HTS - Final Chapter
Well it's been a crazy epic adventure. Thanks for all the love and reviews, the faves and the follows.
Thanks again to CRed1988 who requested this story, originally. I hope I have done the story justice. You've set my love alight for this pairing. Writing this story has been the inspiration to all my other Kelly Lives stories.
For MsMooney69, who has been very patiently waiting for the final chapter of this story.
Now... Onto the final chapter.
Upon hearing from Ducky upon their return that Tim had briefly woken, renewed hope filled everyone's hearts that everything would eventually be okay. Kelly could barely hold back the tears and she was a blubbering mess. "Kelly, my dear, you need to pull yourself together. Tim's going to be fully awake soon, and I am sure, all he wants to see is your smiling face," Ducky reminded her.
"You're right," she sobbed harder, knowing that it was the hormones and the baby, not actually her tears. Slipping into the bathroom attached to Tim's hospital room, she splashed cold water on her face. The baby had been kicking up a storm since their wedding. She hoped that Tim would be discharged from the hospital in time. She had a scan booked for the following week and there was no way that she would have it without her husband by her side.
Returning to the room, she watched Tim begin to stir in the bed. She sighed happily as his eyes fluttered open. "Hey baby," she gushed, willing her eyes not to tear up. "Welcome back. How are you feeling?"
Tim thought that Kelly looked beautiful, telling her that she was a sight for sore eyes. Before telling his wife that he actually felt OK. That the pain was minimal, and he was surprised to find that, because he was expecting a lot worse. He was expecting it to be like the first time, like right after the initial injury. "Surprisingly ok. How are you, sweetheart?" He asked, taking in her red eyes, he wouldn't mention it, but he could see that she had been crying.
He opened up his arms and encouraged Kelly to hug him on his non-injured side. He had missed his wife and told her so, kissing her lips. "You really shouldn't be doing that in here." Ducky chastised from the doorway and Tim looked towards the kind, playful voice, before smiling at him.
"Nothing wrong with that." Tim grinned at his friend. "I love my wife and I have missed her, dearly."
"Yes, however we wish you a full and complete recovery. I think your wife would appreciate that more than anyone else. Especially with your wee bundle of joy on the way." Ducky reminded him.
Tim tried really hard not to sulk at that, but even he had to admit that the long-term gains for the short-term pain would be worth it. "How did everything go, Duck?" Tim asked, eager to hear.
He felt better in himself than the last time he had had his arm and shoulder operated on. He felt more positive and more at peace, as well as physically, he felt better. He hoped that this was a turning point for them. He wasn't stupid, he knew that if this didn't work, he'd most likely lose his arm.
"Doctor Green will be by shortly." Ducky told them both, before repeating what Mark Green had told Jethro last night. "Considering the condition of the injury, the amount of dead tissue and your obs, you're doing ok. Your blood pressure and heart rate were a little high, so we kept you sedated for slightly longer. There will be a bit of pain, but now you're awake, we can assess the levels and perhaps give you something stronger for it."
"Ducky is right." Doctor Mark Green added from the doorway, as he let himself into his patient's room. He had Tim's obs chart and the medical notes in his hands. He had been reading up on how Tim had come out of the sedation, as well as how his body had handled the pain medications. On such a strong regime of pain relief, everyone reacted differently to pain meds. "We will monitor infection levels with twice daily blood tests for a full blood count and a white cell count. If all goes well, we will schedule you in for a skin graft sometime next week to aid the healing process. Hopefully with no post-op infections and intense physical therapy you will be moving your arm around in eight to ten weeks. Another two to three weeks after that, pending a full medical clearance, you will be fit to return to normal duties."
Tim felt like he wanted to cry tears of happiness. He honestly couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel, before this surgery, but now he felt he could. "That's great news." Kelly beamed at him and all he could do was nod at his wife.
"Light duties?" Tim managed to get out as he was choked up with emotion.
"Baby steps, Tim." Ducky advised him. "Let's focus on the next surgery, first. Now you have a rather large crowd out in the waiting room. I believe Jethro and Jackson are there, as well as Leon, Matt, Tony, Ziva, Clayton, Phil and Clare. Let me go update them."
