Hello, Readers,

This would be part three of my one-shot story "The Interruption" I just love this Universe. I adore Aimee and Janessa, and I love Gibbs as a dad!

So, here is another story about Aimee...just working out her relationship with Gibbs, and learning to trust.

Aimee will be taking Gibbs on a journey and testing him well and beyond his limits. Let's face it; kids do that to us. Some of my stories reflect true life and some of the things Janessa and Aimee do and say are just echoes of my kids. But, most has been embellished for the fun of it. :)

I do not know how long the story will be or how deep I will dig into it. I'm just letting my muse play and we'll see where she takes me.

Enjoy and please review.

Many blessings,

Jenny Wrens

Janessa lay on the floor in the middle of the bullpen drawing pictures on paper. She heard the elevator ding and twisted around to see who was getting off. She smiled when she saw Tony and jumped to her feet, running to greet him. Tony's face lit up into a large grin, and he scooped her up into his arms, planting a kiss on her head.

"How's my favourite monster?" he asked.

Janessa wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him square on the lips.

"Wow! That was some kiss," he commented with a grin.

"That's not a kiss, Tony," she explained in a tone that told him he should know the difference. "It's a lip smack."

"Oh, my bad. What's the difference?"

She rolled her eyes. "Kisses are quiet and you can't hear 'em. Lip smacks are really loud!" And she proceeded to demonstrate by kissing him again, making a very loud smacking noise with her lips.

Tony grinned and planted a loud kiss on her neck dissolving her into giggles. He looked up briefly to see Ziva smirking at him from her desk.

"Tony, "Janessa said, grabbing him by the cheeks and turning his face to look at her. "Are alligators dangerous?" She looked at him very seriously, her blue eyes as round as blueberries.

Taken aback, Tony swung her to one hip and carried her to his desk area, standing her on his desk as he set down the things he had in his hand.

"Uh, yeah, I guess you could say they're dangerous. I mean I sure wouldn't want to mess with one at dinner time."

Janessa danced on top of his desk, her shoes making clicking noises. Tony smirked at her and kept one hand poised to catch her should she take a nose dive off his desk.

"Tony, everybody at NCIS takes the alligator at lunch," she said as she danced. " You just gots off it."

Tony looked at the small youngster with a confused look on his face. Ziva snickered as she walked over to rescue Janessa off the top of Tony's desk.

"It is called an elevator, Janessa, not an alligator," Ziva corrected, setting her feet on the floor. "And Tony should not let you stand on his desk. It is not safe."

Janessa wrinkled her nose. "That's what I said, Ziva. An alligator." The child repeated the word again.

"Elevators are perfectly safe, little one," assured Ziva, returning to her desk.

Tony hung up his jacket and sat at his desk. Janessa climbed up into his lap and started punching letters on his keyboard.

"Except when they're not." Tony made a face at Ziva which was lost on Janessa.

Ziva poked her tongue out at him which only encouraged him to continue on with his teasing.

Janessa watched as he put his sidearm and badge in his top drawer and shut it.

"Are guns dangerous?"

"Yup, especially to little girls. I better not catch you going in my drawer either," warned Tony, looking over the file folders sitting atop his desk

"I won't," promised the little girl. "Daddy says he will give me a trip over his knee if I does anything dangerous."

Tony smirked. "Well, it's a good thing you're double checking on what's dangerous. I hear knee trips are no fun at all."

Janessa's face was deadpan. "Not even a little."

Tony booted up his computer and looked over the top of the monitor towards Ziva. "Any new cases?"

Ziva shook her head. "No. Just a bunch of cold cases on the agenda for today, I am afraid."

Tony groaned. Cold cases were not anyone's idea of fun either.

"Where's McGeek?" asked Tony, noticing that the younger agent was absent from his desk. Tony tried to keep Janessa's fingers out of all his drawers. The little girl was quick to find a pen and a stack of sticky notes. She slipped off his knee and stood beside him, content to draw.

"Abby called him down to her lab. Something about Major Mass Spec having caught a virus."

Tony whistled. "Whoa; I do not envy McGeek down there with Abby when the Major is sick."

