Alex was in awe as he watched the NCIS team work through their case with such diligence and dedication.
And Alex Rider found a whole new level of admiration for Jethro Gibbs.
In the last week he had seen the man yell at the secretary of the Navy for withholding valuable information on their case, get hit on by a woman half his age, and manage to take down two trained marines in a fist fight by himself.
It had started out as a regular case. A dead marine found in an alley. It turned out that the marine was a hot tempered man and an over zealous soldier which caused one of his teammates to get killed in Afghanistan. The rest of their unit planned for vengeance, killing the man in honor of their fallen teammate.
Gibbs was sporting his own various bruises from the vicious fight he endured. Ducky checked him out and ruled that all the man needed was a hot shower and a nice rest.
Alex looked out at the window and into the night sky, it was late and the team was just starting to pack up their gear so they could go home for a nights rest.
"Boss, do you need me or the Probie to drive you and Alex home?" Tony asked, taking in the battered sight of his CO. Even though Gibbs won the fight, both of the men did get in a few good punches.
"No, DiNozzo, we're fine. Are you ready, Alex?" Gibbs said standing stiffly up.
"Sure, Gibbs." Alex said, swiftly reaching down to take the bag Gibbs was about to pick up.
Gibbs looked at Alex with a hint of annoyance.
"Alex, I'm fine." The man said, reaching for the bag.
"Oh, come on, you're not fine. You may have won, but those marines roughed you up" Alex said, stepping out of the man's reach.
Alex was finally feeling better, no stiffness or aches. He was feeling back to his old self.
Gibbs rolled his eyes but let it go, it was just a bag, after all.
"Let's go home, then. I hope you like Chinese for dinner tonight. I'll grill some steaks sometime this week." Gibbs informed as they walked out of the bullpen, leaving the rest of the team with smiles on their faces. Gibbs didn't grill steaks for anyone.(1)
Gibbs and Alex were really starting to warm up to each other. Alex was joking with Gibbs and, oddly enough, the team was seeing Gibbs smile...or, well, smirk more. Not quite a smile but enough for them to know that he was amused by Alex's sarcastic comments. Granted, that didn't take anything away from his gruff demeanor. He was still Gibbs, yelling and demanding.
"So, Tony says you have a gym here." Alex brought up purposefully.
Gibbs looked over to the teen knowingly, "Yeah, I'll get one of the team to show it to you. They're going to need some time in the gym soon anyways."
"Thanks," Alex said, happy to get some exercise. Shooting hoops in Gibbs' driveway wasn't as fulfilling as it was before.
Gibbs waited until they were in the car and driving out of the Navy Yard before saying, "Abby got those papers filled out. I'm going to sign them first thing tomorrow morning. The sooner we get this done the less MI6 will be able to do about it."
Alex nodded as the got lost in his thoughts.
Soon, he would be Leroy Jethro Gibbs' kid. He was now officially leaving a part of his life behind him. He called Tom and told him about this and his best friend was more than a little saddened by it. But Tom being the supportive friend that he was vowed that they would still talk and visit, to which, Alex was glad. And Tom was glad that Alex had found a way to get MI6 leave him alone. Tom was the only real thing he was going to miss in England when Alex thought about it.
Alex didn't notice Gibbs looking at him so he jumped when Gibbs said, "You know, I bet before school starts we can bring your friend Tom out for a visit."
Alex looked incredulously at the man, "How do you do that?"
"You're leaving your best friend behind, that would bother anyone."
"Thanks, I think Tom would like that. Anything to get away from his parents."
Gibbs looked over to the boy, "What's wrong with his parents?" He asked sharply.
"Nothing like what you're thinking," Alex assured, "they're getting a divorce, so their arguing a lot. Tom used to stay at my house when they got too bad. Tom's at his brothers house in Italy at the moment."
They pulled into Gibbs' driveway and Alex resumed holding Gibbs' bag as they made their way into the house. Gibbs sat gingerly down on the couch and whipped out his cell to order in when suddenly the phone rang on its own. Alex disappeared into the kitchen.
Gibbs sighed as he looked at the caller ID.
"Yeah? Gibbs."
"Do you always answer your phone like that?"
"Yeah, I do. Is there a point to this call?"
