Chapter 14- Bedtime Shenanigans
By nine o'clock that evening, Tony and Ziva were nowhere near ready to go to bed. Both had been bathed and showed and were in their new summer pyjamas sitting on the couch watching a Disney movie on the television. As the credits rolled signalling the end of the movie, Gibbs stood up expecting the two children to follow him.
"But Daddy, I'm not tired," whined Ziva when Gibbs informed them it was bedtime.
"Ziva, it's an hour past your bedtime already," reasoned Gibbs. "Now upstairs please," he said firmly.
"If Ziva stayed up an hour past her bedtime then I should be allowed to stay up until ten o'clock," said Tony snuggling back into Jenny on the couch ready for round two of television watching.
"I wouldn't count on that logic," said Jenny putting her arm around him.
"Neither would I," responded Gibbs. "Now we've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow and you both need to get some sleep otherwise you'll be too tired to enjoy it. So, I suggest you both get your little butts upstairs and into bed before I get to three."
He started counting,
"One,"
"But Daddy," whined Ziva again bouncing on her feet. "I'm not tired!"
"Yeah Dad, me neither," complained Tony.
"Two," said Gibbs.
"Go on Tony," said Jenny as she pushed him up from the sofa. "You too Ziva. I don't think you really want to be sitting in a car for three hours tomorrow if Daddy gets to three," she warned.
"Ooh, it's not fair," grumbled Ziva and she and Tony reluctantly turned to head up the stairs.
"Three!" said Gibbs and he began to chase them towards the stairs.
Jenny laughed as the two children squealed, running out of Gibbs reach.
"Ok, teeth brushed and I'll be there in a minute," he called as he stopped on the bottom step and watched them head on up. Turning back to Jenny, he asked, "Coffee?"
"Sounds good," she said yawning and stretching as she stood up from the couch.
"I'll get it," he said as she began to walk towards the kitchen.
"Race ya," she said playfully and scurried ahead as Gibbs increased his pace.
Grabbing her around the waist before she could reach the bench, he swung her around so that he touched the bench first.
"Beat ya," he said softly into her ear as his hands made their way up her back and began to tangle in her hair. "So what do I get for winning?"
"This," she replied, and leaned in to kiss him teasingly, nibbling at his top lip, while her hands made a southward journey of their own.
"Jen!" he moaned as she rubbed her palm against the zipper of his jeans. "I've got children to put to bed."
"I'm just giving you a preview of what to expect," she said seductively, kissing down his chin and onto his neck stopping only when her mouth met the fabric of his shirt.
Taking her hand and placing it firmly by her side he said, "On second thoughts, you can make the coffee. You obviously need to keep your hands busy."
"Oh they were busy, they were having a lovely time," she said smirking at him.
"Coffee!" he said gruffly turning her towards the coffee machine. "I'll be back in a minute," he added, heading out the kitchen.
As Gibbs reached the upstairs landing he could hear giggling and squealing coming from the bathroom. As he entered the room, he saw Tony and Ziva engaging in a toothbrush flicking war.
"Hey," said Gibbs coming towards them. "Enough of that. I hope you have both cleaned your teeth?"
"I have," said Tony smugly, grinning widely so as to show off his sparkling teeth.
"Good boy," praised Gibbs. "Go get into bed and I'll be there soon."
As Tony bounced out the bathroom Gibbs turned to Ziva.
"And what about you, young lady? Why haven't you cleaned your teeth?" he asked sternly.
"I was just about to, when Tony started flicking me with his wet toothbrush," she said innocently.
"Hmmm, Ok then," he said looking down at her. "Well I want them clean and you in bed by the time I've said goodnight to Tony, alright?"
"But Daddy, I'm not tired," she complained again. "Can't I stay up with you and Jenny?"
"Pumpkin, we have a big day tomorrow. Lots of travelling and I'm sure you'll want to play for a bit when we arrive," he said, taking her hair out of its ponytail and brushing through the curls with his fingers. "You're not going to feel like doing any of that if you're tired and grumpy."
"Yes I will, because I won't be grumpy," she argued.
"But I will be!" he said kissing the top of her head. "Now hurry up, you've got about two minutes." And leaving no room for arguments, he left the bathroom to say goodnight to Tony.
Finding Tony sitting on his bed, Gibbs said, "Ok Bud, in ya hop."
"Why can't I stay up a bit longer?" he began, not moving to get into bed. "Ziva got to stay up a whole hour passed her bedtime."
"That's because we were watching a movie," answered Gibbs patting Tony's back to get him to stand up so that he could pull back the covers. "It's the same when you get to stay up if the movie goes longer than your bedtime."
