The Witch 5/6

[emerald_green37]

 

Feeling rested and contented, Gibbs opened his eyes without moving. He was nestled in the curve of the sofa, Tim next to him, Tiana spread out over the both of them. Smiling Gibbs checked on the time as Tim opened his eyes.

 

"Time to go?"

 

"Yeah, if I want to be wearing different clothes when we report to the SecNav this morning." Reports had been given on the hacking end of the attacks yesterday, but the investigation into the physical robberies was still ongoing. "I'll probably be at the Yard all day but if you have any trouble, just call me."

 

"I will, but we should be fine. Dinner at 18.00 all right?"

 

"Sounds good." The two men worked together to slide Tia all the way onto Tim without waking her so Gibbs could stand up. "Anything you need me to pick up at the store?"

 

Tim shook his head. "It's okay, we're doing big shopping this morning. I've only got a week of leave left so I want to get some extra food cooked up and in the freezer."

 

"Makes sense." After Tim's comment the day before about the left-overs if Gibbs didn't show up, he'd had a moment of slight concern when he'd seen the large pot of soup, but the plan was a smart one. He brushed a hand over Tiana's head, then Tim's before gathering his lunch and creeping out the door.

 

 

---NCIS---

 

 

"You having fun back there, Sweetheart?" Their first stop had been to pick up some fun educational DVD's for the Lexus and Tia had been practicing her sign language on the way back from the grocery store.

 

"Mommy picked a good car."

 

Tim felt a lump in his throat and wondered how long that would last. "She sure did, Sweetie. She's taking good care of us."

 

They turned onto their street and saw a familiar car sitting in front of their house. "Oh oh, Daddy."

 

"I see her, Baby." Tim parked and took a deep breath before stepping out of the car.

 

Diane had climbed out of her freshly washed car the moment she saw them. She was holding a baking pan, covered in foil. "I'm sorry, we got off on the wrong foot yesterday."

 

"Mrs. Sterling, I'm not sure you have a right foot."

 

She winced at his bluntness. "Okay, I deserved that, but I brought mac and cheese with hot dogs. That should count for something. You like mac and cheese, don't you, Honey?" Diane pulled back the foil to show Tiana the food.

 

Tiana was not impressed by the bright orange color or the oily red circles of hot dog slices scattered over the top. "I like Daddy's."

 

Diane faltered a bit. "Doesn't this look like Daddy's?"

 

The dish was tilted more towards her and Tia wrinkled her nose as she shook her head. "It's a funny color."

 

Amused to no end by the look on Diane's face, Tim couldn't quite keep the smirk off his face. "Sorry, I make mine from scratch with three cheeses and heavy cream."

 

While Diane was staring at him, Tim handed Tiana a package of paper towels. "Here, you carry this for Daddy, okay?" While she toddled up to the porch, Tim grabbed the two bags of groceries. He knew Diane would follow them, but he decided to have a little fun with it.

 

 

---NCIS---

 

 

"Hey, Boss, you want us to bring you back something?" Tony pulled on his coat as Ziva waited for him. "We're trying that new place that opened up down the block from the main entrance."

 

"Nope, brought my lunch." Gibbs smirked at the shocked expression as he stood and sauntered into the break room. A crowd was gathered around the refrigerator as one of Balboa's men held the door open.

 

"Are you sure it's his?"

 

"It's got his name on it."

 

"Gibbs never brown bags it. I don't think he ever actually eats."

 

"Of course he eats. Everybody eats."

 

Gibbs reached past them to retrieve the bag with his name written on it in bold block letters. The agents scattered, but then circled back around as Gibbs walked over to the microwave on the counter.

 

As if it were an everyday occurrence, Gibbs warmed up the soup and the cornbread before carrying it all to one of the tables. Several of the agents in the room looked at Tony standing in the doorway, but he was just as surprised as the rest of them and all he could do was shrug.

 

Pointing at the newspaper one of them had tucked under his arm, Gibbs casually spoke. "You done with that?" When the man wordlessly nodded, Gibbs took it and spread it out on the table, thoroughly enjoying the silent uproar he'd caused as he slowly ate his soup and cornbread.

 

 

---NCIS---

 

 

Once inside, Tim set the bag down and helped Tia up onto her stool at the island. "You ready for a snack while Daddy gets dinner started?"

 

While he talked, McGee started unloading the groceries onto the counter. When Tia nodded enthusiastically, he opened the hummus and scooped some into a small bowl. Carrot slices were added and the whole thing was set in front of Tiana. Diane started to comment, but Tia happily dug into what was obviously a familiar treat for the little girl.

 

Instead, Diane watched in amazement as Tim pulled out a cutting board and a long knife and expertly started to butterfly a boneless leg of lamb. The meat was moved to a large glass pan before Tim washed his hands and started mixing up a garlic and rosemary marinate. The question was blurted out before Diane had even thought it through. "She'll actually eat that? At her age?"

 

McGee opened his mouth, but before he could answer, Tiana's head bobbed in agreement. "It's yummy. Lots of garlic, Daddy."

 

Tim gave her a snappy salute, making her giggle, before adding another spoonful of minced garlic to the mix.

 

Diane had been watching, not only the food preparation, but the interaction between father and daughter. "You really know what you're doing."

 

Since the bowl of hummus had been practically licked clean, Tim lifted Tia out of her chair and sent her off to play before turning to Diane with a serious expression. "We knew Grace was dying before Tiana was even born. I wanted Tia to have every possible moment with her mother, but I have always been a part of my daughter's life."

 

After giving the stubborn woman a moment to absorb what he was telling her, Tim handed back the casserole she'd brought. "Go home, Mrs. Sterling. Go home and fix whatever is wrong in your life and stop worrying about mine."

 

Diane stared at the countertop for a minute before looking up at him, her eyes moist. "You're right. You're absolutely right."

 

Tia returned to the kitchen with the last drawing she'd done the day before, this one showed three stick figures holding hands, two tall and a short one in the middle. Three more figures were along the top edge of the page. She showed it to Diane. "This is me and Daddy and Papa."

 

The little girl was very serious and Diane knew this was important to her. She pointed to the last three figures. "Who are they?"

 

"That's Mommy and Mommy Shannon and Sissy Kelly. They're angels in heaven. They watch over us."

 

Behind them Tim was stunned. He wracked his brains, but only remembered one mention of Kelly to Tia and none that mentioned Shannon by name. He started to say something but Tia wasn't done.

 

"You made Papa sad yesterday. I don't want Papa sad anymore."

 

Despite her best intentions, Diane felt the tears threaten to spill over. "You're right, Sweetie. Papa deserves to be happy. I'm very sorry that I've been making him sad." Surprisingly, Diane realized that she really meant it as she turned, tucking the pan firmly under her arm. McGee was watching them very closely.

 

"You were right, Tim. You were totally right and I'm going to do something about it right now." Diane gave a nod, more to herself that to him, before retreating to her car. She set the pan on the floorboard and fired up the engine as she dug her phone out. Hitting speed dial, she started speaking the moment it was answered. "Victor, can we talk? I mean really talk."