*Four Years Later*
"Happy Birthday Katiebug!" Tony said as he handed her a present wrapped in pink paper.
"Thanks." She said, avoiding Tony's eyes. Tim playfully scooped her off the ground.
"Who is that silly willy?" he asked a smile spread across his face.
"TONY DINOZZO NOW PUT ME DOWN!" Caitlin screamed impatiently.
"Now, I wonder where she got such a temper." Tim said sarcastically to Abby.
"Hey." She said as she narrowed her eyes. "You'd be cranky too if you were this pregnant."
"I know, I know." He said as he gently pressed his lips against hers. Caitlin was trying her hardest to get on Abby's lap, but was remaining unsuccessful.
"Mommy why are you having another baby?" She asked sounding frustrated.
"Tim, would you entertain her?" Abby asked sounding even more frustrated than Caitlin.
"Caitlin, do you want to go wait in the front yard for Uncle Gibbs and Aunt Ziva?" Tim suggested hopefully. Caitlin loved Gibbs.
"Yes!" She said excitedly and she rushed for the front door, Tim close behind.
Abby sighed. Being pregnant had been hard enough the first time, but now with a four year old running around it was practically impossible. "Tony, I think I'm going to go take a nap." She said through a yawn.
"Okay, you look like you need it." He said as he stood up from his spot on the couch. "I mean…" He stood there awkwardly for a moment. "I mean, that with you guys moving and all… you must be pretty dang tired."
"I know." Abby said quietly. "It seems like this will never end. I'm just happy that all our stuff showed up." Abby said as she motioned to all the boxes littered around their new four bedroom townhouse. "Now… we just have to unpack it."
"Abby, not today. It's Katie's birthday, relax a little." Tony said as he helped her off the couch.
"You know she hates that right?" Abby asked as she gained balance.
"Hates what?" Tony asked, oblivious.
"Being called Katie… She's Caitlin, and she won't go by anything else." Abby explained as she headed for the stairs.
"Sometimes it's hard to believe she's your daughter…" Tony said to himself, but she heard him.
"Why?" Abby asked, about five steps up.
"Well… she likes pink…a lot…" Tony said awkwardly.
"You know… I don't even want to know." She decided and headed up the stairs.
"ALL RIGHT! I'LL BE OUTSIDE!" Tony called as he pulled open the front door to reveal an extremely excited Caitlin.
"Gibbs Gibbs Gibbs!" She was exclaiming from the front porch. She wasn't allowed to get off the front porch in the front yard without an adult as they lived on an extremely busy street. Luckily their backyard was completely fenced in so she could play out back.
"Hi Caitlin!" Gibbs greeted her with a hug. Then he pulled out a long slender package.
"What is it Uncle Gibbs!" Caitlin asked impatiently.
"You'll have to wait and see." He said as he ran his hand through Caitlin's perfect hair.
Caitlin had officially been declared premature when she was born, but didn't have any organ development problems, so she had been released from the hospital just two days later. Abby and Tim hadn't noticed any real signs that she had been premature until she was about two, and they took her to a daycare center for the first time. She was much smaller than the other two year olds, and much thinner.
Abby and Tim decided she would be just fine, as it hadn't affected her health, but she was very petite. Her light brown hair which resembled her father's, flowed down in perfect ringlets, and her bright green eyes were identical to her mother's.
Early on Caitlin had shown a preference of dresses to pants, so they dressed her in them nearly all the time. This being her birthday she was wearing a nicer dress. The dress had a ivory background that was decorated with a pink and orange rose design. Both the top and the bottom of the dress were trimmed with white lace with black edges. The neck line, was ruffled and curved. Abby honestly had hated the dress Tim had picked out, Caitlin however loved it.
"You look beautiful today Caitlin." Gibbs commented, avoiding the topic of the tiara atop her head, another thing Abby wasn't super thrilled about.
"Uncle Gibbs did you see my tiara?" She asked excitedly.
"Oh is that what that is?" He asked, with mock enthusiasm. "I thought you had a perfect snow fall upon your little head." He said sweetly. It was true the tiara highly resembled snow, and it was meant to. It's light blue gems portraying falling snowflakes each time Caitlin moved.
"Thank you Uncle Gibbs!" Caitlin said in her sweet little voice. Tim was sure she would be a good singer at some point.
"Come on sweetie, it's cold out here." He said as he opened the door.
"But Aunt Ziva's not here yet!" She whined.
"Caitlin get inside that house this instant." Tim demanded, causing Caitlin to rush through the door and slip off her little white heels. "You may watch for her from the window." He said calmly.
"Okay daddy." Caitlin said as she grabbed her small rocking chair from the corner, and positioned it to face out the window.
"Where's Abby?" Gibbs asked as he pulled of his jacket.
"I think she might be sleeping." Tim said quietly. "I'll go check."
He made his way up to their new bedroom. "Abby?" He asked as he gently knocked on the door, causing it to open slightly, to reveal Abby, laying on the bed, but not asleep. "Hey Abs." He said quietly.
Abby groaned quietly and Tim sat down next to her. "Are you alright Abs?"
