Leroy Jethro Gibbs looked up from his chair to find his agents' seats empty and only then did he realize what time it was. It was always the boss that stayed the latest in the work place it seemed.
Their job wasn't ordinary though, not everyone had the privilege of solving crimes, and even saving lives. It was also a very dangerous job, it was only natural for the team to grow close wasn't it?
But, it had become more than that for him. He never thought he'd feel this complete again since his first wife and child died. It was a given that he still missed them very much, and time had done it's healing.
Every now and then the pain he felt was opened raw, but he had always managed.
It wasn't until now that he realized what he had, and hadn't even seen it coming until now. Truthfully, it had been a gradual thing. The first time he noticed it was when Dinozzo had come down with the pneumonic plague.
It had crossed his mind during that time period that Dinozzo might just die, and only then had he started to realize what his team was starting to mean to him. It had been even more of a blow when Kate passed away.
He had done so well on covering up his feelings, besides the anger that was. It had almost felt like losing another child of his. Of course, back then he had no where to place the emotions, only to him being irrational.
Then came the time where Abby was being stalked by a crazy ex-boyfriend, that had scared him shitless. The mere thought of Abby being hurt had driven him into a protective state of mind.
Then he left. Gone just like that. He had come back, but nothing screamed a failure like that.
Then Jenny was killed.
That had been devastating in it's own right, another woman that he loved murdered. They hadn't been together, but it had still hurt. And, to make things worse, his team had been split up by the new director.
The team was eventually put back together, but it had taken it's toll on the group. He hadn't looked at it as family back then.
He had left Ziva in Tel aviv after the whole Rivkin ordeal, and she had ended up being tortured. He had thought her death after hearing about Somalia, but somehow she had managed to survive when they had rescued her, but coming in to get justice at the time. Nevertheless, they were happy for her survival.
Yet, it was not until then that he realized what his team had become. They were a family. Dinozzo the immature oldest son, the one that caused the most trouble. Mcgee was the more mature younger son, willing to please. Ziva was the protective daughter, strong and could take care of her, but unwilling to admit when she needed help. And, Abby was the delightful younger daughter that got away with everything.
Then he got arrested for the whole incident with Jarvis, and Ziva ended up leaving.
Things were not the same after that.
Then Ellie Bishop came along, and she had eventually found her way into the weird but loving family. Then everything got thrown into the air when he was shot, and had nearly died.
They were his kids, it had taken almost being killed to see that. One kid was missing, far away in Tel aviv. They texted every now and then, Ziva had already looked to him as a father figure.
He wanted her back though.
Life was crazy without her, it just wasn't the same without the family being in tact.
He finally stood up, shutting his computer down so it could hibernate. It was midnight and about time that he went home. He was startled though by the sound of his phone ringing. He flipped it open to see that it was coming from Ziva.
Why would she be calling in the middle of the night? He had no idea what time it was there, but he was sure that Ziva knew how late it was here. "Gibbs," was what he heard soon as he answered the phone.
Her tone seemed panic and that quickly caused him to tense. "Hey Ziva, what is it? Is everything okay?" He waited for a response but there was none, and something told him that nothing was okay.
He heard a crashing sound coming from the phone, like a fight was happening or something. There was nothing he could do. His stomach churned with unease. "Ziva!" He called out, hoping for a response. There was none.
He waited a few moments longer, there was still nothing. What the hell just happened? He needed to do something, but what? He couldn't help her being this far away. He finally ended the call, thinking the worse. Had she just been killed? Had she been kidnapped?
His phone started to ring again, it was Ziva again. He was confused, hadn't she just been attacked? "Gibbs! I was wondering if I could come stay with you... just for a few weeks." He was happy to hear her voice, but that was not explaining what had just happened.
"What the hell just happened?"
There was a long pause after that, but Ziva finally answered. "Nothing that I couldn't handle, okay? Is that a yes or no?" He sighed, deciding it would be best that they talked in person, than over the phone where she could just hang up. "Sure, Zivers. My home is always open to you."
"Thanks Gibbs, I'll be arriving Tuesday or Wednesday. Or Soon as I can get there, thanks. Bye." She seemed to be in a hurry to say goodbye, so she wouldn't have to stop and explain herself.
He guessed that he would just have to wait.