A/N: Happy New Year everyone! Thank you to everyone who's sticking with me, and to my newest followers/favourites welcome & thank you! To my reviewers, you're amazing, I love to hear that people are still really enjoying this story & to hear your thoughts is great!

Now, whilst Tony leads the charge towards the trial, the family have to start getting things organised at Gibbs' right?

A couple of days later

"So angel, have you had any more thoughts?" Gibbs asked as he held onto his girl from behind.

Kelly looked around the attic, they'd cleared out a fair bit already "ummm… maybe the space between the bathroom & the end of the attic could be my bed & stuff?"

"Yea it could" Gibbs agreed "or that space could be a little study area if you want? We could make it into a little study zone & then use a book shelf or something as a divider. Then this whole side could be your bed & hang out space and stuff. Whatever you want angel" this was a project he was looking forward to.

Kelly leaned back into her dad further, she was really enjoying this time "could we…"

Gibbs felt his girl hesitate, he pulled her closer into his embrace "could we what?"

Kelly chewed on her bottom lip "Well… I know I've got a bed at the other place….but…"

"You want to make a new bedframe together" Gibbs guessed as he looked down at his girl, he saw the smile "we can definitely do that, and I've got just the idea for your bedhead."

Kelly looked up at her dad "really?"

"Yeap" Gibbs grinned as he kissed her head "it'll be perfect"

"What will?" Nix asked coming up the stairs.

Gibbs looked over to see not just his son, but his wife as well as the Bond boys, but the thing that made him laugh was that Buster had manoeuvred himself up the stairs amongst them all. "We were just talking about the layout of your sister's room & getting a bedframe made"

"Can I have a double bed?" Nix asked hopefully. His dad had said they'd make a bunkbed.. but..

"What about the bunk bed set you wanted & I ordered? It was going to be Superman themed" Kelly asked.

Shannon could see her son was a bit disappointed "we could always see if we can cancel that order" she offered.

Gibbs nodded in agreement "and we could look at a single bunk on-top of the double bed. And I'm sure we can work out a design for the bunk."

"You could get the crests of Justice League carved into it, and maybe even the Avengers too" Myles suggested.

Nix's eyes lit up "oww, can we dad?"

Gibbs could see the pure excitement in his son's eyes, there was just one problem.. he had no idea who or what the Justice League or the Avengers were!? But there was only one response he could give "we can definitely look into it bud" he finished with a smile. He made a note to speak to Ted and find out about them, he'd need to get up to scratch asap!

Shannon shared a look with her husband, they'd made it their mission to get the house sorted out as quickly as possible. They figured if they were pressing on with going to court so soon, they'd press ahead with getting them resettled back into their home just as quickly. That way everything was over & done with quickly & they can then get on with their lives.

"Have you made any decisions angel?" Shannon asked, her son had made a few decisions already for his new room, she just hoped that they could do it all.

"Yea, I like dad's idea of making the space between the bathroom & end of the attic my study space & then use a bookshelf as the divider to the rest of the space for my bed & stuff." Kelly answered with a smile. "I also think I want to have a chest at the foot of my bed to keep all my big stuff in, rather than a cupboard"

Gibbs had to smile as he took a step further into the attic, but he pulled his girl with him "come on, got an idea for that"

Mike followed the family & saw where Gibbs had stopped, he was starting to shift something "can we help you sir?"

Gibbs could see the nod that Shannon was already giving the boys, clearly not wanting him to shift stuff using just one arm "ok, move all of this stuff off"

"With pleasure sir" Mike responded as he & his brother moved forward.

Shannon waited until the boys started to move it all & then she got a glimpse of what her husband was looking for "oh my gosh! Jethro! You've still got it!" she was surprised to say the least!

"Yup" Gibbs had to give a small chuckle "couldn't let it go" he responded as he pulled the sheet off completely.

Shannon moved closer & crouched down, but she took her girl with her. She ran her hands over the chest, this brought back memories "Kells, this was the chest I had in my dorm room at college"

Kelly's eyes widened, it was a wooden chest, but had images all over "did you draw these images yourself?" the patterns were really intricate.

