A/N: Thanks for the great response to the last chapter! This one is a bit long-ish, but that's because it will likely be a week or so before I can update again. I'm going home for Thanksgiving! So it's totally worth it, but it also means I probably won't be writing a whole lot. Thanks again for the reviews, guys. They seriously make my day.

xxxx

The doorbell rang, and with it, the lights Jethro had set up in the main room and kitchen flashed. Tony jumped up in excitement, looking to Shannon for permission before running to the door and flinging it open. He stood in the doorway for a minute, looking at the older man who had knocked, then turned to Shannon, the question clear in his expression.

"This is Jethro's dad, Tony. This is your grandpa." Tony looked at her, his expression unreadable, before he turned and ran out of the room. Shannon watched him go in surprise, her mouth open before turning back to the man and smiling.

"Jackson, hi. I'm sorry about that. Tony's still pretty shy," Shannon said, giving Jethro a hug and ushering him into the parlor. From upstairs, the sound of Tony slamming the door shut could be heard.

"That's alright," Jackson answered, sitting down gingerly. "I'm a pretty scary old man." Shannon could tell he was trying to sound nonchalant, but his eyes betrayed that his feelings had been hurt.

"Do you need anything? A drink maybe?"

"Actually, I'm pretty tired. Would you mind if I lay down for a few minutes?"

"Not at all. We have the guest room set up for you," Shannon answered, picking up Jackson's duffle bag. "It's right this way."

She led him to the guest room and made sure he was settled, then closed the door behind her. Taking a deep breath, Shannon started up the stairs, hesitating outside Tony's door. She cracked it open and looked inside; Tony was lying on his bed, his feet against the wall and his head dangling over the side. He was kicking the wall repeatedly.

"Tony?" Shannon signed once she knew that Tony had seen her. Tony turned away from her and continued kicking the wall.

"Hey. What's going on?"

Tony didn't answer, so Shannon grabbed him gently under the armpits and pulled him upright.

"Tony. What's going on?"

Tony shrugged and looked away, lower lip trembling.

"Tony."

"Does he love Dad?"

Shannon was taken aback.

"What?"

"Does that man love Jethro?" Tony repeated.

"OF course he does, sweetie," Shannon answered, taking one of Tony's hands in hers. "He's Jethro's-"

Father.

"Tony, baby," Shannon said, heart twisting at the thought of what Tony had gone through. "He loves Jethro, and he's going to love you."

"How do you know?"

"I know your grandpa, Tony. And I know you. He is going to love you."

Tony was quiet a moment before looking up at Shannon.

"Okay. I want to talk to him."

Shannon smiled and hugged Tony to her side, again amazed at her little boy's capacity for love even after everything he'd experienced in his young life.

"Alright. Let's go downstairs."

Tony slid off the bed and padded out of the room with Bunny in tow, Shannon close behind him.

"He might be sleeping," Shannon said, nodding toward the door. "Let me check-"

Tony had already pushed the door open and was quietly approaching the bed where Jackson was lying down. Shannon watched as Tony stood next to the bed, just looking at Jethro's father, then reached up and placed Bunny carefully next to the sleeping man. Satisfied, he turned around to walk back out of the room, and Shannon ducked out of the way quickly. When Tony walked by, she scooped him up and swung him around, smiling at his giggles as she blew a raspberry on his tummy.

"That was very nice," Shannon said. "Thank you."

Tony shrugged and grinned, looking up at her from beneath long eyelashes, then yawned widely.

"I think it's somebody's naptime," Shannon signed. Tony promptly sat down and pouted, arms crossed and lower lip stuck out, so Shannon picked him up and carried him under one arm. Instead of going to Tony's room, however, she went to her bedroom and plopped Tony down on her bed.

"I'm pretty tired too, buddy. Can I sleep with you?"

Tony responded by reaching his arms out toward her, so Shannon lowered herself down onto the mattress next to him. Tony cuddled into her side and she stroked his hair, gently thumbing his forehead until his eyelids drifted shut. Her own followed not long after that.

Twenty minutes later, Shannon eased herself off the bed, careful not to disturb Tony, and went downstairs. Jackson emerged from his bedroom not long after that, Bunny in one hand and a confused expression on his face.

"Was this in the guest room before I laid down?" He asked, holding Bunny up. Shannon smiled.

"No, that's Bunny. He's Tony's favorite stuffed animal."

Jackson still looked confused. "Then why is he in the guest room?"

"Tony thought he might help you sleep better," Shannon answered. Jackson smiled as understanding dawned.

"I thought he didn't like me," he whispered.

"Oh, he likes you. It's just that he needs some encouragement sometimes, a little bit of reassurance."

