Gibbs had gone down to the basement after finishing the turkey sub leaving Tony alone with Sarah. "Sorry you had to miss another day at work." He told her as he sat down next to her on the couch.

"Miracles of modern technology Dinozzo." She said as she flipped off her phone and tossed it onto the coffee table. "Come here." She whispered to him when she looked up at his face. He turned and laid down with his head in her lap staring at the ceiling. As he lay there she ran her fingers through his hair relaxing him.

By the time Rachel came back he had fallen asleep and she had taken his phone and was playing on the ever so riveting game of Frozen Freefall. She put her finger to her lips and pointed to Tony as Rachel walked into the living room. Rachel nodded and whispered that he was in the basement. "Anything happen after I left?" She asked.

"They both ate...pretty boring other than that. Both seemed normal when they came down."

"I had a feeling they would...they have a very abstract way of talking through things...it does not follow a linear path and can be hard to keep up...it is like they have a revolving cycle with multiple conversations occurring simultaneously. Quite intriguing actually."

"When something gets to hard they move to something else and come back to it when they are ready. Tim said they have always been that way with each other and after Mike died it magnified. They both suck at anything emotional...both been hurt too many times."

"They are more worried about the other than they are of themselves."

"Isn't that how it is with families though?"

"Yes but they aren't a family."

"They have seen each other as father and son for years."

"They aren't related..they are just friends and coworkers."

"You have seen them together haven't you?"

"I thought it was just a cop thing...man I have been going about this all wrong." She said shaking her head and sitting down in a chair by the couch.

"Tim told me that when Jackson died Tony was more upset than Gibbs was...same thing with Mike. I may not be one hundred percent on this but I think Tony saw them as grandparents. Tony loves Senior but the man is not his Dad..."

"Do you know how he knew so much about Kelly?"

"When Tony found out he was hurt that Gibbs had never said anything to him...it reminded him of losing his own mom and Senior never talking about her and going from one stepmom to the next...He got most of his info from Jackson but Mike was able to tell him everything from the moment Shannon and Kelly were killed. We don't talk about that stuff though so I only know bits and pieces."

"So if Gibbs and Tony are father and son...what about the rest of them?"

"To Tony or to Gibbs?"

"Either."

"Tim may as well be his brother. Abby and him are like sisters. Ellie is a stepsister...Ducky is like an Uncle...Palmer I would say cousin."

"Hmmm, I guess that makes sense. I do need to talk to Gibbs...Would be nice to get some sleep tonight." Rachel said standing back up and walking towards the basement. Sarah heard as she opened the door and called down.

She smiled when a minute later a very saw dusty Gibbs stalked up the stairs followed by Rachel. Sarah started running her hand through his hair again waking him up gently. "Don't feel like talking." Tony mumbled.

"Didn't ask you anything."

"I'm exhausted."

"Sleep then."

"Not tired."

"We can make sure the rooms are ready upstairs...you are the only one who has really been up there."

"They are ready. Mike and Jackson used them quite a bit and Gibbs got all the personal stuff out first...it is all boxed up in his room."

"I didn't think he used the rooms up there."

"Doesn't sleep up there but he uses it."

"He okay with all of us staying here."

"He doesn't want to go back to the hospital."

"What about Abby and Ellie?"

"McGee's suppose to talk to them."

"Think it will do any good?"

"Nope."

"Then why bother?"

"I think Gibbs would be fine to work after a couple nights of us taking over his world."

"Gibbs will be or you will be?"

"Both."

"When are going to pack up Kelly's room?"

"After Rachel leaves." He answered as he picked up his phone, "Frozen?"

"Its fun. Don't judge."

"You put it on my phone."

"And your zombie star wars thing is on mine...whats your point?"

"Should I call Zoey and update her?"

"Already did."

"She coming over tonight?"

"Nope...she is working a case."

Tony sat up and went to the stairs, "You coming?"

"You said the rooms were ready."

