Week Three

Text from Sammie to Tony

Hi Tony! Keep an eye on my dad this week? It's the anniversary of when he and Mom got engaged. He's coming for dinner later this week if work allows.

Will do. Want a report?

Only if he's not okay.

As you wish.

Late Night in the Bullpen

Tim watched as Tony smiled at his phone before setting it back down on his desk. A quick glance toward Gibbs' desk revealed that their boss was still downstairs with Abby, so Tim pushed his chair back, got up, and walked over to Tony's desk.

"Setting up a date, Tony?"

Tony looked up at him. "Nope, McSnoop. Don't you have work to do?"

Tim shrugged. "Gibbs has me running searches. Once I get them started, I don't need to stare at the screen."

"And you're running every possible search?" Tony's tone oozed skepticism.

Tim rolled his eyes as he leaned against the file cabinet and crossed his arms. "Yes, I'm running every possible search."

Tony leaned back in his chair, twirling a pen in one hand. "And Gibbs will be convinced that you're running every possible search?"

Tim looked worried for a moment, but shook it off. "Tony… it's been over two weeks since Sammie went back home, and you still haven't flirted with a single woman."

Tony's eyebrows shot up. "Are you accusing me of flirting with married women?"

Tim frowned. "You know what I mean. Ziva's right, you've got it bad for Sammie. What's Gibbs going to do when he realizes it?"

Tony stared at Tim but was saved from replying when Gibbs appeared from the far side of Tony's desk. "Running every possible search, McGee?"

Tony smirked at Tim as the latter replied, "Uh, yes Boss!"

Gibbs sat at his desk, eyeing his junior agent. "Go help Abby."

Tim left in a hurry. Tony watched him go, then looked at Gibbs. "Abby having any luck?"

Gibbs sighed and shook his head. "Everything's too clean."

Tony's eyes narrowed. "So maybe we need to take a closer look at the lieutenant's cousin… the one with the degree in forensics?"

Gibbs stared at him, then smiled. "You do that, Tony."

"On it, Boss!"

Gibbs watched as Tony refocused on his computer. Moments later, the cell on Tony's desk buzzed; Tony picked it up, read whatever was on there, smiled softly, and quickly typed a reply before getting back to work. Gibbs ducked his head to hide his own smile and picked up his phone to call Ziva and send her after their new prime suspect.

Midweek Dinner

Sammie grinned at her father as he told the story of Ziva subduing the forensics specialist in the hallway outside the interrogation rooms. "The guy was in the middle of your building, surrounded by feds and Navy personnel… where did he think he was going to go?"

Gibbs shook his head. "For such a smart guy, he was pretty dumb."

Sammie handed Gibbs a beer and sat at the table with her own. "Sometimes I really don't get people." She drank some beer, then set the bottle down, her brow furrowed in thought. "Then again, I've seen so many animals freak out at the vet… maybe it's the same thing."

"Not planning to neuter any of our suspects," Gibbs pointed out, giving her a lopsided smile.

Sammie tilted her head to one side. "That might actually be a great deterrent."

Gibbs' cell rang. Sammie sat up, smiling in anticipation. "Is that him?"

Gibbs nodded as he answered, "Hi, Dad. Putting you on speaker."

"Hi, Grandpa!"

"Hi, son, Kelly. Good to hear you both. Doing well, I take it?"

Gibbs gestured for Sammie to go ahead. "Very well! Busy at work; this is the first time I've seen Dad in a few weeks."

"Leroy, you need to take more time for your daughter!"

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "Dad, I'm here at her place in the middle of the week while the rest of my team is on a hot case. What does that tell you?"

"That you're finally getting your priorities straight."

Sammie was looking at Gibbs. "Hot case? I thought you said you caught the guy?"

"He gave up his accomplice in hopes of making a deal. Tony and Ziva should be out tracking her down now. And Tim is following the money."

"What do you do, son? Stand around and watch?"

"Yeah, Dad, they made me team leader because I'm so incompetent."

Sammie shot him a mock glare. "What Dad means, Grandpa, is that he excels at delegating."

"And shooting people."

Sammie blinked and looked at her father, who stared at the phone, concern evident on his face. "What's that all about, Dad?"

