Hello everyone, this is just a little one shot I wrote a while ago and recently found in my archive so I thought I would share it with you...and I have been having withdrawls since I haven't been here in so long.
Hope you enjoy :)

"He's my father. He is who he is. Sometimes it's better to keep what you know to yourself" – These words were spoken in honesty, and the remainder of the time it took to finish their 'cowboy style' steak and movie passed normally. Well, as normal as you can get when you spend time with Tony. You never really know what to expect, or what exactly goes on in his mind.

Gibbs is the closest anybody would ever come to really knowing the young agent, and what Abby likes to refer to as a "Dinozzo Mindreader". Right now his gut was telling him that there was more going on beneath the surface of what Tony was feeling. It was also telling him not to push it, his father was one of the few people who Tony couldn't fight against and who could hurt him deeper than anyone would ever know.

Gibbs got a call from Joe, the bartender at O'Malleys, the Irish pub two blocks away from Dinozzos apartment. The two had frequented the bar often enough that Joe, the owner/bartender, knew who to call if anything was hinky. Apparently Tony hadn't felt like going straight home after dinner with the boss, and wasn't planning on getting there anytime soon.

Tony was over by the pool table, cue in hand, about to go toe-to-toe with a very angry looking dude clad in leather and tattoos, and the way Dinozzo was listing, this other guy had the upper hand.
"What? You wanna make something of it big guy?" Tony was only slightly slurring, but the intent was clear
"You wanna back it off, tough guy!" his opponent said, putting down his cue and getting within a hair of Tony, puffing out his chest, preparing to let fly

"You been playing all night, why don't you cut your losses and let someone else play?" said Tony, pulling out his biggest, cockiest grin. He knew what was about to happen, practically asked for it. Gibbs decided to hang back and let him have a little fun, but as DiNozzo turned back to the table, his opponent grabbed him by the collar and spun him around with his left hand, and hit him square in the head with his right hand. The bastard landed 3 blows in the time it took Gibbs to cross the floor. Stunned, Tony was only standing upright because of the grip he had on his shirt, blood streaming from his nose. Running on instinct and adrenaline Tony hit back, landing his own three blows in quick succession, before Gibbs jumped in and pulled him away.

Gibbs lead Tony over to the other side of the bar where two empty stools were, and went to grab some paper for Tony's nose. He was only gone for 2 minutes, but when he came back Tony was up off his stool standing over the same idiot from earlier, fist still clenched. The other guy however, was out for the count.

"DiNozzo?"
"Sorry boss, it was one of those 2-hitter things. I hit him, he hit the ground"

Joe who had been keeping to his own business (like any good bartender) made his way over with some ice as the big guy's goons started making their way over. "I think it's time you moved on fellas" he said to the group of three.
"You can't kick us out!" the 'idiot' joined in as he was getting up off the floor,
"Get out of my bar while you still can! Or I'll let this guy deal with you" Joe angled his head at Gibbs
"And what are you going to do old man!" This guy just doesn't learn, thought Gibbs as he pulled out his badge, "I'll arrest you for assaulting a federal officer!" he said pointing at Tony, who was quietly fuming beside him always on my six. Thankfully his friends were smarter and ushered him outside, leaving Gibbs to get back to Tony.

"Want to tell me what's going on now DiNozzo?". It had been about 10 minutes since everything had settled down, Tonys nose had stopped bleeding and everyone in the bar were back to doing their own thing. But Tony hadn't said a word.
"What you mean"
"How about the fact that you just got into two fights, and you haven't stopped downing beers and whiskey shots since you got here"
"I've only had a few! And I haven't been here that long"
"It's 3am Tony. You been here 3 hours"

"So you can drink bourbon alone in your basement, but I can't have a few drinks!" Tony was facing him now, face stoned with suppressed anger. Eyes bloodshot.
"No, you can have a few drinks, but this isn't you Tony! " Not wanting to push him too far Gibbs remained facing forward toward the bar, sipping on his own beer, only occasionally making eye contact to give him 'the stare' and send the 'talk to me' vibes.

