A/N: I could just write 'see last chapter for Author's note' 'cause I'm gonna write the same as every time anyways but here it is nonetheless: Thanks to all who took the time to leave a review, favorited or put this story on alert, especially to Iuzy who left a review every time.


Chapter four: Swimming relevations

January 2006

It had been almost three months since Susan and Thomas Carter had been killed and Hannah came into his life. At the beginning he'd spent every free minute he got at work looking into their deaths, trying to find justice for the two people who'd practically raised his daughter so far. After work Gibbs spent more time out of his basement than ever, instead of building his latest boat he used his time to get to know Hannah and Jenny to trust him.

So far he thought it'd worked. It was hard on him that whenever Jenny brought the little redhead with her to work, she would come by at least once and he couldn't shower her in affection like he wanted to cause officially her biological parents were still unknown. So naturally he'd been glad when one day Jenny had embraced him in a spur of the moment hug and ever since then Hannah had adopted that for her.

"Jethro? Are you daydreaming?" Gibbs looked up, right in the amused emerald-green eyes of one of his two favorit redheads who was standing in front of his desk.

He just gave her one of his crooked half smiles in response, picking Hannah up as she reached out with her arms for him. "Wouldn't dream of it." He said and was almost surprised to hear her laughing at such a corny line. The little girl obviously hadn't gotten the joke as she just looked around quite blankly but finally started to grin too, probably in amusement about the two adults' antics.

"Jethro? You wanna do me a favor?" She asked slyly, her voice slightly teasing.

He quirked an eyebrow at her, leaning down to Hannah as if to whisper something in her ear. "What do you think Hannah, has your mommy gone mad?" The little girl giggled at her mother's expression what in turn made Gibbs chuckle and his team look at them in surprise. They had become used to a more laid-back Gibbs whenever he was around the two redheads, but chuckling or a genuine laugh in front of them were still few and far between.

She looked at him, her small face serious as she watched him wide-eyed again, then she shook her head. Jethro shrugged good naturedly then he turned to Jenny again. "Well mylady, how can I be of use?"

If possible her eyebrow raised even higher as a grin appeared on her face. "So well then my knight in shining armour-" she stopped briefly at DiNozzo's snickering in the background to send a murderous glare his way, shutting him up effectively, "-I need a babysitter for Saturday morning. I have a meeting with SecNav and the directors of the FBI and the CIA in my office and I don't want to have to take her with me."

Gibbs nodded. "I'd like to. What do you think Hannah, we could make a trip? Maybe go swimming?" The little girl beaming at him was the only confirmation he needed. "You could catch up on us later when your meeting's finished?"

"It's a deal then." Jenny said playfully extending her hand for him to shake. He took her hand, holding it in his maybe a bit longer than strictly necessary.

"You fancy dinner tonight?" He asked suddenly.

"Dinner or take out, boat and basement?" She gave back.

"Got bourbon to offer too." Gibbs answered gruffly but smiling nonetheless.

"Then it's a deal."


It was quarter to midnight as they sat in his living room watching The Tonight Show With Jay Leno while Hannah was peacefully sleeping in the upstairs bedroom. The little girl had been out like a light just after dinner which had consisted of Chinese take out and bourbon for the adults and soda for her.

"Jethro?" She murmured quietly, her voice sounded slurred and laced with sleep so Gibbs wasn't really sure if she was asleep and dreaming or not.

"Jen?" He asked back just as quietly.

"I gotta get Hannah and go home. I have to be at the Navy Yard at around seven tomorrow morning." So she was awake then. But nevertheless talking nonsense.

He quirked an eyebrow and grinned down at her head. He felt her shifting so that she rested more comfortably against him. "Just sleep Jen. I'll wake you early enough in the morning, then you can even take a shower while I look after Hannah."

She mumbled something incoherent and his smile grew wider as he looked down at her and saw her eyes closed. He lay down on the couch and pulled her with him, letting her tuck herself into his side before he covered both of them with a blanket.

"Sleep tight Jen." He muttered, pressing a kiss to her temple.


The rest of the week was a blurr. In-between a cruel triple homicide and the teenage son of a Navy Captain being abducted Saturday came sooner than Gibbs had expected so that he hadn't really had the time to dwell on the night spent together on his living room couch at the beginning of the week.

He cast a glance at his watch; it was nearly nine o'clock so he still had about half an hour before he had to be at Jenny's to pick up Hannah. Like he'd initially planed, he would take her swimming, something Kelly had always rather enjoyed.

