**December 25thâ€"2330 Hours Gibbs' House**
Gibbs glanced over to the passenger side with a quiet sigh as he pulled into the driveway and shut the engine off. The younger man was sleeping peacefully at the moment, but he knew that as soon as he tried to wake him, peaceful would be a far cry from the mood his Senior Agent would actually be in.
Tony had been cranky for most of the evening, mostly due to him being so tired. He hadn't been sleeping very well over the course of the last couple nights anyway, and it hadn't helped that he'd kept him up until nearly 0500 that morning. He'd tried to convince him to go home a couple times over the course of the night, but he had refused, wanting to be a part of the case as much as McGee and Ziva were. When the team had done as much as they could for the night, everyone headed their own separate ways, and as soon as Gibbs had managed to get the Italian into his car, the younger man had passed out from exhaustion.
"Tony."
He grumbled quietly, turning his head toward the warm hand that was caressing his hair gently. "Five more minutes."
"Up now. You can sleep when we get inside," Gibbs promised, climbing out of the car and rounding the back end, pulling the passenger side door open. "C'mon, DiNozzo."
It was all he could do to force his tired eyes open, and he had to bite back a quiet groan when he felt his head beginning to pound. "Hi."
Offering the younger man a ghost of a smile, Gibbs held his hand out and helped him out of the vehicle, gripping his arm in an attempt to steady him. "Easy."
"'M fine," he mumbled, pulling away to swipe tiredly at his face. Stifling a yawn, he headed up the front walkway with his older partner in tow.
"When we get in, you go on up to bed," Gibbs ordered, reaching around his sleepy lover to push the front door open.
"Hungry. Gotta find somethin' to eat first."
"Why don't you go on up and get settled? I'll find you somethin' and bring it up. Anything in particular you think you might want?"
"No," he said with a half-hearted shrug, already on his way up the stairs. "Just whatever looks good."
"Alright. I'll be up in a few." Watching carefully as the younger man trudged up the steps, Gibbs released a quiet sigh and headed into the kitchen, intent on finding him something to eat. Grabbing a plate from the cabinet, he stepped over to the refrigerator and fixed a plate of leftovers, hoping it would be enough to satisfy whatever craving it was that he was having. Stifling a yawn of his own, he headed out of the kitchen and up the stairs, more than ready to join Tony in bed.
Pushing the bedroom door open, it was all Gibbs could do to keep from laughing out loud at the sight. Tony was sprawled out on the bed, completely clothed, save for the one shoe he'd managed to kick off before he passed out. "So much for bein' hungry," he snorted, backing out of the room again.
After putting the plate into the refrigerator, he made his way up the stairs again, already unbuttoning his shirt as he stepped into the bedroom. Stripping down to his underwear, the older man yawned quietly before sinking down onto the edge of the mattress, pulling Tony's shoe off carefully.
"You sleep like the dead," he mumbled, tossing the expensive shoe across the room before he crawled up to the head of the bed, dropping an arm around Tony's waist. "Sleep well, DiNozzo." Leaning over just slightly, he pressed a kiss to the younger man's cheek, a tired grin spreading across his face when he leaned into the touch. Releasing a content sigh, he sank back down against his pillows and closed his eyes, willing sleep to come.
**December 26thâ€"0600 Hours Gibbs' House**
The shrill ringing of the cell phone sliced through the silent room, startling Gibbs from his sleep. Rolling over onto his back, he snatched the phone from the night stand and silenced the ringer immediately. Stifling a yawn, he glanced over at his partner to make sure he was still asleep before he flipped the phone open.
"Yeah, Gibbs."
"I'm sorry to bother you so early, Agent Gibbs, but we've got a missing Petty Officer."
"My team's in the middle of a murder investigation, Lynch. Give it to Daniels' team."
"I did," the dispatcher said, his tone slightly irritated. "Daniels wanted me to call you."
"There better be a good reason," the agent growled, pushing himself up off the mattress as he ran a hand over his face.
"Apparently, Daniels thinks the two may be connected."
"He thinks? And what exactly leads him to believeâ€""
"I'm just a dispatcher, Agent Gibbs. If you want specifics, you're gonna have to call him."
Snapping the phone closed between his fingers, Gibbs bit back a grunt of disgust as he made his way over to the dresser, pulling out a clean pair of pants.
"Shouldn't be so nasty to the dispatchers."
Turning at the sound of the tired voice, Gibbs frowned darkly. "Go back to sleep."
