Dinner with Sammie

Two days later, Gibbs parked his car in Sammie's driveway. He looked around as he got out, surveying the neighborhood, then reached for a bakery box and a manila folder he'd put on the front passenger seat. He noticed the landscaping as he walked to the front door, and approved of how neat everything looked.

Reaching the front door, he rang the bell, and heard Jack barking. Moments later Sammie opened the door, smiling happily. "Hi, Dad!" She told Jack to stay, then let Gibbs in, taking the box and folder from him. "What's this?"

"Dessert, and some paperwork for you."

"Apple pie with chocolate sauce?"

"Of course."

She grinned, he closed the door, and she released Jack from his stay. He immediately jumped up on Gibbs, grinning at him. Gibbs smiled and scratched him behind the ears, then followed Sammie into the kitchen. She set the box and folder down on the counter. "Want something to drink?"

"Beer would be great."

She went to the fridge and grabbed two bottles, handing him one and then twisting the cap off the other. They raised the bottles to each other, then drank. Gibbs frowned at the bottle after swallowing. "What is this?"

"It's from a nice little brew pub in DC. I went there with my friends before I talked to Tony and ended up in Abby's lab last week." She tilted her head. "Don't like it?"

"It's… fruity."

Sammie laughed. "What do you prefer? I'll make sure to get some."

"Been drinking Old Dominion lately." He leaned back against the counter and drank a little more beer, wrinkling his nose.

"The stout? I can see that. Vanilla, oak, and coffee. Very you."

"Tony introduced me to it."

"He does know you well. I can run to the liquor store if you want?"

"This is fine… I'll get used to it."

She grinned at him. "You're such a martyr. You just want to be able to tease me about my taste in beer later."

He smiled at her. "If it mattered that much, I'd have told you. What's for dinner?"

"I ordered from a good Italian place not far from here; they're going to deliver in… oh, about thirty minutes or so." She walked past him, reaching out to grab his hand. "Come on, let's go in the living room."

The small house had a comfortable homey feel to it. Gibbs looked thoughtfully at the furniture. "How much of this would you want to bring if you move back home?"

Sammie shook her head. "Not much… most of it isn't mine. Came with the house. I think the owner wants to offer the furniture with it when he sells. I just have a favorite chair in the bedroom, a few bookshelves, things like that. I got rid of most of my stuff in a tag sale before I moved in here." She sat down on the couch. "What have you been doing with the house?"

He sat next to her. "Painted the walls… not your room, figure you'll want to decide how to redecorate that. Updating the kitchen a bit… put in some new flooring, got Mike working on replacing the cabinet doors, and I figure I'll get a few new appliances."

"Mike Franks?"

Gibbs cleared his throat, remembering that he hadn't updated her on the team's investigation. "Yeah, Tony and Tim brought him back from Mexico. He's sticking around until he can apologize to you."

Sammie's eyebrows shot up and she looked at him skeptically. "His idea or yours?"

"Mine."

She drank some beer. "Forced apologies aren't all that meaningful."

"He owes you. And me. He can damn well face up to that."

She reached over and squeezed his hand. "All right. Can I kick him?"

"Didn't you say you learned a move or two from Ziva? Bet those would be more effective." He decided not to tell her about Mike's broken nose and black eyes. He looked around the room, and froze at the pictures he saw on the mantle over the fireplace. He set his beer down on a coaster on the coffee table, then got up to look at them.

There was one of him and the team, taken at an office holiday party, another of him probably taken at a crime scene, and an old one of Shannon with Kelly. He picked it up, looking at it for a long moment before he heard Sammie get up and come to stand next to him.

"Tony emailed these to me, and I framed them."

Gibbs traced Shannon's face with his finger. "Where did he get this one?"

"Abby sent it to him when we met up at the coffee house in DC, the day before I came to your house. I don't know where she got it." She took his arm and leaned against it. "I'll print out another copy and frame it for you."

"I'd like that." He set the picture back down, and walked to the far side of the mantle, looking at pictures of Sammie with a middle-aged couple. The woman had wavy blonde hair and blue eyes; the man was good-looking, with dark hair and brown eyes. Sammie stood between them in the largest one, and all three seemed very happy. "These your adoptive parents?"

Sammie picked up the picture. "Yes… Momma and Pop… Lyssa and Will." It was her turn to trace faces. "I miss them." She looked up at her father. "They would be so happy that we found each other."

Gibbs smiled at her. "I'm thankful you had them."

