Fifteen

Jenny laid Ava in her crib and stepped back, she heard the door to the nursery open and quietly click shut. She knew by the light scent of sawdust that it was Gibbs and it was confirmed when his strong arms wrapped around her waist and gently pulled her back against his chest.

"Did she go down easy?" He whispered against her hair.

"Yes, but if you wake her up I'll hurt you." She warned quietly.

She felt Gibbs smile against the top of her head and rested her hands over his, she tilted her head back until she could see him and lightly kissed him. The angle was bad and it was no more than a peck but she enjoyed it none-the-less.

He smirked. "That really takes away from the threat."

She shook her head with a grin before leaning it back against her shoulder, her eyes fell to the sleeping baby and she felt her heart swell at the sight of her. She let out a contented sigh and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. She hadn't realized she could ever love something so much until she'd held Dani for the first time, but she was learning everyday that that love only grew the longer she knew her children, she may not have given birth to Ava, Jake or Kelly but she loved them just as much as the children she had given birth to.

"You good?"

"I just can't believe how much I love her." She replied, "all of them."

"Scary sometimes." He admitted.

"Yeah, it is." She agreed, "I could watch her all day." She added, her voice barely a whisper.

"Me too… But we should let her sleep, and you said you wanted a nap." He reminded her.

"What about your dad?" She asked.

She stepped out of his arms and quickly ran her hand over the baby's chest to make sure that she was still alright.

"He said he was gonna lay down." Gibbs replied, "there's no reason you can't take a nap."

"Alright, alright." She conceded.

She followed him out of the nursery and into the hallway, she stepped towards her room and paused when he didn't move.

"Do you want to lay down with me?" She asked.

She saw his eyes flick to her wrist and stepped forward to place a hand on his arm.

"Stop thinking about it." She ordered quietly, "It was an accident and it won't happen again, I'll be more careful from now on."

"It's not your fault."

"No it's not, but it isn't your fault either, Jethro." She stated, "you were asleep and it was an accident, neither one of us could have controlled it so stop beating yourself up about it."

She saw him hesitating so she reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling him behind her until they were in the bedroom. She shut the door behind her and pulled the curtains closed before pulling the covers on the bed back. She had changed into yoga pants and a comfortable long-sleeved shirt when they had gotten home and was ready for bed.

She climbed into bed and pulled the blankets up around her, she watched as Gibbs hesitated for a moment before climbing on to his side of the bed. He laid stiffly on his back beside her, she rolled her eyes and rolled over onto her side and wrapped her arm around his waist, careful not to jostle her wrist.

"Relax." She whispered, running her hand across his chest.

He sighed and she felt him relax a bit so she continued to run her hand up and down his chest lightly. She closed her eyes and rested her head against his shoulder, she enjoyed being able to be so close to him, she shifted slightly when he wrapped his arm around her shoulders before burrowing back into his side.

Gibbs forced himself to relax under her gentle caresses, he wouldn't allow himself to fall asleep but he knew she wouldn't rest as long as he was tense beside her. He reached up and stilled her hand after a few minutes, while he was enjoying the gentle movement it had been a long time since he'd had a woman touch him in anyway and an even longer time since it had been Jenny and he was getting a little too relaxed. He intertwined their fingers and listened as her breathing evened out.

He still couldn't believe the turn his life had taken. He had once considered himself a patently unlucky man, he now considered himself one of the luckiest men alive. There were still days when he missed the people he had lost. Even on those days he couldn't help but smile as he thought of the people he still had, as he thought of each of his children, the ones who he saw everyday at work and the ones who still lived at home, he couldn't help but smile as he thought about the woman beside him who was now snoring softly against his shoulder. He closed his eyes and listened to her snores, he wouldn't let himself fall asleep completely but he dozed lightly for close to an hour before he heard noises coming through the baby monitor.

He gently untangled Jenny's hand from his and slipped out of the bed, smirking at her disgruntled moan as she pulled his pillow against her chest. He made sure she was covered by the blanket before he slipped out of the room and across the hall into the nursery. He found Ava laying in her crib fussing quietly, he scooped her up and held her against his chest, rocking side to side in an attempt to calm her before the fussing turned to outright crying. Once she was quiet he quickly changed her wet diaper and carried her downstairs, he had learned from past experience that once she was up from a nap there was no getting her back to sleep. He wandered into the den and settled on the couch with her, he grabbed her cloth book off of the coffee table and handed it to her. He let her play for a few minutes before laying her down on her mat to let her stretch out for a bit, once he was settled her turned to the clean but as of yet unfolded basket of laundry on the coffee table.

