.
October, 2018
Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
"Ottoman Sultans"
Jenny Gibbs was not one who thought extravagant birthday parties for very young children were appropriate and – despite his penchant for spoiling their daughter and occasionally being more permissive – neither did her husband. For Anna's first birthday, they had celebrated in a very muted, family oriented setting and had not allowed gifts.
Her second birthday, though, fell a month or so before the due date of her sibling, and so in an effort to make sure Anna was firmly convinced of her permanent place in her parents' affections, Jenny had decided to give her a little bit more of a celebration.
It was still a small affair – small enough to be hosted at Jasper Shepard's townhouse, as Gibbs refused to let his wife take on the stress of being a hostess at eight months pregnant – but there were a few more guests invited than simply family.
Jackson had managed to come up from Stillwater, even though he'd already decided to come for Thanksgiving in November. The Vances attended, as well as Ziva and her family, and Saydie and Dwayne Pride, and to Jenny's delight Nina was able to make it; she'd been scheduled to be in New York for a research conference, and had changed plans at the last minute to extend her stay in the U.S. to not only include a trip to D.C., but to accommodate the accompaniment of her son. Noemi had made a cake, Gibbs and his Marines were grilling – it was pleasant.
Despite her original insistence that she was perfectly capable of hosting, Jenny was relieved she didn't have to.
"Kayla Lareina Vance, don't you dare touch that cake!" Jackie Vance growled suddenly, coming into the kitchen abruptly and catching her eldest about to sneak a taste.
"Mom!"
"You wouldn't dare help yourself to a baby's birthday cake before her, would you?" Jackie asked, slathering on the guilt.
Kayla sighed and shook her head.
"Go; see if Mrs. Werth needs help with her kids – maybe you can help her entertain them, eh?"
Kayla made a face and stormed off, giving one last longing look at the cake.
"I was going to pretend I didn't see it," Jenny said with a laugh, holding up a pitcher of lemonade. "Want a glass?
"No, I'm fine," Jackie demurred. "We're always more lenient with the kids that aren't ours," she said wryly.
Jenny nodded, and glanced at the cake – it was nicely sized and very beautifully decorated; Noemi had chosen the same violet and cream colours Jenny had always used as Anna's theme.
"She's not quite a baby anymore, is she?" she asked.
"Mm-hm," Jackie murmured matter-of-factly. "Welcome to the terrible twos."
"Are they really that bad?" Jenny asked warily.
She suddenly didn't want to think about having a newborn and a two-year-old at exactly the same time. She grimaced, taking a long drink of tart lemonade, and placed a hand on her hip.
"Kayla was a nightmare," Jackie said bluntly, "but Jared only had a few nightmarish moments." She shrugged, and beckoned, coaxing Jenny to rejoin the party out back. "We can ask around," she suggested slyly.
They went through the brownstone and out into the small, cozy backyard where the guests were milling around in the fall weather, enjoying a small fire in the brick fireplace.
"Ziva," Jackie called. "Terrible twos: all it's said to be, or worse – or better?"
Ziva frowned slightly, turning and surveying the yard. She caught sight of her kids, most of them gathered around Damon and Dwayne while they showed them how to catch fireflies in Mason jars, and pointed.
"Worse, worse, inexplicably perfect," she paused, searching, and found her youngest child – and only daughter – being doted on by Noemi, "still waiting," she finished.
Ellie Werth was merely a few months older than Anna.
"Zachariah was perfect?" Jenny asked.
"Everything about Zach is perfect," Ziva said, deadpan. "The other two I want to return to the childbearing Gods on a daily basis."
Jackie snorted good-naturedly, clearly understanding the struggle of rambunctious kids – and Jenny looked over at Ziva's rowdy, male brood.
"You like having mostly boys?" she asked suddenly, her eyes still on the kids.
Ziva shrugged.
"I would not have chosen it, I do not think," she said, "but I love all of my children as it stands. I would not change it."
"You like having a boy and a girl?" Jenny asked alternatively, turning to Jackie.
Jackie nodded.
"I wish Jared was the older one, but just for silly old fashioned reasons," she confessed. "You know – protective older brother."
"Ah," Jenny said.
Ziva looked amused.
