A/N Thank you to everyone who continues to read and review. I'm sorry I haven't had time to respond to the reviews from the last chapter. It was either respond or write this chapter. I figured everyone would forgive me for choosing to write.

Warning You may want to have tissues handy for this one.

Ziva jogged down the sidewalk and waved to Ms. Gillam. The elderly woman was filling the birdfeeder hanging on her front porch. Ziva breathed the cool fall air and looked at the red and gold leaves that rustled in the soft breeze. She reflected that it was almost time to unpack sweaters and plan how to decorate her house for Halloween. She glanced at Gibbs' house and decided she would have to decorate his house as well as her own. Ziva knew he would let her get away with it if she just happened to buy more decorations than she needed.

When she turned into her drive, Ziva smiled. Jethro was sitting in her porch swing drinking a cup of coffee. She stopped at the front steps to stretch and cool down.

"Good morning, Gibbs," she greeted him as she bent and touched her toes.

"Morning," Jethro said as he watched her contort herself in a painful looking yoga pose. "Wish I was still that limber."

Ziva looked at him from an impossible upside-down angle. "I could teach you yoga."

Jethro snorted. "And, end up in traction? I don't think so."

Ziva straightened and jogged up the steps and sat next to Jethro. He offered her a bottle of water he had waiting for her. Instead, she took his coffee cup and drained it. Ziva laughed when he smacked her lightly on the back of the head.

"Now, I have to go get a refill," Jethro complained.

"Come in. I will make more," Ziva offered. She stood and opened her front door. "I will make breakfast and we can talk."

"You can interrogate me, you mean," Jethro grumbled as he followed her into the house and to the kitchen.

Ziva set about making the coffee before Jethro could get to the machine first. She believed in self preservation. More than a half of a cup of his noxious brew couldn't be good for the lining of one's stomach. While she popped bagels into the toaster and got the cream cheese from the refrigerator, Jethro set the table.

Ziva was placing the bagels on the plates when a half-awake Tony descended the stairs and followed the scent of the coffee into the kitchen. He was dressed in sweat pants and a t-shirt. His hair stuck up at all different angles like a deranged porcupine. He kissed Ziva and shuffled to the coffee maker. When he had poured his coffee, Tony turned and nearly choked on the hot liquid.

"Morning, Boss," he sputtered. It was obvious that Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo hadn't noticed his boss sitting at the end of the table, sipping his own coffee.

"DiNozzo," Jethro's greeting was accompanied by a scowl.

Ziva steered Tony to a chair. "Do not harass him, Gibbs. Let him have his coffee and wake up first," Ziva warned.

"Fine," Jethro answered. As he spread cream cheese on a bagel, he paused to point the knife at Tony. "But, you and I are going to have a talk later."

"Yes, Sir." Tony's response was enough to convince Jethro that younger man still wasn't fully awake.

Ziva decided to steer the conversation to a safer topic. She addressed Jethro. "So, where did you take Liz last night? Where did you propose? What did you say? Did she like the ring? When do we get to see it? Have you set a date?"

Jethro slid the bagel he had prepared to a still nonfunctional Tony and picked up another one for himself. "I think she liked the ring. She couldn't stop looking at it. And, no, we haven't set a date."

Even though Jethro had no intentions of answering all of Ziva's nosy questions, she wouldn't let him off that easily. "Where were you when you proposed?"

He swallowed a bite of bagel. "Top of the Washington Monument."

"Why?" Tony blurted.

Jethro narrowed his eyes in warning. "Because, I couldn't take her to the Eiffel Tower."

At Ziva's cry of, "That is so romantic," Tony shook his head in mock horror. "Way to go, Boss. Make it impossible for the rest of us to top that."

When what he had said registered in Tony's brain, he sputtered, "Not…not that I intend to…I mean…"

"DiNozzo?" Jethro growled.

"Yeah, Boss?" Tony hoped his face wasn't a red as it felt.

