In Matters of Instruction

Jethro called to Tony and was rewarded with a muffled response, then the pounding of feet on the stairs. Hearing her brother approach Kate raced to the hall just as Tony skipped the last four steps and vaulted to the bottom floor. Realizing that in his present course he would land right on his sister, he yelled a warning and grabbed the newel post to spare her, skidding to a painful landing on the floor.

Tim and Abby charged from the living room to witness the spectacle, but Gibbs followed them at a decent pace. Having the experience of rearing his four children, plus ten years of Tony's daredevil personality, he no longer panicked at blood or bodily injuries.

Helping his son to his feet he automatically scrutinized him. Tony's face made him realize that the child had suffered some damage.

Standing him up squarely in front of him he asked appraisingly, "What hurts the most?"

"My butt," Tony responded immediately, "and my right arm."

"This is why Daddy said for us not to run in the house," Tim offered helpfully, shaking his head at his brother's predicament.

A testament to Tony's discomfort lay in the fact that he did not bother to respond at all to his brother's unsolicited comment.

Jethro turned him sideways. "Let me see what you did, ok?"

"No, Dad," Tony contradicted in a panicked voice. "No one needs to see all of my handsome body parts."

"You just do not want us to see your butt," Kate established, jumping right to the heart of the matter.

Tony frowned at her, then tugged on his father's arm and whispered, "Please, Dad."

"The rest of you get back in that living room," Gibbs ordered. He waited until they turned to leave before he directed Tony, "Ok, Son, now show me where it hurts."

The others, however, had paused in their movements a few feet away.

"Babies get born naked," Tim supplied, pleased that he had that fact available for the occasion.

Kate started giggling. "Ooooh, yuck! All the doctors and nurses saw us naked when we were born!"

"Daddy has seen you naked," Abby added over her shoulder. "Anyway, he sees our behinds if we get spanked."

"Go-" their father halted the conversation, his voice stern, "before I do spank some rear ends."

When the coast was clear moments later he deftly looked over Tony's wounds. "Well, the bad news is you have one nasty scrape on your arm and another on your thigh- not your bottom, but your thigh. I would be remiss if I did not point out, Son, that I have told you hundreds of times not to run in this house. This shows you why I have warned all of you."

Tony nodded his head contritely.

Gibbs sighed, completely certain that this would not be the last injury incurred from running within the household. "Ok, Son, come with me upstairs so that I can put some salve on you, and that should help stop some of the sting from the scrapes."

Tony looked crushed. "But will I miss the movie? I really want to see all of it, Dad, and the story really happened."

"No, son, because your Daddy is a twenty one trick pony, not a one trick pony, and I can get you up there, bandage you, and get you back down in two minutes. My talents span a wide range of aptitudes you have no idea exist!"

With that, he hurried up the stairs with Tony closely behind him, and they descended a couple of minutes later, true to Jethro's word.

Tony slid gratefully onto the sofa and checked both the mantle clock and the current images on the screen. "Thanks, Dad, this is the commercial and I did not miss the movie at all."

Tim passed his brother a mug of cocoa and he helped himself to a handful of popcorn from the huge bowl Kate held in her lap.

His duties temporarily finished, Gibbs turned to leave. Four voices immediately begged him to stay. He stood at the doorway debating the insistent call of laundry and assorted chores which demanded his attention versus four hopeful faces pleading for his company.

With a wink he plopped down in the recliner and made a show of settling himself. Grinning, Tony climbed over his siblings and onto the arm of his father's chair before sliding into his dad's lap. Gibbs kissed the top of his head and rubbed his son's back softly, reminding himself that Tony would not allow open displays of affection too much longer.

Abby inched to the top of the couch and dropped to the floor before hurrying to her father. She straddled the arm of the chair so that she could lean back against her dad with one leg on his lap and the other leg dangling.

They stayed that way for half of the movie, until Gibbs finally got up, collected the dishes, and took them in the kitchen to load in the dishwasher.

When he returned Abby and Tony had rejoined Tim and Kate on the couch, so he closed his eyes and listened to the audio of the movie as he settled back into the welcome comfort of the recliner.

