*****
"Coffee?" Tony offered Gibbs the mug of steaming black liquid as the two of them sat in the makeshift canteen area. A room normally designed to feed a few dozen people, now supplying the needs of several hundred. It was busy, noisy and smelled inevitably of boiled cabbage. Still, at least some practical soul, probably an ex-marine - there were a lot of them in NCIS - had found a way to supply good coffee. Tony had queued for it for over half an hour, which said something either about his dedication, or his guilt; the quality of the coffee was a given.
He wouldn't meet Gibbs' eyes, which said it all as far as Gibbs was concerned. Neither of them spoke about last night but they both knew that the younger man's sleep problem was getting worse.
Gibbs didn't know what he was going to do with Tony. The young agent was too dependant on him. Maybe Ducky could suggest something to help with the bad dreams. Sleeping pills maybe? They were lucky last night, that no-one had seen the two of them sneaking around like teenagers - that would really give the wrong impression to his co-workers. Thank god for the privacy of their tiny bunk-room. Not that he cared about other people's opinions. But that wasn't their only problem.
The real issue was something else entirely. One he had been trying to avoid.
He really shouldn't have dared Tony to kiss him. In his defence, he had thought that Tony would be too embarrassed to go through with it. He hadn't expected the rather sweet, hesitant kiss that Tony had given him, that could so easily have become something more. The brush of the younger man's mind showed him that Tony had been so very needy and filled with desire... So very tempting...
Damn. His life was out of control and he hadn't even realised it until now.
And so they had reached their present impasse. Gibbs certainly had no intention of taking Tony up on his very transparent offer. Gibbs knew that the young agent had never been into men before. His only kiss with a man had been that episode with a transvestite murderer. He wasn't gay - just confused. Gibbs, on the other hand, had been with a male lover before - something he had no intention of broadcasting to DiNozzo or anyone else. That side of his personality belonged to the far distant past, when he had a lot more libido and correspondingly less sense!
Gibbs didn't quite know what to say to Tony. He decided to ignore that kiss. Pretend it had never happened. Concentrate on DiNozzo's more pressing problems. Even now, the young agent's eyes were shadowed with fatigue.
"Go and see Ducky!" he said finally.
"Pills? I suppose..."
"Hey boss. Tony." McGee greeted them. The young agent was wearing his NCIS jacket and a thick sweater. "It's incredibly cold out there. I think it's going to snow again." He sank down onto the chair next to Tony. "I have a message from Director Sheppard, boss. She wants you and the other department heads to report to her at 09.00 for a briefing." He paused then, sensing something odd in the atmosphere. Maybe he had a hint of telepathic ability.
Gibbs reached over and gently smacked Tony's head. "Get your act together, DiNozzo!" Tony heard - and felt - the concern in his voice behind the familiar, autocratic tones. "I want a status report on how this place is run, our supplies and most important of all, our security. Get to it!"
Tony suppressed a grin. Gibbs was back where he belonged, and it made everything feel so much better. Besides which, having something definite to do took his mind off his troubles. And the idea of pleasing Gibbs both professionally and personally seemed like a win-win situation. Not that he was biased or anything.
He watched as Gibbs strode off, carrying his coffee with him, to meet the Director. McGee noticed his smile.
"I'm glad he's back." McGee echoed his thoughts, and Tony nodded.
"You and me both, Probie."
*****
They had quite a good set-up here. Though Tony wasn't a soldier, he had seen a few armed sieges in his Baltimore years, and he could see the advantages of putting the command post on the roof of the NCIS building - good views in all directions and radio links to the marines who were keeping the area secure. Up here, Tony could see attackers coming from a mile away. All of the important resources had been centralised for easier defence, to minimise the personnel required for the job. Plus, the marines liked their weapons big. They must have scoured the Navy Yard, Washington's museums and their own homes for the motley collection of weapons in their makeshift armoury. Rocket launchers, anti-tank weapons, and even one very old, high calibre British Elephant Gun, carried by an equally grizzled marine gunny sergeant.
