Hullo...There will probably be one more chapter after this one; then it's time to wrap it up. Thanks, from the bottom of my heart for reading and all the wonderful responses. You're all a great group. Hope to add to the series when I am inspired with more ideas. If you have any thoughts on a story you would like the brothers to be involved in, let me know. Sincere, thanks, Puppypants
And thanks, Earthdragon. I always find your reviews insightful and interesting
xxxxx
They all walked through the door, dropping their belongings on the floor. Tim ran through the house to find his teddy bear then came back into the kitchen, climbing into his booster seat. Tony sat at the table opening a workbook from school, ready to do his homework.
Gibbs started rummaging through the cabinets to locate the pancake mix. "Okay guys, I have to get dinner started-"
He mumbled to himself, "now...where's the mix for the pancakes? Oh good. Now the eggs-" Gibbs stopped. "Uh, oh. We're out."
He turned to the boys. "Okay, change of plans, string beans and grilled cheese for dinner."
"Huh?" Tim looked at Gibbs, taken aback.
"Dad, you said pancakes," said Tony.
"I know what I said but I forgot we ran out of eggs this morning. The idea of going out to the store to get them would be-"
"Pan..a..cakes, Gibbs!"
Gibbs looked at Tim wide-eyed.
"We'll have them tomorrow night,Tim." Gibbs tried to ignore Tim's, out-of-character outburst.
"Pan..a..cakes, 'night, Gibb!" Tim pounded his fist on the table, his face red and angry. Tony looked at the boy, perplexed.
Gibbs turned around to face the cabinets, quietly stealing a serene breath. He was flustered and had no come back; never seeing Tim react like this before. He walked over to the refrigerator and opened the door, talking into it, hoping the lack of attention towards his behavior would stifle it. He grabbed the container of cheese slices and butter then closed the door.
"Gibb, I want pan..a-cakes!"
He continued to avoid Tim as he opened the freezer, grabbing a bag of string beans. He placed the items on the counter then took another deep breath. He turned to face the small boy.
"Tim. I am not happy with your tone." He kept his calm and talked in a soothing voice. Tony's eyes darted back and forth between the two, wide with interest to how this would unfold.
"I don't like yelling and you need to stop if you want me to listen to you."
Tim pointed at Gibbs as he yelled. "I'm not...'appy wid you...and I don't yike...your shirt!" Tim crossed his arms in front of his chest, his brows furrowed and his bottom lip thrust out. Gibbs fought a smile but it quickly vanished when he could see Tim was about to cry. The band-aide on his arm declared his behavior self-evident, reminding Gibbs how tough his day had been.
Tim climbed down from his seat then stomped off to his room so no one would see the start of his tears. Gibbs turned back to prepare the food and allow Tim a moment.
"Wow, he's mad, dad!"
"He had a tough day,Tony." Gibbs mumbled as he constructed the sandwiches.
"Yeah. I kinda 'member my first day. I was scared. I thought you weren't comin' back to get me. And Jonny Wess...in..berg-"
"Wessinberger?"
"Yeah. He used to be mean to me. I was scared of him. He threw rocks at me. But, we're friends now."
"Timmy did good, all considering."
"Is he gonna get punished, dad? For talking like dat to you?"
Gibbs took a moment to consider then turned to his son. "I'm going to have a talk with him. I want him to know he can feel safe showing his emotions in front of us but he needs to act in a respectable manner."
"Plus, he got hurt today, too, uh, dad?"
"Yeah. I'm sure that didn't help."
He started dinner then worked his way into Tim's room. Tim was sitting on the floor with a doodle pad as he colored in long, strong motions with a crayon.
"Timmy? Are you okay?"
Tim wouldn't look at Gibbs as he waved his hand to disregard him. "Go 'way! I don want see you!"
"Are you mad at me, Tim?" Gibbs almost laughed, realizing how ridiculous that question must have sounded.
Tim nodded, assertively, tears streaming down his face.
Gibbs was a little confused...when he had picked up Tim from the daycare he was very happy to see him, but now...then he remembered their conversation in the car.
"Does this have to do with what I told you in the car?"
Tim nodded.
"That you have to go to daycare from now on."
Tim nodded then slowly turned to Gibbs crying while he shook his head, "I don't... want...t-t-to go."
Gibbs kneeled down then opened his arms wide. "Come here little guy."
Tim struggled to stand, then ran into Gibbs' arms.
"I'm sowery. I 'ove you." Tim's head was nestled in his neck, wetting it with his warm tears.
Gibbs kissed the top of his head.
"I love you, too. Now, tell me what was so bad about today."
"S..sef, bited me."
They both looked at his arm. "I'm going to take the band-aide off and take a look at it, okay?"
Tears clouded Tim's vision as he nodded, holding up his arm with his other hand for Gibbs to examine.
