Thank-you so much for all the wonderful reviews. I was delighted to read them.

This next chapter was just plain fun to write...just some fluff and fun...Gibbs will never be bored with all his "kids".

Enjoy!

Happy Spring to all,

Jenny Wrens

Gibbs didn't even try to prevent the smile from flooding his face. His heart was full. He watched his youngest daughter work her magic on the genteel magistrate, Judge Mark Havenaar. Maybe it was because she'd moved around a lot as a military kid or maybe it was because of her life's circumstances but Janessa, for the most part, was not a shy child. The little girl eagerly scrambled up into the gigantuous man's lap and wielded Gibbs' pen with the authority of a skilled writer. Her tongue poked out of her mouth as she concentrated on writing her name as neatly as she could on the line the man pointed to. While Gibbs and the judge knew Janessa and Aimee's signatures meant nothing legally, it was something both men agreed was of significance to them emotionally; a symbol to both girls that they were adopting Gibbs as their father, as much as he was adopting them as his daughters.

"Very nice penmanship, Miss Janessa," observed the judge. "Who taught you to write in cursive?"

Janessa grinned from the praise. "Papa Jack did. He says that important stuff needs to be written in fancy cursive letters to be for real. I practiced a lot."

"I can tell. Good work!" He patted her small hand in approval. He then looked at Aimee sitting in the chair beside Gibbs. "Now it's your turn, young lady. All I need is your John Henry and we're all done."

Janessa wrinkled her nose at the man. "Her name's not John Henry, silly. It's Aimee Gibbs."

Aimee rolled her eyes and took the pen the judge offered to her. "He knows that, dummy. Don't you know who John Henry is?" Gibbs cleared his throat quietly and the rest of Aimee's admonishment died on her lips. She pointed her finger at the line on the paper above Janessa's name. "Do I sign there?"

The judge nodded with an amused look on his face. Gibbs and he exchanged a companionable smile as Aimee carefully added her name to the document. Aimee finished and pushed the paper back to him with a satisfied grin. Judge Havenaar picked up a stamp from his desk and smacked it on the paper causing Janessa jump.

She leaned in and stared for a minute before scowling at him. "Is that your name?"

"It most certainly is, my dear child."

Janessa pressed her lips together in uncertainty. "I don't thinks it counts 'less you use the 'doption pen."

Gibbs chuckled. "Ness, Judge Havenaar has an official stamp with his signature. If he had to sign every document that came across his desk, he'd have a very sore hand."

Janessa looked unconvinced.

Gibbs went to scoop Janessa up into his arms, but she shrunk back into the Judge's chest. Janessa held up the pen very nearly poking the Judge in the eye with it. "I thinks he needs to use this pen just to be sure."

Gibbs looked at the judge apologetically. "Janessa,' he began again, his voice stern.

Judge Havenaar held up his hand to forestall Gibbs from speaking further. "Hold on, Mr. Gibbs. Perhaps this little lady has a point." The judge took the pen from Janessa and signed the paper. He then watched in amusement as Janessa scrutinized it closely.

"Does that met with your approval?"

A smile flooded her small face and she nodded. "Yep, looks good to me."

Judge Havenaar stood to his feet, hoisting Janessa up into his arms with a smile. "Well, then, by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you the Gibbs family. Congratulations, Mr. Gibbs. Looks like you're the father to two beautiful little girls!" He extended his free hand towards Gibbs.

Gibbs shook the judge's hand with a broad smile on his face. "Thank you, Your Honour." It had been a long time coming and finally, it was official. No more court dates, no more social workers or other strangers poking their noses into his business. The girls finally belonged to him.

"You're welcome. My secretary will process the paperwork and send you copies for your records, as well as their revised birth certificates. Should be in your hands by the middle of next week."

Janessa put her hands on the judge's cheeks and turned his face to meet her blue eyes. "I needs one too."

"You need one what?"

"I needs a copy of that paper." Janessa's expression was very serious as she pointed to the paperwork.

"Now, why is that?"

She took a deep breath, "Cuz Maddie King thinks I'm an orpfin and I'm not supposed to kick her. If I shows her the paper with my name and your name then she can't call me an orpfin no more."

