Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Except the mistakes those are mine.

A/N: As promised I have started with a number of tags to Grace of an Angel. I have been struggling with my other stories for quiet a while, so I hope this gets me back on track. I have played with the storyline of the show just a tiny bit. This tag is sort of a fundamental moment in Jenny and Kelly's relationship.

Enjoy*

25th March 1998

Footsteps thundered overhead and he knew by the confident tap of the first set of little feet, that his little girl was up to no good. He heard his senior agent's frantic footsteps follow a mere second later and the slight whine in his voice as he commanded Kelly and her rambunctious group of friends to listen to him. It wasn't long before there was another set of feet making their way across the floor, Jethro listened as his father laughed at the expense of the young Italian.

Shaking his head he scowled at the stack of birthday presents in front of him. For some reason – and he suspected his wife had something to do with it – he always ended up wrapping the gifts his team so graciously lugged to his house in the middle of the night, while he'd much rather be in bed with his wife. Instead he had to tread around his freezing basement trying to find spots that his daughter couldn't reach or wouldn't think of looking through for presents.

He had caught Kelly once or twice over Christmas, balanced precariously on a rickety chair, going through boxes in the spare bedroom. Jenny had almost had a heart attack when she had followed him into the room where they had found Kelly – covered in dust trying to find the presents they had stashed.

Jethro glared at the scotch tape that clung to his workbench. Last night he had stayed in bed and now he had to wrap all the bloody presents before Kelly realized that he was missing out on all the supposed fun. He'd much rather play with her in the mud than have to sit through an entire evening of playing 'Princess'. He suspected – and he knew he was right – that Kate and Abby had talked Kelly into wanting to paint not only his face but his nails as well.

The doorbell rang, screaming above the noise of giggling children and a whining agent. He ran through his mental check list, everyone was there from Jenny's mother to that little troublemaker Chris. Kyle had been first to arrive, neither of the two out of their Star Wars pajamas yet. Speaking of Star Wars…

Jethro straightened on his tattered chair, looking over the stack of presents. Yoda was fast asleep, covered in wood shavings he'd later track all over the floor. The Boston Terrier had headed straight for the basement even before he did, clearly unimpressed with the sudden swarm of people – and he couldn't say that he blamed him.

He listened once again as the footsteps moved across the wooden floors and he could deduce from the frequent stops that it was Ducky, regaling whoever had opened the door for him with a story. Jethro shook his head and returned to wrestling with a roll of wrapping paper and sticky tape.

It wasn't long before he heard the staircase leading down to the basement creak. He looked up, watching as the pair of bright coloured trainers made their way down the old staircase. He glared at her, before turning his attention back to what he was busy with – it wasn't going to go down well if he voiced his opinion about her coming down those old steps.

"Don't glare, you got me into this in the first place." She scolded him, the laughter in her voice barely concealable.

He looked up, his bright blue eyes meeting her warm emerald gaze. He smirked at her as she sauntered across the cold basement floor, the smile on her face causing him to raise an eyebrow. "You enjoyed every minute of it." He grinned as she stopped between his thighs, her green eyes challenging.

Placing a hand on his chin she kissed him, taking advantage of the few minutes alone before they had to entertain their guests.

Jethro placed a hand on her belly, "How you feeling?"

Jenny shrugged moving his hand to where their little boy was kicking. "Apart from my ankles being swollen, my back on the verge of breaking and that I wouldn't mind sleeping until tomorrow – just fine." She gave him an almost sarcastic smile.

Jethro simply looked at her, blinking his eyes a couple of times before he simply nodded and returned his attention back to where their son was kicking. Mood swings scared the shit out of him and he did everything in his power to avoid them. Anger he could deal with, since it usually led to more pleasurable activities once she had cooled down – but tears – they were the one thing he had a hard time dealing with.