"Got a case, don't we?" Tony asked, pushing himself up carefully against his pillows.
"It's probably nothin'. A missing Petty Officer that Daniels' team apparently can't handle. There's no need forâ€""
"Jet… c'mon." Releasing a quiet sigh, Tony climbed out of the bed carefully, stretching with a quiet groan. "You promised that you weren't gonna start treatin' me any differently."
"You need your rest, Tony. It's not good for you toâ€""
"I feel fine," he promised. "I've done more on less sleep," he reminded his protective lover.
"You won't feel fine if you don't quit interruptin' me," the older man growled, though he leaned over and dropped a quick kiss to his lips.
Tony rolled his eyes, though grinned against his partner's lips before pulling away.
"Gonna go give McGee and Ziva a call, have 'em meet us down at the Navy yard. We're headin' out in ten."
"Got it, Boss. I'll be ready to go."
"Better be," Gibbs growled, offering the younger man a ghost of a smile as he pulled the clean pants and shirt on before he headed out of the room, already dialing McGee's number.
Releasing a quiet sigh as he watched Gibbs go, he headed into the bathroom to wash his face, hoping it would help to wake him. Despite the fact that he'd turned down Gibbs' offer to stay home and rest, he was still exhausted. Stopping in front of the sink, he leaned over, splashing cool water on his face with a quiet groan.
He hadn't been sleeping well for a variety of reasons over the course of the last week, and though he'd managed to sleep through the whole night, he still felt as though he had quite a bit of catching up to do.
"Later," he reminded himself as he patted his face dry. Glancing at his tired reflection briefly, he shook his head and returned to the bedroom to prepare himself for what he was sure was going to be a long day.
**0715 Hoursâ€"Quantico, VA**
Pulling up in front of the small apartment complex, Gibbs shifted the car into park, narrowing his eyes when he spotted Agent Daniels hovering near the door, his cell phone cradled between his ear and shoulder.
"McGee, I want you to coordinate with Agent Daniels. Find out what they've done, what they know."
"Got it, Boss," the younger man said as he climbed out of the back seat.
"Ziva, you and DiNozzo are with me. I want every inch of that apartment checked. If it looks like Daniels' team already covered it, you go over it again. Soon as McGee's finished with that idiot, I'll have him shoot and sketch. We do not have a body yet on this one, so you work fast. Don't wanna lose any more time."
With a quick nod of acknowledgement, both agents climbed from the car and headed into the apartment complex. Glancing back at her partner, Ziva offered him a playful smirk. "Gibbs kept you up late last night, yes?"
Tony rolled his eyes, more than ready to brush her off before he decided to play along. "Oh yeah, you know. It was a long, hardâ€""
"I do not need to know," she said, wrinkling her nose. "Please forget that I asked."
"Aww… c'mon, Zee-vah! You never minded hearing about my conquests before!"
"I never knew your conquests before," she reminded him. "I would still like to be able to look Gibbs in the eye."
A quiet laugh escaped the older man as he nudged her playfully. "I was just kiddin', you know. I passed out as soon as we got home last night."
"I know," she responded, glancing over at him with a smile. "You looked dead on your heels before we finished processing our scene."
"Feet," he corrected.
"We… did not process any feet," she said, her smile slipping as she offered him a confused frown. He chuckled quietly as he shook his head and brushed past her. "Tony… wait a minute! What do you mean by 'feet'?"
"Don't worry about it, Zee," he snickered, dropping his bag outside the doorway.
She narrowed her eyes at him, though after a moment, she shrugged and followed after him. Frowning slightly when she glanced around the living room, she shook her head. "Does this room remind you of anything?"
"Lance Corporal Donovan's apartment," Tony said, releasing a quiet sigh as he looked around the destroyed apartment. It was almost identical to the crime scene they'd responded to the previous day, save for the dead body that had been found in the living room. Most of the furniture had been overturned in what appeared to be quite a struggle and the television had been busted. There were small specks of blood coating the walls, but nothing to indicate that their missing PFC had been murdered.
In the apartment, at least.
"You take the bedroom," Tony commanded, making his way back to the door to get his bag. "I'll start out here."
Nodding, the Israeli woman offered him a slight smile before she headed down the hallway and into the bedroom.
Watching her go, Tony released a tired sigh, a quiet groan escaping him as he stretched, cracking his back loudly. They're just arrived and already, his back was beginning to ache. "Gonna be a long day," he muttered, retrieving his bag from its place beside the door before returning to the living room.
