Happy Singles Awareness Day! This is my gift to you all. XD Ok, sorry, I've been working on this since BEFORE the last chapter was done, and I'm a tad bit excited about it. A lot is covered here, some questions are answered, a hell'a more are raised. Shit happens people. Plus, we have geeky-ness. I'll stop being weird now. A BIG BIG thanks to Bard of Chaos for Beta'ing this so fast as well as being an epic sounding board for a lot of this chapter. It's true, we've bounced ideas around that ended up in this one since, what? Chapter 6? I FINALLY got to use them! Speaking of long running ideas...
Question of the chapter: "Would you benefit from a .5 chapter? Basically a recap on the story so far covering things you might have missed as well as side notes that are important?" I've been thinking about adding one, but I'm not sure if you guys need it or not. We've still got quite a bit of story to go, though, and there's a LOT of information to digest so far. And I know some of you have questions. Anyway, let me know, and If enough people want it, I'll let YOU know the next chapter (which will be a chapter no matter what). The .5 would include a bonus pre-story short or two to make it fair.
It had taken another two hours to finally get the two brothers corralled in a car and on their way to Ducky's. That was including another stop at the cafeteria, where Luffy and Ace had both inhaled a good amount of food left unmarked in the refrigerators. The way Gibbs saw it, it was a good lesson to all the agents. If you didn't properly mark your food, it was up for grabs. Expiration meant nothing to the two bottomless pits, either. Of course, the moment they'd gotten them into the car, the two had started grumbling about how they were hungry again, too.
He'd never been so happy to see Ducky's brownstone in his life. Now if he could just shake the feeling that they were being watched, he'd be happy. It was getting very annoying. Who ever had been tailing them since they left Quantico was good, very good, but Gibbs had been an agent a long time. He was one of the best out there still, so he knew when he was being tailed. It was a gut thing, and it had saved his life more than once. As he pulled into the driveway in front of the ornate lawn he glanced around. Nothing in the neighborhood seemed out of place. There was, however, a strange brown crate on Ducky's stoop.
"Expecting a package, Ducky?"
The man leaned forward, adjusting his glasses, "Oh heavens, no. I can't say that I am. I wonder where that came from."
That's what I want to know. Gibbs sighed, "Stay here. All of you." He glared at Ace and Luffy, "I mean it. Stay. Here. SIT. STAY."
The younger brother just barked while the older grumbled, "What do we look like to you? Dogs?"
He smirked, shutting the door, "Good boys."
It wasn't that long of a walk to the stoop, even when he approached cautiously. The box was rough looking, and came to his thigh; easily big enough to pack a few nasty surprises. Gibbs poked the crate with his boot, debating if it was safe to open. The two brothers had already had a few attempts on their lives, and he wouldn't put it past this strange guy to warn them off with a bomb of some sort.
The man knew he had to figure out if it was a threat quickly before the two nosy troublemakers came, though he hoped his friend would be able to slow them down. Ducky's attempts at stalling them apparently failed however when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He didn't bother to look, knowing by the height that it had to be the elder brother. The unruly dark hair swept forward as he looked down at the crate sitting on Ducky's stoop. There was no address on it, nor a return address. Instead, the side was decorated with a strange flower.
"Cool." Ace squeezed his shoulder before kneeling next to the crate and reaching for it.
Gibbs stopped him quickly, "Don't! It might be a trap."
The look he got said You're kidding, right? as Ace shrugged and reached out again. Luffy came bouncing up the steps with Ducky following just as the elder brother was about to lift the nailed down top. He didn't even need a crowbar, which was impressive.
"Whacha got there, Ace?"
"Looks like Hancock sent some stuff." The lid popped off, "Lets see...smoked meat, smoked salmon, jerky. Scotch, guess that's for you guys. Hey, rum! Awesome. Dibs on the rum."
Ace had a real smile on his face as he handed the oversized crate to his brother as a confused Ducky unlocked the door. Logic kept telling Gibbs that Luffy should not have been able to easily carry it, but he did. The boy did have to be steered into the correct room, since he was easily distracted by all the interesting things in the house. Finally he place the crate on the floor of the kitchen and rummaged around in the box, coming up with a strip of dried meat and some kind of foreign soda.
