Chapter 9

Willow watched as Tony left the room, feeling slightly uncomfortable alone with his boss, who didn't appear to be the most conversational of people.

"So, how do you like Sunnydale?" Willow tentatively asked, hoping to break the ice. Unusually, she left the ice-breaking to Xander or Buffy, so she hoped the question didn't sound too…bad.

"It's alright, more dangerous than I would like, but other than that there is nothing wrong with it." Gibbs replied.

"You haven't been attacked or anything, have you?" Willow asked panicking slightly. Gibbs shook his head.

"No, but we know that attacks…Murders, take place, and that the LEOs are incompetent."

"What are LEOs, other than people born in that star sign?"

"Law Enforcement Officers." Gibbs told her, and Willow nodded understandingly.

"Ah, that makes sense. Sunnydale isn't too bad, really, as long as you don't go out at night, and that if you do, you avoid certain areas of town." Willow quickly spoke, feeling more and more nervous. There was something about the silver haired NCIS agent that was un-nerving her.

"And do you stay out of those areas at night time, Willow?" Gibbs asked. Willow bit her lip slightly.

"Sometimes. I never go there by myself though."

"But with others. Xander, .maybe?"

"Xander and I avoid those areas when we're together, and when it's us and Cordelia. It's still too dangerous."

"What about when you're with Buffy or her boyfriend?"

"Yes, that's the only time we go into the dangerous parts of town, especially during the night. Buffy and Angel are a lot stronger than they look." Willow ansewered, before she realised who she was talking to, "Why are you asking me all of this? We haven't been doing anything wrong." She stammered.

"I'm worried about you, that's why," Gibbs said, and he saw the confusion was over Willow's face.

"Me? Why are you worried about me?"

"Willow, what do you know about your parents before you were born?" Gibbs asked.

"My father is a Rabbi, and has been for years, ever since before I can remember. My mother is a child psychologist, and they spend the majority of the year on the lecture circuit. They are world famous. Both of them are only children, and all of my grandparents are dead. As far as I know, my family has never had a connection to the navy." Willow said. Gibbs sighed and took a mouthful of coffee.

"Did you ever wonder why you didn't have any siblings?"

"My mother told me I was adopted when I was seven. She can't have children. I don't know anything about my biological parents. I was forbidden from tracking them down until I'd turned eighteen. I haven't told anyone, not even Xander. When we were little, we used to pretend we were adopted, because we both had crummy parents, and that our real parents would come and take us away, and we'd live happily ever after, but the whole time we were playing, I knew that for me, it was real. Well, the being adopted bit was, anyway." Willow spoke quietly, her head bowed, her long red hair hiding her face from Gibbs. Gibbs instantly knew how bad Willow felt for hiding such an important piece of herself from her closest friend. It was similar to the way he had hidden what had happened to Shannon and Kelly from everyone at NCIS

"I won't tell him, I promise." Gibbs solemnly promised his daughter, Willow looked back up at him and smiled.

"It's gotten better for Xander this last year, and he's so happy. He loves Cordelia so much, and they've been so good for each other."

"Tony will be glad to know his cousin is happy." Gibbs nodded encouragingly, "And what about you? Are you happy here?"

"Yes, I like my school and my friends, and my teachers, and I like helping out with the sl… researching I do with the study group we're all involved in." Willow babbled, hastily recovering from her almost slip up. She mentally kicked herself. She almost said slaying in front of a Federal Agent who was already far too suspicious about the Scooby Gang's night time activities.

Gibbs inwardly frowned, though he kept his face impassive. Willow had answered far too quickly for his liking, even if he ignored the part where she had changed what she was saying half way through a word.

"Why are you asking me all of these questions, Special Agent Gibbs?" Willow suddenly asked, drawing Gibbs out of his musing.

"You don't know anything about your real parents, do you?"

"No, Why?"