It wasn't long before Ziva came back out into the living room, a slight frown forming when she spotted Tony collecting blood samples from the carpet. He was crouched down, one gloved hand gripping the couch for support as he worked. He looked as though he'd fall over any minute from exhaustion and truth be told, it concerned her.
They were all used to running on little to no sleep. Gibbs pushed his team hard, harder than any other team at the agency, but it was clear that it wasn't going to be as easy for her friend as it usually was. At least not while he was pregnant.
Walking over to him, she dropped a hand to his shoulder, offering what she hoped was a convincing smile when he glanced up at her. "I am all finished in the bedroom. I could finish up in here if you would like."
"I got it," he said, waving her off. "Go see what's takin' McGoo so long. I wanna start baggin' this stuff and I can't until he gets pictures."
"Tony… I really must inisit that you let me finish in here. You look like you can barely keep yourself upright."
"Yeah?" He asked, glaring at her over his shoulder. "That couldn't possibly have anything to do with the lack of sleep I've had over the past week, right?"
"I did not say that. I justâ€""
"Just drop it. I didn't tell you guys about the baby so you could be all protective of me! I get enough of that at home with Gibbs!"
"DiNozzo."
The Italian groaned quietly, shrugging Ziva's hand away as he stood up. "See what you started?" He hissed, stalking toward the front door where his lover was standing, a sour look on his face.
"Yeah, Boss?"
Gibbs narrowed his eyes briefly before jerking his head toward the kitchen and walking away, confident that the younger man would follow him without question. "What's goin' on in there?"
"It's nothin', Jet. I just… I don't wanna be babied, that's all. I'm a grown ass man and I can take care of myself."
"Then prove it," the silver-haired man growled, his eyes darkening slightly. "I wanna protect you and we may be together, but that does not give you the right to talk down to the rest of the team. I will not always back you, Tony. Just like I'm not right now."
Tony watched, slightly dumbfounded as his boss started walking away before he stopped at the door to the kitchen and turned back to him. "Get your ass in there and finish. Let Ziva help you, and I do not want to hear any more childish arguments. Clear?"
"Crystal," he responded through clenched teeth before he pushed away from the kitchen counter, slipping past his boss on his way back into the living room.
**1100 Hoursâ€"NCIS Squad Room**
Stepping off the elevator, cup of coffee in hand, Gibbs made his way into the squad room, a frown darkening his face at the sight of his Senior Agent hunched over his desk, ignoring him studiously. He knew that DiNozzo hadn't been happy with him for the scene at PFC Martinetti's apartment and he could only hope that their disagreement over a work-related issue wouldn't spill over into their relationship.
Of course, he didn't have much hope; Tony was a master at holding grudges, and that was when he wasn't hormonal.
Taking a long drink of his coffee, he passed the younger man's desk, heading for his own when McGee's voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Uh… Boss? I think I have something."
Turning to McGee, Gibbs cocked an eyebrow. "You waitin' for an engraved invitation."
"I uh… no," he said, shaking his head as he pressed a few more keys on his keyboard. "I just… I just got a hit on Martinetti's cell."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Tony and Ziva both sprang into action, grabbing their badges and weapons from their desk drawers.
"Where?"
"182 South Union Street… in Alexandria."
"You stay. If that phone moves, I wanna know about it! DiNozzo! David!" Turning back to his other agents, he was pleased to see they were already at the elevator, waiting for him.
"We are ready to go, Gibbs," Ziva assured him, attaching her gun holster to her belt. Without another word, the former marine dropped his cup of coffee into the trash and made his way over to join the pair, sliding into the elevator beside his lover.
The subsequent elevator ride and fifteen minute drive to Alexandria was tense and silent save for Ziva's failed attempts at making conversation and privately, she couldn't help but sigh in relief when Gibbs pulled up to the old rundown warehouse building.
"Ziva, you take the back entrance and you wait for my signal," Gibbs commanded as he threw the car into park and leapt from the car, rounding the sedan to pop the trunk. Grabbing two vests, he tossed one to the Israeli woman and handed the other to his partner, ignoring the irritated glare that the younger man threw his way.
Grabbing his own vest from the trunk, he pulled it over his jacket quickly, checking the weapon at his hip. "DiNozzo, we'll go around the front but you don't so much as lift a finger until I tell you."
"Yeah, okay," Tony grumbled, pushing past the older man. A split second later, an angry hand clamped down on his shoulder.
