Hello! I started this story a while ago and finally finished it. Hope you like it!

The kids' ages are:

Tony – 14

Ziva – 13

Tim – 11

Abby – 7

With one hand carrying his bag and the other one in a tight grip on his youngest daughter's hand, Leroy Jethro Gibbs made his way over to the NCIS building. He kept glancing back to make sure that his other children were still close behind. He had kept a hand on Abby ever since the car since he knew from experience how easily the seven-year-old could trail of. Knowing that Tim would never want to get lost in a crowd of people and the fact that the kid actually did what he was told, left Gibbs a peace with where he had him. Tony and Ziva were the only reason he kept checking on them. Tony sure had a tendency to find trouble and Ziva went along with him more often then not.

All the kids were carrying their school bags, as it was a normal weekday.

"Will we be late?" Ziva asked.

Gibbs threw a glance at the clock.

"No", he said.

"Are you sure?" Tim asked. "Because I don't want to be late to math class."

"Yes, I promise, Tim", Gibbs replied. "It'll take twenty minutes, tops, and then I'll drop you of at school. We have plenty of time."

He held the door open for them and let Abby lead her siblings to the elevator, which took them all up to the bullpen.

"Okay, you wait here", he told his kids when they got to his desk. "I'm going to leave this report to the Director."

When he'd disappeared, Tony instantly sat down in his chair by the desk.

"Let's see what kind of stuff dad hides here", Tony said and started looking through the papers that happened to be on the desk.

"You shouldn't do that", Tim said. "You'll get us in trouble."

"Relax, Timmy", Tony said. "Dad is not going to know, because no one is going to tell him. Right?"

Ziva just raised an eyebrow at him but Abby made a move like she zipped her mouth closed and threw the key away. Then she plopped down on the floor and pulled out her drawing pad and a pen from her red backpack.

"See", Tony told Tim and gestured to her.

"Well, what do we have here?" a voice said which made all four siblings look up.

"Ducky!" Abby called out happily.

Dr. Mallard took of his hat as he walked the short distance from the elevator over to Gibbs' desk.

"What are all of you doing here?" Ducky asked them. "Where's Jethro?"

"He's up with the Director", Tony replied.

"He had to drop something off before eight, so we stopped here on the way to school", Ziva explained.

"I see", Ducky said. "Well, I would love to stay here and have a chat with you but unfortunately I have a lot of work waiting for me downstairs."

"That's fine, Ducky", Ziva said. "We'll be leaving soon, anyway."

"I'll see you all on Saturday then", Ducky said and patted Abby's head before he left.

"Tony!" Tim exclaimed mere seconds later. "Stop snooping around!"

Tony ignored him and continued to look through the drawer he'd just pulled out.

"I found his badge!" he said and held it up.

Tim sighed in annoyance just as a red-haired woman walked around the corner with her nose in some papers.

"Jethro, do you have…?" the woman stopped short as she looked up, not to find Gibbs but his four kids at his desk.

"Hi, miss Shepard", Abby smiled from the floor.

"Hi", Jenny Shepard said, confused. "Where is…?"

"I'm right here", Gibbs said as he came walking down the stairs. "Put that back, Tony."

Tony hastily put the badge back in the drawer and closed it with a bang.

"Come on, let's go", Gibbs told his kids. "Let's not be late for school. Did you need anything, Jenny?" he added to the redhead.

"No", Jenny said. "No, it's fine. It can wait until you get back."

"Good."

And with that the doors to the elevator closed and the Gibbs family was on their way out.

Gibbs got them all to the car and stuffed them inside with Tony in the front seat.

"Maybe we should get a bigger car", Ziva commented as Gibbs started the engine. "It's getting cramped back here."

"Nah", Tim said. "Hopefully Tony will move out within the next year or so. Or maybe dad will finally send him to military school."

"Shut up!" Tony shouted from the front seat.

"Sorry Tim, Tony won't be going anywhere", Gibbs said, disguising his grin.

"Too bad", Ziva mumbled to Tim.

