Story: Once upon a summertime

Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS, I'm just borrowing the characters for the story.

CHAPTER 7

Little house at 1242Pineroad

Gibbs pulled the car into the driveway to the little house at 1242 Pine road. Ziva, Tim, Abby and Tony all gazed out the window at the little white house with blue old fashioned shutters before them. The front door was made of strong oak and had a polished brass ring door knocker. The house and the back yard, were surrounded by a white picket fence.

"Home again." He said with a smile.

Abby looked out at the house. It was the most beautiful little house she had seen in her whole life. It looked so cute and homey. From the beginning when she had been told she was going to live with strangers, she had visualized a spooky place. Maybe even a haunted house surrounded by scary lightning bolts. But this was nothing like that. This was adorable.

Tony looked skeptically at the building in front of him. Sure it looked nice, but it certainly wasn't anything like his dad's mansion.

"Don't worry." Gibbs whispered in his ear. " It's not immense, but I guarantee you'll all fit."

Ziva circled around the car to retrieve her bag from the trunk. She stole a glance at the house. She had to admit, it was pretty. She stood next to Tim who was struggling to get his luggage out of the trunk while being a bit too short to reach it. Without feeling the need for words Ziva gave him a little shove to the side and climbed up into the trunk. From there she grabbed his luggage and pushed it to the edge. She then hopped down and lifted it from the trunk into his waiting arms. He gave her a grateful smile. "Thanks."

She shrugged, "Sure.", and grabbed her own back pack and suitcase and put them on the ground.

Ten minutes later

Special Agent Jenny Shepard opened the front door and held it open for all four kids to enter. On the other side of the front door was a small hall with a large mirror hanging on the wall and a coat tree next to it. Tony peered at the mirror and the coat tree that were both made of oak tree and looked handmade. Someone around here was obviously good with his or her hands, he figured. Ziva dropped her back pack on top of a dresser, careful not to push the pot of lavender on it.

They all entered further into the house, looking about as they walked.

"So, this is our house…and your home too for the summer." Gibbs spoke as the two Agents guided the kids through the first floor of the small house.

"As you can see it's not big." Jenny filled in. "But it's clean and cozy and it's home."

As they exited the hall they ended up with a staircase in front of them and the entrance to the kitchen to the right. Jenny herded them into the kitchen first and as they entered they could see that the kitchen was connected to the living room with no wall between them. It looked more like one room. The ceiling had wooden rafters providing the place with a pleasant feeling. They all continued into the living room quietly. It was a little bigger than the kitchen. In the center of the room stood a coffee table and two leather armchairs and a couch. Underneath the coffee table was a soft rug which warmed Abby's feet as she stepped on it. There was a fire place and on the mantle place stood some framed photographs. Next to the fire place, a rocking chair had been placed and in front of it laid an even softer white sheepskin rug.

The entire first floor of the house consisted of the connected living room and kitchen, the hall and one small bathroom to the left of the stairs. It all certainly gave a tiny but cozy feeling. Jenny was responsible for most of the decorating in the house and had done a good job. She had chosen light colors in all rooms and the kitchen had been painted white. Most of their furniture was made of dark oak wood.

Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs peered at the four children standing in the living room, looking back at him. Jenny stood next to him and she was positively beaming. He had heard nothing the past couple of weeks except how she was looking forward to the kids' arrival to their home.

Gibbs indicated the couch with a curt nod of his head and all four kids took a seat, quietly. Tony to the right, Ziva next to him, Abby in the middle and Tim to the left on the couch.

Gibbs was about to speak when the phone rang. "I'll get that." He put a hand on his fiancés shoulder and left her with the kids.

"Well." She clapped her hands together with a smile, "I can't believe you're finally here." All kids stared at her and she had a hard time telling what they were feeling at the moment. She understood, though, that everything was new to them and perhaps even a little scary or awkward. "I hope you know that Jethro and I are both very happy to have you here and we're looking forward to spending this summer with you." She studied their faces which all remained blank. "It's going to be fine. "she assured them all with a wave of her hand. "You'll see."

The house was very different from Ziva's own house in Israel. She just hoped she would get used to it. "Where are we going to sleep?" she asked, urgent to get some time to herself. She was a loner. She had always been one and right now she was feeling a little crowded.

Jenny pointed to the stairs. "Upstairs. Follow me and I'll show you. Jethro will help you get your luggage up there later."

The four kids got up from the couch and followed Jenny. At the bottom of the stairs Tony stopped and looked over at Gibbs who was standing by the dresser in the hall, talking on the phone. "Who's he talking to?" he asked, unable to still his curiosity.

"Probably someone from work. Don't worry, he'll be done soon."

