Vance wasn't one for personal visits. But the leader of he MCRT was a right bastard. Gibbs refused to bring Alex to the Navy Yard, saying the boy was finally getting the rest he needed and wasn't going to be disturbed. The former Marine also refused to leave the teen with DiNozzo for a few hours to come to the Yard alone.
So, here he was, Director of NCIS, pulling into his agent's driveway. These were the days when he questioned why he kept Gibbs around.
Sighing, he got out of his car and walked to the front door. Before he could knock he was greeted by DiNozzo opening the door and motioning him to come in.
"Didn't want you to wake the kid," Tony explained closing the door behind the man.
"It's eleven AM." Vance argued.
"Teenagers sleep in, Director. Besides, he's been having trouble sleeping." Tony argued back, sitting on the couch, cleaning his gun.
"That so?" Vance asked offhandedly as he looked around for Gibbs.
"Yep, having to drug him to get him to sleep. My original plan. Gibbs will be down in a minute. He's checking on Sleeping Beauty." Tony informed.
"Good. We need to talk. It's about Blunt."
"What've you got?" Gibbs asked, finally making his appearance into the room.
"What I've got, Gibbs, is a problem." Vance said with a glare.
Gibbs only stared at the man waiting for him to continue.
"I spoke to the SecNav about Blunt and his little side business. Now, since Jack Starbright came from a military family and Rider is technically your kid now he's managed to get Blunt tried in front of a Military Tribunal. Now-"
"Tried? We have to go through a court system for this?" Tony asked.
"Well, yeah, DiNozzo. What did you expect?" Vance questioned.
DiNozzo shrugged.
"So, he'll be tried accused of Terrorism? He's British and he murdered an American on our soil. What are they going to do about Alex?" Tony asked.
"The United Kingdom has cut off all ties with Alan Blunt. We have their full cooperation. Daniels can tell you more about it. He's been handling the Britain side of things fairly well." Vance said.
Gibbs nodded slowly.
"Okay, so we managed to get him prosecuted by the Military. Who cares?" Gibbs asked. As long as the man was punished, he didn't care.
"Rider's gonna care. He's the victim here. You know what that means."
Gibbs stared at the man in disbelief.
"Absolutely not, Leon. Are you crazy?" He asked.
"What?" Tony questioned, momentarily lost.
"They want Alex to testify. Meaning he'll have to tell the judge about everything." Gibbs explained.
"So?"
"So,Dinozzo, Alex has a hard enough time telling us about his missions, let alone a room full of strangers."
"If he wants Blunt gone this is how it's going to be." Vance said decidedly.
"Alex wont go for it." Tony predicted.
"Then convince him. If this is the last thing the boy has to do to get out of this life then I'd say he's getting off pretty easily." The director observed.
"Oh yeah? How would you feel if we put you in a room and made you confess all the horrible things that have happened to you?" Gibbs asked, knowingly.
The two men stared at each other for a long moment before Vance walked to the hallway.
"If Alex doesn't testify, Blunt's more than likely going to walk. Simple as that." Was the last thing the man said before leaving.
Tony look at his Boss who looked ready to kill. Finally the man stormed from the room muttering about 'Bastards' and 'Coffee'.
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It was only about half an hour later before Tony heard a car pull into the drive again.
Alex was still snoozing so he grabbed his gun and went and opened the door before whoever it was could knock.
He was surprised to see his former temporary roommate standing in the doorway.
"Hey Tony. Uh, Gibbs called me and asked me to come over?" Ben said awkwardly.
"Oh, cool. Come on in," Tony said, letting the man in.
"You haven't been occupying my couch lately. What's up?" Tony questioned.
"Vance got my accounts unfrozen. Your Boss isn't that bad."
Tony snorted.
"Man, I hope you're talking about Gibbs." He said as the man in question came to greet his guest.
"Thanks for coming, Ben. Vance was a bit vague about how your government feels about the US going after the head of your Intelligence Agency." Gibbs said.
"To be honest, I think they're happy. The Prime Minister's been wanting Blunt out of office for a long time. I think he feels this is the best way to get rid of him. You're not gonna have a fight coming from Great Britain. Especially since I'm here backing you up." Ben promised.
"Good. Too bad our Government's not being that helpful. The only way they'll think of prosecuting Blunt is if Alex testifies and comes clean about everything." Tony said bitterly.
"You know if he comes clean a whole lot more people than Blunt could be in trouble. The CIA, ASIS, Hell, even the SAS might even get their asses handed to them." Tony said.
"As long as everyone is to blame I don't care who gets taken down." Ben said. He didn't necessarily want to see the SAS get into trouble. That was where his career first started, but Alex's life shouldn't have been violated the way it was.
