Author's Note: This 'verse went AU after the season 8 episode Kill Screen… so Devil's Triangle hasn't happened, which means no one on the team has met Diane. This takes place a little less than a year after Kelly and Gibbs were reunited and Kelly and Tony started dating.

The Daughter and the Ex

Sammie glanced up from her seat on the couch when she heard the front door handle rattle. She looked down at the textbooks open in front of her, then, grinning, got up and went to the door, ready to tease Tony for forgetting his key again. She stopped short, though, when she saw a red-haired woman through the glass panes in the door. The woman turned to look at the driveway where Gibbs' car was parked in back of Sammie's, then tried the handle again. Recognition clicked, and Sammie went to the door, schooling her face into a polite expression of inquiry.

"Yes?" she asked pleasantly as she opened the door.

The woman opened her mouth to speak, then closed it and gave Sammie a thorough once over. "I guess he's branching out."

Sammie was proud of herself for keeping a straight face. "I'm sorry?"

"If you aren't yet, you will be, getting involved with him." The woman stepped forward as if she were going to walk into the house, but Sammie didn't move, and the redhead barely stopped herself from crashing into her. "Excuse me!" she exclaimed, on the verge of outrage.

"For…?"

The woman gave her an exasperated look. "Mister Woodchuck's in the basement, isn't he? I need to talk to him."

Sammie laughed. "He didn't tell me about that nickname! Good one." She smiled at the redhead. "He's not in right now."

The woman smirked at her. "His car's here."

Sammie leaned on the door jamb, her smile widening. "He and the car aren't as close as you might think. But he's not here."

"Well, where is he?"

"On a hike with Jack."

The redhead's hands went to her hips. "Who's Jack?"

"My dog."

"He's walking your dog."

"Hiking with, but yeah."

The woman tried a new angle. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-nine."

She shook her head. "Unbelievable."

"I know!" Sammie widened her eyes. "Time goes so fast, doesn't it?"

That earned her a sour look. "I'd understand it a little better if you had red hair."

"My mom did."

"Then I'm surprised he didn't date her."

"He did."

The woman's expression cleared. "Ah, so you're the prospective stepdaughter."

"Nope."

That got an eye roll and an exasperated huff. "Are we going to stand out here all day?"

Sammie smiled and stepped back. "Come on in, Diane."

Diane was already headed toward the basement when she stopped and turned around. "You know who I am?"

"Sure. I've seen pictures."

"Really."

"You and the other exes, yeah."

"I'm surprised. He… volunteered this?"

Sammie shook her head as she moved back toward the couch. "I asked."

Diane followed her, then stopped short, staring at the painted walls, new lights, and new furniture. "What - how did you get him to do all this?"

Sammie smiled. "I didn't. He decided it might tempt me to move in."

Diane gaped at her. "Wow." She sat suddenly on the couch. "He must really love you."

Sammie nodded. "He really does."

Diane stared some more, then shook her head. "I thought so too, once."

Sammie cocked her head. "Well, it's a little different in my case."

"Oh, please. We all think that, but if you know about our little ex-wives club, then you know about Shannon. And no one will ever measure up."

"Got that right."

Diane just looked confused.

There was a noise at the door. "Honey, I'm home!" Tony strolled in, making a beeline for Sammie, pulling her into his arms and kissing her soundly.

Diane's affronted gasp caused him to let go and look around. "Who're you?" he asked, startled to see her there.

"Tony, this is Diane - I'm sorry, I don't know your current last name." She gave Diane an apologetic look. "Used to be Gibbs, then Fornell… now, I don't know."

Diane glared at her. "It's Sterling."

Tony stared, a smile beginning to grow. "You're one of the ex-wives!"

Diane crossed her arms over her chest. "I can NOT believe what I'm seeing!"

Tony looked at Sammie, then back at Diane. "Um, what?"

"Sneaking around behind Leroy's back! You should be ashamed of yourselves!" She stood, stepping forward toward Sammie.

"Hey!" Tony moved between them, reaching for Sammie's hand and lacing their fingers together. "Gibbs knows all about us."

Sammie nodded seriously. "He really does."

Diane spluttered, unable to form comprehensible words.

Tony looked from her to Sammie and back. "Ah, I get it." He looked at Sammie. "She doesn't know."

Sammie grinned at him. "Guilty."

Tony shook his head, smiling fondly. "You can be evil." He turned to Diane. "I promise, no one is doing anything Gibbs isn't okay with."

Diane snorted. "Really. Drugs?" she asked snidely.

Sammie smiled at her. "Daughter."

"What?"

She held out her hand for Diane to shake, which Diane took automatically. "Hi," Sammie said. "I'm Kelly. Reports of my death were slightly exaggerated."

