Quick note - I'm ignoring the whole 'Heartland' episode. In my story Gibbs and his Father have already sorted out their differences regarding Jackson bringing a 'date' to the funeral.
Thanks again for all the wonderful reviews.
Enjoy
Chapter 7 - The Wayward Mouth
When the alarm sounded at 6.00am Thursday morning, Jenny took a moment to comprehend what it was. When realization dawned, she flung out her arm and flicked off the annoying sound. Turning over, she squinted to see if Gibbs was awake. Noticing he was lying on his back and just beginning to stir as well, she nuzzled into his side, laying her hand on his chest.
"Did you hear that?" she said sleepily, rubbing along his chest with her fingers.
"What, that incessant buzzing?" he replied sarcastically, his eyes still closed.
"Yeah," she acknowledged. "Do you know what that means?"
"We have to get up?" he quipped.
Laughing lightly, Jenny slapped him softly on the chest.
"Very droll," she said. "No, it means we did didn't get a visitor through the night, unless you took her to bed without waking me."
Opening his eyes, Gibbs turned to look at Jenny.
"Hey you're right," he said. "Maybe it's finally working."
Since returning from the lake cottage, Gibbs and Jenny had made a concerted effort to train Ziva to stay in her own bed at night. In the beginning, it took all their will power to continue. When Ziva would crawl into their bed, usually around three in the morning, they would wait for her to fall asleep then carry her back to her own bed. Inevitably, Ziva would wake again and the cycle would continue, sometimes five or six times a night.
That first week had been a living hell for the three of them. Gibbs and Jenny found themselves going to bed just after Tony at nine o'clock each night, to ensure they were getting at least five hours of uninterrupted sleep. Ziva was not overly keen to help out either. With her stubbornness and iron will, she made no effort to stay in her own bed, insisting that she couldn't sleep. Yet, after only two or three minutes of Gibbs rubbing her back, she was sound asleep and carted back to her room.
Finally, after two weeks of consistency and sheer determinedness on Gibbs and Jenny's part, they had managed to get Ziva to stay in her own bed until about 5.00am. It still meant taking her back to bed a couple of times between five and six in the morning, but at least they were now enjoying an extra two hours of uninterrupted sleep. They also found, that while Jenny still set the alarm each weeknight, with the early morning escapades of their five year old, they never actually needed the alarm to wake them at six.
Unfortunately though, with the arrival of Douglas nearly a week ago, the routine had once again been shattered, and Gibbs and Jenny were finding, not only a little visitor from about 3.00am onwards, but regular wake up calls from a cranky, teething six month old as well. So, when the alarm was the first thing to assault their ears that morning, they were, to say the least, surprised.
"Actually, I didn't hear Douglas last night either," said Jenny.
Suddenly concerned for the infant's welfare, she sat up and crawled forward a couple of paces to look into the porta-cot positioned on the floor at the end of their bed.
"He's probably still doped up on the paracetamol we gave him last night," replied Gibbs, chuckling to himself.
"Ahh, Jethro?" Jenny's voice held a vague tinge of amusement.
"What?" he said, sitting up and squinting towards the porta-cot.
"You've gotta see this," she said, turning around and looking at him. "Come closer."
Also leaning forward and crawling a couple of feet across the bed, Gibbs was soon kneeling next to Jenny as the pair of them peered into the porta cot.
Lying together, snuggled under the cot blanket, were Ziva and Douglas.
"Oh geez," said Gibbs, shaking his head in disbelief. "She must have got sick of us taking her back to bed and figured she could bunk in with Douglas."
"They look so cute," exclaimed Jenny. She quickly turned around and stretched out for her phone sitting on the night stand. Turning back and laying out on her stomach, she took a couple of quick snaps of the two slumbering peacefully in the cot.
Placing the phone next to her on the bed, Jenny rested her chin in her hands and watched the two sleeping cherubs. "There's something special about sleeping children," she said, sighing deeply.
"Yeah, it's called peace and quiet," retorted the ever practical Gibbs. "Come on," he said, lightly smacking her bottom. "You need to get up."
"Ugh," groaned Jenny, collapsing face down on the bed.
