Disclaimer on chapter one.
AN: Here we go again another wonderful chapter in this exciting story (or at least I hope you find it exciting). This one was a lot of fun to write I hope you enjoy it too! dark rolling sea
Chapter 15: Good Boy

Gibbs lifted the cat from his lap when he heard the crunching of tires on gravel. He put Blukie gently on the couch and walked to the door. It was Abby and McGee, Abby was driving this time.

He went out on the porch and greeted them; Kate was coming out behind him when McGee saw the large white beast pacing the fence by the horses. He sidestepped a little and put Abby between him and the animal. Abby gave him a sideways glance not knowing why he was moving and he gave her a weak smile.

Gibbs saw the move too and looked out of the corner of his eye spotting what McGee was hiding from. Gibbs smiled. Abby was babbling already about what they could do while they waited for the rest of the group to arrive. They were expecting Tony, Ducky and Donovan today.

Gibbs shook his head and laughed at her bubbling over energy and then walked down off the porch leaving the other three to discuss their plans. He was walking out towards the dog when Kate's dad stepped from the barn.

"Morning, Jethro," he said with a nod.

"Morning, Doug," Gibbs replied, his attention still on the dog. It was not the same one that had barreled into him that night on the porch. This dog was much larger, more filled out, and defiantly older.

"Admiring my boy out there?" Doug asked with a smile. Gibbs looked at him and nodded. He didn't say anything as his attention drifted back towards the dog. "He's eight years old now. Cranky ol' boy at that. Very protective of the barn and the horses. Doesn't come up much by the house anymore, too much traffic for him."

"Not a people animal?"

"Not much. He's picky 'bout who gets to touch him."

"That a warning?" Gibbs asked looking back at Doug with his eyebrow cocked. Doug studied Gibbs a moment before chuckling.

"Take it how you want, he bites you, don't come to me," Doug said and then walked off towards the house. Gibbs smiled at the comment and studied the dog. He saw this as a challenge and he didn't know why. The dog sensed Gibbs fascination and lifted his head up. He had stopped pacing. The dog sniffed the air a moment before dropping his head low and staring at Gibbs.

Gibbs maintained eye contact with the beast and wondered what the dog was thinking. He didn't back down and neither did the dog. Gibbs took a few steps closer to the fence line before stopping and waiting for the dog's reaction.

The dog dropped his center of weight and was crouching a little in his posture. There was no noise from the dog as of yet. Gibbs took a few more steps and he saw the dog process the amount of threat Gibbs poised to him. Gibbs stopped again and locked eyes with the animal. There was something about the big old dog that grabbed Gibbs' attention.

Kate had finally looked up to find Gibbs at this point and stiffened when she saw him approaching Bear. That dog was difficult at best around people and she worried about Gibbs being bit. She saw her father coming towards her and he seemed to pick up on her concern.

"I warned him 'bout Bear, Sissy, he gets bit, it's his own fault," Doug said as he passed his daughter and entered the house, after nodding to both Abby and McGee.

"What's he mean?" McGee asked the worry working its way into his voice. Kate glanced at him.

"Bear doesn't like people," Kate said softly.

"Well neither does Gibbs so they should get along," Abby said with a smile. Kate gave a weak one in return then continued to focus on Gibbs.

Gibbs had taken a few more steps and now was very close to the dog as it crouched even further. It was very low to the ground now with its eyes trained on Gibbs. Gibbs made sure to move slowly, as he reached out. He offered a hand for the dog to smell. Gibbs continued to maintain eye contact with the animal as it contemplated its move.

Finally the dog showed a little bit of teeth to Gibbs and it made Gibbs halt his progress towards the dog. He didn't retract his hand though, leaving it extended for the dog to make a decision. Gibbs could see the dog processing the options and waited. Finally the dog cocked his head sideways, and lifted some of his weight up.

Bear reached out and slowly sniffed Gibbs' outstretched hand. He tentively licked at the fingers then pulled back. There was no sound from the dog, but he came out of the crouch then sat down. Gibbs took the two remaining steps and dropped his hand gently on top of the dog's head. The dog nudged his hand softly then dropped his head slightly. Gibbs patted the dog.

"Good boy, Bear," he said gently. The dog then pulled his head back and slowly turned back towards the barn. He paused once and looked back at Gibbs before he slowly disappeared through the barn doors.

Kate let out the breath she was holding when Gibbs turned and she didn't see any blood. Abby had a smile plastered on her face and McGee was still keeping Abby between him and the beast.

Gibbs walked up to the rest on the porch and received a look from Kate. He stopped and crossed his hands over his chest in a defensive manner.

"What?"

"What were you doing?" she asked sternly.

"Making friends with the dog," Gibbs said with a shrug. "Nice guy."

"He bites, Jethro," she said a little exasperated.

"Maybe some people, but not me," Gibbs said confidently.

Abby broke the tension when she bounded up the stairs and took Kate by the shoulders and directed her into the house. McGee stared at Gibbs. Gibbs gave him a look that made him duck his head and follow Abby. Gibbs shook his head and followed the rest into the house.

Tony was driving somewhere in the state of Indiana but he didn't know where. His flight had come in late, and his rental car registration he had done online had been screwed up. After working that out with the attendant he finally got on the road three hours later than he was supposed to. He had called Kate to let her know he would be late but now he wasn't sure he knew where he was going.

