It was two in the morning. Ducky, Jimmy, Jordan, Hope, and the kids were all asleep up stairs. Abby was supposed to be asleep, but plagued with insomnia, she was sitting in the living room, biting her nails. Ziva and Gibbs had just gotten back from a stake out, having been replaced with Tony and Tim.

The front door wasn't locked, as per usual, and Gibbs and Ziva made their way inside. Abby had turned the living room light on, and Gibbs frowned when he saw it. He said, "You're supposed to be in bed Abs."

She came over and threw her arms around his neck, nuzzling his shoulder and said, "I can't sleep Jefe."

Gibbs rolled his eyes and said, "Go and turn the lights of Abby."

Abby did as she was told and the house was plunged into darkness. They all blinked several times to let their eyes adjust to the darkness. Suddenly, Abby came running over to Gibbs and threw her arms around him. Gibbs put one arm around her shoulders and reached back to gently take hold of Ziva's forearm with his other hand. He then began to slowly lead them up the stairs and down the hall to the second guest bedroom, which was their room now.

Jordan was already asleep, so he didn't want to turn the lights on. Luckily, he knew the layout of the room well from tucking Abby and Ziva in every night. He led them to where the mattress on the floor that Ziva slept on was and let go of Ziva's arm, saying, "Just take off your boots and jeans so your comfortable."

Ziva nodded, even though he couldn't see her in the dark and slowly and carefully lowered herself until she was sitting on the bed and began untying her boots. Meanwhile, Gibbs kept leading Abby forward slowly, between the two mattresses on the floor, until they came to the far wall of the room, where the bed, which Gibbs had insisted that Abby have, was.

He pulled back the covers and gently pushed Abby so she was sitting on the edge of the bed, she reached forward and grabbed his hand in the dark. He squeezed her hand and gently pushed her shoulder back with his other hand. Abby obeyed his unspoken command and swung her legs up onto the uncovered mattress and lay down. He then pulled the blankets up over her and ran a hand through her hair before bending down to kiss her forehead and murmuring, "Try to get some sleep, Abs."

She closed her eyes and whispered back, "Good night Jefe."

He murmured, "Good night, Abs."

He then made his way back over to where Ziva had taken off her boots and socks along with her jeans and her bra and was standing next to her mattress. Gibbs reached out and touched her shoulder gently. She reflexively grabbed his wrist and bent in back painfully. His arm felt like was on fire. He quietly hissed, "Ziver."

She quickly let go and he dropped to his knees and pulled the blanket on her mattress back. She carefully lowered herself down so that sitting on the corner of the bed, then reached out and ran her hand down the side of his face lightly. He nudged her legs and she lay down and stretched herself out. He pulled the blankets over her, then kissed her forehead and murmured, "I forgive you, Ziver. Goodnight."

With that he made his way carefully to the door and left the room. He made his way down the hall to his own room. Sheila was already in bed, so he made his way quietly into the room and over to his side of the bed. He quickly stripped himself down to his boxers and pulled the covers back. Sheila groaned and blinked her eyes, "You're just getting back now?"

Gibbs cursed under his breath and quietly said back, "Yeah."

She shifted over, and he climbed into bed next to her. She lay her head down on his shoulder and muttered, "I hate stakeouts," into his chest.

He kissed the top of her head and said, "I know."