Thanks again for the reviews, Facebook messages and PMs. They are like a massive sugar high when I see them! (insert loud 'squee' of pleasure :D )

I'm hoping to finish this story fairly soon and get our little family back to the US. I think after that I will continue their story via one shots or short stories (about 4 chapters) focusing on different aspects of their new life.

I also hope to update Fire and Ice soon, as well as publish a few one shots that have nothing to do with this little universe.

Thanks again xx

Chapter 25 – The Waterhole

"But, Dad, please!"

Gibbs stared sternly at his son. Since returning that afternoon from the dirt bike adventure, Tony had started up a one-man campaign to convince his parents he had to have a dirt bike of his own.

"Tony, for the third and final time, this is not the time or place for this discussion," replied Gibbs, placing extra emphasis on the word 'final'.

"But when can we discuss it?" asked Tony, not willing to drop the subject just yet.

"When we get back to our own cottage and not while we are guests in someone else's home."

Sitting in the beautifully furnished dining room, they were all seated around a large polished red gum table.

"This is a lovely room," remarked Jenny, trying to steer the attention away from Tony's persistent nagging. "And this table is just exquisite."

"Thank you," replied Tracy. "Like most things in this house, it's been in Michael's family for many years. We usually sit in the kitchen to eat but, as you saw, that table wouldn't have held us all."

"Can I help shrink the table?" asked Ziva.

Tracy laughed.

"You sure can," she replied.

Ziva had been fascinated to watch Michael and Tracy extend the table by pulling out both ends and inserting an extra piece of wood. It had increased the seating from eight to twelve.

"Jake got his first dirt bike when he was eight," said Tony having thought of a new way to steer the conversation back to his own agenda without, actually, asking the same question he knew his Dad had vetoed.

"That's great," replied Gibbs.

"And I'm eleven," continued Tony.

"So you are," said Gibbs. "Well and truly old enough to know when to drop a subject."

Tony scowled but had enough sense to keep his mouth closed.

"This roast beef is so tender," said Tim, trying to change the subject. "Is it one of yours?"

Michael nodded. "We generally keep a couple back for our own use."

Ziva frowned and looked at the meat on her own plate.

"What do you mean, 'One of theirs', Timmy?" she asked, although, she had a horrible feeling she already knew the answer.

"They raise cattle for eating, dummy!" snarled Tony. "Where do you think it came from!"

Gibbs lifted the napkin off his lap, wiped his mouth and placed it on the table. Pushing his chair back, he stood and walked around to where Tony was seated.

"Please excuse Tony and me for a moment," he said calmly, while gently but firmly, taking Tony's elbow and steering him out of the room.

"Tony's in trouble," said Ziva, her eyes wide with apprehension.

"Eat your dinner," said Jenny softly.

"But, what if this is one of the cows we saw out in the paddock today. They were so lovely and had big brown eyes."

"It's not one of those," said Tracy gently. "They are still happily munching grass in the paddock. This was from a cow we sent away quite a few months ago."

"Did it have a name?" asked Ziva, still struggling to come to terms with the concept.

"No honey," replied Michael. "Our cows aren't pets. They have a special purpose and that's to feed people all over Australia."

Ziva nodded. She understood what Michael was saying but, right now, she was finding it difficult to eat the meat on her place.

"Do you have any pets here?" she asked, hoping to hear they weren't going to show up as part of dessert.

"Yep," replied Jake. "We have six dogs that help work the cattle but, two of them, Jack and Bluey are kind of special. They're older and spend more time around the house as pets. They sometimes help with the cattle and sheep but we get to play with them as well."

"Oh, and there's some kittens in the bike shed," Madi said excitedly. "Jesse had her babies a few weeks ago and they're so cute." She turned to her Mum. "Could Ziva come and see the kittens after dinner?"

"Maybe tomorrow, Madi," replied Tracy. "It'll be dark outside when dinner is finished and I'm sure Ziva would like to see them in the daytime when she can have a play with them as well."

