A/N: This started out as a very short story that was actually what is now the middle portion of this story. The original story was what is now part two. But of course I couldn't leave it at that so I added the parts on the begining and end. I like it and I hope you will too.

We Got Carried Away

Part One

The metal doors to the autopsy suite whoosh open and I step into the coolness of Ducky's realm.

"Hello Jethro, what brings you down here at this late hour? Not a case I hope."

"No case. You alone Duck?"

"Yes, Mr. Palmer is gone for the night. Something wrong Jethro?"

I need to tell Ducky something but I don't really know how to do it. Duck is my most trusted friend but still, what I have to tell him is kinda touchy. Instead of answering right away I pace around a while. Ducky knows me better than anyone else so he just waits patiently for me to light somewhere and start talking. He's sitting at his desk and eventually I circle back around there and lean against the nearest autopsy table. He's looking at me expectantly but I know he won't ask again.

"Got a problem Duck."

"I gather you came here to share it. I'm ready when you are my friend."

"Ziva's pregnant."

"Really. I didn't know she was seeing anyone."

"She's not."

"Oh. Well, I suppose she must have been at one time. Ziva is not one to have a quick affair and not take care of herself."

"No, she's not."

"So, your problem is her position on the team I suppose. Well, she's young and in good health and good shape of course. She should be able to work even in the field for several months and then she will have to be on desk duty. Do you know her long term plans after the baby is born.?"

"Haven't talked about that yet."

"I assume she intends to keep the baby but maybe not. Do you know that?"

"She does."

"Has she told you who the father is?"

"Yeah. That's the problem Duck."

"Why, is he someone you don't trust or approve of for her? You know you're not her father Jethro. As much as you care for her she is an adult and can certainly choose her own partner."

"I know him and no I don't approve of him for her. He's too old for her and not nearly good enough for her."

"I assume Ziva must have some feelings for him or she would not have gotten into this situation and be having his child. Have you talked to her about your concerns?"

"She says she loves him. I told her what I thought and she says I'm all wrong. She's very stubborn you know. I didn't realize how stubborn until this came up."

"Ziva is very steadfast in her beliefs that is true. Undoubtedly she knows this man better than you do Jethro. You have always trusted Ziva's judgment so perhaps you should do so now. How long has she known this man?"

"Almost four years. I trust her judgment but in this case I know for a fact she's wrong. I know this guy very well and I'm telling you he's wrong for her."

Ducky is looking at me with that look he has when he thinks he's about to solve the puzzle. It makes me want to look away but I don't.

"Jethro why are you really here?"

"I told you, Ziva's pregnant and the guy is wrong for her. She's not listening to me and I want you to talk to her and convince her I'm right about this."

"It's not Anthony is it?"

"God no. That I could handle. Even DiNozzo might be a better choice but no, it's not him."

"If you are so certain of this I assume you checked this man out. If you will give me the information I will look at it and then talk to Ziva if I feel it's my place. I tell you though Jethro, I'm really uncomfortable doing it but if you are so sure I will consider it. Do you have a file on this man that I can see?"

"You don't need a file Duck."

"Because….?"

"Because it's me. I'm the father."

I have known Donald Mallard for a very long time. We have been through the wars together and I have never, in all those years seen him speechless. Until tonight. The look on his face is painful for me because it is pure disappointment. Disappointment in me. For years until I reconciled with my dad Ducky was the closest thing I had to a father. Now he is looking at me as if I have committed a very grievous sin. I guess I have really so I deserve the look. And anything else he wants to do to me.

"I'm sorry Duck. I know what you must be thinking."

"Oh, I doubt that very much. What in the world happened that you would allow this to happen?"

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"You came to me Jethro. I think you want to tell me and yes, I want to hear it. I love you like a son Jethro and I need you to help me understand this incredible but disturbing news."

"Okay. I'll tell you but promise you won't interrupt; just let me tell it the way it happened. Okay?"

"Yes, of course. But first let's have a drink. I think I may need it and I'm sure you do."

