A/N: FINALLY complete! Happily ever after for our favourite couple!

Thanks to all my readers and reviewers- I hope you enjoyed the journey and I will be back very soon with new stories!

The Princess Diaries doesn't belong to me

Four Years Later- New Year's Eve

"Where are you taking me… and why am I blindfolded?" Clarisse asked laughingly as she sat back in the front passenger seat and stared into darkness, the silk scarf covering her eyes (he HAD to borrow one of her scarves for this) before she heard Joseph chuckle from beside her.

"You're just going to have to wait and see, my darling… I want to surprise you."

"Surprise me?"

"Yes, surprise you, and it's a good surprise… isn't a husband allowed to surprise his wife?"

"I suppose so…" she pretended to sound thoughtful but she was secretly delighted that her husband of five months had seen fit to whisk her away for New Year's Eve- she loved Mia and Pierre with all her heart, but she also desired some time alone with Joseph, her husband, the only man she had ever truly loved in her lifetime.

Her husband….the words still sent chills down her spine- she couldn't believe it….she couldn't believe that they had been married in front of Mia, Pierre, parliament, other distinguished guests and the entire country at the end of July, in a surprise ceremony that, in retrospect had surprise no one aside from the bride and groom, although they had tried to be discreet.

Their relationship had blossomed since the attempted kidnapping and it quickly become evident to everyone around them- but their wedding day was a day that Clarisse would always cherish, and they had spent the subsequent months since then virtually inseparable, a state that they both enjoyed. Clarisse knew that she had never been happier- being Joseph's wife at this stage of her life was all she had wanted.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Joseph broke into her thoughts and she smiled.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she teased back.

"Well… maybe I would…." He loved that Clarisse finally felt comfortable enough to flirt with him openly, although they had been flirting on and off for years.

"Feeling a little insecure?"

"Me? Never?" he scoffed.

"I was thinking about our wedding."

"And…" he encouraged- he also couldn't believe that they were married and that he was able to hold her in his arms whenever he wanted.

"How wonderful it had been… a wonderful day! I loved every moment of it."

"You're not the only one," he briefly removed a hand from the wheel to squeeze her hand. "But that doesn't mean that I'm going to tell you where we're going…. I told you, I want to surprise you."

"Some surprises aren't necessarily good," she said slowly and Joseph understood her hesitation- Rupert had sprung many, many surprises on her over the years, not necessarily all of them pleasant- but his surprise was a good one, hopefully.

"Hopefully this one will be a nice one for you."

"Knowing you, darling, I'm sure we will have some well-deserved privacy."

"We will," he said simply, confirming Clarisse's suspicions that he was taking her to his cabin, the place they had been ambushed in by wannabe kidnappers, the cabin that neither of them had been to since (Clarisse prevented by commitments, Joseph by inclination) and while she was a little nervous about being back, evoking painful memories, there were also memories that were happier, it was Joseph's retreat and it was appealing to be alone in a way they hadn't been since those days….

Joseph, on the other hand, was a little concerned about Clarisse and her reaction to going there (although he was prepared with an alternative)- after all, they had been hiding out there and had almost been killed when they had been discovered… thankfully nothing serious had happened, but he wasn't sure how she was going to react…..

Thankfully, she hadn't had to relive the experience in court- she gave evidence via a deposition and that was used during the trial, which led to most of the men being jailed for at least several years- and the mastermind was jailed for ten years, guilty of attempted kidnapping and attempted manslaughter.

"Do you remember our first Christmas?" he asked after a moment, just to break the silence and she smiled- he wasn't referring to the Christmas they had just spent together, their first as husband and wife- but one a couple of year earlier, right after the attempted kidnapping.

"Yes… I was so glad that neither of us spent it alone."

"As am I, although I was more worried about you."

"Of course you were," she said fondly. "I have to admit, aside from this one and the Christmases when the boys were small, that that one was one of the best…"

"Because of the company?"

"Indubitably because of the company," she agreed and they both laughed remembering the exact same question being asked several years previously.

00000

The rest of Christmas Day was spent quietly but happily- after Clarisse's 'confession', they had chatted about less sensitive subjects before her maids (they, along the rest of the staff who were working that day, would have their dinner after the Queen) brought in their main meal, plates piled high with food that they could help themselves from, and Joseph and Clarisse shared a meal that was simple, uncomplicated but proved to both of them that they had an undeniable connection and a friendship that was deepening daily.

"As good or as worse than Christmas downstairs?" she couldn't help but gently teased afterwards as, with another bottle of champagne, they returned to the sofa- neither of them wanted the day to end.