Tony sighed heavily. "Greatly. The quote is 'greatly exaggerated.'"

"Well, yeah, but in my case with the memory loss and all, it seems as though 'slightly' is somehow more accurate."

Diane pulled her hand back. "What is this? Some kind of sick joke?"

Tony turned to look at her. "Didn't you notice the smile? She has Gibbs' smile!"

Sammie obligingly smiled at Diane, who looked closely at her. Her eyes widened and her face paled. Tony let go of Sammie's hand and walked to the mantle, picking up one of the framed pictures and bringing it back, holding it out to Diane. "You can see Shannon in her too."

Diane looked at the picture of Gibbs, Shannon, and Kelly, then back at Sammie. "You're Shannon's daughter?!"

Sammie nodded. "Yeah. Dad's too. Asexual reproduction in humans isn't really a thing."

Diane continued to scrutinize Sammie's face. "You do have his smile." Her legs abruptly crumpled under her and she sat hard on the floor. She continued to stare at the picture, looking from it to Sammie and back.

Just then the door opened and Jack ran into the room. He stopped short with a little woof of surprise, scented the air, then gave Diane a wide berth, making a semi-circle and ending up behind Sammie's and Tony's legs, watching Diane cautiously.

Gibbs came around the corner and saw Diane. His eyes widened, some facial muscles twitched, and he instinctively took a step backwards. "Diane?!"

She glanced at him, then went back to staring at Sammie; after a moment's hesitation, Gibbs strode forward, offering a hand to help her up, raising an eyebrow at Tony as he did.

"Sorry, Boss," Tony said sheepishly. "Should have done that."

Diane looked down at the picture for a few seconds, then up at Gibbs. She reached for his hand and let him pull her up to her feet. "She's… Kelly? Really?"

Gibbs let go of her hand and stepped back. "Really. Found out last spring she survived the crash."

Sammie spoke up. "I had a head injury and didn't remember who I was. I was mistaken for another girl my age, who did die in a different accident."

"Tobias didn't tell you?" Gibbs asked.

"He knew?!" she shrieked, causing Jack to whine.

Gibbs nodded, clearly suppressing a smile. "Yeah. He met Kelly last summer."

Diane gaped at him. "Emily?" she asked in a small voice.

Gibbs looked at Sammie, who shook her head. "I haven't met her."

Diane's eyes narrowed. "That rat bastard. He wanted this to happen." She glanced at the others, straightened her posture, tugged at the hem of her jacket, cleared her throat, and handed the framed picture back to Tony. "I'll deal with him later."

There was a moment of silence while Tony put the picture back where it belonged and everyone glanced at everyone else. Jack whined again.

Gibbs sighed. "Why are you here, Diane?"

She looked uncomfortable. "I'm here on Victor's behalf."

Gibbs looked at her cautiously. "Go on.

"He keeps inviting you to poker night and you keep turning him down. Tobias goes… sometimes."

Gibbs' expression turned incredulous. "I barely know the guy!"

"Because you won't come to his poker night! Victor's a good man, Leroy, and he wants to get to know you. Would it kill you to be sociable?"

Gibbs looked perturbed. "It might."

Diane opened her mouth to speak, but Gibbs cut her off. "You know what my work schedule is like. And now that Kelly's here…" he shrugged, uncomfortable.

Diane glared at him. "Fine." She looked away and marched toward the foyer, then hesitated and turned around. "It was nice to meet you," she said to Sammie. "I'm glad you're not dead." Then she disappeared out the door.

Sammie, Gibbs, and Tony all stood there looking at each other; then Sammie moved quickly toward the door, following Diane outside. Gibbs and Tony both leaned over to look out the window and saw Sammie catch up to Diane, the latter turning to face her. The two men looked at each other. "Basement?" Tony asked.

"Boat," Gibbs replied, clearly relieved. He headed for the basement steps, Tony behind him, Jack trotting behind Tony.

Sammie called out to Diane, who stopped and turned, her lips pressed together in a firm line.

"I want to apologize," Sammie said as she reached the other woman. "I should have told you who I was right at the beginning."

Diane's eyes narrowed as she assessed her, then she relaxed. "Why didn't you?"

Sammie sighed. "Want to take a walk?"

"Ah… sure."

They set off along the sidewalk. Diane glanced back. "Leroy isn't coming out to supervise?"

Sammie laughed. "I'm sure he and Tony are in the basement, working on the boat."

Diane stared at her. "Leroy's letting someone else work on his boat?"

"The three of us are working on it together."

Diane glanced at Sammie's hands. "You and Tony are…"

"In love and best friends," Sammie said easily. "He's Dad's second in command at work, has been for over ten years. He's the one who found me last spring."