Placing both hands on her abdomen he ran his palms in soothing circles, smiling as he felt another powerful kick. He pressed a soft kiss to her abdomen before looking up at her. He could see that she was tired, but he didn't dare say anything, she had become even more lethal over the last few months of being pregnant – and he doubted she'd hesitate in shooting him if it brought her some relief.

"You almost done?" Jenny looked at the neatly wrapped gifts with a raised eyebrow.

He looked at the wrapped presents, nodding his head, "Yeah, I think DiNozzo wouldn't mind taking them upstairs."

"He's not your slave." Jenny laughed against her husband's cheek as she leaned against him.

"He'll do anything to get away from the little ones." Jethro raised an eyebrow at her, his eyes running over her.

The red locks cascading down her back were curling more than usual – making him want to run his fingers through her hair. Over the last few months he had listened to her as she complained about picking up weight and then about everything in her closet not fitting her properly – resulting in her wearing almost everything in his closet.

It was cliché and most probably corny – but it was true – she really was glowing. "Babe," He drawled as he let her take a step back.

"Don't call me babe, babe." Jenny warned, raising a finger at him warningly.

He grinned at her, "You're beautiful."

She rolled her eyes at him, one hand resting on the large bump while the other pressed firmly against her lower back – muttering something about horny men as she made her way towards the stairs.

Jethro bit back the smirk, abandoning his spot he walked behind her. Yoda snorted as he struggled to his feet, trudging behind them as they made their way up the stairs.

Kelly darted around the breakfast table, all five of her little friends in tow as she led them through the kitchen towards the laundry room – her curly hair loose and wild. She tracked muddy little footprints all over the wooden floors, but she couldn't care less about the repercussions. She ignored the angry call of her name as she marched on.

The little girl stopped right in her tracks as she ran into her father, looking up at him with large blue eyes that only spelled trouble. She looked over at Jenny, giving her a toothy grin.

"What are you lot up to?" Jenny asked as she ran her fingers through Kelly's hair.

"Nothing." All six of them piped up simultaneously.

"Uh-huh," She looked at them with a raised brow, "why don't you guys go outside and give Tony a break." she smiled at them as they nodded at her obediently and headed towards the backdoor. Looking up she met the young Italians relieved gaze, "Your getting mud all over my floors, Agent DiNozzo."

Tony looked down at his mud covered trainers, giving the redhead a nervous laugh he ran a hand through his hair, "I'll clean it up." He disappeared before she could chew his head off.

Jenny let out a heavy sigh as she walked into the kitchen, looking out over the backyard at everyone gathered together. Angelo and Marco were goofing around as usual and with so many children around it felt as if they were pulling out all the stops to entertain them. It was irritating – or maybe it was just her that felt irritated.

"What are you thinkin' about?" Jethro asked right next to her, his hand once again on her belly, feeling their son kick once again. He was somewhat relieved that she allowed him to touch her, since she usually threatened him with castration when – according to her – he became too touchy.

She placed her hands over his, moving them around in circles as she leaned against him. He buried his nose in her curly hair, kissing her neck teasingly.

"What if I up and leave? What if despite everything I turn out like my mother – abandoning my children and never fighting for them." She let go of his hands, opting to fold her arms over her chest as she watched all six children horse around.

Jethro shook his head, it wasn't the first time they were having this particular conversation. They had it every other week ever since they had hit the six month mark both in their marriage and with the pregnancy. It was the first real fight they'd had as a married couple, neither of them hesitating in digging into the others past. That night they had dealt with everything that had been left unsaid between them.

"Jenny," He spoke quietly, his voice almost pleading. "how many times do I have to tell you-"

"That I'm overreacting." She chipped in, pulling his arms tighter around her as much as she could.

He laughed in her ear, "No, that I'd drag your ass back no matter what."

Jenny closed her eyes smiling as she dropped her head against his shoulder. "You just know what to say." She laughed as he nodded confidently.

Kissing her cheek, he swayed with her from side to side, "Comes with age."

