— I own only this story and any original characters. —

For Glow60, although the story has changed slightly during the years. You can find this also on my ao3.

Leo

...

"Oh no," she whispered as she sat there in a small and dirty restroom of a small and just as unclean diner. With her hands trembling, she took out another test. Then another. And another. Five tests later, she started smiling, feeling both fear and joy. Five of them and they all told the same. Sure, she would still need to see the doctor, but what were the odds? "I'm pregnant."

Shannon stood and picked up everything from the floor where she had dropped them. As she was walking to her car, she realized she had started crying. How was she going to tell Jethro? They were not ready. They were engaged, but hadn't even set a date for their wedding. With the student loans, which she had to pay off for years to come, there was no way they could afford this, and her small apartment was no place for a child. With some uncertainty and hope, Shannon remembered her mother. Surely she would help. Going back inside the diner, she asked if she could use their phone.

...

Going to her mother turned out to be a huge mistake, and maybe she should've seen it coming; she didn't know. Her mother had been against her and Jethro getting married, to the point where she even refused to meet Shannon if he was around. So now Shannon sat in the living room of her childhood home, hopeful that her mother's proud and stubborn nature would give in, just enough to feel love toward the unborn grandchild, her own flesh and blood.

Joann Fielding sat down heavily after being told the news.

"Mom. Please say something." Shannon stared at her mother, and worried about what was going through her mind.

"I'll help you."

Nothing could express the flood of relief running through Shannon at those words. "Thank you. I don't know what I was going to do if—"

"I will help you get rid of it."

The color left Shannon's face, along with the beginning of a smile, as she stared at her mother in shock. "W-what? Mom..."

"You are still young, Shannon. You have a whole life ahead of you. Don't tie yourself down to the likes of Jethro Gibbs."

Shannon stood up, furious and upset. "Mom, I love him! He's out there—somewhere—maybe fighting for his life as we speak! He's a good Marine and a good man, and I will not tolerate you saying another bad word about him! If you do, I..."

"You what, Shannon?" Joann asked with a face that held no emotions, as if she already knew what the next words coming out of her daughter's mouth would be.

"I... I will not want to have anything to do with you. You won't be invited to our wedding."

Joann was quiet, and then nodded. "Very well. If that's what you choose. That-that man over your own mother. If you change your mind, you know where to find me."

With her eyes throwing flames at her mother, Shannon looked at her one last time. "That's not going to happen. No matter what, I'm going to keep this child, and we'll make it without your help. You'll see. The day will come when you wish to see your grandchild and realize that you wanted to kill this precious little life for the sake of your own stupid pride. Whatever you may think of Jethro, the child is still your flesh and blood. I can't believe how I could have thought, even for a moment, that you had any love in you. I'm-I'm not you. And God help me if I ever will be." When Joann didn't say anything, wiping away the tears she hadn't even known she'd been shedding, Shannon picked up her bag. "Goodbye, mother."

...

...

She didn't know what to do... By now she was five months pregnant and everything was going downhills fast. On top of everything else happening, she now lost her job. It had already been hard trying to pay all the bills, and now she would surely even lose her small apartment. Her only comfort had been getting a letter from Jethro. She didn't know what she could say, so she had simply written that she had a little surprise waiting for him when he returned. And God, she prayed he did return. For some time, she'd been thinking about contacting Jackson Gibbs, but the hurt of her own mother's reaction and rejection was still raw. She didn't have enough confidence to face the old man. What would he think, and how would he react? And her friends... How funny was it that when you needed them the most, you couldn't find any; all of them suddenly so 'busy' all the time.

Shannon wiped away her tears. It seemed like all she did was cry now. "We're going to find a way, baby Junior. I know we will. We have to..." Sitting on the bench in a park, among the golden hay, she saw from the corner of her eye someone sitting next to her and hoped the person would leave. She had chosen this spot for a reason; it was the one people rarely chose since it was so secluded and few even knew it was there.

"Excuse me," a man with a deep voice said, with an accent she couldn't place. She looked suspiciously at the handsome man, dressed in some expensive clothes. He was charming, but she was way past trusting anyone. If her own mother couldn't be trusted, why would strangers? The man didn't seem to notice her suspicious glare. "I couldn't help but notice that... Is everything all right?"

"No." Shannon sighed and started to get up when the man held out his hand.

"I apologize. I did not mean to come off as some creep. My name is Anthony." He still held out his hand, and after a moment of hesitation, she took it.

"Shannon..."

"Please. Sit. I won't be here for a long time. I'm waiting for my wife." Anthony smiled, and while she still wasn't completely trusting, she found herself slowly relaxing in his presence. There was something so likable about him. What was it called? Charm. Some people just had it.

