"You still seem uncertain," Harriet points out.

"I am."

"You really plan on keeping the baby?"

Mac carefully contemplates this thought, "I guess that I do."

"So the idea of having this baby is growing on you?"

"I have to give birth. It isn't going to magically disappear."

"Do you really want this baby?"

She shrugs, "I don't know. I don't feel the same connection that I did to Izzy, and I didn't give birth to her."

"You felt connected to her before she was born?"

"From the second that I learned of her conception I knew that she was meant to be mine."

"You don't feel a connection to this baby?"

"I know that we are physically connected."

"Do you think any of your apprehension is related to the fact that you haven't told the baby's father yet?"

"Maybe," she confirms.

"It's okay to be afraid to do this on your own. You can admit that."

"Harriet," she swallows hard, "what if I never feel a connection with this baby?"

"I think that you will feel differently when you're holding the baby for the first time."

"What if I don't?"

"You tell me. What is your plan then?"

"Maybe I am not meant to have this baby."

"What are you saying? Are you considering the idea of not keeping the baby?"

"I would like to tell you that the thought hasn't crossed my mind."

"Mac you are an incredible mom why are you so scared about this?"

"I loved Harm. I thought that we would be married forever. I thought that we would grow old together. I wanted to share my life with him. I very much wanted to have a family with him."

"What is your point?"

"I don't know Gibbs. I made a hasty decision, and…"

"You can't take it back now," Harriet points out.

"No. I can't."

"There was a reason that all of this happened. Obviously you saw something in his character that you found appealing."

"What if it had nothing to do with his character?"

"Maybe it was his big blue eyes," Harriet jokes.

"What if it was? What if it was nothing more than a physical attraction? What if we have absolutely nothing in common? How am I supposed to have a child with someone that I don't even know?"

"Have you made any effort to get to know him?"

"Not really."

"I think that you need to talk to him."


He looks up, and finds a tall brunette woman wearing a visitor's pass standing in front of his desk. He furrows his brow disappointed he didn't hear her enter.

"What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk."

He nods in agreement and glances downward at his watch, "Lunch?"

"Okay."

They sit in a booth at his regular diner. She sits across the table from him. There is an immeasurable silence between them as they wait for the waitress. She appears and takes their orders. She returns with drinks, and finally Mac ends the silence.

"Gibbs, I really don't know where to start."

"The truth," he suggests.

"I barely know you," she points out.

"I know."

"I just know what I've read about you."

"You've been reading about me?"

"Purely for research purposes."

"Research for what?"

"What kind of person you are."

"What do you want to know?"

"I think I already know what I need to."

"Are you sure about that?"

"I have one question."

"Okay," he motions for her to continue.

"You remarried multiple times."

"It never worked out."

"I know. Did you ever consider having another child with any of those women?"

"No. I never loved any of them the way that I loved Shannon."

"That's it?"

"I didn't ever want to feel that way again. I didn't want to have to consider what it would be like to another child ripped away from me."

"Oh."

"Why does it matter?"

"I don't know that it does, I was just curious."

"I'm not the only one who is difficult to get to know."

"It is a character flaw, I'm sorry."

"Mac, what are we doing here?"

"Talking."

"I don't hear you saying anything."

"Gibbs… I don't know how to say what needs to be said."

He nods in understanding. He takes a sip of his coffee. He calmly wipes his mouth with a napkin. He locks eyes with her, and points to her abdomen, "Just tell me the truth. Is that baby mine?"

"It's mine," she answers feeling conflicted.

"Who is the father? Who is the other half of the equation responsible for the creation of that child?"

She swallows hard, "What do you want me to say?"

"What, needs to be said."

"I didn't plan this."

"I know."

"I didn't think that it was possible."

"I know."

"I'm sorry."

He furrows his brow, "Sorry, for what?" He grips his cup.

"I know that this is absolutely the last thing that you want."

"What makes you think that?"

"I am certainly not Shannon."

"It doesn't matter."

"I understand if you don't want to be involved. I don't expect you to. It was…"

He cuts her off, "Is it mine?"

"Yes," she exhales as the weight lifts off her chest.

"Then I'll be there," he insists.

"I am…"

He cuts her off, "Don't be sorry. There is nothing to be sorry about. A child is not something to be sorry about, no matter how unplanned it was."

"I don't know how this happened."

He shrugs, "Did you ever consider that it happened because it was supposed to?"

"Do you really believe that?"

"I am sure there is a reason this happened."

"The reason it happened is because we acted like a pair of teenagers."

He grins, "That is how it happened," he corrects her.

"So why did it happen?"

"I don't know yet."