A/N: While the original chapter 2 has unfortunately happened in far too many adoption cases, many were calling this melodramatic. So I rewrote chapter two. Hope you like this version better.

Chapter Two - 1983

The entire adoption process for a baby took much longer than that for slightly older children, when they'd met with their social worker for the first time, after being approved for the process, the social worker explained that a large number of older children needed homes. "It's not that we don't want you to have a baby, Mrs. Gibbs, we respect your desire, and we'll be happy to put you on the waiting list, but if you want kids now, it might not hurt to shoot for one a little older, perhaps a toddler or even one as old as seven."

"What kind of problems might they have?"

"Well, there's always going to be more baggage the older they are, but you both seem very loving and understanding, I truly don't anticipate issues, while the children do come with potentially more issues, we actually have two that meet your overall selections" Lela explained as she sat before the couple. "Tell you what, I met this wonderful little girl about four months back, she was a toddler, she's in foster care right now, her parents were killed in a car accident. She's with an older boy in the same foster home, I can arrange for you to meet them both, talk to them. They each have different histories, the boy, Anthony I believe, he isn't my charge, but I know his social worker and I can get his file. He's five, but from what I've heard he's a very charming young boy. If you'd like to meet them we can set you up to meet them tomorrow and see what you think."

Shannon looked over at Jethro with hope, hoping desperately he'd agree to this. He had his reservations about adopting older kids, in fact that had been one of his requirements, was adopting a baby, but as he met his wife's beautiful pale blue eyes, he could already feel himself folding. "Sounds great, thank you, Lela."

That evening as the pair went home and sat down to dinner, they took a moment to study one another, "I know you said you didn't want older children," Shannon began, "But would you consider it?"

"Of course, but only one, I'm not sure I can handle two at a time," he chuckled.

She smirked to herself as she put a piece of chicken in her mouth, leaning over she kissed his lips, "I love you," she replied, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"I love you too, I just want to share that love, if being with older children means it, then I'm fine with that honey."

o0o

Lela pulled up to the house and sighed, she'd received a call only a few weeks earlier from Mr. Connor that his wife had left him, while she hated the idea of asking any parent who wasn't ready to take on children, Mr. Connor had been clear, he wasn't the right person to care for both of these children. They needed a home, or they'd be separated. She was working the system, but both she and Mr. Connor had seen a relationship develop between Tony and Abby, and Lela didn't have the heart to split up the two children who had developed such a bond.

She climbed out of the car, heading towards the house, Mr. Connor stepped up to the front door before she could even knock, "Lela, come on in," he offered, opening the door to the social worker. "You think you found a couple?" He asked, recalling the conversation on the phone prior to her arrival.

"Hopefully, ideally, I'd like them to all meet at a neutral location. We can use one of the group homes for that, if you aren't comfortable with it being your home," her eyes glanced around, things had clearly deteriorated since his wife had left him. There was trash cluttering the house, stale dishes, she knew Mr. Connor was struggling as it was, and she needed to get these kids a safe place to live soon to get rid of some of his stress.

"Think that'd be best. Listen, Lela, I hope you realize, I love these kids, but…this ain't a healthy environment for 'em. And I can't stay here, I lost my job yesterday, they need somewhere stable, an' I ain't it."

Lela reached out, squeezing his arm, "I completely understand, Mr. Connor, we never want our foster families to feel forced into keeping children. Foster care is temporary. Mr. and Mrs. Gibbs seem like wonderful people and I do believe they'll love our Tony and Abby. Can I see them?"

"Sure! Sorry, follow me, Tony is doin' homework, and Abby hasn't been feelin' well lately. She started running a small fever this morning. I was going to take her to the hospital if it got much worse but…" he sighed. "I'm sorry, I'm doin' horrible, ain't I."

"Absolutely not, Mr. Connor, you're trying your best to provide for these two while you can. Why don't we go check on Abby and Tony now, and if the fever has gotten worse, we'll take her together, then maybe I'll call the Gibbs' and have them come meet us there."

The older man nodded and they headed down the hall together, the door was cracked, and Lela could hear a soft voice talking, which was occasionally broken by the sound of coughing. The coughing was harsh and dry, it sounded like the girl was trying desperately not to vomit.

