Chapter One

"So, let's get married."

It was those four words, followed by a shrug, that brought them to be standing in front of a judge in a small room in the large City Hall in downtown Washington DC. It wasn't how she imagined her wedding as a child by any means and it certainly wasn't how she thought she'd be spending her Saturday morning but she knew it was necessary.

She was terrified that they were making the wrong decision, that they were rushing into something but she was more afraid of losing their kids or being out of control if something ever happened to either of them. She knew that this 'marriage' did nothing to protect their legal right to Jake and Ava but it did give them more control when it came to Dani and Kelly and their legal rights to make decisions about each other if something were to happen.

She felt Gibbs take her hand in his and offered him a small reassuring smile as he silently asked her, for the one hundredth time, if she was sure. Her eyes moved over to Ducky who was acting as their witness, and the only person who actually knew they were getting married.

"Would you like to say your own vows?" The judge asked, looking between them.

Jenny nodded silently. She had never even considered marrying Gibbs, she hadn't wanted to be the fifth Mrs. Gibbs but she knew that it was what they needed to do at that point in their lives, especially since it was the best thing for their family. Although she had never imagined this particular situation she knew two things for sure, that she loved the man in front of her, even if she hadn't told him, and that she was willing to fight to make sure that they could make this work. She refused to be another divorce.

"I, Jennifer Morgan Shepard take you Leroy Jethro Gibbs to be my lawfully wedded husband. You are my best friend and my partner and from this day forward my husband. I promise to encourage you, to laugh with you and to comfort you. I promise to be with you in good times and bad, when life seems easy and when it is hard, when our life is simple and when it takes effort. I promise to be the best mother to our children that I can be and to stand by you no matter what. These things I give to you today and for the rest of our lives."

She smiled again when she felt Gibbs squeeze her hand and watched him swallow before opening his mouth to speak.

"I, Leroy Jethro Gibbs take you, Jennifer Morgan Shepard to be my lawfully wedded wife. I promise to be your comfort when life is hard and your partner at all times, through the good and the bad I promise to be your partner and your best friend and to be the best father to our children that I can be. I promise these things today and the rest of our lives."

His vows were shorter than hers but no less meaningful and she had to blink back the tears that clouded her eyes. She knew he didn't make those promises lightly and even with his divorce record she knew he was standing in that room for the same reasons she was, to protect their family and each other, even if it wasn't exactly what they had had in mind when they had started their relationship.

"Then by the power vested in me by the District of Columbia I pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss the bride."

Jenny smiled into the kiss when Gibbs wrapped his arms around her waist and gave her a gentle and chaste peck on the lips. It wasn't what she had imagined or even what she had particularly wanted but it still felt right.

"I'm still not taking your name." She whispered as she pulled back.

Gibbs chuckled as he stepped away from her and rolled his eyes, "really didn't expect you to, 'sides you already use my name half the time anyway."

She rolled her own eyes at him but had to concede to his point, she used his name for security purposes at the school and half of Kelly and Jake's friends, Mitch and Maddie included, called her even though she had tried to insist on Jenny.

"I want a divorce." She muttered.

"I think that is a record, even for you, Jethro." Ducky commented with a laugh.

"Thank you again for coming to be a witness, Ducky." Jenny changed the subject.

"I wouldn't miss it my dear, it has been a long time coming although I do hope that you will eventually have a ceremony with the entire family present."

"Maybe eventually." Jenny hedged, "Right now we just want it to be quiet, and really it's not like we weren't basically married before, this was more to make sure that legally we would be covered if something happened to either of us or the kids."

"I know." Ducky replied gently, "And I understand your decision of course, I just wish you could have shared the joy with everyone."

"It would've been too much right now, Duck." Gibbs replied.

"Well if you two do ever decide to have another ceremony." The judge interrupted, "I want to be the officiant."

Jenny laughed, "You've got it Bill."

She had known the judge for well over twenty years, they had graduated high school together and had gone to Georgetown together, him for law and her for Political Science. She had chosen him to preform the small ceremony because she knew he would understand the need for discretion and their reasons for getting married, even if they weren't the conventional reasons.

"I just need you both to sign a few more things and to get Doctor Mallard to witness them but after that you're free to go." Bill replied, "any big plans for a honeymoon."