She nodded, placing the picture back on the mantle. "I grew up with two great sets of parents… a lot of people can't say that." She turned to Gibbs, tears in her eyes, and he pulled her into a hug. They stood there for a moment, until Jack jumped up on them and Sammie laughed. "I need to feed him."

Gibbs followed her and Jack into the kitchen, watching as she mixed kibble and canned food, tossing some supplements in as well. "How's work been?"

She sighed. "Good… a little sad this week. We lost a patient, a dog we've been treating for a few years. He had a bad mitral valve; meds will only do so much, eventually the heart gives out. Sometimes it's months, sometimes years. This dog had years… but it's still sad." She put Jack's bowl on the floor and looked thoughtfully at Gibbs. "Maybe a little like when you can't save everyone?"

Gibbs nodded slowly. "I always tend to take that personally."

Sammie leaned on the counter. "Dr. Hodges says we have to focus on the good we've done over time… otherwise the job can destroy you."

Gibbs shot her a concerned look, and she caught his expression. "Don't worry," she tried to reassure him, "I'm made of tough stuff."

His eyes searched hers, and he saw the truth in them. Relaxing a little, he asked, "Where are you in the application process?"

She pushed off the counter, and headed for the living room and her beer, sitting back down on the couch. "I just finished my last essay. Some of my college professors have already submitted their recommendation letters… once Dr. Hodges and a few others at work submit their letters, the university will evaluate my application. It's rolling admissions, so if I'm accepted and there's still room, I'll start this fall. I could get in but have to wait until spring semester, or even another year. Or, not get in at all." She smiled. "Dr. Hodges claims everyone he's written a letter for has gotten in, so I have nothing to worry about… but we'll see."

Gibbs sat next to her, looking at his beer for a moment before taking a sip.

Sammie looked at him. "Is it growing on you at all?"

He simply looked at her, and she laughed. "No more fruity microbrews, got it."

His lips twitched into a smile. "You given my offer to pay for vet school any more thought?"

She wrinkled her nose and started picking at the label on her bottle. "Yeah… I'm not sure. I don't like the idea of coming back into your life and taking your money."

He reached over and tucked some of her hair behind her ear. "I never closed out your college fund."

"What?"

"Kept adding to it, actually. It's grown quite a bit over the years. I give scholarships to NCIS agents' daughters… started doing that a few years ago."

"Wow… you really are Santa!" She smiled at him. "I love that. All the more reason not to take your money, it's doing so much good where it is."

Gibbs frowned at her. "I think I'm allowed to help my own daughter through school!"

Sammie sat back, thinking. "How about we split it?"

"Split it?"

"If I get in, we'll see what kind of financial aid they offer, and then we split the rest." She sat forward. "I love the idea of those scholarships… I want you to keep doing that."

Gibbs grumbled for a moment, the acquiesced. "Gonna have to change the name… the Kelly Gibbs Memorial Scholarship isn't actually a memorial anymore."

She laughed. "Good point." She finished off her beer, then gave him a suspicious look. "I didn't think you'd give in so fast."

He reached over to take her hand. "I used to lie awake at night, remembering you asking me not to go on that last deployment. Tried to bargain with… God, I guess, to bring you back. Wasn't necessarily sober when I did that. Promised I'd give you anything you wanted. And now you're really here… and I want to give you everything you want."

Sammie's eyes teared up again, but before she could say anything, the doorbell rang. She smiled at him as Jack ran barking to the door, then went to get the food. Gibbs followed her, taking the aluminum tray from the teenage boy's hands, while Sammie took a large paper bag and thanked him, handing him some cash.

They went into the kitchen, putting everything on the counter. Sammie had ordered salads and lasagna with lots of meat in it. A few minutes later they were sitting at the table with fresh beer and digging in, with Jack dividing his attention between the two of them, hoping for some scraps. "Sorry, bud," Sammie said, "there's onion in this."

After a few minutes of eating, Sammie asked about the team.

"Caught a case Tuesday morning… dead sailor on base in Norfolk. Keeping them pretty busy. Tony called me a couple of times, asking about another case we worked, said there are some similarities. They'll figure it out," Gibbs said confidently.

"Wish you were working on it with them?"

Gibbs shrugged. "Normally I would, yeah… but I'm perfectly happy to be focused on you and the house."

Sammie smiled at him. "Was there more to do with the investigation into how I got switched with Samantha Kendall? Or were they pretty much done with that?"

