A/N: Thanks so much for all of the reviews! I'm still completely blown away by the response to this story! My week away was very nice, and now I get to go off to work. I'm hoping to keep my update schedule to once a week-let's pray that I can keep that! Minor spoilers for 'Red Cell' this chapter.
This chapter is for Rachel-you survived the week with no updates! ;)
Disclaimer: I own my OCs and the plot.
Jenny walked into work the next morning ready for the day to be over, and it hadn't even begun yet. A rather nasty bout of morning sickness had hit her, and she still felt queasy as she stepped off the elevator. Rubbing at her eyes she sighed in exhaustion, sitting down behind her desk and dropping her head onto the top of it.
"Are you okay?"
She looked up at the sound of Timothy McGee's voice, his concerned face floating above her. Blinking her eyes, she nodded.
"Just tired," she replied, grinding the heels of her hands over her face. "I had a rough morning."
"Should I get Gibbs?" Tim asked, and Jenny shook her head.
"No, there's no need to alarm him," she replied, bestowing a kind smile on the young man. "Thank you though. Have you made any headway on your case?"
"Somewhat," Tim answered, scratching the back of his neck. "I have to see what Abby pulled from the evidence."
"I have to take Carson that way," Jenny said, standing up.
"Carson?" Tim asked, frowning slightly in confusion.
"Our new Probie," Jenny answered, and the confusion cleared from Tim's face. "Ah, there she is. Carson, this is Tim McGee."
"Hi," Carson said, extending a hand to Tim. "It's nice to meet you."
Tim was quiet for a second as he searched for his voice, his eyes wide as he looked at her.
"Yeah, uh, it's nice to, um, meet you too," he said, stumbling over his words. Jenny hid her smile, watching as Carson blushed slightly, her eyes a sky blue color.
"Tim, would you like to show Carson to Abby's lab instead?" Jenny asked, amusement coloring her tone. His face lit up, and Jenny had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. Another male on Team Gibbs was smitten with a woman from Team Shepard.
"C'mon, I think Abby will like you," he said, leading the blonde woman to the elevators. Jenny was shaking her head in amusement when a set of hands wrapped around her waist, and she jumped slightly at the touch.
"What are you shaking your head at?" her husband asked, his voice low in her ear. She smirked, tilting her head back so that she could see his eyes.
"The men on your team are easily distracted by the women on mine," she replied, and he raised an eyebrow, questioning. "Tony is mesmerized by Gianna, and young Tim is now making eyes at Carson. And, of course, the only woman you see anymore is me, your wife."
"Of course," Jethro said, kissing her cheek lightly. "Maybe if you all weren't so attractive, we wouldn't get distracted."
"But then I guess there wouldn't be any fun, would there?" Jenny asked, and her husband grinned, his blue eyes dancing in amusement.
"You've got that right," he answered, and Jenny rolled her eyes.
"Go solve your case. I'm hoping to catch one so I don't spend another day in the office," she said, bumping him lightly with her hip. "I have to teach my Probie everything I can before I'm seated behind a desk."
"But behind the desk is where I can keep an eye on you," Jethro replied, his hand cupping her cheek gently. Jenny sighed and nodded, knowing there was no point in arguing.
"Go, before we get caught in our PDA moment," she said, pushing his chest lightly. He smirked and walked away, giving her quite a view. She'd just taken a seat when the elevators opened and Landon stepped off, looking worn down.
"Morning Boss," he said, exhaustion clear in his expression. Jenny softened, sympathetic.
"How's Skyler? The baby?" she asked, watching as he sat down and leaned back in his chair, trying to get comfortable.
"The C-section went well; Skyler's healthy, and so is the baby. We named him Tanner," Landon asked, pride sparkling in his eyes as he mentioned his son. "Sienna likes him; she's already said she was going to give him her favorite stuffed panda bear. Skyler's exhausted though; this pregnancy wore her out."
"Well congratulations, I'm happy for you two," Jenny said, and there was no jealously in her tone, because in only a few months, she'd be the one bringing a baby home from the hospital.
"Thanks," Landon replied, closing his eyes briefly. "Is the new agent here?"
"She went down to Abby's lab with Agent McGee," Jenny answered, and he nodded.
"Where's Gianna?" he asked, and Jenny frowned, glancing over at the empty desk.
