Home
It is six in the morning...Instead of still snuggling with his wife and his boy in between the two of them, Gibbs has to calm Ducky down, he is afraid the old man is going to have a cardiac arrest...he doesn't feel like driving to the hospital again.
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Half an hour ago when they arrived home, Kate dressed and placed their baby on their huge bed, after making sure he is all tucked in and comfortable, she showered then she slipped under the covers with Robert...both of them lost in their dreams.
After locking the door, Gibbs joins his family in their warm soft nest, just for a few minutes...when someone frantically bangs on their door. He couldn't ignore the pounding because he doesn't want his Katie and Robert to be disturbed by it. He remorsefully slips out his arm from beneath Robert's head and tiptoes down the stairs.
Gibbs finds Ducky drenched from the rain, his glasses are fogging under his hat, the old ME lets himself in, "What happened? You left me a very unclear message Jethro!!! What is wrong with Robert? Why are you taking him to the hospital??? Why didn't you call me again and wait for me???...where is he now?...How could you sleep at a time like this?" his voice is getting louder by the second...if not for his love and respect for the man, he would have chased him out...
"Yes I was asleep, Robert had a fever...Brought him to Bethesda...it was awful...Kate is back...sleep..." he answers the frantic old man at his door...
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"No...no...I am not asleep...Hi Ducky, come here...come! Up here...take a look at Robert...come..." Kate beckons the man, she is leaning down...looking at them...
"Caitlyn, you are back! So sorry to barge in like this, my child..." Ducky is embarrassed.
"Ducky...this is your home...you know that, you refused to keep our key...remember?...come on" she calls him again as he is hesitant.
"Mommiiii...dadiiii..." Robert calls out sleepily "C'mon Ducky...he would love to see you, he refused to be looked at by different Doctors at the hospital...because he has you..." Kate grabs his elbow to their room. Ducky finds his beloved grandson sitting in the middle of his parents' bed, rubbing his eyes...
Right away the experienced ME noticed that the boy is having problem with his breathing, Ducky has been taking care of him since he was born, he knows his health like the back of his hand...that's why he was shocked when he heard the answering machine, as he arrived home about an hour ago.
Robert greets his personal ME slash best friend slash grandpa (3 in 1) with a smile.
"Oh Robert!!! Ducky is so sorry you are sick...I shouldn't have left...oohh so sorry Robert..." the man goes on spoiling him; he takes his temperature again, take a look at his tongue, listen to his heartbeat, his breathing and everything; and the boy just let him, resting himself on Ducky's lap...enjoying the attention.
Gibbs slips his hands on his wife's waist, she sleepily leans against his chest...yawns..." did you see that?...why couldn't he do that at the hospital?" she asks herself. They hear Robert's stomach grumbling...the boy looks at his flat tummy, looks at his mother, "momiii"..."yes...I know...you are hungry...Bobby eat, OK?", the boy nods and Kate left them.
The four of them are starving...they tuck in heartily, there are omelets, sausages, bacon, baked beans and some glazed carrots...all of them keep making yummy noises.
"Guys...come on, people are going to think that I never feed you properly...Bobby, please chew..." she is feeding her son at the same time.
"It's been too long Kate...three days are too long, not to add a couple of days I was away for dinner..." Gibbs answers as he is still eating; Ducky rubs his stomach...Robert laughs and rub his stomach too, mimicking Ducky...and he sneezes...all over his mom.
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Decision
Gibbs left his house by eight thirty in the morning, his son and wife are still asleep, dead to the world...everything is all right, Ducky promised that he will check on them during the day, Kate made him keep their key...the man visits Robert about three times!
It is a busy day at the HQ; Special Agent Gibbs is slammed with work and cases; interviewing, paperwork and joining his agents in the field. It is almost midnight when he arrived home.
He finds his wife sick from the flu, taking care of their sick son...but she is in such good spirits and happy to be home, she doesn't mind her stuffy nose and headache and that she has dark circles under her eyes. He wants her to take days off but Kate doesn't think it is such a good idea, taking time off from work is unnecessary, the stubborn woman refused.
She forces him to eat before they talk, Robert is already in dreamland; three hours ago he kept calling for his dad, so Kate called Gibbs and put the phone next to Robert...he called his daddy to say goodnight and hurry home before he sleeps...that's what Gibbs felt and interpreted he was saying anyway, since the boy only said "dadiii" couple of times and Kate made him kiss the phone; but that was one sweet call that lightened his burden and his tiredness.
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That night, they both agreed that Kate will apply for the FBI clerk position and quit her job at NCIS; adjustments have to be made, he feels so guilty that she has to sacrifice her career to make things work; but Kate said that him and Robert are not "things", they are her life, her family...and she'll do what's necessary to make it work.. That night, they make sweet love on their couch...because their son is sleeping in their room.
