A/N: Well I finally made it back from my family vacation. I would have had this chapter up sooner, had my brothers and I been able to take our electronic devices with us. Unfortunately my parents banned all electronic devices from the trip so I wasn't allowed to take my computer. And also unfortunately for me, all of my brothers did survive without their video games and ipods. So anyways here's the next chapter, hope you enjoy!
Ch. Six: Hope and Faith
It had been three days since Tony and McGee had been admitted to the hospital and McGee had finally woken up yesterday. For the most part he seemed to be doing okay, he remembered what had happened leading up to the explosion and he was coherent when people were talking to him.
Tony on the other hand was still unconscious and there had been no changes in his condition. Kate had gotten into trouble not only from her Doctor but also Tony's. Gibbs and Jen had also been scolded for playing a part in getting Kate to Tony's room. However the Doctor's did give up on forbidding Kate from leaving her room to see Tony. They told her that as long as someone went with her and she stayed in a wheelchair she could see him, so of courses she spent most of her time in his room.
Once Gibbs knew that his Agents, for the most part were okay, he went back to NCIS, and with the help of Jen he tried to track down the person who was responsible for the explosion that put Tony and McGee in the hospital, causing them to fight for their lives.
Unfortunately Gibbs came to a dead end when he found that the last person to enter that house was an electrician. The problem was he wasn't a real electrician. The man had killed the real electrician and then impersonated him and nobody seemed to be able to remember anything about him. So they were at a dead end. Just when Gibbs thought their search was going to be ended, they found a fingerprint in the electric van that didn't belong to any of the employees. So Gibbs had it run through the FBI database to see if the unidentified suspect could be identified. But once again there was no returned matches found. So Gibbs kept the fingerprint running through all databases, which could take days or weeks to match, if it matched to anything.
Two days later Gibbs still didn't have a match to their supposed suspect and Tony was still unconscious. McGee on the other hand was now sitting up in bed and eating regular food. He was also able to see his daughter Piper, who seemed to be able to make him forget his pain and instead he marveled at what an amazing kid she was.
Kate was also being released from the hospital under strict orders from the Doctor not to return to work until she had given birth. Gibbs also told her the same thing and surprisingly she didn't argue with either of them. The reason being she wanted to spend as much time as possible with Tony.
"Okay now, Agent Todd, I am releasing you, but I'm ordering you to stay on bed rest and not do any work or high energy activities that could increase your heart rate" the Doctor told Kate
"The only high energy activities I would take part in that could increase my heart rate involve my husband. And if you haven't noticed he's still in the hospital and still unconscious" she told the Doctor dryly
"Don't worry Doctor I'll be watching her" Gibbs said from the doorway of Kate's hospital room.
"That's probably a good idea. She's also going to need someone to bring her up to the hospital twice a week for checkups with us. Just to make sure she and the babies are okay and have been following orders" the Doctor told Gibbs
"I'll take care of it" answered Gibbs
The Doctor nodded before leaving the room
"You ready to go home and see your kids" Gibbs asked as he walked over to the bed Kate was sitting on
"I'd rather Tony be with me" she said quietly
"I know" he replied, "Comeon let's get you home so you can sleep in your own bed" Gibbs said as he took her arm to help her off the bed and into the wheelchair.
"I won't be able to sleep" she said as Gibbs pushed her down the hall towards the elevator
"Kate you can come back tomorrow and see him, don't worry he's going to be okay. There's nothing more you can do for him"
"That's not what I meant" she said as Gibbs stopped and waited for the elevator
He turned and looked at her before it hit him, "You won't be able to sleep because he won't be there with you"
Kate nodded, "It's funny because I always complain that he hogs all the covers and when he is dreaming sometimes he kicks me. And usually whenever he wants to cuddle, I really don't...But whenever he's gone I can't sleep...It's weird"
"No it's not" Gibbs told her with a smile, "You've become accustomed to those things and even though they bug you, you still miss it when he's gone. It happens to a lot of people in relationships"
Gibbs knelt down in front of Kate's wheelchair and placed one hand on her knee. She looked into his eyes and she knew that he was doing everything in his power that he could for her, Tony, and McGee.
"You know what might help you sleep tonight" Gibbs said
"What?" she asked suspiciously
"Having a bed full of kids to sleep with" he told her with a smile
Kate smiled also, knowing that her kids were the only things keeping her sane, which is ironic considering they are usually the ones testing her sanity.
Finally the elevator opened and Gibbs pushed Kate in before the doors closed and they rode down to the ground floor.
Gibbs got Kate home and as soon as he helped her through the front door they were met by a mess of kids.
"Careful guys, don't knock her over" Gibbs told the kids sternly
"Hi Kate. Gibbs called and told me you were coming home and you would probably want the kids here with you" Sarah said as she stood in the living room
"Thanks Sarah" Kate told her with a smile
"Okay well I better get home. Call if you need anything" Sarah said as she walked to the front door
"Kay" replied Kate
"Kade you want to help me get your mom to bed" said Gibbs to the nine year old boy
"Okay" the boy nodded as he took one of his mother's arms and Gibbs took the other and they walked her down the hall towards her bedroom.
