A/N – I love the holidays and it inspired me to write a few stories, including this epilogue, which is dedicated to Chillll. Happy holidays my friend! I hope that you have a wonderful break and are able to spend lots of time with family and friends! XOXO.

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One Year Later

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Kara's third perusal of the Car and Driver magazine – a magazine in which she had absolutely no interest in the first time around and was skimming merely to have something to do with her hands – was interrupted by the ding of her phone. Picking it up, she checked the message.

Running late. ETA 30. Want me to pick up dinner?

As she stared at the message, Kara fought the urge to cry. So much for her plans for the evening. After almost two years of marriage Kara recognized the offer to pick up food for what it was – both a peace offering and a built-in excuse when the thirty minute estimated time of arrival turned into a sixty minute actual time of arrival. After all, there was no way for Kara to verify how long the line at the pizza joint was.

Most nights Kara wouldn't have cared. After all, this wasn't unusual. Upon being promoted to Lieutenant Commander Danny's workload, especially the required paperwork, increased significantly and he often worked late during the week in order to keep the weekends free for time with Kara and J.P. But tonight was different – tonight was supposed to be special.

Kara glanced at the dining room table, carefully set with the good china, the champagne, the flickering candles, Handel's Messiah playing in the background. Annoyed at herself for getting upset, She brushed away tears as she started to stand up, only to get tangled in the complicated wrap dress Alisha talked her into buying for the occasion – the kind of outfit that Kara would normally never be caught dead in as it not only followed every one of her curves, but it was also rather sheer. Moving towards the table to blow out the candles before they set the evergreen centerpiece on fire, Kara tapped out a response.

Nope. Already done. Just waiting on you.

Wondering how bad scorched lemon chicken would taste, Kara dialed Alisha. While she waited for her best friend to pick up, Kara wrapped a blanket around her shoulders and absently moved some of the ornaments lower on the Christmas tree. At eighteen months, J.P. was enamored with the tree and loved pulling the ornaments off, leaving the bottom two feet of the tree bare.

"What's wrong?" Alisha asked without preamble, yelling to be heard over the sound of her and Sarah's four-month-old daughter, who was screaming her head off.

"Nothing's wrong," Kara replied, instantly feeling guilty for calling when Alisha was obviously busy. "Did I wake Lilliana up?"

"If nothing was wrong you would be rolling around naked under the Christmas tree with your husband rather than calling me," Alisha retorted. "And no, she always screams from six to eight at night. It's her thing apparently."

Kara flushed, still not entirely comfortable with Alisha's casual references to sex. At least Alisha didn't share details, for the most part, as Kara didn't want to know that much information about either Sarah or her best friend. "He's running late. I think I'm going to call it, try again another night. Do you want me to come get J.P.? I know he can be a handful."

Not that Sarah seemed to have trouble managing the rambunctious eighteen-month old. Sarah thrived as both a mom and a nanny, never seeming frazzled or exhausted the way Kara did after a weekend with J.P. In fact, Sarah was so attached to J.P. that she wouldn't even discuss Danny and Kara sending the boy to a childcare center upon Liliana's arrival, insisting that she was perfectly capable of handling both an infant and a toddler. And the love went both ways, to the point that Kara sometimes wondered whether J.P. preferred Sarah over her, a fleeting though that always vanished when she arrived home from work and J.P. ran towards her as quickly as his little legs could manage, his face beaming at the sight of his mama.

"J.P.'s already asleep, no reason to bother him. Hold on." There was a brief pause on the other end of the line as Kara heard Sarah's voice, then the crying became muffled.

"Are you hiding in the bathroom?" Kara asked, unable to keep the amusement out her voice.

"The closet, actually," Alisha replied without a bit of shame. "If you even think about chickening out after the effort I put into curling your hair, I will cut you out of my life. Seriously."

Kara laughed, twirling one of the curls that Alisha had so painstakingly coaxed out of Kara's stick-straight locks. "I feel ridiculous. I put all of this work into making a special meal and finding the perfect outfit and even asking you to keep J.P. overnight, and now I'm just sitting here. It reminds me of the time I got stood up for the prom."

"You got stood up for the prom?" Alisha sounded only mildly curious about what, normally, would be a juicy bit of gossip.

"Lucas McIntosh. He broke my heart that night. I thought I would never recover." Kara explained, surprised by the lack of response from Alisha, who was an inveterate gossip. This type of story was right up her alley. "Of course, then it turned out that he was really a Palestinian spy sent to infiltrate my high school and stop WWIII. The last name should have clued me in, of course." She waited a few seconds. "You still there?"

