Gibbs/Allison Series:

Choosing Between Old & New # 5

By: MChakotayParis (R. Mason)

Chapter 8

The for the next four days Ali was almost a newborn spending most of her day sleeping, waking, eating, staying up for a few hours then taking another nap. After lunch the routine would start again except that Ali's after lunch naps lasted a little longer so she didn't sleep between lunch and dinner except if they went out. After dinner Ali, Tobias and Gibbs would play for a while then she would be in bed by nine o' clock. She still woke a few times during the night with nightmares or a wet diaper but it soon got better.

Gibbs and Tobias took full advantage of her naps and rested when they could because neither man was really ready for all the work it was taking to get Ali's health back. It was one morning after a particularly tiresome night that Tobias finally had to press his point with Ali. She'd awoken them several times during the night having nightmares and needing to be changed so none of them were feeling their best.

The weather had warmed up that day and Ali had begged them to go outside so reluctantly they had given in and let her play outside for an hour or so, when they called her in Ali was so engrossed in playing that she ignored them until Tobias finally had to come out and get her.

"Ali, I said it's time to come in" called Tobias as he walked over towards her, when he'd called her the first time she had been only a few feet away from the patio room now she had moved almost a good four feet away from him. As he walked nearer towards her she kept her back to him. When he reached her Tobias put his hand on her shoulders only to have her brush them off and continue to ignore him "Allison Desirae Fornell-Gibbs, you get up right now and go into the house this instant" said Tobias hotly, his temper rising with every second Ali just sat there.

"No" said Ali softly as she continued to play in the sand

With her answer Tobias grabbed her up roughly by the arms, standing her up then swatted her hard on the leg. She was wearing one of her play sets with a pair of shorts on under her dress so he caught her mostly on the skin part of her upper leg.

Ali turned and looked at him with fire in her eyes, yelling. "I hate you…I hate you! Why don't you go back to your perfect daughter and leave Daddy and me alone!" then with tears running down her face ran back to the house brushing past Gibbs as he stood in the doorway.

Gibbs had come to the doorway when he'd hear Tobias calling Ali a second time and wondered if this was his time to force his point with her. Since the beginning Ali had seemingly accepted Tobias' authority over her but now she was putting it to the test. Earlier in the week Emily had called Tobias and they talked for a long time Tobias repeatedly saying how proud he was of her. Obviously Ali had heard Tobias talking to Emily and misunderstood his praise of Emily as comparison to her. He knew that Tobias was equally as proud of Ali as he was of Emily just in different way and for different reasons. Now he just had to convince Ali of that. As he saw his lover approach, his face so forlorn Gibbs wrapped his arms around his and pulled him into his chest.

"Give her time Tobias; you know that she really didn't mean it. Remember what Auggie said, if she yells or acts out she's confused about something, the problem is we just need to find out what it is then work through it with her" whispered Gibbs against his ear.

"I know" replied Tobias with a sigh "But it just hurts so much having to punish her. She's had just a hard time recently she deserves to be happy"

"And we'll make it happy for her but first we need to get through this. And you wouldn't be such a good father if it didn't hurt to punish your children" replied Gibbs then led him into the house and sat with him on the couch.

They both needed time to cool off and settle down so in the mean time they waited, finally they heard Ali's crying and screaming slow down to a whimper and with a deep sigh Tobias rose from the couch. "I'd better go take care of this before it gets out of hand" then leaned down and gave Gibbs a quick kiss on the lips.

"Remember Tobias, she really does love you" reminded Gibbs as he gently squeezed his lovers hand.

With a sad smile Tobias left the living room and headed to Ali's bedroom, after knocking softly he opened the door to find Ali laying on the bed with her room torn apart. They'd heard her screaming and crying from the living room but never guessed that she would go so far as to have a full blown temper tantrum on them. Her books, puzzles and Lego's were thrown all over the floor and her bed sheets were halfway off the bed with her laying in the middle of them curled up in a little ball. As he approached the bed he saw her look up at him then quickly avert her eyes.

