Gently lifting her out of the plastic bassinet, he observed his brand new daughter. She was swaddled in a pale pink blanket, one of the only traditional baby accessories that had snuck past Abby's discriminating eye. This little girl in front of him, she was so tiny, not even as long as his forearm. A small yawn escaped from her mouth and he felt his heart melt. Everything she did was so special and beautiful to him. He had known almost immediately, that he would do anything to protect her. He had loved her instantly. But now, standing in the quiet hospital room, he had begun to feel afraid. How on earth was he going to be the father she deserved? He had no experience with babies; he didn't even know how to change a diaper! He hoped these things would come eventually, but it didn't stop him panicking slightly in the mean time. This little bundle in front of him was going to change his life forever, and that he was sure of.
The tiny infant wavered somewhere between awake and asleep, her eyes occasionally opening and closing. She seemed perfect in every way; from her tiny fingers, to her button nose. Even if McGee secretly thought, despite what all the visitors had insisted, that the little girl didn't look like either of her parents yet. What little hair his daughter had was very fair and her eyes were still blue, but he presumed her eyes would turn green soon, because that was just simple genetics. He hoped, as she grew, she would begin to look like her mother.
He had been trying to keep his emotions in check all morning, but now that it was just them in the room, his daughter and his wife, his eyes began to mist. He glanced over at Abby; she was sleeping soundly in the hospital bed. Her hair was still plastered across her forehead, as there had been no time for bathing yet. It was certainly not her finest or most glamorous hour, but to him, she was more beautiful than ever. Thinking back to the traumatic night she had, he knew her rest was well deserved. All night he had watched the waves of pain wrack her body, her face contorted in expressions of her agony. To see the woman he loved in so much pain had hurt his heart, he wished he could have done something to make it better, to make her hurt no longer, but he was left strangely powerless.
Abby had a relatively easy delivery. There had been discussion between the doctors about a blood transfusion, but it was quickly dismissed as unnecessary. McGee knew how dangerous childbirth was for women and he was thankful that Abby's labour had gone so well. Her birth plan had been to have a predominantly natural labour; she had insisted that she didn't want to be in a drug induced haze during the birth, she said that she wanted to feel the entire experience as nature intended. However, towards the end of the birth she had pleaded for more drugs and screamed an apology for "forsaking medical science". All the while he had been there, letting her crush his hand and giving her countless words of encouragement. That was all he could do.
The team had already visited them this morning, bringing gifts and well wishes. They had cooed over the baby and congratulated him and Abby. No family had made it to the hospital yet, but they were on their way. Though, in their own way, the team from NCIS were their family too.
--
"McDaddy!" Tony called, striding into the room and giving him a slap on the back.
Tony thrust some black and pink balloons and a gift bag in McGee's direction and went over to give Abby the bunch of black roses he was carrying. He bent down to give her a kiss on the cheek and request a hold of the baby.
Meanwhile Ziva approached McGee and put a cigar in his shirt pocket,
"I believe this is traditional, yes?" Ziva said with a smile, patting his arm affectionately, "Congratulations McGee."
"Umm…yes, I suppose so; I'll save it for later." McGee replied, looking puzzled. He had expected the gifts to be reversed, but that was Ziva and Tony, he guessed.
Tony had already picked up the baby and begun to gently rock her. McGee was surprised at his colleague's ability with the baby, in fact, Abby and Ziva looked shocked too. Who would have guessed DiNozzo had it in him? Now Tony was baby talking softly to the newborn,
"You got Mommy's end of the gene pool, didn't ya cutie pie? You did, yes ya did." He cooed, smiling down at the little girl.
Ziva confusedly looked at Abby and McGee, who both simply gave tired shrugs.
"Hey Zee-vah, wanna hold Baby-Probie?" Tony said in a hushed whisper, he was obviously nervous of upsetting the little girl and incurring Abby's wrath.
"Tony!" Abby exclaimed, "Don't call her that!"
