Tony watched his baby sister as she ran up to their dad and leap at him. Tony smirked as he saw the man stumble back a few steps as he gracefully caught her. Mom had a few tears running down her cheeks in happiness at seeing her husband return home after being gone for a little over a year. Tony stayed back when mom went and greeted dad next. He could see that his dad needed a moment with his two girls. He knew they loved him as if he were their own, but Tony couldn't help but think that he made their lives harder by having him around. His thoughts, though, faded when his gaze caught his dad's. Something must've caught on his facial expression because the next thing Tony knew, dad was sitting Kelly down and pulling him into a hug. It was a hug that melted away all his fears. He buried his head into his dad's neck and held on for dear life.

…

Tony threw the football with Gibb's. His dad was dressed in an old USMC grey hoodie and gym shorts and tennis shoes. Tony wore his black fleece Under Armor hoodie and longer gym shorts and black tennis shoes. They'd been throwing the ball now for about twenty minutes, having gone on their five mile morning run together. Tony laughed as Gibb's made an exaggerated spin as if dodging someone before throwing the football to him.

"DADDY, DADDY! Can I play?" Kelly yells charging out of the house. Football was more of Tony bonding with dad, so Gibbs looked at his son in all but blood for his answer. Tony gave a small nod but couldn't help the smile when Kelly squealed in delight. For another fifteen minutes, Tony and Gibbs would play monkey in the middle, purposely failing to catch the ball of make a dramatic leap and dive for the ball that they purposely didn't catch, allowing Kelly to run and get the ball. That's how Shannon found her husband and kids, covered in the Fall leaves, laughing.

…

Tony was in the middle of a staring contest with one Kelly Gibbs. It was an unspoken agreement that whoever backed down first would be the one to tell dad about why he was missing a front door. Kelly narrowed her eyes in concentration, while Tony raised an eyebrow and tilted his head. Sure, he had the advantage being seven years her senior; he was fourteen while Kells was seven. In all fairness though, Kells telling dad why he was missing a front door would go over better than if he did. Kells had everyone wrapped around her finger, including him. However, self-preservation ruled out in his favor when it came to getting in trouble with either Gibb's parent.

The door story would have been funny had he not been there to take part in the blame. Tony was supposed to be watching Kelly and her best friend, Maddie Tyler. Now, Tony wasn't too fond of Maddie just for the fact that she was a bossy little girl with an attitude. Tony had a fear that Kells might adopt some of the only child's way of thinking and pull it off on either him or their parents. So far she hadn't, but still. The missing door really was Maddie's fault than anyone's. Apparently, Maddie thought that it would be alright for her and Kelly to use the door as a sled. How two seven year olds even knew out to unhinge a door and then have the strength to push it up the stairs at an angle, Tony really didn't know and he'd really rather not think about it. Luckily, Tony had come out of the kitchen with lunch just in time to snatch his baby sister off the door and literally 'kick' Maddie off to the side before the door sled down the stairs and broke. Maddie ended up crying when Tony went off on them. Maddie went home crying to her house and Tony hadn't seen her since. Thank God for small miracles. Tony did work himself in such a temper built out of fear and worry for Kells that he had yelled at her too, but she hadn't cried about it.

"You were suppose to be watching us" Kelly pointed out.

"No" Tony drawled at the start of blackmail, "I was supposed to watch you. I allowed you to have Maddie over because I knew you'd get bored. It was a kindness that I'll never repeat again. Especially if you're going to follow Maddie around like a lost duckling and not use your head!" Tony retorted. Kelly's eye's widen. She knew that he babysat her quite a bit and if she had to go without seeing Maddie during the duration of those times she'd be bored senseless, and she knew it.

"YOU CAN"T DO THAT!" Kelly says as if he had no choice but to obey her. Tony rolled his eyes.

"Watch me. Now, since I had to drop your lunch to stop you from sledding down the stairs on our front door, you get to go without until dinner and wait in your room until dad comes back and you can explain to him why there's no front door" Tony ordered. Kelly huffed and spun on her heel- in rather perfect military execution, Tony had to admit-before she stomped up the stairs but not before screaming:

"I HATE YOU" Tony winced rather harshly. That was the first time she'd ever told him that, ley alone screamed it.

