"Bad Dreams"

Chapter One---

It was dark out, except for the lights emitted by the law enforcement vehicles parked all around the scene. The fact that it was a new moon out meant that it was even darker than usual.

Gibbs stepped out of his car and stared at the dinky little roadside motel that sat just a few yards away.

He wasn't in the best mood ever, but that was probably due to the fact that he had not had his morning coffee yet.

He proceeded to make a mental note as his eyes scanned over the small crowd of people that had gathered--most of which were probably motel guests--before taking another step.

The rest of the team had arrived before him so it was a fair assumption, Gibbs thought, that they would have most of the work done already--wrong. He found Tony and Kate standing around doing absolutely nothing at all. McGee was the only one actually doing something work-related.

The probie agent was off to the side busy talking to the two officers who had responded to the 911 call first.

As he walked toward his team he could tell, even in the dim-light, that the Senior Special Agent looked like hell. Kate looked as though she might be her usually bright self, as she always was, no matter what time of day.

"I hate this." Kate said, shaking her head, in a whinning voice.

Tony couldn't help but grin slightly at his partner's displeasure.

"Okay, maybe not." Gibbs thought to himself.

"There a reason why you two are just standing around?" Gibbs asked, in the usual flat tone he used.

Tony shrugged his shoulders unsure of what to say.

"McGee seemed to have everything under control." Tony offered, his tone quieter than usual.

Gibbs' gut churned slightly at the sound of Tony's voice. Now he *knew* something was off--Tony was off.

His thoughts wandered, momentarily as to the reason why, but then he shook it off--dismissed it to the fact that they were all just tired.

"Besides, Gibbs, its two in the morning," Kate chimed in, her exhaustion showing in her voice. "The least you could do is cut us a little slack."

Gibbs offered an amused grin at Kate's proposal.

"Ducky inside?" he asked, nodding towards the motel room with the yellow crime scene tape stretched across the opened door.

"Yeah, he's-" Tony started.

"Good." Gibbs said, interrupting Tony abruptly.

Several feet away, McGee finished interviewing the two police officers, closed his miniature notepad, and waved them away.

He quickly made his way over to join the rest of the team, and to Gibbs he did not look the least bit tired.

"Morning Boss," McGee greeted Gibbs. "I got statements from both of the officers who responded to the motel manager's 911 call--first." McGee informed his boss.

"Good." Gibbs replied, reaching for the probie agent's pad and pencil.

"Wh-why?" McGee stammered, almost in total shock.

"You're coming with me." Gibbs said flatly.

"DiNozzo, statements--everyone." Gibbs said, as he shoved the pad and pencil into his Senior Agent's hands.

Tony was taken aback by the sudden forcefulness of his boss.

"But Boss-" Tony started to protest, but then shook it off.

He really did not have the strength to argue with Gibbs this morning. He had not gotten much sleep, and it wasn't just because he'd been awakened at two o'clock in the morning.

"On it." Tony said, with a defeated sigh, as he turned and headed off towards the crowd of people.

Kate started to giggle, and though she had clamped her hand over her mouth to stifle the sound, Gibbs still heard it.

"Agent Todd, bring your camera." Gibbs ordered, as he pushed past her and headed for the crime scene.

McGee glanced at Kate, quickly, and then sped off after Gibbs.

"But Gibbs, I left my stuff in the truck." Kate called after her boss.

"Then go get it!" Gibbs called over his shoulder, without stopping.

Kate rolled her eyes in disgust as she headed to retrieve her pack and camera gear from the truck.




Gibbs ducked under the yellow tape, McGee following close behind, and entered a very dimly lit motel room.

The room was tacky looking to say the least. "Why anyone would want to stay in a dump like this is way beyond reasoning," Gibbs thought to himself.

In the center of the room, laying across the bed, was their dead body.

"McGee, start baggin'." Gibbs instructed, plainly. "Everything."

"On it boss." McGee replied, heading towards the room's single, small bathroom.

Gibbs strolled over to the bed where Ducky was examining the body.

"Whatcha got Duck?" Gibbs asked, as he leaned over next to the medical examiner's face.

Ducky jumped, nearly toppling completely over the opposite side of the bed, startle by his friends' sudden entrance.

"Dr. Mallard!" Jimmy Palmer exclaimed, jumping to catch his mentor.

He managed to catch the aging medical examiner under the arms, his own balance now compromised by the action.

"Steady there Jimmy." Ducky said, as he struggled to regain his balance.

"There we go--good lad," Ducky said, as the two of them finally regained their balance. "Now, if you will be so kind as to run and get the gurney we'll be in goo shape."

"Yes Doctor." Jimmy said, with a nod, as he headed for the door.

Ducky turned to Gibbs.

"You gave this old man quite a fright there, Jethro." Ducky said, with a grin.

"Sorry Duck." Gibbs replied, hiding his own grin.

Ducky chuckled heartily.

"So whatcha got?" Gibbs repeated his earlier question.

As the two men talked details Kate slipped in under the yellow crime scene tape behind them.

"Well, as you can see, there's quite a bit of blood covering a sizeable portion of the bed." he began, motioning with his hands. "The loss of blood, most likely, caused by the series of gunshot wounds that I found scattered all over his upper torso."

"Sounds like overkill to me." Kate mused, stepping up beside Gibbs--camera in hand.

"Yes, my thoughts exactly Caitlin." Ducky agreed.

Gibbs studied the body laying across the bed, silently, for a moment.

The man was well-built and looked as if he might have stood, Gibbs guessed, at probably 5'10"-5'11", and had his light brown hair cropped short--as was expected of any Marine in the Corps. His green eyes were slightly clouded over, and the expression on his face was one that Gibbs knew would stay in his mind for a long time.

Gibbs flinched, slightly, as the flash from Kate's camera caught his eye unexpectedly as she moved around snapping photos of the dead marine's body.

The man did not appear to be wearing a uniform of any kind, at least that Gibbs could see, and was dressed in only a white t-shirt and a pair of red, polka-dot boxer shorts.

"How'd they know this man was a marine?" Gibbs asked.

Ducky reached into his pocket and pulled out small plastic bag with a brown leather wallet inside, and handed it to Gibbs.

"The manager said he checked or dead marine's ID before calling 911." Ducky informed his friend. "I took the liberty of taking it from him, and bagging it as soon as I got here."

Gibbs flipped the bag over and started to open it when Jimmy appeared.

"Corporal Flint Thompson, 25 years old, stationed at Quantico, and-" Jimmy quoted the things that he had memorized off of the dead marine's ID when he and Ducky had examined it.

Gibbs looked over his shoulder at Jimmy, quietly, shooting him the stare.

"You know what--i-it doesn't really matter--really." Jimmy said, coughing out of nervousness.

"Mr.Palmer--our gurney?" Ducky asked his assisstant.

"Um, oh right--right, its right outside the door, ready when you are." Jimmy said, stumbling over his words.

Gibbs caught another flash of light from Kate's camera.

"Finished yet, Kate?" he asked.

"Almost." she replied, from the other side of the room.

"McGee, catch!" Gibbs called out, tossing the plastic bag containing the wallet, as the probie agent walked nearby.

"Whoa." McGee groaned, as he reached out and jus barely caught the object.

Gibbs turned back to face his medical examiner.

"When Kate gets finished-" he started to say, but his aging friend cut him off.

"Yes, yes I know--don't worry Jethro, Mr. Palmer and I will be right behind you." the older man said, finishing Gibbs' sentence.

Gibbs grinned, nodded, and then headed for the door.




As Gibbs stepped back outside, to his left, he heard shouting coming from several yards away.

"I told you no!" the hotel manager shouted at Tony. "No means NO!"

"Sir, I'm warning you for the last time--you will be arrested for obstructing justice." Tony countered, trying his best to remain calm, and really not wanting this confrontation to go any further than it already had.

"No, you look here--I'm already losing enough business as it is with all you cops out here." the motel manager said angrily.

"If I had known you guys would take this long--I wouldn't have called the cops here in the first place." he fumed.

Gibbs walked toward the sight of the commotion, muscles tensing with every step he took.

"Sir, please--I just need a statement and your fingerprints and then I promise you, we'll leave." Tony pleaded with the man.

"For the last time kid--No!" the man said, as he turned and headed back inside to his office.

Tony followed after him, whipping out his hancuffs, and reaching for the man's right arm.

"Then I have no choice, but to place you under arrest for-" he didn't get a chance to finish his sentence.

The man, feeling Tony pull his arm back around behind his back, elbowed him in the face with his other arm.

"Augh!" Tony groaned as he went sprawling backwards onto the floor.

The man turned and stepped towards Tony who was trying pick himself up.

Gibbs stepped through the door, saw Tony, and made a bee line for the motel manager.

The man reached out a hand to grab Tony, but Gibbs caught it mid-way.

"What the-" the man gasped, in shock.

Gibbs twisted the man's arm, pushed him back slightly, and then shoved his own hand upwards against the man's nose.

The man stumbled backwards into the opposite wall, hands grasping at his face.

"Damn!" she shouted. "Bastard--you broke my nose--you son-of-a-bitch!" he spouted off at Gibbs.

He tried to stand, but Gibbs was just too fast for him.

Gibbs snatched him up by the collar of his shirt, spun him around, and slammed up against the wall.

"You're under arrest for assaulting a federal agent," Gibbs growled, as he handcuffed the man. "And we will press charges."

Gibbs lead the man over and pushed him down into a chair that sat directly in front of a desk setup. "Sit." he growled, angrily.

He walked over to aid his Senior Special Agent, who was still struggling a bit to get up.

"You alright DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked, as he pulled the young man up to his feet.

Tony held his hand over his nose and part of his mouth, tightly.

"I-I think so." he replied.

Gibbs leaned out the door, quickly, and looked around until he spotted walking away from the crime scene.

"Kate!" Gibbs yelled out.

It didn't take Kate long to reach her boss' side.

"Whatcha need?" she asked, before she saw Tony.

"Oh God, what happened?" she asked, reaching out for her partner.

"The short version?" Tony asked, trying his best to mask how he really felt.

Gibbs rolled his eyes.

"Take him and let Ducky check him out." Gibbs instructed, motionng to the door with his hand.

"Come on let's go see Ducky." Kate said, reaching out a hand to help Tony.

Her hand landed on the arm that he was using to put pressure on his nose, and a sharp pain shot through him.

"Ouch!" Tony groaned.

"Oh oh, sorry--sorry, my bad." Kate replied, sympathetically, grimacing at her partner's pain.

"Watch it will ya!" Tony snapped, though he didn't really mean to.

Kate led Tony outside slowly and carefully.

Gibbs turned to the man sitting in the chair nearby.

"Get up!" Gibbs said, coldly, snatching the man up. "Let's go."





Chapter 2---

"Ouch!" Tony yelped, as Ducky snapped his nose back into place.

"Now there--wasn't that bad now was it?" Ducky chuckled.

"About as bad as your bedside manner." Tony replied.

Ducky couldn't help but laugh at Tony's humor.

Autopsy looked the same as it always did at almost 6 o'clock in the morning.

Once Ducky had him cleaned and bandaged up, he hopped down off of the slab.

"Sorry to say you won't be able to breathe your nose very well for quite some time, but at least its not crooked anymore." Ducky said.

"Good." Gibbs said, walking through the sliding door(s) into autopsy.

"I'll take him from here, Duck." Gibbs said, grabbing Tony's arm.

"I'll call when I finish the autopsy." Ducky called after the two men.





Gibbs drug Tony all the way to the elevator.

"Whoa, hold on there big guy." Tony said, planting his feet just in front of the elevator. "Where are we going?" he asked.

"Coffee." Gibbs replied plainly, as he slapped the up button on the wall.

"Oh." Tony said.

"By the way--thanks for saving my butt back there boss." Tony said, quietly.

"Don't mention it." Gibbs replied.

The elevator door opened, and Gibbs pushed Tony inside, and then followed.

After the elevator door closed behind them there was a brief, awkward silence between the two men at first.

Gibbs heaved a sigh, and then slapped the halt button bringing the elevator to a sudden stop.

Tony turned away from Gibbs not wanting to face him directly.

"What happened out there?" Gibbs asked.

"I don't know what you mean." Tony said, quietly, shrugging his shoulders.

"You didn't even try to fight back." Gibbs pointed out, quietly.

"I guess he just caught me by surprise, that's all." Tony replied.

Gibbs folded his arms across his chest. He knew something was wrong, and he had a feeling about what it was--but he wasn't one to just jump to conclusions.

"Don't lie to me." Gibbs said.

"I'm not-" Tony started to say, suddenly becoming defensive, as he turned to face Gibbs.

Gibbs' piercing blue eyes cut deep into his soul like the world's sharpest knife.

Tony stood unable to speak as Gibbs stared at him for what seemed like the longest time to him.

"Its the dreams--isn't it?" Gibbs said, finally, in a soft voice.

Tony could feel the tears burning behind his eyes, and he fought them with everything that he had in him.

Gibbs stepped closer to Tony which made the younger man sway on the spot.