"They are." Tony said with a small smile and Sarah got up to follow him intrigued to what it was that he wanted to show her. When they got up Tony went into Gibbs' bedroom and opened the door. "Gonna have McGee stay in here." Tony went to the second drawer of the chest and pulled out a photo album. "Jackson showed me these the last time he was here." He said sitting down on the bed and flipping it open.

Sarah sat down next to him and asked him different questions, she was surprised that Tony could not only name every person who was photographed but where they had been taken. As they were flipping through the third album they both heard Gibbs start to yell at Rachel. Tony set the book down on the bed and shook his head, "If he doesn't open up to her it isnt going to get any better."

"Let her push Tony...Don't go to his rescue yet...you need to let her push." Sarah told him setting her hand on his arm.

"Do you have any idea how hard that is?"

"Yes." She admitted... "You did the same thing when you first started meeting with her..."

"It isn't the same with him though...he blames himself for everyone dying...I just never dealt with anything before..."

"I agree that it is very different for the two of you but you know that if no one pushes Gibbs he isn't going to change."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it." Tony said flopping back on the bed.

"When Rachel is done with him I am going to take off for a few hours, I have one meeting I cant skip but I will be back here for dinner." Sarah told him getting a slight nod. "She is going to talk to you next...I am assuming that he is going to go down and hide in the basement and then when you are done you will go down and drag him up to work on Kelly's room."

"I am not looking forward to that...I never got to meet her but she feels like my little sister..."

"You able to hold it together for that?"

"Don't have a choice Sarah."

"Ant...I know you want to stay strong for him but if he sees you cry for Kelly it may be the push that he needs...to know that their memory wont be forgotten...the only people who knew her are all dead now."

"No...they aren't...she has a friend...Maddie...she was...why didn't I think of her before?" Tony said pulling out his phone. He dialed the number so fast she could only guess who he was calling. "Get me Maddie's phone number. No like now...connect it to me. Thanks Probie..." He paused and paced in front of the bed until he broke into a huge grin, "Hi Maddie, this is Anthony Dinozzo...yeah he one and the same...hey so I need your help...how long would it take you to get to Gibbs house?...No...just come now and I will explain when you get here...Maddie, thank you." He told her before hanging up the phone.

"Exwife?"

"Kelly's best friend."

"How do you know her?"

"Kept her and Gibbs from drowning and almost killed myself in the process..."

"You have quite the way with words Dinozzo..."

"What can I say-it's a gift." Tony smiled at her.

"Tony?" They heard his name called not five minutes later and he took off like a bullet from the gun running downstairs. When Sarah got to the bottom of the steps she found Tony hugging a girl not much younger than she was as he explained everything that had happened.

When he was done explaining he tried to keep her from going up the stairs but it was nearly as useless as trying to keep Tony from doing the same thing. "He certainly has a knack for surrounding himself with people who are stubborn and hard headed." Sarah said smiling, "Let her go Ant, they have been in there over an hour."

At that Maddie used the ASL sign for thank you and took off up the stairs, on her heel was Tony. He stopped her at the door and put his hand on her shoulder, "we are all here when you need to..."

"Breathe before you have a heart attack or something Tony...I was with him at their funeral...I will be okay." She promised him before walking into her best friends old bedroom.

Gibbs was sitting on the floor holding a hideous purple monster stuffed animal thing rocking with it held tight to his chest. "Daddy?" Maddie whispered as she walked over and curled herself around him. Gibbs let the stuffed animal drop as he held onto her.

Rachel looked up at Tony with tears in her eyes and a questioning look on her face, "Kelly's best friend."

"You guys have quite the family dynamic Tony." She smiled as she blinked away her tears. "I will come back in the morning...I can see you aren't going to talk this evening. If you need anything you call me..." She said as she stood up, she put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed, "You do more for him than I ever could...I think it is going to be an easier process than I initially saw, you were right, making him deal with the loss of them will make it so he can deal with everything else. I wouldn't be surprised if you were all back to work on Monday."

