Chapter 6:
The next morning, Gibbs woke in the same place that he had fallen asleep; Jack was laid in front of him still wrapped in his arms, but there was one piece of their little puzzle that was missing. The nurses must have come in during the night to take Jackson back to the NICU for the night. Jack then began to stir awake; suddenly, she jerked forward, which shocked Gibbs for a moment.
"Where is he?" she asked in a panic.
"It's okay babe. They took him to the NICU last night so we could get some rest. He's okay I promise."
She then leaned back into him. He wrapped his arms tightly around him. AS he did so, he could feel her pounding chest begin to calm. He hated seeing her so stressed, and he was worried. This was the last way he expected to see her behaving right now. He knew that post-partum stress was fairly common, but he didn't know much about it and how to handle it. He also knew that this was something that he would need to talk to Dr. Millett, Dr. Confalone, and Ducky about so they could get on top of this. He was already worried about her current state and hated the idea of how bad this could get, but it's definitely not something he would be able to handle on his own.
"What time is it?" Jack asked.
"Almost eight," Gibbs responded.
"Don't think I've slept this late since I was a kid."
"You needed it; yesterday was a helluva' day."
"That's for sure. Do you think you could get the nurses to go get him? I really need to see him right now."
"You got it," he said as he got up from the bed.
She could tell that the way the slept last night had taken a toll on his mature body. He tried his hardest not to show it, but the slight limp he had and the way she kept shifting his head from side to side as if to shake a crick out told her all she needed to know. He poked his head out the door to look at the nurses' station. He made eye contact with one of the morning shift nurses at the station, "Good morning Mr. Gibbs. How are the two of you?"
"We are doing pretty good thank you. Not exactly the Adam's House, but it'll do for now. She was wondering if you all could bring him down so she can see him. I also need to talk to Dr. Millett soon if you can let him know."
"Of course, I will let NICU know that you guys are ready for him to be brought back down to you. I can also get in touch with Dr. Millett, but today is his day off, so it may take a bit for him to get back with you. I can call the doctor on shift if it something she needs now though."
"No, no rush. Just let Dr. Millett know whenever works best for him works for us."
"Alright, sir."
"No need to call me sir; just call me Gibbs."
"Alright, Gibbs," she said with an embarrassed grin, picking up the phone to call NICU.
Gibbs made his way back into the room to find Jack had shifted and was now sitting on the edge of the bed just looking out the window of their room. She had very little life in her look; she almost looked completely hollow emotionally. He walked up beside her, careful not to startle her as he gently ran his hand along her lower back. A slight grin came across her face, replacing her lack of emotion for a brief second, but that went away as her attention shifted once more, "Are they going to bring him down?"
"Yes. They were just calling NICU to have him brought here. Now, let's get you up and changed. I am sure you will feel so much better if we get you into some fresh clothes from home."
"Yeah, good idea," she said as he gently helped her up from the bed. She was barely able to hold herself up, so she leaned into him for support. This feeling of complete helplessness and dependence was not something she was very familiar with. She didn't remember being in this state after having Faith at all. She was glad that she had him for support though; she was feeling all kinds of feelings that she had no clue how to describe, but she knew that she would not be able to handle them alone at all. What she was feeling confused her, but she kept them in for now; if she couldn't even describe them, how would anybody else?
Her eyes drooped, he could still tell something was off with her right now. She really wasn't speaking until someone spoke to her first, but this was not something that he knew how to bring up or even was prepared to bring up to her. This led to silence between the two of them as he gently helped her change into her new clothes. These were something they picked out early into the pregnancy; they both had intended this to be a memory of joy that they felt when preparing for the baby, but instead of bringing light to her eyes and sparking that joy, she just remained an empty shell.
"You look good, Jack," he said as he then helped her down into the chair next to the bed. She was tired of being confined to the bed, so he hoped this would be a nice change of scenery for her.
"Don't lie, Gibbs."
