Title: Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
Chapter 6
Slash/Mature: Don't like, don't read.
Summary: Does absence make the heart grow fonder or is it just a line we hear but never feel.
All mistakes are mine, this has not been proofed.
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Gibbs refilled his coffee cup and leaned back against the counter. Taking a sip, he watched the man in the living room pace back and forth. He glanced at his watch, this was going to be a long hour. After making love again, they had fallen back to sleep and finally gotten up around one. Lunch, dishes, another quick trip to the grocery to pick up a few things Tali liked, a stop at the hotel to pay for the room and having to talk to Sandy for forty-five minutes and they were off to talk with Amak about pick up, then back home. Groceries put away, Gibbs could see the anxiousness on Tony's face in his body movements. He decided dinner at the diner was better than Tony being cooped up in the house. Dinner, a few cups of coffee, and the drive home is what brought them to this point…Tony pacing the living room impatiently waiting.
"I still don't understand why we didn't pick them up."
"Because Amak has a truck that can handle the terrain from her to King Soloman."
"We could have went with him." Tony continued pacing.
Gibbs fought back a chuckle. "The truck barely seats three."
"Why didn't they fly directly into here?" Tony suddenly smacked into something and looked up at Gibbs.
"Relax." Gibbs placed a kiss on Tony's forehead as he rubbed Tony's arms.
"I just want her here with me, with us."
"She'll be here soon."
Taking a deep breath, Tony slowly blew it out. "There's just so much to deal with when she gets here."
"The only thing you have to deal with is making sure she's okay." Gibbs wrapped his arms around Tony's waist. "Everything else can wait."
Tony let his hands dance up Gibbs' chest and around his neck. "You're sexy when you're all selfless."
Gibbs' rolled his eyes.
"But then I think you're sexy all the time." Tony grinned.
"You are incorrigible." Gibbs sighed, beating back the ever present desire for the younger man.
"The correct response is you're sexy all the time too."
"That goes without saying." Gibbs sighed as he leered down Tony's body then back up. That gorgeous DiNozzo smile lit up Tony's face and took Gibbs' breath away. "And you need to stop it." He kissed Tony's cheek and took several steps back taking himself out of Tony's personal space.
"You do love the smile." And Tony loved to tease Gibbs. "Are you really going to be okay? I mean we've been going at it like rabbits for the last few days, now we have to hit pause for a little bit."
"I'll be fine." Gibbs said it with such conviction, he almost convinced himself.
"And I promise to try and behave myself."
"Why do I not believe that?" Gibbs balked walking over and dropping down in the chair.
"Can we call Amak?"
Gibbs ran his hands down his face. "I told you cell reception is spotty and Amak isn't the type to answer anyway."
"Can you at least try."
"Give them at least another twenty minutes, then if they're not here we'll call." Gibbs watched as Tony slowly walked over and bent down in front of Gibbs. Then those green eyes looked up at him with such emotion.
"Please."
Involuntarily, Gibbs' hand caressed Tony's cheek. "I'm never going to be able to say no to you." He didn't mean to say it out loud, but as soon as it fell from his lips he saw the twinkle in Tony's eyes. "Never."
Tony turned and kissed Gibbs' palm. As he leaned in about to kiss Gibbs, there was the sound of tires on gravel. "There here!" Jumping up, Tony was running towards the door. Before he reached it, it opened and the younger girl ran in.
"Dad." She ran into Tony's arm and was wrapped in his embrace.
"Oh my baby girl." He hugged her, picking her up in the process and he held her, never wanting to let her go.
"Dad can't breathe." Tali coughed as he finally loosened his hold and put her back on the ground. "The trip was awesome. Amak showed me all the native landmarks and where they hold the holy ceremonies. He knows everything."
"I don't know everything, but I know some." Amak walked in and smiled at Tali for her praise. "This one, she is an elder spirit, wise beyond her years."
"I read about Alaska all the way here." She explained.
"Believe me I learned more about Alaska than I ever wanted to know." Senior chimed as he walked in.
"Dad." Tony looked at his father. "Thank you."
Senior nodded.
"It was a pleasure Qakiiyaq." Amak slightly bowed to her.
"Quyana." Tali smiled saying thank you in the native language like Amak had taught her.
"If you need anything else Jethro, let me know.
"Appreciate it, Amak." Gibbs nodded
"Sedna would love to have all of you over for dinner. Qakiiyaq could learn some more of the language and have a traditional meal."
Tali looked at her dad with excitement.