"It's okay, Abby," opening the door Lela saw Abby cuddled in Tony's arms, the little girl was trying not to cry as she was held by her big "brother", he rubbed her back soothingly. Hazel eyes glanced up at the door opened, he looked as if he'd been found doing something wrong.

"Hey you two, Abby I hear you aren't feeling well," Lela asked as she stepped over to the two, she ran a hand over Tony's short hair, "It's okay Tony, looks like you've been doing an excellent job." She knelt down to take a closer look at Abby and felt her stomach clench at the sight of the girl with graying fingernails, she tilted Abby's head up enough to see her and saw the paling lips. "Mr. Connor, grab Tony some clothes and Abby's favorite toy, we're going to the hospital now."

The former military man didn't hesitate he hurried to get what Lela had asked for, while Lela bundled the fairly unresponsive toddler into her arms with a nice toasty blanket. "Abby, do you remember me, it's Lela?" green eyes studied her, but were hazy with fever. Sweat had caused her bangs to grow damp and stick to her face. The child looked miserable. Lela looked down at Tony, trying to give him a reassuring smile, "We're going to go to the hospital, I need you to ride in the back, is that okay?" It wasn't a question, but she didn't want to scare the poor boy more.

He thankfully didn't put up a fight, he took a hoodie from Mr. Connor, and pulled it on, before the four of them headed for Lela's car. Lela handed her keys to Mr. Connor as she sat in the passenger's seat. "I'm so sorry, Lela, it came on fast, she'd complained of a sore throat a couple days ago and then suddenly she was running a fever this morning, and coughing," fear filled the foster father's eyes.

"It's not your fault Mr. Connor, Abby's gone through a lot of changes, and unfortunately it's not uncommon for children her age to get sick suddenly. It's okay," she soothed.

When they arrived at the hospital, the doctor's rushed the little girl into an exam room, leaving Mr. Connor, Tony and Lela to wait. "I'm going to call Mr. and Mrs. Gibbs, are you two all right?"

Tony looked up at Lela, his eyes watery at seeing his foster sister removed from his sight. Mr. Connor didn't look much better, both sets of shoulders sagged in defeat as they nodded. Mr. Connor gently steered the little boy over to the waiting room, where they would have some toys to play with.

Jethro and Shannon were startled from their dinner conversation when their phone rang. They'd spent most of the morning and afternoon deciding that they would take on both children and ultimately had spent the next several hours gathering items they would need to house not one but two children. They'd set up two different bedrooms, they weren't much just beds with a dresser. Both Shannon's mother and Jethro's father were coming on the weekend to help set up everything and meet the children.

"Hello?" Jethro answered, having stood and moved over to where their home phone sat.

"Oh good, Mr. Gibbs, it's Lela, we spoke this morning about Anthony and Abigail. I'm sorry to bother you, there's been a slight change in plans."

"What's wrong?" Jethro questioned, fearing she would tell them their excitement had been for naught.

"I'm not entirely sure, I went to check on the children and talk to their foster father Mr. Connor, and poor Abby, she's the younger one, was running a high fever, I think she has pneumonia," the poor woman sounded beside herself as Jethro listened to her. "Their foster father is giving up all care, he feels he's no longer fit, and poor Tony is going to need a place to stay while Abby is in the hospital-"

"Wait, Abby's in the hospital, which one?"

"Inova Children's hospital. I'm sorry I know you weren't meant to meet them until tomorrow, but I'm concerned about Mr. Connor's mental state of late and I just don't think it's wise that either children return to his care." She glanced back towards the waiting room, which was thankfully out of earshot, but Mr. Connor was just sitting there, staring at the wall opposite of him. All the while Tony sat on the floor in front of the toys, like that's where he'd been placed but it wasn't where he wanted to be.

"We can be there immediately, thank you for notifying us," Jethro replied.

"Thank you, Mr. Gibbs."

"It's Jethro, thank you for calling," he replied, before hanging up the phone. Shannon watched him, her eyes filled with fear, "Abby may have pneumonia, she's been taken to Inova Children's hospital. I guess Lela is a bit concerned that this Mr. Connor they're staying with is no longer fit to do this job.

"What are you waiting for," Shannon replied, as she walked out of the kitchen to grab her purse and keys.

