"Caitlin!" Abby called up the stairs. "Your lunch is ready!"
"What am I having?" She asked as she stormed down the stairs excitedly.
"Pasta, it's in the microwave. Eat it upstairs." Abby instructed as she pulled a block of cheese out of the fridge.
Caitlin eyed the cheese and backed away from the microwave. "Can I have some?" She asked with a small smile.
Just then the front door opened and Anastasia came in. Mom what's for lunch?
No hello? Abby replied to her younger daughter before looking toward Caitlin. "No. Eat your lunch… Upstairs." She said as she started slicing up the cheese.
We're having cheese? Anastasia asked as she grabbed at a slice.
Abby swiped at her hand. No! It's mine!
One piece? Anastasia begged with Cailtin right behind.
"Come on mom you're hogging all the cheese!" She protested.
"THE NEXT TIME YOU FEEL LIKE VOMITING AT THE SIGHT OF EVERY OTHER FOOD THEN YOU CAN HAVE SOME CHEESE!" Abby signed as she yelled aloud.
That gave Caitlin an idea as she retrieved her lunch from the microwave. "Well… I'd be willing to share my lunch with you." She said as she set the hot plate of spaghetti on the counter near Abby.
"That's alright sweetheart." Abby replied as she felt her stomach jolt in protest.
Caitlin smirked as she pulled a fork out of the silverware drawer. "Are you sure you don't want any?" She said as she pushed the fork into it. "It's just so thick and squishy!"
"Caitlin Mcgee…" Abby warned feeling the churning in her stomach.
"Oh come on mom doesn't it smell delicious?" Caitlin gave it one last chance.
Abby glared at her for only a second before rushing to the bathroom.
Caitlin that was horrible! Anastasia signed towards her.
Yeah but I've got the cheese. Caitlin replied as she took a bite out of the block.
"And you're grounded." Tim said as he came in from his study.
"You're… Hi daddy…" Caitlin winced realizing her father had been home all day.
Tim shook his head as he took the plate from Caitlin's now shaking hands. "Caitlin go to your room." He said angrily. This is your lunch. He signed before handing Anastasia the plate. I'm going to go check on your mom… make sure that's not in here when she gets out.
"Abs?" Tim asked as he lightly knocked on the bathroom door.
"Come in." She said weakly.
Tim gave her a sympathetic smile when he saw her head laying on the edge of the bathtub. "You alright?"
"I'm going to strangle her." Abby moaned.
Tim reached out and put his arm around her. "Abby… I think we should get you checked out." He said gently. "I'm afraid you're getting dehydrated… And you've lost a lot of weight…"
Abby looked up at him angrily. "Are you seriously complaining because I'm vomiting?" she asked in disbelief.
"Abby…" He tried to rephrase himself but Abby quickly lunged toward the toilet. He moved his hand to her lower back and started rubbing small circles. Once she leaned back into his chest he spoke up again. "Can I please call Ducky? Just have him give an opinion?" He practically begged. "You can't even go to work you've been so sick."
"Fine. Call Ducky, just leave me alone." Abby practically begged.
"Honey is something else wrong?" Tim asked carefully.
Abby looked up at him in disbelief. "Can we talk about this later please?"
Tim backed out of the room. "Alright Abs." He said before shutting the door.
"Is she alright?" Caitlin asked guiltily.
Tim shook his head. "Get up in your room. I need to talk to Dr. Mallard, I'll come talk to you later." He said as he pointed to the stairs before pulling out his phone.
The sound of ringing sounded back at him before a familiar voice answered. "Hello Timothy." Ducky said.
"How are Ziva and Sienna doing?" Tim asked trying to hide the worry in his voice.
"Ziva's still a bit sore, but Sienna's doing great. Her vitals are rapidly improving." Ducky informed him happily. "However… I suspect that's not your reason for calling."
Tim sighed. "I'm worried about Abby." He confessed.
"What's wrong?" Ducky asked sounding immediately concerned.
"Her morning sickness is… quite extreme." Tim tried to word it. "She's getting dehydrated and I can tell she's losing weight."
"I can come check her out if you'd like." Ducky offered.
"That would be great." Tim admitted. "I think… I just feel like she's getting worse and worse."
"Timothy without looking into it I can't help make a proper diagnosis." Ducky chided.
"Can you… hurry?" Tim asked feeling the childishness in his voice.
"Timothy I will be there as soon as I can. I promised Ziva I would help her with something this afternoon. But as soon as I'm done I'll come over." Ducky replied sounding stressed.
Tim sighed. "Thanks Ducky." Before hanging up his phone.
