- Text Size +
Author's Chapter Notes:
A Special Surprise Ending...where is everybody a year and a half later...
"What Had To Be Done, Part Nine"

--Chapter Twenty--

It was a bright, sunny afternoon in Los Angeles, California. Though in the sun was Abby's least favorite place in the world, since her transfer to the NCIS L.A. division, just over a year ago, she had learned to make the best of it.

Right now she was shopping in one of those 'boardwalk' shops near the beach. She hoped that this afternoon she'd be able to find the perfect birthday present for her 'god-daughter' Talia.

Except things had not gone so great at all on this particular day, because of the significance of today--the Anniversary of Gibbs'...

No, better to not dwell on that anymore she often told herself.

She nudged her sunglasses back up her nose, as she picked up a tiny little t-shirt--ya know something that a baby would wear--and examined it closely. The tiny t-shirt was light pink, and had the words 'Lil Surfer Chic' written across its front in big bold, dark pink letters.

"Well, I guess it'll go great with the shoes that I got her yesterday." Abby mused, aloud.

"Its perfect." came a voice from behind her.

Her breath caught in her throat, and it seemed like almost forever before she let it back out.

That voice. She knew that voice; but it couldn't be--could it? She didn't dare turn around, not at first, for fear that it might just be another hallucination. Another daydream.

There was a brief silence, but then the stranger spoke up once again.

"Abs," he said softly. "Its me."

Emotion welled up in Abby's eyes, and threatened to make her mascara run like crazy, and make a mess all over her face. She tried to form words, but it was so difficult to do.

"I-I know." she choked out, quietly. "But you're--you're supposed to me-"

"But I'm not." he replied softly.

Abby set the tiny t-shirt down, and then turned around. There standing directly behind her in a flower shirt, baggy shorts, flip flops, and sporting an unshaven beard and sunglasses was none other than Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

"Gibbs." she choked out at seeing him standing there.

She took a couple of steps towards him. With one had she touched his unshaven face (gently of course), and then she pulled his sunglasses down off of his face so that she could see his eyes. One look into those steely blue eyes, and she knew for sure that it was him.

"Oh Gibbs," she said throwing herself into his arms. "Its been so--we all thought-" she could hardly form the words to speak a single coherent sentence.

"I know." he replied softly, wrapping her in a big, warm hug.

"But how?" she asked, now looking up at his face again.

"Tobias made a few calls--pulled a few strings," Gibbs explained. "It was all planned from the beginning." he assured her. "Everyone thought I was given a lethal injection--but it was just a special, powerful, sedative cooked up by-"

"Ducky." Abby guessed, knowing that there was really only one doctor that Gibbs trusted with his life.

Gibbs nodded.

"But we agreed that he wouldn't say anything to anyone," Gibbs continued. "Best to lay low, and let the heat die down first."

Abby pushed away a little bit, and wiped tears from her eyes. "There's so much to tell you. So much you don't know."

Gibbs chuckled. "You mean like Tony and Ziva being 'Parents'?"

"You know?" Abby was somewhat shocked.

"Yeah I know." Gibbs grinned. "That little Talia of theirs is really something." Gibbs said.

"She sure is," Abby agreed.

"So you saw them first?" she asked.

"Yeah, they were the easiest to find." Gibbs pointed out. "They never left D.C."

"Some of us didn't have a choice Gibbs." Abby said, turning away from him.

Gibbs stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her again. "That's not what I meant Abs." Gibbs said softly.

"I know Vance had to break up the team to please the Brass." Gibbs said. "Sent you out here, McGee's an 'Agent Afloat'--and probably hates it--Tony's got his own team now in D.C. with Ziva as his second in command-"

"Its been...hard." Abby admitted.

"I know." Gibbs agreed. He ran his hand through his hair as he stood there. "When Tony said you were in California...I knew I couldn't leave you 'again' without a proper goodbye."

"What!?" Abby said out of shock. "Wh-Why does it have to be goodbye?" she asked, her heart breaking.

"Abs, its too dangerous for me to do 'this' a lot." Gibbs explained. "You know that."

"I guess so." she replied, fighting back more tears.

"Abs," Gibbs said softly. "I know I've said this before but...You've always been like a daughter to me." he told her. "When I lost Kelly and Shannon--I wasn't sure if I'd ever be able to feel that part of myself ever again."

Abby rubbed her tear stained cheeks, but more tears only took their place.

"Then I met you, and got to know you," he continued. "And you filled that void."

To Abby, in that moment, it sounded like Gibbs' own voice was cracking up a bit. Which was strange, because that kind of stuff was not in Gibbs' nature.

Abby turned around, and was sort of shocked by what she saw. Gibbs' eyes were as moist and red as hers were. It made since now...his words that day in the courtroom. "...be strong for them, and...for me." They echoed in her ears now.

She understood what he'd been asking now. This was as hard for him, as it was for her.

"Gibbs," she said, stepping closer to him. "Its alright. I understand." she told him softly, as she wiped more tears from her face.

Before he knew what was happening Abby had wrapped her arms around Gibbs and was hugging him tightly. "Goodbye." she whispered in his ear.

A single tears dropped from Gibbs' eye, and rolled down his cheek, and then finally disappeared from view.

The pair pulled apart after a few beats. "I need you to send my birthday gift for Talia when you send yours." Gibbs said, wiping his eyes with the palms of his hands.

"Tell me its not a boat." she said, trying to sound humorous.

Gibbs chuckled. "Its only like this big." he replied, indicating its size with his hands.

Abby shook her head at Gibbs.

"Alright." She said finally. "Just tell me where it is."

"At your house." Gibbs said.

Abby looked a little bewildered.

"You mean my apartment." she corrected him.

Gibbs grinned. "No, I mean your 'House'." he said.

Abby was confused at his words. They just did not make sense.

