A/N: Here it is. The prequal/sequal to Two Coffees and A What. You don't have to read that one to understand this one and really, both are pretty good stand-alones. But I do encourage you to not read one without reading the other. Like chocolate, they compliment each other. :)
Also, this ones'a bit longer and also has a bit more "bad words" (brother's words not mine) than the last one did. But hey, Gibbs was a Marine and Tony...well. Tony is Tony and when Tony gets mad, Tony cusses. lol.
I do not own Jelly Donuts (sadly), coffee, or NCIS. Hope you enjoy the story.
A Jelly Donut of Course
Tony really did try not to think ill of other people. Really, he did.
The guy who cut him off in traffic today? Nope. Maybe he just was late to work, or had caught his wife cheating or something.
The chick who totally stole his parking space at the coffee store? No, he just figured she really really wanted the spot he was pulling into even though there was one right next to it.
The little kid who had purposely tried to trip him and had almost succeeded had it not been for his cat-like reflexes? No. Tony just glared at that kid, silently blaming poor parenting and how all children over the age of nine were evil until they were in high school.
So when his captain assigned him to work a triple homicide, one of the victims being a Naval petty officer, Tony thought that maybe, this was his captain's way of telling him to get the hell out of Baltimore.
Not that Tony blamed him anyway. Captain Robert Hughes was actually a pretty good guy. It wasn't his fault Tony had a smart ass mouth or a wit quicker than his Mustang. It was his fault however, to continue and try placing Tony with partners that were lazy, arrogant, and egotistical. Men who shouldn't even be wearing a Security uniform, much less a Baltimore PD one.
So after his recent reprimand and suspension, Tony didn't understand why his captain was giving him such an important case. Sure, Tony was one of the best homicide cops in the precinct, but in all his time at BPD, Tony hadn't kept the same partner for more than a month. And homicide cases were always assigned to partners.
"NCIS is sending an agent to help you work the case," Captain Hughes told him a bit later, "You'll partner up with him for the duration of the case. Then we'll see about getting you another partner."
But Tony knew that there wouldn't be other partners. Tony had gone through every available prospect and none of them had stuck. Even the rookies were untouchable because Tony wasn't considered a Senior Investigator because it was barely his second year working homicide at Baltimore, even though this was his sixth year of working homicide.
Which meant two things- Tony wouldn't be able to work homicide cases anymore and that in the near future, he was going to be looking for another job.
"NCIS?" Tony asked, "You letting someone else help our investigation captain?"
"Not my call," The Captain responded, "You know one of the victims was in the Navy. It falls under their jurisdiction."
"So then why am I even being brought in?" Tony asked, not that he really minded. Investigating and solving cases was one of the reason's Tony decided to become a police officer.
"Chief wants to keep a tab on their investigation, and from what he said, the agent their sending down is on stuck up SOB. I figured you could handle someone like that. Can you handle someone like that?"
"Yes sir," Tony said, working as hard as he could to keep the snark out of his voice. This was not the time to let his sarcasm show and Tony knew it. Contrary to what his father and countless people said, Tony did have a filter on his mouth. He just choose not to use it a majority of the time.
"Alright then," Captain Hughes nodded, handing him the case file, "Head over to the crime scene. NCIS will meet you there."
"Thanks Captain," Tony said, doing an quick turnaround before the captain could change his mind.
"And Tony?" the Captain called out before Tony had a chance to close the door.
"Yes Captain?"
"Don't be a smart ass."
"I'm sorry sir but my orders are to wait till-"
"Does it look like I really care what your orders are?"
"Sir, I'm sorry-"
"Stop calling me sir!"
"Hey Eli," Tony said, walking under the yellow crime scene tape, "Is there are problem here?"
"Oh hey Tony," Officer Elijah Fields greeted. While almost every detective hated Tony's guts, there were a few officers that like the sometimes unconventional investigator, "These agents don't have the clearance and Captain said-"
Tony gave a quick glance at the two men in front of him. Both were wearing the "NCIS" jackets Tony recognized form previous times Baltimore PD and NCIS had crossed paths. One, who Tony could tell was the ME, was busy walking to Eli's partner about his recent travels to London. The other, a younger man but still a few years Tony's senior, had been the one on the verge of killing Eli a moment ago.
"Captain told me," Tony responded, "Let 'em in."
"Sure Tony," Eli moved to the side, letting the agent and ME come through the door, "Scene's secure but the Captain wants us to hand around. Call if you need anything."
"Thanks, and sure thing Eli," Tony said, not really looking at the NCIS agent yet.
Don't judge others by the first impression Tony. Most often than not, they're wrong. Tony could hear his mother's voice, almost as if she were still alive. Even drunk, because Tony remembered her being drunk a majority of the time in the months leading up to her death, his mother had always been ready to give the youngest DiNozzo a quick lesson on the matters of life.
"Name's Detective Anthony DiNozzo," Tony extended his hand, "My Chief asked me to help you guys."
