Strength

Seven year old Tony climbed onto the bed in the guestroom where his grandfather, Jackson Gibbs, busily unpacked his two suitcases.

Sighing dramatically, the little boy regarded his dad's father with interest. "Are you bored, Grandpa?"

Grinning, Jackson stopped to appraise the child. "Now how in the world could I find myself bored when I just got to Mexico and have the company of my wonderful grandchild right before me?"

Throwing himself against the guest bed's plump pillows Tony observed astutely, "Well, maybe if you don't have anything to do you will get bored."

Jackson raised an eyebrow to regard Tony with speculation. With shimmery green eyes and brown hair bleached blond in places by the sun, the little boy turned heads wherever he went. Though small for his age, Tony typically drew attention not only because of his looks, but because of his personality, as well.

The older man had arrived for a two week visit with his only son, NCIS Team Leader Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Tony, and the family's housekeeper, Maria, whom Tony referred to as Grandmother, or Abuela. Though Jethro would probably have to return to D.C. at some point in the next days, Tony and Maria planned to stay in the family's Campeche, Mexico, home as long as possible.

They hoped to remain for the entire summer.

"Bored, huh? I promise you looked entertained enough when you picked me up at the airport today. In fact, you appeared downright celebratory."

"Right," Tony agreed, holding both legs above him to examine his flip flops.

Once home from the airport reunion he had stripped off his good clothes to change into a play outfit. "Well, the airport has planes, and besides, you came today from Pennsylvania."

Jack paused and regarded him intently before pulling several hangers from the closet. "About the planes, I was thinking that you and I could head back into Campeche tomorrow or the next day, just the two of us. We can find a toy store and buy one of those model airplanes to build together. Sound good?"

Tony frowned and rolled onto his stomach. "Probably I can't go there with you, Grandpa, to the toy store."

Surprised, Jackson swiveled to scrutinize his grandson before turning back to hanging clothes in the closet.

Carefully positioning a dress shirt onto a hanger he questioned, "Why do you think you will miss that trip, Big Boy?"

"Cause I got into trouble," Tony answered honestly, sliding around on the bed again to sit crosslegged and watch Jack. "and 'cause I will survive, Grandpa."

He uttered the last pronouncement so seriously that Jackson burst into laughter at the words. He hurried to the bed to swoop the child up in his arms and tickle him. "You will survive, huh? Where did that surviving come from, Tony?"

Breathing through his laughter, the little boy fell back down on the bed and accused with a giggle, "You got my ticklebox, Grandpa!"

"Good," Jackson responded, then tousling Tony's hair, he completed the last of his unpacking.

Motioning his grandson he pointed towards the kitchen, and the child climbed off the bed and padded after him down the hall.

"Let's see if your dad left some coffee for me," Jackson suggested, "though I am pretty sure that you will skip the coffee and find some juice more to your liking."

Sliding a chair to the refrigerator, Tony agreed about the juice as he scrambled up to open the door and lift out a plastic container. Turning to regard his grandfather he asked solicitiously, "Do you want something in here?"

Marveling at how much the child had matured since the last time he had seen him, Jackson assured him, "No, I have found a cup and everything I need. Let's go join your dad and abuela. Do you need me to pour that into the glass for you?"

Tony climbed down and shook his head, pleased to show off his new kitchen skills. "I can do this."

The other man watched affectionately, his mind wandering to memories of Tony's father proving his big boy status at that same age so many years before.

Finally, the two carried their beverages and joined Maria and Jethro outdoors.

Making himself comfortable in one of the overstuffed rattan chairs, Jackson sampled a swallow of coffee before telling his hosts again how much he appreciated the vacation.

Placing his juice onto the safety of a glass tabletop, Tony grabbed his soccer ball and began practicing moves away from the grownups. For such a small boy, he definitely had physical prowess and lost no opportunity in engaging in any physical activity.

The adults watched him appreciatively for a good while before Jackson grinned and reported, "Tony just told me back in the house that he would survive."

"Survive what?" Maria clarified, glancing up quickly to check the status of the little boy.

"Something about going to town, if I recall," Jackson reported.

Enlightened, Jethro threw his head back and laughed. "I think I know the context for that survival line, Dad. That young man got himself into quite a bit of trouble yesterday and then complained about the punishment, very vocally, and repeatedly. When we finally got tired of the whining, Maria told him to hush, that he would survive, and that she would give him a reason to fuss if he kept fussing. That put a halt to it."

Jackson and Maria smiled at the explanation, too.

Maria interjected, "My bambino tends to act with drama, most especially when he thinks no one pays attention to him or that we have wronged him in some way."

The soccer ball crashed into the bottom of Jethro's chair, and when his little athlete came to reclaim it, Jethro grabbed him and swung him into his lap. Kissing the top of Tony's head he instructed, "Tell Grandpa what you did yesterday that got you into so much trouble from Abuela and me."

Sighing dramatically, Tony leaned his head back to regard his father upside down, then slid away to drink a swallow of juice.

Observing his grandfather watching him, he weighed the possibility of having sympathy extended towards him from the older man, or having him join forces with Jethro and Maria.

Evidently, he decided that his grandfather could provide emotional support.

Wiping his mouth, he climbed onto his abuela's lap and made himself comfortable before he obeyed his dad and explained. "I went to the park past the village, Grandpa."

Evidently he expected that lone succinct line should provide the bottom line to securing Jackson's comprehension.

However, he appeared puzzled at the words.

"But did you have permission for that, permiso para ir?" Maria prodded the child.

Scowling, Tony ducked his head and scratched his leg rather than answer.

Reaching up, he began to rub Maria's hair as he rearranged himself on her lap.

The adults exchanged appraising looks. Tony tended to rub Maria's hair for emotional security, or in this case, for comfort, a habit he had developed as a toddler.

"I know the answer," Jethro volunteered, sliding forward in his own chair to rest his forearms on his legs. "Tony had permission to go to his friend Miguel's house and nowhere else. So when we could not find him at Miguel's, we got scared and worried about him."

"Oh, I can imagine," Jack added his support in the manner that adults practice with each other. He nodded emphatically. "That would have upset me, too, if I had been here and could not find my brilliant grandson."

"Well we were muy afraid," Maria continued, "but glad to finally find him safe."

"But," Jethro concluded, his voice stern, "Tony got himself spanked for going to the park without asking us. Right?" He squinted at his child expectantly, his blue eyes intent upon his little boy's green ones.

In response, Tony scowled again, annoyed at the reminder of the painful encounter between his father's hand and his naked rear end.

Jethro shook his head and continued, "Plus, he does not get to leave this house to play anywhere or with his friends for a couple of days."

"Except he could go to the airport because that was a family activity," Maria offered, reiterating one of the nuances of grounding as a punishment to Tony.

"Hmmm…." Jack murmured, regarding the child.

He decided to lighten the tone. "Despite the spanking and punishment, though, my favorite boy appears to have survived, just as he assured me."

Tony's head jerked up to see if his grandfather teased him, and satisfied that he did not, he spoke, his tone tinging upon sulking, "But I don't like spankings, Grandpa, and Daddy and Abuela know that already."

"No one does, Bambino," Maria shifted him so that she could look at his face. She kissed the tip of his nose and rubbed his back. "So now you understand that we expect to know where you are every single minute of the day- siempre."

"I understand that now, Abuela," the little boy conceded irritably.