"But I'm not tired, honestly," he pleaded giving Gibbs his best puppy-dog look.
"That's only because you're excited about tomorrow," reasoned Gibbs. "How about we play a CD while you go to sleep? We can put on one of your audio books from the library."
When Tony didn't answer, Gibbs patted the bed. "Come on, in you get."
"Oh," complained Tony as he reluctantly got into bed. "It's not fair."
"Goodnight Tony," said Gibbs, choosing not to respond any further with the argument.
As Tony lay down, Gibbs said, "Cover or just the sheet?"
"Cover," said Tony sulkily.
Pulling the cover over him, Gibbs leant down and kissed him on the forehead.
"Night Bud," he said.
Turning to the CDs he asked, "Do you want Harry Potter or the Magic Tree House?"
"Harry Potter," answered Tony.
After Gibbs had put in the relevant CD and turned it on, he waited for it to start. Once the narrator's voice could be heard, he stroked Tony's head and said again, "Goodnight Son, sleep well."
"Night Dad," said Tony sighing, resigning himself to the fact that is was bedtime.
As Gibbs passed the bathroom, he noticed it was empty and so went straight to Ziva's room. On entering however, he couldn't see the little girl anywhere. Sighing with frustration, he headed back to his own room and looked inside. She wasn't there either. Figuring she must be downstairs, he jogged down them two at a time and, peering around the living room and not finding her there, went into the kitchen.
Jenny was in there breaking up some chocolate and putting it onto a plate for them to have while they watched TV.
"Have you seen Ziva?" he asked as he passed her to look into the laundry.
"No," she answered surprised. "Why, have you lost her?" she added laughing slightly.
"She was brushing her teeth when I went to say goodnight to Tony and then, I couldn't find her," he answered.
"Well she has to be somewhere," replied Jenny logically. "Come on, I'll help ya look," she said, grabbing his arm and leading him back into the living room.
"You look down here and I'll go back upstairs," said Gibbs making his way up again.
As Jenny turned to look behind the sofa, she heard a faint shuffling noise behind her. Turning, she spotted the cupboard under the stairs. Smiling to herself, she walked towards it and pulled the door open. Sitting on the floor, with the light on and reading a book, was Ziva.
"What do you think you're doing young lady?" said Jenny crossly, taking Ziva's arm and gently pulling her from the cupboard.
"I've got her Jethro," she called up the stairs so that Gibbs would stop looking for her. Leading Ziva towards the staircase, she looked down at her again and said sternly, "Well?"
"I was pretending to be Harry Potter," said Ziva, holding up the book she was reading. "He sleeps under the stairs and I wanted to know what it would be like."
"You know you are supposed to be in bed. Daddy is upstairs looking for you," Jenny continued.
As she spoke, Gibbs came down the stairs two at a time and stopped in front of Ziva. He didn't look happy.
"What did I tell you to do?" he asked crossly.
"Brush my teeth," she answered quietly looking down.
"And?" he added.
"Get into bed," she said even more quietly.
"Exactly," he said.
"Are you going to put me in time out?" she asked hopefully. "I think I need one. I'll go sit in the kitchen and you can start the timer," she offered about to head in that direction.
"Nope," he said taking her arm. "You are going to go upstairs and get into bed now!" and he emphasised the last word with a firm smack to her bottom.
"Ow Daddy!" she exclaimed rubbing out the sting.
"Hurry up, or you'll get another one," he said sternly. "I want you in bed by the time I get up there, or you'll be over my knee. Got it?"
"I'm going, I'm going," she yelped as she scampered up the stairs.
He turned to Jenny, when Ziva had disappeared down the hall.
"Where was she?" he asked.
"In the stair cupboard, pretending to be Harry Potter," she said grinning.
"She's a terror when she wants to be. She wanted to stay up and I told her no," he said shaking his head in frustration.
"I like the timeout ploy," added Jenny laughing. "First time she's ever been willing to have one of those. I guess she figured she'd get to stay up longer."
"Yeah, I don't think she liked the alternative," he commented, also laughing. "Alright, I'll be back in a minute," he said as he turned to head back upstairs for the third time that evening.
Five minutes later when he joined Jenny on the sofa, he smiled and said, "She's finally in bed!"
"She's just excited about tomorrow," said Jenny handing him his coffee.
"Yeah, I know," he said taking a sip. "It's just that three hours in the car with two grumpy children I don't need," he added.
Spotting the plate of chocolate he said, "Where did you find that?"
