Chapter 21 - Sleepless Nights Make For Cranky Days Part 1
As Gibbs rolled onto his right side and stretched out his left arm he was vaguely aware of an empty space where Jenny should have been. As his mind became more alert, he suddenly realised that he was alone in the bed. Turning over, he picked up his watch and squinted at the dial. 02.07. Assuming Jenny to be in the bathroom, he waited a couple of minutes for her to return. When five minutes elapsed and there was still no sign of her, Gibbs quietly got out of bed to check to see if she was alright.
Padding softly to the bathroom, he noticed the room was in darkness and void of any human life. He carried on to Tony and Ziva room. Peeking in, both children were tucked up asleep and, again, there was no sign of Jenny. Rubbing his eyes and forcing himself to become fully awake, Gibbs noticed a faint light coming from downstairs. As he descended to the ground floor, he found Jenny curled up in the arm chair reading her book.
"Hey," he whispered as he crossed the floor and stood behind her. "What are you doing down here?"
She looked up and, stretching out her hand, softly stroked his face.
"Couldn't sleep," she answered. "Sorry, didn't mean to wake you."
"You didn't," he said. "Well, not really. Realising I was alone actually woke me."
Gibbs moved to the front of the arm chair and tapping Jenny's shoulder, directed her to stand up. He then took her spot on the chair and pulled her onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her waist. Leaning back into his chest, Jenny ran her hands up and down his arms.
"So," he said, running his fingers through her hair. "Why can't you sleep?"
"I don't know," she replied sighing deeply. "Just a bit worked up I suppose. The worry of not being able to find the kids, the relief in finding them, the Halloway case, it's just all whirring around in my brain and I couldn't shut it off."
She drew her knees up and twisted her body so that she was sitting sideways on his lap, curled up like a kitten, her head snuggled into his chest. Gibbs rested one arm around her knees, while the other drew circles on her back.
"Thought this might bring up some memories for you," he said softly into her ear. "Is there anything I can do?"
"Just hold me," she said, nestling further into his chest.
"Always," he said kissing her temple and tightening his hold around her.
They sat in silence for a few minutes longer until Gibbs said, "You know, we'd be a lot more comfortable in bed."
Laughing, she looked up saying, "Always Mr Practical."
"Come on," he said patting her thigh.
When she didn't move but wriggled slightly so she was cocooned further in his arms, Gibbs sighed and, placing one hand under her knees and the other around her back, he stood and lifted her in one fluid movement.
"Jethro!" she whined. "I don't want to go to bed, I was comfortable here."
"You know," he said kissing the tip of her nose. "You sound just like Ziva when you use that voice."
"Do not!" she retorted sulkily.
Shaking his head, he simply laughed and carried her upstairs and into their bedroom. Depositing her gently on the bed, he moved around to his side and climbed back in.
Seeing she hadn't moved, he said, "Come on Jen, get into bed and I'll rub your back."
"Do you think David Halloway was murdered?" she asked, still sitting on the edge of the bed where Gibbs had put her and facing away from him.
Gibbs sighed. "I don't know Jen. But, if he was, I'm sure Greg and his team will figure it out. Now lay down and try to go to sleep." He patted her pillow to encourage movement.
He was relieved when he saw Jenny stand, pull back the covers and climb in next to him. Rolling so that she was facing Gibbs, Jenny said, "I hope they do find something. Susan deserves a break. It must have been hard work raising Aiden on her own, knowing deep down that her husband was innocent."
"We don't know that Jen," said Gibbs quietly. "All we know at this stage, is that there's enough suspicion to reopen the case. As for the rest, we'll just have to wait and see what they find."
When she didn't make any further comment, Gibbs said, 'Roll over and I'll rub your back. See if you can relax enough to fall asleep. It'll be another big day tomorrow and the last thing you need is to be half asleep."
As she rolled over to face the other way, Jenny said, "Do you think we'll be able to get through twenty four hours without some sort of crisis?"
"Probably not," replied Gibbs laughing. "This is Tony and Ziva we're talking about!"
He moved his hand under her top and gently scratched down her back and then up again in a slow rhythmic pattern. Jenny sighed and nuzzled her head into the pillow.
"What were you thinking of doing tomorrow?" she asked, relaxing into the gentle scratching she could feel along her back.
"Not sure," Gibbs said softly. "I thought we might take a trip into the town and visit the information centre. They might have some suggestions."
"Good idea," replied Jenny lazily.
As Gibbs continued rubbing, the silence grew. Hoping that she had finally succumbed to sleep, he was just about pull his arm back when he heard, "Do you think Susan will be able to claim compensation for all these years of lost support?"
Sighing, Gibbs said, "I don't know, it will depend on what they find."
"I hope so. It'll certainly help with....um... Jethro? That's not my back," she said as Gibbs' hand had moved gently around to the front, over her stomach and began a downward journey to the apex of her thighs.
"Anything to distract you at the moment," he responded sliding his hand under her panties and beginning to rub small, torturous circles over her core.
"Mmmm," she moaned rolling onto her back and stretching up her arm to touch his face. "I like the way you think," she purred softly.
***NCIS***
A few hours later, wrapped in each other's arms, Jenny and Gibbs were once again awoken by a soft voice calling, "Mommy, Daddy, are you awake?"
Opening her eyes and seeing Ziva standing by the side of the bed, Jenny said, "What's up honey?"
"Nothing," replied Ziva. "I was just wondering if I could go outside and play in the cubby house."
