Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Except the mistakes those are mine.

A/N: I know this chapter is long overdue, a lot has happened over the last few months. It is currently 1:11 am, so there is going to be a lot of mistakes, and I have to get up in roughly 4 hours. So please do bare with me. I'll fix the errors as soon a I get the chance.

I took some creative liberties with this chapter with both characters and medical terms, I know birth scenes are usually over dramatic so I tried to keep it real. Be warned it is a little sappy at times, but hey, what can I say I'm a sap ;)

Enjoy*

The blaring car horns didn't faze him in the least as they sped down the streets of Washington DC – his heart thundering in his throat as he flashed the headlights at the car in front of him. He grit his teeth as Jenny let out another pain filled groan. Noemi was seated right next to him in the passenger seat, trying to keep all of them as calm as possible.

He found himself doing the breathing exercises with them, he was silently thankful that none of the team was present because they'd certainly be making fun of him for this. He snapped at the car in front of him, swearing loudly as the driver cut him off. Noemi gave him a glare, silently chastising him.

"Language." Jenny managed to grit between her teeth as she gripped the door handle, her knuckles turning white as she tried to breathe through the pain.

The Italian gunned the large eight cylinder down the nearly deserted street, leaving the layers of water reflecting the street lights in rippling puddles. Noemi swallowed whatever encouragement she wanted to offer and clung to her own door in panic. He glanced in the rear view mirror, watching as Kelly clutched her grey bear under one arm and her mother's hand in the other. The five-year-old was probably the calmest one amongst them as she stared straight ahead of her.

The large Jeep skidded to a stop, the tires squealing.

Tony slid out of the driver's seat, his heavy boots thumping across the concrete paving as he headed for the large glass doors leading into the emergency room. He ignored the stares coming from other patients that had found their way into George Washington University hospital in the dead of night.

The nurse behind the reception desk jumped to her feet, her brown eyes immediately searching him for any sign of an injury. When her quick assessment was done and she finally met his green eyes seeing the panic etched all over his face.

"Can I help you?" She asked calmly.

"I need a wheelchair." He blurted out, already heading back the way he had come.

The glass doors hissed as they slid open, revealing a waddling Jenny. The nurse brushed past him quickly, rattling off questions he didn't even want to know the answers to. He watched the redhead nod calmly to all the questions, her fists occasionally balling tightly into her neatly packed duffel bag as a contraction rippled through her.

The glass doors hissed again as Noemi ushered Kelly through the doors. Kelly blinked tiredly, her blue eyes hazy as she looked around the unfamiliar room. Gripping her stuffed animal under one arm and Noemi's hand in the other she settled for silence.

"How far apart are they?" The nurse appeared in front of the Italian, her brown eyes studying him closely.

"I uh… about… I don't know." The last thing that had been on his mind was timing how far apart Jenny's contractions were, to him it seemed like it had been ever since she'd stared at him blankly in the foyer.

The nurse gave him a patronizing smile and immediately turned her attention to Jenny again, trying to pry some information out of her instead. Before he knew it they were wheeling her off towards the elevator, Kelly and Noemi in tow.

He stared after them, immovable, he wasn't supposed to be here. The fact that Jenny looked completely terrified was eating away at him. He'd never seen her vulnerable, she was headstrong and fierce in her job. It finally hit home that she might have to face life and its many obstacles on her own.

"Mister Gibbs?" A young nurse called from the nurses station. "There is some paperwork that needs to be filled out, it won't take long."

Tony opened his mouth, wanting to correct her mistake, closing it with a snap he pulled the file closer and rolled the pen between his fingers as he read through the file. He should have corrected her, but he knew the moment she found out he was in no way actually related to her he'd have to leave her alone and he wasn't going to let that happen. Besides, Ducky had played their supposed 'grandfather' enough by now for him to know exactly how this worked.

The shrill beeping of his pager alerted him that he hadn't let anyone know about the recent developments. The pager's clip snapped threateningly as he yanked it from his belt, the number flashing on the screen indicating that Kate had taken it upon herself to get a hold of him.

Taking the clipboard with him he fished around for some coins in his pockets. He hadn't even bothered with replacing his cellphone after Gibbs had destroyed it, he had his last girlfriend to thank for that – what was her name again?