"Yes I did" Shannon "I did them bit by bit, we can freshen them up for you if you like?" some had faded over the years.

Kelly smiled at her mum "I can have it? You don't want it?"

"No darling, I'd love for you to have it" Shannon responded, and she really would.

"Hey bud, come 'ere" Gibbs beckoned his son a few yards away "boys, give me a hand & move this stuff" he ordered.

"Of course sir" Myles agreed with his brother.

Nix waited for the boys to move what his dad was pointing out, he wondered what it was as he patted Buster "hang on boy, we'll see it soon"

Gibbs smiled at the pairs interaction, he crouched down as the boys moved the last thing & he pulled off the sheet "do you know what this is bud?"

Nix just stared at it as he answered "no"

"This was my foot locker from when I was in the marines, it sat at the foot of my bed in my barrack room" Gibbs explained.

"Cool" Nix responded, it looked like it was made out of metal & was dark green on the outside.

Gibbs opened it up to reveal the various compartments within, the memories it brought back were both good & bad "what do you think?"

Nix looked in at the same time as Buster poked his head in too, it was pretty bare, but he loved the metal rustic look of the various compartments "it's awesome!"

"Whoof!" Buster agreed.

"It's your then" Gibbs remarked "we can work it into the bunkbed setup" his smile grew as his son's did.

"I can have it?" Nix grinned "really?"

"You bet bud, I'd love for you to have it" Gibbs agreed "we can put in some more dividers or remove some, whatever you want."

"Can I have that?" Nix asked pointing at something inside the locker.

Gibbs reached in & pulled out one of his old camouflage jackets out "you want this huh?"

"Can I?" Nix asked again, as he chewed his bottom lip.

Gibbs shook it out & put it against his son "it's a bit big bud, but you can keep it until you grow into it. How's that sound?"

"Yea?" Nix asked hopefully.

Gibbs cupped his son's face "yea bud I am, it's all yours" he finished before leaning forward & giving him a kiss to his forehead.

"Awesome" Nix grinned, this would be sooo awesome! "can I?" he asked as he reached for it.

"You can try, but it's a bit big" Gibbs responded as he unzipped it. He opened it up & helped his son try it on.

Nix put his arms into the jacket as he pulled it on as he looked down on himself the grin grew & grew "it fits!"

Gibbs gave his son a lopsided smile "well… sort of" he flashed his wife an amused look, it was still rather big on him.

Shannon just laughed "give it a bit of time darling, you'll grow into it" she had to smile, the joy on her son's face was so ever present "ok, why don't we go downstairs & grab some lunch"

"Looking good squirt" Myles smiled as he passed the boy, ruffling his hair as he went.

Mike just smirked as he passed them & started down the trap door stairs "you look a right side better than My….."

"Mike!" Kelly exclaimed running forward.

"Michael!" Shannon exclaimed.

"Mike!" Myles exclaimed as he ran to the stairs. He looked down & saw his brother on the ground of the floor beneath, then he looked at the stairs, and two of them had broken apart. "Mike!" he called again.

"Yea" Mike groaned as he sat up "I'm ok" he added as he got his bearings back.

"Are you sure you're ok Michael?" Shannon asked concerned.

Mike stood up "Yea, I'm ok Mrs G"

Gibbs was shocked, he'd never had issues with the stairs before! Granted he hadn't replaced these ones in a long time, but still.. well, that didn't matter, he had to get this sorted. He looked at the condition of the stairs, hmm.. "don't try to come up them"

Mike looked up at the stairs & had to agree "if you tell me where your ladder is I can grab it, we can get everyone down & then fix the stairs sir"

"Ladder's is in the basement, under the stairs. Also, grab the tools from the far end of my benchtop, need to get this trap door removed"

"Yes sir" Mike responded.

"Let me help" Myles offered as he started to lower himself.