It was pretty much what he had expected, knowing the marine mindset from years of exposure to one particular, coffee-drinking exemplar. But maybe because he didn't have a military background, aspects of the defensive set-up bothered him. None of the marines seemed to have considered taking the effects of mutant abilities like his into account. Their defences didn't go far enough; for instance, they were open to attack from above.
Tony knew that he could have beaten this set-up with both hands tied behind him. Just drop a few cars on top of them from a safe distance! He knew it would be easy - as far as his telekinesis went, he seemed to get stronger every day. Anyway, he and Gibbs had seen that mutant who could teleport, so all of the carefully situated defensive points were pretty useless if that guy or others like him could 'port into their midst.
They needed more flexibility in their defence strategies - like getting a few mutants of their own on the defensive lines. Was anyone actually looking for useful abilities among the NCIS and Navy personnel?
When he told Gibbs that they were sitting ducks, the boss was going to have kittens! Tony knew he should be worried but he couldn't help feeling just a little bit of Schadenfreude - amusement over someone else's foul-ups. Gibbs was so going to kick ass, and if he was lucky, Tony would get to see it. He loved it when Gibbs went ape-shit with someone else! Even if he got his head slapped for grinning at the wrong moment!
The thought made him feel good. He paused to think about that. His need to be touched by Gibbs was new and not as disturbing as it should be. Blame the Pulse for forcing him and Gibbs to spend so much time in each others' close company. He was getting used to the older man's companionship. That was on so many levels, so weird! The Pulse had really messed up his life, big time.
So why was he so happy this morning?
*****
Gibbs was not in a good mood. The meeting in Jenny's office had been about as big a waste of time as he had expected, given that there were at least three different parties claiming authority over the Navy Yard; the Navy, the Marines and NCIS, who, as civilians led by a woman, seemed to be on the bottom of the pile. Though he wasn't particularly prejudiced, he could see their point. The Director had proved to his satisfaction that she was competent at her job, in the hunt for Ari. Still, she lacked combat experience, which is what the mutant problem seemed to need, and she certainly hadn't marine training in logistics. At the moment, they simply didn’t have the personnel to mount an effective campaign to help the city get back on its feet. The removal of the dead in DC alone would take months and required trucks, biohazard gear and specialised disposal facilities that they hadn't got. FEMA was noticeable by its absence.
He had his doubts about their whole approach. This place had good resources, sure, but that made it a big, fat target for every guy in the city with mutant abilities or just guns. He had asked Tony to check security, but he could guess what his young subordinate was going to report to him. They were like the bait in a big mousetrap!
Maybe it would be better to evacuate. The reports they had from the President and Joint Chiefs suggested that the power network was going to be down for months, and staying in the NCIS building over winter would be no picnic, even without the mutants. Those big windows wouldn't hold the heat very long, and you couldn't exactly light a fire in the middle of the floor. Hell, the cabin would have been a better place to spend the winter - at least it had a fireplace and a good supply of trees for fuel. Maybe they could commandeer some big old houses with fireplaces...
And that brought him to his third problem - Jenny Sheppard. From the moment she had seen him again, and known he was alive, she had made her relief - and her interest - obvious. They had been involved years ago, and he remembered their relationship with affection. Maybe even a little lust. The sex had been great during their time together. But her betrayal at the end of their time together had hurt. Sure, she had only been doing her job, but her actions had shown just a little bit too much ambition for his liking. Putting her career before their relationship. If she thought she could rekindle things, she was sadly mistaken.
The meeting dragged on for another hour before they had exhausted all of the topics for discussion - mainly pointless discussions about who was responsible for bringing fuel, and crap (hand towels!) etc. from the vast stores nearby in the Navy Yard, and speculative discussions of how many mutants were in the city. Nothing particularly useful. The main problem was that communications with anyone outside the Navy Yard relied on relaying messages, since the land-lines were down. There were other enclaves of safety in the city - the FBI building and a few surrounding city blocks, The Capitol building, the White House, but even there, communications were poor. Most mobile phones had been fried in the Pulse and in any case, many of the satellites used for communications relays were being affected by storms of static interference which the scientists couldn't explain. Oh yeah, and it was snowing again. Heavily. He was going to have to go out into the snow to personally open up communications channels between the Navy Yard and the Joint Chiefs.