"How did you know it was safe to open?" Gibbs couldn't help but ask, watching as Ace emptied the rest of the crate.
"This is Hancock's mark. Cool, right?" Luffy pointed to the flower. "She's got this awesome snake, it's like super big! She's had it forever, so people call her snake-princess."
"That makes absolutely no sense, as usual." Ace laughed, opening one of the bottles of rum, "But that's Lu for you. Might even be true. Never asked why, but it is Hancock's personal mark. Probably found out from Robin where we'd be staying. Hancock does stuff like this sometimes."
"She sends you booze?" Gibbs went to snatch the bottle, only to have the teen dance out of his way.
"Yeah, so?"
"You are under age, and Luffy is a minor." Ducky pointed out.
"I don't drink," Luffy put in helpfully, "tastes nasty, anyway."
"So what, I'm underage? I'm also highly narcoleptic and I drive a friggin motorcycle." Gray eyes rolled expressively, "Talk about unsafe behavior. Let's not forget that I'm a criminal."
"That is besides the point. You are not getting drunk in my house." The doctor reached for the bottle again.
Ace let him take it, grinning as Luffy tossed him another bottle. "Relax, old man. You're forgetting my, uh, unique constitution."
"And what exactly do you mean by that?"
"Shishishi...Ace is fire, silly! Alcohol doesn't work on him." Luffy laughed.
"Really?"
"Might as well be drinking water." he took a swing of the rum, "Most depressing thing ever."
"Then why do you drink it? You like poisoning your liver?" Gibbs swiped the bottle.
"Again, Fire-man. If it burns, it doesn't work on me. I just drink it cause I like the taste." He tugged his brother's cheek, "Luffy here? No alcohol tolerance, and a bunch make him ill. I think it's got to do with the whole rubber thing. You know, because some alcohols can dissolve rubber. So. We don't let him drink. Plus, he's a mean drunk."
"Am not!" The boy pouted.
"You beat the crap out of Zoro when he let you drink his beer. Zoro, Luffy."
Gibbs raised an eyebrow, sure there was a story behind that one. Before long, Ace gave in, rummaging around in the crate for something different to drink. When he came up with a bottle of Fanta he cocked an eyebrow as if asking if they were going to steal that from him as well. Opening the bottle he began, "Zoro might be a cop, but he's always had this little problem with drinking. I think he's about my age, but I'm not too sure. Anyway. This one time Lu's over at his place and they're watching some crap on Tv..."
"Wipe Out is not crap!" Luffy growled out, tossing a container of Jiffy pop at his brother.
"I beg to differ." Ace caught the tin with ease, swinging it by the handle, "Especially when you turn it into a drinking game. So, Zoro's getting trashed, and before I got there, apparently he has the brilliant idea to get Luffy in on the action. Next thing you know, half the precinct is there trying to wrestle all hundred-forty pounds of my brother off a very confused Zoro when a disagreement over the name of an obstacle broke out. Luffy turned out to be right, by the way."
Gibbs made a noise of agreement as he made his way to the window. It was obvious by the story that Luffy couldn't hold his liquor. He felt like they were being watched again. Casually he glanced out, looking across the well manicured lawn while carefully sipping at the scotch he'd poured for himself. His eyebrows rose in surprise. He had to admit, whoever this Hancock woman was, she had excellent taste. There was nothing in the yard however.
"Hey, you got a television or something?" He could hear Ace putting things away as he asked.
"Yes, I do. It is in the Living room."
"Cool!" there was a pause, "Where's that?"
"Right down the hall on your right."
"Awesome! Hey, Ace, I'm gonna go watch TV, K?"
"Alright, try not to break anything!"
"Fine fine! Oh! Look! Squirrel!"
"LUFFY!"
"I'm kidding!"
He turned to see Ace shutting the fridge. The young man had a sheepish expression on his face as he said, "I should, ah, probably go keep an eye on him. You know. So he doesn't break something. Like the TV. So, um. Yeah."
Ducky shook his head as they watched him carry an armful of food and drinks with him to the living room before turning to Gibbs, "Jethro, what is it? What's wrong?"
