Chapter Eleven

Thank you Abby Panther for your idea! I'm using it in this chapter so kudos goes to you for the idea.

Harry wasn't too pleased that Gibbs had to leave for the day. They'd gotten the call yesterday about an emergency with his father and he was extremely ill currently. Gibbs couldn't risk a baby getting ill especially as Harry was still teething and vulnerable, so he was being left behind in the team's care. Harry could see Tony was disappointed he couldn't join his boss on the trip, but gave a cheery goodbye to Gibbs. Harry wriggled about in Abby's arms, not sure if he really wanted someone else taking care of him. He'd just gotten used to letting Gibbs do things for him!

"Awe, smile for me baby boy!" Abby coached as she noticed Harry's downtrodden face. Harry frowned further and hid his face against her shoulder, evoking a small sigh from her as she rubbed his back gently.

"How about we go somewhere fun until the boss man gets back late tonight?" Tony inquired after seeing the infant hide against Abby. His coworkers shot him a questioning look and Tony shrugged before mouthing his idea. Amusement park, anyone?

"He is too little for that, Tony," Tim shot at him. Tony grimaced, remembering the baby's age, before nodding reluctantly. They eventually just decided to head for Gibbs's house. Tony took the baby form Abby and buckled him in, remembering how Gibbs showed him. James, as they discovered was his name from Gibbs, looked up at Tony depressingly.

"No worries little man, Gibbs will be back before you know it!" Tony chirped, wondering why he was assuring the baby when the kid probably couldn't understand him. Nevertheless, he was unable to continue looking in the deep emerald eyes gazing at him sadly.

The drive to Gibbs's house was made in relative silence. Tony was relieved to see the house as he unbuckled James and carried him inside. Once unlocking the door, he lowered James into the playpen and scoped the area for everything he might need for the baby. He discovered a handful of pacifiers, the bottles with infant formula beside them on the counter, the baby oatmeal, a note addressed to Tony about what to feed James, and a few other necessities.

Coming back to the baby in the playpen, he lifted James up and sat him on the floor, curious if the baby could crawl. He knew Gibbs hardly tried to figure that out, preferring to carry James more than let him on the floor. Tony sat Indian-style a little ways from James and held up the stuffed dog he remembered buying the infant.

James gave him a 'do-you-think-I'm-stupid' look and Tony felt like sweat dropping. Instead, he gave the dog a little shake and smirked when the emerald green eyes followed the stuffed toy. Slowly, James moved into a lying position and weakly pushed himself up into the crawl posture.

"Come one kiddo, you can do it," Tony encouraged, holding up the dog. Again, the baby's eyes followed it before James took a tentative hand in front of him, the opposite foot from it following soon after.

After that, there was no doubt that James could crawl. Tony grinned triumphantly as he pulled James to sit on his lap and gave him the dog, digging in his pocket and presenting the baby with his pacifier. James chewed on the pacifier quietly, bouncing the stuffed dog around as he sat in silence.

"Oww!"

Tony yelped and glared at the baby who was giggling. This kid had just tugged –hard—on his beautiful hair. Oh, the kid was going to pay. Tony poked the baby in the stomach and James squealed in surprise. Smirking, he spent the next few minutes tickling the baby lightly, hearing the loud fits of laughter from the baby as he did so.

The door opened to admit Abby into the scene of her coworker mercilessly tickling Gibbs's soon to be adopted son. James was quite red in the face and Abby quickly came to the baby's rescue and snatched him up. James laid his head down against her shoulder, still giggling as he began to recover.

"So, any idea how to get him to sleep?" Tony asked lightly as Abby demanded to know why she was torturing the little cutie pie. Abby realize that, no, she didn't know how Gibbs usually got James to sleep. Oh boy…

Eventually Harry found himself sitting in the center of the living room with a baffled look upon his small face. He heard the footsteps outside and soon entered his da—Gibbs with a tired look upon his face.

"Ahh!" Harry sounded, trying to say welcome home. Gibbs followed the noise and was staring at the baby with raised eyebrows. Harry giggled –firmly believing that he was only laughing, so not giggling—as the scene was taken in. A worn out Abby was snoozing beside Tony, her arm wrapped loosely around Harry's waist. She was wearing a long red blanket over her black hair and had a small basket in her other arm. Harry's stuffed dog was on Tony's head and he was snoring against Abby. They were both clearly asleep and exhausted.

"Had fun, Jamie?" Gibbs laughed as he bent down and retrieved his soon to be son, looking down at his agent and forensic scientist with a roll of his eyes. He efficiently bore James to the nursery and changed him before putting him to bed in his crib.

"Night night little man," Gibbs whispered as he tucked James in. The baby yawned, smiling up at his caretaker with a sparkle in his sleepy emerald eyes. Gibbs left the room, unable to wait for the day he could introduce James to his father… as his son.

Meanwhile, Harry grinned at his success of wearing Tony and Abby down. They'd played horsey with him –Tony being the horse as Abby balanced Harry on the man's back—and that had failed when Harry had nearly fallen. They'd tried one of the Disney movies Gibbs recently bought for Harry and that had also been in vain, as Harry found himself laughing more than watching. Their other attempts including play-acting, singing lullabies, and finally –story time.

Harry had never been read to as a child, the Dursleys finding it as a way to give him too many ideas in his head. So when Tony and Abby had begun to reenact Little Red Riding Hood he had been utterly clueless as to what they were doing and, seated comfortably in the cushioned pillows on the floor, had watched as they over dramatized everything they did, Abby speaking in a high-pitched voice while Tony lowered his own.

Somehow, both of them had collapsed as they finished up the ending, too tired to even mumble the ending. Harry -the impatient curious Gryffindor that he was- smacked at both of them to get them to finish his story, but to no avail.

Maybe he could get Gibbs to tell him the story, assuming he could find a way to tell the man. With that thought in mind, Harry succumbed to sleep.

Sorry for not updating last night. A power outage and whatnot happened and I couldn't beat the storm! Darnit, how I wish I could. Anyways, please go to my profile and vote on the poll for the latest upcoming story I'm planning. Also, next chapter may or may not be the adoption scene. Don't know yet.

Thanks for reading and I hope you review to tell me what you think or any questions you may have for here or future plot! *EDITED* Harry MAY or MAY NOT go to Hogwarts. He could end up in Salem, my secret until then.