It was September 9th and the boys were going to start school today. It was about 0600; Abby and Gibbs were up. They were sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee. Gibbs was reading the paper; Abby was looking at her phone.
"What time should we get the boys up?" Abby asked him, putting down her phone.
"I don't know," Gibbs replied looking at his watch, "Maybe we should wake them up in about 15 minutes." Abby nodded approvingly and smiled. Then Dewey walked over in his PJ's and he was caring a thermometer.
"I'm sick," Dewey said handing her the thermometer, "I can't go to school." Abby muffled her chuckle.
"Wow," she said sarcastically, "117. You have a severe fever." Gibbs laughed.
"Maybe we should take you to the emergency room," Gibbs said. Dewey went wide eyed.
"I'm fine! I'll go to school!" Dewey practically yelled frantically.
"I don't know," Abby said, "Maybe we should take you. They'll give you needles and painful shots, but-" Dewey ran off screaming. Abby laughed. "Wow, the old thermometer in hot water trick. Like I haven't seen that 100 times before."
"I think I'll go wake up the boys now," Gibbs said.
"Okay." Gibbs got up and got the boys all up. They got showers and got dressed, then ate their breakfast. Around 0730 the boys were getting ready to go to school. Francis wore a gray T-shirt with old blue jeans and new sneakers. Reese had his baseball cap on backwards, he had a red sweat shirt, with a white shirt, a pair of jeans, and some new sneakers on. Malcolm had a red shirt, blue jeans, and brand new sneakers on. Jamie just wore regular clothes sense he was going to day care. Dewey had a button down gray shirt on with dressy pants on and black dress shoes. Abby smirked at Dewey.
"Got a hot date?" Abby asked Dewey. Gibbs and the three older boys laughed.
"Okay boys," Gibbs said, "Go to school. You'll be here for a couple hours after school, so behave. You all have your keys?" The boys held up their keys to the house. "Remember how to get to school?" They nodded. Abby hugged all of the boys goodbye. Reese grabbed his skateboard and the boys walked towards the school. After that Abby took Jamie to daycare, then she met Gibbs at work. Abby went straight to work in her lab.
Around 6 o'clock Gibbs and Abby went home, in separate cars. Abby left earlier then Gibbs because she had to pick up Jamie. They both got home at the same time. When they walked in the door they saw Dewey coloring in his coloring book. Abby smiled, but her smile disappeared when Reese walked over to her. He had bandages on his knuckles.
"Reese, what happened?" Abby asked grabbing his hands. His knuckles were bloody and bruised.
"Got into a fight with some kid," Reese said casually.
"Why?" Gibbs asked.
"This kid was claiming to be the school bully. I am always the school bully," Reese said, "but I was willing to let the kid be, until he started picking on this kid in a wheelchair. In my old school nobody picked on Stevie, because I would beat the crap out of them if they did."
"Well," Abby said, "Umm…I guess I can't ground you if you were helping out a kid in a wheelchair." Reese smiled and started to walk away. "Wait!" Reese stopped. "Is this going to be a regular thing, beating up
people?" Reese nodded. Abby rolled her eyes. "Go to your room." Reese did as commanded. Malcolm came down the steps.
"This school is great!" Malcolm yelled.
"Have a nice day?" Gibbs asked.
"Dad, this school's academic program is actually challenging me! I love it!"
"Make any friends?"
"Yes! There's this kid named Tyler. He's in a wheelchair. He is extremely smart; not as smart as me, but neither the less smart."
"Cool," Abby said, "Invite him over one day."
"I will," Malcolm went upstairs. Abby sat on the couch and Gibbs sat next to her. Gibbs placed his arm around her and Abby rested her head on his chest.
"It's been a long day, why don't I order dinner, so you can rest," Gibbs said.
"Sounds great," Abby said. Gibbs ordered Chinese food, then the whole family sat down and talked about their day, while they ate.
"There's this kid in my class," Dewey said, "He was talking about his weird aunt and his crazy uncle, and that got me thinking…Do we have any other family?" Abby and Gibbs looked at each other.
"Well…," Abby started, "Since we are your adopted parents I guess that means that Luca and Kyle are your uncles. And Gibbs has a dad, so you have a grandfather, too."
"Really?" Dewey asked smiling.
"We already met Luca and Kyle, so when can we meet our grandfather?" Francis asked. Gibbs looked slightly nervous.
"Soon," Gibbs said. The boys smiled and high fived each other. Gibbs excused himself from the table and walked into the basement. Abby sensed something was wrong and she followed him.
"Something wrong?" Abby asked.
"No," Gibbs said. Abby still didn't believe him.
"You know I hate being lied to," Abby was getting upset. Abby sat on the chair next to the boat.