"We're being watched."
The doctor blanched, "by who? Should we call the Director?"
"Don't know yet. Doesn't feel hostile, though." He shrugged. Out in the yard, a shadow under one of the trees stretched and warped, becoming darker. Both men tensed. "Ducky."
"Yes, I see it."
Gibbs reached for his gun, cursing that he hadn't thought to load it with the coral bullets Abby had made as he watched the darkness pulsate. After a moment a figure emerged and he drew his weapon. The person apparently had been expecting this reaction, though, and his hands were up in the universal gesture of surrender as he was suddenly visible. Gibbs had no other way to describe it, for he was still in the darkest part of the shadow and hadn't moved. One moment he couldn't tell who it was, and the next moment it was obviously Thatch. The man waited a second to be sure the recognized him, waved jauntily and vanished into the shadows again, the feeling of being watched the only lingering reminder he was still around.
"Devil-fruit user, huh?"
Ducky sounded as dazed as he felt, "Well, his friend Marco did imply that."
"Yeah." He turned away from the window, refusing to admit he was a little annoyed by the unwanted help in watching over the boys and wondering where Marco was. "Well, better go see what the brothers are up to before they trash your living room."
Luffy hung over the back of the couch expectantly as they entered the room. Holding the remote at the ready, he was twisted so he could see the two older men as they entered the room. "Hey, you're British, right? You have the BBC?"
Ducky smiled, settling into an overstuffed armchair, "It's the accent, isn't it? Scottish, actually."
"Same thing." The teen waved the remote, apparently impatient as he rolled his eyes.
"Well," His friend began much to his amusement, "In reality Scotland is..."
Ace cut him off, peeling the cardboard off a Jiffy Pop pan, "Look, do you get the BBC or not? If you try to explain it, he'll want to see your kilt next, and trust me, you do NOT want to go there."
"Ah." Ducky blinked, before turning to look at Gibbs who just shrugged. He'd seen the other in a kilt before; but something told Gibbs that Luffy would make it a big deal. Apparently his friend agreed, "Oh dear. Yes, yes I do get the BBC. Channel two-thirty-two. May I ask why?"
Both brothers grinned, and the elder started lightly shaking the popcorn container back and forth slightly before replying, "Two shows we watch on the BBC. Used to be more, but now they're on re-runs. Top Gear and"
"Doctor Who!" Luffy cut in, grinning widely as the aluminum started to bulge out.
"Doctor Who," Ace echoed, also grinning. "We always watch together when we get the chance. I mean, it's a great show...very campy, and awesome. Luffy wants a TARDIS, you know. Want some popcorn?" He pulled back the tinfoil, revealing perfectly popped popcorn, slapping his brother's hand away as it stretched over to snag some. "You can wait your turn!"
Gibbs reached over and took a handful, nodding over to the TV as he settled into the only other available seat. "Never seen the show myself. What's it about?"
"OOO! So there's this guy!" Luffy began, why do I get the feeling this is just going to confuse me more? He looked over to Ace, who was trying not to laugh, yep, definitely going to confuse me more. "This guy, his name's 'The Doctor.' That's it. Just, 'The Doctor.' But everyone goes 'Doctor who?' which is funny as hell, because he just goes 'exactly!' OH! and he's got two hearts! Like, two! I think he's an alien or something because they call him a Timelord or something, but its not all that important except every time he kinda-dies-but-he-doesn't-really-'cause-hes's-The-Doctor he comes back looking different. Mmmm, and he travels with these people. He calls them 'Companions.' And they ride in his spaceship-time-machine-thing called the TARDIS which stands for something really cool but I don't remember what it means, but it's a lot bigger inside than outside, like Ace says my stomach is. And now there's this new lady. Her name is River, or is that her title? I donno...but I think she's his wife or was or will be, but he doesn't know her, though she knows all about him... And we don't really know what she is. Let's just assume they're all aliens. Even when they're not. Because then they really are. And they go back and forth in time and space and Britain and change stuff to keep it all the same, because that's what The Doctor does. He fixes things."
