Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS.
Gibbs was waiting for Tony to get home from work then they were going to eat dinner and leave for Stillwater, Pennsylvania. They were going to visit his dad for the weekend. They decided to leave in the evening so maybe the kids would fall asleep on the drive. Gibbs wasn't holding out too much hope for that but it was worth a shot.
Oliver was chasing Caroline around the living room trying to get her toy. "Let me have it, Care-line!"
"I said no!" Caroline yelled as she looked back.
"Aw, come on," Oliver pleaded. Caroline stopped running and Oliver ran into her, knocking her forward. Oliver stared at her a minute and when Caroline started giggling he started laughing and threw himself at her. She screamed and scrambled away. They continued talking and arguing back and forth as the chase started again. Gibbs wasn't going to intervene if nobody was getting hurt. Let them wear themselves out.
Theo walked into the room, focusing on the book he had in hand, and Oliver ran at him jumping onto his back. Theo staggered and weaved for a moment before he maintained his balance.
"Get off of me, Oliver! Can't you act right for one minute!" Theo yelled as he threw his little brother off his back. Unbothered by his brother's scolding, Oliver jumped up and said "What you doing, Theo Bean?"
Theo said "Reading a book," in a distracted tone and made his way over to the coffee table.
"Read to me! I want to read…."
"No, Oliver, maybe another day."
"Please," Oliver begged. Theo sighed and closed his eyes. He stood completely still as if willing his temper under control. He looked down at Oliver and said in a very patient voice "I will read to you another day, Oliver. Right now I don't want to, okay?"
Oliver completely sidetracked went running for the dog, talking nonstop the whole way. Caroline was playing with her baby doll and talking quietly. She made her way over to Gibbs. "Papa, baby is sad."
"Uh oh, why is baby sad?"
"She… she hurt her tummy. Poor baby."
"Oh, poor baby," Gibbs said, slightly dramatically. "You should sing to her and rub her belly."
"You sing to her, Papa," Caroline said as she thrust the doll his way, innocent eyes staring up at him.
Caroline had both him and Tony completely wrapped around her little finger. Gibbs didn't hesitate to play with the doll, singing and rocking and rubbing its stomach.
"What do you think? Is she all better?"
Caroline took the doll back and held her up. "She all better, Papa."
Gibbs smiled at her and got up to check one more time that they had everything they needed. Tony walked in the door and said "Daddy's home!"
"Daddy!" Caroline yelled and ran to him. He scooped her up and spun her around, making her laugh in delight. Oliver yelled and charged at him. Before he could run into him, Tony grabbed him up and held him on his other arm and pressed kisses all over his face. Oliver screeched and grabbed Tony's face to start kissing him back.
Theo said "Hi Dad," from the floor where he was reading.
"Hey big man, what are you doing?"
Theo glanced up. "I'm reading."
Tony put the twins down and they both went their separate ways, talking and babbling the whole time. Gibbs and Tony made their way to each other and shared a quick kiss.
"Their mouths have not stopped moving all day long. Not once have they stopped talking. Ask Theodore; I'm not exaggerating. Both of them, at once even, the entire day."
Tony laughed. Gibbs really wasn't exaggerating. It seemed that both Oliver and Caroline felt the need to talk at all times. Even if they had to talk over each other, they would keep talking. Sometimes it came out gibberish and nobody had any idea what they were saying, but they were also starting to speak pretty clearly now. Gibbs didn't think the house had had any kind of quiet in two years. They were Tony's kids, for sure.
"Can we get going and stop somewhere for dinner?" Tony asked. Gibbs shrugged, "Sure, if you want to deal with them in a restaurant." They put the kids in some comfortable clothes so they could fall asleep later and they wouldn't have to change them when they got to Jackson's house. Gibbs and Tony put their stuff in the back of the SUV and went back inside to get the kids and put Gunny outside. McGee would be feeding him over the weekend for them.
When they sat down for dinner, Caroline desperately wanted to speak to the man sitting at the table near theirs. "Ascuse me, sir. Ascuse me!" The man looked slightly uncomfortable and shifted in his seat.
"Caroline, I don't think he wants to talk right now, baby," Gibbs said, trying to hold back a chuckle.
