And baby makes?

Staring at the test results, Elizabeth couldn't believe that it was finally happening. She and Peter were going to be parents! Her emotions were bubbling everywhere as she both laughed and cried. It was her dream come true… until she remembered her two step-sons.

Neal had brought up the subject the first day that she knew of their relation, but what about Noah, what would he think? He was the younger of the twins and seemed to be more sensitive to family issues than Neal was.

Taking a deep breath, she decided to suppress her concerns and to focus more on the general excitement. She was going to be a mother!

Unfortunately, Peter had already gone to work so she would have to keep the secret to herself until the evening, or make it less personal by telling him over the phone. Given the choice, she chose to wait until the evening when she could enjoy the look on his face for herself instead of just hearing the excitement in his voice. Smiling, she pulled out her phone to text that she had something to tell him and she wanted to do it in private.

"We can tell the boys this weekend, but I just want a few days to enjoy this with Peter before I have to face their reactions."

Receiving his response, she knew that the evening was going to be theirs. Making plans, she smiled from ear to ear as she got ready for her day.

It was one of those rare days where she got to sleep in and enjoy her morning before going to work for the afternoon.

Arriving at the office, Elizabeth did her preparation for the client that she was expecting. When they arrived, she was all smiles and ready for anything.

Her client was a woman who had recently remarried and was planning the party to bring their joint families together. Smiling as she sat down, she noticed the family photos arranged on the corner of Elizabeth's desk. "That is a nice family you have their. Is that your husband and your sons?"

Amused by her mistake, Elizabeth answered. "That is my husband, but those are his sons from his first marriage. I don't have any children." Yet she thought. This little one was only just discovered and she wanted Peter to be the first to know about it.

Surprised, the woman hadn't expected that. "But they look so much like you? If you hadn't corrected me, I would have continued to think that they were yours. After all, they don't seem to look much like your husband, but they do share the dark hair and blue eyes that you have."

"Thank you. I'm not sure where they got their looks, as it must be from their mother's side, but I hadn't thought about our similarities in appearance. You're the first person to call them my sons… although they aren't biologically mine, they are very special to me." The little one that she was carrying wouldn't replace them, but they would make her feel more like a biological member of their little family.

"I'm so glad of that dear. Not everyone is lucky enough to have good relationships and similar appearances in mixed families. Personally, I think it helps to make the family more cohesive and eases the blending. If only I were to be so fortunate. Although I generally have a good relationship with my step-children, they don't look anything like me." She didn't seem to lament the lack of genetic similarity too much as she quickly delved into the party plans. Working through the details, they tried to come to an agreement that would fit the budget while keeping the guest comfortably happy.

Their afternoon flew by quickly and Elizabeth highly enjoyed talking with the older lady. She had shared several pieces of advice for dealing with mixed families and her experiences in getting to know her own step-children. Taking her wisdom into account, Elizabeth took mental notes in the hopes that maybe the lessons could help her to break the news to her own step-sons.

Taking advantage of some samples from one of the caterers, she brought home a nice meal that Peter would appreciate. Setting up the table, she had a romantic dinner arranged and with the test results wrapped as a gift, she was ready for Peter to arrive home.

Settling in on the couch, she flipped through a magazine mindlessly and tried not to watch the clock.

Eventually, Peter arrived home and was quickly able to change from his work clothes to something more comfortable for the evening. "Sorry I couldn't get home sooner. We had a lot of reports to finish with the case that we closed today." Looking into the dining room, he noticed the romantic setting and she could see his mind trying to make sure he hadn't forgotten something important.

Kissing him with a smile, she alleviated his concerns. "You didn't forget anything hon. I just wanted to make this special." That was when she realized that he had never experienced this before either. He might have two sons, but he didn't get to find out about them until roughly thirty years later.

"Make what special?" He smiled curiously.

"Open this and I think you will figure it out quickly enough." She passed him the little jewelry box and waited anxiously.

Glancing at her occasionally, Peter carefully opened the paper and wondered about her excitement. Reaching the box, he opened it up, and gasped. "Elizabeth… is this… what I think it is? You're… we're…?" He was surprised and extremely excited. So much so that he couldn't get the words out of his mouth.