Gibbs peeled away the bandage carefully then saw the purple mark with a circle of bite marks inside it.
"Oh, jeesh! That looked like it really hurt, Timmy."
Tim nodded, his face, pitiful.
Gibbs hugged Tim guiding him onto his thigh. "Guess what, Jody told me. That little boy cannot come to the center anymore because he has a problem with biting."
"Weally?"
"So, you won't have to worry about him anymore."
Tim's crying subsided, a relief washing through his body thanks to Gibbs' good news.
"Otherwise...besides get bitten, did you have fun today?"
"Jody hulped me dresh as army man."
"With a helmet?"
Tim nodded. "And a belt..." Tim pointed to his lower stomach. "It buckled."
"Hey, maybe we could buy one of those for home."
Tim's smile covered his face and Gibbs could breath deep, again.
"Tim, I want you to know, if I could have it my way I'd stay home with you and Tony all day, but I have to work."
"Yus."
"Are we okay, chief?" Tim wrapped his arms around his neck.
"Gimme a kiss?"
Tim took Gibbs' face in his little hands and kissed him on the chin. "You...scratchy, Gibbs." He rubbed his lips with the back of his hand.
xxx
Dinner went smooth and Tim was happy to eat what he was offered. Both boys were pretty dirty so Gibbs got them into a bath.
xxxx
"Simon says, touch your belly button."
Both boys looked down to locate their navels then touched them. "Dat dickles." Gibbs chuckled along with Tim.
"Simon says, put your hands on your head. Gibbs demonstrated by placing both hands on his head as the boys copied.
"Simon says...touch your toes. Tony's hands went under the water to find his toes but Tim grabbed both feet and raised them out of the water. As he pulled his feet up, he lost his balance, causing him to lean back then falling under. Gibbs quickly moved to pull him out, as his face went under. He expected to hear a lot of coughing as soon as he pulled him up but Tim simply wiped his eyes.
"Are you okay, Tim?"
"Yus. I holdeded my breath."
"Can you swim, Timmy?" Tony was impressed.
"Yus. Mama cheached me."
"Wow, that's pretty neat, can you teach me dad?"
Gibbs poured some shampoo on top of Tony's head and began to scrub. "Of course, Tony. You can start now by going under water to rinse your hair."
Gibbs started on Tim's hair as Tony scrubbed his own.
"Nah. I don't want to go under the water. I'm not ready." Tony reached over and molded Tim's hair into a mohawk style.
"Dony?"
Gibbs held a handheld mirror in front of Tim so he could see his reflection. Tim giggled.
Gibbs used a cup to pour water over Tony's head to rinse.
"Do you want to go under water,Tim? To rinse the soap out of your hair?"
"O..kay." Tony and Gibbs watched him, amazed as he slid under the water.
When he came up Gibbs gave him a high-five. "Way to go kiddo."
Gibbs turned, grabbing towels from a shelf. Tony stood in front of him as Gibbs wrapped the towel around him, drying him off. He lifted him from the tub, "Okay, go get on your pajamas."
Then he did the same for Tim but carried him to his room, wrapped in his towel.
Tim wrapped his arm around Gibbs' neck resting his head on his shoulder.
"Are you gonna be able to stay awake for the story tonight?"
Tim yawned and a quiet, 'yus.' was whispered in Gibbs' ear. "Velva-teenie...wabbit."
"I think that is your favorite story." Gibbs could feel him nod against his shoulder. As soon as he entered Tim's room, he located his teddy bear then handed it to him. He sat Tim on the edge of Tony's old toddler bed that they had recently brought up from the basement. They set it up in the corner of the room; prepared for when Tim was ready to graduate from his crib, which was soon. He lay him down, put a diaper on him then went to his dresser to find a set of pajamas.
"Want to wear trains, Tim-" He looked at the boy, asleep in the bed. He carefully dressed him, then tucked him in. He figured it would be a good night to try out the bed. Tim was down for the count and probably would sleep through the night. He stood over him for a moment, stroking the hair from his forehead then leaned in to kiss him on the cheek, "Goodnight, Timmy."
xxx
Gibbs handed Tim to Jody as he quietly cried, "Bye...Gibbs." Gibbs gave him a sad smile while he ruffled his hair. He mouthed the words, "I'm proud of you, my big boy," draping his backpack on Tim's hook.
Tim's little hand subtly waved as he clung to Jody watching Gibbs' every move, on his way towards the door. Gibbs kept eye contact with him until he exited, breathing out as soon as he closed the door. This had to get easier, he didn't think he could hold up much longer, it was emotionally draining...and exhausting. He knew he shouldn't but he looked through the window after he exited the building as he passed Tim's classroom. Tim was frantically crying as Jody bounced him to offer comfort.
"Damn." He was startled as a man passed him, carrying a little girl with long, dark, curly hair.
"Uh, sorry." Gibbs smiled weakly.