Jackson nodded. "Jethro said that he's had a bit of a rough little life."

"Yeah. His father was borderline abusive and didn't show him any affection. Tony was a bit wary of you, as Jethro's father."

Jackson looked down, glaring angrily at his hands.

"Damn," he muttered. "I'm glad I've never met that man."

Shannon laughed. "That man wishes he'd never met Jethro," she said, and Jackson grinned.

"Now that I can imagine,' he said. His smile faded a second later. "Shannon, I know that Jethro and I haven't always gotten along, but I want you to know that I would never…I couldn't…He's my son."

Shannon put a hand on Jackson's knee. "Don't worry. I understand, Jackson."

"I know you do, sweetie," Jackson said, hugging her tightly. "Jethro is so lucky to have you."

Shannon pulled away, laughing. "Oh, I'm pretty sure that goes both ways," she said with a smile.

"Well, it's still true. And that little boy is lucky to have you both."

"We're lucky to have him," Shannon answered with a chuckle. "He's such an amazing kid."

Jackson fondly played with Bunny's ear. "Yeah. Yeah, he is."

Tony woke up a half hour later and came bounding eagerly down the stairs, nearly tripping over the last few.

"Slow down, Tony," Shannon signed. "You know better."

"Sorry," Tony signed with a grin. Shannon shook her head. Little scamp didn't look a bit sorry. Tony turned to Jackson with a radiant smile and quickly signed "Hello, Grandpa."

"He said, 'Hello, Grandpa,'" Shannon explained. Jackson smiled and slowly signed "Hello, Tony."

"I'm afraid that's all I know, little guy," Jackson laughed as Tony's face lit up and he started signing at him rapidly. Shannon signed what Jackson had said to Tony, who nodded in understanding.

"I noticed he has a hearing aid," Jackson commented, watching Tony play with his toy cars. The hearing aids were hard to miss, actually, a bright fiery red. "Can he hear at all?"

"He can hear loud noises, like cars or sirens, but he doesn't have enough hearing to really communicate without sign language."

"I see," Jackson said. "It seems I'll have to start learning sign language."

Shannon smiled at him. "I know Tony would love it if you did."

The doorbell rang, and Tony looked up at Shannon eagerly.

"Is it time?" He signed. Shannon nodded, so Tony ran to the door and threw it open.

"Dad!" He signed happily, latching himself to Jethro's leg.

"Whoa, hey buddy," Jethro said with a smile, taking exaggerated steps and listening to Tony giggle as he was dragged across the floor.

"Hey Dad," Jethro said, finally making it into the parlor. Tony jumped off his leg and started signing rapidly at Jethro, who laughed. "I guess you've already met Tony and Bunny."

"Yep," Jackson answered, standing. "Good to see you, son."

"I'm glad you could make it down," Jethro answered, hugging his dad briefly. Not wanting to be left out, Tony grabbed them both around the legs and squeezed tightly. Jethro ruffled his hair affectionately.

"Are you guys hungry?" Jethro asked. "I brought pizza, it's out in the car."

"Sounds great, J," Shannon answered. "I'll go throw a salad together and set the table."

"I'll help with the table," Jackson said quickly.

"Good. Tony can help me with the pizza."

Jethro and Tony disappeared out the door, and Shannon grinned at Jackson.

"Just wait until you see this kid with pizza."

Jackson smiled back. "I look forward to it."

After dinner, Jackson laughed as Jethro hauled Tony's pizza-covered form upstairs for a bath.

"That boy can sure eat," he commented. Shannon smiled as she wiped down the table.

"Oh yeah. I can't wait to see how he handles Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow."

"That will be an adventure, I'm sure."

As it turned out, it would be a bigger adventure than Jackson realized.

By the time Tony woke up, Shannon had already started cooking the ham and was starting on the stuffing. Jethro and Jackson were wrestling with the table, trying to put in the extra section that would make it long enough to fit the people that would be coming. Tony padded into the kitchen, still half-asleep, rubbing tiredly at his eyes. His hair was sticking up everywhere.

"Hey buddy," Shannon said as Tony walked into the kitchen. "Sleep good?"

Tony shrugged.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Shannon asked in concern. Tony shook his head, then shrugged again.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah. But I didn't sleep very good."

"Okay. Tell me if you don't feel well, okay?"

Tony nodded and scrubbed at his eyes again.

"Go get dressed, sweetie, and then you can help me cook if you want."

Tony nodded with a smile and went upstairs, reappearing a few minutes later in a snug sweatshirt that had 'NCIS' emblazoned across the front. Shannon smiled at him.

"Are you ready to help me?"

Tony nodded eagerly, dragging a chair across the floor to stand next to Shannon.

