A huge thank you to all of you who are taking the time to review. It means so much to me to read your thoughts and really does keep me inspired.

In answer to LAG0802, yes a marquee is one of those party tent things. I often have to stop and think before I write something and question what it might be called in the US. In fact, my most used search phrase is 'what do American's call..." lol! Because the story is set in the US, I try to call things the same as what the characters would but sometimes it's really hard. The amount of times I have had to change Mummy to Mommy! But, please feel free to ask if I have used any words that you are not sure about and I will endeavor to change them if I can.

Enjoy

Chapter 11- Meeting Grandpa Jack

Gibbs sat bolt upright. The echo of the piercing scream was eerily audible in the dark, stillness of the room. As his mind registered the sound, he threw back the covers and was already at the bedroom door when a wailing cry sounded from Ziva's room. Only half aware that Jenny was right behind him, Gibbs ran down the hall, into his little girl's bedroom and flicked on the light. Next to the bed, arms hugged around her body, stood Ziva. A wild, terrified expression on her face, eyes large and fearful, body trembling and a wet puddle pooling at her feet.

Watching her carefully, Gibbs could see that she wasn't fully awake. Her eyes were glazed and stared blindly in front of her. Suddenly she crouched, covering her face with her hands, flinching from an unseen enemy. Her feet began to kick wildly, while she cried out, "Mommy! Help! Mommy!"

Turning to face Jenny, Gibbs said anxiously, "Go to her, she needs you right now."

Jenny approached gently, tentatively, as if she were approaching a wild animal that was injured. In some ways, she was.

"Ziva," she whispered softly. "Ziva, it's Mommy. You're having a bad dream."

This was repeated over and over as Jenny forced her voice to get slightly louder each time. On reaching Ziva, she sat down next to her and continued calling, reaching out very carefully to touch Ziva's back. Once she had established contact, she began rubbing calming circles, all the while, calling Ziva's name and reassuring her who she was.

Within a few seconds, although it felt like hours to Jenny, Ziva finally turned her head in the direction of the calming voice. Her eyes blinked, focus returned and she suddenly launched herself into Jenny's arms.

"Oh Mommy, Mommy," she cried as she clung tightly to Jenny's sleep shirt.

Wrapping her arms protectively around Ziva and holding her close, Jenny looked up at Gibbs.

"Jethro, can you run a bath please?" she asked quietly.

Without speaking, Gibbs nodded and left the room.

Jenny continued to cradle Ziva as the little girl slowly regained her bearings. Her heart was beating so hard, Jenny could feel it thumping against her own chest. Rocking gently, she whispered soothingly in Ziva's ear and continued to stroke her back and hair, calming her down and helping to settle her breathing.

"What's wrong?" ask a voice at the door.

Looking up, Jenny saw Tony standing in the doorway. Still half asleep, he swayed slightly as his eyes tried to adjust to the bright light.

"It's OK Tony," replied Jenny. "Ziva just had a nightmare. We're with her now, you can go back to sleep."

"Is she OK?" he asked groggily.

"She's fine Baby, off you go," said Jenny calmly. She hoped that Tony was groggy enough to just fall back asleep. As she watched him turn and head back down the hall, her attention fell to Ziva again.

"I wet myself," whispered Ziva. "I didn't mean it."

"Shh," soothed Jenny, "It doesn't matter. Daddy's running us a bath and we can soak and relax for a while."

Ziva didn't respond but continued sniffling into Jenny's chest. Her wet pyjamas were now soaking through Jenny's sleep pants and she worried that the little girl would get cold.

"Done," said Gibbs, standing in the door way. "Do you need any help?"

"I think I've got it," replied Jenny, bracing herself against the bed so as to help her stand while still holding Ziva. Finally upright, she felt Ziva wrap her legs around her waist and rest her head on her shoulder. Still rubbing the child's back, Jenny carried her into the bathroom.

Stripping off both their clothes, Jenny leaned Ziva against Gibbs while she quickly climbed into the bath, thankful that Gibbs had thought to fill it extra full knowing that she would be supporting Ziva. When she was settled, Gibbs lifted Ziva into the bath and the little girl found refuge once again in Jenny's arms, relaxing as the warm water enveloped her body, the skin to skin contact providing more comfort than even Jenny realized.

