AN: There's a passing mention in the first scene to some events in Heart of the Matter, which is the sixth story in Breathe. No need to read it if you haven't, but mentioning in case you had missed those little stories between epics or had read it so long ago you forgot about it and want to go back. Also, here and in other places in the story, I'm drawing on thoughts expressed by the characters in episodes that don't happen in this universe where they make sense. Those lines, if and when they appear, are property of DPB and the other entities that own NCIS. Finally, if it isn't clear by now, this won't be done by tomorrow (year's end), but I'm still plugging away. Scenes just kept ending up longer than I had previously estimated. No worries, it will get finished.

Chapter 15

On Saturday, Ziva arrived early at the McGees carrying two cinnamon babka. The traditional dessert was one she rarely had time to make, but since she had nothing but time these days, she decided Aunt Nettie's recipe would be her contribution to the cookout. She came alone, as Damon had offered to wait until Sarah got off work and give her a ride over.

She could hear voices as she approached the house, and headed for the backyard, where she found Jack setting out food as Gibbs and Eileen were setting up the volleyball net. She waved to them, and joined Jack along the back of the house, where two long tables were set up. "Where would you like this?" she asked. "It is a dessert."

"Down the end by the brownies I made," Jack said. "You know, some people say you should eat dessert first."

"I do not know about eating, but I will be taking a piece of babka first," Ziva said. "If mine turned out even half as well as Aunt Nettie's, it will be gone if I wait."

"Oh, if it's a family recipe, I imagine it will be delicious," Jack said. He turned to look at her. "How are you, Ziva?"

She thought for a minute. Jack's eyes were the same as Gibbs, and it was impossible to lie to them. "I am … better," she said after a minute. "Not where I would like to be, but better."

"Sleeping well?" he asked. "I know after that kid tried to rob my store last year, I didn't sleep well afterward."

"Not well," she said. "But it is better. Some nights, I do not feel tired, and I find myself in the kitchen when the others are asleep, making tea. Other nights, I am tired, but cannot fall asleep. But when I do sleep, I have fewer nightmares, fewer times that I am forced to relive what happened." She brushed away the dampness in her eyes. "Situations that were … difficult for me before are not easy, but they are not so difficult."

"You know, when you first told me the story on New Year's Eve, about your father and the boys going to Africa to rescue you, I saw those scars on your heart."

She nodded. "Yes, I remember you saying that."

"Do you also remember me saying that I wondered if Kelly had lived, if she would be as brave as you?"

Ziva nodded, recalling the moment in her apartment, the one Tony and McGee now lived in. "I do not feel brave," she said.

"There are different ways to be brave," Jack said. "Now I don't know any details, and from the way my boy talks, he doesn't know them all either, but to my mind, you tackling this and working to find your way through, that's brave."

Ziva stepped closer and hugged Jack, and felt his strong arms hug her back. She did not feel wary or seamed in, no, hemmed in, and that was another small victory. She stepped back. "Thank you, Jack," she said. "Now, how can I help?"

~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~

Josh pulled onto the side street that was the final step in the directions McGee had given him and didn't even need to look at the house numbers. All the team cars, and a few more, were filling the street.

He found a spot a little way down the street from the driveway where Tony's Mustang was parked and walked down.

"There he is!" Tony waved with the hand that wasn't securing the bag of ice balanced on his shoulder. "Everybody's out back." But he headed for the gate of the house next to the one where he was parked.

Josh looked down at the piece of paper in his hand. "Tony, isn't that the wrong house?" he asked.

Tony's eyebrows went up. "Oh, yeah, we should have mentioned. Gibbs lives here, next door to Mom and Dad. So the party's using both backyards."

"Of course." Josh didn't know why he was surprised anymore. "I thought McGee's parents were hosting," he said as he caught up to Tony.

"They are," he replied. "I call them Mom and Dad, too. You can call them Sean and Eileen. And Gibbs' dad is Jack."

Josh followed him into the backyard.

"The guest of honor has arrived," Tony called out.

It was mostly the team and the other Gibblets, as Abby called them, but he found himself being introduced to an old man who must be Gibbs' father, and Sarah's parents. Or McGee's parents. Well, both, really. This was weird. And after a summer working with the team, his bar for weirdness was a lot higher than it had been.

"So, you ready to go back to classes?" McGee asked him as they were both pulling sodas from a tub of ice.

"More books, fewer headslaps," Josh said, grinning. "I think that's a fair tradeoff."