"I didn't even know it was possible to slide down the stairs on a door" A voice said. Tony spun around and came face to face with one very not amused Marine. Tony gulped.

"I didn't hear you come in" Tony stalled. Gibbs raised an eyebrow.

"That's because there's no front door." Gibbs pointed out dryly.

Tony told Gibbs his side of the story while mom went up and talked to Kelly. Apparently, Tony wasn't the only one not amused by Maddie's idea. Tony had been busy making lunch for Kelly- and only Kelly, Maddie could go home to eat- and he'd stayed in the kitchen to watch the food. Shannon had a rule about leaving the kitchen while cooking, Tony was sure of it; he told dad this…which amused the older man to no end but reassured the young teen that their was indeed a rule. In the end, Kelly was grounded and Maddie wasn't allowed to come over for two weeks. That wouldn't matter anyway because Maddie's parents had grounded their daughter for a month after Mom went over and talked with them.

"Come on, Tony, we got a door to build" Dad says.

"You know they sell doors at the store, you don't have to build everything" Tony responded even as he made his way down to the basement with a bounce in his step. Helping dad with his projects was just another way for him to spend time with him.

…

Tony sat nervously in the school office. He took a deep breath and let it out. The school had called his dad to come get him, he'd be suspended for a week for fighting. In all honesty, it wasn't much of a fight. Stevie O'Bryan was a coward who'd swung first but got knocked out and now Tony was getting all the blame. He hated how everyone was blaming him just because he didn't get his ass kicked by Stevie. Stevie had been picking on him because he was adopted and how no one would want him. Tony had shrugged him off, he wasn't worth it, until Stevie swung at him for turning his back on him.

Tony looked up and saw Gibb with a thunderous expression. Oh, he did look pissed. Dad marched straight up to him and Tony snapped up from his seat and stood ramrod straight.

"Want to tell me what happen?" Gibbs asks, deadly soft.

"I defended myself, sir, but I may have hit harder than I thought because he got knocked out, sir" Tony answered honestly.

"Mr. Gibbs, please, the Principle would like to speak with you. However I can assure you that the fight didn't happen like that" Miss. Madison says in a sickly sweet voice. Gibbs eyed his son's mutinous expression before nodding his head. He believed his son.

"Go wait in the car" Gibbs ordered him. Tony nodded, glaring at the blond woman before retreating out of the office, slamming the door as he went.

"Do you have video that contradicts my sons side of the story?" Gibbs asks coldly. The woman flinched but led him to the principle.

"Principle Walker is reviewing the video now; but Tony is a big boy and Stevie is so small, it would hardly play out like Tony said. Besides, Stevie is such a sweet boy and Tony is, well, sort of a jock." Miss Madison explains. Gibbs clenched his teeth together and balled his hands into fist. Perhaps Shannon should have come and handled the school while he handled his son. He'd never been tempted to hit a woman, but he couldn't help but wonder if there was something going towards that stereotype about blonds.

"Enter" Gibbs heard Walker's voice after Madison knocked. Gibbs walked in and stood in front of Walker's desk before glancing over his shoulder at the video being played on the t.v screen behind him. It showed his son and another boy talking before Tony started to walk away. The other boy yelled something (No audio) and when Tony still didn't turn around, the boy charged his son before swinging at him. The video showed his son's reaction, deflecting the punch, grabbing the boys wrist and arm before shouldering him over and throwing the boy on the ground before sucker punching the kid in the face. That's when the boy went limp and Tony backed off. The TV screen showed teachers reacting and the campus police showing up; Gibbs could see Tony raising his hands high in the air and peacefully surrendering.

"Quite the boy you got there" Walker spoke for the first time, having dismissed Madison and allowing the man to watch the video he had just gotten. Gibbs turned.

"Miss. Madison seemed to believe that Tony initiated the fight and was the one bullying the other kid…" Gibbs says. Walker sighed.

