Wow! It’s certainly been a while since I’ve done one of these. I would like to thank the lovely @teenwolf-theoriginals for tagging me in this, we so need to catch up!
I’ve been really struggling with ideas lately, so here are a few that I have managed to come up with. I apologise since it’s not much, university life has literally destroyed my creative spirit.
Fic One: NCIS
“How long have you been here?” Gibbs asked somewhat confusedly, raising an eyebrow as he looked over your form skeptically.
You squinted awkwardly, pursing your lips as you mulled his question over in your mind. “Uh...what time is it?” You asked sheepishly, closing your eyes as you had a feeling that you already knew the answer.
Gibbs chuckled. “You’ve been here the whole night, haven’t you?”
Fic Two: Chicago Fire
Completely dumbfounded by your words, Brian nodded his head vigorously in agreement, the bright grin on his face causing you to giggle lightly at his adorable expression. Without saying another word, you waved a small ‘goodbye’ as you left the firehouse, a small but noticeable skip in your step as you made your way back to your car.
As Brian stared after you with far-away look in his eyes, he slowly turned around in order to make his way back into the firehouse, only to find Matt, Kelly, Mouch and Hermann staring at him with teasing grins. “What? She loves Star Wars!”.
It has only now just occurred to me that NCIS, Hawaii Five-0, Criminal Minds and MacGyver all take place in the same universe because they have had crossovers with each other.
Much like ‘The Five Times He Almost Kissed You, The One Time He Did’, would anyone like to see ‘Beginning to Notice’?
Essentially it’s the five times that the team/firehouse/ed/precinct began to notice that something is going on between the reader and specified character, and the time they figured it out.
Jimmy Palmer has been trying to propose to Y/N for months now, but he never quite manages to pull it off. Asking the woman he loves to marry him shouldn't be this complicated. A surprising revelation from Y/N during yet another attempt to propose manages to make things become all the more complicated.
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Jimmy Palmer would consider himself to be a patient man. He had been told time and time again by Dr. Mallard that patience was an important virtue to have in their line of work.
Afterall, one very well couldn’t rush through an autopsy. When approaching an examination of a body and a crime scene one had to be willing to work slowly and thoroughly. You needed to take your time when it came to gathering evidence. It was best not to get far too eager and allow oneself to get caught up in the thrill of finding answers. When one moved far too quickly work became sloppy and mistakes were made.
Dr. Mallard had stressed that there was no room for error in their occupation. NCIS and the victim’s families were relying on medical examiners to have the answers and know exactly what they were doing.
Dr. Mallard had stressed to Jimmy over and over again that in order to avoid error it was best to take one’s time when it came to examining the deceased. You never knew what tiny piece of evidence might very well contribute to discovering a cause of death or even being significant in solving a case.
You had to keep a watchful eye, a steady hand, and a sense of calm.
Jimmy could admit that he’d taken this philosophy of being patient and taking his time over into other areas of his life.
Afterall it seemed to be a reasonable piece of advice that could easily carry over into aspects of his life not related to autopsies.
It seemed reasonable to approach life with a certain level of patience and a sense of calm. You couldn’t rush into life without careful consideration or you might make a mess of things.
Jimmy knew of course that he wasn’t always successful at following the path of keeping calm and collected.
His anxiety could make him impulsive at times. It was something he’d had to learn to manage as he’d aged.
He liked to think of himself as not being impulsive, but having a tendency to follow his heart.
Still though, he had taken a route of patience when it came to many aspects of his life.
His relationship with Special Agent Y/N Y/L/N was an area that required a certain level of patience.
He knew that saying that sentence out loud sounded awful.
He wasn’t saying that his girlfriend was difficult to deal with. She was far from difficult to deal with.
In fact, his relationship with Y/N had felt as though it was one of the most effortless relationships he’d ever been in. Falling in love with her had been an easy path for Jimmy to follow.
He knew though that certain aspects of their relationship required a level of calm patience.
His girlfriend had been through a lot. She’d had more traumatic experiences than most people should ever have to endure.
She had experienced abduction and torture during her time with the FBI and just when she finally felt that she’d come to a place of stability and a sense of balance in her life working for NCIS, she’d had to go through another abduction and an attack by a former coworker/boyfriend. She had to go through the experience of realizing that the team she had trusted at the FBI was far more flawed than she’d ever expected. She’d had to grasp the concept that a man she had once loved at one point in her life had become an absolute monster.
It was a lot for anyone to endure and still come out the other side with their sanity and their desire to trust anyone still intact.
Jimmy couldn’t help but to see Y/N as a beacon of strength. She’d survived more than anyone should ever be expected to.
