Words could not express the heartbreak that Jethro Gibbs was feeling. His girl, his baby girl was gone. His miracle, the same little girl who had survived that horrific accident years ago. Who despite suffering a Traumatic Brain Injury and other serious injuries had survived and lived a normal life. A wonderful, normal life. She had managed to graduate high school and college with honors and go on to open a veterinary practice with her best friend Maddie Tyler. She had such promise and now all of it had been taken away. Unlike with the car accident there was nobody to blame for today. Kelly's obstetrician had sent her straight to the hospital, the paramedics had done there job, the doctors at Georgetown had gotten her to surgery right away but it was not enough. Kelly who had been fine just the day before was dead, thanks to a pregnancy complication.
Tony watched Gibbs like a hawk. They were still in the hospital, still in the room. Nurses came in every few minutes to check on them. It made Tony sick every time a nurse asked Gibbs if he was ready. Tony knew they were just doing their job, Kelly had to go downstairs eventually but how do you ask such a question. One of the nurses entered the room and placed her hand on Jethro's shoulder. She was a Jamaican woman probably in her thirties. Her accent came and went as she spoke. Tony guessed she had been in the country for a while but not quite long enough to lose it completely. She must be new to the profession too because she was almost too compassionate. Maybe compassionate was the wrong word, nurses were supposed to be compassionate. Close was a better choice of words, she was too close. Maybe this was her first time dealing with patient loss.
"Are you ready, Mr. Gibbs?" Lisa asked.
"Just a few more minutes." Gibbs replied.
"OK" Lisa replied.
Tony followed Lisa out into the hallway. Kelly was still in maternity but tucked away in the back corner in a small room. A special room reserved for mourning. It depressed Tony knowing such a room existed. What was worse a woman due to deliver her perfect, healthy baby had so selflessly given up her room and been shoved into a room with three other woman to make room. Tony followed Lisa as she went throughout the ward checking in on other patients. Finally she stopped off at the nurse's station before heading back to Gibbs' room.
"Is your friend ready?" Lisa asked.
"I don't know." Tony replied.
"And there is nobody who can come?" Lisa asked.
"I am trying to get somebody here. Trouble is only two people would come." Tony sighed.
It wasn't that the rest of Gibbs' circle were cold hearted. Everybody had been devastated when Tony called. They just knew better. Gibbs was unpredictable when he was mourning. He didn't want anybody getting to close but he needed somebody with him. There were only two people who could handle a devastated Jethro Gibbs and neither could get to the hospital. At least not right away. Jimmy and Breena were down in Florida for the wedding of one of Breena's cousins. They had left Tori back in DC with Ducky. Ducky did not feel comfortable bringing Tori to the hospital under such circumstances and he was having trouble finding somebody to babysit for an unknown period of time. Jimmy had offered to return home but the couple desperately needed the vacation and it would be hours before he could get back anyway. The only other person was actually trying desperately to get home but nothing was going right for her.
Anna Gibbs looked at her watch and tapped her foot. When she had taken the train to Stillwater to help her mother move from the Stillwater Retirement Home to a larger memory care village in Philadelphia it had seemed like a kind gesture, and a fun adventure for her children. Besides then she wouldn't have to deal with getting two cars back to Washington. The first catastrophe was her mother's car was not in great condition. As she had been told. Her mother was stuck back in nineteen eighty-four when the car was in fact new and gorgeous. Her cousin just wanted the car out of her garage but was too lazy to junk it herself. Second was a mix up on dates with the two nursing homes. Stillwater was expecting her to leave on Thursday and had already given away her room. Philadelphia was not expecting her until the following Friday. Thankfully they were understanding and would be able to admit her on Monday. That still left the weekend and cost Anna another day of work. Of course Lynn would not let the family stay with them. Anna was able to get a hotel room for the family. Five people in one room would be a tight fit but Stillwater's Roadside motel did not have suites and she did not feel comfortable putting the boys alone and her mother definitely could not stay alone. She thought her troubles were over. Then she got the call.
The last thing that Anna waned to here was that her niece was dead. Kelly was only seven year older than her. Since her dad was older and her mom was an only child. She didn't have any kid cousins growing up. What she did have was her significantly older half brother, her sister in law and her niece Kelly. The only other child in the close family. Even with seven years difference they were inseparable. Especially when Anna lived with the Gibbs' in college. Now Kelly was gone and Anna was trying desperately to get to her brother's side. Getting her mother squared away was easy. When she told her story. She was able to get her mother admitted to respite in Philadelphia for up to a week. The challenge was the children. Her ex who when they divorced had promised he would stay involved and take the boys any time. Of course was busy again. She couldn't even get him to commit to the arranged weekends. Why would he come through in an emergency? Sean and Alex were eight and Chloe was only five. They were too young to be around. What they were going to have to be around. Unfortunately there was no way around it. At long last the train arrived. Anna boarded with the twins and Chloe, then sent Tony a text saying they were on the way.
After three hours Gibbs finally let the nurses take Kelly away. The room was needed and it was becoming more and more obvious that Kelly was dead. Jethro could no longer pretend she was simply sleeping. Lisa was among the nurses taking Kelly away. She held him close and prayed with him and Tony. Neither party was particularly religious but prayer felt right in that moment. With Kelly gone and the room now occupied by a mother with happier circumstances. Jethro sat alone in the waiting area. Withdrawn and afraid to move.
"Are you going to see her?" Tony asked as he reentered the waiting area from the hall leading to the NICU.
"I don't think I can. She is so early. She probably won't make it. Even if she does. She will have life long problems I can't handle at this age. I am going to call adoption agencies." Jethro sighed.
"My cousin had her baby at thirty weeks and he not only survived but is a minor league baseball player and going for his medical degree. He is twenty years old and neonatal medicine has vastly improved since then." Tony assured.
"But the trauma." Jethro sighed.
"Angelina was hit by a drunk driver. They were sure Gabriel would be stillborn or severely disabled but he proved them wrong. The first few years were rough. He had a trach and feeding tube until he was six but now you would never know unless you saw the scars." Tony assured.
"I've lost so much." Jethro sobbed.
"I was only in there for two minutes and I saw that she has fight in her." Tony assured.
"Are you sure?" Tony asked.
"She's a Gibbs plus she is really cute." Tony replied showing Gibbs a photograph he had taken with his phone.
A/N: How will baby girl Gibbs fair? Gibbs meets his granddaughter in the next chapter. I added Anna cause I wanted Baby Girl Gibbs to have a strong female in the family but didn't want to give Gibbs a wife. At least not yet. New chapter will be up soon. Thanks for reading and please review.