A/N: Really quick, I would like to say a BIG thank you to all those who are alerting and reviewing and such. I hope you all like the solution Vance and Gibbs agree on. :)

Chapter Eighteen

I feel a lot better now. I have seizures still but they aren't bad at all and I had to go back to the Dr. Clarke's office but everything must be okay cause they didn't make me take another one.

Which is good cause the medicine I'm on now doesn't make me as sleepy as it use too when I first started taking it which is good because I can watch a movie with Boss without falling asleep.

Boss had to go somewhere today even though it was a Saturday which means that Probie, Ziva, and Abby and Ducky and Jimmy didn't have to work but Boss said he had to go to work even though he didn't have to work.

Or something like that.

So Boss left but Baron is here and Ziva is playing with something on the TV and Probie helping her too cause I think Baron knocked something over and the TV shut off for a bit but I know Probie will fix it. It's what he does.

Jimmy's here too and he's pretty cool. He has to take medicine everyday like me but he didn't hurt his head. Some other part of his body doesn't work right and he takes medicine so he can eat food and not get sick.

I'm glad I don't have what he has cause he has to take shots and I only have to take pills which is a lot better than shots because I really hate shots.

But I started getting really tired even though I didn't want too sleep and Ducky and Probie helped me up the stairs and I said goodbye to everyone but Ducky and Probie cause everyone else would be gone when I woke up.

But I couldn't fall asleep now that I was laying down so Ducky got a book and started reading to me.

It was about these six people and they were part of a really cool team. My favorite character is Tommy cause he sounds pretty cool.

Baron came up too to sleep and he laid down with me and he fell asleep too.

And I'm tired now too.

"Thanks for coming down Gibbs," Vance said as he set down the paperwork he was working on and placed it in a drawer behind him. Watching as Gibbs sat down in front of him, Leon smiled to himself. There was a time the almost ornery Senior Agent wouldn't have even relaxed enough to sit down.

"What you got for me Leon?" Gibbs said, adjusting the neck of his hoddie. The first cold wave had hit the D.C area and it was chilly out there. Which was one of the reason's Tony hadn't left the house in quite some time.

Tony liked staying inside, curled up with Baron as they watched a movie or a TV show. When he had left, Tony had been nice and warm on the couch, watching TV. If Gibbs knew his young charge, and he did, Tony would probably be taking a nap by the time he got back home.

Which would hopefully be soon.

"Another option," Vance said extending two files towards Gibbs, "For you and Tony."

"What are these?" Gibbs asked as he opened each file, "Navy corpsmen?"

"Both honorably discharged," Vance answered, "And both willing to act as an aid for Tony."

"Another option huh?" Gibbs opened each file, impressed by what he saw in each.

"I know how you feel about when one of your people is hurt," Vance spoke, knowing to choose his words carefully. He hadn't made it to Director of a Federal Organization by being stupid, "And I figured you would like a bodyguard and nurse all rolled into one. Even though I know you would rather have Tony with you."

"Hmm," Gibbs hummed as he thought it over. Part of the settlement with the car company whose car Tony had been driving had entailed a fund to pay for a nursing facility or a home nurse aid. But up until now, Gibbs hadn't even touched the money, "How did you even find these two?"

Vance smiled, knowing that Gibbs had accepted the idea. But they weren't home free yet. Hopefully at least one of the two men would work out and considering one had spent his whole deployment with an "eccentric" Gunnery Sergeant, Vance could only hope.

"So," Vance said, ignoring Gibbs question only because he knew Gibbs didn't really expect an answer, "They're both expecting a call from you in the near future. Your leave is over in two weeks? Should give you enough time to find pick and have one of them settled in?"

It was said like a statement but Gibbs knew that Vance was asking just as much as he was telling.

"Should be," Gibbs said looking through each dossier once more, "I'll take care of it."

"I know," Vance nodded and watched as Gibbs left his office.

Leon sighed and grabbed the last set of cases that had been completed this week. After he looked over these, he would follow Gibbs' example and head home to his family.

Five minutes into the first interview, Gibbs knew they were going to have a problem.

"Acho!" Navy Corpsman Larry Sullivan, "Um. I think I'm allergic to your dog."

Gibbs raised an eyebrow in confirmation, "I think that's gonna be a problem."

Gibbs let the Corpsman go a few minutes later when he had pretty much confirmed that Sullivan was indeed allergic to Baron.

And since Gibbs had no intention of getting rid of Tony's friend and now seizure alert dog, Gibbs let the man go with a thank you, something the Navy man knew meant a lot.

The next, and the last, man that was on the list was a man by the name of Elijah Brooks.

The first time Gibbs had read the young man's file, he had marvel, momentarily anyway, at the Brooks' profile.

Standing at 6'7" and weighing just over 300 pounds did a lot to show just how…massive this corpsman would be.

"Door. Probie?" Tony asked, rubbing his eyes as he looked hopefully at the door. Gibbs assumed that Tony had heard the door closing as he had woken up from his nap in the living room.

"No," Gibbs said and stood when Tony looked at Gibbs with that face.

"What's wrong?" Gibbs asked as he pulled Tony in gently for a hug, the younger man leaning in and lingering for much longer than he normally did, "Did you sleep okay?"

In response, Tony just shook his head from where it was cradled on Gibbs' shoulder.

"No?" Gibbs asked rubbing Tony's back once more before pushing Tony away carefully to examine him in detail, "Do you feel okay?"

