Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the baby.
* = POV switch
-- = Time Passed
A.N.: I'm sorry this took so long to come. It turned out longer than I expected, but hopefully it's up to par as a sequel.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs could never really be accused of being a sentimental person, but that was before Jenny re-entered his life. From the moment he saw her in MTAC he had known he was looking at his Jenny. She tried to hide behind severe business suits but every time he caught her eyes he knew he was seeing through it. He had managed to get through her barriers, her devotion to her job and her self-hate for leaving the best thing to happen to her and they had breathed life into their relationship once more, three weeks since she had become director. That was four blissful months ago. They had come clean to each other about so many secrets that they had kept from each other, neither wanting any of it to bite them in the butt further down the line. Some, like Jethro's first wife and Jenny's failure in Europe, were harder to come to terms with than others, but they had worked through those problems, and they were happy to say they were in a blissful relationship with no secrets between them.
So why was he sentimental? The reason was simple, and yet not so simple. She wanted to cut her hair. Even from his earliest memories of her, Jenny had had long, luscious red locks framing her face and spilling over her shoulders. He had seen it curled, straightened, wavy and pulled up in several styles, but he had never seen it butchered. He looked up from the picture she had given him of the Pixie cut she wanted and gave her a shocked and confused stare.
"This?! You won't have any hair left!" Slight hysteria tinged his voice as he realised that he wouldn't be able to tangle his fingers in it while he moved over her, their bodies pressed together, moving as one. He wouldn't feel it draped over his chest after making love, or play with it when she was stressed and needed calming, or shampoo it when they were in the shower. He held her gaze as she sighed, running her hand through it.
"Jethro, I need to cut it. The other Directors don't take me seriously enough and I need to show them I'm their equal, not a poster girl."
"And you will achieve this by… cutting your hair?" he asked dubiously.
"Well, when you say it like that it sounds silly. I just need to look more professional."
"Jenny you've had long hair throughout your entire career and it's never lost you anyone's respect. This is over reaction." He looked back at the picture. "You may as well get a short back and sides." He mumbled.
"What?"
"Jenny, don't cut your hair. If you can give me a better reason for it, then go for it, but if you just want to impress some of the tight sphincters, then don't bother." He looked up in time to see her disappearing into her en suite bathroom. "Jen? You ok?" The only answer he received was the sound of the contents of her stomach hitting water. He fought a smile. She thought she had food poisoning, but he was reasonably positive that she didn't. He thought back to the morning after their first night together.
Gibbs woke up slowly, the pleasant sensation of a warm body curled in to his, slowing his ascent to consciousness. He tightened his arms around her body and pulled her closer, brushing a kiss into her hair. Jenny stirred, opening her eyes just after he did, the green orbs catching his blue ones, causing a smile to light up her face.
"Good morning." She whispered, stroking her hand down his chest, dipping beneath the sheets. He grasped her wandering hand and brought it to his lips, pressing a kiss to it.
"Good morning, Jen." She giggled and pulled herself over him, straddling his body and gripping him with her legs. "Last night was incredible and right now I really want to ravish you until we can't walk, but I think we need to talk. Things moved really quick-" Jenny put a hand over Jethro's mouth, stopping the words mid stream and rolled her eyes at him.
"Jethro I'm getting old. The chances of me getting pregnant are pretty slim now, so if it happens at all I'll be a very happy woman. Let's not think about it, please?"
"If it happens, it happens?"
"Exactly." She gave him a saucy wink and squealed in laughter as he rolled them over, laying himself over her, taking her mouth in a deep kiss. They worshipped each other's bodies long in to the morning, giving them their first late start at work in a long time.
Jethro shook himself out of his reverie and followed Jen into the bathroom, kneeling beside her and moving her hair from her face. She looked exhausted, gasping for breath as her stomach tried to bring up more. He shifted position so he was behind her and wrapped his arms around her, bringing her to rest against his chest. He remembered this time from when Shannon was pregnant with Kelly; he had been useless, taking her to the doctor every time she felt under the weather. He knew he should share his suspicions with Jenny, but the mood swings would be nasty and after all, Shannon never carried a gun. Though the fact was he was worried. She had been puking her guts up not just in the morning, but throughout the day.