"In my room when I was packing for tomorrow," she answered taking a piece and popping it into her mouth.
"You keep chocolate in your bedroom?" he asked incredulously.
"Of course," she replied. "You never know when a chocolate craving is going to hit and it too far to go all the way downstairs." She grinned as the chocolate began to melt in her mouth.
"Mmhmm," she sighed as it slid down her throat.
Picking up a second piece she popped it in Gibbs' mouth.
As he bit down she said, "Jethro, you can't just chew into it. You have to let it melt gently and suck with your tongue, moving it sensually around your mouth until it slowly slides down your throat."
Seeing the smouldering look in his eyes as she finished her description, she added grinning, "They say it's as good as having sex."
"I'm not surprised if that's the way you eat it," he said. He leaned in to kiss her gently, his hands making their way over her shoulders and down her back. Just as he reached the flare of her hips, he heard a scampering of tiny footsteps upstairs.
Pulling away he said, "You've got to be kidding me!"
"I'll go," said Jenny placing her hand on his leg. "You're too frustrated right now," she added grinning.
"Damn straight I am!" he said running his hands through his hair and taking another piece of chocolate as a distraction.
As Jenny made her way upstairs, she caught sight of a little figure running out of Gibbs' room. She watched as Ziva high-tailed it into her own room and by the time Jenny got there, she was shimmying under the covers.
Walking towards the bed, Jenny wasn't fooled for an instant. She pulled the covers back to see Ziva curled up in a ball pretending to be asleep.
"I know you're not asleep little Miss," said Jenny sitting on the edge of the bed. "I just saw you running out of Daddy's room."
Ziva popped open one eye and looked up at her innocently.
Resisting the urge to smile at the little girl's antics, Jenny said as sternly as she could, "Now, listen very carefully young lady. Your Daddy had reached the end of his patience and I wouldn't be pushing it any more if I were you," she said putting her hands under Ziva's arms and pulling her up into a sitting position.
"What were you doing in Daddy's room?" she asked when she had Ziva's attention.
Ziva shrugged. "Just playing," she finally answered.
"Playing with what?" Jenny asked curious as to what the little girl could find in there.
Ziva shrugged a second time.
"Playing with what?" Jenny asked again, a little more sternly.
When Ziva still refused to answer, Jenny stood and, taking Ziva's hand, led her back into her father's room. Looking around she couldn't see anything out of place. Then, spotting the en-suite, she began to walk in that direction. She was suddenly stopped by Ziva who refused to budge.
"What did you do in there," asked Jenny, knowing that Ziva must have been up to something naughty judging by the little girl's behaviour.
"Nothing," she said. "I'm ready to go back to bed now," she added, tugging Jenny in the direction of the door.
Not fooled for a minute, Jenny picked Ziva up and carried her into the en-suite. As she entered, she couldn't believe what she saw. Laying in the sink was a now empty tube of toothpaste and, covering the benches either side of the sink, was a toothpaste picture of what looked like a house, a tree, a sun and four stick people.
Putting Ziva down, Jenny took hold of her arms and said crossly, "That was very naughty Ziva. Why did you do it?"
When Ziva shrugged, Jenny said, "I want an answer young lady."
"I...I didn't want to go to sleep and we didn't have much toothpaste left in our bathroom so I came in here..." she said quietly, looking down at the floor.
"You knew it was wrong didn't you?" said Jenny lifting the little girl's chin and looking directly into her eyes.
"Kinda," said Ziva sorrowfully. "It's just that once I started I couldn't stop. It was fun to squeeze it out."
"Ziva," sighed Jenny. "That was a very wasteful thing to do. Now Daddy doesn't have any toothpaste left."
"Yes he does," said Ziva brightening up. "There's a spare tube in the cupboard."
She opened the cupboard, took it out and held it up. "See, I didn't touch this one," she said proudly.
Looking down at the little girl, Jenny felt torn. She knew she should really give her a spanking, but she had to admit, there was a part of her that would have loved to squeeze a whole tube of toothpaste out when she was a little girl. Then, of course, there was the picture. It was obviously them, a smiling happy family in front of the house.
"I'm sorry Mommy," said Ziva in a small voice.
Well that did it. Any thoughts of Jenny doling out any punishment was forgotten once Ziva had uttered those words. Picking her up, she carried her back to her bedroom and placed her back in bed. Once she'd pulled up the covers she looked down at the little face staring back at her.
"If you move an inch from this bed again, unless it's to go to the bathroom, I will come up here and give you the spanking I really should be giving you now. Understood?" said Jenny sternly.
"Yes Mommy," said Ziva.
