Chapter Text
Gibbs brushed Jack’s hair off her face and ran his hand over her cheek before sliding out of bed. It was still early, a little after 7 on the morning of July 5th. He was surprised he was up early; it had been a late night. The team had watched the fireworks on The National Mall and then Torres and Bishop came back for a drink and a fire in the back yard, which turned into way more than one drink, s’mores (where the ingredients for those came from were still a mystery to him) and an unexpected sleep over. Gibbs threw on a pair of shorts and crept quietly down the stairs, hoping beyond hope he wouldn’t walk in on a completely awkward situation. The guestroom bed was full of things which needed to go to Goodwill so Torres and Bishop had ended up crashing in the living room. He shouldn’t have worried. His guests were sound asleep, feet tangled up in the corner of the L shaped couch, the exact position he and Jack had slept in dozens of times.
With a smile on his face he headed for the kitchen to make coffee. Ten minutes later Bishop wandered in to find him sitting at the kitchen table with a mug of coffee and the Sunday paper.
“Morning boss,” she said as she ran a hand over her face before pulling her out of control hair back with a hair tie she had on her wrist. She was dressed in leggings and an oversized t-shirt Jack had given her to sleep in, one Gibbs recognized as his own.
“Morning, Ellie,” Gibbs said with a smile as he stood up. He steered her to a chair as he went to refill his mug. His use of her first name brought a smile to her face, as it always did. “Coffee?”
“Please,” she answered as she pulled out the lifestyle section, figuring she wouldn’t need to fight her boss for that part of the newspaper. Gibbs poured her a mug and set it in front of her before grabbing the milk and sugar off the counter. “Thanks,” Ellie smiled as she took the spoon he was holding out to her. “Jack still asleep?”
“Yeah,” he answered as he slid back into his chair and put on his glasses. He felt Ellie’s gaze on him. “You want to ask me something, Bishop?” he muttered, without looking up from the paper. He was trying his best not to let a little smile come across his face.
“Uh no, I mean yes, I mean it’s none of my business,” she stammered as she felt herself turn red. She picked up her coffee in an effort to hide her expression.
Gibbs set down the newspaper and pushed his glasses on top of his head. “That’s right, it’s none of your business,” he said. The effectiveness of his glare was marred by the slight twinkle in his blue eyes. “I know you talk to Jack, I’m not stupid.”
“Didn’t think you were. And I’m not looking for details,” Bishop answered as she stood up to grab two bananas out of the basket on the counter.
“Good, cause you’re not getting any,” Gibbs smirked. “It’s poorly defined and confusing at times but I’m happy, we’re happy.”
“That’s all I need to know,” Bishop answered with a smile as she put her hand on his shoulder and gave it a little squeeze. Gibbs patted her hand. On a whim, Ellie leaned over and pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “Sorry,” she muttered as she sat down quickly.
“Nothin’ to be sorry about Bishop,” Gibbs answered as he got up to grab the jar of peanut butter and a knife.
Jack and Torres wandered in ten minutes later and the four of them had a leisurely pancake and bacon breakfast made by Jack and Ellie.
**************
“That was surprisingly nice,” Gibbs said as he shut the front door after he and Jack had walked Nick and Ellie out to Nick’s car.
“It was and why do you say it was surprising? You love your team,” Jack pointed out as she reached to fold the blankets Nick and Ellie had used.
“Cause it felt like, like….” Gibbs trailed off as he took the blankets and tossed them in the guest room.
“Like a double date?” Jack guessed as she leaned in the doorway.
“Something like that,” he muttered as he walked past Jack and headed to grab his cell which was ringing somewhere in the kitchen. He talked for less than a minute before grabbing his laptop off the ironing board.
“Everything okay?” Jack asked as she turned the water on to wash the dishes from breakfast.
“Yeah, Tony wants to Skype,” Gibbs explained as he poured the last bit of coffee into his mug and headed for the living room.
