*****
Prologue
*****

The Pulse... So that's what they were calling it now. Logical really. Its effects were so devastating that survival was the only thing on most people's minds these days.

Inevitably the world wondered who did it, and more importantly, why? The conspiracy theorists were having a field day and who could blame them? Only one fact was known for sure. On October 21st 2008, at precisely 3.17p.m., there was a blast of light in the sky that changed everything...

Tony shivered at the memory and reached out towards Gibbs; his touch reassuring the younger man like nothing else could. It still surprised Tony how good they were together, even months after that awful day. They had only survived because of their trust in each other. Trust that had become something else entirely....

But Tony needed more from Gibbs tonight than just touching. He needed to go to that place where there was no separation between them in mind or body. He needed to *join* with Gibbs in the closest way possible. To mindlink with the man who had become his lover.

It was a level of intimacy Gibbs allowed no-one else.

Tony was the only one he trusted enough to join minds with, and in turn, Gibbs was the only one who understood him. They had started out fighting for their sanity and ended up in a relationship. And now Tony knew that when the dark precog visions threatened to swallow him, Gibbs would be there to lend him his strength. His love.

How else could they have survived the end of the world as they knew it.

*****
1. The coming of the pulse
*****

There was absolutely no warning beforehand. None at all. Tony DiNozzo was riding in the passenger seat of Gibbs' car, driving down the road on the way to Bethesda from a crime scene, when the world changed. Somewhere, high above in the atmosphere, where the air was so thin and rarefied it was indistinguishable from space to all but scientists, the psi-device exploded.

Where it came from would later be the source of endless debate. Some authorities claimed it was alien. Others said it was invented by a geek from MIT who had discovered a way to tunnel into another dimension. The conspiracy theorists - and there were many of these - suggested that it was something the Russian Mob had sold to terrorists, which they'd found in a bunker after the fall of the Soviet Union. Part of a UFO which had crashed in Tunguska in 1906.

Who knew? Not that it mattered. The world had been changed forever.

Ten miles above the Eastern seaboard of the United States, there was a soundless, brilliant flash of omicron radiation, brighter than the sun. All electronics within six hundred miles of the epicentre were instantly fried, including several crucial power stations. As a result, most of the power supplies of the Eastern United States and Canada failed. The effects on millions of unshielded humans exposed to the radiation were just as devastating.

The epicentre of the blast was somewhere high over West Virginia, close to where the two agents were driving. The radiation levels there were particularly intense. Tony barely had time to yell in alarm and fling his hands in front of his face as his eyes were dazzled by the intense light. Then the blast wave of omicron radiation hit and a wall of pain slammed into his head.

*****

Abstract - Journal of Physics, May 2009
We theorise that the explosion which occurred on October 21st 2008 produced a rare form of electromagnetic radiation which we are calling Omicron Radiation. The nature of the radiation was such that we believe it had a dimensional element; that is to say, it reached into another dimension, ripping it open. The effects of both the explosion itself and the space-time instability it caused had devastating effects on the Washington area.

All electrical devices within approximately 600 miles of the epicentre failed. More seriously however, within the blast zone a measurable, potentially lethal disruption occurred to the electrical activity within the brains of all unshielded individuals within minutes of exposure to the omicron radiation.

Other biological effects may be significant in the longer term, particularly on a genetic level.

*****

His head hurt. No, that was inaccurate. Where his head used to be, there was a white hot, raw wound that was at the bottom of an abyss of pain. Tony could hear someone making a pathetic whimpering noise, and he dimly knew that he was making that sound. He knew too, that he was badly injured; healthy people didn't feel this way. Healthy people didn't sound like that.

He needed to open his eyes.

It felt like something had sliced into his skull and pulled out part of his brain. Maybe it had. There was a terrible emptiness where part of his mind had been, raw and bleeding round the edges. A place where mental and physical pain seemed to centre itself.

With a moan, Tony opened his eyes.

Whiteness disoriented him, made his head spin. He closed his eyes until the dizziness eased. He felt a hand pressed against his forehead, and he moaned softly, leaning gratefully into the soothing touch.

"Don't try to move." Tony forced his eyes open again. The whiteness resolved itself into Gibbs' shirt. Tony realised that he was lying on his back on the ground, with what felt like Gibbs' jacket rolled up under his head. Gibbs was kneeling beside him.

"Boss?" He could hear his voice slurring strangely. He forced himself to focus. "...Head hurts..."

"We crashed. Do you remember, Tony?"

He tried to shake his head, almost instantly realising his mistake as pain stabbed through him, radiating from a place centring on his forehead. He whimpered.

"Don't try to move. I think you hit your head."

No. He hadn't. He tried to explain to Gibbs but the words wouldn't seem to form in his mouth. It was the light that had hurt him, not the crash...

"The car died and the steering locked, then we ran off the road," Gibbs said with a scowl. "Some kind of airburst weapon I think, maybe even a nuke?" He frowned. Only long familiarity with his boss clued Tony in to the fact that Gibbs was seriously worried by something he wasn't telling Tony.

"What else, boss?" he managed finally to mumble a question. The small twitch of Gibbs lips told Tony that the boss recognised how sharp Tony's perception was, even now, and approved of it.

"The car electrics and our cell-phones are fried," Gibbs acknowledged. "And we're stuck in the middle of nowhere." Gibbs had been driving fast along a back country dirt road, on one of his alleged shortcuts, when the light had exploded in the sky.

"And...?" Tony prompted.

"You need a hospital Tony." Gibbs spoke the words gently. That alone clued Tony in to the seriousness of their situation. The younger man shivered. He must look really bad for Gibbs to sound like that. Considerate...

The pain in his head was unlike anything he had ever felt before - like his head was trapped in a vice.

Something hot and wet began to flow from his nose.

Dully, he reached up to rub at his face; he could feel something wet and sticky running down his chin. His fingers came away red. There was a coppery taste in his mouth. Blackness crowded at the edge of his vision, threatening to sweep him away.

"You're bleeding!" Then, "Oh shit..." Gibbs sounded surprised. Tony tried to focus on his boss. Something was very wrong here; Gibbs never lost his cool. Even as Tony watched, he saw a trickle of red thread its way from Gibbs' right nostril. His boss raised a hand and swiped at his nose, then stared uncomprehendingly at the sight of his own fresh blood.

No. That was just impossible. Gibbs never got ill.

"Not a nuke," Tony whispered. "Something worse..." The blackness that had been pushing at the fringes of his thoughts rose up and swallowed him. And because it meant an absence of pain, he let it.

******

Leroy Jethro Gibbs was in trouble, and he knew it. He stared at at the pathetically crumpled form of DiNozzo, his face deathly pale and a thin trickle of blood from his nose... They had been exposed to an unknown weapon and he realised that it was starting to affect them. The effects on Tony had been immediate and devastating, and Gibbs had initially hoped that he had escaped the worst of its effects.

He wasn't fooled though. The fact that he too had started bleeding from his nostrils told him that he was in deep shit. He could already feel his head starting to ache and he felt dizzy. They were miles from any settlement and their car was dead. Gibbs knew that he needed to find a safe place to hole up. Preferably somewhere warm and sheltered. To stay here and get sick was to die.

Memory kicked in. A few years ago, he had worked a case in the hills near here, and he remembered a group of cabins strung out along the ridgeline, not too far away. No more than half a mile or so. If he could get DiNozzo there...

The younger man was deeply unconscious and even if he came round again soon, he wasn't capable of walking. Six weeks ago, the young agent had been within hours of death, his body infected by plague; this new bio-weapon, whatever it was, had hit him particularly hard. And abandoning the young agent was never an option, no matter what happened next. With a grimace, Gibbs forced himself to ignore his aching head, hefted Tony's limp body in a fireman's lift and headed uphill.

*****

Later...
The next time Tony woke to consciousness, he immediately wished for oblivion again. The pain in his head was a thousand times worse than it had been before - a white hot agony that made him sob aloud helplessly. He felt as if someone was hammering a spike into the centre of his forehead. He was also desperately thirsty. Part of him just wanted to stay where he was, but a tiny, stubborn part of him wouldn't let him give up so easily.

The last time he had opened his eyes, there had been light; now there was semi-darkness. It was much later in the day, much cooler and probably close to dusk. His eyes gradually made out the wooden beams of a ceiling above him. He was lying on his back, indoors, probably on the floor, judging from the smooth, hard surface he could feel beneath him.

He processed that information for a long while. To be honest, it surprised him that he could even string two thoughts together, but needs must.

Gibbs had brought him somewhere, God knows how. The man was a powerhouse of strength and reliability. Of course he had helped Tony. Especially after losing Kate so recently...

But where was his boss? That was what was wrong. Gibbs wouldn't just leave him; it was as certain as the fact that the sun would rise in the east not the West. Tony's trust in Gibbs was absolute.

Tony whimpered softly. He knew how much it was going to hurt, but he had to turn his head and look around him. More specifically, to his left, where he could hear something odd.

It did hurt - more than he had thought possible - but Tony made himself look towards the noise anyway. What he saw made him moan, and he forced his body to clumsily turn towards the sound, his movements hopelessly uncoordinated. His limbs seemed to have turned to lead.

The world greyed out for a while then came back into focus.

Gibbs lay crumpled on his side, a couple of feet away from Tony on the cabin floor, unconscious, his body wracked uncontrollably with great shivers. Blood was flowing freely from his nose, just as it had from Tony's, earlier.

Gibbs must have known they were going to get sick and found them a bolthole. He had done well; this cabin was far from a dusty old hovel. In fact, it looked as though this place was some rich man's private hideaway. Polished oak wood floors, covered with expensive rugs; original artwork on the walls. Tony knew expensive when he saw it. Not that they were any less fucked.

Lying on the floor beside his boss was a big bottle of Gatorade, lying on its side. Tony fumblingly grabbed it and fumbled at the top for an age, then drank gratefully, trying to ignore the way his hands violently shook and the white hot stabbing pains in his head. It took all of his strength just to do that small task. Gibbs must have found it here, which probably meant the place was well stocked. Apparently he had been searching the place for provisions when he had finally collapsed.

Maybe they had a chance. But the way Gibbs kept on shivering like that was more worrying...

With the last of his strength, Tony edged closer to Gibbs, until he was lying close to his boss, and he put his arms round the older man, holding onto him. It just seemed the right thing to do, to try and keep them both warm. Gibbs moaned, but didn't wake. After a few minutes though, his shivers seemed to ease a little, as the heat of Tony's body warmed him. Tony tightened his grip, trying to convey to the other man that he wasn't alone. And at least he could feel that Gibbs was still alive. If he had been dead... After what had happened to Kate, and his own near death experience with the plague... Just knowing Gibbs was there helped Tony. They were in this together. But the effort took the last of his strength and sent him spinning back down into the darkness.

His last coherent thought was that this was the closest he had ever been to his boss; they were both going to be really embarrassed about this later. If there was a later.

****

There was a warmth against his right side, which was a good thing, because Gibbs couldn't seem to stop shaking; he felt so cold, though the day was in fact fairly warm. Indian Summer...

He couldn't seem to think straight.

The pain in his head was a constant, red-hot misery that never seemed to end. That was the worst of it. No rest from the unrelenting pain. And the way he kept fading in and out of consciousness; it had been daylight, and now it must be way past midnight, the moon full and illuminating the interior of the cabin with a ghostly light...

He sensed movement close to him and focussed on its source. Tony's green eyes were a few inches away from his, filled with torment.

"It hurts so much," Tony whispered, his expression not entirely sane. Gibbs realised that Tony was holding on to him tightly. It was hard to focus - his vision kept shifting impossibly so that objects advanced and receded impossibly. Sometimes, he caught glimpses of otherness - dizzying alien colours and perspectives, as if he were looking through a door into another world. There was only one constant. Tony DiNozzo's warmth against his side as the young man clung to him, a physical anchor in a world of chaos.

