I don't own NCIS, just the plot and extra characters in this story. This story is the sequel to my story What Have You Done? Enjoy!
"And all the unicorns galloped over the rainbow bridge into the new fairy city…" Tony read with mock enthusiasm. He nearly jumped for joy when he heard the keys click into the front door. "Katie your daddy's home!" Tony said, this time with real enthusiasm.
"My name is Caitlin." Caitlin said monotonously.
Tim turned the key in the lock as Tony replied. "Yeah… but I call you Katie." He pointed out.
It wasn't until after Tim walked into the house that Caitlin finally spoke. "Daddy… make this man go away." She requested tiredly.
"Caitlin, can you please go to bed?" Tim asked sleepily as he tried to keep the tears from falling.
"Yes daddy." Caitlin said sweetly before she rushed up the stairs, using both her legs and arms.
"So… How's Abby? What'd you name her?" Tony asked excitedly.
"I don't want to talk about it." Tim said quietly peeling off his jacket and laying it on a chair.
"Come on Tim! What's the new Mcbaby named?" Tony pressured.
"TONY I SAID I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT! NOW WOULD YOU GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" Tim screamed back.
Tony's eyes widened, but he didn't speak. "Tell Abby I say congratulations…" Tony said quietly as he shut the door behind him.
Tim quickly turned the deadbolt, and slammed his back to the door. He slowly slid down until he was seated on the entryway floor. It wasn't until then, that a single tear fell from his eye.
Crying yourself to sleep is never a pleasant activity, particularly when you're crying about something that changed your life. However it's often even more unpleasant to wake up after crying yourself to sleep. It also happens to be particularly so when you cried yourself to sleep over something life-changing. So needless to say, When Abby awoke to Tony standing inches from her, she was less than pleased.
"Hi Abby!" Tony greeted excitedly.
"Tony?" Abby asked groggily.
"Yes…" Tony said confirming his identity. "Now tell me… What did you name her? Mcgeek didn't tell me anything!"
Abby felt those same tears that had been in her eyes last night come to the surface. She tried to hide them but it was too late. "Abby what's wrong?" Tony asked worriedly.
Abby sniffed. "Tony…" She said softly, but found herself unable to talk through her sobs.
Tony gently sat down next to her and held her in a hug until she calmed down. "Now…" He said once she was calm "What happened?"
"Tim…" Abby whispered.
"What did he do?" Tony asked trying to stay calm.
"He left…" Abby said quietly.
"Abby why would he do that?" Tony asked cautiously, nearly ready to strangle Mcgee.
"Tony… He left… Because…" Abby broke down into tears again. Finally she spoke through her sobs, "Tony, our baby is deaf."
Now Tony had been paying attention, however through her sobs it sounded more like, Tony our body is dead, which just didn't seem to make sense. "Abby… what did you say?" He asked carefully.
"Our baby is deaf." She said much more clearly.
Tony inhaled sharply. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but it definitely hadn't been that. "Abby I'm so sorry." He said as he pulled her tightly to him. "Everything's going to be okay Abs." he comforted.
"She'll never be able to understand us… ever." Abby choked through her sobs.
"Abby, who have you called?" Tony asked quietly, wondering how many people knew she had had the baby.
"No one. I assume Tim called you." Abby explained, starting to calm back down.
"Abby you should call Gibbs." Tony said gently.
"I… Tony I can't." Abby said quietly. "Would…"
"I'm on it Abs." Tony replied hugging her gently before leaving to go call Gibbs.
"Gibbs." Gibbs barked into the phone. Though it was only five in the morning, he was already awake and waiting for the rest of the team to show up in a few hours.
"Uh, It's Tony…" Tony said awkwardly, unsure of what to say.
"Do you have something to say DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked irritably.
"I'm at the hospital with Abby." Tony said taking the first step.
"Is she in labour?" Gibbs asked immediately.
"Well she was… And now she's not." Tony said importantly.
"Why would they stop her labor this far along into her pregnancy?" Gibbs asked, confused.
"Oh… She had the baby." Tony said as if it were obvious.
"And they didn't call!" Gibbs asked angrily.
"Um… well there's more." Tony interrupted.
"Well what is it?" Gibbs asked impatiently.
"Gibbs… Abby and Tim's baby… is deaf."
"I'll be right there." Gibbs dec lared and clicked off his phone.
"Abby Gibbs is on his way." Tony reported as he walked back into Abby's room.
"Tony… I need Tim." Abby said quietly.
"Abby I'm not sure if trying to…" Tony started to explain, but stopped abruptly as Tim rushed into the room.
"Abby I'm so sorry." Tim said quietly as he softly kissed her. "I never should have left… I was just…"
"Tim…" Abby said angrily. "You… left me." She stated simply.
"I know, and I wouldn't blame you if you never wanted to speak to me again…" Tim started to apologize again.
"Tim… our baby girl is deaf…She'll never hear us…" Abby said quietly, as if it were finally sinking in.
