A/N Okay so I am back again. I've been caught up in work pretty much to the exclusion of all else. Even missed my nephew's birthday would you believe? So I'm trying to get back into my stories and finish them up. So in the spirit of attempting to clear the decks I'm going to post the rest of the story even though it's only partially beta'ed. Thanks go to Arress for that BTW :D If anyone discovers any howlers I'd appreciate a heads up so I can rectify it asap. There is a shorter epilogue that I will post soon. Thanks to the readers who take the time to review, you are my heroes :) and appreciation to people who fav and follow too.

And finally an FYI for anyone who is interested. My characterization of Sister Rosito is actually based loosely on an amalgam of three nuns of my acquaintance hailing a rather liberal order. Frankly they were rather more open minded that many people half their age.

Who's Been Cooking in my Kitchen?

Part Four

Ducky noticed that Gibbs was far from happy to find them all in his home and he wondered how he and Carla had managed to get their wires crossed so badly. Possibly because Gibbs was uber focused upon that poor little mite and bringing her home to her parents. Sometimes when they worked a case that involved children there was something so fierce, so primal about Jethro's rage he wondered what secrets he was hiding, because hiding he most certainly was.

They all hated cases that involved children, but Gibbs seemed to take it as a personal affront, and Ducky could only speculate about the cause. Perhaps a former girlfriend or an ex- wife who may have unilaterally decided to terminate a pregnancy? Would it explain the raw ferocity that he was unable to mask on these occasions…possibly?

When Jethro headed off towards the basement, Ducky sighed sadly. Wondering if he should go down and poke the bear to see if said Ursidae Carnivora was alright or he should leave him alone to lick its wounds in private. Then he noticed Ernest watching Jethro shuffle off towards the basement and following after him. Deciding to let the veteran Marine deal with Gibbs, he settled back focusing on what was going on around him

It seemed that young Caitlyn was giving Abigail and McGee a blow by blow description of the life-threatening injury to a blow up children's character, although the NY Mayor had tried very hard to explain away the injury as an accident, not wanting to alarm all the tourists. Of course in this day and age of digital cameras that was a difficult tale to sell to the general public. Then McGee was sharing some prank that he and his fellow computer alumni had perpetrated on their fellow classmates when he attended MIT to get his Masters in Computer Forensics that had to do with the Purple dinosaur Barney and a computer virus. Frankly, he wasn't too sure what one had to do with another, but he was afraid to ask. Not that he was afraid of looking like an old fuddy-duddy, but the lad did have a tendency to rave on for hours when he climbed on board his favourite hobby-horse of computers.

He frowned as he saw Abigail scowl. Unlike a typical Goth, their scientist was a sunshiny lassie, but she also had a hidden vein of steel hidden just below the surface. Although, even knowing that, he was quite shocked at what happened next.

Punching young Timothy on the bicep she growled at him, "Why do you always gotta do that, Timmy?"

Rubbing his arm sulkily he glared at her. "Do what, Abs?"

"Always have to tell everyone you went to MIT and Johns Hopkins, McGee. It's getting old real fast." She whined, grumpily.

"Do not"

"Do, too."

"No. I. Don't. Abby."

"Cate, help me out here," She appealed to Caitlyn. Abigail and Timothy both turn to the team profiler to adjudicate the argument.

Sighing deeply she flashed an apologetic look at McGee. "Sorry, Tim, but yeah ya kinda do. You already mentioned in once in the car on the way over."

"So, I'm proud of my degrees. I worked hard to get them and to get into Johns Hopkins and MIT. So shoot me!"

Abby scowled. "See, you did it again."

"So what… everyone else can talk about college, but not me? How is that fair? Tony is always going on about his frat brothers." Timothy complained sullenly.

Ducky entered the debate. "No one's saying that you can't talk about your college degrees and experience, just that it is rather," He searched in vain for the right word.

"I believe is the word that you were looking for is gauche, Donald," Victoria Mallard supplied helpfully . "In nice circles, it's considered to be skiting, Julian.

"Um, ah, it's Tim, Mrs. Mallard, and what has a kite got to do with anything?" McGee asked feeling confused and angry. Everyone was ganging up on him.

Ducky sighed. "Skite not kite, Timothy, and means to boast, big-note or brag. To my mother's generation, big-noting is considered to be in bad taste, a sign of ill breeding if you like. And the word skite is more commonly used in Scotland and Northern England, although I have it on good authority that is also used by residents of the Antipodes, too."

"Well, I worked my butt off to get my degrees from two prestigious institutions and I don't see anything wrong in being proud of my achievements or my high intelligence quotient. No one handed me my education on a silver platter or greased a few palms for me to get admitted to college. People are just jealous because I attended colleges that they never could," He argued.

Sister Rosito snorted inelegantly. "Hasn't anyone ever taught you that pride goeth before a fall, young man?"

Raelene entered the fray, too. "There's not that much to be prideful about, just because you happen to have a high IQ, Tim, that's a gift from God. In fact, a little humility and gratefulness wouldn't go astray. Plenty of people are smart enough to go to John's Hopkins, MIT or Harvard, but can't; my son for example. Wanted to find a cure for cancer after he watch his little sister die of leukaemia. Brilliant boy, a score of colleges offered him a place, but I couldn't afford to send him. He ended up working on a construction crew until he was killed in a building site collapse when he was 29."

McGee looked unconvinced. "If he was really as smart as you say, he would have got a scholarship that would have paid his tuition." He argued, mulishly.

Sister Rosito shot him a glare. "He did win a scholarship, several actually. His mama had eight children to clothe and feed and no husband. Needed Zeke's help as the eldest to feed the family and she couldn't afford for him to not to be bringing in a wage for four years or more before he could contribute to the family finances."

