Thanks again for all your wonderful reviews. Please keep them coming.
Just a quick heads up; this story is nearly finished. However, there will be a third story in this series. I am thoroughly enjoying writing about these characters and don't plan to stop just yet.
Enjoy
Chapter 26 - A Sticky Situation
After three rounds of Uno, Jenny, Tim and Tony were definitely ready to see the end of the game. So, when Tim laid down his last card and was announced the winner, Jenny decided to try food as a tactic to distract Ziva.
"So, who would like a snack?" she asked, while casually gathering up the cards.
"Me!" shouted Tony shoving his cards into the middle of the table and leaping from his chair.
"In that cupboard over there," began Jenny pointing to the cupboard over the sink, "there's a share bag of Tiny Teddies. Tim, can you get it down please?"
"Sure," said Tim, relieved at being excused from the game.
"Are we still playing?" asked Ziva as she too handed her left over cards to Jenny.
"I think we've all had enough, Honey," explained Jenny, stacking the cards neatly and grabbing the box to put them away. "Let's have a break and some morning tea, OK?"
"OK," grumbled Ziva, not too impressed with the idea.
As Tim handed Tony and Ziva a packet of Tiny Teddies, he looked longingly into the bag.
"You're welcome to have some too, Tim," said Jenny laughing. "Grown ups can indulge as well."
Tim blushed but was quick to take out a packet for himself before offering the bag to Jenny who also took out a packet. Flicking on the coffee machine, Jenny opened the fridge and took out two pop-top bottles of juice before handing them to Tony and Ziva.
"Tim, do you want a juice or a coffee?" she asked standing with her head in the fridge.
"Coffee thanks," he replied. He took down two mugs from the cupboard, while Jenny grabbed the milk.
As Jenny turned towards the bench, she saw Tony rummaging through the top drawer.
"What are you looking for?" she asked him.
"I need some scissors to open the packet," he replied, sorting through the variety of silverware.
"Second drawer," replied Jenny, putting the milk down. "I saw them the other day."
As Tony opened the second drawer, he realised it was what his family commonly called the 'junk' drawer as it was full of various items including tape, string, batteries, super-glue, pencils-
'Super-glue,' thought Tony to himself as he came across the small tube. 'That's what Tim was saying his friend at work used to stick his fingers to the keyboard.'
Suddenly getting an idea, Tony secretly pocketed the small tube before finally finding the scissors and cutting open his snack bag. Placing the scissors on the table for other people to use, he shut the drawer and sat at the table, contemplating how he could best use the super-glue.
Listening to the rain tap dancing heavily on the roof, Jenny glanced at her watch. It was 11.15am.
"So, what would everyone like to do after we've had a morning tea?" she asked looking around at the three faces before her.
"I'm going to play on the DS for a while," said Tony, staring at his Tiny Teddy before decapitating it with his teeth.
"I think I might read a book," replied Tim.
"What about you Miss Muffet?" asked Jenny when Ziva didn't answer.
Ziva shrugged noncommittally.
"Would you like to do a puzzle with me?" she asked.
Ziva's face light up considerably.
"OK!" she said brightly.
"Well," began Jenny. "After you've finished your snack, why don't you go to the cupboard and pick one out."
Ziva nodded enthusiastically while she dug into her packet and pulled out a teddy.
"This one looks like you Tony," she said giggling as she showed him her cookie. The teddy in question was looking rather grumpy.
"I'm not grumpy," replied Tony taking a second look at the cookie.
"You were before when I hit you with that Draw 4 card," replied Ziva, still giggling as she popped the teddy into her mouth.
Digging into his packet, Tony found the 'sad teddy' and held it up.
"Yeah, well this was you when I won the first two games," he announced.
"Was not!" she replied, poking out her tongue.
"Was too!" he returned just as quickly.
"Children," warned Jenny, interrupting the argument. "How about you both just eat the teddies rather than using them as weapons against each other?"
"Weapons?" enquired Tony. "I'm not using it as a weapon. If I was, I would have to throw it at her like this!" And he drew back his arm and pitched the cookie right at Ziva's face.
It landed squarely on her forehead, provoking Ziva to throw one back using a flick method which meant the teddy hit Tony quite sharply on the cheek.
