Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS

AN: 1) I apologize profusely for the long wait for this chapter. At the last minute, I decided that the original final installment of this story was not good enough, and posting it would ruin the story. I was such a wreck and it was really showing in my writing, so I was going to rewrite it, but as time went on, my life got even more hectic, and finishing this story got sent to the bottom of my 'to do' list. Now that life has finally settled down just a bit, and my frame of mind has significantly improved, I decided to knock this out before it got completely written off as a lost cause.

2) This is short, and I'm sorry for that. It's not some big, spectacular ending, but just a sweet way to wrap things up. I hope you like it. Let me know with a comment!

Epilogue

To say that Tony was nervous was an understatement of vast proportions. He hadn't been this anxious since…never. He'd never been so nervous in his life, not even when he'd been laying in the hospital about to have his head cut open. How this could be more nerve-wracking then that, he had no idea, but it certainly was.

"Relax," Jethro whispered in his ear, squeezing his hand tightly.

"I'm trying," Tony sighed, rubbing his sweaty palm against the fabric covering his thigh.

"You're going to be a great father," Jethro told him.

"Well, yeah," Tony brushed the sentiment away in typical Tony fashion. "I'm going to make a great father. This kid is lucky to have me."

Jethro simply chuckled as the door in front of them opened and a short, slim doctor with red hair beckoned them into the room. Tony grinned at her as Jethro pushed him inside with both hands on his shoulders, his brain refusing to send the command to walk to his legs. He felt like his knees had been replaced with jelly.

"Look, look, look!" Abby squealed before either of the men had had a chance to lay eyes on her.

She was lying on her back on an exam table, her swollen belly prominently standing out from her thin frame, while a blue paper blanket was draped across her lap. The young forensic scientist was waving her hand excitedly towards a monitor standing not far away from her, the black and white picture grainy and difficult to make out by the untrained eye.

"Isn't this so amazing?" She gushed as Tony was forced down into a chair right beside the exam table.

"It's pretty cool," Tony nodded, trying to keep his hands from shaking.

"Do you want to know the sex of the baby?" The doctor asked after she'd pointed out the baby's head and hands to see.

"No," Jethro answered.

"They want to be surprised," Abby giggled.

"Can't go wrong with this surprise," Jethro agreed.

The room fell into silence as they all stared at the grainy picture on the screen, their thoughts all centered around the baby that was already changing all of their lives. While Tony was in terror of his impending fatherhood, excitement was quickly blocking out the fear. This was his baby, and with Jethro at his side, he was going to make a good father. His partner wouldn't let him screw up the most important thing he'd ever do in his life.

"You guys are going to be the best parents," Abby broke the silence, turning to look at them with tears in her eyes. "This has got to be the luckiest baby in the world."

"You know we want you to be part of the baby's life," Tony told her, for what he felt like the millionth time. "You're mommy. All kids need a mom."

"I'm okay with just being the awesome surrogate," Abby shook her head.

When Abby had come to them weeks earlier and insisted that they take the baby as their own, Tony had not liked the idea. He'd thought long and hard about what life would be like after the baby arrived, but none of the scenarios he'd imagined had an absent Abby. He's always thought she'd be right there to play the role of mommy, but she'd been insistent that he and Jethro be the expected arrivals parents. No amount of protesting had been able to change her mind. It was for the best of the baby, she assured them.

Tony was still hesitant about not having Abby in the picture, but Jethro had assured him that it would be fine. If Abby changed her mind, they would be more than happy to accommodate her, and if she didn't, she would always be in the child's life no matter what- they were family after all.

As they left the doctor's office not long later, Tony slipped the picture of his unborn son or daughter into his wallet with a sense of pride. He was going to be a father. He and Jethro were going to have a baby, and they were going to be together for a very, very, very long time. Nothing in the world could have made him happier.

The End

A/N: I hope you liked this, and don't forget to let me know what you think about it and the story in general.