Hey! Tomorrow's Christmas! :D Merry Christmas Eve! This is the end, I almost forgot to post it because I didn't have it finished, so I just finished it. :/

Enjoy!

Trudy bustled into the dining room, carrying a bowl of mashed potatoes. When she stopped next to the table Jerome sat at she planted a fist on her hip. "You haven't had a bite."

"I'm pouting, Truds." He mumbled, half-lidded eyes watching the food on the table as if it was going to get up and walk away from him.

"You've got to eat, lovely," she said.

"I'm fine, darling. I'm riding high." He replied, scratching the back of his neck.

"Then why has the Inn been closed and you've been sitting around like a jellyfish? Because your best friend stole your girlfriend and you haven't even tried to fight back."

"I tried to keep her here."

"All of your attempts were tricks." She pointed out, sitting across from him. "If you went to Hollywood, and told her how much you love her and miss her, and told her that the way a woman likes to have to told, she'd be back in your arms in the blink of an eye."

"She's getting married. You're crazy, Trudy." He smiled softly.

"I'm crazy?" her dark eyebrows rose to her hairline, brown eyes widening. "I know Mara like I know my sister. She doesn't like all that glamor and glory any more than you do. What she wants is what you've got right here. But women have to be told things the right way."

"Trudy, you don't get it; you don't try to take a mate's girl away from him after he's bought the ring." He stopped and looked at Trudy, cocking his head to the side. "Or as I recall it, do you?"

"That's the spirit." She smiled.

"Sure! Women just have to be told things the right way."

"Yes, dearie," she reached over and patted his hand encouragingly.

"I'm not going to uncross my fingers until Mara and I are on that plane." Eddie said, tossing a couple shirts from his dressing room closet into his suitcase.

"What are you worrying about?" Mick questioned.

"I've been this close to marriage before, only to wake up with no bride and a hangover. Plus, I know Jerry and he could show up at any time with a whole new ruse to get her away from me."

"You're paranoid, he's not going to—" he grabbed Eddie's arm, motioning behind him at the door to the room.

Jerome grinned, dropping his blazer on the sofa that sat next to the door. "Hello, boys!"

"Jerry, what brought you here?" Eddie asked in shock.

"A plane," he whistled and used his hand to imitate a plane flying. "Wedding? When is it?"

"Wedding?"

"Yeah, I'm not going to miss it, am I?"

"We haven't set a time or date, yet." Eddie replied, running a hand through his blond hair.

"Have you seen Mara?" Mick asked.

"No, no, not yet," Jerome shook his head. "But I saw your director. He said you're shooting the final scene for the Holiday Inn movie tonight. I'd like to stay and see how it goes."

"You wouldn't like what they're doing tonight." Eddie shrugged.

"Why not?"

"Dull, technical kind of stuff," Mick lied.

"I'm a dull, technical kind of guy."

"Maybe if you waited to see Mara tomorrow—" Eddie suggested.

"Oh, no, I want to see the finish. The success you two have means a lot to me, mate."

"Why don't you be yourself? What are you up to?"

"Up to? Me? Nothing, why would you think I was up to something? What a fine welcome this is. I flew over here to wish you a merry Christmas and a happy wedding, just to be accused of being up to something. Remember how I suspected you when you wanted to stay at the Inn on Easter? That was silly, wasn't it?"

"No I know he's up to something."

"Wait a minute, let's not be unfair." Mick cut in. "He wants to see Mara, so let's show him Mara."

"Thank you, Campbell." Jerome bowed his head as Mick took his arm and steered him to another door and pushed him into the closet behind it, locking it behind him. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"Oh, nice, Mick, only you could think of something as stupid as that. My clothes are still in there, you know." Eddie complained on the other side of the door.

Jerome huffed, pushing the clothes out of the way and touching the wall behind them. He pushed on it and found that it was another door. He smirked, hurrying around the closet to the other end of the room. He took the key out of the outdated doorknob. "So long, fellas!" he called.

"Wait, Jerry, dude!" Eddie hollered, bolting for the door but Jerome slammed it shut, locking them in.

Jerome chuckled, walking around the set of the movie. "If Trudy could see this; she'd love it. It's almost exactly like the real thing."

"We constructed it all from the pictures we took of the original." Kurt explained.

"You did a good job, though the Christmas tree is a little place. But I guess only me or…Mara would notice that." he said.

"We're going to start shooting soon, would you like to come with me?"

"Oh, no, I don't want to get in your way. I'll just hang out in the background." Jerome replied and the director nodded in understanding, taking off to check on the final settings of the scene. Jerome sighed, dragging a hand through his hair. He pulled gently on the one of the tree branches, pulling it closer to the piano. He took his grandfather's pipe out of his pocket and placed it on the top of the piano, noticing people clearing off the set. He slipped his hands into his trouser pockets and left the set through the door that would have led into the kitchen had it been real.

Eddie looked down at Mick through the open window. "Don't fall." He warned.

Mick looked back up at Eddie. "I don't plan on it."

