Title: Time Of Our Lives
Rating: T to be on the safe side
Classification: Romance/Humor
Spoilers: Hiatus and anything after
Disclaimers: If I owned them, you'd be watching this as a grainy, choppy flashback. And Gibbs would probably have to be unconscious.
Summary: They have no idea that one of the most special moments of their lives is about to happen. Shannon POV. Special Ops Challenge 19
"Wow, that must have been some party."
He says it with this serious tone of voice, like he's completely interested. And I'd believe he was if it weren't for his eyes, which have that look in them that he knows will make me start laughing in any moment. He loves making me laugh, and learned on one of our first dates that one of the easiest ways to do it is by pretending to be interested in something and keeping a perfectly serious face, while his eyes take on this boyish, amused expression. It doesn't even matter if it is honestly something he's interested in and agrees with – when he thinks of it he has to try it, every single time, because he knows how I'll react. Honestly, he drives me nuts when he does it!
Sure enough, I feel my lips start to twitch and I struggle to keep a straight face. Just one time I am going to pull that off, no matter how darn cute he looks.
"Jethro," I scold. "I'm serious. For a thirteen-year-old, a masquerade party was very cool."
"Oh, no, Shannon." He nods, his blue eyes wide. "I remember you telling me how much fun you had at that party." Darn it. I take a deep breath.
"I didn't have to tell you about it. You were there, remember?" Our first date, back when we were in junior high. Although we didn't have a second for nearly three years.
"No, but I remember us talking about it afterwards." That sincerity in his voice...I can't do it. I start giggling.
"Jethro!"
He grins, looking entirely too pleased with himself. Honestly, there should be a law against guys being that adorable. Even when they're your husband.
"You get me every time with that."
"Yeah, I know." He ducks his head, still smiling, and I can't resist. I reach a hand out and run it through his hair. I just love it when he does that little head duck.
He looks over at me and for a second we just stay that way, looking into each other's eyes. Two years of marriage and we're still as hopelessly in love as newlyweds. My best friend teases me that it's disgusting and I just tell her to wait, that one day it'll be her looking like that.
The moment is broken as a slight pain ripples across my stomach and I shift slightly on the bed, kicking one leg out from underneath the blankets, and put one hand against my abdomen.
"Kelly just kick?" Jethro asks.
I shake my head. "I'm still paying for that chocolate ice cream and nacho craving."
Jethro chuckles. "I thought I was the one who paid for your cravings." He's got a point there, since he's been the one who's gone out three evenings a week for the last month to get them for me. But we both know he wouldn't have it any other way. Neither would I.
Of course, this wasn't what I had in mind as a result of my little snack. Actually, my stomach has been bothering me off and on for the last few hours and it's starting to feel a little worse.
"You wondering if it's a contraction?" Jethro puts a gentle hand on my stomach and I grin sheepishly at him. This is nothing new. I'm not actually due for two more weeks, but for the last month I've been pretty much wondering about every unusual sensation I get in my stomach. Last week I even had false labor pangs and Jethro pretty much broke every speed limit to get me to the hospital. Mom insists this is normal behavior from a first-time Mom and there's nothing irrational about it, but I'm really starting to feel like an idiot.
Another pain crosses my stomach, this one a little stronger, and I draw in a sharp breath. Jethro looks concerned. "Do you want another washcloth?" I nod, and he gets up and walks over the bathroom.
The washcloth thing started this evening after I managed to wear half a cup of lukewarm tea across my stomach. Aside from the initial discomfort, the slightly cool dampness had felt somewhat soothing, so when the indigestion still hadn't settled an hour later, I'd tried the same effect with a wash cloth.
I can hear him running the water and I sigh and shift my head a little on the pillow. I'm really starting to feel kind of lousy. "Hey, Kelly?" I whisper. "What's going on in there?"
Jethro comes back and I move over so that he can sit down on the side of the bed. He gently slides my nightie up and drapes the washcloth across my stomach, then puts a gentle hand on top. I smile and close my eyes for a second.
"Hey, Shannon?" Jethro's voice is quiet. "Do you think this is the real thing this time?"
I open my eyes and look up at him. "I'm not due for two more weeks."
He shrugs. "Mom said that I came early."
"You were a twin, remember!" Jethro's sister, Jamie, was born four minutes before he was. "Twins usually come early."
He gives me that little half grin of his. "There is that."
Jethro shifts position so that he's sitting on the floor beside me instead of on the bed. He sits like that for few seconds, not saying anything, just sort of staring into space. "Shannon?" he said softly.