Ducky poured us both a drink. A Scotch for himself and a bourbon for me. I sat down in his extra desk chair, closed my eyes, took a swallow of bourbon, and told Ducky the story exactly, step for step and word for word like it happened. Yes, I remember it that clearly.

"Okay Duck here goes, it was about two months ago…."

Part Two

…..It's Friday night, late and I'm the last agent in the building except the overnight team. I sent my team home hours ago. Checking the clock on the computer I see it's after ten o'clock. Better go home I guess. As I walk past Ziva's desk I see her phone and realize it must be the source of the buzzing I heard earlier. Knowing she doesn't have a land line at home I figure I need to drop it off at her apartment. Great, just what I need; Ziva at home, late night, tired and me still picturing her in that little red dress she wore to Palmer's engagement party last weekend. But, she has to have her phone.

I'm knocking on her door but no answer. I can hear music so I'm pretty sure she's home. Her neighbor, Mrs. Duffy steps out of her apartment and looks at me. We've met before.

"Evening Mrs. Duffy."

"Good evening Agent Gibbs. Everything alright?"

"Ziva left her phone at work and she's not answering the door. You don't have a key do you?"

"Yes as a matter of fact I do. I guess I can trust you. Right?"

"Absolutely. In fact, you stay right here and I'll hand it back to you as soon as I unlock the door."

Mrs. Duffy gives me the key, I unlock the door and give it back.

"Thanks Mrs. Duffy."

"You're welcome Agent Gibbs. Have a good night."

I cautiously step into the apartment; after all it's Ziva we're talking about here, and call her name. No answer. The music is kinda loud and there's some other noise like a vacuum or something. It's all coming from the bedroom area. I hesitate for just a moment. I could leave the phone on the dining table and go. Wouldn't even have to see Ziva. I could do that. But of course I don't.

Instead I walk down the hall and step through the open bedroom door and stop dead in my tracks. I'm mesmerized by the sight before me. I've seen it hundreds of times but never outside my mind. Ziva is across the room, her back to me and she running the sweeper-naked. I know I should step back, leave the phone on the table and go. Or at the very least go in the other room and call her name-loudly.

Problem is I can't move. I can barely breathe. All the years of watching Ziva, being close to her and caring about her are suddenly crashing together in my head. No matter how hard I've tried I haven't been able to escape the fact that I want this woman. I have for a long time.

Sometimes going to work is a blessing; she's there and she always makes me feel better than I did before I saw her. Sometimes it's a curse; she's there and I have to concentrate so much energy on not letting her see how I feel that I barely have the energy to work. On those days I drink more coffee and yell at everyone too much.

I swallow. Somehow I manage to say her name but I realize it's barely above a whisper. She's practically dancing the damned vacuum around the room. She has her hair pulled back and held up off her neck with one of those lethal looking clip things that I see women using all the time. That means I have a very clear view of her beautiful, sleek body from her neck all the way down her luscious back, her perfect ass and down her smooth, muscular legs. I wonder how I'm going to breathe when she turns around. No doubt any second she will turn around and catch me staring at her. Finally I have the sense to look around and find the light switch. I flick it off and on to get her attention.

Instantly she stops and whirls around to face me. I actually do stop breathing.

"Gibbs!?"

She's obviously surprised but her voice doesn't sound angry. I'm glad because I'm sure she could easily kill me with that vacuum if she wanted to. She turns off the sweeper and just looks at me.

"What are you doing here?"

Since I can barely breathe much less talk I just hold up the phone.

"Oh. How did you get in?"

"Mrs. Duffy."

We stand there separated by about four feet of carpet, her bed, and my rules.

"Gibbs say something."

"You're running the sweeper. Naked."

"Yes."

"Why?"

I see her eyes light up and in that instant it registers with me that she has put the sweeper aside but has made no move to cover herself. She's just standing there as if she was fully clothed and having me in her bedroom was a normal thing.

"Why am I naked or why am I running the vacuum?"

"Yes."

