a/n - One more chapter after this and that should go up tomorrow. Then things pick up again in The Admiral.
"Jethro, I'm sorry but they don't let dogs into the hospital." Jackie sighed as the mournful brown eyes stared up at her. "I don't make the rules."
"Mom, you're apologizing to a dog."
"I know, Jared, I know." Jackie found herself rubbing Jethro's ears and stroking his head. He'd been perfectly behaved after discovering the drugs and then after Tiana accidentally found out about her father, but now he was moping and pacing in front of the door. She tugged on his collar. "Come on, Jethro, let's eat."
The neighbor down the street raised some sort of little dogs and showed them at dog shows all over the country. Jackie didn't know what kind of dogs they were, but they were yappy and seemed to take a great deal of work to train. Nevertheless, the neighbor had brought over some dog food when she'd asked and gave an approving nod when Jethro responded to his commands.
"Here you go, boy." She set a plate down on the floor, filled with the food from the neighbor, along with a few chunks of meat from dinner. He was as neat with the food as he'd been with the spoonful of peanut butter earlier and the fact that he had shifted around so that he could both eat and see the front door made Jackie smile again. "They'll be home soon, Jethro."
"Woof."
While Jethro ate, the kids moved closer to Jackie. "Is Agent McGee really going to be all right, Mom?"
"Your father seemed to think so, and I don't think Agent Gibbs would have agreed to let Tia visit her father if he were too badly hurt."
"She's going to stay with us while he's in the hospital though, right?"
"We're making the offer, but the final decision, of course, is up to her father."
A car pulling into the driveway interrupted the discussion. "Are Daddy and Tiana home already?"
"That didn't sound like his car." Jackie walked closer to the front door, only to find Jethro abandoning his dinner and trotting to the door. She watched him closely and when their unexpected guest got about half way to the door, he started to growl. Instead of stepping closer to the door, Jackie let Jethro go to the door and she moved to the side where she could see out the window. The man standing there was someone she didn't recognize, but he was in an Air Force uniform. She didn't know all the insignia for the Air Force, but from his age, she was guessing that this was the father of the drug dealer Leon's agents had arrested this afternoon. Judging from his gait he was at least a little drunk and when he started yelling and banging on the door she didn't hesitate, just grabbed the phone and called dispatch.
At the first sign of aggression from the Colonel, Jethro went into full protective mode, front feet up on the door and barking aggressively, his teeth actually scraping the glass. Whether it was fear of the dog or not, their unwanted visitor made no attempt to get inside the house and was actually backing away from the front door when agents and local LEO's pulled into the driveway.
Brian Hill, her husband's usual security was one of the agents and immediately put the Air Force Colonel into handcuffs and handed him over to another agent and a uniformed officer before approaching the door. Jackie saw that the situation was handled and turned her attention to the dog. "Jethro, stand down."
Just like earlier when the situation was handled and the command was given, it was like a switch and Jethro trotted over to sit next to Jackie with what looked like the canine version of a very satisfied expression on his face. She laughed and reached down to pet him. "Jethro, if you had a brother, we'd be getting a dog."
"Woof."
Agent Hill came up onto the front porch and Jethro was instantly attentive, but not aggressive and Jackie petted him again. "It's all right, Jethro. He's one of ours."
Hill was cautious coming through the door, holding his badge down for Jethro to sniff just like Vance had done when Jethro had the backpack earlier. Satisfied, Jethro let out another woof and rolled onto his back, demanding a belly rub. Brian obliged before climbing back onto his feet.
"You'd never know he's the same dog, would you? Guess he's earned another spoonful of peanut butter."
"He most certainly has." Jackie turned back to look at her children, watching from the kitchen. "Jared, would you get Jethro his reward."
"Sure, Mom."
Once that was taken care of, Jackie looked out the window at the sedan and the prisoner. "What happens now?"