They could hear Jack sigh. "Sorry, son. A couple of young hooligans tried to rob the bank down the street, got in a shootout with Ed and one of his deputies. Ed took a bullet to the shoulder, and one of the kids is dead. Only nineteen years old."

"Ed gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, he's bitchin' about it and talking retirement, but no one takes him seriously."

Gibbs tapped his fingers on the table, a motion that had Sammie flashing back to earnest discussions between her parents at the dinner table. "Dad… that's not the first time there's been violent crime in Stillwater lately. Maybe you should think about moving here?"

"I'll be fine, son. You're gonna have your hands full with Kelly and my namesake moving back home."

"There's plenty of room."

"I'd love to have us all together," Sammie added.

Jack was silent for a moment. "I'll give it some thought. Can't really see myself leaving the store." They could hear him clear his throat, and then say, "Now Kelly, you tell me all about this job of yours. We didn't talk much about it when you were here."

Gibbs sat back, watching his daughter's face light up as she described her job and her hopes for her career. He made a mental note to ask Abby to look for patterns in crime statistics in the area near Stillwater, just in case.

Text from Tony to Sammie

Something wrong with Jack? Abby says Gibbs asked her to research crime stats near Stillwater.

Bank robbery recently. Jack wasn't involved. Someone named Ed got shot, and one of the perps died.

Listen to you… perps. We'll make an agent out of you yet.

I highly doubt that.

Ziva says she's going to work with you on self-defense some more.

Yup. Mostly to keep Dad from worrying about me.

Good idea. Might help me worry less too.

Why would you worry? You're the one with the scary job!

You could get your face bitten off.

LOL You think Mossad has an anti-animal-attack division?

I'll ask Ziva.

You're a goof.

Yeah… but you like me anyway.

You're right, I do. So maybe you should take lessons from Ziva.

I refuse to dignify that with a response.

I could send her an email, ask her to give you lessons.

Do that and I'll

You'll what?

I don't know. I can't come up with anything that doesn't take us out of friends territory.

*shocked face emoji*

Uh oh

Dad is watching you, isn't he?

Yup… ow. He just head slapped me. Back to work.

*heart emoji*

Text from Tony to Sammie (several hours later)

*picture of Leroy the iguana hanging by a string from a loop on a bullet-proof vest*

Phone Call from Philie

"Hello?"

"Hi, honey."

"...Joann?"

"Yes. How are you, Kelly?"

"I'm fine, thanks. You?"

"I'm doing well. Things are better, knowing that you're there."

"Ah… good. So… you're talking to someone?"

"I'm talking to you."

"I meant getting professional help."

"I really don't think that's necessary anymore."

"Joann, I wasn't kidding when I said to contact me after your first session with a therapist."

"I know, Kelly. But so much of my anger is gone now."

"You were going to poison Dad."

"I didn't."

"Did you want to?"

"At the time, yes."

"And now?"

"Kelly, I want to get to know you again. You're all I have left of my Shannon."

"No, I'm not. You have pictures, memories… I'm sure you have home movies. And you're avoiding the question."

"It's not relevant anymore. I'm not going to hurt Jethro."

"Why should I believe you?"

"Don't take that tone with me."

"Is this a joke? You murdered a man in cold blood. You intended to kill Dad. He had what was in that bottle analyzed, you know. It would have killed him ten times over."

"Kelly, what do you want me to do? I gave the bottle to you. It's over."

"I don't think it is. Twenty years of hatred doesn't just go away. Don't call me again until you've started talking to a therapist, Joann."

"That's not fair. You call Jack Gibbs Grandpa, but you won't give me the same courtesy of Grandma."

"Grandpa didn't commit a murder or plan a second one. Look… therapy is hard. I get that. But you need to get past what happened."

"I can't forget what Jethro did to my girl."

"What, fall in love with her? Marry her? Help her make me?"

"He killed her."

"And that right there is why you need to get professional help. You're stuck in a delusion. We're done."

"Kelly -"

"No."

Sammie stared at her cell after ending the call. "I think I get the appeal of slamming something to get the point across," she said to herself.

Intervention

Ziva checked the time, then got up from her desk. "I am going to join Abby for lunch," she said.

Gibbs looked up from his paperwork and nodded to her, his head tilting slightly as he noticed that she didn't meet his eyes as she walked past his desk and headed toward the back elevator.