Gibbs sat back, thinking as he chewed and swallowed. "Most of the bases are covered at this point. Mike admits he screwed up with the identification, but it's pretty clear that was a mistake. He can try to explain that to you, if you want." He shot her an apologetic look. "The team did look into your adoptive parents."

Sammie nodded. "I know."

Gibbs' brow furrowed. "How?"

She ate a big bite of lasagna, then smiled at him. "They interviewed some of my parents' friends and relatives. My phone was blowing up with texts and messages starting Monday afternoon." She sighed. "I figured something like that might happen… not really ready to try to explain it all, just posted on Facebook that I've reunited with my biological father." Her eyes widened. "Needless to say, some of my relatives are very curious, but I'm putting them off for now."

Gibbs set his silverware down and took her hand. "Anything I can do to help?"

Sammie shook his head. "Not for now… eventually I'll have to show you off, even if it's just with pictures. Luckily the relatives aren't local. They're the pushy ones. A few are annoying, too, but we'll avoid them." Sammie finished off her lasagna and went back to her salad. "So, is the investigation over, then? No one to blame?"

Her father took a long swallow of beer; Sammie watched, raising an eyebrow. "I'm guessing not yet."

Gibbs chuckled. "Never could hide anything from your mom. You're just the same, aren't you?"

She grinned. "I sure hope so! So, who's left? My grandmother… Josie?"

"Joann." Gibbs stared at his plate, his gaze unfocused.

Sammie waited for a little while, then tapped the back of his hand where it rested on the table. "Dad? You okay?"

He looked up at her. "Joann… she's never forgiven me for moving my family away. Always called you and your mom her girls. I didn't like it, but Shannon shrugged it off, and I wanted to keep the peace. After I lost you both… didn't see her. Tried to reach out… as she put it, she remembers things differently. Figured I'd never see her again, and then about a year ago, she'd just gotten engaged and he was killed in front of her. Navy, so we got the case."

Sammie was astonished. "That's so awful! The poor woman."

Gibbs winced slightly. Sammie caught it, cocking her head as she looked at him. "Or not."

He shot her a look, his expression confirming the 'not.' "Things got… complicated. I don't want to get into the details unless I have to. I think we were in a state of détente – but now that you're back, that won't last." He picked up his fork and poked at his salad.

Sammie snickered. "You don't have to eat the green things unless you really want to. I know you only ate them to set a good example for me when I was little."

Gibbs laughed softly. "Your mom made me. Now I've got Ducky trying to do the same thing."

"He's such a nice man."

Gibbs nodded. "He's a good friend. He'll talk the ear off a donkey, but he's a great man."

Sammie propped her elbow on the table and rested her chin on her hand. Gibbs raised an eyebrow at her, and suddenly she remembered him telling her it wasn't right to do that at the dinner table. She grinned. "My house, my rules."

He lowered his head and smiled.

"So," she said, "back to Joann?"

"Ziva interviewed her. Said Joann refused to believe you were still alive at first, then got very emotional and demanded to see you. She told her not to come without an invitation, but I expect her to show up at my door any day." He met her eyes. "There are some… inconsistencies about her identification of you at the hospital morgue. The NCIS agent who was with her at the time doesn't think she was certain the girl was you."

Sammie's brow furrowed as she tried to understand that. "How could she not check?"

Gibbs shook his head. "Shock? She'd just identified her daughter." He cleared his throat, blinking rapidly for a moment. "I don't know, Kells. My gut tells me we're going to find out, probably sooner rather than later."

Sammie watched him with concern; she could tell he was unhappy about the prospect of having Joann turn up. She was curious about her grandmother, but she felt protective of her father, and that would win out any day. "I'll ask Ziva to teach me some more moves."

Gibbs smiled at that idea. "Based on her reaction to Joann, I think she'd be happy to demonstrate on her."

They smiled at each other and tackled their salads, polishing them off before Sammie got up to put the rest of the lasagna in the fridge and went looking for the apple pie. Once they both had pie with chocolate sauce in front of them, Sammie brought up a new topic. "Think you can stand to have me at the house again soon?"

Gibbs had already shoveled a huge piece of pie into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed before replying. "Can't be soon enough."

"Friday morning through Sunday?"

"I'd love it. You don't have to work?"

Sammie ate some pie. "I was on the schedule, but one of the other cardio techs asked if I could switch for the following weekend. Some family thing came up that he wants to go to."

"You're always welcome, you know that."

