Written for the het_bigbang on on Livejournal. Thanks to Karlamartinova for beta-reading.


Christopher and Georgie had barely left his car and were on their way into the NCIS NOLA office, when Georgie's phone beeped; she checked the text, gave a quick look at her wristwatch and groaned, rolling her eyes.

Christopher, who had walked in front of her, stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face her. "Something wrong?" He asked, concerned- a concern that even his blue eyes alone would have been able to transmit.

Georgie bit her lips- something he hated because he really, really wanted to kiss her senseless whenever she did so – and quickly scanned the surrounding area, making sure that no one from the office would hear them.

"My doctor," she sighed. "She moved my check-up. I'm supposed to be there in, like, half an hour?"

Chris gasped, firmly fisting his left hand at his side, his right one involuntarily, instinctually skimming over her flat belly. Georgie gasped as well at the contact, mesmerized by the sight of Chris' fingers on her body- her child- and when she went to push his hand away, she found out she couldn't bring herself to; instead, they intertwined their fingers, warmth and an electrical surge running through their whole beings at the contact.

"Baby's fine?"

"Uh…" She cleared her head, her throat as well, forced herself to let it go of him. She stopped looking at their hands on her pregnant belly, but couldn't part with Chris, so, instead, she searched for his eyes. "Yeah, it's just that, I just entered the second trimester, yesterday actually, and I want to know that everything is all right. If it is… the worst should have passed, as they say."

She smiled, her eyes teasing. If everything is well, I'm going to tell people, she thought, but didn't say, and yet, Chris smiled, all pearly white teeth, and understood it all.

"Can you cover for me?" "You want me to drive you there?" They said at the same time. They both laughed at it, Georgie biting her lips and blushing a little.

She cleared her throat. "It's here in the Quarter, ten, fifteen minutes by feet tops. Besides, I'd rather prefer to tune the gossip down. Especially given that I may need to ask Pride for desk duty and maternity leave in the foreseeable future."

Chris shook his head, laughing, hands in the pockets of his jeans.

"What?"

He didn't answer, just shrugged like it was nothing.

Sweetheart, if you think that people will not assume that your baby is actually my baby, you are mistaken. You may have dated Keith, but people already know that I've got my eyes on you. And those outings that you didn't want to admit were dates? Sorry, but not sorry: those were definitely dates.

Georgie cleared her throat, and, as she went and give him her shoulders and started walking in direction of the Clinic, she started to nervously play with the hem of her sweater; she didn't know what she wanted. She knew that she couldn't ask Chris to accompany her- he wasn't the father, she couldn't put that weight on his shoulders, it wasn't right to allow people to make assumptions- and yet, part of her regretted that decision.

She was forty years old. She was a single mother. And she was on her way to discover if something was wrong with her pregnancy- with her baby.

It was wrong of her to even just think of burdening Chris with such a weight, and yet, in the deep of her heart, she felt it would have been the right thing to do: Chris wanted to get involved. He had asked her if she wanted to be driven there. Told her that everything would have been fine. He pampered her. Asked about the baby whenever they were alone.

And… she admitted with glassy eyes, hugging her belly to hope in strength from her unborn baby, she wanted it to; Chris, the guy who had asked her out on a date after their first case together in New Orleans, wasn't the problem. She was.

Because Georgina Newman was sick and tired of being left alone in the dark.

Men left her. They disappointed her.

She couldn't count on anyone else but herself when it came to her heart; that, life had taught her- and she would have probably ended up doing the same thing with her child.

She would have been there for her child… but could she say the same thing of a man who wasn't even the baby's father?

Maybe yes, maybe not.

She wasn't sure. Didn't know. What she knew was that she rather preferred fear and solitude to yet another broken heart.

And yet, as she walked into the clinic, she knew she would have welcomed Chris' presence; she saw the expectant mothers, almost all of them with their husbands and boyfriends- or at least, some family.

She wanted to regret her choice. Wanted to regret everything that had happened until that very day, but she couldn't bring herself to.

She wasn't going to regret the best thing that had ever happened to her, her one and only chance at motherhood and a family of her own. That was what she was supposed to concentrate on. Chris would have eventually moved on, found a nice southern girl he fancied, someone of his own age, and he would have been on his merry way. It was probably just a phase. Maybe it was just his southern gentlemanly manners. Or maybe it was because he wanted children but didn't want to father any of them, as he had told her few weeks before.