Jenny leant down and kissed Ziva on the nose. "I hope so," she added getting up and walking towards the door.
"Mommy?" called Ziva as Jenny reached the handle. Jenny turned to look back at her.
"Did you like my picture? It was Daddy and you and Tony and me. We were standing outside our house and the tree is the one with the tree house in it. I was going to add that in, but I ran out of toothpaste," she added sitting up.
Going over to her, Jenny said softly. "Yes, I loved your picture, but I would have loved it even more if you'd drawn it on paper with crayon." She smiled as she ran her fingers through Ziva's hair.
"I could do one now for you," said Ziva eagerly, beginning to pull the covers back.
"What did I just tell you?" asked Jenny incredulously. She couldn't believe that Ziva had forgotten her warning already.
"Oh yeah," said Ziva, snuggling back down again. "I forgot."
Shaking her head in frustration, Jenny leaned down and kissed Ziva's forehead saying gruffly, "Go to sleep! Tomorrow morning you can clean up the toothpaste. Ok?"
"Ok," sighed Ziva.
"Goodnight honey," said Jenny as she headed to the door once again.
"Night Mommy," said Ziva. "Hey, do you think Daddy will like my picture?" she said sitting up again.
"I'm sure he'll love the picture," replied Jenny, pausing at the door. "I just don't think he'll be too impressed with the materials you used. So, if I were you, I'd shut those eyes and go to sleep before he decides to come up here. Goodnight!"
Stepping out of the room and pulling the door almost closed, Jenny headed back downstairs. Smiling to herself, she made her way back to the couch where she sat down and snuggled into Gibbs.
"What took you so long?" he asked.
When she'd finished telling him what had happened, Gibbs didn't know whether to laugh or pay his daughter a little visit.
"Please tell me you at least smacked her bottom," he said looking at Jenny.
"Oh how could I?" she replied. "Haven't you always wanted to do something you knew was naughty but couldn't stop yourself? And you've got to admit, drawing a picture with toothpaste was pretty ingenious."
"Jen," said Gibbs sighing, "You can't let her get away with stuff. If she thinks you're a push over, she'll make the most of it, trust me."
"I'm not a pushover Jethro," said Jenny slightly offended. "I just didn't think it was necessary. She's excited about the vacation and can't get to sleep. She went looking for something to do and found it. She wasn't being deliberately naughty. She just got caught up in the fun of it all." She watched him roll his eyes then added, "Wait 'til you see the picture she drew, it's so cute. You would have let her off as well."
"Don't bet on it," he responded.
"Look," said Jenny, trying to defend her actions. "I told her she has to clean it up in the morning. She may reconsider her actions then. Have you ever tried to clean up toothpaste? It just spreads everywhere."
Grinning at her, he simply shook his head. Leaning in he kissed her gently. "Admit it Jen, you're just a big softie."
"Well, maybe," she admitted. "But seriously Jethro, if I felt that either one of them needed to be punished, you know I'd do it. I've put Ziva in timeout before, and I'd do it again if I thought she needed it. Or Tony for that matter."
She leaned forward to take a piece of chocolate and found the plate empty.
"Hey," she exclaimed looking at him. "What happened to all the chocolate?"
"Well," said Gibbs looking a little guilty. "You were gone a long time. What can I say, I got hungry," he said shrugging.
"There was nearly half a block on that plate," she said amazed that he had finished the lot.
"Yeah, I know," replied Gibbs. "So, are you going to put the other half out?" he asked.
Widening her eyes, she punched him lightly in the shoulder.
"No," she said grumpily. "The rest is all mine."
Later that evening as Gibbs went into his bathroom to brush his teeth, he couldn't help but smile at Ziva's artwork.
"See, I told you it was cute," said Jenny coming up behind him and wrapping her arms around his waist. "Now how could I possibly think of spanking her when she drew us all looking so happy?"
"Yeah, I guess," said Gibbs, turning around and pulling her into a hug.
"Hey," he said whispering in her ear. "Grab your camera and take a photo. I reckon Abby'd get a kick out of that."
Pulling away she looked up into his face. "Now who's the softie, Leroy Jethro Gibbs?" she said grinning.
"Guilty," he said raising his hand.
She laughed and nestled into his chest again.
"I love you," she said softly.
"Love you too," he replied.
The next morning when Gibbs awoke to find both Ziva and Tony in the bed with him and Jenny, he once again reminded himself he needed to buy that king sized bed. Yawning he turned to look at the time.
"It's just past seven," replied Jenny as he stirred slightly.