"Oh, speaking of which," he said, as he began fishing around in his pockets. "You'll need these."

Abby was stunned into complete, and utter silence as Gibbs handed her a set of keys.

"What-" she started to say.

"Remember the 'Kelly'?" Gibbs asked.

Abby nodded. She remembered all too well the last boat that Gibbs had built in his basement at his old house. Once he had taken it out of the basement he had put it up in storage for years.

"I left that to McGee," Gibbs said. "Good thing to--that girl he's been seeing for the last few years--they just got engaged--she apparently likes to go sailing--so now they can go out whenever he's home." Gibbs said with a chuckle.

Abby smiled at that. Good for McGee she thought to herself. She hadn't spoken to him in such a long time, and she really did miss him.

"I left the old house to Tony and Ziva," he continued. "The apartment that they were living in was just way to small for three people to live comfortably." he told her.

Abby nodded. "It really was." she said. "I was gonna ask them about that when I flew up to see them for Talia's birthday this weekend."

Gibbs nodded.

"Plus, I hear you're gonna need a bigger place before long," he said.

Abby's heart began racing faster and faster in her chest. "Oh, no." she thought to herself, as she placed her hand against her abdomen. "He knows. He knows. But how, I'm barely showing--and I only told Tony and-" The thoughts raced wildly through her head as she stood there.

"Does Eric know?" He asked, calmly.

Okay, now she really really believed that Gibbs was like psychic or something.

Abby shook her head, now more tears forming in her eyes.

"No." she said quietly. "Not yet."

"Why not?" he asked.

"I-I-" she tried to speak but the words wouldn't come.

Gibbs took a step closer, and cupped a hand under her chin--lifting her face up to meet his.

"If he really loves you," Gibbs said. "He'll understand." he said quietly, and reassuringly.

Abby knew that Gibbs was right, there was no reason for her to be afraid of telling Eric the truth. Just having Gibbs say the words made her feel like everything would be alright. No better than alright.

"I worked on getting the place ready for a couple of weeks," Gibbs explained, as he backed away from her. "Today, while you were working, I moved everything from your old apartment into it--along with a few other things as well--I hope you like it." he said.

Abby smiled weakly at Gibbs.

"The nursery's been taken care of as well." he added.

A tear rolled down Abby's cheek.

Gibbs looked around, and then put his sunglasses back on his face.

Abby knew what was coming next. "You should get going," she said quietly, trying not to sound too upset.

Gibbs stepped forward, and planted a gentle kiss on top of her forehead.

"Tell Callen and Sam...Thanks." Gibbs said quietly.

Abby watched as Gibbs walked away from her, out of the shop, and then out of view down the street. A part of her said "Run after him!", but she told herself that doing so would only make things harder for both of them.






--Chapter Twenty-One--

2 Years passed since Gibbs saw Abby there in that shop on the beach in Los Angeles, California. Gibbs often thought about his team while he went about his daily chores on the beach in Mexico where he lived with Tobias Fornell in a shack that the two men had built right next to Mike Franks' place.

At present Gibbs sat outside on a homemade bench that he'd fashioned out of drift wood by himself working on his latest project--A Rocking Chair.

"How about a beer?" Tobias said, walking up beside Gibbs.

Gibbs shook his head at his friend. "Not this time." he said.

"Feelin' old?" Tobias asked, as he plopped down in the sand next to Gibbs.

"Hmm?"

"You're building a rocking chair Gibbs," Tobias pointed out.

Gibbs thought about that for a moment, and gave a little chuckle.

"I suppose your right." Gibbs said.

"I mean it is your 'Birthday' after all," Tobias said, taking a sip of his own beer. "Hell, you should be out, in town, partying--picking up women."

"Little too old for that kind of thing, Don't you think, Tobias?" Gibbs replied, looking over at his friend.

"What are you looking at me for?" Tobias asked, arching an eyebrow at Gibbs.

Gibbs chuckled.

"Look, I tried the whole marriage thing a couple of times--not unlike yourself--and...down the crapper every time." he said, making a downward motion with his hand. "So I've moved on to a different locale in my life."

"Yeah. I'll say you have." Gibbs retorted.

"Look," Tobias said, between sips of his beer. "I'll I'm saying is that Mike and I put a lot of effort into this party of yours, and we think that the least you could do--is enjoy it."

Gibbs looked over at Fornell. "What party?"

"That one." Fornell said, pointing to the right, without looking.

Gibbs, a little confused, looked out to where Fornell had pointed, and saw two SUVs parked on the side of Mike's 'home'. The doors of the SUV's opened up, and several people began to get out.

Immediately a wave of emotion washed over him, as he stood up from where he had been sitting. He watched as Tony and Ziva--and their daughter Talia--stepped out of the first SUV; McGee and his new wife--who had ended up riding in separate vehicles--were also there. Out of the second SUV came Abby Scuito and Eric Beal--who were also a couple. The two groups were led by G. Callen and Sam Hannah.

Then the biggest hit came when he saw what Abby was carrying in her arms--a small boy, probably only like two years old (at least).

Gibbs started walking in their direction, and that's when Abby saw him--first.

"There he is!" she shouted, pointing her finger towards Gibbs so that everyone could see.

"Boss!" Tony called loudly, waving his free arm in the air, because in his other arm he was holding his daughter Talia.

Ziva reached over, and whispered something to Tony, and then Tony turned and handed Talia to her mother.

Tony ran the few yards now left between him and Gibbs, and without thinking threw his arms around the unshaven, steely blue-eyed man. A few seconds after he had done it he realized he probably shouldn't have--so he pulled away quickly, clearing his throat.

"S-sorry sir," Tony said, sticking his hand out to Gibbs. "How are you?" he asked, now trying to sound a little more professional.

Gibbs stared at Tony's outstretched arm/hand, and then stared up at Tony himself. After a beat he smiled, and then grabbed Tony's hand, and pulled him into a hug.

