Okay, folks, we have reached the official end of this one. I want to say thank you to everyone that has reviewed, faved and story alerted this one. I never expected this to be 15 chapters! Like I said before, I have some one shots planned for this universe, so I'm keeping it unfinished. Hope everyone enjoys this.

You all have a joyous holiday season!

Twelve Months Later

Not how she imagined spending her first wedding anniversary—in the hospital, in labor with twins. They had discovered that they were expecting in early March when Kate had missed her second menstrual cycle—they had been trying since Christmas. Both wanted to start a family as soon as possible. It was at the first ultrasound that they found out Kate was pregnant with twins. They already knew one baby's sex—a girl—but the second was stubborn as it father, always was turned in the opposite direction. Probably was a boy.

Kate never dreamed that the babies would decide to come on their parents' wedding anniversary. Multiple births rarely went to full term, but Kate's had. Well, she thought, it would definitely make for a good story later on down the road—when the twins were older.

Rachel reentered the room. "I left another voicemail on his phone." Made her way over to the her younger sister.

Before Kate could respond, another contraction ripped through her. Felt her sister take her hand and softly told Kate to squeeze it as hard as she wanted to as the she breathed through the contraction.

Soft and soothing. "That's it, Katie. Just breathe. You're doing great."

She hissed, "How the fuck did you and Meredith do this twice?"

Rachel chuckled at her baby sister's colorful language as she rubbed Kate's forearm until the contraction passed. "But Meredith and I did it two different times. You're having both at once." Sat down beside the bed—continued to hold Kate's hand.

"Don't remind me of that little tidbit," she gasped, catching her breath. "Did you try Tony, Ziva, or McGee?"

"Mom is doing that as we speak. She sent me back here to sit with you." Rachel could tell Kate was a little bit scared—omitted the tidbit about their mother saying just that a few minutes ago. Her baby sister also needed her husband here with her.

"Okay," she whispered as she rested back against the pillows—waiting for the next contraction.

"He'll be here, sweetie."

Smiled. "I know." But why couldn't she convince herself of that?

In her mind—and her heart—she knew Gibbs wouldn't miss the birth of his children—unless he was hurt. Don't go there, Kate. She knew that he'd been deployed when Shannon had delivered Kelly—he had shared that information during the fifth month.

Evelyn Todd came back into the room with a reassuring smile on her face. "Got ahold of Ziva. She yelled at Gibbs that he really should check his phone because his wife is in labor with the twins—for the last two hours."

Kate laughed softly. That sounded like Ziva. "So, he's on his way?"

"Yes, he is, baby." Went over to her youngest child and kissed her sweaty forehead. "I heard the man say some very colorful words as he ran out of the interrogation room. By the way—everyone at NCIS sends their blessings via Ziva."

Thirty minutes later, Gibbs stumbled into the room—out of breath, but with a huge smile on his face.

"What the hell took you so long, Marine?" Kate growled in pain as another contraction was happening.

Cautiously—like he was trying to calm down a deranged man with a gun—he made his way to the other side of the bed. Gently kissed his wife's sweaty temple. She never looked so beautiful. "You can yell at me for being extremely late to the party—later. Right now—just concentrate on bringing our children into this world," he whispered softly in his wife's ear.

Rachel and Evelyn watched the interaction between husband and wife—how, even with a contraction ripping through her, her eyes softened at the sight of her husband; how her whole body and face relaxed when he kissed her temple and whispered in her ear. Both knew how much Kate and Gibbs loved each other, but they were witnessing a whole new level of the relationship.

"What took you so long?" Kate asked after she caught her breath.

"I'm so sorry, baby. I was in interrogation—left my phone at my desk. Ziva came in—while on the phone with your mother—and yelled at me." Pulled up another chair and sat down beside his wife. Cupped her cheek, brushing his thumb over the smooth skin. "How far along are you?"

Kate scoffed, "Not far enough."

Rachel commented, "The doctor came in about an hour ago—before he could even check how dilated she was, she snarled at him that if it wasn't a high number to not bother telling her and get the hell out of the room. And not to come back until he had good news."

Gibbs smiled at the narrative. That sounded very much like his wife-she was a force to be reckon with. "It'll be here before you know it."

Out of nowhere, she whispered, "I'm sorry." Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes.

"For what?" Had a feeling of what she was referring to? "I'm enjoying my anniversary, very much. Would be even if we were at home because I would be with my beautiful, sexy, and smart wife. Today—right now—is just icing on the cake, waiting on our children. What could be any better?" He hoped he diminish her anxiety.

Kate rubbed her cheek against his calloused hand—absolutely loved that feeling. He always knew what to say to make her feel better. "You're such a sweet talker, Jethro Gibbs."

His boyish grin appeared—knew how much his wife loved it. "You betcha, Caitlin Gibbs." Leaned up and lightly kissed her lips.

It had been thirty minutes past midnight when the twins were finally born—a girl and a boy. Gibbs had been so proud of Kate—being in labor for at least ten hours and then still having the energy to deliver two babies when she had looked so depleted. He had no idea how she had done it.

