Nine year old Tony DiNozzo collapsed onto a bench looking onto the beach. He cradled his right arm across his chest and rested against the back of the bench with a low moan. He closed his eyes against the bright sun light and relaxed slightly.
He had only been sitting there for a few minutes when he heard someone sitting down beside him. He reluctantly opened his eyes and took a quick glance at the person. The man had brown hair that was starting to turn grey, which was cut marine style. Tony sighed and got up from the bench with a groan.
"Hey kid, are you alright." The man asked before Tony could get away.
"I'm fine sir." Tony replied politely and started to walk away.
The man jumped off the seat and hurried after him, much to Tony's dismay. Tony sped up as much as he could but the man was faster and grabbed his arm.
"Arrgh." Tony yelped and pulled his arm out of the man's grasp.
"Didn't mean to hurt you." The man said apologetically. "I can tell something is wrong and I just want to help."
"I'll be fine Sir." Tony assured with forced smile.
"Don't call me sir. I work for a living." The man said
"Sorry sir."
"And don't apologise it's a sign of weakness." he continued "Now why don't you tell me what's wrong. Did you hurt your arm?"
"I don't mean to be rude" Tony said as he edged slowly away, "But I don't know you, so I would like if you left me alone now."
"You can call me Gibbs." The man said with a smile and reached into his pocket. "I'm a federal agent." He continued as he showed Tony his badge. "I just want to help you. I can call your father if you want."
"No." Tony yelled "Don't call my father, please don't call him."
"It's ok kid, relax. I won't call him if you don't want me to." Gibbs assured. "What's your name?"
"Anthony DiNozzo." Tony replied hesitantly as he scanned the area. "But I like Tony better."
"Alright Tony" Gibbs replied with a smile and pointed over to a nearby bench. "That's my wife and daughter over there. Will you come over with me?"
"No I don't think so." Tony replied as he looked at the red haired woman and the brown haired girl sitting on the bench watching them. "I should be going."
"Tony, I know something is wrong." Gibbs sighed. "My wife wants' to make sure that you are alright. She's worried about you."
"Ok." Tony relented and followed Gibbs over to the bench.
"This is my wife Jenny and our daughter Abby." Gibbs introduced them "This here is Tony."
"It's very nice to meet you Tony." Jenny greeted warmly." We were just about to have a picnic, would you like to join us?"
"Um, I don't want to intrude."
"You won't be." Jenny assured as she and Abby stood up from the bench. "Jethro can you grab the basket."
Tony looked confused until he saw Gibbs picking up the basket. He then followed the family down to the sand where Jenny spread out a blanket and Gibbs set the basket down. It was a lovely spring day and there were a lot of families on the beach. Tony hesitantly sat down beside Abby who was watching him the entire time.
"So um, where are you from." Tony asked awkwardly. "Are you here on vacation?"
"We live in D.C." Gibbs replied as he and Jenny started laying out the food. "And yes we are on a vacation. Are you from here?"
"Yes I live here with my father." Tony replied "I'm home for a few weeks on holiday from school."
"Do you go to boarding school?" Abby asked in awe. "That's so cool."
"Ah yeah." Tony replied with a small smile. "It's ok."
"Does your mom not live with you?" Abby asked.
"She died a few years ago." Tony replied sadly.
"Oh, my mum and dad died too." Abby added sadly.
"Oh." Tony replied and looked at Gibbs and Jenny confused.
"We adopted Abby just over a month ago." Jenny explained "We came here on vacation to get to know each other a bit better."
"That's nice." Tony smiled "I should leave you to get to know each other. I don't want to be in the way."
"Please stay." Abby begged "It's nice to have someone nearly my age to talk to."
"Alright." Tony sighed "What age are you?"
"I'm nine and three months." Abby grinned. "What age are you."
"I'm nearly ten." Tony replied happily "Well I'll be ten in June."
"Really." Jenny asked in surprise. "I thought you were younger than Abby, seven or eight at the most."
"I'm small for my age." Tony sighed unhappily "But I really am nearly ten."
"We believe you Tony." Gibbs assured "How is your arm feeling."
"It's fine." Tony shrugged.
"What happened?" Abby asked.
"Um nothing." Tony lied and looked away fearing they would find out and cause his father to be angry.
"Did your Father hurt you Tony?" Gibbs asked softly. He had notice how scared Tony became when his father was mentioned.
