“Thanks to both my betas as always, love ya!”
“Oh my god I am so unbelievable dumb!!! I´ve just erased half the Chapter… :( So I´ll upload now the first part of it, the rest will (if I can manage) come in the next two weeks! Have fun!”
Author: Face-->Desk
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Emma 3
As Gibbs came back into the office, Tony was already there- surrounded by McGee, David and three other Agents. All of them were hovering over him, asking him plenty of questions. Annoying DiNozzo wasn´t easy, but considering the pissed- off look on the younger man’s face they were quite successful; it almost looked like an interrogation. Question after question was asked and loud comments tossed into the room, all the while Tony stayed silent.
“So, Tony…” Ziva smirked. “How is it to suddenly have a ´Bundle of Happiness´ in your life?”
Tony finally looked up from the file he was actually reading, his normally sparkling green eyes staring annoyed and somehow cold back at the young Mossad- officer.
“It´s ‘A bundle of Joy´ Zee-vah. And Emma is hardly a baby anymore! She´s four and a half years old and right now I would prefer you to go back to work, all of you!” he said, looking back at the other Agents still standing around his desk, chattering happily about Tony´s private life and the lack of control of his libido, misbegotten children (at which McGee frowned and interrupted the other Agents, calling them rude, stupid and
“You should mind your own business!”).
As the not-so-light-banter went on between the other Agents and McGee and Ziva (who now looked just as pissed as Tony did- it was one thing teasing DiNozzo but calling his daughter an accident due to the lack of the man´s self- control went too far, for both, McGee and Ziva. Ziva right now looked ready to punch the other three Agents in the face and had McGee just growled???), Tony went more and more quiet, his posture rigid. Now Gibbs finally understood why exactly Tony had invited the team over tonight and hadn´t already told them at work. He hadn´t wanted ´the news´ to spread so fast and into such a wrong direction. Of course the whole NCIS- building would have noticed sooner or later, but maybe then it already would have been daily routine and not expatiated as much as it certainly was.
As the argument around DiNozzos desk got louder and louder and his SIC looked as if he was ready to bolt, staring pointedly at the file on his desk, lips thin and a vain pulsating dangerously on his forehead Gibbs never had noticed before, he finally has had enough. He sneaked up to the crowd of Agents, signaling McGee and Ziva who were the only ones facing him to keep quiet and finally barked out in his finest ´Ex- Gunnery- Sergeant- Marine- Command™´- Voice:
“Show´s over People! Go back to work before I drag you back there on certain parts of your anatomy!”
The three blaspheming Agents jumped in surprise and turned around, scrambling out of Gibbs´ part of the office as fast as they could, panic and guilt clearly written in their faces. Tony, who had looked the whole time onto the file in front of him hadn´t even flinched.
“McGee, David!” Gibbs barked again. “This also applies for you! BACK TO WORK!”
Both decidedly sheepish looking Agents also hurried back to their desks as fast as possible, going back to work, still followed by Gibbs´ icy glare.
As Gibbs looked back at his Senior Field Agent, who actually stretched and looked up at him, thanking him silently for his help with one of his rare real smiles, he noticed the Caf Pow sitting on DiNozzos desk.
“McGee! Go, grab the Caf Pow and bring it down to Abby!” Gibbs ordered, watching as McGee eyed the Caf Pow suspiciously, an odd, frightened look in his eyes. The older man just rolled his eyes as his young Agent started to stutter, practically glued to his desk.
“She won´t erase your whatever-it-is! Just don´t ask stupid questions.” Gibbs said, exactly knowing what was going on in his Agents head. Well, knowing- but not understanding. How something like a fictive figure on a Computer could become that important to someone that they actually would grief its loss was beyond him.
DiNozzo snickered behind Gibbs as McGee busied himself by standing up from his desk and grabbing the Caf Pow. After that he walked out of the office down to Abby´s lab.
“DiNozzo! Stuff it and go back to work!” Gibbs also barked at his SIC, not noticing the hurt expression crossing the younger man´s face whilst Gibbs went back to his own desk.
