As Ziva approached the desk looking for Nurse McFadden, the elevator doors opened revealing Ducky and Abby. Ziva went towards them as McGee came from the waiting room.
"Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Where's Tony? Where's the baby? Is he okay? Is the baby okay? Has anyone…"
"Abigail, please. I know you're concerned, but there are patients here. This isn't autopsy." Ducky told Abby as she nervously wrung her hands.
"I'm sorry. I know; I just can't believe that Tony has a baby. Or that her mother left her here. Who does that? It's so movie-of-the-week. Which isn't even the kind of movie that Tony likes. I mean, I'm sure he's seen some, but I don't think that he would count them as real movies. More like glorified TV…"
"Abby!" Ziva interrupted the goth's rant. "They will both be fine. He's a little shocked right now, but he will be fine. I was just about to ask the nurse to bring her in to Tony. He wants to hold her.
"The baby is a girl, then?" Ducky asked.
"Yeah, sorry…I was a little shocked myself." McGee apologized.
"That's quite alright, Timothy. I didn't think to ask until I was on my way here. Ziva, my dear, if you'll provide me with the charts, I can study them while Tony meets his daughter. I do believe that Abby can collect the DNA samples after father and daughter have had to bond."
"Absolutely. A few minutes won't matter. Besides I'll only need to take a sample from her. We've already got Tony's DNA on file, so that'll speed things up." Abby told the group.
"Good. I will inform the nurse of our plans. You may wait in the conference room. Here are the charts, Ducky." Ziva passed the charts to Ducky.
Ducky, Abby, and McGee headed down to the conference room, while Ziva spoke with Nurse McFadden. As the nurse went to collect the baby, Jenny stepped off the elevator.
"Ziva." Jenny greeted her.
"Director."
"Gibbs's flight is due to arrive at Dulles at noon."
"Good." Ziva's stilted, one word answers seemed to make Jenny realize that her presence was unwelcome.
"Ziva, I know that Tony won't want to see me. I know that you don't, but I need to be here."
"Why? Because the mission is not finished?" Ziva said icily.
"No, because I take Gibbs's rules very seriously. DiNozzo's rules are just an extension of that."
"What are you talking about?" Ziva demanded.
"DiNozzo's rule number one: I don't sit on the sidelines when my people are in trouble. There's an innocent child in this building who is the result of something I set into motion. Now you can all hate me, but I need to know that child isn't ever going to be touched by my mistake." At Jenny's response, Ziva softened slightly.
"She will always be touched by this. Her mother abandoned her, and even if we find her, it will always be with her. We need to focus on helping Tony make sure that she is loved and protected and safe. And right now, the best way you can do that is to stay out of the way. I need to return to Tony. The others are set-up in the conference room down the hall." Jenny knew Ziva well enough to know that when Ziva was this passionate about something, nothing, not even the director of a federal agency could sway her.
"Alright. I'll meet Gibbs at the airport and bring him here later."
"Thank you." The women went their separate ways: Jenny to the conference room and Ziva to Tony. Ziva arrived at the room at the same time as the nurse with Tony's baby.
"Do you want to take her from here?" she asked.
"Yes. Thank you."
"I'll check on you in a few minutes."
The baby was stirring slightly as Ziva pushed the basinet into the room. After a moment's hesitation, Tony approached the basinet and lightly, almost reverently, touched a finger to the baby's face. Her eyes fluttered open briefly, giving Tony and Ziva a glimpse of her startlingly blue eyes.
"Tony, I would like you to meet your daughter."
"She really is beautiful." He whispered as he stared at her, his fingers still resting on her face.
"Are you going to hold her?" Ziva asked him.
"I…I don't know how to pick her up." He admitted shakily.
Ziva gently showed him where to place his hands and guided the baby girl's transfer from the basinet to Tony's arms. The baby fussed and made a few noises that caused Tony to adopt a look of panic before settling into the crook of his arms. Ziva allowed them a few moments before speaking.
"Gibbs will be arriving home today. An earlier flight was arranged for him." Ziva wasn't sure, but she thought she saw a look of relief pass over Tony's face. "Ducky and Abby are here. Ducky is reviewing her chart, and when you are ready, Abby needs to collect her DNA."