"Good morning."
Gibbs nodded at the man as they passed.
xxxx
Jody leaned Tim on her hip, as she talked with the tall, dark man holding the little girl. Tim sighed, shakily as he observed the little girl directly in front of him. He waited for her to look at him but she would not. She had brown eyes and her hair looked really... silky. He swung his foot out, ever so softly, to tap her on the leg. Her eyes quickly darted to him then looked away. A weak smile stretched his lips. He tried coughing, yawning and waving to the little girl but she kept her attention towards the adults. He sighed, then rested his head on Jody's shoulder playing with her hair as he waited for the girl to look at him. He listened to a few of the words the adults discussed.
"Zee-vah."
He could see a pink cover her cheeks as she adamantly stared at Jody. "That's right, Tim. This is Ziva."
Now, it was Tim's turn to blush as all three of them brought their focus to him. He shyly stuck his fingers in his mouth, moving his chin to touch his chest.
"How about you two play at the table with play-doh?"
"But, it could fall onto... the floor." Ziva's father turned her chin so he could talk to her personally, "It is okay little one, you are where it is allowed."
"Okay, Papa."
Both adults placed the children in chairs in front of the table then Jody retreived the play-doh.
"Here you go, mold away."
Jody noticed the two seemed to relax in each other's presence. She was relieved Tim was now distracted and was no longer crying. She vowed to make sure his day would be better than yesterday.
Tim was happy to play with the play-doh. Him and Tony played with it all the time and he had taught him some cool tricks with what to do with the tasty, good-smelling stuff. He flattened his on the table, pounding it with a small fist then poked depressions into it with his fingers. He peeked at her to see if she was watching.
She just sat there looking at the mound of red play-doh in front of her. She hadn't touched it. "Papa. What do I do with this?" Her father placed a finger over his lips then continued his conversation with Jody.
"Make somethin'." advised Tim.
"I don't want to."
"Make a ball, see?" Tim professionally rolled the blue play-doh, creating a lopsided ball. He rolled it across the table to demonstrate, as it wobbled closer to her. She rolled it back. "It's bumpy and rolls... funny.
Tim shrugged. "So.."
She huffed, bouncing her shoulders in frustration. She clearly wasn't getting her point across to the dense boy.
Tim sighed then took a good-sized hunk of it, rolling it into a slender log then placed it on his protruding top lip, balancing it there.
"S-s-see? I... have a... moose...tache'." His eyes strained, to get a look at the play-doh on his lip as he proudly alerted Ziva.
She giggled at his funny face then quickly covered her mouth as her father looked at her, alarmed.
"Hush child." Ziva blushed then sunk deeper into her chair.
"It's kay. You're a girl but you can have a moose-tache." Tim gave her a sweet smile with a sparkle in his eye. She flashed him a lopsided grin as she looked at him from the corner of her eye. She grabbed the play-doh and smiled.
xxx
The teachers helped them put on jackets as they zipped or buttoned them up. The air was chilly that day due to the strong winds and cloudy skies. Tim stood in front of Ziva doing his best to button hers but was having a tough time. Jody waited a moment for Tim to finish, his tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth. He turned to Jody with a proud smile on his face. "Dare."
Ziva's jacket had one button, done and it was the wrong one. Ziva patiently glared at Jody.
"Timmy, that was good work." She grasped Ziva's hand to lead her outside with the rest of the kids, intending to fix it once they got outside and Tim was distracted.
Tim headed to the sandbox and Ziva just stood nearby, looking over the area.
"Come, 'er', Zee-vah." yelled Tim.
Ziva shook her head then kneeled, spotting something in the grass. "Hmm, a bug."
"Let me see!" Tim scrambled towards her. He lay on his stomach to get a close look. Tim looked up at Ziva, "He's green-"
"Gross!" Ziva was lifting her foot, ready to stomp on the bug.
"No!" Tim pushed her leg to prevent her from killing it as she stumbled sideways, but remained standing.
"Timothy!" Catherine crossed the play area, quickly to grab Tim by his arm. Jody stopped her, having seen the whole thing and knew Tim would never have intended to hurt Ziva but cared deeply for the bug and the attempts to avoid his demise.
"Tim, you didn't want Ziva to step on the bug, did you?"
Tim looked at Jody and shook his head. "Don't hurt'm."
"Yuck!" Ziva's eyes widened as she watched Jody lift it into her hand.
"It's a praying mantis. These bugs are awesome! Come here and take a look. Did you know these bugs could turn their head a full 180 degrees?" The children stared back at her, blankly.
Jody softly chuckled. "You probably don't know what that means."
All the kids gathered around Jody, looking closely at the bug. "If you look close enough..." The kids stepped closer. "You can see that he is smiling. I think you made him very happy Timmy." Tim clasped his hands then gave her a crooked smile and blushed.