He had a small smile on his face at the thought of his late daughter. Nowadays the memories weren't as bitter anymore, and he had quit fighting them down, instead he held them dear, enjoying them while they lasted. He had told neither Jenny nor Hannah about his family, but he'd shown the girl a few of the cards Kelly had sent him for father's day when he was away fighting for their country and they'd listened together to his oldest daughter playing the piano on tape.

It had felt right doing this for Hannah, like introducing her to Kelly in some weird way. He just wished Jenny would finally open up to him about her paternity so he could really be her dad, and not just some friend of her mother's which she -admittedly- liked a lot.

Gibbs opened his wardrobe, looking for his hardly used bathing trunks. The last time he'd actually gone swimming had to be years away, probably back in the day when he and Jenny were over in Europe. They'd spent their first two days in Positano, Italy, at the beach - the third he'd caught a round to the thigh and hence spent the rest in their apartment.

He grabbed the trunks and tossed them at his bag, then added a towel, a bottle of water and some food and zipped it shut.

About fifteen minutes later he was at Jenny's, ready to spent the day with his daughter.


It didn't really hit him that he was responsible for her and everything she would do before he was actually crouched down in front of her, thoroughly going through the bag Jenny had packed for her and he couldn't find any floaties. He eyed the little redhead up and down, trying to decide if Jenny had just forgotten them and he'd have to buy a pair for her or if she really was that advanced of a swimmer that she could do without them.

Finding no way out of his dilemma Gibbs decided to just ask.

"When did you learn how to swim?"

Hannah looked at him, then at her hands, counting her fingers as she tried to decide how old she had been. "Two years ago?" She asked back sceptically, staring at him as though she was expecting him to tell her whether she was right or not.

Jethro stared back and shrugged. "Can you swim one lap in the big pool?"

She gave him a cold glare, eyebrow quirked, hands on her hips, and he had to bit back a smirk because her looks at that moment were so alike Jenny's when she was outraged that he wondered how he had been able to not realize she was her daughter the moment he saw her.

Gibbs nodded, looking her straight in the eye. "Stupid question. Of course you can."

She raised her other eyebrow too, again looking like Jenny's mini-me as if to say obviously before she took his hand and dragged him towards the big pool.

They swam back and forth about two or three times, he couldn't tell anymore later on as he had been too focused on detecting any possible threats to his girl, before Hannah decided it would be more fun if she was sitting on his back while he swam and acted like a horse.

He was sure he'd never gotten so much curious stares, but couldn't find it in him to care. If it made the little redhead currently sitting on his back happy, then so be it. He felt her grip on his hair slackening after a few laps so he swam to the edge of the pool and climbed out of the water. As soon as they arrived at their cots Hannah wrapped herself up in her towel and lay down, her head resting on his chest.

He smiled down at her as her eyes closed, kissing the crown of her head as he began to comb his hand through her hair in a soothing motion, soon falling asleep himself.


Jenny sighed, brushing a tired hand down her face, then a few strands of curly red hair out of her face. She turned her head a bit, away from the papers spread out on her conference table in front of her towards her desk, or rather the white linen duffel bag on it containing her bikini along other stuff she would need as soon as she was out of her office.

She grabbed the next paper, skimming it quickly before she put it back nodding to the three men around her.

"I think this will work." She confirmed their suggestion. "You said Interpol has already agreed to this?"

The director of the CIA inclined his head, tapping one of the papers in front of her with the tip of his pointer finger. "Yes they have. But we still need Mossad in on this."

She raised an eyebrow, giving all of them a hard stare. "I don't want NCIS' role in all this to be confined to get Mossad to agree to this. All of you-" she paused briefly "-have to get used to the fact that NCIS doesn't take a back seat anymore."

SecNav nodded contently, looking a bit like a proud father seeing his daughter graduating, while the directors of the FBI and CIA had a sour look on their face.

"I'm not some eye candy for you to look at when I'm wearing a skirt. I'm as much an agency head as you are, and if I have it my way, NCIS won't be at the bottom of the federal food chain very long anymore." Jenny added fiercely.

The three men nodded, but still looked a bit sceptically. "So if you don't mind I'd like to end this meeting now seeing as I have better things to do on a Saturday afternoon as do you I'm sure." She said getting up.