"Guys I'm fine, really. I can walk myself" Kate told them
"No arguing Agent Todd" Gibbs told her sternly as they made it over to Kate's bed
"Yeah no arguing mom" Kayden told her
"You two are so overprotective" she said with a smile
Kayden pulled back the covers so Gibbs could help Kate lay down.
"Guys really I'm fine" Kate told them again before looking at the doorway to her room where her other three kids were watching, "Kids go play, I'm fine"
The three of them finally dispersed, leaving only Gibbs and Kayden in her bedroom with her.
"Hey kid, why don't you go play too, I'm okay" Kate said to her oldest son
Kayden just shook his head no and sat down on the bed beside his mother, "You want to watch a movie?" he asked, "Or do you just want to sleep?"
Kate smiled at her son, finding it hard to believe how amazing her was.
"A movie sounds great, why don't you tell your sisters and brother to get their PJ's on and then come in here to watch a movie and have a sleep over"
"Really?" Kayden questioned
"Yeah"
"Okay" he said as he got off the bed and ran out of the room and down the hall to find his siblings.
"Gibbs you can go home now. You know that, right?" Kate said
"Nope. I'm staying here tonight" he told her
"Gibbs I'm-"
"I know, I know, you're fine. But I'm still staying here. Just in case you need something" he told her
"I'm not going to win this argument, am I?" she asked
"No Agent Todd, you're not" he told her
She just shook her head before looking back at him.
"You want to stay in here and watch the movie?" she asked him
"No, you spend time with your family. I'm going to go camp out in the living room" he replied
"They're your family too you know"
"They're your kids Kate"
"Maybe, but you're the reason I have them. You're the reason I have a family" she told him
"I didn't give you this family Kate"
"In a way you did Gibbs. You gave me a job on your team and told me if I ever fraternized with a coworker you'd fire me. But when you found out about Tony and me you let us have our relationship, which led to us having kids. So if you wouldn't have given me a spot on you team I wouldn't have this family" she said looking at Gibbs
Before Gibbs could respond Anthony came running into Kate's bedroom followed by Kaylee. As soon as Anthony touched the foot of Kate's bed he turned around to face Kaylee.
"NaNa I beat you" he said sticking his tongue out at his sister
"You cheated" Kaylee told him
"Nuh-uh"
"Uh-huh. You pushed me" she stated
"Brother it's just like being around you and Tony" Gibbs stated as he rolled his eyes before he turned to leave the bedroom.
Kate smiled as she patted the bed for Anthony and Kaylee to join her. They climbed up and Kaylee snuggled up next to her mom, while Anthony laid next to Kaylee. A few minutes later Annie came into the room and crawled up onto the bed to lay next to Anthony. Finally Kayden came into the bedroom and squeezed himself onto the edge of the bed next to his mother.
"Okay, you guys ready to watch the movie?" Kate asked them
"Yep"
"Yep"
"Yes"
Kate looked at Kayden since he was the only one who didn't answer and he just nodded. Kate smiled before she pressed play and everyone snuggled together to watch the movie.
Meanwhile Gibbs was laying on the couch listening to the giggles that would echo down the hall ever so often. He smiled to himself as he began to reminisce about how this team had been joined together and how they had managed to stay together for so long.
A couple of hours later Gibbs woke up to find himself asleep on Tony and Kate's couch. Then he remembered why he was there, so he got up and walked down the hallway to the master bedroom at the end of the hall. He opened the door and found all four kids asleep in the bed along with Kate. He looked at the Tv and saw a blue screen, so he walked over to the TV to turn it off. But before he did he took one last look at Kate and the kids and smiled as he looked at them all squished together on the bed and sprawled across each other.
He looked at Kayden who was asleep on his left side, his head buried in Kate's shoulder and his right arm draped almost protectively across her chest, and he noticed Kate's right arm draped over Kayden's side almost like she was trying to prevent him from falling off the bed. Then Gibbs looked at Kaylee who was lying on her back with her right arm looped around Kate's left arm and her forehead resting against Kate's shoulder. As Gibbs' eyes traveled to Anthony he smiled even wider when he noticed Anthony asleep on his stomach with his little left arm draped across Kaylee's stomach and his hand holding onto Kate's and his head laying partially on Kaylee's left arm. Then Gibbs' eyes followed Anthony's right arm and saw it pulled up to his shoulder but noticed that he was holding Annie's hand and that she was sound asleep on her right side and that she had both her hands clasped together up next to her face with Anthony's hand in the middle of hers.
Gibbs whispered goodnight before quietly closing the bedroom door behind him and walking back to the couch to go to sleep.
The next morning Gibbs awoke to two kids pouncing on him.
"Morning Uncle Gibbs" said Kaylee with a smile
"Morning Princess" he replied
"I'm hungry" Anthony said as he and Kaylee both sat on Gibbs
"Is your mom still asleep?" Gibbs asked the young children
"Uh-huh and Kade and Annie are too" Kaylee told him
Gibbs looked at his watch and saw that it was only 7:30 AM on a Saturday
"Okay well what do you guys want to eat?" he asked
"Pancakes" Anthony yelled
"Shhh, not too loud T" Gibbs told him as he motioned for Kaylee and Anthony to get off of him
They hopped off and watched as Gibbs walked down the hall to the master bedroom and got all of the animals to follow him out. Then he shut the door and walked back towards the living room and passed Kaylee and Anthony as he opened the back door and let the dog out. Then he walked into the kitchen and fed the two cats.