"Of course that would be great." Tony smiled at Amak.
"We will talk soon and make plans." Amak waved goodbye.
"What does Qakiiyaq mean?"
"Silver Salmon." Gibbs and Tali said it in unison.
Tony glanced back and forth between them, then stopped on Gibbs. "You learning the language?"
"Can't live here and not know all the words for Salmon, which there are a lot." Gibbs smirked.
"Hi Gibbs." Tali smiled. "You can walk to the bay from here."
"Part of the reason I got this place." Gibbs couldn't get over how tall she was. Her light brown hair hung in long ringlets just past her shoulders. Her eyes were a deep chestnut and were full of wonder. She had on blue jeans with little flowers around the cuff and a green long sleeve shirt almost the color of her fathers eyes.
"You like to fish, dad told me. Can we go fishing while we're here?"
"Sure." Gibbs nodded.
Walking over, Gibbs patted Senior on the shoulder. "I could use some coffee."
Senior took the hint and they walked into the kitchen.
Tony squeezed Tali's hand. "Let's go out back. Gibbs has a great little patio and chairs, we can talk."
"Dad." She rolled her eyes.
"Tali." He rolled his eyes back at her.
"I'm okay."
Tony squatted down. "Doesn't mean we shouldn't talk."
"We talked on the phone."
"I know but face to face is different."
"I still feel the same."
He cupped her hands in his and pulled them towards his chest. "It's okay to be sad or mad or any other emotion you're feeling."
"I know."
Tony groaned, letting go of her hands and running his hands through his hair. "You're in your head aren't you little girl."
"Lot going on in there." Tali grinned almost a mirror image of her fathers similar grin.
"I just want you to talk about any of it. If you need to."
"I know, I just don't need to talk right now." She kissed the tip of his nose. "I'm okay Abba, promise."
The statement melted his heart. She had stopped calling him Abba several years ago, now reserving it for when she knew he was worried or upset. He hugged her. "I love you."
"I love you too." She pulled back. "Do you need to talk?"
He looked at her and shook his head. It still amazed him how she was this strange combination of child and adult. "I do, but I need to talk to your papa about some things."
"Okay."
"You hungry?"
"Starved." She groaned. "Gibbs and I will get dinner while you and Papa talk."
He looked at her with a raised brow.
"You were going to ask." She grinned.
Again he crushed her to him. "You're growing up too fast."
"Can't breathe." She said laughing.
Relaxing his hold, he looked at her. "Make sure Gibbs brings me and Papa a sandwich back."
"I will."
As if on cue Gibbs and Senior walked back into the living room. Tony had no doubt they had heard it all, small house.
Tali walked over to Gibbs. "Are we going to the diner?"
Gibbs' eyebrow went up. "Amak?"
"He said you eat there once a day, sometimes more." She smiled.
"Yeah well, Amak talks too much."
"He does like to talk."
The innocent statement made Gibbs chuckle. "Let's go get you some food."
"Okay."
Gibbs looked at Tony lovingly. "Let me know when you're done."
Tony nodded and smiled. Looking over at Tali he wiggled his finger for her to come to him.
She walked over to him and he bent down as she reached him.
"Are you okay with going with Gibbs for a while."
"Are you and papa going to argue about mom?"
Tony sighed. "No, I promise."
"And I promise I'm okay."
Tony kissed her forehead. "I love you."
"I love you too." Tali kissed his cheek. "Now can we go eat?"
Tony rolled his eyes. "You are a DiNozzo."
"To the bone." She grinned.
"Go." He spun her around facing the door.
Gibbs' hand gently touched Tony's arm. "Let me know when-"
"I will." Tony nodded knowing what Gibbs was about to say.
"Bye papa."
"Bye sweetheart."
With a quick nod to Senior, Gibbs and Tali headed out the door.
"So this conversation isn't going to be about Ziva?" Senior asked as he sat down in the chair by the couch.
"No, I'm done talking about her." Tony made his way to the couch and sat down on the end closest to Senior. "How was Tali on the trip?"
Senior shrugged. "She was fine, reading or watching videos about Alaska all the way here. Or she was telling me about Alaska."
"Did she talk about her mom at all?"
"No, the only time we talked about Ziva was right after she left, everything I told you on the phone." Senior paused. "You know Tali's okay or you wouldn't have let her leave with Gibbs."
Tony took a deep breath.
"None of this was a surprise to her and she's dealing with it." Senior leaned forward. "So what did you really want to talk to me about?"
