Summary: Months after the conclusion of the Jr. Goodwill Games, Julie and Gunnar have a surprise opportunity to see each other again over Christmas. Julie/Gunnar. Multi-chap, Julie's POV. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: No ownership, no profit. No worries.

Author's Note: Indeed, we have reached the final chapter, and I want to send a huge thank you to everyone who's accompanied Julie on her adventures in Iceland! If you've read through most of this story with a silly smile on your face, then I've done my job right as a fanfic author. So now enjoy this update, and I'll see you at the end!

Sympathy for the Icelanders: Epilogue

Christmas Surprises – Chapter 7

I lay wide awake in the dark on my last night in Iceland. Gunnar and I had stayed up late as it was, with both of us being more reluctant than usual to leave the other's company; but even now, I found it impossible to sleep.

I just couldn't wrap my head around the fact that I would be leaving in less than twenty-four hours…and I hadn't the slightest idea of when I would see Gunnar again. Nor could I possibly conceive of going back to "normal life" either at home or at Eden Hall. How could anything feel normal again after a trip like this? If I had missed Gunnar before now, I was sure to be miserable without him going forward. I just knew I wouldn't be able to shake that inescapable feeling of loneliness, not even amongst the cheerful company of my fellow Ducks. As much as I cared for all of them, it simply wasn't the same.

Just then, I heard the familiar creak of the bedroom door opening. My heart rate immediately kicked into high gear, thinking it must have been Gunnar coming to see me. But weren't we supposed to refrain from doing anything "stupid", as Mikael had put it?

But, no – it was Halli. The door must not have latched fully when I closed it before coming to bed, and he had artfully nudged it open with his nose. His nails clicked across the floor as he approached and jumped up onto the bed without waiting for an invitation; I couldn't help sitting up to pet him. He responded to my attentions with great enthusiasm, licking my face and wagging his tail excitedly. So much energy…didn't he realize it was past both our bedtimes?

"Sorry," I murmured to him, "but your kisses just aren't the same as Gunnar's. I don't even know if you're allowed to be up here."

True enough, there was already blonde dog hair everywhere. Halli had probably spent some nights here, if this really was Mikael's old bed, yet rules often changed when a child's bedroom became a guestroom. But wasn't it just the ultimate gesture of acceptance into the family if Halli would abandon his usual accommodations with Gunnar to come sleep with me? How could I refuse?

"All right, fine," I gave in with a smile. "You can stay. But if we get into trouble in the morning, don't say I didn't warn you."

He made himself right at home, turning around in a circle and flopping down up by my pillow. I had to rearrange his paws to make room for my head, and I wondered with distant amusement if this was how he normally slept with Gunnar, too. That thought, combined with Halli's additional warmth, helped finally lull me to sleep for the night.

I woke up the next morning with fur all over my pajamas and dog slobber in my hair. That wouldn't have even been too horrible, if Gunnar hadn't seen me before I could sneak into the bathroom for a shower. He recognized my plight immediately, no doubt from personal experience, and I think he had to bite his own lip to keep from laughing.

"I'm sorry Halli got in with you last night," he said finally.

There was nothing for me to do but shrug. "That's all right; he didn't really bother me. I let him stay, so I can't blame anyone but myself for this mess. I just hope your mom won't mind all the dog hair."

"She's used to it," he assured me, placing a feather-light kiss on my forehead before shooing me into the bathroom so I could get cleaned up.

After a relatively quick breakfast, we made one last trip into downtown Reykjavik prior to my departure. We contented ourselves that morning with a quiet stroll hand-in-hand around Tjornin, a very quaint and picturesque pond in the city center. Flocks of ducks and geese made this place their home all year around, since the Icelanders keep parts of it heated to prevent freezing in winter. We were there in time to observe a very late sunrise, red light pushing out through the scattered clouds until everything gradually brightened. It was all quite idyllic, really. If only I wasn't so depressed because I knew we'd be heading to the airport as soon as we got back home.

The nice weather had given us a lovely sunrise, but it also meant there was virtually no chance of my flight being delayed or cancelled later that afternoon. Is it wrong how terribly that thought disappointed me? After all, I had a full week left before I had to report back at school; I wouldn't mind it at all if inclement weather required me to stay here in Iceland another day or two.

