A/N: The end is near. 3 chapter left...

Sarah (Ch 90) - No problem :) Thanks. Hmm...how's this, I'll announce new story stuff at the end of TYF. But it still still T&Z related. Me too, he just became part of the family. Thanks, I like to find reasons for why people behave the way they do, that seemed to fit Abby. I think she probably had a fairly happy childhood, but I got the impression that she and her mom didn't get along so well. I wanted something that would open a door for her and Celeste to grow closer. She's not 100% accepted yet, but better than before. Thanks. I had to do a lot of research and I'm sure I didn't get all the details right, but I wanted to try. I'm glad Tony went too, Z would've missed having him there and focusing on him and explaining things helped with her uncertainty. Thanks, I had fun with the guys' BDs. haha...babies always seem to be flirting, cutest thing ever. And I like Tony's frat bros, they add a fun element. Thanks for reviewing Sarah! :)

Abby waited all day Friday for something to happen. She kept her cellphone handy, ready to call McGee at the first hint of a contraction. She packed and repacked her hospital bag four times, checked the diaper backpack to make sure they didn't forget anything, and spent hours in the nursery dreaming and rearranging toys and folding receiving blankets again. At six pm she got tired of doing nothing and started supper - a smorgasbord of Southern comfort food. Tim came home shortly after seven and stopped outside the kitchen.

"Wow Abbs, that's enough to feed an army. What's going on?"

She turned away from the stove and crossed her arms. "Nothing happened."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

Abby glowered at him and stamped her food. "I'm forty weeks pregnant McGee! We were supposed to get a baby today!"

Tim edged closer. "Honey, you know due dates are just guesses, right?"

"I'm done being pregnant," she pouted. "I just want him to come."

He hugged her and kissed her cheek. "Soon Abbs, I promise. Soon."

Letting her get back to cooking, Tim grabbed his cell and retreated downstairs. It was time for some serious distraction techniques. An hour later the entire team including Matt, Tami, Celeste and Breena, crashed the McGee house with ballons, baby furniture, board games, movies and lots of shiny black bags. While the ladies set up in the livingroom, the guys helped Abby lay out a buffet on the kitchen table and get drinks, leaving Gibbs and Tim to barbeque with Tony tagging along as entertainment. Celeste stayed with Abby, doing anything that was needed and somehow calmed the girl's agitation just by being there.

Finally everyone found places to sit and balanced plates in their hands, laughing and chatting and keeping the atmosphere lively until it was time for presents. "We did not forget about a baby shower for you Abby," Ziva explained right off, "we just could not decide if we should do it before or after. So I am glad tonight worked out."

Abby grinned and gleefully accepted the basket from Tony and Ziva. "After five months of practice, we've figured out what baby stuff new parents really need," Tony said wisely, sitting on the floor with his wife and child.

And so it continued. Baby clothes and shoes in every size, blankets and brightly coloured toys, bottles and pacifiers, stacks of diapers and boxes of wipes, baby powder and rash cream and many tiny pairs of socks. Colours were wide and varied, some deep, vivid colours for the mom-to-be's preference, but more neutral than not, since the gender was undetermined despite what Abby wanted. By the end Abby was overflowing with thanks. She hugged one of the blankets to her chest and grinned. "I don't know what to say."

Gibbs stood and reached for her hand. "Come with me." She followed him up to the baby's room where empty spaces had been filled by a beautifully stained dresser and toy chest and a shelving unit complete with storage boxes. Her eyes widened. "Oh Gibbs, they came out so well!" Abby ran her hand over the smooth wood. "It's perfect."

"One more." He took her to the master bedroom and pointed to the two legged, two armed co-sleeper tucked neatly against the bed with the arms fitting snugly under the mattress. "That way when the baby cries you don't even have to get up, but you also won't be afraid of rolling on him or her during the night."

She hugged him tightly. "You're the best."

Gibbs kissed her cheek. "Anything for my girl." That made everything better and Abby grinned bigger than she had in days. Nothing made her feel more special.