"Myles! Don't you dare" Shannon insisted, and she saw him about to say something "I don't want you to hurt yourself"

Mike headed straight down the stairs, he found the toolbox & ladder easily enough & made his way back up the stairs. "Sir, do you want me to remove the trap door first?" he asked as he laid down the ladder & tools.

"No, the ladder has ties, we can secure it to the frame of the trapdoor ladder" Gibbs responded.

"Right" Mike nodded, he laid the ladder against the frame of the trap door ladder, he crouched down to locate the ties, he started to secure the ladder in place as he flashed a look upwards "Myles" he called simply.

Before Gibbs could say or do anything the young boy had moved instantly.

"Yeap, getting the top ones" Myles commented as he dropped to the ground & leaned down to secure the top ones in place.

Mike waited for his brother to secure the top ones before he gave the ladder a good shake to make sure it was all secure "all good."

Gibbs had removed his sling & approached the ladder, he crouched down & gave the ladder a shake, it seemed firm enough. He took a breath before speaking "ok, I'm going to go down, then we'll get each of you down one by one, take it slow & steady."

"Jethro please be careful" Shannon called, she was concerned about his shoulder.

"I will Shan" Gibbs conceded as he backed down the ladder.

Mike did his best to stay close to the ladder just in case as Gibbs made his way down, though he made sure to not appear like he was trying to help the man.

Gibbs got to the bottom & held the ladder securely "ok Nix bud, come on down" he saw a bit of hesitation "I got you bud, come on."

"Go on darling, all's ok" Shannon coaxed.

Gibbs stood as close to the top of the ladder as he could manage & guided his son downwards "I got you son" he soothed.

Nix got to the bottom, glad he did but there was one thing "Buster"

"Easily fix bud" Gibbs smiled as he ruffled his hair, he turned back to the attic "Buster! Down!" he called.

Before Nix knew it his dog was at his feet, he'd run down the ladder super-fast, wow!

Gibbs gave a laugh before speaking again "come on Kells, your turn"

Kelly nodded & made her way down too, she could feel her dad's arm around her back within moments of descending, and it did give her a level of comfort.

Myles watched as Kelly made it down ok "After you Mrs G" he encouraged.

Shannon was about to retort his statement, but saw her husband nod in agreement.

"Yep, your turn Shan" Gibbs remarked, he wanted his wife down safely.

Shannon made her way down & like her daughter, felt her husband's arm around her back almost immediately. Making it down she took a breath before looking up "come on Myles"

"I can detach the ties & unhook the trap door before I come down, would make it easier to redo the steps" Myles suggested.

Gibbs really disliked having these boys do these things kind of things around his house, his house "come down, I can detach the top ties, and I'll take care of the trap door later"

Under normal circumstances Myles would have pushed further, but he saw the look he got from his brother "yes sir."

"Where's mum?" Nix asked his dad as they sat down at the dining room table, lunch having come & gone.

"She's with Viviane bud, just going over a few things for court on Tuesday" Gibbs responded, while he'd like to have been there to support her he knew it was more important for him to stay with their kids, neither he or his wife wanted to leave them alone for very long, especially from both of them. "So bud, let's start to work out your bunk bed design, we can do some sketches of what you want & then we'll look at how to build it"

"Ok" Nix agreed "can we look up some ideas on the internet too?"

"Ahh…" Gibbs stuttered "why don't we try to create something original bud, you don't really want to copy anybody else's ideas, we want it totally unique" he tried.

"Yea ok" Nix agreed, his dad made a good point, totally unique would be cool!

Gibbs breathed a sigh of relief, he knew he'd need to organise internet access apparently, but at least he could get away for another day without it..

"Dad, what's the WiFi username & password?" Kelly called out from the living area.

Gibbs groaned, bugger! But.. he rose & took a few steps to look at his daughter "Do not shout Kelly, if you want to ask me something, get up & take the few steps to ask me"

"Sorry" Kelly sighed "so, what's the WiFi details?"

"Why do you need it?" Gibbs asked back.

"Ahh.. I want to look up some ideas for my new space" Kelly responded.