Rae crossed herself and wiped her eyes, "Not the only ones in that situation I'm afraid. The real poor can't go to those fancy colleges no matter how smart they are."

"Still, I had to work my butt off while I was there and I don't see why I can't be proud that I graduated. Still think that it's jealousy." McGee insisted, still not getting why he shouldn't constantly name drop about where he got his degrees. After all, they were prestigious colleges and his mom and Penny had always been darned proud of him, too."

Sister Rosito sighed. "Because, boy, you are making yourself look like a braggart. Abby doesn't go around sprouting off about where she obtained her PhD or even insisting upon being addresses as Dr. Scuito, which she is more than entitled to do. And she graduated from Marshall University, the best forensics college in the country."

"And my Donald has a degree from Oxford," Victoria stated as Ducky scowled at her.

Cate looked surprised. "But you told Ari you graduated from Edinburgh Medical College?"

"And so I did, Caitlyn, but before I decided to become a doctor I won a scholarship to Oxford and graduated with a bachelors degree in archaeology and anthropology, my dear."

"Wow, Ducky, that's just totally cool." Abby enthused.

"But, Ducky," McGee persisted, unwilling to concede the point, "You always tell people that you went to Edinburgh University and even Tony mentions that he went to OSU. Why's it wrong for me to do the same?"

He looked truculent and Ducky shook his head, knowing that McGee couldn't understand that it was all about intention, He didn't mention Edinburgh University to name drop, he was a raconteur. He was willing to admit that some might find him an annoyance but he wasn't trying to impress people nonetheless. He preferred for his forensic abilities to rest on their laurels and his medical alma mater wasn't that prestigous.

"Timmy, "Abby responded testily, "Tony is usually talking about his frat brothers or his beloved Buckeyes when he talks about college. But he doesn't go around rubbing in everybody's faces' that he played in two different varsity OSU teams."

"Yes, he does, Abby, he talks about playing football and basketball, I've heard him," Tim objected heatedly at the same time as Ernie exclaimed. "Tony played Varsity football AND basketball? Wow, he never mentioned it was Varsity! I thought it was social teams. Why didn't he turn pro?"

"Broken leg," Abby supplied responding to Ernest.

"Nor does he doesn't go around flouting his Masters degree either," Carla stated.

Cate shook her head. "DiNozzo doesn't have a Masters, they don't award them for Phys. Ed," she stated derisively.

"Actually they do, Cate, but his degree is in something else," Abigail objected.

"If Tony got a Masters it must be in some soft subject like films studies," McGee stated smugly to Cate who nodded seriously.

Lillian came in from Gibbs' kitchen and heard the junior agents making derogatory comments about her surrogate grandson and sprang to his defence. "Oh, for Pete's sake, since he never told you about it I'm not going to either, but it is certainly not a fine arts degree or something frivolous. Mind, you do realise that some of the course work for a Phys. Ed. degree is similar to a medical or nursing course with subjects like anatomy and physiology? He finished the Masters not long after he came to DC when Gibbs hired him as Senior Field Agent to replace his previous agent who transferred." She made air quotes as she stressed the word transferred.

Ducky smirked at the shocked expressed on Caitlyn and Timothy's faces.

"No, that's wrong… um, er, Lillian?" McGee said, unsure if he got her name correct until she nodded. "Gibbs only appointed him as the team SFA after he and Cate came back from Paraguay." He looked across at the junior agent for confirmation as she nodded emphatically

Abby snorted. "Where did you get a hinky idea like that, guys? Tony's been SFA since the Bossman dragged him back from Baltimore. Well, almost. He had to go to FLETC, oh, and serve a probationary period, but Gibbs got it cut in half down to six months and part of that included his stint at FLETC. But it was just a formality."

Cate was shaking her head in disbelief and Ducky decided that since the topic was on the table, he'd comment too. "Come now, Caitlyn, Gibbs lost his SFA Stan Burley who he depended upon to watch his six. Do you really think when he had to rebuild his team again that he'd pick a probie or a junior agent BEFORE he replaced his 2IC? Surely you didn't think that you would be allowed to travel overseas on an investigation with another junior agent of equal rank to watch your six. Really, you've been a federal agent for some time now and know that the Secret Service would never do that. Why would you think that NCIS would be any different? Director Morrow would never allow such a situation to occur because there always needs to be a clear chain of command when you are in the field."

Abby tagged-teamed Ducky. "And despite Tony telling you he got the job because he smiled, he was being modest. He was one of the youngest detectives ever and had an impressive closure rate that rivaled my silver fox's. He aced his detectives exam just like he did with his Police Academy training and FLETC. But apart from his undercover work, one reason he was awarded a gold shield so soon after joining the force was because he was enrolled in a Masters course. Police departments are rejecting the old fashioned type of cops with minimum educational levels. Now the more educational qualifications recruits have the better and the quicker you progress up the ladder, although Tony said he really started studying again because he was bored on a long undercover op."

She glared at her friends, "And before you ask, I know all this because Gibbs asked Chris to check Tony out and Chris asked me to do the digging for him. Let's just say that Tony's way more than just a pretty face."

"But Gibbs announced his promotion after we came home, Ducky," Cate objected looking very uncomfortable while McGee nodded vigorously.

"Did he my dear, or did he simply introduce him to a LEO in your presence as his senior field agent for the first time since you joined the team and Tony was excited at being recognised for his proper rank for a change?" He asked, already knowing what had happened since Anthony had so thrilled by the rare acknowledgement of his rank since the new members of the team had joined them that he'd rushed down to Autopsy to share the good news.

"But, Abby, Gibbs told me on my second case after Tony gave me directions in the field that he was the only one that could give me orders. Why would he do that if DiNozzo was SFA?"