Tony's head snapped up and he looked shocked at Gibbs and Jenny. He stood up quickly and started backing away. "I have to go."
"Wait, Tony." Gibbs said and hurried after the boy. "Come back Tony."
"Please don't say anything to my father." Tony begged as he stopped walking. "It'll only make it worse."
"Come back Tony." Gibbs said worried about the boy, he had seen child abuse before and Tony showed the typical behaviour. "I promise I won't say anything to get you in trouble."
"Ok." Tony relented and returned with Gibbs.
"Are you ok?" Jenny asked as Tony hesitantly sat down.
Tony nodded but didn't speak.
"Help yourself to whatever you want to eat." Jenny said as she started eating a sandwich.
Abby picked up a sandwich, so Tony did the same and they all started eating. Tony didn't eat much and nobody wanted to push him too much, so they let him be.
When the food was finished Jethro and Jenny tidied away the containers and the leftovers. When that was done they sat back down and looked over at Tony, who was avoiding their looks.
"Why did your father hurt you Tony?" Gibbs asked after a few minutes of awkward silence.
Tony sighed and looked at all the other families playing happily in the sand. "I got a B in Math." He admitted after a minute. "I tried to tell him that I wasn't feeling well during the exam and I had to go to the nurse's office before it finished, but he doesn't care."
"Can I see your arm Tony?" Jenny asked softly. "I want to make sure it's ok."
Tony nodded and let Jenny help him to remove his sweater. Jenny gasped when she saw his arm. A large bruise was beginning to appear, circling his bicep. His wrist was bruised and swollen.
"Does it hurt anywhere else?" Gibbs asked as he looked at the injuries in horror.
"My, um, chest a bit." Tony admitted softly.
"Tony, your wrist is broken." Jenny said softly "We need to get you to the hospital to get it fixed."
"No, it's' ok." Tony protested. "My father will get mad."
"I'm not going to let him hurt you Tony." Gibbs assured. "I'm a federal agent and so is Jenny. We can make it so you never have to see your father again."
Tony looked at them in shock. He didn't think he could just leave his father, after all he was his father and you are supposed to stay with your parents until you are an adult. It didn't make sense to Tony. He wasn't even sure if wanted to leave his father.
"I know this is scary Tony." Jenny added pulling him from his thoughts "But no parent should ever hurt their children the way your father hurt you. It's wrong for him to hurt you Tony."
"But I...I...I got a B so he had to punish me." Tony protested.
"He still shouldn't hit you." Abby butted in. "I got B's before and I never got hit."
"Really?" Tony asked in shock, "Then how were you punished."
"I wasn't." Abby replied "A B isn't a bad grade Tony."
"My father thinks it is." Tony sighed "He gets mad if I don't get A's."
"Has he hurt you before?" Gibbs asked
Tony nodded reluctantly.
"Does he hit you a lot?" Jenny asked.
"I'm not home that much." Tony replied "I only come home from boarding school on holidays and I spend most of the summer at camp."
"But he hits you when you are home." Jenny pushed.
"Yeah." Tony replied.
"I think we should get you to the hospital." Gibbs said and stood up.
"I don't want to go to the hospital." Tony protested. "I don't like hospitals. I...I...Please don't make me go."
"We'll stay with you Tony, you won't be alone." Gibbs assured and squeezed Tony shoulder before he went to pick up the blanket.
The others followed his lead and they quickly shook the sand off the blanket and folded it up. Gibbs led the way to their car and they all climbed in. Horrible thoughts were running through Tony's head as he watched the family. One of the cooks had tried to stop his father from beating him a few years ago and the cook was fired and the same with some of his nannies. He didn't want that to happen to these people, they had been nothing but nice to him.
"Maybe I should just go home." Tony said as they started to pull out of the parking lot. "My father has a lot of money and could cause a lot of trouble. I don't want you to get into trouble."
"We are willing to risk it for you." Jenny assured as she turned around to look at the injured boy. "We won't let him hurt you again Tony."
Tony nodded but didn't believe that they could stop his father from hurting him. He sat quietly in the back of the car with Abby, as they made their way through traffic to the nearest hospital.
