Monday morning found Jenny sitting in her office again, and the whole scene felt eerily familiar. Shaking the thought away, she glanced at her schedule for the day, glad to see it was going to keep her busy. It still made Jenny nervous to have too much time alone to think, even if today was better than yesterday simply because she knew her husband would be there for her now, whatever happened next.
After supervising an op in MTAC that ended well and left her in a good mood, Jenny was off for two separate lunch appointments and didn't see her desk again until nearly 1500. When the phone rang shortly after she sat down, Jenny expected a crisis, but instead it was the call she hadn't thought she'd get for another week at the earliest.
"Director Shepard," she answered.
"Jenny, it's Dr. Marriott."
"Sarah?" Jenny frowned as a feeling of deja vu came over her again. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong Jenny. I just wanted to let you know that your test results came back."
Jenny's eyebrows shot up. "Already? I thought it would take longer."
Sarah shrugged. "It just depends on how backed up they are at the lab. I guess you got lucky."
"Yes," Jenny said slowly, taking a deep breath. "Well?"
"I'm really not allowed to tell you over the phone Jenny. But I'm at the office all day, you can drop by and pick the results up anytime."
"Oh." Jenny wanted to know the answer now. "Okay, thank you Sarah."
"I'll see you later Jenny."
They both hung up and Jenny leaned back in her chair, realizing that she had two hours left until the earliest time she could leave. But with that phone call weighing heavily on her mind, there was no way she'd be able to get any work done until she knew what the test results said.
NCIS
Having barely seen or spoken to his wife all day, Gibbs took advantage of a lull in the case to go upstairs and see how things were going. He found her standing in front of the large window in her office, staring down at the harbour. Jenny didn't move when he closed the door.
"Jen?" he asked softly, trying to read her mood. Things were better today but she was still holding herself back from him, not that Gibbs could blame her. It had been a rough week for both of them.
She turned to face him but her eyes weren't focused and Gibbs could tell she was distracted. "Hello Jethro. Did you need something?"
Gibbs didn't like not knowing what was going on in her head. "I haven't see you much today. Just thought I'd see how things were going."
"Hmm?" Jenny responded, preoccupied again before his words registered. "Oh yes, well, I've been busy."
Unsure now because it really didn't feel like she was with him, Gibbs shrugged. "Can I get you anything?" It was a fairly oft-used question in the last month as he tried to make sure she was eating something during the day, for the meals they didn't share.
Jenny finally met his eyes and smiled briefly. "No thank you. I already had lunch." Her gaze drifted away again and Gibbs finally gave up.
"Okay Jen. See you later?"
"What?" she frowned. "Oh right, later."
Jenny turned back tot he window and Gibbs left, taking himself to the little alcove off the stairs, needing a moment to think before he got his head back in the case. The way Jenny was acting worried him. A month ago it would've meant something bad had happened and even now Gibbs kicked himself for not asking if any memories had come up today. It fit her behaviour, though usually she told him about the flashbacks.
But his fear was that Jenny's preoccupation had something to do with whatever decision she was trying to make regarding the baby. He knew he couldn't say anything, not when he was trying hard to practice all the advice he'd been given last week, but Gibbs wished Jenny would talk to him. He wanted to know what to be prepared for.
NCIS
By 4:45 pm, Jenny couldn't take any more waiting. She packed up her things and told Cynthia she was leaving early. On her way to the elevator, she caught Gibbs' eye, making the sign for 'doctor'. She saw the concern in his eyes and smiled, though she didn't think it would make him feel any better. No matter what the results said, their lives were about to change.
Jenny let her security detail escort her to the medical building, and the receptionist, Diana, showed her to an empty exam room, telling her that Dr. Marriott would be in as soon as she finished with her current patient. Nodding, Jenny sat anxiously in the chair provided. She fiddled with her rings, her bracelets, and the pendant on her necklace while she ran over the last couple days in her head.
Just as she was about to get up and pace because she had too much nervous energy to sit still any longer, the door opened and Dr. Marriott came in. "Jenny." Her expression was neutral, not giving anything away.
"Sarah." Jenny was out of patience. "The results?"
The doctor nodded slowly and handed Jenny the piece of paper that would decide the baby's future.
NCIS
Back at NCIS, Gibbs had gone for coffee and Abby had joined the team in the squadroom. They had some things to talk about.
"What are we going to do guys?" Abby posed the question from her place on the floor beside Tim's desk. Tony was sitting in his chair facing them and Ziva leaned against the corner of his desk. "Something is seriously wrong."
"Yeah," Tony agreed. "Gibbs and Jenny have been acting like strangers all week. It's starting to freak me out. This is worse than when they weren't together."
Abby poked her boyfriend in the leg when he didn't add anything to the discussion. McGee shrugged. "We could try confronting them, but you know how well that worked last time. Gibbs just blew us off and Jenny is likely to caught bodily harm the way she's been acting."
"They're not supposed to be hiding things anymore," Abby muttered, crossing her arms. "How are we supposed to help if they won't tell us what's going on?"
Ziva tapped her fingers on Tony's desk. "I agree with Abby. I do not like being left in the night about things."
