A/N I have no idea where this came from. I hope everyone enjoys it.
Disclamer I still don't own them and I'm not making any money off of them.
Gibbs paused his sanding and listened to the sounds coming from the first floor of his house. The front door opening and closing had been what disturbed his work. Now he tracked footsteps across the living room and into the kitchen. They stopped and then he heard his refrigerator open. Items rattled as they were placed on the shelves. The door closed and the footsteps retraced their path back to the front door.
He waited and a few seconds later the door opened and closed a third time. Again, the footsteps crossed to the kitchen and more items were placed in his previously empty refrigerator. Something went in the trash bin. He thought it must have been the left over Chinese from last week. The refrigerator door closed and plastic sacks rustled as they were stored in the cabinet under the sink.
Gibbs moved back and leaned against his workbench. He crossed his arms and waited. The footsteps moved to the basement door. When it opened, he wasn't surprised to see his newest neighbor appear on the landing.
"Gibbs?" Ziva called down.
"Down here, Ziva," he answered. He watched her descend the stairs. Dressed in her usual at home attire of shorts and a t-shirt, she looked more harried than usual. "Any reason you decided to stock my frig?"
Ziva stopped at the bottom of the stairs and pushed her hair away from her face. "My refrigerator made a horrible noise and then it died. I hope you do not mind if I borrow yours until I can have a new one delivered."
"You want me to look at yours?" he offered.
"No, it needs to be replaced. I will change and go pick out a new one now." Ziva started back up the stairs.
"Feel free to cook dinner here," he called up to her.
She stopped at the top of the stairs and turned back to him, "How have you not starved?"
"Take out and the kindness of friends." Her laughter echoed through the basement as she left.
Gibbs heard Ziva return several hours later. He knew it was her when he heard pots and pans being moved from the cabinets to the stove. He continued to work on his latest project as Ziva moved around in his kitchen. For the first time in years, the aroma of food cooking wafted down to his workroom. He smiled when he recognized the spicy scent of spaghetti sauce.
When his stomach growled, he stopped working and put away his tools. Might as well go clean up and see if she needed any help. When he passed through the basement door, he stopped at the sight of the chaos in his normally pristine kitchen.
Ziva had dragged out bowls and platters he didn't even remember he had. There was obviously more than just spaghetti sauce cooking on the stove. She was in the process of making a giant salad on one counter top. The other counter held loaves of garlic bread waiting to go into the oven. And, the leaf had been added to the table to accommodate place settings for seven.
He leaned against the door facing, "We having a party, Ziver?"
She stopped chopping a cucumber and turned to face him, "I planned to make dinner for everyone tonight to thank them for helping me move in. Do you not remember I invited you, too?"
Gibbs ran a hand over his face. He had obviously hurt her feelings. "Oh, hell, Ziva, I'm sorry. After the week we've had, I forgot."
Ziva still looked upset. "When you said I could feel free to cook here, I thought you would be okay with this. I am sorry, Gibbs."
He knew he had to do damage control. "I am okay with everyone coming here. Don't worry. This will be fine."
She wasn't convinced. "Are you sure? I can take everything to my house. We can still eat there like I had planned."
Gibbs crossed to her and took the paring knife out of her hand. The death grip the former assassin had on the utensil made him uneasy.
"Ziva, I'm not going to kick you out. You can feel free to use my kitchen anytime you want. We're neighbors and friends. This is fine." He stole a slice of cucumber from the cutting board. "I'm going to go grab a shower and change."
Twenty minutes later, a freshly showered Gibbs left his bedroom and headed downstairs. He heard Ducky before he reached the living room. The ME was sitting in Gibbs' chair talking with McGee who was on the sofa. The front door opened. Tony, Palmer, and Abby arrived together.
Everyone was soon sitting in Gibbs' living room talking. Ziva was bustling from the kitchen to the dining area to arrange food on the table. When she had everything arranged to her satisfaction, she announced that dinner was ready.
It was after everyone was seated that Ducky observed, "Ziva this is lovely China." He picked up his plate to examine it. "It appears to be quite old."
"It is not mine," the young agent looked to her boss. "It belongs to Gibbs."
Jethro looked closer at his own place setting. He was surprised to see it. He thought for sure that one of the ex-wives had taken the valuable dishes. He looked up to find everyone looking at him obviously waiting for him to explain why he had a set of expensive, antique China.
"Shannon inherited the set when her grandmother died." He couldn't miss the looks of surprise or the way Ziva paled. Jethro was aware they were shocked at his casual reference to his first wife. He placed his napkin in his lap, "Never use them myself. They're a pain in the butt to hand wash."
Ducky prudently and effectively steered the conversation to another topic. The meal was wonderful and everyone enjoyed their time together. The all pitched in to help Ziva put away leftovers and clean the kitchen. They all gathered in the living room for after dinner conversation.
Ziva closed the door behind Tony who had been the last to leave. Gibbs was sitting in his chair nursing a beer. Ziva returned to the living room and sat on the sofa. She had been nervous all evening.
"Gibbs, I am sorry."
Jethro lowered the bottle and studied his agent. He had known she would feel the need to have this conversation.
"Ziva, there's no need to apologize." He hoped, in vain, she would leave it at that.
"Yes, Gibbs, there is. I should not have invaded your home the way I did. And, using the China without your permission was a mistake. I did not mean to bring up painful memories for you."
Gibbs studied the label on the bottle while he composed his thoughts. "Kelly was two when Shannon's grandmother died. We never used the dishes." He smiled faintly, "Toddlers and antique China don't mix real well. I had forgotten all about them."
He looked at the young woman, "Don't beat yourself up over this. I didn't mind you having the party here. I enjoyed the evening. The China should be used, not be stuck away in a cabinet. And, the memories aren't as painful as they used to be."
"Gibbs…"she started to protest again when he cut her off.
"Ziver, it's okay. Really."
"If you say so." She rose from the couch, "Thank you, Gibbs."
He nodded in acknowledgement and watched her leave through the front door. He knew she wouldn't stop worrying over the possibility she had offended him. Not for the first time, Jethro cursed her father for instilling such mistrust in her.
Ziva rose early and dressed. She had to wait for the delivery truck. As she entered her kitchen, she stopped short and stared at the three, cardboard boxes sitting on her table. She approached them cautiously. They certainly hadn't been there the night before.
The boxes weren't taped shut and she carefully lifted the flap on the closest one. Her eyes widened in shock and she quickly opened the other two boxes. There, nestled in newspaper, were all of the pieces to one very old and very valuable set of China.