When they reached the top of the stairs they turned right and continued walking through a very short hall. As they walked Abby looked up at the ceiling. It too had rafters. She thought it looked nice. Kind of like a wood cabin. The walls were white with big flowers painted on them. The flowers were in different bright colors and were evenly placed along the walls. Abby stopped and touched one, running her small index finger along its edges carefully.

"I painted those." Jenny said and made her jerk in surprise unaware anyone was watching her. "Do you like them?" Abby looked at her and nodded. "Thank you." Jenny smiled and then turned to Tony, Ziva and Tim behind her. "So, which room do you want to see first? The boys' room or the girls' room?"

No one answered. Jenny was pretty sure at least the youngest two each had a wish but they were both yet too shy to answer. Finally Ziva spoke. "You can show ours first then." She said and spun around impatiently.

"Alright. It's the one at the end."

Jenny passed one room and stopped outside the one farthest down the short hall. She rested her hand on the door knob and waited for all four of them to catch up before opening the door. "This is your room." She said to Abby and Ziva and then pushed the door open. She entered with the girls in tow. It was a kind of small room, but the room had a big window with window seats and white cotton curtains. The walls were painted white and Ziva was very happy to see that there wasn't even a trace of pink in the room. Two single beds were placed in the center of the room next to each other with a nightstand between them. The nightstand had a lamp on it and a little shelf underneath for books or other necessary bed time things. On the wall facing the beds hung a painting of a black stallion galloping across a grassy meadow with a mountain in the background. And in the corner there was a smallish, old fashioned fireplace with an armchair next to it.

Abby looked around the room with big eyes. She thought it was the nicest room she had ever seen. It was just beautiful. She looked up and saw that their ceiling also had nice wooden rafters, even though it was a rather low one.

Ziva crossed the room to look outside the window. She climbed up on the window seat and longingly gazed outside. The window faced the backyard and she could see passed it out on the street outside the house.

Abby strolled over to Ziva and took a glance outside. She then hopped down from the window seat as her eyes fell on the cedar chest standing by the foot of one of the beds. It looked like a pirate chest to her eyes and maybe it even had a treasure inside. She wanted to ask but was afraid the others would laugh at her if it turned out to be something else. Suddenly Jenny appeared by her side and lifted her to sit on the chest. "So, what do you think?"

Glancing up at the rafters in the ceiling and the fireplace in the corner Abby had to nod her head approvingly. "It's sooo nice, Agent Shepard."

"Jenny." The Agent corrected the little girl with a warm smile. "I'm glad you think so." She turned to girl number two. "Ziva, how about you? Will it do?"

Ziva had to admit the room was great. "It's very nice." She said, not leaving her place in the window. Jenny could tell she was being honest but her voice lacked any enthusiasm what so ever.

"Good. If you want, you girls can go downstairs and get your bags and start unpacking. Or if you'd rather see Tim and Tony's room first you can stick with us. "

Ziva stayed behind. She figured the boys' room wasn't going anywhere and she still needed a little time to herself. She was happy to see Abby go with Jenny, Tim and Tony to inspect their room so she could be alone. She hadn't expected to be sharing a room with anyone. But having seen the size of the house she supposed there was no use in asking if she could have her own room. There didn't seem to be any more spare rooms.

The boys followed Jenny through the door to their new room. It was middle sized and painted a light green with rafters in the ceiling like the girls' room and all other rooms. On the opposite side from the door stood one bed, underneath the window, and against the left wall was a second bed. The bedspreads on both beds were grey and they both had a nightstand next to the bed with a lamp on it. Tony noted that on contrary to what he was used to there was no television in the bedroom. He figured he would have to make do with what they had here. There was however a guitar resting in one corner which made him raise a brow in question.

Jenny walked over to the closet and opened it, showing it to Tony and Tim. "You can put your clothes in here later."

The boys entered while Abby lingered at the door. Tim took a seat on the bed to the left. His feet dangled in the air since he couldn't reach the floor while seated there. As Tony passed the closet his eyes shot wide open. He wriggled his way in next to Jenny so he could get a better look. The closet was not very wide but quite long instead and on the other side he could see a second door. He found that interesting and strange. Why would there be a door at the end of the closet? Usually there was only one and it was the one that you entered through.

"Uhm…Jenny. Where does that lead?" he asked and pointed at the door.

"Hm?" she looked up from a drawer she was going through. "Oh that." She laughed. She had a kind laugh, Tony thought. "That's the other entrance. This closet unites the girls' room with yours. In other words you share the closet."

"Oh." Tony said with a huff. He had been hoping it was something a little more exciting than that.

Tim's eyes were drawn to a picture on the wall. It was a really big object in the sea. It looked kind of strange and he wasn't sure what It was. He turned his head to Jenny who was rummaging around in the closet. "What's that?" he asked. Her head came out of the closet and she gave him a puzzled look. He pointed at the picture. "That."

