I do not own Power Rangers or anything related to the franchise.

Boats

Kate was glad for the quiet that consumed the bullpen, for once without Tony's ramblings on his newest girlfriend or movie obsession since both he and McGee were out tracking down a lead on their newest case. Gibbs was downstairs conversing with Abby. It left her alone in the circle of desks, trying to find out who the leader of the drug-dealing ring abroad the Navy cruiser USS Normandy was.

At least, she thought she was alone. Until she turned around to see a young man shifting nervously next to Tony's desk, standing on his toes to glance around the large but crowded room. His hair was brown and a mess of near-curls that surrounded his pale, angular face. His eyes were wide and a soft brown color as the drifted past the faces of the people working in the room. He was lanky, with long limbs that had the possibility of being awkward if one wasn't careful. He was wearing tight black jeans and a green shirt covered by a black leather jacket with three green rings around the elbows. He was also very young, maybe just barely 21.

She put down the papers she was working on and cleared her throat, catching his attention. "Can I help you?" she asked. He grinned a bit sheepishly but he looked relatively harmless. "I'm ah... Ziggy Grover. I'm looking for Jethro." he told her softly, his eyes briefly flickering to Gibbs' desk.

Kate arched an eyebrow. She'd only ever heard Ducky call Gibbs 'Jethro'. Not even Abby did it. Just who was this boy? "He's downstairs talking to our forensic scientist. Maybe I can help you something." she suggested.

The young man shook his head, glancing in the direction of the elevators that led to the labs. "No, no. I'll just wait. This is kind of a personal visit." He whispered. She smiled slightly even as she blinked in confusion. She really didn't know anyone who just visited Gibbs on a personal call. And if someone was close enough to Gibbs to do such a thing, why hadn't she ever heard of them? Surely, someone would have at least mentioned someone by the name of 'Ziggy'. But she'd never heard the name before.

An awkward silence filled the bullpen as Kate tried to go back to work and Ziggy continued to shift restlessly next to Tony's desk. But just as she was about to say something again, Gibbs walked into the bullpen, stopping when he noticed the young man in front of her. She watched as he shook his head slightly and set his coffee down on his desk. "Ziggy." he greeted, his tone fond and amused. Obviously they did know each other.

Ziggy grinned and walked forward to engulf her boss in one of the tightest hugs she'd ever seen before. Gibbs rolled his eyes and shook his head again but surprisingly, he hugged back. They knew each other very well.

When they pulled back Gibbs rested his hands on Ziggy's shoulders and pushed him back so he could really look at him. "What are you doing back here Ziggy?" he asked, sounding glad to see him despite the fact that he hadn't had a warning. Ziggy just shrugged. "Oh nothing. Your friend there," he said, pointing towards Kate. "Kept me entertained."

She blinked and smiled blankly when she found herself on the receiving end of one of Gibbs' disbelieving stares. "I have no idea what's going on Gibbs." she told him point-blank. Ziggy laughed slightly and walked back over to her. He smiled warmly, a smile that could rival the sun, and held out his hand. "I'm Ziggy Grover." he told her again. "I'm his godson." And he jerked his head in Gibbs' direction.

Kate paused, blinked at her boss in complete surprise, then gently grasped his hand. "Caitlin Todd. NCIS Special Agent." She told him, earning herself another sunny smile. "I didn't know Gibbs had a godson."

Ziggy laughed softly. It was an enduring sound. "Oh don't worry. Almost no one does. In fact, I think Ducky is the only one who does." he told her. "And I've been away for awhile. Doing that whole teenager soul-searching, finally out on my own thing."

"What are you doing here Zig?" Gibbs, asked, breaking into their conversation. Ziggy pulled back and bounced over to his desk. The boy was certainly energetic. She couldn't restrain her grin when he started to speak, words tumbling past his lips in quick succession. "Well, you see, I got a job. Right here in DC. So we'll actually be seeing a lot of each other again. Okay, maybe not that much because I work for the government, which I know I said I'd never do but well I really like this job. Give anything for it. And this is the first chance I've had to come and talk to you because they have been running us raged. And if I knew it was going to be like this I never would have joined. Okay, that's a lie, I would have, but I defiantly would have asked to get paid more. But I digress. I just came to tell you that I'm moving back into town. And now I have done that so I'm going to go."