"I do. Your mother's name was Shannon, and you had an older sister named Kelly. She was eight years older than you. Your father was Marine, who loved them both so much; he'd die for them if he could. The day you were born, the 28th of February, 1991, He was away on a black ops mission, and was injured. He was in a coma for two weeks. By the time he returned to the states you had already been adopted out."

"But, what about my mom, and Kelly?"

"Shannon, your mother, witnessed a drug deal that went bad, and saw a man being murdered. She reported it to the police, who passed the case on to NIS, which became NCIS a few years later. The man that died had been a marine. Fearing for the safety of Shannon and Kelly, they were placed in protective custody by NIS. At that point, your mother was heavily pregnant with you, and your father was un-reachable, so he didn't know what was happening. On the day you were born, the two NIS agents that were protecting your mother, Kelly, and by extension you, were ordered to relocate your mother. It was standard procedure to move people in protective custody around a fair bit, and the place Shannon and Kelly were being taken was closer to a hospital, for when Shannon gave birth. You weren't due for another six weeks, but Kelly had been early, and Shannon had been told that it was likely you would be early too. While they were driving to the new safe house, a sniper took out the driver of the car, and the car hit an icy patch on the road. It slid out of control and hit a tree. Kelly and the other NIS agent died instantly. Shannon made it into hospital, but she was badly injured. She knew she wasn't going to make it. She ordered the doctors to try and save you. You were born a few hours later, when they realised that there was no way for them to save your mother. Shannon died not long afterwards, and the last person she talked to, the paramedic that looked after her at the scene of the crash, relayed Shannon's dying request, that you be named Willow Danielle. Willow for her favourite type of tree, and because your father's best friend was named William and he had died in 1990, and Danielle for your paternal grandmother." Gibbs struggled to keep his emotions out of his voice as he told Willow Shannon's story. He didn't look at Willow, keeping his head bowed, knowing that if he looked at her he'd see the tears in the innocent emerald green eyes, so much like her mother's that Gibbs was scared that he would loose control of his emotions and break down.

"W-what happened to my Dad?" Willow asked, and Gibbs glanced up at her. Tears rolled down her cheeks, clinging to her eyelashes, and dripping down from her face and into her lap. Gibbs took a steadying breath.

"Once he'd recovered from the black ops mission, he went to Mexico and killed the person he held responsible for the death of Shannon and Kelly, and of you. The hospital told him that you died when Shannon died. He through himself into his new job, a field agent at NIS for the Major Crime Response Team, the same team that had investigated Shannon and Kelly's death, and the drug deal and homicide that led to it. He's worked there for the past sixteen years."

Gibbs was watching Willow's face when realisation dawned upon it. She looked at him, her eyes wide and tearful, but at the same time analytical, and she was obviously studying him for any obvious features they shared. Gibbs watched and waited for her to be finished, letting her take her time. Patience wasn't a virtue Gibbs was widely known for, but when he felt the need for it, Gibbs could be very patient.

He didn't have to wait for two long. Willow's voice shook as she broke the silence.

"Dad?" She croaked out. Gibbs didn't trust his voice, so he simple inclined his head slightly. Willow obviously got the message, because she got up and walked towards him. Gibbs got up to and pulled her gently into a hug, keeping it tight enough to let her know that he cared, but loose enough that she could get away from it if she wanted to. Willow leant into the embrace, burying her face into Gibbs' shirt and sobbing, while he rubbed her back soothingly. Now that they weren't talking, he could hear Tony talking to Ziva on the phone from somewhere else in the house.

"Its okay, Willow, I've got you. I've got you back." Gibbs murmured soothingly into her ear, running his fingers through her long red hair. In response Willow snuggled closer and hugged Gibbs tighter. Gibbs smiled. Tony better stay where he was, or Gibbs was going to kill him. No-one at work could know about this.

If they did, his reputation as a bastard was completely shot to hell.

