AN: So this is it, the final chapter of this story! I want to thank every single person who read this story. It means so much to me that you all even read this story and that on top of that, you enjoyed it so much as it started as just some random idea I had. Anyways, thanks again and for those who haven't, I highly recommend checking out the song that inspired this all. :) Enjoy! (oh and thanks to Mona for helping me pick out names in this chapter and for Diana and Stacey who helped me pick out other character names earlier on, to Arlyn for helping edit a few of these chapters and for convincing me to post this story, and for anyone else I missed, lol. Your help was much appreciated!)

Chapter 8

"He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, and away they all flew like the down of a thistle. But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight, "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"

"Daddy, I want to hear another story!" The little boy exclaimed, grumbling as his father shut the book and placed it beside the bed.

"Yeah Dada pwease," the young, brown curly-haired toddler begged as she climbed onto her father's lap, placing her hand on his jaw and batting her big brown eyes at him.

Troy fought off the grin that was threatening to break through his lips while he looked at his two year old daughter who had a firm grip on his chin, not letting him look elsewhere. "Angel, your mommy might be upset with me if I keep you two up too late. It's bed time."

"No Dada, we want more stowies," the little girl cried out as she gripped his face in her hands, her forehead placed against his while she gave her demands.

"No, Daddy she won't get mad. If Mommy does, we'll just smile at her like this and she'll say it's okay." Troy chuckled at his nearly four year old son who smiled as big as he could, his tiny teeth and bright blue eyes shining.

"When you smile what way, Henry Aiden? That smile doesn't always work on me, sweetie." Troy spun his head around at the sound of her voice, his heart filling with warmth at the site of her. After six years of marriage, eight years of being together, she still had the same effect on him.

"Mommy, we want to hear another story but Daddy said we had to go to bed. Can we hear another story pleaaaaseee?" Henry put on his best puppy dog face, his lips forming a pout as his big blue eyes stared at her.

Gabriella just shook her head amused, walking over to her son, her hand grazing Troy's back as she walked by him over to Henry. Troy just smiled up at her and held his daughter closer to him while she rested her cheek on his shoulder and cuddled into the crook of his neck.

"I'll tell you what Henry, if you lay down in bed right now, Daddy and I will turn out the lights and tell you one more story before you go to sleep. Remember, Santa won't be able to stop here if you aren't asleep! So only one more story, okay?"

"Okay. Do you think Santa's bringing my new bike?"

Gabriella nodded while her eyes trailed over to connect with Troy's, smirking at him. "If Santa can figure out how to put it together tonight, then I'm sure it'll be there in the morning." Troy tried not to laugh, shaking his head back and forth at her before mouthing a sarcastic 'thanks babe' to her.

"Yay!" Henry cheered while he jumped up and down in his Batman pajamas, his cape flying in the air. "Okay Mommy and Daddy, I'll get into bed right now. Hurry up and tell the story so Santa can get here!"

Troy and Gabriella laughed at their enthusiastic child, sharing a small grin before Gabriella tucked Henry into his bed and dropped a kiss on his forehead. Taking a few strides over to Troy, Gabriella leaned down to kiss her daughter's forehead before bringing her lips up to drop a kiss on an anxious Troy's forehead. "I'll go turn out the lights. You put that one in bed and I'll be back in a second for story time."

"No mama, I want to wead the stowy in Henwy's bed," Cameron protested as she reached out for her older brother's bed.

Troy raised his eyebrows at his wife, "Ella, what do you say?"

Sighing, Gabriella rolled her eyes at her husband, "Okay Cam, Daddy and you can go get into bed with Henry for the story okay? But after that you have to sleep in your own bed like a big girl."

Squealing, the toddler clapped her hands and tugged on Troy's shirt. "Come on Daddy."

"Alright Angel," Troy said to appease her, standing up and making his way over to Henry's bed, thanking the little boy as he scooted over before taking the space next to him.

