Welcome all to this new installment of my "Reconnection" series. This is by far the most complex story I've written in this fandom. I've basically re-worked several episodes of Season 7 to fit them in my Vampire! Gibbs/Tony AU. I've used the dialogue of the episodes because I've always liked to give different meaning to what we heard (or saw) on screen. I hope you'll enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed reading it.

Complex Connection(s)

By Gunnery Sergeant

This is 7th story in the Reconnection universe. It starts eleven days after "Vengeful Connection", and will cover several (but not all) Season 7 episodes starting from "Outlaws, In-laws". This tale will deal with other aspects of "my" vampires' nature and society, but it's foremost a Gibbs/Tony story, and about they interact with people around them.

This story assumes that you have seen the NCIS episodes mentioned in this story and that all scenes not specifically altered herein, occurred as they were depicted on screen.

Thank you to Finlaure for the beta reading!

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1-Outlaws, In-laws

"Get here ASAP. We've a situation in San Diego involving your boat."

The cryptic phone call from Vance had awoken Gibbs just an hour after he had gone to bed. He was alone, because Tony was out having dinner with a couple of his college friends who were in DC for a brief visit.

His mate had been looking forward to their visit for several days, and Gibbs hadn't had the desire to ruin his evening. That's was why he had called Ziva to cover in the office, before he, Ducky and Vance had boarded a cargo directed to California.

Now, hours later, Gibbs stood on a pier watching as the Kelly was loaded on a van and prepared for transportation to Washington—and wondered what the hell what was going on.

He had sailed the boat down to Mexico the previous summer and left her to Mike, who had then transported her to his Baja home. It had been Gibbs' first vacation since his "retirement" three years before, and it had been a solitary one. Tony would have loved to go with him, but it hadn't been possible because he had to lead the team in Gibbs' absence.

The vampire had gifted the Kelly to his goddaughter Amira, but it was a given fact that he could use her any time he wished. It was the perfect solution for everyone. The little girl had the boat she had been pestering her grandfather for and Gibbs had a place where to keep the Kelly, one that didn't cost a quarter of his pay check.

But now the Kelly had popped up in the San Diego harbor with two dead men on board and Gibbs couldn't even imagine what kind of trouble Mike was now in. He hoped that, wherever they were, his old mentor and the girls were fine. Gibbs also hoped that this mess wouldn't be too hard to clear, because he was still recovering from his face to face with Eli David and his Kidon vampire and his nerves were still as tense as a bowstring.

Was it too much to ask for some peace and quiet?

XXX

Tony and Gibbs were in the older man's kitchen, cleaning up after their dinner. They had discovered they both liked to cook, but only if they had someone to share the meal with. If they were alone, they preferred to stick with take away food.

Tony swept the counter near the sink a final time and said, "So Jethro, any idea of what is going on with Mike Franks? Or where he is?"

Gibbs shook his head as he put the plates in the dishwasher.

"Doesn't he have a cell phone?"

"Nope. I told him to get one more than once, but he didn't listen. He's a stubborn bastard."

Tony smirked and muttered without malice, "It takes one to recognize one."

"I heard that," Gibbs said with a glint in his eyes that the younger man considered a small victory. His partner had been silent and brooding for the whole meal.

Deciding to keep on amusing the vampire, Tony wondered aloud, "In a situation like this one, don't you wish you had a mental connection like the one between us with the others?"

Gibbs turned around to face him, and replied, "A connection like ours would imply Mike is my mate too, and personally he isn't my type at all."

Tony made a disgusted face at the mere idea of seeing Franks naked, "Yeah, I see your point…and atop of it, I don't think I would like to share you with Mike."

Gibbs closed the dishwasher, and tilted his head on the side as his eyes took an intent look, "But you wouldn't mind sharing me with someone else? Someone that's more to your liking?"

Tony feigned to give the question a serious thought and answered, "Well, I think I wouldn't mind too much if it was Angelina Jolie. And I believe she wouldn't be against it either. I mean, you're way hotter than Brad Pitt. The actor, not my doctor. Not that you aren't way hotter than my doctor too, Boss." Tony threw a glance at Gibbs, prepared to duck to avoid the head slap he was pretty sure would come, but it looked like his partner had fallen again into his thoughtful mood.

Sighing, Tony put away the damp rag he had been using to clean, and walked to the older man, pulling his unresisting form in his arms for a hug. Gibbs pressed his face against Tony's neck, as the younger man caressed his back, willing him to relax and let go.

Tony liked it when Gibbs let him carry part of his burdens, as his life partner or just as a co-worker.

