The Following Summer

Jethro and Tony were just pulling dinner from the oven as Ducky and Jimmy came thru the door, calling out hellos as they closed it behind them and joined the two men in kitchen. Palmer was helping to set the table as the rest of the team arrived. A few minutes later, Abby, Tim and Ziva arrived. Once everyone was seated, the serving dishes made the rounds and everyone dug in to the delicious food. Conversation was light as they ate, laughter in abundance. It was a nice friendly evening for them all.

After everyone had their fill, Abby, with help from Ziva and Tim, cleared the table, put the leftovers away and finished the dishes, while the others headed into the living with cups of coffee, or tea in Ducky's case.

"That's was a wonderful dinner, Jethro," Ducky remarked, patting his stomach.

"Thank DiNozzo, he did most of the cooking. And I agree, it was fantastic, Tony."

DiNozzo grinned, accepting compliments from everyone, as the others joined them in the living room.

"This was nice," Abby said. "We need to do this more often!"

"Yes, I am enjoying myself as well," Ziva offered.

"Oh my god, I think I ate too much!" McGee declared, dropping onto the sofa next to Abby.

A few minutes later, while the rest were engaged in conversation about Abby's latest bowling match with her friends from the convent, Tony snuck off to the guest room upstairs. When he returned he was carrying several packages, which he set down on the coffee table. Before the others could ask him what was going on, he left again, only to return with two more, larger wrapped boxes. He set those next to the others and grinned as everyone turned to look at him.

Gibbs knew what was coming. Tony had given him his gifts earlier, before the others had arrived. When Gibbs opened them, he was grateful that they'd been given in private, as they'd been emotional gifts. Not so much the gifts themselves, but the memories they evoked. DiNozzo had gifted him with three very special bottles of bourbon. One from the year Shannon was born, one the year Kelly was born and one from the year Gibbs had joined the Marine Corps.

"Merry Christmas!" he exclaimed.

"Tony, it is only July," Ziva told him.

"Ok, uh, Happy Summer!" He heard Gibbs chuckle as the others just shook their heads as his antics. "Hey, do I have to have a reason to give you all gifts? 'Cause if so, I can take them back," he said, reaching for the largest one.

"Don't you dare!" Abby laughed. "I love getting gifts!"

"Well good." Tony reached down and picked up two small boxes, wrapped in beautiful blue paper, as they all were. He handed them to Ducky.

The elderly doctor smiled and set down to his tea cup, accepting the small gifts. "Does it matter which I open first?" he asked.

"No, not really," DiNozzo replied as he took his seat and watched as Ducky began to unwrap the larger of the boxes.

As he opened the flaps, he grinned and pulled out a tam-o'shanter, in a blue and green plaid fabric with a small white pom-pom on top. He placed it on his head and cocked it over his forehead. "It's perfect, Anthony," he enthused. Opening the second box, he found a matching bow tie.

"You recognize the fabric, Ducky?" Tony asked.

"Indeed I do," he replied. "My family's tartan colors. I will wear them both with pride, Anthony."

"It's part of a new line of men's accessories SKI is going to start carrying." Tony grinned and picked up another package, this one a small gift bag and handed it to Ducky as well. "And I hope you save this for a special occasion."

Ducky grabbed the handles of the bag and set it in his lap, reaching in to pull out a bottle. "Oh, my, honest Scotch whisky!"

"Distilled the year you were born," Tony added.

"And in my ancestral home town as well," Ducky declared, reading the label. "Yes, this is very special. I haven't had a good dram of Scottish whisky in years."

He handed the bottle to Palmer, who remarked. "They spelled whisky wrong."

Ducky shook his head. "On the contrary, Mr. Palmer. It is spelled correctly for a whisky from Scotland. Scottish whisky is the only kind that can spell it that way. All other whiskey has to spell it with an 'e'. That's how you will always know you have true Scotch whisky." He accepted the bottle back and careful placed it back in the bag. "I shall treasure every drop. Thank you, Anthony."

Tony nodded toward Gibbs. "I'd venture that Gibbs would help you drain that bottle, Ducky." He was not surprised by the light tap to the back of his head. He just chuckled and picked up the next two boxes. "Jimmy, I'm sorry Breena couldn't join us tonight. I have something for her as well. Do you want to open it, too?"

