Gibbs looked up at that. "Jackson?" He asked softly, feeling the tears prick his eyes.
Tony smile wide, glad to see the reaction they had hoped for. "Jack for short. We thought it would be nice to name our son after family."
Gibbs looked at the baby boy, who opened his eyes the minute he heard his name. Just like Karina, he looked into Gibbs' clear blue eyes. It was like they were communicating to each other, and formed a secret bond.
Gibbs felt the tears fall down his cheeks but he didn't care. "Hi Jack." He whispered softly, kissing the baby's head. "You're named after your Grampy. He will be so full of himself when he finds out."
Chapter Seven: "A Special Meeting"
The others laughed at that. "I hope you are glad that we named our son after your father and my father. It seemed…appropriate." Ziva said quietly. She was tired and sore, but very happy and content.
"Oh, yeah. I am deeply honored. Glad you didn't go with Jethro, Leroy or Gibbs though."
Tony chuckled. "Well, as Tim pointed out to me, if we used Jethro everyone would think we were naming him after his dog."
Gibbs laughed at that. "I didn't think of that. Smart move." Just then, Tony's cell rang.
"Hey. Ok, I'll be right out." He looked at Ziva. "Tim is here with Karina."
Gibbs handed the baby back to Tony. "I think Karina's introduction to her baby brother should be a private family affair. I'll go get her." He kissed Ziva again and left the room.
He found Tim sitting with Karina, looking out the windows. "Gwapa!" She called out when she caught sight of Gibbs. Tim stood up. "Well?"
"Everyone's happy and healthy. I'm taking Karina back to Tony and Ziva so she can meet her baby brother. I'll be right back." Gibbs took Karina's hand and she toddled with him through the doors and down the hall.
Mimi had been keeping watch. "Here they come." She whispered to them. She left the room. They heard Karina squeal in delight when she saw Mimi. They could hear some muffled talking outside the door, and then the door slowly opened.
Karina toddled through into the room, looking around. She saw Tony and tried to run to him, or at least her version of running. "Daddy!" She called out.
Tony scooped his daughter up into his arms and swung her around. He smothered her in kisses, making her giggle. He finally turned so she could see Ziva in the bed.
"Look Karina. Your baby brother is here with Mommy. Want to say hi?"
Karina grinned at her mommy but then looked surprised when the blankets she was holding moved and made noises. Tony gently sat down on the bed and put Karina in his lap.
Ziva kissed her daughter and opened up the wrappings. "See Karina? Here is your brother, Jack. Isn't he a pretty baby?"
Karina stuck her fingers in her mouth and looked at the baby. "Baby?" She asked, unsure.
"Yes, Punkin. That's your baby brother. Remember we told you Mommy was going to have a baby and you were going to have a little brother? Well, he decided to come today." Tony talked softly to his daughter.
Ziva moved over so Karina could sit next to her. Tony positioned her next to Ziva. Then they very gently placed the baby in her arms, supporting his head and weight.
Karina looked up in shock at both of her parents, then back down at the baby. Jack opened his eyes and looked at her, locking his gaze.
"Say hi to your baby brother, Karina." Ziva coached.
"Hi." Karina said softly. She had seen one of these before. They had them at her "work". She knew what people did with babies. She bent down and kissed him on the mouth.
"Ok, didn't expect that." Tony laughed. "Kiss him on the head, Sweetie, like this." Tony bent down and kissed his son's forehead. Karina watched him closely and imitated him.
Tony and Ziva looked at each other. So far it was going well.
Mimi poked her head in. "How's it going?"
Tony waved her in. "Tell McGee he can come back as well."
In less than three minutes, Gibbs, Mimi and Tim were in the room, watching Karina hold her brother.
Tim and Mimi took multiple pictures with their phones, laughing as they shared the photos with each other. Tim had called Abby as soon as they had dropped Tony off at the hospital. He quickly sent her several pictures.
He no sooner hit "send" when his phone rang. "Hi Abbs." He said, smiling.
"Oh, my God Timmy. They look so adorable! What's his name, are they ok? Of'course they're ok, Karina wouldn't be holding him if there were any problems. That happened so fast! Is Ziva ok?" She finally had to take a breath. He had put her on speaker, so everyone had heard her rambling.
"Everything is great, Abby." Tony called out. "His name is Jackson David. We're going to call him 'Jack'. Karina is still a little shell shocked but so far she seems to like him."
"Oh, Tony! Is Ziva ok? Ziva are you ok?"
Ziva smiled tiredly. "I am fine, Abby. He did come very quickly, much quicker than I expected. But we are doing well. He has already fed and pooped."
Tony shook his head. There was that fascination with baby poop again. Maybe someday he would get it, but for today all he cared about was his beautiful family. Tony took the baby from Karina, who at first didn't want to let him go.
"Be careful, Sweetie. Nice and gentle. He is very little and we need to be very nice to him. Let Daddy hold him, ok?"
Karina let him go so Tony could pick him up. He took him over so McGee could hold him. Tim smiled down at the baby.
"Hi Jack. I'm your Uncle Tim. Aunt Abby is dying to meet you." Jack yawned and Tim chuckled.
