Tuesday had technically been her due date, and still nothing had happened. It was Thursday night now, and she'd spent her whole week waiting, worrying, and trying to insist to Jethro that she was fine and nothing had happened. The baby was still active at nights, and he was definitely a burden at this point. She loved him, but he needed to get out.

She heard a car pull up outside, heard the engine turn off, signaling that Jethro must have gotten home. She put her hand to her belly, continuing to read the book she'd chosen to wait out time with today. It was insanely boring being home alone all week, no job, no Jethro, no nothing. She'd switch between reading baby related books and fictional books. She'd check the hospital bag numerous times a day, as if thinking she'd forgotten something despite already checking it a thousand times. She'd pull the camera out of it and take random pictures out of boredom or mess with the settings.

"Jen?" he called as soon as the door opened.

"Over here, just reading," she responded, smirking. He always sounded so worried when he got home now, as if she was actively in labor on the carpet or something. It was as annoying as it was cute.

He poked his head around the corner. "Hey, how ya doin'?"

"Same old," she shrugged. "I need this kid to get with the program. I don't want to feel like this anymore. It's exhausting. I need my body back."

He sat down on the couch beside her, putting his hand on her belly too. "Anything I can do?"

"Inform your son he is officially kicked out. He hasn't paid rent in 9 months and he is no longer welcome here."

He chuckled. "If he isn't gonna listen to you, he's not gonna listen to me."

"I'm not so sure he's ours, judging by his time keeping. You're early to everything, I'm on time. We are not late people, Jethro. The stork must have switched babies."

"You're not always on time, Jen."

She scoffed, affronted, holding her heart. "Excuse me?"

"You've made me late before."

"Yeah, sure I have."

"I'm serious. When you were a probie, you'd be late when you wanted to piss me off."

"I'm always on time if it is important," she huffed. "Not all things involving you are important. And sometimes you'd make things way too early just to torture us and give yourself reason to feel self-righteous about your own empty schedule."

He scoffed this time, amused. "Wasn't empty. Besides, you're the one with pacing issues, not me."

"How dare you try and soil my timely reputation to make yourself feel better," she said dramatically, resting her head on his shoulder. She nuzzled her head into his neck, turning into him. "You have the rest of the weekend off, right?"

She could hear his breath hitch with the way she kissed his neck after the question, and glided her hand down to his thigh.

He cleared his throat. "Yeah."

"Good. Because speaking of pacing issues, I need to utilize you this weekend." She let her hand brush against his lap this time, enjoying the way he tensed and took in a breath.

"Uh, is that safe, at this point?"

"Mm-hmm. The doctor says it's fine, so long as I feel up to it. Some women swear that having good sex and orgasming can make the baby hurry out faster. Others say it's just a myth, but I'm down for trying it."

"Right now?"

"How about we start now, and keep going 'till this baby decides to come out?"

He swallowed.

"Besides, who knows when we'll next get quality time together. This baby could be here any minute, not to mention they're going to ban me from sex for six weeks after."

It wasn't like it was hard to convince him. He pulled her face to his.

She pulled apart. "Except, I need to go to the bathroom first, because your son is sitting on my bladder." She shifted, avoiding his smirk. Her urgency was real, and she realized she was going to need help if she wanted to make it in time. She was grateful to him for getting up and pulling her up, helping her without her having to ask.

"Thank you," she muttered.

"If you need help off the toilet, just call," he said as she waddled away. She shook her head. He thought it was fun and games now, but just wait until she made him help her shave her legs later today and do upkeep on other areas she couldn't reach. She never thought in her life she'd want Jethro to cut her toenails for her, but it was his own fault for putting a baby inside her. She wasn't going to look like a troll in a room full of medical people if she could help it.


He felt the strong kicks against his hand, smiling a little. Jenny was asleep on him, her back against his chest as some old Cary Grant movie she had chosen played in the background. She was snoring away while the baby kicked. He liked little moments like this, when he knew they were both okay. He liked that she was getting sleep, and that in a way he had some alone time with the little guy.

She informed him they were buying a new tv if she was going to live with him, and he considered this one of his last hurrahs with this old one. It was Friday night, the baby was already overdue, and he was really hoping the little guy would make his entrance this weekend. He didn't think he could go back to work and have to wait there again, especially not with it being overdue already.

He also felt bad for Jenny. She was limited with things she could do, and he knew she just felt done and exhausted most of the time. He was doing his best to help, while still feeling completely useless. He wasn't looking forward to feeling that way when she actually went into labor. There was nothing he could do but be there. And what if something went wrong?

That was his worst fear with the whole ordeal. They'd made it this far just fine. But the birth would be the trickiest part. Any number of things could go wrong, for Jen and the baby. He couldn't handle a crisis. He couldn't handle losing either of them, or having either of them have major complications during it all. He just hoped to God that everything would be all right.

He felt the strong kicks at his hand again, while Jenny's loud snoring paused for a minute and she grumbled something in her sleep. He pressed a kiss to her head, rubbing against her belly soothingly as he held on to both of them.


Saturday afternoon she woke up, feeling a sensation she'd felt a few times today. A contraction. She thought at first they may be Braxton Hicks, but she didn't have those often, and she'd had a few today. They were a little more intense. She stayed still, holding her breath for a second and then breathed, waiting for the sensation to pass. She hadn't told Jethro, knowing it wasn't anything serious yet. She didn't want to freak him out or make him jump the gun.

When she felt normal again she moved away from his arm that was over her, and tried her best to get out of bed. It really was not an easy process these days. It wasn't like back in the day where she could smoothly get up and even avoid waking the ever alert Jethro up. Now she practically flopped around like a fish washed ashore, and it was hard not to disturb him.

She tried scooching again, making a slightly pained noise when she overdid it. On cue, his head popped up and he stared at her with tired eyes that were now alert.

"You okay?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you. I'm just trying to get out of bed.

He got out of bed smoothly, and she felt herself almost blushing at the sight of his naked body sliding out of bed. He really did have a great ass. It didn't matter that she'd been utilizing him all weekend, she'd always find him attractive. He helped pull her up out of bed, and then stopped, holding her in his arms and giving her a wolfish grin as he admired her features. His hair was sticking up all over the place. His hand slid down and he cupped her naked ass as he pressed her to him, her massive belly far too in the way between them.

"Now that we're both awake again…" he trailed off, his eyes unashamedly looking at her boobs.

"I thought you said I was 'wearing' you out," she replied smugly.

He shook his head side to side. "Nah, doesn't sound like me." He leaned down and kissed her, easily letting his lips glide down her chin and to her neck as he squeezed her butt.

"I'm not opposed, but I really need to use the bathroom and get something to eat."

"Mm, you sure?" he asked against her neck.

"Maybe I can skip the food, if you promise to make it worth my while. But the bathroom can't wait."

He chuckled. "It's a deal." He released her, watching her walk to the bathroom.

He was sitting on the edge of the bed when she came out of the bathroom, smiling at her. She shook her head at his behavior. She made it a few steps before she stopped, feeling just a slight pressure below. She felt a sensation, like a pop, feeling a little bit of fluid trickle down her thighs. She looked down, realizing she couldn't even see her thighs anymore, and reached down to confirm there was liquid, looking up at him in.

"Jen?"

"I-I think my water just broke," she said in shock. He was up in an instant. She'd never felt anything quite like that before. It was almost nothing. The movies showed a massive gush, but this wasn't like that. She almost wanted to question if she peed herself, but she'd just used the bathroom, and it wasn't the same sensation.

He grabbed her gently by the elbow, steering her to her dresser and closet. "You need help with your clothes?" he asked in a rush, anxiety all over his face.

She shook her head no, still shocked that things were apparently in motion. She'd lost her mucous plug a couple days ago, and she spotted after sex, both of which were things to expect shortly before birth that she'd been told about. She knew since she was overdue and had other symptoms that it could be any day now. But now that it was probably actually happening…

He ran to the bathroom and used it and then was back in to pull on his own clothes, seeming to watch her every move as she dressed in the comfortable, loose clothes she had picked out days ago.

Wasn't she supposed to be feeling more right now? More contractions, or pain, or something? She pulled on a pair of underwear, realizing she was still leaking a little and her underwear was getting wet enough that it wouldn't be very comfortable. She pulled it off, inspecting it to make sure it wasn't blood or something. She turned to the bathroom, realizing she'd need a pad.