"Ellie will never forgive me for having her last, then," she mused.
The three woman laughed, and Jenny took a seat on one of the wooden benches near the fireplace – it had gotten chilly quicker than usual this October, but she wasn't complaining. It was a nice day nonetheless.
"MOM!"
One of Jackie's kids yelled for her, and she went to go see what the problem was. Ziva, in an effort to save Noemi from getting stuck babysitting, retrieved Ellie and sat down next to Jenny with the toddler on her lap.
"Say hello," she instructed.
"'Lo Nee-nee," Ellie greeted sweetly.
Jenny leaned forward and smiled at her, waving. Nina sat down with them, leaning forward and resting her chin on her fist.
"Whose little girl is the one with black pigtails?" she asked cautiously, her eyes on Ziva.
"This is my only girl," Ziva said, glancing around. "Oh, I think that is Pride's daughter."
Jenny nodded.
"Ilija has developed a crush on her," Nina said warily. "He keeps pulling her pigtails. I have placed him in time out," she said.
She indicated to where her son was sitting, looking annoyed and haughty, in a corner.
"He stays there without you hovering over him?" Jenny asked, impressed.
"I threatened him with the wrath of his father," Nina said darkly, "and I asked Gibbs to glare at him once in a while."
Jenny laughed – Gibbs enjoyed glaring at small boys who annoyed little girls. It had become a favorite past time of his since Anna had decided she only liked to play with boys at the local playground.
"How old is Ilija now?" Jenny asked.
"Fourteen months," Nina answered. "It's unfortunate he's bigger than his age and walks better than he should," she said.
Jenny was amused at her lack of pride in his milestones, but then if he was in to pulling girls' hair …
She was glad Nina had been able to make it; she hadn't seen Nina since she'd been to her St. Petersburg wedding, and that had been ages and ages ago. They had, after all, both had children since then – Ilija was Nina's first and only, or so she swore, and he looked just like the swarthy, taciturn Russian Nina had married.
"Your research conference went well?"
"I made some good connections with east coast institutions," Nina answered. "There's a research fellowship I'm aiming for at Yale, to Petyr's chagrin, and I'm hoping to have it secured by the time Ilija starts school."
"Holly moved back, you're moving back – ish," Jenny said excitedly.
"You do not want to say in Russia?" Ziva asked Nina.
"Ah, no, not when it comes to Ili's schooling," Nina said firmly. "I'll move him here for the same reason my parents moved me here, now that I've had a taste of the motherland," she laughed. "My husband doesn't want to come to America – but only because he thinks we'll be forced to change Ilija to Elijah."
"You could call him by his middle name, if that is easier for American children," Ziva suggested. She turned up her nose a little. "I do not think you should have to change it for their sake, though."
"You shouldn't!" Jenny agreed.
"Well, it may happen of its own accord," Nina said simply. "As for his middle name – the poor mite would be called 'Dracula' his whole life if it came to be known his middle name was Vladimir."
"I still don't know why you did that to him," Jenny said dryly.
Nina grinned, and shrugged. She sat back, pushing her dark hair out of her eyes, and held her hands out, gesturing to Jenny.
"I'm still amazed at how good you look," she sighed. "You're on your second? You sure you didn't use a surrogate for Anna?"
Jenny flushed, and waved of Nina's compliment; she appreciated it, but she did not feel as gorgeous as Nina claimed. She was about to remark on how well Nina had gotten rid of her baby weight, when Jackie reappeared.
"Jared got a splinter," she said, rolling her eyes. "But look who I managed to steal away from her Daddy," she said, sitting down and passing Anna over to Jenny.
Ellie lunged forward and grabbed one of Anna's toes, giggling. Jenny shifted so they could reach each other better – babble, play, whatever took their fancy – and adjusted the green bow in Anna's hair.
Jenny leaned down and examined a small bug bite on Anna's neck and kissed it sympathetically, patting the little girl's shoulder.
"Did Daddy put bug spray on you?" she asked. "Hmm?" She nudged Anna's cheek with her nose.
"Da Da," Anna began seriously, distracted by Ellie. "Da Da hug."
