A few weeks later

The day had come, the day had finally come. He had been waiting for this day for not only the 14 weeks since his son's birth but also since the day 32 weeks ago when Shannon had told him she was expecting their first child. Her due date. And it was going to be a day full of joy even if not under the same circumstances they originally expected, because even though it was 14 weeks too late to be the day their baby came into the world it was the day his and Shannon's child Anthony Ryan Gibbs would leave the Washington hospital he had been born in 87 days ago for the first time and enter the home were Jethro hoped he would grow up, And he could not wait. The 26 year old marine felt almost giddy with excitement and was as happy as a kid in a candy store because tonight his baby could sleep in the beautiful handcrafted cot he had lovingly made for him instead of the mass produced plastic hospital cot he was used to, and tonight Tony could fall asleep to the noise of nursery rhymes on his mobile and not bleeping machines and doctors and nurses and finally, finally Gibbs could sit by his son and watch him sleep all night if he wanted and not have to adhere to hospital policy which made him be forced to leave the NICU and his son at 10pm. He jumped softly as he felt Shannon's hand on his – why was she the only person who could creep up on him? - "Are you ready to go J" she whispered softly and at his nod she led them over to the door of the room they stood in pausing only as Jethro turned to inspect the room, his favourite room in the house, their sons room. He was proud of this room that he had painstakingly decorated late at night when the only thing on his mind was his little boy lying in a cot 20 miles away from him and his comfort and so to keep the mind of the fact he could not be there to rock his son when he cried at night, or soothe him back to sleep when he woke he carefully pieced together this room. Everything from the soft green paint on the walls to the homemade rocking chair in the corner had been done by Jethro himself in preparation for his boy's homecoming and now the only thing missing was the boy itself although not for long. As the pair turned back around and exited the room Gibbs could be fully complete

1 hour later

The NICU was decorated brightly with streamers and balloons, and even a banner transforming both the nurses' station and Tony's crib, from cold and sterile to warm and welcoming when Shannon and Jethro entered the room and the couple couldn't help but be amazed at the amount of people there celebrating their sons homecoming with them. Before he had ever experienced being a NICU parent Gibbs knew if he had heard of this going home party tradition he would have scoffed at it, sure that it was merely an attempt to gain publicity for the hospital but now after his own family's experience with the NICU and the numerous other parties he had witnessed he knew they were much more meaningful than that and, as he saw all the nurses – included Tony's primary nurse who had come in specially on her day off- doctors and even other parents lining the room and celebrating with them how far his son had come he couldn't help but feel overwhelming gratitude and he knew Shannon felt the same as she squeezed his hand softly " Thank you so much" they both said in unison, before Shannon, with tears in her brightly shining eyes was pulled into a hug by another mom Sarah whose son Jamie was in the cot next to Tony's and had become the couples close friend as the rejoiced together. Jethro took this as his cue to walk over to Tony's now open air cot. "Hi buddy" he cried softly, happiness filling him when the baby who was no longer attached to a single machine or piece of equipment immediately turned toward the sound of his voice. Tony knew both him and Shannon specifically by now and he cooed softly as the man reach out and gently cradled him in his arms. "Are you ready to go home?" he queried to the boy as he looked him over. The baby was still small, and weighed about the same as a new-born even though he was now more than 3 months old. Despite this Gibbs was hopeful that the residual effects from his boys prematurity would be minimal. The baby could now suck, swallow, eat and breathe normally, and the only after effect the doctor had seriously warned them about was his eyesight. However Jethro could not find it in him to worry too much about this as it seemed Tony was able to track objects and even if it was effected it was nothing in terms of what side effects he could have had as the doctors had almost guaranteed the couple the baby boy would be left with little to no neurological damage, which made Jethro feel lucky beyond measure.

At that moment Shannon came along beside him and he carefully passed their son to her before getting out his camera and snapping a picture of the mother and son, merely laughing when his wife scowled at him playfully. Seconds later however the woman was cooing over the baby as he reached out and grabbed a stray piece of his mother's hair, tugging surprisingly hard. " You've got quite a grip their baby" the woman cried laughing at Tony's puzzled expression " I can see a sporting career in your path" she joked, smiling once more as the baby snuggled into her seemingly agreeing with her opinion.

Their sons neonatologist suddenly approached them with a huge grin on his face " Congratulations" he cried "I'm so happy for you" and the Gibbs couple responded immediately with an emphatic " Thank you!" towards the man who was responsible for their son being alive today. Seconds later Shannon reached out and hugged the man tightly and Gibbs shook his hand to express just how much he had done for them. The other well-wishers took this as an opportunity and soon the family were being hugged and congratulated by everyone in sight.

These antics continued for more than an hour before the Gibb's departed from the hospital that saved their sons life for hopefully the last time. And as Shannon ever so carefully placed the baby in the safest – and most expensive- car seat possible to buy that the over protective father had spent literally hours Gibbs looked softly at the pair through the rear-view mirror and smiled softly feeling like his life couldn't get any more perfect

That night

Gibbs and Shannon were led in bed later that same amazingly perfect day and as Gibbs smelled his sons baby smell in his wife's hair he couldn't help but whisper "thank you shan, thank you so much" in her ear. Smiling softly as she whispered back "what for?" Jethro thought about all of the things he had his wife to thank for, true love, happiness, her strength and their beautiful, perfect son that he was convinced must be all Shannon and none of him to come out so amazing he replied lovingly"for letting me love you" before pulling her closer as he rejoiced in the most perfect thing he had ever made, his family.

An: Thank you so much for the reviews I really appreciate them. I am going to start with bigger age gaps now and the next chapter should be about one of Tony's big milestones, either first words or first steps. Please R and R