After the call from Stella Ducky had gone over to the hospital to check out for himself how she was doing. When he entered her room, Mac frowned at Stella, knowing perfectly that she must have pulled some strings with Lindsay.
"Give me the phone, Stell." He held out his hand in wait of the cell phone.
"What phone, Mac?" Stella asked innocently. Mac had a teasing warning face. Stella rolled her eyes and handed it them phone. "You said if a doctor gave his ok, we could get out of here." She whined. "Ducky is a doctor." She reminded him.
"That would be correct, my dear." Ducky winked his eye at Stella. "But I do agree with Mac. You're going home in the morning as it is. How would one night make a difference, Stella?" Stella gave him her best puppy face.
"Ow please Ducky…" She countered. "It's a world of difference. I'll promise to go straight to bed when we get home." She grinned at Ducky. "And I'll even promise that I'll only supervise tomorrow." Mac and Ducky sighed at her persistence. "It's the only day that Jethro and Jordan are out of the house all day."
"Ok, what did you do to get them out of the house, Gorgeous?" Mac waved the phone in front of her letting her know that she already took actions. "Telling or staying in the hospital." Mac gave her a choise. Stella grinned and started spilling everything she had planned for the next four days.
"All right then." Ducky said after she was done. "I'll give you a check-up and if the local doctor agrees with me, we can get you home." Ducky gave in. "But you're going straight to bed and let the youngsters do the work."
"Promised, Ducky." Stella beamed. After the check-up and the second opinion of the local doctor Stella was told that she could leave the hospital. Mac and Ducky took her and Logan back to the villa, where Stella took her bed rest as promised.
***
The evening was spent at the villa with a big barbeque. Before they could eat, the whole gang had chipped in. Danny and Tony had gone to the local store for the food while McGee and Don took care of tables and chairs. Lindsay and Ziva set the tables while Jordan and Gibbs fed and bathed the twins. Abby and Adam played with Madison and Mac and Stella were resting in their room with Logan.
"I can't believe how tiny he is." Mac lay on the bed with Logan in his arms. Stella smiled at father and son.
"Just wait until he's 18." She laid her pinkie under Logan's little hand. "He's gonna break many girls' hearts." She gave Mac a soft kiss.
"Hmmm… If he's anything like his daddy he's gonna start in kindergarten." Mac smirked. Stella grinned at the thought of Mac breaking hearts at that age. Mac got up at a soft knock on the door.
"Mind if I have a word with Stella, Mac?" Jordan asked softly and smiled at mother and son. "I promise it won't take long and Stella doesn't have to do anything." Mac could tell there was something on Jordan's heart.
"Sure…" He tipped her nose. "I need to speak to Jethro anyway about a staff issue." Jordan could only wonder what that was about.
"Talk to me." Stella patted the bed and motioned for Jordan to take a seat. She leaned in on Logan after she sat down.
"He's gorgeous, Stell." Jordan smiled at her nephew. "But you knew that already." Stella waited for Jordan to continue. "Anyway, I know you've been planning a lot for this wedding and I'm not even gonna ask anymore questions… but one." Stella was intrigued.
"Ask you question." She smiled.
"Logan and me want to know who else is coming to this wedding, don't we pretty boy?" Jordan cooed Logan. Stella figured she could tell Jordan. Stella grinned like a Cheshire cat.
"Jordan, you really thought I'd forget about…?"
"Not so loud, Stella!" Jordan grinned. "I don't want him to know."
"Don't worry, he'll be here in time." Stella assured her. "Although it means a minor change of plans. But I'm sure Ducky won't mind. Now let's get up and head downstairs. I'm sure Mac and Jethro have finished their talk." Jordan helped Stella with Logan while Stella got dressed and then the women went to the outside living.
***
At the barbeque Mac and Gibbs took charge of the meat. Abby had chosen nice Mexican music. McGee and Adam served the wine, beer and other refreshments. Ziva and Tony had jumped in the pool for a little swim and joined the group when Mac had called out that the steaks were ready. They were all seated and enjoying the food when Tony looked at Ziva and she nodded a yes.
"I'd like to make an announcement before all dig in." Tony got up and Gibbs gave him a glare. "Don't worry boss, I won't make it long." Tony guaranteed Gibbs. "But me and Ziva-"
"OOOOOhhhhhh wedding bells!" Abby exclaimed and jumped up.
"Sit down, Abby." Ziva pulled Abby back in her chair. "No wedding bells." Ziva said.
"No wedding bells?" Ziva nodded a no with a big grin and motioned for Tony to continue.
"No wedding bells, Abbs." Tony repeated. "But… Me and Ziva." Tony tried again.
"Erm… Tony…" McGee piped in. "That's Ziva and me…" McGee corrected.
