The following morning arrived with a lot of activity. The two cops from the day before knocked at the door very early. Nobody was awake yet. Gibbs got out of bed and went outside to talk to them. Abby and Jenny got up and started getting ready, while Tony stayed on his bed waiting for some clothes. Gibbs returned to the room after more than 10 minutes carrying two large suitcases. Gibbs set the two cases down and then sat beside Tony.
"They arrested your father last night on charges of child abuse." Gibbs said softly to Tony. "He'd been drinking when they arrived and hadn't even noticed you were missing."
Tony nodded, not surprised by this.
"When they tried to arrest him, he fought them." Gibbs continued. "They were leading him down the steps to the police car when he tried to break free. His hands were cuffed behind his back and he fell down the steps."
Gibbs paused to make sure Tony understood what he was saying. Tony nodded and Gibbs continued.
"One of the cops also fell and landed on your father. Your father was brought to the hospital but he was dead by the time they got there."
"Oh." Tony said "Do I still get to stay with you."
"Yes of course." Gibbs assured as Jenny sat beside Tony. "We will do everything we can to keep you with us."
"Ok." Tony replied with a smile.
"You can get dressed and then we can go for some breakfast." Jenny said. "Our flight isn't for another few hours."
Tony nodded and pulled a few things from one of the cases and went to the bathroom to change.
"Are we going to have any problems?" Jenny asked as soon as the door closed. "Does he have any other family?"
"Everything should be ok." Gibbs assured. "His mother's family are in England and I don't think his father's family will cause any problems."
"That's good." Jenny sighed just as Tony came out of the room. "Are you ready to go Tony?"
"Yeah." Tony replied with a smile and the four of them left the room.
They went to the restaurant in the hotel and sat at a table. Tony was amazed by the variety of foods available but settled for pancakes. He very rarely got to have those at home so was looking forward to them. The food was served quickly and they all started eating what they had ordered.
"Did you enjoy your breakfast Tony?" Jenny asked when they had all finished.
"Yeah it was great. I never get to have pancakes."
"What do you normally have for breakfast?" Abby asked curiously.
"When I'm at school they normally just give us cereal and fruit." Tony explained. "When I'm at home the cook normally just gives me toast or oatmeal."
"You have a cook." Abby gasped.
"My father does, or did." Tony replied. "What's going to happen to his company now?"
"I'm not sure." Gibbs replied "The lawyers will look at his will and see who he left everything to."
"That's good." Tony replied.
"We should get going." Gibbs said as he paid the bill. "We need to pack and then get to the airport."
"It takes a while to get to the airport from here." Tony agreed.
With that the four of them returned to the hotel room and started packing. Tony was already packed so he helped Abby. Soon they were all ready and after they checked out, they got into a cab and headed for the airport. Gibbs had called ahead and booked an extra seat for Tony, so when they arrived they quickly checked in and went to the departure lounge.
They didn't have to wait long before their flight was called and soon they were in the air flying to Washington. Tony was very quiet during the flight. He had a lot to think about and was a bit nervous about what was going to happen when they landed.
When they finally disembarked the plane, they quickly collected their bags and then went to the car park to Gibbs car. Tony was surprised to see a large, black people carrier. Gibbs put their bags in the trunk and they all climbed into the car. The drive wasn't too long but Tony was a bag of nerves the entire way. His nervousness increased when they pulled up in front of a big suburban house, with a white picket fence and roses growing in the garden. It wasn't as big as the mansion he grew up in.
Tony grabbed one of his suitcases while Gibbs took the other. Gibbs led the way up the steps and Tony shyly followed and stood awkwardly in the hall way.
"Come on and I'll show you your room." Abby said as she started running up the stairs.
Tony looked at Gibbs for permission and at Gibbs' nod he hurried up the stairs after Abby. He followed Tony into a large room with a double bed, wardrobe, desk and lockers filling it.
"This will be your room." Abby said with a big smile. "There are other rooms but this is the best and the only one with furniture at the moment."
"This room is great." Tony said as he looked around. "It's way better than my room at school."
"What about the one in your old house." Abby asked as she sat down on the bed.
"I didn't like my room." Tony admitted as he sat down beside her. "My Mother decorated it and it had a big four poster bed with curtains. I wasn't allowed to have any toys or anything in there."
"Oh, well Gibbs and Jenny are really nice and they'll let you have toys in here if you want them." Abby assured with a smile. "Do you want to see my room?"
"Yeah sure." Tony replied as Abby jumped up from the bed.
Tony quickly got up and followed her to a door across the hall. He walked into a very girly room which surprised him
"Gibbs and Jenny decorated it before I moved in." Abby explained when she saw Tony's surprise. "They said I could change it, but I kind of like it now. I feel like a princess."