The Italian's eyes scanned over the questions, silently wondering how the hell he should know half of the answers – it was high school all over again. He listened to the annoying ring of the payphone, rubbing a frustrated hand across his brow he leaned against the wall. Resting the bottom of the clipboard on his thigh he started filling in Jenny's details.

"Special Agent Todd."

"Kate, it's me-"

"Where the hell are you, DiNozzo?!" Tony rolled his eyes as Kate cut him off.

"Jenny's in the hospital she went into labor, pick up our murderer and then head on home, we'll do the paperwork tomorrow." Pushing off the wall, Tony squeezed his eyes shut, the weight of the world seemed to be resting on his shoulders tonight.

"Tony!" He placed the phone against his ear again. "Gibbs would-"

"Yeah, I know." He nodded his head despite the fact that she couldn't see him and hung up. Looking down at clipboard he felt somewhat satisfied with everything he had filled in, heading towards the nurses station he handed the woman the papers. She gave him the room number Jenny had been wheeled to, mentally trying to prepare himself for what came next.

X

Pain thrummed through her body, her head lolling occasionally as they asked her questions. She was well beyond the point of caring as they poked and prodded around, all she cared about was the drugs they had offered her earlier. Clenching her teeth she tried to relax, something that she knew was futile. Jenny pressed a hand against her forehead, trying to force the pain away and the sudden urge to cry.

The door creaked open as the midwife returned, her dark brown eyes softening noticeably as she watched the redhead fight back the tears that threatened to slip. Scanning all the beeping and flickering screens she let her professional guard slip for now.

"Where's our baby daddy?" The twinkle in the woman's eyes faded as the redhead shook her head. Taking a seat on the edge of the hospital bed she took the redhead's hand in hers, momentarily fearing the worst.

Jenny pushed herself up adjusting the pillows behind her back, tightening her ponytail she raised her eyebrows in exasperation – this wasn't what she had imagined the day she had found out she was pregnant. Pulling her bottom lip between her teeth she shook her head and cast her eyes on the fetal heart monitor, watching the lines pulse rhythmically.

"On assignment." She couldn't bare the thought of admitting that she might never see her husband again.

"Do I need to have a word with my brother-in-law?" Rebecca Thomas asked, pursing her lips and raising a sassy eyebrow.

Jenny grinned despite the circumstances, ever since her transition from fieldwork to counter terrorism she had found herself engaging with the Vance family on several social occasions. She had come to like Jackie Vance and when she had found out that her no-nonsense midwife was her friend's sister, she couldn't help but like the woman even more.

"He chose to go, nothing I said could change his mind." There was the barest tinge of hurt in her voice, in hindsight she understood her husband's deep found need to serve his country.

"If he wasn't that good looking, he'd be in a world of hurt." Rebecca gave her hand a gentle squeeze. Pushing herself off the bed she moved around the room, checking each machine that monitored the redhead.

Rebecca frowned as she paged through the charts, she made a few notes before shutting the file and placing it back. Slipping her pen in her coat pocket she gave the redhead an assuring smile once again. "Your contractions aren't that strong as of yet, I know it doesn't feel that way, but I want you to relax as much as possible. When I see we're moving into active labor we can discuss the administration of drugs."

"I want them." Jenny glared at her from where she was propped up against all the pillows.

"Sure you do, everyone does." Rebecca laughed as she headed towards the door. "Now, relax I'll check on you a bit later."

The door closed behind her with a soft snap, leaving her all alone once again. Resting a hand on her stomach she watched the monitor displaying the baby's heart rate. She let a watery smile slip as she remembered her husband's reaction the first time they heard their baby's heart beat. He had been awestruck, emotional even.

The thought of raising two children on her own was terrifying. She suddenly had new found respect for single parents. She chewed on her bottom lip as thoughts raced through her mind, distracting her enough not to notice the door to her room opening.

He gave her a brave smile, his hair plastered to his forehead from the rain that had started falling again. He shifted from one foot to another, not sure whether she wanted to see him or not. He'd contemplated asking Rebecca if she could ask the redhead if she would want to see him. He had finally gathered the courage to face her on his own.

