The next couple of weeks were busy. Stephanie rented a house a few blocks away from Gibbs', close enough that if she needed him, he could be there quickly, but not so close as to be on top of each other. He told her he was seeing someone, not who, but that it was a serious relationship. He had wanted that clear from the beginning, no surprises, no expectations. Stephanie understood, she hadn't come back to Washington to force fit herself back in his life, and in truth she was amazed at how supportive and there for her he was actually being. But this other woman had her a little curious, Jethro was being extremely possessive and protective about this new relationship, something unusual for him and it made her wonder.
He and Ziva had settled into almost an domestic bliss, or as close to one as the two of them would ever get. They were both very passionate people, and strong, and neither had the time or inclination for the games so many people played in relationships. They teased, they laughed, they supported each other, and they also argued the paint off the walls on a couple of occasions. But they kept the fight about the issue at hand and didn't make it personal and later on when their tempers had cooled, the making up was as scorching as the argument had been.
The only people outside of Ziva at the office to know about the baby were Ducky and Jenny. Ducky was one of his oldest friends, and was also someone he could ask any and all of the medical questions about Stephanie's pregnancy that worried him. Ducky was thrilled for Jethro, and he wondered if Stephanie and the baby were the cause of the more relaxed Gibbs they were seeing at the office lately, little did Ducky know, that that was more Ziva's doing than Stephanie's. Jenny he had to tell as his boss, because he was going to need paternity leave, and some hours here and there for doctor visits. On the surface she was happy for him, knowing how much he loved children, but he could also see the hurt in her eyes that it wasn't her.
Stephanie had had other ultrasounds in her pregnancy back in Philadelphia, and they showed all was well with her and the baby, but she hadn't wanted to know the sex of the baby. The first ultrasound that Gibbs accompanied her to at the new obstetrician's office had the doctor asking if they wanted to know. It took Stephanie giving his arm a shake to pull his attention away from the little screen showing the grainy picture of the baby, he had missed out on all this stuff with Kelly because he had been deployed and he was just amazed. Stephanie laughed at his pole axed look then repeated what the doctor asked. Gibbs honestly didn't care one way or another if it were a girl or a boy, he just wanted a healthy baby. They decided they wanted to be surprised and the doctor chuckled to herself, wondering which one of the two would be calling her office first to renege on that. She printed out a couple of snapshots from the ultrasound and as Stephanie wiped at the gel on her extended abdomen, she just shook her head at the sight of the big tough Marine with what she would have sworn was a tear threatening to fall as he looked at the little pictures in awe.
When he had dropped Stephanie off at her home and headed back into the office, his normal all-business face was back in place. Or at least it was until Ziva met his eyes from her desk. She knew about the appointment and wanted to know how it went, and if everything were okay with both Stephanie and the baby. With a little jerk of his head they made their way to the elevator. He flipped his favorite switch and turned to her with an enormous smile on his face as he pulled out the ultrasound photo. As she looked at the photo it all became very real for Ziva, Gibbs was going to be a father again, there was going to be a little person in his life, in his heart. And any lingering doubt she might have been feeling about her place in his life was blown away when he tucked a finger under her chin and exuberantly claimed her mouth. The kiss also blew away a rule they had set for themselves when they first started seeing each other, that there wouldn't be any inappropriate contact while they were on the job. But as she kissed him back, she saw the happiness in his eyes, as if everything in his life had finally fallen into place.
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Stephanie found out about Gibbs and Ziva as she entered her eighth month. Three weeks prior Gibbs had helped her paint and put together the nursery and she stopped a craft store to get some baby themed stencils and craft paints to finish the room. She had wandered into the yarn section, a little wistfully, her sister had mastered knitting years ago, she just never had the inclination, but now as she fingered the soft yarn in the pastel baby colors, she wished she had. Stephanie turned to leave the aisle when she saw someone that was familiar at the other end. Ziva. She approached and said hello. To say that Ziva was surprised would have been an understatement, and in her shock she dropped one of the skeins of the pale blue yarn she was holding, yarn that she picked because it matched Gibbs eyes exactly.
“Hello, Ms. Flynn.” Ziva managed to get out as she ungracefully tried to pick up the skein she dropped while not losing the rest of them.
Stephanie smiled, “Please call me Stephanie. I wasn't sure you would remember me.”
Still rather in shock, Ziva could only think to mumble, “I rarely forget people, it is part of my training.”
Stephanie chuckled, “Yeah, I guess it would be.” She motioned to the yarn in Ziva's hands, “Do you knit?”
“This? Oh, I, yes, I, ah, learned a long time ago. I needed something that I could do quietly with my hands while on surveillance operations.”
“My sister knits, she tried to teach me, but I think I'm hopeless.”
“It just takes practice, and patience, and more practice.”
Stephanie looked to the yarn Ziva was holding, “That's a pretty blue,” she didn't mention that it was the exact color of Jethro's eyes, eyes she hoped that the baby inherited, “are you making a blanket?”
Ziva looked down at the yarn with a little grin, “No, actually it is for a sweater I am making for a... friend.”
Stephanie caught the slight hesitation, and realized that the recipient of that sweater was a little more than a friend. But she let it go.
Having exhausted the conversation, they had said their goodbyes and Stephanie hadn't thought about it until she had knocked at Gibbs door to give him the notarized power of attorney papers that they had both decided that he needed and saw him wearing an obviously handmade sweater in blue yarn that exactly matched his eyes. It only took a moment for it to all come together in her mind. His secrecy about his relationship, Ziva's hesitancy at the craft store and why although Ziva was surprised to see her, she wasn't surprised to see that Stephanie was pregnant. And she flashed back to Moscow and an old memory, and it all completely fell into place for her.
She smirked, imitating one of his best “I know something you don't” looks and teased, “Leroy Jethro Gibbs, you have some explaining to do, mister.”
When he looked at her in confusion he said, “What did I do now?”
She reached up and brushed a little wood shaving off his shoulder, “Ziva is not going to be very happy you're wearing that while you work on that boat of yours.”
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tbc...
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