"That's really nice of them." Tony said. "Are they really as nice as they seem."
"Yeah they seem to be." Abby replied "I've only been with them for two months and they've been great. I was staying with my aunt for two months before that and it was horrible. She was old and didn't really take care of me."
"How did your parents die?" Tony asked softly.
"They were killed in a car crash." Abby whispered softly. "It was New Years day and there was some guy who was drinking and he hit the car. They wouldn't tell me what happened after that but I know it was bad."
"How?" Tony asked as they both sat down on Abby's bed
"There was a junk yard near my house and I used to sneak in there and look at the wrecked cars. I saw how bad they were after crashes." Abby explained. "I really don't want to think about them being hurt, so I try not to think about it."
"It's ok. I understand." Tony assured. "You don't have to talk about it."
"Thanks Tony." Abby replied "So um, how did your mum die."
"She had some cancer thing." Tony replied. "She was sick for a while before she died but I didn't see her much anyway. I'm sorry your parents died."
"I'm sorry yours died." Abby added.
"I'm not." Tony replied and Abby's head snapped up. "I know that sounds horrible but they were really mean and I hated when I had to come home from school. My Mother was nearly as bad as my Father. She was always drinking and she got angry a lot."
"I'm sorry Tony." Abby said and laid her head on his shoulder.
"Me too." Tony added with a sigh.
They stayed like that for a few minutes until there was a soft knock on the door. Both kids looked up to see Jenny and Gibbs watching them.
"Is everything ok?" Gibbs asked.
"Yeah." They both replied together and started giggling.
"Glad you two are getting on so well." Jenny said. "We brought up your bags so the two of you can start unpacking while I cook dinner. Is your room ok Tony?"
"Yeah it's great. I really like it."
"I'm glad. You can decorate it yourself; we can pick out paint in a week or so." Jenny added. "We want you to feel at home."
"Thanks." Tony replied as he got up and went to his room.
His two bags were on his bed and were opened. It was going to be awkward with just one arm but he opened the wardrobe and pulled out some hangers and sat beside his suitcase.
"Do you want a hand with those?" Gibbs asked as he walked into the room. "It'll be hard with your arm in a cast."
"Um yeah ok." Tony replied hesitantly, hating that he needed help. "I was just going to put them on hangers and put them up if that's ok."
"That's fine Tony. How about I put them on the hangers and you can hang them up."
"Thanks." Tony replied with a small smile, his thoughts running a mile a minute. He was finding it hard to believe that this family was being so nice to him and not expecting anything in return. He took the clothes handed to him by Gibbs and carefully hung them up. They continued in silence for nearly ten minutes, both lost in their own thoughts, Finally Gibbs broke the silence.
"We heard you talking to Abby."
"I'm sorry." Tony said quickly thinking he had done something wrong. "I didn't mean to upset her."
"That's alright Tony, we're not mad. In fact we are very pleased."
"Oh." Tony asked in surprise, he really didn't understand these people.
"Yeah, it's the first time she's actually spoken about her parent's death." Gibbs explained as he continued handing Tony the clothes to hang up. "She wouldn't talk to anyone; we've tried to get her to talk to a lot of people, therapists and doctors. She likes you and we are all very happy you are here with us."
"Um thanks." Tony replied surprised by what Gibbs had told him. "I don't like talking to therapists or doctors so maybe Abby's the same."
"Why don't you like talking to them?"
"Well I s'pose cos they're adults. It's harder to talk to an adult. Abby probably talked to me cos we have stuff in common."
"Have you talked to many therapists or doctors?" Gibbs asked as he started sorting through Tony socks
"Um, yeah a few." Tony replied as he started putting the socks into a drawer. "Some other people saw my bruises and I had to talk to the doctor at school and to the councilor."
"What happened when you spoke to them?" Gibbs asked as he handed Tony his underwear to put away.
"They called my father and then when I got home my father was angry and well, I got more bruises." Tony replied with a sigh. "After that I didn't really talk to anyone about it."
"I get it Tony." Gibbs said as he stood up. "Come on lets go get some food. Jenny should have dinner ready by now."
Tony nodded and followed Gibbs to Abby's room and then the three of them went down stairs. The smell was delicious as they entered the kitchen, where they saw Jenny putting the food onto plates.
"Jethro, can you get some glasses." Jenny said as she saw them coming. She smiled happily at her growing family. "Dinner is just ready. Abby can you please get the cutlery and you and Tony can set the table."
"Sure." Abby replied and they three quickly went about their assigned tasks. Within minutes the table was set and dinner was served. The four of them set down and with a nod from Jenny they started eating.
"I forgot to ask you Tony." Jenny said after a few minutes of eating. "Are there any foods you are allergic to or anything that you don't like?"
