Donnie didn't even stop to think about it. He scurried off of King's lap and stood eyeing Laurel closely a few feet away. He also watched as King got over his initial surprise and stood up to greet his daugther. The moment King drew her into a close hug Donnie saw his chance and bolted out through the back door. Why, he wasn't sure, but he needed to get out of there. Unfortunately it wasn't long before he was stopped by a strong grip around his arm.
"Slow down."
"I haven't done anything."
"Why are you running then?" Donnie shrugged his shoulders. "Don't you think Dwayne is missing you by now?!"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Laurel showed up."
"Laurel?! Dwayne wasn't aware of that Donnie. He would have told me if he knew." Gibbs said kindly, but firmly. "And just because Laurel is in town doesn't mean he'll forget about you." Seeing the doubt plastered on the young face Gibbs motioned for him to follow. Hie led them back inside through the front door and up the stairs to a deserted office space next to the only bedroom in the building.
"Where is Tony?"
"Out with Chris." Gibbs paused for a moment. "Have you ever met Laurel before?"
"No. I've heard about her though from Nate."
"Does he hate her?"
"No! Nate could never..."
"Does Laurel hate your brother?"
"Not as far as I know. They haven't met a lot of times, but Nate told me she's nice."
"Then why run off?!"
"I guess...what if she doesn't like me?!"
"Pride won't throw you out if she doesn't."
"How can you be so sure?! Laurel is his daughter!"
"And you are his son in every way that matters."
"It's not the same."
"Why not?! Because she is his biological kid?! That's the most stupid thing I've heard from you. He loves you Donnie, just as much as he loves Chris and Nathan and Laurel. Nothing changes because she turned up out of the blue."
"She saw me being held like a baby."
"She saw me getting my butt kicked by my old boss, Mike Franks, the first time I met her."
"Really?!" Donnie asked intrigued. Seeing that he had sparked the teens interest he answered:
"Yes. I thought that she'd never respect me after that. But she did. Laurel won't judge you based on that. What she will judge you by though is if you hide up here the whole time she is here. Give her a chance Donovan."
"Okay." Donnie agreed after a moment.
"Good boy." Donnie smiled brightly at the unexpected praise and hairruffle.
-Bullied-the Other Side-
"We need to talk AJ" Detective Steve Daniels stated as he sat down next to the young auburn haired boy on their couch. Getting no response Steve reached out and snatched the TV-remote from AJ's unexpecting hands.
"Hey!" Raising a warning eyebrow at the response Steve shut off the TV and turned towards AJ.
"I said; we need to talk."
"I was in the middle of a movie."
"And I just got home from a 12 hour shift. Don't try me son."
"Sorry." AJ muttered.
"Why didn't you call me on your last job, Asher?"
"I didn't get a chance."
"You've always found a way to get me up to speed when needed."
"I already told you! James was watching me like a hawk!"
"And I'm sure that's part of the reason."
"It's the only reason." AJ muttered. This was the number one topic he didn't want to talk about.
"I've counted two lies to my face, would you like to continue down that road?!"
"No sir." AJ finally answered quietly.
"Why don't you try telling me the truth Ash."
"I couldn't call you."
"Why?" AJ shrugged his shoulders. "Do you trust me son?"
"Of course I do!"
"Then why not tell me what I'm going to find in this enevelope?!" Steve removed a white envelope from the innerpocket of his suit. At the teen's deer in the headlights look, he explained: "Patton traced your movements on King's computer. You never even touched the files you told everybody about. Instead you searched for something else. What?"
"If I tell you, can you not open the envelope?"
"Doesn't work that way Bud."
"Please."
"Give me one reason to trust you enough not to."
"I'm your son." Getting over his initial surprise at the statment Steve smiled despite himself and brought the boy in a close hug before dropping a kiss on the unruly hair.
"That might be the best argument I've ever heard, so go ahead. I won't open it. If I start suspecting you aren't telling me the truth though, I'll open it. So for both of our sakes; don't let it come to that. I trust you AJ, don't abuse that trust."
"Yes sir. I won't." At least not more than I have to.
-Bullied-the Other Side-
"Hi" Donnie quitely greeted the father and daugther sitting at the table chatting.
"Hey Buddy. I think there is somebody you should meet. Donnie, this is my daughter Laurel. Laurel this is your little brother Donnie."
"Hi"
"Hi Donnie. Dad tells me you are Nate's little brother. I can see the resemblance."
"Yeah."
