Camp Le Jeune: July 1980

As Gibbs drove back to his new married quarters after a long day completing annual fitness quals, he wanted nothing more than to snuggle up close with his beautiful new red-headed wife, maybe soak in the tub, perhaps even treat himself to a bubble bath which Shannon had introduced him to only for him to pretend they weren't manly enough; he still took them but never let her know.

As he turned the final corner into his street his musing over the benefit of steam and suds on aching muscles was interrupted by something he caught just out of the corner of his eye.

Not being sure he had seen what he thought he had he driven on the final 300 feet to his driveway and parked his truck up. The thought of what he had seen was still playing on his mind; so much that he knew he'd never enjoy that soak in the tub unless he went back to check. It was probably nothing, maybe just a discarded jacket left by one of the neighbourhood kids but his gut was telling him different.

Turning away from that inviting front door, behind which waited his beautiful wife, he jogged back down the road. As he approached a small thorny bush close to the corner he could hear sniffling, the distinctive sound of a child crying. He slowed down and carefully moved closer. He didn't want to startle whoever was there.

Seeing a small child, dressed in a dirty, torn cub scout uniform, with sun-kissed olive skin and nursing a huge gash on his knee, he knelt down alongside him.

"Hey Kiddo, I'm Gibbs," he started his voice deliberately gentle and calming.

Despite the tone and the approach taken, the young boy literally jumped about a foot into the air. As he raised his face to take in this man, Gibbs was able to see salty traces of tearstains running down both of the kids' cheeks.

"Looks like you've hurt yourself there," commented the Marine, "will you let me take a look at your knee."

Sniffling loudly and rubbing his nose across the sleeve of his uniform, the kid simply nodded and moved his grubby hand from the area of the cut.

"How did you get this?" asked Gibbs, taking the small leg into his hands and examining more closely the gash.

"Fell over into the bush," cried the small boy wincing a little at the pain of his leg being moved.

"You hurting anywhere else?" Gibbs asked.

"I think I've hurt my ankle too," the sniffled response.

"Seems to me like you've been in the wars kiddo," commented Gibbs checking over the swollen ankle as he did and seeing the kid wince once again.

The kid nodded, "sorry about crying Sir, I'll try to stop."

"Hey no problem crying, why I've seen grown Marines hurt themselves far less than this and blubber like a little baby," laughed Gibbs, "and do you know what they all say?"

"No," said the little boy intrigued by this kind man.

"Well they say that crying is just the quickest way to let the pain out," replied Gibbs, "I'm guessing you are just doing the same."

"Er yeah I am," replied the boy attempting a smile, "I think I've nearly cried all the pain away now Sir, I should be going."

With that the boy tried to stand, only to fall against Gibbs who caught him easily in his strong arms.

"I think we need to get you fixed up first," said Gibbs, ruffling the boys hair, "how about you tell me your name?"

Shaking his head, the little boy tried once again to put weight on his busted ankle, but the pain only caused more tears to fall.

Wiping away the fresh tears from the grubby face in front of him Gibbs tried again, "well what say we compromise and I ask my wife who's a nurse to get that knee cleaned up and sort your ankle and then you get on your way?"

The boy nodded and with that Gibbs stood, lifting the kid into his arms and carried him home to Shannon.

As he pushed his way through the front door, he called out, "Hey Shan, I've brought a patient home for you to mend."

Entering the hallway, Shannon smiled at the small boy who clung to Gibbs neck and sniffled.

"Hi sweetheart I'm Shannon," she introduced herself, "what's your name?"

The boy simply shook his head.

Gibbs placed him down carefully onto the couch whilst Shannon got her med-kit. Kneeling in front of him she carefully removed his sneakers and socks passing them to Gibbs to place in the hall alongside his own boots. "Now I'm going to take a look at that cut first," she said, "we'll clean it all up and make it as good as new in no time and then we are going to fix that ankle."

"Thank you Ma'am," reply the boy taken in by her kindness. His father's medical practitioners were never this nice to him.

"Now whilst my husband runs me a bowl of hot water and gets me some towels How about I get you some cherry pie and whipped cream I have in the kitchen. It works like medicine, fixing you on the inside whilst I fix you on the outside," she suggested.

"That's my favourite pie ma'am but I can't pay you," he said dropping his head in shame.

"Who said there's any cost?" she asked and then whispered, "it will do me a favour if you stop my husband eating it all in one go and getting fat."

The boy giggled.

"Well that's better," she said, "I'll fetch the pie."

Returning with a large bowl of pie and a spoon she watched as the kid tucked in as if he hadn't eaten for days. As he wiped the sticky crumbs from around his mouth he spoke, "thank you that was delicious, ma'am."

"Glad you liked it," said Shannon, "it's my moms recipe."

Gibbs returned a few minutes later with a large bowl of warm water and watched as Shannon gently cleaned his leg and around the wound. "Well," she pronounced having cleaned and sutured the cut, "that'll mend well and we can have those stitches out in a week and you'll never know there was once a gash."

Turning to the ankle, she fetched an ice pack from the freezer and wrapped it in a towel and placed it on the sprain. "Now whilst that works it's magic we need to get you cleaned up young man."

"Yes Ma'am," answered the boy wondering just what the redheaded lady was going to propose.

"Right here's the plan," she said leaning in as if to whisper to him, "Gibbs can carry you upstairs and sit you on the counter in the bathroom, I'll get some of the bubble bath he thinks I don't know he's been using, we run lots of hot soapy water and I'll help you have a good wash."

Smiling at the thought that he and the nice lady had a plan together that no one else knew about the kid nodded eagerly.

Gibbs lifted him from the couch and carried him upstairs, noticing as he did how the kid held tightly to him. As they arrived in the bathroom the boy suddenly paled and tapping Gibbs on the shoulder asked, "Am I going to have to take all of my clothes off?"

Taking account of the nervousness in the boys question and features Gibbs thought quickly and replied, "well we need to get all of you clean and try and do something with your clothes, what if I help you out of your outer clothes and then I could pass you a towel to wrap around you and you take your underwear off, then no-one will see anything? Then once you are clean and dry and whilst we wait for your clothes to be fixed I can lend you some of my clothes."

When Shannon arrived in the bathroom she found a little boy cocooned in her fluffiest towel, his foot rest on the counter top with the icepack on top of it and a pile of his clothes at the side of him. Whilst she ran the hot soapy water and got sponges and shampoos ready, Gibbs took the clothes downstairs to see what he could do with them.

As he looked at the badges sewn carefully onto the shirt he noticed one had the name of a scout troop in the Hamptons, sewn inside the shirt and the shorts was a nametag, 'Tony DiNozzo Jnr.'

Picking up the phone Gibbs called base security. It transpired that there were a few visiting cub and scout groups visiting the base for a jamboree and one was missing a cub.