A/N: If you are new to this story, I apologize for the lack of line breaks in earlier chapters. For some (as yet unknown) reason, they have disappeared; whereas they really were there when the chapters were originally published (they have only recently disappeared). I briefly considered re-uploading all previous chapters with new line breaks, before deciding that I just really don't care that much. I did, however, want to make sure that you crazy kids understand that I'm not just a complete moron who has no clue how to separate one scene from the next. I'm trying to figure out a way to do it now that will work…

And yeah, I know it's been four months since I updated. Please remember—husband, two small children, full-time job.

Christmas Eve, 7 p.m.

Kate sat atop the suitcase, struggling to zip it. She bounced, hoping the extra weight pressing down would enable her to get it closed. Jethro walked in at that exact moment and rolled his eyes at the sight.

"Oh, for God's sake, Kate, get off the damn suitcase." She obliged and watched lustily as his forearms flexed and he closed the suitcase, then picked it up and swung it off the bed seemingly effortlessly. She growled and lunged at him, knocking him backward onto the bed and straddling him. He laughed. "Again, Kate? You're wearing me out," he groaned playfully.

"Shut up and kiss me," she muttered, leaning down to capture his lips in hers greedily. He obliged happily, letting his hands roam up under her shirt, over her back, and to her bra, which he unclasped with ease. He moved his hands to her front and grasped her heavy breasts eagerly. Her firm belly pressed against him, and god, it never failed to arouse him. She was careful to avoid putting much weight on the still-healing scar from his splenectomy, but he didn't care. He wanted her, and he wanted her now. She ground her hips against him, and he bucked up against her, flipping her onto her back. Two pillows tumbled to the ground from their still-made bed, and he thought briefly about getting her between the sheets before he decided that it would be far too much effort for the ten seconds that this was going to take. In her impregnated state, she was far, far too easy, and he saw no sense in dragging things out.

Gibbs pulled Kate's shirt off and rid her of the bra before pulling his own shirt off and pressing himself down on her for another deep kiss. Kate's hands were fumbling with the belt on his jeans, and he broke their kiss long enough to shuck off his jeans and pull her yoga pants down, panties and all. Just like that, they were both naked, and he thrust himself into her with no fanfare. "God, J," she gasped beneath him. "Yes," she mumbled, barely coherent. "Harder," she commanded. He obliged, and in no more than thirty seconds, she was gasping and moaning beneath him. The sounds she made never failed to push him over the edge and he held on until the end of her orgasm before he dipped his head down into her neck and let himself go inside of her.

They lay there for a moment, panting, until Kate said, "Oh, god, that was a mistake. All I want to do is go to sleep now, and I still have a hundred things to do before tomorrow morning…"

Their flight to the Bahamas for their belated honeymoon was leaving at 7 the next morning, and they were spending their Christmas Eve packing before exchanging gifts. Jethro had placed no gifts for her under the tree, but she was more than a little intrigued by the fact that the door to the room that had been designated as the nursery was locked, and there was a small silver bow on the handle, with a little sign that said, "Do not open until Christmas." She knew that he had taken two days off of work in the past week, and tell-tale odor of paint that lingered in the hallway made her wonder exactly what he'd been up to in there. She figured she'd probably find the walls painted in the sweet shade of green she had chosen, but had he also ordered furniture, she wondered?

"Ok," she said aloud. "Enough laziness. Get up, Casanova," she commanded.

"Kate," he whined playfully. "I'm old. You can't expect me to put out like this and not show any ill effects."

Kate snorted. He was the strongest damn man she knew—in every sense of the word. It was a cheesy thing to admit—even to herself—but she fell a little more in love with him every day. And god, she never stopped wanting him. She definitely wasn't complaining, but even she had to admit that all the sex was wearing them both out. She was looking forward to a week in the Caribbean sun, with nothing to do but eat, sleep, play, and make love.

"Come on," she said, hopping up and pulling him reluctantly to his feet. "I want to give you your Christmas gifts," she said with an excited grin.