Forcing her eyes to open and half sitting up, Jenny took a better look at Ziva. Already dressed in a pair of denim shorts and a purple t-shirt, the little girl looked back at her mother and smiled.
"What time is it?" came a deep, gravelly voice from behind them.
"Um...it's morning," replied Ziva, avoiding the question.
Rolling over and grabbing his watch, Gibbs, for the second time that night, squinted at the dial.
"Ziva, it's 4.52! Go back to bed!" Gibbs grumbled putting down his watch and settling on the pillow again.
"I can't Daddy, I'm already dressed," she said, hoping that would make all the difference.
Feeling Gibbs tense behind her, Jenny said softly, "Honey, go and put your pjs back on and go back to bed. It's far too early to be playing outside."
"But I don't want to go to bed," Ziva whined.
"See," murmured Gibbs in Jenny's ear. "Just like Ziva."
Confused at first by what he meant, Jenny remembered their conversation only a few short hours earlier when Gibbs had taken her to bed.
"Funny Jethro," she said bringing her hand back and pinching his thigh.
"Ow!" he yelped.
Focusing back on Ziva, Jenny said, "Ziva, why don't you just take off your shorts and climb into bed with us?"
When Ziva rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, Jenny sighed.
"It's either that or go back to your own bed," she said a little impatiently.
"Oooh," grumbled Ziva, pulling down her shorts and stepping out of them. "It's not fair. I'm not even tired."
Pulling open the covers, Jenny looked behind and ordered, "Wriggle back Jethro, we have incoming."
When Ziva was finally stretched out against her mother, with Jenny's arm tucked around her middle, the three of them gently drifted off to sleep.
***NCIS***
Suddenly, Gibbs sat upright, fear clutched at his chest.
"Dad!" screamed Tony's voice again.
Jumping out of bed, Gibbs was down the hall and in Tony's bedroom within seconds of waking.
As he flicked on the light, he saw Tony sitting up, panting quickly, his eyes wide with fear.
"What is it, Tony?" asked Gibbs advancing on Tony's bed and half climbing the ladder. Reaching out his arm, he touched Tony on the back. The boy jumped and Gibbs could feel he was trembling.
"Hey Buddy," cooed Gibbs softly, rubbing Tony's back. "It's OK. It was just a dream."
Tony turned his head and looked directly into his father's eyes. Suddenly realising where he was and who he was with, Tony took a huge intake of air and began sobbing.
"Oh D-d-dad, I th-th- thought you were d-d-dead," he stammered between sobs.
Reaching up with both hands, Gibbs placed them under Tony arms and all but dragged the boy to the edge of the bed and into his chest. Carrying him down the ladder as best he could, Gibbs reached the bottom and lifted Tony properly so that the boy's legs were wrapped around his waist, his hands around Gibbs' neck and his head nestled into his shoulder.
"Shh, shh," whispered Gibbs and he rubbed Tony's back and bounced gently around the room as if he were holding a fussing toddler.
"You're OK Tony. I've got ya, you're safe." The gentle words were repeated over and over until Tony's breathing began to slow and the sobs started to subside. Looking towards the door, Gibbs saw Jenny and Ziva standing there.
"Is Tony OK?" asked Ziva her eyes wide with concern.
"He just had a bad dream honey," replied Gibbs. "Go back to bed with Mommy."
As Jenny put her hand on Ziva's back to guide her out into the hall, Ziva pulled away.
"No," Ziva said entering the room and sitting on the bottom bunk of her bed. "I want to see if Tony's OK."
Realising there was no point in arguing, Jenny entered the room and sat on the bed next to Ziva. She knew the bond that existed between these two and it was easier to just give in, rather than force the issue and end up with more problems on their hands.
As Gibbs felt Tony begin to relax and could hear he was no longer crying, he took a seat on the bottom bunk of Tony's bed and continued to rock gently as the boy snuggled into his arms.
"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Gibbs rubbing Tony's back. "Sometimes it helps."
"I had a bad dream," said Tony softly into Gibbs chest. He sniffed loudly.
Reaching over to the dressing table, Jenny grabbed a couple of tissues and handed them to Gibbs who, in turn, gave them to Tony. As the boy sat back and blew his nose, Gibbs used his thumb to wipe away the tears that were lying on his son's cheeks. As Tony held the tissues in his hands, he looked up into Dad's eyes.
"What was it about Tony," asked Gibbs softly, brushing the hair back off the boy's sweaty forehead.
It was really horrible," hiccuped Tony. "You died," he said nestling back into Gibbs chest as fresh tears made their way back down his cheeks.
"Hey, it's ok," soothed Gibbs, rubbing Tony's back again. "You can see I'm alive and well. It was just a yucky dream."
"We were lost," mumbled Tony, his face pressed into the material of Gibbs' pyjama top.
Gibbs gently pulled Tony back. "I can't hear you buddy," he said softly.
"We were lost," said Tony again. This time, everyone could hear him clearly. "Me, Ziva and Aiden. It was dark and we couldn't find out way home. We found a cave and we were hiding in it. Then this big bear suddenly appeared and it was going to eat us. It had huge teeth and there was blood dripping from its mouth."
Ziva shivered as she listened and snuggled into Jenny's side. Putting her arm around the little girl, Jenny pulled her onto her lap and rocked her gently as they listened to Tony.
"Then, then," Tony stopped. He took a deep shuddering breath.
