SEVEN MONTHS

Since the operation in Los Angeles, the Central and South American desk had been relatively quiet. Callie's installation as Bureau Chief had been seamless and most of the people seemed to genuinely like the petite Texan and her often self-deprecating humor.

The one thing Harris had learned during the last two to three months in her pregnancy was that getting up and down was not as easy as it once was. So, Callie made sure that her trips were economical, usually centered around one of her many bathroom breaks. As she stood from her desk for one of these runs, the room began to swim. She grabbed the desk to steady herself, hoping the momentary dizziness would fade. When Callie made the first step around her desk, the room faded to black.

"Callie!" the concerned cry of Nikki Jardine brought other members of the department into action. Someone called out to notify Doctor Mallard while another person indicated they should call up Tony DiNozzo. The movements of the Intelligence Staff were quick and efficient.

When Harris finally came to, she was looking into the concerned face of the Medical Examiner. "There you are, my dear."

"What happened?" Callie asked, absently, trying to push herself up only to find that strong arms kept her firmly secured.

Whispering into her ear, Tony said, "You apparently passed out."

Looking over her shoulder into his concerned glance, she smiled weakly. "Harris' do not pass out," taking a riff on Tony's usual DiNozzo comment.

"Well," the doctor interrupted, "this one certainly did." Patting her leg, he looked up at Tony, "When's her next doctor's appointment?"

"Day after tomorrow but they're willing to work us in this afternoon," Tony replied, all business.

Nodding his approval, Ducky stood up gingerly, allowing a very concerned Leroy Jethro Gibbs to come into Callie's line of vision. Grabbing her hands, he pulled Callie up from the floor as Tony continued to support her from behind.

Swaying slightly, Harris was held in the tight grasp of the ex-marine. "Take the rest of the afternoon, DiNozzo. I'll let the Director know what's going on."

Tony nodded at his boss' order. Callie's response was slightly indignant as she replied, "I don't work for you."

Gibbs smiled evilly as he responded, "Don't really care. He's going," L.J. pointed towards DiNozzo, "and I happen to know you only brought one car today."

Before the battle of wills could escalate, Tony ushered his very pregnant companion towards the elevator.

A few hours later, Callie and Tony were sitting in the Doctor's office, awaiting the results of her examination. The obstetrician, Doctor Brown, entered quickly and took the seat behind his desk, opening Callie's file as he did so. With a disapproving look towards the redhead, he addressed his questions to the father-to-be.

"So, Mr. DiNozzo, how much has Callie told you about her health situation?"

With a cautious glance toward Harris, Tony answered, "Well, she's informed me that her blood type is O-negative which can sometimes be problematic in a pregnancy."

The doctor nodded, "True. Anything else?"

"And her age is a factor," Tony replied.

"Again, true. She's a little older than our first time mothers." The doctor interjected.

"Other than that, nothing else," the agent finished.

"Well," Doctor Brown responded, leaning back in his chair, "there are a couple of other mitigating issues. Her small frame can sometimes make a pregnancy uncomfortable. I suspect Callie's having issues getting up and down, in and out of a car, things like that."

Smiling indulgently, Tony nodded, "I've noticed a little bit of that."

"But, the main thing is her blood pressure. From what I've seen of Callie's medical history, she's always tended towards hypertension. Sometimes, pregnancy can exacerbate the issue. I had indicated to our patient, here," the Doctor pointed towards the now very pissed and pouty redhead, "that if her blood pressure started doing things I didn't like, that we would have to make some modifications."

"You both know I'm sitting right here," Harris interjected sulkily.

Ignoring her comments, Tony responded, "What do we need to do, Doc?"

"Well, I would really prefer complete bed rest," he began only to see Callie's body language change towards fight mode, "but…" holding up a hand to forestall her comments, "I would be satisfied with cutting her work week back to two days."

"Two days!" Callie began only to have Tony cut her off.

"No problem. Anything else?"

Callie started to protest, only to have Tony place a hand on her leg and squeeze painfully, stopping any other arguments in front of their doctor.

"No, Mr. DiNozzo, I think that's enough for now. We'll see how she's doing at her next checkup and, if necessary, make further modifications then." Doctor Brown stood from his desk, Tony following him up.

Pulling two cards from his wallet, he handed them across to the Obstetrician, "This is my number and the other card is for my boss, Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. He's Callie's medical power of attorney. Anything you think we need to know, don't bother going through her. Please call one of us."

The doctor smiled at the agent's high-handedness, "Very well, Mr. DiNozzo. You two have a…" he paused for effect, "good evening?"

Tony returned the smiled and pulled an extremely angry Callie Harris up from her seat and guided her out of the office. Once inside the car, Tony started it up but didn't pull out of the parking lot. Turning to face the former field agent, he said, "You can be just as mad as you want, Callie, I really don't give a damn."

Callie jerked around towards him but was stopped from comment by Tony's upraised hand, "There's too much at stake here. It's not just my child. Our child. But, it's your life, too."

He paused letting what he said sink in and very carefully forming his next sentences, "I don't want to choose between you or the baby. Do you understand? I expect to raise this kid together…grow old, together…do I make myself clear?"

And every ounce of fight and bluster flew right out the window at Tony's quietly passionate words. Not trusting herself to speak, Callie could only nod her understanding to the father of the precious child she now carried.

Tony reached across and gently cupped her cheek and Callie immediately leaned into the caress. Closing the distance, he pulled Harris into a deeply tender and passionate kiss, effectively ending the argument.