NCIS/BtVS

Tony let out a sigh of relief when Gibbs called out to him, glad that he would be able to move around the house freely again, without having to worry about accidently walking in on his boss dropping the bombshell of a lifetime on Willow. He smiled extra wide as he strode confidently into the lounge room, going straight over to the biscuits, and helping himself to another one, subtly assessing the situation. Gibbs and Willow were both sitting on the couch, and Willow had obviously been crying. The wet patches on Gibbs' shirt indicated that there had been some sort of attempted comforting on Gibbs' behalf. Willow was, however, smiling, and it looked real. Tony knew smiles, he was a master of the fake smiles, the masks he hid behind to keep his real feelings a secret.

Considering that he hadn't heard any screaming, or yelling, he assumed it hadn't been too traumatic for either party.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs said simply. Tony nodded, smiling.

"Going to go and find Ziva and Probie and spend the rest of the day with them and You'll call me when you want to get picked up. Got it, Boss." Tony grabbed another biscuit and hurried out, closing the front door behind him. He got into the car, smiling to himself, happy that Gibbs had found a member of the family that he had lost all those years ago. Tony couldn't help but feel jealous of Willow. Gibbs was a great father, so much better than any other father figure Tony had ever had, and Willow had him as the real deal. Tony knew that there would be no way in hell his father would go to the extent Gibbs had to find him if he was ever lost. Tony banged his head back in his seat, before he started the car and pulled out of the driveway, heading towards the coffee shop that Ziva had asked him to meet her at.

NCIS/BtVS

Willow watched as Tony hurried out, his mouth stuffed with biscuit.

"He's so much like Xander." She commented, and Gibbs shuddered at the thought.

"God, a teenaged version of Tony. He's annoying enough now."

Willow laughed, and leaned against Gibbs, enjoying being close to him. When she was near him, she didn't feel uneasy any more, but safe, and protected, and loved, and all the other things that her own parents weren't around long enough to give.

Gibbs was silent as Willow leant against him. He enjoyed the feeling, it reminded him so strongly of when Kelly was small, and had just had a nightmare, or when she was sick, or even when she just needed some comfort. He ran his fingers through Willow's hair comfortingly.

"Does Tony know?" she asked. Gibbs nodded.

"Yes, he was the one who told me where to find you. All of my team know."

"Oh," Willow said, not knowing what else to say. She and Gibbs sat in a comfortable silence, both lacking the conversational skills to strike up a conversation, and yet neither one feeling the need for any conversation.

"What's Washington like?" Willow eventually asked, her natural curiosity getting the better of her. Gibbs smiled to himself.

"It's cold in the winter, and the summers aren't overly hot, compared to here, and it's not nearly as humid when it is hot. The traffic is chaotic, at the best of times. The politics is a pain in the ass, and gets in the way of us doing our job."

"What do you do at NCIS? I mean, Tony gave us a brief outline, but he glossed over the details." Willow asked, hoping to gain an insight to the organisation her father worked for.

"NCIS is a government run organisation that investigates crimes that are related to people in the Navy, or their immediate family. I'm the team leader of the Major Crime Response Team, which means that I'm in charge of the cases that we get given. Usually they're murders, but we get the occasional kidnapping as well."

"Do you travel much?" Willow queried.

Gibbs nodded, "Most of the time we'll be in the area of Washington DC, but occasionally we'll head out of state to go to a crime scene, or we'll have to fly out to a boat and investigate something on there, or we'll head out to a training facility. There are other bases in the world too. LA, Rota in Spain, a couple of others in Europe, one in South America."

"Do you work with anyone other than Tony and the rest of your team?"

"Yeah, I work with Ducky, he's our Medical Examiner, and Abby, she's our Forensics specialist."

Willow nodded and fell into a contented silence. Gibbs however, had become curious.

"Tony tells me you're the smart one in your group."

Willow shrugged, "Other than Giles, or maybe Angel, I guess I am. I like reading, and I like school, and my grades are alright, so I guess that makes me the smart one."

Gibbs nodded, his gut telling him that Willow was selling herself short. He was silent, and Willow stayed where she was, contentedly leaning against him as he loosely held her. It felt good, to hold her and know she was safe.

He wouldn't fail his family again.