"She's mine." Tony told her in a voice that left no room for doubt.
"Yes, I know she is, but CPS will require proof."
"Right." After a brief silence, Tony spoke again. "I want Ducky to check her over, too, just to make sure she's okay."
"I will let him know." Ziva told him as she prepared to leave the room.
"No! Don't leave us alone." He looked up in alarm. "I'm not ready yet."
"Alright. I am sure they will find us eventually."
Jenny stood nervously at arrivals at Dulles International Airport. All around her, friends and families were being reunited. Jenny could feel the joy in the terminal, but nothing could remove the lead weight that had come to rest in her stomach.
She had remained in the hospital conference room for almost an hour and a half before the tension in the room had become too much for her to bear. She had decided that she might as well wait at the airport where the dread of facing Gibbs would be slightly more bearable without the looks she was receiving from Tony's teammates.
The sound of doors swooshing open brought Jenny out of her reverie. Several people emerged before she spotted Gibbs approaching, carrying a duffel bag and sporting a scowl.
"How was your flight?" She asked as Gibbs walked past her, causing her to have to catch up with him.
"I need real coffee before I start cleaning up your mess." Gibbs informed her as he made his way towards the nearest coffee bar.
"I see." Jenny paused to collect herself as they got into the line. "Your luggage carousel is A3. I'm assuming you'll want to pick up your luggage and go directly to the hospital."
"Nope." The person ahead of them in line collected his coffee, and Gibbs stepped up to the counter and placed his order.
"No?" Jenny was confused, but waited until Gibbs had his coffee before resuming the conversation. "Would you care to inform me of your plans, Jethro?"
"Don't have luggage, and I need to stop by my place before you take me to the hospital. Which will give you time to explain to me what the hell happened." Gibbs told her as he walked toward the exit.
As Jenny pulled up in front of Gibbs's house, she thanked God for the reprieve, however brief it might be. The ride had been filled with shouted words and angry glares and absolutely no apologies. She figured it would only have made things worse.
Gibbs got out of the SUV, slammed the door, opened the back door, pulled his bag from the back seat, slammed that door, and stalked into his house.
Jenny rested her head against the headrest and closed her eyes. Less than ten minutes later, she opened them when she heard the rear door of the vehicle opened. Gibbs placed something in the cargo are and then got in the car. He spoke only once they were back on the road.
"I'm only gonna say this once, Jenn, and then I don't ever wanna hear about it again. I don't know if Tony's ever gonna forgive you or let you into her life, but she's your responsibility. Anything she ever needs or wants, you're gonna make damn sure she gets. Child care, college tuition, first car, prom dress. You're on the hook for it. You're her fairy godmother. And you answer to me. That team, they're my family. Nobody's ever gonna love her like this family will." With that, she settled into silence. Jenny fought the stinging in the back of her eyes. The issue was closed.
"I do think that our Anthony will name her something sensible. Perhaps Audrey or Nora." Ducky told Abby and McGee.
"Ooh, Nora, that's pretty, Ducky. But he could name her something awesome, like…Esmeralda or, or Genesis, or, ooh, Diamond." Abby glared at McGee after he let a snort escape.
"Come on, this is Tony. He'll probably name her something completely unoriginal and trendy. In fact, $20 says he names her one of the top 10." McGee bet.
"And what are the top 10, Timothy?" Ducky asked curiously. McGee opened an internet search page and quickly pulled up what he was looking for.
"The official results aren't in for 2007, because it's not quite over, but I found the top 1000 names so far this decade." Abby rolled her chair in front of the computer, pushing McGee out of the way.
"Nobody cares, Timmy. Alright, here they are. Emily, Madison, Emma, Hannah, Abigail, Olivia, Ashley, Samantha, Alexis, and Sarah. Oh, all those poor little girls."
"Trendy and unoriginal. I'm guessing he goes with Madison."
"She meant all the girls named Abigail. And he'll pick something a little closer to home, McGee."
"Gibbs! You're home!" Abby half tackled Gibbs in a bear hug and then suddenly pulled away. "You think he'll call her Washington?"