The Trials and Tribulations of Gibbs and DiNozzo.
Chapter 1.
It was finally all over and Tony was finally home, after what had felt like a very long day. As thanks to Abby's lab nerd Chip aka Charles Stirling, Tony had been arrested by the FBI and accused of murder. It had been a set up with thanks to Chip's forensic knowledge, he'd set up some legs too be found in Quantico and had made it look like Tony had murdered the woman the legs had belonged to. He'd done it by making a mould of Tony's teeth by having finished out of the trash an apple that Tony had been eating. Following the case where Tony and Ziva had gone undercover and he'd ended up being pretty well beaten up, Chip had fished out the bloody cotton wool from Tony's nose out of the trash. Then to top things off, following that same op, Abby had got Chip to bring Tony's car round for him to be taken home. Where Chip had taken from fibres from the trunk to add to the evidence and to seal Tony's fate. It had all been in revenge for Tony having got him sacked from the lab he'd worked in, while Tony was still a cop in Baltimore. After securing Tony's release from jail the team were celebrating in the bullpen when the director bought the trial report in from the other person involved with the case George Stewart, which the director had finally been able to get unsealed. As he flicked through the report Gibbs came across the photo of Chip and realized that Abby could be in danger, as he went running off Tony was soon running on his heels with everyone else close behind. When they got to the lab it was to find Chip tied up in duct tape and completely covered in Caf-Pow. Luckily Abby was ok, but in shock.
As they finally got home tired and exhausted Gibbs was the first to collapse on the sofa, soon to be followed by Tony. As he collapsed he was saying that he really needed to go and shower because he wanted to get the smell of jail scrubbed away. Not only that with not having showered since that morning he really stunk anyway. Just as he was trying to get up from the sofa he turned and gave Gibbs a slow and tender kiss, then as they broke apart he whispered "Thank you."
As Gibbs stroked the side of Tony's face he quietly replies "You don't have to say it, I love you and I knew that you were innocent. Even if things had gone a lot further I would've still been your alibi."
Tony replies incredulously "You mean you would've come out about us?"
Gibbs answers "If it had come down to it, then yes I would've done. Go on you go and get that shower, and you never know I might come and join you.
As Tony gives him a peck on the cheek and with one of his megawatt smiles says "You'd better Mr, as I will be waiting for you." And with that he shoots off upstairs, still with the smile on his face.
When the two of them had met back in Baltimore when Tony was still a cop they'd known that they did have feelings for one another, but they never admitted it to one another or acted on it. But then on the final case they worked on with just the two of them and just before they were joined Blackadder and became the MCRT team. Tony managed to go and get himself shot. It had started out with their suspect threatening Gibbs with the gun, but with how shaky the suspect was being he shot in the direction that Tony was in and he took the bullet instead of Gibbs. After Tony had been given clearance to go home, Gibbs had insisted that Tony went home with him. It was then of course that Gibbs discovered Tony's intolerance to painkillers for the first time and how loopy they made him. In his loopy state Tony had kept repeating over again that he loved him. But when Gibbs had finally managed to get Tony into bed, he could tell that the loopiness was starting to wear off and the drowsiness was starting to take over. Tony all of a sudden pulled him down to him and kissed him, which he did find himself responding to it. After he finally let Gibbs go, Tony then turned over. As his eyes then fluttered shut he murmured "I love you Jethro." Even though Gibbs didn't answer him, he did just stroke the hair gently off his face and then placed a kiss on his forehead before he walked out the room. As he then went down into the quiet of the basement and thought about things he knew that there must be some truth in what Tony had said because of the way he had used his first name because normally it would be "Gibbs." Or "Boss." And even though Tony was in his loopy state the kiss had just felt so real. So when Tony had recovered enough to talk about things properly they had begun a relationship. But just a few months later when they had the case with JAG and the sacking of Blackadder they called it a day and ended it.
Everything finally came to a head with them when Tony got the plague and during his recovery from it. Tony had finally been recovered enough to be allowed home, but he was no where near well enough too be left on his own, so once again Gibbs had said that he could go home with him. In those first early days it had been very hard for the both of them, especially with Tony being able to hardly do anything without becoming breathless and exhausted very fast. Not only that there were also the times when he'd get caught out by the breathlessness and it would then lead to him having a panic attack. But at least Gibbs was there to talk him through it, as well as massage his back and neck to help him get calmed down. As he recovered more and his health improved Gibbs started to feel more and more happy. Even if Tony did still look so pale and had great big dark circles under his eyes. Even with his recovery though the worst times still came at night. Because no matter how many pillows he had so that he wasn't lying completely flat out, he would still get really breathless and would then be up again for a few hours before he'd head back to bed again. It had been on one of those occasions that they finally admitted that they did still have feelings for one another.