"Ow! That hurt!" exclaimed Tony.
"Hey!" growled Jenny staring crossly at Ziva.
"He started it!" she whined not wanting to have to take all the blame.
"Well I'm finishing it. The next person to throw food will be in time out," Jenny said, glaring at both children.
Tony and Ziva looked down and stared mutinously into their laps.
Without saying a word, Tim picked out the grumpy teddy from his packet and casually laid it in the middle of the table.
Peeking out of one eye, Tony saw the teddy and a smirk crept across his face. Seeing the smirk, Ziva also looked at the teddy and began to giggle, covering her mouth with her hand. It wasn't long before all four were laughing together, the argument soon forgotten.
Half an hour later, while Jenny and Ziva were busily bent over the beginnings of a new jigsaw puzzle, Tony sat on Tim's bed carefully applying super-glue to the cover of a DS game he was currently holding. His plan, if achieved successfully, was to leave Tim with the case stuck to his fingers. Although it wasn't as good as a keyboard, Tony felt it would have to do.
Returning the cap carefully to the tube of glue, Tony placed it back in his pocket and gingerly picked up the case. Careful not to touch the glue, he smiled to himself as he headed downstairs.
"Tim," he called when he was halfway down. "Can you read this word for me? I'm not sure what it says."
Looking up from his spot on the couch where he was currently reading his book, Tim watched as Tony made his way towards him.
"Sure," he said as Tony held out the case. "Which word?"
"This one," said Tony, pointing above the extremely small writing on the front of the case.
"Bring it closer, I can't see," said Tim.
Frustrated that Tim wasn't taking the case as planned, Tony stepped closer and held it out in front of Tim.
"What word?" asked Tim again, squinting at the tiny writing.
Taking great care not to touch the case, Tony said, as casually as he could, "The tiny word at the top of the case."
Grabbing Tony's arm and dragging the case closer, Tim put his face right up to the plastic and squinted even harder. Tony, realising that Tim wasn't going to take hold of the case, made a split second decision. As Tim's head leaned closer to the cover, Tony pushed up with his hand and slammed the case onto Tim's forehead, holding it there for a few seconds.
"Tony! What are you doing?" exclaimed Tim, pulling away from Tony's hand. For a few more seconds Tony held fast, pressing the case onto Tim's skin until he felt sure the glue would have bonded. Finally he pulled back.
And there it was. Success!
Tony burst out laughing as he saw the cover remain steadfastly stuck to Tim's head.
"What the?" began Tim as he reached up to touch his head.
"Tony! You didn't!" he exclaimed, as sudden realisation dawned as to what Tony had actually done. "You little…"
But his words were cut off as Tony, still laughing, ran full pelt up the stairs.
Taking off after the boy, Tim chased him up into their room, his path impeded by the plastic box partly covering his eyes. He reached out and tried to grab hold of Tony, only managing to grab the waistband of his jeans. Twisting and writhing, Tony managed to free himself and took off out of his room and towards the stairs again.
"Help me!" Tony screamed as he ran along the hall.
Grabbing hold of the banister, Tony ran as fast as he could down the stairs, jumping two, and sometimes three, steps at a time.
"What is going on?" called Jenny as she raced out of the kitchen, followed by Ziva.
Seeing both boys tearing down the stairs, Jenny stood at the bottom and waited until they reached her.
"What are you running from?" she asked looking at Tony.
"Him," replied Tony pointing towards Tim who was, just now, reaching the bottom.
Looking at Tim in disbelief, Jenny suddenly noticed the plastic game cover sticking to his head.
"What on earth?" she began.
"Timmy, why do have Mario sticking to your head?" asked Ziva reaching up and trying to pull it off.
"Augh!" exclaimed Tim as the box tried to pull away from his skin. Grabbing Ziva's arm, he said quickly, "Don't pull, it's stuck there."
"What? How?" began Jenny. Shaking her head, she looked at both boys.
"Both of you sit, now!" she growled pointing towards the sofa.
Tony, feeling a little less confident than he had a few minutes ago, stuck his hands in his pockets and wandered over to the couch sitting down at one end. Tim followed, choosing to sit at the opposite end to Tony.