Jethro smirked, as he grabbed his wallet and let his wife lock the door behind him, before she passed him the keys to drive. As they drove the twenty-five minutes to the hospital their minds raced, they really had no idea what waited for them at the hospital. It sounded as though Abby was very ill, Tony sounded fine, but would he be receptive to new parents?

Arriving at the hospital and parking the car, the couple made their way into the emergency room entrance, they introduced themselves, explaining who they were here for at the information desk. "She's still in examination, there are a few people in the waiting area for her already, you're welcome to go sit with them. The doctor should be out soon to update you all."

"Thank you," Jethro replied. They walked towards the waiting room, Shannon's eyes landed on the little dark haired boy who was half heartedly playing with the toys, occasionally the boy would let out a mighty sigh and stare at nothing, before going back to playing. He was of small stature, his hair was a healthy pallor and was quite handsome. She could imagine him as an adult, he'd be quite the looker one day.

Lela, for her part, was seated on the floor across from the boy, trying to talk quietly to him. Shannon had expected to see one or both of the Connors, but if they were here, they had disappeared at some point. Lela spotted Jethro and Shannon and offered a warm smile, she got to her feet and pointed over to them as she crouched beside the boy.

"Anthony, this is Jethro and Shannon Gibbs," Lela introduced.

"Like from the Beverly Hillbillies?" Tony questioned.

Jethro chuckled as he sat on one of the old faded chairs in the waiting room, while Shannon knelt beside Tony. "Kind of, it's Leroy Jethro, but I go by Jethro."

"Oh, okay," he looked over at Shannon, she was studying him, as if trying to figure him out. He got to his little feet and moved closer to her, he wrapped his arms around her neck and hugged her.

Shannon felt her heart break as the boy hugged her, it was clear he'd needed this for some time, so she wrapped her own arms around the five year old and held on tight. "Nice to meet you, Tony."

"Are you my new mommy?" he asked her, his voice very quiet, as if he couldn't quite believe it.

She pulled back enough to look at him, reaching up to cup his face, she smiled, "I'd like to try," she offered. "Jethro and I would like to give you a childhood, and love you to bits, if that's okay."

He smiled and threw himself into her arms once again, but the hug ended quickly, his face growing fearful and serious, "What about Abs?"

"Abby too," Jethro reassured.

Tony pulled away from Shanno and stepped over to Jethro, stopping right in front of him, "Really?"

"That's the plan, if that's what you guys want."

Tony looked unsure about hugging Jethro, but was saved from making the decision when a man in dark blue scrubs with a white jacket stepped over to them, "Are you here for Abigail Scuito?"

"Yes, how is she?" Lela asked standing quietly, followed by Shannon and Jethro.

Jethro felt a smile grace his lips as Tony slid his little hand in Jethro's larger one. Jethro gave it a slight squeeze, glancing down at the hazel eyes that stared at him as if he'd hung the moon.

"Unfortunately she's got a pretty nasty case of pneumonia. I'm not sure if anyone ever had her tested for asthma or allergies, but after this we may want to keep an eye out for that. We're admitting her tonight, she's being started on antibiotics and fluids to rehydrate her. Once her temperature is back to normal and she's a bit more responsive, we're going to run some tests for asthma."

"May we see her?"

He glanced over at Lela, "I understood the girl was a ward of the state?"

Lela nodded, "These are going to be her adoptive parents, it's okay, Doctor."

"Right then, come with me, she's been settled into a room after we took some x-rays. She'd not very lucid at the moment, but it'll get better. We don't have visiting hours really since all our patients are children, all we do ask is that other children don't stay overnight. So while the little guy here can certainly visit his sister, I'd prefer he didn't stay."

"No problem doctor," Jethro replied, "He just wants to make sure she's okay," he reached under the boy's arms and lifted Tony up to rest against his hip. "Right buddy?"

"I'll be good," Tony replied.

The doctor smirked, "I have no doubt, follow me," he led the group to a set of elevators. A few moments later they stepped off on the third floor, "This is our pulmonary unit, she'll be here for the duration of her stay as long as no other complications arise," he led them down a bright colorful hallway to the third door in and knocked before he pushed the large heavy door in. It was thankfully a private room, Abby was lying very still on a crib bed, which had high rails on either side so she couldn't role out. She was hooked up to a heart monitor, had oxygen cannula in her nose, she had IVs in two separate places, on on the back of her left hand and one in her elbow, a damp wash cloth was sitting on her forehead.