Crawling over her, so that his knees were either side of Jenny's hips, Gibbs began nuzzling into her neck, laying light kisses on her skin.
"Augh! Don't!" she squealed softly. "You know I hate that, it tickles!"
"Yeah I know," he said teasingly. "Come on, up!"
He crawled off her, allowing Jenny to sit up. She rubbed at her eyes then ran her fingers through her hair.
"Ok," she said yawning. "I'm up."
Standing up, she collected a few things before heading into the shower, while Gibbs pulled on a pair of sweat pants, an old t-shirt and headed downstairs to begin breakfast.
As Jenny emerged from the en-suite about ten minutes later, she noticed Ziva and Douglas were both awake. Still in the cot, they were sitting up while Ziva entertained the baby with one of his favorite plastic books. Having heard the story a couple of times yesterday, she was able to read it from memory.
"Good morning," greeted Jenny as she sat on the end of the bed. Reaching into the cot, she pulled out Ziva and placed her on her lap with Ziva facing her. "Did you decide to sleep with Douglas last night," she said, brushing Ziva's hair back.
"Yep," said Ziva. "I didn't want to go back to bed, so I climbed in here. It's actually quite comfortable in there," she added looking back into the cot.
"Is it?" replied Jenny, smiling at her daughter's observations. "You weren't too squished?"
"Nope!" said Ziva shaking her head. "I fitted real good Mommy! And Douglas doesn't wriggle too much either."
Laughing, Jenny stood up, lifting Ziva with her. Seeing as Douglas only had one more night with them, she decided there wasn't much point in telling Ziva not to climb in there again. The novelty would soon wear off and she knew Ziva was only doing it because Douglas was around. Ordinarily she was a child eager to grow up.
"Well then," she said, kissing Ziva on the cheek. "How about you head downstairs and have some breakfast. I'll just quickly change Douglas and I'll be down in a minute."
"OK Mommy," said Ziva cheerfully as she scrambled to get down. Once on the floor, she skipped out of the room and down the stairs.
Just as Jenny finished dressing Douglas, she heard Tony flushing the toilet and washing his hands. Lifting Douglas onto her hip, she stood outside her bedroom door and waited for him to join her. She smiled as he exited the bathroom and looked up to see her standing there.
"Morning Baby," she greeted, putting her arm around his shoulder and kissing his head. "How did you sleep?"
"Good," he replied, giving her a quick one handed hug before drawing his attention to Douglas.
"Hey Douglas," he said, tickling the baby's knee. "Do you stink? Hey, do you stink?" He spoke to Douglas using the classic baby talk tone.
"No," replied Jenny. "He's been changed and dressed and is ready to start the day. Unlike you," she added smiling.
She stroked back his wayward hair which was sticking up in all directions.
"You need a hair cut Mister," she proclaimed before hoisting Douglas on her hip again and heading down stairs with Tony following her.
When they arrived in the kitchen, Jenny sat Douglas in his high chair. Gibbs pulled a bib over the baby's head before placing a bowl of pureed fruit and a baby's bottle filled with water in front of him. Douglas immediately grabbed the bottle of water and began sucking enthusiastically.
"You thirsty Champ?" commented Gibbs holding the bottle slightly to give it more support.
"I'm thirsty too Daddy," said Ziva, grabbing her glass and finishing all her juice in one go.
"You sure are," replied Gibbs. As Ziva placed the empty glass on the table in front of her, Jenny and Gibbs exchanged a smile before Jenny refilled the glass. They were both looking forward to life getting back to normal once Douglas was back with his family.
As everyone sat around the table eating breakfast, Ziva suddenly said, "Why was everyone here last night?"
Tony looked up from his cereal.
"When?" he asked.
"Last night," repeated Ziva. "There was Abby, Timmy and Ducky. They were all in the living room talking."
"How do you know?" said Tony. "Did you get to stay up?"
Turning to his parents, he said accusingly, "How come I didn't get to stay up?"
"No one got to stay up," growled Gibbs, standing up and putting Douglas' bottle of formula into the microwave. Having managed to feed the baby most of the fruit, he scraped out the remainder and popped it into his mouth before putting the empty bowl in the sink.
"Douglas did," added Ziva sulkily.
