******
Presidential Decree 2008
To ensure the stability of the Nation, it is recommended that a new law be passed, legalising all new "partnerships" and providing legal means for the dissolving all former marriage bonds of infected persons, provided that their children are financially and emotionally supported.
******

Washington DC, April 9th

"Dead marine, Boss!" Tony balanced the phone between his cheek and shoulder as he wrote down the details on his notepad. "Uh-huh. Sure. We'll be there as soon s possible..." All eyes in the team had turned towards the young agent as he spoke with the unknown caller. "Yeah. Tell them not to touch anything. We'll be bringing our own medical examiner."

Tony put the phone down and turned towards the team.

"We have a new case, and for once, it's not a partner rage case. Someone dumped a body just outside a little town called Silverville in Virginia. Shot in the chest, hands and head removed!

"How did they know it was a marine then?" Ziva asked curiously.

"Marine Corps Tattoo!" Tony said with a faint smirk. "Really stupid mistake, leaving it when you're trying to hide your victim's identity!"

"Call it up on the map, DiNozzo," Gibbs instructed. Tony prudently smoothed his face to neutrality as his green eyes met Gibbs' gaze, then he turned to type away at his computer. A moment later he glared at the computer screen.

"Damn!" Then hurriedly, before Gibbs could respond... "Boondocks, boss. It isn't on the maps!"

Gibbs swore softly. The team had been to a number of small town incidents in the past couple of years and they invariably seemed to involve uncovering dangerous secrets, and Gibbs clashing with local law enforcement, who always seemed to have IQ's in single figures. Plus, that far out from DC, there weren't a lot of partners around so he and his team would be put under extra stress for that reason. Yeah, and he would feel like he was in a goldfish bowl, an object of curiosity for the locals.

Tony stood, and moved towards Gibbs, until he stood face to face with his partner. He glared at his partner.

"I'm coming with you! You need me to guard your back!" He raised his arm to demonstrate his lack of bandages and plaster.

"Like hell..." Gibbs snapped, "You're not fit enough. You've only been cleared a week, and you're not to put any strain on that arm for another month!"

Something dark flared in his partner's eyes - something Gibbs recognised. The virus, triggering Tony's protective instincts. He sighed, recognising the inevitability of the moment. If he didn't take Tony with him, his partner would follow on his own. Why couldn't he have a well-adjusted partner like Ziva or McGee, who didn't get all emotional all the time.

Still, he just couldn't let Tony risk himself like that. Not now. Not ever. He cared about the younger man more than he cared to admit. Best just to face the inevitable - DiNozzo would be coming with them. Close by Gibbs' side, and under his watchful eye.

Perhaps a hint of his decision showed in his face, or perhaps his partner just knew him that well. Whatever. He saw Tony's eyes light up, even before he spoke.

"Oh hell. Get your stuff, DiNozzo. You too, McGee and Ziva. We're going to the country."

Tony grinned at him, that familiar, impertinent smile of his, knowing he had won. In the good old days, before the virus, he wouldn't have dared...

As an afterthought, with unerring accuracy, Gibbs' hand swung out and swatted Tony smartly on his left buttock.

"Owwww!" Tony wailed, rubbing at the tender spot on his rear. He glared at his partner. "You know, that probably counts as spousal abuse..."

"Ya think?" Gibbs' eyes narrowed. Tony took it as a warning not to push his partner too far and pouted. Nevertheless, he moved out of range. With a long suffering sigh, he moved back to his desk and grabbed his kit. They all headed for the elevator.
"I liked it better when he just smacked my head," Tony said mournfully to his two co-workers. They were both too wise to respond.

******

The journey up into the Blue Ridge Mountains took hours, not only because of the winding back country roads, but also because of the start of the tourist season. Some of the roads were seeing a build up of traffic already, although the nose to tail car, coach and mobile home traffic of high summer was still far away. Gibbs wasn't the most patient of drivers so they were all on edge by the time they reached Silverville. Gibbs parked the truck outside the local sheriff's office and they went inside.

Another small town, another murder.

The local sheriff looked up as they entered the room and nodded towards Gibbs.

"NCIS, I presume. Welcome to Silverville. I guess you want to see the body?" The sheriff, Dwayne Williams, no less, was in his late forties, tough looking, and to Tony's trained gaze, ex-military. He and Gibbs were well matched. Tony sensed his partner relax a fraction as he took in the man's air of competence. The sheriff too, looked at and measured Gibbs, judged him and was apparently satisfied by what he saw. It was an alpha male kind of thing. Tony guessed that he had been a marine like Gibbs - something about the short hair and the bearing that suggested a hint of steel in his backbone. Then the man's eyes flickered towards him and Tony sensed his scrutiny. A faint, appreciative smile flickered across his ruggedly handsome face.

Oh!

Maybe not so straightforward a personality. Or should that be straight. Tony decided that it was a good thing that Gibbs hadn't noticed the Sheriff's admiring gaze. It felt kind of weird to be on the receiving end of a gay man's come-on now that he had an idea of what it was like to sleep with a man. Before the virus, he would probably never have noticed that the sheriff liked him in that way, but now he had seen that particular expression of desire too often on his lover's face to mistake it.

Weird. Apparently his recent life-changes had improved his gaydar exponentially.

Flattering, to know that he was attractive to others - men, that is - but a waste of time as far as the guy was concerned. Tony wasn't interested, not even to flirt outrageously. He belonged to Jethro Gibbs and no other. Always. Besides, they had a case to solve.

*****

McGee knew that it was becoming a cliché that he would go green at the gills on particularly bloody cases, but he didn't care. Much. Somehow, he just couldn't seem to develop the cast iron constitutions of Gibbs and Ziva. Tony, not so much, these days, which made McGee's life easier. Tony had displayed a more delicate stomach than McGee recently, which made for fewer jokes aimed at the probie. But surely anyone with an ounce of humanity would be sickened by this present case.

A chainsaw.

A fucking chainsaw!

Not only had the poor victim been shot, but the killer had used a chainsaw to remove the head and hands from the body. From the blood spray on the garage wall and on the nearby car door, Ducky seemed to think that the marine hadn't been completely dead when the dismemberment began - something about the arc made by the blood droplets being too high. The marine's heart had still been beating...

That was the little detail he was going to remember about this case. That and the fact that the sheriff was eyeing Tony like he was the main course at a banquet, and the guy was starving. Gibbs hadn't noticed, but Tony certainly had. He wasn't his normal, flirtatious, cheerful self - he was being coolly professional and definitely toning the charm down a few notches.

That was wise of him. McGee had no desire to witness another of Tony's legendary arguments with the boss. Tony wasn't scared of Gibbs any more so he tended to speak his mind. The very thought of speaking to Gibbs like that made McGee cringe and made his testicles try to withdraw into his body in nervous response. Not Tony though. He had a free pass as far as Gibbs was concerned - the boss wasn't going to hurt Tony, physically or mentally. Chalk one up for sleeping with the boss.

Then again, maybe not!

Still, McGee had no desire to see Gibbs go nuclear, which is surely what would happen if he thought someone was making a play for DiNozzo. And then some.

*****

The victim's body lay sprawled next to his rental car, in a ripe condition. Ducky's estimate was that it (or rather its pieces) had been lying there for about a week, hidden inside the garage of his rented home. With false identity papers and an obvious attempt to hide his identity, this case was going to rely on the DNA database to provide vital information on his identity. Everything else was proving a dead end. Gibbs frowned. He usually liked a challenge and with all of the virus-related rage cases lately, he had lacked the stimulus of a good mystery to solve.

It might provide the necessary challenge to keep Tony occupied and happy, too. The young agent had good investigative instincts - he lived to stick his nose into other people's business, in fact - no wonder Abby called him DiNosey behind his back! Still, Gibbs suspected that there would be a lot of paperwork trails to follow to solve this murder.

According to the sheriff, Mr. X had been in this neighbourhood less than a week. He had rented a car in Alexandria 10 days ago and both expenses had been paid for in cash. He was living off the grid. Even his damned cell phone was a prepaid, off the shelf item.