"I know, he never lets you go," agreed Jenny, "because he's a basket case," she went on, grinning, "he's insane because he thinks holding you on his hip by a charcoal grill is safer than letting you get in some dirt."
Anna turned and scrunched her nose at Jenny, studying her a moment. She reached out and put one of her hands on Jenny's abdomen.
"Baby," she informed Jenny.
"Yes, but today is your day," she deflected kindly, and looked up.
She bit her lip and looked at Jackie and Ziva.
"I know you've only got one, Nina – but how did your kids react to siblings?" she asked the other two.
"Hey, I had to teach my dog to accept a baby," Nina joked.
Jenny grinned at her. Ziva looked down at Ellie playing a clumsy kind of patty-cake with Anna and shrugged.
"Well, Adam and Noah don't really know life without each other," she said logically – her first two sons were only ten months apart, by mistake or design, Jenny had never been able to figure out. "Noah loved having a baby brother," she said, pausing. "Adam was jealous, but he fell in to following Noah's lead."
Jackie nodded along.
"It's nerve-wracking, having another one," she said frankly. "Kayla and Jared are farther apart, though, she understood better. I think, you know, Anna will adjust – and it doesn't seem like there's much chance of Gibbs, at least, forgetting about her."
Jenny groaned.
"Yeah, he's a lunatic," she repeated.
"Aw, stop!" Nina cried. "Seeing him with Anna almost makes me want to have a girl and see Petyr act that way."
"You don't think Jethro would act that way with a boy – "
"No," three voices interrupted firmly, which caused Jenny to laugh, and both Ellie and Anna to jump, recognize the word as meaning stop!
Ziva ran a soothing hand over Ellie's head, and Jenny gave Anna a peck on the cheek, letting her know she hadn't done anything wrong.
"Speaking of boys," Saydie Pride broke in, coming up and crouching beside Jenny's bench. "I caught the tail end of the conversation – my husband is trying to marry off our daughter to this son you're allegedly having," she told Jenny.
"I've told Jethro and Dwayne and everyone a thousand times I don't know – "
"This is Dwayne, not Jethro," Saydie placated. "He insists that if it's a boy, we jump straight to betrothing him to Laurel."
"He used the word betroth?"
She nodded.
"What the hell is wrong with him?" Jenny asked, exasperated.
"When I ask him that question, he blames it on New Orleans," Saydie laughed, "but I highly doubt Louisiana has anything to do with him thinking we're in a Dickens novel!"
"Here's an idea," Jenny said dryly, "you have another girl, name her Estella, I'll perform some sorcery and make sure this one's a boy, Pip, and he's got a deal."
"I never liked Estella and Pip," Saydie sighed.
"Then we're at an impasse?"
"I'll go tell the husbands."
Jenny laughed as Saydie walked off to report, and she arched her brows down at her daughter.
"Gibbs would never marry you off," she told her frankly.
"He's on the Dad side now, huh?" Nina asked wryly.
Jenny rolled her eyes.
"He and my father are now this super united ridiculous team," she drawled, amused. "They still bicker like the Golden Girls, but they make all these grandiose statements about Anna when she's older and loudly agree – "
"Oh do they?" Jackie asked.
"Yeah, listen to this one," Jenny said brightly, catching Ziva's eye. "Gibbs all of a sudden declared the other day that there was no chance in hell Anna would be unsupervised in any boyfriends' apartment."
Ziva snorted, and Jackie burst out laughing.
"Did he forget the little apartment he used to lock himself up in with you?"
"No, more like he remembered what he was doing to me."
"Poor Leroy," Jackie sympathized teasingly. She gestured at Leon. "He's like that, too, though – it's funny how suddenly they realize women are people, too, when they have daughters."
"It is good for them," Ziva said abruptly. She stood up with Ellie, tossing her hair back. "I am going to make her us the restroom," she said, rolling her eyes slightly – Ziva was having issues potty-training Ellie.
She excused herself quickly, and Saydie took her place, this time with little Laurel in tow. Nina turned to her apologetically.
"I must apologize for my son's behavior – "
"No, no," Saydie waved her hand. "She's not hurt – she's learned how to say no, though, which is good and bad," Saydie laughed. "Though it seems my husband would be devastated if Saydie ran off with someone other than a Gibbs."