"Perhaps, if they really wish to see I that I am doing ok. I could sit up in bed a little and they could look in through the window." Tim suggested. He wanted to see his friends and family too. He missed them.
"We just want to protect you from any risk of a post-op infection, not keep you from your family, Tim." Doctor Green reminded him. "Letting them see you from the window is a great idea."
The waiting room crowd had grown dramatically in the time that Gibbs and Jackson had been waiting for the next update from Ducky. Clayton and Phil, in particular were getting antsy. They had only just arrived after being stuck in meetings all day and unable to come sooner. Everyone was already pretty bummed out that they had come to visit but couldn't see him. That due to the nature of his injury they were trying to limit his exposure to any possible infection. But they came anyway, on the remote chance that the ban was lifted and they could see him.
Gibbs was planning to suggest to Ducky that they best rig something up so they could see Tim, then send everyone home. This was going to be a marathon, not a sprint. Kelly and the Gibbses were going to need help throughout this marathon, Jethro just prayed they stepped up to the plate when the time came for help.
"I come with an update." Ducky announced, seeing everyone exhale a sigh of relief. "In a few moments, Tim will be sitting up in bed and I can take two people at a time back to see him through the observation room window."
"That's great." Clare beamed at the Scottish doctor. Jethro Gibbs had snuck her back there while Tim was still sleeping, literally for a minute. But Clare could feel the worry rolling off her husband and her brother in waves, not to mention her own concerns.
"He won't be able to hear you speak to him. Or him speak to you. But he does ask that you go home and relax after seeing him." Ducky added, trying to clear out the waiting room, as promised. "Tim's recovery will be a marathon, not a sprint. Kelly is already to the halfway point in her pregnancy. They're both going to need help, so we all need to be emotionally ready to pitch in and help out when we're asked."
"As anxious as I am to see Tim, Leon and Jackie should go first." Phil Davenport declared, with a gesture towards the new NCIS Director and his wife. "They have young children waiting for them to come home and can't spend the night sitting around, waiting for their turn."
Murmurs of agreement flooded the room, while Jackie gathered her bag and left her unopened water bottle for Jackson to drink. Reminding the old man that he needed to keep up his hydration. It was too easy to become dehydrated in the hospital from the ventilation system and the air conditioning system constantly running to kill the bugs and bacteria.
Jackie was surprised to feel her husband slip his hand inside hers. Not because he never held her hand, but because the way he did it, it was something he did when he was drawing his strength from her. When Ducky escorted them to the observation room, they peered in. Tim was propped up to the pillows, his head leaning back, and his eyes closed. The dressings visible to them and Jackie felt Leon squeeze her hand. "Oh, God." he murmured to her. "I didn't get to see it up close last time, but this, it looks worse."
The wound on Tim's neck had a drainage tube attached to it, coming out of the dressing, with a small pump attached. You could see some of the bloody discharge and infection in the drainage tube. Leon had been unprepared for such a sight, and he squeezed his wife's had gently, needing her strength to not let Tim see him crumble. Leon wanted to do everything he possibly could to bolster Tim's mental mood and make him feel supported.
Tim opened his eyes, and he gave a small wave to them, at Kelly's small nudge on his good arm. To Tim, seeing Jackie and Leon smiling back at him, made him feel positive. Positive about the situation, the outcome of the surgery and the recovery he was facing. It made him feel secure in his job, that the job he loved so much wouldn't be ripped out from beneath him.
Ducky gave them a small nudge, reminding them that they were only allowed a couple of minutes.
Next up was Phil and Clayton, both men stood somber, as they looked through the window at their nephew. "He doesn't look too bad, if you ignore the drain." Clayton muttered to Phil.
A nod in agreement and a small wave, a sign from Phil and a nod and the two men were waving goodbye to Tim, as Kelly slipped into the attached bathroom.
Tony and Ziva came for their visit next, barging and bashing into one another as they childishly fought to be the first one in the observation room. Ducky had suitably chastised them both to no avail. Shaking his head, he quietly threatened to bang their heads together, if they didn't quit it.
Ziva spoke out loud as she thought, a trait she didn't portray very often. "He does not look too bad, no? She asked and Ducky placed his hand on her shoulder. Much like a grandfather would comfort his grandchild.