The victim was obviously involved in something illegal. You don't take precautions like this to avoid an ex-wife. At least, he hadn't... The only weird thing was a state of the art gas mask in the back of the car. Ducky claimed that it was so efficient a design that it would filter particulates the size of the partner virus. Gibbs hadn't needed to be told that; he had recognised the high quality of the mask even before Ducky's input.

Anonymous military corpse + protection against bioweapons + car originating in the vicinity of D.C. Gibbs decided to prioritise the case. Instead of heading back to the city, it would be worth spending a day or two checking out the local area, asking questions. It was what Gibbs' team did best.

He glanced over at his partner, who was making his customary crime scene sketches. Tony was working quietly, doing his job.

Too quietly? Gibbs hadn't been paying attention to his lover, his mind on the case, so accustomed to working smoothly with the young agent that he hadn't given a thought to how subdued Tony was.

Moving towards his lover, Gibbs studied his partner for a moment, noting the strangely dark eyes and the air of distraction that he wore.

"Go book us a room at the local motel. I'll join you in a while." His hand closed briefly over Tony's fingers. "Go on." His tone brooked no denial. Tony sent him a look of gratitude then headed towards the car.

*****

Tony sighed in relief when Gibbs cut him some slack. In truth, he did feel tired after the long drive and the longer crime scene analysis. Six hours documenting body position, blood splatter evidence, fingerprinting and "supervising" McGee's trace evidence collecting had taken its toll. Perhaps he wasn't as fit for fieldwork as he had first thought. He didn't usually feel this tired at the end of the afternoon. His back in particular felt unexpectedly tense, as if he had been lifting weights. Nothing a good hot shower couldn't cure.

He booked the room then settled down at the bar for a quick, ice cold beer. Gibbs would be along in an hour or so, at his best guess. They had been almost finished at the crime scene, and after a week, the perps were probably long gone. Questioning suspects would wait till tomorrow. He and Gibbs got to spend the night in the country, at government expense.

Tony smiled over his beer. He longed for that shower and a comfortable bed, preferably occupied, an equally comfortable arm around him with a strong presence pressed up against him from behind. Oh yeah, and a little hot sex wouldn't go amiss either. Slow and gentle was his preference today...

Gibbs could be unexpectedly tender, and there had been that warmth in his eyes when he had ordered Tony back to the motel that told the young man how much he cared. Still, their relationship wasn't all hearts and roses. Gibbs was still Gibbs, with his stormy temper and his contempt for fools. Tony found that out the first time he tried to use his relationship with Gibbs to his advantage with the guys in the evidence garage. Okay, so it had only been a hint about his special relationship with Gibbs, when he was trying to check evidence into storage, but still. The head slap had been well deserved, but the accompanying look of disappointment in Gibbs' eyes had been the real hurt.

He had never been remotely tempted to use his partnership since then. Not ever. Perhaps he even tried to be too independent, in compensation. So when the sheriff had reappeared by his side as he drank his beer, Tony sighed and prepared to give the guy the brush-off, as diplomatically as possible.

"So... Agent DiNozzo. Can I buy you another drink?"

"Look." Tony said quietly. "I'm in a partnership with Agent Gibbs. I'm flattered that you're interested in me, but I don't sleep around." He tried to look apologetic, disinterested...

Somehow, he had said the wrong thing. Instead of putting the sheriff off, the news of his partnership seemed to galvanised the man. Williams smirked and moved closer, coming well within Tony’s comfort zone.

"So... Is it true what they say about partners? That you're a lot more sexually active than normal people? That you can keep going for hours at a stretch? That you'll try any position?"

Williams grinned and put a hand on the young agent's shoulder. Tony flinched away from him, his face burning with embarrassment. He felt like a freak.

"Get your hands off me. You really don't want me to have you charged with sexual harassment..."

Whether the threat was likely to be effective suddenly became irrelevant. The sheriff was grabbed by the shoulder and spun round. Gibbs had arrived, followed by McGee, and both men had seen the sheriff’s ill-fated attempt at seduction.

"You bastard!" With a yell of rage, Gibbs let fly with his fist, too furious even to consider using his gun. With the accuracy born of twenty years of combat training, his aim was deadly accurate and his fist impacted in a perfect strike, breaking the sheriff’s nose. Perhaps there was some measure of the strength of an enraged partner in his action. The result was regrettably both public and spectacular; the unfortunate man was lifted off his feet and sent flying backwards. He hit the wall with an audible thump and slid limply down the wall, blood trickling from his busted nose. Half a dozen locals gaped at Gibbs. One pulled out a camera and began to take shots of the scene.

Gibbs stared at Williams' downed body, and McGee saw rage disappear, replaced almost immediately with shock. If the guy was dead... Well, there was no way Gibbs would get away with killing a law enforcement officer in this part of the country, partner rage or no partner rage.

"Oh shit!" White faced, Tony stared, appalled at the man's limp body. McGee dropped to his knees beside the sheriff and checked to see if he was still alive.

For once, luck was with them. He was alive, though he would probably wake up with a hell of a headache, and a nose like a pancake. McGee's look of relief reassured Tony and the young agent leaned against his lover, his green eyes closing as he started to shiver. Not dead. Gibbs wouldn't be going to Leavenworth or worse. Not today. He held on to his partner as the inevitable reaction to shock set in.

******

"You think he'll press charges?" Tony said anxiously as they waited outside the Director's office, some hours later.

Gibbs sighed. He had always had a smart right hook, but normally he had sense enough not to use it in situations like this. It was just that... Hell... Hitting on his partner! Even now, the growl threatened to break loose from his lips. Stupid sonovabitch. Surely the sheriff had read the reports on partner rage. He ought to have known not to try it on with Tony in front of his partner! Dammit to hell! It was about as stupid an action as poking a bear with a stick - except that this particular bear had punched the sheriff so hard, he was lucky he hadn't had his nasal bone driven up into his brain cells. All three of them. Some fraction of sanity had still remained when Gibbs had hit the guy.

He had sure as hell shocked DiNozzo!

Even now, the urge to pull his partner close and claim those beautiful lips was a distraction. To remind him who he belonged to, though Tony was blameless in this mess. He felt so possessive of Tony sometimes. The young agent seemed to be just as uneasy as Gibbs. The young agent had stayed close to him since the incident, his fingers were presently resting on Gibbs' arm and the older man could feel the warmth of Tony's thigh pressed against his.

"You know..." Tony gave a hesitant smile, his natural joie de vivre finally reasserting itself. "I should be flattered, in a way. At least it proves I've still, got it. My charisma, I mean. It isn't as if I have a sign around my neck saying property of Leroy Jethro Gibbs!"

"Idiot!" Gibbs said, but he couldn't help the faint twitch of his lips. Tony leaned his head on Gibbs' shoulder with a sigh.

Gibbs smiled, "You're right, Tony. People are going to hit on you as long as they think you're available."

The younger man's green eyes had warmed to his partner. Using his name, rather than just snapping out, "DiNozzo!" had become a sign between them that he and Gibbs were now off duty. He sat up and studied his partner thoughtfully.

"You don't need to worry about me, Jethro. There's no-one else I want to be with. Not ever."

"It's not you I'm worried about." Gibbs curled his hand round his lover's neck, drawing Tony in close.

They kissed. Gibbs loved the way the younger man's green eyes half closed in pleasure, just from a kiss, and his body arched against Gibbs, half-hard already. The breathy little sounds he made, and the way he clutched at his partner, wanting more. It still stunned him that he could affect Tony like that. Reluctantly he broke away from the young man.

"Guess we'd better face the music," he said softly. Then unexpectedly, Tony hugged him. Gibbs held his lover close. The younger man wanted reassurance and he did his best to provide it. Tony was a curious mixture of wants and needs, with a surprisingly wide streak of insecurity.

They were making this relationship work - one day at a time.

*******

The Director sighed and shook her head. As soon as they had arrived back, they had been called into her office - and she had made them wait for an hour before she was ready to see them. Probably trying to contain the fallout.

"Jethro..." Her tone spoke of long familiarity with Gibbs and the way his mind worked. "I know you couldn't help it. He should have known better than to provoke a partner like that. But did you really have to break his nose?"

