"The Plot Thickens"
Chapter 9---
Tony, Gibbs, Mrs. DiNozzo, and Tony's cousin sat in the huge living room of *DiNozzo Estates* conversing with one another.
The living room area was finely decorated from top to bottom and from side to side.
Mrs. DiNozzo sat in an easy chair while Gibbs and Tony sat on the sofa across from her. Tony's cousin stood near the fireplace stoking the fire that he had started in it.
"Dr.McGreggor says that his kidneys are failing, and his liver is--well shot--to say the very least." Tony's cousin said, from the fireplace.
"His lungs aren't the healthiest in the world either," he added.
Ring! Ring! Gibbs' cell phone began to ring inside his coat pocket. He pulled it out and read the caller ID silently--Ducky, again.
This time though, he figured he should probably answer it.
"Gibbs." he said, quietly, as he stood and walked towards a far corner of the room.
"Good heavens Jethro," the old man's voice came through the phone line. "I have been trying to reach you for quite some time now."
"Sorry Duck, just been a little preoccupied." Gibbs said quietly.
"Caitlin and Timothy both said that you had left on vacation." Ducky said.
Gibbs grinned at himself. "Well, not exactly Duck."
"Well then, where are you?" the old man asked. "And where is Tony?"
"We're out of town, at a--at a conference."
Gibbs could hear Ducky laugh on the other end of the phone line.
"You never were a good liar Jethro, Never." Ducky said, with a slight chuckle.
"Yeah I know." Gibbs replied, in a low voice.
"Look Duck, I can't say anything right now, but soon--I promise." he added, stealing a look over his shoulder.
"Well, alright then--I understand." Ducky said, quietly.
"Alright bye." Gibbs said, as he hung up on Ducky.
Gibbs turned back to face Tony and the others as he stowed his cell phone away in his coat pocket.
Back at NCIS down in the lab Abby sat in her office in front of her computer. Every now and then she would glance over at the desk phone hoping that it would ring. It had been a very slow day at work, and so she was able to get away with just sitting around for long periods of time.
Gibbs had told her that he and Tony were supposed to go visit Tony's family. He had also told her that he had a really bad feeling about the whole thing, and if there was anything she had learned since she'd first started at NCIS it was this: "Always Trust Gibbs' Gut".
As she sat and waited for the phone call that Gibbs had said would come, her stomach had begun to churn in a way that it only had since she'd been working at NCIS--and it was now that she knew how her boss felt before leaving--like something just wasn't right.
She put a hand over her stomach, and whispered to the otherwise empty lab.
"Please," she whispered.
Suddenly the desk phone rang, loudly, and startled her a little. She reached out, quickly, and snatched the receiver off of the base and held it up to her ear.
"Hello, Gibbs?" she said without thinking.
"Hi Abs." came the voice that she had come to know so very well.
"Gibbs, are you--where are you--ar-are you okay?" Abby stammered over the phone.
"Abs, I'm okay--we're okay." Gibbs said calmly.
Abby took a minute or two to catch her breath, and calm her shaking nerves.
"Gibbs--I have a very bad feeling about you and Tony being there." she said into the phone quickly.
"I know." he replied, quietly.
"For now Tony and I are fine," he said. "Tony's mother wants us to stay here for the night instead of in our hotel room."
"Are you sure that's such a good idea?" she asked.
"Nope." he replied.
Abby let out a sigh as she shifted positions in her desk chair.
"I heard Ducky called you earlier," she pointed out. "What did you tell him?"
"Nothing--just that we're at a conference." he replied, with a slight cough.
"So Kate and McGee don't know?"
"No," Gibbs said. "And I don't want them to--not yet."
"Gibbs I'm worried-" Abby started to say, but Gibbs cut in quickly.
"Abs, listen to me," he said, calmly. "I need you to stay calm, and do exactly as I say--okay?"
"Sure." she replied, quietly.
"Can you track our phones without McGee and without anyone knowing?" he asked.
"Of course." she replied, almost with a smile.
"Good. Do it."
"I'll be in touch if anything else comes up." he told her.
Abby stood up and walked around the little office in circles.
"I hope it all turns out to be nothing." he said at last.
"So do I." she agreed.
She could hear Gibbs moving around as well as other sounds in the background on their end.
"I've got to go." he said, his voice smooth and calming.
"Okay--and Gibbs--be careful, please." she said, her voice cracking a little.
"I will--we will." he replied.
Then he hung up, and she did the same on her end.
Back at DiNozzo Estates. Gibbs and Tony were settling in for the night in their assigned rooms which just happened to be only a few feet away from each other.
