I'm very sorry for such a long delay. I've been so busy with school! I hope this chapter is enjoyable. As always, reviews are much loved! Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS.

Gibbs looked up as Oliver and Caroline walked in the door after school. They were fifteen now and life was a lot different. Oliver had shot up already and was still growing; he was still mostly a "wild child" and a funny guy but had added some attitude to the mix. Caroline was as sweet as ever and didn't have a disrespectful bone in her body. She was looking more like a woman and less like a girl every day.

"Hey guys, good day at school?" he asked.

"Not bad, Pop." Oliver headed for the kitchen in search of food.

Caroline dropped her backpack on the floor and sat on the couch beside Gibbs, propping her feet on the coffee table. "Can Sydney sleep here Sunday night? Her parents are going out of town and she says if she has to stay with her brother they'll kill each other before the evening is over. He's a real jerk. Theo can't stand him; they're in the same grade. The other day at school they almost got in a fight." She seemed to realize she had said too much and bit her lip. "Anyway, would that be okay?"

Gibbs filed Theo almost getting in a fight away for later and thought about Caroline's request."On a school night?" Then he remembered that the girl's parents sometimes had to travel for business. "I guess so, as long as she's mostly hanging out with you and not Oliver." The last time Caroline's friend had come over, she and Oliver had spent most of the time flirting and getting a little too close for Gibbs' liking. Damn raging hormones.

Caroline grinned and rolled her eyes. "Okay, Papa."

Tony came down the stairs, whistling. He had retired a few years ago and, despite Gibbs worrying they would drive each other crazy, life had been pretty great since. They enjoyed finally having time with each other.

"When is Theo supposed to be bringing this girl over?" Gibbs asked him.

Eighteen year old Theo had been dating a girl his age for the past few months and they had yet to meet her. She was Theo's first girlfriend and he seemed to like her a lot. Like Oliver, Theo had shot up. He stood at a tall 6'2" and was rather thin and lanky but had worked out enough to look "buff" as Tony liked to say. His hair was a shaggy dark brown mess and it drove Gibbs crazy. He had never outright told him to get a haircut and he wouldn't, but he hinted at it often, much to Theo's amusement.

He wasn't quite as bad tempered as he had been as a child, but he was still very much a quiet and moody person. They had all been surprised when he announced he was dating someone because he was typically very anti-girlfriend and antisocial in general. Anti-girlfriend because, in his words, "Girls cost money and I don't like to spend money. They tell you what to do and I don't like to be told what to do." No, he certainly didn't like to be told what to do.

Tony glanced over at the clock, shrugged. "I think he said 5:30?"

Theo walked in the door at 5:45 holding the girl's hand and smiling. "Hi Pop, Dad," he nodded in their direction.

"Theo," Gibbs smiled.

"Ali, this is my Papa, Jethro Gibbs, and my Dad, Tony DiNozzo. That's my brother, Oliver, and my sister, Caroline. Guys, this is Ali."

Brown haired, brown eyed Ali smiled and said a confident "Hello" in their direction. Gibbs stepped forward to shake her hand and smiled in return. "It's nice to meet you, Ali."

"It's nice to meet all of you finally. Theodore has told me so much about you. Never doubt that the guy loves his family," she said as she grinned over at him. He grinned back.

"We're pretty fond of him ourselves," Tony said, winking at Theo.

They all moved into the living room and sat down.

"Theo says you're planning to go to school to be a doctor?"

Ali nodded. "I was able to graduate high school early. I started at Georgetown this year; I'm doing undergraduate there for sure. I'm not sure where I'll go after that, I have a few schools in mind. But that's a couple of years away."

"Very ambitious," Tony said.

"I've wanted to be a doctor for as long as I can remember. Above all else, that's my biggest dream. So I didn't want to waste any time getting started."

Gibbs thought she seemed to be an extremely nice and sweet girl. He could see why Theo, who had had zero interest in being in a relationship, would suddenly change his mind. But he also wondered how this could possibly go. If Ali's main focus was school, and Gibbs didn't begrudge her that, then Theo was looking at possibly getting his heart broken in the end. Although, he figured, that could be said of any relationship.

"Doesn't she inspire you at all, Theo?" Tony asked their son.

