AN: This is now the second story in my Rules trilogy, which started with Living By the Rules. If you haven't read that one, you should to understand McGee's thought process and decision. To recap: Living was a Borderland tag that had both Abby and Tony said something to McGee about dating after the Reynosa cartel mess resolved. After getting advice from Gibbs, McGee picked Abby, but left the door open with Tony because he had doubts about working things out with Abby. McGee (and Gibbs) are the only ones who know Tony swings both ways. Also, this is written for the No More DADT Challenge on NFA.
Changing the Rules
Chapter 1
December 18, 2010
Gibbs smoothed the sandpaper across the wood, working it to a satiny gloss. His ancient TV droned in the background. When the news came across, he looked up, watching the celebrations going on outside the Capitol. As the reporter explained, he thought back to the previous afternoon in the bullpen.
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Friday, December 17, 2010
"I do not understand," Ziva said. "First the military creates this policy that prevents gay men and women from serving, then it considers removing it. The Senate does not vote, and now the Senate is voting. Even after passing my citizenship test, I do not understand this."
McGee looked up. "Wait, they're actually going to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell? I thought that had died a couple weeks back."
"That is what this website says," Ziva said. "I still do not understand why it existed in the first place. The Israeli Defense Forces did not have a problem with gay men or lesbian women serving. The only restriction was that if you were not open about it, you could not work in classified areas."
"So, were you open about it?" Tony raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Or were all those comments you made when you first got here just for show?"
She smiled at him. "Tony, you just cannot bear to think there is a woman out there who might not want you."
"Well, duh, Ziva." Abby walked into the bullpen, followed by Ducky and Palmer. "Have you ever been clubbing with Tony? He has women hanging all over him." She leaned on McGee's desk. "Why are we talking about Tony's love life? And why is Gibbs letting us?"
Gibbs kept his head down. He wasn't about to get in the middle of this, not knowing what he knew. He'd been taken aback in the fall to find out that both Tony and McGee were bisexual. He'd expected McGee to pick Tony — why else would he out them — but then the young agent had surprised him and decided to get back together with Abby. The two were still together, though there had been a few moments when Gibbs had picked up on enough tension to make him think the computer whiz and forensic scientist were going to call it quits soon.
"We're talking about Don't Ask, Don't Tell," McGee said. "They're actually going to vote on repealing it tomorrow — it seems to have the votes to pass the Senate."
"It's about time," Abby said. "Back before the stadium relocated all the gay bars down in Southeast, there used to be tons of servicemen there. Some of them would come over from 8th and I, others from Anacostia or the other area bases."
"Wait, you were-? But I thought-? You and McGee-?" Jimmy was so confused, Gibbs had to press his lips together to hide a smirk. Truth to tell, he wondered the same thing.
"Oh, come on, Jimmy. A bar full of men who love to dance and have no interest in hitting on me? My friend Chris brought me down there not long after I moved to D.C., and it was great."
McGee looked up at her. "Male or female friend."
"You've met Chris," Abby said. "The one whose lips could outSWAK Angelia Jolie's"
"Right," McGee said. "I should have known."
"Hey, it's not like you couldn't come with us," she said. "I invited you the last time."
"To go with you to a gay bar to watch naked, dancing men?" McGee's dry tone had Tony choking.
"Wait, why would McGee-?" As Palmer stammered to a stop, Gibbs wondered if Abby was about to out McGee to the team, or at least the half that didn't already know.
"I do not understand why Americans are so hung out on who a person has sex with," Ziva said.
"That's 'hung up on,' Ziva," Tony said.
"Up, out. What difference does it make how you are hung?"
Gibbs had to bite down on his lower lip to stop from laughing, but the rest of the team showed no such restraint. Abby collapsed onto McGee's desk in laughter as Tony sputtered and McGee snickered. Jimmy and Ducky were laughing as well.
"I- Never mind," Tony said.
"Good choice, Tony," McGee said. "There's no way that explanation could end well."
"Watch it, Probie," Tony said. "Nobody else has complained." He stopped and looked around, then sighed with relief.
"Right here, DiNozzo. Not headslapping you." Gibbs looked up and saw Tony relax a bit.
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Footsteps overhead drew Gibbs' thoughts back to the present. He waited to see who was coming to talk. When Tony's running sneakers appeared on the stairs, he wasn't surprised. But Tony sitting on the stairs and not saying anything was unusual.
He waited, and when Tony remained mute, Gibbs did the unthinkable. He started the conversation.
"Heard the news?" He jerked his head toward the TV as he kept working.
"Pretty hard to miss it," Tony said. "Especially after we were all talking about it yesterday." He paused, and Gibbs waited. And waited. Finally Tony spoke.
"You didn't say much, Boss."
"About the change? Nothing to say." He kept working the sandpaper over the wood. "Might mean more hate crimes for us to investigate. Not everybody's going to be OK with it."
"But you're OK with it, right, Boss?"
Gibbs looked over to see Tony sitting there, still. Not something he often saw from the senior agent. Apprehension clouded his green eyes, and Gibbs realized what Tony was waiting for.
"Doesn't matter to me who you sleep with, DiNozzo. Anybody else, for that matter. Long as it's consensual and nobody's cheating, not my business." He kept his hands moving, trying to keep the mood casual.
"So if one of your agents..." Tony's voice trailed off.
"DiNozzo, I don't have an issue with it," Gibbs said. "Rule 12 still applies — not letting a relationship among coworkers screw up the team — but I don't care if it's Abby and Ziva or you and McGee or you and Ziva — hell, even you and Palmer."
"Me and Autopsy Gremlin? Gibbs, that's just... No."
Gibbs looked over to see Tony making a face. He waited, wanting to see where this was going.
"But McGee and Abby can date?"
Gibbs straightened up, wincing at the crack in his back. "McGee proved to me back when he joined the team — and was already dating Abby — that he can keep it from affecting work. That's the reason behind Rule 12. He's honoring the spirit of it — that's what matters to me. He knows if that changes, if it gets in the way, it's a different issue."
Tony nodded. "So if I came in Monday talking about a hot date with a guy I met at a club tonight, you wouldn't feel any differently?"
Gibbs shook his head. "Might wait a week or so, though." He pulled out a sawhorse and eased a hip down on it. "Not everybody in the Navy Yard's going to feel the way I do. After the decision, there's going to be lots of talk this week. Do some recon, gather some intel."
Tony grinned. "Know where the land mines are before I start blowing them up?"
"Make sure you're blowing them up for the right reasons." Gibbs studied Tony's face as he flushed a bit. "Doing this to make somebody jealous... That would violate Rule 12."
Tony shook his head. "No, Boss." He sighed. "I don't know if those two are going to make it work or not. Half the time I think they will, and half the time I think they're one fight away from breaking up." He drew his knees up, wrapped his arm around them. "Part of that whole mess was because Tim didn't want to out me, so that limited his options." He shrugged. "So I figure better to out myself now while I have a chance, get everybody used to it. I pretty much gave up on women — at least for anything serious — after Jeanne, so it's not like this isn't going to come up at some point." He grinned. "Besides, if Abby's dragging McGee to gay bars, I'd rather she not be surprised if we run into each other there."
Gibbs nodded, following the younger man's logic. "Just be careful," he said. "Haven't lost you to the plague or any of those million concussions. Don't want to lose you to a bigot, either."
"I'll be fine, Boss," Tony said. "I'm on your team, remember? People at the Yard will think twice about messing with me just because of that. They've seen you on the warpath."