Rifiuto: Non Miriena

Thanks to Tiva-McAbby-Densi-Neric-4ever, MH96 and Reader for reviewing 27.

The sight of the extended McGee-David clan in the bullpen stopped Gibbs in his tracks. Tim, Ziva, Tali, Michael and Sarah were huddled together near Tim's desk, talking in hushed tones. Tony was sitting on the fringes with Damon, listening to the conversation. Asher was sitting on the floor with his cousins, drawing, and Zipporah was rolling a ball to Liron in enjoyment.

"Mr. Gibbs!" Instantly, Asher and Liron were on their feet, rushing to him with arms extended. Zipporah followed slowly, taking her time, holding tight to her cousin Esther's hand, watching her brothers as Gibbs knelt down to allow the boys to wrap their arms around his neck. He set his cup down, holding them both close. "Are you okay?" Asher asked, pulling away to look at him with wide green eyes. Gibbs furrowed his brow.

"Of course I am, why?" Asher glanced back at his parents, who had fallen silent.

"Ima said that you would be sad, because Mr. Grandpa Gibbs had to go to a new home that wanted him very, very badly, even though we wanted him not to go." Liron said, tears filling his eyes. Gently, Gibbs reached up and brushed the tears away.

"She did?" The boys nodded. "Well, your Ima is a very smart woman." Gibbs said, as Zipporah finally joined them and reached for Gibbs. Instead, she knocked over the cup, spilling the coffee all over the floor. Gibbs's head snapped up, and a defining quiet fell over the bullpen.

A moment passed, before the little girl looked up at Gibbs with wide, green eyes. "Uh-oh." Instantly, Tim and Ziva rushed to clean the mess and fix the situation.

"We're so sorry about that, Boss-"

"Do not be angry at her, Gibbs, Zipporah is just a baby-"

"I'll go down to the corner café and pick up another cup for you-" Gibbs glanced between the couple and their daughter, who was sitting on the floor, lower lip quivering. She was old enough to understand when someone was upset, and so did her best to follow her brothers' example and be good. Tears began to flow down her cheeks, and she started to cry, waiting for the gentle scolding she usually got from her parents.

But instead, she felt strong hands lift her up, and she soon found herself sitting in Gibbs' lap, stemming her tears. "Don't worry about it, Tim, Ziva. It was an honest mistake. She's learning. No harm, no foul." He never took his eyes off the little girl, who continued to cry, even as her cries soon faded into hiccups. "See? Not a problem." He gave the little girl a smile, and after a moment, the child returned it, reaching out to grasp his lips. He promptly pressed a kiss to her hand, memories of Kelly doing the same flooding his head.

Her parents watched, unsure of what to do or say, the sight of their boss, sitting on the floor next to their sons, their daughter in his lap, giggling as he made faces at her unnerving them enough that they couldn't even think to move. "Um... Boss?" Tim finally ventured, unsure. It was then that Gibbs turned his blue gaze to Zipporah's parents.

"What is it, Tim?" The young parents shared a look, surprised at Gibbs' informality. Licking his lips, Tim turned back to his boss.

"Ziva and I... we..." He glanced at the others. "Actually, we all need to talk to you."


They had even asked Ducky, Palmer and Abby to come to Vance's office, so they could tell the team of Eli David's appearance. Tim looked around; he found it funny, that just a couple short years ago, he'd found himself in this same office, with Ziva, telling the same people about his shared past with the exotic Israeli. The only differences now were that Shepard was gone, Sarah was with Damon, and he and Ziva had two more beautiful children.

"You all... know about how Zi and I met... about... our shared past and... the beautiful little gift that came out of that..." He took a deep breath, and Ziva reached for his hand. "Well, her father... Eli David is in town. He's looking for her and Tali... and..." He took another deep breath. "I know that it's not in NCIS's jurisdiction or even a prerogative of NCIS, but... the three of us..." He glanced at Tali, who gave him a small smile. "We decided that... that you all needed to know." Tim shrugged.

"Tali, Michael and their kids... they're part of my family, part of Ziva's family. Now, I don't need your backing, but I thought it was only right that you all knew that I'm gonna do whatever I can to protect them." He turned to Gibbs and pulled out his badge and gun, thinking back on the day he'd resigned to protect Sarah. "I'm sorry, but once again, I'm not going to put the integrity of NCIS before my family. This is the last time." He went to Gibbs, dropping the badge into his lap and handing over the gun. "They're my family, and I'd rather work in a laundry mat than lose even one of them."

Gibbs glanced down at the badge and gun, before getting up and going to his youngest agent. He promptly smacked the back of Tim's head, causing both to wince. "What did I tell you, when you first found out Asher was your son, McGee? We're your family too, you can come to us for anything. You know that. Or have you both forgotten?" He growled, looking from Tim to Ziva and back. The pair refused to meet his gaze. "Eli David's got you both so scared, you can't tell who's friend and who's foe-"

"You do not know our father, Gibbs." Ziva cut in, meeting his gaze. "You do not know what that man can do. You saw Ari, but you did not grow up around him, you have never met him face to face. You are clueless when it comes to the destruction our father can cause." Tali stood, going to her older sister and stepping in front of her.

"If you want to help us, Agent Gibbs, then help us. But don't condemn us because of the man we were born to. Zivaleh and I had no choice. We were forced to call him father because of the blood in our veins, but we aren't like him. So you either help us when he comes after my sister and I, or you don't. It's your choice. But Ziva and I... we have no choice. We never did. And Tim and Michael, they sealed their fates the moment they got involved with us. This is our fight. Now you can either help us, or not. It's your call."