"Well what do I call her?" Tony countered, slowly handing the baby to Ziva, who was babbling some excuse about her hands perhaps not being clean enough to handle a baby, "Haven't you guys decided on a name yet?"
Abby and McGee looked at one another meaningfully. There had been a few discussions of names, with two clear favourites emerging. However when they had tried to direct the names at Abby's rounded stomach, neither had really worked. Since then, they had decided to wait until the birth to see if their daughter suited any prospective names.
"Not yet…"McGee replied.
"How about Toni?" DiNozzo suggested, flashing Abby a hopeful grin.
Abby simply responded with a glare. Knowing that he was beaten, Tony returned to pulling faces at the baby in Ziva's arms. McGee fished in the gift bag Tony had handed him and pulled out a black onesie emblazoned with the slogan 'My Mommy Rocks!' in an AC/DC-like font. He suspected that this would not be the last gift of its kind. Abby giggled and thanked Tony and Ziva. McGee reached into the bag again and pulled out another onesie, this time it was plain white with the slogan 'I'm still in Beta' printed on it. He too thanked Tony and Ziva with a smile.
"I don't get it McGeek, but the guy at the store said you would." Tony volunteered.
"Tony," Ziva said, passing the baby back to Abby and checking her watch "I think it is time for us to go."
"Ouch, you're right Ziva," Tony began, placing a hand on Ziva's back and ushering her towards the door, whilst turning his head to address McGee and Abby "you guys know how it is, places to be, people to interrogate…"
Ziva managed to congratulate them one last time before vanishing through the doorway and Tony promised they would be back later. The two parents looked at each other in amusement when they heard their colleagues bickering as they disappeared down the hallway.
--
Abby was lying in the bed, with their daughter resting against her chest. They had read that hearing the mother's heartbeat calmed a newborn. McGee was sat in the chair next to the bed, thumbing through a copy of 'The New Father'.
"Abby, have you thought about names yet?" he asked.
"A little," she began, with a frown, "I don't think I can do it Timmy…"
He turned to look at her, his brow knitted with worry.
"Me too, Abs," he replied, "I wanted to do it, I really did, but it's too hard."
"I know," she said, "and she just doesn't look like a Kate or a Jenny, she's her own person."
"I know what you mean." He said.
Underneath their brave exteriors they both knew it would have been too difficult to call their child by the name of one of their departed friends. They suspected they would feel the familiar pang of sadness every time they called their child to the dinner table.
--
McGee was perched on the edge of the bed with one arm around Abby's shoulders, and cradled in her arms was their new baby daughter. The two adults were smiling and talking softly to one another. Abby extended her pinkie finger towards the baby's hand and the infant coiled her tiny fingers around Abby's proffered pinkie. Both parents excitedly looked at one another, marvelling at their offspring's first achievement. All in all, a perfect family tableau.
Abby looked up at the doorway and when she saw the figure standing there, she broke into a shy smile. In due course, McGee noticed the presence too. The pair said nothing to the man at first, they knew this must be a bittersweet scene for him to behold. He had once been a man in McGee's position, until the ground fell away from under his feet. Eventually McGee kissed Abby gently on the cheek, stood up and walked over to the doorway to greet the man.
"Hey Boss." McGee said, giving the older man an unsure smile.
"Congratulations, McGee." Gibbs replied, handing him a cup of coffee.
McGee smiled and thanked him, and Gibbs made his way over to Abby's bed. He stood over her, silently looking down at the bundle in her arms.
"She's beautiful Abs," he remarked, after a long pause, "just like her Mom."
McGee stayed at the door with his coffee to give them a little privacy. He knew they were close; this was practically Gibbs' granddaughter. He watched as Gibbs proposed a trade; the baby for the miniature Caf-Pow in his hand.
"Ducky says you can have one small cup every day." He said, his voice emphasising the diminutive amount she was allowed.
"Y-you brought me Caf-Pow." Abby mumbled, as her face crumpled and gave way to tears.
"C'mon Abs, it's ok." Gibbs whispered, sitting down on the edge of the bed, so that he could reach and give her a hug.