"Damn glad to see you DiNozzo." Gibbs whispered.

The pair pulled a part, and Gibbs slapped Tony on the back playfully.

"Little girls' gettin' bigger isn't she?" Gibbs said, with a grin.

"She sure is," A smiling Ziva said, as she neared the two men. "Happy Birthday Gibbs." she said, with a smile, as she hugged him with her free arm.

"Good to see you too Ziva."

"And you remember 'Tali'," Ziva said, holding the now 3 year old little girl (I think that that would be about the right age for her).

(F.Y.I. 'Tali' is Ziva's nickname for her daughter.)

"Ah, How could I forget little 'Cupcake'." Gibbs said with a smile, as he lifted the little girl out of her mother's arms.

(F.Y.I. 'Cupcake' is Gibbs' nickname for Talia. He gave it to her back when he secretly visited Tony and Ziva after she was born.)

The little girl giggled delightedly as Gibbs lifted her up over his head playfully.

"I have a surprise for you, cupcake, yes I do." Gibbs cooed.

No one on that Beach had ever seen Gibbs in this way, but they had learned to except the fact that the last few years had changed him a little bit. He wasn't the same 'hard-ass' Marine that they had spent so much time with on the job anymore.

McGee and his wife were next in line, and Gibbs had to hand Talia back to her mother so that he could say hello to them.

"McGee," Gibbs said shaking the younger man's hand, and then hugging him. "Good to see you."

"Happy Birthday Boss." McGee said with a smile.

Gibbs didn't even care that everyone was still referring to him as 'Boss', when he hadn't been that for quite some time now.

"And this must be the lovely new Mrs. McGee." Gibbs said, hugging the blushing young woman standing next to McGee.

"Yes." she said with a smile. "Its been a while since the last time I saw you sir. You certainly have changed since then." she said, with a chuckle.

Gibbs laughed.

"Shaving's a crime down here," Gibbs joked, rubbing his scraggly beard.

Everyone laughed.

"Callen. Sam." Gibbs said shaking hands with the two NCIS agents from the Los Angeles division.

"Gibbs." Callen said, with a grin.

"Happy Birthday Marine." Sam said stoutly, but then a big smile broke out across his face, and he couldn't hold back the laugh that followed.

The three men laughed together at Sam's joke.

"Shouldn't you two be, I don't know, driving Hetty crazy?" Gibbs asked playfully.

"What, and miss the party?" Sam said, jokingly.

"Sam's right." Callen agreed. "Besides, Hetty owes us a little R&R anyway." he addded, with a grin, as he looked out at the ocean view.

The next to greet Gibbs was Abby--Abby and Eric.

"Sir." Eric said, somewhat nervously, shaking Gibbs' hand.

"Eric." Gibbs replied, a little more Marine-ish in tone.

"I trust you've been taking care of Abby?" he asked, eyeing Eric up and down like an over-protective father would do when it came to his daughter.

"W-well--well, I, uh, that is-" Eric was having so much trouble speaking at that moment, that Abby knew it was time for her to step in.

"Gibbs," she said stepping past Eric.

The emotion that Gibbs felt at that moment showed in his eyes. "Abs," he said, but it came out weaker than he had intended for it to.

The Goth Forensic Specialist was smiling proudly as she held her baby boy up for Gibbs to see.

"I want you to meet someone," she said holding the baby boy up.

Gibbs took the baby boy into his own arms and held him there gently. The small boy had dirty blonde hair like Eric, and the biggest, bluest eyes you'd ever seen. And his face...his face reminded Gibbs so much of Abby it was unreal.

"Gibbs," Abby said proudly. "Meet your 'adopted' grandson--D.J." she said softly, with a smile.

The little boy was looking off in all directions inquisitively, taking in all of his 'new' surroundings.

"My--" Gibbs tried to say, but the words would not come easily.

"That is," Abby said. "If you're willing to accept those terms."

Gibbs cleared his throat, and nodded at Abby, his eyes moist with emotion.

"His eyes are..." Gibbs whispered.

Abby laughed, as she took her son back into her own arms. "We have an inside joke," she told him. "That he has his 'Grandpa's' eyes." she said with a chuckle.

Gibbs stood frozen for a beat or two, but then shook his head to clear it quickly.

"What does it stand for?" he asked, referring to the little boys' name.

"D.J.?" Abby asked. "It stands for Donald Jethro." she said with a grin, as she placed a gentle peck on the little boys' cheek.

Gibbs winced. "Abs," he groaned. "Why that name?" he asked. "Why 'Jethro'?"

"Because," she said playfully. "Its his Grandpa's name."

"And the Donald--" Gibbs started. "Is that after-"

"Yep." Abby replied. "Good old Ducky."

"Speaking of which," Gibbs said. "Where is Ducky?"

Suddenly everyone got real quiet, and real serious.

"You haven't heard?" Tony asked, quietly.

"Heard what?" Gibbs asked.

Abby handed D.J. to Eric, and then took a step closer to Gibbs. Her eyes were full of a different emotion now.

"Gibbs," she whispered. "Ducky--Ducky," she was finding it hard to say it.

Gibbs' gut churned wildly now, something told him that what she was about to say--he wasn't particularly going to like it.

"Ducky--well, you know he was--he was 'older'." she spoke, and her voice was breaking up with every word. "We spent last Christmas with him," she continued. "It was great. Everything was wonderful--the day after Christmas, I went upstairs to wake him for breakfast, and...and couldn't-"

Abby stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Gibbs in the biggest, warmest hug that she could manage. She was in tears now.

Gibbs stood frozen to the spot. Everyone around him shared the same solemn look(s) on their faces.

His heart sank. They were telling the truth. His oldest, dearest friend was gone. Gone and he hadn't heard a damn thing about it until just now. He felt a painful stinging behind his eyes, as he stood there.

