"I can't believe you're even thinking about going into work today." Abby snapped grumpily.
"Abby I didn't ask that marine to die yesterday!" Tim replied trying not to lose his cool. "If we don't get this case done today we're going to have to go in again tomorrow."
Abby sighed. "But it's Christmas Eve Timmy." She whined. "I want to stay at home with the girls." She admitted.
"Abs you don't have to come in if you don't want to. Gibbs would understand if you wanted to stay home." Tim assured her eying her very large stomach.
Abby glared at him. "You guys would get nothing done without me and you know that." She said irritably. "I just think we should put the case on hold until after Christmas."
"Vance's orders Abs." Tim said as he took a piece of toast from the toaster. "If you don't want to come then don't but I can't just not show up. I'm not pregnant."
Abby gritted her teeth. "Shut up Mcgee. I don't use it as an excuse."
"You totally do." Tim said with a smirk. "And you're feeling pretty snippy if you're going all 'Mcgee' on me…" He pointed out.
"Okay I'm going to leave in three minutes. When you're not ready you're just going to have to walk." Abby informed him crankily.
"I'll just take the hearse." Tim retorted.
"The hearse has been out of gas for months. I never drive it because your child's in the way." Abby replied before getting up and grabbing her purse. "Two minutes Mcgee."
Tim raced up the stairs knowing there was no way he'd make it back in time. He had to get his gun out of the safe and that would take at least a minute. He was just hoping she wouldn't pay on this promise.
Much to his dismay when he got to the garage four minutes later he found the Porsche gone. "Alright then Abs. You win this round."
Three hours later Tim trudged into the bullpen.
"You're late Mcgee." Tony informed him helpfully.
"Shut up." Tim replied crankily as he threw his backpack behind his desk.
"Care to share Mcgee?" Gibbs asked him with a raised eyebrow.
"I had to walk, the roads are covered in ice and snow and it's still coming down. It took awhile." Tim said through gritted teeth.
"Why did you have to walk?" Ziva asked curiously. "Abby drove."
"That's just it Abby drove. The Hearse has been empty for months and Abby purposefully took all of my cash." Tim griped.
"Mcgee you might want to give it a rest if you want to keep your job." Gibbs warned before picking up his ringing phone. "Gibbs."After a few moments and grunts of understanding he hung up the phone. "Gear up."
"Gibbs we can't take on another case this close to the holidays!" Tim said exasperatedly. "Abby's gonna kill me as it is."
"It's not a new case Mcgee, new body. David you're staying here." Gibbs said swiftly.
"Gibbs!" Ziva started to complain.
"Someone has to stay here with Abby, just in case. I'm assuming Mcgee isn't the best choice for that right now and DiNozzo is never the right choice." Gibbs replied.
Ziva nodded in defeat as she set down her backpack.
"Come on lets go before that body's frozen." Tony suggested and they headed to the elevator.
"Hey Abby." Ziva said as she made her way into the lab.
"Hey Zi." Abby greeted from where she was pacing.
Ziva rose her eyebrows. "You okay over there Abs?"
Abby nodded. "He's being very persistent at kicking me at the base of my spine." She said before suddenly letting out a moan and grabbing onto the side of her desk.
"Abby?" Ziva asked, knowing that Abby would know exactly what she was asking.
Abby shook her head vigorously. "No Zi… It's just Braxton-hicks. I promise you'll know the moment it's the real thing." She said rather unconvincingly.
"Abby that moan isn't a Braxton-hicks moan. I had Sienna barely five months ago. Sweetie I know it hurts and that it's scary but this is happening." Ziva tried to console her
Abby shook her head furiously. "No I'm not ready." She said tears streaming down her face.
"Abs it's like a blizzard out there if we're going to get you to the hospital we need to go now." Ziva warned.
"I'm not in labor!" Abby insisted before a gush of water rushed down her legs.
Ziva sighed. "Come on Abs… you really have no case anymore."
Abby shook her head as she slid to the floor. "I can't do this not without Tim."
