A/N: Here's another chapter people! To my recent followers/favourites, welcome aboard this ride, seeing those emails & numbers climb is just amazing, can't believe so many people are really enjoying this story.

To Guest Reviewer: I do apologise if my grammer isn't perfect, I try to minmise the errors but I'm not perfect. Also, Jackson uses both names for his son. I recall episodes, where he's used Leroy as well as Jethro, I see him using Jethro when he's worried about his son & tense situations, with Leroy being the standard name.

Now, let's see how the family settle into Kelly & Nix's place... and Gibbs cook? hmm...

Gibbs panned left & then right, he then looked down and all around, while he'd have preferred to be at his place, he now realised that his family, his girls in particular weren't comfortable enough for that yet. He looked down at the sleeping boy curled up on the couch resting his head on his lap. Stroking through his hair he considered that this place wasn't too shabby.

He was sitting on the couch in their living area, it was a nice corner one, that he knew could fit all four of them if desired. There was a coffee table in front of him and a TV he thought should belong in a cinema it was so large, though apparently it was 'small' relatively speaking. To his right was a small enclave that held a small table with a computer & a printer, behind them was a nice little dining table and not a flash but decent enough kitchen. If he was completely honest with himself, it was a right sight better than his current kitchen. On the side of the kitchen was the backdoor. They had a laundry right on then left hand side of the door that jutted out into the backyard. There wasn't a great deal in the yard, but there was a small table & a few chairs on the small patio area before the grass, and up the back there was a small little shed. There of course was Buster's kennel & a small soccer net out there too. Down the hall towards the front of their house were each of kids bedrooms, the bathroom as well as a spare room, which had a study desk, a few bookshelves, and a fair few piles of boxes.

Gibbs had something on the TV in front of him, it was some cartoon movie called 'The Lion King 1 & half', he couldn't make heads or tails of it, but he wasn't really trying. Nix had put it on before collapsing down onto the couch, saying he wanted something funny to watch as they rested. Gibbs knew though that his son would be asleep within minutes, and he was right, within 15 minutes of the movie starting he was sound asleep resting his head on his lap.

As he stared down at his son, it was hard for him to fathom that 3 days ago he no clue he had a son, 3 days ago he had no clue his girls were alive, 3 days ago he had no clue just how much he hated MacDonald Fielding, 3 days ago he hadn't spoke to his father in 13 years, 3 days ago he hadn't spoken, let alone laughed this much in 13 years. Yet now, after just 3 days, he had his girls, he had a son, he'd been laughing & talking much to his own delight. He'd not only spoken, but laughed with and hugged his father, and he didn't think it was possible for him to hate anyone as much as he hated MacDonald Fielding.

Gibbs gently lifted his hand off his son's head as he moved positions, and only when he settled back down did he return to his gentle caressing, he gave himself another small smile as he remembered a previous thought, his boy needed a haircut, it was getting a little shaggy, the strands were almost down to his ears. His thoughts then travelled to his girls, they were in Kelly's room, trying to get some sleep. They'd realised they were too tired to go shopping & there was still enough food in the kitchen to see them through to tomorrow at the very least, so Shannon had taken the pair of them off to her room trying to get their girl to get some sleep, which she desperately needed.

He was still trying to understand just how she could have thought they didn't need or want her around? He knew that when people were overtired their minds started to give them thoughts that weren't always right, he was hoping that was all it was. While he would have preferred to be able to be there too, the bed was only a double, so not big enough and Nix had wanted to rest on the couch. He agreed that Shannon should be with their girl, there was obviously something going on between the pair, so he'd let them be.

He'd been drifting in & out of sleep for the past hour himself, but he saw his boy open his eyes "hey there" he said softly.

Nix looked up at his dad & just smiled.

Gibbs could see his boy was still sleepy, but given it was late afternoon already, he didn't want him going back to sleep, in case he couldn't sleep through the night & came up with a plan "what's say we make dinner for the girls?"

Nix considered it "can we make tuna pie?" he remembered from his numerous chats with his sister, that it was dish he often made.