Gibbs watched it all in amusement, a small but fond grin on his face. Kate recognized the look in his eyes as parental and realized that Ziggy was more like an actual son than just a godson to Gibbs who, as far as she knew, had never had any kids of his own. When Ziggy turned to go she realized his face was flushed for some reason. Gibbs let him walk a few steps before calling out to him, "What's her name?"

Ziggy froze mid-step, his eyes widening and his blush deepening. He slowly turned back around to look at Gibbs, "Huh?" he asked softly, looking even younger than he already did.

Gibbs met his eyes and smirked. "The only time you ever ramble like that anymore is when you're trying to tell me you've got a new girlfriend. So, what's her name?"

Kate couldn't stop the small giggle that slipped past her lips when she noticed Ziggy's blush slowly getting brighter. Oh she was so glad she was here to see this. Gibbs might kill her later but this was just too funny to pass up. He was silent for a long time, worrying his lip between his teeth. So long in fact that Gibbs had to ask again. "What's her name Ziggy?"

Ziggy slowly approached his desk again. "Well, you see, Jethro, it's not actually a-"

"Name!" Gibbs snapped, his tone harsh but his eyes dancing in amusement as he cut Ziggy off. Kate pressed her hand to her mouth as Ziggy jumped slightly, his eyes wide. She wondered how many times Gibbs had had to do this with Ziggy. The young man was cute and had a certain boyish charm to him. He had probably broken a lot of hearts when he was in school.

Ziggy didn't answer immediately and this time Gibbs seemed content to wait for him to answer on his own. Finally, wringing his hands together and shifting nervously, he whispered out in an unsure voice.

"Dillon."

She was so caught up in her amusement at the sight that at first she didn't notice what it was he had said. When she did, her smile dropped away and her brow furrowed. Dillon? Wasn't that a boy's name? She glanced over at Gibbs to see him staring at his godson, obviously thinking the same thing she was.

When Ziggy didn't get any immediate reaction he started to ramble again. "Dillon Kane. He's got a sister, Tenaya, who is really smart, she's like a doctor already and she's two years younger than I am. He's really cool. Got a few brooding problems and one hell of a sister complex and some weird fascination with this family heirloom of his. It's some sort of musical pocket watch. And I'm sure if you met him you'd really like him. Please, Jethro, say something."

"Well, Ziggy you haven't quite given me a chance." he told him, making Ziggy blush slightly in embarrassment. Gibbs took a deep breath, still trying to figure out what to say. Finally, he repeated, "Dillon Kane?"

Ziggy nodded quickly, not saying anything as he waited for Gibbs to say something else. "I need to think about this." he muttered. Ziggy bit his lip, his gaze dropping. "Ah, of course."

"It's not the fact that you're dating another guy, Zig." Gibbs muttered, drawing a tired hand over his face. "It's just a whole other dynamic for me to get used to." Ziggy visibly brightened and a wide smile crossed his face. "Well, you can get used to it tonight. I, ah, invited him to dinner."

Gibbs paused, looking up at him in disbelief. "Excuse me?" he asked. Ziggy smiled brightly. "He's coming to dinner tonight at your house. Do I need to go shopping for groceries? I should probably do it anyway." He turned around and walked away. "Well, see you tonight." he shouted. He paused briefly just before he exited the bullpen and looked back. "And Jethro? Dillon is important. More important than any of those girls I dated in school." He looked completely serious as he said it and he waited just long enough for the words to set in then he grinned, waved, and skipped to the elevators.

Gibbs watched him go, a frown on his face. "That boy is going to be the death of me." he muttered, bringing one hand up to massage his temples. Kate broke out in laughter again and kept laughing even after Gibbs glared at her. By the time Tony and McGee came in a few seconds later, she was about ready to fall out of her chair. But the thought never crossed her mind to tell them why.