Theo had been struggling badly with deciding what he wanted to do with his life. At eighteen, Gibbs didn't see this as a problem. Ali was in the minority, already knowing exactly what she wanted to do and getting right to it, at her age.

"Well, she's inspirational and ambitious and all, but that doesn't mean I'm any closer to figuring out my future," Theo answered Tony.

Ali stayed for dinner and they all continued to talk and get to know each other. Gibbs decided he really liked her. It seemed everyone else did too. She seemed to be really down to earth and an all around good person.

"I should get home. I need to start my homework for the weekend and get some rest eventually."

"I'll walk out with you," Theo said as they stood up.

Gibbs and Tony stood up as well, each shaking Ali's hand again before she left and telling her how glad they were to have met her.

"I like her," Tony immediately said with a smile. "She's sweet."

Gibbs nodded in agreement.

When they woke the next morning, Gibbs needed to go to the grocery store and it turned out they all had a few things they needed to do so they all went together.

Oliver and Caroline were learning how to drive and it was Oliver's turn in the driver's seat. Gibbs sat up front with him.

They had quickly learned that Theo was an extremely good, safe driver. He rarely went over the speed limit, he stopped at yellow lights, and he refused to move the car until everyone had buckled their seat belts. He was always cautious and aware.

Caroline was proving to be a fine driver. She was a bit more nervous about it than her brothers but she didn't back down.

Oliver was a whole different story. He rarely ever went the speed limit, he would fly through yellow lights, and he would take turns with barely putting his foot on the brake. He had a bad habit of looking off to the side as he was driving, checking things out. It was not uncommon to hear "Oliver, car!" followed by "I saw it! I stopped!" which was usually answered with "Only after I pointed it out."

"Please pay attention to what you're doing this time, Oliver. There are four other people in the car besides you," Gibbs told him.

By the time they made it to the grocery store, Gibbs was clutching the oh shit handle with all his strength and was beyond tense in his seat. The short trip had included Oliver almost running a red light, flying by a car way too close that was in the turning lane, everyone yelling "Oliver!" at once, and slamming on the brakes because he was going too fast and the car in front him was stopping to turn.

"You realize how much it takes to scare me or make me nervous right?" Gibbs turned to Tony in the backseat. Tony nodded. "He scares the hell out of me."

Tony laughed at that. "I believe it."

"Well, if there had been any room around that guy, I could have just gone around him," Oliver said about the guy that had been turning and caused him to hit the brakes.

"You need to learn to control yourself better. You're going to end up getting killed or hurting someone else," Gibbs lectured as they all began to walk toward the store.

"It's not like you drive any better, Papa. Maybe I just learned from riding with you all these years."

Tony said, "He kind of has a point."

"I don't care!" Gibbs answered angrily. "I've been driving for over fifty years; he hasn't even been driving for a year. I don't care if he's ridden with me his whole life. He doesn't have any experience driving."

"Papa has an even better point," Tony looked at Oliver.

Oliver rolled his eyes and walked ahead.

As they were walking through the store, Oliver started to veer off and go down one aisle while the rest were going to continue on. Caroline turned around and said really loudly, "Excuse me, Oliver, could you grab a box of tampons for me while you're right there?" She said the word "tampons" even louder and dragged it out a little.

Oliver immediately looked horrified. "Caroline, please. Do not talk about that stuff in my presence. I've asked you a million times not to."

Theo looked horrified and uncomfortable as well and Tony grimaced but otherwise hid any reaction for Caroline's benefit. Gibbs rolled his eyes and said "You guys are so immature." He was only a few feet from the boxes, grabbed one and tossed it to Caroline. "Need anything else, baby?"

"No thank you, Papa. This is all," she smiled.

He smiled back at her and they continued their shopping.

There were a couple of more stops before they made it back home. Theo went upstairs to play his guitar while Oliver and Caroline spread their homework out across the living room floor and worked on it.

"Lots of homework this weekend, guys?" Tony asked from the couch.

"Yeah, high school is killer with the homework," Oliver told him as he wrote something down.

Gibbs stepped over Caroline and sat down on the other side of the couch. Tony took that as an invitation to sprawl out and rest his feet in Gibbs' lap. His lover proceeded to nudge him with his foot over and over again, a not-so-subtle hint that he wanted his feet rubbed. Gibbs ignored him, purely for torture, which resulted in a frustrated noise followed by a pleading whine from Tony. Snickering, Gibbs finally acquiesced.