At one point during our walk, Gunnar and I stopped on an unspoken consensus and just stood facing each other for a moment. I rested my hands on his shoulders, all while enjoying the warm weight of his hands on my hips. But if I was going to have any peace of mind once I got back home, there was something I just had to ask him before I left; and I supposed this was as good an opportunity as any.

"So, Gunnar…I couldn't help noticing that there are a lot of pretty girls here in Reykjavik. Will you remember your girlfriend all the way back in America?"

"I will," he stated simply, and no doubt my relief was visible. I had no reason whatsoever to doubt him. "And will you remember your boyfriend here in Iceland?"

My thoughts flitted briefly to Banks, Scooter, and even Portman. It was no contest. "Of course, I will."

We lingered by Tjornin as long as we could, but eventually, we had no choice but to return home. I finished repacking my suitcase, taking one last thorough look to make sure I hadn't left anything of mine lying around the house. Then I had to say goodbye to Gunnar's parents, both of whom kissed me on the cheek and expressed their desire to have me visit again soon. That sentiment could not have been more mutual!

So Gunnar and I concluded my trip the same way we had begun it – by holding tightly to each other in the airport. Everything had flown by entirely too fast! And now that we were here in the airport again, it made me realize how much I truly wasn't ready to go back.

"Thank you for everything this past week," I said into his shoulder.

His arms tightened around me. "Thank you for coming. I hope you are glad that you did."

I tilted my head up now to look at him. "Of course, I am! This has been the best trip of my life." It went implied but unsaid that I meant it was even better than all that had happened in Los Angeles months before, gold medals included.

"You will have to come back again sometime during the summer, when the days are long and we can do more outside. There is still so much for you to see here." One of his hands came to rest on my cheek, and I eagerly leaned into the caress, trying to memorize the feel every little callus on his palm.

"I would love that! Hopefully I can soon. Or, maybe we can get you down to Maine for a while too sometime? Then I can actually get in goal and let you take a few more shots at me."

I might have been pushing things a little there, so I was pleasantly surprised when he only laughed. "I would enjoy that, too – as long as you promise not to go easy on me."

"Oh, don't worry, I wouldn't dream of it. You're much too good for that." Too good in more ways than one.

Then it abruptly occurred to me that the next day was New Year's Eve; my mind had been so preoccupied with other things, I'd practically forgotten all about the upcoming holiday.

"Since I'm here, I suppose I should wish you a Happy New Year now, too. I think it'll be a good one. Just don't let Olaf get you into too much trouble tomorrow night, okay?"

He just smiled and gently kissed me on the nose. "We will talk soon; I promise."

We'd made a rigorous comparison of our schedules the previous night in an effort to determine the best times to call each other during the rest of the chaotic school year. In my mind, we would be doing well if we could get in one quality phone date a month, on top of the regulars letters which we'd vowed to continue. And then…who could say what the ensuing summer might bring?

It was difficult not to cry, more so than I would care to admit. When we had said goodbye before, back in Los Angeles, I honestly hadn't expected to ever hear from Gunnar Stahl again – much less see him again, and in his native country no less. How utterly different things were now!

I think finally letting go of him that day was the hardest thing I've ever done. My stomach felt like it was tied in a knot so tight I could hardly breathe. When I thought back on all that had transpired over the trip, I'm sure my face glowed with an irrepressible, joyful smile. Even so, I couldn't stop a few tears from falling as the plane took off, and Gunnar was left far behind me.

I needed a little help navigating my way through Boston's airport in order to make my connecting flight, but all in due time, I safely landed back home in Bangor. My parents were both in baggage claim, waiting to meet me. I hadn't seen either of them since Thanksgiving, so having them there helped ease the pain of my long and lonely plane ride. But as happy as we all were to be reunited, I feared this joy would prove a temporary distraction, at best, from a different sort of emptiness that I had begun to feel even more keenly.

On the drive home, I relayed as much of the trip to my parents as I could, obviously omitting certain details that only Connie was likely to ever hear. They were happy to hear I had enjoyed myself, though I think they grew suspicious as I rambled on about Iceland and Reykjavik but kept my comments about Gunnar pretty generic. Maybe I could talk to my mom in private later regarding the new strength of my feelings for Gunnar Stahl. I couldn't believe my dad would take me seriously if I tried to have the same conversation with him, however; I was still much too young in his eyes. And if my brothers ever caught wind of the subject, I knew they would only tease me more relentlessly about my "Viking boyfriend" than they already did.

Early the next afternoon, on New Year's Eve, I received a phone call from Connie back in Minneapolis.

