A/N: Thank you guys for all the lovely feedback! I see Gibbs in much the same way, as a father figure to Ziva, and he not only thinks of her in that way, but he has to consider what's best for his team, and her having one careless moment affects them all in the long run. But they'll get through it. :) And now, chapter 3! I have 5 chapters written and am working on the 6th, so you'll get new updates for a few more days before I run out of things to post, haha. :)

Chapter Three

As Ziva and Gibbs walked back to the squad room, Gibbs leaned over and muttered, "Go to Vance's office. I'll call Abby and Ducky and get DiNozzo and McGee to meet us." Ziva nodded and parted ways with Gibbs, going up the stairs to the Director's office while Gibbs returned to the other agents, stopping at his desk to phone the others not in the vicinity. His gaze rested on Tony as he spoke to Abby, telling her to get Ducky and meet him in the Director's office, and he watched as Tony's expression changed from curious to worried.

As soon as the phone was returned to its cradle, Tony's mouth opened. "What's going on, Boss?"

"Well, Tony," Gibbs started, already walking to the stairs, "I guess you'll find out in a few minutes."

Tony didn't need any further prodding and hopped up from his chair, taking a few long strides to hit the stairs, calling out as he went, "C'mon, Probie! Don't tell me you're not curious!"

McGee stood up and followed Tony, not answering him. He already knew what was going on, what they were all gathering in Vance's office to hear, and the thing he was most worried about was not how Tony would react, but rather how Ziva would handle this pressure. She was tough and could handle just about anything in the field, but this was different. This was about her, and like she'd told him the night before, her hormones were already playing their part in messing with her.

"Timmy!" The sound of Abby calling his name tore McGee from his thoughts and he looked over to find her bounding over to him, her eyes full of worry. "What's going on? Gibbs told me to get Ducky and meet him in the Director's office. He's not splitting you guys up again, is he? Or, or maybe -"

"Abby!" McGee grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to stop talking. She gave him a wide-eyed stare. "The sooner we get there, the sooner we'll find out."

She stared at him for another moment, then nodded and pushed her way past him, clunking up the stairs. "Come on, McGee!" she called after her when he didn't immediately follow her.

McGee shook his head and jogged up the stairs, figuring it was better for them to just get this over with, so they could continue with their lives. As he reached Vance's office, he found the Director himself with a frown on his face at the growing crowd in the waiting area.

"What's going on, Gibbs?" he asked.

Gibbs shrugged. "Need some privacy, Director."

Vance gave Gibbs the evil eye as he reached behind him and opened the door to his office, stepping to the side as the parade of people wandered in, all but three of them wondering the same thing as Vance.

As soon as everyone was inside (and standing in an awkward semi-circle), Vance closed the door and walked around them to face the group. "Well?" he asked, staring at Gibbs, and Gibbs tipped his head at Ziva, who was standing next to him. Vance directed his gaze to her and everyone else followed suit.

Ziva lifted her chin and prepared herself to reveal her situation. "Ah, I had Gibbs gather you all here because I had something I needed to tell everyone, and I did not want any rumors floating around." She looked around and saw that Abby was near tears and smiled at her, silently trying to calm her with the action. She then let her gaze flit to McGee, who slowly nodded, encouraging her to continue. She let out a deep breath and did so. "There is no easy way to say this and I know you all will have a lot of questions, so I will be as brief as possible." She paused. "I went to the doctor this morning, and he confirmed . . . I am pregnant."

It was as if the breath had been sucked from the room, everyone was so surprised by her revelation. Abby looked confused, Ducky looked pleasantly surprised, Vance appeared doubtful and Tony . . .

"Who's the father?" he asked, his tone less accusing than it was as if this were part of an assignment, a necessary fact to further their success.

"Tony!" Abby hissed, finding her voice and glaring at Tony. He gave her the evil eye back, and Abby turned back to Ziva. "You don't have to tell us if you don't want to. I mean, if you do want to tell us, I won't object to that, either, but it's your life. But you know that."

Ziva simply continued to smile at Abby, though it was bittersweet in nature. "Thank you, Abby," she said softly, then looked to Vance. "I do hope I will be able to continue to hold my position on Agent Gibbs' team."

Vance frowned, then looked at Gibbs. "I'd like to speak with Agent Gibbs privately." Gibbs raised an eyebrow, but didn't make any further movements, and Ziva nodded once, then turned to lead the rest of the group from the room.

As soon as the door shut behind them, leaving the group in Vance's waiting area, Abby came at Ziva and engulfed her in a gentle hug, surprising the Israeli only slightly. She pulled back after a minute, leaving her hands on Ziva's shoulders, and said, "If you need anything, you let me know."

Ziva smiled at her and said, "Thank you, Abby. McGee . . ." She trailed off as she realized what she had almost said and what Abby may think of it, not to mention Tony, but it was already too late.

Tony picked up his head and looked over at McGee. "McGee what?" he asked, and McGee looked over at Ziva, not knowing how to approach the situation.

"He offered his help earlier," Ziva said, only then looking from McGee to Tony. She expected Tony to make a comment about McGee knowing before the rest of them, but he just nodded. Ziva let out a breath, hoping things would lighten up after a bit.

After a few more moments of awkward silence, Vance's office door opened and Gibbs stepped out, Vance right behind him. Ziva looked over, waiting for the moment of truth.

"David," he said, trying to keep his face as stern as possible. Ziva nodded, signaling for him to continue. "I hope you like doing paperwork, because you're going to be doing a lot of it in the next few months. Agent Gibbs will be borrowing Agent Vickers from Carlson's team for field work. I'm sure Agents DiNozzo and McGee will appreciate the reprieve in paperwork themselves."