"Alright so you two want pancakes?" Gibbs asked as he turned around to look at the two youngsters.
Kaylee and Anthony both smiled and nodded their heads before running over to Gibbs to help him get the ingredients together. As they were mixing the different things together Gibbs told Anthony to let Hobie back in so that he could eat also. Once that was done Anthony climbed back onto his chair and looked at Gibbs.
"Do you know where Hobie came from?" he asked Gibbs
"Yes" he answered
"Will you tell me the story?" Anthony asked
"Why?"
"Cause it's about my daddy" stated the four year old
Gibbs nodded, "Okay" as he began to think back to nearly four years ago.
3 and ½ Years Ago:
Tony had never been one to associate himself with animals. For one reason or another he always seemed to be disliked by them. But for the past few months his five year old son, Kayden, had been begging him and Kate for a dog...a big dog. He and Kate had discussed the possibility because Kate had been known to be a sucker when it came to animals. However, at this time she thought it was best to not have any. They had too much to deal with already with four small children ranging from ten months to five years, and that according to Kate was chaotic enough.
But for some reason Tony rather enjoyed the thought of having a dog. He also liked the idea of having a dog to help guard the house, especially when he would have to leave town for a couple days during a case, leaving Kate at home with four small kids. And it's not that she couldn't protect herself, Tony knew she could. But with four small kids to protect as well, he started to like the idea of a dog more and more.
While they were at work Kate was busy writing up a report when she got the feeling someone was watching her.
"What do you want DiNozzo?" she asked without looking up from her work
"How'd you know it was me staring at you and not Gibbs?" Tony asked
Kate stopped what she was doing and looked up at Tony with a smile on her face, "I've been working here long enough to know when it's Gibbs staring at me" she told him, "Besides I've lived with you the past five and a half years and I know when your staring at me. It's how we do most of our communicating since you sometimes have trouble putting words together to form coherent sentences"
"Haha" said Tony sarcastically as Kate smiled and giggled to herself
"Anways Kate, I was thinking" Tony began
"Uh-oh" Kate replied as she once again stopped what she was doing and gave her full attention to Tony.
"I was thinking" Tony repeated as he glared at Kate and then stood up from his chair and walked towards Kate's desk, "That sometimes Gibbs sends me away for a few days on a case, you know, and-"
"No" Kate said before Tony even finished his sentence
"But you didn't know what-"
"You're going to feed me some line about our house being safer with a dog, blah, blah, blah" she stated
Tony stood in front of Kate's desk, his lips pushed together in a pout, to which Kate just smiled.
"But Kate"
"We aren't going to have this discussion again Tony. We'll talk about getting animals when the kids get older" she told him
And before Tony could object Gibbs walked up behind him and Tony immediately tensed.
"DiNozzo I hope you're not discussing family at work" Gibbs said as he stood behind Tony
"No Boss, just discussing the report with Kate. She didn't agree with me on the way it should be done" said Tony
"Oh, well then why don't you just take care of it yourself" Gibbs suggested as he walked over to his desk
"Well I don't want to-" Tony began as he turned to look at Gibbs who had one of his trademark looks on his face, "Right, I'll take care of it" Tony said turning back to Kate who had a huge smile on her face as she handed him the file with part of a report. Tony took the report and narrowed his eyes at her to let her know he was upset, which made her smile grow even wider as she winked at him.
When Tony and Kate left the office for the evening they drove mostly in silence to Sarah and Chris' house to pick up the kids. But about halfway there Tony brought up the dog again.
"Kate I really think it would be good for the kids to have a dog. It could teach them to be more responsible"
"Since when do you care how responsible they are" Kate joked
Tony just turned his eyes away from the road and looked coldly at Kate before turning his attention back to the road.
"I didn't mean it like that"
"Yes you did" Tony said, "And your right. I had everything that money could buy when I was a kid. And I don't want my kids to be like that, I mean look how long it took me to grow up"
"Nobody said you were grown up Tony" Kate told him
"Exactly. I don't want my kids to be that way. I want them to earn what they want."
"Tony you might act like a big kid most of the time. But I love that about you. I mean yes it drives me crazy most of the time, but it also makes me laugh, a lot. And I wouldn't have it any other way" she smiled, "I mean do you think I would be married to you if you weren't mature enough to handle it"
Tony smiled slightly from the corner of his mouth.
"Kate having a dog would teach them to be more responsible"
"No, it would teach Kayden to be more responsible because he's the one who wants the dog and I'm sure he would be the only one taking care of it" Kate said to Tony
"Well then at least we'll have one responsible child" Tony smiled
"I don't know if you've noticed, but for a five year old boy, Kayden is very responsible"
"That's true"
"Tony I know you want him to have a dog, but I would rather not have a puppy in the house while Anthony is still so little. I mean puppies don't understand when they are hurting someone, to them they're just playing"
"But Kayden really wants one"
"Yeah and the only reason you want to get him one is so that he will like you better"
Tony was silent after Kate said that and she knew she had hurt his feelings, which really wasn't her intention.
