A/N: First I would like to extend an apology to everyone for the long wait. I meant to get this up before I went out of town on the 2nd but it just didn't happen. However, after multiple flight delays and layovers (and the switching of four time zones) I finally made it home for a quick two day break where I'm off again only this time for a vacation with the family. After this summer, I never want to see a airport again.

Anyway, thanks for all the reviews and I will try to get one more up before I leave on Friday. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter Nineteen

Boss has to go to work tomorrow. It's different from other times that he goes cause he always goes and he's back before the movie's over. But Boss showed me the clock in the kitchen and marked down the different times on it with a marker. At seven in the morning, Boss has to go to work. I don't get to see him though cause I sleep till the big hand is on the eight, which is eight in the morning.

Elijah is always here when I wake up. Elijah helps me take my braces off and then helps me get ready to take a shower if I need some help in the morning. Then he makes us breakfast and it can be anything. Like today in the morning, Boss was there cause he doesn't have to work yet and Elijah made waffles. When I eat my breakfast, Elijah gets my pills all ready and I take my pills and he washes my plate and cup that I put in the sink. Boss use to help him but Elijah learned really quick which is good cause it would have been bad if he learned like me.

Then I get to feed Baron. Boss came into the kitchen today to get more coffee but Boss told me that tomorrow when he goes to work, he won't be here. He'll be at NCIS with Abby, Ducky, Probie, Ziva and Jimmy. So I know Boss will be safe there.

Then Elijah puts on a movie for me and we watch it. Today though, I didn't get to watch a movie cause I had to go to therapy. Normally Boss takes me but Boss came with me and Elijah last time and this time, it was just me, Elijah and Baron.

Baron gets to come everywhere with me now and Elijah does too.

I don't like therapy. It still makes my body hurt.

But my bad hand is still getting better even though it shakes if I try to use it too much.

Elijah's really funny though and Boss lets him drive the truck now. He didn't let him first cause Boss had to test him. When Elijah was still learning stuff Boss made Elijah drive on a racetrack thing that he and Probie made for Elijah. Elijah did good I think but I didn't watch. I don't like watching those kind of things anymore cause...just in case of boom.

But that was a long time ago. Now Elijah is okay and Boss doesn't follow him around everywhere with his eyes like he use to when he thought I wasn't looking.

And Elijah is cool.

I almost fell today cause I was going to fast but Elijah is really strong and he caught me and smiled and told me it was okay when I got scared that I was going to hurt my head.

But I'm okay now and I'm getting ready for bed.

Boss is going to work tomorrow so Elijah gets to sleep in the room that Boss has all his papers in. Boss got a bed that's called a futon so Elijah can sleep over when he wants too.

I'm gonna miss Boss but Boss promised he'd be home when the hand was on the six so that he could eat dinner with me and Elijah.

"Boss. I don't want to watch a movie," Tony shuffled into the kitchen, Baron trailing at his heels, "Elijah when's Boss coming?"

"What's the clock say Tony?" Elijah asked from where he was sitting at the kitchen table, finishing his morning crossword puzzle, "We still have to eat lunch."

"Clock. I'm not hungry," Tony grumbled and rubbed his eyes with his good hand, "Boss. He's coming home soon?"

Elijah nodded patiently. Tony missed Gibbs. Hopefully this would wear off in a couple days when Tony realized that Gibbs would come home and Tony would be back to his happy go lucky self.

"How about we go somewhere?" Elijah stood, knowing that he needed to do something to get Tony's mind off missing Gibbs.

"Out. It's cold," Tony said looking at the white covered ground just outside the window, "White. It's snowing."

"Hmm," Elijah nodded thoughtfully, "Not anymore. How about we go to the pet store? We can get Baron a toy and then we can go get some lunch."

"Hmm," Tony hummed, mimicking Elijah, "Store. Yes. Pizza?"

Elijah laughed. In the two and a half weeks since he had taken this job he had learned two things about Tony: the young man loved movies. And pizza.

"Sounds good," Elijah nodded, "Now, let's get you out of your PJs and we're out of here."