"Tony, are staplers dangerous?" asked Janessa reaching out to grab the stapler.

Tony stood to reach a file folder out his cabinet behind him. He settled down in his chair, ready to be bored to death doing paperwork all day. "Nope, not unless you staple your finger."

Janessa stapled her paper and handed it to Tony.

"What's this?"

"It's a ticket."

"A ticket?"

"Yup."

Tony ripped open the sticky note and read it. "I owe you $2 dollars?"

"Uh huh."

"Why?"

Janessa climbed up on his lap and then crawled up onto his desk. Tony's mouth gaped open as he watched her. She stood to her feet and started to dance again, her shoes making a clicking noise and his papers going flying onto the floor. "For watching me dance, silly."

Tony stood up and snatched her off the desk in one swoop. He cradled her in his arms and started kissing her very loudly all over her face. She screeched and dissolved into a fit of giggles as Tony swung her around the room. Ziva looked up and watched them in amusement.

"If Gibbs comes in, you will both be in danger." Ziva laughed.

Tony stopped swinging Janessa around and dropped her feet to the floor. The little girl kept giggling as she watched Tony return to his desk. Tony reached into one of his drawers and pulled out two crisp dollar bills, holding them out towards her. Janessa skipped over and accepted the money.

"That's your cute allowance."

"What's that?"

Tony sat down once again. "It's money you get just for being cute." He winked at her and she laughed.

"Where is the Boss-man, anyway?" asked Tony as he settled back in to get some work done. Janessa plopped down on the floor once more, content to colour.

Ziva shrugged as she too refocussed on her assigned tasks. "I do not know. Gibbs dropped Janessa off with me and took Aimee with him to Interrogation room 6."

Tony frowned. "Room six? Isn't that a storage room?"

Ziva shrugged.

"Aimee runs away again," commented Janessa from the floor.

Tony peeked over his desk to see the little girl lying on her stomach drawing rainbows on the money he'd given her.

"Again? What happened, Ness?"

Janessa kicked her feet up and down against the floor as she coloured but didn't look at him. "She was 'posed to make her bed this morning but she didn't. Mr. Gibbs said she gots to stay in her room 'til she makes it. Aimee didn't want to so she gots mad." Janessa stood up and walked over to Tony, handing him a picture she'd drawn. "That's a picture of you and Timmy."

Tony accepted the picture and smirked at it. Stick figure McGee had his hands stuck to his keyboard and stick figure Tony was laughing at him. It was clear who was who by the way she had drawn the picture. "Daddy says gluing Timmy's hands to the 'puter keys is naughty, Tony."

Tony bit his lip to keep from laughing out loud. "So, how did Aimee get from being mad at your dad to running away?"

"Mr. Gibbs said she gots to go to bed early tonight because she didn't make her bed. Aimee yelled at him real loud and threw her shoe at him. She hits him right in the head." Janessa smacked herself in the head to demonstrate.

"Oh, boy, bet Gibbs wasn't very happy about that?"

Janessa shook her head. "Nope."

"Then what happened?" prompted Tony.

Janessa put her hands on her hips. "Then she runs away."

"By herself or did you go too?"

Janessa chewed on her bottom lip sheepishly and sighed. "No, I goes too."

Tony sighed as well. "Of course," Tony muttered under his breath. "I thought your dad told you to say no to Aimee when she ran away?"

Janessa ran her small hand over her face to sweep her hair from her blue eyes. "I did says no," She shrugged her shoulders and sighed dramatically. "But she just made me goes anyways."

Tony frowned. "She can't force you to go with her, Nessie."

Janessa's eyes got really big. "Oh, yes, she can so." Janessa shook her finger at him. "She says I gots to listen to her cuz she's the boss, and if I don't goes with her a lizard will eat my gizzard." Janessa knit her brows together. "I don't even know what a gizzard is but I don't think letting it get eat by a lizard is good thing, do you?"

Tony sighed and looked at Ziva who shrugged her shoulders. Neither one of them wanted to touch that explanation with a ten-foot pole.