Giving her a warning look, Gibbs watched as Ziva looked down and took another mouthful of cereal.
Hoping that was the end to the conversation, Gibbs waited for the 'ding' before taking the bottle out, giving it a quick shake and testing the temperature. He had just managed to get Douglas settled in his arms and sucking on the bottle when Ziva said again, "So, why was everyone here last night?"
"And again," replied Tony sarcastically. "How do you know?"
"Ugh Tony!" exclaimed Jenny, irritated by the circling conversation.
She took a deep breath before saying, "Last night we had a meeting about Douglas and what was going to happen with him. Tim only received the information late, so we called everyone around to sort things through. Ziva didn't get to stay up. She woke up and decided to come down stairs, but was very quickly told to get back to bed. OK?" she added looking pointedly at Tony.
He shrugged nonchalantly and replied, "Yeah, I guess."
"Actually, that reminds me young lady," said Gibbs, looking sternly at Ziva. "Do not slam your bedroom door please. It loosens the hinges and can damage the frame."
"When did she do that?" asked Tony.
Tony's latest annoying habit was to question and argue about everything. As much as it was frustrating both Jenny and Gibbs, they tried their best to ignore his often flippant tone and answer his questions as best they could.
"Last night," answered Gibbs. "When I sent her back to bed."
"I didn't hear it," said Tony.
"Well, no Tony," replied Gibbs, far more patiently than he thought possible. "That would be because you were asleep."
Tony shrugged again with an air of arrogance and went back to eating his cereal. "So, what's happening with Douglas?" he asked, chewing his current mouthful.
"Well," began Gibbs, shifting the infant in his arms so that the bottle was easier for Douglas to grasp and finish the last of the formula. "Tim managed to locate his family and they are coming to pick him up tomorrow morning. Mom's taking the day off so we can all be here to say goodbye."
Tony nodded and took another mouthful.
"But why did you need to call everyone around for that?" asked Ziva suspiciously. "That only took you five seconds to tell us."
Glancing quickly at each other, Jenny and Gibbs silently signaled before Jenny said, "Well, there was something else we had to talk about."
Tony and Ziva looked up from their cereal bowls.
Jenny smiled then said, "Daddy and I have a bit of a surprise for you both but we don't want to tell you until after Douglas has gone home as we want it to be just us."
"What's the surprise?" asked Ziva excitedly.
"If they told us that, stupid, it wouldn't be a surprise," said Tony in exasperation.
"I'm not stupid, you are!" yelled Ziva.
"Hey!" growled Gibbs. "No one's stupid. But as Tony said, if we told you now it wouldn't be a surprise."
"Yes it would," argued Ziva. "It would be a surprise now."
Amazed at Ziva's quick reasoning, Gibbs laughed then said, "No. We will tell you tomorrow when Douglas has been picked up. Not before, so quit asking."
He looked sternly at the two children.
"But Daddy…"
"No Ziva! Now I mean it. Don't keep asking or you'll find yourself spending time in your bedroom. Same goes for you Tony," he added, looking over at his son.
"I didn't say anything?" snapped Tony. "It was Ziva who was asking."
"I know that Tony," replied Gibbs, again sounding a lot calmer than he felt. "I was just letting you know."
"Well at least wait until I've done something before growling at me, sheesh!" yelled Tony, slamming his spoon into his cereal.
Ziva suddenly froze, her spoon halfway to her mouth. Hey eyes widened in shock, before she gasped, "Tony!"
Handing Douglas over to Jenny, Gibbs stood and said quietly, "Tony, with me please."
As Tony scraped back his chair, he swallowed hard. He had no idea where that had come from, but he knew he was in a mountain of trouble. No one spoke to his Dad like that and got away with it. Trying to appear a lot braver than he felt, Tony raised his head and walked into the living room.
"Tony's in big trouble now," said Ziva, looking up at Jenny. "Daddy's gonna give him such a spanking."
"You just concentrate on eating your breakfast young lady and let Daddy deal with Tony," replied Jenny. Feeling Douglas squirm in her arms, she looked down and noticed he had finished the bottle. Standing up, she carried him into the living room before placing him in the play pen which contained many of his toys. Turning back to the kitchen she all but slammed into Ziva.