He stared out over the Potomac, watching the unseasonal swirl of falling snowflakes for a long time.
"Penny for your thoughts." Jenny's fingers on his arm pulled him back to reality. They were the only two people left in her office.
"I don't think the Navy Yard is a good place to be, right now." Gibbs sighed, knowing he sounded like the voice of doom. "Ever get a bad feeling about a place?"
"Your famous gut, Jethro?" Her smile was affectionate, knowing him of old. "I thought you might be happy to be here instead of out in the wilderness."
"I think we should consider relocating..." Gibbs confessed.
"Interesting thought. You want to tell me why?" Gibbs sighed and shook his head.
"No real reason," he said softly. "Just a feeling."
"You said the same thing in Paris," she reminded him with a smile. "As it happens, you were right." She was so close to him, her eyes warm with remembered affection.
He wasn't imagining it. She was interested! And why not? He didn't have to trust her, to enjoy a pleasant and rewarding flirtation with her. Against his better judgement, he kissed her, feeling her lips part beneath his as he deepened the kiss. She smelled so good, and he felt as if no time had passed between now, and their last sexual encounter, ten years ago. So beautiful. So alive.
He broke away from her kiss and shook his head. This was probably a really stupid idea, but her closeness was arousing. She was everything he liked in a woman, down to the red hair and the passionate nature.
Perhaps fortunately, they were saved from taking things a step too far by Jenny's secretary, Cynthia, who knocked on the door at that moment.
They pulled away from each other.
"Jethro..." Her eyes were shining. He shook his head. What was he doing, reopening old wounds like this? It hadn't worked between them last time. Why should it work now?
"This isn't the time!" He shook his head. "There's too much going on right now."
"You're right, of course." Her professionalism reasserted itself. She became his boss once again. "But we will talk. Later."
Yeah, the job would always come first for Jen.
*****
Tony was one of the best investigators in the NCIS. He knew exactly why that was. His curiosity. Sometimes it was a curse, because he just got this insatiable urge to know other people's business. Like the time he had stolen Kate's mobile phone from her bag so he could check out what numbers she had on speed dial. Or the time he had caught the probie in his apartment, wearing boxers and eating dinosaur cereal. Classic!
But curiosity had its downside, when the object of his scrutiny was Leroy Jethro Gibbs, his boss. Since the Pulse, Tony could feel Gibbs' emotions with absolute accuracy and what he was sensing through their link was piquing Tony's curiosity big-time. Gibbs was aroused. Sexually!
Not the sort of emotion normally associated with a meeting in the boss's office! Yet Tony knew that Gibbs and Director Sheppard had history. He had sensed the hint of desire when Gibbs had met with her yesterday, mixed with equal mixtures of annoyance and mistrust. Yesterday he hadn't dared to listen in to Gibbs' mind through their link. He wouldn't have heard Gibbs' thoughts - the man's barriers were too strong for that, but at least he could have known whether the boss was pleased to see her and what he felt when they talked.
Oh yes, those two definitely had history. Tony was dying to know what was going on. He wanted to know if Gibbs had indeed slept with the Director when they were partners, back in the day? Hey, she was a redhead! And why had it gone sour? Were they likely to rekindle things?
He frowned. The initial low level hint of arousal he had sensed from Gibbs was definitely increasing. He shook his head a little dizzily. It was pretty distracting, knowing that Gibbs was flirting with his ex whilst he had to work. Abruptly, the feeling doubled in intensity and Tony had a brief flash of Gibbs' perspective.
*Soft lips beneath his. Damn, but she tasted good...*
Despite his curiosity, Tony found himself instinctively backing away from contact with his boss, trying to raise his barriers. It wasn't that he was afraid of Gibbs' wrath, or even that his conscience was bothered by eavesdropping. No. Tony suddenly found that he didn't want to know what it was like to kiss the director; the thought was oddly repulsive. He didn't understand why, but he just didn't like it.
