a/n - Hope everyone on the East Coast is all right. On a lighter note, now we know why Greta hates any story with Gibbs in a relationship. According to her, he's over 70 years old and too old for any of them. Snicker.

It was the middle of the night when Abby crawled out of bed to use the bathroom. She knew the layout of the house and didn't want to be blinded by a bright light so she ignored the bedside lamp. Halfway to the door, she stepped on something cold and slimy. It squished up around her foot as she squealed.

"Oh, yuck. Gross, gross, gross."

She hopped back to the bed, not even noticing when mystery item finally came off of her foot. Fumbling around, she finally turned the light on and looked. The mangled and well-chewed remains of the rawhide was directly between the bed and the door. Jett woke up from the commotion and stared at her before rolling onto his back and stretching out across the bed.

Still feeling the residue on her skin, Abby scrubbed her foot on the small rug next to the bed as she glared at the dog. "This is the thanks I get for letting you sleep on the bed?"

-NCIS-

Afraid it was all a dream, Gibbs didn't move when he first awakened, but a tender kiss centered on his chest told him it was real. "Mmm, good morning."

"It certainly is." Tim rubbed his cheek against the skin that was his pillow, delighted with the feel of the crisp hair tickling his face as he pressed his groin against Jethro's thigh. "It's a very good morning."

"The best." Gibbs let his fingertips stroke down Tim's back slowly to cup his ass just as Tim started laughing.

"What?" Laughter certainly wasn't the reaction he was hoping for.

Tim raised up on one arm before kissing the frown off Jethro's face. "I think we owe Sutton some flowers or at least a thank you card."

The older man couldn't help but laugh at the suggestion. "Brat." He turned serious as his hand traveled back up to touch Tim's face. "My brat."

Twisting slightly, Tim kissed his fingertips. "How much time before you have to be back at the convention for your workshop?"

Gibbs thought for a moment. He'd already spent the voucher and then some and didn't feel bad about missing the one demonstration when he had something so much better to do. So, in answer, he wrapped his arms around Tim and rolled them so that he was able to cover Tim's body with his own. "Tell you what, how about we stay right here and you can buy me his book for Christmas?"

-NCIS-

After a good run through the park, Tony and Ziva were headed back to their room to clean up before the breakfast cruise. Just as the elevator doors were starting to close, Tony held them for a room service tray. The young man pushing the cart smiled in thanks while Ziva checked out the silver ice bucket and bottle of champagne. "Looks like someone is going to have a good morning."

"Well, honeymooners, you know."

Realizing what room the tray was destined for, Tony grinned as he lifted the silver tray cover to reveal strawberries and whipped cream. "Oh, yeah, a very good morning." In their room he let Ziva have the first turn in the bathroom and when she came out, he was on the phone.

"I'll send it in just a minute... yep, just remember they don't know about them yet." As soon as he disconnected the call, he used his camera phone to snap a copy of one of the pictures from last night.

"What are you doing, Tony?"

He watched the phone until he got the message that the photo had been sent. "Mrs. Vance called to see if Gibbs and McGee were having a good time."

"That was nice of her, she really cares about her husband's people." Ziva tied her damp hair into a high pony tail while Tony quickly showered and changed.

-NCIS-

Grateful that Jared has showed her how, Jackie immediately transferred the photo to her computer and printed it up so it was ready when Leon came home.

"What's this?" As the kids tore into the box of fresh donuts, he picked up the page she'd set next to his cup. Some of the crispness had been lost, certainly, but there was no mistaking the two men lost in the moment as they danced.

Jackie was limited with what she could say in front of the children. "They look very happy, don't they?"

"Uh uh." An idea started to form, and Vance stood, needing to put it into motion.

"Leon?"

"I'll meet you and the kids at the park later. I'm going to see if I can stop Sutton from dragging them through the mud." Snagging the last buttermilk bar, he strode into his office, pulling out his phone.

Alone, Vance started printing out the pictures he'd received over the weekend. Once the printer was working, he dialed his phone. "Fornell, it's time to force Sutton's hand."

-NCIS-

"I cannot believe how high we were." Ziva turned around and looked back at the Ferris Wheel, her cheeks flushed with the excitement of the day.

Tony's eyes widened as he realized what she wasn't saying. "That was your first time on a Ferris Wheel?"

"Yes, well," she shrugged her shoulders, slightly embarrassed. "In Mossad, such frivolity would be frowned on."

