The first week passed quickly. Jethro had taken his sick days to stay home and Shannon had managed to wrangle a month of maternity leave from the hospital. For the most part Tony was adjusting well, and quickly, but he was still having nightmares every night. Jethro had picked up a nightlight, but it hadn't really helped, and he or Shannon ended up sleeping in the rocking chair in Tony's room almost every night. They considered it progress when Tony finished the night out in his own bed and not curled up in a lap or in his parents' bed.

Other than that, things were going well. Shannon had picked up a few DVDs that helped children (and parents) learn sign language, and Tony was an exuberant and quick study. He had taken to signing everything he saw, refrigerator, coloring book, cloud, red, all signed with the joy and excitement that Shannon was starting to realize was characteristic of her little boy.

Watching Tony hum to himself as he colored in a Batman coloring book, Shannon felt a now familiar wave of anger wash over her as she wondered, once again, how someone could neglect such a sweet little boy. Tony looked up from his coloring book and waved at her, then went back to it, legs swinging from his chair.

Shannon grinned and waved back, then turned back to cooking. Jethro was having the team over for dinner tonight to meet Tony. Shannon was excited and Tony seemed to be too, though Shannon wasn't sure that he knew exactly what was going on. Jethro would be grilling the steaks tonight when he got back from work, and Shannon was working on a salad and baked potatoes.

She had just started cutting up onions when she felt a tugging on her sleeve. That had quickly developed into Tony's most comfortable way of getting their attention, though if he was in a bad mood, he might get it in more…explosive ways.

"What's up, buddy?" Shannon asked, signing. Tony signed back quickly.

"I want to help."

"Help cook?"

Tony nodded.

"Okay. Come here, kid." She reached down and picked him up under the arms, setting him on the counter beside her.

"You're going to rip the lettuce up," she said, demonstrating as she spoke, since she didn't know the correct signs for what she was trying to say. She held up the head of lettuce and let Tony rip a piece off, smiling when he put it carefully in the bowl.

"Good job!" She signed, clapping. Tony beamed and took the head of lettuce from her. She watched for a few seconds as he carefully and deliberately ripped off every leaf, his tongue poked out in concentration. Damn, he was so cute it hurt, sometimes.

"Hey, guess who's home?" Shannon signed as she heard the front door open. Tony looked up excitedly and signed his special sign for Jethro. He hadn't started calling them 'Mom' or 'Dad' yet, but had taken to signing a 'J' over his heart for Jethro and an 'S' for Shannon in an unmistakable gesture of love.

"Hang on, Tony," Shannon signed, catching him before he could fling himself off the counter. She set him down on the floor, laughing as he ran to the front door.

"Hey Tony!" Jethro cried, picking him up and swinging him around. Tony giggled and kicked his feet in excitement.

"How was your day?" Jethro signed. Tony started signing rapidly, telling about how he picked out his own clothes this morning and he colored in his coloring book and he broke a crayon and he was helping Shannon cook dinner and-

Jethro laughed and lifted Tony higher, nuzzling his face in the little boy's stomach. Tony laughed again and tickled Jethro, little fingers flitting over Jethro's stomach.

"Oh! Oh no!" Jethro cried, falling to the floor and rolling around as Tony laughed and continued his assault. Shannon couldn't help but smile, though Jethro and Tony usually ended up in a wrestling match at least once a day, and the roaring giggles were by now familiar.

"Jethro, I know you're having fun, but you're going to need to start the steaks soon," Shannon called, grinning when she heard Jethro give an exaggerated groan of death. Tony let out a crow of victory and came bounding into the kitchen, rapidly signing to Shannon about their epic wresting match and his eventual win.

"Great job, buddy," Shannon signed with a smile. "How about you and Bunny wait for people to arrive?"

Tony nodded eagerly and grabbed Bunny, dragging it behind him as he ran to the front room and pressed his face up against the window. Jethro grinned as he walked into the kitchen.