"No lying, Jack," he said. He brushed the hair out of her face and kissed her shoulder; he then kissed the spot that always made her smile, right behind her ear. This time, it did nothing. "I talked to the team. They are dying to meet him; they don't even know his gender. I told them as long as you were ready, that they could come later this morning. Would that be something you're up to?"
"Yeah, they're family. They need to meet him," her face briefly lit back up, thinking about the team meeting the baby.
"Okay, I will let them know then."
The nurses arrived with Jackson a few minutes later, "Here we are, momma. I hope you didn't miss us too much."
Jack sat up quickly from her slumped position, smiling from ear to ear, "Oh, I wish I could say that I didn't, but we all know that that would be a major lie."
The nurse gently handed Jackson to her, "Now, I know last night we tried breastfeeding, but weren't very successful. Both of you had long days yesterday though, so I say we try it out again this morning. Are you up for trying that now, momma?"
"Yes, I'm very ready to try again. This has always been a dream of mine."
"Oh, absolutely, there is nothing like the bond that forms between a mother and child through breastfeeding. No other bond like it exists."
The next moments were all that Jack had always wished for. She had been very discouraged following the unsuccessful attempts last night to breastfeed Jackson. The nurse couldn't have been more right though, the instant connection Jack felt with her son at this moment was unlike any bond she had ever felt. The moment was interpreted by a knock at the door, and in walked Dr. Millett, "Good morning," he chimed. "How is my favorite patient doing?"
"We are doing pretty darn good, doc. We just successfully got him to latch and feed for a bit. Oh, also, we came up with his name last night!"
"Well, let me hear it."
"Dr. Millett, I am pleased to introduce you to Jackson Kelly Gibbs, the light of my entire life. He is named after his grandpa Gibbs, and his sister, Kelly Gibbs."
"He's named after you too, Jack. Don't you forget that; it was part of our compromise remember?" Gibbs chimed in.
Dr. Millett observed Jack's reaction to this statement from Gibbs. It was not what one would expect, especially from Jack. She simply gave him a single nod to acknowledge the statement and avoided making eye contact with him. It was as if she were rejecting it altogether.
"Well, it is an absolute pleasure to meet you, Jackson," Dr. Millett said as he reached for the extended arm of the infant. He decided to reach further to try and gather more observations of Jack's behavior, "You know Jack, Jackson translates to son of Jack? It also means personal integrity, which knowing who his parents are, I would say is also quite fitting."
Once again, Jack's face shifted from her smile while looking at Jackson to almost a look of apathy. Both men took notice of these changes in her demeanor, "Gibbs, can I speak to you out in the hallway for a moment?" Dr. Millett asked.
"Sure, doc. Babe, I'll be right back. You think you're good for a bit just the two of you?"
Jack just nodded her head in response and went back to looking at Jackson, "If you need anything, just push the nurses' call button, okay? Oh, and the team should be here in the next hour or so."
"Okay," she looked up for a moment to meet him with a gentle smile. This was the first pure smile she showed him since Jackson was born. At least something else had a way of brightening her up for even a moment.
The two men made their way out to the hallways. Dr. Millett directed Gibbs towards a bench in the hallway for them to sit and talk at, "Tell me I'm not just seeing things, doc," Gibbs said.
"You're not, Gibbs. Post-partum depression is fairly common, especially in cases of older women giving birth."
"Depression?"
"Yes, Gibbs. It exhibits itself in all sorts of forms post-partum. In Jack's case, it is showing as high levels of anxiety surrounding Jackson and apathy towards anything else. It's caused by the sudden and extreme hormone shifts women face after delivering. It is unknown why some patients face it and others don't, but Jack is, and there is nothing we can do about that except help her through it. We just have to be there for her, find out what triggers responses and episodes, and help her realize that there is nothing wrong with her, but that what she is feeling is natural and will eventually go away. It would really help if we could get her seeing a psychologist; since Jack herself is one, it is hard for anyone else to reach her. I can get you in touch with some referrals to some of my colleagues if you need."
"No, doc, I have just the woman for the job. She's been there through some of both Jack and my darkest times."
