Tony looked around the small room he and Molly had been shoved into. It was about ten feet by ten feet. It was a section of the basement of the home they had been brought to in an affluent neighborhood near Bethesda. It looked as if someone just put up some studs and slapped some plywood over it. The door wasn't even a real door. It was two by fours covered on both sides with plywood. Any light in the room would be leaked from the basement light through the spaces between the support beams on the ceiling or the tiny window at the ground level. When the kidnapper had left they turned out the basement light but some light was coming in from the street lights and the moon outside.
The room was sparsely furnished. There were two old stuffed chairs and a full size bed. There were a few bottles of water as well. Tony had been pacing the room trying to find anything that would get them out. If he started breaking the walls down then the kidnapper would come down for sure. He could not risk pissing him off. Neither one of them could fit out the tiny window. If it were during the day he would consider breaking the glass and screaming for help. Doing that at 1am would only accomplish freezing themselves. He had to get them out of there. Gibbs would expect nothing less of him.
"You know that even if they get what they want they are going to kill us if we don't get out of here." Molly finally broke the silence. She had been thinking it a while. She knew Leroy was doing all he could. She knew his team was out there searching for them. She also knew there was very little Tony could do from where they were. "They are not going to allow us to live. If they were going to he would have covered our eyes to make sure we couldn't see where they were keeping us. He would have worn a mask or something to hide his face." Molly rubbed her stomach again as a contraction wreaked havoc on her abdomen. She was not sure how much longer she was going to be able to keep the added pressure of knowing she was in labor off of Tony.
Tony dropped to the chair next to her and took her hand. "Listen Molly, I respect you too much to lie to you. You are right. If they were going to let us live they would have done those things. With that said you have to understand how Boss works. He will not allow us to die. He will not lose you and this baby. Quite frankly Molly, I don't think he will survive it if that's how this ended. Gibbs will do whatever he has to do to get us out of here. Until that happens I am going to do whatever I have to do to keep you comfortable and safe until he gets here." He stood up and pulled her by the hand. "Why don't you lie down and try to sleep. You'll need your rest if I find a way to get us out of here."
Molly stood up and moved towards the bed. "I can lay here all you want but I am not going to be able to sleep Tony. There is only one position I can sleep in and it's not possible here." She took her long jacket off and sat on the bed.
"What? Do you do sleep hanging from the ceiling?" Tony looked confused. "There's a bed. You can situate yourself in any position. Whatever you have to do to get some sleep."
"I have not slept in my own townhouse in a month Tony. You want to know why? Because I can only sleep with Leroy cuddled up behind me with his hand rubbing my belly until I fall asleep. If he moves from that spot I wake up. It's quite frustrating for him because when he has a hard time sleeping he can't go work in the basement or I'm awake." Molly pulled the covers down and lay on her side facing Tony. "If I have a hard day at work I go home and soak in my massive whirlpool tub. I then get in my pajamas and drive to Leroy's house. Seeing me waddle into his house in my pajamas and coat is the only part he finds amusing."
"I'm sure it doesn't bother him that bad Molly. He will happily do whatever you need him to do. I can't tell you how happy he has been since the news that Gibby was on the way."
"I know he will do whatever I need him too. He may even be all too happy to do it. Does not mean he likes to lie there all night looking around the room when he could be down working on a project until he passes out. Either way, whether he likes it or not, it's what I need and since he is not here I am not going to be able to sleep."
"Ok. I know I'm not Gibbs but I am going to give it a shot." Tony crawled up behind Molly from the foot of the bed.
"Really Tony you don't have to do this. I know it must be weird. I can just rest. I don't have to sleep." Molly felt bad for Tony. It would have to be uncomfortable cuddling up to your boss' pregnant girlfriend. Especially when your boss was Leroy Jethro Gibbs.
"Boss is already gonna beat me into next week for this whole situation. If I don't try to keep you comfortable it's just going to be worse." He put his arm over her side and began to rub her large belly. "I can't help but think how great it is that Gibbs is going to be a father again. He is great with kids. We all knew he was a natural father. Made the whole Kelly and Shannon situation much sadder."
"He was so resigned to the idea that he was never going to get to be a father again. I am so happy to be able to give him this gift Tony. Really there is no one on this earth who deserves it more. I think you all already knew that though." Molly sighed as Tony continued to rub her belly.
