a/n: so in Newborn King (season 9) we find out that Gibbs was deployed when Kelly was born. that being canon breaks my heart (and I don't think it's realistic considering U.S. Marine activities in 1984, but don't ask me) but naturally, anything that breaks my heart provokes me to write.

so here's some Gibbs meeting his baby girl for the first time :)

September, 1984

Shannon Gibbs yawned and set her laundry basket on the king sized bed, stopping a moment to pull her thick hair up into a ponytail. She tucked loose strands behind her ears and hoisted the basket onto her hip again, sighing and shaking her head at the overflowing contents.

She was hard-pressed to figure out how there was so much laundry, considering it was only she and the baby—but then again, she couldn't exactly remember the last time she had done more than a quick wash of the four T-shirts she was cycling through.

She glanced at the clunky baby monitor atop the pile of wrinkled clothes and watched the little red lines move lazily. Her daughter was cooing to herself sleepily; she'd woken up half an hour ago and Shannon had gone in to feed her and let her sit up in the crib. She was happy, and Shannon was attempting to get some housework done while Kelly was content.

Kelly was a good baby; she was five months old now and she slept through the night almost regularly, but this past week had been a difficult one. Shannon was trying to introduce bottle-feeding, and that wasn't going over well at all. Kelly was struggling with teething, so her little mouth was sore and she kept spiking a fever. The school year had started again, so the two school teacher neighbors Shannon spent time with were back in the classroom, and busy with their own toddlers after school. Shannon was a little stir crazy spending all day every day alone with the baby, hence how messy and out of sorts she—and the house—had gotten in the past ten days.

She was handling the stress well, though, if only because she knew she had about a week left before Gibbs was home from deployment. This eight-month rotation in Lebanon had been the longest they had been separated yet, and it had come at the most inopportune time—he had left three months before Kelly was born.

He hadn't met her yet.

Knowing that he was coming home in mere days made even the most annoying things easier. She was so ready for him to be home—it was usually around the fifth month he was gone that she started missing him desperately, and this deployment had been twice as hard because—even with her mother's help—she felt so alone adjusting to motherhood without him. She was anxious to welcome him back and nervous about how the first few weeks were going to be. She was used to little sleep and a schedule that revolved around Kelly's needs; he wasn't.

Shannon peeked in the nursery quickly—Kelly was chewing thoughtfully on a teething ring—before she started down the hall to the laundry room. She turned the baby monitor up a little, anticipating the loud running water of the washer, and jogged down the stairs. She passed the front doorway and swore she saw her husband standing in front of the fireplace—it was a testament to how much she missed him that she was actually hallucinating his presence.

She shook her head abruptly and continued to the laundry room—until she heard a laugh of disbelief.

"Shannon," he said loudly.

She spun around and dropped the laundry basket. The contents flooded the floor at her feet. Her breath caught in her throat for a moment, then she gave a cry and launched herself at him, scrambling gracelessly over the couch and all but pouncing on him in a mad attempt to crawl up into his arms.

He laughed again, catching her and picking her up.

"I look that different?" he teased, affecting a wounded sort of tone.

She punched him heavily in the shoulder and fought herself out of his grip, standing back on the floor in front of him on shaky legs. She gripped his shoulders tightly, squeezing within an inch of her life.

"You weren't supposed to be home for twelve days," she gasped, her voice cracking. She leaned forward and rested her head against his chest, plastering herself against him. "I thought I was seeing things—Jethro!" she shouted, half-outraged.

"What?" he drawled.

She slapped his chest, trying to look annoyed. Her eyes stung with tears.

"I'm not ready—I'm a hot mess," she moaned, distressed. "I had a new dress to wear for you; I wanted to look sexy not," she gestured violently at her shorts and the incorrectly buttoned shirt she was wearing, "not like this."

He stepped back and looked at her, from the messy, tangled ponytail to her bare feet and everything in between. He didn't know what she was talking about calling herself a mess—she never did seem to get that when he hadn't seen her in months, he didn't care if she had a burlap sack on, she was still the most beautiful sight in the world to him.

He took her face in his hands and pulled her close again, kissing her hard.

"You look better than I remembered," he muttered gruffly, wrapping her in a hug again.

She bit her lip and smiled, burying her face in his chest.

"How did you—why did you get to come early?" she asked shakily, swallowing hard.

"I traded with a guy who's already met his kids," Gibbs answered, and stepped back from her gently. He reached up and brushed her tears away, looking at her earnestly—his blue eyes flickered anxiously. "Shannon? Where is she?" he asked eagerly, a nervous edge to his voice.

"Who?" Shannon asked playfully.

He growled and swatted at her ponytail.

"Kelly," he demanded. "What does she look like? How is she? Where is she?" he asked rapidly. He squeezed her shoulders.

"I keep misplacing her," Shannon drawled, and the look on his face made her burst into laughter. She wiped at her own eyes and took his hand, taking pity on him. "She's in her crib. She's chewing on something—come on, Jethro," she said, turning and tugging him anxiously towards the stairs.

