Self Assurance
Tony greeted them with happy excitement, and they discovered Jack in conversation with a couple about Jethro's age.
The agent recognized two of his high school classmates who had married soon after they all graduated.
They exchanged pleasant greetings and Jack relayed that they had invited Tony home with them to spend an afternoon with their son, Cyrus, who was six, as well. He and Tony had forged a bond on the playground and now seemed inseparable.
Tony hurriedly assured his father that not only would he would conduct himself with wonderful manners, but he would obey Cyrus's mama and daddy, also.
Gibbs marveled at Tony's well thought argument and quickly gave permission. He watched as Tony raced off without telling him good bye, and instantly felt a sharp pang of emotion.
Glancing down at his daughter he sighed loudly. Her tight grip cancelled out Tony's impatient nonchalance.
Abby's mood and demeanor did not improve with lunch, and she insisted that her daddy had to stay within her sights at all times. Otherwise she dissolved into whining and dramatic tears. Exasperated, Jethro put her down for a nap over her protests an hour later, then joined his father at the kitchen table.
"She's wearing you out today, Son." Jack adjusted his glasses while he smiled compassionately at his son.
"Dad, I know. I just do not understand her behavior the past couple of days. Abby usually is pretty independent, and is as much a little daredevil as her brother. I simply can not understand this sudden onslaught of clinginess and this reverting to toddler behavior."
"She will snap out of it," Jackson promised. "Children often need the reassurance that a parent will stay with them, and will not leave them. Who knows what triggered this insecurity for her? It does not really matter, though. Our Abigail will stop acting this way when she feels secure."
However, her conduct continued down the same path for the rest of the afternoon and evening. She whined and claimed to need her father to eat, to bathe, to play, and to watch television.
Even Tony, having enjoyed a wonderful afternoon himself, tried to coax her into better conduct but she resisted, and instead, subjected the family to a couple of meltdowns. Finally at his wit's end, Jethro put her to bed a half hour earlier than her normal bedtime just to find some peace.
Breathing a sigh of relief, he joined his father and Tony, engrossed in an episode of Magnum, P.I. on Jack's battered television set. Tony sat snuggled in Jack's lap and Gibbs could not resist smiling at the two. They had the same intense expression on their faces while they watched the protagonist speed through Hawaiian roadways in his sports car.
The next morning Jethro and Jack sat sipping coffee and reading the paper's headlines when Abby descended the stairs looking like a little pixie in her long nightgown. Gripping her baby doll in one hand, she descended slowly, rubbing her eyes and yawning as she made her way to the kitchen table.
When he spotted her, Jethro jumped up and kissed her good morning, then swung her up to put her in her booster seat opposite Tony's.
"Stop, Daddy," she commanded irritably, "I can put my own self in my seat. I'm not a baby!"
Jethro exchanged a surprised glance with his father.
Jack shook his head and advised softly, "Go with it, son, and be thankful that the other phase has passed."
Jethro did as he was told.
His reprieve and relaxation lasted just a couple of days after they returned to D.C., however.
Feeling the sheets underneath him begin to slide on the bed later that week, Gibbs woke after midnight to find Tony climbing up the box springs and mattress. First his son's little head, then his Superman pajama-clothed body appeared. He shifted to give the child some room, then pulled him by the seat of his pants the rest of the way.
"Hey, why have you come to Daddy's bed? Did you have a bad dream? Are you sick?" Gibbs spoke softly and kissed his little boy's forehead.
Tony nodded no, then scooted until he had his body wedged partially under his dad's side.
"Tell me, Tony," Gibbs instructed, brushing back the little boy's bangs.
Tony flashed a gapped grin. "I just missed you, Daddy."
Jethro kissed the top of the little boy's head and Tony burrowed as close to his father as he could get.
That scene set off several more in the next two days, with Tony refusing to leave his father's side. He followed Jethro so closely, in fact, that his daddy physically tripped over the child three times.
Thursday evening Tony staged a massive meltdown when told that his father had received a summons to return to NCIS and a sitter would arrive to take care of the twins. Jethro had to pry Tony's fingers off of his leg to get out of the house and consequently spent the next couple of hours at NCIS reliving his child's tears and pleas for him to stay.