Abby finally emerged from the hall bathroom looking sick. "Abs are you alright?" He asked as he carefully sat down next to her on the couch.
She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "I'm so hungry Tim." She said quietly. "I can't keep anything down… but I'm so hungry."
"Abs… are you in pain?" He asked gently hoping the answer would be no.
Abby nodded slowly. "It hurts… I haven't eaten much in weeks Tim…I need to be able to eat."
Tim looked at her in concern. "Come on Abs we're going to the emergency room." Tim said as he scooped her into his arms.
Abby tried to get out in protest. "No Tim…" She argued falling back onto the couch.
"Abby something's wrong and I'm not going to risk your or our baby's health." Tim insisted before calling up the stairs. "CAITLIN!"
"Yeah Dad?" She asked hesitantly.
"I'm taking your mom to the ER you're in charge until someone comes back." Tim said as he grabbed his wallet from the counter.
"Dad I didn't mean to…" Caitlin said immediately feeling guilty.
"Honey it's not your fault." Tim said gently. "But your mom's sick and I need to get her taken care of."
"Why's mom been vomiting so much?" Caitlin asked gently. "Is she… is she pregnant?"
Tim looked at her gently. "Honey, Abby will talk to you when she's ready… But right now I need to take care of Abby alright Caitlin?"
Caitlin nodded as she swallowed her tears. "I'll be fine."
Tim quickly went back to the couch where Abby was curled into the fetal position. He scooped her into his arms and carried her bridal style out to his Porsche. "Abs it's gonna be okay." He said not quite believing it himself. "Everything's fine."
That evening Ducky knocked on the Mcgee's front door. "Who is it?" Caitlin called through the sturdy oak door.
"It's Dr. Mallard Caitlin." Ducky replied. "Your father called me this morning."
Caitlin swung the door open. "Is mom alright?"
"I don't know I haven't gotten a chance to look at her…"
"Dad took her to the hospital this morning!" Caitlin exclaimed sounding terrified. "I didn't mean to Ducky I promise!"
"Caitlin will you be alright here if I went to go see what's going on with your mother?" Ducky asked calmly.
Caitlin looked at him in fear. "You don't know what's going on? Dad didn't call you?"
"Caitlin will you be alright?" Ducky pressed.
Caitlin nodded slowly. "Just… tell Dad to call or something… please…"
Ducky looked into her eyes. "Caitlin I know this has been a hard few days for everyone… and I need you to know I'm very proud you're handling this so well."
Caitlin nodded. "I don't know half of what's been going on and… I just want everybody to be okay again."
"Everything will work out darling… it always does." Ducky said gently before heading out the front door and to his car.
Ducky quickly called Gibbs on his phone. "Gibbs it's Ducky, I think there's something you should know…"
Tim ran his fingers through Abby's thick black hair as she lay in a hospital bed. She had fallen asleep almost an hour ago, and the doctors were still running tests. He could still see the light mascara trails down her cheeks from her tears earlier. "Abs." He whispered quietly before there was a small knock on the doorframe.
"Caitlin's worried." Ducky said quietly as he came in.
"She's not the only one." Tim said his voice a bit louder than intended. Abby began to stir in her bed. "They haven't figured out what's wrong… All they know is she can't keep anything down." He said quietly.
Ducky sat down in a chair across the room. "I sent Jethro over to your house Timothy." Ducky informed him. "Caitlin was a wreck when I got there and I didn't want her to have to put up with Stacey alone for who knows how long."
"Thanks Duck… I probably should have done that myself." He said sounding concerned. "I've just been so wrapped up with Abby and Ziva that my girls haven't exactly been my top priority."
"It's understandable Timothy." Ducky consoled. "Abigail should be among your top priorities anyway. In this situation she definitely should be."
"Tim?" Abby asked hoarsely.
Tim quickly turned back to Abby and took a hold of her hand. "Hey Abs." He said gently. "Do you want some ice? That's about what the doctors want you to eat or drink."
Abby nodded and Tim handed her a small plastic cup filled with ice chips. "Thanks." Abby said after she slowly swallowed a few pieces. "Ugh Tim…" She said a few moments later the ice feeling a bit too metallic in her throat.
Tim quickly grabbed the bin that the nurse had directed him to give to Abby in this situation. Tim winced as he saw her throw up more than she possibly could have eaten in several days. "Oh Abs." He said as the doctor came in with a nurse.
He winced as the nurse took away the bin. "Hello Mr. and Mrs. Mcgee. I'm Dr. Walker." The doctor introduced himself. "We believe we've made a diagnosis for Abigail."
