A/N

Hello, Faithful Readers!

Well, I had such a wonderful response to my story, Internal Damage, so I thought I'd write a few short stories in this universe before beginning a longer work down the road.

This story will be under 10 chapters.

Gibbs is back to work. The girls spend some days at NCIS when Gibbs' neighbour, Mrs. Buchannan, isn't able to babysit for him.

I also created a graphic of what I imagine Aimee and Janessa could look like for your enjoyment. (and mine :) )

Gibbs walked out of the elevator towards Abby's lab with a slight skip in his step. He was finally back to work after what seemed like an extremely long hiatus. His health was back, and he felt better than he had in years. He was ready to be back in the saddle. Back to the nitty gritty, mundane, everyday tasks of criminal investigation and he'd never been happier. He'd been back for a week, and right away they'd been tossed into a complicated case. Gibbs swore Jenny was just holding back all the convoluted cases just for him. He'd shown her. Gibbs assigned Tony the lead. It was much to the younger man's delight too. Yes, Gibbs was enjoying some normalcy once again. Albeit, it was a new, strange and unknown kind of normalcy and he was still trying to navigate his way around it. He'd been thrown a curveball, to say the least. He'd never anticipated being a father to two rambunctious little girls this late in the game. It wasn't official yet, and likely, he had a long legal battle ahead of him, but he knew he was up to the challenge. The two giggly, blond monsters had taken permanent residence in his home, throwing his entire life upside down, and Gibbs was completely okay with it. Everyone was slowly adjusting and adapting to the new team Gibbs. Aimee and Janessa Percy brought a whole new and special kind of fulfillment to his life. And he knew he wasn't alone. The rest of his makeshift family loved the girls as much as he did. They had all become their own ready-made family.

Gibbs tightened his grip on the frosty cherry Caf-Pow in his hand as he entered the lab. The eldest daughter of his heart was standing by her computer inputting data while beside her sat her miniature assistant. Gibbs heard them bickering and giggling loudly together as he walked up to them.

"Do too," said Janessa. "Hi, Mr. Gibbs." Her big cheeky grin lit up the room.

Gibbs set Abby's drink beside her and leaned over to kiss Janessa on her blond head.

"Hey there, Ness. Having fun with Abby?"

"Yep."

"Do not!" Abby stuck her tongue out at Janessa, snatched up the caffeine drink and took a long, satisfying gulp. "Thanks, Gibbs. I needed that." Gibbs kissed Abby's forehead with a smirk.

"Whaddya got for me, Abbs?"

"You do too, Abby," giggled Janessa again.

"I do not." Abby glared at the little girl, sighed and moved towards her office where she did ballistics.

"Do too!"

Gibbs followed Abby to her office. "What did Duck send up?"

"Two bullets, some hair and fabric samples." Abby showed Gibbs the bullets and then leaned her head around the corner. "Do not!"

Gibbs frowned. "Abbs, you do realise you're arguing with a five year old, right?"

Abby smirked. "Yep."

"Do too, Abby!"

"What are you arguing about anyway?"

Abby printed off some information from her office computer and handed it to Gibbs. "I don't remember."

Gibbs scratched his head and took the paperwork. "Then why are you arguing?"

"Do not!" shouted Abby again.

Gibbs grimaced.

"Keeps her entertained. She's got such a cute giggle, don't you think?"

Janessa entered Abby's office. "Do too!" She put a hand over her mouth and giggled again. Gibbs rolled his eyes and picked up the little girl in his arms, placing her on his hip.

"What are you arguing about?" he asked Janessa.

The little girl wrapped her legs around Gibbs' waist, giving him a huge hug. "Abby likes Timmy."

Abby gasped. "I do not!" Then she sobered as Gibbs rose his eye brows. "Well, of course, I like him, Gibbs. He's Timmy! I just don't like like him."