"Jethro… I think I'm… going to have to… go see a doctor… this is killing me." She whispered, still gasping as she carried on retching, only bile coming up. She slumped against him and he gently laid her back against the wall. He turned on the shower and undressed them both.
"Come on, shower first, then we'll go see Ducky. I trust him more than a random doctor I've never met before." He grinned at her and helped her up from the floor, flushing the toilet, and setting her under the jets of water from the shower.
--
Half an hour later the doors to autopsy opened and Jethro walked in, supporting Jenny who was experiencing another bout of nausea. Gibbs managed to get her to a bowl in time and she retched into that. Ducky looked at them in surprise, before hurrying to Jen's side.
"You should be resting at home, my dear, not exhausting yourself by coming to work when you are clearly unwell."
"Hey Duck" Jethro greeted the Doctor as Jen was… busy. "She's been ill for a while now and she's throwing up all day. Jen thinks its food poisoning, but I think she's…" he lowered his voice conspiratorially "pregnant."
"Ohhhh… well that shouldn't be too difficult to find out." He walked through the silver door and came out a few minutes later, carrying a hand full of pregnancy tests. Jenny stared at the bundle of bright packages and opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She closed her mouth, swallowed and tried again.
"I thought I must have eaten something bad…" her voice drifted off and then tears began running down her face. Ducky held out the bundle and decided to give it to Jethro instead. He then put his hands on her shoulders and softly told her to use all the tests just in case it wasn't pregnancy. He tried not to startle her; the hormones rushing through her body were causing mood swings already. He was fairly certain that she was pregnant. He was a doctor after all and the physical changes her body had gone through were obvious to him, her feet and hands were somewhat larger and her breasts had swollen slightly. He just decided she needed it proven to her.
"I'll take some blood and have Abby test it, just in case it is food poisoning." He took some blood and then sent both her and Jethro to the toilet, hoping he could help her take all the tests if she began puking again. Ducky then went to Abby's lab to have her run the tests.
*
In the bathroom, Jenny spread out the tests on the floor. Ducky had given her five tests to use and she couldn't help but wonder why one wouldn't have been enough. Jethro had said he would give her five minutes alone to take the tests, and then he was coming in to see. She saw through him though, his concern came out loud and clear. She couldn't believe that she might be pregnant. It just couldn't be. She knew that she had told Jethro that if it happened, then it happened, but she really hadn't thought she was still young enough to get pregnant. Fear lanced through her as she realised she may not be, she could be at risk from having a baby so late, the worse thought was that her baby could be at risk from all sorts of problems because she was too old…
"Just take the tests. You don't even know if you are pregnant yet." She took a deep, steadying breath and picked up the tests, taking them in to the cubicle with her. She placed them on the cistern of the toilet and cursed her luck. She didn't need the toilet; she couldn't even feel the beginnings of that need. Sighing, she left the cubicle and walked to the door, opening it to Jethro's amazed face.
"That was quick." She gave him a half smile.
"I need a drink, preferably caffeinated." He shook his head.
"No caffeine. I'll get you a bottle of water." Jethro walked away quickly, returning in only a matter of minutes. "Want me to come in with you?"
"I can pee on a stick without you holding my hand, Jethro." She drank the water and walked back in to the bathroom to wait for the urge to pee.
*
Ducky wandered through the doors to Abby's lab and made a beeline for her once he saw her. She was dancing around in the middle of the room, throwing her arms around in time with the beat of her music. He was impressed, he couldn't discern a beat in the noise she called music. He couldn't be too hypocritical though, he did like some of the bands she sometimes played.
"Hey, Duck-man! Have you come to the house of Abby to get in the groove?" she exaggerated a few more waves of her hands in what he assumed was what young people did in clubs nowadays.
"Sadly not, Abby. I have a blood sample that I need you to test for me." She stopped dancing and moved towards him, holding her hand out for the sample.