"So help me God, Tony, if you don't lose the attitude right now, you can wait in the car. Did I make myself clear? You do nothing without my command!"
"I heard you!"
"Okay," Gibbs said, jerking his head toward the front of the house. "Let's go."
The pair made their way to the slightly opened warehouse door slowly, peeking inside before they allowed their eyes to meet again. Gibbs held up his hand when he heard Ziva confirming her position in his ear and counted off to three before pulling the door open and rushing inside, making sure to stay in front of Tony as they entered.
They made their way through the warehouse, clearing rooms as they went while Ziva maintained her position at the back.
"There's nothin' here," Tony said as they made their way up the stairs to the second flight of the warehouse. "Complete waste of…" he trailed off at the large thump from overheard. Glancing over at boss, their eyes met for a split second before they both took off up the next flight of stairs, weapons drawn.
"Gibbs," Ziva called, her voice coming through loud and clear in the older man's ear.
"Third floor," he responded, his voice barely above a growl before he turned back to Tony. "You hold your position at the landing."
"Gibbs-!"
"Not a discussion, DiNozzo! Hold your position!"
If looks could kill, Gibbs was positive that he'd have hit the floor, but thankfully, Tony didn't argue. A half a second later, Ziva joined them on the landing, slipping past Tony as she followed after Gibbs.
He couldn't help but pace angrily on the small landing, muttering to himself. He was angry with Gibbs for not allowing him to go as backup into the room, despite the fact that he understood the man was just being overprotective.
Dropping his head back to glare at the ceiling, he released a heavy sigh as he listened carefully for any sign that his boss and partner might be in trouble.
He didn't have to wait very long.
A split second after he stopped pacing, he heard a loud gunshot. Without thinking, he raced up the stairs and into the small third floor room, his gun drawn. "Gibbs?"
The silver-haired man glanced over at him briefly before he made his way over to the suspect, dropping down into a crouch to check for a pulse as Ziva called for an ambulance. "We're fine, DiNozzo. Got a the hostage in the corner. He's scared shitless."
Nodding in understanding, Tony crossed the room quickly, though immediately slowed his pace as he approached the young man. He was huddled in the corner, tears staining his cheeks as he clutched his shredded shirt in his hands. There was blood dripping down his chin from what appeared to be a broken nose and dark bruises were already beginning to form under his eyes.
"Is it… is it over?" He asked, his voice cracking, his eyes never leaving the man sprawled out on the floor.
"It sure is," Tony said, keeping his voice light. "Can you tell me your name, buddy?"
"M…Michael," he managed.
"Michael, huh? That's a good name. I'm Tony."
A quiet sob escaped him when Tony took another step toward him. "S… stop! St… stay away!"
"Okay, okay," he said, holding his hands up. "I won't come any closer Michael, but I need you to help me out here, okay?"
"O… okay."
"I can see your nose is hurt, but do you have any other injuries? Anything at all?"
The young man said nothing at first as he finally pulled his eyes away from the other man, turning his attention to Tony. Reaching up, his touched his nose gingerly, as if realizing for the first time that he was injured. "Ju… just my nose."
"Okay, that's good. I know you're really scared right now, Michael, but we just wanna help. Can you let us do that?"
"I don't… I don't know. I don't want anyone to touch me," he cried.
"Nobody's gonna touch you unless you say it's okay. I promise you that, but I need you to trust me, Michael. We aren't going to let anybody hurt you again but you have to trust me."
Swallowing hard, Michael offered him a slight nod. "I… I trust you."
"Good. That's good," Tony said, offering him his most reassuring smile as Ziva snapped her phone closed.
"ETA is less than three minutes, Gibbs," she announced, making her way over to Tony and the victim, frowning when the younger man flinched away.
"Stay back, Ziva," Tony cautioned. "I'm handling this." He glanced over his shoulder to offer her a warning glance before turning his attention back to Michael. He crouched down as best he could, though without something to hold on to, it was all he could do to remain upright. "Michael… I'm not gonna lie to you buddy… This isn't the most comfortable place to sit. Why don't you come downstairs with me, huh? We'll go wait in my car for the paramedics."
He was relieved when Michael nodded and it was all he could do to bite back a groan when he pushed himself to his feet. Straightening his suit jacket just a bit, he motioned to the door with his head before offering the young man another smile. "C'mon, kid. Let's get you outta here."
