Soundtrack for this chapter:
Times Like These—Foo Fighters
Die a Happy Man—Thomas Rhett
Perfect—Ed Sheeran & Beyonce*

30

Theo

Jules had to go back to her apartment pretty quickly after our Vermont trip, and while I loved having her with me all the time, it was best for both of us. She needed that independence, and I'd never take that from her. As for me, I needed some time to myself after our trip to Gabe's grave.

I talked to Gabe often. The night after I was finally able to say goodbye to him, I sent him a few words as I laid in bed. "Thank you for bringing Jules into my life. No matter what anyone says, I know you were up there pulling some strings. I'm sorry it took me nearly a decade to come see you, but I'm happy I was finally able to say goodbye."

Life went back to normal in a flash. I was back at the station just two days into the new year, and our first few days were full of small fender benders from the snow, a few people who'd slipped on ice, and the occasional kid who fell into a frozen pond (I avoided telling Jules about those ones, fearing a lecture from her on the time I took her skating).

Around the middle of January, I readied myself for a twelve hour shift by getting up way before the sun. I nearly fell on the floor in shock when I found Aiden making toast in the kitchen that morning.

"Shit. Was it cold enough to freeze hell last night?"

That one earned an eye roll, so at least my brother wasn't too far out of character.

"Good morning to you too, T."

"Why're you up?"

He grabbed the toast that had just popped out of the toaster and slathered it in peanut butter. "New year, new me, I guess."

"You realize the new year started two weeks ago, right?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Well, better late than never. Gonna start going to the gym at least three times a week."

"That's a good plan. If it's a day I'm not working, I'd love to join you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It's never a guarantee that I'll get to work out at the station, so this will at least make sure I'm getting some sort of exercise during the week."

"Okay. Cool. You gonna be around this weekend?"

"I think we all are. We're supposed to get a storm tonight, so I'm going to call Jules later to see if she wants to get snowed in over here."

"That'd be fun."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. I like Jules."

"Me too."

He took a bite of his toast, then, seemingly out of nowhere asked, "You gonna marry her, T?"

"Definitely." Didn't even need a second to consider it.

"Can I be one of your groomsmen?"

"Maybe."

His eyes went wide for just a moment before I started laughing.

"Obviously you'd be one of my groomsmen, Aiden. I can't imagine getting married without you and Danny up there with me."

"Never thought you'd be the next one to get married. Especially with how long Dan and Marnie have been together." He got up, and he even put his dishes in the dishwasher. "See ya later, T."

"Have a good day at work." But his words were still ringing in my head. He was right, Danny and Marnie had been together for far longer than me and Jules, but I'd marry Jules immediately if she wanted. Of course, I'd want to give her the wedding she wanted as I was sure she had no say in whatever fiasco her first one was, but as soon as she told me she was ready, I'd go out and buy her ring that day. Truth be told, I already had it picked out. All she had to do was give me the OK.

When I arrived at work that morning, a piece of mail was waiting for me on the counter of our little kitchen. Dave had made me aware of it, and one look at the return address let me know it was my paramedic cert program letter. Part of me wanted to rip it open right there; a stronger part told me to wait until I was with Jules. Then, if I was accepted, we could celebrate together. If I was denied, well, she could drive me to SMASH.

Dave and I spent more time out of the station that day than in it. First there was a call to pick up a woman who'd gone into labor, followed by a small accident from someone turning too quickly around a corner that was slick with black ice. In some ways, knowing Jules didn't have a car up in Boston made me less worried for her safety; she was a fine driver, but it wasn't her set of skills I was worried about.

We had one final call just as the early winter darkness set in, and then it was time to head home. On the way there, I called Jules to invite her over. She expressed her extreme hatred of Boston winters, but I knew she'd grow to love them; she enjoyed skiing far too much not to eventually fall in love with the winter. She was planning something, I wasn't sure what, and despite me reminding her that I was in her debt, she continued to keep me on my toes.

Once home, I changed out of my uniform into something far more comfortable. I rarely noticed the tattoos on my arm, but that night, I spent some time looking them over. A few days after Jules had returned to campus, I paid a long overdue visit to my tattoo artist. She touched up a few of the spots on my sleeve that needed it (while jokingly asking when I was going to venture above my elbow), and added a tiny addition in the last little bit of free space I had on my forearm. Everything was finally all healed, which meant that I could give Jules a little surprise of my own.

Soon enough, her delicate knock was sounding throughout our house. I opened the door to find her weighed down with her duffle bag, guitar, and a paper bag full of food.

"Hi." Her face glowed with her warmest smile.

"Hi, Jules. Let me take something."

She held out the bag containing dinner. When I got it into my hands, I had to hold the bottom so it didn't burst open. "Did you order everything off the menu?"

"Everything. Just kidding." She stepped in and dropped the rest of her stuff. "I picked up some stuff for your brothers, and I got a few extra things just in case we couldn't get out anywhere tomorrow because of the storm."

"Always thinking." I leaned forward and kissed her. "Where'd you go?"

"Remember that place you took me to the day after the accident?"

"The one where you took seventy-five minutes to order?"

If looks could kill...but she could only stare me down for a few seconds before laughter overtook her. "Yes, that one. I got us those chicken pesto paninis. Mine sans tomatoes, obviously."

"Still don't understand how you don't like them. Regardless, thanks. I haven't been back there in far too long."

When the entirety of both of our sandwiches had been consumed, Jules reached into her purse and pulled out an envelope, reminding me that I had my own to share with her.

"I...I got this in the mail this week. It's the paperwork your dad sent Will."

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't terrified of opening that envelope. She could be completely done with her scumbag of a husband, or she could be entering the most trying legal battle of her life.

"I didn't want to open it without you."

