Changing Teams Maybe

by frostfalcon

Tony visits his dad in NY, meets Neal and they get into trouble

Disclaimer - I make no profit from this nor do I own any of the recognisable characters, they belong to their creators. There is some adult stuff and thing some people may want to avoid reading including non-consensual sexual acts. If this bothers you please take heed and don't read it. Enjoy!

Changing Teams… Maybe…

Frost

03/06/2010

Gibbs was about to get off the elevator when he noticed the Director and Tony talking, this wasn't a usual thing and his gut seemed a bit put off by this so he stepped back on the elevator and took it up one more floor and headed towards Vance's office with visions of secret meetings, exploding cars, Trent Kort and broken hearts in his thoughts, he hoped Vance wasn't going to try and use his agent the same way Jenny had. They were going to have a talk; he managed to be waiting when the director got back to his office.

"Leon, I noticed that you had something to say to DiNozzo."

"I was just asking about the last case, I thought he might have some insights to add that didn't make his report." Vance said looking a bit wary.

"And did he?" Gibbs probed.

"He didn't add anything that I didn't already know." Vance said, trying to pitch his voice to sound like he knew something. DiNozzo hadn't said anything really, Vance could tell Tony was upset about the way Gibbs had handled the situation but he was loyal and that wasn't the whole reason for the conversation but it was nice to have Gibbs on the defensive for a change.

"My people are loyal to a fault." Gibbs said with a touch of a smirk.

"They are loyal to a point, Gibbs." Vance said over his shoulder as he went into his office and closed the door, Vance though let Gibbs stew on that, and maybe he won't go all Lone Ranger next time. He had only been suggesting to Tony that maybe it was time to get his own team, it had taken a while but Vance was finally warming up to the way Tony did things, he got results the same as Gibbs did, but under him people tried to excel, Tony was an inclusive and encouraging leader as opposed to Gibbs who got results but tended to be a bit overbearing and intimidating.

Vance had been keeping tabs on Tony ever since he had said something about agents like McGee being the future, that comment had prompted Tony to look into the agency's continuing education program and though his team didn't know Tony turned out to be an excellent student and was almost done with his Master's degree and looked like he was getting himself ready to take the directorship in a few years. He'd actually be a good fit, Leon thought, he knew everyone and how to put their strengths to good use and with his education being rounded out he'd fit right into the job. The disdain he used to have for DiNozzo originally had been replaced by a grudging admiration, DiNozzo had managed to keep an A average while working on Gibbs's team and no one seemed the wiser that he'd even gone back to school, well maybe Abby knew but she seemed to know everything.

Gibbs stood outside the director's office wondering just what Tony had said, Vance hinted at something and Gibbs needed to find out just what went on, Vance almost never spoke to Tony regarding the way Gibbs handled cases. Gibbs's gut was churning now. He went back down to his desk and then looked around and his team.

"DiNozzo with me." He growled and headed towards the elevator. Tony got up and followed along. They ended up at the coffee shop.

They walked in silence and Tony was starting to get a bit apprehensive, they were just going to the coffee shop when Gibbs stopped and gave Tony a look that made him feel like he was about to get more then a head slap. They entered the shop and got their morning caffeine fix and picked up some for the team and Abby as well.

"Talk to me DiNozzo, what did you tell Leon?"

"Good morning to you too boss, I didn't say anything really just listened to him though I was going to talk to you, I put in for a week of leave." Tony said, what he meant was I'm taking a break, I need to step back, get myself together and figure out what I am willing to put up with. He wasn't sure what to think, even Vance knew something was up, he wasn't going to say anything but anyone who knows Gibbs like he did, knows what happened. He continued "The past year and a half has really been a mess for me, a vacation is looking really good right now." Tony said as he and Gibbs walked to the office from the coffee shop armed with their coffees and a Caf-Pow for Abby.

"DiNozzo, you're rambling." Gibbs said with irritation in his voice. "I'm not going to stand in the way of your vacation." Gibbs said as he headed in the direction of Abby's lab. They didn't currently have a case since it had only few days since they had finished with his former mother in law. He could understand why Tony was taking off now; the past eighteen months had really had a lot of ups and downs for him. Gibbs really hoped that Tony wasn't too disillusioned by his actions but he could see that Tony was a bit conflicted by the way it had gone down, he just hoped DiNozzo understood that it was Shannon's mother and the guy they got really was a bad guy even if he'd go down for the wrong crime.

Tony took a few moments to compose himself, Gibbs seemed to take it better then he thought he would, irritation was better then growling and a head slap. He headed off to get the forms from HR, it was mostly protocol since he'd already put in for the cruise he wasn't going to take, he would just move the dates up Gibbs didn't seem to want to know the dates he wanted and he really needed some time away. He'd been in contact with his father more often now that they both were willing to try and get along. It was easier now that they were both adults and Tony came to the conclusion you only get one father and he was getting older, he didn't want to let this chance to really know his father slip away, it's not like he'd get too many more chances for them to mend their relationship. He had mentioned visiting NY for a week or so last time they talked and Anthony senior still had a place in Manhattan that he owned and was staying at until he decided his next move and Tony missed the city, the shows, the people and the whole feel of it. There isn't another city like New York and he longed to be back if only for a little while, he had been away too long.

It only took a HR few moments to shuffle the dates around and he was set to have the next week off. As soon as he got out tonight he was a free man for the next nine days. He was already packed since he knew there would be no problems getting the dates changed unless Gibbs made one and he wasn't going too, all he had to do was get through the rest of the day without anything happening to require him staying and he was off. It wasn't too bad a drive and he was looking forward to the road trip.

The end of the day came and no new cases had come in and the team was heading home at a reasonable time on a Friday night. He said his good byes, told Ziva and McGee to have a great weekend and that he'd see them in a week and then headed down to say good night to Abby.

"Hey Abs! I thought I'd drop by on my way out and wish you an amazing weekend and let you know I'll be out next week." Tony said as he glanced around at the various monitors and machines humming away in the lab.

"You enjoy your vacation and make sure you bring me back something from New York." She told him as she gave him a hug. "Oh, tell your dad I said hi." She added as she let go of him.

"Will do, and Abs keep an eye on Gibbs."

"Always do." She said and smiled at him and he was off.

He got to his car and thought of the next few hours when it would just be the car, music and the open road until he got to his father's place. He made a quick stop home to change into something more comfortable for a road trip, grabbed a few bottles of water, put his stuff in the car and was out the door and on his way.

The trip was nice, there was little traffic until he got to the George Washington Bridge and that wasn't even too bad, being long past rush hour. He found his way to his father's building with a little help from the GPS and was able to park in his father's parking space since his father didn't keep a car in the city and his condo came with a space, it probably had cost a fortune when he bought the place but it was nice knowing he had a secure spot for his car. He grabbed his suitcase and the clothes hanging in the back seat, locked up the car and headed to the elevator.

***

Anthony DiNozzo senior was glad that his son was willing to try to spend some time with him. He knew he wasn't the greatest father but he really did love his son when it came right down too it. The knock at the door was answered quickly and father and son embraced briefly.

"Hi dad" Tony said as he took a look around. It had been a while since he was last here, he had mostly spent time at the house on Long Island and boarding school, the condo had been redecorated, probably several times since the last time he'd been in it.

"Hello junior, let me show you to the guest room and you can put that stuff down and relax a while. How was the drive? Not to awful I hope." Anthony said as he led Tony to the guest room. "Here you are, and thanks for coming."

"Thanks for having me on such short notice. I have a few things I need to sort out and I needed to get away." He hung the clothes he was carrying in the closet and put the suitcase next to the bed to be dealt with later. "Anything interesting going on while I'm here?" He asked.

"Well I was invited to a party tomorrow, but I can call and decline if you'd like to do something or you could come with me. Some old friends are getting together to celebrate a new business venture, nothing I'm involved with but I know some of the key players. It'll be a night of good food, good drink and some very pretty ladies." Anthony could tell his son was considering his options and it looked like he had brought some nice clothes so he had the right attire.

"Actually a party sounds like just the thing. I'll come along and this will give me the chance to meet some of your friends and they can get chance to grill me on my "old man"." Tony said. His father's friends were just the right speed, not to fast just what he needed now, once he got a bit more relaxed he'd hit the clubs and night spots this city was famous for.

***

Neal was just barely finished getting dressed when there was a knock at his door. He opened the door with a little flourish and greeted his hostess. "To what do I owe the honor of this visit?" he asked with a warm smile, the influence of his own flirtatious nature and too much classic romantic literature the night before while trying to get himself to sleep showing through.

"A few old friends are having a party tonight and I'd like it if you were able to attend." she stated as she looked around at the personal touches that Neal had added, she liked him, he really was an excellent tenant and getting to be a good friend.

"Then I would be delighted to be there. Just tell me what I should wear and when to be ready." Neal was already trying to figure out what to wear and pondering just which old friends of June's were going to be at this party.

"Be ready at seven thirty and it's dressy, but not so much as you need to worry about a tuxedo, and don't fret no one that could get you into too much trouble will be there. I'll see you later and thank you, I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself." she said as she smile and went back out.

Neal closed the door behind her, smiled went to his closet and picked out something to wear and then sent a text to Peter to let him know that he'd be out with June tonight and he should try and enjoy his Saturday off alone with his wife. He knew Peter had been worried about him, he was still a bit down over the whole Kate situation and the way it ended, but at least he was trying to get on with his life, it took a while and her death had hurt him badly, he felt like part of him was torn away, but he was beginning to get back to feeling almost like himself again. Peter had watched him like a hawk for the first couple of weeks; probably scared he'd run or toss himself off some bridge or something equally dramatic. Time and friends, real friends were helping him get through it, he'd be fine, eventually.

With the rest of the day to himself he decided to do a little painting, nothing like indulging in a bit of creativity to kill a day and relax some. It was nice being able to paint just to please himself and not have to worry about making it look like anyone else's style. It was just the colors, the canvas and his own whims and it was the most free he'd felt in a long time. The afternoon speed away and he was relaxed and pleased with the way it was coming along, from idea, to sketch, to the beginnings of his latest piece, the good mood he was in carried over to his singing in the shower as he got ready for what he was hoping was a fun evening.

Shortly before seven thirty he was dressed and downstairs waiting for June, who as it turned out was only moments behind him in being ready. They both looked classy and classic as they were meet at the door by a hired Cadillac who's driver then whisked them off to a very classy hotel where they were directed to one of the smaller ballrooms. The party had already started, but by no means in full swing yet. There were quite a few people catching up with each other in small groups and it looked like a few couples that were chatting very closely in the shadowy corners. Neal made sure he took in as much as he could trying to see if he knew anyone other than June, he saw a few people that had been to the house to visit her, but no one he knew well. As he and June made the rounds, June took the time to introduce him to a few people and they both had taken a glass of wine from a waiter that had passed by. After a while June smiled and told him to go mingle she was going to chat with an old friend for a bit. He took a good look at the people and tried to pick out the most likely group he'd fit into when he noticed an older gentleman that looked vaguely familiar over by the bar. There was a younger man with him and they were talking to a woman that looked about the older man's age. The younger man smiled and he must have made some sort of excuse and headed off leaving the older man to charm the lady, and it looked like it was working too. Neal looked for the younger man but lost him in the crowd.

About a half hour and few polite conversations later Neal felt someone come up beside him and heard a voice beside him say "Looks like the old man can still work the DiNozzo charm." Neal turned to see who was beside him and saw the younger of the two men he was watching earlier.

"Hi, I'm Tony DiNozzo." he introduced himself.

"Neal Caffrey." Neal said shaking hands and trying to remember where he knew the name DiNozzo from, it took a few seconds but he remembered that Anthony DiNozzo was a name that came up occasionally in some of the circles he used to run in, no wonder he looked familiar. He never had any direct contact with the man but years ago he was spoken of with a bit of awe and was pointed out to him at a restaurant by an associate a few years before Peter had caught him. Tony looked at him and smiled and the smile was lighting up the room and it must have called up his brightest smile in response because Tony's eyebrow arched up and he glanced over towards one of the empty, shadowy corners.

"Would you like to maybe give someone who's been away from the city too long a few hints for enjoying his time here?" Tony asked as he deftly secured a couple of glasses from a passing waiter and offered one to Neal. Neal took the glass and they both headed away from the crowd to somewhere they could talk without being heard.

"So, what took you away from the city?" Neal asked as the walked.

"School then work, I'm in DC now, but I'm getting a little frustrated with my career and I'm taking a break, trying to get back on an even keel." Tony said then took a sip of the wine.

"What sort of work do you do?"

"I'm a federal agent."

"FBI?" Neal asked wondering if he had been sent to check up on him.

Tony laughed a bit and shook his head. "I'm with NCIS, we don't get as much press as the FBI but we still get the job done. What about you?"

"I'm a consultant for the FBI." Neal said while taking a better look at Tony. He was very well dressed for a fed, but he didn't have that "on the take" vibe. There was more to Tony and he wanted to find out what it was.

Tony smiled. "I guess it's a good thing I didn't have a chance to say anything bad about the FBI yet. We've had our territorial spats on occasion and sometimes it's not pretty."

Tony looked over Neal and had to try not to get lost in his amazing blue eyes. They were so warm with just a hint of sadness, nothing like the icy blue with a hint of hostile that Gibb's eyes had been recently, Tony had tried to let him know that he was there but Gibbs didn't seem to need him, so Gibbs could deal with his issues himself. Tony felt some attraction and wanted to get to know Neal better and it looked like the feeling was mutual.

"I came with a friend, I should probably find her and make sure she's alright." Neal said as he and Tony continued to look at each other.

June looked over and saw Neal and someone the corner talking and decided that her plan to get Neal out and back into the social scene was working. She was hoping that it would help Neal get over Kate just a bit faster and she wanted to encourage that so she walked over near them.

"Neal, I'm going to catch a ride home with a few friends, you don't need to wait around. I hope you and your friend enjoy the party and I'll see you later." She said with a bit of a smirk.

"Thanks for inviting me June and I hope you and your friends enjoy the rest of the evening." Neal said and then turned to Tony, "Would you like to enjoy a late dinner and maybe a drink?" Neal asked.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea, let me tell my father I'm going so he doesn't think I ditched him. I'll be right back." Tony went in search of his father who was just as happy that Tony was heading off as he didn't want to have to let his lady friend down when they were hitting it off so well. Tony smiled a bit wondering if she was going to be his next stepmother… he couldn't remember the number but then his dad did manage to get around, and the trip to Monte Carlo that Tony "helped" with seemed to have turned his fortune around and things were going pretty well for him, not that his dad knew where the trip had really come from.

Neal and Tony meet by the door and headed out into the night. The kept to small talk as they wandered finally deciding on a small Italian restaurant they happened to be passing. They were seated at a booth in the rear and ordered a bottle of wine while they looked over the menu. By the time the waiter returned they knew what they wanted and had decided to share the calamari appetizer.

"So what exactly do you consult on for the FBI?" Tony asked trying to get a better feel for Neal, he usually didn't try to get to know his dates or pick up's too well, it just made it easier, but he just could tell Neal was going to be interesting.

Neal paused a moment to consider just what he wanted to say and decided that for now he'd play it straight. What could it hurt? He just wouldn't go into the details of his recruitment. "Well I mostly help out the FBI with things like art theft, fraud and things that make up white collar crimes. I'm pretty knowledgeable in a lot of those sorts of things. What about you? You seem a bit too well dressed for your average federal agent." Neal said as he reached for a piece of calamari and it happened to work out that they both went for the same piece, Tony smiled and let Neal have it.

"I was raised on Long Island in a pretty well to do household, my parents taught me the value of good quality clothing and how to dress very early on, I've tried to impart some of my insight and style to my fellows agents but a few of them dress like Sears is the height of fashion and good taste. I actually started out in the police after my chance at a professional sports career meet a rather sudden halt." Tony said with a sigh and went for a piece of calamari.

"So" they both said at the same time, Tony gestured for Neal to continue, "What are we doing? Neal asked.

"Eating some of the best calamari I've ever had?" Tony said with a bit of a smile in his voice.

"Really, are we flirting or am I off base? It's been a while since I considered my future without my ex and I'm really hoping that we're flirting because I think I could really get to like you." Neal stated in a rather breathy voice that made Tony blush a bit.

"Yes I do believe we're flirting, and you are really good at picking up the subtle hints I've probably been sending unconsciously. You are really good at getting me to open up or I've had a bit more wine then I thought." Tony said as he reached for his glass.

"You wouldn't believe just how good I am at picking up subtle hints and getting people to open up, it's a specialty of mine." Neal smirked and poured himself another glass of wine and topped off Tony's glass when he set it back down. They sat for a few moments just looking at each other and just as Tony opened his month to say something the waiter appeared with their food. He closed his mouth and then thanked the waiter. They both looked over the dishes and gave them a try.

"You have got to try this." Neal said as he twirled some of his pasta deftly and offered it to Tony, Tony smiled and thought to himself this is either going to be the start of something fun or I'm going to end up sneaking out of his bedroom later. He open his mouth and leaned over the table, he took the offered food and sighed, Neal was right it was amazing, he just hoped the rest of the meal went as well.

Tony ate a bite of his steak and it was really good, he figured Neal should have a bite so he cut a piece, dipped it in the sauce, tilted his head, smiled and offered it across the table to Neal. Neal leaned in and delicately ate it off the fork. By the time the meal ended they had shared each other's plates and were enjoying a lively conversation mostly about the most interesting cases they had worked on. The waiter came by and held out the tray of dessert selections, they looked at each other and said at the same time they'd have cappuccino and share a piece of Tuxedo Mousse cheesecake. It seemed as though they were on the same wavelength. The both laughed and the waiter took their dinner plates and left.

