A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews, you guys are awesome :) Any suggestions for the baby gender would be appreciated! 'Modern Family' is my new favorite show, just sayin'.

Disclaimer: I own my OCs and parts of the plot.

When Jenny felt her water break, she stopped breathing.

This was not happening, not right now, not to her. She was not going into labor, not when her husband couldn't remember a fucking thing about her.

"Shit," she said, shaking her head. "This isn't happening."

"Really can't stop it," Jethro said, looking shell-shocked, and out of his element. Just then a nurse came in, eyes widening at the scene in front of her.

"Ma'am, we need to get you up to the maternity ward," she said, and Jenny shook her head.

"No, I do not need to go to the maternity ward, I am perfectly fine," Jenny said, and the nurse softened, understanding the situation.

"Ma'am, this baby isn't going to wait. You need to come with me," the nurse said gently, taking Jenny by the elbow.

"Jen, please," Jethro said when Jenny resisted, and she stopped, her wide, scared eyes meeting his. The mass of emotions in those green depths startled him; joy and worry and fear all blended together in those viridian irises, and his heart tugged. "Please, listen to the nurse."

"Okay," Jenny answered softly, her face tightening as a contraction hit, and the nurse squeezed her hand, helping her through it. When it finished, the nurse took her arm again, intent on leading her to the maternity ward. This time Jenny let her, only casting a single glance back at Jethro.

But that look said it all.

It said how scared she was, how worried she was about everything. And even though it felt like he'd just met this woman, he realized that she depended on him; she needed his strength.

But he couldn't give it to her, not now. All he could see was Shannon's smiling face and Kelly's big blue eyes, and those memories hurt him to think about.

But in the pit of his stomach, nerves brewed. He couldn't help but feel the fingers of fear lick at his heart; for some reason that was just beyond his grasp, he was nervous about this birth, and Jenny.

He was in the hospital, standing outside a hospital room, speaking to a doctor.

"Your wife suffered some major head trauma," the doctor said, her brown eyes heavy. "We had to deliver your son by C-section, even though your wife was only at thirty two weeks. Your son is in the NICU; his lungs are very underdeveloped, so he's on a ventilator for the foreseeable future."

"Liam was early," he whispered, and then it made sense. Why Jenny was so worried, why his chest felt tight at the thought of her going into labor.

But could he gather the courage to be with this woman, his wife, when she needed him? Or was he going to let the past rule his actions?

He didn't have time to answer either question before his door was slid open again, and two children stepped in hesitantly, a dark-haired woman carrying a blonde toddler with them. The boy and girl looked at him nervously, and the woman looked frazzled and worried, running a hand through her thick black waves as she balanced the toddler on her hip.

"I'm aware you don't remember me, but I'm Sydney McGee, been Jen's friend for years, we're friends through her, and my husband, Tim, is on your NCIS team. Since Jenny is in labor and you are not in the condition needed to help her, I am stepping in. I need you to watch your children," she said, and his eyes widened at her bluntness. "Allie and Liam need to be with you, I'm taking my daughter to my husband while I help your wife give birth. I'm sorry if you're uncomfortable but that's what needs to happen, whether you like it or not."

Jethro swallowed and nodded, and she relaxed minutely, turning back to the redheaded girl and the auburn haired boy, who were standing close together.

"Al, Liam, I'm going to go help your mom, okay? You'll be fine here, and Ducky will be back in a little while."

Allie and Liam nodded, and Sydney bent, kissing both of their heads quickly before heading back to the door. She turned when she reached it, meeting Jethro's gaze.

"I'll call, have a nurse tell you when it happens," she said and then slipped out of the room, leaving him with an odd feeling.

It felt oddly formal, this arrangement. He'd be informed when it happened through a nurse? Even if things were screwed up and crazy right now, that was still his child. But he was a coward, and so he would stay where he was until he was told otherwise.

"Daddy?"

He looked up at the tiny voice, and his heart hurt at the sight of the scared little girl in front of him, her big blue eyes glazed with tears and her red hair escaping its braid.

"Daddy, is Mommy going to be okay?"

Sitting up slightly, he motioned for the two to come closer, and they did so slowly, hesitation in their movements. When they reached the bed he lowered the bar and motioned for Allie to climb up by his knees, and then pulled Liam up as well, settling him in on the other side.

"Mommy is going to be fine," Jethro said, trying to reassure them, not really sure if it was working. "She's going to have a baby."

"Is it gonna be like when Liam was born?" Allie asked, fear creeping into her voice. Jethro swallowed, touching her cheek softly, wishing this didn't hurt as much as it did.

"No, Allie, it's not," he said, watching as she relaxed slightly, her hands resting on his knee through the blankets.

He only hoped he wasn't lying.

Jenny was settled in a room in a few minutes, hooked up to the proper machines and on the IV drips that she needed. She called Sydney, told her what was going on, and told her she needed her. Sydney said that she'd drop Allie and Liam off with Jethro, she'd drop Spencer off with Tim, who was meeting her at the hospital, and then she'd be up.

Next Jenny called Kate, told her what had happened and asked her to grab her bag for her from the house, and to come to the hospital as soon as she could. Kate said she'd be there in twenty, and Jenny thanked her, grateful for her friends.

