Hello Fans,

Following the precedent set by Bad Girls with Big Hearts, I decided to whip up a short epilogue to Miracles and Mistletoes. This was meant to be released a couple weeks ago, on the anniversary of the publishing of the story, but had to be delayed due to other priorities regarding my job and personal life.

Well without further ado, here it is. It's not much, but I hope you all like it!

Epilogue

Six days had passed since the miraculous Christmas that had brought selfless joy to loved ones, and rekindled beautiful friendships. Since that faithful day, Ed and May had been hulled up in the confines of Ed's basement room, their eyes scanning the pages of Eds brand new, limited edition, Slug-U-La magazine in complete synchronization as they took small sips of soda and handfuls of snacks. The couple had stopped only to sleep, and to allow May two hours a day at batting practice with her new automatic pitching machine. The girls skills at batting had sharpened substantially, and Rods wallet certainly thanked Ed for the lack of recently broken windows.

Double Dee and Marie had spent their winter break enjoying their friends, as well as each other company. Their most recently excursion was an ice skating trip with Double Dee's little cousin, Claire. While Claire and Marie were quite well versed at the art of ice skating, Double Dee's inexperience was quite highlighted; he had only been ice skating once before (on a trip with Marie and her sisters) and struggled to keep up with the two rambunctious girls. While the two women, who shared a somewhat big sister/little sister relationship, playfully teased him, there was no doubt that Double Dee was having the time of his life.

The ice skating excursion also happened to be the first time that Double Dee was able to don his new wig in public. For the first time in ten years, Double Dee appeared as he did prior to receiving his horrific injuries; his hair was an exact replica of his natural hairstyle, consisting of long straight hair, parted on the side and hanging slightly below his ear lobes. Marie couldn't have been happier for her "handsome boyfriend" and was both looking forward to (and quite nervous for) her eye surgery, set to take place a few weeks from now. In a couple of months, Marie would be able to look upon her boyfriend with both of her eyes, a prospect which excited her tremendously.

After her spectacular win at the talent show, Lee's status as a ballerina continued to grow and flourish. Following her performance, she had been approached by several of her classmates, as well as mothers of young girls that were present in the audience, requesting advice on how to get started on studying the classical dance form. Naturally, Lee pretended to loathe the requests and praise at first, but following her beautiful Christmas experience, decided to fully embrace her status as the "Peach Creek High Ballet Queen". She had offered to start a ballet club upon returning to school in January, an extra curricular activity that would focus on ballet fundamentals and history of the art for all interested. She had also offered her services as a teacher to younger girls at her home on Wednesday nights, achieving a head start on her desired career as a teacher (though she desired to teach high school mathematics as her future career, in lieu of ballet).

Lee had found several familiar faces in her home studio for practice; Lindsay, Sarah, Jimmy, and Julia had decided to join in on the action. While most participated merely for fun, Sarah had joined with the intention of proving herself as a ballerina in her own right. Due to already having several months of training, Sarah had advanced rather quickly; despite their turbulent past and Sarah's tendency to act like a spoiled brat, she had with developed a relationship of respect with her tutor. Of course, Eddy was called upon to assist the lessons, serving as a proverbial "lifting and catching point" for the budding ballerinas to practice jumping into a danseurs arms.

In addition to her new source of enjoyment as a ballet tutor, Lee continued to compose and practice routines of her own; creations tailored to Eddy's style of dance. As they had promised each other the night of their performance, the two spent their Friday nights in the Kanker's basement, happily sharing a mutual hobby as a couple. Despite his hesitation to learn the nuances of ballet, due to fear of being ridiculed as well as fear of not being able to execute the maneuvers, Eddy had become quite the skilled dancer and had found enjoyment in he art. That coupled with the fact that he was doing it all with Lee, the girl he loved and that he now knew loved him back, made him the happiest young man in Peach Creek. Lee could not be anymore happy as well, for her reunification with Lindsay, in addition to Eddy's love, had finally allowed her to fully let go of her past. Although the tall red head continued to playfully tease and poke fun at her boyfriend, there was no doubt that she had fallen head over heels in love with the small boy, and had fully embraced her trust in him.

