Chapter 24 - Not Out of the Woods Yet

No one moved; no one said anything. Tony, Ducky, Abby, and McGee's jaws had pretty much hit the floor. Rochelle was the first one to move. Perhaps she was the first to even breathe after Trisha's announcement, for that matter.

"Does this mean I get to call you Uncle Gibbs now?" Rochelle asked as she got up from the beanbag she had been occupying. She thought for a moment before bounding to Gibbs and giving him a hug. "Thank you," she whispered to him before she pulled away. "And I guess I call you Aunt Kate then, huh?" Chelle said as she turned in Kate's direction. "Yea, you know, since that image of you and Gibbs making out is probably gonna be forever burned into my subconscious." She smiled when Kate narrowed her eyes at her, then went and settled back into the beanbag.

Tony had finally composed himself, but was still rather confused. "Wait a minute Boss… so you're going to adopt Trisha?"

Gibbs had wrapped his other arm around Kate. He pulled both her and Trisha closer to his body and sighed angrily at Tony. "Well, no DiNozzo. I'm going to kidnap her and keep her in my basement with my boat. What do you think?"

Tony hung his head, "Ah, yea, good point Boss."

Trisha raised an eyebrow and looked at Gibbs. "Wait, you have a boat… in your basement? How'd it end up in there?"

He winked at Trisha and then reached up and tousled her hair. "Go on and take a shower, then start getting your bags packed. Chelle will help you," Gibbs told her.

Rochelle piped up from the beanbag, "Oh, will I now, Uncle Gibbs?"

Gibbs raised both of his eyebrows at her, "Yea, you will. Unless you want to walk home after we leave." He tilted his head and smiled at her.

Chelle made a mean face at Gibbs. "That's so not cool," she whined as she followed Trisha.

Gibbs sighed and settled back against the sofa. Kate snuggled into him then brought her hand up to his chest and gently began to massage his muscles. He smiled and leaned his head against hers, then closed his eyes.

"So, Jethro, just what has inspired you to adopt that little girl? Aside from the obvious fact that she saved your life, of course," Ducky asked from his seat on the recliner.

"Yea Boss-man, you're gonna be a daddy! Wait, you do realize that, right?" Abby piped up.

Gibbs opened his eyes and looked into the fire that Tony had relit earlier. "Trisha's different, Duck. And she's been through a lot. I'm not going into details, but when she was younger she lost her family. She got stuck in foster care and her life's been hell ever since." He ran a hand over his face and through his silver hair. "I have the chance to give that kid a better life. And I know this is going to be challenging, so I could really use everyone's help with this," Gibbs said as he stared at a spot on the beige carpet.

"Boss, are you sure you're feeling ok? I mean, first you and Kate start… well not like there's anything wrong with that," McGee started rambling as Gibbs stared at him. "And then you and Trisha were cuddling on the couch, and now you're asking us for help, and--"

"McGee!" Gibbs interrupted him. "Do you have a point?"

Abby punched McGee in the arm. "What he meant to say is that we'll back you on this decision one hundred percent, right McGee?"

"Ow Abby!" McGee exclaimed. "And yes, Boss," he added.

Abby turned around to Tony and Ducky. "What about you guys, you in?" She gave them both a face that read 'I swear to God if both of you don't say yes…'

"Of course, my dear. Perhaps Trisha could come to the house sometime and have tea. This reminds me of the time when--" Ducky began, but Tony cut him off.

"I'm here for ya, Gibbs. We all are; we're a team," Tony stated.

Gibbs smiled, "I appreciate it. Now enough with this sappy crap; McGee!" Gibbs barked. "I need you to get on the phone and find out what paperwork needs to be done to get this adoption thing going. Have everything faxed to the office. Tony, go dig the car you drove here out of the snow," he instructed.

"But Gibbs," Tony pleaded, "why can't I make the phone calls?"

"DiNozzo, did that sound like a suggestion to you?" Gibbs raised his voice and stood up threateningly, forgetting about his injuries.

"On it, Boss," Tony called over his shoulder as he ran to the door.

Gibbs quickly sank back down onto the couch. He let out a low moan as he felt a sharp pain in his ribs.

Kate's eyes got extremely wide. "Gibbs? What's wrong?" She put an arm around his back as he grabbed the cushion of the couch and held it tightly. "Ducky, do something!" Kate cried loudly before she realized that the doctor was already standing right in front of Gibbs. Abby was next to him with a concerned look on her face. She had placed a hand on Gibbs' knee.

"Jethro," Ducky said. "I need you to relax and lay down." When Gibbs didn't budge, Ducky put his hands on his shoulders and pushed him backwards so that his head rested in Kate's lap. Kate had one hand in the middle of Gibbs' chest, while the other ran through his hair.

"Jethro, listen to me. You need to get your breathing under control," Ducky advised him.

"Get… Trisha…." Gibbs gasped.

"I'm right here, Gibbs," a voice said from around the corner. Trisha knelt down in front of the sofa where Gibbs was. He reached for her and grabbed the back of her shirt. Trisha wedged a hand under Gibbs' body and placed it in the middle of his upper back, thenput her other hand on his chest as she said, "Remember what we did earlier, Gibbs. Concentrate on my voice now and breath in. Good, now let it out. You're doing good Gibbs, that's it."

Eventually Gibbs calmed down. He was still gripping Trisha's shirt as she comfortingly ran her hand back and forth across his chest.

Kate had her hand running through his hair. "Gibbs," Kate said timidly, "are you ok?"

He looked up at her as a tear made its way down her face. "It's ok, Katie." He whispered to her as he slowly sat up with Ducky and Abby's help. "I'm ok, please don't cry. It's fine Katie, I promise," he told her as he wiped the tears off her face.

"We should really have you checked out at a hospital, Jethro," Ducky told him. Kate, Abby, and Trisha all nodded in agreement.

"I've just about got all my stuff packed," Trisha stated. "I'll go finish and get it in the car, and then we'll get outta here, ok guys?" she asked the group before her.

"That's fine, kiddo," Gibbs told her. He reached a hand for her and brought her closer as he gave her a kiss on her forehead. Much to everyone's surprise, Kate reached for Trisha and planted a big one on her forehead as well.