…………..Monday 5th of May………..
"It's nice to have you back." McGee said when Tony and Kate entered the office.
"So how was Italy?" Abby asked curious.
"Wonderful. I wish we could have stayed there longer." Kate replied.
"We saw quite much. Rom was great but the best was when we stayed 3 days at a winery. Fresh air and the country… It was a great honeymoon." Tony said happy.
"So did you learn some Italian?" Abby asked Kate.
"Tony spoke most since he can it but I tried. They understood my English anyway so I didn't want put so much effort in it." Kate explained.
"I'm trying to teach her how to pronounce the words right so soon she can say some things." Tony told her.
"I can some words and expressions but I rather not say them here and learning Italian wasn't the purpose of our trip anyway." Kate said defending herself.
"Thanks for the postcards and the calls. You didn't have to check up on us." Abby said changing the subject.
"I felt better if I did. So did Tony." Kate explained.
"Uhhh…Yeah, just what she said…So where is Gibbs?" Tony asked.
Abby and McGee looked at each other and wondered who was going to tell them.
"He called in sick today. He said Tony is the boss until he comes back. If something major comes up and you feel the urge to call him then talk to Kate and you two have to decide on what you should do." McGee explained after a few seconds silence.
"I'm the boss…"Tony said surprised.
"He's sick…He is never sick…Is something wrong?" Kate asked worried.
"Gibbs worked a lot when you weren't here…Searching for Ari…Trying to find out who was at your wedding while we tried to solve a new case. The kids had got sick last week and he maybe caught it too. Maybe it all became too much for his body to handle…"Abby explained.
"It didn't sound so bad when I talked to you on the phone. Why didn't you say anything?" Kate asked.
"We didn't want to ruin your honeymoon and we thought we could handle it. It is sometimes easy to forget how vulnerable human beings are and that it actually applies to us too." Abby continued.
"I have to call him to see how he is." Kate said while going to her desk.
"I answered the phone when he called. He said we shouldn't call him and he's staying at Lauren's. He also emphasized he wasn't alone so no need to worry." McGee told them.
"So who is with him?" Tony wondered.
"Alexander…Isabella feels better and went back to school today and Lauren is at work." McGee explained while Kate's phone started to ring. She answered and talked a little while before handing over the phone to Tony. He talked for a little while before he hung up.
"Gibbs really knows us. He said he wanted to call before I called him." Kate told them.
"All he wants is to us to start to work again. I guess we should do that then." Tony told them.
……………….Three days later………..
"Boss, you're back." McGee said as he saw him step out of the elevator. Kate was talking to Abby over the phone and she told her that Gibbs was back.
"Welcome back. I've warmed up your chair for you." Tony said to him.
"How many times…"Gibbs said before smacking him in the head. He had warned Tony about never sitting at his desk.
"Kidding boss…The only thing on your desk is the present from Italy we got you." Tony told him. Gibbs didn't say anything. He just went to his desk and wondered if he was going to open the present now or not. After feeling everyone looking at him he slowly opened it. Gibbs looked at his present and wondered what he was going to do with it.
"Since the painting had a boat on it with navy colours we thought it fitted you perfectly." Kate explained.
"I hope you like it." Tony said to him after studying his expression.
"I'm sure Lauren can find a place to hang it up on." Gibbs answered.
"Are you two living together?" Kate wondered.
"I just spend most of my days there since Lauren can't as easily come to me because of the kids…Which remind me…I maybe have to go a bit early today since Lauren is working the afternoon shift." Gibbs told them.
"So you're taking care of them?" Tony asked.
"I guess so…I sort of promised so don't think this will happen often!" Gibbs said firmly but no one believed him. They all knew him and Lauren were serious and at the wedding they had found out the kids would probably stay with Lauren permanent and the paperwork would be finished in a couple of months. Having Gibbs in the children's life had worked out pretty well and everyone expected that he would ask her to marry him soon and maybe even get joint custody of the kids too.
…………….8 pm that same day………..
"So you're finished with your homework. I guess you can watch TV or go on the computer." Gibbs told them. As he saw the kids leave the room as soon as he mentioned the word TV he let out a sigh. What was he going to do now? Then the phone rang. He answered and it wasn't Lauren as he wanted it to be. He had got a lead on the case he had worked on. The two marines who had mysteriously disappeared after only being home for four months after coming back from Iraq had turned up in a jail after a fight on a parking lot. There had been many speculations about their disappearance. From drug trafficking to that one of them hated the other person and had killed him and was hiding. It didn't help when they had found some drugs and blood from one of the guys at the other one's apartment. Was one of them a drug addict who had taken the other one's money and killed him when he said no about giving him more money? It made it more suspicious since they had found out one of them owed a lot of money to the other one. Or was he just kidnapped? Gibbs just knew he had to get some answers but he couldn't leave the kids alone at home even if they were 13. He didn't know how long he would be away. Gibbs called McGee and decided that maybe Kate and Tony could watch them and Lauren could pick them up after work.
