Three weeks later, Jenny staggered out of the bathroom shortly after 0400. She had spent the last half hour emptying the contents of her stomach. Jethro grumbled when he felt his wife fall into bed. She had landed mostly on him, and her sharp elbow hit him in the back. "Jen?" he asked with concern, pushing himself up.

"Don't ask, Jethro," she returned, completely mumbled. Her face was buried into her pillow.

He smirked, rubbing her back. "Jenny, you should take a test." He was sure he'd receive a murderous look or a threat of castration, but she rarely was sick in that way except for that time in autopsy and if she was expecting. She wasn't in autopsy, so it had to be the latter.

She turned her head towards him, giving her best Gibbs glare with her Shepard twist. "I'm not pregnant."

"Okay, you're not pregnant," he said, humoring her.

"I'm not, Jethro."

He sat up in bed and looked down at her. "Jen, I've only known you to throw up for two reasons."

"And those are?"

"In autopsy."

"That was all your fault. You had to keep describing every single damned detail." She felt queasy thinking of her first time in autopsy. Jethro had brought her breakfast and thrown it onto her desk, advising her to eat and that it would be a rough day. She hadn't known at the time it was part of his plan. He loved seeing probie agents lose their cookies their first time in autopsy.

"And when you've been pregnant."

"Your fault also."

"Just take a damn test, Jen," he responded, annoyed with the situation. She had made it clear she did not want another child especially at their age and with her current occupation. Still, that didn't mean she might not be pregnant. Sometimes, the best things in life were unexpected. They hadn't ever planned anything. They didn't plan falling in love, their girls, or their son.

"I don't need to take a pregnancy test. I know I'm not pregnant."

"Like you did with Lizzie and Katie?"

She rolled her eyes. "That doesn't count. I was young, and it was my first pregnancy."

"You're too stubborn. You know that."

"After nearly twenty-five years of knowing me, you're just now figuring that out, Jethro?"

He shook his head, rolling his eyes and looking off into space. "Dammit, Jen!" She knocked him in the head with a pillow. Before she could escape, he grabbed her by the wrist and pinned her down. "Take the day off and get a pregnancy test," he demanded softly, staring her down.

She stared at him as she struggled to get out from under him. After a few minutes, she realized she wouldn't be going anywhere until he released her. "Jethro," she said his name with exasperation.

"Please, Jenny."

He said please and Jenny which were two things that rarely come out of his mouth together. She silently nodded her head. "I'll call Cynthia at 0600 and tell her I'm not coming in."

"What else?"

"I'll pick up a test. Are you happy now?"

He smirked and gave her a kiss, rolling off her. She snatched her pillow and put it back in its place, settling back under the covers to sleep until his alarm went off at 0530. A phone call was placed to Cynthia at 0630, and she promptly set to work with rescheduling her boss's schedule for the day. Jethro left for work, stealing a goodbye kiss from his wife. Her slender arms went around his neck, kissing him back softly. "I love you. I'll see you when you get home."

"I love you too, Jenny. Call me when you find out?"

"Nope," she replied quickly. "You'll have to wait."

He smirked at her. He should have known that would be her answer. With Jethro gone, Jenny sprawled out on the bed and hogged all the cover she wanted. He left a note for Neomi, letting her know Jenny would be home all day. Noemi didn't disturb her until she came down the stairs around 1100. She was on her way into the study when she heard a key be put into the lock, and it turn over. Katie opened the door and tried not to look too shocked when she saw her mother.

"Oh, hey," she greeted sheepishly. "Why aren't you at work?"

Noemi came out of the kitchen with two bags in her hands. The bags were filled with groceries. "Here you go, Ka-," she paused, thinking Jenny was in the study. Both had been caught. Noemi's employer looked at her then looked at Katie.

"Running low on groceries at the apartment, Katie?"

She nodded her head.

"Noemi, put those back. I'll take Katie grocery shopping."

"Who are you?" Katie asked, following her mother into the study. "It's Tuesday, and you're at home. You're going to go grocery shopping. You never go grocery shopping. What in the hell is going on?"

"I wasn't feeling well this morning, and your father insisted I stay home. It won't kill me to take my daughter grocery shopping."

"You listened to him?" Katharine decided not to ask any more questions after that glare from her mother.

