I have no idea what went wrong.

How had Gibbs even known about last night? I barely even looked like I had a single beer last night. There was no way Gibbs could have found out about last nights party.

But wait... this is Gibbs we're talking about here. He knows everything. How, I don't know, he just does. Crap.

Gibbs entered the office and slammed the door shut. Tony mentally cursed when he heard the door lock. His gut told him that he wouldn't be sitting very comfortably for a little while.

"Would you like to explain to me why you were so damn drunk last night, DiNozzo?" Gibbs said, obviously pissed.

"Um.. not really, boss."

"Don't get smart with me, Tony, I want an answer, and a damn good one."

"I dunno, boss," I said, and inwardly cringed at how childish my voice sounded. "A few of my old friends called me up last night and invited me to go partying, and I didn't want to tell them that I couldn't because my boss/dad would blister my ass if he found out. I mean, I guess I had a little too much to drink.."

"A little too much?" Gibbs yelled. He didn't bother saying anything else. Pulling out his cell phone, he played back a voice mail. I groaned when I heard my own voice.

"Hey hey, bossman!" I slurred. "I have..*burp*... NO idea where my cell phone is!" I squeezed my eyes shut and ran a hand over my face. I could barely understand the rest of what I said. No wonder Gibbs was so pissed.

"Boss, I don't even remember making that call," I said.

"That's why you're in so much trouble, Tony!" Gibbs yelled again. "Clara drove you home last night. Did you know that?"

"What? How did she...?"

"You called her, too, Tony. You gave her a good idea of where you were and she picked you up and drove you home. She told me you were so drunk, you even tried to grab the steering wheel from her a few times."

Well, that explains how I got home last night. I'd just assumed someone had called a cab. Ugh, crap... the guilt is starting to set in...

"Do you have any idea how worried she was about you?" Gibbs said softly. Too softly. I suddenly felt like the biggest jerk-bag alive. I couldn't believe I'd let Clara down like that. To the point where she'd actually admitted to being worried about me. Oh man...

"Tony," Gibbs said, grabbing my attention. But I kept my head down. Of course, Gibbs was all about eye contact. He put a strong finger under my chin and forced me to look at him. He didn't look angry anymore. He looked at me with a kind and worried expression, like a father would look at his son. I knew how I must look - my eyes shining over with tears, I probably looked like a little boy. Gibbs pulled me to my feet and wrapped strong, loving arms around me. I melting rather easily into his embrace, which kind of embarrassed me me but gave me a tremendous amount of comfort at the same time.

"You know I can't just let this slide," Gibbs said, holding me at arms length.

"I know," I said. I cast him a hopeful glance. "A head-slap and a lecture?"

Gibbs chuckled softly. "I'm afraid not, son. Now tell me, Tony - what happens to my children when they do something wrong?"

I sighed sadly at Tony's panicked expression when I asked him the question. Not many things made Tony panic. The kid could endure a boxing round with little complain, but a spanking always proved his undoing.

"Well?" I asked when he didn't answer.

"They...they get a... um..." Tony couldn't seem to get the dreaded word out of his mouth. I felt him tremble. He didn't usually panic this much whenever he faced discipline. What was going on?

"Tony, why are you so scared?" I asked him.

"I am not scared," his shakey voice said.

"Tony."

"It's just... it's been at least 2 monthes since I've gotten a spa-punishment from you," he said carefully. "I'm just nervous, I guess."

He leaned his head on my shoulder. That was new. He usually didn't openly seek my comforting. But I gladly gave it to him. I rubbed calming circles on his back.

"Are you ready?"

Tony sniffed. "I guess."

Not wanting to make him uncomfortable, I wasted no time at all pulling the younger man over my knee after I sat down on the desk. Tony never really benefitted from a hand spanking. I pinned both of his hands behind his back as I unbuckled my belt.

"Gibbs, please, not your belt!" Tony said, suddenly squirming. Hardening my heart against his pleas, I folded my belt in half and immediately began.

Crap! It was bad enough getting a regular spanking from Gibbs, but with his belt? Come on!

The first swat down hard, and made me yelp. Damn! I had hoped to be a little more stoic. The second came, then all of the sudden the third and forth did, too. He was really raining them down! Seconds later, hot tears were running down my face. I couldn't stop the sobs from escaping my mouth. I bit my lip hard.

"Anthony DiNozzo, release that bottom lip of yours or the pants are coming down."

Damn it! I quickly released my lip.

"Thank you," Gibbs said, starting up again.

I was sobbing hard now. Finally it stopped. How many damn swats had he given me? It felt like he'd been at this for hours. Surely it had to have been hours...

"Tony," Gibbs said softly, rubbing circles on my back like he'd done earlier when I'd leaned my head on his shoulder earlier. I hadn't even meant to, really. It had felt nice, though, it had made me feel safe, a feeling I didn't have very often. Even across his lap, for some god-forsaken reason, I felt safe. Gibbs truely knew how to be a father. A great one, in my opinion, but of course, I really don't know what a great dad is, but I'm sure that Gibbs is just that.

When Tony's sobbs became calmer, I finally pulled him off my lap. Immediately, he tried his best to seem stoic, and he became frusterated when a small sob escaped his pursed lips.

"Tony," I said, "you know you don't have to put on a brave face for me."

I almost wish I hadn't said it, but I knew Tony needed to empty himself of his tears. I pulled him into another hug, and he rested his head on my shoulder again.

"I'm sorry, boss," he said, "I...I shouldn't have gotten so drunk last night."

"Why'd you do it?" I asked him.

Tony hiccuped. "I dunno. I was just upset, I guess."

"About what?"

Tony tensed in my arms. I frowned. I just thought he'd done it for the hell of it - obviously, that wasn't the case.

"Well," he said, pulling away. "No reason, really. Just was."

"Anthony," I said firmly, "You're not that simple. You're a complicated person, and more importantly, you're my son. Let me help you."

Tony's eyes fell to the floor. "A good friend of mine died yesterday," he said quietly. "Lung cancer. He was a year younger than me, boss. It just kind of... shook me a little. He was great, boss," he said, suddenly looking up at me and smiling. "I remember, this one time in highschool, we set off the nastiest stink bomb in the HISTORY of stink bombs in the teachers lounge," he laughed. "They never caught us. The next day, our chemistry teacher, Mr. Tylers, smelled aweful! Turned out he was in the lounge when we through it in. It was sheer luck that he didn't see us."

Tony laughed some more. Than his eyes became sad. "I'm really gonna miss him, boss."

"Oh, Tony," I said. "I'm sorry."

Tony shrugged it off. "It'll be okay," he said casually. But his eyes told another story. "But, boss...could you go with me to the funeral day after tomorrow?"

I smiled. " 'Course, son, I'll go with you."

He smiled brightly, the smile I was used to. He winced when we walked to the door, and I chuckled. He threw a mock glare at me.

"That's cold, boss," he said.

"I know."

Hope you liked it! A quick oneshot while I try and figure out how to end "The Not-So-Mysterious Case of the Missing iPod." Reviews are grately appreciated(: ~NCIS2177