Gibbs blinked, feeling a headache coming on, yep. Definitely confused. He looked over at Ducky who just had this benign smile on his face as he took the remote from Luffy and put the BBC on. The man caught him staring at him and explained, "It's actually a favorite of mine. Well, the old Doctor Who, really. I have not seen much of the newer shows."
"You don't know what you're missing Ducky!" Luffy cried, "The bowties! HEY! Ace, doesn't his bowtie remind you of Doctor Who?"
Ace started to laugh, "And you just noticed that now. A little, yes. It's...Wednesday, right? So, if I'm right..." he wiggled his fingers for the remote and pulled up the schedule before crowing, "YES! Doctor Who marathon!"
"Awesome!"
Somehow, Gibbs didn't think it was going to be so 'awesome'. Nine hours later he was beginning to see the appeal of Doctor Who. Not that he'd ever admit it. The guy had a certain tragic flair to him that he could respect. No matter what, he kept going forward. He was confused at first when they'd started out in Manhattan with these strange angel statues. When the strange man who Luffy excitedly told him was The Doctor had led his two companions, Ace supplies their names as Amy and Rory, to a locked room to watch an old man die. When The Doctor tells them that they just watched Rory die, Gibbs is very confused, but not half as confused as when Ace and Luffy shout "Again?!" During the commercial, Ace explained Rory's died about four or five times already, which was only half as confusing as him being River's dad. And things just got more confusing from there. Gibbs decided after trying to figure out the overall plot with the not-so-helpful-explanations of Ace and Luffy, he'd just take each episode as it was, and maybe ask Tim later. If he felt like it. Because he was way too sober for all this talk about paradoxes and time travel.
It was sometime around midnight when Ducky finally put his foot down. They'd spent the day in the living room, watching Doctor Who, eating, chatting, and generally having a relaxing day. Ducky wanted the boys to get a good nights sleep, however. That was something they were not going to get sitting in front of the television all evening. It turned out to be a harder task than the man had anticipated, though.
He had two spare rooms, one upstairs and one downstairs. Gibbs was going to take the couch, and the boys were going to take the spare rooms. The problem was, Ace didn't want to be separated from Luffy. The young teen didn't seem to have any qualms with the sleeping arrangements, nor did he have an issue with Ace sleeping in the same room with him. Luffy, Gibbs decided, would probably be content if they told him to sleep in a box out in the yard. Part of him was almost tempted to try it, just to see what would happen.
"Be reasonable Ace. Luffy is not a small child, he is more than capable of sleeping in a room by himself." Ducky huffed exasperated.
"You don't understand! Luffy has bad dreams sometimes, alright?"
"I do?" Dark brown eyes blinked dully, addled with exhaustion.
"Yes, you do. If he wakes up in a strange place..."
"You'll be just upstairs. Surely he's slept alone before?" Ducky asked. Ace said nothing in reply as his face became stormy.
Finally the man tried another tactic, "What if someone, I don't know, breaks in?"
"I'm right down the hall. No one is going to get past me." Gibbs didn't think it wise to mention Ace's friend's abilities with shadows. He didn't think that would help matters.
"See Ace? Everything is F-fiiine," Luffy yawned widely, "I'm sure it'll be alright till morning."
"If you're sure, Lu. But if you need me, shout. Alright?" Ace shifted his weight uneasily before hugging his brother tightly and heading to the stairs, worry etched between his shoulder-blades.
"G'night Ace!"
"G'night, Luffy!"
Gibbs wasn't sure exactly what had woken him up. He lay on the couch though, wide awake, staring at the ceiling with a frown wrinkling his brow as he tried to figure it out. It's quiet, the thought hit him in a rush, and he was throwing himself off the couch before he'd even processed why that was a bad thing. There was a moment of disorientation as he navigated the short hall, and he paused at the stairs wondering which way to go. Trouble was brewing and he wanted to get a lid on it. The question was answered for him when Ace appeared at the top of the stairs, his freckles stark against his blanched skin. His wide eyes quickly fell upon Gibbs and the young man practically flew down the stairs.
"Lu? Where is..." He sounded panicked.
