And so the end has finally come. My baby is complete. This is one of the stories I am most proud of and I'm sorry to have kept you guys waiting this long for the finale. I was thinking about doing an extra couple of chapters but with my crazy schedule I didn't want to keep dragging this out. It felt like the right time to end things. I hope you all enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing this. And don't worry, this is not the last of me. I have some other story ideas up my sleeve, we'll see when I eventually get them started. A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who stuck with me and love this story. I owe you all a lot!!! :)

....HP-Magic....

Together.

"I never thought I'd be one of those people who said things like this but really, time goes by so fast," Tibby leaned back in her lawn chair and cradled her cup of coffee.

Lena nodded in agreement and placed a hand on her bulging midsection. "I still need to pinch myself sometimes to make sure it's all real."

"Oh it's real babe," Bridget grinned. Her beautiful hair glimmered in the sunlight.

The three women sat in Lena's back yard, the sun shinning down brightly on the warm July day. Five toddlers played close by their mothers. Quiet Daphne sat at the miniature picnic table, paint all over her hands, her plastic apron, and her face. It was pretty much everywhere but on the paper set in front of her. Nathan sat next to her looking rather disgruntled as the little girl next to him splashed paint everywhere. None-the-less he remained seated where he was and moved a paint brush across some paper.

Nathanial's sister and brother, Abby and Tucker, along with little Henry, squealed in joy as they each pretended to be a different animal, off in their own little jungle world. They crawled around on all fours, chasing each other across the lawn. The mothers watched their three year olds silently for a couple minutes and enjoyed their children's contentment. They also shared a secret smile because they knew that the kids were burning a lot of energy and nap time was quickly approaching.

"Where are Carmabelle and her brood?" Bridget took a sip of her ice tea and reached for her cell phone. She noted that she had no new messages.

"When Paul called he said that the flight was on time, they should be here soon," Lena glanced through the patio doors at the clock near the fridge.

"You know, this is going to be the first time all of us are together, and I mean every single one of us, since the kids were born," Tibby stated, the air of realization as she spoke.

"There must have been some other time," Lena shook her head.

"She's right," Bridget said as she stood up and strode over to where Tucker now sat crying. "I mean sure maybe we have been together, but never us, the kids, the husbands," she paused as she swooped Tucker up into her arms. "Someone is getting tired," Tucker instantly planted his head to her shoulder, his wails toning down. The other two kids paid no heed to anyone and continued their game.

"Maybe we should try and get them down before Paul gets home. All the new faces and fun, they won't ever want to sleep," Tibby made a move over to Henry and Abby.

"Ok Daphne," Lena heaved herself out of her chair and waddled over to the work of art that was her daughter. "Let's get you cleaned up."

**********

It took about an hour alone to gather everyone and get them all cleaned up. Luckily during this time Eric and Brian returned home from the grocery store and with all the hands, the kids were finally corralled into rooms and it wasn't long before they fell asleep.

Bridget leaned against the doorframe of the guest bedroom she, Eric, and the triplets shared. Eric finished tucking a blanket around Abby, who was of course the last to fall asleep. He walked over to Bridget and turned back, following her gaze. Three small bodies lay curled together on the make shift bed next to the double bed Bridget and Eric had been sharing. Eric gave Bridget's hand a squeeze, she pulled the door shut and they tip toed back downstairs.

"Looks like we beat everybody," Eric surveyed the empty downstairs. "The skills you acquire when trying to put triplets down for a nap."

Bridget tugged on his shirt playfully and the two shuffled their way out onto the porch. "We're amazing, what can I say," she pressed her lips to his. These moments between them in the past three years had been rare. She was glad that he was there with her this weekend.

Eric playfully wrestled her to the ground and Bridget felt as if she were fifteen again. "You know, you still make me feel extremely nervous."

Bridget raised an eyebrow. "I make you feel nervous?"

"I look at you and sometimes I think I am that nineteen year old back racing you in Baja," Eric propped himself over her. Bridget lay on her back on the grass and looked up at him and the sky.