"Yes Peter, and this time you get to be present for the whole process." She smiled as Peter picked her up and swung her around in a hug.

Hugging her and kissing her again, Peter couldn't contain his excitement. "That is some of the best news that I have ever heard!" He couldn't say that this little one was going to be any better than their older brothers, but he was going to get to be involved this time… there was no way he was going to miss their growing up years without a fight.

Holding his face with one hand while her other still remained around his back. Elizabeth spent a few moments looking happily into the eyes of the man she loved. "I figured we could tell the boys this weekend if they can both make it, but tonight, I want it to be just you and me."

"That works for me." Then he laughed. "You know, this little one is going to be spoiled."

"What makes you think that?" She queried.

"The twins… they will be like uncles due to the age difference. I know Neal is going to be excited, but something tells me that Noah will too. They both love family and this little one will just be one more addition to ours."

His words relieved some of her concerns about the twins. Maybe he knew something of Noah that she didn't? He had been spending as much time as possible with the young man in order to build a bond between them.

For the rest of the evening, they enjoyed the delicious food before relishing in conversations of dreaming and planning. There was so much to discuss.

For the rest of the week, there was a great secret brewing in the Burke household.

Neal and Noah were both aware of the plans for them to be invited for a family dinner and they had each observed the joy radiating from Peter and Elizabeth. In response, they were coming up with theories as to what was the cause and sharing their notes in a friendly challenge to see if they could discover what was going to be shared with them… it was obviously that some kind of a good announcement was coming. Their efforts were hindered though as work was busy so their time to dedicate to the mystery was limited.

When the weekend finally came about, the boys arrived at their parents home when expected. Knocking on the door, they waited patiently for Peter to let them in. Smiling as they entered, the boys could feel the excitement in the very air of the home.

"I hope you don't keep us waiting for this announcement of yours." Neal commented.

"It's practically vibrating in here… you can feel the excitement just walking in." Noah observed.

Exchanging looks, Peter and Elizabeth decided that they had left them stewing long enough. Signaling them to wait for a moment, they left the puzzled twins standing while they moved to grab two gifts that were waiting on the table. Peter handed one, while Elizabeth passed the other.

"Open them." Peter said.

"The gifts explain." Elizabeth beamed nervously.

Sharing looks of their own, the twins started unwrapping the gifts while looking at their parents just like Peter had done earlier in the week. Once the gifts were opened, they each removed a t-shirt. Unfolding them, their eyes grew big and they gasped as they read the words printed on them.

"Seriously?" Neal exclaimed. At their nods he continued. "Congratulations!"

"Wow… so that possibility was the right one." Noah was quieter but smiled no less excited than his brother.

They were both equally excited and gave their parents enthusiastic hugs to congratulate them.

"You're happy with the news?" Peter asked.

"Of course… I just hope that it's a girl." At Elizabeth's questioning look he continued. "I already have a little brother, so a little sister would be nice."

Laughing, Noah didn't have too much to specify. "I hope she looks like dad." When everyone looked at him for an explanation of his odd statement, he shrugged. "One of us should."

Putting her arm around Noah in a hug, Elizabeth laughed as that brought a memory back for her. "That reminds me. I had a client earlier this week and she was admiring my photos of you all… she thought that I was biologically your mother. Apparently, some people think that you boys look more like me than your father." Once the words were out of her mouth, Elizabeth mentally froze as she hoped no one would be offended by her statement.

Snorting beside her, Noah wasn't worried at all. Shifting the gift in his arms to return the sideways hug, he added to her comment. "That's ironic isn't it. If it wasn't for the lack of genetic markers, you could actually be our biological mother. After all, you have all the other qualities."

With tears coming to her eyes, Elizabeth thought those were the best words she had ever heard Noah say. Reaching up, she kissed his cheek and wiped the lipstick off. Hugging him closer, she returned his words. "I could say the same about you. The genetic markers are the only thing keeping you from being my biological son."

Getting a peaceful look to his eyes, it was like Noah was also having a moment.

Watching from where they stood, Peter and Neal didn't have anything to say. They were a family, and they were enjoying the sight of Elizabeth and Noah verbalizing their acceptance of each other. It was the first time that they had made such a show since discovering their relation.

