* * * * *

The next morning, Gibbs woke early, but stayed in his bed for a while replaying the events of the previous evening. Soon, he heard someone go into the bathroom and knew that it was time to start the day. He got out of bed and pulled on some sweats. He ran his fingers through his hair and then went out to the hall. The office door was open, but it was empty. He looked across the hall and saw Kate sitting sleepily on the edge of the bed.

"Morning," he said has he poked his head in the door.

"Good morning," Kate answered quietly.

"Hurry up and get dressed. We have a lot to do today," he said with a smile, hoping to lighten her mood.

"What should I…" she started to ask.

"We'll be out in the yard for most of the day," he said, then walked toward the bathroom. He knocked on the door. "Hey Tony," he called, "don't spend too much time getting pretty. You have work to do."

"Got it Boss," Tony called back.

Gibbs went down to the kitchen to make a good, hearty breakfast and before long, Kate and Tony joined him. As they ate, he handed out assignments. "The shed needs to be repainted and the gutters need to be cleaned out. Both of those jobs require a ladder and I only have one, so I guess you'll have to work together," he said, almost teasingly.

"And what are you going to do all day Boss?" Tony asked around a bite of toast. He grinned mischievously.

Gibbs laughed at him. "You didn't think I'd be sitting in a lounge chair watching you work all day did you? I have a fence to repair and the oil in my car needs to be changed. Now finish up. We don't have all day," he said and then drained his coffee cup.

A little later, Kate and Tony were painting the shed. Gibbs chose to repair the section of fence closest to them so he could keep an eye – and an ear – on them for a while. He wasn't sure what to expect, but as the morning wore on, all he heard was them joking around. And helping each other.

They broke for lunch, and he continued watching and listening. Kate handed Tony a paper towel after he'd washed his hands. Tony opened the jar of pickles without making a rude comment about weak women. They were both relaxed and Gibbs thoroughly enjoyed being with both of them together for the first time in a long time.

After lunch, Kate and Tony finished the small area that was left on the shed and moved on to the gutters. Gibbs moved to the driveway to work on the car, but was still within earshot. The afternoon passed just as pleasantly as the morning had.

Soon, the sun was all but set. "All right, let's call it a day," Gibbs called from the driveway.

"We're almost done," Tony called back as he lowered a bucket of gutter gunk carefully down to Kate.

"Ok, I'm going to go get cleaned up. Kate, make sure he doesn't break his neck coming down that ladder in the dark." He disappeared into the house to take a quick shower.

Twenty minutes later, he came back downstairs just as Kate and Tony were coming in from the garage.

"Kate, you can have the shower first," he heard Tony say.

"Thanks Tony," Kate answered back. "Phew! I'm going to be sore tomorrow," she added as she stretched and walked toward the steps. "The gutters are finished," she said to Gibbs with a smile as they passed at the base of the stairs.

"Thank you," Gibbs answered, smiling back.

He went into the kitchen and found Tony standing at the sink scrubbing his hands. "Hey Boss, we're all done."

"Good, thanks," Gibbs answered. He went to the refrigerator and pulled out a couple of steaks and some corn on the cob. He sprinkled some spices on the steaks and asked Tony to peel the corn. They worked in quiet contentment for a while and soon, Kate was walking into the kitchen.

"Shower's free," she said to Tony.

"Is there any hot water left?" he asked teasingly then pulled her into a rough neck hug.

"Hey!" Kate yelled with a laugh, "I'm clean!"

Tony released her, laughing and took off up the stairs.

Dinner was just as care-free as lunch was – for a while. As the evening wore on though, Gibbs could feel the tension building. Conversation trailed off, and Kate and Tony cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher in silence. Gibbs didn't miss them glancing back and forth in unspoken conversation. But he waited.

After a few more quiet minutes, Tony cleared his throat. "I'll be upstairs Boss," he said quietly.

Gibbs grinned slightly. "Go in the living room," he said, stopping Tony's retreat. "Both of you," he added. He saw them exchange looks again before they obeyed.

He waited for just a second before he followed them. "Sit down," he said, gesturing toward the couch. He sat on the love seat on the other side of the coffee table. "First, thanks for your hard work today. I know I didn't really give you a choice, but I appreciate your help." They nodded. "Now, I want to talk about today before we do anything else." They both looked down. "I wasn't sure you two could pull it off, but I'm proud of the way you acted today." They slowly looked up at him, still looking very nervous. "That proves to me that you two really can get along with each other. And it proves that you can still joke around with each other without it dissolving into World War III." He raised an eyebrow, and they both immediately looked sheepish. "But don't you think it would have been better if you hadn't had to prove that to me in the first place?" Two heads bobbed up and down. "Me too."

When Gibbs didn't say anything else for a minute or so, Tony spoke up. "So, should I go upstairs now?"

Gibbs stood up and Tony slowly followed suit. "No, you don't need to go upstairs." He disappeared into the kitchen for a moment and then returned carrying a old, study-looking wooden spoon. "Get over here. You too Kate," he said from the other side of the couch. Tony and Kate saw the spoon and exchanged a worried look. "Bend over," he ordered gently. They obeyed.

"I'm pretty sure I made my point last night, which I suspect contributed to your behavior today. But I don't want to ever have to make that point again. Understood?"

"Yes Boss."

"Understood."

"Good," he said then delivered ten sharp swats to the seat of Tony's jeans followed by ten sharp swats to Kate's. "Stand up," he said. They obeyed and immediately both of them threw hands back to rub out some of the sting. He looked at them sternly for a moment but he was only able to hold it for so long before he cracked a smile. "So what movie are we watching tonight?" he asked as he ruffled Tony's with his left hand and placed his right hand gently on Kate's cheek. He was rewarded with two still slightly sheepish smiles.

A couple of hours later, as they cleaned up the kitchen from their ice cream sundaes, Tony turned to Gibbs. "So Boss, does this mean that Kate and I are never allowed to argue about anything ever again?"

Gibbs grinned. "Tell you what, from now on, you may have one argument per week, and only one. So choose carefully. Any more than that, and there will be consequences for both of you, no matter who started it. Deal?"

Kate and Tony looked at each other then they both shrugged.

"Deal," they agreed.

"So what are we doing tomorrow?" Kate asked. They had moved on.