She had survived and had maintained a sense of sweetness and generosity. She had maintained a love for her career and a love for those she worked with. She had somehow kept the ability to trust others even if people had so many times given her a reason not to trust.
She had maintained far more kindness than anyone who’d experienced what she’d been through should reasonably maintain.
That wasn’t to say that she didn’t have her bad days. She had days where she shied away from the world and those she loved. Sometimes she seemed to shut down as she needed the space to process her feelings.
She had her moments where she was anxious and irritable. She had times where she expressed vulnerability. She still struggled with nightmares and anxiety attacks.
She still struggled with post traumatic stress disorder.
She tended to cope with her trauma one day at a time.
Jimmy had learned that when it came to supporting Y/N through this coping he had to maintain a sense of patience and calm. He had to be the strong one in times where she felt vulnerable. She needed him to be the stable, calm one when she felt as though her surroundings were out of control.
Jimmy was proud to say that he’d developed the ability to remain strong, steady, and patient with Y/N. He was proud to say he’d managed to be not only the man she loved but the man she needed.
As patient of a man as Jimmy Palmer claimed to be, he could admit that lately he felt that he was reaching the end of his tether.
Things had started out so perfectly. His plans had moved smoothly without any hiccups.
He’d kicked off that start of his plans a little over six months before during a visit from Y/N’s mother. Jimmy had the opportunity to approach the woman and ask her an important question.
He knew that asking for the blessing of one’s girlfriend’s parents was horribly old fashioned. Asking your girlfriend’s parents permission to propose was an antiquated practice. Y/N wasn’t property that Jimmy was asking for permission to acquire from her mother.
Still though, the hopeless romantic in him couldn’t help but to want to follow the tradition no matter how outdated it felt.
He knew that Y/N’s mother was important to her. She’d raised Y/N as a single mother. Jimmy knew that it seemed respectful to at least express to the woman just how much he adored her daughter and to express his intentions to ask Y/N to be his wife.
Much to his relief the conversation he’d had with Y/N’s mother had gone well. He had been given a delighted green light from Y/N’s mother when it came to her blessing to proceed with his plans.
The next part of Jimmy’s plans were where he’d met a few hiccups.
Buying a ring shouldn’t be so difficult in theory, but it was far more complicated than he’d dreamed it would be.
His first intention had been to buy an antique ring. It sounded romantic to him, buying her a unique piece of jewelry that had a story behind it.
He had quickly realized, though, that antique rings were far more expensive than he’d originally estimated.
He had found several beautiful options that he could picture on Y/N’s finger…but the price tag had made him feel as though he just might puke.
He was sure no ring, no matter how stunning it was, would be entirely adored by Y/N if she knew he spent more than his tuition to medical school on it.
He was quite sure she’d murder him before they made it to the alter if he dropped an outrageous amount of money on a ring.
Y/N was not a materialistic person. She appreciated beautiful objects as much as any person, but she wasn’t the type of girl who would feel comfortable wearing a rock that cost more than a college education on her finger.
She had a tendency to be frugal with her money. She had grown up on a far tighter budget than Jimmy. She still tended to keep her budget tight. She felt guilty over wasteful spending.
So Jimmy had abandoned his ambitions to buy an antique ring and had forced himself to lower his wants to align more with his budget.
The search for the perfect ring had been a disaster from the start. No ring felt perfect enough.
His mother had been the one who had come to his rescue.
During a surprise visit she had made it her mission to help Jimmy find an engagement ring.
In the end he’d found hope when he found a vintage inspired ring that seemed simple enough to align with Y/N’s more modest desires and his desire to find something that was a little unique.
Getting the ring had been a mess. The size he needed wasn’t in and had to be ordered. Then the order had gotten lost in transit and he had to wait for the store he’d purchased it from to resolve the issue.
It had taken him months to get the ring.
He had hoped that the mess with the ring wouldn’t be precursor to how the rest of his plans would go.
He should have known better though.
Jimmy Palmer was ashamed to say he had tried and failed to propose to Y/N three times thus far.
The first attempt had ended with them not even making it out the door for the romantic dinner date Jimmy had planned. A case had ended their plans before they’d even begun.
The next attempt had been the same story. Jimmy had planned a romantic picnic at the park and they’d barely had time to set out their picnic blanket when work had once again come knocking.
The third attempt had ended not due to work but due to Jimmy’s health.
He’d planned a romantic day paying a visit to several of the places where they’d had past dates ending with a proposal over a nice dinner.
His body had chosen to betray him though. He’d woken up vomiting and had been forced to pretend that his heart wasn’t cracking with the realization that once again he’d failed to propose.