"And what's wrong with thinking of something original?" Gibbs asked, he was trying to buy some time.

Kelly considered her father when she realised something "you don't have WiFi do you?" she saw his eyes widen "do you even have a modem connection?"

"Ahh…." Gibbs couldn't believe she'd figured it out "I will have soon"

Nix had heard the conversation "how can you not have internet connection at all?"

Mike shared a look with his brother, who in this day & age didn't have internet?

Gibbs was going to respond when he heard a knock at the door.

"Helloo" Ted called out.

"Yea" Gibbs responded as he moved towards the door & opened it. It was an odd experience that he was getting used to, having to open & more to the point unlock the door to let Ted in. Opening it he saw that Ted wasn't alone "Ted, Jeff, come in"

"Thanks Jethro" Jeff commented as he walked in behind Ted.

Ted just watched as Gibbs introduced Jeff to his kids, along with the Bond boys. The latter introduction being awkward to say the least!

"You know Jethro, I have to say, I think I prefer the redhead look" Jeff joked, before he looked to Phoenix "just don't be like your dad & remake the same thing over & over again.. there's more to build than just a boat!"

"We're gonna make a Justice League V Avengers marine bunk bed, and then Kelly's bed" Nix finished with a smirk to his sister.

"No, we're making mine first, it's way easier!" Kelly retorted "besides, you're mixing universes!"

Gibbs watched as the pair continue to well.. argue "hey!" he called "we haven't even sketched the designs for either yet, so can we take a step back, we'll work on both as we go, ok?"

Nix considered it "but we won't have enough room in the basement for both"

"Yes we will bud, do you worry about that" Gibbs assured his son.

"Well that's a good Segway into why we're here" Ted remarked, the banter had been nice to watch "we're here to see if you've worked out anything that you need as of yet"

"Internet!" Kelly & Nix called out together "and cable" Nix added "and a decent TV" Kelly added again.

Ted took a step back, ok, it appeared that the kids had worked out the house didn't have modern technology. He just smiled at Gibbs, he knew this was coming "I can call David & get him to come out to rewire for the internet & cable" he offered.

"Hang on a second, I am willing to get internet, but why do we need cable?" Gibbs asked his kids "there are enough channels on the TV & all your DVD's to find enough to watch, no? And we can bring the TV from the other place over here"

Nix shared a look with his sister, huh? "Ahh… regular TV doesn't have the EPL or Champions League, and I use the History & National Geographic channels for school"

"Normal TV barely has anything worth watching dad" Kelly remarked.

Gibbs looked at Ted, were they speaking the truth?

"Marth & I gave up on not having it years ago" was all Ted said.

Gibbs still wasn't convinced "we'll see" he said to his kids, he saw shocked faces looking back at him, it was a little funny "I'll speak to mum, and we will then talk about it again" he said to placate them.

Gibbs decided to change topics "I need new wooden slates for the stairs going down to the basement & for the trapdoor going into the attic. The attic stairs have already given way, so they're a priority."

Jeff nodded "that's easy enough, I can go measure the width & depth of the 2 sets so we can get the right slat sizes, but do you have specific type of wood? Pine? Oak?"

"Golden Oak & I want them to be as deep & sturdy as possible" Gibbs responded, he wanted those 2 sets to be a nice light colour & it was pretty similar to what he had already.

"I'll measure & then bring over a few options & we can look to see what depth the brackets can handle or how best to make the depth you want work" Jeff responded.

"I also need to look at the roofing in the attic, some insulation & getting a bathroom installed up there" Gibbs commented.

Jeff nodded "ok, whilst we're looking at the steps I can take a look at the roofing & what we'll need to do for insulation & piping for the bathroom is probably the best place to start" that would be a little more complicated, but they had enough expertise to call on through the hardware store to make it happen.

"Would you like some help sir?" Mike asked Jeff as he saw him start to pick some things up.

"Sure" Jeff responded easily, he could see Gibbs nod, clearly wanting the boys to go with him.