"So how long are you in town for?" Neal asked as he finished the last of his wine.

"A week, I just got in last night and was planning on driving back to DC next Sunday morning. I needed to get my thoughts together, our last case left a bad taste in my mouth and I'm not sure I'm the right fit for my team anymore. I've been through a lot in the last eighteen months. Actually, I've been trough a lot in the last six years, there are some days I'm amazed I'm still breathing and reasonably sane." Tony said as he then drained his glass. He had said more then he intended but it was nice that someone seemed genuinely interested in him for a change. His usual dates just wanted to talk about themselves; it was nice someone was listening.

The waiter came by and put down the cappuccinos and then placed the cake and two dessert forks in the center of the table and went away with a smile.

"So what else would you like to do? Or shall we just eat the cake really slowly and drink too much cappuccino in order to continue our conversation?" Tony asked as he savored the rich flavors of the cake.

"We could go back to my place to talk more if you'd like. I have a really tasty Italian roast I can make up." Neal smiled not wanting to end the night just yet.

"That sounds like an idea. I'll get the check and we can be on our way." Tony said reaching for his wallet.

"No, let me." Neal said but Tony just reached out and held Neal's hand from reaching for his wallet and got out his debit card with his other hand and put it in the leather folder with the bill for the waiter. Neal smiled and blushed, Tony thought it was a very good look on Neal; it almost made him look demure.

With the bill taken care of Neal flagged down a cab and they went back to June's. Tony just looked at the house in awe. It was beautiful and a very classy looking place. As they entered he took a good look around and it seemed familiar. He wondered if his father had ever brought him hear when he was young.

"You live here?" Tony asked as he tried to take it all in.

"June, the friend I escorted to the party tonight lets me stay here. Come on up and see my etchings." Neal said and they both giggled softly not wanting to wake anyone in case June had already come home. They went up to Neal's room and Neal put on a pot of the promised Italian roast. Tony looked around and noticed the painting that wasn't yet finished.

"This is really good." he remarked as Neal handed him a cup of coffee, they both walked over and sat on the couch and looked at each other. After a few sips Tony put his coffee down and simply asked "May I?" Neal smiled and nodded, Tony reached out and gently brushed Neal's hair away from his face and tucked it behind his ear, then traced his fingers down from Neal's ear to his chin, tilted it upwards slightly and then leaned in and brushed his lips to Neal's. Neal closed his eyes and Tony took that as a sign to proceed, and soon they were gently kissing and holding each other.

"This is nice, I'd like to continue but it's getting a bit late." Tony whispered into Neal's ear as he backed off.

"Yeah this is nice and as much as I'd more you're right it's late. I know we shouldn't just hop into bed and I think we both want more then just one night so why don't we say good night now." Neal sighed but he really did want to have more then just a one-night stand, he genuinely had a good time and really liked talking with Tony, the kissing was the icing on the cake. "Can I get your number?" Neal asked as he brought out his phone.

"Trade you." Tony said as he got out his as well. They both entered each other's number. "Walk me out?" Tony suggested as he got up to leave.

"Sure, did you want to get together tomorrow?" Neal inquired as they reached the door.

"I was hoping you'd suggest that, I'm thinking we could find something to enjoy on a Sunday afternoon." Tony smiled and they both embraced and kissed goodnight. Tony managed to find a cab and headed back to his father's place with a wave to Neal.

Tony got back to the condo and let himself in; his father was already back and sleeping. He got ready and went to sleep and had some really good dreams filled with the bluest eyes, the most wonderful smile and his hands tangled in dark hair. It was the best night sleep he had gotten in a very long time, across town Neal was also asleep dreaming of Tony's grin and the feel of Tony's lips gently claiming his own, it was the first night since Kate's death that he didn't wake up missing her.

***

In a less desirable part of the city a man was transferring pictures of Neal and Tony at the restaurant feeding each other and the good night kiss from his camera to a lap top and wondering what his boss would ask of him next as he printed copies as well. He set up a slide show of the pictures he like on his computer and put it on the nightstand. Just because he was paid to take the pictures for someone else didn't mean he could enjoy them and he watched the images on the laptop as he touched himself and eventually came. He hoped that if his employer was going to have him pick these two up he'd get a chance to enjoy the real thing, it didn't matter which, they were both hot and it would be perfect if he had the chance to sample both. He imagined the dark haired guy's lips around his cock and got close to coming again so he pictured the brunette's eyes and tried conjure up what his face would look like as he was penetrated. He did come that time wishing he were balls deep in one of the two. He fell asleep after wiping himself off with his t-shirt and dreamt of the things he'd like to do if he had either of them at his mercy.

***

Peter woke up Sunday morning and was refreshed and happy, he and El had a great day together. They had taken Satchmo to the dog park and then picked up a couple of hot dogs and ate while the walked in the local park. On the way home they had grabbed a couple of DVD's and went home and enjoyed a Saturday night to themselves.

Sunday morning Peter woke up and saw that El was still sleeping and he cuddled closer to her and thought about getting up and making breakfast and surprising her, but decided to stay in bed and wake her up with kisses. She stirred rolled over and they wrapped themselves up in each other arms and that led to slow, lazy and very satisfying lovemaking. They both lounged in bed for a while after and then decided that they would go out for Sunday brunch.

They got in the shower and woke up a bit more; there was nothing like a great sex followed by a hot shower to start the morning. Peter was dressed and ready first, so he walked Satchmo while El got ready, he never noticed the guy on the corner watching him and clicking a few pictures on his cell phone.

***

Tony woke up refreshed and feeling relaxed for the first time a long time. He took a shower and got dressed and then joined his father for coffee.

"I see I wasn't the only one that got in late last night. Did you have fun junior?" Anthony asked as he passed the cream to Tony.

"Actually yeah, I did. I haven't felt this good in a while, I'm relaxed, content… it's a good feeling. I really needed to get away from DC more then even I knew. So what are the plans for today?" Tony asked as he grabbed a bagel and spread some cream cheese on it.

"I really don't have anything planed until later this afternoon, so we can do something this morning if you want. Did you want to go out and just take walk around the city? Maybe do a little shopping and get lunch later?"

"We could do that. I didn't have any set plans but I was thinking of catching up with a friend later tonight so that works for me." Tony said as he took a sip of coffee.

They ended up at one of the men's boutiques that Anthony usually shopped in and Tony spotted a silk tie that made him think of Neal's eyes. He bought two, it was a lot more then he had planned on spending but he figured one for Neal to really show off his eyes and one for himself so he had a reminder of that particular shade of blue when he wasn't with Neal. Tony laughed to himself when he realized what he was doing. He had it bad after just one night. He was a total romantic, after Jeanne he really did want something that would last and he had to hope he'd find it and he had hoped that maybe he'd find it with Neal. They continued to look around and after a few hours of family history and gossip they stopped at a Greek restaurant for a light lunch and then Tony walked with his father for a while just trying to get to know one another better, so far it was actually going pretty well. Around two Anthony said he needed to get to his meeting so Tony called Neal.

When Neal saw the caller ID he smiled, he had picked up the phone a couple of times to call but figured he'd show a little restraint, it wasn't his forte but he could have when he needed to.

"Tony, I was hoping you'd call." Neal all but purred into the phone.

"Sorry I didn't call earlier, I was doing a little shopping with my father and then we had lunch, I was wondering it you wanted to do something?" Tony said as he tried to think of what sort of things they could do on a Sunday afternoon.

"I'd love to spend time together today, what about the Neue Galerie? I have been meaning to go but haven't made it there yet. Say about two-thirty? We won't have time to see everything I'm sure as they close at six but we can enjoy some of the exhibit and then get dinner or if you want we can pick up some groceries and I can cook." Neal suggested as he started planning the menu.

"I'll meet you there, and how about we both cook? You do the main course, I do the side and we collaborate on dessert?" Tony offered as he hailed a cab to go meet Neal.

"Sure, see you soon." Neal said as he hurried out the door to meet Tony.

They spent a couple of hours just looking around and somehow they ended up brushing up against each other or just casually touching each other more then they meant too. They decided to walk a bit and pick up take out and go back to Neal's.

"I was looking forward to impressing you in the kitchen." Neal said as Tony spread out the containers of Thai food and Neal grabbed some plates and utensils.

"If things keep going like this you'll have plenty of time to impress me with your culinary acumen." Tony said with a grin, "but this way we have more time for other things."

"So I guess I'm expected to impress you in the bedroom then?" Neal said with a wink and a grin of his own.

"The bedroom, the couch, the floor… anywhere you want as long as I get to be with you." Tony said feeling sappy but meaning what he said. He was getting in deep and getting there fast.

"What's in the bag?" Neal asked, he'd been curious but was practicing patience again.

"Oh, I nearly forgot! For you." Tony got a small gift box out of the bag and handed it to Neal.

"You didn't need to get me anything." Neal opened the box and saw the tie nestled in it. "This is lovely, not quite my usual style but it's really great."

"It's almost exactly the same color as your eyes, I saw it and well I had to get it, I got one for myself to so I had a reminder of your eyes. I know that sounds sappy right?" Tony said as he blushed.

"I think that not only is it sappy but it's very romantic." Neal said as he put the tie back in the box and took Tony's hands in his and leaned in to give him a kiss. "Thank you."

"Your welcome." Tony said and leaned in for another kiss.

"Lets gets this cleaned up and take this to someplace more comfortable." Neal suggested.

A few moments later they were headed to the couch, Neal pausing to turn on some low music for the atmosphere. Sinatra seemed to be what was playing and both men smiled at each other.

"Good choice." Tony said as he walked over to Neal and took him in his arms, "Shall we dance." and after a few false starts they moved together and then the song changed, the continued to dance.

"Who is this?" Tony asked not recognizing the song.

"Matt Dusk, the song is called Good News. I like his voice, the song is new yet retro." Neal started singing as they danced.

"You have almost seduced me with it, lets take this to the couch, so you can finish the job." Tony said as he led them still dancing over to the couch. "I want to touch you, I want you to touch me and I want this to be more then us coming together for a night. Do you think you'd want to try something a bit more long term with me?" Tony asked as he stole a kiss and guided Neal to sitting on the couch.

"If we're going to do this, you need to know a few things, like how I came to work for the FBI and what I did previously. I wasn't exactly one of the good guys. I was in prison for almost four years on a forgery charge. I got out to help the FBI track down other criminals." and Neal started telling Tony in a flood of words, his usual eloquence seemed to have gotten lost and it sounded like he was about to panic.

"Relax Neal, I just need to know a few things and the rest can be dealt with. First thing have you killed anyone?" Tony asked.

"Never, I don't like violence or guns, I know how to use one but I just don't like them and violence isn't me."

"Are you still engaged in criminal activity? and I mean major stuff not the misdemeanor things, things that could get you sent back." Tony asked.

"No, not for a while, some things happened and I lost someone, I would have done almost anything for her." Neal answered looking into Tony's eyes and hoping to see acceptance there. Tony stroked Neal's back.

"Tony, I don't intend to do anything to get sent back and I've gotten used to being the good guy even if my methods are a bit unorthodox compared to the FBI's usual procedures." Neal whispered and looked away waiting for Tony to leave him. It was hard enough to keep Peter's trust, what little of it he had, he couldn't expect Tony, who was still just getting to know him to accept him.

Tony lightly took Neal's face in his hands, tilted it up and looked into his eyes, "Then it's not an issue. I'm willing to take what you say at face value and move on together. You've managed to get too me very quickly and I'm not one that falls fast and hard. I've had a string of one night stands and one relationship that I thought could be the one, but I was on assignment and I was supposed to get close to her to get to her father and in the end I hurt both of us so badly, I was afraid to try again for a long time." Tony said as he drew Neal into his arms and Neal returned the embrace.

"Are we going to be good? I'm willing to give this a try, for now it's going to be hard because I'm in DC, I've been questioning my place there and I can consider moving if this is going to be important to both of us." Tony whispered into Neal's ear as they held each other.

"I can't promise that we'll fall in love and it this will work but I think we're both half way there and I want to give this a chance. I want to be happy and the past two days have been the best I've felt in a long time. I'm really willing to give it my all." Neal said with a bit of a catch in his voice.

"Then let's go get ready for bed and sleep on it. I think we both need to cuddle up on the bed over there, get some sleep and make sure that the morning doesn't change things. Do you need to go in to the office tomorrow?" Tony asked as he helped Neal up off the couch and steered him to the bathroom.

"Yes, Peter should be by to pick me up around eight." Neal replied as he started his nighttime routine. Tony snagged Neal's toothbrush and brushed his teeth.

"So we'll get up a little earlier then you usually do and we can have breakfast and talk, Ok?" Tony stated as Neal started to strip down to his boxer briefs and Tony also stripped to his underwear, carefully setting his clothes over a chair since he'd have to wear them until he got back to his father's place to shower and change. They both climbed in bed and spooned together with Tony holding Neal, it was still a bit early but they weren't going to complain. They kissed good night and fell asleep in the comfort of each other's embrace.

***

Peter was right on time to pick up Neal, who was waiting outside for him. He got there just as a taxi was pulling away and Peter spared a few seconds to wonder who was leaving early, one of June's friends maybe? Or did Neal have early morning company? He was still concerned for Neal; Kate's death had really run him through the emotional wringer. He hoped Neal wasn't planning anything stupid, Neal and early morning meetings usually turned out to be just this side of legal. Neal got in the car and was all smiles and had a new tie on, it wasn't his usual style, it was more modern then Peter was used to seeing on Neal.

"Good morning Peter, have a nice weekend?" Neal asked as he clipped the seat belt.

"Yes, El and I really had a chance to spend some time together and it was very relaxing. It looks like you are in a good mood too did you go shopping? The tie looks new and not like your usual ones." Peter said as he pulled out into the flow of traffic.

"It was a gift from a friend, and yes I'm in a wonderful mood for a Monday morning, I had a great weekend and I am looking forward to a great week." Neal said as he watched the city go by.

They arrived at the office and it looked like the rest of the world was going to let them continue to enjoy their nice morning. No heinous crime were waiting for them, just a few old ones with some new leads. They spent the morning just going over paperwork and filling out reports. It was quiet but nice. Peter kept catching Neal with a smile that he'd never seen on his face before, he wondered which Caffrey smile this one was, he thought he knew them all, the I'm getting my way smile, the trust me smile, there were quite a few but this one he'd never seen before, it sort of reminded him of the way El looked at him sometimes.

The silence was broken by Neal's phone ringing. Neal looked at the display and then answered. The conversation was short and ended with him saying something along the lines of "see you tonight" and Neal hung up and the smile got a bit bigger, it was amazing the way it made his eyes light up. That's when Peter noticed the tie exactly matched the blue of Neal's eyes at this moment.

"Peter let me treat you to lunch! Come on it's a nice day lets get out for a bit." Neal suggested as he put his phone back in his pocket.

"Sure, give me a moment to finish this up, and we can take an hour or so." Peter said as he put the finishing touches on the file he was working on. He closed the folder and they both grabbed their jackets and headed out.

They took a short walk to a local restaurant that served mostly salads and burgers. They ate and made small talk mostly about the latest lead they had in the case of a forged painting, in Neal's opinion it was poorly done and should have stood out to anyone that looked at it. The owner had been away in Belgium when the original was replaced with the forgery and the staff hadn't noticed and when the owner came back and noticed he went ballistic and blamed the staff, they claimed they had no knowledge of the substitution. There were very few clues but they had a few suspicions and they were just trying to put it together. They finished eating and Neal paid for their meal and suggested they stop at a local music shop on their way back to the office, Peter checked his watch and they still had some time so they detoured to the shop and in a few moments Neal had a small bag with a CD in it and they were on the way back to the office to try and find more connections to wrap up the case and to find the painting and perpetrator.

The day ended with Agent Jones trying to get a warrant to search the alarm installer's home and office. Neal told Peter not to worry about driving him home since he was meeting someone for dinner. Peter was free to go home to his wife and all in all it was a good day. Peter went home and decided since he was there first he'd surprise El with dinner and set about cooking for them.

Neal walked to the French restaurant where he and Tony had agreed to have dinner. He had the CD tucked under his arm carefully wrapped in a page of the comics he had snagged from Cruz's desk. He figured Tony might appreciate them and he was pretty sure the CD would be a hit with him too. Neal got to the restaurant first and when he said the reservation was in the name of Tony DiNozzo he seated promptly at a cozy table in the corner and the waiter quickly returned with a bottle of a very nice Chardonnay. It seemed that the DiNozzo name got you preferential treatment at some places, he smirked at this and thought it was funny considering what Tony's dad did or rather used to do, maybe still did? and what Tony did for a living. He wondered if Tony really knew a lot of what his father used to get up too. Neal had taken a peek at what the FBI thought the senior DiNozzo may have done and it was like looking at some of the classiest cons ever run and the marks were always thoroughly charmed by Mr. DiNozzo they hadn't realized they had been taken in until months and some cases years later but the FBI were never able to find enough to bring him in so they watched him and eventually gave up. Neal was impressed, even though it looked like Anthony DiNozzo senior lost his touch he had been a master and it looked like he was really doing much better then he let on, at least after that last trip to Monte Carlo things seemed to be going well again. Neal smiled it was nice to see that Tony's dad was doing well.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, I forgot how traffic got around this time. My cab driver wasn't the quickest either." Tony said as he sat across from Neal. He noticed the comic wrapped package next to his glass. "For me? You shouldn't have." Tony said as he leaned in to kiss Neal and then picked up the package and opened it. It was a copy of Matt Dusk's CD. "Maybe we should do a little more dancing later. Thank you." and this time they both leaned in for the kiss.