"Sneaky," he said, coming up behind her and kissing her neck as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Hey, he's excited about it," Shannon said, finishing the onions and putting them into the bowl. "He helped me cook."

"Yeah, he said," Jethro answered. "What did you have him do?"

"Oh, I just had him rip up the lettuce for me," Shannon answered, holding out the bowl. "He did really well."

"Yeah, looks like. How was he today?"

"He was good. He asked about Maria once," Shannon said quietly.

"What did you say?"

"I told him that Maria had to go away and that she wouldn't be coming back. I tried to explain that she still loved him, but I'm not sure that Tony really got it."

Jethro sighed as he got the steak out of the fridge.

"Well, we knew he was going to start asking questions sooner or later. I think that you handled it well, Shan."

"Thanks. I don't know what I'm going to do when he starts asking about his father."

"We'll figure it out," Jethro said, grinning at her. "If anyone can handle it, you can."

"Thanks, J," Shannon said. "I hope so."

Just then, Tony came running into the kitchen, Bunny trailing behind him.

"Someone's here! Someone's here!"

Jethro smiled at his excitement, then nodded towards the door when he heard the doorbell ring. "Go answer it," he said. Tony galloped toward the door, flinging it inward and waving exuberantly at whoever was outside.

"Hey Boss," McGee called as he walked in. "Hi Mrs. Gibbs." Squatting down to Tony's level, McGee carefully signed "Hi, Tony. My name is Tim."

Tony grinned broadly, spelling out TIM before pointing to his rabbit and spelling BUNNY out.

"Whoa, you go pretty fast there, kid," Tim said with a laugh, managing to spell out the BU before floundering. Tony giggled and again spelled it, slower this time. Tim repeated it and Tony smiled, clapping for him.

"I think your son thinks I'm dumb," McGee commented with a laugh, looking towards Jethro and Shannon in the kitchen.

"Nah, he just knows you're a bit slow, McGee," Jethro commented with a grin, laughing when Shannon whacked him with a towel.

"He doesn't think you're dumb, Tim. He's quite patient when it comes to teaching others ASL. He does the same thing when he's teaching me."

McGee grinned and high-fived Tony. "Thanks, Mrs. Gibbs."

"Timothy McGee," Shannon said, hands on her hips and glaring sternly at Tim. Tony giggled when he saw her stance and shot Tim a look that seemed to say 'you're in for it now.' "How many times have I told you to call me Shannon?"

McGee laughed nervously. "Uh, too many, apparently."

"Damn right. My name is Shannon, and I would like it if you would use it," Shannon said with a smile.

"Okay, sorry Shannon."

McGee turned back to Tony, who didn't seem to have any reservations, signing to him animatedly and jumping around. Once, he thrust Bunny at him in a clearly demanding way, though Tim didn't know what he was supposed to do.

"He wants you to kiss Bunny, McGee," Jethro said from the kitchen. "He got an owie."

Tim raised his eyebrows, looking at his boss in surprise.

"What? The bunny needs a kiss," Jethro said. McGee shook his head, then kissed Bunny's paw. Tony smiled and laughed, then resumed his hyper bouncing.

The doorbell rang again, and McGee stood up. Tony watched him closely, then realized what he was doing and hurried to the door in front of him. He threw the door open and stood there for a second, staring open mouthed at Abby.

"Hey Abby," Tim said, smiling at the little boy's reaction. Abby crouched down and got eye-level with Tony, who shrunk back uncertainly.

"Hi Tim," Abby said, then signed to Tony. Tony smiled shyly and followed the same routine he had with Tim, spelling Abby's name and then slowly spelling out Bunny. Abby quickly spelled Bunny's name, then signed that she thought he was a very nice bunny.

Tony's eyes widened and he started signing quickly, giggling with delight when Abby signed back. Tim watched them with a smile on his face, then walked into the kitchen.

"Do you need any help in here? I'm feeling a bit left out in there," McGee said with a grin.