Tim carefully sat down next to Abby and pulled her into his arms. "Abby you know that doesn't mean we'll love her any less." He pointed out.
"But Tim… She'll never ever know…" Abby said quietly, but stopped when the nurse came in, for the first time she had their baby with her.
"Here she is, 7.6 pounds, 18 inches." The nurse said with a smile, putting the small bundle into Abby's outstretched arms.
"Abby's she's beautiful." Tim said with a smile as he ran a finger down the infant's cheek.
"Tim… How will she ever be like Caitlin?" Abby asked quietly.
"Abby, look at her eyes." Tim said just as quietly.
Abby looked into the infant's eyes and saw the same ones she saw on her four year old daughter. "Tim… she'll never be the same."
"Abby… what have you thought about names?" Tim asked quietly.
"Noelle." Abby replied simply. "Her middle name is Noelle. Meaning day of birth, which just happens to be the same as her sister's." Abby explained.
"Noelle in French means Christmas…" Tim pointed out.
"But in Latin, it means day of birth." Abby retorted.
"Well… How about Anastasia?" Tim suggested carefully. "It's Greek…"
"For Resurrection." Abby finished. "Anastasia Noelle Mcgee." Abby said with a smile as she looked at the infant in her arms.
Before Tim could reply Gibbs ran into the room. "Abby." He said out of breath.
"Gibbs!" Abby said excitedly. "Come here." She said as she waved her hand.
"Abby she's a beautiful little girl." Gibbs said with a smile. "Does she have a name?"
"Anastasia Noelle Mcgee." Abby and Tim said at the same time.
Gibbs smiled. It had been a long time since he had seen Abby so happy, though it wasn't quite the same, as he knew on the inside she was aching. "Abby are you okay?" Gibbs asked quietly.
Abby swallowed the tears that rose. "Gibbs… she'll never…" Abby started before the tears left her eyes.
Tim wrapped his arm around Abby in attempts to comfort her. "Abby. She'll be fine." Both Gibbs and Tim assured her.
"Tim." Abby said her attention suddenly locking on something else. "Where's Caitlin?"
"With Sarah." Tim said quickly. "I dropped her off at Sarah's apartment so she might get some sleep tonight." He explained.
Abby contently settled into Tim's arms. "Anastasia Noelle Mcgee." Abby whispered.
"She's beautiful, she looks just like you." Tim said as he kissed her forehead.
"Mrs. Mcgee?" A nurse asked as she entered the room. "We need to run a few more tests on your daughter so we can make sure you can leave tomorrow." She explained.
Abby handed over her daughter without much complaint, and settled back into Tim's arms. "I'll bring her back in a few hours." The nurse said before she made her exit.
Gibbs stood up. "I think I'll call the Director." He said as he walked out the door.
"Abby." Tim whispered into her ear. "I'm so sorry." He said as he rubbed her back in an attempt to comfort her.
Abby sighed and closed her eyes. "It will never be enough." She said quietly. "She will never have enough."
"Abby." He tried again. "We're going to give her everything we have."
Abby didn't respond, she couldn't respond. All the emotions she had locked inside, were finally coming out.
"Abby it's okay!" Tim exclaimed losing what was left of his self control. "Everything is going to be fine!"
"Tim everything can't be fine!" Abby retorted, sitting forward so she wasn't resting in his arms anymore. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. "What did I do to deserve this?" Abby asked quietly.
That single question was enough to put Tim over the top. "You? YOU?" He exclaimed. "You think this is all about you! Did you even stop to think about how I'm feeling right now?" He was yelling by now, and had moved so he was standing by the door. "This didn't just happen to you!" He opened the door. "Call me when you've got yourself sorted out." He said before he departed, again.
It was less than a minute later that Ducky entered, looking upset. "Abigail what happened?" He asked as soon as he had gained her attention. When Abby didn't reply, he began again. "Timothy is out in the waiting room, weeping. Why?" Abby refused to respond again, which caused Ducky to stare at her in the eyes and ask one more time. "Abby what's wrong?"
That was all Abby could take, she burst into tears. "Anastasia." She choked out through her sobs.
Ducky, assuming that was her daughter tried again. "Abby what's wrong with Anastasia?"
"She's deaf Duck." Abby said softly, hiccupping.
"Abigail, everything will be fine." He said softly as he tried to give her a hug.
"FINE? WHY DOES EVERYONE THINK ITS FINE?" She screamed. "ITS NOT FINE! SHE DOESN'T DESERVE THIS!"
"Abigail." Ducky said quietly, knowing it would calm her down slightly just to hear her name.
"What?" She asked after several minutes passed.
"Perhaps Anastasia was born deaf so you could learn to love her more." Ducky said quietly. "Caitlin is nearly perfect, it's impossible not to love her. With Anastasia, you'll have to work harder, but in reality the work you put in will turn into love."
Abby sat quietly for a moment letting what he had said sink in. "Do you really think so Ducky?"
"Yes Abby, I do." Ducky affirmed.