"Boss?"

"DiNozzo."

"Tim and I thought we'd stretch our legs, enjoy some sun…"

Gibbs glanced between the two of them, taking in Tony's neutral expression and McGee's slightly apprehensive one. He waved his hand toward the large windows to his right. "Go on, get out of here."

Both agents sprang to their feet. "Want us to bring you something back, Boss?" Tony asked.

Gibbs thought about it. "Sure, why not. Thinkin' I'll need it."

There was a pause, then the younger men walked quickly to the elevator. Gibbs could just make out McGee's whispered, "I told you he'd figure it out…"

Suppressing a smile, Gibbs refocused on his work, mentally counting down from ten. At two, his desk phone rang. He picked it up. "Yeah, Gibbs."

"Good afternoon, Jethro."

"Duck," Gibbs drawled in return.

"Could you spare a moment to come down to Autopsy?"

Gibbs sighed, debated with himself about being difficult, then answered, "Be right there."

A few minutes later, the doors opened to reveal Ducky, Abby, and Ziva clearly waiting for him, standing in a semi-circle. Gibbs stopped moving forward after a few steps, met each of their eyes, then turned around to leave.

"Jethro." Ducky's tone of voice was one he rarely used.

Gibbs grimaced, then turned back around and approached them. "Another intervention? Really?" He shot Abby a disappointed look.

"Gibbs!" she protested. "This isn't something I could keep to myself! She was going to kill you!"

"She didn't," Gibbs stated mildly.

"Clearly," Ducky responded in a dry tone.

"Gibbs," Ziva said quietly, "it is not just an intervention. I owe you an apology."

Gibbs turned toward her, eyebrows raised in question.

"That day Joann first came to your house, Tony asked me to check for weapons. I was too narrow in my focus. I only looked for the obvious ones. I remember seeing the bottle Abby showed me the other day, in Joann's purse, but it did not occur to me that it was not simply a medication that Joann required."

Gibbs shook his head. "No harm, no foul, Ziva. She didn't get a chance to use it." He looked at Abby. "You did say it wouldn't work," he pointed out to her.

"That's not the point, Jethro," Ducky stated firmly, redirecting Gibbs' focus to him. "We all understand that Joann is Shannon's mother, Kelly's grandmother, and as such you wish to protect her from harm… but at your own expense?"

Gibb shook his head, moving to lean back against one of the autopsy tables. "She isn't going to do anything to me now, Duck."

"How can you know that, Gibbs?" Abby crossed her arms over her chest. Gibbs was surprised she didn't stamp her foot as well.

"Abigail makes a good point, Jethro."

Ziva simply stared at him, waiting for his response.

"Kelly told her if Joann did anything to me, she'd have nothing to do with her. Joann's not gonna risk that."

"Jethro," Ducky said, his voice concerned, "I'm not convinced we can rely on Joann being rational. Granted, I have not spoken with the woman and cannot provide any sort of diagnosis, but if she is not entirely sane, we cannot be certain that she takes Kelly at her word."

Gibbs shrugged. "So, what do you want me to do? Arrest her based on the fact that she admitted to Kelly she planned to use it?" He shook his head. "She gave it up. Never did use it, never tried. We've got nothing substantial to charge her with. Can't go with conspiracy to commit murder since there aren't any prints except hers and ours on the bottle." He looked at Abby. "Are any of those substances illegal?"

Abby made a face. "It's a gray area, Gibbs. The poisons are all from plants that grow where anyone can find them, although some are harder to locate than others."

Gibbs simply looked back at all of them.

Ducky sighed. "I trust you have made Kelly aware of Joann's intentions?"

Gibbs nodded. "She knows. She won't do anything to put herself at risk."

"What about you, Gibbs?" Abby's expression was worried.

Gibbs pushed away from the table and moved to pull her into his arms. "Joann's not exactly someone I want to spend time with, Abby. And I'm far from her favorite person. I don't think it's going to be an issue."

"She could hire an assassin," Ziva pointed out.

Abby's arms tightened around Gibbs.

"Kelly already warned her not to try that," Gibbs replied. He patted Abby's back and tried to move away, but she held on. "Abs."