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Gibbs pushed the door to the diner open and let Tali walk in, she was still talking about the bay and Alaska.
"Well Jethro." Marta smiled as she saw him step inside after Tali. "I was wondering when I would see you." She smiled down at the young girl. "And you must be Tali, little Qakiiyaq."
Tali smiled proudly. "Nice to meet you Marta."
"I see Amak must have told you about me as well."
She nodded.
"Well let's get you two a booth and some food. You must be starving after that long trip." Marta led them towards a booth in the back.
Tali slid into one side of the booth, Gibbs into the other.
"What are we in the mood for?" Marta asked Tali. "Grilled cheese, hamburger, cheeseburger."
"Cheeseburger."
"Fries?"
Tali shook her head. "Do you have mashed potatoes?"
"Of course, with gravy?"
Another shake of her head. "And a chocolate milkshake please."
"I can do that." Marta touched Gibbs' shoulder. "You want your regular?"
"Just coffee. I'll be placing an order when we leave."
"Just let me know. I'll be back with the coffee and milkshake."
Gibbs looked at Tali slightly perplexed. "No french fries?"
"I like pommes frites, fries here are always soggy."
Gibbs chuckled. "Yeah, I get it." He'd spent enough time in Paris to know there was a difference.
"Coffee and a milkshake." Marta said the drinks down. "Food will be out in a minute."
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"I mean I always thought there was this connection between you two, but I thought it was-" Senior paused, eyes widening slightly. "Was there something going on with you back at NCIS."
"No." Tony shook his head. "Not sexually, but like you said there was always something there between us."
Senior's eyebrow went up. "But it's sexual now."
"Dad!"
"What you said you're in love with him, so its obviously sexual."
"My sex life is not what I want to talk about."
"You want to tell Tali, that's why you're telling me?" Senior suddenly realized that was why Tony had brought them here.
"That's part of the reason, but I also wanted you to know." Tony took a deep breath. "I wanted you to know I'm finally happy."
Senior took a deep breath. "Son, if you're happy, I'm happy for you." He saw the surprised look on his son's face. "You expected a different reaction?"
"I honestly wasn't sure."
"I thought after these past few years you would have realized I will always support you."
"I do, but this is-"
Senior snickered. "Yeah I didn't realize when you said you were coming here to visit Gibbs it was because you were in love with him."
"Yeah well I figured I'd chicken out and not tell him." Tony glanced at his dad. "I should have told him back at NCIS."
Senior looked shocked. "You've been in love with him that long?"
"A very long time." Tony smiled. "I've loved him most of the time I've known him."
Senior paused and stared at Tony. "Ziva knew."
Tony nodded. "I told her a long time ago. She knew before we were together."
"Did you talk about it when she came back?"
"We talked about it when she came back, before she came back, countless times." Tony sighed. "But that wasn't our problem."
"I know." Senior knew both of them believed they could play happy family and it would somehow be true. "This isn't just a nice little vacation to take Tali's mind off things. You're staying."
"For a while, until we decide as a family where we should be."
"Gibbs is willing to go wherever you all decide, even if it's Paris?"
"I'm not going back to Paris."
Senior could hear the conviction in his son's voice.
"I don't know where we'll end up, I just know I don't care as long as we are together."
"How is Tali going to feel about leaving Paris?"
"I'm not sure, all I can do is make her understand, I can't go back to Paris."
"And Gibbs?" Senior paused. "How is she going to feel about him?"
Tony took a deep breath. "Tali is the most loving, caring, and understanding child I have ever known." He smiled. "She'll have questions, maybe be confused, but she won't care, and she already knows Gibbs. I've talked about him her whole life."
Senior nodded, then his brow furrowed. "Although I think as a good father, I need to have a little talk with the man involved with my son and just what his intentions are."
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Gibbs took another sip of his coffee as Tali drank from the straw in her milkshake. "That milkshake good?"
Tali nodded.
"Food was good?"
Again she nodded.
"Did you swallow your tongue while you were eating?" Gibbs asked.
This time she shook her head.
"Usually when someone goes from talkative to not saying a word means they have something important to say or ask."
She looked over the top of her milkshake at him.
"You can tell me anything or ask me anything. I'll always be honest with you."
"I know."
"Your mom told you that." Gibbs recalled the conversation with Ziva. "That you could always trust me and I'd be honest with you."
"Dad and mom both."
Gibbs took a sip of his coffee.
"What's your favorite color?"
"Green." Gibbs answered.