"Blamed for what? Hey, Ben." Alex greeted, half awake.
"Hey, Cub. You look better," Ben said smiling warmly at the teen.
"I feel a bit better too. Thanks, Gibbs." Alex said softly to the marine, grateful for a well rested night.
Gibbs studied the boy to see if he was lying about feeling okay. It seemed as though Alex was telling the truth. His eyes look rested, he looked alert and ready to face what was left of the day.
"Welcome. Your arms feeling okay?" He asked, noticing the drainage coming from the sting.
"A little sore, but it's okay." Alex admitted, sitting down beside Tony.
"That looks like a bee the size of a dog stung you." DiNozzo commented as he examined the wound.
"Feels like it too." The boy replied, before turning back to the soon-to-be ex- spy.
"What are you doing here?" He asked.
Ben glance at Gibbs. The reason why he was here was to talk to Gibbs about Blunt and apparently the trial. Alex obviously didn't know he was going to have to testify yet.
"I came to check on you," Ben hedged, "I didn't get a chance to see you when you were in the hospital." Ben replied.
Tony looked at Gibbs, wondering if the man was going to go ahead and talk to Alex about the trial. But Gibbs only shook his head slightly. The marine knew this would have to be handled carefully. He knew Alex wouldn't be happy with the new turn of events. It had took every fiber Alex had to open up to him last night, let alone anyone else.
No, this had to be handled delicately. Preferably, with Ducky nearby. He had a feeling the man would help a bit more than he could.
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Gibbs called Ducky at four and asked for the man to come over after dinner. He informed the man about the upcoming trial, much to the man's displeasure.
"Emotionally, this could set him back with us, Jethro." Ducky had said.
When the ME arrived Gibbs urged DiNozzo to make himself scarce, knowing this would make the man uncomfortable.
Ben had already left, saying he had 'business' to take care of.
Ducky finally arrived with his medical bag firmly grasped in his hand.
"I don't think he needs a check up, Duck." Gibbs said as he led his friend to the living room to sit down. The Marine had been monitoring Alex's wounds with a careful eye.
"You can never be too cautious, Jethro. Now where is our young lad? I know he must be growing anxious about being left in the dark." Ducky surmised.
"Yeah, he's been watching DiNozzo and me like a hawk. He knows something is up," Gibbs said, going to the stairs to retrieve Alex.
As Gibbs approached Alex's door he found it wide open, as per usual. Very seldom was Alex's door closed.
Peering into the room, the man saw Alex kicking a soccer ball lightly back and forth between his feet as he walked the room.
"Hey," Gibbs called, adding a light knock to the door, a subtle gesture to the teen that this was, without a doubt, his room.
Alex turned around and looked questioningly at the man.
"Ducky's here. He wants to check you over."
The boy was cluing in on his vagueness.
"Oh really? Or did you call him to help talk to me about what it is you don't want to talk to me about?" The teen asked, but with a gentle smile, knowing the man before him wasn't with holding information from him to be an ass or to deceive him. Alex knew Gibbs was trying to find out the best way to break the apparently, grim news he had to deliver.
Although the anticipation was killing him, he didn't push, trusting him and allowing the man time to regroup.
"Nothing gets passed you, does it?" Gibbs teased as they headed down the stairs to Ducky.
"Ah, good evening, my dear fellow! You're looking healthier by the day." Ducky commented as he laid eyes on the teen and motioned him to sit down beside him.
Alex smiled at the older man and walked to the couch and let Ducky begin his poking and prodding.
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"Testify?" Alex asked blankly.
"For a judge to even begin to prosecute Blunt you're going to have to tell them about all of your missions, especially the blackmail. Normally there's a special way the justice system handles children victims who are testifying on the stand But this is a special case Especially with us going after someone so high up on the food chain. This isn't up to me, Alex. Vance and the higher ups have decided this. We're lucky they're even going to attempt to prosecute Blunt. This whole ordeal could cause an international mess. You're the only one who's been through every mission and who can tell us everything he made you do. No one else can do that." Gibbs said firmly, trying to justify, though there was no way to make this morally right...at least in Gibbs' book.
As an agent he knew Alex's testimony would be iron clad in getting Blunt out of office. Although as a father he was well aware of the hell he was putting Alex through. In the big picture he this was the best thing for Alex. The teen was going to have every bit of the past he was so desperately trying trying to leave laid out in front of him.
Alex had an unreadable expression on his face as he abruptly stood up on his feet.
"Can I have some time alone?" He asked, refusing to look at Gibbs or Ducky.