As Jimmy took both, he shook his head. "No, I think I'll let her do it." He placed the box with Breena's name on it on the floor by his feet and peeled back the paper on his own box. A small jewelry case was underneath. He glanced at Tony as he lifted the lid and his eyes went wide. "Oh, my gosh, Tony, they're beautiful."

Ducky leaned over to have a look. "Oh my! Yes, the surely are."

"What!? What did you get?!" Abby cried from across the table.

Palmer handed the box over. Inside were a pair of silver cufflinks with ruby and diamond inserts. "Wow! These are gorgeous!" Abby remarked. "They even have your initials scrolled around the stones."

"The ruby is July's birthstone," Tony remarked. "Breena was saying that you were going to buy a tuxedo, since you both were starting to attend more formal events with her parents. I know you have those cufflinks that used to belong to your dad, but thought you might like another pair, just for a bit of variety." He pointed to the other box. "Breena's gift is earrings with Emeralds and Diamonds, will look great with her blonde hair and green eyes. All of these are custom made just for you and Breena. They're one-of-a-kind."

"They're great, Tony, thanks," he said, accepting the box back from Gibbs after they'd made the rounds of everyone there. "I'm sure Breena will love her gift, too." He closed the case and placed it on top of the still wrapped gift on the floor.

Tony nodded and picked up another box and handed it to McGee, who grinned and tore into the package. He pulled out a box with colorful graphics on it. "Is this what I think it is?!" he asked excitedly.

"Yep. That's the likely final version of the new game that you helped create, McGee. If you look inside on the fold-out, you'll see that your name is listed as co-creator. That means you get royalties for every game sold, as well as a paycheck for you as a creator. That check is in there," Tony said, pointing to a blue envelope that had slid to the floor. "You and about a dozen others are the only ones who have that game right now. Their names are all listed there for you to contact so that you can set up times to do testing and get any final bugs worked out."

McGee knew he was grinning like a loon, but didn't care. His name was there on a game that everyone at SKI's tech section was hoping would go worldwide. He distractedly opened the envelope, not really looking at the paper he pulled out. Abby leaned over and her eyes went wide. "Oh My God! Timmy, you're rich!"

McGee blinked and glanced her way, before noticing that she was looking at the paper in his hand. He looked down and his own eyes went wide, his mouth opened and closed. "This is... oh my god...Tony... this is..."

DiNozzo just chuckled. "Mr. Articulate," he teased. "Problem, McGee?"

"Tony...this...this is for two hundred thousand dollars!"

"Wow!" Palmer remarked. The others were equally surprised.

DiNozzo just shook his head. "Hey, gaming is huge, worldwide. When a great game is created, the people who created it get paid well. You'll also get 1% of the sales, which could come to several million dollars if it goes as well as we hope it will."

"Million?!" Ziva asked, grabbing the box out of McGee's hand and reading the back, which gave a summary of the game.

"It's possible. Of course it could flop, too. That's why we do so much testing." He turned his attention back to McGee. "Over the next couple months, we need you and the others to do some serious product testing. If things look good, then we'll expand that to some overseas gamers that do some of our testing. If no big problems arise, we'll get it ready for a Christmas release."

Tony turned to Gibbs. "Boss, I do have another gift for you…well, not really a gift, just the delivery of some items that already belong to you." When Gibbs looked at him quizzically, he continued. "Remember all those power tools in my Grandfather's woodshop?" Gibbs nodded. "You said you'd never use them. So I've had them all packed up and I thought we could maybe find a school somewhere, either here or in the New York area, that had a woodshop class, and donate them in your name."

Gibbs grinned. "That's great idea, DiNozzo. And I think I know just the place. I'll give them a call in the morning. And we'll donate them in your Grandfather's name!"

Tony was touched by that and nodded at Gibbs' generous thought. "You also said that you'd like to work with some of the more exotic woods he has up there next time you're there. So, I thought I'd have some of them sent here, so you don't have to wait until the next time you go up." He reached into his pocket, handing him a note and a keychain with three keys on it. "That's the name of the company that will be delivering them. You just need to call them and let them know when."

