Chapter 4: NCIS meets Charmed

It was very late in the evening, when Gibbs sent the rest of his team home for some sleep before they would take a flight to San Francisco. The events after Abby had called Gibbs and Kate to Tony's apartment had seemingly taken a life of their own.

After finding Tony's cell, Gibbs had ordered Abby and McGee back to NCIS headquaters to find out whom Tony had spoken to last on his cell. That hadn't been an easy task because of the battered state of the cell, but the two young agents had managed to work a small miracle by putting their brilliant minds together to hopefully help finding their missing colleague and friend.

They came up with the name of one Phoebe Halliwell, living in San Francisco with her sisters. What could have been only another female friend of Tony's turned out to be more than once mentioned in FBI cases relating to several disappearances and possible deaths. And she and her sisters had been under surveillance by the FBI over the last years because of questionable happenings in their surroundings.

That didn't bode well for Tony, because there was the possibility that the Halliwell's were one of the small groups of thieves the team and the FBI currently investigated. Perhaps they were responsible for the break-in into the Museum of Ethnology last week and the death of the academic of the new exhibition there.

In the meantime Kate had tried to find out if Tony had scheduled a flight to Italy the day after he had taken his leave of absence – and if he had taken that flight. She came up empty in both, which filled not only her but the whole team with a certain amount of dread and worry for the young man. They decided not to call his mother or the rest of his family in Italy because they didn't want to frighten them with the possibility that Tony had been kidnapped without them knowing what exactly had happened during the last three days.

But Gibbs decided that the best lead they currently had on Tony's whereabouts was the young man's phone call with Phoebe Halliwell – and that it was enough reason for an investigation in the actual place…San Francisco.

That's why the early next morning found the whole team assembled at the airport. Abby and Ducky were with them this time, having argued that their skills might be needed. Abby was a technical genius like McGee and Ducky's expertise as a doctor would save them precious time if Tony was hurt. Besides both Abby and the ME dearly liked Tony and wanted to help to get him safely back into their midst.

Gibbs hadn't put up much of a fight, knowing this and even more Ducky's calm presence helped him to not give in to his feelings of fear for Tony's wellbeing. He realized from the twinkle in the older man's eyes that Ducky suspected something – and his best friend made it clear with his presence that he supported Gibbs' feelings for Tony.

When the team arrived in San Francisco, they immediately went to their hotel. There Gibbs ordered Abby and McGee to start looking through everything which might help them with their case, while Kate and Ducky would start the surveillance of Halliwell Manor with him. The time difference of three hours between Washington D.C. and San Francisco gave them an advantage for their observations and subsequent planning.

Nothing much happened in and around the Manor for some hours, the occupants seemingly absent. But in the early afternoon a car parked in the entryway and a young woman around Kate's age with long brown hair went inside. With the information provided by Abby and McGee the woman was identified as Piper Halliwell, the oldest of the three sisters.

When she exited the house twenty minutes later and went away again, Gibbs decided that it was the best time to enter the house without alerting their suspects. Maybe they even got the chance to find Tony and rescue him. Ordering Ducky and Abby, who had in the meantime joined them with McGee, to remain in the car and wait for his sign, Gibbs, Kate and McGee cautiously advanced on Halliwell Manor.

The victorian-style build three story house gave off a slightly imposing, but nonetheless welcoming and inviting air. It didn't seem to be a house of criminals, more like a home for a big family, which irritated not only Kate because of the picture she had invented about the Halliwell sisters. Her profile seemed to be flawed.

Gesturing to Kate and McGee to take the front door, Gibbs moved around the house to the back. He processed every detail of the small garden he encountered and then tried the terrace doors. They were locked, but with a little patience and some of the tricks he had learned in his days as a marine, Gibbs was able to open the doors and he slipped in, gun at the ready. He found himself in what seemed to be some sort of living-room and heard Kate and McGee coming through the front doors. Acknowledging the fact that one of them also had ‘door-opening-skills', Gibbs moved further into the room, observing every little detail to imagine what the people living inside this house were really like.

Across the house Kate and McGee tried to do the same, while cautiously moving forward. Both of them got the impression of an inviting, homey atmosphere, which didn't correspond with the facts they had gotten from the FBI files. Suddenly Kate's gaze was caught by a shelf nearby and she went over to it to have a closer look at the crystal figurine which had attracted her attention. Laying her gun on the shelf to take it into her hands, she realized that the beautiful glass dragon had to have been crafted by the same master like the figurines she had admired in Tony's apartment.