"Well, good luck," he said. "You might actually become an exception to Gibbs' normal hatred for lawyers."

"I'll settle for getting through school and passing the bar exam," Josh said. "But at least I have a lot more all-nighter survival tips after a summer with the team."

~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~

"Thanks for waiting to give me a ride, Damon," Sarah said to the former Marine.

"No problem," he replied. "Ziva wanted to head over early to see Jack and Gibbs anyway."

"How is she doing?" Sarah asked. "I mean, I haven't wanted to ask her because I know this is part of the issue." She pointed at her belly as she spoke.

"Better," Damon said. "How are you doing, now that the evil ex is finally gone for good?"

Sarah thought about it for a minute. "I didn't realize how much he was weighing on me until he walked away for good," she said, finally. "He came in for coffee yesterday, and it was like the last year never happened. In a good way, I mean."

"And Cooper?"

Sarah looked over at Damon as he drove. "I already have two big brothers," she said. "I do not need any more."

He held up a hand, the other still on the wheel. "Not trying to be one," he said. "But you haven't been spending time with friends who aren't Gibblets, and I thought you might want an ear that isn't attached to a big brother."

Sarah sighed. "A lot of my friends aren't in DC anymore," she said. "And when I dropped out of hanging out with anybody last semester because I was studying and working and hiding from Evil Josh, nobody seemed to notice, so I didn't see the point in staying in touch."

"And we're all older than you, except Cooper," Damon said.

"If you listen to Tim, sometimes that depends on the day," Sarah said, snickering. "But yeah, everybody's already adults who know who they are and what they want and I'm still trying to figure out if I can find a way to write and pay the bills. Tim and Tony are helping for now, because of the baby, but I need to find my own way."

"Not all of us," Damon said. "I like my new job, but it's the third or fourth thing I've tried and who knows how long this will last. Ziva changed her path when she joined NCIS, so did Gibbs. All of us were older than you are now."

Sarah didn't know the full story for any of them, but she knew enough to see the truth of what Damon was saying. "I'll keep that in mind," she said, then changed the subject. "At least Mom and Dad and Gibbs are hosting this, otherwise we'd probably be the ones dealing with it since we're the ones in the house."

"Your brother mentioned something about a Game Night soon, but I think they were planning to host," Damon said. "I wasn't going to argue with that."

"No, definitely not," Sarah said.

~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~

Gibbs manned the grill as everybody gathered and relaxed in a way that hadn't been possible for most of the summer. Even after Paloma had been captured, things had just been too tense, especially after that case the previous week that broke Ziva.

He kept an eye on her, but she seemed more relaxed than before she went on leave, and comfortable with everybody, even McGee and Abby. She and McGee were on the same team in the volleyball game they were trying to play, and she bumped the ball up for McGee to spike it past Palmer's head as their team widened their lead. At least, he was pretty sure they were ahead from watching.

"Want a break, Boss?" Tony said as he walked up.

"Surprised you're not out there," Gibbs said.

"Josh, McGee and Ziva against Palmer, Brad and Abby?" Tony said. "I'm going to get enough heckling material out of this to last me the rest of the year." He paused. "It's going to be weird not having Josh around the office."

"How'd it feel?" Gibbs asked.

"How'd what feel?" Tony replied.

"You recruited the kid, even if that wasn't your intention," Gibbs said. "Gave him somebody to look up to, and not just four years ago."

"I didn't do anything special," Tony said.

"DiNozzo, take the compliment," Gibbs said. "Ya did good."

"Thanks, Boss," Tony said. He looked around. "So, the last thing he did this week was pull together a bunch of what he figured out about the cold cases into a file. Don't worry, he worked with McHacker to make sure it only lives on a flash drive that's encrypted with enough digital locks to keep out the digital version of Ziva."

Gibbs scanned the yard, but nobody was within earshot. "Anything interesting?"

"Nothing definite, but enough to give us some leads to chase down," Tony said, his voice low.

"Patterns?" Gibbs asked.

"Josh thought of that, too," Tony said. "He and McGee worked together to build a file where we can plug in information about a case and it does some kind of magic and tells us what cases might fit the same criteria." He rolled his eyes. "Don't ask me to explain it, because my eyes glazed over when McGenius started telling me about it, but it works, and Dwayne and I were able to use it without breaking it."

"That's good work," Gibbs said. "Listen, you find something, anything that points toward a person or a small group of people, you tell me."

Tony looked at him for a minute. "You know something," he said.