---

Dillon sighed as he slipped into the jacket his sister held out to him. "Remind me again why I'm doing this." He requested, rolling his eyes as he allowed her to straighten his collar. Tenaya paused in her work and sighed, pulling away to look him in the eye. "You're doing it for Ziggy, Dillon." she told him firmly. "This is really important so you are going to be on your best behavior for one night and deal with what that man throws at you. Because it's Ziggy."

He stared down at his sister even as an image of Ziggy flashed through his mind. Young, wide-eyed, innocent Ziggy. Who was so worth going through the very rough 'meeting the family' deal. He sighed slightly and motioned with his hand for Tenaya to continue her work. He pointedly ignored the small smirk on her face. Once she was done, he stepped back, ran his eyes over the black outfit she had assembled. It wasn't a suit, thank god, but it was much nicer than the normal black muscle shirt and baggy jacket he normally wore.

Tenaya looked him over and nodded in approval. "That looks nice." she commented. "Now it's up to you. Don't screw it up. I really like the kid." she told him.

"He's two years older than you are." he told her. She shrugged one shoulder, rolling her eyes. "Now if he would act like it." she told him, making him snort in amusement. "Now," she ordered, pushing him towards the door. "Get out of here! Shoo!"

He gave her a strange look. "You got a date or something?" he asked, his normal over-protectiveness shining through. She merely rolled her eyes. "I'm contemplating flirting with room-service." she told him.

"Those are normally women you know." he told her. She just gave him a saucy grin. Shaking his head, he muttered to himself. "Why I bother?" He walked out the door, taking a deep breath to quiet his thoughts.

"Hey." Tenaya called, making him pause and look back at her. She was giving him a contemplative stare. "You can do this." she told him seriously. He nodded, smiled slightly, and kept walking. He could do this.

He hoped.

Tenaya shook her head as she watched her brother walk away and sighed. Morons, she thought fondly. The both of them. She was broken from her thoughts when her cell phone rang. A wide grin stretching across her lips, she dived across the bed to grab it from the standard hotel room bed-stand. "Hey Kat." she greeted happily. She listened to the young doctor's voice and nodded to herself. "Yeah, I'll be there soon. Just had to make sure Dillon wasn't going to freak out."

At least he didn't know she had her own date tonight as well. He'd be too nervous about her to focus properly on his own problems. It was one of the many reasons her and Kat still hadn't said anything about their relationship. To anyone. Yet.

---

Ziggy hummed to himself as he carefully stirred the sauce in the cooking pot in front of him. He was well aware of Jethro's annoyed glare on his back but he was trying to ignore it. Rather successfully to. Maybe Project Ranger would be good for him after all. "We're having pasta." he told him chirpily.

"I'm going to kill you." Jethro told him coldly. Ziggy just grinned. "Can you go set the table Jethro?" he requested as he purposely ignored the icy stare he was getting. Jethro wasn't really angry with him, just upset he hadn't gotten more time to absorb anything. He could tell the name Dillon and the term boyfriend were still slowly meshing together in his head.

As Jethro stood up to do as he was asked, the doorbell rang. A bright grin flew across his face and he dropped the spoon he was doing. "Dillon!" he shouted cheerfully. He ran to the door, hurriedly fiddling with the lock and throwing the door open. Dillon stared at him from the other side with a slight smile, wearing an outfit he would probably throw away after tonight. If Tenaya let him.

He laughed, reaching forward to wrap his arms tightly around Dillon's neck. Dillon returned the hug, pressing a small kiss to his temple. After a moment, Ziggy stepped to the side and let him in, wide smile still not leaving his face. "Thank you for coming." he whispered. A part of him hadn't been sure if Dillon would actually show up. Their relationship was still so fragile and new.

But Dillon just smiled softly. "I said I would."