"I haven't seen her yet this morning."
Just then the elevator opened, and Gianna and Tony stepped out together, Gianna laughing at something that Tony had said. It took Jenny all of about two point five seconds to come to the conclusion that they'd slept together, and she had to resist the urge to smack her forehead with her palm.
"Good morning, Agent Bianchetti," Jenny said, sitting back in her chair as the younger woman slid into her chair, her cheeks a flaming pink.
"Good morning," Gianna replied, biting her lip slightly as she kept her eyes on her desk. "How's your wife, Landon? Everything went well, your baby's healthy?"
"It went perfectly," Landon answered, nodding. "We had a boy, we named him Tanner."
"Congrats," Gianna said, offering him a smile, which he returned easily. "You two are prepared for no sleep for the next few months?"
"We're hoping that this second time around isn't as bad as when Sienna was born," Landon replied, a bemused smile on his lips. "But we are prepared for the sleepless nights. Thankfully, Skyler's sister Dawn is going to help us out for the first few weeks."
"I wish you luck," Gianna said, grinning, and Landon let out a laugh, grinning back.
"Thanks, I appreciate it," he replied, and Jenny smiled, enjoying listening to them. About five minutes later Tim and Carson came back, and the blonde was slightly pinker than when she'd left.
"Carson-this is Agent Oliver, your other teammate," Jenny said, introducing the two.
"Nice to meet you Carson," Landon said, shaking the young woman's hand. "Looking forward to working with you."
"It's nice to meet you too," Carson said, her eyes flicking up slightly to look at Tim across the bullpen before looking at Landon again. "I'm looking forward to learning a lot."
"Music to my ears," Jenny said, grinning. The other three laughed, and Jenny was struck by how well her team fit together.
She was happy.
The weeks passed before Jenny faster than she could have thought.
As they came and went, Jenny found her morning sickness disappearing, and when she entered her second trimester, she was no longer exhausted all the time. As she started to show, she couldn't stop the thrill that coursed through her when she noticed the shrinking amount of her feet she could see.
Her husband, who had always had a tough time keeping his hands off of her, was having even more trouble now. She was just shy of eighteen weeks, and the curve of her belly was noticeable in almost everything she wore, as was the increase in her bra size. That was her husband's favorite part, Jenny was almost positive.
She was doing only a third of as much field work as she used to, and was counting on her team to pick up the slack. So far she'd been impressed, and Carson was a fast learner, which was incredibly helpful to Gianna and Landon.
All of her doctor's appointments had been good-she and the baby were growing at a healthy rate, and the tests they'd been running to make sure everything was perfect had come back good. Both parents were relieved at that, and Jenny was fully enjoying her pregnancy.
Jenny's favorite thing about being pregnant was feeling her baby move. The first time it had happened, she and Jethro had been at home on one of their rare weekends off together, curled up on the couch. Jenny had been reading her book and Jethro had been watching a football game, and at first, Jenny hadn't known what it was a first.
It felt like a bunch of butterflies was flying around inside of her, and it took her a moment to realize it was her baby. She'd dropped her book in shock, and when Jethro had asked her what was wrong, she'd been unable to answer. When she'd finally gotten the words out, his eyes had widened in amazement before his lips covered hers, kissing her like he never had before.
Smiling, Jenny sat behind her desk, working on her team's current case. Gianna and Landon were mulling over theories while Carson catalogued evidence downstairs. Her husband's team was in the midst of their own case, and she listened as Tony spoke to Kate behind them.
"Turn that frown upside down sweetie. We're going back to college!"
"It's like you never left," Kate replied, rolling her eyes as they walked past them to go to the elevators. When they stepped inside Tony winked at Gianna, who blushed before returning to her work. Jenny looked over her shoulder at her husband, who merely shook his head at her, rolling his eyes. She smirked, looking back at her team and watching as they worked on their theories.
Carson returned from evidence saying that everything was catalogued, and Jenny nodded. She sent the team down to Abby's while she went to Ducky's to see what he'd uncovered.
She was hoping that both her and her husband's cases would be solved quickly so that they could relax together for the first time that week. That was all she really wanted.
It took the next two days for her case to be solved, but once the paperwork was done, she was able to head home. Jethro was still at the college, but she was hoping he was going to be home soon enough.