"Okay. You're going to help me measure okay?"

"Okay," Tony signed, looking eagerly at the array of ingredients Shannon had on the counter. He reached for one thing, nearly knocking over three others as he leaned over. Shannon caught him by the arm, laughing.

"Whoa there, kiddo. Slow down."

Tony noticeably reined himself in, practically bouncing in excitement and Shannon couldn't help but smile and think that maybe she'd bitten off more than she could chew.

xxxx

When Thanksgiving dinner was finally ready and everyone had arrived (and Tony had changed his clothes), everyone gathered around the table. Besides the Gibbs family, Ziva, Kate and Abby had come, as they had no family in the area to eat with. Tony didn't seem to mind and somehow managed to end up sitting between Abby and Ziva with Kate directly across from him.

Watching as Tony talked rapidly with the women, flashing his smile at them, Jackson turned to Jethro with a wry smile.

"Your son is going to be a ladykiller," he said, motioning toward Tony.

"You're telling me," Jethro said. "The kid oozes charisma."

"We're going to have to watch him as he gets older," Shannon said with a smile. "Don't want him running off with Abby as soon as he's 18."

As if on cue, Abby and Ziva burst into giggles about something Tony had done, while Tony sat between them looking smug.

"What's going on down there?" Shannon asked playfully. Abby shook her head.

"Tony's imitating Gibbs," she gasped between laughs.

"What?" Jethro demanded, looking at his son. Tony was sitting up straight in his booster, a slight frown on his face as he ate firmly and deliberately. He chewed for a while and then take a solemn swig of juice from his sippy cup, before sitting back with his arms crossed in front of him.

"Holy cow," Shannon whispered, trying not to laugh. "He looks just like you."

"He does not!" Jethro protested, glaring at Tony. Tony looked back at him and stuck his tongue out, grinning broadly.

"Damn, you've got a live one here, Jethro," Jackson commented through his own chuckles.

"He looks just like you, J," Shannon repeated, finally bursting out laughing.

Jethro finally grinned, shaking his head.

"I know," he muttered. "He doesn't have to be so damn cute about it, though. Makes me look bad."

Shannon roared even harder.

"Jealous, honey?"

"No," Jethro said, shaking his head. "Not at all."

At Shannon's look, he laughed.

"Okay, okay. Maybe a little bit."

xxxx

Tony thoroughly enjoyed pumpkin pie, managing to smear it all over his face and arms, before starting to get sleepy a good hour before usual.

"Come on, buddy," Shannon said, walking into the kitchen. "Let's get you cleaned up, and then it's time for bed."

Surprisingly, Tony nodded without any complaint, and Shannon felt a familiar pang of concern.

"Are you okay, sweetie?"

Tony nodded slowly. "Sleepy."

"Okay. Let's get you in bed," Shannon said, quickly wiping down his face and arms. She carried him up the stairs, smiling wistfully as Tony's head drooped, resting on her shoulder. He was pliant and half-asleep as Shannon eased him into his pajamas, and barely managed to brush his teeth. Shannon gently took his hearing aids out, setting them on the bedside table, then tucked Bunny in next to Tony.

"Good night, sweetie," Shannon signed, kissing him on the head. "Sleep well."

"Good night, Mom," Tony signed back, before rolling over on his side.

Shannon smiled and switched the fan on, then tiptoed out of the room. It was only once she got outside that she realized she didn't need to tiptoe.

xxxx

After hours of games and drinks and after-dinner snacks, the house was finally quiet. Jackson was sleeping soundly in the guest room, Abby, Kate, and Ziva were all safely headed toward home, and Jethro and Shannon were both sound asleep.

Suddenly, Jethro startled awake. The door to their bedroom was wide open.

"Tony?" He called, half-asleep. "Oh, damn it," he muttered as he realized he'd been calling for his deaf son. He fumbled for the lamp on the bedside table and flicked it on, wincing at the sudden brightness.

"Jethro? What's going on?" Shannon mumbled, sitting up and squinting.

"Not sure, " Jethro answered, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "Is Tony over there?"

"No," Shannon said, starting to sound worried.

"Aw, damn," Jethro said as he rounded the bed. Tony was curled up on the floor at the foot of their bed. "I think Tony had a nightmare and came in here, Shan."

Jethro bent down and shook Tony's shoulders, growing concerned when Tony didn't respond.

"Tony? Come on buddy," Jethro murmured, lifting Tony from the floor.

"J? What is it?"

Jethro recoiled as he smelled the sour stench of vomit on Tony's clothes.

"I think Tony's sick," he answered, heading toward the bathroom.

"Let me see," Shannon said, getting up and throwing a robe on. She gently felt Tony's forehead, swearing when she felt it. "He's warm."