"Much, much better- and the company is infinitely better."

"You're quite the sweet talker, aren't you?" she teased playfully, a little tipsy but enjoying flirting with him.

"You enjoy it, don't you?" he teased in response, thoroughly enjoying the flirting, especially when he saw her blush.

"I suppose so," she began coyly before Joseph laughed.

"You really are a tease, aren't you?" but then felt awful, seeing the stricken look on her face.

"I'm sorry, I…"

"Don't be," he said hastily, setting down his glass and moving closer to grab her hands in his. "I love the way you flirt with you."

"I…. flirt… with you?"

Yes, but very, very innocently… you DO trust me, don't you?"

"I do," Clarisse responded instantly, knowing it was true- she trusted Joseph 100 percent, more than anyone else, bodyguard or husband, in her life and whatever he said, she would obey….she was in love with him and knew that, aside from her remaining son, he and his men would protect her, no matter what… and that he would never reveal any intimate details that she had told him, or her flirting….

"Then believe me when I say I love the way you flirt with me…. and you aren't being unfaithful to Rupert- although you are a widow now…. I just appreciate you showing your true self to me."

"My… true…self?"

Yes, your true self… you're sweet, kind, loving, compassionate…."

"Stop," she blushed again, looking down in her lap, and Joseph's heart swelled with love for her again, before he rested his cool palm against her cheek, cooling the heat of her cheek.

"Clarisse," he said gently, and she finally plucked up the courage to look up at him- he wasn't her enemy but he wanted everything from her and she wasn't quite sure she could give it to him. "Clarisse… look at me."

She was so shy and withdrawn, he could understand her reticence, but Joseph knew, sensed that she loved him (although, despite her previous declaration, wasn't quite ready to say it openly) but he could wait for that.

"You know me, I know you…" he began. "We can take this as slow as you want, I'm not going anywhere… I have one request, though."

"Oh?" Clarisse looked intrigued.

"May I kiss you?" and Clarisse couldn't help but smile- he was as nervous as she.

"You don't need to ask permission for that," Clarisse said shyly, with a coy but womanly smile and Joseph took that as her reply before he moved even closer, cupped her face in his hands and gently, tenderly, lovingly pressed his lips down on hers…..

00000

"You were quite the charmer that day, not that you've changed very much… and you were so gentle and sweet with me."

"I sensed that you were vulnerable- the events of the past couple of weeks as well as the champagne we had consumed probably contributed- but I wanted you to know that you were valued and loved for who you really were… not the person that everyone else saw."

"I knew that… I knew you loved me for me…I was just scared… I had all these feelings for you- I had managed to keep a lid on them for many years, but after that incident, when we were so close to pushing the boundaries, I couldn't put the lid back on and… it scared me."

"Which was perfectly understandable… but now, we don't need to worry about it, do we?" he said jovially and she chuckled.

"No, we don't… and, I have a confession to make…"

"Oh?"

"I know where we're going."

"Oh," he sounded disappointed, and even a little bit afraid- he wasn't quite sure how she was going to react.

"And I want you to know that it's okay, I'm looking forward to revisiting your cabin," she continued, pulling her silk scarf off her eyes and looking over at him with a warm smile. "You haven't been back there for a while, have you?"

"No…I haven't really wanted to…."

"Because of what had happened?"

"Partly because of that, and partly… because I couldn't bear to be away from you for too long," he admitted with a coy smile and she laughed.

"I did try and insist that you have holidays…"

"I did… when I had my knees done that summer."

"That wasn't a holiday, you were recuperating from surgery!"

"It was a holiday to me… well, maybe not…."

"Of course not, you still insisted on Scott keeping you updated on what was going on!"

"Heads of Security never rest."

"But seriously, didn't you ever want holidays to give yourself a break?" Clarisse was being serious- he had maybe a week or two every six months off, usually visiting friends either in Genovia or travelling to other parts of Europe, but he usually opted to keep his holidays banked up.

"Occasionally, but then I wondered how Scott would cope without me… or whether you would be truly safe, and then I decided not to go."

"If I had known that, I would have insisted you go on holidays."

"I would have just ignored you."

"Indeed you would have, you have always been so stubborn…" but she said it with a great deal of tenderness and he laughed.

"Hello pot," he responded before he looked sideways at her. "But seriously, you aren't bothered about going back to the cabin?"

"Why would I be?" she leaned over and rested a hand on his knee. "It's your retreat, and aside from the fact that we had been in danger for a little while, we also made some happy memories there….and I got to see the other side of you…. I'm looking forward to spending time there- and that's the truth."

