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Title: Home
By: nancy
Pairing: Tony/Gibbs
Fandom: NCIS
Rating: G
Series: 1) Recruitment, 2) Bonded, 3) That Fits The Crime
Note: All thanks to Kya, who came up with the original plot bunny of NCIS as a wolf pack!!
Summary: In an AU where shapeshifters exist. A new look at the guys' life together from a different point of view.

***

The day she met Silver Fur was easily been the worst day of her life. She'd been caught, trapped by a Big One and his snare, and dragged into the Bad Place that smelled of fear and death. Many of the others there were just as frightened as she, yelping and barking as they pleaded for one of the Big Ones to set them free. No one did, though. The puppies, at least, were safe in their own place up front, away from the smell of fire and death.

It seemed a very long time between being caught and meeting Silver Fur, but with no way to see outside, it was difficult to tell for sure. She'd just resigned herself to dying, knowing that her time would come soon, when he'd arrived. All the others felt the difference between Silver Fur and the other Big Ones. They could smell that his scent was wild, far wilder than any of them, too used to concrete playgrounds and being fed by the Big Ones.

Silver Fur was a hunter, and an Alpha, and they all knew it.

From that first day, she'd known that he would take her with him. She'd just sat patiently, quietly thumping her tail whenever he walked by, knowing that he heard her, even if he made no acknowledgment. He did his 'work' as the Big Ones repeated over and over, not really interacting with them. He didn't command them, as an Alpha should. It still confused her, but perhaps he'd not wanted to be Alpha of the Bad Place. That was what she ultimately decided, anyhow.

Then, finally, it had happened. He'd crouched outside of the grate caging her and stared right into her eyes. Their brightness had called to her and, unable to stop herself, she'd licked his face right through the metal. It had been a horrible taste, rusty and bad, but his taste had come through as well, and he tasted as wonderful as he smelled. A soft, warm laugh had echoed at her actions and he'd murmured something she couldn't understand, fingers reaching in to scratch beneath her chin and then behind her ears.

And that was that. He'd opened the door, put a leash onto her nearly-broken collar, and they'd walked out of the Bad Place to Home.

Home was filled with all kinds of smells and tastes and comfortable cushions and shoes that smelled too good not to chew on. There was a yard, even though she had to wear a new, unbreakable collar attached to a rope, and she could bark and run around in it as long as she wanted. There was delicious food, both Big Ones and crunchy, and her belly was fully for the first time in a long time.

He was loud, her Silver Fur, but it was all thunder and no lightening. She would go to her belly when he started yelling and just stare at the floor. Not two minutes later, he would sigh and scratch her behind the ears, saying something that didn't sound too upset. She learned to pick out 'Tony' a lot from his words and finally figured out what, or in this case who, it meant a few days after he brought her Home.

Gentle One, the Big One that Silver Fur called Tony, came Home a few days after she arrived there. He smelled even better than Silver Fur, though of course she didn't know that when Silver Fur left her in the Home to greet him. When they tumbled to the ground outside, she didn't know that it was love-play and so had started barking. It wasn't until she jumped up on the sofa to get a clearer view of them and saw them kissing, that she realized they were Mates.

The moment Gentle One came into the Home, she could smell how good and right he was. This was Silver Fur's mate and beta. It struck her as odd that both were males, but perhaps that was how the Wilder Kind did things. Or perhaps it was just love. Both, it seemed.

There was no doubt that Silver Fur doted on his Mate. They were noisy in their love-play for a long time after Gentle One came Home. For the first time, Silver Fur forgot to feed her, but she took care of herself. It was easy to nose open the tall, cold box that held such goodies as the Big Ones' food. Easier, really, than getting the box with her crunchy food open. So while she wasn't allowed into the big bed with Silver Fur and his mate, Gentle One, she contented herself with eating whatever she pleased.

Of course, Silver Fur was very loud about that the following day, but her belly hurt too much for her to really notice. That was when she named Gentle One, because he softly stroked her fur, talking quiet and soothing to her, while Silver Fur yelled and blustered. It only took a few gentle words from her new Big One to stop the thunder. Silver Fur had talked into the strange thing on the counter that she hadn't yet figured out and then Gentle One had scooped her into his strong arms and carried her to the 'car' thing.