"Hey," He shifted nervously again. "I didn't know if I should come in or stay outside, guess I just wanted to see if you were doing okay."

"Thank you, Tony," Jenny smiled at him tiredly as he ventured uncertainly towards her. He seemed so out of place, the usual mischievous look in his eyes missing as he took a seat in one of the plastic chairs. She reached for his hand, squeezing it in hers. "For everything."

Tony lifted his head, green eyes sparkling at the recognition.

"I know I've been a bit of a bitch the last few months."

The Italian shrugged his shoulders, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he met her gaze. "Don't worry about it, Gibbs told me that I shouldn't take everything you say to heart."

"Excuse me?" Her temper flared momentarily.

Holding up his hands in surrender he gave her a cheeky smile. Running a hand through his hair he leaned back in the hospital chair, watching the redhead thoughtfully. She raised an eyebrow at him in question and he knew he couldn't keep what he was thinking to himself.

"It's nothing like in the movies…" He trailed off, his face pinched with a combination between disgust and disappointment. "You know… the screaming and swearing. The whole 'I want to kill my husband' part-" He gave an embarrassed laugh, "What I'm saying is, that maybe the sequel of Father of the Bride gave me the wrong impression."

Jenny let out a soft chuckle, shaking her head at the young man. "What I find interesting is that you actually watched that movie." She watched with delight as realization started to set in about what he had just revealed.

Tony pursed his lips his eyes narrowed suspiciously, he opened his mouth to say something before stopping himself. He licked his lips, gave her a nervous laugh and rubbed the back of his neck with uncertainty. "Just don't tell Kate."

"Your secret's safe with me." She assured him as she adjusted the pillows behind her back.

Tony eased back in his chair, keeping a close eye on Jenny as she preoccupied herself with everything around her. He saw the humor drain out of her features when she thought he wasn't looking. He shuddered to think about everything else she had managed to hide from all of them over the last few weeks. He was observant enough to know that she had placated everyone with fake smiles since Gibbs had left.

She was the toughest person he had ever met. It explained why Ziva had left everything to follow her partner all the way to Europe. Maybe he'd been too quick in his judgment of the Israeli, given the chance he'd most probably follow Gibbs regardless of everything would have to leave behind. He should have followed him.

"Jenny, I should have taken Gibbs' place." He could see that he had caught her off guard – her eyes were raw with emotion as she looked right through him.

Shaking her head she gave him a sardonic smile, "Rule 45."

Tony narrowed his eyes, "it was never his mess to begin with."

"Jethro had been distracted, Kelly was sick, his mind had been clouded with both worry and stress. NCIS had been spread too thin to have someone else partnered with Mike." Jenny shook her head, placing a hand on her abdomen. "Jethro had accidentally given away their position, they had manged to take out almost everyone except one guy, he shot Mike."

"He's the loose end." Tony muttered quietly. The redhead nodded and gave him a knowing look, she'd clearly trusted him enough to let him in on the boss' past, something he wasn't going to take for granted. "Explains why he goes ape when one of us messes up."

"He means well, Tony, even when it seems like he's being unreasonable." Jenny took his hand in hers again. She knew that Jethro would be proud with how the young man had taken on all his responsibilities. "He wants you to have the right skills when you decide to leave the team… or take over the team."

Tony's head snapped up, the meaning behind her words hitting him right in the gut. Taking over the team had become a harsh reality in the last few hours. He wasn't sure he'd be able to cope all that well when Friday rolled around and Gibbs was officially announced deceased.

20 Hours Later

The waiting room was filled with voices with the occasional Italian phrase being thrown into the mix. Both close- and extended family had found their way to the maternity wing, giving the head nurse a coronary when she had to deal with them.

Abby was nervously pacing around the waiting room, telling anyone who was willing to listen just how scared she was for Jenny and that she'd be giving Gibbs an earful when he finally resurfaced. Tim, Kate and Jackson were the recent victims of her rant – when the older Gibbs had tried to assure her she had listened and ignored what he had said.

Ziva watched from across the room, she had narrowly escaped the exuberant scientist, using Kelly as an excuse to get away. Joann was right next to her along with Noemi and Angela, all three women had taken turns in visiting the redhead over the course of the last twenty hours.

