An Unexpected Blessing
Chapter 3
When Allison got back to her building she saw Holly Snow in the lobby waiting for the elevator. Ali hurried in to catch her and managed to get in the elevator just as the doors were closing. Seeing Holly with a baby stroller confirmed what she thought she knew from reading Charles' report. They had never met but Ali recognized her immediately. She waited until the other people got off before she spoke to Holly.
"Ms. Snow, I'm Allison Hart. We've been playing phone tag. You aren't here to see me are you?"
"No, my attorney is in this building and I'm here to see him. I'm afraid I'm late but I would be happy to see you when I'm finished."
"That would be fine. I'm in suite 510."
Allison got off on the 5th floor and Holly continued on to the 6th floor for her appointment. The idea she might run into Ms. Hart had never occurred to Holly and she wasn't thrilled that Jethro's attorney now knew her situation before Jethro did. Nothing to be done about it now, she thought. She was curious as to what Ms. Hart had been calling her about so as soon as her appointment was finished she went to Allison's office to get that sorted out.
Allison spent the entire time she waited for Holly thinking about how Jethro was going to react to Holly having a baby. His baby. At least that was Allison's guess. The baby couldn't be more than a few months old and Holly had been gone for 14 or 15 months according to their research trying to find her. She wished she could be a fly on the wall when Jethro got the news. Allison thought he would eventually be thrilled but the initial shock was going to be something worth seeing. Even if she and Jethro were still together, Holly and the baby would have soon brought that to an end, she was sure. Her final thought on the subject before Holly arrived was that she was very happy for Jethro.
When her assistant buzzed her that Holly was there, Allison went to the door and welcomed her to the office. When they were both seated in front of her desk, Allison decided to get right down to business and more or less ignore the whole baby thing.
"Thank you for coming, Ms. Snow. I imagine you've been wondering why I called you."
"Yes, I'm sorry I kept missing your calls."
"I was calling because a man who claimed to be Dwight Casden's brother was threatening to bring a wrongful death suit against Jethro seeking five million in damages."
"What? That's crazy!"
"We agreed. Fortunately, after some research we discovered the man was not related to Mr. Casden so the whole situation is resolved. Needless to say, Jethro is in the clear of course and very relieved."
"I would think so. You were going to need me as a witness, is that right?"
"Yes, I was trying to get in touch with you to give you a heads up and arrange to interview you in case we did go to court. I'm sorry if we caused you any inconvenience."
"None at all. I was already on my way back home when you called."
The two women were quiet for a few moments. Allison didn't want to talk about the baby because she didn't think she should know about it before Jethro did. Any more than she already did anyway. However, she was dying to know if it was for sure Jethro's baby. Holly could tell Allison was avoiding the subject in the stroller. She appreciated that Allison wasn't peppering her with questions that were surely on her mind. That showed her respect for Jethro and Holly liked that about Allison.
Holly looked at Allison and smiled, "Yes, this is Jethro's baby. I appreciate you not asking but I don't mind you knowing."
"I thought so but honestly I don't want to know any more before Jethro knows. I feel like he should be the first one you talk to about this."
"I agree. I had no idea you were in this building. I mean what are chances with all the attorneys in this city that you and my attorney would be in the same building and we'd run into each other in the elevator."
They laughed about that and the tension that had been in the room dissipated.
"Would you at least like to see him.?"
"A boy? Oh gosh, Jethro will be thrilled. Yes, I'd love to see him but I won't. I want Jethro see his son before anyone who knows him has that privilege."
"Thank you, Allison. It means a lot to me that you care so much for Jethro. Are the two of you still together?"
When Allison looked at her with a bit of shock on her face, Holly said, "I read the gossip columns while I was gone and you two were in there once or twice."
Allison shook her head, "Jethro hated that. We are not together. Never were in serious way. We spent considerable time together for several months but we've been on and off for a long time now. We still see each other for lunch or dinner occasionally but the coast is clear for you. And your son."
"How do you think Jethro will react to this news?"
"I think he will be thrilled to have a son. How he will react to seeing him for the first time at this age-whatever that is-may be another story. If I had to guess, I'd say you should be prepared for some anger at least in the beginning."
"Yes, I imagine you're right. Hopefully, that stage won't last long. I have absolutely no idea how this will unfold in the long run."
Against her better instincts, Allison asked, "Were you and Jethro in a relationship before you left?"
Holly wasn't going into detail with Allison but she told her no, they were not. "I think I should go. I need to call Jethro and arrange for him to meet this little guy. Wish me luck?"
"I do wish you both nothing but the best. Jethro is a really good man and I think he'll be a great father. I hope you can work everything out for the best for all of you."
"Thank you Allison."
After Holly left, Allison sat at her desk and thought about how Jethro was going to respond to the fact that he had a child with Holly. Allison knew the relationship she had with Jethro was not going to be the same once he knew he was a father. She knew him well enough to know he would not be satisfied to be a part-time dad. That meant he would most likely develop a relationship with Holly so they could be some sort of family. Obviously, that meant she and Jethro would no longer be spending the occasional night or weekend together. Even though they hadn't been doing much of that in the last several months, it was sad for Ali to realize it wasn't going to happen again. Ever. She was glad they had been together so infrequently these last months; that made it easier for her to let go of Jethro all together. She didn't know when Holly would be seeing him but Ali was pretty sure Jethro wasn't going to be looking at the condo and taking her to lunch on Sunday. Even so, she called her realtor and arranged to see the condo at 11:00 on Sunday. Just in case.