Tony downed another shot and chased it with another sip from his beer "I need to hit the head" , It took him a bit more time than it should to grab his jacket off the bar as he held onto for support until he felt his knees lock into place as the change in altitude gave him vertigo. To his credit, he did his best portrayal of a sober walk out into the back alley, but as the movement and fresh air caught up to him he began to sway. Thankfully the ever observant Gibbs was right behind him and grabbed him under the shoulders just as his vision blurred and he reached a hand out to the wall.

"Hey, ya with me DiNozzo?" ushering a blind drunk Tony out the back door and into the alley, he stood there just supporting him for a minute until he could find a good spot to set him down. Before he could move him, Tony let out a whimper and vomited. (Neither will ever mention the 'manly' whimper ever again).

Unable to talk or resist, Tony let Gibbs lead him to a stack of pallets to sit on while he composed himself. He told himself the tears were a reaction to the vomiting. Gibbs just sat silently beside him.

They sat there in silence for another minute until Tony cracked. "He just gets to me sometimes ya know" he was playing with the label on an empty beer bottle he found, focusing on it like no-one else was there. "He wasn't around much when I was growing up, or rather 'I' wasn't cos he didn't want me to be. He was good though, he taught me a lot. How to pick-up, how to be confident… how to pour his drinks." He looked at Gibbs with a smile plastered on his face, Gibbs wasn't fooled though, he could see the hurt hiding under the surface.
"He was here today" Gibbs prodded
"Yeah, yeah, he was. Only because he needed something…Again!" His voice was getting tight with anger and hurt, the tears were gone but his eyes were still wet and glistening in the dim light. "He only shows up when HE wants to. When HE needs something. You know I only really talk to him via email. Weird huh?"
"He wasn't there when my friend died in college. Or when I graduated. Or when I became a cop. He says he isn't disappointed that this is what I chose for my life, but his doing a piss poor job of showing his support!... Hell, he didn't even care that I was dying!"
"He told me he didn't know you had the plague"
"Because he was unreachable! Rule # 3, come on! Is it really that hard for other people to have these rules too?"
Despite still looking like he wanted to vomit, at least he was getting his old charm back.
"on the occasions I do get to talk to him his always distant, like he would rather be doing something else, and all I get is an 'atta boy' or a 'chin-up'."

Tony was starting to get slow, and sleepy. Gibbs had to keep him talking and get Tony home before he passed out.
"Can you walk?"
"That's a matter of opinion... Yeah, I can walk!" He got up slowly with a little hand from Gibbs. After successfully standing for a full minute they started their journey home.

"Tony, you could have gotten into a lot of trouble letting him control you like that. Hell I should have benched you as soon as I knew your father was connected to the prince. You told him about the assassination attempt, you let him use your secure computer…" now Gibbs was letting it all out.
"I know, I know. I knew he was up to something, and I let him play me. It's no excuse, I know, but I also know that he's lying to me about more than just the money"
"What worries me though, I mean really worries me, is that one day someone is going to catch him. And I won't be able to help him. Then he will really hate me. But despite it all, I still love him. He is my father. So why does it hurt me so much?"
"It's family. It's not meant to be easy. " (the 'but, watch your back' was left unsaid, but Gibbs would make sure he would always be there for his young agent).

They were out front of his apartment now, Gibbs using his spare key to unlock the door. The alcohol had finally caught up, Tony was asleep on his feet, leaning on the wall for support. Once in, Gibbs deposited Tony on the couch, putting a blanket over him and taking off his shoes. Before Tony fell asleep, Gibbs told him one last thing. Something he hoped will help his agent, his friend, out of his current hollow. He sat there in the darkness, watching over him as he slept, but he would be gone before Tony woke up.

"It's OK to be a little broken, DiNozzo" it was something he needed to hear, and he would have laughed it off had anyone else said it, but coming from his mentor, his rock, it was the most meaningful thing anyone had ever said to him. It was then he realised that he wasn't alone, he had someone that truly cared for him more than anyone else he knew. He pretended not to know that Gibbs had stayed and watched over him until just before day break, but he swore he would never forget, and he would always be there to watch his six just as Gibbs watches his. Tony also promised himself that one day he would tell Gibbs the real issue he had with his dad...Gibbs deserves to know the truth, he had proved that tonight, so he will tell him...when he is ready to talk.

Hope you enjoyed this short read, I know it isn't entirely true to character but I didn't want to edit it too much so I hope you can forgive me :)
- DA