He called both of their cell phones but no one answered. Even if the kids were nice he had in mind how Alex had been like before he came to Lauren. He had been a handful at two other foster homes and moving to a third one hadn't been that easy for him but he had acted a lot better since he came to Lauren which was frankly his last resort since the social services didn't know what to do with him. He was hard to place but Lauren couldn't say no when asked if he could stay there for a month. In the back of Gibb's mind he remembered when Lauren told him that he got through to Alex a lot often than she did. Gibbs didn't want to fail her by leaving them alone at home especially since he didn't know for how long he'll be gone. He called McGee and told him that the kids were coming with him.
……………..At the police station…………
"You're going to sit here and not go anywhere. I warn you. If I hear anything…If I learn you have even moved one foot you'll be grounded for a month." Gibbs warned them.
"Not if I tell m…Lauren…"Alex told him still unhappy of being dragged there.
"Alex…Stop it…Do you really think we would be here if it wasn't for your behaviour? If you want to move then fine by me but I'm staying! I've found my new parents and if you don't feel the same then take a hike." Isabella said also upset but mostly upset at Alex.
"I don't want you two to fight either. Don't threaten me about telling Lauren either. I'm handling that. What do I have to do to have you get along?" Gibbs said feeling like giving up. They had been mad at each other during the whole car ride to the police station. The only thing Gibbs was happy about was that it wasn't Lauren's police station they were at but another one.
"And you two said you don't need a babysitter…Do as you are told! End of discussion." Gibbs told them before turning around to go over to a police officer to ask him where the two marines he needed to talk to where. Before he had done that McGee had apparently got the info they needed while he was lecturing the teenagers.
"I've called Abby and she said she could come and pick them up. Letting them stay here isn't a good idea." McGee told him.
"So you heard?" Gibbs said while looking at Alex and Isabella. He didn't know what to do with them but he knew Abby taking care of them was better than having them sit there and be mad at him.
"It was hard not to." McGee told him. Then they both walked to the cell where the two marines where.
……………A while later outside the cell…………
"So you disappeared because you felt you couldn't handle being at the marines anymore. A doctor and a guy who just got a promotion suddenly decided to just leave. That doesn't sound like the truth. I'm still waiting…" Gibbs said losing his tolerance with them since he knew they had lied.
"Ok…The truth isn't better than the lie." The doctor Mark Meadows told him.
"Mark…We're not going say anything." The corporal Thomas Blake said while taking Mark's arm.
"We got into a fight at home and Tom got a bit mad and pushed me and I tripped and hurt myself. I bled quite much since I cut myself on the glass table. We went to my work and I stitched myself up. Right then and there Tom confessed about his addiction and how he owed a few people money. I live with him and even through Iraq I didn't notice how in such bad shape he was. I lent him money and some of the other officers found out about that. Tom wanted to leave just after I had stitched myself up and I couldn't let him go alone. I want him get out of his addiction. We went to a motel and we didn't leave it until I was sure he could handle being without drugs." Mark explained to him.
"I didn't mean to hurt Mark the first time and now at the parking lot. During Iraq it was easier for me not to take as many pain killers but as soon as I came home it became too much. I felt I had to tell Mark before I left. I love him." Tom continued.
"You're together, right?" McGee asked.
"No one at the base knows and we want to keep it like that." Mark replied.
"I can understand how the first fight started but the one on the parking lot?" McGee asked them.
"Tom drank although I had forbidden him to. He wanted to drive and I said no. He took a swing at me but missed and I took his arms around his back and shoved him on the car. Someone called the police and here we are."
"I'm never going to drink or take drugs again." Tom told them.
"He's a great guy without anything in him." Mark defended him.
Gibbs and McGee could see that they love each other.
"I'll see what I can do about letting you go home or at least to the base but you both have some charges against you and it will only get worse if you leave again." Gibbs told them.
"I'll stop him if he tries." Mark explained. Both Gibbs and McGee trusted his words.
…………….A little while later……….
"What are you doing here?" Gibbs asked when he saw Abby, Kate and Tony.
"You called!" Abby replied.
"Where are they?" Gibbs asked worried when he saw Isabella and Alexander weren't there.
"Toilet…You let them sit here quite long. They didn't move one foot while you were gone." Abby answered seeing how more relaxed Gibbs became when he heard her answer. He was older and Abby knew she had to think about his age and health more now with everything going on.
"You two?" Gibbs then asked Kate and Tony.
"We saw you had called. We were at the movies and had turned off our cell phones. Before we called you Abby called to update us. The station was on our way home anyway." Tony explained.
Then both the teenagers and the marines came out to the team. So the decision about going home was made. Everyone went out of the police station.
………………….
When they were at the parking lot they all heard a car driving very fast. It was dark and they couldn't see much. Suddenly they heard some shots and everyone threw themselves at the ground. Gibbs pushed the kids on the ground with them under him… Tony did the same with Kate…