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Author's Chapter Notes:
Revelations abound as they prepare for Gibbs' return home.
Slipping �" chapter eight


“Was that the smartest thing to do, Jethro?” Tony asked as he went to stand by Gibbs’ bed, secretly pleased to see Gibbs looking like he’d missed him, and was glad to see him.

“Do I look like I care, DiNozzo?”

Opening his mouth to answer back, Tony decided this was neither the time nor the place. Instead he turned his attention to the doctor. “What is it you need me to hear?” he asked.

“I’m Dr North,” she introduced herself, shaking his hand. Tony recognised her as the dark haired doctor he’d seen talking to Ducky yesterday. “We’re just waiting for Dr Mallard. I understand you will be staying with Special Agent Gibbs during his convalescence.”

“Yes, that’s right,” he confirmed.

“I also understand that you will be released into Dr Mallard’s care?” she inquired, focusing her attention on Gibbs.

“I believe it’s in the best interest of the hospital staff that he’s released into my care as soon as possible,” Ducky replied dryly, as he entered the room.

Gibbs huffed, but managed to keep quiet. “You can whip my ass when we get home, but for now I need you to behave.” Tony whispered into Gibbs’ ear as he squeezed his neck affectionately.

The grin Gibbs sent him held so much promise that Tony felt a light blush creep up his cheeks. “Hey, play nice,” he admonished, not quite able to keep a smile off his face.

If Dr North was aware of what was going on, she gave no indication of it, keeping her demeanor professional. She had not been surprised to find out her patient was an ex-Marine. The man had gunny written all over him. She should know, her two brothers were Marines.

“As I informed you yesterday, the surgery was a success. I would advice you to remain in hospital for a few more days, just to make sure the repair to your femoral artery stays intact. We also have to watch for signs of compartment syndrome as well, as there is already so much swelling going on. There’s also the risk of blood clots forming and going to your heart, lung and brain. As always with surgery, we also have to worry about infection. I know you don’t want to hear this, but,” she looked Gibbs straight in the eyes, making sure she had his full attention, “if your leg doesn’t heal as it should, this could end your career, Special Agent Gibbs.”

She pulled the covers aside to reveal Gibbs’ thigh. Tony winced as he looked at the injured leg. Gibbs’ thigh was bruised and looked very swollen. It would probably hurt like hell when they reduced the pain meds. Unconsciously he gripped Gibbs’ shoulder, offering comfort to the man he loved.

Returning his attention to Dr North he listened to her going through what he needed to know.

“Now, Dr Mallard will be responsible for the medical side of the care, but your role will also be important, Agent DiNozzo. Agent Gibbs will require constant care for the first few days, as the leg will be very sore and swollen, making moving difficult. You will need assistance to go to the bathroom and so on.

“Can he take a shower, or will I have to give him a sponge bath?” Tony asked mischievously.

“DiNozzo…” Gibbs warned, sounding both amused and exasperated.

“What, Gibbs, I’m just asking!”

“Wipe that innocent look of your face, it’s not gonna fly.”

“Sorry, boss..”

“You can shower in about two days, and that is if you have a walk in shower that a chair can fit in. Again, I stress no weight bearing on your left leg.”

“I’ve made instructions for a nurse to visit twice a day until your follow up with me, and for a physical therapist to come once a day,” she continued.

She introduced a man Tony hadn’t noticed entering the room. “This is Andrew Wilson. He will work with you on getting that leg back in shape.” Tony introduced himself, and was somewhat relieved to see Gibbs do the same.

She focused her attention to Gibbs again “I want to see you in my office in 7 to 10 days to remove the staples,” she continued.

“Now, Gunny, if you do as instructed there is a 99.9% chance of you making a full recovery. I’ve made arrangements for you to go home with a wheelchair and some crutches. Andrew will be in later this afternoon to go over some crutch walk training with you. Then he’ll show the three of you the right way to use the wheel chair. I will be sending you home with some antibiotics, only to prevent any infection, and pain medication I strongly suggest you use.”

“Special Agent Gibbs, I wish you well and a speedy recovery,” Dr. North said as she handed him her card. “I do feel sorry for your friends, “she said wryly. ”I’ve had too many men come through my hospital that let pride get in the way of their recovery. Don’t let that happen to you.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Gibbs replied.

“I’m keeping you here until tomorrow afternoon. This will give us more time to make sure your blood levels remain stable, and more time to work on the balancing act of the three legged crutch walking.”

“We need time to set up the house, anyway,” Tony replied. “I thought I’d ask McGee to help me out. We need to move some stuff around, to make it easier for you to get around the house.”

The doctor excused herself and left the room together with the physical therapist. Ducky looked at the two men in front of him, wondering what the future held for them.

Gibbs was looking at Tony who had gone to sit in the chair by the window. He had a look in his face Ducky hadn’t seen in a long, long time. Affection and happiness shone through, even in his present condition. Gibbs caught his eye, and held it for a moment before nodding.

“Tony,” Ducky began, “I just want to say that I’m very happy for you and Jethro.”

“Oh,” was all Tony managed, “you too, huh?”

“What do you mean, ‘too’, Gibbs asked.

“Abby. She snuck in here this morning and saw us together. She’s very exited about the whole thing,” he smiled.

“I’m glad, Ducky replied. “You will need people watching out for you. Not everyone is inclined to be as understanding as me and Abigail,” he continued. “Now, I’ll just have a word with Mr Wilson, and then I’ll be off. We’ll talk later, Jethro.” He excused himself and went in search of the physical therapist.

