Okay, so a day early with this last chapter because I'm working late tomorrow night so can't post and I got some really bad news earlier and want to retreat into my stories a bit. If you're not getting too sick of Dean and Lauren then please see below for news on the next installment. In the meantime, enjoy this and have a lovely festive period one and all.

Moxley Gal1, Well, you're half right, it is jewellery and Dean also knows the marriage thing is on the cards as you're going to see, but don't you worry, these two are definitely end game. How could they not be at this point, huh? Wishing you a lovely Christmas and thank you for reviewing. As ever, it means a lot.

xXBalorBabeXx, Oooh, well, you never know, it's going to happen one day, right? Since we know these two are made for each other (or written for each other more to the point!) Best wishes and big hugs for Christmas. Hope you gets oodles of candy canes and thank you sooo much for always being one of my right there reviewers supporting my work.

Mandy, Ugh, the injury sucks but I guess it was bound to happen at some point. In the meantime though, I can at least keep writing him healthy and happy, which is what I'm going to do! Dean's cuteness factor shifts into overdrive in this chapter, but I had to go out on a sweet note, right? As always my lovely, thank you so much for always being there with your reviews, letting me know I'm still getting things right. Merry Christmas!

Minnie1015, *Slaps own head* mace, that would have been a great present! Sadly not BUT I do get bonus points because the present is going to pop up in later stories (including the one I mentioned last time where everything gets turned upside down for a while). So there you go, once again apparently, I'm already ahead of you!

Skovko, I can't resist a bit of self-pity when I'm sick, including thinking I've ruined things when I probably haven't. Plus, Lauren does have a bit of a tendency to beat herself for things (as you've probably guessed by now) so she takes being sick extra hard! Luckily in this last chapter, Dean makes that much better again!

Labinnacslove, Dean is being a very good nursemaid in this one and showing how much he loves her by doing cutesy, caring stuff. With his injury in real life, I hope he's getting something similar in return. It's the least he deserves bless him!

Their first Christmas then, here we go...

Merry Christmas Baby

I slept on and off pretty much the whole evening, moving through a variety of standard Christmas films and I even managed to eat something at one point, which – okay – was dried toast, but was still a pleasing start.

Despite that though it was still kind of wash-out.

Christmas Eve that was.

I honestly felt like I'd messed it up.

I'd had so many plans of what Dean and I could do together, from hanging stockings and cooking lunch to swapping stupid Christmas jokes. Cheesy stuff really, the stupid things you did with family. Because Dean was my family.

That's what we were.

Our first Christmas together had been supposed to reinforce that and yet there I was coughing and sleeping it all off. I was even dozing when the clock hands struck midnight and only woke when Dean nudged me and brushed a hand across my face,

"Princess?"

"Mmmm?"

"You gonna wake up for me?"

"Mmmm."

"That a yes? I've got somethin' for you. You don't get to have it if you don't wake up though. How about openin' those pretty eyes a little, huh?"

I responded slowly, feeling groggy and nonplussed,

"Hmmm?"

Dean grinned back at me,

"Hey, there's my girl."

He was crouched down in front of the couch on his kneecaps and there was something excited and childlike in his eyes.

"Wha's'rong," I grumbled both groggy and incoherent to which Dean chuckled back and stroked a thumb across my hair,

"Nothin's wrong Lauren. Thought you'd wanna know it's Christmas."

I blinked for a second in bewilderment,

"It is?"

"Uh huh," Dean nodded, sliding onto the couch beside me as I rubbed at my eyes and tried to prop myself up. Mercifully – thanks to several more doses – I was vaguely beginning to feel not quite so bad and I was pleased that when I finally got upright, I didn't feel sick or want to pass out.

Even so I flopped back against the cushions like a ragdoll as my muscles staged a protest and essentially gave up. It was comfortable though and I blinked into the tree lights which were casting out a colorful and cheery little glow.

Christmas.

Huh.

Who would have thought it?

I had successfully made it to the end of the year.

Not only that but I was actually happy and that – as always – was down to one man. The man who had given me love and a home again, the man who had made me feel safe and secure. Dean had given so much in such a short time and it seemed that he wasn't through giving out gifts.

"Here."

I blinked as he roughly passed something across to me, flat and crudely wrapped like he'd done it himself. Whatever it was though was weighty – too weighty – and so as I took it from him, it dragged my arms back down.

"What is it?"

"Pretty sure you're meant to unwrap it 'stead of me tellin' you," Dean pointed out, grinning a little at my groggy confusion and then pulling me close to press a kiss against my head, "Merry fuckin' Christmas Princess."

"Is this one of my presents?"

Dean sighed at me,

"Yes."

"Do I – do I get to open it now?"