Everyone went into the emergency room and sat down to wait for Tony to be called. There were some cartoons on the TV which Tony and Abby watched to keep themselves from being bored. Gibbs went outside while they were occupied and made a call to the police and also to his team at NCIS. He needed to document the injuries that Tony had sustained so that they could get the child away from his father.
By the time they were called, two police officers had arrived. They went with Gibbs and Tony, while Jenny and Abby stayed in the waiting room. The doctor came in and took a quick look at Tony before ordering x-rays of wrist and of his ribs.
Tony was terrified and was shaking as he sat on the bed waiting to be brought to x ray. The cops took pictures of Tony injuries and took a statement from Gibbs while they waited. The doctor returned and brought the terrified child down to x-ray and quickly took the required pictures. Gibbs was waiting outside the door for them and quickly assured Tony that everything was ok.
Tony was returned to his cubicle and gave his statement to the cops. Tony was afraid that they would tell his father and he would get an even worse beating when he was brought home, but Gibbs kept encouraging him to tell what had happened. After taking Tony statement they waited for the doctor, who returned a few minutes later with the x-ray films.
"Tony's wrist is broken." The doctor said. "He has two cracked ribs and some heavy bruising which is just starting to appear. I should be able to set the wrist without surgery.
"Good." Gibbs sighed in relief. "Can you write up a full report on his injuries and give them to the police."
"Yes of course." The doctor replied "This is a very obvious case of child abuse and there is scaring to suggest this isn't the first time it has happened."
Gibbs looked over at Tony who had his head down, refusing to make eye contact "I'd have to agree with you there Doc."
"I'll be back in a few minutes Tony." The doctor said and motioned for Gibbs to follow him outside "I need to get the things for your cast."
"I'll be back in a few minutes Tony." Gibbs said. "I'm just going to tell Jenny and Abby what's going on."
"Um ok." Tony said hesitantly
Gibbs followed the doctor and the two cops outside and they moved a bit away from the door.
"What's wrong?"
"Who has been beating Tony?" The doctor asked worriedly
"His father, by the looks of it." One of the cops replied.
"You need to make sure that the boy does not go back to him." The doctor stressed. "From the x-rays and scarring I've seen I'm surprised the boy hasn't been more seriously injured. He doesn't need to stay in the hospital, but I will not release him until you can guarantee that his father will not get anywhere near him."
"We can take him and have him put in a group home." One of the cops suggested.
"I'll take him." Gibbs volunteered "We are registered as foster parents, have your department check us out. Both my wife and I are federal agents and can offer protection for Tony."
"That's a lot to do for a boy you just met." The other cop said. "But if that's what you want then that's what we'll do. We'll need you and your wife to come to the station to sign some documents."
"That's fine." Gibbs replied. "I'll just inform my wife and as soon as Tony has his cast we'll meet you there."
"Sounds good." The cop replied as they left the hospital.
Gibbs quickly informed Jenny of what was going on and then hurried back to where Tony waiting. When he entered the cubicle he saw a look of relief flash across Tony's face.
"Are you alright?" he asked
"Yeah, I ah, I just thought you weren't coming back." Tony admitted.
"I'm not leaving you." Gibbs assured just as the doctor entered.
"Are you allergic to any medicines Tony?" The doctor asked as he prepared a syringe.
"Um no, I don't think so. What are you doing with that?" Tony asked worriedly as he eyed the syringe.
"I need to give you something to help with the pain." The doctor explained. "It might hurt a bit when I fix your wrist."
Tony nodded and the doctor injected the contents. Gibbs sat beside Tony and held him while the doctor started putting the cast on Tony's wrist. Tony gasped occasionally as the doctor manipulated his wrist. Soon Tony's entire forearm was covered in white plaster and was supported in a sling. His ribs had also been strapped up tightly.
"Thanks for everything Doc." Gibbs said "I appreciate it."
"It was no problem. I have the report here if you want to bring it to the station with you."
"Yeah that would be great." Gibbs replied "Do I need to do anything for Tony."
"If he's hurting, give him some Children's Tylenol. The shot I gave him should do him for a while."
They both smiled as Tony looked at them with a dopey smile.
"They seem to be working." The doctor said and shook Gibb's hand. "Let me know if you need anything else."
"Thanks Doc." Gibbs said as he helped Tony off the bed. "Come on Tony lets go."
"Okey Dokey" Tony replied with a silly grin. "Where are we goin'?"