Back downstairs the group split up to play games and later gathered around the TV for a movie of Abby's choosing, with all the couples finding a place to sit and cuddle while they watched. She went to bed much later than normal that night and fell asleep in her husband's arms feeling happy, content and infinitely loved.

NCIS

A day later Abby woke her husband in the middle of the night. "Timmy, Timmy!" she hissed and he jolted into awareness.

"Huh? What's wrong?"

She bit her lip. "I'm not sure. I felt something."

His eyebrows rose. "Contractions?"

Abby shrugged. "Maybe."

McGee put his hand on her belly. "Gonna meet Mommy and Daddy today Baby Beta?" he asked. "Mommy's pretty anxious for your birth day."

They waited together but the next pain didn't come until almost twenty-five minutes after the first. Abby sucked in her breath. "Oh yeah, definitely a contraction."

Tim rubbed the back of his neck. "Why do babies always insist on being born in the middle of the night?" He left that as a rhetorical question and looked at his wife. "Hospital?"

Abby shook her head. "No point. They'd just send us home until they're closer together. Let's try and get some more sleep, we're probably going to need it."

They napped for a few more hours and the contractions gradually shrunk to every twenty minutes apart. At six am McGee called Gibbs, who wasn't even thinking about getting up yet. It was Saturday, and since he married again that meant it was a good lazy day to spend in bed with his wife. He reached for the phone with a groan. "Yeah, Gibbs."

"Boss, it's McGee."

Gibbs' eyes snapped open fully. "Abby?"

He sighed. "In labour. But we talked to her midwives and it's safe for her to do at least the first part at home. I'll call when that changes. Just thought you'd want to know."

Gibbs grunted. "Thanks. Take care of her."

"On it," Tim yawned, rolling over and closing his eyes.

Gibbs returned to his place behind Celeste and draped his arm over her waist, kissing her neck. "Think we're getting a grandbaby today."

She smiled without opening her eyes. "Wake me when it's time to go."

They didn't get the next update until eleven am when they were in the kitchen fixing a late breakfast. "Abby's water broke!" Tim announced, sounding a bit frantic. "We're meeting her midwives at Bethesda."

"I'll tell the others," Gibbs promised. "Drive careful."

Fifteen minutes away at the DiNozzo residence, Ziva was pulling the second casserole out of the oven. They too had gotten the early call about Abby's condition and Ziva had determined to do for Abby what they had done for her. Tony decided it was a great idea and got ahold of everyone else. Ducky, Jimmy and Breena, and even Matt and Tami were happy to contribute to the cooking. The phone rang and Tony answered.

"DiNozzo diner, we cater to your requests."

"Abby's water broke," Gibbs growled, "team's meeting at Bethesda ASAP."

"Yes Boss," Tony agreed cheerfully, hanging up.

He lifted Chaya out of her swing to toss her gently into the air and catch her again. "I think you're going to get a cousin today princess," he grinned.

Turning to Ziva, he raised an eyebrow. "Want me to get her dressed?"

Ziva shook her head and glanced at the clock. "Not yet. It will be an hour before Abby is settled, probably two before everyone arrives and visits. I want to make two more dishes before we go."

"Okay." He kissed her cheek. "I'm going to run a few errands. Be back in an hour?"

She nodded and returned to cooking. By one pm the rest of the group had dropped off their meals, which were then divide up into single portion sizes. Then Tony and Ziva drove to Abby and McGee's and rearranged the freezer downstairs to hold all the small labeled containers. Tony left a card and envelope on the table by the phone and they finally made it to the hospital and found the right waiting room.

Gibbs glowered at them. "What took you so long?"

Tony shrugged. "We had to do a few things." He handed Chaya to her grandfather. "Peace offering?" When Gibbs only glared instead of smacking him, Tony assumed the offering was accepted.

Around the corner in Abby's hospital room, Tim wiped her forehead with a cool cloth. A contraction gripped her body and Abby closed her eyes, squeezing her husband's hand. She was panting when it eased and looked at McGee. "How long has it been?"

He checked the timer on his watch that had started with her first contraction and sighed. "Eleven hours."

Tears streamed down her face. "It hurts Tim."