Carefully sitting down on the bed but not touching her Tobias asked. "Are you ready to talk about what just happened little one?"

"You don't love me….I heard you say how proud of Emily you were and…." started Ali but stopped at Tobias' groan.

So she had heard his conversation with Emily and she thought he was comparing her to Emily. Oh Gods, this was complicated. How did he explain to an eighteen month to two year old that he was just as proud of her as he was his teenage daughter? With another deep sigh Tobias reached carefully over and placed his hand on Ali's shoulder. She didn't flinch or push him away so he took that as a good sign and continued.

"Ali sweetheart, when I was talking to Emily I wasn't comparing you to her. I know that the two of you are totally different, and while you both are my daughters I love you in different ways. With Emily, it's her growth and development as she turns into a beautiful young woman. Learning to be independent and strong, taking care of herself and become self-sufficient."

"With you it's your growth as you become the little girl you never had a chance to be. Learning to play catch, riding a bike, fixing a puzzle or even just watching you build something for the first time with your Daddy. Ali, it's the little things that most children take for granted that I enjoy watching you learn to do and I'm equally as proud of all your accomplishment as Ali as I am of all of Emily's."

"I've watched one little girl go through the joys and heartaches of childhood, now I'm privileged to help another one. A little girl who's lived her life backwards, her adult life first now she needs to learn how to be a kid. Please Ali can I be a part of your childhood?" asked Tobias quietly.

As soon as he finished Ali launched herself into his arms crying "I'm sorry Papa, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it…Please don't leave me!"

At her word his heart wrenched and he gently pulled back from her so she could see his face. "Ali baby, I would never in a million years leave you or Jethro. You have my word on that sweetheart"

When he'd finished Ali sagged against his chest openly crying once again. Ten minutes later her cries had turned to sniffles and he looked down at her. The front of his shirt was wet and he could tell by the warmth on his legs that she was as well.

"Now what do you think we need to do about what just happened outside?" asked Tobias as he raised her chin so she could look at him.

Ali knew some sort of punishment was coming for what she had said to Tobias so it was with a reluctant sigh she answered. "A spanking and corner time?"

"It think that sounds good, and you will also have to clean up your room then spend the rest of the afternoon in here okay?"

"Yes Papa, Uhhhhh…papa?" said Ali shyly

"Yes little one"

"I need to be changed" whispered Ali

"I know baby girl, I'll take care of it after your spanking now get ready" said Tobias as he gave her a moment to collect herself before he started his punishment.

With practiced easy Tobias pulled Ali over his lap, placing her bottom across his legs and her face on a pillow turned to the side.

"Ready little one?" asked Tobias softly

At her small nod Tobias undid her diaper, laying into her with ten hard swats on her bottom and upper thighs, thoroughly making her backside red. After he was through he scooted out from under her and collected her things while Ali continued to cry softly. Before he turned her over he put a little bit of lotion in his hands, and then rubbed it over her very sore bottom. At first Ali hissed and tried moving away but Tobias put a hand to her back and Ali settled down. When he was done he quickly flipped her over cleaning then changing her with his usual efficient speed.

As he stood looking down at his little girl, Tobias knew that at least this part was over. She had also accepted him as her Papa and it would probably be a long time before he had to punish her again. He really hoped so because that part of parenting he didn't enjoy, but he knew it was necessary. Ali had never had anyone to set boundaries and rules for her so it was an evil necessity and like all children she was going to test them. So they had to be strong together and separately to give her exactly what she needed.

"Ali baby, I want you to clean up your room then you may read or listen to some music on your iPad but nothing else alright?" said Tobias, during their stay at the beach house they had discovered that Ali had downloaded and started listening to some country music on her iPad. It was sort of funny to watch their little girl sing along to the songs and even dance occasionally when she was alone or she thought they weren't watching. Right now he wanted her to do something quiet so she could think about what she had done and why she was being punished.

"May I color quietly Papa?" asked Ali as she finally looked up at him, she had been lying on her back with her eyes averted the whole time he had been watching her.

"Yes sweetheart, you may color, read or listen to you music but nothing else understood" reminded Tobias firmly.

