a/n: all in good fun, all in good fun - really, some light-hearted cheer (and abuse of Gibbs' sensibilities) !

July 2023
Alexandria, Virginia

Jennifer Gibbs yawned – but she was used to yawning these days, and she shook off the fatigue easily, expertly balancing a baby on her shoulder with one hand while she set up the new infant bath bucket in the sink. She turned on the water lightly, and held her palm under it, waiting patiently for the temperature to get warm and even out.

The baby moved his head around on her shoulder, and she glanced at her reflection in the mirror – she was pleased to see she didn't look quite as tired as she felt. She was on maternity leave – though she had voluntarily made her self available to review work from home – but the six weeks relief she got after her son's birth wasn't quite the same as it had been when she'd had Anna – or even Katharyn – because in addition to a newborn, she had two dogs, and two mobile, talkative, and vivacious daughters.

The latter group – the dogs and the daughters – happened to be in the basement with their father right now; Jackson was ready for his first bath, and Jenny had always coveted that right, even though she and Gibbs had done Anna's first together.

She shifted her weight and pulled her wet hand back, satisfied with the water. She pulled the soft little blanket off of Jackson and set it aside, gently placing him in the plastic seat. She dropped a very gently sponge in the sink, stopped the drain, and waited. She leaned down on her elbows and smiled at him, wrinkling her nose affectionately.

"Your sisters love bath time," she murmured conversationally. She winked at him. "I hope you take after them," she confided.

While visiting with Michelle Hanna recently, she'd been reminded of just how much some babies hated bath time: Michelle and Sam's daughter howled miserably the entire time water was touching her. Jackson blinked at her, and then waved a fist towards her mouth, his fingers moving tentatively. She smiled and puckered her lips, kissing his knuckles. She took his hand, and then turned off the faucet. She picked up the sponge and gingerly began washing him with it. He jumped, startled, and she laughed, grinning.

"I know what I'm doing," she soothed. "Hey, at least it's not cold."

He fussed a little, but then he calmed down and listened to her occasionally talk to him. She was carefully tending to his belly button when the door opened a little more.

Jenny turned, pausing.

"Mommy?"

Katharyn was peeking in the door, her blonde hair held back with a decorative sunflower bandana. Jenny gave her an encouraging smile. She beckoned with her free hand.

"You can come in," she said.

Katharyn slipped in, leaving the door open, and hopped around, leaning against Jenny's knees. She rose up on her tiptoes, lifting her chin to peer at her brother.

"Wasn't that bandanna on Pascal?" Jenny asked, glancing at Katharyn's headdress again.

"Mm-hmm," Katharyn said smugly. "Daddy let me wear it."

Jenny rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

"Well, you look very lovely."

Katharyn beamed. She leaned against Jenny harder.

"Can I help?" she asked hesitantly.

"You can watch," Jenny compromised – Katharyn wasn't tall enough to help without standing on something, and Jenny wasn't going to risk her losing her balance and accidentally hurting the baby.

Katharyn nodded her head. Jenny paused again and pointed to the toilet, allowing Katharyn to scramble up on it. The four-year-old leaned on the edge of the sink, peering curiously at the baby.

She giggled.

"What's so funny?" Jenny asked.

"He looks silly," trilled Katharyn. She licked her lips, and looked at Jenny. "Daddy's gonna build me 'n' Annie a bigger dollhouse," she said.

"He told me he might do that," Jenny answered.

"But he – but he," Katharyn said quickly, tripping over her words. "He said first, cradle for Jack."

Jenny smiled again. She nodded – she'd told him she wanted one to move around, and she didn't have the heart to take Anna's old one back; the six-year-old had been using it as a rocking playhouse for her stuffed animals since Katharyn was too old for it.

"What's this?" Katharyn asked, leaning forward and pointing to Jackson's stomach.

"That's his bellybutton."

"It looks dumb."

"It won't stay that way," Jenny said. "The last part of his umbilical cord fell off so - Katharyn, don't touch," Jenny ordered.

Katharyn pulled her hand back quickly, chastised.

"Why?"

"It's a little sore," Jenny told her. "It has to heal."

Katharyn fell silent and watched, tilting her head. Then, she leaned forward again, reaching out with her curious hand.

"What's this?" she asked, touching before Jenny could prevent her.