"Jen?" he questioned, seeing her walk off.

"I'm just grabbing something in the bathroom," she answered, feeling him watching her still. She grabbed a large pad, not sure how much leakage was normal or expected. She'd forgotten a fresh pair of underwear and went back to the bedroom, grabbing a pair and pulling it up her legs, putting on the pad despite Jethro watching.

He looked confused and anxious. "Are you bleeding?" he asked worriedly.

"No, I'm just…leaking, I guess. The amniotic fluid, I think." She was feeling dazed and stressed, realizing her stomach was flip-flopping at the idea of what was still ahead. She moved around, getting her clothes on, when she grabbed the dresser, feeling another stronger contraction hit. It made her hold her breath for a couple seconds. He said her name again, suddenly by her side and holding her as if she was going to fall.

"It's just a contraction," she breathed out. It lasted maybe 30 seconds.

"We need to get to the hospital," he said anxiously. "I'm gonna get the hospital bag. You okay right now?"

"Yes," she waved him off, "go."

He was barely gone, clearly having run from one room to the other. "Was there anything else you needed? Anything I need to grab?"

"Everything should be in there, except my wallet, which has my insurance card."

"Where's your wallet?"

"Purse, downstairs."

He nodded. "Anything else?"

"Whatever you need," she said.

"Keys and wallet are by the door," he said. "Let me help you down there."

"We probably don't even need to go yet. We're supposed to time the contractions."

He shook his head quickly. "Not takin' any chances. Traffic could screw us over if we wait too long."

He had his arm around her waist as if she was a wounded soldier as he guided her to the stairs. He grabbed his keys and wallet when they reached the bottom of the stairs, shoving them in his pocket before he turned to her. "Purse?"

"In the living room."

He ducked to the other room quickly and came back, slinging it over his shoulder with the hospital bag. He opened the door and led them outside, guiding her to the Charger.

"We need to take mine, that's where you put the car seat."

She felt the way he paused, clearly having forgotten that little detail as he grumbled that she was right and led them to hers instead. He tried to open the door for her, realizing that it wouldn't open because it was locked. She watched him pull out his keys and press the unlock button, only for the Charger to respond and not the Chrysler. She was trying very hard to hold in a laugh at the way he kept fumbling about. He locked his car again.

"Your keys?" he asked, his cheeks red with embarrassment.

"In my purse."

He nodded, turning away to head back inside, before pausing and realizing he had her purse on his shoulder. She did actually let out a tiny laugh, biting her tongue and trying to keep quiet as she watched him then fumble to awkwardly look in the purse that was slung around his shoulder. He was grumbling as he quickly searched through all the contents, and she could hear him scattering everything around.

"The inner pocket on the inside," she said.

He turned and raised an eyebrow, a defiant glare on his face. His hair was still a mess, really completing the look. He looked down into the purse again, making a victorious noise when he located them and pulled them out. He pressed the button, unlocking the car and finally opening the door for her, helping her in.

He opened the back door, putting in her purse and the hospital bag, before he tried to squeeze into the drivers side. It was comical seeing him all scrunched up in it. He messed around with seat controls, adjusting the seat so he could comfortably drive, before he adjusted all the mirrors to work for him as well.

She'd forgotten just how big of an issue it used to be back in the day when they shared a squad car and she was his probie. All the men on the team hated when she drove, because she was "short" and messed with everything too much. Not that she had much opportunity to drive. Jethro had always been insistent on driving, not trusting anyone else. She had been the only one who was able to convince him on rare occasions, by batting her eyes and being female.

The way he pulled out from the sidewalk told her she was going to be reminded of how much of a maniac he was when he drove sometimes. And indeed, he was speeding right from the get go.

"We're not chasing a suspect, slow down," she said.

"You're havin' a baby, more important than a suspect," he scoffed.

"If we get pulled over, it's going to take a lot longer to get there in the end."

"Shoulda put the car seat in the Charger, then we could flash the lights and not get pulled over."

She rolled her eyes. If he remembered, they put it in the Chrysler since he had the Charger at work all week.

Ten minutes into the psychotic drive she felt another contraction, gripping onto the hand holds, doing her best to not let Jethro be aware so he didn't kill them all. She knew these contractions were far enough apart that they really didn't need to be that worried or rush. At least, according to what she thought she knew and had been told. But she was worried anyway. She didn't know what she was doing with any of this.

They did get stuck in traffic, like everyone does in D.C. all the time.

"You feelin' okay?" he asked, looking at her.

"I'm fine, Jethro. The contractions are far apart. We don't actually need to rush. I think it's going to be a while yet." Of course she wasn't truly fine, and she was scared as hell about the impending hours of her life. But she needed him to relax, because it just made her more nervous. She squeezed his hand, smiling at him. He gave a small one in return, clearly unable to relax about everything.

Five minutes of waiting in a line had him cursing and slapping his hand against the steering wheel.

"Jethro, it's fine."

"What if you suddenly give birth in the car?" he asked, a crazy look in his eyes. "I've never delivered a baby before. I don't know what to do."

"That's not going to happen," she answered, trying not to smirk. "These contractions are too far apart, I promise."

He gripped the steering wheel, setting his jaw and nodding. She was relieved when the line moved and they were going again.

The drive felt like it lasted forever, and she suddenly wished he lived a little closer to the hospital.

"Should I pull up to the front?" he asked as they turned into the parking lot.

"No, park somewhere normal with extended parking. I'm fine to walk."

"You sure?"

"Yes, I'm okay."

She could tell he wasn't convinced, but he did what she said. It took a little while to find a spot that fit their needs, and then he had to grab everything from the car and help her out. They got halfway to the big hospital doors when she stopped, holding his arm tightly as she felt another contraction hit. She breathed, needing a moment to let it pass.

It apparently freaked Jethro out too much, because before she knew it he haphazardly scooped her up into his arms, intent on carrying her. She protested, not really wanting to be jostled around in his arms, and feeling far too heavy and cumbersome to be in them.

"I can walk. You're going to drop us."

"I've got ya, Jen, we're almost there."

She was both impressed and annoyed by the act. He had her purse on one shoulder and her baby bag on the other, both bags bouncing against him as he carried her on top of it. She tried to avoid the looks of people passing by and coming out the hospital, people who were clearly alarmed at the sight of him carrying her and rushing into the doors. He was being dramatic.

He put her down at the doors and they walked in, going straight to the labor and delivery department, a place they knew how to get to pretty well by now. After some halls and an elevator ride, they went into the doors that led to the department they needed.

The person at the desk smiled at them. "She's in labor," Jethro said quickly, not even bothering with pleasantries.

"Did you call ahead?" the woman asked.

"No."

She'd forgotten to call. She wasn't sure why, it had been part of her instructions. Jethro had freaked her out with his urgency. She felt a bit guilty, especially since she knew they probably didn't even need to be here yet.

"Are you a registered patient here?" the woman asked Jenny.

"Yes."

"Your name?"

"Jenny Shepard."

The woman did some clicking, clearly confirming. She asked for a date of birth and then confirmed who exactly Jethro was after that. "Okay, I'll let them know you are here." She clicked on the phone, calling a nurse and giving her the details. She hung up the phone and smiled. "A nurse will be in shortly with a wheelchair. Please, take a seat," she gestured to the seats behind them.

Ten minutes and a contraction later, an older nurse Jenny recognized came in, pushing a wheelchair in front of them. "Jenny Shepard?"

"Yes."

"Hi, I'm Patty Weston, I'll be your nurse. I'm going to assess what stage you are at and see how things are doing. How are you feeling?"

"Hi, Patty. I'm fine, I'm here too early."

She laughed. "It's not a problem, better safe than sorry. How far apart are your contractions?"

"I'd say they are a good fifteen minutes apart."

"Do you know if your water broke?"

"I think so, which is when we decided to come here."

"Better to be early than give birth in the elevator," the nurse laughed again. "I'm going to take you in the triage area and we're going to do an exam to see where everything is at. Is this your first?"

"Yes, which I'm sure is obvious by how freaked out we are acting."

"It's a whole new experience for first-time parents, it's completely understandable."