A sudden little tinkling sound let Kate whirl around and almost drop the figure, but she immediately regained her composure. Grabbing her gun and resettling the figurine on the shelf, the young agent moved out of the room to investigate the cause of that sound. Realizing that McGee had went away further into the house, Kate felt a sense of anticipation rise up in her, which was followed a second later by dread, when a female voice asked in an calm but annoyed tone: "May I ask what you are doing in our house, mister?" Uh oh, McGee or Gibbs had been caught.

Most likely McGee.

But where did the woman suddenly come from, Kate asked herself with a frown. She would have heard it if the front doors had opened. But the only thing she had heard was that tiny tinkling sound. Moving very quietly around the corner and concentrating solely on gaining a clear view of the woman, Kate whirled around once more, when this time a male voice called out from behind her: "Good afternoon, Ma'am. To repeat Piper's question: to what do we owe the pleasure of your unexpected visit, Agent?"

Kate's eyes narrowed at the seemingly friendly and harmless question. Hazel eyes showed warmth and kindness, but she couldn't shake the sudden feeling, that the blond man in front of her could be dangerous if threatened. Leveling her weapon on the man she recognized as Leo Wyatt, Piper Halliwell's husband, she made a motion for him to go to his wife and McGee in the next room.

The young man observed her demeanour sharply for a moment, then shrugged slightly and went ahead of her to the next room which obviously posed as kitchen. There Kate found McGee like she had expected, his own gun leveled at Piper Halliwell, who regarded the young agent with a calm, but nonetheless angry manner. Which in turn made McGee visibly uneasy.

When Kate and her ‘prisoner' entered the kitchen, the young woman rolled her eyes in annoyance and asked: "What do you want from us? Not to mention that it would have been nice of you if you would have knocked at the front door instead of breaking in when we supposedly aren't at home. I might not know the laws as well as a judge, but for me this falls under unlawful entry, agents!"

Neither Kate nor McGee got the chance to answer that, because they heard the front door clapping loudly, before another female voice called out: "Piper? I really don't understand why you love to shop for food so much, the traffic in the supermarket was sheer hell today! I really hope this dinner To…", the voice had been steadily coming nearer during her tirade and now the owner of it stepped into the kitchen… only to trail off mid-sentence at the sight which greeted her.

Paige Matthews-Halliwell clutched her bags a bit tighter and sighed in aggrievance. "Again?", she wanted to know with a slightly resigned and more than a bit angry tone of voice. Piper just nodded and Leo smiled slightly at his sister-in-law. Paige rolled her eyes, before narrowing them when she inspected the two agents more closely which were standing across the room with their guns pointed at them.

"Only two of you – and one so obviously a rookie?", the youngest Halliwell sister continued seeing the confused and unsure expression on McGee's face at their unusual reaction at being at gunpoint from two agents. "Usually they send more experienced personnel…", she finished her observation and Piper added: "And a whole lot more of them. Okay, where's the rest of you guys?"

"That would be me", Gibbs' cool voice suddenly made itself known.

The silver-haired agent leaned in the second door to the kitchen and observed the five persons inside the room with his piercing blue eyes. He had holstered his gun and crossed his arms over his chest in a seemingly relaxed manner, but nonetheless the reaction of Piper, Paige and Leo showed that they considered him more of a threat than Kate or McGee.

While Piper's brown eyes narrowed darkly at Gibbs, assessing the danger he possibly posed to her family and home, Paige and Leo instinctivly moved even closer to her. Together the three showed a strong and united front against everything they expected would be thrown at them from the agents they considered to be FBI personnel.

Gibbs watched the unconscious reaction to his presence and smiled faintly. He knew that he could intimidate most people without really trying, but even if the Halliwell's moved closer together they didn't seem afraid of him. That could be changed.

While Kate and McGee moved to his side, Gibbs used all his feelings of worry for Tony to project a calm but nonetheless threatening and authoritive aura and knew when Piper tensed imperceptibly that she had realized that he was in an absolute no-nonsense mood. The young woman seemed to have experience in dealing with dangerous situations like the current one, because a mere second later she straightened and returned his demanding gaze with a level stare of her own.