"Thanks Rach." Tony told her as she walked out of the bedroom leaving the three of them alone.

"Daddy we need to get rid of this stuff...Kelly wouldn't want a shrine...it would have weirded her out." Maddie told Gibbs, who nodded slowly and looked up right at Tony.

"I thought she could help us go through Kelly's stuff...show us what is important and what wasn't..." Tony quickly explained. They all knew it was much more than that.

"In her closet Tony, up on the third shelf there is a roll of black garbage bags." Mad die instructed. When he pulled the bags out Gibbs smiled, "Now go to her dresser...the bottoms two drawers...put everything in a bag." When Tony looked to Gibbs for the okay she continued, "She put the things she never wanted to wear in them..."

"Do it Dinozzo." Gibbs told him as his eyes filled with tears.

Tony quickly emptied the drawers and turned back to look at her. "Now do the same with the bottom drawer in her desk." Tony did, Maddie kept her head against Gibbs chest as his body shook as he tried not to sob. "In the closet, everything on the right side can go."

Ten garbage bags later Maddie smiled up at Tony, "I think that is enough for today." He nodded and started carrying the bags downstairs for Sarah to take to the Catholic Church to be donated.

No words were spoken as Tony walked in and sat down shoulder to shoulder to Gibbs. Maddie reached over and took Tony's hand in her own and Tony leaned his head onto the mans shoulder. "Every month we would go through our stuff...organize it...we never knew when we would have to up and move so we kept the important stuff so it was all together so we could pack it and keep it with us so when the movers would lose stuff it was the stuff we didn't care about...we did it the weekend before they died."

Maddie stood up slowly and grabbed a bag from the roll, "Third drawer was for my stuff...I have a box at home with the stuff she kept at my house." She explained as she tossed everything into the bag. "Do boys do the same thing?" She asked as she tied a knot in the top of the bag and set it on the bed.

"I never did." Tony mumbled.

"I think you girls were your own breed..."

"Just ask other girls...I know we weren't the only ones."

"Maddie what was Kelly like?" Tony asked her.

She reached over and picked up a photograph from the bedside table, "She was amazing, we never ran out of things to do...Friday's she would stay at my house, Saturday's I would stay here...we would go to church on Sunday...we did our homework together every night except Tuesday's...that was the day that our Dads would call home..."

Tony looked over at Gibbs and saw the tears in his eyes refusing to fall, he leaned into him and Gibbs put his arm around his shoulder. "Kelly and I did everything together...even now when something happens or I see something she would like I get the urge to call her...until I remember she is gone..."

Tony couldn't see Maddie, but she felt the bed move and knew that she had laid down, "She always used to tell these ridiculous jokes...you know the kind...the ones that are so bad they are funny? Everyday she would have a new one...she loved watching movies and tv...we even wrote our own tv show episodes if we didn't like how a show went. We rode our bikes all the time...she used to get in trouble for skidding or riding with no hands. Mom...Shannon used to scream at her from the porch but she was always laughing and shaking her head...told Kelly that she was just like her Daddy and always up to something."

By the end of the of her story he could tell that she was crying. It was not until he looked up at Gibbs that he realized he was crying too. When Gibbs saw Tony crying it was as if his heart had broken wide open, his son was mourning his sister...the sister who he never had a chance to meet and was not even really his sister.

Maddie rolled so she was closer and put her head on Gibbs shoulder, leaning against the top of Tony's head. "Tony, thank you for taking care of our Daddy." At that Gibbs turned and pulled Tony into an uncharacteristic hug, kissing him gently on the top of his head before he kissed Maddie on the cheek.