Most of the time, the young agent seemed to be a short distance away from him, but sometimes he was far away, like he was at the bottom of a well. Yet always, he seemed more real than the objects in the room around them. More solid and alive...

The younger man whimpered. "I feel like I'm falling." Gibbs could feel fine tremors shaking Tony's body. Not feverish, like Gibbs. More like small shivers were racking the young agent's body every few minutes. Whatever the explosion of light was, it had affected each man differently.

Gibbs pulled Tony closer, holding on to him tightly, trying to ignore the swirling dizziness. Contact with DiNozzo seemed to steady things slightly - the world was spinning around him sickeningly. Perhaps the younger man needed Gibbs too. He clutched at the older man and pressed closer with a tiny whimper.

For the first time, Gibbs realised that they might die of this, and the thought hurt more than he had ever thought possible. He had lost his wife and daughter. He had watched Tony fight for his life as plague turned his lungs to crap. He had stood by while an assassin had shot Kate, her brains blown out in front of him, only weeks before. Blood-spray splattering across the rooftop... Then Paula Cassidy had been kidnapped by a serial killer and had nearly died...

Everything in his life turned to ashes. Now Tony's life was once again in the balance...

*..can't hold on..*

DiNozzo's fingers released their tight grip on his arm. The younger man's face had lost all of its colour; he looked like death...

Not while Gibbs had the strength to fight for him! He wouldn't let it happen. Not while he had breath left in his body. Gibbs reached out and put his hands gently, either side of Tony's face.

"Look at me, Tony." Green eyes focussed unsteadily on his face. "You aren't going to die. Do you hear me? That's an order!"

"Help me..." Tony whispered. "Boss... Please..."

He could almost see the light dying in those green eyes. Then the younger man's eyes slid shut. Terror blossomed in Gibb's feverish mind, irrational and overwhelming.

"No!" he yelled. "Fight it! You hear me!" Then in desperation, "Don't leave me, Tony!"

Even as he screamed at Tony, pain stabbed through his head, white hot and intense, like a needle lancing into his forehead, and he howled, helpless to stop the convulsion that wracked his body. Something in his mind seemed to crack wide open. He was dimly aware of pitching forward, his forehead colliding with Tony's shoulder, but that wasn't what caught his attention. It was as if there was another part of him, long dormant and unguessed at, which was suddenly free to stretch out and expand. This new part of him reached desperately towards Tony, instinctively protective, oddly detached from the pain. He felt life stir and moved closer still.

*Contact*

A rush of emotion and a confusion of images pouring into his mind, suffused with a distinct *flavour* of DiNozzo. That was the only way Gibbs knew to describe the experience as it overwhelmed him. All that Tony was, pouring into him and through him and over him, filling him up, not just in that pain filled place, but through the whole of his being.

He hadn't known that there was such an emptiness inside him until Tony was suddenly there, filling his mind and soul.

Not dead! The relief that filled him was overwhelming. Tony was alive. Distant though, and so weak.

He called out his young subordinate's name, though he would never afterwards know whether he used his mind alone or spoke aloud.

*Boss?*

He felt something wake in DiNozzo, just as it had in his own mind. That same new perception. Then the younger man's astonishment washed over him, followed by a desperate hope.

*Hold onto me*

He felt Tony reach out towards him with that strange new awareness that he too seemed to possess. Their minds tangled together, and he *felt* his strength flood through the young agent.

It was like a key fitting into a lock, or maybe two fabulously complicated jigsaw pieces snapping together. An experience that couldn't be described accurately except perhaps by metaphor. And in that moment of joining, he saw all that Tony was; a curious mix of joys and insecurities. A desperate need for approval, and a surprisingly deep well of loneliness, comparable to his own. He knew that the younger man saw him just as clearly. There was no way to hide from each other; there were no barriers left between them in this place.

He had never let anyone else see so much of himself. He felt raw and open and exposed. Tony could see everything he was. Even that defining moment of his life - the terrible trauma of his family's loss. And the scarred, cold-blooded bastard he had become in the years since then. Justice without mercy.

*No* Tony's voice inside his head, filled with compassion, becoming stronger by the moment as he drew on Gibbs' strength. *Don't judge yourself so harshly, Boss* A feeling of warmth and acceptance came flooding from the young agent. Feedback. His strength boosting and reinforcing Gibbs in return. What the touch of Tony's mind did to him, he couldn't tell, except that *two* were stronger than one alone. They supported each other, so that neither of them fell further into darkness.

Part of him wanted to close off the link. To pull away from the too-welcoming, too intimate presence of the younger man's mind. If he hadn't trusted Tony absolutely, then the intimacy would have been intolerable. As it was, Tony's presence seemed to fill up that emptiness in his mind that he hadn't known existed. Lighting up the shadowy corners of his mind. He could feel the younger man's mind-touch more clearly from one moment to the next, as if familiarity with each other made it easier to link to Tony.

He could no longer tell where the boundary between them was. He didn't care though. Tony no longer looked or felt as if he was dying, and that was all that mattered.

*Hey boss! My head doesn't hurt any more!*

Curiously, Gibbs realised, his pain was gone too, though he still felt as weak as a kitten, and dizzy with fever. The world seemed to have stopped its crazy rollercoaster motion. It felt unexpectedly good, just to lie there without pain. Not that he had the energy to move an inch at the moment. He had given everything he had to Tony - every bit of strength he possessed - and he could still feel that strange part of his mind wrapped around the younger man, supporting and sustaining him.

There was no separation between them. He knew instinctively that if Tony were to die, they would go together, because he didn't know how to break the link between them. Which was unthinkable, because being joined to Tony made him feel complete. Like he had found the other half of himself.

The absurd thought occurred to him that the reason his head had stopped hurting was that the hole torn in his mind by the explosion of light had been filled in some way by Tony. But that was just crazy, wasn't it? Crazier still was the idea that there was no way they could ever separate again without tearing their minds apart.

For a long time afterwards, he watched over Tony, instinctively safeguarding him. Needing to know Tony was safe. Feeling Tony's awe at the older man's protectiveness. The depth of his care. He could feel Tony's wonder in their link as if it was his own. The strangeness of it all. He tried not to think about how good it felt not to be *alone* any more.

Eventually, they slept, exhausted, minds still tangled together.

*****

When he woke, Gibbs lay still, revelling once more in the relative absence of pain. The faint light filtering into the cabin told him that it was near dawn. Though his head still ached, it wasn't the agonising pain he had felt earlier, though he knew he was still sick. He felt feverish, which lent an air of unreality to recent events. He had slept for hours, and if he had dreamed, he couldn't remember it. Tony was curled up next to him, a warm presence snuggled in against his side, which on one level, was just a little disturbing. Not that he could have got much more intimate with DiNozzo, considering they could hear each others' innermost thoughts. But still.

The younger man sighed and Gibbs felt his companion's mind stirring slowly into wakefulness. The link was still there. He should have been more disturbed by it, but there was a rightness to it that he couldn't explain.

*Mmmm. Boss* Tony's voice was a lazy drawl inside his head. Then as the younger man woke fully, Gibbs felt Tony's awareness of him return.

*Oh!*

"Yeah. I know." Somehow, speaking out loud lessened the intimacy a little. Made it easier to cope with. Mostly.

"Telepathy..." Tony said slowly. "I guess this one isn't down to Al Qaeda then." A crooked grin. "You believe in aliens, boss?"

Gibbs shivered. A door had been opened in his mind, but frankly, he couldn't imagine how or why it had happened, let alone who had done it.

"If you'd asked me that two days ago, I would have smacked your head," he said. "But now... I don't know any more."

He tried to ignore the nameless apprehension that had filled him at the thought of unknown forces ranged against them. His protective instincts had flared at the idea, and he heard Tony gasp as Gibbs' mind flowed around him; a watchful guardian presence. The strength of his own reaction embarrassed him, and Gibbs sought refuge in distraction.

"You think if we help each other, we can make it to somewhere more comfortable than the floor?" he asked. "Starting with the damn bathroom."

"Easier said than done, Boss." Tony gave a wry half-grin. "I think I can just about crawl, but standing is definitely not going to happen."

*****

Waking up had been weird this morning. The realisation that their minds were still entwined had stunned Tony. Last night seemed a horrible dream in which he had hovered on the brink of death, until Gibbs rescued him. And somehow, they had slid into each other's minds!

Gibbs' mind was still tangled up in his. He now knew more about his boss than ever before, and Gibbs knew him on a similarly intimate level.

The mind of Leroy Jethro Gibbs wasn't what he had expected. For instance, Tony could never have dreamed that Gibbs would feel so strongly protective of him. He liked it. All his life, he had been looking for the kind of acceptance Gibbs offered him now, tinged with respect and just a trace of need. The older man tried not to show it, but there was a desolate loneliness in him that Tony had never suspected, that welcomed his connection to the younger man. In the end, that, above all, was what Tony responded to.

They were both trying to ignore the things that they were discovering about each other. The intimacy was just too much to cope with, unless they tried to distance themselves from it. Tony knew that he could have lost himself in the mind of Jethro Gibbs, if he had wanted to. Exactly that. Losing himself in sensory overload. He could feel his identity fraying at the edges, when he could feel everything that Gibbs felt, from the slight tickle in his nostrils that threatened to develop into a sneeze, to the dull ache in Gibbs' knee, sign of his earlier exertions in getting to the cabin. It was hard to separate what was input from Gibbs from what was happening to his own body. Tony was in control right now. Just.

He had more immediate problems though. Though he felt much stronger, the same couldn't be said of Gibbs. Where their bodies were pressed together, he could feel that Gibbs was too hot, and the older man's shivering had returned. The effort the two of them had made to get to the bathroom, then one of the bedrooms had exhausted the older man. His strength had given out, just short of the bed. Hardly surprising, since he had dragged or carried Tony to the cabin from the car even as his own body had started to react to the blast of light.

Tony managed to roll Gibbs onto the mattress, and then he had lain next to the older man, shuddering in the aftermath of great physical effort. He knew that he too was sick, and not just from the confused images that the older man was sending into his mind as his fever increased. He leaned against Gibbs, just glad that he could rest for a moment. Contact with the other man steadied him somehow. Grounded him.

*Got your back, boss*

*I never doubted it, Tony. I never have*

Tony felt a warm flush of pleasure and joy. Praise from Gibbs had always meant a lot. He saw the older man smile; they were completely open to each other's feelings and Tony knew that even if he had wanted to, he couldn't have hidden his reaction. He was like an open book to Gibbs. Which was unfortunate, because he was beginning to worry about the older man's fever. He rested for a while, gathering his strength. It concerned him that despite their link, the normally sharp Gibbs didn't ask him what he was planning. In fact, his mind-touch felt duller, more sluggish than it had before.

Gibbs soon slipped into an uneasy doze.

With a sigh, Tony slid off the bed and onto the floor, beginning the long, long crawl (of about twenty feet) to the bathroom cabinet, where he guessed the household medical supplies were stored. It took him over twenty minutes and several time-out moments, to force his weakened body towards his goal. When he finally reached it, he stared in despair at the cabinet door, an impossible five feet above him.

He had tried to stand earlier, and hadn't made it past his knees. Even then, the swirling dizziness and nausea that had assailed him had discouraged further experimentation. Well actually, he had puked his guts out. His head was beginning to ache again and he felt close to exhaustion. He glared at the door. Maybe if he threw something at it...

With a click, the door swung open by itself.

Tony stared for a long time, before his brain finally caught up with his eyes. He had already done at least two impossible things today - telepathy and the very much more daunting achievement of cuddling Gibbs. Why should psychokinesis be any more extraordinary than the rest of his achievements? He wouldn't have tried it if he had been completely sane at that point. Or possibly the edge of fever colouring his thoughts, echoing from Gibbs, affected his judgement. For whatever reason, he decided to try something crazy, mad and stupid.

He could see exactly what he wanted inside the cabinet; bottles and packets of assorted drugs. Hesitantly, he stared at a bottle of Tylenol. How had Carrie done it in that film?

