Gabe, and Mila are fast asleep as Maura, and Jane find themselves nestled on separate pieces of furniture in Maura's living room. Jane consciously reminds herself that their closeness sometimes requires physical separation simply so she does not drown in a pool of vulnerability. Maura places her empty wine glass on the coaster situated on the coffee table between them. The pain from her colleague wafts in her direction. As it washes over her she chooses to end the silence between them.

"I know that you are lingering because there is something you need to say. I am beyond exhausted. Whatever it is can't wait until tomorrow."

Jane nods in agreement, "I have taken a job with the FBI. I'll be an instructor at Quantico."

Maura meets her dark eyes with certainty they will pierce through her, "You're moving?"

"What choice do I have, Maura? My life has hit a brick wall. I just feel like my life needs an out of order sign."

Thanksgiving, 2020-

A large wooden table is in the midst of a formal dining room. Fifteen year old Gabe, and his younger brother, Noah carry folding chairs into the living room, where all of the furniture has been shoved to one side. They assemble the chairs in silence as their younger siblings crawl under the dining room table with matchbox cars, and toy tanks. Outside Tony mans the grill dutifully roasting piles of food as Jane supervises his handiwork.

"Where exactly did your wife disappear to?"

Jane shrugs, "Something about halibut."

"Halibut? It is Thanksgiving. I thought your mother was cooking Turkey."

Jane nods, "So many turkeys."

"Isn't that why Ziva is next door manning turkeys in our oven?"

Jane confirms, "Between our two households, plus my brothers, and their families we require a lot of turkey."

"If the ovens are all full of turkeys then who is making lasagna?"

Jane grins, "The lasagna will cook in your oven while Ma bakes pies in ours."

"Can you explain to me why we are manning the grill at seven AM, when dinner isn't until three?"

"As you know we will eat at two, because no one will be able to wait any longer. We are currently grilling duck."

"If we are grilling duck why is Maura buying halibut?"

"All I know is that I desperately need a beer," Jane insists. Her dark hair is secured into a ponytail. She wears a Boston Red Sox sweatshirt as they stand in the back yard of her suburban home on the outskirts of DC. The waistband of the sweatshirt is stretched to the brink. Tony elbows her.

"What possessed you to believe that you wanted to experience all of that for yourself?" He gesticulates at her pregnant belly.

"I wish I could blame it on some bet that I lost. I should have been completely fulfilled with all of the blessings thrust in my direction."

He furrows his brow, "This is utter and total chaos. Your wife's baby daddy, and company live next door. Kids are constantly running from one household to another. Every holiday seems as if we have packed fifty people into a room with the capacity for twelve. One of the adults is always coming, or going. We nearly massacred each other during quarantine. You have got to be utterly insane to want to add another human to the mix."

"Some of us feed of chaos, and others just want to organize it."

"I am really happy that you convinced Maura to move. It has been the best thing for all of us, despite how unconventional it all is."

Dinner time eventually rolls around, and faces can hardly be seen over mountains of food. Maura sits at the head of the table surrounding by everyone that she loves under one roof. Her birth mother, and her adoptive mother are sandwiched between Angela, and Ziva. Jane stares longingly at her plate of food as Frankie draws out their Thanksgiving prayer. Nina kicks him underneath the table, and Tommy mouths a "Thank you", from across the table. In the neighboring room Tony has been chosen for the third year in a row to man the children's table. Gabe has since taken his place at the adult table.

"I just want to end by saying that we are all truly blessed to be at this table this evening surrounded by so much love, amen," Frankie finally concludes.

Gabe nudges Jane, "That was a record."

Between bites Jane responds, "The last sentence could have been the whole prayer."

Gabe shakes his head as he applies butter to his dinner roll, "He obviously isn't thinking clearly, coming between a woman who is eight months pregnant, with a gun, and her food."

Maura places her hand on her son's shoulder, as she shoots her wife a look, "Don't make me separate the two of you. The last time I had to separate Jane from her table partner he ended up at the kiddie table. History reminds me of how much you despise sitting with that crowd for dinner."

Jane rolls her eyes, "He is six feet tall, and just last night Mila covered him nearly from head to toe in gravy. That wasn't even a special occasion. I promise we'll behave."

Gabe nods in agreement as shovels food into his mouth. Maura disappears around the corner and ducks under crime scene tape as she approaches the voracious, raucous group of children in the adjacent room. Tony tosses rolls across the tables to each kid. Maura shakes her head as her eyes find themselves drawn to the clear sheet of plastic covering her entire travertine floor.

"Your antics are why we have to utilize crime scene materials, and cleaning supplies every holiday," she chastises him.

"Let them be little," he counters.

"Seriously, Tony, are you ever going to grow up?"

Mila giggles from her seat, "You're the one that said he was Peter Pan. What do you expect?"

Tony points to the yellow tape affixed to the archway of the room. "I think it really takes the holiday décor to the next level, don't you?" He guffaws.

She grits her teeth, "Maybe this year we will use the plastic sheeting, and chemical solvents for a different purpose."

"You would never get away with it, even if you are the Chief Medical Examiner of the District of Columbia. Too many witnesses."