Unfortunately getting the vampire to let go was a very difficult task, if not almost impossible. But Tony knew a great way to make his boss relax.

"Why don't we go upstairs?" he asked against Gibbs' silver hair.

"Now? Isn't it too early?"

"You need to relax, Boss, and forget all this mess, if only for a while. Franks, Vance, the boat. Everything. And I know how to ensure that."

Gibbs snorted against his neck, "Your massages are good, Tony, but I don't think they would be enough today."

"Wasn't thinking of massages, but of a long, hard lovemaking session, the kind that leaves us exhausted and boneless and makes us sleep like logs 'til morning. Are you up to it?" Tony teased, sliding both his hands down Gibbs' back to grab his denim-clad ass. He pulled his partner closer to him, making the vampire feel that he was more than up to it.

"We can't," was Gibbs' slightly breathless answer.

"Why not?" Tony asked, surprised. They hadn't had sex since the night Gibbs had almost died after fighting Eli David's vampire at the abandoned mine, and that had been eleven days ago. Barring the time they had been separated while Tony was agent afloat or on loan to Mossad, it was their longest dry spell, and he wanted it to end...Now.

"'Cause someone forgot to buy the lube," Gibbs replied, raising his head and swatting Tony's ass with his hand.

The younger man cringed. It had been his turn to buy their supplies, because he had complained the last lube Gibbs had bought was too oily and difficult to clean off, even with a hot shower. So his vampire lover had told him to buy one he liked, but not to dare to return with something smelling like vanilla or strawberries. Tony had nodded, said he would take care of it…and then promptly forgot it.

Tony looked at his watch. It wasn't very late, and there were still several stores open in the area.

"I'll go buy it now," he said, letting go of Gibbs.

His partner stepped back and looked at him, amused. "You want it that much?"

"Nah, I want you what much." Tony gave a quick kiss to the older man's cheek and retrieved his jacked from the back of the chair where he had put it earlier in the evening. "I'll be back ASAP."

"I'll be waiting."

"Good. I don't want you to start without me…this whole thing works better if we do it together," Tony winked, inordinately pleased when Gibbs laughed out aloud.

Oh god, how much he loved that laugh!

XXX

Gibbs watched Tony walk briskly toward his car and depart as if he was chasing a suspect, and shook his head with a fond grin. But then his smile disappeared as he wondered what the hell had pushed him to ask his mate if he would share him with someone else.

Tony, of course, had taken the question as a joke and hadn't realized how intent Gibbs had been in listening to his answer.

Gibbs had never approved or understood the appeal of the so called ménages a trois. He was a strictly monogamous guy who had never ever cheated on his partners, not even after he had discovered one of his ex-wives in bed with another man upon his return from his stint as agent afloat in the Mediterranean. He hadn't seen anyone, not even when his marriages started going downhill, staying faithful to his vows until the divorces had been finalized.

So what had caused this sudden, keen interest in Tony's answer? And why he had been disappointed when his mate had taken it as a joke?

Gibbs shook his head, frustrated by his inability to understand himself, and went down in the basement to work on his current project as he waited for Tony. He was building toys to hand out at Christmas to the children in a nearby hospital, and he hoped working with the wood would settle his mind as it usually did.

As he walked by his workbench, his eyes fell on an old photo stored in an open box and he picked it up. It showed him and Mike, both of them sporting silly grins and holding two big fish.

Gibbs had just put the photo back in the box when he heard the front door open and close and…was it a child talking?

He ran up the stairs, his acute sense of smell recognizing Leyla, Mike's daughter-in-law, even before he saw her. Little Amira was in her mother's arms and his mood brightened upon seeing they both looked well.

"It's okay," Leyla said as she saw him. "We're here." She turned toward her daughter and continued, "Look, Amira, it's your godfather. Can you say hi?"

Gibbs smiled and reached out with his arms, picking up the little girl. "Hello, Amira. Welcome to my home," he said, before leaning forward to kiss the young woman's cheek.

Leyla, thinking he was wondering where Mike was and not knowing the vampire had already smelled his old mentor, said, "He's right behind us."

Gibbs nodded and gave Amira back to her, before tilting his head toward his small study. "You can put her down in there."

"Thank you," Leyla answered, walking away with her child.

Gibbs then turned around and found himself face to face with a tired looking Mike Franks carrying a backpack and a suitcase.

They stared at each other in silence for a few seconds and then Mike exclaimed, "You going to stand there glaring at me, Probie, or you going to give me a hand with the bags? Or you going to shoot me?"