"Who's is it? You got a body down there from another team?"
"No, and I would appreciate your silence on the results of this test."
"Sure, when have I ever blabbed confidential stuff? Gibbs notwithstanding." Her curiosity peaked and she gave him a worried look. "It's not yours is it?"
"No, definitely not. Please just run it and you'll see why." He winked at her and wandered around the lab, waiting for the results to come back. He chuckled as Abby occasionally threw curious glances his way.
*
15 minutes later and Jenny was sat in the middle of the bathroom floor, glaring at all five used tests. She had been bored stiff waiting to use them, and now that she had taken them, her nerves were making time crawl. She'd never realised how long 90 seconds could be. She squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath, willing her heart rate to slow to a normal pace. She was just a little too successful though, as the exhaustion from throwing up so many times and the trip to NCIS caught up to her. She felt sleepy and having her eyes closed was so relaxing, she sighed in frustration. She was either puking or sleeping lately and it was beginning to show in her work. Jethro obviously became too impatient to wait outside much longer as the bathroom door opened and he crouched down next to her, pulling her in a tight hug. She snuggled into his embrace and sighed again, this time in contentment.
"How long does it take?"
"90 seconds. Supposedly. It feels like I've been here an hour already." She slurred a little at the end of her sentence as the comforting hug lulled her slowly to sleep. Just as she felt herself drifting off, Jethro whispered in her ear, his voice choked with emotion.
"Jen, open your eyes."
She did as she was told and blinked a few times, following his gaze to the tests. Her pulse jumped and she felt her exhaustion receding as she looked upon five pluses. Tears sprang to her eyes and she buried her face in Jethro's shirt, sobbing quietly. She was pregnant. She was going to be a mother. It was all so surreal, children was one of the things she had thought she had given up for her career six years ago, but here she was, the first female Director of an armed Federal Agency, of NCIS, snuggling into the arms of the man of her dreams with his baby growing inside her. His fingers ran gently down the side of her face, tilting her face up towards his. She felt the tickle of his butterfly kisses over her cheeks and forehead, and she sought out his mouth with hers, kissing him deeply once she found it, plundering his mouth and pulling his head closer to her. When air was required, they broke apart and grinned at each other euphorically. She couldn't stop smiling, the high those pluses had given her made everything look so much more beautiful.
"We're having a baby." He chuckled blissfully at her words and added something else.
"We're going to be parents."
*
Ducky watched Abby stare open mouthed at the results displayed on the computer screen and he couldn't help but chuckle. He had been right, not that there had been much doubt. Jennifer was pregnant. Abby slowly turned to stare at Ducky, pointing her finger at the screen and giving him an odd look.
"So if it's not your blood, are congratulations in order to your girlfriend?" she gave him a sly giggle and he shook his head at her.
"They are, but it's not my girlfriend. You'll have to wait and see like everyone else."
"Awww, but Ducky-"
"Abigail, wait for the announcement."
"Oh. My. God! Its Gibbs isn't it? He's the only one you would do this for." She gave an excited squeal and clapped her hands together. "Or Director Shepard, so it must be both!" She couldn't contain her excitement. "Gibblet on the way!"
Well, so much for being discrete. Ducky shook his head and then told her once more not to say anything, and then he took the elevator down to autopsy to see how Jennifer and Jethro got on.
--
It was five hours later that saw Director Shepard and Agent Gibbs standing in the bullpen and calling for attention. All of the personnel in NCIS that they considered friends, and even those they didn't interact with as often, were there to hear the news that they had called the impromptu meeting for.
"Ok people, I know this is quite irregular, but we thought you deserved to hear this in person, rather through an email sent en masse. Today, only a matter of hours ago, we-" she indicated herself and Jethro "discovered that we would be welcoming a new member to our family." She caught everyone's eyes as she spoke, excluding no one from the news. Jethro wrapped an arm around her waist and drew her back to him. "I'm pregnant."
