Love & Serenity

Epilogue (Extended)

The next morning, Lillian opened her eyes to stare at the ceiling of Jax's guest bedroom. She was tucked cosied up beneath the warm blanket covering her from neck to toe. She breathed in the morning Christmas air as she turned her head to the window from where the morning sun shone through. She stretched beneath the blanket and yawned.

Just then, there was a knock on the door before Jax peeped inside and smiled at her.
"Good morning." He said before he came inside with a bed table.

Lillian sat up from the bed smiling.
"Good morning."

Jax placed the table on the bed, in front of her and planted a kiss on her cheek before he sat down next to her. Lillian couldn't help feeling giddy inside.
"Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas." She leaned towards him and planted her own kiss at the corner of his lips. "Christmas breakfast in bed, what did I ever do to deserve this?"

"Everything...and then more."

"Thank you." She said and looked at the tray filled with pancakes and waffles, Christmas decorated doughnuts, and the gingerbread cookies and muffins she made the previous day. "Well, c'mon, let's eat."

Jax smiled,
"This is for you."

"I can't finish this and if I'm still hungry after we share, I'll have something else."

Jax just stared at her for a moment with that devilish smile,
"Ok."

He joined her in bed beneath the blanket. They ate and talked, laughed and simply enjoyed each other's company. After breakfast, Jax took the tray back to the kitchen and went to get her present before he headed back to her room.

Lillian looked up at him when he walked in and shut the door behind him. Jax walked towards her, sat in front of her on top of the blanket.

"I got you something." They said at the same time as they pulled out each other's presents.

They laughed.

"You first," Jax said,

"At the same time," Lillian said and Jax agreed.

They both tore the wrapping paper and stopped when they stared at their gifts. They looked up at each other and laughed again.

Their present for each other was the same, a copy of Lillian's book.

"You got me my book?" Lillian asked,

"I knew how much it meant to you and how much you want to share it with the world even though you know how much I didn't want it out there." Jax said, "So that's the first copy of Almost love."

Lillian couldn't believe it. Well, she could which was why she'd rewritten the ending when she realized that Jax wanted the book out there as much as she did. She'd given him a copy of...

"Love & Serenity?" Jax asked, "A new book?"

Lillian smiled and shook her head,
"It's the same book, but a different ending."

Jax smiled and then turned to the last page which was, funnily enough, a Christmas morning scene.

He looked up at Lillian, short of words.
"It's perfect," Jax said before he kissed her.

Jax sighed, looked up at Lillian, truly lost for words.
"It's perfect." He said before he leaned in and kissed her. "Thank you."

"Thank you," Lillian said back.

They were basking in a moment of silence, their foreheads touching until Lillian's alarm went off. She immediately pulled back from Jax and stared at her phone.
"I have to go." She pushed the blanket off of her and got out of bed.