She turned back to the small boy, patting his cheek lightly. "Come on, baby. Tony?"

Tony blinked his eyes open, staring up at Shannon with an unfocused gaze.

"What should we do? What do you need me to do?" Jethro asked.

"Give him to me," Shannon answered. "There's children's Tylenol downstairs, and a thermometer. I'll go change his pajamas if you'll go get that stuff."

"No problem," Jethro answered, gingerly handing Tony's limp form to his wife.

"Hey baby," Shannon whispered, kissing his hot forehead. "Let's get you changed." She cradled him close to her body and carried him towards his room, gasping when the smell of vomit increased when she entered his room. There was a large pool of it next to his bed.

"Oh, sweetie," Shannon murmured, getting a change of clothes for him. She was trying hard not to panic, to remind herself that she was a nurse and she dealt with this kind of illness all the time, to remember that his was probably a 24 hour bug. But knowing how fragile Tony's health was anyway, and the fact that this was her son- it changed things. Drastically.

"Shannon? I've got it," Jethro said, hurrying into the room. He helped dress Tony as Shannon took his temperature.

"101. Not too bad," Shannon said. "Let's get some of that Tylenol in him."

Jethro nodded, pouring out the right amount of medicine before handing it to Shannon.

"Thanks," she murmured as she took it. "Okay, buddy, here we go," Shannon said, putting the cup to Tony's lips. Tony cracked his eyes open, frowning.

"Drink it, baby," Shannon said, pressing the cup to his lips a bit more insistently. Tony opened his mouth and Shannon helped him drink, wincing in sympathy at the disgusted look on Tony's face.

"Ssh, ssh, it's okay," Shannon soothed, rubbing her hand in circles over his stomach. Tony relaxed, then abruptly grew pale.

"He's gonna hurl," Shannon said, rushing past Jethro and into the bathroom. She had barely helped Tony lean over the toilet before he started retching, his whole body shuddering.

"Jethro?" Jackson asked from the doorway. He looked surprisingly aware and very alarmed.

"It's okay, Dad. Tony just picked up a bug."

"Anything I can do to help?"

Shannon looked up from where she'd been rubbing Tony's back.

"We could use some Pedialyte," she said, looking at Jethro. "I don't know if you guys want to make a midnight trip to the store…"

"I will. Pedialyte, you said?" Jackson said.

"Yeah, if you would. Thanks, Jackson."

"Not a problem. I'll be back as quick as I can."

As soon as Jackson had gone, Jethro turned to Shannon.

"Is this bad? Do we need to call an ambulance?"

"No, J, it's okay for now," Shannon answered, kissing Tony's temple as he gasped during a slight reprieve in the vomiting. "We'll try giving him a tablespoon of liquid at a time until he can keep it down, then we'll increase how much liquids he's intaking. We don't need to worry unless his fever spikes too high or he starts getting dehydrated."

"Okay. Okay. We can do this. Okay," Jethro muttered, running his hand through his hair. "Damn, this is terrifying. I mean, parents deal with this kind of stuff all the time, right?"

If she hadn't been comforting a shuddering, vomiting four year old, Shannon would have smiled at her husband's uncharacteristic panic. As it was, it was all she could do to keep herself from similarly panicking.

"Yeah. Kids get sick, and parents help them out. This is not uncommon, J. We're doing fine."

Tony finally stopped throwing up and started bawling as Shannon gently wiped his mouth.

"Did those kids have rheumatic fever?" Jethro whispered, frightened eyes making contact with Shannon's as she tucked Tony to her chest.

"Jethro. He's okay, alright? Don't worry about that unless we need to worry about that. This is just a stomach thing. He's okay."

Jethro nodded, wiping a shaky hand across his mouth. Tony was still sobbing, twisting uncomfortably in Shannon's grasp.

"I wish I could make it go away," he whispered. Shannon smiled at him.

"I know, babe. Me too. Do you want to hold him?"

Jethro nodded and gathered Tony into his arms, gently running a thumb over his son's forehead.

"If you want to stay with him downstairs and wait for your dad, I'll clean up his room," Shannon said, kissing Jethro's forehead. "You're doing great."

"Okay. Thanks, Shan," Jethro said, carrying Tony downstairs.

Five minutes later, Jackson returned with the Pedialyte, and Shannon gave it to Tony in small increments until he was able to stomach it. Somewhere around 6 in the morning, Tony's fever went down and the exhausted boy finally fell into a sound sleep in Jethro's arms. It wasn't long before Jethro drifted off too, and Jackson was snoring softly in the easy chair. Shannon looked fondly at her boys and kissed them both on the forehead before falling asleep, her head nestled on Jethro's shoulder.