Gibbs sat down on the floor, the bath mat giving him some insulation from the cold tiles. He leaned up against the tub, resting his hand on Jenny's shoulder and occasionally brushing his fingers through Ziva's hair.

After a few minutes, Jenny spoke softly above Ziva's head.

"Can you tell me what the dream was about honey?" she asked.

Ziva took a deep, shuddering breath and nestled closer into Jenny's chest.

They waited. Both Gibbs and Jenny knew that Ziva would speak when she was ready.

"I d-don't want you to s-stay here wh-when we g-go and see Grandpa J-J-Jack," Ziva stammered. She wasn't making any eye contact. Instead, her focus was fixed on the gentle movement of the water next to Jenny's thigh.

"Why honey?" asked Jenny.

"B-B-Because Abba might c-come and k-kill you."

Jenny wrapped her arms tightly around Ziva for extra reassurance.

"Is that what your dream was about?" she asked quietly.

She felt Ziva nod.

"Why do you think Abba will try and kill me?"

Ziva shrugged.

"Honey, I know it's hard to trust these things when it's dark and scary, but Mommy will be fine. I'll be at work with many people whose job it is to keep me safe. And, sweetie, Abba has no reason to want to kill me. He doesn't know that I'm your Mommy now. He just knows that I'm the boss of NCIS. So, although he may come to Mommy's work, it will be just to ask questions about where you might be and…"

"No!" screamed Ziva, interrupting Jenny and making both her and Gibbs jump. "You can't stay there! You have to come with us!"

"I can't honey, I'm sorry," replied Jenny, trying to sound comforting, yet firm.

"But if he finds out you're my Mommy, he'll kill you," cried Ziva, her heart rate rising again.

"Why?" asked Jenny.

"Because you're my Mommy, and that's what happens to Mommy's," wailed Ziva. "All Mommies die, Daddy's Mommy, and Tony's and yours and Ima and even Abby's Mommy died. I asked her at Tony's party. I don't want you to die. You can't stay here, you can't!"

By now Ziva had worked herself into a frenzy. Sobbing, she clung desperately to Jenny's arms and tried to wrap her legs around Jenny's waist, putting as little space between them as possible.

Her eyes stinging, Jenny held tightly to the little body attached to her and allowed herself the luxury of tears. Not tears for her own loss, but tears for the broken child in her arms. A primal, maternal urge swelled in her heart and, in that moment, she would have moved heaven and earth to stop her child from hurting. In fact, she knew, without any shadow of a doubt, that she would kill to protect her child. There was no way in hell Eli David was going to tear her away from the treasured gift she had been charged to raise.

On his knees in an instant, Gibbs held both his girls. Cradling them as best he could and wondering how the hell he was going to help Ziva through this one. He had to take her and Tony to Stillwater and, he knew, Jenny had to stay in DC. If their plan had any chance of succeeding, these two things were crucial.

The time ticked by. The silence only broken by Ziva's sobs.

As the sobs reduced to sniffles, and the water began to cool in the tub, Jenny stirred. She sat back, enabling a small distance between her and Ziva and allowing her to see Ziva's head clearly.

"Not all Mommies die Ziva," she said firmly. "In fact, most children have their Moms right up until they have their own children and the Moms become Grandmothers. I know it's not like that in our family, but I guess we are a bit unusual like that."

She felt Ziva stir and knew the little girl was listening intently.

"Timmy's Mom is still alive, and so is Jimmy's. And look at Ducky's Mom, she is a very old lady. And honey," she lifted Ziva's chin so that they could make eye contact. "I plan on being a very old lady before I die. In fact, I'm going to be so old, you and Tony will have to cart me around in a wheel chair because my legs will have stopped working."

The small giggle that erupted from Ziva was like music to her ears.

"That's my girl," said Jenny softly, as she brushed away the tears. "I know how scary it must feel to you and it's OK to be scared. I was scared when my Mommy died too. But that doesn't mean that the same thing will happen to me. Ima lived in a dangerous country, where people were fighting with each other. It's different here, and I feel safe in my home and out in the streets. Daddy and Tony's Moms got very sick and that's why they died. We can't control those things, but like I said, I certainly don't plan on going anywhere until I'm so old, even my wrinkles will have wrinkles."