They were taken into the triage room, where there were multiple beds only separated by curtains. Jenny was hooked up to a monitor, to check the baby's heart rate and measure her contractions, they said. Then they needed her to pull off her pants to do a swab down below to see if it was amniotic fluid and test it, and do a cervical check to see how far she was dilated and effaced. She was asked a lot of questions. Jethro stood by the curtain out of the way, watching quietly and looking frazzled.

After a good amount of time and checking, they were left on their own for a few minutes while the nurses went to evaluate. They'd explained that if labor hasn't progressed to a certain point, they often send patients home to keep relaxing in their own environment until active labor begins. She knew they shouldn't have just driven here immediately. She tensed, another contraction hitting.

She was almost surprised by how out of it Jethro seemed. She should be the one freaking out, not him. She gave him a small smile and he returned it, walking up to her in the bed and resting his hand on her shoulder in comfort.

"You're doin' great," he whispered.

She smiled, putting her hand over his on her shoulder. "So are you."

Nurse Weston came back, giving them a smile. "Jenny, you're 3 centimeters dilated and your water did break. After the water breaks, there is increased risk for infection for the baby. Right now things looks great and you and baby are doing well. There are multiple factors we consider on whether to admit a patient or not. Right now, you're in the early stage of labor still. You are also a first-time mom, and birth typically takes longer when it is your first. This means it could be many hours still before anything significant happens. There isn't much we can do here for you, except drive you crazy by doing constant checks and being in your hair. We find this stresses mothers out and can make birth a more stressful process. In the end, most mothers prefer to be in the comfort of their home and wait until labor is active. But most importantly, it is up to the patient. We are planning to send you home right now, but if that makes you uncomfortable and you would prefer to be here, we do have room to admit you. What do you think?"

Jenny thought about it for a minute. She was honestly stressed being here, and the thought of being here for hours with nothing happening and nothing they could do just felt exhausting. Jethro was stressed, and she had no idea what he wanted. Maybe he felt more comfortable with her being here and being watched. On the other hand, she knew he hated hospitals more than she did.

She squeezed her hand over his, resting her other hand on her belly. "I think it would be better to just be at home. At what point should we come in next time?"

"When you time contractions at five minutes apart, that is when you should come here again. Especially if contractions are even shorter in time than that. If, by tomorrow afternoon, you haven't progressed much more, your doctor may want to talk about inducing. But that isn't a talk we need to have right now."

Jenny nodded, taking it all in. "Okay…okay. Sounds good."

"Do you guys have any questions?"

"It's safe for her to be home?" Jethro shot out.

"Yes, she's doing very well right now and we are not seeing any complications yet. Many of our patients are sent home and do very well. If you are worried or anything happens that worries you, give us a call and we'll tell you if you need to come in or not."

He gave a nod, looking skeptical still.

"So we just come back to this same place?" Jenny asked.

"Yes, do exactly what you did today and go to the desk. We'll triage you again and do the same checks we just did, just to see where exactly you are at. Then, if your labor is active, we'll admit you. Or call and come here if you know things aren't right. If it feels wrong to you, don't second guess it. If the baby isn't moving, or you have a fever, or a lot of vaginal bleeding, those or some signs that things will need to be reassessed immediately."

"Okay."

Shortly after, Jenny was unhooked from everything, dressed, and she and Jethro were back in the car. They were both nervous, and Jenny felt embarrassed having to go back home too. Like she should have known better. But this whole thing was completely new to them. Neither of them really knew. She knew Jethro still carried some guilt over not having been involved with this part of the process with Shannon so many years ago.

"Let's go to my home. It's a lot closer to the hospital than yours."

"Good plan," he said quietly.

"Jethro?"

"Hm?"

"Are you scared?"

He looked at her quickly and then looked back to the road, silent.

"I'm scared too," she whispered.

He reached out his right hand, taking her hand in his. "I got your six."


He tried his best to have her six and not feel completely useless. They'd watched a movie she liked, but it was hard for either of them to enjoy it all that much. They were timing contractions continually, contractions which as the hours passed were getting more intense and with shorter intervals. He tried to give her a back massage to help her with the pain and aches that the contractions were bringing her. They walked around the house a lot like the nurse had recommended, to keep her moving and maybe let gravity assist some. He got her anything she asked for and helped her with anything he could. He was making sure she had plenty of liquids and soft foods like the hospital had also recommended. He felt bad that they didn't want her eating anything too crazy, because she was getting more hungry and worn out.

They'd left the hospital before fifteen-hundred, now it was twenty-one-hundred.

Hours and hours of Jenny getting more in pain and uncomfortable. They'd told her to rest at home, but he didn't see how that was exactly possible. He didn't know what a contraction felt like, but it seemed painful, and it seemed like it would be hard to sleep while having them. Any time he'd nearly gotten her to sleep against him, she'd wake up not long after and groan with another contraction.

The contractions were seven minutes apart now. A hell of a lot closer than they had been when they'd left the hospital. But still not enough. He was constantly looking at his watch, constantly timing. The minute they were even close to five, he was determined to rush her in again.

He heard a light snore, looking down to see Jenny had nodded off against him again. Currently they were in her bed, him sitting up with her resting with her back to his chest. He wiped the little bit of sweat beading on her forehead off with the back of his hand, and then tried to be still and not wake her. She groaned again after a minute and he looked down at his watch, noting the time. She twisted just slightly in his arms, looking pained, her hand squeezing his knee. After less than a minute she relaxed again, her eyes opening wearily.

"What can I do for you, Jen?" he whispered.

"Just keep holding me," she pleaded, breathing in and out. He pressed a kiss to the middle of her head, feeling the damp of her hair against his lips. He brushed through her hair with his fingers, knowing she liked the feeling of her hair being played with.

They stayed this way for a while, before she eventually requested to go to the bathroom. Time continued to pass, him wishing he could do more to ease her suffering. He knew it was just going to be worse at the hospital, and he didn't look forward to it.

Just after twenty-three-hundred, her hand gripping his elbow as she did her breathing exercises for the millionth time, he noted the contractions were just under five minutes now.

"Time to go," he said gently. Everything was still in the car, everything was ready, all he needed to do was to get her in the car.

"I don't know why women willingly do this," she groaned into his arm as he supported her and walked her to the car. "The fact they ever consider having another after one time…and I'm not even to the worst part yet."

He smirked. "I've seen ya face worse."

She snorted. "I'm not so sure. Here I thought I'd show all these women that it isn't all so hard, but shit, this really sucks, Jethro."

He actually tried to drive a little more carefully this time, almost worried about jostling her too much now. She kept breathing and looking in pain, which made him nervous. They checked in again, did the whole triage thing again with a new set of on-call nurses, and were admitted. They changed Jenny into a gown and moved them into a delivery room.

There was a lot of talking and communication between her and the staff, a lot of monitoring, and everyone trying to be on the same page and explain things between Jenny's contractions. He felt out of place, being in his jeans and hoodie, and being a useless extra body—while everyone else was in scrubs helping out, and the main star of the show in a gown doing all the real work. He felt very out of his element. Everything felt so strange and rushed and slow all at the same time.

They asked Jenny if she wanted an epidural, and her very quick and almost harsh response of "yes" had him smiling.

They waited a while for the on-call anesthesiologist, and he just tried to sit next to her bed but be out of the way at the same time. She had a cup of ice chips next to her, the only form of anything she was allowed for the duration of her delivery.

When the anesthesiologist got there, the man introduced himself as Tony, and then proceeded to explain the procedure and side effects, risks and possible complications to her. She heartily agreed through the pain of another contraction.

He cringed watching the epidural be placed. Seeing the large needle go into her back, and the catheter placement and everything that the man had explained earlier. When the whole thing was done and deemed satisfactory, they told Jenny she should be feeling the full effect of it in about 20 minutes.

"That's too long," she breathed humorously.

His main thought with this all was that it was so much different than he was led to believe. It made sense that it was a longer process than it was in the movies, and it made sense it was even longer if it was your first. But actually being here and experiencing a labor was not as dramatic as he thought. It was more just long and slow and tedious. This whole ordeal had lasted most of the day, and now looking at his watch he realized it was technically the next day now, just past zero-hundred, Sunday, the 17th.

Poor Jenny had really been through it for hours now.

