As the team slowly woke up in the morning they got ready for their day without much thought to wear Tony and Gibbs were...they all assumed they had fallen asleep working on the boat...it wouldn't have been the first time. When Tim went down to let them know they were headed to the office he stared to panic, then he remembered Kelly's room and ran up the stairs.

When he slowly opened the door it groaned from disuse waking Gibbs. "Need something McGee?" He whispered as he looked over at the still sleeping Tony.

"No Boss, was just letting you know we were headed to the office. Maddie is still asleep in Tony's room."

Gibbs nodded his head slowly, "Tim?" He said slightly louder than a whisper.

"Yeah Boss?"

"Thank you." Gibbs told him, earning a smile and nod from the young man. "We will be in for lunch today."

"Glad to hear it." Tim said before walking out, closing the door behind him.

When he got downstairs he almost ran into Rachel in the kitchen. "Gibbs just woke up, Tony is still asleep...and Maddie is sleeping too."

"How are they doing? The truth Tim, it is important."

"Think they are all doing much better...Gibbs said they would be in the office for lunch today."

"Do you think that is a wise choice?"

"Extremely."

"No cases or fieldwork."

"Just lunch."

"Tell the Director I will call him back when I leave here." With that Tim left, feeling much better than he had in weeks.

Gibbs knew it was only a matter of time before Rachel would come up, and he did not want to wake Tony, at least not yet. The sight of him so blissfully peaceful with soft snoring calmed him more than he ever thought possible. He got up slowly stretching and sat down on the edge of the bed and ran his hand tenderly along his hairline, down his shoulder before resting his hand on his arm.

As tears filled his eyes he slowly stood up and went over to the bookshelf, he pulled out the book, Where's Goldie?, that he used to read to Kelly every night when she was a baby, in it was a photograph of him and Kelly reading the book laying on her bed. On the back of the photo it simply said, 'Daddy I will always love you.'

He set the book and the photo down and sat on the bed next to Tony, this time waking him up. When Tony rolled over he saw the tears in Gibbs eyes. "Boss?" He questioned, Gibbs handed him the book and photograph. Tony leaned his head over so it was resting against his hip.

Rachel opened the door with a quiet knock and let herself into the room. While she was surprised to find Tony looking half asleep under a Carebear blanket she was not surprised to find them together. Gibbs put his hand back on Tony's arm and he closed his eyes, thankful for the extra time to sleep.

"We don't have to do this in here." Rachel whispered Gibbs.

"I know."

"You want Tony in here for this?" She asked, when Gibbs nodded she continued. "You asked me yesterday why God would take away your daughter to give you a son...you were angry that Kelly and Shannon were taken from you. I told you to think about that and find your own answer."

"Kelly answered for me." Gibbs answered, pulling Tony's shoulder back so he was closer to him. "She left a note for Tony...Kelly put him in my life, and me in his for a reason...and I just need to find a way to believe that I will see them again and enjoy the life that I still have here."

"What do you mean she left a note for Tony?"

"A note...you know...those things girls write to each other in school, folded in a little heart shape with words on the inside...they were used before those damn phones and computers took over."

"I know what a note is Gibbs, no need to be sarcastic. How do you know it was for him?"

"It had his name on it."

"She never met Tony so how was she able to leave him a note?" Rachel asked surprised.

"How the Hell should I know?"

"Good to see you are back to your old personality." Rachel smirked, then laughed when she saw the smile on Tony's face. "What do you think of the note? She asked him.

Tony opened his eyes and looked up at Gibbs before answering her, "I am damn lucky to have a sister who gave me her Dad when I needed one the most."

Both men stared at each other for a minute before Gibbs stood up. "I am going to shower. Shrink talk him and when I am done you can mess with my head until it is time for us to go to the office."

"Well then...what exactly happened last night?" Rachel asked Tony who was now sitting up on the bed. As he talked her through their night he was listening to Gibbs and Maddie in the other room. Rachel couldn't help but notice his distraction despite his ability to recount the evening with flair.

By the time Gibbs came back in Rachel was shaking her head, "Someone should write a book about you guys."

"Probie already did."

"Not exactly what I meant Dinozzo." Rachel said rolling her eyes at the man wrapped in a pink and blue care bear blanket holding a purple monster stuffed animal in his lap.

"Shower. We leave in a half hour." Gibbs ordered him. Tony quickly nodded and jumped up, looking back over his shoulder to see Gibbs expression as he sat down on the bed.

"You think you are ready to go back to work?"

"Yes."

"Does your team think you are ready to go back?"

"No idea."

"You agree to hand the reigns to Dinozzo if you need?"

"I would never put them at risk."

"The two of you agree to continue one hour therapy sessions once a week and a team therapy session every two."

"Done."

"Tell me what changed last night."

Tony stood outside the door listening to Gibbs' explanation until he heard Maddie tapping her foot in front of him. "The two of you are ridiculous...he listens to you, you listen to him...she didn't say that you had to leave..."

"Thank you for coming here."

"Tony...he is my Dad...he was always a second dad to me...but after my dad died...he's all I've got left."

"Will you come around more?"

"Already have dinner plans for next week." She said smiling. "Now go take a shower-you stink." She winked at him.

Walking into NCIS a hour later Tony followed Gibbs to their pen only to hear Vance yell down the stairs for them both to go up to his office. "Cranston says you two are ready to go. What in the hell happened in the last two days to make me want to put you back in the field?" The Director asked them.

"Gibbs found his marbles." Tony snickered, earning a heads slap from Gibbs. "What? Do you have a better way to explain it?" Tony smirked.

"Dinozzo get your butt downstairs and get to work." Gibbs yelled with a twinkle in his eye.

"On it Boss." Tony said turning and walking out.

"Dinozzo, yes or no?" Vance called behind him.

"Yes all the way." He said as he shut the door. He knew Gibbs would give him some sort of recount of what had happened, but Tony knew it wasn't his place to tell.

"We back on Point?" Tim asked as Tony sat down at his desk and picked up his car magazine.

"We will get the next one." Tony answered, he knew Vance wouldn't keep them benched any longer than he had to.

"Good, cuz these cases are cold for a reason..." Bishop sighed flipping another file closed on her desk.

"Dead Sailor in Norfolk." Gibbs said walking down the stairs tossing Tony the keys. The three smiled at each other as they grabbed their bags and got into the elevator.

The rest of the week felt as normal as normal could feel. Tony was still staying at Gibbs place but everyone else had gone home. Sarah was sent to California for a month for work and he hated the thought of going home alone. Zoey had offered to stay but that didn't feel right either. Tony would have dinner with her and go back to her place for a while, but he never slept there. As much time as Tony spent at the house he wasn't usually with Gibbs, he went down occasionally to work on the boat but they mostly kept to themselves.

When Sarah came back she quietly packed up all her stuff and moved, she had been promoted and transferred to a different office, while still close enough to visit when needed it was no longer a practical commute. Her and Tony continued to talk multiple times a day and they would meet up at least once a week, sometimes staying at the others apartment.

Tony had started to lean on Zoey more and the two of them were developing what appeared to be a normal romantic relationship, though they were both well aware of the issues neither of them like to talk about.

Gibbs had started to talk about Kellie more, it was a huge help to him to see Maddie and Tony together, her sharing stories and their adventures...many of which he had never heard before. The grieving process whether it be for a parent, child, or sister had brought their entire team together. They had all changed a great deal in the few weeks since Christmas and they all knew that they would continue to change and that whatever changes came their way they would be a stronger family because of it.