Chapter 3:
For the next few months, life went on pretty much as normal. Sure, there was the occasional doctor's appointment and very usual morning sickness that Jack had gotten very good about hiding from everyone, but everything at work had been going smooth up to this point. Nobody had developed any suspicions at all. Jack's growing bump though was soon going to be an issue; she had gotten to the point that her regular clothes were becoming increasingly more uncomfortable. To ease this discomfort she would usually keep her skirts or pants unbuttoned while she would sit at her desk in her office. One day, Jack was feeling unusually terrible; even the smell of water got her nausea kicked up. Palmer sent her a message asking for her to come down to autopsy to help with an aspect of their current case, but she knew if she did so, she would be a goner. She managed to come up with an excuse to get him to come to her office instead. She buttoned back up her skirt and awaited his arrival. A few minutes later she heard a knock at her office door.
"Ah, Dr. Palmer, thank you for coming up here. I have been absolutely swamped this morning."
"Of course Jack," he said as he made his way over to take a seat on her couch.
"So, what is it I can do for yo…" her words trailed off as she began swaying on her way over to take a seat next to him.
"Jack? Is everything okay?" Palmer asked. In just the right timing he leapt forward to catch her as she collapsed into his arms.
Jack woke up on her couch staring into the oh-so-familiar steely blue gaze she had grown accustomed to. She was unsure exactly how long she had been out of it, but it was long enough for not only Gibbs to make his way to her office, but also for the two other men who were in the know on their little secret, and she was fairly certain that at least one other person now knew, and that was Dr. Jimmy Palmer.
"Jack, what happened?" Gibbs asked as he gently rubbed the hair on the top of her head with worry in his eyes.
"I would assume it likely that Jacqueline was far too dehydrated and undernourished this morning for both her and the baby. I am sure her level of regular nausea has made it difficult for her to properly nourish herself and your child. Would that be correct Jacqueline?" Ducky asked.
"Yes Ducky, I haven't eaten anything today at all. Nor have I had anything to drink. I couldn't even stand the scent of water this morning. I figured as long as I stayed fairly low-key today that I would be fine. It usually gets better by afternoon, so that's what I was betting on. I guess, I was wrong this time around."
"Jack, why didn't you call me if you were feeling so bad? You could have taken the day if you felt so bad this morning," Gibbs chimed in.
"No! I promised this pregnancy would not get in the way of my job, and I'm not going to break that promise," Jack responded.
"Jack, I don't give a damn about you coming to work if you are in this kind of state. I know that I made a big deal when I initially found out about this pregnancy, but that was more to make a point. You are family, and your health and now the health of this baby comes first. Got it?" Leon said as he knelt down next to her. He then smiled at her reassuringly, "Now, I order you to follow any of Dr. Mallard or Dr. Palmer's directions for the remainder of this pregnancy as well as your normal doctor's orders. I also want you to take the next week off to recover. Now, lastly, I think it may be time to break the new to the team. I am sure they are all very curious about what could be going on with all of us in here."
"But, Leon," Jack tried to object.
"No buts Jack," Gibbs said.
"Oh man, you too?" Jack asked towards Gibbs.
"Hey, I am on nobody's team. I'm just looking out for what's best for your health and for the health of our child okay?"
"I know, I just wasn't ready for all of this yet. I just wanted to stay in our perfect little bubble for a little bit longer," she said to Gibbs. She then turned to Jimmy, "Okay Palmer, where do I go from here? How do we stop this from happening again?"
"Well, I would like you to get into your doctor just to check on baby and your levels. I also would like you to go ahead and put you on some fluids just so you can get some nutrients for the both of you. I will call in an order of my own of some fluids so if you ever get like this while at the office again I can get you fixed up. Now, please get plenty of rest on your little break and avoid any added stress. Your health and baby's health must now be first priority okay?"
"Sure. Thanks for caring so much for us. Now, before we go, I guess we need to talk to the team. Jim, could you please send them in for us?"
"Sounds like a plan. See you in a week Jack. Take care of yourself while your off. Gibbs you too. You're in charge of the both of them," he said while placing a kiss on Jack's head and placing his hand on her stomach.
"Thanks Leon," Jack said as he walked out.
About ten minutes later the team arrived to her office. They knocked on her door and then entered to find Jack and Gibbs sitting together on the couch across the way. "Uh, boss… Vance said you needed to see all of us. Is everything okay?" McGee asked for the whole team.
"Yes Tim, we needed to talk to all of you about something very important," Jack responded. "There is no way to sugar coat it honestly, so I am just going to just come out and say it too. Gibbs and I have been dating… for quite some time."
"Uh, yeah, we're not shocked about that guys," Bishop chimed in.
Torres chuckled, "Yeah, no."
"We knew that probably wouldn't come as a shock to you all. We had gotten pretty bad at hiding it, but that is not our only news," Jack then cleared her throat to prepare for the rest of the news that she was about to share. She wasn't sure if she was quite ready to do so, but ready or not, it was the time to do so. "We also, um… well, we are adding a new member to our NCIS family because I am actually pregnant. We are pregnant. Almost five months along."
"Wait! What? No, no, no, we all knew that you two were a thing. I mean, that was obvious, but a baby? You're pranking us right? I mean… you do know how old you guys are right?" Bishop asked in disbelief. Torres, McGee, and Kasie stood in complete shock.
"Bishop, we aren't pranking you. Trust me; we we're just as shocked as you were when we found out. This was definitely not something we planned on," Gibbs said.
"Well, I sure hope this wasn't something you planned!" Torres laughed under his breath. Gibbs shot him his typical stare to shut him up.