"Tony I didn't mean it like that" she said softly as she placed her hand on his thigh, "He's just a little boy-"
"Yeah Kate, he's a little boy. Boys should call for their dad when they're scared or want to talk. But he goes straight to you for everything"
Kate smiled before saying, "Maybe, but I recall a certain newly turned five year old girl who wants her daddy to put her to bed and kiss her owies when she's hurt"
As Kate looked at Tony she saw his face soften and a smile form on his lips as he thought about Annie.
"I'm sure they'll grow out of that phase soon. Kayden will get to where he only wants to do things with his dad
"I guess" replied Tony who took his right hand and covered her hand that was still on his thigh.
They had worked pretty late into the evening and by the time they had arrived at Chris and Sarah's house it was 8:30 PM and they found all of the kids already asleep.
"We went ahead and gave them their baths and found some different clothes to put them in" Chris told Kate when they walked into the living room
"Oh Chris, thank you so much. I'm so sorry it took us this long. I promise our sitter will be back next week" Kate told him gratefully as she hugged him
"It's no problem sis, we love having the kids over. Besides it gives Shane and Shauna someone else to entertain besides us" he told Kate with a smile as he led Tony and Kate up the stairs to the two children's bedrooms, "The girls are in Shauna's room and the boys are in Shane's room"
"Thanks again man" Tony told Chris as he shook his hand
"I'll get the boys Tony" Kate said as she opened Shane's bedroom door
"We'll help you" Chris said as he followed his sister into his son's room and Sarah followed Tony into Shauna's room.
Chris picked up Kayden and Kate got Anthony and they met Tony who had Annie, and Sarah who had Kaylee, in the hallway. They all walked out to the SUV and got all the kids buckled into their car seats and booster seats before Kate gave her brother and sister-in-law one last hug and kiss thank you.
Tony and Kate drove home and arrived at their house a little after 9 PM. They unbuckled all the kids from their seats and Tony picked Kayden up and handed him to Kate. Then he picked Anthony up and handed him to Kate as well. Then he picked up Annie up into his arms and bent down to get Kaylee as well. They managed to get all of the kids inside and in bed without waking them.
The next day was Saturday and while Tony and Kate were having their morning coffee, they were also reading the newspaper. Tony happened to be looking through the classified section when he came across dogs for sale. He memorized the number of one in particular and then told Kate he was going to get dressed. When he got to their bedroom he shut the door and quickly dialed the number from the paper.
"Hello"
"Hi, are you the one selling the German Shepherds?"
"Yes sir I am"
"Awesome, how many do you have?"
"We have five left. Three females and two males"
"Have you had a lot of calls this morning?" Tony asked
"Yes sir and I already sold two"
"Okay. Could I get your address. I'm really interested in taking a look at them"
"Alright. I live at 213 Wooden Oak and my name is John"
"Okay thanks John, my name is Tony. I'll try and get there as soon as possible"
Tony then hung up and got dressed in jeans and a t-shirt before casually walking back down the hall, making sure to wake up all of the kids in the process. Soon kids were filing into the kitchen, including a very grumpy ten month old.
Kate was standing at the kitchen sink when she felt something tug at her pants leg. She looked down to find Anthony with one hand holding onto her pants to help support himself standing up and the other hand rubbing his eye. She smiled as she bent down to pick him up.
"Well hey there Little-T. And who got you up and out of your crib?" she said as she placed him on her hip
His response was just to hold onto her t-shirt with one hand and ball his other hand up, sticking his thumb in his mouth, before laying his head down on her shoulder and closing his eyes.
When Kate turned around she found Kayden and Annie already sitting at the table waiting for breakfast. Then she saw Tony come around the corner with Kaylee in his arms in almost the exact same position as Anthony. She had her thumb in her mouth and her other hand wrapped around Tony's neck.
"Tony are you the one who woke the kids up?" Kate asked suspiciously
"Me? Of course not" he lied
"Yes you did" Kayden said as he looked at his father
"Yeah daddy you woke us up" Annie stated
"Tony you know I needed to run to the store to get some groceries this morning" Kate told him
"Yeah and?"
"I wasn't planning on taking anyone with me"
"That's fine. I'll watch them all" Tony offered
Kate looked at him suspiciously, "All four of them? At the same time?"
"Kate I think I can handle it" he told her as he rolled his eyes
"You said that a couple months ago and when I got back home you were tied up in a chair" stated Kate
"I told you, we were playing a game"
"Right" Kate nodded her head, "The game called lets tie up daddy and then destroy the house so mom has to clean it all up"
"I can handle it this time. I promise we won't play any games like that" he told her
"Yeah well just to be on the safe side I think I'll take the two little ones with me"
"They'll be fine. Just go get dressed" he told her as he held out his free hand so that she could pass Anthony off to him, which she did"
Before she left the kitchen she grabbed a box of cereal, two bowls, and the milk, and set it down in front of Kayden and Annie. Then she kissed both of them on the head before going to her bedroom to change.
When Kate was busy changing, Tony made a quick phone call to McGee.