"No, my dear, he looks remarkable, given what he is going through." Ducky agreed with Ziva's assessment and Tony couldn't help but nod in agreement.
Seeing Tim open his eyes, Tony felt like he could have burst out with pride for his friend. He was beginning to have faith that everything would be OK. Difficult, but OK.
A quick wave to Tim from Tony and a blown kiss from Ziva, the two of them headed back to the waiting room.
Clare took Jackson's offered arm and escorted the elderly Gibbs patriarch to the observation room, so she could see her nephew and Jackson, his grandson-in-law.
Peeking through the window, the two of them let out a collective sigh of relief as they saw him awake and smiling as he had said something to his wife. "If it wasn't for the drainage tube, he'd look OK." Jack said, giving him a thumbs up through the glass.
"Makes me thankful I didn't see him when this injury originally happened." Clare sighed out loud. "I was on a cruise with my girlfriends. Phil and Clay said that he looked like he did in '94, after his big wreck. I couldn't handle that back then; it'd be worse now. Sometimes I look at Tim and see the scared little boy from his mom' s funeral, then I blink, and I remember that he's about to be a father. The next generation of the Jarvis and Gibbs family."
"Tim's a good man, Clare." Jack said, patting her hand gently. "I wouldn't worry too much about him. He's going to be a great father."
It was almost a week later, and Tim had been out of ICU for two days. The visitor rules had been relaxed to strictly two at a time and strict PPE was to be worn. It was the night before the next operation, his skin graft. They were going to take the skin from his thigh and graft it onto his neck.
Tim was lying awake in bed; it was the middle of the night. Literally. Somewhere around two-thirty or three in the morning. A noise was made by the door, it sounded like the ruffle of the plastic disposable gown that everyone had to wear who came in the room.
Tim blocked it out of his mind, closing his eyes to try to sleep because he assumed that it was just another nurse coming in for something. They were in and out all night every night, rarely getting him any solid sleep. But it wasn't a nurse and Tim was unable to sleep. "Tim?" a voice asked, in a low whispered voice. "You awake?" he asked.
"What?" Tim asked, confused. "What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"
Tim thought that it was Tobias Fornell's voice. In fact, he was almost certain that it was Tobias' voice that he recognised. But he knew that he could not have, Tobias was undercover. He had gone undercover, chasing a mob boss. The assignment started two days after they were married, and he was regretful that he had to bail on his promise to help his nephew and best friend with the house for Tim and Kelly.
"I'm not really here." the voice replied. "Just wanted to say good luck to you. I heard what was happening to you through a mutual acquaintance and I had to see you. I can't stay, but promise me Tim. You will keep pushin' and recover. You need to get your arm all nice and healed so that you can hold your new baby when he or she arrives."
"Tobias?" Tim asked out loud, wondering if the nurses had mixed up his pain relief and given him something stronger than he usually had. Maybe the doctor had changed his pain relief and forgotten to tell him. Maybe they were extra strong, and the side effects of the new pain meds were hallucinations.
"I've got to go, kid." Tobias said, as he touched Tim's non-injured arm in comfort and placed a small rice-filled stress ball in his hand. "Remember your promise to me. Get yourself well enough to hold that baby in Kell's tummy. Keep pushing yourself, you can do it."
Tim blinked again and Tobias was gone. There was no trace of him. It was as if Tim had hallucinated the entire visit. Except that the small stress ball that he had given Tim was still in the hand of his uninjured side.
Next time that Tim woke, the sun was just peeking through the slats in the blind, as the door opened, and Tim smiled as he saw his early morning visitors arrive. Jethro and Kelly. "Good morning, Baby." Kelly gushed, as she kissed her husband, the disposable, yellow plastic gown covering her baby belly, but barely tying up behind her.
Jethro Gibbs smiled as he watched Kelly kiss her husband hello. It was a secret pleasure of his, watching the two of them together. "Hey Timmo." Jethro Gibbs grinned at his son in-law. "How did you sleep, son?" He asked. He wasn't sure, but he thought that Tim didn't look very well rested. He knew that Tim had been worried about his recovery from this upcoming operation. But he also knew that Tim knew how important it was that this operation happen. He needed new skin grafted over the old wound to prevent a reinfection, otherwise, they would be back here again. Only this time they would be amputating his arm at the shoulder.