"You know, otherwise we could just put Abby in the trunk", Tony suggested.

"Hey! I don't want to sit in the trunk", Abby exclaimed.

"You won't", Gibbs reassured.

"It was only a suggestion", Tony said. "Now that we're throwing them out there."

A few minutes later they were at the school.

"Okay", Gibbs said and stopped the car. "I'll be home by four-thirty. Ziva, did you remember your gym bag?"

"Yes, it's in the trunk."

"Good. Tim, you have chess club after school."

"Right."

"Abby, take the school bus home after art class."

Abby nodded.

"And Tony…"

"Yes dad?"

"If you want to go to the movies with your friends this weekend, you better get home right after school and study."

"Got it."

"Good. Have a good day, see you at home."

"Bye dad!"

Tony and Tim disappeared instantly. Abby climbed out after them but stopped outside Gibbs' rolled-down window and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Bye dad", she grinned and ran off.

As Gibbs watch her join her friends, he felt the trunk opening and closing. He waved at Ziva who waved back before walking inside the building.

Gibbs smiled.

It was two o'clock when Gibbs decided to take a break from the paperwork that had been piling up since last week. Jenny had already gone out to catch lunch with a friend, so he was all alone as he strolled out the NCIS building.

"Agent Gibbs!"

Gibbs turned around and found a familiar man approaching him.

"Thomas", Gibbs greeted. "Long time, no see."

Thomas had been working on the case that brought Tony into Gibbs' life. Anthony DiNozzo Senior had stolen military equipment with the help of a Petty Officer. They'd plan to sell it for a lot of cash. Unfortunately for them, Gibbs and Thomas were put on the case.

DiNozzo's young son had been left behind as the men ran. A couple of days later, both DiNozzo and the Petty Officer were in NCIS' custody. DiNozzo had killed two men weeks prior, to make the plan work, which landed him in prison. He would not get out any time soon.

His five-year-old son, Tony, was then alone in the world. A deceased mother, no grandparents, no aunts or uncles, no siblings and a father in jail. He'd been taken care of at NCIS while his dad was on the run. Gibbs felt for the little guy and had bonded with him quite fast. A couple of months later Gibbs was granted full custody of him.

"It's been long", Thomas agreed. "Do you have time for a coffee?"

"Sure", Gibbs said.

The two men walked down the street to the coffee cart near the park. With a hot cup each, they strolled down the path to a bench.

"How's the kid?" Thomas asked as they sat down.

"Kids", Gibbs said.

"Kids? As in plural?"

"Uhu."

"Really. How many? Two?"

"Four."

"Four? Wow. I see some people change."

"I've always liked kids."

"Yeah, sure, but four? In your house?"

"Ah, well. They're here to stay."

Thomas nodded.

"So, what are their names?" he then asked. "And how old are they? I assume they're younger than Tony."

"Yes they are", Gibbs confirmed. "But Ziva's thirteen, only a year apart from him."

"Ziva. Interesting name. Asian?"

"Israeli."

"How did you end up with an Israeli daughter?" Thomas asked.

"Her mother and siblings died when she was young", Gibbs said. "Her father was former Director of Mossad, Eli David."

"Really?" Thomas stared at him. "I heard he was here in Washington DC when he died."

"Yeah", Gibbs nodded. "Brought the kid with him. He wanted protection for her, as he knew that there were people after him. He was only here for a couple of days to speak with some people."

"'Some people'?" Thomas raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know who", Gibbs said. "He wouldn't say. But they got him before he could go back to Israel."

"And the girl stayed?"

"She wouldn't let anyone touch her, she wouldn't eat, she wouldn't sleep", Gibbs said. "I understood her. And after a while she let me in. It took a while but Tony helped a lot. He could make her laugh. I knew I couldn't let anyone take her away. She needed to stay."

"How old was she?"

"When her father died; six."

"So Tony was seven", Thomas established.

"Yep. They became friends fast."

"But nowadays I'm guessing he is driving her nuts?"

