Tony was feeling frustrated almost to the point that he felt like beating his head against the wall. He knew his daughter was stubborn, no big surprise there, after all, she had not only his tenacity but Kate's as well. Today, though, she seemed convinced to drive him crazy. He'd gotten her to put on her green one-piece bathing suit with the picture of the little mermaid on the front, what she called her 'fishie suit', but he couldn't convince her to put a t-shirt or shorts on over it. Instead of getting dressed, she seemed more interested in looking for her water toys and trying to get the mercifully locked patio door to open so she could go outside to the pool. Failing that, she had filled her squirt gun with water from the dog's drinking dish and was proceeding to squirt his swimming shorts with it.
"Bang, bang!"
He took a deep breath, willing himself to be patient. "Bella, baby, not time to play. Bubba and Nini will be here in a little while. Ducky too."
"Ducky!" She buried her head in her toy box again, bringing out her yellow rubber duck Ducky had given her. "Ducky!"
With those words, she was off again, this time to the kitchen, to where Shelby was putting the finishing touches on a fruit salad and veggie plate. "Mama, Mama, Mama!" Bella began trying to climb up Shelby's side until the blonde picked her up.
"Bella, come back and get dressed…" Tony started again, stopping when he saw the little girl and Shelby, in serious discussion.
"No!" The little girl protested, looking at Shelby innocently.
Shelby paused. "Let her stay like she is, honey. It's easier." She feed the little girl a slice of strawberry and Bella grinned.
Shelby watched Bella chase Blue, running right into Abby Scuito as she came up the sidewalk with Timothy McGee and Donald Mallard. "Bee!"
Abby laughed, picking the little girl up, swinging her around. "Bella!"
The little girl began talking a mile a minute, most of which Abby didn't even begin to understand. It was amazing to see how the little girl looked so much like a tiny version of Kate, although she acted like a combination of Tony and Shelby. "Swim, Bee! Swim. Like fishie."
"Later. Promise." Abby smiled. "Why don't we go help Mama?" The little girl nodded seriously, allowing Abby to carry her over to where Shelby was, the men approaching Tony.
"Thanks for coming," Tony said, taking the ice cream and potato salad, quickly getting into a conversation with McGee about something Ziva'd done at work that week.
No sooner had they mentioned her name than Ziva parked, getting out of her car, dressed in shorts and a top, an outfit that would have gotten a rise out of Tony not a year before, but instead just got a teasing, flirtatious comment, more as friends than of anyone really interested.
Shelby came out of the house, dressed in a cotton sundress, her blonde hair up in a twist, Bella attached to her again, Abby helping her carry platters out. "Tony, can you check the meat for me?"
McGee teased his friend about being whipped, but Tony just slapped the back of McGee's head before going to do what Shelby had asked.
Bella was seated on Tony's lap, sitting next to Shelby on the swing, the circle of friends gathered around talking, when the little girl's eyes focused on something else, becoming the color of glistening melted chocolate. "Nini? Bubba?" She grinned, running to her godparents, Gibbs catching her quickly before she made it to the street.
"Bubba." She hugged his neck tightly and he closed his eyes briefly, trying to keep the tears at bay, needing that hug more than he could have ever imagined, especially that week.
He opened his eyes again, his arm around Jenny's waist, carrying Bella with them, Jen carrying the chips and homemade salsa they'd made together. Shelby smiled, relieved that everything had worked out well, but, to the others, they were the focus of attention and stares.
Tony started to say something and realized that Shelby was right. It was none of his business. Instead he just smiled and said, "Jenny, you look great."
The redhead smiled, dressed in capris and a shirt, more casual than she was at work, but not quite as much as if it had been just the 'family'. "Thank you, Tony."
Shelby watched Jenny, noticing that she was glowing, obviously happy, and obviously in love, never quite leaving Gibbs' side. "I'm glad everything worked out," she whispered softly to her friend, handing her a frozen margarita.
"I'm glad it did too…for both of us." She paused. "Jethro mentioned you and Tony were fighting."
