Title: Misconceptions 30/30
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
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.
Final Note - well it hasn't been 9 months, but it's almost felt like it since I started this fic.
I hope you've all enjoyed the journey. Thanks to everybody who commented and sent feedback. A special big hug for FatCat who as my Beta had to go through all the cliffhangers first!
Thank you to everybody who's read this far.
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[30]
"Hush little baby, don't you cry, Daddy's gonna sing you a lullaby." Jimmy sang softly to baby Don as he lowered the sleeping infant back to the crib. A shadow across the doorway made him look up and he smiled as he saw Tim standing there. Jimmy put a finger to his lips as he made his way to the door. "He's just settled," said Jimmy as he pulled the door shut behind him.
"I know...I could hear you on the baby monitor," said McGee, smiling. His smile widened as Jimmy blushed.
"Oh no, I'm sorry, I should have remembered the monitor. I didn't mean to take so long, but he was taking so long to settle and I know that some of the books say to leave a baby to settle on their own, but I couldn't bear to hear him cry and I thought if I sang a bit. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you or Ducky."
McGee took Jimmy into his arms, "Are you kidding? We had the volume turned right up," he teased. He didn't add that if it hadn't been for Ducky, he would have been up the stairs to help settle baby Don at the first sign that Jimmy was having difficulty. But Ducky had told him to give Jimmy a little time and space. "I know your first instinct is to step in and help, but having you take over won't help Jimmy's confidence in dealing with Don. I've always believed that babies can sense when their carer is uncertain." So they had sat and listened over the monitor to Jimmy's efforts to soothe his son. And finally the sounds of both baby and father had grown calmer, and when Jimmy started singing softly, that was when Ducky nodded to McGee to go and join him.
"I just wanted to make sure he settled properly but he wasn't happy," protested Jimmy. "It's his first night at home...I...I didn't want him to be scared in a new place..."
"I promise you Jimmy, I will do everything in my power to make sure that you and Don, never *ever* have anything to be scared of."
"I love you Tim." Jimmy's kiss showed him just how much. "I've missed this."
"Missed what?"
"Being able to get this close to you face to face!"
"Come here you!"
They were like that for easily another five minutes before they heard somebody clearing his throat. Looking up, McGee and Jimmy saw Ducky standing at the end of the passageway. "Not that I want to interrupt you, but you might want to consider turning down the baby monitor...or at least closing the nursery door!"
If blushes could be harnessed, Jimmy and McGee's would have heated the house for the rest of the night.
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A few days later, Tony DiNozzo sat in a wheelchair in his hospital room feeling more scared than he ever had in his life. The reason for his fear was wrapped in a blanket and resting in his arms.
Todd Daniel Gibbs-DiNozzo, unaware of the stress he was causing his daddy, wrinkled his nose in his sleep.
Tony looked up anxiously as the door opened.
"All set," said Gibbs. "Discharge papers have been signed, the baby seat is fixed in the car. I had Abby run simulations on the top brands in the field, see how sturdy and reliable they were. Got everything we need set up at home. Did a rundown with McGee, made sure we haven't forgotten anything..." Gibbs frowned as he saw the expression on Tony's face. "What's wrong?"
"I...I don't think I'm ready to go home," said Tony. "I...we...I think maybe I need another night or so...just to be sure..."
Gibbs crouched down in front of Tony. "Doctor Wu gave you a complete check up this morning. She says there's no problem with your lung function and no need to keep you any longer."
"But what if she's wrong? What if I'm looking after Todd and...and I...I pass out or something?"
Gibbs took Tony's face in his hands. "It's not you you're worried about, is it."
Tony shook his head slowly. "I just...I just don't think I can do this." His voice was so soft that Gibbs could hardly hear him.
"This?"
"Looking after him. Look at him, Jethro. He's so tiny...just a baby...I just don't...I can't...what if I screw up? What if I can't look after him properly? I don't know anything about looking after babies...Jethro, I can't look after something this important." Tony tried to push Todd into Gibbs's arms, but Gibbs wouldn't let him. The sudden movement made Todd wake up, and he expressed his displeasure at waking in the manner in which most babies do.
"Wahhhhhh!!!!"
"See? Now look what I've done, I can't do this, I just can't..." Tony was near tears as well as he tried in vain to soothe his son.
"Shh, Tony, it's all right." Gibbs's voice was calm and soothing to both father and son, and after a few minutes, Todd had resumed his interrupted nap.
Tony was a little more difficult to calm as Gibbs stroked the back of his neck. "Tony, you've been looking after Todd while you've been in hospital. Feeding him, changing him, bathing him. Nothing's going to change just because we're at home."
"But the nurses were there, and if I screwed up I knew they'd catch it."
"But you didn't screw up." Tony opened his mouth to say something, but Gibbs hushed him with a finger to his lips. "Tony, Tony...we all make mistakes. The first time I tried to put a diaper on Kelly without Shannon supervising...took me half an hour to get her all sorted...and when I picked her up I found I'd pinned her to the changing table!"