"Whatever McCorrect… Ziva and me are having a little DiNozzo ourselves." Gibbs sat down.
"A mini DiNozzo?! Great, Nightmare on Elmstreet, the saga continues." Gibbs blurted.
"Wow, Boss! You really are brightening your horizon." Tony joked at Gibbs' comment.
"Congratulations, you guys." The women congratulated the pair.
"Do we need to go over staff issues again?" Mac questioned Gibbs. Gibbs shrugged his shoulders.
"Ok, let's sit down everyone." Mac said. "This calls for a staff meeting." All eyes were locked on Mac. Gibbs nodded for him to take the lead.
"Abby, Adam…" The couple looked up. "Jehtro and I have talked the situation through." Adam and Abby nodded at Mac.
"Adam will be staying in New York till Stella's goes back to work parttime."
"Which will be in two months." Stella piped in. "Do you think you think you can hang in there till then?" Stella asked. Adam looked at Abby. Both agreed that it wouldn't be a problem.
"When Stella returns to the lab, she'll be working on Monday's and Friday's till Lindsay goes with maternity leave. On those days Adam will be detached to NCIS. That means you can be together from Thursday evenings till Monday evenings." Abby smiled at Mac.
"Jordan will work these two months fulltime and then goes back to three days a week from Tuesday till Thursday." Jordan looked up at Gibbs' silent plea and he was glad that she smiled in agreement.
"By the time that Lindsay goes with maternity leave, we can figure out how to go from there. Now can the four of you live with that?" Mac questioned Stella, Jordan, Adam and Abby. Stella and Jordan waited for Adam's and Abby's reaction.
"This is awesome, Gibbs!" Abby rushed over to hug him. "Well awesome and not awesome, but thank you Jordan." Abby hugged Jordan.
"It's ok, Abbs. I'm sure I can fill my free time with something else than NCIS." She smiled. Abby hugged Jordan and went over to Adam.
"I'm proud of you, Angel." Gibbs hugged his future wife.
"You owe me big time, Probie." She grinned.
"Wanna work on that football team?" He suggested.
"Hmmm…" Jordan grinned. "Get back to me in about two months." She teased. "Now let's dig in."
With the staff issues solved so far the teams enjoyed the rest of the barbeque, till Gibbs excused himself and Jordan, since they had a big day ahead of them next morning.
***
Next morning Gibbs had gotten out of bed early. He checked in on the twins when Abby walked in with the babies' formula.
"Good morning Boss-man!" Abby greeted him cheerfully. "All set to go?" She handed him a bottle. Gibbs smirked at her bright start of the day and took on of the bottles.
"When Jordan gets up." He lifted Ryan out of his crib and handed him to Abby. She gratefully took Ryan. "Ziva and Tony will be here in an hour." Gibbs informed her.
"Great!" Abby smiled. "You mind if Adam and me spend the morning on the boat?" She carefully asked. Gibbs rolled his eyes.
"Just don't break anything." He warned. "You seem to be happy with the working arrangements, Abbs." He smiled at her.
"Yup! How did you get Jordan to agree on the schedule?" She grinned and watched Ryan drink his bottle.
"Silent agreement, Abbs." Gibbs removed some milk that dripped out of Kenzy's little mouth. "If it's up to me Jordan will have her hands full with our family."
"Planning on the next set of twins?" She beamed at Kenzy.
"I don't want to keep Jordan away from the lab. She loves the work too much." He laid Kenzy back in her crib. "But… I'm working on it." He nearly sang.
"You're not making plans for my womb again." Jordan walked in and gave Gibbs a good morning kiss. "Let's get married first." Jordan grinned at her groom and Gibbs smirked. "What are you doing up so early, Abbs?"
"Taking care of the twins, before Ziva and Tony get here. And you need to get dressed, Jordan." She looked at Jordan's negligee. "I've laid out your clothes for today in the bathroom." Abby pushed Jordan to the bathroom. Jordan watched Gibbs doubtfully.
"Trust me, Angel?" He asked. Jordan's smile told him she did. "Now hurry, we need to be down at the beach in half an hour, and the clock's ticking."
"Half an hour?" Jordan shrieked. "You'd better wait for me, Probie." She warned him before she disappeared in to the bathroom.
She took a quick shower, got dressed in the clothes that Abby had laid out, wondering why she was wearing a pair of long jeans, a long sleeved top and flat shoes when they were going to the beach. Once she appeared in to the kitchen Gibbs held out his hand and together they walked down to the beach.
"Jethro… wanna explain my outfit for this field trip?" Jordan asked as the reached their destination. Gibbs was about the answer when she heard the horses behind her. Jordan turned at the sounds and looked surprised at Gibbs.