"Your favorite food?"
"Steak."
"What's your favorite movie?"
"Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." He smirked to himself when she paused as if surprised that she didn't know the movie.
"Do you love my mom?"
"Yes, very much."
"She's like your daughter."
He nodded.
"Do you love my dad?"
"Yes." Oh he knew what the next question was going to be. He had originally thought the questioning was about building trust, seeing if he would be honest, not hesitate in his answers. Now he realized, she knew, how much exactly he wasn't sure, but she knew. He didn't know if it was based on her perception of the situation or if she had overheard conversations and put the pieces together.
"Do you love him like a boyfriend?"
"Yes." He didn't hesitate and didn't explain further. Hesitation would have made her doubt he was being honest and she would ask if she wanted a further explanation.
"Dad came here to tell you something…did he tell you?"
Gibbs nodded. She had definitely overheard something. She knew why Tony had come here, but was afraid he hadn't actually told him. That was why she hadn't asked directly, she didn't want to give away her fathers secret if he hadn't actually talked to him.
"Are you boyfriends now?"
"Yeah." Gibbs nodded. "You okay with that?"
She nodded.
There was a pause, Gibbs knew there was more so he waited.
"Are we going to live here?"
"It depends on what you and your dad want." He took a sip of coffee. "If you wanna live here okay. If not then we can live somewhere else."
"But you like living here."
"I do." Gibbs took a deep breath. "But I'll be happy living anywhere, as long as I'm with you and your dad."
"Mom says you love me like a daughter too."
"I do."
"Why?" She cocked her head as she asked the question. It instantly reminded Gibbs of Ziva.
"Because I love your mom and dad, they're family which makes you family."
"Family isn't blood, it's who is always there for you."
Gibbs smiled and nodded. "Yeah."
"Are you mad at mom?"
Gibbs rubbed his hand over his mouth. "A little bit." He saw the complete look of surprise on her face.
She pushed her milkshake off to the side. "Why are you mad at her?"
"Because she upset you and your dad and she kept something from me that was important." He pushed his coffee aside and leaned towards her. "But I still love her."
"Dad's mad at her but he pretends he's not. He doesn't want to say anything bad about her."
"It's a hard situation. He loves you and he wants you to understand how much your mom loves you, even with everything she's going through."
"I know, but he can still tell me he's mad." She sighed. "We're mad at her for some of the same reasons. We could feel better together."
Oh she was definitely wise beyond her years. "Well maybe you and I together can make your dad understand that."
"Okay." She grabbed her milkshake and took another sip. "Are you and dad going to get married?"
Gibbs had just taken a sip of coffee and coughed instead of spitting it out, the question catching him off guard.
She grinned that familiar grin of her father. "You wanna marry him."
The phone laying on the table suddenly vibrated to life.
"Saved by the buzzer." Gibbs picked up the phone and read the text. Come home. "Guess we better put that sandwich order in."
"Dad was telling papa about you." She watched as Gibbs' eyebrow went up.
"You faked being asleep a lot didn't you?" Gibbs again saw that DiNozzo grin. "Good to know."
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The two of them stopped at the front door.
"You good?"
She nodded. "You good?"
He shrugged and she giggled. Opening the door, they walked in and Tony and Senior were sitting in the living room, paper plates on the coffee table.
"Hey you two, did you have a good time?" Tony smiled.
The two nodded. Gibbs walked over and dropped the bag of food on the table, he glanced sideways at Senior and saw the older man glaring at him. Tony was already digging in the bag when Gibbs stepped back.
Tali sat down on the couch next to her dad.
"What did you have to eat?" Tony asked between bites.
"Cheeseburger, mashed potatoes and chocolate milkshake." Tali smiled as Gibbs sat down beside her.
Tony looked over at Gibbs.
"Coffee."
Tony rolled his eyes and took another bite of his sandwich.
"Papa, aren't you hungry?" Tali asked, seeing that he hadn't opened his sandwich.
"Not really." He looked at Gibbs. "I could use a drink."
"Dad, don't start." Tony balked.
"What I just said I could use a drink."
"I think that's a good idea, why don't you and I go get one." Gibbs looked over at Senior.
Tali giggled as she fell back against Gibbs.
"Okay what is going on with you two?" Tony glared over at Tali and Gibbs. "You've been acting weird since you got back." He looked at Gibbs. "You I get." Then he looked at Tali. "You I'm not so sure about."
"I need to talk now." Tali said instantly seeing Tony's mood change. "But Gibbs needs to talk to you first."
