This story comes after In the Closet and an unnamed, unposted second story that I just haven't been able to finish yet. All you need to know is that several weeks after their kidnapping, Jimmy started having nightmares and tried to hide it from Tony. I promise I'll finish that story someday, but in the meantime, here's the next story. It takes a sci-fi/AU turn, as it was inspired by the O'Dark Thirty and Groundhog's Day challenges over on NFA. I hope you enjoy it.

Warnings: Slash (non-explicit), minor profanity, disturbing imagery, temporary but repeated character deaths.

Disclaimer – I don't own a thing. Not a darn thing. So don't sue.

Groundhog's Night

Chapter One

February 5, 2011 – 12:01am

Jimmy came awake with a start, heart pounding in his chest. He sat up quickly, wide eyes scanning the darkened room, but he saw nothing out of the ordinary. Fumbling for his glasses, he slipped them on and peered at the alarm clock on the nightstand next to him. Why, he wondered, was he suddenly so wide awake in the middle of the night?

Letting out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding, Jimmy closed his eyes and ran his hands through his hair, willing himself to relax. Waking up in a panic was hardly new to him, but usually he could figure out the cause. It was one thing to wake up scared when dreaming about guns being pointed at him; but when he hadn't been dreaming at all? That was a new one for Jimmy.

At least he hadn't woken up his bedmate. As jittery as he felt, Jimmy still couldn't help but smile as he looked down at the sleeping figure lying next to him, predictably hogging most of the covers. Tony always swore that Jimmy was just making that up; one of these days, when it wasn't so dangerous, Jimmy was going to take a picture of him and make it the picture ID associated with Tony's phone number, so it would be displayed whenever Tony called. That would teach him a lesson!

Someday, he'd do it. Someday, when it was safe to share their secret. Until then, Tony's calls could be identified only by a picture Jimmy had taken of a cup of Tony's favorite coffee – nothing that could be traced back to the caller. It was safer that way.

Who would believe it, anyway? Who would believe that Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, ladies' man extraordinaire, could possibly want to share his bed and his heart with the Autopsy Gremlin? Aside from Ducky, that is – though they'd tried, there was no hiding their secret from the observant M.E. Ducky had them figured out almost from the beginning. But everyone else? Oblivious. And Ducky had agreed to help them keep it that way, at least for now.

"After all," Jimmy remembered Ducky saying, "Rule 12 is Jethro's rule, not mine. But like many of Jethro's rules, there's a good reason behind it. Best to prove that those reasons don't apply in your case, before you try to convince him to allow you to be the exception."

So they were keeping their relationship on the downlow, at least for the time being. For the most part, Jimmy didn't mind. After all, he'd already had some experience with sneaking around with a coworker. And unlike Michelle, Tony was perfectly willing to come home with him, or to invite Jimmy to his place. In fact, he insisted.

"Not that it wouldn't be fun," Tony had commented. "But I am not going to have Gibbs go looking for office supplies and find – us."

"Better than Ziva finding us," Jimmy had responded. "She'd kill us both with the paperclips."

"Are you kidding? Death by paperclip would be the easy option. I'd take Ziva over Gibbs any day."

Jimmy had been surprised when Tony showed up at his door earlier in the evening. Surprised first because he couldn't understand how NCIS had lost in the three-way power struggle with the FBI and the ATF over the case they'd been working. The firearms and explosives had been stolen from a Marine base, by Marines, and were most likely being sold on the black market by – wait for it – Marines. What part of NCIS jurisdiction did they not understand?

But somehow the FBI and ATF got involved, and the FBI had been granted lead on the case. Which was why the number one suspect was now in FBI custody, being grilled by Agent Fornell and his team, while Gibbs, Vance, and the ATF team were only allowed to observe.

Jimmy was then surprised that Tony – and, in fact, the rest of the team – hadn't stayed to observe as well. Tony had winked when he mentioned it. "Boss has got something up his sleeve, I can tell," he'd confided to Jimmy. "Something's going to happen in that interrogation room. Either the guy won't break and Toby will have to ask Gibbs to step in" – Tony's grin held just a hint of malice there – "or the guy will break and give up something that'll land the ball back in NCIS's court." Tony kicked off his shoes and patted the couch cushion next to him, inviting Jimmy to slide in closer, which he was more than happy to do.

"I still don't get why you're not still there." Jimmy wrapped his arms around Tony and pulled him closer still. "Not that I'm complaining," he added hastily.

Tony chuckled as he rested his head on Jimmy's shoulder. "Because it's going to take hours to get this guy to talk. He's too loyal to his buddies to give in without a fight, even if he knows he's going to lose in the end. Boss wants us well-rested when he does – it'll be another good reason to let us take the lead."

"But when that happens – what if McGee uses your phone's GPS to find you, and finds out you're here?" That was the third reason Jimmy had been surprised to see Tony tonight.

"He won't – probably," Tony admitted. "And if he does, I'll threaten to make his life hell –"

"That's different from the norm, how?" Jimmy couldn't stop himself.

"– if he rats us out," Tony finished. Then he sighed and let himself relax further into Jimmy's arms. "But the real reason I'm here," he continued, "is you. I've hardly seen you all week."

"It's been a little crazy," Jimmy agreed.