"We're good." She smiled. "Well, maybe better than good." She watched her brother, talking with Ducky, letting Bella sit on his shoulders. "She's exactly what he needed." Shelby paused. "Did he tell you…"
Jenny nodded. "Why didn't you ever tell me? About this week, about them…"
"Jethro promised me he would. Besides…it wasn't my story to tell." Jenny nodded, understanding.
Sabrina sat in her car for awhile, just watching, almost afraid to get out. She wasn't sure about meeting Gibbs' friends, although she knew all about them. Although she had appreciated Shelby's invitation, it was Gibbs' insistence that had made her finally decide to come. When she got out of the car, she could feel all eyes on her, even one of the girls' mouths hanging open. She felt subconscious, almost like that old dream where she was walking into school naked, until Shelby met her halfway, hugging her, walking over with her to the others.
McGee and Ziva didn't recognize her as the famous redhead, but Ducky and Abby did. Tony kept looking at Jen, making her feel self conscious as well, until Shelby shot him a look, speaking as she did so. "Guys, this is Sabrina Collins. Sabrina, this is Timothy McGee, Abby Scuito, Ziva David, Donald Mallard, Tony and Bella DiNozzo, Jenny Shepherd, and of course, you know him."
Gibbs tried to shoot her a reassuring smile, truly grateful she'd agreed to come, still holding Jenny's hand in her own. Ducky was the first to step up, shake hands, and begin talking, as usual, a mile a minute.
"Why did you invite her?" Tony whispered, almost too loudly.
"She's Jethro's sister-in-law," Tony looked at her, not understanding at first. "Shannon's sister." He stopped, feeling almost ashamed, embarrassed, remembering his manners and going over to meet his guest.
When things settled down, Bella finally got her way, Abby, along with McGee and Ziva, swimming with her in the pool. Sabrina and Jenny were inside, helping Shelby clean up, when Sabrina finally spoke. "Shelby told me about the misunderstanding." She paused. "I'm sorry for the confusion."
Jenny paused. "I've seen you before. Not just this week."
Sabrina nodded. "He told me that you found out about Shannon when he was hurt." Jenny nodded, not sure where this was going. "She was my baby sister. Kelly, my niece." Sabrina paused. "I feel…I feel responsible for him, to make sure he's taken care of, he's happy." She paused again, putting the cover on a bowl, putting it in the refrigerator, unable to look at Jenny for a second, but then turning back around. "With you…he's happy."
Jenny stood there, not knowing how to respond to that. "Thank you," she said blankly.
Sabrina smiled. "You're welcome." The conversation ended as Shelby came back into the room, making more margaritas, Sabrina going outside to where Jethro was sitting.
"I should go."
Jethro paused. "I'm glad you came, Sabrina. I'm glad you were here this week."
"You've got good friends, Jethro, and a great woman. She…she reminds me a lot of Shannon."
He nodded, taking a breath. "A little bit." He paused. "I'll see you soon?" She nodded and he kissed her cheek, watching her leave.
Tony was standing near the edge of the pool, talking to Bella, when Shelby came out. She had just put the margaritas down on the table when Gibbs slapped the back of Tony's head, payback for upsetting Jen. Tony, feeling himself falling, grabbed out for Shelby, pulling her in with him. She laughed, having no choice but to splash him, keeping it up until they were in the middle of a splash war, both laughing too hard to continue.
Shelby got out ten minutes later, under the guise of getting some towels, Tony going for the waterproof camera, Abby keeping an eye on Bella for them. Tony knew he'd pay later, but pushed his boss off the edge into the deep end, taking pictures as Gibbs came back up. It was then that Jenny came out of the house, looking at Gibbs as if she were trying to figure out how he'd gotten in the water, not noticing Shelby behind her until she was in the water as well, Gibbs' strong arms around her as they kissed. It was Shelby's turn to take pictures as they stopped caring about being wet, about the people around them, even about the bad week they'd both had, finally forcing themselves to separate with a smile and an unspoken promise that they would finish what they'd started.