"When I beat you," she stuck her tongue out at him. "No wonder you're so nervous. I'm too much for you to handle," she teased.

"Ha-ha-ha," Eric rolled over onto his back too. Reaching over he took her hand in his and they curled up beside each other, basking in the heat and their memories.

This weekend had been Bridget's idea. She missed her sisters. Family life had made regular life ten times more hectic. Bridget had left work permanently because there was no way she could leave her kids all day, let alone all week. She and Eric decided that until the triplets were ready for school Bridget would be a full time mom. She loved it, her heart feeling fuller than she could have ever imagined. It was hard working around the schedules of three very different minded toddlers.

Nathan was the quiet one. Unlike his rough and rowdy brother and sister, Nathan preferred to snuggle up with his mom and have her read him a book. He barely ever made a fuss about anything. Whenever a group event arose, he often fell back in the shadow of his siblings but Bridget noted that he enjoyed it that way.

Tucker was Bridget's little bruiser. He wanted to do everything, be everywhere, and he always tried to stay as close to his father as possible. So far he had been the only one to really enjoy running after the soccer ball, and he loved being outside. Bridget had to keep a close eye on him before he could run off and disappear. Swimming lessons were the worst, for while Nathan clung to her leg in fear, Tucker would take off and jump right into the deep end.

Abby remained the little princess but she was the least innocent. Whenever there was a mess, or broken rule, or fight, Bridget could bet that Abby was the base of the problem. Already the little girl was learning to flash her pretty smile and try to look as cute as possible to get out of trouble. Sometimes it worked, but most of the time Bridget was disciplining her. It didn't help that Abby looked exactly like Bridget, so Bridget often felt as if she were disciplining a miniature version of herself. While she had a hard time getting along with other kids, Bridget's heart melted at the protectiveness Abby displayed when it came to her brothers. At the first notice of anything wrong, she was there faster than Bridget.

Being a full time mom was amazing, but it definitely took away from being a full time sister. The other girls understood. They were going through the same thing. But now that the kids had gotten older, it made it a lot easier to get around. Trips did not take hours to plan and execute. Bridget called her friends and demanded that July long weekend be left completely free for each other. Not even just one another, but for their husbands and kids as well. They were all going to get together and spend the entire weekend somewhere, just them. Then Lena suggested they all come down to Carolina. They had never visited her there and her new house would more than accommodate everyone. It also made sense since no one really wanted the seventh month pregnant Lena travelling far. Tibby's scare with Henry was never far from their minds. It was planned and settled and for the first time in three years, they were completely together again under the summer sun.

**********

Tibby stroked her son's soft, curly brown hair as his breathing eased and he drifted off to sleep. She lay next to him one of the twin sized beds in the room assigned to her, Brian, and Henry. She propped her head up with one of her hands and looked across the room to where Brian lay in the other bed. He too looked as if he had fallen asleep.

'Like father, like son,' she thought rolling her eyes. As gently as she could, she slipped out of Henry's bed and walked over to Brian. Quietly she dropped her body lightly onto his and his eyes instantly opened. He wasn't asleep after all. He grinned, grabbing her tightly and rolling them both so he was now on top of her. She gave him a very stern look and motioned to their sleeping son only a couple feet away. He kissed her quickly and then got up, pulling her up with him. She smiled, pure happiness radiating from her body and the two exited the room.

Hoping for a tiny bit of alone time, Tibby led the way into the den just down the hall. They entered quietly and clicked the door shut.

"Well Mr. McBrian, today is your lucky day," Tibby turned to him seductively.

"Oh is it?" Brian took a couple steps back towards the couch in the far corner of the room. "What kind of lucky day?" he waggled his eyebrows.

Tibby caught up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you."

Brian took a moment and held her close to him. "I love you too," he whispered into her ear.

Suddenly Brian tumbled backwards onto the couch, bringing Tibby down over him. She tried to muffle her giggles and pressed her face into his chest. Brian wasted no time and pulled her up against him, winding his arms around her waist. He began to kiss her, lips, neck, collarbone.

