Thanks for all the amazingly supportive reviews :D And I just wanna clarify: I probs won't have any 'ships in this, I don't really do them ;) So if you were looking forward to any Gibbs/Jenny or whatever, sorry :) There may be the occasional flirt, but nothing that isn't too far from normal ;)

Gibbs gently opened the front door and made sure he closed it quietly behind as he entered the house. All the lights were on, as he had left it, and he quickly made his way to Tony's room, opening the door and peering round, smiling as the toddler was safely tucked up under the blankets, a small bulge where he kept his old teddy George, and a small sucking sound from what was presumably his thumb.

Gibbs smiled and went over to the bed, crouching so he was at eye level with him. Stroking Tony's hair softly, he placed a kiss on his forehead and made sure he was tucked in before retreating out the room and leaving to door open slightly so that light shone in.

Taking off his wet jacket (It was still raining outside) he placed it on a hook near the front door, along with his wet shoes. He'd tried to almost spring a trap as it were, for Ari. But the terrorist hadn't fallen for it, and Gibbs was left to ponder how he was even going to get his evidence for Kate's murder. He had left Tony at home, knowing he'd be much safer there if Ari had turned up. At first he had wanted to call Abby round, but Tony had insisted he'd be fine, and Gibbs had finally relented, wanting to give Tony some independence as he knew how hard some of this had been for him. He had, however, placed many rules down;

"Okay, you can stay by yourself, but no answering or using the phone or door, no touching the oven, microwave, kettle… in fact don't even go in the kitchen. Leave all the lights on and don't touch the TV. Stay in your room and play quietly. I'm going to lock the doors behind me, and if for some reason you really need me you know the number. I want you to get ready for bed after about ten minutes - I'll set the kitchen timer so you know when. If you're in bed by the time I get back, and asleep, I'll let you have that chocolate Jenny gave you. Okay?" Tony had nodded to all of these, and had obeyed them all, staying in his room until the kitchen timer went before getting his pyjamas on and getting in bed, soon falling asleep not long after.

Now, as Gibbs went down into the basement, he rubbed at his face tiredly, hoping to have a quick work on the boat before he too went to bed. The grief of losing Kate was overwhelming him, but he promised himself he'd be strong - for Tony's sake…

"Hello Gibbs," He turned and opened his mouth in horror. Ari was sat in a small, dark corner of his basement, holding the agent's old rifle, "You know, you never told me you had a son. Cute little boy, I'll grant you that." He smiled as he stood up, knowing Gibbs felt faintly sick that Tony had been alone in the house with Ari. Seeing that Gibbs wasn't ready to speak yet, he continued,

"Nice room you have for him though, very nice. He's very privileged."

"Privileged?" Gibbs spat, finally able to string some words together, "Privileged is he that one of his friends died today? That he had a terrorist watching him alone? That he will probably be woken up from a gunshot that'll either kill you or me?" Ari tutted, and walked closer to Gibbs,

"It will undoubtedly kill you Gibbs. I'm sorry I had to kill Caitlin to get to you, but it had to be done. Almost got your other agent as well. I'm surprised however, I didn't see Agent DiNozzo anyway. Where is he?" Gibbs could tell Ari was dying to be told that Tony had been shot or something, and decided not to disappoint,

"He was shot, not more than a few months ago." Gibbs growled, sensing slight movement from the top of the stairs, wondering if this was his back up or whether Tony had heard the talking.

"I'm sorry to spoil your…" He began, before a gunshot silenced him.

~*~

Tony leapt up in bed, hearing the shot. Throwing back the covers he slid out and, grabbing his teddy tightly, he slowly crept down the stairs. He knew he shouldn't be going to see what it was - he wasn't even too sure whether Gibbs was back or not - and half of him wanted to cry and go back and crawl under the covers, hands over ears. The other half pushed him forward, still with a huge streak of adventure and curiosity in him, and he wasn't going to just sit upstairs while there was a potential burglary or something downstairs. He wasn't sure what to do, maybe call the police? Call Gibbs? However, he heard muttering in the basement and - taking a deep breath and giving George another squeeze for good luck - he slowly went down the stairs.

He gave a gasp as he saw a body that was undoubtedly dead on the floor. A pool of blood from his head was making its way slowly toward the boat. He was suddenly swept up into Gibbs's arms and cuddled fiercely against him,

"Are you okay?" He asked, running his fingers through Tony's thick, dark hair. Nodding, Tony pointed toward the body and asked,

"Is that…?"

"Ari," Gibbs told him, "Ziva shot him." Tony looked over to the Mossad agent with wide eyes, but quickly averted them as she started singing in Hebrew to the body.