"Um I don't think I'm allergic to anything." Tony replied nervously as he swallowed some potatoes. His parents didn't care if there were any foods he didn't like and at school you didn't get much choice.
"Is there something you don't like?" Gibbs pushed when Tony didn't answer.
"I um don't really like peppers or cauliflower." Tony admitted "But I'll eat them if you give them to me. I don't want to be any trouble."
"It's alright Tony; we won't make you eat anything you don't like." Jenny assured, shocked that this child had obviously been made to eat things he didn't like. "Besides, Abby doesn't really like peppers either and Jethro hates cauliflower. I expect you to try everything you are given but if you don't like it, all you have to do is tell me."
"Um ok." Tony replied surprised by how reasonable that sounded.
"Is Tony going to be in my class at school?" Abby asked happily "Cos that would be cool."
"I suppose so." Jenny replied thoughtfully. "I'll call Tony's old school and get his grades sent and I'll contact your school to enroll him. Are you in third or fourth grade?"
"Um I'm in fifth." Tony replied embarrassedly. "I um skipped a grade last year."
"Really, that's great Tony." Gibbs said. "You must be very smart."
"No not really. I was made to study a lot at school and during the holidays. My father preferred that I was kept busy. I'd bet Abby is way smarter than me."
"I am smart." Abby agreed "But I missed out on a lot of school lately so I don't think I'll be skipping any grades this year."
"Maybe next year." Tony said softly.
"Yeah." Abby sighed. "I really like science and I want to enter the science fair but because I started in this school only a little while ago I didn't have time to do anything. It was on just before break."
"You can enter it next year and you'll do great." Tony said enthusiastically "You'll have a whole year to plan it. It'll be the best."
"Thanks Tony." Abby grinned happily. "It's a pity we won't be in the same school next year; at least we'll have a few months. I'm only in third grade."
"Yeah but that'll be nice." Tony grinned. He really was looking forward to starting school with normal kids with normal parents and not some rich spoilt kids.
"Did you like the dinner Tony?" Jenny asked after they had all finished.
"Yeah it was really good." Tony replied. "The food at school is only ok. Sometimes it's nice but mostly the potatoes are lumpy and the meat is dry. I never really liked the food at home."
"Well here we try to make the food nice but I can't always guarantee it." Gibbs said with a smile "Jenny sometimes burns things."
"I do not." Jenny argued good naturedly. "Sometimes things may be a little over done."
Abby started giggling and Gibbs chuckled while Tony tried to suppress a laugh. Tony was really enjoying spending time with this family. His own family never laughed or had fun at the dinner table. Dinner time was a very serious time in the DiNozzo house hold and it was something Tony would not miss.
"Time to clean up." Jenny said as she stood and started picking up plates. "Abby can you clear off the dishes and Jethro you can start the wash up."
"What can I do?" Tony asked.
"You're hurt Tony." Jenny said softly. "For now you can watch some TV in the living room. When your arm is out of the cast you can help with clean up. You need to rest; it's been a long few days."
"Ok." Tony agreed hesitantly and went to living room.
He sat quietly on the couch afraid to turn on the TV. His father would not let him watch TV in the living room so he was reluctant to turn on the TV even though he had been told he could. Although he was glad to be away from his father, he was still worried about what was going to happen. The Gibbs' were so different from every family he had ever known and he wasn't sure how to act around them. Tony was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't notice his new family entering the room.
"Are you ok Tony?" Jenny asked, startling Tony and causing him to jump from the seat.
"I'm sorry." Tony apologised, embarrassed by his actions "I didn't hear you."
"Don't worry about it Tony." Jenny assured as she took a seat on the couch.
Tony sat back down as Gibbs took his seat and Abby turned on the TV. Gibbs flicked through the channels as Abby sat down beside Tony. Gibbs turned on the news and they all started watching. Tony jumped in shock as he saw he's father's picture on the TV. Gibbs turned up the volume and they listened to the news report on the death of Anthony DiNozzo Sr. The report mentioned an heir to the fortune but didn't actually mention Tony by name, which everyone was grateful for. When the news was over, Gibbs switched off the TV.
"What does it mean that I'm his heir?" Tony asked after a minute.
"What it normally means is that you would get his money and house and business," Jenny explained. "But we'll have to speak to your father's lawyer first."
"Oh." Tony replied. "Can I go to bed, I'm tired."
"Of course you can Tony." Jenny said "Do you know where the bathroom is."
"Yes thank you. Goodnight and um Thanks for everything."
You are very welcome Tony." Jenny called as Tony left the room.
The three glanced worriedly at each other, knowing it was going to take time for Tony to learn to trust them. But they were all willing to wait for as long as it would take.
A/N: Thank you so much for all of the reviews and follows and favorites.