“Tell him I said hi,” Jack called over her shoulder.
********
“Hey, Boss,” Tony said as Gibbs face came into view.
“Not your boss, DiNozzo,” Gibbs said with a grin. It was the same way they started every conversation since the day Tony walked away from NCIS, hand in hand with Tali.
“You look tired, late night?” Tony asked as he leaned back in his chair, propping his feet up on the desk in his home office.
“Yeah DiNozzo, 4th of July or have you forgotten your American history living over there in Paris?” Gibbs teased.
“Nope, I remember. Wait did you actually celebrate the 4th? You never do that,” Tony said, both surprised and pleased that his former boss seemed to have finally gotten something that resembled a social life.
“I did,” Gibbs answered with a grin. “Fireworks on the Mall, then drinks in the backyard. Oh and s’mores,” he added, waiting for the inevitable teasing.
“What?” Tony snorted. “S’mores? Who the hell are you and what have you done with Leroy Jethro Gibbs?”
“Jack and I went to the fireworks with the team. The McGee and Palmer families took their kids home after and Nick and Ellie came back here with us. We had way too many drinks and they ended up staying over.”
“So, you had a sleep over?” Tony teased.
“Something like that. Honestly, it was nice.” Gibbs said, his voice uncharacteristically soft. He took a sip of his coffee, while Tony took a drink of the bottle of water he had in his hand.
Both were quiet for a few minutes.
“Tony?” Gibbs said. He knew his former SFA well enough to know he had something to talk about. “What’s up?”
“You busy the week after next?” Tony asked vaguely.
“Working, why?”
“Tali and I are coming to DC for a visit,” Tony explained.
“Not Ziva, everything okay?”
“Ziva’s fine. She’s just busy with work. Tali’s been asking to visit Uncle Gibbs. She hears me talk about DC and she’s curious about my life before Paris.”
“While I’m sure that’s all true, cut the crap DiNozzo. You look worse than I do,” Gibbs pointed out as he took a really good look at Tony. He’d lost some weight since their last Skype call a few weeks earlier. Behind Tony’s glasses, he could see the dark circles under his eyes, ones Gibbs hadn’t seen in a very long time.
“Been having some issues,” Tony replied vaguely as he waved his hands about a little, as he was known to do when he was stalling or trying to be vague. Gibbs just raised his eyebrows and motioned with his coffee mug for Tony be a little less vague. “Uh, some lung and breathing issues. Seen a few doctors here but honestly, I feel more comfortable seeing the not so famous Dr. Brad Pitt. We’ve been talking over the past few weeks and I think I coming to DC is the best thing. And seeing everyone will be a nice perk. Hey, I finally get to meet Jack in person.”
“She’ll be thrilled,” Gibbs laughed. “You two want to stay here when you come?”
“You sure that’s not too much of a bother?”
“Not at all,” Gibbs assured him.
“Okay,” Tony agreed as he heard a little “Daddy” coming from the hallway. “Come on in sweetheart,” he said as he moved the laptop from where it had been balanced on his knees. Tali climbed in his lap and kissed his cheek.
“Hey Uncle Gibbs,” Tali said, waving at the laptop.
“Hey honey,” Gibbs said with a big grin. “Jack, come say hi,” he called over his shoulder.
“Hey Tony, hey Tali,” Jack said, giving a little wave of her own.
“Hey Tali, how about we go visit Jack and Uncle Gibbs soon?”
“On a plane?” she asked excitedly.
“Yep, on a plane. How about you wave goodbye and go see if you can help Ima with dinner.”
“Bye, see you soon,” Tali said, blowing a few kisses and sliding off Tony’s lap.
Gibbs and Jack waved back at the little girl.
“Tony everything okay?” Jack asked, taking in his appearance.
“Jethro will fill you in,” Tony replied vaguely. Jack just nodded and gave a little wave as she left the room.
Gibbs and Tony talked for a few more minutes. Tony promised to send him their flight information as soon as he had it.