The Israeli rubbed an eye tiredly, she'd been in the waiting room since one o'clock in the morning and it didn't seem like the wait was going to end anytime soon. James, Jenny's oldest brother, had informed them that Jenny had gone into prolonged labor and that there was no indication that the baby would be coming anytime soon.

The door to the waiting room swung open revealing the midwife, they all perked up considerably hoping she would be the barer of good news. "Kelly," The little girl looked up from where the twin Bernardi brothers had been entertaining her with their antics.

"Your mommy would like to see you." Rebecca eyed the three women looking at her. She'd had her hands full with the three of them, the last thing Jenny needed was them trying to tell her what to do. She had assisted her fair share of families with all-knowing mothers to know they were anything but helpful.

"Do you mind if I take her?" Ziva asked quietly as Kelly moseyed towards them. Rebecca nodded discreetly and held the door open as Ziva and Kelly moved passed her. She gave the three older women a look when they tried to say something.

"How is Jenny?" Ziva inquired as they made their way towards the redhead's room.

"Prolonged labor isn't uncommon, although hers seem to be more psychological than physical. The fact that Jethro isn't here is a big part of that." Rebecca stopped, her hand resting on the door handle. "I suggested she see Kelly, it might help her relax knowing she's okay, she's been worried about her."

"Is there anything we can do?" Ziva asked, not sure she'd like the answer.

Rebecca smiled at Kelly as she eyed her stethoscope, meeting the Israeli's concerned eyes she didn't bother with hiding her concern. "Unless you're a miracle worker, there's not much you can do."

The room was quiet apart from monitors beeping softly in the background. Jenny was propped on her side, her hair tied in a messy bun as she glared at the cup that contained her melting ice chips. The patter of footsteps immediately drew her attention to the little girl as she skipped across the linoleum floor.

Kelly gave her a blinding smile as she maneuvered herself onto the bed. Taking her mother's hand in her own she held it in her lap, "Nana Angela says that the baby is going to be here soon." Kelly said excitedly, "When the baby comes, can we call him Han Solo or Obi-Wan?"

Jenny laughed, running her fingers through Kelly's curly hair. "How about we decide when the baby is born, it might be a girl."

Kelly smiled at her mother brightly and nodded her head. She busied herself with playing with her mother's fingers as Ziva stepped closer. The Israeli seemed anxious, as if she was trying to find a way out of the room.

"Relax, Ziva, it's just a hospital room." Jenny murmured as she watched Kelly contentedly.

"I still do not like them." Ziva grumbled darkly. They held too many bad memories for her, memories of Ari before he had dropped of the face of the earth.

"Where's Tony?" Jenny asked instead, she hadn't seen the Italian in a while, he'd opted for sitting with her instead of in the waiting room, apparently Abby was driving him insane with questions.

Ziva snapped out of her train of thought. "He said he had something to do that was important, something about a friend that needed a lift." She shrugged her shoulders, she though it was an excuse for him to get away from everything. "Why do you need anything?"

Jenny looked at her with wide eyes, the colour draining from her features. Biting her lip she freed her hand from Kelly's grip and balled her fists tightly. She ground her teeth together and tried to breathe through the pain. The contraction seemed to last longer than any of the others she'd previously had.

Ziva jolted into action, grabbing Kelly quickly as the little girl looked at her mother in panic. "Mommy, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing baby, why don't you go with Ziva so you guys can find some dinner." The redhead tried to smile as the contraction subsided. "Ziva, would you mind calling Rebecca?"

Kelly nodded as she clung to Ziva, "I love you, Mommy."

Ziva headed to the nurses station where Rebecca was quietly talking with another nurse. She looked up as the Israeli approached them quickly. "Jenny is asking for you, she seems to have had a contraction."

"Please let this be it." Rebecca murmured as she hurried towards the redhead's room.

Ziva adjusted Kelly on her hip as she wandered down the hall, side stepping the waiting room in favor of some peace and quiet, she could hear them talk from across the room and she was in no mood to deal with them. Spotting the payphone she narrowed her eyes, intent on finding out where it was Tony had disappeared to.

