Title: Misconceptions 19/?
Author: Ceindreadh
Email: Ceindreadh@eircom.net
Website: n/a
Permission to archive: Yes to WWOMB, anybody else, please ask first.
Fandom(s): NCIS
Genre (general, hetero or slash) : Slash, M-PREG, Angst/hurt-comfort
Pairing/Characters: Gibbs/DiNozzo, McGee/Jimmy
Rating: T
Warnings: THIS IS AN M-PREG FIC. If you don't like M-Preg then don't read it. If you read it anyway, then don't go complaining to me that you don't like it *because* it's M-Preg
Later chapters *will* feature minor character death, just so you know.
Disclaimer. I don't own the NCIS characters, I'm only borrowing them, and I promise to return them in minty fresh condition when I'm finished.
Notes: Thanks to FatCat for her Beta'ing
I was going to go into this whole pseudo-scientific explanation as to how M-Preg works in this universe, but then I thought, Feck it. It works, and that's it.
Previously on NCIS - Gibbs and McGee were seriously injured, and Paula Cassidy killed during a mission. Gibbs and McGee both required emergency surgery at Bethesda. Ducky insisted that Tony and Jimmy spent the night at his place once their respective partners were out of surgery.
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[19]
It was amazing how much better a full stomach made a person feel. Ducky had prepared a substantial array of food for breakfast, and although neither father to be admitted to much of an appetite, by the time they were finished, the breakfast trolley was very much depleted. He drove them both back to Bethesda and escorted them to the I.C.U.
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Jimmy sat by McGee's bedside, holding his hand, careful not to dislodge his I.V. line.
The Doctor in charge had told him that everything was looking good. "We'll have to run some tests on him when he wakes up, but we removed the clot, he's stable and growing stronger."
"Will...will he walk again?" Jimmy was slightly more in control than he had been the previous night, but not by a lot. "Please Doctor, I need to know the truth."
"I'm optimistic, but as I said, we'll know more when he wakes up."
Ducky had helped Jimmy into a visitor's gown, "Timothy is young and healthy, Jimmy. The odds are stacked in his favor."
And that was as much as Jimmy had been able to find out. But for now, his Tim was alive and wasn't going to die and that was more than he'd been able to hope for the previous day. Now it was just a question of waiting. Jimmy wanted nothing more than to shake Tim...not just to wake him, but also to shake him for all the stress he'd caused. "I love you Tim," said Jimmy, "But if you ever scare me like that again..."
"You...you'll what?"
"Tim!"
McGee's eyes were bleary and unfocused, but they were open. He blinked in confusion. "What...what happened?"
"Oh Tim, you're awake...I thought I'd never see you again..." Jimmy kissed McGee's hand and then decided, what the heck. Leaning over, he kissed McGee gently on the lips, only stopping when the other man groaned slightly.
Pulling back, Jimmy said quickly, "Are you okay? Did I hurt you, oh God, let me call the doctor!"
"It...it's okay..." said McGee. "It's just...my legs...they're aching so bad..."
Jimmy's eyes widened, "You...you can feel them?" He moved towards the foot of the bed and squeezed McGee's uninjured foot. "You can feel this? You can move it?"
"Ouch, yes...what...what's wrong?"
Jimmy returned to the head of the bed. Taking McGee's hand in his, he said softly, "Nothing's wrong...in fact, everything's going to be all right..."
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At Gibbs's bedside, Tony wasn't quite so optimistic as Jimmy. The Doctor had started in on explaining Gibbs's situation. After about two sentences, Tony had turned to Ducky, "I don't understand Ducky, what's he saying? Is Gibbs gonna be okay or not? I thought once the surgery was done and they turned off the drugs then he'd wake up and be fine?"
Ducky sighed, "The surgery did remove the pressure on his brain, and while it looks as if they got to it in time, they'll have to wait until he's fully conscious before they can be sure."
"So he could still be a vegetable, even after this op?" Tony ran his hands through his hair in frustration, "You said he'd be okay, you said that the op would work. Why did I let him have the op if it wasn't gonna work?" he asked accusingly.
"The odds *are* in Jethro's favor," said Ducky, calmly and reassuringly. "And certainly, having the operation substantially increased those odds." He put his hand on Tony's arm, trying to calm him. "But as with any surgery of this nature, its success or lack thereof can only be judged when the patient regains consciousness."
