Tony sighed in contentment as he settled back into the plush chair of the private plane. He rarely was able to use the private jet, since it was normally reserved for business use. In fact the last time had was on a private plane was for NCIS. If his trip had truly been a vacation, then he would have been flying commercial. This was not a vacation however; he was on a reconnaissance mission. His cousin Ryan had not come to any family gatherings since his lover died. He missed the annual weekend in New York, he missed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's. He had not made the 5 hour drive from Miami to central Florida in months. The final straw came when he missed Eid, or the family reunion as Tony had taken to calling, not wanting to talk about celebrating a Moslem religious holiday where he could be overheard. If Ryan could have even gotten one day off to get to Orlando this could have been avoided. He wasn't sure if his cousin was trying to isolate himself from people or if his new job was really that demanding. Even Tony's own job with NCIS allowed him some time off to spend with friends and family, he couldn't imagine a job that ate even more into someone's personal time than the one he held currently.
At first, once Mary had realized Ryan was not going to come and visit anytime soon, she had taken to sending Joe and Sam periodically to check on Ryan. They could come and go without making Ryan suspicious, using the excuse of business as a reason to be in the area. Her next course of action was to send David and his family on a nice id winter break to the Miami beaches, thinking that some company some time to play with mina would do Ryan good. Ryan would never be the wiser that it was all planned by Mary.
Mary was not pleased with what they reported back. According to Mary's spies the young CSI was pale and drawn looking very weary. She was getting ready to pull out the big guns when Tony intervened and volunteered to visit his cousin for a week, been able to pass it off to his coworkers as a fun than the sun vacation. He feared that if Mary had been one to visit Ryan, the young man would be out of a job. Ryan had confided in Tony, he knew how much and Ryan was resented by his coworkers. Tony also knew Mary very well if she had the slightest clue what the dynamics were at Ryan's job, the young man would be looking for new employment immediately. Mary had come to know Ryan while he was still a teen. Tony had asked if his cousin could join them during a school break. Ryan parents did not cope well with his OCD. They were more than grateful to have their son be in someone else's care for a school break. He wasn't as close to her as Tony or Ezra were but she did love him and was very concerned for him. She knew how sensitive he was and worried how he was coping in the aftermath of the death of his love, add in the stress of a new job and her nursing instincts, for mother's instincts were screaming at her.
So since Mary's instincts were screaming at her Tony was on his way to Florida to see his cousin. He didn't mind, he was a little concerned about the younger man himself. He had tried several times to get Ryan to pull together his CV and apply to NCIS, or the NYPD. Heck he even suggested the FBI although he really didn't like that agency, or the ATF. Anything to get him away from the position he was in now. Anything to get him someplace that Tony could protect him. Working in the same place the person he loved most in the world worked, working with the other man's coworkers, people who now resented him for taking the other man's place.
Tony hated feeling so helpless, and he did feel helpless not knowing what he could do to make Ryan whole again. He knew that Ryan had met the love of his life and lost him. Tony sighed he wished he had that kind of love.
He had been sneaky with Ryan leaving him messages on his home phone at times he knew the other man would be out at work. He didn't want to have to answer any questions. He was pretty sure that his cousin exected him to bring gibs with him. If he was truly going on a vacation with his frat brothers he just might have done that. All of them were aware that he was bi and wouldn't have been upset at the addition of Tony's S/O. But this was about family and Tony has yet to tell anyone he works with anything significant about his family life, even Gibbs only knows what he has to for the files and the little bits that Tony has slipped into conversations over the years.
Tony has also done this so he can keep it secret until the last minute that he is coming on the private jet. Once his cousin knew those 2 things, Gibbs not coming and the mode of transportation he will know why Tony is visiting him. It's better if Tony is already in Florida at that point to deal with the fallout.
He hated the fact that he was responsible for Tim's death, and that he never told anyone about it…
Chapter End Notes:
I really suggest that any reader watch or rewatch Lost Son to see where I am going with this.