"Is that any kind of way to talk to your father?"
"Jack."
"Oh, so we're back to you calling me Jack."
Gibbs sighed, "What do you need?"
"My house is being fumigated. Darn termites. Anyhow I need a place to stay."
"Don't you have a nice lady friend in town to stay with?" Gibbs said bitterly.
"Well, I could, but I thought this was a good chance for us to talk."
"Now is...really not a good time."
"I...I, uh, I understand, son. Maybe some other time then." Came the crestfallen reply.
Gibbs sighed once more before coming a decision.
"Okay, okay! Things are a bit, uh, hectic around here, but it would be great for you to come. Do I need to pick you up from the airport?"
"Only if you're sure, son. I don't want to be a bother."
"You're not. I need to talk to you about some things anyways."Gibbs replied. He had to tell his father about the adoption some time.
"I'll come pick you up from the airport. I'll see you then."Gibbs said as he hung up the phone.
Alex appeared from the kitchen with an icepack for Gibbs' bruised and slightly swollen face.
"Thanks," Gibbs said to the boy. He was touched at Alex's thoughtfulness. Any other teen wouldn't think to do the things Alex did, like wash his dishes when he was done, or help with the laundry. Though Gibbs knew this was partly because Alex still had it in his head he was being a burden to him.
"So, you're picking the delivery guy up at the airport? That's quite a bit of work for some Chinese food don't you think?" Alex asked, sitting next to Gibbs on the couch with a smile.
Gibbs smirked, "no, that was my father. He's dropping in for a visit while his house is being fumigated."
"You don't sound so happy," Alex stated, hiding the fact that he was surprised Gibbs had a father.
"My dad and I have our...differences. But I have to tell him that he's going to be a grandfather again sometime. Might as well be now."
Alex nearly laughed at the word grandfather. He had only ever had an uncle, this was different. But technically this man would be his adopted grandfather.
"Is he going to be okay with this? I mean, I don't want to cause more problems with you and your Dad."
"He'll be fine. But let's let him get to know you first, then we'll spring it on him."
Alex nodded in agreement.
Gibbs pulled his phone back out and they ordered their Chinese food. Alex disappeared up to his room until Gibbs called him back down with food in tow.
They sat down at the table and began eating their food.
"Are you going to tell him everything? About MI6?" Alex asked after awhile.
Gibbs thought for a moment.
"Not if you don't want me to."
"Gibbs, he's your dad. If you think he needs to know then go ahead."
Gibbs looked at Alex, "Why don't we play this one by ear?"
Alex nodded in agreement
They both talked a bit more before Alex noticed Gibbs was hiding the fact that he was fighting to stay awake.
"Well, I'm going to bed. And you should too, you don't look so good. And besides Ducky said you couldn't work on your boat." Alex said as he quickly grabbed both of their plates and putting them in the sink to clean later.
Gibbs liked how well mannered Alex was, Ian and Jack clearly taught him to respect people as long as they deserved it.
"Oh, you're going to tell him?" Gibbs asked, getting up with a wince. The boy was right, he was exhausted.
"Yep, if you're looking after me it's only fair that I do the same for you." Alex replied.
"Yeah, well I got agents watching the house. The team needs sleep, but don't think I won't know if you go try to pull some dimwitted stunt like you pulled last time. I've learned my lesson, you need more watching than Tony." Gibbs said sternly but with a hint of affection.
Alex smiled lightly as he and Gibbs both stepped up the stairs to their rooms.
Gibbs mumbled a 'night' before disappearing into his room but leaving his door open, just in case.
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Alex wasn't surprised when he got up before Gibbs the next day. The man had really taken a beating. So, to pass the time, he went into the kitchen to fix the one breakfast meal he knew how to make without burning it. Pancakes. When Jack was ever sick or really didn't feel like making breakfast, Alex would cook them both pancakes.
As Alex began his work in the kitchen he suddenly heard a knock at the door. Warily, Alex walked to the front door. He peered through the blinds and saw an elderly man in a plaid shirt and carrying a cane, a small suitcase at his feet. Already guessing who the man was, he opened the door.
The older man was startled by the teen but asked politely, "Hello, young man. I'm looking for my son, Leroy."
"Of course, come on in." Alex said grabbing the man's suitcase to lighten the elderly man's load.