Oliver tapped his sister's arm and pointed toward the man. Caroline leaned toward him, "Ascuse me, sir. Ascuse meeeeeee!" she said loudly. Gibbs put his hand over her mouth and said "Caroline Elizabeth, why are you yelling?"
"I talk to him!"
"I just said he doesn't want to talk. Now eat your dinner."
Oliver and Caroline looked at each other for a second before they started laughing. After a few minutes of listening to them ramble back and forth, Theo asked, "Why can't I sit in my booster seat, Papa?" They had recently bought Theo a booster seat for the car. He would be turning five soon and they would see how they felt about putting him in the booster rather than the car seat at that point. They wanted to keep him in the car seat as long as possible before they made the switch though.
"I told you, son, when you're bigger we'll use the booster."
"Connor from preschool got to use a booster and he's only four and I'm almost five and I still have to sit in that baby car seat!"
"Well that's great for Connor, but you're not Connor. And you may almost be five but that doesn't mean that you are five. The car seat isn't for babies. Most kids your age are still in car seats."
"I'm too big for the car seat; I need to use the booster."
"Last I checked you still fit very comfortably in the car seat. You even have some room to grow in it. I'm sorry buddy, but you have no choice in this. You stay in the car seat until Daddy and I decide we're okay with you going in the booster." Theo glared at him and Gibbs glared back. Theo bit his lip and was clearly trying not to laugh.
When they finally finished dinner, they began to walk past the man from earlier. Oliver said loudly, "You need good manners, sir!" Gibbs grabbed him up and walked past the man a little faster than he normally might have. Tony was laughing as they walked out.
"Where exactly do they get their good manners from, Jethro?" Tony asked him with a confused look on his face.
Gibbs shrugged, "We say please and thank you to them usually."
"Yeah, but that's about it. And we definitely never say 'sir.' It's so funny that they say that all the time." Both Oliver and Caroline had a habit of calling everybody sir, sometimes even women. He and Tony weren't sure where they had picked it up though. It was amusing.
They got everybody strapped back in and got on the road. Oliver was talking loudly about something and then he yelled "My binky!" Gibbs saw Tony reaching back and searching around the floor for the pacifier. When he finally found it, he wiped it off and handed it back to him. "Don't drop it again or you might not get it back." Oliver put it in his mouth and began talking around it. Gibbs briefly rolled his eyes up. Even with the pacifier in his mouth, he never stopped talking.
Caroline said "I need to say something!"
"What do you need to say?" Tony asked her.
"When we be out of the car?"
"Not for a while, sweet baby. You'll be asleep when we get to Grandpa's," Tony said, then added quietly "I hope." Gibbs grinned.
An hour later, the twins were still wide awake and talking to each other. Theo was trying to talk over them to Gibbs and would snap, "Can't you hush?" when they'd continue to talk.
"Why you such a grumpy pants, Theo Bean?" Caroline asked her brother.
"I'm not a grumpy pants but you two don't ever stop talking. Let somebody else talk for once!"
"Well you are…"
Gibbs cut her off with a loud "Okay!" When everybody was silent he said "That's enough. It's time for all of you to go to sleep."
"But…" Caroline started.
"No, no more. Put your binky in your mouth and close your eyes."
There was a whispered "I think Theo Bean get his grumpy pants from Papa." Tony coughed out a laugh before he quickly put on a serious face.
"Go to sleep, guys. It's bed time."
"What about a story?" Theo said.
"Yeah, a story!" Oliver yelled around his pacifier.
"Yeah, a story!" Gibbs said from the driver's seat and glanced over at Tony. Tony touched his arm and said "What story would you like to hear, little boy?"
He heard Theo giggle in the back seat. Caroline said "No story. Papa sing."
"Yeah, Papa sing!" Oliver said excitedly.
"Papa doesn't want to sing," Gibbs said.
"Sing sunshine," Caroline said.
Theo said angrily, "That's my song, Caroline!" Gibbs had always sung "You are My Sunshine" to Theo since he was a baby.
"Okay, Theodore. Don't start an argument. I won't sing sunshine."
They all started talking about what Gibbs should sing, Tony included which made Gibbs want to roll his eyes or smack the back of his head, when Theo said over everybody, "Excuse me! I need to pee!"