"Miss. Madison, unfortunately, is friends' with the other boys parents. Stevie O'Bryan, according to witnesses, provoked your son by goading him with the fact that he is adopted. They were arguing for about five minutes before Tony got fed up with it and started to walk away. You saw what happen from there. The campus Police watched the video first and will be filing charges against Mr. O'Bryan and have the paperwork ready should you wish to charge the boy with assault?" Walker explained. He'd listened to the police when they brought Tony in, how he'd peacefully surrendered without giving an attitude and calmly explained what happen. After Miss. Madison tried to talk to him with an attitude, Tony had apparently went zip lipped and told the officer that he'd like to call his dad before he made any more comments. Walker would really need to do something about the office worker.

"No, no charges. The boy's parent's will be the ones to suffer if I brought them to court. Besides, I expect that this Stevie will be suspended if not expelled" Gibbs worded it more like a statement than a question. Walker nodded.

"Yes, unfortunately, so will Tony, for a week. The school has a zero tolerance policy." Walker explained after getting a death glare.

"My son defended himself, why should he be punished?" Gibbs asks stepping forward. Walker put his hands up. He agreed 100% with the man but he couldn't do anything.

"My hands are tied on this matter, Mr. Gibbs. The rules state that any student fighting will be suspended for a mandatory week." Walker explained. Gibbs was about to demand that he make Tony's suspension in school before he got a better idea.

"Alright," Gibbs says, "You have his homework?" Gibbs asks. Walker relaxed, glad that he wasn't going to have to fight with the man who was clearly a Marine.

"Actually, Tony's teacher have exempt him from HW assignments. They state that he's ahead of his class and that it would be pointless. However, his math teacher has been giving him coursework from the gifted program. She would like to talk to you personally to see about getting him into advance classes" Walker informed. Gibbs blinked in shock. His son was that smart? Gibbs nodded, pleased.

Tony sat in the car for about an hour wondering where the hell his dad went. He was talking himself into believing that he was in more trouble than he thought when his dad came out of no where and opened the driver's side door. Tony stared at his dad, expecting some sort of reprimand. When the silence continued, Tony began to fidget.

"You ever been to DISNEYLAND?" Gibbs asks suddenly. Tony blinked.

"No" Tony answered.

"Do you want to?" Tony blinked at his dad as if he'd gone mad. Gibbs looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. Tony wondered if this was some sort of trick, like, if he said yes then Gibbs might say something like 'then next time don't get into a fight'. Hesitantly, he nodded. Gibbs nodded back.

"Good, we got to go pick up your mom and little sister first"

"You're serious?" Tony asks.

"Oh, yeah…I'm proud of you, son" Gibbs said. Tony sat smiling for the rest of the way home. He didn't know why his dad was proud of him but he'd take it.

…

Gibb's stared at his son with fond amusement. His boy was stretched out on the floor beside Kelly's bed with a princess blanket draped half heartedly over him and a blues clues stuff toy being used as a makeshift pillow. Kelly was snuggled beside him, using his arm as a pillow and she was practically glued to her brother's side that she was covered with the blanket, never mind the warmth of Tony's own body. It wasn't the first time Gibb's caught his son in his daughter's room comforting her, nor the first where he fell asleep, but it was endearing all the same. Gibbs figured his baby girl had woken up from a nightmare and went to Tony and he probably ended up comforting her and snuggling with her till they both fell asleep. CLICK! Gibb's looked over at his wife who was grinning softly, having taken the kid's picture. Gibbs raised an eyebrow at her, but all she did was look back with innocence.

"You get to wake them up, you know" Shannon whispered.

"Why do I have to be the one to wake them?" Gibbs asks pouting. Shannon rolled her eyes.

"Because I don't want to ruin the moment" Shannon says as if it were obvious.

"And you think I do?" Gibbs asks. Both Gibbs stared at each other, waiting for one or the other to break. This was the sight Tony woke up to –he was a light sleeper but he'd been with the Gibb's for so long that he felt safe enough not to wake up every time Kells had to go 'pee'. Tony blinked tiredly before shaking Kelly awake. Kelly moaned and swatted her brother for disturbing her. Tony couldn't help but grin. Both Shannon and Gibb's watched as Tony tried to wake up his sister.