"Tony, talk to me." Gibbs said, softly.

"I-I--yes--it was the dreams." Ton said finally, breaking down a little bit.

He leaned back against the opposite wall, and bent at the waist placing his hands on his knees.

"I've been having them all weekend." Tony admitted, quietly, his voice cracking a little bit.

Gibbs dropped into a squat in front of the younger man, a sympathetic look spread across his face.

"Tell me about them." Gibbs pressed him, with a thoughtful look.

"I-I keep seeing my old man," Tony started, slowly.

"I can hear his words in my head, over and over again."

Gibbs reached out and gently brushed away a couple of tears from the younger man's eyes.

Tony sank all the way to the floor--his knees drawn up slightly.

"You said you weren't having these dreams anymore," Gibbs remembered, from a conversation they'd had just a few months ago. "What triggered these?"

"My mom called, about three nights ago," Tony said, in a solemn voice.

Tony looked up at Gibbs with a face full of pain and deep rooted fear.

"She said the doctors have given my father less than two months to live." Tony said, a slight quiver in his voice.

"The way he drinks, its amazing he didn't die years ago." Gibbs said quietly.

That little bit of humor from his boss seemed to make Tony feel a little better. Gibbs could see the grin tugging at the edges of Tony's mouth, and it made him grin a little.

They both remembered Tony's last encounter with his father. It had been only 2 or 3 years before, and it had opened Gibbs' eyes to what his Senior Special Agent's life was really like. He had learned that Tony's womanizing ways were just part of a mask that he used to hide many years worth of wounds and scars.

It was also during that time that the two men had developed a relationship beyond that of a boss and co-worker.

"My mom wants me to come home," Tony said finally. "In three days."

"She seems to think that the whole dying thing might have changed him." he continued.

"She still chooses not to see what's really there." Tony added.

Gibbs gave a sigh, and then patted the young man on the shoulder.

"Come on." Gibbs said, softly, holding his hand out to Tony.

Together the two men stood up.

"Here take this, get yourself cleaned up." Gibbs said, fishing a tissue out of his trouser pocket and handing it to Tony.

Tony wiped the tears from his eyes with the tissue, and dabbed a little bit at his sore nose as well, as Gibbs reached out and flipped the halt switch back off.

The elevator resumed its movement taking its passengers to their desired destination.

Gibbs pulled a twenty dollar bill and a ten dollar bill out of his wallet and handed it to Tony.

"What's this for?" Tony asked, as the elevator door opened up to the squad room.

"Coffee." Gibbs replied, as he punched the button for the parking garage before stepping out. "For the team." he said with a grin.

The elevator door started to close once again on a somewhat shocked Tony.

"I like mine strong, DiNozzo." Gibbs reminded Tony, as the elevator door closed hiding his Senior Special Agent from view.

Gibbs paused for a moment, sucked in a deep breath, and then turned on his heel and headed around the corner.

He rounded the corner into the bullpen, and found Kate slumped over her desk--fast asleep.

He smiled, chuckling to himself at the sight of the female special agent.

Gibbs strolled around behind his desk and pulled the heaviest book he owned off of the bookshelf. He carried it, under his arm, back over to Kate's desk where he stopped in front it--facing the slumbering special agent.

He grinned slightly, and then dropped the book--giving it a little extra push--to the floor The heavy book hit the floor with a loud THUD!

"What-hunh!" Kate mumbled, as she sat bolt upright, arms flailing in front of her face, startled by the loud noise.

Gibbs grinned from ear to ear, but then quickly shook it away as he headed back towards his own desk.

Kate rubbed her eyes, breaking up the sleep that had fallen over her.

"What time is it?" she asked, in between yawns, as she stretched in her chair.

"Time for you to get back to work." Gibbs replied, flatly, as he dropped down into his own chair behind his desk.

Kate began running her fingers through her hair trying to straighten it back out--knowing that it had to look like crap after a nap like that.

"But first you can pick up that book." Gibbs added.

Kate uttered an irritated blow, rolling her eyes, as she walked around her desk and picked up the boook.

Gibbs checked his e-mail. It was nothing but junk mail and a load of spam, so he hit the delete all button, chucking the whole lot into the virtual garbage bin.

Kate dropped the heavy book onto Gibbs' desk with a thud.

Gibbs looked up at the former Secret Service Agent--undisturbed by the loud sound the book made.

"Thanks," he said, sliding the book back onto the shelf without looking.

"So much for cutting us some slack, hunh?" Kate remarked, in that sassy tone of hers.

"I let you sleep didn't I?" Gibbs replied.

"Yeah, for less than a hour." Kate replied, sharply.

Gibbs stood up behind his desk retrieving his side-arm and badge from his belt, and stowed them in the top right-hand drawer of his desk.

"Some is better than none." Gibbs replied, plainly.

"You can be a real ass sometimes, you know that Gibbs?" Kate spouted off.

"Really, I thought I was just a bastard." he replied, walkng around out from around his desk.

Kate rolled her eyes at her boss, as she turned for her desk.

"When I get back I want Corporal Thompson's service record, and a list of his closest kin on my desk." Gibbs said sternly, as he headed for employee lounge.

Kate turned by her desk, and looked in Gibbs' direction.

"Where are you going?" she called after her boss.

"To get a Caf-Pow!" Gibbs called back, over his shoulder.



Gibbs strolled into the lab, a few minutes later, holding a Caf-Pow in one hand.

Abby had her music going just as loud as ever, and even though Gibbs wasn't really into the kind of music that Abby was into--she just wouldn't be Abby if she didn't play it.

Abby stood at her workstation watching her computer screen, and bobbing her head to the music.

Just a few feet away sat McGee working on something, but what Gibbs wasn't sure.

"Abby!" Gibbs tried to yell over the music.

Neither one of them could hear him over the music though.

"Abby!" he yelled again, this time a little louder.

Still nothing. Gibbs rolled his eyes, and let out an exasperated sigh as he stepped a little closer.

Gibbs put his lips together and let out an ear-splitting whistle that would most assuredly deafen anyone who happened to be standing to close.

Abby spun around, quickly, and after spotting her boss grabbed the stereo remote off of the table behind her, and hit the mute button.

"Sorry about that." she said, apologetically.

Gibbs waved it off casually--letting her know that it was okay.

"Who're you talkin' to-" McGee started to say, as he spun in his seat.

He came face to face with his boss.

"Uh, B-boss--s-sorry I didn't hear you come in." McGee stammered.

"I'm surprised you can hear anything McGee." Gibbs replied.

Abby giggled, and it made Gibbs start to grin--but then he shook it off quickly.

"I-I was just helping Abby check Corporal Thompson's-"

Gibbs stopped McGee mid-sentence not letting him finish.

"Well now you're done," Gibbs informed McGee, sternly. "Go help Kate." he added, nodding towards the door.

"R-Right Boss--I'll get right on it." McGee stammered, as he rushed out the door, nervously.

Abby giggled again, and this time Gibbs didn't mind laughing a little bit himself.

"You're really mean to him sometimes, you know that Gibbs." Abby said, with a devilish grin.

"Yeah well, he'll get used to it." Gibbs replied, plainly.

"So how's Tony?" Abby asked, sincerely. "I heard from McGee about the fight at the crime scene earlier this morning."

Gibbs nodded. "He'll live." he said, plainly.

Abby noticed the Caf-Pow in Gibbs' hand, and pointed at it excitedly.

"Is that for me?" she asked, stepping forward.

"Yep." Gibbs replied, holding out the over-sized drink cup.

Abby took the drink from her boss, and immediately swallowed a huge gulp of the red, highly-caffeinated beverage.

"Aaahh." she sighed, apparently satisfied--at least for the moment. "Thanks Gibbs, I needed that." she said with a smile, as she hugged her boss.

Gibbs patted her on the back, and then gave one of her pigtails a playful little tug.

Abby pulled away, with a smile on her face, and stared at her boss.

"Gibbs," she said in a playfully seductive voice.

Gibbs threw his forensic specialist a special little wink that made her giggle.

She took another few sips from her big gulp, and then set the cup down on the table behind her.

Abby stepped, slowly, closer to her boss until she was right almost up against him. She threw her arms around his neck and stared into his eyes for a brief moment before tracing a line, with one finger, down his chest.

"Is there something you want, Mr. Gibbs?" she asked, trying to make her graveley voice sound somewhat seductive.

Gibbs chuckled, and it made a shiver run up and down Abby's spine.

"No Ms. Scuito, I think its more what you want." Gibbs countered, speaking in a low voice.

Abby's whole body shivered once again. Gibbs took both of her hands into his own, and held them tight. He leaned his head down close to her ear--the feel of his breath on her skin iniating yet another shiver.

"Tonight," he whispered, in a low voice. "If you're a good girl."

Abby struggled, once, playfully against Gibbs' strong grip giggling as she did so. After a moment or so he finally released her, and she hopped backwards a few feet--saluting Gibbs as soon as she came to a halt.

"I'll be the best Sir." she said, trying not to sound too excited.

Gibbs nodded, and then with a light throat clearing sound the two of them resumed their former roles--behaving almost as if the latter had never really occured.

"Whatcha got for me?" he asked.

Abby turned back to her workstation, and began punching keys on the keyboard.

"I'm still running the unidentified prints that were collected from the crime scene--so far nothing, but these things do take time." she explained.

"I am also gonna see what I can get off of this cell phone McGee found in the victim's bathroom." she added.

Gibbs nodded. "How long?"

"Three hours--4 hours tops." she replied, turning to face her boss.

"Make it two." Gibbs replied, sternly.

Abby rolled her eyes at the silver-haired man standing before her.

"I'm good Gibbs, but I don't think I'm that good." she joked.

Gibbs grinned slightly, and then turned and headed for the door.

"I have faith in you Abs." he called over his shoulder.


---------To Be Continued In "Potentially Problematic"---------

"Potentially Problematic"

Chapter 3---

Tony stepped off of the elevator and strolled into the bullpen carrying a tray with five coffee cups in it.

"Where have you been?" Kate asked, looking up from a stack of papers.

Tony grinned at his partner.

"Gibbs sent me to get coffee." Tony replied, handing her one of the cups.

"Thanks." Kate said, as she took a sip from her coffee.

Gibbs entered from the other side of the room, and headed towards his desk.

"You're welcome." Gibbs said, as he neared his desk.

"McGee, one for you." Tony said, as he handed a cup to the probie.

"Thanks Tony." McGee said.

"What about me?"

Tony spun on his heel in his boss' direction.

"Coming boss!" Tony exclaimed, making his way to Gibbs' desk.

Tony relinquished a cup of strong coffee to his boss.

Gibbs took the cup, looked at it, and then took a long sip of the coffee.

"That's good coffee." Gibbs said, as he set the cup down on the desk.

He motioned with his finger for Tony to come closer, and the senior agent did as instructed leaning his head down closer.

"Feeling better?" Gibbs asked, discreetly.

Tony nodded. "Yes sir." he replied, softly.

"Good." Gibbs whispered, with a knowing grin.

Gibbs waved the younger man away, and Tony took the tray and the last remaining coffee cup to his own desk.

"Kate." Gibbs called, over his computer.

Kate knew as soon as Gibbs said her name what he was going to ask so instead of waiting for him to ask she answered first.

"It's all right here." she replied, quickly, as she grabbed a file folder up off of the corner of her desk.

She got up from her desk, and worked her way around to Gibbs' desk carrying the manilla file folder.

"Corporal Thompson's service record, and his next of kin." she said, as she handed the manilla file folder to her boss.

Gibbs looked up at the female special agent, and took the folder from her hand.

"Thanks." he said, plainly.

He flipped opened the folder and scanned through the documents within fairly quickly before shutting it again.

He realized after a moment that Kate was still standing in front of his desk.

"What?" He said, looking up at Kate. "You wanna another nap?"

"Well, yeah Gibbs--that would be nice." she replied, as she placed her hands on her hips.

Gibbs stared at her for a second or two, silently, biding his time.

"McGee!" he called across the bullpen without looking.

"Yes sir." the probie agent replied, looking up.

"How's that paper trail comin'?" Gibbs asked.

"Um, I'm still working on it boss." McGee replied, nervously.

Still staring up at Kate Gibbs nodded his head in the direction of McGee's desk.

"Help him." Gibbs said, sternly.

Kate rolled her eyes at her boss as she let loose a blow of frustration. She was beginning to realize that this was going to be a very long day.

She turned on her heel, and marched off angrily towards McGee's desk.

Gibbs wanted to laugh so badly, but knew that he could not compromise his hold over Kate or McGee.

Gibbs picked up his coffee cup and pulled the list of names out of the file folder, and walked out from behind his desk heading towards Tony's desk.

Tony sat at his desk sipping his coffee and touching his fingers to his still sore nose as if testing it to see if it was still sore. When he saw Gibbs walking towards him he quickly set the cup down and cleared some space off on his desk.

Gibbs stopped in front of Tony's desk and handed him the list of names. Tony accepted the sheet of paper from his boss without question.

