a/n - When the toddler wakes up at 4am, you know it's going to be a long day. She needs much less sleep than Grandma does, that's for sure. I've had a few folks that haven't been able to determine my other profile. I do keep things separate, but by the same token, I don't want anyone Left Behind. I promise you're (But) not Forgotten. Hope that helps.

When the morning light woke him, Gibbs rolled to his side carefully, not wanting to wake his bed partner. As he suspected, Tim was still dead to the world. He'd never really woken when Gibbs led him upstairs and stripped him down to a t-shirt and boxers. Just to be safe, he stuffed both of their cell phones under his pillow so only he could hear them, and settled in to watch Tim sleep.

"Morning, sleepyhead."

Tim smiled at the familiar voice even before he could focus on the figure next to him. "Good morning, did I oversleep?"

"Nah, you needed it." Gibbs watched him for a moment. "You okay? You really ran yourself ragged yesterday."

He was feeling a little fuzzy and still craved something sweet, but he wasn't going to worry Gibbs about a headache he might or might not get sometime in the next week. "I'm all right, just need to eat something. I'll get breakfast started in a minute."

"After all you did yesterday? I think you've earned a day off from kitchen duties." Gibbs ran the back of his fingers up and down Tim's arm, still not convinced that the younger man was completely all right. "Did you even eat during the party?"

Busted, Tim shrugged. "I nibbled when I was helping the kids and I ate a couple of the figs. All your neighbors were here and the Director and the team and then Sarah and I just wanted everything to be perfect."

"It was perfect, beyond perfect, as long as you don't make yourself sick from it. Today, we'll have a nice brunch and you take it easy. How does that sound?" Gibbs let his hand trail up Tim's arm one more time, continuing on to cup the back of his neck as Tim gave a shy smile.

"I could do brunch."

"Chadwicks? Brunch and then a couple of racks of their baby back ribs to bring home for dinner later?" Gibbs let himself grin. "I will let you grill up the rest of the figs for dessert."

Tim was already forgetting about feeling out of sorts that morning. "Oh, you will?"

"The grill's outside, so it's not part of the kitchen." Gibbs bounced up, still grinning. "I'll let Jett out while you take your shower." He hooked a finger in the waistband of the sweats on the corner of the bed on his way out the door.

Alone, Tim walked into the bathroom, turning on the light as he entered. He paused as he caught his reflection in the mirror, touching his lips as he smiled. Yesterday had felt so natural, so right, that he hadn't thought twice when Jethro pulled him close. Kissing had been as natural as breathing, but where did they go now? For now they would do brunch, and go from there. Soon, Sutton would be part of the past and they could figure out the future. One thing Tim had discovered yesterday was that he wasn't as alone as he had thought.

-NCIS-

With a light step, Gibbs went downstairs, snorting at the sleeping dog he found sprawled in the den. "Hey, boy, did all those kids wear you out?"

Now awake, Jett tumbled out of his bed with a lack of grace that had Gibbs shaking his head. Instead of bounding to the door like usual, Jett arched and stretched his back before trotting over to sit on Gibbs' foot.

"All right, you lazy bum, go do your business and then you can go back to sleep while we're gone." Jethro leaned on the door frame as he watched Jett head straight to his corner, but then take the long way back, checking for any pizza scraps he might have missed Saturday night. He was laughing as the dog finally came back in. "Now I know why parents get dogs. It's not for the companionship, it's to have a walking vacuum cleaner to clean up the spills."

-NCIS-

Thirty minutes later, when the two men walked out to the bright yellow car, a group of neighborhood boys were throwing the football out in the street. The boys stopped when they saw them and Darryl came over, apparently the spokesman for the rest. "Hey, Agent Gibbs, Agent McGee."

"Good morning, Darryl." Jethro leaned against the car. "Didn't you boys get enough football yesterday?"

"Umm, we were wondering..." Darryl looked back at his friends while Gibbs waited, patiently at first.

McGee took pity on them both. "In case yesterday didn't convince you, he really doesn't bite much, but you are standing between him and coffee."

Gibbs rolled his eyes as Darryl laughed. His reputation as being the neighborhood hard-ass had taken a serious beating over the last few days, but he was finding that he didn't mind. Darryl was still intimidated enough that he nodded briskly and finally spit it out.

"A bunch of the guys on varsity got kicked off the team for going to a kegger and coach is having another set of try-outs this week. We were kinda hoping that you'd come help us with our drills today."

Any other time the older man would accepted without hesitation, but he really wanted to pamper Tim at least a little. Tim understood the problem immediately.

"Do we have time for some food first? Jethro promised me brunch at Chadwicks."

One of the other boys joined them. Gibbs didn't recognize him. "Chadwicks? You going to the one in Old Town? My uncle is the manager; I can call him and get in quicker."

They looked so eager, Gibbs couldn't turn them down. "Make sure you boys are warmed up good by the time we get back."

"We will sir, thanks." They turned and ran back to the rest of their group, leaving Jethro shaking his head as he turned to Tim.

"So much for a lazy Sunday."

Tim smiled and leaned closer. "That's why... the kids are drawn to you." He'd almost said 'why I love you' but caught himself in time. Luckily, Gibbs didn't seem to notice his almost slip. Monday, he promised himself, he was going to go back through Sutton's computer records and find something to seal his fate.

