Disclaimer: Characters= Property of not me. Me= Hopeful no one sues me..

Chapter 5:

Gibbs walked out of the elevator onto the second floor of the hospital. Ahead of him was the nurse's station, and to the left was the waiting area for families of expectant women. Ziva sat by herself, flipping idly through a magazine. Gibbs walked over, a gift bag in his hand crinkling as he set it down on the table beside where Ziva sat. "How is Abby?" He asked, taking a seat next to her.

Ziva's shoulders rose and fell in a non-committal shrug. "McGee hasn't been out to tell me anything since he told me they were going to be having a c-section. She looked really nervous when I was in there earlier. She was all pale..I mean paler than usual Gibbs. Like she was scared. It is early for the baby to be born, yes?"

He nodded, but before he could respond, the elevator dinged, and Tony came out of it, carrying his own gift bag, and the hospital bag he'd been asked to pick up from Abby's place. "How is she?" He asked, approaching them.

Gibbs stood up. "I'll go and find out." He said, holding his hand out for the overnight bag that Tony handed to him.

He walked through the doors of the Labor and Delivery department of the hospital, and Tony took a seat beside Ziva.

Neither one of them said anything to each other. Both were thinking about what should have been between them.

Gibbs walked up to the nurse's station, and asked if he could go into the delivery room where Abby Sciuto was. She nodded. "She'll be going in for the c-section in just a few minutes, sir." The nurse replied, as Gibbs turned to walk into the room the nurse pointed him towards.

He knocked softly, and then opened the door. McGee sat on the side of the hospital bed, one arm wrapped around Abby, whose face was lined with tear streaks. He softly stroked her hair, looking up as Gibbs walked in. Gibbs could not cover the worried expression that crossed his face as Tim's eyes met his. "Is the baby ok?" He asked softly.

Tim shrugged, but Abby nodded. "Yes, the baby is fine. It has to be okay."

Tim kissed her forehead softly. "The doctor said that the heart rate keeps dropping, whenever she has a contraction, so they're concerned the cord may be wrapped around its neck, or…or something."

Gibbs nodded. "You'll be holding your little one soon, Abs." He said, walking over to the bed, and setting the overnight bag down on a bedside chair. He kissed her cheek softly, and patted McGee's arm.

They both just nodded, Abby's face turned into the crook of Tim's arm. The usually spunky and cheerful forensic scientist was scared and frightened of what was happening. Someone she loved was in danger, and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it.

Gibbs seemed to sense her thoughts, and shook his head. "You need to calm down, relax yourself. If you blood pressure's high, then getting stressed out only puts you both in more danger. I'm sure everything's going to be ok, Abs. These doctors know what they're doing."

Abby nodded in reply, but didn't trust herself to speak.

She was saved from the necessity of a response by the doctor walking into the room with a clipboard in her hand. "This is just a formality, Abby, but we have to make sure we are all on the same page. Please say your full name."

"Abigail Sciuto."

"Do you know what procedure you're here for?"

"A c-section."

The doctor nodded, and checked off something on the clipboard, then looked up and smiled. "Then we're all set. Tim, if you're going to come into the operating room, you'll need to put on these scrubs." She said, handing over a package of sealed scrubs. I'm going to take Abby now. The anesthesiologist is waiting to administer the epidural."

That said, the doctor released the brakes on the hospital bed and wheeled it toward the door. Gibbs helped her maneuver it around the machinery that was against the wall, and out the door. A pair of nurses met them at the door, so Gibbs turned back to McGee. "I meant what I said, Tim. Everything's going to be ok."

Tim nodded. "Thanks Boss."

Gibbs nodded, and turned to return to Ziva and Tony, to let them know how things were going.

A/N: As usual, more to come. Please review. Gimme suggestions, advice, comments and complaints alike..I'll take whatever I can get, haha!