A/N: Don't tell the people that read my supernatural story that I wrote another NCIS story so fast. They might get jealous...This was sorta inspired by Lady Antebellum's song "I Need You Now" Gibbs' is a little ooc, but he's drunk and depressed, so whatever. Enjoy!


'Well, this wasn't the fun filled evening I had envisioned,' Tony thought. He was alone in his apartment, watching an old movie, alone. Feeling completely alone…Being alone sucked. If he hadn't opened his big mouth, he would probably be at Gibbs', sitting on his couch, not being alone. Stupid, Tony. Absolutely stupid beyond belief. He knew the general story behind Gibbs' first marriage. He definitely knew enough to know his comment was better kept to himself. Or better yet, not thought at all. Even he could see how inappropriate it had been.

Who the hell says that if the husband had been home, his wife would probably still be alive? Anthony DiNozzo, screw up extraordinaire, that's who. As the words were leaving his mouth he knew he had gone too far. Gibbs had turned the icy glare usually reserved for people who killed children on him. That was around 1300. Gibbs had said two words to him after that: go home.

Home. Not Gibbs' house. His own apartment. Where he was alone.

Tone leaned his head back, staring at the ceiling. This was it. Whatever he had going with Gibbs was over. His place on the team was most likely gone. Yeah, he'd managed to screw up every aspect of his life with one sentence. That had to be a record.

`_`_`_`_`_`_`_`_`_`_`_`

Gibbs was lying underneath his half finished boat, empty glass in his one hand and a mostly empty bottle of whiskey by his other hand. He had yet to use the glass, opting to drink from the bottle. This case already had him thinking about Shannon and Kelly. DiNozzo's comment hadn't helped anything.

"Just think, if the husband would've been home, his wife would still be alive. How can someone justify leaving their family behind when this sort of thing happens?"

God, how many times had he asked himself the same thing? Did serving his country really out rank his family? It's not like had ever thought something like that would happen. But neither did the poor man whose wife was killed during a home invasion. The only reason she was targeted was because it was a known fact her husband was over seas. He could sympathize what the man was going through. He'd be angry, want revenge, and would either be consumed by that hatred or become depressed and drink his problems away. Jethro had done both. And now it looked like he was heading down the same road if the bottle next to him was any indication.

He kept waiting for the one person that was able to pull him out of his funks to come down the stairs. Sweeping in and making his problems their problems. But the person he had come to depend on was the one that had pushed him over the edge this time. That person had taken an already sore subject and ripped it apart. That person was Tony.

He had avoided the younger man all afternoon, only speaking to him when he told Tony to go home. Home, making it clear that he wasn't welcomed at Gibb's house. Maybe never would be again. He knew that Tony hadn't meant anything when he had said it, at least hadn't meant anything about Gibbs. He couldn't have, not when he didn't know the full story of what had happened to his family. But he knew enough. Enough to realize that what he was saying was not only insensitive to the widower, but to Gibbs.

Of course, Tony had looked horrified as soon as the words were out of his mouth. He had known that what he did was uncalled for and inappropriate. How many times had he attempted to apologize just to have Gibbs brush him off? Maybe it was immature to throw what they had out the window because of one comment.

Sighing, Gibbs looked at his watch, squinting to bring the blurry face into focus. A quarter after one. Tony was probably still up, berating himself for being an idiot. He wouldn't get an argument from Gibbs about that. But still, maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to know that there was a chance for forgiveness.

He'd promised himself he wouldn't call, he wouldn't be the one to break first. But the whiskey was doing its job and making it hard to stick to that decision. He needed the younger man. That simple truth had him reaching for his cell, ready to tell Tony that he really couldn't do without him in his life and that he needed him now.


A/N: Soo...the ending does suck. I'll admitt it. But I could not, for the life of me, figure out how to fix it. And it got really sappy out of nowhere. Almost made me hurl. Hopefully it was still okay. Feel free to review. I'll even take flames for this one, heh.