Gibbs nodded. "I can't wait to get started." Tony nodded and Gibbs attention was drawn back to the key ring. "And the keys?"

"The silver key is to your workshop on the estate. The brown key is to the front door of the main house. Just make sure you call before you go to visit so that Theresa knows to expect you. And, Boss, that's per her orders, not mine." He reached over and touched the third key on the ring. "And this one is for the cabin past mine, that little one with the stone fireplace that you found during your run the weekend you came up over Labor Day."

Tony reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope and handed it over. "Since that cabin is somewhat isolated and everyone in the family already has houses or cabins on the estate that they have claimed, no one really wanted that one. So, since it already belongs to me anyway, I decided I'd let you all have access to it anytime you want. I'll also let some of the other agents use it from time to time for vacations and such."

The two men were trying hard to ignore Abby, who was fidgeting like a two-year-old who had to go to the bathroom. Abby was biting her lip, eyeing the 2 big boxes that still sat on the table, knowing one was for her. Tony glanced over and winked. He put a hand on the top box and glanced at both her and Ziva. "Before I give these gifts to you girls, excuse me, ladies, there is a condition..."

"Ton-eeee," Abby whined.

DiNozzo raised an eyebrow. "Do you want your gift or not, Abby?"

Ziva slapped on the arm and whispered, "Just agree."

Her bottom lip jutting out, Abby crossed her arms. "Pouting, Abby? Really? Well, I guess I can just send yours back..." he went to reach for the top box.

"Nononononono...please, don't. I'm sorry, Tony. I'm just excited."

"No, really?" Gibbs muttered, setting the others to laughing.

Abby stuck out her tongue at her silver fox before turning back to Tony. She sat up primly and folded her hands in her lap. "I'll be good, I promise."

Another raised eyebrow showed Tony's disbelief in that statement, but he carried on. "Okay. Now the two of you need to take your boxes, unopened, to the guest room. There you can open the boxes. Once you've opened your gift, I'd like you to try it on and come back down to model for us. Will you do that?"

Abby was nodded enthusiastically before Tony even finished his sentence, but Ziva looked dubious. "Ziva, I promise, it's nothing bad, nothing revealing...and I hope you love your gift," Tony said sincerely. Ziva looked into his eyes and realized this was a final test. She needed to show him that she trusted him with all aspects of her life. She relaxed and smiled.

"I am sure I will love the gift, Tony. Judging by what you gave the others, you have exquisite taste."

Tony grinned and accepted her olive branch, handing her the larger of the two boxes.

"I'm sure you realize that each box contains an outfit. One other part of the gift is that Laurie and Gabriella have invited both of you to be their guests at the showing of Laurie's new line at Fashion Week in New York City this Fall." He flinched at the squeal from Abby. "I'll give you the dates later so you can request the time off."

He then handed the 2nd package to Abby, who raced up the stairs, calling out, "C'mon, Ziva, hurry up!"

Ziva stood up and walked to the bottom of the stairs, shaking her head. "How the hell does she have so much energy?" she asked herself out loud.

The reply came from all five men in the room. "Caf-Pow!"

Less than a minute later, a loud squeal was heard from upstairs, then a 'yes, yes, yes', followed by the sound of Abby platform boots jumping up and down. The noises stopped abruptly, likely due to Ziva, as they heard "Abby, please, just try it on!"

The men waited patiently for several minutes, then a voice called from the top of the stairs. "Are you ready?"

"Ready, Abby," Tony called out, walking over to the bottom of the stairs. He had to move quickly out of the way as she came bounding down, hitting the floor and twirling around. She was a swirling dervish of red, black and silver.

She had released her pigtails, letting her hair fall over her shoulders. Her top was a shimmering silver and black satiny design that showed off her toned midriff, with an abbreviated standup collar that attached at the front with a small broach that had a stylized skull on it. The long sleeves slid down her arms and delicately over the back of her hands with small ruffles. The skirt at first appeared to be similar to the pleated mini-skirts that she often wore, however this one, while short in front, lengthened gradually along the outside of her legs to finally end at the back of her knees, showing the same small ruffles as on the sleeves. Underneath, she wore dark hose with a skull design that matched the broach, but in a material that made them look ethereal, almost ghostlike in appearance. And on her feet, she wore a pair of red and black ankle boots, with her favored clunky heel, with that same ghostly skull look.

