A/N: Thank you all for reading and reviewing! Sorry for the delay! Real life got a little hectic...and this is a Christmas oriented chapter. Seriously, it's a lot of fluff.

A few weeks later…

Christmas was finally upon them! Spending Christmas with his two best girls meant this could be the best holiday seasons of his life so far. Part of what made it so great was that at least one of his girls loved Christmas as much as he did. He and Annie practically drove Teresa up the wall with Christmas songs and movies.

Last week, he held his annual holiday party at the dealership. Even though Annie was there everyday after school, Teresa had never actually been to his workplace.

"I am so happy they canceled the CBI party this year! I don't think I have it in me to actually sit through that shit for hours without alcohol." Since they'd returned from Chicago, she'd barely drank at all. Even though he'd never known her to be a problem drinker, her outlook on drinking was vastly different after seeing her brother and recognizing their priorities with Annie.

"Is that just the CBI holiday party that you hate, or is it all of them? Because I was really hoping you'd come to my holiday party. I would like to show you around and introduce you to my team."

She wrinkled her nose. "All right."

"Come on, Teresa. You don't even have to get dressed up for this one!"

"I never said I didn't want to go! And I've seen how you dress for work. There's no way I don't have to get dressed up for that."

He shrugged. "You're the boss's girl. Who's going to say anything about how you're dressed? We can also bring Annie along. There will be other kids."

"Talk about cold comfort! I'm sure I have something to wear, and I'm more than happy to attend your party because it means no one I work with will be there."

"Things that rough around the office?" There was an emerging situation with Bosco's team. She didn't talk about work stuff, but he overheard her on the phone.

"I'll have to take Annie shopping for a dress."

"Seriously, wear whatever you want! Annie is a big hit around the office." She just glared at him. In the end, he was glad she took the shopping trip. She found matching, red and black, knee length dresses for her and Annie. Hers was sleeveless and fit her like a glove. Annie's had sleeves and a poofy skirt. If he had to take his best guess, Annie coaxed her into that particular choice. In any case, he was grinning like a fool when she presented him with a tie that matched their dresses.

The holiday party was largely a success. Well, they never had any serious problems at the holiday party, minus an unfortunate incident with a copier a few years ago. Almost immediately, Annie found kids she knew from after school and was off playing with them. Once he started picking Annie up after school and bringing her to the office, he started to recognize how extending this option and more flexible hours to the people who worked at the dealership might be beneficial to them, too. So he made it clear that Jane Automotive was a family-friendly business and employees could bring their children to the office for whatever reason, whenever. He even converted an empty office space into a playroom for the kids.

Once they arrived at the office, he went in to make sure everything was set up. Teresa went to peruse the lot. He wondered if she saw anything she liked, but then, he realized a house and a car might be too much for her at once. When she did join him inside, she was a bit reserved and didn't leave his side as he made introductions. His sales associate Maya got her attention though.

"So I have to ask what do you do for a living? I know you're a working mom." Maya was in her mid-30s, same as them. She was a relatively good looking divorced woman who was raising her three kids alone. She was the first to take him up on the new office policy.

Teresa looked to him before answering. "I work for the California Bureau of Investigation."

"You're a cop? That's incredible!"

"I am. Thank you."

Maya gestured at him. "Good work with this one."

"Oh, that's hilarious, Maya!" He feigned hurt.

Teresa hummed in agreement. "I think that's quite the compliment."

"I can't believe you're already teaming up against me."

Maya invited Teresa to come over and talk to her and a few of the other sales folks. No doubt, they were interested in learning more about her. Angela hadn't always made the best impressions around the office. He always assumed it was because she just wasn't into cars, but looking back on it, it was probably a clue in how their lives were already diverging. Teresa, on the other hand, was a hit-especially when the topic shifted to NFL playoff prospects.

On their way home that night, Annie was fast asleep. Teresa was grinning at him, and he wasn't sure why.

"What?"

"You never told me about the unique nature of your employees. Well, how they became your employees."

"Ah! Yes, I hand recruited all of them."

"Huh. Based on what exactly?"

