A/N I feel slightly ashamed to admit this…. I have had this chapter done for several months and did not realize I didn't post it to the site! At least you get two chapters in one night? Please don't hate me?
Dinner was a joyful but in regards to the children, a messy affair. Tim knew the skills for using his cutlery but still preferred to use his hands. After Gibbs had given him the okay for the potatoes he went in full force, getting cheese and chunks of potato everywhere.
Tony on the other hand was reveling in the fact that they had company and was easily distracted. He never ate much anyways and had to be reminded several times to sit down and eat. It made Gibbs slightly jealous of the Vance children who sat there calmly and managed to eat their meals and hold a conversation. While Kayla was nearly the same age as Tim, there were clear distinctions between the boy and girl. Gibbs loved his two sons but he sometimes found himself longing for the relationship one could only have with a daughter.
"Tat-toes, Da!" Tim cried out effectively bringing Gibbs back into the moment.
"How are you still hungry Tim?" Gibbs asked as he tickled Tim's tummy. He had already eaten steak, potatoes, fruit and some chips.
"Hungwy, Da, tat-toes!" Tim said as he stood on his chair and tried to grab at the bowl across the table. Gibbs easily grabbed the boy and placed him back on his seat.
"Why don't we save room for dessert Tim?" Gibbs suggested.
"What are we having, Daddy?" Tony asked as his ears picked at the word dessert.
"There will be s'mores if you finish half your plate" The father told the boy. It was a rule of the house that the boys had to finish half their plates before they could have dessert. It was never an issue with Tim (except eating vegetables) as he often asked for seconds and the rule was more in place for Tony.
Tony looked sadly at his plate of which he had only eaten the steak and a few bites of potatoes. Jared saw the look and was quick to come to his friend's side.
"Just eat it Tony so we make some s'mores. We brought over our roasting sticks and you can use my extra-long one if you want." The older boy offered.
Not wanting to be left out of the s'more making festivities Tony quickly finished his plate. Fire grilled steak and potatoes were one of his favorite meals anyways.
Once everyone was done eating Vance and his wife offered to do the clean up since everyone else had helped with the set up.
^^^NCIS^^^
The adults sat around the table talking while watching the kids play. Gibb's neighbor had brought three and half year old Abby over to play, and Gibbs had extended the offer to the parents, but they were going to have a much needed date night.
That left Tim in the position of having to decide if he wanted to play basketball or just sit and play pretend with Abby and Kayla. The two girls had easily clicked off together and would have been fine playing themselves, but Tim really did not want to play any more basketball. So he got his soccer ball from the toy box outside and brought it over to the girls who were sitting down and proceeded to pass the ball around. When neither girl got up to play, he sat down so they were in a circle and passed it with his hands.
Soon though the sun was going down and it was time to make the s'mores. Once dinner was done and Gibbs had dutifully played some basketball with the boys, as well as Jimmy and Vance, he had built the fire back up to prepare to keep everyone warm and so they could roast the marshmallows.
A/N I am really bad at balancing several characters at once so I apologize for the lack of balance among the characters.