"You aren't being stood up," Alisha said finally, confirming Kara's assumption that she hadn't listened to a word Kara said. "Text that boy and tell him to get his ass home pronto. Maybe send him a picture so he can see what he's missing out on. You look hot in that dress. Too bad you aren't into women. We could make this a night to remember."

Kara smiled. As though Alisha would ever look at anyone other than her wife. "Pretty sure Sarah would object to sharing."

Alisha gave a long, drawn out sigh. "You're probably right. She's kind of possessive. Good thing I love her."

"Well, you're obviously busy so I'll let you go."

Alisha didn't argue. "Talk tomorrow?"

"Call when you're ready for me to pick J.P. up," Kara reminded her, before saying her goodbyes and hanging up. Checking the time, she realized that she had at least twenty more minutes before Danny would be home. Pursing her lips, Kara decided that she might as well be useful and began digging out the mountain of gifts she needed to wrap.

Forty minutes later, she was stuffing the last of the packages under the back of the tree where J.P. was less likely to get to them and undo all of the work she had just done when she heard the front door open, followed by Danny's voice. "I'm home."

"In the family room." As she went to crawl out from under the tree, however, Kara discovered that her ridiculous expensive dress was caught on a tree branch. Cursing Alisha, Kara furiously tried to free herself before Danny saw her.

Two muddy combat boots appeared by her knees. "Am I allowed to ask what you're doing under the tree?"

After one last unsuccessful tug – she just couldn't get the right angle – Kara admitted defeat. "I'm caught on a branch. You could try helping."

Blue eyes appeared as Danny crouched down next to her, not bothering to contain his mirth at her predicament, making quick work of the snag, before sitting back on his heels to allow Kara to wiggle out. As Danny helped her to her feet, Kara caught a glimpse of herself in the hall mirror. Her dress was now rumpled and covered in pine needles, her hair frizzing around her head, and she wasn't wearing any shoes. Not exactly the look she was going for. Her cheeks burned. "Thanks. That was stupid. I should probably change before the dress gets ruined."

"No!" The protest was immediate and Kara stopped brushing pine needles off her arms to look at her husband, watching as Danny's gaze rolled slowly down her body, taking in each curve, his eyes smoldering. "You look amazing."

Maybe tonight could still be salvaged. Kara smiled, reaching out to flick a bit of mud off his collar, resting her hand on his chest, feeling the thud of his heart. How long had it been since they spent time together like this, just the two of them? "I would say the same, but you look a little muddy right now. Weren't you complaining yesterday that you never get to go into the field anymore?"

A shadow crossed Danny's face. "There was a training exercise. Young guy. It was pretty bad. He might lose a finger."

"I'm sorry." Kara reached up, smoothing the wrinkles from his forehead, her irritation dissolving. She knew how hard Danny took any accident. It was the reason he pushed his teams hard during training, so that there would be no accidents, no injuries and, most importantly, no deaths. "I made lemon chicken for dinner."

Her attempt to lighten the mood worked, Danny gracing her with the smile that still made her stomach flip. His arms sliding around her waist, Danny leaned in, pressing a soft kiss against her lips.

"No wonder Alisha told me to get my ass home," he murmured before stiffening, leaning back. "You're dressed up and made dinner. Did I forget an anniversary?"

"No," Kara replied, deciding to ignore Alisha's interference as she moved towards the kitchen to retrieve their dinner. "Your family and the Burks arrive Sunday. I thought it might be nice to have a night, just the two of us, before we were inundated."

"Just the two of us? Where's J.P.?" Danny called after her.

"Alisha and Sarah kept him," Kara responded from the kitchen. A peak in the oven revealed that the chicken and potatoes weren't in too bad of shape, although the beans were a lost cause.

When she returned Danny was inspecting the bottle sitting in what had been a container of ice when Kara filled it but was now mostly water. "Champagne? Are you planning to get me drunk and have your wicked way with me, Mrs. Green?"

Kara set the chicken down, moving back to retrieve the potatoes and salad. "I can have my wicked way with you any time I want, Commander. The champagne is to celebrate."

"A child-free night? I'll drink to that." Danny popped the champagne, filling the glasses that she set out earlier. He passed one to Kara. "A toast. To us."

"To us." Kara repeated, sipping her champagne. It was lovely, even if she really shouldn't be drinking it. Setting down her glass, she began nibbling on a potato before deciding it was inedible. At least the chicken wasn't terrible, just dry. Danny disappeared into the kitchen, returning with a container of sour cream, which he promptly globed onto his plate. Kara gave him an exasperated look. "That's disgusting."

"The potatoes are a little … hard," Danny muttered around a mouthful of sour cream, earning himself a glare. "Hey, can't blame a guy for being late when he didn't know there were plans."