His back ached.

He woke up with a start, confused to wake up away from his bedroom. Forcing the chair to an upright position he saw from the clock that midnight beckoned.

His children slept soundly on the sofa, all four resembling a litter of puppies. Abby lay halfway on top of Timmy, who mostly reclined against Kate. Katie slept sideways, almost completely covering Tony, who lay flat on his back with his right arm and leg dangling off the edge of the cushions.

Like dominoes, they had all made sure they stayed physically connected to at least one sibling as they slept.

Stretching, Gibbs yawned widely before heading softly up the stairs. His knees protested at the return of movement and he used the banister for some support. Upstairs he turned the covers down four different times in four separate beds before returning to the living room.

One by one he carried them upstairs and tucked them in, murmuring softly to each and kissing them gently. Only Kate stirred enough to open her eyes, but she closed them again within seconds.

Gibbs stood in the hall between the bedrooms and massaged his lower back as he paused to watch them sleep. Kate and Tony definitely had grown in the past months, and carrying them now demanded some exertion on his part.

He studied the room the boys shared, with décor that reflected both Tony's passion of sports and Tim's love of outer space.

In contrast, the girls had lined their dolls against one wall. Abby's fondness for music and animals resulted in the inclusion of stuffed toys, a radio, and pictures in the bedroom while Kate's sketch book and art supplies dominated an entire bookcase.

The battered rocking horse all four kids had ridden as toddlers had found a home in the corner near the window.

Gibbs smiled to himself at the sight of the pony and pointed towards its now shaggy mane. "You, Mister Rocking Horse, despite amusing all four of my kids, are at heart a one trick pony put out to pasture!"

Turning off the hall light he crawled gratefully into his own bed, stretching out to soothe his protesting muscles.

A crash penetrated his dreamstate and his eyes flew open.

"Sorry, Gibbs," Kate whispered, leaning towards him and the sofa. "I hit the side of the coffee table and knocked over that book. Let me just put it back where it goes."

Abby's voice called out from the kitchen, "That must be a strong painkiller if that racket failed to rouse him. Did Ducky say how long that medicine would make him sleep, Kate?"

Gibbs looked appraisingly around him to sort out his circumstances.

Evidently he had succumbed to Dr. Mallard's pain medication and slept for some time.

He glanced out the window and saw that dusk was falling, so he had slept through the entire afternoon.

Obviously, his team had disregarded his instructions and come to check on him.

He massaged his temples and croaked, "Awake, Abby, I woke up." Along with knocking him out and dulling the pain, Ducky's medicine had left his mouth dry.

Coffee would take care of that.

The goth appeared in the doorway. "We are making dinner, Gibbs," she smiled brightly, "for all of us. We have soup and sandwiches and some kind of yummy dessert, so stay right there until we finish getting the meal ready."

The front door opened with her directive and he heard Tony and Tim's voices as they entered the foyer. Tony carried a loaf of Italian bread in one hand and what appeared to be a pecan pie in the other, while the bag Tim held had packages of cheese and sandwich meat peeking from the top.

Greeting their boss, they followed Kate's instructions and set the supper items on the counters before joining Jethro in the living room.

He sat up carefully, resting his head against the back of the couch as he regarded them.

"Does your head hurt, Boss?" Tony asked solicitously.

Tim sat down across from him. "Ducky said you might have a headache. Do you, Boss?"

"No," Gibbs licked his lips, then rubbed his chin. "I feel fine now."

Wide eyed, Tony abruptly stood. "I forgot the ice cream in the trunk. Let me just quickly run get it before it melts on everything."

Gibbs raised a hand and raised his voice, "Absolutely do not run in the house, Tony, understand?"

Surprised, his agent nodded, "Ok, Boss, I can do something other than run. I will just hurry, instead, and get the ice cream."

Satisfied with that response, Jethro nodded, then turned to Tim. "Do you see why you should never just be just a one trick pony? You have a perfect example in front of you."

"Right, sure, Boss," Tim stammered, uncertain as to Jethro's point but willing to venture a guess. "No one trick ponies on your team- got it!"

"Something like that," Gibbs confirmed, grinning.