A/N: Okay, so this has been in my head since they "broke up". I am always scared to upload stories, especially Ryan/Gibbs fics because I know there is a nice large population who don't like her. Though I am a very loyal Jibbs fan, I still like Ryan/Gibbs. I hope Jamie Lee Curtis comes back, that's only going to happen if the writers can come up with a story. I hate when they say that about any characters.
A/N 2: I want to also give some shout outs: To my friend Lexie who is also a big Ryan fan and we constantly spaz over her and Gibbs. I also want to thank NCISVU who inspired me to get into the writing spirit. Then there is also Autopsy Germlin who gave me a lot of good reviews and I wanted to thank you but you didn't have PM so I couldn't hence- THANK YOU!
Disclaimer: I sadly own nothing. If so the season premire would've been in July.
The night air was brisk, with the wind stinging Leroy Jethro Gibbs' eyes. He still stared ahead as he slowed the pace of his run to a jog. As his pace slowed he realized how far he ran, "Damn. I still got it." He chuckled to himself. He listened to the night air, so silent, so peaceful. Not many people ran at two o'clock in the morning. That's why he ran then, as confident as he was at work, he didn't like people watching him run. It made him feel old.
He heard pounding on the ground and he froze at the corner of the street. He turned only to be slammed into by a teenage boy. They both tumbled to the ground, Gibbs' head bounced off the curb of the sidewalk.
"Oh my god- I am so sorry." The boy stuttered as he got up.
"I'm fine. Why'd you run into me?" Gibbs groaned as he sat up, rubbing the back of his head.
"I need to get- oh, God- hi Gibbs." The boy once again stuttered.
Gibbs looked up from his spot on the ground at the boy; he had light brown hair almost blonde with hazel green eyes.
"Parker?"
Parker nodded. Gibbs couldn't believe his eyes, "What are you doing here? Wait, never mind, why are you out so late?"
"I snuck out." Parker shrugged with a half smirk.
Gibbs looked the boy up and down. He was wearing soccer cleats, a soccer jersey, and shorts.
"Uh-huh. Help an old man up." Gibbs said holding his hand up to Parker. Parker smiled and gripped his hand and pulled. Gibbs groaned as he stood.
"Gibbs your head is bleeding!" Parker shouted.
"Keep your voice down. There are people sleeping. Come on I am walking you home."
Parker eyed Gibbs carefully. Their eyes met and stared at one another. Parker felt small and helpless around Gibbs, so he nodded and started walking in the direction of home. They walked silently and never made eye contact. All Gibbs could think about was Parker's mother, Samantha Ryan. He actually missed her. He felt so good when he was with her, but he never even thought that if she left him it would hurt, but it did. "My mom misses you." Parker said barely above a whisper. Gibbs quirked his eyebrow at him. "I sometimes catch her in the living room looking at a picture the two of you. At first I couldn't believe she got you take a picture; you don't seem like the picture kind of person."
Gibbs laughed out loud out as he remembered the moment. It was a late night for both of them. They went to the Diner and she took his plate of food and wouldn't give it back until he smiled in a picture for her. She ended up taking two that night, the very nice posed picture of them, and then one of him stuffing ten french fries in his mouth.
"She used food against me." He laughed again.
Parker was smiling too. He then came to a stop in front of a large a house with a porch and a tree.
"Go ahead sneak in. I will wait here and make sure you're in safely." Gibbs motioned towards the house.
"You're not gonna tell my mom?" Parker asked carefully.
"No. Not my place." Gibbs sighed.
"I thought maybe you'd use that as an excuse to talk to her." Parker shrugged.
"No." Gibbs muttered. "Go on. Get in the house before she realizes there are people standing outside."
Parker smiled a 100-watt smile and jogged to the tree that was planted in front of the porch roof. Gibbs watched Parker climb the tree like he had done properly a dozen times. He stretched his body from a branch of the tree to the roof gutter. He pulled himself to the roof, and then it went in slow motion. Gibbs watched as Parker's soccer cleat made contact with the gutter. As he went to stand the gutter started to shake and come lose. By then Gibbs was already jogging to where he was under Parker. Parker than slipped along with the gutter falling, he quickly threw his bag on the roof and gripped the edge of the lose gutter.
"Parker let go!" Gibbs whispered loudly.
"I can't. I'll fall on you."
"You already fell on me once today, just do it again. I'll catch ya!"
"Uh- I think I will just hang out here until Mom wakes up and can get a ladder."
"God dammit Parker let go!"
Then the front door slammed open.
"Who the hell is there?!" A voice screamed from the darkness, startling Parker enough for him to let go of the gutter. He fell onto Gibbs both going down in a heap, and not even a second later the gutter came down too.
