Chapter 1:

They had been dating for about six months now. During these six months they decided to keep it a secret from their team. They had allowed only three people to know about their relationship. Those three individuals were Elaine from the diner, Ducky, and Leon Vance. They intended to keep it that way for as long as they could. They were both very private people, and they both enjoyed that. It wasn't that they didn't trust the rest of their team, it was just that everything would be different once the team knew, and they were enjoying just how things were now. The longer they could keep their quiet bliss to themselves and the few who knew, the better.

Things were going perfect. Jack had basically moved in with Gibbs. She only kept her apartment to draw suspicion away from anything. The sex was GREAT to say the least. They had even settled into a nice little routine. They couldn't be happier, but then, things began to change. Suddenly, something seemed to be off about Jack. At the flip of a switch, Jack had suddenly become more tense and sensitive to little things. Gibbs had no clue where this came from, but he could sense that something was up. A couple weeks into this, he noticed another change in Jack. She was getting sick, every day for a week he witnessed this before he finally decided to confront her about it. He was very worried and needed to know if something was seriously wrong.

"Jack, what's going on with you? Are you sick?"

"I don't know. I don't know what is wrong with me Gibbs. I haven't felt like myself for three weeks now, but I—I'm scared. I don't think I am ready to know what is going on because I don't want to face the fact that there could be something wrong. Life just got perfect for me. I'm not ready to let that go…" she began to sob, bent over on the couch with her face in her hands. He hadn't seen her this vulnerable in a while, and he wished he had never had to see her this way again. It seriously broke his heart to see her in this much pain.

"Shh… You're not going to lose this. I'm not going to let you lose this ever, but we can't fix this until we know what is going on okay? Let's just get you into the doctor to get some tests run so we can get some answers. I'm not going to leave your side through whatever may come. I've got you," he said all of this while pulling her into his chest. He put one of his hands on the side of her head, and he ran his thumb across her cheek to try and calm her. As a tear fell down her cheek he gently brushed it away. He was trying his hardest not to give in and cry too. He then gently pulled her towards him and gave her a passionate kiss. It was one that expressed every feeling he had ever had for her at once. He didn't have any more words to truly express how deeply he cared about her, and so he simply showed her.

There is something about heartbreak that adds passion to love. Following their conversation, they had some of the most passionate love-making as they had had since the beginning of their relationship. In his actions he was providing Jack with as much support as she could ever need. He was there to remind her that she would never be alone and that he would never leave her side. As they came down from their moments she began to sob once more. It was beautiful and horrible all at once. He had nothing that he could do except pull into himself and be present. That was all she needed.

The next morning, Jack woke up still in his arms. She was not very used to this because he was always much earlier of a riser than she was, but she could tell that he didn't want to leave her side. She knew that he was scared too, but he didn't want to show it to protect her. Just the little ways that he expressed his deep care for her sent her into deeper and deeper love with this man. He sensed that she was finally awake, and he kissed the top of her head to let her know that he was too.

"Good morning," he said gently.

"Morning," she responded with a sad smile. A single tear fell down her cheek. He kissed it away.

"What time's your appointment?"

"Seven."

"Want to grab some breakfast at the diner before we head in?"

"That would be perfect," she replied while giving him a small peck before getting out of bed to get ready for the day. He watched her get ready with complete adoration. There was something so perfect about how simple her routine was. He had been with plenty of high-maintenance women, and this one was definitely not one of them. He finally crawled out of bed and slipped into his clothes and combed his hair.

They arrived at the diner and walked in to sit at their normal booth. Elaine came up to the booth to take their orders, which was simply an excuse to talk to them for a second because she knew their orders. When taking their orders though, she could sense something off about both of their demeanors. Instead of taking their orders to the kitchen, she sat down across from them at their booth so she could try and figure out what might be going on with two of her favorite people.

"You two seem… off. Please, just tell me, is everything okay?"

"We're not sure yet Elaine. Jack—Jack may be sick, but we just don't know yet. We're going in this morning to get some test run."

"Oh, Jack. I will be praying for you; I will be praying for the both of you," she said this while placing her hand of their interlocked hands on top of the table. She squeezed them tightly as she continued, "I believe that you are strong; I believe that you will get through this. I know that you have been through hell and back, and whatever this is doesn't stand a chance against the two of you. You are fighters, and you will get through whatever this is. I know it."

"Thanks Elaine. We'll keep you updated," Jack replied.

"Well, I guess we better get going," Gibbs said nervously as he helped Jack up from the booth and ushered her out the door.

"See ya Elaine. Thanks for everything," he shouted as they walked out the front door.

The entire drive to the doctor's office they were both silent. Neither of them knew exactly what to say or what to feel. They just relied on each other's presence for comfort. This remained so in the waiting room. They simply sat in silence holding hands.

"Jacqueline Sloane," the nurse said from across the room.