The day that it happened for Gibbs it had been a very long day working on a case. And all he'd had a chance of doing was a quick dash home to check on Tony during early afternoon. Then finally it was late that night when they got finished up and he got home. So of course by the time he rolled into the house Tony was already in bed and asleep, he knew that because he'd gone up and had checked on him. Although he was also in for a bit of a surprise, because when he opened the fridge it was to find that when Tony had cooked for himself that night, he'd made extra for Gibbs and had also left the instructions on it for reheating it. He did it and really enjoyed his meal. After that he went down to the basement to do some work on the boat.
By the time he came back up from the basement he had a bit of a surprise to find Tony sitting on the sofa with a drink of water, seeing as he'd developed a sixth sense with Tony being ill and knew when he'd got breathless. As he went over and touched his arm lightly, Tony smiled back up at him to let him know that he was ok. Before he actually says "I'm ok. I woke up and just couldn't get back to sleep again. Even though Gibbs did sort of suspect what was going through Tony's head, he knew that it was also going through his too. Especially following the events surrounding Tony having the plague. Because it had really bought it home to him, how he did feel about Tony and how very close it had been to him possibly losing Tony. And somehow it was telling him that the decision they'd made years ago to split up was the wrong one.
As he took a seat next to Tony on the sofa they were both quiet for a few minutes before Tony finally put the glass down on the coffee table, he then sat forward in his seat so that they were out of each other's eyeline. He then sighed and says "Did we make a mistake?" As he was bought out of his own reverie Gibbs answers with a slight hesitation "What?" Tony then sat back once again to look him right in the eye he says again "You and me splitting, was it a mistake?"
Gibbs then sighed and took Tony's hand as he answers "Honest truth, yes I do think it was a mistake. I've never stopped loving you and all of this has just bought it to a head. Even though I do know that some of what you've said about girlfriends or one night stands wasn't true, I did still get so very jealous."
Keeping hold of Gibbs hand he says "All of them were a lie. The only night that wasn't a lie was the one when my car got stolen. I'm sorry but I did spend that night with Jonathan."
Gibbs says incredulously "What?"
Tony replies "I know it was a stupid thing to do, but I was feeling lonely and just wanted a release. I suppose you could say that he caught me feeling that way and a bit vulnerable to. Seeing as I'd already had a few by the time he walked into the bar. I knew it had been so very wrong when I woke up the next morning and woke up with him. I also felt so guilty because it felt so like I'd cheated on you. So I'm truly sorry that I did it." With that Tony is also surprised at how the emotions all of a sudden catch him out, as he looks away from Gibbs trying to hide the tears that have formed in his eyes and the emotions that he's feeling." Jonathan had been an ex of Tony's, when they split he had stalked Tony. Not in the following him around and trying to win him back kind of way. It was in the way of following him wherever he went. And whenever he found out that Tony had got someone new he'd attempt to split them up. For once when Tony was seeing a woman who was in the navy and Jonathan's attempts at splitting them up weren't working, he'd attempted to start a fight instead. When he was flapping around Jonathan had ended up hitting Tony's girlfriend, which had then lead to him being charged. So when he had another attempt at splitting Tony and Gibbs up when they'd got together, Gibbs had got right into Jonathan's personal space and told him that whatever he did to try and split he and Tony up wasn't going to work, seeing as he knew what Jonathan was like. He then added a death glare as well and it had stopped Jonathan in his tracks. As he bought Tony into a hug the floodgates well and truly opened. As he kissed the top of Tony's head he says "I know that it was a very stupid thing to do, but I do understand it because I came very close to finding someone new too. But nearly losing you has made me see how much I love and want you Tony. It's the past and the slate is now clean and I want us to try again. Because I love you Tony." In between the slight sobs Tony replies "And I love you too Jethro." After then staying cuddled up for a while, Tony then goes and gets some tissues to wipe his eyes and blow his nose. When he comes back to join Gibbs on the sofa again, he draws him into a slow kiss. Although Gibbs does break them apart before they get to the point where they're virtually breathless, as they normally would have done in the past. Because he knows that more than likely if they do that, Tony would either end up having a coughing fit or even a panic attack. That night for the first time in a very long time, the two of them go to bed together. Although things only go so far as them having a heavy make out session. As they make an agreement that they won't let anything go any further until Tony has a clean bill of health passed.