Then she laughs at me and I don't even care. I love the sound of her laugh. It sends little waves of pleasure all through me. She is so perfect. Her beautiful face, her breasts, her abs, her stomach and on and on. I know I'm staring but I can't help it. I have imagined Ziva naked many times but apparently I don't have a very good imagination.

"I was about to take a shower when I noticed the floor was a mess so I decided to clean it first. I was not expecting company."

Duh. I wasn't expecting a little bit of heaven on a Friday night either.

"Gibbs do you need to sit down?"

"No."

She's moving. Toward me. I blink and swallow and then she's right in front of me. If I had the power to move my arm I could reach out and touch her.

Instead she reaches out and takes her phone out of my hand and tosses it across the room onto a chair. Her eyes are fixed on mine and I can't take my eyes off her face. She takes a half step closer and takes hold of my hands. She raise them up and lays them on her breasts and suddenly I'm breathing again. She licks her lips and stands up on her tiptoes and kisses me very softly on the mouth.

I can hear the blood rushing around in my body and my heart is pounding. Breathing is still a bit of a problem but getting better. I finally wake up and realize there is a beautiful, naked woman right in front of me and she seems to be telling me it's okay that I'm there.

I might be surprised, shocked really, but I'm not stupid. And, I'm not as much of a rule follower as I used to be.

Part Three

When I finish Ducky doesn't say anything for a very long time. He pours us each another drink and we sit in silence in the stainless steel confines of autopsy. Eventually, he puts his glass down and looks me right in the face.

"So, from that one night Ziva got pregnant? You didn't think about protection?"

"We're pretty sure she got pregnant that night but we have been together since then. Hell, Duck I quit carrying a condom in my wallet a long time ago. We didn't think about."

"Jethro, how in the world could you to let this happen? What was going through your mind that night when you just stood there staring instead of turning around and walking out?"

"I don't know exactly. All I can say is we just got carried away."

"Carried away?! Jethro, getting carried away is me having a second piece of cheesecake! Carried away is you having four glasses of bourbon instead of two! It is not having sex with one of your agents and getting her pregnant in the process! Carried away indeed!"

"I don't know what to say Duck but now you see what I mean about Ziva and the father. I'm sure you agree I'm not the right person for her to be with."

"A bit late to come to that conclusion isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"You said earlier that she tells you she loves the father. So, she says she loves you, right?"

"She says so, yeah. But…."

"So I guess the next logical question is do you love her?"

"Very much. But I don't see how that matters."

"It matters more than anything else Jethro. I admit I am stunned by this turn of events but as I said earlier, you have always trusted her judgment so perhaps you should do so now. Ziva is not a person who operates on a whim. You were not alone in that room Jethro and I assume she was a willing participant as I know you would never force yourself on her. So, given that, it seems you might need to reevaluate your objections."

"The thing is Duck I do love her and I have for a long time. I've tried to ignore it but that night when I saw her there and she came to me I couldn't turn away anymore. The idea of being a father again after all these years is almost more than I can wrap my head around. But you know I just don't know if I can do it."

"Do what exactly? Love Ziva? Love another child? Of course you can do both of those things; in fact I'd venture to say you already do. Marry and make a life together? Maybe yes maybe no. I don't see you not doing that once your child is here. I can't imagine you would be willing to be a part time father. This may not be what you thought your life would be now but it is in fact what it is going to be. Make the best of it my friend. Make the most of it. Let Ziva love you. Trust her with this just as you have trusted her with everything else in the last four years including your very life."

"You make it sound easy."

"No it won't be easy but then what value is there in easy? You have had enough heartache in your lifetime my friend. Perhaps it is time to have some true happiness. I can't dream of anything that will give you more happiness than being loved by Ziva and having a child with her."

"Well, when you put it that way it sounds pretty good. Will you kick me in the butt when I start to screw it up?"

"I will be happy to but I don't think that will be necessary. Ziva is not Diane or Stephanie or even Jenny and you are not the same man you were with them. You have faced your past Jethro and I think, made peace with most of it. Don't let that past come back to interfere with what could very well be a wonderful, happy future."

I swallow the last of my drink and stand up. Ducky stands up with me and I give him a hug.