"Congratulations!!" The chorus of voices and applause from their colleagues brought tears to the happy couple's eyes once again. Everyone stepped up to give them individual congratulations and hugs. Once everyone had conveyed their best wishes, Jenny attracted everyone's attention once again to continue the announcement.
"There will be changes for us, such as shift times and later, maternity and paternity leave. I hope you will all be tolerant of my weak stomach over the coming months." There were a few laughs and sympathetic looks as they thought about the sickness she had been trying, unsuccessfully, to hide from them. The relief from the simple fact she was healthy was overpowering, giving the room an electric atmosphere. Abby jumped up on one of the desks, and called for everyone's attention.
"I know most of you just found out, so I took the liberty of buying a card since I ran the blood test and found out hours ago. Sign it!" she ordered, pointing to the giant card that McGee was struggling to open in the middle of the throng. It was a lovely yellow card saying, 'Congratulations on your pregnancy' that Abby and he had customised with a picture of the contented duo, in a love heart at the top. Pens were withdrawn from pockets and handed around as everyone signed the card, most of the other Agents then left to finish their work, leaving team Gibbs in the bullpen with the expecting parents. Ducky and Palmer then gave their hugs to the Director and a hand shake to Gibbs, Ducky receiving a kiss on the cheek from Jenny, then they left to finish up in Autopsy. Tony shook his head, still trying to wrap his head around the news.
"I just can't believe it." Ziva agreed with him.
"I know what you mean, I too was unsure if she was ready to be a parent." Tony chuckled and then elaborated on his statement.
"No, I mean they had sex, enough to get pregnant." Ziva gave him a disgusted look, and then swiftly looked somewhere else as she saw Gibbs walk up behind him.
*Whack*
"Right boss, no offense meant to you, Director." Jenny just smiled and shook her head at their antics, then accepted a hug from Abby, which she realised, was a mistake. It felt like she would need ten people to remove the bubbly Goth, as Abby attached herself like a limpet and gave an occasional squeal of happiness, as she hugged Jenny and by proxy, the Gibblet. She drew back a little to direct her voice to Jenny's tummy.
"Hi baby, I'm your Aunt Abby!"
"Abs it's not a baby yet, it's still just a foetus."
"Quiet Timmy, I'm having quality time with the tiny Gibblet." She glared and then reattached herself to Jenny, this time to her stomach. Jenny for her part, stayed as still as possible so that she didn't get squeezed too much. It was starting to make her feel nauseous. Gibbs saw the difficulty she was in and decided to intervene. He tapped Abby on the shoulder.
"Hug for the daddy?" Abby was amazed he was asking for a hug, so she removed herself from Jenny's person and launched herself at Gibbs, squeezing the air out of him. Jenny put a hand over her mouth and fled to the bathroom, Ziva following just in case and Ducky reappeared, watching them go.
"She's throwing up a lot, Duck. Is that normal?"
"Actually Jethro, studies have shown a correlation between morning sickness and the likelihood of miscarriage. Apparently, the more a woman throws up, the less likely she is to have a miscarriage."
"So, it's good that she's so sick?"
"Obviously she will disagree but I would support the study. If it increases the chances of her getting to full term, I'm sure she won't mind it."
"There are risks though?"
"There are always risks, Jethro. The only things that the baby is more at risk from are problems like Down's syndrome. You can't do anything to prevent that, though. She will need to rest through the day more and, naturally, eat more. You need to make sure she does these things!"
"I will."
"Then I don't see why she can't have a perfectly safe pregnancy." Abby disengaged herself from Gibbs and turned to Ducky.
"The baby needs a shower! We can have one the month before her maternity leave! Oh, I need to buy presents for the little one!" she turned to Gibbs and stared into his eyes, raising her hands to her temples. "Boy or girl?" she closed her eyes and waited for the Gibbs psychic ability to kick in.
"We don't know yet Abs, it's too young to know and we haven't even been for an ultrasound." Abby pouted and then left to bring Jenny back from the bathroom.
Gibbs shook his head with Ducky; the girl was convinced he had some sort of magic power. Jenny came back, flanked by Ziva and Abby. They held an elbow each, since she wasn't looking too good.