This was the side of Gibbs, the side that Tony had only had glimpses of before, the side that Kelly and Maddie knew, the Daddy Gibbs. "Kelly is probably looking down on us and laughing...she always wondered what it would take for Daddy to start acting like himself again...I know she picked you Tony...to help him find his way back. She always told me she was suppose to have a big brother...that sometimes she would see him in her dreams...when she asked for a basketball for her birthday...I thought she was crazy, she hated sports...but she said her brother liked basketball and he would need it."

"Her brother is the only person who has even used that stupid hoop she demanded put up." Gibbs said giving Tony a squeeze.

"She knew you were coming Tony...I don't know how she knew...but she described you perfectly..."

"We would have gotten along I think." Tony mumbled, trying to take in everything he had just heard.

"You two would have been hell to keep up with." Gibbs said as he let go of Tony and lifted himself onto the bed. "Why didn't you ever tell me that before?"

"She told me I would know when it was the right time...she told me that today was going to happen Daddy...when she told me she didn't tell me she was going to be gone...but she told me...she told me that her brother was going to call you when Daddy was lost...when we would need to help him come back." Maddie sniffled.

Tony stood up and walked over to the bookshelf as Gibbs pulled Maddie onto his lap. He ran his fingers along the spines of the books until he came to The Yellow House Mystery he pulled it out. "My mom used to read this to me, I loved the Boxcar Children." As he slowly flipped through the book a small note slipped out, the paper was folded and tucked into itself making the shape of a heart. It was addressed to Tony. "Uhh Boss?" He said blindly walking back to the bed and handing it to Gibbs.

Gibbs smiled and shook his head, "Addressed to you Kid." Tony took the paper back and pulled it open slowly. 'If you found this I was right. I am a ghost. That would be fun. Tell Daddy and Maddie I love them and my Momma and yours are here with me. Don't be scared Tony. I will meet you in Heaven when you are old. Hook is my favorite movie. I am kinda like a lost boy...but I am a girl. I haven't lost my marbles. I love you. Remember take care of Daddy.'

When he finished reading it he handed it to Gibbs and put his head in his hands, he knew he felt a connection to Kelly but he never in his wildest dreams did he ever think he would find a note addressed to him written several years before he even met Gibbs. When Maddie saw Gibbs drop his hand with the letter in it she knew what was in it...Kelly had told her she was going to write a note to her brother and put it somewhere he would find it just in case...she did it the same day that they had organized her room. "Tony?" She tried to get his attention.

"How?"

"Does it matter?" She asked.

Gibbs and Tony slowly looked over at each other and as Maddie watched the many emotions pass through each of their eyes, neither knowing what to say or what to do. "Kelly put you two together. She knew you would both need each other. Why and how do not matter anymore." Maddie said as she folded the letter back into its heart form and tucked it back in the pages of the book. "I will be downstairs with Sarah when you two learn to breath again." She said with a smirk as she walked out.

When she got downstairs Sarah was sitting on the couch with a laptop. "You guys have sure been up there a long time...Tim and Abby should be here soon with dinner...and hopefully a tv."

"Have him bring the movie Hook."

"That is one of Tony's favorites...we just watched it last week, doubt he would want to watch it again."

"They will want to watch it." Maddie said with a smile as she sat down to play with her phone.

"On the list of stuff for them to bring. Can you think of anything else?"

"Have him get pizza with pepperoni, olives and extra cheese."

"What aren't you telling me?"

"Tony found the note that Kelly left for him...freaked him out I think...Dad too...they will be down soon."

"What do you mean left for him?"

"His name on it...tucked in a book he read with his mom..."

"Ummm wow yeah that would freak anyone out."

"Kelly used to do stuff like that all the time...know things were going to happen before they did. I guess I just got used to it from her...and she is still doing it even when she is gone."

"How old were you when she was killed."

"I was nine...but barely."

"How long did you guys know each other before that?"

"At least kindergarten...maybe before but I don't really remember."

"You were three...Shannon and your mom had you both at the clinic for chicken pox...because you both already had it you had a couple play dates together and I don't think you went more than a week without seeing each other after that." Gibbs said as he walked into the living room with his hand on Tony's shoulder.