Tony bit his lip as his good hand played with the folds and creases on his shirt. After a few seconds in which he seemed to think Gibbs' question over, he nodded.

Gibbs knew that the only other possible explanation could be that Tony had had a nightmare.

"Bad dreams?" Gibbs said and sighed when Tony nodded as tears sprung to his eyes. Gibbs pulled Tony in for a hug again before whispering words of comfort and reassurance into Tony's ear, "It's alright Tony. It's just a dream."

"Bad. No," Tony shook his head, his voice shaky but strong nonetheless, "Real. Bad dream. Hurt my head and-and, you were gone. Probie too and the car didn't-no blue on for him and he got hurt and you-Boss wasn't there Boss. Gone."

"Hey hey," Gibbs said, his voice quiet but with almost a gentle firmness as he tried to capture Tony's attention, "I'm right here. And Probie's fine remember? He played checkers with you earlier today."

Tony's body tensed after Gibbs spoke but Gibbs continued to rub Tony's back until Tony relaxed, "Dream. Not real. Right Boss?"

"Right," Gibbs smiled, squeezing Tony's shoulder, "Hey look? You remembered Blue on."

Tony smiled at Gibbs' praised and touched the blue helmet on his head, "Blue. Yeah."

"Well," Gibbs said, "I have someone who's going to come to our house pretty soon. Do you want to stay with me or watch a movie in the living room?"

Tony bit his lip anxiously, obviously torn between two of his favorite things. He didn't want to leave Boss but then Boss wouldn't leave without saying and he wanted to watch the movie Ziva bought him.

"Ziva. The living room," Tony finally came to a decision, already walking towards the room in question, "Movie. Can you help me please?"

"No problem Tony," Gibbs walked behind Tony as he made his way to the other side of their house. Gibbs had been using the kitchen to interview Sullivan and when Brooks arrived in thirty minutes or so, Gibbs would escort him there to interview him.

Gibbs got Tony settled, laughing when the man actually scowled at Baron for hogging up most of the room on the couch, before heading back to the kitchen to await the next arrival.

"Special Agent Gibbs," Elijah Brooks extended his hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Gibbs shook the man's hand, realizing what six feet and seven inches actually looked like when it was standing in your doorway.

"So," Gibbs sat down and watched and Elijah folded himself into the wood chair. Gibbs was please when his craftsman ship held against the weight, "Why did you leave the Navy Brooks?"

"Got hurt about a year ago," Brooks rolled with the punches, not bothering at all with small talk, "By the time I got better, my dad was real sick, cancer. He didn't want to go to nursing home or anything like that so I put it a request for discharge. My tour was ending pretty soon anyway and I still had about a month or so of injured leave. Navy granted my requested and I went back to California to stay with him and help out my mom.

"Strong man, my dad, but he could only fight for so long," Brooks paused and Gibbs could see how this story ended before Elijah even finished, "He passed away about three months ago."

"My condolences," Gibbs said and actually meant it. He had lost a parent too, long ago, but it was the kind of hurt that never went away. Even after all this time.

Elijah smiled, "Some days are better than most but most days are good. He wouldn't want me missing him and crying. He would tear me a new one if he came down and I was crying over him. In his opinion, if you were alive all that meant was that you were gonna be dead sometime in the future. Mom moved up to D.C. with me a few weeks after his funeral."

"Sounds like tough guy," Gibbs returned Brooks' smile.

"Had to be, raising me and all my foster brothers," Brooks was lost in the memories of his childhood for a few moments before he looked back at Gibbs, "Anyway, that's why I'm here. I was thinking about signing up to go back into the Navy but I wanted to wait a bit longer. Then my old CO called me, asking if I was interesting in helping a former NCIS agent who needed some extra care while his guardian went to work. I agreed. I had a buddy who almost got sent away for a long time. An NCIS Agent, Pacci I think his name was, found the real bad guy and cleared his name."

Gibbs' heart skipped a beat at hearing the Chris Pacci name. Even now he still missed him. And if his and Tony's friendship had stayed as strong as it was when he had died, Gibbs had no doubt Chris would be just as involved with Tony know as Tony's team was.

Elijah shrugged, having come to the end of his monologue, "Guess that's my story. Anything else you want to know?"

Gibbs liked him. Now it just depended on how well he got along with Tony. Of course, Gibbs still wouldn't feel comfortable with leaving Tony with Brooks right now, the man had the foundation to be someone Gibbs could trust.

Nonetheless, Gibbs indeed did have a question.

"Are you allergic to dogs?"

Sometimes, I don't like sleeping. Cause when I sleep I get nightmares.

Sometimes, they're really bad ones and I tell Boss about them but Boss always knows that they're not real and he reminds me that they're just pretend, like movies.

But movies are better.

I was watching a movie and I got to meet Boss' friend.

He was big. Really big. He was even taller than Boss and me.

But he was really nice. Baron liked him cause Baron licked his hand and then went outside which means that Baron knows that Boss' friend won't hurt anyone even though he was really big.

And his voice sounded like thunder all the time.

But I like thunder so that was okay because his name was Elijah. But he said I could call him Eli if I wanted too.

Boss says that Elijah is gonna come over a lot to help with stuff. He said that how Probie and Abby watch me when he's gotta work is how Elijah is gonna watch me when he has to go back for a lot of times.

But Elijah's really big. Really really big. And he's really nice and Baron likes him and Boss smiled when he left so I think Elijah is okay.

And he's really big.