The backdoor banged open, breaking their quiet moment. A pair of small feet thumped on the wooden floors as they marched around the breakfast table. A pair of icy blues looked up at them, Kelly placed her hands on her hips, her hair more unruly than before. "These kids are driving me crazy."

They both laughed as Kelly looked at them seriously, her expression leaving no room for an argument. Jethro knelt in front of his little girl, meeting her dark glare. Jenny rested a hand on his shoulder as she tried to lean forward as well.

"What are they doing to upset my little baby girl?" Jethro asked as Kelly walked into his embrace.

"Jake and Chris keep fighting." The little girl looked between them, her expression close to being fed-up. "Jenny, can you tell them to take a nap?"

The redhead laughed and shook her head, "No, honey, but I'm sure daddy will get them to stop." she squeezed her husband's shoulder as he grumbled under his breath. She was in no mood to struggle with two moody little boys. Kelly nodded determinedly before storming out the backdoor, leaving more muddy footprints behind.

Jethro pulled himself to his full height, wincing slightly at the pain shooting through his knee. He could see the remark dance on his wife's face. He held up a finger, warning her to keep it to herself, it was bad enough that he was turning more grey with each passing day – he didn't need her reminding him about it as well.

She wrinkled her nose at him cutely as he leaned in to kiss her instead.

He sighed when the door burst open once again, turning around he saw Joann waltz through the door followed closely by Noemi and Angela, all three of them in deep conversation about something. He could see the dread on Jenny's face as all three women started bombarding her with questions.

Meeting her eyes over their heads he gave her a crooked grin, "Payback." he mouthed as he inched closer to the backdoor. He wasn't looking forward to watching over five extra children anymore than she was answering the bizarre questions the older women came up with.

There was chatter and laughter floating all around him, his father along with Julio and Ducky had planted themselves right next to him, regaling each other with their own war stories while he worked the grill. He adjusted his baseball cap, keeping a close eye on the six rambunctious kids darting around the backyard, all of them engaged in a heated game of football against two of his agents and all three of the Bernardi brothers.

Abby was cheering them on and doubling as both a ref and commentator, while the nice young woman James had brought with him tried to explain the whole concept of the game to Ziva. A few feet from them Jenny was still being bombarded with questions from the older women and Kate.

He tried listening in on what they were asking Jenny, hoping he'd miraculously learn something, because eight months into this and he still didn't know what to expect. He could see the flush that coloured her cheeks, alerting him that she was at the end of her tether.

"So, honey, tell me have you and Jethro decided on any names yet?" Angela looked at her daughter expectantly, a soft smile on her face.

"We haven't decided yet." The irritation in her voice was palpable.

"But you only have a month left." Joann smiled at the redhead.

Jethro cringed from where he stood, knowing that it was the one thing that got her riled up quicker than calling her 'babe'. He watched as the colour faded from his wife's cheeks, she drummed her fingers on her belly as she tried to reign in her temper. He wanted to stop her from saying something that she'd regret later, but he just wanted to see the shock on their faces when she told them to back off.

"Jenny, look!" Kelly stormed up the steps, a small hand pressed against her forehead.

Kelly skipped across the porch, her denim shorts full of grass stains and her cartoon character t-shirt looking worse for wear and her feet caked with mud. She ignored her grandmother's soft snap to slow down before she crashed into Jenny. The little girl hopped until she was right next to the redhead, grinning at her.

"Look, look, look, look." Kelly took her hand away, revealing the scrape on her forehead.

"Baby, what did you do?" Jenny sat forward with a struggle, clasping the little girl's face between her hands she inspected the scrape closely.

"I tripped," Kelly mumbled as she looked up at Jenny, "It doesn't hurt."

Brushing a hand through Kelly's hair she dislodged all the pieces of leaves and sticks that had found their way in her dark curls. Shaking her head she pressed a kiss to the little girl's forehead, "Maybe we should start getting cleaned up, I'm sure daddy's almost done."