"After we've finished dinner with Abby…" Gibbs began, only to be interrupted.

"We're going out to eat with Abby?" Oliver asked excitedly, homework forgotten at the mention of one of his favorite people.

"Dad and I are going out to eat with Abby. I thought he mentioned that. At least I asked him to," Gibbs sent a small glare Tony's way. "Then he and I are kind of going on a date."

Caroline abandoned her homework at this point. "You're going to eat with someone else and then going on a date? Shouldn't you two be eating alone for a date?"

"Dinner isn't part of the date. We're hanging out with Abs and then we're going for a walk," Tony answered.

Caroline giggled. "Like a romantic stroll in the moon light?"

"Something like that, maybe," was Tony's flippant reply.

Theo came down the stairs on his phone, most likely talking to Ali.

"When are we going to get cell phones?" Oliver asked, a pout clear in his voice.

"Theo didn't get one until he was sixteen and that was only because he was starting to drive. I imagine when you two start driving, we'll get you one. And you assumed cell phones plural."

Oliver's eyes widened. "We'll only get one cell phone, Papa?"

"Yes, and you're lucky you'll get that much. You can share it."

"All of our friends already have cell phones," Caroline tried.

"We've been over this already," Tony said. "We don't care what your friends have. You should know that by now. We've never cared what your friends have or don't have. You are not your friends. Friends having cell phones does not equal Oliver and Caroline having cell phones. No such luck, kid."

"It was worth a try," she said with a grin.

Oliver's brow was furrowed and he opened his mouth to speak. Gibbs interrupted him.

"If you're about to have an attitude… don't."

Oliver opened his mouth again. "Well, just because…"

"I will send you out of this room, Oliver Thomas," Gibbs said, knowing his son was about to say something unnecessary and uncalled for.

Mouth finally closed, Oliver cleaned up his homework and went upstairs without another word. Gibbs rolled his eyes.

"Papa, I'm not trying to be rude or argue or anything, but it really kind of isn't fair that we only get one cell phone. We're not one person, even if we are twins," Caroline looked up at him with serious, innocent eyes.

Gibbs sighed inwardly. He and Tony had always tried to let them be independent of each other growing up instead of making it all about the fact they were twins. Oliver had had his own activities and Caroline had gone her own way. In school they had been put in separate classes, with the exception of preschool, from the very beginning. They had always encouraged them to be themselves if they wanted and that they didn't necessarily have to be just like each other because they were twins.

"I realize that," Gibbs said calmly so she would know he wasn't upset. "But cell phones are expensive and, really, you guys will be together most of the time so there's just no reason for two phones. If or when you each get into your own activities and things are really busy and it's just not working anymore then we'll talk about it. Until then, please remember that phones cost money and Dad and I, unfortunately, do not have any money trees growing in the back yard."

Caroline grinned even as she attempted a very Papa-like eye roll at his last comment. "I understand and it doesn't really bother me. I just wanted to point that out and hear what you had to say about it."

"And I'm glad you did. I always want to hear what you have to say," Gibbs told her.

That evening, he and Tony were in their room getting dressed. Gibbs was in his underwear searching through the closet. Tony had on a pair of khakis and was looking for a shirt to wear.

"You are so beautiful to meeeeee…." Tony belted out as he casually looked through his shirts.

"Well thank you, baby, I appreciate that," Gibbs answered smoothly.

Tony chuckled and pulled a shirt out that appealed to him. He continued to sing as he dressed and Gibbs pulled on a pair of jeans.

"My one lone request, and really, do I ever ask anything of you, is that you don't wear one of your predictable, expected polo shirts. It's the only thing I ask of you."

Gibbs rolled his eyes up slightly. "You're as dramatic as all three of your children. Now I know where they get it from. Yeah, fine, whatever. I'll go with something a bit nicer." He sounded less than pleased but he knew that Tony knew he was just messing with him.

He finally made his way downstairs, in a dark blue button down shirt and khakis he had changed into, and found Tony in the kitchen with the kids. Oliver and Caroline were both eating some heated up leftovers for dinner. Theo was leaning against the counter talking to Tony.

"L.B. has a date tonight too," Tony announced.

"Is that so?"