He was losing his cool.
This had to be a bad omen. He was three strikes on proposing.
He couldn’t take another failure.
He knew that desperate times called for desperate measures.
He had enlisted Ducky begging him to take Y/N out to lunch, begging him to make up some lie to get her out of NCIS headquarters.
He had been relieved that Ducky had found the perfect lie, pretending he needed Y/N’s assistance in buying a nice gift for an old lady friend of Ducky’s.
It had given Jimmy just enough time to wander upstairs, his heart slamming in his chest as he made his way to Tony’s desk.
He was running out of options. It was time to swallow his pride and go to someone he knew he could trust to help him.
If Jimmy couldn’t get Y/N to a romantic location to propose, then he had to find a way to make NCIS headquarters a romantic location.
He told himself that work couldn't interrupt his proposal if he got a coworker on his side.
He wasn’t sure why he had decided that Tony seemed to be a good choice. He guessed it was just that he couldn’t work up the nerve to ask Gibbs…and he didn’t think Abby would be able to help without it turning into some giant overcomplicated orchestration that would be far too intense. He knew Ducky would bend over backwards to offer help but he knew that there weren’t many locations in NCIS that Ducky could give Jimmy access to. Jimmy was sure that Y/N wouldn’t find it romantic if he proposed in Autopsy.
He had considered going to Ziva or McGee, but they were busy and Tony was distinctly avoiding work, having shoved off his share of paperwork sneakily onto McGee’s desk.
He was sure that Tony, as annoying as he could sometimes be, was someone who was capable of giving Jimmy just what he was asking for.
He was thankful that Tony was the only one on Gibbs’ team still at his desk. Ziva and McGee were still on their lunch breaks and Gibbs was off doing whatever it was Gibbs did. Jimmy had a feeling the man was most likely in MTAC.
Jimmy felt his stomach knot up as Tony gazed up at him, tearing his eyes from his copy of Maxim magazine. “Autopsy Gremlin, Y/N isn’t here. Ducky took her to lunch.”
Jimmy let out a sigh ignoring the comment. He spoke his voice low, not exactly wanting to announce to the entire office just what he was requesting. “I know…I’m not here to see her.”
Tony raised an eyebrow unable to stop himself from asking. “Why are you whispering?”
Jimmy sighed taking a deep breath, his stomach still in tight knots. “I am trying to be discreet.”
Tony dropped his magazine, moving past being confused to being intrigued. “Why the secrecy? You look pale by the way, Palmer. Are you sick or something?”
“I need to borrow interrogation tomorrow afternoon. I need it for an hour…no one can know about it, especially Y/N.” Jimmy blurted out, his pulse speeding up, sure that Tony was going to shoot him down.
Tony smirked, unable to stop himself from pushing Jimmy’s buttons even when the man was clearly so wound up. “Why do you need interrogation and why the secrecy? Looking for a romantic spot to engage in a surprise session of hide the cannoli with Y/N? I thought you grew out of doing the no pants dance at work after that entire mess with Agent Lee?”
Jimmy felt his cheeks flush, his eyes darting around the room, sure that someone had overheard this entire conversation. He felt his stomach drop mortified by the mention of his past tryst with Agent Lee.
He spoke, his voice frantic, raising a pitch. “No, no. Of course not. It’s not anything like that. I just…”
He paused, taking a deep breath trying to find the words to finish his statement. He sighed knowing that he had to be blunt about it. “I have tried to propose to Y/N three times now. Everytime I make a plan, something happens and I don’t get to move forward with it. I am sick of work and other factors getting in the way. If I can’t give her the romantic proposal she deserves outside of work…then I’ll have to find a way to do it here. So, please Tony…I need to borrow interrogation tomorrow. It’s the one place I can think of where we can find some privacy. All I need is one hour in interrogation. I need you to make sure I have that hour and I need you to send Y/N to interrogation without her figuring it out…She has a physical tomorrow morning. She should be back to her desk by the afternoon. I am desperate to make this work. I can’t fail a fourth time.”
Tony widened his eyes taking in this information. He bit his tongue, stopping himself from making any comments about whether Jimmy was sure he wanted to commit to one woman forever. He was sure that Jimmy wouldn’t appreciate any cynical comments about commitment from Tony.
He let out a huff the desperation on the man’s face tugging at his heartstrings. Tony knew he might enjoy giving Jimmy a hard time and making him squirm…especially when he came to Jimmy’s relationship with Y/N.
Tony wasn’t going to kick an Autopsy Gremlin while he was down though.
He took a deep breath deciding to hold back the desire to be a smartass and do a good deed.