They spent the meal enjoying each other's company and taking bites of each other's food. The meal was wonderful and they were so wrapped up in each other they didn't notice they were being watched. They skipped dessert and went back to Neal's.

They stood by the bed holding each other and kissing, these kisses weren't the delicate and hesitant kisses they had shared before. These kisses were full of passion and promise of a very energetic night ahead. Some how between kisses and touches they had both lost their ties, jackets and shirts and were pressed together skin on skin, Neal's almost bare chest to Tony's lighted haired chest. Tony skimmed his hands down to cup Neal's ass and Neal had his left hand holding the back of Tony's head and his right on the small of this back. They fell sideways onto the bed and broke the kiss and disentangled long enough to get rid of the rest of their clothes.

"This is going pretty fast, do you want to slow it down some Tony? I don't want you to think I'm pressing you into this." Neal said as he sat on the bed.

"Neal the only thing I want pressed is one of us into this bed, no I don't want to slow down. I guess we should figure out um… who does what first. It's been a while for me, what about you?" Tony asked as he lay down on the bed and pulled Neal to him.

"I want you in me so deep I can't tell where I end and you start and later I want to bury myself in you. Does that getting the talking part over with?" Neal asked as he smiled at Tony.

"Almost, just one more thing… Do you have supplies? I have some but I didn't want to presume too much." Tony said as he watched Neal roll over and open the nightstand and tucked in there with the book he was reading was everything they'd need. Tony grinned and they both started touching, licking and nibbling at each other. Their erections occasionally rubbing and the sounds of moans and sighs were thick in the air. Tony stroked Neal and took his cock in his hand and rubbed just getting him so hard it almost hurt. "All this is for me, I can't wait to enjoy it." Tony kept petting and stroking Neal as he grabbed a condom and the lube, he put the condom in easy reach and slicked up a finger and slid it into Neal, this caused Neal to shiver and sigh. Tony worked his finger in a bit more and then added a second and eventually a third and watched his lover's face express his pleasure as he got ready to accept him.

Tony was sure that Neal was relaxed, stretched and ready so he withdrew his fingers and Neal let out a small noise of displeasure. Tony quickly wiped his hand on an abandoned undershirt, smoothed on the condom and lifted and spread Neal's legs and knelt between them and slowly pressed in.

"Neal look at me, I want to see you. I want to watch you and I want you to see me." Tony said as he slid deeper into Neal. It felt so hot and tight and Tony was having a hard time not going too fast. He should have taken the edge off earlier but he had liked the feeling of need he had going, now he was just trying to make it last so he could make sure Neal got what he deserved before he blew. The look in Neal's eyes was so hungry and pleading it almost took Tony over the edge but he held on and kept going slow. They both moaned as Tony was finally all the way in and had taken Neal's penis his hand and gave a few strokes. They both were close but trying to hold out. Tony slowly pulled out and pushed in again and stroking Neal as he did so. After a while they had a decent rhythm going and they weren't holding back. Neal arched up as Tony hit that spot on almost every thrust so perfectly between that and the stroking he came covering both of them and that was enough to send Tony over the edge as he came inside Neal and then pulled out slowly so as not the leave the condom behind. Once he was out he dropped the condom in the waste paper basket and fell sideways a bit lying partly on Neal and partly on the bed, they lay there together for a while spent and panting.

After a few minutes they looked at each other and started kissing and touching again. "Come on we should get cleaned up before we glue ourselves together." Neal said as he tried to gather enough energy to get out of bed.

"You're right but I don't think I can move. That was amazing, I'm looking forward to round two." Tony said as he slid off the bed and got up. He reached out to help Neal up and they both cleaned up the clothes they could find strewn all over the room and took the sheets off the bed and put them in the hamper. Then they showered off, both enjoying the spray of the hot water hitting their bodies, washing each other and enjoying a few stolen kisses, as they got clean. They both dried off and Neal found a pair of loose pajama pants for Tony. They put a new set of sheets on the bed and then sat together on the couch, Neal laying with his head in Tony's lap and Tony's hand absent-mindedly playing with Neal's hair.

"I could get used to this, having someone to share my life with. Someone I can talk to that listens. What about you?" Tony asked as he closed his eyes and relaxed.

"I think this may just be the start of something we both want. You get me, better then anyone I've dated recently. Peter, I think still knows me best since he studied me for years before he caught me, but you seem to know me in other ways and you accept me for me, you don't want anything from me other than me. I'm what you want, not what I can do for you or what I have. I am enough and that is perfect." Neal said as he sighed and relaxed into Tony's caress.

"You are so much more then enough. You've reached into a place inside me and started filling a hole that I never thought could be filled and you did it pretty quick too." Tony said as they both drifted off into a comfortable silence.

A little while later they were both startled when Tony's stomach growled and reminded them that dinner had been a few hours ago and then both had worked it off already. Tony laughed and suggested a snack followed by round two and sleep. That idea was quickly agreed to by Neal how found some cheese, crackers and a bottle of wine. They nibbled the snack, then each other and then they were back on the bed naked with Neal on top of Tony licking and nibbling his nipples as Tony arched his back and breathed in short gasps as Neal bit down almost to the point of pain and Tony's cock got harder even though he thought it was already impossibly hard.

Neal kept his attentions on Tony's chest and nipples with one hand and used the other hand to start getting Tony's body ready to accept him with the other. One finger and lots of lube and Tony hissed through his teeth as he was breeched then tried to relax into the invasion, he hadn't been with a man in a long time and Jeanne had never even considered sliding a finger there, Tony almost felt like he was a virgin again and Neal added a second finger and trailed the other hand from Tony's chest down to his groin and lightly teased his cock, he was leaking a bit and Neal used the slickness to ease his fingers as they circled the head of Tony's penis. Tony was whimpering and trying to thrust up into his hand, Neal added a third finger opening Tony more and kept him on edge. He could tell Tony was ready so he took his fingers out and wiped them on a tissue rolled on a condom and added some lube and slid into Tony's eager ass in one slow push. Tony was so tight and hot and his body was so responsive, like it was made for sex. Neal pulled back and sunk back in and they both watched each other's faces in bliss as they slowly made love.

Neal set a slow almost teasing pace that was holding Tony on edge and almost drove him to begging for release. Neal loved the expressions on his lover's face as he finally picked it up a little making sure he hit Tony's prostrate every few thrusts and then he started stroking Tony's cock and Tony just arched his back and came, he seemed to just melt into a puddle as Neal continued to make love to him and then Neal came, and lay on top of Tony as he slowly slid out of him.

They lay there together for a while and then cleaned up and fell asleep in each other's arms again for the second night in a row, this time lulled to sleep by a night of lovemaking. Sleeping deeply and with nothing but vague dreams of good feelings they both slept like they hadn't a care in the world.

Mozzie had been house sitting for a friend in Richmond for the last two weeks and had gotten in late at figured he'd stop by Neal's to let him know he was back in town and maybe get a good breakfast in the morning. He let himself into Neal's place noticed that Neal was already sleeping and without really looking around curled up on the couch and dropped off to sleep with a pair of light snores in his ears, not really registering that there were a pair of light snores, as the trip back to the city had really tired him out.

***

Leland had been following Peter Burke and Neal Caffrey for a week now and had finally heard from his bosses, they wanted Caffrey and the mystery boyfriend taken and held. They were going to grab Burke's wife, but she was in public too often and as much as that would give them leverage and would get more attention, if they grabbed Caffrey it would take longer for the FBI to realize he was missing and that gave them more time to secure him. The FBI might even assume Caffrey had simply left at first, the boyfriend would be the prefect reason for leaving they thought, they could make it look like they ran off together. Then they'd inform Agent Burke of their requirements and watch him try and figure out what was going on and that would divert their attention to looking for Caffrey while the other team got in and lifted the items they were targeting. It was a pretty good plan and only the boss knew the details so if someone got nabbed the others and the plan was safe. Leland just hoped that he got some time alone to enjoy the fruits of his labors. He had gone a bit overboard getting the place ready to hold his captives. He had to, Caffrey was excellent at escapes and the boyfriend was an unknown quantity, so he had to make sure he could hold them securely. He had other objectives as well, it's not like the boss said they were going to be released, he'd already been paid so long as they vanished and attracted the FBI's attention his part was done, by the time proof of life and demands were sent to the FBI to get them looking for Caffrey he'd have both men in his clutches and far from where anyone would even consider looking. He would have his cake and he was going to eat it too. Now all he had to do was pick the place and timing of their disappearance so as not to raise suspicion until the time was right.

***

Mozzie woke up to use the bathroom and tripped over something in the dark and stumbled making a bit of noise, Tony sat up and reached for his gun, which he didn't have and fell out of bed momentarily forgetting he was at Neal's and yelped when he hit the floor. The sudden loss of warmth behind him and the noise woke up Neal who turned on the light to see Tony on the floor naked trying to get up and then he saw Mozzie staring at Tony on the floor and Neal on the bed with his jaw almost to the floor.

"Moz?" Neal said as he got his wits gathered.

"Neal! Sorry I didn't know you had company I got in late and borrowed your couch, I was going to the bathroom when I tripped on…" Mozzie looked at his feet tangled in Tony's pants.

"Neal what's going on?" Tony asked as he got up from the floor covering him self with what looked like Neal's undershirt.

"It's too early for this conversation, Moz go to the bathroom, Tony get back in bed and we'll figure it out in the morning." Neal said as he pulled the covers over his head and waited for Tony to get back into the bed and cuddle with him. "I know what you're thinking and no you don't have to worry about Mozzie and I. Now cuddle me and go back to sleep, Moz is mostly harmless." Neal whispered as Tony took his place in bed too shocked to do anything other then what Neal said. Soon everyone was back to sleep.

The morning came too soon and they all got up, Tony and Mozzie watching each other carefully as they got showered and dressed. They all sat down for breakfast and Neal figured now was as good a time as ever to introduce his oldest friend to his lover. Tony didn't ask what Mozzie did for a living, he had figured out that is was best not to know and Mozzie didn't trust the fact that Tony was another fed but he did know of Anthony DiNozzo senior so that went in Tony's favor along with the fact that Neal seemed a lot happier and a lot more content then he had been. Breakfast was a bit tense until the subject of movies came up and then Mozzie and Tony seemed to bond, Neal knew that this was going to work out Mozzie was a good judge of character and he never really got Kate, but he and Tony seemed to be hitting it off even if Tony was a fed.

"I'm going to have to head out and meet Peter, I'll see you for dinner later Tony?" Neal asked as he gathered up his hat and jacket.

"Here or are we going out again?" Tony asked as he started clearing the dishes.

"How about we finally cook? You pick up the groceries and meet me here around six-ish?" Neal suggested.

"Enough for two or three?" Tony asked as he looked at Mozzie.

"I could be available for dinner." Mozzie said as he took another sip of coffee.

"I guess three it is then." Tony said as he hoped that Mozzie wouldn't spend too much time after dinner, nothing against the man but Tony was hoping to enjoy Neal on his own for as long as he could before he had to go back to DC. He also wanted to talk to Neal and see if he should try and transfer to New York or maybe jump the NCIS ship altogether, he was sure he could get in with the NYPD or FBI if it came down to it. If nothing else he could always try something new and his dad could help him out finding a new career, even if he didn't have the money he used to, he still knew people and had contacts in the city.

Neal smiled, kissed Tony goodbye and headed out meet Peter. Tony finished cleaning up the dishes and picked up the bedroom. Mozzie just watched and tried to get a feel for Neal's new lover.

"If you hurt him I'll find a way to make sure you regret it." Mozzie stated as he cleaned his spot and straightened up the couch.

"I don't plan too, and if I do hurt him I know I'll regret it." Tony said then turned to face Mozzie and asked, "What would you like for dinner?"

"Surprise me, and don't worry I'll get out of your hair early. I just want to make sure he's taken care of properly, he's been through a lot deserves better then he's gotten." Mozzie said as they both left and headed out. They passed June and Mozzie said hello and Tony blushed thinking how it must look.

"So you're Anthony DiNozzo junior, I've known your father for years. Tell him I said hello and that it was nice running into him at the party and I hope it doesn't take another three years until I see him again." June said as she took a good look and Tony "and in case Mozzie here hasn't already said something, take care of Neal. He's really a treasure and a good friend." June said and Tony felt like he had passed some sort of test and was given an ultimatum at the same time.

He thanked June for her hospitality and let her know that he'd convey her message to his father; he took a look at Mozzie who just waved as he left.

On the taxi ride back to his father's place he realized he hadn't thought about Gibbs or the team very much at all and that really didn't bother him. If he did leave DC he'd miss Abby, Jimmy and Ducky but that was about it, well McGee and Ziva to some extent too. DC never felt quite like home but it was closer then anywhere until now, now New York felt like it was the place he needed to be.

He got back to the condo and let himself in, his dad had left a note that he had to leave town to go to Albany for the night but he'd be back in the afternoon and they should have lunch or something. Tony scribbled a reply that lunch sounded good and if he wasn't in just call him with details. He went to the guest room packed a change of clothes and his personal items in a small gym bag so he'd be prepared to spend the night with Neal and not end up wearing the same clothes longer then he should. He gathered up his laundry and put in to wash then showered and got dressed, jeans and a sweater today since they were eating in and he wanted to be comfortable. The clothes went into the dryer and Tony left his overnight bag on the bed and grabbed his jacket, sunglasses and dry cleaning and headed out to wander around the city and drop off what needed to get cleaned so it was ready to pick up before he went back to DC. He spent the afternoon shopping and just soaking up the sights and sounds of the city and getting used to being back. It was pleasant and he spotted several places he'd like to go with Neal. He took a walk around central park and was watching some children playing tag when his phone rang. He checked the caller ID and it was Neal. He smiled and answered the phone.

"Hi Neal!" he said as he found a bench and sat down to talk.

***

Neal was sitting on the chair across from Peter's desk, they had wrapped up their latest case and Peter had to go to some sort of meeting so Neal was getting off early. He pulled out his phone and called Tony.

"I'm getting out a bit early, want to go grocery shopping together?" Neal asked as he put on his hat and grabbed his jacket.

"Sure I'll meet you at the D'Agostino near June's." Tony said remembering approximately where he had seen the grocery store the other day.

"Great, see you in a bit. I miss you." Neal said into the phone, Peter looked at him and his eyebrow rose up in question.

"I miss you too, see you in a few." Tony said and they both hung up and headed to the store.

"It's nice to see you getting out and having fun again Neal. Have a good night and stay out of trouble." Peter said as Neal smiled and wished him quick and not to boring meeting and headed out the door.

A short cab ride and he was at the store and found Tony already there, looking at various desserts. They smiled, clasped hands and Tony suggested Chicken Marsala and penne and Neal agreed, so the picked up what they needed and an apple pie and some vanilla ice cream for dessert, Neal paid for it this time since he got his debit card out first. They were walking back and as they passed an alley way, four guys who had just looked like they were roughhousing with each other passed them and knocked them into the alley and in a matter of moments the groceries had been scattered and Neal was subdued, Tony was still fighting being trained for it until he heard a gun cock and saw it pointed toward Neal's temple, that stopped him cold.

"I thought that would get your attention, now shall we take this elsewhere?" The guy with the gun said. He pointed to a van that was now parked across the front of the alley and they got in without much of a struggle, Tony was unwilling to risk Neal, he'd have to bide his time. As they got to the van the men secured them with fairly sturdy handcuffs and blind folded them. Neal for the first time since his deal with Fowler wished he still had the tracker, it would at least have helped someone find them or alert someone that something had happened.

***

Peter had finally gotten done with his meeting when he had a thought and called Neal to see if they could toss around some theories and come up with a way to make the clues come together. He got Neal's voicemail and then remembered Neal had made plans and probably turned off his phone. He headed home after jotting a few things to bring up to Neal on a post it note so he wouldn't forget. He was a few blocks from home when his phone rang.

"Agent Burke, I was wondering when you were letting Neal leave? I tried to call him but I'm getting voice mail and I've been waiting as June's for him." Mozzie asked when Peter answered.

"Dante, I presume, Neal left about three hours ago. I tried to call him myself to bounce some ideas off of him and left a message." Peter said starting to get a bad feeling. Neal should have been at June's if he had plans with Mozzie. It wasn't like him to run late when he had plans.

"We were having dinner tonight and he's not here yet. You said he left three hours ago? He should be here it doesn't take that long to get groceries and get here." Mozzie said starting to feel a bit concerned.

"When was the last time you heard from him?" Peter asked, his stomach starting to feel a bit off. He turned around and headed towards June's on instinct.

He got to June's in record time to find Mozzie and June having tea and discussing where Neal might be.

"Agent Burke, Neal and I had dinner plans tonight I was expecting him to cook for me an hour ago." Mozzie said also not mentioning Tony because he wasn't sure what was going on but not willing to say the name DiNozzo until he was sure that Neal wanted the suit's to know that he was seeing someone and the FBI tried to catch Tony's father for years but never found anything they could even question him on, no need to send them in that direction yet.

"I heard him make plans to meet someone to get groceries any idea who he was with? Alex maybe?" Peter asked concern leaking into his voice, this was not like Neal he would answer his phone and if he were running late he'd call and apologize, he was just considerate that way.

"He's been seeing someone this past week, he was going to make dinner for the three of us tonight." Mozzie volunteered.

Peter's phone rang, he answered it and spoke to Cruz, Neal's wallet had been found at the scene of a reported mugging, The NYPD had found the FBI credentials with it and called them to let them know what they had found.