"Really?"

"Really," she affirmed, squeezing his knee gently.

0

Seeing that she had arrived and departed from the cabin under the cover of darkness, Clarisse was curious to see the surroundings- and she was pleased when, upon turning down the driveway, she saw that the driveway had trees on other side, escorting the driveway.

"So you like privacy as well?" she joked and he chuckled.

"I do, very much so…."

Soon, the house came into view and Clarisse smiled- she could remember parts of the tour inside but she hadn't seen the outside of the cabin and she liked the simple, stark lines of the cabin.

"It's not much… although I have refurbished a lot of it…."

"I love it," she said simply once the car stopped and, instead of waiting for Joseph to open her door, she stepped out and stood and surveyed the scene, the snow under her feet crunching slightly.

"I'm not much for gardens, but I'm never here…." Joseph continued as he slammed down the boot and carried their two suitcases over to the veranda, setting them down next to the door.

"Never mind gardens, this is your place and you should be able to do what you like with it…" Clarisse said as she stepped up onto the veranda next to him as he unlocked the door, before he startled her by sweeping her off her feet.

"Joseph! Your knees!"

"Nonsense, they're fine… I just want to carry my bride over the threshold."

"You did that at the palace on our wedding day!"

"I want to do it again now!" he said with a twinkle in his eye before he stepped over the threshold.

Once inside, Joseph gently set her back down on the floor, Clarisse awkwardly slid back onto her feet before, looking around, shrugging off her heavy coat, she realised that the cabin was unusually warm... the lights were on and that there was a fire crackling in the fire place.

"I had some of the men come out beforehand and set the place up before we go here," Joseph said by way of explanation. "They filled the wood box, brought groceries and made sure that everything was alright."

"It looks alright to me," she said agreeably before she followed him down the hallway to his main bedroom… or, rather, their bedroom.

"At least I'm not kicking you out of your bedroom," she joked as she sat on the edge of the bed and he laughed as he sat down next to her.

"You will never believe me when I said that I was happy in the guest room, will you?"

"No," she said. "I won't…"

"Well, would you believe this, then…" Joseph leaned over and nuzzled her neck with his lips and she chuckled, squirming slightly.

"Maybe…."

"What about this, then?" he moved even closer and, still nuzzling her neck, reached over and, with one hand, slowly began unbuttoning her silk blouse.

"Well…maybe…" she murmured before his lips found hers…

0

Much, much later, at 10 minutes to midnight, Joseph and Clarisse were snuggled up on the couch, the fire blazing and the television on, sipping champagne.

"This has been wonderful," she sighed happily- after they had 'settled into' their room, they had enjoyed a long, leisurely lunch and then a stroll around outside, and the afternoon and evening had seemed to have flown. "I wish we could stay here forever…."

"How about a fortnight?"

"Really?" she pulled away from his shoulder to look at him in delight. "We can do that?"

"Of course we can… Mia is Queen, remember, and there is nothing going on that needs your attention…we definitely won't be missed at the New Year's Eve ball…."

"But…."

"A third reason is that…you…are… retired," Joseph tapped her gently on the nose, before kissing it gently and she chuckled.

"Well, that's an end to my arguments…but I'm glad that we finally have some time alone… I love Mia, Pierre and the rest of them, but we have barely had a moment to ourselves since the wedding, and our week long honeymoon at the beach house."

"Yes, I think it was about time for us to put us first… and I'm sure most people would understand… if not, it's their problem."

"I love that you're so ferocious about us," Clarisse caressed his cheek affectionately and chuckled.

"Of course I am- we've waited so long to be together, I don't want to take another moment for granted."

"Neither do I… so, I guess that we have just made our New Year's Resolution."

"Mmmm…what do you mean?"

"Well, neither of us want to take another moment for granted- we've been waiting so long to be together, so we're going to enjoy our time together."

"Yes, that sounds like a great plan…"

"Starting with a fortnight here…."

"That sounds fantastic!" he said enthusiastically before glancing at his watch. "I believe… it's nearly time…. Shall we count down?"

"Maybe….Ten."

"Nine."

"Eight."

"Seven."

"Six."

"Five."

"Four."

"Three."

"Two."

"One."

"Happy New Year!" they said in unison before giving each other a warm, tender smile.

"Happy New Year, my darling," Joseph said gently.

"Happy New Year, my love," Clarisse responded equally as tenderly. "Here's to our new life together."

"Here, here…" before he pulled her close and pressed his lips on hers.