AN: This is the last chapter! So please review your thoughts about the whole story! I will be writing a sequel, It'll be called 'A Family Affair' and it's going to be a series of oneshots based off of this story. So please tell me your thoughts! I literally got no reviews last time and I know the fandom is kinda dying down but please give me a shot :) -kittiesgalore101
"TGIF!" Quinn practically shouted as she walked into C-Doc with her arms in the air.
"I agree, you know, almost getting blown up takes a lot more energy than I thought," Bella conceded withe her sister.
"You think that took a lot of energy? Wait 'till high school," Quinn jokingly teased her sister.
"You guys really need to stop scarring me!" Bella complained.
"Yes, yes you do. That wasn't very nice of you, Q," Gabriel disciplined his daughter. Who sheepishly apologized and began her Internal Affairs report.
"Hey, I have an idea," Riley began. "How about you all join us for bi-weekly Sunday dinner at Gabriel's mom's house?" She asked Kori, Nelson, and Jameson.
"I'd love to!" Kori said abruptly.
"What are you getting out of, Tolefsrud?" Riley knew that look.
"My step mom's retirement party," Kori sighed with a smirk on her face.
"I don't have any plans," Nelson agreed.
"I'm clear, the girls are in Portland visiting Bailey's grandparents," Jameson also agreed.
"I don't think my mother will have any problem accommodating a few extras," Gabriel said as Lillian and Cassidy walked by. "Are you guys in?" He asked them.
"In for what?" Lillian asked, slightly concerned, considering their last idea.
"Sunday at my mom's."
"I'd love to," Cassidy agreed and Lillian nodded.
"Sounds great, I'll text her," Gabriel pulled out his phone, even though he didn't really need it.
Bella laughed, "Nana texts?"
"Yeah, that was not exactly an easy process," Gabriel laughed along.
"It was fine! Your mother is a very patient person," Riley contradicted.
"I may or may not have had something to do with that character trait," Quinn said, jokingly sheepish.
"I take it your extreme childhood shyness was not an around the clock thing?" Jameson entered the conversation.
"Yeah, see that scar?" Quinn lifted her hair from the corner of her forehead. "When I was two, I ran into a china cabinet and had to get stitches, and while we were waiting, I struck up a conversation with a nurse in the ER about my favorite TV show."
"Now that is not a trait she got from me," Riley laughed.
"Finally! Something I don't get from you!" Quinn exclaimed as she waved her hands around.
"Now, will someone please find something I don't get from dad?" Bella spun around in her chair.
"Um, well, there's your- nope, I got nothing'," Quinn thought out loud as everyone in the vicinity nodded or shook their heads in agreement.
"Genetics suck."
Sunday came sooner than expected, and soon the whole team was gathered at the house where despite how much had happened there, only the Vaughn's had seen.
"I mean no offense, this is a lovely house, but so not what I expected," Lillian remarked as she looked around.
"What, couldn't see America's most powerful super weapon living in a same house as a typewriter?" Quinn pressed start on the microwave and pointed to the corner of the living room.
"Quinn Galina, how many times have I told you not to put the foil trimmed plates in the microwave?" Her grandma Mary asked impatiently.
"Hey, dad blew it up at one point in time so I'm doing pretty good," Quinn put her hands up in surrender and went to go make Bella help cook instead of socializing, while her grandma made a comment about what 'smart asses' her grandkids were.
"Whoa, did I just hear you blew up your mother's microwave, bro?" Nelson asked Gabriel.
"In my defense, there was an intruder in the house," Gabriel laughed.
"I'm not even going to ask about that incident," Lillian rolled her eyes with a smile.
"You could have just used a gun, my dad has a sign on his porch that says 'Trespassers will be shot, survivors will be shot again'," Kori interceded from across the room.
"And why does that totally sound like something the man that raised you would do?" Bella commented as she looked up from some random heirloom she and Riley were showing Jameson and Cassidy.
"Because it is something the man who raised her did. Now dinner's ready!" Quinn announced as she balanced dishes and walked slowly towards the dining room.
After all ten of them were seated at their respected places at the table and had said grace, there was an awkward lack of conversation.
"How did we do on the food?" Mary asked and got a reply of muffled 'good's.
"Hey, I have an idea," Kori began, "At my family reunions back in Norway, we all are really awkward at dinner conversation. So we made this system where everyone goes around in a circle and asks the person to their right a question that they have to answer, anyone want to try it?" She suggested shyly.
"Because Tolefsrud family reunions always go so well," Quinn contradicted sarcastically.
"Quinn!" Riley scolded.
"She's kinda right, one year- well, I'll tell you guys some time when Bella isn't around," Kori sheepishly took another bite of her food.
"I guess as head of the table, it is my honor to start this debacle," Lillian began as she turned to face Gabriel who was at her right. "I have a question for you, Gabriel. You do know that I have been and always will be on your side and have always believed in you, right?" She looked him in the eye and sincerely asked.
"I do know that," Gabriel smiled honestly.
"Can I add a rule?" Quinn interupted, "Can we avoid questions that make me wish my mascara was waterproof?" She swiped under her eyes.
"Aw, you softy," Bella lightly shoved her big sister.
"I guess it's my turn to abide by the new rule," Gabriel smirked at his wife who was sitting to his right, "What was your favorite anniversary of ours?"
"Our first, totally the first," Riley answered.
"Ooh, what did you do? I need ideas," Jameson asked from across the table.
