Tony and Gibbs stood in the empty room, looking around and trying to picture what it should look like. "So what do I do now, Boss?"

"First you get rid of that piece of junk crib. It's likely to fall apart any day now. Second, boy or girl?"

"I got the crib from my landlady," Tony admitted sheepishly. "And I don't know what it'll be, that appointment is in two weeks."

Gibbs gazed at the changing table, thinking. He meant it when he said he'd always have Tony's six and he damn well wasn't going to leave his Senior Agent to fend for himself. He's likely to buy everything the baby books and Oprah tell him to. And yet…he knew it would be hard. Even right now, it was too easy to picture Kelly's first room and see her, a bouncing baby in the little blue crib in the corner. He squeezed his eyes shut for a minute, then retreated to the kitchen to grab another beer.

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So two weeks later, Gibbs was adding a beam to his boat on a Sunday afternoon when the phone rang. "Gibbs."

"It's gonna be a girl, Boss. I saw the ultrasound and they say it's gonna be a girl." Gibbs heard a lot of repressed emotion in Tony's voice: excitement, relief, and a little touch of disappointment. Before Gibbs could say anything, he heard a woman's voice and Tony excused himself to go.

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That Thursday after work, Tony rubbed his eyes as he got on the elevator. All he wanted to do now was go home and— "Going anywhere, Dinozzo?"

Tony sighed. Just when he thought he'd made it. "Where ever you tell me to go, Boss."

"Good. Meet me at the Sherwin Williams on 3rd Street."

Tony stared at his boss, who had just pressed the first floor button on the elevator. He ws still staring when the doors opened onto the lobby. Gibbs walked away without looking at the younger man, so Tony jumped when the voice floated back "The back of my head too interesting, or are you coming?"

"On your six, Boss!"

Tony walked up to the store, scouring the sidewalk with his eyes for Gibbs. Tony had felt sick just following the car, so he had let Gibbs speed on ahead. He walked in and when he caught a glimpse of silver hair disappearing down an aisle, he jogged to catch up. He stopped short upon being faced with row upon row, from floor to ceiling, of paint swatches. What did this have to do with anything?

"I don't expect you want much pink in your house, so what color are you going to paint her walls?" Tony gaped at the man smirking behind him. "Catching flies, now? That's not gonna get anything done."

Used to responding to Gibbs, Tony's mouth snapped shut and he turned to face the wall of colors. "I guess a light purple could maybe work…I like blue but that's the guy color. Green would be too bright, I think, even a pale one. And you're right about the pink, I am not having a pink room in my apartment. Purple is close, but still not as girly." He moved down the aisle, his eyes glancing over the different hues. "How's this one look?" he asked, showing Gibbs a color called "Lilac Haze". Gibbs' only answer was to ruffle Tony's hair, letting the short strands filter through his fingers.

Tony had been surprised when Gibbs dragged him to go get paint and painting supplies. He was even more surprised when he showed up Saturday morning armed with his coffee (the smell of which made Tony think the cup might soon disintegrate) and a cappuccino just the way Tony likes it and wearing clothes for painting. "I really shouldn't be surprised by you anymore," Tony said, heaving a theatrical sigh.

"The day I don't surprise you guys is the day I retire, Dinozzo. Ready to work?"

The changing table was moved out of the room, being the last piece left since Tony returned the crib to his neighbor. "I really need to get a crib soon," he said, eyeing the bare room.

"Leave that to me, Dinozzo, I know a good place to get one. You can get the pad and covers, though."

The two men laid out drop cloths and got to work. Tony disappeared at some point and when he came back, Thelonius Monk was playing somewhere in the apartment. Half an hour later, the doorbell rang and pizza was delivered for a lunch break. Tony and Gibbs spent the day in companionable silence, Tony occasionally cracking jokes about himself and the rest of the team. Gibbs was busy rolling paint onto the walls when Tony called, "Hey Boss!" Gibbs turned to see Tony grinning at him, "Lilac Haze" war stripes painted under his eyes. Gibbs allowed himself to chuckle out loud and lean over to give a quick swat to the back of the head.

Gibbs wasn't really sure why it was, but he liked seeing when Tony was like this. He had the pure, unadulterated joy of being like a kid, especially when he wasn't using it to cover anything else up. His smile lit up the young face, highlighting the corners of his mouth and the shining eyes. Happiness of this type wasn't one Gibbs saw around much and it always lifted his heart. He explained it away to being unused to the emotion, but he couldn't deny that Tony was the one usually bringing it out in him. And when this happened, Gibbs wanted to protect Tony from the world. It's silly, he thought to himself. Dinozzo is a grown man and doesn't need protecting. But Gibbs also couldn't bring himself to think of Tony like a child. On the contrary…

"I hope you didn't have paint on that hand; I don't know how paint washes out of hair. Unless you think this would be a good color on me…" Tony mused, staring at the paint. He risked a quick glance over to see Gibbs laugh and resume rolling, a small smile on his face. Tony liked that Gibbs was smiling. That he had made Gibbs smile. The normally tough Marine looked open, not at all as closed off as he usually appeared. Tony had been studying his boss over the time of their association and sometimes noticed a sad, faraway look in the blue eyes. He looked genuinely amused now and Tony allowed his eyes to leave the face. The silver hair was rather spiky and unkempt today. His short sleeves rode up his shoulder as his arm moved up and down with the roller. When does Gibbs work out? I rarely see him at the gym, but look at those arm muscles. A glance at his chest, the slightly damp shirt stretched over it, told Tony his arms weren't the only muscled spot on the Marine. All of a sudden, Tony blushed and looked away. He did not want to be caught staring at his boss, much less checking out his muscles. From jealousy, of course.

When the first coat was done, Tony grabbed two root beers, tossing one to Gibbs and popping open the second. He tried to wash off the paint stripes under his eyes, but found the paint rather stubborn. That would be a problem when he returned to work. Anyway, he walked into the living room and found Gibbs sitting on the coach with a football game on. Tony sat beside him and Gibbs spared one glance before turning back to the TV.

"I imagine you'll tell Abby at some point? She'll be angry it took you this long. Ducky? McGee and Ziva? Are they going to find out only when you take a paternity leave? Or when you come in carrying your daughter? I trust you've talked to the director." Gibbs had been wondering this for a while, seeing Tony and Abby still so chummy, despite the weight of a secret only one of them knew.

"I have talked to the director; she said I can get two months leave. After that I should be able to find someone to watch her when I'm at work. Abby-- I really should tell her soon. But she'll…fuss. She definitely will be the favorite aunt, I know that for sure. I guess maybe I'll see if I can invite her over for dinner tomorrow. And swear her to secrecy. Ducky I'll tell next. Sometime this week, I know he'll be really understanding. McGeek and Ziva, McGeek and Ziva. I'll tell them when I tell them." And he left it at that, standing up to work on the second coat of the much happier-looking baby's room.