"Ziva!" she exclaimed. "I nearly knocked you over."
"Where's Tony and Daddy?" Ziva asked, peering around Jenny to see into the living room.
"Probably up in Tony's bedroom," replied Jenny. She took hold of Ziva's shoulders and spun her around so she was facing the kitchen again. "Eat!" she said, emphasizing the word with a quick swat to Ziva's bottom.
As Ziva made her way back to the table, Jenny poured herself a cup of coffee. She knew Tony deserved whatever Gibbs dealt out. This was the very thing they had discussed the other night. Tony's attitude, his constant arguing, the sassing, all of it was testing them both to the limit, but even Jenny didn't think Tony would ever speak like that to his father. Realizing now was not the time to go upstairs and finish getting ready, Jenny took her coffee into the living room and sat where she could keep an eye on both Ziva and Douglas.
Having walked into the living-room, Tony looked up and saw his father standing there.
"I'm sorry D-Dad," Tony began, fear making his voice crack slightly. "I didn't mean it, I promise."
"Upstairs," was all Gibbs said in reply.
Tony swallowed again. He certainly wasn't about to start arguing now. Turning slightly, he passed his Dad and walked up the stairs, feeling like one who was heading to the gallows.
As he reached his room, he pushed open the door and sat on the bed. Gibbs was right behind him.
Grabbing the chair from Tony's desk, Gibbs placed it in front of Tony and sat down.
Again, Tony tried, "I'm really sorry Dad. I know I should never speak to you that way."
"No, you shouldn't Tony," agreed Gibbs, leaning forward and resting his forearms on his knees. "In fact you shouldn't speak that way to anyone."
When Tony nodded, Gibbs continued. "This is exactly what I was talking about yesterday. The way you have been speaking to people lately is not acceptable. Now, I was not accusing you of doing anything just then in the kitchen. I was merely warning you and explaining what would happen should you continue to ask."
"I'm sorry Dad," said Tony again, his eyes filling with tears. "I don't know what's going on lately. I feel so yuck inside, like I want to yell at someone or hit someone. I feel like everyone's picking on me all the time and I just want to be left alone." Tears were now escaping onto Tony's cheeks and he angrily brushed them away.
Gibbs rested one hand on Tony's knee.
"Tony, you're feeling this way because you're beginning to grow up. When boys and girls reach a certain age, even before their bodies begin to change into men and women, something called hormones start being released from the glands that are in our bodies. You know when you get a big fright and suddenly you want to run and your heart starts beating really fast?"
"Yeah," said Tony quietly.
"Well that's because a hormone has been released. It's called adrenalin," explained Gibbs. "Our body is full of glands that release many different hormones that help to keep us alive as well as often controlling our moods. Now, when you hit puberty…"
Tony suddenly blushed and squirmed on the bed. He'd heard about puberty before but it had always been something that seemed rude. He certainly wasn't expecting to be talking about that now.
"…your body releases a whole new set of hormones. These hormones help your body to grow and change so that you stop looking like a boy and begin to look like a man. The problem is Tony, all these hormones can also affect your moods. One in particular, called testosterone, can have you feeling angry and frustrated. You want to argue all the time and prove that you're right and, sometimes, you end up doing or saying something that you later regret."
"Like the way I just spoke to you," said Tony.
"Yep, like that," said Gibbs, patting Tony's knee. "A part of growing up is learning self control. Learning that you're not always right and that everyone, no matter who they are, deserves to be treated with respect. I'm not saying you have to like every person you meet, but you do need to realize that every person should be treated the same way you would like to be treated. Now I know you wouldn't like it if I spoke to you the way you just spoke to me. It would hurt your feelings and probably make you angry, and I won't put up with you speaking that way to anyone either."
Again Tony nodded his head in acknowledgement. He knew the lecture was drawing to a close and soon his fate would be sealed.
"So," said Gibbs lifting Tony's chin. "Do you remember what we talked about yesterday?"
Tony thought for a second then said, "About being grounded?"
"Yes," replied Gibbs.
"But I thought you'd want to spank me for this?" said Tony. In fact, he'd been positive he'd end up over his Dad's knee for this one.
