A little later, at the reception, in the church fellowship hall, guests are mingling, eating, and giving Gibbs and Kate their congratulations.
"Oh, Christa, I am so glad you and Steve came," Kate says, hugging her college best friend.
"Oh, we are, too." Christa breaks the hug. "I'm just sorry we didn't make it for the party last night."
"That's okay. We missed you, but, I'm glad you guys made it today."
"And that was such a neat idea, having the big reception the night before the wedding. I wish Steve and I had thought of that."
"Yeah, we thought so, too. We thought it would be better and would save time if we had a big party the night before with family and close friends and just have a short meet and greet with snacks after the wedding."
"Well, anyways, the best of everything to both of you," Christa says.
"Thank you," Kate and Gibbs say in unison.
"Do give me a call when you guys get back from your honeymoon," Christa says.
"I'll do that," Kate says.
"Hopefully, one of these days, maybe the four of us can get together," Christa says.
"That would be great," Kate says.
"Okay," Christa says. "Well, Jethro, it was so nice to finally meet you. Take good care of my friend here."
Gibbs smiles. "Oh, I will. And it was nice meeting you, too."
"Steve, it was good to see you, again. Thanks so much for coming," Kate says, shaking his hand.
"You, too, Kate. And you're welcome," Steve says. "Jethro…," he says, shaking Gibbs's hand.
After Steve and Christa walk away, Gibbs and Kate look at each other.
"I love you," Gibbs says.
"I love you, too," Kate says as they lean in and share a tender kiss.
"Aww, now that's what I like to see," Gibbs's sister, Juliana, says, walking up to them.
Gibbs and Kate chuckle.
"Jethro, I need to see you for a moment," Ducky says, pulling Gibbs away.
"Juliana, thanks so much for everything. You and Alicia did a wonderful job with all of the decorations."
"It was our pleasure," Juliana says, hugging Kate. "And, thank you."
"For what?," Kate asks, breaking the hug.
"For loving our brother. I have to admit, I wasn't sure about you when Jethro first told all of us about you. But, Alicia told me we needed to give you a chance and I am so glad we did. We can all see that he's madly in love with you and that you're madly in love with him. I have truly not seen him this happy since he was with Shannon."
"Thank you, Juliana. And I do love him with all of my heart and soul. I'm not perfect, but, I promise that I'll take good care of him."
Juliana smiles. "I know you will." She pauses briefly. "But, there is something I am just dying to know."
"What's that?"
"Did you really think that I was Jethro's girlfriend?"
Kate chuckles. "Yes, I admit, I did. He never talked much about his family. So, every time I saw you pull up in your silver sports car, to wherever we were all at, and when he would get in the car and kiss you on the cheek, I just assumed you were his girlfriend."
Juliana chuckles. "Yeah, I can kind of see where you and the others would get that idea. But, when Jethro first told me you had thought that I was his girlfriend, I thought he had to be pulling my leg."
Juliana and Kate both laugh.
"Yeah, right after we started seeing each other, he told me more about the family, including you and Alicia, but, I never made the connection. So, I got brave and asked him, one day, "Who was that redhead in the silver sports car that you dated?" And he was like, "What?" So, I repeated myself, "Who was that redhead in the silver sports car?" He kind of chuckled at me and said, "Honey, I never dated that woman. I couldn't. That's my sister, Juliana." And I know I turned three shades of red because I was so embarrassed."
"Hey, don't worry about it. Like I said, I can now see where you and the others would get that idea."
Juliana and Kate both chuckle.
"Are you telling stories on me?," Gibbs asks Juliana, walking up to her and Kate.
"Wouldn't you like to know, Smarty Pants," Juliana teases.
They all chuckle.
"Take good care of this one, big brother," Juliana says, hugging Gibbs. "Don't let her get away," she says, breaking the hug.
"I won't," Gibbs says.
"I love you both," Juliana says, hugging Kate.
"We love you, too," Kate says. The hug breaks.
"Have a great honeymoon." Juliana walks away.
"Aunt Kate!," Becca cries as she walks up to them, vigorously. "Mom and Dad said that you guys are coming to see us for Christmas. Is that true?"
"Yes, it is. The good Lord willing and the creek don't rise." Kate smiles.
"Awesome! Will you guys make it in time for our Christmas pageant?"
"We're gonna do our very best," Kate says.
"Okay, cool!" Becca scampers off.
Gibbs and Kate chuckle.
"What time does the pageant start?," Gibbs asks.
"I think Jeff said at 7:00, Christmas Eve." Kate says.
Ducky clears his throat. "May I have everyone's attention, please?"
Everyone quiets down.
"This has indeed been a happy day all around," Ducky begins. "One of the main joys of friendship is being able to share in your friends' happiness and I am honored to not only work with Kate and Jethro, but, I am also honored to count them among my dearest friends." Ducky raises his glass. "To Jethro and Kate. May you both have a wonderful life together, filled with happiness."
"Here, here…," people say all across the room as they raise their glasses.
"I guess it's my turn now," Liz says with a smile. "When Kate and I were growing up, we had the usual arguments and fuss fights that most siblings do, but, we were always very close and still are. As we got older, we fantasized about our dream weddings as I'm sure a lot of girls do. Then, as time went on, our dreams and desires changed. But, the one thing that remained a constant is we both just wanted a man who would love and cherish us." Liz starts to cry. "And it makes me so happy that my big sister has truly found the man of her dreams, who truly does love and cherish her. I didn't lose my big sister today; I just gained another brother." Liz raises her glass. "Kate, Jethro, may your life be filled with love, joy, and happiness."
"Here, here…," people say all across the room as they raise their glasses.
Liz sets her glass down and goes to hug Kate as the guests start visiting again.
"I love you so much, Sis," Liz says, crying.
"I love you, too," Kate says, crying. "And I'm so glad you were here." The hug breaks.
"Hey, like I said, there's just no way that I could miss seeing you get married," Liz says. "Jethro," she says, hugging Gibbs. "Take good care of my big sister."
The hug breaks.
"I will. I promise," Gibbs says.
Kate looks at Gibbs. "We better go get changed. We need to be at the airport soon."
"Yeah, you're right."