And I'm shaking and I'm still,
when your eyes meet mine all the simple skills,
like to tell you all I want, is love…

Snow Patrol - Set Down Your Glass

Chapter X – Perfect World

They were in Vermont for five months now and there hadn´t been a call yet. No sign that the Marshals and or the NCIS had a break with Colonel Anderson. The trio was used to living as a family by now and set up their own daily routines. Gibbs dropped Brady and Gabriel Smith off at school in the morning and Lauren picked the boys up. Like Caitlin hoped everything changed for the better when the five-year-old found friends at school. He smiled more often and was more open in general.

"Look mommy, the first snow!" The child stated and dropped his pencil, running over to the window. Some time while they were living here he started calling them mommy and daddy even when they were alone. The agents had been surprised the first few times, but never asked the child to stop or call them by their names again. "That´s awesome… We never had snow in San Diego."

"Did you see any snow in Norfolk?" The redhead asked and the blond boy shook his head. Kate couldn´t believe that he never saw snow in his life before, but she grew up in Northern Indiana so she was used to snow, even a few blizzards. "Go get your jacket and boots. Homework can wait we go outside and watch the snow falling."

"Cool." Brady sat and a minute later the two stood in their backyard watching the thick snowflakes slowly falling on the frozen ground beneath their feet. The red-haired woman just watched the child, who was looking amazed up into the sky. Just a moment later Brady was catching the small fragile crystals in his hands where they melted within a few seconds.

"Kate, Emmett where are you?" Gibbs asked when he entered the house but got no answer at all. The light in the dining-room was still on but there was no trace of the two and slowly fear crept up from his guts. He thought about getting his gun out of the locked box in the basement but since there were no ominous noises he dismissed the thought and made his way towards the back of the house into the living room.

Finally he spotted the two in the backyard and a devilish smile appeared on his lips. The gray-haired man picked up some of the fresh snow and sneaked up behind the redhead. When he was only a few inches away from her he raised his hand and let the snow fall into her collar. The younger woman made a squeaking sound and turned around, her brown eyes wide in shock by his unexpected arrival. Jethro just flashed the redhead his trademark smirk and kissed her.

"Hey… Gotcha, Katie."

"Hey daddy." The boy greeted and smiled at the older man. "The snow´s awesome, we never had any snow in Sa… Miami."

Brady´s blue eyes widened but the silver-haired man just smiled at him, showing that it was okay. He started to say something but Caitlin was out for revenge and shoved snow into the collar of Gibbs´ dress shirt. "Oh Kate…"

"Yes, Jon?" The red-haired woman asked sweetly and smiled at the older man.

"Be careful when there´s more snow, but for now I´m on for dinner." Jethro replied and pulled the shirt out of his pants to get rid of the last bit of snow. "Pasta is on today, right?"

"Yup." The boy chimed in and unlaced his boots before he entered the living room. "Maybe the school is closed tomorrow because of the snow."

"I don´t think so, Brady." The redhead said and smiled at the blond child. He was right the snowfall was heavy but there wouldn´t be more snow than a foot in the morning. "When the snow is so high that we can´t open the door maybe, but not a few inches."

"Hmm…" The five-year-old huffed and put his boots into the cabinet.

"I´ll just change and be back in a minute." Gibbs said and went upstairs while Kate handed Brady the right items to set the table. The ligament in his knee healed completely and he could start working just a week after they arrived here. Half an hour later the pasta was ready and the trio started eating. Brady was talking animatedly about what he did at school today and Jethro told them a little about how they secured a house. Only the red-haired woman had little to report except for her trip to the grocery store and the things she had to read for her first exam next week.

"Oh and Lisa invited us to her birthday party next Friday." The redhead said and Gibbs nodded slowly. Both knew that it meant to leave Brady alone with a babysitter, which was different from the time he spent at school where no one who wasn´t allowed to enter, got in. Of course the two had friends by now but they either came here or they took the boy with them. "Her older daughters volunteered to watch the kids and Lauren offered her house."

"Do you think you´re okay with a sleep-over?" The gray-haired man asked and the five-year-old contemplated it for a moment before he nodded slowly.

"Gabe will be there too and something´s wrong you can call us." Kate added and slowly the boy seemed to warm up with the idea of spending a night in another house. He didn´t have any nightmares for two months now and if there was one, they were just across the street.

"Maybe it will be cool." Brady said finally and the adults exchanged a meaningful glance. Both were glad that he took this and everything else so well.

"Alright, I will clear the table." Jethro stated and stood up, collecting their plates. The redhead was really wondering what his ex-wives were complaining. When he was home from work he was helping her as much as possible and often picked Brady up from one of his friend´s on his way home.

"Let´s finish your homework Brady." The red-haired woman said and the blond boy nodded again, grabbing his exercise book which he had pushed over the other end of the table earlier.

Every now and then his glance wandered to the window where he watched the snow falling but they were done barely twenty minutes later. The trio gathered again in the living room and when the Sesame Street was over they brought the five-year-old upstairs, tucking him in. It was one of their rituals and the child seemed to be fine with it. Except for a few struggles in the beginning and while doing his homework he behaved pretty well for a five year old boy.

"Good night, Brady." The redhead said and pulled the blanket up. She stood up and went over to Gibbs who was waiting for her at the door.

"Night mommy…" The boy mumbled and was sound asleep barely a minute later.

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