"That's great!" Tim exclaimed happily. "Is everything alright?"
"Well alright, if you mean she's going to be fine then yes. However Abigail will need to have treatment to help with her Hyperemesis Gravidarum." The doctor explained.
"Excuse me?" Abby asked. "My what?"
"Well according to your chart you've lost a lot of weight recently, which we can attribute to your severe morning sickness. You're also very dehydrated. It's important to both your and your baby's health that we keep you hydrated and that you're able to eat." The doctor elaborated. "I would like to ask you a few questions if that's alright?"
"Of course." Abby replied looking nervous.
"Alright how much have you eaten within the last three days?" The doctor began.
Abby gulped. "Uh… I tried some crackers a few days ago… with some ginger ale… but I just threw that up. I think… I ate a piece of bread yesterday and kept that down… but today I didn't even try."
Dr. Walker took a few notes before continuing. "How often have you gotten sick within the past twenty four hours?"
Abby gulped when her stomach jolted. "Can… I not… think about that?" She asked uncomfortably.
Tim put his arm around her gently. "Hey it's alright…" He said gently. "No one here wants you to feel sick." He promised her.
"Tim… stop helping." She said quietly.
"Alright Mrs. Mcgee. I'm going to let you rest for a bit but we're going to have a nurse come in within the hour to hook you up to a feeding tube for now." Dr. Walker said as he hung her chart at the end of her bed.
Abby looked up at Tim. "Are you kidding me? I'm not… going to be fed through a tube."
Tim sighed and gently sat next to her on the bed. "Hey." He said before pressing his lips to her forehead. "It's for your and the baby's health."
"Tim… I don't think I can do this." Abby said tears coming to her eyes. "I can't do it anymore. That's what the doctor said after the last one."
"Shhh." Tim tried to comfort her. "It's not your fault honey. We've been over this so many times."
Ducky sensed a sensitive topic coming up once again and carefully stood up. "I'm going to go call Jethro, I'll be back later." He said before slipping out.
"Tim… when I lost Oliver… He told us we couldn't have any more kids. It would be too risky." Abby reminded him.
Tim pulled her into his arms. "Abby you know it's not your fault that you miscarried Oliver. Everyone knows that."
"TIM IT DOESN'T MATTER!" Abby shouted back. "I SHOULD HAVE PROTECTED HIM!"
"ABBY LISTEN TO ME!" Tim shouted over her. "He attacked you… It's not your fault. If it's anyone's fault it's mine."
"Tim what do you have to do with this?" Abby asked angrily. "I wasn't strong enough to protect him… not you."
Tim looked at her in disbelief. "Abby… it's my job to protect you. I failed when one of our witnesses was left alone with you in your lab." Abby sighed in response as she went back to the day five years back…
"Timmy you're lurking." Abby warned as she sensed her husband at the door to her lab.
Tim smirked. "So I'm not allowed to visit my gorgeous pregnant wife?"
"Don't remind me." Abby said sounding disgusted as she pressed her palm to her stomach.
Tim put his hand on top of hers. "Have I told you how much I love you recently?"
"I think the last time was a few hours ago…" Abby said softly.
Tim smiled at her. "I love you." He said before pressing his lips to hers.
"Mcgee!" Gibbs snapped. "What did I say about keeping it out of the office?"
"Sorry Gibbs." Abby said blushing.
Gibbs looked at her. "Since when did I call you Mcgee?"
Abby bit her lip. "Since never." She admitted. "But you have told me to keep it out of the office."
"Don't remind me things I've told you, unless you're aiming to get on my bad side." Gibbs warned her.
Tim smirked as he took Abby's hand behind her back. "Sorry Gibbs. It won't happen again."
"Good. Whatcha got for me Abs?" Gibbs said getting straight to the point.
"Well…" Abby started as she untangled her fingers from Tim's. "I ran the photograph through several enhancers and got a clear enough picture to run through my facial recognition software. You'll be pleased to know that the results are printing right now." She said before walking over to the printer.
"Petty Officer Turner." Gibbs read slowly as he squinted at the paper. "You got anything else for me?"
Abby grabbed Tim's hand that was settling on her back. "Nope."
Gibbs turned around to leave. "Mcgee. I can see your hands too."
Abby immediately pulled away. "Really Tim?" She asked in disbelief. "You can't keep your hands off me for five minutes?"
"I'm sorry you're just really… really…"
"Don't even finish that if you want to stay off the couch tonight." Abby warned as she sat down on her stool.