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Big news and changes
The next morning, they left work together. Gibbs straps his son at his baby seat, "You are feeling so much better right Robert...hey...what's that in your hand?" he noticed a flash of a small red thing in Robert chubby fist and tries to pry it open, but the boy quickly stuffs the red thing in his mouth...pretending not to notice his dad, anyway, he is just going to chew on it, "a gummy bear..." Gibbs messes his hair lovingly.
"What's what Jethro?..." Kate approaches them..."Nothing...Kate, let's go" he lies because he knows Kate will take his gummy away from him, where on earth did he get the gummy?...must be Ducky!
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"Kate are you sure about this?" he asks again as he drives to HQ, she is going to talk to O'Brien and hand in her three months notice.
"Yes Jethro...I am sure...it's going to be all right..."She assures him.
Robert is all happy today as he arrived with his BOTH of his parents...this time the sweet boy doesn't mind being passed around as usual, he even plants a kiss...and a sneeze on the security personnel by the entrance...and he wants to go through the x ray machines...with the guns.
When the three of them arrive at the bullpen...they are greeted by a happy yelp from Abby...she takes her favorite boy from his dad...she hugs and kisses him all over...and...He sneezes on her...
Tony sees...and teases Abby and Robert..."AARGHHH...walking germ...HELP!!!" Abby chases Tony with Robert in her arms, wanting to rub Robert all over Tony's new couture tie...Robert squeals happily, being carried around the bullpen.
Of course after 10 minutes, Abby is running out of breath...and Agent James takes over, and chases the hell out of Tony with Robert in his arms...other agents can listen to the merriment of little Gibbs laughing his head off, chasing Dinozzo...until, McGee trips Tony with his feet...BAAM...he knocks over a chair, which crashes into the partition with a domino affect...paper, files and stationery fly in different direction...everybody claps their hands...including Robert.
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Kate is about to walk out to her bullpen, when Gibbs receives a call..."Kate, Morrow wants us in his office, right now...let's go", he sees fear flicker in her eyes for a second...Tony, Abby and James are suddenly quiet and look at their boss.
"C'mon..." he pulls her hand
"Jethro..." she feels like crying, her husband is going to be fired because of their personal life interfering with his job...or both of them are going to be fired...Oh God, what are they going to do...she could have done better...not brought the boy to work everyday...she should have placed him in a child care centre...all thoughts are running through her mind.
"Let's go Kate...they have Robert...don't worry..." Gibbs calms her down, he can guess it...he is worried about it too; last week was terrible, they were struggling between work and his family...and it's not working. Kate is terrified, he can not show her his doubt and worries, he is the man in the family, and they'll figure something out...its going to be all right, eventually.
Then he hears Robert giggles, being tickle by Abby..."daddiiii....hahahhaha" calling his dad to rescue him from the attack of his tattooed sitter. He smiles at the boy, looks at Kate beside him, his wife, his family; be damn with the job that he's been doing for decades, he paid his dues; it is time to move on, and look at what he has in his life...gone is the fear of losing his job...everything happens for a reason, perhaps it's time he spent time with what matters...and Jethro Gibbs knows that somehow...they'll be all right.
"It's OK Kate...its OK, we did our best! We really did...No regrets baby..." he looks at her...and she smiles sadly and nods; and they walk in holding hands to face the Director in his office...
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The bullpen is quiet...too quiet; only Robert is making a lot of noise...Abby plays with him to distract her mind...she doesn't want to think about it...it is not going to happen...no way, they are not going anywhere...and if they do, she still can visit them...her eyes and face are hot, her vision is blurred...and she hears a sweet little voice..."a biii", Abby's head snaps up at the boy, he is looking at her teary face, he looks sad too; Robert is confused, why does his favorite tattooed lady have water in her eyes, he has water in his eyes, too, when he is sad..."Robert!!! You called me...you said ABBY????" she couldn't believe her ears.
"GUYS...little boss man called me...he called my name...abiiii" she shouts excitedly in the bullpen and she kisses the boy all over until he is happy again.
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Gibbs and Kate were in the Director's office for more than an hour.
Within the hour, the news spreads...like wildfire; soon people are popping by the bullpen for various unnecessary reasons, hoping to catch the latest news on Special Agents Gibbs and Todd.
Dinozzo and James are snapping at agents from different floors, even though James is actually from a different floor too, but he belongs there, his loyalty is with his new gang. Then O'Brien strides in, he is Kate's and James' boss, a man of Ducky's age...very kind and huge in size...an extremely useful attribute in interrogation and intimidation technique, James boasted.