Theo shrugged. "I'm just taking Ali out for dinner then heading straight back here after. She'll have some last minute homework to finish up I'm sure."

"Have fun. And be careful, please," Gibbs told him before turning to his other two children. "You two behave while we're gone. No parties or anything of the sort."

Caroline grinned and Oliver snorted. Gibbs was a regular comedian.

He and Tony left a few minutes after Theo, on their way to dinner with Abby.

They still tried to keep in touch with the old team, their friends. It had become a little harder and less frequent now that none of them worked together but they tried to get together every now and then.

Dinner with Abby was, as always, a fun event. Conversation was constant and laughs were had.

Halfway through their meal, Gibbs' phone rang. He looked down at it to see "Home" on the screen.

"Yes?"

"Hey, can you guys bring me something to eat?" Oliver asked.

"What? You just ate," Gibbs answered incredulously. Oliver was getting the standard teenage male appetite these days.

"I'm hungry again," his son complained. "Please?"

"No," was the answer. "There's plenty to eat there. Make a sandwich or eat some fruit."

"Pop, I want something else. There's nothing here."

"Oliver. Really? I just went to the grocery store a few days ago and bought a ton of food. If you can't find anything then I guess you'll go hungry. Dad and I aren't even coming home any time soon."

There was a pause on the other end followed by, "What if I whined and carried on dramatically?"

"Then I would treat you like little tiny Theo and tell you 'Please use your nice words, I don't know what you're saying when you whine like that.'"

There was only silence.

"So unless you're prepared to use your nice words, please don't say anything else about it. And let me get back to my dinner."

"Yeah, yeah, okay I suppose," Oliver answered reluctantly. "Love you."

"Love you too," Gibbs said before he closed the phone and put it away. He sent a look in Tony's direction and got a startled look in return.

"Why are you looking at me? I didn't do it."

Gibbs laughed and went back to his dinner.

"So how are the kids?" Abby asked, taking a bite of her pasta.

"They're still a handful, as always, but they're good. Oliver and Caroline are both making straight A's in school. Theo Bean… he cares way less about it than the twins do but he's scraping by. But they're all great. We really couldn't be any happier with life than we are right now," Gibbs told her. "They're just so cool, so fun."

"Ever wish you'd had any more?" There was a smirk on Abby's face and a glint in her eyes.

"Hell no," Gibbs said with a laugh. Tony agreed immediately.

"We got one more than we bargained for," he said with a grin. "Oh, sure, we love them all to pieces and couldn't imagine life without any of them, all of that. But three kids were more than we ever talked about or planned for."

"Tony only wanted one," Gibbs said, sitting back in his seat. "It took a good bit of convincing to get him to try for another."

"You guys are not a one kid kind of family," Abby said with certainty.

"I'll take your word for it, Abs." Gibbs smirked at her and silently agreed they were not a one kid kind of family.

Conversation turned to Abby's new "oh, he's not good, he's fantastic" boyfriend. He seemed to be a steady figure in her life now, although when asked, Abby had said she wasn't sure she'd ever really settle down with anyone. Gibbs was curious to see where things would go with her and this fantastic man.

They walked Abby to her car, talked for a few more minutes, and watched her drive off. There was a park only a few minutes from the restaurant where they would go for a walk.

Gibbs looked at Tony and nodded his head in that direction, turning to start the walk.

Tony had realized a couple of weeks ago how very old married couple they were now. They were very much in love, but things had gotten very comfortable, maybe too comfortable, and they hadn't been trying as hard to keep up a great relationship. They weren't arguing or fighting but things had begun to get very monotonous and routine, there was no fun or spice, just wake up, go about the day, kiss goodnight, sleep, and repeat.

Tony said, getting older or not, he was not ready to be in the old married couple status yet.

They were just now getting around to a date, and it wasn't much of a date really, but it was a start. They were, at least, getting out of the house without the kids and taking the time to be together.

Tony glanced around the park which appeared to be deserted and looked over at Gibbs shyly. He held his hand out tentatively, as if Gibbs might refuse to take it. Like that would happen. Gibbs reached over and linked their fingers, grinning at his lover's bashfulness.

They walked for a few minutes in silence, found a picnic table and sat down across from each other. It was dark out and kind of cool. Gibbs yawned and rubbed a hand down his face.

