July 24th 2011
Home of Mr. & Mrs. Leroy Jethro Gibbs
Midnight
Gibbs is in the nursery, standing in between Jacqueline and Mike's cribs, watching over his sleeping twins. One year ago at this time, Jacqueline's was born, followed by her brother Mike a few minutes later. "Seems like yesterday when you called me da da for the first time." Gibbs whispers in awe over at his daughter's crib.
Jenny walks in. "Your dad was looking for you." She softly says to him, not to waken the twins.
"I'll be down in a minute."
Jenny walks over and puts her arm around his waist. "What are you doing?"
"I was wishing them a happy birthday." Gibbs smiles.
Jenny remembering that the twins were born after midnight. "My only regret was not seeing the look on your face when they were born." Jenny frowns.
"When I held Jacqueline in my arms for the first time." Gibbs chokes up with emotion.
"The emptiness in your heart was gone." Jenny answers and rubs his lower back.
"I was a father again." "Not only did I have a daughter, I also had a son."
"The gift you were hoping to conceive with Shannon, before you got shipped off to Kuwait." Jenny sadly says.
"Soon as he's old enough to experience it, Mike is going to his first ballgame, I'm taking him fishing with me." "And foremost he will be passed on the Gibbs male family tradition of working with wood working tools."
"So Mike will be down in his basement getting drunk and brooding inside the hull of his unfinished boat." Jenny giggles.
"No, Mike will not suffer the demons that both of his parents had to endure." "I don't want him or Jacqueline to go through the emotional trauma that you and I had to go through."
"They won't Jethro." "They have us and our extended family." Jenny tenderly reassures him.
Jack walks into the room. "Leroy, you ready for our poker game."
"I was about to head down."
Jack walks over to the center of the room. "My sleeping angels." Jack smiles.
"Officially a year old." Jenny smiles.
"It feels like yesterday when Leroy put Michael into my arms for the first time." Jack answers fighting back tears of happiness.
"It feels like yesterday, when the nurses brought in my son and daughter for the first time and I got to hold them in my arms." "The months of carrying them inside of me, morning sickness, exhaustion, mood swings." "Finally I got to hold them." "They were real." "I was finally a mom."
"I'm still tickled that you named Jacqueline after me." Jack says in awe.
"You were there for me when I first went into labor and you kept my mind off of the labor pains on the way to the hospital and stayed by my side until Jethro showed up at the hospital."
"I had to look after Leroy's lady and my grandchildren."
"If it wasn't for your Assistant Director sending me on a wild goose chase-"
"Jethro!" Jenny interrupts him. "She was doing her job and if the roles were in reverse I would have sent you and your team out on that investigation as well, it was NCIS' jurisdiction." Jenny answers, defending Cassie's actions.
Jack noting that the couple is about to get into one of their silly arguments quickly intervenes. "Jenny do you want to join our poker game down in the garage?"
"No, I'm heading for bed." Jenny smiles…."Some other time." She nods and walks out of the room.
"I haven't played poker with her since my visit during the holidays." Jack frowns.
"She's not in the mood dad don't push the issue."
"I've noticed that she's been distant and moody the past few days."
"That's because Jenny has to go to a conference in Bangkok next Monday."
"Separation from the twins." Jack nods.
"It will be a four day conference, but it's still time away from Jacqueline and Mike."
"Jenny ever think of stepping down and become a full time mom."
"Not a chance dad, she lives and breathes her job, down the road another SecNav may hire a new NCIS Director and possibly Jenny may become a full time mom, but for now she's totally focused on her job."
"You would like that." Jack answers noting the expression on his son's face.
"It's not the same for me, yeah I stay at home and help Sofia out with the twins and work a few days a week for Fornell's nephew Fred, but I miss the rush of the job, I miss storming into the Director's Office snarling at her for interfering in one of my cases."
"You ever think of becoming a PI?" Jack suggests.
"You mean a Dick." Gibbs laughs.
"I haven't heard that expression in a long time." Jack chuckles.
Gibbs gestures for his father to leave the nursery and they both walk out at the same time. "Never thought about that."
"So you'll think about it."
"Nah, PI work is too dangerous, I'm a father now." "I don't want Jacqueline and Mike to grow up without a dad."
"True, but it was just a suggestion, since it seems that you're bored with your new life."