"A dinner with my mother." Jenny deadpanned.

"Well if she's cooking that sounds pretty good." Bill stated.

Gibbs snorted, "she's not, our daughter's making supper."

"Well if she cooks like her Grandmother then you're good to go."

Jenny laughed and rolled her eyes as she signed everywhere Bill pointed out.

It took them half an hour to complete the paperwork and another ten to say goodbye to Ducky before they were alone in the car together.

"You good?" Gibbs asked, looking across the seat at her.

"Fine." She replied with a shrug.

She saw his raised eyebrow and reached across the seat to grab his hand, "Really, I'm fine." She assured him.

"No regrets?"

"No." She replied slowly, "It wasn't a church wedding with a white dress and all of our friends and family and it definitely wasn't something I would have ever considered if we didn't have kids but I don't regret it." She added honestly, "it's not like we weren't basically married anyway, this just makes it legal… Do you regret it?"

"No." He replied, squeezing her hand, "you look good, even without the white dress."

She smiled and looked down at her dress, a knee length, long sleeved, pale pink lace dress that hugged her curves and made her look at least a few years younger. She didn't wear it often, if ever, but she didn't own anything white and 'real' marriage or not she didn't feel right getting married in black.

"Thank you, you don't look too bad yourself."

He was in one of his nicer black suits with a navy blue shirt and black tie on, she loved him in a suit and that one was quickly becoming her favourite.

They fell into comfortable silence and she idly stroked her thumb back and forth across his knuckles as they drove home. All of the kids were out of the house for the afternoon so they didn't have to worry about anyone seeing them in their fancier clothes when they returned home and Jenny laughed when Gibbs pulled her back into his chest as soon as the front door was closed, his lips falling to the side of her neck.

Her laugh quickly turned to a quiet moan as his lips found the sensitive spot behind her ear and she tilted her head to give him better access before weaving her hand into his hair to hold him in place.

"You're starting something we don't have time for." She muttered after a minute, "Kelly will be home with my mom and Sarah in less than half an hour and Diane is dropping Jake off around the same time."

Gibbs pressed his palm more firmly against her stomach to hold her in place as she tried to step away but finally relented. He knew she was right and besides they still hadn't crossed that line and he definitely wanted to take his time when they finally got there, and he didn't want to risk being overheard either, he fully intended to have her screaming his name.

"If you wanted to do that we should have considered a honeymoon like normal people." She teased lightly.

"We're going to New Orleans on Monday." He pointed out.

"For work." She rolled her eyes, "and we're taking Tim and Special Agent Clarke with us so I seriously doubt you're getting lucky… Not that I would object." She added, her voice slightly unsure.

"Yeah?" Gibbs asked.

He kept his voice neutral and she appreciated it, he had never once tried to pressure her and she loved that even though she had given him the green light he was still treading carefully.

"Yeah." She replied a bit more surely, "I'm not saying tonight-"

"Wanna make it special." He cut her off.

"I don't think we need to do rose petals on the bed." She replied with a smirk and a raised eyebrow, she tilted her head up and pressed her lips to his, "I just really want to be able to tell you exactly how much I'm enjoying it." She muttered against his lips.

She heard him groan quietly and pressed another firm kiss to his lips before pulling back, "I'm going to go get changed." She replied with a small wink.

She turned around and managed to get about two steps away from him before he broke out of his trance and grabbed her wrist to pull her back against him. She laughed but the laugh quickly turned to another moan as he pressed her against the length of his body and let his hand stray down to settle against her ass.

She opened her mouth as he deepened the kiss and let out another quiet moan as she ground against him.

"Fuck." She muttered softly as he pulled her more roughly against him.

She let him continue for another minute before pulling away from the heated kiss to catch her breath, "we need to stop." She whispered breathlessly, "I will gladly let you take me against any flat surface you want, but not today… Not the first time."

He dropped his head to her shoulder and nodded, his breath coming in soft pants, "I know."

"I'm going to go get changed… You should go take a cold shower." She glanced down and then back up at him with a small grin, "or a hot one… Whatever." She added with a cheeky grin and a shrug.