"I took her to every place that was important in our realtionship, the lab where we met, we did a virtual trip to San Jeronimo, Mexico where I saved her life-"
"And to China Town where I saved his," Riley interrupted.
"How romantic," Gabriel's mother laughed at him.
"He's actually not half bad," Riley kissed her husband's cheek, "And now it's my turn to ask some questions," she turned to Bella. "Alrighty, Bell Bell, what has been your most awkward moment since you joined Clockwork?"
"Okee, that's a good one. But it has to be that one time when Q and Kori were helping me with volleyball last year, and I spiked the wall and the ball ricocheted off and came really close to hitting DNI Russel," Bella laughed at her own story.
"How come I didn't hear that my asset almost spiked the Director of National Intelligence?" That was one of the moments Lillian regretted bringing a teenage girl in on a classified government project.
"Because he laughed it off and told me my contact was to soon," Bella smirked and got joking scoffs in return. "Now it's my turn," she looked mischievously at Quinn, "What is the worst date you've ever been on?"
"Well, well, well, there was this guy at the Academy, and he asked me out. So I went to pizza with him and he basically stared at my chest the whole time while cleaning his glasses and laughing nervously. And my shirt wasn't even low!" Quinn exclaimed, making the whole table laugh.
"How did you not see that coming?" Kori laughed at her friend'a oblivion.
"I was trying to be a nice person," Quinn defended herself. "But, I do have a very good question for you, Nana," she turned to her right, "What did you think when you found out your son and future daughter-in-law were only living with you because they were fugitives pretending to be dead?"
"Oh, I thought a lot of things," Mary laughed, "But I just wondered how badly it would backfire when they changed their minds."
"We'll talk about your definition of backfire later," Gabriel took joking offense at his mother.
"Is he as much of a pain in the ass to you as he is to me?" Mary asked Cassidy.
"Yes, yes he is. But we love him for it," Cassidy took the opportunity to embarrass his un-biological son.
"We? Speak for yourself," Lillian joked, also taking the opportunity.
"I guess it's my turn," Cassidy turned to Nelson who was at his left, "As your father, I can ask you anything, any day of the week. But, I will take this as an opportunity to embarrass you to. "
"If you must," Nelson rolled his eyes at his dad.
"Are you ever going to make a move on that girl of yours?" He provoked his son.
"Dad, it was supposed to be a surprise," Nelson caught everyone's attention, "I'm proposing to Kate this Friday."
"And you didn't think to tell us?" Quinn was both extremely happy and un-amused.
"I did, but-"
"Oh, whatever, we know now and we're very happy for you," Bella interjected, smiling her genetically inherited 1000 watt smile.
"Guys, we don't even know if she's going to say yes," Nelson worried himself.
"Oh she's gonna say yes," Kori laughed.
"They always say yes," Gabriel said with a smirk.
"While we're on the subject," Nelson turned to Jameson, "How did you meet your wife?"
"Seriously? You were there," Jameson shot him a look, "But I'll tell everyone anyway. Remember that time I got shot?"
"In Bolivia?" Riley asked.
"No, in Langley, when we were looking for the mole in the CIA. So there was this guy, and he basically was the bodyguard for the agent we were apprehending, and he shot me like four times in various places and I came really close to dying. But when I woke up in the hospital there was this nurse there and the rest is history."
"That is by far the most adorable meet story I've ever heard," Kori said.
"More adorable than ours?" Riley put her head on Gabriel's shoulder.
"You insulted my charm," Gabriel faked offense.
"You told everyone my SAT scores," Riley faked offense in return.
"Any way, I guess it's my turn to ask a question," Jameson turned towards Kori, "So this is going to sound really strange. But, what is the difference between Swedish meatballs and Norwegian meatballs?"
Kori laughed, "I can't even say how much I get asked that, but it's Gjetost cheese."
"Gjetost Cheese?" Quinn and Bella said in unison.
"Yep, the Norwegian delicacy," Kori said proudly.
"I thought it would be much more complicated honestly," Jameson laughed at himself.
"Simple as that. I guess I have to come up with my own clever question now," Kori looked sheepishly at Lillian. "What's the worst assumption you've ever made?" She asked with a smirk on her face and a twinkle in her eyes.
"Well, isn't it obvious?" Lillian laughed, "I presumed my best assets dead," she said more sincerely.
"So did I," Cassidy added, "But you aren't, and that's all that matters, right?"
"Right, and I don't know how many times I've said this, but it seems to be a common theme, it's the hard times that brings us closer," Lillian said.
"I don't know how it was before all of this, but it's hard for me to imagine a time when we weren't family," Quinn said.
"We've always been family, Q," Gabriel told his eldest daughter.
...Wonderin' how
And look at us now
We thought our love would take the world by storm
Are we too far apart?
Two worlds among the stars?
So it's two separate ways, or is it too late to say
I wanna fight for what we've got
'Cause I believe
In family in family in family
So are we still tryin'
For simply survivin'
Facing these giants
The bigger they are, the harder they fall
But I'm still believin'
Dreams we've been dreamin'
The hope that we built on
It's never too far, it's never too far
If we choose to turn and let these walls fall down
I still believe
I still believe that we're not too far apart
Two worlds among the stars
It's not too late to say
Father, show us the way
Gotta fight for what we've got
'Cause You believe
In family in family in family
'Family' TobyMac
"There is one thing I think we've all learned," Lillian began, "You never know just what you have until you are positive you've lost it forever."
The End