Jethro let out a loud whistle, drawing everyone's attention, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb he raised an eyebrow at the bunch of kindergarteners. They all got the silent message and followed behind each other up the steps into the house to get cleaned up.

Jackson gave a hearty chuckle as the string of children disappeared into the house, meeting his son's gaze he shook his head, "Impressive, Leroy."

Jethro shrugged his shoulders, looking at his team as they all sat together along with the Bernardi brothers. "I've had a lot of practice."

The house had finally settled into some form of normality, allowing her to take a breath and relax for a moment. Why she had thought it was a good idea to have a birthday party with six kids mulling around was beyond her. Almost everyone had left, and she could have sworn even Kelly had been relieved when people started to leave.

Jenny let out a slow breath, watching Kelly and Kyle share a large bowl of ice cream. Jackson was seated at the breakfast table with them, reading the morning paper Jethro had brought back on one of his errands. She smiled as Kyle blushed when he dropped a piece of melting chocolate ice cream on his shirt, looking at her with large brown eyes.

"It's okay, honey, we'll wash it before your mommy comes to pick you up tomorrow." He nodded and turned back to eating.

He was the only one sleeping over since his mother had to be in New York for a conference. Jenny turned back to looking through the small list of names she had compiled. Letting out a tired sigh she dropped her pencil on the table, too agitated to really think about anything.

"You know," Jackson said as he folded his newspaper up, looking at the redhead seated right next to him. "when we were expectin' Leroy, we didn't have a name for him either. We didn't even know whether it was going to be a boy or a girl."

Jackson reached across the table, placing his hand over hers. "Ultrasounds were too expensive back then, and Ann thought Leroy was going to be a girl." Jackson shook his head, laughing, "We were going to call him Amelia."

"Well, these last few months he's been acting like a real mother hen." Jenny shook her head, twisting her wedding ring around her finger, it was going to be a nightmare trying to get it off.

Jackson patted her hand comfortingly. "He won't say anything, I know he isn't fond of voicing his feelings – but..." The old man looked over at his granddaughter as she chatted happily with her friend. "He's terrified of losing the two of you – almost three."

Jenny gave him an almost tight smile, she felt the same almost everyday of her life. Running her hand over her bump she leaned back in her chair.

"I do hope that you'll forgive me, but, do you really think it's going to be a boy?" Jackson's icy blue eyes studied her closely.

Jenny narrowed her eyes at him. "The doctor said, he thinks it's a boy, since he couldn't really see anything on any of the scans. Jethro on the other hand thinks it is going to be a girl."

"What do you think, Jenny?" Jackson pressed, raising a white eyebrow at her.

She sighed again, running her hand over the spot where the baby was kicking, looking up she gave the old man a soft smile. "That I'll love them no matter what."

"Hey, Kelly Bear!" Jethro called as he sauntered into the kitchen, "Guess who I found at the front door." Kelly spun around in her chair, looking at her father quizzically.

The loud squeal startled Kyle enough to make him drop his spoon, he looked at her slightly bewildered. Kelly jumped off her chair, scampering towards her late party guest.

"Hey ya, little lady." Mike Franks grumbled as he knelt down, just in time to catch Kelly as she crashed into him. The old man grunted loudly as he hugged the little girl, placing a kiss on the crown of her head. He groaned as he stood to his feet with Kelly still clinging to him. Placing the little girl on her chair again, he dropped his duffel bag near his feet, extending a hand towards Jackson.

Jenny looked up at Jethro, her eyes narrowed dangerously as he helped her out of her chair – she could tell that despite his smile that he wasn't expecting Mike to show up this late on their doorstep, the last time they had heard or seen him had been at their wedding.

The old man turned towards her, his hands on his hips as he looked between her and Jethro. "Damn, Probie!" He laughed, his voice hoarse, "You two work fast."

Jenny rolled her eyes at Mike as he and Jackson shared a laugh. The old Marine held his arms out towards her, offering her a hug. Still glaring at him she hugged him none the less, taking in the strong smell of cigarettes and beer.

