he replied, thanking her with a small kiss on the lips when she leaned closer to him. "Had your present been here, I could repay you."

"Repay me for what?" she scoffed. "Making a romantic dinner for my boyfriend? And it's just a present, Jace. Relax."

"I meant you spent almost all day making a romantic dinner for your boyfriend."

"Well, if you really want to, you can pay me back upstairs," she smiled as she kissed him again. "We're supposed to be eating."

"Yea, but I really don't want to take my lips off you," JC mumbled, and Leah pulled away a few moments later with a frown.

"I feel like something's missing," she said.

"What?" JC asked.

It was a few seconds before Leah blurted out, "I forgot to take the wine out of the cabinet."

JC looked at the place setting in front of him. No wine glasses either.

"You want me to get it?" JC offered as he began to get out of his seat.

"I'll help you," she told him.

JC crossed over from the dining room to the far side of the kitchen while Leah reached over the sink into the cupboards. She usually had a hard time reaching the glasses due to her height, even when she stood on her toes.

As JC pulled a bottle of wine out of his cabinet, he made his way over to her to help. His silent chuckling soon stopped when a sharp pain shot up from under his barefoot straight through his shin.

"Ow, Son of a-"

"Baby," Leah turned around, one hand still reaching in the air. "What happened?"

JC cursed himself as he lifted his leg and heard something make a small sound as it fell to the floor.

A diamond.

He lifted his head to meet her concerned expression. "Yea, uh, yea, I'm okay. I just, um, stubbed my toe."

"C'mon," she said, her voice strained as she finally grasped two glasses. "I got it."

JC used the opportunity to smile and nod before he bent down to snatch the rock that had stabbed him. He looked at where it had come from- Just a few millimetres away from the bottom of the large cabinet.

"Yes, for the love of God, thank you!" JC grinned to himself before he heaved a sigh to slow down the adrenaline of relief that had sped up his heart rate.

He fisted the ring and popped his head into the dining room where Leah was just setting down the glasses. "Babe," he said. He put out his arm to hand her the unopened bottle. "I need to go the bathroom real quick, alright?"

"Jace," she sighed. "Now?"

"Yea, seriously, now."

She took the drink from his hand and returned to her seat. "I'm not starting without you," she said.

JC disappeared from her view within the second her sentence had ended. He quickly made his escape to the garage and opened the trunk to his BMW.

"Can I still use these, man?" JC murmured to himself as he peered into the large bag of stockings. "It's still Christmas," he said as he nodded his head.

He kept the ring deep in the front of his pocket, ever so often reaching down to ensure of its presence even in the small time frame. He had been given another chance to have the ending of his Christmas go as he had planned in the first place.

It had taken him a while before he had decided to keep the bag hidden to the side of the fridge and out of her sight at any given time.

As he took a minute to calm himself and absorb the situation, JC let out a breath and casually returned to where his girlfriend had been sitting patiently.

Her brown eyes lit up to resemble the burning candle on the table when she saw him re enter the room.

"Ready?" she asked him.

"Not quite," JC answered slowly. It was his most honest answer of the night. "There's something wrong with the downstairs toilet. I think it was clogged when I went in."

"Clogged?" Leah asked, surprised. "But no one's used that toilet in like, a week."

"Exactly," JC agreed. "So I don't know what's going on. Come help me."

"Jace," she began. "We can worry about that tomorrow or something. Baby, come on, the food's gonna get cold."

"Just help me fix whatever it is, please?"

"No," she protested. "We're supposed to having dinner. If anything we can call a guy in a couple of days."

"Please," JC pouted. He moved behind her chair and ran a finger down her arm. "The food won't get cold," he whispered into her ear. "Much like yourself, I can always hot it up later."

Leah batted his arm away from her sleeves, pushing the chair back before she got up. "You're really killing the mood now, Joshua."

"I'm gonna go get the plunger."

"So much for a romantic Christmas dinner for two," she muttered as shemade her way toward the hall. "Just hurry up."

JC had to hide his grin as she left the room. Phase One was complete.

He moved calmly as he retrieved the bag. One stocking by one stocking, JC carefully hung each onto a chair until they went around the table.

He immediately went over to the light switch and flipped it down, the candles illuminating the room just enough to see the plates of food on the table and more importantly, the significance of the stockings.

