Email: slashgirl@gmail.com

Warnings: Slash ; m/m, threesome m/f/f

Notes: Continuation of Bright Blessings. If you haven't read that story, it might help, it gives the background. Antonia DiNozzo is Anthony's niece; her parents died before she was a year old. Tony and Gibbs were given custody of her.

I have no idea what NCIS (ie the gov't) gives for maternity leave, I also have no idea if they'd allow a job share. For the purposes of my fic they do.


Bright blessings 2
by Stacy L.A. Stronach
July 2004

"Daddy Ro!"

Jethro Gibbs smiled as his almost three-year old daughter, Antonia, came running out the door, her long, dark blonde hair flying out behind her. He picked her up, giving her a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Hey, darlin', how're you?" he asked, carrying her into the house.

"I'm good," she answered, her little arms wrapping around his neck. Jethro swallowed hard, her absolute love and trust in him always made his heart swell. He never imagined how much he could love a child and he knew he was blessed by having Antonia in his life.

"I'm home," Jethro called out.

Tony came out of the kitchen and walked over to Jethro and Antonia. Sliding his arm around Jethro's waist, Tony then leaned in to kiss his lover. After a few seconds there was giggling from Antonia. They broke the kiss, and Tony tickled her. "What were you laughing at, pipsqueak?"

"Nothin'," she answered as Jethro lowered her down. She ran off down the hall, still laughing.

"Go wash your hands, supper's ready," Tony called after her. He helped Jethro off with his coat and hung it up. "How was work?"

"Relatively quiet day," Jethro answered, but Tony could tell something was bothering his lover. He didn't press; he knew Jethro would tell him when he was ready to. "After supper, I'm gonna work on the boat," Jethro said.

Tony nodded his understanding. Now he was positive something had happened, something Jethro obviously needed to think about. He wished he'd been at work today, but it wasn't his day.

Shortly after Antonia had been born, Cait Todd had found out she was pregnant. Tony shook his head, not understanding how Tim McGee handled being in a relationship with Cait and Abby…although the voyeuristic opportunities were probably quite good, he thought, grinning. The end result was that Cait had given birth to a baby girl, Sophia, just before Tony and Jethro had been awarded custody of Antonia. She'd taken maternity leave, but didn't want to return to work full time--she'd approached Tony about doing a job share for two or three years.

Tony and Jethro had both liked the idea, as they didn't want to have Antonia constantly in day care. Doing the 50/50 job share thing worked out for everyone. It let Cait and Tony keep involved in NCIS but also allowed them to spend time with their children. It had also allowed Tim McGee to join their team, which suited Cait and Abby quite well. Whenever Jethro, Tony, and Tim had to stay away for an investigation, Cait and Abby would look after Antonia for them. Tony had been surprised how well the job share had worked out, overall.

He dished out the food for himself and Antonia, letting Jethro serve himself. Antonia came in and sat down in her chair. She was tall for her age so she didn't need a booster seat to sit at the table anymore.

Jethro looked at her. "I swear she's grown another inch today."

Tony laughed. "Nah, I think she's the same height. She just takes after the DiNozzos--we're a tall crowd. I was tall when I was her age, too," he said, reaching over to wipe sauce off his daughter's face.

Jethro smiled, watching his family. He never thought he'd have his own family; he'd certainly never managed it with any of his wives. He looked at Tony, who seemed to be in his element, having him and Antonia to look after. Having a child had matured DiNozzo in many ways, but he still retained much of what Cait and Abby called his "boyish charm". And he and Cait still played off each other like siblings.

They finished supper, casual conversation flowing, Antonia telling Jethro about all of her adventures that day. When dinner was finished, everyone took his or her dishes over to the sink.

"Papa T, can I go watch Dora?" Antonia asked. It was her usual after supper routine to watch Dora the Explorer then the Looney Toons but her fathers expected her to ask before watching television.

"Yeah, go on," Tony answered. He watched while Jethro rinsed the dishes, loading them into the dishwasher then starting the machine. When the older man was done, Tony pulled him into an embrace, capturing Jethro's mouth for a passionate kiss. They explored each other's mouths, drawing the kiss out.

Jethro broke the kiss, smiling broadly at Tony. "Don't start something we can't finish, lover," he said.

Tony laughed. "Go on, go play with your boat, I'll put the munchkin to bed tonight," he offered.