"Didn't you go to the bathroom back at the restaurant?"
"Yes, but I need to go again."
"Can you hold it for a few minutes?"
"No."
Gibbs sighed. "I'm in between exits, bud. You'll have to wait a minute."
Then Caroline said loudly, "He throw his binky at me!"
"Dada, I need my bink."
"Well, I told you not to drop it again and you just threw it. So no bink right now."
A broken hearted wail began in the back seat. It wasn't a tantrum, it was true crying. Theo must have had a tantrum every single day of his toddler life and he still had them to this day, but Gibbs didn't think the twins had ever thrown a single tantrum. They argued some, cried like any other child, but they just didn't have tantrums.
Caroline got upset because her brother was so upset and she started crying too. Tony was working to calm them down when Theo yelled "Why can't they just be quiet?" and he started crying too. Gibbs' hands tightened on the steering wheel. "So much for our brilliant plan to drive at night," he said to Tony. Tony snorted and said "Yeah."
When they stopped to let Theo use the bathroom, Gibbs got out and opened the back door where Oliver was. He put his face against Oliver's and nuzzled gently, shushing him quietly. Oliver immediately calmed down and put his hand on Gibbs' face. His breath hitched and he sighed, "Papa." Gibbs began to very softly sing to him, all the while keeping his face against Oliver's. Within minutes, Oliver was asleep. Caroline reached her hands out for him. Gibbs closed Oliver's door as quietly as he could and went around the other side so he could get to Caroline. He did the exact same thing he'd done with Oliver and within a minute Caroline had dropped off as well.
They both, like Tony, needed much physical contact. Reassuring touches, cuddling, hugs. They had always both especially liked things against their faces. It had always been a source of comfort for them. In situations where they couldn't be calmed otherwise, Gibbs would hold them so he could put his face against theirs or would gently run his hand over their faces and they would almost immediately calm down. And they both loved to rub their blankets against their cheeks.
When Tony came back out with Theo, Gibbs put his finger to his lips to tell them to be quiet. As he buckled Theo into his car seat he whispered, "You need to go to sleep. And if you wake your brother and sister up, I will be very upset. Do you understand me?" Theo nodded and laid his head back. Gibbs kissed him and got back in to leave.
They slept the rest of the drive and Tony talked quietly the rest of the way. Sometimes Gibbs listened and responded and other times he just let Tony talk. When they finally got to his dad's house, they tried to be as quiet as possible and keep them asleep but when they started to get their bags out, Caroline woke up disoriented and crying which woke the other two up. They got the kids out of the car just as Jackson came out on the porch.
"Grandpa!" Theo said as he ran toward the house. Oliver squirmed in Gibbs' arms trying desperately to get down and run to his Grandpa like Theo had. Gibbs and Tony each put the twins down and they made for the house. Jackson picked them each up to give them a hug, holding them close when he did.
Gibbs and Tony carried the bags to the house and Gibbs dropped them just inside, turning to his dad. "Dad," he said as he walked forward a few steps to wrap him in a hug. They embraced each other tightly and Gibbs pressed a kiss to the side of his father's head. Tony hugged him next and Jackson patted his cheek with a warm smile.
They all made their way inside and sat down. "I want to sleep with Grandpa," Theo said immediately.
"Then you'll have to ask him. That's up to Grandpa," Gibbs said. Theo looked up at Jackson and said "Can I, Grandpa? Please?"
Jackson smiled down at him, "Of course you can, Theo."
"I sleep with Grandpa!" Oliver said. Caroline perked up, "And me!"
Gibbs shook his head. "You two will be in the playpen. Sorry kiddos." He and Tony brought the Pack and Play to put the twins in for sleeping. It would be a little cramped but they didn't really have any other options. The bed he and Tony would be sleeping in would be a tight squeeze if they tried to put the twins in bed with them.
"You can put their playpen in my room, Leroy."
"Ah, Dad, we couldn't do that. I'm sure they'll be up all night especially since we're in a different place."
"What do I care? I'll get up every hour if I have to. These are my grandbabies."
Gibbs smiled and said "Okay, we'll put their playpen in your room." He squeezed Tony's leg, "We should go put that up and take the bags upstairs."