Besides, she wasn't going to stay in New Orleans for the rest of her life. It had always been just an affair of few months- even if now she guessed prolonging it at least until the end of the pregnancy would have been wise; at six months pregnant, she wouldn't have been able to take a flight, nor to drive for almost twenty hours. And besides, she really didn't feel like changing doctor at the last minute.

Yes, I'm staying. For now. She thought between herself.

"Mrs. Newman?" She was awoken from her reverie from her doctor's voice, and she realized she had been sitting in the waiting room until that very moment, and that almost all the other patients were now gone. She swallowed nervously, sighing, and, slowly, trembling, she made her way into the exam room.

She wanted to cry. Wanted to have a hand to hold. Instead, she was alone. And she didn't know what the doctor was going to tell her.

She laid down on the table, lifted her striped white shirt. Cold sweat covered her pale skin- a skin way too pale for someone who had lived for the last fifteen years in Los Angeles.

Keith had lifted an eyebrow the first time they had slept together, and Georgie found herself wondering if Chris would have cared at all: she gasped, her heartbeat as crazy as an horse, and wondered if it may be all right, at least dreaming about it- wanting him like that.

"Bloodwork looks good. Now I want to take a quick ultrasound of the baby…"

Georgie didn't nod (was she even supposed to, after all? Wasn't that, like, what they always did?) and looked at the white ceiling as the doctor splashed her abdomen with the chilly gel; the woman passed the machine on her skin, Georgie feeling colder and colder, shivering all over.

Time passed. Like an eternity pushing down on her. Why wasn't the doctor talking? Maybe there was something wrong. Maybe her baby wasn't even there any longer- she had heard of women that had experienced such losses.

She was scared and alone. She wanted to cry. She didn't want to be alone.

She wanted to have Chris at her side, holding her hand, caressing the crown of her brown, rebellious hair whispering sweet nothings in her ear, telling her that everything would be all right while the doctor told them everything was fine and well.

But the doctor wasn't talking. Which meant that there was something wrong.

Which meant Christopher had broken a promise he should have never made to begin with.

Am I even surprised? She realized she was thinking. Hot tears were running down her cheeks, her fists were firmly closed at her sides, her knuckles stark white.

She could see one color and one color alone: red. Rage. Irrational, and yet it was exactly how she felt.

Christopher was exactly like any other man in her life. Any other person in her life. They mislead and lie and hurt her.

She was all alone. She had nothing- just when she had hoped that things would change for the best…

"…And that's your baby, detective! It was playing hide-and-seek and wanted to scare us, but, we won!"

Georgie gasped, and looked at the screen; it was hard to see a baby in those grey and black and white stains, and yet here it was. Her child.

It was there. Still with her.

"Everything seems to be fine. The rockiest period is officially over- if you haven't told people already you can start now." The blonde woman smiled, cleaned the detective a little, then sighed. "Do you want to schedule the amniocentesis for next month?"

Georgie's eyes couldn't leave the screen. She was focused on that tiny little miracle- her miracle; at twenty-four years old, at the peak of her fertility, a woman has a 4% chance of getting pregnant while using precautions. She had gone and done it at forty years old.

Risks were low nowadays, but they still existed, and she already loved this baby. She would have never gotten rid of it, never put it into danger- no matter what.

She took a big breath. "No. I just want to schedule the next ultrasound."

For once, she wanted to believe that there was a man out there who wouldn't have played with her heart, wouldn't have lied to her.

She wanted for Chris to be right, and for everything to end well.


"So, Christopher… something's wrong with Georgie?" Pride asked as he took a chair and sat before Christopher at the young agent's desk; still looking through some files from the investigation, Chris shook his head. But he was smiling- that was why Pride knew his surrogate son was hiding something, and that whatever it could be, there was going to be no harm involved.

Hell, he thought to himself, chuckling inside, could be even something good for the kid. God knows if he doesn't deserve it. About time he changes his ways…

Christopher took a big breath; Pride was looking at him in that "I know you are keeping a secret, and secrets are no good" kind of way; he was probably going to repeat his mantra next, reminding him that they couldn't help, nor save, each other if there were any secrets between themselves.

