Chapter Fifty-Five
Tony climbed into Gibbs’ car following his therapy session and sat back as Gibbs started the engine and turned the car in the direction of the Navy yard. His appointment with the Director had come around quicker than he had expected and despite a good therapy session, he was still feeling quite nervous about asking for his job back. After all, it had been over four months since he’d set foot in the office.
He knew that Jenny had hired a temporary replacement for him to help the team manage their cases during his absence and that with Gibbs taking a lot of time off work to stay with him and take him to therapy and hospital appointments, it would be very different going into an office and seeing a team that he had once been apart of and was now running itself without Gibbs at the head.
That wasn’t to say that they managed completely without him - there were still the frequent calls from Abby, McGee, Ziva and Ducky when a problem arised that needed Gibbs’ seniority and wisdom.
Still, he wondered how they would all react to his replacement leaving and him taking back up his role as Senior Field Agent - especially considering that now he was sleeping with the boss.
They arrived at the Navy yard quickly - which wasn’t unusual, given the speed at which Gibbs usually drove and Gibbs parked in his usual space before stopping the car and getting out. Tony took a deep breath and walked a few steps behind him towards the entrance to NCIS HQ. He knew these people so well, had worked in the office for near enough seven years, but still, he was nervous to how they would react to working with him again when they’d seen him at his most vulnerable - when they’d investigated his own rape. The most vulnerable part of himself that he usually kept hidden at all costs had been laid out in front of them to scrutinise and investigate.
They both stepped into the elevator that would take them up to the office after passing through the security checkpoint. Tony felt slightly sick at the thought of seeing everyone again and took a few deep breaths to keep himself in check. The last thing he needed to do was to work himself up into a seizure or something.
Gibbs noticed that Tony was nervous and slipped his hand into Tony’s, giving it a loving squeeze to let him know that whatever happened, they were in this together and that he wasn’t leaving him - no matter what happened. It calmed Tony and he found he was finally able to take a breath without worrying that he was going to actually be sick.
The elevator dinged as they arrived on the floor and they both stepped out of the elevator together, still hand in hand, which also made Tony nervous. How were the other people who shared the floor with them going to react to their relationship? Would they think Gibbs pitied him following the rape? Would they even notice? So far, he hadn’t seen any ‘looks’ that told him anyone had noticed that the two men were walking together, hand in hand, which made him feel better.
Gibbs walked with him, past the bullpen and towards the stairs that led to the second level where the Director’s office was located. He thought about walking Tony the whole way to the office and waiting outside while he spoke with Jenny about his return to work, but decided that he would have to do this on his own at some point and now seemed like a better time than any.
“This is as far as I go, Tony,” he said, letting go of the man’s hand. “You go the rest of the way on your own, but I’m only going to be in the office with the others, waiting to hear about when you can come back and we can finally get rid of the replacement that isn’t nearly as half as smart as you are.” He leaned in and kissed the top of Tony’s head.
“Okay,” Tony replied, sounding and looking even more nervous than he had in the elevator.
“You’ll be fine, after all you’ve been declared fit and there’s nothing in the guidelines that will stop you from returning. This is just a formality.”
“Can’t you come with me?”
Gibbs smiled. “The Director may seem scary, but you’ve faced her before and you can do it again. I think you need to do this one alone.”
Tony took a deep breath and nodded. Before he could change his mind or make up any more excuses he turned and practically ran up the stairs and along the corridor to the Director’s office. Once there, he took another deep breath and entered into Cynthia’s work space.
“Hey, Cynthia, I’m here to see the Director. She should be expecting me?” Tony said, giving Cynthia a smile he reserved for woman he liked.
“Sure, Tony, go right in.”
“Thanks.”
Without losing any of the false bravado he’d put on for Cynthia, he knocked once on the door and then walked into the Director’s office.
The Director was sitting behind her desk, typing, she looked up when Tony knocked and gave a strained smile as he entered. She had, so far, found nothing in the medical guidelines that would give her just cause to ‘retire’ DiNozzo from his position as Senior Field Agent and had almost giving up looking when she’d found a clause that might help her. She kept the window open so that she could refer to it while she was talking with Tony. He couldn’t know that it was more for personal reasons that she didn’t want him back, he had to believe it was only because of guidelines that she couldn’t help or change - even as Director of NCIS.