"Right Mister," said Jenny looking sternly at Tony. "Explain!"
"Why do you think it's my fault?" he began. Then seeing the glare he was receiving from Jenny, chose to come straight out with it.
"I super-glued Tim's head to the game cover," he said quietly, looking down into his lap.
"You what!" shouted Jenny.
Figuring this was a rhetorical question, Tony didn't repeat himself but continued to looked down contritely, while Tim filled in the details.
"Tony asked me to read a word on the game box," Tim explained. "When I put my head close to read the tiny writing, he slammed it into my head and held it there."
"I was planning on you taking hold of the case so it would stick to your fingers," pointed out Tony, suddenly looking up at Tim. Having just listened to Tim tell the story, he felt it sounded a lot worse than it really was. "You're making it sound like I planned to stick it on your head."
"Well what do you call this then?" yelled Tim pointing to the case dangling from his forehead.
"Well," began Tony. "That was a last minute decision."
Shifting his gaze from the furious Tim, he took a quick glance at his Mom who was looking just as angry.
"So," Jenny began, taking a deep breath. "What you're telling me Tim, is that Tony stuck a plastic game cover to your head using super-glue?"
Tim nodded and the game cover nodded along with him.
Ziva giggled at the sight. When Jenny's steely glare met hers, she quickly covered her mouth and sat on one of the arm chairs to witness the proceedings. This was far more interesting than putting together a jigsaw puzzle.
Looking at Tony, Jenny asked, "Where did you find the super-glue?"
"In the drawer where the scissors were," he answered quietly.
Realising that nobody seemed to be seeing this as the funny joke he'd thought it would be, Tony suddenly understood he was possibly in big trouble and began to worry about the consequences.
"What possessed you to do such a thing?" asked Jenny shaking her head in disbelief.
"Well, Tim said the other day that he had a friend at work who used to super-glue his fingers to the keyboard of his computer," said Tony, hoping that everyone would now see it as a joke. "He laughed about it, like it was funny. And I thought it might be fun to do something like that as well. I didn't really mean for it to stick on his head, I was planning on Tim taking the box with his fingers."
Chewing on his bottom lip, Tony fought hard to stop his eyes from filling with tears.
"Ah Tony," said Jenny crouching down in front of him. "What you did was very silly and even dangerous. That glue could have stuck to Tim's eyes and really done some damage. Super-glue is not a toy. It sticks things together very quickly and is supposed to be permanent."
"But Tim said at work they just used this stuff and it came off easily," interrupted Tony. "I don't remember the name."
"Acetone," supplied Jenny.
"Yeah, that's it," said Tony looking up hopefully. "That will get it off."
"The problem Tony," began Jenny, "Is that we don't have any acetone here. Nor do I have any nail polish remover."
"Oh," said Tony, looking down again.
Shaking her head at the young boy in front of her, Jenny said, "Stay there!" as she stood up and headed into the kitchen.
Grabbing her cell from the bench, she called Gibbs.
"Hey Hon," he answered. "We're just about finished in the store and we'll be home in about thirty."
"That's great Jethro," said Jenny. "But before you leave the store, can you buy some Acetone please?"
"Acetone?" began Gibbs. "Why on earth do you need that?"
"Long story, just get it please?" she replied not really wanting to go into too much detail.
"Ah, yep, sure," he answered. "Are you sure everything's ok?"
"It's fine Jethro. Tony's just managed to find some super-glue," she said staring at the ten year old whose head was still bowed.
"Er, OK?" replied Gibbs trying not to smirk. "We'll be home soon. Can't wait to hear this one!" And with that, he clicked off the call.
Laying the cell on the bench, Jenny made her way back into the living room.
"Is Dad really mad?" asked Tony, looking up tentatively.
"Well I don't think he'll be too impressed when he sees what you did to Tim," she answered, looking sternly at him.
"Not just Tim," he said softly.
"Pardon?" asked Jenny.
"I said, not just Tim," repeated Tony. And, as the three of them watched, Tony slowly drew out his right hand.
"I mustn't have put the cap on properly," he said.
Holding up his right hand, everyone stared in horror as Tony's fingers were stuck together in a contorted position surrounding a very empty looking tube of super-glue.
