The hour Gibbs forgave.
Gibbs could forgive his son for nearly killing him.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs had done something no father should ever have to do. He buried his daughter.
And despite the heartache and the near loss of his two adoptive children, he had learnt to live some how. It hadn't been easy, and there were times he cursed Shannon for leaving him.
Like the time Tony was caught breaking into a neighbour's house; though of course Tony would go to hell and back to get his sister's favourite toy from the next garden.
Or like the time Abby introduced her first boyfriend to her father and brother; if Gibbs hadn't been forced to hold Tony back he would have pinned the boyfriend against the wall himself.
But he had learnt to overcome those things and if it hadn't been for the pair, Gibbs would have had a darkness inside of him that he wouldn't have shaken.
But when he discovered his son had been murdered, something inside of him snapped, and he wouldn't accept it.
There were no words anyone could say to him that would make him believe that Tony was gone, because there was a dangerous part of his mind tipping towards the edge that made him fight against the fact.
And for all the denial and numbness he felt, it was the same amount of relief and anger he felt when Tony came back alive.
Gibbs directed his anger first at Jenny; he knew what to call that anger even if he couldn't explain it to her himself.
It was a father's anger.
She had put his son in danger and knew it.
But when he saw Tony alive in the suffocating hug of his sister the anger in Gibbs flared and he left without a word spoken to the younger man.
He had counted an hour since he left and his anger hadn't lessened. It was one thing for Jenny to put his son in danger because she didn't know.
But Tony knew the risks and he knew that his death would break his sister's heart and would destroy Gibbs. He knew the heartache of losing his family. That was the anger Gibbs felt when Tony walked down the stairs to the basement.
Silence descended and Gibbs continued working on the boat before. He, seeing the one part of wood that had irked since he put it together. Just like all his other boats there was one part that always needed that little more attention then the rest.
Just like him and Tony.
Tony watched his father for several seconds before he grabbed a spare piece of sand paper and joined him.
It took a few minutes before Gibbs glanced at his son and saw more then just a man who had come back from the dead. He saw the tired look of someone who had to lead a double life. He saw a brother who, no doubt, felt guilt at lying to his sister, and he saw a son who needed his father.
After an hour, Gibbs finally stopped and looked at the boat once more, taking the whole thing in as one.
"We should be able to seal the whole thing soon," Gibbs finally broke the silence.
And when Tony looked at him, Gibbs knew that, in that hour, he had forgiven his son.
He had forgiven him for nearly getting himself killed for some undercover job, and he had forgiven him for lying to them all. Because despite it all, Tony was loyal; he was smart; he was hard working, and he was brave. All the things Gibbs had encouraged him to be; all the things Gibbs hoped he still was.
Sure, he would still be mad. But as a father, he got that right.
That hour might have been painfully long to Tony, but even he knew -even if he didn't say anything- that in that hour Gibbs had forgiven him.
And that meant the world to him.
Edited by Xenascully. Thanks for the help and being a nice person. :)