Kelly seemed preoccupied enough with everything going on around her that she wasn't as attuned to her surroundings as usual. "Kelly, why don't you have a seat over there and play with the toys while a quickly phone Tony?"

She looked at the table reluctantly before nodding her head and taking a seat, pulling a colouring book towards her. Ziva pulled a couple of coins out of her back pocket before dialing her own number, she had given Tony her phone when he had told her he was leaving. She listened as the phone rang, it was odd that he didn't pick up right away.

Static echoed in her ear and she could almost see the irritation on his face as he answered gruffly.

"DiNozzo, where the hell are you?"

"Busy."

Ziva grit her teeth, "Jenny is in labor, the last thing she needs is you disappearing as well."

"Move it, Probie."

"Is that Mike Franks?" Ziva practically shouted, a string of Hebrew following afterwards. She could hear Tony growl something on the other side before the line went dead.

Slamming the phone back in its cradle she turned around, a young nurse was staring at her nervously from where she was sitting. Ziva gave her a forced smile before calling Kelly so they could head back to the waiting room.

X

It was nearing ten o'clock when the same nurse from earlier appeared in the waiting room. She gave them all a calm smile as she explained that Jenny had finally moved into the final stage of labor and that they were getting ready to deliver baby Gibbs. There seemed to be a collective sigh of relief in the room at the news. Excitement seemed to settle over the family members, each of them trying to prepare themselves to welcome a new family member.

Kate took a seat next to Ziva, her dark hair tucked behind her ear as she watched Kelly valiantly fighting to stay awake as she leaned against Jackson with her feet thrown over Julio's lap. "Where the hell is DiNozzo?" The brunet made sure to keep her voice low, there was no need to alert everyone else that something was wrong.

"I don't know, but when I find him, I will kill him… slowly." Ziva hissed as she surveyed the waiting room.

"Tomorrow is Friday." Kate whispered softly as she watched Jackson stroke Kelly's hair. She had said it more to herself than to Ziva. JSOC would be calling off their search, if they haven't done it already.

"I phoned Tony earlier, I could have sworn I heard Mike in the background." Ziva looked at Kate as the other woman raised an eyebrow at her.

"Maybe he went to kill him instead." Both women shared a smile.

They had all tried their best working under the radar in trying to find Gibbs, but it was of no use. Their only connection was Mike Franks and he had disappeared even before they could even think of asking him for information. Everything had been a maelstrom of emotion and dead ends and now they were left with the carnage.

The door to the waiting room cracked open, forcing everyone to look at each other with bated breath. Whoever was on the other side had only left the door open an inch or two, making the tension in the room even more palpable.

The door finally swung open, revealing a drenched Tony DiNozzo. He seemed even more tired than before, the dark circles under his eyes raising concern in their Medical Examiner. Ducky abandoned his position next to Joann in order for him to take a closer look at the young agent.

"Anthony, you will get sick my dear boy, where have you been?" The good doctor grabbed the young man by the chin to stop his head from moving around.

"Yes, Tony, you looked like a drowned cat." Ziva sneered at him.

"Rat," Tony bit at her, much to the Bernardi brothers delight.

Ziva pulled her face at him as he chose to sit next to her after Ducky's examination. Tony rolled his eyes and relaxed in his chair, looking at her with an arrogant smirk. "You'll be sorry later."

"I doubt that."

X

Jenny squeezed her eyes shut, trying to breathe through yet another contraction. They seemed to be never ending and the pain was becoming more and more unbearable. She tried to find a focal point, but it was of no use, and no amount of breathing was helping her either.

She collapsed against the pillows, trying to regain whatever strength she had left. Rebecca was right beside her, trying to support her as much as she possibly could. Jenny wiped at her eyes, not sure whether it was sweat or tears that ran down her cheeks.

"Okay, Jenny, you're almost there." Rebecca smiled at her, "Another centimeter and then we can start pushing."

Jenny nodded tensely, her fists quivering as she felt another contraction starting. She clenched her teeth, consciously trying the breathing techniques from the couple of lamaze classes she and Jethro had attended. This time she was certain that it was tears rolling down her cheeks. She mentally counted down the seconds the contraction lasted this time around.

