A/N: Grab your gear, we have a case! Jack finally makes an appearance, and things get a bit hinky for our heroes. The end of this chapter is a wee bit over the top and silly, but try as I might I just couldn't bring myself to cut it.
Ch 28 – Giving Thanks
By early-November, McGee and Ziva were back to work and cleared for field duty having fully recovered from their injuries as well as from physical therapy, or "torture", as McGee called it. After a week of cold cases and one minor drug dealing case involving the son of a Navy Admiral they were assigned a case that would test them all for the next two weeks. It was a headline-making case involving not only the smuggling of antiquities, weapons and opium out of Afghanistan, but there was credible intel that young Afghan boys and girls were to be smuggled as part of a planned sex slave trade. With children involved, the team vowed to stay at the office and do whatever it took until they were found.
Since it was high-profile case, Vance met with the team early on to set some ground rules. He made it abundantly clear that not only would the media be watching their every move since an Afghan official was allegedly involved, but State Department officials, congressional leaders as well as the President himself would be paying very close attention to the case. Vance got right up in Gibbs' face and flat out ordered him to, "keep your damn mouth shut and don't say anything to the press". Gibbs glared at his team, who were seated around the conference room table collectively snickering and smirking at him, and muttered, "Whatever you say, Director," before unceremoniously leaving the room.
The State Department handed the FBI credible intelligence they had received from a ZNN reporter embedded with a Marine unit in Helmand Province, who had overheard members from the unit discussing plans for their latest "shipment" to the states onboard an aircraft carrier. The reporter had been embedded with the unit for three months and had gotten to know many of the Marines very well from spending countless hours with them in close quarters. After being briefed by the Director of the FBI, Sec Nav in turn brought Vance up to speed and informed him that CGIS had been given orders to board the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan currently two days out from Norfolk as soon as it entered U.S. waters.
Gibbs and the MCRT were called in when CGIS investigators found two young boys and four young girls, all presumably under the age of 15 huddled together in a cargo hold along with crates filled with drugs, guns, and antiquities. The Commander Officer onboard was equally stunned and furious to find out that his ship had been used for smuggling, and vowed to Gibbs that he would find out who on his crew had knowledge of it and would happily turn them over to NCIS.
Gibbs was surprised when Ducky and Palmer arrived at the scene. "Duck, why are you two here? We don't have a body for you."
"Jethro, when we heard that there were children found on this ship we felt we needed to come and offer our assistance." Ducky and Palmer immediately set to work and took charge of the filthy and malnourished children. They worked with a team of paramedics at the scene to carefully examine each of them. The children clung to Ducky and Palmer who did their best to comfort their terrified charges. After making his initial assessments, Ducky determined that a trip to the hospital for further treatment was in order and that he and Palmer would accompany them and stay with the children until they could be brought back to NCIS.
Tony and Gibbs spent countless hours in MTAC burning up expensive satellite time questioning Marines from the unit and their Commander trying to get information about the suspected smugglers. The Commander was not very forthcoming, but it was evident that someone in the unit had to know that something out of the ordinary was going on. Gibbs grew more and more frustrated at the lack of cooperation, so Tony quietly suggested that maybe he should take a break and go get them some coffee. While Gibbs was gone, an equally frustrated Tony made repeated threats about court martial proceedings and dishonorable discharges for anyone who withheld information, as well as the possibility of long sentences spent breaking rocks at Fort Leavenworth. Eventually two of the Marines from the unit who had overheard the plans came forward and gave up the names of the suspected smugglers.
Tony ordered them to stand by and immediately called Gibbs, who showed up in MTAC with Vance in tow a few short minutes later. Vance ordered the Unit Commander to place the five alleged smugglers under arrest and informed him that NCIS agents in the area would arriving shortly to pick up the prisoners. Gibbs chewed the Commander out for not having better control over the Marines under his command, and when the Commander started to argue with him, Gibbs motioned to the tech at the communications console to cut the satellite feed.
