The holidays were finally upon them, and Jane was looking forward to spending them quietly with Kurt. They'd been married for over two years, but this would be their first Christmas and New Year's as husband and wife. And barring anything earth-shattering coming up at work, they would be spending the week between the two together as well.

The time off had been Jane's idea. Their relationship had been strained to the breaking point by Kurt's confession that he had kept Avery's existence and death from her, and though Jane had come to accept that he had been trying to shield her from the agony of never having the chance to meet the child who had been ripped from her arms, she needed this time with him to rebuild their relationship and focus on their future.

And to mourn her daughter. Jane's smile was bittersweet as she glanced over at the picture of Avery that Kurt had framed for her. He'd taken it in Berlin the day after they'd met, and it now sat front and center amongst their family pictures. Jane had been too distraught up to this point to allow Kurt to tell her any more about their time together than simply how Avery died, but now . . . now she couldn't wait to hear every detail of their all-too-brief encounter.

The timer beeped on the oven, and Jane hurriedly set down the mixer she was using to whip up a batch of frosting to pull the trays out. Even though it was Christmas Eve, Kurt had volunteered to go into the office for a while to help Reade finish up some paperwork so that they could both enjoy the holidays to the fullest, and she was using the opportunity to bake his favorite Christmas cookies to reassure him that there truly were no more hard feelings for his keeping the truth from her. Once she'd gotten past the anger and hurt, she didn't know how she'd have gotten through this without him. He'd not only provided her a shoulder to cry on; he'd cried with her.

And she was more in love with him than ever.

Jane threw herself into her last-minute holiday preparations, humming along to the Christmas music playing on the radio, and by the time she heard the front door open, she was ready for Kurt. "Hey," she greeted as Kurt came into view.

Kurt nearly bit his tongue off at the sight of Jane in a silky red negligee. "Hey," he parroted her greeting as his brain short-circuited. He stared dumbly at her as he tried desperately to think of something else to say.

Jane smiled at the look of heated adoration in Kurt's eyes as she swayed into reach of him. "I take it my outfit meets with your approval."

How could it not? Kurt wondered as Jane closed her arms around him. "Mmmhmm," he managed as he wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled her hair, inhaling the intoxicating scent of her. They hadn't had sex in the three weeks since he'd confessed, and though he would like nothing more than to scoop her up and carry her to their bed, he was terrified of losing the intimacy of the moment.

Jane felt Kurt's hesitation and took matters into her own hands. She slipped free of his hold and grasped one of his hands, tugging him with her to the bedroom and flopping down on their bed. He stood stock-still, gazing down at her, and she arched an eyebrow. "Well? Are you going to make love to me or not?"

"Yes, ma'am," Kurt grinned as her words galvanized him into action. He shed his clothes hurriedly and joined her on the bed, but despite Jane's eagerness, he refused to be rushed, worshipping her with a thoroughness intended to convey not only his undying love for her, but his sorrow at the pain he had caused her. By the time he finally allowed them to take their pleasure together, they collapsed in a sated tangle of limbs, only able to move enough to turn their heads toward one another on their shared pillow, and clasp hands.

"I love you," Jane murmured as she felt herself being inescapably drawn toward sleep. "I love you, Kurt. I made your favorite Christmas cookies."

"I love you too, Jane," Kurt returned, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Rest now. We'll eat those cookies when we wake up." They weren't vegan, but Jane had agreed to suspend her diet on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

He'd thought they would only nap for a couple hours, but it was nearly six the next morning before they awoke, stretching leisurely as they smiled at one another. "Good morning, Mrs. Weller," Kurt greeted huskily.

"Morning," Jane returned, pressing closer to Kurt as she felt his hardness against her thigh, and it was over an hour before their grumbling stomachs forced them to leave their bed.

They breakfasted on Christmas cookies and eggnog, and Jane beamed with pride when Kurt said they were the best he'd ever had. "Thanks. I had a really great teacher," she teased. Kurt had been unfailingly patient when teaching her to cook, and it had become one of their favorite things to do together.

When the two of them finished eating, they settled in on the couch to exchange gifts. "I, uh . . . Sarah helped me start this, and I put it together while you were gone. I thought we could work on it together from now on, if . . . if you want to." Jane was already ripping the paper off it, and he held his breath as he waited for her reaction.

Jane's eyes grew misty as she moved the tissue paper aside and lifted a white satin scrapbook out of the box. Their wedding photo was on the cover, and she gasped softly as she began to turn the pages. It started out with snapshots of their early days together, both just the two of them and them with various members of the team. Jane paused for a long moment at the page containing a photo of them with Mayfair. "God, I miss her."

Kurt reached for her hand and threaded his fingers through hers in silent sympathy as she continued. There were photos of their vacation in Venice, including one of Kurt down on one knee proposing to her, their wedding and honeymoon, a pictorial record of some of the most memorable moments in their life together thus far.

But it was the first page of their wedding day itself which turned the mist in Jane's eyes into full-blown tears. It showcased a picture of each of them, gazing at one another from across the dance floor, and above and below them, it proclaimed them each other's starting and ending points. "Oh," Jane gasped. "It's beautiful, Kurt. Perfect. I'll treasure it. I can't wait for us to add to it together. And to that end . . ." She lifted his present off the coffee table and handed it to him.

Kurt could feel the excitement practically radiating off Jane as he unwrapped his present, taking his time to savor their renewed closeness. He lifted the lid off his box to reveal a world map with their names and anniversary scrolled across the bottom. There were pushpins in Venice and Katmandu.

"It's to mark our travels together," Jane said quietly. "I know Nepal wasn't exactly a pleasure trip, but I thought we could go back on vacation sometime. It's a beautiful country, and I'd love to enjoy it with you. I want to see the world with you, Kurt."

