A/N: First of all, I have to tell you guys how awesome you all are. You've kept me writing furiously, and over 100 reviews? WOW! Thank you all so much! Here's the last chapter, and I hope you enjoy it!

"Open mine!"

"No! Open mine!"

"No, she's gonna open mine first, right Aunt Kinny?"

"But that's not fair! Uncle Nick, tell her to open mine first!"

Nick looked around at all six of the children huddled around his wife, and grinned. He exchanged a look with Kintra and then raised his hands in surrender. "You all are so special, I can't decide who should go first," he teased. "Maybe, if you can't decide between yourselves, I'll have to give your Aunt Kinny her present from me first."

A chorus of 'no's' rose up from the little group and Nick raised his hands in order to silence them. "All right, all right. I'll give your aunt her present later. For now, why don't you go first, Christy."

Christy, one of Joe and Christina's three children, shyly handed Kintra her hand-wrapped package. "It's not very good," she whispered.

Kintra took the lumpy package in her hands, fingering the tag that read, "To Aunty Kinny." "I'm sure it's wonderful, Christy," she signed. Christy ducked her head shyly nodding to show her aunt that she understood. Every child in the family had started learning sign language at a young age so that no one was forced to translate for Kintra. The children considered it "fun" to be able to talk to their aunt in a different way than any of their other playmates. When there was a "bring a family member to school" day, Kintra was always the one they wanted to come with them.

Kintra unwrapped the little package and pulled out a neon purple mass of yarn. As she unrolled it, she tactfully looked at Christina, using a raised eyebrow to ask what the present was supposed to be. Christina, leaning on Joe's arm, raised her hand and placed it on her neck, drawing it from one side to the other. Even though the action was not a sign language sign, Kintra understood that it was supposed to be a scarf. She smiled and wrapped the confection of yarn around her neck, all the while thanking Christy for her heartfelt gift.

Nathaniel, Christy's brother, went next, and Kintra praised his popsicle frame to no end. Christina had put one of Kintra's favorite pictures of Nathaniel in the frame, and Kintra signed a thank you to Christina for her thoughtfulness. Next came Joey, their youngest boy, and his gift was a picture he had drawn in preschool earlier in the week. What it was, Kintra would never figure out, but she was grateful for it all the same. Brenda, Kevin's little girl, came next, bearing a stuffed doll that her mother had helped her with. Kintra thanked her very much, saying that she would put the doll on her bed when she got home. Kyle, their other child, brought forth a story book that he had made with a copious amount of Kevin's help. Kintra thanked the little boy heartily and then gave him a kiss on the cheek. He spluttered and acted disgusted, but he wore a huge smile all the way back to his seat.

"I'm next!" cried Bradley, Kintra's own little son. She smiled and opened her arms so that he could jump into them and make himself comfortable while she opened his present. Kintra felt him playing with her scarf as she unwrapped the package. Inside, at first, she thought that it was another story book like Kyle's but when she turned the page she found that it was, in reality, a seed book. Every page was a different color of construction paper, and Bradley had crudely drawn what each flower was said to look like, according to the packet taped across from the picture. She hugged Bradley close, giving him a kiss on the cheek, their own special way of saying thank you.

"Thank you," she signed to Nick, knowing that he had done a lot of work to help Bradley put that together. "Thank you everyone!" she signed slowly so that the children could understand what she was saying. She stood up, her back stiff from having to sit awkwardly for so long, and gingerly stepped over the little children, now happily playing on the floor. She smiled and snuggled up against Nick in her usual spot, and he rested his chin on the top of her head as they watched their son playing happily with his cousins.

"Kinny?" Christina called. Kintra was startled out of her daze-like state.

"Yes?" she signed.

"Could you help me for a moment in the kitchen?" Christina rolled her eyes. "You know how much I love to cook."

Kintra appeared to be giggling silently as she put a hand over her mouth, her eyes shining. Christina was not, under any circumstances except for Christmas, a cook. She followed her sister-in-law into the kitchen, looking back over her shoulder once more, just to take in the happy atmosphere of the day. Kevin was picking up all the wrapping paper that had been carelessly flung all over the room, Joe was lifting Christy high above his head so that she could readjust the angel on the top of the Christmas tree that twinkled with dozens of bright, cheery lights, since she claimed that the angel was no longer straight, Kyle and Bradley were searching under the tree, convinced that there were more presents somewhere, and Brenda, in true Brenda fashion, was neatly arranging all of her presents into certain piles and categories within the piles. Nick was patiently listening to Nathaniel as he was analyzing and reiterating each and every step that it had taken to put together his popsicle frame while Joey was rolling his eyes and making faces behind his older brother's back.

Kintra smiled. This was the way Christmas was supposed to be. Her heart ached over the fact that Emma could not be here this year, since she and her husband were traveling around Italy, but she'd promised to be back next year, so Kintra was holding her to that. In the meantime, she would help Christina with the Christmas dinner.

Dinner had been eaten, the children had been herded outside to play in the snow, and only Kintra and Christina were left in the house, cleaning up. Kintra didn't even notice Nick come in until Christina looked up and said with a smile, "I think I'll step outside and make sure that everyone's doing alright."

Kintra turned to sign that that was fine, but she saw Nick standing there with his hands behind his back, and the signs flew out of her head. "I never had a chance to give you your gift," Nick told her, handing her a small box.

"Nick," she signed, taking the box. "You shouldn't have." She looked up at him suspiciously. "This didn't come from Paris, did it?" The Connect 3 tour had recently been in Paris, and Kintra wanted nothing to do with some high-end gift. Last time, she had broken the seal on an expensive necklace that Nick had bought her, and when she told him to return it because it was too expensive, he had gravely told her that it was too late to do that. She'd already broken the seal on the box. From that point on, she'd learned her lesson: always ask first.

Nick chuckled. "Well, I got it in Paris, but it wasn't terribly expensive."

Kintra opened the box without making him explain further. There was no seal on it, so Kintra took that as a good sign. Inside was a delicate gold bracelet with an equally delicate engraving on it. Kintra tilted it toward the light so that she could read it. It read, "Love at first sight is easy to understand; it's when two people are together for a lifetime that it becomes a miracle."

Kintra looked up at her husband, her eyes shining. "Our motto," she signed. Nick nodded and helped her slide the bracelet onto her wrist. "Thank you," she signed. "It's beautiful. I love it." She smiled at him. "I love you."

Nick grinned back and said, "Always a nice declaration to hear." His eyes twinkled with mischief as he pulled something out from behind his back. "I brought you a toxic, parasitic plant in the hope that I might have better luck with it." He pulled the spring of mistletoe out from behind his back and Kintra opened her mouth in silent laughter.

She pulled his head closer to hers and signed, "You're an exception."

And as they kissed, the light from the kitchen bounced off the bracelet on Kintra's wrist, reflecting the words that bound them together forever. They had not fallen in love when they had first met each other, but their love had grown through the special, musical bond that they shared. The words on the bracelet were their story. Their motto.

A/N: It's over! What did you guys think? I love hearing from you! Hope you enjoyed their story as much as I did! Feel free to PM me and give me some suggestions for future stories as well!