"Oh Tony," sighed Jenny, while Tim and Ziva burst out laughing.
****NCIS****
When Gibbs and Abby entered the cottage half an hour later, it was to find Jenny, Ziva and Tim all bent over the jigsaw puzzle searching for pieces.
As soon as Tim raised his head in welcome, Gibbs instantly saw the problem.
"You're kidding," he said staring with disbelief at how ridiculous Tim looked.
"Afraid not," replied Jenny standing up and taking the groceries out of Gibbs' arms.
"Daddy, Tony glued Timmy's head to Mario," informed Ziva with glee.
"Yes, I can see that," replied Gibbs dryly.
While Abby took a seat at the table and inspected Tim's head, Jenny steered Gibbs out of kitchen and into the living room.
"What happened?" asked Gibbs quietly, when they were away from listening ears.
"Well apparently Tony and Tim must have had a discussion about how a 'friend' at Tim's work used to super-glue his fingers to his keyboard," explained Jenny. "When Tim laughed it off as a joke, Tony thought it might be a fun thing to try."
"Where did he find the super-glue?" asked Gibbs.
"In the second drawer," replied Jenny. "Someone obviously left it there sometime ago and Tony found it when he was searching for the scissors."
Shaking his head, Gibbs laughed.
"Ah boy!" he began. "If only Tony knew who the 'friend' actually was."
"Yeah," said Jenny, also smiling. "I thought the same thing. But that's not the only problem," added Jenny.
When Gibbs looked at her questioningly, she continued, "Tony put the super-glue in his pocket and has somehow managed to get his fingers glued together along with the tube."
Gibbs snorted trying hard not to laugh too loudly.
"I know," said Jenny, covering her mouth as she too suppressed a laugh. "Talk about karma."
"Where is he?" asked Gibbs, once he'd managed to compose himself.
"Upstairs in his room," answered Jenny. "I sent him up there for a time out so that he could think about what he had done and wait for you."
"Well a little bit longer waiting won't hurt him," replied Gibbs glancing up the stairs. "He would have heard my car pull up. Let's see if we can get this box off Tim's head."
The two of them headed back into the kitchen where Abby was already having great success at removing the plastic cover. With a final dab of acetone, she gently pried the box from Tim's skin.
"There you go Timmy," she said as she wiped any remaining glue from Tim's head. "All done."
"Thanks Abby," replied Tim smiling at her.
Taking the bottle from Abby, Gibbs said, "Well I guess I'd better go and visit out resident practical joker."
As he made his way towards the stairs, Tim suddenly jumped up and followed him.
"Don't be too mad with him Boss," began Tim, as Gibbs stopped to see what Tim wanted. "We had been talking about it and I was laughing it off as a joke. I'm sure he didn't really think about what it could do. He just thought it would be funny."
"Yeah, I know Tim," replied Gibbs patting Tim on the shoulder. "Don't worry." And with that, Gibbs turned and headed up the stairs.
Entering Tony's bedroom, he found the boy sitting on his bed, looking out the window. Hearing Gibbs enter, Tony turned and faced his Dad.
"Hi," he said quietly.
"Hey Bud," replied Gibbs. "I hear you've got yourself into a bit of trouble?"
When Tony didn't answer, Gibbs continued. "Can you get yourself down to Tim's bunk?"
"Yes," replied Tony.
He made his way carefully down the ladder making use of his left hand seeing as his right was stuck together..
As Gibbs sat on Tim's bed, he gestured for Tony to do the same.
"Am I in big trouble?" asked Tony, verbalising what was worrying him the most.
"Well," began Gibbs, opening the bottle of acetone and dabbing it onto some cotton swabs. "That depends."
He took hold of Tony's right hand and began to gently wipe the liquid around the stuck fingers.
"What has today taught you?" Gibbs asked, managing to pry apart one of Tony's fingers.
"Never to use super-glue as a joke and never use it to stick things to people's skin," replied Tony watching carefully while his Dad methodically cleaned around each finger.
"Why?" asked Gibbs.
Tony looked up into his Dad's face.
"Because it's a really dumb thing to do," he answered honestly. "And you could hurt someone if you got it in their eyes," he added remembering what Jenny had said.