"That's kinda the point,"

I gazed down at it,

"Oh."

With my hot shaking fingers and fever-addled cranium, it took quite a while for me to tear off the wrap, initially trying to prize up the sticky tape before Dean got bored and slashed a small rip,

"Come on Lauren, don't wanna still be doin' this next fuckin' year."

"Hey," I pouted, "I'm sick."

But regardless of my frowning I followed his instructions and ran my finger along the tear he had made, shearing the paper into two complete sections and then letting it fall away from my first Christmas gift from Dean.

"A notebook?"

"Uh huh," Dean nodded, shuffling closer to take it from me and hold it aloft, "I – uh – I was kinda thinkin' about your old one – you know – the one you got back at your mom's house?"

Oh.

I knew in an instant what he was referring to.

The notebook of sex tips I had made as a teenager that Dean had found out my ex-boyfriend knew all about. Prior to that, it been something he'd liked to tease me with, something flirtatious and fun between us both. But somehow knowing that I'd done those things with Andy – and having met my asshole ex – had killed it stone dead.

"The one you didn't want us using together because of what happened?"

Dean shrugged,

"That's why I got this."

It was obvious that he was trying to downplay the whole issue – I doubted he was use to giving out gifts, or for that matter, putting thought into them – but it was obvious that to him it meant a great deal and I loved how personally invested he had gotten.

God I was lucky.

"You want me to write more?"

"Kinda," Dean replied, wrapping an arm around me and tilting me until I toppled in close against his side, "I thought maybe we could make a new one together. You know? Try out new stuff, write that shit down. I mean, only if you want to – ,"

I reached up and palmed his cheekbone, rubbing my fingers over his skin. It was as instinctive and loving a gesture I could think of without kissing him madly and spreading my germs,

"I want to."

"Good," he responded, kissing my head again,

"But we'll have to make sure our children don't see it. That sort of thing can scar a kid for life."

I wasn't wholly sure if it was the fever or drugs talking, or if maybe I just wanted to push him a little more. In terms of my body clock, I wasn't exactly broody but once in a while I would test the waters out. Make sure that Dean still saw us together in five, ten, fifteen years' time. Whenever I did, it made me tense wildly and this time was no different as I essentially forgot to breathe.

"We'll get a locked drawer," Dean replied easily and that was it.

Our happy future was still secure.

Waving a hand, I gestured to the Christmas tree, twinkling happily in the corner of the room. Dean had owned nothing in the way of decorations and with mine back in Wisconsin, we'd had to buy them all new. It was possible that I had gone a little overboard on baubles and in refusing to let him help, but the results of my hard work were utterly undeniable.

It was the cutest damn Christmas tree in the whole of the world.

"Your turn," I sighed, "You've got to pick something."

"Nah, got everythin' I need right here."

He pecked me again and I grinned but shook my head at him, ignoring the way it rattled at my brain.

"Nuh uh, that's not fair – I've had something, so now you need to open something too."

"Princess – ,"

"Go," I prodded him roughly, wiggling out from underneath his arm. He sighed at me and rolled his eyes a little, but did what he was told and got up from the couch, crossing the room and flipping on the fire which instantly gave the room an additional cosy glow.

"Any of these?"

"Uh huh," I nodded, leaning forward a little, "Ooh, the one on the right."

It was a small square box and as he picked it up he shook it, which made the gift inside rattle lightly at the sides. Crossing back over, he sat down beside me and stared across dubiously.

I blinked back,

"What?"

"This some sort of kinky thing Princess?"

"What? No."

"You sure about that? See, I know how your dirty little mind works in private and so I think this must be some sort of butt plug or cock ring – ,"

I clicked my fingers,

"Damn, I knew I'd forgotten something. Are the sex shops all closed for the holidays now?"

Dean grinned and shook his head a little, clearly relieved that I felt well enough to tease.

Maybe I was actually getting genuinely better?

If so that was certainly a very good thing.

"Besides," I continued, giggling a little, "If it was a cock ring, it would be bigger than that, right?"

He kissed my head fiercely and slung an arm around me, grinning with machismo and manly pride,

"Right."

In using both hands to get off the paper, he jokingly caught me in a headlock of sorts, drawing me in against his chest muscles and then applying light pressure as I tried to push him off,

"Dean," I giggled, not minding too much as I flattened my cheek against him and drank in his scent.

"Will you stop wrigglin'? You're puttin' me off here."

Then he tore off the gift wrap and suddenly went still.

Feeling it, I instantly stopped moving along with him, unable to see his face and so not knowing his response. It was the first official Christmas gift that I had ever bought for him and the thought he didn't like it almost swallowed me up whole.

Crap.