They got the bags upstairs and set up the playpen in Jackson's room before going back downstairs to get the kids. Getting them back to sleep was a hassle with rocking, patting, shushing, and singing. When they finally did get them back to sleep they said goodnight to Jackson and headed for Gibbs' old room.
He woke the next morning at 6:00 and made his way downstairs. His dad was down there with all three kids and they were laughing about something.
"We weren't too loud, were we son? We didn't wake you?"
"Are you kidding? 6:00 in the morning? This is sleeping in," Gibbs said with a smile. "Are you being wild children as usual?"
Jackson chuckled and said "They're just spirited, Leroy."
"They are that, Dad."
Gibbs got a cup of coffee and sat at the kitchen table to read the paper while the kids were entertained. It wasn't often he could sit and read the paper; he wouldn't hesitate to take this chance. Jackson was telling the kids a story and they were all listening intently, looking up at their Grandpa with wide, curious eyes.
Gibbs looked over at the fridge to see some of the pictures he and Tony had mailed to his father recently. One of Theo looking serious, but it was a close up so his big blue eyes looked amazing. There was one of Tony holding Oliver in the air and both of them looking at each other with grins, a picture of Caroline in a pink shirt, pointing at something with a shocked face, and one that Tony had taken of Gibbs, a small smile playing at his lips and a warm look in his eyes.
"Papa," Theo said and Gibbs looked back in their direction. "Yes?" he answered.
"Grandpa said this was your toy train when you were a little boy," Theo held up a small toy train.
"Let me see," Theo handed him the train and Gibbs studied it for a moment before he smiled. "So it was. I think this was a gift from L.J. when I was about seven or eight."
"Who is L.J.?"
"L.J. was Grandpa's very best friend. He was a good man." Gibbs said with a smile. "You would have liked him, Theo," he told his son as he handed the train back to him.
"Where is he now, Papa?" Theo asked curiously. Gibbs was hesitant to bring up the subject of death. After finding a dead bird recently, Theo had been very concerned and worried about anything to do with death. A lot of the hard questions like what happens when you die and does it hurt to die and do you ever wake up again had been asked. Sometimes he would randomly ask, "But I'm not going to die soon, right?" with an anxious look on his face.
"Well, buddy, he died a long time ago," Gibbs told him. When an upset look began to come over his face, Gibbs quickly sidetracked. "Hey, I bet Grandpa wouldn't mind if you kept that train. Why don't you ask him?"
When Theo asked him, he said "It's your train, Leroy." Gibbs told Theo they would bring the train home. That made him smile and he continued to hold and play with the toy.
"Where's your other half, son?" Jackson asked him a few minutes later.
"He's asleep. I usually try to let him sleep in some if he wants when he's not working. If he's not up pretty soon, I'll probably send the kids up to wake him. That's always fun," he said with a chuckle.
When Tony was up and everybody got dressed, they headed for Jackson's store. Gibbs and his dad had already talked about the store and his dad had told him he would probably only be able to keep up with it another couple of years. Gibbs had told him he understood and would support whatever decision he made.
At the store, Gibbs helped his dad with his morning routine to start the day while Tony "watched" the kids. Saying he'd watch the kids must have meant he'd sit on his butt because the kids were all over the store, with the twins climbing up the shelves. After Gibbs had gotten both of them down himself, he threw his arms up and shot a glare Tony's way.
A few people that had moved here after Gibbs had left when he was younger came to the store. Oliver and Caroline greeted them happily and immediately engaged them in conversation.
"They're very social, aren't they? Much more than Theo," Jackson commented with an amused look on his face.
"They know no strangers," Gibbs said as he picked his daughter up. "Caroline, please don't follow them around the store." She looked at him and said "I see what they are doing."
"They're buying stuff from the store, baby. They don't need you following after them."
She frowned slightly before wiggling to get down. Gibbs put her down and she stayed nearby. Oliver, on the other hand, was missing. Growling softly, he went in search of his younger son. He found him in the back corner of the store, having an animated conversation with an older man. Apologizing softly, Gibbs pulled Oliver away from him and back to the front of the store.
"You can't watch them for a few minutes?" He said quietly to Tony, irritated. Tony gave him a slightly apologetic look and took Oliver's hand. Oliver started bouncing around and pulling away from Tony, laughing a deep belly laugh.
