Four

Kelly Gibbs closed the text book in front of her when there was a soft knock at her door, she called out a quiet 'come in', knowing Ava had just gone down for her afternoon nap, and waited. She wasn't surprised when it was Jenny who stepped into the room and shut the door quietly behind her.

"I need a bit of a favour." Jenny stated, "I know you don't like asking for things or having money spent on you but for today I need you to pretend that it's okay."

"I take it Dani rejected your offer to go shopping." Kelly replied with a raised eyebrow.

"You look just like your father right now,." Jenny commented with a grin, "I haven't even asked her yet, I don't think she would respond very well, she seems to have warmed up to you though." She added sheepishly

"I don't think she hates me." Kelly stated with a shrug, "she seems to like Dad and Jake though."

Dani had spent most of the morning outside watching the boys work, she had never actually tried to help but every time Kelly looked outside the younger teen had been trailing behind her father and younger brother watching what they were doing.

"Your father has a way with kids." Jenny said, "it's something I've always admired about him, but I don't think that'll help in this situation."

"Probably not." Kelly agreed, "I won't lie to her if she asks me if I'm okay with you guys spending money on me, I appreciate that you do it but I still have a hard time accepting it and you guys both know that."

"I don't want you to lie to her, I phrased that wrong, I just want her to know that it's okay to accept help when you need it and I think yours is the only opinion that will matter to her in this case." Jenny corrected.

"When do you want to go?" Kelly asked as she sat up more on her bed.

"Sooner rather than later." Jenny replied, "I want us to be able to take our time."

"Let me get changed and then I'll talk to Dani."

N*C*I*S

Dani dropped her handfuls of shopping bags on the bed, she couldn't believe the sheer amount of clothing Jenny had insisted on buying, everything from school clothes to a few outfits appropriate for church if Dani wished to attend to two different coats and a snow suit that Dani wasn't sure she would ever wear. The shopping trip itself hadn't been horrible, it had actually been mildly enjoyable even if Dani was slightly uncomfortable with how much money Jenny had spent of her.

Jenny had never insisted Dani buy anything she didn't like, she had let her choose exactly what she wanted and what suited her style. She had never judged or argued when Dani had eyed a pair of ripped jeans or a band t-shirt that she knew Jenny herself would never wear, she had simply walked over to the rack and found Dani's size.

They had passed a jewelry store that Jenny had immediately steered them into, Dani had walked out with a new industrial bar and Kelly had found a simple pair of earrings that suited her perfectly. Dani had never had anyone simply accept the way she dressed but Gibbs and Jenny had never even flinched at the sight of her piercings and clothing, Kelly had complemented her choices while they were shopping and Jake had openly admired her nose ring.

She carefully put away all of the clothes and then sat at the end of her bed, she still didn't know what to do with herself, her afternoon out with Jenny and Kelly had helped her get to know them better but she still didn't feel comfortable just wandering around the house like she belonged there.

It was another twenty minutes before there was a light knock on her door followed by Kelly poking her head in.

"I just wanted to let you know that we're starting supper soon, you can stay up here if you want to but you're more than welcome to join us." She offered, "Dad's making steaks and Jenny's trying her hand at roasted potatoes and carrots, I make no promises about how they turn out though."

"Does she not know how to cook?" Dani asked.

"The basics yes, anything past that, well she's learning." Kelly replied with a grin, "she's doing really well." She added, her tone more serious.

"I'm not great at cooking but I can set the table." Dani offered, "if you show me where everything is."

"Not a problem, I can show you while I monitor Jenny, just to make sure she doesn't burn down the house or something crazy."

"Where are Jake and the baby?" Dani asked as she got off of her bed.

She was quickly realizing that quiet was something that did not exist in the Shepard-Gibbs household, but the house was relatively silent at that moment.

"I think they're in the kitchen, Jake's working on a project and Ava was playing in her bouncy chair last time I checked."

Dani followed the older teen down the stairs and into the kitchen where sure enough Jake was working at the kitchen table while Jenny cut potatoes and Ava watched from her chair.

"I've brought another recruit." Kelly announced with a grin, "hey you turned on the oven without burning down the house." She added, winking at Jenny.

Jenny's cooking abilities had come a long way in a short amount of time but Kelly still liked to tease Jenny about it, and Jenny was more than happy to tease back about Kelly's inability to play any sort of sport. They were never mean or disrespectful to each other but both had a healthy sense of humour and enjoyed the bantering.

"The real test is going to be whether your dad burns down the house cooking his steak." Jenny replied with a grin.

"Dad likes to cook steak in the fire place." Kelly explained, "It's a little unorthodox but it's really good."

"I'm done this part, can I please go help Daddy now?" Jake spoke up from the table.

"Go ahead, grab a jacket first." Jenny called after the boy who was already half way to the front door.