McGee kissed her hand. "I know it does honey, I'm sorry. I wish I could do something to help."

The next pain came before she could answer and Abby gritted her teeth and tried to breathe through it. Cassie walked in at the end and smiled sympathetically. "How are we doing?"

Abby's glare would've made Gibbs proud. "'We' has nothing to do with it. I am tired of being in labour."

Having long ago learned not to take anything said in the delivery room personally, Cassie sat down at the foot of the bed. "I'm just going to check on your progress Abby." A few moments later she stood. "Almost fully dilated, I don't think it will be long now."

In this case the medical professionals were wrong and two and a half more hours passed very slowly for Abby and McGee, filled with lots of yelling and a little screaming when the contractions got really intense. But finally she felt the unignorable urge to push. At that point two of the other midwives had joined them and along with Tim began coaching her through the process. Finally Abby snapped. "Just shut up and let me concentrate!" she shouted, groaning with the next contraction.

Cassie understood her frustration and kept quiet unless absolutely necessary. After three more pushes her eyes lit up. "The baby's crowning, I can see the head! Keep going Abby, you're doing great. Big push this time."

Giving it all she had, Abby bore down and the head was born. Only a couple contractions later the baby slipped from her body in a wet rush and at the first cry she fell back against the pillows, tears of relief falling this time. Tim kissed her. "I'm so proud of you."

Cassie lay the wet, squalling infant on Abby's stomach. "Congratulations, you have a beautiful baby girl."

Abby's eyes widened in shock. "A girl? No, I can't have a girl!" She looked at McGee. "I don't know anything about girls Timmy." Her panic would've been amusing except that it was very real.

"We'll learn babe, together we'll figure this out," he tried to reassure her.

Abby's hands fluttered. "No, I wanted a boy, I can handle a boy. I can't have a little girl, what if I totally mess her up?"

Her distress hurt Tim because he wanted to enjoy these first moments as a family with his new baby and he wanted Abby to be happy. Cassie could see the fear Abby felt and shifted the baby higher. "Undo your gown Abby."

She did as asked without even wondering why and moments later the baby latched onto her breast and Abby gasped in surprise. She stared down at the wet little creature covered in guck and blood and fluid and lifted one finger to touch her cheek. "Ohh..." she breathed, "hi."

"Daddy, want to come cut the cord?" Delaney asked, and Tim tore himself away from the time of bonding between his wife and daughter long enough to hold the scissors. Then he was right back at Abby's side. He reached over to rub a finger over the baby's tiny hand and a reflex that had connected fathers and daughters for centuries curled her fingers around his. That was it, he was a goner.

"Hi precious," McGee whispered, love for this tiny, helpless baby flooding his heart so much it ached. "Wow."

Abby's eyes met his. "She's perfect."

McGee smiled. "So you can handle having a girl?"

She frowned and held the baby tighter. "Well I'm not going to give her back."

"Good," he grinned. "Because she's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." Plus it was impossible, but that was beside the point.

The midwives waited for the baby to finish her first feeding before cleaning her up and doing a few brief tests - all while she lay on Abby's chest, since the new mother had gone from hands off to extremely possessive in a matter of minutes. Then Cassie and the others whispered congratulations and crept out, leaving the new McGee family alone together. Their tiny daughter was wrapped snugly in - to Abby's disdain - a pink blanket with a little white cap covering her dark hair. Abby had gotten cleaned up and changed with help from the midwives and now her trademark pigtails were back and she had on a nightgown that would easily allow her to nurse. She sat the bed up higher and looked at her husband.

"We should tell the team."

He chuckled. "That we have an unnamed baby girl? I think that's against the rules."

Abby frowned and huffed. "We don't have any girl names."

"Only because someone refused to look at that section of the book," Tim teased, thinking better of it when her eyes darkened. He cleared his throat. "Any ideas?"

She shrugged. "I don't want something normal. It needs to be different."

There's a shock, Tim thought. He leaned forward and put his hand on the baby. "I have a suggestion for her middle name."

Abby looked intrigued. "Okay."

"Elyssa," he revealed. "I heard it once and I always thought it was a pretty name."