"Yup!" agreed Gibbs. "It is a dumb thing to do and, yes, you can damage someone's eyes. So, do you think you'll do it again?"
"No Dad," replied Tony earnestly. "I promise."
"Well then," said Gibbs, separating the last finger from the tube of glue and wiping off any remaining glue from the skin. "I guess you're not in trouble."
"Really?" asked Tony in surprise. "I thought for sure I was."
"Tony," began Gibbs, pulling the boy onto his lap now that the glue had been cleaned up. "I know you only meant it as a joke. You weren't being malicious or mean to Tim. And, as a result, you've learned that it's not really a good thing to do."
Tony nodded in agreement.
"So, in my eyes, you've learnt your lesson. Besides, you've already done a timeout for your efforts. I think that's enough for today."
Tony turned slightly and put his arms around Gibbs.
"Thanks Dad. You're the greatest," he said, hugging tightly.
Smiling at the boy in his arms, Gibbs returned the hug.
Pulling away slightly, Gibbs lifted Tony's chin.
"So, what are you going to do now?" he asked.
"Apologise to Tim," replied Tony climbing down from his Dad's knees.
"Good boy," said Gibbs, standing up and kissing Tony's head. "Fingers OK?" he asked.
Tony wiggled his fingers and touched each one to his thumb.
"Yep!" he replied smiling. "Thanks Dad."
"Alright then, off you go and see Tim," said Gibbs sending Tony out with gentle swat to his bottom. "Oh and Tony?"
Tony stopped and turned, looking at his Dad.
"If you ever decide to do something like this again, you will be in trouble. Capiche?" said Gibbs raising his eyebrows at his son.
"Capiche," said Tony grinning, and he turned and headed out into the hall.
Smiling to himself, Gibbs gathered together the bottle of acetone and cotton swabs and followed Tony down the stairs and into the kitchen.
Going straight up to Tim, Tony looked him in the eye and said with genuine sincerity, "I'm really sorry Tim. It was a stupid thing to do and I hope that it didn't damage your skin or anything."
"Thank you Tony," said Tim smiling at the boy. "It's fine and no, it didn't damage any skin."
"Wow, that friend of yours at work must be really annoying if he keeps doing things like that," commented Tony.
Not sure exactly how to respond, Tim simply said, "Er… yeah. Sometimes he could be."
Turning to Gibbs, Tony added, "Did he ever do it to you Dad?"
"Nope," replied Gibbs taking a seat at the table. "He wouldn't have dared."
"Would you have fired him?" asked Tony walking over to Gibbs and leaning into him.
"Nope," said Gibbs again. "I would have smacked him silly on the back of the head."
"Ouch!" said Tony reaching back and gingerly touching his head. "That would've hurt real bad. I hope you never do that to me."
"Nah," said Gibbs smiling at his son and drawing him in for a hug. "If you need a smack, my aim is lower."
"Hey, the rain's stopped," said Jenny suddenly, looking up at the ceiling.
"Yep, blue skies back in the town when Abby and I were leaving," commented Gibbs. "So hopefully it will be heading our way as well."
"Yay!" said Ziva bouncing on her chair. "Does that mean we can go for a swim? I feel like I'm raining on the inside and it's leaking out of me."
She pulled at her clothes to indicate how hot and sticky she felt.
Laughing at her description, Jenny said, "I think a swim sounds wonderful. Let's have some lunch first and then we'll venture outside."
"Are we still going out for dinner tonight?" asked Tony remembering what they had discussed the previous evening.
"I guess so," replied Gibbs, looking around the table at the general consensus from everyone.
The afternoon was spent playing in among the shallow pools near the edge of the lake and occasionally swimming out to the deeper waters before lazing about on the sand. Although still cloudy, the air was warm and humid and the soft breeze that blew, cooled their damp bodies whenever they ventured out of the water.
By three thirty, Jenny had called Tony and Ziva inside to have a bath and shower before heading out that evening and by five o'clock, the family were settled in two cars ready to go.
On arriving in town, they parked at the top of the main street and went for a wander to find somewhere appropriate to eat.
"Let's have Pizza?" suggested Tony, to nobody's surprise.
"No, let's have Chinese," argued Ziva. "I'm sick of pizza."