"She's so little," Jethro murmured, not realizing he'd said it out loud as his wife smirked at his response.

"She just turned three in October," Lela replied as she moved over beside the child, reaching out, she caressed the toddler's cheek. She smiled down as green eyes fluttered open and looked up at her.

"Mommy," she whimpered, her hands reaching out. Lela glanced up at the doctor.

"It's the fever," the doctor assured, "like I said not very lucid."

Shannon moved closer to the little girl and smiled, "We're here sweetheart," she replied, running her hands through the soft black hair.

"I'll get all the paperwork ready so we can sign over guardianship tomorrow. You'll technically be foster parents until the adoption is finished, which is typically about six to nine months depending on how busy everything is. We can address questions then, of course."

"Thanks," Jethro replied as he stepped closer to the bed and looked down at the little girl who would now be his daughter. She was beautiful, her green eyes almost clear in the middle, pale skin, dark jet black hair. If he didn't know better he'd swear she could be his and Shannon's. If not for those beautiful green eyes.

"Honey," Shannon startled him from his internal musings, he glanced up. "You all right?"

"Fine, just thinking, uh, did you want to take our little man here home to get some sleep? I'll stay here with Abs?"

Shannon bit her lip to keep from chuckling, as her husband almost repeated her exact suggestion from moments earlier, one he'd clearly missed. She'd known as soon as Jethro Gibbs became a daddy to a little girl he'd be hopeless. While Shannon was well aware how much her husband loved her, and no matter how much he'd joked about wanting a boy to carry on the Gibbs genes, there was very clear a part of him who wanted a daddy's girl.

"I think that sounds like a great idea, Tony, do you want to come see your new bedroom? I'll read you a story, you can go to sleep and then we'll come back first thing in the morning? Does that sound okay?"

Tony gave her a sleepy nod, as he tried desperately to keep his eyes open, as Shannon came around and gently took him into her arms. He instantly cuddled up close to him, tucking his head to her neck and shoulder, and Shannon realized she was no better than her husband as she rubbed the little boy's back. The idea of having a mama's boy was equally as tempting. "We'll see you in the morning Abby," Shannon whispered to her new daughter, before she, Lela and Tony made their way out of the hospital room.

Jethro pulled the chair closer to the crib and took a seat, he let one of the side bars down, knowing he'd protect the toddler from falling out. As she rolled onto her side, facing him, he felt his heart melt a little more when she gripped his fore and middle finger in her tiny hands. Her green eyes slid open once more. "You're not my daddy," she mumbled miserably.

He reached out with his other hand, and pet her hair, "No, but I'd like to be," he replied in as gentle as a tone as he could.

"Dopted?"

"Yes, Shannon and I are adopting you. Go to sleep little one, we'll talk about it when you feel better," he murmured, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead, before returning to caress her hair and watch her sleep.

It was nearly a week later when Jethro, Shannon, Abby and Tony all got to go home as a family. Once her fever had gone and she was more active, she'd been thrilled about having a new family. Tony had firmly attached himself to Shannon, and the same was said for Abby to Jethro.

It was the night they'd returned home, having settled both kids into their rooms, that he sat down and it hit him like a hundred ton weight: he was now in charge of not just one but two tiny little lives. Two lives that had already both been shattered, he was responsible for giving them a happy life. As he reached out to brush a stray hair from Abby's face, he realized his hand shook; he quickly withdrew it and looked down at his hands. Could he be a good father?

"What's going on in that handsome head of yours, Jethro?" Shannon asked, walking back in and sitting across his laps. He naturally held her close, arms around his waist; he rested his head against her shoulder and chest.

"Thinking," he whispered, he closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of the fingers running through his short marine cut hair and down the back of his neck.

"About?"

"Fatherhood."

She chuckled, "Scared?"

"Absolutely terrified," he replied with a smirk.

She pressed a chastised kiss to his lips, before leaning he her against his forehead, "We're in it together, love."