"Jethro and Kate are with the Director...?" he needs to conform the rumor to the guys and they nod. O'Brien sighs and swiftly walks upstairs to the Director's office...Tony is impressed with his speed...for his size and age...not bad.
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Then they all see Gibbs, Kate and Morrow walk out of the office. O'Brien stops in his tracks, looks at the couple's and Morrow's faces and the big worried man nods to himself and smiles at them.
"O'Brien..." Morrow acknowledges his senior agent.
"Director, Gibbs, Kate..." he gazes at each of them and retraces his steps.
The guys are so tense, looking up at the scene in front of MTAC and Ducky just arrives...breathless...he heard the news that Jethro and Caitlyn are being fired by the director from Gerald, and he dashed to the bullpen, there must be something he can do, to convince the Director, he is not a foolish man.
Oh no, it's too late, Ducky thought, as he sees Jethro and Caitlyn with the Director as they descend to the bullpen. Abby is speechless...she lets the still excited boy slip down and crawl around their feet.
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"Wow...news travels fast" Morrow jokingly comments at he goes down the stairs. He looks at the fear and anger in his agents' and staff's faces, he knows that he is making the right decision...he decides to have a little fun at their expense.
"Oh...Robert...I am going to miss your little face...I won't see much of you anymore, little guy..." Morrow said as he picks the boy up from the floor; and he hears distinctive gasps from the people and sees Dr. Mallard striding towards him, he looks mad...
"There will be big changes around here...I am sure you all have been expecting it...since I called Special Agent Gibbs and Todd to my office" he let Robert slip down and quickly picked up by his angry looking ME.
"Special Agent Gibbs will no longer lead his team, he will not be in the field anymore..." he pauses, having fun...but he quickly finished his sentences, they all have guns at ready.
"...because, he'll be shadowing me for two or three months...by then...I hope he can manage to take over my position..." Morrow is now relieved that his agents are not going to pound on him...they look SHOCKED...speechless.
"Unfortunately, Special Agent Todd......Caitlyn aren't you changing your name?" he asks her jokingly. "Oh NO...sir, no..." she states confidently and cut by her husband, "oh yes she will..."
"...OK...that's not for us to hear...Yes...Agent Todd will no longer be with us because of her husband's position...her dedication and skill will be missed by the NCIS...but she'll be requested when we are in dire need of her expertise..." Morrow is about to close his last speech. "...I am going into my long awaited retirement...I'll let my future successor...address some other necessary changes...Gibbs" he calls him.
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Damn, public speaking is not his favorite...but he'll do what's necessary, things have to change...for the better; he clears his throat uncomfortably, feeling his wife's hand squeezing his...
"Special Agent Dinozzo will act as my assistant, while I am shadowing the Director...I'm hoping that he'll be competent by the time I have to take the director's place..." cheers and slaps are given to the shocked Dinozzo, no way...he thought his boss thought he is a jackass. Robert sees the excitement and joins the cheer, not knowing the reason.
Kate leaves Gibbs' side and hugs Tony tightly, she is crying happy tears, "I am so happy for you Tony..." they hug tightly and sway..."thank you Kate..." he replies almost in tears. Their moment is disturbed by an angry yell from the boy who feels left out, he wants to be hugged too, "mommiiiiiiii" he raises his hands to her, Kate takes her son and sandwiches him between her and Tony and Robert's laughter spreads...
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Gibbs looks at the scene...he looks at the people around him, he looks at his family, his best friends, his colleagues, his agents...people that matter to him...Everything happens for a reason...and he remembered what his father told him on his death bed...that "Fortune favors the bold...audaces fortuna iuvat" and the old man was not lying to his son.
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Morrow walks back to his office quietly, he is very satisfied with his decision; for the last three years, his wife has been begging him to quit his job and spend time with his family...
Morrow wants four things from his successor...perseverance, honestly, loyalty and humanity. He favors his senior agent, his loyalty is unquestionable! But his methods and temperament are the things that always stop Morrow from choosing him as his successor, his lacking in patience and tolerance
Morrow was happy when Gibbs married for the fourth time! And for the last he hopes, for the man's sanity...and Gibbs has changed for the better. Yes, still a hardass, ex-marine, but with more patience and stability...then he has a son...Morrow saw the man having more peace in himself...the one thing that is lacking in him, everything else, he can learn on the job; finally he is ready for the new challenge.
Morrow is lost in his thoughts...he has only one worry, he looks at the files on his table...Confidential...brought by the FBI Agent Fornell with his deepest regrets; Morrow only hopes that Gibbs will be strong enough to face his peril and to protect the department and his family...
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-End-nova2007…Special thanks to my BETA…(MV)
Author's Chapter Notes:
Towards the end...everything changes...
Chapter End Notes:
Special thanks to my BETA(MV)for the extremely tedious job...BETAing my fics...