"Make some calls, DiNozzo, and find out who on this list was the last to see our dead Corporal last." Gibbs said, in a low voice.

"On it boss." Tony replied, in that childish way of his.

The older man patted him on the shoulder as he walked off around the corner, and Tony watched until Gibbs was no longer in sight before turning back to his given assignment.




A few minutes later Gibbs strolled into the office of the Director's secretary, and paused at her desk.

"Can I help you Special Agent Gibbs?" the young woman asked politely.

"Yeah, I need to see a 'Leave of Absence Request Form'." Gibbs said, quietly.

"Just a moment."

The young woman stood up and walked over to a filing cabinet standing against a far wall. She dug through a drawer which she had practically snatched open, until she found what she was looking for.

"Oh, here it is." she announced quietly, as she turned back towads Gibbs.

She walked over to the edge of her desk, and handed him the semi-blank sheet of paper.

"Anything else?" she asked, as she re-took her seat.

"Nope." Gibbs replied, as he turned and headed into the director's office.




Gibbs walked into his director's office, and closed the door behind him.

The director was sitting behind his desk filling out some work-related forms, and signing off on some new documents and what not.

"Still don't know how to knock, Jethro?" Director Morrow asked, without looking up.

"No sir." Gibbs replied, quietly.

The director let out a short sigh, as he rubbed his eyes with one hand.

"Oh well, no harm done I guess." he said.

Gibbs grinned slightly, but then straightened back up just as quickly.

"What can I do for you Jethro?" Director Morrow asked his best agent.

Gibbs moved closer to the directors desk, and held out the semi-blank sheet of paper. The director accepted the sheet of paper.

"What's this?" the director asked, looking down at the paper.

"It's a request for leave of absence." Gibbs replied.

Director Morrow looked up at his agent standing in front of his desk, and tilted his head, slightly, to one side.

"Going smewhere?" he asked, somewhat amused.

Gibbs shifted in place. "You could say that."

Gibbs spent the next few minutes explaining the situation to his director who sat patiently and listened intensly.

"I just don't see why Agent DiNozzo can't handle this on his own." Director Morrow said finally.

Gibbs took another step towards the director's desk.

"With all do respect sir--you weren't there last time." Gibbs replied, quietly.

"You're right, I wasn't."

"But he is a grown man, Jethro, he's more than capable of taking care of himself." Director Morrow added.

"I understand that sir, but for him its like walking into a combat zone." Gibbs replied. "And I don't intend to let one of people walk into a fire fight alone."

Director Morrow drew in a long bretah, and then let it out, slowly. He rubbed his forehead with one han while holding the sheet of paper in the other.

"Alright. How long will you be gone?" he asked.

"Don't know, sir." Gibbs replied, as he leaned his head to one side until he felt his neck pop.

Director Morrow laid the sheet of paper down flat on his desk, and picked up his form-sighning pen and signed the request at the bottom, and then dated it. He looked at it one last time before handing it back to Gibbs.

"Clear this case, and you're free to go." Director Morrow said, quietly.

Gibbs nodded his appreciation.

"Thank you sir."




Tony sat at his desk with the phone to his ear arguing with the person on the other end of the line.

He finally got fed up with arguing and slammed the phone back down onto its base angrily.

"Havin' fun there Tony?" Kate quipped, from McGee's desk.

Tony shot her an annoyed look across the room.

"No Kate, I am not having fun." he replied.

Gibbs rounded the corner and handed Tony the sheet of paper that the director had signed only a few minutes ago as he passed his desk.

Tony studied it carefully and then looked up with a surprised expression on his face.

"Boss this-" he started to say.

Gibbs gave him the stare from his own desk, and Tony knew exactly what it meant.

While Gibbs, Kate, and McGee conversed about the case and what they'd found so far Tony flipped the sheet of paper over and found a sticky note attached to the back.

He peeled it off and read it silently to himself, as he stuffed the other sheet of paper into his desk drawer--knowing that he would have to finish filling it out later.

The sticky note read: **I'll explain later. Come to my place about 8:00 tonight. We'll talk.**

Tony finished reading the note, and glanced over at his boss sitting across the bullpen at his own desk. A cold shiver ran down the length of Tony's body.

He thought he saw Gibbs look up and wink at him, but then he shook it off dismissing it as his mind was just merely playing tricks on him.




Chapter 4---

It was just a few minutes after 8:00 when Tony arrived at Gibbs' house. He stood out on the front steps and rang the doorbell. He hopped up and down, in place, a few times trying to quiet his anxious nerves while he waited for Gibbs to answer. If anything Tony was nervous as hell just standing there.

The sound of the door opening made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

"Tony." Gibbs said, his voice warm and inviting.

He motioned for the younger man to come in with a wave of his hand.

Tony's first thought was to just turn and run--as fast as he could, but he shook it off and entered his boss' house slowly.

Gibbs closed the door and locked it back.

"N-nice place you got here boss." Tony stammered nervously, as his eyes wandered over the decor of Gibbs' living room.

"Yeah, Abby really did a good job didn't she." Gibbs said, walking towards the younger man.

Tony just nodded in agreement.

"So Abby's been here already?" Tony asked, as he ran a hand through his dark hair.

"Yep." Gibbs replied, pointing towards the upstairs. "Still is."

"Oh." Tony said.

Gibbs laughed. "Come on have a seat." Gibbs said, pointing towards the sofa.

Tony moved towards the sofa admiring this and that all along the way.

"Would you like a drink?" he asked Tony.

"Sure, thanks." Tony replied, as he sat down on the sofa.

Gibbs headed off in the direction of the kitchen to get the two of them a cold drink.

He returned a minute later carrying two beers--one in either hand. He handed one to Tony before he sat down on the sofa next to him.

"You seem tense." Gibbs pointed out, as he popped the top off of his beer.

"Really, I hadn't noticed." Tony replied, as he held his bottle out for Gibbs to open.

"I noticed that you had both of our names on that 'Leave of Absence Form'," Tony said, quietly, looking over at Gibbs.

"And you wanna know why?" Gibbs asked, with a knowing grin.

Tony nodded, and Gibbs let out a short chuckle.

"Well, first of all, Tony, its Jethro--and secondly-," Gibbs started.

"It was two years after you and I first met at NCIS," Gibbs began. "Your father was in town for a business meeting, and somehow he got caught up in the case that we were working."

Tony remembered all too well the case that Gibbs was talking about. The whole damn thing had been one huge nightmare for him.

"I remember what he was like when we tried to question him." Gibbs said.

Tony could see the whole thing playing out in his head over and over and over again.

They sat in silence for a few minutes together. Gibbs finally looked over at the younger man, and just looking at him he could tell that there was something bothering him--deeply bothering him.

"Spill." Gibbs said quietly, taking a sip of his beer.

Tony did the same, and then sucked in a deep breath as he prepared to tell his story. The younger man's eyes glazed over as he took another long sip of his beer.

......DREAM-LIKE SEQUENCE......

He and his mother walked in through the front door of the huge DiNozzo residence. Young Anthony had his head down as he walked behind his mother.

His father stood in the foyer waiting for them, and as soon as he saw his son he made a bee line straight for him.

"Got kicked out again, eh?" The older DiNozzo said, some amusement in his voice.

The young Anthony did not look up.

"I didn't like it there." he mumbled.

"What's that!?" His father asked, angrily, as he seized his son by the collar of his shirt.

"I-I said I didn't like-"

Young Anthony never got to finish his sentence before he felt the back of his father's hand come down, hard, against the side of his face.

His mother flinched at the sight of her husband hitting thei son, but all she felt she could do was turn away and pretend it didn't happen.

The young boy's father took a good, long hard look at his wife.

"Come on." he growled angrily, as he drug the boy away towards his 'study'.

He closed the 'study' door behind them, and almost as soon as he did--the shouting started.

"I spend good money--good money--to put get you into nice schools, and what do you do--hunh--this is how *you* repay *my* generosity!" the older DiNozzo shouted at his son, angrily.

Smack! His hand landed hard against his son's face once more. The shouting and hitting continues behind closed doors.

......END OF DREAM-LIKE SEQUENCE......

Tony cried out in reaction to the painful memory.

"Tony." Gibbs said softly.

Tony snapped out of the trance which he had fallen into, and looked up at his boss--his glazed over.

There were tears in the younger man's eyes as he stared into Gibbs' eyes. Gibbs could see the pain and the scars all over Tony, and his heart ached for the younger man sitting in his living room now.

"Tony, its okay--you're okay." Gibbs said softly, soothingly.

Tony closed his eyes, but still the tears came. He tried to ease the pain he felt by turning up the rest of his bottle of beer and chugging it--but to no avail.

Gibbs pulled the young man close, wrapped his arms around him, and held him there.

"It's gonna be alright--you're safe with me." Gibbs reassured the younger man in a soothing voice, as he placed a gentle kiss on his head.

This was why. This was the very reason why Gibbs felt he needed--no he had--to go back with Tony to see his dying father. There was just no way he could let him go in there alone.



The next morning came all too fast for Tony. When he awoke he found that he'd fallen asleep on his boss' sofa. Gibbs' arms were still wrapped around him, and they felt so warm and strong--they had a certain calming effect on the younger man.

He looked around, wiped drool away from the corners of his mouth, and then realized he had inadvertently drooled on his boss' shirt. It was strange though--he knew he should be panicked, afraid really, but he wasn't.

Tony almost wanted to lay his head back down against his boss' muscular chest, but before he could Gibbs began to stir.

Gibbs opened his eyes slightly as he started to stretch.

"Morning." he whispered. "Sleep good?"

Tony nodded *yes* as he slid away from Gibbs and scooted down a little on the sofa to give the older man more room.

Gibbs continued to stretch and yawn next to Tony who did the same.

"How about breakfast?" Gibbs asked, wiping sleep from his eyes.

"Sure." Tony replied quietly. "Sorry about your shirt." Tony said, lowering his eyes to the drool stain on Gibbs' shirt.

Gibbs chuckled at the younger man, and smiled a knowing smile.

He couldn't help but smile at the young man sitting there on the sofa next to him. "Don't worry about it." he said softly.

"Come on then." Gibbs said, waving his hand as he stood.

The two men stood and then made their way, slowly, to the kitchen. The two men entered the kitchen to find Abby, wearing an apron, and moving a pan of biscuits from the oven to the little breakfast table.

"Morning," Abby said cheerfully, when she noticed Tony and Gibbs.

"Morning." the pair said together.

Abby turned and closed the oven, and then switched it off now that she was done with it.

She was already dressed up in the usual Abby Scuito style as was her custom--pigtails and all. And the apron, Tony thought, was not something you'd expect to see Abby wearing on any occassion.

On the little breakfast table she had set out a breakfast feast fit for a king--it consisted of biscuits, gravy, eggs, sausage, bacon, toast, orange juice, and of course two different kinds of jelly--Grape and Strawberry. Abby turned to the coffee maker which sat on the counter top next to the sink.

"Coffee's almost ready," she said, looking down at the coffee maker.

"Correction--coffee's ready," she said with a chuckle as she pulled the pot away from the maker.

Then with her free hand she reached up into the cabinet just above where the coffee pot sat, and pulled down a couple of coffee mugs.

"Good," Gibbs said. "I could use some."

The two men each took a seat at the little breakfast table as Abby set the coffee pot down on top of a small warmer pad in the center of the table next to the pitcher of orange juice.

The two men began to make their plates both of them ready to dig in and eat their fill. Abby took off her apron as she reached into the refrigerator, and pulled out a plate with two tofu wraps on it--after which she took her own seat at the table.

"I didn't know you could cook Abs." Tony remarked, as he swallowed a piece of bacon.

"Yep," she replied with a smile.

"I mean I usually don't--not often anyway--ya know, cause I normally would just eat a tofu wrap or something; but Gibbs doesn't like tofu, or wraps, or tofu wraps," she explained with a chuckle. "And besides this really seems more Gibbs' style anyway." she added, with a smile at Gibbs.

Gibbs nodded at Abby gratefully as he poured himself a cup of *strong* coffee. Tony poured himself a glass of orange juice.

"So, how often do you spend the night here?" Tony asked Abby, as he cut through his biscuit & gravy with his fork.

Abby looked across the table at Gibbs who was digging into his eggs at that very moment.

"Occassionally." she replied, with a devilish grin.

"Oh, so you guys are-," Tony started to say waving his fork between her and Gibbs.

Abby chuckled. "Only if *Play Dates* count." she replied.

Gibbs took a long sip of his coffee. He let out a satisfied groan as he set his cup back down.

"Aahh, that's good coffee, Abs." he said, with an approving nod.

Abby smiled as she swallowed a bit of her tofu wrap.

"Why thank you," she replied sweetly.

Gibbs swallowed several more bites of his own biscuit & gravy along with a couple of bites of eggs, sausage, and bacon--chasing it all down with his coffee.

"How do you feel this mornin', Abs?" Gibbs asked, across the table.

Tony couldn't help but notice that an eerie calm seemed to come over Abby as Gibbs spoke those words to her from across the table.