"Do too!" Janessa poked her tongue out at Abby and then looked at Gibbs. "Abby and Timmy are gonna get married." The giggling girl brushed hair from her flushed face. "Abby and Timmy sitting in a tree…" Her sweet sing song voice filled the room.

Gibbs bit his lip to keep from laughing.

Abby's eyes widening in indignation. "We are not!"

"Are too!" insisted Janessa.

"Gibbs!" Abby sounded exasperated now. "Help me out here."

Gibbs shrugged, planted a kiss on Janessa's cheek and slid her to the floor. He clutched the information that he'd come for and headed towards the exit.

"We are not!" Abby put her hands on her hips and glowered at the giggling girl in front of her. "Gibbs!" she shouted after him when she realised he was bidding a hasty retreat.

Gibbs kept walking until he reached the door and then turned on his heel remembering another reason he'd walked down to the lab. "Hey, Abbs, have ya seen Aimee?"

Abby reached out and tickled Janessa sending the little girl into a fit of hysterical giggles. "Last time I saw her, she was with Jimmy in Autopsy. Ducky said they were driving him crazy."

Gibbs sighed and walked out. He didn't like either of the girls in autopsy without him knowing it. It wasn't exactly the most appropriate place for children. He groaned under his breath. Aimee was supposed to be doing some math homework that he'd assigned her. He'd discovered quite by accident that the little girl struggled with her addition and subtraction math facts. It worried him. At her grade level, she should have known them cold and be well on her way to mastering her multiplication tables. He'd dropped by Jenny's office earlier to check on her progress only to discover Aimee missing. Jenny was so preoccupied with work that she was unable to tell him how long the little girl had been MIA. She could only say that she had left to use the washroom. Obviously, there had been a change of plans somewhere along the way.

"Don't let her shoot the guns, Abbs!" He called back as he stood in front on the elevator.

As expected, Abby poked her head out the door holding up a pink pair of child size earmuffs covered in skull and crossbones. "Not even if she uses these?"

Gibbs scowled. "Abby!"

Abby's face fell. "Fine. You're such a spoil sport, Gibbs!"

The elevator lift arrived with a loud ding and the door sprang open. Gibbs hit Abby with a warning glare and disappeared inside the small space. As the lift began its descent to the duck pond, a smile crept to Gibbs face. He thought he could hear a faint "Are too." in the distance. Gibbs imagined her breaking into a fit of giggles once again as Abby chased her around the lab. Gibbs shook his head and chuckled. Life was so much more delightful with the girls in their lives.

—ooOOoo—ooOOoo—ooOOoo—NCIS—ooOOoo—ooOOoo—ooOOoo—

Gibbs entered the double doors to see Ducky working at his desk. One scan around the room showed him no sign of Palmer or Aimee. All the autopsy stations were vacant and sterile as well. Gibbs felt relief sweep over him. He didn't like the girls in autopsy if there were active cases going. And with NSIC, there always seemed to several going at once.

"Hey, Duck, got anything yet?"

Dr. Ducky Mallard turned to Gibbs and smiled warmly. The older man stood to his feet and began walking to the freezer drawers at the back of the room.

"It seems like our Petty Officer has seen better days. Two shots to the head, to begin with, the first being the kill shot, but I do speculate that he didn't go down without a fight."

Gibbs gritted his teeth. The officer had been young, and it always bothered him when a kid's life was taken too soon.

"Done the autopsy already?"

"Not exactly."

Ducky scanned the drawers searching for the correct one. He pulled out the drawer revealing the deceased officer. Gibbs grimaced at the sight. He never quite got used to seeing dead bodies, no matter how long he'd been in the business of criminal investigation. Each time he came down to autopsy he was reminded why so many of the other SFA avoided the place. He was surprised, however, to see that the petty officer's remains were mostly still intact, not bearing the telltale cross row of stitches from autopsy.

"Hardly began before we had some, shall we say shelving difficulties?"