Deciding that she wasn't to ruin dinner over overcooked potatoes, Kara changed the topic. "Carlton and Ravit are coming to Norfolk for Christmas after all. They'll celebrate Hanukah in Greece with Ravit's family and then fly here. They arrive on Christmas Day. I'm sure that Marion will be all over them to set a date."

Danny's head shot up. "He hasn't told her yet?"

"Nope." Kara took a long sip of her water. "Marion is going to be furious. Alisha thinks that Carlton is planning to use J.P. and Lilliana as human shields, figuring that his mother wouldn't actually harm a child."

"I wouldn't count on it. Getting married in secret was bad enough but getting married by a rabbi? He's pretty much a dead man," Danny responded, although he obviously wasn't concerned enough to stop eating. "Frankie is going to be pissed that he decided to go back to California. Between my sister and the Burks, this holiday is going to epic."

Kara wrinkled her nose as the scent of sour cream wafted across the table. The stuff really was revolting. "Are Caroline and Teylor fighting again?"

"No, but they will be. They always are."

Kara conceded the point. Caroline Green and Teylor Cruz were certainly an unusual couple, although not the oddest that Kara had seen. That award went to Wolf Taylor and Valerie Raymond, a pairing that Kara had never imagined and still found unsettling. Valerie was, after all, responsible for making her and Danny's life miserable the summer J.P. was born, something for which she never apologized. At least Wolf seemed to be looking at the relationship as a fling (although it had lasted almost a year now). Kara wasn't sure whether she could deal with having the obnoxious computer nerd in her life permanently.

"So," Danny began, his voice sultry as he smiled at her charmingly, "is there dessert?"

Kara stood, heading towards the kitchen. "I bought ice cream and I think we have some cookies…"

"Actually I was thinking of something a little different," Danny murmured into her ear, as he wrapped his arms around her waist. She hadn't heard him leave the table, but that wasn't surprisingly, the man was incredibly quick and stealthy when he wanted to be. One hand slid beneath the edge of Kara's v-neck dress to play with the underside of her breast, sending a shiver down her spine.

Kara struggled to remember her plans for the evening when Danny nipped at the underside of her jaw. No J.P., no work, no family – an entire night with her husband with nothing to interrupt them. Kara turned her head to give him a lingering kiss, before her hand settling over his, pulling it out from her dress. Intertwining their fingers, she led him to the Christmas tree.

"I, ah, have a gift for you," she said breathlessly.

"Do I get to unwrap this gift?"

Danny's eyes gleamed as he took in the sight of her by the tree and Kara knew immediately that he had gotten the wrong idea. Grabbing the gift off the mantel, she shoved the small, silver box into his hands. "Here."

Taken aback by the appearance of an actual gift, Danny removed the box lid, brow furrowing as he removed the item of clothing within. "I think you bought the wrong size, sweetheart."

"Read what it says," Kara explained patiently.

"I'm going to be a big broth…" Danny froze, his attention glued on the small shirt before he raised his gaze to Kara's face. "You're pregnant?"

"Yes. Due in late July."

She waited while he stared at the shirt, processing the news. They had both been surprised when, upon deciding to throw caution (and the birth control) out the window last winter, nothing happened. There were reasons, of course. First Kara was nursing and then Danny was sent overseas and as soon as he returned Kara left for training in California, a trip that convinced her she would never be able to do another deployment, the two weeks away from J.P. the worst two weeks of her life. But while Kara was mildly disappointed by the delay, Danny took the news harder, going from talking about another baby constantly to never mentioning the topic at all.

It was the reason she wanted tonight to be so special. A celebration of a much loved, much wanted, child.

Just as Kara was beginning to worry about Danny's lack of reaction, he dropped the shirt, a beaming smile breaking across his face as he picked up Kara, swinging her around with a whoop before tumbling them both onto the couch, a hand sliding back inside her dress, this time to cup her stomach. "You're sure?"

"One hundred percent. I hid the ultrasound pictures in my desk this time." Seeing the tears glittering in Danny's eyes, Kara raised her hands to his face, cupping his cheeks as she leaned in to give him a gentle kiss, one that quickly became something more, their tongues tangling in a way that was now achingly familiar and yet no less electrifying than the first time. Kara wrapped her arms around Danny's neck and his hand tangled in her hair as the embrace went on and on, neither one willing to pull away.

"Thank you." The words were mumbled against her lips.

Kara slid her hands from Danny's neck to his chest, feeling how solid he was, how present, wondering once again how she ever got so lucky. Her lips curled as she gave him a final soft, nipping kiss before sitting up straight. "Now, if you want, you can unwrap your present."