"What's Jethro's reaction to all this betrothal talk?" Jenny asked slyly.
"He's five seconds away from punching Dwayne – it's too funny," Saydie trailed off, and Jenny turned, searching the party until she met Gibbs' eyes.
He looked annoyed, indeed, but when he felt her looking at him he changed his expression, giving her a silent, questioning gaze that made sure she was okay. She nodded encouragingly, and then held Anna up, arching her brow – suggesting it was time for cake.
The two-year-old seemed a little overwhelmed by all of the attention she got when she was sang happy birthday to, and she enlisted the help of her father for blowing out her little two-shaped candle – which yielded Jenny a priceless picture – but she definitely enjoyed the small piece of chocolate cake she was allowed at the end of all of the hullabaloo.
The serving of cake and the looming end of the celebration saw everyone gathering for warmth around the fire, and Anna sat on her grandfather's lap next to Jenny, shyly smiling at everyone who paid her attention.
Jenny leaned back against the cushion Gibbs had gotten her, tired but content, enjoying all of the casual conversation.
"What are they going to name your baby brother or sister, Anna?" Saydie asked, shooting a smirk at Jenny.
Anna tilted her head curiously.
"Baby," she repeated. "Duffy," she added.
"She always says that," Jenny laughed. "We don't understand if she wants to name the baby after the rabbit, or if she means she'd rather have another rabbit."
"Can I name the baby?" Kayla asked, poking her godfather in the knee. "My middle name is after you, right? Then can I give your baby a name?"
"Kayla," Leon admonished softly.
"Her middle name is gonna be Kelly, if she's a girl," Gibbs told his goddaughter. "Know anything good that goes with Kelly?"
Kayla tilted her head, humming.
"Oooh!" she squealed. "Grace, like the princess!"
Gibbs pointed at Jenny.
"HA!" he shouted triumphantly, and Jenny resisted the urge to glare at Kayla for reawakening that desire.
"That is cute," Nina remarked. "How regal and – "
"Doomed," Jenny groused. "It's a doomed name. I'm not naming a baby Diana Spenser or Marie Antoinette or Anne Boleyn either."
"Spencer is a trendy name," Saydie commented. "For a boy or a girl."
"No, it's not," Jasper said, glaring at her. "Kid needs a good, strong traditional name," he said. "Trendy," he muttered.
Jenny shared a look with Saydie and Jackie and rolled her eyes.
She licked her lips, reaching to take Anna from her father and hug her close, fixing her curls and her hair bow again.
"I like the idea of choosing another name that's alliterative," she confessed. "Like Miss Anna Abigayle's," she said, tickling her baby a little.
Anna giggled, tugging cutely at her mother's hands to make her stop.
"Da Da, help!" she shrieked pitifully, and Jenny relented, while Gibbs smirked indulgently at the baby.
"That narrows things down, if the middle name is Kelly," Nina said.
"Know any good Russian names?" Jenny asked her. "Wait, what's your mother's name again? It's beautiful, if I remember – "
"Nadezdah."
"Oh."
"No, Jenny," Gibbs growled.
"There's Katya," Nina said.
"What if it's a boy?" Jasper interrupted, annoyed. "Its middle name isn't Kelly if it's a boy."
"It could be," Jackie said with a shrug.
She received glares from all the men in the circle, and rolled her eyes – but Jenny agreed; she didn't like Kelly as a male name.
"Name it after ME!" Adam Werth insisted, jumping up from his place on the floor.
His brother punched him in the shin.
"No, me!" he insisted.
Anna stared at them.
"No hit," she said loudly.
Ziva turned a sharp eye on her boys.
"You see? A two-year-old behaves better," she shamed. "Why should anyone name their child after you two heathens?"
Damon laughed outright, and then hastily tried to hide the laughter in a cough. He accepted an admonishing glare from Ziva, and shrugged.
"Hebrew's got some badass names, Jenny," he said. "I had to learn a bunch for Ziva," he pointed out. "Asher, Caleb, Daniel – "
"Holly would love that," Nina pointed out, amused.
"—Gabriel, Levi," he paused for dramatic effect. "Mordecai."
Ziva groaned at him, and reached over to smack his knee.