He was relieved for her when the epidural really kicked in and she could feel some relief. The contractions continued their trend of getting stronger and lasting longer, but at least she had more ability to tolerate it now. She even was able to drift in and out of sleep a little.

They changed her position a lot and continually monitored things. He sat and held her hand when she wanted it, and did his best to just be present and give her verbal encouragement and support. He went on walks with her and the nurse, tried to help distract her at moments, and they showed him how he could massage her abdomen to try and provide some kind of relief. He joined her in breathing techniques.

At zero-one-forty they said she was almost fully dilated, so far at 8 centimeters. They were at the "transition phase" the medical staff had said. When they finished the monitoring and left them alone for a bit, Jenny turned and whispered, "Remind me not to let you cum in me unprotected, ever again."

He knew his cheeks must have turned bright red, all he could do was give her a pained smile. Neither of them really needed to be reminded that this hadn't been planned in the first place. It had been the frequent acknowledgment for the last 9 months.

He was exhausted himself, and this had been a long ordeal to sit through and be useless—so he couldn't imagine how she felt at this point. He'd done nothing, she'd done everything. No late night stakeout or mission could compare to this so far. This was much more stressful, and felt so much more important. It wasn't just work, it was actual life.

He was just beyond glad that everything was going well so far. The baby was doing well and in position, Jenny was doing well despite being in labor. The epidural helped her survive contractions that were a minute and half long and only had maybe a minute of a break between. She had vomited a couple of times and always had beads of sweat present on her forehead.


It was past zero-three-hundred when they'd announced that Doctor Landis was there and would be in with them shortly. Jenny was relieved to have her doctor there. Christine Landis had been the one medical person who had been present from the start, and was the person Jenny trusted. Not long after that announcement, they also announced that she was fully dilated to the ten centimeters now. She was beyond relieved to finally be there. This had felt like the longest, most painful ordeal in her life, and she was ready to be done.

She looked to her side at Jethro, who was still holding her hand. He'd been attentive and caring through the entire process. She truly couldn't have asked for a better man to be her partner and be the one going through this with her. He'd held her, comforted her through the tears and pain, and was present in every way he could be. He hadn't judged her at all or made any remarks to make her feel weak. She squeezed his hand, giving him a smile, while he kissed her hand in turn. She knew that with him, she was ready for anything.

She was fighting the urge to push, trying to breathe when Doctor Landis came in the room.

"If it isn't Jenny Shepard," she greeted, smiling, applying some hand sanitizer and pulling on a pair of gloves. "After all these months, you're finally here, ready to have that baby."

"I can't wait," Jenny breathed. "He needs to get out of me."

"All mothers definitely feel that way at this stage. We're going to help get him out for you. So far everything seems to be going very well. Has father been doing his part?" she teased, winking at Jethro.

"He's a godsend," Jenny admitted. "But it would be nice if the men had to deal with at least half of this."

"I hear ya, sister," the Doctor laughed. "Life truly is unfair sometimes. You'll find it even more unfair that he gets to be celebrated today too. My staff has informed me that it's Father's Day, and they have little gift bags they'll be handing out later in the day for all the new dads. So be on the lookout for that and make sure you steal it from him." She winked at him again, while he was hit with the realization of the day and the feelings and memories he had associated with the day for years now. "I'm going to do a quick exam myself and double check where everything is at. It sounds like we're ready to push, but I want to make sure everything is looking good."

Christine did her thing down below and asked Jenny questions. When her assessment was over, she pulled off her gloves.

"Jenny, things are looking the way I want them to. We're ready to begin the pushing phase. Do you have any questions for me?" Christine asked as soon as she did her assessment.

"Please just tell me this phase is quicker," Jenny moaned.

"It is quicker than the other phases you've been through."

"How long does it typically take?"

"First-time mothers generally push anywhere between one to two hours."

Jenny groaned.

"I know, I'm sorry. That isn't to say I haven't seen some women shoot a baby out in only a few minutes. It happens."

Jenny was shocked at the amount of people in the room when she started to push, her feet in the stirrups, making her a wide open book to the world. There were students doing night rotations who wanted the chance to see the birth, there was her doctor, the baby's doctor, multiple nurses and techs, and the anesthesiologist. She never realized just how many people would be staring at her all, especially past three in the morning.

She pushed when instructed to push, trying to block out all the people watching and the way any medical people would communicate with each other. She wanted to focus on her task, on the doctor, and on Jethro. She really didn't care that all the people were here and that they were all listening to her moan and grunt and even almost scream at times—all she cared about was being done with this. She was in too much pain to care what they thought about anything.

He held her hand, letting her use him as a brace and support and squeeze as she pushed. He breathed with her and encouraged her. He tried not to focus on all the people, or the fact that Jenny sounded so pained and things below were looking bloody and not at all what he was used to. He felt so bad for her, and even guilty.

"You're doing great, Jen," he praised after a particularly long push. The doctor was encouraging her as well, between letting her know when to push, breathe or pant, and when to relax.

He looked at his watch, she'd been pushing thirty minutes already, and he could tell she was just ready to be done. She was panting and looking teary and out of it. He was sure she'd exhausted about any energy she had by now. Seeing the birth, seeing what was going down below, he felt guilty for any kind of sarcasm he may have had about birth in the past. It was the most intense, hardcore thing he'd ever seen. Painful, messy, and really gave him a new perspective on the power of vaginas.

"You'd think God would have figured out a better way to get babies out," she muttered, pressing her face against his arm.

"I know this is incredibly hard," Doctor Landis said. "Pushing is very much a two steps forward, one step back kind of process."

"Of course it is," she muttered. He couldn't help but smirk at her sarcasm.

"Once the baby crowns, it won't take much longer, only a few contractions."

It was about zero-four-thirty, just over an hour into pushing, when the doctor finally let out the news they wanted to hear—the baby was crowning.

Jenny could feel it, and she was damn glad for that epidural, because she didn't want to know what it would feel like without it. She could feel this incredible burning sensation and pressure.

"Try and relax for me, I know that sounds crazy," Doctor Landis said. "But relaxing as much as you can will help prevent tearing. And I'll do my best to prevent it as well."

Jenny breathed, squeezing Jethro's hand. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, whispering encouragement to her.

The next contraction the doctor announced the head was out, and he looked down, feeling something he'd never felt before as he saw the doctor supporting a head that was out.

"The cord isn't around the neck, we're clear," the doctor said to the nurse assisting. He couldn't see the head at first since it was face down, but watched as it began to rotate to the side while the doctor suctioned out the mouth and the nose. His breath caught, seeing that little face. He couldn't describe what exactly he was feeling.

The next contraction hit, and Jenny was instructed to push again. Jenny groaned hard, pushing with all her might.

Jethro watched the doctor hold the baby and help navigate it as the shoulders emerged, and then the rest of the body seemed to almost just slip out right after.

The baby was here—

A small cry pierced the room.

He watched this new little baby, their baby, scream as he took in his first breath. Tears immediately flooded his eyes, clouding his vision. He looked down to Jenny, who had burst into tears against his arm, her grip on his hand going slack.

"Jen, he's…he's amazing," he said to her, holding her hand tight and pressing a kiss to her head. "You did so damn good, Jenny," he cried, lending her his support as she cried too. "So damn good. You're amazing."

"He's a healthy baby boy," Doctor Landis announced, holding him up briefly for Jenny to see.

She cried, hard. She felt like she'd gone through the most hellish experience of her life, and suddenly she felt so happy and overwhelmed and relieved. She couldn't believe she was finally looking at her little baby boy. Everything about this, all of her feelings, she'd never experienced.

He tore his attention back to the baby as they put him back down, watching them towel the little guy off and suction out his mouth and nose again. He looked so tiny, and wrinkled, messy, and discolored, and it was strange taking him in. The little guy protested the actions of the doctors, still crying out. Their whole new little family was apparently a crying mess together. He watched them clamp the cord in two different places.

"All right, dad, it's your time to shine," the doctor said. "You get to cut the cord."

A nurse handed him a pair of gloves that he pulled on while he shifted to the end of the bed where they were, getting an even closer look at his crying son. He realized he was shaking as the doctor handed him the pair of surgical scissors.

"Just cut here between these two clamps," she instructed. "Don't worry, you won't do any harm. Neither of them will feel it. The cord is thick, so it can take a few tries to get it done."

