Inspired by the line in 17X14: "These are the only kids I have left."

He had been a father to Kelly, and that had been cut short. But his agents, those were his kids too, even the ones that didn't know it, they were his. He cared for them and loved them as his own.

These are my imagined scenes with some of his agents.

Chapter 1: Tony

That boy, he had a knack for getting into trouble, be it a plague or dating the daughter of an arms dealer, to falling in love with a coworker. Gibbs was really proud of Tony, he had truly come a long way from the cocky, arrogant pain-in-the-ass he started out as. When he found out about his daughter, Tali, he made her his priority and rose to the occasion.

Late one Sunday night, Gibbs was down in his basement, just working on the boat when his cell rang. That damned cell. As he wiped his hands off on a shop rag, he saw the caller I.D., DiNozzo.

"Hey Boss," Tony started "I know it's late and all, but I really just wanted to tell ya something." He even sounded a little nervous.

"I'm not your boss anymore DiNozzo, out with it." Gibbs smiled, "Why'd you call?"

"I just wanted to thank you. Thank you for bringing Ziva back to me, thank you for protecting her, and thank you for being there every time I've called trying to figure out what to do while Tali and I were missing her. Thank you for talking to Tali and me, and for helping us out." Tony's voice had wavered. But on the other end of the line was silence, he knew Gibbs was listening, but wasn't sure if he had gotten his point across well enough. "Thank you for being like a dad to me, thank you for all the head slaps and advice. Maybe I should let you keep working on your boat..." As he trailed off, he could hear Gibbs breathe against the phone.

"Hey, Dinozzo, that's what being a dad is." Gibbs couldn't help but feel his chest tighten, missing all three of them. "You're still one of my kids, even now."

Tony was taken aback. He wasn't expecting this admission, especially over the phone and in so many words.

"Tony, go spend time with Ziva and Tali, and call me whenever." Gibbs shut the phone and decided to take a minute to look at the pictures he'd been sent at another time, little Tali with DiNozzo, Ziva with both of them. He was proud of Tony and all of his accomplishments, but he was most proud that Tony was a good father and a good man.