"Calm down," He put a hand on Ace's shoulder, stopping him from rushing into the room, "I'm sure he's fine. I was just going to check on him. Breathe."
Dark gray eyes glared at him from behind a curtain of black hair as the youth took a few ragged deep breaths. He still took them, though, which Gibbs took as a good sign. Carefully, the agent eased past the Devil-fruit user to lead the way. It wasn't a long before Gibbs was cautiously peering in through the open doorway to the room Luffy was sleeping in, gun drawn and ready. Everything was still, quiet. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Luffy was sprawled on the bed, sheets half hanging off, pillow hugged to his chest as he breathed steadily. There was nothing else in the room. He was sure of it. Gibbs looked back at Ace and cocked an eyebrow, tilting his head for him to take a look.
Ace sighed in relief, then tensed, his eyes focused on Luffy. He pushed pasted Gibbs. "Stay here."
He wondered if the younger man had seen something, a sign of an intruder, "Why?"
"Because this is going to be bad." He gestured to his younger brother, "I told you it was a bad idea to let him sleep al-"
"NO! NOnonoNONO! STOPIT! STOP! IT HURTS!" Luffy's shouting cut him off and Gibbs was shocked to see the teen up and thrashing about, limbs flailing everywhere.
"Dammit!" Ace stood in the doorway, torn for a moment. He shoved Gibbs hard in the chest, causing the man to stumble back, unaware that he had even been attempting to enter the room, "YOU, out here. Stay. Keep Ducky out, too. Lu packs one hell of a punch when he gets like this...I'm going to go see if I can wake him up."
Gibbs nodded, hearing Ducky coming up behind him, "You going to be alright?"
"Yeah. He can't hit me unless I let him." Still, Ace looked grim as he entered the room. Gibbs noticed how he attempted to dodge as many of the now stretching limbs, he could only assume he was afraid of accidentally burning his brother. Before long, he'd reached Luffy and threw himself directly on top of the smaller body, hugging the boy to his chest. Still Luffy shouted, but it took on a less frantic note.
When things finally quieted down enough for him to speak, Ducky asked, "Gibbs, what exactly is going on here?"
"I'm not exactly sure, Duc. Woke up 'cause things were quiet. Next thing I knew Luffy was screaming bloody murder for no reason. Your guess is as good as mine."
"And there was nothing to set him off?" Gibbs shook his head. Ducky frowned, "It almost sounds like night terrors. A rather extreme case, though."
"ShhhhShhhShhh...It's ok...Go back to sleep now..." Ace looked at them over his shoulder, "That's what Doctor Kureha said. It didn't used to be this bad, back when he was a kid. I'll be right back, Lu. Ok? Go back to sleep. I'll be here."
They waited while the young man quickly tidied the room, his movements quick and methodical. Gibbs suspected that it was a coping mechanism, a way for him to calm down and collect his thoughts. After he was done, Ace checked on his brother again. He nodded to himself, apparently finding the younger asleep again. Gibbs could make out faint mutterings as Luffy stirred restlessly in his sleep. He assumed that was normal as the young man walked over to the doorway and leaned against the frame with a heavy sigh.
"This is why I sleep in the same room with him, alright? He..doesn't get any attacks really if there is someone else in the room with him. Or at least, the worst the happens is he lets himself out of the apartment...that was a hard thing to explain to Mrs. Binks down the hall." He rubbed his face tiredly, "Look, you got some government quack, no offence Ducky,"
"None taken."
"looking at us tomorrow. So, can we deal with all this after that? Because, right now, I just want to climb into bed and deal with my brother trying to kick my appendix out while I try to sleep. Alright?"
With a nod, he gave him a gentle shove on the shoulder, "Get going then. We'll see you in the morning."
The two men stepped further back into the hall and waited until they were sure the boys had fallen back asleep. The occasional mutter could be heard from Luffy, with an answering mumble from his brother. Most noticeable was the single word of "Adventure" answered with "sure". Gibbs assumed that the lack of replies is what had cause the teen to fall into a night terror in the first place. He looked at Ducky.