Tony's mother had insisted that her son sleep in his old bedroom, so he had agreed to do just that.
Gibbs was to sleep in one of the guest rooms nearby.
He undressed himself down to his T-shirt and boxers, and laid his other clothes neatly folded in the seat of the chair that sat in the room against the far wall.
As for his cell phone it was laying on the bedside table nearby so that he could reach it quickly if need be, and his Sig Sauer he slid up under his pillow so it would be close by as well.
He crawled into the warm bed, and pulled the covers upwards over his body. He reached up and switched off the bedside table lamp just before allowing his head to hit the pillow. And sleep came semi-easily to him even though his gut was still churning out its warning loud and clear.
Tony awoke the next morning to sunshine streaming through the windows of his bedroom. He blinked and rubbed his eyes as he sat up straight in his bed. It took him a minute or two to remember just where he was.
He pulled back the covers and stood up to stretch. In mid stretch he felt his nose twitch, rather excitedly, and he slowly lifted it higher into the air.
That smell was familiar--like one he remembered from his childhood. "Pancakes." his mind jumped suddenly, the thought bringing a smile to his face.
He quickly dressed himself and darted out of his room and down the stairs towards the kitchen.
At the same moment Gibbs stepped out of his room fully dressed in the clothes from the day before.
Tony burst into the kitchen excitedly.
"Are those pancakes I smell?" he asked, excitedly, raising his nose into the air once again.
The older woman standing in front of the stove turned in Tony's direction, and the smile that played across her face was one of pure joy.
Tony made the same connection that the older woman made at almost the exact same moment--when he saw her face.
"Ms. Rosie?" Tony said, almost unsure if his eyes were correct in what he saw.
"Anthony!" the older woman cried, in a South American accent, as she ran towards him.
She through her arms around the young man and squeezed him tightly.
"Ms. Rosie, it is you." Tony said, returning the hug.
"Anthony, you have finally come home to us." she said as she pulled back to take a good luck at Tony.
Tony smiled at the older woman.
"Ah, you have grown so much since I last saw you." she mused, her eyes glazed with memories of life times past.
Tony nodded, with a slight chuckle.
"I didn't realize you were still working for my parents." Tony said.
"You did not think that I would leave my home," the older woman remarked, surprised somewhat.
"Well I don't know--I-I guess I just figured that-" he started to say.
"It doesn't matter," the older woman said finally, with a smile, as she patted Tony's cheek gently.
"Your mother said that you might be coming, but I wasn't sure," she started. "But just in case I made your favorite-"
"Pancakes." they both said at the same time, chuckling as they did so.
Suddenly there was a slight tap at the kitchen door behind them. The older woman suddenly cleared her throat in an attempt to regain her former composure.
The door opened and to their surpise it was Leroy Jethro Gibbs.
"Geez Boss, you must really like scaring people--don't ya." Tony remarked, at seeing Gibbs' face.
"Well," Gibbs said quietly, with a slight nod.
"Ms. Rosie, this is my-" Tony stumbled, trying to find the right word, but was drawing a blank so far.
Gibbs extended his hand to the older South American woman politely and with a smile.
"I'm his friend," Gibbs said quietly. "Jethro Gibbs."
"Yeah--he's my *friend*," Tony said finally, in agreement.
For a few seconds it felt weird to refer to Gibbs as his friend instead of as his boss.
The older South American woman smiled politely back at Gibbs and shook his hand graciously.
"It is very nice to meet you, Mr. Gibbs." she said with a smile as she shook his hand.
"Likewise," Gibbs replied.
"Breakfast smells wonderful," he complimented her.
She smiled most graciously at Gibbs, and gave a slight bow of her head.
Ms. Rosie suddenly realized that her eggs were starting to burn, and turned and raced back over to the stove.
"Oh dear not my eggs--not my eggs." she cired as she began to work to try and save the eggs that she had been cooking.
Everyone sat at the breakfast table enjoying their breakfast. Even Tony's father was up and at the table eating as well.
To Tony he looked like he was in pretty good shape, and he didn't seem or look sick; but he remembered that his mom had said he had good days and bad days--more bad than good.
The older DiNozzo had noticed that his son was not eating much just poking his fork at his pancakes, and taking a bite every 3 or 4 minutes or so it seemed.
"Eat up son," the older man said, laughter in his voice. "Not everyday you get a meal like this."
Tony tried to smile at his father, but found it somewhat challenging--difficult even.
*His Father* was being *Nice*. Or at least that was how it seemed to Tony.