Vance immediately contacted Special Agents Chad Dunham and Paul Nolan, who had been in country for several months working assets and gathering intel in the region, and instructed them to drop everything and escort the soon to be former Marines back to the states. Vance then sent Gibb and his team home to get some much needed rest, showers and a proper meal with orders to be back at 0700 the next morning.
Sixteen hours later, Agents Dunham and Nolan delivered the smugglers to NCIS and into Gibbs' waiting and capable hands. Meeting over coffee in the break room, Dunham and Nolan took great pleasure in telling Gibbs about the little conversation they had during the long flight back. They made sure that the suspects had a full and complete appreciation of exactly what they could expect when being interrogated by former Marine sniper, Gunnery Sergeant and NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs.
Nolan snickered and covered the huge smile on his face with his hand as Dunham clued Gibbs in on the joke. "It was priceless, Gibbs!" Dunham laughed. "By the time we got done telling them a whole bunch of stories about your reputation and how you are legendary for making big badass Marines cry, the Staff Sergeant looked like he was either gonna cry or puke, and the snotty little private actually wet his pants. Hell, we didn't even have to make shit up!" Both agents laughed out loud as Gibbs rolled his eyes and shook his head while Tony sat back in his chair looking extremely proud. Wanting to watch the famous Gibbs in action first hand, Nolan and Dunham followed Gibbs and Tony down to interrogation.
Gibbs was furious that the suspects were Marines as it went against everything he knew about what it meant to be a United States Marine. The group consisted of a Staff Sergeant, two corporals and a PFC, who were paid handsomely by a mid-level Afghan government official for each successful shipment to his cousin in the states. They were read their Article 31 rights and officially charged before being locked in the larger interrogation room with Gibbs, who leaned against the wall as he fixed a death glare on them as they were brought into the room. Convinced that Gibbs might just go easier on them they decided to cooperate and hopefully get reduced sentences. JAG had been contacted to arrange for legal representation, but each Marine waived their right to counsel. It didn't take Gibbs long to break them and get full confessions as well as the name of their ring leader in Afghanistan, the identity of their contact in the U.S., and the names of personnel aboard the Reagan that were involved. Gibbs finished the interrogation by getting into full Gunnery Sergeant mode as he yelled while dressing each one of them down for disgracing his beloved Corp, and about how they dishonored the American flag, their fellow Marines, and the uniform they had been privileged to wear. Living up to his legend, Gibbs had all but one of them in tears by the end, and he could almost swear that he heard applause coming from the observation room next door.
Since he hated dealing with bureaucrats almost as much as he hated lawyers, Gibbs put Tony in charge of liaising with the State Department to locate the children's families. The ZNN reporter had spoken with several local tribal leaders and was eventually able to identify the children and their parents. Tony worked closely with the State Department to arrange for a small Army unit to escort the parents safely to the U.S. embassy where they would be able to wait for their children's safe return home once they had been medically cleared to travel.
Using the information Gibbs had obtained during his short but thorough interrogations, McGee and Ziva put in long hours digging up everything they could find on Omar Salim, the corrupt Afghan official who six months earlier had set the whole smuggling operation in motion. McGee used his computer skills hacking into every database he could find to track Salim's financials and contacts, while Ziva put her old Mossad contacts to good use to get valuable personal information about Salim, including the fact that he had a cousin currently residing near Norfolk, Virginia.
What had started as a small time opium smuggling ring quickly grew into a full-blown, all encompassing operation that included dealing in antiquities and weapons in addition to the already lucrative opium business. One of the Marines had informed Salim's right hand man that they could all make a fortune selling children into sexual slavery in the U.S. Greed got the best of Salim, so he ordered his men to round up a small group to use for a trial run. Unfortunately for Salim, one of his men happened to be an undercover Mossad operative; Salim's body would be found along the road outside of Kandahar two weeks later.
The Reagan's CO had called to inform Gibbs that he had two petty officers involved in the smuggling in custody and that they would soon be transported to NCIS under armed guard. Gibbs was in no mood to deal with them, so he turned the interrogations of the petty officers over to Tony and Ziva. Having observed Gibbs for so many years, they were both good interrogators and managed to get full confessions in short order.
