Gibbs/Allison Series:
Choosing Between Old & New # 5
By: MChakotayParis (R. Mason)
Chapter 10
Doctor Donald Mallard (Ducky)
Doctor Donald Mallard had arrived the next day a little bit late the next morning but he'd had to search for his gift to Ali. He had found her one of the books in the latest series she'd been reading and wanted to give it to her but then she'd disappeared down to the beach house.
He'd been furious when Tim told him what had happened and his part in it, how could Gibbs' own father react that way to Allison but on further contemplating he was beginning to understand. He hadn't know anything about Gibbs' relationship with Ali so when he saw Gibbs kneeling over Allison taking care of her intimately he reacted instinctively. Especially since he was raised in an old fashion way were adult men and woman didn't do that sort of thing anywhere except in privacy of the bedroom. And since Allison was very much an adult, and Jackson didn't know about Allison's past his reaction was typically strong.
Unfortunately just what Allison didn't need at the time and it sent her into a flurry of self-doubt and had her running to the beach house. Luckily she had called Auggie and she had convinced her to send a message to Jethro and Tobias, unfortunately for their Timothy he had not told Gibbs or Tobias before Ali had fled to the beach house where they had to wait almost a week before Ali had her breakdown to go and get her.
Now after an extended stay at the beach house they had returned and he was going to get to see and check on his sweet Allison. When Jethro had called him last night his first instinct was to rush over her that night and check on her but he agreed to wait and come over the next morning with Auggie. Jethro had informed him that Ali was having trouble sleeping and wetting her diaper more often than normal and wanted him to check her out to make sure she was physical alright. He knew that she had only been out of the hospital from her Gall Bladder surgery for a few weeks before all this happened and hopped that it had nothing to do with it.
As he rang the doorbell and waited he contemplated their little family, as he thought the door was opened by the newest member of their family. Doctor Augustina Chandler, she had been Allison's military counselor while she was raising her brothers' and sisters'.
"Hello Doctor Mallard, Ali, Tobias and Jethro are in the kitchen making breakfast but please come in"
At her greeting Ducky took off his hat and entered saying "Thank you Doctor Chandler, and it's Ducky please. Now where is our little Allison I have something for her?"
As soon as she heard his voice Ali's came running out of the kitchen squealing, then stopped just short of running into his arms. Right behind her were Tobias and Gibbs smiling.
"Ducky what did we say about always bringing a present for Ali when you visit?" asked Gibbs in a stern voice but not succeeding because of the smile on his face. Ali was literally bouncing up and down in front of him just dying to get her arms around his neck.
"I know Jethro, but it's been such a long time and with all that our little one has been through I thought she deserved a little something. Here you go sweetheart from Grandpa Ducky" said Ducky, then handed Ali the present he'd been holding under his arm.
Ali took the present, looking back at Gibbs and Tobias for permission then threw her arms around him and whispered. "Thank you Ducky, thank you"
"Alright how about Tobias and I finishing up breakfast while you set the table baby girl" said Gibbs as Ali had just finished hugging Duck. She was looking back at them as if looking for something to do.
"May I get everyone their drink as well Daddy?" asked Ali as she looked at Gibbs
"Yes you may, but remember that the coffee is hot little one" said Tobias as he and Gibbs headed back towards the kitchen
"What would you like to drink Auggie, coffee or tea?" asked Ali as she looked Auggie.
"Coffee please Ali, black" replied Auggie
"And you Grandpa Ducky?" asked Ali shyly with a smile
"Tea please my sweet" answered Ducky with a smile then headed towards the living room to wait for breakfast. As he sat down on the couch to wait he noticed how much Ali had changed but stayed the same since he'd last saw her. She was still the enthusiastic little girl that they all knew and loved but she had also somehow grown up a little. A little more confident in herself and asserting herself a little bit more. He was proud of her that meant that she was more confident in being Ali and was looking to grow a little.
As Auggie wandered into the living room she had a puzzled look on her face, he could understand her confusion. The last time any of them had seen Ali she'd just gotten out of the hospital and had been in almost total "baby mode" for the next two weeks or so then the incident with Jackson had happened and Ali had ran. Now she had returned and she was not acting like their little "baby Ali" anymore, granted she was still "little Ali" but not quite the baby anymore, she'd grown and Ducky had to admit to himself that he like this Allison/Ali just as much.
With this Ali they could getting into more of the older things that he'd wanted to do with her involving her learning medicine and biology. He'd been concerned with she'd first mentioned her interest in those subjects because a lot of the stuff might freak a little one out but now he was almost certain that Ali could handle it. He would speak to Jethro and Tobias when he got the chance and then get with Jimmy to see if they could help further Ali's studies, she really did have a knack for learning in this field.