"It's OK," repeated Gibbs. "You're safe."
"Then the bear suddenly turned into Senior. He was holding this huge belt and he kept saying that we had been really bad and he was going to whip us until we bled. He came towards Ziva first and...and I ran towards him and tried to grab the belt away from him."
"No Tony," cried Ziva, suddenly pulling away from Jenny and running to Tony's side. She crawled up on the bed next to Tony and Gibbs and put her arms around her brother. Jenny hopped up and sat next to her, pulling her onto her lap so that both children could touch each other while still supported by a parental hold.
Go on Tony, what happened next?" encouraged Gibbs continuing to rub the boy's back gently.
"He pushed me away and was saying horrible things like, I didn't deserve to have a little sister if I couldn't look after her and he said...he said, it would hurt me more to watch him beat Ziva instead of hitting me and then he brought the belt down hard on Ziva's back and she screamed."
By now Tony and Ziva were both crying, each rocked gently in their parent's arms.
"Then you came Dad," said Tony, gulping and looking up. "You ran into the cave and pushed Senior away and he fell and hit his head on a rock. You were picking up Ziva and I was hugging you, then...then..."
Tony stopped.
"It's OK Tony. You can see that I'm fine. Try to tell me what happened," said Gibbs knowing that this was difficult for the boy.
"Suddenly Senior had a gun. I don't know where it came from, but he held it up and I screamed out 'Dad' and...and he shot you and you fell to the floor and me and Ziva were screaming out 'Dad! Dad' but you wouldn't wake up and Senior was laughing and saying, 'I'm your only Dad. Now you're both stuck with me.' Then he said, 'I'm going to make you pay for leaving me.' And he started to walk towards us with the gun and the belt and that's when I woke up."
Tony was panting again, the tears were falling rapidly down his cheeks and Gibbs could feel him trembling.
"Oh Tony," soothed Gibbs gently, "It was only a dream. We're all safe and I would never let Senior hurt you."
"But if he has a gun, you can't stop him Dad," cried Tony, the fear still raw from the dream.
"Buddy, he doesn't know where you are. Trust me, you are safe. I'll keep you safe." Hearing Ziva sniffling next to him, he wrapped one arm around her as well and pulled them both into a tight hug.
"I'll keep you both safe." He promised.
They sat like that for a further five minutes, Gibbs murmuring promises, while Jenny drew her fingers through Ziva's hair. Ziva huddled close to Tony and, for once, the boy didn't pull away but held her tightly, enjoying the closeness and warmth of her body.
"Thank you Tony," he heard her whisper. "Thank you for trying to protect me in your dream."
He smiled and, reaching out his hand, clasped it around hers and squeezed tightly.
"Always," he said smiling a watery smile at her. "You're my little sister, I'll always protect you, dream or not," he whispered back.
Kissing Tony's head, Gibbs sat back and said, "How are you feeling?"
"Better," said Tony sniffing again. "It helped to talk about it,"
"That's good Bud," replied Gibbs.
Looking out the window, Gibbs could see a faint light filling the horizon. Figuring it was probably around 5.30am he gently stood and extracted himself and Tony from Ziva and Jenny's arms.
"Well," he said, still holding Tony. "I think we should all still try and get some sleep." Turning to Tony he added, "You want to come and join us in our room. Ziva's already settled herself in our bed once this night."
He felt Tony nod. "But can I get a drink first. I'm really thirsty," he added.
"Sure Bud," said Gibbs putting the boy down on the floor. "Go and get some water from the kitchen."
"Can I go too?" asked Ziva. "I'm kinda thirsty as well."
"Actually I wouldn't mind a cuppa," added Jenny. "I might join them."
Sighing, Gibbs smiled at the three of them. "Well I'm going to bed. I've been woken three times during this night, and my brain still needs sleep," he said yawning loudly.
"Three times Daddy?" asked Ziva.
"Yep," said Gibbs heading towards the door. "Your mother decided to go night wandering as well and I found her downstairs reading at 2am."
"Naughty Mommy," admonished Ziva. "Was Daddy cross? He told me I'd be in big trouble if he found me downstairs in the middle of the night."
"No Honey," said Jenny seeing the grin on Gibbs' face. "Mommy's an adult and can go downstairs if she wants without getting into trouble."
Sighing, Ziva grabbed Tony's hand saying, "I wish I was an adult," and the two of them left the room passing Gibbs who was standing in the door way.
As Jenny made to pass Gibbs, he reached out and playfully swatted her bottom, "Don't count on it," he whispered in her ear as he too left to go back to bed.
Shaking her head, Jenny smiled at Gibbs' retreating back and made her way down the hall, following after Tony and Ziva.
***NCIS***
As Gibbs rolled over and opened his eyes, he became aware of two things. One, the room was flooded with light, and two, he was alone in the bed. After making a pit stop to the bathroom, he wandered downstairs. As he looked into the kitchen he saw Jenny, Tony and Ziva huddled over the kitchen table.
The three of them looked up as he entered the room.
"Morning Daddy," said Ziva cheerfully. "Look what we found in one of the cupboards?"
Looking at the table, Gibbs noticed it was a jigsaw puzzle that had consumed their attention.
"Well I gather no-one came back to bed," commented Gibbs as he saw that the 200 piece puzzle was nearly complete. He passed Jenny and kissed the top of her head. Looking up she returned the kiss to this lips.
"No," she said. "We were all kind of awake by that stage."