Although disappointed, Madi could see the logic in her mother's words and nodded in agreement. She turned back to Ziva. "There are five kittens. There's three ginger ones. We call them Fred, George and Ron, a fluffy one we call Hemione and a black and white one that looks like it's wearing a mask and we call it Harry because it kinda looks like it's wearing glasses." Madi paused to take a breath. "Do ya get it?" she asked smiling at Ziva. Without waiting for an answer, she ploughed on. "They're the characters from Harry Potter."

Ziva nodded. "I know. I've listed to the first story. We have it on CD."

"Oh that's so cool," said Madi. "I've only read the first three books."

"The last book has just been released," said Jake excitedly. "And, Mum said when we go to Port Augusta for school in a couple of weeks, we can buy it. I can't wait."

"Can we buy the CD's?" asked Madi. "We could listen to them in the car or at bedtime."

"I'll look into it," replied Tracy. "Now, less talking and more eating, Madi. The peas are not there for decoration."

Madi rolled her eyes and sighed. She hated peas.

As Tony was led into the kitchen and away from listening ears in the dining room, he quickly began to regret his words.

"I'm sorry, Dad. I didn't mean to call Ziva a dummy."

"Yeah, you did," replied Gibbs simply, pulling out a chair and lowering Tony on it. Sitting down next to his son, Gibbs continued, "You were annoyed things weren't going your way, so you took it out on another person. That's not acceptable Tony, and you know it."

Tony dropped his eyes and stared at the ground.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"It's not me you need to apologise to and I'll expect to see that apology when we return to the dining room."

Tony nodded.

"Now," continued Gibbs, lifting Tony's chin so they were looking eye to eye. "I told you to quit nagging about the bikes and," he added seeing Tony was about to defend himself by saying he wasn't nagging the second time, "don't think for one second I didn't know what you were trying to do with you hinting around your age."

Tony closed his mouth and had the decency to look ashamed.

"I told you the first time you asked, we would talk about it later. And that's exactly what I meant," explained Gibbs. "While we are guests in someone's house and sharing a meal with them, badgering me about something you want will only result in me saying no out of pure frustration."

"But you're gonna say no anyway," said Tony, defeated.

"You don't know that," replied Gibbs. "Heck, I don't even know that."

Tony looked up hopefully.

"You mean I can get a bike?"

Gibbs sighed loudly. "I'm not going to give you a yes or no right now nor will I anytime soon. This is something your Mom and I need to discuss. It's also something we need to think about carefully."

Tony slumped in his chair.

"Look Tony, I'm glad you had a great day and found something you love doing but buying a dirt bike isn't like buying a DVD or a new DS game. It costs a lot of money, you need to have all the protective gear, you need lessons to learn how to ride safely and we need to think about where you would ride it. You can't ride a dirt bike around DC, you have to go to a special track or out of town."

"I could ride it at Grandpa's," suggested Tony hopefully.

"And how often do you think we can get out to Grandpa's?" reasoned Gibbs. "When we get back home, Mom and I need to return to work, you and Ziva will have school. Weekends will be taken up with homework, chores and every day stuff. Plus, if Mom or I have a case, we'll have to work on the weekend."

Gibbs looked thoughtfully at Tony's downcast face.

"I'm not saying no, Tony," he continued. "I'm just saying, not yet. Wait until we have been home for a few months and settled back into normal life. Then we can discuss it again."

Tony picked at his fingers. Gibbs could easily see the boy was disappointed but he also knew Tony had to understand the practicalities of such a request.

"Now, do you think we can go back in the dining room, finish dinner and enjoy the company of our new friends.

Tony nodded, reluctantly.

"Good man," said Gibbs, patting Tony on the back. "Hopefully by now Ziva has forgotten all about the fact we might be eating Clara the cow."

Tony couldn't help it. A snort of laughter escaped his lips.

Gibbs stopped and looked at him in shock.

"Did you just smile?" he asked in surprise. "Don't let me catch you doing that again."

"Dad!" said Tony with exasperation.

With his arm around Tony's shoulders and both grinning widely, Gibbs led them back to the dining room.

