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 Tony 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 Tony 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 Tony'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 Tony met his eyes from his desk. Tony 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. Gibbs flipped his favorite switch and turned to Tony with an enormous smile on his face as he pulled out the ultrasound photo. As he looked at the photo it all became very real for Tony, 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 Tony might have been feeling about his place in Gibbs' life was blown away when Gibbs tucked a finger under his chin and exuberantly claimed his 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 he kissed him back, Tony saw the happiness in his eyes, as if everything in Gibbs' life had finally fallen into place.
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Stephanie found out about Gibbs and Tony as she entered her eighth month. Three weeks prior Gibbs had helped her paint and put together the nursery and she found herself bored out her mind without much to do. She became a regular customer at the neighborhood video store and overdosed on romantic comedies and suspense thrillers. She had wandered into the television series on dvd section, a little wistfully, her sister was always raving about how much fun it was to be able to rewatch old t.v. shows from their younger days. She saw a couple that made her smile and think of times long since past. Stephanie turned to leave the aisle when she saw someone that was familiar at the other end. Tony. She approached and said hello. To say that Tony was surprised would have been an understatement, and in his shock he dropped one of the dvd's he was holding, a black and white World War II movie he had picked out because Gibbs had mentioned it was an old favorite and he wouldn't mind watching it again in a casual conversation weeks ago.
“Hello, Ms. Flynn.” Tony managed to get out as he ungracefully tried to pick up the dvd he 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, Tony could only think to mumble, “I rarely forget people, it's part of my job.”
Stephanie chuckled, “Yeah, I guess it would be.” She motioned to the dvds in Tony's hands, “You like old movies?”
“Oh, these? Yeah. Well, actually, movies in general.”
“Me too, but I think spy movies are my favorites though.” Stephanie looked to the dvd Tony had picked up off the floor, “That's a good one.” she didn't mention that it was one of Jethro's favorites, and she remembered the enjoyment that had been in his eyes as they had watched it years ago, eyes she hoped that the baby inherited, “have you seen it?”
Tony looked down at the dvd with a little grin, “No, actually a, ah... friend, mentioned wanting to see it.”
Stephanie caught the slight hesitation, and realized that Tony's movie watching companion was a little more than a friend. But she let it go.
Having exhausted the conversation, they had said their goodbyes. But Stephanie had found herself a couple of customers behind him in line and overheard the clerk say to him, “Your new Magnum, P.I. set finally came in.”
Tony replied, “Excellent, I've been waiting for that backorder forever.”
Stephanie hadn't thought about the encounter until she knocked at Gibbs door to give him the notarized power of attorney papers that they had both decided that he needed. He invited her into the living room and as she glanced around, she saw an obviously new television and dvd player with that old favorite WWII movie of his paused on the screen. Jethro hadn't had either the television or the dvd player when she was in the house last. Then she noticed both the case for the old WWII movie and a box set of Magnum, P.I. sitting on the bookshelf near the television. It only took a moment for it to all come together in her mind. His secrecy about his relationship, Tony's hesitancy at the video store and why although Tony was surprised to see her, he 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 non-existent lint off his shoulder, “Tony is not going to be very happy you're watching that without him.”
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tbc...
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