Jenny winced and swatted Katharyn's hand lightly, shaking her head.

"Katharyn," she sighed. She gave her a gentle warning look. "Don't touch your brother there."

Katharyn shrugged.

"What is it?" she whined.

Jenny glanced in the mirror, sharing a look with herself – it hadn't occurred to her that her daughters had no working knowledge of males – which was normal, since they were so young – and she supposed she'd have to get used to stuff like this while they were little.

"That's his penis, Katharyn," she said matter-of-factly, looking back down and concentrating very hard on bathing Jackson.

He kicked his feet, splashing water, and Katharyn scrunched up her face, giggling.

"Penis," she repeated, snorting. "Why?"

Jenny chewed the inside of her lip.

"It's how he goes to the bathroom."

Katharyn laughed, covering her mouth with amusement. She looked at Jenny with wide-eyes, and then put her hand to her forehead.

"How come he gets one and not me?"

"Girls and boys have different parts," Jenny said dryly. "You and Anna look like me."

"Why different?" Katharyn insisted.

Jenny thought about it carefully. She wasn't about to engage in a reproductive talk with a preschooler.

"I'm going to tell you when you're a little older," she decided calmly. She looked over at Katharyn with soft eyes. "There's nothing wrong with different," she said, "its just some science stuff."

Katharyn put her chin on her palms. She stared at Jenny, and then she narrowed her eyes.

"Does Daddy have a penis?" she asked secretively.

She sounded strangely suspicious. Jenny felt herself flush, and she closed her eyes briefly – maybe she should have told Katharyn she was bonding with the baby, and to come back later. She couldn't exactly lie to her daughter – and it was a stupid thing to lie about anyway. She wasn't actually going to pretend Gibbs didn't have one.

She nodded curtly.

"Yes, Daddy and Jackson look the same."

Katharyn stared at her.

"Mommy," she said seriously. She held out her hands dramatically. "How come you never tell me?"

Jenny grinned, amused at the reaction. She shrugged. Before she could answer, Katharyn was plowing on with the questions.

"Can I see it?"

Jenny looked at her, taken aback. She furrowed her brow.

"Can you – what?" she asked. "See what, honey?"

Katharyn rolled her eyes.

"Daddy's penis!" she whispered.

Jenny tried not to react over-dramatically; she was tempted to snap at Katharyn – but she calmed herself; she was just a little girl, she was asking innocent questions – it was a test of parenthood; Jenny had to keep her cool.

"No," she said firmly, but without malice.

"Why?" Katharyn demanded, glaring at her.

She put one hand on her hip, and swayed.

"You're going to fall if you're not careful," Jenny said, squeezing out the sponge in the sink. She focused on Jackson for a moment, looking for the soft blanket she'd laid down earlier, and hoped Katharyn would let it go.

"Mommy," Katharyn whined. "Why?"

Jenny sighed, unstopping the drain so the water would disappear and picking up Jackson. She wrapped him snugly in his blanket and started patting him down gently, turning pointedly to her youngest daughter.

"Katharyn, I've told you before that your private area is for the doctor if her or she is doing something doctors do, or when a trusted adult is helping with a bath – "

"But I saw his!" Katharyn whined louder, pointing at Jackson accusatorily. "You let me see his!"

"He is a little baby, and he was bathing," Jenny said, gritting her teeth. "Sweetie – look, Katharyn," she struggled for a moment, and then bent down a little, getting on eye-level.

She barely got her words together before Anna walked into the bathroom.

"Katty, you said you were just coming to look," she accused, hands on her hips. "I had to listen to Daddy talk about sanding for four million hours!"

Jenny laughed – surely this would distract –

Katharyn jumped off the toilet, ignoring her sister. She stomped her foot.

"I want to see Daddy's penis!" she insisted, her face flushing.

Jenny stared at her balefully, and Anna gasped, looking astonished.

"No," Jenny said again. "They're privates, Katharyn – "

"But he saw me naked!" Katharyn wailed. "He gived me a bath!" she shrieked.

To Jenny's complete surprise, her little blonde promptly burst into distressed tears, her watery eyes on Jackson.

"It's not fair!" she shouted.

