I hope people made it past the first chapter to this one! Also hope some peeps took the time to let me know if they liked it or not.
If you DID! Thanks for reading!
Later that evening, Jethro was busily cooking dinner when he heard Tony begin to move around upstairs. His partner had been resting for a few hours but from the sound of his feet padding across the floor, he had been woken once again by the pressure of the baby on his bladder. A few minutes later he heard Tony descend the stairs, more carefully and slowly that he would have six months ago. When he looked up, the younger man was in the doorway between the kitchen and the hall, rubbing the side of his burgeoning belly absently with a somewhat distracted look on his face.
"You okay?" Gibbs asked, concerned.
"Think so." Tony sounded as if he wasn't quite sure. "I just feel kind of…weird."
"Weird, how?" Jethro said, turning down the burner and going to Tony's side immediately.
"I don't know. Just…like she's really low all of a sudden. Kind of…pressure…right here." He rubbed the underside of his stomach. "Doesn't hurt. Just feels…"
"Weird?" Gibbs finished for him, putting his hand on Tony's belly. It was rock hard and he was having a huge contraction even though he didn't seem to be feeling pain. Slowly the muscles beneath his palm relaxed and he smiled. He was going to get to meet his daughter soon.
"You're smiling." Tony seemed puzzled.
"How long you been feeling this way?" Jethro prompted.
"I don't know. Maybe a little before I laid down. Didn't notice as much till I got up again. Just feels like I'm dragging this thing across the floor. At least she's not up under my ribs anymore." He let out a deep sigh. "What did you make for dinner?"
"You feel like eating?" He couldn't believe Tony didn't realize his labor was starting.
Tony shrugged. "Kind of. Not really. Is that weird too?" he grinned.
Jethro fixed Tony a small plate of the pasta he'd made as the younger man pulled up a seat at the table and sat down with a relieved groan. "Just eat what you want. I'll be right back. Gonna make a call."
He picked up the phone and quickly dialed Jimmy Palmer's number. Palmer would be acting as their Doula for the birth and he wanted to let him know that things were starting to happen. After two of his own pregnancies, Palmer had gotten certified as a male midwife and Tony hadn't been able to think of anyone else he wanted present when he gave birth himself.
"It's Gibbs," he said when Jimmy picked up. "Yeah. Just starting, I think. Couple of hours maybe…Not to bad yet. He actually hasn't even realized…Yeah. I'll let you know when we get moving a little… I will." He hung up the phone and turned to Tony who was staring at him wide-eyed.
"You called Palmer? You think this is…you think I'm? Oh Jesus," he breathed, looking down at his belly and wrapping his arms around it protectively.
"Hey," Gibbs moved in beside him. "All I know is you were contracting hard a minute ago and she's definitely dropped low, you're not wrong about that." He placed his hand on the top of Tony's belly which was decidedly lower and more pointed than it had been even earlier that day. "Feel this? Her little butt's right up here." He brought his hand down to the underside. "Can't feel her head which means it's probably engaged. Starting to push her way down a little."
Tony shifted in his chair and Jethro felt his tummy tauten beneath his palm.
"It's starting again," the younger man said, feeling the odd pressure he'd been feeling off and on begin to build low in his stomach. A contraction, he told himself, that's what this was. He couldn't believe he hadn't put it together earlier. The whole thing suddenly seemed very real. After a few seconds, maybe 20, the feeling passed.
"Gonna start timing just to see where we're at. I'm sure we've got a long while yet so just relax. Let your body tell you what it needs," he encouraged.
"How about a magic wand to get her out without the pain part?" he said hopefully.
"Sorry, DiNozzo," Jethro said, kissing him gently as he rose to fix himself a plate, "but you know I would change that if I could."
"I know." Tony toyed with the food on his plate for a few minutes but only took a couple of bites. It was clear he was distracted by the processes going on inside of him. Gibbs did encourage him to drink water to make sure he stayed hydrated and even let him have a couple sips of his beer which did seem to help him relax a little. They chatted about a few home repairs that Gibbs hadn't managed to get to that weekend and bantered about a few sports games, skirting the issue of Tony's labor and trying to pretend they weren't starting the biggest waiting game of their lives.