"Where's your brother...I am hungry." Tony said with a smile as he walked into the kitchen to grab a soda from the fridge.

"You are always hungry." Gibbs said shaking his head and sitting down next to Sarah on the couch.

"Thanks Gibbs." Sarah whispered to him.

"Thanks for having his six." Gibbs smiled back. It was as if he had completely transformed, he was smiling for crying out loud...Gibbs never smiled...at least not the goofy grin he had on his face right then.

When everyone else came in Gibbs demanded McGee to set up the tv and dvd player to put in Hook. It came out not long before she was killed and he had never seen it, at least not the whole way through. As the team sat and watched his daughters favorite movie everyone noticed how Tony and Gibbs gravitated towards each other, always catching a glimpse to make sure the other was okay, secret smiles past between the two and Maddie sitting between them with a huge smile on her face. They watched the movie three times that night, no one questioned it, they were just happy to be together, to see the smiles.

"Where are we sleeping tonight?" Abby asked as the movie ended.

"Maddie you and Sarah can share my room, Abby and Bishop you take the second room." Tony told them. He knew Sarah was expecting it to be different but he wasn't expecting to get much sleep anyway and knew Gibbs wouldn't either.

"Tim you take my room. First one at the top of the stairs." Gibbs told him.

"What about you two?" Tim asked.

"Don't worry about us...just go get some rack time." Gibbs told him as the two of them watched their family walk one by one up the stairs. "I wish I would have spent more time with them when I had the chance." Gibbs admitted to Tony.

"They obviously loved you and you them. Don't let that be your focus."

"Love you too Dinozzo."

"How did she know?"

"Know what?"

"That my mom was dead...that I loved basketball...the last book I read with her...she was eight..."

"The last thing she said to me...the last time we got to talk...she told me not to be scared and her brother would find me...I thought it was just some game her and Maddie were playing."

"Can we go into her room?" Tony asked, looking over at Gibbs who only nodded.

Tony went straight to the bookshelf, "She doesn't even have the rest of the series..."

"Nope...she said it was the most important one though...I never saw her read it but she had it out all the time...she liked those Babysitter books...and Christina's Ghost...that one we read together over a hundred times."

"Her favorite color was blue but she always insisted on orange if it was an option...said it was her teams color...except she never watched any sports. We didn't have this house long before I left for the last time...I transferred three times, moved coast to coast with my unit...Shannon saw this house and had to have it."

"If you got transferred how were Kelly and Maddie never apart?"

"Got transferred together."

"I like hearing stories."

"Hard to tell them still." Gibbs said sitting down in the chair by the window and leaning back.

"Thank you for believing in me." Tony said as he sat down on the bed.

"What was your mother like?"

"She loved movies, reading...she was mentally ill...would always talk about my sister that she lost...but Senior always insisted she had only been pregnant once...Senior rarely allowed us to be alone together...had a revolving door of nannies...he would hit on them and they would leave...I wasn't sure if they quit or mom fired them. She overdosed I think...I don't really know the details...I was too young for anyone to tell me the truth but old enough to know what they told me was a load of crap." He said laying back on the bed and tucking his hands behind his head.

Gibbs got up and switched on the small lamp next to his chair and then went to the bookshelf and pulled out Christina's a Ghost before shutting off the main light and going to sit back down. As he started to read out loud the myriad of emotions passed through his voice and his face. Tony watched and listened silently, the sound of the words lulling him into a peaceful slumber.

The book may have been a chapter book but it only took a couple hours to read cover to cover. When he set the book down and looked over to the bed he saw Tony's peaceful form laying curled up on his daughters bed. He got the Caregear blanket and gently covered his body tucking Tony in the same way he used to tuck in Kelly. He sat back down and shut off the lamp and closed his eyes resting his head against the wall and his feet kicked up on the edge of the bed. It was the best night sleep he had gotten in years.