JC went to the opposite end of the room where the last stocking was hung. "Breathe, JC," he told himself. "It's abrupt, but you got this. You totally got this. Don't mess this up."

He had a few seconds to recollect his unprocessed thoughts before he heard her footsteps become louder.

"JC, where are you?" she called out. He saw her almost pass the dining room but she quickly came to a halt when she noticed the semi dark room. JC's face could be seen in the faint light.

"Jace?" she said uncertainly, moving closer into the room. "What're you doing in here?" she asked. "And there's absolutely nothing wrong in the bathroom!"

The wide smile on his face that had spread with her every word made her perception of the room change. She finally took note of the scene just less than two feet in front of her.

"What's that?" she asked, eyeing the stockings, a confused smile creeping over her mouth. "How come you decorated?"

"C'mere," was all he said.

Leah took a step forward and read the first stocking.

Leah

With every word that boasted off the material, her pace became slower and slower and slower until she hadn't even noticed that JC was in front of her until he dropped down to one knee.

"Baby," he said to her softly.

She immediately looked back to the words she had read before coming back to the one final stocking that JC was kneeling down next to.  

Leah

Merry

Christmas

Will

You

Marry

Me

Cue JC's abnormally steady heartbeat.

He looked up at her wide eyes and small ‘O' that had formed between her lips.

"Are you okay?" he asked with an uncertain smile.

It had taken a moment to answer him but she was swift to nod her head. "I... I think so. What..." she shook her head and a slight laugh escaped from her throat. "What are you doing?" she asked softly.

"I'm asking-" JC started, and he pulled the ring out of his pocket. Her jaw dropped when he presented the diamond to her. "-on this Christmas night that the two of us are spending in this house together, to give me the chance to make this only the first Christmas night that the two of us are spending in this house together."

JC had to pause when he realized she swallowed hard. 

"I-I'm asking," he stuttered, as he so infrequently did around her. "Will agree to spend the rest of your Christmases with me?"

She looked down at his face, waiting to hear the final words that he would speak.

"Leah, will you marry me?"

His gaze soon refocused to eye level when she joined him on both her knees on the wooden floor.

"Jace," she smiled, cupping his face with both her hands. "For the rest of my life, I want to spend every Christmas, Christmas Eve and New Year with you."

JC grinned as he took her left hand and positioned the ring at the top of her finger. He looked at her.

"Yes," she said, her voice cracking. "Yes."

The white gold band slid down her finger, Leah not even taking a second to admire the diamond before JC took both her hands and lifted them off the ground. She threw her arms around his neck, JC's wrap around her waist tightening.

"I love you," he told her quietly, and she pulled back to face him.

"Not as much as I love you," she smiled, a single tear drop breaking away from the corner of her eye before JC kissed it away. He then moved to her forehead and over her lips.

"That whole thing about the bathroom and not having my present was just to throw me off, wasn't it?" she accused, finally stabilizing herself in front of him.

JC laughed, nodding in an attempt to play along. "Yea, you got me."

"You definitely got me," she said, pausing to admire the new jewel on her finger. "Oh, Jace, it's beautiful."

 "I'm glad you like it."

"I love it," she breathed. "I love the ring, I love you, I just... I can't believe this."

"Believe it, baby," he smiled. "Because now you're stuck with me for next Christmas too."

"And I can't wait."

"I'm sorry we didn't eat first," JC chuckled.

Leah turned to the food on the table before bursting out in laughter when she turned back to JC. "I completely forgot about that."

"So, does this mean I can open my present now?" he asked slyly.

"I don't think the new sound module and synthesizer I bought you for the home studio is going to compare to this, baby," she joked but the excitement on JC's face was undeniable.

"Are you for real?" he asked.

"Yea. Merry Christmas."

"Definitely a merry Christmas," he said, placing one hand on the side of her face. "Thank you."

"We can eat now, if you want," Leah told him. "I sort of lost my appetite to the amazing excitement though."

"We can take a minute to digest this first," JC said to her with a smile. "I want to go check out my presents."

He took her hand to lead them out of the room.

"Hey, Jace," she said, stopping them.

"What?" he asked.

"The stockings were a nice touch."