"Wow you must have a lot of money," a blond girl around 15 commented dryly as she took notice of the stack of clothes Tony carried around.

"Not really. The house burned down. Insurance finally paid, so here I am," he gave her his most charming smile, while sticking to the story Gibbs and he came up with, if anyone asked.

"That's awful," the teenage girl exclaimed shocked, putting her hand on his arm.

Tony grinned at her, "No real harm done. Plus I can renew my wardrobe."

"So you are not one of those rich kids who get everything they want?"

"Not that I'm aware off," Tony laughed, "Sorry to disappoint you."

"I'm not disappointed at all. More happy."

"Happy?"

"Yes, you are cute." She replied and looked him up and down.

"Well thank you, you don't look so bad yourself."

"I'm Jasmine, but my friends call me Jaz." She introduced herself, looking sweetly at the agent.

"Well Jaz," he made a show of pronouncing her nickname, "I'm Tony."

"You from around here?"

"Just moved here. I'm living with a guardian since a few days. Which I need to call now, since he got the money and is currently shopping with another kid he took in."

"Aw, sounds sweet. I need to go now, but call me if you want to. And I hope you do," she replied, smiling seductively at him as she put her phone number into his trouser pocket.

Tony didn't knew what just had happened to him. He wasn't used to girls coming up to him like that but he couldn't deny that he liked it. He slightly crocked his head to the side and watched the blond girl walk away. Her hips swaying back and forth till she finally disappeared among the other people.

She was definitely the type of girl he would like to date.

(A few minutes later)

"Thanks,Gibbs," Tony smiled widely as the clerk cashiered and bagged his new clothes.

"Not my money," whispered the older agent, so that the salesman wouldn't hear him.

At the end they left the shop with four full bags and a lot of money spent.

"Where you going next?" Gibbs questioned, eying the various bags Tony carried around.

"Uhm.. electronic store?"

"Tony."

"I locked away the other stuff there," Tony admitted with a small smile on his face.

Gibbs shook his head in amusement, "Already wondered what happened to them."

"You didn't thought I would spent the money you gave me in the beginning?"

"Not on clothes," smirked Gibbs, "Let's get the other bags and bring them to the car."

"Sure."

They were only a few steps from the car when Tony suddenly stopped short.

"You were already here," the teenager stated, just as Gibbs opened the trunk of his car, revealing several bags.

"Yep," smirked Gibbs. "It's not really safe to carry those bags around and keep Ziva close by at the same time. Mall is too big to let her go missing."

"So, where to next?" Inquired the gray-haired agent for the third time that day, picking a giggling Ziva of the ground, where he had set her down only a few minutes before.

"I got the basics of clothes covered," yawned Tony, adding in afterthought, "For now."

Ignoring the 'now' Gibbs lead the small group back into the mall, "Good, Ziva and I still need to get her some proper footwear."

"Excellent, me too," stated Tony, for once happy to have the others close by.

"Didn't you said you were done with the basics?" The team leader raised his eyebrow.

"Shoes aren't basic."

"Then what are they?"

"Important? You can't go out with shabby shoes while the rest looks fantastic." Tony said earnestly

Gibbs silently wondered what the teenager had bought exactly, not having taken any notice of what kind of clothes the sales clerks have bagged earlier.

Upon their way to the nearest shoe store they decided to split again, in order to safe time and energy.

"Meet you in a few," said Gibbs as they eventually entered the store.

"Yup," grinned Tony and hurried off to find some sport shoes.

"So, where to start," Gibbs wondered silently, looking at the various sections.

"You got any ideas, kid?" He asked the small girl in his arm, lightly nudging her with his free hand to get her attention.

Ziva turned to him, her eyes gleaming from seeing all different kind of shoes.

"Guess ya don't care as long as you can touch it," smiled Gibbs and went in search of normal footwear first.

He was just passing a rack with light-up shoes when Ziva let go off his neck and grabbed one of the shoes at show.

Surprise by her actions Gibbs carefully set her down on the ground and knelt in front of her. Making sure she was looking at him he started to sign, 'We'll buy one of these for you. Later. First you need other shoes.'