Tony felt Gibbs' hand steadying him in the centre of his back and straightened slightly. Gibbs' touch didn't make him feel better, but it made him feel less alone. Though he still felt like he was in front of the school principal.

"Your timing is lousy," she said. "So soon after Tony's little incident... The publicity isn't going to put NCIS in a good light. Hitting a law enforcement officer in front of a bar full of locals and at least one journalist. You really could have handled it better."

The young agent blushed as he felt her gaze on him like a spotlight.

"Well then." Here it was; their punishment. "There's a big law enforcement conference in New York next week. Partnership is on the agenda. We've been asked to send a couple of delegates to take part in a seminar on Partner rage incidents." A cool smile. "I can't think of any agents more qualified, can you?"

"Oh crap!" For once, Gibbs had no trouble expressing his feelings.

And for once, Tony agreed with him.

******

End of part 1

Albany Hotel and Conference Centre, New York: Day 1 of Conference

*****

"Hey, this isn't so bad!" Tony sprawled on the king sized bed, his green eyes alive with curiosity as he read the hotel guest manual. "As delegates on the Partner Virus panel, not only do we get a suite with a jacuzzi-tub and a wet room big enough for two, but the hotel also has an Olympic sized swimming pool, a gym, three restaurants, a sushi joint and get this... Its own karaoke bar!"

A snort of disgust was Gibbs' only response. Tony sighed. It was rare for him to wish for the old, pre-virus days, but being stuck with Gibbs in this mood brought on nostalgia pretty quickly. At least back then he wasn't sharing a room and a bed with the stubbornest man in America. Gibbs was absolutely determined to hate every minute of this conference.

Tony, on the other hand, could see a world of possibilities in the situation. Sex in a hot tub, for instance. Tony had somehow never had the opportunity before, though he could tick off beaches, aircraft at 10,000 feet and weirdly, hot springs, on his list of places to do it before you die. But Gibbs wouldn't even switch it on. He had muttered something about not wanting to suffer the noise for the hours it was sure to take, heating up, ignoring the fact that if they were out of the room at the conference, they wouldn't hear it anyway. And for that matter, did hot tubs even make a noise when they were warming up? With that attitude, he certainly wasn't going to venture into the karaoke bar, though maybe sushi was a possibility...

The older man frowned at Tony then abruptly rose to his feet. Tony stared at him hopefully.

"Got an errand to do," Gibbs said brusquely. "Try not to get into trouble."

He was gone before Tony could even stand up. From his tone, the young agent gathered that he wasn't invited on the "errand." He sighed; so much for Jethro being more communicative. It was going to be a long week.

Bouncing off the bed, with a sly grin at the sexual possibilities a well-sprung mattress offered, he decided to check out the facilities he had been reading about, starting with a place he could get a light lunch. Later he would check out the gym. He really needed to work on his fitness - he was getting too pudgy round the middle - so he would definitely check out the cardio workout machines later.

He would also call McGee later, to see how well the probie was coping with his first ever stint as lead investigator on a case. The Director was trusting McGee with solving their dismembered corpse case. And why not? McGee was experienced enough, by now. And at least a certain annoying law enforcement officer was out of the picture - what with the broken nose and the bruised ego...

There had been a few promising leads for McGee to work on. First of all, they had been waiting for news from the armed forces DNA database. Secondly, the murder victim's rental car had an inbuilt tracking system, so they could check his movements over the past week or so, and thirdly, that chemical masking equipment he had been carrying had a limited source of supply.

McGee knew all of this, of course, but Tony couldn't help checking up on him, just in case...

Hmmm. Sushi bar...

******

Gibbs stared at the small box that rested in his hand. A small gift for Tony, direct from the local jeweller he had tracked down. A plain, gold band, twin to the one he had bought for himself. The remark Tony had made about there being no sign to show he belonged to Gibbs had finally made up his mind. He would make his commitment to his partner official.

He chuckled softly. Another marriage? Was that what this was? He wasn't sure. Certainly different to his last one, but something he had needed to do. And not just because of the way the sheriff had hit on Tony. He just seemed to feel more protective towards Tony these days, for no good reason he could name. He smiled again, remembering his ridiculous idea about Tony having a baby. And all because the young agent was a little unfit at the moment. Not his fault - he had been through a lot with his injuries.

The idea of a pregnant man was just ridiculous. A harmless fantasy. Of course it was. It was just that... the pickles... the morning sickness... the change in his body shape...

Well alright. Face facts. Admit that the thought still obsessed him. Hot tubs were meant to be bad for pregnant women. Despite all of his denials and the knowledge that he was being illogical, something within him had just refused to let Tony try out the tub. Even though hot tub sex would have been really, really damned good.

He scowled, unconscious of the fact that his expression made people in his vicinity edge away from him uneasily, and headed for the conference hall. May as well sign in and see what fate had in store for the two of them. How many wasted hours listening to pointless arguments and circular reasoning, by people who didn't know what they were talking about. He hated conferences.

What was the collective noun for a group of law enforcement officers anyway? Pride? Troop? Pains in the ass?

This was a big conference. The auditorium held at least two thousand seats and there was a queue of at least a hundred delegates waiting to sign in at the door, even at this early hour - all law enforcement personnel, criminologists, pains in the ass (lawyers) etc. But of course this place was a special hell reserved for awkward NCIS agents who had faced more than their fair share of violent incidents. He and Tony were expected to take part in a discussion on how to deal with partner rage, as members on a panel.

"Jethro!" Tony waved from across the room. The young agent was predictably in the thick of the action. He threaded his way through the crowd, reached his partner and grinned excitedly. "Busy, isn't it. There must be cops here from every state of the USA." One hand automatically reached towards Gibbs, possibly headed towards his firm and manly chest. Gibbs growled warningly.

Tony took in the scowl Gibbs directed towards him and toned down the excitement a little, though he couldn't quite lose the grin. Eyes sparkling, he lowered his voice.

"Okay boss. Gotcha. No hugging the big, bad NCIS agent in public, in front of all these cops. Not good for the butch image you're trying to project."

Gibbs' glare would have made lesser men flee.

"Butch image..?" he snapped. "DiNozzo..."

The young agent grinned. Payback for smacking him on the ass. He was tempted to kiss Gibbs in public in front of the delegates, but he knew that if he laid one on Gibbs, the older man would make him pay for it. The question was would it be worth the risk? Oh yes, this week had definite possibilities.

*****

Day 2 of the Conference

"...Where government employees have unfortunately bonded with known felons, their status will be reviewed by the FBI, and amnesty for the partner may be offered in certain cases. It is recognised that such partnerships are permanent and a loss of key government personnel in our nation's heartland could prove disastrous in these troubled times..."

Tony scowled. Were these guys really serious. Proposing that felons go free simply because they were bonded to a law enforcement partner! That proposition was going to be controversial when they started to discuss it. There were other, equally eccentric ideas, such as the one about compulsory registration for partners and limits on their movements, individual freedom be damned. That one felt like Nazi Germany.

Meanwhile, an endless discussion about whether it was a good idea for two partners to work in the same department... That one seemed to be split down partner - non-partner lines.

Maybe Gibbs was right about how boring these conferences were. And it was only Tuesday - another two days of discussion before presenting their conclusions to the rest of the conference delegates on Friday. Tony sighed, a little too loudly, and several of the delegates nearby turned to look at him in annoyance.

Gibbs turned to look at him too, and Tony was relieved to see a twinkle in his eyes rather than irritation. Gibbs' fingers briefly squeezed his knee and Tony blushed slightly. He really, really wished he could go with Jethro right now and spend a couple of hours rolling around in bed.

This was so boring.

Trying to occupy his mind with something more interesting, he studied his fellow LEO's on the partnership study panel. They were all partners from various Washington agencies; the Secret Service, ATF, Homeland Security, DEA, even the FBI. Agent Fornell, no less, accompanied by a too-pretty, very green looking young agent who just had to be his partner! Tony smirked. He had thought the age difference between himself and Gibbs was awkward, but Fornell and his squeeze had them beat. The young agent was hanging on Fornell's every word too, which argued that they were fairly secure in their relationship.