*move*

It wobbled. Tony grinned through his shock, and tried again.

*MOVE!*

With a crash, the whole cabinet jerked off the wall and went flying across the room, smashing into the wall opposite. Pieces of wood and bottles rained down on Tony as he covered his head protectively. Okay, so that had been overkill. But this new ability definitely had big potential.

Pain unexpectedly stabbed through his head and he felt the familiar hot trickle of blood from his left nostril.

Well, maybe the movie he should be thinking of was Firestarter. Wasn't that the one where the guy gave himself nosebleeds when he used his psychic powers?

Tony stuffed as many bottles of pills as he could carry into his pockets and inside his shirt, and began the long, tiring crawl back to Gibbs. His headache was excruciating by the time he finally reached the older man's side. He swallowed a couple of Tylenol down himself, in the faint hope that they would ease his head, then gently shook Gibbs awake.

The older man stared dully at him.

*Your head hurts*

Tony sorted through his prizes until he found something that promised that it had fever reduction properties.

"It's not important boss. You need to take this. It'll help your fever."

Gibbs' lips curved briefly.

"Playing nursemaid, Tony?" He swallowed the pills with a grimace.

"Just call me Nurse Carrie." Tony grinned at Gibbs' puzzled expression. "Sorry boss. Guess you haven't seen that movie."

*Don't watch porn...* The older man murmured confusedly.

He felt Gibbs' mind slip back into uneasy sleep. Shivering with apprehension, Tony laid his aching head next to Gibbs' and tried to rest. He tried not to think about the kind of enemies who could blast open the secret places of their minds and cause them so much pain. And why?

******
End of part 1

2. Aftermath
*****
A week later...

*It must be really bad, in the city...* Tony's thought touched him. *There must be thousands of people sick*

*Or worse*

Gibbs frowned. The moment that he had thought of D.C. he had become aware of an unpleasant, dark cloud at the fringes of his consciousness. Part of this strange new perception he possessed. He *knew* that he was *feeling* the city. The pain and madness of its inhabitants. With a shiver, he pushed the feeling away, and felt the warmth of Tony's mind once more surround him.

*Wow! You can sense them, can't you?* Tony's wonder washed over him. The young man's enthusiasm reminded Gibbs of a puppy bouncing around, wagging its tail, running circles round him. He should find it irritating, but then, he had always liked dogs.

Neither of them would be running anywhere for a while. Hanging onto each other - which Gibbs found more than a little humiliating - they could, at best, manage a drunken stagger to the kitchen or porch. Fortunately, this place was well-stocked, with enough food and supplies to feed a battleship. Not to mention the joys of the rich guy's wardrobe, which had given Tony hours of pleasure, mostly in expressive insults and inventive criticism. A few days ago Tony had decided to raid the guy's wardrobe in search of cleaner clothes.

The guy must be an asshole - who the hell brought suits to a cabin. And as for the colourful sweaters... Gibbs swore that if he ever met the guy, it would be a toss up to decide whether to thank the guy for the use of his cabin or just slap him silly. Tony was however, (incomprehensibly, in Gibbs' opinion) deliriously happy with the Hawaiian shirts.

At least neither of them were desperately sick now. Gibbs' memories of the last week were distinctly hazy in places. He guessed that he had been out of his mind with fever for at least some of that time because all he could recall were a series of disjointed images...

Tony's face above him as he burned with fever heat; the younger man's expression worried as he wiped Gibbs' face with something blissfully cool...

Clinging to Dinozzo, whimpering, as his head ached unbearably. Feeling Tony's hands gently stroking his forehead, trying to soothe him, his own young face pale and wan, obviously sick himself...

Out of his head, fighting to get out of the bed while Tony tried to hold him down, screaming at the younger man that he had to catch a killer and where was the damned car because if he didn't get his ass in gear, he was going to be looking for a job...

Blood trickling from Tony's right nostril, as he held a cup of water to Gibbs' lips. Drinking with desperate thirst. Shaking so much that most of it spilled...

Shivering with cold, despite the fact that the younger man had somehow built a roaring fire, and he had wrapped Gibbs in five layers of blankets...

Tony had saved his life, at no small cost to himself. The young agent looked ten years older, and he moved like an old man, painfully slow, shuffling unsteadily around the cabin in those few rare moments when he could stand unaided. Gibbs had felt the edge of pain *echoing* from DiNozzo's aching head more than once over the past few days as he had spent his already lowered reserves of energy looking after his boss.

Since Gibbs had come out of his fever, there had been a gradual reduction in the number and frequency of the (shared) headaches that both men still suffered. They were both still pretty weak though, and their individual balance centres seemed to be shot to hell. Standing up made the world swirl round Gibbs like a carousel.

Maybe part of it was because they were in each others' heads. At first, it was hard to tell whether he was standing or sitting, his brain dizzily trying to process the inputs from his own body and DiNozzo's at the same time. Unable to tell self from other. It took time to adapt to their situation.

Yeah, he could remember better weeks. Clinging to DiNozzo with his eyes closed and his head pressed against the younger man's shoulder, desperately wanting the world to stop spinning, trying not to puke... Now that was a memory he had no desire to revisit.

Not that it was all bad. Their link was stronger than ever, letting each man support the other, and at least Tony was a good choice of companion to have in an emergency. The younger man was entertaining company. Perhaps too, they were both desperately trying not to think about the probable brain damage that they had both suffered, not that they could do anything about it right now.

At the moment, Tony seemed to be fascinated with their newly developed psychic abilities. And trying to get Gibbs into Magnum's shirt.

"I can't see as well with my mind as you can, boss." Tony grinned cheerfully. "But I can do something else!" A puzzled Gibbs sensed the younger man focus intently on something, his concentration absolute. Then an empty bottle of gatorade began to rise into the air on its own, and hung there, in mid air, suspended by the power of the young agent's mind.

Gibbs realised his mouth was hanging open and closed it with an audible snap.

*Definitely not Al Qaeda then, boss*

The bottle swooped at Gibbs, then bopped him lightly on the back of the head.

He glared at the younger man, who was grinning like the proverbial Cheshire cat. That was the trouble with DiNozzo. He could never stay serious for very long. Trust him to find a way to use his new abilities for practical jokes.

Tony's smile faded, and he frowned at Gibbs instead. Their link had allowed him to pick up the essence of Gibbs' complaint. Damn. He still wasn't used to this telepathy crap, and he had a tendency to leak things that he would rather keep private. Living in each others' heads...

*You're missing the point, boss. Suppose you were a terrorist and I dropped a big weight on your head. Or if it was a gun I was pulling out of your hand! Don't you see how useful this could be, if I can control it properly*

Gibbs could have slapped himself at the flicker of hurt in Tony's mind. He should have known that Tony had a serious point to make; it had been all too easy to dismiss the younger agent's ideas in the past, despite the fact that he had proved his competence on numerous occasions. Not that he had meant to share his thoughts with DiNozzo. He sent a wordless apology along the Link.

*I'm used to you, boss* Tony said softly inside his head. "Anyway, isn't apologising a sign of weakness?"

"It still wasn't right!" Gibbs said angrily. Tony's lips twitched.

"Are you a pod person who's replacd my boss?" Tony smirked, his natural sense of humour reasserting itself. "Because if you are, let me tell you, he always wears Hawaiian shirts..."

Gibbs gently smacked his head.

"Thank you boss. One more thing. If even a small number of people exposed to that light get psychic abilities, then we're all in deep shit. Some of them at least will be potential criminals with superpowers..."

"... and their victims!" Gibbs said. Tony looked worried as he caught the drift of Gibbs thoughts.

"You think they're safe? The team, that is..."

"I don't employ fools, DiNozzo. Our people are going to get through this!" He frowned, staring at the shirt Tony held up. "Or maybe I do. If you think I'm going to wear that..."

"C'mon boss. It's not like anyone will see. This is a collector's item. It's worth about $800!" Tony advanced towards Gibbs with a purple and mustard coloured monstrosity. That was when disaster struck. Still unsteady on his feet, the young agent tripped on the rug which lay on the bedroom floor.

With a yelp, Tony found himself falling forward, his feet tangled in the stupid rug. With his sense of balance still hopelessly compromised, he had no chance of saving himself and arms windmilling, he fell towards Gibbs. The older man's reflexes were far better than Tony's, but even he couldn't react fast enough to stop Tony colliding with him, knocking both of them backwards onto the bed. The young agent found himself sprawled on top of Gibbs, face to face. For a moment, winded, he couldn't speak. Those piercing blue eyes, inches from his, took Tony's breath away anyway. He knew he should get up; sprawling on top of Gibbs was wrong, for so many reasons, most of them disturbingly intimate. Yet he couldn't seem to move.

Did he imagine that those steely blue eyes softened just a fraction.

*I know*

Did Gibbs whisper that inside his head, or was it just his imagination? Then, he was gently rolled to the side and Gibbs was moving away from him. A big hand softly cuffed the back of his head.

"Careful, DiNozzo. You'll break your neck!"

Now what was that all about?

*****

Later...

Tony sighed as he stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. At least he could shave now without his hands shaking so much he nearly cut his own throat. He had looked better though, even after that time when he had thrown up for three days in a row, on Spring Break. At least he wasn't coughing his lungs out.

He looked gaunt and hollow cheeked, his face too pale and with the dark shadows of exhaustion under his eyes. Like death warmed up, which pretty much described how he felt, too. No wonder Gibbs kept looking at him so protectively. Tony closed his eyes briefly. The trouble was, he liked Gibbs in guardian mode; his own silver haired defender. His refuge. When the older man had been sick, Tony had hated seeing his always-strong boss helpless and hurting. Gibbs didn't suit weak and vulnerable; Gibbs the strong and pushy bastard, on the other hand, was magnificent.

Tony blushed, closing down the Link as best he could. At least he was learning to shield his thoughts from Gibbs, although they could still feel each others' emotions. He had a problem and it was about time he faced up to it. This morning's incident had helped bring it into focus. Every night since the Pulse had been spent curled up next to Gibbs, holding onto him, needing the older man's reassuring presence, even when he was no longer sick.

Ever since he had been infected with the plague, the one thing that had scared Tony was dying alone. If he admitted the truth to himself, that's why he had first grabbed hold of Gibbs when the sickness had invaded their bodies. That and the memory of wiping Kate's blood off his face.

Yeah. and now he was nearly well, why was he still creeping into Gibbs' bed - which on one level was just a bit hinkey. And yet Gibbs had allowed it - which Tony found just as astonishing - though a couple of times Tony had sensed him wondering exactly how they had ended up sleeping next to each other when the cabin had several available rooms. Tony knew the older man had his own needs, not least of which was that desolate loneliness that Tony had been briefly allowed to glimpse.

How was it that now that he was beginning to recover, he still felt the need to snuggle up to his boss? And it was a need. When he was away from Gibbs, an empty, aching place seemed to awake inside him that only seemed to ease when he physically touched Gibbs. It was especially bad at night.

Technically, Tony supposed, they were sleeping together. He felt himself blush. He was straight. Men had never held any appeal for him. Never.

But straight men didn't cuddle up to their bosses, did they? Especially if they were federal agents with big guns.

Yeah well, tonight Tony decided, he was going to sleep in his own damn bed. Time to stop being stupid and needy and pathetic.

He shivered, glared back at his own reflection, and headed out of the door, slamming it behind him.

*****

Gibbs looked up in surprise as Tony stomped into the kitchen. Plainly, he had something on his mind, though the effect was spoiled a little because the younger man still couldn't walk without clinging to something to stay upright; they both became desperately dizzy when they tried to walk any distance.

What was different was that Tony's mind was tightly shuttered against him, their shared Link closed down tightly. Gibbs knew that if he had wanted to, he could have brushed aside Tony's barriers easily - their experimentation had shown that he was far stronger than Tony when it came to telepathy. But they both knew he wouldn't invade Tony's privacy. It was one of those unspoken rules that both men had adopted to retain their sanity in the face of chaos.

