Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS.
"Are you ready to go visit your new school, Theo?" Gibbs asked his almost three year old son. He and Tony had talked to school after school with Tony shooting almost every one of them down immediately. They had finally agreed on a Montessori school that had a slot open for three mornings a week at Theo's age group. The price they would be paying was more than a little daunting, but after much discussion they had decided it was worth it to get him in the school they wanted. Gibbs would have been more than happy with most of the preschools they talked to; however, Tony was less than pleased about putting Theo in school, so Gibbs was humoring him.
"I'm going to school today?" Theo asked as he looked up from his drawing.
"Well, you're not really going to school today. We're just going to visit so you can meet your new teachers and see your classroom. You'll start school next week."
Theo finished what he wanted of the drawing and said "Okay. Let's go."
Gibbs grinned, "Can you go upstairs and tell Daddy to come on? I'm going to let Gunny out and go start the car." As Theo started up the stairs, Gibbs whistled and said "Outside, Gunny."
The energetic puppy ran over and jumped up with his paws on Gibbs' legs. Gibbs bent down to pet him then opened the door. "Behave," he called after the dog as he shut the door and locked it. Gibbs had successfully potty trained the dog already which was a relief. He was a very needy dog though who required constant attention. Gibbs had to make sure to take him outside for a walk or run and to play ball several times a day. When Tony got home from work at night, Gibbs made him take him out for a run one last time for the day. Some days it was all very tiresome and wearing and other days he loved every bit of it.
Gibbs walked outside to start the car and was joined a couple of minutes later by his lover and son. Tony buckled Theo into his car seat and got into the front seat.
"Are you excited that you're having a baby brother and a baby sister soon?" Gibbs asked Theo. They had told Theo about the twins shortly before they found out if they were boys or girls. When they asked him what he thought about it and if he was excited, he had replied "Um, that's okay. We have a puppy…" He had shown very little interest in the twins. Gibbs and Tony made a conscious effort to make it something he could relate to so it didn't seem like the babies would be taking Papa and Daddy away from him. They called them his babies when talking about them to him and asked if he would help take care of them.
"Yes, my babies be here soon." Theo said.
"Pretty soon," Gibbs agreed. He looked over at Tony. "You ready to have two little DiNozzos around the house?" The babies were Tony's biologically but Gibbs would be adopting them as his own too and they would take his last name like Theo.
Tony laughed, "I'm not as worried about them having my genes as I am there being two of them to take care of. Theo is about as active as they get and he has the worst tantrums ever. I can't imagine my kids would be any harder to take care of."
Gibbs grinned and nodded. "You make a good point; I'll agree with that."
They arrived at the school and got Theo out of the car. They each held one of his hands as they walked into the school. When they were brought to the classroom, they walked in and Theo looked around. One of the teachers came over and smiled down at Theo. "Hi Theo, I'm Miss Bella."
"Hi," Theo said in a small voice as he looked around timidly. They talked for a few minutes before she went back to tending to the kids with the other teacher, Miss Ruth. Gibbs and Tony walked around the classroom with Theo to let him see everything and get used to it. When a few of the kids tried to talk to him, he got really shy and upset, clinging to Tony's legs and hiding his face. He wasn't used to being around other kids. The only time he ever really had any contact with kids was at the library or the park and he almost always stuck to himself.
They stayed a few more minutes and then walked to the car. After they all got situated and Gibbs pulled out, Tony said "Can you please do the first few drop offs? If I take him and he cries, I'll either start crying or I'll lose my nerve and bring him back home."
Gibbs smirked and sighed, "Okay, Tony. I'll do the first few but you have to do it at some point."
Tony nodded, "Definitely. But maybe by then he'll be used to it."
Gibbs shrugged a shoulder and said "Or maybe he'll be perfectly fine the first day he goes. Or maybe he'll cry everyday for the next year. What then?" He glanced over at Tony who had a horrified look on his face.
"If he cries everyday for the next year, we'll take him out!"
Gibbs laughed. "You're so dramatic."
They got back home and Tony left for work. He had taken the morning off to go with them.
"Theo, let's go take Gunny for a walk."
Theo shook his head no and sat down with a puzzle.
"We won't do a long walk. We'll just go down the street and back."
