"'ibbs, me no see," Mini-Ziva protested loudly as Gibbs covered her eyes with his hand as soon as he had opened the backdoor.

"That's the plan, Ziv."

The little girl let out a deep sigh, muttering something in Hebrew under her breath.

"I think it's better I didn't understand that, right?" He smirked and checked if the others finally made it outside, too. "You ready to see your surprise, Ziv?"

"YES!"

Gibbs laughed, "Don't huff, squirt."

"Pleeasseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee."

"Alright," he slowly removed his hand from her eyes, while gently congratulating her again. "Happy Birthday, Ziva."

Mini-Ziva stared in awe at the construction in front of her.

"Ziv?"

The little girl blinked and turned her head to him, a wide smile forming on her lips.

"Mine?"

"Ya betcha." He placed a gentle kiss on her cheek as she looked back at her new swing set.

"Lemme down." Ziva started to wriggle, causing Gibbs to grin.

"Don't I get a 'thank you, 'ibbs' first?"

The little girl grinned broadly at him, "T'ank ya." She gave him an innocent look, "Me play now?"

Tony, McGee and Palmer laughed. They had helped Gibbs to build up the construction and some other outdoor things, shortly before their official lunch break. Now, seeing Ziva's reaction made all of their work worth even more.

Gibbs set Ziva back on her own feet, "Want me to push you, Ziv?"

The little girl shook her head and took his hand instead, "You swing, too!"

"Squirt, I don't..."

"Didn't you made sure it was extra strong to hold adults too?" Abby interrupted cheekily as Mini-Ziva led the team leader over to a swing.

Gibbs smirked and wound the metal chains of the swing around the beam, making it more adult size before he sat down, "I think Abby wants to swing too."

Mini-Ziva, already having climbed on a swing which hung in the middle of the construction, looked at the goth, "You too!"

All too happily Abby agreed and took the last swing. "Si El Mini-Jefe"

"Abs, don't say that. She might take you serious." Gibbs sat back and watched 'his' two girls swing on the swing set, which he had build at night in his basement, for the last few days.

In the meantime Ducky had admired the other constructions in Gibbs' backyard. He was sure that those weren't there on his last visit, which had been the day before.

In the far corner of the yard he could see something looking oddly familiar like a sandbox. And from the highest tree's strongest limp hung a rope ladder. One end of it was safely attached to the ground while the other end, which was wound around the limp was blocked by a wooden construction. Certainly to hinder any attempt to climb on the tree itself. And the gym mats underneath the ladder looked suspiciously like the old ones from the NCIS gym.

"Jethro, you really transformed your backyard into an adventure park."

Gibbs smirked and looked at his work, "If it keeps her from climbing around the house and on my furniture... I'm all for it." The statement caused the team to laugh.

"Why no slide?" Palmer blurted out what had been bothering him since they had build up the swing set.

Mini-Ziva looked questionably at Gibbs. She would have liked a slide.

"There must still be a motive to go to the park. Change of scenery. Other children."

The others quickly caught Gibbs' line of thought. The park was his way of gently forcing Ziva to interact and socialize more with other children.

Though, Mini-Ziva scrunched her nose up. She still didn't liked to meet 'other children'. At least not if they were completely new to her. She never could be sure if they were friendly or not.

"You know Gibbs... A tire as swing would be awesome, too!"

"It's in the basement," deadpanned the team leader, slightly smirking.

"Why didn't have you hung it up?"

"Everything in time. It will be there on Saturday."

Abby smiled. "I call dibs then!"

Meanwhile Tony, McGee and Palmer had went over to the rope ladder.

"Okay, let's see who manages to get to the top, climb around on the other side of the ladder and gets back down the fastest," Tony decided.

McGee and Palmer shot each other amused glances but went for it, too.

"No jumping down from the top," Jimmy added.

"Why? Are you afraid to jump?"

"No Tony, but it's fairer if you have to climb up AND down."

"If you say so..."

"I'll got the stop watch," chirped McGee, readying his mobile phone for their competition.

"I'll go first." decided the teen and glared at Tim, "Don't stop too late."

The agent in question rolled his eyes and gave the phone to Palmer. "Happy now, Tony?"

"Yep." He grinned widely.