"Cool. I'll get to work on my room, see what to keep and what to donate."

"We can get you some more adult furniture."

"What, I don't rate Dad's handmade?"

"Thought you wanted to build a boat?"

"I do!" She nodded emphatically. "Let's do that first. I can get some inexpensive pieces, and then you can eventually build me the good stuff."

They finished dessert, and Gibbs took over the clean up while Sammie let Jack out into the fenced yard and made decaf tea for both of them. "You driving home tonight or staying over in the guest room?"

"I could stay. Got a bag in the car."

"Cool. If I get up early enough, we could do breakfast at the diner a few blocks over before I have to go to work."

They ended up back in the living room, on the couch. Sammie yawned, pulling her feet up as she leaned back against the arm, looking at Gibbs and sipping tea. "You said you have paperwork?"

Gibbs nodded, reaching for the folder he'd left on the coffee table. "Saw my lawyer yesterday," he began.

Sammie tilted her head and raised her eyebrows. "I thought Abby said you have a rule against lawyers… number fourteen?"

He grinned. "Thirteen. And that's for cases and divorces." He pulled some stapled pages out of the folder and handed them to her. "Copy of my new will. Everything goes to you now, except certain things to friends and my team."

She took it and set it on the coffee table, frowning a little. "I just got you back, and you're talking about dying."

Gibbs leaned over to ruffle her hair, and she batted at his hand. "Hey!"

He grinned at her. "Not dying anytime soon, not if I have anything to say about it. Just wanted to make sure you're taken care of."

She sighed, glancing at the papers. "Okay. Thanks, Dad. I'll put that in the bank vault Friday before I head over to your place."

Gibbs reached for the folder. "I also talked to him about what we need to do to get your identity legally re-established as Kelly."

She froze, staring at him. "You did what?"

He set the folder back down and sat back, recognizing the danger signs. "Just talked about it… up to you to set that in motion."

Sammie sat up, putting her teacup on the coffee table. "You could have asked me first." Her tone was clipped, and she wasn't looking at him.

"Kelly…" Gibbs let his voice trail off, not sure what to say.

"Isn't that another rule? Something about not assuming?"

"Yeah." Gibbs' hand went to the back of his head, running his fingers through his hair. "I screwed up, didn't I?"

"A bit, yeah." Sammie stood up and walked to the mantle, staring at the pictures of Lyssa and Will. "Dad… I love you. I couldn't be happier to be getting these memories back. But… Momma and Pop. They were my parents longer than you were." She saw him react to that, almost as if she'd hit him. "I'm sorry, but it's true. I can't just pretend twenty years of my life didn't happen." Her fists clenched at her sides. "They were my parents. My life with them meant something."

Gibbs swallowed, wishing he'd kept his mouth shut. "Kelly, I don't want you to forget them."

She stared at him for a moment. "I could never." Then she started moving, stalking around the room, running her hand through her hair. "My degrees, my professional certifications… my vet school application. Everything is Sammie Hawthorne's. Do you know what a nightmare it would be to have to explain that all the time?"

It had been a long time since Gibbs had messed up this badly; he wasn't enjoying the feeling. "I'm sorry, Kells."

She whirled to face him. "I know. I know you didn't mean it the way I'm taking it. But I need you to understand. Until a week ago, I didn't know I was Kelly Gibbs. Two weeks ago, all of a sudden there's a guy in a park, and he's gorgeous, and he's telling me something that can't be true. A week later, that same guy is being super supportive, and trusting me in a way I've never gotten from any guy except you and Pop, and suddenly I'm not just Sammie Hawthorne, I'm Kelly Gibbs too." She stared at him, tears in her eyes. "Sometimes it doesn't feel real. I need time, Dad." She moved to the armchair and sat, sprawling. "You need time too. Abby said you'd been waiting for twenty years, but Ducky told her that wasn't true, that you buried me twenty years ago, and you weren't waiting at all. He was right. You need time to adjust, just like I do."

Gibbs nodded, looking down at the floor and clasping his hands together. "I'll head home, give you some space."

"No!"

He sat up, startled by her vehemence. She stared at him, then looked away, off to one side, wiping angry tears from her face. Then she got up and moved to the couch to sit next to him. He watched her, eyes wide, confused.

