Chapter 4:

Life had been going pretty much perfect for the next few months after finally telling the team about their little secret. Life had gone pretty much back to normal. Jack went back to work following her mandated leave from Vance, and she had been doing her best to follow all instructions from Jimmy and Dr. Millett. Things were running like a well-oiled machine, and the baby seemed to be developing perfectly.

Jack was finding joy in every little moment in this pregnancy. She wasn't able to when she was pregnant with Faith because she didn't want to allow herself to grow too attached to a baby that was never truly hers. What made this pregnancy even better though was Gibbs' behavior the entire time. He missed out on all of the little moments when Shannon was pregnant with Kelly because he was overseas, and he was not going to miss a single moment with this one.

One morning, Jack had her 32 week appointment before they had to go into work. The team had grown accustomed to Jack and Gibbs being a little late about every couple weeks due to these appointments. As per usual, Jack and Gibbs arrived early to the doctor's office; they had even gotten into a routine of beating Dr. Millett to the office. By about the third appointment, Gibbs had grown quite fond of the good doctor and how he treated his girl and his future child. He decided to offer a thank-you gesture in his own Gibbs sort of way by arriving to each appointment with a nice hot cup of coffee. Jack was not super fond of this gesture though since she was no longer allowed her usual cup of sugar with a little coffee mixed in while she was pregnant, but it did make her happy to see Gibbs getting along so well with the doctor. Gibbs had few good friends, and she could see this bond continuing after she had the baby.

"Morning you two! Or, should I say you three?" the doctor said as he met the two at the door of the office.

"Morning Doc," Gibbs said cheerfully as he handed the cup of joe to his new buddy.

"Oh, you treat me so well Gibbs," the doctor chimed.

"Do I need to give you two the room?" Jack mumbled under her breath as she witnessed this moment. This pregnancy had gotten her mood changing quite often as she grew in size and discomfort.

"Sorry, Jack… so, how's my favorite patient been since I last saw you?"

"Alright, I guess."

"Jack, don't lie. Doc, she's been in a lot of pain in the last week, honestly, in the last 2 weeks or so, her comfort has completely shifted. The past few days have been almost unbearable from my point of view; I don't know how she's done it. She hasn't even been able to function at work; the director and I sent her home yesterday."

"Jack, you have known our deal this entire pregnancy; you keep your freedom as long as you don't overdo things. I would have to say this may be the last straw though. You're still a few weeks off from being considered full-term, and I would like to do everything in our power to get this little one as close to term as we can. I'm going to check you for signs of pre-term labor just to be safe before I make any final decisions, but I am thinking that bedrest might be our best bet for the remainder of this pregnancy for both your safety and baby's safety."

Dr. Millett ran his normal test he ran each appointment, and then he went on to check on the baby. During the ultrasound, he found that the baby had already flipped into position to get ready for birth. He then moved on to check Jack to see if this had sent her into any progress towards early labor.

"Jack, you're already dilated to about 3 ½ centimeters. This gives me no choice but to order bed rest until you have this baby. If you don't start to slow down, baby will likely come early, maybe even within this next week."

"Woah, woah, woah, we aren't ready for that yet! We don't have the nursery ready yet. We haven't even picked out the crib yet," Jack said in a panicked tone.

"Then I would suggest you follow my orders, Jack. Gibbs, do you promise to keep an eye on her and make sure she is behaving?"

"Yeah, doc. I'll tell the team that they'll just have to report to me while I'm at home with these trouble makers," Gibbs responded. He then turned to Jack, "Don't worry Jack, we'll get everything done ASAP. Even if I need to enlist the help from the team; this baby will come home to a ready nursery and home."

Gibbs called Leon to update him and the team on the situation. Until the baby came, he would be working from home so he could keep an eye on Jack. He had no worries about work though; this wasn't the first time that he had to take a hiatus. His team was more than capable to run things in his absence; they had proven that time and time again. When they got back to the house, Gibbs got Jack set up in the rocking chair he had built for the nursery upstairs. She was determined to get all of the clothes for the baby folded and put away as well as getting some of the small décor set up. He knew this wasn't a difficult task, and that the doctor would be fine with this, so he decided to leave her in peace and make his way to continue his secret project in the basement. He was thankful that during her pregnancy Jack wasn't allowed down in the basement due to all of the sawdust and other weird things floating around in the air down there. This gave him the perfect cover for the last few months to work on a special surprise for her and the baby. He was almost done, and so he had asked Tim to come over in the middle of the workday so he could help Gibbs carry up the surprise to the nursery.