Shaking his head Ducky replied diplomatically. "I believe that is a question that you would be best to direct to the man himself, dear Caitlyn, but I will say this. Jethro is something of a micro manager and in the recent times trying times... well, he's been somewhat reluctant to delegate…"

"What he's trying not to say is that the second B in Gibbs is for bastard and your boss has his head up his ass. It's one reason why he can't keep agents. They'll even volunteer to be agents afloat to get away from him and he's going try to do better by his SFA. That right, Duck?" Gibbs deadpanned looking at Ducky enigmatically, making everyone in the room jump except for the ME who had notice his friend slink into the room unnoticed some time ago.

Ducky held his gaze and replied earnestly, "From your lips to God's ears, my friend."

Changing the subject Gibbs barked, back to his usual bastard mode, "Where's DiNozzo? Has anyone called him?"

"I did, Bossman, but it went to voicemail," Abby said as she rushed across the room to hug him." As she clasped him she whispered in his ear, "Glad you shot that hinky purple dinosaur, I never liked him."

"Probably hooked up with his latest skanky girlfriend," McGee offered helpfully.

While Gibbs privately agreed with that assessment, he didn't have a chance to verbalise it before Ernie, seeing the look of outrage on the LOLs faces mixed with worry, interrupted. Patting Lillian on the shoulder he soothed them. "Now, don't go borrowing trouble, ladies, he's probably just fallen asleep. I'm sure he'll be here soon. He looked exhausted when I last saw him."

Cate snorted. "If he actually went home when he was supposed to instead of cavorting around with a new girlfriend every night…" She trailed off realising his surrogate grannies were all glaring daggers at her and they were all really, really mean, angry grannies. "Well, he does. He spent most of Thanksgiving eve harassing his latest bimbo, ringing her constantly, instead of working like the rest of us," she tried to justify herself, but just ended up digging herself an even deeper hole with the LOLs.

Ernie started laughing uproariously. "Oh, dear girl, might it be that you're a tad jealous he's never asked you out, and by the way he wasn't on the phone to his girlfriend."

Cate looked affronted. "What is this, the DiNozzo Appreciation Society? Well, let me tell you that your paragon of virtue isn't as perfect as you like to think, When Gibbs sent us home to get some sleep he was actually out… I believe you say sowing his wild oats. He came into work the next day looking like something the cat dragged in." She looked at Gibbs for confirmation and he nodded affirming her statement.

Rae who was sitting beside Cate on the couch reacted elbowing her sharply in the gut and the profiler let out a sharp cry of pain while Lillian seemed to be looking around for something specific (her handbag) and Carla shot a feral glance at the team before directing her piercing glare towards Ernest. "Do you want to set them straight or shall I?" She asked the decorated war hero, who was looking upset.

"Oh, for the love of Mike," He huffed irritably. "Call yourselves investigators, dont'cha?"

And Lillian piped up, directing her ire unsurprisingly at Caitlyn. "And you, Missy, are supposed to be a profiler and a Christian. How come you let hardened terrorists, rapists and killers convince you that they're misunderstood or victims and the man that would take a bullet for anyone of your team, you view as a piece of garbage?"

Just then Anthony came rushing through Gibbs' unlocked front door, stressed and apologetic.

"Hey there, lovely Ladies, my apologies for being late, but I stopped to have forty winks and I ended up have one hundred and forty," He said contritely, doing the rounds and kissing each of his so-called grannies and hugging Ernest gently before seeing Ducky's mother. Grinning despite the fact that he'd picked up on the tense atmosphere, he crossed to Victoria and bowed low before kissing her hand.

Ducky's mother simpered like a school girl. "It's my Italian Gigolo furniture-mover, Antonio. You must sit beside me for dinner, but no hanky-panky at the table, young man, and you mustn't be jealous of Matthew," She shot a glance at Gibbs. "He means nothing to me," She assured the gathering.

Ducky noted that Gibbs looked embarrassed and shot him a sympathetic glance. For some reason Victoria was convinced he was actually a former paramour and Ducky really didn't want to know the details of that affair. While he might be a mature and worldly adult who by dint of his vocation where he saw depravity daily and his lifelong travels to every corner of the globe, understood the ways of the world. But… the idea of his mother engaging in sexual activities, even with his father, was enough to turn him into an embarrassed adolescent again.

McGee now seemed relieved that his mother hadn't taken to him, while the others seemed mostly amused. Anthony was unfazed, effortlessly slipping into the role of jealous suitor that Victoria had cast him into. In fact, he looked like he was relishing it, no doubt in part due to his undercover skills, but also thanks to his love of classic black and white films from the Golden Years of Hollywood.

"My Love," He began in a suitably melodramatic tone, "He'd better not try to steal your affections or I will have to challenge him to a duel." He warned the elderly woman sternly, " Remember I will not share you, Victoria."

Ducky chuckled at his mother's coy delight and he decided to thank Anthony later for entering into her fantasy. It was heart-warming to see how his mother responded to his charm and manners and looked so happy.

Looking at the LOLs and the team, Tony shot Ernie an inquiring look. "Is everything alright, guys?" Spying Cate rubbing her abdomen, he frowned. "You okay, Cate?"

She shot him a look that could strip paint and he sighed. "Okay, what have I done now, apart from being late and breaking Rule 6?" He inquired tiredly.

Ernie patted him on the shoulder. "You haven't done anything wrong, Son, I was just about to disabuse your team mates of some cockamamie notions they've got in their darn fool heads, pardon my French, dear ladies."

Ducky knew that Anthony tried to deflect bitter conflict, making a habit of diffusing confrontations in the bullpen and watched him perform a well-worn dance.

"Ernie, you should just let it go, it's not worth getting upset over. Let's just eat."