Feeling indulgent, he slipped back into his t-shirt and boxers as she pulled on a silk robe, and obediently followed her to the foot of the tree in the living room, where he plopped down onto the floor. There were three gifts that bore his name under the tree. She pulled out the first one and handed it to him unceremoniously. He ripped the paper off and opened the box that it revealed. Inside lay a watch—silver-colored, with a black face, and a name on the face that sounded vaguely Italian. He lifted the watch out; he knew little of jewelry, but this watch looked and felt very expensive without being overly in-your-face. It was simple and elegantly masculine and he found that he liked it immensely. He decided he didn't want to know how much she'd paid for it.

"Turn it over," Kate instructed before he had a chance to say anything. He complied and saw a small inscription on the back of the watch.

To LJG

Love you forever—

KAG

Jethro looked up at her, feeling inexplicably emotional. After all, it was just a watch, right? He reached out to caress her face. "I love it," he said. "Thank you." He slipped the watch onto his wrist and was pleased to find that it fit perfectly, without having to remove any of the links.

Kate pushed the next gift into his hands—it was about the size of a spiral notebook, but flat and very light. He had no idea what could possibly be inside it. Kate grinned as he began to tug at the paper wrapping the gift. "I think you'll like this one," she said mischievously. As Jethro finished removing the paper and opened the folder that was inside, he had to agree with her assessment.

"Yes," he said in a very quiet, husky voice. "I do indeed."

He was holding in his hands three 8 x 10 black and white photographs of his wife, and she was nude in each of them. In the first photo, a side shot, she was sitting on her legs, her heels tucked up underneath her, her belly protruding slightly. Her right arm crossed her chest, covering her breasts, and her long, wavy red hair tumbled down her back. He thought it was the single most sensuous photograph he had ever seen in his life—until he got to the next one. In this one, Kate was still sitting on her knees, but she was now facing the camera, and she was completely exposed to him. Her elegant hands cradled the bulge of her stomach, and the sight of her swollen breasts immediately elicited a tingle in his crotch. Her face held the faintest of smiles and her hair was once again flowing down her back, a stray curl or two having made their way over her shoulder.

But it was the last photo that took his breath away. In this one, she was leaning back on her elbows, her head thrown back, exposing her neck to the camera, her breasts and stomach on full display, and her right knee bent and drawn slightly over her left leg. It had been all of ten minutes, and damn it all, he wanted her again.

"These are…" he trailed off, at a loss for words. "Who did them?" He was silently thinking that if the photographer had been male, he would hunt the guy down and kill him with his bare hands.

Kate grinned. "My partner Jay's wife happens to be an extremely in-demand photographer in the greater D.C. area, and she offered to take photos for me as a wedding gift. She came last week on my day off and did the photos in our bedroom. There are a few more, but those were the ones I thought you would like the most. She wants to come back and do more with both of us in them when I'm closer to delivery. Those would be a little bit more, ah, family-friendly," she finished with a smirk.

Gibbs shook his head as he continued looking at the photographs of his wife. "You're exquisite," he murmured. "What the hell are you doing with me?" he asked with a little smile.

Kate swatted his arm. "Ok, um…here's your last gift," he said, handing him the remaining box from beneath the tree.

She watched carefully as he began to peel back the wrapping paper, and as he glanced up at her, he was surprised to find that Kate seemed nervous about the gift. She was twisting her hands together in the way that she did when she was anxious about something. He wrinkled his brows, wondering what could possibly have her so apprehensive over a simple Christmas gift. He finished unwrapping the gift, and looked up at her, mystified, as he removed the small object from the box.

"Look, I know we haven't talked about names yet, and if you don't like the idea, we can change it…it's not like it's set in stone or anything," she rushed. "It was just an idea I had, so I had something made to go in her room, thinking I'd run the idea by you…"

He looked at the pillow Kate had had embroidered with a monogram. In the middle of the green pillow, a large pink "G" was scripted. On either side, in a slightly smaller font size, were the letters "L" and "K". Jethro looked back up at Kate questioningly.