"Thank you, young man. Uh, who exactly are you?" He asked, still slightly confused.
"Right, sorry," Alex said, realizing he had yet to introduce himself to the man, "I'm Alex Rider. I'm under protection detail for awhile and Gibbs and his team are it."
Jackson nodded, "I see. My name is Jackson Gibbs. And just where is my son?"
"Asleep," Alex replied, leading them into the kitchen where the pancakes were still cooking.
"Asleep? When he's supposed to be looking after you? Now that doesn't sound like my son."
"He got into a fight with a suspect yesterday, and there's agents outside, just in case. Would you like some pancakes?"
"A fight? Is he okay?" Jack asked, shaking his head no to the offer.
"Yeah, he's basically just bruised up, Ducky checked him out."
Alex pulled out two plates and stacked pancakes on them.
He went over the the table and sat down with Jackson, leaving one plate on the counter for Gibbs.
"So, why exactly are you under protection detail? Your dad get mixed up in something he shouldn't?" Jack asked as Alex began his breakfast.
Alex smirked at the older man, "You could say that."
Then, from upstairs, they heard Gibbs slowly making his way down into the kitchen.
"You know, you didn't have to make breakfast, Alex." Gibbs called from the other room as he walked into the kitchen, not realizing who was in there.
Alex smiled as Gibbs walked in, rubbing his hand over his face which momentarily shielded his eyes from his father. However, when he saw Jackson sitting in the opposite seat of Alex, Gibbs looked as close to shock as Alex figured he would ever get to see him
"It seems that you had a very productive morning. What? Did you take the Challenger and go pick up him too?" Gibbs asked Alex, grabbing his own plate of pancakes and sitting down.
"I can drive your car?" Alex asked hopefully.
Gibbs smirked, "not on your life, kid."
"Now, Leroy, I let you drive the truck when you were about his age."
"Dad, I thought that I was going to pick you up this afternoon?" Gibbs asked through a mouthful of pancakes.
"Well, my flight was going to be canceled if I waited until later because of the weather so I took an earlier flight and took a cab here. It's no big deal, son." Jack assured.
"Well, I got to go back to the Navy Yard to finish some paper work on the case we just closed. Alex, you're with me. Dad? You can-"
"I need to speak with Abigail. She said the next time I was in town she would take me bowling with Sister Rosita." Jackson interrupted his son.
Alex smiled at the mention of the bowling nun league. Abby certainly was full of surprises.
Gibbs sighed, "Okay, fine."
Alex and Gibbs finished their breakfast. Alex talked a bit to Jack while Gibbs was silent, which wasn't much of a surprise to either of them.
Gibbs and Alex went upstairs and got themselves dressed before heading out to the Challenger and to the Navy Yard.
"This place sure is busy. Certainly not Stillwater." Jackson commented in the elevator.
Gibbs walked swiftly into the bullpen, ignoring the dull ache in his body.
"Boss, I didn't think you'd be coming in today...Mr. Gibbs!" Tony said as he saw the elder Gibbs behind his son.
"Hello, Tony, Mcgee, ah and the lovely Ziva. Always a pleasure." Jackson said, flirting with the woman mildly.
"What are you doing here? Vacation?" Tony smiled at Alex before asking, "or are you here to get to know your new grand-"
"DiNozzo!" Gibbs barked before the man could finish his sentence.
Tony's eyes widened as he realized he just spilled the beans.
"My grand what?" Jackson looked at his son, "Leroy? Is there something I should know?"
Gibbs sighed before standing up and walking over to his father, who was standing by Tony's desk.
Gibbs swiftly slapped the back of Tony's head. Tony gave a mix between a whimper and a groan before saying, "my bad, Boss."(2)
Gibbs didn't want to do this now but he really didn't have a choice.
"Dad, conference room." He said taking his father by the elbow and ushering him to the room
Alex moved over to sit in Gibbs' vacant desk seat.
"Gibbs wasn't going to tell his Dad until later, was he?" Tony asked, wincing as he rubbed the tender spot on the back of his head.
"No, he was going to wait until his dad had gotten to know me a bit more. Springing something like that on someone usually is done slowly, Tony." Alex said.
Ziva snorted, "Way to go, large mouth."