"Weirdly." Tim frowned and Jethro spied the small ball on the locker beside Tim's bed. "Any word from Tobias, Dad?" He asked his father in-law. If anyone had heard anything, he knew Jethro would know. Plus, his visitor masquerading as Tobias had told him that he had found out about the surgery from an acquaintance. The only person that knew Tobias that would give Tobias medical information about him would be Jethro Gibbs.
"He's undercover, Tim. Remember?" Jethro prompted and saw a brief look of confusion cross Tim's face.
"Must have been a dream then." Tim concluded in a mutter and Jethro frowned at Tim's statement. He was sure that it wasn't a dream. Tim didn't make bad mistakes like that, even in drug-induced dazes. But he did decide to drop the topic, they had probably already said too much in the presence of Kelly.
"I'm sure that it was." Gibbs placated him. Sure enough, a minute later the orderly and the nurse were here to take Tim to theatre. This time for the skin graft to aide in the healing. Jethro Gibbs patted his son in law's head and his good arm. "You'll be OK, son."
Kelly kissed her husband, and they wheeled him off to his skin graft procedure.
Tim spent a total of four hours and seventeen minutes on the operating table and another two hours and twenty-two minutes in recovery, before he was brought back to his room. Ducky and Ziva were waiting for his return eagerly. Ducky had sent Kelly home to rest, as it was becoming increasingly difficult on her back to sit in those hard, uncomfortable plastic chairs all day. Ducky made sure that she was getting plenty of fluids and getting enough exercise, whilst Ziva made sure she was eating healthy and nutritious meals.
Kelly was excited, today was the day that they would be having a scan to see their baby. It had taken a lot of re-organizing and re-jigging on Ducky's behalf, along with some creative arrangements and the bottle of a single malt, twelve-year-old whiskey to allow Kelly to have her ultrasound scan done at the same hospital that Tim was in, so that Tim could attend and see it for himself. Ducky told the couple that this was his present to them, that he would wear the cost of the Kelly had on her husband's suggestion purchased Ducky a bottle of his favourite whiskey as thanks for taking the mammoth task on.
Tim was ushered into a wheelchair, with Gibbs pushing him, they went and met Kelly in the imaging department. When her name was called, Gibbs waited in the waiting room while the sonographer wheelied Tim in.
During the scan, they were asked if they wanted to know the gender of the baby, but they both declined. They had definitely wanted to be surprised. Kelly had held Tim's hand the entire time, while Tim had been gingerly leaning forward in an effort to get closer to the screen.
Tim was relieved when the scan was over, he hadn't admitted to anyone but that had really hurt his neck. He hadn't thought about the pain at the time, but as soon as he had sat back, he felt the pain rip through him.
"You ok, Tim?" Gibbs had asked, as soon as he had been rolled back to the waiting room with Kelly walking beside him.
"Long day." Tim murmured, as they stopped by the lifts, waiting for the elevator to take them to the sixth floor. "Are you ok, baby?" He asked his wife.
"More than ok." Kelly grinned at him, her hand resting on her protruding baby bump. "Wasn't that just one of the best things you've ever seen in your life?" Kelly's head was in the clouds, but in a good way. She had felt her heart flutter when they had seen the baby appear on the screen.
"I can only imagine." Gibbs added, interjecting himself into the conversation. "We didn't even have ultrasounds or sonograms when your mom was having you."
"It was ... wow." Tim agreed. He had been hoping for at least a print of the image or a small video, but the hospital hadn't provided one and he was feeling disappointed about it. He was also slightly blaming himself for not asking too.
Tim had been feeling like he had been having a hard time, mentally since the last operation. Sure. the anesthesia and the pain meds were out of his system, but he had still felt like he was behind the eight ball. But like always, Gibbs and Kelly had there beside him, every step of the way.
Three weeks after the last operation on his shoulder, Tim was discharged from the hospital and transferred to the inpatient rehab center. He spent the next three months learning to use and regain his strength in his wrist, elbow, shoulder and arm. In that time, he had a constant stream of supportive visitors pop in and out on rotation. He had felt, once he had been transferred to the inpatient rehab, one hundred times better mentally.