"I'm so sorry son," Gibbs said, making Tony look at him, confused, "I should have stayed here, if I had, Ari might not have…"

"Might not have what?" Tony asked; eyes still wide but now with slight concern and fear. Gibbs sighed, but cradled the toddler closer to him and whispered,

"He saw you. I think he might have even gone into your room while you were sleeping." Tony went pale, but still tried to valiantly convince Gibbs it wasn't his fault. The older man wouldn't listen,

"I promise I won't leave you here alone again Bug, I promise."

"What about when you're at work?"

"I'll get a babysitter." Tony rolled his eyes, but quickly saw an in,

"You know, I can think of something that might have stopped him coming into my room…"

~*~

"Happy Christmas Dad!" Tony yelled, some 4 months later, bouncing on the older man's bed at precisely 5 in the morning, which he thought was a reasonable time to be up. Gibbs groaned but sat up, his eyes unfocussed and groggy,

"Happy Christmas Tony, what time is it?" Tony pointed to the clock, causing Gibbs to groan some more, but he couldn't help grinning at how excited Tony was. It was good for him to be up so early, Gibbs thought, it showed his childish side, and that meant he was forgetting his past childhood - which probably involved being told by the butler to go back to bed before his parents woke up.

"Can we go downstairs yet?" He asked excitedly, "Can I turn on the tree lights?" He begged, causing Gibbs to chuckle. Every morning since they'd but the decorations up Tony had wanted to be the one who would turn them on. He gaze at them in awe, and would be forever moving the different baubles and decorations, pieces of tinsel, whatever he could lay his hands on. Eventually, Gibbs had stopped this - worried that Tony would either damage the tree or himself.

Tony was now pulling on his arm impatiently, causing Gibbs to finally swing his legs out of bed and mutter,

"I'm up, I'm up…" Tony grinned and bounced around him as Gibbs stumbled downstairs, flicking the lights on. The first thing he did was go straight to the kitchen for coffee, ignoring Tony's whines that the living room door was firmly shut. He couldn't even see through the panes of glass in it, as the lights were all off.

"Tony, go put a jumper on, it's freezing down here." Tony sighed but ran upstairs to his room, tugging on the warm jumper Ducky had given him on his birthday. Seeing Gibbs nod in approval, he grinned, and bounced about outside the room impatiently while the older man deliberately opened the door slowly,

"Da-ad!" He moaned, causing Gibbs to chuckle and finally open the door wide, flicking on the lights,

"Happy Christmas Son." He said, tousling the toddler's hair. Tony smiled at him and ran forward, beaming so hard he thought his face would crack in two. There were a number of finely wrapped presents sat under the tree, but his eyes were on a huge one that had holes stamped everywhere in it. Glancing back round at Gibbs, who shrugged, his eyes glittering, Tony eagerly approached it. He took a deep breath and quickly pulled the lid off, the smile soon coming off his face as he reached in (Almost falling into it) and pulled out a leash,

"Why do I have a dog leash without a dog?" He asked, and Gibbs quickly intervened, seeing Tony was getting upset at the deception,

"I thought about what you said before kiddo, about you being safer and I have to admit you had a point, and everyone at work agreed as well."

"So I am getting a puppy?" Tony asked, his eyes shining in excitement,

"Not a puppy exactly, maybe more of a teenager. When it's a more socially acceptable time we'll go to the dog shelter and I'll let you pick one out." Tony grinned, and ran towards Gibbs, giving him a hug, giggling as he was picked up during the hug and thrown in the air,

"Thanks Dad!"

"You're welcome Bug, now come on - these presents aren't going to open themselves."

~*~

When they were both dressed and Tony was happy with his presents, Gibbs drove them to the dog shelter just outside of the city. Bouncing next to Gibbs happily, Tony peered into every cage, sticking his fingers through and trying to whistle to each dog before Gibbs gently took hold of the toddler's hand,

"Some of them might not be so friendly kiddo." He told him, before walking over to a cage which held some boisterous pups. They weren't exactly puppies, but they definitely weren't full grown. A card stuck to the cage gave the names and sexes of all of them, including their personalities,

"C'mere Bug," Gibbs said, pulling Tony over and putting his hands on the toddler's shoulders, "What d'you think?" Tony leant forward peering through the mesh at the front of the cage. At once the dogs leapt up, barking and jumping, some of them appearing to smile.