"Elyssa," Abby repeated slowly, rolling it around on her tongue. She nodded. "I like it."

"That's half the battle," McGee smiled.

Abby kissed the sleeping baby on her hat. "You haven't held her yet Timmy."

He swallowed and rubbed his hands on his pants, suddenly and inexplicably nervous. "Uh...I don't know Abbs, maybe you should keep her. I might do something wrong."

She raised an eyebrow. "Mr. MIT is afraid of a little baby?"

Tim shook his head. "Not exactly."

Abby's expression softened. "Hold out your arms."

He did as she asked despite his reluctance and soon felt the warm weight of his baby settle against him. She was smaller than he'd expected and so light and fragile that he was afraid to move. She made a face and pursed her lips, then settled back into sleep. It was awhile before Tim realized he could hold her with one arm, and lifted his other hand, brushing his thumb over her cheek. "Hi sweetheart, I'm your dad." Abby blinked back tears as McGee continued to stare at the infant. "I've got you baby, and I promise I'm never letting go. My arms will always be your safe place."

The words struck a chord in Abby and she thought hard for a moment. Suddenly she smiled. "I know what to call her."

He looked up in surprise. "Really?"

Abby nodded. "You told her your arms would always be her safe place and I remember those early days when you slept over because I was scared to be alone with Ziva's nightmares and how you told me I kept your bad dreams away. Our love has been a safe place for both of us, so I think we should name her Haven."

Tim stared at his wife and then back at his baby girl. "Haven Elyssa McGee," he whispered. "That's just right."

She leaned over and kissed him and McGee stood. "Can I take her to meet the others?"

Anxiety gripped Abby's heart and she held out her arms, a pleading expression on her face. "No, please. Tell them they can come. Haven and I will wait here."

He handed the baby back to her mother and pressed his lips to Abby's cheek before leaving the room. Tim rounded the corner with a huge grin on his face. "We have a girl! Haven Elyssa McGee, six pounds three ounces, twenty-one inches long. She's perfect!"

The team swarmed him to give their congratulations. "Biased already, huh?" Tony joked, slapping him on the back. "Welcome to the club."

Ziva hugged him. "That is wonderful." She looked at Chaya, who had been their entertainment while they waited. "They are only five months apart, perhaps our daughters will grow up to be friends as well as cousins."

"I hope so," he nodded, unable to think any further ahead than this moment.

Celeste put her hand on his shoulder. "You will be a great dad. She already has your heart."

Tim chuckled. "From the first touch."

Gibbs held out his hand. "Congratulations."

"Thanks Boss."

"Take care of them," he ordered. "There's no greater gift."

McGee swallowed. "I will."

Everyone else offered their own words and then he stood back. "Abby said you could all come meet her."

The group followed him and crowded into the room, eyes fixed on the bundle in Abby's arms. She grinned. "Gibbs? Your turn first."

Tony got out the camera Ziva insisted they bring and they watched as the baby was transferred to her grandfather's arms. He stared down at her for the longest time without a word, then kissed her forehead. "I love you little girl," he whispered, signing something to Abby. A few tears escaped and she replied in kind before Gibbs jerked his head at Ziva.

"Ziver, come meet your niece."

Surprised that he would part with her so soon, Ziva handed Chaya to Tony and stepped close. "Mazel tov Abby," she said softly, receiving the baby to hold.

Then she looked at her husband. "I think Chaya should meet her new cousin as well." He brought their daughter over and Chaya squealed at the sight of the infant in Ziva's arms, clapping her hands.

Tony chuckled. "I think she approves. C, this is Haven. I can't wait to see what kind of trouble you two cook up together."

One by one each person got to meet the newest addition and when Abby couldn't keep her eyes open any more, they all began filing out, Gibbs and Celeste last. "See you tomorrow," were his last words.

"Well Grampa," Celeste smile once they were in the elevator, "what do you think?"

"I got really lucky. You, the girls, granddaughters. Can't ask for more."

"Indeed," she agreed. "How many people have a family like this? We have a lot to be thankful for Jethro."

He slid his arm around her waist. "I am Les. Every single day."