Abby lowered her eyes away from Gibbs. "A little sore, sir." she replied, in a low voice.

Gibbs only nodded.

It did not take the three of them long at all to finish their breakfast, and once they were finished they talked for a bit.

The two men sat back, relaxed, in their chairs rubbing their full stomachs obviously satisfied at how full they were.

"That was delicious, Abs." Tony said, across the table.

"Why thank you, Tony," Abby said sweetly.

Gibbs just flashed her a smile.

In his case he didn't have to say anything--Abby knew what he thought and how he felt. She could always see it in his eyes.

Tony stood and reached for his cup and plate.

"Leave it." Gibbs said.

Tony looked down at his boss with a confused expression painted on his face. Gibbs knew what the younger man was thinking even before he said anything.

"Leave it," he repeated his instructions. "Abby will take care of it."

Tony was shocked that his boss, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, would think in those terms--he would just have to protest.

"Si--er--Jethro, you can't really expect Abby to cook breakfast, and then clean up the mess afterwards." Tony said in protest.

Gibbs shot Tony the stare. He really did not want to have to speak to Tony in this way--not now of all times, but he would do what he had too.

"Its okay, Tony, really--I don't mind." Abby said, sweetly.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs said, sternly.

"Yes s-sir," Tony replied, automatically shifting into his work place persona.

"Shower--Now." Gibbs instructed.

"Yes sir."

Tony let go of his dishes, and turned to leave the kitchen when Gibbs called his name again.

"And Tony," Gibbs said softly. "I do plan to help her."

Tony smiled at his boss. "Okay."

"Now go get ready for work," Gibbs instructed waving him out of the kitchen.



Tony hurried out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the upstairs bathroom. He closed and locked the door behind him, and then found a fresh towel waiting for him on top of the toilet lid. He would have to thank them later he knew.

He stripped down out of the clothes that he had worn the day before, and threw them into the clothes hamper in the corner.

He turned on the shower, waited until the water was just right, and then stepped in. He let the warm water run down over his face and naked body, silently with his eyes closed, for a few brief minutes just letting the heat clear his head.

He didn't know why he felt the way he did when he was around Gibbs--he just knew that he did. It was a feeling of warmth and acceptance. It seemed as though when he was around Gibbs he had this longing to be with the older man--even as far fetched as he knew that it would sound to someone like Kate or McGee--he knew deep down it was true. He was almost utterly and completely at peace around his boss.

Just hearing the man speak was enough to send shivers down his spine.



In the kitchen--Gibbs and Abby stood over the sink doing the dishes as a team. They picked at each like old friends do as they carried out the tedious task before them.

Gibbs leaned in close to Abby, and whispered her name in a low voice.

"Abs," he said, in a low voice. "About last night."

"Sir," she replied.

Gibbs drew in a long deep breath before he spoke again. "You understand why I had to punish you, don't you?" he asked, in that same low voice.

He really hated what he'd had to do to Abby last night, but he knew that if he did not do it then Abby was most likely to hurt herself--and he could not let that happen, not after the last time.

Abby nodded, lowering her eyes to the floor.

"I do not enjoy punishing you, you know that."

"I know, sir." she replied, quietly.

Gibbs reached around and very gently placed his hand against one sore spot that he knew of on her left butt cheek. Even though he did it very gently she still winced in pain as the area was still very tender to the touch.

"But I deserved it," she said, in a low voice, not looking up at Gibbs. "I failed you."

She could feel the tears burning behind her eyes, and she fought with everything that she had to keep them at bay.

Gibbs kept his eyes trained on Abby the whole time as she spoke.

"I wasn't able to make your deadline,' she said with a sniffle.

Gibbs put his arm around her shoulder to comfort his favorite forensic specialist.

"And what did you learn," he asked her, softly.

By now the tears were streaking down her cheeks. "I promise it'll never happen again, sir." she sobbed.

Gibbs gently kissed the young woman's temple. "I believe you, Abs." he said, softly.




Chapter 5---

They were almost 2 hours later when they arrived at work later that morning. Stepping off of the elevator the three of them switched into their work place personas.

Gibbs and Tony had let Abby off on the floor that her lab was located on before they headed up to the squad room.

The elevator pinged and the two men stepped off.

"A little late don't ya think?" Kate said, as the two men rounded the corner.

Tony rolled his eyes at his partner as he took his seat across the bullpen from her.

"Kate--don't." Gibbs said sternly, as he took a seat behind his own desk.

Gibbs set his coffee cup down on the desk in front of him so that both of his hands would be free.

He turned to his computer and punched up his e-mail the same as yesterday.

Gibbs turned at his desk so that he could see his team--well mostly anyway.

"What do we know?" Gibbs asked, flatly.

Kate sat back, relaxed, in her chair behind her desk.

"Well, we know that only two people actually saw Corporal Thompson prior to his death." Kate offered.

"Yeah, um, his Commanding Officer, Staff Sergeant Trevor Jackson, and his girlfriend Melissa Carmichael." McGee added, reading the info off of his computer screen.

"Both of which own a gun," Tony pointed out. "So either one of them could've done it--easily."

Gibbs nodded in agreement. "But only one did." Gibbs said.

"So, in other words, we've got nothing." Kate said, rubbing her eyes.

Suddenly Gibbs' cell phone rang. He checked the caller ID first, it was Abby, so he answered it.

"Whatcha got Abs?" Gibbs asked.

"Gibbs, I need you to come down here right away." Abby said excitedly over the phone.

"On my way." Gibbs replied.

He hung up his phone, quickly, and then stood and headed for the elevator.

"Let's go," Gibbs said, motioning with his finger for his team to follow.




Gibbs and the team strolled into Abby's lab a few minutes later.

Abby spun on her heel to face the team.

"What, no Caf-Pow?" she asked, playfully.

Gibbs stepped towards the forensic specialist.

"Whatcha got Abs?" he aske, sternly, looking into her eyes.

Abby giggled. "Right," she replied, as she turned back to her computer screen. She punched a few keys on the keyboard until an image flashed up onto the plasma screen.

The team moved around for a better look at the image.

"First off--the image on the left is a slightly smudged finger print, which was pulled off of the headboard of the bed that Corporal Thompson was lying on when he was found," Abby began to explain.

"Now I know it took awhile, but I finally got a match off of it."

"Well if anybody could do it Abs, it'd be you." Tony remarked.

"Why thank you Tony--I'll take that as a compliment," she replied with a smile.

Gibbs cleared his throat loudly to get the team's attention focused back on the case.

"Right, sorry." Abby said, apologetically. "The fingerprint on the left was a match to Melissa Carmichael." Abby announced proudly, as she punched a key on her keyboard.

This action caused an image of Melissa Carmichael to appear on the plasma screen next to the fingerprint.

"Okay, so if she's in the database then that means she must have a record," Kate pointed out.

"Indeed she does," Abby announced, with a smile.

"I took the liberty of looking up Ms. Carmichael's record, and e-mailed it to McGee." Abby explained. "And it seems your Ms. Carmichael did a stint in Juvie Hall, when she was in high school."

"Wow," Tony said from the other side of the room.

"Yeah, she must've been a wild child back then," Abby remarked.

"Anything else, Abs?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes, as a matter of fact there is," she replied.

She punched a few more keys on her keyboard and another image flashed up onto the plasma screen overhead.

"Staff Sergeant Trevor Jackson," Abby announced.

"What was he doing there?" Tony asked out loud.

"Sorry Tony, but that's for you to find out," Abby said, with a grin.

"W-well--well we know why Ms. Carmichael was there," McGee said, stammering slightly.

"Right, because Ducky already said he found traces of semen on Corporal Thompson's boxers." Kate added, picking up where McGee left off.

Tony looked over at his partner with a slight grin.

"And you're thinkin' that Corporal Thompson and Ms. Carmichael were gettin' it on in that motel room." Tony remarked.

"You are such a child Tony." Kate said, rolling her eyes at her partner.

Tony couldn't help but chuckle at himself.

Gibbs took a moment to silently soak up everything that he'd just been told, before speaking.

"And those three slugs Ducky pulled--there to badly damaged to be any help, right?" Gibbs asked, quietly.

"Yep," Abby replied. "Sorry."

"Not your fault Abs," Gibbs said quitly.

Gibbs drew in a deep breath and then let it out as he ran a hand through his silvery-hair.

"Kate, go interview the girlfriend, again" Gibbs instructed sternly.

"DiNozzo, you're with me." Gibbs said, as he turned on his heel and headed around to the door.

"On your six boss." Tony called, as he followed after his boss.

Kate was already out the door ahead of the others.

"Uh, b-boss what about me?" McGee asked, nervously.

Gibbs turned back to face the probie agent with a glare. He studied him for a moment before saying anything.

"Get Abby a Caf-Pow," Gibbs commanded, pointing to the door.

Out of the corner of his eye Gibbs could swear he saw Abby grin.

.........To Be Continued In "Homecoming".........

"Homecoming"

Chapter 6---

The staff sergeant's office was nice and spacious on the inside for someone of his rank. It was something that Gibbs usually expected to see, in say, a General's office maybe--but not here.

There was a small television in one corner of the room, and a nice size upright gun cabinet on the opposite side of the room. There were also a few pictures hung up on the wall around the room, plus a small coffee table and love seat in front of the television set.

CRASH!!! The staff sergeant slammed Gibbs backwards into the gun cabinet sending shards of broken glass everywhere.

"Shouldn't have stuck your nose where it didn't belong, Agent Gibbs!" the staff sergeant growled angrily.

Gibbs just glared back at the raging staff sergeant as he picked himself up--blood now trickling slowly from his right temple.

"You killed an innocent Marine," Gibbs growled angrily.

The staff sergeant cracked his knuckles loudly.

"And now I'm gonna kill you," the staff sergeant said angrily.

Gibbs raised his fists up into the air in a ready stance, and nodded towards the staff sergeant.

"Good luck with that." Gibbs replied.

The staff sergeant moved in Gibbs' direction swinging wildly at the federal agent. Gibbs easily swatted the man's fist away with his right hand, and swung back with his left hand. The blow hit the staff sergeant across the jaw sending him backwards into his desk.

Seeing an opportunity Gibbs rushed towards the man.

The staff sergeant, unfortunately, spun and caught Gibbs in the gut.




Down the hall Tony was flirting with a young woman at the front desk. As far as women go she was very attractive. She had blonde hair, green eyes, a very nice smile--and a sweet personality to boot.

Besides, Gibbs had told him to stand here and wait for him--so Tony was doing just that.

"So, what are you doing tonight then?" Tony asked her, with a grin.

"Well I-" she started to say.

Just then, both of them heard the loud crash coming from the staff sergeant's office down the hall, and it startled them at first.

"What was that?" the young woman asked, suddenly worried.

"I dunno," Tony replied, withdrawing his sig from its holster. "Stay here." Tony said quietly.

Tony turned and quickly headed down the hall towards the staff sergeant's office. He skidded to a halt in front of the office door and reached out to grab the doorknob--locked.

“Boss!” Tony shouted.

There was another loud crash, and Tony immediately reared back and tried to kick the door open��"but to no avail. “Time for plan B” Tony thought to himself.

He aimed his sig carefully, and then squeezed the trigger. The round pierced the locking mechanism just as he hoped it would.

"Boss, are you-" Tony shouted as he pushed open the door, and ran inside with his sig drawn up at the ready.

He found Gibbs standing over the staff sergeant's unconscious body, his silvery-hair all askew and breathing heavily--with his sig pointed in the man's face.

"You're under arrest--dirt bag," Gibbs said, breathing heavily.

"Boss, are you alright?" Tony asked, as he moved to his boss' side.

Gibbs turned abruptly bringing him and his senior field agent face to face.

"Do I look alright, DiNozzo?" He asked, angrily.

Tony knew it was rhetorical question--so why he tried to answer it he did not know.

"Uh, well, I mean-" Tony sputtered, nervously.

"Cuff him!" Gibbs barked at the younger man.

"Yes sir, on it boss." Tony replied, as he whipped out a pair of handcuffs.




A few hours later, back at NCIS Gibbs sat at his desk finishing up some last minute paper work for the case that he and his team had just closed.

"I still don't get it," Kate said, from her desk.

"I don't either," McGee admitted.

"What's to get?" Tony chuckled. "Gibbs knew the staff sergeant was guilty--and broke him. Simple as that."

Kate rolled her eyes at her partner for the umpteenth time that day.

"Right boss?" Tony asked, from his desk across the bullpen.

"Wrong, DiNozzo." Gibbs replied, without looking up from his paperwork.

"I didn't know one way or the other." Gibbs explained.

"So it was a bluff." Kate remarked.

"Yep." Gibbs replied, as he closed the file folder on his desk, and placed it in a file rack on the corner of his desk.

Gibbs stood up and retrieved his sig and badge from his top-right desk drawer.

"DiNozzo, let's go." Gibbs said plainly.

"Where are we-" he started to say. "Oh yeah that's right," he said as he jumped up and gathered his things.

