McGee walked behind the new grandfather as they approached a closed door. Different flashbacks exploded into his mind which reignited his nervousness. He gathered up all of those fears and swallowed them as Mr. Mason pushed open the door. Slowly he walked inside and saw Grace and her mother smiling at a bundle of blankets that lay in Grace's arms.

A soft grunt. That was the first thing he heard as he entered. Mr. Mason grinned and gave the agent a soft push on his shoulder. "Go ahead," He whispered.

Grace looked up as the door clicked shut behind them and her smile widened. Tim no longer saw the young, sixteen-year-old college hopeful. She was a mother now, the mother of his child (if she didn't decide to change her mind).

"Tim," She said softly. "Come here. Come meet your daughter."

He didn't even feel his feet moving, it seemed that it took forever to close the small space between the door and the hospital bed. Crossing around to the opposite side of the bed, Tim joined Mrs. Mason's side and looked down into the bundle of blankets. Inside he saw the tiny face of his newborn daughter. He couldn't help but see Grace's features (aside from her button nose) etched across the face of the sleeping baby.

"She's gorgeous." Tim murmured. "She looks just like you."

"Praise the Lord for that," Mr. Mason commented.

Grace chuckled and leaned forward slightly. "Do you want to hold her?"

McGee swallowed once more. It was all so real: Grace sitting in the bed, her parents watching the exchange with pride, and the tiny baby who grunted again as she shifted in Grace's arms. It was almost instinct as he pulled the baby toward his chest.

"Say cheese, you three."

McGee looked up to see Mr. Mason snap a candid of the trio. "Hope you don't mind."

Tim shook his head and returned his gaze to the bundle in his arms. "Daughter?"

Grace nodded her head, scooting over slightly to allow him to sit on the edge of the bed. "Doctors looked her over and said that she was perfect. The only effect of being early is her weight, she's a little small but perfectly healthy."

"You did great," Tim smiled.

Grace smirked and nudged his elbow. "You have the hard part, Tim."

Gibbs and the rest of the gang entered the small room half-an-hour later. Tim was alone, peering down at the infant in his arms. Abby nearly ran forward to join the new father and looked down at the sleeping face.

"Awww, omi-gosh." Abby gushed. "Hi, baby."

Tim looked up at the group and smiled. "It's a girl."

Ziva and Abby both began to gush then. Gibbs took a long, deep breath and smiled warmly. The family had gained a new member and it could be felt in the atmosphere of the room.

"What's her name?" Tony asked.

This caught everyone attention and turned the gazes from the baby to the father. He was silent for a long while as he simply watched her sleeping form. "Well I named her for two very strong and courageous women."

Tim got to his feet, nodded at Ziva and deposited the baby into her godmother's arms. "Everyone, this is Caitlyn Grace McGee."

The group made various comments on the little girl's name and the bundle of blankets was slowly passed around the room. Tim watched as each had their little moment with his daughter and remember how much trouble he'd had describing each of them. Not only did little Katie have his family but she has two aunts, two uncles, and two grandfathers who would both love and protect her as if she were blood relation.

It was another two hours before the room cleared out (the room was needed by another expectant mother) and most of the gang had gone back to DC. McGee knocked lightly on a closed door of the third floor and slowly opened it, poking his head in to see Grace sitting in bed eating the remainder of her dinner.

McGee smiled, lifting a teddy bear and bouquet of flowers. "From Abby."

Grace smiled. "Awesome, tell her thank you."

He handed her the teddy bear and put the flowers on the window sill before standing near the end of the bed. "I were just headed out and wanted to bring those up." McGee informed her. "Katie is a big hit with everyone. I don't think I've ever seen Tony reduced to a puddle of putty so fast."

Grace smiled briefly before her features grew more serious. "I never thought I'd find myself in this place. Having a baby at sixteen but if there's one thing that this has taught me- I love that little girl more than I could have ever imagined but she needs more than what I could give her. I want to go to college, get a good job and be stable enough to give everything to my family." She paused. McGee reached out and took hold of her hand. "I'm really glad that I chose you. I can see that she's going to have the best life ever."

"You will always be her mother, Grace." Tim told her. "I'll make sure she knows that, and how much you love her."

Tears broke over the threshold and ran down her face.

"Hey," Tim said softly. "It isn't a permanent goodbye. You can call anytime, we'll video chat- You and your parents are still her family; you're part of my family now." McGee smiled. "That is, if you can keep up with our craziness."

Grace choked out a laugh and nodded her head vigorously. "I love crazy."

McGee leaned over and gave her a long hug. He hadn't thought of just how hard the whole situation would be for her. She was giving him a child that she'd loved and carried for eight months; she'd felt every kick, every roll. It wasn't something he wanted to take away from her, she had the memories he'd never have.

"I'll be back tomorrow, alright? Will you be ok?"

Again Grace nodded her head, pushing the tears from her face and laughing softly. "Sorry."

McGee shook his head, gave her another hug with a small kiss on the forehead and climbed to his feet. "Hormones, huh?"

"They totally suck." She laughed.

Thursday, June 21
4:28pm

She pulled up to the familiar house and parked along the curb. He wasn't home yet but had said he was only moments away. Climbing from the car she pulled out her supplies and got to work in a hurry. First, she pushed the yard stake (It's a Girl!) into the ground using a rock from the garden as a hammer. She returned to her mini Cooper and pulled out the quartet of pink balloons and tied two to each side of the sign. As she returned to the trunk for a third time she saw him turn onto the street.

The brand new Toyota Highlander pulled into the drive and she could see the smile erupt on his face. Tim was laughing as he got out of the car and gave her a short hug.

"What is all this?"

"Just a welcome home for my goddaughter. Is that bad?" Ziva asked innocently.

Tim shook his head, still smiling. "This looks great. Thanks."

"So where is the little angel?"

Tim nearly jumped out of his shoes and went to the rear passenger door. He reached in a pulled out the stuffed teddy that Abby had left in Katie's isolate and handed it to Ziva. It took another moment for McGee to dislodge the carrier from it's base and climb back out of the vehicle. Tim kicked the door closed and walked around the back of the car.

"Welcome home, Katie." McGee said.

As if almost on cue, Caitlyn started crying. McGee set the carrier down and reached into the plastic sac and pulled out an already filled bottle. He put the nipple into his mouth and held it between his lips as he unbuckled the infant. Ziva smiled at the little yellow sundress with white socks that he'd dressed her in. McGee had even slipped a yellow headband across her forehead. She watched as he settled onto the front steps with his daughter in his arms and a bottle in her hungry mouth. Without saying a word, Ziva pulled out her phone and snapped a photo before sending it to his email.

"You are a natural, McGee."

He looked up and smiled. "You're next. I think I smell the perfect first duty for her loving godmother."

Ziva laughed, "I can't wait."

THE END