Ed and Lorraine made it back to the house. Her eyes were swollen and red. She chuckled, amused at herself. "I missed you so much," she whispered, reaching to stroke his face. "I missed you so very much," she told him, touching her lips to his.

   His strong arms wrapped around her thin waist. He pulled her closer to his chest. "I love you so much. I'm never gonna leave you like that again, I swear."

   "Don't you ever," tears poured from her eyes.

   "Please don't cry," he said, smiling. "I told you, I'm not going anywhere."

   "I'm sorry, I'm just so happy that you're home."

   They stood in the living room for a long time, holding each other. Eventually, they started to sway in a snakelike dance of love. Her kisses peppered his neck; he held her tighter, rubbing her back.

   Neither of them wanted to interrupted the beautiful silence that surrounded them. Ed's aura was enticing...it made Lorraine want him more, and she could feel the fire that her own aura carried. "If you could feel the way I feel when you look at me--"

   "Why don't you help me to feel it?" he asked her, leading her to bed.

   They held each other for hours. Their love sparked into a flaming fire, and Ed swore over and over that he would never leave her. She wanted to tell him of how she felt when he had gone-- how she feared she would break in half-- but she did not want to ruin the perfection of the moment they were sharing.

   His body laid against the bedframe. Her head fit perfectly in the crook of his chest. His fingers ran through her hair...at one point, he flexed them in order to untangle them from her, and she sighed happily.

   She thought of the upcoming season, and realized that the year had gone by faster than she expected. It would soon be Christmas again. Lorraine had no idea what to get for Ed.

   "What do you want for Christmas?" she asked him.

   "What?"

   "What do you want for Christmas?"

   He looked at her like she was insane.

   "Sorry, I just-- wondered."

   He lips pursed into a happy grin. "I don't need anything except you."

   She rolled her eyes. "That's noble," she remarked sarcastically.

   He ignored the comment. "What about you, is there anything you want?"

   "I don't know. I- I...I don't really need anything--" she paused. "Ed...there's something I want to talk to you about, something serious."

   She could tell by the change in the room that she had scared him. "Is something wrong?" he asked warily.

   "No, dear," she said. "I just-- I want to talk about having children."

   He blushed. "Well, I can try, but I'm not sure you'll have your present on time..."

   "I'm serious, Ed," she chided, smacking his chest.

   "What about it, then?"

   "Do you want children?"

   "I want whatever you want."

   She gaze at him skeptically. "You say that now, what would you say if I gained a few pounds?"

   "Lorraine, you know you mean more to me than that. I don't care what happens," he grasped her hand in his, "If you want children, we'll have children. And I'll be there for every moment of it," he promised.

   His change in demeanor startled her a little. "You mean that," she said, and it was more of a statement than a question.

   He smiled.

   "Hold me," she demanded, and he wrapped himself around her protectively.

   She woke a little while later. Ed was gone. Lorraine became frantic. Had it all been a dream?

   A whistle permeated the quiet air. She breathed a sigh of relief.

   She caught herself singing in the shower later that day. Although she was terribly off key, Lorraine couldn't have cared less.

   Ed popped in. "Hey, babe, I thought we could go to the theatre today, is that alright?" he asked.

   "Of course," she said, rinsing the soap from her hair.

   "And, uh, I'd love to take you to Laney's Dress and Shoes, too, and get you a new dress."

   Her head stuck out from behind the shower curtain. "Oh, really?" she asked, sounding enticed.

   "Yeah, I'm tired of seeing you wear these old things," he said. "You deserve better."

   She laughed, stepping out of the shower gracefully. She was soaked. There was water all over the floor. His eyes travelled over her body. "You're crazy, Lorraine Warren."

   Lorraine only laughed harder. "Let's be crazy together, then," she said, kissing him.

   He knew that if they kept this little game going, they wouldn't be going anywhere. "I love you, dear, but we really should go out," he interrupted.

   She moped like a little puppy dog. "Fine," she said, throwing one of his shirts at him as she exited the bathroom.

   They made it to the theatre without any trouble, despite the cold weather and a small argument. Ed wanted to see a horror film; Lorraine wanted to see anything else. They argued about it for a few minutes, until his wife was distracted by a puppy in the pet store window.

   "My goodness, Ed, look at him," she said, giving an amused smile. "Hello there," she spoke through the glass, "wonder how much they want for you, huh?"

   "You want to go in?" he asked.

      "Sure."

   They walked arm-in-arm into the little store. There was a surprising selection of animals here, including kittens, puppies, and birds. Lorraine instantly gravitated towards the budgies. "Hello, pretty birds," she said, cooing to them sweetly.

   The tennant of the store walked up to her, speaking as if he had a mouth full of food, "You anna hold one'a them birds?" the old man asked.

   Lorraine nodded.

   She allowed him to take her place in front of the cage. He spoke to the budgies in a more hushed tone. Soon, a little blue-and-white bird stepped onto his finger gracefully. He handed the bird off to Lorraine, who was awestruck.

   "Hello, pretty bird, how are you today, huh?" she chatted to it as if it were human. It edged itself up her arm and to her shoulder, twittering in her ear. She gasped. It curled itself up against her cheek.

   "That little bird right there loves the women," the store owner told Ed, only half-joking. Lorraine was beaming.

"I'll take it," he told the man.

   Lorraine was happy, and Ed loved seeing her that way. That Christmas felt like the most perfect thing in the world for both of them; Lorraine surprised her husband with a Pekingnese puppy whom they dubbed as "Cooper."

   They both knew that they wouldn't be able to stay by each other's side all the time. It was inevitable that at least one of them would go to work, and even then they knew there would be times in which they would be farther and farther apart. Even so, Ed and Lorraine would come back together, dancing as if they had never stopped.