"Well, you are obviously the leader of your little team", Piper addressed Gibbs, crossing her arms while taking a step forward and by that showing remarkable bravery in light of Gibbs' cool and threatening stare. It gained her McGee's and Kate's reluctant admiration, because many people had immediately backed down when hit with the power of those piercing blue eyes. Even Gibbs himself felt a flash of respect.

"Then it would be prudent if you explain to us why you felt it necessary to break into our house without our agreement and threaten us. Do you have a command for a search of this property or anything like this – or will I have the pleasure of calling the police to arrest you for unlawful entry, Sir?" The tone in Piper's voice when she called him ‘Sir' bordered on insulting, but the anger in her eyes was more noticable. Gibbs only smiled coldly.

He acknowledged her spirit, her protectivness for her home and family…but on the other side her reaction showed that a situation like this didn't happen for the first time. Paige hovered behind her older sister, almost touching her in a sense of protectivness all of her own. Then the blond man reached out and laid his hand on Piper's shoulder, calling her name. The young woman glared at Gibbs for another moment, before turning her head around to look at her husband. A nonverbal conversation seemed to take place, including Paige some minutes later, when Piper send her a look to which the younger woman simply nodded.

Kate tensed in anticipation when she saw that, but Gibbs remained in his supposedly relaxed pose. But his eyes didn't miss anything. When three sets of eyes centered once more on Gibbs waiting for his response, the silver-haired agent decided to answer. "You seem to know much more about the law than the average citizen, Ma'am", he said mildly.

Piper glared at him, then calmed herself. She slowly started to smile when she recognized Gibbs' tactic and replied: "I know what I need to know about the law. Can we stop playing around and come to the real reason you and your friends are in this house? My family and I have plans for the evening and I am sure you also can think of other things to do than bother us all day long."

Her sister snorted quietly and whispered something only Leo and Piper could hear, but the flash of amusement in the brown eyes of the oldest Halliwell sister in response gave away the fact that the comment had been anything but flattering for the three agents. Gibbs nonetheless had relaxed a tiny fraction. More and more he came to the realization, that he instinctivly liked these people – even if his mind told him over and over the facts he had read about them in the FBI files. His gut told him another story – and more often than not his instincts had lead him right.

Gibbs' observations of the Halliwell's seemed mirrored by Kate and to a certain amout by McGee. The female agent remained standing with her gun at the ready, but her eyes showed contemplation and first hints of her inner friendliness. McGee seemed mostly confused, but alert. The atmosphere in the kitchen eased down from the tenseness of earlier to a wary acceptance of the other group.

"Of course we'll be able to think of something better to do, Ma'am", Gibbs agreed amiably. "But first of all I want to know where you hide Special Agent DiNozzo."

Gibbs' calm, friendly tone belied the steel in his eyes when he said these words. The reactions of the Halliwell's were immediate. Had they been slowly relaxing before, the tenseness was now back tenfold. Defensiveness blazed in three sets of eyes and Gibbs wasn't sure but he thought he could feel waves of protectiveness emanating from them. He mentally blinked at this unexpected change in behaviour, but showed nothing of his inner musings on his face, which remained impassive.

"I don't know whom you are speaking about", Piper stated, her own face equally impassive. But her eyes gave her away to Gibbs' trained instincts and he could read worry and trepidation in the brown depths.

"You aren't a good liar, Ma'am", the silver-haired agent countered with a raised eyebrow. "And I wouldn't recommend to try it again on this particular topic. So I ask you again – where is Agent DiNozzo?" Gibbs' voice was decidedly arctic now, when he wondered if his instinctive affinity to those people lead him wrong and the FBI was right about them all the time. Normally he could trust his instincts, but why would Piper Halliwell be lying about Tony if not for the fact that she intended to do him harm?

Before Piper, Paige or Leo could answer to that question, everyone present in the kitchen jumped more or less visibly, when suddenly delighted laughter rang through the house, coming from upstairs. One of the owners of those voices seemed to be a man, because his laughter was a rich, deep and warm chuckle, whereas his female counterpart was more giggling without restraint than laughing outright. Both of them sounded highly amused.

"Stop it, please stop it", the female voice called out panting, "we'll fall down the stairs, Tony!" "And that would be my fault why exactly?", Tony's familiar voice answered with obvious mischief present in the few words. Sarcasm now prominent, the female once more answered: "Because you are the one tickling me to an inch of my life?" "Well…", Tony seemed to muse for a second, before deciding to accept the truth in his companion's statement. "Point taken."