Gibbs couldn’t help himself, he had to laugh. “Oh, God, this is fucked up. What’s next? An office memo?”

“Hey, worrying about that’s not a priority right now.”

“If Shepard finds out, it will be a priority. I’ll have a word with Abby,” he sighed, “ask her to keep her guard up. Jenny‘s not exactly her favorite person, she won’t mind covering for us.”

Gibbs felt his eyes closing. He was tired, too tired to resist Morpheus’ pull. Soft lips pressed against his as Tony kissed him goodbye. “I’ll be back,“ a quiet voice whispered in his ear as he slipped into sleep.

*****
“Pivot! Left…your left!”

McGee struggled momentarily as the couch threatened to get stuck as they carried it down to the basement. They were emptying the den, needing the place for a bed for Gibbs. He would probably sleep upstairs in the bedroom, but in case they needed a day bed, the den would have to do.

“Man, this thing is heavy!” McGee panted when they were finally able to put it down. He sank onto the couch, taking a long swig of the beer Tony handed him.

Tony laughed, “I’m not moving it again, that’s for sure. It looks perfect right here.” He looked around, taking in the crammed space around him. They’d moved it into an empty room behind the workshop; there was just no room in there with the boat and everything.

“So, Gibbs without coffee and no boat to work on. How do you plan on surviving this?”

Grinning, Tony touched his nose, ”I have a plan.” He walked over to the workbench running behind the boat and pulled out a small box standing on the floor beneath it.

“I thought he might enjoy working with this, when he feels a bit better,” he said, opening the lid, revealing a wood carving set.

“I saw this thing on TV where you can make you own knife and stuff. He might enjoy it, I don’t know. If not, I’ll think of something else. Maybe a Hitchcock marathon!” he laughed.

“This is great, Tony, McGee said as he looked at the tools and what looked like very beautiful pieces of a wood he couldn’t name. “What’s this?”

“Flame birch,” Tony replied, ghosting his fingers lightly over the smooth surface. “It’s supposed to make very beautiful tool handles and stuff like that.”

“Where did you get it?”

“Just this place I know, picked it up on the way over,” he shrugged.

“Didn’t think wood working was something you’d be interested in.” McGee looked more closely at the box, before shutting the lid.

“Yeah, well…you hungry?”

“I could eat. You wanna order in?”

“Pizza ok?”

“Pizza’s fine,” McGee replied as they made their way upstairs. Tony with his present tucked under an arm, McGee lost in thought.

“Hey, Tim, pepperoni and sausage?”

“What, oh, sorry, spaced out. That’s fine. I’ll go buy some more beer.”

McGee needed a bit of time to himself to think about how to deal with this. There was no doubt in his mind that Tony was in love with Gibbs. If he’d had any lingering doubts, the light in Tony’s eyes when he opened that wood carving box had made him certain.

Did Gibbs feel the same way? There was only one way to find out, and Gibbs would have to be sedated and securely chained to that hospital bed before McGee would dare to ask. He could ask Tony, but not tonight. Tony had enough on his mind without having him prying into his private life.

******
Tony heard the door signal McGee’s return. The pizza had arrived a few minutes earlier, already spreading tantalizing aromas around the living room. Plates and napkins were found, TV on. There might be a game on, or something to take his mind of things. His head was still reeling from all the revelations today, what with everybody knowing practically before he’d known himself.
It felt weird to be here without Gibbs, but there would be other nights. If he survived the next two weeks, that was. It’s like being sent to relationship boot camp, he chuckled.

“What’s so funny?” McGee came in, carrying a six pack of beer and a bag of candy. “Thought you might like something sweet,” he explained as Tony eyed the chocolate.

“Just thinking, being cooped up with Gibbs for the next couple of weeks will probably be a lot like boot camp,” he winced.

‘With better benefits,’ McGee thought to himself, trying to picture Tony and Gibbs together. Shaking it off, he focused on the food, suddenly feeling very hungry.

“You’ll be fine,” he said, opening a bottle of beer and handing it to the other man. “Gibbs is more bark then bite when it comes to you.”

“I’m not too sure about that,” Tony replied, munching happily away on a slice of pizza.

“He cares deeply about you, Tony, that’s why he rides you hard,” McGee countered, then blushed deeply as he heard what he’d said.

“I know, but…” Tony glanced over at McGee, who suddenly refused to look at him.

“What?”

“N.. nothing, I just…” he stuttered, feeling the blush deepen.

“Shit, you know? How the hell can you know??” Tony was incredulous.

McGee finally found the courage to look Tony in the eyes again. “Just a feeling,” he said. “I’ve always known you felt strongly about Gibbs, but didn’t know quite how strong until he was shot.” He hesitated. “Does he feel the same way?”

Tony could only nod.

“It’s okay, Tony,” Reaching out, he squeezed Tony’s arm.

“This is so fucked up,” Tony whispered. “Abby found out this morning, and apparently Ducky knows too.”

“I bet she was ecstatic,” McGee laughed. Tony couldn’t help himself, he had to laugh, too.

“Yeah, she’s over the moon. And you’re fine with this?”

“As long as you make each other happy, Tony, I’m fine.”

“We’ll see. I hope so. It’s only been a few days. Was kinda hoping for more time to figure it out before telling anyone, but then again, I’m glad you know. I might need you to run interference with the Director.”

“I’ve got your six, Tony.”
Taking another slice of pizza, Tony felt himself unwind for the first time in a couple of days. Maybe this wasn’t so bad after all.
Chapter End Notes:
Don't own the characters, just having some fun :)

A huge thanks to Kim for giving Dr North a voice, you rock!
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