He raised his hand with the scissors, trying to steady himself and blink the moisture out of his eyes, and cut. She was right, it was thick, and he had to open and close the scissors a few times to get it cut.

"Nicely done," the doctor said. "Happy Father's Day."

The nurse took the scissors from him and waited for him to take off his gloves so she could dispose of them, while he was still overwhelmed by all the emotions today. He was a dad again, and on a day that had been so painful to him for so many years. He handed over the used gloves and watched as the baby's doctor, Doctor Wurzel, did a quick assessment of the baby, listening to his heart rate with a stethoscope and studying his body. When she was done, a nurse lifted up the baby and handed him to Jenny. He moved, standing beside his new little family, marveling at it, unable to stop the tears from flowing.

Jenny felt everything stop the moment they handed her baby to her. He seemed so tiny in the towel, so tiny in her arms. She marveled at his little features, at the way his little mouth cried while he protested, at the way his nose was so tiny. She traced her finger along his face in awe, before grabbing his little hand that he stuck out while he cried.

"Jethro, he's beautiful," she cried, feeling his little fist wrap around her finger. The baby gradually stopped crying, and she felt her heart swell as he opened his eyes and calmed, looking at her while he made these breathy nervous noises. "Hi, baby, hi," she greeted through her tears. "It's so good to meet you." She rubbed her thumb along his little hand that was gripping her finger. He just stared back, his little mouth open as he adjusted to his lungs. She'd never felt more in love in her life.

Jethro leaned down, kissing her head. He reached down, putting his hand lightly against the side of the baby's head, and she was amazed by how huge his hand was next to the tiny newborn.

"You can unbutton your gown here," the nurse said, motioning where, "and have skin-to-skin contact if you want," a nurse instructed.

Jenny maneuvered, trying to keep a steady hold on the slightly slimy baby while Jethro helped unbutton her gown and lower it. She was already so terrified she was going to break the little guy. The nurse helped her remove the towel from the front of the baby while she adjusted his little body against hers. She'd never had any experience with babies, and she felt awkward trying to move him around and be gentle and safe. It was quite the sensation holding her little baby against her, knowing that he'd been in her for over nine months. And now he was here. He felt like such a little miracle.

Jethro leaned down, looking at the tiny face laying against Jenny's chest, the big eyes taking in it's surroundings. "Hey, little guy," he whispered to him, stroking his finger against the little cheek. "Look at you. We've been waitin' for you, ya know." He stroked the cheek lightly, watching his son's eyes blink and then close as he drew in tiny little breaths, seeming to calm into sleep. He wiped his own eyes against the back of his hand, looking back up at Jenny, who seemed lost in the amazement of it all while she took in the little body in her arms.

He leaned up to her, cupping her cheek with his hand as he wiped away her tears with his thumb. He kissed her forehead again, letting his face linger against hers. "I love you, Jenny."

"I love you too," she sniffled, her eyes scrunching and more tears pushing out. She opened them again, tilting her face more into his. "Come here," she laughed shakily. He did what she wanted, maneuvering his lips to hers. They kissed softly, probably the wettest kiss they'd ever experienced together since they couldn't seem to keep tears off of their faces.

"Jenny, Dr. Wurzel and a couple of nurses are going to steal baby for a little bit. They need to do his Apgar score, some examinations, and clean the little guy up," Christine said. "We'll be delivering the placenta while they do that. I promise it won't take long."

One of the nurses came over. "First, I'm going to attach these bracelets to all of you. They're just for identification purposes with mom, dad, and baby, to ensure we don't have any mix-ups." She attached one to Jethro's wrist, Jenny's wrist, and then put one on the baby's wrist and one on his ankle. "I promise we'll have him back as soon as we can," she said gently, smiling as she picked him up, securing him in the towel.

Jenny felt empty the second he was lifted and taken from her arms. She was amazed by how she felt with him. She'd barely had him and she already felt such a powerful protective instinct and bond. She watched them take the baby to the other side of the room, all of them surrounding him to do their exams.

"I'm going to have you gently push on this next contraction, Jenny. This will only take a few minutes. I'll be massaging your perineum"

"Okay," she breathed, bracing herself.

Jethro held her hand again, lending support.

It truly didn't take long before the deed was done, the doctor signaling to the remaining crew that the "afterbirth was out". Jenny was a little disgusted by the placenta that they placed on the tray. It was bigger than she imagined, and it looked like it's own organ, like a liver or something. They confirmed with her that she didn't want it and she was quick to say no.

"Okay, Jenny, you did tear a little during the delivery. It's normal, especially for first-time moms. I'll need to stitch you up, but you shouldn't feel a thing with the epidural still going." Jenny held onto Jethro a little tighter. "Tony?" the doctor signaled to the CRNA, making sure she was good to go with anesthesia.

"Yup," Tony responded back.

Jethro glanced over to where the baby was, still not visible from the people in the way examining him. He looked back down, cringing inwardly from the sight of the doctor stitching her up. Everything about this experience made him feel bad for Jenny, for her body. Nothing about this was easy for a woman. He decided he wouldn't have survived, and he could feel a dull ache right now, down below, even thinking about being stretched like that and sewn up. The whole thing had been messy and painful looking.

"Okay, all done, Jenny," Christine said, standing up and pulling off her gloves. "Jill here is going to help you and get things cleaned up a bit. I'm going to make sure baby is good and then dictate your case. Are you doing okay?"

"I think I'm okay," Jenny nodded, glancing over anxiously to where her baby was, hearing him crying, before she looked back at her doctor. "Christine, thank you so much."

Christine winked with a smile. "It's no problem. I'm glad your little man is finally here. I'll be checking on you periodically throughout the rest of your hospital stay."

The couple gave their thanks, and then the nurse was busy cleaning up and helping Jenny maneuver around. They needed to switch beds and remove her epidural, and they also switched out her gown and put her in mesh underwear with a massive pad. She felt like she was wearing a diaper. They told her she could shower if she wanted when the epidural had worn off more.

Jethro, meanwhile, had gotten the great joy of getting to finally hold his son while they cleaned off Jenny. A nurse came over, presenting the little swaddled up baby to him. "Here, dad," she smiled, handing the little guy to him.

It was an indescribable feeling as he took the baby, securing him in his arms, the little head with the hat nestling in the crook of his elbow. He looked at the little content face, sleeping away. He felt so much love and happiness, but also so much responsibility. It was staggering.

"He's doing really well," the nurse, Cortney, said. "He has all ten fingers and toes. He weighs a healthy seven pounds and eleven ounces. He scored an 8 on the Apgar, which is a very normal score and says he's healthily adjusting to life outside the womb. We gave him a Vitamin K shot since babies are really deficient when they are born, and that deficiency can put them at risk for internal bleeding. So the injection is preventative. We also gave him eye drops to help prevent infections."

He nodded, tearing his eyes off of the baby for a moment to look at her and show he was listening. "As soon as mom is ready, we'll give her the same information and tell you both how his exams went. Any questions?" He shook his head, thanking her. She went over to help Jill with Jenny.

"Hey," he whispered to the tiny guy in his arms. He adjusted, lifting his other hand up to lightly caress the tiny cheek with his finger. He wasn't sure he'd ever get over just how small he was. So small and innocent. He'd never held a baby so fresh from the womb before, especially his own. He'd missed out on all of this with Kelly.

"I'm gonna protect you," he whispered, leaning down to kiss the little head. He let his head linger, taking in the new baby smell. He adjusted the hat a little with his free hand, resting his thumb and part of his hand against the side of the baby's head. He rocked his arms gently, turning and walking over to where they were situating Jenny.

She adjusted in the bed, feeling a little better being more dry and clean and covered up. Not that it took away the fact that she was incredibly sleep-deprived and felt like her body had been run over. She looked over, seeing Jethro make his way over, feeling her heart swell at the sight of him holding their baby. It was the most attractive and loving thing she'd ever seen. She smiled softly at the way he was looking at the baby, feeling the tears hit her eyes again. And then Jethro looked at her, looking so happy, and she wanted to seal it in her memory forever.

"If you guys have a camera, we can take a little family picture for you if you want," Cortney said.

Jethro looked to her, realizing he'd completely forgotten about the camera this whole time. He'd been so caught up in everything. "It should be in the hospital bag," Jenny said, looking to him. He made his way to her, gently passing off the baby, making sure they were both secure before he turned to locate the bag.