Gibbs shook his head, but let his mouth quirk up a bit.

"See, I knew it," Tony said. "This is another wink-wink, nudge-nudge thing."

Gibbs shrugged, but didn't deny it.

"We're on it," Tony said. "Well, we will be. Right now the only thing I'm on is another cheeseburger."

Gibbs moved one from the grill to a plate and Tony took it and headed back toward the seats under the trees in the yard.

~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~

A whistle split the air, and Sarah looked up to see Gibbs pointing at Burley. Tim and Tony were standing a step behind him, big grins on their faces.

"Oh, this can't be good," Josh said quietly.

"Not with those smiles," Sarah said. "Don't worry, Tim won't let Tony go too far."

"Yeah, you've never seen them tag-teaming an interrogation before," Josh said.

"Thanks, Boss," Burley said. "Now, these aren't official NCIS awards I'm about to hand out, since I'm not the director of NCIS."

"But he did tell me he was going to hand them out," Vance said.

"OK, now I'm really curious," Sarah whispered.

"Up here, is a select group. We're the only people, until now, who have survived for at least five years on Gibbs' team. Well, as long as you don't count ulcers and concussions," Burley said.

"The concussions aren't Gibbs' fault," Tim said. "Tony gets those all on his own."

Tony's "Hey!" was barely audible over the laughter.

"This fall, we have one more member of the 5-Year Club, and a new honorary member," Burley said. "Ziva, of course, is the new member and from what I understand, she's the most likely person to end up with the ultimate record, if only because she's the youngest of the three people still crazy enough to work for the Boss."

"Hey, we resemble that remark," Tony said.

Sarah looked over to see Abby high-fiving Ziva, who was laughing along with the rest of them.

"But we also thought we should grant honorary status to somebody in a class by himself," Burley said. "When I got reassigned to the Navy Yard last week, I met somebody who I never believed could exist.

"Vampire?" Jimmy said.

"Werewolf?" Abby added.

"No, unicorn," Ziva said.

"Even rarer than that," Burley said. "I met the only person who's ever survived an internship with Gibbs."

Sarah looked over to see Josh's ears matched his hair, but he was laughing, too.

"Usually he even breaks baby agents," Tony said. "When McGoo didn't run screaming the first time he worked with us on a case, I knew he had potential and I was right."

"So, Josh, we think you deserve honorary status in the Five-Year Club, since it's unofficially known as the 'I worked with Gibbs and lived to tell about it' Club," Tim said.

Burley held up two pieces of paper. "So come on up and get your awards, Josh and Ziva," he said.

Josh scrambled to his feet and headed up there, joined by Ziva, as everybody else clapped.

Her mom leaned over, and said in a quiet voice, "So, when were you going to mention you're dating the team's intern?"

"We're not dating," Sarah said, careful to keep her voice just as quiet. "He's a friend."

"A friend you've been flirting with since you got here," her mom said.

"Mom." Sarah looked around, but Josh was still over in a clump with the team. "Look, we met at the coffee shop before we knew about the connection. And OK, maybe we've talked about it, once I stop being a blimp, but it's just talk."

"If you say so," she said. "Well, if he ever becomes more than a friend, at least your dad and I don't have to worry, since he knows your brother carries a gun."

Sarah rolled her eyes.

Her mom's phone beeped. "Who's texting me when you're all here?" she said as she pulled it out of her pocket. "Oh."

"Oh?" Sarah prompted when her mom didn't say anything else.

"I gave one of the women on my basketball team a ride to practice the other day because her car was still in the shop from earlier in the week and she left her water bottle in my car," her mom said as she hit a button to call. "Jocelyn? Yes, come over whenever. The cookout's still going strong, so just follow the sound of the commotion."

Sarah snickered. "Commotion?" she said after her mom had hung up.

"She hasn't heard enough stories yet for me to say insanity," her mom said.

But as the volleyball game resumed, Sarah had a feeling this friend of her mom's would show up, take one look at them all, and realize they were nuts. Damon bounced the ball off Jimmy's shoulder, which Abby then volleyed over to hit Brad in the face. Ziva sent it sailing back over the net even as Ducky was calling for a medical time out and Tony was diving to keep the ball from hitting the ground, and he smashed into somebody's legs and next thing Sarah knew, they were all in one giant tangle, including the director's kids.

~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~

After checking to make sure Jared and Kayla hadn't been squashed in the pile of bickering agents after the volleyball game devolved, Vance took a slice of the babka he was sure Ziva had made and walked over to where she was sitting, a bit apart from the others.