Gibbs narrowed his brows. "What?"

Ducky moved to open another drawer, directly below the Petty officer. A sickeningly pungent odor permeated the room causing Gibbs to take a step back and cover his face. His stomach churned threatening to upheave his morning coffee and bagel. Ducky quickly closed the drawer, waving his hand in front of his nose.

"Until my refrigeration system is back online and they check into my environmental controls and bacteria levels, I'll need to leave our new friend on ice. I don't want to risk compromising evidence." Ducky reached out and shut the drawer with the Petty officer inside.

Gibbs nodded.

"The county coroner has agreed to store some of our other friends on the lower levels until we get things back up and running again. Most of them are solved cases awaiting family to identify the remains."

Gibbs took another few steps backward as Ducky secured the outside lock on the lowered drawer he'd just opened.

"Mr. Palmer has already disinfected and cleaned the other malfunctioning fridges."

Gibbs grimaced again. "And you couldn't have shown me one of them, Duck?"

Ducky smirked. "Sure, I could have, Jethro, but it wouldn't have given you the full comprehension of the problem."

Gibbs painfully rolled his eyes at his friend. "Gee, thanks, Duck."

Ducky chuckled at Gibbs sour face.

Muffled giggling was heard from below them. Gibbs' face froze as he recognised the familiar sound and he frowned, looking at Ducky in dismay. Ducky's face grew pale as he began to check several of the lower drawers beside the one he'd just opened. Sure enough one of them was unlocked and partially ajar. Ducky pulled it out to see Aimee laying on her back looking up at them. She quickly put a finger to her mouth and shushed them. Her face was flushed and her eyes were glowing with excitement.

"Shush…don't tell Jimmy where I am," She giggled. "I wanna jump out and scare him."

Gibbs blanched, and then quickly recovered from his incredulity. He roughly grabbed the girl around the waist, hauled her out of the drawer and carried her to the closest autopsy table. He planted her bottom firmly on the slab and rested his hands on either side of her legs leaning intimidatingly close to her face. Aimee gulped in trepidation. The expression on Gibbs' face left no room for misunderstandings. He was angry.

"What do you think you're doing in there?"

Aimee blinked several times feeling bewildered and light headed by her sudden relocation. "I-I..." she stammered.

Gibbs glanced back at the fridge with his mind whirling at the possibilities of the tragedy that could have befallen the youngster. "Those drawers are not places to play, Aimee Percy! What if Ducky had locked you inside?"

Aimee chewed her lip, her face paling at his words.

"That whole wall is a refrigerator, for Pete's sake. Each drawer is used to store dead bodies." Gibbs was not one to mince words.

"B-but, those bottom ones are broken." She pointed at the bottom right side of the drawers. "Jimmy was cleaning them out…"

Gibbs felt his heart racing in his chest. What if Ducky had locked her inside? Just how long could she have survived in there before they found her? Would they have even thought to look? The very thought made him visibly shudder.

Gibbs pointed a stern finger in her face. "Don't you ever go inside one of those again!"

He reached up, placed his hands on her forearms and shook her in frustration. "Broken or not, someone could lock you inside. There are no handles on the inside, Aimee! You'd be trapped!"

Aimee's bottom lip trembled and she blinked back tears. Gibbs voice was brusque, and he didn't allow her tears to deter him from giving her a proper scolding. He kept his grip on her arms.

"I didn't think…"

"That's right, you didn't think!" Gibbs snapped.

Aimee winced as Gibbs' grip pinched at her arms.

Just then, Jimmy sauntered in wearing scrubs and bright yellow rubber gloves, unaware of the tension in the room.

"County coroner just picked up our friends, Dr. Mallard. He said to give him a call when things are back up. They've got plenty of room." Jimmy was carrying a pail of hot soapy water and cleaning chemicals in one hand and a bag of chips in the other. He looked up oblivious to the situation seeing Aimee and Gibbs. He smiled warmly, acknowledging the older man with a friendly greeting.