**1955 Hoursâ€"Tony's Apartment**
Stepping out of the bathroom with nothing more than a towel wrapped around his slowly expanding waist, Tony made his way back into the bedroom, shoulders slumped slightly. His morning had gotten off to a bad start when he woke up to find Gibbs trying to sneak out without waking him and the day had only gotten progressively worse from there.
He'd hoped that after recovering PFC Martinetti from the warehouse that the tension would ease, but it had only escalated after Gibbs had reamed him for rushing into the third floor room without waiting for a signal. He'd tried to keep his temper in check, but he'd failed miserably.
The pair had avoided one another for the remainder of the day, and the only word that Tony had spoken to anyone since was a gruff 'thanks' to the agent that relieved him from guard duty in front of Michael's hospital room an hour earlier.
He'd left without a word to Gibbs or Ziva and had headed home to his own apartment rather than Gibbs' house.
Pulling the towel from around his waist, he released a quiet sigh as he grabbed a pair of comfortable shorts from his dresser. The majority of his clothes had migrated to his lover's house over the course of the last seven weeks, and now, he couldn't help but feel grateful that he hadn't allowed the older man to talk him into moving in.
Dressing quickly in his shorts and an old t-shirt, he ran the previously discarded towel over his hair to remove the excess water when a loud knock at the front door caught his attention.
He considered not answering it for a moment, already knowing who it was, but he gave up on the thought, seeing as his lover had a key. Besides, even if he hadn't, Tony wouldn't put it past him to pick the lock.
Walking to the door, he unlocked it and pulled it open, immediately heading for the living room. "I don't wanna talk, Gibbs."
"Oh, we're back to last names, DiNozzo?" He asked, shrugging. "Okay. Brought some pizza."
"Not hungry."
He was lying, and he was pretty sure his lover knew it, but he'd be damned if he gave up on his principles. The events from earlier in the day were hanging over him like a black cloud, and the fact that the object of his irritation was currently standing in his dining room wasn't helping things any.
"You should eat, Tony. It's not goodâ€""
"Since when do you give a shit?" He growled, though he immediately regretted it when he saw the hurt flash in his boss' blue eyes. "I mean… fuck, Jet! What the hell happened today?"
"I gave you a direct order and you didn't follow it."
"And I heard a gun shot, Jethro! You always take me in as your back up! Always! Because I always have your back! I know you seriously didn't expect me to stay put when I heard that just because you left me standing in the hallway like aâ€""
"I had Ziva with me."
"It should have been me! And if it wasn't for the fact that we're fucking now on a daily basis, it would have been! Christ, Gibbs! We decided when we started this that things weren't going to change and now, nothing's the same!"
"Tony…"
"I may be pregnant and we may be seeing each other, Jet, but I'm still an agent! I'm still clear for full active duty and I just want to be treated like normal!"
"You're right."
"I mean, for God's sake! Would it kill you to…" he trailed off, frowning. "What did you just say?"
The older man rolled his eyes, though there was a slight smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "I said you're right. We have been treatin' you differently. All of us. And we shouldn't."
"Then just… stop."
Lowering the pizza to the dining room table, he closed the gap between them and pulled the younger man into his arms. "Can't promise that I'm gonna be able to stop that easily, Tony. You're right to be angry and annoyed, and it's wrong to treat you any differently, but things are different now."
"They shouldn't be," he muttered miserably.
"But they are," he said, resting his hand against his lover's belly gently. "Like it or not, things are never gonna be exactly like they used to be, but I'll try to do better."
"Can I headslap you when you screw up?"
"I'd like to see you try," the older man responded, a smirk on his face before he leaned over, pecking Tony's lips gently. "You're gonna have to cut me some slack though."
Releasing a quiet, relieved sigh, Tony nodded, allowing the tension to leave his body for the first time since he'd crawled out of bed that morning. Closing his eyes, he savored the feeling of his partner's arms around him until Gibbs pulled away, nudging him gently.
"How 'bout that pizza now?"
Chapter End Notes:
A/N: Hello! Thank you so much to everyone who sent a review after the last chap! I absolutely love you guys sending me comments. I can't even begin to tell you how happy they make me! This was another hard chapter for me because in my opinion, it's just filler, but thanks to Kelley for all her amazing help, I managed to get through it! I know I've posted about my move in a couple other chapters, but I'm all done with that, so I'm hoping I can start devoting more of my time to this fic, but of course, reviews help me write faster ;) Can't wait to hear from you all and again, thank you so so much!