"You make this?" he asked.

She nodded. "It is a … family recipe."

"It's delicious is what it is," Vance said. "Jackie had some, one time when we were in Europe on vacation, and was determined to make it herself, until she looked at a recipe and saw how involved it was."

"This is the first time I have made it since I was a child, helping Aunt Nettie," Ziva said. "You are right, it is not a quick recipe, and before last week, I rarely had the time." She cast her eyes to the ground. "You are hoping I will not have the time for much longer, are you not?"

Vance waited until she was looking at him again. "You take the time you need," he said. "No more, no less." He waited until she nodded. "But there is one thing."

"Yes?" she asked.

"There's a chance that I'll be seeing Eli soon, for a joint op," he said. "Not definite, and if it does happen, possibly not until later in the fall."

"You are not thinking of sending the team to Israel again? The last time, it did not go well."

"No," Vance replied. "After the impression DiNozzo left last time we visited, I think it's safe to say that neither he nor Gibbs could get a visa to enter Israel."

Ziva remembered that moment, when her father realized what Tony had gotten him to admit while she was watching on video. "Yes, I believe you are right," she said. "Tony and Gibbs would not be allowed into Israel, and my father never leaves. It is better that way."

"As I said, it might not pan out," Vance said. "But I wanted you to know."

"He is your friend," Ziva said. "Or at least, he is a useful ally." She paused for a second. "You know Jenny and I worked together, before she became director."

"I do."

"We were friends," Ziva said. "Even after she became, in a way, my director, we still considered ourselves friends. Even after Tony's undercover op, when I realized she had almost sacrificed him to satisfy old ghosts, when I realized that in some areas, I could not trust her, I still considered her a friend, even if one I was no longer close to. I understand, director, that you and my father were friends, and likely still are friends." She paused. "I understand."

He searched her face, but she seemed relaxed, if a bit wistful. "He might be a friend, but you're one of my people now," he said. "I'm not Gibbs, but in this, I agree with him. We protect our people."

Ziva nodded. "That is why when I had to choose, I chose NCIS," she said. "My father, he believes in his country, above all."

"You don't think Gibbs would describe himself the same way, loyal Marine that he is?" Vance asked.

"Gibbs believes, but he also cares about the impact of his actions," Ziva said. "Eli is aware of what he does. Not caring about the consequences is what makes him who he is. It is why he who once had three children now really has none." She looked around the yard. "He made his choice, and I… I have made mine. I choose mishpacha, family, over country." She lifted her chin, just a fraction. "If he chooses to change his priorities, that is his choice. But I have no message for him, and I do not think he will have one for me."

"And if he does?" Vance asked.

"I will listen," Ziva said. "I do not, cannot, promise forgiveness, but if he has something to say, I will listen."

Vance nodded. "Thank you," he said. "I'm sorry I had to bring this up, but I figured better that you be aware than for something to come up as a surprise later."

But after he'd finished his conversation and turned away from Ziva, Vance vowed to do whatever he could to keep what might come from being another chance for Ziva to be disappointed by her father.

~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~

McGee sat on the porch railing, cheering as Gibbs and Vance faced off against Tony and his mom. Jimmy, Abby and Josh were cheering for both sides equally, but everybody else had picked a side, and Brad was refereeing. Sarah was sitting on the porch steps, but Josh was next to McGee. As if that was going to keep Tony from making comments. Josh really should know better by now.

Vance blocked Tony's drive to the basket, but he went up anyway, arcing the ball over the director's head before they both went crashing to the pavement.

"Charge!" Gibbs called.

"No way," his mom retorted. "That was too close to the net to be a charge."

They squared up as Brad and Ducky looked over the other two and Ducky called to Palmer to get the first aid kit from his Morgan.

"No need," his dad said. "We've got one inside."

"Ducky, it's just a couple of scrapes," Tony said.

"Yes, and you're going to let me wash out the dirt and bandage them," the medical examiner said. "You too, director."

The debate over the call had gotten even more heated.

"OK, your mom isn't scared of Gibbs," Josh said in a low voice. "That's … kind of intimidating."

"Good," McGee said. He suppressed a smirk. "Hey Brad, does the referee have an opinion?"

Before Brad could answer a car pulled up and a woman got out.

"Is that the ex-wife we haven't met?" Ziva asked in a low tone. "She looks familiar."

