The sweltering heat inside the cabin woke Jack. It was far too early for it to be so hot and the lone fan in the center of the room did nothing to provide any relief. Jack wanted to push away the heat source that was primarily responsible for waking her, but, since that was Gibbs, she settled for kicking off the thin sheet that covered them.

"Hey! Watch it!" grumbled Gibbs.

"You're awake," Jack said through a yawn.

"Well, yeah, Jack, it's hotter'n hell in here."

"No air flow."

Groaning, Gibbs rolled out of bed. He stumbled to the door and wrenched it open, then returned to the bed to lift Jack into his arms. As he carried her out of the cabin, Jack made a garbled noise of protest to which Gibbs responded, "It's cooler outside."

Jack pulled her face away from his shoulder. "What about Faith?"

"Still asleep."

"Ugh!" Jack dropped her head back to his shoulder. "Lucky kid."

They had reached the camping chairs that had been set up on one side of the fire pit, so Gibbs deftly sidestepped between two of them and sat down. He chose to sit in Jack's chair because the arms made it easier to balance Jack on his lap. Once they were comfortable, Gibbs kissed Jack's temple. "Get some sleep."

NCIS NCIS NCIS

When Jack woke up the second time, Faith was sitting in Gibbs' chair happily eating a blueberry muffin. She had been quietly chatting with Gibbs but stopped mid-sentence when she became aware that Jack was awake. With an energy level that could only be attained by someone who got a full night's sleep, Faith smiled at Jack and cheerfully said, "Hi, Mom."

"Hmm," Jack hummed sleepily as she nestled deeper into Gibbs' embrace. "Morning, baby girl. How'd you sleep?"

"Okay. It was really hot. Gibbs said it's gonna be hot all day, so I think we should go swimming."

"Good idea."

"That's what Gibbs said. He also said that after lunch we can go to a fair and a dance."

Jack tilted her head back to look up at Gibbs, but, with her cheek pressed against the worn cotton of his T-shirt, she was unable to read his expression. She jabbed a finger in the ribs. "Is that right?"

"Yeah. Little town nearby is havin' their annual street fair and street dance. Thought we could check it out."

"Sounds like I'm gonna need my energy to keep up with everything you two have planned. What's for breakfast?"

NCIS NCIS NCIS

A blueberry muffin, two cups of coffee, and, at lunchtime, a sandwich, got Jack through several hours of swimming in the lake and walking around the street fair. However, by the time the street fair was winding down and the street dance was gearing up, Jack was starving. She suggested they drop their purchases off at the truck, then find somewhere to eat before heading to the dance. Since they happened to be passing in front of the local diner, Gibbs offered to take everything to the truck while Jack and Faith went inside to get a table. Without waiting for them to agree, he gathered the bags holding the goat's milk soap, raw honey, homemade strawberry jam, and other items they'd acquired from Jack and the caricature drawing of the three of them surrounded by cartoon hearts from Faith.

"Careful with that," Jack cautioned him. "I want to have that framed."

Gibbs smirked and rolled his eyes. "Yes, dear."

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Gibbs returned to the diner to find that Jack and Faith had managed to secure a table and a waitress was already collecting their menus. After the waitress left, Gibbs slid into the booth next to Jack. On the table in front of him were a glass of water and a cup of coffee. He moved the water off to one side and picked up the coffee. "What am I having?" he asked before taking a drink.

"Coffee," Faith answered matter-of-factly.

"Ha ha. I meant for dinner. What am I having for dinner?"

"Oh. A cheeseburger."

"It was the closest thing they had to a steak," added Jack.

"You have to try it or you can't have anything else."

The earnest declaration amused Jack and Gibbs. They tried, and failed, to conceal their laughter. Jack's shoulders shook with the effort of staying quiet until she lost control and let out a loud snort. Gibbs, on the other hand, was able to remain silent, but was unable to hide the twitching muscle in his jaw.

Outraged by what she perceived as them mocking her, Faith narrowed her eyes at the snickering adults. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Jack assured her. "You're just adorable."

Gibbs bumped his shoulder against Jack's and, when she looked up at him, said, "She sounds just like you."

With a coy grin, Jack fluttered her eyelashes and did a little shimmy. "I take that as a compliment."

"Was one."

"Can you stop making goo-goo eyes at each other?"

"I don't make goo-goo eyes," grumbled Gibbs, his voice dripping with disdain.

"Yes, you do," chorused Jack and Faith.

Any further teasing was cut off by the arrival of their dinner. They calmly enjoyed their burgers until the music for the street dance started. As the first few notes drifted into the diner, Faith began shoveling food into her mouth.

"Whoa, Little Doc, slow down."

"But, Gibbs, the dance is starting."

"We got plenty of time."

Jack could see that Faith wanted to disagree. She held up a single finger as a warning. "No. Slow down. We'll go to the dance after we have all finished eating."

"Okay," mumbled Faith. Suddenly, she perked up. "Gibbs, can we show Mom how we danced at my school?"

"Sure. Then she can show you how to dance without standing on my feet."

"Wouldn't count on it."

"That's okay, you can stand on Gibbs' feet too. Right, Gibbs?"

Gibbs nodded absently as he tried to recall how much aspirin was left in the stash he kept in his go bag.

"Might be more like stepping than standing."

"Not sure my toes can tell the difference."

"Are you saying you don't want to dance with me?"

"No. Just wishing I'd worn my steel toe boots."

NCIS NCIS NCIS

At the street dance, Gibbs was pleasantly surprised to learn that Jack was a much better dancer than she'd implied. They danced through several songs without her stepping on his feet even once before it started to rain. Within minutes, everyone was drenched and the band announced they were packing up for the night.

Through a series of furtive glances and eyebrow twitches, Gibbs and Jack made the decision to make a run for the truck rather than wait out the storm in the diner. As Gibbs ran alongside Jack and Faith, his surprise shifted to gratitude that he was able to easily keep pace with them since his feet hadn't been battered by a clumsy dance partner.

When they reached the shelter of the truck, they were soaking wet. "At least the rain'll break the heat," Jack said, twisting her hair to wring out the excess water. "Maybe the cabin will cool down enough that we can get some decent sleep tonight."

"Hope so. We'll drown if we try to sleep outside."