"This one?" Cortney asked, holding up the bag.

"Yeah, thanks." He opened it, the camera buried underneath some stuff. They'd gotten a pretty nice one, and he was glad that for once he knew how to work something new, because he had good practice with cameras from crime scenes. Cortney stretched out her hand, offering to take it, and he handed it over before making his way back to Jenny and the baby.

He felt awkward all of a sudden, leaning down and trying to pose with his new little family. He put an arm behind Jenny's head and rested his other hand over Jenny's on the baby.

"Okay, smile," Cortney said enthusiastically, snapping a few photos of them. "You guys are so cute," Jill chipped in.

The baby made little squeaking noises, and Jenny realized he was moving his head around a little, his little mouth moving as he opened his eyes. He scrunched up his face, protesting with little cries. Jenny went stiff, feeling out of her element. What was she supposed to do?

"Looks like baby knows exactly what we were going to talk about next," Jill laughed. "It said in your file that you were planning to breastfeed, is that still correct?"

"Yes," Jenny replied nervously, trying to rock the baby a little and soothe him. He still felt a little awkward in her arms.

"Great. It's time to get you and baby acquainted and have your first breastfeeding session. It can be a little awkward to figure out at first, but babies are naturals at latching. It'll be a process you both are used to in no time."

They helped her with unbuttoning her gown at the shoulders, instructing her on how to hold him and guide his mouth to her nipple. She suddenly realized how awkward this was, having never done it before. She felt like she was fumbling around. She'd certainly never used her nipples for feeding a baby before. The nurses were calm, instructing her, while the baby made his little squeaking noises as he moved his head about. He nearly got it, his mouth fumbling a bit in his search. It took some fumbling and trying, but she eventually adjusted him in a way that he seemed to figure it out and his mouth latched on.

"There we go," Cortney cheered. "He's a natural."

Jenny felt strange. It was a new sensation, that was for sure. It seemed intimate and natural, yet also just new and even slightly uncomfortable. She felt self-conscious, despite having already shown everything to the world during the birth. She glanced up at Jethro, wondering what he was thinking as he watched. His relationship with her breasts had been an entirely different matter before now.

"You may feel some uterine cramping at first with breastfeeding," Jill said. "It's normal, breastfeeding just stimulates your uterus to contract."

Jethro looked on in amazement. It wasn't like he'd never seen breastfeeding before. He remembered with Shannon and Kelly. But it was new seeing Jenny breastfeed.

The nurses then gave them both the full report on how the exams went and how the baby was doing while the baby continued to breastfeed. They informed them that Doctor Landis would be in later to check on them and give them a report as well. They talked about how they'd be transferring them to an actual room soon, and how they would need them to do a little paperwork and sign some things then too.

"And if you have a name picked out, we can get all of that sorted and fill out the birth certificate."

Jenny looked up to Jethro, wondering where his mind was at with that. She felt like she knew, but she wanted him to have his say too.

"We're finally going to get out of your hair and let you guys bond for a little bit," Cortney said. "We'll be back soon. You can shower and eat if you want when we get back, and then we'll get you transferred to a room."

They thanked them, both relieved to finally have a little bit of peace. There had been so many people all over, so many things going on for so many hours now. Jenny looked down at the baby sucking away, feeling how soft his little cheek was with her finger.

"Hey."

She looked up at Jethro, who was smiling at her in a way that made her heart skip a beat. "Hey," she reciprocated, smiling back at him. Both of them were speaking in hushed tones, letting the baby do his thing while they enjoyed the temporary peace.

He gave her a quick, gentle kiss. "You were amazing." He gently caressed her hair.

"I had good support."

He shook his head. "You did it all, Jen…I…" he took a breath, smiling, "I'm so proud of you. I love you."

She smiled, her already overwhelmed and happy heart even more warmed by his affection. She couldn't believe she had him and this new little baby in her life. She was sure she had never felt happier.

She kissed him again, not caring that neither of them had good breath and were sweaty. "Thank you for being here, and even for getting me pregnant," she whispered, laughing tiredly. "Happy Fathers Day."

"No," he shook his head side to side, "thank you. For everything."

They enjoyed the little moment. "He's so perfect," she whispered. "Yeah," he agreed.

"And he's so tiny," she said in awe. "It's amazing."

"So," he said quietly, watching the baby, "what's he look like to you?"

"Like a wrinkled little potato, poor thing."

He rolled his eyes good naturedly. "I meant his name."

"I know," she chuckled. "I, uh, I think I know what I want. But I want you to have your say too." She looked up at him, anxious. It was amazing after all these months of debating, the time had finally come to make a final decision. They'd sorted through so many options, and ultimately never could just decide without seeing him. But she realized she still wanted the same two names she'd practically had from the beginning, because they held so much meaning to her.

"I never really cared, Jen. Long as we keep Tony and Tobias out of the runnin'," he laughed.

She bit her lip, looking down at the baby. "I still want to use my dad's middle name, Henry," she said.

He smiled, placing his hand on the baby's little hat covered head. "Henry," he said out loud. "Good name," he nodded.

"I was thinking….Henry Jethro Gibbs."

He went still, looking from the baby to her, and then back. She'd mentioned using his name before, but he'd always blown it off. He hadn't thought they needed to waste his goofy name on the poor kid. He hadn't realized she was using his last name too. He had wondered if she'd stick with Shepard or hyphenate her last name and his. His heart swelled at the gesture.

"We don't need to use my name," he protested half-heartedly.

"I want to," she said. "He's the best thing I've ever done in my life…it seems fitting for him to be named after the two men who mean everything to me. Especially on Father's Day. I wouldn't want it any other way."

He cleared his throat, feeling his emotions flare. He wasn't sure how to respond other than to kiss her cheek. He was worried he'd cry again, and he felt like he'd done enough of that today. "Should be namin' 'im after you," he said, trying to laugh and calm his emotions.

"I don't think our son would exactly like having a girls name," she laughed.

"We could do a male version. Jenny could be, uh…" he thought for a second, "Jerry."

That really made her laugh. "Thank heavens I was born a girl, I'd rather be called Jenny over Jerry."

He smiled, glad to make her laugh. "Come on, now," he teased, "don't insult his new middle name."

"Absolutely not," she shook her head. "Jerry doesn't have as nice of a ring to it as Jethro does."

"If you say so," he chuckled. He placed his hand on the baby's body. "Sorry your mom gave you a dorky middle name, Henry."

"It's not my fault you have the name you have," she said to Jethro. "That's on your parents."

"Could'a prevented it from continuin'," he said.

"I like it."

"I know, I'm just teasin'." He kissed her cheek again. "Thank you."

They were quiet for a moment, relishing the newness of their lives together. Jenny was exhausted. She felt guilty for thinking about sleep, because she felt like she couldn't take her eyes off the baby for a second. She felt like she needed to be here for him for every moment. She felt like if she went to sleep, Henry wouldn't be here when she woke up. It all felt too good to be true, despite the hell of his delivery, her pain and exhaustion. But she hadn't slept in ages, and her body was feeling worn out and aching, and she knew she was going to be in much more pain later.

Jethro hadn't had any sleep either, and she questioned why anyone would think it was a good idea for them to be in charge of a new baby when they were sleep deprived and her body was broken.


Jenny had gotten to eat, shower and brush her teeth, they'd been transferred to a room, and then they'd dealt with some paperwork and the birth certificate. The baby had to be finger and foot printed, as well as being poked in the heel. But eventually things calmed down and they were able to relax in the room in some level of peace.

Now she was asleep, much to his relief. She'd tried valiantly to stay awake, not wanting to miss out on time with the baby, but she did end up giving in after some time. The baby was asleep in the hospital bassinet beside their bed, wrapped up like a little burrito and snug looking with his hat. The monitors beeped repetitively in the background, and the nurses came in and did checks frequently on Jenny, along with her doctor popping in on occasion. He felt bad for Jenny, she'd already been through a lot, and she still didn't get to have much of a break. While he sat here, being pretty much useless, much like he had been the entire pregnancy and birth. He realized women weren't kidding when they complained about things being unfair.