"I'll give you an example. So Maya. I was on a business lunch at this place in Napa Valley where she was waiting tables. The associate I was having lunch with was a real asshole and he got downright aggressive. I have no idea who pissed in his Wheaties, but I cut ties soon after. Not only did she go toe to toe with this big guy who was acting extremely aggressive, she mollified him and was able to get him to change his tune so much so that he left a 25% tip. I was impressed with how she handled the situation and how she was able to still close the deal so to speak. After lunch I appproached her with the offer, and of course, she thought it was a sex thing so I took a slap to the face. But I just handed her a business card, told her to check us out, and hoped she would call. I'm glad she did. She's one of my top sales people."

"It didn't piss you off that she slapped you in the face?"

"It's possible she received a $10,000 signing bonus for slapping me in the face."

Teresa laughed at that. "I never knew you liked women slapping you that much."

"I don't, but I appreciated the grit. Also, looking back, I probably should've found a different way to approach her. Approaching after being around that guy had probably set her on high alert."

She nodded. "I'm sure it did. She seems nice. It's nice that you find people that way."

"Well, it's not all about pedigrees. I prefer that people have skills and personalities that I can work with."

"It's the way people who've had to work through life see things." He kissed her hand. "It was a very nice evening. Thanks for introducing me to the people you work with. Though, don't think I don't have something for you to do for me this holiday season."

Her revenge came the following weekend when she determined cookie making would be a nice family event. In theory, it sounded great, but he should've known it would be anything but when he saw the shopping cart of goods just for cookie making. Teresa had so many cookie recipes that it almost made his detail-oriented mind swim! Some were iced and decorated while others were plain. They made enough cookies to fill tin after tin to pass out to friends and coworkers with smaller decorative baggies for Annie's classmates.

They even made enough for his teams at the dealership. As she boxed the tins for him, he looked at her with curiosity.

"What?" Her Santa apron was splattered in flour and batter and who knows what else, but she still looked amazing.

"I don't think they want cookies from me."

"They're from us, and I'm sure they'll appreciate the cookies. It's a nice holiday gesture."

"I know. It's just that I usually give them a nice holiday gesture in the form of a bonus check." She rolled her eyes at that. People always seemed happy with the sizable bonus that covered Christmas gifts and vacations.

In the end, she won as he loaded the box into his car. When he passed them out the next day, he realized she was right as he physically handed out each cookie tin and observed the smile on each face. It was a lot more personal than the money that just appeared in their accounts at the end of the week. Later, he told her that they loved it. What he didn't tell her is that they immediately started asking when she would become the new Mrs. Jane because she seemed a lot nicer than the last one.

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As perplexed as the cookie situation made him, Annie had a blast with cookie making especially when it came to icing them. And that's what really mattered. Anything that brought her joy brought him joy. She continued to grapple with her new situation. Some days were easier for her than others because she liked her school and friends. She liked being with them, but it was still hard to understand why she wasn't going home to her parents in Chicago.

She went back and forth on what to call them. Sometimes, it was Aunt Reese and Uncle Patrick. Other times, it was mommy and daddy—which definitely had an effect on both of them. More recently, she started calling them Mommy Reese and Daddy Patrick. As the social worker suggested, they placed her in therapy to help her deal with the emotional fallout of this new transition.

Their family plans continued to go well as things fell in place. Social services agreed with her continued placement, and the attorneys agreed that there was no reason her adoption couldn't be finalized within six months. All in all, it would be a rather uncomplicated adoption.

They'd found a lovely two story, 6 bedroom home to move into after the start of the new year. When they went to see the house, Teresa's eyes gave her away as she slowly took in her surroundings. She was clearly in love at first sight. When she let out a slight gasp as she marvelled at the open space kitchen, he almost made a joke about women and their kitchens, but the glint of happiness in her eyes kept his mouth shut. Though, she happened to see the list price, and knowing the cost, she tried to downplay how much she liked it. Of course, he bought it.

When he had the paperwork sent over for her to sign, she called him.

"What the hell? You bought that house?!"

"Is it not your dream house with your dream kitchen? You seemed rather into the pool as well. Can you just sign the papers so I can get the deed transferred today?"

"Why am I signing? You're buying it."

"It's our home. You own it too."

"This is crazy. I'll never see the kind of money in my lifetime that this house cost."

"Would you like to see my bank account some time? Or my tax returns?"

"Very funny. Don't be flashy! Are you serious about this?"

"Dead serious. Sign the paperwork so we can start the logistics of moving into our dream home."

"Do you want me to sign a contract or something beforehand?" He furrowed his eyebrows at that.

