Gibbs woke up with the sound of a group of voices talking at the same time. He stirred as he started to realize that he'd slept. He first looked at Tony, who was still unconscious. Then he turned to the door and saw the rest of his team, waiting for him to allow them in.
"What are you waiting for?" he growled.
Apparently, it was enough for them. Abby was the first in the room: she sat on the end of the bed, gently taking Tony's hand in hers.
"He's… he's gonna be okay, isn't he?" she asked Gibbs, almost pleading.
The whole team turned to look at their boss, waiting for an answer as if their lives depended on it.
"They think he'll soon be awake" he said shortly.
They all let out the same sigh of relief than his, an hour ago.
After that, they all sat in a comfortable silence. McGee and Ducky were sitting on the chairs they'd brought themselves, Ziva sat on the windowsill, lost in her thoughts as she looked out window. Abby, was still on Tony's bed, rubbing the back of his hand absently.
Gibbs was staring at Tony, but his mind was somewhere else. In Baltimore, to be precise. Five years ago.
He'd been really impressed by this young man's attitude. He knew he was about to lose his job and he accepted it. He knew it was a dangerous situation and he never hesitated to run into it.
He looked at the man in the passenger seat. He looked so calm, no one could've guessed he was gonna meet a killer. Gibbs was wondering if he was even a little nervous.
"It reminds me of a Bruce Willis movie"
Gibbs looked at him, puzzled.
"What?"
"You know, Bruce Willis?"
"Yeah?"
"Well that reminds me of one of his movies"
"Which one?"
"Most of them"
They both chuckled. Then Gibbs parked in front of an abandoned building.
"You sure it's here?" he asked for the hundredth time in two days.
"Yes, I'm sure Boss. I mean, agent Gibbs"
Gibbs hid the smile that threatened to grow on his lips. Instead he looked Tony in the eyes.
"You still wanna do this?"
"Yeah, I do" Tony didn't even hesitate before answering. It was obvious for him.
Gibbs smiled as he handed Tony a gun.
"Then let's roll"
They walked to the building, meeting Gibbs' men as they got in. They slowly made their way to the first floor.
"What's that?" Tony asked suddenly.
"What?"
"These wires up there" he replied, pointing above his head.
Gibbs pointed his flashlight on whatever Tony had seen and saw a bunch of wires hanging from the ceiling.
"You could see those in the dark?" he asked, surprised. Tony smiled.
"You'd be surprised by the things I can do"
Gibbs smiled back. Then they split up and started to follow the wires, trying to see what they were connected to.
Tony took the left side of the corridor and Gibbs took the right side. It didn't take a long time before he heard his partner call him.
"I think we've got a major problem here, Gibbs"
Gibbs followed the sound on his voice and he found Tony kneeling in front of a black box. Its top was covered with black, blue, red and green wires. A timer on its side showed 00:15:45…46…47…
"Don't tell me it's what I think it is" he said.
"Sorry" Tony replied as he stood up and turned to him.
Cursing under his breath, Gibbs took out his cell phone and called one of his agents.
"Pacci, you get the men out of the building, there's a bomb here… Yeah, I'll keep on alone… Just get them out of here, don't want any agent in here anymore"
"That means you too" he said as he turned back to Tony.
"What?!"
"You're getting out of here. Now"
"No"
Gibbs looked as if Tony had just punched him.
"No?"
"You heard me"
"I told you to get out of here!" Gibbs yelled angrily as he pushed Tony away.
"And I told you I won't" Tony said, taking a step towards Gibbs "You're not my boss"
"DiNozzo, I won't be saying it again. Either you go, or I'll shoot you myself"
"Oh yeah?" Tony took out his gun and put him in Gibbs' hand, aimed at his own chest.
"Go ahead" he said, as if it didn't matter.
Gibbs was even more stunned. He looked Tony in the eyes again, and the young cop didn't flinch.
"I didn't come here to go back. I'll get out with the girl, or I won't get out at all"
And for the very first time in his life, Gibbs didn't know what to do.