“Good to see you, Tony. You look a lot better than I thought you would. How did your therapy session go?” she asked, trying to get the pleasantries over and done with before she went in for the kill.
“It went fine, we talked over rearranging my appointments to fit into my work schedule once I return full time,” Tony replied, drawing calming breathes. It was strange, now that he was actually *in* the office, facing the Director he felt a calmness wash over him, after all Gibbs was right. There was nothing in the guidelines that stated he couldn’t do his job and all of his doctors and an independent NCIS appointed psychiatrist had agreed that he was now well enough both mentally and physically to do the job he loved so much.
The Director hid her distaste at Tony’s words well, not showing him that he shouldn’t have thought so far ahead as to plan appointments when he would be back working at the agency. If she had her way, he wouldn’t return and she would have Gibbs back to herself - the way it should be.
“Well, I’m sorry to tell you but I can not offer you your job back,” she said, going in for the kill.
Tony looked shocked at her words and she had to force herself to not smile at the impact it had had on him.
“W…why not?” Tony stammered.
“With your seizures and heart condition…” she started.
“That are both controlled by drugs and my doctor has said I am safe to return to work!” Tony interrupted.
“If you would let me finish,” she said, pausing for effect. “With your seizures and heart condition, I feel that the job would place you under massive amounts of stress which would exacerbate your conditions and could leave the team you work with in danger.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, if you’re working a sting and you get yourself in a stressful situation where someone, say, Gibbs, is threatened, the stress could bring on a seizure or heart attack which would leave him open to attack. You seriously can not think that you are up to standard with performance as you were before this incident?”
“My doctors seem to think I am,” Tony stated, standing his ground. He had noticed the glint in the Director’s eye, one that told him she was doing this more for personal reasons than anything else. He also knew that Gibbs and Ducky had gone over the guidelines with a fine tooth comb to check that he would be able to return and would have found any such information before now and sort to find a way around it.
“It’s not up to your doctors, as Director of NCIS, I have the final say about anyone working here and on what team they can work. I have no problem with you returning to work here, but it would be a desk job, away from Gibbs’ team and with no field work involved. That is the only job I can offer you in good conscience that would not endanger the lives of other agents. Agents who are better at their job than you ever have been,” she told him, referring to the replacement that had taken Tony’s place on the team following his rape and subsequent overdose.
“So, you’re going to stick me behind a desk when you know I can do good out there, that I work well with my team…hell, I even led them for a while when Gibbs ‘retired’ and now you’re telling me my work was not up to standard?” Tony could feel himself getting more and more worked up and angry at the fact that somehow the Director had found out about his relationship with Gibbs and was jealous. He could see it in her face, in her expression, in the way she spoke. She wanted to move him out of Gibbs’ eye line so that she could try and win back the man she threw away years ago and who had shown no interest in her since. There was no way he was going to take this lying down.
“I think that would be the best situation for all involved. I’ve arranged for you to work with Special Agent Briggs, he works in Norfolk, but I’m sure he won’t mind accommodating your medical appointments and such as need be. Besides, you would be closer to Bethesda then should something happen,” the Director told him, the glee that she was winning this battle, apparent in her voice.
“And if I refuse to accept the transfer to Norfolk?” Tony asked, his voice laced with anger and betrayal.
“It is ultimately your choice, but I have nothing else for you here, so I would have no choice but to terminate your employment with NCIS,” Jenny told him, still talking in a sickly sweet voice that gave away her ulterior motive.
“This isn’t the last of this,” Tony muttered, standing up from his seat and slamming the door as he left. He stormed down the stairs to the bullpen, where Gibbs and his fellow team members were waiting for him to give them the good news of his start date.
Gibbs noticed his face first and broke away from the conversation he was having with Ziva, McGee and Abby. Slowly, they all stopped talking and turned to watch Gibbs walk towards Tony. “McGee, get Ducky…NOW!” he shouted back to them, as he took three large strides and caught Tony as he went down in the grips of a seizure.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Who will catch DiNozzo when he falls?
Chapter End Notes:
Okay, so this made it a bit longer than I thought it would be, meaning it's now got two chapters left instead of one...hopefully be posted in the next few days. Enjoy!