"What have you got to be tired about?" Tony teased.

Gibbs grunted, shrugged. "I haven't been sleeping well. Too many aches and pains. My knee hurts, my back hurts." He waved it off. "Bound to happen."

Tony frowned at that. "It doesn't have to happen, Jethro. We'll figure something out for your knee and your back."

An idea came to him and he stood. Tony looked up at him curiously. Gibbs held his hand out and smiled, cleared his throat. "May I have this dance?" So he felt ridiculous and probably looked ridiculous, but for as long as he could remember Tony had tried to get him to slow dance with him and Gibbs had always refused. Somewhere along the way, Tony had stopped trying and that made Gibbs sad.

Tony's eyes lit up slightly and he looked around. The place was still deserted. "There's no music."

He continued to hold out his hand. "Who needs music? Come here," he said softly, pulling Tony against him.

Green eyes regarded him curiously once more. "You are so beautiful to meeee…." Gibbs teased and got the laugh he expected. He rested the side of his head against Tony's, his mouth near the other man's ear, and began to hum quietly as they swayed slightly.

"This feels suspiciously romantic," Tony murmured.

"Maybe you deserve some romance."

"Such a sap."

"I know it," Gibbs admitted.

They danced for a while longer, enjoying the closeness, before they walked a little more and made their way back to the car. When they pulled into the driveway and turned off the car, Tony said "Thanks. That was… nice."

Gibbs nodded. "It was."

They walked to the door, talking quietly, and Gibbs unlocked it and pushed it open none too quietly to hear a surprised screech. Oliver stood up with his hand over his heart and slightly wide eyes.

Gibbs was immediately suspicious.

"What are you up to?"

Caroline laughed. "We were watching a scary movie, Pop."

"And Caroline," Oliver began through clenched teeth, "thought it would be funny to turn out the light and jump out at me. I've been a twitchy mess ever since."

Gibbs snorted. He supposed having always limited what they could watch could have had a few downfalls. Oliver and Caroline, in particular, did not deal well with scary movies at all.

"Where's your brother?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. It suddenly occurred to him that Theo's car hadn't been in the driveway.

Oliver shrugged. "I haven't seen him."

"He hasn't been back from dinner?" Tony asked in a surprised tone.

Caroline shook her head.

Gibbs saw Tony glance over at him. It wasn't like Theo to stay out very late and when he said he would only be gone so long he typically always meant it. And if he couldn't make it home, he was always courteous enough to call and give a heads up so nobody would worry.

It wasn't that they minded him being out late, but when he said he would only be a while and they came home to find him still not there, it was a bit worrisome.

After a couple of failed attempts at reaching him by phone, Gibbs went into the kitchen to have some coffee. About twenty minutes later, he heard the door open.

"I'd be wary of Papa," Gibbs heard Oliver quietly warning Theo.

As he made his way into the living room, he heard Theo say "Get your stuff out of my car."

"What?" came the confused reply from his little brother.

"I said get your damn stuff out of my car," Theo said. "I've already asked you twice. I'm not asking again. I'll throw it in the damn trash."

Gibbs paused. No matter Theo's moodiness or attitude, it wasn't like him to be so plainly mean.

Oliver had a surprised and slightly hurt look on his face. Gibbs nodded his head toward the stairs. Once he was on them he turned to Theo.

"What's wrong?"

He shook his head and looked away, refusing to meet Gibbs' eyes. Tony walked over, tilted his head. "Most importantly, are you okay?"

"Fine," he managed to mutter.

Theo's eyes unexpectedly filled with tears and he took a deep breath. "Maybe not so fine," he whispered hoarsely. "I need to tell you guys something."

Naturally, Gibbs' mind began to race with the possibilities. He feared the worst and waited with bated breath as they sat down to speak.

He and Tony sat on the couch while Theo sat on the coffee table in front of them, wringing his hands and swallowing convulsively.

He looked at them and tears began to fall, pouring down his cheeks. He took another deep, shaky breath to calm himself.

"Ali is pregnant."

I hope you liked! I really debated the whole pregnant thing but decided in the end it's something that could and does happen in real life, so why not? I will not be starting the story over with Theo's kid or anything, LOL, so don't worry, but the kid will be part of the story now. I've got most of the next chapter written, just need to finish it up. :) Thanks for reading.