"Yeah, well I'm sick of Chinese," retorted Tony.
"I know," said Abby spotting a restaurant across the road. "Let's have Mexican! There's a restaurant just over there."
Everyone looked to where she pointed.
"Sounds good," said Gibbs, taking Ziva's hand and leading her across the road.
As the family were seated by the waiter, Ziva asked, "What's Mexican food like?"
"It's yummy," said Abby. "I think you should try tacos. You'd love them. They're like corn chip shells and you fill them with meat and salad."
"Yummy," said Ziva and Tony together.
When the food arrived, the adults had more fun watching Tony and Ziva trying to fill their tacos and eat them, than they did eating their own meals. In the end, out of sheer frustration, Tony broke up his taco into pieces, dumped meat and salad on top of the layers and, picking up his fork, attacked his meal with gusto.
"Mmmhmm," he said appreciatively, crunching up the corn chips. "This is really good!"
Having watched the success Tony had achieved, Ziva too, broke up her taco and followed suit.
Before long, all plates were empty and they were once again heading out onto the street. The afternoon light was fading fast, especially considering there was heavy cloud cover. Wondering if they were about to experience another downpour, Gibbs made the suggestion of finding an ice-cream parlour for dessert.
"Good choice Dad!" said Tony loudly. "You have the best ideas sometimes."
"Thanks Bud," said Gibbs laughing fondly at his son.
By eight o'clock, the sun had set and the night sky was quickly descending over the little town. Having finished their ice-creams and coffees, the family headed back to their cars and travelled the twenty minutes to home. Just as Gibbs pulled into the driveway, with Tim close behind, the heavens opened and the rain, once again, pelted the ground around them.
Parking under the carport, Gibbs and Jenny made sure Tony and Ziva were well undercover as they made a quick dash to the front door. Not long after, Tim and Abby came running up behind them, already drenched by the short time they had been exposed to the rain.
"Wow, this is really heavy," shouted Tony, as Gibbs unlocked the front door. "I hope we get another storm. Can we watch it again?"
"No!" said Ziva suddenly. "I don't want another storm."
Gibbs ushered everyone inside and closed the front door, muting the sound of the rain enough that they no longer had to yell.
"I don't think we'll have another storm," he said reassuringly to Ziva. "I think it's just a heavy downpour of rain."
"OK you two," said Jenny putting her arms around the two children. "Go upstairs and put your pjs on and then you can come down for a little while before bed."
As Tony and Ziva went upstairs, the adults made their way into the kitchen. Gibbs turned on the coffee machine while Abby took down mugs for everyone and Jenny stretched up for the hot chocolate. Unable to resist, Gibbs reached out his hand and tickled Jenny's exposed side.
"Jethro!" she squealed, dropping the packet of drinking chocolate on the floor. She turned around and punched him on the shoulder.
"Don't do that!" she admonished.
"What this?" he said, grabbing her around the waist and proceeding to tickle her even more.
As Jenny squealed and tried to writhe out of his hold, Abby and Tim watched in amusement. Feeling for a chair, Gibbs sat down and pulled Jenny onto his lap, continuing to tickle her in various places. Laughing as she helplessly slapped out at his hands, he eventually grabbed her tightly around the waist and began to nibble at her neck, causing her to squeal even louder.
Having never seen Gibbs show such public affection before, Abby and Tim could only stare opened mouthed as their former boss and current Director, played like teenaged lovers in front of them.
When Tony and Ziva made their way into the kitchen, Tony just rolled his eyes and said with disdain, "Can you two not do that in public please! It's so embarrassing!" While Ziva just giggled and tried to jump on Gibbs' lap as well.
Finally, letting Jenny go with a resounding smack to her backside, Gibbs laughed at the indignant look Jenny gave him, before pulling Ziva onto his lap properly and cuddling her close.
Abby and Tim just looked at each other and smirked.
"What?" asked Gibbs, not missing the look.
"Er…nothing Boss," said Tim, blushing furiously before getting up to help Jenny pour the drinks and hand them out. Abby on the other hand just continued to grin at Gibbs.
"Can I have a cookie please?" asked Tony, as Jenny passed him a hot chocolate.
