"And with crime increasing in all major cities, the people of Miami, Florida were shocked by the gruesome killing of Elizabeth Findlay, a twenty-eight-year-old dental hygienist."

What the fuck? Why the fuck was Sophia dreaming about murder?

Her eyelashes stuck together with sleep as she tried to blink them open, finally focusing on the television. Disoriented, she looked around, her sight finally landing on Dean sitting on the other end of the couch, her legs resting in his lap.

"When did you get home?" Sophia asked, her voice raspy. She grimaced at the post-nap taste in her mouth.

Dean started at the sound of her voice and then closed the book he was reading. "Hey, you're awake. About an hour ago. You were passed out." He clicked off the television.

Sophia struggled to sit up, only realizing then that she had a blanket over her that wasn't there when she fell asleep. She gave up, settling with propping her head up so she could see him better. "I don't even remember falling asleep, I was waiting for you to get home."

Dean chuckled. "You looked so peaceful; I couldn't bear the thought of waking you up." His hand brushed up and down her shin. "Long day?"

Sophia groaned. "Gotta love how people start celebrating the New Year like, two days before we actually get to the New Year."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Tell me about it." He glanced at his phone. "And we still have three hours to go."

Sophia groaned again. "I don't know if I'm going to make it."

"You don't have to."

"Yeah, but I want to."

Dean laughed. "What do you need?"

Sophia grimaced again. "A breath mint."

"Altoids, coming up."

He also brought her water, an apple, and a bag of potato chips. "Should help you be a little less drowsy," he said, setting everything in front of her on the coffee table.

"Thanks." Sophia popped a mint in her mouth, the minty flavor working its magic the moment it touched her tongue. Dragging her blanket with her, she shifted around so she could lean against him, letting out a small sigh as his arm wrapped around her.

"I swear, I feel worse than when I got home."

"Eat," Dean ordered. "And drink. You'll feel better."

"Bossy," Sophia muttered under her breath, but took a sip of water anyway, the Altoid turning it frigid on the way down.

"Concerned," Dean amended, pressing a kiss to her temple.

"Yeah, yeah."

Because they had both worked Christmas this year, they got New Year's Eve off. But the week leading up to it had been crazy, both of them working more than they usually did, so they made the decision to just stay in and celebrate together. It was turning out to be one of the best decisions they had made all year.

"I can't believe it's been a whole year," Dean said, his head resting lightly on top of Sophia's.

She let out a contented sigh. "Honestly? One of the best years of my life."

And it really had been. Dean's injury had been horrible, and the resulting argument nauseating, but their time together on either side of that had been nothing short of euphoric. They spent every night they both had off together, either at his place or hers. He was never far from her mind on the nights she had to sleep alone. They went on a vacation together to Turks and Caicos, spending all their time lounging on the beach or rolling around in their hotel room, drinking cocktails and eating fresh fruit. Sophia made a point to see or talk to Sandy at least once a month, although it usually ended up being more than that, and she had fulfilled her promise in making sure to invite Dean's mom along for when they cut down their Christmas tree that year, a tree that was still standing in Dean's apartment right now.

It was a year filled with more love than Sophia had even known was possible. When she first fell in love with him, she couldn't have known how minuscule that love was compared to what she felt now.

"Me too," Dean said. "But I think we can top that for this year."

"Oh, yeah?" Sophia privately agreed with him but wanted him to say more.

"Yeah. Actually, there was something I wanted to talk to you about."

Sophia sat up, crossing her legs and drawing the blanket around her shoulders. Her hand tangled with his, her fingers drifting lazily over his skin. "What's up?"

"Well, I was thinking." He fidgeted nervously. "You're pretty much always here, or I'm at your place. You have half my bathroom and practically half my closet and dresser."

Sophia felt a bubble of excitement grow in her as she guessed where he was going. "Your point?" she teased him.

"I guess, I guess I just figured that it might make sense if you moved in. Here. With me."

"Oh, it might make sense?" Sophia nodded, her mouth bent into a serious frown although she doubted that she had suppressed the laughter in her eyes. "Very practical of you, Dean."

He rolled his eyes. "Jesus Christ," he muttered, "I want to live together, Sophia!" he exclaimed. "And I mean, we don't necessarily have to live here," he amended quickly. "If you don't want to move, we can talk about it, figure out what would work best—"

"Dean, my apartment sucks."

"Yeah, it kinda does," Dean agreed, and Sophia snorted. "And I figured, your lease is up at the end of January, so that would give us a month to move you over here and we can figure out what to keep and what to get rid of and all of that."

"And this place has felt like home for a really long time," Sophia said.

