Chapter 30
Gina looked up at the house where she knew Anthony lived with that other man. Gianni had asked her to check out the house for him because he was too sick to do it himself. She promised she would mainly because she couldn’t bear to be in that house with him a moment longer. She really just needed a break from his constant moaning and the sick smell coming off of him as he fought the infection. The doctor had come and looked him over shaking his head the entire time. He knocked Gianni out and did some cutting away of dead tissue and general cleaning up of his wound and then he’d started an IV. There were several medicines he pumped into the thin plastic tube running into Gianni as he mumbled but he stayed by Gianni’s side for a long time. He’d demanded a lot of money for his services, but since Gianni’s fever seemed to come down she figured he probably was worth it after all.
Still, Gianni kept mumbling about getting Anthony for taking his son and swearing that he’d get DiNozzo back for ruining everything. She wasn’t very sure of the details of what happened that day. She’d heard the gunshots coming from the library and had eventually peeked out to see what was happening. She saw Gianni stumbling down the hallway and she’d run to him. Together they’d made their way out of the house through that door in the basement. There’d been a car at the end of a tunnel near the underground garage and she’d driven him to the little house near the cement plant out in the country. And that’s where they still were weeks later and Gianni so sick he sometimes didn’t even know who she was. But she’d stayed by him because she loved him and someday she’d get him to understand that she could give him the babies he wanted. He didn’t need Anthony any more.
So here she stood in the bushes next to a neighbor’s house waiting to see if she could catch a glimpse of that whore Anthony and getting more and more pissed off the colder she got. The neighbors were gone, she’d seen them leave so she made her way through the already churned snow in their backyard to the bushes near the fence to wait and watch while she thought about Anthony. So what was it about that bastard that had two men wanting him? She knew he was good looking but he had a smart mouth which made Gianni slap him around a lot and then Gianni would turn around and yell at her. God, it pissed her off.
She watched as that old guy brought out a bag of trash. He stopped by the trash can and scanned the area around him and she froze, afraid that he’d see her even though she knew she was well hidden. After a bit he finished with the trash and went back inside. She let out the breath she was holding and eased back through the neighbor’s backyard to her car in the alley. She left as silently as she’d come deciding to buy a few more supplies before heading back to listen to Gianni rant some more about the son that had been stolen from him. It would also give her a bit more time to think about finding some way to get rid of Tony and keep the kid. That’s all Gianni really needed…the kid and her. She just needed to make him understand that.
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Tony looked at the calendar. January 18th and he was officially at 39 weeks as of yesterday.
“Come on, little guy…it’s nice out here. Don’t you want to come out and meet your parents?” he asked his belly plaintively. He heard Jethro chuckle behind him and groaned. “Go ahead, laugh all you like. Let’s just see you carry this medicine ball around for nine months and see if you don’t get tired…”
“Not laughing at you, sweet boy, just love looking at you and listening to you talk to our baby,” Jethro said as he pressed up against Tony’s back and began massaging the tired muscles there.
“Mmm, that goes a long way towards making me feel better…but not as much as actually having this baby would…”
“So why not come and lie down a bit and I’ll finish the massage.”
“Can’t. Have to finish re-arranging the drawers in the nursery,” Tony said with regret.
Jethro stared at him for a bit. Tony had re-arranged those same drawers three times already. And what made it critical that he finish it today? He wracked his brain as he tried to remember if anything like this had happened with Shannon. Then it suddenly hit him. She’d asked him to re-arrange the furniture in the nursery twice in one day and then she wanted him to vacuum and dust again. Yeah, it had been a few days before she’d gone into labor. He’d thought her desire to clean was kind of strange so he asked his father about it. His Dad had called it the nesting instinct. Said some women needed to make sure everything was in order when they were close to having their babies. He went on to say that Jethro’s Mom had insisted he wash every linen in the house. Said he felt like he worked in a Chinese laundry.
Jethro wrapped his arms around Tony and kissed his neck. “How about you lay down and I’ll massage your back right now and then I’ll help you finish the nursery a little later, okay?”
Tony dropped his head back onto Jethro’s shoulder. His back really was bothering him quite a bit and his stomach muscles had been tightening across his belly pretty uncomfortably for awhile now. Yes, lying down sounded really good right now.
“Okay,” he said simply and went to lie down on his side while Jethro rubbed and kneaded his lower back. It didn’t take long for him to fall asleep.
Jethro went downstairs and dialed Stan’s number to let him know what was happening. He got the answering service who said they’d relay the message. He decided to pick up a little, take out the trash. He wanted to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice. He double-checked Tony’s fly-away kit and let his Dad know what it was he suspected.
“You mean he has to go into labor? I thought he’d get a caesarian and wouldn’t have to go through all that?” Jack asked in surprise.
“Stan says he believes it’s better to wait until the baby wants to be born rather than just take it whenever the calendar says so,” Jethro explained. It made sense to him. But the problem was that Tony would have to be in pain and he wasn’t looking forward to that. He’d hated seeing Shannon go through it, but then women tended to look at things like that a bit different than men did. But he guessed the waitress, Sue, had summed it up…having that baby in your arms makes everything worth it.