"I'll come up to give her a kiss goodnight," Jethro said, giving Tony a quick peck on the cheek before he headed for the basement.

Forty-five minutes later, Jethro went upstairs to help put Antonia to bed. He frowned when he heard the TV still on; usually, Tony would shut it off before taking Antonia up to bed. Jethro peeked into the living room and he smiled at the scene he found. Tony was sound asleep on the recliner with Antonia, dressed in her nightgown, sound asleep on his lap with her head on his chest. They looked so much alike; Antonia was a feminised, smaller version of Tony. It was the little things like this that reminded him what a lucky bastard he was.

Gently pushing the hair off Tony's forehead Jethro leaned down and placed a soft kiss there. The younger man's eyes fluttered lazily open and Tony smiled when he saw Jethro standing there. "Hey," he whispered, realising Antonia was asleep.

"Hey yourself. I came up to tuck her in and found a couple 'Sleeping Beauties'. I'll take her up and put her to bed," Jethro said. Tony nodded his agreement. When their daughter was anywhere near sleepy (or asleep) she'd invariably wake up if Tony tried to carry her but she rarely woke up when it was Jethro carrying her. He'd often wondered about that, but since he always felt better with Jethro's arms around him, he figured it shouldn't be too surprising that Antonia felt the same way.

Tony followed them upstairs, watching quietly from the doorway as Jethro tucked their daughter in, making sure she had her favourite stuffed animal and that the nightlight was on. Once Jethro was satisfied things were done, he place a gentle kiss on Antonia's cheek before leaving her bedroom. Normally, they'd read to her before she went to sleep, but he escaped that duty tonight.

He closed the door behind him making sure it didn't latch as Antonia sometimes had nightmares and hated having her door shut all the way.

Tony hugged Jethro. "You know what this means? The kid's asleep, we can get some nooky, sound good?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

Jethro laughed and looked at Tony, eyebrow raised. "Nooky?"

"Yeah, you know, some hot lovin', making out, the ol' slap and tickle--"

Jethro cut Tony off by kissing him and sliding his tongue into Tony's mouth. Tony responded instantly opening his mouth to Jethro and wrapping his arms around his lover. When they finally pulled apart to breathe, Tony grinned. "I love it when you take charge," he whispered huskily. "Let's take this to the bedroom, babe."

"Right behind you," Jethro said, following Tony into their bedroom.


**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**


The next morning, Tony and Antonia sat in the living room, eating their breakfast and watching Sunday morning cartoons. Jethro had gone into the office for a couple hours, to tie up some loose ends on a recent case.

"Papa T, how long til my birthday?"

"Six days."

"Am I going to have a birthday party?"

"Well, have you been a good girl all year? You know Santa doesn't bring birthdays unless you're nice," Tony replied, grinning. He loved teasing her.

Antonia sighed and gave him what Tony called her "Gibbs glare". Even at three, she had a "don't feed me that bullshit" look that was pure Gibbs. "Papa, I want a party and Santa is for Christmas!"

He ruffled her hair. "Don't worry, sweetie, you're having a party. We're going to write up the invitations this afternoon so you can give them to your friends at day care tomorrow. Now, I know you want to invite Sophia, who else?"

Antonia thought for a few minutes. "I want Adam, Josh, Siobhan, and Leigh."

"Sounds good, when you finish watching your cartoons, we'll get started on the invitations, okay?"

"Okay!"

**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**

Not quite a week later, Tony and Abby were helping the children at the party play some games and loving every minute of it. Jethro was manning the kitchen and he had help from Cait and Tim. They were getting hamburgers and French fries ready to serve to the kids.

There was a knock on the kitchen door, so Tim went over to open it. Ducky and Gerald came into the house. Ducky was carrying a present, while Gerald had the birthday cake he'd made for Antonia. "We've arrived, let the party start!" Ducky joked. He greeted those assembled in the kitchen before heading off to see what sort of fun the kids were having.

Gerald smiled after his lover, the older man was most certainly a kid at heart. He set the cake on the counter and put the candles on it.

Cait came over and looked at the cake. "Oh, Gerald, that's nice. I'm definitely getting you to make the cake for Sophia's next birthday."

He smiled. "Hey, you know I'd love to."