"Duck..." he choked out in a hoarse whisper. He wrapped his arms around Abby and hugged her tight.

Tony stepped forward through the group, now standing just in front of the front porch of Mike's place, once again.

"W-We found this in a book in his room after--" Tony started, quietly, producing a sealed envelope from the back pocket of his shorts. "Its addressed to you, so we figured he'd probably...want you to--to have it."

Gibbs pulled away from Abby, patting her on the head gently, and excepted the envelope from Tony. Scrawled across the front of the envelope, in delicate, cursive handwriting that could only belong to the late great NCIS M.E., were the words 'To Jethro'.

"We figured," McGee chimed in quietly. "That he meant to send it himself, but just never got the chance."

A single tear rolled down the length of Gibbs' face, until it disappeared into nothingness.





--Chapter Twenty-Two--

Later That Evening...
Everyone sat outside along the two conjoined decks that Gibbs and Mike's place shared. They had taken their time to mourn the loss of their dear, dear friend Dr. Donald 'Ducky' Mallard; and now was the time for celebration.

Sam and Callen had brought along a few gifts that they had planned to leave with Gibbs--but that were to be used for the party as well. One such gift was a nice-size charcoal grill for barbecuing and what not--to that end the gang enjoyed hot dogs and hamburgers for lunch (which Tony and Callen actually cooked). They had beers and sodas for the adults, and juice drinks for the kids.

A second gift from Callen and Sam was a special Satellite phone with extra batteries and a charger (it was basically a kit)--he could use this gift to keep in touch with the rest of the world. Sam even told Gibbs that Hetty was the one who had sent that particular gift.

"Give my thanks to Hetty next time you see her." Gibbs said, with a smile.

"Sure we will," Sam said, with a crooked grin. "If G. doesn't get us killed driving back with all his 'shortcuts'."

Everyone laughed--even Gibbs.

The third and final gift from Callen and Sam was a full-fledged 'Do-It-Yourself Barber's Kit'. Gibbs laughed at this gift, and commented that someone was trying to tell him something.

"You said it, not me." Callen said, laughing.

Everyone laughed.

Next came gifts from the rest of the gang. Tony, Ziva, and little Talia were first. Their gift to Gibbs was a real-sturdy weather proof hammock (so that he would not have to sleep on a hard homemade cot anymore), and they also gave him a 'Family Portrait'--which Ziva had talked Tony into against his wishes.

"Its great you guys." he'd said.

"Well, I tried to tell Ziva that an 8x10 family photo was, maybe, a little much. I mean, we're men right--we don't need those kind of sappy wappy sentimental-" Tony was saying.

Gibbs looked at Ziva, and motioned with his head for her to smack Tony on the back of the head.

Ziva read his look, and reached around and 'Gibbs-Smacked' Tony.

"Just wait til I get you home." Tony had threatened.

"I can't wait." Ziva whispered back.

Next came McGee's Birthday Present to Gibbs. His gift was a brand new set of wood-carving tools. McGee said that he figured Gibbs would still be into building and carving stuff so this gift just kind of seemed like it might would make the perfect gift.

"Yeah. Cause Mike's tool are starting to fall apart on me." Gibbs joked playfully.

"Hey," Mike retorted. "Don't start with me Probie--I ain't drunk enough yet." Mike said as he took another swig from his beer bottle.

"We were gonna get you a family portrait too, but we thought it might be better if we waited for the newest addition to arrive." McGee said, with a smile.

"You mean-" Abby stared, mouth agape. "You're-"

McGee's wife smiled a big smile.

"Congratulations you two!" Everyone was saying to the expectant couple.

"Vance has even said he'll let me transfer back to my old job, so that I can be closer to home." McGee added, happily.

Everyone laughed.

"Alright," Tony grinned, clapping his hands together. "The Boys are back in town!" Tony said in a sing-song voice as he rocked on the stool he was sitting on.

Everyone laughed--especially McGee.

Then, finally, came Abby and Eric's gift(s) to Gibbs.

The first thing they gave Gibbs was a 'Family Portrait'. Then Eric lugged their second gift in from outside--A Surf Board.

"Ya know," Eric said pointing to the surf board that had been strapped to the roof of one of the SUVs just a few minutes earlier. "Give ya somethin' 'fun' to do--while you're out here."

Gibbs just laughed, but nodded.

Then Abby handed Gibbs a sealed envelope the size of a greeting card. He opened it,carefully, and then opened and read it silently to himself. Inside the card was a sweet little poem, a mini-family tree designed to indicate that the gang was Gibbs' 'Extended-Family'; and a tiny little business-card sized piece of card-stock.

On the business-sized piece of card-stock were printed in elegant cursive lettering a time stamp, a date stamp, and the words 'You're Invited To The Wedding of Abigail Scuito and Eric Beal!"

Gibbs looked up at Abby. "But, Abs-"

"We're already, legally, married," Abby told him. "As in we went to the courthouse and blah, blah, blah--you know the deal." she said, rolling her eyes.

Gibbs chuckled at Abby's humor.

"But we wanted to have the 'ceremony' here," she continued, and then pointed towards where Mike was standing. "Mike said it would be okay."

Gibbs glanced over at his former mentor and long-time friend.

"You can thank me later." Mike told him, with a wink.

"Abs-" Gibbs started to speak.

Abby stood up, and walked over and knelt down in front of Gibbs. She took both of his hands in hers, and looked up into his eyes.

"I want you to give me away." she said softly, the emotion(s) that she was feeling evident in her eyes.

Gibbs stood and pulled Abby into his arms, and into a big, warm hug. "I'd be honored to give you away." he whispered, but it was loud enough for everyone else to hear.

Abby returned his warm hug with one of her own.

Everyone in the room waited a beat or two, and then gave a quick cheer.

