Hi everyone, it's time for the next chapter of Family!

Just to tell you in advance, this chapter is purely Jo and Tony looking at the house.

I don't own NCIS.

Chapter 16

It was huge. The house had two stories and a gigantic garden. It was stroked in a gentle, light-colored Cadmium-red, the roof was provided with black bricks and the property was separated with a small metal fence. The first floor owned its own small roof and the second floor was moved to a little to the back. On both levels was a window facing towards the street. A paved path lead to the front door of the house, which existed of two white doors.

On the right side, next to the path, was a small flowerbed in which were planted many different flowers and in front of the house stood a small wooden bank one could sit on it in the evening and enjoy the sunset. Besides the house was a big double garage and on the driveway was enough place for another two cars. The left side of the path consisted mainly of grass. Merely a big, imposing stone stood there, two small bushes and a small pond. There was a small path leading along the wall of the house and if Tony guessed correctly, it'll lead to the garden in the back of the house.

On both sides of the door were two thick, round, white stone pillars, which supported the balcony on the second floor. All in all the house looked very new and modern and Tony couldn't believe why the house wasn't already sold.

Jo was the first who recovered from her shock, but still looked with big eyes at the house. "Are you sure we're at the right address, dad?"

"Well, I thought so…a minute ago. Now I'm not sure anymore. Maybe I should call our broker and tell him we've got lost." Just as he pulled out his cell, the front door opened and their broker greeted them with a smile. "Well, looks like we're at the right address, though." Father and daughter got out of the car and greeted the broker.

"Good afternoon, Mr. DiNozzo."

Tony shook his hand. "Mr. Gilbert."

Mr. Gilbert turned to Jo. "And you must be Mr. DiNozzo's daughter. Nice to meet you." He offered his hand to Jo and she smiled at him.

"Mr. Gilbert, I have to say that I haven't expected this."

"Don't you like it?"

"No, of course I like it. It's only …" Tony didn't know what to say. Fortunately his daughter wasn't that speechless.

"I think what my dad wants to say is that the house is breathtaking."

"Exactly. Thanks Jo. When you've told me about the house, I thought, it would be a little smaller and not as new as this one."

"Right. The data I send is deceptive. Nowadays, there're rarely build new houses with such a big property. Though people always want big properties, they haven't have as much time to look after such big ones as years ago. Another reason for the decrease of big properties are the property prices, since they have risen in contrast to the last decades. But I can assure you that this house is brand new. It was just finished at the end of last year, the rooms were furnished immediately after completion and the garden was planted this spring."

"If the house is so new, why is it already for sale? Are there any problems?" asked Tony. A new, modern, beautiful house was in such a short time already for sale? There had to be a problem with it. Mould? Bad neighborhood?

"There are no problems. Not for you or anyone interested to buy the house, that is. The house was built by an old married couple who wanted to spend their last years together in this house. After the house was finished and furnished, the wife had suddenly and unexpectedly passed away. The husband doesn't want to live without her in this house and wants to move back to his remaining family in New York. It's sad that after finish building your own house your partner isn't there anymore to enjoy it with you."

"Indeed, this is a very sad story. I take it that there're quite a lot of potential buyer, aren't there? I mean it's really a dream house."

"There are indeed several potential buyer out there, which is unsurprising since, like you already said, the house is a dream. However the owner wants to make sure the house is in good hands, so in the end, he decides who'll get the house and 'til now, nobody got it yet. I was planning to show you the house first and later the owner will come and answer any questions regarding the house."

"Alright."

"So, let's start then." The three entered the property. "As you see, a flowerbed has been planted on the right side. The flowerbed was looked after lovingly by the wife until she passed away. I was told that she worked for a nursery garden, so she really loved gardening very much. I believe you already saw the wooden bank on the right side. The neighborhood is a rather quite one and there aren't many people passing by the house, so it's a nice place to sit and relax. The small footpath that branches off leads to the adjourning garage. But I'll show you first the house and the garden before I'll show you the garage."

"Sure." Tony laid an arm around Jo's shoulder and tucked her into his right side. She beamed up to him and they followed their broker.

"I have no idea what they wanted to do with a simple big stone, but I have to admit, combined with the little pond and the two bushes, it doesn't look bad, does it?"

