Today was a special day. It was Austin's birthday, but she hadn't told anyone. She didn't even tell Gibbs. He had to find out from the letter that Shannon had written.
"Austin! Wake up!" Gibbs called from the kitchen.
Their was a loud groan from upstairs, followed be a long drawn out, "Why?"
"I just thought you might be hungry." Gibbs responded.
There was the sound of movement. Gibbs just let out a little chuckle as he saw Austin coming down the stairs, still in her pajamas that consisted of a black T-shirt and loose baggy checkered pants.
Austin rubbed her eyes then looked up at Gibbs. The smell of bacon and pancakes filling her nose. She smiled as she saw a stack of five pancakes and six slices of bacon resting on the table.
Gibbs smiled "Happy birthday." He said softly, gently kissing her forehead.
"Thanks Gibbs." She said simply.
Gibbs sighed a little as they both sat down at the table. He didn't understand why he couldn't get a 'dad' out of her.
Austin only had two of the five pancakes. Gibbs had the rest. She also only had two slices of bacon. She didn't eat much but she was still very healthy.
"Go get dressed. We are heading down to NCIS today." Gibbs informed.
"It's Saturday though."
"I know. A new marine was murdered last night. We think we got the guy who did it. I have to go in to interrogate him."
"Alright." Austin said with a smile as she got up and headed up the stairs. She didn't mind going to NCIS. She loved hanging out there.
As Gibbs drove them down to NCIS he tried to think of why Austin refused to call him dad. She had almost called him dad a couple days ago when she was distracted. She had quickly corrected herself.
Austin looked over at him and asked, "Are you alright?" She knew that something was bothering him.
"I'm fine… just thinking."
"About what?"
"About nothing important."
"It seems to be important to you." Austin countered.
"But its not important to you." Gibbs responded evenly.
Austin didn't say anything. She knew that she wouldn't be able to get anything out of him. He was too stubborn.
Once they were inside the building, Austin was bombarded by almost everyone on that floor. Most of them only wished her a happy birthday, but others had boxes covered in colorful paper with a ribbon on top. After most of the crowd boiled down, six people that actually got her something for her birthday surrounded her.
Ducky and Palmer got her a surgeon hat. It was more like a joke because Austin always loved to make fun of them for wearing those blue paper hats. She immediately put it on.
Abby got her a Seether cd. Austin had to laugh at that one. She loved when her and Abby just danced around in the lab to this cd. It was always so fun. So Abby decided to give Austin her own cd.
Tony got her a pair of really nice sunglasses. She put them on and everyone chuckled. Not because they looked bad, but because they suited her better than sunglasses suited Tony himself.
Ziva got her a bracelet which was surprising because of Ziva's tough nature. But then everyone saw the wording on the bracelet that read kick-ass. Everyone had to laugh, especially when Austin actually put it on.
Now it was McGee's turn. McGee handed Austin a flat, big box. Austin opened the box and it revealed and NCIS hat, jacket and even and NCIS T-shirt. Austin grinned. She loved it.
Austin hugged everyone and thanked everyone for the gifts. She put on the NCIS hat over the surgeon hat and put on the jacket. Now she was all dressed up with her sunglasses, surgeon hat, ball cap and not to mention her kick-ass bracelet.
Now it was time for the cake. Abby and Palmer had disappeared while Austin was opening the rest of her gifts and they came out of the elevator singing 'Happy Birthday" and everyone else joined in.
That was one of the biggest slack off days of NCIS history.
Two months following, Austin was hanging out with Paul. They had become best friends and now hang out almost everyday that they could.
Today they were in Austin's secret spot. Austin was standing in the stream barefoot. A smile on her face as she looked over at Paul, who was sitting on a rock right next to the water.
They always had funny conversations, but today Paul wanted to know why Austin never seemed to want to talk about her past. Today he finally got the nerve to ask, "What's your family like?"
"What do you mean?" Austin asked confused as she sat down next to him.