The ME nodded.
"Of course, my boy. We'll be up in a few to check on your injuries though." He heeded.
The blonde was already ascending the stairs by the time Ducky got to 'check'.
When Alex was gone Gibbs looked at Ducky.
"Well? Was that good or bad?" He asked.
Ducky sighed.
"I think it's definitely something to be concerned about. I think you should go up there, Jethro."
"He said he wanted to be alone." Gibbs pointed.
"As a parent, Jethro, you should know that sometimes it's not about what a child wants, it's about what they need." Ducky replied.
The marine considered this, then nodded at his wise friend.
"Alright, Duck. You win." He relented, clapping the ME on the shoulder as he stood.
Ducky chuckled.
"It's never about winning, but it is nice to hear you say."
Gibbs left Ducky sitting on the couch, completely engrossed in the television as he climbed the stairs to his teen.
When Gibbs entered the boy's doorway Alex looked up from his spot on the bed.
"I thought you said I could be alone?" Alex said, his voice was on the verge of annoyance.
Gibbs smiled inwardly. Finally, some emotions were seeping in.
"Those were Duck's words. Not mine." He replied, moving purposely to sit down beside the disgruntled teen.
They were silent for awhile before Alex turned to Gibbs.
"What if I don't do this?" He asked.
"Then Blunt walks and he gets away for all the pain he's put you through. Is that really the way you want this to end? With Blunt getting away with it?" Gibbs asked.
"No, but Gibbs...you don't understand...some of the things that's happened on my missions..." Alex trailed off.
"I know this is going to be Hell for you. But no one is here to judge what you did or what happened to you. They're there to take Blunt down and you're not going to be alone through this."
Alex took a breath.
I know. Doesn't exactly make this easier." He replied.
"I know. It probably makes it worse being under that pressure. But, at the moment, it's not something you need to worry about. It'll be awhile before we have to concern ourselves with it anyways. Don't let this get in the way of you getting better." Gibbs said, laying a hand on the boy's back.
"I know. I won't." Alex promised, although worry was settling deep inside his bones. There had to be a way for him to get out of this.
The Marine knew this wasn't going to quell the teen's worry, but he was suddenly struck with an idea. He just needed to talk to Abby.
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It was later that night when Gibbs heard the light footfalls of his teenager climbing down the steps.
"You okay?" Gibbs asked.
Alex sighed and sat down on the steps.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He said lightly.
Gibbs sent him a sideways glance.
"Something on your mind?" He asked, putting down his tools and looking at the boy.
Alex seemed uncertain and didn't reply.
Gibbs went over and sat down on the steps beside him.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"Is she still in DC?" Alex asked quietly, not able to look at the man.
Gibbs didn't understand at first before it dawned on him. Jack.
"Yeah, she is. Her parents buried her downtown, close to where they live." He informed the boy.
The teen nodded.
"Will you take me there?" He asked hopefully.
Gibbs nodded.
"Of course, I will. When you're better and have had a good amount of sleep." He answered sternly.
Alex sighed.
"Why did I have a feeling this would be the condition?" He mumbled.
"Cause you know it's true. One decent night's sleep isn't going to cut it. I have a feeling if I was to bring you to that cemetery right now someone would mistake you for a dead body." Gibbs said dryly, taking in the boy's still pale features.
"Well, that's always nice to hear, Gibbs. No wonder you've had three ex-wives." Alex replied with a knowing smile.
"DiNozzo tell you about them?" Gibbs questioned.
"Yeah, did one really hit you with a golf club?" The teen asked, his smile growing wider as he chuckled.
"Never date a woman that likes to golf, Alex." Was all Gibbs offered as he stood and walked back over to his boat.
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It took nearly another week before Ducky even considered letting Gibbs take Alex downtown to visit Jack's grave. The ME hated to keep the boy away from what could give him the closure he needed but he knew, medically, that the boy needed rest.
But as soon as he was well enough to stay awake for at least most of the day and when the pain from his injuries had calmed down Gibbs loaded Alex into the yellow Challenger and headed off.
Alex's mood had decreased drastically as it hit him where he was going. To see the last person that somewhat linked him to his past.
As they battled through town Alex remained silent as he looked out the window. Gibbs let it happen, knowing what the boy was going through.
Abby had heard about where they were going and dropped by that morning with flowers. She figured her usual black bouquet would be too depressing for the teen so she arrived with an assortment of different brightly colored roses for Alex to place on Jack's grave. Then, quietly she gave Gibbs two other smaller, but just as lovely, sets of bouquets. She gave him a knowing and reassuring smile before giving them both a kiss on the cheek as she darted out of the house.