"If anyone walks in…" Brian trailed off as his lips found hers again.

"Scared of getting caught," Tibby laughed breathily.

"Not a chance," Brain paused and grinned.

The two never took it for granted to show one another how much they loved each other. Brian had been that close to losing her. Tibby had almost not gotten to say goodbye. Since Henry had been born they had not wasted one moment of life. Weekend excursions were a constant occurrence with trips all over the country. Cooking classes and karate classes and biking and skiing. They were doing it all. As a result Henry, although a bit small for his age, seemed ready for anything. He was an adventurous child, even though he was only three.

Tibby loved her life and was thankful everyday that she had the chance to live it. She tangled her hands in Brian's hair as he started to pull up her shirt. Part of her felt a little ashamed, getting randy in her best friend's den, while all of her friends were in the house, while all of the kids were sleeping. However, at the moment, the other part of her, the part that had started to unbutton Brian's shirt, had taken over. She just prayed that they managed to keep quiet.

**********

"Mama, where's daddy?" Daphne sat up in her bed. Lena sighed and tried to get her to lie back down.

"He went to go get you a surprise, but you won't get the surprise until you have your nap," Lena hated bribing her daughter to sleep but at the moment she was exhausted and just wanted to lie down herself. Getting Daphne all cleaned up from the painting fun outside had drained Lena of some energy.

"A surprise?" Daphne's eyes opened wide with excitement. Lena kicked herself.

"Only if you have your nap though," Lena repeated. The little girl could tell her mother was quiet serious and pulled her covers tightly around her.

"I sleep," she nodded.

Lena tried to hide her grin as she stood slowly. "Good girl. Mommy will come get you once dad is home." Lena moved toward the door but Daphne called out to her.

"Can…" she paused. "Stay with me mama?"

Lena turned and looked at her daughter. She looked so small in her new, big bed. Her eyes also looked a little worried, maybe even sad. Lena knew what it was instantly. It was the new baby. The time was fast approaching that Daphne would have a new sibling and while she acted all excited about it when she was around other people, Lena knew that Daphne did not like the idea all too much. She knew what a new baby was like, her cousin Catalina had gone through it not too long ago. Daphne had become much more attached to Lena in the past seven months than the first two years of the little girl's life. Paul kept assuring Lena that once the baby came, Daphne would just be excited to have a younger sibling. Lena just wanted to make sure that Daphne never felt left out.

"Sure baby," Lena crawled into to bed with the toddler, her belly taking up a lot of space. Lena had felt much heavier with this pregnancy. What was that supposed to mean again?

Daphne didn't seem to mind and scooted up close to her mom. She reached out and touched Lena's stomach. "Baby soon?"

"Yup," Lena nodded, rubbing Daphne's forehead. The little girl's eyes looked heavy and she dropped her hand away. "Your new sister or brother is going to be born soon."

Daphne looked like she was going to say something but instead rolled over. Lena then began to rub her back as she felt the little baby inside her kick up a storm.

Eventually Daphne stopped fidgeting and Lena knew that she was down for the count. Now the real mission was Lena actually hoisting herself off of her daughter's bed and getting to her own. A little cat nap was exactly what she needed. With all the grace she could muster she made it off the bed without so much as a creak and successfully made it out of the room. She headed towards her bedroom passing the den along the way.

The faint sound of thumping caught her attention and she paused. Before she could reach for the door handle and go investigate she heard a muffled moan. Lena tried to hold in a burst of laughter and rolled her eyes, continuing on her way. When they were teenagers, Lena would have expected it to be Bridget in the den. Now, she knew exactly who it was. She would have to remember to bring it up later in confidence and mortify Tibby. Then again, it would be much more fun to bring Bridget and Carmen in on the whole event too. She'd have to wait and see if she was in a mood of mercy.

Finally curling into bed Lena reached for her cell phone on the night stand and flipped it open. There was one new text message. 'Flight just got in. Waiting for baggage. Be home soon. Love.' It had just been sent about five minutes earlier. That was plenty of time for Lena to nap. She chuckled thinking that napping was exactly what had led to the impending arrival of baby number two.