Gibbs shook his head.
"As I said to you yesterday, you're growing up and spankings aren't always appropriate anymore. Sure, I could put you over my knee, but in an hour or so I would question just how much of a deterrent it had been. Whereas, an hour in here to think about what I've said and how you can you can change your behavior might have more of an impact."
Tony's shoulders slumped. As much as he had been dreading the spanking, the thought of having to sit in his room for a whole hour felt far worse.
"A whole hour?" he asked.
"Yes Tony," said Gibbs firmly. "Be thankful. I was going to make it two!"
Tony's eyes widened at the thought.
"So, do I just sit on my bed?" he asked, unsure of what he was exactly meant to do.
"If you want," replied Gibbs. "Sometimes, I might ask you to write something for me, but today I'll leave it up to you what you do. You can either lie on your bed, or you can read, but you're not to play with any toys and I'll be taking the DS away."
Tony nodded. It still didn't sound like much fun but, if he could at least read, the hour might be somewhat bearable.
As Gibbs stood up, Tony suddenly asked, "You said sometimes you'll ask me to write something. What did you mean?"
"Sometimes, I'll ask you to write what you did that was wrong and what you can do next time to avoid being grounded," explained Gibbs. "But today, I'll just be asking you that when I come and see you in an hour and you can just tell me."
Again Tony nodded.
"Dad?"
"Yes Tony," answered Gibbs.
"How come you don't get mad?" he asked.
"What do you mean?" replied Gibbs.
"Well, I thought you'd be really, really angry at me for speaking to you that way. I thought you'd yell at me and really spank me hard, but you didn't. We just…talked?" finished Tony, shrugging his shoulders slightly.
"Tony, I don't see the point in doing a lot of yelling when it comes to kids. You knew you had done something wrong, and believe me when I say, I was not impressed with you," said Gibbs sternly. "But yelling and screaming doesn't serve any purpose. It either makes you feel angry or it makes you feel worthless, and neither of those things are what I want for you. Plus, I think it's important that you learn through example. If you know that I can control my temper and not lash out at people, then hopefully you will want to do the same thing."
Tony stepped forward and put his arms around his Dad's waist.
"Dad," he said, burying his head in Gibbs' chest. "I do want to be just like you."
"Thanks Bud," said Gibbs, stroking Tony's head. "All I want is for you to do the best you can and for you to be proud of who you are."
Pulling away, Gibbs took the DS off Tony's night stand before opening the door. "I'll see you in an hour," he said, before exiting and closing the door quietly behind him.
Standing on the landing, Gibbs took a deep breath. He had to admit, from a parental point of view, grounding Tony was a lot easier than spanking him. He only hoped that Tony would use the time to reflect on his behavior. By taking the time now to pull Tony in line, Gibbs hoped he would set the trend for Tony's adult life.
As he came down the stairs, he saw Jenny and Ziva sitting on the sofa with Douglas. Jenny was currently reading a story to Ziva while Douglas banged his teething ring on Jenny's leg.
"Hey," she said, looking up at him and smiling.
"Is Tony OK, Daddy?" asked Ziva. "Only I can't hear him crying. He's still breathing isn't he?"
"Zi-va!" exclaimed Gibbs. "Of course he's still breathing. Tony is fine."
"Then why isn't he crying? I bet you spanked him really hard for speaking like that," she said.
Putting the DS on the coffee table and sitting down, Gibbs lifted Ziva onto his lap. Before he could begin talking though, Jenny stood and, placing Douglas in the playpen, she said quietly, "I need to finish getting ready. I'm already late for work."
"Sorry Hon," said Gibbs, taking her hand and rubbing his thumb over her knuckles.
"No, that's fine. I wanted to…give you space," she said, indicating Ziva with her eyes.
"Yeah, thanks, much appreciated," he said.
Lifting his hand to her mouth and kissing it softly, Jenny let go and headed up the stairs.
Turning his attention back to his daughter, Gibbs said, "Tony isn't crying Ziva because I didn't spank him."
"You didn't?"
He couldn't help but smirk at the outraged shock in her voice. As much as Ziva didn't like to think her brother had been punished, she didn't want to think he'd gotten away with anything either.