Tony nodded at his father, slightly, as he stuffed another bite of pancakes into his mouth.
After breakfast was completed they all sat around in the living room talking for a while.
"So, how's life in Baltimore?" his father asked, from his recliner.
Tony blushed a little bit.
"Actually Dad, I'm in D.C. now." Tony replied.
"Oh really--well uh-"
"Yeah, I work for NCIS now." he added. "Stands for Naval Criminal Investigative Service."
"Yeah, yeah I-I knew that." his father said, running a hand through his graying hair.
"Right." Tony muttered quietly.
Chapter 10---
Tony and his father had spent a large part of the day together talking and sharing with each other. The two men had just come back inside after taking a nice, relaxing walk around the ground(s).
"Did you boys have a good time?" Tony's mother asked as they entered the living room.
"It was great." Tony's father said, smiling big.
"Yeah, gr-great." Tony agreed, half-heartedly, as he eyed his boss sitting on the nearby sofa.
"You know what. I think I could use a glass of water." the older DiNozzo said. "How about you son?"
"Yeah sure, that'd be nice." Tony replied.
"Alright then, I'll be right back."
Tony's father headed off in the direction of the kitchen in search of a glass of water.
Tony sank down on the sofa next to Gibbs. After a few minutes Tony realized that Gibbs was staring at him.
"What?" Tony asked.
"How'd it really go?" Gibbs asked, in a low voice.
"It just--it just seemed, I don't know, cheesy I guess." Tony replied, reluctantly.
"How so?"
"I-I don't know--it just-" Tony started to reply.
Bang! Crash! The sounds echoed out from the kitchen and through the rest of the house. Everyone in the living room stood up.
"Oh my God, what was that?" Tony's mother shrieked.
"Sounded like it came from the kitchen." Gibbs said.
The three of them ran towards the kitchen full speed, and burst through its doors.
"Frank!" Mrs. DiNozzo shrieked when she saw her husband sprawled out on the kitchen floor.
Gibbs dropped to his knees beside the older man and checked his pulse.
"Pulse is faint." Gibbs said. "Somebody get a doctor."
The doctor finished his examination on Frank DiNozzo, and then packed up his small doctor's bag.
They had moved Frank DiNozzo back upstairs into his king-size bed once again.
Gibbs and Tony stood outside the bedroom listening intently to everything that the doctor and Mr. DiNozzo said to each other.
"Mr. DiNozzo, I'm afraid your condition is deteriorating much more rapidly than we originally anticipated." Dr. McGreggor informed the older man.
Mr. DiNozzo gave a loud, nasty cough.
"Tell me something I don't know, Doc." the older man growled angrily.
"I'm afraid to say we're running out of time." the doctor added.
"I know, I know--I'm workin' on it." the older man said, as he gave another loud, nasty cough.
"Don't worry, he'll be ready--soon." Mr. DiNozzo added.
"I sure hope so," the doctor said, as he picked up his bag and turned towards the door. "For your sake."
Later that night the two men laid in Gibbs' bed in the dimly-lit guest room--side by side--naked.
The events of the day running through Gibbs' mind, as he waited for his vital signs to return to normal.
After a few minutes had passed with the two of them talking about things that didn't really matter, Gibbs sat up and finally discarded his spent condom. When he returned to the bed he found the younger man fast asleep, and something about the whole thing made him smile.
Tony looked so content and so peaceful laying there. The sight was enough to put Gibbs' mind somewhat at ease.
He pulled the spare blanket, that Ms. Rosie had brought up for him earlier, from the closet and draped it over Tony's body--since he obviously could not scoot the younger man under the pre-existing covers already on the bed.
Gibbs grabbed his boxers up off of the floor and slid them back on so that he wouldn't have to walk around totally naked.
Gibbs reached for the door knob, and then looked over his shoulder at the slumbering Tony before exiting the room quietly.
Gibbs made his way down dark hallway until he reached Tony's bedroom. He had his hand on the door knob when suddenly he felt that churning feeling in his gut again. Something wasn't right.
He turned to head back to the guest room when he heard footsteps behind him, and then felt something heavy strike him on the back of the head.
"Ah!" he gave a startled cry as he found himself being shoved into Tony's room.
"Nothing personal, you understand." the voice said from behind him.
Gibbs hit the ground hard, and then everything went black.
.........To Be Continued.........
Author's Chapter Notes:
The pieces start to fall into place...
Chapter End Notes:
I am really glad and surprised that you guys have enjoyed this story so far, and I sincerely hope that you will continue to enjoy this story as I continue to update it as frequently as I can. Enjoy and God Bless!!!!