He tried to take the black, gray and white shoe out of her hands. But Ziva wasn't going to be convinced easy and shook her head in disagreement, while safely holding the shoe close to her and away from Gibbs.

Gibbs swept his hand over his face, pinching the bridge of his nose in thought, 'Okay,' he compromised signing, 'We'll get them now but you'll try other shoes on too.'

Happy, Ziva gave him the shoe and bounced to the seats nearby, waiting for Gibbs to follow with a pair of the wanted shoes.

"Can I help you," yet another saleswoman asked, having observed them since they entered the kids section.

"We need those in size 8, please."

"Of course."

A second later the woman had picked the right size out and gave it to Gibbs.

"I'm also looking for some everyday shoes for her."

"Alright," the clerk smiled, "Hook and loop tape, zipper or with laces?"

"Hook and loop," he decided, not sure if Ziva could manage laces yet. The light-up shoes, which Ziva had picked out, hadn't laces either.

In fact they were exactly what he was looking for, he thought amused. A Leather, synthetic and mesh upper in a sport casual sneaker. Textured toe bumper with a padded collar and tongue, soft fabric shoe lining, cushioned insole and shock absorbing midsole.

"Color preference?" The sale assistant brought him out of his musings.

"Just bring a few shoes which she can wear everyday, give her a good halt on any underground and won't be ruined after a trip to the playground."

He rolled his eyes as the woman left.

Meanwhile Ziva had pulled the new shoes on and was experimentally jumping around in them in front of a mirror, excited at seeing the lights go on every time her feet hit the floor.

Behind her, Gibbs smiled at the sight.

Laying a hand on her shoulder he effectively made her stop and then turned her around.

'Let me check if they fit correctly,' he signed before controlling if she had enough room in the shoes.

'Looks good,' he signed smiling, 'We'll buy them but now we need to find you another pair.'

Ziva nodded reluctantly and went back to sit on the chair, dangling her - once again shoe-free - feet in boredom.

"Sir?" The clerk got Gibbs' attention, "I found some pretty ones for her."

Seeing the pink selection the woman held, Gibbs grimaced, "I might should have said that she doesn't like pink." He put his most charming smile on.

"Oh," the saleswoman said surprised, "We don't have many other colors for girls, but I'll see what I can find."

"Thank you."

"No problem."

As Gibbs turned back to Ziva he noticed that she must have seen the shoes too. The little girl made a face and signed something what Gibbs interpreted as 'Yucky'.

A few minutes went by till the sales assistant returned.

"Okay 2nd try," the woman smiled, "I know you don't like pink but this pair isn't all pink. It has also yellow and white upper."

Ziva only shook her head and crossed her small arms across her chest. All the while giving the sale assistant a pointed look.

"She really doesn't like pink," Gibbs commented his agent's reaction, inwardly laughing hard and wishing to have taken a camera with him.

"No problem, sir. My bad." The woman chuckled.

Next the sale assistant held a pair of sneakers up. They were mostly white with a thin, bright blue line surrounding the shoe just above a rubber outsole. On the side and the back were peace signs and hearts printed in gray.

"These are slip-on sneakers, easy to get on and off. Ideal for lively kids as yours," explained the woman and indicated to the pink, gray and blue elastic straps as she slipped the shoes onto Ziva's feet.

Gibbs spared them the awkwardness to explain how Ziva was related to him.

"Theses aren't shoes for now, since it will snow and I'm pretty sure they won't be very warm but they are ideal for spring and summer months. I collected them half a size bigger than you need, so they'll still fit her then."

Ziva looked interested at the small jewels hanging from the side of the shoes where normally laces would be situated. Completely ignoring the pink rubber band.

"The clip on charmers are removable." The woman explained.

Gibbs knelt in front of Ziva and looked at the shoes a bit more closely.

'You like them?' he signed, having come to the decision that while the shoes may be a bit lose at the moment, insoles would make them useable for now – if the weather was got enough for them.

Ziva eagerly bobbed her head, smiling at him widely.

If the saleswoman was surprised about their way of communication she didn't let it show.