"Thank you my friend. I knew you would understand and give good counsel. I think I have some serious talking to do with Ms. David."

"Give her my love. And Jethro, trust her."

"I do, Duck. Good night."

As I leave the Navy Yard and head home my phone beeps at me. I hate cell phones but sadly they are a fact of life. I guess the good outweighs the bad but most of the time I find them a nuisance.

"Yeah, Gibbs."

"Jethro, where are you?"

"On my way home. What's wrong. Are you alright?"

My heart is in my throat. Ziva is calling and something is obviously wrong. She sounds like she's crying. Suddenly the idea of something being wrong with her or the baby hits me like a ton of bricks.

"Ziva what is it? Take a breath and talk to me."

"Jethro something is wrong. I'm bleeding. I need you. I am at your house."

"I'm ten minutes away. Stay on the phone and talk to me Zi. How long has this been going on?

"Not long. I just noticed it. Jethro, I'm scared. What if….?"

"Stop. Nothing is going to happen to the baby. Maybe it's something the doctors can fix. I'm almost there. Are you okay otherwise? I mean are you sick or anything?"

"No, otherwise I am okay. Where have you been?"

"I was talking to Ducky. I told him Zi."

"Oh. What did he say? Did he threaten you?"

There was just a hint of laughter in her voice and I immediately felt better. She was trying to help me when she was the one suffering. No wonder I love this woman.

"No, I expected he would. Actually he told me to trust you."

"Do you?"

"Yes I do."

"Good. That is a start anyway. Jethro, just concentrate on driving. I'll wait for you on the porch."

"Okay. I'm almost there."

I finally got home and Ziva jumped in the car and we headed to the hospital. Several very tense and scary hours later we finally got back home having been assured the baby and Ziva were both fine and the bleeding was nothing too serious. I fixed Ziva some tea and myself coffee and we sat on the sofa and held each other for a long time. Being so scared about a baby we were still in shock over was a surreal experience for both of us. It made everything much more real at least for me. I guess it was already pretty real for Ziva.

"Want to tell me about your talk with Ducky?"

"I told him what happened that night. He wasn't real happy with me but I think he's okay with it now."

"How did you get him to be okay with you being the father of my child? That is a pretty wild thing for you to tell him. I imagine he took some convincing."

"He was pretty surprised of course but really he came around very quickly after I told him I love you."

The look on her face was priceless and I'm really glad I was looking at her when I said that.

"You told Ducky that you love me?"

"I did. Now I'm telling you. I love you Ziva. I have for a very long time. I don't know why you love me but I can give you lots and lots of reasons why I love you if you need to hear them."

"That would be nice to hear. But first could you kiss me and hold me and let me fall asleep in your arms."

"I can do all that."

"Wait, before that, does this mean I do not need to renew my apartment lease at the end of the month?"

"Definitely. I don't expect you will be sleeping in that apartment ever again. I want you here with me from now on. You, me and our child in this house from now on."

"That sounds perfect. Now you can kiss me."

Part Four

I do not know for sure how I got upstairs to Jethro's bed last night; either he carried me or I managed, with his help, to walk up here in my sleep. All I know for sure is that when I woke a few minutes ago I was here. According to the alarm clock it is just after eight o'clock. I can smell coffee so I know Jethro is downstairs in the kitchen. I think I'll just lie here a while and savor the fact that I am loved by the most wonderful man in the world.

When Jethro showed up at my house that Friday night two months ago I was shocked but not the least bit put off even if he was staring at me like a schoolboy. What I saw on my boss' face that night was that he wanted me. That was a happy coincidence for me because I had wanted him for a long time. I do not know what he would have done if I had not made the first move but there was no way I was going to let him get out of that room without making sure he knew how I felt about him.

That first kiss was like putting a match to dry kindling. Our feelings sparked and then grew into a wonderful, warming fire. When we made love it was as if I had waited all my life for just this person. He was so gentle and careful with me it took my breath away. The passion that had been held in check by both of us exploded that night and I for one, have never been the same since. Of course I am not the same physically; I am carrying Jethro's child, but that is not the only change. I have always doubted myself when it comes to love but finding Jethro loves me and that I can truly love him, not just fantasize about it, has put all those old doubts completely out of my mind.