"What's Dad doing?" Kelly asked, scooping Ava up out of her bouncy chair, where she was quickly growing restless.

"He's checking out that old back shed, he's thinking of turning it into a work shop." Jenny replied, "I think it used to be a small barn."

"It looked like there might have been stalls or something in there at one point." Kelly replied, grabbing a carrot to peel, "you should check it out some time Dani, it's back just behind the tree line it's pretty cool, it's got a loft and everything."

"Could I go now?" Dani asked, "I won't be long and I'll set the table as soon as I get back."

"Go ahead, you can go out whenever you want, just tell one of us and take your time, supper's not going to be ready for at least an hour." Jenny replied, "just grab a jacket, it's starting to get cold out now."

The weather was starting to turn from cool to downright cold and the last thing Jenny needed was for one of the kids to get sick.

Dani nodded and headed upstairs, she grabbed a sweater and pulled her fall jacket over it, she pulled on her boots and made her way back downstairs and out the front door. She didn't know if she would ever get used to the size of the house or the property, she had gone from living in a group home full of other girls where privacy was non-existent to living in her own room with an entire house and property to wander around freely. She followed Kelly's directions and wandered through the colourful trees, admiring the bright fall colours until she found a slightly run-down but still sturdy looking barn.

She could hear Gibbs and Jake inside and stepped through the open door to find Gibbs testing the ladder that lead up to what looked like a loft.

"It looks okay, but I want you to wait to go up until I can test all of the boards." Gibbs warned, "some of them might need to be replaced and I don't want you falling through."

"Yes, Sir." Jake replied seriously, "can I help you fix it up?"

"I want to get your tree house done first but sure after that we can work on it."

"Are you going to move your boat here?" Jake asked, looking around the large barn.

"You have a boat?" Dani asked without thinking.

Gibbs looked over at her in surprise, he had heard her come in but he had been expecting her to watch silently as she had done earlier that morning.

"I'm building one." He explained.

"Like in a marina?" Dani asked.

"In my old basement." Gibbs replied, "no I'm not kidding." He added when he saw Dani's raised eyebrow and incredulous look.

"That's… Cool." She finished slowly.

She had always enjoyed hands on work, she had never tried to build anything but she had always wanted to try. The idea of fixing something that was broken appealed to her, she didn't know why but while other girls her age were reading Seventeen and Vogue she had read magazines about building and home decor.

"So, are you going to move it here?" Dani asked, gesturing vaguely around the barn.

N*C*I*S

Gibbs looked around the space and shrugged, he wasn't sure if he would ever take his boat out of the basement, he still loved to work with wood and build things but his boat had always been an escape from his demons. He was still haunted by past cases and regrets but being surrounded by kids and having Jenny around helped him to cope better than a boat ever could. He didn't doubt that he would still need a place to go to clear his mind when things got particularly difficult or gruesome at work or when he and Jenny inevitably had a big fight but maybe he would start a new boat, one that he could eventually go out on with his family, one made with happy thoughts in mind.

"Maybe, might start a new one though." He finally replied.

"Are they hard to make?" Dani asked.

"They're not easy, but I can teach you." He offered, "if you want to learn."

"Maybe." Dani replied slowly, "what're you going to do if you don't make a new one?"

"Well I still want to get this place cleaned and fixed up, it'll make a good work shop for little things if not a boat." Gibbs replied, "is your mom working on supper?"

"It looked like she and Kelly were getting started, I did offer to help but she said that it would be okay if I wanted to come out here for a bit." Dani replied.

"I doubt there was a whole lot to do, but I need to head in and get the fire going for the steaks, wanna give me a hand?"

"Sure." Dani agreed with a shrug.

"Can I help too, Dad?" Jake asked, leaning against Gibbs' side as they started to walk.

"Don't see why not." Gibbs replied ruffling the boys hair.

Gibbs wrapped his arm around Jake's shoulder and pulled the boy tighter against his side. After losing Kelly he had never really considered having more children but before the accident he and Shannon had discussed having another baby and a small part of him had hoped if they did have another child it would be a boy. He loved Kelly and would have been just as pleased with another girl but the idea of having a son had appealed to him, the idea had died with Shannon though.

There had been a brief moment with Jenny when he had thought about having a family with her, but he had quickly gotten over that when she had left him. Never in his wildest dreams imagined that he would not only have his daughter back but have two more daughters and a son, the fact that Jenny, the one woman he had really loved since Shannon, was standing by his side to raise their children never ceased to amaze him. He didn't care if he and Jenny never moved past a completely platonic relationship, he was just grateful to have her by his side when things got rough, he was thankful he had his best friend back.

Guys! I managed a weekly update two weeks in a row! I hope everyone had a great week, as usual I own nothing but Dani, Jake and Ava but please enjoy! I love to hear from you guys, thank you so much for all of your reviews!

~Katie