Jethro lifted Colin into the seat of the shopping cart. Under the bright florescent lights he noticed just how much Colin looked like him. He had the same blue eyes and the black hair Jethro had, had when he was a young man. Colin's hair was a little thicker and had curls in it but looked the same. Colin was dressed in a mint green hospital gown and what was now a dirty diaper. He headed for the diaper aisle and that's where he was lost. When Kelly was small there were two brands and they were for babies or toddlers. There were at least five different brands and way more sizes than he remembered. A woman pushing a cart with a baby in a car-seat in the back and a girl about thirteen hanging onto the edge with one hand and a cellphone in the other.
"Goooo" Colin pleaded.
"I haven't even begun to shop." Jethro explained.
"Rough night?" The woman asked.
"Oh yeah" Jethro replied.
"Sick or hurt?" The mom asked pointing to the gown.
"Car accident, he's OK." Jethro replied.
"Your wife laid up?" The woman asked.
"Single dad, newly single dad, new dad actually. Long story." Jethro replied.
"I won't pry but I guess you are lost." The woman commented.
"Oh yeah the last time I was in charge of a toddler for more than a few hours was almost thirty years ago." Jethro explained.
"So what do you need?" The woman asked.
"Diapers, clothes, everything. I have no idea what to buy." Jethro replied.
"We have had good luck with Huggies but everybody is different. What size do you need?" The woman asked.
"No idea" Jethro replied.
"What does he weigh?" The woman asked.
"Twenty pounds." Jethro replied.
"He would be a four." The woman replied.
"What clothes size?" Jethro asked.
"He looks to be a twelve months. They have plenty over there." The woman replied.
"Thanks I am Jethro by the way and this is Colin." Jethro introduced.
"Wendy and this is Tammy and little Jacob." Wendy replied.
"It is nice to meet you." Jethro replied.
"Great to meet you, too. How old is Colin? I could have sworn you said he was two." Wendy asked.
"He just turned two. His mom had some problems. I guess he's a little damaged." Jethro explained.
"I am sorry to hear that." Wendy apologized.
"Waaahh!" Jacob cried.
"Mom! My battery is dying!" Tammy snapped.
"Well I have to get going. Here is my phone number if you need anything oh and my sister is single. If you are looking." Wendy explained.
"Well thank you" Jethro replied.
With Wendy's help Jethro's selected the proper diapers. He ended up buying travel sized boxes of each of the main brands, and would decide from there. In the clothes section he grabbed an armload of the twelve month clothes. He walked over to the book section and grabbed all the age appropriate books he could find. His last stop was the toy section. He bought cars, bath toys, and a set of squishy sports balls. He walked to the stuffed animal aisle and rolled the cart until he came to red teddy bear.
"Ohhh!" Colin cried.
"Do you want that bear?" Jethro asked.
"Uh-huh" Colin replied.
"He's yours" Jethro replied, grabbing the bear and placing it into Colin's arms.
For the first time in years, Jethro actually packed the hardware section. He needed a new tape measure and the saw he had been dying to have was on sale, but Colin needed to get to sleep. He rolled the cart towards the checkout area. He found the only open lane and turned down it. He began loading his purchases on to the belt.
"Two nineteen, oh-five" The checkout girl announced.
"Chip reader?" Jethro asked, withdrawing his credit-card.
"Yes sir" The girl replied.
"Excellent" Jethro replied, relieved he had made a few extra bucks off of a bookshelf he had built.
"Have a good night" The girl replied, after Jethro's purchase was approved.
Jethro was loading Colin into the car-seat when he noticed the "PROPERTY OF GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY, HOSPITAL!" sticker on the base of the car-seat. He had completely forgotten the car-seat was a loaner and they were expecting it back. He had also totally blanked on the car-seat. AKA the most important thing. He tossed his purchases into the back of the truck and closed the bed. Before rushing back inside and heading for the car-seat aisle. By some mercy Jimmy was walking down the same aisle.
"Hi Gibbs, oh hi Colin." Jimmy greeted.
"How do you?" Gibbs asked.
"Tony told me." Jimmy replied.
"What brings you here?" Jethro asked.
"Late night diaper run. Tori has allergies and it took me three different Walmarts to find the brand she can actually use." Jimmy explained.
"That's unfortunate" Jethro replied.
"Car-seat shopping?" Jimmy asked.
"Yes and I am clueless." Jethro replied.
"The selection here isn't great but we can meet at Toy's R Us, tomorrow. They have a far better selection." Jimmy offered.
"Great because I have to return the loaner seat in a week." Jethro replied.
"I'll help you out and then I will help you install it. I am actually good at installing car-seats." Jimmy laughed.
"Thank you, so much!" Jethro cried.
Running into Jimmy ended up being a blessing for Gibbs. He had been promised a bag of gender neutral clothes, a crib, high chair, and the phone number of an excellent baby-sitter. He buckled Colin into the loaner seat and made his way towards home. He was pulling into the driveway when it hit him. He had no idea what he was doing. Sighing he grabbed his phone and dialed Tony's number.
"Tony? Are you home?"
"First night jitters?"
"Oh yeah"
"We'll be right there."
"Thanks and sorry to disturb you."
"No trouble, Tali sleeps like her mother."
A/N: Will Jethro be able to figure this out? New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.