A few minutes later Auggie wandered into the kitchen and he heard voices, Jethro, Tobias and Auggie were discussing Ali and how she'd grown. That was between them so he stayed where he was and waited, a few minutes later he heard Ali come bouncing into the kitchen and Tobias tell her to go wash her hand. Well that was his queue to start heading towards the dining room and he stood with ease and made his way there. Ali quickly returned and everyone sat down and had an enjoyable breakfast Ali talking nonstop about what they had done down at the beach house.
After breakfast was finished and everyone was leaving the table he suggested "Jethro, why don't Ali and I head on upstairs so I can examine here?" said Ducky then he took Ali's arms and started upstairs
"Good idea Ducky, I'll be right there" said Gibbs and watched the two climb the stairs, after a few quick words with Tobias Jethro followed them upstairs and entered Ali's room just as she and Ducky were getting her shower things ready. Twenty minutes later Ali and Jethro came out of the bathroom Ali dressed in a warm fluffy towel and Jethro in slightly damp clothes. He quickly laid Ali down, diapering her then putting on one of her oversized white tee-shirts. As he stood he looked down at the woman on the bed and asked "You going to be ok doing this baby girl?"
"Of course Daddy, it's Grandpa Ducky. We'll give you and Papa time to talk to Auggie then be down after you're finished" replied Ali with a smile.
At her remark Ducky smiled, damn that little one was smart, she knew that Auggie wanted to talk to Jethro and Tobias and needed her out of earshot, so they used the excuses of Ducky examining her as a means to accomplish that. They were going to have to watch their step from not on, Allison was coming through more and more when she was Ali and it was going to be tougher to get things past her, Ahhh well, such as the growth of little ones thought Ducky as he approached the bed.
"Don't worry Jethro, Ali and I will be fine" said Ducky with a pat to his arm then whispered as he stood "I'll keep her here as long as I can for you Jethro"
After that Gibbs left and Ducky got down to the nitty gritty of examining Ali, he checked her eyes, ears, lungs and heart along with her blood pressure and temperature. Finding nothing out of the range of normal Ducky asked Ali to look at her incisions and gently raised her shirt. All three were healing very nicely, the one at the top of her stomach was slightly red and a little dry but that was probably because of the wet diapers. He would need to remind Jethro and Tobias to keep lotion on it so it wouldn't dry out and start itching. After that they sat on the bed Ducky reading to Ali from her favorite book, after about an hour Ali started getting fidgety and Ducky called an end to the story book time. As he closed the book he looked at their little girl with wonder.
It always amazed him how a family could do so much damage to such a sweet soul as Ali, all for the sake of getting the perfect son or daughter. Especially when they had her right here, Ali was everything a person could want in a child or adult. Loving, loyal, trustworthy, independent and fiercely protective of her family and friends. Well he for one was glad that Admiral Grayson and his family had given up all claim on Allison, that meant just meant that they were free to love her that much more.
With a gentle kiss to the top of her head Ducky asked. "Ali my sweet, are you ready get dressed and go downstairs to see if your daddies and Auggie are finished talking?"
"Yes sir, may I pick out my clothes Ducky?" asked Ali as she looked up at him
"Of course you may my sweet, whatever you would like to wear. Just make sure it's warm, it's still rather chilly" answered Ducky with a smile.
With that Ali bounced off the bed and hurried over to her closet, after a few minutes of searching her picked out an off white tee-shirt dress that had red holly berries and green leaves all over it. It had a matching red tank top with Christmas red flannel Capri pants. As she turned around and held it out to him Ducky had to smile. Even though she was trying to assert her independence she still wanted and even needed approval from an adult. She was growing up but was still their baby Ali at heart.
"That looks beautiful sweetheart, and I think you even have a matching bow. Why don't you get dressed while I look for it?" said Ducky as he headed towards her, a moment later he once again had his arms full of a very happy Ali then just as quickly she let go of him heading towards the bathroom calling "Thank you Ducky" as she closed the door behind her.
After standing for a few seconds staring at the door Ducky moved over to Ali's dresser and quickly found the coordinating hair bow that he had given her this last Christmas. Ten minutes later Ali emerged wearing her winter play set and looking absolutely adorable. After doing a few twirls around the room, she once again sat down on the bed and put on some heavy white socks that Ducky handed her. After helping her fix the hair bow band in her hair Ali and Ducky made their way towards the door.
After stopping just outside of Ali's door to make sure he couldn't hear anymore voices down stairs Ducky lead Ali down the stairs and quietly entered the living room where the three people sat, Ali had stopped just a few feet from the group and held her arms out spinning around just enough to make the tee-shirt dress skirt billow out.
As Auggie noticed what Ali was wearing she had to smile Ali looked adorable. Whoever had found that set had done an excellent job, it looked adult enough to be worn out in public but just enough of a little girl to make Ali look adorable in it. And to top it off in her hair she wore a matching bow on a headband.