Jethro couldn't stop staring at the baby. He knew why Jenny hadn't wanted to fall asleep, he felt the same way. He knew how precious this time was, and just how quickly time could pass and eventually take it all from you. He knew stages like this needed to be savored.

He smiled at the little info tag on the bassinet that he had read a hundred times now.

I'm a Boy!

Name: Henry Jethro Gibbs

Mother: Jenny

Date of Birth: 06/17/2007

Time: 0437

Weight: 7lbs, 11 oz.

Length: 19.8 in.

Baby's Doctor: Dr. Wurzel

Mother's Doctor: Dr. Landis

There were so many happy days in his life. He thought he was at his peak when he married Shannon. Then when Kelly was born. Then when he met Kelly. Then in all the following moments of birthdays and celebrations and happy times. Then there were a lot of dark days. But adjusting to life with Jenny, and anticipating the baby, had made him feel like he was at a peak again. He'd always cherish his past memories, but today truly felt like one of the highest peaks in his life. He knew saying it was the happiest day in his life would be a lie, because he'd had so many 'happiest' days. But perhaps, in this instant, it wasn't all that much of a lie.

Though, he was pretty sure he'd never felt so happy and so tired all at the same time quite like this before.

He looked at his watch. It was about zero-eight-hundred. He needed to make a few calls, his dad, Duck, Mike. They'd all be up by now, except maybe Mike, since it was an hour earlier in his time zone. Then again, maybe he had pretty early mornings now that he lived with a baby and his daughter-in-law. Perhaps he wasn't snoozing on the deck with a bottle of beer every morning anymore.

He pulled out the camera, snapping a picture of Jenny and the baby bassinet beside her. She'd probably hate him for taking a picture of her, especially while she was asleep. He thought she looked beautiful though. He told himself he'd need to be good about being on camera duty, since both he and Jenny wanted more pictures. He regretted not having more of Shannon and Kelly, and Jenny wished she had more of her childhood and her father. So he needed to follow Abby's example and be more camera friendly.

He pulled out his phone, glancing to Jenny and the baby, making sure they were still good before he snuck out of the room into the hall. He dialed the number, waiting as it rang.

"Hello. This is Jackson."

"Hey, dad," he greeted.

There was a surprised pause.

"Son. Good to hear from you. How are you guys doin'?"

"We're good. Jenny had the baby this morning. Wanted to let you know."

Jackson made an excited noise. "That's the best news I've heard all month. I'm happy for you. Does my little grandson have a name?"

"Henry. Henry Jethro Gibbs." He found he was smiling a lot today. How could he not.

"Henry. That's a good name. Known a lotta good men named Henry. Glad we're keepin' Jethro in the family too."

"Jenny's idea," he laughed.

"She's a smart lady. Henry's gonna be a good kid, hard not to be with two good parents like yourselves."

"We had good parents too. Happy Father's Day, dad."

Jackson chuckled. "Thanks, son. Happy Father's Day to you too. I look forward to meetin' the little tyke."

Jethro called Ducky next, the man greeting him enthusiastically on the phone.

"Hey, Duck. Wanted to let you know the baby got here this morning."

"Oh, Jethro! That is fantastic news. And what a brilliant day for it too. Very fitting. How is Jennifer doing? And the baby? Are they well?"

"They're good. Both gettin' some sleep."

"Being born is quite the process. I do not envy them for what they've experienced, I can't imagine it is easy on mother or child. It is a good thing none of us remember being born. I can't wait to see the lad myself later on. You should send a picture, Jethro, everyone would love to see him."

"I'll do that. I'm also callin' for a favor, Duck."

"Anything."

"Need you to tell Tony he's in charge now, and let the team know. Abby'll be excited and wanna visit, but if you could tell the team to give us some space. Jenny needs time to rest."

"Completely understandable, after what she's gone through. It isn't easy on the body. I'll be sure to let Tony know, and I'll make sure to get the word across that your new family needs time to acclimate. It really is such wonderful news, Jethro. I feel honored to be the one announcing it to your team."

He chuckled. "Thanks, Duck."

Ducky asked about the name, which sent him into a history of the most famous Henrys. Then he asked how long Jenny's labor process had gone. He went into some medical facts and theories during their discussion, and Jethro found himself even a bit interested now that he had just seen the process first hand. After some time, he politely told Ducky he needed to go and they said their goodbyes.

He ducked back into the room, seeing that they were both still asleep, and then called Mike. He was glad his list of people he needed to tell was very short, because he felt like he was repeating the same things over and over. Happy as his news was, it did feel repetitive having to make separate announcements. Mike laughed and teased, like he always did.

"Can't believe she used your god-awful name for that poor kid," he'd said, getting a good laugh from Jethro."Glad I won't be the only old man changin' diapers either. Fittin' for my probie to suffer alongside me."

The only other person he could tell was Tobias. But that would get Diane involved, and he'd rather avoid that right now. They could hear through the grapevine like everyone else.

He went back into the room, wondering what he'd do from here. He needed sleep, but he'd been through enough sleepless nights in the military and with his job to know that he'd be fine. Watching his family was more important right now. He didn't want to disturb Henry, but he couldn't help but pick him up out of the bassinet. He loved feeling the little guy in his arms and watching his little baby expressions. Henry barely stirred, making a little squeaking noise in his sleep as he was picked up. Jethro smiled at him, adjusting him in his hands so he could look at him.

Cortney appeared in the doorway, lightly knocking. She smiled at him and he smiled back. "Sorry to disturb you guys, again. Just need to do the usual checks."

She checked the monitors and her vitals, and then Jenny was woken up, looking exhausted and bleary eyed. They checked her abdomen like they had been doing the last few hours. The nurse swapped out her ice pack for her vaginal soreness, and assessed where she was at pain wise and if she needed anything. She asked if she needed to go to the bathroom, and said they'd need to walk around again soon to keep circulation going. She added before she left that they should try waking the baby up and getting him to feed, since it had been a couple hours since he last ate.

As soon as she left Jenny groaned. "These girls are all nice, but this is getting old."

"Can I do anything for ya?" he asked.

"Take me home and let me sleep. And give me a new body."

"Would if I could."

She looked at him and the baby. "I feel bad sleeping, like I'm missing out. But it looks like he's doing the same thing. I really don't like waking him up when he looks so peaceful."

He handed the baby over, watching Jenny gently rouse him, trying to wake him up. "Henry," she called out, unswaddling him and touching his face, things the nurses had suggested. The baby made a grunt noise, his eyes opening with a glare.

"He has your glare," Jenny informed him.

"Nah, that's yours."

"I've been instructed to feed you, my child," Jenny snarked in a soothing voice. He shook his head at the interaction, smiling. The baby just stared with wide eyes.

He helped her with the gown so she could keep her hold on Henry. He watched her guide his mouth to her nipple, Henry seeming to struggle for a while before she eventually got him to latch. "There you go," she said quietly, smiling at the baby.

Jethro couldn't help but smile at seeing Jenny with the baby. She had been so worried about being a terrible mother, so worried about not knowing what to do, but here she was, only hours in and already a natural.

"I called my dad, Duck, and Mike, to let them know," he said.

"Thank you, I'm glad you remembered them, especially your dad. I know he mentioned maybe visiting after the baby was born. He should get to meet him. How are they all doing?"

"Dad's good, keepin' busy at the store. He was excited about Henry. Ducky was excited, talked a lot. Mike was Mike."

She laughed. "Sounds about right."

They were quiet again, watching the baby. He sat back down, feeling the exhaustion creeping on him. He really needed some good coffee. The stuff here was horrible.

"It's weird that newborns are so cute, when they also look pretty ugly. Like super tiny old men. And his head is all bruised and misshapen from the delivery."

He chuckled. Leave it to Jenny to not romanticize too much and be more blunt. "True."

"But he is cute, and he's so small, and he smells so good, and he's ours…I almost can't stand how much I already love him."

"Yeah," he agreed. "Think he likes you too." The baby kept watching her as he sucked.

"Mm," she smiled, looking at the baby, "that's good, because I think we're stuck with each other, little Henry." She stroked the baby's face, and he could hear the little breathing grunting noise the baby made as he ate.

"He even responds in grunts like you do, Jethro."

"Attaboy."

They admired his tiny fingers and toes and face again, joking around about who he would look more like as he got older.