"Oh, Tony, it's fantastic! I can't believe Gabriella and Laurie came up with something so cool!"

"Well, Abs, really, with you as inspiration, what else COULD they come up with, but something uber-cool!"

She ran to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you, it's great!"

He leaned back and tweaked her nose with a finger. "And, it's a one-of-a-kind! These won't be available until spring, but yours is custom. No one else will be able to order this particular outfit, with the skulls. The look that's being marketed to the general public will have other figures that haven't been finalized yet, but no skulls. And they won't have the small charms all over them, like you have."

Abby grinned and moved her arms, setting off a jingling of small, silver charms on the sleeves.

"Even better! Wait until I wear this to the club! Everyone will be so jealous!" She twirled around again and moved over toward the sofa, posing for the rest of the men.

"Just let them know that it's a new line coming out from SKI, called 'Laurie's Closet.' Advance publicity in the circles you run in would be great." Tony remarked, grinning, happy to see such joy on her face. Hearing a noise at the top of the stairs he turned his gaze that way...and lost his breath. Ziva was descending, the beautiful gown molded to her slim figure. She had pulled her hair up into a sloppy bun, which only enhanced the smooth olive skin of her neck and shoulders, under the slender spaghetti straps. The light blue color of the gown highlighted the silvery lace that gently hugged the bodice and waist, accentuating her curves. On her feet, she wrote a delicate pair of heels in a slightly darker tone than the dress, with a soft cream-colored swirl down the side.

Tony reached a hand out, and she laid her own in his, allowing him to guide her into the room.

"Oh my! Ziva, dear, you are beautiful!"

"Isn't it pretty?" Abby said. "It's the perfect color!"

"The color is called Ziva-blue," Tony said. "Made especially for this gown. It took many tries to get it right." He twirled her around and smiled. "It matches perfectly with the dark blue of the Marine Corps dress uniform. I borrowed Gibbs' uniform to make sure."

She froze and stared at him, only to have him smirk in reply. "How did you know?" she muttered.

"Hell, Ziva, I'm an investigator. We all knew."

A chorus of "yeps", "Yesses" and "Of course we knew" caused her to turn to the others in the room to see all of them nodding their agreement.

"Actually, it was Jimmy who figured it out," Tony said, leaning in to ask her, "Think we can recruit him as a field agent?" which caused Palmer to blush.

She just frowned and sighed. "We were trying to keep it secret."

Gibbs stood up and walked over to her. He leaned in to kiss her cheek, taking both of her hands in his. "Ziva, we've known about your Marine for a couple of weeks. You can't keep a secret with this bunch. Everyone is happy for you. Just know that if he hurts you, all of us will help you bury the body."

She smiled, tears glistening in her eyes. "He is special, Gibbs. Actually, he reminds me a bit of you."

"Well, that's appropriate then," Ducky said. "Women often look for men who have the good attributes of their fathers, even if those fathers are surrogates, or other men they admire."

She nodded. "I think, for the first time, I am truly feeling what love might feel like," she admitted.

"You have to invite him over next time," Abby insisted, "so we can interrogate...I mean...get to know him."

"I think you were right the first time, Abbs," Gibbs remarked. "The Marine Corps Ball is coming up in a couple of months. More than enough time for us to get to know him before he escorts you there."

Ziva just nodded her head, knowing that her 'family' would accept David Manning... but they would also warn him against hurting her. And as much as she…and they…knew that she could protect herself, it felt wonderful to know that they would protect her as well. She looked around at those in the room, all now admiring Abby's outfit, finding all the little adornments that had made her jingle as she came down the stairs.

Gibbs turned and placed one of Ziva's hands in the crook of his arm. She put the other around Tony's arm, and squeezed both. "Thank you. You have given me a family back. I have a father, an uncle, two wonderful brothers, a crazy little sister and a shy cousin. I couldn't ask for anything more."

They both leaned in and kissed her, one on each cheek. "Welcome to the family," Tony said.

/THE END/