The Happy Ever After Playlist

For Sloan, the news of the extended tour is devastating. She asks if there’s a way for Jason to renegotiate his contract, but Jason explains that the label signed him for four albums, and each one could take three years to produce and promote. Sloan sinks into despair at the thought of living like this for almost a decade. Jason must leave for a radio station appearance but first puts Sloan in a warm bath and orders her back to bed for the day. Later, he desperately calls Ernie to explain what the tour has done to Sloan. Ernie advises Jason to record the music the label offered him even though it isn’t authentic. He then urges Jason to send Sloan back to LA for a break from the tour so she can rest and recover. Ernie pledges to send a doctor to check on Sloan. Jason can’t fathom being without her, but he knows it’s what’s best.

Zane brings Sloan Nyquil, and before she falls asleep, Sloan calls Kristen and gives her the news. Kristen is sad but tells her that Jason is worth it. After hanging up, Sloan considers what she can do to make things easier, though she feels “swallowed whole by Jason’s career” (278). She decides to take Ernie up on his suggestion for them to sleep on the tour bus, even though she hates the idea. Jason is in bed with her when she wakes up five hours later. He cancels all his plans except his concert, and they spend the day resting in bed. Ernie’s doctor diagnoses Sloan with bronchitis and a double ear infection. Sloan can see Jason feels terrible that she’s gotten so sick.

Jason tells Sloan he wants her to leave on a flight that night and go to Ely to live with his parents while she completes her commission painting. She can rest, recover, and finish her work in time for Christmas to meet him in Paris. He’s also arranged for Kristen and Oliver to spend two weeks in Ely. At first, Sloan can’t imagine leaving him, but she realizes it’s the only way she will survive. Sloan caresses Jason’s hands, telling him how much she loves them. Jason says his hands and every part of him now belong to her. He’s grateful Tucker brought them together.

It’s been five weeks since Sloan left, and Jason is miserable without her. He’s not sleeping well and has developed chronic headaches. Meanwhile, Jason’s parents love having Sloan in Ely. Between spending time at the outfitter with his dad and cooking with his mom, Sloan hasn’t had much time to work on the commission. Jason fears it will delay her returning to him. He’s jealous of the time they’re getting with her while he’s alone. On a phone call with Sloan before a show, she jokes about his mom allowing them to share a room so she can get pregnant. Jason suggests they get pregnant immediately, but Sloan says it’s impossible with his schedule. Jason argues that now is the time to have children so she can fulfill her dream of raising her kids with Kristen, but Sloan says they can delay it until life slows down. Jason feels awful that Sloan must put off another dream to support his. They argue about the issue until Sloan hangs up on him. 

Jason throws his phone against the wall, and Zane follows him into the bathroom, demanding he start taking medicine to help him sleep. Jason borrows Zane’s phone to call Sloan back. Jason suggests that he may be the wrong partner for Sloan because she gives up so much for him. Through tears, Sloan refuses to accept this idea and says she’s chosen to be with him no matter the cost. She adds that she won’t agree to have kids with him until they are married. Jason secretly still has the ring he bought but won’t give it to her because he fears forcing her into something she doesn’t want.

Sloan reflects on the weeks she’s been apart from Jason. She pretended to be happy when she talked to him on the phone, but in reality, she was miserable. Missing him is why she hasn’t painted much; being apart is a daily struggle. After their argument, Sloan realizes that she and Jason are better together, and she must get back to him immediately because “[h]ome was wherever Jason was” (298). She packs her things and Tucker and flies to Vegas. On the way, she plans to be healthier and happier on the road by eating better and exercising. Sloan thinks she can devise a way to paint on the bus and considers that bringing children on tour might not be as bad as she thought.

When Sloan arrives at Jason’s hotel room, Lola answers the door. She is drunk and barely dressed. Jason is passed out in the bed with a bottle of bourbon on the nightstand. Sloan can’t believe that she’s seeing Lola, the person who’s caused them so much trouble, standing in Jason’s room. Tucker is desperate to stay, but Sloan leaves with the dog and calls Kristen. Kristen promises vengeance on Jason and offers for Sloan to stay with them.

Jason doesn’t remember what happened because he chased an Ambien with alcohol. Zane arrives and explains what happened. Jason’s room connects with an adjacent room for the band via an internal door. He didn’t know Lola was staying with Jessa next door and that the door was unlocked. When Sloan arrived, Lola answered Jason’s door, making it appear she spent the night with Jason. Sloan doesn’t answer her phone, and Jason is angry and sends Zane out to search for Sloan. He calls Ernie and asks for help in the search. Meanwhile, Lola locks herself in the bathroom, and Jessa fears for her safety. Jason refuses to help, blaming Lola for all his problems with Sloan. Jessa explains that Lola may lose everything because her manager stole from her, and her label may drop her. Lola has been through a lot since getting into the industry at 16, including an eating disorder and addiction. She once fell in love with one of her backup dancers, and her label hired someone to injure him so he wouldn’t ever be able to dance again. Lola isn’t at fault for stalking Jason or harassing Sloan. It’s Jason’s record label doing the dirty work to ensure Jason’s name is always in the tabloids, whether it reflects the truth or not. Jessa assures Jason that Sloan will “always be a target” because she’s not famous (309).