He could shut out Gibbs, pretty much, but he could still feel a lingering arousal. Sensations so instinctive they couldn't be blocked. His cock twitched in sympathy and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat, thankful that his desk hid his growing erection. His mood thoroughly soured, Tony contemplated jerking off, tit for tat, and giving Gibbs a few uncomfortable sticky moments, except that privacy wasn't exactly at a premium round here. Plus, Gibbs would probably be major-league pissed and that would be bad. Particularly unpleasant would be the simmering rage in the back of Tony's head, courtesy of his new telepathic ability. Still, the fantasy of interrupting Gibbs’ little liaison was momentarily pleasing. Nah! Best leave well alone!
Some time later, Gibbs appeared, coming from the direction of the Director's office. He was moving fast, striding out in a no-nonsense way, all business. Or so it appeared. When Gibbs caught sight of his young subordinate, his step faltered for a moment and he flushed slightly. He knew that Tony could feel him. And he must be aware of Tony’s present discomfort.
Their eyes met and Tony couldn't stop the slight scowl from crossing his face. Paradoxically, that seemed to entertain Gibbs and an annoyed Tony sensed his sudden amusement.
"The Director is sending me to meet with SecNav and the Joint Chiefs. We need to co-ordinate our efforts to help the civilians still left in Washington." He studied Tony's pout and hid a smile. The young agent's simmering jealousy was so very obvious, as was its cause. Gibbs could sense the lingering echo of his own arousal in the young man and it didn't take a college degree to work out that the young man was feeling abandoned by Gibbs. They had been inside each other's heads, focused on each other for weeks now, and now DiNozzo was having to share his boss with someone else. Though Gibbs knew that he really shouldn’t enjoy it so much, the thought of a jealous DiNozzo was irresistible.
"I don't know how long I'm going to be - it could be days, so I'm leaving you to look after the team." A smile, finally. "And DiNozzo, try to stay out of trouble!"
Tony glared after him. His erection took a long time to go down.
*****
It was only later that the full implications of Gibbs' absence dawned on Tony. He was going to have to face one or more nights on his own, with no Gibbs to call upon for backup and support. He sighed heavily. Better get used to it; being away from Gibbs' companionship and his bed. After all, if present trends continued, Gibbs might have another, more appropriate companion to share his bed.
The thought of Gibbs with Director Sheppard was just wrong! And none of his business. Tony tried to focus on something more positive, like how he was going to get through tonight.
Well, he could always try to sleep. Or not. Damn it, he had to get a grip on his stupid fears. It was only a dream. A bad dream that came when he was alone. Tony scowled, feeling desperately lonely for the first time since he had linked to Gibbs. Sometime in the past hour, his awareness of Gibbs had just stopped. The man had travelled out of Tony's limited range of perception. He couldn't feel his boss any more, and it felt like part of his mind was missing - like there was a hole in his head, cold and empty.
He hadn't felt this alone since before the Pulse. Logically he knew that Gibbs was only a few miles away, headed towards that government bunker where temporary command had been established, but he could have been a thousand miles away.
Miserably, Tony dragged his pathetic ass down to Abby's lab, which these days housed a lot of the damaged and useless electronic equipment which had been damaged in the Pulse. McGee, Abby and a couple of technicians were trying to repair the most important pieces, like the microscopes and mass spectrum things. Not for criminal investigation, but because they vitally needed facilities that could analyse stuff like their water supplies to ensure its purity, what with all of the dead bodies lying around. Having to boil water even from a supply they thought was pure was a major problem in logistics, plus it used up some of their limited resources.
He poked his nose round the door and was promptly chased by a harassed Abby. He ventured into autopsy and out again quickly. There was no power for air conditioning or refrigeration so the place didn't exactly smell fresh, even without bodies, which were in a temporary morgue elsewhere in the Navy Yard.
