A/N: I'll generally aim to update twice a week -life is busy so while I'd love to update more than that, I won't try and make promises I can't keep. Thanks to everyone who's read, reviewed and put this story on alert!
In case anyone else was confused by the acronym in the last chapter, FLETC stands for Federal Law Enforcement Training Centre. It's been briefly mentioned on NCIS once or twice, and Wikipedia indicates thats where most if not all federal officers do training courses.
Also, I have never been to a firing range, and the only gun I've ever used was a rifle, not a pistol. Therefore, I've not fussed too much with technical and safety details in this. Call it literary licence :P
Xander followed his new boss and teammates into the firing range and wondered how this was going to go. His depth perception wasn't an issue -Willow had fixed that for him shortly after he'd lost his eye. Conjuring up a new new eye or returning his old one had been too powerful a spell for her at the time -she'd been afraid to do it without the Devon coven's assistance. But a spell to give him perfect depth perception? That she could do. And he was glad -he might not have made it out of the last battle in Sunnydale if he couldn't judge the right moment to swing at the next foe.
That was ancient history now, but he still found himself appreciating the depth perception spell. His options as a one-eyed man would have been so much more limited otherwise.
"So, Alex -can I call you Alex? Ever fired a weapon before?" asked Tony cheerfully.
"Actually, I've never been an Alex," Xander replied. "It's Xander. And no." Xander figured his brief tenure as a soldier that Halloween in high school didn't count. Besides, if he said yes, he'd have to explain when and where and how much experience he had. No was an easier answer.
"Xander? Right. Well, it takes a bit to get good but if you get down here regularly I'm sure you'll qualify in the next few weeks."
Gibbs handed him a pistol. Xander recognised it as a SIG Sauer P228, also known as a M11 to the US military. He held it in both hands, slightly surprised by how comfortable it felt. He realised Gibbs was speaking.
"... but in the US military forces it's known as a M11. You hold it in your right hand with your left over it like..." Gibbs trailed off as he noticed Xander already holding the gun properly. Without thinking Xander grabbed the loaded magazine sitting in front of him, clicked it into the gun and pulled back the slide. Then resumed the two-handed hold and lined up the target. He concentrated on the distant figure and pulled the trigger. When the magazine was empty, he automatically removed it and double-checked the chamber was empty before placing the gun down. Then turned to see his team staring at him.
"Something you want to tell me, Harris?" demanded Gibbs. Xander realised the Halloween night when he became a soldier had counted after all. Everything he'd just done felt so comfortable, so normal. He'd practically become the soldier again, just for those few moments. That's how he'd recognised the pistol; known how to load it and check it was empty when he was done. All the years of training that the soldier would have been through were his, and the memories came back as if they'd never been gone.
"Harris!" came Gibbs' voice again.
"Yes, sir!" Xander shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. "Um, I mean, boss." Damn, that soldier really had a hold on him.
"You said you've never fired a gun?" asked Tony. He pressed a button and the paper target flew towards them.
"That's right."
"Ziva?" asked Gibbs. Xander turned to see the woman appraising him.
"He has a military stance and perfect grip, and countered the recoil like someone with much experience. And I think the target says everything we need to know about his aim."
Xander turned to check the target and saw a spread of thirteen holes over the chest area of the figure, spread out wide but all hits. Gibbs stepped up so that their noses were almost touching, and Xander unconsciously straightened to attention.
"Care to explain that, Harris?"
"Uh, beginner's luck?"
Gibbs snorted, clearly disbelieving. "This have something to do with that classified op?"
Xander shook his head. "No. You think there's any way they'd give a civilian a weapon? Even if I did have two eyes back then."
Gibbs stared at him a moment longer but seemed to read the honesty in that statement, at least. He stepped back, still angry but apparently aware he wasn't going to get any answers right now.
"DiNozzo, David, grab your weapons. We've got an hour here, might as well use it."