"McGee" Tony said as soon as he heard the line pick up
"Tony is that you?" McGee said groggily
"You know for a brainiac that was a stupid question" Tony said
"What do you want. It's like 8 AM on a Saturday morning"McGee complained
"I need your help with something. Be at my house in fifteen minutes" Tony ordered him
"But Tony I have a family of my own-"
"No excuses McGee just be here" Tony said before he hung up on McGee
A few minutes later Kate came back into the kitchen dressed in jeans a little t-shirt. She went over to Kaylee's high chair and lifted her out of it placing her on her hip.
"Hey where are you taking my Little Princess?" Tony asked as he stood in front of Kate
"I'm taking her with me Tony. And you can bring Anthony back into the babies room and change him while I get Kaylee ready" she told him as she stepped around him
"No no, Anthony wants to stay here with me" Tony said picking Anthony up out of his high chair and following Kate down the hall to the babies room.
Kate was already in the process of changing Kaylee so Tony just stood there with Anthony in his arms trying to come up with the best way to persuade Kate that he really did want his kids to stay at home with him, even though they would technically be with McGee.
"Tony-"
"Okay if you really want to take both little ones with you then be my guest, but I really think Anthony wants to stay here with me" Tony said as he held his son out to Kate
As soon as Kate reached for Anthony he started to cry so Tony held him back to his chest.
"See he wants to stay here"
Kate just slanted her eyes at Tony trying to figure out what he was up to, because she knew he was up to something. But as she was about to reach out for Anthony again he held his little hands up to Tony's face and squeezed Tony's mouth together to make him look like a fish.
Kate laughed before saying, "Well I can see he is enjoying himself so I will just take Kaylee with me. But try and keep our house in one piece and don't lose any of the kids" she told him as she picked Kaylee up and walked past Tony, making sure to give him a kiss on her way out of the bedroom.
Once Kate had left Tony cleaned the kids up and got Anthony changed. Then right on cue McGee showed up looking agitated.
"You know Tony, I do have my own life now. I don't know if you realize it but I have a wife and daughter now. You might remember them since we work with my wife. Her name is Abby-"
"Okay McGee stop your complaining. This won't take very long. I just need you to watch the three kids while I run an errand" Tony said as he grabbed his coat
"Uh Tony. Don't you have four kids"
"I don't think so McGee" Tony said acting confused
McGee just stared at him until Tony laughed, "I'm joking McGee geeze. Kaylee is with Kate. You just watch the other three and I'll be back in about an hour"
"But-"
"No buts McGee" Tony said as he shut the front door behind him and ran out to his car
It took him about fifteen minutes to get to the house he was looking for. Lucky for him John lived fairly close. Once Tony got there and went through the front gate two German Shepherds came running towards him barking, causing Tony to turn around and run back towards the gate and jump over the small fence. That's when a man came out of the front door of the house with a smile on his face.
"Hey there, they won't hurt you, they just wanted to play and greet you" the man said to Tony
Tony smiled slightly and nodded his head as he opened the front gate again. This time both of the dogs ran up to him and started licking his hands.
"See I told you they won't hurt you" the man said
"I'm guessing you're John"
"Yep that'd be me"
"I'm Tony I talked to you earlier"
"Right well follow me around back where the pups are" John said as he started to walk around the house with Tony following.
"So are you sure you want a German Shepherd young man. I mean you didn't seem to take to those two to well" John said indicating his two dogs
"Yes, well it's actually for my son. He's been after us for months now to get him a dog"
"Ahh, well how old is he?"
"Five and a half"
"And he wants a German Shepherd?"
"Yes well he loves Rin Tin Tin" Tony joked, although John didn't find it humorous, "Actually he's been wanting a big dog and I figured our house would be safer if we had something like this"
"Uh-huh. Well how big is your family?"
"Well I have four kids ranging from about a year old to almost six years old"
"And the misses stays at home with them"
Tony smiled, "Not exactly, we work together. We're Federal Agents"
John's eyes grew wide before he said, "Well I've had German Shepherds all my life and they are great dogs. Good with kids as long as they grow up with them and they will protect their human family no matter what"
"Sounds like just what I'm looking for" Tony said as he looked down at the puppies
As Tony looked at them one in particular caught his eye. It kept coming up to his jeans and grabbing hold of his pants leg and would hold on to it as Tony walked around. Tony smiled because it reminded him of how Kayden used to hang onto his leg when he was little bitty and Tony would pull him around on the floor. Then when Tony picked the puppy up it licked him on the face.
"Well John I think I found the perfect one" Tony smiled
Tony made it back to his house and was only gone about an hour. He snuck the puppy into his jacket before going through the front door very quietly. He saw McGee in the living room playing with some blocks with Anthony.
"Hey McGee" Tony whispered causing McGee to turn around, "Where's Kayden?"
"Uh, he and Annie just went to find a board game to play" McGee told him as he looked at Tony suspiciously, "Why?"
"I have a surprise for him"
"Ohhh no. I don't want to have anything to do with any surprises, especially if Kate doesn't know about it" McGee said standing up and backing away from Tony.