"Come on Kells, mom and dad are waiting for us" Tony called. Kelly rolled over with a sigh. Tony rolled his eyes before he did the one thing that was sure to wake up his sister. Gibbs raised an eyebrow as Tony got up, bent down and picked up his sister and carried her over to him. The next thing Gibb's knew if that he was being sniffed, before his baby girl woke straight up and launched at him.

"DADDY" Kelly squealed as if she'd never been asleep a minute before. Gibbs caught his baby girl and laughed at her antics.

"Just out of curiosity, how did you know that would work?" Mom asks. Tony smiled at his mom.

"Well, mom, when one smells the scent of old spice and sawdust, whom else would you think that particular scent could belong to?" Tony asks in a rather good British accent. Shannon raised eyebrow at her son.

"A very real Gunnery Sergeant?" Shannon asks causing Tony to grin.

"Exactly, have you ever heard of anyone sleeping when the gunny wants you awake?" Tony reasoned. Mom rolled her eyes.

"Plus, I've noticed that when dad holds her when she'd crying, he'll calm her down. I figured that it had to do with scent as well as vocal recognition…AND I saw this youtube video of a soldier that just returned home do the same thing with his kid." Tony informs. Shannon laughs.

"When do you even have time to watch video's, I never see you watch tv let alone go on a computer" Mom asks. Tony shrugs.

"TV is boring. Why would I watch something on a screen when I could be living it? Anyway, Kyle showed it to me last week after we played ball for a bit" Tony answers.

"That explains it. Well, come on, we have breakfast to eat and then Sunday cleaning" Mom orders lightly. Tony groaned.

"I made your favorite, steak and eggs with cheese grits" Mom offers. Tony raced down the stair to the kitchen, leaving behind a laughing mother who followed him down like a normal person.

…

He snuck out of his bedroom around 2300[11pm]. It wasn't that hard. Kelly went to bed at 2100[8pm] and his parents went to bed at 2200[10pm]. Besides, the front door was unlocked so he didn't have to worry about waking anyone if he had to have flicked the deadbolt. He jogged the few blocks over to Kyle's house and grimaced when he saw the party in full swing. This really was a dumb idea. He had told Kyle so the minute Kyle told him about his 'brilliant' idea. Kyle's parents were going out of town for the weekend, leaving Kyle by himself because he was old enough to be left alone…or so they thought.

"TONY!" Tony winced at the way Kyle pronounced his name [Toe-nay]. Tony zoned in on where Kyle was and jogged over to him.

"I didn't (hic) think you were comin'" Kyle slurred. Tony tensed, smelling the booze on Kyle's breath.

"I was going to try and talk you out of this stupid idea, man. I thought you planned for midnight?" Tony questions. Kyle grinned.

"What can I say, it just took a life of it's own." Kyle says, waving over at a girl who had just showed up.

"Look, Tony, this is a party! Have some fun! Drinks are in the coolers out back, help yourself!" Kyle says before leaving him to go greet another group of people. Tony wiped his face. The presence of alcohol just made the situation go from a 7 to a ten on the 1-10 scale.

About two hours later, Tony was watching drunk people try to dance with the loud music, yelling over one another trying to be heard. Tony was surprised the MP's hadn't been called yet. That was, however, until he was told [bragged to] about Kyle's neighbors being either away, overseas, or in Mrs. Bertha's case, tone deaf and more than likely sleeping.

"So are they all going to crash here?" Tony couldn't help but nag his friend, who was definitely drunk. If there could be a scale of 'passed' drunk, then it would be something along the lines of 'you'd be swimming if you wouldn't drown', which was what Kyle and more than half of the other people were.

"Nah, man, quite of few people are already leaving.'' Kyle informs shrugging. Tony hopped off the counter he'd been 'drunk watching' from and grabbed Kyle's shoulders.

"Kyle, they've been drinking! Why didn't you take their keys!?" Tony asks seriously. Kyle shrugged like it wasn't a big deal.

