A/N: I really have to thank Prettycrazy who has been AMAZING, generously giving me ideas and helping me immensely with this story. Thank you! And thanks to everyone leaving reviews – you all help more than you know.
***JIBBS***JIBBS***JIBBS***
"Agent DiNozzo to see you, ma'am."
"Send him in, Cynthia." Director Shepard laid down the file she was reading, removed her glasses and watched as he entered the room and closed the door behind him.
He stood in front of her desk, looking very serious. "Do you want me to turn in my resignation?"
Jenny sighed.
At the hospital, Gibbs sat forward on the chair and leaned his elbows on his knees. "First things first - any idea why someone wanted to kill you or your husband?"
"No," she said, barely above a whisper.
"See anything out of the ordinary?" he added.
"No," she repeated.
He could tell she was having trouble speaking. Watching her struggle was disturbing and upsetting. When he knew her, Vivienne had been a strong, fun loving woman. The person in front of him now was broken and frail. He didn't want to push her about the bombing, so he let those questions go… for now. Besides, he was more interested in getting answers to his personal questions.
At NCIS, Jenny looked at the Very Special Agent in front of her.
"Why would I want you to resign, Agent DiNozzo?"
"I've never seen Gibbs that angry. I don't know that he'll want to work with me anymore."
Jenny's face softened. She stood up, walked around her desk and sat next to Tony. She waited for him to look at her before she spoke. "You weren't trying to hurt him. Gibbs will realize that. Eventually."
"You aren't angry at me too?"
"Angry? No. I know you meant well. Do I think it was the best choice you could make?" she sighed. "Probably not, but I do understand it. And if I'm honest with myself and with you, I appreciate the choice you made." She saw the surprise on his face. "Those two weeks away together were such a gift. But for obvious reasons, I'm not ready to say that to my husband."
Tony managed a small smile, appreciating her candor.
Jenny touched his shoulder sympathetically. "I'm going to repeat to you what was said to me earlier. Be patient."
He looked at her, concerned. "You needed that said? Are you okay?"
Jenny scoffed. "I'm all right." She stood and walked behind her desk.
Tony got up and put his hands on the back of the chair. "He's an incredible kid - usually well mannered. Shocked the hell out of me when he kicked Gibbs. That wasn't the same Sam I spent the last two weeks with."
Jenny shook her head, almost amused. "What can I say? My husband sure knows how to bring out the best in people."
At the hospital, Vivienne was feeling a little bit stronger. "Sam?"
"He's fine. He's waiting to see you." Gibbs hesitated for a second before he continued. "I know he's my son."
She could hear the pain in his voice. "Helluva way to find out. Sorry," she managed. It didn't take long for Vivienne to realize that if he knew, then her lawyer must have said something and therefore Sam must be staying with him. "Do you mind taking care of him?"
"Mind?" he was incredulous. "What I mind is not having found out until now. Why Viv? Did I piss you off that much?"
"No," she said, sincerely. Talking was getting a little bit easier for her, so she continued. "You would have wanted to know?" She was truly surprised.
"Yes!" he insisted. "Damn it, I had a right to know!" He heard Jenny's voice in the back of his head telling him to be gentle, but he was too hurt.
"Thought I was doing you a favor."
"By cutting me out of my son's life? How's that a favor?"
Vivienne was a bit taken aback by the pain in his voice. She had no idea he would take it this way. "Gibbs, we were fun and casual. I heard from you what… twice a month, if that? You didn't strike me as the commitment type, and there's no greater commitment than having a child."
"That doesn't mean I wouldn't have been there for you and the baby given the chance!"
"I thought maybe if I heard from you again, I'd tell you. But I didn't. Besides, I was seeing Steve by that point. He was serious about me from the get-go. He wanted to be a father. It just seemed easier to let him."
"Easier for you, maybe." Her answers were making him even more angry. "You sure did assume a lot!" Gibbs could tell he was tiring her out, but he wasn't about to end their conversation. "How could you not at least tell me?"
She took a deep breath, still struggling with speaking but she realized this conversation had to happen while she was able. "You really would have wanted the baby? You were married to your job. Pardon me if I couldn't picture you with a child."
Gibbs realized there was something he needed to tell her. He scrubbed his hand down his face. "Long before I met you, before my ex-wives, I was married to an amazing woman. We had a daughter." His voice was thick with emotion. "When Kelly was 8, they were both murdered." He could tell she was shocked. He took a deep breath and looked her in the eye. "I would have wanted to know about Sam."
"I… I had no idea. Oh my God."
Gibbs saw tears beginning to fall from her eyes, and he felt badly about it. "I didn't mean to upset you."
She sighed. "If I had known that… It was never about me trying to cut you out – I honestly thought I was sparing you something you wouldn't want to deal with anyway. I'm so sorry, Gibbs."
His head was swirling again, but he knew she was fading and their son had to have some time with her. "Sam wants to see you. I haven't told him yet that I'm his father. I thought you'd want to be the one to tell him."
"Has it been rough with just the two of you?"
Gibbs shook his head. "Actually, it's a long story but tonight will be our first night together. And I probably need your help telling him he needs to stay with me."
"I can do that. Are you up to having him? He won't trip over bourbon bottles?"
