McGee was able to breathe normally again when the sign for Bethesda came up. He was not sure how long it had taken to get to the hospital. He was sure that no one could have gotten there faster. Gibbs had taken his already scary driving tactic to a new level. Maybe in a few days Tim would be able to look back at it and smile.
Gibbs phone rang again as Gibbs pulled up to the door of the hospital. He answered the phone as his hands told McGee to find a parking place for the Charger. "Yeah, Gibbs." He entered the hospital and headed for the elevator.
"Any word on Molly and Tony's condition?" It was Vance on the other line. "Ziva said the perp is dead and she is on the way to the scene and that Tony and Molly are on their way to the hospital."
"DiNozzo seems fine but Molly is about to deliver any minute Leon. Don't have time to talk." Gibbs looked at the sign when he exited the elevator looking for maternity.
"I sent Abby to help process the scene. Told her the orders came from you. Sorry to put it on you but didn't think you wanted her at the hospital just yet. I promised to give her an update when I got one."
"Thanks Leon. I gotta go." He hung up as he approached the nurses' station. He was thankful Leon had the foresight to keep Abby busy. He did not have the time right now to keep her calm. "I'm here for Molly Rydell."
"You must be Leroy." A young nurse stood and grabbed his arm. She rushed him into a room three doors down the hall. Gibbs stopped dead in his tracks and looked at his Senior Field Agent with pride.
Tony was on the bed sitting with Molly in between his legs. He had both of her hands in his. "You can do it Molly. 1,2,3,4,5." Tony saw Gibbs out of the corner of his eye. "Hey Boss." He smiled and then turned his attention back to Molly. His hands went to her shoulders as Molly leaned against his chest.
"Leroy! You made it!" Molly exclaimed with relief. Molly was in a hospital gown. She was sweaty from pushing. She grimaced as another contraction started.
"DiNozzo, move so I can-" Gibbs took his jacket off and began kicking his shoes off so he could swap places with Tony.
"On it Boss." Tony went to move from behind Molly.
"Are you kidding me?" Both men froze when Molly's anger flashed. "I am trying to push here. In this room I am the boss! DiNozzo stay put. I am comfortable. Gibbs you get over here and talk me through these contractions." Both men were shocked by Molly's take charge attitude and use of their last names. Neither men felt it right to argue with her.
"You heard the lady DiNozzo." Gibbs said when Tony looked at him for clarification.
Tony wasn't sure if Gibbs was okay with him being in the room for such an intimate moment. But it looked like he was stuck here whether Gibbs wanted it or not. "On your six Molly."
Gibbs moved to the other side of the bed away from all the machines and wires that Molly was hooked to. He felt her stomach and knew there was another contraction coming. "Okay Molly look at me." Molly closed her eyes as she began to writhe in pain. "Look at me." She opened them again and looked into his eyes. "Now push while I talk. Pay attention to my voice not the pain. Are you pushing?" Molly began to push but did not take her eyes off him. "I am here. We are fine. Our son is healthy and will be here to meet us soon. The harder you push the faster this can be over. This is the homestretch sweetie."
Tony continued to hold both of Molly's hands and support her as he watched his boss talk Molly through each contraction. It almost embarrassed him to be a part of something so private. This was a side of Gibbs he had never seen and no one would ever believe him if he told them about it. Whatever magic that came from Gibbs' voice worked. Molly pushed and relaxed and was no longer crying. She worked as hard as she could with each push. His embarrassment was replaced with pure awe when the cry of Gibby came though the air and interrupted his thoughts.
Gibbs felt every muscle in his body relax when his son was handed over to Molly. He had nothing left to worry about. Molly was safe. Tony was safe. His son had arrived and was healthy. None of them would have to worry about Hayden ever again. He was pretty sure Leon and the Secret Service would make sure CAMS would get nowhere near Molly again. Gibbs was even more sure they wouldn't get past him if they somehow got past the rest of them.
He looked up at Tony who was looking down at the baby over Molly's shoulder. He owed Tony more than he could ever give. He put his hand on his shoulder and squeezed. Tony looked over at him and smiled. "You did good Tony. Thank you." Gibbs looked again at the scene in the room and chuckled. He remembered the conversation with Palmer and Tony at Molly's Georgetown home a month earlier at Christmas time.
Molly insisted on celebrating Christmas with the team. Since all had holiday plans, they chose a day a week before Christmas and had a party. This meant Gibbs had spent the weekend walking around Christmas tree lot after Christmas tree lot until Molly- who had become more and more indecisive as the pregnancy wore on- found the tree that fit "perfectly" in her town house. He then spent over an hour getting it in the tree stand and adjusting it until it was "perfectly" straight. Then he stopped counting how many hours it took to put on the lights and decorations until everything was spaced "perfectly". He had to admit that as annoyed as he became with the whole thing, as he sat here and looked at his family standing around it; it had been worth every second.