"Yeah", Gibbs nodded with a slight grin. "But Ziva fights back. It's Tim who takes it to heart."

"Tim, huh?"

"Timothy. Turned eleven couple of weeks ago. Can't get him away from that computer of his. Battling elves and trolls and who knows what."

"Sounds like any other eleven-year-old boy I've met lately", Thomas said and stretched out his legs. "How did you get him?"

Gibbs grinned a little; it was a bizarre conversation they were having.

"Single mother, father never knew him. She was a case of mine. It took ages but she finally landed in jail."

"What was the case?" Thomas asked.

"Murdered petty officer", Gibbs replied. "She's in for life and with no family, she asked me to take care of her six-year-old boy."

Thomas whistled.

"Does he visit his mother?" he asked.

"I take him a couple of times a year", Gibbs replied.

Thomas nodded. He held up four of his fingers and put one down at each name.

"So that's Tony, Ziva, Timothy and…?"

"Abby."

"Abby…"

"Abigail. Seven years old."

"Was she apart of another case of yours?" Thomas asked.

"No, I knew her parents well and they named me her godfather when she was born. They lived in Arizona, though, so I didn't see them much. I took Abby in when her parents died in a car accident. That was a year and a half ago."

"Quite resent", Thomas commented.

"Yeah", Gibbs nodded.

"Has she settled in?"

Gibbs nodded again.

"She's doing good", he said. "They're all doing good."

Thomas smiled.

"Seems like life is going well for you", he said.

"Yeah", Gibbs smiled a little as well. "It is."

Ziva and Tony sat in the living room after school that same afternoon. Ziva was reading in her biology-book and Tony was "studying" for a math-test, when the phone started ringing.

"You take it", both of them said at the same time.

"Rock, paper, scissors?" Tony asked and Ziva nodded.

"Rock, paper, scissors!"

"Ha!" Ziva grinned.

Tony groaned but got up from his seat.

"Hello, Tony here, who am I speaking with?" he asked only slightly sarcastic.

"Tony!" the person on the other end exclaimed.

"Abby?" Tony asked confused and glanced at the clock. "Shouldn't you be on the school bus on your way home right now?"

"Well…" Abby said innocently. "I decided to walk…"

Tony groaned loudly.

"… And now you're lost", he said. "Right?"

"Right", Abby said.

"Hold on, I'll come get you", Tony said. "Where are you?"

"Um… I don't know…"

"Look around", Tony instructed. "Can you see any signs?"

There was a moment of silence.

"Yeah!" Abby exclaimed. "There's a street sign right here. It says: 'West Rome Street'."

"Alright, I know where that is. Can you see a super market close by?"

"Yes, I'm right outside it."

"Okay, good", Tony said. "Stay there and I'll come get you."

"Thank you", Abby said.

"No problem. See you in a bit."

Tony hang up the phone and went to get his jacket.

"Is Abby lost again?" Ziva asked from the living room.

"Yep", Tony answered. "I'm going to get her now. Tim will be back from the chess-thingy in twenty minutes."

"Okay."

Tony went outside and unlocked his bicycle.

"Why am I not old enough to drive?" he muttered to himself.

Fifteen minutes later he stopped outside said super market. Abby was sitting on a bench next to a homeless man.

"Abbs!" Tony called.

Abby looked around, saw him and smiled. She waved goodbye to the homeless man and ran up to him.

"Thank you!" she hugged him around the waist.

"No problem", Tony said. "Let's get home before dad finds out."

Abby nodded and jumped up on the bike behind him.

"Holding on?" Tony asked.

"Yep", Abby said and tightened her grip.

Carefully, Tony navigated through the streets of Washington DC. It took him a little bit longer to get home with the extra weight – Abby – but Gibbs' car wasn't there when they got home.

"I think we beat him", Tony said, relieved.

They hurried inside the house and found both Ziva and Tim in the living room.

"Where have you been?" Tim asked with a frown.

"Never mind that, McGeek", Tony said and plopped down on the couch.

"Don't call me that!"

"Then stop acting like a geek!"