Gibbs headed for the elevator with Tony on his heels.

"Wait, where are you guys going!?" Kate shouted after the two men.

"Vacation!" Gibbs shouted back, as the elevator doors closed behind them.




Chapter 7---

Gibbs stood in his bedroom staring at his suitcase, and the contents there in.

It was late evening when Gibbs finished packing his suitcase. He sat down on the edge of his bed memories of past events running through his head.

------DREAM-LIKE SEQUENCE------

They had been standing in the foyer of the DiNozzo mansion home. Tony, himself, and Tony's mother and father.

"Why did you invite him!?" Tony's father yelled at his wife.

"He is your son." she replied, nervously.

"What him--HIM--no, no, no THAT most certainly IS NOT my son!" the old man yelled at his wife, spit hanging from his bottom lip as veins bulged in his neck.

"You have no right to yell at mom like that!" Tony said, stepping in between his father and mother.

"How dare you speak to me," His father growled in his face.

"Anthony, dear, I think maybe you should-" his mother tried to say quietly.

The old man suddenly slugged his son in the face sending the younger man sprawling backwards.

The old man moved towards his son who was wiping blood from his lip(s), and trying to stand up. The old man reached out to seize his son by the throat, but Gibbs beat him to the punch.

With lightning fast reflexes Gibbs caught the older man's hand, twisted his wrist until it made a loud popping noise, grabbed him by the throat with his free hand, and slung him up against the nearby wall.

"Please, stop!" Mrs. DiNozzo cried out worriedly.

"What're you gonna do--kill me?" The old man snarled in Gibbs' face.

Gibbs leaned in close so the old man could feel his hot breath on his face.

"Too many witnesses here." Gibbs whispered, coldly.

"But next time--you may not be so lucky," Gibbs added.

------END OF DREAM-LIKE SEQUENCE------

The sound of the doorbell downstairs snapped Gibbs out of his trance. He stood, took a deep breath, and then walked out of the room.

Downstairs he opened the front door to see Tony standing on the steps with a duffel bag slung over his shoulder.

"Come on in," Gibbs said, with a wave of his hand.

Tony followed Gibbs inside setting his duffle bag down by the door once it was closed.

"Abby here?" Tony asked.

"Not tonight--she's at her place." Gibbs replied.

"Oh."

Tony ran a hand gently through his hair.

"So what time does our flight leave?" Tony asked, quietly.

"0700," Gibbs replied.

Tony nodded.

"How ya holdin' up?" Gibbs asked, as he took a seat on the sofa.

"Alright, I guess." Tony replied, softly.

Tony sat down on the sofa next to his boss, and sat quietly for a few minutes not saying anything.

"I don't know if I can do this Gibbs," Tony said, burying his face in his hands.

Gibbs reached out a gentle hand and patted the younger man on the back.

"I'll be right beside you the whole time," Gibbs said softly.

"I know," Tony said, looking up at the older man next to him. "But I just have a really bad feeling about this whole thing."

"I know--so do I."

"Last time, the guy tried to kill me." Tony recalled.

"I know, I was there remember." Gibbs said.

"Well we've got to get an early start anyway," Gibbs said, as he stood up. "Besides, I think a good nights' sleep will do you some good."

"Yeah, I guess." Tony replied.

Gibbs reached out a hand to his senior field agent, and Tony took it. Gibbs pulled Tony to his feet, and the two stood face to face staring into each other's eyes.

Neither one could speak a word to the other so they just stood in silence. Tony felt it--again. That warmth that he'd felt earlier that same morning. It was that sense of longing that tugged at him relentlessly.

Standing there Gibbs could see a hunger burning in Tony's eyes, and as he stood there he realized that that hunger was actually quite infectious.

"The guest bed's upstairs--second door on the left," Gibbs said, dryly.

Tony could barely even nod correctly as he tried to acknowledge the older man's directions.

"It'll be alright," Gibbs said softly with a warm smile, placing a hand on Tony's shoulder.

Tony nodded in agreement and then turned, grabbed his duffle bag, and headed upstairs.




Tony found the guest room easily enough, and slowly entered into its domain. As he set his duffel bag down on the floor at the foot of the bed he couldn't help but feel somehow disappointed.

He sat down on the edge of the bed and removed his over shirt revealing a sleeveless, white undershirt.

Next he took off his shoes--his really good shoes--and laid them neatly next to his duffle bag.

"Tony."

He looked up quickly at hearing his name spoken aloud, and saw Gibbs standing there in the doorway of the room.

"B-Boss--I-I mean Jethro," Tony stammered, out of surprise.

Gibbs paused, momentarily, thinking back over what he was about to do one last time. All the while seeing Tony in that sleeveless, white undershirt outlining some of the more impressive structures of his muscular frame igniting a fir within him.

"Je-" Tony started to say.

"On the bed--strip," Gibbs cut in abruptly--his voice sharp with authority.

Tony's heart skipped a beat in his chest as he scrambled, nervously, to remove what was left of his clothing and toss them to the floor.

Gibbs made short work of his shirt and shoes--tossing them aside hastily as he crossed the hall to the master bedroom, grabbed two little foil packets from the bedside table, and then hurried back to the guest room closing the door behind him.

"Hands and knees." Gibbs said forcefully.

Tony did as he was told as quickly as he possibly could. Gibbs tossed him one of the foil packets, and Tony unwrapped it, quickly, and slid it on over his own erection.

He made his way over to the bed, and slid out of his jeans as he climbed up onto the bed behind the younger man.

"This must be how Abby feels when she's here," Tony thought to himself.

Boy that had been an awkward conversation to have with Abby. He still wasn't quite sure why he'd even asked Abby about what she and Gibbs did at night.

Tony's heart was racing by now. Excitement and fear both mixing with the adrenaline pumping through his body. By now the sense of longing and need were almost overwhelming.

Behind him Tony could hear the rustle of a foil packet being ripped open, and a slick, sliding sound followed.

"I'm out of lubricant," Gibbs informed the younger man, strain apparent in his voice. "So this may hurt a little."

Without warning Gibbs entered him. "He was right," Tony thought to himself. It did hurt at first.

Gibbs paused a moment to let Tony adjust to the feel of his erection inside of him. As he waited, his restraint rapidly fading away with each passing second, his eyes wandered up and down the young man's muscular body--his eyes growing wide with anticipation.

"Ready?" Gibbs asked, in a husky voice.

Tony nodded, swallowing a hard lump in his throat.

Gibbs moved slowly at first, trying his best not to hurt the younger man more than need be, but Tony adjusted quickly and was soon relaxed enough for Gibbs to pick up the pace a little more.

After a few minutes Gibbs increased their tempo drastically--all the while Tony giving back nearly as good as he was getting.

After a while they were going fast and hard--both men drawing closer and closer to the edge of the massive canyon before them.

Gibbs groaned in pleasure as he reached out and entwined his fingers in Tony's hair.

"Tony," Gibbs gasped, in the final fleeting moments before his climax hit.

Then finally he could hold on no longer and both men came in a flurry of fireworks as they slumped forward gasping for air.

After a moment or so Gibbs rolled away onto his back, and the two men laid there, side-by-side, as their vital signs slowly returned to normal.

Tony watched as Gibbs fell asleep there, in the dimly-lit room, on the bed--first; and his mind wandered back over the events that had transpired between them just moments ago--his mind more at ease now than it had been since he'd gotten that phone call from his mother at 2:30 in the morning however many days ago it had been. He felt content, at peace, and that sense of longing and need was satisfied--for now at least.

His thoughts wandered to his co-workers at NCIS--for what reason he was not quite sure.

"Kate--Kate would never understand," he reasoned in his mind. "McGee probably wouldn't either."

Finally after an hour or so had passed Tony drifted off into a deep, peaceful slumber at his boss' side.




Chapter 8---

The two men left Gibbs' house at a quarter til 6 the next morning, and arrived at the airport 15 minutes before their flight was supposed to depart. Which was just enough time for them to pick up their tickets at the service desk, and then quickly board the plane.

As the two men took their seats in the second class section of the plane--about middle ways in--Gibbs stuck the carry-on he'd brought with him into the overhead rack, making sure that the cases' built lock was secured properly.

Gibbs buckled his seatbelt as soon as he was seated, and comfortable.

Red-headed stewardess walked past them, checking seatbelts and what not, and Gibbs couldn't help but look twice at her.

"Nice--hunh Boss?" Tony remarked, with a knowing grin.

"Hmm." was all Gibbs said, as he turned back to the newspaper he'd brought with him.

"You know, I usually prefer *first-class*," Tony mused, as he shifted in his seat looking for the seatbelt straps. "But this isn't too bad--I guess."

"It never ceases to amaze me though, how tight security has gotten around these things, ya know." he added, clicking his seatbelt together finally.

Gibbs turned a page in the newspaper he was reading, the pages ruffling a little as he did so.

"Speakin' of which--how did you manage to get those *things* passed security without throwing a *big* red flag?" Tony asked in a low voice, leaning closer to Gibbs.

"I have a friend." Gibbs replied, quietly.

"Oh," Tony said, nodding his head slightly. "Well, yeah, that--that actually makes a lot of sense."

(F.Y.I. -- The *things* that Tony was/is referring to are the two Sig Sauer's that he'd brought along with him as part of his carry-on.)

The airplane's intercom crackled overhead as the dormant system sputtered back to life.

"Good morning, this is your Captain, Harlen Williams, speaking--and on behalf of myself and the crew I would like to extend a warm welcome to all of our passengers and also to thank you for choosing to fly with all of us here with AirUnited," the Captain's voice echoed cheerfully over the intercom speakers overhead.

"Not like I really wanted to," Tony mumbled to himself, quietly.

"...So sit back, relax, and we hope you all enjoy your flight." The intercom boomed, as the Captain finally finished his pre-flight speech.

Tony stared out the window as the plane taxied down the runaway towards the end of the strip.

"Next stop--Long Island, New York." Tony said quietly, against the window.

Within minutes they were up in the air, and it was finally safe to remove their seatbelts.

Gibbs folded up his newspaper and set it aside.

"How're you feelin'?" he asked, looking over at Tony.

"Um, pretty good, so far." Tony replied, with a slight grin. "A little nervous I guess, but I think I'll be okay."

Gibbs smiled a knowing smile at the younger man sitting beside him. "You'll be fine." he said.

The red-headed stewardess approached them once again.

"Would either of you like something to drink?" she asked.

"Yes please," Gibbs said. "I'll have a coffee--strong."

"And I'll just have a soda, please." Tony said, leaning over Gibbs.

The stewardess smiled, and nodded at the two men.

"Alright, strong coffee and a soda," she repeated back. "Okay, I'll be just one minute." she said, with a smile at Gibbs, before she walked away to the galley.

As Gibbs tried to relax in his seat while he waited for his coffee to arrive that eerie, churning feeling in the pit of his stomach returned--the same as the one he'd had the night before while he was packing his suitcase. Something just did not feel right about this whole trip--he had a very bad feeling, and his gut was usually right on the money about these things.

He shook it off though, once he saw the red-headed stewardess approaching with their drinks in her hands.




When their plane finally landed at MacArthur Airport in Long Island, New York it was late evening, and the two men were extremely tired--due in big part to jet-lag.

The two men decided that the best thing for them to do would be to check in a hotel for the night, and then drive out to the DiNozzo Homestead early the next morning.

When they entered the single hotel room that they had rented, they found that there was only one bed. Guess they would just have to share.




The next day came way to fast in Tony's mind, although he slept pretty good through the night, he still felt kind of sick to his stomach.

When they left the hotel Tony wanted to grab a taxi, and go and get it all over with; but Gibbs' gut was still bothering him so instead they rented a car from a rental agency.

The ride out to the DiNozzo Homestead brought back memories for Tony--not all of which were good. Then finally they were passing through the big 'welcome' gates of the DiNozzo estate.

Gibbs pulled the car up to a halt in the spot designated by the gardener who had come around from the back(yard) to help.

The two men stepped from the car and greeted the gardener, Mr. Wilson. Mr. Wilson asked the two men to wait by their car while he informed Mrs. DiNozzo of their arrival.

While they waited Gibbs reached back into the car and pulled his sig from the glove compartment, and stuck it securely into the small of his back.

Suddenly the front door to the massive house swung open, and an older lady--probably in her mid-fifties to early sixties at least--ran out to greet them, followed by the gardener and another younger man.

"Anthony!" Mrs. DiNozzo cried, as she threw her arms around her son.

"Hey mom." Tony replied, quietly, hugging his mother.

The younger man, who was Tony's cousin, shook Gibbs' hand as he waited for a turn with his cousin.

"Mr. Gibbs, good to see you again." the young man said, as he shook Gibbs' hand.

"Likewise." Gibbs said quietly.

Mrs. DiNozzo pulled back from her son and studied him for a moment, tears in her eyes, before shaking them off with a smile.

"I-I wasn't expecting you to bring your friend with you again." she said, extending her hand to Gibbs.

"Jethro--isn't it?" she said, as they shook hands lightly.