"This is most disturbing. Most disturbing indeed. Night terrors at his age. Most children outgrow such things. For Luffy to still experience them, and to such an extent, as well as sleepwalking...Well, it is likely the boy is suffering from a worse case of psychological trauma then I had suspected. His brother as well. Night terrors have been linked to PTSD, as has Narcolepsy, though there is a potential for both to run in families. However, Jethro, there is something seriously wrong with how those two have been treated..."
"I know, Ducky. I'm trying to get to the bottom of it." Gibbs cut him off, "My gut tells me it's all a part of a bigger puzzle. We're going to figure this out. Don't worry about it."
Ace had been tight lipped at breakfast about his brother's night terrors, and Luffy didn't seem to remember anything. Instead, the boy had been surprisingly chipper that morning, yammering on about a dream involving rivers of chocolate, space ships, and meat. Everything always came back to meat with Luffy, though. The boy had apparently decided at some point that if this doctor was a friend of Abby's, he must be really amazing and had practically rushed his brother through the meal clamoring for everyone to hurry up so they could go meet him, despite the reservations he had had the day before. When Ace had told him to wait in the car, he'd finished the sentence to empty air, the kid was so excited.
The car ride had been pretty tame. He'd still felt like they were being watched the whole way, but it was less annoying now that he knew who was watching them. Ducky was called away to the morgue almost immediately upon entering the building, Palmer needing his expert advice on a case that had come in late the day before. Luckily McGee was there waiting for them. Director Vance had ordered for the boys to be accompanied by two people at all times, and though Ace had grumbled a bit at this, when Robin had agreed, he'd quickly shut up. It was almost funny, actually. That new rule found the four of them heading down to Abby's lab a bit ahead of schedule. Though, to the outsider, it probably appeared like the excited teen was dragging them to get in line hours early for the latest blockbuster. And it was an hour ahead of schedule he noticed as the door to the lab opened, revealing a tall man with his back to them as he arranged medical supplies.
Ace backed up, actually using Gibbs as a shield, much to the man's surprise. "YOU!"
The man turned at the sound of the voice. He definitely looked like one of Abby's friends, with dark circles under his iron colored eyes, black nail-polish, double piercings and a goatee that looked like it belonged in an indie horror flick. The fluffy looking hat ruined the look, until Gibbs noticed that the spotted pattern on it was continued on the pants. He looked surprised to see their audience.
"Oh, hey guys! We weren't expecting you so soon!" Abby chirped, still setting up her work table as a makeshift doctors bench. "Should have guessed with Gibbs with you though. Anyway, guy's this is my friend, Doctor Law."
"Your name's Doctor Law? COOL! Isn't that almost the coolest name ever, Ace?" Luffy gushed, stars in his eyes until his brother's arm shot out and grabbed him, hauling him back.
"Stay away from him Lu!"
Doctor Law smirked, "To think that the mystery patients my dear friend Abby called in a favor for me to check on would include you, Mr. Ace 'I-refuse-to-give-you-my-last-name'. It's been awhile, hasn't it?"
"Not long enough! Why the hell are you here?"
"Haven't you guessed? I'm your doctor for the time being. Procedures and all that."
"You're an underground doctor of death, Trafalgar Law!"
"You flatter me." The man just continued to smile the same way some serial killers had, "But that job is just a front, as it were. My real work is in, uh, cutting edge medical science. Government funded, of course. My work with the underground is strictly for my own benefit, I assure you. Still, I never imagined I'd see you here. Small world. And this must be your darling little brother?"
"Stay away from Luffy!" Ace snarled, "You're a monster!"
Gibbs felt it was a little like the pot calling the kettle black, but let that slide, "How'd you two meet?"
Trafalgar turned his attention to him and explained, "Oh, I was doing some work out in Chicago a few years back. There had been a nasty shooting, hospitals were full up. Lots of people died that day. That is neither here nor there, however. I, in my role as an, uh, unlicensed medical provider, was approached by a couple of street people. They wanted medical care for their friend who had been shot badly in the shoulder while shielding a mother and daughter. The fool boy refused to go to the hospital of course, and was now in critical condition. Naturally, being a good samaritan, I took the job."
"You took all my money!" Ace growled out, still half hiding behind Gibbs, "That's not being a good samaritan."