Gibbs turned and looked at everyone, as Abby returned to Eric and D.J.'s
side.

"Ziva's my 'matron-of-honor'." Abby told Gibbs. "And Kensi and Alicia (McGee's wife) are the Bridesmaids." she added.

"Its really exciting." Ziva said, looking over at Alicia.

"I know, right." Alicia said, in agreement. "And an honor too."

Ziva nodded.

"And," Eric added. "McGee's the best man, and Nate and Tony are Groomsmen."

Everyone laughed, and talked about the wedding plans for a few minutes.

"I have some gifts to give out myself," Gibbs said, finally, as he walked over to the far side of the shack. On a shelf set a miniature sail boat carved/built from driftwood, and painted in blue and green colors as if to match the ocean.

Gibbs carefully picked up the miniature sailboat, and carried over to where Abby and Eric were sitting.

"This is for little D.J." he said, showing the item to the tiny tot, who tried to reach out for and touch it. Gibbs then handed the boat to Abby to hold on to.

"You made that," Eric mused. "That's totally wicked."

The tiny tot seemed pleased with his new 'toy' as he tried desperately to get his little hands on it.

Gibbs smiled at the tiny tot, and then patted him on the top of the head.

Then Gibbs walked outside, where he stayed for a few minutes before returning. When he re-entered the shack he was carrying a child's rocking horse that he had built a while back.

"I've been trying to figure out how to get this up to you guys," Gibbs said, as he set the rocking horse down in front of Tony and Ziva. The rocking horse was sanded completely smooth all the way around.

Gibbs hadn't painted the entire rocking horse, but had highlighted certain areas/features such as: he gave it the same shade of hazel-colored eyes like Talia's; he painted the mouth lines a black color; and outlined the 'curls' of its mane that he had chiseled in by hand with a real light pink-ish color. The rest of the horse was stained with a light Golden Oak Wood Stain, and after that he sealed the whole thing with lacquer thinner.

Gibbs patted the seat of the rocking horse, and motioned for Talia to come over.

"Come on cupcake, try her out." Gibbs said softly.

The 3 1/2 year old little girl scooted down out of her mother's lap, and made her way over to the rocking horse. She eyed it for a moment before climbing up onto its seat (with a little help from Gibbs). She began to rock on it slowly, and everyone could tell by the smile on her face that she was really enjoying it. The few delicate curls that she did have in her hair bounced with every rocking motion she made on the wooden horse.

Gibbs chuckled, as he watched her, from a squatting position.

Tony and Ziva laughed at their daughter.

"Tali," Ziva said softly. "What do we say to Mr. Gibbs?"

The little girl stopped the horse, and climbed down off of its seat. She made her way over to where Gibbs was squatting, and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Gib." she said, as she was still learning to say his name correctly.

Gibbs chuckled, and hugged the precious little girl back (gently).

"You're welcome cupcake." he said softly, as he gently kissed her cheek, before letting the little girl go back to her new 'toy'.

Gibbs stood upright again, and this time turned to look at McGee and his wife. "You know that nice rocking chair sitting out on the deck?" he asked.

"Yeah," McGee replied. "We were looking at it earlier. Actually thinking about putting one in the nursery--once we set up a nursery." McGee added.

Gibbs smiled. "I'm actually building a duplicate of it, so that one on the deck is for you guys." he told them.

"Wow," McGee's wife said, blushing a little bit. "Thank you sir--its perfect." she said, thanking him, as she stood and gave him a hug.

"Yeah, thanks Boss." McGee chimed in.

"I'm not your boss McGee." Gibbs said, taking on a serious look, and reverting back to the tone that he used to use in the office.

McGee went rigid, and struggled to find the words to reply.

Everyone else in the room laughed, and soon after so did Gibbs.

"Yeah, McGee," Tony said, from across the room. "That would be me now--remember?"

McGee rolled his eyes at Tony. "Ha ha." he retorted.

"Hey, I thought you said that was my rocking chair, Gibbs." Tobias remarked from over in the corner.

"And I thought you said you were too young for a rocking chair, Tobias." Gibbs countered, shooting a look at his friend.

Everyone laughed.

"We'll probably have to ship the rocking horse, and rocking chair back to the states, though." Gibbs pointed out, scratching at his chin.

"Shouldn't be a problem." Callen said. "What do you think, Sam?"

"No, not if we make a few phone calls," he replied, with a playful grin. "Starting with Hetty."

Everyone laughed.





--Chapter Twenty-Three--

It was late, and everyone else had pretty much turned in for the night. There were sleeping bags laying everywhere inside and also some outside on the deck.

Everyone had decided to stay the night, and then leave at some point the next day.

Gibbs had moved his homemade cot outside onto the deck, and set it against the outside wall of the shack--to make room for those who wanted to sleep inside the shack.

Gibbs sat on his cot, propped up against the wall, with little Talia and little D.J. fast asleep in his lap.

Callen and Sam had elected to be two of the group that slept out on the deck in sleeping bags; and at present they were fast asleep. Tony and Ziva had offered to sleep in the SUV that they had arrived in so that there would be room inside the shack for Abby, Eric, McGee, and Alicia to sleep comfortably. While Tobias had taken to his cot on his side of the shack.

Mike and his 'family' had returned to their own shack to go to sleep.

Abby stepped outside onto the deck, holding a medium/small child's sized blanket draped over one arm.

"Hey," she whispered softly, as she knelt by the cot.

Gibbs looked over at Abby. "You should be asleep." he said, quietly, for he did not want to wake the little ones.

"I know." she replied quietly, as she draped the blanket across the two small children. "So should you." she told him. Then she looked at the children. "Sorry," she whispered, nodding towards the two children in Gibbs' lap.

Gibbs smiled. "Its alright." he whispered softly. "I'll sleep eventually."