Later that evening, as Jenny and Gibbs lay in bed, they listened to the mournful bellows of some nearby cattle.

"They sounds like they're in pain," said Jenny, wincing as she rolled onto her side. "I know how they feel."

Gibbs laughed and Jenny suddenly punched him in the arm.

"Hey!" he objected. "What was that for?"

"For your unwelcomed assistance getting Maureen moving this afternoon. I had it covered."

Gibbs' eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Didn't look that way to me," he said innocently. "I was just giving a helping hand."

"Well, that kind of help, I don't need," Jenny replied.

Gibbs rolled over until they were looking face to face.

"How's your butt?" he asked, grinning mischievously.

"Sore!" she replied tersely. "And my thighs," she added. "I feel like I'm wearing an oversized diaper when I walk."

Again, Gibbs laughed. He knew the feeling well.

"I could give you a massage," he said softly, nuzzling into her ear.

Jenny rolled her eyes. "Hmph!" she snorted. "Your kind of massage means thirty seconds of rubbing and straight into sex."

Gibbs shrugged. "Meh, I'll make an effort and rub for a minute."

"Make it ten and we have a deal."

Jenny took his silence as agreement and promptly flipped over onto her stomach. As Gibbs' hands began kneading the tender flesh of her thighs, she moaned with pleasure. Within a minute, his fingers were under the elastic of her panties and pulling them down her legs. As they crept back up her thighs, she felt him take a different direction.

"I think your hands got waylaid on their journey," she murmured into the pillow.

"Nah," replied Gibbs, leaning over her and kissing her softly on the neck. "They're right where they should be."

"You're hopeless," said Jenny with a laugh, but she raised her hips ever so slightly to accommodate his probing fingers.

"I can stop if you want?" he said softly, his hands and body betraying his words.

"Don't you dare," replied Jenny as her body began to feel the familiar rush of pleasure.

****NCIS****

The following day, the two families took a couple of farm vehicles down to the water hole at Sampson's Creek. It was an hour's drive with much bumping and jiggling as the two vehicles bounced along the dusty, corrugated roads. Gibbs was in his element steering the jeep through creek beds, over rocks and potholes and around the few clumps of trees they came across. By the time they pulled up at the edge of the river, the rest of the family were more than eager to leave the car.

"Jeez, Gibbs," exclaimed Abby. "I think you managed to hit every bump along the way. I'm driving on the way back."

"No chance," replied Gibbs. "I'm pretty sure I missed a couple. I wanna make sure I get those on the way home."

"Good one, Dad," said Tony laughing. "I'm gonna see if Jake has a spare seat in his car."

"Or at least a couple of pillows," replied Jenny, rubbing her backside carefully.

Gibbs smirked at her and discretely replaced her hand with his. "I thought I fixed that problem last night," he said seductively when the rest of the family had scrambled off following Tracy and Michael. "Maybe I need to give it a second try tonight."

"Maybe, Cowboy," she said raising her eyebrows suggestively. "I'll might give you chance to redeem yourself."

Laughing, Gibbs slapped her playfully on the backside and, ignoring her protests, took her hand in his and followed the rest of the family down to the water's edge.

It was a beautiful day and perfect for swimming. Along the water's edge, stood a row of large eucalyptus trees, their branches hanging out over the water to provide some much needed shade. About two hundred metres up the river, a tyre swing jutted out over a dark patch of water.

"That's the waterhole," said Jake. "The river bed dips right down and the water is suddenly really deep."

"How deep?" asked Tony.

"Dunno," replied Jake with a shrug. "Even Dad can't reach the bottom when he swings into it. We put up the tyre so you can swing out and jump into the water or, if you're really game, you can climb up the branches and dive off."

Tony's eyes widened.

"It's perfectly safe," said Jake confidently. "Dad swims it first to make sure there's no snags in the water."

"Snags?" asked Ziva.

"Branches and stuff. Things that you could hit if you jumped in without checking. We have to check every time because gums just drop their branches without any warning."

"Are there any gators in there?" asked Tony.