"Who says I was bored, I got the twins and my side jobs to keep me busy." Gibbs smoothly answers.
"Leroy your mouth says one thing, but your mind is saying another." Jack answers and walks off for the direction of the door leading for the loft.
Gibbs stands and thinks at what his father had said to him for a minute. "Me a PI." "Nah!" Gibbs cringes at the prospect of being a PI. "I think I saw a pint of pistachio ice cream in the freezer." "Beer and ice cream what a combination." Gibbs laughs and heads for the direction of the stairs.
1300 Hours
Jenny, Ziva, Abby, Cynthia, Noemi, Sofia, and Ceira, are out in the backyard decorating for Jacqueline and Mike's birthday party. "Typical the women are doing all of the work." Ziva mutters in annoyance.
"Men would just get in the way." Jenny laughs.
"Isn't Gibbs picking up the birthday cake?" Abby asks.
"We were not talking about Gibbs or his father Jack, or even Ducky for that matter." "We were referring to Tony and Tim." Ziva answers.
With that, Jack walks out in the backyard with Palmer and his fiancée Breena. "Looks like somebody's early for the party." Jack cheerfully announces.
"We're not early we came to help out." Palmer smiles.
"Cool, you can help me with the balloons." Abby smiles.
"What can I help out with?" Breena offers.
"You can help Cynthia hang up the streamers." Jenny softly answers.
"Is Leroy still out picking up the cake?" Jack smoothly asks.
"Yes, god knows what else he's buying to spoil the twins with." Jenny laughs.
Munroe Stable
Gibbs after picking up the birthday cake pulls up in front of the table in his gray Ford Truck. Anna Bell the stable manager walks out. "I got the two ponies reserved for you." "One brown and white painted pony named Otho, and the chestnut pony is named Coco."
"They are going to be floored by this." Gibbs smiles and gets out of the truck.
"I take it you hired a clown." Anna Bell curiously asks.
"Don't need to hire a clown when I know somebody who acts like a clown all day long." Gibbs laughs.
Tony's Apartment
McGee is sitting at Tony's kitchen table watching his sister Sarah puts white clown make up on Tony's face. "I can't believe I let Abby talk me into this." Tony grumbles.
"If the shoe fits." McGee snickers.
"Don't go there Probie." Tony warns him.
"What's the matter Tommy; Tim does depict you as a clown in his book." Sarah sweetly answers and bats her eyelashes at him.
"It's Tony, Sarah." Tony corrects her.
"You'll always be Tommy to me." Sarah affectionately answers.
"Sarah I believe Tony is taken."
"I know, finally fiction went to real life, just like your relationship with Abby." Sarah smiles.
"Funny how we're all together now." McGee smiles.
"Seems like it went like clockwork." "Gibbs and Jenny got back together, got engaged and finally said their I do's in Paris." "On the flight back to Washington, Ziva and I finally gave into our feelings for one another."
"I believe Ziva dared you to have sex in the bathroom." McGee reminds him with a smirk on his face.
"Mile high club members." Sarah laughs.
"Ziva was already a member and so were Gibbs and Jenny." "Tony had a curious fascination with it." McGee grins.
"Cramped space, cold sink." "Might have been better on a private plane." Tony ponders.
"But you experienced it and that's what counts." Sarah answers.
"Remember Tony I had Tommy and Lisa doing it in a freezer in one of my books."
"You know you still haven't written Jenny in one of your books yet."
"I value my life DiNozzo, but I do have LJ Tibbs hooked up with a shrink that works for the D.O.D in my latest book that I'm writing."
"Which department?" Tony curiously asks.
"PsyOps Division!"
Tony cringes at the prospects of Gibbs dating a shrink. "You know the boss man hates physiatrists." Tony reminds him.
"Well this is fiction and anything goes."
Sarah begins to apply some red make up on to Tony's mouth. "Just keep me out of your books." Sarah advises her older brother.
"To late you're already in there, starting with the last chapter."
"McGregor's kid sister as an aspiring writer." Tony grins…
"Tommy hold still."
"You better not call Ziva, Lisa or she might put a ninja move on you." Tony warns her.
"I'm not that stupid Tommy." Sarah laughs.
A half an hour later, Gibbs arrives home with a horse trailer behind his truck. "Did Gibbs by a horse?" Ziva asks Jenny, whose putting a light green table cloth on the table.