Before getting started with the large stack of folders, Jen's look softened as she glanced at Katie. "Let's go to lunch. I haven't seen you in a few days. We haven't done anything in a while either."

Ten minutes later, the pair left the house as did the protection detail. Katie caught her mother up on what was going on in her life. She gave a few tidbits about Lizzie. She couldn't tell her that DiNozzo was practically living with them most days of the week. Without realizing it, Katie cheered her mother up. Lunch was paid for, and it was onto grocery shopping.

In the grocery store, Jenny scanned the aisles while Katie pushed the cart and threw in whatever she pleased. Katie was telling her about her fall schedule when she realized her mother had disappeared. She found her on the next aisle over and walked down it. "I hate it when you do that," Katie stopped talking and realized what her mother was holding. "Seriously?"

Jen continued reading the box. She hadn't purchased a pregnancy test in years. "Yes, seriously. Your father thinks I might be."

"What do you think?"

"I hope I'm not."

"Mom, you can't be. You're almost 45 years old. That's five years away from 50."

Jen sighed and looked at her. "Thanks for the reminder, Katharine."

"I'm done shopping. If Lizzie isn't happy with what I got, too bad for her. I'll be your moral support when you take the test."

"Thank you," her mother answered softly and grabbed about five tests from the shelf. Katie paid for half of the groceries while Jen looked on, shaking her head. She would replace Katie's money when she wasn't paying attention or put it back into the bank account. Money wasn't a pressing concern. She and Jethro had invested well. Plus, her father and mother had set up trust funds for the girls when they were born. Lizzie and Katie would have quite the nest egg when they turned twenty-one. The drive home was quiet, and they quickly ascended the stairs, going into the master bedroom. Noemi didn't ask any questions. She simply took the grocery bags from the agents and put them away.

Katie sat on the bathroom counter and read the directions to her mother. She slid off the counter and left the bathroom, closing the door. Part of her wanted to text or call Lizzie, but she thought better of it. She'd hate to get her sister bent out of shape especially if the test turned out to be negative. Minutes later, her mother came out of the bathroom and sat down next to her.

"Well?" Katie asked, glancing at her.

"We wait."

Mother and daughter waited in silence, and both thought it was the longest two minutes of their lives. Katie tapped her nails on bed post until Jen clamped her hand over hers and mouthed for her to stop or she'd be losing that hand.

"Look on the bright side, it's not me taking the test."

"It should be you. It's not my turn anymore. I'm supposed to be a grandmother whenever that day comes."

"Lizzie will give you grandkids before I do."

"I know," her mother answered, squeezing her hand. She glanced at the time and stood up, pulling Katie up from the bed. They walked into the bathroom, and Jen picked up the test while Katie read the box.

"There will be a plus sign if you're pregnant. A negative sign will show if you're not."

Jen let out a huge sigh of relief. She was looking at a negative sign. Jethro was wrong, and she was right. Nothing pleased her more than to be right especially if he thought he was right to begin with.

"Well?" Katie asked, impatient with her mother's silence.

"Negative."

"Thank God," Katie muttered. She might have been pleased with the idea of a sibling years ago like she had been with her brother. Approaching the age of twenty-one, she wouldn't be pleased with a sibling. There would be too many risks for her mother, and she didn't want anything to happen to her.

"I know," Jen whispered and left the test on the counter.

Katie left the bathroom and went downstairs, going into the kitchen. Noemi cut her a slice of cake and put it on a plate. Noemi loved the girls as if they were her own, and she hated them not being in the house.

"Thanks," Katie replied, picking up the fork and taking a bite. Noemi set a glass of milk in front of her. The two chatted while Jenny came in and fixed a cup of coffee.

"I'll be in the study. If Jethro calls, I'm busy."

Katie smirked while Noemi simply nodded her head. Katie stayed for half an hour before getting her grocery bags and stopping at the doorway of the study. "Mom, I'm leaving."

Jenny removed her glasses and walked outside with Katie, carrying some of the grocery bags. The bags were loaded into the car. Katie hugged her and kissed her cheek. "Thanks, mom."

"You're welcome. Next time, go shopping before you don't have anything, so you don't have to sweet talk Noemi into getting things from here for you."

"I didn't have to sweet talk her."