"You guys want to go for a walk?" Gibbs asked Tony and the kids.
"Yeah! Yes, outside, outside. Please," Oliver said as he jumped around. Caroline started running around Gibbs saying, "Yeah, outside! Outside!"
Theo looked over from the counter where he was sitting and talking to his Grandpa. With his brow furrowed, he said "I like it in here. I want to stay with Grandpa."
Just then a man went up to pay for his stuff. Gibbs took Theo from the counter, "Well, let's just go out for a little while and let Oliver and Caroline burn off some energy." Theo glared at his brother and sister before he started squirming to be put down. The "I'm too big to be held" phase had started in the last few months.
"Come on, Caroline. We're going for a walk." She grabbed her pacifier and popped it into her mouth as she started to walk over. "I think you should leave the binky, Miss." She shook her head no and said "My binky," around the pacifier. Gibbs pulled it out of her mouth and put it back in the bag.
"I need it," she said as she started to go back. Gibbs grabbed her hand and gently pulled her back toward the door.
"You can have it tonight at bed. You don't need it right now." They all said bye to Jackson and walked out the door.
They began to walk down the sidewalk, toward the other side of town where there would be a small park and playground where the kids could play. Gibbs held Caroline's hand while Tony held Oliver's and they let Theo walk on his own with the promise of staying on the sidewalk. Being trusted to do as told and being able to walk without his hand being held like a baby, Theo held his head a little higher and prouder.
They passed a few people as they went. Gibbs recognized some and nodded a polite hello to them; others he didn't recognize at all.
Oliver and Caroline ran forward in a burst of energy when they got to the play set. Theo made his way to the swings and yelled for Tony to push him "high, higher than the sky!"
Gibbs strolled over to the play set and watched the twins running around. Caroline made her way over to a slide and went down it with a thrilled laugh. Oliver's face peeked down at him through bars, "Come up, Papa!"
"I think I'll stay down here. Why don't you go down a slide?"
Oliver made a face at him through the bars and said "Up, up! Please?"
"Now how could I say no to that?" Gibbs said as he made his way over to the little stairs leading up. Crouching down, Gibbs made his way to the little bridge where his son was. Oliver screeched happily and grabbed his Papa's hand, pulling him forward. He dragged Gibbs over to the slide and looked up at him expectantly.
Gibbs smiled down at him and stood there. Oliver sighed at him and went behind him, pushing against his legs, grunting with the effort. "Go down, Papa!" he suddenly yelled, getting frustrated and upset. Gibbs made a face before he lowered himself down so he was sitting with his legs on the slide. Oliver pushed at his back and Gibbs did what he wanted him to do; he went down the slide. Oliver was watching him from the top and laughing excitedly. He flung himself onto the slide and went flying down after Gibbs.
Caroline had watched this from nearby and came running over with a grin. She ran into Gibbs' arms and said "Again, Papa. Go slide."
They spent a few more minutes at the park before they went back to the store. They stayed there with Jackson for a little while before he closed up for the day and they went back to the house. The rest of the afternoon was spent playing outside in the back yard and looking at old pictures inside. Theo was fascinated by the pictures of his Papa as a boy. And the naked baby pictures had him rolling with laughter.
Jackson made them dinner and they all sat around the table, eating and talking. When he was done, Gibbs leaned back in his chair and patted his stomach. "Good dinner, Dad. Real good."
"Thank you, son."
Gibbs watched his dad talking to Caroline. He regretted not getting the kids up here to see him more often. Jackson was getting old and he wouldn't live forever.
They all stayed up late talking and just being with each other in general. Theo ended up falling asleep on the couch, leaning against Jackson. Gibbs carried him upstairs and put him in his dad's bed.
Leaving the next day proved to be somewhat emotional. Theo clung to his Grandpa and was clearly holding back tears. Gibbs hugged his dad close and kissed his cheek, promising to call when they got home. As they were getting in the car, Theo said "I need one more hug!" as he struggled to get down. One long squeeze later, Theo was in his car seat. Everybody got strapped in and they all waved out the window as they pulled out.
The first two minutes of the drive were shockingly completely silent. Then it happened. The dreaded question was asked.
"Are we there yet?"
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