Gibbs rolled his eyes at her and lightly swatted her ass as she walked away, she made her way upstairs to their bedroom and grabbed a change of clothes. She walked down the hall and into the kids bathroom to change to give Gibbs space to grab a shower in their bathroom. She hopped in the shower and quickly rinsed off before pulling on a pair of dark wash jeans, a loose white tank top and an army green cardigan. Her hair and make up were already done and she quickly touched it up before letting herself out of the bathroom.

She was hanging her dress back up in her closet when she felt two strong arms around her waist.

"Hey, Mrs. Gibbs."

She rolled her eyes at his teasing tone and gently elbowed him in the stomach, "You're not funny."

"The kids think I am."

"No they don't, they just don't want to hurt your feelings."

She felt him snort against her neck and rolled her eyes, "Do you have everything packed for NOLA?"

"Nah, I'll throw everything in a bag Monday morning."

"You give me anxiety." She deadpanned, "Everything is ready to go for supper so I'm going to pack my bag now, I doubt we'll have time tomorrow."

"Do you want me to go put the chicken in?" Gibbs asked.

"Please." She replied, "I'll be down in fifteen minutes, my sister should be here around the same time as my Mom."

"And Dani and the baby?"

"Stan is dropping them off."

"What were they doing again?" Gibbs asked from the doorway.

"Stan and Ziva took them to do something, I have no idea what."

"We're great at this parenting thing."

"Hey" Jenny replied mock indignantly, "We have a lot of kids and we know where half of them are, I think that's pretty good."

Gibbs snorted and pushed himself off of the door before disappearing downstairs.

N*C*I*S

Jenny rolled her eyes as Heather eyed the picture of her and Gibbs in army fatigues disdainfully, her sister had been in her house for all of three minutes and she was already ready to kill her. She winced as she heard the front door fly open and slam against the wall.

"Jacob Isaiah!" She called.

"Sorry, Mom!" Jack called back.

She could hear him kicking off his shoes before the door closed in a much softer manner.

"Aunt Diane wants to talk to you." Jake informed her as he entered the living room, Emily and Diane Fornell in tow.

"Diane." Jenny greeted cordially, "What can I do for you?"

They had never gotten along well but they had slowly gotten a bit better since Emily and Jake had become pretty much inseparable.

Diane nodded in greeting, "I was just wondering if I can trade next Friday night with you two."

"That's fine." Jenny replied with a shrug, "Can you take Monday, Tuesday? Jethro and I are in New Orleans for work, Stan is babysitting the kids with my mom but it would help out if you did Soccer practice."

"That's fine, is Kelly still good to take Wednesday?"

"Yes, as long as Tobias is fine with Thursday and Saturday still." Jenny replied, trying to keep the days straight in her head.

"Can we go play?" Emily interrupted.

"Don't interrupt your mother and I when we're speaking." Jenny chastised automatically, "Five minutes." She added when Emily gave her her best puppy eyes.

"Tobias should be fine with it as long as you and Leroy can cover the Friday, we both have plans and he has meetings on the Wednesday."

"One of us will pick them up, I don't know what my schedule is but if I can't Kelly or Jethro will."

"Okay perfect." Diane replied, "He had lunch and a snack but I'm sure he'll be hungry for super."

"He's always hungry." Jenny rolled her eyes, "I'm just glad we had three girls and one boy instead of the other way around or my grocery bill would be insane."

"I'm sure Leroy is thrilled with being surrounded by women." Diane deadpanned.

"I don't mind it." Gibbs stated as he walked into the room, "Heather." He nodded to the youngest redhead in the room.

"Jethro." Heather replied neutrally.

"Okay, I'm heading out." Diane announced, "The kids don't have anything tomorrow, right?"

"No." Jenny replied, "We're moving my mother into her new place."

Diane nodded, and gestured for Emily to join her when the seven year old bounded down the stairs and over to Gibbs. She wrapped her small arms around Gibbs' waist and Gibbs pulled her against his side.

"Did you have fun today?" Gibbs asked, ruffling her hair.

"You're messing up my hair." She scolded, "and yes."

Gibbs rolled his eyes, "You sound like your mother." He muttered.

"You make that sound like a bad thing." Diane said, "Come on, Emily, we need to get going."

"Okay." Emily sighed as she released Gibbs, "Bye Aunty Jenny, bye Uncle Gibbs."