Now that Secret Service chic sitting opposite from Gibbs, on the other hand, looked really tough. The sort of woman you really didn't want to piss off because she could crack nuts between her thighs. Her partner too, looked hard as nails - which made it all the more surprising that the two of them were holding hands. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that she was obviously pregnant and he was feeling protective. Of the other partners in the room, most were male pairings. Some seemed comfortable in their relationships but a few looked uncomfortable with the whole males having sex thing and/or relationships, sitting apart from each other as if being too close in public was embarrassing. Like they were different from all the other partners in the room.

At least Gibbs wasn't that repressed!

"Wake me up if I start to snore," Tony hissed in Gibbs' ear. The older man didn't react to Tony's lament, but abruptly his hand was back on Tony's leg. Hidden under the table, his fingers began to creep higher up Tony's thigh, his thumb gently making small circles across the young agent's inner thigh.

Tony's mouth went dry. At the same time, his cock sat up and took notice. Gibbs knew. His fingers found the young agent's erection and he squeezed gently. Tony bit his lip to stop the groan slipping out, his own fingers gripping the edge of the conference table so tightly that his knuckles went white.

"Awake yet?" Gibbs purred in his ear. His hand withdrew.

"That is so unfair!" Tony shifted uncomfortably, thankful that his arousal was hidden by the table.

"If you want to stay awake, just keep thinking about what I'm going to do to you when we get back to our room!"

"I really hate you right now" Tony said. They weren't due to break for lunch for at least two hours. It was going to be a really long day!

******

McGee frowned at his computer screen and shook his head. That couldn't be right. Or it was a hell of a coincidence. He had been examining the records of their murder victim's car, one Paul Reston, studying where the guy had been to in the past two weeks. As far as he could tell, the guy had made a couple of visits to small motels in New England, plus one big trip to the New York area. In fact, to the very place where Tony and Gibbs were attending their conference.

Really weird.

Mind you, why should he be surprised? Gibbs and his partner seemed to attract trouble wherever they went. Tony had found trouble in a diner and a bar, whilst Gibbs had met with his own problems in the interrogation room.. Plus there was the whole partnership thing. McGee counted himself lucky in his "choice" of partners. He and Abby had already slept together when the virus hit. It must be so much more awkward for Tony - a vigorously heterosexual man - to suddenly find himself sleeping with Gibbs. McGee couldn't imagine what it must be like. They were such an odd couple. It could have been him, if the circumstances were different! He had done surveillance with the boss on more than one occasion.

What must it be like to wake up next to his fearsome boss every morning? To find your sexual instincts and desires focussed entirely on Leroy Jethro Gibbs? McGee couldn't imagine finding Gibbs sexy. He couldn't have brought himself to kiss Gibbs, let alone wanting to sleep with him! The greatest surprise was that Tony actually seemed fairly happy, most of the time, though obviously, there were some very public quarrels sometimes. That would argue that there was a lot of passion in their relationship. Not so different from his own relationship then. Deeply rewarding, but with occasional flying sparks.

He headed to Abby's lab, taking the stairs two at a time. Despite his anxiety, his spirits raised automatically at the thought of being with her. His beautiful, challenging partner. The day that the virus was released, they had reconnected their on-again off-again relationship in a big way. The physical side of their relationship had always been good, but on that unforgettable day it had attained new levels of passion.

McGee blushed. Maybe it was because he had been so uninhibited - that had never been Abby's particular difficulty. The reason they had not gotten further with their relationship previously was that she was a free spirit and he was just a little bit too traditional in his attitudes.

Well now they were living together and having sex virtually every night and he was happier than he had ever been in his entire life.

It felt weird sometimes. Abby's unconventional attitudes versus his traditionalism. Goth chic coffin, loud "music" and tattoos, contrasting with his pipe and vintage record collection and his obsession with books. They were good together though. And Abby was definitely the dominant personality in their relationship.

They had agreed, as far as possible, to keep their relationship out of the NCIS building and to maintain strictly professional conduct at work. Not that Gibbs and Tony managed their work-life balance too well, as far as he had seen, but Abby had insisted. No sex at work. No long, slow kisses... The occasional lunch might be allowed, on a slow day.

"Tim!" Abby squealed and flung her arms around him when he walked into the lab.

Well, she never did have much use for rules. Even her own.

Several kisses later, sitting in front of the computer, with Abby balanced on his lap, he told her about his problem.

"You're kidding! The biggest gathering of law enforcement officers in America this year and our victim was sniffing round the conference centre? With a state of the art gas mask in the boot of his car that can protect him against the most sophisticated bioweapons around today!" She shook her head. "I don't like where this is going, Tim."

McGee cursed loudly. He should have been quicker on the uptake. Luckily Abby was as intelligent as she was beautiful. Someone was planning a bioterrorist attack on a big, fat tempting law enforcement target. He wondered if he dug deeper, he would find links to the earlier attack. A DNA match to the samples they had from the truck that had exploded in Georgetown. The one responsible for the first partner virus outbreak.

The theory among NCIS personnel was that someone high up in the government had wiped the terrorists' DNA records from the government database - but now they had an actual body to match to the samples they had collected in the first attack. In 24 hours, they would know if their dead Mr. X was involved in the biggest terrorist conspiracy of modern times.

Meanwhile, it was time to let the Boss and Tony know that they were at ground zero for another possible attack.

******

They had missed lunch entirely. Gibbs smiled in memory. His time had been well spent, and no doubt the food-obsessed Tony would drag them to one of the many eating places around here, later. Not that his mouth had been unoccupied over the last hour. He had made Tony beg, before sucking him dry and having him over the bed. The young man presently wore a delightfully sated expression which Gibbs knew he echoed. There were few things to compare with the feel of DiNozzo beneath him, begging to be taken.

The sound of his cellphone pulled Gibbs out of a daydream. He pulled it out of his pocket and stared at the screen. McGee's number. He frowned. The young agent knew he was likely to be involved in conference business for most of the day, mainly thanks to his gossip-mongering partner. It must be something important. He nodded towards Tony and rose from his seat to take the call. He saw Tony's look of envy and with a sigh, indicated that his partner could follow him outside, into the main lobby.

"What is it, McGee?"

"Boss! We think there's going to be a terrorist attack targeting your conference! We've tracked our dead marine's movements and he was in your area a couple of days before he died. We think he might be one of Mackenzie’s mob - we've just found out that his DNA information has been wiped from the Armed Forces database. That argues he's been part of Mackenzie’s conspiracy... And why did he have the gas mask if he wasn't planning to use it..."

"Slow down McGee! You may be right, but I'm going to need more. Proof. If our guy was planning an attack, he had to have accomplices. I need you to check out his associates. I want their pictures sent here within the hour. You hear me!"

"Yes, boss. Right away."

Gibbs turned to Tony, who had been listening curiously to Gibbs' part of the conversation.

"Trouble?" he asked softly.

"We may have a situation." Gibbs said. "McGee thinks this place is a target..."

"The bioterrorist link!" Tony was quick on the uptake. Hardly surprising since he had been in close contact with the probie all week.

"Yeah. We may have to evacuate this place."

"That could tip off our terrorists." Tony said.

"I know. We have to hope they aren’t in position yet" Gibbs acknowledged. "Come on. We have a room full of law enforcement partners over there. If anyone knows how dangerous terrorist attacks can be, they do. Let's go." He paused. "Tony, stick by me. I mean it. If an attack goes down, I need to know you're close..." His instinct to protect his partner was making itself felt. And his love.

Tony understood. Gibbs saw it in his green eyes. Then the young agent was leaning forward and kissing him, his lips a brief, warm contact. Gibbs flushed. Displaying his sexual preferences in front of dozens of cops was a little too exhibitionist for him. Tony knew it, too - a glint of amusement sparkled in his eyes at Gibbs' discomfiture.

"Just so you remember what we're doing this for, Jethro." Gibbs heard the affection in his voice. Audience be damned. He caught hold of Tony and hugged him briefly. He could almost sense the disapproval of those cops watching them. The ones he was about to risk his life for.

Come to think of it, it was pretty funny!