Daphne was a very intense little girl. She was focused and loved things to be organized and perfect. She hated to do anything wrong. She also hated missing out on anything. Getting her to take a nap was usually one of the hardest tasks Lena undertook. Paul was useless at it. He'd take her up to put her down and the next thing Lena knew he was bringing Daphne back downstairs in his arms.

"I couldn't just leave her there. She was looking at me with her big blue eyes, and I just couldn't do it."

Suffice it to say after that Lena took over nap duty. Daphne really was not missing much when she did go for a nap because Lena usually took that time to get house stuff done. She did dishes or laundry. If Paul was home she would pop out to the grocery store. However, on one rainy day, Paul had convinced her to have 'a little fun' and to make a long story short, she was now seven months pregnant. Paul thought it was a great story and to be truthful, Lena quite enjoyed it herself.

There was no rain today though, and napping had gone off without much of a battle. Lena sighed and closed her eyes.

**********

"Unka Paul," Carmen grinned as she watched Catalina fling herself into her uncle's arms.

"There you are," Paul exclaimed in over enthusiastic delight. "I have been waiting for you forever!"

The little girl just giggled and clung to Paul. Carmen slowly approached. The excitement that started to build in her heart on the flight over was bordering on exploding at any moment. Win caught the look on her face and winked.

"Hey you," Paul pulled Carmen into a hug, squishing Catalina between them. "Ready to get this party started?"

Carmen beamed as Catalina slipped from Paul's arms to hers. "Are we ever."

"Bro," Paul turned to Win as he came up beside Carmen. He reached out and took the man's outstretched hand giving it a firm shake. "Welcome to sweet ol' Carolina."

"Thanks," Win reached down and picked up the duffel bag he had dropped to the floor in order to shake his brother-in-law's hand. He held up his other arm, bringing the baby seat into higher view. "Riles thanks you too."

"Riles is also fast asleep and please, please, do not wake her up," Carmen warned.

"Rough flight?" Paul asked as the group collected all the bags and proceeded out the airport and into the car.

"Riley does not like airplanes," Win locked the child seat in place. It was very convenient that the Rodman's were going to be using the same car seat once their baby arrived. It had made travelling with baby gear a lot easier for Carmen.

"No, no, no," Catalina shook her head in fear, as if remembering some horrifying memory.

Carmen shook her head. "At least give her some credit, she is only five months old."

Even as Carmen spoke it she felt the surreal shudder down her spine. Catalina was three years old. Riley had just recently reached five months. Win caught her hand, gave it a brief squeeze before clambering into the front seat. They were on their way.

Carmen sat in between her two babies and lay her head back in exhaustion. It had been a very long travel day. She knew the moment Paul pulled into her driveway however it would be worth it. She had been looking forward to this gathering since the second it was decided. She wanted her sisters.

When she had been pregnant with Catalina, Carmen had been emotionally drained what with all her problems with Win. They had been on the very brink of unraveling but thankfully it never actually happened. Their love had overcome that, and it had produced Catalina. Physically Carmen's pregnancy had been easy, there had been no problems. Labour had been easy, Carmen knew she had been lucky. It was over within minutes, Catalina ready to enter this world.

Family life had really settled things down for her and Win. Win's job had become a bit more stable. There were still times where he was gone for long periods of time, but Carmen had gotten to a place where she was able to deal with it. Win never missed any important part of his daughter's life. Carmen loved him all the more for it.

Then, just as Carmen was starting to get the swing of things, she got pregnant with Riley. This time she had Win, and all the emotional support she needed. It was the pregnancy itself that was rough. Carmen was overwhelmed with mood swings and sickness and fatigue, all in a far greater magnitude than the first time around. Riley also refused to come out, arriving ten days later than expected.

Every inch the crier that her sister was, between Riley and Catalina, Carmen and Win were always on their toes. Carmen knew she had many loud, rambunctious years ahead of her. It was an adventure she was ready for.