"It's not y-you, it's just…" she paused so she could grab a tissue from the box on the nightstand, "everything makes me cry right now."
"Everything's going to be fine. You've got your new daughter," he soothed, "and McGee, and he's going to look after both of you."
Gibbs shot a death stare at McGee. His boss was once again threatening him with some sort of pain if he ever hurt Abby. McGee was so used to the speech by now that Gibbs no longer needed to say a word, the stare was enough.
Gibbs stayed a little while longer. He told Abby that the crib he had been making was finished. He had been working on it for months, just for their baby. Gibbs had even convinced Abby that a dark stain on the wood might be better than painting it black, much to McGee's pleasure. Eventually Gibbs decided it was time to leave, he kissed Abby as he said goodbye to both her and the baby and promised to visit them again soon. McGee handed his boss a set of keys as he passed, so that he could deliver the crib while they were at the hospital. Gibbs pulled to a sudden halt in front of him, and brought his face within inches of the younger man's ear.
"This is the most precious opportunity you're ever gonna get McGee. Don't screw it up." He said quietly, placing a hand on McGee's shoulder.
"I won't, Boss. I love them too much." McGee replied.
Gibbs looked pacified, patted his shoulder and departed. McGee was left feeling elated that he had managed to answer his boss without stumbling over his words and sounding like an unsure kid.
--
Abby opened her eyes, slowly coming round from her brief sleep. The baby had started fussing, which had disturbed her. She wasn't crying properly yet, but Abby was a nervous new mother who was determined to get everything right, so she dutifully roused herself from bed. She looked over at Tim, he was sleeping upright in the chair next to her bed. He looked so tired, so feeling sorry for him, she chose not to wake him. He'd been awake even longer than she had, and he didn't have any of the awesome pain meds that she did.
During the labour Tim was so brave and had only vomited once. With hindsight, cutting the cord was probably a little out of his comfort zone, and coupled with his nervousness, she wasn't really surprised he had thrown up. Honestly, she had expected him to pass out, but he had surprised her and managed to remain conscious throughout the entire ordeal. She had hurled more than a few insults in his direction and possibly crushed a few of the bones in his hand, but she was so glad he had been there for her.
She slowly heaved herself out of bed and shuffled over to the bassinet, despite the doctors and nurses orders to remain in bed.
"Hi Baby, how are ya?" she said, reaching down to stroke her daughter's cheek.
The little girl smacked her lips and settled slightly at the presence of her mother. Looking at the clock she realised it would be time to feed her soon. Abby decided to wait a little longer, at least until Tim woke up, so that he could pass the baby to her and help her organise all her pillows. She still felt a little weak and was unsure that she could manage all these things on her own. It almost disgusted her to think these things, normally Abby was so independent. As much as she loved the people around her, she liked being able to depend on herself first and foremost. Tim had proved himself a good husband so far; he gave her enough freedom so that she didn't feel trapped, yet he supported her when she needed him most. That was one of the reasons she had relented and finally married him.
Her daughter broke her concentration with a soft cry.
"Oh no, c'mon, don't cry Baby," Abby pleaded. "You owe Mommy some peace and quiet, especially after what you've done to her figure." She said, looking down sadly at her once trim stomach.
Abby felt two hands slink onto her shoulders and start gently massaging them. She closed her eyes, let her head loll back and released a small sigh.
"I think you look more beautiful than ever, Abs." Tim whispered into her ear.
"Even though I'm still as big as a sea cow and I look like I haven't slept in a month?" She replied.
"I didn't even notice." He replied, kissing the back of her neck lightly.
"You're a terrible liar, Timmy," she said dryly.
He simply shook his head, knowing that no matter what he said, she would never believe him. His daughter was still being fussy, so he helped Abby get back into bed and prop herself up with pillows. Then he picked the baby up from the bassinet and delivered her to Abby.
"But at least now I have a great rack…" she ventured, pointing at her swollen chest with a wicked smile.
Her husband simply stared back at her, his mouth agape, before they slowly descended into laughter.