"Settle down Probie"
"Hey I'm not a probie anymore"
"McGee shhh" Tony said as the puppy started to move around inside his jacket
McGee saw the movement and his eyes grew wide, "Tony that better not be a puppy stuck under there because I heard Kate specifically say no dogs"
"Will you grow up McGee she's going to fall in love with it"
"That's true. I mean if she managed to fall in love with you she should fall in love with a cute puppy like twice as fast"
"You better watch your mouth Probie or I'm going to tell Kate and Abby that you were in on it" Tony told him as he took the puppy out of his jacket.
Just then Kayden and Annie came running back into the living room and Kayden stopped dead in his tracks. Tony noticed them and motioned for both children to come over to him.
"Hey Kade. Come here I have something for you" Tony said as Kayden walked slowly over to his father
Kayden saw the puppy and immediately dropped to his knees to hug it, "Is it for me daddy?"
"It sure is son, just consider it an early birthday present" Tony told him
Kayden and Annie continued to play with the puppy while Tony tried to warm Anthony up to the idea of a dog. McGee saw his chance and excused himself, telling Tony that he needed to get back home to Abby and Piper.
Some thirty minutes later Tony heard Kate pull into the driveway so he ushered Annie and Kayden into Kayden's room with the puppy. Then Tony took Anthony and put him in his playpen in the living room before walking outside to help Kate with the groceries. Once they got all of the groceries inside and Kaylee put in the playpen with Anthony Kate noticed that her two oldest children were nowhere in sight.
"Tony what happened to our oldest children?" Kate asked as she began to walk down the hallway
"Oh sweetheart don't we want to put all the groceries away before we go look for them" Tony called after her, "They're taking a nap" he yelled as he ran after her
"Tony they just got up a couple of hours ago" she said right before she was about to open up Annie's room. But right before she did she heard what she thought was a yelp come from Kayden's room. She turned around and looked at Tony suspiciously before walking to Kayden's door and opening it.
When she opened the door she found Kayden and Annie playing on the floor.
"Hi mommy" they both said looking up at her
"Hey guys, whatchya doing?" she asked casually as she began to walk around the bedroom
"Nothing" Kayden answered sweetly
"Mmhmm, is it just you guys in here?" she asked as she headed for Kayden's closet
"Yes" Annie answered
As soon as Kate opened the closet the puppy came bounding out and ran right over to Kayden and jumped into his lap before licking his face and then jumping out of his lap and grabbing hold of Kayden's shirt and pulling it.
"Hey" Kayden giggled, "That's my shirt get your own" he said as he fell over
"Anthony Michael DiNozzo where did that dog come from" Kate said angrily as she turned and stared at her husband
"Actually honey it's still a puppy" he told her
That just made Kate angrier and she slanted her eyes at him before walking over to him and pushing him in the chest to move him out of Kayden's room so that she could shut the door.
"What the hell were you thinking. We had this discussion and we came to the agreement of no dogs until the kids were older" she said angrily but softly
"Actually you came to that decision" he countered
Kate just narrowed her eyes more and pursed her lips at him as she placed her hands on her hips.
"You did this just to piss me off, didn't you" she said harshly
"Not entirely, I just think that the kids need a pet"
"Well then why don't we get a little dog house and put it in the backyard and you can live in it" said Kate
"Ooo Kate I love it when you're angry like this. It's a real turn on" Tony said as he stepped towards her
Kate held up her hand, "Do not come anywhere near me" she told him, "I am so pissed at you. You know if our kids weren't in the next room I would kick your ass"
Tony smiled fearfully, "Well in that case I would just like you to know that McGee helped me find the dog"
Kate looked at Tony suspiciously, "He wouldn't. He knew that I didn't want one"
Tony just shrugged his shoulders, "Well he was here earlier"
"Ugghh" let out Kate before turning and walking back to the kitchen to put the groceries away.
A few minutes later Kayden came into the kitchen and drug the stool from in the corner over to where Kate was. He climbed up on the stool and began to hand Kate the can goods that went in the cabinet above them. While they were putting the cans away Kayden began talking to his mom.
"Are you mad at me?" Kayden asked as he handed his mom a can
"No Little Man" she told him as she took the can from him
"Are you mad at daddy?" her son asked
"A little bit, yeah" she told him
"Cause he got me a dog" Kayden asked sadly
"Well it's not just that" Kate said as she put the last can away and turned to look into her five and a half year old's hazil-brown eyes
"Comere handsome" she said to him as she held out her arms to him
Kayden immediately held out his arms as well so she picked him up off the stool and carried him into the living room. Then she sat down on the couch with Kayden sitting on her lap still facing her.
"See your daddy and I weren't going to get you a dog until you got a little older, but he thought you needed one now" she told her son who was paying close attention to what she was saying. It was in watching him right then that she knew he was definitely her son because if he was more like Tony he wouldn't be paying attention to anything she was saying, and she couldn't help but smile at the concept.
"I can give the puppy back" Kayden told her
Kate shook her head, "No handsome I think you're old enough to have a puppy, but you are going to have to take care of it okay"
Kayden smiled and nodded his head quickly, "I will I promise"
"Okay then"
"Mommy"
"Yes" she said looking into her son's eyes
"Will you help me to remember to feed him?" he asked her sweetly
"Yeah kid, I will" she told him with a smile
"Thanks mommy. I love you" he told her as he threw his arms around her neck and hugged her before kissing her on the cheek and hopping off of her lap
Kate just smiled as he ran off down the hall to his bedroom. When she turned around Tony was standing there.