Mike shrugged his jacket off, hanging it over the back of nearest chair. Rolling up his sleeves he ruffled Kelly's hair affectionately as he took a seat next to her. He stiffened the moment he saw the little boy seated next to her, raising a grey eyebrow he looked over at Jethro.

"Who the hell is he?" The older man pointed a thumb towards Kyle, who was looking at him with large brown eyes.

Jethro placed a hand on Kyle's shoulder, putting the little boy somewhat at ease. "A friend of Kelly's."

"How long are you staying, Mike?" Jenny asked as she waddled towards the percolator.

"Few days, got some business here." He answered quickly, avoiding her gaze as he pulled the packet of cigarettes out of his breast pocket.

A small hand clamped over his, the cigarette hanging limply between his fingers as he glared up at her. He watched with growing frustration as she plucked his cigarette out between his fingers and crumbling it in one hand while the other reached for the rest of the packet. Mike looked over at Jethro indignantly as he simply watched with an annoying smug smile on his face, the kids were giggling as well.

Jethro pointed towards the backdoor, shaking his head as the old man yanked his abused packet of cigarettes out of the redhead's hand and marched towards the backdoor, muttering to Jackson to join him. His father shook his head, both annoyed and amused.

Jenny tapped her trainer against the wooden floor, glaring at Mike through the small window as he puffed happily on his cigarette. She smiled at Kelly and Kyle as they placed their bowl in the basin and headed straight for the living room. The smile dropped from her face as soon as they were out of sight, meeting Jethro's blue eyes she tilted her chin up.

"Why is he here, Jethro?" The tone of voice she used was nothing short of being snippy.

Jethro sat back in his chair, a scowl on his face, "Hostile much?"

"I'm not hostile." Her cheeks were flushed, "The last time Mike showed up unannounced, it was a week before our wedding and he almost got the two of you killed."

Jethro scoffed shaking his head at her. "This coming from the woman who ran an undercover Op while being five months pregnant."

"I had back up!" Jenny snapped at him.

Jethro stood up from his chair, making his way to where Jenny was leaning against the counter. Placing his hands on her shoulders he kneaded the muscles gently, feeling her relax fractionally he moved his hands up to cup her cheeks.

"All this frustration," He kissed her cheek, "it's not good for our baby."

"It's not frustration." She muttered as she dropped her head against his shoulder. It felt as if her back had snapped in half, her feet hurt and she was so tired she could sleep standing up, perhaps then she'd get some actual sleep – maybe Jethro was right. Looking up at him she sighed tiredly, "I have a bad feeling, that's all."

"I told you to lay off the barbeque sauce." Jethro chuckled as he ran his hands up and down her arms. It had been the first thing that had raised his suspicions that she might be pregnant – she'd had a strange cravings and most of them had involved barbeque sauce.

Jenny slapped his arm lightly, "Not that kind of bad."

His hands moved up her arms again, taking her face gently between his palms he leaned forward and pressed a slow kiss to her lips. He pulled away and kissed her forehead lovingly as he tried wrapping his arms around her, "Babe," he felt her smile against his chest as she leaned against him, "everything's going to be fine."

The chair squeaked each time he spun it from side to side, the glass decanters taunting him as they glistened under the small round lights shining over them. Licking his lips he felt around in his jacket pocket, finding the cool metal he pulled the Zippo lighter out, flicking the lid open – watching the flame flicker. Snapping the lid shut he stuffed it back in his pocket just as the heavy metal door slammed open.

Meeting the other man's gaze he gave him a crooked smile, holding his arms out, "You miss me?"

Leon Vance rolled the toothpick between his teeth with practiced ease as he glared at the retired agent. Closing the door behind him he moved in behind his desk, taking a seat in the comfortable leather chair. The smile had dropped from the other man's face as he looked back up at him. Unbuttoning the top button on his jacket he took the toothpick out from between his teeth.