Footsteps were coming down the stairs and when they reached the ground floor, Tony's voice could be heard once more. "So, my dear Phee, which excuse for your misbehaviour in our training lesson do you want to try now to escape my revanche? Think fast because my fingers are itching to tickle you…", he added in a pretense of looming danger. But his laughter was clearly distinguishible, even when he tried to sound menacing.

The female voice emitted a little shriek, then light footsteps neared the kitchen, followed by more heavier ones. "Oh…please not again, Tony…I'll be good…", she declared in a desperate attempt to escape the next tickling-attack, sounding breathless from laughing.

"And if you don't stop it, I'll…", the woman tried to threaten Tony, who commented full of anticipatory amusement: "You will what, Phee?" "I'll…I'll…", the female panted between little bouts of giggling. Then a thought seemed to struck her and she burst out: "I'll sic Piper on you, you bully!"

Once more Tony's deep laughter rang out, good-natured and warm like pure sunshine. It caused several of the kitchen's occupants to smile in reaction when they felt it wrap around them like a blanket. Gibbs felt the tight knot in his stomach ease at hearing Tony laugh so freely. It was something he hadn't heard in a long time – and he had missed it.

Tony's answer to this threat was chuckling and teasing his companion: "Reverting to threatening me with your siblings again, Phee? Tsk, tsk, tsk…and here I thought you would be able to fight for your own… For this I'll be tickling you into next week."

"But only if you can catch me again, Tony", the woman Tony called ‘Phee' challenged him. More fast footsteps could be heard, this time right into the direction of the kitchen. Shortly after the swing door opened inwards and a young woman tumbled inside, followed by Tony who closed his arms around his friend and caused her to start giggling again by tickling her sides.

But seconds later the couple froze and brown and green eyes looked up at the other occupants of the kitchen. "Whoah, war zone", Tony commented dryly, immediately noticing the highly tense atmosphere. Recognizing his teammates who looked at him in varying states of relief, confusion and amusement, Tony blinked in surprise and then straightened up.

Supporting Phoebe with an arm around her waist until she was able to stand on her own again, the young Italian's attention wandered from McGee over to Kate. Finally his green-eyed gaze locked with Gibbs' deep blue eyes and Tony smiled in greeting, all the while not hiding his own confusion at seeing his team assembled here. "Boss, what are all of you doing here?", he asked, only to be interrupted by Piper's exclamation: "Boss? This is Agent Gibbs you told us about?"

Tony turned to the oldest Halliwell sister and regarded her curiously. "Yes, that's Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs – my boss at NCIS. Piper, why do you ask? Didn't they introduce themselves when you let them into the house?"

Different expressions flashed over the faces of six persons in the kitchen, which caused Phoebe and Tony to share a look of confusion. Whereas Piper, Paige and Leo visibly relaxed when they realized that they could now finally put faces to the names of the teammates Tony had told them so much about, Gibbs, Kate and McGee slowly overcame their initial relief at seeing Tony unharmed and obviously in good spirits. But Tony's last question made Kate and McGee cringe slightly, because they knew Tony wouldn't react positivly to what he would surely see as an unjustified invasion in his – yeah, what? friends? – life.

Paige grimaced at her cousin's question and started to answer, but Leo's calm voice prevented her from it by saying with a clearly sarcastic touch: "They found the way inside without any help, Tony. Perhaps they wanted to surprise you…but instead they merely surprised Paige, Piper and myself when we came back."

Tony stiffened when he interpreted what Leo had been telling him and his green eyes lost some of their welcoming expression and instead began to blaze with a slightly scary fire of protectiveness for his family.

Turning and levelling his questioning, clearly disappointed stare at Gibbs - because he knew that Kate and McGee had only been following the senior agent's orders - Tony demanded to know: "Care to tell my why you deemed it necessary to brake into this house, Boss? If you wanted to talk to me there's this thing called telephone…"

His words caused Gibbs to growl in warning, but Tony's own glare didn't waver. Usually he wouldn't question his Boss like this, but he was angered that the older man had invaded his family's privacy – and he wouldn't back down without a good reason from Gibbs. The silver-haired agent could read all of this in Tony's expressive eyes and even if he was annoyed at the accusation in his subordinate's words, the overwhelming relief he felt at seeing Tony safe and sound outweight any negative emotion.