"Hiya, Agent Gibbs."

Gibbs didn't answer but remained transfixed on Aimee.

Jimmy continued. "Hey, Aimee, I brought us a snack for later. Thought I'd sanitize the last couple of drawers and then maybe head over to the real duck pond…" His eyes met Gibbs and he stopped mid-sentence.

"Uh, did I interrupt something?"

"Someone thought it'd be a good idea to hide in the morgue drawers to play a trick on you, Palmer," answered Gibbs gruffly, still staring at Aimee.

"Now, Jethro," began Ducky, attempting to bring perspective to the situation.

Jimmy paled and gaped at Aimee. "Oh my goodness! That's not a very wise thing to do, Aimee."

"Ya think, Palmer!" shouted Gibbs, not caring in the least that Jimmy's wasn't at fault for what Aimee had done it.

"I-I'm sorry, Agent Gibbs. I only left for a few minutes to speak with the coroner…"

Ducky took a few steps towards Jimmy. "Don't worry, Mr. Palmer. It is in no way your fault."

Jimmy did not look convinced.

Gibbs turned his attention back to Aimee. "Why are you even down here? I left you with Director Shepard. You're supposed to be working on your math homework."

Aimee's face clouded, remorse being quickly replaced with indignation. "I hate math!"

Gibbs straightened up, releasing his grip and crossing his arms. "That's not what I asked."

Aimee dropped her chin. "I had to use the washroom."

"So, you thought you'd come to the basement and use that one?"

"No," she mumbled finding her fingers a wonderful distraction. "I saw Jimmy in the hallway, and he told me about the fridges being broken. I said I'd keep him company while he cleaned 'em. I thought it'd be ok since there wouldn't be any dead bodies getting cut up."

Jimmy cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, Agent Gibbs. I didn't know she had homework to do."

Gibbs ignored Palmer and further glared at Aimee. "You have no business in autopsy without my permission, young lady. You have no clue what is happening down here."

"With all due respect, Agent Gibbs," cut in Jimmy. "I wouldn't have allowed her access if it wasn't safe to do so."

Gibbs glared at Jimmy this time. Jimmy closed his mouth, feeling about as old as Aimee in that moment.

Ducky put a hand on Gibbs forearm. "Now, now, Jethro, no harm was done, and I'm sure young Aimee here has learned a valuable lesson about the refrigerators in autopsy."

Ducky was surprised when Gibbs turned his steely glare on him as well. The M.E. also stepped back, unsure of how to approach the younger man when he was so upset. Ducky realised he was treading on new ground with Gibbs.

"I just wanted to help," whined Aimee. "I knew I couldn't get stuck in the drawers if we were cleaning them. It was just supposed to be a funny joke, Gibbs. Chill out!"

Gibbs looked at Aimee and something in her tone and demeanor just grated on him. She was being so flippant and disrespectful, and it felt like she was gambling on the idea that she could say whatever she felt like with the Ducky/Jimmy fan club to take her side. Gibbs tossed Jimmy a scathing glare causing the younger man to drop his gaze to the floor. Gibbs then turned to Ducky for some kind of moral adult support only to see the flabbergasted expression on his face. Gibbs knew he should calm down but he couldn't. His mind was still spinning, thinking about Aimee being locked in the drawer. The irrational side of him quickly took over before he could stop it. He reached out and firmly took Aimee by the waist, sliding her feet to the floor. He roughly turned her sideways and landed several painful swats on her backside. The sound of his hand meeting her jean clad behind reverberated throughout the sterile room.

Jimmy's eyes widened in embarrassed disbelief.

Ducky sucked in an involuntary breath of astonishment.

Aimee gasped in surprise and spun back around to stare at Gibbs in hurt bewilderment. Her hand shot back to rub out the sting as tears sprang to her eyes.