Henry Aiden Bolton and Cameron Joanne Bolton were the pride and joy of two very happy and in love parents. The small family lived in a very nice house in Greensborough, where Gabriella was a pediatrician and Troy was a photographer for the local news in addition to working freelance often in the city about an hour outside of Greensborough. Troy and Gabriella had moved back to Greensborough shortly after she'd finished getting her degree in medicine about four years earlier, and had immediately found out Gabriella was pregnant. The two couldn't have been more ecstatic at the time they found out, since they'd been married already for a couple of years and had been hoping to start a family. So shortly after starting to work as a pediatrician in town, Gabriella took a break to have her first child, who they agreed to name Henry after Mr. Walters. Then nearly two years after that, they were blessed with another child, whom they named after Mrs. Walters, both of them wanting to honor the couple for their influence in not only Troy's life, but also in getting them together.

A minute later, Gabriella returned to the room and turned off the main light before slipping in bed on the other side of Henry. Troy smiled at his wife and took her hand in his, lacing them together and resting them over the top of their two children who were snuggled up between them. Who would have thought all those years ago on that Christmas Eve that the girl he randomly met would end up becoming his wife? He certainly didn't know that back then, but he was so grateful for that night and for her. With her hand laced through his, Troy ran his finger over the ring on her ring finger, remembering the evening he asked her to be his wife.

It was Christmas Eve two years after Troy and Gabriella had first started dating, and as was custom the past two years, they were back in Greensborough for Christmas. Currently, they were walking hand in hand down the streets of Greensborough enjoying all of the festivities.

On the outside, the two looked extremely happy like they didn't have a care in the world. Well, that was true for one of them. Troy however was anything but calm. He was the most nervous he'd ever been in his life as his hand nervously fidgeted with a small box in his pocket. The box had been burning a hole in his pocket since he placed it in there earlier that afternoon. He'd purchased it two weeks prior at a jewelry store in New York one afternoon while Gabriella was in class. They'd both graduated a little over a year earlier, but he was currently working for a newspaper company while Gabriella was in her second year at medical school.

After buying the ring and getting the approval of it from Gabriella's best friend and his own mom, Troy had hidden it from her, knowing the exact time and place he wanted to ask her to be his. In his mind, it was the perfect way to ask her, and he was nervously anticipating the moment.

"You okay Troy?"

Troy's head snapped around to look at her at the sound of her voice, smiling reassuringly when he noticed her nervous look. "Everything's perfect Ella," Troy whispered, leaning down to brush his lips against her hair.

"Okay, you just seem nervous about something," Gabriella continued, her thoughts right on spot as usual.

Chuckling to himself at how she could read him like a book, Troy decided to partially tell her the truth of what he was thinking, knowing it'd be a good lead in to his more important question he'd be asking later.

"Well, the truth is," Troy paused, taking full advantage of the fact that she was hanging on every word he said, "I wanted to ask you if you would join me for a dance?"

Gabriella playfully shoved his shoulder, knowing he'd done that on purpose, but unable to resist his charm, she grinned at him and nodded her head excitedly. "I'd love to."

Unable to resist, Troy leaned down and pecked her lips, "Let's go." With her hand still interlaced through his, Troy tugged her behind him as they weaved through the crowd and up the steps of the gazebo to where they shared their first dance all those years earlier.

Like the charming guy he was, Troy took a step back, twirling Gabriella around before pulling her into his body. While his left hand gently cupped her hand, his right arm wrapped tightly around her waist, holding her close to him. Troy sighed in content, loving how her head fit perfectly in the crook of his neck and how he could feel her soft breaths on his skin. Troy subtly began guiding them to the center of the gazebo where a bit of mistletoe was hanging, kissing her on the forehead once they arrived there, letting his lips linger as he inhaled her scent.

"Hey Ella," Troy barely breathed out her name. This was it. The moment he'd been waiting for, and he hoped that she'd been waiting for it as well.

"Hmm?" Gabriella responded, reluctantly pulling away from the comfortable place on his shoulder to look at Troy who was smirking up at something above them. Following his eyes upward, Gabriella blushed when she saw the small decoration above them. He still could make her blush bright red after all this time. Leaning up to brush her lips against his, Gabriella was shocked when she felt him place his hands on her shoulders and pull away. Her eyes were filled with confusion as she looked at him.