"You wouldn't." He tested her.
Abby looked up at him in disbelief. "Oh I wouldn't? Tony's got me babysitting some witness of yours later. I'm pretty sure I'll be in enough of a mood."
"Wait he's having you watch Dylan? The seventeen year old?" Tim asked in disbelief.
"Technically he is under eighteen which means he can't just be left in an interrogation room." Abby sighed. "Gibbs and Tony asked if I would mind if he hung out in here while they worked with a few other witnesses."
"Abs are you sure you're up for that?" Tim asked gently as he picked up her hands in his.
"He's just going to hang out in here Tim. I don't have to do anything other than stay in my lab." Abby smirked. "I'm pregnant, not sick."
"I know Abs." Tim said quietly. "I'll see you later." He said before quickly giving her a kiss.
"Yes… you will." Abby replied as he headed out. "And I'm gonna kill you…" She said under her breath. She sighed. "It's gonna be a long day."
It was late that afternoon when Tony escorted Dylan into Abby's lab.
"Hey Tony." Abby greeted him. "You must be Dylan." Abby directed to the teenager.
"Whatever." He said before taking a seat on her back counter.
"That bad?" Abby asked with a smirk.
"He didn't tell us anything." Tony said sounding irritated. "Other than that he wants a burger and his dad's innocent."
"Well it sounds like you had a great day!" Abby said sarcastically.
"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that and leave my problem…" He said glancing at Dylan. "With you."
"Have fun!" Abby said as she watched Tony head to the elevator. "So…" Abby began. "You're Dylan."
"Yeah… and you're Abby. Good to know we both can retain information." Dylan replied as he put ear buds in his ears.
"Okay then… I'll just be over here working." Abby said awkwardly as she heard him begin to blast his music.
About an hour later Abby was grinding her teeth. "Dylan?" She called across the lab.
"What?" He asked sounding irritated at even being talked to.
"I'm getting a migraine, would you mind turning that music down?"Abby requested. She stood there quietly as she watched him fiddle with his volume. It only took a moment for her to realize he was turning his music up. "DYLAN!" She tried again. "Please can you turn that down?"
"Why should I listen to you?" He asked angrily. "What did you do to deserve my respect.
"Whoa… Okay I'm not even that moody and I'm pregnant." Abby said in surprise.
Dylan looked at her smugly. "There's not even half you know about me and my dad."
"Look Dylan… I don't want to get into this." Abby said gently.
"Oh it's too late not to get into this." Dylan said as he ripped out his ear buds. "People actually say I'm a lot like my dad."
"Uh… That's a good thing I guess." Abby said feeling uncomfortable.
"Not for you it's not." Dylan said furiously as he jumped off the counter. "If you and your team had worked just a little harder, you would know he has a history of beating women."
Abby took in a deep breath. "Dylan… there's security in this building… If you do anything they're going to have proof it was you."
"You really think I care?" He asked grabbing a hold of her shoulders.
"Dylan… please." Abby whimpered realizing she was reduced to begging.
"Oh that's right… you're the moody one. Because you're pregnant." Dylan said slyly. "Let's make sure your baby knows what's going on." He said his eyes suddenly turning dark.
"DYLAN NO!" Tim screamed as he ran into the lab just in time to see Dylan's knee collide with Abby's abdomen.
Gibbs came in right behind Tim and immediately pulled Dylan off Abby and to the floor. "Tim take care of Abby." Gibbs instructed immediately.
Tim carefully lay Abby down on the floor. "Abs?" He asked quietly. "Come on Abs."
"Mcgee what does she need?" Gibbs asked holding a handcuffed Dylan in one arm.
Tim looked up in concern. "I don't know she blacked out."
Gibbs looked down at the ground and saw the blood pooling around Abby. He took in a sharp breath. "Get her to a hospital Tim." He said quietly.
"Gibbs?" Tim asked not realizing what was happening.
"Tim." Gibbs said gently. "I'm sorry…"
"Tim it's not your fault. It's mine." Abby said as she snapped into reality.
Tim grabbed onto her hand. "Abigail look at me." He demanded and Abby's eyes slowly met his. "It is not your fault Abby. Oliver was a great loss to our family, but that loss wasn't your fault!"
"Who's fault could it have been? He was inside of me when…"She started to choke out.
"Abs…" Tim said gently. "You can't beat yourself up about Oliver. You've done that before. You and I have a chance to have another beautiful baby and I'm not going to let you give that up."
"Tim… I don't want to do this again." Abby said quietly. "Is that bad? Is it bad I don't want my baby?"