"It's not my place to say, King, but rest assured, it's nothing you have to be worried about." I think, he mentally added. "Besides, you know. She'll tell you when she'll be ready."

Pride chuckled. "I don't know, Christopher. Georgie can be quite hard-headed. You, of all, should know it." Without adding another word, Pride went back into the kitchen, and left Chris there to ponder what the hell had just happened. What did Pride mean? Did he know something? Had he understood something?

"Ehy." Chris was still lost, pondering his boss and friend's words, when Georgie returned from her "trip", slightly out of breath. "Pride's here?"

"Uh?" It took Chris a few seconds to catch up; he had barely noticed she had returned, and when he finally did, his mind was suddenly filled with all the things he wanted to ask her; he bit the inside of his cheek, cursing himself. He knew it wasn't his place, and yet he wouldn't have minded being there with her- for her.

Do you know already the sex? Did you decide if you want an amnio? Is everything all right? What did the doctor say? Were you worried for something in particular?

Instead, he went for a simple" You good?"

Biting her lips, she nodded, and he couldn't help but grin- and had they been alone, he would have probably taken her in his arms, and made her twist in the air like a ballerina, because… because her eyes were answering to all of his questions and to so much more!

She was shining. Radiant, As happy as he had never seen her before.

It's true what they say about pregnant women, then, he thought, chuckled. He wondered how could it be possible that no one was seeing it. Was he seeing the signals just because he knew what he was looking for? Or maybe it was because he was, in some kind of weird, twisted way, involved…

"Good." He simply said, his hand on her own, his eyes filled with happiness, the mirror of her own.

"Lunch date with the boyfriend?" Brody asked her arriving from the garden. "Please, don't tell me you disappear in the middle of the case for a man. We have enough of LaSalle chasing skirts…"

Geordie made a face. "Nah. I'm too much of a workaholic to even just think of getting away from the job to have a dirty, secret rendezvous in the middle of the day. Besides." She took a big breath, trying to at least seem sorry. "Besides I happen to be single again. Have been for the last couple of months, actually."

"Really!" Brody smirked, her gaze- her very intent, and meaningful glaze- focused on Chris, who looked at her like he could kill her on the spot.

Brody wasn't an idiot. She knew he liked Georgie. Knew he had set his eyes on her and then Keith had happened.

And apparently, now Brody wanted to play Cupid and have him put his shit together and just ask clearly Georgie out on a date. Or even better, a series of dates. If not directly her hand in marriage.

"So… Pride?" Georgie asked again, looking quizzically from Chris to Brody.

"Kitchen." Chris left his place at his desk, and, under Brody's quizzical look, walked a few steps at Georgie's side. "You need some help? Some… encouragement?"

At the doorstep of the kitchen, she stopped and turned to face Chris; she was smiling- shyly, but he could see that it was a real smile this time around – and put her hands on his shoulders; they were close, so close, that they chests were almost touching, and involuntarily, she started rubbing circles on the hot skin of his neck.

"Relax, I don't need you to be the perfect southern gentleman this time around, Chris." Her breath was hot on his neck, and Chris lowered his head, their foreheads merely inches apart.

"You sure?" He asked, his voice low and hoarse and sensual, the words spilled like honey, like he was breathing them on her own lips.

She nodded.

But she wasn't so sure any longer.

She didn't want to go to Pride. She just wanted the whole world to disappear so that she and Chris could be there, alone, until the end of times, in that precise moment. Their bubble of satisfaction and desire and just pure, raw need.

He was titling his head to the side, and she half-closed her eyes, foretasting his kiss, when Brody cleared her throat, remembering the both of them that they weren't alone in their perfect bubble of perfect happiness, but they were at work.

They jumped apart, took each a couple of steps back, like they were burning.

"Ok, Now, Pride, you guys, later." She cleared her voice, and went into the kitchen, where she found Pride busy cooking shrimps crepes with some deliciously-looking sauce.

Something she hadn't particularly enjoyed until that day -but apparently, she was already starting to have cravings.

"Ehy Pride… you've got a minute?" She knocked nervously on the table, biting her lips. Her heart was practically thundering in her chest. And why? She wondered. She didn't know what she was so afraid of. People's judgement, maybe? That's what had guided her until that very moment, after all.

"Sure." He nodded, and offered her a crepe and took another for himself. "You got something for me?"