Again Ziva smiled. She looked up and ran her finger over the corner of Jenny's eyes. "You mean like these wrinkles?" she asked innocently.

Gibbs snorted and Jenny gave him a quick glare.

"They're my laughter lines, honey," she added quickly. "When they get much deeper, they'll be wrinkles."

"Oh," said Ziva, nodding her head seriously and accepting every word as truth.

"But the thing is," continued Jenny, changing the subject quickly. "I have to stay here while you, Daddy and Tony go and visit Grandpa Jack. It's the best way to keep you and Tony safe. And you have to trust that I will be safe as well. I'll have Abby, Tim, Ducky and Jimmy to look after me as well as all the people who work at NCIS. I'll be fine Peanut, and I will ring you every day. OK?"

"You promise to ring?" asked Ziva.

"Cross my heart and-"

The rest of the sentence was cut off as Gibbs clapped his hand over her mouth.

"Not appropriate under the circumstances I think," he said gruffly.

Ziva giggled. She knew exactly what the rest of that sentence was and also understood why her Daddy and stopped Jenny from saying it.

"Well I don't know about you," said Jenny, looking down at Ziva. "But this water is getting cold and my bottom is getting sore from sitting in this tub for so long."

Ziva nodded.

"Shall we get out now and get dressed and snuggle in bed?"

"Yep," said Ziva smiling.

"Alright then," said Gibbs standing up. "Let's get you both out of here and into bed."

He reached down and lifted Ziva out of the bath. Wrapping her in a towel, he let her warm up, before taking Jenny's hand and helping her out as well. Handing her a towel, he leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips, whispering, "Well done," as he pulled away and began drying Ziva.

****NCIS****

It was 1pm when Gibbs pulled up outside the Stillwater Genera Store. Tired, but exceedingly pleased to be here, Gibbs switched off the engine. Turning to the back seat, he smiled at the two sleeping children. It had been a long morning and he wasn't the least bit surprised both of them had slept most of the way.

The 6am alarm had come around far too quickly in Gibbs opinion. Having managed to get both Ziva and Jenny back in bed by 4.30, he had just dozed off when Tony came wandering in and crawled into bed with him as well. Shuffling over to make room, Gibbs was once again thankful he and Jenny had made the decision to purchase the king sized bed after trying out the one at the lake cottage.

From six o'clock onward, every little task seemed to take twice as long. Although more reassured that Jenny would be fine to stay home on her own, Ziva was still apprehensive and, added to two restless nights in a row along with a big day yesterday, she was extremely tired and grumpy.

"I don't want that," she grumbled, as Gibbs put down two slices of toast in front of her.

"You just said you wanted toast," replied Gibbs.

"Yes, but not that toast," argued Ziva. "I don't like the bits in it. I want the smooth bread."

"Well we don't have any smooth bread at the moment," said Gibbs. "I bought the wrong one so you'll have to put up with multigrain."

"Yuck!" said Ziva, staring disdainfully at the now cold toast in front of her.

"I'll eat it," said Jenny, rushing in for a quick breakfast.

Shaking his head in frustration, Gibbs took a deep breath before asking Ziva, "Well, what do you want for breakfast then?"

"Toast! But not that stuff," she insisted.

"Ziva, that's all the bread we have," replied Gibbs firmly. "So you either eat that, have cereal or go hungry. The choice is yours."

Huffing loudly, she kicked her legs against the chair before saying grumpily, "Cereal."

"Pardon?" asked Gibbs.

"Cereal," she said a litter louder.

"You're forgetting something," reminded Gibbs.

"Please," she grumbled.

"Thank you," replied Gibbs, before turning around and taking a bowl out of the cupboard and placing in front of the now sulking five year old.

And sadly, things didn't improve much from that moment on.

Tony was also not immune to his father's wrath. When Gibbs went to check on him to ensure he had correctly packed everything he would need, he found instead, an empty suitcase and a missing Tony. Searching through the house, Gibbs caught sight of Tony outside and discovered his son had sneaked out for a quick couple of laps of the driveway on his new bike. Ushering the boy inside with a stern talking to, Gibbs had followed Tony upstairs to ensure the packing was complete before the boy disappeared again.