"I…don't know Tim. I feel like I should have had the baby by now. But I don't feel like it's coming…" Abby said as she shifted to her other side.
Tim gently rubbed her back. "Gibbs is here… and Ziva's on her…" He was interrupted by the doorbell. "Just kidding, Ziva's here."
"Help me up?" Abby asked quietly. Tim smiled and went around the bed to help her up. Abby though over a week overdue, still looked as beautiful as ever to Tim. Though some people found it odd that Abby had stopped with her regular Makeup application, Tim decided he liked her natural face much more than when it was covered with pigments and dyes.
"I feel so ridiculous." Abby said angrily as she buttoned up her red maternity top over her black leggings.
"You look stunning." Tim said as he planted a kiss on her forehead.
"No I do not Tim!" She insisted as she pulled her hair into a sloppy ponytail.
"Well you do to me." He said as he trailed kisses down her neck.
"Tim stop it." She said plainly. "I'm just not in the mood." She said as she swung the door open and stormed out.
Tim sighed. Abby hadn't gotten this far in the pregnancy with Caitlin, and he just wasn't sure what to expect anymore. Some days she was as happy as could be and others she was irritated all day. Today looked like one of those irritated days.
When Tim arrived downstairs he found Abby in the living room with everyone else. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, his hands resting on her waist. "I'm sorry Abs." He whispered into her ear.
"Go away Tim." Abby said irritably.
Tim deciding not to argue settled for grabbing Caitlin and pulling her squealing into his lap. "DADDY!" Caitlin protested. "I WANNA OPEN PRESENTS NOW!" She was close to screaming.
Abby started to rub her temples, obviously getting a migraine. "Shhh. Caitlin, you need to be quiet for momma." Tim instructed.
Caitlin, a bit quieter this time stuck her bottom lip out and tried again. "Daddy I wanna open presents now!"
"If your mother says it's all right." Tim said, instructing her to ask Abby for permission.
"Momma.." Caitlin said in her sweetest voice. "Can I open my presents now?" She asked, trying to be as adorable as possible.
Abby who hadn't been paying attention didn't respond for a while, then spoke up. "I'm going back up to bed." Abby said as she hoisted herself off the dining room chair.
Tim rushed after her. "Abs are you alright?" He asked quietly so the others couldn't hear.
"Tim I'm fine." Abby growled before trekking up the stairs.
"Daddy! Mommy never said…" Caitlin protested.
"It's alright Caitlin honey. You can open them." Tim assured her.
By nine o'clock that night the last person had finally left. Caitlin had had a wonderful birthday filled with presents, including a new party dress from Ziva, a charm bracelet from Gibbs, and two Barbies from Tony.
"All right Miss Caitlin. Bed… now." Tim instructed.
"Daddy momma needs to braid my hair still!" Caitlin protested.
"Not tonight." He said as he helped her find her new bedroom and a pink silk nightgown.
"BUT MOMMY PROMISED!" Caitlin started to scream.
"Fine." Tim said agitated. "I'll braid your hair." He said as he grabbed a brush from the shelf in the bathroom and tore it through her hair.
"OW DADDY OWWWW!" Caitlin now regretted her request. "STOP DADDY STOP!"
"I'm done Caitlin." He said softly, and Caitlin let out a soft yawn. "Come on baby girl." He said as he cradled her in his arms and carried her to bed.
Moments later he went to check on Abby. "Abs?" He asked quietly as he creaked the door open. Abby quietly groaned as she readjusted her position. "Abs are you all right?" He asked as he crossed the room to sit next to her on the bed.
"Timmy… I don't feel good." Abby whined, shifting her weight yet again.
"Abby are you in labour?" Tim asked hurriedly.
"NO." Abby replied irritated. "I'm just really nauseated…" Abby explained.
"Are you sure Abs? The baby was due a week ago." Tim reminded her.
"Yes Tim I'm sure." Abby replied with a glare. "Now let me go to sleep." She said as she flicked off the light.
Tim flicked it back on. "Abby I think we should call Ducky." Tim said firmly.
"Tim no. I'm not going to call Ducky at this unearthly hour of the night becau…" She started, but stopped in the middle of her sentence. "Timothy Mcgee I hate you when you're right." She said suddenly.
"What?" Tim asked, confused.
"I think you're right." Abby said, sitting up.
"About?" Tim asked, still confused.
"Me being in labour you moron." Abby replied irritably.
Tim suddenly jumped from the bed. "All right, Abby we need to call Ducky and get to the hospital." Tim instructed.
"I know that Tim…" Abby pointed out.
"Right." Tim said, and he rushed for his phone. He dialed Ducky's home first, no answer, so he tried his cell.
"Hello?" Ducky asked, speaking loudly over the background noise.
"Ducky? Abby's in labour, can you come to the hospital?" Tim asked, speaking just as loudly.
"Oh dear…" He said, a bit softer as if there were some sort of obvious problem. "Timothy… I'm not available right now." Ducky said cautiously.
"What?" He exclaimed, starting to panic.
