A/N Hello everybody, how's your summer going? Well, here it is, the final chapter! It's been a fun, albeit emotional ride, and I have definitely enjoyed writing this one! I'd like to thank my parents, my friends, God...Just kidding, but I would like to say a HUUUUUUUUGE thank you to everybody who has taken the time to read and review this story - 'my baby' as it has been referred to on occasion. I feel like m child is all grown up and leaving home, it's so sad! But anyway, this is your last chance to tell me what you think of this story, so leave me a review please! Thank you all! [This chapter was reuploaded on May 24th 2010 due to formatting errors]

"Once the umbilical cord is cut, you're never closer to your mother again. It's all downhill from there. You and your mother share an unbreakable bond for nine months, but once you are born the two of you are inseparable for, at most, a few minutes. After that, you no longer need her – someone entirely different could raise you without any problems. Things are never the same for you again. You've been out in the harshness of the world for two minutes and already everything is different, everything has changed."

Lying in her hospital bed, Temperance couldn't quite believe the twins were finally here...

Obviously it hadn't been part of her plan to have an emergency caesarean section, and it was terrifying to think that something could go seriously wrong, but once she knew that they were both healthy, and that twenty fingers and twenty toes had been delivered, the fear melted away and she was left with the glorious feeling that she had created two things so amazing and so beautiful.

When the nurse told her that she needed to decide how to deliver her babies, she really didn't know what to do. In the end after talking it out with Booth and Angela, she decided it would be best for both twins if she had a C-section – a natural birth could cause the breech twin to become distressed, and it would prevent damage to their fragile skulls because they were premature. Because she had already had an epidural before she had decided this, it meant she could be awake for the birth if it was topped up, which she was really pleased about. The last pain she felt was the needle being re-inserted into her spine, and then nothing. She wasn't even aware they had arrived until she heard them cry.

Before they had been brought over for her to see, she looked up at Booth and saw tears in his eyes. It was fascinating how two things so tiny could create such a huge surge of emotion – the feeling had certainly overwhelmed both of them. She knew right then and there that everything was going to be perfect.

There were two clear plastic cribs beside her, one on each side of the bed. One contained Beatrice Christine Booth, looking content as she slept, wrapped in pink blankets. The other one was empty, because it's occupant, Brandon Alexander Booth, was in his mothers' arms being fed from a bottle, wrapped in blue blankets. She could have sat there looking at him for the rest of her life – his tiny little hands and feet, the perfect shell of his ears, the crown of soft fine hair on his head. Even at a few hours old, he looked exactly like his father. His father who was asleep in a chair across the other side of the room, although why he was tired was anyone's guess. They had only been in the world for a few hours, but she was completely besotted with both of them. She felt like her heart would burst – she had never felt so much love for anyone or anything before.

"Do you think this is the right one?"

"Won't know until we look." Angela and Hodgins' voices floated in through the open door from the hallway. Temperance had been just on the verge of sleep, herself, but the sound of her friends outside made her eyes spring open. Seconds later, both appeared in the room, clutching balloons, cards and stuffed toys.

"Hey Sweetie! Sorry it took us so long to get here, the traffic was murder." Noticing the sleeping figure squashed into the uncomfortable chair, and the very content-looking babies, their voices were immediately hushed to just above a whisper.

"That's OK."

"They're gorgeous," Hodgins said, standing next to Bea's crib, "This one looks just like you."

"How do you feel?"

"A little bit sore. But it was worth it." Temperance replied. She hadn't been able to stop smiling since she first heard her children cry – the sure sign that they were OK. It was a sound that was so hard to describe – it was something that to her seemed so beautiful, yet she was sure that in a few days her sleep-deprived mind would hate it. Right now, all she wanted to do was enjoy the moment, before everything got too much for her to handle, like she was sure it would.

Although that natural maternal instinct she was sure she was never going to have had definitely kicked in. She had never even held a baby before today, and here she was feeding Brandon and every so often making sure Bea's blanket wasn't constricting her too much. She couldn't wait to get out of the hospital, but appreciated the fact that she would need to stay in for a while yet, not because the babies weren't healthy, but because she still needed to heal from the surgery. She felt well enough in herself – her blood pressure had gone down as soon as they were born. The extra time in the hospital would also give her plenty of time to establish a routine with the twins, and she would become more confident in bathing and changing them. She still had so much to learn about being a mother.

One week later, it was finally time for Booth and Temperance to take the twins home. The previous evening, both of them had been somewhat terrified of going home to their new house, where most of their belongings were still in boxes and nothing was in its' correct place. They were eager to leave the hospital, but once they had left the care of the doctors and nurses they weren't sure if they would be able to cope with two babies, plus Parker on the weekends. Booth had only been given a short amount of time of from work, and Temperance still wasn't sure what she was going to do about her job – she definitely wouldn't be going back until Bea and Brandon were at least four months old, but would she be able to leave them in someone else's care? There were so many horror stories in the news about babysitters and nannies killing the babies they were looking after. Or she could stay home and, if she ever found the time when the twins were sleeping or just generally being quiet, spend more time on her writing. Or try and find some way of doing both. She loved her job at the Jeffersonian dearly, but she loved her children more.

Now, they were just about ready to leave. The bags were packed and had already been put in the car, along with the balloons that Angela had brought and numerous bunches of flowers from people that both parents worked with. The babies were being strapped into their car-seats, which had been put on the bed along with a changing bag. A group of nurses had just left after coming to say goodbye – all of the doctors and nurses were fond of the twins

Pulling into the driveway of twenty-one Meadowlake Street for the first time since they had moved in, Temperance was very glad to be home – not that she could really call it that. She hadn't even spent one night there. She hadn't seen it with her furniture inside, so when she walked through the door she wasn't really sure what to expect.

She was pleasantly surprised. Most of the boxes were gone from the hallway, with just a few remaining. The smell of fresh paint lingered in the air, making Temperance feel quite light-headed already.

"I asked Hodgins and Zack to help us out while you were in the hospital," Booth said, putting his arm around her, "I wanted to make sure everything was ready for when the twins came home. And if you would just come with me for a second, you will see that I also made sure that the twins' bedroom was ready, as well."

She followed him up the stairs, being careful to dodge one rogue paint can when she reached the landing, and saw the room in which two cribs, a changing table and a bookcase had been set up. In the corner of the room was a beautiful old rocking chair, with flowers and swirled vines like thick green veins painted on it, and a yellow throw draped over the back.

"It belonged to my grandmother, I asked my parents to send it over from Philadelphia. Then I asked Angela to paint it for me."

"That's what was in the box she had."

"Yeah, she's really bad at hiding things from you. I just thought it would be a nice thing to have, like an heirloom that the twins can use when they have kids."

"It's too soon to be planning grandchildren, don't you think?"

They had only just brought Brandon and Bea home from the hospital, but she knew how fast the years would pass. This was the beginning of the rest of their lives.

A/N Part deux: Well folks, that's the end...but fear not because a sequel is planned and in the process of being written. It's basically going to be like there is a chapter for each year of the twins' life - there will be eighteen chapters, but maybe more if the mood takes me - describing events and milestones etc. Should be quite an interesting project, but like I said I've already started it. The first chapter is about a third done and just needs some tweaking. Wow that was quite a ramble! Don't forget to leave me a review!