By the time 8.30 ticked over, Gibbs and the children finally appeared ready to go. Bags were packed and stored in the trunk, Tony's bike had been secured on the back of the car and both children stood ready, each holding a bag of toys and snacks to get them through the four hour journey.

Hugs and kisses were exchanged along with copious 'I love you' and 'I'll miss you' before Gibbs was finally pulling out of the drive. Even he had found it hard to say goodbye to Jenny. He knew they would all miss her. But, if everything went to plan, he hoped that Jenny might be able to join them on the weekend.

And, now, four and half hours later, Gibbs was parked outside the store that had consumed so much of his childhood memories. Opening the car door, Gibbs heard the familiar tinkle of the bell as the door to the store opened and his father stepped out onto the pavement.

Many said that Gibbs was just like his father. Both had piercing blue eyes, a rugged handsomeness that seem to only improve with age, and a subtle strength that commanded respect.

"Dad," greeted Gibbs as Jackson stepped forward.

"Leroy," returned Jack, nodding acknowledgment of his son.

The greeting, though appearing stilted and cold to any outsider, did in fact hold an air of familiarity and comfortableness that only the two Gibbs' men could understand and see. Stepping closer, the father and son embraced, patting each other affectionately on the back.

"Missed you Dad," said Gibbs softly into his father's ear.

"Missed you too, Son," replied Jack. "It's good to see you again."

Breaking out of the hold, Jack stepped back and peered into the backseat of the sedan.

"What did ya do to 'em?" he asked, noting that both children were slumped towards the middle of the seat

"Nothing!" replied Gibbs defensively. "They fell asleep on the way. We've had a rough couple of days, but I'll fill you in later. Come and help me get your grandchildren into the store so you can say a proper hello."

Opening the back door of the car, Gibbs gently nudged Tony. The boy stirred and scrubbed at his eyes. Blinking to adjust to the bright sunlight that filtered through the window, he looked up at his Dad.

"Hey sleepy head," said Gibbs. "There's someone here who wants to say hello."

Turning his head to look over his Dad's shoulder, Tony could see an older gentleman grinning at him.

"Hi Grandpa Jack," he said, smiling broadly. He quickly undid his seat belt and stepped out of the car. "Thanks for helmet for my bike. It's really cool and I've already used it heaps."

Tony stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Jack. Slightly taken aback by the boy's affection, Jack quickly regained his composure and returned the hug.

"Well, you're most welcome Tony. I'm glad you liked it," he said, as the boy let go and stood next to Gibbs.

Holding out his hand in a more formal greeting, Jack said, "It's nice to meet you Tony. You're every bit as handsome as I thought you'd be."

Shaking the older man's hand, Tony blushed and grinned.

"So you're my grandpa hey," he said, looking deeply into the blue eyes. "You have eyes just like my Dad."

"No," replied Jack. "Your Dad has eyes just like me."

"Oh yeah," said Tony, realizing his mistake.

"Come on you two," said Gibbs, now holding a sleeping Ziva in his arms. "Let's go inside before half the town comes out to say hello."

Stepping through the door, Tony stared around the general store. Having grown up in the city, he had never come across a store like this, one that sold a little bit of everything. To his right was a stand containing a variety of tools, ahead were shelves which housed a myriad of cans, bottles and jars. In the center of the room stood a wooden table surrounded by chairs and, to the left, a shelf of videos and DVDs. Continuing to pan the room, Tony then noticed the large counter and his sharp eyes spotted a huge array of candy. But, it was above this counter that Tony's eyes were next drawn.

"Is that a gun?" he asked, spotting the Winchester hooked on the wall.

"Yes," said Gibbs. "And that gun is strictly out of bounds. I was never allowed to touch that Winchester and the same goes for you and Ziva. Are we clear on that?"

Gibbs sudden sternness surprised Tony. He didn't realize the gun was kept loaded for protection and couldn't understand why his Dad was so insistent.

"Did you ever touch it?" he asked, looking at his Dad.

"Nope," said Gibbs firmly.

"Why not?" asked Tony.

