Chapter 23 - Tickle Fights and Pillow Wars

Abby slowly opened her eyes and let herself adjust to the sunlight that was streaming in from the front windows. She looked towards her feet and saw Ducky and Tony still asleep in the recliners. As she turned her head to the right she saw McGee, who was laying on his side. His back was facing her. As Abby sat up she smiled; somewhere in the middle of the night Rochelle had rolled off the beanbag and was now snuggled against McGee, who had an arm around her.

"Abby," Kate called in a hushed whisper. She was already awake and sitting on the sofa.

Abby turned around and faced Kate. "What?"

"Shhh, not so loud!" Kate warned her. "Abby, look at Gibbs!" she said as she pointed towards the smaller sofa.

Abby's gaze turned towards where Gibbs and Trisha were sleeping. She smiled at the sight. Gibbs had slid down so that his head was no longer propped on the arm rest. Instead he was flat on his back on the cushions, which resulted in his knees hanging over the other arm rest. Trisha had buried her head in the space between Gibbs' chest and chin. His left arm was still protectively wrapped around her, and Trisha's left arm was laying across his chest. Gibbs head also rested against Trisha's. The blanket that had been covering them during the night had slipped off and was now on the floor.

"Oh my God, I just can't pass up this opportunity," Abby told Kate as she quickly but quietly went to her duffel bag by the front door. She grabbed her cell phone and switched it to the 'camera' mode, then walked back and stood in front of the still sleeping Gibbs and Trisha. 'Click!' sounded the cell phone as she snapped a picture. Abby zoomed in closer on the two, and then 'Click! Click!' went the phone as she took two more pictures. She took the cell phone over to Kate to show her.

"Awwwwww. Abby, this is priceless! I knew Gibbs had a soft spot for kids, but I never thought he'd do something like this," Kate said as she gestured towards the sofa.

"Yea, our Silver-Haired Fox does have a heart after all. I knew it all along," Abby said as she walked to the other side of McGee and snapped a picture. He still had his arm over Rochelle, who had her face flat against his chest. Abby started giggling as she snapped another picture, then walked over to Kate and showed her.

Kate made a silly face at Abby, then said, "You know, Tim will make a great father some day."

Abby smiled, "Oh, I know. I just gotta reel him in the rest of the way. Speaking of… so what's going on with you and Gibbs? Did Rochelle really walk in on you two playing tonsil hockey? And what was it like, kissing your boss? Details, Kate, I need details!" For not having a Caf-Pow in a long time, she was excessively hyper.

Kate shook her head, "We weren't playing 'tonsil hockey' as you so eloquently put it! We were having an important discussion, and one thing kind of led to another." She longingly looked over at Gibbs as her mind drifted back to the kiss they had shared the previous evening. The way he looked at her, the way he touched her, the way she melted when he used her nickname…

"Look at you!" Abby exclaimed. "You've got it bad!"

Kate gave her a shy smile and was about to speak, when, from the recliner, Tony began to sing. "Kate and Gibbs, sittin' in a tree, k-i-s-s-i…"

Kate grabbed a pillow and hurled it at his head. Tony threw it back, but instead it hit Abby, then bounced off and landed on McGee and Rochelle.

McGee, still half asleep, moaned, "Uhhhhhh, go away!" He felt a warm body pressed against his chest and was a little surprised. McGee looked down and smiled sheepishly.

Rochelle was looking up at him with big eyes. Needless to say, she was just as surprised as McGee. "Um… hi?" she said. "Sorry, I uhhh…" She tried to get away from McGee, but he still had his arm wrapped around her.

McGee raised his eyebrows. "Oh no you don't!" he exclaimed as he began tickling her.

"Arrghhhh!" Rochelle started yelling between giggles. "Someone…help!" she pleaded as McGee relentlessly attacked her.

Abby went to Chelle's aid as she knelt on the floor and dove onto McGee. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size, Timmy?"

McGee paused just long enough for Rochelle to wiggle free of his grasp. She army-rolled away from him and into the clear.

"Oh, someone my own size, huh?" In a flash, McGee flipped Abby off of him and began to tickle attack her instead.

"Noooo!" Abby wailed between gasps.

Somewhere in there, Ducky had awoken and had left the recliner in search of the bathroom. Kate and Rochelle now had their full attention on Abby and McGee as they rolled around the floor. Unfortunately, Tony noticed and made a swift lunge towards them.

Kate and Rochelle simply parted, but not before Kate stuck out her foot, causing Tony to trip head first onto the couch. They immediately grabbed pillows and started hitting Tony with them. "DiNozzo, you creep!" Kate yelled. "You deserve this!"

"Man down," Tony yelled. "Man down! Quit hitting the defenseless!" He grabbed a cushion off the couch and started using it as a shield.

Meanwhile on the smaller sofa, all the commotion had woken up Gibbs and Trisha. They watched the whole scene taking place before them, although Gibbs was looking at Kate more than anyone else. Trisha noticed where Gibbs was staring and started laughing.

Gibbs turned his attention to Trisha. "Don't laugh kid, it only provokes them," he advised her.

Trisha laughed some more, "I'm laughing at you!" she exclaimed.

He gave her a puzzled look. "Me? What did I do?"

"If you're gonna stare at Kate's butt, you should do it more discreetly, Gibbs!" she said in a quieter voice.

Gibbs thought for a moment before he smiled. "I'm her boss, I'm allowed to look wherever I want. Besides," he told Trisha, "last night we were--"

"No Gibbs!" Trisha cried. "I don't want to hear that!" She pressed her one ear against his chest and covered the other with her hand.

Gibbs chuckled and ruffled Trisha's hair, then gently began to run his hand through it. He smiled when he realized that Trisha had become very quiet and relaxed. He glanced down at her; she was staring straight ahead, as if in a trance. Gibbs kept it up for a few minutes, then let his hand rest on her shoulder.

"Hey Gibbs, don't you think you should stop them or something?" Trish asked, nodding towards the ruckus going on before them.

"Nahh, let them work it out. Besides," he said, "this is better than them shooting each other. Don't you think?"

She nodded in agreement, "Yea, I'd say so."

Gibbs sighed, "Come on, kiddo. Let's go get some breakfast."

A/N: This isn't exactly what I had in mind for this chapter, but once the idea popped into my head, I just kinda ran with it. Hope you guys like it!