Rachel and Evelyn had left two hours after the twins were born—each making sure the new family was settled before heading back to Kate and Gibbs' house for some much needed sleep.

Before he had settled down on the fold out lounger, Gibbs let the team know that the babies had arrived at twelve-thirty; there were twenty fingers and toes and each had a healthy set of lungs; Kate had done an extraordinary job during the delivery and was resting comfortably. He then laid down—sleep coming almost immediately.

A soft whimper that was slowly increasing to a loud cry—roused him from his slumber. Threw back the light blanket that he had covered up with and swung his feet to the floor. Rubbed the sleep from his eyes before standing up and making his way over to the bassinets.

By that time, Kate had started stirring. "Mmm," she moaned, "is that Meggie?" Opened her eyes and gingerly sat up against the pillows.

Gibbs looked at her. What the...

She invaded his thoughts, "I'm a mother now, Jethro. We know these types of things." Flashed him a sleepy smile.

Laughed softly as he leaned over and gently picked up his infant daughter—cradling her in his strong arms. "Meggie-girl, your mama amazes me every day—throws me for a loop every now and then, too. Probably throw you for one, too, when you're older." Found himself swaying back and forth as he continued talking, "But, right now, Meggie, we've got to have a talk about your sleep schedule. Your brother is sleeping peacefully and you...do you think there's a party going on and you're missing out on something important?"

Made his way over to the changing table and changed Meggie's diaper before carefully placing her in her mother's waiting arms.

A bright, beautiful smile lit up Kate's sleepy face. "Good morning, sweet pea." With Gibbs' help, she lowered her gown until her left breast was exposed. Guided her daughter to the waiting breast—the infant quickly latched on, causing Kate to softly wince. "Easy, sweet pea. It's not going anywhere." With her free hand, she ran a gentle hand over the downy head of her daughter as she suckled at Kate's breast.

While Meggie was feeding, Gibbs roused his sleeping son—remembering what the nurses told them about feeding the twins at the same time. Kieran was not amused at being disturbed—and he let it be known with a loud wail.

"Hey, hey, don't take it out on me, Kieran. Your sister decided to wake up a bit early." Cradled his son before going over to change his diaper as well. "Once your mama feeds you—you can go back to sleep. I promise." Kissed Kieran's downy head, breathing in that unique baby scent.

The twins were once again sleeping soundly and their parents had decided to take the opportunity to snuggle together on the lounger chair. Kate buried her nose in her husband's neck—breathing in his intoxicating scent of sawdust and Old Spice. Couldn't fight the temptation any longer—lightly kissed his neck and nipped the underside of his jaw. Moaned happily when his hand on her waist gripped her more tightly.

"Katie," he warned her, "you're not playing fair."

She lifted her head and looked into his crystal blue eyes—hoped the twins would get his beautiful blue orbs. "I just couldn't resist. I kept thinking about you holding Meggie and Kieran earlier—you looked so sexy." Licked her lips before smiling seductively at him.

Groaned lowly before capturing her lips. Teeth nipped at her lower lip. Tongues asked for entry to each other's mouths. His other hand dived into her auburn tresses—held her pliant mouth to his while the hand on her waist gripped her tighter—fingers biting into the tender flesh.

Broke away from her mouth and trailed his lips down over the jaw—littering small kisses on her throat. She tilted her head back to give him easier access. She moaned softly when he bit her clavicle and then sighed when his tongue snaked out to soothe the bite.

Then a bucket of ice water was thrown on them. "Hey, hey—remember what happened the last time you two did that?" Rachel strolled into the room.

Kate and Gibbs broke apart like two kids being caught with their hands in the cookie jar. A faint blush bloomed in her cheeks from being caught by her sister again.

Gibbs laughed. "What can I say? It's hard to say no to your sister."

Rachel leaned over the bassinets to look at her niece and nephew. "No, Gibbs, it's not hard to say no to Kate." She turned to the new parents. "In fact, it's quite easy."

"If you say so."

"I do. Why don't we practice?" Smiled at her brother-in-law. "Repeat after me: No, Katie."

Kate buried her face in her husband's neck again while holding out her hand and flipping her middle finger at her older sister.

"Caitlin Elizabeth Todd!" Her mother's voice shrieked.

"Busted." Rachel laughed at her sister.

Not caring that her mother was there or that she would get reprimanded again—Kate flipped Rachel off once more.

"Stop that." Gibbs scolded her—his tone light.

She grumbled, "Are you sure that you want to stay married to me? I'll fully understand if you want to run the other direction."

"Hey," he brushed a kiss over her cheek, "you won't be able to get rid of me now that we have Meggie and Kieran. I married you—not your family. But I do love them, too. They only hassle you because they love you."

Once again, her husband had all the right things to say. "I love you." She lifted her head to look at him.

"Love you, too." They shared a soft kiss before being roused apart by her family and their twins.

Finis