A/N: Well, we have reached the end everyone! This was tons of fun to write, and even more fun to go back and tweak over the last few weeks. I cannot thank you all enough for the KIND words and encouragement you offered me. I wish I was as diligent as I had hoped in responding to everyone individually, but please know how much your lovely reviews mean to me. Well, without further ado, here is the 12th and final chapter!

12. You Must Not Complain

The day was finally here; the day they had waited months for, and the day that seemed so far away that morning in Doc's office. Kitty had woken Matt in the middle of the night when she first suspected she was in labor. She wouldn't let him go for Doc until it was light out, or at least until she felt she really needed him. Matt, however, could not stand to see her in pain, and bolted down the back stairs as soon as the first rays of sunlight were appearing over the hills.

It had been hours since Doc had arrived, and it was now mid-afternoon. The saloon was closed, but a small army of close friends were waiting downstairs for news. Kitty and Matt were both exhausted, having been up all night as well. Matt would later blame his state of exhaustion on what happened next.

Kitty was in the midst of a particularly forceful contraction, squeezing Matt's hand with all the strength she had. He hadn't meant to, but when she let go at the end of it, he couldn't help but shake out his hand.

"What was that for?" she asked him breathlessly, still in obvious pain.

"Honey, you got a grip on you!" Matt chuckled. "I can't feel my hand!"

"Oh really?" she shot back at him.

"Yeah, it kinda hurt!"

Doc put his hand to his head and groaned. "Now you've done it," he mumbled.

Matt looked from a still panting Kitty, over to Doc and back again. "What?"

Kitty sat herself up as best as she could with some help from Matt. Before he knew what was happening, she had grabbed him by his shirt collar, bringing his face level with hers.

"It hurt? Your hand hurt?" she growled menacingly at him.

"Um," Matt gulped. "Yeah?" Another groan from Doc.

"Don't talk to me about hurting, cowboy," she shouted at him, tightening her hold on his collar. "You want hurt, you try having your stomach turn hard as a rock every few minutes and your insides twist themselves around. Then you try to squeeze a watermelon out of your..." she dropped her eyes to his lap, her meaning clear. "Then we can talk about hurt. Until then, keep your mouth shut!" And she was once again overtaken by a contraction and moved to squeeze his hand again, harder than before.

Doc walked over and patted the dumbstruck marshal on the shoulder. "Well, I think you learned your most important lesson yet."

"What's that, Doc?" Matt asked, his attention focused on his laboring wife.

"You must not ever complain." Matt nodded furiously in agreement, and kissed Kitty's hand that was wrapped around his.

Later, when it was all over, and Doc had left the new family alone, Matt thought back on the day, and had to shake his head at his own stupidity.

"You know something, Kitty," he said softly. "I owe you an apology."

She looked up at him, her lashes still clinging to her tears of happiness. "You do, huh?"

He snuggled closer to her and kissed her temple. "I had no right to complain about my hand." He held up the hand that had since been bandaged, for Kitty had definitely snapped a few of his fingers. "No man, myself included, could do what you did today." He paused to smile down at her, and the bundle in her arms. "Let alone, do it twice." And he looked at the bundle in his own arms.

Kitty smiled, knowing she did not have the energy to laugh. "Yeah, but you know what?"

A kiss to the child in his arms, and one to her. "What?"

"I'd do it all over again for this moment right now. Sitting here, next to you, with these babies, our babies, in our arms." She turned her head up to his and their lips met in a tender kiss.

They sat in silence for a few minutes admiring their babies before Matt started to chuckle.

"What?" she asked with a smile.

"So does that mean we're going for two again next time?"

It took a lot of effort not to laugh, knowing it would cause her pain. "You better hope not cowboy. Otherwise your hand won't be the thing that's broken, understand?"

Matt winced at the thought, knowing she wasn't kidding. "Point taken, mama. Point taken."

"Glad to hear it, papa." And the new family settled in and drifted off to sleep, dreaming of all the wonders their new lives would hold.

END 7/24/14