"What's the card say?" He asked, stabbing at it with his finger,

"Their names," Gibbs replied, "Want me to tell you them?" Tony nodded, smiling at the puppies,

"Toby, Jed, Taggart and Juliet." He said, letting Tony think about them for a few moments,

"Which one's Taggart?" He asked, curiosity sparking in his eyes. Gibbs looked at the photo and pointed over to an over-excited Labrador bounding at the side of the rails. It looked quite small compared to the other labs in the cage (Gibbs guessed they were all from the same litter). 'Taggart' was a yellow dog, and most definitely a boy. Quickly skimming the paper, it seemed they all had their injections and were all very good with children.

"What do you think?" Gibbs asked his son, who was giggling as Taggart started to lick his fingers in a happy manner,

"I really like him Daddy." Tony smiled, knowing this name made Gibbs cave in. Gibbs nodded and they walked into the centre. Gibbs filled out some forms and was given a lot of information on the care of Labradors,

"How are they as guard dogs?" Gibbs asked as the young girl opening the cage picked Taggart up,

"Well if you give him the job of a guard dog I'd say pretty poor, but," She continued, smiling as Tony giggled and rubbed the dog's stomach (It had rolled over in a rather pathetic 'please like me' way), "If he's just a house pet, I'd say he'd do fine. He'll try and protect you and would bark like hell if someone broke in."

"How trained is he?" Gibbs asked, patting Tony's head as he tried to interrupt,

"House trained and he probably won't do that much damage to your furniture but I wouldn't let him off a leash just yet." Gibbs nodded and finally looked down at Tony who was desperately tugging at his trouser leg,

"What?" He asked, crouching down so he could stroke the dog as well,

"Can he sleep in my room?" Tony begged, gazing at Gibbs with large, round eyes. The older man found himself giving in, and quickly stood up before he could say yes,

"We'll see. Come on you - home." Tony beamed as the woman gave him the leash. At once the dog tried to bound away, dragging Tony with it. Gibbs made to go after them, but soon saw that his son wasn't in any danger and could actually call him back when he threatened to pull too hard.

"Is he going to be okay, a big dog like that?" The woman asked, "I mean, the dog itself will be fine with him, but he will be very bouncy." Gibbs grinned at her,

"I think he'll be able to cope."

~*~

Gibbs had done some research before actually going with Tony to the dog shelter. In fact, he had gone one day when Tony was at daycare, and had known instantly which dog he would have chosen - knowing his son inside out. He then looked up Labradors on the internet and found out that they were very loyal, bouncy and good with children, they were terrific family pets. He had bought all the necessary things for the dog including food, a basket even getting some things together in order to make a kennel so that it could sleep outside when it was warmer.

He had thought it wouldn't be a big deal to be honest. He'd just been told that the dog was now mostly trained - and he would be a good guard dog and a good friend to Tony if Gibbs wasn't there - he thought it would be easy.

As soon as they got home Tony wondered if Taggart would fetch sticks. After one through the window, a flower pot knocked over and a smacked backside they retreated indoors, where both youngsters gazed out the windows mournfully. Gibbs was trying to read the paper peacefully, but on hearing noises from upstairs, he went up, knowing what he would see wouldn't be good.

He was wrong. He had gone up expecting to see feathers from the pillow everywhere and bite marks in all of the furniture, but instead he found both toddler and puppy asleep, curled around each other, on Tony's bed. They had obviously been doing something to wear the other out, but he couldn't see it, whatever it had been. Instead he just smiled and shook his head, patting the puppy on the head and stroking Tony's hair.

~*~

In just a few months Gibbs felt that he had lost all of his sanity. Contrary to whatever the woman at the shelter said, Taggart seemed to be chewing a lot of furniture. One morning he had come downstairs to see the leg actually snapped off a chair at the table, and he now had to firmly lock the door of the basement, not wanting anything to happen to his boat. He had however, been putting up with this for Tony, who seemed to love the destructive pet regardless.

Gibbs had to admit that he loved it as well, it knew when it had pushed too far, and could manipulate him in the same way Tony could by just tilting its head slightly and gazing at him adoringly. He didn't mind taking it for walks but he had once taken Tony out in the buggy and tied the dog to it while he stopped for a moment to talk to someone. The next thing he knew he was chasing the buggy as Taggart had seen some pigeons.

The final straw came when the dog jumped up excitedly as Gibbs opened the door, holding a pizza. He managed to keep a balance of it, but Tony had gotten knocked down because of it, and thus had very large bruise on his leg,

"That's it; I'm taking this dog back to the shelter." Gibbs had told him, firmly, seeing the tears slide down the toddler's face,

"But he didn't mean to do it!" Tony had pleaded desperately, "He's just energetic! Look at him, you can't give him away!" He clung to the dog's neck and looked up at Gibbs, doing the puppy-dog eyes, "I love him Daddy," He croaked, tightening his hold on the dog's neck, "You can't give him away."