Squirming down I popped out from the headlock and pushed myself up against his knees to see his face. Fortunately it didn't look too disappointed, it was kind of surprised and moved all at once.

"Dean? Is it okay?"

"I don't – what is it?"

I took the box from him and opened it up.

"It's a fidget toy. It's supposed to help de-stress you. Apparently this one's the best of the lot. You can sort of change its shape and flip it around and create things but it fits in your pocket so you can have it on the go. I thought – I thought if you were stressed before a match-up and I wasn't around to kiss it away, then this might help. You know I don't like it when you start to scratch and hit yourself, so I figured you could try it for a bit. Is it okay?"

For a second Dean didn't really say or do anything, then slowly he looked over,

"You bought this for me?"

"Um," I blinked, "Yeah?"

"To stop me gettin' riled?"

"I – I thought it might help, I mean, I don't know – ,"

To be honest I still had no idea what he was thinking and was starting to get a little panicky inside. But just as it reached the point where I decided I had failed him, he suddenly turned round and hauled me up against his chest, pulling me in so tight against his muscles that I honestly almost struggled to breathe.

"Fuck," he muttered, tousling my hair and then drawing me back and kissing me on the lips,

"Dean," I spluttered, "Don't, you'll get sick too."

"Don't care Princess – I don't fuckin' care."

I wasn't really sure why my simple little present had made him so excited, but I was happy that he was. It made me giggle and then fall down against him, resting against his heartbeat as he wrapped me in his arms,

"Didn't realize you'd be so excited. They do a whole bunch – I'd have bought you some more."

"It isn't that Lauren," he grumbled above me, "It's just that you actually fuckin' care."

"Of course I do," I whispered, "I love you."

But Dean carried on almost like he hadn't heard,

"I've just kinda always been twitchy, I guess – clickin' my fingers and all that kinda shit. Used to drive my mom fuckin' wild. She'd hit me but it never really did any good. Teachers used to throw erasers and crap at me – figured I was actin' out. Seth and Roman were the first guys that got it but you – you're the first person that's ever tried to help."

I snuggled in deeper and wrapped my arms around him,

"I'm sorry they were mean to you."

Dean stroked my hair,

"Even if it doesn't work, you wantin' to help me? Means a lot Princess, a whole fuckin' lot."

Somewhere in the background the fire crackled loudly and as the glow of it soothed me, I felt my eyelids start to droop. For the most part, it was the perfect time to drift back off to sleep again, but considering that it was Christmas, I fought the darkness off.

I didn't want to sleep – not just yet anyway – I wanted to make every second of it count and so to that end I pushed myself away from him wearily and slumped against the sofa so I could better see his face,

"You should know that my goal is still to always be there to kiss you, but it's good to have a backup plan in case I suppose."

Dean grinned at my assessment and gently kissed my nose tip, his blue eyes reflecting back the dancing firelight. It was all so stupidly, perfectly cosy –

There was just one thing missing.

"I wish my mom was here."

In response Dean's arms tightened quickly around me, as if he had been bracing for this exact thing. I guess it was inevitable that I would mention her at some point. I had just hoped it wouldn't hurt when I did.

Damn.

It still hurt.

It hurt like a wrecking ball and my throat grew tighter as my breathing sped up.

"Hey," Dean murmured, dropping his head against me and running his nose tip down across my jaw. It was like being nuzzled by a big scruffy hound dog and I leaned in towards him and blew out a breath,

"I'm okay. It's just – I miss her."

"I know you do Princess, I know you do."

"This will be the first Christmas I've spent without her and – ,"

I broke off suddenly and choked down a sob and Dean responded by turning in towards me and letting me bury my head against his chest. The tears were coming out thick within seconds and I balled my hands into his hoodie and sobbed.

"Sssh baby, sssh," Dean soothed on repeat above me, his gruff notes grounding me, "S' okay, s' alright."

If I was honest then I had really been hoping not to do this. I had hoped that I could possibly keep the tears at bay. But in the moment I couldn't help it, I needed to cry brokenly and fortunately enough, my boyfriend understood.

I wasn't sure how long I bawled for in total – it could have been minutes or hours all things told – but throughout it all Dean stayed loving and stoic, kissing my hairline and holding me close.

When I finally got myself under control again, my eyes were itchy and my cheeks were almost raw. I had also left Dean's hoodie sort of snotty and half sodden, but he didn't seem to care when I tried to brush it off,

"Sorry," I mumbled, "I made you all wet."

He caught my hand easily,

"Doesn't matter, it'll dry."

"Didn't mean to bring the mood down either."

"Lauren, it's okay. I get it, alright?"