"Okay. On 3." Palmer started to count. "1-2-3!"

"'ibbs?"

"Yeah?"

Mini-Ziva, having watched the boys since she had heard them bickering behind her, pointed at them, "What they do?"

"They're being boys, Ziv." Gibbs smirked.

"Looks like they're competing."

"That they are, my dear."

Gibbs frowned at seeing his old friend handle the video camera like he had done nothing else before, "Duck, when did you learned how to use such a thing?"

"Not everyone has your aversion against technology."

The older ME's reply made the girls laugh and Gibbs' frown deepen. "Just because I don't exactly love it, doesn't mean I can't handle it. Not that you need to know that..." He smirked to himself.

"Looks like Palmer won." McGee grinned.

"No way!" Tony exclaimed loudly. Not happy at all about it.

"Way. He beat you with 75 milliseconds."

The young M.E. smiled widely. He had won against a younger man AND an agent.

"You just stopped too soon." Tony argued.

"Didn't and even if I had," McGee smiled smugly, "Those 75 milliseconds wouldn't have made a difference."

"Give it up, DiNozzo," Gibbs replied as he stepped with Ziva and the others to them. The little girl being in his arms.

The teen huffed but then grinned and shook Palmer's hand. "Congratz, but I want a revenge!"

"Sure."

"But not now, " Gibbs pointed to his garage, "Make yourself useful and get the garden furniture out. I'll get the grill ready. Abs..."

"Getting the food ready! "

"You wanna help them, too, Ziv?"

The little girl looked at him and then longingly at the rope ladder.

"Or you could just go play," Gibbs smiled at her, receiving a toothy one in return.

"Me play!"

With an amused smirk he set her on the ground and watched how she started to climb around the wide rope ladder.

"Annndddddddddd you lost against a girl, Palmer."

"So did you."

"Don't have a problem with that," Tony grinned.

"Me neither."

Mini-Ziva smiled widely. When Tony and Jimmy had come back to the rope ladder to pass the time before dinner and to play with her, she had been extremely happy. And now she even had climbed the rope faster than them!

(Living room)

Dinner had past quickly and fairly uneventful, if you ignore the chaos they had made with grilling and eating some s'mores. The little girl's enthusiasm for the sweet treats had only been able to be stopped by Gibbs with the promise of more s'mores in the near future.

Ducky had taken one of Ziva's new fairytale books and was now reading stories to her and Abby. Both of them sitting or in Mini-Ziva's case laying on either side of him on the couch.

Gibbs dozed in the arm chair. It was already close to midnight. Tony had retired to his room an hour before, at the same time as McGee and Palmer said goodbye and made their way home. Different from Gibbs, they had to work the next day.

While Ducky and Abby had to work too, they would be spending the night at Gibbs' house.

The only reason for Ziva to be still awake, was that Gibbs had made sure that she was ready for bed and could be taken there at any time, without urging her to change clothes first.

Though, as the little girl started to yawn without much of a pause in between, Gibbs decided to call it a night.

"Alright," he quietly got the attention of the others, "Time for bed."

Confused, Abby stretched herself and then looked at the clock, "Huh..."

"Yeah," Gibbs smirked knowingly, "Way past bedtime." Ducky too nodded in agreement and gently closed the book, careful not to stir the half asleep girl next to him. If she stayed this way they may would be able to tug her in without her putting up a fight.

Abby smiled, "But dad..." she playfully whined.

The team leader only shook his head and motioned to the stairs.

"'tay," Abby mimicked Mini-Ziva and stood up after wishing Ducky a good night.

"Should I take her?" She asked in direction of their little companion.

Gibbs thought for a few moments. The way Mini-Ziva acted uninterested, she wouldn't notice if it was Abby and not him who tugged her in tonight.

He nodded once to Abby, who swiftly but carefully lifted Ziva into her arms.

"Good night you two," he smiled at them, planting a kiss on the top of their hair, before watching them disappear upstairs.

"I could use a goodnight drink."

"Now, Duck?"

"Don't tell me you're too tired, Jethro."

Gibbs scoffed as he returned with a bottle of bourbon and two glasses, "I'm not the one needing to get up early. Or the one who wants to talk." He added in afterthought.

"We don't need to talk..." Ducky smiled.