After continuing to shoot well and proving beyond a doubt that it wasn't beginners luck, Xander spent several long days at his desk, reading through a mountain of files. Gibbs had been less than impressed with Xander's refusal to admit he'd ever used firearms before, and Xander was pretty sure his current task was supposed to be some kind of punishment. In theory, going through all the team's case files for the last few months was supposed to give him some idea of how wide-ranging and complex their cases could be. In practice, Gibbs seemed to think that reading the technical and often repetitive reports from forensics, autopsy and field agents would wear down Xander's enthusiasm. For the most part though, Xander didn't mind. It was kind of like a cross between the old days in Sunnydale and his more recent years at college. Only, the reading matter was more interesting than his college textbooks, and the files were all printed and in English, unlike the handwritten tomes Giles had them poring over.
Tony stood up and dropped a finished report on Gibbs' desk.
"Hey boss, I was thinking, since we don't have a case right now, might be a good opportunity to take Xander down and show him the lab and autopsy?"
Gibbs didn't look up. "Yeah, sure, give him the tour," he replied dismissively.
Tony grinned at Xander who quickly shut the file he was reading through and followed him to the elevator.
The lift doors opened to the sound of heavy metal drowning out all other noise. Xander followed Tony in to see a tall gothic girl nodding along as she concentrated on something under the microscope. Tony walked over to the stereo and turned the volume down, and the girl looked up in surprise.
"Tony! You know Gibbs is the only one allowed to do that!"
"Sorry Abbs," Tony grinned, not looking sorry at all. "Abby, this is Xander Harris. Xander, this is Abby Sciuto, our brilliant forensics specialist."
Abby whirled around to meet the newcomer. "Xander! Great to meet you! What are you doing... wait a second." She turned on Tony with a frown. "He's not a new lab assistant is he?"
Tony laughed. "No, he's the new Probie."
Abby was immediately all smiles again. "Oh, you must be McGee's replacement while he's being the big boss of cyber. He told me all about that at lunch yesterday. It kinda sucks for the team, but at least he's not far away, you know? So, how are you getting on with Gibbs?"
The question was phrased innocently enough but there was something in Abby's eyes that made him think it might be a trap. A quick glance at Tony confirmed he should tread carefully here. But what was the right answer?
"Uh, I don't think he likes me. But hopefully that will change."
He must have passed some sort of test because Abby laughed openly. "Well of course he doesn't like you yet, Gibbs doesn't warm to any new agent that fast. Don't go thinking he hates you though, you just gotta be yourself and do your job well, and he'll warm up. So, what happened to your eye?"
Xander laughed. Abby didn't hold anything back. "An accident involving a priest and some beautiful girls and lots of wine."
"Ooh, do tell!"
"Well, actually, there's not much more to tell. There was an accident, now I'm down to one eye."
Abby could take a hint with the best of them. "Well, let's hope there aren't any more accidents. Meanwhile, I'm up to my ears in evidence for this case that Fallon's team are working, so, was good to meet you Xander!" She shooed them towards the door.
Xander and Tony obediently left and they heard the volume on the music go back up just as the elevator doors closed. Tony punched the number for the next floor down and they stepped out into autopsy.
"Hope you don't have a weak stomach, Harris," commented Tony.
"I think I can handle it," Xander grinned.
They walked into autopsy to see two men leaning over a body. Tony made the introductions.
"Ah, so you're Alexander. I did hear there was a new face about the building," said Ducky. "Mr Palmer, if I could have an evidence jar for this, please?"
Jimmy obediently held one out for the bullet Ducky had in the tweezers. Xander had to admit, seeing a body opened this way was a little disturbing. Especially a human body. But he'd seen enough guts and gore in his time to not let it affect him. Ducky glanced up at him.
"Just so you know, Alexander, my office is always open, regardless of whether the injuries are physical or emotional. If you need anything, even just an ear and a cup of tea, please do come see me."
Xander nodded. "Thank you, I'll keep that in mind."