"Shut up." Jethro instructed.

"Shutting up, Boss." Tony turned his attention to the food in front of him.

Ziva chose to ignore her partner. "I expect for you and Liz to come to dinner tonight. We must celebrate."

"I'll let her know." Jethro drank more of his coffee. He considered what he wanted to say next. "Are you two busy today?"

Ziva looked at Tony who shook his head and shrugged. "No, Gibbs. We have nothing planned. Why?"

Jethro toyed with his coffee cup. "I need your help with something."

"We will be over as soon as we change," Ziva told him.

"Fine." Jethro rose from the table. He put his cup and plate in the sink. He bent and kissed Ziva on top of the head. On his way from the kitchen, he smacked Tony on the back of the head.

Tony yelped in surprise. "What was that for?"

"For hoping I wouldn't know you hid your car in the garage," Jethro called back as he closed the front door behind him.

NCISNCISNCISNCIS

Ziva entered Jethro's front door with Tony behind her. They both looked around the empty living room. Ziva started to the kitchen when they heard a noise from upstairs. Tony raised an eyebrow in question and Ziva nodded, indicating he should go upstairs.

Instead of invading Gibbs' private territory uninvited, Tony called out, "Boss?"

When they heard his reply of, "Up here," the couple jogged up the stairs. Tony followed Ziva down the hall. He stopped to take a quick peek into the recently refurnished guest room. Ziva had told him about helping with the paint. He caught up with Ziva who was standing at the door to the back bedroom.

Jethro carried a box from the closet and sat it on top of a stack in the middle of the floor. Ziva looked around the room. Boxes were stacked along the walls. The mattress was stripped of bedding. The room had the look of long disuse.

"Gibbs?" Ziva didn't know how to voice the question she wasn't sure she wanted him to answer. Tony put a hand on her shoulder. He stood silently behind her.

Jethro looked around the room. "None of the exes l lived here. I moved in with them. Guess this time I have to deal with all of this."

"Dad…" Ziva managed to choke out.

"Hush, Ziva. It's past time." Jethro even managed a small smile.

Tony pushed Ziva further into the room. "What do you want us to do?"

"Start carrying boxes down to my truck." Jethro was grateful, for once, for Tony's presence. He knew he could count on Tony to keep the situation from becoming too emotional.

"Sure thing, Boss." Tony picked up a box and handed it to a still shocked Ziva. "Get moving, Agent David."

Ziva held on to the box and looked up at Tony. He saw the tears swimming in her eyes. "Not now, Ziva," he whispered as he turned her to the door.

Tony picked up another box and followed her down the stairs. They crossed the lawn and headed to where the truck was parked in the drive. Tony put his box in the bed and then took the box Ziva had carried and put it next the first.

"Tony, this is my fault. I pushed him to make sure he and Liz lived here." Ziva's eyes were haunted.

Tony tried to cut her off. She ignored him. "This has to be causing him pain and it is because of me. I was selfish. I did not think about how he would feel moving another woman into this house."

Tony cut his eyes to a spot behind her. Ziva's eyes widened in understanding. She watched Jethro carry a box past her. He put it in his truck and then turned to face the distraught young woman.

"Ziver, this isn't your fault. I should have done this a long time ago." Jethro leaned against the side of the truck and stuck his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "At first, I couldn't even think about it. I couldn't let them go. Then it was just easier to ignore it. But, they've been dead for almost twenty years. It's time to move on."

"But…" Ziva started to protest.

"Ziver, it's time," he repeated. "And, I'm okay with asking Liz to live here. I don't want to move. This is home. I'm sure Shannon would be all right with Liz living here. Liz is the first one I can say that about. Liz, you, Tony…we're family. I haven't had that in a long time. Maybe that's why this time is different."