"Thanks for the picture, Ness. I better get some work done now."

Reflecting on what Janessa had told him, Tony stood up and reached on top of his cabinet for some files. One of the folders slipped from his hands and disappeared down the wall behind the cabinet, just out of his reach. Janessa stood watching him. Tony pulled his swivel chair over and stood on it to reach his lost paper. Janessa's eyes widened as the chair twisted and turned under his feet.

"Tony, that's dangerous! If Mr. Gibbs catches you, he might spank you," Janessa admonished.

Ziva snickered and Tony glared at her in return. He managed to reach his escaped folder and then jumped to the floor with a triumphant look on his face.

"I don't think that rule applies to me, Nessie."

Just then Gibbs walked into the bullpen with Aimee following behind him looking as mad as a hornet.

"You sure about that, DiNozzo?" he said gruffly.

Tony's face reddened as he sat down quickly at his desk. "Yes, Boss; I mean no, Boss."

Gibbs sat down at his desk and pulled up a chair beside him. He looked at Aimee sternly and pointed to the chair. "Sit."

Aimee sat but glared at him mutinously.

"Don't move!"

Aimee crossed her arms and harrumphed.

Janessa walked across the room and stood in front of her sister, sympathy swimming in her eyes. She leaned in close and whispered something into Aimee's ear. Aimee pushed her sister away with a groan.

"No, Ness; he's waiting to kill me at home where there won't be any witnesses."

Gibbs glared at her again.

Janessa wandered over to Gibbs and leaned against him as he looked at his computer screen. Gibbs put an arm around her and pulled her in close while he worked. The bullpen was quiet for several minutes before Gibbs looked up once again. Aimee's arms were crossed across her chest, and she was still glaring at him. Gibbs sighed, just grateful that she wasn't shouting at him anymore. His chat with her in private had been fruitless. He merely wanted to see what had put her in such a foul mood this morning, but she refused to cooperate with him. He knew he needed to follow through on disciplining her regardless but he didn't have to be happy about it and NCIS certainly wasn't the place to do that. It would have to wait until he could get away for a couple of hours.

"Where's McGee?"

"Major gots a cold, daddy," explained Janessa chewing on her lip with a worried expression on her face.

"I see." Gibbs stood up once more, rubbing the back of his neck. A quick glance at the clock told him that it was barely past 8:30 am and already he was fighting a losing battle with Aimee. Things had to give. He couldn't allow this constant quibbling between them to continue. Anytime he asked Aimee to do something she didn't want to do, they ended up in this position.

"DiNozzo."

"Yah, Boss."

"I'm taking Janessa to daycare. Keep an eye on Aimee for me. Ziva, if she moves use those infamous Mossad skills and tie her to the chair." Gibbs groused as he tossed a warning glance in his oldest blond-haired daughter's direction.

"Pretty sure that's against the law, Gibbs," sneered Aimee, huffing loudly.

"I won't tell anyone, and neither will they."

Aimee narrowed eyes and shook her head in disgust.

"Uh, we'll watch her for you, Boss," assured Tony, scowling at Aimee and giving her the 'cut it out' signal from afar.

Gibbs nodded, obvious frustration lingering on his face as he took Janessa by the hand and disappeared around the corner.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

Tony waited several minutes before he got up to speak with Aimee. He wanted to make sure Gibbs was out of hearing distance. He didn't want to risk a concussion from the man, but more than that he wanted to give Aimee some time to simmer down. The expression on her face told him to keep his distance. Aimee was very angry, and he wasn't sure he wasn't to mess with her when she was so irate. Tony and Ziva's eyes made contact and he nodded his head in Aimee's direction, indicating that Ziva should make the first move. Ziva shook her head and looked down at her computer once more. Damn it, thought Tony. Women were supposed to be more nurturing by nature and know how to handle kids. Ziva looked more like a frightened jackrabbit whenever Aimee lost her cool.

Tony pulled a package of skittles out of his desk and casually sauntered across the room to Aimee's side. She had put her head down on Gibbs' desk and was silently rolling her forehead back and forth. Tony sat on the edge of Gibbs' desk and put the package of candy in front of her head.