XXX
During the rest of the afternoon Tony was uncharacteristically silent. He had been silent throughout the whole incident ´cough´ interrogation ´cough´, correcting Ziva´s English being the one and only words he´d uttered. As the whole thing had started, his emotions had settled somewhere close to annoyed and definitely hurt. Annoyed about being asked out about his private life and hurt because his so- called teammates and ´friends´ had teamed up against him with other employees about whom they exactly knew that they despised Tony. The three of them always mocked him about his private life, not taking him serious. Neither as an Agent to be respected, nor as someone who was capable of having relationships that lasted longer than a night…
Yes, it also was Tony´s fault that they thought about him that way. He´d always hid behind his clownery and pranks, his womanizing, to protect him and his true self, his true nature. He´d been burned one too many times in his life. Left alone once too often, his heart shattered by not only his family but also his friends, adding more and more wounds to his already scarred soul.
Once upon a time as he´d still been alone with Gibbs he´d thought, that ´maybe this is the place to stay! ´ But then Kate and later McGee had appeared with their mocking and hurtful comments, never leaving him alone… And yes, he´d given as good as he got to the members of his team; first to Kate and later to Ziva. Sometimes even to Abby, who hadn´t always been as much of a friend as he´d needed. He´d never been rude to Gibbs, though, due to the respect for his grumpy Boss, for all the knowledge and experience the older man had been able to gather as the years went on. But Gibbs had changed after a new member came to their formally 2-man-team. His comments became rude, hurting even, the head-slaps more frequent and sometimes harder as Tony felt he´d deserved. Also the praise for him had toned down, almost always companied by a joke…
But some months ago things had somewhat changed. They still weren´t perfect, not by all meaning. Tony still sometimes couldn´t help himself and made a stupid prank- like the ‘good ol´ glue the geek to a keyboard´ or the ´take some paper-towels, wet them get a ladder from the janitors to reach the ceiling and throw them right above Zee- Vahs chair to it, so they stuck there (for about 30 or so minutes), then- wait! ´ Ok, that had earned him some snickers and a pretty (wet), pissed- off ninja- chick. How could he have known that she´d just had been to the coiffeur the other day? It wasn´t as if he´d read her appointments in her personal calendar or something…
… …
Ahem, well… Where was I? Ah, yeah:
Like I said (thought) some things suddenly had changed in the behavior of his colleagues some months ago, especially in Gibbs.
Their comments weren´t as hurtful as they´d been anymore, sometimes it was easy to see that they held themselves back. Gibbs´ head-slaps weren´t as frequent and more praises were directed into Tony´s direction, always meant seriously.
Of course Tony had his suspicions as to why his colleagues´ behavior had changed. Maybe it was due to the fact that he´d been lookin´ around for another job, as far away from NCIS as he could get.
McGee finally became more the little brother he´d never had and Abby the best friend he truly needed. Ziva finally also had gotten to become more a friend, like a cousin, maybe? She no longer was the unreachable, exotic beauty he´d been lusting after for quite some time. Sure, she still was attractive as hell but now, with their new relationship and especially Emma, he wouldn´t give a short fling with a colleague a go anymore…
Finally, there was his Boss… Gibbs REALLY had changed in their private lives, after work. After Mexico and Somalia, after Jeanne, Mann and Jenny´s death at first he had been a bastard as he always had been, most of the time, especially in Tony´s direction. But suddenly, as Tony had thought about leaving DC and NCIS altogether, one night his Boss had suddenly stood at his doorstep, bearing Pizza and beer. That was something Gibbs hadn´t had done in months. Also Tony hadn’t been over to Gibbs house since Mexico. Tony had been too hurt at the time, just finding companionship and comfort for his injured ego and soul at the most unlikely place: Palmer. Palmer had become something like the just slightly scary and VERY much crazy cousin he´s never has had. And on top of everything his second best friend… At work Gibbs still was the unreadable, grumpy bastard of a Boss he always was, but now he was somehow… Mellow, more in control about his wrath. Gibbs of course doesn’t do favoritism at work, but after work, in their private life, also he had become a very good friend of Tony´s.