"Reimbursement for supplies. Anesthesia, pain killers..." returned the other only to be interrupted.
"You didn't use any! And you CUT OFF MY ARM!" Gibbs turned and looked down at the angry youth at that. His arm didn't look like it had ever been severed.
"You were, as my friend Bepo puts it, tripping." Law snapped, the smile melting off his face. Looks like Ace hit a nerve. The man continued, "In my persona, I use Ketamine. You happened be more resistant than I had anticipated, and remained semi-cognitive, if not lucid." Gibbs frowned at that. Ace said he can't get drunk, and Ducky suggested that drugs wouldn't work normally on him, because he'd burn them off too fast. This guy is lying. Why? "If I had cut it off, and that's if, obviously it was for a reason, as it's back in place and you are still alive."
There was a moment of tense silence, and something seemed to pass between the two young men before Ace relaxed minutely, "Is that how it is?"
Law's smile was back, "Exactly. Look, everything that happens here will stay within this room, if you're worried about it. I never did go looking for you, and I must admit, I was quite curious."
"Riiiight. Like that isn't creepy in the slightest. I'm warning you now, you hurt Lu, and you'll see just how interesting I can be. Got it?"
"Oh, I assure you, we are on the same page. Now then, why not hop up here on the table and let me get a good look at you?"
"Fine fine...Hey, Luffy, mind waiting outside for a bit?" Ace cocked his head to the side, and his brother eagerly nodded. Luckily Tim was there to keep an eye on the boy, and Gibbs flicked his eyes to the door in a silent order to follow him.
The exam that followed was remarkably tame for all the fight Ace had put up before hand. He complied grudgingly enough to Law's directions, glaring at the man. When the young doctor held up an empty syringe with a wicked half-smirk dancing on his lips, Gibbs swore the other actually growled at him. It wasn't a pleasant sound. Still, he didn't so much as flinch as the other drew a vial of blood.
"Alright, we're done here. You seem to be in good health. I'd love to get a demonstration of your abilities again, but I fear you might attempt to burn me, so I'll refrain from asking."
"How kind of you."
"Don't mention it. You may go now. Send that adorable little brother of your's in on your way out, ya?"
As Ace slid down from the table and stormed towards the door, Gibbs swore he heard him mutter, "Freak Doctor."
Luffy, in typical fashion, bounced into the room. His eyes shone brightly with excitement as he hopped up onto the table and practically wiggled in place while he waited for the doctor to begin the exam. Trafalgar Law for his part just stood there with a smirk on his face.
"So," The man began, pulling on a new pair of latex gloves, "You are the infamous Luffy."
"Yep! That's me!"
"You seem a lot...different than your older brother. More relaxed. He seems to be the kind of guy who's angry all the time. I imagine it's been a long time since Ace has had a girlfriend."
"Huh? I donno what you mean. Ace wasn't angry. You made him nervous, silly! MMMM, but he hasn't had a lady friend in forever...And the last one was cheap." Luffy's expression became clouded, and Law actually paused in his exam, looking over the boy's head to meet Gibbs' gaze to see what he thought. Gibbs didn't like what his gut was telling him, not one bit. "When he'd pick me up from Iva's, he'd have bruises, too. I didn't like her." The boy smiled again, "Iva took care of it though! She was nice! Ace would leave me with him when he had a date or something at night, and she'd watch me. He was kinda weird, but nice. I wonder how Iva's doing? Wow, it's been like...before forever!"
Just that little bit of information went a long way in explaining Ace. The fact that this 'Iva' was watching Luffy instead of his 'Uncle' suggested it was before Teach had gotten custody of the boys, meaning both had been children. Children living on the streets, most likely, he mused, looking at Luffy sitting there humming happily. It was even more amazing with the glimpse into his past, and he wondered not for the first time just how much Luffy was acting, and how damaged the boys really were. He was doubly glad Abby was out of the room.
Law met his eyes again, his as cold as steel. Gibbs knew that look. It was a look that recognized him as a soldier and held him responsible for whatever pain Luffy, his brother, and others like them might have suffered. He wondered who the soldier had been in Law's life, and how badly they'd screwed up to make the man so judgmental. But his voice gave none of that way as he teased, "and what of you, then? I'm sure you're popular with the ladies, what with that stretching body of yours. Or is it the boys that turn your head?"