Realizing that Noah needed to work on his relationship with Elizabeth, Neal grabbed the meat and drug Peter out to the grill. This time they would trade tasks in an effort to talk to the other parent during the meal time preparations.

Breathing deeply as he fired up the grill, Peter couldn't be happier with his life. "They finally said it. I've been watching them wonder how well the other was accepting them, while neither of them felt comfortable sharing their feelings yet."

Giving him a look, Neal rolled his eyes. "And you're so great at sharing your feelings too dad."

Pretending to glare, Peter acted like he was going disciplinarian on Neal. "That's enough of your sass."

Bouncing his head as he smiled, Neal teased back. "Yep, that kid is going to be in trouble. She'll have to watch her tongue when she gets to be a teen."

Growing more serious, Peter changed the subject slightly. "You really are okay with this?"

Grabbing Peter by the shoulders, Neal made him face him. "Dad. You and Elizabeth are going to be having a baby and I am going to be a big brother again. Seriously… I couldn't be happier."

Relaxing, Peter smiled again. "Good. We don't want you boys to feel like we're trying to replace you or anything. Our family is simply going to be growing one larger and that is all."

"And she will be loved as dearly as any other member." Neal stated like the gender was certain.

Smirking, Peter couldn't help but comment. "What if it is a boy?"

"Then he will be loved as dearly as any other member… and the next one will have to be a girl." Neal only changed his perspective slightly.

Choking, Peter laughed after he regained his composure. "We've been hoping to have children for ten years… what makes you certain we will be so lucky?"

Patting him on the back to help him, Neal shrugged. "Because at least one needs to be a girl."

"Why do you want a sister so badly?" Peter was curious.

Neal didn't really have words to describe why. "I don't know… I love Noah, but there has always been something about a younger sister. Maybe there was some influence from movies or some playground experience watching other kids with their younger sisters…"

Wrapping him into a hug, Peter was proud of his son. "I hope she's a girl then."

Meanwhile inside, Elizabeth found that Noah was capable in the kitchen, but not as skilled as Neal. Still, what he didn't know left room for Elizabeth to bond with him by teaching him her skills.

During one of the times that they were preparing a dish, she started up some conversation. "You really are happy with the news?" He was the one she was most worried about.

Smiling at her sadly, Noah didn't like that she was worried about his opinion so much. "Yes mom. In fact, I hoped this was the news that you had to share with us."

Relieved by his words, but concerned with his sadness, she looked at him quietly.

"I wish you didn't have to worry about my opinion." He hung his head until he felt her wrap him into a hug.

"It's only because I don't know you as well yet." Hesitantly, she broached a request that suddenly came to mind. "Perhaps… you would be willing to help me get some of the things together for the baby? After all, an engineering degree might come in handy for a few of the tasks."

Pleased to be asked, Noah was happy to accept. "I would be happy to… hmm, I can set up quite the security system, baby monitoring system, and… but I will leave that one as a surprise."

Squeezing him a little tighter, Elizabeth was happy to hear his enthusiasm. "I look forward to it. It will be nice to get to spend some time with you." Hugging him again, she moved back to the dish as the food was still cooking.

After a while the food was finished and the family settled in to eat together as they began talking of the expected arrival.

"Let me know when you get ready to paint the nursery." Neal requested. "I assume the guest room is about to undergo some changes."

Surprised, Elizabeth looked up at him. "Why do you want to pain the nursery?"

Neal just gave her a look. "I'm an artist. She is my baby sister. Why wouldn't I want to do something?"

Widening her eyes as she realized both boys were going to spoil them as well as the baby, she felt surprise followed by happiness. "You don't have to… but, if you want to. What do you have in mind?"

Tilting his head, Neal came up with a plan. "How about this, you pick everything that you want, and I'll paint the final details to make it a surprise?"

Growing more curious as the boys each came up with their secret gifts, she looked forward to seeing what they would come up with.

Peter smiled proudly. He had his wife, two sons, and another child on the way. Life could only get better with the coming child in his arms. Suddenly, he was looking forward to watching his sons play with their little sister, the feeling of coming home to hear a child's laughter filling the house… things were going to be so good.

After the first trimester had past, Peter and Elizabeth got the family together again for the reveal of the gender. They had followed with the trend of giving the baker the information on the gender, while they themselves didn't know. That way the reveal would be a surprise to everyone at the same time.