With a series of impatient noises, Theo started to kick his feet against the coffee table. Gibbs gave him a stern look and said "The tantrums are getting really old, Theodore. Use your words."
"I don't want to go on a walk!" Theo said angrily.
"Why not, baby?" Gibbs asked patiently.
Theo looked thoughtful and lifted his arms to be picked up. Gibbs lifted him up and looked at him, waiting for an explanation.
"Papa, I want to do my puzzle and my legs are tired."
"Is that so? I have an idea. I'll carry you on this walk since your legs are tired and you can do your puzzle when we get back since it's going to be a short walk. Deal?" Theo thought it over before he nodded, "Okay."
The weekend passed in a flurry of activity with trips to the park, working on the boat together, and talking about the new babies. When they woke up on Monday morning, Tony looked at Gibbs pitifully and asked, "Does he have to go to school?" Gibbs rolled his eyes and smacked Tony on the butt. "Yes, he has to go. Be glad I'm not making you take him."
Gibbs got Theo dressed and asked Tony to get him his breakfast so he could get dressed too. When he came downstairs, Theo was on Tony's lap and Tony was resting his head against Theo's. Gibbs ran his hand over Tony's hair as he passed and said "You know this is probably harder for you than it will be for him. Yeah, it's possible he'll be upset at first; he's never been away from us before. But kids are pretty resilient, Tony. He'll get used to it. And if for some reason he just doesn't get used to it and he hates it and it's a huge problem, we'll re-evaluate and see what we should do about it."
Tony sighed and nodded. He stood up with Theo. "It's time for me to go to work, boo. Have fun on your first day of school. Are you excited?" He asked.
Theo nodded and laid his head on Tony's shoulder. Tony rubbed his back and said "Good. You'll love it there, baby." He put him down in the chair and gave Gibbs a kiss. "I love you guys. I'll see you tonight."
Gibbs and Theo both told him they loved him and he left. After Theo had finished his breakfast of wheat toast and fruit, Gibbs wiped his face and hands down. "Can you go grab your jacket, please? It's kind of cool this morning since it's still early." While Theo went for his jacket, Gibbs put some food in Gunny's food bowl and petted the puppy momentarily.
"Ready to go?" Gibbs asked as he helped Theo put his jacket on. Theo nodded and Gibbs picked up his little backpack. On their way to the school, Gibbs glanced back at a red light to see what Theo was doing. He was being unnaturally quiet, even by his usual standard. Theo was staring out the window and he looked tired. It wasn't any earlier than he usually woke up and was already busy; Gibbs figured he was just feeling nervous.
They arrived at the school and Gibbs parked the car. He got Theo out and held his hand, "Come on, Theo."
"Papa…" Theo said quietly and stopped. Gibbs looked down. "Papa, carry…"
Gibbs picked him up and walked in the building. As he made his way to the classroom, Theo grabbed a handful of his shirt and held on tightly.
"Good morning, Theo. How are you today?" Miss Bella greeted them. Theo glanced at her before hiding his face in Gibbs' neck. Gibbs rubbed his back and said in a low voice, "Can you say hi to Miss Bella? You remember how nice Miss Bella was on Friday. You don't have to be scared, son."
Theo glanced up and said "Hi," before quickly hiding his face again. Gibbs smiled and crouched down to put Theo down. He stayed down on his level and ran a hand over his head. "Remember what we talked about? You'll have so much fun and if you need anything Miss Bella and Miss Ruth are here to help you. You'll make lots of new friends, huh, bud? And I'll be back to pick you up in just a little while. It'll be so fast you won't even know I'm gone because you'll be having so much fun with your new friends." He smiled at Theo and kissed his forehead.
Theo wrapped his arms around Gibbs' neck and held on. Gibbs could feel his little body trembling and he felt as if his heart broke just a bit. He wrapped his arms around him and hugged him close before kissing him and pulling his hands off of his neck. "Okay, Papa has to go now. You'll have so much fun, baby; I'm jealous. I love you, Theo."