"Look…do not take this personally."
"Oh no," Abby said under her breath.
"I-um…I have been so busy that I-um- forgot to tell my dad."
"Forgot to tell him what?" Abby thought for a moment, but then she realized. "You forgot to tell him about me and the boys, didn't you?"
"Babe-," Gibbs started. Abby got up and started pacing back and forth.
"How could you forget? Do we not matter to you? How hard is it to pick up the phone and call you dad and say, 'Hello? I'm married and I have 5 kids.' It's not that hard!"
"Baby," Gibbs said putting his hand on her shoulders to stop her from pacing, "I have been so busy lately and I forgot. I know it's not an excuse. I'm sorry." Abby looked hurt. "If it helps I didn't tell him when I married my fourth wife, until we were about to get divorced." Gibbs realized that he had made a mistake by saying that.
"Is that all I am to you?! Just like your ex-wives?!"
"No, no, no, no," Gibbs tried to calm her down, "Listen, I will tell him. I promise."
"When?" Abby asked. Gibbs released her shoulders and picked up his phone.
"How about now?" Gibbs chuckled dialing his phone. Abby smiled and walked up stairs to give him some privacy. Gibbs called up his dad.
"Hello?" Jackson Gibbs answered his phone.
"Hi, Dad," Gibbs replied.
"Leroy? Haven't heard from you in a while. How you been, son?"
"I've been great, really, really great."
"So, what brings you to call?"
"I-um was seeing this girl for a couple months and-um…we sort of eloped."
"Really? We'll congratulations son. What's this one like?"
"Umm…she's sweet; she's smart, really, really smart, and umm you know her."
"I do?"
"Yeah, you do."
"Well, let's see…how many red heads do I know?" Jackson asked, tapping his fingers on the table.
"Actually she's not a red head."
"Really? Blond? Brunette, maybe?"
"Black hair," Gibbs said putting his fingers through his hair.
"Black hair? The only person I can think of is that forensics girl, but that's not it."
"Actually…," Gibbs chuckled.
"Leroy! She's like 20," Jackson said chuckling, "I didn't think you went for younger women."
"She's 36; and I usually don't, but…"
"Well, I like her. Treat her nice, Leroy," Jackson said.
"Yeah, believe me I will. Also…"
"There more news?"
"I kind of adopted her kids." There was an awkward silence. "Dad?"
"Umm…how-how many kids?"
"Five boys."
"Five boys?! Leroy…," Jackson said, "How come I didn't know about this sooner?"
"I meant to call, but…"
"It's fine. Why don't I come up for a visit this weekend? If it's alright with the wife."
"That would be great. Maybe you should come up for a week, so you can spend some time with your new grandkids."
"I just might do that. When should I come up?"
"Why don't you come up Saturday?"
"I'll see you then."
"I should give you my new address." Gibbs gave him the address.
"See you Saturday." They hung up and Gibbs walked upstairs. Dewey walked over to him.
"Dad, when will we meet grandpa?" Dewey asked. The boys all waited for an answer.
"He's coming this Saturday," Gibbs said. The boys looked excited and Abby smiled.
"Boys get ready for bed," Abby said. The boys did what they were told and Abby walked up to Gibbs. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him.
"I love you," Abby whispered.
"Love you, too babe," Gibbs kissed her back.
"Glad your dad will finally meet the boys!"
"Me, too," Gibbs said as he held her closer.
"You know you're really sweet." Gibbs kissed her and she smiled. Jamie walked over and Gibbs picked him up.
"Hi Jamie," Gibbs said. Abby looked concerned.
"Do you think it's odd that Jamie doesn't talk yet?" Abby asked.
"Didn't the doctor say he'll talk when he's ready?"
"Yes, but still. He's two and he doesn't say one word."
"He's fine, Abs," Gibbs said. Jamie rested his head on Gibbs' shoulder and yawned. "He's perfect." Abby smiled. Gibbs placed Jamie in his bed, then went to bed himself.
Saturday came and around noon there was a knock at the door. Abby got up and answered it. It was Jackson.
"Jackson!" Abby exclaimed happily. She gave him a hug.
"How you doing, Darling?" Jackson asked her.
"I'm great. How are you?"
"Good."
"Come in," Abby helped him with his bags. Gibbs walked down the steps.
"Hey Dad," Gibbs said.
"Hello Leroy," Jackson answered, "Sorry, I'm early, but I couldn't wait."
"No problem. Some of the boys aren't here yet. They went for a walk around the neighborhood, but you can meet the ones that are here."
"Sounds good," Jackson chuckled. Jamie walked in with his favorite toy car in his hands. Jamie walked right over to Abby; she picked him up.