"You've just had dinner and an ice-cream!" she exclaimed, amazed at where Tony put all the food he was able to consume.
"But I'm still hungry," he whined. "Besides, that was ages ago."
"Ages ago," scoffed Jenny, taking town a packet of cookies. "It was half an hour ago."
She put the packet on the table and Tony grabbed two and began eating quickly.
Watching Tony as he munched on the cookies, Jenny said, "I wonder if you're having a growth spurt."
Shrugging, Tony mumbled around a mouthful of food, "I don't know," before grabbing a third cookie.
"That's enough," said Jenny. "If you're still hungry, get an apple or banana."
Pulling a face, Tony sat back in his chair and finished his third cookie before beginning on his hot chocolate.
The conversation around the table was light and cheerful ranging from what a great weekend they'd had to whether or not they would be having the regular barbecue at Gibbs' house on Sunday.
With Ziva now asleep in his arms, Gibbs stood and lifted her with him. Seeing it was Tony's bedtime as well, he coaxed the boy over and, after saying goodnight to everyone, they made their way upstairs.
Having tucked Ziva in without waking her, Gibbs smiled as Tony returned from the bathroom after brushing his teeth.
"All done?" asked Gibbs as Tony climbed the ladder.
"Yep," said Tony. "What about Ziva's teeth?"
"Oh well, one night won't matter," replied Gibbs pulling back the covers so Tony could climb in.
Once Tony was settled, Gibbs reached over and gave him a hug before waiting while Tony lay down again.
"Dad?" began Tony.
"Hmmm?" said Gibbs and he pulled the covers up and stroked Tony's hair off his face.
"Thanks for not getting mad at me today," said Tony quietly. "You know, about the super-glue and everything."
"Well, like I said to you earlier, you weren't being mean and you realised what you did was wrong and why it was wrong. That's all I needed to know," replied Gibbs continuing to play through Tony's hair.
"Senior would have been real mad at me. He probably would have belted me," confessed Tony.
No 'probably' about it thought Gibbs grimly, thinking back to the stories Tony had told him.
"Well you don't need to fear that with me Bud," replied Gibbs smiling at Tony. "If fact, I hope you don't ever feel afraid of me. Even if you do something that does result in a spanking, I understand that you may be frightened about the punishment because spankings hurt, but I hope you won't ever be scared of me."
"That's just it Dad," said Tony leaning up on one elbow. "While I was in time-out, I was feeling pretty scared. But when I thought about it, it wasn't you I was scared of, it was being in trouble and I was sad thinking that I may have hurt Tim."
Gibbs smiled.
"That shows that you're growing up and taking responsibility for your actions," said Gibbs. "I'm very proud of you Tony," he added, gently guiding Tony back down onto the pillow.
"I feel sorry for that guy at Tim's work," Tony said looking intently into Gibbs' eyes. "The one that keeps gluing Tim's fingers to things, I guess he didn't have a great Dad like you when he was young."
Feeling the tears prick at the back of his eyes, Gibbs smiled at Tony. "I don't think he ever had someone who cared enough about him when he was young to help him understand that you don't need to do stupid things to get attention."
"That's really sad Dad. I feel sorry for him," said Tony quietly. "Hey, maybe you could help him by being his Dad too, like you are with Abby and Tim?"
"I'm afraid he doesn't work there anymore," replied Gibbs. "But I'm sure where ever he is, there is somebody there who can help him to learn how to love the person he is and to feel loved by those around him."
"I hope so," said Tony, turning onto his side and nuzzling into his pillow. "Everyone deserves a Dad like you, especially him."
Smiling at the absurdity of the conversation, Gibbs bent down and kissed Tony on the head before whispering, "Goodnight Son, I love you so very much."
"Love you too, Dad," said Tony, yawning widely before closing his eyes. "Night."
As Gibbs flicked off the light and left the room, making sure the door was slightly ajar, he thought about the discussion he had just had with Tony. It was bizarre to think that the man in question was, in fact, the boy in front of him. And, as Gibbs headed down the hall, he was once again struck by the thought of how all of this would affect both Tony and Ziva when they returned to adulthood. He sincerely hoped their second time spent as children would have a positive and lasting effect for the rest of their lives.