After selecting another pair, which looked close like the light-up shoes, only in white and deep purple without lights, and a warm pair of winter boots, which Ziva didn't really like because of their warmth but Gibbs demanded to buy, cause they would be perfect for cold winter days, they were finally done.

"Guess we'll have enough shoes then," Gibbs gave the sale assistant a small smile.

"I'm here to help," the woman stated and bid her goodbye, waving at Ziva.

'Let's go find Tony,' Gibbs signed to his small companion, collecting the selected shoes.

As the team leader, with Ziva walking close to him, caught sight of the checkout he wasn't very surprised to find Tony relaxing in one of the chairs.

"Hey," smirked Gibbs, making the teenager jump as he has dozed off.

"Gibbs! You nearly gave me a corona!"

"You're too young for that," laughed Gibbs and motioned for his agent to follow him to the checkout.

"Can we fetch something to eat before continuing?" Tony asked as they passed the food area on their way back to the car.

"Alright, I think we could all need something to eat." He looked at the small girl who kept a firm hold on his free hand.

"Pizza?"

"Seriously?"

"Why not?"

"Alright, get you some. Bring Ziva a plain slice too." He handed Tony a twenty dollar bill.

'Cocoa?' Gibbs asked Ziva as the pair stopped in front of an Chinese snack and he ordered his own dinner.

(Three meals and half of the drinks later)

'Can I put them on?' Ziva signed, her fingers sticky with tomato paste as she pointed to the bag next to Gibbs.

'The one with light?' Gibbs replied signing.

Ziva nodded her head.

'After lunch,' the team leader promised and took another sip of his beloved coffee.

"Too long since I had a real coffee," Gibbs noted inwardly as the coffee flavor spread across his tongue.

"You know, it's unfair to speak in a different language or sign silently while someone is around, who can't understand it." Tony pouted, feeling somewhat left out.

"Remember that for when her hearing is back," smirked Gibbs before he explained what they were signing about, while he cleaned Ziva's fingers from the sticky pizza substance.

"Wow, this place is amazing!"

Beside him, Gibbs smirked. Since Tony's teenage years were already a couple of years back, most of the current technology was totally new to him.

"Come on," the agent tugged on Tony's arm and dragged him over to a counter from a cellphone provider service.

Before the teenager could ask him what he was planning to do, Gibbs' voice broke through his thoughts.

"We need a prepaid card," Gibbs said curtly to the man behind the counter.

Realizing what was about to happen, Tony saw his chance, "Can I get another phone, too? This one seems... old." He held his NCIS issued cellphone out.

"Old?" Gibbs raised his eyebrow.

"Well... not old - just obsolete?"

"What the heck do you know what is obsolete today," thought Gibbs.

"We got a wide variety of cellphones, all having lots of functions you may like. For example the iPhone..."

"No iPhone," Gibbs immediately stopped the clerk, "He already got an iPod. Doesn't need more kink."

At the mention of having a iPod Tony eyes searched questionably at Gibbs' blue ones. The older agent inwardly hoped that Tony would get the hint and delay the topic to later, when they were alone.

"Show him those where he can watch movies with," dismissed Gibbs and turned to his agent, "I need to check something else out over there," he pointed a few rows of racks down.

"Any price limit, sir?"

"Nope." Gibbs smirked and made his way over to the electronic toothbrushes.

"You old pal is really generous. No iPhone is a bummer but I guess you can live without it when you can choose freely out of ALL other phones."

"Yeah," Tony trailed off as he watched his boss walk away.

Shifting the sleeping Ziva to his other shoulder Gibbs regarded the toothbrushes at show.

Soon he realized that the little girl on his arm would need to continue to brush her teeth manually. Gibbs grimaced as he remembered how Mini-Ziva has resisted in the morning upon being ordered to to do so.

Not that she wasn't able to do it, but it seemed that she just had a general dislike against it. Which made him wonder how Abby had managed to convince her to brush her teeth or if the Goth had just given up at some point.

For the moment he was glad that he little girl slept through this particular moment. He wasn't keen to find out how she would react at seeing so many toothbrushes or worse to find out that she wanted an electronic one and he was forced to explain to her that she was too young for them.