He yelled up the stairs to Jack to make sure that she was still occupied, "Jack, you still doing alright? Ya need anything?"

"I'm doing fine. Was about to come down and get me a snack though."

"No, just stay up there. I'll bring you something!"

"Oh, okay. Thanks, babe!"

"Babe, boss?" Gibbs asked with a chuckle. Gibbs just shook his head with a grin as he headed back to the basement. McGee followed behind to help him. They got the surprise and began the trek up the main set of stairs with it. Once they got up to the top of the second floor they stopped just outside the closed door of the nursery. Gibbs had told McGee to wait as he got Jack to close her eyes for the surprise. She promised not to open her eyes until she was told to. The men both then shuffled in the surprise into place, careful not to make too much noise as to not ruin the surprise for Jack. Once it was in place, McGee left the room and waited out in the hall to try and catch Jack's reaction. He was not prepared for what he turned to see.

Gibbs knelt in front of Jack on one knee. He grabbed her hand from her lap; her eyes were still shut, but it took every ounce of self-control for her not to open them as she felt his touch.

"Okay Jack, I want you to open your eyes and look behind me okay?"

"Okay," she opened her eyes and did as he asked. Behind him was the most beautiful hand-crafted crib made to match the very rocking chair she was sitting in. She instantly began to cry in joy of what she was seeing, but that was only the first part of the surprise Gibbs had planned for her. She hadn't even noticed what was right in front of her. Her eyes finally made their way down to the man in front of her on the ground, but her eyes were met with the most beautiful ring in his hand.

She looked at him in complete shock, "Wh—what are you doing?" she laughed gently while still clearly overwhelmed about what was going on.

"Look, Jack, I know you said that you didn't need this. I—I just can't imagine my life without you in it for good. I honestly have been wanting to do this since before the baby, but I never had to guts to do it. The baby is what gave me the kick in the ass to finally just do it, so here I am. I don't want you to be just another wife though. This is real; you two are my world, so Jack, will you please do me the honor of being my forever?"

"Oh my god! I didn't know you had this in you!" she exclaimed as she grabbed his face pulling him in for a kiss.

He gently pulled away for a moment, "So, is that a yes?"

"Hell yes," she responded.

He couldn't help but grin. That was one of the first things she said to him about working with him a couple of years ago, and now here they were, planning on spending forever together and raising a child together. He stood up and helped pull her up from the chair to wrap her up in his embrace. They simply stood there wrapped in each other's arms for five minutes straight without saying a word. This moment was broken though, by a shock. Suddenly, there was a splash of fluid between them. Jack and Gibbs' eyes suddenly met with joint shock and terror.

"Uh… Jack?"

"Gibbs…"

"I guess this means we're doing this thing today."

"But, I'm not ready. It's too early babe. I'm not to term," Jack was suddenly in a fierce panic.

Gibbs grabbed her and looked her in her eyes with a calmness over him, "Shh. Everything is going to be okay Jack. It's only a few weeks early, and we have a crib, we have a house, and we have each other. That's all this baby needs. I've got you both; I won't let anything bad happen either of you. You are both my world remember? Now, let's go get ready to do this thing," he said as he leaned down to kiss her stomach. He then stood up and kissed her gently. He always knew what to say or what to do to make her feel safe.

"McGee? You still out there?"

"Yeah, boss."

"Wait… McGee?" Jack asked with confusion. How long had he been out there?

"Well yeah, Jack. Couldn't carry that crib up myself. It's solid and heavy as hell," Gibbs responded. "McGee, call the team. Give them the update. Tell them that the baby is making its's arrival today. I will keep you all updated from the hospital."

"On it boss, and Jack, good luck. You've got this."

"Thank you, Tim!"

McGee then made his way out of the house to head back to NCIS to let the team in on all of the news. He wasn't sure though if he was going to let them know about the extra part to Gibbs' surprise for Jack. He figured that may be better news for them to break to the team.

Gibbs then put his hand on the side of Jack's cheek. He had no clue how he had gotten so lucky to call her his. He gave her is gentle grin that he only gave her, "Let's go meet our baby."

"Let's go meet our baby," she responded with a smile.

Chapter Notes:

Boy or girl? What do you guys think it will be?

Thank you guys so much for all of the wonderful reviews and comments! I love any and all suggestions for how to move plots forward. I will likely be posting chapter 5 this afternoon as well, so be on the look-out for it! It's a big one! I'm not exactly how long I want to go on with this story, but I am really loving it, so expect at least a few more chapters. Please let me know some ideas for what I should do with this story following the birth of the baby.