She sighed and let go, stepping back. "Gibbs." She was clearly protesting, but whether it was about ending the hug or the bigger issue, Gibbs wasn't sure.

"Look," he said slowly. "She wasn't always like this. She never did like me all that much, but she was mostly nice to me for Shannon's sake, and Kelly's. The person she's become now… I think I can relate," he said wryly.

Ducky frowned. "Jethro… what you did all those years ago was vastly different."

"I know, Duck." He looked at all of them. "Look… I appreciate your concern. Tony refuses to let me be anywhere near Joann without him playing bodyguard, and she knows it. I don't see her coming back here. And Vance is in the loop as well."

Ziva's eyebrows shot up at that, but she said nothing.

Everyone was silent, until Gibbs smiled slightly. "I'm not blind to the possible danger she represents… but I think Kelly's got it handled."

Abby smiled at that. "Kelly kicks ass."

"She does," Ziva added. "She has asked for more training when she returns."

Gibbs nodded his thanks to Ziva. "She has no real memory of Joann, so there isn't an emotional attachment there to put her off her guard. She'll be fine." He looked at Ducky. "Are we done?"

Ducky shook his head ruefully. "I suppose we have what we wanted… assurance that you are not refusing to see reality."

Gibbs found he had nothing to say to that, so he shook his head, laughing quietly, and turned to leave the room.

"Actually… a moment longer, Jethro, if you please."

Sighing, Gibbs turned back around. A meaningful look from Ducky prompted Abby and Ziva to leave the room as Gibbs moved closer to his old friend.

"Kelly called me the other day," Ducky said quietly.

Gibbs tensed immediately. "She alright?"

"Yes, she's fine. She had a distressing phone call from Joann." Ducky could see Gibbs' jaw clench. "Apparently Joann is refusing to seek help for her mental and emotional distress, insisting that it isn't necessary, while at the same time continuing to blame you for Shannon's death." He paused, watching Gibbs' carefully; the man might as well have turned to stone. "I gave her the name of a friend of mine, a psychiatrist whose office isn't all that far from Joann's home. She sent it on to Joann with a reminder that she will not speak with her again until she has proof that Joann has entered into some form of treatment."

Gibbs simply looked at him.

Ducky smiled slightly. "My friend specializes in working with those whose delusions make them violent. I have already reached out to him and given him Joann's name. He will make room for her in his schedule should she contact him, and will notify me if she does in fact begin treatment. I have already told him of her history and her plan for you. He will, of course, reserve judgment until his sessions with her, should they occur, bear out our concerns. If he believes her to legitimately be a threat to you, he will have her committed, a task which will be made easier by her own confessions to Kelly as well as Abby's evidence. If, on the other hand, sessions with her appear to be helping, perhaps there will be room for her in Kelly's life after all." Ducky reached out to place his hand on Gibbs' shoulder. "Don't be angry with Kelly for coming to me, Jethro."

Gibbs let out an explosive breath and shook his head. "I'm not, Duck. You've handled it more effectively than I could have." He smiled slightly. "Kelly's much smarter than I am. And Tony's right… family is my kryptonite."

"I shan't argue with you on either point."

Gibbs laughed. "Do me a favor… update the Director?" He turned and headed for the door.

"I shall do so… directly."

Gibbs stopped and looked back at him. "A pun, Duck? Nice."

Voicemail from Sammie to Gibbs

Hi Dad! I'm guessing you're out on a case and super busy… just wanted to let you know I'm home from hiking with my friends in Monongahela. We had a great time… stayed at a nice hotel, got some great pictures. We picked some of the lesser known trails, and saw lots of wildlife. Made me think maybe I'll look into what I would need to be certified to treat wild animals. Coolest thing was a gray fox that crossed our path… so beautiful! We saw a red one too when we went out early. It had caught a rabbit, and was probably bringing it back to her kits… though it's not like we could tell for sure if it was a female. Anyway, I just picked up Jack from my friend who dog-sat for me… he's angry with me, won't even stay in the same room - Jack, I mean, not my friend. That'll change as soon as it's dinner time. Anyway, call me back if you get a chance, and don't worry, it's fine if you don't. Tony warned me about what you're like when you have a hot case! Love you!

Week Four, Part One

Phone Call from Sammie to Maddie

"... so you think this summer?"