"Ziva, that doesn't mean that I didn't punish Tony. Tony has been grounded to his room for an hour," Gibbs explained.
"What does that mean?" she asked.
"It means that for the next hour, Tony is not allowed to leave his bedroom, he's not allowed to play with any toys and he's not allowed to play on the DS."
"What can he do?" asked Ziva.
"He can lie on his bed, or read," replied Gibbs.
"Well, that doesn't sound like much of a punishment," said Ziva scornfully. "Can I be grounded next time instead of getting a spanking?"
Unable to stop himself, Gibbs laughed.
"Everyone's different honey," he explained. "For Tony, being confined to his room for an hour is more of a punishment than being spanked. Whereas for you, the spanking is worse. My job is to figure out what it is that will stop you from doing the wrong thing. Understand?"
"Maybe," she said, scrunching up her face.
She was silent for a moment while she comprehended what he had told her. Then, with a quick flash of inspiration, she looked up at Gibbs and said, "You know what Daddy, I think being stuck in my room for an hour would be pretty horrible too. I really hope you don't ever do that to me. I don't think I'd ever be naughty again!"
God she was smart, he thought.
He stood up and, holding Ziva under the arms, he lifted her high and began blowing raspberries on her exposed tummy where her pyjama top had ridden up. She kicked her legs and squealed and he couldn't help laughing with her.
"Ah Ziva," he said, when she finally stopped giggling. "I do love you, chickadee!"
Settling her on his hip, he tapped her nose saying, "You, Ziva Gibbs, are the cleverest five year old I know!"
"Really Daddy?" she asked. She was serious in her question.
"Yes, really," affirmed Gibbs.
He set her on the floor. "Go and get dressed Sweat Pea, and do not go into Tony's bedroom. OK?"
"OK Daddy," she said.
He watched as she turned and skipped up the stairs. Then, looking down at Douglas he said, "Well Champ, it looks like it's just you and me."
Staring at Douglas, Gibbs noticed the intense concentration on the baby's face. His suspicions were confirmed when a distinctive noise sounded from Douglas' rear end.
"Good one Champ," groaned Gibbs. Douglas looked up at him and giggled, giving Gibbs his best one toothed grin.
****NCIS****
By the time Jenny arrived home that evening, Gibbs had all three children in bed. Knowing she was taking Friday off, she had stayed back to finish off a couple of things.
After getting changed, she sat down at the table to eat the dinner Gibbs had prepared earlier.
"Kids are asleep," she said. "I just checked them all."
Gibbs poured a coffee and sat down on the end seat, adjacent to Jenny.
"Thanks," he said.
"How was Tony after the grounding?" she asked, tucking into her meal.
"Better," he said simply. "He managed to keep a civil check on his attitude for the rest of the day and even looked after Douglas for an hour or so while I did a few things around the house."
He took a quick gulp of coffee then added, "I rang Dad today."
Jenny looked up at him. "How'd it go?" she asked.
She knew Gibbs had been waiting until they knew for definite where they stood before he rang Jack.
"He took it pretty well actually. Better than I probably would have," he said laughing. "I think he's mellowing in his old age."
"So, he believed you?" asked Jenny in surprise. She picked up her fork and resumed eating.
"Yeah," replied Gibbs, just as surprised. "I thought I'd be explaining things until the cows came home but he just went quiet for a minute then said, 'Well Son, I guess you know what you're doing.' Maybe he thinks I've gone crazy. He's probably right," added Gibbs wryly.
Jenny laughed.
"Anyway," continued Gibbs, after taking another sip of coffee. "I went through the back stories with him and looks like we're all set for Monday. He's looking forward to meeting his 'grandchildren' he says."
Gibbs replaced the mug on the table.
"Actually," he said, looking at Jenny and raising his eyebrows. "He was more interested in learning we were together again."
Jenny raised her head again, still chewing. "How so?" she asked.
"Well, his exact words were, 'Bout time you two sorted it out. She's a damn good find that one Leroy. Make an honest woman outta her," finished Gibbs, putting on his best Jack impression.
"Damn good find?" repeated Jenny incredulously. "What are we, in 1952?"