"And when will that be?"
But neither Ducky nor the surgeon had been able to give Tony a clear answer. The surgeon had hemmed and hawed and said that everybody reacted differently to the drugs, so they couldn't give a definite time when Gibbs would wake up.
So now Tony sat by Gibbs's bed, waiting.
The tube down Gibbs's throat scared Tony. He knew enough about medicine to know that they only did that when a patient couldn't breathe for himself. And while Ducky had assured him that it was just as a precautionary measure, Tony still didn't like it...didn't like the implication that Gibbs needed any help like that...didn't like to even *think* of the possibility that Gibbs might always need that tube...that he might never wake up again...
"Goddammit, Gibbs, you promised me!" Tony got up and started pacing beside the bed. "You son of a bitch, you gave me your word that you'd be there for me...you know I can't do this on my own." He wanted to punch his fist through the wall but instead he leaned against it, breathing heavily. "You lied to me...you said you'd be there, you bastard!" Glancing up, Tony could see the nurse on duty approach, attracted by his raised voice. "It's okay...I'm okay...we're good," he said quickly. "I'll be quiet..."
Tony sat down quickly in the chair and waited until the nurse had checked all the machines and then left him alone again.
With a sob, Tony leaned against the bed, head resting against Gibbs's chest, feeling it rise and fall with a regularity that no human could lay claim to...not even Gibbs.
"You promised me, Gibbs," he sobbed, "You gave me your word that you'd be there for me...you *promised* me. Don't leave me now, I need you...I *love* you...please come back to me...to us...your baby needs a second parent...I'm no good on my own...no good without you...I *can't* do this without you...please Gibbs, don't leave me...don't leave us..." He lay there exhausted, too heartsick to move. Wondering if this was it...if this was where he started life as a single parent. There was a hollow feeling in the pit of Tony's stomach as he lay there with his eyes shut.
The tap on the top of his head made Tony open his eyes again. "What the..." He lifted his head and through tear filled eyes he saw Gibbs...his eyes were barely open, but he was looking at Tony...and he knew him.
"Oh God, Jethro!" Tony grabbed the hand which had tapped him. "You're awake...you're awake..."
Even with a tube down his throat, Tony could still see an exasperated expression appear on Gibbs's face. "Okay, okay, guess you know that already. Just stay put...I'll get the doc's, they'll get that tube out." Tony turned as if to go, but Gibbs's hand caught his arm and stopped him.
"What is it, Jethro?"
In reply, Gibbs hand shakily pointed to himself...then his heart...and then towards Tony.
Tony could feel his eyes welling up with tears again as he said, "And I love you too!"
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The days passed. Ziva was released after twenty-four hours observation and was back at work a few days later, working side by side with Cassidy Yates to pick up the pieces after the incident. Director Shepherd's plans for covering her major case squad during their anticipated parental leave had had to be swung into action a little earlier than she had anticipated.
Meanwhile, Gibbs and McGee recovered in hospital. Gibbs however insisted on being temporarily released in order to attend Paula Cassidy's funeral. It was a somber affair. Several of the agents attending bore the scars of the mission that had resulted in her death, and Gibbs was not in a good mood when he returned to Bethesda.
This was of course partly due to the fact that he'd been hoping to avoid returning to the hospital once he'd gotten out the doors. But his doctor had only consented to his leaving for the funeral on the condition that he stayed in a wheelchair throughout, and was returned promptly. Ducky was on hand to make sure that he obeyed. The fact that Gibbs was still very unsteady on his feet was the only reason he hadn't objected, sure that he'd be able to convince Ducky to bring him home rather than back to Bethesda.
But with Ducky *and* Tony ganging up on him, Gibbs had been returned to the care of the nurses. He'd complained of course, but Tony had just stuck his fingers in his ears going "La la la, can't hear you, Boss" and stayed sufficiently far away from Gibbs to avoid being swatted.
Gibbs had put up with it, albeit reluctantly, but as he lay in his bed, exhausted from the day's events, he had to admit that he probably *wasn't* in good enough shape to go home just yet.
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Tony sat by Gibbs's bed, a position he'd only left to eat and sleep and use the head over the past few days. "So Ducky, when you do think they'll be kicking this pair out of here?" He nodded over at the second bed in the room where McGee was resting. "Me and Jimmy have a bet going on which of them the nurses will get fed up with first."