Then he checked out the evidence garage, and spent the next three hours discussing what damage exactly had been done to their vehicles by the Pulse and how to repair it. As Gibbs' deputy, he was respected enough for his input to be considered, especially when he remembered exactly this situation being discussed in a Tom Cruise movie about alien invasion. Something about reversing polarity in the alternator, which had the tech guys looking at him like he was a genius. Guess they didn't get to the movies much.
Then he had dinner with McGee and Abby. The joys of nameless stew, something that might once have been strawberries, and other marine ration pack mysteries.
Hours were spent writing up his earlier observations for the boss. Then he had the first of six cups of expresso. How come they could manage state of the art coffee making yet they couldn’t cook a decent meal?
All of which was an attempt to distract himself from the coming of night, and the approaching horror of his dreams.
*****
Despite his overdose of caffeine, he must have fallen asleep almost immediately. As always, it was a normal dream at first. Only gradually did it descend into nightmare. He dreamed that he was in the squadroom, staring out of the big windows across a Washington blanketed with snow. The sky was the colour of bronze, dark and brooding as the clouds threatened further snowfalls. For a long time, he stared at the scene; it could have been hours, or only minutes.
A soft chuckle sounded behind him and Tony froze to stillness.
"Winter is here already. I hope you're prepared for it" said Kate. She sounded amused. "Cold as the grave, Tony." He sensed her reaching for him and his mind and body quailed at the thought of her touch. Then he was running away from her, the snow finally descending on the city as he ran through its silent streets. As the snow swirled around him, he knew that he was alone in the city; the last one alive in a cold and silent city of the dead.
*****
"Tony! Tony, wake up! You have to wake up!" Abby's voice came to him from a great distance. "Tony, please! Wake up!"
He opened his eyes and blinked, his mind trying to process the bizarre sight surrounding him. Cutlery, cups, plates, even the odd chair were all swirling around him like he was the heart of a tornado.
"Oh shit!" The moment Tony realised what he was doing, albeit unconsciously, everything collapsed to the floor. He stared around him at the chaos his mind had wrought in the canteen area. Piles of cutlery, shattered plates, food debris... A horrific mess.
The last thing he remembered was staring dully at a cup of coffee he didn't want, feeling bone-tired and cursing the fact that he longed for sleep, despite the fact that he had drunk so much caffeine. It hadn't made him more alert, just more jittery and nervous. He was just too tired.
He must have fallen asleep in the canteen, with his head on the table. And then the nightmare had come again. Somehow the swirling snow of his dreams had translated, in the real world, into a moving wall of objects from the canteen. His psychokinesis had leaked out into reality.
Tony glared at the small group of spectators watching him from a safe distance, Abby among them. All of them looked stunned, and some looked terrified. Tony shrugged, trying to bluff his way out of trouble.
"So I'm a mutant! It's not like I grew a new head!"
"Tony!" Abby reprimanded him. The young agent stared around him at the mess and sighed heavily. Not that he felt guilty or anything, but he did have to live with these people…
"Sorry, folks." He concentrated and all the broken crap on the floor lifted itself and clattered into the garbage cans by itself. The knives, forks and spoons headed for the nearest sink. In moments, Tony had somewhat redeemed his good name by clearing up his mess. It didn't really help - the witnesses to his little incident were mostly eyeing him like he was some rabid dog that had sneaked into the NCIS building. He couldn't even be an ordinary mutant; he had to be an exceptionally powerful one and now everyone knew it. Time, Tony decided, for a tactical retreat. The boss would appreciate more information on their operational readiness.
******
After that bad start, he really should have known that it wasn’t going to be a good day. Tony had heard that Director Sheppard wanted to see him, so he basically stayed out of the way as much as possible. Not that he was feeling guilty or anything, but maybe it would be better to get Gibbs to mediate between them. He did have such a rapport for her, after all. Tony scowled. Thinking about the director just made a bad day worse. Tony sensed that when he stood, talking to the gunny sergeant, next to one of the checkpoints. Not only was it bitingly cold, which highlighted the inadequacy of his NCIS jacket in the sub-arctic weather, but it looked like trouble was headed their way.
