Disclaimer: This work of fan fiction is mine alone. Sure there are characters that have been created by someone else. But, this is my take on what they've done or will do. No copyright infringement is meant. I promise to return these characters in pristine condition when I'm done.

Authors Note: About six months ago I wrote a chapter about Gibbs and Shannon for this story called 'Even Now'. People seemed to like it, so I figured to write one about Gibbs and Kelly. It took a while for an idea to come to me, but my muse finally came through. This story takes place prior to Gibbs being deployed for Operation Desert Shield/Storm. The US started sending units to Saudi in August of 1990. It's logical to assume (yeah, I know) that the various special ops units would be the first to go.

The Gibbs residence, Base Housing, Camp Pendleton MCB, Friday July 20, 1990 1813hrs

Gunnery Sergeant Leroy Jethro Gibbs was sitting at the picnic table in his backyard organizing his shoe shining supplies. Tomorrow, Saturday there was going to be a command inspection. Even hush-hush covert units stand inspection. Especially if they're Marine covert units. So Gibbs was preparing to spit shine his black low quarter shoes. He had two tins of black Kiwi brand polish, a disposable lighter, a few scraps of an old t-shirt, a small bowl of water, a shining brush and a buffing cloth. His low quarters looked good, but they could be better.

Attention to detail.

It got drummed into him at boot camp on Parris Island. The tiniest mistake could lead to pushups. Many, many pushups. Like all teenagers Jethro was an unorganized mess. Senior Drill Instructor Gunnery Sergeant Michael Davis fixed that problem.

Attention to detail.

Sniper School, Airborne School and the Combat Diver Qualification Course further reinforced the theme. Fail to camouflage properly and the instructors would find your hide and you'd be out of the course. Fail to fall properly or not rig your gear properly and Sergeant Airborne or the hard ground would show you the error of your ways. Fail to rig your dive gear properly and you would die. Nothing like being able to breathe in oxygen rather than water to motivate.

Gibbs considered himself lucky; he'd enlisted at the tail end of the time when individual Marines still did their own laundry. Screw up and your week's laundry wound up in a heap on the company street with DI's walking on it.

Attention to detail.

That's why even today Gibbs still does his own laundry at home. Shannon Gibbs is a disaster with an iron. God bless her, she tried, but an iron shaped burn mark on one of his khaki shirts put an end to her doing his laundry.

So, things like shining shoes, cleaning weapons and ironing were things that were calming for Gibbs. It was his alone time. Shannon was cleaning up after dinner and his seven year old Kelly was playing with a friend out front.

Gibbs took the lids off the two tins of polish. Most Marines nowadays wore Corfam shoes. The artificial leather was glossy and did not need polishing

Cheating that's what it is.

Every Marine had his own way of shining shoes. Gibbs melted the polish with a lighter before applying the base coat to the first shoe. He would let it dry and then continue.

"What'cha doing Daddy?"

Turning his head, Jethro saw his daughter standing near the back door grinning.

Looks just like Shan when she does that.

Kelly was wearing denim shorts, flip flops and a scarlet t-shirt with the words 'Daddy's C.O.' in gold letters.

Gibbs returned the grin.

"Getting ready to shine my shoes."

"Can I watch?"

"Absolutely."

Kelly skipped over to the table and sat down next to her dad. When he was home Jethro tried to spend as much time as he could with both his girls. But with Kelly, he tried to spend a little more. Normal Marines usually deploy once and then come home for a stretch. Being a covert unit, Gibbs' outfit could deploy multiple times a year or be gone for extended periods with no outside contact.

Gibbs took one of the scraps of t-shirt and wet it. He wrapped it around his finger, making sure there were no wrinkles. Using a circular motion he buffed the dried polish. It started to become shiny. Jethro stopped buffing and put some polish on the damp cloth. Again using a circular motion he applied a thin layer of polish rubbing lightly. The wet cloth kept the polish from sticking to the cloth and helped it stick to the leather. The thin layers of wax makes for a completely smooth surface that gives a glossy shine.

After Jethro applied enough layers he stopped. Kelly had watched the whole process avidly. Gibbs smiled.

"I'm ready for the next step. Want to help?"

Kelly gave him an elfin grin that made his heart skip a beat.

"Yes, Daddy."

Gibbs had her hold the shoe down on the edge of the table while he buffed it with the dry soft buffing cloth. When he was done, he took the shoe and turned it around so she could see herself in the toe cap.

"Look down."

When she did so, Kelly could see herself clearly in the shoe. She made several funny faces at herself causing Jethro to laugh.

"That's soo cool."

Gibbs smiled.

"Yeah, it is. Now I have to do the other one."

After finishing the other shoe, Gibbs put both of them in a plastic bag to help keep the dust off until tomorrow. He gathered up his supplies and put them back in their box.

"Daddy?"

"Yes princess?"

"Are you going to be home for my piano recital?"

Gibbs knew that in October Kelly would be playing in a school program.

"I don't know babygirl. I think I'll be home. But you know Daddy's work can cause him to leave on short notice."

Kelly looked glum.

"Yeah, I know. I hope you'll be able to come."

Gibbs smiled down at his daughter, giving her a hug.

"Me too. How about I put this stuff away and we go raid the freezer for some ice cream?"

Kelly grinned back.

"Race ya!"

With that, Kelly ran towards the kitchen door with Jethro bringing up the rear. For some reason he felt a pang of anxiety. Shaking his head, he followed his daughter into the kitchen.

A/N: As you may have guessed, this story came to me while I was shining my boots for work. Weird huh? Well, weird or not, I hope you enjoyed it. If so how about leaving a review?