Tim took in a deep breath. "Oh Abs." He said gently before pulling her into his arms.
"Tony have you seen Abby?" Ziva asked as she picked at her dinner.
Tony shook his head. "She said she was coming over later today when I talked to her this morning but I haven't heard from her since."
"Do you think she's alright? Abby doesn't usually not show up if she says she's going to." Ziva asked sounding worried.
"I can call if you want." Tony offered. Ziva simply nodded to make her request and Tony dialed Abby's number. After a moment of ringing he was transferred to her voicemail. "Hey Abby, It's Tony. You never showed up today and Ziva and I were wondering what was up. Call us back." He said quickly before hanging up.
"Tony something's wrong." Ziva insisted, wincing as she sat up.
"I'll call Tim." Tony replied immediately.
A few moments later Tim's voice came back through the phone. "Hey Tony." Tim said sounding tired.
"I just tried calling Abby but she didn't answer. Do you know where she's at?" Tony asked getting to the point.
Tim took in a deep breath. "We're at Bethesda."
Everything froze for a moment to Tony. "Mcgee… please tell me she's okay."
"That depends on your definition of okay." Tim replied quietly.
"Abby can't lose another baby." Tony said quietly hoping Ziva wouldn't hear him. "Two was enough…"
Tim cut him off. "Nothing's wrong with the baby right now. Abby's having quite a bit of trouble with morning sickness though."
"How much trouble?" Tony asked hesitantly.
"They think she's lost about ten pounds since she started getting sick." Tim said sounding scared.
"What does Abby need?" Tony asked immediately. "Anything… We'll do anything."
Ziva sat up even further. "Tony what's wrong?"
Tony shook his head trying to listen to Tim's answer. "Abby's doubting herself right now. She doesn't think she can do this again and I don't know what to do to help her realize that it's okay she's scared, but that it's going to be okay."
Tony sat quietly for a second. "Mcgee… I have an idea, but I don't know if it's a good one or not."
"I'm willing to try pretty much anything at this point." Tim replied eagerly.
"I don't know if Ziva will go for it…"
Early the next morning Abby was asleep in her hospital room and Tim sat awake waiting for Tony's arrival.
"Mcgee?" Tony whispered as he knocked on the cracked door.
"Is she here?" Tim asked as he stood up.
Tony nodded and Ziva joined him in the doorway holding a small bundle of blankets. "How's Sienna doing?" Tim asked with a small smile.
"Really well actually." Ziva said softly. "But they only want her out for a couple of hours at a time… They were pretty against us taking her out of the hospital until we told them we were taking her directly to another hospital."
Tim peered into the blankets and smiled. "She's perfect."
"Thanks." Ziva said smiling at her daughter. "It was really worth it."
"That's what I'm hoping to remind Abby of." Tony said quietly.
"I'll wake her up." Tim informed them. "You can take a seat for a few minutes… she'll probably be sick as soon as she tries to sit up."
Ziva furrowed her brow in concern but took a seat anyway.
"Abby." Tim said as he rubbed small circles on her palm. "Honey Tony and Ziva are here." She began to stir. "Is there anything you need?"
"Stop… helping." Abby said through her clenched jaw. Slowly she opened her eyes and sat up. "What were you saying about Tony and Ziva?"
Tim pointed toward them. "See for yourself."
"Oh Zi." Abby gasped as Ziva stood up holding Sienna in her arms. "You really didn't have to come. I'm going to be fine…"
"Do you want to hold her?" Ziva asked quietly.
Abby looked at her in surprise. "Are you serious?"
Ziva simply nodded as she carefully transferred her daughter into Abby's nervous arms. "No Ziva… you shouldn't let me-"
"Abigail Mcgee there is no reason why you shouldn't be able to hold your god-daughter." Ziva cut her off.
Abby looked at her nervously. "Ziva…"
"Just look at her." Ziva encouraged.
Abby looked down at Sienna and immediately smiled. "Hi Sienna." She said quietly. "It's Abby… You're a very pretty little girl."
Tim smiled before sitting down next to his wife. "Remember when Caitlin was born?"
Abby nodded. "She was so perfect."
"And Anastasia?"
"Equally as perfect." Abby replied.
"And this baby…" Tim said gently laying his hand on her abdomen. "Is going to be just as perfect as our two daughters."
"You promise?" Abby asked quietly.
"I promise."
Author's Note: YAAAY! So I finally got in a bit of the background info I promised! Did you like it in flashback form? Or would you prefer it if It came out in a conversation? I can try some of both if you'd like! Let me know! PLEASE REVIEW!