It was a big cemetery but Gibbs knew about where to go to find the right headstone, having talked to the caretaker of the cemetery a few days earlier.
Alex was still walking at a slower pace but Gibbs didn't mind. It was a bright breezy day, there was really no need to be in a hurry. Gibbs was holding two of the bouquets leaving Alex with only the one.
Gibbs herded him in the right direction and as they got closer Alex noticed they were approaching an older couple. As they got closer and he got a good look at their faces he stopped and gasped, shaking his head at Gibbs.
"I can't do this." He said quickly.
"Yes, you can. It'll be fine." The Marine assured.
"I can't face them, Gibbs. I...I took her away from them." Alex replied, his eyes not leaving the couple who had their backs to them. The older man had his arm around the woman's shoulders, Alex could see them shaking slightly. She was undoubtedly crying.
Gibbs turned around to face Alex, getting in his way of looking at the two people."When she was taking care of you she wasn't anywhere she didn't want to be, and I've done told you her death wasn't to be placed on your shoulders."
"You keep saying that but we both know it's a lie. How is it not?"
"Because-"
"Alex?" Came a weary female voice from behind Gibbs.
Alex's breathe caught in his throat. He felt sick.
But he pushed on.
"Hi, Mrs. Starbright." He said, his voice choking at the end, his eyes glued to Gibbs' shirt.
Jack's mother had her red hair but it was disheveled and her eyes were puffy from crying.
"You poor boy, come here." She said, moving out of her husband's arm and grabbed ahold of the teen's shoulders pulling him in for a long hug.
Gibbs slipped the flowers Alex was holding out of his hands before stepping back, giving the two enough room.
He turned his gaze to Mr. Starbright. The man was quite a bit older than him although he looked much older. His face looked horrible and eyes were full of sorrow. A look Gibbs knew all too well.
"You must be Agent Gibbs." Mr. Starbright said holding out his hand.
Gibbs nodded.
"Just Gibbs."
The other man nodded as they shook hands.
"Call me, Adam then. This is my wife, Susan." He introduced, though Alex and Susan weren't listening to their conversation as they both held onto one another.
At first, the hug Susan Starbright was giving him was the last thing in the world he felt he wanted. But then, he smelled her perfume, it was the same kind Jack wore and it was enough to have him sinking into her embrace. Just for a moment he could pretend that the woman he was hugging so desperately was the one person he wanted. He felt the tears burning as he clenched them shut trying to force them back in. No such luck. All he could do was hope that Susan wouldn't mind a wet blouse.
Gibbs smiled sadly as he saw Alex's shoulders shudder as he began to cry. He saw that it caused Susan to only hold the boy tighter. This was what Alex needed to start to move on. The woman was crying silently as well and her husband put a loving hand on her shoulder.
Gibbs felt a bit intruding so he put the bouquet meant for Jack on the ground beside them, nodded to Adam and walked down to a spot he had become all too familiar with.
Standing in front of the two headstones he sighed. This part never got any easier.
He bent down and sat the two sets of flowers in front of the headstones and stepped back.
Gibbs wasn't really one to talk to a headstone so he silently stood there, knowing his presence was enough for his girls to know that he loved them.
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Alex didn't know how long it was before he pulled back from Susan Starbright. His face was flushed from crying and in embarrassment.
"I'm sorry." He said quietly.
"You have nothing to be sorry for, son." Adam said, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Jack, loved you so much. Every time she came home for a visit all she did was go on and on about you." Susan said wiping her eyes.
"They said the explosion was some sort of gas leak. I don't know if anyone told you or not." Adam informed which made Alex cringe. They had been lied to about their daughter's death to keep them from knowing about Alex and MI6. Another sacrifice the Starbright family had had to make because of him.
"Yeah," Was all the boy was able to manage.
"Honey, I don't want to bring up a sore subject. But what are you going to do now that Jack is gone?" Susan asked.
Alex managed a smile at her concern.
"I'm staying with Agent Gibbs now." He explained.
"How well do you know this man, son?" Adam asked.
"He's a friend of my Dad's. And he agreed to take me in. I'll be fine." Alex assured, hating how much he was having to lie to these people.
"If you say so. You know our number, you call us if you ever need us, okay? Even if you just wanna talk." Susan assured, pulling the teen in for one last hug.
"Thank you." Alex whispered into her ear.
Susan nodded before her and her husband were off to their car.
Alex saw Gibbs in the distance looking down at a grave and he knew whose it was so he turned with his own set of flowers and sat down in front of the fresh grave of Jack Starbright.
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Gibbs didn't know how long it was before Alex came up beside him.