When the evening came, everyone settled in and ate their dinner while eying the cake as it set in the middle of the table. They would pick up a conversation only to have it die when someone got too distracted by the cake and their curiosity as to the gender of the coming arrival.

Eventually, the meal was finished and they eagerly cleared the dinner dishes before gathering around the table again. Since the cake was small, they had four knives so as to be able to each cut a slice for themselves. Slowly gliding through, they each looked to see who would catch a glimpse of color first. Then, as they pulled their knives out of the cake, they all smiled… it was pink.

"I told you Teddy was a girl." Neal beamed.

"You were right after all, Neal." Peter smiled. He was going to have a daughter too!

Noah just continued to smile while Elizabeth laughed softly at Neal. She was amused by the proud and knowing expression on his face. Like Peter, she was picturing the image of a bouncing baby girl being entertained by her older brothers, chasing the dog, or simply playing by herself on the floor. Her mind pictured Peter rocking her to sleep and she looked forward to what it would feel like to hold her daughter in her arms.

Over the months that followed, the house was frequently full of bustling activity as the family prepared for their new addition to come.

Peter had a self imposed 'honey do list' that he was determined to complete before the child was born. In his spare time, he was often seen working on little things like the garbage disposal or a squeaky door hinge.

Neal often talked to Elizabeth about colors and themes like teddy bears or toy cars. He was often sketching as he tried to come up with the perfect ideas for his little sister… nothing but the best would do.

Noah used his skills to help Peter install a better security system and a means of monitoring the baby. He wanted to contribute for his baby sister and those were the means most unique to him.

Enjoying the sights of her men working for the baby, Elizabeth settled back to create a small baby blanket. Her squares had a light floral pattern depicting a feminine look. They were the ones that were dedicated to her thoughts and excitement of anticipating the baby. For Peter, she did a horse. He came from the northern part of the state and had a love of horses which she decided would represent his fatherly pride. Neal, she based his square on the nickname he had already dubbed the baby. A teddy bear represented his love and adoration. Then, Noah was represented by a dog for his loyalty. His baby sister was the best baby sister before she was even born. Finally, even Satchmo got a representation by a paw print. As a collective work, the quilt was a representation of the love that they had for the baby and it would be personalized once they had settled on a name.

Piece by piece and day by day the preparations were made. After a few weekend projects, the boys had the large furniture like the changing table, rocker, crib, dresser, and other pieces assembled from their shipping state to the usable pieces they had become and placed in the nursery. Meanwhile, Elizabeth enjoyed the more shopping oriented tasks with Peter or the boys as they looked for bedding, books, toys, clothing, and other items. The smaller purchases were stored in the basement until Neal was ready to put them in their places.

Elizabeth continued to be curious, but she had no idea what everything looked like together. According to Neal, she wouldn't get that sight until she brought the baby home.

In addition to the preparations, there were other changes going on in their lives.

Elizabeth experienced the morning sickness and cravings typical of her condition, which kept the boys on their toes. She often sent whichever one was handy on errands for ice cream, pickles, or crackers at all hours of the day.

Since Neal was often around to work on the nursery, he sometimes camped out in the room and was around overnight making him one of the people liable to be sent on the errands. The nights when he wasn't present and Peter was the one sent, he would make sure to be the bearer of good coffee to help keep him awake in office the next morning.

With the work progressing at various stages, Noah also camped out on the couch some weekends in order to be around to help on some projects when he was in town. In the events that he was sent, then Peter made sure to wake him up with a cup of good coffee.

Basically, the men of the family banded together through Elizabeth's cravings and hormones with a readiness to get her whatever she needed, no matter the hour, and coffee to wake each other up in the morning.

As the pregnancy drew towards a close, Peter got rather jumpy.

He would be sitting at work and filling out a report when he would check his phone to see if it had gone off. When it would turn out to be in his imagination, he would return to his work until the next time.

If this occurred in the conference room, the agents would smile at each other and shake their heads as they laughed at him quietly.

Neal would jerk his head up to observe Peter and wait until he had shaken his head at him. With the tension relieved for a while again, Neal would also return to his work. During those times that this happened a bit too much in a day, Neal would also tease Peter.

