Title: Misconceptions
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 recovered in hospital with Tony and Jimmy by their sides. Ducky invited all four to move in with him during the convalescent period.
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[20]
"Oh dear," said Ducky as he escorted Tony and Jimmy towards the parking garage. "I believe I left my hat back upstairs."
"Oh I'll get it for you Ducky," offered Jimmy.
"That's quite all right," said Ducky. He handed the car keys to Tony. "You two go along and settle yourselves in the car. I'll catch up with you."
Jimmy and Tony watched as Ducky re-entered the elevator.
Tony was the first to speak, "Five bucks says he's going to tell Gibbs and McGee to send us back to work."
"No bet," said Jimmy. He hesitated before continuing, "Do you think he's right though? I mean, it'll only be a few weeks...they're not going to be incapacitated for longer than that...are they?"
Tony shrugged, "You know more about medicine and stuff than I do. But I know Gibbs, and it won't be even *that* long if he has anything to say about it. But with Ducky *and* a nurse looking after them...I guess they'd be in better hands than ours...medically speaking. So unless we want to be sitting around knitting booties all day...maybe going back to work for another few weeks might be okay."
Jimmy made a face, "I suppose we don't need to tell them that we're in agreement with the suggestion...not immediately anyway. After what they've put us through the last few days...I think we deserve a bit of gentle persuasion." He winked at Tony.
"Jimmy my boy," said Tony, putting his arm around him as they headed for the parking garage. "You're learning kiddo!"
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As predicted, Ducky was indeed using his trip back to Gibbs's and McGee's room to put forward the case for Jimmy and Tony to return to work.
"For one thing, do you really think they'd be content to sit by and watch as somebody else tends to you both? I know them, they'll be insisting on helping, maybe even trying too hard and overstraining themselves. And there are other considerations as well. Being a full time caregiver for someone is enough to put stress on even the strongest of relationships. Some time apart each day, even if only for a few hours, will benefit you both."
"You make a convincing argument," grumbled Gibbs. He shifted uncomfortably in the bed. "But what's Tony supposed to do at work all day? The team," he waved his hand at McGee. "We're not exactly acting at full strength here. Cassidy's the only one cleared for field duty and she's been assigned to work with another team."
"Director Shepherd was kind enough to run a suggestion by me. She feels that there are a lot of 'cold cases' on our books that could do with being revisited. You know that Forensic science and medicine has made amazing advances over the last decade. Why I was only reading the other day about a thirty year old case that was..."
"Ducky!" this time it was McGee who interrupted.
"Ah yes, anyway, Director Shepherd feels that perhaps it's time for some of these cases to be looked at with a fresh pair of eyes. Of course there'll have to be a lot of reading and research done on the files in order to see if there's any that would benefit from being re-opened."
"You mean a lot of desk work?" asked Gibbs. "Stuff that wouldn't wear out a guy who's supposed to be taking it easy?"
"Yes, and of course having a trained Autopsy assistant to help interpret medical records and autopsy reports would be invaluable as well. Why, by the time both of you are cleared to return to work...to *desk* duty, I'm sure that between them they'll have come up with a few cases to keep you busy until you're cleared to return to the field."
"And Ziva?" asked Gibbs, mulling the whole idea over in his mind.
"She's on desk duty until her cast is removed. That'll be another four to six weeks. At the moment she's working with the translation department lending them her language skills, but once she's fit for field work she'll be back with you."
"You seem to have everything all figured out." Gibbs didn't know why he was being so grumpy. On the face of it, it seemed like a perfect arrangement. Tony would be safe at N.C.I.S...or at least as safe as he could be anywhere. And while looking through old files might not be the most interesting thing he could be doing, at least it wouldn't be physically demanding.
"Well somebody had to get things sorted out while you two were lazing about," said Ducky, acerbically. "Look, I know that both Jimmy and Tony will have to make up their own minds on the subject, but I also know that they will both look to you for guidance. All I ask is that you think of what would be best for them. At this stage in their pregnancies, the last thing they need is to be playing nursemaid 24/7. Some time apart will benefit all concerned."
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Ducky's arguments were more than convincing. So it came to pass that when McGee and Gibbs were released from Bethesda, Jimmy and Tony took two more days leave to help settle them in at Ducky's house and then returned to work.
Life soon settled into a comfortable routine at Ducky's house. Granted, there were a few teething troubles. All that testosterone sloshing about under one roof...not to mention a double dose of pregnancy hormones, there were bound to be a few occasions when things didn't run smoothly.
Gibbs was no sooner in the door than he was refusing point blank to use the stair lift that had been installed a few months prior to Mrs. Mallard's death.
"I can take the stairs just fine," he had growled at Ducky.
They were all seated in Ducky's living room and he was explaining a few things to his guests.
Ducky sighed inwardly. He knew that Jethro was merely trying to reassert some of the authority that had been stripped away from him as a result of his injuries and subsequent hospitalization. He fully understood why a man like Gibbs would need to lay down the law and restore his command as soon as possible. But that didn't mean he had to be a bastard about it. And it certainly didn't mean that Ducky had to let him do it. "Jethro might be an overbearing son of a bitch at times," thought Ducky, hiding a mischievous grin, "But when it comes to deviousness and manipulation...he's just a child compared to me."
Out loud he said, "Of course you don't have to use the stair lift, Jethro. However, perhaps you will indulge an old man in his own home. I would really feel much happier if you did not use the stairs at all." Ducky looked Gibbs carefully in the eye, "It'll be no trouble for me to make up a bed downstairs in Mother's old room, and then you won't have to go upstairs at all."
"Of course," added Ducky, as he turned away, "It will have to be a *single* bed...as opposed to the double bed that's already made up for you and Anthony upstairs. But I'm sure he won't mind having all that space to himself."
It hadn't taken Gibbs long to decide that the minor humiliation of having to use the stair lift was better than being deprived of Tony's company at night. After so many nights spent in the hospital, Gibbs never wanted to sleep in a single bed again.
The other three guests had no problem agreeing to use the stair lift...in Tony's case, the problem was getting him to *stop* using it. The first few days he kept 'forgetting' to bring things down from his bedroom, just to have an excuse to go zooming up and down again. Even though Ducky had told him that the 'no stairs' rule was optional as long as Tony felt up to it, Tony had insisted on keeping to it. "What applies to Gibbs applies to me too, Ducky," he'd said with a grin. "Wouldn't be fair to have him stuck in the chair and me strolling up and down the stairs."
Gibbs was also initially frustrated at having to stay away from N.C.I.S., but soon realized that until his energy levels improved, not to mention his balance, he would be more of a liability than an asset to the team. He got through the first week without too many problems, mainly because he slept a lot of the time when Tony was at work, and conserved his energy for when he returned home.
Working the cold cases meant that Tony and Jimmy's hours were more regular, and most evenings Ducky had a home-cooked meal on the table for all his guests when they got home. Abby and Ziva were invited to join in on more than one occasion, and all in all it was a pleasant time.
Naturally of course, it didn't last.
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To be continued
Author's Chapter Notes:
Ducky has plans for Gibbs and McGee's convalescence.
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.