Jen was seriously regretting her choice of heels as she forced them back onto her feet in readiness for going home. It was 2.27am and the Friends Christmas dinner party was finally drawing to a close. Lisa and Michel had left a short while ago. Matty, who was staying in the guest suite, had already disappeared upstairs, leaving just Matt and Melissa, who were readying themselves to leave now alongside Jen, and Schwim, who was getting a ride back home with her. After hugging their goodnights with Courteney and her David, the four of them had gone out in the darkness of the early morning and got into their respective vehicles.
Before they pulled off the gravelled driveway, Jen had handed Carl, her driver, the CD containing hers and David's special songs and asked him to play it for her. She settled back into the car seat, her whole body leaning against David's, whose arm was tightly around her shoulders, pulling her so close into him that they almost melded into one being. As the first strains of Louis Armstrong's 'What A Wonderful World' filled the chilly morning air, Jen closed her eyes and transported herself back to a place in time when she had cuddled into David exactly like this, parked up at their viewpoint, watching the fiery sunset emblazon the horizon and planning their future together. They had been so young and so naïve to think they could one day have it all back then. She turned her head into David's neck as that song finished and the next begun, nuzzling her lips against his skin as she delighted in their memories and also the proximity of his body to hers right now. She wished so much she could just stay wrapped up in his arms like this forever and when they pulled up outside his home, she was not at all ready to let him go, but she knew right now she didn't have a choice.
She followed him up the driveway and they stood at his front door, face to face and both feeling the same conflicted feelings they had done when they had been in this same position only a few weeks ago.
"You have no idea how much your gift means to me" she said after a few seconds of wistful silence, "it really is so personal and so perfect. Thank you."
"Well, I could say the exact same to you about your present" he replied, "I will treasure this forever" he added as he held aloft the heavy silver frame in his hand.
"I can't believe we are nearly at the end..." she sighed sadly, pressing herself against him for a hug, her body giving a forceful shiver as the coolness of the night air washed over her.
David set the photo frame carefully on the ground then opened out his jacket, enveloping it around her body as he pulled her closer into him. "I know, it doesn't seem real yet, to me at least. I can't believe we aren't going to be working together for more than a few weeks longer."
Jen raised her head from his shoulder and lifted her arm, gently placing one finger against his lips. "Shhhhhh" she said, "let's not talk about that right now. I don't want to leave you in sadness."
She moved her finger away from his mouth then replaced it with her lips for a tender, sweet and meaningful kiss. Not passionate, not even sexual, just absolutely filled with love. "Happy Christmas" she whispered as she pulled her head back and gazed dreamily at his face, "I love you Schwim."
"I love you too" he replied, "now go before you freeze... in fact here, take this to keep you warm in the car." He removed his jacket and draped it around her shoulders, kissing her gently on the forehead then watching her turn and walk away, back to her car and back to her other life.
Around an hour later, Jen finally crawled into her bed; her big, cold, empty bed. She lay for a few minutes in the darkened room, trying to get comfortable but her mind was still reeling from David's present and the beautiful sentiment behind it. She turned the lamp back on and made her way across the room to where the gift box lay, deftly removing the 'Sleepy Time For Jen' CD from its case and inserting it into the nearby player. She was about to get back into bed when her eyes landed on David's jacket hung carefully over a chair in the corner of the room. She picked it up and wrapped it around her, drinking in his scent and imagining that the arms of the jacket were his as she climbed back into bed and pressed her nose into the lapel. Within minutes she was drifting off to sleep, listening to the gentle and soothing sounds coming from the stereo, and dreaming that she was in the arms of the man she loved more than anyone else in the world.
Christmas and New Year came and went in the blink of an eye. Brad had been extra generous with his gifts this year. He had bought Jen a vast array of very expensive and very ornate jewellery, as well as multiple boxes filled with beautiful designer clothes and several pairs of her favourite Havaiana flip flops. Jen had felt guilty as he had spent a lot more on her than usual and her gift to him of a specific Rolex watch he had been hankering after seemed to pale in comparison. She figured maybe he was feeling remorseful about all the hours he was putting in on set for his latest movie and that's why he had gone a bit overboard with her presents this year. She also couldn't quite put her finger on what or why, but there had been a disconnection with him during the holidays. Sure, they had visited his family and had some great fun with them all, but there was something niggling at the back of Jen's mind. He seemed a little distracted and a little distant. Maybe it was because she hadn't reacted to his gifts with the enthusiasm he had expected. They were all beautiful and very lavish, but she couldn't help but compare them with the heartfelt simplicity of her gift from David.... and the truth was that what Brad had bought her was just 'stuff' whereas what she had been given by David.... well, that was created just for her and with total love.
Monday 5th January 2004 was the first day back on set after their two-week break. There were just three episodes left to film now, well three weeks of filming anyway, the finale episode was to be a double length one but filmed in two halves on two subsequent Fridays. It was 9.07am and Jen, who was uncharacteristically punctual today, had just been handed her script. The title alone was enough to start the tears brimming in her eyes. "The One With Rachel's Going Away Party". As she flicked through the pages she felt her knees buckle. There was absolutely no way on earth she was going to be able to do this. It was like the writers had reached in to her soul and pulled out the deepest and most raw feelings she possessed about each of her Friends, then printed them onto a piece of paper that she was expected to recite in front of millions upon millions of tv viewers. As she read further and got towards the end of the episode, she was suddenly joined by David.
"Hey you...." he said tenderly, placing his arm around her shoulders as she leaned gratefully into him, "..... have you read the part with our goodbye yet?" He kissed the top of her head before adding "Happy New Year by the way."
"Hey honey" Jen replied, "Happy New Year to you too." She had carried on flicking through the script and David pointed to the part of the story to which he had been referring.
[Scene: Ross's apartment. Rachel bursts in through the closed door.]
Rachel: You really think I didn't say goodbye to you because I don't care?
Ross: That's what it seemed like to me.
Rachel: I cannot believe that after ten whole years, you still do not know one thing about me.
Ross: Fine, then why didn't you say something?
Rachel: Because it is too damned hard Ross. I can't even begin to explain to you how much I'm going to miss you. When I think about not seeing you every single day, it makes me not want to leave. So if you think that I didn't say goodbye to you because you don't mean as much to me as everybody else, then you're wrong. It's because you mean more to me. So there, all right, there's your goodbye!
Ross: Rachel!
Rachel: What?
Ross: You can't, you keep... You can't...
Rachel: You can't what?
[Ross walks over to her and starts to kiss her urgently. After a moment Rachel backs away. She thinks a beat but then rushes back into his arms and starts kissing him passionately.]
"So, it looks like Ross and Rachel might just get their happy ending after all" he smiled at her, running his index finger over the direction notes at the foot of the scene, "I can't say I'm not a little excited about this part."
Her hand found its way to his fingers and she intertwined them together, squeezing tightly as she turned into his chest and looked up in to his face. "I think this might just be one of the most emotional weeks of my life so far" she said, "but knowing that I have that to look forward to at the end of the night will absolutely help me through it." She wiped the tears from her eyes with her free hand, before suddenly throwing him an incredibly suggestive and seductive look. "Maybe we can find time to do a little practicing before Friday" she grinned, "I mean, we can't let Rachel and Ross down now can we?" she added with a wink.