"Is this a glimpse into what it would have been like if mom had let you be involved with us?" He figured as much, but he was also curious.

Shrugging, Peter could never be sure of the answer. "We'll never know for sure, but probably." He ran his fingers through his hair. "I get the feeling that there is going to being a building anxiety until she is born."

Patting him on the shoulder, Neal smiled. "I think we are all looking forward to being able to see her for ourselves."

When the holidays came, Peter and Neal were both relieved to have a bit of time off. Maybe their little gift would choose to arrive while they could be present?

It was Christmas Eve when the call came.

Peter was pacing the hospital hallway when he called his sons to inform them that their little sister was indeed on the way.

Catching a cab, Neal was able to arrive within the hour while Noah had to return home from a mission so he wasn't present until the middle of the night.

Killing time while they waited, the brothers entertained themselves. They spent part of the time taking pictures and recording well wishes from their friends as they waited for the news since Jones, Hughes, and Diana visited in representation of the FBI, Mozzie lurked around somewhere, and June spent some time providing her support as well. When they were alone, they kept themselves busy by pursuing their interests. Noah used his computer skills to create a video by combining the recordings and pictures with things of his own creation. Neal pulled out his sketch book to draw the feelings of the atmosphere before Noah would later scan them into his work. Combined, their project would make for a nice keepsake for the family.

From time to time Peter would come out to talk to the twins, he would give them general updates and enjoy trying to see what they were working on. "Why is it that all of your gifts are becoming surprises to be revealed later?" He easily complained. The curiosity was getting annoying in his mood.

Glancing over at him, Noah explained. "Because, the work is best understood when it is compete… the rest of it is merely the pieces of the whole. Besides, we have been recording various aspects of our work so that you can satiate some of that curiosity later."

"Sorry, I just need a distraction at the moment." Peter apologized for coming off as ungrateful.

Neal nudged him. "You have always liked my art, why don't you watch as a piece comes together?"

He went to work drawing a picture of the general waiting room that they were in. It wasn't the most interesting picture that he could draw, but it kept Peter curious as to what could possibly be the purpose of Neal drawing it.

As Peter watched, Neal continued to fill the picture in with people. He was amazed as he saw Hughes sitting in a seat with a cup of coffee, Jones laughing at a joke, Diana smiling as she conversed with June, Mozzie lurking in the background, Noah focused on his computer, and Neal even managed to sketch himself into the picture as he sat drawing. Looking around the room again, Peter saw that it was a scene that had occurred over the hours of waiting.

After the picture was complete, Neal told Peter to take it to Elizabeth. He had been apart from her long enough and she would enjoy the picture.

Finally, as the sun peaked over the horizon on a bright Christmas morning, she arrived.

Taking the twins in to meet their baby sister before taking her out for the rest of their friends, Peter sat them down so that he could formally introduce them.

"Meet your baby sister, Noel Grace Elise Burke." He passed her to Neal as the oldest brother who had wanted a sister so badly.

Smiling happily, Neal asked as to the meaning behind her names. They were a secret that Peter and Elizabeth had kept.

Elizabeth explained. "Noel is four letters, starts with N, and she is born on Christmas day. Grace because she has graced us with her presence after so many years of waiting. Elise is a version of Elizabeth, per Peter's request. We tried to mimic your names with the start, length, and number of names."

Passing her over to Noah for a turn, they all watched as he gently held her. "She has brown hair like you dad, and her eyes are dark blue. It looks like one of us might actually look like you after all." He smiled at the rest of them.

"Why does her appearance mean so much to you?" Neal asked him.

Noah shrugged and rolled his eyes. Hadn't he explained this well enough before? "You and I look like Elizabeth with our dark hair and blue eyes, it only seems fitting that Noel should look like dad."

"As long as she has mom's features, she'll be okay." Neal cast a teasing glance and smile at Peter.

With a swift movement, Peter took Neal's hat to lightly smack him on the head with it playfully. "That is my opinion of that son." His actions caused the entire group to laugh only for them to all fall silent at a sound.

Shifting their attention, they all focused on the baby who was making noise from her brother's arms. It wasn't exactly a coo, but she seemed to starting towards learning to make the sounds.

