Solitary Living
As he opened the doors of NCIS and stepped inside, nevertheless, he began to contemplate what his father had said. His dad had successfully raised a son, after all, no matter how fractious the relationship.
Keeping the conversation fresh in his mind, he finished out his workday.
He waited until Tony had actually made his way to bed later that night before he addressed the subject again.
When he went to tell his son good night, he thought at first that he had waited too late, that Tony had already fallen asleep in the darkened room. He walked softly to the bed and leaned down to kiss his forehead.
Tony turned at his dad's approach, though, a scowl firmly in place. Obviously, he had not stopped brooding, or finished pouting over the morning's conversation.
"Night, Dad," he muttered.
Gibbs sat down on the edge of the bed and faced him, then leaned over to brush his bangs back. Tony had been blessed with absolutely stunning looks, and sometimes his father was taken aback at an expression or look.
The teen observed his father suspiciously.
"Hey, Son, I wanted to talk to you seriously about the overseas assignment."
Tony regarded him warily, but began to shift so that he could sit up and prop against the headboard.
"I have been thinking about how much you want a chance to stay alone, to get the chance…"
Tony's green eyes lit with excitement, "I get to stay all by myself, Dad?"
Gibbs narrowed his own blue eyes. "Get quiet until I finish and do not interrupt me."
Tony popped his right hand over his mouth and his dad could not help but smile at the childish response. Jethro leaned over and tousled his son's hair.
"Ok, so let me concede first that you do need a chance to prove that you know how to conduct yourself outside of my immediate eyesight, or your abuela's for that matter." Gibb stopped and thoughtfully rubbed his chin.
Tony waited, a flicker of hope developing that his father might capitulate.
"You are fifteen though, not an adult in my sight, or in the sight of the law."
The teen removed his hand and frowned. He should have known his dad would not back down from his decision.
Jethro continued. "So here is the deal. You go to the Mallards and stay as planned. Then Grandpa comes and you return home and the two of you stay here…"
Tony interrupted, his annoyance evident. "Nothing is different, then, Daddy. This is what you planned all along!"
"You did not let me finish," Gibbs pointed out reasonably. "The last part is that if I receive good reports from the Mallards, as well as from Dad, then you might have the last two days and nights before I come home free and home alone." With that, he slid off the bed and started towards the door. "How does that sound?"
"Two days?" the teen clarified.
Jethro nodded.
Tony responded with a grin, "Good, Dad, I like it."
Gibbs smiled in return. "That's the point, Son. Anyway, you need to go to sleep now. You have school tomorrow."
Tony obeyed, then asked for confirmation, "So if I do okay for the two days, then next time you'll let me stay home alone longer?"
"Absolutely," agreed his father, stretching as he moved closer to the doorway.
His child slid down and settled in the covers, "Night, Dad, and thank you for giving me a chance." He felt victorious- two whole days belonged to him, to do as he wanted!
Jethro nodded and blew him a kiss, then headed towards his own room and shower.
Just one week later the Mallards drove Tony home from his visit with them, and he was met at the door by Jack, who had arrived a couple of hours earlier from Pennsylvania.
A few days after that Tony kissed his grandfather good bye and hugged him affectionately. The older man made his way back to Stillwater.
Tony shut the front door carefully and surveyed his surroundings. He was alone, home alone, all by himself, with no adult in residence. What a heady feeling to enjoy!
The fact that his father had strategically plotted his free hours to occur over two school days, rather than over a more attractive weekend, didn't disappoint him overmuch. He had won the battle to conduct himself independently for two whole days, and that was the crucial issue.
Adulthood rocked!
He looked around the house in anticipation, then checked the time. The sun still shone brightly, giving him some time to run out and catch a pick up game of basketball. He bolted out of the house and made his way to the park, joining several of the neighborhood regulars already there. As they shot hoops they spoke of school, and females, and the fact that Tony finally had his chance to stay home alone. Good naturedly they teased him, but then gave advice to make sure he would impress his dad with his stay- home- alone behavior. As dark descended the group of teens headed for home and supper, sharing their envy that Tony was heading home to order a pizza.
Tony entered a dark house and as he opened the door, he looked around self consciously. He chided himself for his moment of uncertainty and spoke out loud for instant reassurance.
"Look at this, now, Anthony. Tonight this house will be lit only by lights you have chosen, my Boy."