Ziva nodded as she pulled out her cell phone and dialed Tim's number. "Mcgee." Came his curt response.
"Mcgee please tell me you're on your way back." Ziva was practically begging.
"We're trapped in the mountains. Ducky's van was the last car they let through and that was only because he had a dead body in his vehicle. It could be hours before they let anyone through again." Tim told her regretfully. "Did you get a lead or something?"
"Something like that… "Ziva started before she just decided to get it out. "Abby's in labor."
"WHAT?" Mcgee screamed. "No… No… Ziva she's not ready. We're not ready."
"Mcgee… It doesn't matter the baby's ready and he's decided today is the day for his big debut. I'm going to get Abby to the hospital, meet us there when you can." Ziva informed him about to hang up her phone.
"Ziva!" Mcgee stopped her. "Have you looked outside recently?"
"Not particularly why?" Ziva asked not understanding.
"The roads aren't passable Ziva… I don't even know how likely it is that Ducky's going to make it back there." Tim said feeling himself getting light headed.
"Oh crap." Ziva said before hanging up her phone. "Alright Abs let's get you comfortable." She said nervously as she helped her off the floor to take her to the futon in her office.
"Ziva what's going on?" Abby asked feeling the pressure of a contraction easing on.
"Don't worry about it Abs." Ziva tried to direct her attention elsewhere.
"I need Timmy." Abby said through gritted teeth as she eased into her futon.
"Okay… maybe you should know so you don't get your hopes up." Ziva said without tact. "Uhm… Tony Mcgee and Gibbs are trapped in the mountains… and Ducky may or may not have made it through the pass." She said quickly. "But there's nothing to worry about. We're just going to stay put right here and wait for the storm to pass."
"OUCH!" Abby cried out. "I can't wait for the storm to pass Ziva! I don't even know what I'm supposed to do here!"
"Abby you've had two kids and I've had one we can do this." Ziva said as calmly as possible
Abby shook her head as she bit her lip. "Ziva… She's not going to be anything like what's happened to us before."
Ziva's breath hitched. How could she have forgotten. Abby wasn't just pregnant with twins, she was pregnant with twins one of which had stopped developing only a few months into the pregnancy. "Abby we can do this."
"We can do what?" Palmer's voice joined the conversation.
"Palmer!" Ziva snapped at him causing him to dessert the evidence jars on the table. "Get ice chips and as many pillows and blankets as you can find." She instructed quickly.
"What, why?" Palmer asked curiously walking into Abby's office nearly shocked to see her curled into the fetal position riding out the pain. "Oh… Okay that's why… Uhm I'll be right back…" He said rushing out of the lab.
"Shhh… Ride it out Abs…" Ziva encouraged as Abby crushed her hand. "It's going to be okay."
Abby shook her head. "It's not okay Ziva! Nothing about this is okay!" She screamed at her best friend. "I should be happy about this but I'm not! I'm dreading this because my little girl never got the chance to live!"
"Abby calm… down…" Ziva simply instructed. "If you put your son in distress I'm not going to be able to help you. Our only hope is that this birth is as simple as possible."
"ZIVA YOU HAD A C-SECTION!" Abby screamed out during a contraction. "YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW COMPLICATED THIS IS!"
"Okay calm down. I'm sorry." Ziva said gently brushing her friend's hair from her face. "You're right."
"You bet I'm right." Abby snapped angrily.
Ziva took in a deep breath. How on earth am I supposed to do this? "Abby it's going to be alright." She tried to comfort her, despite her own nervousness.
Abby shook her head as she buried it into a pillow. "I can't do this."
Ziva gently rubbed Abby's back until another contraction came and she grunted out in pain. "Alright keep breathing and stay calm." Ziva tried to coach.
"I AM CALM!" Abby screamed at her.
Ziva held her hand through the contraction and sighed in relief when her hand was released. She sat back as she watched Abby try to relax. "Ducky please make it…" She whispered.