"Ever been riding?" He smirked as he took over the reins from the man. Gibbs thanked him with a little nod.
"In Chicago?" Jordan negatively shook her head. "You gotta be kidding me?"
"First time for everything." Gibbs held out a hand and helped her up. "Keep your back straight." Jordan patted the horse. Gibbs then got in the saddle himself. "Real nice and slow, Angel." He cautioned. Next to each other they rode down the beach.
"Where are we going?" Jordan relaxed in the saddle. "
"See that mountain up there?" Gibbs pointed at their destination. Jordan nodded. He stopped both horses. "There's a little cabin up there with a little lake." Jordan's eyes glowed.
"How long have you been planning this?" She grinned at his sinister look.
"Not my doing, Angel." He confessed. "Credit goes to Stella. Wanna speed it up a little?" Gibbs mentally thanked Stella and Jordan followed Gibbs' lead as the horses galloped faster.
***
Meanwhile back at the villa Stella was relaxing in the outside living and ordering everyone around. Mac was pleased that she did as promised. When he and Ducky finished the decoration in the outside living Danny, Lindsay and Madison arrived.
"Trust you to show up when the work is done, Messer." He snorted with a grin. Danny patted Mac on his shoulder.
"You're doing a great job, Boss." Mac handed Danny the 'just married' board. "Ok, where does this go, mum?" He asked Stella.
"It needs to be on the back of the boat." Stella was pleased with the board. "Abby and Adam are in charge over there." She reached her hands out for Madison. Danny left for the boat.
"Logan's asleep?" Lindsay asked as she handed the little girl to Stella.
"Yup. He was crying early this morning." Stella grinned at Madison. "He kept Mac up for 3 hours." She waved Madison's hand at Mac.
"Well, I'm having a little problem with this one." Ziva walked in with a crying Kenzy, followed by Tony and Ryan.
"I think she misses her mummy." Mac took over his little niece and rocked her.
"Then we have a big problem after the wedding." Tony piped in. "I mean, I'm gonna be stuck with a crying baby all week."
"C'mon Tony." Stella encouraged him. "It'll be good practise. Look at Mac." All eyes went over to Mac when Kenzy had stopped crying.
"If it's going to be a problem with you and Ziva taking care of the twins while Jethro and Jordan are honeymooning." Mac tickled Kenzy. "They can stay with us in New York."
"No need, Mac." Ziva said. "Stella doesn't need to be overloaded. We'll stay with them at Gibbs' house, so that they are more comfortable.'
"Sounds like a plan to me, Taylor." Stella jumped in. "Now can you guys do the settings at the bay, please?" Stella got up from her chair. "I don't want Danny to get sunburned." She giggled as she watched Danny sleeping on the deck of the boat.
Mac, Adam and Tony headed over to the boat and dropped Danny in to the water before the men started to set the bay for the wedding ceremony. And Ducky… he helped the ladies with the children as feeding time had arrived.
***
Up on the mountain Gibbs and Jordan had arrived at the cabin. They both saddled off and took care of the horses. When they were done Gibbs went in to the cabin and fetched a kettle. He then walked over to the outside fireplace and started to boil the water for coffee. Jordan had gone for a quick swim to relax her muscles from the ride.
"Skinny dipping?" He approached the lake.
"It's not that we have an audience." Jordan yelled back while she floated in the water. "It's so peaceful here." Gibbs undressed and swam towards Jordan.
"You ok?" He gently laid his arms around her waist. Jordan nodded.
"Just a little stiff here and there." She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Then I'd better take care of the here and there…" His hand slid down to her butt as he claimed her mouth. Jordan suddenly broke off the kiss as she felt movement on her legs.
"Woops… lots of fish here." She laughed. Gibbs pulled her back to his chest.
"That's not fish, Angel." She looked at Gibbs in question. "That's lunch." He grinned.
"Lunch can wait." She sneered. Gibbs held her close and made their bodies disappear under the surface.
"Lunch can wait." He agreed and hands were roaming over their bodies. Gibbs tenderly took claim of Jordan's mouth. When they broke off for air, Jordan breathed heavily.
"Jethro…" Jordan said as he made her shiver in the water.
"Hmmm…" He answered as he went for her neck.
"That's not a fish…" She gave him a mischievously grin.
"Then I think you got bait." He smirked softly next to her ear and sat her up on his hips. Next the couple in the water floated away in their own little paradise.
Afterwards both were lying half in the water and half on land till Gibbs got up and let his hand travel over her body.
"You wanna practise these vows again?" He grinned at Jordan.
"I think I know them by heart by now." She giggled. "I, Jordan, take you, Jethro, to be…" Jordan didn't get far as Gibbs claimed her lips again. As he flipped her over they were half in the water again just to finish what they had started earlier.