"Because Grandpa Jack would have taken a belt to my backside if I had even so much as looked as if I was going to touch it," replied Gibbs, the sternness never wavering.

Tony's eyes grew wide and he stared at first his Dad and then his Grandpa.

"I could shoot that gun," came a small voice from under Gibbs' chin.

Realizing Ziva was awake and listening to the conversation, Gibbs placed her on one of the chairs so he was almost eye to eye with her.

"I want both of you to listen to me very carefully," he began, making sure he had both children's attention. "That gun is not to be touched by either of you and I'm going to tell you why. It's up there for protection should Grandpa Jack ever need it in a hurry. Therefore it is kept loaded. Because of how high it is, you would both need a chair to reach it, so I know it would not be an accident should I see either of you touching that gun. Now, I want a promise from both of you that you will never go near it."

Both children nodded solemnly.

"I'm going to need to hear you," reminded Gibbs.

"I promise Dad," said Tony sincerely.

"I promise too Daddy," said Ziva, "Even though it looks really fun to shoot."

Gibbs glared at her before he heard his father say.

"Leroy, why don't you just promise them a whippin'? Worked on you didn't it?"

He was startled by the sharp intake of air that came from each child.

"Because Dad," replied Gibbs quietly, while still keeping eye contact with his children. "Tony and Ziva have never lied to me and I know when they make a promise they mean it. Don't you?"

"Yes Sir."

"Yes Daddy."

It was then that Gibbs realized there was so much information he still needed to pass onto his father. He would have to make sure they made time tonight. With both of his children's abusive histories, the last thing he wanted was Jack threatening then with a belt spanking. While Jack had never been abusive, in his generation a belt was a common tool of discipline but, to Tony and Ziva, it had been an instrument of torture.

Now that he was sure the gun issue had been dealt with, Gibbs lifted Ziva into his arms again and turned to his father.

"Dad, this is Ziva. Ziva, this is your Grandpa Jack. Grandpa Jack is my Daddy."

Jack held out his hand for Ziva to take. When she did, he lifted it to his lips and kissed her knuckles.

"What a pleasure to meet such a beautiful young lady," he said, charm oozing from every word. "My, my, you are a pretty darlin' aren't you."

Any reservation Ziva may have held for this man who threatened whippings with belts, was soon forgotten. Giggling shyly she buried her head into Gibbs chest, and stared coyly at the gentlemen before her.

"May I have the next cuddle?" asked Jack as he held out his arms for Ziva.

Allowing Jack to take her, she squealed as he twirled her around once, before stopping in front of Tony and Gibbs and holding her high, his arms securely around her legs.

Gibbs smiled. He knew his Dad would be a hit with the children.

"Well then," said Jack, holding Ziva and stretching his arm around Tony's shoulders. "I think it's time we fed these youngsters some lunch. What do you think Leroy?"

"Sounds good Dad," replied Gibbs.

"Grandpa, why do you call Daddy Leroy? Mommy calls him Jethro," asked Ziva.

Tony nodded. He'd been wondering the same thing.

"Well," began Jack. "Your Daddy was named after a great friend of mine, Leroy Jethro Moore. He and I started this store many years ago. I've always called your Dad Leroy but his Mother called him Jethro. I guess people then have the choice of which name they would prefer."

"I prefer Daddy," said Ziva seriously.

"I'm sure you do pumpkin," said Jack.

"My Daddy and Mommy call me that too sometimes," replied Ziva. "And Sweet Pea and Honey and Peanut. They must think that they can eat me or something."

Smiling indulgently at the five year old, Jack carried her out to the back of the store. Following behind, Tony and Gibbs soon found themselves in a small kitchenette which served as a staff room for any workers.

"So, how about some pastrami, cheese and lettuce sandwiches for lunch?" suggested Jack, putting Ziva down and opening the fridge.

"Yes please!" shouted Ziva.

"Can I just have pastrami and cheese on its own?" asked Tony.

"No, I'm afraid the pastrami only comes with lettuce," replied Jack, taking out the ingredients and handing several things to Gibbs.

Tony stared at his Dad.

"Told ya," said Gibbs, smirking at Tony.

Tony just shook his head. Must be a 'Gibbs' thing he thought to himself.

