Where the life of Leroy Jethro Gibbs was tragic, such as it was for Jennifer Faith Shepard. Her mother had passed from cancer at a young age. A tragic accident took her sister during their high school years. Her father, murdered. It was a lot for any one person to bear.

At least she'd had a long list accomplishments in her life since then. Good ones, too.

Rising to power as the director of NCIS.

Falling back in love with Gibbs after he reentered her life.

Befriending NCIS' Major Critical Response Team.

Strengthening her friendship with Ziva.

Moving in with in with Gibbs.

Making a family with him.

Miracles did happen. Even when they were decades overdue.

Now Jenny and Gibbs were celebrating their first Christmas together.

Complete with what was, for her, a new tradition. Everything was perfect.

Tonight, they were boxing up handmade toys for the children over at the hospital. Gibbs carved his out of wood. Jenny created hers out of yarn. They were about head to a Christmas party for the children stuck there on Christmas night without their folks. It was a kind way to brighten up a child's life.

Gibbs decided to start the activity a long time ago as a way to honor the memories of Shannon and Kelly. They would have loved it. He invited Jenny to partake in the activity. Both liked showing each other things about their worlds. Jenny didn't hesitate to accept the invitation, and soon found herself knitting a plethora of dolls and other stuffed toys for all of the children who would be attending the party. Doing so filled her with a warm sense of purpose.

Jenny's voice cut through his thoughts. "Leroy, will you pleased pass me that train?"

He found the toy and handed it over. "There you go. And thank you."

Jenny looked up, slightly startled—her mind had been wholly on boxing up the train. "For what?"

Gibbs kissed her. "This. What we're doing now."

Jenny kissed him in return. "We're a family. I will do anything for you, and I'm happy to do this activity with you. Both of us know that we've already been bonded in a big way for years now."

And by that, Jenny meant the events of their (in)famous Paris mission.

Gibbs chuckled dryly and then looked around at the mess they'd made on the living room floor. All of the gift boxes, the toys. General chaos. But the mess had its order.

"We're almost done. Are you good to keep going?"

"I'm pregnant with twins," Jenny deadpanned. "Not totally incapacitated."

Gibbs gave another chuckle. "Okay, then. Let's finish this."

Working together, Gibbs and Jenny finished boxing up the toys they'd made.

A lot of children awaited them.

"You're quiet." Gibbs remarked as they made the journey to the hospital in his truck. "What's on your mind?"

Jenny smiled. "I'm just happy that you and I are getting our happily ever after."

"Me, too. I'm just sorry about all it took for us to get here."

"A sad part of our story. You and I have loved and lost a lot, but here we are—together."

"Mhm. Together and happy. Like we were meant to be."

Jenny nodded but said nothing as she felt her children stretch out inside her. The feeling was very surreal.

Just yesterday, she and Gibbs had found at doctor's appointment that her musings had been correct: they were expecting two babies. One boy. One girl. Both surprises, both overdue miracles. Who were at the moment being obnoxiously squirmy. Much to the annoyance of their mother.

"Your kids are being super wiggly now. I think it's because they're aware of each other." Jenny gave a small grunt when she felt a tiny sharp kick near her navel. "We should give them their names. Or something."

Gibbs held a champion poker face as he drove along. "You just want to know what to call them when they're super active."

"Exactly. Two days ago, that kids treated me to an all-out hiccup storm. At least they'd had the decency to wait until I was out of MTAC."

Gibbs felt bad for her. "Where was I?"

Jenny sighed. "In the field."

The drive continued on in silence for awhile.

"William is a nice name." Gibbs offered. "Very strong."

"Timeless and sophisticated, too." agreed Jenny. "Is there a name you like for a girl, then?"

Gibbs didn't have to think hard. "Uh-huh. Violet. It was my mom's favorite flower."

"Then that's perfect." Jenny was beaming. "It's a family name on my mother's side."

"Her mom?" Gibbs wanted to know.

"Her name was Violet Lux Balfour. Both my mom and my big sister had her name as their middle names." explained Jenny. "Nana have adored you. My whole family would have, come to that."

Jenny rubbed her hands over against her baby bump in experimentation. She then gave a relieved sigh.

"The twins are quiet now. All they needed was their names."

Gibbs grinned. "Our Violet and William. Perfect."

The kids at the hospital were thrilled for the extra toys. Each had already received gifts from the hospital staff, but it was very nice to have something that was homemade. Little things mattered. Especially when each child in the room had different circumstances that kept them from being with one parent or both on such a special day.

Jenny allowed herself to get lost in the moment. People often assumed that because she was in a high position at an organization in the nation's capital, that she wasn't a genuine people person—much less one that liked kids. But this wasn't true. Jenny loved people of all ages. Her job just kept this revelation from being a commonly known fact.

Right now, she was happy to do her part in making the little ones happy.

But… as she was in the 'older mother' category and was quite pregnant, she needed a break.

"Pardon me." came a new voice. "Are you Jenny?"

A young nurse had come to stand before the director. She had a rolling bassinet beside her. A baby girl took refuge inside, wearing a holiday-themed outfit and watching Jenny with a great deal of intensity. One also couldn't help notice that the little girl was hooked up to an external oxygen monitor. Her state was compromised.

Jenny sat up straighter in her seat. She was in a rocking chair, on the far side of the room.

"Yes." she cleared her throat. "I'm Jenny Shepard."

The nurse perked up. "You put yourself on the list of people who volunteered to hold the babies. Is that still true?"

"Yes." Jenny said firmly. "Who's is the little one you've got with you?"

"Her name is Mia. She's being adopted tomorrow, but is at the moment recovering from an epileptic episode."

"I see." Jenny quickly disinfected her hands; there was no way she was going to refuse the little one. "How old is Mia?"

"Six months, as of today, actually. Would you like to hold her for awhile?"

"Yes. I would love to hold her. Anything else I should know?"

"Just be gentle. The episode was awhile ago, but Mia's been cleared for socialization. Her oxygen supply is just a requirement until she's discharged." Mia's nurse pointed to a particular button on the oxygen monitor. "Hit that, and I or someone else will come from the nurse station to take Mia when you're ready to give her back."

"I understand." Jenny said. "May I please hold Mia now?"

"Sure thing." the nurse eased Mia into Jenny's arms. "Here we are."

Mia was very surprised by a new person, became soothed when Jenny spoke soothingly to her. She even moved in for a snuggle when she was given a blanket to warm up with. The sounds of her yawns were small and cute.

Jenny's heart turned to mush.

"I think someone is totally content." she remarked.

"Alright. Then I'll just leave you to it."

And the nurse departed.

Jenny regraded her charge. "Hi, Mia. You're a beautiful baby."

Mia just yawned.

"How about I tell you a story?"

Mia gave another yawn, but she also began to coo and giggle.

"Okay." Jenny murmured. "I'll take that as a yes."

Mia cooed and giggled even more.

So Jenny began to tell her the first fairytale that popped into her brain.

On the other side of the room, Gibbs watched Jenny and Mia interact.

He imagined that his fiancée was happy to be at a social event where she could just be herself. Not the director of NCIS. Just… Jenny.

A chance like that didn't happen too often for her.

Plus… watching Jenny treating her temporary charge like she was the only other person in the world was mesmerizing.

Gibbs loved it.

One thing that truly brought him peace was believing that the lost members of the Gibbs and Shepard clans had been watching over himself and Jenny from above so as to make sure that their happy ending would come to pass.

But he vowed to keep that to himself. At least for now.