"Candy usually cheers me up. Want some?"

Aimee lifted her head and rested her chin on her arms, glaring at Tony.

"Go away!"

Tony flinched. "I've never been in Interrogation room 6 before. Just what's in that room anyway? Scuttlebutt says there's a 200-pound purple dinosaur in that room. Is it true?"

Aimee lifted her head and scrunched up her face as she stared at him in disbelief.

"What?"

"You know? That talking, singing dinosaur from 1990's television? What's his name? Barlett? Barker?" Tony waved a dismissive hand, not remembering the name. "Agent Tanner told me that Station 13 stores their life-sized, stuffed, purple dinosaur in room 6. Gibbs never lets anyone in there to see. As far as I know, he's the only one who even has a key to that room."

Aimee shook her head incredulously.

"Why would Gibbs have a key to a room with a purple dinosaur?" she asked looking completely bewildered.

Tony shrugged. "You're asking me? I'm not the one who went in Interrogation room 6 with him. How should I know?"

Aimee rolled her eyes. "Tony, there is no purple dinosaur!" she said in exasperation.

Tony frowned. "Really? You're not just trying to pull the wool over my eyes?"

"What wool? The only things in that room are a table and a bunch of chairs."

"No dinosaur?" Tony looked crushed at the news.

She shook her head. "No." Aimee looked at him again, this time with a smile playing on her lips.

Tony returned the smile. "Glad to see a hint of those pearly whites, Babydoll."

The smile grew larger as Aimee reached out and smacked his arm playfully. "You're such a jerk, Tony."

Tony chuckled. "I know. It's a tough job but somebody has to do it." He handed her the candy again and she took it.

This time Ziva came over and joined them, looking a bit more at ease now that Tony had broken the tension in the room.

"Do you want to talk about what is bothering you, Aimee?"

Tony stood to his feet, holding his hands up to stop the conversation from proceeding any further. "Campfire."

Ziva cast him a dirty look but sighed and walked back to her desk to get her chair.

"Tony, you can't have a campfire inside," said Aimee giving him an annoyed look.

Tony slipped behind her, pulled out the chair she was sitting on and wheeled her to the centre of the bullpen.

"Au contraire, ma petite amie. At NCIS, we can have a campfire anytime we please."

Tony grabbed his chair and met Ziva and Aimee in the middle. The three of them sat looking at each other.

"A NCIS campfire is a spur-of-the-moment time of sharing information," explained Tony. "Now, spill the beans, my friend, and Ziva and I will do our best to help you escape the wrath of Jethro Leroy Gibbs."

Aimee popped a few of the chewy candies into her mouth and sighed.

Ziva rested her chin in her hands. "Is there a good reason for running away this time?"

Aimee shrugged.

"I thought you and Gibbs were getting along. What happened?" asked Tony, reaching over and fishing out a few candies from Aimee's package, popping a few in his mouth. "Abbs said he even took ya bowling."

"He did," admitted Aimee.

"Then what happened this morning?" asked Tony.

"He wanted me to make my bed."

Tony swallowed. "And?"

"I didn't want to make my bed. It's stupid. You're just going to mess it up again when you get back in it tonight. What's the point of making it?"

Tony looked at Ziva and shrugged. "The kid's got a point…"

Ziva punched his arm. "Shut up, Tony."

Tony rubbed his arm. "Hey, ouch!"

"Aimee, making your bed is just a chore parents give kids. Everyone makes their bed in the morning, even Gibbs. It is just part of a morning routine. And frankly, that is a silly reason to get into a fight with your dad. Something tells me there is more to this than just not wanting to make your bed, yes?"

Tony rubbed his arm. "Everyone makes their bed in the morning? Did I miss the memo?"

Ziva reached out and punched his arm again. Tony wheeled backward to avoid further onslaughts from the former Mossad agent.

Aimee giggled.

"Stop punching me, Ninja Chick."

Ziva glared at him.

"See, even Tony thinks it's dumb to have to make your bed every morning, and he's a grown-up."