Peter told Cruz and Jones to go check out the scene. A while later Jones called Peter to let him know Neal been in the D'Agonstino with another man and they had bought some groceries and left together according to the clerk who recognized the picture of Neal. Neal's wallet and a bag of what looked like the ingredients for a chicken dish and a pie and been found along with signs of a struggle, there was also a couple of damaged phones, one being Neal's and a pair of designer sunglasses. They had bagged everything and were sending it to be analyzed. They hoped that the second cell phone wasn't so damaged that they couldn't figure whom it belonged to. It was looking like Neal and someone else had been kidnapped, it was not a good situation.

After listening to Peter on the phone June and Mozzie looked at each other and figured they should probably tell him about Tony. This didn't look good and Tony being who he was and what he did was just going to make things worse.

"Agent Burke, Neal is seeing someone. They met at a party he escorted me too Saturday night." June said as she looked up at Peter "I just hope that they are both fine, and I need to know from you that this won't be a problem for you in the future."

"What would be the problem?" Peter asked now very suspicious of what June was about to tell him, had Neal gotten involved with a criminal or someone wanted? He wondered.

"It's just that Neal has been seeing the son of an old friend of mine." June said and waited to see how Peter reacted to the obvious.

"Neal is seeing a man? I guess I didn't expect that after Kate, I assumed he was straight, but I don't have a problem with that. So if you know anything that can help I'm listening." Peter said as he thought about Neal and another man and it seemed that he had somehow missed picking up on Neal being bi, after all the research he had done he was surprised.

"Neal is seeing Anthony DiNozzo junior, I think that might make it more of a problem." Mozzie said and he looked worried.

"I can see how that can make it worse, was Neal taken and DiNozzo just happened to be there or were they after DiNozzo and grabbed Neal too. This is going to be a royal headache. Any clue where DiNozzo lives?" Peter asked.

"He lives in DC, but he's staying with his father while he's here." June said as she went to find Anthony's cell phone number. "I should probably call him, I think he's been dreading a call like this since his son was born." She added as she found his number.

"Let's hold off on worrying him until we're sure ok? I'm going back to the office and see what the team found and make sure we have everyone we need on this. June here's all my numbers and my wife's if you can't reach me call her and she can track me down." Peter said as he handed June a card.

"Do I get one too?" Mozzie asked.

"I'm sure you already have all my info if you need it. Just let me know if you find anything out you think I should know." Peter said as he left to hurry back to the office. He wasn't going to call El just yet, she liked Neal and he didn't want to worry her.

On the way back to the office he wondered about Anthony DiNozzo junior, he didn't see his name connected with his father very often. They tried a few times to catch the elder DiNozzo in some scheme but nothing stuck. He had been quiet in the past few years so they haven't really looked at him too closely recently.

He walked into the office and it was busy, people everywhere and Hughes waved him over.

"What is your take on this?" Hughes asked as he tried to oversee everything and stay calm.

"It looks like someone grabbed him and another man, Anthony DiNozzo junior. I don't know if DiNozzo or Neal were the target but it looks like they're both missing." Peter said as he saw one of the tech guys come up with a cell phone. He headed over to them and launched into an excited babble which neither Hughes or Peter could follow.

"Whoa, slow it down and get to the point ok?" Peter said to the tech who took a deep breath and was about to start speaking when the phone in his hand started to play "Luck be a Lady Tonight" and the caller ID lit up and read Gibbs.

"As I was trying to say is we didn't get any prints but we fixed it so we can see what's on it." The tech said and handed the ringing phone to Peter and walked away. Peter shrugged and answered the phone.

"About time DiNozzo, I've been calling for hours. Get your ass back to DC we need you. Your vacation has been canceled." a hostile male voice said and then hung up. Peter blinked and looked at the phone like it may bite him.

He found Gibbs in the contacts and pressed send.

"DiNozzo get back here now!" Gibbs answered gruffly.

"Excuse me but this is Agent Peter Burke of the FBI and I need to know" was all Peter got out before Gibbs interrupted him.

"Why do you have DiNozzo's phone? Put him on or tell him to get his ass back to DC or I'll fire him." Gibbs shouted.

"I wish I could put him on but we found this phone at a crime scene and were hoping to get some answers." Peter said looking perplexed, why would anyone want to work for this Gibbs person.

"Crime scene? Is he OK? What happened this time?" Gibbs demanded as he ducked under the yellow tape surrounding his current crime scene.

"He seems to have been abducted, we really need to speak to someone about him." Peter said and listened as he heard Gibbs shouting at someone. Then heard a noise and the Gibb's voice yelling for McGee to talk to the guy from the FBI on Tony's phone since DiNozzo seems to have gone missing again. Then a calmer voice came one the line.

"Hello? Hello?" Peter asked into the phone.

"Sorry about that, this is Agent McGee how can I help you?" the new voice said.

"Hello this is Agent Peter Burke of the FBI and we are trying to locate or find out who may want to abduct Anthony DiNozzo. We'd appreciate some cooperation." Peter said to the much more receptive man on the phone.'

"Tony went missing again? Not good Abby is gonna throw a fit. Shit! Ziva! The guy in the ball cap." he heard and then he heard the phone hit the ground and the sounds of running and gunfire, and then the phone disconnected. Peter hung up on his end "Neal what the hell did you get yourself into?" Peter muttered looking at the phone and hoping someone would call back when things calmed down.

"So what do we know about Anthony DiNozzo junior?" Peter asked of anyone listening.

"Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo is the senior field agent on one of NCIS's major crime response teams. The team leader is one Leroy Jethro Gibbs, they have a pretty high solve rate. I'll see what else I can find out." Cruz said while typing away on her computer.

"Great he's a federal agent, so it's still up in the air who was the target and who was the collateral damage. This is giving me a headache, I'm pretty sure that we can assume that this is a kidnapping". Peter sighed and pulled out the cell phone number that June had given him for Anthony DiNozzo; it was time to make some calls. He generally liked working the white-collar crimes since usually he didn't have to deal with these sorts of things.

***

Gibbs managed to get the suspect that McGee and Ziva had chased into the woods, his cell phone forgotten in the chase. It took a few hours to break the suspect but he confessed to the rape and attempted murder of a recently deployed Marine's wife. He went to call about DiNozzo and see just what the FBI was all hopped up about when he realized he didn't get the phone back from McGee. He walked up his desk and Fornell was waiting for him with two cups of coffee.

"Jethro, we need to talk." Fornell said handing him a coffee.

"So we misplaced DiNozzo again, it seems to happen. He'll turn up, he's on vacation and probably pissed and ignoring me in hopes to finish his trip." Gibbs said. He was pissed at DiNozzo for losing his phone and not being reachable.

"I don't think you have the full story, his phone was smashed and found with a bag of groceries, a pair of sunglasses, another phone belonging to a FBI consultant, and there was evidence of a struggle. We aren't sure if they were trying for DiNozzo and got the consultant too or trying for the consultant and got DiNozzo as well. This is serious, I don't care if you and DiNozzo are having issues right now we need a list of people that may want Tony, I'd start with the list you made last time he was accused of murder and add to it." Fornell said taking a sip of his coffee.

"Wonderful, so why did they sent you instead of calling again?" Gibbs said trying to decide what he needed to pull together for the FBI and considered taking a trip to New York then it hit him… what was Tony doing with an FBI consultant on his vacation? Maybe Tony was considering jumping ship and going to the FBI? Gibbs was going to have to figure out just what was going on, first the conversation with Vance that DiNozzo never really told him about, the sudden trip to New York, did Vance send him to meet this so-called consultant as part of a new undercover operation? There were too many questions and not enough answers. It was making him even more upset then he had been and that was no easy feat.

"I happened to notice that someone ran a search for you on our system and gave Agent Burke and call and found out what was going on. I thought you'd like to know what was going on. Now that you know my work is done, for the record you seem to be more of a bastard then usual today." Fornell said and left.

Gibbs thought about what Fornell said and decided he really was being a bit worse then usual and went down to talk to Abby, he needed to get his head together and without Tony here to keep him in check he'd need to make sure he didn't burn to many bridges. He'd gotten used to Tony keeping things together and he was noticing the difference with him gone. Maybe he'd find a way to make sure they both took vacations at the same time from now on. He had gotten too used to having Tony as his buffer and peacekeeper.

He found McGee in Abby's lab on the webcam to Agent Burke, so he strode in looked at the camera thing and said "Have you found my Senior field agent yet?" and took a sip of coffee.

He saw agent Burke's jaw drop he didn't see Abby's look of shock and McGee's jaw drop.

"I'm guessing you're Gibbs, no we haven't found Agent DiNozzo or Neal Caffrey but we will. I'm hoping for a bit more help now that you have some of the details. I'd also personally appreciate it if you were a bit more cooperative." Peter said, while wondering again how anyone could work with this man and after looking at Agent DiNozzo's file he had managed it for almost a decade. It looked like DiNozzo was good, he'd ask Fornell about him when they got him back, if Neal liked him maybe he'd see if one of the other divisions wanted to poach him from NCIS so he'd be close by. DiNozzo would probably think of it as a favor and it might make Neal happy.

"So I'm hoping you have a list of people that may want to hurt DiNozzo and maybe anything else you can dig up. We are also looking into his father's dealings, and yes we know who is father is. We are looking into all the angles just help us out and we'll get him back for you." Peter said.

"See Gibbs, I told you we should have put a GPS tracking chip under his skin, we couldn't loose him then. He gets lost too often, at least this time he isn't chained to a serial killer." Abby said to Gibbs. Agent Burke just stared… chained to a serial killer? He had to get that story some day, after he found them.

"I'll e-mail you the information we need just get back to me with it and we'll do what we can to get him home." Peter said and terminated the connection.

Then he picked up the phone and called NCIS to get a hold of the director if nothing else he wanted to make sure his opinion of Gibbs was heard. It took a moment or two but the receptionist got him on the line. He first filled him in on what was going on and filled him in on the way he'd been treated. "I'd like to register a complaint against Agent Gibbs, I called trying to get information on a Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo and he threw the phone to another agent and was a complete" Peter got out when Vance interrupted and said "Bastard?"

"That would be a good description, we expect cooperation if we're going to find your agent." Peter said.

"I'm make sure I discuss this with Agent Gibbs, he's pretty much a legend around here. Thanks for keeping me in the loop and if you need anything let me know." They ended the call and Peter sent the e-mail to McGee of the information he wanted on Tony.

***

Tony and Neal felt like they hand been bouncing around in the back of the van for hours. Tony was hoping that someone had seen something and called the police otherwise it would be a while before anyone noticed they were missing. They leaned on each other since it was the closest they could get and Tony hoped he was helping Neal from getting upset. He never asked Neal if he'd been kidnapped before but Tony knew the score, and he was going to try and get them out of this as soon as he saw an opening and in the meantime he hoped that Agent Burke was really as good at finding Neal, as Neal had said he was, they needed every advantage they could get. The van stopped and Tony heard their captors doing something then Neal made a small pained noise and mutter something like "Not a needle again, guess it's better then the tazer." and went slack against him, then he felt something cold and wet against his arm and a small pinch and knew he'd just been given something and then the world faded away, at least he knew why Neal had gone slack and Tony joined him.

***

Abby and McGee were floored by the way Gibbs was acting it was like he was blaming Tony for getting kidnapped, like he did it just to piss off Gibbs. They gathered up all the information that Agent Burke had wanted and they sent him the list of people that had issues with Tony in the past. They also let Agent Burke know that this was a last minute trip for Tony so if he had been the target then the kidnapper had to have been following him. They figured every piece of the puzzle they could provide would help bring Tony home faster. McGee then gave Abby a hug and tried to reassure her that Tony was like a cat he always came back and seemed to have nine lives.

***

Peter went home he wanted to let El know Neal was missing in person; she had grown fond of Neal and would be worried. He parked and noticed an envelope on the steps. He didn't want to pick it up with his bare hands in case it was evidence so he went back to the car and found a pair of latex gloves he had in a zip lock bag in the glove box for "just in case" times like this. He slipped a pair on and picked up the envelope, it was flat like it contained papers, it wasn't sealed so he looked inside and saw a pile of photos. He called it in and went into his house noticing El wasn't home yet. He put the envelope on the table and slid the pictures out; there were shots of Neal, Neal and Tony, Elizabeth, Elizabeth and him, and of just him. He and his wife were being watched; Tony and Neal were being watched. He looked closely at the pictures and noticed there weren't any of just Tony. He was pretty sure that meant Neal must have been the target of the kidnapping. The fact that there were pictures that included Elizabeth worried him. He looked closely at the rest of the pictures, there were a few of Neal and Tony at a restaurant feeding each other, he could see that they cared for each other, and Tony looked much better in these pictured then he did in the pictures that were in his NCIS file. He called the office to let them know about the pictures and the envelope. Then he heard El come in and he went to her and gave her a hug.

"Sweetheart I have something to tell you and it's not good news, Neal had been kidnapped." He whispered into her hair as he held her.

"What? How? Oh my god…" she held him tighter then she saw the pictures spread out on the table. "Where are those from? That was this weekend, are we being watched?" She asked as she let go of him and looked at the pictures of the two of them, then she noticed the pictures of Neal and Tony.

"It seems whoever grabbed Neal got his boyfriend too. They meet this weekend and well you can see, there are three days of them being together." Peter said as he moved to gather up the pictures.

As he put them back he heard a knock at the door, he stepped in front of El and pulled his gun and went to the door with it just in case, now that he knew they had been watched he didn't want to risk someone grabbing his wife. It was Jones to pick up the pictures and take them to the office and have the lab look them over. He really hoped that no one made to big a deal out of the more intimate pictures of Neal and Tony feeding each other but they needed to see them just in case there was a print or something that could break this case. Peter rationalized that they were in a public place so at least they weren't trying to keep it too much of a secret because pretty soon there would be a number of people that saw them. He let Jones in and he put the envelope in an evidence bag and sealed it.

"Anything new?" Peter asked hoping that maybe they had a phone call at the office or something.

"No just getting a few files from NCIS and we were warned that Gibbs might show up at some point, he doesn't seem very pleasant but he's got a great closure rate. He is not a people person. Mr. DiNozzo returned your call at the office and is headed in now to talk to you he was coming down from Albany so it'll be a couple of hours." Jones said.

"I want someone keeping an eye on El, there are pictures of her in there too and I don't want anyone taking her, unless you want to come to the office honey?" Peter offered, she didn't even think about it too long she grabbed the leash and asked Jones to walk the Satchmo while she gathered a few things and changed into a pair of jeans and grabbed her laptop, Jones was back with Satchmo by the time El was ready to go. They went back to the office and El went to Peter's office and took care of a few things for her business, she knew her husband well enough to know he'd feel better if she were here, with her safe at the FBI offices he could focus on finding Neal and his boyfriend, she had seen the pictures and she was able to figure out just what they were to each other. It was cute to think of them feeding each other even though it was creepy having some stranger taking pictures of them doing it.

The team was working with a few other agents trying to track down any sort of lead. Mr. DiNozzo arrived and ever so politely demanded someone tell him what was going on. Half the office thought it was sort of funny that they finally get Anthony DiNozzo in their office and he was the one demanding answers, most of them figured it should be the other way around but they never could find anything to bring him in on, he was too careful to leave tracks. Peter went over to fill in Mr. DiNozzo when it seemed like all hell broke loose Agent Gibbs had arrived.

"What's being done to find my Agent?" he demanded just as Anthony turned to take a look at was going on.

"Relax and don't go off half cocked Gibbs! We need them focused and you charging in here like a jackass isn't going to achieve anything. Let them do their jobs, and help them out. Don't make things worse." Anthony said as he led Gibbs over to introduce him to Peter.

"Agent Burke, what have you got?' Gibbs asked with just a trace of hostility in his voice.

"As I was explaining before you arrived it looks like either Neal was the target, not DiNozzo." Peter paused to take a breath.

"Why do you think that?" Gibbs asked cutting off Peter before he had a chance to finish.

Peter was getting frustrated with Gibbs and he'd only been here for a little while no wonder Fornell had called to warn them Gibbs would likely show up and his own director called him a bastard. If the man was like this all the time then poaching the younger DiNozzo was looking like it might be a piece of cake, they just had to get Neal and Tony back first.

"As I was saying we received a number of photographs mostly of Neal, my wife and myself, there were ones with Tony but only when he was with Neal. I have agents going through everything Neal and I have done looking for a lead, we are still going through Tony's list too just in case but I'm thinking he was taken because he was there or they thought they could use him to keep Neal in line." Peter told Gibbs and Anthony.

"Why would having my son keep Neal in line?" Anthony asked. Peter looked at Gibbs and could tell he was thinking the same thing. He really hoped these two were open-minded because he was going to have to mention the relationship between Neal and Tony to explain this.

"Mr. DiNozzo you were aware your son was seeing someone correct?" Peter asked.

"Yes he met someone at the party we went to Saturday night. They were spending a lot of time together." Anthony responded, they both seemed to hesitant to go into details, Peter guessed that Anthony knew his son was seeing a man so that left Gibbs out of the loop. He hoped the man didn't flip.

"Neal and Tony met Saturday night and have been together for just a few days, the pictures we were sent had the two of them together." Peter said and he reached for a copy of one of the least intimate photos, they were together in it but not feeding each other or kissing.

"How do you know they're not just friends?' Gibbs asked looking at the photo. Peter sighed and handed Gibbs another photo, they were feeding each other in it.

"I guess he's seeing someone, good for him. So what do we know about this Caffrey?" Gibbs asked still looking at the picture of Tony and Neal.

"He's a consultant for the Financial Crimes department here. He's been partnering with me on a number of cases, and we've had an above average solve rate. He's a genius at figuring out these sorts of crimes; he also was pretty directly involved in getting a judge removed from office for mortgage fraud. He hasn't made a lot of friends in the criminal community this past year." Peter said as he took the picture back form Gibbs. "So far there hasn't been a ransom demand but it's only been," he looked at the clock, "eight or nine hours, so they may contact us." Peter said.