"Thank You Ducky." Abby said softly giving him a hug.
"Anytime Abigail." He said before he headed to exit.
"Hey Ducky?" Abby asked quietly.
"Yes dear." He said turning back to face her.
"Could… you tell Tim, I need to talk to him?"
"Of course dear."
"Timothy." Ducky stated clearly, standing in front of him.
"Hi Ducky." Tim replied sullenly.
"Abigail wants to…" He started.
"Tell her to forget it!" Tim shouted suddenly. "I'm not playing any more of her games! If she needs someone to talk to she can find someone else! I've got enough to deal with!"
Ducky found himself feeling extremely protective of Abby. "Timothy Mcgee." He said sternly. "Your wife needs you."
"Ducky, I just told you. I'm not…" Tim tried again.
"Timothy Abigail is your wife. You will go to her when she needs you, and right now she needs you. Do you understand me?" Ducky was getting toward the top of his vocal volume that Tim had heard.
"Ducky." Tim protested.
Ducky took in a deep breath. "I know you're upset Tim." He assured him. "But think of how Abby must be feeling." He requested. "She went through labour to find out her daughter would never be able to hear her tell her how much she loves her."
Tim sat quietly for a moment, before getting up. "Ducky… I don't know what…" He started.
"Timothy, none of us know what to do. The best thing you can do right now, is be there for Abby." Ducky assured him.
"All right." Tim said quietly before heading to Abby's room.
"Abby?" He asked quietly as he opened the door to find her sobbing. "Abby it's okay." He said quietly as he rushed over to her. "We'll get through this… Together." He said with a smile that caused the sparkle to return to Abby's bright green eyes.
"Promise?" Abby asked, sniffling.
"Promise." Tim replied kissing her forehead.
"Pinky swear?" Abby asked, extremely serious.
Tim extended his pinky to connect with hers. "Pinky swear." He said smiling.
Tears began to stream down Abby's face. Tim carefully got onto the bed and sat behind her so she was sitting in his lap. "Shhhh." He comforted.
"Tim what are we going to do?" Abby asked quietly wiping away some of the tears, though they kept falling. "What can we do?" she asked half-heartedly.
"We'll make sure she knows we love her." Tim replied quietly. "Me and Caitlin, we'll learn sign language. And we'll make sure Anastasia gets what she needs. She's not going to be shut out of our World just because she can't understand us Abby. I won't let that happen."
Tears were running faster down Abby's face, only these weren't tears of fear or sadness. They were tears of joy and gratitude. "Timmy… Thank you." She whispered.
It wasn't much longer before Abby fell asleep contently in Tim's arms. Moments after Tim noticed she was asleep Sarah came in with Caitlin resting on her hip.
"Morning Tim." Sarah greeted setting Caitlin down on the floor.
"Morning Sarah." Tim said quietly before turning to his daughter. "Did you have a good time at Sarah's?" He asked her quietly.
Caitlin nodded. "We had smoothies for breakfast." She informed him.
"Sounds fun." Tim said with a yawn.
"Tim have you slept at all?" Sarah asked concerned.
"Not really…" Tim said through another yawn.
"Then I'll take Caitlin with me to campus today." She said resolutely. "Come on Katie." Sarah said softly.
"Okay!" Caitlin said excitedly.
"Wait…" Tim stopped her. "First off… Katie?" He asked confused. "Caitlin hates being called that." He explained.
Sarah shrugged. "She doesn't seem to have a problem with it when I call her Katie… It's such a cute nickname." She said with a smile.
"Second off… you can't take a four year old to your classes." Tim pointed out.
"Oh, I don't have any classes today." Sarah explained. "I'll be working on a video project with a couple of friends on campus today, Caitlin will be fine."
"If I weren't as tired as I am…" Tim started before a yawn caused him to lose his train of thought. "Fine take her… But bring her back this afternoon. We're probably going home." Tim said before settling into a more comfortable position.
"All right." Sarah agreed before picking up Caitlin and making her exit.
Just as Tim was starting to fall asleep Abby shifted in his arms. "Timmy?" she asked half-asleep.
"Yes Abs?" Tim asked just as tiredly.
"I'm sorry."
"Abby, this isn't your fault, it's no one's fault." Tim said softly.
"Then how come I feel so guilty?" Abby asked.
Tim shifted so he could see her eyes, which were brimming with tears. "Abigail Mcgee." Tim said softly. "This is not your fault, and no one blames you for any of it." He said as he kissed her softly.
"Timmy can you promise me something… other than that we'll get through this together?" Abby asked quietly.
"Well… that depends on what it is." Tim pointed out.
"Promise me you'll never let go." She said softly.
"Abby whenever you need it… I'll hold you. No matter what."
Author's Note: Hope you liked it! This story isn't just a one-shot, It's going to continue, though I'm not sure how long it will be. Thanks so much for reading, and if you haven't read it yet, I'd suggest reading What Have You Done? Which is what this story is the sequel to. Thanks so much to my readers who are following through the series! Please Review!