Chapter 2
Tony couldn't do anything but stare at Gibbs for a long time, letting his words slowly sink in as the realization of it hit him.
"We're going to adopt?" he asked, giving his lover a disbelieving look.
"Yeah", Gibbs said and gave Tony an affectionate smile. "We can finally raise a family."
I bright smile lit up Tony's face and a happy laughter escaped his throat. They were going to be parents! He and Gibbs had waited for this for so long. Before Gibbs, Tony had never really thought much about getting children since he felt so awkward around them, not knowing how to act really, and he had never exactly thought that a child could fit in in his life. But all that changed when Gibbs became his. Tony found himself settling down, both physically and mentally. He calmed down a little, got more grounded, as Gibbs became the steady rock in his life he had needed for so long, without even realizing it himself. Suddenly the thought of raising a child didn't sound so bad after all, and he knew how much Gibbs liked them.
But the thought had terrified him at first, still did sometimes. Tony knew nothing about raising children and the thought of screwing up almost made him tremble with fear. After much discussion back and forth with himself he'd finally brought his troubles up with his other half, almost afraid that Gibbs would laugh at him and telling him that he was stupid, but Gibbs had done none of that. He'd just looked Tony straight in the eyes with a thoughtful look on his face and then he had smiled at Tony, that ice-melting, lopsided, affectionate smile of his that made the younger man forget about all his worries and know that he was not alone anymore, and then they had sat down together on the couch and talked.
Gibbs had told Tony about his own fears about becoming a father when he and Shannon had expected Kelly. That he, too, had been terrified out of his wits when it came to raise a child. It wasn't often the gruff ex-marine talked about his past, so Tony had listened carefully and given the older man his silent support whenever the memories brought the pain of losing them back to the surface. They talked for hours, well into the wee hours of the morning, and afterwards Tony was feeling a lot better, confident that they would pull through, as long as they did it together.
"This is amazing", Tony said with a somewhat dreamy voice. "Are you sure this is really happening?"
"I'm sure. Right now, you and I are going to Rainbow Orphanage to meet our future son or daughter. In just a couple of months time, we are going to be parents. It is really happening, Tony."
Tony's smile got even wider and Gibbs couldn't help but laugh at him. He took the younger man's hand in his and gave it a light squeeze. That smile reflected how he felt himself and his heart still took leaps of joy when he thought about the phone call and the happy news that he and Tony could come to the orphanage and meet the children, see if they found someone they could consider to help and guide through life. Gibbs was sure that he and Tony would find their child today. He could feel it in his guts as well as in his heart.
"Are you ready, Tony?" he asked and gave the younger man's hand another squeeze.
TBC
"I'm ready", Tony said and looked at Gibbs with sparkling eyes. "I don't think I've ever been more ready than this."