"And then Senior and I will go get a drink on the way to the hotel."
"Sounds good. I'll grab my things." Senior pushed himself up out of the chair.
Tony ran his hands down his face.
"Tony, it's fine." Gibbs said as he tipped his head towards the bedroom. "It will just take a minute."
Standing up, Tony made his way to the bedroom, Gibbs a few steps behind him. When they crossed the threshold into the bedroom, Gibbs shut the door.
"Did she talk to you? What did she say? Is she mad? Does she want to-"
"She knows about us, about why you came here, she pretty much knows everything."
Tony's eyes went wide. "But I never said-"
"She wasn't asleep, she heard you talking to Ziva both before and after she came back."
Tony dropped down on the bed and ran his hands down his face. "She asked you, didn't she?"
Gibbs nodded. "And I was honest with her, like I'll always be."
"I know." Tony let out a long sigh.
"She doesn't care, she just wants you to be happy."
Standing up, Tony nodded. "Okay. I need to talk to her." He took a step towards the door and Gibbs gently grabbed his arm.
"She needs you to be honest with her." Gibbs saw Tony's brow furrow. "She knows you're mad and pretending you're not is making it worse." He let his hand slip down Tony's arm and he took the younger man's hand. "Being mad at Ziva and explaining it to her, isn't about berating her mother, it's about helping her understand her own anger."
Tony squeezed Gibbs' hand. "I don't want my anger to become hers."
Gibbs kissed Tony's cheek. "It won't." He sighed and dropped his head back. "Now I have to deal with your father."
"Oh good luck with that." Tony snickered. "He's okay with it all but he wants to know your intentions."
"Great, Tali wanted to know my intentions too."
"She did, did she." Tony smiled. "And what did you say?"
"Ask her." Gibbs winked, giving Tony a quick kiss then heading to the door.
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"You gonna talk to me now?" Gibbs took a swig of his beer as he looked across the table at Senior. They had spent the drive to the bar in silence.
"When did you become Mr. Talkative?" Senior scoffed as he took a drink of his Bourbon.
"When I let go of the past."
"If you make my son happy," Senior shrugged. "That's all that matters."
"Okay." Gibbs shrugged as well.
Again the silence fell as they both took another sip of their drink.
"Was there really nothing going on between you at NCIS?"
"No." Gibbs leaned back in the chair. "Well there was but neither of us acted on it."
"So you've acted on it since he's been here."
"Yeah, we have."
Senior's brow went up.
"Hey you asked."
"Is this just a sex thing?"
Gibbs rolled his eyes and shook his head.
"Do you really love him?"
"With everything I am."
"Good" Senior downed his drink and waved down the waitress. "Another round for both of us."
"Sure thing." She nodded with a smile.
"That's it."
"Gibbs, I've spent the last eight years watching Tony do nothing but make sure Tali is happy, safe and taken care of. It's been all about her. He hasn't done much of anything for himself." Senior paused. "He tried to love Ziva, believing they could be a family. It didn't work for either of them and it definitely didn't work for Tali."
The waitress dropped off their drinks.
"So if you make him happy, then yeah that's it."
"Alright then." Gibbs gulped down the last of his beer and grabbed the next one.
"So what are your future intentions towards my son?" Senior watched as Gibbs' head dropped forward and he smirked.
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Sitting down next to Tali on the couch, Tony pulled a leg up.
She mirrored his position.
"So it seems like you wanted to talk to Gibbs and not me."
"No, you wanted to talk about mom and I wanted to talk about you."
"Just seems like with everything going on you would want to talk about your mom."
"Why?" Talk shrugged. "We already talked about her leaving."
"I should have been there."
"She still would have left."
"I could have been there for you right away instead of you having to come here."
"I wanted to come here."
"That's not the point."
"The point is you still won't talk about you!" Her voice was full of annoyance. "You won't talk about how you feel or about you and mom."
"You're what's important."
She rolled her eyes. "Did Gibbs even talk to you?"
"Yeah, he did."
She shook her head. "So you're just not listening to either of us."
"I'm here listening to you right now."
"No you're not." The annoyance was still evident in her voice. "You're talking at me trying to make me talk about what you want to talk about."
"We need to talk about your mom."
"UGH!" She fell back on the couch, the child like frustration growing. "You're getting as bad as her!"
The words hit him square in the chest. She'd been frustrated with her mom pushing for that connection and here he was pushing her as well.
Sitting square on the couch he leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't push, but this is a weird situation."