"Your wife?" Shannon asked as she was sitting comfortably again.

"Yes. We are visiting a friend and while I was doing some business with him, she went to meet with friends of her own." He glanced toward her belly, which she was now covering with her arms in a protective manner. "I believe they called the meeting a baby shower."

"Oh. Your wife is pregnant?"

"Five months."

Shannon smiled softly. "So am I."

Anthony nodded knowingly. "Why were you looking so sad?"

Shannon sighed. Well, what harm would it do to share her troubles? Certainly not make her situation any worse than it already was... She started talking, and the man frowned few times, smiling encouragingly when she looked like she couldn't continue speaking. He proved to be a perfect listener, and by the time Shannon was done, she felt much lighter.

"Thank you. I have to admit that talking to you has helped. I know I'll find some way to get through this. Somehow."

Anthony looked thoughtful. "Perhaps I can help."

Shannon looked at him with suspicion again. "No. It's fine."

"Shannon, by helping you, I will also be helping myself. You need to think about your child." When she hesitated, he smiled charmingly. "I am a busy man and I don't like leaving my wife on her own for such long hours, even for days sometimes. I want to hire you to keep her company while I'm gone. You would have so much in common and things to talk about."

It did sound pretty nice, but Shannon couldn't get rid of the feeling that this was too good to be true. "I don't know..."

"Think about it." He stood up, slowly making his way away from the bench.

Shannon swallowed hard. She knew this could fix all her problems at once. Well, all but her relationship with her mother... And she was so desperate. "Wait!"

...

...

It had been too perfect. That alone should have made her realize something was off.

For months, she spent long hours with the wife, who for some reason was awfully fixated on Shannon's pregnancy, even more than her own. The women could spend hours after hours just looking through baby things or choosing names for their children. By the time Shannon knew her baby was a boy, she couldn't have been happier. Sure, a daughter would have been just as joyful, but somehow there was something special about giving Jethro a son as a firstborn. Call it old-fashioned or whatever, but all that mattered was how happy she was. After looking through several names, she had finally decided to name her son Anthony Jethro Gibbs, to honor their savior and little Anthony's daddy. DiNozzo's wife had looked at her strangely when she explained her choice.

"That is... honorable of you," she had said. Odd thing to say, especially the way it sounded coming from her, but Shannon didn't think much of it. She simply kept her end of the bargain and the money kept coming, which she hadn't even used yet, as most of her needs were being taken care of by the couple, including the rent of her small apartment.

Then came the day. The day when her beautiful baby boy decided it was time to come out was a week too early, but he was healthy and beautiful. So perfect. Perfect little toes and perfect little fingers. The most beautiful eyes and a cute little nose. She was alone when she gave birth—several hours of pain and agony—but the moment she finally got to hold that perfect little gift from God... Everything else faded away, and she was the happiest woman in the whole world. There was nothing else like it, the joy and love that saw no end. Shannon didn't even wonder why soon after, Anthony called her and told they—he and his wife—were leaving the country and that they no longer needed her. She had more than she could have ever hoped for, so she didn't even care.

And that's how she was now in this situation, a few months later, crying and begging for the man to give her child back.

Shannon had just finished feeding her little boy, when there was a knock at the door. She'd been surprised to see Anthony DiNozzo standing there with two other men. With a nod, he sent the other two to hold Shannon, while he went to take the sleeping baby, which was when all hell broke loose. With a crying baby and a screaming and crying mother, Anthony DiNozzo was about to lose his patience. Even the two men he had hired for this couldn't really stop her from trying to get to her child. A desperate mother was a lot stronger than she looked.

"I beg you, Anthony! Don't do this! Why are you doing this? Give him back!"

"He's mine now. What do you think all that money was for?"

Shannon paled when the realization hit her, suddenly able to place all the pieces of the puzzle in place, and she saw the big picture. "Why..?"

"My wife wants a child, so I'm giving her one." He shrugged like it was normal, just business. He turned around to leave.

"No! My baby!" Shannon was screaming again. "Give him back! I'll— I still have your money! I'll give it back to you! Please! You can have anything but him! I... I have a job now! With some time, I can pay you twice as much!"

Anthony snapped his fingers and one of the men hit her. "Calm down or I will do the same to the boy. Or worse."

Shannon froze in fear for her child, and even the men looked startled. Anthony smiled grimly. "Don't try to find us. I have friends in high places. I'm sure you don't wish to one day find pieces of your baby on your doorstep."

"You... You're a monster," she whispered, but was this time too much in shock to even start screaming again and, noticing this, the men left quickly.

Hours later she was crying again, after storming on the street barefoot, trying to find her child. This couldn't be happening... And what was she going to tell Jethro?