I hate this chapter. Couldn't seem to write it well, at all. So I'm just warning you: It might suck. And I think it's kindof short. Idc right now, I just want this chapter over! So, you know. Sorry. :/
~Rye
Jethro opened the door and Alyssa came in after him. He helped her take off her thick coat and hung it up in the closet beside his. "Guess who else has strep throat?"
Alyssa went back to her bedroom and came back momentarily, clad in pajamas and wrapped in a blanket. Her lips were chapped, her eyes blurry. She coughed hoarsely into her hands and moaned loudly before dropping her head into her hands. "I'm not sick." She replied, her voice cracking.
"Oh, no. You're not sick at all." Tony laughed at her obvious denial as he helped Ziva up from the couch and ejected the movie they had been watching.
"Shut up, Tony. I'm fine."
Gibbs sat down on the couch next to a sleeping Grace and patted the space next to him, indicating Alyssa should come over. She stared at him blankly, and he turned away, assuming she would refuse, when he heard shuffling footsteps. The couch dipped as she sat down beside him, wrapped from head to toe in blanket."I don't want to be sick, Gibbs." Alyssa suddenly sat up. "Oh no! The audition!"
"What audition?" Ziva inquired.
"For the school play. We're doing West Side Story, and I'm auditioning for the part of Maria. It's on Friday, an open call after school. Families are invited to support anyone who's trying out... I was wondering if you guys would want to come see me try out? She asked, looking sheepish. "And Tim and Abby and Ducky would all be invited, too."
"Sounds like fun!" Ziva answered.
"Um, you said Friday? Because I might be a little..." Tony's voice trailed off at Gibbs' stern look. "But I can cancel. I'll be there."
"Awesome!"
"Did Gracie give you two any trouble?"
Tony and Ziva exchanged a conspiring glance. "Um, no. She was fine. Slept most of the time you were gone."
"Okay. Thanks for the favor. I owe you two."
A few minutes after Tony and Ziva had left for their own respective homes, Alyssa posed a question. "If I'm sick, and Grace is sick, why aren't you sick?"
"I don't get sick."
"Of course not. Because sickness, in your strange, demented mind, would somehow measure up as a weakness. And you, being the almighty Leroy Jethro Gibbs, see yourself as more powerful than all weaknesses. Combined. Therefore, you cannot get sick."
"You think too much."
"I don't want to be sick."
"I don't think it's a matter of choice."
"Well, at some point you must've choosen not to get sick. And it seems to work for you. Is there some magical-Gibbs-sickness-cure pill?" She asked sarcastically.
"Nope."
"D***."
"Hey! Watch your mouth." He gave her a warning glance, and she promptly apologized.
"Sorry. It's the medicine."
"Uh-huh."
"Anyways, I just have to get better by Friday! I have to beat out that evil prima donna, Heidi."
"Who's Heidi?"
"Heidi? The evil b...rat queen of Eastmont High. If she gets the lead part, I will literally go crazy. I have to be better so I can sing and get the part!" Her fingers curled into claw-like shapes, and Gibbs began to laugh at her obvious hatred, but stopped when she sent him a glare. She was fuming.
"You'll be fine by then, don't worry."
"I can't let her win, Gibbs. I can't let her win!"
"Alright, sweetheart." He lowered her clenched hands down to her side and stroked her back calmingly. "You need to calm down."
"It's the medicine, I told you. I think..." Her voice rolled off, and stared intently at the blank television screen.
"You think what, Lyssa?"
She jerked in suprise. "Oh! I think... This medicine is messing me up."
"Hi, Daddy! Lyssa!" Grace woke up, rolled herself over into her sister's lap. Her arms wrapped lazily around Gibbs' arm and she closed her eyes again.
"Sup, sis? Are you even awake?"
"Yeah-huh! I'm awake. You smell like cookies! Can I have some cookies? Did Tony and Ziva leave? I like them. I also like cookies. Where are my cookies?"
"There aren't any cookies, Gracie." Jethro answered, before he mumbled under his breath. "Dear god. What kind of medicine is this?" He picked up the bottle from the bedside table. None of the sideaffects on the prescription bottle looked abnormal. "Should've put a warning: may make sick daughters temporarily insane." He gathered two spoons and poured some of the medicine into each.
"Alright, open up." Both girls simultaneously shook their blonde heads.
Alyssa looked to Grace, nudged her in the side with her elbow. "You go first."
Grace pushed back. "Nuh-uh! You first."
"I don't care who goes first, as long as you both take it." Two pairs of blue eyes stared up at him. "Now!"
"Fine." Alyssa disdainfully gulped down the spoonful of pink liquid. She made a show of gagging on the medicine. "Oh my god, they totally lied about the bubblegum!"
"Told ya, Daddy." Gracie smiled, happy to be proven right.
"Okay, maybe they lied about the bubblegum flavoring. You still have to take it."
Grace frowned and swallowed the liquid quickly. "How much longer do I have to take this stuff?"
"Until you get all better."
"What if I never get better?" She questioned, and he wondered if the inquisitiveness came naturally or was another unlisted side affect.
"You're going to get well."
"How do you know?"
He inwardly groaned and outwardly set the bottle down none to lightly. "I know, because I know everything."
"How do you know everything?"
Alyssa answered this question matter-of-factly. "Gibbs defies all logic. It what he does when he's not building boats or arresting bad guys."
"Oh." Grace sat down on the couch, looking disappointed.
"Alyssa!" He scolded.
"What'd I do?"
"I don't know. But don't do it again."
"Whatever." "Yeah, whatever!" Grace replied drowsily.
"I'm going to ignore that from both of you because you're not in your right minds."
"Uh-huh." Alyssa replied, but Grace had already fallen asleep, her head in his lap and left leg hanging off the couch. She lifted her sister's feet into her lap and leaned her head against Gibbs' chest. In minutes, all three were sound asleep.
Leave me happy reviews so the next chapter will be better? PLEASEEEEEE?
~Rye