They exchanged quick goodbyes and Diane and Emily were just getting into the car as Kelly pulled up with Lydia and Sarah.

Jenny leaned against the open front door and waved to her daughter, niece and mother, smiling softly as she listened to them laughing as they got out of the car. She felt Gibbs come up behind her and placed her hand over his when he wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Maybe we don't let the shedevil in our house anymore." Gibbs muttered close to her ear.

Jenny snorted, "If we had an option then yes, unfortunately you made bad life choices and now we're raising our kids together."

"Tobias made bad life choices." Gibbs corrected as the small group approached them.

"Ah, Hello, Mija!" Lydia exclaimed as she pulled Jenny away from Gibbs before wrapping her in a tight hug.

"Mami, you're squishing me." Jenny gasped, "You saw me two weeks ago."

"That doesn't mean I didn't miss you." Lydia replied, stepping back and holding her at arms length, "You look thinner, and exhausted." She turned to Gibbs accusingly, "Are you not taking care of my daughter?"

"Mami, I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself-"

"It is your husbands job to help you." Lydia cut her off.

Jenny rubbed her hand over her eyes and sighed, "Mami, Jethro takes excellent care of me, we just have young kids and a new baby, things are busy right now, I'm fine I promise."

Lydia narrowed her eyes and looked at Gibbs, "You'd better be taking care of my baby."

"Always." Gibbs promised seriously, his hand pressing more firmly against her stomach.

Jenny gave his hand a squeeze and smiled up at him.

"How was your flight?" Gibbs asked.

"It was good, it was even better when I saw who was picking me up." Lydia replied, smiling at the two teenagers who were pulling Lydia's two suitcases from the trunk of the car, "I would still like to see my other grandchildren and my youngest hija."

"I'm right here, Mami." Heather announced, stepping around Jenny and Gibbs to give her mother a quick hug.

"You look as good as ever, Mija" Lydia announced as she eyed her youngest daughter.

Jenny rolled her eyes and Gibbs gave her hip a gentle squeeze.

"You look good to me." He whispered in her ear so only she could hear, "Kelly why don't you and Sarah bring your Aboulita's stuff up to her room."

"Sure Daddy." Kelly replied, "is supper almost ready, Mom?"

Jenny smiled and nodded at her oldest daughter, it still gave her a small thrill every time the teen called her Mom or any variant of it. She didn't know what had brought on the change and they hadn't discussed it since Kelly had done it for the first time the week before.

"Probably only another half an hour." Jenny added as the girls walked past her into the house.

Jenny and Gibbs stood outside the door as everyone filtered passed them into the house.

"It's gonna be fine." Gibbs muttered to her.

"I wish you had siblings." She replied sarcastically.

"No you don't, because then you'd have to deal with them."

Jenny considered it for a moment and then nodded, "that's a fair point… Do you mind dealing with my family?"

"Nope." He replied quickly, "they're part of the package."

"I think you should've put more thought into marrying me." She responded quietly.

"Nah." He said confidently.

He tilted his head down and planted a kiss on the top of her head.

She turned, wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest. She listened to his heartbeat and sighed happily as he ran his hands over her back.

"Let's just stay out here forever." She whispered against his shirt.

"Tempting, but no." He replied.

She could almost hear his smirk when she tightened her arms around his waist and nuzzled her nose into his chest.

"Okay." She sighed before loosening her arms.

Gibbs released her as she stepped away and she offered him a small smile before leading the way into the house. She found everyone except for Kelly and Sarah gathered in the living room.

"Where is the princessa?" Lydia asked.

"She and Dani are with Stan." Jenny replied, "they should be home shortly, would anybody like something to drink."

"I wouldn't mind a glass of wine." Heather said.

"I might have a bottle in my office." Jenny said slowly, "if not I'll text Stan and have him pick something up on his way."

"You don't have wine?" Heather asked incredulously.

"No I don't." Jenny replied without giving anything away, "Jethro can you call Stan and ask him to pick something up, I'm going to check on supper."

She knew Stan wouldn't pick up any alcohol for her, not when he knew she wasn't drinking but he would pick it up for Gibbs. She appreciated his commitment to helping her, even if she was thirty-nine years old and perfectly capable of going to buy her own alcohol.