That's why he remained cool and chose to answer honestly. "We investigated this house, because your friends were suspected of having kidnapped you, DiNozzo." The way Gibbs had said ‘friends' clearly demanded an explanation about the relation his fellow agent had to the Halliwell's, but Tony didn't reply to the demand right away, because while he just frowned in consternation at the accusation in Gibbs' words Phoebe and her sisters expressed their shock more audibly.

"What?"

"Kidnapped?"

"We would never kidnap Tony!"

Four sets of eyes full of shock, incredulity and confused hurt were locked on Gibbs after Phoebe's last outburst. She glared heavily at the silver-haired man and Kate and McGee, which made the latter back away from her and even Kate recoil slightly from the angered power of that gaze.

Tony had recovered in the meantime and now curled his arm around Phoebe again to hold her back from giving his teammates a more physical demonstration of her displeasure at the thought of ever causing harm to her beloved cousin. Calming her down again by hugging her into his side, Tony addressed the rest of his family, who had doubled Phoebe's angered look at the same level of intensity, by saying soothingly: "It's alright, guys. Let Gibbs explain this mess, before you decide to happily slice Kate, McGee and him to pieces with your looks."

Phoebe growled at Tony's attempt to diffuse the newly amounted tension between his family and his teammates, but remained silent. She leaned into his embrace and and continuead to glower darkly at McGee, whom she could feel was the most frightened by her furious reaction. Tony smirked when he saw McGee blanch at being the center of that unflinching stare, but then decided to take pity on his younger colleague. Leaning down to Phoebe's ear, he whispered to her: "Bullying the children again, Phee? What would Grandma Penny say?"

Phoebe scowled, but relented when she saw Tony's amused smirk and the warmth in his forest-green eyes. She felt that her cousin was thankful of the instant reaction Gibbs' words had caused not only in her, showing him the amount of love and protection the sisters and Leo felt for him.

Gibbs watched the whole interaction between Tony and Phoebe with barely suppressed jealousy, seeing the easy rapport between his agent and the young woman. The way they reacted to each other spoke of long years of friendship and knowing the other by heart. And the instant way, in which she had denied to ever kidnap Tony – and by that clearly meaning the whole concept of doing something to cause the young Italian harm in any way – told Gibbs, that she deeply loved his subordinate. And by the way the rest of the Halliwell's which had pierced McGee, Kate and him with their angry looks until Tony intervened, she wasn't the only one to hold affection for the young man.

On one side it pleased Gibbs to see Tony surrounded by people who obviously cared for him, but on the other hand it made his heart clench to be denied to do the same. Seeing Tony after almost a week of missing him and his easy-going nature and then fearing for his wellbeing for over 36 hours, Gibbs' longing to hold the younger man in his arms had increased to an almost physical ache in his heart. But he determinedly held his face blank and masked his inner feelings to remain in control of the situation, which seemed to be one tangled mess of false assumptions.

When the whole attention gathered on himself once more after Tony's words of letting him explain, Gibbs decided to ease the tension of Tony's friends by going into a more detailed version of why he found it necessary to investigate Halliwell Manor without the knowledge of its owners.

But before he could start to tell the events of the previous day, he felt his cell vibrating. He had shut the ring tone off to prevent being startled during the search of the house…and to prevent of being surprised should the Halliwell's come back unexpectedly. Which, he thought with a mental shake of his head, was exactly what had happened. Just his luck.

Fishing his cell from his belt, Gibbs saw Abby's ID on the display and sighed. He knew what the lab tech would tell him – probably she wanted to warn him. Seeing Tony's steady gaze levelled at him, Gibbs opened his cell, not giving Abby any chance to say a word. "I know, Abs. Come here. Both of you." Ending his curt order the silver-haired agent closed the connection.

Tony was clearly surprised by his words. "Abby is here, too?", he questioned. Frowning for a second, green eyes widened when Tony understood the ‘both of you' Gibbs had mentioned. "And Ducky?", now the young man sounded aghast. "Gibbs, what did you think had happened to me to make such a big crowd? To lure Abby and Ducky out of their labs…", Tony trailed off, when Gibbs answered tersely: "We thought that you had been abducted, DiNozzo. And Abby and Ducky insisted to come with us to make sure you are alright."