Gibbs waited until Jeff & the boys had made their way towards the basement before turning back to Ted "can you speak to David about coming out to see what I need to do to get internet into this place? And I'll get him to scope out the works that we'll need for the attic & maybe some extra outlets throughout the place too"

"Sure" Ted nodded as he pulled his phone out to call the hardware store's electrician.

"Can he scope out for cable too?" Nix asked, he really couldn't believe his dad wasn't letting them get cable! He'd always had cable & all his friends had cable too!

"Phoenix" Gibbs warned "I said I'd speak to mum & we will then discuss the matter"

Kelly's eyes widened, she saw her father staring at her brother, it reminded her of.. well, when she'd started to test the limits "ahh.. can we get back to the sketches?"

Gibbs shifted focus "yes, why don't you & your brother go back into the dining room & start trying to sketch what you'd like"

"Sure" Kelly responded as she pushed her brother along "come on"

Nix went willingly with his sister & when they got there spoke to his sister in a whisper "what just happened?"

Kelly sat down & looked at him "that was dad putting a light foot down" she saw her brother swallow "come on, let's get to our drawings huh? What are you thinking crests? Capes?"

Gibbs watched the pair head into the dining room, and he then pulled Ted out onto the front porch.

"Jethro, what's the matter?" Ted asked concerned.

"Who or what are the Avengers & Justice League?" Gibbs asked suddenly.

Ted let out laugh "that's the emergency?"

"Ted!" Gibbs called, they didn't have a lot of time & needed to know, the basic's at least.

"Ohhh Jethro" Ted smirked as he shook his head "Justice League is the collection of DC comic superheroes, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, maybe a few more. Avengers, they're the Marvel superheroes Captain America, Thor, Ironman, a few others too I think" he didn't know all of the members, but knew enough.

Gibbs nodded, right he could work with that, he knew enough about those kind of superheros, he thought so at least.

"Any other pop culture or modern technology references that you need to check?" Ted chuckled, ohh this was going to be fun!

Gibbs narrowed his eyes at his friend "you're enjoying this aren't you?"

"Like you wouldn't believe" Ted laughed.

Gibbs was going to say something, but..

"Dad!" came a yell.

Gibbs headed into the house as quickly as he could & dashed into the dining area "what's wrong?" he asked concerned. He was a breath away from drawing his weapon, that's when he realised he wasn't even wearing it! Where was it?

"Can I include a bed for Buster in my bunkbed set?" Nix asked.

"And can I include a bed for him too?" Kelly added.

"That's what the emergency was?" Gibbs asked shocked.

"What emergency?" Kelly asked confused, Nix just shrugged, he had no idea.

"You both screamed out for me, I thought something was wrong" Gibbs answered, he was trying to calm back down.

"We called out for you, we didn't scream or anything" Kelly remarked, she wasn't sure what was going on.

"Relax Jethro" Ted counselled, his friend was clearly going to have to learn the difference between his family's yells for just anything versus the yell when something's wrong.

Gibbs took a breath "Kelly what did I just tell you a little while ago? Don't yell out, get up & come find me to ask."

"Fine, ok" Kelly sighed "so? can we?"

Gibbs let out a breath as he took a seat "a bed for Buster huh?" he asked as he looked between the pair "isn't that what his kennel & basket are for?"

"Well yea, but he sometimes also sleeps in our rooms, so why not get him a proper bed" Kelly commented.

Gibbs wasn't sure how he felt about permanently giving the dog beds in their bedrooms "we'll see, let's first work out your actual beds, we can then look at additions, how's that?"

Ted just smiled, they'd get there somehow & he'd have fun helping them out!

A/N: Well, I guess Gibbs is getting internet lol And the family are starting to work through what they need to get the family home back up & running.. but will the kids get cable & beds for Buster? And how will Gibbs go having to share the woodwork they're about to do with others in his own homes, especially the Bond boys?

Are they ready for the trials? Has Tony gotten everything sorted?

I'd love to hear peoples thoughts on possible improvements the family can make or surprises that may come during the trial, so review away! More to come!