I really don't know how chapter 9 came up again. Sorry about that.
Chapter 13
The following morning Jack and Jethro woke early and started getting things ready for Christmas.
They finished off the Christmas tree with some of Gibbs own decorations and for the first time in years. The house was decorated for Christmas. When the living room was decorated Jackson started on breakfast while Gibbs started putting the gifts under the tree.
Tony woke to the smell of food and quickly got up and got dressed. Jackson was just setting out the breakfast as Tony entered the kitchen.
"Wow Jack, this looks great." Tony said as he inhaled the aroma. "Why all the food?"
"It's Christmas Tony." Jack replied. "We always have a big breakfast on Christmas morning. Did your family not do anything special?"
"Nah, Christmas was just another day in the DiNozzo household." Tony replied dismissively.
"Well, sit down and dig in." Jackson ordered trying to hide the sad look that crossed his face. "Leroy, breakfast is ready."
"Coming Dad." Jethro called as he entered the kitchen. "Good morning Tony. How are you feeling?"
"I'm good." Tony replied with a grin.
"That's good to hear." Gibbs replied "Now dig in son, we have a busy day."
Tony's head popped up in shock when he heard the word son.
"Uh yeah ok." Tony agreed and started eating the food. There was a lot there and all ate until they were stuffed. Twenty minutes later they had all finished eating and made quick work of the clean up.
"So what are we doing now?" Tony asked
"You need to take your pills." Gibbs replied and Tony quickly complied.
"Now what." Tony repeated with a grin.
"Now we get ready to go to the soup kitchen." Gibbs replied. "Go relax for a few minutes while I get ready."
"Ok." Tony replied and went to the living room. "Wow, when did all this happen?" He asked in amazement.
"We did it yesterday and finished this morning." Jack replied as he too entered the room. "We wanted you to have a proper Christmas this year."
"You did all this for me." Tony asked in awe.
"Of course son. Leroy wanted you to know how much he cares for you. As do I. He's very upset that you were thinking about leaving NCIS."
"He cares about me?" Tony asked surprised.
"Of course I do Tony." Gibbs replied as he entered. "You are family and we wanted you to know that. We both care a lot about you."
"Wow. I don't know what to say."
"You don't have to say anything." Gibbs replied with a soft smile. "Now are you both ready to go, the sooner we get to the soup kitchen, the sooner we can get home and open our presents."
Jackson quickly got ready and the tree of them wrapped up warmly. When they were ready they climbed into the car and Gibbs drove quickly to the soup kitchen. They were greeted by the head organizer and they were quickly put to work. Jackson was put serving food, Gibbs was put doing wash up and Tony was put to work clearing the tables. The three spent the next two hours at the soup kitchen handing out food to the less fortunate. They were all tired when they finished but they were glad they could help out. They returned home and Gibbs started the dinner while Tony gathered his gifts and put them under the tree with the others.
Gibbs returned to the living room a short while later carry a plate of sandwiches to do them until that evening. They all ate the food hungrily and Tony took his pills before they started to open gifts. Tony handed out his gifts first.
He had bought some designer clothes for both Gibbs and Jackson. The clothes suited each man perfectly and they were both delighted with them. He had bough Jackson a sweater to replace the one he had borrowed while they were in Stillwater. Next he gave them each some tickets for football matches and explained that he had some for himself too. He bought Jack a pocket watch and he bought Gibbs the usual bottle of expensive bourbon as well as a new set of hand tools to use on his next project. Both men were delighted with the gifts and each gave Tony a warm hug.
"Thank you Tony." Jack said kindly. "I am looking forward to those games very much."
"Yeah." Gibbs agreed. "These are really great. Now it's your turn to open some gifts."
"Um ok." Tony replied hesitantly and searched under the tree for something with his name on it.
He pulled out a large envelope and carefully opened it. He pulled out some papers and glanced over them.
"Ah boss, what's this?" Tony asked uncertainly.
"It's a father/son weekend." Gibbs explained. "Camping, fishing, hunting, that kind of thing."
"Uh that sounds great boss." Tony sighed "But I ah, I don't think my father would go."
"Read the next page." Gibbs instructed and Tony complied.
"Ah boss, this has your name on it." Tony gasped "And Jacks."
"The three of us are going together." Gibbs explained.
"But I'm not your son." Tony sighed. "Why would you want to do this with me?"
"You are the closest thing I have to a child" Gibbs replied softly. "You are like a son to me. I know I haven't shown it much lately but that's going to change."
"Um, thanks boss." Tony replied shyly, "This is really nice of you."
"Come on you have other presents to open." Jackson said.
Tony searched the presents again and spotted a very large box with both his and Gibbs name on it.
