The next four weeks past quickly and Jenny found herself staring down the toilet every morning. At first she refused to even think about the possibility that she was pregnant, although that being said she had still given up coffee and alcohol. Anytime she reached for the stuff she was hit by an immense wave of guilt and would find herself turning quickly away from it. Eventually though Jenny faced the realization that she needed to know once and for all whether or not she was having a baby, it was the uncertainty that was tormenting her, which was how she came to find herself sitting in her doctor's office on that Monday morning.

Jenny shifted nervously in her seat as Dr Harper ran a quick eye over her test results before he looked up and smiled at her, 'Well congratulations Miss Sheppard, the home pregnancy test you took was telling the truth you are indeed expecting'

The older man looked at the shocked woman in front of him and noticed that she didn't look particularly happy with the news, in fact she was rapidly trying to blink away tears. He thought she might just be surprised by the announcement. After a moment or so of silence she managed to choke out, 'Right….so what happens next?'

'Well I'd like to do a scan to check the baby's development and see how far along you are, he gestured over to the examination table, 'If you could just jump up and raise your top and unzip your trousers and I'll go get the ultrasound machine'

He came back a few minutes later and Jenny took a sharp intake of breath as he smeared the cold jelly over her stomach and ran the probe over it. Jenny refused to look at the screen, instead she tilted her head back and squeezed her eyes shut. This couldn't be happening to her, in a minute she would find out that it had all been a massive mistake, that there was no baby and she could get on with her life, forget this had ever happened. That was when the loud sound of a rapid heartbeat echoed around the room and Jenny couldn't help but open her eyes, she felt them widen in disbelief as she looked at the blurry image on screen.

She followed the doctor's finger as he pointed out bits on the screen, he was smiling lightly as he showed her her baby, 'This here is the head, then we have the spine, the arms and legs and lastly an extremely strong heartbeat', he pressed down on some buttons next to the screen, 'I would say from the size of the baby and from how developed it is that you are eight weeks pregnant', he looked at her for conformation that this was right and she just nodded weakly so he continued, 'I don't see any signs of abnormalities although at your age you may want to consider having further tests to confirm this'

Jenny didn't know what to say, she leaned forward on her elbows to get a better look, still slightly disbelieving, that was when she saw the baby shift slightly almost as though they were stretching. That was when it hit her, this was her baby, hers and Jethro's, it wasn't just some nightmare that she could wake up from. She took the bit of paper roll the doctor had given her to wipe away the remnants of the gel and nodded as she heard him tell her he was away to print her a copy of the scan.

Just five minutes later she sat in front of his desk, the sonogram picture in her hands although she couldn't bring herself to look directly at it. She could hear Dr Harper talking and she tried to force herself to listen to what he was saying,

'Looking at your bloods you are pretty anemic which is probably why you are feeling so weak and tired, to combat this I'm going to put you on some iron supplements and also give you some folic acid. I also feel it is worth you considering whether of not you want chromosomal testing done, at your age there is roughly a 1 in 30 chance that this baby could have Downs Syndrome. The test itself does carry a small risk of inducing a miscarriage so you will have to weigh up whether or not it is a risk you want to take'

He looked up at her and saw that she was looked on the verge of either passing out or bursting into tears, all the colour had drained from her face and she was breathing deeply. She finally caught his gaze and in a choked voice she forced out, 'How would I go about ending this pregnancy?'

Dr Harper sat back and examined the woman sitting in front of him, he wasn't convinced this was what she definitely wanted, he could sense the confusion almost rolling off of her in waves, 'Miss Sheppard I understand that you have had a lot to take in today and because of that I would rather you took a few days to go away and think about what you want. I don't mean to sound harsh but it is not a reversible procedure and at your age this is almost certainly your last chance, if after a few days you still feel that this is the right decision for you then I will make the necessary referral'

Jenny looked at him, she wanted to argue, afraid that if she took the time to think about what she was doing then she wouldn't be able to bring herself to go through with it. Instead she found herself nodding weakly.

The doctor gave her a comforting smile, he felt an unusual affinity to this woman, she obviously wasn't coping with the news and he felt he should at least try to help, 'I think what the best course of action for us to follow right now is for you to make an appointment for a weeks time, that way you can let me know what you want to do with regards to pre-natal testing or a termination'

'I'll do that'

'Good, in the meantime I feel you should still at the very least take the iron supplements, they might even make you feel slightly better. I'll also give you the folic acid and leave it up to you to decide whether or not you want to take it. I have a free appointment at the same time next week, is that ok for you?'