"There's nothing I would love more," Kurt choked out. "And, Jane, I promise . . . from now on, no more secrets."

"Good." Jane cuddled close to Kurt, and they sat in companionable silence for quite some time before she spoke again. "Tell me about Avery?" she requested.

"Avery . . ." Kurt had to clear his throat twice before he could go on. "God, I wish the two of you could have met. I saw so much of you in Avery, from her personality to her mannerisms. She was strong, compassionate, stubborn. Fearless. She'd cock her head just like you do when she was wondering something, and she sounded just like you when she laughed."

"Did she . . ." Jane hesitated. "Did she have a good childhood? Was she . . . happy?"

"She was," Kurt assured Jane. "She was adopted by a couple who very much wanted children, but were unable to have any of their own. They took in two boys around Avery's age as well, so she was something of a tomboy growing up. They were a very close-knit family."

"Why did she come looking for me then?" Jane demanded. "She'd still be alive if she had just left well enough alone."

Kurt gathered her close and stroked her hair until her tears subsided. "She'd be alive if Roman hadn't provided her the information she needed to go looking for you," he corrected gently. "Or if I hadn't been so focused on my search for you, so caught up in my meeting with Avery, that I missed the fact that there were bounty hunters on your trail who decided to use us to get to you. If only I had—"

"Stop!" Jane commanded. She drew back from his embrace and framed his face with her hands. "This was not your fault, Kurt. It. Wasn't. Your. Fault. Roman is the only one to blame for this." She shook her head slowly. "He said he wanted me to suffer, but I guess deep down I still thought that despite everything that's happened, someway, somehow, we'd find a way to get past it. To be siblings again. But now . . ."

"I know," Kurt said quietly as he gathered Jane close again. "I know." He hesitated for a moment. "You asked why Avery came looking for you. She . . . she wanted to thank you for giving her life, and to have a relationship with you going forward. She couldn't even imagine how much pain losing her caused you, and she was so proud of the person you'd become, honey."

"She said that?" Jane leaned back just enough to search Kurt's eyes.

"She more than said it." Kurt gently extricated himself from Jane and rose to his feet. "There's something you should see. Wait here." He rushed down the hallway to their spare bedroom and retrieved the notebook he had secreted high on the shelf of the closet. "Here." He held it out to Jane as soon as she was in the shelter of his arms once more.

Jane gazed down at the cloth-bound book in puzzlement. "What is this?"

"Open it and see," Kurt encouraged gently.

Jane flipped open the cover to the first page and was startled to see a printout of a newspaper article detailing her appearance in Times Square. And that was only the beginning. There were dozens more like it, detailing her exploits with the team and the lives they'd saved, as well as a number of pictures of herself, and even her and Kurt's wedding announcement. "What—?"

"Avery began looking into you as soon as she received the information Roman sent her on your identity, and she put that together from her research," Kurt told Jane. "She asked me if you were as heroic as the articles made you seem. I told her they didn't even begin to scratch the surface of the woman she was lucky enough to have for a mother."

He went on, detailing several funny stories of her childhood that Avery had shared with him, as well as the specifics he had shared with her about Jane, and tears were streaming down Jane's face once more by the time he finished. "Thank you," she choked out. Thank you for showing this to me, and telling me all this. Even though I never got to meet her, it feels like I know her now."

"I'm glad," Kurt said softly. "I'd have given anything for you to have had that chance. But even though Avery's gone and Roman's lost to you, we have each other. We'll always have each other."

Jane nodded as she snuggled into her husband's embrace. We'll always have each other. Kurt's words rang in her head often over the next week, as she considered that future, and by the time New Years rolled around, she knew exactly what it was she wanted that future to contain.

Reade was spending New Year's Eve with his girlfriend, but Zapata and Patterson joined them for a small party, all of them more than happy to watch the ball drop on their TV, rather than brave the masses in Times Square. Jane felt her heart swell with happiness as Kurt pulled her into his arms for a kiss as they rang in the New Year.

The ladies left after one more celebratory toast, and Jane grinned at Kurt as the door closed behind them. "So, Mr. Weller . . ." she said as she ran her fingers lightly down his chest, delighting in the shiver of anticipation that racked him, ". . . any New Year's resolutions that I should know about?"

"Mmm." Kurt grinned at Jane. "Just one. I've resolved to make my wife very, very happy this year—" he leaned in close to press a kiss to the sensitive spot behind her ear, "—and never miss an opportunity to let her know how much she means to me. What about you?"

"Well—" Jane took a deep breath as she drew back to study his face. "My resolution is along that line. It occurred to me the other day that I owe you an answer to a question you asked me a long time ago . . . and it's yes."

"Yes?" Kurt's brow furrowed in puzzlement. "What ques—" His breath caught in his throat as he suddenly gained an inkling of what she was referring to. "Are you saying . . .?"

"I'm saying that I've not only thought about having a baby with you . . . I want to have one. As soon as possible. If that's . . . if that's still something you'd be interested in. I'd understand if—"

"Yes!" Kurt exclaimed, scooping Jane up in his arms and peppering her face with kisses as he swung her around. "Yes, yes, yes!"

Jane's face was alight with happiness as she gazed up at him when he finally put her down. "In that case, I think we should ring in this New Year's by getting started on the baby making, don't you?"

"I can't think of anything I'd love more," Kurt grinned as he picked Jane back up and started toward their bedroom. "I love you so much, Jane."

"Love you more," Jane murmured as Kurt laid her down on the bed. The two of them squabbled over that good-naturedly as they shed their clothes, laughing all the while, but by the time they came together, they agreed to call it a draw, their spirits as united as their bodies.

And by the time New Year's rolled around next year, they were overjoyed to ring it in by welcoming their daughter into the world.