Just like I said (thought) as McGee and Ziva had started their mocking conversation with the other 3 Agents Tony had been hurt, annoyed as hell and just honestly pissed!
And then, as Frank ´the rat´ Taylor, who looked as if he´d owned his nickname by his front-teeth, his small, dark-brown eyes and his hushed, fast movements (not to mention that he was about as half as tall as Tony was) made the stupid comment about his libido and misbegotten children, Tony almost had jumped the man. But as Tony had opened his mouth to fold the man into the right shape, McGee had scowled and stepped between him and Tony. McGee and also Ziva NEVER had Tony surprised more. Both of them had started to defend his and also Emma´s honor in such a way that Tony after a while had been worried about Ziva shooting them and McGee burying the corpses. But then, luckily (or not) Gibbs had stepped up into the situation.
Tony couldn´t be more proud to have such friends. Maybe it wasn´t always easy with them, but, honestly: In which family was everything always hunky-dory…?
XXX
At round about 1630 hours Tony started to fidget. He and Abby had already prepared everything for the meal in the evening, the beer was cooling and his colleagues would stand in front of his doorstep at 1900 hours sharp.
But to be honest: Tony missed Emma and was concerned about her. At 1500 hours Abby had brought her back to the Day-Care-Center and now Tony had no idea whether Emma was OK or not.
“Could you stop that, Tony?” McGee finally hissed, Tony´s fidgeting clearly wrecking his nerves.
Gibbs looked up just in time to see Tony… look at McGee apologetically, saying
“Sorry, won´t happen again Tim”,
And looking back down at his work in front of him…
… …
... … …
O.o
WTF?!?
McGee gapped at Tony, whilst Ziva looked at him, incredulously. Even Gibbs couldn´t help the surprised stare he shot his Second in Command.
Normally Tony would have scowled, starting a conversation with “McGeek” or “McAnnoyed” or whatever stupid nickname he found appropriate for the situation. After some minutes the bickering would have wrecked Ziva’s nerves and she would have joined the party just to be corrected in her English by DiNozzo. After a while there would have been flying objects like paper- balls and sometimes even empty paper- coffee cups. That would have been the moment where Gibbs would have barked a command for them to “Stop that! Go back to work!” But now all they could do was watching an uncharacteristically silent and non- fidgeting Tony working on the file in front of him.
McGee was the first one to find his voice again, stuttering a “Thank you, Tony…”
At what the older Agent just smiled and went back to work…
McGee finally stopped gapping, looking back to his screen. After a minute or two he received an internal message from ´Ninjachick´ (Yes, Zee-Vah actually licked the nickname Tony had given her, even if she would bite her tongue off before she acknowledged this to Tony).
´Ninjachick´: Ok, who´s the pod- person and where do we search for the real DiNozzo?
´McGeek´: (A/N: Go figure) I have no idea! But his behavior´s rather creepy!
´Ninjachick´: Maybe we should ask Gibbs what´s going on? Tony and he seem to be very near in the last few months.
´McGeek´: It´s close; Ziva and I think we should still wait for a while, until…
McGee hadn’t finished the rest of his message as Tony suddenly blurted out
“Boss, It´s 5 o´clock, Can I go?” and started to fidget again.
Gibbs looked up to his SIC, rolling his eyes. “What are you waiting for, go already.”
He didn´t need to say it twice. Not one minute later Tony disappeared down the stairs, practically leaving a cloud of dust behind him.
“Whoa, that was fast!” Ziva snickered, gathering her things and leaving the Bullpen together with McGee. “See you later, Gibbs” “See you at Tony´s, Boss.”
Gibbs just smirked and again rolled his eyes. He, by himself would work until 1830 and then drive directly over to Tony´s apartment.
TBC
Emma by Lilliana1981