Jethro glanced at his watch when Tony suddenly set down his fork and looked over at him. "Another one?" he asked, not really needing the confirmation of Tony's nod. He reached over and placed a hand on DiNozzo's stomach again, feeling the powerful spasm for himself. "12 minutes," he said when it passed. "How do they feel?"
"The same, really. Except now I know what they are, I think I'm more aware of them ." He pushed his plate away, clearly not interested in eating any more.
"You wanna lay down together for a while? See if we can get a little sleep before the main event starts?" he suggested.
"Do you think I should?"
Jethro grinned, "That's what a home birth is all about, DiNozzo, doing what feels right to you."
Tony smiled at him nervously. Since he'd realized he was in labor he suddenly seemed very childlike to Jethro, scared and a little unsure of himself. "That sounds good, then."
A few minutes later Gibbs had cleaned up the kitchen and joined Tony upstairs. The younger man was sitting up against the headboard, naked and stroking the mass of his belly, seemingly lost in his own private world. Jethro took just a minute to watch him as his heart twisted in his chest. This might be the very last time they got to be alone for a long long while and he wanted to enjoy it while it lasted.
He slipped back out into the hall and rummaged quietly in the linen closet before returning to the bedroom carrying an absorbent pad to put on the bed just in case Tony's water broke.
"Hey," he said softly as he approached, hating to rouse the younger man from his thoughts.
"Hey," Tony echoed dreamily, "had another one. 'Bout the same."
"Good, that means they're pretty regular. Can you get up for a second?" Tony moved to the edge of the bed. "Covers or no covers?" Gibbs asked.
"Maybe a sheet. I'm pretty warm and with you in bed I have the best heater in the world."
Jethro pulled back the covers on the bed and put the pad down before pulling the sheets back up. Taking his cue from Tony he got undressed and moved onto the bed, propping himself up with pillows against the headboard. "Can you lean against me comfortably?" Gibbs indicated the space between his legs. He wanted whatever Tony wanted, but for himself, he wanted to be as in touch his partner as possible, to experience what was happening to his body as it happened. He'd missed out on the whole process with Kelly, having shipped out shortly before her birth and he thought it highly unlikely he was ever going to get another chance at it.
"That would be good. Like it when you're all cuddly, Gibbs." He moved awkwardly onto the bed and heaved himself up between Jethro's thighs with a huff. Tony leaned back and groaned contentedly, shifting until he had found his spot against Jethro's chest.
Gibbs rested his palms lightly on the sides of Tony's stomach and rubbed light circles across his flesh. "Think you can sleep?"
"Not sure. This feels good though. Pretty sure I'm not going to be sleeping once everything gets going."
Jethro could hear the hint of nerves in his voice. "You scared?" his voice hovered just over a whisper.
"A little," he admitted. "We're gonna bring a baby into the world, Gibbs. You and me. A whole human being. Aren't you scared?"
Jethor carded the fingers of one hand through Tony's hair softly, stroked his temples. "I'm a little nervous," he confessed. "More about seeing you in pain. Don't think I'm gonna do well with that."
Tony knew that if Gibbs were willing to admit this, the affirmation was only scratching the surface of what was going on in his head. "I'll be fine." He placed a reassuring hand over Jethro's on his belly. "I'm strong. The baby is strong. The 8 million doctors we've seen said everything is perfect and I trust Jimmy with my life." Tony hesitated just a moment. "But if I scream like a little girl, break your hand, and tell you I hate you, will you promise to forgive me?"
Gibbs didn't trust his voice after Tony's words so he simply pressed a kiss to the top of the younger man's head in answer. "I love you both…so much," he whispered brokenly, letting the tears he had been holding back finally spill over.
"We love you too, Jethro." His own tears fell both in sympathy for the fear of loss the once-broken hearted man behind him was experiencing and for the sheer earth-shattering significance of the moment in general.
When Gibbs' shuddering sighs had calmed to deep even breaths, they both drifted off to sleep for a few blissful moments.
Again, hope you enjoyed. If you did, maybe take a minute to let me know. Thank you so much!