There were some details of Gibbs' thoughts that he preferred to keep to himself. Some secrets that it would be dangerous for Tony to know, and some memories that were just too painful to think about. Nor, to be honest, did he have any desire to find out all about DiNozzo's many female conquests. Or eight seasons of Magnum.

Between them they had worked on a way to shield their innermost thoughts from each other. In the end, it had been easy. Just imagining a wall around part of his mind and holding on to the idea with all his determination. Now it was pretty much instinctive. At least they weren't driving each other to distraction every minute of the day. Though it wasn't perfect, their control improved a little every day.

Even with their barriers in place though, he could still feel Tony's emotions and even sense his frustrations. Strong emotions leaked past their makeshift barriers all too easily. Also, if he closed his eyes, he could instinctively point to wherever the younger man was, knowing unerringly where he was located. It wasn't a perfect situation - they were literally feeling their way - but it would have to do.

Something was bothering the younger man a lot, right now. Gibbs could feel his increasing agitation.

"Coffee?" Gibbs asked. Tony took the proffered mug and took a long swig. He seemed to be gathering his courage before asking something particularly stressful. Gibbs felt a flash of amusement; he was used to keeping his agents off balance and it had always been easy to unsettle Tony.

"I need to know why you let me sleep with you last night?"

"What!" Gibbs nearly choked on his mouthful of coffee and stared at the younger man.

"You know. Bed. Us. Together..."

"Interesting choice of words. Not subtle, are you?" Gibbs said, amused. "You tell me DiNozzo. You started it."

"You let me. Don't tell me you couldn't have kicked me out of bed last night. Why didn't you?

Gibbs scowled at Tony, irritated by the tone of voice he was using."Wait a minute! Are you trying to have a feelings conversation? With me? I don't do counselling, DiNozzo!"

"Please. I have to know!"

"You needed to. That's all." He saw Tony frown. "I know what you're feeling most of the time, DiNozzo," He hesitated. "I could feel how scared you were, Tony." he said gently.

The younger man flushed in embarrassment, hating the fact that it was true.

"When did you ever give a damn?" he snapped, Gibbs scowled. "Well I won't be in your bed tonight! I wouldn't want to give the wrong impression."

Tony couldn't stop his retort, despite the fact that he had felt how protective Gibbs was towards him. He knew he was being unjust. It was just that... God, why did he feel so confused about this shit? He hated the way that lately he seemed to instinctively need Gibbs to touch him. Even those ridiculous, endearing, mock-stern pats to the back of his head, when Gibbs adopted his bastard persona.

"I don't need you!" Tony snapped, clamping down on his emotions so that Gibbs couldn't feel the lie. Yeah right. Gibbs' eyes narrowed and a scowl appeared on his face.

"Fine!"

Now he had definitely pissed the older man off - the atmosphere turned distinctly frosty and for the rest of the day, they didn't speak to each other.

****

Well, he had done it. Cut the apron strings. Annoyed Gibbs and pretty much ensured that he was lying alone in a cold bed tonight.

That was good, wasn't it? He had decisively demonstrated that he wasn't gay - that he wasn't cuddling up to Gibbs because he liked the feel of another man's arms around him. Though he now realised that nothing had really been settled - not in his own mind, and not between him and his boss.

What did Gibbs really think of him, when they were together? Tony knew what he sensed through their Link - that sense of support and strength that Gibbs offered him. Protective. Uplifting. Far too addictive.

Tony tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Maybe that was the problem. He was going through Gibbs-withdrawal. The bed was cold and empty, as he had known it would be. He was pining for his boss, damn it. Gibbs could probably sense it too. How humiliating was that. How stupid.

Eventually he drifted into an uneasy sleep, filled with dreams of being lost in the woods in the dark, trying to find his way back to the cabin. To Gibbs and the warm security of his arms. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to find the path, and the trees crowded closer around him. The woods were filled with strange unearthly noises, and poison ivy wound its way up every tree, burning him as he brushed past it.

He could hear a faint crackling behind him, and he gradually became aware that something was following him, getting closer and closer. The sense of approaching evil was almost overwhelming. Tony found himself running, instinctively filled with terror. Whatever was coming, it hated humans and life and light. And it wanted him. Then suddenly, he was teetering on the edge of a precipice with nowhere left to run to.

He swung round, and found himself face to face with Kate, her eyes wide with shock as the bullet took her in the centre of her forehead. Then once more, her blood was all over him, splattering over his face as the back of her head blew out.

Then he was in autopsy, staring at her lifeless body. Yet even as he watched, her face changed, decaying before his eyes. He couldn't turn away, even as he realised something was terribly wrong. Her corpse was moving, her head turning towards him, death-clouded eyes seeking him out. She smiled and there was a depth of evil desire in her expression that was nothing like the Kate he had known.

Tony began to scream...

He awoke sobbing in terror, his heart hammering in his chest, shivering with cold. The moment he had been trying not to remember. Why did it have to come back and haunt him now? The moment that had scarred the whole team and that had devastated them all in different ways. The thing that had made him wake, screaming, for weeks after her death.

He remembered how long he had scrubbed at his hands and face afterwards. But she had never returned to his dreams as a reanimated corpse before...

"Tony?" He heard Gibbs call his name from the next room, his voice filled with concern. He could feel the genuine worry behind the enquiry. Gibbs cared. He was about as uncommunicative as a guy could get, verbally, but Tony could feel his anxiety through the Link.

Why had he ever thought Gibbs was a cold hearted bastard? He knew differently, now that he could *feel* Gibbs. Shivering, the young agent stumbled to his feet and headed instinctively for the sound of Gibbs' voice. He was an idiot. He needed Gibbs. Even his own psyche was trying to tell him that.

****

Damn. His bed was warm and comfortable. So why did Gibbs feel so cold tonight? So on edge?

He was lying to himself. He knew exactly why he couldn't sleep. Because Tony DiNozzo wasn't pressed up against his side, arms round him, a comfortable warm presence in the dark of the night. Safe in his arms, for Gibbs would protect him at all costs. Somehow it had turned into a need rather than just an indulgence. And the night was too quiet without the soft sounds of the sleeping man next to him.

What the hell was the matter with him? He shouldn't be feeling like this. Not for his subordinate. It felt like exploitation, taking advantage of the younger man's insecurities to ease his own loneliness. No matter how much Tony wanted it. The trouble was, Tony was as scared of their growing closeness as he was.

He liked it. Too much. Perhaps he had been alone too long. Since that first moment they had linked, he had felt the strangest of needs, almost a craving:- to hold the young agent close to him and sink deep into their Link. He couldn't explain why he needed it, except that joining with Tony made him feel whole. Was it a part of their new abilities - this need to be close to Tony? He wished that he knew.

Even Tony had recognised that something was changing between them and that maybe it was better to get some distance, before it went too far. Whatever it was. It was just that... Part of him didn't want this to end; he liked being needed.

After a while, his strange new telepathic senses told him that Tony was asleep. Lucky for him.

Gibbs tried not to think about the young man and walled off that part of his mind that could sense Tony. It worked, more or less. But he still couldn't sleep. Every time he tried, he found himself tossing to and fro, restlessly. Then after a couple of hours, he began to feel increasingly uneasy. Finally, feeling a mixture of both annoyance and concern, he gave way to the feeling and reached out towards the young agent with his mind.

He felt the younger man's sleeping mind become more and more agitated, then he felt Tony awake with a burst of terror. Though Tony was tightly controlling his end of their Link, Gibbs knew that he was awake now and he tried to project his care for the other man towards Tony.

"Tony?" Gibbs called softly. He could sense the younger man's distress.

The door swung open and Gibbs saw the young agent standing on the threshold, his eyes haunted. Tentatively, Gibbs reached for the Link, opening his mind a fraction, He could feel Tony's agitation - anguish and desolation shimmering towards him via the Link. Gibbs projected the only thing he could think of.

*Warmth/care/welcome*

Tony stood there, the look in his eyes haunted and far too vulnerable. Gibbs knew what he needed, and just as certainly, knew that Tony wasn't going to ask for it. Not after the way he had tried to distance himself from Gibbs this morning. Not that Gibbs didn't understand Tony's confusion - he felt the same way himself.

So why did he do the stupidest thing possible in the circumstances? Reach his hand out and lift the bedcovers, inviting the younger man into his bed. He didn't say anything. He wouldn't have known what to say. Then it was too late, because Tony was moving forward, slipping under the covers, his arms going round the other man, sighing deeply as he rested his head on Gibbs' chest. Coming home. The older man wrapped his arms tightly around Tony, one hand settling naturally into the curve of his neck. After long moments, the terror faded from the younger man's mind as Gibbs held him.

They touched their foreheads together. In the midst of all the misery and weirdness of the past few days, this at least gave them hope. Then the Link flared between them, more intense than Gibbs had ever felt it before. The bodily contact between them reinforced and intensified their telepathy. Then he felt the barriers between them dissolve, and with it went all their anxiety and unhappiness and doubt.

This was right. This was where Tony belonged - in Gibbs arms and in his mind. Nothing else could come close to the perfection of the Link between them. How could they have forgotten how good it could be. The Link was pure life. Gibbs felt it spill through him the moment their minds joined fully. He felt as if it were filling him up - like he was coming alive again after a spell in the desert. Which was true, in an emotional sense.

He felt as if he couldn't contain so much energy. The two of them were filled to the brim with the simple pleasure of being alive and together and merged. Then suddenly, as if a door opened in his mind - because together they were so much *more* than when they were apart - he was floating above the bed, staring down at his own body and Tony's. Tony was there with him, mind tangled with and joined to his, purring with contentment...

The previous fear and anxiety were gone from the young agent's mind, replaced by wonder. Then somehow they were rising, getting higher and higher, no longer in the cabin, but soaring into the night sky, until they were miles above the Earth, their joint strength amplifying Gibbs' farseeing ability. Distantly, Tony could see the lights of DC and even as he realised what the glow of light was, they were swooping towards the city. Unerringly, Gibbs headed towards the NCIS headquarters - Tony with him, mind tangled with his, united in their goal. They had to know that the rest of the team were safe.

Gibbs could sense that there were a lot of people on the naval base. If they had any sense, they would have closed off and guarded the base; brought in as many dependants as they could from the city. There were enough residential units on the base to house hundreds of people.

There were signs that this place had been through hell. Bullet holes. Scorch marks. Nameless debris. Gibbs hovered, indecisive for once. It was Tony who made the choice for them.

*Abby first. Then Ducky*

Gibbs felt the younger man project reassurance towards him.

*McGee would look after them, boss. He wouldn't let anything hurt them*

Their minds drifted down towards the basement. It was obvious that many of the NCIS personnel were camping out in the building, too wary of the chaos in the city to risk the streets. At least they would be protected within he confines of the naval base.

*They're here!* Tony's voice was filled with relief, though it was obvious that things weren't fine. Ducky looked old and deathly tired. McGee was trying to get him to drink something which looked like soup. The young agent's face was bruised, and he had one arm bandaged. He was openly wearing his gun in a shoulder holster.

*Probie looks tough. Kinda macho* Tony's voice sounded approving in Gibbs' mind.

Abby looked pale and ill. Gibbs felt a surge of worry for her. Even as he watched, she pulled a square of cloth from her pocket and pressed it to her bleeding nose.

*She has the same symptoms as us* Gibbs said. *She must have been caught by the light*

*Maybe she can hear us* Tony sent.

Hesitantly, Gibbs reached out with his mind.

*Abby?*

Her head jerked up, and she stared around her in astonishment.

*Boss?*

*You can hear me?*

*Uh huh.* A burst of joy and welcome and relief. *You're alive, boss!*

*We're alright. We're stuck in a cabin but we're safe enough*

*We've been sick, but we're getting better* Tony added. Abby tilted her head to one side and looked puzzled for a moment, then her eyes widened.