As Tim marked his rehab milestones, Kelly was marking her pregnancy ones right alone side him. Now in her seventh month, she was beginning to complain that she was uncomfortable. Everyday Tim looked at her and promised himself he would work harder and harder than he had ever worked in his left to ensure that he was ready for when the baby came. Every ultrasound, checkup and test had comeback perfect and so far, there was nothing to worry about.
Despite Tobias' absence, everyone else had pitched in and the builders were steaming along, in hopes of having the house ready before the baby was born. Gibbs had helped Kelly get the spare room in his home in shape, to double as a nursery. Gibbs had removed Kelly's cradle from the attic and lovingly restored it, ensuring that it currently met the most up to date safety standards for now.
It was in that time that Tobias had reappeared, determined to make up for lost time. Tim found that Tobias was visiting him frequently, having taken a sabbatical from the FBI. Tobias was filling his days either cheering Tim on from the sidelines, helping Kelly with anything and everything she could possibly need, to helping out with the house, or catching up with Gibbs. Emily frequently joined her father in whatever activity he was partaking in that day.
Leon, Jackie, Kayla and Jared frequently stopped by the rehab center, or just checked in by phone to see how he was going. As did his uncles, his aunt and his beloved Penny. Jackson Gibbs had stayed through the first two months, before heading back to Stillwater. He had gone back and sold up his house and his business, finally seeing reason to move in with his son. Privately, Kelly, Tim and Jethro had discussed this at length, all in agreement that due to his age and his declining health that he needed to be closer to them. That with a baby on the way, no one could just rush down there at the drop of a hat. It had taken a lot of poking and prodding, but he had finally relented.
Surprisingly, Chuck Winslow had not been the one to snatch up the business, instead Cal and his family had scrounged up enough money to buy it, determined to keep Cal out of the mineshaft and to keep his younger brother Steve out of the mines too. Not that it wasn't honest work, but it was strenuous and had ultimately worked their father into an early ground. Something Cal's mom didn't want for her sons.
When it came time for Jack to move to Alexandria, Virginia, Kelly had gone to stay with Ducky at his new townhouse and Gibbs, Leon and Tony had gone down to Stillwater to help move Jack into Gibbs' guest room on the ground floor of his craftsman style home.
Kelly spent her days between visiting Tim and working, until the doctor put her on a precautionary rest at the beginning of her eighth month. Jackie had taken in unto herself to personally take the mental load of his wife's wellbeing off Tim's shoulders. She made it her mission to see that Kelly was keeping her blood pressure within the normal range, getting enough exercise without overdoing it, while still resting her body. Jackie made sure she was getting a wide range of vitamins and minerals within her diet, as well as keeping her brain mentally stimulated.
All in all, it was pressing along smoothly. The only real snag they had hit so far was the lack of progress in coming up with potential names for their expected bundle of joy.
When the day finally came for Tim to be discharged from rehab, it was Tobias who had come to collect him. Gibbs was with Kelly and Jackie, across town at an OB/GYN appointment. Leon was on the hill, with back-to-back budget meetings. Whilst Ziva and Tony were both off work, Ziva was in Gibbs kitchen cooking up all sorts of delicious meals with Jackson, Ducky, Breena and Jimmy. Whilst Tony hovered close by, insisting he was the official taste tester.
Arriving back at the Gibbs family home, Tim had never been more relieved to see his house. Tobias had barely managed to get Tim settled in the house and his bags upstairs when Gibbs, Jackie and Kelly arrived back at the house. Jackie and Gibbs exchanged a smirk and a small, muffled chuckle when Kelly had all but bolted upstairs in haste to see her husband. Realistically, it had been more like a penguin waddling, but with her hormonal mood swings, no one would dare say that to her face.
Tobias had quickly excused himself once the lovers had reunited and the sound of their bedroom door closing had reverberated throughout the house. "They are just saying hello." Tobias had smirked.
Dinner had been a rousing success, the Gibbs family home full to the brim, especially after Leon, Kayla and Jared joined them. Tim was quiet as he let Kelly lean against him and they took it all in. Slowly though, everyone began to drift home, as it was a work night, leaving the two Gibbs men, Tim and Kelly alone under one roof.