They headed back to the elevator and Tony took him down to see the evidence garage, which was full of people bringing in boxes for another team's case. On the way back to the bullpen, Tony glanced at him.
"Questions, Probie?"
"A few," he admitted. "First, 'probie'?"
"Short for probationary agent. And for the record, McGee has been here more than five years, and I still call him Probie. Don't expect it to go away any time soon."
Xander smiled -he didn't mind it, it was more like friendly teasing than the true bullying he'd sometimes had in high school. Made him part of the team.
"Okay. Abby's question about Gibbs?"
"Ah, yes. I am proud of you for spotting that. Could have gotten messy if you'd answered wrong."
"I'm still not sure what the wrong answer was."
Tony chuckled. "Abby has worked with Gibbs even longer than I have. They are each other's number one fans. Do not insult either one where the other might hear it."
Okay, that made sense. "So my comment about Gibbs not liking me was okay?"
"Well yeah, didn't you hear what she said? Gibbs doesn't like anyone new. Especially when his team's been broken up at the same time. You drew the short straw there, kid." Tony paused. "You know, it doesn't help that Gibbs thinks you're holding back on us. Makes it hard to trust a man."
Xander grimaced at that but there was nothing he could say to fix it. The elevator dinged and they walked back to the bullpen. Xander was relieved to see Gibbs wasn't at his desk.
"So, what about Ducky then? A man who insists on being known by his nickname, but calls everyone else by their full first name?"
Ziva, sitting at her desk, smiled. "Ducky is a true character, no? Although, he doesn't call Jimmy by his first name," she observed.
"No, because it sounds like a nickname," Tony explained. "Jimmy's full name is 'Jim', not 'James', but he doesn't like being called Jim. So, to be formal, Ducky has to call him Mr Palmer."
Xander had to admit, in the perspective of the strange medical examiner, that probably made sense.
Ziva coughed pointedly, and Tony immediately started tapping at his computer.
"Look busy," he hissed. A moment later Xander saw Gibbs out of the corner of his eye, coming down the stairs. He strode over to stand in front of Xander's desk. Xander looked up at him, nerves showing in the face of an unyielding stare.
"Uh, have I done something?" he managed.
"Just spoke to Major Finn in MTAC."
Xander sat up. "Did he tell you anything about what happened? With the classified op?"
"No."
Xander's face must have shown a brief flash of disappointment, because surprise registered on Gibbs' face.
"You expected he would?"
"Well, no, I suppose not." Now that Xander thought about it, it was a ridiculous notion. Of course Riley wouldn't tell Gibbs about the op, since that would involve mentioning demons. What a stupid thought that had been. But now Gibbs seemed to be waiting for him to say something more. "It's just... it would have been nice to be allowed to talk about it, that's all," he finished somewhat lamely.
Gibbs' gaze seemed to soften a bit. Maybe he felt reassured that Xander wasn't holding back information for the wrong reasons.
"He was surprised to hear about your eye," Gibbs commented.
Xander shrugged. "Well I had two when I last saw Riley, five or six years ago. He heard about my studies through mutual friends and contacted me about the reference and a job. The accident where I lost my eye was about four years ago. It's old news, so probably our friends wouldn't have thought to mention it."
Gibbs nodded. "He also said you were good in a fight when he knew you."
"Really? He said that?" Xander was surprised. He'd always been one of the weakest fighters amongst the varying group in Sunnydale.
"Well, yeah, Harris. I don't make this stuff up," drawled Gibbs with an exasperated air. "Said he'd seen you take on guys with superior strength and generally come out on top." Xander almost snorted, but stopped himself in time. Superior strength? Supernatural strength, more like. But still, most of those times he'd been fighting as part of a team, not on his own, and it was almost always kill or be killed. Nothing like a life or death situation to improve your reflexes.
Gibbs turned to address the team. "Since we don't have anything better to do, let's get down to the gym and we can see for ourselves how good Harris is."
Tony whooped and Ziva smiled as Xander's heart sank. This could not be good.