As she eased onto the workbench, the redhead crossed her slender legs and folded her arms over her chest. She huffed a sigh and began tapping her foot. "What are we doing?" Her tolerance had dwindled significantly in the last moments. She'd rather be in front of a fire than in a cold basement.

"I'm waiting. You're being impatient," he replied gruffly as he approached her, placing his hand on her knee firmly.

She glared defiantly, but the look was lost as her knee was assaulted. "Jethro!" she shrieked, punching him in the shoulder.

He smirked. "Want me to kiss it?"

"Bastard," she muttered under her breath. "You could tell me what this is about, Jethro."

"It's a surprise." He wasn't 100% certain what it was about although his gut was telling him otherwise. He dumped out the mason jar and took the bourbon out of its hiding place, filling the jar with the amber liquid. He removed a clean glass from the stairwell and filled it, offering the bourbon to his wife. She accepted with a glare as she examined her knee. If she had fingerprint bruises, he'd pay for it tomorrow. He rolled his eyes and wandered around the boat.

Jen looked up in surprise as she heard the front door open. The surprise was a visitor? She didn't know how she'd enjoy this considering she was clueless as to who would be coming down the steps in moments. Her eyes widened when she heard a familiar yelp. DiNozzo. Why were they meeting DiNozzo in the basement late at night?

Her husband smirked as he observed his wife. Her brows furrowed in puzzlement and lips pursed as her green eyes flickered with plausible situations. He looked up at the doorway and stared at his senior field agent. "DiNozzo," Gibbs acknowledged.

"Boss," Tony greeted before looking to the redhead. "Jenny."

She smiled at him. "Tony, what are we doing here?"

"Can we do this in the living room?"

"What are we doing?" Jenny's voice rose with irritation.

Jethro walked over to his wife, taking her hand. "He needs to talk to us, Jen."

Her eyes darted up to her husband's pale blue eyes. "Oh," she let out slowly, allowing Jethro to pull her up and lead her to the stairs.

"Where do you want to talk, Tony?"

"Living room?"

Gibbs nodded his head and let the younger man lead the way. For his other half, realization was occurring. He could tell by the hitch in her breathing she was about to squeal with delight and quickly squeeze her hand. She glared, stepping on the back of his heel on purpose. A sly grin crossed her features as she heard Jethro's muffled curse for her underhanded retaliation.

DiNozzo glanced over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow. "Everything okay, boss?" His reply came in the form of an intense glare. He cleared his throat and took a seat, watching as Gibbs and Jenny sat down on the couch.

The pair looked at him expectantly. Jenny stole a glimpse at her husband. He was utterly relaxed and waiting patiently for DiNozzo to speak.

Tony cleared his throat a second time. "I'd...well...I've been thinking about doing this for the last month or so...and uh I haven't exactly had the courage."

"Get it out," Gibbs urged.

"I need your permission," he blurted out.

"For?" Jenny implored, tightening her grip on her husband's hand.

"I want to ask Liz to marry me."

Jenny smiled softly at him. She had no qualms of giving him consent. DiNozzo reminded her of Jethro when he was younger. He was good for Lizzie, and she was good for him. She hadn't been doubtful of the relationship as Jethro had. "You have mine, Anthony," she answered.

Tony nodded his head, looking to Gibbs. "Do I have her father's?

Gibbs' knee was nudged, and he stopped staring at the carpet. He looked to Jenny, and the unspoken communication passed between them. His wife's eyes pleaded with him for allowance. He focused his attention on Tony. Decades ago, he had been in the same place...sitting in a chair across from Jenny's parents and wringing his hands with apprehension as he waited for an answer. After several moments of silence and gaining enjoyment of seeing Tony sweat, he nodded his head. "You have my permission to marry my daughter."

DiNozzo let out a long slow sigh of relief. He smiled and took a deep breath as he stood up to hug his future in-laws.

Jenny kissed his cheek and smiled proudly at him. "How long have you carried the ring?"

"Since December."

"When can I expect my excited phone call from my daughter?"

"Valentine's Day...or is that corny? Is it too corny?"

She shook her head. "No, Lizzie will love being proposed to on Valentine's Day," she assured, giving his hand a squeeze for good measure. Jenny looked at Jethro. "I'm sure he wants to talk to you." By the look on her husband's face, she knew he had more than a few thoughts churning in that head of his. She kissed him and took leave of the house.

Jethro motioned for DiNozzo to follow him down to the basement. He trotted down the stairs and to the workbench, pouring two fresh jars of bourbon. Tony followed and accepted the alcohol. The two were quiet as the bourbon was savored.

"Anthony," Gibbs said, breaking the silence. "That's my little girl. She'll always be my little girl," he paused, staring at him. "I'm the first man she loved. I won't stop you from loving her, but she'll be hard to let go. You won't understand until you have a daughter."

Silently, Tony nodded his head. He didn't understand how deep the love of a father ran, but he knew how deeply his love for Elizabeth Gibbs ran. "I love her. I want her in my life...for the rest of my life if she'll have me."

"Scares you senseless, doesn't it?"

He quickly nodded and took a drink of bourbon. "Definitely."

Laughter flooded through the basement. "It's normal," he said, refilling his jar of bourbon. "Got the ring?"

DiNozzo removed the box from his pocket and handed it over to Gibbs. "It's from Tiffany's, but I took it out of the box...didn't want anything to happen to the box," he explained further.

Gibbs slowly opened the box, taken aback by the simplicity of the engagement ring. He'd been expecting flashy and over the top since DiNozzo picked out the ring. However, his selection was elegant, uncomplicated, and was a perfect choice to adorn Elizabeth's finger. "You did good," he told as he closed the box and gave it back.

"Thank you." He took the ring and put it back into the safety of his pocket. He felt more confident with Gibbs' approval. He finished his drink and began shaking his head. "I thought getting your approval would be the hardest part. Now, it's asking her."

Gibbs smirked. "She'll know. You'll be nervous as hell and not acting right. She'll pick up on it. Just don't knock over a glass of wine like I did."

Tony couldn't imagine Gibbs being nervous or much less knocking over a glass of wine because of anxiety. He followed the older man over to the boat and sat down. His mason jar was refilled. "Whoa, boss."

He rolled his eyes. "Drink it. If I let you into this family, you'll start drinkin' bourbon."

The two sat quietly on the boat, drinking bourbon for several hours. DiNozzo learned the Gibbs' version of his proposal to Jenny. He was certain Jethro's better half told the story in more detail. After over an hour of storytelling and more than half a bottle drained, the pair said goodnight and parted ways. Soon, DiNozzo would be proposing to Elizabeth. Until then, he would be praying on a daily basis for her answer to be the favorable response.