"I'm surprised you came." Leon spoke tensely as he moved the various Manila folders around on his desk.

"Ah hell, Leon, I don't need this from you, that Jenny lady has been breathin' down my neck ever since I came in to NCIS this morning." Mike grumbled as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"If you had tied up loose ends in '95, then maybe you wouldn't have to be here today." Leon snapped, his hand flexing around his pen as he gripped it. He had come straight from a heated argument with SecNav to tell Mike Franks that he'd screwed up big time.

"If it hadn't been for that drug bust back then we'd still be tryin' to find the damn source." Mike barked at him, "How was I supposed to know it was all connected to a Columbian drug lord?!"

Leon massaged his temples, trying to stop his headache from turning into a migraine. "Well, he's back, and he's pulling out all the stops to get his products in the States and pretty much every country in the world."

"You wanna blame that on me as well while you're at it." The remark earned him a scowl. Mike shrugged his shoulders, "What do you want me to say, Leon? That I'm sorry, cause that ain't gonna happen."

Leon pressed his knuckles into his forehead, shaking his head he sat back in his chair, "As from this morning you have been temporarily reinstated, for the sole purpose that you be read into the mission that's being carried out in two days."

Mike tugged at his jacket as he walked behind the Director, his eyes running over the squad room. He could see team Gibbs gathered together, doing a poor job at hiding the fact that they had been watching the catwalk the entire time – he sure as hell hoped they were better at being investigators than they were at acting casual.

The retinal scanner beeped as it recognized Leon's eye scan, the door let out a hiss of compressed air as it opened. Holding the door open Leon let Mike step into the secure room, glaring at the young agents watching their every move just before he let the door slam shut.

The sound of their footsteps were muffled as they marched across the carpeted floor. The Secretary of the Navy was larger than life on the massive screen, his old grey eyes studying the three men before him. He seemed to consider his thoughts for a moment, as if he had felt the need to hesitate.

"Right," His voice boomed in the secure room, "I assume that this situation will be dealt with professionally, I won't allow other agencies to clean up after us. Unfortunately I am not able to be there for the briefing, Leon," the old man looked at the Director with narrowed eyes, "I trust you'll be able to handle this."

"Yes, Mister Secretary." Leon nodded, his hands clasped behind his back tightly.

"Oh, Agent Gibbs," SecNav looked up from the folder in his hands, the barest hint of a smile on his lined face "congratulations."

The screen returned to its usual colour bar display.

Jethro ran a hand through his cropped hair, looking at Leon as he fished for a toothpick in his jacket pocket. Taking a slow drink from his coffee cup he met the man's dark brown gaze, knowing that whatever was going on had something to do with Mike showing up out of the blue. He could hear his wife's voice in the back of his mind.

Mike looked more tense than he had before he had stepped inside Leon's office, his brow creased in a deep frown. "Leon, you mind clarifying what the hell is goin' on since you lot don't know how to brief people anymore."

Leon glared at the older man, unperturbed by his attitude. He knew that there was one person missing, who had been read in on almost every secure briefing and mission the agency had run since her return from Paris – much like her husband. Morally, he didn't want to do this he could only imagine what his own family would go through – but professionally he had to obey orders that had been given to him.

"Those who need to know are aware that the assassination of Cesar Castillo has been issued." Leon let out a heavy breath, his expression hardening as he turned towards Jethro.

"Gibbs," Leon watched as the former Marine Sniper straightened, "you have officially been assigned to a JSOC unit to escort you to Columbia by the Secretary of Defense. You'll also be officially read in on the mission at Fort Bragg along with former Agent Franks."

Jethro grit his teeth meeting Mike's guarded eyes – there was no turning back now – after all he owed the man his life. He just didn't know how he was going to explain this to his wife.

To Be Continued...

If you you've read the original story you know what gender the baby is – I just thought it would be fun to toy with the subject a little.

Thanks for reading :)