"Yes papa" said Ali quietly then added hesitantly "and Papa…I love you" as she finally jumped off the bed and threw herself into his arms.

He held her for a few minutes then gently patted her back releasing her. "I love you too and you're forgiven" whispered Tobias

"Thank you Papa" whispered Ali as she moved away from him and started cleaning her room.

He watched her work for a few minutes then slowly made his way back into the living room once again falling into Jethro's arms.

"You had to do it Tobias" whispered Gibbs as he leaned over and gently kissed his head

"I know" sighed Tobias.

After that the rest of the evening was spent quietly watching television until dinner time. When Ali was called to dinner she was quiet and ate quickly then started to return to her room but stopped when she heard Tobias call her name.

"Ali would you like to watch television with Daddy and I on the couch?" asked Tobias as he gently patted the space between himself and Gibbs that they had just made.

At his question Ali's face beamed and she happily ran to cuddle between her two favorite men in the world, staying still for a minute then quickly running back to her room. A few minutes she returned holding her pacifier and her "Puffalump". At Tobias' small nod Ali returned to her spot between her Daddy and Papa, know that her punishment was really and truly over.

-NCIS-

The rest of their time at the beach house was peaceful but quickly ended and soon Tobias, Gibbs and Ali were packing their stuff to leave. They had decided to leave Ali's bag at the beach house just encase one was forgotten again so on the way back to D.C. they stopped by Wal-Mart again and bought her another set of diaper bag supplies, this time including a bottle and lotion. This second bag was to be kept in Tobias' car for when they travel owing to the fact that he had the larger car and Ali could lay down in the back seat. An extra pillow and blanket were also purchased plus another baby toy for Ali to sleep with.

After leaving Wal-Mart they made good time, owing to the fact that they had also stopped by the Peter's store to say goodbye to Rachael and Todd and pick up some food and snacks for the trip. Rachael had insisted on fixing them a picnic lunch so soon they left with a big basket filled to the rim with food and snacks for Ali. They had also had cooler for Ali's bottles so except to change Ali they wouldn't really need to stop.

It was close to five o' clock when they reached D.C. and instead of cooking a meal tonight they stopped off and picked up a pizza before heading home. After taking all their stuff into the house and a quick change of Ali dinner was eaten then the rest of the night was spent cuddling on the couch. It was around eight o' clock before Gibbs remembered his promise to Auggie and quickly pulled out his phone and dialed the number. They had talked to Auggie so much lately that both men had put her number on speed dial on both of their phones. As he waited for Auggie to pick up her looked down at their little girl. She was leaning against his chest with her feet in Tobias' lap just barely fighting to keep her eyes open to watch the game that was on television. A few minutes later they heard the familiar voice of Augustina Chandler answer.

"Jethro, are you alright? It's awful late for you to just be getting in to D.C." asked Auggie in a worried voice

"I'm sorry Auggie but we had to make a few stops before we left Chesapeake Beach and then we hit traffic heading back into D.C. We just grabbed a pizza before we got home and crashed" said Gibbs apologetic as he looked at his partner. Tobias was sitting on the other side of Ali with a big smile on his face knowing full well how much trouble Gibbs would be in for not calling Auggie sooner.

"How's Ali? Did she make the trip alright?" asked Auggie letting him off the hook for a moment but knowing full well she would rip into him tomorrow.

"She's fine Auggie; as a matter of fact she's right here. You want to talk to her…hold on a minute" said Gibbs as he sighed then handed the woman his phone. For now at least he was off the hook.

A few minutes later Ali's excited voice came over the phone and Auggie could tell she was probably bouncing as well "Auggie! Oh Auggie I missed you!"

"I missed you too baby girl, how was your time with Daddy and Papa?" asked Auggie she hoped that Ali would feel comfortable enough to tell her if there were any problems.

"It was okay Auggie, but Papa got mad at me after I told him no." whispered Ali

"Ali. What did you tell your Papa no for?" asked Auggie sternly

"Emily called and I heard them talking and I thought he liked her better than me and I …." started Ali in a very hurried voice.