"Yes ma'am." Gibbs replied, with a smile.

Tony and his cousin exchanged a hug and pleasantries as well.

"Well, lets not stand around all day--come in, come in." Mrs. DiNozzo said, as she motioned for everyone to follow her inside.

Tony glanced sideways at his boss/friend before moving even a single inch in any direction.

"After you," Gibbs whispered.

Tony sucked in a deep breath, and then let it out before following after his mother and cousin. Gibbs watched, suspiciously, as the gardener made his way back around to the back(yard).




The group entered through the front doors and into the foyer of the DiNozzo mansion. Gibbs looked around in just that area which looked as near the same as it did the last time they were there.

"Dr. McGreggor put your father on bed rest for awhile." Mrs. DiNozzo told her son.

"So he's upstairs--in his room?" Tony asked, quietly.

"Yes." Mrs. DiNozzo replied, with a nod.

"Tell you what, I'll go up and see if he's awake," she said. "He sleeps on and off now--because his body's so weak, you know."

Tony nodded politely at his mother, with a forced smile--just for her.

Mrs. DiNozzo turned quickly and headed up the big staircase at the other end of the foyer.

"She really appreciates you coming," Tony's cousin said, quietly.

"I mean, we both know how you feel about *him*." his cousin added.

Tony nodded. "Yeah."

"He actually sounded *happy*--sort of--when she told him you were coming."

"Really?" Tony remarked, a little surprised at his cousin's statement.

Gibbs could feel his stomach churning again. It was his gut--and it wasn't feeling to comfortable about this whole *visit*.

The sound of footsteps on the staircase caught everyone's attention.

"He's sleeping--for now." Mrs. DiNozzo informed everyone.

"Figures." Tony mumbled to himself.

"But you guys are more than welcome to stay for awhile--we'll be having lunch in just a little bit." Mrs. DiNozzo added.

Tony thought about just turning around and leaving, but the look on his mother's face changed his mind.

"What the hell," Tony said, looking at Gibbs.

Gibbs shrugged back at Tony.

........."To Be Continued in "The Plot Thickens".........

"The Plot Thickens"

Chapter 9---

Tony, Gibbs, Mrs. DiNozzo, and Tony's cousin sat in the huge living room of *DiNozzo Estates* conversing with one another.

The living room area was finely decorated from top to bottom and from side to side.

Mrs. DiNozzo sat in an easy chair while Gibbs and Tony sat on the sofa across from her. Tony's cousin stood near the fireplace stoking the fire that he had started in it.

"Dr.McGreggor says that his kidneys are failing, and his liver is--well shot--to say the very least." Tony's cousin said, from the fireplace.

"His lungs aren't the healthiest in the world either," he added.

Ring! Ring! Gibbs' cell phone began to ring inside his coat pocket. He pulled it out and read the caller ID silently--Ducky, again.

This time though, he figured he should probably answer it.

"Gibbs." he said, quietly, as he stood and walked towards a far corner of the room.

"Good heavens Jethro," the old man's voice came through the phone line. "I have been trying to reach you for quite some time now."

"Sorry Duck, just been a little preoccupied." Gibbs said quietly.

"Caitlin and Timothy both said that you had left on vacation." Ducky said.

Gibbs grinned at himself. "Well, not exactly Duck."

"Well then, where are you?" the old man asked. "And where is Tony?"

"We're out of town, at a--at a conference."

Gibbs could hear Ducky laugh on the other end of the phone line.

"You never were a good liar Jethro, Never." Ducky said, with a slight chuckle.

"Yeah I know." Gibbs replied, in a low voice.

"Look Duck, I can't say anything right now, but soon--I promise." he added, stealing a look over his shoulder.

"Well, alright then--I understand." Ducky said, quietly.

"Alright bye." Gibbs said, as he hung up on Ducky.

Gibbs turned back to face Tony and the others as he stowed his cell phone away in his coat pocket.




Back at NCIS down in the lab Abby sat in her office in front of her computer. Every now and then she would glance over at the desk phone hoping that it would ring. It had been a very slow day at work, and so she was able to get away with just sitting around for long periods of time.

Gibbs had told her that he and Tony were supposed to go visit Tony's family. He had also told her that he had a really bad feeling about the whole thing, and if there was anything she had learned since she'd first started at NCIS it was this: "Always Trust Gibbs' Gut".

As she sat and waited for the phone call that Gibbs had said would come, her stomach had begun to churn in a way that it only had since she'd been working at NCIS--and it was now that she knew how her boss felt before leaving--like something just wasn't right.

She put a hand over her stomach, and whispered to the otherwise empty lab.

"Please," she whispered.

Suddenly the desk phone rang, loudly, and startled her a little. She reached out, quickly, and snatched the receiver off of the base and held it up to her ear.

"Hello, Gibbs?" she said without thinking.

"Hi Abs." came the voice that she had come to know so very well.

"Gibbs, are you--where are you--ar-are you okay?" Abby stammered over the phone.

"Abs, I'm okay--we're okay." Gibbs said calmly.

Abby took a minute or two to catch her breath, and calm her shaking nerves.

"Gibbs--I have a very bad feeling about you and Tony being there." she said into the phone quickly.

"I know." he replied, quietly.

"For now Tony and I are fine," he said. "Tony's mother wants us to stay here for the night instead of in our hotel room."

"Are you sure that's such a good idea?" she asked.

"Nope." he replied.

Abby let out a sigh as she shifted positions in her desk chair.

"I heard Ducky called you earlier," she pointed out. "What did you tell him?"

"Nothing--just that we're at a conference." he replied, with a slight cough.

"So Kate and McGee don't know?"

"No," Gibbs said. "And I don't want them to--not yet."

"Gibbs I'm worried-" Abby started to say, but Gibbs cut in quickly.

"Abs, listen to me," he said, calmly. "I need you to stay calm, and do exactly as I say--okay?"

"Sure." she replied, quietly.

"Can you track our phones without McGee and without anyone knowing?" he asked.

"Of course." she replied, almost with a smile.

"Good. Do it."

"I'll be in touch if anything else comes up." he told her.

Abby stood up and walked around the little office in circles.

"I hope it all turns out to be nothing." he said at last.

"So do I." she agreed.

She could hear Gibbs moving around as well as other sounds in the background on their end.

"I've got to go." he said, his voice smooth and calming.

"Okay--and Gibbs--be careful, please." she said, her voice cracking a little.

"I will--we will." he replied.

Then he hung up, and she did the same on her end.





Back at DiNozzo Estates. Gibbs and Tony were settling in for the night in their assigned rooms which just happened to be only a few feet away from each other.

Tony's mother had insisted that her son sleep in his old bedroom, so he had agreed to do just that.

Gibbs was to sleep in one of the guest rooms nearby.

He undressed himself down to his T-shirt and boxers, and laid his other clothes neatly folded in the seat of the chair that sat in the room against the far wall.

As for his cell phone it was laying on the bedside table nearby so that he could reach it quickly if need be, and his Sig Sauer he slid up under his pillow so it would be close by as well.

He crawled into the warm bed, and pulled the covers upwards over his body. He reached up and switched off the bedside table lamp just before allowing his head to hit the pillow. And sleep came semi-easily to him even though his gut was still churning out its warning loud and clear.




Tony awoke the next morning to sunshine streaming through the windows of his bedroom. He blinked and rubbed his eyes as he sat up straight in his bed. It took him a minute or two to remember just where he was.

He pulled back the covers and stood up to stretch. In mid stretch he felt his nose twitch, rather excitedly, and he slowly lifted it higher into the air.

That smell was familiar--like one he remembered from his childhood. "Pancakes." his mind jumped suddenly, the thought bringing a smile to his face.

He quickly dressed himself and darted out of his room and down the stairs towards the kitchen.

At the same moment Gibbs stepped out of his room fully dressed in the clothes from the day before.



Tony burst into the kitchen excitedly.

"Are those pancakes I smell?" he asked, excitedly, raising his nose into the air once again.

The older woman standing in front of the stove turned in Tony's direction, and the smile that played across her face was one of pure joy.

Tony made the same connection that the older woman made at almost the exact same moment--when he saw her face.

"Ms. Rosie?" Tony said, almost unsure if his eyes were correct in what he saw.

"Anthony!" the older woman cried, in a South American accent, as she ran towards him.

She through her arms around the young man and squeezed him tightly.

"Ms. Rosie, it is you." Tony said, returning the hug.

"Anthony, you have finally come home to us." she said as she pulled back to take a good luck at Tony.

Tony smiled at the older woman.

"Ah, you have grown so much since I last saw you." she mused, her eyes glazed with memories of life times past.

Tony nodded, with a slight chuckle.

"I didn't realize you were still working for my parents." Tony said.

"You did not think that I would leave my home," the older woman remarked, surprised somewhat.

"Well I don't know--I-I guess I just figured that-" he started to say.

"It doesn't matter," the older woman said finally, with a smile, as she patted Tony's cheek gently.

"Your mother said that you might be coming, but I wasn't sure," she started. "But just in case I made your favorite-"

"Pancakes." they both said at the same time, chuckling as they did so.

Suddenly there was a slight tap at the kitchen door behind them. The older woman suddenly cleared her throat in an attempt to regain her former composure.

The door opened and to their surpise it was Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

"Geez Boss, you must really like scaring people--don't ya." Tony remarked, at seeing Gibbs' face.

"Well," Gibbs said quietly, with a slight nod.

"Ms. Rosie, this is my-" Tony stumbled, trying to find the right word, but was drawing a blank so far.

Gibbs extended his hand to the older South American woman politely and with a smile.

"I'm his friend," Gibbs said quietly. "Jethro Gibbs."

"Yeah--he's my *friend*," Tony said finally, in agreement.

For a few seconds it felt weird to refer to Gibbs as his friend instead of as his boss.

The older South American woman smiled politely back at Gibbs and shook his hand graciously.

"It is very nice to meet you, Mr. Gibbs." she said with a smile as she shook his hand.

"Likewise," Gibbs replied.

"Breakfast smells wonderful," he complimented her.

She smiled most graciously at Gibbs, and gave a slight bow of her head.

Ms. Rosie suddenly realized that her eggs were starting to burn, and turned and raced back over to the stove.

"Oh dear not my eggs--not my eggs." she cired as she began to work to try and save the eggs that she had been cooking.





Everyone sat at the breakfast table enjoying their breakfast. Even Tony's father was up and at the table eating as well.

To Tony he looked like he was in pretty good shape, and he didn't seem or look sick; but he remembered that his mom had said he had good days and bad days--more bad than good.

The older DiNozzo had noticed that his son was not eating much just poking his fork at his pancakes, and taking a bite every 3 or 4 minutes or so it seemed.

"Eat up son," the older man said, laughter in his voice. "Not everyday you get a meal like this."

Tony tried to smile at his father, but found it somewhat challenging--difficult even.

*His Father* was being *Nice*. Or at least that was how it seemed to Tony.

Tony nodded at his father, slightly, as he stuffed another bite of pancakes into his mouth.




After breakfast was completed they all sat around in the living room talking for a while.

"So, how's life in Baltimore?" his father asked, from his recliner.

Tony blushed a little bit.

"Actually Dad, I'm in D.C. now." Tony replied.

"Oh really--well uh-"

"Yeah, I work for NCIS now." he added. "Stands for Naval Criminal Investigative Service."

"Yeah, yeah I-I knew that." his father said, running a hand through his graying hair.

"Right." Tony muttered quietly.




Chapter 10---

Tony and his father had spent a large part of the day together talking and sharing with each other. The two men had just come back inside after taking a nice, relaxing walk around the ground(s).

"Did you boys have a good time?" Tony's mother asked as they entered the living room.

"It was great." Tony's father said, smiling big.

"Yeah, gr-great." Tony agreed, half-heartedly, as he eyed his boss sitting on the nearby sofa.

"You know what. I think I could use a glass of water." the older DiNozzo said. "How about you son?"

"Yeah sure, that'd be nice." Tony replied.

"Alright then, I'll be right back."

Tony's father headed off in the direction of the kitchen in search of a glass of water.

Tony sank down on the sofa next to Gibbs. After a few minutes Tony realized that Gibbs was staring at him.

"What?" Tony asked.

"How'd it really go?" Gibbs asked, in a low voice.

"It just--it just seemed, I don't know, cheesy I guess." Tony replied, reluctantly.

"How so?"

"I-I don't know--it just-" Tony started to reply.

Bang! Crash! The sounds echoed out from the kitchen and through the rest of the house. Everyone in the living room stood up.

"Oh my God, what was that?" Tony's mother shrieked.

"Sounded like it came from the kitchen." Gibbs said.

The three of them ran towards the kitchen full speed, and burst through its doors.

"Frank!" Mrs. DiNozzo shrieked when she saw her husband sprawled out on the kitchen floor.

Gibbs dropped to his knees beside the older man and checked his pulse.

"Pulse is faint." Gibbs said. "Somebody get a doctor."




The doctor finished his examination on Frank DiNozzo, and then packed up his small doctor's bag.

