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Author's Chapter Notes:
A touching story about two men who realize just how much they really need each other...
"Broken Hearts"

Chapter One --

Tony sat alone in his apartment with a glass tumbler, and a bottle of scotch that he had gotten for his last birthday from Ducky.

Tony replayed the entire story, in his mind, that Gibbs had told him just the day before--about Shannon and Kelly.

It had somewhat broken his spirit.

'How could I have thought for even a second that I was good enough.' Tony thought to himself. 'Shannon was Gibbs' number one.' he told himself.

He downed the rest of his current glass of scotch, and then poured himself yet another glass full.

'And what am I?' he thought to himself angrily. 'Nothing but a used up, broken, sorry, sad excuse for a man.' he chided himself.

At one point he had imagined, foolishly he guessed, that somehow he could be Gibbs' next 'Shannon'.

Now, tears ran down his cheeks at the thought of Gibbs being with someone else...someone who wasn't 'him' (Tony, in other words). But there was no way he could ever be good enough for someone like Gibbs. Never in a million years, he kept telling himself as he downed glass after glass of scotch.


...Several Hours Later...

It was quiet in Tony's hospital room.

Gibbs was sitting in a chair at Tony's bedside--finally getting a little bit of sleep since showing up after receiving Ziva's phone call.

He couldn't believe that Tony had drunk himself into this mess--it just wasn't like his Senior Field Agent.

Gibbs knew that Tony had been through a rough couple of days, but this told him that things were far more serious than he'd first suspected.

Knowing Tony's background made Gibbs' heart ache for the younger man, and wished that he could somehow fix it.

A young nurse stepped into the room, and quietly tapped Gibbs on the shoulder.

"Sir." she said quietly.

Gibbs roused up, and looked up at the young nurse. "Yeah." he replied, sleepily.

"Visiting hours are over." she told him softly.

"I'd like to stay." Gibbs told her, as he sat up in the chair, and stretched his old joints.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that--Hospital rules." she explained.

Gibbs nodded after a moment or so.

"Fine."

The young nurse gave Gibbs a sympathetic look.

"You can come back tomorrow morning...first thing." she reassured him, softly.

"He'll be fine." she added. "I'll be here all night." she said with a knowing smile.

Gibbs returned the smile. "Thanks." he said quietly. "Here's my card...call me, ya know if there's any change."

"I will." she said, with a sweet smile, while accepting the card from the silver-haired man.

Gibbs the let the young nurse lead him back to the elevator.

"Thanks again." Gibbs said, as he stepped onto the elevator.

"No problem." she replied.


...Gibbs' Place...

Gibbs finally walked through his own front door a little while later. He hung his keys on the single hook that was mounted just inside the door, and then slipped out of his tennis shoes (with a little effort of course).

Next, he shrugged out of the coat he had been wearing, and hung it up as well.

He looked around the dimly-lit living room for a second, and then decided to head downstairs to the basement.


...Gibbs' Basement...

Gibbs reached his workbench, and picked up the sanding block. He immediately started sanding an unfinished spot on the frame of the boat he was building.

He knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep...not while Tony was still in a coma.

He stopped working suddenly, his whole body heaving with the emotions that he had kept hidden for so long, and found that he just couldn't keep it together any longer.

"Damnit DiNozzo!" Gibbs swore aloud. "What the hell were you thinking!?"

He slumped back onto the nearby stool, and the tears just seemed to flow freely of their own accord.

Gibbs hadn't been home from Mexico for more than a few weeks, and already he was sort of wishing that he could just go back.

The memory of that night several days ago still burned at the forefront of his mind.

...FlashBack Sequence...

Gibbs and the team had had to work late that night to finish up the paper work on the case that they had just closed.

Ziva and McGee had already left just a few minutes before, and that meant that only Gibbs and Tony were left in the dimly-lit squad room.

The whole time Tony kept glancing across the bullpen, anxiously, at his silver-haired boss--nervously waiting for the right moment to make his move.

Gibbs finally filed away the last of his paperwork, and then started to gather up his things to go.

Tony jumped up, and crossed the bullpen to Gibbs' desk.

"Here ya go Boss." Tony said, handing over the file folder that he held in his hand.

"About time, DiNozzo." Gibbs said, as he accepted the papers from the Italian man.

"Hey Boss, listen um...I was wondering--" Tony paused mid-sentence.

Gibbs stood and waited for a moment or two before speaking up.

"Something on your mind?" Gibbs asked, trying to move the conversation along.

"Uh, uh yeah." Tony said without thinking.

"Then spit it out." Gibbs said sternly.

"You see the thing is, and I've been 'thinking' about this a lot lately, you--you wanna maybe grab a bite or a cup of coffee sometime." the Italian asked nervously, not daring to look up at his boss.

Gibbs' looked at his Senior Field Agent for a moment. He had known for sometime that this was coming, and he thought that he would be more ready for it than he actually was.

"Its not a good time." Gibbs said at last.

"I-I see." Tony said, nervously, trying to force a smile. "Its alright, I understand."

"Tony."

Both men were shocked that Gibbs had used his first name--when he usually used his last name.

"Look, I just got back. I just think I need a little more time." Gibbs explained, quietly.

"No-no its cool." Tony replied, as he back pedaled towards his own desk.

"DiNozzo,"

Tony stopped, and stared across the bullpen at his boss.

Gibbs could see the hurt behind the false facade that Tony had immediately erected around himself--it broke his heart.

"We'll get there...okay." Gibbs said at last, in a very soft, understanding voice.

"I hear ya." Tony replied quietly, before turning around to collect his things from behind his desk.

...End of FlashBack Sequence...

Gibbs rested his head in his hands, and sighed miserably to himself. "Damnit. What the hell was I thinking?." Gibbs swore quietly as a few more stray tears rolled down his cheeks. His heart ached intensely for his Senior Field Agent, and he knew deep down that if Tony pulled through he would make damn sure that he did everything in his power to make everything right between the two of them.

"Don't you dare give up on me." Gibbs whispered into the cold night. "Fight. Stay alive...for me."




.........To Be Continued.........

.........I Hope To Have The Next Chapter Posted As Soon As I Possibly Can......... Thanks again everyone for being so patient thus far. Life has not been quite so kind as of late, but I am finally pulling myself back up to the top once more :)
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