"So what can I do to help? If there is anyone that knows DiNozzo, well I used to say it would be me but I guess I missed something." Gibbs said as he looked for a coffee pot, every law enforcement branch had some source of the stuff.

"Well for now try to think of who may want him, both of you. Even though we think that he was just in the wrong place the wrong time it doesn't hurt to be thorough." Peter suggested as he saw Gibbs look around, he smirked and pointed out the coffee knowing that was what the man was looking for and the then went to check with his team.

"Anything yet Cruz? Jones?" Peter asked as he went to them.

"The lab found a partial print belonging to a Leland Burroughs on the photo of Neal and Tony kissing and a small seminal contribution also belonging to Burroughs. He has a record and it's not pretty. Mostly assault, there is a conviction for rape and kidnapping. He escaped from a prison transport sixteen months ago and there has been no trace of him this print and DNA popped up here." Cruz said as she looked at Peter with a worried expression, this was not the man you wanted anywhere near someone you hated let alone a friend.

"Seminal? As in he was…" Peter didn't finish the question "Find his known associates and see if he has any connection to Neal, Tony, Elizabeth or myself. If we can find a connection we can try to figure out what he wants and where he went." Peter told her, this was the best lead they had and it was a disturbing one.

They had done as much as they could, they had notified all the local authorities and were checking all the connections Burroughs had and nothing was coming up. Everyone was getting frustrated and tired.

"Look why don't you two get some rest, Jones can drive you home and Gibbs I'm sure we can find a hotel for you." Peter offered hoping that they would go get some rest, he knew he'd have a hard time finding sleep but he needed to get some so he could come at this fresh and find the missing piece that would let him bring Neal and Tony home, sooner rather then later and hopefully before anything happened to either of them.

Anthony decided to head home and offered to put Gibbs up in the room Tony was using so they were both close by if they were needed. Gibbs didn't want to leave but he understood that they had reached a point where they couldn't do much good here so he took Anthony's offer. When they got back to the condo they found Tony's overnight bag still next to the door since he never came back for it and the note was still laying where it was left. They both got ready for a restless night but they had to try. Maybe being fresh in the morning would help.

The FBI and NYPD managed to find a few people that were around the market and got a description of the van that may have been the get away vehicle. They even pulled some traffic camera footage of it and put out a BOLO. It was a slim chance but every little bit helped. This was this first time a while Peter wished he still had the tracker on Neal, maybe that NCIS tech wasn't too far off in suggesting a tracking chip. He went to his office to see how El was holding up and found her trying to concentrate on her business but he could tell she wasn't really getting anything done.

"Hun, why don't we go get some sleep, I've arranged for an agent to come home with us and make sure nothing happens. We can come at this fresh in the morning and we'll get someone to protect you so you can go to work." Peter said as he gathered her into an embrace. "We'll find Neal, he'll be fine. You'll see… it'll all work out." He held her a little while and then brought her home. They didn't sleep much but they did hold each other all night, and worried about Neal and hoped he was doing well and that he came home soon.

***

Tony felt like his brain was swimming though syrup as he finally woke up enough to realize he had been unconscious not just asleep, he could feel whatever they shot him up with releasing it's hold. He was still wiped out and feeling out of it but he managed to open his eyes, he could make out another person laying on the floor a few feet from him in the dim light that leaked in through the small gap under the door. He tried to reach out and make sure it was Neal and that he was fine but his body just didn't want to cooperate. He kept trying and eventually inched closer and was able to see Neal's face and could hear him breathing. Tony let out a sigh and was glad they were both still alive and together, that was at least comforting and it meant that if he had the chance to escape he wouldn't have to search for Neal. Now all he had to do was figure out how to get out of this room when he still didn't have full control of his body. He stroked Neal's hair and hoped he woke up soon, and tried to stay awake, it would be so easy to fall back under the influence of the sedative they had used on him.

He tried to move around more and little by little it became easier, he sat up and was able to take a look at the room they were in, it was pretty small and there was a door just on the other side of where Neal was laying. Tony managed to sit up and then to crawl past Neal to try the door of course it was locked but he had to give it a try. He went to check on Neal again now that he was more mobile. Neal was still out cold. Tony went through both of their pockets to see if their captors had left them anything useful, and it turned out that whoever had grabbed them was very good at making sure they got everything, Tony's belt and knife were missing. He sat down by Neal and tried to get him into a more comfortable position, pillowing Neal's head in his lap. He was hoping that when Neal rejoined the waking world he would have some ideas, because just sitting here hoping to be found wasn't the best option. He couldn't even count on Gibbs and the team this time, as far as they knew he was on vacation.

Tony just sat thinking of anything he could do to get them out of here, and then he felt Neal shift a little and moan.

"Hey are you with me? Neal? Come on wake up." Tony said trying to encourage Neal to wake up.

"What the?" Neal said as he tried to sit up.

"Take it slow what ever they gave us takes a bit before it fully wears off." Tony said as he helped Neal sit up. "How do you feel?" He asked.

Neal just blinked a few times and muttered something about feeling fuzzy.

"Relax, it fades after a bit." Tony told Neal "I think we're in a bit of a jam though. The door is locked, and there aren't any windows. I went through our pockets and they didn't leave us anything really useful to try and get out of here with." He finished and Neal looked at him trying to shake the effects of the drugs.

"At least we're together, we don't have to escape and go looking for each other." Neal said getting his bearings and looking around for himself.

"I thought the same thing." Tony said as Neal went through his pockets.

"They didn't even leave my emergency paperclip." Neal muttered as he finished going though his pockets.

"They were pretty good at searching, they took my belt. I have a knife hidden in the buckle." Tony said as they both then sighed.

"Maybe there is something we can use on the floor, now that we're both awake let's check this place out." Neal said as he got on his hands and knees, and then tried to stand, he was a little unsteady but he got to his feet. Tony stood up and they both started feeling around the gloomy little room.

The room was about eight by ten, had no windows, a steel door and cinderblock walls. The ceiling seemed to be the wooden beams and sub floor of the room above.

"I think were in the basement of a house, I haven't heard anything since I woke up but I did try the door and it's locked." Tony said as Neal headed to the door, tried the knob.

"It's locked alright, I just had to try. So this isn't going to be easy." Neal said as he contemplated their options.

"I thought about trying to kick it out but I'm not sure I want anyone knowing we're awake yet. Maybe we can surprise them when they check on us if they think we're still unconscious." Tony suggested.

That might work but I think if we go that route you should be the one waiting for someone to come in, as you might have noticed I'm not really big on violence, you did much better in the fight then I did." Neal stated while still feeling around the door.

"Well I'm a field agent, I was a cop before I was an agent and I piss people off fairly regularly so I have a lot of practice at physical confrontations." Tony said as he felt along the floor and came up with a staple. "Can you get us through the door with this?" Tony asked as he offered the staple to Neal.

"I can try, though I think it's going to be to small and flexible." Neal said as he straightened the tiny piece of metal out and tried to work his magic on the lock. It was totally useless but it had at least it had give him something to do for a minute or two.

"It's not going to work I think we may have to go with the confrontation option." Neal said with a sigh and pocketed the staple just in case it became useful for something. He sat on the floor and looked up at Tony.

"This isn't looking so good, but on the upside I'm not chained to a serial killer this time." Tony said as he sank down next to Neal, putting himself between Neal and the door.

"Chained to a serial killer? That sounds like a story that you need to tell me, I'm sure you've had a few interesting adventures." Neal said trying to take his mind off the situation they were in for a while.

"Well, lets see… I've been drugged and locked in a sewer with a corpse and a half dead marine, I was knocked out by a woman wearing a wedding dress chained in a replica of a nineteen fifties bedroom, I got the pneumonic plague, was almost blown up the same day I came back from medical leave from the plague, then Kate…" and Tony stopped talking for a second trying not to let the memories of Kate get him down, he was trying to keep their spirits up not go for a wallow in old pain. "She died." he said with the hint of a sigh and continued on "my car got blown up, luckily I wasn't in it at the time, then I ended up in a fight with my partner's boyfriend and well let's not go into that, then Africa and rescuing my partner and getting drugged and a bit beaten then too. Oh and I can't forget the times I've been accused of murder, that happened a few times. So yeah it's been an adventure, which story do you want first?" Tony rambled on as Neal leaned against him.

"Who was Kate?" Neal asked.

"Ah Kate, she was my partner. She called me an x-rated Peter Pan. I still miss her she was killed by a sniper on a rooftop. The sniper was taken care of, I'm sure the official report isn't exact but it was close enough for government work as the saying goes. Let's talk about something else, please." Tony said trying to turn the conversation around to something else.

"I had a Kate, I escaped prison to find her and I did a lot of things that weren't exactly smart to try and keep her and in the end I lost her and almost died myself. If it weren't for Peter, I would have been with her." Neal said quietly, Tony put his arm around Neal and placed a kiss into his hair.

They were both quiet a while lost in their thoughts and holding each other. Then they heard a creak from above, someone was in the house with them. They looked at each other and Tony gestured for Neal to get up and go to the other side of the room. Tony stood up and pressed himself against the wall next to the door so he'd be ready if someone came through.

The creaks became footsteps and they heard someone coming down a flight of stairs and then closer to the door. Tony nodded at Neal hoping they were able to pull this off. The door rattled as it was unlocked and then opened. No one came in, there were footsteps backing away. Tony was tempted to peek out but held still, waiting to see what was going to happen.

"I have a gun here I know that both of you are awake by now, so I want Caffrey to come out first and then you DiNozzo, both of keep your hands up as you come out and I won't shoot either of you just yet." A voice from outside their room said, Neal looked at Tony and Tony looked like he was thinking. A bullet was fired into the room hitting the wall and sending bits of debris everywhere. "Now, I don't need you both alive so if you don't want me to shoot one of you right now you'll both do as I say, now get your asses out here." The voice said, Neal sighed and held his hands up and took a few cautious steps to the door and then out into the light of a pretty utilitarian basement. He stepped away from the door and Tony followed him hands up and going slow, neither of them wanted to get shot.

"So now that I can see you both, we can have a chat. Sit down over there." The man said pointing to a pair of chairs and Neal and Tony looked at the chairs and the handcuffs, a small table with a TV showing CNN and a digital camera on a tripod.

"Ah, time to prove we're still alive and unharmed, I see." Tony said with a slight mocking tone to his voice and went to sit down, he looked at the gunman and he was wearing a ski mask, Tony tried to memorize all he could about the man. Neal stayed silent and followed also looking at the man holding them captive, two more men came down the stairs with guns and wearing ski masks.

"About time you got down here. Get the handcuffs on them and get some pictures. Make sure they can see the news in the background so they can tell when we took the pictures." The first man said as the other two got them cuffed and made sure the TV was between them clearing showing the current national headlines.

"I'll get this to the FBI with our demands and you two can get them back into there. Leave the cuffs on now that they're awake, it'll make it easier later." The first man said as he grabbed the memory card from the camera and took it up stairs leaving the second two men to gesture back towards the door.

"I don't suppose I could get some refreshments sent in?" Tony asked with the slight mocking tone still in his voice, all it got him was a backhand to the month and a shove back into their room. Neal went meekly and tripped over the doorsill, one of the guys caught him before he went down and used Neal's motion to propel him into the room and right into Tony the momentum took them both to the floor with Neal on top. The door was shut and they were back in the gloom, the only light coming in around the door. They heard footsteps going back up the stairs; they were alone again and still trapped.

"That was almost like we planned it." Neal said as he rolled off Tony. "You distracted them with your attitude and while the paid attention to you I stumble a bit and snag this." Neal said with a smile holding up a safety pin. He quickly opened up the handcuffs with the pin.

"I'm just glad you decided not to say anything, both of us being our usual charming selves might have gotten them a bit trigger happy, as it is I'm glad I only got backhanded. My mouth likes to run off before I can get a hold of it sometimes." Tony said as he put a hand to his face to feel the damage it didn't feel too bad but it stung.

"Should I see if I can get the door open? I'm not sure the safety pin will do it but I can give it a try." Neal offers.

"We should wait until it's later, maybe they'll go to sleep or something. They outnumber and out gun us. I think we need all the advantages we can get." Tony said as he tried to get comfortable next to Neal.

"I'm not good at doing nothing Tony, I feel like I need to do something, planning preparing, something… I have patience but even in prison I had something to keep me occupied as everything came together." Neal said playing with the safety pin.

"Try to be patient, we'll get out of this. We've both been in tighter spots then this. We also have Agent Burke who you said can always hunt you down and as soon as Gibbs gets word I'm missing he'll join the hunt. We have a lot going for us and at least we're together." Tony tried to reassure himself as much as Neal.

"So planning: step one wait for the bad guys to go to bed, step two try to unlock the door, step three sneak away. It sounds so simple I just hate the waiting part." Neal said twirling the safety pin in his fingers.

"So we get some rest while we wait so we're fresh and ready to go. I do agree though I hate the waiting part too. I'm almost tempted to let Abby put a tracking chip in my neck, she keeps threatening to do it." Tony said and they both closed their eyes and waited for a few hours.

When there had been not sounds from the rest of the house for a couple of hours they tried the door. The safety pin wasn't going to do the job; it was time to come up with a new plan. They lay down on the floor and tried to sleep, there wasn't much else to do.

The woke up hearing foot steps on the stairs, Neal tucked the safety pin into a crack in the wall to hide it and they both put the cuffs back on, no point in letting their kidnappers know what they were capable of just yet. The door opened and Neal was ordered out of the room. Not wanting to have the room randomly shot into he got up and stepped out. The door closed and Tony hoped that nothing happened to him.

"You have three minutes to use the bathroom over there." the man said as he pointed a small half bath in the corner, there was no door but it was better then not getting to use it at all and Neal really did have to go he went as fast as possible, washed his hands and gave his face a quick once over, the whole time he could feel the other man watching him, it wasn't a pleasant feeling.

"Now get back in and send DiNozzo out." the masked man said as he opened the door with one hand while still holding the gun aimed at Neal with the other. Tony came out and was given the same chance at the bathroom. Then as he headed back towards the door the man tossed in a couple of cereal bars and a few bottles of water in after him and locked the door. They heard the man's footsteps go back up stairs and then over their heads and they could hear a TV come on but it wasn't loud enough to make out what was on it.

Neal got the safety pin from its hiding place and got them out of the cuffs and hid it again. They each grabbed a bottle of water and a cereal bar. It wasn't the most filling meal but it was better then nothing.

"Did he watch you go? It was so creepy." Neal asked.

"Tell me about it, his eyes were just so glued to me and then he stared at my face a bit. Three minutes isn't long but he just watched me." Tony said and took a sip of water.

"I'm not liking this at all, I think the sooner we find a way out the better." Neal said as he finished his cereal bar and opened his bottle of water.

"I think the next time he lets me out I may have to risk jumping him. If I can take him down quietly I can grab the key and we can sneak out."

"Tony, that's a pretty big risk, he could shoot you. Maybe we should keep our options open for now, see if Peter finds us. If he gets threatening we can try it but risking our lives this soon might not be a good idea. We haven't been hurt yet let's give the FBI a little more time." Neal suggested as he finished the water.

"That makes sense, so what should we do while waiting? They could at least have given us a TV or a deck of cards." Tony complained, Neal just sighed.

***

Peter found another envelope like the last one tucked under the windshield wiper of his car when he was leaving for the office. He slid it into a plastic bag without touching it and brought it in with him, he figured the office would be the best place to take a look inside and he also wondered how someone got it there without being noticed.

He got to his office and went straight to the conference room they were using as a command post for finding Neal and Agent DiNozzo. Most of the team was already there going over everything they had, Peter put the latest envelope on the table and one of the techs put a new pair of gloves on and opened it, more pictures and a thumb drive slid out. The pictures were headed off to get copies made and the originals analyzed and the thumb drive was stuck into a USB slot on a laptop not connected to the network just in case there was mal ware on it. There was a video of Neal and DiNozzo in front of a TV with CNN in the background they looked unhurt the picture faded and then a man in a ski mask appeared with a totally different background came on and started saying they wanted a total of ten million dollars, five million dollar per captive. They would be contacted with details of drop in forty-eight hours so they had time to gather the funds, then the video ended.

"Jones, find out when CNN ran the story on the TV, Cruz get the video to who the technicians to see if they can pull any clues from it, the rest of us are going to look through the stills and see if we can get anything from them." Peter said as he spread the copies of the stills out on the table and Cruz and Jones went to take care of their assignments.

The pictures were of Neal and Tony, this time at the grocery store the day they were taken, then there were a few of them unconscious and bound on the floor of a vehicle and then lying unbound but unconscious on the floor of a small cinderblock room. They couldn't see anything to hint at where they were being held. They hoped that the tech that were going over the originals and the video could come up with something, meanwhile they were concentrating on tracking down anyone that might want to hurt Neal or Peter. Peter thought it wasn't about the money, if they really wanted that then they would have grabbed DiNozzo and El or even himself. Neal would be able to get the money a lot faster then the FBI, even if Neal's methods were less then legal, money is money and what Neal had wouldn't be marked or traceable, Neal was good that way, it was part of what had made him so hard to catch.

He called Mr. DiNozzo and Agent Gibbs to give them an update and to let them know that as far as they were concerned they were still alive. Then he called El and told her the same thing. She said she'd get word to June and Dante and told him to concentrate on getting Neal back and that she wanted to meet Tony, and to invite them over for dinner when they were home. He was looking forward to seeing what kind of person DiNozzo was so it was fine with him.

