Chapter twenty-two
Gibbs ran a soothing hand over Tony’s hair once again. He’d fallen asleep not long after they came home, totally drained by his father’s betrayal. The occasional shiver ran through him, but he didn’t wake up. Resting his head in Gibbs’ lap, Tony clutched his shirt, not letting go even in his sleep.
Trying to remain calm, he forced his mind away from that little piece of shit of a father who’d betrayed his son. He had no doubt in his mind that Tony’s father was behind the sudden departure of the coach. If those pictures came out, he’d loose his job and maybe never work as a coach again.
A shrill sound brought him out of his reveries. Swearing silently, he quickly grabbed his phone, needing to silence it before it awoke Tony.
“Gibbs,” he answered quietly.
“Hi, it’s Abby, boss. Is Tony ok?”
“Why do you ask, Abby?” Gibbs wondered if Abby had taken a peek into Tony’s file herself.
“Abby, I need you to let Tony tell you what’s in those files in his own time, ok?”
“It’s never easy to see your life scrutinized by other people. I just wanted to make sure he’s okay.”
“No, he’s not okay, Abby,” Gibbs sighed. “Listen, this is not a good time. He’s asleep and I don’t wanna wake him. I’ll give you a call later,” he promised.
“Give him a kiss for me, Bossman.” Abby hung up, leaving Gibbs to his thoughts.
He fumbled a bit before putting his phone on silent. He’d left his glasses by the bed, and didn’t want to disturb Tony by getting up. He’d always known Tony’s father was a piece of work. Christ, the man didn’t even show up when Tony’s was nearly dying from the pneumonic plague. Still, for the man to go out of his way to harm Tony was so much more than just being ignorant and selfish.
Later, he decided. Tony’s father would be dealt with at a later time. Right now they had far more pressing issues than his continued betrayal. Tony had to return to work in a few days, and his psych evaluation was scheduled for Monday at 0900. Shepard didn’t waste any time, he thought wryly. But neither had they.
He felt Tony stir, and ran is fingers through his hair again, wanting to calm him down. The younger man turned onto his back and looked up at Gibbs.
“How long was I out?”
“A couple of hours.” Gibbs cupped his face, running his thumb over Tony’s cheekbone. “Feeling better?”
Tony grimaced. “Not really, no.” He sat up, stretched languidly. “I’m hungry, you wanna eat lunch?”
“Yeah,” Gibbs said. “Let’s go out.”
“Out?”
“I’m taking you out for lunch, Tony. There’s a great place not far from here that serves the best pie in town. The owners are friends of mine. I’d like them to meet you,” he smiled.
The expression on Tony’s face told him the other man knew exactly what he was doing. Contrary to his dad, Gibbs was not ashamed of Tony or what they had. They had to keep it quiet at work, but he wasn’t hiding him from the world.
Gibbs had found this place after his second marriage fell apart. The owner’s wife had taken him under her wings, looked after him, made sure he had a decent meal once in a while.
The place was nearly full, but there was a table in the back reserved for guests of the house. An older woman greeted Gibbs warmly, fussed over his leg and told him how worried she’d been when she’d learned of the incident. Having made sure Gibbs was fine; she turned her attention to Tony, asking him to introduce them.
“Angela, I’d like you to meet someone very special to me, Tony DiNozzo.” She kissed him soundly on each cheek, and looked him up and down; clearly happy Gibbs had brought someone with him.
“Come now, sit down,” she said, before placing a basket of freshly made warm bread before them.
“Now, you tell Angela what you’d like, and I’ll have Gino prepare it for you.” A big pot of coffee found it’s way to the table; another sign Gibbs was a regular. “Why don’t you surprise us, Angela,” he suggested, earning them another one of her warm smiles.
“I thought it would do you some good to get out of the house.” Gibbs squeezed Tony’s hand before pouring them both a cup of coffee.
“Yeah, this is nice. Have you heard from Abby today? She said she’d call.”
“I spoke to her when you were asleep. She worries about you, you know.”
“I hate this.” Tony ran his hands through his hair. “You’re the one who got injured and people are worried about me? It’s not right,” he sighed.
“We all love you, Tony. Of course she’s worried, you know how much she loves you.”