******

End of part 2

Report of FBI Intelligence Division: The Dawn Alliance

This terrorist group is known to be led by Professor McKenzie, a genetic researcher and well known public figure. He is known to have three subordinates, one in each of the cities of Los Angeles, Washington and New York. Below command level, the terrorists are arranged and recruited in a typical cell structure. In other words, each member knows only two or three others, and the true extent and importance of the movement must remain theoretical. However, it is known that they hold extremely militant views on social and environmental issues.

We have recently identified members of the New York cell...

*****

Tony was impressed by Gibbs' capacity to take charge, or should that be "kick butt" in order to get what he wanted. Within ten minutes of McGee's call, conference security had been quietly notified to search the building, looking for a terrorist device. Last time, they had chosen explosives.

Meanwhile, the other partners from their panel were spreading out, through the hotel, looking for anything suspicious, whilst spreading the word to evacuate. Quietly and without sounding an alarm. Gibbs was placing a lot of trust in the probie's suspicions. Tony knew it wasn't misplaced.

Gibbs was hoping that they could get this vast place emptied before the terrorists realised they had been discovered. He saw Fornell heading out to the street - he was going to liaise with the NYPD. His young partner headed for the big conference hall. Gibbs had the same idea. Empty the big conference hall - the riskiest moment of the whole evacuation scheme. This was going to tip off those bastards for sure. Tony didn't hesitate. He followed his partner into the hall. Gibbs whispered something to a worried looking security guard

Time ran out.

There was an odd, muffled bang somewhere above them. Tony stared at the ceiling, seeing nothing at first except roof struts and the elaborate chandelier so beloved of modern architects and their clients, who almost invariably had more money than sense. Then, from some sort of vents, a fine dust started to drift down from somewhere far above in the high ceilinged auditorium.

"Oh shit!" For a moment, Tony froze, disbelieving. The terrorists had chosen the one place guaranteed to give them maximum exposure in New York, and at the same time, were expressing their contempt for law enforcement. What better way to show their hatred for authority than to make the representatives of law and justice fuck themselves senseless. But he didn't have time for further speculation, because his arm was suddenly held in an iron grip and he was being towed towards the exit, in the wake of hundreds of panicked delegates. So much for the calm and collected law enforcement officer stereotype. Only the strength of Gibbs' grip kept them close to each other in the rush.

Gibbs had taken the initiative, but even as he did so, Tony knew they were not going to make it. Every other delegate had the same idea, and even in an expensive conference venue like this, evacuation would take a couple of minutes. More than enough time to breathe in the virus and fall into that familiar, dark need. Then his partner glanced his way, and Tony saw something unexpected in his lover's eyes. Horror.

"Jethro!"

"Only with you! I won't sleep with some stranger! I won't get down on my knees for another man!" His voice rose. "And you. I won't let anyone near you, Tony..."

That possibility hadn't occurred to Tony. That he would end up having sex with somebody other than Jethro, helpless to control himself as the partner virus once more carried away his self-control. Apparently though, for Jethro Gibbs, the possibility loomed over him - the chance that he could become involved with another man. Or that Tony would end up with someone else. Jethro apparently found those possibilities unendurable.

"Wait!" Tony dragged his partner towards a nearby alcove, and they entered it, a small place of refuge. He pushed Gibbs against the wall and pressed up against him, his eyes inches from his partner's as their foreheads touched. "If it's going to happen, then we stay close to each other. No-one else gets near you. Just me!"

"And no-one gets close to you." Gibbs said softly. They held each other, feeling strangely isolated, away from the crowds. Tony could see the love shining out of Jethro's eyes, and the trust in him. Waiting for the heat to take them was strange. Knowing it was coming and they couldn't stop it...

Tony smelt something oddly like burned caramel. Maybe it was the explosive they had used, or the virus transport medium? Looking into Gibbs' eyes, he saw instantly when the virus hit his partner. The way Gibbs' pupils suddenly expanded and something dark and hungry was released in him. Tony clutched his partner tightly and waited... And waited...

What the hell?

Nothing happened to him. Tony stared back into Gibbs' too dark eyes and saw confusion waken in them. Then something else, more primal.

"Boss?" he said softly. "Jethro?"

Gibbs moved, and abruptly, Tony found himself pinned against the wall by his partner, Gibbs' big hands on his waist. He was far stronger than Tony. The young agent watched Gibbs warily, but the older man made no further aggressive moves. He could have. Tony knew all too well how powerful the instinct to mate was, when he was carried away by the virus in his blood. Was Gibbs fighting off its effects? He knew with absolute certainty that Gibbs would never hurt him.

The older man kissed him, long and slow, making him feel alive with desire, despite his need to fight the effects of the virus. He regretted it when the kiss ended. Then Gibbs sighed and pressed closer, nuzzling him, apparently content to hold him. Again Tony waited...

Nothing. No heat, sweeping him up in unstoppable desire. No need to be taken, hot and hard. Not even a twitch of an erection.

Tony didn't know why he wasn't affected yet by the latest release of the damned stuff. He should have been. All around him he could see and hear delegates in the first throes of infection, coming together. Kissing. Touching. Caught in the heat of their passion. Yet beyond a little light-headedness, Tony himself felt nothing. How far Gibbs had fallen under its effects was unknown to him but he wasn't being fucked through the floor, which was a good sign. Not that Tony didn't like being fucked through the floor, on occasion, but not in the middle of a conference room full of cops!

"Jethro?" Tony repeated his lover's name softly, hoping that his apparent immunity to the virus extended to Gibbs. No such luck.

"Mine!" Gibbs said softly, leaning in to nuzzle Tony's hair. His hands were gentle, yet immovable, holding Tony against the wall and his expression was dazed. "My family..."

Great. Tony sighed. Neanderthal Gibbs. Big, strong and powerfully protective. Apparently Gibbs was feeling at least some effects of exposure to the virus. He tentatively pushed at Gibbs' shoulders.

"Listen to me, Jethro. You have to fight it! Please!"

"Mmmm. You smell different. Sweeter. Not like before, but still so good" He felt Gibbs nuzzle him, then lips brushed against his neck. Despite his resolve to stay sane, he did feel an inevitable jolt of desire at his lover's touch.

"Hard. So hard..." His lover's voice sounded hoarse. Yet last time, neither of them had been capable of speech. It gave Tony hope that Gibbs wasn't as deeply affected by the virus as before.

"I know. But you have to try. Please, Jethro. We can't let them get away..."

A ghost of laughter against the skin of his throat. Gibbs wasn't entirely lost in the heat of passion.

"No. Need..!" Tony's hand was grasped and drawn downwards, then pressed against Gibbs' prominent erection. "Hard..! Can't think..."

What was his lover trying to tell him? That his sexual needs were so overwhelming that he couldn't focus on anything else? Tony sighed. He knew what he had to do - bring Gibbs back to sanity. If he satisfied the older man's need for him, it might bring Gibbs back to him, at least temporarily.

With a grimace, Tony dropped to his knees and reached for Gibbs' zipper. It was really weird doing this in public, but there wasn't really a choice. A quick glance told him that no-one was paying them any attention; they were all too busy, pulling each others' clothes off and getting down to business. He closed his eyes briefly, the repulsive sight of numerous hairy law enforcement asses and bobbing erections bringing with it considerable stress. He had never really thought about how male dominated the profession was before...

"Yes!" Gibbs growled, his voice rough with need as he saw what Tony intended. He was more than ready, impressively erect and iron-hard in Tony's hand. A strong hand tangled in Tony's hair, guiding his head gently but firmly downwards. Tony grinned despite his self-consciousness. He loved the feel of those powerful fingers on his head, stroking instead of his trademark head-slaps. As he watched, a small droplet of liquid formed on the end of Gibbs' glorious erection and the young man hungrily tasted his lover's essence. He would have enjoyed this even if the virus hadn't hardwired a desire for Jethro Gibbs into his brain.

It was so easy to lose himself in the act of sucking and savouring the taste of his man. He found his head moving hungrily in that ancient rhythm known to all lovers, something close to the beat of his heart. Gibbs groaned and pushed his head down further and he willingly took his lover's hardness in deeper. Part of him wanted to slow things down, pull his clothes off and take things in a whole other direction - one of heat and sweat and penetration, but he knew he had to finish Gibbs quickly. They had a job to do and though he hated it, he would do his duty. Gibbs expected it of him. Just, nobody ever said that duty involved public blow jobs were necessary to catch crooks.