"We'll hand him over to the FBI. They can sit on him until he sobers up. I'll let the Director know what's up and he can take it from there. Is he at the hospital or back aboard the Yard?"
"He took Tiana to see her father. Tell him we're fine and not to worry about us."
"And bring more peanut butter?"
That made Jackie laugh. "Might not be a bad idea."
-NCIS-
Gibbs hated that McGee was hurt, hated it with every fiber of his being, but sitting next to the bed, one hand on Tim, one hand on Tiana, he felt a contentment that was rare in his life. He didn't even stir when Vance took a call and stepped out of the room. Eventually he did look up at Ducky. "Will leaving the hospital early put him in any danger?"
Ducky didn't answer right away, but eventually shook his head. "By morning, most of the risk will be over. As long as Timothy is careful, the internal injuries should continue to heal. If he were to stay in the hospital, it would be easier to monitor his recovery and to control his pain, but being home with his family certainly has its own perks."
Gibbs glanced down at the little girl sleeping cuddled up against Tim. "Yeah, it does."
Vance slipped back into the room a moment later and Gibbs recognized that look on his face. Not wanting to, he stood and joined Vance in the far corner of the room, keeping his voice low. "What?"
"Well, Jethro is certainly earning his treats today."
Not even wanting to guess what the dog had done now, Gibbs just gave him the look and waited for Vance to tell him the rest.
"Had an unwanted visitor at the house and he kept him from getting anywhere near Jackie and the kids."
"A lot of excitement at your place today. Did it have anything to do with the weapons case?"
"Nope, the drug case. Apparently dad was pissed that we busted his kid. Showed up drunk and belligerent. Jethro scared him enough that he backed off and Jackie called to have him picked up."
They'd had a lot of suspects that day, but Gibbs remembered what Fornell had told him. "Father of the drug dealer, that would be a colonel, right? Guess at some point the general will come into play."
"Don't remind me."
Gibbs had to grin at the expression on Vance's face. "This would be why I'd rather get shot at than deal with the administrative side of things."
"You just might be the smart one."
There was no good way to answer that one so Gibbs just let his grin grow a little wider. "Now what?"
"I've got a security team at my house, one at McGee's place and I'm going to station a few men here at the hospital."
"That's a lot of man hours."
Vance finally let a grin break through of his own. "Damn right, and I'm going to bill it to the Air Force."
Gibbs was pretty sure that wasn't quite how it worked, but he wasn't going to argue.
Both men watched Tiana for a few minutes before Vance checked the time. "The nurses are going to chase us out in pretty soon. Jackie and I planned on having Tiana stay with us until McGee's home, but if any of this makes him uncomfortable..."
The final decision was Tim's, so they moved closer to find that he was awake and had been quietly listening to them. "I know you'll keep her safe, but are you all right with Jethro staying there too?"
Vance chuckled and shook his head. "Tim, I think having Jethro there today has convinced Jackie that we need to get a dog of our own. He and Tiana are welcome to stay as long as you need."
"Thank you." Tim shifted enough to kiss Tia's forehead, waking her up. "Hey, Sleepyhead."
"Daddy?"
"You and Jethro are going to spend the night with Uncle Leon and Aunt Jackie, okay?"
"But I want to stay with you."
"I'm sorry, Sweetheart, but that's against the rules. I'll be home tomorrow, though."
"Promise?"
"I promise." He pulled her close for another kiss. "Even if I have to sneak out the window, I'll be home tomorrow."
Gibbs picked her up and also kissed her forehead before handing her over to Vance. "Don't worry, I'll be right here with Daddy."
She watched them as Vance carried her to the door, her eyes filling with tears as she gave a sad little wave when they walked out the door. "Bye, Daddy."
-NCIS-
"Bye, Daddy."
For a second she sounded like Kelly when he was getting ready to deploy. Looking over at Tim he saw the expression on his face after the door closed. "You okay?"
"I think that hurt worse than falling off the building."
Gibbs reached over and squeezed his hand. "Yeah, I know."