Taking him by the hand, he led him cheerfully into the kitchen. All that cheer died away when he noticed Jethro waiting for them with a stern frown. Clearing his throat uncertainly, he stepped to the side and tugged Dillon further into the room. Jethro's eyes fell to their interlinked hands as Ziggy nervously said. "Dillon, this is Jethro Gibbs, my godfather. Jethro, this is Dillon Kane." He gulped then added.

"My boyfriend."

---

Dinner was a tense affair. Ziggy glanced uneasily between Dillon and Jethro, trying, and failing, to figure out what at least one of them was thinking. Jethro was still staring tensely at Dillon, waiting for a reason to give his approval or throw him out. Dillon just fiddled with his food, trying to hide the fact that he was just as unsure as Ziggy.

Finally Jethro placed his fork down and gave up any pretences of eating. "Where did you two meet?" he asked.

"Work." Dillon said tensely, looking up to meet that stony gaze. Jethro let himself be impressed when he didn't back down from the challenging look and appreciate the strong will in his eyes. "Ziggy said you have a sister." he told him.

Dillon nodded slightly. "Tenaya. She's four years younger than I am." Jethro just nodded, making Ziggy groan. "You looked him up." he complained, hiding his face in his hands. "Why oh why did my godfather have to be a federal agent?"

Both of them ignored the youngest man, still staring at him. "You two have lived on your own for a long time." Jethro told him.

"We get by." Dillon replied, straightening his shoulders. "She's smart. Knows how to take care of herself. Doesn't need to but she does. I trust her."

Jethro smirked slightly. "You take care of her." he said. It wasn't a question. Jethro stared at the younger man, waiting for his response. If Dillon couldn't take care of his own sister, there was no way he was trusting him with Ziggy's safety.

But Dillon met his gaze steadily. There was only conviction in his eyes. He would protect the people important to him. "Big brothers are born first so we can take care of the little ones who come after us." He intoned strongly. Jethro's smirk widened just slightly but it was enough for Ziggy to breathe a soft sigh of relief.

---

Jethro had only left them alone for a minute but when he came back, both Dillon and Ziggy were missing. He sighed and glanced around. The soft mutters of voices drifted to his ears and he followed it to the open door to the basement. Of course that's where they'd be. He sighed again, pushing the door open door so he could go through. He walked down a few steps then paused as he stared at the two.

Ziggy was gently showing Dillon how to sand the boat, holding one of his hands in both of his as he pushed the sander with the wood. "Just like that." he muttered, glancing up at Dillon. Dillon smiled down at him, nodding slightly to show he understood. Ziggy smiled widely, looking back at the half-finished boat. Neither of them realized he was there so Jethro could observe them quietly.

Despite the fact that it was Ziggy showing Dillon what to do, Dillon was towering over him and had one arm wrapped around Ziggy's waits, holding him close. It was a protective embrace but it wasn't too tight or harsh. Ziggy actually looked really comfortable as he leaned back against him. If one didn't know better, they would think it was Dillon helping Ziggy. The pose showed such trust between them that it was startling. How had they gotten so close so fast?

He watched them for a while longer, a slow smile crossing his lips as he leaned against the railing. Every so often Dillon would glance down at Ziggy in the circle of his arms with a disbelieving, awed look. Almost as if he couldn't believe Ziggy was actually right there in front of him, smiling like that. It was the look of someone falling helplessly in love.

As he watched, Dillon gently slipped one hand from Ziggy's waist and placed it under his chin, tilting his head just enough so he could press a soft kiss to the edge of his lips. Smirking slightly, Jethro cleared his throat, watching as the two jerked and spun around to look up at him. Ziggy opened his mouth to say something but Jethro beat him to it. "He'll do."

He turned and walked away, hearing Ziggy let out a whoop of glee, immediately followed by a soft clamor that told him Ziggy had probably jumped onto Dillon in his joy. His little boy was growing up, he realized. He wasn't a little kid constantly looking up at him for approval. But that was okay, he decided. Because Ziggy was finding his own happiness. In his new job that they hadn't said much about, in his erratic visits home, and, most importantly, in Dillon.

And Dillon would do.