Gibbs laughed out loud. He couldn't help it. He hadn't had time to discuss the Maddie King chronicles with Janessa since he'd picked her up at daycare. In fact, if truth be told, he'd forgotten about it, but it was obvious the battle still lived on. He reached out and took Janessa from the judge's arms and pressed an amused kiss on the side of her head.

"We can talk about that later, kiddo. Don't worry, I've got you covered."

Janessa wrapped one arm around his neck with a concerned look. "Are you sure, daddy?"

"Positive," he reassured.

Just then a knock was heard at the door. "Enter," said Judge Havenaar.

The door opened and an older, dark-haired woman in her 50's poked her head in. "There's a group of people out here who'd like to come in and join you, sir."

The judge raised a brow. "Oh, who might that be?"

Gibbs chuckled and shook his head when he saw the blur of faces of the people behind her. "I believe that's the rest of the family, Your Honour."

The woman stepped aside and the smiling faces of his father, Jackson, along with Ziva, Tim, Tony, Ducky, Jimmy, Abby, Jenny and Makayla all came into view. Judge Havenaar chuckled as well and briefly looked around the small confines of his office.

"I don't think they'll all fit in here, Mr. Gibbs."

"That's okay," spoke up Tony, stepping forward, clearly the ringleader of the crowd. "We just wanted to be here to see the dawning of this new chapter in the life of Jethro Gibbs." Tony stepped into the room and held his hand out to Gibbs. "Congratulations, 'Dad'." Tony's eyes sparkled mischievously.

Gibbs shook Tony's hand with a smirk, tears swimming in his eyes. He wasn't a man of many words normally, but Gibbs was struck speechless. He was genuinely touched as he looked at the people who stood in the hallway outside the judge's chambers. Each one had played a significant role in helping him get where he was today. Gibbs looked at Aimee and Janessa who were smiling and giggling with such complete happiness. He never dreamed in a million years he would be where he was today and he was thankful.

"Are you gonna make me stand here all day, Leroy, or are you gonna introduce me to that judge?" said Jackson, pushing past Tony and hobbling into the room with his cane.

Gibbs had invited his father to come along, but the man had pretended like he had other pressing things to do. Gibbs hadn't thought much of it at the time having decided a long time ago to give up figuring his father out and putting unrealistic expectations on the man.

The smile didn't leave Gibbs' face. "Judge Havenaar, this is my father, Jackson Gibbs."

The judge extended his hand. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Gibbs."

Jackson shook the judge's hand and smiled at Aimee and Janessa. "Well, seeing as you don't have room for a party here, you're invited back to our house for cake. I'm getting to be quite the baker if I do say so myself."

Judge Havenaar couldn't help but chuckle at the exuberant group. He glanced at his watch briefly and said, "As much as that is tempting, Mr. Gibbs, I'm due in court in 15 minutes, so if you could please excuse me, I need to be on my way."

Everyone began talking at once as the judge ushered everyone from his chambers. Gibbs set Janessa's feet to the floor, and she ran to Tony who scooped her up into his arms, lifting her over his head and onto his shoulders. She squealed in delight. Aimee skipped ahead of him, latching onto Makayla's arm. Makayla took her by the hand and whispered something into her ear making Aimee giggle loudly. Abby slipped her hand into the arm of the judge and Gibbs could hear her talking to him about animal advocacy. Gibbs rolled his eyes, hoping she wouldn't overstep her boundaries. One look at the twinkle in the older man's eyes told him that, as usual, Abby had very quickly captured his attention by her sweet friendliness. Gibbs couldn't have asked for a better judge. He allowed himself a moment to take a deep breath, trailing behind the rest of the group as they joyfully walked down the corridor to the front entrance. Jenny fell into step beside him.

"So, how does it feel, Jethro?"

"What do you mean?"

Jenny smiled and hooked her hand into the crook of his arm as they walked. "How does it feel for it to finally be over?"

Gibbs walked alongside her, quietly pondering just that. What did he feel? Relief? He felt like he'd been under the biggest test of his life, with one thing happening after the other with no end in sight. Each time he thought things couldn't get worse, they had. Would his life just be normal now? Well, as normal as it could be for a Senior Field agent at NCIS. He was suddenly glad for the time off.