There was sudden commotion at the doorway between the kitchen and dining room. Tony dragged himself in, Antonia hanging on one side of him, Sophia Todd on the other. Sophia had dark hair and a complexion like her mother's but her eyes were as blue as her father's. Tony made a groaning noise, "Ooooh….where's the food, these kids are starving and they won't let go of me until they're fed."

"The crowd in here is getting rowdy, too," Abby hollered from the table, where she was helping the other children settle down at their places.

"The food's coming along right now," said Jethro, picking up the platter with the hamburgers on it.

"And little girls who aren't sitting at the table won't get fed," Tim said, teasing the girls. He picked up the tray with the condiments on it following Jethro into the other room.

Antonia and Sophia let go of Tony, running full speed into the dining room. They quickly sat down at the table.

Gerald, Tony, and Cait followed the other men into the dining room. Tony wrapped an arm around Cait. "Ya know, I don't know how Tim's survives, surrounded by so many women," he teased.

Cait laughed. "Oh, his three older sisters have him well trained. And you know, Tony, there was a time when you would've been drooling to be surrounded by so many women," she teased back.

Tony laughed. "Yeah, well, that was before I found my true love," he said, nodding toward Gibbs. "He really didn't want to share me, so I had to take my wonderfulness off the market."

Cait laughed at him, swatting him on the stomach before sitting down between Abby and Tim.

An hour later, Antonia and Jethro were outside, saying good-bye to her friends as their parents came to pick them up. Antonia thanked them all for their presents, without much prompting from Jethro. When they'd waved good-bye to everyone, he picked her up and took her back into the house. "So, did you have a good birthday, darlin'?"

"Yep, it was so much fun, I loved it!" she planted a kiss on Jethro's cheek. He grinned.

Once they were inside, Jethro set her down. "Why don't you and Sophia go play with some of your new toys, okay? I'm gonna help clean up." Antonia did as her father suggested, and ran off to find her friend.

By the time he got to the kitchen, the other adults had everything cleaned up. He grabbed a beer from the fridge and went into the living room where the others were. When he walked he, he saw Tony trying to hand a beer to Abby.

"Want a beer, Abs?" Tony asked.

She made a face, and said, "Nah, I'll pass, thanks anyway."

Tony started to walk away but then he turned around and looked at her, his eyes narrowed. "You don't want a beer, what's wrong? You never turn down a brew. You're not driving cus Tim told me he was…" Tony paused, his mind thinking about the problem. A big grin spread over his face. "Oh, you're not, are you?"

Abby didn't answer right away and she looked to Cait for guidance. Cait waved her hand and laughed. "You may as well tell him, won't be able to hide it much longer anyway."

"I was right! You're pregnant, aren't you?! How far along are you?"

"Yeah, I am," she replied, her eyes sparkling with joy. "I'm 13 weeks, give or take a week or so."

Tony wrapped her in a big hug. "Congratulations, Abby! This is cool," he said. The others offered their congratulations as well. Tony grinned at Tim. "You sly old dog, you!" he teased.

Tim, who had, over the past few years become much more self confident, joked back. "You bet I do, DiNozzo!" Everyone laughed.

**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**

Later that night, Tony sat on the edge of Antonia's bed, and finished reading her a story. When he was done, she was sound asleep, a slight flush on her pale skin, her long hair in a braid over her shoulder. Tony stroked her face, before leaning in to place a soft kiss on her cheek. "Sleep tight, princess," he whispered. He sat there a couple more minutes, just watching her sleep. Some days, he couldn't believe how lucky he was; he had a man who loved him and a wonderful daughter. He felt a twinge of regret and sadness that his brother and sister-in-law weren't here to see their daughter grow up. Tony knew there was nothing he could do about it, but if he could, he would. If he had someway of bringing them back, he'd do that for his daughter.

He jumped when Jethro's hand slid over his shoulder, grasping it. "Deep thoughts?" he whispered.

"Yeah, kinda. I was just thinking…I wish Alex and Kara were here to see her," he answered. Neither man spoke for a moment. "But she's a damn lucky kid, she has us," Tony said.

"Damn right. C'mon, we should let her sleep," Jethro said, taking Tony's hand as they walked out of the room.

Once they'd closed her door, Tony hugged Jethro. "I was also thinking about how lucky I was to have you in my life."

"Damn right," Jethro answered, before kissing the love of his life.

//**the end**\\