"It's only weird because you're making it weird." She sat back up. "I know, I shouldn't have listened." She said truly sorry. "I was worried about you."
He smiled at her, a somber smile. "You shouldn't be worrying about me. Worrying is my job."
"You don't have to worry all the time."
"I'm your dad, I'm always going to worry." Tony would worry about her even after he was dead and gone he was sure.
"But you can stop worrying so much now right?" Tali asked hopefully.
He chuckled. "I'm gonna try." He paused and looked over at her. "So why are you worrying about me?"
She stared at him for a moment trying to figure out if he was finally going to actually listen to her.
"I'm listening and I promise to answer." He knew that look, he'd seen it countless times when they'd had conversations.
"Because you're sad and mad and you never talk about it…even when I ask about it."
Tony sighed and rubbed his hands back and forth over his thighs as he tried to find the right words. "You know none of it was because of you right?"
"I know."
"I just," He took a deep breath. "I was mad that you had to go through all of this."
"Are you mad at mom?"
He nodded, needing another moment to collect his thoughts before speaking. "But it doesn't mean I don't still care about her and want her to be a part of your life."
"You can be mad and still care about someone."
"I just never want you to hate your mom or think you're better off without her." Tony glanced over at her. "Once she works through everything things will be better between you two."
"I don't hate mom, I just-" She sighed. "I just wish she'd have waited to come back, until she was ready instead of making our lives crazy and leaving again."
"Me too." He asked a question he'd wanted to ask for months. "Do you love your mom?"
"She's my mom."
"That's not an answer." He watched seeing the frustration and confusion on her face as she thought about what to say.
"I love her, but sometimes…" She glanced at her father as if afraid of how he would react to her next statement. "Sometimes I get mad that I love her."
He chuckled. "Yeah, that's one of those weird emotions we all go through now and then."
She smiled relieved he understood. So quickly asked the next question. "Why were you sad?"
He flopped back against the couch and turned to look at her. "I never talked about being sad to your mom or anyone."
"I know."
Why the hell did she have to be so damn perceptive about things. He tried to hide his sadness, hell he tried to hide his anger at Ziva too. He blew out a long breath. "I was sad about pretending that I was in love with your mom, when I wasn't…and sad about not telling Gibbs how I felt about him." Another deep breath. "And sad because if I kept pretending you wouldn't grow up seeing what love is supposed to be like." He sat back up and turned sideways. "Does that make sense?"
She nodded. "Gibbs makes you happy."
Tony's brow furrowed.
"You smile at each other a lot." Tali giggled.
Tony couldn't help but laugh too. "He makes me very happy…in fact the only time I was happier was when you came into my life." She smiled at him, then cocked her head slightly and he could almost see the wheels turning in her head. "Do you have questions about me and Gibbs?"
"Are you going to get married?"
Tony chuckled. "We haven't talked about that."
"You love each other, you should get married." She grinned. "I asked Gibbs if he wanted to marry you."
"You're a little too much like your papa."
"Gibbs said papa was going to ask him that question too."
"Yeah. You and Gibbs talked about papa."
She nodded. "In the truck on the way home."
"And what did Gibbs have to say about papa?"
"That papa was going to tease him about you two, but that he'd want you to be happy, like me."
"I'm sure papa is teasing Gibbs a lot right now."
"But papa likes Gibbs."
"He does." Tony smiled and brushed a stray curl from her forehead. "What other questions are rolling around in that head of yours?"
"Do you want to live here?"
"Uumh, I'm not sure." Tony didn't think she'd ask all the hard questions right away. "I think we need to spend some time here, then all of us decide together."
"Gibbs said he doesn't care where we live as long as we're together."
"Me too."
"We should make a list of all the positives and negatives of living here!"
"Ugh you and your lists." He grabbed her and started tickling her. "Can you just be a kid for five minutes."
She was laughing uncontrollably trying to break free.
He pulled her into his lap and kissed her forehead. "Lets see how you like it here in the next week or so and go from there. Then we can make a list. Deal?"
"Deal." She grabbed his face and kissed the tip of his nose. "I love you Abba."
"I love you too Quakiqay."
Tali laughed. "It's Qakiiyaq."
"Quakiqay. You really need to stop growing up so fast." He held on to her as he stood up and he tossed her over his shoulder. "Okay enough talking. Gibbs bought us ice cream and I think we should have some."
"Ice cream!"
He laughed, at least ice cream still made her act like a silly little girl.