The wind in her face helped her feel better, so when the car stopped at the Second Bad Place, she pulled and struggled to get free of the cursed leash. Then she threw up, just as Silver Fur joined them, knowing how much he loved his shoes clean. That didn't dissuade them either, though, and Gentle One simply picked her up again and brought her inside. He held her on his lap, touching and soothing her while Silver Fur talked to other Big Ones a short distance away.

It was then that she realized there was no smell of death, though the fear scent remained strong. There were puppies and kittens and hissing cats and strange birds who also smelled of wild places all waiting with their Big Ones, though for what, she didn't know. Her stomach hurt more and she threw up again, though this time she missed Silver Fur's shoes because he jumped out of the way at the last second. Gentle One laughed and soothed her some more.

She was placed on a strange device that beeped, then picked up again as though she would try to run, and brought into a smaller room with Silver Fur and Gentle One. Another Big One came into the room a long time later, too long given how loud Silver Fur was getting, and he poked and prodded her until she finally snapped at the new Big One.

Silver Fur instantly growled low in his throat and she whimpered, dropping to her stomach, knowing that he was truly displeased with that behavior. There was some amazed words from the Big One, and hasty words from Gentle One. The new Big One was more cautious in his handling of her, though he had no need to, since her Alpha had just verbally cut her legs out from under her.

Lesson One: Don't snap at Big Ones.

Lesson Two: Not while Silver Fur is around, at least.

Something was forced down her throat and a few seconds later, it felt like her entire stomach emptied into the bin placed under her snout. By the time she was done, her legs were shaky and she was exhausted. Gentle One soothed her through it and petted and whispered to her once it was over. There were some sharp pains in her rear and, though she yelped in pain, she didn't snap again. Another, strange smelling collar, was put under her real collar and she shook violently, trying to get it off to no avail.

It was shortly after that, that they were back in the car thing and heading home. She walked all over Gentle One to keep her nose at the window, welcoming the familiar smells as they got closer to Home. She wriggled and squirmed to get out of the car and back inside Home, anxious to curl up on the so-comfortable chair that Silver Fur always chased her out of. Gentle One accidentally let go and she took off, running for the sheer joy of it, her stomach back to normal. She led them both on a merry chase around the yard and finally just stopped at the front door, sitting and listening to them pant. She grinned at Gentle One, who couldn't seem to stop laughing.

Once inside, she immediately jumped onto the chair, looking up at Silver Fur with big eyes when he came over to chase her out of it. There was a sigh and some resigned words, to which Gentle One laughed very loudly, before Silver Fur wandered off. Gentle One ran a big, strong hand over her, petting her and whispering confidences that she wished she could understand.

When noises came from the Eating Room, Gentle One called out and got an irritated response from Silver Fur that caused him to chuckle and join his mate. A few minutes later, curiosity overrode her sense of victory for staying in the chair and she trotted into the Eating Room to see what was going on. Silver Fur was doing something to the tall, cold box that held the Big Ones' food and Gentle One was helping.

Well, if eating their food was going to make her sick and have to visit the Second Bad Place, she didn't want to be able to get into it anyhow. Gentle One started picking up the remains of her impromptu feast from the night before as Silver Fur continued whatever it was he was doing, so she returned to her chair and slept.

She woke to more noisy love-play when the sun had gone low in the sky and barked a few times in encouragement, not that they needed any. Gentle One sounded as needy as any female in her season and Silver Fur's possession of his mate was as strong and vital and dominant as any Alpha. It was a long time before Silver Fur padded out of their room, the one she wasn't allowed in anymore, and he pointed a finger at her, warning her sternly, probably to stay away from the tall, cold box.

Figuring that meant that he was going to feed her, she jumped off the chair and followed him happily into the Eating Room where, indeed, he poured some crunchy food in her bowl. Her bowl. It was so nice to know that it was a special thing, just for her. That her Big Ones already loved her that much. She licked his face in happiness when he brought the bowl down, and Silver Fur chuckled, scratching her ear until her back leg thumped on its own.

When she was done and had drunk her fill of sweet, clean water, Silver Fur put the rope on her and she bounded outside to relieve herself. She ran around for a few minutes before returning Home and trotting back inside to be petted and scratched affectionately by Silver Fur. Rolling onto her back prompted so incredibly wonderful belly scratches and her leg started thumping again. She was disappointed when he left after a few more minutes, but he wouldn't leave his mate alone for too long, which she understood.

Curling up on the chair shortly thereafter, content and happy in her new life, she slept.

***

Next story in series - Drowning.