*Wow boss. You and Tony are really er... close*

Gibbs wondered exactly what she saw in her mind. But their strength was fading. She shimmered and began to fade.

*A lot has happened...* Gibbs started to say. Then with no warning, the link between Gibbs and Abby snapped and they were back in their own bodies, curled up together in the bed, totally exhausted.

"You sure know how to give a guy a good time," Tony murmured softly and Gibbs could hear the laughter in his voice, then with a small, satisfied sound, Tony snuggled in against him. Gibbs wondered that he didn't find the whole situation absurd, but perhaps part of him wanted to accept DiNozzo in his bed and in his mind right now. A short time later, the young agent was asleep. Within moments, lulled by the comfortable sound of Tony's breathing and the soothing effect of his sleeping mind, Gibbs had followed his example.

*****

Gibbs gradually woke, as an unfamiliar, soft hissing noise intruded into his consciousness. his eyes opened and flickered towards the window. Snow. The first this season. He could see the white flakes, occasionally mixed with light hail, falling past the glass. Automatically, his arm tightened around Tony, drawing the younger man closer to him, delighting, against all better judgement, in the cosy nest of warmth that formed their present refuge. Tony murmured something softly but didn't wake. His head rested against Gibbs' chest, and he lay half on top of his boss, one leg hooked untidily over Gibbs' legs.

Gibbs sighed. He felt as if he had fallen into the Twilight Zone, and the worst thing was that he was beginning to like the idea.

Last night, standing there, Tony had looked lost, pitiable, green eyes filled with longing and confusion. There had been a haunting beauty to his features, too. Dark, tousled hair and full lips, half-naked, with the borrowed pyjama bottoms that he wore low-slung across his hips, he could have stepped out of a porn fantasy. Just not the sort that Gibbs usually watched.

Damn. That was just the sort of thought that he didn't need to have. The reason why he should distance himself from Tony. The part of himself that he didn't want to face; that he had buried deeply for years. The long suppressed part of himself that Tony was beginning to waken, that made his cock stir in arousal before he ruthlessly forced the thought away.

The younger man moaned softly in his sleep, leaning into Gibbs. That was when the older man realised that the link between them was still wide open, and he had been thinking about Tony and porn in pretty much the same thought. He shut it down, hoping that nothing had leaked into the other man's mind. It had just been a stray thought. He really didn't think of Tony in a sexual way. Beyond a little experimentation in his youth, he had never been into men. He had never allowed that part of him free rein. He didn't plan to change that.

Tell it to the marines.

*****

Tony was dreaming again, but this time the dream was a good one. He was wearing a blindfold, in one of those delightful Spring Break party games, and he had to guess who was kissing him. He felt his chin gripped firmly, then the mystery kisser leaned forward to kiss him. The mouth that covered his tasted good, and whoever it was kissed like an expert - demanding and confident. He opened his mouth, and felt his mouth being plundered by the other, who knew exactly what Tony needed.

He was being kissed by a man. It should have felt wrong, but instead it was incredible. He could feel his body reacting to the man, heat surging within him. He leaned into the kiss; his silver haired companion really knew how to make a guy weak at the knees. And then Tony came awake abruptly.

He was in Gibbs' bed, thoroughly tangled up with him, and he could feel that the older man was awake. Gibbs' mind was closed this morning, which was probably just as well. Tony had no desire to revisit the embarrassment of last night - creeping into Gibbs' bed after all his stupid protests yesterday.

It was then that he realised why Gibbs' mind was so shuttered against him today. The older man was too still.

Tony realised that he was achingly hard with a morning hard-on. That last dream had affected him in the worst possible way. And there was no way that Gibbs couldn't know about it; Tony was practically humping his hip! Even if Gibbs hadn't noticed the young agent's physical condition, their Link would have told him that Tony was aroused. Just like it told him that Tony was awake now. He froze, indecisive.

"It happens." Gibbs' voice close to his ear. "Don't worry about it." He moved away from Tony and off the bed, leaving the younger man sprawled across the sheets. For once, Tony couldn't tell what Gibbs was feeling; his mind was so tightly controlled. Tony was sure he must be feeling revulsion.

Tony cringed. His nameless fears had finally been realised. The only way this could have been worse was...

Actually, there was no way it could have been worse.

****

Gibbs hated himself, right now. He had done that to Tony. The leaking thoughts from his mind had a sexual overtone that had aroused the younger man.

Exactly when had he started to desire the young agent?

He couldn't get out of there fast enough. Before what he was feeling leaked out and embarrassed the hell out of both of them. Irresistibly, the memory of Tony's green eyes rose in his mind, dark with need. Even after he fled the room, he could almost feel the heat of the younger man's skin against his; the scent of him. And the memory of those brief moments before Tony woke fully, when he had moaned and moved closer to Gibbs, instinctively needing him.

Heat flared along their link;-

*sliding his hand along his cock, slow and sensual; knowing fingers finding those secret places that sent pleasurable shocks up his nerve endings*

Gibbs moaned, his hand finding his own newly hardened erection. He knew that it was a stupid thing to do, but he wasn't exactly thinking straight at the moment. Just reacting to what he could feel leaking down their shared Link, despite every barrier they could devise. As if sexuality connected them on so fundamental a level that it crept beneath those barriers, unhindered.

Momentarily, he tried to halt his traitorous hand; to block out DiNozzo's pleasure, but the strength of it overwhelmed him. Perhaps he didn't really want it to stop.

He was unconscious of the fact that his hand was moving in an exact imitation of Tony's hand on his cock. Long, slow, thoroughly satisfying strokes that were made with the ease of long practice. Apparently the young agent's favoured method of getting himself off. Gibbs was embarrassed because he really shouldn't know such intimate details about his subordinate. But it was so very good... Then Tony's hand quickened its rhythm, and Gibbs felt the younger man's orgasm start at the base of his spine, then wash over him in an unstoppable tide.

Gibbs whimpered, as the other man's climax rolled over him, glorious, His mind, in that instant, seemed to reach out towards Tony. For a single, radiant moment, he was looking out of wide green eyes, arching upwards, seeing the hot creamy spurts exploding from his cock, and then he was back in his own body. A rush of emotions that weren't his, and aftershocks of pleasure that finally sent him over the edge.

That did it! His own orgasm carried him away in a rush of incandescent pleasure, leaving him draped bonelessly across the couch. He stumbled to his feet and fled to the bathroom to clean himself up. Staring at his reflection in the mirror, all he could think of for a second, was that the tousled, blissed-out-slut look suited him.

*****

Tony couldn't believe he was doing this with Gibbs in the next room. The older man's presence, not to mention the embarrassment of the situation should have made Tony's erection droop in five seconds flat, but actually the reverse was true. Crazy though it was, his hand crept irresistibly to cover his erection, and he was startled by the momentary temptation to frantically jerk off to the memory of blue eyes and the heat of Gibbs' body against his own. He dragged his hand reluctantly away. No. That wasn't what he wanted at all. He wasn't gay. He liked breasts, and soft, smooth skin, not the hard angularity of a male body, with stubble and the smell of sawdust. That's what he kept telling himself; it was just that some part of him kept whispering rebellious little messages to his cock.

Lying on his back, he reached forward, and grasped the velvet thickness of his erection in his fist, taking refuge in sensation.. He began to slide his hand along it in a slow, seductive rhythm, just tightening his grip enough to send a burst of sensation along his nerve endings, up his spine, as the action milked his cock.

It was so good. Since puberty, he had taken pride in satisfying himself well and often. The longest he had ever gone without had been eleven days. That was pretty much the record, until now. Two weeks abstinence, admittedly because of illness, but still... Tony was really on edge today.

He could already feel his orgasm approaching, the pressure building within him, and squeezed just below the head of his cock, circling the sensitive glans, knowing that fluid droplets were gathering there. A wave of pleasure rolled over him and he cried out hoarsely as his hips jerked forward reflexively, as the pearly semen spattered across his chest and abdomen.

He sagged back, with a sigh of contentment with the utter relaxation of the sated. His green eyes closed. Then fire seemed to ignite inside him, rolling in waves up his spine, melting his body into heat and light and sensation. He flung his head back and screamed, his body arching, hands clutching convulsively at the sheets as the hot, sweet surge washed over him. After it released him, he sagged bonelessly backwards, panting. It was a long while before he could find the strength to move.

What the hell was that? That second, wild climax, moments after his first orgasm, incredibly intense, glorious; almost like an echo, except that it was better than the first time... Like he was feeling someone else...

"Oh shit!"

He lay there for a while, not really wanting to move. Not just because the sex had been good, but also because he had a fair idea what had just happened and for once his courage failed him. That had been Gibbs. And if he had felt Gibbs, then it was likely that Gibbs had felt him first. Maybe Tony had even caused Gibbs to come?

So much for the older man's famous rule 12 - no relationships between NCIS team members. Tony quailed. How the hell was he going to look his boss in the eye again after this. What a disaster of a morning. He had developed a hard on for his boss, then he had probably made him come. Gloriously.

He waited for as long as he could, giving the older man time to get his act together. To make it easier to pretend that nothing had happened.

He couldn't put it off any longer. With a sigh, he rolled out of bed and fled to the bathroom to clean himself up. He dressed quickly, pulling on a gorgeous blue and red Magnum shirt which hung loosely over his pants, then headed for the kitchen. Predictably enough, Gibbs sat next to the coffee machine. Tony's one small consolation was that there was barely any dizziness in his head when he walked this morning.

The moment Gibbs saw him, Tony realised that Gibbs was radiating tension. His uptight, ex-marine boss was hunched over his coffee, gripping the mug tightly with both hands. Then Gibbs lifted his head and his blue eyes met Tony's. His face visibly flushed. Blue eyes lifted to Tony's and the younger man realised that Gibbs looked as guilty as hell.

"Boss," Tony faltered. We need to talk!"

"You think?" Gibbs closed his eyes for a moment. "I felt everything you did, Tony. Every damn touch.. I tried to shut you out, I swear, but I couldn't." He wouldn't meet Tony's eyes.

"I felt you too, at the end," Tony said softly. "Didn't I?"

"Oh yeah." The older man moved over to the window, staring out at the snow. Tony knew that Gibbs was still trying to avoid looking at him. "It comes as a bit of a shock at my age, to have my sexual orientation challenged."

"I'm sorry, boss" Tony said. Then hesitantly, he offered the other man an excuse, if he wanted it. "It wasn't really proper sex though. Not if there was no bodily contact between us..."

"What have I told you about apologising?" Gibbs turned and aimed a swat at Tony's head. "It's not your fault. Call it the downside of being telepathic. We'll just have to cope with it, that's all. I suppose it could have been worse." He gave a wry half-smile. "I nearly picked McGee to drive, the day of the explosion!"

Tony gave a snort of laughter, imagining McGee in bed with Gibbs.

"I would pay money to see that, boss. You and McGee..." He smirked. "Or you and Ziva..." Tony chuckled, prudently moving out of swatting range as he spoke.

Gibbs' expression became serious.

"Tomorrow, I want to try hiking out of here," he said. "We're both well enough now to try, and the longer we stay here, the greater the danger is of bad weather trapping us here for weeks." His eyes flickered towards the windows, and the light dusting of snow Tony could see outdoors. "We're needed back home, Tony." His lips curved in a crooked smile. "And things are getting just a little too cosy around here."

Understatement of the century. Gibbs considered that to be a neat diversion. Tony wasn't thinking about their inadvertent sexual encounter any more, which suited Gibbs just fine. There were some things it was already so hard to hide from his young subordinate. Like the way he had enjoyed their impromptu "not proper sex" way too much for comfort. He wasn't going to think about Tony and how good it felt to have him so close. Thoughts like that were too dangerous now that the younger man could pick up on his emotions so easily, even when he put up barriers in his mind.