He knew the constant flow of laundry tended to get on Jenny's nerves and was bound and determined to help her out wherever he could, as soon as she and Jack were both awake he would also vacuum but for the moment he contented himself with folding laundry and then tidying the main floor while Ava played. He had just barely finished tidying the living room when he heard the front door open and shut followed by the sound of three voices. He poked his head out into the foyer and placed a finger over his lips and nodded towards the stairs.

"Your Mom and Grandpa are sleeping." He warned in a whisper.

He motioned for them to join him in the living room, he ruffled Jake's hair, gave Kelly a kiss on the cheek and gave Dani's shoulder a squeeze as they passed by him.

"What are you guys doing home?" Kelly asked quietly.

"Really?" Dani asked, looking towards the older teen incredulously, "that's the question you're going to ask, not what's going on with all of that?" She asked, gesturing towards his face.

"Run in with a suspect today." Gibbs replied dismissively.

He hadn't looked in a mirror but he had no doubt his face was at best an interesting shade of red but more likely and impressive black and blue by that point in time. He was just relieved his eye hadn't swelled at all. He also had to fight back a smirk at Dani's attitude, sometimes she was the spitting image of her mother.

"And we only did a half day today, we're easing back into it." He lied.

He could see the suspicion on Kelly's face but she kept her mouth shut in front of her siblings, the mild warning glare he shot her way keeping her in line.

"How was school?" He asked, picking up Ava before ushering everyone into the kitchen.

"It was good." Jack replied happily, "I don't have any homework tonight!"

"That's good, what're you gonna do with your free time?" Gibbs asked, watching his son open and close the fridge, clearly searching for something.

"Mom said I had to clean my room, then I'm gonna go outside." Jack replied, opening a cupboard door.

"What are you looking for?" Gibbs asked, handing Ava over to Kelly who happily accepted the baby.

"A snack, apple slices and peanut butter please." Jake replied, grabbing the jar of peanut butter and handing it to Gibbs.

"Do you girls want any?" He asked, grabbing three apples out of the fridge when both girls nodded, "I was thinking pasta for supper tonight, is that okay with everyone?"

All three of them nodded distractedly, Jake was watching Gibbs slice the apples, Kelly was making faces at Ava and Dani was on her phone scrolling through something. Gibbs placed apple slices and scoop of peanut butter on three separate plates, all three said thank you before Dani and Jake excused themselves to go upstairs leaving Gibbs and Kelly alone in the kitchen.

"So what really happened?" She asked, shifting Ava and nodding towards his face.

"I told you." Gibbs replied, "run in with a suspect, nothing for you to worry about."

"Alright." Kelly conceded with a small shrug, "Are you and Grandpa still fighting?"

"You ask a lot of questions." Gibbs stated.

He wasn't upset with the questions, he just hated that his sixteen year old daughter could read him better than most trained profilers could.

"My parents are cops, don't know what to tell you." She replied smartly, "I spend my days surrounded by federal agents, you pick up on a few things… So are you?"

"We're not fighting."

"But you're not happy with him." Kelly stated, "Because of Joann and Mac."

"I'm not thrilled with how he handled it but it's nothing you need to worry about." He replied firmly, "leave the worrying to your mother and I."

"Easier said than done, I've been doing the worrying for a lot of years." She reminded him gently, "especially if it's going to affect Jake and Ava."

"It won't." Gibbs promised, "we'll work it out."

"Okay." Kelly replied with a small nod, "just don't wait too long Dad… You already lost Grandma, take it from someone who lost her parents for a long time, things that you thought were important mean a whole lot less when someone is gone and if you're lucky enough to get them back you don't even think about the small stuff anymore."

He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, he loved her so much and hated how much she had been through in her relatively short life. He also knew that he was right, the stupid fights he'd had with his mother growing up had meant nothing once she had been gone and as angry as he was with Jack he didn't want to let it impact the lives of his children. He didn't want to have regrets.

"I love you." He whispered against her hair.

I rise from the dead as my Jibbs muse finally reappears after a month of nothing… I can't promise another update soon but I will do my best! This one is more fluff than anything… I needed a break after the angstfest of the last four chapters so here we are… We'll deal with Jack in the next chapter and probably with Dani too, now that Jenny and Gibbs sort of have it together it's time for something else to fall apart LOL… I promise eventually I will let them live peacefully… Maybe… Please remember that I own nothing :( but I love to hear from you guys!

~Katie