Author's Note :
Thank you for all the reviews, favourites, followers and PM's.
You guys are awesome.
Here's the next chapter… Enjoy.
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A nurse walked into Ziva's room and gasped.
"No, no, no, no!" She admonished.
Ziva and Gibbs pulled apart. Ziva smiled gently as Gibbs looked deeply into her eyes, communicating how much he loved her.
"Mister, you better sit back down, before you fall down. You look too pale for my liking." The nurse said as she came up to the bed, IV bag and line in hand. "And you my dear, need to catch your breath."
She secured the oxygen mask over Ziva's face as Gibbs sat back heavily on the wheelchair. At the same time Ziva gasped, pressing a hand to her side, as the contraction increased in intensity. Gibbs reached for her hand and she squeezed it tightly.
"That's excellent, Ziva." the nurse said looking at the monitor next to the bed. "We'll wait for this contraction to pass before I hook up the Pitocin and then your contraction will really start in earnest."
As time ticked by Gibbs stared at Ziva as he battled the headache behind his eyes and the nausea that rolled across his diaphragm.
I will not let you down…
I will keep it together…
Damn it, my head's killing me!
I will not walk out on you again…
Oh God… I'm about to become a father…
Gibbs took a deep, shaky breath as the nurse took Ziva's arm and inserted the IV needle into her vein. She secured the IV, all the while chatting to Ziva. She adjusted the IV flow and then turned to both of them.
"Right, Pitocin is a fast acting drug so you will feel the contractions coming along more frequently and with greater intensity. So I need to know if you have made a decision regarding the epidural."
"No, not yet." Ziva replied.
"Okay, we do have some time yet. But I suggest you make a decision sooner rather than later. There is a point of no return and once we get there it will be too late to administer the epidural."
"She will have an epidural." Gibbs said.
"What?" Ziva turned to him. "No, I have not decided yet."
"There is nothing to decide." Gibbs said. "I can see how painful the contractions are and I don't want you to go through anything worse, so you will have the epidural."
"No I won't. I will think about it and I will decide whether or not to have it."
"Ziva!"
"Jethro!"
"Oh dear, would you two prefer to talk it over with Dr Shore?"
"No!" Gibbs barked.
"Yes." Ziva said simultaneously.
"Okay then. I will ask Dr Shore to come and see you as soon as possible." The nurse said. "In the meantime, I suggest both of you calm down and you take nice even breaths."
As she turned to leave the room another nurse entered.
"There you are Mr Gibbs." She complained. "I have the 2nd dose of your meds here." She said shaking an IV bag in her hands.
"I don't want any more meds." Gibbs growled.
"Unfortunately you need this to completely clear the Lorazapam out of your system. I also know you have a killer headache and are probably nauseous. I just need to remove that IV bag and hook up this one. Then I need to give you this shot for the headache and nausea." The nurse replied showing him the hypodermic.
"I don't…"
"Stop being so stubborn, Jethro." Ziva said. "Take the meds, because I need you. I can't do this a…alone."
Gibbs looked at her and saw her blinking rapidly.
You idiot… you said you wouldn't let her down…
But that's exactly what you're doing.
"Go ahead." He said to the nurse. Replacing the IV bag was a piece of cake. Then the nurse asked him to stand so that she could administer the shot.
Gibbs swore as she plunged the syringe into his hip.
"Sorry, it burns."
"Now you tell me." Gibbs grimaced and it was Ziva's turn to squeeze his hand.
"There we go." The nurse said when she was done.
As she helped him back into the wheelchair, she said. "You shouldn't try to walk for the next hour or so as these meds do lead to dizziness. Maybe we can move that couch to this side of the bed and then you can sit more comfortably."
That said she moved the couch and helped Gibbs from the wheelchair onto it.
And damn, he did feel lightheaded.
"You okay," Ziva asked.
"Yes," He replied.
"Are you going to tell me what happened?"
"Anxiety attack followed by an allergic reaction to Lozarapem." The nurse blurted out.
"What!" Ziva gasped.
Jethro?
Anxiety attack?
That's why he walked out on me…
"Are you done yet?" Gibbs growled at the nurse.
"Oh, sorry." The nurse said as she moved to the door. "I'll be back in an hour to check on you, Mr Gibbs."
"Jethro… I'm so sorry." Ziva said when they were alone.
"Shh, I'm fine." Gibbs said sitting forward on the couch despite his lightheadedness. He took her hands into his and kissed her palms.
Just then Ziva felt a contraction start. She turned her hands in his and squeezed. This time the contraction was different and yes, it hurt more and lasted a bit longer.
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Tony and McGee entered the Baby Goods store.
"Oh Boy, just look at the size of this store." McGee said.
"I had no idea that baby goods came with this much of variety." Tony replied as they walked further into the store.
A sales lady approached them from the opposite end of the store and said, "Good morning."
"Hi," McGee replied.
Tony grinned and extended his hand, "Hi there."
"How can I help you?" the lady said as she took Tony's hand in hers and patted the back of it like as if he was a child.
"We need to get the items on this list as quickly as possible." McGee said.
The lady took the list and scanned it.
"When is your baby due?"
"Any time today."
"Oh dear. You have left your shopping to the very last minute, haven't you? But that's understandable. Most same sex couples, especially men do seem to have this problem."
"What, no…" McGee started to say but Tony cut in by placing an arm around McGee's shoulders and saying, "See Timmy dear. We should have planned better."
McGee looked at Tony in annoyance and Tony batted his eyes at him.
"Come along you two." The sales lady said as she shook her head.
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