DiNozzo survived dinner. He was unsure of how, but the dinner had been surprisingly easy. He had felt like part of the family which was a rare feeling for Tony. There hadn't been a dull moment in conversation around the dinner table. Leroy Jethro Gibbs was a different creature in his home. He was more relaxed and surprisingly talkative at times. Tony watched Gibbs jump to his feet as soon as Jen moved to clear the table. He tried not to smirk when Jen raised her eyebrow and stared at her husband. Some actions were the same at home as they were in the office.

"Jethro, you broke a dish last time."

"Wasn't my fault."

"Oh?"

"You came up behind me and," Jethro stopped talking and realized the audience. His daughters wouldn't want to know what their mother had done to him, and he certainly didn't want DiNozzo to hear. He cleared his throat and watched his wife's mouth form into a sweet smile. She remembered what she had done to him and knew the dish breaking had been her fault. She wouldn't admit her fault in the matter.

"I'll keep my hands to myself," she whispered into his ear.

He smirked and took his plate along with Lizzie's nearly empty plate while Jen cleared hers, Tony's and Katie's dishes. Lizzie glanced over at her boyfriend. "See, you're still alive."

"I am." He jumped slightly when Cooper stuck his freezing nose to his hand. Katie smirked, shaking her head. She had let Cooper back inside the house. The German Shepherd darted off into the kitchen.

"Where's he going?"

"To find mom. He's her big baby," Lizzie answered Tony.

"I thought that was daddy," Katie replied.

The girls giggled, and Tony decided to laugh. Gibbs was most likely still in the kitchen, so the fear of a slap to the head wasn't there. Within seconds, Lizzie immediately stopped laughing as did DiNozzo. Katie's eyes widened, and she cleared her throat. "Damn," she muttered. She knew she shouldn't have been standing with her back to the doorway.

"Katie, I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

"Actually, I think mom's the one that spent the seventeen hours in labor."

"And to think it didn't take that long to conceive you," came Jen's voice from behind her husband. Jethro rolled his eyes.

Tony winced. He momentarily felt sorry for the boss. He was the only male in a house full of women. Cooper trotted into the room and dropped his leash at Gibbs' shoes. He bent down and picked up the leash, scratching the dog's ears. "DiNozzo, with me."

"With you?"

"Did I stutter?"

Tony shook his head and followed Gibbs out of the dining room. The two men walked to the coat closet and bundled up. Cooper sat patiently and was happy to have his leash put on, walking out into the cold night. Tony adjusted his scarf around his neck and followed alongside the older man. The pair walked silently until they were three houses down.

"Tony, I meant what I said if you hurt her."

"I know."

"As long as you know."

"I don't want to hurt Liz. Boss," Tony said in the tone that let Gibbs know it was important.

Gibbs stopped walking Cooper and turned to face DiNozzo. "What did you do to her?"

"I have hurt her." Tony looked down to the ground and cleared his throat. "I couldn't tell her that I loved her...when she wanted me to say it."

He nodded his silver haired head, thinking back. He knew the exact moment. It had been the weekend Lizzie came home and ignored her BlackBerry. His daughter was attached to her phone like her mother, but the phone wasn't an attachment. Also, he remembered how Lizzie's mood had changed roughly a week later. "You told her."

"I did."

"What made you?" He was curious and trying not to be the overprotective brutal father he was known to be. Depending on DiNozzo's answer, he would learn if he would need to get his sniper rifle out of its hiding place.

"I kept thinking about what Paula said to me. Life is too short not to tell someone you love them. It's true, and I do love Liz. I've never met anyone like her. I don't want to hurt her a second time." Tony realized what he admitted. "Does this mean I'm going to be walking out of my apartment and get a bullet between the eyes?"

"No," he replied with a slight chuckle.

Tony let out a sigh of relief, and Cooper's walk resumed its pace. Jethro stopped and let the dog relieve himself on a light pole at the end of the street. "Tony, Lizzie's a lot like her mother. Jenny likes to give tests so does Lizzie, but they give second chances. She's given you one just like Jen did with me."

"What do you mean? Why did the Director have to give you a second chance?"

"I said the wrong thing when Jen told me she loved me. I know you won't hurt Lizzie again because you don't want to see that look in her eyes."

The younger man inwardly winced at the thought. The look in Lizzie's eyes had been reminiscent of leaving a puppy in a pet store. He shook his head and continued walking with Gibbs. "Gibbs, does it bother you...I'm dating your daughter...I know that has to bother you..."

Gibbs glanced at him, conveying the message he needed to get to his point.

"I mean...does the age difference bother you?" He was ten years older than Lizzie.

"Nope. What did I tell you?"

DiNozzo looked blank and stuck his hands into the pockets of his jacket, running back through their conversation.

"Lizzie's like her mother. Hell, there's almost as many years between me and Jen as there is between you and Lizzie."

He nodded and said nothing more. The men fell into a comfortable silence until Cooper wanted to take after a stray cat. Jethro decided it was time to go back home. When he entered the house, he heard his wife in the study. "Paperwork," Gibbs mumbled, watching Cooper paw the door and slip inside the room. Gibbs tired of telling Jenny she needed to take breaks. He wanted the two of them to take a vacation, but he hadn't mentioned it yet. She might think he was losing his mind if he actually suggested both of them leaving NCIS headquarters for a vacation. If she was away for a conference, he held headquarters together. On the rare chance he was away, she was in her office. Neither of them had ever been away at the same time. All hell could break loose if the grounding forces weren't at the Navy yard.