She started to eat and play with her food at the same time, once sat before Pride. She kept biting her lips. She kept stealing glances at her boss. Did her best to buy herself time.

"Wow. I've tasted good food before, but this is absolutely a-maz-ing. Why do you just have a bar? Or even better: why are you still a cop and not a chef?"

"I've been told Chris' cooking isn't half bad." She almost chocked on her food as he chuckled; she kept looking, terrified, at Pride: what the hell was happening?

"I still think I'm better, though; let's call it natural predisposition. Passion, if you want. You see, when Christopher cooks for a lady, he follows recipes. Me? I follow my own heart."

Maybe I do need someone to help me man up, after all, she wondered, as she carefully choose her next words. Or maybe not: Pride didn't need to see Chris at her side, nor to know that he was delivering meals at her place because he believed she wasn't looking after herself enough; she was about to tell him she was expecting a baby- and had Chris been there, Pride would have made the logical (and yet wrong) assumption.

She took a big breath. It was time to stop beating around the bush.

"So… I think I may need you to put me on desk duty." She cleared her voice. "Actually, I need to be put on desk duty."

Pride sighed, shook his head. "Georgie, I'm not an idiot. You've been distant, distracted lately. Christopher doesn't want to tell me what's going on- and now you tell me that you don't want to work in the field any longer. And don't tell me it's because last month you took a bullet to the vest- because you've been a cop for almost half your life, and you've been knocking at Heaven's doorstep without battling an eyelash before."

Georgie put aside the food and started to play with the hem of her sweater- a feminine way of showing troubles. Secrets kept hidden but that wanting to be left free.

"Georgie, if you don't tell me what's the problem, I can't…"

"… you can't help me, and the more you know, the more you can help and keep me safe. I know." She finished his sentence for him, then, she said, finally, in one breath. "I'm three months pregnant."

She lifted her face from the table when she didn't hear Pride replying; he was looking at her, with a content smile. "Well?" She demanded.

Pride laughed, and shook his head; he stood and went to her side of the table, and embraced her, patting her on the back. "Ehy, it doesn't matter what I think or that I'm sorry I will not have you in the field for a while- the only thing that matters is what you think."

She smiled. "I think that the timing isn't perfect, that we weren't planning on it, actually, we did our best to prevent this to begin with, because, hello? We barely know each other and it's not like it was serious… we were just two adults that happened to be single and wanted to have some fun… but it happened… and I know you'll probably think that I'm crazy, but I'm actually… happy about this."

She smiled- actually giggled. "I'm going to be a mum!"

"Yes, and trust me, you'll be an amazing one." He chuckled, patted her on the back. "So… are we celebrating or…?"

She smiled, shook her head a little. "Yeah, yeah, we can celebrate." She knew what he really meant: he wanted to know if she was going to keep it a secret or not. Which she didn't- not any longer, at least. She was happy- and she wanted for people to know why.

With Pride hot on her heels, she went back into the squad-room, and cleared her voice. She was almost stuttering. But it needed to be done. Chris was right. Sooner or later they would have discovered it- and the more she waited, the more her coworkers would have felt betrayed. Because, like Pride always said? They were like a small family of sort.

She didn't know how to say it- so she decided to be direct.

"Guys… the things is… I'm pregnant!" There. She had done it. Now she could go and hide in the shadows just like she wanted to.

"With a baby?!" Patton asked.

She turned to look at him, lifted eyebrows and all. "No, of course. With a two-headed elephant." She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm pregnant with a baby. Of course I am!"

Brody shook her head, and, radiant, hugged Georgie and congratulated her; Meredith wasn't sappy, more matter-of-fact, and that was what Georgie liked about her.

"Congratulations, mama!" Chris did the same routine as Brody, but hugged her longer, tighter, and whispered in her ear I told you I would have acted surprised!

"We are happy, thought, aren't we?" Brody asked just to make sure, suddenly scared that she had over-reacted, as controlled as her reaction had been.

"Yeah, we are." Georgie answered, her hand on her belly.

Without her noticing, Pride stole a glance at Christopher; he had an idea that Detective Trevor was the father of the baby, and yet, he could recognize all too well the look in his second in command's eyes.

It was the same look he had had once upon a time, the same one he still had whenever he saw Laurel or talked about her.

In Christopher's eyes, he could see that the boy already was a dad.