In the kitchen she checked on the chicken and turned on the pot of potatoes on the stove, she heard a stool scrape across the floor and turned around to see Lydia sitting at the counter.

"Do you need something, Mami?" She asked, not unkindly.

"You're sister didn't mean any harm, Mija."

Jenny rolled her eyes and sighed as she wiped her hands on a dishtowel. "I don't particularly care what Heather meant, Mami, she is in my home and all she's done is criticize my family and how we choose to live… I'm trying to make this work, trying to make my family, my relationship with Jethro work and having someone standing around questioning it isn't helping."

"Your children and your husband all worship the ground you walk on, I've never seen a man more in love than Jethro, and no amount of questioning from anyone is going to change that."

She understood what her mother was trying to do, she appreciated the effort but something about how she had worded it just made her sad.

"He cares but he doesn't love me." Jenny whispered with a small shrug.

"I don't believe that for a minute." Lydia replied firmly as she reached over the counter to squeeze Jenny's hand.

She offered Lydia a small half smile before stepping away from the counter just as Gibbs walked into the room.

"I am going to go and see my Granddaughters." Lydia excused herself.

"Stan'll be back in fifteen minutes, he's stoping to pick up wine." Gibbs told her, "He said the girls really enjoyed the bird sanctuary."

"That's what they were doing?" Jenny asked disbelievingly.

"I guess." Gibbs replied with a shrug, "According to Stan Ziva had a better time then all of them."

"Tali loved birds." Jenny stated quietly, "She had this book about ornithology that she would read to us, it drove everyone nuts but she loved it, Ziva found the book after Tali… Died… and started reading it again."

She bit her lip as she teared up at the thought of the sweet little girl, her brown eyes shinning as she told Jenny and Ziva about all of the different types of birds in her book. The only person who had genuinely enjoyed the conversation had been Ari who would sit for hours and listen to Tali rattle on, a small smile on his lips.

"Hey." Gibbs whispered softly.

"I'm sorry." She swiped at her eyes quickly.

She felt Gibbs' arms wrap around her as he pulled her against his chest.

"I'm fine." She reassured him, "This is just a bad time of year."

"I know." Gibbs muttered against her hair, "why don't you take a break, go outside for a bit."

"No, I'm fine, supper isn't going to make itself."

She shot him a warning glare when he opened his mouth to make a jab at her cooking, "I know you too well, don't even try."

"Married for a day and no mystery left." Gibbs muttered.

She placed her hands on his hips and eyed him up and down with a raised eyebrow, "I'm sure there are a few mysteries left."

"Yeah?" He asked huskily.

"Yeah." She whispered, leaning up to press her lips to his, she nipped his bottom lip and pulled back.

She looked up at him and smirked when she saw his lidded eyes and slack-jawed expression, she kissed the side of his jaw and ran her hand through the hair at the back of his neck.

"You doing okay there, Gunny?" She asked teasingly.

She felt his grip tighten on her hips as soon as the last word passed her lips and she dropped her head to the middle of his chest as he yanked her closer to him.

"You doing okay there, Director?"

"I hate you." Jenny muttered against his chest.

She felt him drop another kiss to the top of her head and gave her hips one last squeeze before stepping away from her.

"Go, let me finish supper." She ordered, "Go socialize with your in-laws."

Gibbs rolled his eyes but wandered out of the kitchen, leaving her alone to let her mind wander as she finished supper.

She gave the potatoes and carrots another quick stir before putting down the wooden spoon as she heard the front door open.

"Honey, I'm home!" Stan's voice echoed throughout the house, "and I brought your children back."

Jenny snorted as she wandered into the living room to find Lydia attempting to hold Ava in one arm and hug Dani with the other.

"I brought your favourite." Stan said holding up a large paper bag.

"Stan, I don't-"

"I called Decker, sparkling cranberry and apple cider." Stan interrupted her, "he said it's your favourite."

"It is." Jenny replied, taking the bag from him and accepting a kiss on the cheek with a smile, "are you two staying for supper?" She asked, looking between Stan and Ziva who was off to the side quietly talking to Gibbs.

"You sure?" Stan asked, his eyes darting to Heather.

"Yeah." Jenny replied, "you brought the good stuff so you get to stay."