Sammie reached out and took his hand in both of hers, holding it tightly. "This." She said quietly. "This is a good thing. You lost your family. I lost mine, twice, even if I didn't truly realize it for a long time." She took a deep breath. "We're together again. This sort of thing doesn't happen outside of movies, in real life. But it has. Just because something is good, though, doesn't make it easy. You messed up, but is it really a big deal? No. It's not like you went and did something… you just got information so I could make a decision. I'm just not ready for you to do something like that yet." She looked at him, one tear making its way slowly down her face. "I want you to stay tonight. I want us to have breakfast tomorrow morning. I want to keep remembering things. I want to move back to our house, to feel closer to Mom. I want to get to know the people who are important to you, and I think I want to see if maybe Tony might feel something for me, because I'm realizing I trust him the way he trusted me." She shrugged. "I just need some time."

Gibbs nodded, resting the palm of his hand against the side of her face. "You take all the time you need. I love you, Kelly, Sammie, no matter what your name is. When you move back home, Lyssa and Will get a place of honor because of who they are to you and what they did for me, keeping you safe and raising you to be such a strong and amazing person."

Sammie nodded vigorously, unable to speak. Gibbs' hand moved from her face to her hair, and he tucked some of it behind her ear. "Your life, your identity, your decision. I'll leave it alone unless you ask me for help."

She gave him a tremulous smile. "Thanks, Dad."

Gibbs dropped his hand and cleared his throat. "You still want to come home for the weekend?"

She frowned. "Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

He opened his mouth, then closed it, not sure of what to say. He finally simply shrugged and gave her a small smile.

Sammie's expression turned sad. "Those ex-wives of yours, they did a number on you, didn't they?"

He shook his head, shoving the memories of Diane, Rebecca, and Stephanie aside. "Who's to say I'm not the one who damaged them?"

She looked at him thoughtfully. "Takes two to mess up a relationship." Then she laughed a little. "As if I'm an expert. And that's probably an oversimplification anyway." She squeezed his hand, then let go. "Get your bag out of your car, and I'll show you the guest room."

Gibbs pulled her into a hug, then kissed her forehead before getting up and heading for the front door. He knew he'd beat himself up over this a good part of the night, and he fervently hoped he'd never make a mistake like that with her again. Ever.

He came back inside to see Sammie sitting on the couch, with Jack next to her, and resigned himself to having the dog on the furniture at home. He lifted his go-bag asked, "Guestroom?"

Sammie popped up off the couch and led him down the hall to a nice corner bedroom, just as comfortable as the living room. He dropped his bag on the bed while she closed the curtains.

"So," Gibbs commented, "you think Tony is gorgeous, huh?"

Sammie froze in the act of covering the last of the windows, then let her head drop. "Oh, crap. I babbled too much again, didn't I?"

"Well…"

"You won't tell him, right?"

Gibbs shook his head. "Of course not. Already told you, your life, your decision." He looked at her curiously. "Don't think I missed that bit about trust, by the way."

Sammie's face turned red. "I have a tendency to put up walls. And a lot of guys my age don't have the patience to help take them down." She shrugged and gave him a wry smile. "I grew up fast, in the hospital. I'm awfully independent… combine that with the walls, and most of the guys I've dated thought I was hiding something from them." She noticed Gibbs' thoughtful expression. "I don't want you to give him any hints or anything… just, maybe if you know for sure that he's not interested, or he's taken, or whatever, you could give me a heads up."

Gibbs smiled at her. "If Tony is quiet about something, it's important to him. And he's said very little about you outside of the investigation, for whatever that's worth."

Sammie sighed. "I should just focus on work and school… if I get in, I'll be awfully busy."

"The right person will understand that, Kells. I will tell you I haven't seen Tony serious about many women, but when he has been, they've all been strong and independent. Like you." He moved forward, pulling her into another hug. "If the case doesn't keep him too busy, he'll probably be around to help out with the house this weekend."

Sammie sighed. "Just, please, no teasing."

"Who, me?"

"I remember how you were with mom sometimes." She gave him a small smile.

He returned it. "I'll be good, don't worry." He looked at his watch. "Getting late, and you have work in the morning."

She straightened up and gave him a salute, which made him laugh. "Goodnight, Dad."

"Night, Kells."

Vance

The next evening, Gibbs was painting more toys in the basement and Mike was leaning against the workbench, drinking beer and watching, when they heard footsteps on the stairs. Both men looked up to see Leon Vance descending, pausing when he caught sight of Mike's face. The bruising was still evident around his eyes, and his nose was still taped. Vance's eyebrows rose, and he glanced between the two men. Gibbs merely nodded to him with a slight smile and refocused on his painting. Mike drank some beer while meeting the director's eyes, then greeted him with "Leon."

