A/N: This is the last chapter! I'm sad to see this story end, but I can't keep you in suspense forever! Enjoy, and I hoped you liked it!

"Open mine first!"

"No! She's gonna open mine first!"

"No! Me first!"

The clamor of the children gathered around Kintra made Christina smile. Her friend looked so comfortable in the middle of all the rowdy children, eager for their aunt to open their present first. Christina watched as Nick, her brother-in-law, settled the kids and let her own daughter, Christy, go first. Christina leaned back against her husband and smiled as she watched her shy daughter hand her aunt the present she had labored over for so long.

"It's not very good," Christy whispered, blushing as her aunt took the package.

"I'm sure it's wonderful, Christy," Kintra signed, weighing the package in her hands. The little girl ducked her head, but nodded to show her aunt that she had understood her sign. All the children had been taught sign language so that they could easily communicate with their aunt, and the youngest ones viewed the extra language as quite a novelty.

Kintra finished unwrapping the package and Christina was forced to bite back a giggle as she noted the look of utter confusion of her sister-in-law's face. When Kintra looked up, her eyes asking Christina what the mass of neon purple material was supposed to be, Christina raised her hands and made a motion that looked like a scarf. Understanding, Kintra wound the "scarf" around her neck, heartily thanking Christy for her gift.

The gift exchange went on, each child giving their aunt their present, sitting back on their heels eagerly to watch her exclaim in her own, silent fashion over each and every one. Christina smiled as she watched Christy, Nathaniel, and Joey play around with the paper, Nathaniel trying to wrap his little brother up in it. Christina put a stop to that and slipped into the kitchen to check on the Christmas dinner she was in charge of preparing.

How she was, every year, roped into preparing the meal, Christina would never understand. Yes, she was the only one who had a holiday cookbook, but that didn't mean that she could actually cook what was in the cookbook. However, every year, she would make the dinner, and, miraculously, every year, it came out just fine. This year, she would need a little help from the true cooker in the family, Kintra. She stepped back into the living room, her eyes instantly finding her husband, only to find that he was already looking at her. Joe winked, and she smiled back.

She found Kintra and Nick standing together, his chin resting on the top of her head. Christina smiled at the bond they shared. They were, by far, the quietest in the large family, yet their bond went deeper than that. They shared something in the music they made together that kept them close to each other. Christina watched for a moment as Kintra's eyes took in all of the children playing, smiling as her own little boy, Bradley, played with his cousins. Her eyes seemed to sparkle just by watching everyone else's fun, and Christina hated to ruin the special moment, but she really needed help with the meal preparations.

"Kinny?" Christina called softly, knowing that her friend would hear her.

Kintra shook her head slightly, as though coming out of a daze, and turned to look at her friend. "Yes?" she signed.

"Could you help me for a moment in the kitchen?" Christina rolled her eyes. "You know how much I love to cook." Kintra appeared to be silently laughing as she placed a hand over her mouth, her eyes shining. Dutifully, she followed her friend into the kitchen, helping where she could until the dinner was ready.

The whole atmosphere of Christmas dinner was one of controlled chaos. With Kevin and his wife, and their kids, Christina and Joe with their kids, and Kintra and Nick with Bradley, the table was barely able to fit them all, and the kids were so excited that they had to be practically strapped into their seats to eat a bite. But, there was no other way anyone would have it, for the chaos was punctuated with laughter and jokes, and the occasional spilled beverage.

Afterward, Christina and Kintra stayed behind to clean up in the kitchen while everyone else went outside to play in the snow. Christina had just put one of the bowls in its correct spot when she saw Nick sneaking in, his hands behind his back. Christina smiled and said, "I think I'll step outside for a while and make sure everyone's doing alright."

She slipped out, giving the couple a chance, no doubt, to exchange their gifts privately. She slipped her coat on and stepped out into the snow, only to get involved almost immediately in a huge snowball war with the rest of her family. She doused her children in snow, shoved snow down Joe's back and got tackled gently in return, squealing as he pushed a fair amount of snow down her clothes.

Finally, wet, once again hungry, and exhausted, the kids trooped inside to collect their presents, getting ready for the return trip home. Christina thanked everyone, gave Kevin's wife, Stephanie, and Kintra big hugs and hugged each of the boys as well. She and Joe rounded up their children, worn out yet still protesting that they wanted to spend more time with their cousins. Christina made a face at Kintra and said, "You'd think they never see each other by the way they act." Kintra smiled and waved as the family piled into the car and left.

The kids were asleep before they even reached the house, which was only over two blocks from Kintra and Nick's house. Joe and Christina exchanged smiles from the front seat as they looked at their sleeping children. Once home, Christina carried Joey and Nathaniel up to their rooms while Joe hoisted Christy gently up over his shoulder. Once the children had been tucked into bed, Christina slipped downstairs to wash up the dishes from that morning's breakfast. She turned on the iPod stereo overhead and began to hum along to the music.

An arm slipped around her waist, and Joe moved her hair aside to kiss the side of her neck. "Hey," he said.

Christina smiled, happy that after six years, that traditional greeting of theirs had not vanished. "Hey," she responded. Unconsciously, her body had started to sway along with his to the music, and he pulled her hands out of the water, pulling the gloves off of them and taking her by the hand to waltz her around the room. Christina laughed lightly, nestling her head against Joe's shoulder, her favorite spot to be. She thought, as they swayed around the room, that she could not have asked for a better life. With her studio up and prospering, she was happy with what she was doing. She had three children whom she adored, and she had a husband that she was head over heels still in love with, a rarity these days. True, there had been some rough patches, as there would be throughout life, but Christina was content right where she was: in the arms of a man who loved her.

Joe seemed to sense what she was thinking, as he always did. "I love you," he whispered. He twirled Christina and dipped her low to the ground, bringing his face very close to hers. Just as he was about to kiss her, he whispered the words that had started it all, "Rice moves, my darling."

~The End~