The two week-long case culminated in a joint raid with the FBI resulting in the apprehension of Salim's cousin, Abdullah, and a dozen of his associates who were responsible for the U.S. distribution of the opium, the sale of the guns on the street, and the sale of the antiquities to black market collectors. A truck load of smuggled antiquities valued at roughly a million dollars was recovered from a warehouse. Another truck brought back dozens of boxes of processed opium with a street value of over two million dollars, along with computers and hand-written ledgers outlining details of the extensive operation.
Not knowing how long the case would drag on, no one had made plans for Thanksgiving. Vance stopped by the bullpen late on Monday evening on his way out to congratulate the team on breaking the smuggling ring, and to announce that he was giving them the rest of the week and the weekend off as a way of showing his appreciation for the long hours they all put in. With an uncharacteristic smile, he wished them all a Happy Thanksgiving as he headed for the elevator, leaving behind a bullpen full of stunned agents.
The team was just finishing up their reports and getting ready to leave when Ducky appeared in the bullpen with invitations for all of them to celebrate Thanksgiving with him at Reston House. Palmer and his girlfriend Breena were going to be there, and Ducky told Gibbs to invite his dad as well. Ducky and Jackson Gibbs had become good friends over the years, and Gibbs agreed to invite him but told Ducky that he needed to talk to Tony about it first.
Jack always liked Tony and knew that he and Gibbs were close friends, but Gibbs had never gotten a chance to talk to him tell him that he and Tony were together in every way. Gibbs looked up and noticed Tony holding his breath and looking at him with an almost comical wide-eyed expression. Gibbs hated seeing anything other than a smile on Tony's beautiful face, so he favored Tony with a smile, a wink and a nod, getting a genuine DiNozzo smile in return.
Later that night as Gibbs and Tony lay snuggled together in bed after making love, Tony got up the courage to ask Gibbs about Jack. "Hey, Jethro," he said softly, "you think Jack will be okay with us?"
Gibbs turned in Tony's arms so that he could look into his eyes. He gently ran his fingers through Tony's hair and said confidently, "Tone, my dad adores you; he always has. I don't think he'll have a problem with us being together. In fact, I think he will be thrilled seeing both of us finally happy. He might be a bit shocked at first, but he's always been pretty open-minded." Gibbs took the opportunity to give Tony a gentle kiss before asking, "Tone? You think I should tell him on the phone or wait until he gets here?"
Tony shrugged and stated plainly, "You know him better than I do, Jethro. It might be better to give him a little advance warning instead of hitting him with the news when he gets here and wonders what the hell I'm doing here."
Gibbs chuckled and kissed Tony's forehead. "Yeah, you're probably right. I'll call him tomorrow." With that little problem solved, they got snuggled back up and quickly fell asleep.
Tony found Gibbs in the kitchen the next morning talking on the phone and working on what had to be his third large cup of coffee already, if the low level in his coffee maker was any indication. Tony prepared a cup of his hazelnut coffee and sat down at the table across from Gibbs so he could watch his expression. He could only hear one side of the conversation, but it was obvious that Gibbs was talking to Jack.
"Of course I'm serious, dad!" Gibbs chuckled. "Yes I do … very much. Just a few months but… I don't know; we haven't talked about it." Gibbs was silent for a while, but by the smile on his face it was clear that the conversation was going well. Gibbs reached out and took hold of Tony's hand and winked at him as he gave it a loving squeeze. "Actually, he's right here. Okay. How about we drive over tomorrow and pick you up? No, of course it's not a problem. Yeah, okay. Here he is. Huh? Yeah, love you too, dad." Gibbs handed the phone to Tony, who looked like a deer caught in the headlights.
Tony took a sip of his coffee and cleared his throat before taking the receiver from Gibbs with a shaky hand. "Hey, Jack! What's shaking in Stillwater? Yep. Wow, thanks Jack. I know, crazy right, but what can you do? He's my whole world, Jack." Tony suddenly threw his head back and let out a hearty laugh. "Yeah, well I've had years of practice. I won't. I will. Yeah, we'll see you tomorrow then? Cool! Yeah? Hey, love you too Jack. Thanks. Bye."