These days, Tony seemed to be inevitably, at the wrong place, at the wrong time. He frowned as he saw the group approaching the checkpoint. He didn't like the look of them, despite the fact that there were men, women and children. DC had one of the highest murder rates in the whole of the United States, even within the added pressure on its population of the Pulse. There were a lot of people scared right now; even more so among the poor, who made up so much of DCs population. The presence of youngsters should have reassured him, but it didn't. Maybe his psi was picking up on something. It wasn't really a surprise when the whole thing went pear-shaped. As the group came level with the Marines, the world seemed to shimmer and move sideways.
Tony found himself lying on the floor with no clear memory of falling. Dizzily, he stumbled to his feet, and stared at the scene before him. The attackers were heading towards one of the storage warehouses, leaving debris and fallen Marines in their wake. Even as Tony watched, one of them held up his hands and *pushed* at the wall of the building. Reality seemed to ripple, and the metal crumpled before him. Not psychokinesis. Something stranger, as if the man was warping the universe around him. He had knocked their defences aside and bent their rifles like corkscrews. Bullets from marine handguns whirled uselessly into the sky.
Other mutants of lesser power guarded the young man; one of them threw smaller lightning bolts towards the Marines, zapping them painfully, whilst another sent blasts of ice in their direction, freezing the ground beneath their feet so that they scrabbled for purchase. The few who managed to shoot at the attackers found their bullets bouncing off invisible shields.
Still, Tony could do something about the attack, without coming to close to the threat. Gathering his strength, he reached out with his mind and lifted the nearest suitable object - a marine jeep -aiming it towards the attackers. He raised it in the air, and then let it drop with a resounding crash in front of them, blocking the hole in the side of the warehouse. They skidded to a halt and Tony ducked down as he saw the young mutant man searching for him. Tony reached out and found another couple of vehicles, pointing his hand at them, lifting them and sending them through the air sideways towards the group. He herded them towards the checkpoint. No one had died yet. Tony wasn't going to kill anybody, unless it was absolutely necessary.
The mutant wasn't going without a fight. He aimed blows of his power at the cars, making Tony gasp with effort as he held out against the pressure of that otherworldly power. He was distantly aware of the Marines around him scrambling for their weapons, then abruptly, the mutant’s nerve broke, and he bolted, followed closely by his entourage as they all turned tail and ran, back into the depths of the city that had spawned them. The Southeast part of the city, adjacent to the Navy Yard, was a notorious high crime area.
Tony let out a low breath and lowered the cars, with one shaking hand. He was aware that most of the Marines were staring at him, knowing that he was responsible for their success. Word had obviously got around about the NCIS and its tame mutant. He grinned then, even as the world slid irresistibly sideways and went black.
******
Typical. Gibbs had only been away from Tony for two days and the young man had got himself into a whole heap of trouble. Gibbs sighed. When had his life gotten so complicated? The moment he had arrived back at NCIS, he had sensed, from the atmosphere, that something had happened. And within a few moments, the Director had found him.
"A word, Jethro!" In her most autocratic tones, no less. Not an approach that put a guy at his ease.
"Jen." He deliberately used her name, knowing that it would irritate her.
"We have a problem." She scowled. The use of the term "we" immediately put him on his guard. "DiNozzo is a mutant. A powerful one!" Her eyes "You knew!"
"I don"t see that it matters, Jen. I trust him. Absolutely."
She didn't like that. Well he wasn't going to roll over for her or anyone else. Not when he didn't trust her motives. They glared at each other, and though he hated her mistrust of his subordinate, a tiny part of him loved the way her eyes sparkled and the sparks that flew when she got angry. Damn, but she was magnificent. He loved fiery redheads far too much for his own good.
"I'll handle Tony. Don't worry about him."
"You’d better!"
What the hell had Tony been up to?
******
End of part 2
Story Notes:
A long time since I added to this, basically because of various unpleasant things happening in my life. Still, hopefully I can now finish it.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Tony and Gibbs have returned to the Navy Yard.
Chapter End Notes:
A long time since I added to this, basically because of various unpleasant things happening in my life. Still, hopefully I can now finish it.