"Gators?" questioned Jake. "Oh, you mean alligators?"

When Tony nodded, he continued. "Nah, not round here. Water's too cold for 'em. You get fresh water and salt water crocs further north in the Territory, but."

"But what?" asked Ziva, when Jake didn't continue talking.

"Huh?" asked Jake.

"You said, 'you get fresh water and salt water crocs further north in the Territory, but.' But what? You didn't finish what you were saying."

"Yeah, I did," said Jake. "That's just how we talk."

Ziva frowned. "That doesn't make sense though," she argued.

Jake shrugged. "Does to me," he said. "Come on, let's go to the waterhole."

As Michael checked the water for any debris that could potentially cause accidents, everyone else stripped down to their swimmers. When the all clear was given, Jake grabbed Tony's arm and pulled him to the tyre swing.

"When I jump on, grab the tyre and pull it right back, as far as you can then, let go."

Tony did as asked and watched as Jake swung out over the water. Pulling back to give himself further momentum, he swung out a second time. On the third swing, Jake leaped from the tyre and free fell about eight metres into the water.

"Woohoo!" he yelled as he flew through the air. With a loud splash, Jake plunged into the clear water and disappeared from view. About twenty seconds later, he re-emerged with a 'whoop' and swam deftly to the edge.

"My turn!" yelled Tony.

Having seen Jake's technique, Tony followed suit and soon found himself sailing through the air on the tyre. Letting go, however, was a different matter. It took a couple of deep breaths before Tony gained enough courage to leap from the piece of rubber. Once he did, the fall into the water was enough to send his heart racing. A rush of cold water pushed against him as his body plunged into the depths. Tony didn't even think to open his eyes. All his mind could focus on was getting back to the surface. Lifting his arms, he reached up and pushed against the downward motion until his body started to rise and, as his head broke the surface of the water, he opened his mouth and gasped in a lungful of air.

"That was fantastic!" he yelled once he knew he was safe and breathing. "I'm wanna do that again!"

They spent the next hour taking turns to swing into the water. The adults, with the advantage of height, were able to pull the tyre back on their own to gain the initial momentum but the children still needed help. After a couple of plunges, Gibbs and Michael took turns to be the official 'starters'. Pulling back on the tyre as far as they could, they would launch each child or adult into the water at a frighteningly fast pace. Squeals of delight filled the air as everyone, child and adult alike, participated in the activity.

Around one o'clock, as the children started to ask for food, Tracy, Jenny, Abby and Tim went back to the vehicles and gathered all the supplies for lunch including the portable gas barbecue Michael had packed into the back of the ute. With the aroma of cooking sausages, rissoles and onions, the children dried themselves off and sat on the ground while they waited for the food to be cooked. Once ready, they filled burger buns with lettuce, cheese, tomato and beetroot before adding caramelised onions and either a rissole, sausage or both.

"Can we go back to the waterhole?" asked Jake as soon as he'd stuffed the last piece of food into his mouth.

"How about you let your stomach settle for a moment before jumping straight back in," advised Tracy. "You brought the Uno pack?"

When Madi nodded and reached into her bag to pull out the cards, Tracy said. "Have a couple of games of Uno first."

While the children played, the adults relaxed. Laying on towels or sitting in deck chairs, it wasn't long before eyes were closed and soft snores could be heard.

About thirty minutes later, Tracy stirred and opened her eyes. Looking around her, she saw only three children playing cards.

"Where's Ziva?" she asked, noting which one was missing.

"She didn't want to play anymore," replied Madi, hitting Tony with a Reverse Draw Four.

"But where is she?" repeated Tracy more urgently, scanning the area for the small girl.

As her eyes focused on the tyre swing, Tracy's heart leaped into her throat. Standing on a branch, nearly double the height of the tyre swing, stood Ziva. Without a moment's hesitation, Tracy scrambled to her feet and raced the short distance to the waterhole, terrified that Ziva might jump.

She was there in less than thirty seconds and was relieved to see Gibbs standing just out of sight watching his daughter carefully.

"Aren't you going to get her?" asked Tracy, shocked that Gibbs wasn't moving.

