Deceptive Behaviour

NCIS Agent Jethro Gibbs was sweeping up sawdust from the basement floor of his home when he heard the kitchen door close upstairs, and the sound of his son's footsteps approaching the basement stairs.

"Dad," Tony called into the basement's depths, "I'm home. Good night-" His footsteps started back towards the kitchen.

Surprised, Gibbs called out, "Tony! Come here a second." Tony's face appeared at the top of the stairs, and he scrunched himself to a crouch on the landing so that his father could see him. "Is everything ok?" Jethro studied Tony's face, but saw nothing really wrong in his expression.

"No, no sir, I just..." Tony stammered out a reply. "I just decided to make it an early night. I thought you'd be proud of me for making curfew." The last statement was designed to throw his dad on the defensive, and it worked.

"Of course I'm glad, " Jethro responded. "You usually slide in at 12:59 and keep yourself out of trouble by the skin of your teeth. But it's only..." Jethro consulted his watch, "it's only 11:45, so you had a little over an hour left to stay out and have fun."

"Right, well I guess I'm just tired from the week. I'm heading on to bed, ok Dad?"

"Yes, of course. Get to bed, and I am really pleased that you aren't in trouble with your poor dad over your curfew for a change. Night, night," Gibbs grinned.

"Night," was the response, and Jethro heard Tony's footsteps fade as he made his way upstairs to his room. Still holding the broom, Jethro puzzled over Tony's behaviour as he finished the last of the sweeping. Tony was always just a breath away from breaking curfew, and the fact that he had not only made it, but was an hour early, was noteworthy- and suspicious. Tonight he'd said he was going out with his current girlfriend and another couple to a movie and the mall, not necessarily in that order. Jethro wondered if Tony and Carrie, his love interest this week, had gotten into an argument.

Finishing his clean up he headed upstairs, stretching and moving his arms to try and remove some of the muscle kinks. He decided to get ready for bed himself. Reaching the floor with the bedrooms he eased Tony's door open gently so as not to wake him. He crossed the room and found Tony sprawled across the bed sideways, covers fallen and scattered on the floor. His father fixed the bedding as best as he could, noting that Tony hadn't bothered to put on night clothes and had gone to sleep in nothing but his boxers. He'd get cold later without the protection of the sheets and blankets. Brushing back his son's bangs, he kissed his forehead and slipped out of the room.

The next morning Tony awoke slowly and leisurely, smiling at the luxury of realizing it was not a school day, but the events of the night before came back to him, as well, and he sobered quickly. Despite explicit instructions from his father that he was not to ever, ever go to a location more than ten miles from his home when out, he and Dylan, his best friend, had decided a trip to Baltimore was long overdue. Only thirty miles or so from where they lived in Washington, DC, they agreed that they should be able to visit the city and travel there and back well within their curfew parameters. The girls, once a better, more exciting time than had originally been planned was dangled in front of them, were equally as excited to accommodate their dates in the change of location.

So the four teens took off in Tony's car. Dylan had programmed a restaurant his older brother had recommended into the navigation system, and the two couples were off and running. The restaurant, famous for its fresh seafood dishes, turned out to be fantastic, and they all agreed to just spend the remainder of their time there, enjoying the view from the balcony and the ambience of the setting. Tony was delighted, and spent his free time talking Carrie into one passionate kiss after another. She was enticing, and Tony was enchanted with her.

All good things must come to an end, though. Dylan's date, Amber, had a curfew at midnight, which was an hour earlier than the other three. The girls headed to the restroom, chattering about how much they loved the place, and the boys strolled slowly to Tony's car, clapping each other on the back for the brilliant idea of a gorgeous, glorious change of venue. Rounding the corner of the restaurant, Tony and Dylan ran right smack into NCIS Director (and boss to one Jethro Gibbs), Leon Vance, out for a date night with his wife, Jackie!

Tony froze, but tried to recover his equilibrium and his composure post haste when it was obvious that the Vances clearly recognized him. He replied politely to their inquiries about his school and sports activities in a steady voice, willing himself to act normally. He was at his most charming, but was very, very relieved to see the girls approach at last. After rushed introductions, he quickly excused himself, telling the Vances the four all had to get home before curfew.

Director Vance nodded sagely, and offered, "Don't speed on the way home. I know your dad, and if you get a ticket, you won't be driving anymore." Tony laughed politely and propelled the group to the car, waving good bye to the unwelcome encounters.

Once the girls were returned to the sanctuary of their homes Tony and Dylan began to lament the unexpected run in with Vance. Tony was very clear about the repercussions of disobeying his former Marine father, and Dylan's dad, who was active military, would respond in kind. Tony mentally ran through the possible consequences of his night, if discovered, and groaned out loud.

"My dad is going to see this Ferris Bueller escapade as a major violation of trust."

"Cheer up, "Dylan attempted to make them both feel better. "There is no reason to think Director Vance will even mention he saw you."

Tony brightened a little at the thought and added, "This is Friday night. By Monday if he sees Dad at headquarters he'll probably have forgotten. I think it would be smart if we just went on home early and pretended to have actually had a mature thought about obeying our curfews."

"See?" Dylan reinforced his hope, "all's well that ends well."

Tony dropped Dylan off a few minutes later and turned the car towards home. His father was like a human truth detector- after all, he was an interrogator for a government agency! If his father saw his face it would surely give away his guilt. Worse yet, if his father got close to him, he'd surely hear Tony's heart pounding with the fear of being discovered. His best bet was to just convince his dad that he needed an early night.