“I’ll help you Palmer. If Gibbs catches wind of this though I know nothing. Pretty sure he’s got a rule about not proposing at work and not using interrogation for romance.”
Jimmy nodded his head eagerly, the words leaving him. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
Tony shook his head picking up his magazine again. “Yeah, don’t mention it. Who am I to stand in the way of love? Now get back to Autopsy before your girlfriend gets back from her lunch break.”
Jimmy followed this piece of advice, his heart lifting as he allowed himself to mentally go over everything he needed to make tomorrow a success.
His string of bad luck must be coming to an end…surely it would be smooth sailing from now on.
Y/N felt like the world was crashing in around her.
This couldn’t be happening.
This couldn’t be real.
She would be lying if she tried to claim she hadn’t pinched her arm just to check and be sure she wasn’t dreaming.
She had expected her physical to be uneventful. It was just an annual physical. She had gone into the appointment knowing it would be pretty typical. The most exciting thing she might experience in her appointment was a tetanus shot or maybe a flu shot.
Things had derailed so quickly though.
It had taken one single question to make Y/N feel as though she’d been smacked over the head with a brick.
The question was so innocent “When was your last period?”
Y/N had felt breathless as cold harsh reality slapped her in the face.
She was late….it was almost the end of the month and she was late.
Her physician had tried to reassure her, of course. A late period didn’t automatically mean pregnancy.
She could just be experiencing stress. Stress could make someone’s menstrual cycle irregular.
The next question had once made Y/N feel faint. “Is there any chance that you may be pregnant?”
Y/N had insisted that no, of course not. She was on birth control.
The words that had left her doctor had made her once again feel as though the walls were closing in on her. “Oh…you didn’t get the message from our office or your pharmacy? The prescription birth control you were prescribed, the latest batch has been recalled. There was a recent issue with the storage of the latest batch from the manufacturer. I asked our front desk to leave you a message notifying you that you needed to request a new prescription. You never returned our call. We thought that perhaps you had taken a different method of birth control.”
The rest of her doctor’s words had flown right by Y/N she wrestling with the knowledge that had just been dropped on her.
As the appointment had proceeded that feeling that the walls were closing in on her had continued.
Her doctor had insisted on taking a blood sample, insisting that this would be the best method to test for pregnancy. If she had a raise in hcg then chances were she was pregnant.
Results from blood tests took time though.
Y/N could admit she was impatient. She had always been too impulsive for her own good.
She hated waiting.
So, she had done what any reasonable person would do in her position.
She had stopped at a pharmacy on her way back to NCIS and loaded up on pregnancy tests and the biggest bottle of water she could find.
From there she’d parked herself in a bathroom at a nearby gas station and had gotten to work.
She had never thought that she would receive life changing news in a Shell gas station bathroom, but apparently this was the route her life had taken.
She had desperately fumbled with the instructions to both of the tests she’d taken, her mind spinning as she realized both tests had the same result. Positive.
She’d felt as though she was in a daze as she’d left that bathroom barely having the sense to wrap the tests in toilet paper and shove them in her purse.
She remained on autopilot as she drove back to the NCIS headquarters.
The word danced around in her head taunting her; pregnant, pregnant, pregnant.
Could this actually be happening?
Was she ready for this?
She guessed it didn’t matter if she was ready for this, it was happening.
Then again didn’t she have options?
Did she even want to take those options though?
What would Jimmy want?
He had a say in this, didn't he? After all, she didn’t just magically spawn this kid all on her own. Jimmy had played a pretty big part in the creation of this pregnancy.
She sat at her desk lost in her own thoughts.
She had fought the urge to run down to Autopsy and break the news to Jimmy.
She had no idea how she was going to tell him.
Things in their life finally felt as though they were settling down back into some sense of normalcy.
Her shoulder was completely healed from her encounter with her ex.
She was in therapy dealing with the trauma.
Jimmy and she had settled into their new home.
They were settling back into their lives and Jimmy was helping her cope with all she had been through.
Was this the right time to have a baby?
Anytime they’d discussed marriage or children they had presented it as something that would happen in the future.
They’d not made any real concrete plans.
She had to fear that Jimmy wasn’t ready for this step.
He was still technically in medical school after all.
It took so much time along with his work assisting Dr. Mallard.
Was she even ready for this step?
She was finally getting to the point where she felt stable again.
The concept of being someone’s mother made her feel anything but stable.
Doubts and fears danced around in the back of her mind.
Along with those doubts she couldn’t shake the sense of joy.
A voice in the back of her head told her that if she was going to reproduce with anyone she was lucky it was Jimmy Palmer.
