Sometimes, You Don't Hear the Bullet Chapter 2: A Taste In My Mouth I Never Had Before, a ncis fanfic

Sometimes, You Don't Hear the Bullet

Disclaimer:
You know the drill … I own nothing!

Rating:
T

Genre:
Romance/Hurt/Comfort/Family

Pairing:
Tibbs

Lyrics Used:
Marion Raven - "Heads Will Roll"

There's A Taste In My Mouth That I Never Had Before

There's a taste in my mouth that I never had before | To be a cheater, defeater, are things I won't ignore | Like a rat in a trap, your head got in the way | Nothing left of you but a memory of a bad lay

There's a look in your eyes am I the one you dread | You make me wonder what's going on inside your head | (Inside your head) | You lie and you slither like a cold-blooded snake | I'll make you pay for your big mistake

"That was Ziva." Gibbs spoke, closing his cellphone to return it to his pocket, using his free hand to stroke Tony's hair comfortingly. "She and McGee are heading back to Navy Yard to check on the suspect."

"You should go with them." Tony replied, quietly, leaning into the older man's gentle touch.

"You sure?" Gibbs asked, carefully. As much as he wanted to sink his teeth into the son of a bitch … And maybe a bullet or two … He didn't want to leave Tony alone, to deal with his loss. "I'm sure McGee or Ziva could handle the interrogation if you want me to stay with you."

"'S okay, Boss." Tony reassured his team leader. As much as he wanted the older man there with him, he knew nobody would be able to make the bastard pay for what he'd done to Tony quite like the great Leroy Jethro Gibbs. "I'll be fine as long as you nail the bastard."

Gibbs nodded, understandingly. Although he couldn't fully appreciate Tony's exact situation – he'd at least been given the chance to know his sweet, beautiful daughter, Kelly – but, Tony'd been denied that chance. But, Gibbs knew the pain of losing a child and wanting revenge. "Okay." Gibbs replied, gently. "Abby's in the waiting room … Would you like me to send her in?"

Even though Tony knew he'd have some explaining to do, he also knew he really didn't want to be alone. And, the young forensic scientist's chipper outlook might be just what he needed to get him through the darkness he felt so lost in. "Sure." Tony replied, the faintest traces of a smile ghosting his lips.

Abby Sciuto had been pacing, anxiously, around the waiting room for what felt like forever when Gibbs finally emerged from Tony's recovery room. "Gibbs! Gibbs! Gibbs!" She greeted him, anxiously. "How is he? Is Tony okay? Well, of course he's not okay! He just lost his baby! Did he say why he didn't tell us about the baby?! Did he-"

"Abby!" Gibbs interjected, effectively silencing the young scientist. "Tony's fine. Or at least as close to fine as someone in his position can be." He added, once he had Abby's full attention. "As for why he never told us about the baby …" He trailed off, sighing lightly. "I think ya better let him tell ya that, himself." He finished, cryptically, gesturing toward Tony's room. "Oh, and Abby." He called over his shoulder as she paused on her journey toward the recovery room, turning to face Gibbs. Turning to face Abby, he added "Go easy on him … He needs a friend, right now."

Abby nodded, understandingly "I will, Gibbs." She half-smiled as she turned to resume her journey. Satisfied, Gibbs turned to leave, eager to tear into his suspect.

"How is Tony holding up?" Ziva asked, the concern for her friend and partner evident in her voice, as Gibbs walked into the observation room – watching the suspect as he sat in the interrogation room, awaiting his questioning.

"As well as can be expected." Gibbs grunted, staring at the suspect, his venomous anger evident in his stare.

"Did he say why he never mentioned the baby?" McGee asked, carefully, unsure of whether to voice the question or not.

"He did." Gibbs replied, vaguely. A tense and anxious silence fell over the small group as McGee and Ziva eagerly awaited the explanation.

"Well?" Ziva prompted, eagerly, unable to stand the suspense, any longer. "What did he say?"

"'S not for me to tell." Gibbs spoke, simply. Sure, he could have told the team that Tony'd never even known he was pregnant. But, he figured he should respect the man's privacy. He deserved a little time to process everything in his own time and space and Gibbs knew that – when he was ready – that Tony would tell everyone what had happened, himself. In the meantime, it wasn't his story to tell.

"Boss?" McGee questioned, carefully. None of them had ever seen the look of pure, unadulterated, rage on their boss's face nor had they ever heard it in his voice. The way he was behaving was unlike anything they'd ever noticed in the man, before, and – quite honestly – it scared the living hell out of them.

"McGee." Gibbs deliberately kept his voice deadly calm – saving his rage for the man that had shot Tony. "Tony will tell you everything, himself, when he is ready." He elaborated, firmly. "Until then, I suggest we all just back off and give him some space." Without waiting for a response, he turned and left the observation room – reappearing in the interrogation room.

"I would not wanna be that guy, right now." McGee observed, almost sympathizing with the suspect. Almost. But, the man had shot – and tried to kill – one of their own. And, he had succeeded in murdering an innocent unborn child. That son of a bitch deserves to incur the wrath of Gibbs. McGee thought to himself, angrily.