SecNav and the director of the CIA shook her hand and got out while the director of the FBI remained standing in front of her desk.

"John, I meant what I said. Concerning NCIS' role in this as well as me having something better to do. So if you want to ask me out for dinner again I'll have to decline again." Jenny uttered not even turning around as she picked up her duffel bag.

He shook his head, but eyed her up and down nevertheless. "Look Jennifer; Jenny, after NCIS was through with the car of this accident, you know the couple around our age, he was a Staff Sergeant, Marine, good man- anyways, his name was Thomas Carter and-" her head shot up and she looked at him startled.

"What have Thomas and Susan to do with this? Does this concern Hannah?" She asked, looking at him intensely.

"Er, you knew them?" He asked surprised. She just nodded, not caring to elaborate further. "Anyways, after NCIS was through with their car it came to us cause there were a few similar accidents and we wanted to be able to role out a connotation. Turned out we found a finger print. I just thought you wanted to know since it was your case first."

Jenny smiled tensely at him while her head was spinning. "Thank you John. I appreciate it. Did you get a match?"

He shook his head, looking at her apologetically. "I'm sorry Jenny."

She nodded as she grabbed her stuff, giving him a last smile before she went to the elevator.


Her mind was still reeling as she arrived at the pools, looking for Jethro and her daughter. She saw them standing in front of their cots, obviously about to go swimming again. Smiling to herself she made her way over to them, trying not be seen to surprise them.

She put her duffel bag down next to their stuff, out of the corner of her eye seeing them jump into the water, hosing an elderly lady in the process. Jenny held her breath for a moments, waiting for the scolding she was sure would come but instead saw the woman smiling at them. She laughed a bit as she saw Gibbs picking Hannah up and placing her on his shoulders while he was still talking to their 'victim'.

She creeped up on them, congratulating herself for not having lost her skills, and stopped right behind them, about to hose them too when -

"Your daughter looks a lot like you, you know? Just like my Katie tended to look just like her father. He was literally the light of her life. It's always so nice for me to see a father loving his daughter just like my husband loved mine." She smiled at them, scrutinizing them intensely. "Those eyes, and the form of your faces, I think that is what gives you away." Suddenly she saw Jenny standing behind them, the redhead paling a little at the lady's obvious observations. "And that's the proud mother I suppose? I must admit your daughter is a perfect mix of you both."

Gibbs stared at her intensely, trying to figure out what she would say, willing her to admit the truth.

Jenny gulped. "I'm sorry she isn't-" She broke off. She couldn't say Hannah wasn't her daughter, because the girl herself was present and Hannah knew better, but she didn't know if Gibbs had already figured out the degree of their relationship. "She isn't his daughter." She finished lamely, but couldn't forbear wishing she'd just told them the truth. The lady was right, a child needed her father. Her own had been so important for her.

The elderly woman smiled apologetically. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know."

Jenny tried to smile too, to brush it off. "How could you. You don't know us."

"Ah, yes. I gotta go anyways." She said, still embarrased.

After the woman'd swum off, Gibbs turned to Jenny, for the first time taking in her appearance. "Quite the bikini you're sporting Jen." He teased gently, deciding to ignore the proverbial elefant in the room for the time being as he eyed the two red pieces appreciately.

She grinned back at him, although still slightly nervously he could tell. "Ahh, and I bet you haven't worn those trunks since Positano."

"Yeah well your bikinis used to be more revealing -maybe- too?" Jenny raised the typical eyebrow at that, reminding him of Hannah just a few short hours ago.

"Well I've given birth to child since then, my figure isn't how it used to be either." She didn't realize her slip up till she became aware of him staring at her intensely.

"Jen-" He said, softly patting Hannah's leg that dangled down his front.

She shook her head, rather vehemently, her eyes locking with his. "Later." She uttered lowly as she turned to her daughter.

"How was your day sweetie?" Jenny asked gently, taking the girl into her arms, letting her tell her all about her day with Gibbs. She felt his gaze on the two of them the whole time, sure that he knew Hannah was her daugher, and sure that he was determined to find out who her father was. And that, at the very least, he had already assumptions concerning the latter.

"Jenny." He said firmly, putting a hand on her shoulder, but she just shook her head again. She took his hand in her free one, squeezing it lightly.

"Later Jethro. I promise."


So this is it for now. I hope you'll enjoy reading this and that the characters aren't to OOC.

Please leave a review and tell me what you think, they are greatly appreciated.