He looked over at the boy. His face was red and his eyes were swollen and bloodshot.
"You okay?" He asked after awhile.
Alex shrugged.
"I will be." Alex replied quietly as he gazed at the headstones.
Gibbs sighed.
"Well, I think we've put ourselves through enough emotional torture today. Let's go home. Abby has a surprise waiting for you back at the house."
"A surprise? What am I? Eight?" Alex asked smiling. Abby was the only person who could lighten his mood at the moment.
"No, but I know for a fact you're going to like this surprise." Gibbs hinted.
"Well, what is it?"
"What? And have Abby mad at me for ruining it? I don't think so, you're on your own here." Gibbs said as he got to the entrance of the cemetery and climbed into his muscle car.
"First, I find out you're scared of Ducky now I find out you're scared of Abby. You know your tough guy demeanor sure is diminishing here, Gibbs." Alex teased.
Gibbs only smiled as his engine roared to life and he spun the car around and headed back to the house.
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"Come on, Gibbs. Just tell me what Abby got me. I'll still act surprised when we get in." Alex pleaded as they pulled into the drive.
"Nope." Gibbs said simply as he turned off the car and got out of the car, this time not waiting on Alex.
"Why is everyone here?" Alex asked, noticing that the team's cars were in the driveway.
Gibbs threw his hands up, shrugging, still not turning around so he could hide his smirk.
Alex sighed but followed the man into their house.
They walked into the sitting room to find everyone waiting on them.
"It's about time you got here. We were getting worried." Tony said, coming in from the kitchen with two beers in his hand and handing one to his boss.
"Alex! Gibbs didn't ruin the surprise, did he?" Abby said coming in and giving him a bone crushing hug.
"No, he wouldn't." Alex said, aiming a glare at the man in question.
"Well, that's good! Surprises are supposed to be a surprise." Abby said with a huge smile.
"Well, what is this big surprise that it seems everyone is clued in on except for me?" Alex asked, not seeing any presents in the room.
Everyone on the team shared a smile with each other before Gibbs went to the edge of the stairs and let out a shrill whistle.
Then, Alex heard footsteps approaching but before he could get a look at who it was Abby threw her hands over his eyes making him sigh insufferably but making Abby laugh.
The teen heard a familiar squeal of delight before he was engulfed in a hug. Alex didn't need eyes to recognize the familiar scent of the girl that was holding him. Sabina. It was as if everyone else in the room was gone. Sabina was here and it gave him some hope that maybe not his entire life was being changed.
Sabina angled her head so that her mouth was next to his ear.
"I missed you. And I am so sorry about Jack. We're going to get you through this though." She whispered.
Alex didn't reply but only tightened his hold on her.
"I cannot believe this. I come all the way here from London to see this bloke and I don't even get a glance in my direction. I knew Sabina would take the spot light." Came yet another familiar yet sarcastic tone.
Tom Harris.
"It's because she's prettier than you, Tom." Alex teased as Sabina smiled and let go of her hold of the boy.
Gibbs and the team shared a smile as they saw the bickering. This was the most they had gotten to see Alex act like a teenager.
And he could only hope that between the lot of them they could lend a helping hand in getting Alex through what was to come.
A/N- Finally we're getting into what's going to happen to Blunt...I haven't decided if I'm going to go through the motions of an actual tribunal...I'm taking a criminal Justice class at school so I know SOME of what the procedures are. But this is just my first year in the class. I didn't want Blunt tried in front of a regular court system because the Military Tribunal is a bit more tough. It's still basically the same thing as a court though. So, yeah I might have bent some official rules that would happen in real life. I don't know how our government would really handle this situation...this is just my poor take on it. ha.
I also thought that I didn't do Jack justice the way I just killed her off and that was just going to be the end of it. I decided to give Alex a bit more closure.
And NO this is not going to turn into a huuge love story between Sabina and Alex. She will be in here for one or two more chapters so calm down. I honestly don't know what all the fuss is about. I personally like Sabina quite a bit but I can't write romance stories anyways so you're all safe.
Ugh, I know I'm a horrible fanfiction author. I have not been replying to your reviews and haven't been for awhile. .now. You guys are taking the time to give me feedback on this story so you deserve a reply. Reviews will be answered this chapter. Any questions I didn't answer for you last chapter ask again and I'll absolutely answer the moment it enters my inbox.(unless I'm in schoolXD)
unrelated note about NCIS season 9- Who's watching guys? Every episode so far has made me tear up. NCIS is SPOT on this season. I absolutely love it.
Twitter- Icin_Nicole
Tumblr- Alexsonn (the name has nothing to do with Alex Rider)