"Ah that one is from me to both of you." Jackson explained as Tony and Gibbs pulled out the box. "It's a bit of a selfish gift on my part.
When the paper was ripped off a 42" flat screen TV was revealed.
"Wow Jack this is great." Tony grinned. "Now I can actually watch TV here."
"Yeah and so can I." Jack agreed. "Now that I'll be here more often, I'll need something to do."
"Thanks Dad, this is great." Gibbs added
"There's one more under there for you." Jack said to Tony.
Tony again searched under the tree and found a small box. He carefully un-wrapped the gift and opened the box. He pulled out a key.
"What's this?" Tony asked confused.
"That is the key to your new car." Jackson explained. "Leroy and I got you a 1969 Boss 302 Mustang. It needs a lot of work. The car is going to stay in Stillwater and you are both going to visit often and help to restore it."
"You got me a car." Tony asked in surprise. "That's the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me."
"You deserve it son." Gibbs said as he pulled Tony into a hug.
"Thanks...Boss." Tony replied as tears filled his eyes. "Thanks Jack."
"You are very welcome Tony." Jack replied as he handed Jethro a present to open.
The two older men spent the next few minutes opening their presents, giving Tony some time to compose himself.
"How about we set up this TV and watch a movie" Jack suggested.
Tony quickly set up the TV with some help from Jack and then set up the DVD player that Gibbs had got as a present. Tony flicked through the channels and found a movie to watch and put it on. Gibbs grabbed some beers and they drank while they watched the movie. Gibbs set up the nebulizer a while into the movie and placed it over Tony's face.
By the time the movie ended, Tony was fast asleep on the couch. The steroids really knocked him out. Gibbs and Jackson left him to sleep while they finished getting the dinner ready.
When the food was ready, Jackson gently shook Tony awake. "Dinner is ready son."
"Oh ah sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep." Tony apologised as he got up from the couch.
"It's ok Tony." Jack assured "Come on dinner is waiting."
"Smells great boss." Tony said as he entered the kitchen. "Looks great too."
"Dig in." Jack ordered as he served up the food.
Tony accepted the plate from Jack and sat down. When the other two men had their plates full, they all started eating.
"This is lovely." Tony said as he swallowed a mouthful. "Best Christmas dinner ever."
"Glad you like it." Gibbs replied with a smile "It's the first I've cooked in a while."
"It's quite a meal." Jackson agreed. "I'm glad we are sharing it together."
"Yeah." Tony agreed with a gentle smile.
They ate the rest of the meal in silence and after they had cleaned up, they brought some pie into the sitting room and relaxed.
"Want to watch another movie." Jack asked.
"Yeah sure. I'm sure there is something on one of the channels." Tony replied as he started flicking.
He came across the opening scene of 'It's a Wonderful Life' and Gibbs and Jackson nodded in agreement. They grabbed some more drinks before sitting down to enjoy the film. They enjoyed the film and Tony was happy to continue with his Christmas tradition of watching 'It's a Wonderful life'. It was the one thing that Tony did every Christmas.
Soon the film came to an end and Tony was falling asleep again.
"Come on Tony, time for bed." Gibbs said as he stood up
"No I'm ok, not tired." Tony mumbled tiredly.
"Yes you are." Gibbs argued with a smile. "Come on, it's been a long day."
"Yeah ok." Tony agreed and got up from the chair.
Gibbs led him up the stairs and into the guest room. Tony quickly got changed and went to the bathroom. Gibbs and Jack were waiting for him when he returned.
"Into bed Tony." Gibbs ordered as he pulled back the covers.
Tony awkwardly climbed into the bed and Jack handed some pills and a glass of water. Tony swallowed the pills and handed the glass back to Jack.
"Get some sleep." Jack ordered as Tony lay down.
"Thanks for a great Christmas." Tony said with a yawn. "It was really nice. I don't think I've ever had a Christmas like it."
"It's the first of many," Gibbs assured as he tucked Tony in. "Now get some sleep."
"Night." Tony added as Gibbs and Jack left the room.
"Now this really is a wonderful life." Tony whispered to himself and closed his eyes
Jackson and Gibbs heard what Tony said and smiled at each other before they each went their separate ways to go to sleep.
It was only the start with Tony but things were going to get better as time went on. They would be the family Tony wanted and needed.
The End.
A/N: Thats the end. I hope everyone has enjoyed my little story. I want to say a big thank you to everyone who has read this story and an especially bigthanks to all those who have takedn the time to leave reviews and alerts. I'm sorry I haven't had time to reply to all of them. There were just so many that I didn't have time. Real Life tends to take up a lot of my time. Thanks again for reading.