****NCIS****

Jackson Gibbs lived in a small, three bedroom house attached to the back of the store. So, once lunch had been eaten, Gibbs and the children quickly grabbed their things from the car and took them through the store to the house at the back. Sorting out the bedrooms, Gibbs put the children his own childhood room. It was the biggest and sported two single beds. The third bedroom, a small double, he took for himself.

After showing the children where the bathroom was, the three of them headed downstairs. Standing in the living room, Tony spotted a box hooked up to the TV.

"Is that Cable?" he asked excitedly. "Grandpa, do you have cable?"

"Sure do," replied Jackson. "I need something to fill in my nights when the store is closed."

"Oh wow! Look Ziva, Cable," said Tony, pointing to the TV.

"What's Cable?" asked Ziva.

"It's 500 extra channels Zi," replied Tony. "It's like heaven in a box!"

"It's not that great Tony," said Gibbs shaking his head in amusement.

"Are you kidding?" exclaimed Tony. "Why don't we have cable?"

"Because, we don't need it," replied Gibbs. "There's enough channels on normal TV without having to pay for extra channels that we'd probably never watch."

"I'd watch 'em," said Tony.

"You watch enough TV as it is Tony," remarked Gibbs. He put his arm around his son. "Come on, let's get your bike off the back of the car and I'll point out all the places you can ride without supervision."

Suitably distracted by the promise of parent free bike riding, Tony willingly followed his Dad and Ziva back through the store and out to the car. Once the bike was unhooked, Gibbs looked down the street.

"OK," he began. "As far as the main street goes, you can ride up and down along here so long as you watch out for pedestrians and you don't cross the road."

Tony sighed.

"But that's hardly anywhere Dad," he complained. "I'm old enough to cross the road by myself."

"Not this road Tony," replied Gibbs firmly. "It's the main road through the town and there are sometimes trucks and speeding cars. Neither of you ever crosses this street without an adult with you. However..." He walked Tony and Ziva to the top of the street and, when they turned left he said, "You can go all the way around this block."

They continued walking to the next corner and turned left again. Fairly soon they came to the front of Jackson's house.

"Now, this is the front of Grandpa's house," explained Gibbs. "And," he pointed across the road. "Across there is a large space with many bike tracks. As long as you tell me you are going for a ride Tony, you can cross this street on your own and go into the park. Now Ziva, you can only cross this street if you are with Tony or an adult. You don't cross this street on your own, understand?"

"But that's not fair," she whined. "Tony's allowed to go on his own."

"That's because Tony is eleven years old and you are only five," stated Gibbs sternly. "You don't cross this street on your own, OK?"

"OK," she grumbled.

Looking down at his youngest, Gibbs' gut told him that this was one rule Ziva was possibly going to disobey. He could see it in her eyes. He knew when Ziva felt she was being babied or treated unfairly, she would try anything to prove that she was more capable than they thought. The road was exceptionally quiet, being a local road for access to the three houses along the street. It could go hours without a single vehicle on it, sometimes even days on the weekend. However, this didn't stop Gibbs wanting to lay down the ground rules and Ziva needed to learn to listen and obey, regardless of whether she agreed or not. Yep, thought Gibbs, he could see his youngest testing him on this rule before the week was out. Hoping his gut was wrong, Gibbs continued explaining the rules.

"Once you are in the park, you can explore the bike tracks as far as they will go. There are miles of them. They are all dirt tracks and they cross and weave throughout this whole area. So long as you remain on the track, without crossing a second road, you can ride anywhere you want."

Tony looked across the street at the park. It wasn't like any park he'd seen before. It was a huge expanse of wooded area and bush land. There was a small playground towards the left and what looked like a pond further into the trees.

"Wow Dad! Was this here when you were young?" Tony asked, still staring ahead at all the different areas he could explore.

"Pretty much," replied Gibbs. "There were more wooded areas and the playground wasn't there, but other than those two things, yeah, it was pretty much the same. I used to ride in that area all the time, exploring different places. Sometimes, during the summer, I'd be out all day until I could hear Mom calling me in for dinner."

Tony looked up at his Dad. He had that far away look of happy contentment on his face when one is reminiscing about a time when they felt safe and loved.