"Before we do that, I wanted to ask you something," Troy began, his hands trailing down her arms until they reached her fingertips, his fingers unconsciously playing with hers. "Ella, this spot means a lot to me…to the both of us. This is where it all began for us. Back then, I had no idea when I saw you sitting by the fire that we'd end up here one day. I still thank God every day for the second chance I got with you. Most people aren't thankful for car accidents that could have taken their life, but I am because it brought you to me, and I wouldn't have it any other way. The scar on my arm and the one on my forehead remind me of you and what a blessing it is to be alive and have you with me. And this place reminds me of you. I'm forever grateful to your parents for stupidly dragging you around the country over your Christmas break and stopping here in this town. I'm grateful for you saying yes and coming back here with me two years ago. I'm thankful for you being able to meet Mr. and Mrs. W. and learn what an impact they had on my life, and I'm thankful for our first date, our second date, and each one after that. Every moment with you I'm grateful for. You mean everything to me, and I made a promise to myself that night we'd met again when I was in the hospital that I'd never let go of you. You're it for me Ella…you always have been, and always will be. So with that being said," Troy took a deep breath, pulling the small box out of his pocket and opening it while dropping down to one knee, ignoring the gasps of everyone else around except for Gabriella's, "Ella, will you marry me?"

It was if everyone else around faded away in that moment. Troy was only aware of the woman in front of him, watching as her eyes glistened with tears before she reached up with her free hand to wipe them away. A smile began to make its way onto her face as she slowly nodded her head. "Yes Troy. I'd love nothing more than to marry you."

Troy slipped the ring onto her finger, laying a soft kiss there before nearly jumping up off the ground and wrapping his arms around her waist, picking her up and spinning her around while they both glowed with smiles. Finally setting her back down underneath the mistletoe, Troy wasted no time in connecting their lips, just like he had years before.

--

"So what story do you want to read Henry?" Troy heard Gabriella ask, suddenly pulled out of his thoughts. "We have the Grinch, Rudolph, Frosty, the Polar Express..," Gabriella trailed off, laughing to herself as she looked down at her son who appeared to be deeply contemplating his choices.

"Welcome back there," Gabriella added cheekily at her husband, whose cheeks tinted as he realized he'd been caught. "What were you thinking about?"

"Oh, you know," Troy trailed off, taking her ring between his fingers and rotating it in circles around her finger. "Just thinking about us."

"Us?" Gabriella asked with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, this night always brings back lots of memories for me," Troy sent her a charming smile, dropping a kiss on his daughter's head as she cuddled closer to him, her eyes drifting shut.

"Me too," Gabriella agreed, knowing she'd been thinking about their first Christmas Eve together and the Christmas Eve when Troy had proposed. "She is such a Daddy's girl," Gabriella giggled as she looked at their daughter, running her free hand through her daughter's brunette locks of hair. "She just adores you."

"I adore her too," Troy whispered honestly, smiling at her before looking over at their son who was looking through a couple of books that were laying on his chest. "And I adore you little man."

Troy then let his eyes return to his wife before leaning over their two children to brush his lips against hers. "And of course, I adore you too," he added charmingly in a soft whisper against her lips.

"Such a charmer," Gabriella teased him as her heart raced.

"Only with you Ella," he quipped back, kissing her once more before both separated as they felt someone tug at their shirts.

"Yes Henry?" Troy sighed at the interruption.

"I figured out what story I want to hear."

"Alright, what'll it be?" Troy asked him as he began to shuffle through the books, stopping when he saw his son shaking his head.

"No Daddy, it's not one of those."

"Alright then kiddo, what's it gonna be?"

"I want you to tell me the Christmas story about you and Mommy, like you always do."

Troy and Gabriella both looked up from their son, their eyes connecting while they shared a small grin. The story was one that they often told, especially to their kids. For years before their kids could talk, it had been their bedtime story, and now, it had become a tradition, especially around Christmas.

Gripping his wife's hand a bit more tightly in his, Troy began to run soothing circles on her wrist, before looking back down at his eager son as he began to tell their favorite Christmas story.

"It was the night before Christmas in Greensborough, Delaware…"