He stood up to go and Theo's lip pouted and he started to rub his eyes. Popping his fingers into his mouth, he began to cry softly as he watched his Papa go. Gibbs said goodbye to the teacher who assured him that Theo would be okay and walked out the door. He waited a few minutes before he peeked through the glass of the door. Miss Bella was holding Theo's hand and Theo was still sucking on his fingers, his face wet with tears and a zoned-out look on his face.
Gibbs moved away from the door again incase Theo looked up and saw him there. He hesitated briefly before leaving. He had a strong urge to charge back in there and bring him back home with him. Before he could do that, he made himself walk out of the building and get in the car to leave.
The drive back home was quiet and when Gibbs walked in the house he found that he wasn't quite sure what to do with himself. He put Gunny on the leash and went for a long run. When he got back home, he worked on the boat for about an hour before he went upstairs for a shower.
He looked at the clock; there was still about two hours until he had to go get Theo. Gibbs idly picked up stuff around the living room and straightened up the kitchen. He felt like he was going a little stir-crazy without his boy there to keep him busy and to have fun with. He knew he should enjoy the break and he figured he would probably get there eventually but the first few days might be difficult. Gibbs wasn't used to having idle time on his hands; he, like Theo, was a very busy person. But when the twins were born, he wouldn't have any time on his hands.
It was finally time to go pick him up and he headed to the school. He walked into the classroom and Theo looked up and saw him, running over, and Gibbs scooped him up. Theo laid his head on his shoulder and held onto him tightly.
"Hey, did you have a good first day?" He asked as he rubbed his back. Theo pulled back and grinned, saying "Hi Papa."
Gibbs smiled, "Hi baby. How was it?"
Miss Bella walked over and smiled. "Mr. Gibbs, you and Mr. DiNozzo have one fun little boy there. He has had me and Ruth holding back hysterical laughter all morning."
Gibbs grinned and chuckled, "I can only imagine…"
Miss Bella smiled, "He talks really, really well for his age. He was hesitant to talk at first but once he opened up, he had us rolling."
Gibbs nodded, "He keeps us on our toes."
"He had a great first day, Mr. Gibbs. There were a few times that he refused to participate but once we explained and talked about it, he was really pretty willing."
"Oh that's good. He can be really stubborn but he's pretty good about doing something if you talk it over with him." Gibbs looked at Theo and smiled, "Good first day, huh, Theo?" He ruffled his hair, "Daddy will be so glad to hear that." They said goodbye to the teachers and walked out.
"Did you have fun?"
"Yes, but let's stay home now," Theo said.
Gibbs got him in the car and pulled out. "We're going home now. But you go again tomorrow and the next day, remember? You get to have fun at school three days a week."
"No, thank you. I just like this one day."
Gibbs didn't say anything to that and when they got home he put Theo down for his nap. After Theo's nap they made a trip to the library and the grocery store. Gibbs made spaghetti for dinner and they ate together at the table.
"Pretty soon after the babies are born, you'll be turning three. You're getting so old, Theodore. Before you know it, you'll be driving a car and copping an attitude. Oh wait, you already do that part."
Theo giggled at the absurdity of his Papa.
"What do you think you'll want for your birthday?" Gibbs asked conversationally. "What kind of presents?"
Theo looked thoughtful as he took a bite of bread. He finished his bite and drank a sip of milk before he answered. "A new daddy."
Gibbs' eyes widened momentarily. "Why do you want a new daddy, baby?"
"A new daddy I can see. A day time daddy. He won't be gone always." Gibbs leaned over and lifted Theo's chin gently and said, "I know Daddy is gone a lot during the day but he loves you so much and he wishes he could be here more. But you get to see him at night and he gives you your bath and reads your bedtime story. That's pretty special. And you get to play on the weekends."
Theo smiled, "I love my Daddy stories. With silly voices."
Gibbs laughed, "Daddy does do silly voices, doesn't he? His stories are very fun." He ran his fingers down Theo's cheek. "See, you wouldn't want a new daddy. A new daddy wouldn't do silly voices or fly you like an airplane around the house or rub your back when you're sad."
"I love Daddy."
"Good. He loves you too, so much."
"Be home soon?"
Gibbs glanced at the clock; it was 18:30. "I'm not sure, buddy. Want to try calling him?"
"Okay," Theo said excitedly.
Gibbs called Tony and put him on speaker phone, setting the phone on the table between him and Theo.