"In its own way, it looks right. I think that it looks wonderfully. What are you thinking, dad?" Tony smiled at his daughter joyfully. He had the feeling that she already fell in love with the house. Nevertheless, Tony was still a little bit skeptical. Don't get him wrong, the house really was wonderful and absolutely a dream, but it was also very big. Too big for just him and his daughter. It would be something else if he would have still Joan at his side and maybe two children. Then they would need such a bid place, but now?

"The lawn leads to the back part of the house, the garden. But I'll show you the rooms first." said Mr. Gilbert and led them to the front door. "At the moment, you can just open one door, but if you remove the lock on the second door, you can open both of them, which is very helpful if you have to get something big into the house."

Mr. Gilbert opened the door and let the both in first. They were in a long hall which ended in a big room and if Tony guessed right, it must be the living room. On the left side were two doors and on the right side was one door and a stairwell, which led to the second floor and surprisingly to a floor below. Right next to the stairs was a door that looked a little thicker than the other ones. Mr. Gilbert led them to the door on the right and opened it. "So, here's a guest toilet. Very practically if you like to have a lot of visitors. The room is lightened up enough through the little window and under the basin would be enough space for a little cupboard."

Next, the broker led the two to the door opposite. In that room was a big, open kitchen. The walls were full with cupboards and the room was illuminated by a big window. Though there were many cupboards, the room didn't look packed. The walls were painted white and the surface of the cupboards were red. At the cupboards on the left side was the oven integrated and two cupboards further was the fridge. On the opposite side was the rinsing and right next to it was a dishwater.

In the middle of the kitchen was a small island. Two bar chairs stood there, although there was still space for a third one. On the one side of the kitchen island was the stove. The kitchen was certainly the dream of every hobby cook.

"Well as you see the kitchen is rather big. The kitchen is the only thing that'll stay as it is. Except you want to change something, of course."

"So, the rest of the furniture will be shipped to New York?"

"They're already in New York. You'll see that the other rooms are already empty. You can furnish the rooms as you please. There's a second door that will lead to the dining room. Shall we?"

"Ready for the next room, Jo?"

"Lead the way." smiled Jo.

They went through the second door of the kitchen and entered the dining room. Like Mr. Gilbert already told them, the room was empty. No furniture. The floor existed of laminate. "I think on the right side of the room would be enough space for a cupboard full with glasses or something else. The walls are painted in a soft chocolate color and because of the large window, the room looks warm in my opinion." Jo and Tony looked around the room. "I believe there stood a long table in the middle of the room. The married couple liked to have visitors. I was told that they were very socially. The door to your right leads back to the hall and the door in front of you leads to the living room."

The living room owned also a laminated floor and was painted the same color as the dining room. On the right side was a small cove with a fireplace in it. The frames of the two windows and the terrace door were painted in a little darker brown. "I love this place. You have enough space to put a big couch in and the fireplace is certainly a highlight in winter. The owner said that the fireplace warms easily the room and is easy to maintain." told Mr. Gilbert.

"Do you want to look at the garden now, or do you want to finish looking at the remaining rooms first?"

"I think if we're already here, we make a small break and look at the garden first."

"Alright." Mr. Gilbert opened the sliding glass door and entered the garden area, followed by Jo and Tony. The terrace existed of a big stone ground and Tony could already imagine sitting at a garden table and enjoying the summer. On the right side was space for a barbecue. An awning was already mounted to shield the hot and stabbing summer sun away. Five narrow stairway steps led down onto the beautiful, green lawn. On both sides of those steps were long flowerbeds of different height. Tony had no idea what those flowers were called. He wasn't that into nature. Sure, it's beautiful and all, but he had no idea how to take care of it.

The property itself was separated from the houses next door by well-arranged hedges, but besides that the lawn was untouched except for a small wooden cabin in the left corner. Grape vines were planted on the right side of the cabin and on the other side were again a flowerbed with red roses.

"What's this cabin for?" asked Jo.

"There're garden utensils in it. Lawn mower, hedge-trimmers, a bag of mud and beside other things, there's wood for the fireplace stored."

"Where did they get their wood for the fireplace? I mean, they surely would have to restock it."

"Don't worry, you won't have to go into a forest yourself. I think two blocks from here is a store which sells wood. But I know that the owner got theirs from one of the neighbors that owned a small property of a forest. 'Till now the always gave some of the wood to the married couple. I'm sure that if you'd talk to him, the two of you could agree on something."