"Hang on one sec." I got up and pulled my own envelope from my coat pocket before rejoining her at the table. "This came to the station yesterday and was waiting for me there when I got to work. It's my letter of acceptance or rejection to the paramedic cert program I applied to. I was too nervous to open it."

"Swap?"

Once again, she was reading my fucking mind. I handed her my envelope, and she gave me hers.

I tore open the top, careful to hide any reaction from her so as to not potentially upset her. The stack of papers inside was thick, and I unfolded them and scanned through them, looking for just one thing. Finally, on the bottom of the second to last page, his name was emblazoned in shining blue ink: William T. Buchanan.

I looked up at her, immediately realizing her poker face was fucking awful. She was all smiles, ear to ear.

"I got in?"

"Of course you did. You got in!" She lunged forward in her seat and wrapped her arms around me. "Oh, congrats, T. I know you really wanted this."

"Thanks, Jules. Do...do you want to know what I read in yours?" She backed away from me, eyes hesitant. I waited until she gave me the slightest of nods. "Well, on this page, your ex-husband signed his name. And on this one, it says you've been given full access to the savings account you had down in Savannah." My poker face fell away, replaced with a smile.

She was in my lap instantly. I matched the soft kisses she was placing on my skin with my own on her neck. The warmth of her skin beneath my lips spread throughout my entire body.

"Today is a really, really good day."

"I'd say it's the best day."

She squeezed me one last time before pulling back enough to be able to look at me. Now was the time to tell her about my new tattoo.

"If...I show you something, do you promise not to get mad?" Her eyebrows came together in confusion.

"Guess it depends on what you're showing me."

"It's nothing bad. I got a new tattoo."

Her eyes went wide. "Please don't tell me you tattooed my name on you somewhere. I mean, it's sweet and all, but T, that's...it's too—"

"It's not your name, Jules. Look." I turned my arm out in front of her, and her eyes took in the small bird that had been used to fill the remaining space. Its wings were stretched out, appearing as if it were soaring above the ink beneath it.

"T...this...this is—"

"You."

Her eyes glazed over just a little, and she rested her head against my chest. "I love it, T. I love you."

"I love you too, Jules. Forever."

"Forever."

***

The next morning, we woke to the most magical fucking winter wonderland that could be imagined. The trees were all coated in a layer of white, and the sun reflected off the snow in the most beautiful way. Down in our living room, Jules joined me on the couch with two mugs of hot chocolate.

"No coffee this morning?"

"I want to make a new tradition. When we wake up to snow, we drink hot cocoa instead of coffee."

"We'll be drinking a lot of hot chocolate in Boston."

"Exactly." She smiled at me before setting her mug down. "Last night we kind of had an overload of surprises, so I wanted to wait until this morning to throw one more thing at you."

"Should I be excited or nervous?"

"Well, I'm not sure yet. The important thing is that I can cancel it if you don't want to do it."

"What're you getting at, Calhoun?"

She smiled, a big goofy one, and I realized all along I never had to find some cute pet name for her. Her name was all we needed.

"Remember when you played piano and I sang that song back on Christmas Eve at your parents' house?"

"Yeah."

"And your mom said something like 'you two make quite the musical pair'?"

"Yeah, sure. I remember her saying something like that."

"Well...I got to thinking. I know its been hard coordinating schedules with all of the guys in your band, but, well, I thought maybe it wouldn't be too hard to coordinate just two schedules."

"It's too early, Jules. I'm not following this."

"I'm not saying you shouldn't be part of your normal band anymore. I know how much you love playing the drums, and I think you should do it for as long as it makes you happy, but I was thinking, maybe, sometimes, you and I could play at open mic nights."

"Us?"

"Yeah, you know, like, you play the piano and I'll play my guitar and sing, or maybe I won't even need my guitar for some songs, but I was just thinking that music has kind of been a thing for us and it'd be cool to explore what we can do together."

I leaned into her, took her face in my hands, and set my lips down on hers. "I think that's an incredible idea, Jules."

"That's, that's great because I already booked us for next Friday."

That part actually didn't surprise me at all. "You got it. Want to practice?"

"Yes! I brought some sheet music for you. I know you can play by ear a bit, but there's a song that's just perfect for us to kick it off with, and it's all about finding the person you're meant to be with forever, and I really think it captures everything we've been through together."

"Keep saying forever. I like the sound of it."

"As do I." She hopped into my lap once more and pressed her lips to mine. "You're sure you want this forever?"

"I want this for all eternity."

And with one last kiss, she pried herself from my lap and picked up her guitar. With the sheet music in front of me on the piano, she joined me on the bench. Soon enough, my piano and her guitar and her voice blended together and filled our home.

There was something about the way Jules filled in all of the missing pieces of me, and the way I filled in all of the missing pieces of her, that aligned us perfectly together; our souls were far too entwined to ever be separated, and nothing short of the apocalyptic ending of the world could disentangle us from one another.

A/N: 😭 (but really, I got a little emotional)

I cannot believe this is over! Gosh I love them. Creating Jules and Theo and giving them a story was nothing short of magical for me. I hope you love them just as much as I do.

I'm not going to say there will never be a sequel or some kind of little continuation in the future, but for right now, I don't see it. When I created Jules and Theo and their storyline, I always saw it as a one and done kind of book. Now, I also felt that way about Elle and Jude, and here I am about to start a third book for them. So, long story short, I don't know what the future holds; we may see these two come around again one day ☺️

The playlist and final author's note will be up soon!

As for me, I'm going to be taking a teeny tiny little break. The hubs and I are going on our honeymoon, and my brain could really use the relief. But have no fear! I'll see you (and Elle and Jude) in 2018.

I hope you have the most wonderful Christmas and the happiest of New Years.

With all my love,
L