Three hours later Abby was pacing around the lab with Ziva and Palmer supporting her on either side. Every few minutes she'd stop and let out a grunt or moan and they would try their best to comfort her.
Abby was in pain. Not just physical pain, but the idea that she was going to give birth to her daughter in this situation without her husband was causing extreme amounts of emotional pain as well.
"How are you doing Abs?" Ziva asked gently as the contraction subsided.
Abby didn't even look up, her eyes remaining locked on her contracting stomach. "I want Timmy." She said through shallow breaths for the hundredth time that hour.
"Ziva my phone's vibrating." Palmer informed her awkwardly.
"Then answer it!" Ziva replied obviously annoyed.
"Palmer." He spoke swiftly into his phone.
"Mr. Palmer I'm downstairs and I need some assistance getting the body into Autopsy." Ducky informed him.
Palmer heaved a sigh of relief. "We need you in Abby's lab now!" He said rather loudly.
"Mr. Palmer you know that the body can't just stay in the garage. I'm sure you and Abigail can show me your findings after such." Ducky replied irritably.
"No… Uhm… We don't have anything on the case…" Palmer replied stupidly.
"You're telling me that over the last six hours that we were gone you were unable to find anything of use for the case?" Ducky asked angrily. "What are you even working on right now?"
Ziva was obviously frustrated by Palmer's inability to communicate and she snatched the phone from his hand. "We're working on delivering a baby." Ziva snapped.
"Oh my…" Ducky replied almost guiltily. "I'll be right up." He said before hanging up the phone.
Ziva sighed as she handed Palmer back his phone. "Get to the point next time Palmer." She instructed as she felt Abby's grip start to tighten. "Breathe Abs… Breathe…" Ziva tried to coach her.
As the contraction subsided Ducky made it into the lab. "Alright how far are we?" He asked gently.
"We don't really know…" Palmer admitted.
"Mr. Palmer did you forget how to check dilation in the few years it's been since med school?" Ducky asked impatiently. Palmer's face flushed to a bright red. "Alright Abigail." Ducky said calmly as she rode through a contraction. "After this contraction I want you to change into the nightgown that I got from your bag in the car alright?"
Abby nodded after the contraction ended and she took the nightgown and went into the ballistics lab with Ziva to change.
"Mr. Palmer how long has she been experiencing contractions?" Ducky asked as he pulled out a pad of paper and a pen.
"Well… I got here about three hours ago but Ziva was down here about an hour before that and Abby had already been experiencing pain and was attempting to walk it off when Ziva arrived." Palmer reported.
"How far apart are the contractions?"
"About three minutes."
Ducky sighed. "We're having these babies tonight." He said as he checked his watch. "We can only hope Timothy makes it back in time."
It was nearing midnight and Abby was sweating profusely. "No… I can't do it…" Abby said through shallow breaths.
"Abigail we've put this off as long as possible but your son's going to go into distress if you don't deliver soon." Ducky said calmly as Ziva tied Abby's hair back.
"No… No…. No…" Abby began as she felt another contraction coming.
Ducky sighed as he gently moved Abby from her side to her back. "Mr. Palmer please support this leg." He asked as he lifted her right leg. "Ziva this leg." He said even though it was obvious a he lifted the left leg. Ducky watched her stomach until he saw the contraction start. "Okay Abby push!" Ducky instructed.
"NO NO NO!" Abby screamed even though she began pushing anyway.
"That's good Abby… It's almost over… Just a little longer… Alright you're done." Ducky coached.
"I can't do it Ducky…" Abby said softly as she laid back against the pillows.
"Abby you're doing beautifully." Ducky assured her.
"I need Timmy…" Abby whimpered.
"He'll be here as soon as he can." Ducky assured her.
"Why hasn't he called?" Abby asked exasperatedly.
"Abby the phone lines are down I'm sure he's on his way. He would do anything not to miss this." Ziva reminded her.
"That's not good enough… Oh… No…" She said as she felt another contraction coming.