"That one's cool," Leon said, sitting forward.
Gibbs almost looked like he liked it, until he caught sight of Jenny's face and closed his mouth.
"You gonna make a guy's name all alliterative?" Jasper Shepard asked, glaring at his daughter. "Give him a bunch of pansy monograms?"
"Yeah, actually, I think John Jacob Jingleheimer Gibbs sounds nice."
"That is not funny, Jennifer."
She shrugged, amused, and looked down at Anna.
"What do you think?"
Anna shrugged, and looked around, searching until she found her father in the circle.
"Da Da," she whined. "Sleepy."
Jenny laughed.
Gibbs got up obediently, reaching for Anna, and Jenny looked around, arching her brow.
"That's it, folks – her majesty has dismissed you."
Despite her dramatic announcement, Anna did not have any interest in actually going to bed until the last guest had left and she had been allowed to pat them on the head and kiss them on the cheek – an action Jenny had not prompted, but later found out her father, of all people, had trained Anna to do.
Naturally, their little family was the last to leave, right behind Jackson Gibbs, and Anna performed the stunt for both of her grandfathers, giggling when they showered her with affection and kisses.
"And don't think you're off the hook when that new one comes," Jasper said, tapping Anna's chin affectionately. "I'll still expect just as much attention," he told her smugly.
Anna giggled, and beamed at him. She waved prettily as Gibbs walked his father to his car, and Jenny retreated to theirs, settling Anna in her seat in the back and falling exhausted into the front.
She hoped the car ride back to Alexandria, though not far, and the soft music Gibbs played, would lull Anna to sleep, but she was still wide-eyed – probably from sugar – when they got home.
Gibbs gave her a bath while Jenny had some tea and put away some of the gifts Anna had fortunately been given, and then changed into her pajamas and waited for them to be done with bath time.
Gibbs wrapped Anna in her fuzzy towel with adorable cat ears and brought her into the master bed, tumbling onto the bed with her so she giggled madly and was convinced he was throwing her when he really had a safe, tight grip on her.
"Night-night," he said, pointing to Jenny. "Night-night to Mama and Babes."
Anna crawled over to Jenny and puckered her lips for a kiss. Jenny snatched her up and tickled her lightly a moment, letting her lay down and snuggle up next to her while Gibbs watched from the edge of the bed.
"Sleep here," Anna said, kicking her feet. "Hugs."
She generally used the word 'hugs' for any type of cuddling she wanted, and Jenny and Gibbs understood it well.
"Anna-Bee," Gibbs began gruffly. "Night-night means we sleep in our own beds."
Jenny bit her lip, and looked up at him.
"I wouldn't mind," she relented unexpectedly.
Gibbs looked startled – Jenny was adamant that Anna not sleep in their bed, or in their room; she'd only relented when Anna had the flu as a baby, and once during a very bad thunderstorm that had terrified her.
"You feelin' okay, Jen?"
She gave him a look. She shrugged.
"I'm a little concerned, Jethro," she admitted. "I know it's hard to get her to understand what's coming – she's so little - -but I worry she will feel neglected. I know we'll love her the same, but a new baby is going to take a lot of my attention."
Jenny chewed on her lip, trying to make her worry seem sane and calm. She thought about this a lot, but she rarely voiced it. She didn't think Gibbs considered it a very big issue, but she did.
"There are horror stories out there about older siblings acting out against new babies – "
"Jen, Anna doesn't have a mean bone in her body," Gibbs said, looking at her like she was crazy. "It's gonna be an adjustment, but she's not gonna turn into Norman Bates."
Jenny wrinkled her nose.
"That's a poor analogy."
He gave her a look.
"Ottoman Sultans used to kill their siblings to cut down on competition."
"She's not an Ottoman Sultan, Jen," Gibbs said warily, glaring at her. "It's same as everything else, we got to learn balance. Triage."
"We aren't operating an emergency room."
"Nah, parenting's more like a battlefield," he grunted. "You triage battle, too."
"You treat everything like it's a battlefield."
"Well, I got experience there," he said, shrugging. "I got experience here, too, Jen," he added, stretching out and reaching to grab Anna's toes lightly and tug on them.
She nodded, glancing between them.