The quiet intensity of the silver-haired man's words caused Tony's family to relax visibly, their stern gazes warming. Piper and Paige shared a look of satisfaction with Phoebe, that Tony's teammates looked out for their cousin's wellbeing. It seemed that they would go to great lengths for it. The three women knew how much Tony cared for each of his colleagues, especially for his boss. Now they could finally see for themselves, that those feelings were returned in an equal measure.

Hearing the ring of the bell on the frontdoor a minute later caused Leo to wander away to open the door for the rest of Tony's team. In the meantime Piper looked at Tony who nodded in reaction and then began to shoo McGee, Kate and Gibbs out of the kitchen and into the living-room, where they would be able to discuss the whole situation in a more relaxed manner.

McGee seemed relieved to be away from the sisters' penetrating gazes, having been reminded of the steely gaze Gibbs would level at him when he couldn't provide needed information or had done something to disappoint the older agent. Looking at Tony, the younger agent found green eyes gazing at Kate, Gibbs and himself with a mix of silent joy, gratitude, anger and disappointment.

McGee needed a minute to figure out this mixture of emotions, but after some thinking he realized that while Tony didn't like the way his teammates had broken into his friends' house the young Italian was glad to see them again and thankful for their care.

Starting to apologize to his colleague, because he knew Gibbs wouldn't do so, McGee was interrupted when Abby flew into the room. Spotting Tony standing next to the couch Kate and Gibbs had taken a seat on, the lab tech run up to the young Italian and embraced him tightly. Swaying at the force in which Abby had ‘attacked' him, Tony soon regained his balance and then returned the hug warmly. Smiling down at his whirlwind of a friend, Tony carefully tugged at one of Abby's pigtails to make her look up at him. When she did so, the young man said: "Hey there, imp."

Trying to scowl at the nickname, the young goth couldn't resist the warm smile directed at her and returned the gesture shakily. "You ok?", she wanted to know, unconciously tightening her grip on Tony's muscular frame. "I'm perfectly alright, Abs. Even if your grip is causing bruises on the bruises, which Phee inflicted on me today."

Stiffening in renewed fright for her friend's health, Abby heard the hitch in Kate's breath at the unexpected news and could see the sharpening look in Gibbs' blue eyes. But before any of them could verbally react, a female voice scolded lightly: "Way to go, Tony. And here I thought you wanted them to relax…to do so you shouldn't accuse me of abusing you."

Tony raised an eyebrow at the young woman, who had entered the living-room without anybody noticing and then smirked. "Who said that you abused me, Phee? I think I can proudly tell, that I retaliated in kind…we reached a draw in our lesson today. Perhaps tomorrow I'll be finally up to your level in this style of combined fighting, dear."

Phoebe pouted, then heaved a sigh. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. No need to gloat, Tony. I know you are an excellent fighter and a quick learner. But remember that you promised to bring me up to date on this martial arts style you favour."

Tony nodded with a lauging twinkle in his eyes and said: "Then you'll be the one with bruises upon bruises…", which caused Phoebe to snort and reply: "As if you would ever even think of causing me bruises, Tony. Like I told you, I would sic Piper on you!"

"And what makes you think I would help you and not him?", Piper's voice suddenly questioned from the door to the kitchen, where she came from with a tablet decorated with several cups of steaming coffee. "Piper!", exclaimed Phoebe with an indignant scowl, which caused her sister to share an amused look with Tony.

"If Piper sides with Tony, I will side with you, Phoebe", Paige assured her sister, when she followed the oldest Halliwell from the kitchen, her hands holding a tablet too. "Thanks, Paige", Phoebe answered the youngest Charmed One, "but we would need more assistance. Leo…"

"Oh no, you will not bring me into this, Phoebe!", exclaimed Leo with a chuckle from were he stood next to Ducky and listened to the good-natured bickering of his family, "Remember, I'm pacifist… totally pacifist."

Phoebe rolled her eyes and Paige shook her head at her brother-in-law, commenting: "Coward." It was delivered with a smile and Leo retorted in kind: "I'd call it survival instinct, Paige. Both of you and me against Piper and Tony? We wouldn't stand a chance, so thanks, but no thanks. I'd like to remain unbruised as well as on the good side of my wife."

Paige looked at Phoebe after those words and repeated dryly: "Coward."

