Tony headed into work on Thursday morning. It had been almost two weeks since he had gone home with Gibbs from the hospital. His boss had been great to him, letting him stay until he was comfortable to leave. His dad was in prison, which was a huge relief. Everything had gone back to normal. His coworkers knew not to talk about what he had revealed, but they were still very supportive. The only odd thing now was that Gibbs had become almost human. He was far more protective of Tony these days, and he made sure that Tony knew how much he was loved and wanted. Tony liked this new Gibbs quite a lot, but he was slightly apprehensive of what Gibbs would be like at work. Tony was still seeing Rachel for therapy sessions too. She was helping him work through his past, including things that had happened before his father had started on him. They had agreed that since Tony was there, they may as well work through anything and everything that bothered him in the hopes that they would be able to give him a chance to heal properly and move on with his life. He had even met a lovely woman about his age the week before when he went to the hospital to get his shoulder checked. They had gone on a date the previous Sunday, and it had been a lovely afternoon. Tony could feel himself falling for her already. He hadn't told anyone except Rachel about this new relationship yet, because he wanted to see how things went between them first.

"Morning, DiNozzo," said Gibbs in his usual gruff tone when Tony sat at his desk.

"Good morning, boss," Tony said with a slight smile. His beloved Gibbs was back it seemed.

"You feeling better now?"

"Much better. I spoke with Brad yesterday, he cleared me for field work."

"Good. Cause we got a case yesterday, and there's a scene that needs to be processed. You're with me."

Tony knew better than to ask anything, so he picked up his backpack and followed Gibbs to the elevator.

"I spoke to Rachel last night, Tony," said Gibbs once they were well on the road to the scene.

"I know. I asked her to call you and let you know that she is happy for me to be back at work."

"That wasn't what the call was about, but she did call me a couple of days ago to tell me."

"What was it about then?" Tony asked curiously.

"She mentioned that she feels like you aren't ready to work cases involving children yet."

Tony nodded, glad that Rachel had already told that to Gibbs. He had been trying to figure out how to tell his boss that he felt that way.

"You already feel that way?" Gibbs inquired.

"I do. I just wasn't sure how to tell you that."

"Tony, you need to be open with me, okay? I know that you find it difficult to open up, but if it is affecting your work, you need to tell me."

"I can do that," said Tony. He was glad that Gibbs was still caring towards him, but not overly so. "Thank you."

Gibbs smiled. He had been doing that a lot lately when it came to Tony. But he liked it too. Tony was much calmer now, and back to being his usual silly self, but he seemed more confident and balanced than he had before he had told Gibbs anything that had happened.

Tony and Gibbs had wasted their time that day. The scene had turned out to be a wild goose chase, and the supposed leads following it were all dead ends. McGee and Bishop hadn't done much better. The only thing going for them was that they had escaped field work. The day had become dreary in a matter of minutes, with storms approaching.

"Alright, let's get out of here. We can continue this tomorrow," said Gibbs when he saw the sky outside get darker. "Let's all try and get home before the rain."

McGee was up in no time at all. He and Delilah were planning on a romantic dinner that night, so the quicker he left the better. He said a quick goodbye and almost ran to the elevator. Bishop was next. She said goodbye as she left at a more civilised pace, wanting to get out before Gibbs could change his mind.

"Come on, Tony. Do you want to stay over tonight?" Gibbs was well aware that Tony was still suffering from nightmares every few nights, and he wanted his agent to get a good rest before the next day.

Tony smiled. He definitely liked this new Gibbs. "That would be great boss. I don't really feel up to driving home tonight."

"Alright. Meet me at home in a half hour. I'll stop and get something for dinner."

Tony nodded. He let Gibbs leave first, then grabbed his belongings and headed to his own car.