Chapter 5

As the Girls Night finally came to an end, Kelly couldn't help but pose the question to herself if Tim was feeling the same way towards her. Of course they had grown pretty close since she had started working in the Mail Office of NCIS, so that her overprotective Dad could keep an eye on her during the work week at least but that didn't mean that he must have also fallen in love with her automatically. Surely she may see this whole thing a little too pessimistic and she definitely didn't want to rush anything or else it would put her friendship with Tim at risk and that was really the last thing that she wanted to happen.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by her childhood friend who asked: "Hey is everything alright? Because I couldn't help but notice that you've been somewhere far away with your thoughts since we have left the cinema together." Gibbs daughter wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to tell Maddie about her doubts considering her crush on Tim Mc Gee and if he was feeling the same about her but then she sighed shortly and said: "Maybe I'm a little bit too paranoid but I'm afraid that Tim doesn't like me the way that I like him, I admit that I sound like a love sick teenager but believe me or not when I'm around him it feels like those imaginary butterflies are flying around in my stomach and I miss him so much when he's not around." Kelly's childhood friend couldn't but keep grinning back at her and made a kissing face, of course Jethro Gibbs daughter didn't appreciate that much and so she playfully hit her on the right shoulder. Maddie pretended that it hurt her a lot by making some grimaces with her face and said: "Ouch that hurts."

Then she laughed and Kelly quickly joined in into the laughter and after all this drama that lay behind her, it felt so good to be able to live a normal life again even if her mom wasn't a part of it. But she was pretty happy to able to spend time with her dad again, determined to make a lot of new memories with him and nothing would tear this family apart again this time. Ziva and Abby had watched that little scene play out in front of them in silence because they didn't want to disturb the little girls talk in one bit and the Goth Lab Technician couldn't help but think: Does maybe Tim feel the same way about her the way Mini-Gibbs feels about him? Right now she couldn't be sure about that because Mc Gee hadn't said anything that would point in that direction only that he was happy to be able to instantly connect with Gibbs daughter on a friendship level, because they had one big thing in common: both were big tech geeks and if that didn't made Kelly a perfect fit for him then he surely had to be blind.

Kelly looked at her watch shortly and being happy that it wasn't too late yet before she said: "Are you all in for a drink to end this wonderful evening?" Abby, Maddie and Ziva didn't hesitate to answer: "We're all in for a drink." Then the four girls made their way to the next nice little bar and Kelly surely had enjoyed the evening so far: I wonder what Dad and Hollis are up to in this very moment, maybe they are watching some romantic movie together and they do really make such a cute couple in my opinion. I know deep down that he doesn't want Hollis to be Mom's replacement but I somehow have the feeling that Mom wouldn't want dad to be such a loner like he had been before my return into his life.

Jethro Gibbs house

The happy couple was done with watching "Sleepless in Seattle" and was now eating the dinner that Hollis had been busy preparing all day: A steak well-done and some little potatoes along with some vegetables. "This really tastes so good Hollis; my big compliment goes to the chef." The former Army CID Agent couldn't help but smile back at him and then she said: "Thank you so much Jethro, it's good to know that I still am able to do a good steak."

"I have to admit that you are a quite better cook that I'll ever be." Gibbs replied then he took her hand into his and softly strokes it, because he just couldn't stop to show her how much she meant to him and he was also happy that his daughter and Hollis already got along so well. He was happy to know that Hollis had been happy to take over the role of the mother , even if it had been kind of weird to him at first to have that certain feeling again: Happiness because that had been surely something that had been so unfamiliar to him in the past.

"Hey is everything alright? " Hollis now asked a little concerned as she had watched how thoughtful Gibbs had been for a few minutes and she hoped that he was aware of the fact, that he could tell her everything that bothered him right at this moment. It took quite a while but then he snapped out of his little trance and said: "Yes everything is more than alright actually, because I have the two most beautiful women in the world by my side." Then he grinned at her and she smiled back at him and she honestly thought that no other man before practically had adored her like Jethro Gibbs. The two then continued to eat in silence because they didn't want this delicious meal to get cold and of course Gibbs missed his daughter's presence a lot like every other time she wasn't around.

The apartment of Tim Mc Gee

Tim had just finished his small late dinner and was now busy with zapping through the TV channels looking for something that was worth his time watching but in reality his mind was somewhere else right now. He and Kelly Gibbs had become good friends over the last years and of course he enjoyed to spent time with her a lot but lately he also couldn't help but ask himself: Do I maybe want to be more than friends with her? Sure he had tried his best to get that thought out of his head, because dating the daughter of his boss would never happen and Gibbs was kind of the scariest father-in law you could have.

AN: Thanks to- klosteca for reviewing this story, adding it to her/his story alert subscription and adding it to her/his favorite stories list. Please read and review