"Get your butt upstairs to the bullpen and sit at my desk. Don't you dare think of moving from there until it's time to go home. Got it?"

Aimee started to say something but Gibbs placed his finger firmly on her lips. "Not one word."

She glowered at him and slowly made her way across the room. Tears cascaded down her cheeks and continued to rub her backside. When she reached the door, she grasped the handle and turned to look at him.

"You suck!" she shouted, wiping at tears that betrayed her.

Gibbs put his hands on his hips gruffly and glared at her. She blinked back more tears and ran from the room, slamming the door behind her.

The room felt like it was closing in on him as Gibbs began to come back down from his tirade. He sucked in a sharp breath doing what he could to catch it and calm down. Sticking his sweaty hands into his pockets, he clenched his jaw and gripped his upper thigh, momentarily pinching it to help relieve the tension. No matter what else happened in his day, he wouldn't be able to erase from his mind the vision of Aimee lying in the morgue drawer. It had terrified him.

Jimmy was the first to find his voice. "Uh, I'm going to finish disinfecting the drawers, Dr. Mallard." Jimmy did not make eye contact with Gibbs this time. Instead, he made a point of showing his earbuds to Ducky and putting them in his ears as he walked towards the back of the room.

Ducky silently nodded his appreciation to his assistant.

"Would you like a cup of tea, Jethro?" asked Ducky, wandering towards the table at the back of the room where a small kitchenette was located.

Gibbs closed his eyes briefly and nodded, following his old friend. His moist hands continue to tremble in his pockets.

"Ah, hell, Duck. I know what you're gonna say…"

Ducky poured some mugs of tea and handed one to Gibbs.

"No, my dear boy, I don't think you do."

Gibbs felt his back go up. "I don't need a lecture on the finer points of parenting from you, Duck."

Ducky grimaced. "Jethro, you were out of line no matter how you look at it. The discipline you chose set aside; you humiliated the poor dear child. Discipline should always been done in private and certainly not in the heat of the moment when it's more than obvious you're angry. I would think you'd have learned that a long time ago dealing with young Anthony day in and day out."

Gibbs felt his line of defense tumble down around him. Heat came to his cheeks as he began to calm down and realise what he'd done. He accepted the mug Ducky held out to him and raked his other hand through his graying hair.

"She could have been trapped in there, Duck! Autopsy is not a place for kids to play."

"But she wasn't, Jethro. And if you don't want the girls at NCIS then you'd better start looking into a more permanent alternative. While Janessa is still young enough for the day care program, Aimee is far too old. You can't keep giving her homework all day and not expect her to seek out other entertainment."

Gibbs stared into his teacup. "She's behind," he muttered, feeling like he needed to defend himself. Gibbs had registered the girls for school and they were to begin after Christmas holidays.

Ducky sighed, ignoring the comment. "I understand she frightened you. That much is plain to see. It most certainly wasn't safe for her to play in here; that's true, but her intentions were innocent, Jethro. She didn't set out to defy you on purpose. It was a teachable moment that you let pass by you."

Gibbs puffed out his cheeks, feeling chastised. Ducky was correct on every point. He shouldn't have flown off the handle like that, and he definitely shouldn't have hit her.

"Damn it," he murmured, setting his mug down hard enough for it to spill over.

Ducky offered him a warm smile. "Children are resilient, my dear friend." Ducky clapped Gibbs gently on the shoulder. "Aimee will forgive you."

Gibbs chewed his lip. He knew Ducky was likely correct on that as well. The trouble wasn't Aimee forgiving him. It was him forgiving himself.

Gibbs looked over towards Jimmy and felt heat come to his cheeks again. He'd made a fool out of himself in front of Palmer and Ducky, and he'd hurt Aimee.

"Don't worry about Mr. Palmer, Jethro. Go see if you can make amends with Aimee. I'm sure she is feeling quite misunderstood at the moment."

Gibbs nodded and without another word left the room.