He went down hard and heard his lover moan in climax, then Tony was eagerly swallowing his lover's offering. So good.

He rose to his feet, wincing a little at the slight ache in his back - he really needed to exercise more. Gibbs leaned heavily against him, his ragged breathing gradually slowing and steadying. He was practically nuzzling Tony's neck, inhaling his scent again like he couldn't get enough of it. Tony wanted to move, to get after the terrorists, but it did feel good to be close to his lover. Dangerously, wonderfully distracting; part of him wanted to stay like this, wrapped protectively in his lover's arms.

Finally, Gibbs pulled away from him and their eyes met. As the pleasure faded, Tony could almost see the awareness flowing back into his partner's mind. A big hand brushed softly through his hair, a wordless acknowledgement of the love between them. Gibbs still looked a little spaced out, but there was a good measure of sanity in his eyes now

"Tony..."

"You're back!" Despite the enticement of Gibbs' touch, Tony felt relieved that the virus-madness was over for Gibbs.

"Dizzy... But I'll manage. Not so bad as last time. I need you to keep me grounded..." Gibbs swayed slightly. His fingers found Tony's and gripped the young man's hand tightly. "So good... I just want to touch you..." Tony could hear the desire in his voice. "Love the way you smell... Baby..."

"Hey! Focus! C'mon boss, you can do it." Tony blushed at the surprising endearment - an unexpectedly slushy thing for Gibbs to say. He let a hint of entreaty enter his voice. "I can't do it alone. I need you!" He squeezed his lover's hand. He could almost see Gibbs straighten, his need to protect his partner sweeping away the post-coital languor "C'mon boss. Let's get those bastards!"

Gibbs glanced round and winced. Dozens, possibly hundreds of delegates, tangled up with each other, frantically having each other all around them.

"Huh!" Gibbs shook his head, bemused. "How long was I out of it?" His fingers were still tightly holding Tony's.

Tony shrugged. "About ten minutes, I guess."

"I seem to be at least partially immune to it," Gibbs said softly. "But it didn't affect you at all, did it? I wonder why?"

Tony shook his head. "Who knows," he answered. He pointed towards the door. "Security centre?" he suggested. It had state of the art video surveillance facilities. Gibbs nodded. They should be able to spot their opponents there - the cameras should spot anyone who was moving through the hotel, unaffected by the virus. The terrorists had gas masks - they must have expected to be close to the explosion that dispersed the virus. Tony could only hope that the two of them hadn't been occupied for too long by Jethro's needs.

******

Gibbs could just about focus. The strong grip of Tony's fingers kept him grounded somehow, held the longing at bay. Just... If he didn't know that Tony would go running off after those bastards on his own if Gibbs wasn't able to back him up, he would have let himself fall into the dark place.

Tony was doing the thinking for both of them right now. Gibbs just let himself be led towards the security centre. His trust in Tony was absolute.

Apparently, other people had the same idea. Three other people were there in front of the security monitors when he and Tony reached the centre. Unsurprisingly, he recognised all of them from the partner violence debates. One of them was the pregnant Secret Service agent. What was her name again? Oh yes, Jay Gault.

Her eyes alive with energy, she was systematically flicking through the images delivered from all four corners of the hotel, trying to spot their quarry. The air conditioning had spread the virus throughout the hotel by now. The agent's partner sat next to her on the floor, looking as dazed as Gibbs felt. The third person was Fornell's young partner whose eyes filled with relief when he saw Gibbs and Tony.

While Tony talked with Gault, he sat down heavily next to her partner. He couldn't seem to focus on their conversation. He knew his brain wasn't exactly firing on all cylinders - let Tony do the thinking and just follow his lead - that seemed the wisest course of action.

Something else was bugging him. That thing again! Tony and the pregnant woman were both unaffected by the virus, whereas he and her partner were partially affected by it. Did pregnancy, with all its strange hormonal mood swings, affect the functioning of the virus? That would make sense, wouldn't it? They had a much stronger immunity than he did. Of course, the one flaw in that argument was that Fornell's young partner seemed to be immune too. Unless he too was...

Nah! Now the virus was really messing with him. His heart was whispering things to him that his head knew to be insane. Yet the impression wouldn't go away. Instead, he could feel an instinctive protectiveness growing within him, even as... something..? Hope..? Life..? blossomed within DiNozzo. He decided to go and see Ducky as soon as they got back to the NCIS.

Yeah. Ducky would know what to do!

*****

"We got them!" Tony held up his video phone so that McGee could see the suspects being led away by Fornell's people. Of course, Tony had been the one to catch them, with Gibbs as brooding, dangerously protective backup They had been directed to the kitchen entrance by Gault, who'd stayed in the control room at her partner's insistence. The terrorists had tried to walk casually out of the hotel, although casual was a relative term when you're wearing a face mask that filters out biological contaminants.

The two men hadn't expected to be intercepted by NCIS, that was for sure. Though they were armed, they hadn't even had their guns out! It was a nice collar, and Tony was still on a high from the successful arrest. No violence, which should please the Director, for once. McGee deserved at least some of the credit, too. And best of all, he could see the lucidity slowly leaking back into his lover's face. Not that a dark and brooding Gibbs wasn't sexy as hell, but right now, he just wanted those strong arms around him. He grinned hopefully at Gibbs and let his eyes flicker towards their room.

Gibbs nodded and a few minutes later, they were finally alone together in their room. Gibbs seemed unusually flustered by something.

"I have something for you," he said hesitantly. "If you'll accept it... I was thinking about what you said earlier, about people not knowing you belonged with anyone... I want people to know we're together." He reached into his pocket and drew out a small box, handing it to Tony. The smile he received was almost shy. Then, as Tony stared at the plain gold band inside, Gibbs saw something else wake joyfully in those green eyes. Perhaps it had been there for a while and he just hadn't recognised it. He now knew with absolute certainty that Tony DiNozzo was in love with him. Shannon had looked at him like that when he had proposed to her.

Then Tony flung his arms around Gibbs and kissed him again. He had always known that his lover delighted in receiving gifts and praise, but it was the way Tony's face had lit up that made him glad he had made the effort.

But even as the two of them came together, he knew he was going to speak to Ducky soon. If the man he had chosen to spend his life with was sick... or something else... he needed to know about it.

*****

The Partner Vow
(Note: Came into common use sometime in the summer following the Partner Virus Incident....)

You are my heart and soul. You are my life's goal.
My strength comes from you. My feelings are true.
Take my hand.

We are one forever, parting never. Only together will we be fulfilled.
Let this be a symbol of our love and commitment.
(Partnership rings or bracelets are now exchanged)

I swear I am yours for as long as I live, and beyond.
There will be no other. In your arms alone, I am whole.

*****
End of part 3

Toronto Genetic Research Conference 2009
Conference speech of Dr. D. Sandstrom

Who could have anticipated that Mackenzie would find a dormant exotic gene sequence in the welter of junk DNA catalogued by the Human Genome Project. Ever wonder for instance, why men have nipples? At some point in the past, man's early mammalian ancestors are believed to have experimented with hermaphroditism. Such ideas were relegated to the lunatic fringe, until the recent Partner Virus debacle proved this hypothesis irrefutably.

******

Gibbs was having a bad week, in the aftermath of the New York terrorist attack. Being Gibbs, he took care to spread the misery, so that everyone else was having a bad week too. Despite their fairly happy home life, Tony knew that something was bothering his partner, but he couldn't think what it was. They had caught two terrorists. Their sex life was great. He glanced at his ring and grinned. It was all good. So why was Jethro so down on everyone?

Maybe this case was getting to him?

The NCIS was responsible for all murders of Navy and Marine personnel, as well as all financial crimes in excess of fifty thousand dollars - which is how they came to be embroiled in the present case. Marines wielding guns; murderous wives; serial killers... All of these, Jethro Gibbs took in his stride. But the Silverville mess was something else.