*
"How am I going to feed myself and a baby if I can't keep anything down?" she looked close to tears, then she became angry at the fact she was about to cry at work, then she changed back to feeling forlorn. Abby threw herself back in to her arms for a quick squeeze and Ziva patted her shoulder awkwardly. The rapid mood swings were disconcerting and honestly quite scary. She was worried about her baby. She spotted Ducky and rushed over to him, embracing him and hiding her face as the tears leaked out of her eyes.
"My dear you have nothing to worry about, I have some pills here to help stop the morning sickness, just take one as soon as you get up on a morning. It'll pass eventually." Ducky always could make her feel better with just a few words. Jenny carried on crying, this time in happiness.
"I'm pregnant, Ducky!"
"I know, my dear." He chuckled as he said it, framing her face with his hands. "You'll both make wonderful parents. Now go home, you need to rest." She kissed him on the cheek and then walked into Jethro's embrace.
"Let's go home, Jen." They kissed deeply, the team clapping a little as they walked hand in hand to the elevator, their family watching them depart.
--
Nine months later, and Jenny was resting comfortably at home with Jethro and their gorgeous one month old baby boy, Chris, in honour of Chris Pacci, the Agent that had been part of their family so long ago, and was taken away so cruelly. She had been discharged a few weeks ago and had been pampered by her lover while she slept and healed. She looked down at herself and buttoned up her shirt, having just finished nursing her beautiful little boy. His big blue eyes stared up at her and she smiled as he put his fist in his eye and rubbed it. He gurgled sleepily as she watched him, and she felt, rather than heard Jethro walk up behind her. He leaned down and kissed her cheek, taking Chris carefully in his arms to burp him and then change him.
She had spoken to the Sec-Nav the morning that her maternity leave had officially started, Leon Vance had apparently had a family emergency of his own, and one of his girls broke her wrist so he had only got to NCIS a week before she had gone into labour. That had not endeared the poor man to him. He wanted her to return as soon as she was able, but Jenny now found herself torn between her job and her little bundle of joy. She couldn't take him to work with her everyday and Jethro would have to return to work very soon, so she would have to leave her baby with Noemi. It wasn't that she thought Noemi couldn't look after Chris; she had proven that she could over the last few weeks. Jenny just didn't want to be separated from him so soon, or at all. She was worried and confused; she wanted everything to go her way.
She shook her head and then stood, following Jethro into Chris' nursery. He had changed him and he was tucking him in his cot. She walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around him, pressing her nose into his back, loving his calming scent. He turned and led her to bed, snuggling up with her once they were under the covers. Jethro had told her he trusted their extended family to take good care of Chris when she brought him in with her, so she shouldn't be worried, but that didn't dispel the memories of all the nannies she had had while her father had been away after her mother had died. She didn't want that for her baby. She knew Ziva, Tony, Abby, Timothy and Ducky would all be there for her, they had all told her in person, even offered their babysitting services. Chris was an angel, though. He rarely fussed so she was constantly checking on him, worried about cot death. She was worried about everything.
"Maybe I should quit NCIS." She mumbled quietly, hoping Jethro would put her mind at ease in that Gibbs way that he possessed. When no response was forthcoming, she turned in his arms to face him. The tap on the back of her head surprised her, her eyes widening at his audacity, before realising he was right. She couldn't leave, she was being silly. She had worked too long and hard to quit now. She would ask for an extension on her leave and hope that Leon had managed to get on Sec-Nav's good side. Not too good, just enough to get her an extra few months. Jethro softly ran his fingers through her long hair, the calming effect lulling her to sleep. She smiled as she was drifting, he was always right, even about her hair. It didn't really effect her position at NCIS, her demeanour and ability far out shone her gender. She had even received a congratulatory card signed by the Director of the FBI on the birth of her baby boy. She leaned over and kissed Jethro sweetly, before succumbing to her slumber.
"I love you, Jethro."
"I love you too, Jenny."
The baby monitor crackled a little, as Chris gurgled his own goodnight.
