Section 49
"Zuma, hush." Tony scooped the barking pup up as he headed for the door. "Ducky, come on in."
"Anthony, how are you handling things, my boy?"
"The best I can."
"And how are you, my fine fellow?" Ducky extended his hand for Zuma to sniff and then scratched behind his ears.
"Overexcited." Tony laughed. "He's been racing in and out every time the back door opens. Gibbs is out back he has the grill going and I've been working in the kitchen. He can't decide where he wants to be, can you, Zuma?" The pup barked and wiggled to be put down. Once his paws hit the floor he took off through the hall and kitchen. "I believe that Zuma offered to show you the way."
"Tony! Hurry up, McGee." Abby swatted him with her clutch and hurried ahead of him and he simply rolled his eyes at Tony behind her back. "I saw that, McGee."
"Hi, Abs."
"Where's my little Zuma?"
"Probably in the back yard with Gibbs. Nice to see you too, Abs." Tony said as she hurried off. "What do you have, McGee?"
"Abby insisted on bringing what she calls some dips and nibbles."
"Great. It'll give everyone something to start on while the steaks and everything else is cooking."
"Something smells good." McGee followed him into the kitchen placing his carrier on the table.
"I've got potatoes baking."
"I've baked potatoes and they don't smell like that."
"Oh, I did some plain and experimented a bit. I had a few different ideas I wanted to try. So, I made some traditional twice baked, some…"
"Traditional?" McGee interrupted.
"I removed the inners added some cheese, some bacon, some chives and then stuffed them back and layered cheese on top. Then I did a few I'm calling a la Tony."
"A la Tony?"
"I did a little southwestern style stir fry. Added the potato and voila."
"They smell great." McGee peeped in the oven. "Tony, what army is joining us?" He stared at the trays full of baked potatoes.
"They are great warmed up, McComic. It makes a balanced quick meal that can be frozen. Just reheat. Besides, I wanted everyone to be able to try the variety."
"What are the orange ones?"
"Oh. Twice baked sweet potatoes with a little butter, some honey and walnuts. I though Abby would like those."
"Are those the mushroom and onions that you made at the cabin?"
"Yes, but these will be better. I had a bit of time to marinate the mushrooms."
"Steak?" McGee asked mouthwatering.
"Porterhouse. Jethro is doing the honors on the grill."
"You guys are going all out."
"It's our first team dinner." Repeating Jethro's reasoning gave Tony that warm feeling again. "I even got the stuff to make a real salad. No iceberg lettuce." Tony added seeing McGee's look of confusion.
"Do you need help with anything?"
Tony continued mixing spices into a bowl. "I think it's all covered. Want to grab us each a beer? Jethro set up a washtub on the back porch to cool them." A tentative knock interrupted.
The two shared a glance. "Palmer." They chorused.
Tony shook his head. "He just can't seem to break the habit of knocking."
"Still nervous around Gibbs." McGee said leaving the kitchen. "I'll let him in."
Section 50
Tony leaned back on the bench contentedly. The steak had been cooked to perfection. Everyone had raved about his potatoes. Tony was a bit shocked that so many of them had been eaten and more had been claimed for leftovers. The spring evening was still cool but between the warmth of Jethro's stone grill and the matching fire pit on the patio, it was perfect to sit there listening to the conversation flow around him. He could feel Jethro's arm warm against his shoulder as he sat next to him. He cuddled Victoria against him letting her hold tight to his finger and to her lamb's ear.
"Still awake?" Jethro peered over at her.
"Just relaxing, aren't you, angel?"
"She's had a big night. So has Zuma." Tony smiled at the sleeping pup whose head was on Victoria's foot.
"He was a bit jealous." Gibbs smirked. "He didn't like sharing his mommy."
"I'm not his mommy." Tony protested. It was true Zuma had been unsettled, alright jealous, when Palmer arrived with his family. The pup had danced in from the yard and had barked at the new arrivals until hushed by Tony.
After McGee had left the Palmer family in, Tony dried his hands and sat down on the kitchen chair, Zuma sat quietly watching Breena hand Tony the pink blankets. Putting both paws on Tony's leg, he nosed at the blankets as they were peeled away revealing the small infant in pink ruffles. Victoria cooed as her world was exposed and Zuma yipped in shock.
"Hush, Zuma."
"It's okay," Breena said, "she loves Ducky's corgis. Aren't you a good boy?" Breena expertly scratched Zuma's ears. "When you get a bit older, you and Victoria can play. Would you like that?" In answer, Zuma took off to the back yard yipping for his personal door opener McGee to let him out again.
"She's so beautiful." Tony gently sat her on his knee. "Hi, sweetheart. I'm your godfather. I'm going to watch over you and mommy and daddy. You'll never have to worry or be afraid."