"Gee, you're so generous, little sister." Stan teased, "but since it smells good I'll stay, you good to stay Ziva?"

Ziva looked up from her conversation with Gibbs in slight surprise but nodded after a moment.

"If you do not mind."

"The more the merrier." Jenny reassured her, "and judging by what's in this bag, Stan bought your favourite wine."

"I know." Ziva replied with a small smile, "I picked it out."

Jenny took in her small smirk and couldn't help but think about how much Ziva had grown up since Tali had passed, she had always been mature for her age but losing Tali and every other tragedy in her life had aged her well beyond her twenty-five years.

"That's my girl." Jenny said quietly.

There was a soft smile on her face but she knew it didn't quite reach her eyes as she watched the woman in front of her smile at Gibbs.

"Supper will be ready in ten minutes, everybody go wash up." Jenny ordered, rolling her eyes when she got a purposefully sloppy salute from Ziva, "I raised you better than that Ziva David!" She called after her as all of the kids, Ziva included, bolted up the stairs to wash their hands.

"What did she just say?" Gibbs asked when Ziva called back something in Hebrew.

"Trust me, you don't want to know." Jenny replied.

Gibbs pursed his lips and nodded, "I'm not gonna learn Hebrew."

"Probably a good idea." Jenny agreed, "put the time into teaching her how to throw a ball like a normal human being instead."

"An impossible task."

"But an excellent father, daughter bonding activity." Jenny countered, "One that she looks forward to, now, everyone head into the dining room."

She ignored the eye rolling she received from all of the adults as she herded them towards the dining room before continuing on to the kitchen, Heather close on her heels.

"Need any help, Red?" Stan called from the dining room.

"No, I'm just bringing everything out." Jenny replied as she grabbed a serving platter out of the cupboards.

"Is there a reason you invited two random people to what was supposed to be a family dinner?" Heather asked.

"Is there a reason your standing in my kitchen being bitchy?" Jenny countered, "Ziva and Stan are family, and I told you to stop questioning my family in my home."

Heather raised an eyebrow at her but Jenny refused to back down, she pulled the chicken out of the oven and placed it on a cutting board.

"If you want to stand there you can mash those potatoes."

She sliced the chicken and placed it on the platter as Heather silently mashed the potatoes, Gibbs appeared a moment later and dug around in a drawer before coming out with a bib for the baby.

"Do we have wine glasses anywhere, Jen?"

"Should be up in the cupboard there." She pointed to the cupboard beside the sink, "can you make sure that Ziva and Stan put their guns in the safe before we eat please."

"Yup."

She finished plating the chicken and handed Heather a bowl for the mashed potatoes before carrying the chicken and carrots out into the dining room.

"Jethro, there's a basket of rolls on the counter, can you grab them?"

Gibbs nodded and pushed his chair back to go in search of the aforementioned rolls, he returned a moment later with the basket and a bowl of green beans just as Jake, Ziva, Kelly and Dani all wandered into the room to take their places at the table.

"I know I said that this table was too big when you bought it but I believe we might need a bigger one." Ziva commented as she sat down in her normal spot.

"I don't think we have room for a bigger table." Kelly replied with a laugh as they started to pass around plates.

Jenny carefully cut up a bit of chicken and added a scoop of cooled mashed potatoes and diced carrots to a small plastic plate before placing it on Ava's highchair tray, silently hoping that the baby didn't throw her food like she had been doing as of late. She decided to take the temptation away and put just a little bit of everything directly on the clean tray instead, a little bit was easier to clean up then a whole plate pitched at a wall.

She ate her food and listened with a fond smile as the kids regaled Lydia, Ziva and Stan with everything that had been going on as of late. Kelly and Jake were doing most of the talking with Dani adding a word or two here or there and Sarah would toss in an anecdote about her life in LA when it was relevant.

She took a sip of the sparkling cider and looked down when she felt Gibbs place a hand on her thigh under the table. She shot him a discrete smile and returned to her meal. They were almost done eating when a cell phone started to ring. She knew it wasn't Gibbs' she recognized his ringtone and she raised an eyebrow when she saw Ziva peaking at her cellphone.

"It is Eli." She explained when she saw Jenny's raised eyebrow.