He checked his map again and again but couldn't seem to locate Syracuse on it. He was sitting in the parking lot of a gas station trying to figure out how much further it would be. From the directions he had he thought he should have been there by now. He wasn't about to go in and ask for directions though, because that would be an admission of being lost. He wasn't lost, just sidetracked.

Finally after studying the map for a while longer he pulled his cell phone out. He dialed Kate and waited. He was looking at the map when she picked up.

"Kate," she said cheerfully into the phone.

"Hey, Kate, it's Tony!" he said.

"Tony, where are you we expected you already," Kate replied.

"Just a question, Kate."

"What, Tony, where are you?"

"How far are you from the city of," he paused as he looked up to the sign out on the roadway, "Kokomo?"

"Kokomo? Tony are you by Kokomo? No wonder you're not here yet! That's almost two hours south of here!"

"Oops," Tony said as he dropped the maps in the passenger seat and rubbed his face. "So how do I get to you?"

"Tony, you are seriously down by Kokomo."

"That's what the sign says, Kate. How am I supposed to know where I am? I've never driven in the state of Indiana! And by the way, this state is really boring."

"Thanks, Tony, how can you go the wrong way for two hours?"

"Don't yell at me," Tony said defensively.

"Ok ok. First you need to find 31. That will bring you back north. Once you are on 31 you'll look for east 24. Towards Peru and Ft. Wayne. After that take hi-way 15 until you come to 6. Take a right onto 6 and take that until you get to…"

"Ok, slow down, Kate, I can't write that fast. I got find 31."

"Tony!"

"What?"

"Ok, after getting on north 31…you got that?"

"Come on, Kate!"

"Look for east 24…sign should say Peru and Ft. Wayne…then look for hi-way 15. Take that north…then take a right onto 6…once on 6 you look for county road 29. That will take you into town. You have directions once in town to find the hotel?"

"Yes," he said exasperated.

"Well you had directions to my house too, Tony, and you ended up two hours south."

"It was a minor snafu, Kate."

They ended their conversation and Kate looked at Gibbs. He had a smile on his face. Abby and McGee were trying not to flat out laugh, and both had it to a snicker. Kate shook her head and shoved her phone into her pants pocket.

"That makes up for you getting lost, Tim, I won't make fun of you anymore," Abby said giving McGee a hug. McGee smiled, nodding his appreciation. Gibbs was laughing now.

They were standing there when they heard gravel crunch again. They looked up to see Ducky's vintage Morgan pull into the driveway. Gibbs smiled and walked down the steps. Abby looked at Kate.

"Ducky drove out here?" she asked a little shocked.

"Said he wanted to experience the country side," Kate said with a shrug.

Gibbs was already at the car as Ducky was getting out and they greeted each other. Kate's dad had come out on the porch after hearing the car pull in and Bear bark his warning.

"Nice car," Doug said softly. Kate smiled and nodded. He looked at her and shook his head. "He drive that out from Washington?"

"Yeah," Kate said with a smile.

"Brave man," he replied.

"No, just ducky," Abby said with a smile. Doug eyed her a moment not sure how to take the comment then nodded and walked down the stairs and towards the car. He wanted a closer look.

The next two hours were spent chatting as Ducky, longwindedly, told them of his trip from Washington to Indiana. He said it took him a little over twelve hours to drive the distance. Doug commented he must have made frequent stops and Ducky reminded him at his age it was a necessity.

Finally Tony showed up about three hours after he had called Kate. He had a hurt look on his face when he got out of the rental car. Jeb, Kylie, Ann, and the boys were in the other car which Tony had followed.

"Don't start," Tony said as he got out of the car and saw everyone staring at him.

"Wasn't going to say a word," Gibbs said with a smile. Tony gave him a forced smile and then walked towards Kate giving her a hug. They all walked towards the house, with Tony and Gibbs hanging back. The rest were in the house when Tony stopped and looked at Gibbs.

"Seriously, Boss, no joking on this one ok?" Tony said.

"I'll consider it, DiNozzo."

"Boss, come on," he said whining a bit. It was then that he felt something very large hit the back of his legs. He yelped in surprise and tumbled forward catching himself before he sprawled face first onto the ground. Tony whirled around quickly and flinched when the gigantic white beast bounced from side to side in front of him.

"What the hell is that, Boss?" he said quickly.

"That would be, Beau. He's a little undisciplined, but he's just a year so I cut him some slack."

"That's a dog?"

"That's a dog."

"Shit."

It was then that they heard the low growling coming from just off the side of the porch. Tony stopped freezing in place as Gibbs slowed his pace and gazed over towards the noise. He smiled when he saw Bear standing at the side of the steps growling towards Tony.

"What the hell is that?" Tony whispered.

"That is Bear. He's the older dog, very disciplined."

"He going to bite me?"

"He might. Kate says he bites."

"Shit," Tony said softly then hurriedly scrambled for the steps. The dog crouched and growled but he didn't lunge and Tony made it safely up the steps in through the door. Gibbs grinned as he watched the younger man sprint for safety. Gibbs reached the steps and the dog stopped growling and sat down.

"Good boy," Gibbs said with a pat to his head. The dog turned and went back to the barn, while Gibbs made his way inside.

TBC…