Sam saw the shadow fall off the gutter onto the ground along with her gutter. She gripped her bat tighter as she opened the porch door and carefully approached the pile. She saw her son crawl out from under the gutter strip.
"Parker! What the hell is going on?!" She screamed.
"Mom I can explain..." Parker started in a panic.
"OH you want to explain why you are in your soccer uniform at 2:30 in the dam morning with a stranger!?"
"I'm not a stranger Doc." Gibbs grumbled once he was able to pull himself up.
Sam's eyes grew wide as she watched him dust himself off and face her. He smiled that half toothy smile she loved so much.
"Sorry about your gutter. My fault. I told him to sneak in so he wouldn't get in trouble." Gibbs rubbed the back of his head. "Good job Parker. Made me bleed twice tonight."
Sam lowered the bat and let it fall to the ground.
"Good seeing you guys again. Go easy on him Sam; he's just being a teenage boy."
With that Gibbs walked away, leaving a too stunned to speak Sam, and a grinning Parker.
The following weekend Gibbs decided to go through some of his things from when he was a teenager. His father shipped boxes of his stuff from Stillwater and he placed them all in his living room. Gibbs laughed at some of the pictures he found of him and his friends. It was hard to believe he use to act so crazy. He opened another box and pulled out the pair of cleats he wore for his first time starting as Quarterback. They only managed to last one game. He also found his football, basketball, and baseball jerseys in the same box. All the same colorings, gold and light blue, and all had the same number 7 on the back with the name Gibbs on the top. He smiled at all the newspaper clippings of his sports achievements and scholarship offers his Dad sent him.
A knock on the door broke him of his concentration of his old things.
"Yeah it's open."
In walked Parker Ryan. Gibbs smiled at the boy, "Whatcha doing here?"
"My mom says you owe her a new gutter and that I need to thank you for helping me and that I also need to help you fix the gutter." Parker rambled.
Gibbs chuckled and stood up from his spot on the ground, "Alright lets go then." Gibbs walked off to the basement to get his tools. Parker took this opportunity to look around. He saw the articles, the cleats, and the jerseys. He looked in the box and saw something that really got his attention, a Trumpet case. He couldn't help but pick it up.
"What are you doing Parker?"
"It's a trumpet."
"Yeah I know. It's mine."
"You play?"
"I did when I was your age." Gibbs said as he headed out the door.
Parker put the Trumpet down on the table and chased after Gibbs.
"If I can get a trumpet of my own, will you teach me?" Parker asked in an almost pleading voice.
"Yeah. Go back inside and take the trumpet. It's yours."
"Really?!" Parker almost jumped at the thought.
"Yeah. I don't have much use for it now do I?"
"Gibbs you rock!" Parker screamed and ran back inside.
Three hours, two trips to the hardware store, and five bottles of water later Gibbs and Parker were finished. They sat on the roof watching the sun set.
"Gibbs?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry I gave you a hard time when we met. I just thought you'd replace me."
"How'd I replace you?"
"The man in Mom's life."
Parker looked away, almost ashamed of his feelings, and completely embarrassed.
"Parker. I wasn't going to take your Mom from you. I didn't want to rock the boat."
Gibbs laid his hand on Parker's shoulder and squeezed.
"Can you start at least talking to her again then?"
Gibbs sighed and squeezed the teen's shoulder again.
"Your mom hurt me."
"I know but she was scared. And a lot was going on. And she needs someone else besides my aunt and me in her life."
Gibbs couldn't believe what he was hearing, a young man he had only met twice before was begging him to be a part of his life.
"It's not me who left. It's up to your mom. But Parker I think we've bonded over our last two meetings. So if you ever want a guy in your life, to play ball, to learn to play that damn horn, or to try your first beer, I'll be there."
Parker smiled. "You know, you're cool." He paused to make sure he caught Gibbs' eye. "For an old dude."
"Don't make me push you off the roof." Gibbs laughed. They clicked their water bottles together and sat quietly watching the sun fade away.
Early Sunday morning Gibbs' phone buzzed him awake.
"Yeah, Gibbs." He mumbled tiredly.
"Hi." A soft voice came through the other line.
"I must be having a flashback. What's up Doc?"
"My son has done nothing all evening but talk about how awesome you are." Sam whispered, the smile evident in her voice.
"He's a good kid. Headstrong, bright, and too sarcastic for his own good. Kind of like you."
Sam laughed a soft sweet laughed and Gibbs couldn't help but smile, he missed that laugh.
"I think he's trying to hint at something." She said smirking, knowing this was the right thing.
"Yeah me too."
"So, how does a game of charades sound?"
"Perfect. How long is this game going to last?"
"Oh I am thinking a while."
Gibbs smiled a huge toothy grin and laughed. That kid was good.