McGee frowned. She did, but he couldn't place her. "Well, since we haven't met Ex Number One, how could she look familiar?" he said back, keeping his voice quiet enough that Gibbs hopefully wouldn't hear.

But the woman stopped at his parents' walk.

"Can I help you?" McGee asked her.

As he did, his dad returned with the first aid kit. "Jocelyn, right?" he said. "Your water bottle's inside. Let me just hand this off."

"I'll do it," Josh said, hopping down from the railing and heading over to the driveway where Tony and Vance were on their feet arguing, despite the scuffs on their knees and a trickle of blood running down Tony's elbow.

As the woman walked up to the porch, Sarah said, "Tim, this is one of Mom's basketball teammates. She left her water bottle in Mom's car." She turned to the woman. "I'm Sarah, and this is my brother, Tim."

"The one at NCIS," Jocelyn replied. "I think we met, a few years back." She smiled. "Don't worry, you wouldn't remember me. I only know because Jethro was explaining the other night after he fixed my car. It wasn't a case. He was just sorting out a possible mix-up with my husband's ashes."

McGee suddenly remembered that case. "Oh, right. The one where the director was punishing him." He looked at Ziva. "You remember, the one with Epsilon Corporation, where Gibbs and some of the other agents had to confirm that all the paperwork was done correctly on the remains and Abby had to test them."

Before Ziva could reply, the argument on the court caught their attention. "Director, if you keep playing, your knee will be unable to scab over," Ducky said.

"We're ahead, that means we win," Gibbs said.

"No way, Boss. You guys are forfeiting, which means we win," Tony said. "Unless you get a sub for the director to finish the game."

Josh stepped back up on the porch. "I'm not getting in the middle of that," he said.

"You're not going to volunteer to play with Gibbs so he doesn't have to forfeit?" McGee said, not even trying to hide his smirk.

"I don't see you stepping up to volunteer," Josh shot back.

"That's because Gibbs has seen him play," Sarah said, snickering. "He'd be better off playing solo."

"Hey!" McGee said.

"I'm sorry, Jocelyn, I promise they don't normally fight like 10-year-olds," his dad said as he returned with the water bottle.

"Yes they do," chorused Ziva, Damon and Josh.

"No other basketball players in the group?" Jocelyn asked.

"Vance isn't even one," McGee said. "He just volunteered so we had even teams."

"Yes, he is a boxer," Ziva said. "And quite a good one, as I understand."

"Brad plays, but nobody's willing to let him and Tony be on the same team, and the last time they played on different teams, Brad broke Tony's leg," McGee said.

The players had noticed the new addition and were looking over.

"Jocelyn, you have time to stay for a game?" his mom called over.

"Sure," she said. "Jethro, you mind me subbing in?"

He held up his hands. "You're a better ballplayer than me. I'm not about to turn down that help."

Jocelyn joined the others in the driveway.

"10 minute cookie break to let the sub warm up," Brad called.

"I am not moving," Sarah said.

"I'll go," Josh said. "Chocolate chip?"

"Josh, why don't you just grab a plate for all of us," McGee said. He lowered his voice. "Ziva, Damon, get Abby, Jimmy and Tony and meet me in the living room."

"Something wrong?" his dad asked.

"Nope," McGee said. "Just something work-related. Nothing big."

"I'll get it out of you later," he said, and headed over to the driveway.

Within two minutes, the rest of the Gibblets were gathered in the house.

"What's going on?" Tony asked.

"Jocelyn, Mom's friend. Also known as the widow of Capt. Parker Wayne. You guys remember the human chop shop case?"

"Oh!" Ziva said. "Epsilon. Sean Oliver."

"Yeah, that one," McGee said. "And be careful what you say. Remember what we found in the cooler? Gibbs didn't tell her what was going on with her husband's ashes, or not ashes. He made up some story about a paperwork mixup."

"Gibbs and Dr. Mallard made sure to get her husband's remains cremated and back to her, even though it was evidence," Jimmy said. "I remember when they disappeared to handle it."

"So we need to forget that case and all the details so we don't have to tell her now," Tony said. "Good thinking, McLogic."

"Easy enough," Damon said. "I don't know any details anyway."

"That is probably best," Ziva said. "It was not a good case."

"Are they ever?" McGee asked.

"How does Gibbs know she plays basketball better than he does?" Jimmy asked.

"That is an excellent question," Tony said. "I have an even better one. Is she going to be the future fourth ex-wife?"