"I can't believe she's two," Jenny moaned.
"Yeah, she's two," Gibbs said, pausing to take it in, "and we didn't drop 'er on her head or leave her at a Supermarket – "
"She licked the pregnancy test – "
He ignored her and went on.
"We got a pretty good track record keepin' Anna alive," he drawled. "We keep doin' what we're doin', I think we're good."
"It's not our parenting I'm concerned about; I'm fairly confident in that," Jenny said dryly – and to a certain extend she was, because Anna was a very calm, sweet baby, and they'd never had any major challenges. "I don't want her to feel left out, or pushed aside – "
"You think I'm gonna let that happen?" Gibbs asked skeptically.
Jenny grinned at him – the look on his face, and his tone, implied he knew exactly how much she made fun of him for adoring Anna. She licked her lips and shrugged, accepting his argument.
"I wonder if you can spare your love for Anna," she laughed lightly, "or if I'm in charge of the next one," she teased.
"Anna's my first," he said simply, shrugging. "We have another one, I'll have more'n one to focus on, make it more equal," he pointed out. "Unless it's a boy, then I'll love Anna more," he joked, leaning close and making a face at her.
She grabbed his chin and stuck her tongue out, and Jenny kicked him gently.
"'M kiddin'," he grunted sincerely.
"You want a boy, don't you?" she murmured.
He didn't answer – he never answered when she asked. This time, though, he swallowed, and responded in a way.
"If I say I want one or the other, you'll think I'm disappointed," he said bluntly. "Healthy," he said decisively, and then gave her a look. "And don't you bleed on me again," he warned warily.
She smiled and scooped up Anna, cradling her close and stroking her hair back. She furrowed her brow.
"What names are you thinking, Jethro?" she asked.
He shrugged. Once again, he knew Grace Kelly was getting shot down. He thought a moment, and frowned a little. He was drawing a blank on girls' names that started with a K. He had tried to steer clear of boys' names, because he and Jenny's father always started arguing about them.
"You like Nicklaus for a boy?" Jenny asked quietly, rocking Anna a little – the toddler was looking sleepier by the second.
Gibbs shrugged. It seemed like a good, strong name.
"What about naming him after your father, if it's a boy?" she pressed.
"Your father would tar and feather me," Gibbs retorted bluntly.
Jenny laughed. He was right – Jasper would be pea green with envy.
"I like Caroline Kelly, but I don't want to spell Caroline with a 'k'," Jenny mumbled tiredly. "And I don't want her called Carrie, and I want a k name."
"Bossy, bossy," Gibbs growled. "You really hate nicknames, for a woman who goes by a damn nickname."
Jenny shrugged. She liked her name; she'd always been called that and it was too late to change it, but she'd always felt that Jenny had a certain inelegance compared to Jennifer, and she felt that way about most names.
"Anna," she murmured sleepily. "What do you want to name the baby?"
Anna blinked at her mother, and twisted her head, looking at Gibbs.
"Kitty," she requested thickly.
She'd been saying that word a lot lately, trying to prompt them to get a kitten, but it gave Gibbs an idea.
"Katharyn," he grunted.
"Hmm?" Jenny asked.
He shrugged.
"It's classic, traditional like Anna's – fits with Kelly, Kitty's an easy nickname for Anna," he explained.
Jenny looked at him warily, and then nodded a little hesitantly. He got up and turned the lights off, and then came back to bed, getting under covers and moving close. He kissed Jenny goodnight, and then ruffled Anna's hair, making sure they both had enough room.
"Sleep on it," he advised, and Jenny nodded, yawning.
Anna twisted out of her grip and called over to lay her head on his pillow and share with him.
"Da Da," she insisted. "Kitty."
He smirked at her, touched her nose, and put his finger to her lips to indicate she should quiet down and go to sleep – no need to keep Mommy up. Anna puckered her lips and shushed herself softly, nodding obediently. Gibbs watched his firstborn slowly fall asleep next to him, and then glanced over at Jenny – he hadn't ever admitted it, but he was anxious about Anna's reaction to a new sibling, too – particularly if they ended up with a girl named Katharyn, and had to try to explain to Anna that this was her kitty.
October, 2018
Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
-alexandra.