"Hey, Julie, welcome back!"

"Thanks, Con, it's great to hear from you! I have so much to tell you."

"I'm sure you do," she laughed. "Obviously you're home safe and sound, so that's good. I won't keep you too long right now; I mostly just wanted to check in and see how the trip went in general."

"Oh, Connie, it was amazing! Iceland is an incredible place, and seeing Gunnar again was just…gosh, it was the most wonderful thing ever. So now, as promised, I will think of some way to tell the rest of the Ducks about me and him; gently, I hope."

I could practically see Connie squirming on the other end before she started gushing out her apologies. "Jules, I am so, so sorry, but they already know. The whole team knows, I couldn't help it!"

Well, that was…unexpected. "Calm down, Con; just tell me, what happened?"

"The night you flew out, there was this big snowstorm over New York City; and since you usually connect through New York to get to Maine, the guys wanted to go get you from the airport and bring you back to school. They kept saying there was no way your plane would take off in that weather. I had to tell them that you wouldn't be at the airport anymore because you weren't actually going home. And then I couldn't think of a good lie off the top of my head, and they were all ganging up on me, so I just told them the truth. I'm so sorry! I don't know what those boys will be like the next time you see them."

"It's all right, really; what's done is done. And they can do whatever they want at this point, I don't even care. I had such a great time with Gunnar, and I'm not going to let them ruin it for me after the fact."

My friend didn't sound convinced. "Everyone was shocked, as you can imagine. They even dragged poor Scooter into it when I told them he'd taken you to the airport. Banks did look pretty hurt. At least Charlie didn't seem too upset by it, though I'm sure he's told plenty of other people by now. Fulton even mentioned that he might call Portman to tell him, and you know what Portman's like. If he does know, you're lucky he didn't go all the way to Iceland himself to bring you back."

"Hmph. I would have liked to see him try." I didn't say it out loud, but I'm sure Gunnar and Olaf would have loved to see that, too. Some of their Viking smugness must have rubbed off on me while I was there. "If nothing else, maybe it will get Portman up to Eden Hall in time for the JV/Varsity showdown. We could really use another enforcer."

"Speaking of enforcers, did you see Sanderson?" she inquired anxiously.

"I saw quite a lot of him, actually, along with another one of Gunnar's friends from the Games…and it honestly wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. Sanderson and I even kind of made peace with each other in the end, for Gunnar's sake. I still don't really understand why they're such good friends, because I can't tell that they have much in common besides hockey; but Olaf probably doesn't understand what Gunnar sees in me either, so I guess that makes us even."

"And he didn't make life miserable at all?"

"Nah. He made it clear he wasn't exactly thrilled to see me, and he wasn't shy about teasing me whenever there was an opportunity; but he never dished out anything I couldn't handle. However, he did ask if you and Dwayne were dating."

Connie blatantly ignored that last remark. "Did you take lots of pictures?"

"Yes, of course, I took a ton! Of Gunnar and the lovely scenery, mind you; I'll have to send him copies of some of the better ones of the two of us. Sanderson might have even sneaked into a couple of shots, too. I'm not sure how some of them will turn out since it was dark so often, but I'll have them all developed and ready to show you by the time we get back to school."

She and I would later determine that our favorite picture from the entire trip was one of me, Gunnar, and Halli all asleep together on the couch that one night. I can only figure that Elina must have seen us, found my camera, and snapped the shot while the rest of us were blissfully oblivious. Gunnar's left arm was wrapped around me, my head resting on his shoulder, while his right hand was buried in the fur around Halli's neck. I have to say, it was a pretty adorable moment to have captured forever on film.

Connie continued, "Good, and then you can tell me all about every single little detail, too. But real quick, before we hang up, I wanted to let you know that my dad was telling me about something recently, and I thought it might help you and Gunnar keep in touch more easily going forward."

That piqued my interest. "Really? What is it?"

"Have you heard yet about this nifty new thing they're calling email?"

Author's End Note: So…this honestly was supposed to be the end of the Sympathy Series. BUT it seems I just can't stop. I'm already jotting down ideas now for a Rematch story of sorts, set one year after MD2. I know a couple of other authors have already pursued that storyline, but maybe I can make mine different enough by setting it within the context of Sympathy. The whole thing is still in the very, very early stages…but I think we could have some serious fun/drama here. What do you guys think? Can we stretch Sympathy out a little longer?