When she got home she changed into a pair of comfy yoga pants and a green tank top before padding downstairs and making herself dinner. Indulging in something her husband hated, she settled down on the couch and flicked on the television, turning the channel to her favorite soap opera.
She finished her sandwich and sipped her cup of tea, settling further back into the pillows as she enjoyed the racy plot line of her show. At some point she must have fallen asleep, because she was awoken by the front door clicking shut. Rubbing at her eyes, she sat up, yawning.
"Jethro?" she called, assuming her husband was home. He walked into the living room, and Jenny's eyes widened at the sight of his bruised face. "Oh what happened?"
"Guy didn't take to kindly to me arresting him," Jethro answered, wincing as she probed the wounds, her fingers hitting a cut above his eye.
"Let me clean these up," Jenny said softly, reaching down to entwine her fingers with his as she led him upstairs to the bathroom. She sat him on the closed toilet seat as she went into the closet to grab the first aid kit. "How much does it hurt, on a scale of one to ten?"
"All over?" he asked, and she nodded, pulling out an antiseptic wipe to clean his cuts. "About a seven."
"Jesus Jethro what did you do, wrestle with him?" Jenny asked, her eyes wide.
"Basically," he replied sheepishly, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck but wincing as he raised his arm.
"That hurt?" she asked, frowning when he winced as his cuts were cleaned. "What else hurts?"
"Ribs; left shoulder," he answered, and Jenny helped him pull his polo and white t-shirt over his head. She gasped softly at the vivid purple bruise on his torso, her fingers brushing it gently.
"Jethro…" she said, looking up at him with concerned eyes. "Do you think they're broken?"
"Duck says they're just bruised," he replied, shaking his head. "Hurt like hell though."
"I'm not surprised, that's quite a bruise," his wife said, her hands running gently over his chest and abdomen. "Do you think a shower will help with the pain?"
"It might," he answered, and Jenny straightened up, her tank top pulling tightly over her bump as she walked over to the shower and turned it on, steam filling the room. She grabbed a towel from the rack near the door and set it on the sink, feeling his arms come around her waist and settle on her belly. Turning, she rested her hands lightly on his shoulders, her eyes locking onto his.
Leaning up, Jenny carefully brushed her lips over his, avoiding the cut that sat on the outside edge.
"Go shower. I'll be back," she said softly, and he nodded, leaning down to kiss her once again.
With that Jenny left him to shower, going into the hall closet and pulling out the rarely-used pain killers. Going back into the bedroom she pulled out a pair of comfortable pajama pants and her husband's old USMC t-shirt, laying them out for him to change into. When he came out of the bedroom about ten minutes later, towel slung around his waist, she was reading a book, dressed in a loose, emerald green nightgown and her glasses perched on her nose.
He dressed quickly, and barely put up a fight when she told him to take the pain killers. He slid into bed with her, closing her book for her and setting both the novel and her glasses on the bedside table. He pulled her into his arms, and she tried to lay in a position so that he was comfortable. His hand rested comfortably on her abdomen, and his nose was buried in her hair, breathing in her scent.
"Did the shower help?" she asked, enjoying his hands on her. He nodded, his lips dipping to her neck. "Good. How do your ribs feel?"
"Like they got run over by a truck," her husband responded, his voice slightly gruff.
"Hence the pain killers," Jenny replied, smiling as she closed her eyes. "You should get some sleep."
"Not before you tell me how you two are doing," he said, and her smile grew as she opened one eye to look at him.
"The baby and I are fine," she replied, one hand running over her bump. "I don't think they liked not being able to fall asleep with you last night."
"I didn't like it either," Jethro said, his tone darker. "I hate not falling asleep with you Jen."
"You were surrounded by crying women, I understand that took time to sort out," Jenny said, shaking her head. "I just wish late nights weren't so frequent."
"Working on not havin' as many," he replied, and Jenny snuggled closer, her head resting on his shoulder as her hand settled in the center of his chest.
"Let's not worry about it anymore tonight, alright? You're here and that's all that matters," she said, a yawn punctuating her words.
"Works for me."
Turning and flicking off the bedside lamp, Jethro plunged the room into darkness, only moonlight entering through a window. Holding his wife close, he closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of her in his arms.
Nights together were exactly what he wanted.