Abby had to stifle a chuckle so as not to disturb the little ones.

The two of them talked quietly for a few minutes more, until Gibbs insisted that Abby go inside and get some sleep.

Abby agreed, with a yawn.

"Ya know," Abby said, quietly. "Ducky really missed you." she whispered quietly.

Gibbs didn't know what to say to that.

"He talked about retiring from NCIS at the end of this year--said he wanted to do some traveling." she told him, placing her hand on Gibbs' shoulder. "Said 'The first I shall do, upon my retiring from NCIS, is fly to Mexico to check-up on Jethro'. Abby said, quoting Ducky's exact words.

"You know--D.J. was born close to Christmas," Abby was saying. "Eric and I flew to D.C. to see everyone for Christmas--Ducky said we could stay at his place (since he lives alone and there's plenty of room)--that was the first Christmas we spent with Ducky." she said, emotion welling up in her eyes, as she spoke.

"I wasn't, technically, due until after Christmas; but D.J. had other plans," Abby said, half-chuckling to herself. "We couldn't get to the hospital because of all the snow that had fallen, and it was very late," she explained.

Abby reached a hand up, and wiped some tears from her eyes.

"It had happened so quickly," Abby commented, referring to the labor. "Ducky said there wasn't time, so--he delivered D.J. himself. Right there in his own house, in his mother's old bedroom." Abby said, wiping another tear from her face.

"I was so afraid D.J. wouldn't make it through the night outside of a hospital," Abby whispered quietly, her voice wavering a little bit. "But, Ducky said 'everything'll be fine--he's a trooper, he is'.

Abby wiped a few more tears from her face.

"He asked us what we would call him," Abby continued, the memories and emotions flashing brightly in her fierce, green eyes. "I knew instantly," she said proudly. "I said 'Donald Jethro'. Ducky said it was 'fitting'. she added with a weak grin.

"It was Ducky that suggested to Tony that Talia's middle name be 'Caitlin', after-" But Abby didn't finish her sentence. She knew that she didn't have to.

Gibbs and Abby sat in silence for a few more minutes until Abby finally stood up, patted Gibbs on the shoulder, and then headed inside to sleep.

Gibbs sat for a few beats just listening to the wind and the waves, until he remembered the envelope from Ducky sticking out of the back pocket of his shorts. He reached back with his free hand, and carefully tugged it free.

He opened the envelope with his teeth, and then pulled the folded up slip of paper out with his free hand. He unfolded it, and found a full-length letter along with three or four small photographs included.

The photographs were of the gang. The first photograph was taken of everybody at McGee and Alicia's wedding; the second photo was from Tony and Ziva's wedding; the third photograph was of Tony, Ziva, and newborn baby Talia (taken on the day that she was born); and the last photo was of Abby, Eric, and newborn baby D.J. Gibbs immediately recognized the background in the last photograph--it was the bedroom at Ducky's house.

He grinned a little bit as he examined each of the little photographs.

Then he moved onto the letter itself. It read:

"Jethro,
How are you? I hope you are doing well in Mexico. Everyone, myself included, misses you terribly. We are all in agreement that it is just not the same around here without you 'running the show' as it were.

Things are beginning to settle down here at NCIS since your 'departure'. Tony seems to be getting the hang of being team leader, though, I sense that he is somewhat burdened by the fact that he feels he must live up to your 'example'. He confided in me, once, that he's taken to using your 'rules' as a means of accomplishing this goal.

Although, we both know he's broken at least one of those rules--care to guess which one that might be?

Tony and Ziva have found both love and solace in each other since you left. They've grown closer than I've ever seen them, and as I've been told you know, they are now the proud parents of a precious little girl--Talia Caitlin DiNozzo. She's a real daddy's girl that one. She's had our Anthony wrapped around her finger from day one.

Oh, and I should mention that as I am writing this letter I am happy to announce that little Talia has said her first word--Duck. Not quite what the proud parents were going for, but secretly I find it amusing.

I'm also pleased to tell you that our dear Abigail has found her own happiness out in California. The gentleman's name is Eric Beal, and she seems to like him, so I guess I do too. And, on another positive note, the happy couple have just welcomed a little bundle of joy of their own--a bouncing, blue-eyed, baby boy. They're calling him Donald Jethro--fitting don't you think?

Young Timothy recently proposed to his 'lady' Alicia (you do remember her don't you? I believe you two met at least once before you left), and the happy couple are planning their wedding with whatever free time they are lucky to get.

How I wish you could be here Jethro. I am so very proud of each and every one of them, and I know that you would be too. It saddens me greatly when I think of how much you're missing, and have missed already--and of how happy you would surely be if you were here, and could share in the excitement.

I do hope, one day, that I will be able to depart from here, and come down to visit you. I also hope to be able to do a little bit of traveling--see the world you know."

Gibbs looked away from the letter, momentarily, and let a tear roll down the length of his face. His lips quivered slightly as he fought to keep his composure.

Then he continued to read the rest of the letter. It read:

"I know that you are probably busy relaxing, or whatever it is that you are currently doing; but I just wanted to let you know how things were going so that you wouldn't worry--too much anyway."

Then Gibbs noticed after that paragraph that Ducky had drawn a dividing line between it, and the next paragraph of the letter.

"Its been a while since I've picked up my pen, and I thought about this letter today, sitting on the desk in my study, unfinished, and felt that I should make the effort to finish it. I apologize, again, for taking so long to complete this letter, but the last few months have been painstakingly slow, as my health, it seems, has taken a turn for the worse.

I finally paid a visit to a doctor friend of mine a few days ago, and just recently received the results from the tests that he ran on me. It is not good, I'm afraid, and I haven't had the heart to tell the others yet--so I'm telling you first. I've been diagnosed with Medulloblastoma--a type of Brain Cancer/Tumor that's really more common in young children, but has been recorded in adults. I'm told that at its current stage, its inoperable, and that my only options are chemotherapy and radiation. I haven't yet decided which, if either, I prefer.