"Jackson, this is Jamie," Abby said handing him to Jackson. Jackson held him and smiled.
"Hello Jamie," Jackson said. Jamie smiled at him and giggled. "How old are you?"
"He's 2 years old," Abby said. Jackson marveled at his new grandson. Just then Francis walked down the steps texting on his phone. "Francis, this is your grandfather." Francis smiled and walked over to him. They shook hands.
"Nice to meet you," Francis said, "I'm Francis."
"Good to meet you kid." Just then Gibbs' phone rang, he answered it and a minute later he hung up.
"I got to go to work," Gibbs said. He kissed Abby and left. Jackson turned to Abby and looked confused.
"What time will he be back?" Jackson asked her. Abby shrugged.
"I'm not sure; sometimes he's gone all night," Abby said, "Want something to drink?"
"Tea would be great."
"Okay, I'll be right back." Abby went to make the tea; Francis, Jackson, and Jamie sat at the table.
"So, son," Jackson said to Francis, "Tell me about yourself."
"Well," Francis started, "I'm 16. I'm kind of a trouble maker," Francis chuckled, "and I recently discovered that I like poker and guns."
"Poker, huh? Who taught you that?"
"Dad taught us all how to play; he also taught us how to shoot a gun and some other stuff."
"Your dad has a big part in your life?" Jackson said, not realizing that Gibbs was the kid's dad.
"Well…yeah," Francis said, "Even before him and Mom married he was always good to us." Jackson looked confused.
"Umm…I'm a little confused. Where is your dad now?"
"He just went to work," Francis said. Finally Jackson realized, he started laughing.
"Oh, Leroy? I'm sorry I was confused for a moment." Jackson looked at the little boy in his arms. "You are by far the quietest kid I have ever encountered."
"Jamie doesn't talk," Francis said, "The doctor said that he'll talk when he's ready."
"Is that so? Well, you'll talk soon enough," Jackson was ecstatic to have grandkids again.
Abby walked in with the tea and set it on the table. Abby sat down next to Jackson; Jamie was falling asleep in his arms.
"Francis, take Jamie up to bed for his nap," Abby said. Francis did what she said and went upstairs to put Jamie to sleep. Abby and Jackson smiled at each other.
"So," Jackson said, "When will rest of the boys get here?"
"Soon…hopefully," Abby replied smiling.
"It's a nice place you got here."
"Thank you. My aunt left it to me."
"Well, she had great taste," Jackson said. They both chuckled, then the door flew open. Reese, Malcolm, and Dewey walked into the dining room; where Abby and Jackson were sitting.
"Hello?" Reese said questionably.
"Boys this is your grandfather," Abby said. Dewey was ecstatic, he gasped.
"Grandpa!" Dewey squealed; he ran to give Jackson a hug. Jackson hugged him and put him on his lap.
"Hello," Jackson said.
"Hello," Malcolm said, "I'm Malcolm," he pointed to Reese, "this is Reese," he gestured to the boy sitting in Jackson's lap, "and that's Dewey."
"Good to meet you boys."
"You're my Grandpa?" Dewey asked quickly, "You'll tell us stories and bake us cookies and be the best grandpa ever?" Jackson chuckled.
"Yes sir."
"I heard that you all play poker. Is that true?" The boys all nodded. "Do you want to play?" They all nodded again. Reese got the cards and Jackson and the boys started to play. Jackson really liked the boys; and the boys really liked him.
While at NCIS, Gibbs felt bad for having to leave his family, especially since his dad had just gotten there. He sat at his desk and stared at his computer screen. The screen was flashing pictures of his family. One picture of Jamie with ice cream all over his face came up, making Gibbs chuckle. Then all of a sudden his ex-wife, Diane, who is now a federal agent, walked over with FBI agent Fornelle.
"What are you two doing here?" Gibbs asked them.
"Joint investigation between the three of us," Fornelle said, Gibbs rolled his eyes, "I know I wasn't happy about it either, Jethro."
"Director Vance is waiting for us in his office," Diane said. Gibbs got up and walked towards Vance's office. Fornelle and Diane followed him. When they walked into Vance's office, they saw him sitting at his desk.
"Gibbs, Fornelle, Sterling thank you for coming on such short notice," Vance said, "This is a joint investigation as you may know, so I needed three people who work well together on this." The three of them snickered.
"We work well together?" Diane asked sarcastically.
"I know, but you do," Vance looked at Gibbs' irritated facial expression, "Gibbs, I know you want to get home soon, so we'll have you out as soon as possible." Gibbs nodded. "Also, is there any way Abby can come in?" Gibbs looked irritated, but he pulled out his phone and stepped out of the room.
"Abs?" Gibbs called Abby.