"You look adorable sweetheart, who bought you the outfit?" asked Auggie as she stood up and hugged the woman
"Abby and Ziva, took me shopping after I got back from the plane crash and forest with Papa but we couldn't find anything so they got online and found a lady who makes these sets. They asked her if she would make one in my size and bought me several for Christmas. Ducky gave me the bow for my hair too"
"Well I think you look absolutely beautiful in it and I'll have to ask them to show me the website so I can get you some too"
"Auggie" said Gibbs with a little warning tone in his voice.
As she looked at the two men she smiled. "Oh hush, aunties are allowed to spoil their little girls" replied Auggie with a wave of her hand and the two men. "Now come on and put some shoes on so you can show me your play set" then lead the younger woman away to find some shoes and a light jacket so they could go outside.
As Ducky took Auggie's place he sighed, it was so good to have their little Ali back
At Ducky's sigh Gibbs asked worriedly "How is she Ducky, is she alright?"
"She's fine Jethro, apart from slight irritation to her incision on her upper abdomen she is fine. I would keep it moisturized though so it doesn't dry out and start to irritate her" remarked Ducky
"Already doing that Ducky" responded Tobias "Other than that she's fine right?" worry creeping into his voice.
"My dear Tobias she is fine, although I suspect that her interrupted sleep is what's causing her to lose control more often. Once she gets back into her normal patter she couldn't have that much trouble anymore"
"Oh thank you Ducky, now what did you two do up there while we were talking?" asked Gibbs with a smile
"I read her a story, it is remarkable her growth since the last time we saw her Jethro. You and Tobias have done a wonderful job helping her through this"
"Well I just hope that the others goings as smoothly as ours did, we only had a couple of hick ups along the way but we got through them and have our Ali back" said Gibbs as he looked over at Tobias and took his hand.
Ducky could tell that the little hick ups that he mentioned were probably a little more serious than he was letting on, but he would give him time. If Jethro wanted to tell him what had happened he would in his own sweet time and no amount of pushing would persuade him otherwise.
"Well, what do you think we should do while Auggie and Ali are talking?" asked Tobias with a smile
"I don't know about you two gentlemen but I'm dying for a cup of tea, I love reading to Ali but it does a number on my throat" said Ducky with a smile then laughed as he followed the two men into the kitchen to make some fresh coffee and tea.
Almost an hour later Ali and Auggie returned and Ducky noticed that Auggie looked upset and Ali a little tired.
"How about I take our little girl upstairs and read her a story before she takes a little nap how's that sound sweetheart" asked Ducky as he came over and gently lead Ali upstairs. He knew in a pinch that Ali would let him change her if necessary. So as Ducky and Ali climbed the stairs he looked back to see Jethro, Tobias and Auggie once again deep in discussion on the couch.
After a quick change and her favorite guaranteed bedtime story Ducky placed Ali's pacifier in her mouth and her "Puffalump" in her arms and came back down stairs to find Augustina Chandler pulling on her coat and leaving.
"Everything alright Jethro?" asked Ducky as he took his seat once more in the living room
"Just fine Ducky, Auggie figured out the source of Ali's nightmares and feels responsible because she's the one that told us to take it slowly reintegrating the family back into Ali's life. She just hadn't counted on the strong bond that she'd already formed with all of you. We're having a family cookout this weekend so we can show Ali that everyone still wants her as Ali" answered Jethro.
"I think that's a wonderful idea Jethro count me in, what time should we arrive?"
"Between two thirty and three on Saturday, do you think Jimmy will be able to come?" asked Tobias
"I'm sure of it Tobias, he asks almost daily when we will able to see Ali again. I'll inform him of the details tomorrow" replied Ducky
"Thanks Ducky, oh and it's a pot luck so bring some of your famous potato salad as well" said Gibbs with a smile
"Gladly my friend, gladly"
For the next several hours Gibbs, Tobias and Ducky watched a baseball game on television waiting for Ali to wake up, when they heard noises from her room Tobias went up to change her and then followed a very bouncy Ali back downstairs.
"Well, well well, looks like sleeping beauty has finally awoken. How about we fix some lunch and then we can look at that new book I brought you?" suggested Ducky
At Ali's smile they headed for the kitchen and quickly reheated some grilled chicken that they had earlier then Ali made herself some chicken fajitas. After eating then cleaning up the kitchen Ali and Ducky went into the living room while Gibbs and Tobias some time alone in the backyard.
"I know you've been doing really well in studies and when I saw this book I thought that you might like it. I think you've advanced enough you can handle it now" said Ducky as he handed her the present.
Ali carefully opened the paper then squealed with delight as she saw the book he had given her. It was an interactive textbook to college biology with several disks that helped her understand the chapters through interactive activities.