"Yes I am! When will you leave the hospital? You need to come here first before you go home." Abby whined through the phone.
Tony and Ziva looked at Mimi. "If things look good, I don't see why you can't leave tomorrow. But I'll decide tomorrow." She added.
Ziva cuddled Karina, who was watching her Uncle Tim with "her" baby. "Do you like your baby brother, Karina?" Ziva ran her fingers through Karina's curls. Karina looked at her mommy and nodded her head up and down. "Baby." She said. She struggled to a standing position and leaned against Ziva shoulder.
Ziva kissed her daughter. "You are such a good girl. I am very proud of you." Karina grinned, her fingers in her mouth. She didn't understand what her mommy was saying, but she knew from her tone of voice and facial expression that she was happy with Karina. That's all she needed to know.
Jack started fussing and Tim handed him back to Tony, who handed him to Ziva. Realizing that Ziva was probably going to feed the baby, Tim excused himself. "Dornie should be here by now to take me back. Congrats you three. He's beautiful." Tim waved goodbye. Gibbs walked out with him, not needing to be in there while Ziva was breastfeeding.
Ziva opened the front flap and put the baby to her breast. Karina watched in fascination as the baby made sucking noises. "Do you remember doing that, Karina?" Tony asked.
She looked at her daddy, then back at the baby. She surprised them by going to Ziva's other breast and trying to latch on. Ziva looked at Mimi in surprise.
Mimi chuckled. "I have to say I didn't expect Karina to try to breast feed again, but it is not uncommon. She may not remember how to do it. As long as you are comfortable with it, let her play at it. If she gets some milk, great, it won't take away from what the baby is getting. And it will be comforting to her. But take her lead on it. Don't push it, and don't push her away."
"Wow." That was all Tony could come up with. "Do you think she will refuse the bottle?"
Mimi shook her head. "I doubt it. She would have to be getting quite a good latch and milk supply for that to happen."
"Here, I have to put these on you." She put a hospital bracelet on Tony and a Big Sister bracelet on Karina. She smiled as she saw both babies were drowsy, Jack already asleep and Karina a close second.
"It's been a big day for her. She may not sleep well tonight, since mommy won't be home. But she shouldn't be too much trouble." Mimi was talking more to Tony than to Ziva.
"I'll let you rest. If you want, we can take Karina home with us so you can stay. But you should go home tonight and be with her."
Tony looked at Ziva and their children. "Thanks Mimi, that would be great. I would like to stick around until they kick me out."
"Don't stay that late; they won't ever kick you out because you are my family." Mimi chuckled.
Tony gently picked up Karina. She laid her head on his shoulder. "Give Mommy a kiss bye-bye." He told her. Karina kissed Ziva on the lips. "Bye my love, see you soon." Ziva whispered to her daughter.
Tony and Mimi walked back out into the waiting area. Gibbs looked up as they came over.
"I told Tony and Ziva we would take Karina for now until Tony gets home later, if that's ok with you."
Gibbs took Karina from Tony. "Of'course it is, but I'm going back to work. Are you staying here or going home?" He asked Mimi.
Mimi hesitated. "I was going to stay here at least two more hours. Just to make sure everything is ok with Ziva and Jack." She turned to Tony when she sensed his tension.
"It's just routine. I don't sign off on my patients until at least three hours post-delivery."
Tony relaxed. Gibbs smiled. "I'll just take Karina back to day care, and then bring her home when I leave. How does that sound?"
"Thanks, Boss. I guess we didn't think about this part too much." Tony admitted, much to his embarrassment.
"Of'course you didn't. You expected Ziva to give birth on the weekend, while you were at home and had things under control." Gibbs gave him a light head slap.
"Thank you, Boss." Tony repeated himself.
"Ok, kiddo. Ready to go back to work?" Karina had woken up a bit by now and was happy to see her grandpa again. She placed her hands on his face and kissed him.
Gibbs touched her nose. "I'll take that as a yes. Give me a call, Tony, when you are heading home." Gibbs waved and took off, Karina babbling away at him, Tim and Dornie following him.
They got out to the car and Gibbs realized he didn't have a car seat for Karina. "Damn, the car seat is in Tony's car."
Tim piped up. "No it isn't. When we got here, I went ahead and took it out and put it in the Agency car. I kind of expected we would be taking Karina back with us."
Gibbs looked at McGee with pride. "Good for you, Tim. You're acting like a Daddy already."
Tim blushed and stammered a bit, but was pleased by the remark. Gibbs strapped Karina in and she stared at Dornie the whole ride back to NCIS.
"I don't think she likes me." Dorneget said nervously.
Gibbs looked surprised. "Why would you say that?" He turned around and winked at Karina.
"She's kind of giving me this look. It reminds me of Agent DiNozzo, Ziva, when she is sure she is in the presence of the enemy."
Gibbs and McGee laughed at that. "She does occasionally have these 'Ziva looks' that scare me too, Dornie." McGee admitted.
"Like mother, like daughter." Gibbs murmured. "Just talk to her, Dorneget. She likes everybody."