The ME shuddered to think about what had gone on behind closed doors when Anthony was growing up. It was a sad fact that drunks could be particularly vicious, even verbally, and Ducky didn't ascribe to the maxim that sticks and stone may break your bones but words will never hurt you. Words did enormous damage, especially to an impressionable and vulnerable child, which is why he tried to educate the team about automatic thoughts. He had also hoped that Jethro might curb his vitriol because even though the lad laughed them off seemingly, Ducky knew that he was still processing and internalising the insults.

He looked over at the LOLs who were all visibly upset, but what Anthony couldn't know was that they were angry with Anthony's team, and more than happy to have Ernest say whatever it was he'd planned. Actually, Ducky as an incurably inquisitive individual was itching to find out too what Anthony had interrupted.

"The reason your team mate was on the phone so much was because I didn't pick up the phone when he called when he promised. I got an infection, became really dizzy and couldn't tell up from down then I fell, breaking my arm and passing out cold on the ground. When I came around, I was too muddled and dizzy to get myself up off the floor and call for help. So when I didn't answer his calls he organised one of his cop buddies to come and check on me because he couldn't. And the reason he came in looking like the wreck of the Hesperus is because…"

"Ernie, please leave it alone. It doesn't matter," Tony pleaded with the elderly man, desperate to forestall him.

Ducky like the others were curious and wondering what could be so bad that Tony didn't want to reveal it to the team.

"No, Tony, they should know that you spent the night staying beside my bedside at the hospital 'cause I was delirious and kept calling for Dorothy and getting upset when she didn't come. I'm not gonna sit here and let them say you didn't do your job properly because you were looking after my six, Son." He said, gently suddenly became aware of just how upset Tony was that the team knew what he had done, even if he didn't understand why he was distraught.

Carla, clearly concerned about Tony state of mind deflected attention away from him. "Come on. Let's everyone sit down and eat dinner."

Ernie, desperate to diffuse the tension, too, asked Tony, "Any chance that that pretty little officer might go out to dinner with me, Tony?"

Tony chuckled, "Sure, Ernie, long as you don't mind her husband tagging along, too. He's a jealous bastard."

As they were making their way to Gibbs' improvised extended dining table the NCIS team leader, who had exceptional hearing even if his up close eyesight was crap, overheard Ernie apologising to DiNozzo for upsetting him. Tony smiled and said not to worry about it but it was a patently fake grin, typical of his habit of downplaying his pain. Then Ernie asked him what the big secret was and DiNozzo had sighed.

"I broke the rules, Ernie." He said softly leaving the old man looking confused.

What rules would they be, Tony? Seems to me you done good, kid."

Exhaling the young agent counted off the transgressions on his fingers. "Rule 10 and 11 Ernie, don't get emotionally involved and when the job's done -walk away. Then just now when I came in and apologised for being late I broke rule 6. And… I also broke the unspoken rule about making personal calls during work hours."

Looking at the exhausted agent that had wormed his way into Ernie's heart and stirred up paternal feelings that he thought were long dead, he shook his head. I don't know about Rules 10 and 11 Son but there's nothing wrong with apologies, nothing at all."

"It's a sign of weakness," he explained looking defeated.

Ernie burst out laughing. "Oh Tony, you fashion your rules on a two bit actor called Marion Morrison who earned a living pretending to be something he wasn't? I'd rather take the words of a writer like the poet Alexander Pope as my moral compass. He said, "A man should never be ashamed to own that he has been in the wrong, which is but saying that he is wiser today than he was yesterday."

And as to making personal calls at work; you often work 18 hour days and you frequently don't come home for days on end. When the heck are you supposed to make personal calls or aren't you supposed to have a private life? I'm eternally grateful that you saw fit to break that asinine rule or I might have died, lying on that floor all alone. Like I said; YOU DONE GOOD."

And Gibbs eavesdropping on the conversation was pissed off at his SFA. Apart from the contraventions he'd listed Tony had deliberately withheld the truth about what he was doing and let his team think he had a girlfriend. His 2IC made him look like a tool. What was so all damned top-secret about talking to Cpl Ernie Yost that he couldn't just come out and tell him what was going on.

He remembered DiNozzo trying to get away when they were supposed to be en route to the crime scene. Why hadn't he come clean about why he wanted to make a detour instead of all the cloak and dagger? And when he took what Gibbs thought was a call at the crime scene from his current flavour of the week, why the devil didn't he tell the truth instead of letting Gibbs go off half- cocked at him? And when he came to work looking like death warmed over and the team had jumped to the most obvious conclusion why didn't he just explain? Why the secrets and lies. Why couldn't his SFA just trust him goddamn it? Why... why... why?

'You know why Leroy,' his good angel whispered inside his head and he wondered inconsequentially why his good angel always called him Leroy since no one but his dad called him that and he hated it. 'He doesn't trust you because too many people have betrayed him including you. Didn't you vow to try and win back his trust? So what the Hell happened, hey?'

And he only needed one word to answer that accusation – Ari. The fount of all that was evil in his world revolved around that psychopath.

"And it's no excuse,' his good angel shot back at him before he could draw breath.

Oh yeah, his good angel was right about that and so was Cate about the DiNozzo appreciation society but how pathetic that it wasn't his team that is doing the appreciating! His good angel chimed in again…always with the tough questions. 'When did ya stop being on his cheer squad Leroy, you saw his potential when you hired him but what's that saying? Familiarity breeds contempt? It sure seems to apply in this case.

Gibbs scowled; even Tom Morrow had been on his case lately about how he treated of his SFA warning that there were plenty of other agencies lining up to recruit him if he didn't feel like a valued member of Gibbs team. He'd reamed him out about what had occurred down in Cuidad de Este when Cate had been openly insubordinate in front of witnesses including a POI while they were tracking down that loathsome piece of scum Purcell. Morrow was scathing about how she'd almost scuppered the plan to locate the dirtbag by resisting a direct order to hand over her NCIS issued cell phone.