Jenny was sorely tempted to tell Katharyn that there were plenty of boys who'd gladly show her their penises when she was older, but alas – sarcasm would be lost on a four-year-old, and besides, she did consider herself at least a half-decent mother.

"Katharyn," she raised her voice. "Katharyn Kelly Gibbs – stop it," she ordered sharply. "You are crying for no reason, and you know it."

Katharyn clamped her mouth shut angrily and glared, folding her arms. Anna sidled around Jenny and snuck up by her, patting her sister.

"Katty, just look at Jack's," she whispered. "You're allowed."

Katharyn stomped her foot.

"But why can't I see DADDY'S?" she asked. She looked tearfully at Anna. "I wanna see if it's the same!"

Anna stared at her, and then she tilted her head.

"Katharyn," Jenny began. "Jackson is a baby. He needs us to take care of him, so the rules are different. You can't – "

"If Katty sees Daddy's penis, I want to see it," Anna said matter-of-factly.

Jenny was unable to hold back.

"Jesus Christ," she exclaimed sharply, glaring at them both. She bit her lip, swearing silently at herself for losing her temper, and then she shifted the baby, giving them both short, intent looks. "The rules are different," she said carefully, enunciating clearly. "It is not okay for a grown man to be naked in front of little girls – or little boys, for that matter – well, it's not always wrong," it suddenly occurred to her she didn't know what the rule was for men and their sons – or when Jethro was supposed to start not seeing Anna and Katharyn – well, she'd look it up later – "Do you understand me?"

Anna pursed her lips, and then nodded, tossing her hair back.

"I don't wanna see it," she said. "I saw Jack's. Daddy's is probably old."

Katharyn was still sniffling, glaring at Jenny with red eyes.

"Listen to me," Jenny said, trying to soften her voice. "If Daddy ever showed you his penis on purpose, I would not be happy," she said earnestly. "It would be not appropriate, not in a setting like this. I would make him leave this house."

Katharyn rubbed at her eyes, and Jenny took a moment to check on the baby – the next thing she knew, Katharyn had wriggled past her.

"Daddy," she moaned pitifully.

Jenny turned warily – there was no way to warn him what was coming.

Gibbs smiled at Jenny, and then looked down, his face becoming concerned.

"What's wrong, Kate?" he asked.

She let out a wail and sat down at his feet.

"Mommy won't let me see your penis!" she screeched.

Gibbs looked at Jenny like a truck had just hit him. The colour drained from his face. He didn't say anything, but Anna started giggling. She darted past Jenny, delighted at the petrified look on her father's face.

Gibbs finally made his jaw work.

"What do I do?" he asked in a quiet voice, panicking, waiting for instruction from his wife.

"This is new territory for me, too!" she hissed at him frantically.

Katharyn yanked on the hem of Gibbs' jeans.

"Make her let me!" she insisted. "MAKE HER!"

"Okay," Jenny said, clearing her throat. "Okay, I think we're tired," she went on loudly, "and we need some attention from Mommy, and some reading time."

She stepped forward, mustering all of her strength and authority.

"Take him," she requested under her breath, transferring Jackson into Gibbs' arms.

He took him, still shell-shocked, and Jenny snapped her fingers authoritatively.

"If you are a Gibbs and a girl, come with me," she ordered.

Anna jumped and got ready to follow Jenny; when Katharyn sat stubbornly on the floor, Jenny took under the arms and hoisted her up, gently but firmly, and smacked her lightly on the butt to make her start walking.

"Come on," she repeated matter-of-factly.

Katharyn whined over-dramatically, and forced out some crocodile tears, and Anna watched her – either confused or delighted, Jenny wasn't sure. The only thing she was sure of right now was how little sanity she was going to have left when she was done raising all of them.

She led Katharyn and Anna into Anna's room and sat them firmly on the bed.

She sat down on the floor in front of them, letting them have the higher ground, and considered them both as calmly as possible – she was thinking it was time for another watered down, kid-friendly, stranger-danger talk, but she knew she had to be careful here –

She didn't want them to think it was evil or dirty to be naked, but she also knew Gibbs would never be comfortable with them seeing him, and she didn't want Katharyn to think men exposing themselves to her was acceptable.

She took a deep breath.

"Girls," she started. "Some people like their privacy – "

For what felt like the thousandth time that day, Jenny yawned – and this time, she didn't shake it off.