Driving home Holly tried to come to a decision as to how to approach Jethro and give him the news that they were parents to a five month old baby boy. Of course, she had been thinking about that conversation since the day she found out she was pregnant. Still, after all this time she had no set idea or plan of what to do or how to do it. She was grateful to know that Allison and Jethro were not a couple. Even though she had no idea what sort of relationship she and Jethro might eventually have, at least she didn't have to worry about that. For some reason she felt like that would make what she was about to drop on Jethro a bit easier to manage.
By the time she got home, the baby was hungry and starting to fuss. It seemed like the only time he was ever out of sorts was when he was hungry. Holly quickly got a bottle ready and sat in the rocking chair in her living room watching him guzzle it down. Later, while her son was sleeping, Holly finally got her courage up and called his father.
Jethro answered his phone in the car without looking at the caller's number. He wouldn't have recognized it anyway.
"Yeah, Gibbs."
"Hello Jethro, it's Holly. Holly Snow."
"Uh, hi. Allison told me you were back in town."
"Yes, I'm glad for you the lawsuit business is over."
"So, you've talked to Allison."
"Yes, I spoke with her today. Jethro, I'd like to see you. Sooner rather than later if you can manage it."
Jethro thought she sounded a bit tense and he wondered what the heck was going on. First Allison is keeping something from him and now Holly is asking to see him rather urgently.
"Sure. I'm actually on my way home. I could come to you or you can come to the house. Whichever works for you."
Holly thought quickly. The baby was about to go down for a nap and he would likely sleep for a couple of hours. She wanted to talk with Jethro before he saw his son so maybe if he came to her they would talk and then she could introduce them.
"If you could come here in say half an hour or so that would be wonderful."
"Sure. It'll take me about that long to get there. You still in the same place?"
"Yes, I kept the townhouse while I was gone. I'll see you soon, Jethro."
"Holly, you wanna give me a clue as to what this is about?"
"I'll explain when I see you."
And she hung up on him. Jethro looked at the phone in disbelief. Why were the women in his life all of sudden hanging up on him?
In the time she had before Jethro's arrival, Holly gathered all evidence of a baby living there and put it in the baby's room. By the time that was accomplished, her sweet boy was sound asleep and she put him in his crib and closed the bedroom door. She took a few minutes to check herself in the mirror. She realized the last time Jethro had seen her she had been a mess; traumatized and crying and pretty much falling apart. At least she had been until they fell into bed together. Once that happened she'd felt a lot better and had been able to pull herself together. Now she was about to face the consequences of that night and she wasn't at all sure how it would go. She was sure Jethro would love his son and want to be part of his life but what did that mean for the two adults? She and Jethro barely knew each other and certainly did not have any sort of romantic relationship. If she was honest with herself she had to admit she wouldn't be opposed to that happening but she would not be with Jethro simply for the sake of her-their-son.
When the doorbell rang a few minutes later, Holly took a deep breath, went to open the door and confront her future head on.
"Hi Jethro, come on in."
"Holly you look good. Wherever you've been it agreed with you."
"Thank you. You want coffee or anything?"
Jethro thought she seemed nervous and he was at a loss as to why that would be.
"No thanks. I don't mean to be rude Holly but what's going on? I mean, it's great to see you and all but why the urgency to talk to me?"
"Let's sit down."
Jethro took a seat on the couch where he'd sat over a year ago on that terrible when he saved Holly's life. Holly sat in a chair across from him.
"Okay here goes. After the whole business with Casden and you saving me and all that I had to get away. My attorney managed to get me early release from my probation and the ankle monitor cancelled. I went to Europe with a friend just to get away and get myself together."
"Yeah, I heard about all that. The legal stuff I mean, not you going to Europe."
Holly looked at him and decided to cut to the chase. "Jethro when I left here I was pregnant."
There, she'd said it. She watched his face and knew it hadn't registered with him what she was actually telling him. He didn't say anything so she plowed ahead. She decided the details could wait for later; she went directly to the bottom line.
"Jethro, we have a child together."
The silence in the room was deafening. Holly waited for him to speak but Jethro seemed to be completely at a loss for words so she kept talking.
"I found out I was pregnant when I'd been gone for almost 2 months. I started to call you but obviously I didn't. Jethro, I need you to say something."
"Are you telling me that the one time we were together, the night of the shooting, you got pregnant?"
"Yes, that is what I'm telling you."
Again, silence and confusion on Jethro's face as if he didn't comprehend what she was telling him. She decided to put it all out there for him.
"Jethro, you have a son. He's almost 6 months old. His name is Logan. I happen to think he looks a lot like you. Please say something."
Jethro knew he needed to respond but his mind was completely locked up. He heard what Holly was telling him and he understood the words but he was having trouble making them fit into his life. Finally, he got some brain cells to work and knew what he truly wanted more than any more information or details about the last 15 months.
"Where is he?"
"In his room taking a nap."
"Can I see him?"
"Of course. Come on."
Holly held her hand out and Jethro took it as he got up from the couch. He followed her upstairs to the nursery. Holly led him to the crib and watched him as he got his first look as his son. Jethro reached down and gently touched Logan's hand. When he looked at Holly there were tears in his eyes. Holly leaned down and picked Logan up and handed him to his father. Jethro took him and expertly held him in the crook of his arm. He leaned down and kissed him on the forehead.
"Here, sit in the rocker and he'll stay sleeping. Stay as long as you want to."
Jethro looked at her and with a quiet voice full of emotion he said, "Thank you."
There was so much going on in Jethro's head he couldn't think straight. He could not believe he was a father again and that this precious little boy in his arms was his son. He felt like his world had turned completely upside down. A small part of him wanted to be angry with Holly for not telling him about the baby sooner but that was overshadowed by the love he felt for the child he'd just met. He wanted the full story of course but right now all he wanted to do was hold his son and look at him and love him.
TBC