Chapter Two: More Questions than Answers

Ducky was surprised to find autopsy all lit up when he arrived at work on Thursday morning. Palmer had a dentist appointment and wouldn't be in till around noon and with no open cases he couldn't figure out who would be waiting for him. He entered and found Gibbs sitting at his desk.

"Jethro," Ducky greeted warmly as he removed his overcoat and hung it on his coat rack. "Is everything okay? How did it go with Anthony last night?"

Gibbs tight lipped expression curled into a small smile.

"I figured that was the reason for your predawn visit," Ducky said when he saw the smile.

"Did just what ya told me and it worked just like you said it would," Gibbs said fidgeting with the stapler on the desk.

"Then what's the problem?" Ducky asked.

"Who said anything about a problem?" Gibbs asked. Ducky always could read him but he wasn't going to give in that easily.

"Jethro, you're never waiting for me when I get here unless you're working on a case," Ducky pointed out, "and that troubled expression on your face wasn't there yesterday. Have you seen Anthony yet this morning?" Ducky knew that even though Gibbs had come to him to talk, he was going to have to pry information out of him.

"Yeah," Gibbs said scrubbing a hand down his face. "He woke me up."

Ducky cocked his head in Gibbs' direction, not expecting that answer. "I didn't realize you were spending the night with him."

"I slept on the couch, he slept in the bed," Gibbs clarified. Ducky knew about his attraction to Tony. He also knew there was no way in hell Gibbs would ever act on it. Tony was quite possibly the straightest guy in DC—well, maybe not after the events of the previous evening but Gibbs wouldn't let himself think like that. Just about any orgasm was a good orgasm and what they'd done was strictly for medical reasons. Gibbs wouldn't ruin their relationship by asking for something he knew Tony wouldn't give.

"Well, how was he when he woke up?" Ducky pried.

"Happy," Gibbs answered.

Gibbs could feel the eyes on him even before he opened his. He took a moment to remember where he was and what had happened the night before then opened his eyes and looked over at Tony sitting on the coffee table smiling at him.

"Morning!" he said a little too perky for Gibbs' liking.

"Mornin'," Gibbs grumbled around a yawn.

"You coulda slept in the bed with me, you know," Tony said.

Gibbs rubbed his hands over face before sitting up. "Couch is fine."

"Made coffee." Tony offered Gibbs the cup that was sitting on the coffee table next to him. "Hope it's strong enough. I doubled the coffee to water ratio I usually use."

Gibbs took the coffee and took a sip. He discovered it was actually pretty good and took another sip.

"Thanks for helping me out last night," Tony said as Gibbs drank his coffee. He felt slightly uncomfortable but all he could think about was what Gibbs had done to him. He would've been lying if he said he didn't want him to do it again. "My doctor actually wanted me to have that done once a day," he joked with a grin.

"You liked that, did ya?" Gibbs asked despite the obvious answer.

"Maybe," Tony said searching Gibbs' eyes. He couldn't help but wonder how Gibbs was feeling about the whole thing.

Gibbs smiled as he stood. He rested his hand on Tony's head briefly before disappearing to the bathroom. It was nice to see Tony in such a good mood but he really didn't expect anything less after the events of the previous evening. He had expected things to be a little more awkward between them but he wasn't going to question it.

"Well if Anthony's fine with what happened between the two of you, I don't see what the problem is," Ducky said.

"I think he liked it a little bit too much," Gibbs said.

Ducky arched his brow in confusion. "I don't follow."

"You shoulda seen that stupid grin on his face this morning," Gibbs said. It wasn't stupid. Gibbs loved Tony's smile. He was just frustrated. He'd known going to Tony's was a bad idea and doing what they'd done under the ruse of a medical intervention was even stupider. Now he also had to deal with guilt on top of the attraction that had been magnified the previous evening. He felt like he'd used Tony and the thought made him sick to his stomach.

"I gotta go, Ducky," he said. Talking wasn't helping. He decided he couldn't tell Ducky after all.