The voice told her that sure this wasn’t the ideal time, but honestly were there that many pregnancies that were actually planned to occur right at the perfect time?
The voice told her that just because this was unplanned didn’t mean it had to be unwanted.
Even if she was scared and filled with doubts she had to feel some sense of love for this baby even if it was most likely just a clump of cells at the moment.
How could she not love someone who was half her and half Jimmy?
She loved Jimmy so dearly that she was certain she’d love anything that was a piece of him.
He truly was the best boyfriend on the planet. He was so patient with her and so adoring. He was funny and kind. He was far braver than anyone gave him credit for. He was intelligent and hardworking. He had so much love for the people in his life both his coworkers and his family alike. He was the gentlest man she’d ever met.
How could she not see all these qualities and not feel comforted that he was the father of her child.
A voice in the back of her brain told her that Jimmy most likely felt the same way about her. He loved her as dearly as she loved him. So any child of theirs surely would be cherished.
Who was to say he wouldn’t want this?
She stood up from her desk making a decision.
She had to grow a spine and let JImmy in on the news.
He had a right to know. He had a right to panic with her.
Surely bringing him in on this would make it feel as though the world wasn’t closing in on her.
He always had the amazing ability to make her feel as though she could breathe even when the world felt like it was suffocating her.
Y/N didn’t have a chance to get far from her desk before Tony approached her. “Hey Y/N, Gibbs needs you in interrogation real quick.”
“Tony, can’t this wait?” She blurted out confusion washing over her.
Wait, was Gibbs even in interrogation? Didn’t she spot Gibbs head into MTAC?
Why was he even in interrogation? They weren’t currently working a case so there was no suspect to interrogate.
Tony played it cool, he was quick to reply. “Do you really think it’s wise to keep Gibbs waiting?”
Y/N felt her shoulders slump realizing he had a point.
Tony was quick to speak again, giving her shoulder a pat. “It won’t take long. It’s nothing bad I promise. He just needs your help with something real quick.”
Y/N furrowed her brow dumbfounded as to what Gibbs could possibly need her help with in interrogation.
She pushed back her suspicions following Tony to interrogation knowing that the sooner she got this task Gibbs was asking of her out of the way the sooner she could go find Jimmy and give him the news.
She was even more dumbfounded as she opened interrogation and entered the room not finding her boss, but the other man she was seeking out.
Jimmy felt his palms sweat as he paced the tiny interrogation room.
He’d done his best to make the bleak dreary looking room seem less depressing.
There wasn’t much he could do to fix the atmosphere of the room.
He’d gotten some battery powered plastic candles at the very least and had managed to purchase a bouquet of red roses this morning.
He had spread the candles across the table at interrogation and had lowered the lights just enough to give the room a glow that didn’t seem menacing. He’d managed to borrow a small battery-powered set of purple string lights from Abby, only explaining that he needed them because he had a surprise for Y/N.
The string lights had been hung over the two way mirror. He’d gotten a small box of red rose petals that he’d carefully spread across the table along with the candles in hope that it looked romantic and not as though he was building an altar to perform a sacrifice for the Gods of Interrogation.
He had even done his best to get some pink rose petals that he’d used to form a shape that vaguely looked like a heart on the table.
He had also made an effort to stop on the way back from his lunch break and get a few red heart shaped balloons which he’d tied to the chairs. He knew this addition might be cheesy but he had to hope that she’d get the message that he was trying his best to work with what he had access too.
Jimmy had to pray that the room didn’t look pathetic. He had to hope that she would appreciate the effort he’d put into this. He knew it wasn’t everything she deserved but he had to hope that she’d appreciate that he’d made the best out of his location.
He couldn’t help but to feel guilty that he couldn’t make the room more romantic.
He had to feel that he should have done so much more. A voice in the back of his brain screamed she deserved champagne and a romantic meal. She deserved chocolate dipped strawberries. She deserved to be able to get dressed up and have a romantic date with him. She deserved a setting that was somewhere other than where Gibbs stared down murderers.
This romantic setting in interrogation was a far cry from the original set up he’d planned on having each time he attempted to move forward with his plans.
He stepped forward as Y/N entered the room shutting the door behind her.
She spoke her brow furrowing her eyes darting around the room taking in the location. She resisted the urge to pinch her arm once again and be sure that she wasn’t dreaming.
“What’s this?”
Jimmy took a deep breath, the words sliding from him. “Surprise.”
She opened and shut her mouth at a loss of words. She felt her heart rate speed up, it hitting her that she had something major to share with him. How was she supposed to share it with him here?
What was he doing?