Vance nodded to him, then continued down the stairs the rest of the way, walking closer to where Gibbs sat. "Thought I'd check in, see how you're doing."

"That's my cue, Probie," Mike drawled. He downed the rest of his beer, then straightened up. "I'll be back tomorrow." His eyes shifted to Vance. "Gotta prepare a speech," he said, his tone aggrieved. Then he went up the stairs and was gone.

"A speech?" Vance asked, turning to Gibbs. "Franks?"

Gibbs grinned, focusing on some fine lines on a small wooden horse. "Kelly's coming back tomorrow morning, staying for the weekend. Mike has some explaining to do."

"Ah."

Gibbs nodded toward an empty chair. "Sit, Leon."

Vance removed his suit jacket and sat. "How is Kelly?"

Gibbs smiled again, this one soft and happy. "She's fantastic. Applying to veterinary school," he said proudly.

Vance grinned at him. "That's great, Gibbs."

Gibbs nodded. "Yeah," he agreed quietly. He set the paintbrush and the horse down, looking at Vance. "Drink?"

Vance shook his head. "Can't stay too long. Promised Jackie I'd take her out to dinner tonight." He sat forward, picking up a toy jeep and looking at it carefully, clearly impressed. Then he set it down and looked at Gibbs. "Any chance you can come in tomorrow? Have an inter-agency discussion scheduled, was hoping to have all the team leaders present."

Gibbs shot Vance a mild glare. "C'mon, Leon, you know I don't play well with others." He turned to face the director, head tilted slightly. "Have DiNozzo do it."

Vance nodded. "You sure?"

Gibbs snorted. "Man can charm the pants off just about anyone. He'll make us look good."

Vance's eyebrows shot up at that. "We are good."

"Yup." Gibbs stated painting again. "Besides," he added. "Kelly will be here. Family first, at least for now."

Vance nodded. "That, I understand. You two doing okay?"

Gibbs nodded, still focused on the horse. "Very much." Then he paused and sighed. "Screwed up yesterday… went to see a lawyer about getting Kelly's identity reestablished."

"Without asking her first?"

Gibbs nodded again.

Vance shook his head, smiling slightly. "Kayla's only eleven, and she'll take me to task in a heartbeat if I overstep."

Gibbs sighed, letting his hands with the horse and the brush rest on the table. "Yeah. Felt awful." He shifted in his seat. "Just… tough hearing everyone call her Sammie instead of Kelly."

"I get that," Vance said quietly. He looked at Gibbs, who met his gaze. "Kayla has good friend… her given name is Charla. Asks everyone to call her Cloud." Gibbs' eyebrows rose, and Vance smiled at him. "She's still the same person."

Gibbs sighed. "Thanks, Leon… but her parents haven't been visiting her grave for twenty years."

Vance nodded. "Huh. Can't argue with that." He leaned forward. "Kids are their own people, even when they're young. And yours is, what, closing in on thirty?"

Gibbs frowned. "Ouch, Leon."

Vance grinned at him. "Pick your battles, Gibbs."

Gibbs sighed. "Pretty sure she's gonna pick them for me."

"Good." When Gibbs looked at him curiously, Vance clarified. "Strong women… don't have to worry about 'em so much."

Gibbs smiled and shook his head. "Always gonna worry," he said quietly, looking back down at the wooden horse.

Vance decided it was time to change the subject. "When do you think you'll come back to work?"

"Monday," Gibbs said decisively. Then he tilted his head slightly. "Working on making some changes here, for Kelly to move back home. Gonna start letting DiNozzo take on more responsibility."

Vance hesitated, then said, "You were right about him, when he was Afloat and you told me the team needs him. They'll do just fine with him as lead."

Gibbs laughed quietly. "They'll do better."

Vance raised his eyebrows at that, but didn't comment. He got to his feet, grabbing his jacket off the back of the chair. "I have to go, or Jackie will have my hide." He moved toward the stairs and then stopped, turning back toward Gibbs. "Jackie and I would very much like to meet your daughter someday."

Gibbs looked up at him and nodded. "Gonna have a get-together for her and the team when she moves in. Bring Jackie and the kids."

Vance smiled. "We'll be there." He left, and Gibbs sat, staring at the horse in his hands for a few minutes, before he stretched his shoulders and neck and resumed painting.