They had moved Frank DiNozzo back upstairs into his king-size bed once again.

Gibbs and Tony stood outside the bedroom listening intently to everything that the doctor and Mr. DiNozzo said to each other.

"Mr. DiNozzo, I'm afraid your condition is deteriorating much more rapidly than we originally anticipated." Dr. McGreggor informed the older man.

Mr. DiNozzo gave a loud, nasty cough.

"Tell me something I don't know, Doc." the older man growled angrily.

"I'm afraid to say we're running out of time." the doctor added.

"I know, I know--I'm workin' on it." the older man said, as he gave another loud, nasty cough.

"Don't worry, he'll be ready--soon." Mr. DiNozzo added.

"I sure hope so," the doctor said, as he picked up his bag and turned towards the door. "For your sake."




Later that night the two men laid in Gibbs' bed in the dimly-lit guest room--side by side--naked.

The events of the day running through Gibbs' mind, as he waited for his vital signs to return to normal.

After a few minutes had passed with the two of them talking about things that didn't really matter, Gibbs sat up and finally discarded his spent condom. When he returned to the bed he found the younger man fast asleep, and something about the whole thing made him smile.

Tony looked so content and so peaceful laying there. The sight was enough to put Gibbs' mind somewhat at ease.

He pulled the spare blanket, that Ms. Rosie had brought up for him earlier, from the closet and draped it over Tony's body--since he obviously could not scoot the younger man under the pre-existing covers already on the bed.

Gibbs grabbed his boxers up off of the floor and slid them back on so that he wouldn't have to walk around totally naked.

Gibbs reached for the door knob, and then looked over his shoulder at the slumbering Tony before exiting the room quietly.

Gibbs made his way down dark hallway until he reached Tony's bedroom. He had his hand on the door knob when suddenly he felt that churning feeling in his gut again. Something wasn't right.

He turned to head back to the guest room when he heard footsteps behind him, and then felt something heavy strike him on the back of the head.

"Ah!" he gave a startled cry as he found himself being shoved into Tony's room.

"Nothing personal, you understand." the voice said from behind him.

Gibbs hit the ground hard, and then everything went black.

.........To Be Continued.........

"Into The Frying Pan (Chapters 11, 12, & 13)"

Chapter Eleven---

The bedroom door opened again a little bit later, and a familiar figure dashed inside.

"Mr. Gibbs!" Ms. Rosie cried, kneeling at the older man's side.

Ms. Rosie cradled his head in her arms, patting his cheek every few seconds or so.

"Come on. Wake up!" she repeated over and over, desperately.

After a few minutes passed Gibbs began to come back around. His eyes fluttered open and then shut, and then back open.

"Come on, come on."

"Wha-what hit me?" Gibbs mumbled.

"Mr. Gibbs," Ms. Rosie said urgently, as she helped him sit up straight. "They took him!"

"Too-took who?" Gibbs asked, shaking his head.

"Anthony!" Ms. Rosie cried.

"Ton-Tony. Tony!" Gibbs cried out, everything making perfect sense again.

Gibbs pulled himself to his feet with some help from Ms. Rosie.

He tried to walk out of the room but the bump on the head was apparently effecting his equilibrium, so he had to have help from Ms. Rosie.

The two of them made their way back out into the hallway, slowly, taking it one step at a time as they made their way down the hall.

"How long was I out?" Gibbs asked, rubbing his eyes with his free hand.

"I do not know," she replied. "I got up to get a cup of tea, and that is when I noticed the car was gone." she explained.

"Who's car?" Gibbs asked, looking up at Ms. Rosie.

"Mrs. DiNozzo's." she replied, re-positioning herself under Gibbs' weight as they continued down the hall.

Gibbs shook his head again, trying to clear the rest of the fog that had not yet dissipated.

"She's in on it then too." Gibbs said aloud, without really meaning to.

"Sir?" Ms. Rosie said, with a quizzical look at Gibbs.

"I'll explain later," he replied, shaking his head. "Right now we need a car and my cell phone." he added.

"We can use my car." Ms. Rosie offered.

"Good, you'll probably have to drive anyway."

They finally reached the room that Gibbs and Tony had been sharing that night, and Ms. Rosie helped Gibbs to throw on some clothes so that he would have on more than just his boxer shorts.




A few minutes later Ms. Rosie helped Gibbs into the passenger seat of her car, and then she ran around and jumped into the driver's eat. As Gibbs struggled to fasten his seatbelt he noticed, out of the corner of his eye, Dr. McGreggor's car sitting in the driveway.

"Damn." Gibbs muttered under his breath.

He knew what seeing the good doctor's car sitting in the driveway meant. It meant that he was right, and that being true he also knew he did not have a lot of time left to find Tony before it was too late.

Ms. Rosie started up the car, and then they were off.

As they pulled out of the long driveway, Ms. Rosie fished around in her purse until she found her cellphone. She proceeded to hand Gibbs her cellphone.

"It is not yours, but-" she started to say, as they reached the end of the driveway.

"It'll do." Gibbs said taking the cell phone from her.

He flipped it open, and quickly dialed the number to Abby's lab.

"Come on Abs, I hope you're there." he muttered under his breath, as he listened to the ringing in the background.




At NCIS headquarters--down in the lab--Abby was fast asleep at her desk with Bert the Hippo, head on her arms, in her office. The phone ringing startled her out of her deep slumber.

"Hunh wha-" she mumbled sleepily.

"The phone. The PHONE!" she cried out, realizing what was going on.

She reached for her desk phone, and almost dropped it onto the floor as she yanked it off of its base. Once she had recovered the phone she hit the talk button and held it to her ear.

"Gibbs?" she said into the phone.

"Abs, thank God!" Gibbs said, relieved, over the phone.

"Gibbs whats-" she started to ask but her boss cut her off too quickly.

"Abby, I need you to track Tony's cell phone for me--Damn!" Gibbs swore realizing that Tony would not have his cell phone on him in his current state.

"What--Gibbs what is it!?" Abby cried worriedly.

"He doesn't have his phone with him." Gibbs mumbled over the phone.




In the car Gibbs thought for a moment. They were already driving out onto the highway, and he needed directions to where they were going *Now*.

"Gibbs, Gibbs what's going on!?" Abby asked worriedly.

"Not now Abby." Gibbs snapped angrily.

Then it hit him.

"Do you know Mrs. DiNozzo's cell phone number?" Gibbs asked, turning to look at Ms. Rosie.

"Yes, yes I do." she replied quickly.

"It is 326-7050." she told him.




Back at NCIS HQ--Abby had run out to her computer/workstation and was quickly punching in the cell phone number that they were giving her.

"Get all that Abs?" Gibbs asked over the phone.

"Yeah I got it." she replied, staring into her computer screen.

"Anything?" Gibbs asked hurriedly, through the phone.

"Not yet-" Abby started to say, but just at that moment her computer pinged.

"No wait. I got it!" she exclaimed.




Back in the car Gibbs was still having spells with his vision, and he kept shaking his head in an attempt to correct the problem.

"Where Abby!?" Gibbs demanded.

"Um..."

"Anytime now Abby!" Gibbs barked over the phone.

"Sorry, the map's--kinda small," she apologized as she punched a key to make the map on her computer screen bigger. "Long Island Medical Center--and from your current location, its about 28 miles away." she said quickly.

Gibbs looked over at Ms. Rosie.

"Long Island Medical Center." he said quickly. "Know how to get there?"

"Yes sir." she replied, tightening her grip on the wheel.

"Punch it!" Gibbs ordered.






Chapter Twelve---

At the hospital Dr. McGreggor wheeled Tony, laying unconscious on a gurney, into the room where Mr. DiNozzo was lying in wait.

There was blood dripping from Tony's temple from where they had knocked him out before.

Dr. McGreggor began hooking Tony up to several different machines located there in the room.

Tony's eye fluttered open a little bit, and at first the light in the room was too bright for him to open them all the way, so he closed them back up again. His head was throbbing with agonizing pain, and he was feeling a little dizzy.



Gibbs and Ms. Rosie finally pulled up outside the front of the medium-sized hospital, and by now a storm had kicked up around them.

"Right here's good." Gibbs said, as Ms. Rosie pulled into a small sloop.

Gibbs jumped out of the car, suddenly being pounded by heavy rain, and bolted for the front door of the hospital. He stepped inside through the automatic doors, and as soon as he did a security guard tried to stop him.

"Sir, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to ask you to leave." the guard said, walking towards Gibbs.

Gibbs flashed his badge in the man's face with a scowl. "Federal Agent. NCIS." Gibbs said sharply, then returned his badge to his pocket.

"Never heard of-" the guard started to say.

Gibbs growled in disapproval. "Don't care." he said coldly, walking on past the security guard and heading down the hall way nearby.

As Gibbs walked down the hallway he reached into his pocket and pulled out the cell phone that he'd been using earlier.

A moment or so later Abby answered his call once again. "Abby can that computer thing of yours tell me which floor their own?" Gibbs asked, sharply.

"Indeed it can oh fearless leader," Abby replied, somewhat jokingly, over the phone.

Gibbs rolled his eyes, but did not say anything about it to her, just gave a hard sigh that he knew indicated very clearly his mood and his current objective(s).

Abby caught the message as Gibbs had intended for her to do, and she quickly set about punching keys on her keyboard. After a moment or so of silence on the phone line she returned with an answer for her silver-haired boss.

"According to what I'm seeing here they are either on the 17th or 18th floor," she informed him, sounding somewhat unsure of the information that she was relaying to her boss.

Gibbs rolled his eyes, and let out a frustrated sigh as he slapped, hard, the button on the wall to summon the elevator upon reaching it. "Which is it Abby!?" Gibbs growled over the phone angrily. "The 17th floor OR the 18th floor!?"

"I have to admit Gibbs this thing is not as accurate as I had hoped it would be," she started, as seemingly scanned back over the information displayed on her computer screen.

The elevator door(s) finally opened and Gibbs stepped inside. As he stepped inside the elevator he heard a shout from down the hall coming from the direction of the front entrance. The guard from before.

"Halt!" the security guard shouted, as he raced down the hallway, gun drawn, heading for the elevator and Gibbs.

Gibbs poked his head outside the elevator, quickly, and pulled himself back inside just in time as a bullet rocketed past the elevator door(s). "Forget it!" Gibbs shouted into the phone. "I'll just guess!" he said, and then hung up the phone as he reached out and quickly slapped the button for the 18th floor.

The doors were already closed, and the elevator was already making its ascent towards the 18th floor by the time the security guard finally caught up. He slapped a hand, angrily, against the steel door, and then reached for his walkie talkie.

A nurse poked her head outside a nearby room, apparently startled by all the commotion, looking to inquire as to what was going on.

The security guard waved her away saying that everything was under control, and that some crazy guy, probably a mental patient perhaps (which was a lie and he knew it) was loose in the hospital, but that, once again, he had everything under control.

"Markus, come in." the security guard said into his walkie talkie, after he had gotten rid of the curious nurse. "You've got a crazy guy, wearing blue jeans, a polo shirt, and a jacket--silvery hair--headed your way." the security guard continued, as he began to move towards the nearest stairwell as quickly as he possibly could. "Do not let him through. I repeat--Do Not Let Him Through!"



Tony looked around, as best as he could in the position that he was currently in. This wasn't right. None of this was right at all. He started to move about on the gurney he was laying on or in. "Wha-wha-where-where am I?" he mumbled, as he tried to sit up.

"Relax, Relax." the doctor said, returning to the young man's side. "You're alright. You're alright. You took a nasty fall back at your house--apparently you were sleep walking." the doctor said, trying to force a small chuckle.

"No." Tony said, clearly enough to be understood at this point. To his right he could see his father laying on or in a gurney--only half hidden behind the dividing curtain the doctor had pulled to just as Tony had begun to stir. "No. No this isn't right. Gibbs!" he tried to shout, but the doctor clamped his hand over the younger man's mouth as quickly as he could to silence him.

"That won't be necessary--I assure you." the doctor said, quietly, looking into Tony's eyes. "I'm afraid its far too late for anyone to save you now; but look at it this way," the doctor continued. "You're death will not be in vain--I assure you."



Gibbs stepped off of the elevator, and pulled his Sig from where he had kept it concealed in the small of his back underneath his shirt and jacket. As he went to turn the next corner up a shot whizzed past--just barely grazing his temple, and he immediately shrunk back seeking cover against the former wall.

"Hospital Security!" the man shouted out at Gibbs from around the corner. "Give yourself up peacefully, and no one has to get hurt!"

"This does not concern you!" Gibbs shouted back. "Re-holster your weapon, and walk away!" Gibbs continued, as he ran a finger, gently, over where the bullet had grazed his temple only a few minutes before.

"I'm afraid I can't do that sir!" the security guard shouted back, somewhat nervously.

'Must be a newbie,' Gibbs decided as he stood with his back pressed against the wall.
All up and down the hallway nurses and patients alike peeked their heads out of their rooms or whereever they happened to be residing at that particular moment to see what all the commotion was about. Gibbs listened intently as the security guard hushed and reassuringly waved everyone back into the safety of their rooms.