"Can we go over there now?" Tony asked,

Pulling out of his childhood reverie, Gibbs looked down at the two children. He quickly checked his watch.

"Alright," he said finally. "But, you are to stay together. Only short rides Tony so that you can keep checking back on Ziva if she's playing on the playground. As soon as one of you wants to come home, both of you come back, understood?"

"Yes Dad," replied Tony.

"Ziva?" Gibbs looked down into Ziva's face.

"But what if I want to come home and Tony's riding far away somewhere?" she asked.

"Tony won't be riding far away today because I've just told him to stay close to you." Gibbs reminded her. "I mean it Ziva, if you cross this road on your own, I will spank your bottom. Is that clear?"

Ziva let out a long, over dramatic sigh.

"Ziva!" warned Gibbs.

"Yes, I understand," she grumbled. "But I'm old enough to cross the road by myself. There hasn't been a single car on here for the whole time we have been standing here," she argued.

"I don't care Ziva," replied Gibbs. "I have given you a rule and I expect you to obey it. Maybe in a day or two we can look at how to cross a road safely, and, if I feel you have mastered the task, I may rethink the rule. But for now, unless you want a very sore bottom, I'd suggest you obey me on this one."

Huffing again, Ziva crossed her arms and said no more.

"So, are you going to go to the park with Tony or not?" asked Gibbs.

When she didn't answer but continued pouting, Gibbs looked at Tony and said, "Looks like you're on your own Bud."

Tony nodded and was about to mount his bike, when Gibbs laid a hand on his shoulder.

"No Tony. Always walk your bike across the road. You can mount it when you reach the other side," he reminded.

Nodding his head again, Tony stood at the curb and, despite that fact that there wasn't a single vehicle in sight, made an exaggerated effort to look both ways before wheeling his bike across the road. Once on the other side, he mounted quickly and took off down one of the tracks shouting, "See ya!" as he disappeared around a corner.

Looking down at the sulking five year old, Gibbs said, "Come on then, let's go and get the car and we can drive it into Grandpa's garage."

He reached down to take her hand, but she pulled away.

"No," she said grumpily. "I want to go to the park."

"You had a chance to go to the park with Tony but you refused to answer. Now you've missed your chance," replied Gibbs firmly.

"But why can't you take me across the road?" asked Ziva.

"Because I need to get the car and unpack our things," said Gibbs. "Once I've finished doing that, then I can take you to the playground."

"But I want to go now," she whined, gearing up into tantrum mode.

"No Ziva," said Gibbs calmly. "Now, I'm going to go and get the car. You can stay here if you want, or you can go inside through that door." He pointed out the front door of Jackson's house. "Or you can come with me. What are you going to do?"

She sat down hard on the pavement and crossed her arms, refusing once again to answer.

"Fine," said Gibbs, trying hard not to laugh at her outraged demeanor. "I'll be around with the car in a minute. Remember what I told you about that road," he added sternly.

She didn't reply, but simply sat, Indian style, arms crossed with the biggest pout on her face. Shaking his head, Gibbs turned and walked back to the corner. As he rounded the street, he inwardly prayed she would still be there when he returned. He really didn't want to begin their time with Jack by having to discipline Ziva.

As Gibbs pulled the car into the driveway, he smiled. Sitting in the old rocking chair on the porch was Jackson and Ziva. Stepping out of the car, Gibbs climbed the steps and looked down at the pair.

"I found this little stray sitting all alone on the pavement," said Jack, winking at his son. "So I thought we should bring her in and give her a big glass of lemonade."

Gibbs turned to the little table next to the chair. Sure enough, there stood two empty glasses. He shook his head and smiled.

"You're an old softie Dad," said Gibbs. "You would never have put up with that behavior from me."

"That's the privilege of being a grandpa Son," said Jack. "You don't have to be the bad guy."

Wrapping his arms around Ziva and giving Gibbs a knowing smile, Jack settled back in the chair and began to rock gently. Gibbs bent down and kissed Ziva on the head.

"I think your Grandpa is going to spoil you, young lady," he said, watching as she snuggled into Jack's chest. "But, I guess that's what Grandpa's are for," he added, before turning and heading into the house.