"That is debatable," muttered Ziva. "Aimee, I do not think you are angry because of Gibbs wanting you to make your bed. I think something else is bothering you."

Aimee crossed her arms, anger settling in on her features once again.

Tony sobered and pulled her chair closer to her. "C'mon Squirt, you can tell us; we're not going to go all Gibbs on you."

Aimee fiddled with her fingers. "I need to know," she mumbled softly.

"Need to know what?"

More fidgeting. Ziva drew closer to her as well.

"HowbadIcanbe…" she mumbled so quickly that both Ziva and Tony all but missed it.

"Slow that down and try again, Aims," encouraged Tony.

Aimee tsked and stood to her feet, wandering out of the campfire. She crossed her arms and turned to face Ziva and Tony, blinking back tears.

"I might be young but I'm not stupid, okay?"

"What's that supposed to mean," asked Tony swiveling his chair around to face her.

"When Jonathan married my mom, he was real nice to us but it didn't last. I need to know when Gibbs is going to stop playing nice too." Tears swam in her eyes as she allowed herself to be vulnerable with them.

Ziva and Tony exchanged a look, both of them caught off guard and not really knowing what to say in response. There was an awkward silence that filled the bullpen as tears began to escape down Aimee's cheeks.

Tony cleared her throat and stood up. He took a few steps towards Aimee and pulled her into a hug. She didn't fight him but allowed herself to melt into the embrace. None of them knew much about Janessa and Aimee's previous life. Being that her mother and step-father were both in the Navy, they traveled a lot, and the Navy didn't have many details about the girls…not even medical records. Aimee was homeschooled and had never even attended a school at any of the bases they were stationed at. They just didn't have much to go on when it came to the girl's history. They had discovered some evidence of abuse but nothing concrete and neither girl spoke much about their previous lives. Janessa seemed to blend her memories, mixing up recollections from the past with things now. Aimee refused to discuss the past and no one pushed it. There had been a lot of changes in the girl's lives, and while Gibbs had complete legal guardianship of the girls, he was still working behind the scenes to adopt them.

"Gibbs is never going to stop playing nice. I've known the man for a long time, and Gibbs is pure gold. You can trust him," assured Tony. "I've screwed up more times than I care to admit, but the boss man never gives up on me. Aims, look at me." Tony lifted the girl onto Gibbs desk so he could lean in close and be eye to eye with her. "Gibbs isn't going anywhere, and he's never going to stop loving you no matter what you do."

Aimee licked her lips and wiped away traitorous tears. "You don't know that for sure, Tony."

Ziva walked over and put a comforting hand on the young girl's knee. "We know, Aimee. So many things have happened to us, things we cannot discuss with you, but we know Gibbs has our back on everything. It does not matter what we do, he is going to be there. He might act all gruff and mean but underneath that he is a kind and gentle man. I think you know that too."

Aimee shook her head. "No, I don't! Not for sure!" she insisted, tears blurring her vision. "If I'm bad enough, he might..."

"No, Aimee. Save yourself the hassle and just trust us. Gibbs is true blue. Nothing you can do or say is going to change how much he loves you. But that doesn't mean he doesn't have limits. He's human just like the rest of us. If you keep pushing him, you're going to see a side of him you don't want to see. And that won't be his fault, will it?" Aimee chewed on her lip quietly listening and taking in Tony's words.

"Aimee, you should really just talk to Gibbs about this. Tell him how you are feeling," suggested Ziva. "Would that not be better than making him angry with you?"

Aimee pushed Tony away and slipped down to the floor. Tears glistened in her eyes and uncertainty lingered on her face.

"No! He'll think I'm being dumb."

Tony took a few steps backward and ran his hand through his hair. "Aimee…"

Aimee shook her head. "No, I don't want to talk about it anymore. Just leave me alone!"

She took a few steps sideways and started to run from the room.

Ziva reached out to stop her. "Hey, running away will only make things worse."

Aimee yanked her arm away. "Leave me be!" she shouted and took off.

Tony and Ziva exchanged an exasperated look and sighed. It was certainly turning out to be one hell of a day for everyone.