"Dark, Ziva," came Tony's auto-correct. She frowned at him. "Maybe we should-"
He was cut off when Gibbs walked in and glared at them. "What are you doing?" he growled. All of them in the same room at the same time was just begging for trouble.
"Campfire Boss," Tony jumped in without missing a beat. "Abby wanted votes on her new tattoo."
Abby, also quick on her feet, grinned and nodded enthusiastically. "I can't decide between a fire dragon, the phoenix, or the Japanese character for eternal love." She glanced meaningfully at Tim and he squeezed her shoulder.
Gibbs didn't believe them for a minute, but he was amused by the cover-up. Not that he'd show it. "So I guess the case is solved?" he asked dryly.
"I'm going to see if Major Mass Spec found anything on the residue." Abby was gone in a flash of white lab coat and black pigtails.
McGee's fingers were already tapping away on his keyboard. "I've got an update on those financials Boss." He put the picture on the plasma.
"Still looking for the sister Boss but I'm just going to..." Tony looked around wildly for something useful to do, "...um, call Metro again, just in case they found something."
Ziva walked quickly back to her desk. "Checking the BOLO on the stolen pick-up Gibbs."
Gibbs sat back and watched the flurry of activity that suddenly surrounded him. He enjoyed the fact that his team rarely needed direction from him now concerning their jobs. They'd learned well. He just had to kick their butts into gear sometimes.
NCIS
Half an hour later, Gibbs got a phone call. "Yeah, Gibbs," he answered, not checking to see who it was.
"Jethro." Jenny's voice. She'd told him she was going to the doctor, could the test results be in so soon?
"Hey Jen," Gibbs said, not sure what to think.
"I need to see you at home right away."
Gibbs knew she wouldn't ask if it wasn't important, but he couldn't tell from her voice whether the news was good or bad, if either of those were even an option anymore.
"Fifteen minutes," he promised.
Activity in the bullpen stilled. Gibbs knew his team was more than capable of handling things without him for the couple of hours remaining in their workday, and they could pick things up again tomorrow. He looked at Tony and the senior field agent could tell by the look on his face.
"Jenny? I mean, the Director, right?" Gibbs nodded. "Go," Tony shrugged. "We're covered here." He didn't even get a smile, but Tony knew his boss appreciated him anticipating. It was a rule, after all.
When the doors closed behind Gibbs, the three agents remaining exchanged concerned glances. That was the second time in two weeks that Gibbs had left. He hadn't felt the need to do that in over a month. Without asking, Tony knew their bosses' behaviour was starting to freak all of them out. None of them wanted anything else to be wrong with Jenny, not after everything they'd already gone through.
Tony met Ziva's eyes and saw the concern. Gibbs and Jenny weren't just their bosses. They were friends, family, and right now things didn't look good.
NCIS
Gibbs got home as fast as he could without breaking land speed records or getting pulled over by any cops. He pulled into the driveway and hurried up the walk, trying to fight the dread pooling in his gut. Jenny was pacing anxiously in the hallway. When the door opened to reveal her husband, she walked over and flung her arms around his neck, holding the paper in one hand.
Gibbs was a little surprised, their touch had been pretty hesitant this week. But he held her close, glad to have her in his arms, even if the reason wasn't necessarily a good one. He wanted them to be able to work things out, somehow, but first he needed to hear the news.
At first Jenny was crying too much to get the words out and Gibbs' hand ran up and down her back in a comforting caress, fearing the worst. Finally she put her mouth right by her husband's ear. "It's yours Jethro."
Gibbs' body went completely still and he pulled back to look into her eyes. "What?"
Jenny laughed through the tears that were still falling. "The baby is yours."
Disbelief spread through him and Gibbs' loosened his grip on Jenny, trying to process her words, afraid to hope they were true. "You're sure?" he choked out finally.
Jenny smiled and showed him the paper, pointing to the results in black and white. "Look, it's right here. Mother - Jenny Gibbs. Father - Jethro Gibbs." Her eyes were shining with a joy Gibbs hadn't been sure he'd ever see again as she took his face in her hands. "We're having a baby Jethro. We're having a baby!"
At those words Gibbs crushed Jenny against his chest and buried his hands and face in her hair. "Our baby," he whispered, the news still feeling too good to be true.
"Yes, our baby," she repeated, holding her husband tightly.
Gibbs pulled away just far enough to kiss her, and the caress was so full of tenderness and love that Jenny cried a little bit more. He brushed the tears away, holding her close again, but not before Jenny saw the dampness in his eyes. She rested her head on Gibbs' shoulder, so thankful that this had been their answer. Now everything would change, but in a good way. A very, very good way.
As Gibbs rocked his wife and thought about the baby she carried, their baby, he looked up. If he wasn't sure God existed before, he was now. Because the news Jenny had just given him was such a miracle for them.
A/N: Hey guys! I hope you've enjoyed the last two chapters and I'm sorry to say they're going to be the last for awhile. I'm taking a week off starting today and I won't be able to update again until the first Monday in May. Hope you can hold on until then. Thanks so much for all the reviews and alerts and awesome PMs I've been getting. You guys are amazing and I'm so thankful y'all are reading my story :) See you in May!