And now the end is near, we face the final chapter...well okay, the next to final one.
Thank you to everybody who's come along for the ride, I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing.
Title: Misconceptions 29/30
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
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. Tony and Jimmy both went into labor in the middle of Thanksgiving Dinner and were whisked off to hospital. The next morning Abby, Ducky and Ziva showed up at the hospital to be told that both had been safely delivered of a son. As both Tony and Jimmy needed their rest, it was agreed that introductions to the new arrivals would have to wait until later that day when both parents had recovered from the birth, Tony having had a difficult time of it.
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[29]
Although exhausted, Jimmy was finding it difficult to rest. The events of the previous night, the pain...the fear...and through it all, his beloved Tim holding him firmly, calming him, reassuring him, sharing his strength as much as possible. And then, when Jimmy was almost done, and sure that he couldn't go on, he'd tapped his final reserves of strength and determination, and finally succeeded. The joy of holding his son in his arms for the first time almost obliterated the memory of what it had taken to get him there. Jimmy hadn't been able to believe it, that he and Tim had created this wonderful miracle. He'd almost cried when the Nurse had taken the baby away to clean and weigh him and do all the necessary tests on a newborn.
But soon enough, baby boy Palmer-McGee was back in his parent's arms and the happy family was left alone to savor the moment. "He's so beautiful," said McGee as he nestled in beside Jimmy on the bed. His hand reached out to his son, but hesitated inches above the baby's head.
"He won't break, Tim," said Jimmy, smiling. "Do you want to hold him?"
"I...yes...no...what if I drop him?" McGee felt more nervous than when he'd met Gibbs for the first time.
"Just support his head..." Jimmy handed the baby to Tim. "There...you're a natural..." He leaned against his lover. "He's ours...all ours..."
McGee looked from his son to his lover, the two most important people in his life from this moment on. "I love you Jimmy."
The previous hours might have seemed like an eternity, but the time spent with their baby passed all too quickly.
"I know you don't want to be parted," said Doctor Wu with a smile, "But it's been a long night, for him as well as both of you, and right now, you could all do with a rest."
So Jimmy had reluctantly handed his son over to the OB Nurse so that he could be brought to the nursery and his fathers could get some much needed rest.
Although how they expected him to rest when they'd put him in a room with Tony DiNozzo, Jimmy didn't know. Gibbs and Tim had filled each other in on their side of things, and Jimmy and Tony had the opportunity to compare notes on their respective labors. While Jimmy's had been less stressful than Tony's, he had still managed to pop a blood vessel in his eye with the strain of the labor.
McGee had nearly panicked at the sight, wanting to call in every specialist in the hospital, but Doctor Wu had reassured him that it wasn't an uncommon occurrence and that Jimmy's eye would return to normal in a matter of days.
Exhausted though they both were, it was likely that Jimmy and Tony could have kept on talking all day, if it hadn't been for a nurse announcing that they had visitors anxious for news.
"I wondered how long it would take Abby to drag Ducky over here," grinned Tony, tiredly. "Guess it's time for the party to begin!" He started to sit up in his bed, but Gibbs pushed him back firmly.
"There'll be no partying until you've had some shut-eye," said Gibbs, firmly. Over Tony's weak protestations, he continued, "I'll fill them in on the details and have them come back this evening when you've rested."
"Sounds like a good idea," said McGee.
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But even once Gibbs and McGee had left, both Tony and Jimmy found it difficult to settle down. Tony especially so. The pulse ox meter on a finger, and the nasal cannula he still wore, while not exactly uncomfortable, were still irritating.
Jimmy too wasn't as comfortable as he could wish. He'd needed some stitches, and his eye was still itchy and bloodshot.
"I still can't believe I've done it," said Jimmy, softly. He lay curled up, facing Tony's bed. "After all this time...all the planning...it's finally over..."
"It...it's not over, Jimmy," said Tony, "It's only just beginning. We've got a whole new life ahead of us."
Jimmy was silent for a few minutes before saying, "Are you as scared as I am?"
Tony managed to laugh, "More so! I mean, there's so much to learn...so many things to do. I knew I should have paid more attention in those pre-natal classes we took."
"But we'll be able to do it...won't we?"
"You've got McGee...I've got Gibbs...we've both got Ducky and Abs and even Ziva backing us up...we'll be fine." Tony spoke with a confidence he wasn't really feeling. But at least Jimmy seemed to be taking his words at face value and relaxed somewhat. "It'll be okay," Tony told himself as he finally managed to drift off to sleep. "It's a whole new life...but it'll be okay."
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And the first stage in their new lives came later that day, when the families were reunited once again. Baby Gibbs-DiNozzo and baby Palmer-McGee were retrieved from the nursery and handed back to their doting fathers. And soon after, Ducky escorted Abby and Ziva to meet the newborns. They didn't come empty-handed. A teddy bear apiece from Abby, dressed in Goth outfits, naturally. Ducky brought two large baby-changing bags, filled with all the little things like diapers and wipes etc that a first time parent would need. He carefully pointed out a small pocket in each bag that contained a hip flask. "That is *not* for the babies consumption...but their parents might need it occasionally!" And Ziva...nobody knew how she'd managed it, but she'd found two little baby size baseball caps with N.C.I.S. stitched on them.
"Ohhhh, they're so adorable!" said Abby, cooing over the babies. "Look at their little fingers and tiny little toes!"
"And if I see so much as a hint of black nail varnish on them..." said Gibbs, mock threateningly.
"You know I'd never do that, Gibbs," said Abby. "Well, not until there's a big enough nail to paint."
"Abby!"
"I'm joking, honest! Anyway, you haven't told us any of the details...we don't even know their names!"
"Guess we should make the formal introductions," said Gibbs, smiling. "Tony, you want to do the honors?"
Tony sat up a little straighter in his bed. "Well, me and Jimmy were going to go with 'thing one' and 'thing two'..."
"We were not!" protested Jimmy, "Don't listen to him!"
Tony continued as if Jimmy hadn't said anything, "...but then I figured that there was somebody special that deserved to be remembered." He hesitated for a few seconds before continuing, "And since we couldn't exactly call him Kate...we decided to go with Todd."
"Oh Tony!" Abby threw her arms around him, "That's so sweet!"
"And what about your son, Jimmy?" asked Ducky.
Jimmy couldn't help but feel a thrill of pleasure at the words 'your son'. "Well, Ducky...with your permission, Tim and I were thinking of calling him Donald...if you don't mind."
Ducky, overcome with emotion, was for once almost lost for words. "Oh my dear boys, I'd be quite honored."
It was of course Tony who broke the silence. Grinning widely he commented, "Talk about brown-nosing, naming a kid after your former boss. Now why didn't *I* think of that, Gibbs?"
Gibbs just smiled and gently ruffled Tony's hair. "Because we both agreed that Leroy and Jethro are *not* good names for kids."
"I don't know, they worked out pretty good for you." Tony leaned in against Gibbs.
"Awww," said Abby. "Okay, come on guys, time for the first official family photograph."
Abby seemed to be having such fun setting them up for the pictures that none of the new fathers decided to mention to her that they'd already taken pictures of the new additions to their teams...several pictures in fact. But there was always time for one more.
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To be concluded
Author's Chapter Notes:
It's time to meet the new additions to the 'team'
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.