Completely AU!

"Come on, Tony," said the older man, "It's getting late and I have another meeting to get to."

"Yes, Sir," said the lad listlessly. He followed his companion down the path leading to the ordinary looking house.

The man didn't bother knocking but walked straight in. Tony looked around the house, but it was as unexceptional as the outside. They walked through the kitchen and down a flight of steps until they reached a solid wooden door,

"Seer Morrow … and companion," announced Morrow.

There was a brief pause and then they heard a well-oiled lock click and the door swung open noiselessly on equally well-oiled hinges. Morrow seemed to consider urging Tony to precede him but then decided to take the lead down yet another flight of steps.

A minute later, as they were still descending, Tony ventured to speak, "It's a long way down … Sir."

"Jethro's basement is renowned. Although," the Seer frowned, "It seems to have got even deeper since I was last here."

Eventually they emerged into a large, dimly lit space. Tony noticed first that it was lined with wooden shelves which seemed to be full of books, tools and jars. There were also a number of pictures of ships which, as he looked closer, were constantly changing to reveal the underlying structure of the boats. He blinked in confusion and then noticed that a silver haired man sat at a large work bench seemingly engrossed in a piece of wood which lay before him.

"Master Jethro Gibbs, we seek admission to your halls," said Seer Morrow formally.

"You are welcome," came the equally formal reply, "And peace be on your sojourn."

"Jethro," said Morrow less formally, "Good to see you again. It's been too long."

"Has it?" asked Gibbs sceptically.

"Perhaps not," acknowledged Morrow with a grin.

"Is this the boy?" asked Gibbs.

"It is. This is Anthony … although he prefers to be called Tony."

Gibbs nodded and directed a sharp blue-eyed stare at the boy. Morrow nudged Tony who jumped slightly before saying,

"Greetings, Sir."

"Don't call me Sir," directed Gibbs.

"No …" Tony trailed off as he realised he didn't know what to call Gibbs.

"Do you know why you're here?" asked Gibbs.

"Yes, Si- I am here so that you may teach me magic."

"I don't teach magic," said Gibbs sharply.

"I don't understand. Seer Morrow told me …"

"If you don't have magic within you," Gibbs leaned forward and jabbed a finger on Tony's chest, "If you don't have magic then I can't teach you," he looked across at the Seer, "Does he have magic?"

"Yes," said Morrow simply.

Gibbs returned his attention to Tony, "You will learn to use and control the magic within you. Do you understand?"

Tony nodded.

"How old is he?" asked Gibbs.

"Fourteen."

"Huh. Older than I'd expected."

"Is that a problem?"

"Not necessarily. May have learned some bad habits …" he directed another piercing stare at Tony who stared back. Tony was used to being told he had bad habits and was also used to adults talking about him as if he wasn't there; he had developed a blank stare which served him well in such situations.

"You agree?" asked Morrow.

"I don't go back on my word," said Gibbs stiffly.

"Then we proceed?"

"Hey," said Tony, deciding that perhaps the being talked over had gone on long enough, "Don't I get a say in this?"

"What do you want to know?" asked Gibbs.

"Well … what happens now?"

"You agree to become my apprentice. For 1000 days."

"And you teach me magic … I mean, I learn to use what is within me?" asked Tony.

"I don't teach – you learn." The blue-eyed stare was stern, and Tony swallowed anxiously.

The Seer put a hand on his shoulder, "Do you want to do this, Tony?" he asked gently.

"What happens if I don't?"

"Then … then, I fear that you go back to where you came from."

Tony looked stricken for a moment, "Then I guess I agree …"

"Excellent," said Morrow briskly, "We'll move to the ceremony."

"The ceremony?" asked Tony with a return to anxiety.

"The binding of an apprentice to a master. Master Gibbs will undertake to give you food and shelter for 1000 days and to ensure that you have opportunities to learn …"

"And what do I have to do?"

"Everything I tell you to," said Gibbs firmly.

Tony looked between Morrow and Gibbs and then closed his eyes. When he opened them, he appeared to have reached a decision.

"OK. Then let's get it done. The Seer has other places to be." There was something of a sigh in Tony's voice as he spoke; he was used to being simply an item on someone's agenda.

Gibbs produced a scroll of paper and waved his hand over it. The paper filled with words and a pen floated down from a shelf,

"Do you want to read it?" asked Morrow as he saw Tony look blankly at the document.

"Does it say what you said?" asked Tony. Morrow and Gibbs nodded. "Then I guess I trust you," shrugged Tony. He took the pen and signed where Gibbs indicated. Gibbs and Morrow both signed as well.

"Now," said Gibbs, "We need to clasp hands over the paper," he stretched out his hand to Tony who, after a brief hesitation, took the hand. Morrow put his own hand over the clasped hands and a beam of light shone down on to the paper.

"That's more binding than the signatures," he explained to Tony, "They can be faked or made under duress, but the spell will detect anything untoward in the hands."

Tony nodded uncertainly leading Morrow to wonder if he had somehow planned to wriggle out of the agreement. He sighed with sorrow at the thought of the path which had led the young lad to Gibbs' basement.

"Jethro is your Master now," he announced, "I believe it would be appropriate for you to address him in that manner."

"Yes, Sir and yes, Master," said Tony with a bow.

"I must go. As Apprentice Anthony has said, I have somewhere else to be. Master Jethro Gibbs, I commend Apprentice Anthony to your care. Apprentice Anthony, I charge you to be obedient to your Master in all things."

"Fair passage on all your journeys," said Gibbs to the Seer.

"And a blessing on your endeavours," replied Morrow, "And now, I suppose I had better begin to climb your dratted stairs!" He touched Tony on the shoulder once more and left.

Tony watched him go and then turned to face his new Master. He tried to look relaxed and unconcerned but felt his knees shaking.

"You're mine now," pronounced Gibbs.

The words sounded menacing but, oddly, Tony felt almost comforted by them. It had been a long time since he was anyone's.

"What do I do?" asked Tony.

"I told you – you do what I tell you."

"And what are you telling me to do?" asked Tony with a hint of impatience.

"First we'll eat. Then I will show where you are to sleep and then, tomorrow, we will begin."

"OK," said Tony cautiously, "Um, am I allowed to ask questions?"

"You just did."

"Am I allowed to ask questions that you'll answer?"

"I did answer."

"Is everything going to be a riddle?" asked Tony in frustration.

"No," said Gibbs deciding to take pity on his new apprentice, "You can ask questions, but I don't guarantee to answer them."

"Will you tell the truth?"

"Yes, I will. Will you?"

Tony hesitated, "I'll try to. It's not always easy."

"Why isn't it easy?"

Tony hesitated again, "Sometimes it is hard to know where truth lies," he said with something of a defiant look towards Gibbs.

Gibbs nodded; he wondered if there was more to Tony than met the eye. He didn't reply directly however but pointed Tony towards the shelves where dinner plates and bowls were stacked. Tony soon found out that the wooden worktable also served as their dining table. He sat expectantly, wondering what sort of food his new master would supply.

Tony was hungry and set to with relish, so it was not until they were halfway through the meal that it occurred to him that it was odd. They had started with some type of cold soup and then moved on to delicious steaks which were served with tomatoes, rice salad, egg mayonnaise, fish sticks and baked beans. The ice-cream served for dessert seemed ordinary enough until Tony detected that it had a distinct curry flavour. After a momentary hesitation he swallowed the mouthful he had taken and decided that it was odd but delicious.

Gibbs nodded when he saw Tony's plate was clean but didn't comment on the eccentricity of the food. "I'll show where you'll sleep," he said and led the boy to a small room off the workroom. Tony noted that it had a bed and a desk and little else and he thought it looked as if it had not been used for some time. "There's a bathroom through there," Gibbs nodded towards a door. Oddly, when Tony opened the door and went in, he found that the bathroom appeared to be brand new.

"Go to bed now," ordered Gibbs, "I'll wake you up in the morning."

Tony wanted to protest that it was too early for him to go to bed but a combination of tiredness and a suspicion that his protests would fall on completely deaf ears made him decide to conserve his energy for other fights. He soon tumbled into bed, expecting to spend a wakeful night as his overactive mind tried to make sense of what had happened but, in the event, he was asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

XXXXXX

Breakfast (at what Tony thought was probably a very early hour) consisted of waffles with an unidentifiable jelly of some sort, toast and quails' eggs. Gibbs also drank a large mug of coffee while giving Tony a choice of water or something which looked like blackcurrant juice but tasted of something completely different.

Tony braced himself when the meal ended, sure that he would now find out what being an apprentice involved.

"You watch and learn," announced Gibbs.

"What? I mean, what do I watch and learn?"

"When there are people here, you watch what I do and listen to what I say."

"OK. And what do I do when there's nobody here?" Somehow, Tony suspected there were few visitors to the strange basement.

"You read and learn the spell books." Gibbs gestured to the bank of books on the shelves. He waved a hand and a book lifted itself gently from its place and came to hover in front of Gibbs. He gave a somewhat impatient signal, the book bobbed as if in apology and went to hover in front of Tony instead. "Take it," ordered Gibbs.

Tony took the book, "Um, thank you," he said. The book trembled for a moment as if surprised at being thanked but then stilled as Tony began to turn the pages.

"When you're not listening and watching or reading the books, you'll keep this room clean and tidy," continued Gibbs, "I'll show you how to keep it tidy later."

Tony frowned as he wondered how difficult it would be to keep the room tidy.

"The Seer said you have magic," said Gibbs.

"Yes, Master."

"What magic have you controlled?"

"Not much."

"That wasn't my question."

"I've only deliberately done a paternity spell."

"Deliberately?"

"There's been other stuff that happened that people said happened because I've got magic in me."

"Hmm. And why did you do the paternity spell?"

"I wanted to check who my father is."

"It's a complex charm," observed Gibbs.

"It is?"

"Yes. Did it work? Did you control it successfully?"

"Maybe not."

"What do you mean?"

"I didn't know it was difficult," explained Tony. "So perhaps it didn't work," he looked surprisingly happy at the thought of possibly having failed.

"Why do you think it didn't work?"

"The mist cleared to show a picture of my father … I mean, the person I've been told is my father."

"Then it worked," said Gibbs cautiously.

"I guess," said Tony discontentedly, "I guess I hoped it wasn't true."

Gibbs blinked at this response but seemed to hear something from upstairs, "Clear the breakfast stuff away," he ordered, "We have a visitor."