I DO NOT OWN NCIS OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS.

A/N I hope you like it so far. Any advice or suggestions are appreciated. Thanks for reading.

**A lot happening in this chapter, but hopefully not too confusing….

Chapter 10

School managed to go fairly well. LJ used his 'special' skill to avoid Chuck and Eddie as much as possible. Occasionally they crossed paths and they would tease him. After a few months of that he would find ways to retaliate one on one usually getting each of them with a surprise attack.

Mrs. Howard did the best she could to keep things peaceful. She had separated them all from each other to different tables in the classroom. LJ now got to share a table with Gloria, so he was internally happy.

Valentine's Day approached and the classroom was planning a small party to celebrate. Everybody would pass out a valentine to each classmate. LJ made his one for Gloria just a little more special by putting some glitter on it to make it shiny.

He was pleased to find she made an extra special one for him, too. She drew lots of hearts on his. He just smiled without looking at her directly. He tucked all his valentines into his the box he'd made for them. Then as the class worked on a valentine, he made one for his mom.

When he got home he put the valentine on the refrigerator to display it. Marie hugged him telling him, "It's the best valentine I've ever gotten." Even though she said the same thing every year, it still made him feel very happy.

His dad was late in coming home. Though Marie tried not to let it show, he could tell she was getting more worried by the minute. When he still hadn't returned by the time they finished dinner, she was going to begin to make some phone calls, but a call rang in first.

LJ sat down next to his mom, when she started to cry. He tried to comfort her like he'd seen his father do before. She looked down at him and pulled him onto her lap to cuddle.

She began to explain, "There was an accident at work. Not one like when you were younger, but daddy got hurt. He's going to be okay," she promised. "He got hit in the head and needed some stitches. The hospital was very busy, so it took longer than he expected."

LJ hugged his mom and stayed brave. He wasn't going to cry, even if he was a little worried too.

When Jackson arrived home he showed his 'boo-boo' to LJ and told him he would be fine. "I've got a hard head," he smirked. "Even your mom's told me that." It worked to ease the fear still apparent on Marie's face.

"Let's get you to bed now," Jack said.

Letting his dad carry him, LJ rested his head on his dad's shoulder. He whispered, "I love you, daddy," as Jack covered him up in bed.

Jack smiled down, "I love you too, Leroy." He winked and left the room in darkness keeping the door cracked open.

A more tragic even was due to impact the small family striking in late March. Marie's father had taken ill and lost his battle to get better. She tried to deal with her loss as best she could, but having lost her mother when she was younger her dad was all she had.

LJ tried his best to say and do all the right things. He managed to avoid all kinds of trouble and took the best care of all his things.

One night while she sat in the dark crying, he crawled into her lap. Laying his head against her chest, he hugged her.

"It's okay momma. I'll be your big Jethro now," he comforted.

A sob caught in Marie's throat as she realized just how much her son sensed her loss. She combed his hair off his forehead and kissed him lightly.

"Yes, you are my big Jethro. What a very lucky mommy I am."

As she turned out his light that night she whispered to him "Sweet dreams Jethro."

He had heard her and smiled. He would be the best Jethro he could be for his mom.

This led to some mild spats between his parents. For the most part, Jack ignored it. It was only when Marie introduced his son as Jethro instead of Leroy that he would say anything. She tried to explain that is was their son's choice, but he wasn't buying it.

After a month or so, he gave up and just accepted it. He wasn't changing his son's name, but it wasn't worth arguing over. Jethro was happy to see an end to it.