Gibbs snorted.
"Well hon, remember it is Stillwater. Not even sure if women have the vote yet," he retorted dryly.
"How does he even know about me?" asked Jen. "We've never met?"
"Er, well, I might have said a few things a while back," replied Gibbs, blushing slightly. "I was pretty heartbroken when you left. Dad's advice was to go after you and drag you back if you meant that much to me."
"Geez," laughed Jenny. "That would've gone down well."
"Yep! You'll notice I didn't take that advice," he added.
"No, you just got re-married again," she said, smirking at him.
Taking the last mouthful, she stood and put her plate in the sink. Grabbing a mug she poured some coffee and sat back at the table.
For a while they just sat in comfortable silence, each sipping their coffee and reflecting on the past week.
"What time is Mrs Redding getting here in the morning?" asked Jenny, breaking the silence.
"Tim thought about 10.30," answered Gibbs. "She arrived in DC a few hours ago."
He took another sip.
"God, can you imagine what she's probably thinking at the moment?" said Gibbs. "Suddenly getting your husband handed back to you as a six month old."
"Well at least it's not permanent," commented Jenny. "She'll have the real deal again in eighteen months or so."
Jenny stood and opened the fridge. Searching for a minute, she found one of Tony and Ziva's chocolate pudding cups. Holding it out, she raised her eyebrows, wordlessly asking if Gibbs wanted one. When he shook his head, she closed the fridge and took out a spoon. Tearing off the paper lid, she sat down again and began eating the dessert.
"I'm more worried about how Tony and Ziva are going to respond to the news of their new lives," she said, tapping the spoon on her chin.
Gibbs watched her take another mouthful, then grabbed the spoon out of her hands and took a scoop.
"I asked you if you wanted one," she said crossly, trying to take back the spoon.
He shrugged. "I didn't, until I saw you eating yours."
He tried to steal another scoop, but Jenny held the cup out of the way.
"Go and get your own," she said. "And bring me another spoon please!"
He stood up and did as asked, grabbing another pudding cup out of the fridge. Handing Jenny her old spoon, he kept the clean one for himself. She gave him a quick look before picking up the spoon and digging in again.
"They'll be fine, Jen," he said, in answer to her earlier concern. "Neither of them wants their old life back. Tony has already asked me about being adopted. And he's old enough to know how important it is to maintain the cover. Ziva would normally be my concern, but with her photographic memory, she'll have her whole life story memorized in a couple of minutes."
"Yeah, I guess," said Jenny quietly. "It's always so much riskier when children are involved."
"Don't stress hon," said Gibbs, scraping out the last of his pudding. "They'll probably take to it better than most adults."
He stood and reached out for Jenny's empty pudding cup, which she passed to him before he put them both in the bin. Refilling both mugs, he passed one to her before holding out his hand saying, "Come on, let's relax for a bit on the sofa."
As they headed into the living room, Jenny said, "What are we going to do about Ziva tonight? I mean, should we just ignore her if she climbs in with Douglas?"
"Honestly Jen, if she's not disturbing anyone, I say just let it go for tonight," replied Gibbs, taking a seat. "The cot will be packed up tomorrow anyway."
"Yep, that's what I was hoping you'd say," agreed Jenny. She put her mug on the coffee table, before curling up next to Gibbs on the sofa and laying her head in his lap.
"Gonna miss you guys when you go to Stillwater," she said, relaxing as Gibbs ran his fingers through her hair.
"I'll ring," he said, as if that would make all the difference. "I might even get Tim to show me how to do that Sky thingy."
She frowned for an instant then, realizing what he meant, said, "Skype. It's called Skype."
"Whatever," he quipped.
"Does your Dad have internet?" she asked. She couldn't imagine Jackson Gibbs surfing the net too often.
"The store does," replied Gibbs. "He has it set up for customers."
"Very forward thinking," she remarked, yawning softly.
Gibbs bent forward and, scraping her hair back past her ears, he gently kissed her on the temple. She sighed and wriggled a little to snuggle into his lap. Smiling, Gibbs grabbed the remote and flicked on the TV ready to catch the late news.
Jenny was asleep before the main headlines had even been announced.