Pushing herself up from the chair Jenny picked up the bag with her prescriptions in it and found herself saying, 'That's fine, I'll see you then', before leaving the room. She shoved her medication into her over-sized bag, the scan photo was still in her hand although it was dangling from her fingertips, the image itself facing towards her so no one could see it.

As she approached her car she gave her driver a polite if a little distracted smile before slipping into the back seat, almost immediately she rolled up the window in the car, she wanted privacy, some time alone and time to think because she sure as hell wouldn't get the chance once she got to work. Taking a deep breath she steeled herself and turned the picture around so she could look at it. She traced her finger over the fuzzy outline, the heartbeat she had heard seemed to echo in her ears and her other hand fell to her stomach. It still seemed like a dream, how was she meant to look after a baby when she could barely look after herself? She let the tears fall unhindered down her cheeks, it wouldn't be fair to bring a baby into her life, she would be a horrific mother, she worked at least eighteen hours a day, couldn't make relationships work and was fixated on the mistakes of her past. She tried to tell herself that it was for the best, she couldn't have this baby, she just couldn't.

The hours seemed to pass exceedingly slowly as Jenny tried to continue on as though nothing out of the ordinary was happening. She sat through a video conference with Sec Nav and a hellish meeting with the Chief of Naval Operations where he spent most of it trying to leer down her top. It was only just past two o'clock but already she wanted nothing more than to just go home and sleep the rest of the week away so that this nightmare would all be over. As she wandered down one of the empty corridors that held the interrogation rooms a wave of nausea hit her and she clamping her hand over her mouth she all but ran to the nearest bathroom. In the back of her mind she was vaguely aware that it was empty, something she was infinitely grateful for as she threw herself into the cubicle and for the third time that day emptied her stomach contents, she began to wonder if she should even bother to eat anymore since she could never keep anything down. She was so distracted by how awful she felt that she didn't hear the bickering voices as two very familiar agents entered the toilets.

Ziva stormed along the corridor, Tony hot on her heels calling after her,

'Zee-vah you know I'm right'

'You had no right to pull me out of interrogation!'

'You were about to break his arm!'

'What's the problem? He would have confessed!'

Tony rolled his eyes, 'You have been here two and a half years, how do you still not get it doesn't work like that here?'

Letting out a groan of frustration Ziva spotted the ladies toilets just ahead and stormed in, her frustration grew when she saw that Tony had continued to follow her, 'This is the ladies Tony! You can't be in here!'

He grinned at her, 'I wasn't finished talking'

'You're not in charge anymore! Gibbs is back! Get that through your thick skull!'

Tony's answer was cut off by the sound of someone violently retching in one of the cubicles, the two Agents looked at each other concerned. Ziva moved towards the door which was shut but not locked and gingerly pushed it open to reveal the person she thought least likely to be in there,

'Jenny! Are you ok?'

The red head looked up, her face devoid of any colour, her legs folded underneath her, she took in Ziva's concerned face and managed a weak smile, 'I'm fine, just a bout of stomach flu', she frowned in confusion as Tony appeared in the doorway, his face also a myriad of concern, 'Agent Dinozzo why are you in the ladies?'

'I followed Ziva in here, we were talking'

'Of course you were', Jenny then turned slightly green before turning away and throwing up again, she was slightly surprised when Ziva moved behind her and pulled her hair away from her face and rubbed at her back soothingly until she was finished.

Jenny sat back and closing her eyes took a deep breath, her stomach finally seemed to have settled, she opened her eyes and squeezed Ziva's hand slightly, 'Thank you'

'It's fine, maybe you should go home though, get some rest'

'No I'll be fine', Jenny pushed herself to her feet and moved to the sink, her head was buzzing slightly and she felt a bit weak as she turned the cold tap on and whirled some of the water around her mouth before spitting it out, trying to rid herself of the aftertaste. In the mirror she could see Ziva and Tony share a worried look.

Tony stumbled over his words slightly as he said, 'Jenny I never thought I'd say this but I think Ziva's right, you should go home and rest'

Jenny tried to answer but she felt as though she'd broken out in a cold sweat, the buzzing in her ears got louder and she felt unbelievably tired.......

Tony and Ziva watched in horror as Jenny's eyes rolled backwards and her legs crumpled, Tony lunged forward and caught her around her waist pulling her into him before she hit the floor. He looped her arm around his neck and lifted her into his arms, 'I think we should take her too see Ducky'

Ziva nodded her agreement but Tony was already all but sprinting down the corridor towards the lifts and so she followed on.

Ducky looked up as the doors to Autopsy hissed open and let out a gasp as he took in the sight of Tony rushing in with an unconscious Jenny in his arms, Ziva hurrying in behind them. He rushed over as Tony laid her down on one of the tables, 'What happened?'