Jen shook her head. "I know. She'd do anything for you and Lizzie. Probably give a kidney. I love you. Be careful and don't speed."

Katie rolled her eyes. "I love you too," she said, getting into the car and driving away.

Her mother waited until the car was out of sight before walking towards the house. She waved to the security detail and shut the door. The next hours were spent in the study, reading case reports and signing them. The large stack dwindled down to nothing before dinnertime. She was unsure of when Jethro would be home and told Neomi to leave the chicken enchiladas in the oven, promising she would eat when he arrived.

When Jethro arrived after 0700, he snuck up on Neomi as she was leaving a note about dinner. He chuckled at her when she hit him with a dishtowel. "Where's Jen?"

"Senora is upstairs."

"Have a good night, Neomi," he said as he exited the kitchen, jogging up the stairs. He entered quietly and found Jen napping on top of the covers. He smirked upon further discovery of a case report open on her stomach and her glasses still on her nose. He shook his head and carefully removed her glasses. For amusement, he would sometimes not bother taking her glasses off. She'd wake up, and the glasses would be crooked much to her annoyance. He kissed her forehead and walked into the bathroom, stopping when he noticed the pregnancy test. After squinting his eyes and reading the box, he realized his wife was right. In a way, he'd been hoping to come home and find a positive test.

"Jethro," Jen said from the doorway. She was leaning against the doorframe and looked to be half awake.

He put the test down and moved to stand in front of her. "Yeah?"

Her arms came around his middle, and she rested her head against his chest, burying herself into him. "I won't say I told you so. It must have been the take-out from that awful place Tony recommended."

He was smart enough not to take the bait she was feeding him. He simply nodded his head and rubbed her back with a sigh. He silently agreed the cause of her being sick was the food from the previous night.

She heaved a sigh and ran her fingers down the lapel of his jacket, feeling the softness of the fabric. "It's for the best."

"Are you sure, Jenny?"

"I'm certain. We're too old to start over. It should have happened years ago."

"Why didn't we?"

"I couldn't go through another nine months and have something happen later. It wasn't a risk I wanted to take." She pulled away from him, walking to the bed and sitting down.

He stared at her. After several minutes of silence, he walked over and sat down next to her, slipping his arm around her. In turn, she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I know you've been entertaining the idea of having another child, but Jethro…I won't watch another child die."

Jethro nodded his head. Her mind was made up just like it had been before. He thought time might have changed her outlook, but it hadn't. "What if we adopt?"

She shook her head. "No. It's not the right time, Jethro. I'm months away from being 45 years old. You're 51! Why do I have to keep reminding you we aren't as young as we used to be? We're looking forward to grandchildren…spoiling and sending them back. Not having one of our own…naturally or adopting. With our jobs, who would give us a child to adopt?"

"But Jen…"

She lifted her head from his shoulder and clamped her hand over his mouth, looking him in the eyes. "Shut up. We're done with this issue."

He nodded his head and waited for her to remove her hand. "Yes, ma'am." He kissed her head and inhaled the scent of her shampoo. He watched her attempt to blow her bangs out of her eyes and huff when she had failed. Little things like that made him find her unbelievably adorable.

"Let's go eat dinner."

"What's for dessert?" he asked, not moving from the bed.

Jen looked over her shoulder at him as she neared the doorway. "You'll have to find out," she finished with a wink.

He smirked at her cryptic answer and stood up. She turned around and watched him silently. "Jethro?" He said nothing, glancing at her with a mischievous spark in his blue eyes.

"Jethro," she responded, backing towards the doorway. "What are you going to do? I don't like it when you get that look in your eye. It rarely turns out well for me." She bumped into the wall and cursed silently having misjudged the doorway.

"I want dessert first," he admitted, closing the distance between them and lifting her into his arms. He unceremoniously threw her onto the bed. He wasn't quick enough to stop her from exiting the other side, and she took off down the stairs. "Playing hard to get, Jenny?"

All he could hear were her giggles as he chased after her down the stairs and into the kitchen where she was on the other side of the island with a smirk on her face. "Dinner first then you can do whatever you want to me."

He debated for a few minutes and nodded his head. "Deal."

She shook her head in amusement. The way his moods changed always surprised her. His wife rarely figured out what she did to get his motor running. She was sure he'd rush through dinner to get his way.