"If you want to set the table, the plates are in the cupboard above your head," Shannon answered. Tim nodded and started setting the table, and it wasn't long before Abby and Tony started helping him, Tony carefully carrying one glass at a time to the table. By the time Ducky, Kate, and Ziva had arrived, Tony and Abby were good friends and Tony had adopted Tim into his circle too, going so far as to allow him to hold Bunny.

Dinner went well. Shannon was surprised and touched to realize that everyone on Jethro's team had learned at least a little bit of sign language. They could all spell Tony's name and their own, and they knew 'please' and 'thank you.' Tony seemed to appreciate it too, though he talked mostly to Abby or his parents and let them do the interpreting for him. He was sitting happily in his booster seat, legs swinging, taking everything in eagerly. Kate, on one side of him, cut his steak up for him, and Ziva on the other side made sure he had enough of everything. Shannon wasn't the least bit surprised to realize that Tony was already charming the ladies.

After dinner, Jimmy and Ziva did the dishes while everyone else went into the den to talk. At first, Tony and Abby played quietly in the corner, but as the evening progressed, it was clear that Tony was getting worn out. Shannon smiled and crouched down in front of the little boy, tapping him gently on the shoulder.

"Time for bed," she said, signing as she spoke. "Come on, Tony."

"I don't want to," Tony signed back petulantly. "Friends."

"I know they're your friends, kiddo. How about we just go get your pajamas on, okay?" Tony crossed his arms and glared at her for a second before smiling and nodding. Shannon took his hand and led him up the stairs, pausing when he stumbled slightly.

"Oh my gosh, he is so cute!" Abby squealed as soon as they were out of the room.

"He's a doll," Kate said.

"Yes, he's a smartheart," Ziva added.

"Sweetheart, Ziva," Tim corrected with a grin, looking to Gibbs. "He is cute, Boss."

"Thank guys," Jethro said. "He's a good kid."

It wasn't long before Shannon came down the stairs again, carrying Tony's quilt in one hand and holding Tony's hand in the other. Tony was dressed in small footie pajamas that had dinosaurs on them, and he was dragging Bunny behind him. He smiled tiredly when he walked into the room and clutched Bunny to him.

Shannon picked him up when they got into the room and settled him on Jethro's lap, covering him with the blanket and tucking Bunny in next to him. Jethro wrapped his arms around the boy and kissed him on the head, reveling in the smell of Tony's soft hair. Ziva, Kate, and Abby all let out simultaneous 'awwws' that left Jethro glaring at them and everyone else smirking. Tony sleepily watched them talk, smiling softly and tucking his thumb into his mouth. Jethro eased it back out, then smiled when Tony stubbornly popped it back in.

Tony reached up and patted Jethro's cheek and then signed something that only he could see. At Jethro's nod, he slid off of Jethro's lap and, dragging Bunny and the quilt behind him, toddled sleepily over to Ducky, then held his hands up expectantly.

"Oh, my," Ducky said in surprise, then reached down and pulled Tony into his lap. Tony quickly settled in, and was soon snoring softly on Ducky's chest, leaving a little patch of drool.

"Well. It has been a long while since I've held a child," Ducky said quietly, tucking his arms around the small form in his lap. "It's quite pleasant, isn't it?"

"Somehow, it's the most relaxing thing in the world," Shannon agreed.

Long after everyone went home, after Tony had had his nightmare and fallen back asleep, Shannon stayed awake, unable to keep herself from crying lightly at the overwhelming happiness she was feeling.

"You okay?" Jethro asked sleepily, propping himself up on an elbow.

"I'm just- I'm just happy," Shannon said. "I know that sounds silly, but it's a little bit overwhelming."

"It's not silly, Shan," Jethro said, moving in closer and tucking his head onto Shannon's shoulder. "I feel the same way."

If Shannon felt a little bit of dampness on her collarbone or thought she heard Jethro sniffle, she didn't mention it.