Jimmy had a look of indignation on his face as he said, "I never! Tim, I wouldn't bet on that." He squeezed Tim's hand, "Besides, I know you'd never annoy the nurses."
"Regarding your impending departure from Bethesda," said Ducky, a serious expression on his face. "I have been speaking to both your doctors on that matter, and they have expressed some concerns."
All four faces in front of him looked puzzled, but Gibbs was the one to speak on their behalf, "What sort of 'concerns', Ducky?" he growled.
"They're merely worried as to where you will be convalescing, and who will be looking after you while you do so."
"But I was going to look after Tim," said Jimmy. "Doctor Holliday said that I could start my parental leave early, and he'll be back on his feet before the baby arrives..." His voice trailed off and he swallowed hard before continuing, "Won't he?"
"And I was gonna take some time to look after Gibbs," said Tony.
"I won't need looking after," grumbled Gibbs. "I'll be back at work soon enough anyway."
"That's as may be," said Ducky, "But I should inform you that Security has been ordered not to let either of you in the building until you've been fully cleared by your respective Doctors."
"Ducky!"
"Don't use that tone of voice on *me* Jethro," said Ducky severely. "In any event, you will both require some time for convalescing before you return to work, and the doctors are worried about your support network, consisting as it does of a heavily pregnant partner apiece." He held up his hands to stave off both Jimmy and Tony who were loudly protesting that they were quite capable of looking after their respective lovers. "Children, do settle down, please." Ducky waited for silence before continuing. "Now, their main concerns are the fact you Timothy will be on crutches until your leg heals, and you Jethro will probably have some balance problems for some time. You did after all have brain surgery only a week ago, and should you fall, Tony isn't exactly the best person to be trying to pick you up. As for you Timothy, you live on the third floor of a building without elevators. Do you really think it fair to Jimmy to have to help you up the stairs in his condition?"
"No Ducky," mumbled McGee. "So what are you saying? Are the doc's gonna keep us in for longer, until we're both fully fit?"
"The hell they are," muttered Gibbs.
"Language Jethro, you do know that studies have shown that babies in utero can pick up on sounds and voices. I recall several studies where expectant parents were encouraged to play classical music to their children to see whether they would recognize it when born. The results were most fasci..."
"DUCKY!" All four men interrupted him.
"Ah yes," said Ducky, a smile on his face. "As I was saying, your doctors were reluctant to have you released into an environment that would not facilitate your recovery. However, they were even more reluctant to keep you here longer than necessary. I believe the exact words from one of them was 'just get that man the hell out of here'...although I can't remember which of them used that phrase."
"I think we can all guess," muttered Tony. He grinned cheekily at Gibbs, having carefully positioned himself on Gibbs's left side...the one with the broken collarbone...and out of swatting reach of Gibbs's good arm.
"In any event, I was able to come up with a solution which I hope will meet with your approval." Ducky took off his glasses and cleaned them, enjoying the way all the occupants of the room were hanging on his every word. "As I was saying, I put forth a solution to which your doctors were most agreeable with. Namely that you come home with me until you're fit again."
The other four exchanged glances, Tony being the first one to react, "Um Ducky, don't take this the wrong way, but you really think you'd be able to pick up McGee if he fell off his crutches? I mean, he's kinda been packing on the pounds since he's been laid up...yeouch!" Tony yelped and turned round to glare indignantly at Jimmy. "Don't *do* that!"
"Don't insult my guy," said Jimmy, defiantly.
"Children, please!" said Ducky. "Your concerns are well noted Anthony, which is why I've been in contact with the nursing agency that supplied the day nurses for Mother with regard to having a nurse on duty to assist me while both you and Jimmy are at work." He held up his hands to stave off even more protests, "Yes, I know you'd both rather be taking care of your partner's than working, but there are limits to what you can do for them. However, that can be sorted out among yourselves. There's plenty of room at my house for all four of you and I...I'd be delighted to have the company."
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To be continued
Author's Chapter Notes:
Gibbs and McGee are out of surgery, but not out of the woods just yet.
Chapter End Notes:
I wrote a fic called Reality Check, which featured an M-Preg dream. Feedback was so positive that I decided to do the real thing.