As Gibbs passed Tony, he bent over and also kissed him on the head. Running his fingers through the boy's hair, he said, "How are you feeling now?"
"Much better," said Tony. "It was just a silly dream." In the cold, hard light of day, Tony was feeling embarrassed by his reaction to the dream.
Taking his chin and making the boy look at him, Gibbs said, "No nightmare is silly. It's your body's way of dealing with stresses and worry. You don't need to feel embarrassed about what happened Tony. I'm just glad we could be there for you."
Tony nodded. "Thanks Dad," he said softly.
After kissing Ziva good morning, Gibbs went over to the coffee pot and poured himself a mug. Taking a seat next to Jenny, he sipped the coffee and focused on the puzzle. It was a Disney picture of Mickey Mouse and the gang.
"Where did you find this?" asked Gibbs, finding a piece and snapping it in place.
"It was in the cupboard under the stairs," answered Ziva. "There's other games as well," she added.
Probably supplies for cold winter's days or for when it's raining," suggested Tony.
"Or when the children can't sleep and you're looking for something to do at 6am," added Jenny tousling Tony's hair.
"Yeah, that too," he replied grinning. He leaned over and found a piece. As he snapped it in place, he said, "So what are we doing today?"
"Well," said Gibbs, taking another gulp of coffee. "I thought we could drive into town and visit the information centre and see what's around here to do."
"Can Aiden come?" asked Ziva.
"I think Aiden should stay with his Mom and Grandad today," said Gibbs diplomatically. "I'm sure after yesterday they don't want him wandering off with another family."
"So," he said, changing the subject. "Have you guys had breakfast?"
"No," said Jenny looking up at the clock. "Hey, it's nearly nine o'clock. You did sleep in," she added turning back to Gibbs. "We were waiting for you and we just got sidetracked doing the puzzle I guess."
"Daddy, I think that's your phone," said Ziva, her head on one side and listening carefully.
As the room fell silent, Gibbs realised that Ziva was right. The familiar sound of his cell could be heard from upstairs. Getting up from the table, Gibbs took to the stairs two at a time and jogged into their bedroom. Picking up the phone, he saw 1 missed call from an unknown number.
Hitting the redial Gibbs waited while it rang.
Three minutes later, he was leaning over the stair banister, phone on hold and calling out. "Hey Jen! Can you come here a minute?"
He waited until he saw her at the bottom of the stairs. She looked up enquiringly.
"It's the guy who owns this place on the phone. Apparently the people who were booked to come in tomorrow have cancelled and he wants to know if we want to stay longer. What do you think?"
Climbing the stairs as Gibbs spoke, Jenny was now level with him. "Until when?" she asked.
"He says we can have it until next Friday if we want."
"We don't have enough clothes and things," Jenny said. "I mean I'd love to stay but..."
"We could always hit the shops?" said Gibbs grinning at her.
Laughing Jenny said, "Tell him yes, we'll figure out the rest later."
Gibbs gave her a quick kiss then spoke back into the phone. Once it was all settled, the two of them headed back down the stairs.
"Hey, I've got an idea," said Gibbs as they were half way down. "Why don't I ring Abby and see if she and Tim want to come up here for the weekend. It's only a three hour drive and Abby's worked enough overtime to leave early today. They could duck past my place first and grab some clothes. You've got enough stuff at my house to get through another week," he finished looking at Jenny.
"Yeah, casual stuff and underwear," she said.
"Well that's all you need," he responded. "She can grab some stuff for the kids and we won't need to even go near a clothing store." He grinned at her.
"Well, we could always do with a little extra something," replied Jenny not wanting to entirely dismiss the chance for a shopping trip.
Shaking his head, Gibbs jogged down the rest of the steps.
"Hey kids! Guess what?" he said as he entered the kitchen.
Tony and Ziva looked up. "What Dad?" asked Tony.
"It looks like we're staying here another week," said Gibbs cheerfully. "That was the man who owns this place and the next people who were booked in to come have cancelled. So we've decided to stay another week."
"Yay!" cheered Ziva standing up on her chair. "A whole week!"
"Yep," said Gibbs grabbing her and swinging her around. "So, I guess we'd better go to that information centre today and see what else there is to do around here."
"That's a good idea Daddy," said Ziva cupping his cheeks with her hands. "That means we'll probably get to see Aiden again and maybe go fishing and swimming?"
"Yep," said Gibbs. "We can do all those things. So, how about you two get dressed and I'll start some breakfast," added Gibbs.
As Tony got up from the table Ziva said, "But I am dressed Daddy. Remember? I got dressed early today."
Grinning at her and lifting her up so she was above his head, he snapped at the elastic of her panties. "I think you've forgotten something," he said tickling her bottom.
"Oh yeah, that's right," she said going red. "I forgot I took them off."
Putting her down, he smiled as the two of them raced out of the kitchen.
"No running on the stairs," he called after them.
As Jenny entered, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "So, you reckon you can stand another week cooped up in here?" he asked as he nibbled on her ear.
"Oh I don't know," she said, squirming slightly as his teeth tickled her. "Another week of sun, swimming, relaxing and rest? Gee don't know if I can handle that."
She reached up and kissed him deeply, tasting the coffee from his earlier cup.
"Mmmm," she said softly. "You taste good."
When he pulled away and looked questioningly at her, she smiled and said, "Jamaican blend, no cream or sugar."