Ducky opened his mouth to say something but for the first time in as long as he could remember he wasn't sure what to say. He watched as Gibbs walked through the automatic doors then heard the ding of the elevator and sighed heavily.

Tony sauntered into Abby's lab, grinning from ear to ear. He danced over to her, wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her off the ground, swinging her around before he put her down.

"Well, I see your feeling better than you were yesterday," Abby said, her grin matching his. "Care to share what's happening in the life and times of Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Tony said.

"Try me," Abby said. There was no way she was letting Tony walk out of her lab until she knew what was going on.

Tony grabbed the remote from the table in front of Abby and closed the door to the lab. He didn't want anyone overhearing their conversation.

Abby was bubbling with excitement. A closed door meant it was something really juicy.

"So, you know how I had that doctor appointment yesterday?" Tony asked.

Abby nodded, the excitement oozing out of her.

"Well, prostate cancer runs in my family so the doc suggested I get my prostate milked," Tony said.

Abby gasped. "I'm so excited for you!" she interrupted. "I know anal play freaks you out but you are gonna love it if you can just let yourself relax."

"I already did it," Tony said.

Abby's eyes got even wider with excitement before confusion set in. "Wait… when? Where? Who? That's obviously what was bothering you yesterday. How'd you get an appointment so fast?"

"Didn't get an appointment," Tony said.

"Huh?" Abby was beyond confused. "Did you do it yourself?"

Tony shook his head and waited for her to guess again.

"Ducky?" Abby asked.

"Nope."

"Um… Palmer?"

"Uh-uh."

"Then who?" Abby asked impatiently. She was growing tired of the guessing game mainly because she'd run out of guesses. She couldn't think of anyone Tony would let near him in that capacity that would leave him so euphoric then it hit her. "Gibbs?" she whispered.

Tony nodded. "Showed up at my apartment after work last night."

Abby gasped and clasped her hand over her mouth. She knew Tony had a thing for Gibbs. She'd spent years trying to persuade him to do something about it but she'd had no success. Gibbs intimidated the hell out of Tony which actually intrigued the naturally fearless younger agent but he wouldn't risk the relationship they did have for something he knew wouldn't happen.

"How did he know?" Abby asked. "And why? Like, what… just… tell me everything!"

"Okay, so yesterday when I got back from the doctor I tried to hide how upset I was but with something like that hanging over my head I just couldn't," Tony said. He told Abby all about Gibbs taking him to his diner for coffee and their conversation then the older man showing up at his apartment that night.

Abby soaked in every detail, nodding and humming at the appropriate times. When Tony stopped short of giving her the juicy details she wasn't exactly thrilled.

"You're not gonna tell me all the good parts, are you?" she asked.

Tony smiled. "It was mind blowing," he said annunciating each word.

"So, when are you doing it again?" Abby asked.

"Uh, well, I think it's more of a matter of if," Tony said sadly.

"Huh? What does that mean?" Abby asked.

"Means Boss was just doing me a favor so I wouldn't be freaked out for however long it took me to get an appointment to get it done," Tony said.

Abby's hands went to her hips and she just stared at him as if what she was going to say was the most obvious thing in the world. "Gibbs was not just doing you a favor," she said.

"What do you mean? How do you know?" Tony was definitely interested in the insight Abby seemed to have.

"If you didn't like him so much you'd already know the answer to that, dummy," Abby teased as she poked at his chest. "Your little crush on him has thrown you off your game."

"I used to be terrified, Abby," Tony said. He had to tell someone. "I liked Gibbs, you know that but now… after last night… having someone messing around back there… you know…" Damn it, Abby was right. His little crush on Gibbs had thrown him off his game.

"Now that you know what's it like you want Gibbs even more because you're no longer afraid you're not gonna like the sex," Abby said.

Tony smiled and nodded. "Exactly."

"Tell him," Abby replied simply. "There's nothing stopping you."

"Good one!" Tony said with a laugh.