Gibbs shook his head.

"If I run in there now, it will only spook her."

He smiled at the shocked expression on Tracy's face.

"She'll be fine, trust me," said Gibbs. "She's climbed higher."

Tracy continued to stare at him incredulously.

"Has Michael or Jake ever jumped from that branch before?" Gibbs asked.

"Yeah, quite a few times," replied Tracy. "But, not when they were five!"

"Ziva's not your average five year old," said Gibbs. "The height doesn't worry me, it's more the fall. I just want to know that other's have done it without problem."

"Yeah, it's very deep here. I think Michael once said it goes down about ten to twelve metres. He and Jake quite often jump from that branch so I know it's safe."

With that in mind, Gibbs felt a certain degree of tension leave his body. Keeping his eye trained on Ziva, he watched as she shifted her weight until she was standing on the edge of the branch, one arm holding onto a taller branch for support and ready to jump. Then, just as he thought she would take flight, she lifted her head and looked over to where the rest of the group sat.

"Daddy!" she called at the top of her voice. "Daddy!"

Completely surprised, it took Gibbs a second or two before he answered her. Stepping out from behind the scrub so he was now in the open and directly under her, he called up.

"I'm here, Ziva."

Ziva swayed a little and grabbed more tightly onto the branch.

"You scared me, Daddy," she said, a note of annoyance in her voice. "I thought you were way over there."

"I saw you climbing the tree and came over. I didn't call out because I didn't want to startle you," he said.

"Well, that didn't work," Ziva replied crossly.

"Are you OK?" asked Gibbs, wondering why she'd called out to him.

"Yes," she said, confidently. "I was just going to ask you if it's OK for me to jump into the creek from here."

"Don't you think that question might have been better asked while you were still on the ground?"

Ziva thought for a second. "No," she replied honestly. "I was just going to jump in from the tyre but, when I got here, I decided to climb the tree. It's not as high as the tree at home," she added suddenly, afraid she was breaking a rule. "I'm not doing anything wrong."

"No, you're not," assured Gibbs. "And I agree, it's not as high as the trees at home. And, yes, if you want to jump into the river you can."

"Oh, yes!" she squealed with excitement.

By now, having heard Ziva call out, the rest of the group had wandered over to the tree.

"Look where Ziva is!" exclaimed Madi. "Even I'm too scared to jump from there and I'm nearly nine."

"Ziva's crazy about heights," replied Tony, sagely. "She's always trying to climb trees or rooftops."

Madi and Jake exchanged a look before turning back to watch Ziva.

"Here I go!" she yelled. And, with a small jump, she launched herself from the branch. Tucking her knees into her chest, she wrapped her arms around herself and squealed as she hit the water leaving a small splash in her wake. Everyone seemed to hold their breath until, a few seconds later, Ziva broke the surface and brushed the water out of her eyes.

"That was so much fun!" she called out.

Swimming to the edge, Gibbs stepped down and helped her out of the water.

"Did you see me Daddy?" she asked excitedly.

"Oh, I saw," replied Gibbs, feeling another thirty hairs suddenly turn grey.

"I'm going to do that again!" she announced, pulling away from Gibbs.

"Just hold on a sec," he replied, holding her hand firmly. "You and I need to have a little chat first."

"But, you said it wasn't too high," said Ziva, her confidence suddenly shaken.

"That's not what we need to talk about."

"And I asked you if I could jump," she added quickly. "I wasn't going to jump unless I was allowed."

"I know," said Gibbs gently. "And I'm very proud of you for remembering to do that. But, we still need to have a talk."

Leaving the others at the waterhole, Gibbs and Ziva walked back to where they had eaten lunch. Gibbs sat down in one of the deck chairs and guided Ziva to stand in front of him.

"What did I do wrong, Daddy?" she asked, her voice suddenly small and insecure.

"Why don't you have a think about it," replied Gibbs. "Go back and retrace everything you did that led you to standing on the branch."

Ziva went silent for a few seconds and she went through her actions in her head. She frowned.