She pressed her lips together, clearly anxious. "I've always loved the name Lauren, and since my mom's name is Laura, I thought it could kind of be in honor of her…" Kate twisted her hands together again, hesitant. "And then…if you didn't mind…I mean…if you're okay with it…I thought maybe we could use…Kelly…as her middle name…" she trailed off.

Jethro looked at her speechlessly, his face a blank. Kate's first reaction was panic. She began to ramble once again. "I'm sorry I didn't discuss it with you first…and if you don't like the idea we can go with something else," she said quickly. "It wasn't meant to indicate that the new baby is a replacement, J," she rushed. "I just wanted to show that no matter what happens, you'll never forget Kelly and that she'll always be—" Kate clamped her lips together as Jethro placed a single finger over her lips, indicating that she should shut up.

Kate sat tight, employing every ounce of discipline she had ever owned as she waited for him to form some sort of coherent words.

She watched as Jethro fingered the pillow gently, running his hands over the embroidered "K" on it, his throat tightening. She was beginning to fear that she had made a very large misstep.

Slowly, he looked back up at her. "I don't know what to say," he whispered.

"Please, J, say something…anything," Kate pleaded, overrun by anxiety once again.

Suddenly, his face cleared and a small smiled played over his lips.

"Lauren Kelly," he murmured. "I love it."

A moment of silence passed as they looked at each other.

Finally, Kate gathered her wits about her. "Are you sure, J?" she asked, uncertainly.

He only nodded, his strong hands gripping the pillow tightly. After a moment, he whispered, "Lauren."

Another weighty moment passed before Jethro stood to his feet, cleared his throat, and announced, "Okay, your turn," tugging Kate to her feet.

Kate raised an eyebrow and followed obediently as he led her down the hallway to the door of the future nursery. She was anxious to see what awaited her inside.

"Close your eyes," he instructed. She obeyed, a small grin on her face.

She listened as he unlocked the door and pushed it open. He gently guided her into the room. The smell of paint was stronger now, but there was an additional odor that gave her pause. It smelled like freshly cut wood.

"Okay," he said without fanfare. Kate opened her eyes and looked around. The walls were indeed painted in the soft green color she had chosen, but she spent only a split second appreciating that fact before registering the unfamiliar furniture that was now inhabiting the room. In the corner, there was a wooden rocking chair that looked well-loved. The rest of the furniture, however—a crib, a cradle, and a dresser—were beautiful but odd-looking. Upon closer inspection, she realized that the wood was unfinished. She ran a hand along the smooth rail of the empty crib and her eyes widened as she connected the dots.

"Oh my god," she said. "You made this."

Gibbs smiled. "Of course I did."

"You made our daughter's furniture," she repeated.

"Mm-hmm," he responded mildly. "I figured I'd let you choose the finish," he explained. "It's ash wood—you can pretty much finish it in whatever color you'd like. Just decide what you want and I'll get it done before she gets here," he said warmly.

Kate was barely listening. She was running her hands along the silky smooth wood of the crib and dresser, and trying out the cradle. It rocked back and forth beautifully. She wasn't entirely sure that her husband hadn't missed his calling in life. She moved toward the other side of the room and gestured toward the rocking chair. "What's the story there?" she asked.

Jethro swallowed. "There's a little Amish settlement not far from where I grew up in Pennsylvania," he explained. "I bought the rocker from an Amish man when Kelly was a baby." He cleared his throat. "I didn't know if you'd mind, but it's a good piece of furniture," he added.

Kate sat down experimentally in the chair. It was solid and comfortable. She rocked back and forth. Yes, it would do nicely.

She nodded. "It's perfect." Rising once again, she crossed to him and took his face in her hands. "I have no idea what to say. This," she said, gesturing to the room, "...is amazing. Thank you," she finished, punctuating her words with a firm kiss on his mouth.

She took the pillow from Jethro's hands and placed it on the rocking chair. She tilted her head and looked at it critically before glancing back up at her husband with a grin.

"Perfect," she repeated.