Gibbs smiled "I think we can manage that" it was a pretty simple dish, and he'd made that one before, sure it was like 14 years ago.. but who's counting? He pulled his boy up & they both stood up "so we need?"

"Tuna, potatoes, cheese, milk and butter" Nix supplied, but he saw his dad trying to get the sling off "don't you have to leave that on?"

"The sling is to make sure that my stitches and wound area can settle & not rip, and they have. I will be careful, but I'd like 2 hands to help us make dinner" Gibbs said, he saw he son was sceptical "as soon as we've finished dinner I will put it back on, ok?" he added, hoping to relieve his son's worry, but he did want both his hands in order to cook dinner.

Nix nodded "Ok, but as soon as we've had dinner…"

"It goes back on son, I promise" Gibbs agreed, he laid the sling on a chair, and gently, very gently rolled his shoulder, while he was definitely still taking some pain meds, the pain was starting to ease. He went for the pantry & saw the potatoes and.. "you want ordinary or sweet potatoes pal?"

"Sweet potato in my tune pie? No thank you!" Nix replied, yukk!

"It's not that bad pal, what if we do 5 normal & 1 sweet potato, that way its just a little mixed in?" Gibbs remarked, he knew sweet potato was far healthier than the ordinary kind. He smiled inwardly, he was already starting to fall into the role of making sure his kids ate healthy. After 13 years of not really caring what he ate, it would have to change dramatically & it had already started.

"Do we have to?" Nix asked with a screwed up face, he didn't like this idea.

Gibbs laughed, the displeasure on his face was obvious, "ok, half of one" he'd compromise today.

"A quarter? They're pretty big, much bigger than the normal potatoes" Nix supplied, one of those equalled like 2 of the normal ones.

"How bout a tenth?" Gibbs asked back with a smirk.

"Even better!" Nix answered with a nod.

"That was a joke" Gibbs remarked "ok, this time the pie can be free of sweet potato, but next time, its in there"

"Now that's a much better plan!" Nix nodded, knowing full well he could talk his way out of that occurrence when it came about.

Gibbs just smiled "alright mister, we need peelers & a pot"

"Needs more butter" Nix remarked as he mixed the now cooked potatoes with the milk & butter.

"No it doesn't" Gibbs answered, they'd put enough in "let me mix it pal, just hold the pot, with the mitts & I'll whip it up nice and smooth"

Nix did as asked & watched his dad stir the potatoes quite vigorously, he was amazed he could do it so quickly with only using one hand, and he was getting the lumps out.

Gibbs took a break from the stirring and saw his son had a question on the tip of his tongue "what's up?"

"How you doing it so fast with only one hand? The faster I go, the stronger I have to hold the pot for help" Nix asked "you've gotten the lumps out and everything" he added.

"Well, for one thing pal, you're doing the holding for me & you're holding it very securely." Gibbs praised "but I've had a lot of practice with only one hand. I remember breaking my arm when I was 10, your grandparents didn't really think it was ample excuse for me not to do my chores. As a result, I got plenty of one armed practice"

"How'd you break it?" Nix asked curiously.

Gibbs thought about it, at the time it had been fun, looking back it was extremely dangerous "I did something very silly, I did something trying to fit in with some older kids" he said, maybe this would be good to share "I jumped into a lake off a rock that was too high & without checking the lake depth and what was under the surface. Turned out there was a rock just to under the surface & when I hit the water, my arm went straight into it"

Nix nodded, that would have hurt "gramps made you do chores with a broken arm?" surely not!

Gibbs nodded "yes, because both him & my mum had warned me against doing exactly what I did. So I disobeyed them & did something dangerous, and they'd both told me to never do anything just to fit in." he saw that his son was giving it some thought, he hoped this would help if he was ever in the same situation, because it was bound to happen.

Shannon laid on her daughter's bed, she was grateful that her daughter had finally fallen asleep, it had taken over an hour of back rubbing, soft murmuring & singing the songs she used to sing to get her asleep. But now she was sleeping soundly against her chest and getting some much needed rest. She would have fallen asleep herself but right now, she was basking in the feeling of having her girl wrapped in her embrace & sleeping so tightly against her that she could feel her heartbeat, it was just too special.