"YOU'RE A GOD DAMN IDIOT, KYLE" Tony yelled loudly. Tony thought fast…he climbed on top of the counter and whistled, gaining everyone's attention and the music to be turned off.

"Alright listen up! IF YOU PLAN ON CRASHING HERE FOR THE NIGHT, COUGH UP YOUR KEYS! IF YOU PLAN ON GOING HOME, COME FORWARD SO I CAN START CARPOOLING YOU GUYS HOME. WE DON'T WANT DRUNK DRIVERS" Tony yelled. He watched, rather nervously, as everyone looked at each other. Thankfully though, these were military brats and knew when to follow orders. Kyle, though, was paling with all the keys being shoved or tossed at him; looks like he was going to have a house full.

"Yo! You can use my truck to drive people home" A blond haired kid Tony recognized from his trig class, Brad, says handing over his keys. Tony looked like Christmas just came early.

"Thanks!" Tony says honestly. Brad nods at him before going over to the couch and flopping down on it with a 'dibbs'.

Stepping over about a dozen passed out kids, Tony started to carpool the drunk people home. He helped sneak them in to their houses without being caught, before he went back for the next batch. The one thing Tony knew about plans was that it never lasted first contact with the enemy. In this case, drunk people. Tony never had to deal with drunk people besides his father, and that right there made him paranoid around anyone who even smelled remotely of alcohol, with the exception of his dad- for whatever reason. Damion, a kid that he didn't really get along with, was drunk off his arse, decided to carpool with them so he could get home before his old man got up. Tony wasn't about to be a dick and deny the guy a ride, but he really didn't appreciate him talking a bunch of shit while sitting right next to him and constantly shoving him.

"Come on man, quit" Tony told him, just as he pulled up to Damion's house, right down the road from his own.

"'hat's the 'atter, pussy?" Damion taunted. Tony got out of the truck and opened the door for Damion.

"Let's go, you're drunk." Tony says, catching the idiot as he jumped out of the truck, causing him to stumble and almost fall.

"Get off me, bro! GET OFF ME!" Damion yells, climbing unsteadily to his feet. Tony backs off, not looking for a fight.

"Alright, man, you win. I'm going to go. Your house is right there, alright" Tony says pointing to Damion's house. Damion scrunches his face up in a snarl.

"'ou…think…I'm stupid?" Damion slurs motioning to himself with one hand.

"Nah, I think you're drunk" Tony retorts simply. What he wasn't expecting was Damion to swing at him. Sure they didn't like each other, but they'd never been hostile…until now. Tony took the hit without retaliation. His lip was busted but Damion was now sprawled on the ground, having lost his balance. He wasn't passed out…yet.

"You're a real jack ass, you know that" Tony sighed, man handling Damion up and carrying him to his porch.

"not…gonna…fight…back, bro?" Damion asks loopily, though there was smugness as if he just won the championship belt for the UFC or something.

"Nah, man, I got mad skills to beat your ass on the field. Besides," Tony says knocking loudly on the front door, "I think your old man would just love to see his son drunk off his ass at 0300" Tony says, smirking when he felt Damion tense. Tony heard the angry footsteps approaching and braced himself, along with Damion. The door swung open to reveal a tired, irritated Marine in boxers and a t shirt.

"What the Foxtrot[Fuck] is this Sierra[shit]?" Mr. O'Connor growls.

"Good Morning, Staff Sergeant." Tony greets politely. Tony watched the man take a deep breath, calming himself, before stepping out and actually looking at his son.

"He drunk?" Mr. O'Connor asks him.

"NO!" Damion says trying to stand on his own.

"Yes, sir." Tony replies when Mr. O'Connor ignores his son and looks to him for an answer. Short, to the point, simple. Mr. O'Connor nods his head before taking his load, thank you God, by the armpits.

"Wait here" Mr. O'Connor orders, manhandling his drunk son into the house. From where Tony waited, he could see Damion being dropped rather roughly on the couch. Mr. O'Connor comes back out.

"My good for nothin' son give you that busted lip?" Mr. O'Connor asks, though to Tony he sounded like he already knew the answer.

