Payback
It certainly missed the mark as a little thing.
In fact, it surpassed even a medium thing.
No, by the status Leroy Jethro Gibbs awarded it, it demanded more than just a verbal correction. He shared one nevertheless, vocally and loudly, along with the order that both Abby and Tony were confined to the House of Gibbs for the remainder of the weekend.
In his basement he reviewed the details while sanding down a section of his boat. The physical monotony of the action served to calm him. His mind worked to process what he knew against the knowledge that Tony and Abby still could not grasp the fact that their actions could produce reactions from him that they did not welcome.
They had attempted to use their wiles to gloss over their own transgression, hopeful that they could steer his wrath away from them.
However, the truth in fact was that they had told him they were heading out for a movie and assured him they would return by midnight. Despite the promise, they had not made it home until hours later, and had not even called to warn him that the plans had changed.
To compound the injury, their cell phones had been powered off, so they had missed his calls attempting to contact them.
Gibbs took a swig of bourbon and wiped his mouth with the back of his shirt. As long as Abby and Tony had stayed with him- they practically lived with him full time now- they should have no doubt that he would not tolerate deception in any form.
Further, the fact that both had played upon his parental streak by claiming that they could not see how their lack of communication should even make a difference had not helped their cause. He focused upon the fact that they stayed out until hours after they knew they should have made it home.
Discovering that they had come to no harm during their evening of freedom did not soften his response whatsoever.
He was not happy.
Consequently, he had made sure they were unhappy, as well.
Now, of course, both pouted dramatically upstairs, upset that he had compromised their future fun.
Gibbs sat down gingerly on the sawhorse by his tool desk and gazed towards the stairs. He could hear Tony and Abby's muffled voices move into the kitchen and felt a surge of emotion envelope him.
It did not elude him that what had steered his reaction to their evening out had been fear that something horrible had transpired for them.
He had resisted their appeals.
Abby, intent upon playing to his softer side, had twirled a pigtail around her finger and proclaimed, "Gibbs, you are way too dramatic about this. We just caught a couple of movies and forget to phone and check in with you. It is not that big of a deal!"
Narrowing his eyes, he answered her. "Then staying home the rest of this weekend will help you realize how big a deal it actually was. One day you and Tony will find yourselves capable of understanding the importance of following instructions all by yourself, without any unpleasant or unwelcome reminders from me."
Jethro stretched out his legs and allowed his mind free rein to wander to a mental picture of Abby many years down the road, dealing with her own uncooperative child.
"Do not even think of walking out of this room, Mister!" Abby, stirring scrambled eggs at the stove, raised her voice as her teen aged son obeyed with a show of drama by reversing course and throwing himself into his chair.
Abandoning immediate access to escape he whined, "Mom, please just relax and stop yelling…."
"Close your mouth this second, Timothy!" She narrowed her eyes at him and then turned back to the stove, snapping off the burner and plating the eggs.
She set them before him at the table with a thud, analyzing a face that reflected some of her own features as she did so.
Taking a seat opposite his she snatched up her coffee cup and gratefully gulped a swallow. Leaning across the table she announced decisively, "My patience is just about gone where you are concerned, Son."
At that pronouncement, he muttered his displeasure but abruptly stopped at that. With the withering glance favored by adolescents worldwide, the teen picked up his fork and began to eat.
Satisfied with that victory Abby leaned back resolutely in her chair. "Now I simply can not fathom why I have to keep going over and over the same issues with you, Son. I talk and talk, and the words simply appear redundant to you."
Timothy glanced up, debating whether to answer, noted her still annoyed expression, and took another bite of his breakfast instead.
Sipping another swallow of coffee, she continued, "So, if my phone rings with yet another call from your school, young man, with someone notifying me that you are out of uniform once again, I will take care of it in a way you will not enjoy. Please believe me. I have had it with you over the issue of how you will dress."
"Ridiculous, Mom, the whole uniform idea. I want to express my own individuality with my clothing and not…."
Interrupting, Abby's voice rose as she enunciated each word, "One more phone call, Son, and every item of clothing you own- with the exception of your school uniforms- will land in a box and end up donated to charity. I do mean that. I have no interest in your individuality or what you want to express or think you want to share. What I do know is that I have you enrolled in a private preparatory school that holds a world class reputation for turning out Ivy League material and you are not going to jeopardize that."
Her emphatic explanation met with a dramatic roll of his eyes.
Fury rising, Abby leaned across the table. "Furthermore, since you did not bother to phone and tell me that you were going to be late getting home last night, you have lost all driving privileges for the next couple of weeks."