"How long have you been standing there?" she asked him
"Long enough to know something is severely wrong" he answered
"What do you mean, what's wrong?" Kate asked worriedly
"No nothing like that" he said, "I just meant I was the one who was supposed to get the hug 'I love you' from Kayden"
"Well maybe if you would have done things the way I said then he would be thanking you" she told him
"You still mad at me?" he asked as he came and sat down next to her on the couch
"What do you think DiNozzo" she countered
"I think that you fell in love with the puppy as soon as you saw it come running out of the closet, kind of like how fast you fell in love with me, and I don't think you are really upset with me"
"Well your right about the falling in love with the puppy...but I fell in love with it a lot faster than I fell in love with you" she told him with a smile
"Funny"
"I think so" she said as she got up and walked over to the playpen to pick up Kaylee, "I guess we should get these two used to the puppy also"
That night while Kate and Tony were putting the kids to bed she was in Kayden's room tucking him when Kate asked,
"So have you thought of any names?"
"I don't know. I want something cool" he told her
"Well then, maybe you should ask your dad. I bet he could come up with a cool name" she told her son as she winked at him
He nodded his head and when Tony came into the bedroom to say goodnight Kayden smiled up at him.
"Daddy what's a cool name I could name my puppy?"
"You want my help naming your dog?"
"Yeah you did get it for me"
"Right well what about Spike or Tank or Hobie-"
"Hobie I like that name" Kayden said excitedly
"Well then, there ya go" Tony said with a smile
As Tony leaned down to kiss his son goodnight Kayden threw his arms around his neck and hugged him, "Thanks daddy. I love you"
Tony smiled as he replied, "I love you too son"
As Tony and Kate walked to their bedroom Kate smiled at Tony, "Feel better?" she asked
"Yeah actually, I do" he answered with a smile as grabbed her around the waist and threw her over his shoulders running to their bedroom as she laughed at his antics.
"Don't think I have forgiven you DiNozzo" she laughed
"What about McGee?" Tony questioned
"I'm going to kick his ass at work on Monday" she stated right before Tony shut their bedroom door
Present Day:
"So daddy got Hobie without telling mommy?" Kaylee asked as she sat at the kitchen table eating her pancakes
Gibbs smiled, "Yep"
"I bet he got into a lot of trouble, huh?" asked Anthony
Gibbs nodded, "Yeah more than I'm telling you"
About an hour later Kayden came dragging into the kitchen looking for some breakfast.
"Hey Kade" Gibbs said from the living room where he sat watching cartoons with Anthony and Kaylee
"What's for breakfast?" Kayden asked
Gibbs got up and walked into the kitchen, "How about some pancakes?"
"Cool" he answered as he sat down at the table
"Is your mom still asleep?" Gibbs asked the boy
Kayden nodded, "Yeah she and Annie"
"Okay"
Once Kayden had finished breakfast he wandered into the living room and plopped down on the couch to watch cartoons with his brother and sister. A few minutes later Gibbs came and joined him on the couch.
"Can we go see my dad today?" Kayden asked as he turned to look at Gibbs
"I'm sure your mom will want to. But you guys still can't go into his room, not until he gets moved into a different room"
"When will that be?"
"I don't know son" Gibbs said as he patted Kayden on the head, "We just need to have some hope"
"And faith" added Kayden as he looked at Gibbs, "My mom said she had hope and faith that dad was going to be okay"
Gibbs just looked down at the bright nine year old and smiled, "Your mom is right"
"I know" Kayden smiled as he turned his attention back to the television
About thirty minutes later Gibbs got up from the couch and walked down the hallway to the master bedroom at the end of the hall. He opened the door and walked inside to check on Kate. He walked up to the bed and smiled when he saw Annie sprawled across almost the entire bed with her head on Kate's arm and her feet extending across the width of the bed. Once Gibbs got next to the bed Kate opened her eyes.
"Morning Kate" Gibbs said to her
"Morning" she replied
"Did you sleep okay?" he asked her as he sat down on the bed next to her
"I guess, considering the circumstances" she told him
Gibbs nodded, "Would you like some pancakes?"
"I'm not really hungry"
"Kate you have to eat to keep your strength up"
"Gibbs"
"Agent Todd" he said glaring at her
"Fine maybe a couple" she said giving in, "But will you at least help me to the living room so I can sit with my kids?"
Gibbs nodded as stood up and helped Kate sit up and turn to get out of bed, waking up Annie in the process.
"Hey Spunky" Gibbs said when she saw the eight and a half year old open her eyes
"Is it morning already?" she asked groggily
"Yeah baby it is" Kate answered
"Mom I'm not a baby anymore I'm gonna be nine in a week" she told her mother seriously
"Right I'm sorry"
"You want some pancakes Spunky? I'm gonna go make your mom some" Gibbs asked the girl
"I guess" she answered as she sat up in bed and looked around, "Did everyone else get up?"