She waddled away from the toilet, putting down her peri bottle and washing her hands. Going to the bathroom before used to be no big deal. Just part of the every day routine. Now, even going pee was an ordeal. It hurt like hell down there. The pads they provided her with were nice, ultra-absorbent and long and had a cooling effect after being twisted. They also gave her ice packs periodically. When it came to the bathroom, water in a peri bottle was now her best friend. She felt like she was still trying to get used to using it and doing things without causing more pain or making a mess. She was bleeding a lot, and birth truly was the messiest thing she'd ever experienced. She wondered if it would even be possible for her to ever have a normal vagina again. She'd been warned her first poop after birth was going to suck, and that was something she was definitely not looking forward to. Her body seemed to be covered in sweat ever since she'd gone into labor, and her gown and robe seemed to always be clinging to her. Clearly, nothing about this could be easy.

The views she had on men while at NCIS still hadn't changed—the damn men had it too easy.

She opened the door and went back to her bed, very glad to see that Jethro was still fast asleep. He'd finally passed out in the big armchair in the corner of the room. They'd offered him a little fold up cot, but he seemed to be under the impression he wouldn't need any sleep. It was typical Jethro. While she appreciated his willingness to be there through every second and be self-sacrificing, he deserved some solid sleep at this point. One of them needed to be somewhat sane by tomorrow when they went home, and she honestly doubted her body would be in condition to do as much as she would like for some time. She was sick to death of being limited at this point. After pregnancy and now this, she wanted almost nothing more than to have her old body and energy back. She could probably take on a baby if she had her old body. But now, now she wasn't so sure.

It was evening now, just past dinner time. They were discharging in the morning. They'd gotten texts of congratulations from various coworkers. Even Leon had sent one. Time right now didn't seem normal. It was hard to believe it was just over a week ago since she'd left NCIS. Today felt like a thousand days, and it felt like she'd been in a different phase of life for some time now.

She looked in the bassinet, at the little boy who seem determined to sleep away his entire first day on earth. The nurses said it was normal, he was just recovering from his own traumatic experience of being birthed. She didn't blame him, and wished she could sleep as much and as calmly as he did. He did wake up to eat every few hours if she hadn't woken him yet. He had trouble latching sometimes and it could get frustrating, and at other times he was like a pro. She never fully realized until now just how much of her time was going to be spent having him hanging off her breasts. Only putting two hours between feeds meant it would take up a good chunk of her day.

Speaking of which, it was about that time again. As if on cue, his little eyes opened up, focusing for a second before his little face started to scrunch up. She picked him up, stopping his fussing before he let it out.

"Hey, you," she cooed, holding him in her arms. His eyes caught hers and he just stared, making his little snuffling noises. She couldn't decide if the constant breathing noises he made when he was asleep or awake were cute or terrifying. Sometimes it sounded like he was struggling to breathe and it freaked her out. But it was apparently just his little lungs getting used to breathing air.

He moved his head a little, his mouth opening and closing, clearly searching for his food source. She rolled her eyes. "You're as bad as your father." She tried to maneuver back into bed with him, struggling a little with her own soreness while trying to keep him safe. She moved her own personal robe a little and unsnapped the gown underneath, exposing a boob. It didn't take much to get him to latch, and he stared at her with his little dark blue eyes.

She slid his little hat off, running her finger across his small expanse of super smooth dark brown hair. It apparently took a while before babies true eye and hair color set in, and she was secretly hoping her genes would win over Jethro's and he'd end up with red hair and green eyes. On the other hand, she really didn't mind the idea of a replica of Jethro. He was ridiculously handsome, after all. Henry would be lucky to look like him. She was just competitive.

She grabbed his little hand, admiring his tiny fingers for the hundredth time. She loved the way he would curl his super tiny fist around her finger. She loved the way he would sleep peacefully, and nod off while he ate.

Jethro had gotten to change his first wet diaper. He'd denied the offer from the nurses to teach him how, since he'd already had experience and knew how. It would be something new for her though. It wasn't like it was rocket science, but she was wary of doing a lot of things with the baby. He seemed so tiny and fragile. She didn't want to hurt him. Jethro held him with such ease, while she felt like she was fumbling all the time.

After a good ten minutes, there was a slight pop noise as Henry decided to unlatch mid-suck. He opened his little mouth, letting out a little cry, and she maneuvered him to switch to the other breast. It had been enough to wake up Jethro, who startled with a grunt and was looking at them bleary-eyed as he struggled to be alert.

"Guys okay?" he mumbled, his voice thick with sleep. He looked out of it with his eyes and his stubble.

"He's just eating. Go back to sleep, we're okay."

"Mm." He stared at them for a little bit longer, his eyes blinking rapidly as he tried to stay awake. It didn't take long before his eyes gave up the fight and his head lolled before it tipped back against his chair again.

She grabbed the hand decorated sugar cookie out of the tiny Father's Day gift bag they'd handed to Jethro earlier—which he had promptly handed to her instead—and she unwrapped it and took a big bite, savoring the sugary taste. All was well.


"Okay, buddy, here we go," Jethro said softly, laying Henry down in his car seat. He held his breath as he tried to be gentle with the little guy's arms as he moved them through the little seat belt straps. He started to fuss. "Shhh, it's okay," he tried to soothe.

The baby had been practically silent his first 24 hours of life, sleeping it all off. But somewhere in the early hours of the morning he had decided it was time to test out his lungs a little. Jethro knew he and Jenny were both suffering from some sleep deprivation, and he knew it was something they just needed to get used to from here on out. He knew he had no reason to complain, because his body had done nothing compared to Jenny's. He'd seen her give birth and saw the trauma her body had gone through. He knew they could handle it, it wasn't like they were strangers to some sleep deprivation during their careers. But she definitely deserved all the rest at this point.

Jethro lifted up the car seat, moving it around a little, which seemed to ease Henry and he stopped crying. "See? Not so bad."

He could see Jenny keeping an eye on them while she talked to a nurse about her discharge instructions. She seemed to have multiple papers and pamphlets now with advice for her post-delivery care. Doctor Landis had stopped by earlier to make sure Jenny was good to go and say goodbye.

They then got to leave. A nurse had to wheel Jenny out to the front door, while Jethro left them with the baby in the car seat while he went to get the car and pull it to the front. The whole thing had felt somewhat stressful, but he was glad they were finally getting home and could be in their own space without medical people checking in constantly. He looked forward to showering and shaving.

He helped Jenny into the car, and then struggled a bit to get the car seat latched and hooked in properly.

They'd barely made it a few feet in the parking lot when Jenny asked him to stop. She wanted to sit in the back by the baby so she could keep an eye on him. This left him constantly glancing in his rear view mirror during the drive to keep an eye on both of them, even if all he could see of the baby was the back of the car seat.

He was driving very carefully, more carefully than he could remember driving for the last almost two decades. It took far too long to get home, and every car that got too close to them in traffic made him nervous. People around here drove like maniacs, and he was often one of them. But he had precious cargo in the car right now, and he really couldn't handle anything happening to them.

Pulling up to his house, he realized there was a sign in the yard.

"Welcome home, Henry!" it said in blue letters, with a heart. He smiled, knowing without a doubt that it was Abby's doing. When they got out of the car, Jenny suggested they take a picture of Henry getting home. Then began the process of getting the little guy back out of the car seat and into Jenny's arms, so she could stand with him by the sign. He took a picture with the camera, and she showed him how to take one on her phone so that she could send it to Abby.

Jenny then carried the baby inside while he grabbed the bags and the empty car seat. They were greeted by a basket inside that had some snacks and a note in it. Abby said the team had made some meals that were in the freezer and there were heating directions, and he realized he was extremely grateful for that thought. That would make dinner a lot easier for a few days. He made a mental note to send some thanks their way.

He put the stuff down, watching Jenny rock Henry, who was sleeping away again. She always had this look of love on her face when she was looking at the baby, and it made him feel so proud of them. He walked over to them, putting his arm around Jenny's waist gently and kissing the side of her head. He looked down at Henry, grabbing his little curled fist with his thumb and index finger.

"Welcome home, buddy."


A/N: This was by far the chapter I loved writing the most. I've been waiting so long to get to this part. Thank you all for your love and support. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this story so far. This isn't the end, there is still more to come, but I do hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have.