Both of the lovers were exhausted by the time everyone left. But also, they were desperate to finally be alone. It had been almost four months since they had been alone last and in all that time had not been intimate at all. Desperate to make love to her husband, Kelly and Tim had tried some maneuverings, but finally had managed to make up for lost time with one another. The first round had been fast and hot, but the second had been slower and much more tender, as they rediscovered each other.
Waking in the morning, Gibbs had gone to work, and Jackson was outside in the back yard, supervising the construction of their new home. The two of them spent a leisurely amount of time together in bed, before showering together, quite awkwardly. Making their way downstairs in search of what could be considered lunch.
After lunch, Kelly was complaining of a sore back and Tim rubbed it the best he could before she napped in the recliner chair. Gibbs came home early, after claiming that he might murder DiNozzo, headed to his basement to work on his boat. Kelly's back was still aching when she woke from her nap and Tim managed to convince her into a full body massage.
Upstairs, he massaged his wife's back before his ministrations turned heated and they had made love again. Utterly spent, Kelly lulled herself into a short nap before stealing Tim's sweats and heading down to find some dinner. The four of them chatted about their day, as Gibbs updated them on Tony's latest office antics including a week-old fruit salad from the diner, elastic bands and a toner cartridge from the squad room printer/scanner. copier. Mid way through his story, Kelly suddenly bolted up right from her chair and gripped her stomach. Before anyone could say anything else, she panted out in pain. "Either I just peed myself, or ..."
Gibbs grinned at his daughter, as Jackson made his way to the basket of washing, he was planning to fold after dinner for some fresh clothes for his granddaughter. While Gibbs and Jackson stayed in the kitchen and cleaned the floor, Tim managed to get Kelly changed and call Jackie. While they awaited her arrival, Jackson and Gibbs both timed her contractions while Tim massaged her back and allowed himself to physically support and ground herself against him.
When the contractions were five minutes apart, Jackie arrived, barely able to get through the door, before Tim was declaring that it was time to head to the hospital. Gibbs and Jackson followed Jackie, Tim and Kelly in his truck. They had been caught in cross town traffic and by the time they arrived at the hospital her contractions were two minutes apart and crowning. Jackie called for an emergency team, but Kelly was already pushing. Gibbs managed to help hold his daughter upright, alongside his dad, while Jackie kept Kelly's mind focused, and Tim prepared to catch the baby.
A moment stalled in time; they could see the emergency team at the entrance to the hospital when the unmistakable sounds of a newborn cry filled the air. Before the pandemonium kicked in and the emergency team arrived.
Their little baby was born. A son. Before Gibbs, Jackson or Jackie got a look at him, the three of them were whisked away to be checked over. Once they were settled in a room, Tim left Kelly and the baby to retrieve Gibbs and Jackson, Jackie opting to wait until after the Gibbs men had met the newest addition to their family.
Looking at his daughter holding her newborn son in her arms, her husband perched beside her on the bed, brought tears to Jethro's eyes. tears of Happiness and tears of sorrow. He was happy that they had reached this point, but he was sad that Shannon had been robbed of this moment with them.
Coming closer, both men took their turns to kiss Kelly and Tim's heads, before getting a good look at the new member of their family. "You guys did good." Gibbs beamed at them both, proudly. "What's his name?"
"Meet Liam Jethro Nicholas McGee, LJ for short." Tim smiled in return. He watched as his father-in-law struggled to contain his tears of happiness. "We named him after you, Dad."
"He is perfect." Jack agreed wholeheartedly, as he looked at his Great-Grandson.
"He was eight pounds, six ounces. Twenty inches long." Kelly added, looking up at her husband. "I am just thankful it was a quick delivery. Jackie had me worried with stories of a long delivery."
"Your dad had your grandma in labor for thirty-six hours, Kel-Bel." Jackson recalled, teasing his son. "Be thankful, he didn't take after your old man."
"Want to hold him, Poppy?" Kelly offered, as Tim took their baby from his wife gently and Gibbs got comfortable in the overstuffed chair.