"Big mouth, Ziva." Mcgee corrected.
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"Leroy, what's going on?" Jackson asked as he sat down across from his son in the conference room.
"Dad, Alex got mixed up in some stuff. Some really dangerous stuff over the past year."
"And just where's the boy's parents? What, are they some rich snooty people who don't have time for their kid?" Jackson asked.
"They're dead. He was living with his uncle but he died earlier this year."
Jackson's face visibly fell as he realized he stuck his foot in it.
"Ah, I'm sorry, Leroy. I shouldn't have jumped the gun." He apoligized.
"I know, Dad. It seems that Alex has become a target for an...organization and they kind of want him dead. He's under protection detail for NCIS." Gibbs explained cryptically.
Jackson nodded before looking at his only child critically.
"There's more, isn't their, son?"
Gibbs sighed before nodding.
"Alex's uncle and father worked for MI6. When his dad died his uncle became his guardian. Ian Rider, his uncle, started training him to be a spy since he was able to walk."
Jackson raised his eyebrows but didn't say anything so Gibbs continued.
"When Ian Rider died, Alex's stayed with his housekeeper, who raised him when Alex's uncle went on a mission."
"Well that's terrible, son, but that doesn't tell me what this has to do with you."
"Dad, MI6 has been blackmailing that kid into going on missions for them. He's been beaten up, threatened, and shot in the chest by a criminal organization that has hired an assassin to kill him."
Gibbs watched as his father's face looked at him incredulously.
"How are they blackmailing him?"
"Jack Starbright is Alex's housekeeper. She's American. They threatened to deport her and put Alex in an orphanage until he was 18."
Jackson's face became hard and determined, "Well, what are you planning on doing about it?"
Jack knew that his son wouldn't let this go until he had done whatever he could for the boy.
"Well, Dad, I'm...going to adopt him." Gibbs said, letting the statement hang in the air.
Jack looked at Gibbs, "Are you sure you're ready for that?"
Gibbs averted his eyes, he knew his dad was referring to his wife and child that he missed every day that he woke up without him.
"Dad, MI6 isn't the only Agency that's been after Alex. The CIA, and the ASIS have used him too. I can't leave that kid to fend for himself between those people. You know as well as I do that Shannon would kick my ass if I sat by and did nothing for Alex. And I really want to do want to help him, I like Alex. He doesn't deserve what he's been put through."
Jackson seemed to process what he had been told for a moment before smiling at his son.
"Well, in that case, show me to my new grandchild."
Gibbs smiled, he didn't know why he was so uneasy about telling his dad about this in the first place. His dad was more of a sucker for kids than he was.
"Alex is pretty modest about stuff like that. I wouldn't expect him to start calling you 'grandpa.'"
Jack looked at Gibbs, "Well, Leroy, he wouldn't be the only one in this family that calls me Jack." He said pointedly.
"Dad," Gibbs said firmly. Making a note to do his best not to call his dad Jack anymore.
He didn't want to trigger anymore arguments than necessary. There's no point in making Alex think he was getting himself into a dysfunctional family just yet.
"Now come on, I got to go finish up the paperwork on the case."
Both Gibbs men stood up and walked out of the room and down to the...empty bullpen.
"Where'd everybody go?" Jackson asked looking around at the empty desks.
"They went down to the gym with Alex." Abby said happily as she made her way to the bullpen with a thick manilla file in her hand.
Gibbs nodded as he saw that all of his agents paperwork was on his desk.
"Jackson! It's great to see you!" Abby said engulfing the older man in a huge hug, "what are you doing here?"
"His house if being fumigated. Is there something you need, Abs?" Gibbs asked, looking pointedly at the file in her hands.
"Yep, these are the, uh, files you needed to fill out about Alex." Abby said vaguely.
Gibbs almost rolled his eyes, apparently DiNozzo was the only one that was boneheaded enough to blurt out things.
"It's okay, Abby. He knows." Gibbs said taking the file.
Abby smiled happily at Jackson.
"Really? That's great!" Abby said hugging Jack again before becoming serious once more.
"Gibbs, my friend, the one that got the paperwork together, she said that if the paperwork got out to MI6 or the CIA before the files were permanent, then they might stonewall us."