Jenny glances over her shoulder. "Not that I'm aware of." Jenny answers.
Gibbs gets out of his truck and notices that the women and Palmer are staring at him. "Palmer make yourself useful and get over here." Gibbs barks over at him.
Palmer gets up from the table and walks over to the horse trailer; he looks inside and notices the ponies. "How cute?"
Gibbs unlocks the door. "Their only mine until six tonight and then they go back to the stable." Gibbs smiles.
Jenny walks over to her husband, spotting the ponies inside of the trailer. "Jethro the twins are too young to ride a pony." Jenny sighs in exasperation.
"Not if we hold them." "I want our kids first birthday to have it all."
Jenny folding her arms. "Ok, where's the clown at?" Jenny sarcastically asks.
"Got that to." Gibbs smirks.
Back over in the yard, the on lookers watch as Gibbs leads Otho and Coco out of the trailer. "Oh my god, Gibbs got the twins ponies for their first birthday." Abby squeals with excitement.
"Jenny looks exasperated." Ziva laughs.
"It's Senora Jacqueline and Senor Mike's first birthday and a child only has their first birthday once." Sofia says with a smile on her face.
Around three the birthday party begins, McGee has arrived with his sister Sarah, Fornell has brought Emily and Zach Tanner and lastly Ducky the twin's pseudo maternal grandfather has joined in to celebrate Jacqueline and Mike's first birthday. "Jethro, where is Tony?" Jenny asks noting Tony's absence.
With that Tony appears, dressed in a clown costume, with his face painted in white. Sarah had designed a large red mouth, blue circle dimples on his cheeks, large powder blue eyebrows above Tony's eyes. "You owe me one Abby." Tony grumbles and puts on his big red rubber clown nose. With two large blue balloons in hand. Tony walks in. "Did somebody order a clown?"
Ziva, who was drinking a soda, spits it out at the sight of her lover in a clown costume. Jenny doubles over in laughter. "Is that Tony?" Zach snickers.
"Yes!" Ziva coughs.
"Awwwwwwww my design turned out better than what I thought." Abby smiles.
"Sarah's first attempt at doing a clown face also." McGee smoothly says.
"I can't believe you would do this for the twins." Jenny says with a smile on her face.
"Well anything for little ones, especially since one of them is my namesake." Tony grins.
"Trust me it wasn't his idea." Gibbs growls.
"And Tony, part your namesake, my son is named after Mike Franks." Jenny reminds him.
Tony ties the balloons on to the playpen; Mike and Jacqueline spot the clown above them and begin to laugh. "They never laugh at me when I approach them as my usual self." Tony says with surprise.
"No, usually Jacqueline takes a dump." Gibbs laughs.
Noemi and Sofia walk out carrying a sheet cake, with white icing, the outside edge of the cake is done in light blue icing, 'Happy Birthday' is spelled out in red icing, Jacqueline's name is spelled out in pink icing, Mike's is spelled out in light green. A large '1' candle is lit up in the center of the cake. "Oh good I'm starving." Tony inwardly drools.
Gibbs and Jenny pick up the twins from the playpen, Gibbs carrying Jacqueline, Jenny carrying Mike. As Noemi and Sofia approach the table everyone begins to sing Happy Birthday in unison.
"Happy birthday to you happy birthday to you, happy Birthday dear Jacqueline and Mike happy birthday to you."
Gibbs and Jenny both bring Jacqueline and Mike over to the cake to get them to blow out the candle. "Blow out the candle." Gibbs whispers to his twins. The twins look at each other in confusion and are about to launch at their birthday cake when their parents intervene.
"I think we better do it." Jenny giggles and at the same time with her husband blows out the candle.
"Yay!" The guests shout out.
"Maybe next year." Gibbs laughs.
After the cake and ice cream, Gibbs and Jenny put the twins on their respective ponies, Jacqueline on Coco, Mike on Otho. Abby video tapes everything with her camcorder. Jack holding on to Coco and Otho's reins, he begins to slowly walk the ponies in the backyard. "They're a natural Leroy." Jack chuckles.
"Just like their dad." Gibbs grins.
"Jethro I know my way around a horse also." Jenny sarcastically reminds her husband.
"Yeah it's called on an English saddle." Gibbs smirks.