Gibbs and Jack looked at each other. He squeezed her hand as they got up from their seats to follow the nurse to them exam room.

"Okay Ms. Sloane, we're going to just run a few simple tests to see if we can find out what's going on with you. First we will go ahead and collect a urine sample, and then we will do a few blood tests. The results should be in by the end of the day for you. Before we get started though, I am going to ask you a few routine questions. Okay, so how long have you been experiencing your symptoms for?"

"A few weeks."

"Okay, and have you been out of the country any time in the past 3 months?"

"Yes… I have been to Mexico, Afghanistan, the U.K., and Canada."

"Wow, quite the world traveler."

"Yeah… It was all mainly for work, but I think we mixed in some pleasure here and there," Jack responded while smiling at Gibbs.

The nurse sort of chuckled at that response. "Okay, and lastly, is there any chance that you may be pregnant Ms. Sloane?"

Both Gibbs and Jack laughed at this question. There was no way in hell that they could be pregnant at their ages and with the fact that Jack was still on the pill. "Yeah, that would be a hard no. He is in his 60s, me, my 50s, and I am on the pill."

"Okie doke. Roger that."

They then poked and prodded her for the next hour or so. After the tests were finished they went on their way. They had both decided it would be best to just go ahead and go to work for the day. They would only drive themselves crazy and draw suspicion if they both took of work. It was a pretty quiet day, but most of it was a blur until Jack got the call that she had been waiting for.

"Special Agent Sloane, your results have come in. We'd like for you to come in this afternoon to discuss them if possible. I would also advise Special Agent Gibbs come in with you."

"Okay. We may have to come in a bit late if that is okay. We are kind of wrapped up here at work. Or we can always just come in in the morning if that would be better?"

"No, you can absolutely come in this evening after work. I will stick around the office after we close. Take your time, I can just catch up on work until you come in. I think it would be best for you to come in tonight instead of waiting until tomorrow."

"Okay. Thank you doctor Millett. We will see you later his evening," she instantly felt a sense of panic wash over her. Why would he insist on us coming in tonight instead of waiting until the morning? She then texted Gibbs to update him real quick.

"Results are in. He wants us to come in tonight…. Gibbs, I'm scared," he read this and instantly knew the state that she must have put herself into. He rushed down to her office to find her curled up on her couch.

"Jack, don't do this to yourself."

"Gibbs, why would it be so important that we come in tonight? I—I don't think I am ready to hear what he has to say. Why can't we just stay in our bubble for just one for more night?"

"Hey… whatever the news is, we will stay in our bubble. We aren't going to let anything burst our bubble. The only thing that can burst our bubble is us choosing to ignore whatever this is. Okay?"

"Okay," they simply stayed on the couch for the next hour waiting for work to end. He wrapped her up in his arms not caring if anyone came in to find them this way.

They arrived to the doctor's office shortly after 7 pm. When they walked into the office they found Dr. Millett sitting on the couch in the waiting room working on a crossword puzzle. He was so 'the type' to work on crosswords in his free time, Jack thought to herself.

"Welcome Agent Gibbs and Agent Sloane. I hope your day went well."

"Please, Doc, call me Jack."

"Okay, and how about you Agent Gibbs?"

"Gibbs," he replied in his usual short tone.

"Okay then," Dr. Millet replied holding back a chuckle.

"So, Doc, give it to me straight. How long do I have? I can take it."

"Well, uh Jack, I am not quite sure that you really are prepared for what I am about to tell you. Now, I know you have a lot of great support around you, and you're going to really need to lean into that in the months to come."

"Months?" Gibbs asked in a worried tone. He tightly squeezed Jack's hand between them. He had lost so many women that he loved, but he was not prepared to hear that he was about to lose this one.

"I'm just going to have to come out and say it. This is not something that I have seen much in my career. Jack, you're not dying. In fact, you are doing about as opposite to that as I can think. Jack, you are pregnant."

The couple sat there in silence and shock. They simply stared at the doctor where he was sitting with looks on their faces as if they had seen ghosts. Dr. Millett let them sit for a second in order to fully grasp what he had just told them.

The silence was then broken by Gibbs, "Pregnant?"

"That is not possible," Jack followed.

"Well, I would have said that too, before today."

"No, no, no, no, no. I'm in my 50s doc, and Gibbs, he's in his 60s. Plus, I'm on the pill."

"Yes, and I understand that, but let me ask you this Jack. In your age, just how routine are you about taking your pill? Do you remember to take your pill every day and at the same time every day? Or do you just take it when you remember and when it works best for you?"

"Uh, well I mean sure, I may miss a day every now and then, and I don't always take it at the same time every day, but how much does that really matter? Especially at our ages?"

"Apparently more than you would think. Because as hard as it to believe it Jack and Gibbs, you two are having a baby. I triple ran those tests myself just to be sure that I hadn't lost my mind. The results don't lie. You have to get yourself ready for everything to change."