Tony suddenly had tears in his eyes as he stood and replaced the receiver on the wall phone. "Man, your dad is awesome," Tony said while laughing through his tears. "He called me son and welcomed me into the family. You have no idea how much that means to me, Jethro."
Gibbs got up and pulled Tony into a hug, kissed his neck and held him tightly for a few minutes. "I told you he'd be thrilled," Gibbs said softly before releasing Tony after a peck on his lips.
They were on the road early the next morning for the five hour drive to Stillwater. Tony was excited and nervous in equal measure about seeing Jack. They always got along and both loved to pick on Gibbs, but now things were different and he wasn't sure what to expect as they pulled up in front of the store. He thought Jack might shake his hand but he was not prepared for Jack to rush out and pull him into a bear hug that would make Abby proud. Jack pulled back, holding Tony at arm's length and chuckled at the shocked expression on Tony's face.
"Good to see you, Tony! Been too long, but damn glad you're here," Jack said as he beamed at Tony. Gibbs came around the car and stood next to Tony for only a moment before Jack grabbed his arm and pulled him into a hug. "Damn, Leroy! I've never seen you look so happy. I'm happy for your son, for both of you."
After a quick trip inside the store to use the bathroom and grab sodas and coffee for the trip back, they were back on the road. Jack kept yelling at Gibbs to slow down before he got them all killed, but Gibbs kept his foot mashed down on the accelerator. Tony and Jack barely stopped talking to draw breath the whole way home, nearly driving Gibbs crazy. He pulled the Challenger into the driveway and quickly escaped the confines of the car, having knocked a whole hour off of the trip back. Tony and Jack traded conspiratorial snickers and smiles as Tony got Jack's bag out of the trunk. Neither of them was horribly surprised to walk in and find Gibbs in the kitchen tossing back a generous shot of bourbon. Gibbs rolled his eyes when he saw the two of them standing in the kitchen doorway, Tony with his arm around Jack's shoulders, grinning at him.
Ducky went all out preparing Thanksgiving dinner for his de facto family. Tony, Gibbs and Jack showed up early to help out; Tony helped Ducky in the kitchen while Gibbs and Jack polished the silverware and set the table with Ducky's fine china and Waterford crystal. Abby and McGee arrived just before noon. Tony helped Abby out of her coat and whistled in appreciation at the sight of her dressed in a rather demure, knee-length emerald green cocktail dress and low heels. Her standard leather collar was replaced with a string of pearls that her grandmother had given to her years ago. McGee wore dark grey pants with a light blue sweater. Ziva and Marcus arrived half an hour later with Jimmy and Breena right behind them. Ziva was dressed in a floral skirt and a dark blue silk top with an ivory cardigan over it while Marcus was in khakis and a white turtle neck.
Tony had prepared tortellini the night before as an appetizer, which held everyone over until dinner was served at precisely 5:00. Ducky had prepared several traditional Scottish dishes to go with the standard turkey, stuffing. Ziva brought garlic mashed potatoes and dinner rolls, McGee brought a few bottles of wine and Abby brought cranberry sauce that she made using her grandmother's secret recipe. Dishes were passed around and wine glasses were refilled until everyone declared that they couldn't eat another bite.
When dinner was finished, they all chipped in and helped clean up while the traditional Thanksgiving Day football game played on the TV. Abby walked into the dining room to find Ziva leaning over the table and picking up the last of the wine glasses to be washed. "Hey, Ziva, you got a minute?" Abby asked nervously, causing a startled Ziva to turn and face her.
"Of course, Abby. What is wrong?," Ziva asked as she narrowed her eyes as Abby stood and fidgeted, wringing her hands before stepping closer.
"Um, I was wondering if, you know, you would consider being my Maid of Honor at the wedding?"