By the time they got back to NCIS, Dornie was singing "The Wheels on the Bus" and Karina was clapping and laughing.
"See? Friends for life." Gibbs smiled.
"Can I hold her?" Dornie gulped.
Gibbs eyed him, sizing him up. "If she'll come to you, sure."
Gibbs unbuckled her from her car seat, and then stepped back. Dornie held out his arms to her. Karina looked at Gibbs, puzzled, but seemed to shrug it off and allowed Dornie to pick her up.
Dornie had this big grin on his face as he carried Karina into the building. He brought her up to the bullpen and sat down with her at his desk.
"Is she going to do your work for you, Dorneget?" Gibbs raised an eyebrow.
"Uh, no, Boss. Sorry, Boss."
"Put her down." Gibbs said. "Come to Grandpa, Karina." He said once she was off of Dorneget's lap. She grinned and toddled over to Gibbs. He hoisted her up onto his lap and let her play with the keyboard.
He picked up the phone and called downstairs to the lab. "Hi Lily. Everything went fine. Yep, six pounds two ounces. Jackson David. Yeah, I know. I'll call him soon. His head will swell so big, he won't be able to fit through the door. Huh? No, I have Karina right now. Ok, see you later."
Gibbs hung up and called Vance. "Director, Agents DiNozzo just had their son, so Ziva will be starting her maternity leave. Yes, that's my plan. I'm not sure what DiNozzo is planning regarding time off, certainly out today and tomorrow I would think. I'll let you know as soon as I know. Yeah, cute as Karina. Jackson David. Uh-huh, me too. Thanks, Leon."
Gibbs kissed Karina. "Want to call Grampy?" Karina nodded her head "yes". Gibbs called his dad and was relieved he picked up on the second ring. He always worried when it took him too long to answer the phone.
"Hi Dad. No everything's fine, wanted to let you know that Ziva had the baby. Well, yeah a little bit, but they are fine. Yep, that's another reason why I called. They named him after you, Jackson David. Ah, Dad, don't cry…Geesh." Gibbs had to take the phone away from his ear.
"What? Yeah, if you are up to driving down, the Bris is next week some time. I don't have the details yet. If you aren't up to driving, I can come up and get you. Ok, well, let me know. I'm sure they'll want you to be there. I will, Dad. Love you, too. Say hi to Karina." Gibbs put his phone next to Karina's ear. Her eyes opened wide as she listened to Jackson Gibbs talk to her. She babbled something back, and then kissed the phone.
"She kissed the phone, Dad. Thought you'd like to know that. Yeah, ok, bye." Gibbs put his phone down. "I think that's all the calls I need to make, Karina. What do you think?"
Dorneget had watched this exchange with growing confusion. Gibbs was the toughest, roughest, most bad-ass Agent he had ever worked with and here he was baby-talking with a toddler. He never considered ever having a child, although gay couples had children all the time.
He just never thought of himself as the "parental" type. But he was envious of the relationship Gibbs had with this little child, at the influence she had made on his life. If a child could do that for Gibbs, what wonderful things could be in store for him?
Gibbs' phone rang again. "Yeah, Gibbs. Ok, be right up." He hung up. "Come on, Karina. Let's go see the Director."
"Drec!" Karina announced.
Tim chuckled at Karina's attempt to say "Director". "I hope she doesn't call him that, Boss." He smiled.
Gibbs looked at Karina. "I don't know, I think it fits. Don't you, Princess?"
Karina nodded her head up and down, agreeing with her grandpa.
Walter Reed
Ziva had drifted off to sleep, so Tony was walking quietly, gently holding his newborn son.
"I'm already the best Daddy that there is, so you are going to have the best life you can have. This is between you and me, but things were getting just a little too girly in the house. Oh, don't get me wrong. I love your Mommy and your big Sister more than anything in the world. And you have a girl doggy, too. Her name is Bridget, but they wouldn't let her come today. You'll meet her tomorrow." Tony smiled and kissed his son's head.
"I'm going to teach you to play baseball, and football and basketball and any sport you like. Whatever you want to do, I'm going to be there right with you, all the way. I'm never going to leave you anywhere. I'm never going to send you away. And whatever you want to be when you grow up, that will be fine with me, as long as you are happy." Tony took a deep breath, and pinched his eyes.
"I'm going to teach you all about James Bond, and Jack Nicholson, yes he has the same name as you, but that was an accident. I'm going to teach you that music pretty much died in 1977. Not because that year we lost Elvis and Groucho and Maria Callas; Bing Crosby and almost all of Lynyrd Skynyrd. No, the music died because that was the year your grandmother died. Oh, I wish she was here to see you and Karina."
He looked down at his four hour old son, marveling at how perfect and beautiful he was. The baby was awake, looking solemnly at his father. Tony touched his soft light brown hair, and caressed his cheek with a finger. "Jackson David DiNozzo, I will always be your Daddy and love you with all my heart."
Wow! What a wonderful response to the last chapter. Thank you so much! Hope you like Karina and Jack's meeting. And Tony's heart to heart with his son…