Gibbs sighed, taking care of his shrunk agents was harder than he had thought.

"Not going to give up though," vowed the gray-haired agent silently and took an electric toothbrush out of the rack for his senior field agent.

One lock back at the cellphone provider service counter told him that the agent in question was about to finish his selection, so he slowly walked back.

"Done?" he asked.

"Yes, sir. I just need a signature from you."

After giving the clerk an autograph, pocketing the copy of the contract and throwing the phone into their basket, Gibbs led Tony to a more deserted part of the store.

"What's an iPod?" Tony immediately inquired.

"Portable music player. Abby brought one for every team member a few years ago. Yours should be either at your desk, apartment or car."

"Oh. Nice?"

Gibbs smirked at the questioning tone, "How do you know what an obsolete phone is?"

"Saw the phones of other teenagers," admitted Tony.

The team leader snorted, "Found some new friends?"

"Maybe," grinned the teenager.

"Well, now you got a phone to call them, you'll need to reload the card from time to time."

"Reload?"

"Like calling cards. At the moment you got 50 dollars to spent. Once the money is gone, you need to top up again."

He may be old and don't gave a damn about technology but some things he just knew. Not that everyone needed to know this.

"How?"

"Abby or McGee will explain that to you."

"Alright," Tony smiled before he furrowed his brows, "Do I get the paycheck of my older self?"

Gibbs laughed aloud, "A few thousand dollars a month? Don't think so. I'll keep the checks for you till the effect is reversed."

"So, no money?" grumbled the teenager.

"Pocket money."

"Weekly?"

"Sure."

"How much?"

"Depends on how you behave," Gibbs glared at the younger man who sighed – loudly.

"I'm at your mercy, got it."

On Gibbs' shoulder, Ziva squirmed slightly before she mumbled something incoherent, settling back into a deep slumber.

"We should head back soon."

"Can we get one of those flat TVs?" Tony asked, flashing his teeth.

"I've got a TV."

"Yeah, but... can I have my own?"

"Alright, you get your own."

Tony looked questionably at Gibbs.

"McGee will come by tomorrow afternoon and bring you to your apartment. There you can pick up books, CDs, movies and your TV, if you like."

"Great!" Tony nearly jumped. He had already wondered if his older self still liked movies. Gibbs movie comment earlier had raised his hope and now he finally had the proof. Also he thought it was strange that he had any books. After all he was more a sports-type of guy and reading was never appealing to him.

"You okay with using your own razor or do we need to buy one for you?" Gibbs voice brought him back to the present.

"I think I'll managed with what I got at the apartment?"

"Good. Then we can leave this place."

"Uhm..."

Gibbs groaned inwardly. "What now?" He thought irritated.

As small, and he admitted cute, as Ziva might was at the moment, after carrying her around for two hours straight and with her asleep, she was a dead weight, which tested his strength.

And the headache, which he had since dinner, wasn't helping either.

"Spit it out, Tony." Gibbs tried to keep the growl out of his voice.

"One of those game consoles..." The teenager trailed off, sensing the other man's mood.

Gibbs smirked. "DiNozzo is a gamer? McGee will find that interesting."

"Lead the way."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. Just hurry, will ya?"

"Sure," Tony smiled and before Gibbs knew it the teenager was already two rows away.

As Gibbs and Ziva finally caught up with him, he was staring between the different consoles.

"Problem?"

"Don't know which to take." Tony gave the agent an apologetic look.

"Let's make a compromise," Gibbs offered, "We put an end to the shopping trip today. Monday we can come back and get you whatever console and games you want. So you got tomorrow to find out the advantages and disadvantages of the consoles and look up the different games on the internet."

Tony nodded but soon whispered another question, which made Gibbs scream inwardly.

"What's the internet?"

"McGee will explain it to you. You'll like it. He can also help you get your older self's portable computer ready for you."

Tony's head was starting to be swamped with the amount of new information he received. By now the young man had more and more trouble to concentrate on a single topic. He really needed a break.

"Okay, I guess I could use a bit of rest now, too."

"A lot to take in, I know."

Tony gave him a forced smile.

"Let's go home."

~ Fin ~