Tony didn't like it when people starred. It was rude and it wasn't nice and lots of times, Tony would look at them, the people who were starring, and they wouldn't even smile back.

Elijah didn't care though. He said it was because he was so tall. He said most people starred when you were as big as he was.

Tony still didn't like it though.

"Stare. Baron, do you want the green or the blue one?" Tony asked as he showed Baron the two different color tennis balls. Baron was sitting down and he was sniffing at something in Tony's pocket. Tony knew Baron could smell his treat, "No Baron. Pick first."

Baron looked up at Tony when he heard his name and licked Tony's hand. Tony figured Baron wanted the blue one.

"Blue. Elijah, can Baron get a jacket? Look they make them for dogs," Tony walked down the end of the aisle, touching the blue material, "Is Baron cold?"

"Nah," Elijah stooped by Tony, giving Baron a quick rub behind the ears, "He's got a thick coat. He's nice and toasty already."

"Warm. Like a jacket?" Tony touched the coarse hairs on Baron's neck.

"Yep," Elijah agreed, "Come on Tony. Let's pay so we can go eat some food."

"Pizza," Tony agreed and headed towards the front to pay. He was hungry now.

Looking at the paperwork in front of him, Gibbs ran his fingers through his close cropped hair.

Tony had been out of the rehab hospital for close to six months and in those months, many things had happened.

Tony had been official placed under his full guardianship.

Tony's seizures had increased to the point of increasing his medications.

Tony's brain had finally reduce enough in size that Dr. Clarke was looking at replacing the missing part of Tony's skull.

And finally, Anthony DiNozzo Sr. had made his life all that more stressful.

He didn't understand it really. During Tony's hospital stay, he had made two attempts to contact Anthony DiNozzo Sr. Both attempts had ended with him leaving a message on Anthony's answering machine. Neither attempt had granted a visit or even a call back.

Gibbs had done everything for Tony since he had been injured. He had dealt with lawsuits, dealt with medical decisions as well as things such as Tony's bank accounts and bills. He had dealt with Tony's seizures, his surgeries, his setbacks and his changed mental status.

Through all this, he had dealt with it without the aid or even input of Tony's father.

However, ever since Tony had been released from the hospital, Tony's father had made more demanding attempts to come for his son to "resume his care in their home in New York City".

At first, Gibbs had ignore his calls and been curt but not overly bastard-ly on the phone with the man. He had still been in the process of finalizing the guardianship and didn't want and complications in the matter even though he knew he shouldn't have any, considering he had Tony's power of attorney already.

After he went in front of the judge though and received the permission to be Tony's full guardianship due to Tony's TBI, Gibbs knew that unless Anthony DiNozzo new people very high up in the legal system, he couldn't do anything to take Tony away from him.

This knowledge had in turn caused Gibbs to become even angrier and annoyed with the elder DiNozzo.

Just who did this man think he was, coming in now as if he were the caring father that spent days and weeks by his son's hospital been as his boy fought to come out of his coma and take control of his body?

They're had been phone calls, two of which Tony had heard and had been frightened by Gibbs' anger, and there had been legal actions, which had been the reason Gibbs had had to go visit his lawyer a few more times after that night that Tony remembered the rain and Kate dying.

But now, now Gibbs just didn't know what to do.

"He's fighting my right to guardianship?" Gibbs asked their lawyer, Danny Goldman during his lunch break. The team hadn't picked up any cases and they were currently finishing paperwork back at the office while Gibbs met with his lawyer, "Can he even do that?"

"Yes," Danny nodded, "And in this case, Mr. DiNozzo believes he has a case."

"But I had Tony's power of attorney before the accident," Gibbs scowled, not liking the burning in his gut.

"Yes," Danny agreed, "However, power of attorney, as I've explained, is not the same as guardianship which is why you went through the process to become Tony's official guardian."

Gibbs nodded and waited for his friend, because after so many years in law enforcement he did have one friend who was a lawyer, to continue.

"However, Mr. DiNozzo is requesting a changed, based off the principle that he is Tony's father and still has parental rights, rights that are being denied to him by your refusal to let him see Tony."