"Are you asking me if I want a prenup?"

"I mean, yeah. Even just a contract for this. That way if something happens I'll leave the house and ask for nothing in return?"

"Teresa, that's not necessary."

"You brought it up first, but you should protect your assets. I don't...well, if things don't workout, I don't expect to take anything from you."

"Teresa, things are going to work out, and I know that you wouldn't take anything. I don't need a contract to tell me you're a decent and honest woman."

"It's just that this is a lot of money."

"There's only one kind of contract I want with you. Can you get these back to me today? I offered cash up front so they're ready to go."

"I'll get them back to you, but we should talk about our monthly expenditures at some point."

"Teresa, I'm happy to cover our living costs, but if you want, we can create a joint account for expenses."

"I'd like that."

"I'll talk to my accountant." It was important for her to contribute to the finances, and he understood that. He was learning to be patient with her where money was involved. In retrospect, most of his relationship with Angela had been about money. By the end, money was the only way she accepted his love. However, Teresa didn't care about money. In fact, she expected his love in less tangible ways.

He couldn't wait to get moved into their new space. Their house was cozy, and he loved that he'd even had the privilege to call it home, but they just outgrew it. He asked Teresa about spending Christmas in the new place, but she wanted one last Christmas in the old house. Besides, they'd already decorated the tree and the house.

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To her credit, Teresa really did reign him in on Christmas. When they were shopping for Annie's Christmas gifts, he really wanted to get everything on Annie's list to Santa. After all, it was a hard year for her.

"Patrick, we are not getting her everything she asks for. Let's pick a few things. It sends the wrong message about Santa. Besides, we have to get things for the new house, too."

On this, they did compromise. It didn't send a good message if Santa only favored kids with parents who had deep pockets. Though, he did use this to negotiate doing stocking stuffers on Christmas Eve. She smiled when he mentioned doing that on Christmas Eve, so it was a happy concession for all. After all, that was the part he was most excited about.

The week before Christmas, Annie had her Christmas play at school. One evening, she came home incredibly excited because Sister Mary Katherine chose her to play the role of Mary.

"So are you going to be an actress one day?"

She wrinkled her nose at him. "I don't know."

"Well, you're so excited to play Mary. I can sense a bit of a performer's spirit in you." He winked at her.

"Because she's the most important part of the story."

From the stovetop, Teresa cleared her throat at that. "Annie, I don't think that's quite right. It's about the birth of Jesus."

"And his mom is really important, or why else would we pray to her?"

Teresa huffed again. He just pinched Annie's little cheek and smiled at her. "Already liking the spotlight? My girl!"

She giggled. "I don't want to be an actress because I want to be a police officer like Mommy Reese. She's nice, and she helps people. I want to do that."

He met Teresa's eyes. She was smiling from ear to ear now. "Well, Annie, you have a lot of time to think about what you want to do when you grow up. You can be anything you want to be!"

"Yeah, maybe you'll decide you like cars a lot."

She wrinkled her nose. "No, I don't think I will."

Teresa laughed out loud as he pretended to pass out. Annie giggled at him. Nothing was more precious than that smile—and he was so glad he got to see it up on that stage as she performed it perfectly.

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On Christmas Eve, they got into their pajamas after dinner. He'd never done this before, but he'd seen the family photos of people in their matching pajamas. When he asked Teresa about it, she agreed almost instantly—which is how he ended up in green, red, and white striped pajamas covered in reindeer. They even snapped a photo together in front of the tree. It was cozy and certainly an experience he never had with his family growing up.

Teresa grabbed all three of their stockings. Annie blasted through her stocking checking out her candy and trinkets. At five years old, she was old enough to know this part was small. The big time stuff would happen in the morning. Well, for her at least.

Teresa handed him his stocking as she held onto hers. She stood there watching him. "You go first!" They both said it at the same time, which made them laugh.

"Teresa, I have to insist you go first."

"No, I think you should go first."

Annie was looking at them with curiosity. "Mommy Reese, you should do yours first." Of course, Annie was in on this present. He'd talked to her quite a bit about the present he wanted to get Teresa.

"Fine! I'll go first!" She opened her stocking with a bit of exaggerated animations "Let's see: I've got Reese's Cups! That's original."

"What? You love them!" He winked at her. Indeed, they were among her favorite post-coital snacks.