Jimmy took another deep breath, moving closer to her, his hand reaching out grasping over hers.
He gave her hand a gentle squeeze as he spoke. “I know this isn’t what you planned on walking into.”
He paused, swallowing a lump developing in the base of his throat. “I want to start off by apologizing. I know you deserve so much more than this. I’ve always tried to insist that I’m a patient guy, but…to be honest I’ve tried to do this three times already and we keep getting interrupted. So, I got desperate and impulsive. My patience ran out.”
He paused again giving her hand another squeeze trying to gather his nerves to do this. “I will definitely do this again in a better location if you want…but I can’t hold it back any longer. I’ve been thinking about this for months now...I’ve been planning this for months.”
He felt his heart began to beat faster as he took another deep breath. He found the words, deciding to speak from the heart. Even if the room wasn’t the perfect romantic location, he knew his words could maybe make up for it. “I know we’ve talked about this before back when I asked you to move in with me…and I know the last time we mentioned it we said it was something we pictured for our future. I…I can’t wait for the future though Y/N. A lot has happened in our relationship thus far…I could have lost you…I-it put a lot into perspective for me…it made me think hard and long about what I want…what I want with you.”
He did his best to keep her hand in his as he dropped down to one knee taking another deep breath knowing it was now or never. “I think I fell in love with you at first sight, back when you were first hired at NCIS. I was so enamored with you. I’d heard so much about this new agent that was so young and had already accomplished so much. I think I was entranced with you before I even laid eyes on you…then we met and it hit me that you were the most wonderful beautiful girl I’d ever met. I think the first time we met my heart knew it was going to be you…I knew I was going to love you before I even had the nerve to ask you on a date…and as time has gone on that love has only grown. You are the strongest person I know and the kindest. You make me laugh. You make me feel adored. When I’m having an awful day you know just what to say to make it all seem okay. You make my world seem so much brighter. You make even my darkest days have a glimpse of light. When I picture my future you are exactly what I see. So Y/N, baby I have something I need to ask you.”
He took a deep breath shakingly reaching into his scrubs pocket with his free hand finding the velvet box he’d been carrying around with him for a while now.
He opened it revealing the little diamond ring nestled inside of it as he spoke. “Will you marry me?”
Y/N felt the tears hit her, feeling so overwhelmed all at once.
Her knees felt weak and her head felt light.
She couldn’t form the words.
Her brain chanted the news she needed to tell him she struggling to process both it and the question he’d just asked her.
She couldn’t make herself speak; the only thing she could do was burst into tears.
Jimmy felt his heart sink wanting to kick himself.
He’d really screwed up.
He had meant to give her a perfect romantic proposal and he’d ruined everything.
A voice in the back of his head taunted him. Of course he shouldn’t have expected her to say yes. He’d asked her to be his wife in the same place people confessed to murder. The only way he could have screwed this all up more was by asking her in Autopsy.
He pushed back his wounded pride, the love he felt for her overpowering disappointment.
He snapped the box shut, placing the jewelry box on the floor, he grasping on to both her hands, his voice apologetic. “Oh, Y/N, honey. Don’t cry. Please don’t cry. I’m so sorry. I’m such an idiot I’m so sorry. I am so dumb. This was such a stupid idea.”
Y/N struggled to speak she only managing to cry harder.
She dropped down to her knees in front of him, Jimmy embracing her relieved that at least she didn’t shove him away. He may have made this an awful experience but at least she didn’t hate his guts for this.
He spoke, continuing to try to soothe her. “I promise we can just forget this. I can ask you again some other time in a location that is way better than this….or if you just aren’t ready I won’t ask again. I can wait if you need to wait. I love you no matter what.”
He felt his throat tighten up knowing that despite his disappointment he loved her and if she wasn’t ready for this step he’d push back his disappointment and wait. He’d wait forever for her.
He sighed as it hit him, she was nowhere near close to stopping crying.
He reluctantly let go of her deciding she needed some tissue. Surely he could get some tissue in the bathroom.
He spoke his voice frantic he just wanting to fix this. He couldn’t take her crying. He loved her so much. Her crying broke his heart.
He moved the words flying from him. “Let me get you some tissues.”
He felt so frantic to fix things that he managed to move too quickly, his long limbs not cooperating with his attempts to get up from the floor so quickly. He felt himself trip over his own feet in his attempts to race from the room.
He fell flat on his face, yanking down a chair with him that he’d grabbed in an attempt to catch himself from falling.
Y/N moved to help him, Jimmy shooting up a groan leaving him as it hit him he’d somehow bit down on his bottom lip as he’d fallen. At least he hadn’t knocked out a tooth or cracked a tooth in the process of hitting the hard interrogation room floor.
