A CHRISTMAS STORY
Tony was happy to finally be out of the office. The day had been long and the case depressing. Christmas can be a hard time for a lot of people. People who knew the gunney said he was acting depressed and he was concerned that his marriage was over. He had heard from buddies on leave of men visiting his home, his wife in D.C. So, when Gunney Grant Williams did go home and find his wife with another man in his bedroom, he took care of the situation.
When NCIS arrived on the scene there were three bodies to take care of, along with two frightened, now orphaned, little girls: Nova, aged 6 and Bethany, aged 7. The dead were Gunny Grant Williams-husband, Danielle Williams-cheating wife, and Chris Donaldson-boyfriend.
Tony had been the first agent to enter the house. The local LEOs had been called. But Team Gibbs had been closer and was, therefore, the first to respond. The agents methodically entered the house and cleared it room by room. They called an all clear and converged on the crime scenes, which consisted of the bedroom and the living room. It appeared the gunny had killed the Danielle and Chris in the bedroom and had then went into the living room and had shot himself.
Tony was on photograph duty in the bedroom and had been taking pictures of several minutes when he started to hear small sounds. They were not consistent with the sounds he normally heard at other crime scenes they had been to.
“Boss?” Tony said as he drew his weapon and pointed to the closed bedroom door across from the master bedroom/crime scene.
Gibbs looked at Tony, puzzled for a moment, he then listened and nodded as he too heard the sounds and drew his weapon.
Gibbs opened the door and Tony stepped through. The room looked like one typical of a little 5 or 6 year old girl. The noise they realized was coming from the closet and sounded, now, like crying. It sounded like a little girl, crying, actually more than one.
Tony moved to the door and pulled the door open as they both stood clear. There was a sudden hush to the crying. Then there was shuffling, sounding like someone trying to move away from the door.
Gibbs knelt down to the girls’ level and spoke quietly and gently trying to coax them out of the closet. But it only took one look at Tony when he came around from behind the door and knelt down to get Nova to come out.
“Daddy!” Nova said through her tears as she tried to climb into Tony’s lap and throw her arms around his neck, still holding tight to a stuffed rabbit she had in her hand.
Tony was a little taken aback at first but recovered quickly. He took the little girl in his arms and hugged her tightly. “No sweetheart, I’m…my name is Tony.”
Bethany came out of the closet. “That’s not daddy, Nova.” She stood and stared at Tony for a moment. She nodded. “You look like daddy.” And indeed Tony had the same hair color and similar facial features. “But you’re too skinny.”
Tony laughed. He then smiled at Bethany. “So, this is Nova.” Tony said, indicating the little girl he had in his arms. “What is your name?”
Bethany smiled and nodded. “I’m Bethany. I’m seven. Nova’s six.” She showed Tony proudly by holding up the correct number of fingers each time. But it was difficult; she had to shift her stuffed dog from hand to hand.
Gibbs was forgotten in the background for a moment, and he was glad. He had been watching the interaction with fascination. He had no idea Tony was so good with children. He was a natural. These little girls seemed enamored by him and Tony took to them easily also.
“Well, Bethany, I’m Tony. It is very nice to meet you.” Tony said, flashing one of his winning smiles. It must work on little girls too, because she then put her arms around Tony’s neck and hugged him.
“DiNozzo charm?” Gibbs asked, smiling.
“Hey, I have no control.” Tony said, hugging the girls back. “Nova, Bethany, this is my boss, Jethro.”
“Hi, Jethro.” Bethany and Nova said in unison.
Bethany looked at Gibbs for a minute. “You got a weird name.”
Gibbs smiled at her. “A lot of people tell me that.”
By this time Tim and Kate had wondered where Tony and Gibbs were. They had each poked their heads into the room and were each amazed at the small bit of the interaction they saw between the girls and Tony. Ducky and Jimmy had also arrived and were taking care of the body in the living room. Gibbs needed to go out and talk to Ducky before he and Jimmy left with their cargo.
“Girls, Tony here is going to stay with you until for a little while. I’ll be back soon.” Gibbs said. The girls nodded and Gibbs left the room.
Story Notes:
Admittedly, it doesn't start off too nice. I promise it will end that way. At least that is the plan. ENJOY!
Author's Chapter Notes:
Team Gibbs learns of a few of Tony's hidden talents. A nice little Christmas story.
Chapter End Notes:
Admittedly, it doesn't start off too nice. I promise it will end that way. At least that is the plan. ENJOY!