Catching his obvious suggestion, she smiled and shook her head. "And what's this?"

She dug into the stocking a little more until she picked out the box. She went slack jawed as she looked at him and back into the stocking. He held out his hand and motioned to her. "Come here, sweetheart."

Slowly, she padded over to him. When she was near the couch, he got onto one knee and took the box from her hand. He opened it, revealing the diamond ring inside.

"Teresa Lisbon, you are a wonderful, incredible, beautiful woman. I feel like everything has been leading me to you, to this moment. You bring light to everything you touch, including my life. In the time I've spent with you, my life has taken a turn for the best as we reach new heights together. You see the best in me and you challenge me to be a better man. I want to continue to grow with you. I love our little family. You and Annie mean the world to me. When the time is right, I want nothing more than to expand our family. I want to build a life together, and I want nothing more than the privilege of being your husband. Will you marry me?"

She was wide eyed. "Wow. You said you could do better. You weren't kidding, were you?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I always know how much I love you, but I am a bit of a showman at heart. So what do you say?"

She smiled as she touched his face. "Yes. Of course. I'll be your wife." With that, he slid the ring onto her left ring finger. Sealing their promise to each other, she met his lips.

Pulling back, she smiled as she spoke in a shaky voice. "You should open your stocking now."

"I will, but I just want you to know you've already given me the best gift this Christmas. It can't get better than this."

Her smile grew a bit more confident. "Humor me please?"

He grinned. "If you insist!"

He looked into the stocking. He pulled out a model car kit. "A 1970 Camaro? Classic!"

Underneath it was a cloth of some kind. When he pulled it out, a piece of paper fell out. No, it was a photo. He picked it up. It was black and white, like some kind of stock photo. He was unsure what to make of it at first, so he went back to the cloth. It was a mini t-shirt. He wasn't sure what she expected him to do with a mini t-shirt. It was probably something to hang in his office. He unrolled it carefully, reading the message: "Daddy's future riding buddy." He immediately snapped back to the photo. No, not just a photo. A sonogram.

He looked at the sonogram and at Teresa. She stood in front of him, smiling with her hand over her abdomen. "No fucking way!"

She nodded. He covered his mouth when he heard Annie giggle at his bad language. "What did you get, Daddy Patrick? You seem to like it a lot."

"I do! I love it. Come here." He motioned for Annie to come over. When she came over, he wrapped his arm around her little body and held out the sonogram photo. "Mommy just gave me one of the best Christmas presents."

"Even better than getting married? You said that was really important."

"It is, but you see this picture? It's a picture of a baby that's growing in her belly."

"So why is that your best present? It doesn't seem like a good present for you."

"Well, that means that I'm a daddy and she's a mommy to the baby growing in her belly. And that makes me really happy."

"Hmm. Where is it? I don't see it."

"It's not very big yet."

Teresa intervened. "It still has about seven and a half months to grow into a big baby."

Annie frowned. "Does that mean I have to leave then?"

"Nope! You stay here too. You see, if I had my way there would be as many kids in our house, running around with brown hair and green eyes, that are in your class. We'd have our own little football team." Teresa's eyes went wide. "But I don't think she would like that. Mommies have to grow the babies, and it's a lot of work."

"So if the mommies grow the babies, what do daddies do?" Right. It was natural for a child to ask these questions.

"Daddies help the baby get started growing. Then, mommies grow them. When they come out, mommies and daddies take care of them. You know, it's kind of why Mary was the most important person in the play."

"Ah." She seemed to be lost in thought.

"What is it, Annie?"

"So how did the baby get there? Was it sex?"

"Whoa!" Teresa exclaimed as he coughed. It was direct, to be sure. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, Josh told me that mommies and daddies do sex to get babies. And I've seen you do sex, so it makes sense."

Teresa was about ready to have an out of body experience when he placed a calming hand on top of hers. "Annie, what do you mean you've seen us do sex?"

She laughed. "Just a minute ago! When you were kissing! Josh told us that's what they call it when mommies and daddies kiss."

He smiled at her sweet innocence. The pink tint of her cheeks told her that he would definitely be speaking with Josh's parents though. "That's sorta true. Babies do come from sex."

Teresa cleared her throat again, interrupting him. "But that's something we will talk about when you're a big girl."

Thankfully, Annie determined she knew as much as she needed to know on this subject. "Ok!" She was off to play with one of the trinkets in her stocking.