"Oh." She smiled, "That is an aircraft carrier." She explained.

"They carry aircrafts?"

Jenny nodded. "That's right."

Tim looked fascinated. "Wow." He whispered. "I wish I could get to see one of those one day." He said.

"Maybe you will." Said a voice from behind as Gibbs entered. "So, you guys happy with the room?" he asked.

"Yes, Sir." Tim answered.

"Sure, Gibbs, it's just fine." Tony agreed.

Gibbs looked pleased. "Good. What do you say to some dinner? I took liberty of ordering us pizza."

Jenny scowled at him from across the room. "Jethro. I said I was going to cook. Did that somehow slip your mind?"

Gibbs scratched the back of his head. "I guess it did, Jen." He said with a grin as he tried to appear innocent. "But at least now you get to rest and won't have to cook." He said with a smile, in an attempt to lighten her mood again.

"Oh you…" she crossed the space between them and gave him a quick, soft kiss on the cheek. "So when will the pizza get here?"

He glanced at the watch on his wrist. "Oh…in about…twenty minutes."

"That gives us time to…"

"Scan the territory." Tony interrupted and quickly headed for the door. He had a feeling the words that were about to come out of Jenny's mouth had been something about washing hands and setting the table. He could tell…by the look on her face.

In an instant he was gone. Jenny and Gibbs looked at each other and shrugged. "Oh well, " Gibbs said, "I guess we have time to show them the backyard." He patted Tim's shoulder. "Come one, Tim. "

Tim hopped off the bed and Gibbs took Abby's hand as they strolled downstairs. Out in the hall Jenny called out to Ziva. Not getting any response she told the others to go ahead and instead headed for the girls' room again. Outside the door she knocked and then entered. Ziva was seated on the bed closest to the window with her back pack In front of her. She wasn't doing anything, just staring ahead at the wall.

"Ziva…?" Jenny spoke to get the girl's attention. "What are you doing, honey?"she asked.

Ziva jumped at the sound of her voice. "Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" she snapped.

Jenny raised a brow in surprise at the girl's reaction. "Whoa, what's going on here, Ziva? Did something upset you?" she coaxed. She walked over to the bed and sat down in the middle of it. Ziva had her back leaned against the headboard and had been in deep thought. Now she just shook her head at Jenny's question. "Nothing huh? Then how about you come with me outside and take a look at the backyard with the others?"

Ziva once again shook her head. She had no desire to see the backyard. She could do that on her own later. Just like she usually did with most things. She liked being on her own, not having anybody else to worry about but herself.

Jenny nodded in understanding. She had been told by Ziva's mother what sort of kid Ziva was and had been expecting something like this sooner or later. "I spoke to your mom before you left Israel you know. She told me you are used to being on your own."

Ziva didn't look up and instead fidgeted with the bedspread.

"She also told me you are a very capable young lady."

That made Ziva look up. Praise was unusual in her family. "She said that?"

"Yes, she did. She also told me you prefer to spend time on your own instead of with other kids. Is that also true?"

Ziva nodded. "I mostly play alone at home." Her face brightened a little. "I used to play a little with a friend of mine. But then he went away. I have not seen him for a long time, and I am not sure where he is." she said sadly.

Jenny closed her eyes and took a breath. "I'm sorry to hear that, Ziva." she scooted a little closer to the girl. "You know I was a lot like you when I was a little girl. I liked to play alone. " She could tell the girl was listening to her even though she had returned to staring at her lap. "One day my father talked to me about that. He said that it was in a way his fault because we moved a lot at that time. But he thought I should give playing with other kids a try." She moved her hand up to stroke Ziva's hair gently. "Not long after that I met two girls a little older than me. They were nice to me and we became friends. But we never would have become friends had I not given them half a chance." She said with a final playful tug on the girl's long braid. "You willing to give us a chance, huh?"

Ziva gave a little smile and then looked up. "Okay, fine."

Jenny put her arm around the girl's shoulders. "That's a good girl. Now come on, let's see what the others are up to outside." She got to her feet and started to leave when Ziva surprised her with a question of her own.

"Jenny." The girl stood up, "How do you and my mother know each other?"

Jenny halted in her tracks and turned around. She thought Irit had told her daughter already but evidently she had been in the wrong about that. "Well, that's a long story, Ziva. Perhaps we should save that for some other time, deal?"

The girl shrugged indifferently. "Sure."

"Alright."

To be continued

A/N: Please let me know what you think.

I'd also like to ask if there is anyone who knows a of a good beta reader for NCIS fanfiction stories? I'm considering asking one to help me out.