She turned off all the lights on the ground floor and climbed the stairs for bed, Pascal and Max following diligently at her heels. She gently nudged them forward into the master bedroom, and ran into her husband backing out of the nursery. She touched his shoulder and slipped past him, looking in.

Jackson was asleep on his back in the old, hand-made crib, his chest rising and falling peacefully. Jenny refrained from touching him – she had no intention of accidentally waking him up – but smiled, and backed away quietly. She stood in the doorway with Jethro, and he put his arm around her, taking a deep breath and letting it out as he pulled her close.

"You get the girls to sleep okay?" he asked, somewhat warily.

She snorted under her breath, and nodded.

"Jackson?" she asked.

"Out like a light," he murmured. "Took his whole bottle."

Jenny glanced down at her breasts and winced – she was going to be sore for hours; she should have thought twice before she handed the newborn's routine over to Gibbs – that also meant she'd have to get more bottles fixed for Gibbs' turn in the middle of the night.

Later; she'd do it later. She'd just take all the shifts tonight.

Gibbs cleared his throat pointedly in her ear.

"What was all that about?" he muttered sheepishly.

Jenny sighed, closing her eyes and leaning her head on his shoulder a moment. She shook her head and lifted her shoulders hopelessly.

"She was asking questions about Jackson's umbilical cord," she said in a whisper, so as not to wake the baby. "She – well, I guess she's never seen one," Jenny shrugged – no, all of Jenny's friends' sons were too old to be running around naked, and they weren't a particularly, ah, nudist, family. "She asked about Jackson's penis."

"How'd I get involved?"

The sheer absurdity of the ridiculous fit Katharyn had thrown crashed down on Jenny and she reached up to cover her mouth, suddenly unable to keep from laughing quietly.

"She wanted to compare and contrast," Jenny joked out. "I think. I don't know. She started crying that she wanted to see yours." Jenny closed her eyes, really struggling not to laugh loudly now. "Then Anna – Anna said yours was probably old," she shook her head, trying to compose herself, "and then I was standing there in the bathroom with one kid insulting your manhood, and the other begging me to let her see it and – "

Jenny walked away from Jackson's door; afraid she'd wake him up. She went into the bedroom, touching her side, and sat down on the bed, laughing into her palm. Gibbs followed her a few moments later, shutting the door.

He glared at her, and she pushed her hair back.

"I," she tried, choking on her laughter. "I can't believe that happened – I'm sorry I'm laughing," she squeaked. "I'm sleep deprived," she waved her hand, trying to catch her breath. "The look on her face when I said no, Jethro – she was heartbroken!"

Jenny burst out laughing again, and Gibbs eyed her warily. Hell – Katharyn's distress had been nothing compared to his, when he'd been hit with what he walked into. It had never occurred to him that the new baby being a boy would send them into all kinds of uncharted territory.

She pushed her hair back, taking a deep breath, and licked her lips.

Gibbs folded his arms, and arched his eyebrow.

"What did you say to them?" he asked.

She sighed and collapsed on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. A moment later, she felt him crawl up next to her, stretching out, propped up on his arm. She shrugged a little.

"It's a weird conversation to have," she admitted bluntly. She chewed her lip a moment. "I kind of asked Dad about it once," she sighed. "I was wondering when I should take-over bath time for good. He said he was in my room lecturing me while I was getting dressed – I was ten or something – and Noemi came in and marched him out," she laughed at herself, and then let out another breath. "Some families are just naked all the time," she added dryly.

Gibbs grunted, and rolled his eyes – he didn't know anyone like that. Jenny nodded, interpreting him right.

"I think it's weird, too," she muttered. She frowned. "But I didn't want them to get the wrong impression – to freak out if they did see you, you know, they run in and out of here in the mornings," she licked her lips. "I don't think at this age, and I don't know, for a few years, it's not a thing unless we make it a thing?"

Gibbs listened to her intently.

"But," Jenny sighed, and then snorted again. "You know, nudity occurring by happenstance is different than me letting Katharyn inspect your – "

"I get the gist, Jen," he interrupted loudly.

She burst out laughing, loudly this time.

She had not been prepared to handle all that tonight – at all.