Gibbs looked over the newest member of his family, his eyes watery and smiled. He could not believe that he was here. Three weeks early and absolutely perfect. He looked to be a good blend of the two of them with Kelly's auburn hair, Tim's nose and lips and blue eyes. But that would likely change. "I'm trying to work out who he looks like more." Gibbs murmured, embarrassed to be caught staring at the little miracle in his arms.
"I think he looks like Kel." Tim announced. "Perfect."
"I just see Tim, with my hair." Kelly added, leaning back and relaxing against her husband. "He is gorgeous just like you. He has your pouty lips, and your button nose."
"His looks will change." Jackson reminded them. "Leroy looked like me when he was born and grew up looking like his Mama. Of course, then there's the inherited traits like being stubborn. We Gibbses are experts at stubbornness."
"He is indeed, Kell." Gibbs smiled widely.
Eventually Jethro relinquished his grandson to for his father to hold. But seeing the exhaustive expression mirrored on each of their faces, Gibbs and Jackson quickly said their goodbyes, with promises to keep their news a secret and to be back first thing after visiting hours start.
As soon as Gibbs was in the truck he grinned at his father. Jackson's grin matched his son's. They were both officially grandfathers, and in Jack's case, a Great-Grandfather.
When the two of them arrived back at home, Jackson broke out a bottle of almost thirty-year-old scotch and they shared a small toast. "To Kel-Bel, Tim and baby LJ." Jackson toasted, raising a glass to his son.
"Smooth." Jethro stated, as he swallowed down his first sip.
"This was already a fine six-year-old whiskey, when I bought it." Jackson added with a cheeky, impish grin and a chuckle. "Bought this bottle the day you and that beautiful wife of yours, brought my precious granddaughter home from the hospital. Now here we are. Toasting the birth of her own son. The next generation is here, Leroy."
"I'm ready." Gibbs promised his dad. "Ready to better whatever Grandpa does, at all costs. Poppy will be the favourite."
"You're dreaming, son."
Gibbs drove Tim's new SUV into the hospital and parked it in the maternity carpark, after receiving a call that morning telling him that both mom and baby son had received a clean bill of health. That after LJ's hearing test, they'd be discharged from the hospital.
Even though Jethro thought it was too soon, he was keenly aware that new moms didn't stay in hospital for as long as they did, back when Shannon was having Kelly.
He snuck upstairs a couple of minutes before visiting hours officially began. Knocking on her door before entering was a wise decision, as his daughter was attempting to breastfeed his grandson. She had Tim sitting beside her, LJ nuzzling at her breast and getting frustrated with his lack of success, while a nurse was massaging the breast trying to stimulate her milk ducts.
Stepping away from the door, he waited until he could hear LJ stopping his crying, before trying again. He had to admit, his grandson had his mother's set of lungs on him. Tim was so quiet, meek and mild mannered, he doubted Tim had ever been rowdy in his whole life. But he recalled Kelly had screamed for the first four months of her life. Constantly, it had seemed at the time.
When he stepped back up to the door, once LJ seemed settled, he smiled at the image he was blessed with. He took a moment to commit it to his memory, wanting to cherish it. Kelly and Tim sitting side by side, upright, propped up with pillows. LJ in Kelly's arms, greedily feeding from her, while Tim and Kelly sharing wide, tired smiles. The look of love on their faces. Both in love with him and each other.
Once he had said hello, he didn't stay. Opting to go into work and pretend like it was just another day. He thought back to the day, he and Shannon had bought their child home and how her mother had already told everyone and had organised a party to welcome them home. After they'd specifically said no. But Joanne had been persistent.
Tim actually felt nervous driving Kelly and baby LJ back to the Gibbs family home. But he had managed to get them back in one piece. Gibbs came out to take the bags from him, so Tim could help Kelly. As soon as they were inside, their previously sleeping baby who had been completely blissed out in slumberland enjoying the ride, finally woke up. Screaming. "I've got him." Tim murmured to Kelly, as he placed the capsule down to retrieve his son. "Hey there bud, what's got you so upset?" Tim cooed as he rocked his son.
Kelly loved looking at Tim in Dad-mode. It was like she was seeing the real him. She loved watching their son look up at Tim like he was the whole world. Her heart always raced up and she knew that she grinned like a madman, but she couldn't help it. It was a Pavlovian response.