A softness fell over Dean's features. "So, that's a yes?" he asked hopefully.

"Of course, it's a yes," Sophia said, shifting over so she sat on his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. "You know," she felt a blush rise up on her cheeks, "sometimes when you're working at night and I'm not, instead of coming here in the morning to meet you when you get off, I just come the night before and sleep here."

Dean laughed. "I know," he said. "You're horrible at making beds."

Sophia snorted and buried her face in his neck, hiding from his eyes. "Why didn't you say anything?" she asked, her face burning.

"Because I liked being able to come home after a twenty-four-hour shift and take a nap in a bed that already smells like you," Dean said. "No better way to fall asleep than that."

Sophia lifted her head and pressed her lips against his in a soft kiss. "I love you," she mumbled.

"I love you." He shifted out from under her and stood up, holding out his hand. "We really should eat some actual dinner."

Sophia groaned. "Fine."

Actual dinner turned out to be leftover Chinese food, eaten cold and straight from the carton. But then Dean pulled out cheesecake from the refrigerator, and despite how full she was, her stomach grumbled. "From the Farmers Market?" she guessed.

"Of course."

They didn't so much as eat the mini cheesecakes as much as devoured them. "I think they've gotten better since our first date," Sophia mumbled through a mouthful of filling.

"They definitely have."

Sophia was fully prepared to go back to lying on the couch to digest, but Dean had other plans. No sooner than they had finished cleaning up their dishes did he grab her hand and pull her close, leading her in a dance to silent music.

"I think this is what people do on New Year's Eve," he said, spinning her around.

Sophia laughed, resting her head against his chest as he brought her back to him. "I'm pretty sure usually if people are dancing, they're dressed up a little bit more than Spider-Man sweatpants and an L.A.F.D. t-shirt."

"Hey." He spun her around again. "I think you look hot."

Sophia snorted. "You always think I look hot."

"This is true."

The two of them danced around the kitchen until the clock hit ten, an impressive feat given that neither of them really knew how to dance. But away from prying eyes, they swayed and spun around, laughing whenever one of them did something particularly stupid.

"Alright, you look like you're about to fall over," Dean finally said when Sophia felt like she couldn't keep her eyes open.

She fell into his chest, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her cheek into his chest. "I could fall asleep like this," she murmured.

She let out a small yelp as Dean's arm went under her knees and he carried her back over to the couch, arranging them so she was lying against him, his arms holding her securely to him.

They watched the replay of the ball dropping in New York City, only half paying attention to the performers and Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen's commentary, but appreciating how their level of drunkenness significantly increased over the two hours.

Then the countdown started, and for the first time in the two hours that Sophia lay in Dean's arms, she was fully awake. The numbers flashed before her eyes.

60.

30.

20.

10.

5.

4.

3.

2.

1.

She twisted around and Dean was already prepared, leaning forward and kissing her as they officially entered a New Year that was sure to be better than the last. Sophia's hand slipped around to the back of his neck as he gripped her waist, pulling her close.

"Happy New Year, Dean," Sophia whispered, her mouth inches from his, foreheads pressed together, eyes closed.

"Happy New Year, baby."

Sophia collapsed back onto him, his arms resuming their position around her. "Hey, Soph?"

"Hmm?"

"I don't think I ever want to go a New Year's without kissing you."

Sophia knew that her face had lit up at that. "Something tells me you won't have to. Besides, it's tradition at this point. Remember last year?"

She couldn't see his face, but she knew he was smirking. "I know I remember it. Do you think everyone else does?"

Sophia chuckled. "I'm pretty sure they're talking about it right now," she said. "And probably speculating what we're doing now that we're alone."

Last year, they had both been working on New Year's Eve, both fully prepared to ring in the new year elbow-deep in some emergency. But, by some twist of fate, Dean's crew had been dropping off a patient to Ronald Reagan just before the clock struck midnight. Sophia had been chatting with Rocky, the charge nurse, at the nurses' station, when he had swept into the E.R. like the love interest in a romance novel.

In front of everyone, nurses, doctors, and patients alike, Dean had grabbed her by the waist, pulled her close, and kissed her like they were two minutes away from the credits rolling in a Hallmark movie. Everyone had cheered, drowning out the sound of fireworks as midnight hit, and Sophia's face burned.

"I guess they'd be disappointed then," Dean said, "because as much as I hate that I haven't had sex with you since last year," Sophia snorted, "I'm dead tired."

A well-timed yawn indicated Sophia's position on the matter.

"Bed?"

"Bed," Sophia agreed. Then she groaned. "Especially since I have work again tomorrow morning."