Despite catching the two terrorists, they still hadn't found out who had used a chainsaw on the third member of the terrorist cell - the other two claimed that they were innocent, and both Tony and Gibbs (his famous gut) believed them. There was evidence that the Silverville armoury was a hotbed of fraud and corruption, and Gibbs believed that the terrorists had accidentally gotten in the way of some other crime. Murder was covering up fraud, and arms dealing and who knows what else.

Tony sighed and stretched, trying to work that nagging ache out of his back. He really wanted to be out of here. He really hated paperwork. But Gibbs cut him no slack at work, not that he would have asked.

And nobody dared to mention a certain sheriff.

*****

Gibbs sighed. This case was a great steaming pile of something nasty. Still, at least McGee had made progress in the case while they were away. The terrorist/murder victim had been identified as a sergeant from the nearby artillery range. McGee was trying to follow the money, and Tony, the paper trail. Their most promising lead had pointed them back towards the armoury. And there, they had gotten bogged down in a trail of paperwork of labyrinthine complexity

Trying to track down the financial irregularities of a group of sergeants in the supply division of the Silverville complex was Gibbs own personal nightmare, and one he had gladly relinquished to DiNozzo, on the principle that a week buried in paperwork would keep DiNozzo safe and away from trouble. They had seen enough of that lately.

In some ways, it was a lousy assignment. McGee thought that corruption among the armaments supply division went back years. Fraud totalling least a hundred grand a year, back to the early nineties, before those corrupt idiots had diversified into selling arms as a sideline.

Marine Corps sends stuff to Armoury. Armoury sends stuff to Range to be used in exercises. Straightforward. Except that someone in the system was siphoning off arms and faking the paperwork. The question was, whether this was a purely financial scam or were vast amounts of munitions being siphoned off? McGee thought the latter. Proving McGee's hypothesis meant going through reams of dusty paper records in the bowels of the sub-basement from before the days of computerisation...

DiNozzo was there right now with McGee, in the place Marine Corps records went to die - the basement of the supply division building at the Marine corps headquarters in Quantico. He was looking for discrepancies between the Silverville records and the records of munitions sent to the armoury, trying to find out how many weapons had been stolen. Definitely way out of trouble. Which meant that Gibbs could finally go and see Ducky, to try and put a rest to his obsessive thoughts about his lover's possible... condition.

He took the stairs down to autopsy, needing to get rid of some of that nervous energy that had built up since he had got back from New York - and the whole new set of problems that had brought. Instead of diminishing his fears, New York had only intensified them. The fact that Tony and the pregnant secret service agent had reacted so similarly to renewed exposure to the virus. The fact that he had somehow sensed a difference in his partner's scent - which only the heightened senses of virus exposure had revealed to him. Yeah, and the pickles...

He scowled. He was definitely skirting along the edges of craziness with this one. But the thought just wasn't going away. Which is why he found himself headed down to Ducky's autopsy room that morning, while Tony was out of the way.

Ducky was sitting, peering down a microscope in his lab. When he heard Jethro come into the room, he turned with a smile.

"Jethro! What can I do for you?"

"I'm worried about Tony." Gibbs said. "The way he kept getting sick every morning. Other things..."

"Yes, yes, he told me when I checked him out. I've given him some Zofran to help him with that, should it recur"

Gibbs frowned.

"I've heard of that stuff, Ducky. Isn't it mainly used by women for morning sickness?" The older man's head jerked upwards and he stared at Gibbs, oddly like a wild animal caught in a spotlight. Gibbs felt a churning begin in his gut. "And I've been noticing a lot of other things lately, that add up to something really crazy." He shook his head. "If I didn't know it was impossible, I'd think Tony was... But that's impossible. Men don't get pregnant." Ducky had gone pale. He wasn't laughing. Surely he should be laughing at Gibbs' ridiculous idea. The agent felt his worry increase. "Tell me I'm crazy. Please." He felt himself flush in embarrassment.

He had known Ducky for years, and even if his gut hadn't been telling him something was hinky, he would have known the old doctor was trying to hide something. The special agent stared coolly at his friend. Ducky couldn't quite meet his eyes. Gibbs felt a chill, which only increased as the silence between them lengthened.

"Tell me!" Gibbs growled finally, anger and worry getting the better of him. He clenched his fists to stop himself grabbing hold of Ducky's collar.

"Oh Jethro.... I'm sorry. I wish I could have told you before... The government wanted it kept quiet, and at the time, I agreed. You know how it was. People were so afraid after the attack... The last thing we wanted was to panic them further..." Ducky faltered.

"You're telling me I'm not crazy! He's really..." Gibbs felt dizzy. He leaned against the wall, staring at the doctor.

"I'm so sorry." The old man's voice dropped to a whisper. "The bastards who made the virus had an agenda we could never have anticipated. By the time we realised, it was far too late. It's not just Tony, you see. There are at least a hundred other young men in a similar condition..." His eyes shone with compassion.

Gibbs found himself sliding down the wall and he somehow ended up sitting in an untidy sprawl on the floor.. Dizzily, he leaned his head back for a moment, trying to take it in. Pregnant! DiNozzo! He was going to be a father again!

Ducky knelt next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Breathe Jethro. That's it..." Gibbs concentrated on breathing, trying not to pass out. The shock of waking up for the first time with DiNozzo was nothing compared to this! He felt torn between punching Ducky and running to Tony so that he could wrap him up in protection for the duration of his pregnancy. Finally he felt his head clearing.

"So you just stuck your heads in the sand and hoped it would go away!"

"I suppose it amounts to that in the end. Some provision was being made for extra medical services; a new maternity hospital is being built with the most advanced facilities. Some advisors suggested termination would be preferable, but the president vetoed that - his son is in the same unhappy condition as Tony..."

He faltered. Something dark had flared in Jethro Gibbs' eyes at the mention of a threat to his lover and their child. Gibbs clenched his fists, struggling to contain his anger. His next words were snarled.

"I came here, wanting you to tell me I was imagining it. That I was crazy. But instead, I find out that it's all true..." He slammed his fist into the wall, heedless of his own discomfort. "How the hell do I tell him that I've got him pregnant?"

"Don't tell him. Not yet. Give me time to prepare some things." Gibbs scowled.

"We've only just begun to trust each other! Now you want me to deliberately deceive him?"

"He'll notice soon enough, Jethro. Let him keep his peace of mind for a little longer. You have to realise, Jethro, this is unknown territory for all of us. We don't know how hazardous this is going to be; the stresses it's going to place on the body..."

"You're saying it's dangerous for him..." Gibbs had gone deathly pale.

"Childbirth always holds some risks - especially in a case like this, when a caesarean section is going to be necessary. Physically, male hips aren't wide enough to permit the passage of a child, for instance. In fact, in the later stages of pregnancy, when the baby normally moves into position for the birth, he's probably going to have to be bedridden, for his own safety."

"How far along is he?" Gibbs said softly.

"About five and a half months is my best estimate." Ducky sighed.

"I need to tell him." Gibbs said. "I'm not going to keep secrets from him."

"Give me till the end of the week," Ducky said. "Please."

"No longer!" Gibbs scowled at him, for the first time ever, angry at his old friend. "Not one minute longer!"

Anything else he might have said was fortunately curtailed by his cellphone ringing.

"Gibbs!" He snapped into the phone.

"Ziva here. You need to come to this location - I'm at a warehouse filled with stolen ordnance. But that's not all. I think we've found a lab setup. McGee was right! Whatever these people were into, it wasn't just guns and bombs. Maybe they were into bioterrorism…"

"On my way!" Gibbs flipped his phone closed and headed for the door. Well, at least Tony was safely out of the way.

******

Hunting through miles of dusty shelving for old records with McGee was not Tony's idea of fun. Of course the documents he was looking for were from the early nineties, before the computer revolution, as far as the Navy was concerned.

Tiredly he sighed and rubbed at his lower back. Lately he just seemed to be filled with aches and pains. Backache - probably due to overenthusiastic sex - and just when his morning puking fits seemed to be easing. Damn. Life was so unfair.

Well at least he seemed to be putting on weight, rather than losing it all, due to his regular morning vomiting sessions. Jethro probably thought he was bulimic or something.