***
Back at the villa the men had set up the place were the wedding ceremony would take place. When they were done Ducky and Stella inspected the wooden patio and the festive decorations. Stella was pleased with the results. She quickly made a call out to the local priest that would marry Gibbs and Jordan and informed him that all was set. After she was done she joined Ducky again, who had been accompanied by Mike Franks.
"Mike!" Stella greeted him cheerfully. Mike gave her a small peck on her cheek. "You came out of your shell." She joked.
"Well anything for these two." Mike handed her a little box. "For you." Stella was surprised. "You just had a baby, ma'am. And pretty unexpected." Mike grinned. "So I'd figured I could be the first with the presents this time."
"Thanks Mike." Stella opened the present and laughed at the contents. "Better not show Mac that NCIS badge. He'd prefer his son at NYPD." She joked at the little badge Mike had made for Logan.
"You are gonna stay in town till after the wedding, Mike?" Ducky informed as they walked back to the villa. Mike nodded.
"Damn straight I am." He mocked. "Someone's gotta make sure these two get married without anymore trouble." He grinned. "Speaking of which, where are Probie and the misses to be?" Mac looked around.
"Up in the mountains." Stella nodded in the mountains' direction. Mike drew a face. "Don't worry. They'll be back before the bachelor's party tomorrow." She grinned when she saw Mac coming up.
"They'd better. Never believed I would get to see the Probie married again." Mac handed him a beer.
"I'll bet he's pillow talking her into the next set of off-springs as we speak." Mac nearly choked on his beer at that thought.
"Don't you worry, Taylor." Stella laughed. "I'm sure Jordan isn't in that much of a hurry." Then the three of them headed back to the pool where the youngsters were cooling off after the hard work they'd produced.
***
In the early evening Gibbs was cooking the fish while Jordan fed the horses. They actually did go fishing that afternoon and Jordan beat Gibbs in the fish count.
"How's dinner coming along?" She handed him a beer and she sat next to him. Gibbs held an arm out for her to lean in.
"Getting there." He grinned while Jordan leaned her head on his shoulder. Softly he kissed the top of her head. "Do we need to go back tomorrow?" He asked while he turned the fish.
"The guys want their bachelor's party." She smirked as she knew that was the one thing Gibbs wanted to skip.
"Don't remind me, Angel." He gave her a little kiss. "At least you girls have a nice evening at the villa."
"It'll be fun, Probie." She said amused gave him a little punch.
"Fun?" Gibbs exclaimed. "With Tony and Danny organizing this thing?" Jordan drew a funny face.
"I'm sure Mac will supervise and keep them in line." She handed him the plates.
"He'd better." Gibbs filled the plates and handed Jordan hers. When she didn't take it, Gibbs got a little worried. "Jordan?" He lifted up her chin to get her attention back.
"Sorry…" She apologized and took the plate. "It was as if I could hear Kenzy cry." She smiled and took a bite from the fish.
"She misses you fast, cried when you were kidnapped." Gibbs put his plate down.
"It'll be ok, she'll get used to it." Gibbs was surprised at Jordan's reaction.
"Ok, she'll get used to it how?" He smirked knowing there was a story behind it.
"Ok, when I was two months." Gibbs could see Kenzy in Jordan. "My mother got a new house and had little time for me with moving. So she left me in the care of my grandmother for a week." Jordan took a drink and grinned. "I cried for about two nights in a row."
"What did your grandmother do?" Gibbs finished his fish.
"She set out the pram downstairs in the living room and let me sleep in there, so she could get some sleep herself. She was bushed after one night already." Jordan remembered the story from her mother. "And apparently I was exhausted after two nights of crying for attention that I gave up."
"That's cruel." Gibbs grinned and snatched some of Jordan's fish.
"Not cruel. It's letting go." She took his plate and got up. "When I went back to my mum, I never cried again."
"So you think a week without the kids wouldn't do them harm?" He carefully asked.
"Dunno, I turned out to be ok. Why?" Her gaze didn't leave his.
"After the wedding I would like to get the boat back home by myself." Jordan laughed.
"Have a nice honeymoon then by yourself." She teased. Gibbs pulled her in.
"And my wife." He rolled his eyes and kissed her softly. "So what do you say?"
"Who will take care of my kids?" She asked.
"Probably Ziva and Tony. God knows he needs practise." Jordan smirked at the idea of Tony running around with the twins. "And if they need help I'm sure the team will pitch in."
"Ok, Probie." She leaned in and pinched him. "You've got yourself a deal." Gibbs didn't let go of her. Instead leaned back to the ground and drew Jordan back with him. "Jethro, I'm getting seasick already." She giggled. Yet Gibbs ignored her comment and tickled her back.
***