According to Morrow, it could have resulted in the spook having ample opportunity to get rid of his 17 year old "wife" who had so much dirt on him he'd already sanctioned one-fated attempt to kill her. But instead of killing Purcell's wife, the bumbling assassin he'd recruited in a Monty Python-esque screw up, had killed Ana Real's little 14 year old sister by mistake. Despairing of her being killed the odious spook decided to do the deed himself and had been thwarted by DiNozzo and Todd by the barest of margins.

Morrow had torn Gibbs a new one for not taking action over the insubordination when he'd read DiNozzo's report plus the TAT's Joe Tabarez who'd also witnessed the incident and submitted a report on it too. He was furious that it had occurred and that Gibbs had let it slide and insisted his lead agent make it right. He'd threatened that unless Gibbs resolved the issue satisfactorily that he wouldn't authorise either of the junior agents on anymore international missions. He would send a junior agent from another team that could be trusted to follow orders and observe the chain of command. In the director's mind the buck stopped with Gibbs.

And as much as Gibbs liked and respected Director Morrow he hated being dictated to about his team, which was why Gibbs had instead of taking the bull by the horns and directly dealing with the issue as directed, had chosen to so obliquely. He'd figured that if he reminded McGee and Todd of Tony's rank they'd fall into line. So he had introduced DiNozzo to the Leos by his rank, a courtesy he hadn't afforded him in a very long time and it had seemed to mollify DiNozzo judging by the huge grin. He'd thought the issue was resolved.

So he was shocked to hear the conversation in his living room revealing that his gormless junior agents 'seemed' unaware that Tony was their direct superior. So much for him having DiNozzo's six. He remembered back to another time when he'd almost lost DiNozzo. Now, if the DiNozzo Appreciation Society and Morrow were correct, he was feeling once again feeling isolated and underappreciated. That didn't bode well and he recalled that team meeting they'd held done it Abby's lab where they'd all expressed the desire to regain his confidence …

…Ducky had turned and regarded Gibbs, before addressing them all seriously, "You wanted to know how we fix this? I'm not sure if we can since we didn't cause it, although we were just starting to break through his defences. We had begun to earn his trust so that he could show us a little of 'who' the true Anthony really is. Even if it wasn't our intention, we have proved to him that his deepest fears were correct and that he still doesn't make the grade…"

He'd promised to have his six; it was his most important rule after all but he'd been neglecting his responsibilities. He depended on his SFA holding the team together while in Tony's vernacular he went on his Great White Whale hunt, but he wasn't giving him the tools or support he needed to do the job properly. He cut the ground out from under his feet by not enforcing chain of command constantly and he'd gotten distracted just like Ducky had predicted at the meeting…

He'd dropped the ball… they'd all dropped the ball and when DiNozzo had appeared to bounce back to the wise cracking frat boy that let all the insults roll off his back like they didn't bother him, they all forgotten about him and treated him like a pile of crap once more. Any wonder that DiNozzo didn't chose to share anything not work related with them or him and really what right did he have to be pissed about it either? But his bad angel playing devil's advocate argued 'What was so damned important about keeping you and the team in the dark about Ernie. Does he get off on playing games and making you look small,' he cussed?

But his good angel wouldn't let go, refusing to let him blame his SFA. 'You know why, Leroy. He told Yost why, even if the Veteran had no idea what it meant. He broke your Rule 10 and 11 for reasons that he believed in and he thought you'd be pissed at him and you know what? You probably would have been even if you rarely manage to follow any of your own rules apart from the ones relating to lawyers. YOU ARE A HYPOCRITE, LEROY!'

'He was doing something kind but all he can think about is you're pissed because he broke your damned rules- rules he follows a darn sight better than anyone else you've ever had on your team - rules you don't bother to follow even if you expect the team to. It's what made him a good cop and a better agent. He cares and he does what's right even when he thinks he's disappointing you. It's why people open up to him, people like Ernie.

As he made his way to the table, Jethro noticed Tony sitting beside Ducky's mother who was flirting with him in her old- worldly Gone-with-the-Wind manner and he smirked at Ducky, wondering what his own mom would be like in her golden years if she was still alive. He looked at Ernie sitting beside Abby and he noticed that he was watching Tony fondly. Just how close were they? Sure he'd said downstairs that DiNozzo had been looking out for him but he figured it was an exaggeration, something to make his point as he pontificated about his grief, but now Gibbs wasn't so sure.

It was a little over a year since they first met Cpl Yost and he'd made DiNozzo babysit the war hero. He went home with the old guy, he recalled. Was it just that with the holiday approaching he'd decided to look up the old Marine to be kind or had he gone looking for a surrogate father figure? The man had called him Son after all. Damn it why had DiNozzo lied to him, letting him think that he was calling his latest conquest? He grew heated as he remembered reaming him out about a call he made at the crime scene which Jethro now realised was one of his cop buddies he'd sent to check on Ernie.

Had they heard him screaming at his 2IC over the phone, he wondered. Damn DiNozzo, he was hard work with all his complexities and insecurities. Or he was deliberately trying to make him crazy!

As Jethro went to sit down Rae pushed him up towards the head of the makeshift dining table, informing him that he should be the one to carve the turkey. Meanwhile the LOLs and Sister Rosito started loading up the table with so much food he expected it might collapse under the weight of it all. And in the silence that ensued which was more than a little uncomfortable, Ducky's mother chose to fill it, leaning over and patting his hand to get his attention.