Gibbs hesitated. “You need to talk about your family?” He wasn’t sure whether to bring it up or not, but decided heads on was the best approach.
“I really, really don’t want to, but I think I have to,” Tony replied, looking at a large family seated a few tables over. “It’s time. You should know what you’re letting yourself in for.”
“I do know you, Tony,” Gibbs said intently. “I know the man you’ve become, and that’s what matters. Not how your father sees you. You got that?”
“I’ll get there,” Tony smiled, tucking into his food.
*****
Tony rubbed his eyes as he closed the last file in front of him. It was nearly eight o’clock and Gibbs was making dinner. He’d spent the remainder of the afternoon perusing the information Shepard had gathered on him, trying to prepare himself for Monday. The rest of the files hadn’t contained any big surprises, and he felt ready now for anything she had up her sleeve.
He thought back at their lunch date, at the small buffet Angela had prepared for them. But the real treat was the way Gibbs had introduced him. The doorbell rang and he went to answer it. They expected the rest of the team for dinner, as a way of saying thank you for all their help and support. He hadn’t seen McGee in a few days. He and Ziva had been busy working through a couple of cold cases, trying to stay below Shepard’s radar. She wouldn’t join them tonight, she’d gone to New York for a long weekend, and wouldn’t be back until Sunday.
The front door opened and the sound of voices drifted into the living room. He got up to greet their friends, suddenly feeling very happy to see them. Dr Mallard was carrying a bag that he handed to Tony.
“Ice cream, to go with the pie you bought at Angela’s. Gibbs called,” he explained.
“Thanks, Duck, why don’t you all sit down,” Tony said as they hung up their coats. “I’ll just give Gibbs a hand with the food.”
Gibbs was still in the kitchen. He’d made beef stew and garlic mashed potatoes. The aromas filling the house made his stomach rumble.
“Could you get the food on the table, please? I need to open a bottle of wine.” Gibbs was rooting through a kitchen drawer, searching for an elusive wine opener.
A few minutes later they were all gathered in the dining room, passing food around, helping themselves to the stew Gibbs had prepared.
“I didn’t know you were such a good cook, boss,” McGee said, before blushing lightly. “Not that I didn’t think you couldn’t…”
“It’s fine, McGee,” Gibbs interrupted, “it’s not like I advertise it. With my track record with women, I had to learn to cook,” he grimaced.
“How are you two holding up?” Dr Mallard asked. He’d expected Gibbs to look worn, but the shadows under Tony’s eyes worried him.
“We’re in heaven and hell,” Tony answered. “I finally get Jethro, then he nearly dies and to top it off, my professional life implodes on me.”
He passed the mashed potatoes to Tim before tasting the stew.
“Oh, God, this is good stuff,” he moaned, before tucking in in earnest.
“How do you feel about going back to work on Monday? I can help you prep for the psych evaluation, if you’d like.”
“Thanks, but I’m good, Ducky. She can’t hurt me now. No matter what happens, she can’t take this away from me.”
“Aaw,” Abby squealed, “you guys! Didn’t know you were such a romantic, Tony,” she teased.
“I know, it’s not doing my macho image any favors, now, is it.”
“Macho? You wish,” Abby laughed.
“Ouch!”
“Am I hurting your feelings, babe?”
“It’s not what you said, it’s the way you said it…” Tony pouted, doing his very best little hurt boy routine.
Laughter filled the dining room, and they once again focused on the food in front of them.
“Were the files helpful?” Abby couldn’t wait any longer, she had to ask.
“Abby…, “Gibbs warned, sending her one of his famous glares.
“What? I’m not asking what’s in them, only if they were helpful!” she protested.
“It’s fine, Jethro,” Tony interjected. “I don’t want to get into the contents of the files, Abby, not tonight. But, they will probably save my ass on Monday,” he continued. “You’re the best, Abby,” he smiled, as he leaned across the table to place a kiss on her cheek.
“So, who’s up for seconds?”
******
“You ready to talk now?”
They were lying in bed, curled up in the den. The upstairs bed was bigger, but tonight they’d gravitated towards the den, wanting to be close.
Gibbs could feel Tony tense up slightly in his arms before he once again snuggled in close.