"Yeah?" He looks up at me. His eyes are just shining and he has the sweetest, most wistful smile on his face. Jethro firmly believes that the words "wistful" and "Marine" do not belong anywhere together, but there is no other way to describe that smile.
"We're going to have a little girl."
There's a sound of wonder in his voice and tears come into my eyes. I want to hug him, but because of his position I don't dare lean over the bed or else I'm going to probably land on the floor. Instead I hold out my arm and he leans over to hug me. For a second we just stay there, hugging each other.
Jethro has been saying this to me at least once a day and he almost always gets me crying when he says it. He's so excited about becoming a father and I think this has to be one of the most romantic things he's ever done.
When the doctor was able to confirm the gender, both Jethro and I agreed we wanted to know. It was funny, because we'd been insistent on it being a surprise whenever we'd talked about it before. All it took was one look at the ultrasound photo for us to throw that plan out of existence.
It took us nearly seven months to decide on a name. That's been a story in itself. Just when we'd think we'd settled on one, one of us would come across another name we really liked. Initially, we were thinking about using Theresa if we had a girl, which has been one my favorite names for a long time. Then, while working at the library, I checked out a book for a little girl named Angela. That name seemed really pretty, so we started considering that. Then one night, Jethro ran across a movie that was being shown from a couple of years ago, called Goliath Awaits and proceeded to watch the entire thing through, even though it lasted until 2:00AM. What he found so interesting about it I will never understand. The only thing that interested me about it was an actress' name on the credits, Emma. (Okay, and the guy who played Peter Cabot was sort of cute, I guess.) Anyway, we had pretty much settled on that for two months and were just looking for a middle name, when Jethro found "Natasha" in the baby name book. Except, he wanted to use it as a first name – not a middle name.
Finally last month, at my check-up, I happened to catch sight of a nurse's nametag that read "Kelly." That was a name I hadn't really heard much before, but it seemed really cute. And when we talked about it in the car, Jethro thought so too. But he was also really wanting still to use Natasha. So we decided to think a bit more about it. A week later, I was doing what I've been told is "nesting," I call "out-of-season spring cleaning," and Jethro just refers to as "Meddling" or a "Neatness Fit." And I ran across the book Jethro had bought me for my birthday – which around the same time I found out I was pregnant. It was a suspense novel and the heroine's name happened to be Kelly. So, that pretty much decided it. Well, sort of decided it. We still can't settle on the spelling. Jethro's vote is for "Kelli," which he says "looks spunkier." I'm stubbornly holding out for "Kelly," the way the character and the nurse spelled it. And since we're using Natasha, the name Jethro liked for the middle name, it seems logical that we go with my choice for spelling. Unfortunately, I have yet to learn how to explain logic to a Marine.
Our hug is finally cut short when another pain stabs through my abdomen and I wince. Jethro draws back in concern.
"Sweetheart, I think maybe we should get you to the hospital."
"Like we did last time?" Okay, so I'm still a little embarrassed about showing up at 2:00 in the morning and saying I was going into labor when it ended up being a false alarm. After having to call Jethro at work, since he was on duty that night as an M.P.. I never want to show my face at the base again.
Before Jethro can answer, there is a horrifying screech and I jump about six feet. I grab Jethro's arm. "What on earth was that?"
Another screech sounds as an answer. Jethro and I both jerk our heads to look over at the open window as something crashes to the ground outside. "Oh, enough," Jethro mutters. He heads over to the window and glances out, as we hear another screech. He rolls his eyes. "It's a cat fight!"
"You're kidding." I start to giggle, then regret it as another pain hits.
"Oh, no. Two huge suckers getting into it." He says something else, but I barely hear him because this pain is getting worse. Okay, maybe this is not false labor. Finally it quits and I breathe a sigh of relief.
"I'm going to get a bucket," he tells me, before heading towards the bathroom. He returns a moment later, holding an ice cream pail with water. I stare at him.
"You are not going to throw that!"
"Why not?" Jethro's eyes are sparkling way too much. "It'll shut them up." He heads over to the window and pulls the glass up a little more.
"Jethro, you can't! What will their owners say?"
"From the look of things, they don't have any. They're just a pair of strays." Jethro props the window open a little more and brandishes his bucket. "Okay, where are you?"
"Jethro!" Suddenly that sharp pain hits again and I grab my stomach. "Aaah!"
"Shannon?"
This is not false labor. "Get away from that window!"
THE END