"Well done, Jenny. We're almost there, you're going to feel the urge to push, but it's important we do this together, okay?"

Jenny simply nodded, trying to prepare herself for what was to come.

The door opened revealing the midwife's assistant, she smiled at Jenny as she stepped into the room, "Misses Gibbs, I know that you said you don't want anyone in the room with you, but this gentleman is very persistent."

Jenny grit her teeth, the only person she could think of was Ducky, and she was willing to kill him before this baby was born. She simply nodded her head, she'd deal with him later. The fact that Rebecca wasn't biting her visitor's head off was something that went unnoticed.

Jenny felt a warm palm clasp her sweaty hand, squeezing comfortingly with each breath she took.

Opening her eyes she tried to focus on the face in front of her.

Large blue eyes stared down at her, brimming with tears. He didn't try to hide his emotions when she mouthed his name against his cheek.

"I love you." It was all he could manage.

Rebecca shared a look with her assistant, moments like these made her job worth while. "Okay, mommy, the baby is crowning. When I say push, you give it your best." She encouraged as the process started.

Jethro held onto his wife's hand, offering her silent support as she dug her nails into his skin. He kissed her temple in silent encouragement as she leaned against him before there was another command for one last big push.

Jenny gripped her husband's hand, mustering the last of her strength to finally meet her baby.

A sharp cry echoed in the room.

X

Jenny reclined against her fresh set of pillows, enjoying the sweet bliss that had finally settled over her. Everyone had been both shocked and overjoyed when they had found Jethro seated next to her when they had taken turns to meet the baby.

Both Kate and Ziva had been squealing little girls when they finally held the baby, Abby had refused to have a partner she was dead set on hogging the baby as much as possible. The rest of their family had taken a quick look, agreeing that they would return in the morning when both mother and baby were well rested.

The last person to slink into the room was young Tony DiNozzo. He smiled at the redhead as he finally got the chance to hold the little bundle in his arms. He cooed at the baby softly, scrunching his nose as he looked at the parents. "The baby's got Gibbs' nose."

Jethro shook his head as Tony handed the baby back to him. He looked over at his wife, "Tony, before you go, we felt that you deserve to know first." Jenny nodded for Jethro to continue. "It's a girl."

Tony smiled at them, nodding his head in kind. He was going to keep to himself about exactly how much he was going to win with the office betting pool.

Kelly was passed out in one of the small cots, not even the excitement of the day could keep her awake. Jethro handed the baby back to Jenny, setting about making Kelly comfortable. She had looked at him bleary-eyed when he had finally held her in his arms, but she had simply nodded off again.

Settling next to Jenny on the hospital bed he wrapped an arm around her, luxuriating the feeling of having his family with him again. He held his baby girl's tiny hand in his palm, fascinated with how small she was. Looking up he met his wife's gaze, knowing that she had a lot of questions. He shook his head at her, too choked up to express how relieved he was to see them.

She pressed a tender palm to his cheek, he was battered and bruised with a split lip and a bandage covering his shoulder under his scrubs top. "All that matters is that you came back."

"If it hadn't been for Tony, we'd probably still be stuck in Columbia." Jethro shook his head, "Mike found me in a local village, dragged my ass to the nearest beach where a friend of Tony's waited with a plane."

Jenny bit her lip, cradling her daughter close to her chest as she groaned. Looking up she looked over at a sleeping Kelly. "Kelly called me mommy the other night, and I wanted to share the moment with you, but you weren't there."

Jethro grit his teeth, leaning forward he kissed his wife long and hard. Pulling away, nudged her nose affectionately. "I'll never leave you guys again."

Jenny nodded too overcome with exhaustion to ask her husband anything else. She handed the bundle over to him who wasted no time in cradling her close to his chest, already cooing at her as she groaned. She listened as he whispered to her quietly.

"Adira, do you know what your name means?" He cooed. "Strong and noble, just like your mommy."

Jenny smiled.

Maybe life was going to work out for them after all.

The End

It was sappy, I know, just deal with it ;) (I mean that in the nicest way possible.)

Not my best work, but it's something. Thank you for reading.