She looked at the clock, it was early evening, so she knew her mum would be well into her operation, she kept her thoughts positive, as she just held her daughter. She knew there were going to be awkward conversations to come, but she didn't want to deal with any of that right now. All she wanted to do was lie here with her girl and not think about anything.

While she'd helped her daughter decide on the area to live in, she couldn't bring herself to see any photos, it was just too heartbreaking. But her daughter had described the place, and it was pretty to close to how she imagined it, a small art deco style home. Casting her eyes around her room she realised that she'd tried to make it feel as comforting as possible, she saw familiar books sitting on her bookshelf, a familiar stack of CD's too. She had a few photo frames around her room, some were of her with her friends, some of her brother & her. One though made her smile more than most, it was from her own wedding day, of her & Jethro, it was sitting on the bedside table taking pride of place & she couldn't help but smile at that.

Looking down at her girl, who was sound asleep, she couldn't believe that 3 days ago she hadn't even contemplated when she'd be able to see her kids again, 3 days ago she'd never have imagined she'd be in the home her kids had gotten in DC. 3 days ago she'd never have ever imagined her husband was alive, alive! 3 days ago she wouldn't have believed her mother was alive too. But more than that, 3 days ago she never thought she could feel a greater feeling of self-loathing. She'd let that man talk her into too many things & she'd believed everything he'd said, she'd fallen for it, hook, line & sinker!

As Shannon lay there trying to put those feelings out of her mind she heard the door knob turn, she looked up to see her husband entering, she raised a single finger & placed it over her lips to indicate he should be quiet.

Gibbs nodded to her gesture & gently sat down next to his wife, he stroked his daughter head smiling at how she was nestled into her mum's hold just like she used to as a child. He looked up to her & reached forward, giving her a gentle kiss, seeing her lying in a bed, with their girl resting was such a beautiful sight "how are you?" he whispered

Shannon smiled "took her an hour to fall asleep, but she's sound asleep now"

Gibbs nodded, that meant she'd been asleep for 3 hours, which was good. Quickly he cast his eyes around the room, he hadn't really taken that good a look at his daughter's room before as he'd not wanted to intrude on her privacy that much yet. Now though he could see a room that looked very lived in, she had some clothes thrown over a chair, and a quick look into her walk-in wardrobe, yea that placed looked like organised chaos! The last thing he cast his eyes over were all the photos she had, the only ones he recognised were the ones with her, Nix, and their mum, she had countless others around, with various friends of hers. He then saw the photo from his own wedding, his eyes widened, it was him & Shannon, it was one of their official photos. It was the one that he loved the most, he was holding his wife from behind, he had his cover off & their heads were resting against each other. He'd spent 3 entire days turning the place in Oceanside upside down looking for it, no wonder he couldn't find it! "Special photo"

"Very special" Shannon smiled.

Gibbs eyes then cast to the frame right next to it, it was Nix, he was on the shore of some lake in board shorts but he was sitting on the shoulders of a boy that looked around Kelly's age. He had a fairly solid build, and light brown hair that was very short, both of them were doing a muscle man pose & grinning "who's that with Nix?" he asked quietly.

Shannon looked where her husband's eyes had drifted, she wasn't quite sure what to say "That's…. Michael & he's a conversation for another time" she finished, she really didn't want to get into that right now.

Gibbs looked at his wife, flashing a look to picture, he got a really strange feeling about this Michael boy, but he then saw something "are they… is he wearing…"

"Later Jethro, please" Shannon requested, she really didn't want to get it right now, but looking at the picture and at Michael, maybe it would help her daughter to give him a call? He might be able to help her deal with a few things.

Gibbs heard the plea in her voice "ok, dinner's almost ready…."

"Dinner's almost ready?" Shannon interrupted him, she had been about to suggest that they swap so she could go see to it.

Gibbs grinned "yes, Nix & I have taken care of dinner tonight"

Shannon wasn't sure about this development.

"Should we let her sleep?" Gibbs asked before she could say anything.

Shannon considered it, while she was certain that she'd sleep right through the night, she'd barely eaten all day & could use some food in her stomach. She was about to say something when she felt her girl shift in her hold, smiling she looked down when she saw some eyes open "hi angel" she said softly as she ran her fingers through her daughter's hair.