"Okay, great. You will need to get me in touch with this doctor though, I would like to stay in the loop through Jack's recovery."
"Dr. Confalone will be here today. I will make sure she gets hooked up with you so you guys can get a game plan going."
As the two men were finishing up with their conversation, Gibbs saw the team arrive and walk up to the nurses' station to try and locate Jack's room, "Gotta go doc, the team's here," Gibbs said with a grin as he stood up from the bench. He had made eye contact with Bishop at that moment. He quickly approached them, being instantly met with a giant hug from his female agent. The two of them formed an almost instant bond when she arrived to NCIS; she quickly became like a daughter to him. Through all of the hell that the two of them had faced through their years of knowing each other, they only grew closer. This was the icing on the cake for their relationship though, something about seeing Gibbs so happy only made Bishop happier and made their bond grow. The rest of the team followed up with classic smiles, pats on the back, and "congratulations".
"Let me go let Jack know that you are all here."
"Uh, Mr. Gibbs…" one of the nurses said, trying to catch his attention over the bustle.
"Nurse Kristen, I thought I told you that it was just Gibbs."
"Oh, yeah, sorry. Gibbs, you're only allowed three visitors in the room at once."
"Oh, okay," he turned back to the team, "You guys can figure this out yourselves."
He went back into the room to let her know about the team's arrival. She didn't hear him come in, so he gently knocked on the wall of the entry-way of the room and said, "knock, knock," to catch her attention.
"Oh, hi," she smiled at him, which momentarily made his heart melt. That was the Jack he remembered falling in love with.
"Team's here. They're allowed three at a time in the room. I told them to hash it out who got to go first. Now, if this gets to be too much and you need a break for a moment or even until another day, just let me know. I'm not scared to kick out any of them."
"Got it," she chuckled, "Send the first troops in."
"Alright, then," Gibbs also chuckled. He went back out the door to peak it out and notify the team that they were ready for them. First up, of course, was Leon and Ducky. The three men entered the room quietly, Leon and Ducky taking in the sight. Neither of them could quite wrap their minds around the fact that this was all real and that all of the months since they found out about the pregnancy had led to this moment. Neither of them spoke a word, they simply admired in pure awe.
Finally, Ducky broke the silence, as was his custom, "That sure is a beautiful sight, wouldn't you agree Director?"
"I sure would, doctor Mallard," Leon said with a smile from ear to ear.
"Well, are you two going to just stand there in gawk, or are you going to come and officially meet him?" Jack and Gibbs had agreed to not put any clothing that would instantly give away his gender. They wanted to keep the team in suspense when they met him.
"Him?" Leon responded.
"Yes, him. Gentlemen, meet Jackson Kelly Gibbs," she said smiling at the two men who cared so much about her. It felt as if she were introducing her child to her father and brother. That was how close she was to these two men. The situation was almost overwhelming emotionally. As she reached out to hand Jackson to Leon, a tear rolled down her cheek.
Leon took the child into his arms and noticed the tear stream down Jack's face. He reached out with one hand to brush the tear off her face. He then looked down at the baby in his arms with pure adoration. This was the child nobody ever would have thought possible, it was the perfect mix of his two closest friends; it took everything in his power not to begin crying as well, "Hello little man; welcome to this crazy family. I hope you are half as strong as both of your parents because you are going to need it to handle all of us," he gently laughed, "Guys, he is perfect. Just the right ratio of Jack to Gibbs."
"What, 9:1?" Gibbs asked with a chuckle.
"Oh, shut up Gibbs. You know this dude will be a handsome devil with Jack's beauty and your steel blue eyes. No girls will ever stand a chance against him," Leon retorted.
"I concur," Ducky said. "Jaqueline, how are you doing? I know recovering can be quite difficult. How are you managing?"
"I'm doing fine Ducky. Thank you for checking."
"Now, Director, I believe it is time for Jackson to meet his grandpa Ducky," Ducky said, reaching his arms out towards Leon.