Sydney arrived in the middle of a contraction, and she dropped her things in a chair before reaching Jenny's side, slipping her hand into hers. Jenny let out a small whimper of pain, squeezing her best friend's hand tightly, trying to breathe through the pain but not doing so well. When it finally ended she relaxed, falling back against the pillows and letting out a breath.

"Damn Jen, when did your grip get so strong?" Sydney asked, shaking her head out and massaging the muscles, looking at her. She was trying to tease, Jenny knew, but it wasn't helping, not right now.

"You broke Tim's hand when you were in labor," Jenny replied, raising one eyebrow slightly, and Sydney rolled her eyes.

"Semantics."

Kate arrived not long after with Jenny's bag and sympathetic brown eyes, and Jenny while Jenny was glad for the support, she wanted her husband. When another contraction came she tried to breathe, but let out a cry instead, and that's when the tears started.

Sydney handed her a tissue after the contraction ended and Jenny wiped at her eyes, the tears spilling over her lids faster than she could wipe them away.

"Jenny, it's gonna be alright," Sydney said, her green eyes soft as she regarded her friend.

"I'm in labor, Syd," Jenny said, shaking her head. "My husband doesn't remember me, and I'm in labor. It is not going to be alright."

"But Jenny-"

"No, Syd, no! I want my husband! I want the man who is supposed to be standing next to me holding my hand, bringing me ice chips and telling me that it'll all be over soon. I want to yell at him and curse him for putting me in this situation, just so that I can apologize for it later, after that perfect, tiny little baby has been placed in my arms. I want that Syd!" Jenny cried, tears streaking her cheeks and her heart rate increasing, the monitors beginning to beep. A nurse came in, concerned as to what had caused the spike.

"Are you alright, Jenny?" she asked, coming over to check the machine readouts before looking at the contraction monitor, nodding slightly. "You're progressing nicely; I have a feeling that this baby is going to be born within the next few hours. You must have been in labor for a few hours before your water broke, strong enough to feel. Is there a reason you didn't check yourself in? You've gone through labor before."

"I was kind of dealing with a crisis," Jenny replied, taking a deep breath. "My husband just woke up from a coma, and he…"

"He doesn't remember the past decade," Sydney added when Jenny faded off, her eyes pained. "So he doesn't remember her, or their family. It's kind of a big deal."

"Oh, I'm sorry," the nurse said, but Jenny didn't feel any compassion from the woman. "But you'll have to try and keep your stress level down until after you've delivered."

"We'll keep her stress level down," Kate promised, sensing a quick retort from Sydney coming. "Thank you."

Jenny watched the woman leave before leaning back against the pillows, more tears filling her eyes.

She just wanted Jethro.

An hour later, Jethro was still sitting with Allie and Liam, watching as Allie worked on the coloring book that had been packed for her. She was steadily coloring the picture of Woody from Toy Story, and she was staying in the lines very well, and he felt like he'd seen this before. Her, coloring on a hospital bed with him.

"Daddy, did the bad guys hurt you again?" Allie asked as she filled in the coloring book, looking up as she switched her blue crayon for a green one. Jethro sighed, shifting in the bed, the dressing that covered the graze on his arm rubbing against his skin.

"They did Ally-cat," he said, shaking his head slightly. "I just wasn't fast enough this time."

"You gotta be faster Daddy!" Allie said, her blue eyes flashing. "Mommy says you get hurt too much, she told Aunt Syd."

"Yeah, Ally-cat, she's told me too," Jethro said, ruffling her hair slightly.

"Ally-cat?" Jethro tried out hesitantly, watching as Allie turned, her eyes bright at his use of her nickname.

"Daddy?" she returned, waiting. Jethro swallowed, and he would never be able to tell anyone what it was exactly, but something in that little girl's eyes sent a rush of memories through him; memories that explained so many things.

Memories of NCIS, Mike Franks, Jenny, Ducky, and Tom Morrow flashed through his brain. Then, memories of Paris, and Europe, and falling in love with Jenny hit him, and his heart filled with the happiness it needed. Proposing to her, their wedding, Allie, and Liam, and this baby she was giving birth to right now were next, and his heart leapt to his throat at the thought of Jenny being alone, going through this. He thought of his team-Tony, Tim, Paula, their families.

His life. He remembered his life.

And the ship-he needed to call Tony.

Twenty minutes later, he'd called his Senior Field Agent, who said he'd get the people necessary in MTAC, and get back to him as soon as he had information. Now, the only thing he really needed to do was to get to Jenny, because he was not about to miss the birth of his child. Jenny would kill him as soon as she was able to.

Just that second Ducky walked in, and Jethro let out a sigh of relief.

"Ducky."

The medical examiner's eyes widened, surprise and delight filling his face.

"Jethro, when…"

"No time, Ducky, gotta get to Jen, she'll kill me if I miss this baby's birth. Can you watch Allie and Liam for me?" he asked, getting out of bed carefully, making sure not to push Allie or Liam off the bed on accident. Ducky nodded, clearly shaken. "Thanks Duck."

Jethro pressed a kiss to each of his kids' heads, reveling in their scent and their warmth.

"I love you guys. I've gotta go find Mom; next time you seem me I'll be holding your little brother or sister, alright?" he asked, grinning when they grinned at him, obviously just glad he was back and he remembered. "See you two later."

"Bye Daddy!" they called as he left the room, and he smiled as he walked down the hallway.

Time to go find his wife.