"I tripped, sir, on some stairs." Tony lied. Mr. O'Connor raised an eyebrow at the crappy lie- he really did suck at lying- but he nodded his head anyway.

"Your old man raised you right, boy. What're doing with my son? You drinking too?"

Tony groaned at the '21' questions. He was tired, his lip was throbbing, he had a few more loads of drunk people to get home, his dad would wake at 0400, he really didn't want to deal with this.

"No, sir, I haven't been drinking. I merely gave Damion a ride home, sir" Tony answered.

"…" For a moment, Mr. O'Connor studied him. "You Gibbs' boy?" Tony felt himself stiffen. Mr. O'Connor smirked slightly, despite being woken up so early because of his drunken son.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'. Come on, I'll bring you home and return Lt. Daniels son's truck to his father, yeah I know whose truck that is. I take it you were carpooling some other drunk kids as well?" Mr. O'Connor questions knowingly.

"I'm dead" Tony groaned. Mr. O'Connor snorted.

"Wait right here, I'm going to go get my wife to keep an eye on Damion. God forbid that boy throw up and drown on it" Mr. O'Connor sighs. Tony nodded his head. He'd wait…to be taken to his doom!

Tony led Mr. O'Connor into the house and invited him to the kitchen.

"Would you like anything to drink, sir?" Tony offered. Mr. O'Connor shook his head, now wearing some clothes. Tony licked his lip before slowly making his way to his parent's room. He was SO dead. Gulping, he knocked very gently on the door and waited. He didn't want to wake his mom if he didn't have to. Dad would hear the knock, though. He'd learned that his dad would wake up if he tried to sneak but he had more of a chance if he was just quiet instead. Sure enough, he heard the bed creak softly before padded feet approached the door. The door opened to reveal his dad [with bedhead hair and squinty eyes]. His dad stepped out of the room and gently closed the door. Tony gulped when dad gave him the 'explain' look as he saw the busted lip and blood.

"Staff Sergeant O'Connor is in the kitchen. He wants to talk to you" Tony informed but didn't actually explain. Gibbs narrowed his eyes.

"You in trouble?" Dad asks. Tony hesitated.

"Probably just with you" Tony admits. Tony watched as his dad studied him before leading them to the kitchen. Vaguely Tony couldn't help but think what kind of hell he just entered.

"Staff Sergeant" Dad greets tiredly.

"Gunny" Mr. O'Connor rose to his feet and shook dads hand before they both sat down on some unspoken signal. Tony shifted from foot to foot restless.

"Grab an ice pack from the freezer, Tony" Dad told him, which he obeyed instantly.

"What's going on, Ryan?" Tony heard his dad asks. Mr. O'Connor sighs deeply before he tells dad everything he know, including his suspicions of him carpooling drunk people from a party that he didn't know the location to. For about two minutes, Tony tried to resist the Gibbs glare.

"Mind telling me what the hell you were thinking, Tony? You don't even have a license" Dad demands to know quietly, neither wanting to wake the girls. Tony swallowed and uttered the only phrase he could think of-

"Semper Fi?"

Dad pinched the bridge of his nose while Mr. O'Connor face palmed; neither Marine could knock the 'explanation'.

"You should have called me" Dad states simply after a moment. Tony deflates, yeah he should have. Leave it to dad…

"He says he didn't drink any, but…" Mr. O'Connor trailed off with a frown when Dad winced slightly.

"No, he wouldn't have. I doubt he would have gone at all if he knew there'd be alcohol," Dad states. Tony couldn't help but nod his head in agreement. Dad gives me a questioning look, silently asking how I was holding up; being around drunk people had grated on his nerves but he didn't have any flashbacks.

"I'm good," Tony whispers. Dad studies him before nodding.

"Alright, let's go" Dad says, standing.

"Carpool duty fell on us, huh?" Mr. O'Connor groans as he mock stretches.

"Yep" Dad states simply before turning to me.

"I suggest you get some sleep, you've got your day cut out for you when I get back" Dad warns. Hell, I tell you, hell.

"Yes, sir" Tony ducks his head setting the ice pack in the sink.

