A/N: I thought that the letterman jacket thing was hilarious in tonight's episode, and I wanted to expand on that. I also thought that Hick's saving Gary was a priceless moment. This is kind of a combination of those two observations.
Cameron Hicks knocked on the doorframe to Gary's office. He was staring at the badge that he prized so much. The one that didn't do him any good when they were at the high school earlier.
"Hi, Hicks," Gary said, glancing in the direction of the door.
"Hi, Gary." Hicks stepped into the office and leaned against the wall. "How's the head?" he asked. Gary rubbed the back of his head thoughtfully.
"It hurts. It's bruised. But it's okay," Gary answered. Hicks felt for the kid. In high school, he'd witnessed first hand the bullying that goes on. But unlike Gary and the kid from the case, he'd been on the bullying side. He had never personally done anything, but he was part of the crowd that did. "The assaulted a federal agent," he added.
Hicks chuckled. Gary was spending too much time with Bill. "I know they did. But you're okay," he said, before continuing on a more serious note. "Sometimes people try to hurt other people or make them feel bad, because they feel bad about themselves…And when they see someone different, they can…try to hurt that person…I think they just want to feel, more powerful, than someone," Hicks continued, albeit choppily. He wasn't used to these types of pep talks. He hadn't heard of his son being bullied, and if he ever did, God help him…
Dr. Rosen was walking by Gary's office when he overheard Cameron's speech. He smiled and kept walking. Hicks had it under control.
Hicks paused, and looked over at Gary, which he had neglected to do the whole time he was speaking. Gary wasn't flicking through signals or even examining his badge. He was staring at his hands and clearly listening intently. "Does that make sense, Gare? I'm probably not even making sense. I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry that they were picking on you and I'm sorry that they said those things to you. They were just intimidated by you, because you are smarter than they are, and they know it."
Subconsciously, he was apologizing for anything anyone had ever said to the younger man.
"Okay, Hicks. I'm okay. I had to give back the jacket with the leather sleeves. It wasn't mine," Gary answered after a couple seconds of silence. He looked up and started to flick through signals. Hicks took that as his cue to leave. He really hoped he had gotten through.
Before Hicks had gotten back to his own office, Dr. Rosen intercepted him. "That was very well said, Cameron. Much better than anything I could have come up with."
Hicks nodded. "Yeah. I hope it got through. It's kind of hard to tell with the kid," he said.
"It did. He heard you. He may never acknowledge it, but he definitely heard you, and I think he needed to hear it. Thank you for caring about him," he answered. Hicks smiled. As much as he hated to admit it, the kid was growing on him. He hadn't meant to get attached to anyone here, but it was happening anyways.
"Thanks, Doc."
That evening, Cameron Hicks went to his closet and grabbed a box from the very top shelf. This particular box was filled with memories from his life that he never got around to trashing. The item that he was after was his high school letterman jacket.
He had been half way home that night when he put two and two together and decided to give Gary the jacket. Gary had been so eager to get his hands on the one belonging to that bully. He brushed it off, but honestly it had been perfectly preserved beneath his baseball cards. Hicks set the jacket by his keys to ensure that he wouldn't forget it the next morning.
The next morning, Hicks got to the office late. Gary was in his office scanning for signals. "Hey, Gare," he said, standing in the doorway. "Can I come in?" He was holding the jacket behind his back.
"Hi, Hicks," Gary said, not stopping his channel surfing.
"Can you look at me for a second? I have something I want to give you. A gift," he said, remembering Gary's reaction when Dr. Rosen had referred to the folder of badges as a gift. That got Gary's full attention. He got up from his desk and went to stand in front of Hicks.
"What is it?" Gary asked, impatient. Hicks handed Gary the jacket. "It's mine now? Or do I have to give it back? Can I have it?" He was already struggling to put the jacket on. When he finally got it situated, he smiled.
"Yeah, Gare. It's yours now. It doesn't have the big 'G' you wanted, but I'm sure we could sew one on," he answered.
"Cool. Thanks Hicks," Gary said, brushing past him to show it off to the rest of the team. Hicks smiled and followed him out. It was official; this kid was definitely growing on him.