"Ahh." Jethro entered from the backyard carrying Zuma. "That's what you were carrying on about."
Deftly, Jethro exchanged Zuma for Victoria to Palmer's surprise. "She's lovely, Palmer."
"Thank-you, si… Gibbs."
"I thought you were manning the grill not stealing my god-daughter." Tony joked.
"Dad is overseeing McGee at the moment. Have you given her the package yet?"
"Oops. Forgot." Still holding Zuma, Tony made his way to the corner and came back with the rather large gift bag handing it to Breena
"Tony, you didn't have to buy her anything." Breena and Palmer protested.
"It's nothing, really. Hey," Tony bumped Jethro's shoulder playfully. "You're hogging my god-daughter."
"It's so cute and so soft." Breena squeezed the lamb.
"That's from Uncle Tony." Tony held Zuma up where Victoria could coo at him while Tony played with her feet.
"What a lovely color bear. It's just the right size, too." Breena handed it to Jimmy.
"That's from Uncle Jethro."
"Un..uncle..Jet..Jethro." Palmer stuttered.
"Yes, Uncle Jethro. If that's alright with you, Palmer." Jethro glanced at him and then at Victoria. "You don't plan to leave her with Tony without adult supervision."
"Hey." Tony slugged Jethro's arm. "I'm an adult."
"How many diapers have you changed?"
"Uh. I'm an adult."
"Oh, look. It looks just like you." Breena lifted the stuff dog and held it up in front of Zuma who drew back in shock and gave a yelp.
Caught off balance, Tony staggered as Zuma struggled wildly in his arms. "Easy, Zuma. It's ok, just a toy." Sitting down, Tony held the pup tightly crooning to him when the pup whined.
Breena quickly put the pup back in the bag. "Is he okay?"
"He's fine." Tony reassured her. "He just got a bit scared. The pup is from Great-Uncle Jackson. Just like you were from Jackson." He held Zuma up speaking softly.
"It's good it's not the other way around." Palmer laughed. "The corgis are enough to handle right now."
Breena held up the dresses. "Tony, these are gorgeous. Where will she wear them?" She laughed. "She hasn't received an invitation to any royal cotillions. Don't you think they are a bit fancy?"
"A princess deserves gowns fit for a princess. She can wear them to visit her favorite uncles, can't you, Victoria?" Jethro pressed a small kiss on her hand. As they heard a loud discussion from outside, Jethro grimaced and turned to Tony. "I better get out there before dad forces McGee to mutiny. Shall we swap?"
"Here let me." Breena scooped up her daughter. "It's almost feeding time."
"Use the living room." Gibbs pointed. "Beer, Palmer?"
"S..sure."
Tony smiled proudly as Jimmy followed Jethro out. He whispered to Zuma, "That's our family. I think we're pretty lucky, don't you?"
Section 51
"Gibbs." Abby's voice brought the two men back to the present. She had pulled her chair up next to the bench. "Don't get me wrong. It's been a great evening, but I know there's a reason why we're here."
Jethro sighed, hating to end the pleasant evening on a sour note. "We've got some more information that McGee found. I wanted to bring everyone together, share the information and try to talk it out."
"Do you want me to leave?" Breena asked.
"It never hurts to have another person around and you're part of the family now. I think I can speak for Tony as well." Jethro looked at Tony who nodded.
"Hey, Tony. Look, a real campfire." McGee joked as the others pulled their chairs into a closer circle.
"To bad we don't have real marshmallows."
"Ooo. Ooo." Abby leapt to her feet and took off around the house towards her car.
"Five dollars says she has marshmallows." Tony offered.
"That's a sucker bet." McGee countered. "Five dollars she has the makings for smores."
"Five dollars, real marshmallows, chocolate and graham cracker for smores, and she has the skewers." Jethro interjected.
"Done." Tony and McGee accepted as Abby came bouncing back.
"Here we go." Pulling a bag of marshmallows out, she handed them to Tony. Next came chocolate bars and graham crackers that she handed to McGee.
The two men held their breath as she dug back into the bag and pulled out metal skewers. Grumbling, McGee reach into his pocket and pulled out a five-dollar bill which he passed to Gibbs while Tony simply said he'd pay him later.
"Why are you paying Gibbs?"
"He said you'd have the smores ingredients and skewers."
"Of course, he did. He called and asked me to pick them up."
"Cheater." Tony elbowed his husband in the side.
"Hey. You never asked if I knew before you bet."
"Shame on you, Gibbs. And shame on you, McGee for betting against me."
"Tony bet against you, too."
"Tony has had a really bad week." Abby excused him and Tony smirked.