"Wrap it in a dish towel and take it with you" Dad orders. Tony sighs but grabs a towel and the ICE pack. Dad blocks his path to his room, making him actually look at him. His dad looked tired, but alert. He didn't look too pleased but- Dad smacked the back of his head- rather gently actually- before pulling him into a hug.

"You did good, you should have called, but you did good" Dad tells him softly. Tony grins.

"Let's go old man" Mr. O'Connor calls. Dad releases him with a roll of his eyes.

"OI, DAD!" Tony whisper yells, causing both men to look at him. Tony gave his dad a pointed- if not horrified, look.

"What?" Dad finally asks.

"You're not actually going out like that are you?!" Tony asks, motioning to his dad's boxers and t-shirt. Dad gave him an evil look before turning back to the door. Tony heard Mr. O'Connor laughing all the way out the door. [Conveniently, he forgot that his dad had a go bag in his truck and therefore actually had clothes]

…

Tony stumbled slightly as he carried Kelly on his back. Kelly was stifling her crying on his back while gripping him as tightly as he could. They'd gone to the park to give their parents some time alone before dad deployed again. They went to one off base, it had some slide Kelly really wanted to play on. Tony didn't know there was tension between the base kids and the local public, if he had, he never would have gone.

He'd been playing ball with a few of the locals, hitting it off rather well, while keeping an eye on Kells as she laughed and played. Well, some of the other kids started to pick on her so Tony went over to talk to Kells, she if she wanted to just shoot some hoops with him and the other guys, they were willing. However, his approach was taken as a threat and a bunch of other kids had rallied together and started throwing insults at them. The guys he was playing ball with tried to diffuse the situation but it didn't work. One of the little kids got so caught up with negativity that he just slugged his sister. Tony only had enough time to cover his sister with his own body before the crowd started in on him. It was a group mentality, escalated by what looked to be an eight year old. He heard a few of the guys he'd played with yelling, some threatening to call the cops while a few others tried to get the other park kids to stop kicking him. It wasn't working too well. If felt like forever, holding onto Kells for dear life and shielding her, before parents showed up out of no where and started yelling. The arrival of angry parents did the trick. The kids all started to run or walk warily towards their screaming parents.

"Are you alright man?" David, one of the guys he'd been playing with ask with a hand on his shoulder. Tony hesitantly rose from his terrified sister, nodding despite the black dots in his vision.

"I'm going to take my sister home. If you want to play ball, there's a park on base on Elm. Street." Tony offered. David nodded, producing his number form out of nowhere before helping him stand.

"Want any help back? I can walk you" David offered. Tony shook his head.

"Nah, but thanks. I don't do first dates" Tony grinned despite the pain he was in. Davis barked out a laugh before seeing him off.

Now, walking down the last block to their house, Tony was feeling the effects of the impromptu beating. He had to have the worst luck. He knew there was something wrong all the way back, stumbling off balance and black blotches in his vision were never a good sign. If felt like he'd just gotten out of a beating with his father. His ribs hurt, his face hurt, his body was like a massive bruise. He stood in front of his house for a few minutes, trying to convince himself to move, but his legs weren't obeying him. In fact, he got the distinct impression that he was about to lose all control. Gently, he set Kells down. She was still slightly crying but had calmed down immensely since leaving the park.

"Tony?" Kells asks worriedly. Tony opened his mouth to reassure her but his world pitched, and apparently so did he. The only thing he heard was her scream but it went dark.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Tony groaned lowly at the noise he recognized as a heart rate monitor. He felt a hand in his, it was soft and tender like his moms.

"mom" Tony whispered softly. His throat felt dry.

"Hey sweetheart, you gave us quite a scare" Mom says. Tony took a moment to actually look at her. She looked worried and exhausted, but also angry. Suddenly it all came back, the beating, protecting Kells, walking home and then…nothing. Where was Kelly? Was dad with her? Did something happen to her?! He suddenly sat up, looking around the room. When he didn't find what he was looking for he started to undo-expertly- the wires and right as he got to the I.V he felt mom trying to retrain him. His heart rate monitor was going berserk.