I nodded up against him then tried to clean my cheeks off, using the hem of my once pristine shirt. Now I definitely hoped it was a knock-off, otherwise I had wiped tears and germs on Kiss gold.

Beside me, Dean was shuffling around awkwardly, like he was trying to pull something from the pocket of his pants. Considering that I was busy post-crying, I didn't pay much attention to what that something was, which was why I blinked in utter bewilderment when a tiny little pouch was placed down on my lap.

"What's that?"

Dean licked his lips,

"It's – uh – another present."

"I've already had one."

"So, have one more. I was – um – I was gonna save it 'til the mornin' but – you know – what the hell, thought you might like it now."

The surprise of the gesture chased away my sniffles and I reached down and picked up the small velvet purse. There were drawstrings at the top, cinching the folds in and I unwrapped them slowly,

"It looks like a jewellery bag."

I had sort of been joking but as Dean stopped twitching – which I realized belatedly he'd been doing all along – something in me squealed just a little.

Dean had bought me jewellery?

Why was he nervous though?

As my thoughts tracked off down the inevitable marriage route, Dean seemed to sense the direction of their flow and cleared his throat hurriedly, making me jump a little and waving his hand around,

"It's isn't – you know. I mean, not that I don't want to at some point, but it's – ah fuck – just open the damn thing."

Frowning in confusion I unfastened the drawstrings and slid out the contents onto my hand. For a moment I couldn't work out what I was looking at and I turned it over to get a better view.

It was a necklace – that much was obvious from the get go – with a delicately braided and very pretty gold chain. There was a pendant at the end and as I got a closer look at it, I gasped in amazement and gaped up at him,

"Dean – ,"

Staring right back was my mother's antique earring – the one of the pair that hadn't been lost – the pale purple cameo sitting bold against the clasping and seeming more beautiful for being by itself.

I was dumbfounded, I could barely process what was happening.

Dean had made my mother's unloved lone earring into something stunning that I could wear once again. The thought that had gone into it. The time and the planning. How had he even managed to get it over here? Although once again, as if reading my mind easily, Dean swallowed nervously and licked his dry lips.

"Kelly posted it to me a while back. I found a guy downtown who like specializes in this thing. I mean, at first he was gonna make some sorta replica, but I liked the idea of the necklace deal more. Do you – do you like it?"

A tear splashed down my face again but as he moved in to comfort me I quickly got there first, launching myself towards him like a frantic spider monkey and crushing his whole head as I squeezed him in tight. His face ended up half-jammed in my cleavage but I could hear him chuckling so it was clear he didn't mind. When I finally released him it was with eager kisses, that I traced across his skin as he rose his head up.

"Thank you," I whispered, cupping his cheeks gratefully and leaning towards him until our cold noses touched. The necklace was hanging from my fingers like a talisman. No way was I letting it out of my sight, "This is the sweetest thing anyone's ever done for me. I love it – I love you – so, so much."

Once again it was Dean that made our yearning lips lock and although I squeaked and tried to pull back from him, his hand on my neck kept me firmly in place. When we finally broke apart, Dean was grinning at me, his blue eyes happy,

"Merry Christmas Princess."

I wound my hand around his and then settled back again, watching the fire glow.

"Merry Christmas Dean."

Somewhere overhead my mother was smiling. I knew that. It was something I didn't even need to guess. Her daughter was content, adored and protected. She may not have been there but she was happy nonetheless.

Behind me, Dean's breathing had started to deepen and I snuggled back further into his arms. No wonder he was tired, he'd been running around after me and playing non-kinky nursemaid for almost two days. My fingers grazed across his warm skin sleepily and I smiled when he pulled me a little closer in his sleep. It had been a strange year – both tragic and brutal – but at the same time I had found as much as I had lost.

I had found myself a father and a stepmother.

I had found myself a real home again.

But best of all I had found the one person who was without a single doubt the love of my life.

Turning around I kissed his jawline gently and then nuzzled a space for myself underneath his chin. He grunted mildly but didn't move otherwise, lost to the happy world of slumber and dreams. I joined him minutes later – the flu still dragging me – but managed one last thought before my conscious dropped off and it made me huff a relieved little breath out.

It looked like I hadn't ruined Christmas after all.

Well, there you have it, another Lauren and Dean all wrapped up. You'll be glad to hear though (or at least I hope you will) that the next takes place back in the wrestling world, meaning Seth and Roman are back again, yay! It's going to be called The Crack in the Shield and is about when the guys weren't getting along. In real life I hated it and in the story so does Lauren, so how does she fix it? You'll have to read and find out.

Will be posting it sometime in January in between some other Dean things I've got to put up, so please look out for it and then (as always) be sure to let me know what you think. Until then though, happy holidays, and a great big thank you to everyone again.