"Now, now Matthew, don't pout, it isn't becoming. I'm sure that you can have a dance with me later on. I'll pencil you into my dance card but I wonder where the bootlegger is? Donald says this is his house although I expected something a little more ostentatious than this domicile from such a colourful character. Are you acquainted with the rascal too, Matthew? What did you say his name was Donny dear?"

Ducky looked mortified. Jethro… his name is Jethro, Mother and I said he was a colleague from work, not a bootlegger."

Abby giggled. "He couldn't make it Mrs Mallard. He's hiding out from the G-Men at the moment especially the big bad Special Agent Fornell," she confided impishly.

"My goodness, "Victoria exclaimed. "How exciting. But will they be after us too for drinking elderberry wine. Are we going to end up in the hoosegow?"

Sister Rosito entered into the fantasy, "No Victoria, my homemade elderberry wine is purely for medicinal purposes. I call it my rheumatism medicine," The nun confided to the octogenarian.

Victoria Mallard frowned. "But I don't have rheumatism."

"Neither do I," Abby's bowling buddy revealed, winking wickedly. "That's why I drink it."

Who's been cooking in my kitchen?

Sister Rosito looked around the table with interest. She had been hearing about these people from Abby for quite a few years now. First it had been Gibbs and Ducky that she prattled on about when she first started working at the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and there had been someone else called Stan Burley. He'd apparently developed a peptic ulcer and taken a job on board a ship as a form of self-preservation against being at Gibbs' beck and call 24/7. Although Abby had been inconsolable with his departure she'd soon started talking about a young interloper that thought he could replace the irreplaceable Stan. Gradually she had warmed to the former detective Anthony DiNozzo and over the coming months the nuns listened, amused at how she became enamoured by him - almost against her will.

Apparently he was everything that she abhorred, brought up with wealth, a jock, conventionally good looking and with an attitude that seemed to not take anything seriously, all of which wasn't exactly compatible with the tales she told of a dedicated hard worker who obviously felt a call to serve and protect. Soon The Jerk as she had labelled him had become Tony-boy and my Tony in her stories and he seemed to have been accepted into her inner circle of trust. Then came Vivian Blackadder a former FBI agent who never really gelled with the group and then committed the unforgivable sin – at least in Abby's opinion of almost getting Gibbs and Tony killed in an ambush in Rota, Spain when she'd been blindly pursuing a personal agenda.

Then about two years ago Abby had become excited when a female agent, a former Secret Service agent Caitlyn Todd joined them. And then just over eighteen months ago she started to ramble about a Timmy that they finally learnt was one Timothy McGee, a computer expert who finally joined Gibbs team as their probationary field agent. Sister Rosito smiled at the memory of Abby trying to be coy about her short lived liaison with said Probie when talking to the nuns. None of the nuns were exactly naïve and Sister Teresa began to referring to the situation as Abby fornicating with the Agnostic, since he apparently was more wedded to his computer games and String Theory than a concept of a higher power.

Just as they were aware when the short-lived affair had begun they also knew when came to an abrupt halt when the young man became too serious for Abby's comfort. They were aware that Abby was something of a wild child and that she shied away from commitment. While they may not have been totally approving of her peccadillos, Abby volunteered tirelessly and she wasn't a Catholic but she did have a generous spirit and a kind heart and the nuns were all quite fond of her. Of course Sister Rosito's Order was a very progressive one, and extremely open minded so they tended to ignore idiosyncrasies like her obsession with vampires, aliens and her interest in fringe religions like voodoo. Then again, hailing from Louisiana it was not altogether surprising pastime either.

Then a couple of years ago, Sister Rosito discovered her old friend Raelene Richmond had adopted Anthony DiNozzo along with a pair of octogenarian friends who referred to themselves as the LOLs. Her friend's observations of the team had provided a rather different point of view of the team to Abby's, though. Raelene had been Sister Rosito's nursery school teacher back when she had been plain Judith Terry and they had always kept in contact over the years. Sister Rosito had been shocked when she heard how Tony's so called friends and colleagues had turned him down when he needed somewhere to stay. While she didn't know any of them apart from Abby, her glowing reports about how they were all such a loving family didn't exactly gel with what Rae had recounted.

So when the LOLs invited her to the impromptu Thanksgiving Dinner and explained that Cpl Yost and Victoria Mallard would also be joining them it was an opportunity too good to pass up to meet them all. So far it had been interesting to say the least. Now as they were all seated with the table laden with food, Rae had smiled at her and invited her to say grace which she proceeded to do with humility, humour and grace. Then she suggested that they'd each take a turn telling those gathered what they were thankful. That proposal brought forth a mixture of groans, grimaces, scowls and squeals.

Abby bounced up and down in her chair demanding to be first and the nun was struck with how much she acted like the spoiled baby of the family, even Gibbs smiled self-indulgently at her antics. Sister Rosito found it disconcerting because this Abby was rather different from the one that volunteered at the convent or supervised a construction squad of contractors when they worked together for Habit for Humanity. The Goth girl was a much more mature individual there and the nun wasn't sure that she liked the infantile version nearly so much. Her Abby was smart, sassy and well able to look out for herself without all the coy affectations. Typically her thanks was for her family in Louisiana and how pleased she was that if they couldn't be home for Thanksgiving that it was wonderful that their NCIS family were together.

Victoria who was sitting beside her went next and in a rare moment of lucidity she announced that she was grateful to have such a devoted son even if he'd failed to give her much longed for grandchildren. And she simpers shooting admiring looks at Anthony and Jethro, that she was thankful to have the attentions of two such debonair male suitors, which earned chuckles around the table. And she made special mention of the corgi crew, remembering each by name.

Tony seemed reserved which was certainly out of character going by the accounts she'd heard but he'd seemed upset when he arrived. He said he was thankful for his apartment, his work and friends.