"Nor would I." Ziva agreed, her arms folded, crossly over her chest, as she watched the interrogation unfold.

Gibbs walked into the interrogation room, calmly, lulling the suspect into a false sense of security. This is gonna be a piece of cake. He thought to himself, sitting back in his chair, cockily, until the agent slammed a folder down on the desk – loudly – though, he never said a word. Taking the seat across the table, Gibbs remained silent as he opened the file, spreading photos from the street as well as some he recognized as being taken at a hospital. The commonality in the photos was the cop he'd shot, earlier, in the day. Looking from the photos, back up to the agent, the suspect couldn't help feeling uneasy about the whole situation. The agent's silence was unsettling to say the least. And, the venomous glare … If looks could kill, he'd be six feet under, already.

Staring straight into the eyes of the man that he'd known – damn well – shot Tony, Gibbs took a sick satisfaction in watching the man visibly squirm under his stare. He watched as the man looked from the photos back up to him and back again, several times.

Finally, the man before him couldn't take it anymore. "What do you want from me?!" He demanded, trying to sound calm, cool, and collected. Though, he suspected the agent could hear the fear and the dread in his voice.

Gibbs just gave a soft chuckle, shaking his head, lightly – which only served to further intimidate his suspect. This guy's a certifiable lunatic. He thought to himself, terrified of what the agent might do to him. "What do I want from you?" Gibbs repeated, his unsettling smile dripping in venom. "What I want …" He continued, dropping his voice to a deadly whisper. "…is for you to see what you did … What you destroyed …" He added, shoving the hospital photos in the man's face. "Do you know what that is?!" He snarled, leaning forward until he was just inches from the man's face. "Hm?! Do you?!"

"N-No-" The suspect stammered, only to be cut off by another angry outburst.

"THAT IS A PHOTO OF THE EIGHT-WEEK-OLD UNBORN BABY THAT YOU MURDERED!" Gibbs roared, slamming the photo down on the table with a loud, resounding SMACK – which caused even McGee and Ziva to jump in response as they were joined by their director in the observation room – before gripping the underside of the table with his left hand and flipping it across the room – clanging loudly as it smacked against the door – before gripping either arm rests in each hand in a death grip, getting right in the man's face as he snarled. "I'm gonna make sure they hang you out to dry, you sick son of a-"

Having seen quite enough from his watching place next to McGee and Ziva, Director Leon Vance stormed out of the observation room and into the interrogation room just as Gibbs had wrapped a hand around the suspect's throat – thoroughly enjoying the sounds the man made as he gagged and choked and struggled to breathe. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Gibbs knew he should have been disturbed by the amount of satisfaction was taking in strangling the man before him. But, he had hurt the man that Gibbs loved and murdered Tony's unborn baby. Leroy Jethro Gibbs was too mad as hell to care about the fact that he was committing a murder all his own. "Agent Gibbs!" Vance barked, snapping the special agent out of his fury-induced trance. "Outside. Now!" The director ordered, his voice clearly indicating that he was not kidding and leaving no room for argument.

Shaking himself out of his trance, horror spread over Gibbs' face as he realized what he'd been doing. Stepping away from the shooter and toward Vance, he looked at the director with apologetic horror written in his steely blue eyes. "Director, I-"

"Save it." Vance replied, his voice notably more gentle – indicating that he understood where the agent was coming from. "Don't worry about me …" He added, pulling Gibbs aside, out in the hall as he waved Ziva into the interrogation room. "Look, I get why you reacted the way that you did." Vance conceded, quietly, as they watched the door close behind Ziva. "On a personal level, I gotta say … You did what every single one of us wants to do to that bastard …" The director admitted, with a small, evil half-smile. "But, on a professional level, I cannot allow you to continue with this interrogation-"

"Director, please." Gibbs all but begged. "Look, I admit I lost it in there, but, ya gotta give me another chance!" He added, desperately. "I know I can get him-"

"What I gotta do …" Vance interjected, firmly. "…is think about what's best for my agents." He elaborated, completing his thought. "And, that means all of them." Taking the special agent's confused countenance as a cue to elaborate, Vance continued. "Get outta here …" He spoke, gently, nodding his head in the direction of the exit. "Go be with Tony." He added. Leon was one of the few people that Gibbs considered a close friend and when he'd learned of Gibbs' feelings for Tony, Gibbs trusted him to keep them between the two of them. "God knows I can't even begin to imagine what that man has to be going through … But, I do know that he needs you, right now." The director elaborated, sincerely. "He needs you now, more than ever."

Sighing heavily, Gibbs knew Vance was right. Deep down, he really wanted to be there for Tony. Running a hand through his hair, he just nodded his reluctant agreement. "Yeah … Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Leon."

"Don't mention it." Leon half-smiled, watching Gibbs take off toward the exit. "Give Tony my best." He added, more to himself than to the special agent's retreating form.

Author's Note:
As always, please read and review! :D I hope you're all enjoying reading this story as much as I'm loving writing it!

~Skye Coulson