Gibbs didn't feel like helping Mike with his bags. From what he heard from Abby, the Kelly hadn't been in the sea when the gunfight had happened, but it had probably been put in the water and steered toward the States in order to attract the US authorities' attention and get Gibbs involved. That wasn't something the vampire was feeling very grateful for. So he said, "No, I thought I'd ask you a few questions first. Then, I may shoot you."

"All right," Mike replied sullenly, dropping the bags by the door.

"Need some answers, Mike," Gibbs pressed.

"All right!" the other man answered, more loudly.

"Keep your voice down!" Gibbs hissed, not wanting to alarm Leyla or Amira, "Those two men you killed, why were they after you?"

"Damn, Probie," Mike answered, and Gibbs could see the sincerity in his eyes, "I was hoping you could tell me."

Gibbs pursed his lips in a flat line. Great, this was gonna be a hell of long night. So much for Tony's plans … Tony! He would be home at any moment. The vampire thought about alerting him about Franks' arrival, but Mike's comment, "Have you lost your tongue, Probie?" made him realize he had no time to talk with his mate, not with his old mentor staring at him like a hawk.

"Come, let's have a seat," Gibbs said, walking toward the old table in the dining room. He watched as Mike picked up the bottle of Maker's Mark and two glasses from the cupboard, and joined him at the table. His friend poured the liquor in the glasses, gave one to Gibbs, and then began to speak.

"Saturday, I popped in the cantina for a mescal. The bartender, Eddie, tells me a couple of guys had been asking around. Looking for a gringo and two girls. Claims he did his best to lead them astray."

"You didn't know them," Gibbs commented, arms crossed over his chest and looking closely at the other man.

"I'd never seen either of their faces before they showed up on my beach Monday afternoon."

"But you were ready for them," Gibbs interjected.

Mike nodded, as he began touching his jacket, testing the pockets. "I knew what they wanted. I could see the cannons tucked in their backs."

"Don't even think about it," Gibbs almost growled as he realized what Mike was looking for, his cigarette pack.

His friend gave him a resigned look and continued his story. "I didn't feel great using Amira's boat like that, but I couldn't risk being investigated by strangers...Or worse even, the federales."

"So, you steered them at the Navy," completed Gibbs.

"If you're going to be investigated, better it be by a friend," Mike said simply.

"Thanks for the honor," was the vampire's sarcastic answer.

"You don't sound too grateful."

"You know, Mike," Gibbs said deceptively softly as he leant forward on the table and stared hard at his old mentor. "I'm used to shells and bodies and cover-ups as your big finale. Something starts off like this; I don't even want to think about the count."

"You can't pin all the past capers on me, Probie," Mike commented. "Not all those messes were mine."

"Where were Leyla and Amira?" Gibbs interrupted him.

"You don't think I'd start throwing shots with my daughter-in-law and my granddaughter not safely tucked away, do you?" Franks retorted, clearly irritated Gibbs had even suggested that. "I'm not a child."

"No, you definitely are not," the vampire agreed.

"You calling me old?" Mike asked, affronted.

"I'm saying there comes a time to hang up your spurs," Gibbs said reasonably. He cared for Mike and wished he would live long enough at least to dance at Amira's wedding, but that wouldn't help if the older man didn't learn that he had to be more cautious.

"I won't need you or anybody to tell me when that is. I'll know. 'Cause I'll be dead," Mike commented with a snarl.

"I hate when you talk like that," interjected Leyla, who had approached the table.

"I wouldn't do anything to put my girls in danger," Mike said resolutely. "That's why I brought them here. And if you can't find out who's after me and why, then I've got no choice, but to-"

"Mike... Do not say it," Leyla interrupted him.

"Ain't I allowed to say anything?" Mike complained, sounding so much as a petulant child that Gibbs would have smiled hadn't the situation been so serious.

"He's threatening to leave us," Leyla explained to the vampire, her eyes begging with him to do something to change the older man's mind. "He says it is the only way to keep us safe- to stay away."

"When Liam died, I made a promise to my son and to myself," Mike said in soft tone, before continuing more fiercely, "I protect my family."

"Well," Gibbs commented, sipping some of his bourbon, "from here on, you leave it to the professionals."

It was then, in the silence that followed, that the front door opened and Tony stepped inside, saying cheerfully, "Here I am! I had to visit three places, but I finally found it, Jethro. A nice lube that will be good in me and won't irritate you with some strange smell. So why don't you use it to give me a good pounding?"

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Opps! Tony, you really made a "Grand entrée"! Let me know what you think, and remember, reviews make me update faster!