Laughing he hugged her tightly, then set to making breakfast for the four of them.
An hour later as Jenny finished washing the dishes and Tony and Ziva had put the last plate back in the cupboard, Gibbs entered the front door having just made a call to Abby.
"Well, she's certainly excited," he said as he walked into the kitchen, grabbing the glass from Ziva who was standing on tiptoe to try and reach the shelf. He put the glass on the shelf and took a seat at the table.
"She said she'll call Tim and organise for him to pick her up and they'll head off about four this afternoon," he added taking the mug of coffee Jenny was offering him.
"Well let's hope Tim doesn't have plans for the weekend," said Jenny sitting down with her own mug of coffee.
"Are you kidding? With Abby nagging him, he doesn't have a choice," laughed Gibbs taking a sip.
"Daddy, can we go and play in the garden?" asked Ziva.
"Yeah, ok," answered Gibbs. "But, do not climb any trees and please don't wander out of sight of the house. Mommy and I just need to get ready and then we'll be going. I don't want to spend the next hour looking for you."
"We won't," said Tony and Ziva together as they headed for the front door.
Suddenly Ziva stopped and slowly made her way back to Gibbs. Standing in front of him she held her head down.
"What is it Sweet Pea?" asked Gibbs concerned by the change in her demeanour.
"When we were lost, I had to climb some really tall trees," she began in a quiet voice. "I wasn't doing it to be naughty I promise. I just needed to see where we were and try and find our way back. I'm sorry Daddy."
Lifting her onto his lap, he said softly. "Sweetheart, thank you for telling me that. That just shows how honest you are. But it's OK. I understand why you did it." She looked up and him and smiled.
"But, that doesn't mean you can do it now. That was only in an emergency situation," he added firmly.
"I know Daddy. I just wanted you to know because I forgot to tell you about that last night," she added.
"You're a good girl Ziva Gibbs," he said kissing her nose. "And I'm very proud of you."
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she said, "Thank you Daddy."
Scrambling off his lap, she joined Tony at the door and the two of them left the house. Looking at each other Jenny and Gibbs smiled.
"They must have been terrified out there," said Jenny stroking Gibbs' arm. "First Tony's nightmare and now Ziva telling us about trying to see where they were by climbing the trees." She shuddered.
"Hey," said Gibbs pulling her towards him. "They're safe. They're home and they're fine," he said wrapping his arm around her waist.
"Yeah," she said sighing. "Thank God."
Standing up, Gibbs said, "Race you for the shower."
When she didn't move, he looked back at her. "What?" he asked trying to read the look she was giving him.
"Well, I was just thinking we could save some water," she added suggestively walking towards him and, once again, slipping her hands into the back of his boxers.
"Ah," he said kissing her neck. "I do love that you're so environmentally conscious."
She giggled and the two of them ran up the stairs, undressing as they went.
***NCIS***
"Ziva!" called Gibbs for the second time in as many minutes, "Stop touching things please." He walked over to her and crouched down to her level. "If you break something we have to pay for it. Now if I have to tell you again, you'll have to stay next to me while we're in here."
Watching Ziva huff and then roll her eyes, he added. "And if you give me that look one more time young lady, you and I will go and sit in the car for a time out. Understand?"
"Yes Daddy," she said softly.
They had entered the tourist information centre about five minutes ago and were amazed by what the building held. Not only was it filled with information brochures about things to see and do, but the place was wall to wall with souvenirs, many of which were quite breakable. Having been attracted to all the beautiful ornaments, Ziva had made a bee line to that section and had been warned twice now by Gibbs to stop picking things up and touching them.
"But everything is just so pretty," she whined. "I just want to look at them."
"And you can look Honey," said Gibbs softening his voice. "Just look with your eyes and not your hands."
He stood up and, keeping an eye on his youngest, made his way back to the brochure section.
"There's some great things to do around here," said Jenny as Gibbs came up beside her. "Look at this," she said showing him a brochure. "It's an animal sanctuary and it's only about twenty minutes away."
She held up another brochure, "This is a hedge maze, Tony and Ziva would love that. And this," holding up a third brochure, "is some information regarding the walks around here. There's a lovely waterfall we could walk to."
"Sounds great Jen," said Gibbs absentmindedly. He was still keeping his eye on Ziva who was now tempted by an expensive looking china plate. As he watched Ziva reached out for it, he was beside her in seconds. Picking her up, he carried her back to where Jenny was standing, with Ziva fussing all the way.
"Daddy!" she whined. "Put me down!"
"Ziva," he said in a half whisper. "I told you if you went to touch something again, you'd have to stay with me. Now stop fussing before I take you outside and put you in a time out."
"I was just looking," she said in a sulky tone.
"No, you were about to touch," he argued. "Now are you going to stay by my side or do I have to carry you around like a baby?"
When she didn't answer him but just crossed her arms defiantly, he continued to hold her.
He turned to Jenny. "Just grab a few and we'll look at them later," he suggested tersely.
When Jenny looked up at him surprised by his tone, he gestured towards Ziva.
"Oh OK," she replied, gathering his meaning.
"Come on Tony," called Gibbs. The boy was thumbing through the t-shirts hanging at the back of the store.
"Look at these Dad?" he said as he heard his father's voice. "Can we get one?"
"I wanna see," demanded Ziva struggling to get down.
Ignoring her, Gibbs made his way over to Tony.
"Look at this one Dad," said Tony pointing out a navy shirt with a cartoon picture of a bear on it.