"Don't look down."

"I wasn't going to." He snapped.

"I just don't want you to break your neck." Eddie shrugged.

"I'm going as fast as I can, you know. I don't want to get rope burn or something."

"It's a sheet not a rope."

"I know that!"

Eddie rolled his green orbs and took a deep breath, his warm breath floating into the cold night air. "How's Nina doing?"

"She's fine," Mick replied.

"Still pregnant?"

"Yep." He grunted when he almost lost his footing.

"Boy or girl?"

"We don't know yet."

"Are you there yet?"

"Where?"

Eddie groaned. "The concrete you're hanging over."

"Yeah, just wait a second."

"Slide, Mick, slide," he encouraged.

"I don't think I'm sliding—"

"Whatever, man,"

"Alright, I'm down, wait a second!" Mick called, rushing into the building.

The director called out several instructions and music began to play while Mara was seated in a horse-drawn carriage that pulled up to the front of the Holiday Inn set. She stepped down doing what she had done in the rehearsal, but her mind elsewhere. She forced herself to do everything the right way though so this was the only take. She just wanted to leave and be alone again.

She entered the replicated Holiday Inn and looked around the common room, remembering the first time she had seen the original. As the music began to change a little she stopped in front of the piano.

"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas…just like the ones I used to know…" she sang softly, eyes flooding with tears. "Where the tree tops glisten…and children listen to hear sleigh bells in the snow…" Through her tears, she noticed the pipe sitting on the piano. She picked it up but continued to sing in slight confusion. "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas…" When she heard someone whistling along with the song, her heart began to pound in her chest rapidly. "…with every Christmas card I write…" And then someone was humming, and she nearly demanded they stop the scene. If this was a joke, it wasn't funny at all.

"May your days be merry and bright, and may all your Christmases be white." Jerome finished for her, pushing the door of the kitchen open and stepping out.

"Jerome!" she sobbed, running to him and wrapping her arms around his neck.

The director stopped the filming but his voice was lost to Mara when Jerome hugged her tightly, whispering into her hair, "I love you. I've missed you so much. Please come back, please…"

She laughed tearfully, pulling her face from his neck and guiding his head to hers so she could kiss him.

Eddie and Mick skidded to a stop when they realized they were too late, watching Mara and Jerome hug each other tightly.

"How could he get that far in five minutes?" Mick questioned.

"She must've been willing." Eddie shrugged.

"But the world can't do this to us!"

Jerome wrapped his arms around Mara's waist from behind and kissed her temple as she prepared hot chocolate. "We need to decorate for New Year's Eve." He reminded her.

"I know, but we should rest a while, we just finished the Christmas Eve show." She said, turning in his arms and kissing his cheek quickly before picking up the tray of mugs and leaving the room.

Jerome followed her out into the common room of Holiday Inn where Eddie was sitting in front of the fire.

"I feel like a third wheel." He complained.

"You are a third wheel." Jerome stated, sitting on the sofa and tugging Mara down beside him.

"Isn't Mick still trying to find a partner for you?" she asked.

"Yeah. Hopefully, he'll find one soon, even if she's only temporary."

"You'll be in the New Year's Eve show, right?" Jerome questioned.

"Oh, now you can use Eddie Miller in your show?" he smirked.

"Shut up, Edison. Do you want to be in the show or not?"

"Yeah, but it'll be a little awkward with you two being all lovey dovey, while I've got no one." He grumbled.

Eddie took Mara's hand and bowed his head in defeat, twirling her toward Jerome.

"We'll stay at the Inn, singing," Jerome sang, encircling her waist with his arm.

"All by myself, I'll have to stick to my dancing," Eddie shrugged.

"Oh, no, my friend, I'm here to end, your dancing trouble and strife."

Eddie turned to Patricia and sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Oh, this will be fun; Miss Hit-and-Run, has come back into my life." He pulled her into him and whispered in her ear, "Are you going to marry me this time?"

"I'll give it a shot," she winked, kissing him quickly.

"We'll stay at the Inn," Jerome sang to Mara.

"We'll have to begin," Eddie hummed.

"Singing!"

"Dancing!"

Eddie led Patricia into a dance around the stage as the guests that buzzed with excitement applauded the reunion.

"We've each other to cling to; you'll be easy to sing to…"

"And you're easy to dance with…"

Jerome and Mara continued to sing as Eddie and Patricia swung around the dancefloor fluently.

"So let the old year die, with a fond goodbye, and our hopes as high as a kite. How can our love go wrong, dear, if we start the New Year right...?"

And I can't write fREAKING ENDINGS TO SAVE MY FREAKING LIFE.

Anyway...

Review? :]

"Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say on a bright Hawaiian Christmas day. That's the island greeting that we send to you, from the land where palm trees sway. Here, we know that Christmas will be green and bright, the sun to shine by day and all the stars at night. Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way to say Merry Christmas to you." -Mele Kalikimaka (Merry Christmas), Bing Crosby, The Andrews Sisters

-Rachel