"Alright then, grandpa Ducky, just don't tell him too many stories. He will be a threat to the whole world if he has half of their good looks and half of your brain." Leon said as he bent down to transfer the infant to Duck's arms.
"Why, hello there Jackson. You will have to hear the stories of everything that led to you being here with us. I won't bore you with all of that right now though. I just want you to know how happy I am to meet you."
The four adults sat and talked for nearly an hour. They reminisced on the past and everything that led to this very moment. They then began talking about the future and how they saw it unraveling. Gibbs didn't speak much, he simply sat back and smiled, taking in the moment. This was the happiest everyone had been since Ducky took on his new role at NCIS. After a little while longer, they were interrupted by a knock at the door; in walked on of the nurses, "Excuse me, I need to take the baby for some of his one-day old testing," she quickly reached down to grab Jackson and swiftly exited the room with him. This instantly sent a shift in Jack's demeanor.
"Babe, why didn't you go with him? You promised you wouldn't leave his side when he wasn't in here with us!" she said to Gibbs.
"Jack, I'm sure he's fine. He is in the best hands at the best hospital. They are going to just run a few tests and then he will be brought right back here."
"No, Gibbs. You need to go find where they took him and stay with him the entire time. I don't trust them alone with him," she had almost come out of the bed at this point.
Ducky and Leon quickly rushed over to her side to try and get her calmed as Gibbs did as she said and left to go be with Jackson.
"Jack, hey, Jack. It's okay, Gibbs is going to go find him and stay with him. Jackson is okay."
"Leon, let me go!"
"Jacqueline, you need to calm down for us. Jethro is going to stay with Jackson, and everything is okay. What you need to do though is settle; this type of stress is not good for your recovery."
She finally settled back down and listened to the two men. Her rapid breathing began to still, and her eyes quit darting between the men and the door. She looked at each man in front of her, realizing exactly what had just happened, "Oh my God, I am so sorry guys. I—I don't know what came over me," she was almost in tears at this point from embarrassment.
"Shh… it's okay," Leon said, brushing his hand over her hair, trying to keep her calm and soothe her.
Ducky simply sat back and let Leon take this portion of the job while he continued to observe Jack's behavior. Leon and had an unmatchable bond; aside from Gibbs, Leon was the only person who knew Jack better than she knew herself. Ducky wanted to be able to observe Jack in this situation so he could properly assess her condition. Leon then decided to try and take Jack's mind of the situation until Gibbs returned, which ended up working fairly well. Jack was truly embarrassed and would do whatever it took to try and forget what she had put two of the men she cared most about through.
"We're back," Gibbs said, entering the room with Jackson in his arms. Jack smiled, but she didn't show the same emotion that had been connected to the baby since was a sense of hesitation in her, which worried Gibbs even more than he had been before. He didn't want what had happened to scare Jack from connecting to her son. "I told the team that we needed a bit of time before we take in some more visitors. They're going to come back this evening to give us some time to rest this afternoon," he handed the child back to Jack and placed a kiss on her cheek.
He then turned to the other two men in the room, "Thank you for taking care of my girl," he said lightly to them so that Jack couldn't hear, "We'll catch back up later?"
"Sure thing, Gibbs," Leon responded.
"Yes, absolutely, we will talk soon," Ducky responded," Goodbye Jacqueline and Jackson," he said as he walked out of the room.
"Bye Jack," Leon said, giving Jack a gentle smile as he walked out behind Ducky.
Both men left worried about their friend. They had not expected to see her in this state, and they did not know how long it would take to get her back to the same old Jack they loved. They knew this was something that clearly had Gibbs worried as well, and knew that it would be something that the three of them would need to discuss sooner rather than later.
Notes: This chapter took and turn I had not expected when I was working on it. I just thought we might need a little drama added for interest in this story. Next chapter the rest of the team will finally meet Jackson. How do you think they will get Jack out of this? How long will it take? Who will it take? Please continue giving me reviews and suggestions. I hope you enjoyed!