A/N: Finally an update! I apologize sincerely for not having been able to give you a new chapter sooner, but the last few weeks have been, well, let's say, challenging. Every time I was in the mood for writing, I didn't have the time, and every time I actually had a few hours, I couldn't seem to focus on any of my stories.

The good news is: I have now finished this story, and will post the last two chapters as soon as I have typed them up and worked over them.

I hope you guys are still with me for these last three chapters and enjoy them as much as you've enjoyed the whole story. Thank you for reading!

Enough with the rambling, here's chapter 48!

Chapter 48

Switching off the lights in the bathroom, Dave quickly made his way over to the bed and slipped under the covers where JJ was already lying. Sneaking an arm around her waist, he snuggled close to her and feathered soft kisses against her temple and cheek.

"I love you," he whispered into her ear, smiling happily at her as she turned to face him.

Today could very easily be counted as one of the happiest days in his life.

When JJ had announced during their breakfast session in bed that there was something she wanted to talk about, his heart had sank for a short moment, making him fear that she might have changed her mind about them being together, and that she wanted to break up with him.

Seeing her gentle smile and knowing that there actually hadn't been any signs of her being unhappy in the past week – quite the opposite in fact – he had quickly calmed down again and had been more than pleasantly surprised by her suggestions to move in together.

His very obvious amazement had almost made her doubt her question.

"You don't want-" she'd started nervously, only to have been interrupted by him immediately.

"No, JJ. I want that, I want that very much! You just surprised me, that's all. I didn't think it would be you to suggest it, and I didn't count on you being ready for the next step so fast. But that does not mean I don't want it. I'm elated, in fact."

He had kissed her deeply, sealing his words and making sure she'd have nothing to doubt.

They had spent another hour in bed, cuddling with their children and discussing where they wanted to make their home for their family.

Much to his delight, it hadn't taken Dave long to convince JJ to make his cabin their joint residence. In fact, when he had told her about is plans for remodeling the nursery and the other guestroom for the kids, JJ felt the tears form in her eyes – some of the happiest tears she'd ever shed – and wondered not for the first time if she had entered some alternate dimension. Dave's willingness to make room for them, to turn his life inside out, which of course he had already been doing before, still seemed to overwhelm her every once in a while.

After they had finally gotten up, they'd spend most of the day wandering around his huge property, having a picnic for lunch, which took well into the afternoon. It had reassured them both that the decision to move out here was the absolute best one for them and their family.

When suddenly dark clouds had darkened the blue sky in the late afternoon, they hadn't even been able to grab all their things fast enough before a huge downpour soaked them within minutes. As fast as they could, they'd run back to the house, not being able to stop laughing, especially since Henry had taken great pleasure in jumping into every puddle he could reach, relishing his cheery squeals as the water splashed underneath his feet.

Finally deciding that it was enough, they entered the house, quickly changing themselves and the kids into dry clothes before they ran the risk of catching a cold.

They had spent the rest of the afternoon swinging on the porch, watching the rain, and doing their best to keep Henry from running down into the rain again. Hannah had preferred to slumber on her father's arms, only waking when she'd had a full diaper or demanded a feed. It was the only time that JJ got a chance to hold her daughter for a few moments, because otherwise Dave refused to let her out of his arms, insisting that his little girl felt most comfortable with her Daddy. "Look at her, Jennifer," he'd said. "She doesn't even stir. You don't want to disrupt that, do you?"

JJ had only smiled to herself and let him be.

Shortly after dinner, Henry, having been active all day long, showed unmistakable signs of exhaustion, and it didn't take very long for JJ and Dave to settle him down. Within a few minutes he had been out, just like Hannah, who had already nearly fallen asleep over her evening bottle.

A few glasses of wine and a movie later, JJ and Dave decided to call it a day as well, and were now wrapped around each other, sharing lazy kisses.

"I don't want this to end," JJ muttered between kisses, holding on to Dave as if she were afraid he'd disappear the moment she let go of him.

"It won't, I promise," Dave whispered back. "I won't let that happen."

Soon they were engaged in a more physical way of professing their love for each other, forgetting the world around them for a while. They fell asleep knowing that they had both found in the other everything that had been missing from their lives before.

xxx

Sunday morning came bright and quite early for the small family. Dave and JJ had decided to combine their separate households as soon as possible, and that started with informing their family and friends about their plans, Dave's mother being the first one to hear the news.