"Could you two shut up?" Ziva hissed.

"Fine, Zee-vah", Tony said and got up from the couch. "I'll just go to my room. If you need anything…"

"We know where to find you", Ziva filled in.

"No, that wasn't what I was going to say", Tony said. If you need anything: dad will be home anytime."

With that he disappeared up the stairs. Tim glared after him.

"Come on, Timmy", Abby said. "Do you want to play video games?"

Tim's frown instantly turned upside-down.

"Sure!"

Gibbs parked his car outside the house fifteen minutes later. He went inside and found three out of his four kids in front of the TV in the living room. Tim and Abby were each holding a consul, which they were clicking on furiously. Ziva sat behind them, seemingly as engaged in the game as her younger siblings.

"Hi kids", Gibbs said.

"Hi dad", Ziva said as she tore her eyes of the screen for a minute.

"How long have you been playing?" Gibbs asked.

"Just a couple of minutes", Tim replied.

"Well, have you done your homework?"

"Yep", both Abby and Tim said simultaneously.

"Okay then", Gibbs said. "But only ten more minutes in front of the TV, okay? And since you seem so engrossed with that game, you won't mind that I go do some errands, right?"

"'Doing some errands' means arresting someone", Tony said as he entered the room. "Or hunting someone down."

"Does it?!" Abby's head whipped around and her anxious eyes met Gibbs'.

"No, it doesn't", Gibbs reassuringly. "I'm just going to get the car looked at – you remember that funny noise it did the other day?"

Abby nodded.

"Right. That's what I'm going to get checked up."

"Okay", Abby nodded and turned back to the game.

Gibbs kissed the top of her head.

"I'll be back in an hour."

He turned to exit the room, but not before lightly slapping Tony up the backside of his head.

"Don't scare her", he muttered.

"Right. Sorry dad", Tony said and had the decency to look a little bit ashamed.

"Although", Ziva said as she had gotten up to join the two of them. "You would normally just have fixed the car yourself. Why would you take it to mechanics?"

Gibbs didn't answer, he just looked at her for a moment before he went out the front door.

"He is totally going to arrest someone", Tony said. Ziva nodded.

Gibbs got home forty-nine minutes later. He made sure all the kids were fine, helped Tim with his history homework, checked to see if Tony had taken out the trash (he hadn't) and went down to the cellar to put away the tools that Ziva had borrowed from him the other day.

When he got back up he stopped in the hall to put her gym bag away so that no one would trip over it.

"Dad!" Tim yelled from his room. "The internet is down again!"

"Well, fix it then", Gibbs yelled back and went into the living room. Ziva was still in there, sitting on the sofa with her biology book. She looked up as he entered.

"Are we going to eat at all?" she asked.

Gibbs looked at his watch. Yeah, they really should have some dinner.

"I'll make something", he said and walked towards the kitchen.

"We have no food in the fridge", Ziva informed him without even looking up from her book.

Gibbs stopped and turned around. He knew he'd forgotten something: Grocery-shopping.

"Chinese, it is", he decided. "Do you know where the take-out menu is?"

"Tony", Ziva answered simply.

Gibbs nodded and went for the stairs, but stopped before leaving the room.

"Is the test tomorrow?" he asked Ziva.

"Yes", she sighed. "It's like forty pages all biology."

"I'll quiz you later", Gibbs said and left the room.

"Thanks", Ziva muttered and went back to her reading.

As Gibbs got upstairs he noticed the very loud music that was playing. Sighing, he opened Abby's door.

"Turn it down!" he yelled.

The seven-year-old on the floor jumped up at his voice. She immediately went to the stereo and turned it down.

"Sorry", she mumbled. "Forgot."

Gibbs looked at her. She had been doing that on and off ever since she joined the Gibbs-family a year and a half ago. Her parents had been deaf and she'd been playing loud music ever since she realized they couldn't hear it. But instead of bringing any of that up, Gibbs said:

"Where are your shoes?"

He pointed to her bare feet. Abby just shrugged.