He still managed to bleed from his bitten lip. It wasn’t a lot of blood but there was still a steady stream.
Y/N frantically reached into her jacket pocket finding a soft scarf she’d stuffed into her pocket earlier.
She held it up to his mouth applying pressure to it, the chaos of what had happened making her tears and panic attack take a backseat for a brief moment. Her concern for her clumsy boyfriend had overpowered any anxiety she was experiencing.
Jimmy attempted to talk, more apologies spilling from him though they were muffled against the scarf.
She sat down beside him on the floor holding her scarf against his wounded lip, her mind spinning. This situation had gone from bad to worse.
After a long moment of awkward silence, Jimmy’s lip had finally stopped bleeding and Y/N was able to lower the scarf. Jimmy managed to find the words, a self deprecating chuckle leaving him. “I really screwed this up.”
Y/N found the words as she finally fully began to recover from her panic attack enough to speak. “You didn't. It's not the proposal that set me off. I-I…”
She paused, taking a deep breath knowing she had to come out and say it. “I was actually going to look for you before Tony directed me to go to interrogation…I had something to tell you.”
Jimmy furrowed his brow, it was his turn to feel confused. He felt a million thoughts roll through his head trying to guess what she had to tell him that had sent her into such a panic.
He felt his stomach drop fearing the worst.
He took a deep breath ready to encourage her that they would make it through whatever had happened. He wasn’t going anywhere. He’d support her time and time again.
Y/N felt her throat grow tight, as she found the words. “I had my physical this morning and something came up…I’m pregnant Jimmy. Or…at least according to the pregnancy tests I took I’m pregnant. I still haven’t gotten back my blood results from the doctor…but you know me, I’m impulsive and impatient. So I got some home pregnancy tests and took them…and…I’m pregnant. Apparently the birth control I’m on had a major recall of this month’s batch, and I didn’t get the notification from my doctor.”
Jimmy felt the words sink into his brain soaking them up, rolling them around, and absorbing just what this meant.
He took her by shock, his lips meeting hers. He pulled from the kiss as quickly as his lips met hers, remembering his wounded lip. He spoke his voice soft. “Ouch.”
He managed to speak again, his hand reaching down, placing over her stomach the words leaving him. “A baby, we’re having a baby.”
Any doubts and fears that Y/N had dancing around in her brain faded by the second as she took in the look on his face.
She was sure she had never seen him look so starry-eyed. He smiled even if it did make him cringe a little he still sporting a wounded lip. He stared at her his eyes filled with pure wonder.
She dared to speak, needing to hear the words. “You aren’t upset?”
Jimmy pressed his lips to hers the kiss quick he whispering another ouch at the pain in his bottom lip. “No, I’m not upset. Of course I’m not upset. I wasn’t expecting this…but I could never be upset about this.”
He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight against him, his hand not pulling from her stomach as he soaked up the news.
She allowed herself to sink against his hold feeling as though she could breath for the first time all afternoon.
She found the words, finding it easy to be vulnerable with him. “I’m scared. I…These past few years of my life…so much has changed. Now more things are going to change…I know they’ll be good changes, but I’m still afraid. I don’t want to fail…I don’t want to fall apart.”
“You won’t fail…if you fall apart I’ll be right there to help you put yourself back together. I’m scared too…I mean, I didn’t have the greatest dad…I’m not 100 percent sure I know how to be a good dad. How do I be something I never had?” Jimmy remarked, feeling just as secure to share his fears with her.
She was fast to respond, the answer seeming so obvious. “I think you know how to be a dad. I know things with your dad…they were awful, but I don’t think it means you don’t know how to be better than him. I think you know what it takes to be a good dad. I think you know that you have people you can turn to if you ever feel lost…I’m pretty sure Dr. Mallard is going to elect himself as an honorary grandparent to this kid.”
Jimmy felt the smile cross his lips ignoring the gross sensation of dried blood cracking against his wound as he did so. “I know he will.”
He paused his hand caressing her stomach. “I think we can do this. I know we can do this. We can figure this out together. We have plenty of people who love us and will be there to help us along the way. I think you’re going to be a great mom. You’re the strongest person I know. I think that our kid is going to grow up knowing just how strong his or her mom is.”
Y/N felt the tears meet her eyes, her fears seeming so much quieter now.
She glanced down at the abandoned velvet jewelry box, she finding the words. “Ask me again.”
Jimmy furrowed his brow, it taking him a moment to realize what she was asking for.
He moved, reaching out for the box scooting so he could be sitting directly across from her.