He grabbed up the trash and walked it out. Suddenly he had a tingling sense of being watched. He paused by the trash can and looked around. He didn’t see anything out of place but he trusted his gut. He turned around and went back inside and called McGee. He wasn’t about to take any chances.
“All is clear, Gibbs,” Ziva reported but she did say that there had been a car in the alley behind his neighbor’s house. “Your neighbors are not home and they keep their car in their garage. I have taken casts of the tire prints and we are running them now.”
Gibbs nodded. Tony was still resting upstairs and he didn’t want to say anything until he knew what was going on.
“Let me know when you have something,” he said and Ziva nodded and then gave Jackson a quick hug before leaving.
“Ya gonna tell Tony?” Jack asked.
“Tell him what? That my gut’s tingling?” Gibbs retorted.
“I think that’d be enough, he’s a smart boy and knows you pretty well. He’ll take it for what it’s worth,” Jack added.
Gibbs nodded and then walked upstairs. He knew his Dad was right and Tony had gotten angry at him before for keeping too much to himself. Tony wouldn’t appreciate being protected like this, either. But, damnit, Tony would soon have enough on his mind…he didn’t need this, too. His cell phone rang. It was Stan. He explained what was going on and Stan called it Braxton Hicks or something like that but that it could be a pre-cursor to labor. He told Jethro to watch for regular pains that would become stronger. When that happened he was to take Tony to the hospital. Jethro said he understood and hung up. Maybe that’s what his gut was telling him…that Tony would be going into labor soon, but somehow he didn’t think so.
He looked in on Tony and saw that he was stirring. He sat on the bed and ran his hand lovingly down Tony’s side and hip. He saw Tony smile although his eyes stayed closed.
“Hey, you interested in some lunch?” Jethro asked quietly.
“Interested in eating something, but I’m not thinking of a sandwich…” Tony replied with a chuckle.
Gibbs smiled back at his husband. “Don’t think Dad put that on the menu, but I can ask…”
“Don’t you dare,” Tony laughed as he opened his eyes and got a good look at Jethro. “What’s wrong?”
“What makes you thing something is wrong?” Jethro asked in surprise.
“I can tell. What is it?”
“Guts tingling,” he said and Tony nodded.
“Then we figure out what’s going on, right?”
Jethro smiled at Tony’s optimism and trust. “Right,” he answered back and helped Tony get up so that they could go downstairs.
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Gina listened to Gianni moan again. It was driving her nuts. A car pulled up to the house and she went to the window to peek out. Somebody dropped her cousin off and she got angry. No one else was supposed to know they were here. She went to the door and opened it before Carlo could knock.
“You’re not supposed to let anyone know we’re here, you idiot!” she hissed.
“Aw, it was just a ride from a stranger…I thumbed it ‘cos you got my car, remember?” Carlo answered in a snarl.
“So he doesn’t know you?” she asked to make sure.
“Naw, just told him my car died,” he answered. He gestured to the bedroom with his head. “How is he?”
“Better but real sick. He got an infection in his stomach real bad. But the doctor gave him some medicine and I think he’ll be better. It’ll just take a long time,” she explained.
“He make that noise all the time?” Carlo asked as Gianni moaned again.
“Yeah,” Gina said with disgust.
Carlo looked at her, they’d been tight when they were younger before he went into the Army. She’d even let him fool around a little bit but not all the way. He still liked what he saw so maybe she’d think about old times if he could help her relax…
“Got some Wild Turkey, want some?” he asked.
Gina eyed him for a bit. Getting drunk sounded pretty good right now and it wasn’t like Gianni needed her. The doc was still here. She nodded.
A while later she pointed at the house from down the street.
“Tha’s the one…lights on,” she mumbled. She’d been so angry that when the bourbon had started to flow she’d told Carlo all about Anthony. And he was drunk enough to want to see a pregnant guy.
They’d piled into the car and driven out to Gibbs’ house. It was dark now but the car was warm and they still had some left in the bottle. Along the way Carlo had been sneaking little touches that Gina didn’t seem to mind. He was becoming bolder so he reached out to grab her breast and she just leaned back and let him. He took another drink and gave her some more and they began to fool around.
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“We’ll be fine, Jethro,” Tony said for the third time. Not much had changed with the tightening across his belly and his back was feeling better. Abby had called to say that they’d been unable to match the tire prints. She knew the brand but they were very generic and old and belonged to a sedan, but that’s about all she could get. Right now Tony could see the tension mounting in Jethro’s shoulders. Tony thought that he’d benefit from working on his boat but he hadn’t wanted to leave Tony’s side. Tony and Jack were watching a movie but Jethro hadn’t been able to concentrate on it. He kept walking back and forth checking out the perimeter of the house. It was driving Tony crazy. Finally he gave in.
“You call me if anything happens, got that?” Jethro demanded in his usual way.
“Got it, Boss,” Tony answered without thought and Jethro gave him a faint smile as he leaned forward and kissed Tony on the cheek. With a nod he went downstairs.
“Whew,” Jack said. “Thought he’d never leave.”
Tony chuckled and then tightened his jaw as another band of pressure squeezed his stomach. Maybe that one was a bit stronger, but they weren’t regular. And he sure as hell didn’t want to go to the hospital too early only to have to sit around and wait. No, he’d just sit here and watch TV where he was at least comfortable until he was sure they needed to go.
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