Maddie laughed happily. "I'd love to! It would be nice to see your dad again. But you know I'm going to cry when I see you in person."

"Me too. I can't wait! Let me know when you book the trip, and I'll put in for time off."

"I will. Now, tell me about Tony… you're not really going to just stay friends, are you?"

Surprise Visit

Sammie pulled into her driveway after a late shift, a little after midnight, and sat in her car, surprised and then worried to see Tony sitting on the front steps, illuminated by the porch light. She hurried to shut off the engine and got out of the car, almost running to him. "What happened? Is Dad okay?!"

Tony looked at her, his eyes widening. "Gibbs is fine. I'm sorry, I didn't think."

Sammie took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. "It's okay… I just assumed you'd come to tell me he was hurt." She looked at him carefully. "Not him, but someone else?"

Tony nodded. "Tim was shot… he's gonna be okay, but it was close. He'll be in the hospital for at least three or four days."

Sammie pulled her keys out of her pocket and went to unlock the front door. "Come inside."

Jack greeted them both enthusiastically, getting a small smile from Tony. Sammie let the dog into the fenced backyard and turned to find Tony right behind her. She pulled him into a hug; they stood there for a moment, holding each other. After a while, Sammie said, "Come on… let's go sit down, and you can tell me what happened."

She grabbed a few glasses of water and they went into the living room, where they both sat on the couch. "I know you've been on a tough case… Dad's been hard to reach."

Tony nodded. "We got wind of a possible sleeper cell… been identifying suspects and tracking people for days. Joint case with the FBI… Tobias Fornell had point. He and Gibbs have been friends for a long time… you'll probably meet him soon after you move home. He married Gibbs' first ex-wife, did you know that? Gibbs told him about you a few days ago… Fornell was shocked but really happy for him." Tony sighed. "Anyway… a few days into it, an old case Gibbs worked on years ago, one that went cold, suddenly heated up. That one was a joint op with ATF… Gibbs went to work on that, and put me in charge of the team."

Sammie reached out to take Tony's hand. "So you feel responsible for what happened to Tim."

Tony stared down at the floor, idly rubbing his thumb along the back of her hand. "We had intel that the members of the cell were meeting in the basement of an office building after hours. We staked out the place until all the targets were inside. It was supposed to be an easy round up… but we didn't know they had a stash of guns and ammo in there. Tim was first in… shot took him just to the side of his vest right below the neck. I was right behind him, put pressure on it, kept him from bleeding out, we were talking, making jokes while Ziva and the Feebs took care of the cell… he was gripping my arm until he passed out." Tony took a deep breath. "For a second, I couldn't tell if he was still alive." He swallowed. "Then the EMTs got there… Fornell and Ziva told me to go with Tim…" Tony swallowed again.

Sammie could see his face lose color, and felt the clamminess of his hand. "Come with me." She grabbed one of the glasses of water and led him to the bathroom, moving quickly to lift the toilet seat as he stumbled forward and began throwing up. She kept one hand on his shoulder, rubbing his back slowly with the other. "It's okay, Tony… not an uncommon reaction to the adrenaline and the corticosteroids."

Eventually Tony stopped heaving into the toilet, reached up to flush it, then sat back against the wall with a groan. "Not my best moment," he mumbled, breathing slowly and looking up at her apologetically.

She smiled at him. "You're lucky I'm a medical professional."

He managed to look affronted. "I'm not a dog."

Sammie reached over to brush some of his hair off his forehead, then lowered the toilet seat and cover and sat on it. "Tell me the rest."

Tony looked at her, then closed his eyes and let his head thunk gently against the wall. "Tim coded in the ambulance… blood loss, they said. They got him back, rushed him into surgery as soon as we reached the hospital. I sat there, waiting… Ziva came, and Abby and Ducky… then Fornell showed up. Gibbs was unreachable, out in the field with ATF. Doc came out, told us Tim's stable, they repaired the torn artery. He's in an induced coma in the ICU to let him rest and help his blood supply regenerate." His brow furrowed. "Next thing I remember is seeing you pull into the driveway."