"Of course, Director," Tony responded, and McGee gave him a light slug in the stomach, causing Tony to glare at him.

Vance raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything about the exchange. "You're free to return to work."

"Thank you, Director," Ziva said, and Vance grunted.

"Thank Gibbs," he said, and turned back to his office.

Ziva looked over to Gibbs, who met her eyes only briefly before saying, "You heard him. Get back to work."

"Yes, Boss," McGee said for the group, nudging Ziva's hand with his and giving her a small smile before turning to leave, Tony and Abby following him out the door. When they were gone, Ziva turned to Gibbs, opening her mouth to speak, but he held up a hand before she could.

"Don't say it, Ziva," he said, and walked past her, out the door.

Ziva watched him leave, then let out a deep breath and did the same. There was no use lingering on how Vance may or may not feel about the situation, because she was able to keep her job on Gibbs' team and that was really all that mattered.

As she descended the stairs, she looked down on the rest of the team gathered in the squad room, sitting at their individual desks. The announcement had gone surprisingly well, much better than she had expected it to. But she knew that there would be some tension at some point, and the reality of the situation may only sink in once she started to show and it was clear that she really was pregnant, that she was in fact going to have a baby. The thought still blew her away herself, that she would, in a few short months, be responsible for the life of another person. But no, that wasn't right – she was already responsible for her baby's life.

"Hey," she heard then, and looked up to see McGee standing a few steps below her, looking concerned. "You okay? Gibbs said Abby got those test results. Wanted us to go check with her." He paused when she didn't make any motion that she was ready to go. "But I can go alone . . ."

Ziva looked up then, forcing a smile. "No, I am fine. We should go."

McGee studied her for another moment. "You sure? You're not having, uh, morning sickness or anything, are you?" Ziva's eyes flickered down and McGee's widened. "Not that you can't handle being sick, or that that's a bad thing. Well, you know, it sucks for you, but . . ."

Ziva reached over and placed her hand on McGee's arm, stopping his rambling. "I am fine, McGee. I do not feel sick." She smiled a little. "You are sweet to worry, but it is unnecessary. I am just . . ." She let out a sigh. "This is all a bit overwhelming still. I will get used to it."

McGee nodded and gave her a small smile. "You will, and so will everyone else, and if anyone has a problem with it, you tell me and I'll hack into their bank account and ruin their credit rating."

Ziva laughed at that. "Thank you, McGee. I appreciate the thought, though I do not know it will be necessary."

He continued to grin at her. "I hope not," he said. He looked around at the squad room below them, then back at Ziva, and said, "I suppose we should go see what Abby found, huh?"

Ziva nodded and followed him down the stairs and to the elevator, while Tony watched them from his desk. He frowned as he thought about his reaction earlier. He hadn't been exactly supportive at first, and still didn't really know how to react. Ziva was pregnant? How did that happen? Well, he knew how it happened, but . . .

"Got something on your mind, DiNozzo?" Gibbs' voice made Tony look over at the older man's desk and his eyes narrowed as he saw Gibbs hadn't looked up at all. He still didn't know how he did that . . .

"Uh, nothing important, Boss," Tony lied, returning to his paperwork and hoping Gibbs wouldn't press the issue.

"Mmhmm," Gibbs muttered under his breath, and Tony looked up again, then slapped down his paperwork on his desk.

"I just . . . I kinda feel like a jerk," he said, keeping his voice low so no one else in the area could hear. "I went and was accusing, when McGee did the right thing and was there for her. I guess I just . . ." He trailed off with a sigh and felt Gibbs' eyes on him, though this time, he was the one who didn't look up.

"You think you two could raise a child together, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked, not accusing, but maybe surprised . . . and a little sad for Tony.

Tony shrugged, looking up and meeting Gibbs' eyes, his expression serious. "Probably not," he admitted, then smirked, the humor in the action not quite reaching his eyes. "You think we fight a lot now . . ." His smirk died away then and he turned serious again. "It's probably for the best. Tim knows what she needs." He turned his eyes away then, pretending to focus on his paperwork again.

One of Gibbs' eyebrows hitched ever so slightly at Tony's words. "He's being a friend, DiNozzo. She needs that right now."

"For now," Tony mumbled to himself, and this time, Gibbs got up from his desk, striding over to Tony and giving him a gentle (for him) head slap. Tony winced and then looked up, rubbing at the back of his head. "What was that for?"

"If you're gonna break one of my rules, you better be damn sure of yourself, DiNozzo," he said, his voice low. He didn't say anything aside from that, just gave him a look that said he was watching him, and he didn't want to see either of his agents get hurt by something neither of them had all that much experience with – someone who truly loved them for who they were.

"Got it, Boss," Tony said softly, and a smile ghosted across his face. He opened his mouth to say thank you, but before he could, Gibbs was gone. He shook his head and returned to work. Gibbs was right. He always was. McGee was being the kind of man Ziva needed, being the friend she needed, and Tony knew that he couldn't be that for her, at least not right now. It wasn't that he didn't want to be, but . . . McGee seemed to know all the right things to say. The thought made him laugh – Probie, well-known for sticking his foot in his mouth, being the right person for this situation – but he knew . . . Ziva trusted McGee to be there for her, not be the pain in her ass Tony was known to be.

Tony closed the folder he'd been pretending to work on and leaned back in his chair, lacing his fingers together behind his head. No matter what the team's relationship was like, this was going to change everything.