Gibbs returned from taking their bags up to their room to see the dopey look of love on his daughter's face. Sidling up beside her, he dropped his voice. "There's nothing like seeing your partner tending to your baby, hey? Still makes your heart go crazy." Kelly managed to tear her eyes away from LJ and Tim and look at her dad. "Same thing used to happen to me when I saw you and you mom together."
They managed to enjoy the first full day home together, before Tim broached the subject of LJ's birth announcement with Kelly. They couldn't put it off much longer. Eventually Tim sent a group text, that way they could set the phone on silent afterwards and it would not wake their baby. He picked his two favourite photos out and attached them to the message. One was of LJ by himself, and one was of the three of them on their bed in the Gibbs family home.
Liam Jethro Nicholas McGee
Born April 29th at 2248.
8lb 6oz & 20" long
Mom and baby doing well.
As multiple phones, in multiple homes across Virginia, DC and Maryland dinged simultaneously, Kelly lowered LJ back into the basinet beside their bed and laid back down beside her husband, before drifting back to sleep. Taking the opportunity to get some rest before his next feed.
The following morning, they finally had a chance to look at their replies. All of their replies had varying messages of heartfelt love and congratulations. Ducky had been an unexpected visitor at lunchtime. Ducky had quietly slipped into the Gibbs Family home, doctors' bag in hand, to find Tim on the sofa, their son in his arms feeding him a bottle of expressed milk, while Kelly napped in the recliner. He smiled at the man and nodded in approval at Tim.
As soon as Tim was finished with the bottle, Ducky offered to take LJ without being burped. "Let me burp him." He offered, as Tim handed his son over to Ducky. Tim tried to offer Ducky a small cloth to catch any spit up. He took it willingly but kept it beside him on the sofa. Tim finally took in the good doctor's appearance. He was dressed casually, well casually for Ducky. with a cashmere sweater instead of a blazer and bowtie.
"Let me look at you, Laddy." Ducky cooed at the baby. "I am your Gran-Ducky. You are perfect, your mommy and daddy did a great job." Ducky was just as smitten as LJ was with him. It was love at first sight.
Over the coming days, they had a steady stream of people pop in to visit. Each one of them professing their love for him and showering them with gifts. Clare had been in tears when she realised that the name Nicholas was after her sister and Tim's mom, Nikki. That had hit Clayton in the heart too. Phil, Clayton and Clare had all been sure to tell Tim how proud of him, they were.
Everything was almost perfect. The house was still not yet completed and needed several more months, but it was well underway, as was their future.
TWO YEARS and THREE MONTHS LATER
Everyone was gathered for a BBQ in the joint backyard of Gibbs-McGee property. It was late July, and the sun was shining warmly, not in a stifling way. Gibbs and Tobias were at the grill and Jackson was sitting at the makeshift table with LJ on his lap. His eyes had stayed blue, but his hair had lightened to sandy blonde in colour. He was beginning to look like his dad, with the infamous blue eyes of his grandfather's. Ducky was helping Tony and Ziva assemble a small swing set, while the building of a small trampoline had been abandoned. Kelly was setting the table and Tim was in the house. Leon and Jackie were grabbing drinks from the cooler, having come without the kids. Both of which, were at summer camp for another week.
Clayton, Phil and Clare let themselves in through the side gate and Kelly welcomed them all with a flurry of hugs and kisses. Gibbs finished the last of the grilling and joined them at the table. "Come on, Tim. Foods ready." Gibbs bellowed only a moment before the backdoor opened.
"Cool your jets, here we are." Tim cooed, coming out. A beautiful baby girl in his arms, sleepily looking around at the world. A small whisper of golden auburn hair, gracing the top of her head. Everyone grinned and smiled, not rushing Tim to meet their newest addition. "Everyone come and meet Miranda Shannon Anne McGee."
Miranda had been born five days ago and they had requested no visitors, allowing them that time to bond as a family. They group gathered had appropriately oohed and ahhed at the little girl.
When the group was silent, happy and content to look at her. Tony chuckled out loud, startling LJ. "You and Kelly make some pretty cute kids, McGee!"
"Yeah, they do." Gibbs gushed and head slapped Tony.
THE END