'Ziva and I found her throwing up in the toilets then she fainted'

Ducky gave the younger man a terse nod before turning his attention back to his patient, Jenny let out a small mumble as her eyes slowly blinked open. For a moment she looked slightly confused before she tried to sit up, the room swayed and again Tony had to steady her when he noticed that she was about to fall off the table. Ducky wrapped the blood pressure cuff around her arm and gave her a small smile,

'Welcome back to the land of the living, how are you feeling?'

'Fine', Jenny gave the three people watching a half smile, 'I just have the flu'

Ducky patted her arm, 'Yes well I just want to give you a quick check, at least so I can put all our minds at rest, I feel you gave your two Agents quite a scare'

'Honestly Ducky I'm fine. I saw the doctor earlier I'm slightly anemic that's all'

'Hmmm I can believe that, your blood pressure is also a bit low and I feel that you might be over working yourself, you would probably benefit from taking the rest of the day off'

Ziva crossed her arms, 'That's what we said'

Jenny looked at the three people who were now surrounding her, their brows furrowed, she let out a sigh, she was feeling pretty awful today so she just gave a slight nod, 'Ok I will go home, I just have a couple of things I need to organize first'

Tony jumped forward and helped her to her feet, 'I'll see you up to your office'

She shot him a grateful smile, 'Thank you Tony but honestly I can manage'

'I'd still rather make sure'

Ziva jumped in, 'I think it's a good idea that Tony goes with you as well, make sure you actually follow through on your promise', she shot Jenny a cheeky grin.

Jenny realised that this was a fight she wasn't going to win and just nodded, 'Ok then but I'm going home by myself'

Ziva laughed, 'Fair enough'

Gibbs stormed into the bullpen where Ziva was sitting on top of McGee's desk deep in conversation with the young Agent, he was annoyed to notice that Dinozzo was nowhere in sight, 'Officer David you don't get paid to gossip, get back to your own desk and get back to work and where the hell is Dinozzo?'

Knowing that Jenny wouldn't like news of her episode spread around the Agency, Ziva just told the irate lead Agent, 'Tony's with the Director'

'Why? I would have thought he would have learned his lesson after the last time'

Ziva was slightly stunned by the bitterness in Gibbs's tone and choked out, 'I think you're being a bit harsh'

Gibbs's eyes narrowed, 'I don't remember asking for your opinion'

Before Ziva could reply both Tony and the Director exited her office area and made their way down the stairs. As they approached the team Gibbs pounced, 'Dinozzo! Where have you been?'

Jenny quickly cut in, 'He was helping me with something Agent Gibbs, something which is none of your concern'

Gibbs raised his eyebrow, 'Monopolizing my Agents again? Didn't you do enough damage the last time?'

'You seem unaware of the chain of command here Agent Gibbs, both you and your Agents are answerable to me and I am therefore well within my rights to meet with them whenever I want. In fact I don't even have to justify myself to you as it has absolutely nothing to do with you', Jenny turned to Tony who was had slowly backed away from the developing argument and was now standing next to Ziva, she smiled at the pair, 'Thank you, both of you for your assistance, I'll see you both tomorrow'

Gibbs couldn't help but butt in again, 'Where are you going?'

'Home'

He just muttered under his breath and stormed away back to his desk, Jenny gave one last smile to the two Agents before heading towards the lift. Tony turned to face his boss, 'I think you were a bit hard on the Director back there'

Gibbs's head jerked up, his eyes were like slits as he glared at Tony, 'Excuse me?'

'I just think you should go a bit easier on her'

For once Gibbs was actually stuck for words so instead he just muttered, 'All of you get back to your work'

The team just looked at each other and McGee raised his eyes at his two colleagues, completely unaware of what had just taken place.

Jenny let herself into her house and headed straight upstairs to her bed, she slipped out of her suit and into sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt before crawling underneath the covers. She shifted onto her side and let her hand drift to her stomach to where her baby was, her teeth bit into her bottom lip, she was just so confused. Today had shown her that although they had been angry Tony and Ziva still cared about her. Jethro however was still furious with her, she wasn't even sure why he was so annoyed with her, after all he was the one who had walked away this time, he was the one who had married someone else and she was left alone to make the hardest decision of her life and no idea what was the best thing to do.

Thank you all for your reviews so far :)

Not quite sure what the next chapter will be, I an either jump to Jenny's next appointment or you can have a Abby/Ziva conv and something from Gibbs's POV beforehand. I am perfectly happy to go with the popular vote because it won't affect the basic plot-line, I just wondered if maybe there should be a bit more character development. Let me know what you want :)

xxxxx