a/n: baBIES
August, 2004
She had been incredibly nervous about having him in the delivery room with her –though she hadn't voiced that wariness to him – since she had gone through it alone, and very successfully, with Benjamin.
It turned out to be not at all as stressful or irritating as she'd worried it might be; he hadn't said stupid things, acted dramatically or any such nonsense – he'd just simply been there, and out of the way, in and out occasionally to place a call to Benjamin or talk to his father in the waiting room – she was sure those were tense, awkward conversations, but she was too distracted to ask.
When it was all said and done – twenty-one grueling hours of it – and she'd had a moment to take a nap and freshen up - change into comfortable clothes rather than a hospital gown - he went to the nursery and got the bathed and swaddled baby, bringing her back into Jenny's hospital room with practiced care.
Watching him sit down on the end of the bed and hold the infant protectively in his lap, his eyes on her sharply and proudly, she felt, for a moment, very sad that she'd been in Italy when Benjamin was born – and sorry that she'd made him miss it, because he looked happy now, and labor had been slightly more comfortable with him here.
She sat up, drawing her knees up slightly, and tucked her hair back, yawning herself awake and bending over.
"Is she asleep?"
"No," Gibbs answered, shifting so Jenny could see the baby better. He lifted her up, and Jenny took her, cradling her against her chest expertly.
She looked down at the blue eyes and grinned, wrinkling her nose.
"They really are so much easier on the eyes after a few hours," she remarked.
"Jen."
She smiled and shot him a look, rolling her eyes.
"Relax, Jethro, I still want to take her home."
She pressed her fingers lightly to the baby's chest, feeling her healthy heartbeat, and sighed, contented. Gibbs crowded her, leaning forward to admire his new daughter, his shoulder pressing warmly against hers. Jenny touched the hospital bracelet, reading the stats: eight pounds, twenty-one inches. She tilted her head and ran her fingers over the lettering –female, Gibbs, W. J.
"We picked a name at the last minute again," she said dryly.
"'Least we avoided an initials fiasco this time," grunted Gibbs, and Jenny tilted her head back and laughed – they had narrowed it down to two: Whitney and Brooklyne, with Jean, Jenny's grandmother's name, set as the middle name – and Gibbs had the foresight to point out, suddenly, to her irritation, that Brooklyne would result in a serious initials issue – and since they already had that with Benjamin, it had been decided: Whitney.
"You think Ben will have trouble saying it?" Jenny asked.
Gibbs shrugged.
"He does W's fine," he pointed out dryly – Benjamin used W's for L's, most of the time, which worried Jenny.
"And you're really okay with Whitney?"
Gibbs nodded, taking one of the baby's hands in his. He ran his thumb over her curled knuckles, and she looked at him calmly, wriggling around in her white and pink blanket. He swallowed, studying her face.
"'S normal, but not common," he said – it had been why it was a favorite of theirs; a very clean-cut, straightforward name – which Gibbs would inevitably shorten, but not in a way Jenny hated – and yet, it wasn't too common these days.
Jenny smiled. Gibbs reached for the baby again, taking her back almost hungrily, like he didn't like Jenny holding her for so long. He rocked her a little, holding her against his chest, and Jenny leaned back and smiled, content to watch. She hadn't ever seen him with a newborn before, since she and Benjamin had been in Italy for the first seven months of his life.
His jaw twitched.
"I was deployed when Kelly was born," he said abruptly.
Jenny moved her head slightly, lifting her brows a bit. She breathed in slowly, holding her breath.
"How old was she when you – ?"
"Five months old," Gibbs answered bluntly.
Jenny swallowed, and bit the inside of her cheek. So Whitney was the first child he'd ever – ? She shifted onto her side slightly, pushing her hair back and watching him a moment.
"She's so small," Gibbs remarked quietly: like he couldn't believe it, like he hadn't ever imagined babies were really this little.
She thought he looked a little out of sorts. She leaned over and touched his arm, pressing her lips to his cheek soothingly. He dipped his head and kissed Whitney's forehead, touching his nose to hers briefly, and then transferring her back to her mother's arms.
"'M goin' to get Ben," he said gruffly, standing up quickly.
Slightly startled, Jenny nodded, glancing down at the baby – she was falling asleep.
"Is he here?" she asked. "Or are you going to pick him up?"
"Abby brought 'im while you were sleeping," Gibbs answered, his voice still very – controlled. "She's been entertainin' Jackson."
Jenny nodded – Gibbs may have taken steps to repair his relationship with his father, for Ben and Whitney's sake, but he still stubbornly called him Jackson, and Jenny had long learned to stop commenting on it.
"Please remind him he needs to be gentle," Jenny advised, and Gibbs nodded, heading out of the hospital room.
She adjusted her position and sat up, getting more comfortable – hoping she didn't look too exhausted or burnt out, because she didn't want Ben to think she was sick or something. She was a little wary of how he was going to react this this whole situation. He hadn't seemed particularly miffed by the idea of a sibling, but he definitely hadn't been interested, either.
Jenny watched Whitney falling asleep slowly, and noted that Gibbs was gone significantly longer than it took to go to the waiting room and grab a four-year-old, but she didn't say anything about it when he got back.
She smiled when she saw her son, and he skipped in, mop of hair flying. He bounded up to the bed and jumped around, stomping his feet, and looking genuinely curious. Gibbs came up behind him and put an authoritative hand on his shoulder, silently ordering him to be still.
"Ben," he said firmly. "Rules?"
"Be quiet," Benjamin answered slyly. "Be gentle, don't climb on Mommy."
Gibbs nodded, and hoisted him up onto the bed, sitting him down next to Jenny and pulling up a plastic chair for himself. He positioned himself so he'd catch Benjamin if he decided to fall off the bed, and watched carefully.
"Daddy says I get a sister," Benjamin said, looking straight at Jenny. "Do not want."
Jenny smirked. They had opted not to find out the sex, so Benjamin was as surprised as they were.
"You'll get used to her."
"Nuh-uh."
"Hey, maybe I wanted you to be a girl," Jenny teased.
Benjamin's mouth dropped open.
"I got used to you, huh?"
He gave her a glare that mimicked his fathers, and then seemed to think about it.
"Okay," he said, and scooted forward. "Lemme see," he drawled, dragging out the last word.
Jenny sat forward, giving her son a better view of the baby, and he peered down at her, blinking his wide eyes with interest. He watched her sleep for a moment, tilting his head back and forth.
Then, he reached out and poked her deliberately, right in the stomach.
Whitney started to fuss, her eyes flying open unhappily.
"Benjamin Shepard Gibbs," growled Jenny, her eyes flashing coldly in an instant.
Gibbs yanked Benjamin off the bed and into his lap, grabbing his hand and slapping him sharply on the wrist. He caught Benjamin's eyes and glared at him forcefully while Jenny tried to quiet the baby.
"What did I tell you, son?" he demanded shortly.
Benjamin looked sulky, and folded his arms in a pout. He turned away and stared at his mother and the baby, his lip going out pitifully. Gibbs wasn't sure if he was jealous or being a redneck little kid, but it was a little disconcerting that the first thing he'd done to the new baby was poke her. Benjamin threw himself backwards dramatically and leaned against Gibbs' chest. Whitney started to cry louder, and he put his hands over his ears.
"I don't like it," he whined grumpily.
Jenny sat forward and pushed her hair back, reaching for the buttons of her shirt - well, Gibbs' shirt; she'd brought one she'd stolen from him. Gibbs watched her for a moment, realized she was going to nurse Whitney, and turned his eye on Benjamin again.
"She wouldn't be cryin' if you hadn't poked her," he said sternly. He nodded his head. "You need to apologize. She's your sister."
"I don't like her."
"We're takin' her home anyway," Gibbs said bluntly. "She might not like you, either," he added.
Benjamin gave him a look and Gibbs shifted him forward, snapping.
"Apologize," he ordered.
Benjamin sat forward, putting his arms on the bed. Jenny looked over at him expectantly, but mildly; he did need to learn a lesson, but she didn't want him to think right off the bat that they liked the new baby better.
"Now, Ben."
Benjamin, however, just tilted his head.
"What is Mommy doing?" he hissed, his eyes wide.
"She's – oh," Gibbs muttered. "She's feeding the baby."
"How?"
"She just is."
"How?" Benjamin demanded.
"The same way I fed you, Ben," Jenny broke in, sensing Gibbs' discomfort. She gestured at Whitney's head. "Breastfeeding. It's milk."
Benjamin stared at her. He turned, looked at Gibbs skeptically, and then shrugged. He leaned forward again, and peered at Whitney's turned head, seeming to think about it.
"I'm sorry, baby," he said loudly.
Jenny gave Gibbs a subtle nod; it was satisfactory.
"What is sister's name?" Benjamin asked.
"Whitney," Jenny supplied, smiling at him.
"Witty?"
Jenny laughed, and Gibbs grinned.
"Witty," Gibbs snorted.
"Cute," Jenny said – smart, she thought. "Whitney," she pronounced more clearly, and Benjamin shrugged, looking more closely. He climbed back on the bed – gently – and snuggled next to Jenny, watching her.
Jenny leaned over and kissed the top of his head.
"You can hold her when she's done eating," she said kindly.
Gibbs leaned forward on his knees, eyes on the three of them.
Benjamin looked uncertain of that idea, but twisted and looked at Gibbs. Gibbs arched his eyebrows, eyeing his son. He tilted his head.
"What do ya think, buddy?" he asked gruffly. "You think we can keep her?"
Benjamin looked down at her warily.
"Can I play with her?" he asked.
"When she's a little older," Jenny said gently. "She's going to sleep a lot."
"Is she gonna cry a lot?"
Jenny looked sympathetic.
"Maybe," she answered honestly.
"Hmpf," grunted Benjamin. He sighed. "Okay, you can take her home, Mommy, but I wanna go sleep at Tony's when she cries."
Gibbs narrowed his eyes, glaring, and Jenny laughed.
August, 2004
Whitney Jean Gibbs: born 25 August, 2004.
*note that I'm not sure if Soeurette is appropriately used in French for 'little sister,' but i thought it prettier than Petite Soeur.
-Alexandra
story #196