"And what's wrong with riding on an English saddle?" Ducky chastises Gibbs, for his remarks.
"I want my kids riding a horse the way I did." Gibbs answers.
"He's being his typical ignorant self Ducky, just ignore him." "And by the way Leroy I rode horses all three styles."
"Three?" Gibbs shrugs.
"English saddle, Western saddle and bare back." "Did you ever ride a horse bare back?"
"No, but-"
"Leroy quit while you're ahead." Jack interrupts his son.
"This is suppose to be Jacqueline and Mike's first birthday party, we didn't come here to listen to mommy and daddy argue." Abby lectures her bickering parents.
"Here, here!" Fornell snorts.
For the time being, Gibbs sucks it up; he'll have a talk with his wife later on about her snippy behavior of late. "This is going to end later on Mrs. Gibbs." Gibbs inwardly says to himself.
1830 Hours
After taking the ponies back to the stable, Gibbs walks through the empty backyard. "Wonder where everybody went to?" He shrugs….Suddenly his cellphone begins to ring. "Yeah Gibbs!" He answers.
Baja, Mexico
The Cantina
1530 Hours PDT
"Still answering your phone like that, shouldn't it be Jethro." Franks laughs at his familiar seat in front of the bar.
"You've been retired for nearly fifteen years and I still call you boss." Gibbs chuckles.
"And I still call you Probie."
"Just because we're old doesn't mean we have to break old habits."
"I called to wish the twins a happy birthday."
"Their more than likely attacking their new toys in the living room." Gibbs laughs.
"Where are you?" Franks asks and lights up a cigarette.
Gibbs walks over to the picnic table and sits down. "Out back, god knows where the Ice Queen is at?" Gibbs grumbles.
"Ut oh, the Mrs. being frigid again."
"She has to go on an overseas trip to Bangkok in another week; she gets like this whenever there's any separation from the twins."
"Doesn't she realize that it's part of the territory as being Director of NCIS?"
"Yes, and I'm going to have a talk with her later on, I've had it up to here."
"Hopefully things are smoothed over before your trip down south; I'm looking forward to seeing the twins, particularly my godson."
"He's a piece of work." Gibbs laughs.
"Still whipped like his dad." Franks cackles.
"No, because he no longer has access to his mother's breast." Gibbs growls.
"Don't like sharing with your toys." Franks snickers.
"Hell no, their mine." Gibbs mischievously answers.
"I don't blame you one bit." Franks laughs and then takes a sip from his bottle of Corona.
"No things should be better by then." "I can't wait to hit the beach."
"Leyla, Amira, and Camilla are looking forward to seeing you, Jenny, and the twins."
"I'm looking forward into seeing them; it's been a few years since I've seen Amira."
"She misses her Uncle Jethro." Franks smiles.
"I'll take her horseback riding on the beach."
"She'll get a kick out of that." Franks snorts.
"Well my kids had their first time on a horse today; I rented two ponies for their birthday party."
"Ain't they a little young for that."
"Who cares it's their first birthday."
"True!" Mike smiles and notices one of the male tourists is hinting up on Camilla. "Gotta go, some damn greasy Gringo is hinting up on my woman." Franks snarls.
"Kick his ass." Gibbs smirks, egging on his mentor.
"I am, see you in about a month." Franks answers and hangs up.
"Month can't get here soon enough." Gibbs smiles with anticipation.
Inside the garage, Tony, who is now out of his clown costume, is sitting out in the living room, with McGee and Palmer watching the Nationals game on TV. Over at the pool table, Jack, Fornell, and Zach are shooting pool. Gibbs walks through the French doors. "No women!" Gibbs laughs.
"Upstairs!" Jack answers.
"Soon as the three of you are done your game I'll join you." Gibbs nods and walks off for the stairs.
Upstairs in the living room, the twins are on the floor playing with their new birthday toys, Abby, Ziva, Sarah, Ceira, and Emily watch over them. "I see that Mike likes the boat I got him." Emily smiles.
"Like father like son." Abby giggles.
Gibbs, who was standing in the doorway, has overheard them. "Is that so bad?" Gibbs playfully growls.
"No!" Abby smiles and gets down on to the floor with the twins. "Gibbs he has your sexy blue eyes, the women are not going to resist his charms when he gets older."
"I'll have to teach him my trademark smirk that has the women melt."
