Redefining The Future

Apologies and Assassins

Chapter 29 - Apologies and Assassins

"A-choo!"

"Bless you Tony," said Jenny, watching as the young boy grabbed a tissue from the bench.

Sneezing again, this time into the tissue, Tony grabbed another and blew his nose.

Standing up, Jenny went over to him and felt his forehead. It didn't feel overly hot although his cheeks were a little flushed.

"You feeling OK?" she asked, brushing the hair back from his face.

"Yeah, it's just a sneeze Mom," replied Tony, rolling his eyes at the attention.

"Two sneezes," reminded Jenny.

"Oh no!" exclaimed Tony. "Two sneezes! Better call an ambulance!"

"Don't be cheeky," scolded Jenny, trying not to laugh at the boy's antics. "You might be coming down with something."

"I'm fine," said Tony. "I just need some fresh air. Can we go to a park or something?"

"Yeah, can we?" added Ziva, who'd been sitting at the table watching the exchange between Tony and her Mom.

"Hey Abby!" called Tony. "See if you can find us a nearby park on your phone?"

Abby, who had been laid on the sofa since lunch time, was just about to reach into her pocket for her phone when she remembered Gibbs had it.

"Can't Tony," she called back. "Dad has my phone."

"Dad!" yelled Tony, heading over to the arm chair where Gibbs was slumped with his eyes closed.

"Tony, I'm just here, you don't have to yell," replied Gibbs, opening his eyes and focusing on his son.

"Sorry," said Tony quickly. Then, holding out his hand said, "Where's Abby's phone? She needs it to check where the nearest park is."

"Go and ask Tim," replied Gibbs. "Abby's not allowed her phone at the moment."

"Why?" asked Tony.

"Because she's grounded for two weeks and that means no electronic devices except in emergencies," explained Gibbs.

"Ew, that sucks!" exclaimed Tony.

Gibbs raised his eyebrows and looked sternly at Tony.

"Well, it does," defended Tony. "Who's gonna be our tour guide?"

"Tim is quite capable of taking over the job for a couple of weeks," pointed out Gibbs.

"Yeah, but Abby's so good at it," argued Tony.

"Tony," warned Gibbs. "Just leave it, OK?"

Sighing, Tony turned away and headed back to the kitchen table where Tim was already on his phone.

"Found anything yet?" asked Tony as he stood looking over Tim's shoulder.

"Well," began Tim. "The Botanic Gardens are just a five minute walk away."

"Yeah, but do they have a playground?" asked Tony.

"Not sure," mumbled Tim as he put all his focus into scrolling through the information.

Tony rolled his eyes and let out a frustrated sigh.

"See," he said to the room at large. "Abby would have found a great playground by now."

"Tony!" reprimanded Jenny.

Tony turned quickly to see the glare he was receiving and figured it would be in his best interest to sit down and keep quiet.