Grinning at Leo, who only shrugged in response to Paige's ‘insult' on his bravery, Tony said: "You are wise man, Leo. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise. Remaining on your wife's good side is a wise move", the young Italian added with a look at Gibbs, who growled slightly, but didn't seem angered by Tony's hint of the way the silver-haired man's wives had ended their relationships.

And Gibbs wasn't angered, but amused at the bickering he had witnessed between the five young people. More and more he realized, that Leo and the three sisters were very close to Tony – and he wondered how close. It almost seemed as if they were tied as close as family members, but Gibbs couldn't recall seeing the name Halliwell on Tony's file with his other family relations.

Tony had seen the contemplative look on Gibbs' face and knew what the older man was wondering about. Sighing to himself, the young Italian tried to come up with a plan to tell his team about his family without revealing their secret. It wouldn't be easy, but Tony had no intention of betraying the trust the Charmed One's put into him. Even if it meant displeasing Gibbs.

But first of all, he should introduce the two groups properly. Even if he had told Phoebe and her two sisters very much about the persons he worked with and called friends, they hadn't seen them face to face until now. And Gibbs and the rest of the team hadn't known at all about the Halliwell's.

Smiling in greeting at Ducky, when the elderly doctor went past him with a relieved look in his eyes at seeing Tony unharmed and in good company, the young man motioned for all of his teammates to find a seat.

Then he said to them: "Well, Phoebe, Leo, Piper and Paige already know about you, guys – but I'd like to properly introduce them to you because you didn't know about them. This…", here Tony was interrupted by several questions.

"They know about us?"

"They didn't know about us?"

Both groups eyed each other after their surprised exclamations. Then several sets of eyes locked onto Tony for clarification, who pinched the bridge of his nose in rising exasperation of the current situation and his uncertainty about how much he could tell his teammates about this part of his family.

"Oh, for Spirit's sake!", the young Italian growled in annoyance. "Of course they know about you", he told his five teammates before turning to the sisters to add: "And of course they did not know about you…until today it seems."

Kate was the first to retort to Tony's comment. "And why did they know about us - and we didn't?" She sounded aggrieved, which caused Tony to roll his green eyes. But he didn't get the time to answer that, because Paige beat him to it by asking: "I have to agree, Tony. I thought you liked those people you work with…so why not tell them about us?"

She trailed off at the sharp look her cousin threw her and the light kick in the stomach from Phoebe's ellbow she had to suffer in retaliation. The youngest Charmed One blinked in confusion, obviously as mystified as Tony's friends.

A sharply growled "DiNozzo" from Gibbs made clear the silver-haired agent wanted an explanation. Or better, demanded it quite strongly by the frown on his handsome face. Tony sighed deeply.
"Phoebe, Paige, Piper, Leo and their boys are a part of my family, Gibbs. As well as an important part of my life. Of course I tell them about the people I work with among other things…like they tell me about things that happen to them. And for the fact, that they aren't mentioned on my file", Tony added, guessing correctly that his boss wondered why the sisters weren't listed there with the rest of Tony's family, "that's due to a promise I made…" Tony's eyes dimmed a bit when he said: "…to several people in fact."

When Gibbs frowned in concern at seeing a shadow of pain flashing through Tony's expressive eyes at the last sentence, Phoebe went to stand next to her Italian cousin. Her empathy had picked up the flash of deep sorrow Tony felt and she knew it was because of the two people the young man had given this promise to. Her grandmother Penny. And her older sister Prue. Both of whom were dead, causing not only Tony to miss them terribly.

Hugging the young man with all her love, she whispered: "Thanks for keeping your oath, Tony. We always knew you would hold true to it." A warm, tender smile bloomed on Tony's face at hearing the strong conviction in Phoebe's words and he kissed her on the top of her head while returning her embrace with an equal amount of affection.

"Of course I would keep it, Phee", he admonished her lightly and added with an amused glint in his kind eyes: "I wouldn't want to be the victim of Grandma Penny's wrath. She would - quite literally - haunt me." Phoebe couldn't suppress a slight shiver, but grinned back. Tony was right, her grandmother had never been one to mess with - not as a witch, and certainly not now as a ghost.

"You said they are part of your family", Abby intervened at this moment, her eyes sparkling with interest. "How exactly?", she wanted to know, causing Tony to smile at her insatiable curiousity. He readily answered: "They are my cousins. Their father and my mother are siblings."