The team kept trying to piece things together and finally another finger print on the photo of them in the grocery store yielded a hit, this time it wasn't Leland Burroughs it was another violent criminal with a record from the same home town as Burroughs, his name was Michael Dellacorte and he was into assault with a deadly weapon, breaking and entering, grand theft auto and a slew of other things. He was currently wanted in New Jersey and Maryland. They were both from a suburb of Buffalo, New York and Dellacorte still had family in the area. They'd have to send the local police out to check if they had any idea where he might be, it wasn't much but they were getting somewhere.

Gibbs showed up about forty-five minutes after Burke had given him the update and wanted to see the video. The cued it up and let him see it, he could tell Tony was stressed but he looked like he was in good health.

"So anything else? Any leads?" Gibbs asked curtly.

"We have a lead on one of the kidnappers and sent the local authorities out to his parent's home to see if they know anything or have an idea where their son is. We are getting somewhere."

"Good, I'm going for coffee and to update my team. Let me know if you find anything." and Gibbs left.

"Good riddance." Peter muttered under his breath as he went back to trying to track down information on Burroughs and Dellacorte. He had hoped that Gibbs would be more pleasant in person but so far he wasn't, it could just be worry over Tony making him ornery and hopefully that's all it was.

***

Neal and Tony talked and tried not to get too bored as they waited for something to happen. Tony had gone over the story of being chained to Jeffery White in detail and then started telling the story of having the plague when they heard footsteps coming their way. They quick put the cuffs back on and waited to see what was going on. The footsteps didn't come down the stairs and eventually who ever was upstairs settled back down for more TV.

"So, show me how to get the cuffs off, we have plenty of time." Tony asked hoping to keep them busy and it would be a good thing to know.

"Sure, as long as you don't tell Peter, he might think I'm trying to subvert you or something." Neal said, Tony chuckled at the idea. It would have been funnier if they were back at Neal's place playing with the handcuffs but at least they kept busy for a while and Tony got the hang of getting them off and though he wasn't as fast as Neal he was getting pretty quick.

"You know, maybe when we get out of this you can teach me some other things, they might come in handy considering I end up in situations like this more often then I'd like." Tony suggested as he leaned in and gave Neal a kiss, they weren't going to make love here but it was a small thing Tony could do to let Neal know he cared and as soon as they were safe they would make up for lost time. Tony was going to put in for a leave of absence or something, time in captivity shouldn't be counted against his vacation time or so he thought and he still wasn't sure if he wanted to got back to DC he had enough saved that he could take his time deciding what to do next if he left NCIS. He asked Neal to tell him the stories of some of his alleged activities and he kept practicing getting the handcuffs off and even got the hang of doing it behind his back. Neal was telling him about having met Mozzie and what they supposedly did together.

Then they heard movement from upstairs again and hid the safety pin and put their cuffs on, one set of footsteps came down the stairs. The door was opened and it looked like guy number one was letting them use the bathroom again, gun in his hand just in case and ski mask in place.

"Caffrey, you got three minutes." He said and let Neal out and closed the door on Tony. He watched Neal hurry and go, wash his hands and then get back to the door. Guy number one put another bottle of water in Neal's hands and then opened the door and Neal went back in and Tony got his turn, the door was locked and Tony hurried to use the bathroom. He finished up and headed back to the door as it was unlocked Tony went to step in and guy one pinched his ass with the hand that wasn't holding the gun. Tony swallowed and got through the door as quick as he could. It was closed and locked behind him.

"Tony, you look a bit upset. What happened?" Neal asked.

"We may want to rethink our plan, I'm sure Mr. Ski Mask was checking me out while I went and he pinched my ass when I tried to get to the door, and he didn't even give me a bottle of water." Tony said as he and Neal took off the cuffs and shared sips of the water Neal had been given.

"This isn't a good sign, I hope Peter gets here soon or they slip up and give us a chance to get away." Neal said.

They finished the water and held each other and tried to imagine they were someplace else. Neal told Tony about some of his more interesting and cleverest alleged cons and Tony told Neal the story of when he was trapped in the sewer with a corpse and a half dead marine, they eventually kept telling stories and planning vacations they would probably never take, each adding a more outrageous activity to their future vacation. Tony was surprised at Neal's willingness to rock climb and go base jumping, but then Neal reminded him of his alleged activities and Tony thought about it and decided they would be able to do a lot of exciting things together if they got out of this basement. They had to hold on to that hope and keep an eye out for a chance to run. They eventually feel asleep, not knowing what time it was they weren't sure if it had been one or two days so far and the guy in the ski mask wasn't the type they felt like asking.

They woke up and had another day where they are given a few water bottles and some cereal bars to share, they each got two bathroom breaks and each time their captor leered at them watching their every move in the bathroom. They noticed more things added to the basement, there was a mattress flopped in a corner now and a trunk next to it. They were aware that they both could use a shower but it wasn't too bad yet, it wasn't like they were being active and the idea of a shower with ski mask watching was more then disturbing so they just kept quiet and tried not to draw too much attention to themselves. They told more stories to each other while they waited to see what was going to happen, they were never presented with an opportunity to escape, it seemed that ski mask's two friends were always near by if not in the basement with them. They eventually slept again.

When they woke up it was to the door opening and more water bottles were tossed in but no food this time. Tony sighed, they really weren't the best of hosts it seemed but so far they hadn't been beaten or even messed with too much, just not fed well. They amused themselves for a few hours but they got quiet and just sat together and hoped that something would happen soon, to get them out of here.

It was quiet upstairs except for the sound of the TV and what they guessed were bathroom breaks for the men. It stayed like that for a few hours and around where they guessed it should be time for dinner they heard more feet and some clanking and then there were people on the stairs, the cuffs went back on and they sat and waited to see what was going on this time, hopefully if was dinner or at least another snack. The door opened and a paper plate with two hot dogs was pushed in and two bottles of water followed, then the door was closed again.

"Well it's not what I would have order but at least they aren't going to totally starve us." Tony said as he handed one hot dog and bottle of water to Neal and grabbed the other bottle and hot dog. They ate in silence and left the cuffs on as they could hear someone doing things in the basement. They finished and leaned back against the wall and Tony launched into a story of having to pretend to be an assassin and pretending to sleep with his partner. He was just getting to the part where he was tied to a chair getting beat on when he started to feel off. The world was melting away at an alarming rate it was very disturbing he tried to say something about it to Neal, who had noticed something was wrong and managed to ease him to the floor when he started to slide sideways.

Neal knew the moment Tony started to slur and slump that he had been drugged, he wondered if it was the food or the water and why he wasn't affected. Then the door opened. There was the guy and the gun and he had this smile on his face that made Neal feel like he was in some sort of trouble.

"I was wondering which one of you I'd have first. I thought I'd leave it to chance and it looks like you get the first go. I've been picturing how your lips would look wrapped around my cock since the first time I saw you. Those pretty blue eyes staring up at me in fear, maybe even with tears streaming down your cheeks. Get out here and I'm sure you can figure out what I want that pretty mouth to do." he said aiming the gun at Neal and letting him out. He opened his pants and gestured for Neal to get on his knees and take care of him. Neal hesitated as the man closed and locked the door all while keeping the gun aimed at Neal's head. Neal saw no other choice so he preformed, he tried to be as quick as possible to get it over with. He wished the guy would forget about the gun but he kept it pressed to Neal's head the whole time. Neal then hoped that he didn't reflexively pull the trigger when he came, he could feel the man get close and then the man pulled him off and came on his chest and a bit on his face.

"Thank you, it was as good as I imagined, now get back in there and I'm leaving you to explain why you are covered in my jizz to your boyfriend. Have fun!" he said and opened the door and forced Neal back in. The door closed and he heard the lock engage, Neal just sat stunned and that when the tears started to fall. He thought maybe Tony had been right to consider trying to overpower the man, it might not end up great but he didn't want to think about what would happen the next time that door opened. He took a few moments to collect himself and then wiped his face with his jacket as best he could and went to check on Tony. He was still deeply unconscious; Neal curled up next to him and willed himself to sleep not even bothering to take off either of their cuffs.

***

Agent Burke had heard from the local police that the Dellacorte's hadn't heard from their son in months and that the last time they spoke they had urged him to turn himself in before he got into more trouble, they blamed his friends Leland and Derek for leading him astray. The Dellacorte's said the Derek Collins was another local friend of their son's and he wasn't pleasant but the didn't really know much about him other then he was raised locally.

He had Jones pull everything that they could on Collins and found that he too had a history but had done his time and was currently living at the house his parents left him when they passed away and that he also inherited a house that had been his grandmother's. He asked some of the local agents to go check out both places and see if there were any signs that he was involved. They were going to look and report back as soon as they could but the local office was in Buffalo and it was an hour to Collins' house and about a half hour further to the grandmother's house. They could send the town police like they had for Dellacorte's parents but Peter didn't want to have the police spook them if they did have Neal and DiNozzo, who knew what they would do if they were found.

He wasn't going to make any calls to Gibbs or Mr. DiNozzo until they were sure but he had a good feeling about this lead. They had been taken on Tuesday and it now Thursday and with luck they'd have them home in time for the weekend. Peter was going to have to start planning a raid and putting a team together if they turned out to be at one of the two houses. It was back to waiting and it really irked Peter to have to wait, he wanted Neal home safe and he wanted it now.

***

Tony opened his eyes slowly and shook off the lingering effects of a drugged sleep yet again. He wondered what happened while he was out, he was still cuffed and Neal was too. He reached out to touch Neal and felt moisture and something dry and flaky, this confused him. What the hell happened? He thought as he tried to get a better look in the dim light. Neal stirred and whimpered Tony tried to ease him out of whatever dream he was having and ended up waking him up.

"Neal are you alright?" He asked making sure the dampness wasn't blood, it wasn't is was like Neal had been crying in his sleep.

"I think so, I will be. Tony, he made me, we have to get out of here. We can't wait he'll do it again and we just have to get out of here. The sooner the better, now would be wonderful." Neal said in a rushed whisper.

"What did he do?" Tony asked fearing the worst.

"He made me suck him off, he had a gun to my head and I didn't want to but what could I do? He drugged you and made me." Neal said and then just hugged himself and stopped talking. Tony held him as best he could while they were both cuffed.

"I know he made you but you did what you had to, you'll be fine and we'll get out of here and everything will be good." Tony said and then kept whispering endearments and encouragement to Neal as they sat together.

Neal dozed off and Tony just kept whispering hoping that this was as bad as it got, but knowing it could have been so much worse, they were both still physically fine other then some hunger, thirst, Tony's bruised cheek and what happened to Neal. Tony had to get them out of this room before anything more happened to Neal. He planned to try and take the guy out next time he came down alone, they would have to be really careful about eating or drinking what they were given. This wasn't going to be easy, they needed food and water to keep up their strength and if they couldn't trust it then they had a problem. He kept trying to come up with a way out of this, everything hinged on getting through that door. He laid Neal down and paced the tiny room he needed to get a hold of himself, he had to be in control and detached from his emotions to be rational and ready when the time came to act.

It seemed like hours later that he heard someone coming down, he really hoped that which ever one of them it was, was alone because he was going to get them out of here before Neal was hurt again.

The door opened and there the first guy stood, gun in hand. He had opened the door wide enough to see the whole room and the sudden amount of light made Tony's eyes water a bit.

"Get out here and don't wake him up." The man with the gun ordered, and being out there was just what Tony had wanted so he complied.

"It's your turn, I jacked off to the pictures I have of you two, I would imagine his lips and it was as good as I thought it would be. I can't wait to see if your ass is as good as I think it will be." He said as locked the door and grabbed Tony and tried to spin him with the hand he didn't have the gun in. He tried to push Tony face first into the wall and Tony made a grab for the gun but the cuffs got in the way and it ended up on the floor, they both dove for it and for a moment it looked like Tony was going to end up with it until he ended up with a knee into his stomach. The sudden pain caused his hands to release and the gun was pressed into his back and he was face down on the floor, this wasn't good.

"Now that wasn't nice, for that I'm going to make you bleed. Undo your pants or I put a bullet in your spine." He said as he pressed the gun into Tony's back hard enough to bruise. Tony lay there on with his hands stuck under him, he felt the gun digging into his back and he reached for his fly and undid it. He tried not to think and thought maybe he could just take a mental trip and try to ignore what was about to happen.

"I want to hear you when I take you. I plan on keeping you and Caffrey for a while; I made sure that I planned well for this. Neither of you will leave without the other and no one knows where I am. I can have you anytime, so get used to it." He said as he pulled Tony's pants and underwear down to his ankles with one hand keeping the gun pushed painfully into his back. The cement floor was rough and having his penis pressed into it was uncomfortable he tried to use his hands to take the pressure off but it didn't help much as his own weight and the man on top of him pressed him into the floor.

"This isn't going to work." The man said and Tony felt the gun leave his back he tried to flip over and take control of it but it collided with his head stunning him and he flopped back down on his face and hit his forehead on the floor. All he could do was lay there dazed on the edge of passing out as he felt his ass cheeks spread and a finger poked around and into him, this wasn't happening he thought to himself and he started to struggle. The finger was pulled out and the man leaned his weight down on Tony's back making it almost impossible to breathe. Black spots started forming in front of his eyes and Tony struggled until this time he did pass out due to lack of oxygen and the hits to the head.

He was only out a few moments, once the weight was off his body he was able to breathe again, he could tell he had been moved to the mattress on the floor. He noticed the lid of the trunk was open and he could feel the bastard trying to get him into a better position to rape him and he could see the gun off to his left and in reach. He stayed limp and let himself be manhandled into position, he'd only get one chance to grab the gun and take out this asshole before he realized Tony was conscious and reacted. Tony had to wait until he was distracted and he wasn't sure how long that would take and if he could allow himself to be taken as he waited for the right moment. Could he get the gun and get a shot off before he was breached? He should wait until the man was taking him and lost in the sensation? He'd be distracted then for sure but Tony didn't want to let him get that far. The deciding factor was Neal, Neal was counting on him and the best chance of getting them both out was to let this happen and grab the gun just before the guy came. He tried to feign unconsciousness as his ass was once again fingered. He tried to just lay there and take it, every instinct he had screaming in his head to go for the gun. He held off and the fingers were gone and Tony felt an erect cock rubbing against his ass and then both the mans hands were spreading him and then the press of flesh against his hole and the burn as the head of his cock tried to gain entrance the pain of being breached when not lubed or prepared enough was too much and Tony screamed and scrambled for the gun his instincts had overridden his mind the second the guy in the ski mask had gotten the head of his cock in and even though Tony didn't get off a shot he did manage to club the guy and scurry away forcing him out of his body. He tried to tell himself it didn't go too far and he could deal with it. He hit the guy again making sure he was out and then he pulled up his pants and unlocked the door. He didn't even remember losing the gun he was having enough trouble concentrating on just getting Neal and himself out.

Neal was awake and at the door having heard Tony's scream and the scuffle. They both heard the other two up stairs heading for the basement. Neal had already gotten his cuffs off and took a few seconds to get Tony's off.

"I think we should exit from here." Neal suggested in a whisper pointing at the window Tony nodded and they unlatched it and it opened easily they could here the other almost at the basement stair shouting to their friend and trying to find out what was going on. Tony gave Neal a boost up and out the window. Once Neal was out Tony grabbed the sill and hauled himself up it was a tighter squeeze for him and was almost out when the door to the basement opened. Neal grabbed Tony under the shoulders and tried to help pull him through, he squeezed out just as one of the men started yelling.

"Neal run! I'm right behind you." Tony said as he got to his feet and they both took off towards some woods beyond a small yard. They heard more yelling and then gunfire from the house. They didn't stop there was too much riding on them putting as much distance between themselves and who ever had been holding them. The gunfire stopped and they kept going for a while longer now in the cover of the woods. They slowed down some and tried to be quiet while putting a bigger gap between them and the house.

They could hear their pursuers some distance away, Neal paused to let Tony catch up, Tony was lagging a bit.

"Tony are you ok?" Neal asked quietly a bit concerned at the way Tony was slowing down.

"I will be once we're further away." Tony said through clenched teeth. "I took a shot to the lower back, it's not bleeding too badly so it probably didn't hit anything to major. I think we may need to find a place to lay low and bandage it before we go on, and then civilization and probably a hospital stay. What about you?" Tony asked as he finally got to where Neal had paused.

"I got grazed across the upper part of my arm, nothing to major I barely noticed it. We should take care of you though." Neal whispered as he tried to take a look at Tony's side.

"Lets get out of here first I can keep going. I need to be away from here. We need to put some distance between us and them before I run out of adrenaline." Tony muttered as he tried to pick a likely direction away from the sounds of the men looking for them. He hoped that a neighbor had called in the gunshots; running into the police would be a miracle right about now.

They headed further into the woods and went at a slower pace so Tony didn't have to struggle too much to keep up. They stopped when all they could hear were the sounds of the trees in the wind and their own breathing. Tony's was getting a bit harsher and he was having trouble keeping pressure on the wound. Neal guided him to a fairly large rock and Tony sat with a wince, Neal noticed it but didn't say anything instead he took a good look at his back, it was bleeding but not gushing, he made a compress out of his shirt, luckily he still had his jacket to help with the night time chill.

"We really need to get you to a hospital I only see an entry wound, the bullet is still in there." Neal whispered while putting pressure on Tony's wound.

"Well at least I'm only leaking form one place then. What about your arm? How bad is it?" Tony asked trying to ignore how he felt and take a good look at Neal's arm. Neal had been right it was just a graze, not too bad but it probably hurt a lot. As long as Tony had Neal to look after he could separate himself from this pain and concentrate on getting them safe.