Unknown to Gibbs, Jenny was standing behind him. "That smirk only worked on your three ex-wives." Jenny announces, humiliating her husband in front of the other women.
"She got you." Abby laughs.
"How many times was that today?" Ziva snickers.
"Way too many times for my liking." Gibbs snaps, and pulls Jenny by the elbow, leading her out of the room.
"Fight!" Abby gloats and pumps her fist up into the air.
"And why are you happy about this?" Ceira curiously asks.
"We haven't heard a good mommy and daddy argument in a long time." Abby grins with excitement.
Upstairs in the master bedroom. "Can't this wait until the others leave?" Jenny hisses.
"No this is going to end right here, right now." "You are downright impossible to be around just before you go on one of your overseas conferences." "Make a choice Jen, full time mother or Director of NCIS." "You can't have it both ways, its part of your job to go on these overseas conferences, and I'm sick and tired of you being a moody bitch just before you go away."
"Moody bitch!" Jenny screams back at him.
Downstairs, the usual suspects are listening in. "Good one!" Tony grins.
"Should we be listening in on this?" Ceira asks.
"We use to do this all the time back in the day." Tony smirks.
"I still liked the argument they had in her office when Gibbs was going out with the Colonel." Cynthia laughs.
"The good ole days when you use to give us a play by play of their office arguing sessions." Tony laughs.
"Didn't she slap him the one time?" McGee sheepishly asks.
Back upstairs, the arguing continues. "Don't give me that crap, I had to go away when I was married to Shannon and had to be separated from her and Kelly, but I had to suck it up, because it was part of my job, just like you have to suck it up." "You've been downright rude to our guests today, my dad for the past week."
"Well if you weren't making a constant ass out of yourself, the English saddle comment was a bit overboard Jethro." "Somehow, me being a bitch is always my fault and not yours." Jenny snaps.
"Shoe fits wear it."
"How mature!" Jenny laughs and is about to brush past him, when Gibbs grabs her by the shoulders. "Release me, you bastard."
"Not until you got the stick out of your ass." Gibbs snarls.
"Jethro it's not just the separation from the twins, there's the budget cuts that's been stressing me out." "SecNav wants to move NCIS Headquarters over to Quantico, I just did all of that ass kissing two summers ago to get the new cyber wing built and to have a new anti-terrorism division implemented." "That took a lot of time and energy."
"You might have to let it go, because it's the sign of the times Jen." "Everybody is cutting back on things because of the economy, why should NCIS be any different."
"Jethro, imagine you working at the same facility as Fornell." Jenny teases him.
Gibbs rolls his eyes. "That would have sucked." He grumbles at the prospects of bumping into Fornell all day long.
"I'll apologize to your dad later on, but Jethro I'm not in the mood to play poker."
"I know, that's what I told him." "But keep in mind he's going through a tough time also." "Travis and Mary are closing up the Luncheonette at the end of the week and their retiring to Fort Myers, Florida."
"I know, Jack won't have anybody." Jenny frowns.
"I told him he could move in with us, but as long as he's up to it, my dad wants to work a few hours a day at the store, and Stillwater is his home."
"Well when he's ready, our home can be his home." Jenny softly answers and leans up and tenderly kisses Gibbs on the mouth.
Downstairs, the Gibblets along with the others are still listening in. "Awfully quiet up there." Palmer whispers.
Breena walks out from the dining room. "What's going on?"
"Mommy and daddy are fighting?" Abby giggles…With that the bedroom door opens. "They were!"
With that, Tony, McGee, and Palmer run off towards the dining room, Ziva, Abby, Sarah, Ceira, and Breena run into the living room. Jenny and Gibbs appear at the top of the stairs. "I better go back down into the kitchen and help out Noemi, Sofia, Breena, and Ducky." Jenny laughs and starts down the stairs.
"I'll be down in the garage playing pool with my dad." Gibbs smiles and walks off for the direction of the door for the loft.
Down in the garage Tony, McGee, and Palmer, innocently sit on the couch, Gibbs walks down the stairs and notices that his dad, Fornell, and Zach are finished up with their game. "I break first." Gibbs shouts as he approaches the table.
"So who won the fight?" Zach snickers.
Gibbs narrowing his eyes over at Tony, McGee, and Palmer. "It was a truce, no winners or losers."
"The way it should be." Jack smiles.