"You would just let me kill you like that?"
"I got nothing to lose"
For a second, Gibbs saw something in Tony's eyes. Something so deep and so sad that it almost made him want to hug this young guy. Instead, he gave him his gun back.
"Come on, we've got a little girl to rescue" he mumbled as he turned back. Tony just smiled.
"So you don't wanna kill me anymore?" he teased.
"Let's just say that I'll have other opportunities"
"If this guy doesn't do it" Tony chuckled.
But Gibbs didn't.
NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS
They had been walking through the corridors for a while when Tony froze.
"What?" Gibbs asked.
"Don't you hear it?" Tony whispered.
Gibbs tried to hear whatever had made him stop, but he couldn't. When he turned back to him, Tony was gone.
"DiNozzo?" he called. He followed the only way his partner could have taken and he found him, hiding behind a wall next to an open door. He imitated him and finally heard the sound. Moans that could only come from a little girl.
"You heard that from that distance?" he mouthed.
"As I told you, you'd be surprised by the things I can do"
"OK, on 3. 1, 2, 3!"
"NCIS!" he shouted as he and Tony got in the room, ready to shoot the man. When he saw them, Harrison quickly grabbed the little girl and held a knife under her chin.
"If you move, I'll slit her throat" he said, smiling wickedly.
"I'll put a bullet through whatever is in your head before you have a chance" Gibbs said.
The mad man only grinned at that.
"What makes you think I only have a knife?"
Then he took out the gun he was hiding behind the girl's back and shoot at Tony, who quickly ducked.
"Ah damn, I missed" Harrison complained mockingly as Tony got up again "Now you two put your guns on the ground and push them towards me"
Both men looked at each other, hesitating.
"Come on, I ain't got all day" Harrison teased. Gibbs nodded at Tony and they both did what they'd been told.
"Yeah, that's what I'm talking about" Harrison laughed "Now get on your knees"
Once again, they did what he'd asked.
"Lauryn, go sit in the corner, will ya?" he said to the little girl, and she did so. She sat, trying to hold back her sobs as tears were running down her cheeks.
"She's beautiful, isn't she?" Harrison said, as he went to pick up the guns. But Tony chose that moment to throw himself at him and they started to fight. Gibbs then rushed to the guns and try to aim one at Harrison, but the men were moving too fast. He heard a choked cry as blood started to pour on the ground.
The men moved again, and he understood what had happened. Harrison had stabbed Tony's arm. Fortunately, the cut wasn't deep and the cop wasn't losing too much blood. Harrison saw Gibbs had taken a gun, and he grabbed Tony by his neck.
"Want me to snap his neck?" he told Gibbs as Tony was struggling to get rid of his grip.
While Gibbs was hesitating and Harrison was waiting for him to make a move, Tony grabbed the knife and quickly took it out of his arm, gritting his teeth not to cry out in pain. And before Harrison could do anything, he slit the murderer's throat, and his blood splattered on the wall behind them.
"Ahhh, bastard!" Tony said as he sat up, putting a hand on the wound.
"You alright?" Gibbs asked as he walked towards the terrified little girl that was still sitting in the corner of the room.
"Yeah, never better" Tony joked.
Gibbs just smiled.
NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS
Tony was silent during the ride that brought him back to his place.
"How's your arm?" Gibbs asked, in an attempt to be polite.
"I'll live" Tony smiled.
And they didn't say anything more until they were in front of Tony's building.
"So, what are you gonna do now?" Gibbs asked as he stopped the car.
"Sleep, I guess" Tony said as he got out of the car. Gibbs chuckled.
"Good, ‘cause I want you at eight hundred sharp at NCIS tomorrow morning"
"Are you hiring me?" Tony asked disbelievingly.
Gibbs only smiled.
"Don't be late DiNozzo"
Author's Chapter Notes:
Gibbs thinks about the first case he and Tony worked on together.
Chapter End Notes:
Another flashback chapter, enjoy!