After a few minutes Tony noticed a change in Molly's breathing and in her abdomen. Her breathes became shallow as her abdomen became hard under his hand. "Molly, um, I'm not expert but are you by chance having contractions?" He felt her nod her head. She was trying to control her breathing. "Okay. Take my hand." He offered his hand out and she grabbed it and squeezed as she worked through the pain. Tony just prayed that this did not mean what he thought it meant. Once her abdomen softened under his other hand he asked, "How long has this been happening? What kind of scenario are we looking at Molly? I need to know."
"I have been having contractions all night really. My water broke when I we were first dealing with the kidnapper in the Escalade." She felt Tony take in a sharp breathe. "It's okay Tony we have hours I'm sure. The contractions are far apart. It's only been three hours since it broke. Long labors run in the family. I will be fine."
"Why didn't you tell me Molly?" Tony moved back to rubbing her belly. He wasn't sure who it was relaxing more.
"You are already freaking out about what was going to happen when Leroy got here. You are worried he is going to blame you which he is not. You are worried about getting us out of here so that maybe you can save face in front of Leroy which you do not need to do. I did not want to add the pressure of knowing I am in labor on you." It all made logical sense to her.
"You are a female Gibbs. Plain and simple. Always out to protect everyone else and not once think about the consequences to yourself. Well I have to say two things. First of all it's frustrating as hell for the people who love you. Second, you all need to start thinking of yourselves because you have a baby to stay well for. You are not the only ones who the consequences of your actions effect."
Molly knew Tony was right. She was always willing to take the burden when it came to those she loved. That was one of the reasons it had taken her three months to tell Leroy she was pregnant. But with Gibby on the way things would have to change soon. She thought that may come more naturally to Leroy. She was unsure how she was going to manage it for herself.
Molly stood in the kitchen of her townhouse cutting up vegetables for a salad when she heard the front door close. She knew it was Leroy. She had called him earlier to see if he wanted to have dinner at her place tonight. He had closed his case by late afternoon and called to say he would be running late due to paperwork. She had postponed dinner until she got his call saying he was on his way. The delay to dinner was a blessing and a curse. She had news for him but was unsure how he was going to take it. His late arrival had given her more time to think and more time to worry.
His hand came from behind her and took a cherry tomato out of the carton and popped it into his mouth. He then placed a kiss on her cheek. "Smells good."
"Me or the dinner?" She laughed as his breath tickled her ear.
"Both." He walked over to the fridge and opened the door. He grabbed one of the beers she kept stocked just for him and twisted the cap off. "How was your day?"
"You know the usual. Press briefing, listen to Fox News bitch for half the morning, releasing the President's vacation schedule for next month, wondering how I can finagle my way into the vacation…" she started laughing at her last item on her list. "Yours? You said you got your guy."
"The usual. Avoiding the press at the scene, listen to Vance bitch half the morning, releasing nothing since I'm in the catching business not the releasing business, and trying to finagle my way into the President's vacation." He smirked at her. She loved that smirk. The half grin he gave when he found something amusing. All though, when she could get a full smile out of him, she swore every bone in her body just melted.
Gibbs watched her as she finished mixing the salad. She had told him over the phone she had something she needed to discuss with him. He hated it when women needed to discuss something. Very rarely was it good. But Molly seemed like she was in her usual good mood. It couldn't be all that life altering could it? He assisted her in moving all the food to the already set dinner table. He watched as she grabbed a bottle of water out of the refrigerator. This was becoming a regular habit for her. She used to drink wine with dinner but he had not seen her drink wine in ages. He would have to ask her about it. Maybe she was on some health kick campaign that the First Lady was promoting. It would make sense. He had noticed she had put on a few pounds lately but hell would freeze over before he said anything. Not that there was anything to say. She still turned him on just by walking into the room.
Molly took a breath and decided she was just going to spit it out. She was not going to delay it any longer. She was originally going to wait until after dinner but her stomach was doing flip flops as it was. She wasn't going to be able to eat until it was out of the way. She watched Leroy scoop potatoes on his plate. She hoped he would be there to finish them once the conversation was over. "So I wanted to talk to you about something. And, uh, I know you hate rambling but you need me to let me get everything I need to say out before you respond. Ok?"