"I giving you one last chance sir--to come peacefully and quietly." the young security guard informed Gibbs. "I don't want to have to hurt you."

Gibbs rolled his eyes, momentarily, but he knew that time was quickly running out--for Tony. "I'm a Federal Agent," Gibbs shouted next, seeing that his hand was being forced either way.

"What!?" the security guard asked, somewhat momentarily thrown off guard by Gibbs' statement.

"I'm with NCIS, based in Washington D.C.," Gibbs explained.

"Yeah, I-I've heard of it." the young security guard said, to Gibbs' surprise. "Stands for Naval Criminal Investigative Service(s)." the young security guard continued. "I appiled for a job there 2 years ago, before I moved here."

"I'm in the middle of a Federal investigation," Gibbs said next. "

"H-How do I know that this isn't some kind of trick?" the security guard asked, suspiciously, and as well he should feel that way.

Gibbs dove into his jeans pocket and fished out his badge which, again, he HAD brought with him. "What if I show you my badge?" Gibbs asked. "I'm gonna drop my weapon, onto the ground, and kick out where you can see it--Okay!?"

No answer came from the young security guard, but Gibbs continued anyway.

"Then I'm gonna SLOWLY walk out, and give you my badge, alright!?" Gibbs added, as he began to lower his Sig down to the ground in front of him(self).

Gibbs kicked his Sig Sauer across the floor so that the security guarrd would see it, and then he slowly made his way around the corner and out into the open, with his badge in hand so that the young security guard could see that he was telling the truth.

When he finally reached the young security guard he studied the badge very carefully, and then handed it bck to Gibbs. "So you're really the real deal hunh?" he said at last.

"Yeah." Gibbs replied, picking his Sig up off of the floor.

"So what can I do to help?" the guard asked.

Suddenly from just down the hall from where they were standing the door to the stairwell flew open, and the first security guard from the lobby came running out. "Stop!" he shouted as he trained his gun on Gibbs and the young security guard.

"Look out!" Gibbs yelled, as he pushed the young security guard out of the way, and raised his gun towards the other security guard.

BANG! rang the shot from Gibbs' Sig Sauer. The shot hit the security guard, and immobilized him just as Gibbs had planned.

"Take care of him." Gibbs said, noding at the young security guard who was still pulling himself up off of the floor. "I'll be back." and then Gibbs ran off down the hallway towards the operating room.

.........To Be Continued in "Face-Off".........

"Face Off"

Chapter Twelve [Part Two] (Confrontation) ---

In the operating room Dr. McGreggor had finished making the final preparations for the operation that he was about to perform. He strolled across the short distance between the two hospital beds and brought himself up to where he and the elder Mr. DiNozzo could make eye contact. "He's under." Dr. McGreggor informed his 'favorite' patient.

"Good." the elder DiNozzo man wheezed from underneath his oxygen mask. "Let's get this damn thing over with."

Dr. McGreggor nodded, with a grin, and then turned back to the unconscious Tony. He pulled on a new pair of latex gloves and a face mask before picking up the first scalpel he would need to use.

"Sir," a thuggishly dressed man, who just happened to be the DiNozzo's gardener spoke up from his position next to the door/entrance to the OR. "Tom's not responding to my calls." he informed the dcotor, as he held up his walkie talkie. (F.Y.I. Tom is the crooked guard that Gibbs shot earlier).

"Then take care of it," Dr. McGreggor said, somewhat annoyed, as he shook his head slightly.

The man shrugged, and then turned and walked out of the OR entrance/door letting it close by itself behind him.



Out in the hall Gibbs was waiting for him. With lightning fast reflexes Gibbs grabbed the man--putting his hand over the guys' mouth to keep in him quiet--and spun him around into his world famous 'sleeper hold'. It did not take any more than just a few seconds before the guy was out cold at which point Gibbs proceeded to just drop him right down onto the floor where they stood.



Dr. McGreggor positioned his scalpel right over the area of Tony's body where he had planned to make the very first incision. He heard the door open quietly behind him, and shook his head slightly once again. "That was quick." the doctor pointed out very plainly. "I assume then that means the situation has been taken care of?" he added. When he received no response from who he thought was the thug from before he just shook it off and continued with his work.

He started to cut into the unconscious Tony, and got about an inch or two in when he felt the cold steel of the muzzle of Gibbs' Sig against his head. "You're not Craig I take it," Dr. McGreggor said, making sure to hold as still as he could at this point.

"If I were you," Gibbs said in a low, threatening voice. "I would drop the scalpel, and back away."

"What ever you say." Dr. McGreggor replied, quietly. He pulled the scalpel out of Tony, and started to lay it back down on the little tool tray beside the bed.

Gibbs backed up a little bit to allow the doctor some room to move away from Tony. Then, before Gibbs knew what was happening Dr. McGreggor spun around and plunged the scalpel, which he never really laid down, into Gibbs' left side right beneath rib cage. Gibbs fell backwards clutching at the scalpel sticking out of his flesh with his free hand.

"What's going on over there?" the elder DiNozzo man wheezed out from across the room.

Dr. McGreggor seized the opportunity that he had just created and chose to make a run for it.

Gibbs pulled the scalpel out of his side with a pained groan as he did so. He tossed the bloody scalpel aside and rolled over onto his stomach and managed to fire off one clean shot, which did actually hit its mark, before the doctor was out the OR door(s) and out of sight.

Gibbs proceeded to pull himself up to his feet, and set off to pursue the fleeing doctor before he could really get away.



Out in the hallway Gibbs burst through the OR door(s) holding one hand to his bleeding side as he looked up and down both halls trying to ascertain which way the doctor had gone. "Nice goin' Jethro," Gibbs thought to himself as he stood there outside of the OR. "You went and got yourself stabbed. You're getting really good at this."

He caught a glimpse of the doctor turning a corner at the very end of the hallway to the left, and he immediately gave chase after firing off one warning shot in the doctor's direction.

At the end of the hallway Gibbs turned the corner and saw the doctor standing in front of an elevator, waiting rather impatiently one could say. Gibbs shouted out at the doctor, while panting lightly, for him to 'surrender' or 'give up' immediately.

The doctor did not comply, instead he started slapping the down button on the wall over and over again hoping that it would make the elevator work faster.

Gibbs took off down the hallway, with a slight limp caused by his newly acquired wound, hoping he could catch the doctor before he could get on the elevator.

The elevator door(s) opened up suddenly, and the doctor darted inside and then slapped the button for the first floor. Gibbs reached the elevator just as the door(s) was beginning to close, and just managed to jump in through the tiny opening and land right on the floor right in front of the doctor inside the elevator before it fully closed up on them.

*********A Few Minutes Later*********

Downstairs on the first floor a nurse was patiently on the elevator to take her up so that she could make her early 'night-shift' run through to check on patients on several of the floors above her.

As the lights up at the top of the wall showed that the elevator was just approaching the first floor, suddenly a gun shot echoed through the elevator shaft and could be heard by at least a few people on the first floor.

The elevator doors opened up and revealed Gibbs standing over Dr. McGreggor's body with his Sig aimed down at him. The man was still alive, but now he had at least two gun shot wounds by this point. The female nurse gasped in horror, dropping her clipboard onto the floor in front of her, at the sight she was now seeing.

"Sorry," Gibbs said, still panting lightly. "Wrong floor." he added. Then he reached out and slapped the button to take him back up to where Tony and his 'father' were.




Chapter Thirteen (The Promise) ---

Gibbs re-entered the OR a few minutes later followed by two on-duty nurses that he had managed to round up on the way back. The young security guard that had helped Gibbs earlier was taking care of his corrupt 'friend' and Dr. McGreggor making sure that they were tended to until they could receive proper medical attention and a good old fashioned booking downtown.

He watched from the doorway as the two nurses scrambled to repair the incision that Dr. McGreggor had made in Tony's mid-section. After a brief moment or two of standing by and watching them work, he turned his attention to the elder DiNozzo man laying across the way still hooked up to his oxygen supply.

Gibbs strolled slowly over to the older man's side, and stood looking down into the man's eyes.

"Where's McGreggor?" the man wheezed out, from beneath his oxygen mask as he stared up at Gibbs.

"Dead. Hopefully." Gibbs replied coldly, not breaking his eye contact with the older man. "You lose old man." he added, quietly. Gibbs meant every word that he was saying to the old man right from the very depths of his soul.

"They won't send me to prison. Not in my condition." the older man wheezed out to Gibbs, almost smugly in nature. He was almost mocking Gibbs right where they were.

"You're right. You're not going to prison." Gibbs replied, quietly, as he leaned down close to the older man's ear. "Six years ago I made a promise." Gibbs whispered into the older man's ear. "Do you remember what that promise was?"

The older man's eyes glazed over as he listened to Gibbs' words being whispered into his ear(s). His breathing sped up slightly as did his heart rate.

Gibbs stood back up and reached into his pocket. From it he withdrew a small vial filled with a clear liquid. "Know what this is?" Gibbs asked the older man in a low voice. "Its what the good doctor was going to use to put your son down after he finished swapping YOUR organs for his." Gibbs explained.

The older man knew exactly what was in the small, clear vial.

Gibbs looked around, for a brief moment, until he finally found a small syringe laying nearby on a small table. He picked it up and used it to withdraw some of the clear liquid from the small vial. He slowly walked back towards the older man, and stared at him for a few brief moments before turning to face the IV that the older man was hooked up to.

"I'm a man of my word, Mr. DiNozzo." Gibbs replied coldly, as he injected the clear liquid into the older man's IV.

The older man pleaded with his eyes for mercy, shaking his head at Gibbs as he watched the clear liquid being injected into his IV. He knew now that it would not be long--not long at all.

Gibbs turned away and disposed of the syringe and the vial in a nearby waste basket.




When Tony came to he found himself in a hospital bed in a recovery room. He looked to one side and found Gibbs fast asleep in a chair that sat right up against the wall. Things in his mind were still a little bit fuzzy, and he quickly found that, at least for the moment, he was having a hard time remembering anything that had happened after that he and Gibbs had shared in his parent's home.

"Boss." Tony croaked weakily.

Gibbs stirred in his chair a little bit, but did not fully wake up.

Tony tried again, and this time Gibbs woke up.

"H-How long have I been-?" he started to ask, but his throat was really really sore.

"Few hours." the older man replied quietly.

"Wh-what happened?" Tony asked, shaking his head a little bit, and rubbing his eyes.

Gibbs spent the next few minutes explaining to Tony what had happened after they'd spent the night together at his parents' estate/home.

"So he's dead?" Tony asked, a lone tear rolling down his cheek as he sat/laid there in the hospital bed.

Gibbs nodded slightly. "He can't hurt you anymore." Gibbs informed the Senior Field Agent.

"And Mom?" Tony asked next, although he was pretty sure that he already knew the answer to that/this question full well.

"They killed her to keep her quiet." Gibbs explained. "Found her dead in the car when we pulled up outside." he added. "McGreggor confessed that she had a change of heart, and tried to protect you."

"So, now I have no one." Tony croaked out, as another lone tear rolled down his cheek.

Gibbs scooted his chair up closer to the hospital bed. "You've got me." Gibbs whispered quietly to Tony.




Chapter Fourteen (The Return) ---

It was nearly three weeks before Gibbs and Tony were allowed to return to Washington D.C. and to work. NCIS had been given a huge mess to clean up with some assisstance, of course, from the FBI.

Tony and Gibbs stepped off of the elevator and strolled, together, towards the bullpen and their respective desks that morning. All was busy as usual at NCIS, but they were happy to finally be back home once again.

"Tony! Tony! Tony!" Abby squealed as she ran towards him and Gibbs.

Tony knew that voice all too well, nd when he looked up he had to drop his stuff and actually catch Abby or they would both end up on the floor. "Whoa, Abs. Its good to see you too." he said, doing his best not to drop the overly excited Goth.

"I heard what happened." she pointed out, hugging him tightly. "Are you okay. Is there anything I can get you?"

"Yeah Abs--off of me." he grunted, feeling his knees about to give way beneath him.

"Welcome back Tony. Gibbs." Kate greeted the two men as she walked by headed for her own desk. "Director Morrow wasn't exactly thrilled with the report that he got from you two." she informed her boss.

"Yeah. I know." Gibbs replied, as he meandered around everyone else and made a beeline for his own desk.

"Where's McGee?" Gibbs asked, as he plopped down into his chair. "And my coffee?" he added, looking around on his desk top, but not finding what it was that he was searching for.

"H-here Boss!" Mcgee called from around the corner, carrying a coffee cup in his hand, as he raced as quickly as he could to deliver the precious cargo to his boss.

"Here you go Boss," McGee said, finally, handing over the coffee cup to Gibbs. "Strong. Just the way you like it."

"Thanks McGee." Gibbs replied, as he took the cup and then downed two big gulps of the steaming hot liquid within.

............To Be Continued............