"I'm in New York getting tickets for The Lion King with some friends. But I'll head your way as soon as possible, though I probably won't be there in time as it will be at least four hours." Ducky explained.
"Well Caitlin took almost a whole day!" Tim exclaimed.
"Yes… but she was her first, and was also premature… This birth will likely go much more quickly Timothy. You should get her to the hospital as soon as possible." Ducky instructed.
"Ducky, I'm afraid she might just rip my head off if I tell her you won't be here…" Tim said sounding scared, but he was unable to finish his thought as Abby screamed out in pain. "I've gotta go." He said as he hung up the phone.
"ABBY!" Tim called as he raced into their bedroom to find Abby leaning against the wall for support. "Abby what's wrong?" Tim asked hurriedly.
"Timothy, I'm having this baby now." Abby said through the tears streaming down her face.
"Shhh. Abs. we've gotta go to the hospital… Come on." He said as he reached down, picked her up, and cradled her in his arms.
"Tim… It hurts." Abby said quietly as he gently put her into the car.
"Abby." He said softly, unable to think of words to comfort her, he just kissed her forehead.
He swung around the car and climbed into the driver's seat, revving the engine.
Twenty minutes later defying all laws of motion, Tim pulled into the hospital emergency pull through.
"What's the problem?" A hospital attendant asked as Tim hopped out of the car.
"My wife is in labour, and insists she needs to have the baby right now." Tim explained as the attendant pulled open the door.
"All right, let's get her examined." The attendant said as he carefully helped her out of the car into a wheelchair.
Tim tried to follow them, but he was stopped by an attendant who told him he needed to go actually park his car. Grumbling the entire way about 'ridiculous rules' that 'shouldn't apply to me', he headed to park the car.
As soon as he found a parking space he rushed to go find Abby. "Abigail Sciuto please…" He asked the nurse in his haste.
"I'm sorry there is no Abigail Sciuto here." The nurse replied.
"Abigail Mcgee! Sorry… old habit."
"Room 100." The nurse reported, before turning back to the nurses' station.
"Abby!" Mcgee called out of breath as he ran into the room.
"Hi Mcgee." Abby greeted cheerfully.
"How are you?" Tim asked, stroking her hair.
"I would be better if Gibbs were here…" Abby said softly.
"Mrs. Mcgee!" A doctor came in, greeting her by name. "I'm doctor Jean Reynolds."
"Ms. Sciuto." Abby corrected instantly.
"Uhm… according to the charts…" The doctor started.
"No I'm not married." Abby insisted.
Tim felt hurt… until he realized something was different. "Did she get an epidural?" Tim asked the doctor.
"Yes why?" The doctor asked curiously.
"Ahhh. She's never really been under… medical drugs before… or any drugs for that matter. With our first daughter Caitlin…." He was explaining, when suddenly a realization hit him. "CAITLIN!" He shouted, as he pulled out his phone.
"Tony… We left Caitlin at the house….We're at the hospital… Can you please go… Thank you so much…"
"Katie!" Tony called into the dark house. "Uncle Tony's here!"
Suddenly Caitlin ran into the room tears streaming down her face. "Where's daddy!" She asked, obviously not happy to see Tony.
"At the hospital with mommy…" Tony replied. "You need to go back to bed young…" Tony's sentence was interrupted by the shrill ringing of his phone.
"Hello?" Tony answered.
"Hi Tony! Abby just had the baby. It's a girl!" Tim said excitedly.
"Congratulations!" Tony said enthusiastically.
"How's Caitlin?" Tim asked suddenly sounding worried.
"Oh she's fine. She was a bit scared, but she'll be fine. I was just about to send her back to bed…" Tony explained
"Don't I'll be there soon. I wanna tell her about her sister myself!" Tim said excitedly.
"All right then Mcdaddy." Tony said and with that he hung up the phone.
"Abby I'm going to go home and get Caitlin…" Tim said quietly trying to keep Abby as relaxed as she was, for as long as possible.
"Tim, can't you stay until the doctor comes back with the baby's test results?" Abby asked sleepily.
"Well… since I'm here with them now, he doesn't have much of a choice." Jean said with a small smile. "I have good news and bad news." She reported.
"Good news first." Both Tim and Abby said at the same time.
"The good news is the baby is fine, and perfectly healthy." Jean said and Abby sighed in relief. "The bad news… is… your daughter… she's not responsive to noise…We believe she's deaf."
Abby inhaled sharply willing the tears not to pour over. She had been ready for anything but that. If her daughter was deaf… she'd never be able to tell her how much she loved her.
"I have to go." Tim said abruptly and he walked out the door.
Abby's gasp quickly changed to sobs.
"I'm so sorry…" Jean said as she quietly closed the door behind her.
Tim didn't come back. Abby was sure he would have, but he didn't, which caused her to cry harder. "Tim…" She whispered quietly. "Come back Tim."
Author's Note: THE END! My goodness! This was such a fun story to write, and yes I am writing a sequel… SO STAY TUNED! However for all you readers, because I know there's a lot of you… A review of the whole Fic would be great! I want to improve as much as possible for the sequel! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING!