— The story and any possible original characters are mine. NCIS, its own characters and canon aren't. —

The beginning is kind of NCIS/Goldilocks And The Three Bears fusion, but there are no crossovers.

Leo

It was a beautiful day and yet, looking as if the devil himself was after him, eight-year-old Tony ran for his life. His once fine clothes were in shreds, he wasn't wearing any shoes and he was covered in cuts and bruises, some from running through the thick forest and some from that monster with scary eyes. A monster who went by the name 'father', or 'sir' in most cases.

Feeling tightness in his chest, the boy Tony finally stopped running and fell down on his knees, gasping for his breath. He was hungry, lost and first time outside his father's reach. With the adrenaline now gone, he was also tired and he had no idea how long he'd been running. All he knew was that he left that house while it had still been dark outside. For a very long time indeed, he realized, as he looked around for the first time since running away. There were no people anywhere near his sight and no houses either; most importantly, no mansions, big gardens and servants. Only trees, blue sky and some sunlight peeking through the trees and green roof of the forest. It was almost silent, if not for the birds singing and trees moving with the wind.

A small tree branch fell on the ground, startling Tony and he got up on his shaky feet and started running again, afraid that he would never find his way out. Seeing more light coming from between the trees, he let his feet take him there and finally left the forest behind.

The first thing he saw was a small house, which was so tiny compared to the place he lived in. His own bedroom was bigger than that. Feeling wary, Tony kept glancing around as he slowly approached the house. As big as the mansion fit for a king was, he had never liked it. There was something so warm and inviting about this place though. "People who live here must be really nice," he wondered out loud, with a small child's awe who had discovered something new and wonderful.

Not knowing it might be rude, Tony stood on his toes as he tried reaching the door handle to let himself in. He was small, so it wasn't easy. After few trials, he finally managed to open the door, which wasn't locked. Pushing the door open, the boy was in awe again. There was no fancy furniture, no heavy curtains covering the windows. No paintings with golden frames, with angry and serious looking people staring back at him. Just like the house, all the furniture was solid wood, beautifully and skillfully made. Flower curtains framed the windows and colorful rugs on the floor felt nice against Tony's cut feet. He didn't notice he was bleeding on the floor, ruining one very beautiful rug.

"Hello?" Tony and his voice shook. No one answered him though, so he kept exploring the little house.

In the tiniest kitchen he had ever seen, something smelled good. Big pot of that something was on the stove, but there was no way he could see what was in it. As he was about to take one of the chairs in the kitchen, to help him out with his burning curiosity and hunger, he noticed three bowls of something on the table. Climbing on one of the chairs, he looked inside; it was porridge, which his father would have declared as 'poor people's food' and thrown aside. Two of the bowls were big, but the third was small, which had to belong to a child like him. Tony frowned thoughtfully as he stared at the porridge. He was hungry and the last time he had eaten was two mornings ago, before his father came home, angry and drunk again.

Shaking away the memory, Tony hesitated for a moment before he took the spoon made of wood and tasted that mysterious food. It was so good, and even better when he was so hungry that he was pretty sure he could eat anything if given the chance. Afraid he'd upset the people living in the house by eating all their food, Tony with his child's logic took only a couple of spoonfuls from the two biggest bowls. Watching the small one, he hesitated, thinking how hungry this other child must also be. He took the small spoon in his hand and hesitated again before taking half a spoonful. Satisfied that he would be able to wait just a little bit longer for his next proper meal, he hoped the owners of this house wouldn't be too angry.

On his way out, Tony stopped at the front door. He couldn't leave like that, could he? Curiosity taking hold of him, the little boy turned around and went to explore the house.

Just like the kitchen, the living room was tiny. It had almost too big fireplace for that space and Tony couldn't help but wonder what it must be like living in here, sitting on the floor and staring at the fire playing in there. He wondered what it would look like. In the mansion there were plenty of fireplaces, big enough for him to be thrown in. Remembering the drunken threat from that one time, Tony stepped back quickly from the much smaller fireplace and nearly fell down.

There was a door, which was locked, and then the stairs... Unlike those unfriendly big stairs back at the mansion, these were just like this house, inviting, and he couldn't resist the call. Climbing the stairs felt like the most exiting thing for the boy. What would he find up there? He didn't even notice his continuing hunger or trembling feet, or that small trail of blood, which he left behind him wherever he went to, marking his way.

There were a few more doors upstairs, leading to a room that was too small to be called a room and three bedrooms. One of the bedrooms was all girly and it obviously was a child's room. Looking at the small bed, Tony felt envy. His own huge canopy bed was way too big for him and he felt much better sleeping in the warm kitchen, under the table on a hard floor. In there he used to fall asleep while the nice old woman, who made their food, kept talking to him. This bed was so small, but looked perfect for a child to sleep in. A child like him.

Looking around as if someone might be watching him, Tony decided he would only try how it felt lying down in it. Climbing on the bed had to be the easiest thing ever; at home he always had such a hard time getting in his and even his room was so big, cold and full of shadows, which seemed to be always moving. He'd always been scared of that room, although he had plenty of hiding places in there when his father was angry. Lying in this bed was the most wonderful feeling he had ever felt. It made him feel warm, almost safe. The people living in this house were not back yet and he was so tired. He'd only close his eyes for a moment...

Leroy Jethro Gibbs was a happy man. The day was perfect, he had a loving wife and a beautiful daughter. They were not rich, but they had enough and everything they could ever need. Life was good. And right now he was scaring the people in town with his good mood.

"Honey... People are starting to wonder what's going on in your head when you keep grinning like a fool." His wife chuckled at him. They watched as their little girl carried the a little too heavy basket full of apples, refusing to let her parents carry it, wanting to show just how big girl she already was.

"Shannon, I'm in a perfectly good mood for a change and you are complaining?"

Shannon chuckled again and shook her head. Indeed, who was she to complain? No, she wasn't going to complain at all. Leaving the town behind them, the little family headed back toward their home, ready to finally eat their breakfast, which had to be cold by now...

Something was wrong. Jethro knew it from the moment he saw their home. "Stay behind me."

"Jethro?" Shannon looked at her husband worriedly and took Kelly in her arms.

He looked at the open door and then at the blood on the ground. "Someone is or was in the house. Probably came from the forest."

Stepping inside the house, they didn't hear anything, but they immediately saw the blood trails. "Stay near the door with Kelly. If I yell for you two to run and hide, you run and hide. Is that clear?"

Shannon rolled her eyes and smiled. "Yes, yes. It's clear. Right, Kelly?"

"Yes, daddy." The little girl giggled, not noticing anything wrong with the situation. Perhaps she even thought that this was just another game they were playing.

Grimacing at the blood stained rugs, Jethro followed the trail of blood in the kitchen. Someone had obviously been eating—or rather, tasting—their food. Why not eat, but only taste and from all of their bowls? Following the trail, Jethro walked through the house, until he finally stopped in front of Kelly's room. The door was almost closed and the blood trails ended there. He didn't even need to see it to know this intruder was in his little girl's room of all places. Taking his rifle from the hiding place, Jethro went back to the door and then pushed it open with his foot, only to lower the rifle faster than he had opened the door.

Jethro was furious when he saw the sleeping—or maybe unconscious—child lying in Kelly's bed. No, it was way more than that. His anger wasn't aimed toward the blond little child though. Was it a boy? It was hard to tell with all the bruises and blood covering the little face and body. No small accident from a mere child's game could cause that. It was obvious someone had done this. With his hand trembling, Jethro leaned closer. When had he left the door anyway? He knew he'd have to call Shannon, tell her to go get the doctor, maybe even the Sheriff. He didn't remember the anger he had felt when he first picked up that rifle. All he could think of was horror at the thought of what if he had shot the little thing by accident. Not that such accidents would ever happen to him, but still... Just the thought was enough.

"Hey, kid... Wake up." He brushed his fingers over the blood covered little tummy and flinched when the child did. How old was the child anyway? Six, maybe? The kid sure could use a few of Shannon's meals to get some meat over those little bones... As he was about to get worried that the kid wouldn't wake up, Jethro was suddenly staring back at the big green eyes staring at him.

His body felt so heavy and he tried ignoring the voice speaking to him. Then he felt someone touching him and his body reacted on instinct, more toward the beating to come, rather than the pain. Forcing his eyes open, he saw icy blue eyes staring at him. Seeing the man made Tony sit up too fast, only he was gently pushed back down. With the pain all over his body, he barely even heard the soft and shooting words spoken to him, nor his own soft whimpering.

"Shh... Take it easy, kid. You're really hurt," the man said and although his eyes were the color of ice, there was warmth in them, something Tony was not familiar with, which only scared him more. He wasn't sure how to deal with the unknown, mainly the unknown coming from people.

Noticing for the first time the mess he had made and realizing that this man had to be the one living in this house, Tony lost all the remaining color from his already pale face, if it was even possible to see that from all the bruises and blood on his face. His even more widening eyes however were a clue enough and the man took a step back.

"Easy there, kid. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm Jethro. What's your name?"

"Anthony... but I like Tony better... I'm eight," Tony added before Jethro even let out his next question, which had indeed been how old he was.

Jethro moved closer with a big grin, but frowned when the boy shrunk further in bed, trembling and staring at him like a beaten animal. Taking couple of steps back, he held up his arms in surrender. "I mean no harm, kid. How did you get here anyway? Who hurt you?"

That was one question too many and Tony sat up straight. "I-I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to make a mess."

"I'm not—"

"I'm sorry!" Before Jethro even realized what was happening, the boy was off the bed like a small human bullet and then gone from the bedroom. With adrenaline filling him again, Tony was faster than he looked. He heard shouting from behind him and saw couple of surprised faces as he stormed outside the house.

"Shannon! Stop him!" However, by the time Jethro made it downstairs and Shannon had put Kelly down to run after the boy, Tony was gone. Looking toward the forest, Jethro shook his head. With some proper food and taking care of, that kid would make one amazing runner one day... He swore loudly. "Shannon... Did you see that boy?"

"Jethro! Watch your language around Kelly," Shannon scolded her husband, who barely even shrugged.

"You girls go inside and eat your breakfast. I'll go after him. There's no way he'll survive out there, not in that condition..."

It was a night time when Tony finally stopped running. He was lost again and on top of all his other troubles, he was now cold. That's when he realized he'd much rather take the fury of that unknown man than go back to his father. While he stood there frozen, Tony suddenly felt big and strong arms grabbing him from behind and then lifting him up. "No! Let me go!" He kept struggling and screaming as he was being carried away.

"Shh... Calm down. I don't want to see you get more hurt. I'm not angry, just worried."

Tony blinked his teary eyes and stared at the face he could barely see in the dark. That's when he noticed the lantern, which the man was carrying.

"It's me. Jethro. You do remember me, right? You fell asleep in my house."

"I'm so sorry, sir... I'll clean it up..."

"Don't call me sir, kid. My name is Jethro. You got that?"

"Y-yes, si— Jethro..."

"Attaboy." Jethro smiled and watched as the boy had a hard time keeping his eyes open and then finally lost his battle. Jethro's smile vanished and was replaced by a grim look, which he wouldn't dare to let the boy see.

"Jethro..." Shannon gasped as soon as her husband stepped inside the house and she saw the boy properly for the first time. "I was getting so worried. You left without explaining anything and then it became so late and dark and... I was so worried."

"Shannon, I promise we will talk later, but now I have to go find Ducky. The boy needs help and I don't want to keep moving him around. I mean, just look at him... Who does this to a small child? Who does this to any child?" Jethro cursed softly. This time he looked sheepish at his use of language. "Where's Kelly?"

"Sleeping in our bed. I'm still cleaning up all that blood... I had to throw away that rug though. You know... The one that was a gift from my mother." They both grimaced. Neither was looking forward to having to explain why it was missing.

"Can you take him? You know... look after him until I'm back." Jethro was worried and uncertain how his wife would feel about him suddenly taking someone else's child in their home. Not that this would be a permanent arrangement.

"Jethro darling. You can let go now." Shannon sounded amused and Jethro almost blushed at the realization that he had almost death grip on the child, even when his wife had been trying to take Tony. He very reluctantly let her take the boy. "Go now. I'll look after him."

"Right. I'll just..." Jethro pointed toward the door before he left in a hurry.

By the time he returned, with the doctor—Ducky—following him, Shannon had put Tony in the guest room bed after taking off his clothes and wiping away the blood on him. She had also managed to wrap up the boy's wounds, before putting Jethro's big shirt on him. Even if she now looked at them calmly, there were tear tracks on her face.

Kissing his wife, Jethro turned to look at the boy in bed. "How is he?"

"No change."

They watched as Ducky examined the child with a deep frown on his face. It seemed like it took forever before he finally turned to face the young couple. At this point he had rebandaged the child's wounds properly.

"Well?" Jethro was impatient.

"Please, don't keep anything from us. How is he?" Shannon worried, much to Jethro's surprise. He still was unsure whether his wife would want to head-slap him for bringing in some strange kid or kiss him.

Ducky let out a deep sigh and motioned for them to follow him as he left the room. "He needs all the sleep and rest he can get now."

"How is he, Ducky?" Jethro repeated the question when they all sat down in the kitchen.

"The poor child has been badly beaten. There is also some rather deep wounds on his back and front, which makes me feel a little concerned. He's lucky that none of them are infected... He is also malnourished. However, he is one though lad. I have seen many adults doing much worse in his situation. I'm almost shocked that he seems to have no broken bones, but if there are, they are very small. With such fragile bones as he has... He truly is a miracle child."

Jethro let out a sigh of relief and Shannon squeezed his arm. He still had to ask, "So he will be all right?"

"He'll be fine, but only with enough rest and someone taking care of him, not to mention getting him to start eating properly; nothing too heavy yet. I also looked at his feet... He should not be walking on them for a while."

"We'll make sure he gets all of that," Shannon promised and looked at her husband who was frowning.

"If I may ask, who is he?" Ducky asked, while he was picking up his things as he stood up to leave.

"We don't know. I'll try to find out tomorrow if there is anyone looking for him," Jethro said, leaving out the fact that he'd kill whoever was capable of doing that to a child. With people like that, no, with monsters like that, he couldn't comprehend how their minds worked.

"You do that. I will come back in the morning to see how he is doing." Ducky nodded and left with a hand wave.

Shannon stared at her quiet husband who was staring at the candles in the kitchen. "What's on your mind?"

"If we can't find his parents or if we do and they're the ones that hurt him..." Jethro hesitated.

"Talk to me. What's on your mind?" Shannon repeated gently, having a pretty good idea what the man was thinking.

"I wonder if my dad would mind taking the kid," Jethro finally mumbled, defeated.

"Oh, Jethro... It's all right. If it comes to that, I wouldn't mind having another child. It's not like I've been able to give you another after Kelly..." She frowned and swallowed down the memories of the lost children in her now barren womb.

Jethro held his tearful wife. "You have given me more than enough, Shannon. You girls mean everything to me. I don't care about having more children."

Shannon smiled sadly. "Liar. I know you... It's true that us girls mean the world to you, but deep down you're a typical man."

"Hey!" Jethro protested jokingly and she swatted his shoulder with a mock glare on her face.

"You've always wanted to have a son, someone to pass on your skills and knowledge. Do the father and son things... And let's face it; a son is just what we need."

Jethro grimaced. "Let's not get too far ahead here. Someone out there might be missing the boy, a loving mother and father. I— We should not get too attached to him." In his gut however, he knew that there was no one for the boy out there.

Shannon raised her eyebrows with a skeptic look on her face. "Well, even if it's true, this does make me think... We could adopt. You know, Kelly has been asking for a brother or a sister. Well, a sister actually, but I'm sure she would love having a brother just as much."

"Shannon..."

"And they're at the same age. She'd have someone to play and have fights with at home too." She wasn't going to tell Jethro how she had wept while cleaning up the boy. How angry she became when she saw the bruise—a shoe print—on his little chest. How for a while the boy had flinched whenever he'd been moved around. How she had felt fierce protectiveness growing inside her, which she had only ever felt toward Kelly; a mother's instinct.

"Shannon..."

"Don't you dare argue with me, Jethro. Not with this. Until you find his family, a loving family, he will leave us over my dead body," she hissed.

He laughed and then hugged her. "I love you."

"I love you too. Now let's get some rest. Tomorrow will be a long day."

As Kelly woke up, the sun was already high and that's why she was confused. Why would her mom and dad not wake her up like they usually did? Taking her teddybear with her, she ran downstairs. Both her parents were sitting in the kitchen and speaking quietly. She was pouting when she climbed on her chair. "Mommy! Daddy! Why didn't you wake me up?"

Shannon handed Kelly her late breakfast. "I'm sorry, honey. Daddy and I had some things to discuss."

"Grown up discussion?"

There was a bemused look on her mother's face and a pause, before she answered, "Yes."

"All right." With that Kelly was happily eating her porridge. She didn't notice the looks her parents were giving to each other. She only looked up when the front door opened and Ducky entered the kitchen.

"Uncle Ducky!"

"Good morning, young miss Kelly." Ducky smiled softly at her and then turned his attention on the parents. "How is our boy doing?"

"He's been sleeping all night as far as we know. Jethro and I have been taking turns watching over him."

"Good. That is very good..." Seeing the looks between the two parents, Ducky crossed his arms over his chest. "Something you want to tell me? Jethro."

Looking sheepish, Jethro brushed his hand through his hair. "Well... It's just that... Shannon and I have been talking since yesterday. Someone has obviously been hurting him and in my gut I know I can't trust there to be anyone waiting for him with loving and open arms, and just remembering the look in his eyes..."

"Your gut." Ducky sighed. These people... "Jethro, you do realize—"

"If nothing comes in the way and the kid wants to, we would love to give him a home."

"I would be more than happy to see both you and the boy happy and healthy, however... If I understood correctly from the very little you told me yesterday..." Here Ducky looked at Jethro in a scolding manner, who only grinned sheepishly. "...you barely even know the lad. No, let me correct myself, you know nothing about the lad. You have barely spoken a few words with him, let alone know anything about him, other than the first name and his age. I'm not one to doubt your famous gut, Jethro. However, perhaps you are not thinking rationally at the moment."

"Actually, it was Shannon who finalized this." Jethro didn't say the truth, that Shannon was the more sensible one in this relationship. He'd never hear the end of it.

"Oh, I see." Ducky smiled with a knowing twinkle in his eyes and Jethro grimaced. "Listen to me now, Jethro. You too, Shannon... Do not start making any plans just yet. The lad might not be too welcoming, even if it is true that he doesn't have a family, or his family did that to him. If you are not careful, you might scare him off."

"We understand, Ducky," Shannon said and Jethro simply muttered something under his breath.

Kelly, smart girl as she was, had been listening to the whole conversation with keen ears and had put together two and two. "Am I going to have a brother?"

The adults only now remembered that there was someone else in the room and they felt guilty for getting so much into their little talk that they forgot there was someone there to hear it all. Good thing Jethro hadn't had his chance to refresh his memory of the most colorful words he had learned from his times on the seas.

"Ah, Kelly honey..." Shannon tried and was startled by the tearful big eyes.

"But I wanted to have a sister."

Ducky's mouth twisted into a smile. "Well, I shall go check on the little patient, while you sort this out." Ducky left, leaving the parents with a problem to fix.

"Kelly sweetie, there might still be a sister some other time. Besides, you already have a girl as your friend. Maddie."

Kelly looked up hopefully. "Really?"

"Really." Shannon nodded and Jethro, the provider of the family, grimaced.

They all looked at the kitchen door when Ducky suddenly returned. "Our boy is waking up."

Opening his eyes, Tony saw those blue eyes again. This time he didn't panic, he completely froze, seeing three other people in the room this time.

"It's okay, kid. We're not angry and we are not going to hurt you. Do you understand?" Jethro asked.

"Y-yes, sir... Jethro..."

"Attaboy." Jethro smiled and without thinking he ruffled Tony's hair, who just stared at the man with wide eyes, not understanding what he was doing.

When the woman also spoke, it was with a big and warm smile on her face. It made her look very pretty. "It is nice to finally meet you while you're awake. My name is Shannon. You look like you're hungry. Are you?"

Tony hesitated. She seemed nice enough. "Yes, ma'am..."

"Just call me Shannon, Tony." She smiled still and left the room to start cooking, realizing that too many new people were overwhelming to him. Tony blinked his eyes in confusion. How did she know his name?

An older man walked forward, also smiling. Why were they all smiling? "I am doctor Donald Mallard, but you may call me Ducky, my boy. I'm the doctor who will make sure you will feel better in no time."

Hearing that the man was a doctor, made the little boy's eyes widen in fear. "No doctors! I don't like doctors..."

The men frowned and looked at each other. "Well, in that case you will be happy to know that I am a nice doctor."

Tony didn't look all that convinced, but he didn't feel too threatened by this man so he let himself relax, just for now. He then looked at the girl who was climbing on his bed.

"I'm Kelly."

"Ah... Kelly... Careful, you don't want to hurt him." Jethro was feeling unsure how to deal with this situation, but Kelly just shrugged and smiled.

"Don't mind them. Uncle Ducky is all right and daddy can look like a mean bear sometimes, but he's really just a cuddly teddybear," she said to Tony, while sitting down very carefully. Smart girl as she was, she was careful to not hurt this boy.

"Oh..." Tony wasn't sure what else to say and she looked at him, as if expecting him to do or say something.

"I'm Kelly," she said again. "I'm eight."

"Oh. I'm Tony. I'm also eight," he said, finally understanding what she'd been waiting for, receiving a bright smile from her in return.

Although Jethro wanted to ask all sorts of questions from the kid, he held himself back. It was obvious from the way the boy looked at them, with that extremely wary look on his face and the way he hadn't relaxed even once, that one wrong word or move and the kid would take off like there's no tomorrow. No, he'll wait until the boy was at least physically in a much better shape and possibly he'd gained some trust with the kid by then.