"The one and only," Abby said chuckling.
"Vance needs you to come in to work."
"Umm… Then I'll need to get Jackson to baby sit. You think he can handle all five?"
"Umm," Gibbs thought for a moment, "It's probably going to be a lot of work so bring Malcolm; maybe he could help."
"So, we leave the other four? Maybe I should bring Reese, too; he'll get into some trouble if he stays."
"Sounds like a good idea. See you soon."
"Love you, see you soon." Abby hung up and got ready to go to work. Diane and Fornelle walked over to him.
"Abby coming?" Fornelle asked.
"Yeah," Gibbs replied, "She's even bringing her assistant."
"You know Jethro I cannot believe how intelligent he is. What's his IQ again? 150? 155?"
"165." Fornelle whistled.
"I knew he was smart, but I didn't know how smart until he showed me the credit card trick." Diane looked confused, by they continued anyway. "You know. You show him a couple credit cards, then you take them away; he adds up the numbers; multiplies them; factors them; anything you can think of. Man that kid is smart!"
"I know," Gibbs said, "He's a good kid."
"I didn't think Abby liked assistants," Diane said.
"No, no," Fornelle laughed, "Malcolm's not her assistant, he's-," Fornelle stopped at turned to Gibbs, "You didn't tell her?"
"Nope," Gibbs said. They all got coffee, then walked to the lab. Abby was already there. "Abs."
"Yeah," Abby said as she turned around, "Oh! Hi Diane, hi Fornelle."
"Nice to see you again Abby," Diane said.
"Nice to see you, too." Just then Gibbs got call from Vance for him and Fornelle to go to Vance's office. Diane stayed with Abby.
"So, I heard you got an assistant," Diane asked confused. Abby looked confused for a second.
"What? I don't have a-," Abby stopped and nodded, "Malcolm." Abby called. Malcolm walked in from the back room, wearing a lab coat. Reese came up right beside him and flicked him on his shoulder.
"Francis," Abby scolded, "No, I mean Dewey, no I mean," Abby took a breath, "You know who you are and you know what you did." Reese chuckled. "Diane these are my sons Malcolm and Reese."
"I didn't know you had sons," Diane said, "Nice to meet you boys."
"Nice to meet you, too," Malcolm said, "I guess I should get back to work." Malcolm and Reese walked into the back room.
"I really never knew that you had a kid," Diane said, "Let alone 2."
"Actually…I have five."
"Five, really. Wow, I can't believe it. How olds is your oldest?"
"Francis is 16; and my youngest, Jamie, is 2." Diane saw her 3 ½ carat diamond ring.
"So, how long have you been married?"
"A couple months," Abby said smiling at her ring, "It's funny how your life can change in a matter of months. Five months ago I was single and I had no kids; now I'm married and I have five sons."
"Umm," Diane looked confused, "Are the boys your step children?"
"Oh, no. The boys are actually my biological parents' kids. My biological parents died and left me the boys."
"Oh. Well, I'm sorry for your loss."
"Thanks."
"Congratulations on the marriage. Is it your first?"
"Thank you and yes, it is." Diane was staring at her ring.
"I'm sorry for staring, but I've been married three times and none of my husbands ever got me a ring as big as that one. He must be a great guy."
"He is," Abby suddenly felt nervous, she hadn't realized that Diane didn't know who she married.
"Marriage is hard, but don't do what I did. I gave up because it was hard. My first marriage, I was totally in love with him, but he was to in love with…well you know. My second marriage I should have made work, I had a kid with him. Now I'm married to Victor. Don't do what I did, kid." Abby was very nervous with what Diane was telling her. "So…is this your husband's first marriage, too?"
"No," Abby said nervously.
"Second?"
"Fifth."
"Fifth," Diane finally realized, "Oh my God! You married Leroy?"
"Yes," Abby said nervously.
"Well, hope it goes well for you," Diane said sweetly.
"You're really nice," Abby said slightly shocked.
"I'm only rude to Leroy and Tobias."
"Oh, yeah?" Abby laughed. Gibbs and Tobias walked in.
"Leroy," Diane said, "I want you to do me a favor. Take care of this one," Diane smiled at Abby, then walked by Gibbs, "She's the best you'll ever get." Diane waked to the elevator; Gibbs smirked and walked over to Abby, he put an arm around her.
"She's right," Gibbs said. Abby giggled.
That week went great. Jackson took each boy out of school one day to spend time with them. By the end of the week the boys were all looking forward to seeing Jackson again, he promised he would visit soon. Everything was going well, as per usual, until a phone call shatters their world as they know it. This phone call could either make their lives better or harder.
Sorry for not updating in a while. I will try to update as soon as I can.