Ziva couldn't contain herself. Jethro wasn't shocked when she hugged him. He couldn't pinpoint the exact time his tough Ninja warrior had become a hugger, but it no longer surprised him. Jethro returned the hug and smiled over her head at Tony who was trying to look inconspicuous.

"Now, can we get on with this?" Jethro asked and pretended to not hear Ziva's sniffles. When she nodded against his chest, Jethro patted her back and then turned her around. "If you're a good girl, I'll even let you drive my truck."

Ziva managed a small laugh. "I would rather drive the Charger."

"No way!" Tony protested. "I'm the oldest. I should get to drive the Charger first."

"You drive like an old lady, Tony." Ziva teased him. "You would not be able to appreciate such a powerful automobile."

"It's a car, Ziva. No one here calls them automobiles. Assimilate already," Tony retorted and then dodged a head slap.

Jethro just shook his head and smiled. He followed the bickering pair up the sidewalk and into his house. He was sure there would be more emotional moments before the day was over. Ziva moved up the stairs. Tony waited for Jethro in the entryway.

"Thanks for asking me to help with this." Tony quietly told him. "It means a lot that you trust me enough for something this important."

Jethro looked at the younger agent who had somehow become his son. "You're welcome, Tony." Then he shot Tony one of those rare, light-hearted smiles. "Didn't figure I had much choice. It didn't look like you were leaving anytime soon."

Tony sputtered and tried to act indignant as he followed Jethro up the stairs. They would get through this together. Tony would make sure of it. Anything for the family he had finally found.

NCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS

Ziva slid a casserole dish of lasagna into the oven. She still had to shower and dress. Tony was taking the final load of boxes to the Goodwill. He planned to stop by his apartment to shower and change. Jethro had spoken to Liz. He was supposed to bring her here for the celebration dinner.

The three agents had worked steadily through the day. They had managed to clean out the master bedroom and additional boxes from the basement. Ziva had insisted on vacuuming and had even scrubbed the master bath. There had been several emotional moments for all of them. Tony's twisted sense of humor had kept them from reaching emotional overload. There was no way one could become too maudlin with Anthony DiNozzo around.

Ziva set the timer on the oven and put the salad into the refrigerator. She was about to head upstairs when her back door opened. She was surprised to see Jethro slip in and shut the door behind him.

"Gibbs, I thought you had left to pick up Liz." Ziva saw that he had already changed.

"I'm heading out now. I wanted to give you this first." Jethro held out a wooden chest.

Ziva took the surprisingly heavy box. She wasn't shocked to see that it was obviously hand crafted. The wood was different shades of oak. It had aged to deep, mellow tones. She opened the lid and gasped.

Her gaze flew to where Jethro stood watching her. "Gibbs?"

He gave her one of those small smiles. "I made the chest for her for the first Christmas we were married. Most of the jewelry isn't worth much. On a Gunnery Sergeant's pay I couldn't afford anything too expensive."

"But…" Ziva still didn't know what to say.

Jethro tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "It would have gone to Kelly someday. That can't happen. I want you to have it."

Ziva closed the box and sat it on the table. She threw her arms around Jethro's neck and hugged him tightly. This, more than any words ever could, told her how much he loved her.

"Thank you, Daddy," she choked out.

Jethro returned the hug. "You're welcome, Ziver."

She finally released him and gave him a shaky smile. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied and it was only a small lie.

"Good. I better go get Liz." Jethro stopped at the back door. "You're a lot like her, you know."

"Kelly?" Ziva questioned.

"Shannon," he responded. "She was willing to leave her home and her family and start a new life. She had the guts to take a chance on a guy who couldn't promise her much other than the fact he would love her forever. She would have loved you."

As the door shut quietly behind him, Ziva picked up the chest and ran a finger over the lid. She carried it to her bedroom and placed it on the dresser. She felt more of a connection to Jethro's past than she did to her own. Maybe that was because Leroy Jethro Gibbs had been the one to teach her what it meant to love unconditionally.