Sammie decided not to dwell on what that meant. "It wasn't your fault, Tony. It would have been whoever went in first… and I have to admit I'm glad it wasn't you." They stared at each other for a moment, then Sammie stood and went to the sink, opening the cabinet above it and pulling out a new toothbrush and some toothpaste. "Here… I'll leave you to clean up." She looked him over. "I don't see any blood on your clothes."

Tony's brow furrowed as he looked down at himself. "Oh… I think Abby brought me some clean clothes. I might have showered at the hospital."

Sammie nodded, hiding her concern that Tony had blocked out so much. She held out a hand; after a moment's hesitation he reached out and took it, and she helped him get up. "Take your time, okay?"

He nodded. She smiled at him then walked out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Walking into the living room, she saw her phone sitting on the coffee table and checked it. There was a missed call from her father. Without listening to the message, she called him back.

"Kelly?"

"Hey, Dad. Tony's here."

She heard him exhale in relief. "He okay?"

"A little out of it. He just finished throwing up. I'm a little concerned about shock… he doesn't remember driving over here."

"Ziva said as soon as he heard the surgeon say Tim would recover, he got up and walked out without saying anything."

"I think he'll be alright… I'm not going to let him drive back tonight."

"Tell him the team is off tomorrow. He should get some rest."

"I will. Any update on Tim?"

"Ducky called me, said everything looks good. Tony saved his life, reacting as quickly as he did."

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Probably going to be in the field with ATF for at least a couple more days." He paused. "Ducky's available if you need his advice about Tony."

"Tell him thank you. If he gets any worse, I'll call him."

"Will do. You're sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. I don't have work until late tomorrow, so I can take care of Tony."

"I'll check in tomorrow if I can."

"Stay safe, okay, Dad?"

"I will, sweetheart."

Sammie heard the call disconnect, and heard the sound of the bathroom door opening at almost the same time.

Tony walked into the living room. "Gibbs?"

Sammie nodded. "Checking on you. Ducky says Tim will be fine, that you saved his life."

Tony shook his head. "If I'd been more on the ball, his life wouldn't have been in danger in the first place."

Sammie went to him, reaching up to feel his forehead. "You look better. Feeling better?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Drank all the water."

"Good. Do you think you could eat something bland? I'd like to get some carbs into you."

"What do you have?"

"Instant oatmeal?"

"Yeah, okay."

A little while later, oatmeal and more water consumed, Sammie took Tony's hand and led him upstairs, with Jack following. When Tony realized they were going into the bedroom, he stopped. "I can take the couch."

"No, you can't. It's not long enough for you to stretch out." She smiled at him. "We're adults, we can share a bed. And I'd rather be close to you anyway."

She went into the walk-in closet, coming out a few minutes later in her Aussie pajamas and shorts. Tony was already under the covers. "Sorry," he said sheepishly, "no PJs. Kept my slacks on."

Sammie raised her eyebrows. "Is that comfortable?"

"Not at all."

"Going commando?"

"No!"

"So lose the slacks."

Tony looked at her for a moment, then wiggled out of his pants, tossing them onto the chair in the corner where he'd put the rest of his clothes. Sammie climbed into bed, turning out the light. Jack jumped up on the bed as soon as the light went off; with a little adjusting, she got him to settle on one side while she curled up next to Tony, resting her head on the pillow. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Tony answered. "It's just… Tim's my probie. My responsibility."

Sammie sighed into the darkness. "I thought Tim's been an agent for a long time."

"About eight years."

"But he'll always be your probie. Just like Dad is still Franks'."

"Uh huh."

They were quiet for a while. Tony reached over and took Sammie's hand where it rested on the sheets covering his chest. "This isn't how I imagined our first time in bed together would go."

Sammie laughed quietly. "Me neither. But that's okay. We agreed to stay friends at least until I move in with Dad."

Tony was silent, then squeezed her hand and giggled. "'Cause it will be so much easier with you being Gibbs' daughter, living in Gibbs' house…"

Sammie grinned. "I keep telling you, he's pro-Sony."

"What?"

"Sony. Sammie and Tony."

"But he calls you Kelly."

"Um… Kelony?"

"That's terrible."

"Yeah, it really is."

"M'sorry I barged in on ya like 'zis."

"I'm not. Means a lot that you came here." She squeezed his hand. "Sleep, Tony."

Tony slept. Sammie followed soon after, leaving Jack looking from one to the other in confusion.