Lindsay, now free of the torment imposed on her by Edyta Babik, wasted no time rebuilding her life. Her arm wounds had begun healing for the final time, thankfully leaving little to no scarring; this prospect greatly excited the blonde fashionista, as she would be able to pick out "cute sundresses and swimsuits" when the summer weather eventually returned. In addition, Chuck was excited with the prospect of having more time with his "Little T"; with Edyta gone, there was nothing holding Lindsay back from spending time with her father, just as she always did when she was a little girl.

After her tearful tirade regarding spending more time with Chuck at the Kankers house on the afternoon of Christmas Eve, Chuck was struck with a bought of inspiration. The next morning, he woke Lindsay up from her slumber at 6:00 a.m., exuberantly prodding the lethargic girl to get out of bed and come downstairs. Despite her love of the holidays, mornings were definitely not Lindsay's favorite thing, especially when she was not allowed time to fix her "bed head" and makeup prior to leaving the confines of her room. As the girl rubbed her eyes and yawned, Chuck lead her down stairs and through the living room.

With Edyta out of the picture, a large 6 foot by 4 foot portrait had once again taken it's rightful place over the living room fireplace; the portrait depicted the diminutive, white tuxedo-clad figure of Chuck, standing behind the much taller and slim figure of his wife, who donned an ornate wedding dress and veil. Lindsay smiled as she passed the much welcome sight as Chuck led her toward the garage; inside, she was met with quite the surprise.

A new vehicle had occupied the vacant space next to Chuck's Cadillac; a 1976 Chevrolet Nova super sport two door coupe. The car had seen much better days; it's candy apple red paint was rusted in several places, and it's interior was completely bare of upholstery. It's wheels had been removed, with it's axles sitting on four cinder blocks for support.

The blonde diva was quite surprised when Chuck suddenly tossed her a set of keys, which she briefly juggled due to her lack of athletic coordination. Chuck had purchased the car from a salvage yard 16 years ago, keeping it in storage until the time was right for him to fulfill his dream of rebuilding it with his future son (fate had it that he was blessed with a daughter, but according to him "what difference does one sex chromosome make?").

Understanding Lindsay's shared (but un admitted) love for classic automobiles, as well as her desire to spend time with him, he had finally decided to execute his plan. He informed Lindsay that she would have to help him complete it by summer time, at which point she'd be eligible for her drivers license. According to Chuck, she would also require some form of transportation to her upcoming summer job at Imaging Science International, where she would assist the executives in keeping the company her mother had led so many years ago on track. Chuck joked, "The boys down there are going to shit themselves when I introduce you to them. They'll think their former boss has been reincarnated!"

Lindsay happily agreed to working on the car with her father, on the condition that she could do all the interior upholstery and only hand him tools during the "gross greasy parts". Chuck simply placed his hand on his daughters face, drawing a smile from her.

Of course, Lee and Lindsay wasted absolutely no time picking up where their friendship had left off. The two were once again rarely seen without each other, exploring new ways to use their unique skill sets to the benefit of "L-Squared" (as they called themselves) as a whole. Lee composed her own ballet routines, for which Lindsay would design and fabricate the costumes. Lindsay also found herself as Lee's personal stylist, (being the only person other than her allowed to touch her red curls), as well as providing her professional grade manicures. They studied and did their homework together, Lindsay assisting Lee with English, while Lee tutored her in Algebra II. In addition, Lee found solace in using her chemistry skills to develop various original scented perfumes, as well as her own original blend of other beauty products; these were easily marketed by the boisterous and personable Lindsay, and became the hit of the schools monthly potlucks with the female student body. They labeled their concoctions "L&L", finally fulfilling a dream that they had had since they were little girls. Of course, their friendship was not complete without friendly teasing; Lindsay would often poke fun of Lee's fear of roaches (which she ironically was also terrified of), just as Lee would always taunt Lindsay regarding the redhead catching Lindsay in an act of a near kiss with Rolf during Chuck's New Years Eve party.

What new adventures will our favorite thirteen teenagers face next? Nobody knows, but whatever it may be, the adolescents had no doubt that that they will be sharing them in the love light of their amazing, tight knit group of friends.