Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author's Note: The death of Michael Jackson inspired this fic.

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July 2016:

The first time that Henry Jareau showed any interest in wanting to hear was at seven years of age when his best friend Saxon Hotchner offered him the ear plugs of the iPod that he'd 'acquired' from his older brother.

Jennifer Jareau had taken Henry to an audiologist before to have him fitted for hearing aids, but Henry couldn't stand the things and would rip them out of his ears when she put them on him. When he did consent to wear them, she always had to check that they were actually on, and more often than not, they weren't.

The most fun of all was when Henry decided to pull his hearing aids apart and place each little piece in a different part of the house. At one point he'd actually flushed his hearing aids down the toilet and stood sombrely next to it as the water whirl-pooled away. 'Bye bye.'

Nothing she said could convince him to wear them, and the only way she could stop him from pulling them apart is if she said he didn't have to wear them. Even when Dave had words with him, Henry wouldn't be moved. Giving up, she decided to see if she could reintroduce it to him at a later date.

That later date came about that afternoon Henry had spent with Saxon. She'd seen them playing with an iPod and music from afar, and had thought nothing of it, until Henry came bursting into the kitchen and declared that he wanted hearing aids. He wanted to hear the music just like Sax could.

Cautious at getting his hopes up that he would be able to hear music perfectly, but nonetheless thrilled that he wanted to try and hear something, JJ made an appointment with the audiologist and within four weeks the new hearing aids had arrived.

It was a struggle for poor Henry as he found himself suddenly in a world of noise that had never existed before. But he wanted so desperately to hear and understand music that he listened to his Mum and Dave explain to him what each noise was around him. That's a door slamming. That's a knife on the cutting board. That's the TV. That's Mummy's laugh. That's your feet on the ground. That's the dishwasher.

JJ wondered if this was too much for him, but Dave encouraged her not to give up. This was what Henry wanted. When Dave put on some music, the look on Henry's face when he heard it for the first time was such a pure, innocent look of joy that JJ couldn't help but draw her son into a hug at this momentous occasion.

Whilst he didn't wear his hearing aids all the time from that day on, more often than not, JJ could find him in his bedroom with them on listening to the same music tracks again and again and again. And when Saxon came over, JJ knew they'd be holed up in Henry's room listening and learning new music. Henry learnt one song at a time, and refused to learn new songs until he knew each song off by heart.

It must have been a year or so later when JJ saw just how much Henry had been learning and practicing music. At a team barbeque, the ever entertaining Saxon declared that he and Henry would be putting on a show. They'd cranked up the music high, created a makeshift stage out on the wooden deck and the pair of them had proceeded to sign and sing a song.

Henry's knowledge of the song, his lip syncing, timing and animation was spot on, and everyone stood in awe as this pint sized duo performed – no, entertained – for them. JJ couldn't help blinking back a few tears as her little boy stood confidently performing on the stage, his whole face coming alive. Dave was seated a little ways over and when they all stood to applaud the performance, she caught his eye as both shared a look of pride.

Sax and Henry took their bows together as they both grinned at everyone, though Henry felt a little overwhelmed at the attention that was suddenly focused on him. The bond between Saxon Hotchner and Henry Jareau had always been strong, but this love and passion for music added a whole other layer to their friendship.

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Another year passed, and Henry's school was visited by a professional deaf theatre group, Henry didn't move as he sat with his classmates in the assembly hall, eyes glued to the stage as the actors performed in front of him. It was then and there that he decided that this was what he wanted to do. Maybe not the acting part so much, but he wanted to sign songs and dance and perform.

Henry was a quiet child at school, but when he put his hand up to perform in the Christmas Concert that year, staff and students alike were amazed and questioned at where this bright, entertaining, charismatic person had come from.

But the biggest 'show' of Henry's young life to date came in high school when the annual school performance was a tribute to 'Stars of the Ages'. Lexi Hotchner had showed fourteen year old Henry the video clip of Michael Jackson's Thriller once and he'd been mesmerised. Michael Jackson's songs and dance moves were something that Henry had always admired and aspired to.

Henry was determined that he was going to be in the Michael Jackson 'Thriller' segment of the school production, and so David Rossi, currently at home on a three week medical leave with injuries post-case, enjoyed the pleasure of listening to the soundtrack of Thriller played again and again and again, and watched the music video of Thriller again and again and again as Henry practiced and practiced his dance movements and lip syncing.

It had actually reached the point where Dave rang Emily Hotchner in pain and asked her why her daughter had though it would be a brilliant idea to introduce Henry to Thriller. 'Hey it's not much better over here,' objected Emily. 'I've got three music loving kids, so there's not a quiet moment in this house either.'

'But at least you've got variety,' muttered Rossi under his breath. 'I've got a constant Thriller ream in my head 24/7.' Emily laughed as she offered no sympathy.

When Henry got the part as Michael Jackson for the 'Thriller', Dave's realisation that he would now have to listen to Thriller constantly until showtime was overridden by his joy that Henry had gotten his dream part.

At the very least, Henry had been hoping to be picked as a dancer in the Thriller dance sequence. He knew that the fact he couldn't sing was going to be held against him, and would probably cost him the opportunity to actually be Michael Jackson. But as fate had it, Zachary Devon, the boy with the Michael Jackson voice, also happened to be one of the most uncoordinated dancers ever. And so the role of Michael Jackson was split between Zach as the voice and Henry as the dancer, lip syncing.

The Michael Jackson 'Thriller' segment was to a standing ovation on the opening night of 'Stars of the Ages'.