Title: Misconceptions 7/?
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 reacted angrily when Tony told him he was pregnant. He accused Tony of cheating on him and was about to punch the wall when Jimmy intervened and was accidentally pushed into the wall. McGee lashed out at Gibbs when he found out he was responsible for Jimmy's injury.
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[7]
"How very sweet."
Gibbs and Tony both jumped at the sound of McGee's voice.
Tony was the first to recover, "McGee, how's Jimmy doing?"
McGee moved into the room and let the door shut behind him. "He's resting now. I...I'm just going to home and get him a few things he'll need. His glasses got broken, he'll need his spare pair, and some other stuff." He rubbed his face wearily.
Gibbs took a step forward, "McGee, I'm so sorry about what happened. I swear to you it *was* an accident."
"Yeah, well with all due respect, Gibbs, you can stick your apology."
"McGee," said Tony, "I..."
McGee didn't let him finish. "All this time I've been working with you, Gibbs, and I've always known you had a temper. I know I've been on the receiving end of it a few times, but that's cool, because it's always been part of the job, and sometimes the job needs a person with a mean streak in them to get it done." He took a deep breath before continuing, "You have us running around like headless chickens to do your bidding because we don't want to make you mad at us or disappoint you. And it works, because we get results and it's never bothered me that you have a temper because it's just part of the job...but when it spills over into personal life...that's when you've crossed the line."
McGee's voice was calm and even. His face was pale, but there was no trace of fear or nerves. Gibbs would almost have preferred it if McGee was yelling and slamming him up against the wall again. He could deal with angry people...he couldn't deal with this quiet and reasonable McGee. The worst part was that McGee was pretty much justified in his assessment.
"Jimmy's going to be on sick leave for the rest of the week," continued McGee. "I'm taking a few days off as well, just while Doctor Oliver has him on bed rest. I trust that won't be a problem?" His tone challenged Gibbs to make an issue of it.
Gibbs shook his head, "That's fine McGee, I'll sort the paperwork."
"Good." McGee paused for a few seconds before continuing, "Jimmy doesn't want to make an official complaint about this, and given his condition, I'm not about to insist that he put himself through the stress that would cause." He looked Gibbs straight in the eye, "But if you lay a hand on him again, I swear to you Gibbs, that I *will* hurt you."
Gibbs was silent as McGee turned to Tony.
"Tony, Jimmy explained to me what's been going on these last few weeks. I would say congratulations, but..." He glanced over at Gibbs before continuing, "I don't know the ins and outs of yours and Gibbs's relationship. That's your business. All I have to say is, don't feel that you have to stay with him just because you're pregnant."
"Hey, just hold on a minute," said Gibbs, indignantly. "This is between me and Tony."
"It stopped being just between you and Tony the second Jimmy got hurt," snapped McGee, before turning back to Tony. "Like I said, being pregnant isn't enough reason to stick with somebody if they're hurting you. I know I'm speaking for Jimmy as well when I say that you won't be on your own."
Tony swallowed hard, "I...I appreciate what you're saying Tim...but...but Gibbs and I," he took Gibbs's hand. "I know we've got some stuff to deal with, but we're not ready to give up on it yet."
McGee nodded, "Somehow I'm not surprised. Take care Tony." He left the room.
Suddenly a little shaky, Tony sat down on a chair. Gibbs sat down with him, their hands still linked.
"Are you sure you want to try and make this work?" asked Gibbs, gently. "McGee's right, I have a temper...I've used it to my advantage in the marines...on the job...but what if I can't switch it off when it comes to my private life? Maybe you'd be safer away from me..."
Tony leaned against Gibbs, his head on Gibbs's shoulder. "If I wanted 'safe'...I wouldn't have joined N.C.I.S....heck, I'd never have become a cop!"
"That's not the same thing." Gibbs raised Tony's hand to his lips and kissed it. "I want to change, Tony. I don't ever want to see that look of fear on your face and know that I put it there. I'll go to anger management...couples counseling...whatever it takes."
"Lamaze classes?"
"I'll get back to you on that one," said Gibbs with a smile.
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Abby sipped on her caf-pow and said, "Okay, so let me get this straight. Tony is pregnant...Gibbs put Jimmy in the hospital...McGee slammed Gibbs up against a wall and yelled at him..." She took another swig of the drink. "Dammit, I miss all the good stuff!"
"Abby!" said Ziva. She'd been waiting for weeks to be able to tell Abby all the news.
"What?" said Abby, "Come on, this is the first long vacation I've been on in years, and I have to pick a time when everything goes to hell. Man, I wish I'd been here."
"I wish you'd been here too as well," said Ziva. "It was a most unpleasant sequence of events. And the aftermath..." Her voice trailed off and she stared gloomily at the pictures on the wall of Abby's lab.
"What happened afterwards?"
"Things have been...strained," said Ziva. "Oh we all do our work well enough, but I feel like I am walking on seashells around the others."
Abby took her mouth away from the straw long enough to say, "Eggshells."
Ziva waved her hand dismissively, "Whatever. But these last few weeks...McGee only speaks to Gibbs when it relates to the case on hand." She started counting things off on her fingers, "Gibbs never takes McGee with him anymore...it's always either Tony or me, unless we're all working together. Gibbs hasn't head swatted anybody in weeks. I saw him start to raise his hand to Tony, only he saw McGee watching him so he stopped. And as for Jimmy..."
"What about Jimmy?"
"McGee won't let Gibbs anywhere near him. You should see him at the crime scenes, he's like this big sheepdog keeping Jimmy away from the 'big bad wolf'."
"Now I see Gibbs as more of a silver haired fox, but I get your point."
"And then there's the rubber band. Gibbs has one around his wrist and every so often I see him snapping it. Honestly Abby, it's all a little..."
"Hinky?" suggested Abby.
"I was going to say unsettling...but you're right." Ziva shuddered, "I just hope they sort out their differences soon."
"Me too," said Abby, "Me too."
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But the weeks passed and if anything the situation seemed to get worse instead of better.
McGee couldn't forgive Gibbs for what he'd done. He kept thinking of how things could have gone...how Jimmy could have lost the baby...maybe even have been seriously injured.
Gibbs for his part was still a little resentful of the way that McGee had chewed him out. Okay, yes, he admitted that he had deserved it. He had been a loose cannon that day and it was pure luck that he hadn't caused any irreparable damage. But dammit, he was trying his best to make things right. He'd apologized to McGee...he was taking anger management classes...and for the first time in his life, he was *voluntarily* seeing a therapist. But still McGee looked at him as if he'd gone and pissed in his cereal every morning. Gibbs had bent over backwards to try and make things right, but nothing seemed to change McGee's attitude.
Tony in the meantime was stuck in the middle. He loved Gibbs, he knew he did. Gibbs was the father of his child. But McGee was his buddy and they'd been through a lot together. He hated the way things were...the constant worrying that he'd make one of them jealous by seeming too friendly with the other. He'd had enough of that sort of thing when his parents had divorced.
The weeks passed, with both Gibbs and McGee too stubborn to bury the hatchet.
Until one day a sudden bereavement put things in perspective.
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To be continued
Author's Chapter Notes:
Gibbs and Tony have reconciled, but will McGee forgive Gibbs?
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.