With that he cut on a living room lamp, then twirled and danced into the kitchen. There he cut on the light by the house phone, and took a second to look up the pizza parlor's number. Yanking out a kitchen chair, he propped his feet up on the cabinet by the stove and debated the pros and cons of the restaurant's specials with the female cashier on the other end of the line. After making her repeat the ingredients and costs of several pies he finally made a decision, and looked through the mail on the desk to find the cash his dad had left for him.
Frowning, he realized that he had a ton of homework to complete and briefly considered skipping it. That sounded inviting, and he could just enjoy an evening of television.
Reason prevailed, though, when he thought about what consequences would ensue if his grades declined. His father's expectations on homework and academics tended to remain high, and were always consistent. Taking the easy way out tonight would lead to unpleasant nights later.
Still, he felt tempted.
By the time his pizza arrived, however, he had managed to simultaneously stay tuned to an intriguing episode of Magnum P.I. while tackling a literature assignment.
Greedily he grabbed a piping hot slice and used the cardboard box lid as a serving dish, not bothering to search for a plate or napkin. He took special delight in rotating his hand and extending it to see how far he could get one string of cheese to go.
Jumping up to grab a Coke, he brought it back with an air of triumph, dancing his way back into the room to the melody of a television commercial. Home alone rocked!
An hour later the phone rang, not a surprise to the teen. He had expected the adults in his life would insist upon checking up on him, especially because they knew Jethro could not easily communicate with him from out of the country.
His assumption proved correct. His abuela phoned first, then the Mallards, Dylan's parents, and his grandfather, last. Tony took it in good stride, however.
By eleven o'clock he grew tired of the glut of television viewing. Truthfully, he found it difficult to even keep his eyes open. Grinning at the chance to act as a degenerate, he left the debris from his meal where it lay, but did pack his school materials into his book bag. That habit had been cultivated since kindergarten. Leaving the lights blazing downstairs, he made his way upstairs and to his shower with the intention of heading to bed directly afterwards.
When he navigated the final stair and stood on the landing, he stopped and peeped back down at the reassurance of the illumination. Tony might want to convince everyone else that he had no problem staying alone- welcomed the opportunity, but truthfully, he felt nervous.
Shaking his head at his own perceived weakness, he spoke to himself out loud in a pretty good imitation of Ducky's voice. "Don't hold yourself to such high standards, lad. Realize that your father probably fears the darkness any time that he finds himself the solitary occupant of the domicile."
He laughed out loud at his own wit, then caught sight of his bedside clock. A shower and bed became priorities, and half an hour later, he snuggled down into the warmth of his covers.
Relaxation had not even taken hold before he heard a noise from downstairs. In an attempt to ignore it, he shifted deeper into his cocoon and mentally ran through his nightly prayers. A few minutes later another noise commanded his attention, but this sound originated from the upstairs hall. He flung himself on his back in frustration and started to throw the covers aside to get up and investigate.
A sudden wave of fear washed over him and he instinctively began to call for his father, then chided himself with the reminder that his dad was out of the country. He was not across the hall, as he should be, within Tony's reach should the adolescent get scared.
The teen concentrated on ascertaining if the noise repeated itself.
No repetitions of the first two disturbances ensued. Instead, the tree branch nearest his window suddenly slapped against the glass pane, causing him to jump. A storm appeared to have brewed over the D. C. area, specifically over Tony's neighborhood.
He focused on the window and watched a flash of lightning streak outside. That worried him. What if the electricity went out? Where were the flashlights and candles his dad kept for just such emergencies?
Why had his dad left him helpless in the face of such an experience?
To be fair, Tony reminded himself that his father had actually outlined emergency procedures to him on numerous occasions. However, he had usually paid attention to the instructions from the security of his dad's embrace, he admitted sheepishly to himself.
Any time he felt scared or worried his father either came and comforted him right in this bedroom, or else the son made his way into his father's bed and snuggled with him there. Either way, his dad took away his trepidation.
Tony looked from the window to the doorway. His father's bedroom was directly across from his, but the distance appeared magnified tonight. Steeling himself, he counted to three and then jumped out of his bed, dashed across the hall, and landed on top of Jethro's bed with his feet barely touching the ground.
Quickly he got himself under the covers and rested his head on his daddy's side, on his father's pillow. He sighed with satisfaction then and welcomed the flood of relief that flooded his body.