This chapter was kinda hard to write…hope it isn't bad! J
I want to give credit and a big thanks to Watching Waves for her ideas….she really helped me finish chapter 8 and begin chapter 9..THANK YOU WATCHING WAVES!
I also wanna give a shout out to my best friend, Liz Tresemer, for helping me with the name of the high school and the mascot….THANX LIZ! I LOVE YOU!!!! :P J
CHAPTER 9
Becky woke up two days later with butterflies in her stomach. Of course, it could have been the baby that was inside her, but, she still felt anxious. Today was her high school graduation. In two short hours, she would be walking across the stage and receiving her high school diploma. She got dressed and was looking at herself in the mirror when a knock came on her door.
"Come in."
"Everything okay Hun?"
"Yeah…"Jenny walked over and stood beside Becky, Looking in the mirror at her."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes…no…I don't know." Becky turned to the side to look at her newly developing silhouette. Her abdomen was sticking out more than she remembered. She rubbed her hands on her belly.
"This isn't exactly how I pictured my graduation day."
"How's that?"
"You and dad being married…me being pregnant…"
"No one knows what to expect. You just have to take what life gives you and make it work somehow."
"I know…I…just…don't like not knowing what's gonna happen to me. I know no one does, but still."
"It's going to be okay. You have people around you that love you and are going to be there for you every step of the way. Well, you have people downstairs waiting to see their graduate, and a graduation to go to."
"Yeah. I do. I'm not gonna miss that." Jenny picked up Becky's gown, and helped Becky find the arm holes.
"I'm not gonna zip it up just yet. If I do, you wont be able to see my outfit in the pictures."
"True. Well, you have people waiting downstairs."
"And a graduation to go to." Jenny and Becky went down the hallway and started down the stairs. Just as they got halfway down. As soon as Tony saw her, he began cheering, and they all joined in. She could see that Jethro had tears in his eyes. When Becky got to the bottom of the stairs, She began to tear up herself.
"Daddy, What's wrong?"
"My little girl…She's all grown up…about to graduate high school…is gonna be a mother soon…your not my little girl anymore."
"Awwww…Daddy. It's okay. No matter how old I get, I will always be your little girl, you know that." By this time, everyone in the room had tears in their eyes. Tony stepped up to Becky.
"Becky, I want everyone in this room to know that I love you with every bone in my body. would scream it from the mountain tops, and the roof of every building. I was going to wait to do this, but, I think the moment is never gonna be more right." Tony got down on one knee, and everyone gasped. Becky began to cry.
"Rebekah Shepard, Will you marry me?"
"YES!" Tony hugged Becky, still on one knee. He stood up, and after putting the ring on her finger, everyone clobbered them, giving out congratulations and hugs. After a few minutes, Becky noticed her mom had an unusual twinkle in her eye.
"Mom, is there something you want to tell us?"
"What would give you that idea?"
"Your facial expression…Something's going on." Jenny's face suddenly changed to a 'you're right…there is.' look.
"Well, with all of the excitement, I might as well share the news. Becky's baby is going to have an aunt and uncle the same age." No one said anything. They obviously didn't get it.
"I'm pregnant too!"
"Really?!?!" Jethro's face lit up. I'm going to a daddy again?"
"Yes you are." Everyone got a small giggle out of that one. A couple of minutes later, Becky noticed the time.
"Hate to break the party, but we gotta go."
"She's right. Quick, one group picture before we leave." Jethro set the timer on the camera, then hurried to stand beside Jenny. After the picture snapped, he grabbed the camera off of its stand and followed the rest of the group out the door.
The school gymnasium was packed when they all finally arrived there. Becky got swept up into the pre-ceremony activities. Before she could find everyone in the crowd, the march began. By the time she got to her seat and got sat down, the ceremony was a big blur. As Becky sat in her row, waiting for her turn to go up on stage, a big adrenaline rush came over her. This was it.
"Rebekah Marie Shepard, daughter of Jenny and Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Valedictorian, 4.23 GPA, Homecoming and Prom Queen." Becky walked across, and as soon as she had her diploma in her hand, she heard the team yell. They went nuts. She heard her dad yell, "Go Becky! We love you!" She blushed. Becky returned to her seat, happy to sit down. Although she was only about 5 or 6 weeks along, she was already feeling the effects of pregnancy. The salutation went up to the podium one last time. It was time for turning of the tassels.
"Fellow classmates: Now that we all have our diplomas, the one thing we worked oh-so hard to get, we must do one last thing before we can officially say that we have 'graduated'. Please join me in the turning of our tassels." Becky and the rest of her 221 classmates turned their tassels to the left side of their hats, symbolizing them leaving the comfort and safety of their homes and families and going off to college or the military. They all took their hats off and threw them into the air, yelling 'Go Leaping Lizards!'. The Fairfax high school Leaping Lizards…odd choice for a school mascot, but, it was original. As she walked back down the aisle, Becky and her friends all began to tear up. Many of them were going out west, pursuing careers in everything from medicine to acting. When Becky got to the end of the aisle, the whole team was standing there, with bouquets of flowers and balloons, with smiles on their faces and were ready to hug their graduate. When Becky got done hugging the team members and her mom and dad, she looked at them. "This is the happiest day of my life."