"Oh Ducky thank you, thank you. Will you help me read the first chapter?" asked Ali as she unconsciously stroked the book's cover. This was the best present ever, it meant that Ducky still wanted her as Ali and didn't mind the Ali she'd become.
"Of course my sweet, but I'm not sure we can get through the whole chapter but we can make a good dent in it" laughed Ducky as Ali curled up next to him, her feet under her and opened the book. After a few minutes she was leaning against his side and Ducky had his arm around her shoulder.
The two of them spent the next two and a half hours reading until Ducky noticed that Ali's voice was getting scratchy and she was fidgeting a little against his side. Looking down he noticed that she was wet and gently kissed her head and smiled saying. "Ali sweet one, why don't you go tell your daddy or papa that you need changing, we've been reading for over two hours now and I really need to get home" said Ducky as he gently took the book for her hand and closed it placing a bookmark at their place. "We can work on it some more when everyone comes over Saturday for the cookout"
"Cook out, everyone's coming over. Yippee!" cried Ali as she jumped up and started dancing around the room.
It was just that moment that Gibbs and Tobias reentered the house and heard Ali's cry and saw the little dance she was doing
"Thanks a lot Doctor Mallard, we were going to tell Ali as a surprise" said Tobias trying to have a stern sound to his voice, but it was hard with the smile that was spreading across his face as he continued to watch Ali dance around the room.
"Sorry Tobias, but I knew that Ali wanted to continue her reading soon" said Ducky
"It's alright Ducky, Ali just needs to calm down and remember that she still has to follow the rules until the cookout or she night not be allowed to go" said Gibbs loudly
Instantly Ali stopped dancing around and stood quite still with her head down and her bottom lip quivering "I'm sorry Daddy, Papa. I'll be good" said Ali in a soft voice
"It's alright baby girl, just remember you have to listen to what Papa and I tell you okay?' said Gibbs softly as he came over and pulled her into his arms kissing her on top of the head.
"Yes sir, daddy…I Uhhh" started Ali then stopped as she buried her face in Gibbs shirt.
"I know baby girl, why don't you go upstairs and I'll change you then we can start fixing dinner. Tell Ducky goodbye and you'll see him Saturday" reminded Gibbs as he gently swatted her bottom as she pulled away from him.
Ali quickly ran over to the older man and threw her arms around his neck "Thank you Ducky for the book and for reading with me" said Ali softly
"You are more than welcome my little angel, now you be a good girl and I'll see you on Saturday okay?" said Ducky as he let her go and headed her in the direction of the stairs
"I will Ducky and thank you again" cried Ali as she took the stairs two at a time and raced to her room.
"Thanks again for everything Ducky and we'll see you for the cookout" said Gibbs as he quickly followed Ali upstairs.
Tobias quietly walked him to the door then quietly watched as the older man put on his coat and grabbed his hat. As he turned to look at the other man he smiled. "Is everything alright Tobias?"
"I'm just wondering if everything will go as smoothly with the rest of the family as it has with you and Auggie" answered Tobias with a sigh, he knew the rest of their family missed Ali and were very anxious to spend time with her he just wasn't sure how they would react to this slightly grown up version of Ali.
"I'm sure everything will be fine Tobias, she is still the Ali we all know and love her interest and confidence had just grown so she's now wanting to do more things. If I know everyone they will be thrilled that it's given them more opportunities to do things with Ali" said Ducky as he with a smile as he patted the man's arms.
"I hope your right" sighed Tobias
"I'm sure I am, don't under estimate the rest of Gibbs's team, they love Ali and will except her no matter how she acts" said Ducky and with that he put on hat and exited the house.
Tobias watched until he saw Ducky's Bentley pull away then closed the door just as Gibbs and Ali were coming back down stairs. With a big smile he greeted his little girl pulling her into his arms.
"I love you little one" whispered Tobias against her head
"I love you too Papa, now what do you want to do for the rest of the evening?" asked Ali as she pulled out of his arms
"Well since it's nearly time for dinner how about we eat a little early then we can catch a game or something on TV?" said Gibbs
"Can we watch Gilligan's Island Daddy, I've been wanted to watch it but I forgot to pack it when I went down to the beach house" asked Ali
"Sure thing princess, early dinner it is then Gilligan's Island. Sound like a fun evening" said Gibbs with a mock roll of his eyes and a smile on his face.
"Oh Daddy" cried Ali as she grabbed his arm and pulled both Gibbs and Tobias into the kitchen.
After fixing dinner and cleaning up Ali, Tobias and Gibbs settled down on the couch to spend the evening watching season one of Gilligan's Island. Before they started the DVD Ali ran upstairs and got her pacifier and "Puffalump" while Gibbs fixed her a bottle. Soon they were all snuggled together on the couch, Ali in her favorite place right between her daddies.