"You don't know?" Gibbs asked her with a raised eyebrow.

"Nope", Abby answered.

Gibbs sighed again.

"Go look for them", he told her. "Ask Ziva to help."

"Okay", Abby said and smiled at him before skipping out in the hall.

"Wait!" Gibbs stopped her as he remembered something. "Don't ask Ziva; she's studying. Ask Tim instead."

Abby nodded and walked around him to knock on Tim's door. She waited patiently until he called: "Come in!" before entering.

Gibbs did not knock on Tony's door, he just opened it. Tony was lying on his bed with several open schoolbooks around him, but the only thing he was reading was a magazine. At the sound of the door opening, he hastily tried to hide the magazine under a pillow. It certainly did not fool Gibbs.

"Hey dad", Tony said.

"Hey", Gibbs said. "What are you doing?"

"Just studying", Tony replied and gestured to all the books.

"Oh really? So was Top 10 Movies from the 80's part of your homework?"

"Um… yes…?"

Gibbs rolled his eyes.

"The Chinese take-out menu", he said.

"What?" Tony looked confused. "What kind of film is that?"

"It's not a film. We're having Chinese for dinner and you have the take-out menu, right?"

"Oh… right."

Tony got up from the bed and made his way over to the desk in the far corner. He searched around the papers on its surface for a bit, before finding the menu.

"Here", he said and handed Gibbs the menu.

"Thank you", Gibbs said and went for the door. "Oh, and by the way, have you seen Abby's shoes?"

"Abby's shoes?" Tony asked. "Why aren't they on her feet?"

"I don't know", Gibbs said and left the room. "Ask your sister."

Out in the hall, he could hear Tim's voice from downstairs.

"But how do you lose your shoes? I mean it's not like to lose a hat or your keys or something like that, it's your shoes!"

Gibbs could see the dark pigtails of Abby poking out from under a chair. Tim was standing next to it.

"I don't know how I lost them", Abby exclaimed. "If I did, I would know where they are, wouldn't I?"

"I guess. But where do you remember seeing them?"

"On my feet."

"Well, they're not there, are they?!" Ziva shouted from the living room.

"No, they're not", Abby confirmed.

Tim sighed and went to look in the kitchen.

"I'm calling for Chinese", Gibbs said loudly as he came down the stairs.

Half an hour later, the Gibbs family sat around the table. A whole bunch of white and red take-out boxes graced its surface.

"Can I bring my friend Bailey home after school tomorrow?" Abby asked as she tried and failed to eat rice with chopsticks. "We're going to go treasure hunting in the back yard."

"Sure", Gibbs said. "But make sure to do your homework before you go digging up my garden, okay?"

"Okay", Abby grinned.

"Did you know that birds chew their babies' food and then spit it into their mouths so they don't choke?" Ziva asked as she glanced down in her biology book. Both Tony and Tim immediately dropped their forks.

"Why did you have to tell us that while we're eating?" Tony exclaimed.

Ziva just grinned evilly at him.

"Put away the book while we're eating, Ziva", Gibbs said, though totally unfazed from the information.

Ziva did as he asked and closed the book. Tony picked up his fork again while glaring at her.

"What about you, Tim?" Gibbs asked. "Got any tests coming up?"

"Nothing hard", Tim said looking down at his abandoned fork with a frown. "Just a science quiz on Friday."

"Just a science quiz?" Tony asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah", Tim said. "It's easy. Science is my favorite subject."

"Really? Science is your favorite subject?" Tony asked. "How geeky are you?"

"Shut up!"

"I like science as well!" Abby exclaimed in Tim's defense.

"You do?" Tony shook his head. "Seriously, this is troubling."

"Tony! Eat your food and leave your siblings alone", Gibbs said.

"Yes sir", Tony grinned.

"Idiot", Tim muttered under his breath.

"Did you hear that?!"

Gibbs sighed within. These kids couldn't go an hour without arguing. They drove him insane. But he loved them.

His kids.

His family.

His mismatched yet wonderful family.

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