"Don't need any help," the agent, who had yet to give his name, "But you look capable enough to get me a coffee."
With that, the agent walked deeper inside the house, leaving the ME and Tony in his wake.
"Please excuse Agent Gibbs, Detective DiNozzo," the ME said turning to face the detective, "He always gets rather annoyed when people call him sir."
"Why?" Tony asked, "And call me Tony."
"Well Tony, my name is Donald Mallard, but almost everyone calls me Ducky, as I'm sure you can see why," the ME smiled, "And I believe it has something to do with his time in the Marines. You see, Agent Gibbs as a Gunnery Sergeantand there is an unspoken rule that to call a Gunnery Sergeant "sir" was equivalent to calling him a jackass, or something of that nature."
"I see," Tony said, "Thank you Doctor Mallard-"
"Ducky please."
"Ducky," Tony smiled, "If you excuse me, I have a job to do."
"As do I," Ducky gave the Detective once last smile before walking in the opposite direction.
Tony walked into the living room. Blood was all over the walls, though there were no bodies in the room.
Agent Gibbs glanced up from where he was taking pictures and Tony could tell he had been expecting someone else, his ME, Ducky most likely.
"Didn't I tell you to go get coffee?"
"Sorry sir," Tony let the title roll off his tongue, working double over-time to keep too much bite out of his voice, "I think you have me confused with an errand boy."
Gibbs just looked at Tony, as if he were assess his worth without really getting to know him, "No, you look like one to me."
Tony didn't say anything. He just brought his camera out and started snapping away. He had been hearing those kinds of insults from his father since he was about ten years old. This Agent Gibbs was going to have to dig pretty deep if he thought he could say something that would rattle Tony's nerves.
"You're not listening!" Tony's fingers turning white as he tightened the grip on the steering wheel. He was driving both he and Agent Gibbs back to the station and already two minutes into the ride Tony wished he had never agreed to give the Agent a ride.
"Yeah I am," Gibbs responded, not even looking up from the case file, "But you're wrong so it doesn't matter what you say."
And in that moment, it took every fiber of Tony's self-preservation not to ram the car into the nearest pole.
"I told you, I don't need your help," Gibbs said, going over the pictures, "I'm still waiting for my coffee."
"And I told you," Tony answered, still trying to keep his cool around this aggravating man, "I'm not your errand boy. Get it yourself. But Agent Gibbs, if you will just listen, you're-"
"You are still wrong and I still don't have a coffee," Gibbs then stood and walked towards the evidence locker.
Tony hopped up, hurrying to follow the Agent as he stepped in the elevator. But when the doors closed before he could step in, Tony couldn't help but miss the smirk on the Agent's face.
"If you don't have coffee, then I don't want you here."
"Here," Tony said, plopping two coffee's and a paper bag on the Agent's temporary desk, "Now, you will freaking listen to me, even if that means I have to strap you to the damn chair."
Gibbs made a move to stand but Tony leveled him with a glare that Gibbs had to admit was close to his own.
"You listen and you listen good, sir," Tony said, loud enough to where half the office could hear him, "I've been dealing with bastards like you my whole life and really, you picked the wrong week to mess with me. I got you your coffee now I expect you to give me five minutes of your precious life."
Gibbs went to open his mouth but Tony silenced him with the raise of his hand, "I'm not finished, sir. Yesterday, when you were looking through one of the victim's case files, you forgot to do a background check on the youngest victim's wife brother, sir."
"She didn't have a brother," Gibbs responded, about two seconds from telling this Detective what he thought exactly of his attitude. He knew, by way of Ducky, that this Detective understood how he felt about being called Sir and now Gibbs knew that the investigator was saying it for that sole reason.
Tony shook his head, "Yes she does, sir. Half-brother on her dad's side. I talked to the wife and to the neighbors. The wife thought that her husband was having an affair but never told anyone about it except her younger brother."
Gibbs didn't say anything after that. He looked at the Detective, who had been so...so infuriating this week, following him everywhere, trying to get a word in, refusing to get his coffee. When Gibbs had first seen him, Gibbs didn't even think the Detective could stand up to his asshole of a chief. Now...
So, instead of yelling, which Gibbs was prone to doing, he glanced down to see what the Detective, who Gibbs suddenly had a newfound respect for, had left on his desk.
"What the heck is this?" Gibbs demanded, picking up and peering into the paper bag.
And for the first time since Gibbs had laid eyes on the Detective, Tony smiled, "A jelly donut of course."
It was quite for a moment before Gibbs laughed, grabbing one of the coffees and handing it over to Tony.
And Tony just grabbed the coffee, giving Gibbs another smile, though this one more hesitant than the first, and sat down.
"What else do you know?" Gibbs asked, opening the paper bag again.
And then Tony spent the next few minutes giving Gibbs a briefing on his own investigation while Gibbs drank his coffee and ate his jelly donut.
End.