Palmer was talking with Tony as Gibbs made his way over to them. He noticed Palmer stiffen like he always did when he noticed the agent. "Relax Palmer. Not gonna make you the Christmas goose." Gibbs smiled and slapped Palmer on the back.
"You will after you hear Palmer's theory on you and Molly Boss." Palmer's jaw dropped. He couldn't believe that Tony would throw him under the bus like that. "Go ahead Palmer. Tell him." Tony smiled as he took another sip of his beer.
"Well-uh-I was-We were just talking about what you said to me about Bree when we were working the Archer case." Jimmy stammered as he hated Tony more with each word.
"What did I say during the Archer case?" Gibbs was now intrigued but got way more fun acting annoyed and watching Palmer squirm.
"I was on the phone with her." Jimmy recounted slowly and rolled his eyes up as if watching the scene unfold in his head. "And you said 'you oughtta marry that girl Palmer'." Jimmy's eyes went back to Gibbs to check his reaction. "So I was telling Tony here that-well-um- that-"
"For chrissakes Palmer, spit it out." Now Gibbs was getting annoyed.
"I think you should heed your own advice and marry that girl-I mean Molly." Jimmy spit it out as fast as he could and then seemed to shrug away from Gibbs as if he was bracing for a smack to the head.
"Whys that Palmer?" Gibbs was actually shocked that Palmer found the nerve to say it to him.
"There's a rule about if Boss." Tony answered. "One of your rules actually."
"Yeah? Which one?" Gibbs now looked at Tony with a cocked eyebrow.
"Rule Five Boss. You don't waste good. You used that as an excuse to hire me. Look how long we've lasted together. Molly's good Boss."
"Can't argue with that logic, can I DiNozzo?" Gibbs turned to see McGee approach him from the kitchen.
"Uh-Boss- we got a bit of a problem in the kitchen." Tim indicated with his head for Gibbs to follow him back into the other room. As they made their way he started to explain. "I went in to get another bottle of wine and found her like this. She won't tell me what's wrong." As the door between the two rooms was swung open Tim pointed to Molly sitting at the table and she was crying.
"Thanks Tim. I won't say it's probably nothing because I would like to live to see tomorrow." Gibbs whispered to Tim. "I will take care of it. Go back to the party." Gibbs made his way over to Molly and knelt down beside her. "What's wrong?" he put his hand on the sobbing woman's back.
"It's nothing just like you said to Tim. Don't worry about it. Go enjoy the party." Molly said this all without removing her face from her hands.
"I want to know and help Molly. I can't if you won't tell me what's wrong." Gibbs began his usual song and dance. Her mood swings had gotten pretty erratic as her pregnancy went on. It was nothing for him to be laughing at a joke she made and then in a blink of an eye she would be crying or stomping off in a huff. The blessing was that she seemed to, deep down, realize it was the hormones and that nothing was as bad as she was feeling it was.
"Nothing is wrong Leroy. I'm just so happy." Her shoulders began to shake as she sobbed.
"Really? Are you serious?" He shook his head and stood up and wrapped his arms around her when she nodded. "Can you at least tell Tim that when you get back out there cause he was really concerned?"
Molly was so happy to see the entire team had made it to the party. She understood that in past years, Gibbs life, despite Abby's every effort, had been lacking in the Christmas cheer department. She could understand how difficult this time of year could be on Leroy. She was, however, unable to allow him to not celebrate it at all.
She didn't want to push the issue of decorating his home and having Christmas there this year since he was making an honest effort to make his life more welcoming to those around him. Leroy began having the team over more often. While Leroy had always made it clear to his team that the door was unlocked, they all still felt like they were intruding when they entered the home. They felt as if they were walking into his life with Shannon. Now, as Leroy prepped the house for the arrival of the baby, they felt like they were entering his current life. They had even had Vance and Jackie over for dinner.
Molly had also listened as Leroy began to talk about Kelly and Shannon. Talks of the baby and the pregnancy often lead to him recounting a story about Shannon's pregnancy or something silly Kelly had done. Molly knew that it was something special that he could share them with her. While his response to the memories was not always positive, she always supported him no matter what the response. He seemed to really want to find the peace that she had found after Michael's death. He wanted to move away from mourning. He wanted it for himself and for them as a family. Molly made it clear she was next to him every step of the way.
Molly stood with some assistance from Leroy. She wrapped her arms around him. "Can it get better than this Leroy? I mean having the team over as family. The tree and decorations are perfect." Gibbs smiled at the use of that word again. "Tony, Amira, and Leyla are spending Christmas with us and your dad is coming. Even Gibby seems to understand how great this is. He has been kicking all night. I couldn't be happier."
"Next year will be better because we will be sharing our holiday with all of them and our son." He rested a hand on her belly and felt his son kick. "You know what the best part of this was for me?" She looked at him questioning him with her expression. "Watching you wiggle your way in and out of my truck at all those tree lots." He chuckled as she swatted the back of his head.