Please forgive the tear stains on this paper that you are undoubtedly going to notice when you read this...and I urge you not to worry about me. I will inform you of how the treatments progress should I choose to endure them.

I am ending this letter now as I am beginning to run out of space to write. I send you my deepest love, my dearest of friends, and hope that you know that you are always in all of our thoughts and prayers--Always.

Your Dear Friend,
Donald 'Ducky' Mallard"

Tears now stained Gibbs' cheeks as he re-folded the letter and stuffed it gently back into its envelope. "He knew." Gibbs thought to himself. "He knew all along that he was dying."

"Duck..." Gibbs whispered into the breeze, his voice cracking with emotion as he spoke.

He closed his eyes, finally, and let the emotions that had been building up inside of him take over. He ended up sobbing himself to sleep.






--Chapter Twenty-Four--

The next morning rolled around, and was actually a bit overcast.

At some point in the middle of the night D.J. had awoken, and Abby had had to come and get him so that he would calm back down. At that point she told Gibbs it would probably be best if she D.J. with her for the rest of the night.

So that just left Gibbs and little Talia together.

Little Talia was the first one to wake up. She scooted out from under the blanket, and down out of Gibbs' lap. Something had caught her little eye(s), and now she was off to investigate.

A group of seabirds had congregated just a little ways down the beach, and Talia thought that they looked like fun.

Before long the little girl was chasing the sea birds in around in circles on the beach, giggling as she chased after them.

"Birdies!" she squealed as she got close to a pair. The pair took flight just before she could get too close.

"Birdies!?" she pleaded, as she followed the pair towards the edge of the water.

She stepped into the surf, continuing her pursuit of the sea birds, until a small wave crashed against her, and startled the little girl. She turned, and tried to get back onto the beach, but just then another slightly bigger wave crashed against her and knocked her down--she went under.

When she came up, she tried to cry out, but another wave crashed over her and muffled the sound. It was getting harder and harder for her to stand up in the surf, and she was being pulled farther and farther out.

"Jethro, wake up." a voice said in Gibbs' ear(s).

Gibbs stirred a little bit.

"D-Duck..." he mumbled in his sleep.

"Jethro!"

Gibbs' eyes shot open instantly, and he sat up straight--looking around for the source of the voice that he had heard.

"Duck." he whispered.

Suddenly there was a scream--albeit a muffled scream--but a scream nonetheless.

Gibbs realized that Talia was no longer with him.

"Talia." he whispered, a little louder, as he stood up, looking around.

Another scream.

Gibbs spun around in the direction that it had been coming from just in time to see little Talia get dragged under another wave.

"Talia!" he yelled, as he bolted for the water, jumping off the deck and landing in the sand.

People around the shack began to rouse up, at hearing Gibbs shout.

The doors to the SUV where Tony and Ziva had been sleeping opened up, and Tony stepped out, while Ziva was sitting up in the backseat of the car stretching.

"W-What's going on?" Tony said, through a yawn, as he stretched his arms out as far as they would go.

"Talia!" Gibbs was yelling as he raced over the sand towards the water.

"What about Tal-" Tony started to say, before he saw Gibbs running towards the water. Then he saw what appeared to be his daughter fighting a losing battle against the surf.

"Talia!" Tony panicked, and immediately broke into a run headed in Gibbs' direction.

The SUV door flew open, and Ziva jumped out--sensing from her husband's reaction that something was wrong.

Everyone else was getting the same vibe, as the rest of the group was congregating out on/around the deck of the shack. Then it became clear what was going on.

"Sam-" Callen called, as he jumped off of the deck into the sand.

"Already on it!" Sam called, as he darted for the SUV that he had driven.

Callen raced for the water, while Sam snatched open the door to the SUV, reached inside, and pulled out a medium-sized red bag with a big, white cross symbol stretched boldly across its front-side.

Gibbs entered the water, splashing through the waves that crashed against him. He spotted little Talia just as she disappeared beneath the water again.

Instinctively he dove underwater. Tony reached the site, and immediately went under.

Gibbs came back up a moment or so later, as did Tony, empty handed.

"Where!?" Tony panicked, slapping the surface of the water out of desperation.

"There!" shouted a voice in Gibbs' ear(s).

Gibbs spun around to the left, and without thinking dove underwater. A moment later he broke the surface clutching the body of the little girl in his arms.

"Talia!" Tony cried out, when he saw his daughter laying limp in Gibbs' arms.

"Over here!" Sam shouted as he reached the water's edge--waving the first aid kit for them to see.

Gibbs and Tony raced onto the beach, onto dry land, and Sam immediately seized the little girl, and began CPR and Mouth-To-Mouth Resuscitation.

"Come on," Sam panted as he worked feverishly with Callen to revive the little girl.

"Tali," Ziva exclaimed when she reached the spot where everyone else was beginning to gather.

Tony grabbed his wife, and held her back--though she fought against him mercilessly--so that the others could work unhindered.

"Let me go, let me-" Ziva said, slapping at her husband.

"Interfering won't help her Ziva," Tony tried to explain, though his own voice was cracking. "You know that."

"I-I don't care." Ziva insisted. "She's my-"

A few minutes had passed, and nothing had happened. She wasn't responding at all.

"Sam," Callen finally spoke up, after a few beats more had passed by. "Sam!"

"No way G." Sam panted. "I'm not giving up."

"Sam," Called pressed on. "Its no use--she's-" Callen didn't want to say the words, but it didn't seem like he had a choice.

Gibbs sank to his knees, an intense burning building up behind his eyes.

Tony held on to Ziva as she sank down onto her knees, tears beginning to stain her cheeks--while Tony tried to fight back the tears that were threatening to erupt from within him.

