Chapter Fourteen
Gibbs fought the urge to break into a jog as he moved through the hospital. He’d had to stop people twice to find out the right place to go and he was feeling keyed up and jittery in a way he rarely experienced. He needed to see Tony"now.
Finally reaching the room, he shoved the door open, breathing a sigh of relief at the sight of the man in the bed. Tony looked pale and exhausted, either unconscious or sleeping. Gibbs walked over to the bed, tugging a chair along with him. He hoped to hell that Ducky would take his time getting here so that Gibbs could get his game face back on. The team had always expected him to be a certain way and he didn’t like destroying that image for them.
“Hey,” he said quietly, knowing from his own experience that unconscious people were aware of human voices and what was said. “Scared me, kid.” His voice was rough with the emotion he was trying to suppress. “You’re damned lucky, Tony. Should have been a hell of a lot worse.”
Gibbs exhaled sharply, mussing Tony’s hair. “Should have killed you.”
“Didn’t,” Tony’s voice was pained and weak, but it was such a welcome sound.
“Noticed,” Gibbs shot back dryly. “Feeling pretty rough?” His hand went back to Tony’s hair, smoothing it down and comforting both of them with the gentle strokes, watching as the other man’s eyes opened and he looked around the room.
“Hurt like hell, but I’ll be okay. Maybe even have a cool scar.” Tony’s color was great and his eyes were very clear and alert. All things considered, he looked damned good for a guy who’d just dodged the ultimate bullet. He would be sore for a few days and the rib would take a while to heal, but as far as gunshot wounds went, it was pretty minor.
“Maybe,” Gibbs agreed. “Most important thing is that you’re gonna be okay.” He knew he needed to discuss the aspects of the case and see what Tony knew, but for now it was enough to talk with Tony. The verbal reassurances that DiNozzo was okay were finally calming Gibbs down, the strong voice and thread of humor in Tony’s voic making Gibbs breathe normally and focus.
“What happened? Did you get the shooter?” Tony asked, looking up at him.
“Don’t think so yet. Your guys were in the diner. They’re on the case. Wasn’t leaving you.”
“Really?” Tony asked, his eyes glowing with affection.
“Really,” Gibbs asserted. “Was all real. Meant what I said.” He wasn’t usually this forthright, but this urgency to let Tony know his feelings was rearing its head and he gave it free rein for now. There had been a time where he hadn’t said what he felt and had lost that opportunity forever. He wasn’t gonna make that mistake again, not when he’d already faced that he had feelings for Tony, whatever they were.
“Wow,” Tony said with a small smile. “Wasn’t just a shooting induced dream?”
“No.” Gibbs paused. “Do you remember anything that happened?”
Tony blinked a few times, his eyes fixing on the wall as he concentrated. “We were walking to the diner. You yelled at me to get down and I turned, but before I could duck, I was hit. I tried to yell out to you to duck too, but…” He paused for a moment. “Something freaked you out. You sounded worried when you yelled at me, and you said something wasn’t right. And you…” Tony looked at Gibbs’ arm, wincing.
“It’s okay,” Gibbs assured, impressed with DiNozzo’s memory for the details despite what he’d gone through.
“You were hurt.” Tony gestured to Gibbs’ arm.
“Barely a scratch, DiNozzo. I tried to track the shooter, but there were too many ducking and running. Your guys came out of the diner. Bart helped me get ya back here and took the lead on investigating the shooter.”
“And you offered to guard me?” Tony asked, a teasing smile on his face.
“Damned right.”
“Do you think this is related to Jarvis?” Tony asked and the expression on his face told Gibbs that was his opinion. Despite how tired the young officer was, his mind was whirling, tossing out theories. It was damned impressive and only made Gibbs want him for his team even more.
“Gut says so,” Gibbs offered. “Why I’m staying here. Shooter out there breached hospital security once. Not happening again, Tony. I’ll get a couple more of my guys or yours here, can run the investigation from here.” Not much more would happen until the evidence was analyzed anyway. The process wasn’t as fast as those unrealistic crime shows might have suggested.
“Do you think I’m the target? Jarvis and I aren’t associated. This is the first time I’ve met her and there isn’t any connection that I know of.”
He hadn’t mentioned the most likely connection. “You’re investigating the crime against her. You could have been seen at her room today, or even when she was brought in yesterday. Could be the attacker thinks you saw something or that you’re a threat to him.”
“Could be,” Tony agreed, a reluctant note in his voice. It was clear that Tony was a man of action who didn’t want to be stuck in a hospital bed right now. Or at all.
“You trust your men, right? Place your life into their hands every time you put on your badge.”
Tony nodded, fiddling with the controls on the remote attached to the hospital bed. Gibbs helped him raise the head of his bed until Tony was sitting up and then he tucked the sheet around the other man, giving him a sheepish smile. Gibbs wasn’t someone who fussed at a patient’s bedside and he had the feeling Tony knew that.
“It’s different when you’re in the hot seat, Gibbs.”
“Different with me, isn’t it? You trust me instinctively.” Gibbs didn’t really expect Tony to admit that, at least not this soon. It was enough that he’d planted the thought in Tony’s head. The guy was astute; at some point he’d think back on this.
“I do,” Tony said quietly. Gibbs was unable to decipher his tone, but his expression was another story. A small smile touched his lips and he nodded. “I trust you in a different way, Gibbs. I know you’re looking out for me. I know I’ll be okay while you’re guarding me.”
“And with them?”
This answer required a lot of thought and Tony fell silent for a few minutes, considering his answer. Gibbs allowed him the time to work it out, suspecting he knew what DiNozzo was going to say before he even opened his mouth.
“It’s different with them, Gibbs. It’s not…” He trailed off, clearly weighing his words. “It’s not 48 Hours, or Lethal Weapon, or Dragnet, or Starsky and Hutch, or even Police Academy. Do you know what I mean?”
Gibbs shook his head, mystified.
“You need to watch more TV and movies. It’s not like them.”
Gibbs nodded, awaiting the rest of the explanation.
“Buddy cop movies. Where the partners would do anything for each other. These guys only tolerate me. You…you’re different.”
“Because of what happened last night?”
“No, more than that, Gibbs. Because…you trust my instincts. You listen to my theories. You treat me like a real partner.”
“And you like that.” Gibbs finished. It wasn’t a question.
“Didn’t realize what I was missing.” Tony admitted.
“So when’re you coming to NCIS then?”
Tony sighed, shaking his head. “Isn’t that I don’t want to, Gibbs. I do. I just can’t run away again. I ran from two other police departments when things got hot. Don’t want to make it a third. Looks bad on my resume.”
“You think I’m gonna let you go once I get you at NCIS?” Gibbs asked with an amused chuckle. He could get beyond this objection with time and well placed words. He wanted DiNozzo on his team, and Tony would be there, whatever it took. Gibbs was playing to win and he had no intention of failing.
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