yay reviews! Thanks everyone for reading and reviewed :) here's the next thrilling installment... hope you like!
Chapter 2
Director Shepperd was waiting on the staircase when they returned to NCIS. She did a double-take when DiNozzo stepped out of the lift, disheveled, dusty and bleeding, but wasn't surprised. He was on Gibbs' team after all. Ziva and McGee followed, taking their places at the desks. Gibbs was the last to come, leading the suspect by the handcuffs.
"Oww, man, my hands. That guy," the suspect threw a dirty look in Tony's direction, "put them on too tight. It hurts!"
"Shut up," Gibbs ordered, pushing him forward. He sat him in interrogation, leaving him to stew, handcuffs still on, returning to the bull-pen to start on the paperwork. He looked up when he felt the director's shadow falling across his desk.
"Something I can help you with, Jen?"
"Actually, I have something to tell you. But you're not going to like it." Jen said, not to be intimidated.
Gibbs stopped writing, finally making contact with her face.
"FBI is taking over the case. We no longer have jurisdiction." She waited for his reaction, preparing herself so she wouldn't react when he raised his voice.
"WHAT?" Despite herself, Jen flinched involuntarily. She'd forgotten just how angry Gibbs could get.
"This is our case, Jen. We tracked down the drug smugglers. We traced to the location. We were the ones who just brought in the suspect. Just what does this have to do with the FBI?"
"I'm sorry, Gibbs. The drug dealer you arrested has links to a drug circle the FBI has been watching for several years. They're taking him in for questioning."
Gibbs said nothing, staring at the director with fiery eyes. She glared back for a few seconds before turning away.
"Fornell will be here to collect your suspect shortly," She called out when she was halfway up the stairs. "Try and behave yourself, Jethro."
With a non-commital grunt, Gibbs sat back in his chair, tossing down his pen. "Get up." He said suddenly, standing up.
Tony, Ziva and McGee got up, curious, following him to the lift. When they were all in Gibbs pressed the button for the basement.
"Gibbs, where are we going?" Ziva asked.
Tony already knew the answer. Ziva might be relatively new to this, but he knew from experience where Gibbs went when a case didn't go according to plan.
"We're going to the gym. Sparring time, Zee-vah," Tony answered, his eyebrows wiggling suggestively.
Gibbs saw, despite the fact that Tony was standing beside him. He turned, hand poised to slap. Tony anticipated this, smiling and stepping backwards.
"I mean, we're going to the gym to train and make sure our bodies are in peak physical condition, boss." He said quickly.
Gibbs lip twitched and he lowered his hand. Tony was relieved. He had enough of a headache already after the suspect had pushed him onto the road. Gibbs glanced down.
"DiNozzo, you're bleeding. Go see Ducky."
"Nah, its just a scratch, boss." Tony glanced down at the ragged remains of his pants.
"Wasn't a suggestion. I don't want you bleeding all over the floor. You're making a mess." Gibbs stopped the lift suddenly, jolting all the passengers. The doors opened on autopsy's floor.
"Go." Gibbs ordered, standing back to let him through.
Grumbling, Tony got off, trying not to wince as he stumbled out of the lift. "Yes boss."
"Come meet us at the gym when you're done."
Tony nodded and the lift doors closed once more. Cursing under his breath, Tony wandered through the sliding doors of Autopsy, praying that Ducky wasn't in the middle of an autopsy. Thankfully he wasn't. Rather, Ducky, Palmer and Abby were sitting around one of the metal tables, immersed in a game of poker.
"I'll see your three scalpels and raise you a rubber glove." Abby declared, fiercely protecting her cards from the other two. Ducky looked up as Tony entered.
"Good afternoon, Anthony. How ar- oh… what has happened, dear boy?" Ducky said, his voice filling with concern as he stood up from his chair.
Abby turned around. "Tony! You're all bleeding!"
"I know. I was tackling a suspect this morning. Ended up kind of faceplanting the road."
Ducky raised his eyebrows. "And why are you only coming to me now?"
"It's just a graze, Ducky. I'm only here because Gibbs didn't want me to drip blood everywhere." Tony jumped up on a spare autopsy table, grinning at Abby. "Think you can bandage me up, Duck?"
Ducky nodded. "Of course. Let me take a look." He quickly examined the scrapes on Tony's head, satisfied that they were only superficial. Abby helped out, covering them with a Batman band-aid as Ducky turned his attention to Tony's knees.
"Ow! That hurts, Ducky!" Ducky ignored Tony's complaints, squatting to check the damage. Taking his surgical scissors, he cut away the pants from the knee downward.
"Hey! These were my favourite pants!"
Abby laughed at Tony, now sitting beside him on the table.
"From what I can tell, its just a graze. Slightly deeper on the right leg, I take it you fell heavily on that side. There is some gravel embedded in the wound, however, young Tony." Ducky took the tweezers from his tray, removing the gravel to Tony's protests. "That seems to be the lot of it," Ducky said finally, the kidney dish littered with small fragments of gravel. "I would like to take an x-ray, to be sure there is no deeper damage that I can't see."
"C'mon Duck, that's not necessary. It's just a graze. I'm sure you've got better things to do." Tony said, eager to escape the morgue.
"If our card game is any indication, Anthony, we do not. I'm sure you know as well as I do, we've had no new cases for over a week."
Ducky had forgotten just how stubborn Tony could be. After ten minutes of debate he conceded and Tony gratefully left, glad to escape the smell of the disinfectant. Abby ducked into the lift with him just as the doors were closing. She pushed the button to take her to her floor.
"You've got a pretty good poker face, Tony."
Tony snorted. He was terrible at poker and she knew it. "I didn't even play, Abs. Gibbs is waiting for me in the gym."
"I've been watching you. I saw the way you walked out of there. Its more than just a graze." Abby's arms were crossed. She meant business.
"Abby, its nothing. Seriously."
"You're favouring one leg. Is it just a coincidence that it's the same leg you busted in college? Or the same leg you hurt when you got pushed out of that plane?"
The lift arrived at Abby's lab, dinging softly as the doors opened. Abby stepped back, standing in the opening.
"Abby, don't worry about me. I've gotta go, we're training downstairs."
"Real smart, Tony. Make it worse just to impress Gibbs."
"I'm not impressing anyone, Abby. I'm fine. I've got to go." He pressed the button for the basement, not wanting to be any later for Gibbs.
"Look after yourself, Tony. And let me help you. At least promise me that if you're not going to take my advice." Abby stepped back, appealing into his eyes.
Tony leant through the closing doors of the lift, hugging her.
"I promise, Abs. I'll see ya later."
She blew him a kiss as the doors closed.
TBC...