"And what happened?" asked Auggie softly, now here was the critical point. Had she accepted Tobias as her parental figure or had she ran to Gibbs.

"Papa spanked me then I spent the afternoon in my room. Auggie I'm really sorry I didn't mean to be bad I….." started Ali then broke off as the tears started falling down her face.

"I'm sure your Papa knows that little one and since he punished you it's all over now, but it won't happen again will it little one" asked Auggie with a stern warning in her voice. If she fail to follow Tobias' or Gibbs' rules again she would answer to them plus her. Auggie had only had to punish Ali once during her breakdown time and as Ali soon found out her punishments weren't pleasant either.

"Yes ma'am" whispered Ali remembering the one and only time Auggie had to punish her and not wanting it to ever happen again.

"Good girl, now let me talk to Jethro again angel" asked Auggie then she was soon headed back to Gibbs. "Jethro, I'd like to come over tomorrow and discuss what happened with the two of you and how we can start integrating her family back into her life" asked Auggie

"That will be fine Auggie, how about making it around eight or so and we can call it a late breakfast. We've been letting Ali sleep a little later than usual since she still has a little bit of trouble sleeping the whole night through yet" said Gibbs with a sigh. Ali had gotten better but she had yet to make it through the whole night without waking them at least once or twice from a nightmare.

"Problems?" asked Auggie concern ringing in her voice

"She's having nightmares and their making her wet her diaper more often. We've tried cutting back on her bottles at night but they seem to be the only thing that soothes her enough to get her back to sleep and we don't want her getting dehydrated" said Gibbs as he looked down at Ali. She was asleep on his chest with her a bottle clutched in her hand, her pacifier in her mouth and her "Puffalump" in her lap.

"Alright, how about you ask Ducky to meet us at your house tomorrow and he can check her out then I will try to find out what's causing her nightmares. It sounds like she's worried about something but I'm not sure what it could be" said Auggie

"Sounds good, I'll give him a call tonight. See you tomorrow Auggie, and thank you."

"No thank you Jethro and Tobias as well. You're the ones who did all the hard work bringing our little girl back, now we just have to bring in her extended family and everything should be as good as new. Well maybe remodeled a little but the same foundation"

"Well we appreciate all your help Auggie believe me we couldn't have done it without you. See you tomorrow" replied Gibbs then closed the phone hanging up.

"So it sounds like we're having company for breakfast tomorrow?" asked Tobias as he looked at Gibbs

"Yep, Auggie wants to come over and check her out and she suggested we call Ducky to see if there is a physical reason why she's not sleeping and wetting so much" informed Gibbs.

"Well then, might I suggest that we call it an early night since we know it will be interrupted and try to get at least a little more sleep before our company arrives" said Tobias with a grin on his face.

"You got a deal, can you take care of Ali while I call Ducky then I'll meet you upstairs when I'm done" said Gibbs returning his grin

"You think I'm dumb enough to pass up an offer like that. I'll be waiting with bells on" winked Tobias as she picked up Ali then started towards the stairs but only after a few steps he stopped looking back at his lover stilling on the couch. "And very little else" drawled Tobias suggestively then turned around and continued taking Ali upstairs.

Gibbs sat on the couch for a few minutes trying to get that lurid image out of his mind and calm his heart rate down before calling Ducky. The man could sense when something was wrong and if he talked to him in the state he was in he would be over here in a flash and their evening would be ruined. So after several deep breaths Gibbs dialed Ducky's number. After a brief conversation and getting a promise that he would come to their house tomorrow at eight o' clock Gibbs all but ran upstairs to find Tobias waiting in their bedroom as promised, wearing nothing but a tiny set of Christmas bells which hung around his neck.

As Jethro shed his clothes his clothes he got a feral look in his eyes and Tobias said with a smile.

"Like the bells?" asked Tobias as he gently shook them

At the sound Jethro pounced, like a hungry cat on a prime piece of meat or more like a male cat on a female in heat. The rest of the night was taken up with Jethro showing Tobias just how much he liked his bells.