Diane processed that while they walked. "Alright. So why did you let me make those assumptions?"

Sammie reached up to tuck some of her hair behind her ear. "I recognized you through the window. I'm… a little protective of my dad. I didn't handle meeting you as well as I could have. I'm sorry."

"Why would you think Leroy needs protection from me?"

Sammie looked at her, eyebrows raised. "You're pretty forceful."

"True enough," Diane admitted. "Doesn't seem to bother you."

Sammie grinned. "I have an Aunt Tina who would make you look like Pollyanna."

Diane's brow furrowed. "Leroy never mentioned a Tina."

"My adoptive family," Sammie explained.

They were both silent for a moment, except for the sound of Diane's heels clicking on the pavement.

"Dad was hurt when you left," Sammie said suddenly. "What you said before, about no one being able to measure up to my mom… that's true. But Dad didn't expect you to be her."

"It was hard to know what he expected… he didn't talk."

Sammie nodded. "I get that, I do. He was always like that, according to Jack, but after he lost us, he got a lot worse."

"I thought Jack is your dog."

"Oh! Yeah… Jackson Gibbs. Dad's dad."

"Leroy's father is alive?!"

"I guess it's your day for surprises, huh?"

"You're not kidding." Diane shook her head. "So what's your point?"

Sammie slowed and turned to face her. "Dad couldn't get over losing Mom. He still hasn't. But I want you to know he did care about you. When he showed me your picture, it was obvious he still has regrets." Sammie tilted her head and considered the woman in front of her. "Would Tony be welcome at this poker game?"

Diane nodded slowly. "I don't see why not. The more the merrier, as far as Victor's concerned."

Sammie smiled. "Extend the invitation next time around. I'll work on Dad. He'll be more likely to go if Tony's there… Toby too."

Diane frowned at the mention of her second ex-husband, then bit her lip, giving Sammie a rueful smile. "Given that he redecorated his house for you, getting him to go to a poker game should be a snap."

They started walking back toward the house. "I'm guessing this game is a boys' night?" Sammie commented.

Diane rolled her eyes. "Of course it is."

"So maybe you and I could hang out. I'm sure you have some good stories about my dad."

Diane's face softened. "I do. It wasn't all bad. I did marry him." A small, sad smile appeared on her face. "He's wonderfully romantic when he wants to be. When he proposed… wow."

Sammie's eyes widened; she decided to ask her father about that later. Changing the subject, she asked, "Did he pull pranks on you?"

"Pranks?"

"Never mind… I guess you're not really the pranking type."

Diane laughed. "No, I don't think I am."

"I'd like to meet Emily. Toby says she calls Dad Uncle Gibbs."

"I'm sure we can make that happen."

They walked the rest of the way in silence, stopping at Diane's car, which was parked on the street in front of the house.

Diane rested one hand on the car door as she looked at Sammie. "Leroy must be thrilled to have you back." Her gaze unfocused as memories surfaced. "I wonder how things might have gone if he'd had you with him when we met."

Sammie said nothing, having no idea what life might have been like in that case.

Diane refocused on her. "I am glad you're not dead." She smiled. "The next poker game is a week from Friday. I'll let Victor know Leroy and Tony will be there." She got in her car, putting on her seatbelt and starting it up with brisk, efficient motions.

Sammie watched her back out and drive down the street. "That could have gone a lot worse," she mused. She went back into the house and headed for the basement, standing on the landing to watch her father and her boyfriend as they worked together to set a new part of the boat's frame into place.

Gibbs looked up a moment later as she trotted down the stairs, eyeing the doorway behind her warily. Tony looked at him, smirking, before turning his attention to Sammie, who moved forward to hug her dad. "Don't worry, she's gone."

"M'not worried," Gibbs grumbled.

Sammie exchanged mirthful glances with Tony. "Yes, you are. But it's all good. She really is glad I'm not dead, and I think she's happy for you." She let go of Gibbs and moved over to Tony, giving him a kiss before inspecting the work the two men had just done. "Oh, and you should both clear your calendars for a week from Friday. We're all going to the Sterlings'... you guys'll play poker, and Diane, Emily, and I will have a girls' night."

Gibbs stared at her, various expressions chasing across his face before settling on resignation. He looked at Tony, who was watching him, clearly amused. "She's an awful lot like her mother," he commented to his second, a combination of warning and admiration that had Tony break out into a big grin.

"Knowing how happy you were with Shannon, I'm taking that as a very good thing," Tony said firmly. He caught Sammie's gaze and held it, while Gibbs watched the two of them with a small smile on his face.

End Scene