The team leader smirked in return. Ducky watched as the team leader poured them both a healthy amount of bourbon before seating himself and taking the small glass.

"There is something ticking in the back of your mind. Something you are afraid to say, possibly even to show," Ducky began, prompting Gibbs to talk.

"Duck..."

"It is bringing memories, maybe even unwelcome ones, back to your mind. Memories about Shannon and Kelly. She wouldn't be much younger than our Ziva, would she?"

"Not unwelcome," muttered Gibbs, taking a healthy drink of his bourbon. "Just forgot how attached one can become..."

"And now you're wondering what it will feel like to live without them?"

Gibbs didn't answered but just took another sip of his drink.

At the same moment, Ducky fixed a point behind the arm chair, causing Gibbs to turn around in it.

"Ziv? Why aren't you sleeping."

The little girl hugged her new teddy bear closer to her. She didn't gave him an answer but slowly walked over to him.

"C'mere." He gently put her on his lap. "Bad dream?"

Mini-Ziva shook her head, carefully eying Ducky. She wasn't sure if she could voice her reason out loud, at least in the way she liked to say it. After all she learned to be polite... most of the times.

"You don't want to tell us?" Gibbs questioned softly.

The little girl sighed, "Abby louwd."

"How so?"

"She talkz!"

"She's not sleeping?"

"She sleepz an' talkz!"

The men chuckled at this, causing Ziva to frown. "T'at no funny!"

Gibbs gently squeezed her, "How about you stay with us for a little while and I'll make you a hot chocolate?" He knew that she would refuse to sleep alone in his room. Something about the nightly shadows in his room made her not sleep well. At least not if he wasn't in the room, too.

"Wif' 'mallows?" Mini-Ziva asked hopefully, grinning widely when Gibbs nodded.

One cup of chocolate milk and a few minutes later, Ducky looked at the now once again sleeping Ziva.

"She does that a lot..." explained Gibbs as he followed his friends eyes to where his shrunken agent had curled up against him. "Coming to me in the middle of the night and then falling asleep next to me, sleeping through the rest of the night."

Ducky looked amused, "You don't move her back."

Gibbs smirked at the statement, "I know I should make her sleep in her own bed, Duck..."

"I can't see any ill effects on this. She's seeking comfort and obviously trusts you on such a level, which allows her to come to you whenever she feels the need to."

"I suppose... still, she been rarely sleeping through the night for the past few days..."

"Do you know why?"

"She had such nights once or twice a week, but since her last preschool day... it's nearly a daily occurrence." He sighed.

"She's missing her home..."

Gibbs huffed, "Of course she does. Which four year old wouldn't? Foreign country, strange language and people, it's been a miracle that she hasn't shut herself off... "

Ducky nodded. "Well if I do say so myself, she's very interactive, granted she doesn't like talking to strangers, but she gets on with others."

Gibbs smiled slightly and absentmindedly stroked Ziva's hair. The little girl unconsciously leaned into his touch, while Ducky watched his friend's movements closely.

"You don't want her to change back."

The agent in question didn't look at Ducky for a while until the old doctor spoke up.

"Jethro?"

"A year ago, I would have said yes, without hesitation. But now.. " He looked at his friend, "She's been through a lot these past few years, especially in the last months. Now... She doesn't have a restrictive or controlling factor in her life, anymore. Making her become something that I'll bet she never wanted to be. She can built up her own life, without someone given her orders, which most likely would throw everything she had archived to this point, out. It wouldn't be fair to rob her of this chance, Duck."

Ducky sighed tiredly, "Well, you're right with this, but Jethro, there's nothing wrong with enjoying the current situation. Don't feel guilty about it."

Gibbs nodded. '' I know, Duck. It doesn't stop me feeling guilty though."

Ducky was about to reply when Mini-Ziva muttered in her sleep and moved suddenly, causing Gibbs to almost loose the last drop of bourbon in his glass. The two men shared a look and Gibbs sighed deeply.

"I think it's time to call it a night, Duck."

The older man nodded, a smile on his face, "You wouldn't want our young Ziva to wake up and make the night to the day. For both of you."

Gibbs smirked and carefully stood, cradling the sleeping child. "Thanks Duck, I'll see you in six hours."

"Good night, Jethro."

~ Fin ~