"I've never said he couldn't see Tony," Gibbs frowned, "I just told him that there wasn't a chance in hell that Tony would ever live with him. Tony has a home, here with me and with our family. Mr. DiNozzo has never made an attempt to come down to D.C. and visit his son."

"Gibbs, you're preaching to the choir, I believe you," Danny raised his hands to show he wasn't objecting to what Gibbs had to say, "But this case might make it to court, I just wanted you to be aware."

Gibbs growled and looked with disdain at his uneaten food.

"In the meantime, do I let him see Tony? If he comes down and tries?" Gibbs asked after a few seconds of collecting his thoughts.

"That's a judgment call you're going to have to make. This man, from what you tell me, came in and out of Tony's life with the drop of a hat. If Tony remembers that, how will he react to his dad coming and leaving unexpectedly?"

"So you're saying no?" Gibbs asked, waiting to ask the question until the waitress finished filling up his mug of coffee.

"I'm saying use caution," Danny shrugged, "But then I know how you are with Tony. Just listen to that gut of yours. Hasn't lead you wrong thus far."

Gibbs nodded and stood, shaking Danny's hand, "Thanks Danny."

"No problem Gibbs," Danny picked up his papers and shuffled them into his briefcase, "Next time, I pick the food and we'll call it even."

"Next time," Gibbs said and watched as Danny walked out of the restaurant. Paying the tab, Gibbs gulped his freshly filled coffee mug before walking outside to his parked car. Glancing at the time, Gibbs figured that right around now Tony would be either falling asleep or deeply in zzzz land.

Smiling at the thought of Tony safe and sound with Elijah and Baron, Gibbs headed back to work and hoped that they didn't pick up a case today. Having been confronted with the possibility, however slim, of loosing Tony made him miss the younger man's presence.

Knowing a phone call wouldn't help matters any, Gibbs figured the team wouldn't worry if he made a pit stop at his house.

Today Boss did a surprise.

Even though the clock said Boss wasn't going to be home for awhile, Boss came in when I was eating my pizza.

Baron smelled him first because he started barking and Elijah had to shush him because Elijah says its not nice to open the door when Baron's barking.

But Elijah opened the door and Baron was wagging his tail and I looked up and there was Boss! He was smiling and he was fine and he came and gave me a tight hug and laughed when I told him he was gonna squeeze my helmet right off my head if he kept hugging me so tight.

Boss' laugh is really deep, like a bear and I put my head on his chest because that way I can hear his heart and his laugh and that way I know he's happy and okay.

Boss showed me his badge when he came for the surprise. It's really nice and heavy and I asked him if I had one. He said I did but that it was back where he worked and he didn't have it with him. He had something else too, on his hip, but he didn't let me see it even though I saw part of it and almost touched it.

Elijah told him about our day and I helped tell the story and Boss nodded and laughed when I told him Elijah almost dropped our pizza cause he wasn't looking where he was going. Boss smiled when I told him I had to remind Elijah to go slow and not fast.

Elijah laughed too and his laugh is like Boss' sorta only his laugh is more like the rumbling the sky makes when its gonna rain a lot.

After Boss came in, he had to go because his phone made that noise. He told Elijah he wouldn't be back till late and that if he had everything he needed to stay over.

Elijah said yeah, he did and Boss nodded and he looked at me and the corner of his eyes wrinkled like he was sad even though he was trying to smile like I did when I was hurt but Boss tried to make me laugh.

He told me he wouldn't be home when the clock was on the number because he had to help someone because the bad guys had hurt them.

I started crying I think, just a little, because I didn't want Boss by the bad guys but he told me he would be okay, that Ziva and Probie would be there to watch his six.

It still didn't make my heart feel better though but Boss gave me a hug and stayed a bit longer until I had to take my medicine. After I took it, I got really sleepy and Boss rubbed my head when I laid down in my room.

I was still crying a little because I couldn't see Boss because of the extra wet in my eyes but Boss wiped them away really gentle and he told me that he would be okay.

After that he kept rubbing my back until I feel asleep and when I woke up, Boss wasn't there.

But I knew he was gonna come back. He promised.