"It hurts but it's not bad. We should get out of here and look for help. I think we lost them but as soon as it gets light they'll be able to follow our trail, we weren't really trying to hide it, come on the sky is lighter that way it might be a town or something." Neal said helping Tony get back up having secured the shirt to his back as best they could.

"You know other then the getting shot part this seems too easy." Tony said trying to sound cheery as the headed off towards what hopefully was somewhere they could get help. They both kept quiet as Tony let Neal help support and guide him, Neal could tell Tony wasn't doing as well as he was pretending but there wasn't much he could do other then what he was already doing. They were slowing getting closer to something, Neal could hear cars in the distance so hopefully they were coming to a road and a road meant people and people meant help. Tony was to the point where all he could really do was put one foot in front of the other and keep upright.

They came to an incline and the sound of occasional cars was a lot louder, Neal could see a guardrail at the top of the incline so the road must be just at the top. He helped Tony sit down, Tony was pretty out of it and looked like he could use the rest. Neal then scrambled up the incline and over the guardrail and managed to wave down a passing car.

While he was explaining to the driver that they needed help the driver pulled out his phone to call nine one one. They were assured that someone was one the way and that they should stay on the line. A second car pulled up and Neal thought he recognized the van and he wasted no time getting down and back over the guardrail, hopefully unseen and nimbly back out of sight. He hoped that the cops would show up soon and that the helpful driver just kept quiet long enough to let the cops arrive. He checked on Tony, who was unconscious and a lot paler then he had been a little while ago.

Neal tried to listen to the conversation going on between the driver and their kidnappers but he couldn't make it out. Then he heard sirens and a car pull away, he never used to feel relief at the sound of the police but in the past year that had changed, he still had a flash of panic but it was quickly gone, he had nothing to fear from the police anymore.

***

Peter had heard back from the local FBI office, Collins' house was a bust no one was there but there was some sort of commotion and gunfire at the grandmother's house before they got there. It was empty, but there was a cell like room and signs of a fight and a blood trail leading into the woods. They were expanding the search and suggested that Peter get out there as soon as he could.

Peter and a few other's from the FBI office as well as Gibbs and Anthony DiNozzo senior caught a flight to Buffalo and had someone from the local field office pick them up and get them to the scene and bring Mr. DiNozzo to the field office.

When they got there they could tell something had happened, there was blood on the lawn, not too much but enough to worry Peter. They saw the basement and the tiny cell. There was some blood on the floor and signs of a fight, they found Tony's belt buckle knife on the kitchen table upstairs, with a paperclip and a prescription bottle with the label torn off. They had it all brought in as evidence and then tried to follow the trial of blood and trampled vegetation. The sun was coming up and that made it easier to see and whoever was bleeding was losing blood at a pretty good rate. Peter hoped it wasn't Neal or DiNozzo. The trail ended at the bottom of a ditch with a road at the top, they climbed up and could see the remains of some road flares and what seemed to be Neal's shirt, wadded up and covered in blood.

***

Neal could see the flashing red and blue lights shining in the dark and he climbed back to the top of the hill and got their attention, soon Tony was loaded up in an ambulance with Neal sitting on the bench seat in the back, both EMT's were taking care of Tony as he was the critically injured one, Neal just leaned back and dozed on the way to the hospital. He woke up as the ambulance was backing up to unload and he got down and watched as they unloaded Tony. They were giving running updates on his condition to the doctors that were there and then he was whisked off someplace.

A nurse came over took one look at him and guided Neal to a curtained off area, had him take off his jacket so she could get a look at his wound. She had just started taking care of cleaning it out when he smiled at her glad that it was almost over and that's when everything went black.

He came to a while later to find himself cleaned up, in a hospital gown and tucked into a bed with an IV dripping who knows what into his blood stream. He had no clue what happened from the time he got in the ambulance out at the road until he woke up here. He did feel better and when he looked over he saw Tony in the next bed over, he had more color and he had an IV that had a unit of blood as well as some other equipment. Neal sighed looking over at him, they had both survived now they just had to get in touch with Peter and let him deal with the rest, Neal was just to tired to think about what happened he just was happy it was over they'd deal with the rest as it came. He hit the call button and waited for a nurse so he could find out how Tony was and see where they were and have someone call Peter.

It took a few moments for the nurse to come in and she had a police officer with her.

"So how is Tony?" He asked the nurse.

"I'm sorry I can't really tell you that unless you're his next of kin but knowing both your names would go far in getting things taken care of, let's start with you shall we?" she said grabbing the chart off the end of the bed. He gave her his name and other information. Then she grabbed Tony's chart and he gave her as much of Tony's information as he knew. She put the chart back and then filled him in on his injuries, it was all minor, the bullet graze, dehydration and low blood sugar were the worst of it. She told him the police wanted a statement and that's when the officer stepped forward and Neal told the story from when they were taken until they got to the hospital. The officer wrote it all down and when he was done he left. Neal realized he still hadn't any idea where he was and wasn't feeling all with it yet and he really had to call Peter. He picked up the phone next to the bed read the little sign that said to dial nine for an outside line and called the Peter's cell phone.

"Peter?" Neal said into the phone.

"Neal is that really you? Where are you? Are you ok? What happened?" Peter started asking.

"Peter slow down, I'm fine, I'm in a hospital but I'm not sure where. I forgot to ask while all the commotion. I'll get the nurse back so I can ask her." He hit the call button and a different nurse came in, "Miss which hospital am I in?" He asked she told him and he thanked her. "Peter did you hear that it's 'Brooks Memorial Hospital' in Dunkirk, New York. Can you come or send someone? I also need to track down Anthony DiNozzo the hospital won't tell me what's going on with Tony since I'm not his next of kin." Neal said hoping that they'd get this sorted out quickly as his energy was getting low and a nap was looking really good.

"I'm in the area, I'll be there shortly and tracking down Anthony DiNozzo senior is pretty easy since he's been in and out of the office for the past couple of days along with a surly NCIS agent named Gibbs. We'll be out there as soon as we can." Peter said glad to hear Neal's voice.

"I'll see you soon, bye Peter." Neal said and hung up looked over at Tony and then settled back to sleep.

They got to the hospital in about an hour, Gibbs called NCIS and had Tony's records faxed over so they had what they needed and Peter had made the same call for the FBI to fax over Neal's records. Peter, Gibbs and Mr. DiNozzo went in search of Neal and Tony as soon as the hospital had what they needed. They found an orderly that directed them to the correct desk to check in as visitors. The clerk at the desk said that it wasn't visiting hours yet but they would allow their next of kin to go up and at two pm anyone could visit.

Peter was currently listed as Neal next of kin and emergency contact so he was given an visitors pass and Gibbs thought he was listed for Tony was surprised when he was told that Tony had changed his paperwork to list Abigail Sciuto as his emergency contact and Anthony DiNozzo senior as his next of kin. Anthony senior was issued a visitor's pass and Gibbs was fuming. He didn't have long to wait for regular visiting hours but the thought of Tony changing his paperwork pissed him off. Tony hadn't even told him it was changed, he wondered if Abby knew.

Peter and Anthony headed up to the room they had been directed too and when they went in there was a doctor checking on Tony and Neal was watching trying to figure out what was going on.

"Peter, I'm glad to see you and Mr. DiNozzo it's nice to meet you." Neal said with sincerity.

"How are you feeling Neal?" Peter asked taking in the bandage on Neal's arm and the IV still attached to the back of his left hand.

"Not too bad considering. I'd really like to know how Tony is doing but they won't tell me." Neal said giving the doctor a look.

"I'm sure they'll tell me and Agent Burke what is going on as this is related to an open FBI investigation, right doctor?" Anthony said looking at his son lying still and pale in the next bed over. He went to the bedside and ruffled Tony's hair.

"I can go over your son's injuries and then you and Agent Burke will need to speak with the local police as there was certain evidence gathered that they will need to turn over now that they know it's an FBI matter. Now Mr. DiNozzo has a gun shot wound to the back and it didn't hit anything vital, though he did loose a lot of blood, we went in and repaired the damaged tissue and are currently replacing the blood he lost, there are sedatives in his blood stream, he has two relatively minor head wounds, he also was dehydrated and his blood sugar was very low, he has abrasions on his face and groin and there is evidence of a possible sexual assault, the physical damage was minor. He should make a full recovery but we'll be keeping him here for several days." The doctor told them trying to sound detached.

Mr. DiNozzo looked at his son and wanted to hold him but there was too much equipment in the way and he didn't want to do more damage, he took his son's hand and held it.

"What about Neal?" Peter asked.

"I'm fine, really Peter see… I'm good." Neal said worry creeping into his voice. He didn't like hearing that Tony had been… Neal tried not to think about it, he felt violated having to do what he had been forced to do but knowing that the bastard had raped Tony just made him want to curl up and hold Tony close and never let the world touch them again.

"Mr. Caffrey be realistic you aren't good, I'm keeping you over night." the doctor said.

"What are his injuries?" Peter asked, the doctor looked at Neal since he was conscious and had to give consent.

"Might as well tell him, he'll find out anyway." Neal sighed.

"Mr. Caffrey has a bullet graze to his upper arm, he was also dehydrated and suffering from low blood sugar as well as having sedatives in his system. He'll be fine in a day or two provided he rests and gets regular meals." The doctor said going over his notes on Neal.

"What about? Hmm…" Peter didn't really want to ask but he figured if something happened to Tony then it may have happened to Neal too.

"He didn't do that to me, ok… now drop it. Did you get the guys that took us?" Neal asked as he crossed his arms over his chest carefully so as not to disturb the IV.

"No, we found the house you escaped from and tracked you as far as the road and then you called and we left the scene with a few local agents and hurried over. We have their names and the BOLO's are out, we'll get them." Peter said trying to sound confident.

"Peter cold you do me a favor and get me something to wear that's a bit more comfortable? You know my sizes and if I'm going to be here for a while I'd like to be covered better." Neal said still holding himself. Peter nodded and wondered just what had happened, Neal was being too quiet, too subdued.

"I'll be back later, I need to check with the local police and collect what they have." Peter said putting a hand on Neal's shoulder, Neal looked up at him "Don't worry about Tony he'll be fine." Peter added and looked over at Mr. DiNozzo, "I'll grab the overnight bag you brought for Tony, I'm sure he'll want his own clothes when he wakes up. Look after these two. Gibbs will be up as soon as visiting hours start." Peter added as he left.

He called El and filled her in, she was happy that Neal was alive and reasonably well and promised to let June and Mozzie know. Peter hung up and went to meet with the local police.

He arrived and they had been expecting him, they had Neal and Tony's clothes in evidence bags and labeled. They hadn't gotten all the reports back yet but he knew why the doctors had run the sexual assault kit on Tony, there was blood on his underwear, not a lot but it was obvious where it had come from just one spot and not connected to the larger stain from his gun shot wound, Peter shivered and checked the report on Neal's clothes. They had come up with some sort of flaky substance on his jacket; his shirt wasn't with the items collected at the hospital. Peter remembered seeing it at the end of their trail and it had been bagged by the FBI. He wasn't sure he wanted to read what the flaky substance was, he had an idea and it chilled him to think Neal and Tony might have endured. He found that they had the doctors check to see if they needed to run an assault kit for Neal too but they didn't find anything to suggest it was necessary.

He went over the report that Neal had given the police and it was very detailed but he could tell there were things Neal had left out. He'd have to wait until Tony was awake and could give his statement, maybe it would fill in some blanks and he could get them to give him the full story, not that he wanted the details but this was something they needed to get out before it festered, Neal had been through enough and after looking in DiNozzo's file he had too.

***

Agent Burke had been right, not a minute after visiting hours started Gibbs was up in the room to see Tony. Tony was still out but Gibbs did give Neal a searching look and then the once over and a nod then went to check on Tony.

"So what's the damage?" He asked Mr. DiNozzo.

"The worst of it's the gun shot. This is part of the reason I didn't want him in law enforcement. I wasn't the greatest father but we've been talking and getting to know each other. It's been nice having him around these past few days." Anthony said never taking his eyes from Tony. "Here, sit with him a bit I'm going to keep Mr. Caffrey company for a bit." he added as he let go of Tony's hand and let Gibbs sit. Gibbs sat and just watched Tony sleep. He knew there was more then the gunshot but no one was saying anything.

"Neal, I saw you at the party Saturday you came in with June right?" Anthony said in a warm tone.

"Yes, she's a wonderful woman, she's letting me stay with her, since being with the FBI doesn't really pay me very well." Neal said happy that he wasn't being ignored and getting to know Tony's father was probably a good idea if they were going to have a relationship.

"I'm not sure how much Gibbs knows but I like you and I'm not saying anything to him, it's up to you both to decide what to tell him and when but you and Tony seem happy together and that's good enough for me. Now shall we chat about things that won't make Gibbs run background checks on us?" Anthony leaned down to Neal's ear and whispered. Then he sat down, smiled and asked Neal if he'd seen the latest shows on Broadway and they both keep the talk light and bright. Neal knew that Anthony was keeping the conversation on upbeat subjects and they were both good enough at reading people to know it was for Neal and Gibbs' benefit and Neal was fine with that he needed to keep his mind from dwelling on things he didn't want to think about. He couldn't really relax and think about it until he had the chance to talk to Tony and make sure that they were both really going to be ok.

Gibbs got up looked over at them chatting and left, he headed out to the front of the hospital and pulled out his phone to check messages and let the team know that latest updates on Tony's condition. He talked to McGee and Ducky for a little while, the team had been taken off rotation and was working on paperwork and cold cases. He still had yet to ask Abby if she knew about Tony's paperwork change, he felt a bit betrayed that Tony had changed it and not told him but then again they hadn't been exactly seeing eye to eye for the past few months and Abby was a good choice since she was in the lab and easily be tracked down. He returned the Director's call and ended up leaving a message with his secretary with DiNozzo's status and that as soon as he spoke to DiNozzo he'd come back to DC and the team could go back to work, with DiNozzo on desk duty when he came back he was going to have to rely on McGee and Ziva to do the field work but they could handle it.

He headed back in to see if the doctor had any clue when DiNozzo was going to wake up. He needed to talk to Tony and make sure they were good with each other. He wasn't good with people but it seemed like Tony was having an issue with him when he left. He got back to the room and Neal and Anthony senior were discussing some of the finer points of the New York social scene and comparing who they knew, it seemed they were in some of the same social circles.

He wondered how Neal would get along in DC, if he and Tony were serious the subject was going to come up eventually. Gibbs listened to them talk and when a nurse came in to check on their vitals and get blood from both of them he asked about Tony still being unconscious, she said she'd check with his doctor and let him know. Gibbs sat and waited, she came back and told him they expected him to be waking up in a few hours and that with the strain his body had endured he needed his rest. Then she reminded him the visiting hours were ending in a half hour, Anthony told Gibbs that they could go back to the hotel they had gotten rooms in together, Neal yawned and said that he was ready to get some rest anyway, he thanked Anthony for talking to him and then he closed his eyes and drifted off. Anthony went to his son and took his hand and held it. Then kissed his forehead and whispered something and then he and Gibbs left. Gibbs drove the rental car back to the hotel, and they both headed to their rooms, a little later a Gibbs went out in search of dinner. He ate alone and left a message for agent Burke to see how things were coming on the investigation and stopped at a Barnes and Noble bought a book and a cup of coffee to go and headed back to the hotel to read and get some sleep.

***

Agent Burke got the final analysis of the evidence gathered from Neal, Tony and the house and after going over cursed himself for not getting a lead faster. The flaky substance dried on Neal's jacket turned out the be semen and it was a match to the swabs taken from the inside of Tony's underwear and pants, though there wasn't much there to be found, probably pre-cum and both matched the DNA profile they had on Leland Burroughs and the spot on the pictures they had gotten in the beginning. They had warrants for all three but so far they hadn't found them.

Peter used his badge and the fact that the suspects were still at large to get in to see Neal and Tony. Neal was sleeping fitfully and Tony was just beginning to stir. Peter moved a chair so he could sit between the two of them. He tried to soothe Neal as he started to have a nightmare and got him back to sleep without waking him up. He smiled down at him and then he heard muttering from the other side of the room.

He went to Tony and figured maybe he could get him settled back to sleep but Tony's eyes opened and he blinked a few times. Then focused on Peter, he opened his mouth to say something and Peter hit the call button, he figured the doctor's would want to know Tony was awake. Tony tried to say something but it seemed like an effort to string the words together.

"Hello, I'm Agent Peter Burke, Mr. DiNozzo. You're in the hospital and you're going to be fine." Peter said trying to anticipate what Tony wanted to say

Tony cleared his throat and said just one word "Neal?" Peter could hear the question in his tone.

"Neal is fine, he's right over there." and pointed to the other bed. "He was a lot luckier then you. You're both going to be fine." Peter said.

The nurse walked in and Peter told her Tony was awake, she went to get a doctor and Tony looked over at Neal sleeping, he smiled relieved they were both alive and safe. A doctor walked in gave him a once over looking pleased that he was awake and then muttered something and left.

"No concussion this time?" Tony asked.

"No, you have a couple of bumps and well I'm sure that you'll get the run down in the morning, for now just try to rest and I'll be right there near the both of you. Your dad left a couple hours ago but he'll be back and I'm not sure about Gibbs, he was here earlier but they made him leave." Peter said as he sat back down.

Tony nodded and looked over at Neal to make sure he was still really there and then he drifted back to sleep.

Peter spent the night and fell asleep in the chair watching over his consultant and a fellow agent.