"DiNozzo"
"Hi 'Nozzo" Theo said
Tony laughed, "Hi baby boy, what are you doing?"
"Eating basketti."
"Mmm, I love basketti. Did you save me some?"
"Papa ate it all. He had a hungry tummy."
Gibbs laughed and said "I did have a hungry tummy but I didn't it all, goofy."
Theo leaned in close to the phone and said in a quiet voice, "He ate all the basketti."
Tony laughed and asked how Theo's first day of school was. Theo said "Good, but I only just go this day."
"I see. Just today, huh?"
Gibbs interrupted this line of conversation and asked Tony if he would be home soon.
"Uh, I should be home in time to do bath and bed. Everything okay?"
"Yeah, everything's good. Theodore was just wondering when you would be home." They all talked a few more minutes before they hung up. Theo chased Gunny around the house while Gibbs cleaned up the kitchen.
When Tony got home, Theo ran at him full speed. Tony picked up and tossed him in the air, making him giggle loudly. Gibbs watched them with a smile on his face. Nothing made him happier than seeing the two of them together. Theo's comment about a new daddy had thrown him completely off guard and saddened him. He knew just how much Tony hated that he was gone so much.
"I hope Papa saved me something to eat. I'm starvin' like Lee Marvin, Little Bean," Tony said as he touched noses with Theo. Gibbs' emotions must have been showing on his face thinking about what Theo had said earlier because when Tony looked up his face fell a little, "What's wrong?"
Gibbs shook his head and quirked his lips into a smile, "Just watching you two." Tony got a doubtful look on his face but turned his attention back to Theo.
"If you want to eat first, I'll get him in the bath. It's getting late," Gibbs said.
Tony shook his head, "I'll get him." Gibbs gave Theo a goodnight kiss and told him he loved him. Tony would get him in the bath, read him his story, and put him to bed. While they were doing that, Gibbs went downstairs to work on the boat.
Tony joined him downstairs after a while. He stood beside the boat, running his hand over it.
"He's in his big boy bed."
Gibbs looked up in surprise, "You put him in his big boy bed?" They had recently put a bed in his room but kept him in his crib. One of them would occasionally lay on it with him to let him get used to it but they hadn't taken the big step yet.
"He asked to go in it. He wanted to."
"Well, that's good, I guess. Did he stay in it when you walked out?"
Tony nodded, "Yes, but I'm sure he's out of it by now."
Gibbs snorted and continued to work on the boat. "I wasn't looking forward to this. He's going to be out of that bed all damn night."
"Yes, but it has to happen sometime. We'll need that crib soon. And it was only a matter of time before Theo started climbing out of the crib at night." He had already learned to climb out of it but for some reason unknown to them had yet to do it at night. But Tony was right; it was only a matter of time, if they kept him in it any longer.
"He did fine when I dropped him off this morning. He did cry a little but apparently he was over it pretty quickly. You can drop him off tomorrow," Gibbs told Tony as he blew away some sawdust. "And I'm not trying to hurt you when I tell you this but I thought you should know, when I asked Theodore what he wanted for his birthday he said he wanted a new daddy. He said he wanted a daddy that he can see and who won't be gone always."
Tony's face fell. He looked down and rubbed his fingers against the boat. Gibbs had debated whether he should tell him that or not. He knew how sensitive Tony could be when it came to their son. In the end, he decided he should know what their almost three-year-old had said.
When Tony continued to be silent and rub his fingers against the boat, Gibbs put his tool away and went up behind him, wrapping his arms around Tony's waist and resting his cheek against the side of Tony's head.
"He loves you so much, Tony. Never doubt that."
Tony looked back and pressed a kiss to the side of Gibbs' mouth before he turned in his arms. With a hand on the back of Gibbs' head, Tony pressed up close and kissed him insistently, almost needy.
A few minutes later, Gibbs pulled away breathlessly, "I would suggest making sure our son isn't destroying the house. Or having a wild party," he added as an afterthought.
They made their way upstairs and, as predicted, Theo was out of his bed. And out of his room. Gibbs walked into his and Tony's bedroom to find a little boy and a puppy in his bed. "Oh no you don't. Both of you, off the bed."
"Papa's bed!"