Of course a couple of weeks later Tony had to go and try to prove that he was better than he really was, by returning to work early and against medical advice. Even if it was thereabouts only a week early.
Despite his early return it was just in time for everything to hit the fan with Ari being back on the scene once again. Because first of all Tony saves Kate and McGee from being blown up with a rigged car at their crime scene. Although as the two of them come running up the hill yelling about the bomb as everyone hit the deck as it then went off. With Kate's yell of "Tony!" After it had gone off, Gibbs had to admit that he felt extremely sick to learn that Tony had been so close to where the bomb had gone off. But was then very relieved when Tony's head appeared at the top of the embankment that he'd crawled up and then tried to not show how worried he was as Tony then collapsed in front of them.
The worst part of those next few days had too be them losing Kate, thanks to Ari killing her. Even though Gibbs was so very driven to find Ari and do the same to him. He was also in a way happy that because he was also worrying about Tony and his health so much, he did also have something else that he could focus on. Especially when the rain started to set in, so that when he and McGee returned from searching Ari's sniper nest, the two of them were absolutely soaked to the skin he'd sent the two of them to get dry in the locker room. It was only the second pause for them with everything going on. The first one they'd had was after Ducky had arrived on the scene of Kate's death. Gibbs had got Tony onto the truck and he had very gently rubbed away Kate's blood from Tony's face. McGee was also the first one out of the locker room, so Gibbs then headed in there to check on Tony. By the time he got in there the shock of the events had hit Tony. He was at least in clean clothes and smelt fresh from the shower. But he was standing in front of the basin looking in the mirror and was scrubbing away at the places on his face where the blood had been. Because in Tony's mind he was still convinced that the blood was still there. Without any communication between the two of them, Gibbs went and lightly grabbed Tony's wrist to stop him from scrubbing at his face and causing any damage. The two of them then enveloped each other in a hug and also shed some silent tears together for Kate, which then seemed too be enough for the both of them to get through the hunt for Ari. Later on when the director had sent them all home to get some rest before they went to Kate's funeral, he went with Tony back to his apartment. Which the two of them had agreed that Tony would keep it on for appearances sake and had then agreed that they would then make a final decision about it when they had come out and told the others about them. So as soon as they got there and had got into bed and had fallen into a very exhausted sleep cuddled up together. Gibbs had then slinked away in the early hours for his confrontation with Ari back at the house and also for Ziva to kill him.
Finally after it was all over and they returned home from Kate's funeral in Indiana, they were finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. Not only that it also finally gave Gibbs and Tony a chance to talk about the new director Jenny Sheppard and the past that she and Gibbs had had.
As he had his shower Tony found himself feeling thankful that everything had come together to prove his innocence, because as the evidence was stacking up against him, he was getting really worried that he was going to jail for the rest of his life. Or even that it could be worse than that, which then started his head wandering and back to the thoughts about his father telling him that he would end up in the gutter. Just as his thoughts were going that way he all of a sudden sensed a presence around him, followed swiftly by just a gentle head slap and then a whisper in his ear saying "You will never ever end up in the gutter Tony, how many times do I have to tell you that?"
As he turned to face Gibbs he replies "Loads of times I know, but this time it just felt so close to it happening. I could have ended up in jail or even be facing something worse and those words could have come so true."
As Gibbs brings him down into a kiss and as they break apart he says quietly "I promise you Tony that it would never have happened, I wouldn't have let it happen. We would have fought tooth and nail to have got you out of there, nothing would have happened to you. I love you and I wouldn't want to lose another really good thing from my life."
Tony says "And I wouldn't have wanted to lose you either, because I love you too." They then kiss and Gibbs and after breaking apart he then grabs a wash cloth and the shower gel and soaps the cloth up, and he then whispers in Tony's ear "Here let me take care of you." As he then starts to wash Tony he does it just soft and gently. After they get out he carefully dries him before drying himself. He then takes Tony's hand as they go into the bedroom, as he pushes him gently down onto the bed he carries on from where he left off from in the bathroom, and gives Tony the most gorgeous massage. By the time he's finished Tony is just a puddle in the middle of the bed. After going into the bathroom to wash the oil from his hands, when he comes back the two of them get cuddled up together and fall asleep in each other's arms. It's all the two of them need for that night. Any celebrations that the two of them may want to have can wait until the morning, because after all the director had given them the next day off!
A/N: So here we go with a new Tibbs story from me which got stuck in my head! Not only that I also wanted to do something with just a bit of fluff! As well as bring something different to SWAK and Kill Ari and of course the events surrounding Frame Up! I hope that you enjoy it! Xxx. D. :-)