*****
End of part 2.

3. Brave new world

*****

It was an anticlimax in the end. The two men hiked to the dirt road, anticipating a long trek to the nearest highway, but luck was with them for once. After less than an hour of walking, they both heard the sound of a truck in the distance, and a few minutes later, a big canvas-covered army truck pulled up alongside them. In the two weeks since the explosion, the armed forces and FEMA had managed to organise supply runs to the area, though they had been hampered a great deal by the damage done to thousands of vehicles by the explosion. Clearing the roads of abandoned cars was a major drain on resources.

"Need a hand, guys?" The national guardsman grinned down at them. Gibbs pulled out his NCIS id.

"Gibbs. NCIS. We need to get to Washington." The guardsman shook his head.

"Believe me, you really don't want to go there." At Gibbs' glare, he shrugged. "I can take you as far as one of the checkpoints outside the city. But you really don't want to go into Washington at the moment. The dead outnumber the living..." His face seemed to take on a shade of grey as he spoke.

"A lot of people in Washington died within the first 24 hours after the blast. There are bodies everywhere... The smell..." He shuddered. "And those who survived bring a whole new set of problems. Riots. Shooting. Worse than New Orleans after Katrine. And I haven't even mentioned the weird shit going on there too. They say that there are guys there that can make you burst into flames just by looking at you, or make the ground turn to liquid under your feet. Mutants! The brass set up an exclusion zone around the city after they lost several aid convoys. They evacuated everyone who could walk to the checkpoints."

"We need to go there. We have people who depend on us." Gibbs said. The driver jerked a thumb towards the back of the lorry with a shrug.

The two men climbed into the back of the truck and sat next to the half dozen or so National Guardsmen who were there. Gibbs found himself directly opposite DiNozzo, which meant that he kept sensing Tony's eyes on him. He knew the younger man well enough by now - Tony was curious about something. After a while, the way Tony was watching him began to get on his nerves. With a sigh, he reached out to the young agent with his mind.

*What!?*

*Last night...*

Gibbs sighed. After their embarrassing sexual moment yesterday morning, he had been reluctant to cosy up to the younger man last night. No matter how strong the temptation was. At least he had kept his deepest desires hidden from Tony, locked away behind his strongest barriers. And Tony had avoided him for most of the day - and the night. No surprise there. Gibbs felt as if the ground beneath him had turned to quicksand - their relationship was that uncertain.

He had managed to get some uneasy sleep. At least until Tony's screams had woken him just before dawn. He hadn't intervened this time, though he had wanted to, and eventually, the young agent had emerged from his room, red-eyed and miserable. His conversation so far this morning had been monosyllabic and subdued, definitely not his usual, spirited self.

*We need to work things out Tony. This can't go on...*

*Yeah boss. I know. It's just that I hate to sleep alone. Every time I close my eyes...* He faltered.

*Tony?*

*I see Kate. I see her dying, over and over again.* Gibbs sensed a feeling of desolation sweep through his young subordinate. A pause. *Then something starts hunting me. It's not Kate but it has her face. It hates me...* He saw Tony shiver. *Every time I fall asleep it comes for me. Except when I'm with you. You make me feel safe*

Gibbs might have dismissed Tony's fears as ridiculous, but then he was reminded of how much suffering the young agent had been through in the past couple of months. The plague, Kate's death and now having his brain fried by the strange light they had been exposed to. No wonder Tony was falling apart. His protective instincts flared.

Their minds slid into the Link, Gibbs letting his strength and protectiveness enfold the young agent. It was more spontaneous this time, Gibbs reacting to Tony's vulnerability in the only way he knew, instinctively soothing his distress. After a few minutes, Gibbs sensed Tony relaxing, accepting his support. With a smile, he pulled out of Tony's mind. The young man had a natural resilience and humour that usually made it hard for him to stay miserable for long.

As he drew away, Gibbs mentally sent an image towards Tony of a hand smacking the back of his head, knowing Tony would sense the affection in the gesture. *Don't start thinking of me as warm and cuddly, DiNozzo. That would be a big mistake!*

*****

Tony could smell the city, even before he could see it. The stench of death. God knows how many people had died because of the Pulse. Tony shivered. A strong hand descended on his shoulder and briefly squeezed; Gibbs offering reassurance because he could feel Tony's unease. It still surprised Tony that Gibbs was willing to show him that he cared. And touching him more often: that was new and oddly reassuring.

"We were lucky," Gibbs said. "Though it didn't feel like it at the time." Tony nodded. They had both seen enough sickness and pain recently. As the lorry rumbled towards the checkpoint on the eastern edge of Washington, they had begun to see signs of the hell that had descended on Washington when the radiation blast had hit it. Deserted vehicles, some crashed or burned out, bullet holes in them, debris, broken glass covering the highway...

The lorry had pulled up at the barrier which stretched across the road. There was nothing makeshift or flimsy about the wood and barbed wire structure that blocked their path - complete with armed guards. Somebody high up in the chain of command was nervous about the thousands of people still alive in the city, that was for certain. Mutants, the driver had called them. Gibbs didn't really agree with the decision to abandon them; he could sense their misery and fear. It hung like a miasma over the city, for those who could sense it.

Gibbs was troubled. At first he had thought it was the signs of violence he could see all around them, but then it finally occurred to him what the real source of his unease was - there should have been refugees leaving the city - but the streets were apparently deserted as far as the eye could see.

The two agents climbed out of the lorry and headed to the checkpoint, and a few minutes later, they were heading downtown at a steady pace. Neither one of them was 100 percent fit yet, but they made good progress, at least for the first hour. The trouble came later.

"That's a big damn barricade!" Tony said quietly, staring at what blocked the road ahead, one of the main crossing routes across the Potomac. A big rig had been manoeuvred into place across the road along with a dozen cars and a whole lot more. (Tony noticed irrelevantly that someone in these situations always found the opportunity to dump a house full of chipboard Swedish furniture from a famous store.)

"Uh huh," Gibbs acknowledged. "We go round. This place is just right for an ambush!" The two of them turned, intending to try another route into the heart of the city.

Too late.

About twenty men had appeared silently from the shadowed doorways of the buildings behind them, trapping the two agents between their guns and the barricade. A small man stepped forward, apparently their leader.

"You're government. You aren't welcome here!" His voice was cold. There was an absolute certainty in his tone and Tony shivered as he realised that this guy was a telepath. He *knew* what they were.

Gibbs gave the guy the stare. The patent Gibbs "Don't fuck with me" stare.

"Why do you hate the government so much?" he asked.

His question seemed to enrage the little guy.

"Look around you! They just left us to die after the explosion fried the city. No food. No medical supplies. Oh yeah, and all the VIPs were evacuated but the poor were left to fend for themselves!"

"Just like New Orleans!" someone else yelled from the crowd.

"You think you were the only ones to suffer?" Gibbs snarled. "Get over it. Go do something to make things right instead of this crap."

The little man smiled coldly. "Welcome to the people's Washington. Mutants only in the city. Take yourself back to your government in exile. Washington is ours now. Oh yeah, and we'll take your guns, your coats and your shoes."

Gibbs gave a snort. "Maybe we're mutants too," he said softly.

Tony felt him reach out and their minds dropped into link with an ease that still surprised him. At once, the world seemed sharper and brighter. They had done this before for emotional support and need, but never before for defence. Tony saw what Gibbs wanted him to do immediately, if it was possible, sinceTony had been practicing using his ability. He grinned.

*Oh yeah. I can do that!*

Especially with Gibbs' strength to draw on as well as his own. He reached out with his new ability and seized hold of the lorry that formed part of the barricade, then *pulled*

The lorry rose about thirty feet straight upwards into the air and then began to drift towards their opponents

"Walk away!" Gibbs said in a voice carved from ice. He needn't have bothered, most of the men were already running in the opposite direction. The small man however stood his ground.

"So you're mutants too," he said. He made a gesture of invitation towards the city. "Welcome to New Washington, fellow mutants." There was a hint of mockery in his tone. "I hope you have the stomach for it!" Then his body flared with light and he vanished into thin air.

Tony let the lorry down slowly, then swayed a little unsteadily on his feet. He let out a long, shaky breath.

*He teleported!*

*I noticed.* Gibbs' mind-voice held awe. Then he sent an image along their Link that made the young agent gasp, even as he felt Gibbs' sense of wonder.

*Himself, lifting the lorry, his eyes glowing with light*

"I didn't know you could lift anything that big," Gibbs said. "I was hoping for a small car, maybe."

Tony grinned shakily, wiping away the small thread of blood that trickled from his nose. "Neither did I, boss. Apparently we have a lot to learn about this psi stuff," He swayed unsteadily and Gibbs put an arm around his shoulder to support him; his touch, as always, made Tony feel safer.

"C'mon, before they decide to come back."

They headed deeper into the city, crossing the Potomac, moving closer to their goal.

*****

Tony was exhausted. He had stumbled twice in the last five minutes and Gibbs could sense that his thoughts were less than alert. Gibbs frowned. At their present rate, it was going to take them hours to get to the Navy Yard. It wasn't just finding a way through the street barricades that slowed their progress. Sometimes Gibbs could sense watchers in buildings close by and he instinctively found himself avoiding those routes. The whole place set his nerves on edge, not least because of the dead - how many people had died lonely, agonising deaths?

He knew that if he hadn't been with Tony, both of them would have died. Only their support of each other - their strange new link - had saved them. He repressed a snarl with considerable effort. When somebody tried to kill Leroy Jethro Gibbs, they had better watch out. He didn't know who was responsible for the attack on his country, but he was going to find out and make them pay!

However, right now, he had other priorities. Tony was exhausted. The earlier confrontation had drained his already depleted reserves of energy.

Time to find a place to hole up for a while. A few hours rest wasn't going to make much difference to their friends after two weeks. Besides, if they met any more "mutants" he and Tony would need their strength.

With a wry grin, he headed for the nearest residential building and kicked the door open.

"C'mon, DiNozzo. Let's find a bolthole."

"Whatever," Tony mumbled. It was a measure of the young agent's exhaustion that he didn't comment on Gibbs' decision, just accepted it wordlessly. Gibbs having to break into someone's apartment didn't raise a response. The young agent just stumbled after Gibbs, up several flights of stairs until they found a place that overlooked the street. Just in case.

A quick search found some useful provisions, including a couple of bottles of "Sparkling Appalachian Spring Mineral Water." He seized on the bottles eagerly - he just didn't trust the water supply right now - and shoved a bag of cookies at DiNozzo.

"Eat something. You need the energy."

While Tony did as he was told, Gibbs checked out the rest of the apartment. For security, he shoved a piece of heavy furniture across the doorway. Paranoid maybe, but he wasn't going to take the risk.

He stared at the bed. It looked incredibly comfortable. It would be easy to relax there, with Tony curled up against him, warm, his mind purring with contentment. Except that...

No. He wasn't going to think about how good it felt to have Tony spooned up against him. That wasn't a place he wanted to go. So instead of the bed, he grabbed a great handful of blankets and headed for the big old couch that rested against one wall. Tony could have the bed if he wanted it.

The young agent had stumbled into the bedroom, so tired he could barely put one foot in front of the other. He had stared confusedly at Gibbs on the couch.

"Get some sleep, Tony." Gibbs' voice was gentle. Green eyes had stared miserably at him.

"I don't want to dream!" Tony said softly. His eyes pleaded silently for Gibbs to understand. The older man sighed. Well, at least on the couch there would be less temptation. He pulled back his blankets and Tony slid in next to him. It was easy to put his arm around the young agent and let Tony rest his head on Gibbs' shoulder. So once again, Gibbs found himself sleeping with his young subordinate. Well, at least this time, he could distance himself from the sweet temptation of Tony's body; a head on his shoulder was a fraction less intimate than the way their bodies had been tangled together the other morning.

This way, there was deniability. Though whether he was trying to convince himself or Tony, he wasn't sure.

*****

FEMA Memo #15256 Top Secret
Consequences to the general population of exposure to Omicron Radiation:-
Estimated deaths 23.7%
Estimated psi mutation 13.6%
Estimated number of the population significantly exposed - at least 3 million in Washington DC and the surrounding states.

