"Tony….Tony…Tony!"
Tony shook his head and tried to clear his senses as the room slowly came into focus. Even though he was groggy and his senses were dulled, he managed to recognize the throbbing pain on the left of his forehead.
"Wha-What happ-." Tony stopped in the middle of his sentence as the memories of what occurred before came flooding back. "Madelyn! Is she OK?" He demanded, shooting upright.
"Relax, Tony, she's fine. You covered her and kept her safe even after you smacked your head on the way down and were knocked out." Kelly soothed and kneeled down to offer her fiancée a wash cloth. "Thank you. Thank you for protecting my little girl. I don't know what I'd do without thank God that you're OK too." Kelly smiled and leaned in too kiss him just as her father came into view.
"Gah! KELLY!" Gibbs hollered and rubbed his eyes furiously. Tony blanched and his eyes grew wide.
"Um, boss, what happened to Hollis?" Tony asked hastily, intent on keeping the subject off of him.
"I had to shoot her." Gibbs said distastefully. "She fired a and missed at you and Madelyn and then she came in after Jenny. She tried to shoot her. I didn't kill her if that's what you're wondering. She's out of surgery and she'll live. I just wish she'd come to us sooner. I could have helped her before I shot her." He shook his head and raised an eyebrow at the look of utter bewilderment on his senior field agent's face. "She was forced into doing this. It was either this or Natasha would kill her." This clarified nothing for Tony or for his daughter and Gibbs knew it.
"You two come in the room with me and I'll explain." Gibbs beckoned to them over his shoulder and went to claim his chair by his wife who was sitting up, both infants in hand.
"It all started one afternoon when my Director Tom Morrow called me up to his office. I'd already been through more partners than I'd care to name and since the last one had just 'transferred' I was expecting to be chewed out and to receive another incapable partner but what I wasn't expecting to find was a female agent who would soon become my world….."
The tight-knit band of work family listened silently as they finally got to hear the entirety of their parents' story. It was odd in a way but special in others. What little kid hadn't asked how their parents met? Needless to say Abby was enjoying the family history lesson.
Seconds turned into minutes which in turn melted into hours until finally the story ended what had started at 3 o'clock at 7 o'clock.
"Daddy, why didn't you just tell us that this Natasha/Svetlana person was on the loose? We could have protected Jenny!" Kelly said softly.
Gibbs and Jenny exchanged a look and before the latter spoke. "He didn't know. It was my job to take her out and I couldn't bring myself to do it. If only I had. How could I have been so stupid to let that cold-blooded monster—" Gibbs silenced his favorite redhead with a kiss and ran his hand over her cheek gently.
"Getting worked up over it isn't going to do you any good." He sighed and stroked her cheek for a minute before taking little Sophia and handing her off to Abby who'd been asking to hold her for ages now. Ducky received little Tyler and smiled down at the boy while he himself rested in the other chair next to Jenny's bed.
***Author's Note***
I wasn't in the mood to write today but I had N.C.I.S. on the brain (thank you Pauley P's tweets). I figured I could at least give you guys the benefits of that.
-C.E.S.