Protecting Gibbs

Chapter 59

A couple of days later, Charity was returning home from work, for once later than the guys. when she arrived home it was after dark and AJ was sound asleep. The guys had ordered pizza, deciding to give Charity a break, after her long day at work.

When she walked in the door, Charity laid AJ in his bassinet and then plopped down on the couch between her father and Tony. "Rough day?" Tony inquired, picking up a piece of pizza and placing it on a paper plate, which he then handed to Charity.

"Yeah." She answered. "I think Memaw is getting sick, so now I have to find a babysitter for AJ. I made an appointment to take Memaw to her doctor tomorrow."

"We can take him to work with us tomorrow." Gibbs said. "Abby can watch him if we have to go out in the field."

"She would love that." Tony said.

"That would be great." Charity said, before taking a bite of her pizza. After she had finished eating, Charity looked over at AJ. "I had better get him in his pjs and in bed."

"Nope." Tony said.

Charity looked over at Tony. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying you had a very rough day, so you go take a nice long soak in the tub and I will take care of AJ." Tony answered.

Charity grinned at him. "Okay, but check on me every so often to make sure I didn't fall asleep and drown."

"Okay, I will." Tony said, with a grin.

Charity leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "You are the best." Then she got up and headed to the bathroom.

Tony stood up and walked over to the bassinet. AJ's eyes were open and he was laying there just looking up at the ceiling with a grin on his face. Tony smiled down at his son. He picked AJ up in his arms started to head for the stairs.

"You're doing a good job, Tony." Gibbs said.

Tony turned around in surprise. "What was that boss?"

"You're doing a good job." Gibbs answered.

"At what?"

"This family thing." Gibbs replied.

"Thanks boss." Tony said, a small smile on his face. Then he turned and headed up the steps. Once he was in their room, Tony found one of AJ's sleepers and changed him out of his day clothes and into the pjs. Then he grabbed a pacifier and laid AJ in his crib. He popped the pacifier in AJ's mouth and tucked him in under his favorite blanket. He bent over and kissed AJ's forehead. Then he reached a hand in and rubbed AJ's tummy. "Good night buddy. Daddy loves you."

AJ smiled around his pacifier and cooed at his father. Then he rubbed at his eyes with his hands. His little eyelids closed and his breathing soon became the rythmic tempo of sleep. Tony stood and watched AJ for a few minutes. Then he picked up the baby monitor. He placed one close to AJ and he took the other in his hand. He headed down the steps and into the bathroom.

Charity was lying back in the tub filled with water and bubbles. Her hair was up in a sloppy bun so that it wouldn't get wet. Her eyes were closed as she relaxed in the warm water. Tony could still see a hint of worry in her face. He placed the baby monitor on the sink and walked over to take a seat on the edge of the tub.

"Would you like a massage to help you relax?" He asked.

Charity smiled, her eyes still closed. "That would be lovely." She answered.

Tony gently placed his hands on her shoulders and began to massage them. "You're very tense tonight. Are you worried about Memaw?"

Charity let out a sigh. "You can read me like a book."

"What's wrong?"

"That woman is normally as strong as an ox, but today she seemed off." Charity answered. "She seemed weaker and she actually needed me more. Normally she can do things fine on her own, but not today. She was also just not feeling well at all. She even looked like she wasn't feeling like herself."

"I'm sure she probably just has some sort of virus." Tony said, trying to comfort Charity. He knew how fond she was of Memaw. "Or a cold or something."

"I don't know." Charity said.

"Well, from what you've told me about her, maybe she has mono." Tony replied, trying to make a joke about "the kissing disease."

A small smile cracked Charity's face. "Maybe. A new young trainee has been shadowing Sherry for a few weeks now. Maybe Memaw got her some young stuff."

Later that night, Charity snuggled up with Tony in bed. She felt comfort in his embrace, however she couldn't shake the worry she had for Memaw, nor the dreadful feeling that something terrible was about to happen. She ended up falling into a restless dreamless sleep that night.