"Not paperwork," Lizzie answered. She had heard the door and decided to see if Tony had been brought back to the house in one piece. She crunched on the cough drop in her mouth as her father stared at her expectantly. "On the phone." She slipped her arms around Tony and rested her head against him, smiling softly at him rubbing her back. Thankfully, he wasn't afraid to show her affection around Gibbs.

"With?"

"Your favorite person."

Gibbs groaned and rolled his eyes as Tony looked clueless and to Lizzie for an answer.

"Grandma."

"Did she call?" Lizzie's father questioned.

"She did."

"How long ago?"

"Ten minutes or so."

Gibbs cursed under his breath and rubbed his face hard. If Helen Shepard called, she would be planning a visit. Jethro would have no place to hide from his mother-in-law. He would suffer the duration of Helen's visit. If anyone thought Jenny Shepard was a force of nature, they had never met her mother. On the Fujita scale, Jen would be a class one tornado whereas Helen would be a level five on a good day. Tony hadn't ever witnessed such a reaction from Gibbs. He was starting to think of ways to dodge meeting this woman.

Lizzie gave her father a sympathetic look and squeezed his hand. "Maybe it won't be too bad."

He snickered. "Lizzie, where did you learn to be optimistic?"

"From Ducky," she answered dryly. "We're going. I need to get back to the apartment to do some work."

Gibbs hugged her and kissed her head. "Drive careful. DiNozzo," he said, releasing his little girl and looking at the agent. "Don't keep her up late."

"Got it, boss."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and yelled for Katie. Katie yelled back to her that she'd be down in a few minutes. Tony went to start the car as Lizzie slipped into the study. Jen hung up the phone and looked up at her daughter. "Your grandmother is coming for Thanksgiving," she informed.

"I thought so. Tony and I are leaving."

Jen pushed her chair out and walked over, giving her daughter a tight hug. "I love you."

"I love you too, mom. And thanks for making things go smoothly."

"Your father will be fine."

"What other choice does he have?" Lizzie mused with a laugh, following her mother out.

Out of the study, Jethro helped Lizzie into her coat. When Katie was finished with her goodbye, he helped her into black pea coat. "Want to have a drink of bourbon with me and your mom before you go?" He couldn't resist teasing her.

Katie smirked and popped her father on the arm. "So not funny, daddy."

"I thought it was funny. Didn't you, Jen?"

Jen finished talking with Tony. He had come back into the house to compliment her on a wonderful dinner and say his goodbyes to her. "We'll pour you a glass before you go, Katie." The parents laughed as Katie walked out the door, muttering into the night. Lizzie followed behind her, seeing that Tony had moved the car closer to the house.

"Shotgun!"

"Whatever," Katie mumbled, giving her sister the finger.

Tony held in his laughter and continued walking to the car with his girlfriend. The trio settled into the car and left the house to return to the apartment. As much as he hated it, Tony wouldn't be spending the night with Lizzie considering she had work to do.

Jethro followed Jen into the study. She walked over and removed two glasses from the shelf, filling them halfway with bourbon. "Mother's coming for Thanksgiving."

He took the glass from her, nodding his head. "Is she staying with us?"

"She hasn't decided." Jen shook her head at the annoyed look on her husband's face. Her mother and her husband's relationship had declined after Jasper's death. She believed there was a great deal of toleration on each part since then. Jethro's tolerance wore thin after a few days of being around Helen. With a soft sigh, she sat down on the sofa next to him, snuggling up and taking a sip of her drink. In turn, he slipped his arm around her and pulled her closer. She played with the button of his jacket. "How do you honestly feel about Lizzie and Tony?"

He took a large drink of his bourbon and looked down. "I'll get used to it."

"Jethro, what if it gets serious?"

"I thought it was serious."

"Serious as in Anthony DiNozzo turns into our son-in-law."

He laughed for a few minutes and could barely stop even though his sides were hurting. "Jenny, it won't happen. C'mon, Tony getting married. If Abby tells me she's stopped sleeping in a coffin, then I might believe DiNozzo could become our son-in-law."

"Leroy Jethro Gibbs now predicting the future..."

"I know what I know, Jen."

"No, you know what your gut tells you."

He rolled his eyes and finished off his bourbon. "But you love me."

"For some strange reason, I still do."

"It's the sawdust."

She laughed softly and picked her head up, staring into his eyes. "Oh really?"

"Some women find it attractive."

"Jethro, how many women have told you that?"

"Not many."

She smirked and leaned in, kissing him softly and touching his chin. "Well, I do find the sawdust alluring at times."

His eyes widened in surprise. Earlier, he had only run the shower and not actually taken a shower. He had washed his face and thrown cologne Jen had bought him for Father's Day. Technically, he still had the aroma of sawdust about him along with cologne. Jen kissed her husband a second time and allowed Jethro entrance to her mouth as her hand snaked down. His breath hitched when she paused at the zipper. She would be in a mood to torment him.

"Jenny," he whined as she toyed with the zipper.

"Yes?" she asked, placing light kisses on his neck and continuing to unzip and zip his slacks.

"Do you have to..." His question ended suddenly, and he settled into the cushions more. He couldn't think of what he'd done to deserve the special treatment from Jenny. At the moment, he simply didn't care. His wife continued taking care of him and left him completely speechless.

She stood up and refilled his glass of bourbon, running a hand through her hair in an attempt to work out the tangles caused by Jethro.

"Jen, that was...what was that for?"

"Your reward."

"For...?"

"You were on your best behavior."

He smiled to himself and drank his bourbon, staying on the sofa as she went upstairs to shower. Tomorrow as Monday. He hoped for an exciting case. He would be enjoying the peace until his mother-in-law arrived. He set his glass down and smirked to himself. He quickly jogged up the stairs and into the master bedroom to join Jenny in the shower. He felt lucky.