"How old are you?"
"14. How old are you?"
"27"
"Laurel was passing through New Orleans and got the idea to stop by."
"It's nice to meet you." Donnie mumbled.
"Honey would you mind giving us a moment?" King asked his daughter.
"Sure Daddy, I'll see if I can't find Chris being occupied with being lazy somewhere."
"Do that." Once Laurel was out of the kitchen King stalked over to Donnie and brought him into a tight hug.
"Are you okay Buddy?" At Donnie's hesitation King gently reassured: "You don't have to be. I'd rather have you tell me the truth than lie to try to protect me. If you aren't comfortable with Laurel being here, then it's something we'll have to deal with."
"I don't know her."
"No you don't, but she wants to get to know you. I wasn't the only one concerned when you took of. She worried that she had scared you or embarrassed you."
"She probably thinks I'm a baby."
"Far from that Donovan. And before your mind starts to even go there, she accepted Nate into the family with open arms, she's trying to do the same with you. I realize that I should have had you meet her sooner, but try to give her a chance Bud. She's not here to steal me away. Or kick you out."
"That's what Gibbs said."
"He has his moments. Are we clear now that nothing will change?" At Donnie's nod, King released him, but kept a grip around his shoulders. "I love you Donovan James Williams Pride. Nothing can or will ever change that."
"I love you too." King smiled at that, but his face turned stern again as he continued:
"Now about taking off..."
"I'm sorry I worried you."
"That's nice to hear but you can't take off like that Donnie, if Gibbs wouldn't have stopped you, where would you have ended up?"
"No idea" Donnie admitted.
"And that's what scares me."
"I won't do it again."
"You better try hard not to. But as an incentive to stay put you can plant your nose in the nearest corner." King gently turned him in the direction of one of the corners and sent him on his way with a stinging swat. A few minutes later Donnie got bored and started shifting the weight between his feet and eventually resting his head on the wall, something a loud cough had him stop doing immeadiately.
"I was going to ask how things were going but it seems like I'm a little bit late for the party." James stated as he entered the room fully, leveling his calm gaze on his son.
"Nothing big James so you can relax. Just hoping it can teach him a lesson about staying put."
"Staying put?!"
"Laurel showed up."
"Aahh. Do you have anything you'd like me to do?"
"Could you round up Chris and your older son, I think a little time with all siblings might just be helpful."
"Will do, but first, do you mind if I...?!"
"Go ahead." King watched as James stalked over to the young boy and enveloped him into a big hug.
"How are you feeling Donnie-Boy?"
"Better now."
"Okay enough to spend some time with the rest?"
"...yes" Donnie answered unsure, causing his Dad tighten his arms around him and growl lowly into his ear:
"Donnie-Boy"
"I'm not sure Dad."
"What if Tony joined you? Would that make it easier?" James asked after sharing a look with King.
"Could he?!" The small shimmer of hope in Donnie's voice was all the older men needed to hear.
"Of course."
-Bullied-The Other Side-
"Donnie! Tony!"
"What are you guys doing?" Donnie asked, stepping out into King's backyard with Tony by his side.
"Looks like Chris is trying out for the circus." Tony joked, earning him a glare from his older brother.
"Actually, Chris lost a bet." Laurel said with a big grin.
"Not my fault you've gotten better the last few years." Chris muttered.
"You placed the bet."
"She won fair and square." Nate chipped in from where he was trying to tie Chris's legs together.
"Don't even start Trouble. Miniature Trouble, could you get the ball? It's somewhere in the bushes."
"Why don't we change it up a bit and play elephant soccer instead?" Laurel proposed.
"Elephant soccer?!" The other four echoed surprised.
"Yeah, you know how Dad had his crazy yoga phase last year?! we could use his yoga ball as a enourmous soccer ball."
"Not a bad idea." Chris agreed. "We could use this game as training and play against the old people tonight." Nate snorted at that:
"Bet you won't propose it like that to King"
"I'm not crazy!"
"That's debatable" Tony smiled his megawatt smile to go along with the comment, happy Nate still had a firm grip of Chris's legs as the older man tried to wrestle free to get to him.
A/N: It's a bit shorter than usual, but I really wanted to end it here so you have somethig to look forward to in the next chapter. I couldn't help bringin AJ back into the story since I really like him and hinted about something in earlier chapters. Hope you liked it and as always your comments mean incredibly much to me! I can't answer them right now due to the app being the way it is, but I read every single one and that is what keeps me writing...