Tony nods conformingly.

"Now let's look at the second floor." They went back into the house and entered the hall again. The staircase led on the one side up and on the other down to a basement.

"The door beside the stairwell leads to the garage. We'll check it out later. Now we're going upstairs."

The broker led them to the second floor. "Well, on this floor are three bedrooms and a big bath in total." The hall was just as on the first floor. To their right and left were on each side two doors. The door frames are again in the dark chocolate brown painted as in the living room.

They entered the first room to their left. The room was big and a large widow illuminated the room. It had a perfect view down onto the garden. Jo would have enough room for her things. She always wanted a desk for her school work, but they hadn't had the space for that in their old apartment.

"This is one of the three bedrooms. But I have you know that there's still a guest bedroom on the lowest floor, but it could be easily turned into a hobby room or something. Let's go to the next room, shall we?"

The second door on the left side led to the next bedroom. It was just like the other room, but instead of a normal window, it had its own balcony that faced towards the front of the house. Tony smiled when he saw the room. That was the perfect room for him. Enough space for big closets full with his work clothes and also for a bigger bed.

The next room was the one opposite. "So, this is the bathroom." stated Mr. Gilbert. Like he told them earlier, the bathroom was big. On the left corner was a shower and opposite of it was a separate bathtub. Next to the shower was the toilet and straight forward were two big, separate basins.

"The bathroom is a little paradise. There's a shower and a separate tub. I, myself, am not a big fan of shower and tub in one, too. The two basins are very practical, too. When I first stepped into this room, I didn't like the lamp of this room, because I thought it would be too piercing, but when I turned it on, I was proven wrong." He turned on the light to show what he meant.

"You're right. It rather gives the room a certain warmth." replied Tony.

"Exactly."

They entered the last bedroom. Like the other two bedrooms on this floor, this one was also big. "Well, this bedroom looks like it's as big as the other two, but it's a little bit bigger in reality. Not much, just a little bit."

"That's alright, but I've no idea what we should do with so many bathrooms."

"You don't have to use it as such. You can turn one into something else."

Tony just wanted to tell the broker to continue with the lowest floor, when someone pulled at his sleeve. He looked down to his daughter and she monitored for him to lower his head. Jo whispered something in his ear and he couldn't keep the smile from his lips as she told him her idea.

"That's a fantastic idea, Jo. I'll keep it in mind." His daughter just told him her solution about the number of rooms. A solution he was really happy with.

Mr. Gilbert just looked questioningly at father and daughter. He noticed their whispering. "Are there any questions?"

"No, no. Everything is alright. Can we see now the lowest floor?"

"Sure. After you."

The hall on the lowest floor had to be lightened up with a light. There were three doors in total. Two on the right side and one on the left. They entered the one on the left side first.

"This is the basement. You can store your supply in this room and other things, too. Because it's on the north side of the house, it's a little chiller than every other room and the sun can't shine in, so it's perfect as a storage room. Ready for the last two rooms?"

"Sure."

"Follow me, please."

They entered one of the last remaining rooms. It was a guest bathroom. It was a smaller room with a toilet, shower and basin in it. Though there was a little window, you still needed the lamp to really see anything.

Finally the entered the last room. It was a guest bedroom. It was big enough for a bed, closet and a small armchair in one corner. Like the bathroom, the window was not enough to illuminate the room. But that wouldn't be a problem, since they haven't had that much visitors. Just Senior and he would have to just live with these rooms. After all, it was more than he had when he visited them in their apartment.

"Now, that's it. Just the garage is left to look at."

The broker led Tony and Jo back on the ground floor. He unlocked the door besides the stairwell and they entered the garage, switching the light on. As they guessed, the garage was big enough that two cars fitted in.

"Look dad, enough space for your car and when the time comes, for mine, too." Jo smirked teasingly at her dad.

"Don't you think that you're way ahead of time? You're only fourteen."

"I'll turn fifteen this year." protested Jo.

"This changes not the fact that you won't have a car anytime soon."

Mr. Gilbert smiled at father and at daughter as he watched them bickering. Suddenly they heard how the front door was unlocked.

"That must be Mr. Cooper, the owner." said Mr. Gilbert.

So in the next chapter, Tony will have a chat with the owner. Furthermore Tony and Jo are making a trip to see Lu!