A half smile appeared on Tony's face as Gibbs continued, "And you won't be alone. I'm going to be on parental leave for another week or so. And you know that Ducky and Jimmy are only ever a phone call away. Don't feel that you can't ask for help Tony, there's no shame in admitting that you can't handle something and asking for help...the only shame is knowing and *not* asking for help. Tony, I have every faith in you...I always have. Do you think I'd trust you with our son if I didn't have complete confidence in you?"
"I'm just...just so scared I'll mess up...not just the practical stuff...diapers and things...but what if I'm a shitty father, just like my old man. I don't want to mess up Todd's childhood."
"You won't...*we* won't. I'm not saying we'll be perfect parents. I know I'll probably be too strict, and you'll be too easy going...but between us, we'll do our best to raise our kid right. You and me and our son, Tony. We're a family now." Gibbs sealed it with a kiss.
If it hadn't been for the arrival of the orderly, who knows how long they'd have stayed kissing, and reluctantly the two men parted from each other.
"Thanks, but we won't be needing you," said Gibbs. He grabbed Tony's bag, which was stuffed with gifts from well wishers and almost twice as heavy as when he'd been admitted. It was so heavy that Gibbs nearly overbalanced as he swung it on to his shoulder. "We can manage fine."
"What was that somebody once told me," said Tony. "About there being no shame in asking for help?" He half turned in his chair and took Gibbs's hand. "I know you've always got my back...but I kinda like having you by my side."
So hand in hand, Tony holding Todd and Gibbs, with the bag, the orderly escorted them out of the hospital and into the beginning of their new life.
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Six months later, the Gibbs-DiNozzo family met with Doctor Jackson.
"I declare, that boy seems to double in size every time I see him," smiled Doctor Jackson as she greeted Todd.
"He's sprouting like a weed," said Gibbs, his voice beaming with fatherly pride. "And he's got another tooth coming through."
"Yeah, you might want to keep your fingers away," warned Tony. "The little sucker's turning into a cannibal. I swear he drew blood on me last week!" He too had a note of pride in his voice.
"You seem to coping well with all the changes," said Doctor Jackson.
Gibbs had officially retired from N.C.I.S. three months earlier. He was still on the books as a consultant, but only worked a few hours a week, and never on weekends. When Todd was older and in school, Gibbs was going to consider increasing his hours, but for now he was a stay at home parent and loving it.
Tony was back at work full time, running his own team on the cold cases squad. Gibbs still worried about him every time he went into the field, but he knew that Tony needed his independence, and had a good team backing him up.
They'd even moved house a few months earlier. A good sized home had come on the market, not too far away from Ducky's house. Or rather, not too far from McGee and Jimmy and Ducky's house.
The team had gathered together for dinner at Christmas, Tony had finally gotten the dessert he'd missed at Thanksgiving, and Ducky had announced that the house they were in was now officially in the names of all three of them. He'd brushed aside any protestations from McGee and Jimmy, saying that a family needed a home to call their own.
It had seemed like fate when Tony and Gibbs had secured their own family home not too far away. The only thing lacking had been a basement for the boat...but as Gibbs told Tony "I don't need to hide in a basement anymore...not when I have a family waiting upstairs."
Gibbs's boat building plans hadn't been completely abandoned though, the new house came with a fully equipped workshop out back, and Gibbs had declared his intention to start a new boat. "New life, new boat, that's the way it is," Gibbs had said. Tony had teased him about simply not being able to figure out how to get the other boat out of the basement, but he too was looking forward to Gibbs's promise that this boat was one they would build together.
"There's been a lot of changes since we started seeing you," said Gibbs. "Most of them for the better."
"It's been what, a year since we first met?" asked Doctor Jackson, although she was well aware of the answer.
"Yeah, a year today," said Tony, shifting in his chair. "And that's why..." he looked at Gibbs, who squeezed his hand and smiled. "That's why we felt today was a good place for our last session."
"You feel that you don't need any more relationship counseling?" Doctor Jackson kept her voice carefully neutral.
"It's not that..." Tony hesitated before continuing, "It's just...I mean, we could go on for years, talking things through with you, getting your advice...but in the end...me and Jethro, this is *our* life...our marriage. We know it's not gonna be plain sailing...we know there's gonna be ups and downs...and we'll probably hit some bumpy patches here and there....but we have to learn to deal with them ourselves and not come running to you for help all the time."
"Relationships aren't meant to be easy," said Gibbs. "But knowing that is half the battle. We really appreciate all you've done for us, Doctor Jackson, more than you can ever imagine. But now...now we're ready to go it alone." He squeezed Tony's hand. "Together."
There wasn't really anything Doctor Jackson could do to dissuade the pair, and she didn't even try. Eventually all her little birds had to try and fly on their own, and she was glad that these two had taken that step without any prompting from her.
"Look after yourselves," she said, as she escorted the family to the door. "And if you need to...don't feel that you have to cut me off totally. If you need me, just call."
She waved them off as they drove away in their car, before returning to her room and writing up her notes. "I love a happy ending," said Doctor Jackson as she marked the file "Closed"
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The End
Author's Chapter Notes:
It's a new beginning for our happy families.