"Mmmm. Well. I kissed Nami once. She said it was going to cost me ten dollars, though she did it for free."
"Oh?" Law moved to check his reflexes, and barely got out of the way in time as Luffy's foot came up.
"Yeah. We were in the park, and Usopp was talking about his girlfriend, right? So I said I wanted to know what the big deal was about kissing and stuff. Nami said she'd show me for a price. Zoro got all mad and accused her of being a money grubbing witch and a bad friend, but I think he was pissy because she tricked him into buying her stuff the day before." Luffy paused as the doctor drew blood, watching it with a slight frown before continuing, "I told her that wasn't what I meant, though."
"And what did you mean?"
"Shihihihi, that's what they said. Nami looked confused. Then she got all pissed and hit me. 'What?! I'm not good enough to kiss?' But, kissing and stuff for money, that's boring. People do it all the time, and it doesn't mean anything. At least, I never found it all fun...and then she kissed me for some strange reason. It was weird. Ace laughed at them when he found out."
"I can imagine. You are something else, you know that?"
"I get that alot. But Ace says I shouldn't worry about things, because that's what he's here for. So all's I gotta do is make sure I have enough fun for the both of us."
"Yeah, you usually get into enough trouble for the both of us, too. Like when you get kicked out of the movie theater, or the zoo, or the mall, or that time at the Statue of Liberty." Ace said from the doorway. "Which is you having fun, I guess. But then I worry. Actually, I think I'm beginning to notice a cycle here, little brother."
Luffy just grinned widely in reply as he hopped off the table. Gibbs shook his head and looked over at the doctor, "They done here?"
"For now. I shall have the results back by tomorrow at the latest. Sooner, I hope, if Abby allows me to use her lab. Penguin and Bepo will be jealous they didn't come today."
"Alright then. I'm gonna take these two upstairs then. Tim, Any new leads?"
McGee fell into step with him as the two brothers continued to tease each other, pushing and shoving as they waited for the elevator. "Sorry, Boss. Nothing Solid yet. We tried tracking down this 'Bon Clay' guy, but without any good idea on what he looks like, it's no good."
"You guys think you can shed some light on that?"
"Huh? Bon Clay?" Ace looked up from the headlock he had his brother in, "I've seen his real face before...Luffy here has, too. Not going to tell you, though. I mean, the guy is a friend, and he was trying to help. Besides, he doesn't usually go about wearing it, so knowing what he really looks like wouldn't do you any good."
Gibbs had been expecting that. He sighed as the elevator dinged and the four of them got on. "You know, we are just trying to help you out."
"I know." Ace shrugged, "But, Bon's...I get why he hides. I respect that. So even if you're trying to help..."
He made a frustrated noise, "Right, right. You're not giving me much to work with here, kid. We're going to start having to ask you questions. Questions you're not going to want to answer. Like questions about how you knew who shot at you." Gibbs caught the subtle way Luffy flinched, curling closer to his brother, and Ace's clenched fist.
Tim apparently caught it as well. He met Ace's challenging gaze and held it, possibly for the first time, and Gibbs was proud of him when he said, "Whoever was behind that was also the one who had GekkÅ killed, wasn't it?"
"He-We-I-" Ace bit his lip and looked away, actually drawing blood. He didn't have to say anything. Just that was enough for both agents to know they were on the right track. Gibbs had a name, too. One shouted out while Ace was too busy thinking about his brother to worry about repercussions. Auger. Now they just had to look for anyone near the two with that name, and they'd have another piece of the puzzle.
"It's alright. We'll catch him. Whoever he is." Gibbs offered a smile as the doors dinged, knowing better than to offer physical support to them now. They were too tense; ready to snap, and he wasn't sure if it would be in a flurry of blows or into tears. It wasn't worth the risk, either. Ace didn't strike him as the type to get upset easily, and for him to feel threatened by this unknown person made Gibbs angry. He was determined to help them, whether or not they wanted it, or if Vance approved.