He opened the box taking a deep breath as he spoke. “I love you. Will you marry me?”
She felt tears meet her eyes for a far different reason she nodding her head frantically she working out an answer this time around. “Yes. Yes, I will definitely marry you.”
He managed to slip the ring on her finger, his lips meeting hers again he ignoring the discomfort that was still ever present in his lip.
She spoke as he pulled back from the kiss. “Sorry I ruined it.”
“You didn’t ruin a thing. You had a lot on your brain and you weren’t prepared for such a huge shock. If anything I felt like I ruined it. I was sure that I wrecked this entire proposal and gave you the world’s worst proposal…I mean I asked you to marry me in the same room Gibbs gets all scary in while Gibbs-staring at suspects.” Jimmy reassured her.
The comment worked a laugh from her lips, the guilt she felt over her reaction fading away. She managed to speak her brain picking up on his earlier comment. “You really tried to propose to me three times now?”
Jimmy sighed nodding his head. “We never got to the me getting a chance to ask you part of the proposal. The first time I had dinner reservations and then work called. The second time was when we had that picnic and work called again. The last time was last month…when I caught that stomach bug from hell. I…I was getting desperate. I thought desperate times called for desperate measures. I promise I’ll still give you a better proposal…one where I don’t injure myself and there’s no tears.”
She shook her head she reaching out her hand pressing to his cheek as she spoke “Don’t you dare propose to me again. I don’t want any other proposal than the one you just gave me. I want this to be your proposal…injuries and tears and all.”
She stroked his cheek he leaning into her touch as she spoke again. “One day when this kid asks how you proposed, I want to tell our kid that their dad face-planted after I cried on him.”
He pressed a kiss to her temple he fast to reply. “Let’s hope this kid is more graceful than me.”
She didn’t have a chance to reply as there was a knock at the door the door to interrogation creaking open Tony sticking his head in quick to speak. “I also pray your unborn offspring takes more after Y/N in the grace department.”
Jimmy groaned, it hitting him that there was only one way Tony knew all of this information. “You were watching the entire thing behind the two way mirror weren’t you?”
Tony nodded his head, not ashamed. “Hey, I helped you score this room. I would have left the viewing room if things got hot and heavy. I was curious about just how you planned on pulling this off…besides someone had to press the record button on the video monitor.”
Jimmy felt another groan leave him. “You recorded it?”
Tony shrugged fast to play innocent. “I thought it’d be a good wedding present for you. Who doesn’t want a romantic memory captured on film forever?”
Tony spoke again unable to stop himself from saying it. “You can get back at me later, but know I had the best of intentions even if I’m tempted to create a video that is just a loop of Palmer faceplanting.”
He spoke yet again before either of his coworkers had a chance to respond to his comment. “You two should clean this mess up and ditch interrogation before Gibbs figures out I loaned the room to you.”
Jimmy and Y/N felt their cheeks flush as they soaked in Tony’s comment.
Y/N spoke softly, taking Jimmy’s hand in hers. “Come on let’s go see if Ducky has something to disinfect your lip.”
Jimmy felt the words leave him before he could stop them. “Are you sure you’re okay being in Autopsy? Are you having any nausea yet? You did say you felt kind of gross a few days ago when you tried scrambling that egg, but we thought you just might be catching that bug I had. I know the smells at Autopsy might be too much if you’re having any morning sickness. Oh, and I need to check with Dr. Mallard and make sure that there’s no chemicals or anything around Autopsy that can be dangerous for you to be exposed to right now.”
Y/N groaned, shaking her head, she shot Tony a warning glare sending the message that he better not dare say a word about Jimmy’s fretting. She held back the desire to say anything herself as she spoke “I think I’ll be good.”
She had a feeling this was going to be a long nine months.
Jimmy swallowed back any further comments though he did make a mental note to ask Dr. Mallard some questions later.
He managed to clean up all the evidence of what had just happened quickly shoving all the evidence into a reusable shopping bag.
He held her hand in his as they left interrogation, the sensation of the ring on her finger against his skin making his heart swoon.
He couldn’t believe his luck, a proposal and a baby.
His luck really had turned around.
He knew that he’d have to spend the next nine months really practicing his patience.
Unfortunately, I have been without internet for 5 or more weeks. I’ve just managed to get it back, but due to this agonising and painful setback (because the company said they fixed numerous times and it obviously wasn’t fixed) I have been unable to even write any of them.
I am starting to work on a few now to at least try and get some finished before Feb 14th, however I won’t be able to post all of the ones I have planned.
I am really sorry for the inconvenience, and my lack of writing lately. 😔
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