Jason breaks down the bathroom door and finds Lola drunk and harming herself with scissors. She’s also cut off all her hair. Jason vows to help Lola by getting her back on the tour, but first, she must go to rehab. Sloan returns with Tucker, and Jason is happy she is safe but gutted at what he knows he must do to keep her safe. He makes Sloan believe that he cheated on her with Lola and sends her home with Tucker, claiming he can’t take care of him. Speechless and sobbing, Sloan leaves with Zane to return to California. With Ernie’s help, Jason gets Lola safely to rehab on her motorcycle without the paparazzi noticing. Wracked with grief, Jason gets drunk and destroys his hotel room. Zane takes him to the hospital and convinces the doctor to diagnose him with a broken hand, forcing him to suspend the tour and give him time to heal. Jason flies home to Ely and his heartbroken parents. He deletes Sloan’s number and disappears into the woods.

Sloan begins rebuilding her life without Jason after grieving for a week. She gets a loft apartment and works on more gallery commissions. Three months after the breakup, Kristen arranges a double date with Josh’s cousin, Adrian. It’s the anniversary of the day she met Brandon, but Sloan resolves not to visit the cemetery. Even though her breakup with Jason was devastating, she’s not returning to where she was before. More distracting than dreading a date she’s sure she won’t enjoy is the fact that Jason is in town for a concert. Though Sloan has worked hard to recover from the breakup, many unanswered questions remain. She Googles Jason, learns about him destroying his hotel room, and sees a photo of him on a motorcycle with Lola. She reaches out to Ernie to see if Jason is okay, but Ernie says little and confirms what Sloan already knows: Jason has gone “full rock star,” transformed into Jaxon, and she needs to let him go. Sloan returns home from walking Tucker, and someone has left an envelope with two front-row tickets to the Jaxon Waters concert.

The tickets include a letter from Zane explaining that Jason never cheated on Sloan with Lola. Zane explains that Jason helped Lola get into rehab and that he lied to Sloan about everything to protect her. Sloan calls Zane, and she says that Jason is “fucked up” and begs Sloan to attend the concert. Sloan is furious, even angrier that Jason would lie and intentionally hurt her. She hangs up the phone.

Adrian arrives for their date, and though he is attractive, Sloan doesn’t care because all she can think about is the letter and Jason being in town. Adrian explains that he knows she’s fresh off a breakup, and Kristen and Josh have made it clear he is not to make any moves on her. He offers for them to have a fun night with no strings attached. Kristen agrees, but her mind is somewhere else.

While he was in Ely, Jason’s creative block lifted. He wrote three new songs, but they were about Sloan, so he never recorded them. Returning to California breaks his heart as he remembers how much he still loves her. Jason sneaks out to the art gallery where Sloan’s artwork is on display and collects one of her paintings that he purchased sight unseen. He knows Sloan lives in the loft above the gallery, so he hides when he sees Kristen and Josh’s car outside. Jason sees Sloan, more beautiful than ever, being escorted to the vehicle by another man.

Jason is so hurt by the thought that Sloan is dating that he isn’t sure he can summon the energy to perform at the concert. Courtney arrives backstage in his dressing room, saying Lola is there and wants to talk. Jason hardly recognizes Lola, as she’s much healthier since going to rehab. She apologizes for all the trouble she caused Jason and Sloan. Lola is working to get Ernie as her manager and asks Jason to join the tour. He agrees on the condition she stays sober and takes care of herself. Jason explains that he and Sloan broke up, and Lola empathizes with the toll fame can take on relationships. While in rehab, Lola wrote three albums worth of songs, and she wanted Jason to perform them. Jason is astounded at his good fortune and that he won’t be chained to his label for a decade, but he knows that the gift is too late to fix his relationship with Sloan. Lola unwraps Sloan’s painting, a beautiful depiction of him in the lake in Ely. He weeps for what he’s lost. Lola tells Jason that her real name is Nikki, and she’s ready for a fresh start. She says that maybe Jason is too.

Despite Adrian’s best attempt, Sloan is miserable on the date. She and Kristen escape to the restroom, and she shows Kristen Zane’s letter. Kristen says that she and Josh doubted Jason’s betrayal, especially after meeting his family. They knew he couldn’t break her heart like that. Sloan wants to go to the concert if for nothing else, to get closure on her feelings for Jason.

Kristen and Sloan buy disguises so none of the crew will recognize them and swap their front-row tickets with someone further back. When Jason takes the stage as Jaxon, Sloan is overcome with emotion, but she can tell he’s not the same, as if something is missing. During a break in the set, Jason speaks to the crowd and tells how he serendipitously met the love of his life in LA. He emotionally shares that he lost his love and that he wrote a song for her called “Proof.” His story and music move everyone in the arena, including Sloan. Suddenly, Jason recognizes her in the crowd and jumps from the stage. Sloan runs to him, and the crowd parts as they embrace. Jason kisses her in front of thousands of his fans.

Jason and Sloan get engaged two days after their reunion and marry one year later. Three years after their reunion, Sloan is pregnant with their daughter, and Jason is finishing his contract with the label. He’s signed with a new label, allowing him to work at his own pace and not be on the road. When they’re not traveling they rent a house near Josh, Kristen, Oliver, and their two adopted daughters. Nikki is on tour with them. She and Jason collaborate on songs, and she is now producing. Sloan maintained her art career while on tour, which is widely successful. She also continues her work producing recipes for the blog. While watching Jason rehearse from a recliner he bought just for her, Sloan chats with Zane, who has ordered her cupcakes from her favorite bakery to fulfill her pregnancy craving. Jason surprises Sloan by announcing they are moving to Ely, and Kristen and Josh are coming with them. Kristen’s surrogate is pregnant, so she and Sloan will fulfill their dream of raising kids together.