"I'm glad you suggested I take a leave." he finally said.

Jenny lifted a brow. "It wasn't a suggestion, Jethro."

Gibbs smiled at a wry grin. "That's what you think, Madame Director."

XxXxNCISxXxX

The paintbrush went flying across the room and landed with a splat in front of Gibbs' feet as he walked into the dining room.

"Janessa!" scolded Makayla. "Don't throw your paintbrush! If you need water, just ask me."

Gibbs stepped over the brush and walked over to Janessa, lifting her out of her chair to the floor. "Go pick it up," he told her firmly.

Janessa ran over and picked it up, returning to her seat. "It slipped," she explained to him matter-a-factly as she scrambled back into her chair.

"It did, did it?" he said, reaching across the table and grabbing a glass of water for her to rinse her brush. "Seems to me Aimee told you not to throw your brush the last time I walked in here."

"I did," complained Aimee. "She keeps doing it, daddy."

"I'm sorry." Janessa quickly said.

Gibbs leaned over and looked at his youngest daughter's picture in amusement. Her picture looked like something out of an NCIS crime scene. "Make sure it doesn't slip again," he chided her, stroking her soft, blonde hair affectionately. The little girl nodded and continued to paint.

Gibbs pulled a chair over and sat beside Aimee. "What are you painting?"

"Mak is showing me how to paint a watercolour picture," replied Aimee, her brow furrowed in concentration. "Like this, Mackie?" Aimee added some water and swept her brush gently across the paper.

"That's really good, Aimee," praised Makayla, looking up briefly from her own masterpiece to look at Aimee's.

Gibbs sat quietly watching the artists at work. He was in awe at how masterful Makayla was with her brush. She made it look so easy, maneuvering the watercolour paint and then mixing in a dry brush technique. Her picture was of a sunset on a beach.

"I'm painting a picture for Abby, daddy. Do you thinks she'll like it?"

Gibbs nodded. It certainly looked similar to the other pictures in Abby's lab. "I think Abby will love it."

Janessa beamed with happiness and continued to randomly splat paint on her paper, the table and herself. It was going to be some mess to clean up, but he could almost hear Shannon telling him that messes were a sign of happy, well-adjusted kids.

"We still on for tonight, Mak?" asked Gibbs. Makayla looked up, chewing her lip sheepishly. Gibbs knew the look. She was worried that their so-called appointment tonight meant she was in trouble with him again. He wasn't sure how he could get around her thinking that way every time he wanted to speak with her privately. "I'm looking forward to having some help sanding my boat," he added, hoping to wipe the worried look from her face.

"I'll help you, Gibbs," piped up Aimee, with an expectant look on her face.

Gibbs smiled. "Thanks, Aims but this is a date I made especially with Makayla. Director Shepard is working late tonight, so Aimee is bunking over with us. You can help me tomorrow night if you want. How's that sound?"

Aimee seemed to consider his words and then nodded with a smile. "Okay, it's a date."

Gibbs inwardly sighed in relief. He didn't want to stir up any animosity between the girls.

"So, are we still on?" he prompted again.

"I guess so," she said, still looking uncertain.

He stood up and messed up her hair playfully. "Don't look so serious; I promise you'll enjoy yourself." He glanced at the clock on the wall in the kitchen. It was almost 16:30 hours. He'd mentioned to his father that he would be in charge of supper and he probably should be starting to think about what he would make. "What should we make for supper tonight?"

Janessa looked up from her work. "Where's Papa Jack? He always makes supper."

"Well, tonight, I'm making it."

Janessa's eyes brightened and she jumped down from her chair, running to the drawer beside the back door. She pulled it open and yanking out some menus. "Can I have pineapple on my pizza?"

Gibbs couldn't help chuckling. It seemed like he had a reputation he needed to amend. If the five-year-old thought him cooking meant takeout, he needed to make some changes and quick.

"No pizza tonight, kiddo, unless we make it ourselves."

Janessa's eyes widened in complete surprise. "You know how to make pizza?"

