I woke up in a sweat and just sat there in bed, thinking. Why were these people being so nice to me? I was a worthless piece of shit that was being sent off to Military school because I was a failure to my father! The man named Gibbs had a commanding voice but he seemed to have something about him that made me want to trust him. His daughter, Kelly I think he said her name was, she was sweet! I liked her, she made me feel comfortable. The old man was a calming force while he tended to my wounds. No-one had really been gentle with me before, my father always told the doctors that there was no need to be nice, just to take care of my wounds.
When the sun come up, he peeked into my room and, seeing I was awake, he walked over and sat down on the bed.
"So, you're awake!" I nodded to him and he looked me over. "Well, I am going to be straight with you. I need to get a hold of the law today but I will make sure they know that you are in my custody. I am not allowing you to go to foster care nor am I going to let you go back to that bastard of a man that you seem to think is a father to you." I looked at him absolutely amazed.
"You won't let him get me, you promise?" He nodded and ruffled my hair some.
"Tony, I need your whole name." I looked at him and I took a deep breath, gathering my courage.
"Anthony DiNozzo, si.. Gibbs." He nodded at me.
"When tomorrow comes, we'll call, but for now Ducky says you need to rest and just some time to relax. He said that he would be back this afternoon to check on you again." I nodded and he stood up, giving me a gentle look. I stood up too and walked with him downstairs. He made some coffee and he looked at me.
"Not sure what you want to drink, but Kelly has some cokes and some juice in the fridge, just find what you want. I want you to know something right now, no-one is going to abuse you ever again, not on my watch! You got that, Tony?" I looked at him, I could hear the truth in his words and see it in his eyes. I nodded and smiled some. He leaned against the wall, before continuing.
"My mother-in-law will be back tomorrow. When I am at work, she takes care of the house. She also watches Kelly when I have to work overtime." I looked at him. I had got some juice and I sat down as he sat down with his coffee. "I'm a NCIS agent, that's basically like the FBI but we work for the Military. We work the cases for them, like murders and all the other good stuff." I raised my eyes and looked at him with even more respect.
"Really? That's so cool!" He shrugged some as he leaned back, looking to me.
"I also have friends around, they can make sure your old man doesn't get his hands on you, ever again. They will want to find you a foster home, I'll apply for that myself. I don't trust anyone else to take care of you nor do I trust them to watch you close enough so that your father can't get back at you." I thought to myself that maybe, just maybe, I would be safe here and I wouldn't have to go to military school. He stood up and smirked.
"Come on, let's go to the basement and talk some more while I work on my boat." I headed downstairs with him! He wasn't kidding about the boat thing. He started to sand it and I sat at the bottom of the steps.
"So, tell me some more about what's gone on with your life. Like, where is your mother?" I looked down and slid my hands through my hair, I wasn't sure what to say and he seemed to be giving me time to get my thoughts to where they needed to be, so that I could talk about it. I sighed and looked down as I started to talk.
"She was great. She loved me and she sang to me. When I was five, she died of cancer. That's when my father started in on me, he told me it was my fault that my mother died. He would get drunk and beat on me. But I was lucky sometimes, he would leave me with the servants and there were a few times he forgot me in a motel that we had traveled to for a business deal. He would have to send a servant to come get me because he forgot me." I looked at Gibbs. I could see his hands clenched and I flinched involuntarily. He walked over and I cowered as he sat beside me. He looked at me. He took a moment before he began to speak and then it was with anger.
"You didn't kill your mother! Cancer isn't caused by a person. Your father was a jerk, son. Everything he said to you isn't true. From what I can tell, you're a good kid. We are going to make this right and I will raise you with Kelly. We will make sure that your teenage years are spent without fear. You will not go back to that asshole."
I had never really thought of my father as bad, but Gibbs seemed to think that and I was glad that he wanted to raise me. He was a good man, from what I could tell. Maybe I could be happy?
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