"Alright Abby let's try to get this baby's head out." Ducky said gently. "Alright ready… set.. push!"
"AUGH!" Abby screamed at him.
Halfway through the contraction another voice joined the scene. "Abby!" Tim's voice filled the lab.
"TIM!" Abby screamed at him as he ran into the office.
"Did I miss it?" Tim asked as he grabbed Abby's outreached hand.
"Does it look like you missed it?" Abby asked through clenched teeth.
Tim sighed out of relief as Ducky spoke up. "Alright we've got a head." Ducky told them. "One more push and you'll have a baby boy."
"I'm so sorry I wasn't here Abs." Tim apologized as he kissed her forehead. "Gibbs and Tony will get here soon. Once we reached the navy yard I decided to get out and run here."
"Augh Tim…" Abby grunted.
"I'm so sorry Abs…" Tim said as she clutched his hand.
"Okay Abigail this is it." Ducky informed them. "Three… two… one… push!"
"OW!" Abby screamed before she felt a release from her body and a small cry.
"You did it Abs." Tim said with a huge smile surprised not to see one on her face.
Abby nodded. "He's perfect." She said with tears flowing down her face.
"It's 12:34 Abs… He's a Christmas baby." Ziva said with a smile.
"What's his name Abigail?" Ducky asked Gently.
"Ryan… Ryan Charles Mcgee." Tim replied as Abby buried her face into Tim's shoulder. Ducky tried to pass Ryan to Abby but she refused to acknowledge him.
"Here." Tim said gently as he took his son into his arms.
Ducky looked sadly at the couple. This moment should be a happy one but for them it was filled with pain and tears because of what was coming. "Alright Abby whenever you're ready I want you to push and we'll deliver your daughter." He said gently.
Several minutes later Abby sat up again and grabbed on to Tim's free hand.
"Alright Abigail since she's so small I'm going to have to help her get out." Ducky said softly. "Just bear down and I'll do the rest alright?" Abby nodded and began to push.
"12:49… Baby girl Mcgee." Ducky said softly as he cleaned the baby.
"Payton Hope…" Tim said quietly as he looked at his innocent daughter. "I'll take her." Tim offered as Ducky placed his daughter in his open arm.
"Alright Abby let's finish this up." Ducky said gently, his heart nearly torn in half.
When Gibbs and Tony finally made it back to NCIS Abby was curled up on the futon asleep, and Ziva was feeding Ryan with a bottle while Tim sat at Abby's desk holding Payton against his chest.
"What took you so long?" Ziva asked curiously.
"I had to go get Sienna from daycare." Tony replied quietly. "It made our route a bit indirect."
Ziva looked up and saw her daughter in Gibbs' arms. "Hey baby." She said with a smile.
"How's Abby?" Gibbs asked softly.
Ziva sighed. "I don't know. She's been sleeping since the birth."
"So who's this?" Tony inquired about the child in her arms.
"Ryan Charles Mcgee." Ziva reported. "He was born at 12:34 this morning."
Tony looked at his watch. "Hey it is Christmas!" He said excitedly.
Ziva shook her head. "Tony it's not a good day…"
Gibbs looked over at Tim and felt his heart break in half. "This wasn't supposed to happen this way." He murmured.
"Gibbs." Tim called his attention. "Do you want to meet our daughter?" He asked softly.
Gibbs nodded softly as he moved over. "What's her name?" He asked as he took in her tiny features.
"Payton Hope Mcgee." Tim said as he gently slid is finger along her face.
"What are your plans?" Gibbs asked gently.
Tim sighed. "We were planning on a service… But Abs is quite a bit shaken up."
"Understandable." Gibbs said gently. "Has she seen her?"
Tim shook his head. "She barely even glanced at Ryan."
They sat in silence for a few more minutes. "Has anyone checked up on Caitlin and Stace?"
Tim sat up in alarm. "Crap… I don't even think they know Abby was in labor." He said sadly. "Can you hold her for me?" He asked as Gibbs handed Sienna to Tony so he could hold Payton.