Gibbs shrugged. He really didn't know how to make pizza from scratch. "Well, not really, but…"

"Do you have a bread maker, Agent Gibbs?" asked Makayla, standing up and washing her hands in the sink.

"I dunno, what's it look like?"

Makayla rolled her eyes and laughed. "You're hopeless." She dried her hands on her jeans and disappeared into the pantry for a moment and came out carrying a white appliance that Gibbs had never seen before. In fact, he really never paid attention to the contraptions in that room. He knew Abby had bought many things for him, but he personally had never used any of it.

Makayla set it on the counter and pulled out the mini booklet stored inside the lid. "Wash your hands, Gibbs, and I will show you how to make homemade pizza."

Gibbs saluted the teen girl and she laughed. As he reached to dry his hands, he felt his cell phone vibrating in his pocket. He pulled it out and peeked at the number. "Can you girls get started without me? I need to take this call."

Makayla nodded as she began to skillfully take over the kitchen, instructing Aimee and Janessa to wash their hands and go in search for the flour.

Gibbs slipped out the back door onto his porch and sat down in an old rocking chair as he answered the call. "McGee? What's up?"

"Hi, Boss, sorry to bug you when you're not officially working at NCIS…"

Gibbs rolled his eyes at the man's apology. "Spill it, Tim."

"Mrs. Janssen called to ask when you were going to drop Riley off. She's been waiting all day for him to return to the hotel."

Gibbs frowned. "I dropped him off at the hotel this morning after our meeting with General Marshall."

"That's what I thought," said McGee.

"Let me talk to DiNozzo, Tim."

"He's not here right now."

Gibbs' frown grew deeper. Tony had been temporarily deemed the Senior Field agent in Gibbs absence and would continue to hold that role until Gibbs returned in January. His temper flared. "Where the hell is he, McGee?"

Gibbs heard McGee hesitate and then sigh. "He went to find Abby."

"What do you mean, find Abby? You all left my house not more than two hours ago. Where could she have gone?" Everyone had come by the house for Jackson's celebratory cake and then left to go back to work.

"I'm not sure, Boss. After we left your place, Tony and I came back here to tidy up some loose ends and Abby was supposed to follow us in her car. She never showed up. We called her cell phone but it went right to voice mail." Gibbs could hear the worry in Tim's voice. He always worried about Abby, maybe a little too much. He sighed. Abby likely took a scenic route past the animal shelter to take pictures despite being told not to. She would twist it around somehow to give herself permission.

"Tell Tony to look for her at Ryerson Animal Shelter."

"Boss?"

"Long story, Tim. You know Abby." They all knew Abby very well, so Tim wouldn't need much of an explanation. "Put out a BOLO on Riley for me and tell DiNozzo if he finds Abby to bring her to my house. If the BOLO turns up anything, bring Riley here too. What's Mrs. Janssen's number?"

McGee gave him the number. "Think Riley took off?"

"Probably. The kid's had a rough time of it. He likely wanted some time on his own to think." It seems to be his lot in life to have to deal with runaway kids. "Be sure to have them look in all the places we found Riley before. He might have gone there with nowhere else to go."

"On it, Boss."

"And McGee?"

"Yah, Boss?"

"Don't apologize for calling me if you need me, even when I'm on leave." He allowed a small bit of admonition to resonate in his voice. "Especially when it concerns Abby or any of my team. Got it?"

"Y-yes, Boss," stammered Tim. Gibbs knew he'd got his point across well and hung up.

XxXxNCISxXxX

Gibbs wiped his mouth with his napkin and looked at Makayla in appreciation. "That was the best pizza I ever had, Miss Wallace. Where did you learn to cook like that?"

Makayla beamed. "The girls and I often would commandeer the kitchen at school and try out new recipes."

"You're a good cooker, Mackie," said Janessa, taking another bite. Pizza sauce was smeared around her mouth and on her chin.

Jackson reached out and wiped her mouth with a napkin. "Did she teach you anything, Leroy?"

Makayla grinned. "I think Agent Gibbs should stick to his day job, Mr. Gibbs. The kitchen is a mess!"

Gibbs laughed. "Wait a minute, I wasn't the one who spilled flour on the floor," he protested.