Ziva's face broke into a big smile and she sat the wine glassed down before wrapping Abby in a sisterly hug. "Of course, of course! I would be honored! I could not be happier that you asked me to stand with you."
Clean up done, they all assembled in the lounge for coffee and tea along with the homemade cookies Jimmy and Breena had brought. Gibbs stood and raised his mug and cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "I'd like to propose a toast to Ducky for bringing us all together today. The food was wonderful, and the company even better. We've been through a lot together the last few months, and I am truly thankful for each and every one of you," Gibbs said before taking a sip of his coffee. A chorus of "To Ducky" rang out along with a smattering of applause, which Ducky acknowledged with an exaggerated but elegant bow.
It was 10:00 when Gibbs, Tony and Jack got home. Jack was exhausted from the excitement of the day and bid Tony and Gibbs good night as he immediately headed for the stairs. He suddenly turned back slowly and Gibbs' eyebrows shot up when he saw the smirk on Jack's face and the mischievous twinkle in his eye. Jack looked from Tony to Gibbs and stated simply, "You know, I may be getting old, but my hearing is perfect. You two might want to keep it down a bit tonight since I'll be right next door." Jack grinned at Tony and Gibbs, who were both blushing furiously and gaping at him. Jack patted each of them on the cheek and said affectionately, "See you two in the morning! I'll fix us a nice breakfast."
They both stood shocked and watched as Jack slowly climbed the stairs and disappeared around the corner. Tony had to turn and bury his face in Gibbs' neck to stifle the fit of giggles he couldn't hold back. Tony's laugh was infectious, and soon they were holding each other tight and shaking with silent laughter. Tony finally got control of himself enough to nip Gibbs' earlobe and purr, "Your dad is a dirty old man you know that? I hope that means you'll be a dirty old man someday." Tony began nibbling on Gibbs' neck causing him to groan through clenched teeth.
Gibbs slowly walked Tony backward until he had him pinned up against the front door. He palmed and rubbed the front of Tony's pants and felt him immediately harden under his ministrations. He kissed a trail up Tony's throat before breaking away and growling in his ear, "I'm feeling like a dirty old man right now, so get your tight little ass upstairs. I have some plans for it, so get moving."
The next morning, Jack retrieved the newspaper from the front porch before calling up the stairs to let Gibbs and Tony know that breakfast was ready. Gibbs and Tony made their way downstairs a few minutes later to find pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage, orange juice, toast, and fried potatoes laid out on the table for them. Gibbs smiled and kissed Jack on the cheek as he breezed past him on his way to the coffee makers. "Morning, Dad. Looks good!"
Gibbs brought his coffee and a perfectly prepared cup of Tony's coffee with him back to the table and took his usual seat and began filling his plate. He put Tony's cup down where he usually sat, but Tony just stood there gripping the back of his chair. Jack looked from Gibbs to Tony frowning at the look on Tony's face. "You feeling okay this morning, son," he asked Tony curiously. When Tony turned his face away slightly and started to blush, Jack chuckled. "Ah, I see. I guess Leroy got a little too rough with you last night," he said before taking a sip of coffee.
Tony had never been so shocked in his entire life, and Gibbs nearly choked on the eggs he had just forked into his mouth. Jack put down his coffee and helpfully patted Gibbs on the back then stood and walked over to the coach where he retrieved a small pillow. He pulled out Tony's chair for him, dropped the pillow on the chair, and motioned for Tony to sit on the now thickly padded seat. Tony and Gibbs just stared at each other as Jack shrugged and returned to his seat, whistling as he started filling his plate and one for Tony as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened. Tony snapped out of his shock and finally managed to sit, albeit gingerly, and dig into his breakfast.
After several minutes of uncomfortable silence as they ate, with Gibbs and Tony unwilling or unable to look at him, an exasperated Jack finally had enough and dropped his fork on his plate and glared at both of them. "What? You think I don't know darn well that you two had sex last night? I told you my hearing was perfect. Oh for crying out don't worry about it. You were both quiet enough, but, um … you might want to pull the bed away from the wall a little bit."