Dave knew that his mother still never missed her Sunday Mass, and they wanted to surprise her with joining her and afterwards inviting her to brunch.

Gracia Rossi actually had to look twice to make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her when she saw her son, the woman she hoped would very soon officially be her daughter-in-law, and her gorgeous grandchildren approach the church doors, where she was currently standing and chatting with Father Davison, Dave's old friend and her favorite priest of all time, which, for that matter, was saying something as she still thought highly of the priest from Dave's childhood – may God rest his soul – who Dave had despised for the meanness he had been able to exhibit at times.

"Davey! Jennifer! That's a surprise! What are you doing here?"

"We're here to attend mass. Is that so unusual?" Dave retorted.

"When it comes to you, Davey, it actually is," Jimmy smirked, and then engaged in a short embrace with Dave, while Gracia greeted JJ and the children.

"Davey, has something happened?" Gracia asked suspiciously, not convinced that her son's appearance had simply to do with his desire for attending a church service.

"No. Not yet anyway," he answered cryptically.

"Davey-" his mother said in a warning tone, hoping that whatever it was she was going to hear wouldn't make her wish to be on another planet again.

"It's nothing bad, Mama," JJ quickly interrupted, shooting Dave a dark glare for making his mother so nervous. "We thought we're going to invite you for a brunch later and talk about our plans," she explained.

"You're welcome, too, Jimmy," Dave added.

Father Davison grinned: "I hope so, Davey. I've been waiting for weeks for you to introduce me to your children. I almost couldn't believe your mother was talking about the same Davey I've known all my life when she'd told me you had finally made her a grandmother."

Dave gave him a contrite glance and answered apologetically: "I'm sorry, Jimmy, I meant to introduce you all a lot earlier."

He had in fact thought of Jimmy a lot in the last months, also thanks to his mother, who had informed him on every occasion how eager his old friend was to meet JJ and the kids. But every time he had considered a date, something else had cropped up.

JJ was very happy as well to meet Jimmy Davison. She had mostly worked from the office at Quantico during the exorcism case that he had helped with, and she hadn't gotten a chance to get to know Dave's longtime friend. She could clearly see that Davey and Jimmy must have been quite a challenging pair for their parents during their childhood, mischief still twinkling in their eyes.

Dave made the introductions and JJ felt herself being pulled into a warm hug by Jimmy.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Father Davison," she said to him.

"The pleasure is all mine. Please just call me Jimmy. I'm so happy that Davey's finally come to his senses and realized that his mother and I have been right all along."

He happily occupied himself with the children for a few minutes before it was time for Mass to start.

Gracia smiled throughout the whole service, relishing the fact of having her Davey sitting next to her in church again, plus Jennifer and her grandchildren as an addition, and she hoped that this was not a one-time event in the foreseeable future.

As soon as they were all seated in Gracia's favorite Italian restaurant later, she demanded to hear what JJ and Dave had to tell, she didn't even give them the time to order their drinks first.

"We have decided to move in together," Dave announced, while JJ confirmed the news with a happy nod.

Gracia looked from Dave to JJ and back, not sure if she'd heard them correctly, but then broke into a huge smile.

"You're serious about that?" She exclaimed. "Oh, I can't even begin to tell you how happy you're making an old woman with that."

And with an mischievous look at Jimmy she asked: "Does that mean we'll be getting to celebrate a wedding soon, too?"

"Easy, Mama," Dave laughed. "Let's take one step at a time." Secretly, he already had a few ideas of how he was going to propose to JJ, but after everything that had happened, he was still careful not to push her too far and too fast so soon.

The suggestion of moving in together coming from her had alleviated his fears to a large extend and he knew he'd find the perfect moment to ask her to marry him in the near future.

Brunch was a loud and boisterous affair after that, with Jimmy sharing anecdotes from his and Dave's childhood and youth, all in between discussing with Dave's mother the details of their upcoming move.

Both Jimmy and Gracia readily offered to help, and JJ and Dave knew that between them and the team, who they were going to tell about it first thing Monday morning, they should be able to get it over with without any major problems.