A/N: Sorry about the major delay, but I've had heaps of school work that needed to be done. At last I managed to find a gap to finish this chapter, but the next one won't be up until school is over. As you all know, fanfiction writing won't get me into college.

Chapter 16

Tony and Gibbs managed to find Mark Hansen's office without much problem and were warmly greeted by the social worker as soon as they walked through the door. He stood up to shake their hands with a warm smile on his face and then he bid them to take a seat in the two chairs in front the desk.

"So, was Sarah happy to see you two again?" Mark asked while he sat down again

"We think so", Tony said. "She seemed a little reserved at first. It almost seemed as if she didn't really believe that we're here to see her."

"Gibbs told me that you've already told Sarah about the adoption. I probably should have told you sooner that I would've liked to discuss some matters before you did, but it's too late to do anything about that know. How did she take it?"

"To tell you the truth, she thought we lied, and I also think she got a little scared. She tried to run from us, but I managed to catch her before she got too far."

"Did you manage to calm her down?"

"Yeah. It took a little while though, but I managed to convince her that we weren't lying. I told her that we'd never lie to her about anything that's this important."

"Does she believe you know?"

"She does", Gibbs said and gave Mark an impatient look. "So can you please tell us how we'll proceed from here? When can we take her home?"

"Yes, I understand that you must be eager to know that", Mark said and gave both Gibbs and Tony a calming smile. "And I can't see why there should be any problems for you to take her home next weekend. There is some paperwork for you to fill in that have to be processed first, but once it's done, Sarah will officially be your daughter."

Tony blinked in surprise and gave Mark a somewhat stunned look. "Next weekend?" he said. "We'll have her home next weekend?"

"You sure will, Tony."

"But I thought you said this could take months."

"It could have if the board hadn't decided that you could adopt Sarah right away. If you had had to wait that long I would have told you so sooner, but as it is, you can have Sarah home in a matter of days."

Tony felt as if a huge weight lifted off his shoulder and he couldn't stop the huge, happy grin that lit up his face. He looked at Gibbs and saw that his lover was smiling too and then they turned back to Mark.

"We're very happy to hear that, Mark", Gibbs said. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it. I have a feeling that you two will be the best parents that girl could ever wish for. I can tell that you care for her a great deal and I hope I'm right to assume that you already love her."

"We do", Tony replied. "A lot. We want to show her what a real family is and now we can't wait to take her home."

"Your waiting will soon be over. I guess you want to go back out to her now?"

"Yes, we do."

"Alright, then. I'll make sure to have the paperwork ready for you when you decide to leave. Now go and spend some time whit your daughter."

XxX

Movement in the corner of his eye caught Archie's attention and he turned his head in time to see the two men exit the main building and come walking towards him and Sarah, who was so occupied with the task Archie had given her that she hadn't noticed them yet. Archie took the opportunity to study the two who most likely would take his girl home very soon. Sarah had told Archie about the adoption and the old gardener wondered what kind of men those two were. He had no doubt that they were good men, just the fact that they already had earned Sarah's trust spoke of that, but he still wondered if they were good enough for the girl he had come to care about.

They both seemed happy about something, and Archie had a feeling that whatever they had talked to Mark about had something to do with it. The lad was all smiles and talked eagerly with his partner, and even though he was more calm and reserved, Archie could still see that he too was happy.

"They have come out now, lass", he told Sarah, who immediately looked up from the bush she was helping Archie to trim. It didn't take long before Tony and Jethro spotted Sarah in return and Archie saw how Tony lit up and practically ran over to where Sarah and after giving Archie a cursory nod he crouched down beside the girl. Archie watched them and smiled to himself when he saw the love in Tony's eyes as he spoke to Sarah.

"I hear that you two are going to adopt the lass", Archie said to Gibbs once he had joined them.

"That's right", Gibbs replied. "We're taking her home next week."

"I'm happy to hear that. She deserves a good home."

Gibbs nodded and looked past Archie at Tony, who was now holding Sarah in his arms again, hugging her close. Then he let go of her and gave her a loving smile before he put her down on the ground again. Then Sarah looked up at Gibbs and slowly came walking over to him.

"Did Tony tell you that you're coming home with us soon?" he asked as he crouched down to her level.

"Yeah", Sarah said and nodded. "Next week."

"That's right."

"Why can't I come home with you now?"

"We'd want that too, Sarah, but those who run this place wants us to follow their rules and make sure that you're officially our daughter first."

"What does 'officially' mean?"

"It means that Mark has to write down that you're their daughter on a piece of paper before your dads can take you home", Archie explained. "And then other has to take a look at it to make sure that everything is in order, and those things take time."

"Why?" Sarah asked.

"Because those who works in offices can be really slow", Gibbs said.

"Why?"

"Because they enjoy annoying people", Tony said. "It's a private game they play, and no one but them understands the rules, so the rest of us have no other choice but to stick up with it."

Sarah frowned while she processed what she'd just learned, and then she nodded that she understood. Tony smiled at her, and then he asked her to show him and Gibbs how to trim the bushes.

A few hours later Gibbs knew it was time for him and Tony to leave if they wanted to return back home at a reasonable hour. Both of them shook hands with Archie and then said a proper goodbye to Sarah, promising her that they'd see her soon. They then left their girl in the gardeners care and reluctantly went back to their car to drive home.

Next weekend couldn't come fast enough.

TBC