It is expected that these casualty rates will quickly overwhelm federal aid networks. The large number of deaths has implications for the health of survivors. Without power supplies, and with water supplies subject to pollution, evacuation is recommended, except for high security areas such as the Pentagon, Bethesda Naval Base and the Quantico Federal Zone.

The President and his advisors have relocated to the secure underground bunker under a certain hotel in White Sulphur Springs.

*******

Gibbs woke abruptly from deep sleep, reaching for his gun, his mind instantly alert for danger. Something had woken him, and he had no idea what it was. The early morning light told him it was around 6 a.m. Tony was curled up next to him, the sound of his breathing slow and regular.

So it wasn't a nightmare of Tony's that had woken him. Gibbs frowned, even as his hand absently stroked the young man's tousled hair. What was it that had alerted him?

Silently, he detached himself from Tony and rose to his feet. Tony murmured something softly in protest but didn't wake. Gibbs moved towards the window that gave a view down the wide, tree lined avenue outside. He was careful however, to conceal himself so that an outside observer wouldn't notice him.

Below him, a dozen figures ran down the middle of the street. They moved oddly, synchronised, almost too pack-like to be human. Gibbs realised that he could feel a curious buzzing inside his head.

Whoever they were - young street gang members, most likely - they were linked. The same kind of link that he and Tony had, perhaps. Their movements were almost perfectly coordinated. He shook his head, bemused. The light that had burned in the sky had changed more than he had imagined. He thought that linking minds might be one way people had found to survive. Call it a survival strategy. It had worked for the two of them. Still, he had no desire to find out whether the "pack" below were hostile or not. Not without a good supply of weapons, just in case.

He took more care than he had previously, when he and Tony headed out of their temporary refuge. He was pleased to see that Tony's night of undisturbed sleep seemed to have revived him considerably. So it wasn't long before the young agent noticed how cautious he was being.

"You're being weird, boss!" Tony grinned at him. Tony being Tony, this earned him a Gibbs-glare.

"You want to explain that remark, DiNozzo!"

"The route you're taking to the Navy Yard. You're not taking the quickest route there. You care to explain why?"

Gibbs opened his mouth to do just that, then paused. Tony was absolutely right. He had avoided certain routes. But why, exactly. He hadn't really thought about it, just followed his instincts.

"Yeah," Tony acknowledged. Another grin. "Take the choice you made at the last intersection. Why did you choose to turn right, and not straight on?"

"Er..." Gibbs paused. "Because of the hotel halfway down the block."

"What about it, Tony said softly.

"There were men with guns inside, holed up in there. They're only trying to protect their families, but I didn't want to take the chance of them firing on us..." Gibbs said.

"And you knew this how?" Tony asked. "We certainly couldn't see them."

"I could feel them..." Gibbs said, then what he had just said sank in. God, he had been so slow on the uptake.

"In the pulp science fiction novels I used to read, they called that Far-sensing," Tony said quietly. "Though if you prefer a movie reference, I could say your spider sense was tingling! Ow!" He rubbed the back of his head and glared at Gibbs.

"Just so you know, DiNozzo. Nothing is tingling!" Gibbs scowled. "Though I get your point." A frown. "I didn't even realise I was using psi till you pointed it out. It's like the instincts a soldier uses to advance across a hostile zone, only more intense. I just know there's a threat there."

"I trust your instincts, boss." Tony's young face had turned serious. "Always."

"I know."

*****

Ten blocks later and Tony was beginning to wonder whether it would have been easier to hotwire a car. Except that the car electrical systems were all burned out, fried by the airburst of the mysterious weapon.

Damn. He would have preferred a pair of good trainers rather than his brand name shoes. They weren't the most comfortable shoes for long distance walking. Still twenty blocks to go. Well, maybe they would pass a sports shop. Abruptly, Gibbs froze again, sensing something close by. Tony looked at him expectantly. Then, for the first time in weeks, it seemed, Tony saw Gibbs relax and give a big grin.

"Cavalry's here, DiNozzo. You can rest easy."

The two of them rounded the corner and savoured the sight of the checkpoint manned by US Marines.

*****

End of part 3.

The pulse chapter 4 - Reunion
******
As the two men entered the Washington Navy Yard, home of NCIS, they could see that there had been problems since the day of the Pulse. The Navy? Well who knows what they were doing? And the other Federal agencies like JAG. But there was evidence that at least someone was thinking sensibly round here. The Marines had set up an exclusion zone around the Yard and had brought all of their dependants into the safe zone they had established. They had chosen a site that could be resupplied by sea if necessary, with port facilities, rather than the marine base deeper in the city. And there was a wealth of supplies in warehouses on the base - everything needed to resupply dozens of naval vessels. Even portable generators to supply power, now that the power grid was a twisted ruin.
Unfortunately, the wealth of resources attracted more than one set of predators.

There were signs around the base that more than one firefight had taken place recently. Gibbs didn't have to be psychic to see that the place had been under attack. The large craters and blackened buildings were a dead give-away. More unusual were the large numbers of windows and tarmac that had apparently just melted and formed into huge, glassy pools, now solidified and cool. Or the vehicles that had sunk halfway into the ground, as if the ground beneath them had turned to quicksand then solidified again. Or weirdest of all, the bushes and trees that had been twisted round and round like a corkscrew. Still, given the fact that they were still here, apparently their defences had worked.

Gibbs quirked an eyebrow at their marine escort and the gunny shrugged.
"Mutant attacks!" he said. "A lot of people want the food and gas we have on base. Not surprising really; FEMA fucked up just like it did in New Orleans. There were riots a few days after the blast, when supplies started to get short and most of us were sick. People were beginning to die then and a lot of civilians started to panic. Most of the survivors have been evacuated now, but there are still plenty of mutants. We have emergency evacuation plans in place, if necessary.

The NCIS building had changed almost beyond recognition. With the limited power available from several generators and an uncertain water supply to serve hundreds of NCIS employees and their dependants, dormitory living ruled. Every room was being used to the max.

And maybe people just didn't want to be alone. There was something oppressive about the city now, that had never been there before.
In the squadroom, from a warehouse on base, large numbers of bunks had been found and assembled to house the multitudes. Areas of each room had been curtained off to give some attempt at privacy, but kids were running around, babies were crying, and there was the constant hum of conversation. Wires looped along the ceiling, channelling electricity from somewhere, so that dim emergency lighting could be delivered.
Though there were at least a hundred people camped out, just in that area, Gibbs noted that there were noticeably fewer people than there should be in the older population groupings.

As the two agents stared around, disbelieving, there was a squeal from across the room.

"Gibbs! Tony! You're here!" A wildly excited Abby ran towards them and flung her arms around the two men, dragging them into a group hug. When she finally let go of them, a dozen other friends and co-workers were there to greet them with hugs, handshakes and the rest of it. Tony hadn't known they were so popular! Their reunion was like coming back to a caring family after years away, Tony decided, not that he had much experience of that. It was obvious though, how much Abby and Ducky cared for them. And even McGee had welcomed them with a hug. The probie had looked tired and Tony had the distinct impression that he was glad to cede responsibility for their team's safety to Gibbs.

The new director, Jenny Sheppard, greeted Gibbs with a smile. Tony had known that they were old partners, but he didn't expect the surge of strong emotion, quickly suppressed, that he felt from Gibbs' mind. Eyes wide, Tony stared at his boss, only to meet Gibbs' cryptic, apparently dispassionate blue eyes. Yeah right. Like Tony believed that for an instant. He wouldn't have believed Gibbs and the Director were only co-workers before he could sense his thoughts, but telepathy confirmed their relationship absolutely. Tony let his doubt show in his eyes, but Gibbs didn't take the bait.

What the hell had that surge of emotion been about? Gibbs had worked hard on developing the barrier between them, so that their thoughts weren't leaking into each other's heads all the time. Feelings were harder to surpress. Generally, it worked well, except when Tony dreamed... Gibbs wasn't usually the one who let things leak through. And the strong feelings Tony sensed were complex - a mixture of regret, a hot flare of remembered desire, and anger at some kind of betrayal.

Tony strengthened his own barriers hurriedly, prudence taking over from his growing curiosity. Whatever Gibbs was angry at, he knew his boss well enough not to get in the middle of it. Especially not Gibbs’ sex life! It seemed as though Gibbs and the Director had some history - and some issues to work through. Still, she seemed glad that they were okay, and surprised at their unexpected arrival.

Yeah well, they had been missing, presumed dead for nearly three weeks. Abby had tried to tell everyone that Gibbs and Tony were alive, but there seemed to be a distinct mistrust of psi round here. It was only later that he had a few moments of quiet to talk to Abby.

"So..." He grinned. "Mutant superpowers..?"

"Tony!" She reprimanded him. "It isn't like that!"

* But you can hear me!* Tony couldn't stop smiling, like a kid trying out a new toy. Her fingers closed around his arm.

*Only just* She sent. *It's easier when I touch people. I can sense all sorts of things that way.*

He felt her mind brush against his, with that strange otherworld perception. She pushed against his barriers, trying to sink deeper into his mind, and he shivered. Some paranoid part of him was abruptly terrified that she wanted to learn his more closely guarded secrets, even things so deeply suppressed he wasn't sure of them, himself.

Though he cared deeply for her, the sudden, unexpected intimacy of the contact, far more than simple telepathy, was just too much. Not when he was already tangled up with Gibbs. He couldn't bear the thought of someone else in his head. Someone too intimate, as close as a lover...
Someone who wasn't Gibbs. When he realised the way his thoughts were heading, Tony raised the barriers around his mind. Some things were just too personal to share.

She yelped when her mind crashed into the shield around his mind. Weeks of practice, keeping himself separate and apart from Gibbs, for his own sanity and to maintain the illusion of privacy, had made his barriers strong. Gibbs, of course, could have brushed them aside as if they weren't there. He was incredibly powerful, not that Tony tried too hard to stop his boss. Why that was, he refused to consider, yet his mind kept returning to the issue.

Tony realised then, that nobody else was welcome inside his mind right now - not even Abby, whom he trusted more than anyone except Gibbs. Not just because there were things he wanted to keep secret, but also because some of the things he and Gibbs had shared together were intensely personal. Yeah, and intimate, with all that the word implied. He blushed. That was the thing he didn't want anyone to see. That new, small kernel of longing that wanted something more from Gibbs.

Instinctively he pushed her away, breaking the contact, and she gasped as she felt herself gently but firmly propelled across the room by an invisible force, his telekinesis instinctive, protecting him from the horror of spilling all of his secrets to the world.

"Don't..." he said softly. "I don't want anyone else in my head. Not right now." She stared at him, in awe.

"Wow, Tony. That's more than just telepathy! How did you do that?"
Tony just shook his head.

"I don't know. I don't want everyone to know I'm a freak, Abby" Perhaps she heard something of his desperation and loneliness in his voice, or maybe something did leak from his mind. There was sympathy in her eyes as she watched him.

"I wouldn't tell everyone your secrets, Tony," she said softly. "I was just curious."

Tony shivered. "I'm full of secrets, these days," he said quietly.

*****

The two men sat in autopsy, which had changed almost beyond recognition. The need for medical facilities had forced Ducky and Palmer to turn their area into a makeshift hospital. There had been so many casualties after the Pulse. Ducky, of course had insisted on checking their health as soon as the inevitable welcome celebrations were over. He wanted to know all about their experiences after the Pulse.

The two men exchanged glances, then Tony gave a shrug.

"The boss wasn't affected the same way that I was. It hit me straight away, and I was ill for about 24 hours. But the boss - it came on him more gradually, then he was out of it for about a week. Delirious with fever. I had to hold him down." Tony smirked.

"You saved my life!" Gibbs said softly. "I don't remember much about it." He sighed. "Tony was hit hard by the Pulse when it first struck us. At first, I thought he had hit his head when our car crashed. He was bleeding from his nose... But then I realised it was something else a lot worse. He nearly died...