-NCIS-

As promised, they were moved to the front of the line the moment Gibbs gave his name to the hostess and before they knew it, they were seated at one of the prime tables overlooking the courtyard. The manager, himself, brought them coffee and a complimentary platter of fresh fruit with raspberry yogurt dipping sauce. Chadwicks was known for their variations of the traditional Eggs Benedict, so the two men opted to get different ones and share. Eggs Omar, made with a well prepared filet mignon was Gibbs' first choice. It was well matched with the Eggs Chesapeake, where a thick crab cake replaced the Canadian bacon and had quickly became McGee's top pick.

-NCIS-

Rebecca carefully picked up the stack of files she'd been working on all weekend and walked out of her cubicle. If anyone was around that really knew her, they would have been surprised at how messy and unwieldy the stack was, instead of carefully organized. Luckily, there were few people around on a Sunday, and none she'd ever felt were worth her time getting to know. Once in the elevator, she checked her phone. The countdown was on schedule, the ringer would go off in two minutes.

Arriving at the squad room level, she took her time walking through, obviously juggling her heavy armload. Her phone chimed just as she was passing McGee's desk and no one in the area thought twice when she set the files down on the desk surface to answer it. Of course the slightest bump sent the uneven stack sliding onto the floor behind his desk and she quickly told her alarm that she'd call it back later before dropping to her knees to start picking up the pages.

"Hey, you want some help?"

She looked up at the middle-aged man working the tip line that weekend. "Thanks, but I need to make sure they're still in order, and there's not really enough room back here for two of us."

Once she was alone, Rebecca pulled out a baggie of pills from her pocket. She'd sacrificed most of her own prescription to get enough of the right colored capsules, but of course she'd have McGee's pills to replace her own. Swap made, she haphazardly gathered the files and stood, not noticing the one pill she dropped under the chair.

-NCIS-

Even after a leisurely brunch, the disadvantage of being moved to the front of the line was that they were finished well before the ribs were being prepared, but they did purchase an entire upside down apple pie, planning on sharing it with the boys later that afternoon. Since they weren't going to have any privacy that afternoon, no matter what, Gibbs called DiNozzo and asked if he'd like to help with the impromptu lesson.

Tony had been invited to join Brian's regular Sunday morning football game, so Jimmy and Brian tagged along and by early afternoon the three football alumni were busy helping an ever growing group of boys hone their skills at the near-by park while Tim and Jimmy watched and cheered from the bleachers.

Ziva arrived at the park just as it was getting dark, the back of her Mini Cooper filled with buckets of fried chicken and the entire group headed back to Gibbs' house. A few strategic phone calls from Darryl's mother had the other parents drifting in with enough side dishes to round out the meal.

It might have been a smaller group than the day before, but the higher percentage of teenaged boys meant that it was even more boisterous, topped off with Jett running between them, barking and waiting for somebody to drop something. Tim gave a shrill whistle to get everyone's attention and to reign Jett back in. He immediately had everyone's attention. "He'll make sure to clean up anything that gets spilled, just make sure that no bones end up where he can get them, guys, all right?"

A bone bag was set up on a table and Jett settled in to watch the activity as it was filled. Eventually, the fact that it was a school night cleared the yard at a reasonable time, leaving the six adults to enjoy the evening. The pie had stayed carefully hidden when the numbers had swelled so dramatically, but now it was brought back out. While Tim warmed the pie in the oven, Jimmy and Brian made a store run for vanilla ice cream.

Worn out and finally convinced that there was nothing edible left in the yard, Jett bounded up onto the deck and sat on his favorite cushion. Gibbs laughed at the dog sitting, once again, on his feet and bent down to ruffle his ears. "You've had fun this weekend, haven't you?" In answer, Jett flopped down and rolled onto his back, expecting a belly rub, which he immediately received.

Ever since Tony had heard about Shannon and Kelly, he'd wondered what his boss would have been like if they'd lived. This weekend, he'd seen first hand that side of the man, the side that McGee helped bring out. He and Ziva had talked during dinner and they were determined to close the Sutton case and the vandalism cases once and for all, so these two special men could concentrate on their future. He stood to tell Gibbs their plans, but Jimmy and Brian arrived back and the moment was lost.

Tim brought out the pie and watched, amazed, as it was immediately divided into sixths, along with the ice cream. Jimmy and Brian were sharing one of the lounge chairs, stealing bites off each other's plates, so he joined Jethro on the other lounge chair. The older man was trying to subtly work the kinks out of his overworked shoulder. His time helping the MIT football team told Tim exactly which muscles were sore and he set his plate on the table to free up his hands.

A throaty moan caught the attention of the rest of the group, and Tony started smirking. "I'd tell you guys to get a room, but this is your place." He watched as Tim's strong hands turned Jethro into a pile of goo. The rest of them were finishing their desserts, so he took it upon himself to clear out the yard. "If I'm going to become a big brother, I don't want to watch the details, so we're going to take off."

Ziva smiled and started gathering dishes to take inside while Tony picked up the trash bag filled with bones and paper plates. Jimmy frowned as he turned to Tony. "Umm, biologically speaking, two men..."

Brian silenced him with a kiss before pulling him to his feet. "Thanks, guys, this whole weekend was a lot of fun. Tony, come join the game any time. We'll play every Sunday morning until the weather gets too bad, then we move inside for basketball, same time."

"You're on, man." Tony slapped him on the back as they all headed for the gate, waving at Gibbs and McGee as they left. Alone much earlier than they'd planned, this time it was a sleepy Gibbs that was led upstairs.