I'm really glad you guys enjoyed this. I will be back with a new story soon! Just a side note, I do not have a beta so all mistakes are mine. Here we go! I do not own NCIS...
Chapter 15
A few weeks after Darren Parker's arrest, everyone was gathered in Gibbs' back yard for LJ's 4th birthday party. There were children from the NCIS daycare running all over the yard. Emily Fornell was giving LJ a piggy back ride and all of the adults were sitting at the tables and standing around the grill where Gibbs was cooking. The whole team was there, along with Jack and Tobias, and director Vance with Jared and Kayla. Jessica's parents were also there to celebrate. Abby was running around the yard with the kids and Tony was hiding behind trees and then jumping out to scare them, making them shriek with delight.
After a barbecue lunch, the candles on the cake were lit, and everyone sang Happy Birthday to a suddenly very bashful Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Junior. After the cake and ice cream were eaten, it was finally time to open presents. LJ opened all of the gifts from his new friends at daycare, and hollered with joy as he opened each one. "Look, daddy! I gots a new train set!"
After a long afternoon, the party died down and everyone started to leave. LJ thanked everyone for coming, and soon it was just family sitting in Gibbs' back yard: Gibbs, LJ, Grandpa Jack, Grandma and Pop-Pop Dempsey, Uncle Toby and Emily, Uncle Leon, Jared and Kayla, Aunt Layla and Amira, Tony, Ziva, Tim, Abby, Jimmy and Uncle Ducky.
LJ got up from his grandma's lap and walked over to Tony. "Tony, what did you getted me for my birfday?"
Tony grinned, "I thought you'd never ask, Jet! Come on!" He took LJ by the hand and walked over to the shed, with the rest of the family following curiously. Tony had kept LJ's present a closely guarded secret from everyone, surprisingly, even Gibbs.
"Alright Jet Plane, stand here and close your eyes. No peeking!"
"I'm not peekin', Tony!"
Tony went into the shed and then came out pushing a bright red Ferrari Power Wheels car.
"Ok, you ready, pal?" Tony asked with a grin as he parked the car in front of him. LJ nodded with his hands still firmly in place over his eyes.
"Ok, open your eyes!"
LJ opened his eyes and sucked in a breath when he saw it.
"You boughted me a car?" He whispered in disbelief. He circled it once, peered inside, and then circled again, a grin slowly spreading across his face. "YOU BOUGHTED ME A CAR! MY OWN CAR!" He shrieked, and then began jumping up and down. Everyone smiled as they watched him jump for joy, and suddenly LJ stopped in his tracks. "Tony!" He exclaimed, tugging on Tony's sleeve, "It's just like Magnum! You gotted me Magnum's car!" He started jumping up and down again.
"Yea-heah buddy! Just like Magnum!" Tony laughed.
"Look, look!" LJ shrieked to no one in particular, "Tony boughted me Magnum's car!"
"Magnum's car, Tony?" Gibbs asked with a smirk, "You're letting him watch too much TV."
"Nah," Tony replied, "he's just a sucker for the classics like his big brother."
LJ had been delighted with the other gifts he received, but all others were nearly forgotten as soon he laid eyes on Tony's gift. He ran around the car once more, then leapt into Tony's arms when Tony knelt down. "This is my bestest present in the world! I lub you, Tony!"
"Happy birthday, pal. I love you, too. Come on! Why don't you take her for a spin? Show me what she's got!"
LJ drove his Magnum car around the yard until the battery died. "Ok, pal," Gibbs said as he plucked him out of the driver's seat, "Let Tony plug that in to charge. Everyone else is getting ready to leave. Go say goodbye and thank you to everybody for such a nice birthday."
One by one, the family hugged and kissed LJ goodbye, and LJ thanked them for the "bestest birfday ever." Finally, only LJ, Gibbs, Jack and Tony remained. Jack went upstairs to take a nap, leaving LJ, Tony and Gibbs in the living room. Gibbs settled into his recliner with a beer, while LJ and Tony snuggled on the couch to watch Magnum.
As Gibbs relaxed and sipped his beer, he let his mind wander over the events of the last few weeks, and then started to think about the family that was in the back yard earlier as LJ drove his car.
Suddenly, a thought hit him: That really was his family. All of those people! HIS family! There were so many that he couldn't even fit them all in his living room. Leroy Jethro "Second B is for Bastard" Gibbs; A man who lost his family, who never thought he'd experience real joy again, was experiencing so much joy with such a large family that it was almost overwhelming. Gibbs stood up to stretch, set down his beer, and walked over to LJ and Tony. He leaned over and kissed both boys on the head. "I love you, sons."
The End :-)