"I mean… how come you never talk about your family?"
Austin hesitated. She knew this question was coming. "Well… I don't know. My family is fine… its just…kind of a small one. That's all."
Paul said nothing. She knew that that meant she needed to elaborate a bit more.
"I only have a dad. No mom. Don't know my grandparents. Never really thought about them much."
"What? You mean you never thought about your grandparents ever?"
Austin sighed, but then she smiled a little. "I'll make you a deal. I'll tell you everything about my life. But not all in one day. If you stick around long enough, then you'll know everything about me."
Paul laughed a little. In the time that he knew Austin, she had always found a way to make everything a game. "Alright…fine."
She nodded. "Good. Well…that's enough for one night." She said standing up.
"Aw. Come on. You didn't tell me anything."
"I told you a lot." Austin laughed.
"Whatever…" Paul muttered.
"I'll see you later Pauly." Austin said walking away.
"See ya!" Paul called out as he headed off to his house.
Once Austin got home Gibbs was in the basement. She walked down the stairs and saw Gibbs sanding the boat.
Gibbs didn't look up from what he was doing. Austin knew something was bothering him and she was worried that it might be her.
"Gibbs…are you alright?"
"Austin…I have a question for you."
"What is it?"
"Why do you call me Gibbs?"
"Its your name…" Austin said confused, then she realized what he was talking about and she sighed heavily.
"So?" Gibbs asked, knowing she had figured it out.
"I'm sorry… I didn't think it mattered."
"Well… it doesn't really matter… but… it would just be nice… that's all."
"I don't know." Was Austin's only response.
Gibbs looked surprised. "What don't you know?"
"I don't know if I can."
"What are you talking about? I am your dad. How can it be hard?"
"I don't know… it just is."
"So you are going to go through your whole life calling me Gibbs?"
"I don't know… maybe."
"Austin. Don't be like that. That's not a good way of life."
"Why not?"
"Because. Its not supposed to be like that. That's all."
Austin sighed a little. "I'll try a little harder…" she says with a modest smile.
Gibbs knew from the smile that he was getting through to her and he let a smile escape him also. "Alright then. Now that that's out of the way, come over here and help me out with this." He says handing her a sander.
The next morning, both Austin and Gibbs had fallen asleep in the basement. Gibbs woke up first and chuckled a little, seeing Austin asleep in the only chair down there.
Austin woke up do to the laughter and looked over at Gibbs and she started to laugh herself, seeing his hair all askew. Austin stood up and stretched. "What are you laughing at?"
"Nothing in particular."
"Your not all that nice. You know that?" Austin asked with a slight laugh.
"I'm well aware."
"Good." Austin smiled. "Can I go for a quick bike ride dad?'
Gibbs grinned and nodded. "Go ahead. Be careful kid." He added.
Austin smiled and ran up the stairs. She was surprised when she looked at the clock that read only 4: 30. She yawned a little as she walked out to the garage. She got on her bike that Gibbs had gotten her for her birthday. He had said that she needed something to get all that energy out of her during the day.
She wore her NCIS ball cap as she rolled her bike out of the garage and out into the street. The early morning dew sticking to her black converse. She mounted on the bike and sped down the street. She loved riding her bike, especially this early in the morning because she hardly ever heard the sound of car engines. She would occasionally hear the sound of people jogging, and she would sometimes strike up a conversation with them.
It was always so calming in the morning because you could usually hear little birds talking to each other, and everything just wasn't as fast. You could move at any speed you liked and you wouldn't be yelled at for going too fast or too slow. It was perfect.
The streets were clear due to the early morning in the neighborhood, and the fact that it was Sunday. Well, the streets were mostly clear, all except for a black minivan that was behind her. For a second she thought that she was too much in the middle of the street for the car to pass, but then she realized that she was practically in the curb.
She got a little nervous as she sped up, and so did the car. The door flew open and Austin was suddenly off her bike. She opened her mouth to scream, but it was too late.
She wasn't fast enough.