Seeing the price tag, Gibbs said, "Not today Tony. Let's look around at a few places you might see something else you like."
"But I like this," argued Tony.
"No, Tony," said Gibbs keeping his voice low so as to not attract the attention of the many people in the store. "Come on, we need to go."
"Dad," whined Tony. "Why can't we get it?"
"Because I said no," answered Gibbs quietly. Putting his hand on Tony's shoulder he tried to steer the boy away from the shirts and out of the store.
"But Dad," continued Tony. "You said we could buy something while we were out. And I want to buy that."
"Put me down Daddy!" complained Ziva loudly kicking out with her legs.
Seeing Gibbs struggling with both children, Jenny came to his rescue.
"Come on Tony," she said. "Let's talk about it outside."
Although huffing noisily, Tony allowed Jenny to direct him out of the store while Gibbs struggled to keep a grip on Ziva who was wriggling to get down.
Once outside, they made their way quickly to the car park. When they were in the privacy of the many cars, Gibbs put Ziva down and looked sternly at the little girl.
"What was that about?" he asked her. "I told you what would happen if you continued touching things. I don't appreciate you making a fuss and kicking me while in the store. You're very lucky I didn't smack your bottom with everybody watching." He continued glaring at her as she dropped her head, the first sign that the defiance was gone and repentance was emerging.
"Now you've got a five minute time out," he said, opening her car door. "Sit inside and I don't want to hear a sound from you young lady or I might rethink the spanking."
Watching as she clambered into her car seat, Gibbs left the door open and moved himself and Tony away from the car slightly. He smiled at Jenny as she decided to stand near Ziva's door so the little girl didn't feel totally abandoned.
"Now Tony," he said looking at his son. "I know I said you could buy something today, but that shirt was way too expensive."
Gibbs reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. Opening it, he drew out two $20 bills. Handing one to Tony he said, "Now I've decided to give you the money. That way, you know exactly how much you've got to spend. If you see something you really like and it's $20 or less, you can buy it. OK?"
Tony nodded. "OK Dad," he said. "Thanks."
"Is that for Ziva?" Tony asked, seeing the other $20 bill in Gibbs' hand.
"Yes," Gibbs answered. "I'm sure that will cheer her up after her timeout," he added smiling at Tony.
Suddenly looking at his watch, Gibbs realised he hadn't set the timer. Figuring Ziva been there for about two minutes, he set the watch to beep after three.
Grabbing a couple of the brochures from Jenny's hand, Gibbs and Tony leaned against the car and thumbed through them, waiting for Ziva's time out to be over.
"Hey Dad," said Tony excitedly. "This one's about a maze, can we go see that?"
Smiling Gibbs said, "Your Mom saw that one too and thought you and Ziva might like it." He took the brochure from Tony and glanced over it. "It's only about ten minutes from here, we could go there this afternoon if you like?" he suggested.
"Cool!" said Tony.
Catching movement out the corner of her eye, Jenny looked into the car and saw Ziva mouth the word 'Yes!" and punch the air with her fist. Resisting the urge to laugh, Jenny covered her mouth and looked away, pretending she hadn't seen anything.
Finally, the beeper on Gibbs' watch began to sound. Opening Tony's side of the car, Gibbs sat next to Ziva.
"So why did I put you in time-out?" he asked sternly.
"Because I kept touching things," she said quietly.
"No, that's why I held you," he said. "Why do you think I put you in timeout?"
Ziva thought for a moment.
"Because I was kicking and trying to get down?" she said questioningly.
"That's right," Gibbs answered. "I explained how you'd have to stay with me if you tried to touch something again. It was your fussing and kicking that earned you the time out."
"I'm sorry Daddy," she said quietly.
"OK," he answered. He drew her into a hug and kissed her head. Sitting her back in her car seat, he took out the $20 and explained the same thing he had to Tony.
"Would you like Mommy to keep the money in her purse so you don't lose it?" he asked.
"Yes please," she answered handing it back to him. "Thank you Daddy," she added.
"You're welcome Sweet Pea," he said smiling at her.
Once everyone was in the car, Jenny suggested they find somewhere nice to have lunch.
"Why don't we find a pub and have a decent meal?" she suggested. "That way we won't have to worry about cooking dinner tonight."
"Sounds good," said Gibbs as he started up the engine and pulled out of the car park.
It wasn't long before they spotted a country pub on the outskirts of the small town they had just been in. Parking the car in the street, the four of them hopped out and entered the old building. Seeing the sign for the restaurant, Gibbs steered everyone in that direction.
They were met by a waitress who led them to a table. She handed them two menus and asked if they would like to order drinks. Once the waitress had left, Gibbs and Jenny opened their menu and Tony did the same.
"Hmm," said Jenny perusing the choices. "I think I might have a steak and salad." She looked at Gibbs.
"Sounds good. I might have the same," he said, closing the menu. "What about you two?" he asked looking across at the children.
"Tony, let Ziva see the menu," said Jenny and watched as Tony opened it up wider so Ziva could see.
"It doesn't matter Mommy," the little girl answered. "I can't read it anyway," she said as if this was the most obvious thing in the world.
Jenny and Gibbs looked at each other suddenly. "None of it?" asked Gibbs.
"No," said Ziva. "The words are too big. Ima and I had only started reading small words."
Struck by this piece of information, Gibbs just stared dumbfounded at Ziva as she continued to look up at him. "What's the matter Daddy?" she finally asked, concern evident in her voice.