He followed her quickly, almost tripping over the spilled laundry, but at the foot of the stairs he stopped, stood still as a statue, and wouldn't move. She was yanked backwards, and stumbled on the stairs.

"Jethro?" she asked, stepping towards him slowly.

"Is she little?" he asked apprehensively. "As little as she was in the picture?"

Shannon bit her lip. She shook her head.

"She's grown a lot. She sits up by herself, now," she answered. "She looks like you," she added warmly. "She made it so much easier on me when I missed you."

He nodded, but he remained standing, his feet planted. He swallowed hard, and met her eyes.

"You think she'll cry?" he asked. "If I hold her? She doesn't know who I am—"

"She's still a little baby," Shannon soothed. "She might fuss a little—but I don't—I don't think she will," she said confidently. "She's so happy this morning. I think she'll catch on."

He still looked so uncertain, and she stepped closer and touched his cheek.

"Come on, Jethro," she coaxed softly. "Come meet your daughter."

He swallowed hard, and let her lead him by the hand up the stairs to the nursery he had painted before he left. He stopped dead in the doorway, and Shannon only tugged on him once before she relented and let him stand there and watch her.

Kelly dropped her teething ring when Shannon walked in and grinned at her. She babbled a string of nonsense and peeked through the bars at her mother. She grabbed her feet and giggled.

"Hey sweetie," Shannon said warmly. "How are those teethies this afternoon?" she murmured. She stopped and lowered the edge of the crib so she could reach in and lift Kelly.

Kelly squealed and put her hand on Shannon's mouth, running the pads of her little fingers of her mother's nose and lips. Shannon laughed and hoisted her more securely on her hip. Kelly wriggled and looked back at the crib, still murmuring.

"Kelly," Shannon whispered. She wrinkled her nose. "Kelly, Kelly. Kelly, Mama brought someone to see you," she said, nudging Kelly's head with her own and pointing towards Gibbs in the doorway. "Look, Kelly."

Kelly looked at him. She put her fingers in her mouth.

Shannon approached Gibbs and stood closer.

He took a step forward and lifted his hands. His eyes didn't leave Kelly. He couldn't believe—this baby hadn't even been born when he'd left, and now she was within his reach, smiling, making noise, breathing, living. He felt like he couldn't breathe—he knew he couldn't speak.

"Look, Kelly," Shannon said again, touching Kelly's chest gently. "Look who's home." She met Gibbs' eyes and handed him the baby slowly, making sure he took her securely and held her gently and firmly. Shannon stroked Kelly's thin, wispily curling hair. "This is your daddy, Kelly," she introduced softly. She kissed the baby's cheek gently. "He's been waiting so long to meet you."

She took a practiced, easy step back, giving her husband a little space with his daughter.

Gibbs held her like she was the most precious thing in the world, his eyes never moving from her. He studied her hair, her feet, her little fingers, her mouth, her eyes, her nose—he didn't think she looked like him. Her eyes were so pretty and blue. Her hands and feet were little—bigger than the newborn pictures, sure, but still so tiny—and she kept babbling to herself so cutely, so innocently, and she was so—so his.

He set his jaw tightly and held her a little closer, lowering his head.

She seemed to notice Mama wasn't holding her any more and she looked up at him sharply, blinking wide eyes.

He raised his eyebrows hesitantly.

"Hello, Kelly," he said gruffly, keeping his voice quiet. He tilted his head, meeting her focused baby eyes. He smiled a little. "Don't be afraid of me," he asked softly. "I'm your dad."

She stared at him. He was afraid she was going to start crying. She put her hand on his mouth instead, like she had Shannon, and then she leaned forward and opened her mouth on his shoulder, gnawing on him.

Shannon burst out laughing.

"Oh," she said, coming forward. "Oh, she's teething, Jethro, I'm sorry, she's drooling all over your uniform—"

He shook his head, dodging Shannon when she tried to take Kelly away.

"No," he said sternly. He turned is head and watched Kelly bite her gums down on his Velcro nametag, glowing with pride.

She wasn't crying—she liked him.

He hugged her close to his chest and pressed his lips to the crown of her head. Shannon put her hand to her lips and watched him. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from crying, but she wasn't sure how long blinking her lashes would hold back the tears. She was just so glad he was back—so happy Kelly hadn't cried when he held her for the first time.

The way he looked at her—like she was pure gold—Shannon hadn't though she could love Jethro more until she saw that look in his eyes.

She cleared her throat.

"Was she worth the wait, Jethro?" she asked, her voice cracking hopefully.

He looked up, his hand splayed protectively over Kelly's back. She still had her head in his chest, biting in her baby way his rough uniform. He unclenched his jaw, swallowing hard, trying to control his own voice before he answered.

"She's perfect, Shannon."

awww cuTE gibbs
i'm not going to lie i laughed for like 5 minutes when i wrote kelly just slamming her head into gibbs and chewing on him

-alexandra
story #152