"She was pretty, didn't you think, boss?" He drained the rest of his drink and handed the empty glass back to Gibbs.
"Yeah, DiNozzo. She was very pretty," Gibbs said softly as he poured more liquor into the glass and handed it back to his agent.
"I mean, I know you like redheads best, but not always..." He said with a knowing glance at his boss. "I kinda think she might have liked me, maybe, if things had been different. She could have liked me, don't you think?"
"She could have liked you," Gibbs agreed, nodding his head.
"Sh...she didn't deserve what happened to her," Tony said sadly as he remembered Dana's last moments. She had clutched his hand tightly and had been very brave, even though he knew she was scared. It seemed unfair somehow that her last moments on this earth were spent with someone she barely knew.
"No...no, she didn't."
"I...I guess I should have known better. I got carried away...wasn't thinking. Ziva thought I was crazy." Tony took another sip of his drink and his eyes followed Gibbs who had resumed working on his boat. The two men lapsed into silence for a while, Gibbs working and Tony just silently watching and drinking, letting the liquor work its magic on him. Finally, Tony spoke again. "Maybe I really am crazy...Do you think I'm crazy, boss?"
Gibbs was about to jokingly answer yes, but the expression on his senior field agent's face and the look in his eyes made him take the question seriously. "I don't think you're crazy, DiNozzo."
"May...maybe I need a hobby or something. You build your boats and McGee writes books and does all his geeky computer stuff. Abby bowls with the nuns and...and she does her goth thing...Ziva...I don't really know what Ziva does, do you?" He didn't wait for an answer, but continued to ramble. "I watch my movies, but that's not really a hobby, is it? Cause you don't really do anything...you just kind of sit there...Maybe you could teach me how to build boats. You want to teach me how, boss? My...my dad he never did stuff like that with me. Don't think he ever touched a piece of wood in his life...even if he did, he wouldn't have wanted me around..." He played with the empty glass in his hands, thought about having some more to drink, but knew he shouldn't. He was already talking way more than he should. He hadn't really eaten anything all day and the alcohol was going to his head much quicker than it usually would. He definitely wouldn't be driving home tonight.
Gibbs looked at Tony who suddenly appeared very vulnerable and cursed the man who had fathered him and from what he could see, pretty much ignored him. It was something he would never be able to understand. If Tony was his son, he would have treasured every moment he had with him. Some people just didn't understand what they had. "Sure DiNozzo. If you really want to learn, I'll teach you."
"Yeah?" Tony's eyes lit up. "Maybe we could open up our own boat building business someday."
Gibbs chuckled. "Maybe we can."
"Boat building would be safe...I might hit my thumb with a hammer or something, but at...at least you don't see innocent people get killed." He put his glass down and wearily rubbed his eyes.
Gibbs could see that Tony was fading fast. He wrapped his arm around the half-asleep agent and gently pulled him to his feet. "Come on, Tony. Let's get you upstairs to bed."
"Be...best offer I've had in a while, boss." Tony smirked as he leaned heavily on Gibbs, allowing the older man to guide him up the basement stairs. "Just don't be putting my picture up on the Internet in the morning, okay?"
"Wouldn't know how even if I wanted to," Gibbs admitted as he got Tony situated on his living room couch and helped him take his jacket off.
"McGee could help you," Tony mumbled, barely able to keep his eyes open at this point, the stress of the day and Dana's death combined with the alcohol he had just consumed taking their toll. "He knows all about that kind of stuff."
"Well, it won't be happening, so don't worry about it."
"Hey, boss? You think you could make those blueberry pancakes of yours in the morning? I really like them, you know."
"I don't know. We'll see. Now get some sleep, DiNozzo." Gibbs left Tony for a short time and went upstairs to retrieve a blanket and pillows. When he returned, Tony was snoring softly, fast asleep. Gibbs removed Tony's shoes and covered him with the blanket. He then just watched the sleeping agent for a few minutes and hoped he would have a dreamless sleep. He knew this case had been another hard lesson learned, but he also knew Tony would get through it and be even stronger than before. He lightly brushed his hand through Tony's hair and tucked the blanket a little bit tighter around him before heading upstairs to get some sleep himself. He was going to have to get up pretty early in the morning to make DiNozzo his blueberry pancakes.