Lillian stated that she was thankful that her family was all safe and well, even if they weren't together for the holiday. Sister Rosito knew that they were living overseas in Spain or Portugal and that Lil missed her daughter and her grandchildren dreadfully. Which probably explained why the motherly woman had latched onto Tony; his subtle air of melancholy even if it was skilfully disguised by a happy-go-lucky façade made people want to take care of him. But the sister like everyone else at the table was totally unprepared for what Lil had to say next.

"I'm also really thankful that a cruel joke played by my surrogate grandson's team mates faking a photo of him appearing to be homosexual relationship didn't end up costing him his job or his health and safety. Personally I'm shocked that people tasked with making sure others uphold the law would decide to break it in so cavalierly a fashion and with such arrogant disregard for the consequences of their actions. I hope they are thankful that due to his forgiving nature they still have their jobs."

The nun felt her jaw drop at the bombshell and she noticed that Ernie looked shocked too. Upset and furious – clearly the young man had collected a surrogate grandfather too she concluded. But it was Abby and Cate's response that was most interesting along with Tony who looked as if he wished the ground would open and swallow him up. Abby looked guilty and crestfallen so she hazarded a guess that Abby had played a part in the joke while Cate appeared truculent and defensive and the nun decided she must be the other guilty party.

Frankly, she was surprised at Abby, wondering what would possess her to treat a friend like that. Still she was totally unprepared for what happened next. Carla who was sitting next to Cate produced Lil's handbag and whacked the agent over the head.

"Ouch…Why don't you whack him, too? He threatened to show everyone an embarrassing photo of me? He's hardly blameless," Cate whined angrily.

And this embarrassing photo of you; was it faked in any way? Did Tony steal it from some place private like your home or your desk, or was the photo taken without your knowledge or consent? And if people did view this embarrassing photo could it cost you your job or have the potential to cause your colleagues to verbally and physically harass you or fail to provide back up in the field due to bigoted attitudes?

Cate glared at her nemesis before directing a poisonous scowl at Tony

"I'll take that as a no and don't be getting all shirty with Tony, Madam. He didn't tell me. I have my own sources. But be that as it may, a photo of you in a wet T-shirt competition when you were in college might not have been the smartest thing you could have done but it was not the end of the world either. Your embarrassment comes about since you make such a show of being an ardent feminist and complaining loudly about the objectification of women and the photo makes you look like a hypocrite. Is that really your justification for committing fraud?"

Nodding to Carla who whacked her again with her friend's handbag, Lil scolded her. "Shame on you, Missy and what did Father Julius have to say when you went to confession?"

The nun noticed that Cate dropped her eyes and blushed.

"Guessing you're going to rat me out," she muttered petulantly.

Sister Rosito decided to enter the discussion. "No she won't but I suspect that God already knows about it my dear. But until you can see the enormity of your transgression, making a confession would be a waste of everyone's time. And you Abigail – were you a party to this appalling behaviour too?"

As the Goth nodded, her eyes welling with tears, the nun regarded her dispassionately. I am really disappointed with you. I've always admired your strong sense of justice and I thought you weren't a bigoted person. There are enough gay hate crimes in the world without adding to it. And tears won't make amends nor improve my opinion of your behaviour, young lady. "

The nun stared at her shrewdly. "I doubt that you would have been crying if Lil hadn't decided to share your transgression. Which leads me to conclude your tears are because you have been found out not because you are any more contrite than Agent you even apologised to Anthony?"

Seeing tears overflowing Abby's pale green eyes and her downcast expression, she decided not. "Well it might have been more convincing if you had shown contrition. As it stands it looks like you go caught out and are feeling sorry for yourself. Like those transgressors you help to catch, Abigail."

Ducky, though he was less than impressed with the two young ladies empathised with Tony's extreme discomfort and got things back on track. "Timothy I do believe it is your turn to tell us what you are giving thanks for," the ME nodded encouragingly.

"Umm I'm grateful for my Mom and my little sister Sarah and my Grandmother Penny. And I'm thankful that I'm just about to achieve a long held ambition that is the result of many hours toil." He finished mysteriously.

Everyone looked at Special Agent Gibbs who glowered at them all before he gave in with bad grace. "Fine, I'm glad that damned stupid dinosaur didn't make it… What, it's true!" Evidently feeling that he had failed in his social obligations he added, "And I'm thankful for having my best friend, my boat." Folding his arms, his jaw jutting out, Gibbs' body language screamed he was done.

Dr Mallard, or Ducky as he'd insisted Sister Rosito call him, chortled at Gibbs abrupt contribution. "Yes well my turn, I believe. I'm thankful to have Mother even if no one can embarrass me quite as well as Victoria. I'm also thankful that that precious child Courtney-Jayne is safe and sound at home with her family thanks to everyone's hard efforts," Smiling at the team. "And finally I'm grateful that we have all come through intact for another year even if Caitlyn was abducted by terrorists and Anthony was chained to a serial killer who tried to kill him."

Sister Rosito smiled as Ernie took his turn. She'd had the pleasure of chatting to the man earlier on and he was a real sweetheart. It wasn't every day you got a chance to meet a genuine hero. These days the term was bandied about way too often as far as she was concerned. A sports star or an entertainer was frequently proclaimed a legend or a hero but it took more than being talented to be a hero, she thought. Whilst Ernie was a true war hero he was typically like other heroes, endearingly modest.

He smiled, "Well I guess I'm thankful that Tony was watching my six and found me before it was too late. This time last year I probably wouldn't have wanted to be found but this year I'm glad to still be here, even though Dorothy isn't with me. And this last year even if it has been very difficult, I've been lucky enough to find a great friend, perhaps he may even allow an old man the folly of considering him a surrogate grandson and now today I have all of you helping me to keep my promise to my beloved Dotty. We promised each other that whoever was left behind had to live their life and not spend what was left of it mourning instead of living. That's not to say I don't miss her, I do every hour of every day but life is too precious to waste it feeling sorry for myself and she didn't want that. When we're together again, I want to be able to look Dorothy in the eye and tell her I kept my promise to her, so thank-you for letting me share the holiday with you all."

