“Maybe somebody should stay with him,” Abby said.
“Yes, we should take turns,” Ziva responded.
“I agree, even though young Anthony can take care of himself it is better to be safe than sorry,” Ducky said as he looked at each of them.
“I’ll stay with him tonight,” Ziva said as she looked at McGee.
“I’ve got the camera’s set up around his apartment, we will be able to see who comes and goes,” McGee informed them.
“Good work McGee,” Abby praised.
“Even though they are in Massachusetts they can easily catch a flight here,” Ziva said as she looked around.
“Ziva, McGee, promise me that you won’t let them hurt Tony,” Abby pleaded.
“Abby I promise you, if anyone touches a hair on Tony they will be dead,” Ziva said as she walked over to Abby.
Tony stood near the door highly confused. He had no idea why McGee would set camera’s up around his apartment, why everybody wanted to stay with him and who were they?
“So it’s settled, everything’s in place,” Ziva said. Everything went silent and Tony thought now was the time to walk in. He entered and everybody turned to see him.
“Hey Tony,” Abby said happily as she walked to one of her computers.
“Hey everyone, is this a conference I should have been informed of?” Tony said as he did circles around the group.
“Ah, no, we just all came down here, no reason,” Ziva said. Tony knew that there was a reason but let it slip for the moment.
“So who’s boss now that Gibbs is away,” McGee said even though he knew the answer.
“I am, Probie,” Tony said and the mention of Gibbs’ name cut a little because Tony knew he wouldn’t be there to hold him tonight, or tell him he loved him.
“Does anyone know why Gibbs was assigned to that particular assignment?” Tony asked, trying to receive at least a little knowledge.
“No, nobody was told,” Ziva said. Tony glanced over at McGee to see his ears starting to flush red.
“Ok,” Tony said before stalking out of the lab and into the elevator. He felt alone, lost, empty without anybody with him. He was somewhat pleased that Ziva was going to stay with him the night, even if it wasn’t the most loving company.
Tony seated himself at his desk then stared at his phone which he placed down.
He will ring, won’t he?
Tony thought to himself. He knew that Gibbs would ring no second guessing. He glanced over at Gibbs’ desk and wanted so badly for him to be sitting there, smiling back at him.
Ziva and McGee came back and seated themselves at their desks. Not a word was said between the three. Tony knew that something strange was going on and he wanted to know what it was.
XXXXXXXXXX
Gibbs sat staring out the window, watching the clouds closely, he’s been doing it for the past several hours .His mind wasn’t registering the sights he saw; instead his mind was fixed on Tony.
He remembered that hurt look on his face when he told him that he had to leave. The tears that filled his pretty hazel eyes and then flowed over onto his cheeks; glistening from the light shining down. It hurt him to think Tony was there without him, that he wasn’t able to tell him he loved him, or have him snuggle into his side at night.
“Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts, we are about to make our decent,” the flight attendant called through the speaker.
Gibbs buckled his seatbelt and closed his eyes; he’d done this so many times that it got boring. When his eyes shut he pictured Tony, standing there with that beautiful smile plastered across his face. He imagined Tony’s reaction to his surprise, jumping, smiling, laughing, and kissing and a little bit of crying; crying with happiness.
The plane landed and everybody was boarded off. When he entered the terminal he quickly looked for his bag and when he spotted it he swiped it up and headed to find a taxi. He was driven to the motel and booked in. He threw his bag on the floor kicked his shoes off. He reached into his pocket and retrieved his phone, quickly turning it on. He dialled Tony’s number and waited.
XXXXXXXXXX
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