"What?" Abby asked throwing her hands up in surrender. In her mind it was all so simple. She didn't understand why Tony had to try to complicate it.

"Where do I start?" Tony asked. "First there's rule number twelve. There is no way around Gibbs' rules. I think we both know that."

"Rule fifty one," Abby countered, "sometimes you're wrong. You gotta learn how to use his rules against him, Tony." She realized her friend hadn't had two parents growing up so he hadn't learned the art of playing them off of each other. Gibbs' rules could be used in a similar context.

"Alright," Tony said, "what about the fact that Gibbs isn't into guys? He's been married four times, all to women."

"You know what they say about assumptions, Tony," Abby said. "Ass, you, me. It's been awhile since his last marriage ended and it's not like he's gotten serious about many women since then. You never know what secrets he's hiding. I mean, take you for example, no one would ever guess you were interested in guys."

"Not guys," Tony corrected, "a guy. Gibbs is the only man for me."

"But still, nobody knows that," Abby said. "You don't talk about it. Maybe Gibbs is the same way."

"Hmm." That got Tony thinking but he was still positive he didn't have a snowballs chance in hell with the older man. "Even with all that, Gibbs was only helping me out last night, Abs," he said. "He didn't want me distracted."

Abby could stop her laugh. "Tony, please tell me you're not that naïve!" She looked at him and only saw confusion. "Wow, your crush on Gibbs really has scrambled your brain. Let me put it like this, would you ever milk McGee's prostate for him?"

"What? Ew! No!" Tony said giving her a horrified look. "I love McGee and we're friends and all but that's just a little too personal. Too close for comfort. Not gonna happen."

"So what does that say about Gibbs' love for you?" Abby asked.

Tony's eyes widened as Abby's words clicked. "Oohhhh," he said drawing out the word. "There's still one major problem, this is Gibbs we're talking about! It's not like I can just walk up to him and be like 'hey, wanna go hit the bar with me sometime?'"

"Why not?" Abby asked.

"I don't know!" Tony said, his voice growing louder and more impatient. "Because it's Gibbs!"

"Are you not up for the challenge?" Abby asked. It was almost a dare. She knew Tony couldn't resist a dare but the young agent didn't take the bait like she'd thought he would. "Tony, you know Gibbs better than anyone, do you not?"

"I think that's a fair assumption," Tony said confidently.

"And you are the master when it comes to closing the deal," Abby said. "I mean, you don't just get a nickname like 'sex machine' by sitting around in your dorm room studying."

"True," Tony said.

"Then take what you know about Gibbs and seducing people and come up with a plan," Abby encouraged. "You can do this! I have full confidence in you. It might not be as hard as you think."

"I don't know about this, Abby," Tony said skeptically. It was a huge risk, a massive undertaking for something that, in his mind, had little to no chance of actually happening.

"If you won't do it yourself, I'm going to do it for you and don't you dare doubt me because I'm not just saying that for show," Abby warned.

"Oh, I know you're not," Tony said.

"Tony, I know you're probably worried about your job and your friendship and stuff like that but think about what's really important to you in life. Do you get all excited when you get up in the morning because you get to go to work? I know we have our happy moments and we're like a family and stuff but is that what really defines you? You're a great very special agent but life is more than a job. It's about being able to find true happiness and I know you're not finding true happiness at bars with countless women that you can't even remember the names of."

"If it turns out I'm wrong, which never happens by the way," Abby insisted, "then just apologize and go back to being friends. Gibbs isn't going to cut you out of his life forever because you put a couple moves on him and if you're really worried then play it off as a joke. Tell him you lost a bet with me and I said you had to try to seduce him or something."

Tony smiled. "That would never work. Gibbs always knows when I'm lying."

"I really think you should go for this," Abby said as she rested her hands on his shoulders.

"Scary as it is, I think you're right," Tony said. He leaned in and kissed her cheek then pulled her into a hug. "I just need a little time to come up with a plan."

"Okay," Abby said, "but don't plan too much. Do what feels natural and just let things happen."

"Thanks Abby."