Emotionally, he felt he had no reserves left.
Saturday Gibbs took the kids to the local park, where he hoped to entice Tony to stray from his side. The second that they spread a blanket on the ground for their lunchtime picnic Abby raced off to play with a group of girls congregated at the merry go round.
"Why don't you join your sister?" Gibbs asked with an encouraging smile.
"No, I will stay here with you," Tony quickly replied, then settled himself so that his leg touched his father's. He then used a hand to clutch the hem of his dad's shirt, ensuring the maximum amount of physical contact.
Gibbs pinched the bridge of his nose. He really had no idea how to proceed, having spent the week at Tony's beck and call to re-establish to the little boy that his security was not jeopardized. He had already tried every ploy he could conceive, and yet Tony's sudden spell of clinging had even outlasted Abby's.
Frustrated, Gibbs picked up the basketball he had brought with them. "Why don't you go out to the court and play ball? I see some boys already over there."
Tony did not answer.
Jethro regarded his set face and suddenly jumped to his feet and started walking purposefully.
His little boy scrambled to follow, and he hurried after Jethro, little legs pumping with the exertion.
"Where are you taking my basketball, Daddy?"
Gibbs did not turn. "I am going to give it to that group of boys over there on the court so that they can play."
Tony protested at once, "No, Daddy, that is my ball!"
He jogged closer to his father and grabbed Jethro's arm.
"It was your ball, Son. Since you refuse to play with it, however, I think it will be nice to give it to some boys who would like it."
Tony's shocked objections continued until they actually reached the boundary of the basketball court and Gibbs stopped abruptly, balancing the ball on his hip.
He studied his son for a couple of seconds, then spoke. "If you want this ball you will have to play with this ball. I mean you need to play with this ball and these kids today- right now."
"Ok, ok," Tony agreed hurriedly, reaching out to grab his possession.
"No, not so fast," his father chided, moving the ball to his other hip and further from Tony's reach. "I have no intention of staying right here while you play, either. Instead, I will sit over on our blanket across the playground and watch as you have a good time playing with those other kids."
Tony's lip puffed into a pout.
Jethro held up a finger. "Make a decision. Either you will stay with Daddy on the blanket and watch everyone else play with what once were your toys, or you will share your toys and play with them. Which do you want?"
Jethro raised his eyebrows and waited patiently.
Tony kicked at the dirt and intensified his pout as he weighed the options. Finally he looked up and met his father's gaze. "Let me play with the other boys."
"Fine," Jethro agreed, immediately handing the ball to him, "I think you made the right choice."
Tony grabbed the ball and hurried off, but not before muttering, "The ball was mine anyway!"
His dad could not hide a smirk as he leisurely returned to the blanket.
His strategy had worked, and Gibbs spent the next two hours sitting alone and waving at his children from time to time.
Packing up to leave mid afternoon, his ears were assailed with Tony's protests of "Daddy, do not help me," and "I can do this myself."
It finally appeared that Tony and Abby understood that Gibbs belonged to them, and that he would not leave them.
Waking up slowly, Agent Jethro Gibbs determined he had company in the hospital room with him. He kept his eyes closed a couple of seconds and listened to the whispered voices, but eventually pulled himself up to a sitting position.
He regarded Tony and Abby with a slight grin.
Smiling in return, they hurriedly moved closer to the bed when they realized he no longer napped.
"Hey there, you two, what did I interrupt?" He looked at both expectantly, clearly not interested in having to wait for his answer.
"Well," Tony answered, "since you have improved so much now, Baby Girl and I have just been talking and have decided we need to spend more time at NCIS and less time here at Bethesda."
Abby nodded happily, "Right, 'cause we can call you to check on you, and Ducky says that you are out of the woods now and don't need us hovering over you any more."
"We certainly can function at home and at work without having to have you beside us every single second." Tony looked hopefully at the older man. "How does that sound, Boss? What are your thoughts?"
Abby quickly added, "Can you do without us here as much?"
Gibbs motioned both to come closer.
He kissed the top of Tony's head, then tousled his hair before kissing Abby on the cheek and whispering, "I think it sounds wonderful."