"Wait, so what does this mean? I mean work-wise. You guys aren't leaving NCIS right?" McGee asked.
"No, we would never leave NCIS; you guys are this baby's family. There is absolutely no reason for us to leave NCIS. I think I simply would go nuts if I had to leave work, and we all now how it tends to work out for Gibbs every time he leaves. Now, I did have a bit of a moment this morning, so I won't be back to work until next week as per the director's orders. I will have to be a little more low-key until this pregnancy is over, but nothing will stop me from doing what I love doing as long as I'm able. This kiddo is just going to have to get used to hanging around this place," Jack said.
"Oh, this is so flippin' crazy, but I am so happy for you guys! Plus, now that your secret is out, we can stop whispering behind your backs about you! So.. do you know if it's a boy or girl? I know people are finding out earlier and earlier now-a-days," Kasie finally chimed in.
"Nope Kase, we don't know yet," Jack answered. She looked at Gibbs and noticed that he seemed to have held back his own response. Jack could tell he was holding something in, but decided to hold of bringing it up to him until later at home. Although they had known about this pregnancy for months now, gender was never something that seemed to be brought up in their conversations. She wondered to herself what he might secretly be hoping for, but thought that that may not be all that he was holding back.
"Well, you all need to get back to work, and I need to get Jack to her doctor's appointment to get everything checked after her episode this morning. I will check back in with all of you later," Gibbs said.
They arrived to the doctor's office about an hour later. They got all checked in and taken back to the exam room immediately. Jack didn't know if it was her age and the risk associated with this pregnancy or if it was simply due to the nature of the appointment today specifically, but she could get used to this kind of service. Dr. Millett was back to join them before they had time to even get settled.
"Good afternoon Special Agents Gibbs and Sloane."
"Doc, how many times do we have to tell you? It's Gibbs and Jack? No need for the whole Special Agents thing."
"Yes, I apologize. Now, Jack, I thought I told you from the beginning to take things easy? We can't afford any repeats of what happened this morning of I will have to force you to go on bed rest until the baby comes."
"I know, I'm sorry doc. Honestly, up to this point I felt like I was doing great, but I can't even seem to keep the idea of water down anymore."
"That should pass soon, but in the meantime, I spoke with your medical examiner this morning, Dr. Jimmy Palmer was it? Anyways, he's going to come by and pick up a stock of fluids to keep at NCIS for you so if you ever feel how you felt this morning we can prevent it from going as far as it did. As for today, my nurse is going to get you set up on an IV for the next hour or so to get for an baby some much needed daily nutrients and to check on baby. Now, you're just a few days short of our scheduled 20 week appointment. We should be able to check gender today for you if you would like while we are checking everything else for you. Would you guys want to go ahead and do that?"
"Yes!"
"No!" the pair responded in unison.
"Okay then, I will let you two figure this out for yourselves. I will be back in about 15 minutes. That should give you guys time to decide.
The nurse then came in to set Jack up on her fluids before Dr. Millet could come back in for the fetal scans. This gave Jack and Gibbs some time to talk with each other to figure out what they truly wanted to do.
"Do you not want to know the gender of our baby Gibbs?"
"No, not really."
"Why? Wouldn't you like to know what we're having so we can plan properly? Paint the nursery, buy clothes, come up with names, you know?"
"Jack, you know I'm not much of a planner. Plus, If I'm not mistaken, those are all things that you can do without knowing the gender of the baby. This baby was a surprise for us in the first place; don't you want to keep the thrill of how it used to be before all of this technology existed with this baby? Let him her or surprise us one last time."
"Yeah," she leaned in to kiss him, "I guess you're right, but only on one condition okay?"
"Name it."
"You have to be the first one to announce the gender of our child. I don't want some nurse or doctor telling me."
"Of course, I would be so happy to do that," he said, placing a kiss on the top of her hand. There was then a knock on the door and in walked in Dr. Millett.
"So, have we come to a decision you two?"
"We sure have. We have decided to keep it a secret, and for Jethro to be the first to announce the baby's gender at birth if possible. Is that okay doc?"
"Absolutely, in fact, I know that this will be one of your favorite decisions when you look back on this pregnancy. These types of births are my all-time favorite ones to witness and be part of. There is nothing like a father being able to share that single moment being the only one to know the gender of his child and then tell the mother. I am so excited for the both of you in the remainder of this pregnancy journey that remains."
"Thanks doc. I didn't get all of these moments with the pregnancy and birth of my first child. You are making all of the dreams I had then come true with this one," Gibbs said to Dr. Millett.
Dr. Millet looked back at Gibbs with surprise on his face. "Oh, Gibbs, I was not aware you had any other children. How do they feel about this situation?"
Jack and Gibbs looked at each other in this moment. Gibbs had a look of pain and sorrow on his face for a moment, and Jack looked back at him as if to check on him and remind him that she was there for him. Gibbs then turned back to respond to Dr. Millett, "Sadly, I don't know how she would feel about all of this. She and he mother were sadly taken from this world too soon thirty years ago. I would like to think that she would be completely overjoyed though."
"She would be…" Jack said, rubbing her thumb along the back of Gibb's hand to comfort him.
"Oh, I am so sorry Gibbs. Had I known…"
"It's okay doc. You had no way of knowing. That's what makes this one that much more special though."
"Well, I will do everything in my power to keep every moment special for the both of you. In the mean time though, stay rested, follow all of mine and Dr. Palmer's orders, and I will see you in another couple weeks. Deal?"
"Sure, thank you doc."