"Morning," he said smiling and kissing her gently on the lips. "Did you sleep well?"
"Yep," she replied, stretching lazily. "This getting dressed in the middle of the night is a bit of nuisance though," she added, rolling towards him and smirking.
"Why do you have to get dressed in the middle of the night?" asked a voice from the other side of Gibbs.
"Morning Tony," said Gibbs. Then hoping to avoid answering the question, he added, "When did you and Ziva come in?"
"I dunno about Ziva, she was already here, but I came in around six," he replied, thankfully forgetting about his question. "I couldn't sleep because I was so excited," he added sitting up.
Ziva stirred next to him.
"Wake up sleepy head," said Tony jabbing her in the ribs. "We go on vacation today!"
Stretching, Ziva smiled as she remembered about the trip.
"Yay!" she said sitting up. "I've been waiting for ages for this."
"You only found out about it yesterday," said Gibbs staring at her.
"Yeah, that's a long time ago Daddy," she replied.
As Tony climbed out of bed and headed into the en-suite to go to the bathroom, she crawled over and sat on Gibbs stomach greeting him with her 'cheek, cheek, head, nose, lips,' kiss. She was leaning in for the cuddle, when Tony suddenly said, "Who drew the picture with the toothpaste?"
As he walked out, shaking the water from his hands, he said, "Have you seen it?"
"Oh yes," replied Gibbs glaring at Ziva who had buried her head in his chest. "I've seen it."
"Who did it?" Tony asked again.
"That was your little sister," continued Gibbs, still glaring at the head in front of him. "She decided last night that instead of going to bed, she would create her version of the Sistine Chapel with my toothpaste."
"Whoa Ziva!" exclaimed Tony. "Way to go for a sore butt today."
Looking up, Ziva said cheerfully, "I didn't get a spanking. I just have to clean it up."
Sitting up, Gibbs lifted Ziva so she was sitting on his lap and facing him.
"And you were very lucky it was Jenny who found you last night because, believe me, it would be a different story if I'd found you," he said sternly.
"Sorry Daddy," she said at least having the grace to look ashamed of her actions.
"Well, I suggest you start cleaning it up," he said lifting her to the floor. "You can come down to breakfast when you're done."
With shoulders slumped, Ziva trudged into the en-suite.
"Did she really use a whole tube of toothpaste?" asked Tony wishing he'd thought of the idea.
When Gibbs nodded, Tony shook his head in amazement and said breathlessly, "Wow! That would have been so much fun!"
As Jenny gave him an 'I told you so' look, Gibbs rolled his eyes.
"Come on," he said getting out of bed and putting his arm around Tony's shoulder. "Let's go and get some breakfast and leave your sister to it."
As he turned to see if Jenny was following, he caught her peering into the en-suite to see how Ziva was going. Watching the little girl struggling to wipe up the smeared mess she had created, Jenny was about to go in, when Gibbs took hold of her arm.
"Don't you dare offer to help her," he said gruffly. "She made the mess, she can clean it up!" he added pulling Jenny towards the hall.
"I wasn't going to help her," argued Jenny defensively. "I was just going to suggest she try scooping it up, rather than wiping it."
"That's helping Jen," replied Gibbs as they walked down the stairs. "Let her figure it out. If she's still struggling after ten minutes, then go and help her."
Nearly ten minutes later, as Gibbs was handing Tony some toast, Ziva walked into the kitchen and slumped into a chair.
"All done?" asked Gibbs looking at her.
"Kinda," she replied. "I got most of it off but it just kept spreading the more I tried to wipe it. Can I have some breakfast and then I'll have another go at it?" she asked giving him a pathetic look.
"Ok," he said not letting her off the hook just yet, "Cereal or toast?"
"Cereal," she said as she grabbed the box and began pouring it into her bowl.
Once they had finished breakfast, Gibbs followed Ziva back into his en-suite and looked at the effort she had made to clean up the mess.
"It looks pretty good," he praised looking over the bench.
She had actually done quite a reasonable job in getting most of the toothpaste off. Crouching down in front of her so they were eye to eye, Gibbs said firmly, "I don't think we'll see a repeat of this behaviour will we?"
"No Daddy," she said earnestly. "I didn't realise how hard it would be to clean it up."
He pulled her in for a hug and kissed her cheek.
"Ok, then," he said releasing her. "Why don't you go and get dressed so we can begin our vacation."
She gave him a huge grin which he returned and watched as she skipped out of the bedroom. Smiling to himself, he was glad he'd asked Jenny to take a photo. It had been a cute picture and, Jenny was right, he wouldn't have spanked her either.