"We are going to collect Jenny and Abby." Gibbs replied as he led Tony to the waiting room.
"Hey Tony are you ok." Abby asked as she ran towards them.
"I'm fine." Tony grinned
"Why is he smiling like that?" Abby asked Jenny
"They gave him some pain killers." Gibbs explained. "Come on let's get going."
Abby nodded and the four of them made their way out to the car. Gibbs buckled Tony in before getting into the driving seat and speeding off.
Tony sat in the back of the car watching the three strangers that were being nicer to him than his father ever had been. He'd been afraid before the doctor had given him the injection but now he was feeling kind of floaty and happy. He knew it wasn't going to last but he enjoyed it while he could.
They arrived at the police department within 15 minutes and Jenny and Gibbs quickly signed the required papers. Gibbs handed over the doctor's report and gave them his contact details. They would be returning to DC tomorrow and they needed to have everything arranged so that Tony could go with them. Gibbs didn't know why but he felt close to this boy and needed to protect him.
With everything complete, they left the police department and got back into the car. The day had gone very quickly and it was nearing dinner time. Gibbs drove the car back to the hotel and the four of them walked to a nearby diner.
"What do you want to eat Tony?" Jenny asked kindly.
"Can I pick anything?" Tony asked hesitantly.
"Anything that's on the menu." Gibbs confirmed
"Even pizza?" Tony asked in awe.
"Yes even pizza." Jenny assured "Have you ever had pizza before Tony?"
"My father didn't allow me to have it. But I've seen people eating it on TV and I'd really like to try it."
"Well you can order it if you want." Abby added "Gibbs and Jenny are really nice."
"Ok." Tony grinned happily. "There are so many types, I don't know which to get."
"I'm getting sausage and cheese pizza." Abby said. "You can try some if you want."
"I'm getting the Hawaiian pizza." Jenny said. "You can try some of mine too."
"I'm getting the meat feast." Gibbs added.
"Can I get the pepperoni?" Tony asked.
"Of course." Jenny replied and Gibbs placed their orders with the waitress.
The pain killers were starting to wear off and Tony was feeling a bit sore again. He tried to hide that he was in pain, his father had told him it was a weakness to show pain and Tony had become very good at hiding it.
"Are you alright Tony?" Abby asked
"Yeah I'm fine." Tony replied with a smile as their drinks were placed on the table.
Gibbs and Jenny shared a glance but said nothing. A few minutes later their pizzas were placed in front of them.
"Dig in Tony." Gibbs said with a grin when he saw Tony's wide eyes taking in the food in front of him.
Tony picked up a slice and quickly bit into it, while the other all watched him.
"Mmm this is really good." Tony said after he had swallowed. "Thanks for getting me pizza."
"You are very welcome Tony." Jenny said with a sad smile. She could not believe that a father wouldn't allow a child to try a food like pizza. She knew it wasn't healthy to have it all the time, but every so often was ok. She picked up a slice of pizza from her own plate and put it on Tony's. Tony grinned and handed her a slice of his pizza. Abby and Gibbs grinned and quickly handed over a slice of their pizza and accepted some of his.
Tony took a bite of each and then started trying different variations while other looked on amused. Tony occasionally stopped eating to take a drink, but didn't stop to talk. When he was finished he sat back and grinned happily. "That was the best dinner ever."
"Glad you enjoyed it." Gibbs said with a smile as he paid the bill. "Let's get back to the hotel; it's been a long day."
"Um, am I...I mean, do I, what about me?" Tony stuttered.
"You're staying with us." Jenny assured. "Don't worry; we are going to take care of you."
"Um ok." Tony replied. He didn't understand why these people were being so nice to him but for now he was going to go along with it. They strolled back to the hotel at leisurely pace and Tony was getting more nervous the closer they got to the building. When they reached the hotel, Tony followed the family to their room. Tony entered behind Gibbs and looked around the large family room. There was one double bed and two single beds.
"You can take the bed near the window." Gibbs said softly as he nodded in the direction of the bed.
Tony gave a soft smile and walked over to the bed and sat down. Abby jumped onto her bed with a bug smile and settled back against the headboard. "This is going to be fun. I've never had a brother."
Tony's head snapped up in shock as he looked at Abby and then at the two adults.
"Um what do you mean?" Tony asked hesitantly
"Well if you're gonna stay with us then you are going to be my brother." Abby explained slowly. "That's how it works; you'll be part of the family."