"No, Theo's bed. Come on."
"And Gunny?"
Gibbs gave him a look and they walked back to his bedroom. Theo climbed up into his new bed and Gibbs pulled the covers over him. He bent down to kiss Theo and patted him gently. "I love you. Stay in your bed, please, and go to sleep."
"I like Daddy's bed."
"It's not a choice, Theodore. You sleep in your bed."
"Okay," Theo said sullenly with a very pouty face.
Gibbs turned off the light and shut the door as he walked out. He walked back into his own bedroom to find Gunny. Tony was in there, sitting on the floor petting the puppy.
"Maybe I shouldn't have told you what he said. You're not going to obsess about it are you? Theo and I talked about it. I promise you have no reason to worry about his love for you or anything."
Tony smiled up at him. "I know. I'm just tired."
As soon as they were in bed, they heard little feet padding up to the bed. Gibbs got up. "Back to bed, Theo."
This happened twice more in the next thirty minutes. The fourth time he came into their room, Tony took him back to his bed. Gibbs could hear the murmurs of Theo talking in the other room. When Tony came back into the room, they could hear Theo kicking his foot against the wall and yelling "Papa. I not tired. Papa, it is time to be awake!"
Gibbs ignored this and linked his fingers with Tony's. Tony lay against him and sighed tiredly. Forty-five minutes later, Theo was finally asleep. Gibbs relaxed in the bed and drifted off.
He woke to a little foot jabbing into his side. Groggily, he looked over to find Theo asleep between him and Tony. He momentarily wondered when he had put him in their bed when he remembered Theo's new bed. Sighing, he got up and carried Theo back to his room.
The next time he woke up, it was to find a little boy climbing into the bed. "What are you doing, baby?" Gibbs asked in a slightly hoarse voice from sleep. Theo froze mid-climb and looked guiltily at Gibbs. Then he continued to climb up and snuggle into Gibbs. Too tired to do anything about it, Gibbs pulled Theo close and drifted back off to sleep.
That day, Tony took Theo to school and Gibbs picked him up. Tony had called that morning to say that Theo had cried hysterically and that when he'd looked back in he was still screaming. When Gibbs picked him up, the teacher said it had been a bit of a rough day but that she was confident tomorrow would be better. Gibbs tried, unsuccessfully to talk about it with Theo who was extremely crabby. Then there was no nap because he refused to stay in his new bed.
Tony got home at 17:00 which was completely unheard of. He was able to eat dinner with them and played with Theo the rest of the evening. Bedtime proved to be impossible again. Tony and Gibbs both read him his bedtime story and tucked him in. By 21:00, Theo had been out of his bed five times. By 22:00, he had been out of his bed four more times and four tantrums had been thrown. Gibbs and Tony were both completely frazzled and exhausted by this point.
When Gunny came running into the room after Gibbs had almost managed to lull Theo to sleep and completely woke him back up, Gibbs yelled "Get out of here, Gunny!" in frustration. Tony came barging into the room and said "You need to calm down. Go." Gibbs made a face that suggested "What the hell?" and walked out of the room without another word.
Tony succeeded in making things worse. Theo was crying incessantly and after ten minutes of this, Gibbs walked back in and said, "Until you can do this without making it completely worse than what it was, don't ever tell me to get out again."
Gibbs sat beside Theo's bed and rubbed his back with an occasional "Shh" if Theo tried to speak or started to cry again. Twenty minutes later, Gibbs left the room and went back to his and Tony's bedroom. Tony wasn't in the bed.
Sighing, he went downstairs. Tony was lying on the couch, head on a pillow and blanket over him. Gibbs walked back upstairs and crawled into bed tiredly. He hoped this problem with the new bed would become easier as time went on. If this was how it went every night, Gibbs almost feared what it would do to his and Tony's relationship. He couldn't remember Tony ever going to sleep on the couch.
As he drifted off, he wondered why his son had to make everything so damn difficult. With a grin Gibbs thought, Theo must have gotten such stubbornness from the surrogate, Anna. There was no way he got it from him, he thought as he chuckled to himself. Yeah right.
Did you like? Reviews make me very happy (hint, hint) ;). Next chapter the twins will be born! Thanks for reading!