Gibbs looked at her and nodded. His blue eyes gave away a look of concern. She did not want to keep him in suspense. It wasn't fair. With three ex-wives, she could only imagine how many terrible conversations he had had that started out with the sentence she had just started with. "So I have news and I'm not sure how you are going to take it." She pressed on. It was going to have to be like removing a band-aid. Just rip it off. "I just need you to know that I want your honest response. I don't want what you think you should do, or what society dictates you should do. I want your honest feelings. I am a big girl and I can take whatever you have to say. You are not going to hurt my feelings. You have a right to feel whatever you may feel. Ok?" Again a nod. "Leroy." She closed her eyes and took a breath. "I'm pregnant." When she opened her eyes and looked at him it was the first time she could not tell what he was thinking by looking into his eyes. "I need you to know that it is yours. I have not been with anyone else. I did not intend for this to happen. I was unsure how it could have happened until recently. They actually just issued a recall on my birth control last week and I had a batch that was in the recalled lot. I have decided to keep the baby. Really, for me, there is no other option. However, I want you to do what you feel is right for you. You can be as active or inactive in this baby's life has you want. I will absolutely not hold it against you if you walk out now. This was not an intentional thing. We were careful. I know it was not your intention of having a child with me and that's why if you want out I understand." She took a deep breath. She felt like she had rushed through the last "disclaimers" without breathing in between. "Okay. I'm done."
Leroy put his fork down and sat looking at her. Had he heard her correctly? Of all the things he had run through his mind he "didn't think it would be that." He took a breath when he realized he had said the last part out loud. She sat there looking back at him. She looked so forlorn. She was honestly unsure of what he was going to do. This was the first time he had ever seen her unsure of anything. He did not like it. He did the only thing he could think of. He stood up and pulled her out of her chair. He wrapped her in an embrace and kissed the forlorn off her face. He felt the tension in her body melt away. When he stepped back he was smiling and he felt like his heart was going to burst with happiness. "I know this was not the plan. I would never question your motives and morals. I'm not concerned with all that stuff you felt like you needed to add on. I am concerned that you thought I may walk out of here and not look back. I would hope you would know me better than that." He sat back down at his place at the table but kept her hand in his.
"I hoped you would want to do this with me. But I needed it to be because you wanted to Leroy. Not because you had to." She reached out from underneath her cloth placemat and pulled out two slips of black and white paper. She handed them to him. They were her sonograms.
"Wait, you have these already? How far along are we in this process Molly?" He looked at the pictures she had handed in awe.
"14 weeks." This was the part she knew he was going to have the issue with. She had kept this in for three months. Leroy did not like secrets. This was the biggest secret possible. She hoped he could understand her reasons.
"Molly, that's over three months. You can't tell me you just found out. These are dated over the last two months." Leroy ran his finger over the spot where the arrow was pointing on the picture.
"Miscarriages in the first trimester run high in my family. I was afraid to tell you just to have the pregnancy end like that. I did not want to see you have to go through the loss of another child Leroy. I couldn't do that to you. I couldn't do that to us." She lowered her eyes to her plate and pushed some of her chicken around.
Gibbs could not believe she would be willing to go through a miscarriage by herself in order to protect him from the loss of a child. The last woman he was in a relationship with that would protect him like that was Shannon. His breath hitched when he thought of her and Kelly. A pang of guilt hit him for a brief second. He pushed it down. Not this time. They would want him to be happy. Shannon would want him to give his second child the life he failed to provide for Kelly. No, this was okay. "Molly, I get you were trying to protect me. I really do. From now on, we are doing this together. No secrets anymore. Even if you think you are protecting me." He watched as she nodded and took her hand. "Now, what about us?"
"Us? I thought we were good Leroy. Isn't that what you just said?" A look of concern came over her face.
"I mean, what are we going to do? Do you want to get married?" He did not mean it to come out as insincere as it did. He knew it was old fashioned but some women felt the need to get married prior to the arrival of a child.
"That depends Leroy. Did you have the intention of coming here and proposing to me tonight? I mean if there was no baby?" She was not being sarcastic. It was an honest question. She expected the honest answer.
"No." It was a simple answer. He knew she would not take it personal. She wasn't that type of woman. It was one of the many ways she was different from the rest of the women in his life.
"Good because I would have had to say no. Six months is not a long time to have been together. I do not want to rush you or me into anything. A baby is not a reason to change that. It would be for the wrong reason. I have no intention of being your fourth."
"You would be the fifth Mrs. Gibbs." He smiled.
"I meant I have no intention of becoming the fourth Ex Mrs. Gibbs." She patted his hand. "I like how things are now Leroy. I like how we are progressing. I say we just stay the course and the baby is a bonus. But this does mean you are going to have to put a nursery in that house somewhere." She smiled and turned to mush as the huge grin returned to his face.