"I told them that there wasn't anything wrong with seeing someone naked in certain circumstances, but that grown up men weren't supposed to show their privates to little girls, and everyone had to respect other's choices," Jenny sighed, trying to recall her words. "I told them you didn't want to be naked."

Gibbs nodded his head, relieved. Jenny stressed about these things – she didn't want to raise kids who were afraid to ask questions or talk to her, but she also didn't want to jump the rails entirely and be some kind of overly-open commune mother.

Gibbs shrugged.

"I've never been naked around 'em, Jen," he said pointedly. "Don't plan on it – Jack, either."

"Well I'm not either! I took baths with them when they were babies but – they get older, it's not really my thing," she laughed, and shrugged. "We're just not a naked family," she whispered dramatically.

Gibbs groaned. He let his arm fall, and moved towards her, pressing his head into her shoulder.

"She's just curious, Jethro," Jenny murmured. "It's not anything to worry about."

"'M not worried," he mumbled, his lips brushing her shoulder.

She sighed contently, yawning again - there were a thousand conflicting opinions on the subject, she was sure. She just preferred to err on the side of caution and avoid any questionable situations – she knew Jethro would never, ever hurt their children or do anything inappropriate. There were probably progressive parents out there who were basically nudists with their kids, but the idea of letting Katharyn ogle her father didn't sit right with her; it was different than Katharyn running in innocently and seeing him get out of the shower. That, they wouldn't make a big deal about – but Jenny had never seen her own father naked, and she just – well, it was like she said:

They weren't a naked family.

Jenny bit her lip, and turned to Gibbs, arching her brows.

"You ever feel like you're too young for this?" she asked lightly, her eyes soft.

He grunted, and shrugged, grinning.

"Nah, Jenny," he said. "I like this." He gestured between them, nodded his head towards the kids' rooms.

She nodded – she did too.

"I know," she murmured. "But they ask something like that and I think – I'm making this up as I go – I have three kids, and I can take care of an infant with my eyes closed, but what comes next with a six year old, and then she's seven, and what do I do when Anna's twelve," she started laughing again. "I start thinking like that, and I swear to God I was seventeen yesterday."

Gibbs moved his head, and kissed her lips, smirking.

"You know what I thought about telling Katharyn?" she asked wryly, well aware Jethro would be annoyed with her.

"What?" he grunted.

Jenny smirked.

"'Sweetheart, just wait until you're older, boys will beg to show you their penises – '"

"Jenny," growled Gibbs, sitting up and glaring at her fiercely.

She pursed her lips sympathetically at the look on his face.

"Oh, Jethro," she sighed. "Karma had her way with you the day you had little girls," she sang pointedly.

He scowled – Jasper Shepard liked to constantly point out how Gibbs was going to have to deal with the exact same shit from some kiss-ass boys in twelve years or so that the General had put up with from Gibbs.

Jenny sat up, reaching out and wrapping an arm around his shoulder. She pursed her lips, and tilted her head.

"I have a question for you, Special Agent Gibbs," she said, lowering her voice.

He still glared at her, and clenched his jaw, waiting.

She brushed his jaw with her knuckles, and leaned in closer.

"Will you let me see it?" she asked coquettishly.

He gave her a look, and smirked, reaching out to gather her hair in his hand. He kissed her, and shook his head a little.

"Hasn't been six weeks," he pointed out respectfully.

She gave him a sultry, wide-eyed look.

"I just want to look at it," she simpered.

She put her other arm around his neck and pulled him closer to her.

"You and I," she drawled, "we used to be so good at everything-but," she teased.

He grinned at her, and pressed himself against her for a kiss, wrapping her tight in his arms – it was the third time around, after all; they did have a little experience in making the six week waiting period a little less boring and a little more – naked.

July 2023

reeeeally this is just meant to be funny, not critical or anything! i know everyone kind of have different opinions and rules on this kind of thing (and i honestly can't remember when i started closing doors and never being unclothed around my father) but i know, personally, my family was never really big on nudity. i also don't think there's anything wrong if families are cool with it! as long as everyone's comfortable and there's no harmful behavior, do yo thang. also this reminds me of Adam Sandler's joke in Big Daddy, and i just thought Katharyn throwing a tantrum about this was funny so bottom line, this isn't a statement or anything it's just supposed to be funny - i hope you find it so!

-alexandra
story #253