I know most people will look at us and wonder why I am with a man so much older than myself. Maybe if they know him only a little they will wonder why I would involve myself with a man who has so many failures in the relationship department. Those people do not know who Jethro really is. A lot people only see the man he is at work because that is what he chooses to let them see. His team and Ducky and Abby know him to be not only the great agent he is but also a caring and compassionate person but I imagine only Ducky really knows the real Jethro Gibbs.

Jethro is legendary at NCIS. He is the best at what he does which is catch bad guys. He is fiercely loyal, courageous and yes, he really does seem to know everything that goes on before we think he does. I happen to know he is also gentle and funny and generous to a fault. He helps all the neighbors with projects, volunteers with Wounded Warriors and never says no to a child who needs help. No one knows all the things he does for people and that is just the way he wants it. He never wants credit for the good things he does.

Before I told Jethro about the baby I was foolishly afraid he would be angry. That was the farthest thing from true. Even though at the time he was still not willing to admit we belong together he was beyond happy about me having his child. I was the first one at NCIS to know about Shannon and Kelly which has always been a sort of bond for Jethro and I. Both of us have been wounded by the loss of people we loved so we understand how that can transform your life. We have spent hours talking about our pasts but since I announced we are pregnant all we want really want to talk about is the future. I am so excited to meet this child and watch Jethro be a father I can hardly wait. It is going to be a magical time for the three of us.

"Hey lazy bones are you going to stay in bed all day?"

"Only if you stay here with me."

My god he is so handsome! Standing beside our bed wearing only some old sweats pants, unshaven and his hair all mussed up, he is the best looking man I have ever known. It doesn't hurt that I am intimately familiar with what is under those sweats. A perfect chest with just the right amount of soft curly hair, flat abs and stomach, a perfect butt and long, strong legs. And of course the rest of what is under there is also pretty spectacular. The face is definitely wonderful too. Laugh lines crinkle around those killer blue eyes and lips that drive me crazy. Yes, my man is pretty much perfect.

"I could be persuaded to join you. Are you hungry though?"

"I can certainly wait if you are offering to lose those clothes and get back in here with me."

Off go the pants and just like that we are all wrapped up together. I have never felt as safe or as cherished as I do in Jethro's embrace. I love the feel of his strong body against me, his hands gently stroking my back or arms. He is definitely the best kisser on the planet and there is not a single place on me he has not kissed. Right now he is lying on his side, propped up on one elbow, kissing me all over my throat and moving downward. He sure knows what I like!

"I love you Jethro. I wish I could have seen Ducky's face when you told him you were the father of my baby."

I am not sure why I decided to start talking because now he has to stop kissing me to respond. At least he's still touching me. Running his fingertips across my breasts and down my stomach and back again. Delicious torture.

"It was not a pretty sight really. You do know I went there to ask him to talk some sense into you and convince you I'm not good for you?"

He has shifted so he can kiss my abdomen and whisper to our baby. I let my fingers tangle in his beautiful, soft hair as he lays his head on my stomach.

"I suspected as much. I am happy this one time you failed to persuade someone to do as you wanted. Did you really think Ducky or anyone else could talk me out of loving you?"

"I guess not."

"How did you explain that night to him?"

Jethro looks up at me and smiles that wonderful smile I love so much. I know he does not want to talk now. After all we are lying together, naked and very much wanting each other. But I know he will tell me. He rarely denies me anything. After kissing his way back up my body and shifting again so he is lying more fully on me, he gently traces his finger down my cheek and across my lips. He brushes my hair back and kisses me over and over again until finally he shifts his position once again and I know for sure the talking is about over. He fixes his gorgeous blue eyes on me and says,

"I told him we got carried away."

There is laughter in his voice and his eyes and I cannot help but laugh with him. Sometimes the simplest explanation is the best.

END