"Nothing Honey," said Jenny quickly, nudging Gibbs under the table. He jumped then looked at Jenny. Clearing his throat, he added. "Sorry sweetheart, Daddy was miles away."
As Jenny read out the menu to Ziva, Gibbs thought back over the last month or so. He had to admit, he hadn't seen Ziva reading for quite some time. He felt terrible about not knowing when she had lost this skill. When Tony and Ziva had first regressed, they had managed to maintain many of their adult skills and knowledge. Even when they 'lost' their adult memories, they were both still able to read and write. But now he thought about it, he hadn't seen Ziva writing recently either.
"Tony," he asked, suddenly looking up from the menu he had been staring at while thinking. "Can you read the menu alright?"
"Yeah, pretty much," Tony said making eye contact with his Dad. "Enough to figure things out anyway," he added. He then went on to say, "Can I have the fish and chips?"
When Gibbs didn't respond, Tony called, "Dad!"
Looking up, Gibbs said, "Yeah sure, fish and chips."
"I'll have the chicken nuggets please," said Ziva after Jenny had read the menu to her. "And a salad," she added.
Getting up from her seat, Ziva announced, "I'm going to the bathroom."
"Me too," said Tony also getting up.
"Do you want me to go with you?" asked Jenny looking at Ziva.
Ziva rolled her eyes. "Mommy! It's just there," she said pointing to the door on their left. "I can go by myself."
"OK, Miss Independent," laughed Jenny.
When Tony and Ziva left the table, Gibbs turned to Jenny.
"I feel terrible," he began quickly, knowing they didn't have much time before the children returned. "I didn't even notice she had lost the ability to read. I wonder if she can still write?"
"Probably not," responded Jenny. "I guess she's totally turned into a five year old."
"So does that mean I need to enroll her in school?" asked Gibbs desperately. "And what about Tony? At ten he's already learned the basics about reading and writing but he'll begin to lose the skills over two years unless it's kept up."
"I don't know," answered Jenny. "But if they do need to go to school, you'll have to get fake IDs made up for them. Enroll them as Ziva and Tony Gibbs."
"Yeah, I'll have to talk to Abby about it," said Gibbs rubbing his forehead. "Geez Jen, I didn't count on this. Poor kid, I've just assumed she could still read things."
"Don't beat yourself up about it Jethro," reassured Jenny. "If there's one thing we know about Ziva, it's that she doesn't suffer quietly. If she didn't understand something she would have let us know straight away."
"Yeah true," said Gibbs laughing slightly. Looking up, he saw Tony emerge from the men's room. "Shh, they're coming back," he murmured softly ending any further conversation with Jenny.
"Did you wash your hands?" asked Gibbs as Tony sat at the table.
"Dad!" said Tony offended at being asked.
"Just checking," said Gibbs. "You might have forgotten."
Rolling his eyes, Tony fiddled with his napkin while he waited for the drinks to arrive.
A minute later, as Ziva emerged from the bathroom, the waitress arrived and placed the drinks on the table. She took out a pen and note pad and took their orders. Leaving them again, Ziva hopped up onto her chair and took hold of her raspberry lemonade. Taking a deep drink from the straw, she swallowed, then reached in and took out a piece of ice from the drink and shoved it into her mouth.
"Not with your fingers Ziva," scolded Jenny as she watched the little girl sucking on the ice.
"How else am I supposed to get it?" she asked.
"Well, it's supposed to stay in the drink to keep it cool," answered Jenny.
"That's no fun," said Ziva. "I like to chew on it."
"If you carefully slurp on the drink like this," said Tony trying to demonstrate while talking. "You can suck up a piece of ice without using your hands."
He continued slurping and managed to successfully get a piece of ice in his mouth. "Of course you have to be careful you don't suck up too much drink otherwise it will make you cough," he added wisely.
As Gibbs was about to point out that it probably wasn't a good idea, he was stopped by the reappearance of the waitress as she brought over table mats and crayons for Tony and Ziva.
"Thanks," said Tony as the waitress smiled at him before leaving.
Taking a crayon each, Tony and Ziva were kept amused by the activities on the paper which included a dot to dot, tic tac toe, a maze and a picture to colour.
Watching Ziva complete the dot to dot, Gibbs asked, "How many numbers can you count up to Ziva?"
Ziva shrugged. "I don't know. Lots I guess. Numbers are easy because they follow a pattern," she added. "Once you know the pattern you can count forever."
Remembering how good adult Ziva was with numbers, he figured she was probably still quite adept at numerical patterns.
"Can you tell me what three plus two is?" he asked her.
"Five," she answered quickly, not looking up but continuing to finish her picture.
"What about five plus six?" he asked.
She looked up, "Eleven," she answered. "Do you wanna know how I worked it out?" she asked.
"Sure," said Gibbs.
"Well, six is one more than five and I know that five and five is ten, so five and six is just one more," she smiled triumphantly at him.
"That's very clever," he said.
"Can you tell me what 13 and 16 would be?"
"Um," she put the crayon near her mouth and looked up thinking. "Twenty-nine," she answered. "Ten and ten is twenty and six and three is nine, then twenty and nine is twenty-nine."
Gibbs smiled at her. "What about 27 and 39?" he asked thinking that this might be difficult seeing as the units crossed the ten.
"That's easy Daddy," she said grinning. "It's 66."