He suppressed a groan at the twinge in his back, as he stretched up high for a box file. Hopefully this would be the right one. He wanted to be out of this dusty place, with its long aisles of paper records, dimly lit and musty smelling. Tony was sure he could hear rats in the walls. He hated rats - plague survivor's privilege.

"Oh!" He dropped the file with a clatter and pressed his hand to his belly, not understanding what it was he had felt. The strangest sensation, like nothing in his experience. He frowned. Maybe something was wrong with his stomach. Were all the pickles coming back to haunt him?

Something moved under his hand.

Tony jerked his fingers away, startled, then hesitantly touched his belly again. Again, that strange, small flutter. Something unmistakably moving inside him.

Tony whimpered softly. This was something so far outside his experience that the only analogy he could come up with was the film "Alien."

"Tony?" McGee rounded the corner and looked concerned. "You okay? You look pale."

"No...," Tony faltered, looking vulnerable for the first time in McGee's experience. "I think I need to see Ducky! Right now!"

"What's wrong Tony" Immediately McGee was at his side, his eyes filled with concern. With shaking fingers, Tony clutched at the younger agent's hand and pressed it to his belly, his fingers covering McGee's.

Again that small flutter. McGee yanked his hand away and stumbled backwards, his eyes wide.

"That isn't normal!" he blurted out.

"Tell me about it!" Tony snapped. "Oh god!" His trembling hand pressed over his belly again. "What the hell is that?"

******

"Hey boss!"

Gibbs turned from his contemplation of the lab and sent a withering look in Ziva's direction. Not a bioterrorist setup, as they had first feared. Something much more mundane, though still illegal. Ziva didn't have a lot of experience with meth labs though, so she had pressed the panic button. Still, it explained a lot, like the fact that a certain navy quartermaster and his associates were as dirty as hell. It was a gut feeling though; he couldn't substantiate his suspicions, despite the fact that he had spent most of the week collecting evidence and conducting interviews.

In truth, he thrived on the sort of case that involved a cat and mouse game - the challenge of it - and at least it made a change from all of the partner rage cases. And the drug connection opened up a world of possibilities as to who murdered their chainsawed corpse.

A hand brushed against his arm and he turned to scowl at Ziva.

"What is it? Have you run the prints yet?

"McGee just called me. You need to talk to him!" She proffered her cell-phone.
"McGee?"

"Boss you need to get back here right now! It's Tony... There's something wrong with him!"

"What?" Gibbs forced himself to focus; to ignore the sudden hammering of his heart.

"We don't know. Ducky's with him now..."

Ziva picked up the cell-phone from where Gibbs had dropped it.

"What did you say to him Tim? I've never seen him move so fast..."

******

When Gibbs burst through the doors of Autopsy, less than forty minutes after McGee had called him, all Tony could think of was that he must have broken all the speed limits on the roads between here and Silverville. Why it had taken them an hour and a half to drive up there last time. Time enough for Tony to pull himself together a little bit, mainly because Ducky didn't seem worried. He had patted Tony on the shoulder at one point and told him it was something natural, not a disease or an alien...

Still, he hadn't exactly said what it was either. In fact, he hadn't said a whole lot, which was why Tony felt so relieved to see Jethro. He had suspected that Ducky was waiting for the boss to be there before he gave Tony the bad news. Hypothesis confirmed. Tony shivered and reached out for his partner. Gibbs' arms around him felt good; strong and secure like nowhere else in the world.

"What happened?" Gibbs said.

"Something weird," Tony said. "Really weird." With a shiver, he took Gibbs' hand and pressed it against his abdomen. Again that small flutter.

It was then that Tony realised something was going on here that everyone seemed to know about except him. Gibbs had a really odd expression on his face, halfway between hope and anxiety, with a good deal of awe mixed in for good measure. Like a man who had just discovered something precious, with a bomb attached. Ducky was watching him, smiling.

"What's going on?"Tony said, pulling away from his partner. "What do you know that I don't?"

"The virus," Gibbs said softly. "It did something to you. It changed you..." A sigh, then he glanced at Ducky.

"It's going to take years of research to understand how they did it." Ducky said. "Genetic engineering. The government didn't know it was possible until we started finding anomalies in the bodies that crossed our autopsy tables. Biological changes Extra organs being grown..."

"Ducky!" Gibbs growled at him. Tony frowned as he sensed an underlying current of anger from Gibbs, directed towards the older man.

"Organs? What organs?" Tony said. This conversation was getting scary.

"About thirty percent of young men exposed to the virus have developed uterine tissues..."

"Huh?" Tony still didn't get it.

"They can get pregnant," Gibbs said softly.

"You're about five months pregnant,” Ducky said. “A girl, I think."

"Oh my god!" Tony stared down at his belly as the penny finally dropped. The sickness, the cravings, the aches and pains... The feel of a child kicking inside him... This wasn't possible. It couldn't be possible! He felt dizzy, like there wasn't enough air left in the room.

"Tony." Gibbs arms around him, holding him. He leaned gratefully into his partner's strong embrace. He felt faint, but he knew Jethro would always look after him. Look how protective he had been lately...

Almost as if...

"You knew! You knew and you didn't tell me!" Tony shoved Gibbs away, and stared accusingly at him, his shock at Gibbs' apparent betrayal overwhelming. "I thought you cared about me. I trusted you!" His voice rose. "How could you keep something like that a secret from me? Damn you, Jethro!"

"It wasn't like that!" Gibbs said. "I've only known for a short time. I was told that the stress of knowing would be bad for you... I was trying to protect you..."

"I have a right to know something that important about my own body!" Tony said with simple dignity. "I trusted you!" He repeated the words with increased emphasis. Gibbs reached out his hand towards his partner, but Tony pulled away from him.

"Leave me alone!" he snarled, the attempt at aggression spoiled somewhat by the tears that were somehow running down his face. "I need some time to think."

He didn't exactly run out of the room, but only because he could barely see past the tears. Out of the NCIS building and into the cold, clear morning.

*****

An hour later, Tony stared silently out across the Potomac. He came here sometimes, when he needed to be alone, and just sat on the wooden bench, watching the grey water flow past. It was peaceful, and the soft sounds of the water lapping along the shoreline had a calming effect. Usually. Right now though, Tony's thoughts were racing and he barely noticed his surroundings. He had just needed to be alone, to think.

Then again, alone was a relative term when you were pregnant.

He stared down at his belly dazedly, a new awareness making him notice the slight roundness - at five months gone, he was just starting to show.

Too late to do anything about it...

No!

Oddly enough, it was that thought that shook him out of his stupor. Though he had left much of his Italian catholic upbringing behind when he broke the ties linking him to his family, some part of him believed - with an utter certainty that surprise him - that it would be wrong to harm his child.

His and Jethro's child. He felt a stinging in his eyes and the cool trickle of tears down his cheeks, though strangely, there was also wonder. He had always intended to become a father, one day. Hell, he had donated sperm to a sperm bank! But he hadn't really thought about the consequences of being a parent. A mother, surely, rather than a father. The problem of what to call himself was a knotty problem that would keep philosophers busy for years. The simple reality was that a new life was beginning to stir inside him. It was something he had never dreamed of, but still, all life was miraculous...

What was it Ducky had said? That it was a girl.

His hand only shook slightly as he laid it across his belly, fingers splayed wide.

Protectively.

"Hi, princess..." His voice was little more than a whisper. "Nice to meet you."

A hand, strong and warm, squeezed his shoulder. He knew, even without turning, who it was. He leaned back into Jethro's warmth and felt his lover's arms go round him. He caught hold of Jethro's hand and drew it down so that it rested protectively over his belly, beneath his own hand. Twin gold bands gleamed on the fingers of both men.

"And this is your daddy..." he said. Jethro didn't speak, but his fingers tangled with Tony's. Tony felt lips brush against the top of his head. He leaned back further, letting the warmth of his lover's body seep into him; it was getting cold out here. He knew that Jethro would support him, whatever he decided to do. Not that there had ever been any doubt.

"So...," he said softly. "Wonder if you've got your daddy's beautiful blue eyes..?"

*****
End of Partners 3