Gibbs had seen the same movement as his wife "hey angel" he added, stroking her back gently in tandem as his wife was stroking her hair.

"Hi" Kelly said softly, she had to admit she felt a little rested & waking up to see not just her mum, but her dad smiling down at her was nice.

"What's say to some dinner & a movie?" Gibbs smiled "we've already got the couch ready for us to snuggle up tight" he added, he could tell she didn't really want to remove herself from her current position.

"What's for dinner?" Kelly whispered, while she wouldn't mind food, she wasn't really wanting to move.

Gibbs leaned down to her ear & whispered only loud enough for her to hear "tuna pie, my style" he pulled back & grinned at his girl "want some?"

Kelly couldn't help but smile, she just nodded.

Shannon was glad to see that gorgeous smile "and are you going to tell me what we're having?"

"It's a surprise for you" Gibbs smirked

"Well, let's hope its edible, otherwise I will be dialling for pizza" Shannon retorted

"Dad!" Nix called

"Seems like dinner is ready" Gibbs grinned "come on baby girl, let's go" he said reaching for her.

Nix saw his family come into the room "it's ready!"

Shannon saw the utter grin on his face "what's ready darling?" trying to get the answer from her son.

"I said surprise Shan" Gibbs remarked before his son said anything.

Shannon just smiled at her husband "from him as well?"

"Yeap, why don't you two go sit, choose a movie, we've got this" Gibbs replied.

Shannon saw that her husband had obviously gone on a blanket hunt, because the couch had numerous blankets, she sat herself & her girl down, nestling them into the corner of the couch "what movie should we watch angel? Your choice, whatever you want to watch"

Kelly considered it "ahh.. Camp Nowhere?"

Shannon gave a small chuckle "sure, why not" this had been of her favourite movies as a kid, actually it was the first movie she'd watched in Houston and laughed and genuinely enjoyed.

Kelly went to change the DVD & noticed what had been in it "Lion King 1 & a half, really squirt?" she commented as he came towards them with plates.

"It's the forgotten one, it's funny!" Nix replied "did you like it dad?" he asked as his dad approached too.

"Can't say I really paid attention to it pal, was drifting in & out of sleep like you" Gibbs remarked "but I assume its part of series?"

Kelly had sat back down next to her mum "you've never seen The Lion King? Heard of it?"

"Ahh, no" Gibbs finally answered, he saw surprise on all their faces "sounds like we've got some movie watching to do"

Shannon didn't comment, she supposed The Lion King had been a children's movie, so maybe he hadn't paid attention to that sort of movie.

"You've also got reading to do" Nix supplied.

"Reading darling?" Shannon asked curiously.

"Harry Potter, dad hasn't even heard about it, any of it" Kelly supplied "he's promised to start reading them straight away"

Shannon looked between her kids, gauging if that was really right "you've never heard of Harry Potter?" ok, Lion King was one thing, but Harry Potter… that's… you'd have had to been living under a rock to never have heard about it! Her stomach also dropped, she'd always told her son that he'd have loved the books! And movies!

"I will start my foray into that world as soon as I can" Gibbs remarked, as by way of his answer.

"Good thing you've got a year before the last book & next movie comes out then" Nix said "cause you've got heaps to read! And watch!"

Gibbs smiled at his son "looking forward to it pal, but we should eat before dinner goes cold"

Shannon took the plate on offer & smiled "Tuna pie? And does it have that extra layer of cheese?"

Gibbs grinned "of course it does! I don't make it any other way"

Shannon smiled, this, along with steaks was one of the few dishes he could make, and make well. It was pretty simple, tuna, mashed potatoes, covered with cheese & baked, though he always put extra cheese between the tuna & mashed potatoes "looks delicious darling, thank you"

Gibbs settled himself back onto the couch "so what are we watching?" he was sitting with his wife on one side & his son on the other.