“What would you like to know?”
“Who looked after you when you were a kid?”
“I did. Or the housekeeper, maybe the occasional nanny. My dad really liked the nannies, especially the Scandinavian ones, so they never stayed long.”
“He didn’t show much interest in me until I got older. Then he wanted to groom me for the business. When he realized I wasn’t interested, the intimidation started. He threatened to disown me, to kick me out of the house. He even knocked me about a couple times, but couldn’t be bothered long to even do that. Too much effort on his part. He found that ignoring me was the way to make me suffer.”
Tony sat up, to look at Gibbs. “I know I still do that sometimes,” he admitted sheepishly. “Misbehave to get your attention. But you’re not a father figure to me, Gibbs, at least not in the sense that I’m replacing him with you. But you do make me feel safe, and loved, Jethro, in a way he never managed.”
“I know you don’t see me as a dad, Tony,” Gibbs assured him. “And I figured out the rest a long time ago,” he smiled. “I kinda liked it. Gave me a perfect excuse to slap you over the head.”
Tony lay back down, and continued to share stories of his childhood with the man he loved, as he slowly drifted towards sleep. They were not all bad memories. Summers spent with relatives were happier times for Tony, surrounded by people who genuinely cared.
Gibbs lay awake long into the night. He felt a slow, burning fury in the pit of his stomach for the man who neglected his only son for so many years. ‘I can wait, he thought. ‘He’ll pay for what he’s done; I’ll make sure of that,’ he promised, placing a kiss in Tony’s hair before finally falling asleep himself.
******
Jenny Shepard poured herself a glass of wine before sitting down by the fireplace in her library. She took another sip, savoring the rich bouquet before opening her novel. This was the first night in a couple of weeks that she felt truly relaxed. Come Monday, she would finally get rid of DiNozzo, get that distraction out of Gibbs’ life. She had everything she needed now, she smirked, before reaching for the bottle. Tonight she could indulge herself with another glass, she had deserved every last drop.
Who would have thought DiNozzo’s father would be the one to give her the final nail in the senior agent’s proverbial coffin. Shepard had to admit she was shocked when she got the phone call. She’d contacted DiNozzo Sr., under the pretext of needing some additional background information on Tony, in connection with an upcoming promotion.
He’d suggested a meeting, which surprised her. Informing her he was in town on business and that it would be convenient for him to see her that evening. Opening her front door, she could see that Tony had inherited his height and coloring from his dad, but nothing more. Whereas Tony was warm and playful, his father exuded ruthlessness, power. Shepard could see why his father would be disappointed in his son’s choice of career.
The meeting was brief. Refusing a drink, he’d merely placed a thick envelope on the table before her, stating she should know what kind of man she was dealing with.
“Why?” she’d asked.
“He’s not my son anymore,” he stated. “No true DiNozzo would live his life as he has. He paused briefly, scrutinizing her. “He’s brought shame to my family,” he declared. With that he’d left, leaving her truly puzzled. She’d known they weren’t close, but the vehemence in his voice had almost scared her.
She’d reached for the envelope, curious as to what she would find. Her contacts had not managed to dig up much dirt when it came to Tony’s professional life. That was the primary reason she’d started digging into his personal life. The information had so far proved useless. Countless stories of women, but nothing to suggest he treated them badly enough for her to use.
She’d used the antique letter opener her father had given her to slice through the tape holding the manila envelope closed. A stack of photographs had spilled out. She’d picked one up and gasped. Tony DiNozzo, self-proclaimed as God’s gift to women, having sex with…a man.
Later that night she’d scanned the photos into her computer, wanting to be able to make copies if needed. She’d burned the originals, not wanting anything lying around for others to find.
She started into the fire, trying to anticipate DiNozzo’s reaction when confronted with this information. Or Gibbs’. There was nothing Gibbs hated more than being deceived, and to find out that the man he’d put so much trust in had lied to him all these years, would be enough to sever the bond between them. Smiling, she savored another sip of wine and opened her book.
******
Author's Chapter Notes:
Tony tries to come to terms with his father's betrayal.
Chapter End Notes:
Thank you all for reading! I'm hoping to finish the story before Easter.
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