Settling back peacefully, the family enjoyed the moment before opening the door to their friends for a quick visit.

At last, the long awaited day arrived when Elizabeth was able to bring the baby home.

Walking into the house, she waited as the boys got the door open and brought all of the things in from the car. Between the three of them, it was the work of a few quick minutes.

Ready to climb the stairs, Elizabeth carried Noel, Peter followed her, and the twins led the way. Reaching the top, they were meant with the sight of the twins gesturing them through the door.

Gasping as she entered, Elizabeth was amazed by what she saw.

Her sight was first captured by the large mural on the back accent wall. It was a depiction of New York City that Noel could grow into as a child and teenager showing a long term planning. Neal had taken great care to detail the buildings so that they could be recognizable, pulled the architecture into view to soften the piece, and used a mix of colors and glitter to give the city the appearance of being a sparkling jewel.

There were pictures hung around the wall that depicted art and the family with plenty of room to bring in more as she grew. For those, Neal had carefully picked some favorite family photos and painted various animal depictions to represent the family.

Moving to the furniture, Elizabeth noticed that he hadn't done anything with them, they weren't things that would stay, but he had ensured that they had those homey little touches. The crib had the quilt she had made hanging over the side, there were a few stuffed animals grouped in the corner, and there was a mobile hanging over top. Moving closer, Elizabeth could that the animals were a horse, dog, and teddy bear as she expected. Running her fingers over the mobile, she realized that it was Noah's gift. He had collected little animals from his travels around the world and created a motorized mechanism to move them around.

Crying, she stopped looking around the room to give each one of her sons a hug. "They're beautiful… absolutely beautiful."

While she laid Noel down into her crib, Peter also took the opportunity to pull each boy into a hug. "You both did amazing work. She is lucky to have such loving older brothers."

In the week that followed, Neal and Noah spent time with their family as they celebrated Christmas and their new arrival.

When they settled in to open their gifts, Peter noticed that there had been a few new additions.

Taking Noel, Neal happily let Noah explain the new gifts.

Smirking at his brother, Noah passed the gifts to the appropriate parents. "These are the things that we were working on while we waited for Noel." Turning to Elizabeth he gave her a box. "This is the video recording of what happened in the waiting room. We have combined pictures, videos of well wishes, and Neal's drawings." Focusing on Peter, he passed him his box. "You saw Neal draw one of these pictures, but in reality, he drew many. These not only capture what was happening, but he worked to capture the emotions in the strokes of his pencil."

Watching, the brothers enjoyed the looks on their parent's faces as they looked at their gifts. Peter flipped through the pictures while Elizabeth looked over his shoulder, before they switched roles to watch Elizabeth's video on the computer.

Composing themselves, they thanked the boys before moving on to open the other gifts. There were toys for Satchmo, art supplies for Neal, a nerdy t-shirt and other memorabilia for Noah, a nicer suit for Peter, a very nice family oriented necklace for Elizabeth, and two custom outfits for Noel. Her brothers had bought her onesies with one saying "My little Teddy Bear" and the corresponding bear, while the other said "My baby sister" to try and convey their pride in her.

Once the rest of the gifts were opened, they settled in to dinner and generally enjoyed the day together as one big happy family.

In the new year, after Elizabeth was back from her maternity time, she had another party to throw for her client with a mixed family.

This time the woman knew who the people in the photo were, so she immediately noticed the new addition. "Congratulations on your daughter. She is such a lovely little thing."

"Thank you. She looks like her father, her brothers adore her, and I couldn't be more lucky." Elizabeth looked fondly at the picture as she had replaced the old ones with a joint picture. Instead of having Peter in one and the twins in another, she had all five of them happily depicted for the family that they were.

Thank you everyone for reading, reviewing, following/bookmarking, leaving kudos, and choosing to favorite. Also, to those who noticed my typo last week, it has been fixed and another thanks for the heads up :D

Next week, I will be returning from my trip sometime on Sunday (late by the sounds of it) so posting will probably be delayed until Monday night or Tuesday afternoon (depending on how work goes). Since I don't have any particular plans for my posting, please check out my profile page (KeJae on for AO3 readers) for a list of completed works (titles, summaries, lengths, and other details are included) and let me know if you have any requests, or I will have to randomly choose something…