"You want me to be part of your family?" Tony gasped.
"Yes of course Tony." Jenny replied as she sat on the edge of Abby's bed facing Tony. "You can't go back to your father after what he has done to you, so someone needs to take care of you. We want to take care of you, that is, if you want us to."
"You really want to keep me?" Tony asked in surprise. "Why would you want to keep me, I'm just a useless brat."
"You are not Tony." Jenny argued "Did your father tell you that?"
Tony nodded slightly and looked down at the floor.
"Your father is a horrible man Tony" Jenny continued as she took Tony's hand in hers "You are a very brave, smart and polite boy. Your father is blind if he cannot see that. When we adopted Abby we had planned to adopt again, maybe not quite so soon, but now that you are here, we want you as part of the family."
"I don't know what to say." Tony replied meekly.
"If this isn't what you want, just say so." Gibbs added. "We want you as part of our family but only if you are comfortable with it."
"I do, I am." Tony assured "I just, I'm not used to this."
"To what?" Abby asked confused as she moved nearer to Jenny.
"To people wanting me around." Tony answered softly. "My father never wanted me near him and when my mother was alive she only wanted to show me off and then sent me away with a nanny."
"Well we want you Tony." Abby assured with a smile. "I really want a brother."
"Thanks." Tony replied with a small smile.
"Do you want to take a shower Tony?" Gibbs asked as he started pulling out some clothes and towels.
"Um, I don't have anything with me."
"That's alright." Gibbs assured "You can borrow one of my t-shirts and the two police officers are going to bring by some of your things in the morning."
"Ok." Tony replied and got up from the bed.
He took the clothes and towels from Gibbs and went through the door to the bathroom. Gibbs followed him and helped him to wrap his cast so it wouldn't get wet.
"Call me if you need me." Gibbs said stepping out of the room to give the boy some privacy.
As soon as he heard the water start Gibbs sat down on his and Jenny's bed with a sigh.
"He's not had an easy life." Jenny said as she sat beside her husband.
"No he hasn't"
"We'll do what we can to help him." Jenny assured "We will do whatever we have to do to keep him. We will fight his father if we have to."
"Yeah." Abby added.
A few minutes later the shower stopped and Abby started gathering her things. Just as she had everything ready, the door open and Tony walked out wearing a much too big t-shirt and boxers.
"Your turn Abby." Jenny said and Abby hurried into the bathroom. "Come over here Tony and I'll dry your hair."
"I can manage." Tony argued.
"I know you can but I want to."
Tony nodded hesitantly and sat down beside Jenny who had pulled out a hair brush and hairdryer. She gently brushed Tony's hair and started drying it. Tony eyes closed as Jenny gently massaged his scalp while she dried his hair. By the time she was finished he was leaning against her nearly falling asleep. Jenny had just turned off the hair dryer as Abby came out of the bathroom dressed in her pyjamas. Tony's eyes snapped open and pulled away from Jenny, embarrassed by his actions. He got up and walked over to his bed. Abby sat down in Tony's vacated seat as Gibbs took his turn in the bathroom. After Abby's hair was dry she bounced onto her bed and Jenny took her turn in the bathroom. Gibbs got some fresh bandaged and re wrapped Tony's ribs for him, while Abby bounced on her bed.
"I think it's time for bed." Gibbs said after he finished with Tony's ribs and Jenny had finished getting ready.
Tony nodded and climbed under his covers as did Abby. Tony turned on his side and rested his arm on a pillow. He had just closed his eyes when he felt someone standing over him. He opened his eyes and saw both Jenny and Gibbs standing over his bed. Jenny leaned down and gently started tucking the blankets around Tony.
"What...what are you doing?" Tony asked in surprise.
"I'm just tucking you in." Jenny explained. "Haven't you ever been tucked in before?"
Tony shook his head no as Jenny continued.
"Goodnight kiddo." Gibbs said as he ruffled Tony's hair.
"Goodnight Tony." Jenny added and gave him a kiss on the forehead.
Tony smiled at them both and again closed his eyes. He felt safe with these people, he didn't know why but this was the safest he had ever felt.
A/N: So this is my new story. It is going to take a while for updates as it's not even nearly completed but I have a few people asking for me to post it here. Hope you enjoy it.