At this point most everyone was teary eyed or had a lump in their throats' and sister Rosito figured that Ernie was aware of this because he grinned. "And last but not least I gotta thank the lovely Lil for helping me make sure that Dotty's very special secret pumpkin pecan pie made it to the table this year since this cast makes it difficult to roll out the pastry."

He grinned charmingly and gestured to Rae to continue who gave him a one armed brief hug. While not being the most demonstrative of women, she'd been moved like everyone else by his grief and determination to keep his promise to his soul mate.

Rae said she was thankful for her friendships that had seen her through the best and worst times with her family, and proud that one of her trouble maker students had made something of her life, and she flashed a grin at Sister Rosito. "And I'm thankful to have Tony who watches out for me and makes me proud even if he hasn't yet learned to appreciate the superiority of Southern Cuisine over pizza but then I'm still trying to teach Lil and Rae how to cook properly too so I can't be too hard on him, I suppose,"

Everyone chuckled and Tony grinned. "Tried to make me eat a pizza with hogs jowls and collard greens," He revealed in mock horror. "And Carla's not a whole heap better, puts jalapeño peppers and refried beans on hers. At least I'm thankful that Lillian knows how to make good old fashion classic Italian pizza. Have I told you you're my favourite, Lil? He joked fondly.

Everyone looked expectantly at Cate and the junior agent grimaced before contributing. "Well I guess I'm thankful that my brother made me an auntie this year and that since I ended up working for Thanksgiving, they're going to try to come down one weekend before Christmas so I can see my nephew. And I'm grateful that I listened to my intuition and didn't kill someone who we thought was a terrorist but turned out to be a good guy pretending to be a dirtbag."

Sister Rosito was intrigued by the agent's last statement. While the tension had dissipated markedly as people gave thanks, this seemed to have ratcheted up the tension once more. Gibbs looked lethal, Ducky looked disturbed; Tim looked scared while Tony shot Cate a look that could curdle cream. Abby and Cate seemed engaged in a silent dialogue and the nun noticed that Cate had a goofy smile on her face, seemingly unaware of the tension her proclamation had caused.

Carla apparently decided to move things along before Gibbs throttled someone which he was clearly tempted to, if looks were anything to go by. "I'm grateful to still be here for another Thanksgiving," she smirked. "At my age that's not a given. I'm also thankful that my family have all made it through another year even if there have been some tough times and I wish that I saw more of them. I'm also grateful that that my youngest grand-baby has been accepted into medical school and she will become a doctor. And I'm grateful that my grandson who only came out of the cupboard last year has found someone that makes him happy."

At the tittering that went around the table she looked very offended but Tony jumped in quickly before she got the wrong idea. "It's closet not cupboard, Carla… remember we had that conversation already and that's wonderful news about both Sofia and Carlos, no wonder you're so proud."

As Carla smiled, Ducky's mother leaned forward and tugged on Tony's arm. "What was her grandson doing hiding in the closet, Antonio?"

"He's gay, Mrs Mallard and was hiding it from his family."

"Oh…why? Didn't he want them to know he was happy?"

Ducky leapt into the breech, "Mother, when people say they are gay now they mean that they are homosexual." He explained.

"Really… how extraordinary… when I was a girl it meant we were joyful. But I still don't see what he was doing in the closet?"

"So he's a lapse Catholic then?" Cate murmured before letting out a sharp oww as Rae delivered another sharp jab to her abdomen, glowering at her. Sister Rosito winced, since her friend was all sharp bony angles and that elbow must have hurt.

Still…it seemed like she was getting a bit of a taste of her own medicine if Abby could be believed since Agent Todd apparently made a habit of elbow jabbing her male colleagues especially Tony in the gut. Wouldn't hurt her to know what it felt like and it was a pretty tactless comment after all. Abby had shared tales of the banter that went on amongst the team with the nuns and she'd detected some comments that seemed to be rather closed minded. Coupled with what she'd learnt tonight, especially the gay photo episode Sister Rosito decided to have a chat with Cate if she had an opportunity.

Lil smiled at Sister Rosito, "Your turn, Dear."

"Well I'm thankful for everything that the Lord has provided, the convent and all the good sisters. I'm grateful that the Lord in his infinite wisdom decided that Sister Teresa still had work to do and sent her back to us after her heart attack. And I'm glad that Sister Augustine survived brushing her teeth with Sister Claude's haemorrhoid cream instead of toothpaste and that she finally agreed to get glasses. "She revealed, eyes twinkling with mischief as she remembered Gus foaming at the mouth and insisting she had been poisoned.

"And last but not least I'm grateful to be here with you all to share all this wonderful food and I'm thrilled to bits to be sharing it with Corporal Yost who with his brave fellow soldiers fought heroically so that we all have our freedom." Picking up her glass Sister Rosito continued, "Join me in giving thanks to Ernie and those mostly unsung warriors like him for their sacrifices that allow us to be free and safe. We owe you so much, so thank you," she finished as everyone seconded her toast before Tony softly added; knowing they'd both served their countries too.

"And Gunny Gibbs and Ducky," which brought forth another round of raised glasses and three self-conscious men. And with a knowing looking at the three men who wished desperately to have everyone's attention directed elsewhere, Tony did what he did so well – he deflected. Grinning at his LOLs with big green pleading puppy dog eyes he begged, "Now please can we eat yet? I'm so hungry I could even eat hogs jowl pizza."