The nurses came in and did a quick vitals check and woke Peter up. He looked around and then moaned and tried to stretch the kinks out of his body, the chairs were not meant to be slept in. The bag of new clothes for Neal was tucked under the chair along with a few other essentials. The nurse had woken Neal up when she was looking him over and since he was awake she relieved him of the IV. Neal smiled and thanked her and then headed to the bathroom with a nod to Peter. Neal came out of the bathroom looking a bit more put together and Neal-like.

"Good morning Peter. It's good to see you." Neal said as he walked over to check on Tony, now that he was no longer tethered in place by the IV. He took Tony's hand and that woke Tony up.

"You're awake! We should tell someone. How do you feel?" Neal said as Tony opened his eyes.

"You're awake too." Tony said with a hint of a smile. "You were out of it when I woke up last night. Agent Burke was nice enough to fill me in but I still am a bit fuzzy on details." Tony said.

"I'm sure that the doctor will be in shortly and we can all get caught up but for now Neal get back in bed, bare feet on the cold floor isn't a good idea." Peter said as he tried to steer Neal back to his bed.

"I'm probably getting released anyway so why can't I stay right here?" Neal sighed.

"Bed Neal. When the doctor gets the paperwork done you can go from patient to visitor until then back in bed." Peter ordered just as the doctor walked in.

"I see we're all awake, so let's sort out Mr. Caffrey first shall we?" He said as Neal sat on the bed.

"You're blood work is back to normal and you seem to be doing fine. Keep an eye on your arm and a nurse will be by with your discharge paper work and wound care instructions. I expect that you'll be here for breakfast as it takes a bit of time to get the paperwork done but you should be out by lunch." The doctor said and Peter handed Neal the bag of clothes and personal items.

"You might as well get cleaned up and dressed since you'll be getting out, but I expect you sit here and behave until you get discharged." Peter said and Neal took the bag and went to the bathroom to get dressed and wash up.

"Now Mr. DiNozzo, you'll be with us a while I'm afraid." The doctor said as we looked over the chart.

"About that Doctor, what's the damage? I didn't get the story last night." Tony asked hoping that it wasn't that bad.

"You have a gunshot wound to the back, not to bad considering, there is also the blood loss involved with that. The dehydration, low blood sugar and sedatives have all been dealt with, the only other thing is some slight tearing in your" was as far as the doctor got before Tony cut him off.

"Yeah I figured that doc, just tell me what I need to do about that and we can move along." Tony said.

"You'll be on a soft diet for a little while and I have an ointment for you, you should be fine in a week or so, but we'll need to check out how it's healing. I'd also suggest that you talk to someone." The doctor said.

Neal came back into the room and looked at Tony, he had heard what was being said and was hoping that they'd get a chance to talk to each other soon. That probably wasn't what the doctor had in mind when he suggested talking to someone but he was sure Tony wasn't really into the therapy thing, at least not yet, if things got too bad Neal was sure he could talk Tony around to going, as Peter once said he could sell light switches to the Amish.

The doctor asked if there were any questions and then left. Neal looked different wearing the jeans and sweater Peter had picked up for him but it was better then the breezy hospital gown, Tony liked the look on Neal and smiled taking in the sight.

"I'm glad that's over, I wonder what they'll try to pass off as breakfast here." Tony said hoping to turn get everyone in the room thinking about something other then his condition.

"We're about to find out." Peter observed as an orderly came in with two covered trays. He put one in front of Neal and the other in front of Tony. Neal lifted the cover and saw what looked like it might be scrambles eggs, toast, milk and jell-o. It wasn't the most interesting thing but he was hungry and eating it seemed to be expected of him so he downed it and tried to sweet talk Peter into going for decent coffee. Tony got what could be loosely called oatmeal and milk. He wasn't really all that hungry but Peter gave him a look that reminded him of Gibbs's death glare only with a warmer feeling so he ate it trying not to taste it.

"So now that you both are fed, we need to get your statements and all that. I'm going to let you choose who takes it as judging by some of the things I've seen and heard some of it may be sensitive. So Neal who do you want?" Peter asked.

"I'd rather go over it with you since as you said you know it's going be sensitive and you've probably got it mostly figured out already." Neal said looking down and wrapping his arms around himself.

"I'm going to agree with Neal on this one." Tony said looking at Neal and not really sure what to do; he just knew he didn't want to delve into the details of what happened with Gibbs.

"Then I'm going to have a grab a few things and get myself something to eat. I'll be back in an hour. Neal, Tony's father brought him a bag why don't you see if you can get him into something a bit more comfortable." Peter suggested, Neal looked over at Tony and grabbed the bag, Tony caught Peter's eye and mouthed Thank you at him. They both picked up on the fact the Neal probably shouldn't be left to think too much right now and Tony knew that he needed to get himself composed and he wanted Neal near him. They needed to talk and make sure they were both ok and Peter was giving them the chance, Tony was glad Peter was so perceptive.

"Hey can you bring back decent coffee?" Tony asked as Peter just sighed and left.

"Neal it's just the two of us, are you really ok?" Tony asked as Neal helped him get a pair of pajamas on in place of the skimpy thing they had him in. Luckily the top buttoned so they didn't have to move him much and it still left his wound accessible.

"I should be asking you that, I heard the scuffle and what he was saying and then you screamed I thought he was killing you. I was so upset that I couldn't help you. Then you unlocked the door and we ran. We didn't even have time to talk before we were running and then you got shot and it all was just overwhelming."

"I'm glad you were there, you kept me going and I'm sure you had to have been holding me up most of the way. I guess I'm so used to having to be the strong one and rescuing myself that it was nice to know that you were able to make sure I was safe. I don't think I've ever been taken care of like that, thank you Neal, you saved me." Tony told Neal as they touched each other and took comfort in the fact they had survived.

"Let's say we saved each other, now what happened?" Neal asked dreading the answer but needing to hear it anyway.

"He tried to rape me, I didn't make it easy so he hit me and while I was dazed he tried again, I recovered before he got too far, I was going to try and let him get far enough that he'd be distracted and I could grab the gun but I couldn't do it. I wasn't strong enough to just take it, as soon as he got it in it hurt, I screamed and made a grab for the gun. I couldn't get a shot off but I was able to stun him and get the door open. You know the rest." Tony said feeling a bit broken inside, he knew it could have been so much worse, but it was still bad and he'd wished it never happened.

"I usually don't advocate violence but I hope he resists arrest when the take him in. Maybe they can accidentally bounce his head on the car roof or he can trip on some stairs while cuffed." Neal said as he and Tony cautiously held each other. "He'll get his, they always do." Neal added trying to reassure Tony, they both felt like they were fragile but they were strong acting as steel for each other.

Peter came back with some coffee for Neal and himself, he checked with the doctor and Neal was allowed and he also had a recorder and a pad. The took down their statements and got all the details. By the time their were done all three men were subdued and Peter was contemplating letting Burroughs try to run when they caught him so he could shoot him. They signed their statements and the nurse arrived with Tony's lunch tray and Neal's discharge papers and wound care instructions. Tony suggested that Neal go get hotel room and maybe pick up a few changes of clothes, it was understood between the three of them there was no way Neal was going home until Tony was released and going home with him. Neal didn't want to leave but Anthony arrived to check on Tony and that made him feel better about leaving to take care of a few things. Neal and Tony kissed each other and Neal went, Tony and his father talked a while and it seemed that Neal and his father had bonded while he was unconscious, his father really liked Neal and that was important to him, it seemed silly but the fact they got along made Tony happy, maybe he had finally gotten it right when it came to the relationship thing, time would tell.

***

Neal usually enjoyed shopping but the only place locally to shop was McKinley Mall and it wasn't really close. The stores weren't what he was used to in the city but he was able to get some essentials and he picked up a few books and magazines for Tony and himself. He was hoping to find something that might bring up their sprits but really it's not like Hallmark makes an "I'm sorry we were kidnapped" card and really all he wanted was for them to both be happy, healthy and home. He wandered the mall for a while with Peter who was being quiet and putting up with Neal checking out every shop for just the right things.

They headed back to the Hotel where Peter and his team, Gibbs and Tony's father were staying and Neal put his bags in Peter's room, they had decided that until Tony went home he might as well use the second bed in Peter's room. There was no point in spending the extra money, Neal wasn't sure how much he'd actually be there and he liked the idea of having Peter close by until Burroughs, Collins and Dellacorte were in custody, he felt safer that way. He was glad to know that the local law enforcement community was looking for them, he hoped they were locked up soon. He tried to lay down and relax but it wasn't happening for him so he got the stuff to bandage his arm and new clothes and the personal items he'd picked up and indulged in a very long hot shower, his first shower in almost a week. He took so long Peter actually knocked on the door to make sure he was ok. Peter sort of understood and Neal did feel much better after he was done. Peter took care of the bandaging of his arm, it didn't look too bad, but it might leave a scar. He got dressed and then asked Peter if maybe they should get dinner and go see Tony. They ended up at a local diner, Neal looked over the menu and finally ended up with a grilled chicken salad, nothing really looked good to him but he knew he had to eat. He asked the waitress to get them a chocolate pudding to go, she gave him a look but scooped some into a to go soup cup. Neal smiled and thanked her, he hoped it was as tasty as the salad turned out to be, it was one of the things Tony could eat that they had on the menu.

They got back to the hospital and went to visit Tony, he didn't have a new roommate yet and Gibbs was just saying good bye when they got there, Anthony had stayed all day and looked a bit tired so he took their visit as a chance to go back to the hotel and get some rest.

"Here I figured you might want a treat after what they tried to call breakfast, was lunch or dinner any better?" Neal asked handing him the pudding and a spoon.

"Lunch was edible but dinner was promptly disposed of, I couldn't bear the smell of it long enough to even consider tasting it. Nora was kind enough to run and get me another lunch tray for dinner." Tony said as he tasted the pudding and almost cried it tasted so good. Neal smiled knowing that he'd chosen well.

"I picked up something to keep you from getting to bored, day time TV can leave a lot to be desired." Neal placed the magazines and books on the table next to the bed. "So how do you feel?" He asked as he sat in the chair next to the bed and Peter brought the other one closer.

"Like I need to plan an escape really soon, they tell me to rest and then poke and prod me all day, they say I lost a lot of blood but they keep taking more out and I'm almost ready to try and make a run for it." Tony said in between spoons of pudding.

Peter laughed he knew what it was like dealing with the hospital stay after a shooting. Tony gave him a look and smiled.

"See I'm not the only one that feels this way. They want to keep me a few more days, that's longer then I was in for when I had the plague." Tony said.

Peter just looked at him and said "The Plague?"

"He opened and envelope full of pneumonic plague a few years ago. You should hear the some of his stories sometime." Neal said looking at the expression on Peter's face it was so amusing.

"I almost got blown up the day I went back to work. It wasn't the best week, in fact it sucked but I lived." Tony added.

"I had heard something about being chained to a serial killer." Peter said still trying to imagine someone in this day and age having a medieval disease.

"Jeffrey White, I liked him. That was an adventure and I hoped it was going to end reasonably well right up to the point when he was getting ready to slit my throat. I really did like him, I felt sorry for him, his life sucked he just chose to express it badly." Tony explained.

"This is probably not the greatest time or it might be the perfect time, but have you considered a hopefully less dangerous position with the FBI? I think that we could find you a place, it would be in a different division but still in New York, I'd put in a good word for you." Peter offered.

"I was thinking about that and I'm sure Fornell would give me a good recommendation too." Tony said, he thought again about what Gibbs had said right before he left, he was going back to DC tonight having been away too long already. In all honesty Tony wasn't sure why he even came out, he didn't really help and Ziva and McGee were probably tired of paperwork and cold cases by now. He was supposed to still be on vacation, he have to remember to call Vance in the morning and give him and update so he knew why Gibbs was returning in a mood that was bad even for Gibbs.

"So how close are you to getting the guys that did this?" He asked still considering the conversation with Gibbs. The FBI was looking really good right now, Gibbs had basically told him from now on he had to schedule his time off to suit Gibbs's schedule since he was essential to the team. What a load of crap, Gibbs was really acting so far off it was almost soap opera like, maybe he is jealous of Neal? Tony considered briefly and rejected the idea, Gibbs never considered him that way and Tony's overtures of a closer friendship were shut down fast. Tony caught himself missing the conversation going on around him so he paid closer attention and was a bit disappointed their assailants were still at large.

Peter said something about checking his phone and that he'd be back leaving Neal and Tony alone.

"Would you really consider moving to New York?" Neal asked with a huge smile, when Tony said yes he was seriously thinking it over Neal felt the happiest he had been since before this all started.

"You know my dad suggested the three of us go into business together, I told him it was probably not the best idea, he seemed to think that we'd be unstoppable. It seems he's heard of you and thinks you're talented." Tony said with a bit of a laugh in his voice.

"He said something similar to me when we were waiting for you to wake up, he also said we should try not to give Gibbs a reason to run a background check on me." Neal smiled and chuckled.

"Well at this moment I'm trying not to think of Gibbs, I just want to think about the future, forget the past and get on with the moving on part already. Now that Peter is out of the room I need to ask you, really how are you? I mean after the thing with you know." Tony asked his face getting a concerned look.

"I'm good, or I will be… I'm more worried about you. Are you ok?" Neal turned the question on him, he thought about it and honestly he knew he'd been hurt and emotionally he was sure they would both crash but in this moment he was ok.

"I am, really, I'm pretty sure I'll have a melt down at some later date but right now I'm too relieved at both of us being alive and recovering." Tony said as he touched Neal's cheek and then tried to lean toward him for a kiss, Neal closed the distance and they shared a tender kiss.

"We'll be fine in time." They both agreed out loud to each other and they sat quietly just happy to be alive and on the mend.

***

After they lost Caffrey and DiNozzo in the woods Dellacorte, Collins and Burroughs decided to get across the border into Canada and try to figure out their next move. They had been paid well to take Caffrey and hold him and they did that, now they just had to find someplace else to be. They hadn't planned for Caffrey or DiNozzo to escape. The plan was going to end with them dead, Burroughs had planned to enjoy them a while first but surviving hadn't been a contingency they were ready for.

They decided to take their cash and leave well enough alone, they were paid to get Caffrey out of the way for Tuesday and Wednesday and they kept him until Friday so they kept their part of the agreement so they could just leave it and get out of the area and start over. There was no point in risking their freedom or lives to finish off either man. They split the cash they got for the job and went their separate ways, Burroughs was unhappy he didn't get to really enjoy 'his boys' as he referred to them in his head but he'd go with the plan for now, he was wanted so he'd have to lay low for a while.

***

Peter was disappointed that they still had no leads on Collins or Burroughs but Dellacorte had been stupid and used his debit card to pay for gas at a gas station in Kitchener on the other side of the border in Canada, now the Canadian authorities were on his trail and looking for the other two in case they had all fled the country. It was a matter of time until they were caught. Hughes had also let him know that while they were tracking down Neal and Tony someone had made off with fairly rare collection of gold and silver Scandinavian historical treasures that were loaned to the historical society and were going to be displayed in the city. The theft had occurred a few hours after they got the proof that Neal had been kidnapped, it looked like taking Neal was just a way to send the FBI and police on a wild goose chase, the photos and everything was just a distraction. They had been played well and it pissed Peter off, even though the thought had crossed his mind when they got the ransom video, something had felt off and now he knew why.

The team was already heading back to New York to start working on finding the culprit and getting the artifacts back but they were a couple of days behind and Neal wouldn't be leaving until Tony did. He was already packed and ready to go, he just had to make arrangements for Neal and Tony to get home and then catch a flight from Buffalo to JFK.

He walked back in to Tony's hospital room to see Tony and Neal both laying on Tony's bed with Tony's good arm around Neal they were just relaxing looking through men's fashion magazine, two peas in a pod Peter thought. They both looked up all him as he entered.

"We have a lead on the guys that did this and we may know why, I have to go back to the office tonight. The hotel room is paid for the next several days, as soon as Tony can fly we'll get you a pair of tickets to JFK and you and Neal can finish recovering at home." Peter informed them.

"I have to call my director in the morning and let him know I intend on recovering in New York with my family and hopefully I'll know where I'll be living before I'm supposed to go back to work." Tony said looking at Neal who just smiled, Tony was pretty sure he knew already.

"What about your father?" Neal asked.

"He said he'd stay until I was released. I'm hoping they spring me pretty quickly I hate it here and other then the IV I can lay around anywhere else as easily as I can here. I'm not really up for moving around too much but I'm getting a little stir crazy here." Tony said.

"Cowboy up it's only a few more days. Neal I'm giving you some cash to get cabs and food, your wallet is still in evidence so try to spend wisely, I'll see you two in New York and Tony, try to keep him out of trouble." Peter smiled hand Neal some money and left.

"It's just the two of us again. So what do you think of those shoes with that suit? I'd never put them together." Neal commented as they went back to their magazine.

The next few days passed pretty uneventfully and after and uncomfortable exam Tony was cleared to eat normally again but got the "you should clean up your diet" lecture from the doctor and a few days after he was eating normally they said they were releasing him and went though what seem like a million pages of forms and wound care instructions and finally let him out. He had spoken to Vance several times and was set up for two weeks of medical leave and a follow up to determine if he would need more.

The hospital didn't want him walking and putting a strain on his staples and stitches so he had a wheel chair he was using, it seemed to be an advantage at the airport getting them through the lines faster and then upon seeing where they were seated Neal and Anthony charmed their way into first class for the three of them. Tony really appreciated it, even if it was a short flight getting comfortable in his condition in coach would have been impossible. It did amaze and worry him a bit to see his dad and Neal at their most charming and convincing. He could see why they both were so good at what they allegedly used to do. He didn't know if he should be pleased or concerned at how they both just were able to get what they wanted so easily, and then he thought about it and decided it really didn't matter, they did it for him and that was fine by him.