"Have you ever stepped foot in a carnival?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Come on, it's about time you learned to live a little." Grabbing her hand, Tony threaded his way through the crowd to the ticket booth.

-NCIS-

Fornell didn't have a clue what Vance had planned, so he let the Director take the lead without question. For his part, Vance looked determined, but rather amused as he sat down across from the man that had caused so many changes.

Marcus Sutton was escorted in a few minutes later. Even after years behind bars he'd still managed to maintain the illusion of power. Vance and Fornell knew that his position in the underworld was weakening, but only his lawyer knew how tenuous his hold on power really was. Twenty years as the attorney of record for hundreds of cases from money laundering to racketeering had proven to Graham Winston that there was always a bigger fish in the ocean. He watched his client closely.

Sutton looked bored as Vance started to speak. "I don't believe we've ever met. I'm Leon Vance, the Director of NCIS."

"So, you're Morrow's replacement."

"Hardly. You've been fighting these charges for a long time, Sutton. After Director Morrow moved on, Director Shepard ran the agency for several years. Yep, the world's moved on and left you behind. I must commend you though. You've cost my agency a lot of money."

Looking smug, Sutton sat back, waiting for Vance to propose a deal, cutting his losses. Instead, Vance smiled as he opened the file folder he'd brought with him.

"Before your little plan, Gibbs was quite happy to stay in the closet, was worried about how people would react to he and McGee being a couple. Once you forced them out, apparently there was no going back. Now, I'm sure you saw the pictures your man took, but I don't think he's been able to keep up with these two."

Vance started laying out the pictures, starting with the barbeque Gibbs and McGee had hosted. Next came the pictures from the Friday night football game in Chicago, continued on through the pictures Adam had taken as they toasted each other in the limo and finally concluding with the picture of Gibbs and McGee wrapped in each others arms, slow dancing at the club.

"They both had a lot of leave time stored up and now they're having a grand old time partying it up every weekend."

"Glad to oblige." There was a strain to the sarcastic comment and Sutton shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

"Well, if nothing else, HR is happy. They tell me that when Gibbs is happy, all the field agents are happy." Vance slid his chair back as he stood, letting it scrape against the concrete floor. He knew how sensitive to noise prisoners became after long stints in solitary. Sure enough, Sutton flinched at the sound. "If that's the best you can do, I guess we'll be seeing you in court after all."

While Vance smirked at the suddenly subdued prisoner, Fornell gathered the photos, getting a good look at them as he did, before following the Director out the door. Back out in reception their weapons were returned to them. "Now what, Director Vance?"

"Now we let him stew for a day or two."

Still inside, Sutton turned on his lawyer. "Damn it, they were suppose to fold, not start wearing matching clothes and dancing in public."

"Sorry, Marcus, I guess it wasn't a stick that Gibbs had up his ass."

"Jokes? You're making jokes at a time like this? I am not spending the next twenty-five years locked up like some animal, Graham. Do something, file to suppress their evidence, anything."

"We've spent years fighting them over every single piece of evidence, every witness they came up with. It's time to face it; we're out of ammo."

"Not quite. Call the DA, tell him I want to make a deal."

"Based on what? They know everything and have the evidence to back it up."

"They may know everything about me, but I know more. I know stuff they'd love to know about."

Winston stared at his client. "Are you crazy? Do you know what will happen to you if he finds out?

"By the time he finds out, I'll be on the other side of the country with a new name. Make the call, set it up."

"If you're sure."

"I'm sure."

Just to be safe, Graham Winston waited until he was miles away from the prison before he made his call. Unfortunately, for one client, it wasn't the call he'd promised to make. "We have a problem, Sir."

~What would that be, Mr. Winston?~

"Marcus Sutton wants to make a deal and he believes that his information will earn him a new life away from the family."

~So now he is desperate enough to turn on the rest of us.~

"Yes, I thought you'd be interested in that information. He's forgotten that it's Sunday and no one is available at the DA's office to take my call today."

~Apparently, that's not all he's forgotten. Thank you, Graham, you'll find a little extra in your weekly retainer.~

-NCIS-

The bedding scattered, Jethro waited while Tim signed for the lunch they had ordered. Ignoring the cart, Tim brought the tray over and set it on the bed before dropping his robe and straddling him. Long, elegant fingers dragged a prawn through the sauce before holding it over Jethro's mouth.

"Mmm, good." Jethro enjoyed the taste of the shrimp and the sauce, but mostly the taste of Tim. "We're going to get messy doing this."