"It's not the Friday night I would have planned, but I figured, even if it's only for a little while, I wanted to see you. I'm not sure what will happen with this guy, but I get the feeling that the next few days are going to be pretty rough."

Jimmy kept his voice carefully neutral as he said, "Well, it sounds like you should get some sleep, then." He let his fingertips brush along Tony's neck, silently asking the question that he was hesitant to voice.

Tony turned in Jimmy's arms until he was facing his lover and leaned in for a long, slow kiss. When their lips parted, he whispered, "Why don't you come tuck me in?"

Watching his lover breathing slowly and deeply in the sleep of the well-sated, Jimmy sighed, a silly smile crossing his face. Sometimes he couldn't believe that only Ducky had them figured out. The way he felt whenever he saw Tony, Jimmy was sure, ought to be perfectly obvious to anyone who looked at his face. Either he was a better actor than he thought, or they just weren't paying that much attention to him.

Probably the second, Jimmy thought ruefully. But it's just as well.

Moving quietly, Jimmy slid out of bed and felt around for his clothes. Behind him, he heard the bed shift slightly as Tony rolled to the center, pulling all the covers with him. Jimmy grinned and shook his head as he pulled his t-shirt over his head and slipped on the pajama bottoms he'd been wearing when Tony showed up. Then he walked softly to the door and slipped through quickly, before the light from the living room could disturb Tony's rest.

I don't think I'm going to be able to fall asleep anytime soon, Jimmy thought. Might as well let him sleep without me tossing and turning next to him. Maybe I can read a few chapters – there's not going to be anything on TV except infomercials.

If he was completely honest with himself, Jimmy would concede that he should be spending his time studying for his upcoming exam on Monday. After all, that was what he'd been doing before Tony knocked on his door. But the idea of cracking open a textbook at midnight, when he should be sleeping, just didn't appeal to him. And while he didn't really want to admit it, he knew that trying to study in his current state of mind was probably wasted effort. The anxiety he'd woken up with hadn't abated, and it was starting to bother him.

He decided to make some hot chocolate, something to soothe his nerves and maybe even help lull him back to sleep. He had a one-cup coffee maker that he also used to heat water for hot chocolate or tea, which he now filled with cold water. Just as he was getting ready to start the machine, however, he heard Tony's cell phone begin ringing in the bedroom.

Hand poised over the start button, Jimmy listened.

"DiNozzo." Tony sounded tired – no surprise there. This case had the whole team running all week. "What'd we get, Boss?" A pause. "Homeland? Seriously?"

Jimmy frowned. Adding a fourth agency to this mix could only make things more complicated. Why did Homeland Security suddenly feel the need to get involved?

"These are the weapons that disappeared from our Marine bases?" There was a little more excitement in Tony's voice, which Jimmy took as a good sign.

"Tonight?"

That was what Jimmy was waiting to hear. He quickly popped in a filter and a measured amount of ground coffee, then started the machine. Tony's travel mug was located and slotted into place just before the fresh-brewed coffee began to drip.

"Right. I'm on my way."

Jimmy nodded. Just what he was expecting to hear.

He headed back to the bedroom, reaching the door just as Tony opened it and stepped out.

"Jimmy? What are you doing up?"

Jimmy stopped him with a quick kiss. "Couldn't sleep, so I got up to read a bit," he explained.

Tony looked at him carefully. "I thought you were done having nightmares…"

Jimmy shook his head furiously. "No, no, that's not it, I promise." He hoped Tony would believe him; Jimmy had never been more serious than when he'd promised that he would stop hiding from Tony when something was wrong. Breaking that promise, he knew, would seriously undermine the trust that Tony had in him. "I just woke up and couldn't get back to sleep."

Tony sniffed. "So you thought coffee would help?"

"That's for you, not me." Jimmy put his hands on Tony's shoulders and turned him toward the bathroom. "You've got time for a quick shower. I'll get your stuff together."

Tony turned back long enough to press his lips to Jimmy's. "What did I do to deserve you?" he asked, only half mockingly.

Jimmy smiled. "I think you put up with me, for one thing." He gave his lover a little push. "Now go, before I have to explain to Gibbs that his senior field agent was late because he was too busy seducing the autopsy assistant."

"Hah!" Tony stepped into the bathroom; a moment later, Jimmy heard the water running. "You gonna have that conversation face to face?" Tony called out over the noise of the shower.

I was hoping to avoid that, Jimmy thought. That was kind of my point…?

But voicing that opinion was only likely to delay Tony further and bring that dreaded face-to-face meeting closer, so instead Jimmy focused on picking up discarded clothing and let Tony get on with his preparations. By the time Tony was clean and dressed, Jimmy had a travel mug full of coffee and a slice of re-heated pizza ready to go.

"Stay safe out there," he admonished the older man as Tony pulled his coat on. He handed over the coffee and food as soon as Tony had his hands free. "Call me if you have any down time."

"You should be sleeping, young man," Tony teased as Jimmy opened the door for him. "Gonna?"

"Probably not."

Tony rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. "See you when I can." He saluted Jimmy with the slice of pizza before tearing off a bite. "Mwauf mwah," he continued as he started down the hall, chewing.

Jimmy shook his head, smiling. "I love you too, you slob."

Don't let the fluff fool you - events are about to take a serious turn up ahead.