What If?
Tony found Gibbs sitting in the NICU, his hand on Kelly's arm and his head against the edge of the warmer, asleep. Tony smiled; he rarely got to see his boss at peace. Walking over, Tony touched Gibbs on the shoulder, causing him to jump.
"Hey, Boss," Tony said, pulling up a chair beside Gibbs. Gibbs rubbed his forehead and Tony handed Gibbs a cup of coffee.
"Thanks," Gibbs said.
"How is she?" Tony asked looking at the sleeping form of Kelly.
"The nurse came over a couple times earlier to check on her, nothing seemed to be wrong," Gibbs said, taking a sip of the hot coffee. "How's Ziva?" Gibbs asked.
"She's still not awake. I took Chaim to see her. Thankfully he's not old enough to understand what's going on," Tony said as he reached his hand into the warmer. Kelly seemed to sense his presence and wrapped her tiny finger around Tony's forefinger. Tony smiled. "She knows who I am."
"She's a very lucky little girl," Gibbs said.
"Boss," Tony said quietly, his voice choking slightly. "What if she doesn't wake up? I can't raise two kids on my own and Kelly needs a mother." Gibbs stayed silent but reached across the gap and placed his hand on Tony's shoulder.
"Tony, Ziva isn't like me, she has someone to wake up for. She has you, she had Chaim, and now she has a new baby. Ziva isn't the type of person to just give up," Gibbs said. A single tear ran down Tony's cheek. Gibbs held out his arms for Tony and Tony gently slipped Kelly's hand off of his finger and let himself be hugged by Gibbs.
"I don't know what I'd do without her," Tony choked.
"I know, Tony, I know," Gibbs said. Gibbs pulled away and then slapped Tony up alongside the head.
"Ow, what was that for?" Tony asked.
"For being negative," Gibbs said. "I'll leave you alone with Kelly. I'm going to go look for Jenny, I think she's with Ziva."
"Hey, Boss," Tony said.
"Yeah, DiNozzo?" Gibbs said.
"Thanks."
Gibbs found Jenny in Ziva's room sleeping in a chair next to Ziva's bed. Gibbs came up behind her and kissed her on the top of the head. Jenny stirred slightly but stayed asleep. Gibbs took Jenny's jacket that was draped over the arm of the chair and covered Jenny up with it. Gibbs then pulled up a chair to the other side of Ziva's bed. Before he sat down, he leaned over Ziva and whispered into her ear, much like he had with Tony when he had the plague.
"You will not die, Ziva. That's an order," Gibbs said, and then he reinforced his statement with a gentle head slap. He then sat down in the chair. It was only a matter of time before Ziva woke.
Tony was still sitting at Kelly's warmer when Dianna came to check on him.
"How are you holding up?' Dianna asked as she checked Kelly's pulse ox and heart monitor and made some notes on her chart.
"As well as can be expected," Tony said, running his hands over his face and through his hair.
"How's your wife? Has she woken up yet?" Dianna asked.
"Not yet. I sent Chaim home with my friends," Tony said.
"Tell you what, I have something that might make you feel better," Dianna said.
"I doubt that," Tony mumbled.
"Would you like to hold Kelly?" Dianna asked. Tony's eyes lit up.
"Can I really?" Tony asked.
"Yes, it's called kangaroo care. Here's how it works, you sit in that chair with your shirt off and we'll take out Kelly and put her on your chest skin to skin and then cover you both with a blanket. It helps the babies bond with their parents and this helps babies with their respiratory and heart rate." Dianna said. Tony took his shirt on and sat in the rocking chair.
"That would be nice." Tony said as Dianna got Kelly ready.
Dianna gently picked Kelly up out of the warmer and placed her on Tony's chest. Dianna then immediately picked up a blanket and covered Kelly up with it.
All Tony could do was look down at the little girl on his chest. She was sleeping, and in her sleep she grabbed some of Tony's chest hair, but she didn't pull.
"This is so amazing," Tony said quietly so as not to wake Kelly.
"I'll come back in a little while to check on you two," Dianna said, smiling. Tony began humming a Hebrew lullaby. He didn't know the words, but he remembered Ziva singing it to Chaim when he couldn't sleep. Before Tony knew it, he was asleep too.
Gibbs awoke to someone placing a cup of coffee in his hand. He opened his eyes and saw Ducky pulling a chair next to his.
"Duck, do you think she'll wake up?" Gibbs asked, taking a deep sip of his coffee. Looking across Ziva's bed he saw that Jenny was still asleep.
"Jethro, I do. Ziva is an extraordinary woman and I have the utmost faith that she will wake up," Ducky said, looking at the lifeless form lying on the bed.
Dianna went to check on Tony and Kelly and found Tony asleep with one arm under Kelly and his other arm on the rocking chair. Kelly, however, appeared to be awake and was staring at Tony intently with big eyes. Dianna smiled and picked Kelly up off of Tony. Tony stirred and opened his eyes.
"I must have fallen asleep," Tony said yawning.
"It's okay, I understand. Going through this is exhausting," Dianna said as she placed Kelly back in the warmer.
I'm going to go check on Ziva, I'll be back later. Take good care of her for me," Tony said.
"Don't worry, I will," Dianna said with a smile.
A/N: So, did you like it? Was it sweet? Once again, special thanks to Ziva4Tony for all the help with the medical information. Please review!!