a/n - Last chapter. The site's been really strange for me the last few days, took almost an hour to get this uploaded. Maybe that's why the last chapter didn't get much of a reaction.

"Smells good." Still amused by his lunchtime audience, Gibbs was ready for dinner the moment he walked through the door. He set his lunch dishes in the sink and leaned over Tim as he pulled the leg of lamb out of the oven. "We ready to eat?"

Tim set the dish on a towel and slapped Gibbs' hand away before covering the pan with foil and sliding a baking sheet of herb and cheese biscuits into the oven. "No, not yet. Make yourself useful and start a pot of coffee why don't you? The meat needs to rest for thirty minutes before we slice it."

From her perch at the island Tia giggled as she colored. Gibbs flashed her a grin before pulling down the coffee grounds. As the water started to drip through the grounds the headlights of a car flashed in the kitchen window as it pulled up to the curb. Tim looked up from what he was working on.

"If this is a third visit from Diane, I'm not promising to be civil."

"Third? She was back again today?" Gibbs shook his head as he looked closer. "Nah, it's Fornell and Emily. Probably apologizing – or hiding from her." He reached the door just as they knocked.

"Hey, Jethro, we won't stay long – just came by to thank McGee."

"Thank me? For what?"

Emily came up and impulsively hugged him. "I don't know what you said to her, but Mom and Victor left for a couple's retreat to work things out."

"Really?" When Tim told her to go home and work on her own problems, he never thought she'd actually do it.

Emily stepped back and Fornell wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Really, and that means I get a week with my little girl all to myself."

"Dad, I'm not a little girl anymore." The whine didn't make the men laugh, but it was close.

"Well, I'm glad it worked out then." Tim noticed that Fornell was raising up to try and look into the pan he was stirring. He glanced over at Gibbs who gave a soft snort before nodding ever so slightly. "Why don't you and Emily join us for dinner? There's plenty."

"Oh, we don't want to impose – well, if you're sure."

"Don't give yourself whiplash there, Tobias."

"Very funny, Jethro."

Tim put Emily to work tearing up the greens for a salad while he pulled down a few last items from the cabinet. There was plenty of food, but a dessert might be a good idea. "You and your dad like lemon bars?"

Emily grinned. "Love them, but Mom sucks at making them."

Gibbs snorted as he poured three coffees. "I don't think any of us married your mother for her prowess in the kitchen."

Emily was too distracted by what Tim was doing to even notice what Gibbs had said. "That's all you're mixing together? That's it?"

"Yep, quickest lemon bars you'll ever make." It had just taken a few minutes to mix together a package of angel food cake mix and a large can of lemon pie filling and now he was spreading it in a pan and Emily was writing down sizes, time and temperature.

While his daughter was distracted, Tobias sat next to Tia and leaned over to whisper to her. "So, how did Daddy get rid of the witch?"

Tia leaned close, enjoying the story. "He banished her."

"Yeah? With what?"

"Garlic."

"Garlic?" Fornell was quite amused as he looked over at Gibbs. "So, pee on her tires and surround her with garlic. Who knew it was that simple?"

Tia wasn't quite done yet. "And I showed her my picture."

She pulled out the drawing she'd shown to Diane earlier and explained the six people. Fornell looked over at Gibbs once again, but his friend seemed perfectly all right with Tia's story. Fornell, on the other hand, had to clear his throat twice before he could speak. "I'm sure that helped, too."

Tim had also been watching Gibbs' reaction. He'd planned on telling Gibbs about the drawing that night after Tia had gone to bed but he was rapidly learning how rarely things went according to plan when other people were involved. He took the biscuits out of the oven and replaced them with the lemon bars before finishing up the salad that Emily had started for him. Gibbs finally had permission to start carving the meat and a few minutes later Tim was dishing up the food.

Fornell watched as the two men worked together seamlessly, as if they'd been doing it for years. He knew that they'd worked together, but seeing them so comfortable in the kitchen together was something entirely differently. He was about to comment when he saw McGee ladle a spoonful of white creaminess onto the center of a plate. "Are those grits? Because my mother grew up in the deep South."

Emily had already snuck a taste. "They're better that Grandma's, Dad."

"Really?" That got his attention as Tim laid several slices of meat across the grits and drizzled some of the pan juices over the top. "Did you take notes?"

"Sure did."

McGee bit back a smile at the intensely curious look on Fornell's face. "Leg of lamb, marinated with rosemary and – garlic." He finally let the smile break through. "Tastes good and turns witches in polite humans all in one easy step."

Gibbs picked up the salad and the platter of biscuits, carrying them to the table before he sat at the head of the table. "Works for me, Tim. It works for me."

Next story in the series - Snow Day. A day of fun takes a potentially tragic turn.