Chapter Fourteen

Laughter filled the back room of the tiny pub she and Jethro discovered during their first trip to London. She'd forgotten what a storyteller Ducky could be when aged scotch flooded the compartments of his memory.

Jenny took another sip of orange juice – not exactly her beverage of choice with dinner, but Dr. Mallard insisted – and looked at the group gathered around the table. Two weeks in and they were as congenial as always. Adjusting to the minor changes made to the op on an almost daily basis like they did this kind of thing on a daily basis. Even Abby handled it like an old pro…though with a little more exuberance than most field agents.

Of course the op wasn't the only thing on her mind at the moment. She smoothed her shirt over her belly before resting her hand on Jethro's thigh. Thankfully, the morning sickness was fleeting and over with by mid-morning. The exhaustion however was beginning to get the best of her. Stifling a yawn, she wondered if anyone would notice if she rested her head on her husband's shoulder and closed her eyes for just a few minutes. Thank God it wasn't much longer before the end of the first trimester.

January 13th. That was the date Ducky's calculations indicated as the day the newest Gibblet would arrive. She wondered just how much of his Scottish charm the good doctor had to use to procure the ultrasound equipment. Still, it was good to know when "D" Day was…if everything went well.

A soft sigh helped push the need for sleep aside for the moment. Try as she might, Jenny just couldn't always keep the dark thoughts at bay. But years of disappointment just wouldn't let her. Her father's suicide. The way she left Jethro, choosing career over the man she had tried not to love. She'd hurt them both with that decision. And although he'd forgiven her. Had loved her in spite of it, could he really survive the loss of their child? Could their relationship? Could she?

His warm hand covered hers, his fingers fitting between hers like the precise dovetails on his boat. He squeezed gently for a moment then leaned forward, his breath stirring her hair and his lips tickling the shell of her ear. "We're going to be fine, Jen."

Never doubt the intuition of a Marine. At least that's what he told her repeatedly over the years. And here he was, proving it to her all over again. Somehow he knew the darkness was encroaching. So he stepped into the breech and turned it aside. Protected them. Just like he always did. And if it weren't for the small audience around their table, she would show him just how much she appreciated that particular ability.

"I want details."

So completely lost in thought, Jenny didn't know Abby was talking to her until she noticed the sparkling hazel eyes focused on her. Casually taking another sip of juice, she tried not to look as flustered as she felt. "Details on what, Abby?"

The young scientist skewered her with a don't-play-coy-with-me glare. "You and Gibbs." Her eyes widened, the energy in their depths as intense as the slight bounce of her backside against the chair. "I wanna know everything. How he proposed. All about the wedding. If the man has a romantic bone in his body."

"Aw come on, Abs." Jethro leaned back in his chair and ran his hand through his hair. He looked a little sheepish and quite uncomfortable. "You don't really wanna hear that stuff do ya?"

Irritation flashed in Abby's eyes, a frown echoing her displeasure. "Yes." The reply was curt, to the point and so Gibbs-like, Jenny almost laughed.

Then the sunny Goth leveled an excited smile in her direction. For the first time in three years, she understood why the ex-sniper by her side seemed almost powerless when it came to the lab guru. Still, Jenny hesitated. She didn't want to make Jethro anymore –

"Please, please, please, please, please?" Abby bounced like a child begging for one more bedtime story.

Resistance was futile. "Okay. What do you want to know first?"

~.~.~.~.~

Abby was absolutely enthralled by Jen's storytelling ability. Elbows propped on the table. Chin resting on her upturned hands. Not for the first time, Jethro noted the similarities to Kelly. Maybe that's why he never argued when DiNozzo accused her of being the favorite. The simple truth was, he was right. She was.

Then there was Jenny. Watching her weave the story like an enchantress incanting a spell, there was no doubt she was going to make a great mom. And unlike with Shannon and Kelly, he would be there every step of the way. He'd missed too many moments like this in his life. Too many firsts and lasts. Well, not this time. He fanned his thumb across her knuckles and breathed in her voice. Dear God, please. Not this time.

"So that's why you were so antsy during the whole Chimera incident." Abby sat up a little straighter, her excitement palpable. "I knew you were down in the lab a lot. And that you almost ripped Commander Skinner's head off when the communication link went down."

God, he loved the rosy blush staining his wife's cheeks. "I guess you could say I had my fair share of pre-wedding jitters."

"Pre-wedding jitters?" Ducky chuckled, his blue eyes filled with mischief. "I believe the scientific terminology is acute paranoia, my dear."

"Nah, Duck." Jethro leaned forward, allowing himself to be drawn back into the conversation. "Jen's not paranoid." He winked at his friends then cut his eyes back to his wife. "She's just plan crazy."

"Hey!" The contact of Abby's palm against his upper chest stung for almost a full minute after impact. "No picking on the pregnant woman."

In one gasp, Jethro proved it was possible to swallow your tongue. Spitting and sputtering, he had no choice but to leave the half-hearted denials to Jenny and Ducky.

Abby held up her hands in surrender, her eyes gleaming brighter than the constellations on a clear night. "You guys aren't the only ones with investigative experience." She crossed her arms and glowered at them. "I ran the blood tests, remember? It doesn't take a genius to put two and two together to come up with four. Even if you do leave the name off the sample." She smiled and reached across the table to clasp both his and Jenny's hand. "And I, for one, couldn't be happier." Releasing their hands, she leaned back. "Now back to the story. Where did you two get married?"

A trill interrupted Jen's description of the simple ceremony at the Marine Corps Museum at Quantico. Without looking, Jethro unclipped his phone and flipped it open. "Gibbs."

He tensed as Leon's voice emerged from the slight static on the line. "We've got a problem, Jethro." He could almost hear the toothpick shift between the director's teeth. "A big one."