Title: Once upon a summertime

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters on the show. I'm just borrowing them for the story.

CHAPTER 8

THE LITTLE BACK YARD

The back yard of the Gibbs/Shepard house:

Tony kicked the football high into the air, catching it as it descended back down again.

Gibbs waved to him from the other side of the lawn. "Come on, Tony. Kick the ball already." He joked. Gibbs, Tony and Tim had placed themselves in a triangle across the lawn, kicking the old football back and forth to each other. Tim was standing a little closer to Gibbs to close the distance some since he couldn't kick as hard as him or Tony. Tony however had insisted on backing all the way to the fence even though it meant he also had to kick the football hard enough to make it travel the distance back to Gibbs again. He was doing quite well, according to himselfespecially.

Abby had not wanted to join. Gibbs had introduced her to a swing hanging from a high branch in the maple tree and she had immediately pulled herself up onto it with Philip under her left arm, watching the boys kick the football. She was happy she didn't need anyone to push her. She had learned to do that a whole year back and was now proudly showing the others her skill.

As soon as Ziva and Jenny showed up Gibbs kicked the football to the side and told Abby to hop off the swing.

"Jethro, I think the pizza will be here any minute. I'll go set things up in the kitchen."

"Sure Jen." He turned to the two elated boys, the still somewhat quiet little girl and the somewhat sullen older girl who had now joined the others. "We'll take a look around in the meantime."

Tim scanned his surroundings. The house and the back yard were surrounded by a white picket fence with a standard arbor above the little gate, covered in roses. The back yard was kind of picturesque. But it still managed to be fitted with pretty much everything he could think of that anyone could want in a garden, without making it look like it was squeezed in. There were a couple of tall trees, a very small vegetable patch over by the house wall, the swing, an area big enough to play ball games in and just play regular games in without getting lost while doing it. There was a porch that you could come out onto through the kitchen door. On the porch stood comfortable outdoor furniture and it looked like the perfect place to have lunch or an evening meal if the summer weather allowed it. Three steps led down from the porch to a stone garden path that lead through the lawn over to the little white gate.

With the house at your back there was a shed to the left. Gibbs headed toward it and beckoned the others to follow his lead. He opened the door and they all entered behind him. The place was filled with tools, sawhorses and a long workbench. The shed was small and what was inside it took up most of the space.

Tim fingered something that lay on top of the workbench. He picked it up and studied it with curious eyes. "What is this place?" He asked.

Gibbs took the chisel gently from his hands and placed it back on the workbench. "This is my workshop shed." He explained and walked a little further in so they could all fit in there better. "I work a lot with wood. This place allows me some privacy while I work."

The kids all looked around. "Are we allowed in here?" Ziva asked, reminding herself how a place of privacy in her family meant that you simply should not enter…ever.

"Yes. As long as I'm in here with you. But not on your own."

She raised both eyebrows. "Why?"

Gibbs had to hide a grin at her ability to question everything without fear or shyness. "Because of things like these." He picked up the chisel that Tim had held and showed it to them, touching the point of it carefully with his thumb. "It's sharp. I have lots of dangerous tools in here. Such as this one," He picked up a saw, "And this."and then a knife. "You're not allowed to pick them up without asking me first. Ok?"

All four kids nodded. "And I don't want you in here by yourselves. It's not a place to play in." he explained calmly.

Ziva shrugged. "In Israel I am allowed to carry knife in my belt in I choose to."

Tony's lip quirked in a smile and he couldn't help teasing her a little. "You're not wearing a belt now." He said and fingered the hem of her yellow sundress.

She quickly pulled her dress away from his thumb and index finger with an annoyed puff of air. "Mind your own business."

Gibbs put a heavy hand on Tony's shoulder as he walked past him to signal that that would be enough of his fun for the moment. "I'm sure you are, Ziva. But I would prefer if you didn't. I hope you can respect my wishes when it comes to that." He said seriously as he locked eyes with the girl. "Can you?"

"Yes." She simply answered and looked away, out the window. She did not like it when people made fun of her or when they told her what to do, but she did not want to snap at Gibbs. He seemed like a nice enough man, and he even seemed to somehow respect her in a way most adults never did.

"Good. I can assure you, you won't need a knife here anyway." he gently patted her head and felt her freeze under the touch. Again he felt her need to be strong on her own.

Outside Jenny's voice called out for them, telling them it was time for supper. As he exited the shed Gibbs stood aside and let the kids rush past him. Ziva came out first, closely followed by Tony and Abby. Tim was the last one to walk out the door and as Gibbs' hand moved toward the door handle Tim was there first and shut the door thoroughly behind him before running to catch up with the other three kids.

Gibbs smiled to himself at the sight of the four of them for the first time hurrying through the porch door together. He then looked back at the shed and contemplated starting to lock the door now that they were around but quickly thought better of it. If he wanted them to trust him he would have to do the same. Kids were smart…and he was already convinced that these four were particularly bright. Only in different ways from each other.

-%%%%%%To be continued%%%%%-