Tim pulled out his phone and dialed his house.
"Dad where are you guys?" Caitlin asked exasperatedly.
Tim sighed. "You're alright?" He asked softly.
"What's going on?" Caitlin asked again.
"You're a big sister again." Tim said gently.
"Mom had the baby?" Caitlin asked excitedly.
"Babies." Tim corrected softly.
"Is everything alright?" Caitlin replied sheepishly.
"We're going to be alright but I need you two to sit tight. Don't open the presents until we get home." Tim instructed as he watched Abby start stirring. "I've got to go your mom's waking up." He said quickly before hanging up his phone and rushing over to Abby. "Hey." He greeted softly.
Abby stretched out and moaned. "Ugh… Hey Timmy." She said unwilling to open her eyes.
"How're you feeling?" Tim asked gently.
"I'm sorry Timmy." Abby replied softly.
Tim sighed. "Abby you have nothing to be sorry for." He tried to comfort her.
Abby shook her head. "I shouldn't have left you at home this morning." She said guiltily.
"Oh Abs…" Tim said softly has he ran his fingers through her tangled hair. "It's okay. You had a hard day you've got an excuse."
"I really shouldn't have though Timmy." Abby admitted. "I had started having contractions in the morning and I just wanted to try to work it off…"
Tim sighed. "You were just being stubborn… just like the Abby I love." They sat together in silence for a moment before Tim spoke up. "You want to meet our babies?" He asked her gently.
Abby nodded slowly and Tim helped her sit up. "Ouch." She muttered as her abdomen bent.
"Sorry Abs." Tim said gently as he took Payton from Gibbs before carefully putting her in Abby's arms.
"Hey baby girl." Abby said softly. "I never wanted this for you…" She said as her tears slid off her cheeks and landed in the bundle of blankets in her arms.
Tim gently put his arms around the two of them. "I love both of you so much." He said feeling tears pricking at his eyes.
"Are we still going to have Ducky do an Autopsy?" Abby asked softly.
"If you want to we can." Tim said gently.
Abby nodded. "I want to know if something went wrong."
"Do you want Ryan too?" Ziva asked gently as she walked over to the couple.
Abby looked up. "Yes please." She said softly before adjusting so that Peyton rested in one arm as Ryan was put in the other.
"They're beautiful Abs." Gibbs said gently.
Abby looked down at the two infants in her arms, one of which significantly smaller than the other. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. "We need a picture of them together." She said softly.
Tim nodded and found the camera in Abby's desk. Gibbs took the camera from them. "You need to be in the picture too Tim." Gibbs said gently. Tim nodded and moved over behind Abby.
"They are so perfect." Tim whispered into Abby's ear.
"I want the girls here." Abby said after Gibbs took a few pictures.
"Abby we really have no way of getting them here…" Tim said softly.
"I want to spend Christmas as a family Tim. Yesterday was long and hard and I just want to spend today with all four of our kids." Abby said softly.
Gibbs nodded. "Your girls need to be here and I'm going to get them here." He informed them before getting ready to leave.
"Gibbs it's alright. We can try and get them over here by cab or something." Tim dismissed the idea.
Gibbs shook his head. "We're not going to put them in the hands of some irresponsible cab driver in this storm. I'll go get them."
"Gibbs it's not that big of a deal." Tim tried again.
Gibbs looked over at Abby. "No Tim… It really is." He informed him. "Your girls deserve to spend Christmas with their new siblings and I'm going to make that happen."
"Gibbs!" Tim tried but it was too late Gibbs was already in the elevator. "Just… be safe." He mumbled under his breath.
Author's Note: Hey Guys! The Seattle Snowpocalypse of 2012 has brought you more frequent updates from this author! So thank all of this snow! Also I'd like to dedicate this chapter to my best friend's baby brother Ryan Charles Ford who was born at 12:34 this morning in our own snow storm (I was actually planning the birth this way already but I got the name and time from the cutest new baby boy :D) Stay tuned for part II!