While marshmallows roasted, McGee and the Gibbs men exchanged looks. Finally cuddling his sleeping goddaughter for comfort, Tony broke the silence. "The past six days… wow, only six days… huh… Thank-you, Jethro." The group laughed as Gibbs managed a left-handed hand-smack. "Yeah, Yeah. What I was going to say before the spousal abuse, there has been so much happen. Some good," Tony glanced at this husband, "some not so good. Jethro thought it would be a good idea to bring everyone up to date. So, uh, first off, for those who don't already know. I'm not a DiNozzo. Which is grounds for applause, but I'm also not a Paddington. McSleuth found a picture of my… Mrs. DiNozzo right before my birth and she wasn't pregnant. The only truth surrounding my birth is that I was born in Italy."
Jethro felt Tony's tenseness. He knew Tony was waiting for rejection, Jethro grit his teeth, he really wanted one shot at Senior. Hoping to relieve some of the anxiety, Jethro laid his hand on Tony's shoulder.
"My dear boy," Ducky said sadly. "You have had a terrible week, Anthony. How are you coping?"
"I've got all of you, really that's all I really have had." Tony glanced down at Victoria missing the angry/sad looks on his behalf.
"Are there any leads?" Ducky moved the conversation forward.
McGee spoke up. "I was able to trace the lawyer Vincente Rossi to the Moretti law firm in Palermo, Italy."
"Palermo? Where have I heard that?" Ducky took a minute to think. "Yes, I remember. It was 1972 June… no, May. It was a Friday I believe. I was in Europe on assignment at the time. I believe it was a Douglas DC 8 left Rome for Palermo. It went down on Mount Longa. Killed everyone on board. The fabulous director Franco Indovina was lost on that flight. Such a tragedy."
"Ducky, you never cease to amaze me." Tony toasted the older man.
"The DiNozzos went to Rome as Senior's cousin and his family were on the plane." Jethro explained.
"Is it possible you belong to one of the cousins?"
"No. When I did the genetic testing, there is no familial relationship between Tony and the DiNozzo family." Abby said sadly.
Palmer leaned forward. "Is it possible that your birth parents were on the flight?"
Tony looked at Jethro. "I don't know."
"This mysterious benefactor who sent the dossiers on Benoit and DiNozzo uses a law firm in Palermo. It would make sense if they lived in Palermo. McGee, can you get ahold of the passenger list and check for Palermo residents?"
"On it, boss."
"Jethro, I was in Europe at the time. Some of my contacts may be able to assist Timothy." Ducky offered.
"Good job, Palmer." Jethro thanked the young man and Tony gave him a thumb's up.
"Tony, was your mother…uh, Mrs. DiNozzo ever hospitalized?"
"She was after a car crash. Why, Abbs?"
"If I can get ahold of that record, I may be able to determine if you are related to the Paddington's." Abby explained.
"Why don't you put it in that big computer?" Jackson asked. "You know the one on TV that tells where a person was born?"
"Oh! Genetic profiling? I could totally do that, Grandpa Gibbs." Abby said enthusiastically.
"How long?" Gibbs asked.
"Couple weeks."
Gibbs looked at Tony before confirming the test. "Let's do it."
"Would Senior help us out?" Breena asked.
"Doubtful." Tony shook his head. "I think he'll be too busy ducking and covering."
"Fornell was here this morning. Benoit was killed last night with ten agents during a prison move. Senior was also attacked and is currently being kept unconscious."
"Besides Senior would want something in return. I won't let him use this to make a deal." Tony said firmly.
"Besides McGee has explored the connections. Neither Senior or Benoit is involved in Tony's citizenship issues." Jethro explained.
"That's not good. So whoever is after Tony is still whoever? A whoever that's still out there?" Abby said fearfully.
"Jethro, is there any word on the shooters from last night?" Ducky asked changing the subject.
"When Fornell stopped by this morning he had solved the case. On a positive note, last night's drive by shooting is not related to Tony's birth and immigration issues. It appears a few of the neighbors object to having a same sex couple living here."
"How are you and Anthony going to handle the situation?"
Jethro looked at Tony who gave a small nod. "Actually, the lawyer who brought the dossiers also brought some other paperwork. It seems Tony's benefactor purchased a piece of land near NCIS and had some house plans drafted; so we will be moving." Tony swore Abby's squeal went three times higher than a dog could hear comfortably.
The announcement broke up the campfire as the group clamored to see the plans and they drifted inside and around the kitchen table. Late into the night, they laughed, made suggestions and teased the two men about their new home. Tony smiled to himself as he and Zuma lay in Jethro's arms after they left. It had been a real family evening. Hopefully, it was the first of many to come.