"Sam!" Callen tried again.

"She's just a kid G.-" Sam pointed out. "We can't just-"

Just then a thought crossed Gibbs' mind. He remembered that the day before Talia had nearly choked to death on a small piece of the hot dog she had been sharing with her mother. Gibbs had had to act fast, grabbing her up, tilting her forward a little bit, and giving her a good whack on the back. Why this thought crossed his mind, he didn't know, but he suddenly felt the urge to try it.

"Give her to me." Gibbs said suddenly, pushing his way closer to Sam and Callen.

Sam had already, finally, began to give up--though reluctantly--and had sunk backwards onto his backside.

Callen backed away, as Gibbs picked the little girl up and tilted her forward so that she was leaning slightly over his muscular forearm.

He steadied her, and then without warning gave her a solid, but not too hard, whack on the back right in the center of where the lungs would be. Then he tried a second time, and a few seconds later a third time, and then--there was a choking, sputtering sound.

Everyone looked up in shock.

The little girl spat up a considerable amount of liquid, and then she was crying. Gibbs spun her around, and held the now shivering little girl to his chest.

"Tali," Ziva gasped, with relief--tears still streaking down her face.

"Someone get me a blanket!" Gibbs barked. "We need to get her warmed up and dried off now." he added.

"Here. Take this." Callen immediately ripped off the long-sleeve, red, flannel button-down shirt that he had been wearing over a blue muscle shirt. He handed it to Gibbs.

The little girl sobbed and hiccuped, as she clutched at Gibbs' chest--at the same time shivering and shaking uncontrollably. "Shhh," Gibbs said soothingly, as he wrapped Callen's shirt around the water-soaked little girl. "It's alright. You're alright. You're alright." He rocked her gently in his embrace trying to calm her down.

Sam dug down into the first aid kit searching for something inside.

"Eric," Sam called over his shoulder.

"Yeah?" Eric replied.

"Up and down the beach. Find as much 'dry' drift wood as you can--hurry." Sam commanded.

"Right." Eric set off down the beach in a fast-paced trot.

"What can I do?" McGee asked, stepping up closer.

"We need anything that can be used as 'tinder'--to start a fire." Sam told him, as he pulled out a small bottle marked 'Glycerin', and set it down on the sand.

"-And towels and a blanket." Callen added, standing up.

McGee looked at Alicia as he started to walk away. "Honey, go with Callen." McGee said, as he raced for a thicket of tall grasses a little further back up the beach.

Alicia and Callen took off together back towards the shack to search for towels and blankets.

Sam pulled a second vial, marked 'Potassium Permanganate', out of the bag and set it down next to the first small bottle.

Eric returned a second later with an arm full of drift wood. "Got it." he said, panting.

"Okay," Sam said. "Gibbs, we need to move her a little farther back from the water." Sam told him.

"Right," Gibbs replied.

They moved a little farther up, and then McGee returned, and handed Sam the dry grasses and weeds, and what not that he had gathered up.

Sam bundled the 'tinder' up, while Eric and McGee then began to set the drift wood up in a fashion that would allow for a fire to be maintained for a good little while.

Callen and Alicia came bounding back with a couple of towels and two blankets.

Ziva wanted to get closer to Talia, but Tony insisted that their daughter would need to change out of her wet clothes--so Ziva should go to the SUV, and retrieve the spare clothes that they had all brought along with them.

Sam set the 'tinder bundle' down in front of the fire, and opened the 'Potassium Permanganate' vial. He sprinkled some of the tiny crystals into the center of the bundle. Next he opened the small bottle of Glycerin, and poured a small amount over the first substance before re-capping the bottle and putting them both back into the bag.

Within a matter of seconds a small plume of smoke began to rise from the bundle. Sam gathered it up in his hands, and began blowing on it carefully until flames appeared. He then added the bundle to the drift wood 'set-up', and it wasn't long before he had a nice fire going.

Gibbs passed the little girl off to Tony, now, as Ziva returned with the fresh clothes. "You need to dry her off, and get her wrapped up in one of the blankets."

Tony and Ziva immediately set to work doing just that.

"Oh, my baby," Ziva cooed, through tears of relief. "Its okay, its okay--mommy's here."






Little Talia was finally dried off, and in a new change of clothes. Ziva sat, by the fire, with her arms wrapped around her daughter who had just recently slipped off to sleep--drained by the earlier events, and also by the massive amount of shivering that she had done as a result.

"Boss, I-" Tony said finally, looking up at Gibbs. "I don't know how to--you saved her."

Gibbs shook his head, silently.

"Don't thank me," Gibbs said dryly. "I was asleep--something woke me up--I think it was...Ducky."

"Boss," McGee said, a look of confusion on his face. "Boss--Ducky's-" but he stopped short when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Abby.

Abby approached Gibbs. "I believe you," she whispered, as she hugged him.

Alicia spoke up from beside her husband. "I didn't know Dr. Mallard as well as you guys did, but from what little time I did spend with him before he...he did seem very fond of the children." Alicia pointed out, in a quiet voice.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"I think that it only seems fitting, that he would still wish to protect them." she added.

Abby nodded in agreement.

Gibbs' mouth felt dry. Something was tugging at his insides, and wanted to get out.

"Ducky," Gibbs began. "Ducky had cancer." Gibbs said quietly.

"What?" McGee gasped, a little shocked.

"How do you-" Abby started to say.

"It was in his letter." Gibbs answered, quietly, looking away.

"But Ducky said anything to us." McGee said.

"He didn't wanna worry you." Gibbs replied, swallowing a lump.

"Man," Tony whispered. "Ducky..."

Abby leaned forward, and put her arms around Gibbs. Tears stained her cheeks.

--------To Be Continued in "I Do" (The Special Bonus Ending)--------
You must login (register) to review.