Last chapter in this fic, hope you all are enjoying. I'll probably write more at some point, but no promises about when that's going to start. My personal life is crazy and crazier these days, so my focus hasn't been all there. Sometimes I feel like this fic didn't get all of the attention it deserved, but I've still been pretty happy with how it turned out. Feedback = love. Thanks to all of you who so often review. It's very sweet. A bit of fluff with a little seriousness and angst hurt/comfort to wrap it all up in a last bit of fluff. Clear as mud? Good. Carry on...

Gibbs exhaled slowly as the soft palms dug slowly into his lower back, coaxing loose the muscles, drawing out the tension. His father had left in the late afternoon, allowing him to enjoy the rest of the evening with Kate. After dinner, she had coaxed him upstairs with the promise of a nice long back rub.

For the last fifteen minutes or more, she'd made good on that promise. He was sprawled across their bed, stripped down to his boxers, Kate straddling his lower back as she worked steadily. It was a comfortable warmth and weight, her hands skillful as they worked.

As the moments ticked on, he became aware of the quiet in the room, the way her hands were slowing. Although she was careful to avoid his recovering shoulder, she was hesitating over something else. "Kate?" he asked softly, head turning slightly.

"Hmmm?"

"What's wrong?"

Her hand slid up his back, on either side of his spin. She gave a soft sigh and leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss to his bad shoulder. "Wondering what happened with Addams. Why someone would…"

"Jealousy," he answered, scowling in the covers and hating this, hating that a man like that could unsettle his wife. Especially right now, when they should be free to enjoy these months preparing to be parents. "He said she told him it was Halbrook's, and he said he couldn't stand the thought of her raising another man's kid."

Kate didn't say anything to that, and he reached back, finding her arm and wrapping his hand around her forearm.

"Katie?"

"Hmm?" she asked, and the small catch in her voice made him urge her to let up a little.

Gibbs rolled onto his back, easing her back down, this time straddled across his stomach. His hand lifted, thumb running along her cheek and sliding lightly under her eyes, hand cupping her cheek.

She sniffled, jaw trembling as more tears streaked down her cheeks.

"There isn't a reason," he spoke quietly, voice deep and soothing. "That's the real answer. He'll live in prison during pretrial, then whatever happens, then someone will kill him in jail for what he did."

"She's still dead," Kate rasped, sniffling again as he wiped away the more recent tears. Her own hands lifted, rubbing at her eyes. "Sorry… I know, I know all that. I know not to get personally involved in a case, and not to apologize," she added ruefully. "It's these hormones."

Gibbs's head shook slightly. "We're not at work. Those aren't rules here," he murmured, a hand sliding to her thigh and rubbing it soothingly. "And you're not the only one that got sucked into this one. DiNozzo's not going to the bar just to meet friends tonight. They all want to forget this one, too."

She nodded, her hand stroking his arm now, seeking the connection. "I don't know why I'm getting all emotional about this," she sniffled again, working to keep her bottom lip from trembling again.

His hand lifted, palm flattening and resting across their baby. "Because of this. It changes everything, how you see everything."

Hazel eyes watched him as he caressed, her hand resting over his as she nodded. "I didn't know. It really is changing everything."

"I'm still right here," he promised.

Kate nodded, giving a soft sigh, her body relaxing as he rubbed slowly over the curve. "I'm glad we finally started on the nursery," she finally said, blinking away the last of her tears and meeting his gaze.

"Mhmm," he agreed. There wasn't much to agree on. He didn't have too much of an opinion on nurseries, so long as he got to make most of the furniture. It was Kate who fussed over color schemes and accents, whatever that meant. She worried about whether or not they should wait until they knew if they were having a boy or a girl, then decided she didn't want to wait a few more weeks. At the moment, she had settled on a cheerful blue—Robin's Egg Blue—she called it, with a sunny yellow and a soft gray for accents. Gender neutral. Privately, he'd decided he was more than okay with that, rather than Pepto Bismol pink if it turned out to be a girl—not that there was anything wrong with that, simply that it wasn't them.

She relaxed further across his waist, tension draining out by degrees as his hand slid around to her lower back. He let the heel of his palm work into the muscles that tended to bother her the most. "Am I going to be banned from the basement now that you've got the wood for your newest projects?"

His head shook. "Nah, I'll hang a sheet up when I get to the details. Gotta have a little surprise." Good hand sliding up her back, it cupped the back of her head, urging her down for a lingering kiss. He didn't spend as much time in the basement as he used to, but he still enjoyed woodworking. And she liked to be down there with him. Sometimes reading, sometimes sketching him. He'd kick her out when he did the staining and painting, some of the detailed carving.

Her lips parted, deepening the kiss. Gibbs's arms pulled her against him, her slender body molding against his. His hands slid under her shirt, gliding over the silky skin of her back as she made that familiar noise of contentment.

When Kate finally pulled back for air, she sucked in oxygen. Soft lips pressed a kiss to his temple before she murmured, "I really love you right now."

"Love you, too, Kate," he answered huskily, fingers tangling into her hair and drawing her in for another kiss and more.