"Camp Nowhere" Kelly answered, she then took her first bite, savouring it, it was just how she remembered it being, totally gooey, definite comfort food "yum, thanks dad"

Gibbs leaned across & gave her a quick kiss to her forehead "anytime my angel, we've got plenty for second helpings too, maybe even enough for breakfast" he finished with a smile to his wife

"Sounds wonderful, and this is delicious indeed" Shannon smiled as they shared a quick kiss, she had to admit this was very nostalgic, and she was loving every bite.

"Definitely yum" Nix agreed, this extra cheese was just awesome!

Gibbs lowered his head & pressed a kiss onto his son's head "plenty more where it came from" he loved that his family were all loving the meal he cooked "so what's this movie about?"

"It's about a group of kids who fool their parents & create an adult-free summer camp, and all the mischief they get up to whilst there" Shannon answered

"It's great!" Nix supplied

"Sounds like mayhem" Gibbs remarked

"Mischief mayhem indeed" Shannon replied, she leaned down to her daughter "think dad will like Zac the best, yea?"

"Yea" Kelly gave a small smile

Gibbs was glad that their girl seemed better, but she'd already demolished her entire plate, she must be hungry! "Want some more angel?"

"Yes please" Kelly answered quietly

"Me too" Nix added

Shannon realised that he'd also finished his plate, not that she wasn't close to finishing her own plate "why don't you just bring the dish over? Looks like we've lots of hungry people, me included"

"Good idea" Gibbs replied, he said rising from the couch.

Gibbs put the dish down, making sure it sat directly on the hot mat, so not to burn the table underneath. He then noticed two sets of fingers with forks approach it, he watched as they both went straight for the melted cheese run off. Playfully he tapped both sets of fingers "mitts off" he chuckled.

"I want that bit!" Nix remarked, pointing to the section that had all the melted cheese running from it.

"I want some of it too!" Kelly added "and I want that part" she added again, pointing to the burnt cheese, it was delicious!

Shannon pressed her lips together as she shared a smile with her husband, she wondered how he'd go with this negotiation of sorts.

"I will give each of you some it, so relax, there's plenty here for all of us to enjoy" Gibbs remarked as he started to dish out a portion out for his son.

"I want that burnt bit" Nix remarked pointing to the corner his dad had yet to serve him.

"That's mine, I already called dibs" Kelly countered.

Gibbs let out a small breath, so typical that they both wanted the same bit, he looked at his son "your sister has already asked for it, you can have this burnt part over here. Mum & I will take the portion in the middle"

Kelly smiled "thanks dad" she stuck her tongue out at her brother.

"I get some too" Nix returned the favour by sticking his own tongue out at her.

Gibbs saw the pair's exchange, he hid his smile as he spoke "careful you two, if the wind changes, you'll be stuck like that"

"That's just an old wives tale dad" Kelly smirked

"And all those tales had to have come from somewhere, there's always a portion of truth to the stories Kell" Gibbs said returning the smirk "wanna take that chance?"

"it'd be fun to try" Nix grinned, as he again stuck his tongue out.

Kelly rolled her eyes "the food please"

Shannon watched as he divided it up, and true to his word, each of the kids were given some of the melted cheese run off & burnt bits, he gave himself & her the part in the middle, as he settled back into the couch "well done"

Gibbs smiled "thanks" he loved the little refereeing match and minuet reprimand he'd done with his kids. As he settled back & enjoyed his second helping, he decided that right now he was in heaven. Settled on a couch, with his wife, daughter & son all within his grasp, all of them enjoying a tuna pie that he cooked, and it did feel great to have cooked again for his family. They were nestled into each other as the movie started, and there was nothing better, it was perfect & for the first time in 13 years he felt completely happy.

A/N: Looks like Gibbs can actually cook. That dish - Tuna Pie - is actually a family favourite of mine, we grew up with it - I love it! Seems like the family finally got some nice time together. I think they're definitely going to be spending time watching a great deal of movies! And at least Kelly was finally able to sleep, which is a good thing! Gibbs & Shannon both seemed to have spent quite a bit of time thinking about things, here's hoping they can get some alone & talk about it all together.

What will tomorrow bring? How will Tim go with an unexpected early morning visitor?

You know I love to hear your thoughts, so review away! More up soon!