He opened his arms for Teresa to sit in his lap. He pulled her into a tight embrace, kissing her shoulder. "We definitely need to talk to that kid's parents."

She scoffed. "You think? He's probably a playground Casanova in the making."

He laughed as he took her hand, placing their hands together over her abdomen. "But right now I'd like to know more about this."

"Two weeks after Thanksgiving, I went to the doctor for a check up and to talk about taking steps to conceive. Routine testing showed I was pregnant already. Apparently, we somehow fell into the small percentage of couples for whom birth control was not effective. I waited a few weeks to tell you because it was incredibly early, and I thought it might make for a nice Christmas surprise."

"You were right. It's an incredible surprise. But how are you feeling about this?"

"There's a tiny human growing inside of me that I have the responsibility to grow and deliver. Then, I'm responsible for molding them into a decent human being. I'm nervous as hell."

He smiled at her honesty. "Me too, but I meant I know we talked about a timeline of sorts."

She shook her head. "We had a plan, but apparently, your little swimmers had other plans."

He chuckled. "Baby Jane already being on their own schedule is not that shocking."

"Right. Why would they not be?" She had that sexy little hint of sarcasm in her voice. "Even with the timing, I'm...happy."

"Me too." He kissed the side of her head.

"You want to get married before the baby is born?"

She nodded. "I'd prefer that, but it's still so soon after…"

He kissed her abruptly. "Don't finish that sentence. I'm asking you what you want, and you want to be married before the baby is born."

She blushed. "I do."

"Let's do it one week from today."

She blinked rapidly. "Really? That soon?"

He nodded. "We can keep it small. We just need witnesses...unless you want something larger. Invite whoever you want! I just want to ring in the new year with my wife."

She considered his words for a moment. "That would be nice. Just a few people and a simple ceremony. Mostly, I want you to be there."

"I think we can put something together this week. And of course, I will be in attendance."

She laughed. "Do you want me to take your name?"

"Only if you want."

"Hmmm. Teresa Jane? I don't know."

"Well, I think that's because you mean 'Teresa Sarah Jane.' See, you've gotta say the whole name for the effect."

She slapped his chest playfully. "Don't do that."

"Your name is your name, sweetheart. I think 'Teresa Sarah Jane' sounds beautiful, but if you want to keep being Teresa Sarah Lisbon, I think that's beautiful, too."

"Yeah, but you can stop using my middle name at any point though."

"So I guess Sarah is out for a girl, then?" That earned him a glare, but not one in anger. She was thinking about it.

"I don't know. Sarah was my mother's name. Annabeth Sarah."

"Oh. Then, maybe it should be a frontrunner." She nodded thoughtfully.

"What about your mother? What was her name?"

"Nancy, but I don't want to name our baby for her." He didn't think about his parents that much, except to think about the ways he wanted to do better. Though, he was beginning to wonder if he should try to locate her. Would she want to know that she was going to be a grandmother?

"I didn't think so, but I was just curious, Patrick Thomas Jane."

He grinned. "So you know my legal name?"

"I'm a cop. It's my job to know things. I suppose if it's a boy, you want him to share your name."

Honestly, he'd never thought of that. "Would it be vain to say yes?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so. Tommy is named after our dad, and well…" She shook her head, and her eyes darkened a bit.

He took her hand to bring her back to him. "It's ok if you don't like that idea. We've got time to think about it. There are so many names out there to choose from, and hell, we could even create our own if we really wanted to."

She smiled, and her eyes met his. "Oh no. I'm open to it. Besides, there's no reason I wouldn't want to name our son for his father. It's just like there's no reason I wouldn't want to take his father's name. That guy is pretty damn awesome, and it turns out I really love him."

Their lips met, and it was becoming harder for him to maintain his composure. In these little moments, he was so lost in those green eyes, that wide, toothy smile, and warm, freckled olive skin-and that didn't even capture her spirit. He was glad for absolutely everything that led him to her and everything that continued to lead them back to each other. It was truly the best Christmas ever!

A/N: I picked Teresa's middle name as an homage to Sarah Jane Smith form Doctor Who. I figured her mom's name must have been Annabeth since she had two nieces with some variation of the name (I think). Anywho, I hope you enjoyed this fanfic equivalent of a Hallmark Christmas movie! Happy holidays!