After Grease had finished, Tony loaded Kit into his car. She had fallen asleep by the time Frenchie started singing Beauty School Dropout and she didn't even stir when her father had a hard time finding the latch for the seat belt.
Tony drove around for a while, just to clear his head. Finally, at about sometime after midnight, Tony and Kit pulled into Gibbs' driveway.
Just as Tony was pulling Kit out of the car, the outside lights came to life and Gibbs stepped out onto the front porch.
"Hey, Boss. Uh…just came to talk. I need some advice. Hope you weren't sleeping or…"
Gibbs shook his head.
"Nah. Just workin' on the boat. Come on. Get her inside before she gets cold. And where the hell is her coat? There's snow on the ground!"
"Yeah, I know, Boss. Kinda left the house in a hurry," Tony mumbled.
Tony rushed past Gibbs with Kit in his arms and into the house. Gibbs followed close behind.
Once Gibbs shut the door, Tony asked, "Where do you want me to put her?"
Gibbs thought a minute. "Follow me."
He led the way to the second floor, around a corner, past a bathroom and what looked like his bedroom to a closed door. Gibbs took a deep breath before opening it.
Tony had a hard time taking in what he saw. The walls were painted a butter yellow shade. The bedspread had flowers and butterflies in random patterns. Barbies and other random dolls lined the walls. A small child size Marine Corps utility uniform hanging over a chair caught Tony's eye. The name on the front said Gibbs.
Once Tony laid Kit on the bed and Gibbs shut the door, Tony said, "Uh, you wanna explain that, Boss?"
Without a word, Gibbs started toward the basement. Once they got to the basement, Gibbs took out his bourbon and a mug. He poured some in the mug and handed it to Tony. Gibbs kept the bottle for himself.
"Kelly," Gibbs said quietly.
"Boss, who's Kelly?" Tony said, after taking a sip from the coffee mug.
Gibbs ran a hand through his hair and looked at Tony.
"Gibbs? Was Kelly your daughter?"
"She still is my daughter!" he yelled at him.
Tony flinched.
Gibbs continued, "She was murdered. So was Shannon."
Then, Gibbs explained everything. Desert Storm, the Marine that Shannon had seen, the car crash, and then going to Mexico to find the bastard that killed his family.
"Just…" Gibbs tried to find the right words to say, "Just don't hold her too close. Give her some freedom. But don't push her away, either. And don't take her for granted."
"Yes, Boss," Tony said.
They both sat in silence for what seemed like forever, just sipping their bourbon.
"Marriage is something you have to work at, DiNozzo," Gibbs said, interrupting the peace, "Are you gonna try to make it work with Kate?"
"Kate and I aren't married, Boss."
"But, you were going to propose soon, right?"
"How did you…? Never mind. Yeah, I was gonna. But now…" Tony didn't finish his sentence.
"You love her, right?"
Tony nodded, not looking at his boss.
"Tell her…"
"She won't listen to me now!" Tony interrupted him.
"Make her listen, DiNozzo! You two are damn good agents, and even better for each other. Make it work. Make Kate listen. Hold her down if you have to. She may have been Secret Service, but, Tony, she's still small. You could break her."
Gibbs and Tony laughed a little.
"Okay, Boss. On it."
Tony ran up the stairs, skipping two or three at a time.
"DiNozzo!" Gibbs called.
"Yeah, Boss?"
"Wait 'til Kit wakes up. She's tired."
Tony nodded and walked back down the stairs.
"Boss, can I ask you a question?"
"What?"
Tony waited a second and then said, "How come you didn't tell us about Kelly? Or Shannon?"
"For the same reason you didn't tell us about Grace. It's just too painful."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Phew! Wow, that took me a long time for such a short chapter. This chapter isn't beta-ed so any mistakes are mine. I would've sent it to my beta first, but since you dedicated readers have waited so long for a new chapter, I thought I'd put it up ASAP.
Any ideas for continuing are welcome!!!
Oh, and please review!!!