When all three people at the table turned to look at her, she elaborated. "Well, 39 is just one away from 40, so I added 27 and 40 which is 67 and took one away."
"Wow Ziva," said Tony impressed. "I didn't even know how to do that one."
"Ima and I loved numbers and we would spend ages making up sums for each other. I'm not so good on subtraction though. We hadn't got to those patterns yet," she added looking a little sad. "Ima was going to teach me those when I turned six." She looked back at her picture and, picking up a different crayon, she began to colour it in.
Thankfully everyone was spared from having to comment when the waitress appeared again with Tony and Ziva's food. Jenny and Gibbs took hold of the table mats and crayons, as the waitress set the plates down.
"Thank you," said Tony and Ziva together and, again, the waitress smiled at them.
It wasn't long before Gibbs' and Jenny's plates also arrived. With the four of them eating quietly, Gibbs was left to ponder the events of the past half hour. The sudden realisation that Tony and Ziva were now intellectually their new ages had certainly changed things for him. No longer comfortable with keeping them at home through the day, Gibbs realised that he would have to enroll them in some sort of educational instruction next fall. He thought about hiring a tutor and home schooling them. That could work, he thought. Maybe he could see if it was possible to get new IDs for them and actually enroll them in school. It would be more risky than home schooling, but at least they would get the social interaction of other children. With new IDs he could also look at enrolling them in sporting activities and clubs.
He suddenly felt Jenny poke him in the ribs. Looking up he frowned at her.
"What?" he said tersely, annoyed at being interrupted from his musings.
"I asked you if you'd like another drink," she replied pointedly.
"Oh, sorry," he said. Looking at his drink he saw that it was almost empty. "I'll get them," he said standing up. "Same?" he asked looking at her empty glass.
"Thanks," she replied smiling at him. She knew exactly where he'd been and couldn't blame him. This discovery had knocked them both for six.
When Gibbs returned with the drinks, he made an effort to stay focused with his family and join in with their conversations. Once everyone had finished and the bill had been paid, the four of them left the pub and continued onto the maze.
***NCIS***
"But what if we get lost in there forever and we die and nobody ever finds us?" asked Ziva clinging to Jenny's hand.
"We won't get lost Honey, I promise," replied Jenny.
They were standing outside the maze. Having just watched Gibbs and Tony enter, Jenny was waiting for Ziva to calm down enough so they could follow. They had decided to engage in a little competition to see who could find their way out of the maze first.
"Are you ready to go in now?" asked Jenny looking down at the little girl. She was surprised by Ziva's insecurity. Normally the first to embark on any adventure, Ziva had been very reluctant once she saw what the maze entailed. When Ziva shook her head, Jenny crouched down and asked, "What wrong? Why are you feeling so scared?"
"There's no lookout points," replied Ziva. "I need a lookout point so that I can figure out how to get through the maze."
"I'm not sure what you mean," said Jenny trying to make sense out of what Ziva was explaining.
"I need to see the maze from the top," explained Ziva as best she could. "Then I can put the picture in my head and use it to work my way around the maze."
Realising what Ziva meant, Jenny was awestruck. The little girl relied solely on remembering an aerial picture of a maze in order to work her way through the many pathways.
"Sorry honey, they don't have a lookout here. But, I can tell you another trick to get out of a maze," replied Jenny.
The little girl looked up. "What?" she asked.
"Well," said Jenny, smiling secretively. "If you ever get lost in a maze, all you have to do is connect your left hand with the left wall and never let it cross over a gap. So long as you stay connected with the wall, you will eventually find your way out. The same works true for your right hand on the right side wall. It's not the quickest way, but it's a sure fire way of eventually getting out."
"I didn't know that," said Ziva.
"Well, now that you know it's impossible for us to get lost forever, do you want to give it a try?" asked Jenny.
"OK," said Ziva smiling.
Relaxing her hold on Jenny's hand, Ziva stepped into the maze and the two of them began to weave their way through the many different pathways. After about five minutes of meandering around, they rounded a corner to come face to face with Tony and Gibbs.
"Not lost are ya boys?" asked Jenny smugly.
"Not at all," replied Gibbs. "We're just taking the scenic route. You?"
"Oh we're not lost Daddy," said Ziva happily. "You can never get lost in a maze."
"Shh," said Jenny. "Don't give all our secrets away." And she took hold of Ziva's hand and led her around the next corner.
When, after a further fifteen minutes of walking and feeling as if they were no closer to the end of the maze, Ziva said, "Mommy, I think we should do the hand trick. I'm really tired."
"Yep," agreed Jenny, "Me too!"
Placing their left hands on the left side wall, they followed along carefully ensuring their hands never lifted off the wall.
"Hey! You were right!" said Ziva excitedly when, ten minutes later, they saw the exit to the maze ahead of them. "Good job Mommy!"
As the two of them left behind the tall hedge maze, they spied Tony and Gibbs sitting on a nearby bench eating ice-creams.
"What took you so long?" asked Gibbs grinning smugly at them.
"Nothing," replied Jenny. "We just took the scenic route," she added using his words back at him.
Taking Ziva's hand, she said, "Come on Honey, let's go get an ice-cream too."
And, holding their heads up proudly, they passed the two boys and walked into the kiosk ignoring the sniggers they could hear behind them.
"They got lost didn't they?" said Tony grinning at his Dad.
"Oh yeah!" replied Gibbs as he bit into the cone. "They sure did!"