Little Lightning DiNozzo

First Year of School

The rest of the year passed by in a series of trials and learning for the small family unit. LEarning more about Harry and what he is comfortable with was a long process. Tony and Gibbs were patient and encouraging with Harry no matter how many times they were required to repeat something. They were still having some problems with Harry such as getting him to admit when he was hurting or needed the bathroom around strangers.

One of the first obstacles they encountered was getting Harry to try his best in school and actually get good grades. Apparently the Dursleys would discourage anything Harry did better than Dudley like when he learnt the alphabet first or learned to read simple words first. Harry had been conditioned by the abuse to not try his hardest and not be the best. Tony ended up creating a reward system for the first year, that he would later continue, where Harry would get a small prize for good grades and when he got mostly good grades for the year he would win a large prize. He was able to pick the prize.

Tony used a similar system with potty training because he found it was effective. Harry was really only having accidents now during the night occasionally and in public where he is around strangers. It took him two months to be comfortable telling his teacher that he needed to use the bathroom but he was rewarded for his achievement with a group movie night of his choice. He made strives with trying new foods and slowly making decisions like picking what to wear on his own.

They had also found out that he is allergic to strawberries after a panic filled day of school. They introduced healthy snack options where it was discovered that Harry broke out in hives and started to have some trouble breathing after he had some strawberries. He wasn't going to tell his teacher until his friend Mudj told her. It ended with a trip to the hospital, allergy testing and being given EpiPen's to have. They had one in Harry's emergency bag, one at the school nurse, one in his backpack and Tony and Gibbs each carry one in their personal go bags. They also had one at home along with a breathing treatment nebulizer that Tony already had after the plague incident.

Harry's friendships grew as most children do. He became very close with Mudj after the strawberry incident. After that his friends all made sure their snacks did not have any strawberries so they could all share. Tony had gotten used to working with Bishop and Tim creating a stronger team with Gibbs as the lead.

Tony's own magic studies increased drastically after he was able to master the art of organizing his mind. He was able to retain information much faster and his tutor was always enthusiastic about teaching. He was picking up charms and runes extremely fast. He was able to create some protective amulets for himself, Harry, Jethro, Ducky, Breena, and the Vance family. Most of the people who know about Harry and protect him. He even found a love of potions and regularly talked with Potion Master Severus Snape, who was known for his innovative potions and being the youngest potion master. His tutor had gotten them in touch when he started asking about potions for protection to combine with the runes on the amulets.

Tim ended up finding out about Harry the day of the strawberry incident. Tony got the call at a crime scene where he had to leave to rush to the hospital. He was talking pictures and just shoved the camera at Tim and ran to the car. He called Gibbs on his way to explain what happened. When he got back to the office a couple days later Tim cornered him to ask if he was okay. He said he heard Tony ask about the hospital before he left and wanted to make sure he was doing okay. Tony told Tim the truth, that his son had an allergic reaction and he had to run to the hospital. Tony invited Tim to a bar after work to talk more before finally introducing them a few days later.

Surprisingly Tim was able to bond with Harry over teaching Harry how to use a computer. Tony was glad that Harry had gained another supporter and Tim had taught Tony and Gibbs how to protect their home computer from Harry being able to access sites he should not. He helped set up a secure server so that they did not have to worry about any cyber attacks as well.

Harry has also joined the local soccer team for kids his age with his friend Baxter and Mudj. He had quickly shown that he loved it and seemed to be good for his age. Of course that was a bit hard to tell as this age group is just children all running around chasing the ball with no organization. It was a great way to get his energy out and get him used to running around. Sports seemed to allow Harry to come out of his shell more, especially when the coach or other parents compliment him.

Tony and Gibbs relationship had progressed as well. It was still unspoked and undefined but there was more casual touching and sitting close enough to touch. Even a couple of times they fell asleep talking in the same place late at night. Tony was working up the nerve to kiss Jethro but kept backing out. Little did he know that Jethro had the same thought process.

They ended the year with a trip to the beach house in Harry's name on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. They took a week off in order to celebrate a successful first year of school and to destress from classes and work. They spent the whole time on the beach and shopping. They found an inflatable water park that they decided to spend the rest of the day there. After spending the first couple days teaching Harry the basics of swimming they made sure he had his floaties with him. The day was spent with laughter and fun.

That night after tucking Harry in for bed Tony went to Gibbs room. He was him getting dress in his low hung sweat pants and old NIS t-shirt. He walked up behind Jethro and hugged him from behind. They stood like that for a few minutes until they both went to sit on the bed.

"Tony I need to know what you're thinking" Jethro said sitting down facing Tony on the bed.

"I have liked you for a long time, Jet. Seeing the way you are with Harry and letting me crash at your place has only made me fall harder." Tony said, looking down at the blue comforter to try and avoid Gibbs gaze.

"I have liked you for a while too, but you know me. I'm no good at relationships and I don't wanna hurt ya or Harry." Jethro said grabbing Tony's hand to hold.

"Harry loves you and so do I Jet. I really want to try but rule 12 boss" Tony said, rubbing his thumb in Gibbs hand. "Plus with your ex's I play a different role. I am not being used to try and recreate what you had with Shannon. It is okay to still love her and love me as well boss"

"Know you're not Tony. I do love you but I am scared okay. Also rules always have exceptions. You don't let it effect our work. Inside the office, nothing changes and I appreciate that about you."

"It is okay to be scared. I am too but Jet we can be happy if we let ourselves be." Tony said.

"Okay but," Tony cut off Jethro by grabbing his face and kissing him. They sat for a while talking and sharing occasional kisses. As they laid down to sleep for the night they ended up cuddling.

Around 2:15 in the morning Harry came into the room looking for his Daddy after he had an accident and couldn't find the extra pull-ups. He found his Daddy and Papa in bed together sleeping. His Pape was closest to him. He walked over and pushed his arm to try and wake him up. Gibbs woke and rolled over waiting for his eyes to adjust to the dark. He saw Harry standing there with his blanket.

"Hey little man, you okay?" He asked after his eyes adjusted fully.

"Um, I had an accident and I cant find my pull-ups, '' Harry said, wiping the sleep from his eyes. Gibbs sat up slowly to not wake Tony. Harry had been having accidents every night because he was scared to sleep alone away from home. He had been crawling into Tony's bed every night this week so far.

"Let's go look, little man. You may have run out and if you did that is okay. We can pick some up in the morning, okay?" Gibbs said, holding out his hand. He felt the little one slip into his and he walked down the hall to the bathroom. There was no more so they got a pair of boxer briefs out for him. After a quick wipe down with the baby wipes they got him dressed again. "How about we try and go potty again before we go back to sleep okay?" Gibbs said, grabbing the stool to put in front of the toilet. He turned when Harry sat on the toilet and put away the wipes.

He heard Harry was able to go a little, which was good because he didn't want to see the kid crushed if he had another accident tonight without the pull-ups. While Harry was washing his hands he decided to go as well since he was already there. He stood in front of the toilet to relieve himself. He finished up and washed his own hands. He grabbed Harry's tiny hand and went back to the room together. He got Harry settled between him and Tony to sleep for the night. The last thing he heard before he fell asleep was a little "goodnight papa" from Harry.