Tony drummed his fingers absently on the steering wheel, waiting for the light to turn green. A brief glance at the radio clock told him that they had been on the road for two and a half hours so far. Only another two and a half hours left to go before they got back to HQ.
Gibbs had passed them up some time ago, driving even faster than he usually did. Tony was sure he would be driving like that too, if he was behind the steering wheel of a car like that. Reality was, he was driving a company car and had three passengers along for the ride. DiNozzo couldn't afford to play follow the leader, much to the disappointment of Ziva, who was currently entertaining herself with some book written in Hebrew. Abby and McGee didn't seem to mind how fast, or slow, he drove. They had both plugged in a pair of headphones fifteen minutes into the drive and hadn't taken them out since.
The quiet, calm of the car gave Tony plenty of time to think about their latest little adventure. Seeing the place where Gibbs was born and raised, and watching him and his father interact with each other had given Tony an insight into the man that no background check could have given him, no matter how thorough. It was odd to watch the two together. Gibbs and his father were nearly polar opposites of each other. Jackson Gibbs had an easy going, good humored sense about him, whereas Jethro Gibbs definitely did not. They had their similarities, too. Stubbornness definitely ran in the family; that much was obvious.
Tony's brain was still buzzing with lots of unanswered questions. But there was something else, too. A feeling he couldn't quite put his finger on. Before he could give that any more thought, a voice interrupted his reverie.
"You are awfully quiet," Ziva stated matter-of-factly, not looking up from her book.
Tony looked in the rear-view mirror to see if either of the back seat occupants had heard that. McGee was still occupying himself with his ipod and Abby was dozing lightly, her head resting on McGee's shoulder.
"Are you complaining? Because I can get a party started in here real fast if you'd like," Tony said, eyes tinged with amusement.
"That will not be necessary. I rather enjoy the peace and quiet much more than I enjoy incessant chatter," Ziva smiled.
"Are you insinuating that I-"
"Have to go to the bathroom," Abby declared from the back seat. She was now sitting upright, her eyes a little wider than normal.
"Abs, you just went like," Tony looked at clock and quickly did the math, "forty minutes ago. Can't you hold it a little while longer?"
"When you gotta go, you gotta go. Now pull over somewhere so I can go!"
"I could use a break too, Tony," McGee said, catching Tony's eyes in the mirror.
DiNozzo let out a sigh. Glancing to his right, he eyed Ziva. "What about you?"
"I suppose I could use a break also."
Maneuvering the car over to the right lane, he pulled into the next fast-food joint he saw. After guiding the car into a parking space, he put it in park and relaxed in his seat.
"Are you coming?" Ziva asked as she went to get out of the car.
"No need," Tony simply said. He reached to turn up the volume on the radio as his three teammates clambered out of the car.
Tony could hold it as long as need be. He wasn't about to give Ziva the chance to drive. Five o'clock was coming up and traffic would be getting heavy soon. He didn't want to be in the car while she was behind the wheel during this hour. He'd made that mistake once before and he vowed it would not happen again.
They made it back to the office roughly three hours later. Toward the end of the drive, they were all beginning to get a little cranky and frustrated. Too much time spent together in a small vehicle with little entertainment was not good for any of them. The only person who didn't seem to be bothered was Abby, who was her usual perky self. She bounded off towards Gibbs' desk as soon as the elevator doors opened.
"Hey, Bossman. How was your ride home?" Abby asked excitedly.
"It was good, Abs," Gibbs said with a small, but genuine smile.
"Good. Well I have to go see some nuns about a bowling ball," Abby exclaimed cheerfully. She leaned across Gibbs' desk so he could give her a kiss on the cheek. Once she was satisfied, she skipped off toward the elevator just as Ducky stepped off. "You guys have a great weekend!" she called over her shoulder.
Gibbs looked at his team, who were now all seated at their respective desks. "You all can head home now. Reports can wait until Monday."
The three younger agents glanced at each other. Gibbs was obviously in an unusually good mood and they weren't about to question it. Ziva and McGee already had their bags over their shoulders before Tony had reached down to pick his up. They passed Ducky on their way to the elevator, who wished them both a good night.
"Good evening, gentlemen," the older man greeted.
"Evening," they both responded.
"I take it your visit home was a good one," Ducky lifted a questioning brow in Gibbs' direction.
As Gibbs began to give Ducky the details on the case and his visit home, Tony gathered his things and turned his desk light out.
"Goodnight Ducky, 'night Gibbs," DiNozzo said. He didn't bother waiting for their response; both men were too occupied to have heard him anyway.
As the elevator doors closed, he leaned his head back against the wall and let out a sigh. Closing his eyes, he let himself relax for a moment.
And that's when it hit him.
That feeling that he couldn't name earlier, he found a name for it.
Jealousy.
Most of the time, jealousy was never much of a problem. If there wasn't something he could get with a smile and a few charming words or hard earned money, he learned to get on without it. But this? This wasn't something you just got over with.
Everyone craved love and approval from their parents. But not everyone got it.
Tony was one of those who didn't.
He could see that Gibbs and Gibbs Snr. had a somewhat rocky relationship, but at least they knew where they stood with each other. They had both feet on the ground, while Tony felt his father was somewhere high in the air, where he could never reach him, no matter how hard he tried.
Tony looked up to Gibbs. He was the closest thing to a father Tony had ever really had. He knew the older man cared for him, but he didn't expect Gibbs to feel the same about him. And why should he? He had his own father, once upon a time he had a real family, he had Ducky, he had Abby, and he had his team.
And who did Tony have? Family he never heard from, frat brothers he rarely saw, women whose names he easily forgot, cop buddies he got the occasional Christmas card from, and a team that he didn't usually see outside the office.
He let out another sigh, readying himself for what he knew would be a restless night.
A/N: Reviews would be greatly appreciated! The second part should uploaded in a few days.