Tim leaned forward and licked some sauce off the corner of Jethro's mouth. "Then we'll just have to try out that big tub. After all, since the Vance's went to all the trouble to make sure we had the honeymoon suite, it would be a shame not to use all the amenities."

Gibbs scooped up some of the cocktail sauce and dripped it on Tim's wrist before licking it off. "A shame? It would be almost a crime and we have taken an oath..."

-NCIS-

When Ziva raised an eyebrow at the carnival's idea of a rifle, Tony explained the secret. "Look, it's designed to shoot crooked, kind of their way of making sure the house always wins. It's for fun, Ziva. If they catch you adjusting the sights, they're just going to make you change guns.

She was not impressed with their version of fun, but Tony was having a good time wasting money attempting to win little trinkets he didn't want. Instead of commenting, she studied how far off the sights were and after plunking down more money she began to compensate.

-NCIS-

Dan McGee slammed the phone down, then picked it up just to slam it down again one more time. He couldn't remember Tim's cell phone number and Sarah wouldn't give it to him. He hadn't answered any of the five voice mails left on his work phone nor the nine on his home number. Tired of waiting, the elder McGee threw the whiskey bottle in the trash and stormed out to his car. The little freak had to come home eventually, and daddy was going to be waiting for him.

-NCIS-

It wasn't his weekend for custody, but Diane happily sent Emily with her father when Fornell offered to take her shopping. No matter how much child support and alimony she received, Diane never seemed to buy enough school clothes for Emily. Father and daughter had a fun afternoon and Emily returned home with a stack of new clothes, shoes and her favorite group's latest album. Diane let Tobias stay for the fashion show, and they sat in the living room while Emily changed.

"So, did you take Jethro out for a beer yesterday?" For someone who claimed not to be interested, Diane kept close tabs on her ex-husbands and their activities.

"For his birthday? Nah, he got a much better offer, believe me."

To say she was surprised would be an understatement. "Oh, don't tell me he's dating again."

"I think it's safe to say they're past the dating stage and closer to the picking out china stage." Fornell carefully schooled his features as he enjoyed watching her flounder over the new tidbit of information.

"So, is this woman blind or stupid?"

Fornell immediately jumped to his friend's defense, not thinking through what he said. "Neither, and she is a he."

"He? Are you serious? Jethro isn't gay. I should know, I was married to the man." She was turning red, not a good sign as Tobias was well aware.

"Believe it or not, this has nothing to do with you. Maybe he's a late bloomer, I don't know. What I do know is that he's happy, so leave him alone, Diane." Tobias was pretty sure she had more to say on the subject, but Emily's arrival in her new dress stopped the conversation.

-NCIS-

"You're going to have to buy that thing its own seat." Tony watched as Ziva struggled to navigate without being able to see past the huge pink bear she was lugging.

She had doubts that the large toy would even fit in a first class seat. "Perhaps I did not think this through enough, but I wanted to wipe that smug expression off his face. He assumed that I could not shoot because I am a woman."

Tony had to admit it was funny when Ziva started nailing every target and worked her way up to the largest prize available on the midway. "Yeah, but now what?"

"Now..." She looked around and found a little girl in a pink dress looking wistfully at the prizes hanging over her head while her father was checking his wallet. She recognized the duo as ones that had been cheering her on at the shooting gallery. Ziva walked up to them with a smile. "As much fun as I had proving that girls can be winners, I have no way to take this bear back to Washington. Would your daughter like to have it?"

He flashed Ziva a grateful smile before turning to his little girl. "What do you think, sweetie, would you like to take the bear home with us?"

The smile and arms held out would have been enough of an answer. "Thank you. What's your name? Mine's Stacy."

Setting the bear on the ground, Ziva knelt down. "Hello Stacy, my name is Ziva."

It was bigger than her, but Stacy managed to hug the pink bear. "I'm going to call her Ziva."

Tony, being the smart senior agent that he was, kept quiet until they were away from the bear and her new owner. "We've got about a half an hour before we need to leave for the hotel. How about one more ride on the Ferris Wheel?"

Ziva took the offered arm as they changed direction. "And after that, I will buy you one last Chicago Dog."

-NCIS-

Jethro and Tim arrived in the hotel lobby to meet Tony and Ziva, breathless, but only five minutes late. They thought they'd gotten away with it until Tony took a closer look at Tim as they all climbed in the airport shuttle.

"Why, McGee, is that a hickey on your neck?"

*whack*

Unrepentant, Tony grinned. "The more things change, the more they stay the same."