"Tony! Stop, you're going to hurt yourself" Mom tried to reason. Tony was breathing harshly. His mind coming up with all sorts of possibilities of what might have happened to his little sister and the reason why dad wasn't in the room. He mindless tried to get out od bed, convinced that if he did, he could find Kells.

"What's going on here!?" A women in scrubs asks as she too came in and tried to hold him down.

"GET OFF! Mom! WHERE'S KELLS!?" Tony didn't realize he was yelling, or why breathing became so hard.

"WE NEED SOME HELP IN HERE!" The nurse yelled. Several orderlies and nurses rushed in, along with a doctor.

"Get the restraints, one of you prep .5cc of-"

"Move" a voice, a simple gruff word, spoken with the air of command that stilled almost everyone in the room. Tony didn't see what was going on, his vision was in a whirlwind, his breathing was panicked and he was mumbling non sense.

"Sir, your son is having a panic attack, he's ripped the wires off and he's trying to go for his I.V" The doctor tried to explain.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs glared at the young doctor while handing his coffee to his wife. He brush past the others and went up to his son. Grabbing the back of his neck, Gibbs leaned over to his son's ear.

"Calm down, Tony. Kelly's safe. You're safe. I've got you both. Calm down, son, everything's alright" Instantly, there was an effect on his son. He calmed significantly.

"Lay down, son, let these kind nurses hook you up." Gibbs ordered his son softly. Everyone watched in awe as Tony obeyed the Gunnery Sergeant.

"Where's Kells?" Tony asks, tired. His left eye was swollen shut, but it looked better than what it did when Gibbs first found his son passed out on his lawn.

"She's sleeping down the hall. Grandpa's looking after her." Gibbs informed, causing a frown to appear on his son's face.

"How long…have I been…here?" Tony asks. Gibbs watched his son. He was tense around all these people, the people who were slowly but steadily clearing out.

"Three days" Gibbs answered.

"Can I go home now?" Tony asks.

"Not yet, but soon" Gibbs promised, knowing how much his son hated hospitals. Tony nodded, his eye closing as exhaustion took it's effect, allowing his son to sleep.

"You didn't tell him he was in a coma." Shannon pointed out. Gibbs shook his head. Not even he was ready to actually deal with all this.

Both he and Shannon were enjoying some time together when they heard Kelly's scream. It was a parent's worse fear, to hear that sort of scream. They'd raised both their kids only to yell or scream if they were in danger. Gibbs and Shannon had raced out of the house. He saw Kelly shaking the down form of his son while sobbing. He saw his neighbors coming out with worried looks, which some turned to horror as they saw his son.

"Tony?" Gibbs called, gently turning his son over to rest on his back. The sight he was greeted with not only angered him, but scared him. If you've ever seen the damage done to someone after being jumped by multiple people, you would understand the sight that greeted him.

"Ah hell, Tony" Gibbs whispered. There was no twitch, only breathing.

"I've called the MP's, they've got an ambulance on the way." Riley Henderson told him. Gibbs nodded, glancing over to his wife who was comforting Kells.

"She tell you anything?" Gibbs asks. Shannon had a crease in her brow, and an angered look.

"All she said was that a bunch of kids jumped Tony. Apparently, they didn't like military kids." Shannon informed.

"A hate crime?" Ryan O'Connor asks incredulously from where he kneel beside his son. Gibbs stared at his son, keeping constant contact with him to reassure himself that he was still breathing. Shannon felt tears falling down her face as she watched her husband and son. How could this happen?

"Bus is here as well as the MP's" Henderson calls.

Gibbs sighed, watching his son sleep in his hospital bed. The last three days had been busy. The kids that did this got a slap on the wrist as well as fines. Those that were responsible for 'excessively' injuring his son were being made to pay the hospital bill and do community service. For three days, his son was in a coma from his brain swelling. Three days, he feared the worst.

"You should get some rest, honey" Shannon told him softly. Gibbs rubbed his thumb on Tony's hand and nodded but didn't move. He vowed to never let something like this happen again to his son. Meeting his wife's gaze, it was a promise they shared.