"Again?" Jenny asked through gritted teeth.

"If I do not answer-"

"Take it in the kitchen." Jenny cut her off, "I want to talk to him when you're done."

Eli David was really starting to get on her nerves, he had never been involved or even really interested in his daughter's life but he had been pushing and pushing for Ziva to return home at the end of the month, now only a week and a half away. She didn't trust him as far as she could throw him and his persistence was really starting to put her on edge, judging but the way Gibbs was griping her thigh he was feeling the same.

Ziva nodded and pushed her chair back and left the table, answering before she was out of the room with a polite but cold 'Shalom'.

Conversation stalled for a moment after Ziva left the room but was quickly picked up again. Jenny had just finished the last bite of her meal when Ziva rejoined them, taking her seat at the table.

"He said he was busy." Ziva explained quietly when Jenny glanced her way, "He will call you tomorrow."

"I'm sure he will." Jenny muttered.

She hated when Eli called her during work hours because then it was a call between the directors of two agencies and not two people who had essentially raised two kids together. She actually had to be cordial when she spoke to him at work and not call him an ass like she so desperately wanted too.

"He wishes to revise your agreement." Ziva added.

"No." Jenny replied firmly, "We made the agreement before I left, he doesn't get to change it now because it suits him, I'm not playing that game with him again."

"I told him you would not be receptive."

"We'll talk about it later." Jenny stated when she noticed Lydia, Stan and Heather watching them, "Stay here tonight." She added in Hebrew.

"I will be fine." Ziva assured her in English.

Although she honestly didn't think Eli would try anything on American soil she knew he didn't hesitate when it came to having his daughter followed and surveilled and she would feel better if she and Gibbs could be around if something happened.

"Is there dessert, Mommy?" Jake asked from his end of the table.

"I made pie." Jenny replied with a smile, "Kelly can you and Dani gather up plates while I go get the pie?"

Her daughter's both nodded, Dani significantly less enthusiastic than her older sister but Jenny didn't have the energy to acknowledge the minor show of attitude.

"After supper can you and Kelly play your Lion King song?" Jake asked as the girls started to clear plates.

"We'll see." Jenny hedged.

"Lion King song?" Sarah asked with a glint in her eyes.

"We were goofing around the other night and made a medley of all of the songs." Kelly explained, "it actually sounds pretty good, especially if you can get Mom and Uncle Stan to sing it, they do a pretty great duet."

"Come on, Shep, it'll be fun." Stan added.

"We'll see." She repeated again, "Jethro can you wipe her face and hands please?" She asked, looking at Ava who was absolutely covered in mashed potatoes.

Gibbs eyed the baby and stood up, taking her right out of the highchair, "Might be easier just to do it this way." He stated, carrying the giggling baby into the kitchen.

Jenny gathered plates, spoons and ice-cream together and brought them into the dining room before returning to the kitchen to grab the pies. When she walked back into the kitchen she found Gibbs leaning against the counter cuddling Ava to his chest with a peaceful expression on his face.

"She's getting so big." He stated quietly.

"I know." Jenny agreed, running her hand over the baby's back, "I'm going to miss this when she's older."

She really didn't want another baby, as much as the idea of a child that was half her and half Gibbs appealed to her, she knew it wasn't even in the realm of possibility and she was perfectly happy with the four they had, she wasn't sure she could even handle a fifth and she knew for a fact that she couldn't handle another pregnancy.

Gibbs wrapped his free arm around Jenny and pulled her against his side, dropping a kiss to the top of her head as he did so.

"You ever thought about another one?"

She looked up at him in surprise, her eyes wide and her mouth open but no sound came out. Kids, outside of the ones they had of course, had never been discussed between them, as far as she knew they were both on the same page on the topic and that was a firm no more… No matter how much she loved the baby stage.

"Are you going to come out here before the ice cream melts?" Stan's loud voice interrupted from the dining room.

Saved by the Stan… Welcome back all! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, there was a lot going on but I wanted to get right back into the swing of things, I love to hear from you guys! Now… This story will be considerably more Ziva centric because I feel like Jenny's time in Israel really shaped her as a person but THIS IS NOT A ZIVA STORY… Okay I'm good now… Thank you guys again so much for all of your support!

~Katie