Chapter 4

"You're letting her carry a gun?" Alan asked in disbelief. "Isn't that just like begging her to kill the guy?"

"That's not gonna happen," Don reassured his father. "It's just for protection. Don't worry so much." Don knew it was probably useless, but he was still trying to put his father's mind at ease.

"Don't worry?" Alan was staring at his son. "That's just great," he said sarcastically. "Donnie, you gave a gun to a very angry teenager! How am I not supposed to worry about it? Can you honestly say Ande having a gun doesn't worry you at all?"

Don didn't answer, he just stood there looking at his father. He was worried. But he didn't want to let it show too much.

"That's what I thought," Alan said, Don took a deep breath.

"Look, dad, if I thought there was another way..." Don looked his father in the eye. "I'd take it." Alan sighed. "The fact is, though, Gibbs is right. This guy's not gonna stop. And I'm not about to risk her life because I don't like the idea of giving her a gun."

Alan didn't say anything. He knew Don was right, but he still didn't like it.

"Besides, she's a better shot than I am," Don joked, trying to lighten the mood. Alan scowled at him. Don took the hint. "Ok, sorry... but it is true." He received another scowl. Don just smiled. "OK, fine. Look, I already talked to Charlie, and Alex is gonna go with him after school, then they'll come over here."

"You sure he won't try to come after Alex too?" Alan asked seriously.

"Ande doesn't think so."

"You believe her?"

"She was pretty sure. And I don't think he ever has before, so yeah I believe her. Megan agrees too."

"Hey," Don said as he got back to the office.

"So?" Ande asked.

Everyone else was off doing something else. The only people in the room, other than Don and Ande, were Megan and Tony, who were discussing something, fairly oblivious to the conversation Don and Ande were having.

"Alex is going to stay with Charlie after school." Ande just nodded. "You okay?" Don asked as he sat down by her.

"Yeah."

"You're lying." He could tell she was still hiding something.

"Yeah, but did you really expect me to be okay?"

"No," he answered honestly. He saw the look on her face. "So what's wrong?"

"He lied."

"Who lied?"

"Alex."

"About what?" Don wasn't sure where this was going.

"He's a lot more like you than he lets on," she told him.

"What are you talking about?" He was confused.

"He used to play baseball. He was actually pretty good." Ande chuckled to herself at the memory.

"So, why didn't he tell me himself?" Don still wasn't sure where this was going.

"Because he quit." Ande finally looked up at him. "He feels guilty."

"Why?" She took a deep breath before answering.

"Carl was his little league coach. That's how mom met him." Don understood now. "And Alex won't listen to me when I tell him it's not his fault." They stared at each other for a minute before Don started smiling. "What?" Ande asked, slightly confused.

"Are you actually asking for my help with something?" he asked.

"What? No, no that's not -" she started stuttering.

"Uh-huh," he said sarcastically, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer. "You never stop surprising me." She smiled at this.

Tony and Megan were watching now. They both started smiling as they watched Don and Ande. They just looked at each other and sighed.

"Three peas in a pod," Megan stated.

"Who's the... Oh." Tony had almost forgotten Alex. "They really seem happy, don't they?" he asked looking back over at Don and Ande.

"Yeah, I think they are," Megan replied. "They seem to understand each other's moods pretty well too. They can tell whether or not something's wrong." She saw Tony's look. "What I mean is, I think Don always suspected something. He knew they weren't telling him everything, and he knew Ande was hiding something."

"Well, I can say this..." Tony started. "She definitely seems a lot happier. I think Ande and Alex always needed their father, even if they didn't want to admit it." He turned back to what they were working on. "But I will tell you one thing." Megan looked interested. "She's got balls."

"What do you mean?" she asked, curious.

"She's not afraid to stand up to Gibbs." Megan cracked a smile. "And she's one of the few people who can get away with it."

"What about you?" Tony just stared at her. "Can you get away with it?"

"No," Gibbs answered, smacking DiNozzo on the back of the head. Megan just laughed.