"That was me," admitted Aimee with a pained look. "But you pushed me." Aimee pointed at him with a laugh.

"Me?" said Gibbs with a mischievous look in his eye. "Prove it."

Makayla shook her head. "You're all a bunch of hooligans."

"Hooligans?" Gibbs choked on his drink. "Where did you hear that word?"

"Ducky uses that word all the time," said Aimee with a smirk.

"What's a hooligan?" asked Janessa with her mouth still full of pizza, obviously not understanding the humour.

Gibbs couldn't stop laughing. Makayla, Aimee and Janessa had been influenced by the older medical examiner more than he realized. The next thing he knew, the girls would start talking in a British accent.

As Gibbs opened his mouth to explain what a hooligan was, the doorbell rang. He wiped his mouth again and stood up, glancing at his dad.

"I'll handle it, son. Go answer the door."

Gibbs left the dining room, listening to the laughter and chatter of his family with a smile. He could definitely get used to this every night and was looking forward to the normalcy in his life. He reached his front entrance and pulled the door open to see Tony holding an annoyed Abby by the upper arm.

"Delivery for you, Boss," said Tony with an amused expression on his face. "Found her right where McGee said you said to look."

"Tony, let me go," snapped Abby, yanking her arm away.

"There's pizza on the table if you're hungry, DiNozzo?" Tony's face brightened and he disappeared into the house to the kitchen. It was well past 6 pm now and he knew the younger man would be famished. Gibbs took a step out his door and shut it, turning to face Abby. She looked at him in annoyance and then her expression turned rueful.

"Gibbs, I can explain," she began quickly when she saw how irritated he looked with her.

Gibbs point to the nearby chair on his front porch and Abby sat down, while he pulled another chair closer. He sat down and looked out at the street around him. It was peaceful and the air smelled autumn fresh. He loved the scent of crisp leaves and fresh air. He had to say that autumn was one of his favourite times of the year. The leaves were stunning, although, they had reached the end of their glory and the last of them had almost fallen.

He turned to Abby. "I have one question for you."

Abby sighed, knowing perfectly well she wasn't going to like the question.

"What part of no didn't you understand?"

Abby put her head in hands and shook her head. "Gibbs…"

"I distinctly remember turning down your request, did I not?"

"Yes, but Gibbs…"

"And when you left my house, it was to return immediately back to NCIS to finish your day's work, am I correct?"

"Gibbs," she whined looking up at him, but he waved a hand to dismiss her words.

"Abby!" he reprimanded. "I told you we could discuss it further tonight after work…"

Abby at him hopefully. "Well, technically it is tonight after work right now, Gibbs…"

"Abigail!"

Abby had the decency to lower her head once again and mumbled an apology. "I just wanted to take a few pictures in daylight, Gibbs. It gets dark so early this time of year…"

He sighed, but then an amused grin pulled at his lip as an idea popped into his head. "Abigail Sciuto, you're hereby grounded for one week, effective immediately."

Abby's mouth dropped open as her head shot up in bewilderment. "Grounded? What does that mean?"

"It means that you are not to leave this house until next Sunday evening."

Abby couldn't have looked more shocked if he'd Gibbs' smacked her. "But, Gibbs, I have to go to work…"

"Not this week you don't. There is no forensics on the agenda this week, and you disobeyed a direct order from me. So, I'm pulling you off duty and grounding you here."

"Y-you have to be kidding," she stammered.

"No arguments. I'm fed up with you doing whatever the hell you want and making excuses for it. You knew perfectly well I didn't want you going there until we talked about this and you purposely used coming to my house as an excuse to take a scenic route back to work. Am I right?"

Abby's face reddened but she nodded in admittance of her crime.

"Okay, then." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his car keys, handing them to her. "You have exactly one hour to gather what you need for the week and report back here. Don't make me come looking for you."

Abby groaned as she stood to her feet and stomped off the porch towards his car. She didn't even bother to look back at him. Gibbs covered his mouth and shook his head, chuckling a little too hard to be able to hide it. He planned to use the week to help Abby understand she needed to heed his word, and of course, look into the problem with her. He was nothing but thorough. And he couldn't resist his oldest daughter any more than he could his younger ones.