"I don't know, Daddy. Honest."

"OK then," said Gibbs trying a different tact. "Tell me everything that happened from when you were playing Uno."

"Well, I didn't want to play anymore because Tony and Jake kept hitting me with Draw Four cards and I had so many cards couldn't even hold them anymore so I decided to go to the waterhole and when I got there I-"

Gibbs cut her off.

"You've already passed the thing you did wrong," he said. "Try to think."

Gibbs watched as Ziva frowned deeply, trying desperately to figure out what had been her mistake. When she still couldn't answer he decided to help her out.

"You left out a very important thing you should have done between deciding to go to the waterhole and leaving the area. Can you think what that might have been."

Her eyes suddenly widened as she realised what Gibbs was referring to.

"I left without asking permission," she said, her eyes welling with tears. "I'm sorry, Daddy. I forgot."

Gibbs lifted her up until she sat on his lap still facing him.

"I know it's sometimes hard to remember all the things you need to do but leaving without asking first is never OK, " said Gibbs sternly. "Luckily I wasn't asleep and heard you leave the group. I was able to keep an eye on you and make sure you were safe. But, Ziva, we are in an unknown place. You can't just wander off without telling anyone especially when we are around water."

"But I can swim," argued Ziva.

"Yes, you can. But what if something happened further upstream and the water suddenly started gushing forward, or a tree branch fell and knocked you unconscious. Mommy and I would have no idea as to where you could be. You never leave our sight unless you ask permission. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Daddy," she said softly, nodding her head.

"Because, if this ever happens again, I will put you over my knee and give you spanking," added Gibbs sternly.

Ziva sucked in a small breath.

"Are you going to spank me now?" she asked, almost afraid of the answer.

Gibbs was silent for a moment. He had no intention of spanking her but he wanted the threat to loom over her for a few more seconds.

"No," he finally said. "Not this time."

He felt Ziva release the breath she'd been holding.

"However, you are going to sit with me for a five minute time-out and think about why you should always ask before you leave. Sound fair?" he asked.

Ziva nodded slowly.

"I guess so," she said with a sigh. "Can I stay on your lap?"

Gibbs smiled.

"Sure," he said, gently leaning back and allowing Ziva more room to snuggle into him. "But time-out rules still apply. No talking, OK?"

He felt her nod into his chest. Wrapping his arms around her, he settled in for a five minute siesta.

It was forty minutes later when he heard movement around him. Opening his eyes, he saw Jenny staring at him.

"I was beginning to get worried. You hadn't returned to the group."

Gibbs looked down at a sleeping Ziva.

"I guess the five minute time-out turned into an afternoon nap," he said quietly.

Seeing the others walking towards him from the waterhole, Gibbs checked his watch.

"Four thirty," he said in surprise. "Time to head back I suppose."

Jenny nodded.

"Yeah, by the time we pack the car and drive back to the cottage it will be getting dark," she said.

Stroking his hand over Ziva's head, he murmured softly, "Time to wake up, sleepy head."

As the little girl stirred and opened her eyes, he kissed her forehead.

"Hey Dad," called Tony loudly. "I jumped from the branch four times!"

"Well done, Bud," praised Gibbs.

Suddenly wide awake, Ziva scrambled off Gibbs' lap. "I wanna jump again," she said excitedly.

"Sorry, Pumpkin," said Gibbs. "It's time to go. You fell asleep."

"Oh, but Daddy," she whined loudly. "I only got to jump once."

Seeing how disappointed her daughter was, Jenny said, "It'll take a while to pack everything up. Why don't you take her down for another jump?"

"That's a great idea, Mommy," said Ziva, jumping up and down and clapping her hands. "Come on Daddy, let's go."

With his hand now being firmly pulled towards the water, Gibbs smiled at Jenny.

"I guess we'll see you in ten. Don't leave without us."

"We won't," said Jenny. Then grinning, she added, "But we'll be picking you up, so I'll be in the driver's seat."

Rolling his eyes, Gibbs turned around and allowed Ziva to pull him all the way the waterhole.