Epilogue – Backyard Barbeque, NCIS Style!
Five Years Later
"Grandpa," Todd yelled, running at Gibbs, who had just walked into the backyard with Jenny behind him. Todd's two year old sister, Tali, looked up and saw who it was, rose to her feet and also ran, a bit unsteadily, at Gibbs, all the while yelling, "Gwanpa, Gwanpa." Gibbs scooped both Todd and Tali up into his arms and kissed their foreheads.
"Hey guys," he said. "Where's your mommy?"
"Right here," Ziva said, stepping out from the sliding glass doors. After she and Tony had gotten married, Ziva had resigned from Mossad and become a full time special agent. Ziva walked over to Gibbs and kissed him on the cheek. "We were starting to worry," she said, taking Tali from Gibb's arms.
"We were late leaving," Jenny said, coming from behind Gibbs and handing Ziva a covered casserole dish.
"Toda," Ziva said, taking the dish. Jenny held out her arms and Ziva handed Tali to her.
"Where's DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked.
"Inside," Ziva said, "he's been going back and forth between the kitchen and the grill all day. When McGee and Abby got here, he thought that they could help. Abby is doing okay, and actually helping, and McGee," Ziva trailed off.
"He's completely hopeless in the kitchen," Tony said, appearing in the backyard with a plateful of burgers in one hand and a plate full of hot dogs in the other. Gibbs had to stifle a laugh when he saw Tony. Ton had on shorts and a short sleeve button down shirt, but that was not the funny part. Tony was wearing an apron that said 'Kiss the Cook' in bright green letters. The apron also had what appeared to be a tool belt, except instead of being full of tools; it was full of cooking utensils.
"DiNozzo," Gibbs said, "do you need any help?"
"Could you, Boss? I tried letting McGee make a salad, but he's not doing it very well," Tony said starting to slap burgers on the grill.
Sitting at the picnic table already were Ducky, Palmer, and Maddie. Palmer and Maddie had been together ever since the wedding. A few months after Tali was born, they got married, and Maddie had just had her first child, a girl, whom she had named Sarah, after her mother. Jenny went and sat down next to Maddie, who offered her the sleeping baby, which Jenny took. Every time she saw one of her friends with a child, it broke her heart just a little. She and Jethro were progressing each day, but slowly. Jethro didn't want to screw it up.
Meanwhile, inside, Abby had just run at Gibbs and hugged him.
"Easy there, Abs," Gibbs said, hugging her back. Abby and McGee had just gotten married and were as happy as could be.
"Gibbs, McGee ruined the salad," Abby said pointing at the blue plastic bowl sitting on the island. Gibbs looked at the contents of the bowl and had to struggle not to laugh.
"Don't worry, Abs, I'll fix it," Gibbs said, and then walked over and slapped McGee up alongside of his head.
"Sorry, Boss," McGee said sheepishly.
Several hours later, after all the food had been put away and the children to bed, the nine adults sat around the picnic table, drinking wine, and reminiscing about the past. Some of Tony's and McGee's stories were about Kate, but Ziva didn't mind, she actually liked hearing about her predecessor. Gibbs even told a few stories about the crazy antics his daughter, Kelly, had gotten up too when she was little, which launched Tony and Ziva into stories about Todd and Tali.
The tiki torches were burning low, and Gibbs surveyed the scene, watching his family with love in his eyes, and for the first time since Shannon and Kelly's death, Gibbs felt truly happy and blessed.
A/N: Hope you like the story! I'm a little sad that it's over. I am, however, contemplating a semi-sequel containing the adventures of Todd and Tali DiNozzo... if I get good feedback, I just might write it up!!! Happy reading, and enjoy watching the new episode next week!!!