"Look at the furniture Tony," Gibbs had said gently, "We can't keep him, not like this. The girl next door, Carrie, said she'd sick of him jumping up whenever I ask her to watch him for us." Tony's eyes brimmed with more tears and spilled over his face,

"I hate you!" He shouted, stamping his feet, having an all-out tantrum, "I hate you!" With that he ran upstairs, the dog bouncing beside him, getting over-excited with the shouting and running. Gibbs sighed and pushed a hand through his hair, groaning slightly. He knew how much Tony loved the dog, and he knew he'd come to care for it too, but he knew he was right. Wasn't he? He couldn't keep having to get the chairs repaired, or buying new pillows. He glanced upstairs and heard Tony's mournful sobs and shook his head. He wasn't being serious, he wasn't. He loved the kid too much to take his best friend away. And he supposed Tag wasn't that hard to manage, he was just like a big kid really. He reminded Gibbs of Tony a bit, so loyal and bouncy. And he would never consider getting rid of him. He would rather have died.

Walking up the stairs, he got to the top and softly knocked on Tony's door,

"Bug? I'm…" He looked round the door and saw that both boy and dog were gone. He glanced around hurriedly, looking under the bed and in the wardrobe, getting flustered. He guessed Tony had merely snuck out the back when the older man had been thinking. He must have only just gotten out, as Gibbs had heard his crying upstairs. He fled down the stairs, and saw that the back door was open slightly. Wrenching it open, he ran out, and prayed that Tony hadn't opened the side gate. He shook his head soon after that thought, as the bolt was too high for him to reach anyway. He searched through the garden and froze when he heard a faint hiccup and some murmuring.

Walking silently now, all his marine senses blown up, he peered over some bushes and saw that Tony had curled up in some mud, sniffing and rubbing at his eyes, one of his hands clutching at some of the fur on Taggart's back. The dog was gently licking his face, which at any other time Gibbs would have frowned at, but it was softly cleaning all the mud off, and seemed to be whining in a frustrated manner. Then Gibbs noticed that there was some blood along with that mud that the dog had licked off, so he emerged from the bushed, gently approaching his son,

"Come on Tony, let's get back inside and take a look at you." Tony just sobbed, allowing Gibbs to pick him up and take him back to the house, with Taggart following behind them. Putting him gently down on the kitchen bench, Gibbs reached into a cupboard for a first aid kit, and soon Tony's face was free of mood and blood, with just a small scratch on it from a bush,

"I'm… sorry!" He whispered, his breath shuddering, "I d-didn't want… Tag t-taken a-a-away!" Gibbs nodded and shushed him, cradling him against his chest and kissing his head,

"I know son, I know," He said soothingly, "It's okay… I over-reacted. I'm sorry, I wouldn't ever seriously consider sending him back, he's one of the family." He told the toddler to calm him. Tony sniffed hard and hugged him back tightly, his arms round Gibbs's stomach. The older man smiled, and whispered into his ear,

"I love you." Tony nodded and murmured,

"Me too. Love you, I mean…" Gibbs chuckled and even Tony gave a watery giggle.

"Right," Gibbs said, "Firstly, we need to warm you up and then I think Mister down there," He said, nudging at the sober dog lying at his feet, gazing up mournfully at Tony - thinking he wasn't going to be okay, "Could use some food." Tony nodded and was picked up off the bench and placed on the floor, hugging Taggart hard as if he couldn't bear to let him go,

"Can we play fetch now?" He asked, having not been allowed to play it in their garden since the first day. Gibbs sighed but said grudgingly,

"Fine, go on then."

Tony smiled at him and gave his legs a quick hug before running outside,

"Sweater!" Gibbs shouted, causing Tony to pull it on whilst running, making Taggart bark excitedly, bouncing around him,

"Kids." He grumbled, before making another pot of coffee.

Yeah I know, a Lab is too obvious a choice, but my mind drew a total blank when I tried to make it go original for once :P It may seem like I'm stealing from Marley and Me, but I only just realised how similar the two dogs are lol, so it's not my fault ;) I also just wanna say, that this will definitely be a, 'Dog is for life not just for christmas' thing, they won't get fed up, I promise :) And I don't know of any dog shelters that open at Christmas, but hey ;)

Also, I was thinking of starting a small competition thing. I thought it would be cool if one of you good people wrote a chapter for this :D It can be anything, from a tiny shared moment between them, to something based on an episode. If you're interested message me and I'll tell you more :) I'll judge them all on not just quality of writing (Sorry guys but I won't try and edit in any way :P) but also on the idea you have for the chap as well :)

Review? Xx

P.S - I think buggies are called strollers in America?