When the Woodcomb branch of the family finally arrived for Casey and Ilsa's engagement party, Chuck ran up to Ellie as she got out of the SUV.

"Sis, hey!" he called out, enfolding her in a big, warm hug.

"Oh, Chuck, it's so good to see you again," Ellie said, slipping comfortably into her brother's embrace. They hadn't seen each other for several months so it was understandable that the siblings, who had always been very close, would simply hold each other by the side of the road, saying nothing.

Suddenly, Chuck realized what was different about his older sister and pushed Ellie out to arms' length, looking downwards speculatively.

"Ellie, you seem a bit bumpy. You're not – are you?"

"Yes, Chuck, but only just a little more than three months. That's why I didn't tell you over the phone. I thought that since we were going to be coming here anyway it would be nicer to tell you in person."

Chuck could hardly contain himself. "Hey, everybody, I'm gonna be an uncle again!" he cried out, turning around to grin at Sarah and his three children, who had assembled to greet Ellie and Devon and their family.

Beaming as cries of "Hey, great!" and "Congratulations, Auntie Ellie!" and "Devon, you old dog!" – from Sarah, of all people – reached his ears, Chuck turned back to his sister and asked, "When did you and the doc decide to try again? I figured you were going to stop after these two."

Reaching out, Chuck ruffled the hair of his ten-year-old nephew and said cheerfully, "Hi, Eddie!"

"Hi, Uncle Chuck," the boy responded almost inaudibly, his face turned down towards the ground.

Standing slightly behind her tall, gangly younger brother was a composed and impeccably groomed young lady of just over twelve years who looked strikingly like Ellie. She stepped forwards and stated primly, "Hello, Uncle Charles. I hope you're well," while offering her cheek to Chuck for a kiss, which he awkwardly pecked and, copying the child's formal manner, said, "Hello, Marianne. Yes, I'm well, thank you. I'm glad you were able to come," before watching for a moment as she picked her way delicately over to Sarah to continue her reserved greetings.

Ellie leaned over and whispered in Chuck's ear, "She's been acting like this for about six months now. It's a bit creepy but, all things considered, probably better than a lot of other things she could have gotten into."

"Amen to that, sis," Chuck declared.

Just as Chuck was about to make way so Sarah could say hello to her sister-in-law, he had to let all the air in his lungs out in a rush due to the fact that his brother-in-law had decided a monumentally awesome hello bear hug was in order.

"Bro! How're they hangin'?!" Devon shouted in Chuck's ear as he tried to catch his breath and make some kind of reply.

Out of the corner of his eye, Chuck could see the male cousins standing nearby, Eddie, scowling now – most likely because of his father's embarrassing outburst – and CJ and John laughing behind their hands at the slightly indecent greeting. Chuck flushed pinkly and told himself it was because of the pressure on his solar plexus and not the public reference to the Bartowski family jewels. Chuck had to struggle a bit to keep his feet when Devon finally let him go, and after he had recovered, said, "Hey, Cap' – Devon, um, how's – yeah," before giving up and patting his sister's husband on the shoulder.

Sarah was a little better prepared when it was her turn and she accepted Devon's unrestrained show of affection with good grace and a happy squeal, hugging and kissing Ellie with true affection when she was released.

"Congratulations," Sarah said, taking Ellie's hand and tucking their arms together, trying to keep a look of envy out of her eyes. By the penetrating assessment that Ellie was making of her expression, Sarah knew she hadn't been that successful, and the dark-haired woman whispered, "We'll chat later," as they turned towards the house.

The adults went in through the front door, already talking animatedly in an effort to catch up with each other, leaving the five cousins outside. Lisa and Marianne were conversing quietly and politely as the three boys stood some distance off and watched them.

John turned to Eddie, his tone casual, and said, "Marianne sure seems stuck up since the last time we visited. What happened, Eddie?"

"Nothing happened," Eddie replied sourly, his hands in his jeans pockets as he avoided his cousin's insolent gaze. "She's just a girl. They're all like that."

"Our sister isn't," said John. "She could probably beat the crap out of CJ if she wanted to and she's four years younger than we are."

CJ, who was used to John's trying to get a rise out of him, smiled good-naturedly at his twin and remained silent. Eddie, however, was starting to get a little worked up by John's attitude, and he whirled abruptly to face the Bartowski boys, his hands clenched into fists beside his thighs, and declared loudly, "Well, what do you know, anyway?!"

Any impending altercation was halted, however, as the two girls turned and approached the boys. Marianne, her face composed and her nose slightly in the air, spoke first.

"We must go inside, Edward. Mother will want to know where we are."

John, his tone cocky and challenging, said, "Well, if we must then I guess we must," smiling as he shot a glance at CJ to check for his reaction.

The tousle-haired twin was met by Marianne's withering gaze when he turned his head back around to her. As if she were explaining to a person who needed things explained slowly and clearly, she stated, "Mother informed me that boys mature at a much slower rate than girls. Evidently, we have empirical proof right here," and turned to go to the house, leaving John gaping and speechless, the laughter of the moment before replaced by a look resembling nothing less than complete awe.

Eddie, without a backward glance at his three cousins, trailed after his sister as CJ and Lisa exchanged a surprised look at the unfamiliar expression on their brother's face, who suddenly appeared for all the world as though he had just fallen head over heels in love.