His hand reached out almost automatically towards Tony, who found himself stretching out his fingers in response. Their fingertips briefly touched and Tony felt the echo of Gibbs' concern echoing in his mind as they linked. Momentarily, light glimmered where their hands touched, outlining their fingers with a ghostly white light. Ducky's eyes widened.

"We've been linked ever since," Gibbs said. "Inside each other's heads. I don't know how it happened, or why. But we gave each other strength when we were sick." A pause. " I think we would have died without it." Tony felt a brief burst of warmth along their shared link and pulled his fingers away from Gibbs before he could blush in embarrassment. That intimacy thing again.

"Remarkable!" Ducky sighed. "I wish there was enough power to run a scan on your brains. The way you reacted to the Pulse may be highly significant; I've heard rumours of something similar, but as far as I know, no case has been properly investigated."

"To be honest, I'd rather it was kept quiet!" Gibbs said. "Mutants don't seem to be very popular around here."

"We have a few," Ducky said. "About a dozen NCIS personnel who show some significant mutant abilities, many more with just a trace of psi. We're grading the strength of mutant abilities on a five-point scale, Category 1 being the strongest, followed by 2 to 5. The majority of our mutants are in the lowest two categories, and we have about half a dozen level 3's. Right now, Abby is our most powerful mutant, the only one at level 2. He sighed. "Unfortunately for us, there appear to be a number of hostile level 1 mutants at large in the city." He hesitated. "Would I be right in thinking that your abilities are exceptionally strong? We've noticed that people who were outside, unprotected, when the Pulse hit were much more strongly affected by it. Much more likely to get sick, but also more likely to develop abilities.

"Yeah." Gibbs acknowledged the older man's query without going into detail. His eyes met Tony's and the younger man nodded. He didn't need to be psychic to understand Gibbs' message. Better to keep their abilities concealed for the moment. Especially if they were both as powerful as he suspected.

******

Evening....

The sleeping arrangements were basic, to say the least. Some areas of the building had been screened off into cubicles to give the illusion of privacy, each with a standard issue bunk from the navy stores. Apparently, FEMA or more likely, some efficient NCO around here had organised things well for a change. Staying on base beat the alternative - risking the dangers of the lawless city streets.

Gibbs found that he and DiNozzo had been assigned neighbouring bunks in a small storage room in the basement, distant from the more sought-after space in the NCIS gym, which was most popular because it had basic shower facilities. Again, with admirable efficiency, in the weeks since the Pulse, water and power supplies had been secured for the highest priority buildings on base, although most of the base was still deprived of power. Though with fuel reserves for at least 50 ships stored at the Navy Yard, the base was well supplied for the moment.

Water too was carefully rationed. With the power grid fried, clean water couldn't be pumped from the reservoirs to the city. It was going to be a long time before things got back to normal. Tony wondered what "normal" was, now that the world had mutants.

He stared at the bunks in the quiet, dimly lit room, then at Gibbs with a carefully neutral expression, which was probably wise of him. Gibbs pretended not to notice the poorly suppressed longing he could feel leaking from his young subordinate's mind.

"All the comforts of home!" Gibbs said, looking around him with a scowl. "Wasn't this the store cupboard for copier supplies?" He sat experimentally on his bunk and frowned. Tony was sitting opposite him, and the space was so small that his knees brushed up against Tony's. He wasn't sure bunking with Tony was a good idea, but he would just have to make the best of it.

"Yeah," Tony said softly. "A room of our own. Rank has its privileges!" He glanced guiltily at the door, then at the beds.

Gibbs sighed. Sometimes DiNozzo was so very transparent, even if he hadn't been aware of his subordinate's poorly suppressed feelings of longing.

"Tony..." he said warningly. "This has to stop. We can't go on like this..."

The young agent sighed. "Yeah. But I guess I was hoping it would last a bit longer. I liked what we had. I like being close to you." He prudently decided to change the subject and his voice softened a little. "I can feel that your knee hurts tonight, boss. Hardly surprising after all the walking we've done over the past few days. You want me to take care of it?"

It wasn't the first time he had sensed the older man's aching knee. Shortly after their first telepathic joining, he had begun to feel Gibbs' occasional moments of physical discomfort, if he had a tough day and pushed himself physically. The dull ache that spread up his thigh. Tony had never noticed, before the disaster, how much that knee affected Gibbs' temper. He knew now though, and he tapped into years of college Phys ed experience to help his boss.

Gibbs nodded; it hadn't taken him long to realise that Tony's talented fingers could work miracles on sore muscles, especially when his telepathy allowed him to literally feel the effects of his touch on Gibbs, and exactly where his fingers were most effective. Last week, when the headaches had nearly driven him mad, one of the few things that had helped was Tony's touch â€" his fingers gently soothing away the pain. Whether it was the younger man's experience or something linked to their new-found abilities, he didn't know. And though neither of them mentioned it, it was a more acceptable way for the young agent to express his growing feelings of attachment. The young agent knelt in front of him and began to massage the calf muscle below his knee.

Gibbs sighed with relief as Tony's touch had its customary, soothing effect. He leaned back on his bed and relaxed, letting his mind drift. He could hear the contented hum of Tony's mind as he worked. Long fingers skimming along the muscles of Gibbs' thigh.

At some point, he realised how close he was to arousal. Just a little higher and DiNozzo's fingers would be having entirely the opposite effect - stimulating rather than soothing. He wondered once again how he had got himself into this crazy situation. Yet even now, knowing how stupid he was being, he couldn't force himself to pull away.

Tony's eyes met his and he saw the flash of humour in their green depths. The younger man blushed slightly.

"Not what I was aiming for," Tony said softly. His fingers carefully moved away from dangerous territory and the older man finally let himself relax as the soreness was worked out of his knee.

"I know," Gibbs said, not immune to the absurdity of the situation. "These things just seem to happen to us."

Tony sighed. He leaned his head against Gibbs' leg, just above the good knee, his eyes half closed, and he too let his mind drift. It had been a tough day and he was so tired, and he felt comfortable and safe, close to the one person on earth that he trusted absolutely. There was no rational explanation for his increasingly obsessive need to touch Gibbs, but it felt undeniably good.

"S'okay," Gibbs said drowsily. "We'll work it out somehow." His fingers threaded through Tony's hair and the movement somehow turned into a gentle stroking motion. Tony let himself drift off into sleep.

He had done it to Gibbs again. The older man frowned sleepily as he contemplated the sight of DiNozzo curled up next to him on the floor, his head resting on Gibbs' bunk. Despite his determination to distance himself from his young subordinate, in this at least, he had ended up sleeping with Tony again. It had just sort of happened. He had let it, unaccountably relaxed by the younger man's close proximity.

He didn't know whether he ought to be annoyed or resigned to the inevitable. He and Tony just seemed to connect with each other, even without the psi. A mutual need for physical contact that went deeper than he cared to contemplate. He let his fingers thread through the young man's irresistible, dark hair again, enjoying the silky feel of it. Well, half an hour longer wouldn't hurt...

*****

Tony woke a short time later, and reluctantly dragged his ass away from the sleeping Gibbs, to his own cold and lonely bed. At least in their private corner of the building, nobody had been around to see his retreat, like a dog slinking away with its tail between its legs. Still, Gibbs was only a few feet away from him. In the event, he fell asleep almost immediately. But it wasn't the peaceful experience he craved.

He moaned as he entered the familiar realm of nightmare. He knew she would be waiting for him, and as always, he wasn't disappointed. Every night, Kate looked worse - the processes of decay were well advanced by now, months after her death.

He whimpered, trying to back away from her, hoping that those yellowed, oozing eyes wouldn't see him, but as always, she sought him out, coming towards him with a whiff of corruption. As always, he backed away, but there was always some obstacle to halt his retreat. Tonight it was an impenetrable hedge and he appeared to be in an old fashioned maze.
"Please," Tony begged her. "Leave me alone!"

"Really Tony, that's so unfriendly." Kate pouted. "Don't you want to talk to me." Tony shook his head. "Too bad! You're stuck with me. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have anyone to talk to..." She edged closer. Tony tried to push her away, but then his hands were wrist-deep in something decaying and rotten and he scrabbled desperately to get away. Nothing helped. He was stuck. So finally, he did the only thing he hadn't yet tried. With his mind he pushed with all his strength.

She laughed. As he opened his mouth to scream, a hand touched his shoulder, shaking him. He saw Kate glare at the newcomer, her face twisted with hate, then the gentle shaking woke him up.

"Tony!" Gibbs' voice, low but urgent. "It's just a dream!"

Tony stared around him. Blankets, his clothes - everything nearby - was swirling in the air around him, like planets round the sun. Even as he became aware of what his mind was doing, all of his junk fell to the floor. He whimpered and clutched at his boss, shaking uncontrollably and Gibbs realised that Tony was crying, silently, mourning the loss of his friend and so many others.

The older man enfolded Tony in his arms and held him close, letting the sense of protection he felt for the young agent come to the fore. Eventually, Tony stopped shaking and Gibbs sensed him pull himself back together again. The young agent leaned against him, his mind relaxed now, comforted by Gibbs' closeness. Half-awake, the young agent instinctively pressed closer to the man who made him feel so much better. So good...
Gibbs felt the last of Tony's distress fade, and after a moment, he released Tony. The young man stared at him, green eyes filled with embarrassment and just a hint of need…

"Sorry, boss."

Gibbs found it an effort to restrain himself from ruffling Tony's hair.
"Tomorrow, you see Ducky!" The urge to touch Tony was still strong. He satisfied it by tapping Tony beneath his chin in a classic "Keep your chin up" gesture. "I mean it! Even if you have to take sleeping pills to get a good night's rest."

He extended his mind, letting the edge of his thoughts brush against Tony's in what was meant to be reassurance, and he felt the predominant emotion within the young agent's mind. Need. For him or the security of his arms, he wasn't sure. But definitely with a sexual element to it. Somewhere along the way, Gibbs' touch had begin to waken arousal in the young agent.

Perhaps Tony didn't even realise what he was broadcasting, his mind still sleep-hazed. Then Tony's green eyes widened further as he realised that Gibbs could feel him so clearly. In the aftermath of his nightmare, he had clung to the certain security of Gibbs' arms with his barriers down; too open...

As if Gibbs hadn't guessed the developing attraction between them before now, Tony's present emotional state concealed nothing.
To cover his own embarrassment, Gibbs smiled at Tony, making a joke of it.
"Go on then. If you really think kissing me will improve your life, go ahead. I won't get angry."

Tony blushed and shook his head, a hint of annoyance in his eyes. There may even have been the suggestion of a pout, which Gibbs pretended not to notice.

"Yeah. I didn't think so."

Tony glared at Gibbs. Green eyes stared into blue. Gibbs was so close to him, sitting next to him on the bed. And before he could rationalise what he was doing... Before he could talk himself out of it... Tony leaned forward and kissed Gibbs.

He felt the older man's surprise, as his lips brushed against the older man's own. Gibbs had plainly been bluffing. He had never expected Tony to take him up on his offer. Gibbs' lips were warm, and parted beneath Tony's as he instinctively pulled the other man close, his hands tangling in Gibbs' hair, wanting, needing to be near him. He wanted to sink into their link, to become even more intimate... His mind reached out...

...and skidded across Gibbs' barriers that had slammed shut. And the other man had not responded to his kiss at all. Tony pulled apart, blushing, horribly embarrassed. What the hell had possessed him? It was just that Gibbs had practically dared him, and Tony had never lacked courage. Then again, kissing his boss was probably a step too far.

It was just that when Gibbs had suggested it, he had wanted to
connect with him on some deeper level.

Oh hell, he didn't know exactly why he had done it!

Gibbs still looked astonished. Then with a rueful shake of his head, he rose to his feet and headed for his own bunk. Then he looked back and gave the tiniest of smiles.

"Idiot!" he said. "Get some rest,"

Tony reflected that at least his stupidity took his mind off his nightmares.

*****
End of chapter 4