**********

The reunion had been one of monumental proportions. Laughter echoed loudly down the street. Love radiated out of each woman's body. The moment they were all together, it was if they had never been apart. There was so much to say, but they knew they had time to say it.

Bridget had been the first to greet Carmen on the driveway, flinging herself into Carmen's arms. Lena had been sound asleep and Paul gently roused her from her dreams. His wife's disappointment over having missed Carmen's arrival made Paul laugh. He knew how much the girls meant to each other but he knew that really, it was all beyond him. He would never really know the depths to which that meaning reached.

Tibby hugged her friend tightly noting the relaxed appearance of the often overwhelmed looking Carmen. Carmen however felt anything but relaxed. She was bursting with excitement and had trouble knowing where she even wanted to start. She decided that clinging to Bridget, then Tibby, and finally Lena, was the best place.

The kids played the game of being shy and clinging to mommy and daddy at the sight of new comers but eventually warmed up to the new arrivals. Catalina fell easily into play with the others. Riley slept peacefully (to both her parents' surprise) beside her mother, waking up every now and then for food or to look around in curiosity. Often she found Daphne's face look down at her, the little girl's curiosity even greater. So this was what a new baby would be like.

The men had formed an easy friendship, almost impossible not to with the relationship between their wives. They had no problem passing time with each other. The women would laugh as they watched the men barbeque. Brian and Win doing whatever they could to help their skills not really up to par. Paul and Eric were the ones to command the grill.

The weekend passed by in a permanent state of complete and utter joy. When the time came for it to be over no one was ready. It was with very heavy feet and heavy hearts that they began to pack and prepared to leave.

"Tibby, can I borrow you for a second," Carmen popped her head into the room Brian, Henry, and Tibby had been staying in. Henry was running around in his underwear as Brian chased him around with a small shirt in his hands.

Tibby dropped her pants into the suitcase on the bed and nodded. "Of course. I will be right back Bri," she headed for the door. Brian simply waved as he finally caught up to Henry and swept the boy up in his arms. Henry's melodic laugh prickled Tibby's ears and squeezed her heart. How she loved that laugh.

"Where are we going?" Bridget whined as Tibby joined them in the hall way and Carmen marched downstairs.

"You'll see," Carmen smiled mischievously. She hugged a packed tight in her arms.

"Can you at least tell us what that is?" Bridget prodded. Carmen shook her head. Bridget grumbled.

"Honey, do you know where Catalina's bear is?" Win poked his head out from the basement door. He looked flustered and stressed. He hated packing.

"Um, Riley's car seat maybe? I know Catalina was pretending it was her baby earlier," Carmen shrugged. "I will help you look in a minute."

"No rush," he acknowledged that his wife had something important to do with her sisters at the moment. They needed this time.

"Where is Lena?" Tibby questioned as Carmen led her and Bridget outside and pointed to the table that had been set out in the middle of the lawn. Candles sparkled from the table top. Tibby could make out a couple cans of pop and junk food there as well.

"Better not let the kids see this," Bridget smiled as she reached the table.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Lena appeared at the back door suddenly. She hobbled her way over and the four of them sat down once she made it. As if on cue cheesy eighties music started to play low across the backyard. "Paul helped me set it up," Lena grinned.

"What is all this?" Tibby couldn't help herself and popped a chip into her mouth.

Carmen plopped the package she had been holding tightly onto the middle of the table with a flourish. "Ta-Da!"

"No. Way." Bridget squealed and she reached for the bundle and ripped it open.

"Well, it's not quite what you think," Carmen explained. "I was out shopping the other day and I came across them in the thrift store. I couldn't resist. I know they're not the same ones, but I just felt like it would be nice to have an old reminder."

The girls all watched as a pair of jeans unfurled into Bridget's lap. Their eyes all lit up. Lena reached across the table and Bridget handed her the pants. Slowly Lena folded them and placed them in the middle of the candles and the snacks. Silently they took each others hands.

Lena, Tibby, Bridget, Carmen. "Together. Even when we're apart."