"Mom, that is so wrong!" came the immediate, impassioned response. "I told you I was watching a movie and lost track of the time. I only stayed a couple of hours late and I certainly did not hurt anyone. You know that! You just like to over-react about everything."
"No car until I feel that you can act responsibly," she reiterated, ignoring his argument. "Rules exist for a reason, and you will not be allowed to abandon them at will."
A look of hurt defeat crossed his face and she softened. "Look, Timothy, you know that I love you and have your best interests at heart. But I run this household like a military unit for a reason. I like it, and it works. Now, are you clear about the consequences I have set for your rule breaking?"
Her son licked his lips before responding. "Ok, I understand, but just for the record, no one else has a parent this strict."
"Live with it," she concluded, pushing her chair back from the table.
Gibbs laughed softly to himself. It would be poetic justice to witness Abby and Tony on the opposite side of where they stood now as they dealt with their own children. That would provide sheer entertainment! Shaking his head at the thought, he turned his imagination away from Abby and to his senior field agent's offspring.
"Get down these steps right now with your car keys, young lady!" Tony Dinozzo stood at the bottom of the steps and ordered, annoyance evident in his voice. "I mean right now!"
His daughter appeared at the landing, frowned at him, then slowly descended. "I heard you the first time, Dad, so you need not keep repeating yourself."
Tony's eyes narrowed. "Kaitlin, you are already in enough trouble with me without adding to your predicament. Let me advise you to keep smart remarks to yourself, since I have never had tolerance for them and will not start today."
Pursing her lips, she paused two steps from the bottom and faced him. Puffing out her lip she left no doubt that she planned to utilize sulking in her defense. "Dad, please just listen to me for a change. All I did last night- all that we were doing last night was having fun, you know, all of us just sowing wild oats. Really, other, more savvy parents recognize it as a right of passage that all teens…."
"Do I look like I care about or ponder the welfare of all teens?" he snapped. "I do not, and you should know by now that I have no intention of emulating what other parents do."
"What is the big deal? You just go all psycho for no reason and over react about the smallest things!"
"I believe I sent you upstairs to retrieve your car keys, Kaitlin, so let me have them," he demanded, and waited as she sulkily placed them in his hand and started back up the steps.
He altered her plans. "No, turn around and look at me right this second, and do not move again until I dismiss you to your room."
With as much attitude as she could muster, the teen flounced down on the step above her. She did, however, obey his command and met his gaze.
Inhaling, he spoke carefully, not trying to keep his annoyance out of his voice. "Young lady, I have had it with your disregard of rules and this quest for fun at all costs, and starting right this second your perspective of what should be your focus had better undergo a transformation. You brought home a report card with nothing higher than a c last week, went to the mall without permission last night, and routinely put no effort into anything- your schoolwork, your chores, your responsibilities- except your social life."
She began to protest. "Daddy, really, no one else wants a wallflower for a kid but you, and other parents really want their children to have good times while they attend high school."
He stood firm, dismissing her words as soon as she spoke them.
"Too bad, then, because your focus is going to be on your academics solely from this point, Kate. Until your grades improve significantly and you can understand and follow rules you will be confined to this house. That means your butt belongs right here every afternoon by four o'clock, and not at anyone's house or at any store or shopping venue. In fact, since you will now commute by schoolbus instead of your car, I believe the driver will discharge you right at our yard at a quarter of four. Your school social life is on hiatus just like your personal social life, and you will not be attending any club meetings or after school activities until I see a change for the better."
She began to cry at that pronouncement, and Tony looked into green eyes identical to his own. He softened his tone, but did not retract his decision. "Your social life, or lack of social life, should be at the bottom of your agenda without having me to remind you of it. Spending your days looking for ways to play and have a good time do nothing to secure your future success. I am tired, Honey, of having to deal with your irresponsible, lackadaisical response to life."
Leaning over, he tapped her under the chin and kissed her forehead. "I love you, and I want people to take you seriously."
In response, she frowned and managed to look victimized as she regarded him. "Dad, no other parent freaks out the way you do all the time, or treats kids like they joined the Military with rule after rule."
"I do not care," he retorted, straightening and turning from her. "Regulations exist for good reasons."
Leroy Jethro Gibbs grinned to himself. He had threatened both Abby and Tony with the dire wish that they would one day have children who acted exactly like they did. The fictitious Timothy and Kaitlin cloned the current Tony and Abby to a tee.
Swallowing the last of his bourbon he shook his head ruefully and then grinned. "Payback- I wish them children who act the same way they do. Now that would be payback!