"Yeah, I've thought of that already, Abs. Don't worry, I've got it covered." Gibbs said.
Abby nodded before turning her attention back to Jack.
"I'm going bowling Tuesday, you should come with me. Sister Rosita has been asking about you."
Jackson offered his arm to the lady and Abby looped her arm through it as they began to walk to the elevator to give Gibbs some room.
Said man sighed deeply before pulling out a slip of paper, grabbing his phone and dialing the number on the paper. It rang three times before...
"Daniels."
"Agent Daniels, this is Special Agent Gibbs. NCIS."
"Agent Gibbs, has something happened to Alex?" Came Ben Daniels' sharp tone.
"No, but I need your help with something. I'm getting Alex out of the mess he's in."
"I'm glad to hear that. What's the plan?"
"There's going to be some paperwork come in regarding me adopting Alex. I need to make sure that the heads at MI6 don't have any knowledge of that until it's filed away and there's nothing they can do about it."
"You're going to adopt him? That's...good to hear, I suppose. But, don't worry, I'll take care of it, Agent Gibbs."
"Thanks a lot. Let me know if you run into any problems."
"You got it, Gibbs." Ben replied before ending the call.
Gibbs stood up, paperwork in hand, and walked out of the bullpen and into the elevator, hitting the button that would take him down to the gym.
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"Come on, Alex! Show her who's boss!" Tony said from the outside of the boxing ring.
Alex and Ziva were fighting in the ring. Martial Arts style, sending kicks and punches flying everywhere.
But despite Tony's cheering, and much to Alex's embarrassment, Ziva David was kicking his ass. She was too fast for him.
Alex tried to surprise her by stepping back with a roundhouse kick, but Ziva caught his foot easily and before the teen knew what hit him, he was lying flat on his back with Ziva pinning him down, her hand on his windpipe. He realized she could easily crush it. Ziva definitely knew how to take care of herself.
Smiling up at Ziva as she let him up he asked, "You gotta show me how you did that."(2)
Ziva laughed, "I would love to. You're good, Alex. You had a good instructor."
"Oh great, a little Ziva apprentice, just what we need." Tony groaned as he hopped down and started hitting the punching bag with his gloved fists.
Gibbs, who had been watching the two fight from the doorway of the gym, walked over to the ring.
"Not bad, Ziva. But if you're planning on teaching Alex, be sure he doesn't end back up in the hospital, will ya?" He asked.
"Oh, come on, I'm not that bad." Alex defended.
Tony and Mcgee laughed.
"Alex, when you go out to pick up lunch and get cornered in an alley during a gunfight, you're definitely that bad." Mcgee replied.
Alex sighed, knowing that they were right.
He turned to Gibbs, "Is everything okay?"
Gibbs nodded, knowing he was referring to his father.
"Dad's fine, don't worry about that." He assured.
Alex nodded but sound too convinced when he replied, "Okay."
"I got the adoption papers, I'm going to fill them out then you, me and my dad can go grab a bite to eat." Gibbs said gesturing to the folder.
Alex nodded before Tony and Ziva called him back over to the ring.
Gibbs smiled before nodding goodbye, glad that his team had taken to Alex so well. The boy didn't know it yet, but he had just gained himself a family overnight.
A/N- Okay, I'm really sorry. This update was more than overdue and for that I'm sorry. I'm also sorry about this chapter because of the fact that I decided not to use an actual NCIS episode. I really did try to do it I just couldn't get it to work out. I'm sorry if I really disappointed people.
And I know that this chapter might be a little...lacking but It's going to pick up in the next chapters...trust me:)
The next chapters will never take so long again. I can almost promise it. Lol.
And, lets not forget to thank my wonderful Beta ChakramVampire for finding the time to help with this chapter and especially the next chapters coming up.
1)- Lol, that's definitely a Flesh & Blood reference. I don't want to spoil it for anyone but just know that episode is amazing.
2)-You guys know what I'm talking about...that hilarious noise Tony makes after Gibbs headslaps him? Lol, looove it.
And I think like three different people suggested to me that Ziva train Alex and teach him what she knows...I can't seem to find it in my reviews though so if the people that suggested that would tell me who they were will tell me I will thank them in the next chapter :D
Review, please!:D