Gibbs smiled. "A lot's changed, Viv. It won't be just the two of us. I'm married now, and we have a 4-month-old daughter."
"Wow. Sam has a sister," she marveled. "I'm really happy for you, Gibbs."
The emotion was evident in her voice. He could tell this was very hard for her, and he could see the fear in her eyes. It softened his anger. "Thanks. You want me to get him?"
"I'm scared for him to see me like this," she admitted, her voice trembling.
"Don't worry, Viv. I'm going to put a blindfold on him. I've told him why." He saw tears were falling from her eyes again. "It'll be okay."
"Yeah, sure," she said, unconvincingly. "Gibbs, take good care of him. He's everything to me."
He stiffened hearing her words – words that he completely understood and felt deeply. "I promise you, we'll take good care of him."
"Thank you," she said, obviously very emotional.
"I'll be right back," he said, as he headed out the door. Gibbs crooked his finger at Sam, who came running down the hall. "Where's the blindfold?" The boy handed it over and then turned around so Gibbs could put it on him.
"Hurry, I want to see Mommy."
"Hold on there, we're almost set. All right, let me guide you in. I'm going to pick you up and put you on my knee so your mom can see you."
Vivienne tried not to cry as she gazed at her son. "I love you, Sammy."
"Mommy," he cried. "I miss you. I try to be big boy brave but it's harg," he said, tears streaming down his face.
"I know, baby. I need you to listen to me, okay?"
He nodded, his lower lip quivering. "Okay."
"You've met my friend, Gibbs. There's something I need to tell you about him." She took a deep breath, a bit nervous. "You know Daddy loves you, right?"
"I love Gaddy too."
"I know you do. And he loves you so much. But honey, he didn't help me make you. Gibbs did that. He's what we call your biological daddy. Steve helped me raise you, but Gibbs is your dad."
Sam was very confused. "I have two gaddys?"
"You're a very lucky boy. Not everyone has two dads who love them as much as yours do. I'm going to need you to continue being a brave boy. I want you to live with Gibbs until I'm able to take care of you again, okay?"
Sam shook his head. "That's okay. I'm living with Tony. He's taking care of me."
Gibbs sighed. "Sam, I'm glad you had Tony while Jenny and I were away but we're back now, so you're going to come stay with us."
"But I gon't want to. Not unless Tony stays with us too."
Vivienne sighed. "I take it Tony was that complication you mentioned earlier?"
"Yeah," admitted Gibbs. "Sam, Tony has his apartment and we have our house."
"But he's all alone at his papartment. I take care of him, and he takes care of me," he cried.
Gibbs was frustrated and inwardly cursing his senior field agent. "You'll see him at work. I… I promise." He looked over at Vivienne and could tell she was barely able to keep her eyes open. "We should probably get going, Sam. I think your mom is really tired."
"I don't want to go! It's not fair. Mommy," he said, ripping off his blindfold.
Gibbs saw it happening and quickly reached his hand around to cover Sam's eyes.
"Let go of me," yelled Sam as he struggled to get free. "I want to see my mommy now!" he cried.
Gibbs held him tightly against him. "If I do, I need you to understand that your mommy won't look like she used to look. Can you handle that?"
"No, don't let him, Gibbs," Vivienne pleaded.
"Is Mommy still beautiful?" he asked, whimpering.
Gibbs and Vivienne locked eyes. "Yeah."
Sam pushed Gibbs' hand away from his eyes. He sucked in his breath as a few tears fell. "Mommy is still beautiful," he whispered.
It was a quiet ride back to NCIS. An emotional Sam fell asleep while McGee realized he was better off leaving his boss alone with his thoughts.
Once back, Gibbs lifted a sleeping Sam out of the car and carried him all the way up to Jenny's office. He laid him down on the couch and tucked him in. "If you could keep an eye on Sam, Mildred, I'd really appreciate it. When he wakes up, let Cynthia know and she'll find me." The older woman nodded. He gave Julia a quick kiss and headed into the outer office. "Where is she?"
"MTAC, but I think she wanted some time alone. There isn't an op scheduled."
He nodded. "Thanks. Call me on my cell when Sam wakes up." He headed off to MTAC. As soon as Jenny saw him, she stood up and asked the techs to clear the room for the second time that day. The two locked eyes as they waited to be alone. He was still on the ramp, leaning back against the wall – emotionally exhausted.
Jenny slowly approached him. She looked deeply into his eyes, and the pain she saw there made her heart hurt. She watched as he sank to the floor, looking defeated. She carefully straddled him, her knees on either side of him.
He wrapped his arms around her waist, hanging his head low. "It happened again," he whispered, sounding emotional.
She cocked her head to the side, threading her fingers through the hair near his temple. "What?"
He looked up at her, his chest feeling heavy as his emotions began to bubble to the surface. "She said if she had known about Shannon and Kelly, she would have told me about Sam. God, Jenny, how many more times am I going to be made to pay because I couldn't deal with their deaths?"
The overwhelming sadness in his eyes made it hard for her to breathe. She saw tears falling down his face so she immediately took him in her arms and held him against her chest. "I wish I knew. I'm so sorry, Jethro." She kissed the top of his head as he sobbed against her. "I love you. I love you so much," she repeated over and over again, wanting to ease his pain.