"Yep their in the living room watching cartoons" answered Gibbs
"Good I'm gonna go back to sleep then" she said as she crawled back under the covers
"Annie it's nine o'clock you need to get up" Kate told her daughter
"No"
"Annie"
"Just a little longer mom" she whined
Kate just rolled her eyes and nodded to Gibbs who helped her stand up and walk out of the bedroom and down the hall. When they got to the kitchen Kayden was there washing his glass out in the sink.
"Morning Mom" he smiled as he walked over to her
"Morning Handsome" she responded as she gave him a hug
"Where are you going?" he asked looking up at her
"I guess to the couch"
"Okay" he said as he took one of her hands and helped Gibbs walk her to the couch
"Where's Annie?" Kayden asked as he sat down next to his mother
"Still asleep"
Kayden shook his head, "She's just like dad. I think they can sleep forever"
Kate nodded with a smile, "Yeah they can"
Later that day after everyone was up and dressed Gibbs drove them all to the hospital and took Kate to Tony's room while the kids went down the hall to visit McGee, Abby, and Piper. Then Gibbs left Kate alone with Tony while he went back to visit McGee along with the kids.
While Kate was sitting in her wheelchair next to Tony's bed she began to run her fingers through his short hair while she talked to him. She talked to him about anything and everything that came to mind.
"I was thinking Tony. Do you remember right after Anthony's first birthday how we planned a getaway to the beach, just you and me?" she asked him, hoping that maybe, just maybe he would answer her
"Remember how my parents flew in to watch the kids that week we were gone" Kate smiled, "We did some crazy stuff that week, huh?"
"And I'm not talking about kinky stuff either DiNozzo" Kate smiled knowing that he would have been thinking it, "I'm just talking about crazy stuff in general. I think we acted more like two teenagers than two grown adults with four kids"
"Of course I would never forget the kinky stuff that we did" Kate laughed, "Remember how we took some pictures of each other and when we got back to work that next week I emailed you a picture of me to remind you how much fun we had"
Kate paused as she looked at Tony wishing he was awake to laugh with her.
"Remember I walked over to your desk right after you got it and whispered in your ear. And of course Gibbs picked that moment to walk around the corner" Kate laughed again, "We both jumped up and tried to cover the computer screen with our bodies, while Gibbs looked at us strangely"
Five Years Ago:
Tony and Kate had just started work again after their week long vacation. It was now late morning on a Monday afternoon and there was no current case that they were working on so Kate decided to have a little fun with Tony. She knew she had some of the pictures that she and Tony had taken of each other from their vacation stored in her email, so she emailed Tony one of the pictures of her.
When Tony's computer beeped at him he opened his email to find a picture of Kate in a very compromising position. He looked across his desk at Kate who had an even more seductive look on her face. Tony swallowed hard as she got up and walked around his desk placing one hand on the back of his chair and the other hand on his desk as she leaned down and whispered in his ear,
"Think you might enjoy seeing me in that position again tonight?"
Tony nearly fell out of his chair, but before he had a chance to respond Gibbs came around the corner causing Tony and Kate to both jump and Tony quickly turned and sat on his desk to try and block his computer screen as Kate stood next to Tony trying to do the same.
"What are you two doing?"
"Nothing" they answered simultaneously
Gibbs looked at them suspiciously as he grabbed his coffee off of his desk and then turned back around, walking past them and heading to the elevator.
"You two better grab your gear and get into the elevator or you won't be seeing each other like that ever again" Gibbs yelled as he pressed the down button on the elevator
Tony and Kate both stood there stunned with their mouths agape looking at Gibbs.
"Now Agents" he yelled again as he stepped into the elevator
Tony immediately shut off his computer and grabbed his bag as Kate ran over to her desk and grabbed her bag and they both ran to the elevator jumping into it right before the doors shut. Gibbs smiled at his two Agents when they entered the elevator because they were both a bright shade of red and he had never seen that before. And on the drive to the crime scene McGee sat in the front seat and Tony and Kate sat in the back and nobody said a word the entire way there.
Present Day:
Kate continued to smile as she finished the story. Then she looked back down at Tony as she took his hand in hers and began to rub the back of his hand.
As she continued to rub circles on the back of his hand she was looking down at their hands when she felt him squeeze her hand. She immediately looked up and saw his green eyes looking at her. She immediately began to cry as she kissed his cheek and pressed the call button before laying her head on his chest as she waited for the doctors and nurses to come in.
Once they had gotten his breathing tube out and checked him out they left Tony and Kate alone for a little bit while they got a different room ready for him.
He laid there looking up into Kate's eyes as she held his hand and continued to run her fingers through his hair. She wanted to hear his voice so badly, but the doctors said his throat would be soar for awhile and it would probably be better if he didn't talk to much. She was just thankful she got to look into his beautiful green eyes again.
Of course Tony will be Tony and he wanted to say something to her and he finally got it out.
"Think we...can go on another...vacation like...the one you were...talking about?" he asked her hoarsely but with a huge smile on his face
Kate just laughed before kissing him on the mouth and saying, "Believe it or not DiNozzo I actually missed you... a lot"
A/N: Well there's the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed. Please, Please, Please review and let me know what you think. It always helps to know that ya'll like it. It encourages me to write more!