Disclaimer: I don't own these characters I'm just having a lot of fun with them.
A/N: Memories will be in Italics, also I want to think all those who reviewed, followed or Favorited this work, thank you all for you support, without you I wouldn't have the motivation to continue writing. Pt Two will be with Gibbs, Read, Review, Enjoy please. Also un-betaed, if anyone knows a beta reader who might help my work let me know, thanks.
Tony followed Gibbs down the hall to Abby's lab, as they entered a tall brunette with pig tails turned and smiled at them, then she rushed over and hugged Tony. "Tony, I'm so glad to see you're okay, McGee and Ziva told me what happened and I was so worried and scared." Abby said concerned. Tony realized she was only tall because at the moment she was wearing platform shoes with rainbow socks. She had a black rhinestone choker on, along with a red top and black mini-skirt under her lab coat.
"I'm sorry, um…" Tony looked over at Gibbs for help, who mouthed the word Abby. "Abby, of course, you're a friend of mine, part of the team." Tony said, remembering what Gibbs had informed him.
Abby pulled away then sadly. "You don't remember me do you?"
"I'm sor-" Tony was about to say when Abby shook her head and interrupted him.
"Rule number six, never say you're sorry, it's a sign of weakness." Abby told him.
Gibbs rolled his eyes as that made Tony confused and panicked. "Rules, what rules?" He looked at Gibbs.
"It's okay Tony, nothing to worry about." Gibbs assured him, as Abby realized her mistake with her bestfriend.
"Abby." Gibbs said breaking the tension, Abby turned to him and accepted the Caf-Pow, then turned to her computer and got down to work.
"Well, there were two sets of prints on the knife, Tony's of course." Abby said and paused.
"Abby, what about the second set?" Gibbs prompted. Tony was next to him as he listened and looked at the screen on the wall, at his own prints, then it changed.
"It's weird, they are prints, except, they're like, distorted or something. Someone went through a lot of pain and trouble to get rid of them." Abby explained as she put up the second set of prints on the screen.
"Why?" Tony asked.
"There's only one reason a person removes their fingers prints, they have something to hide." Gibbs explained. "DiNozzo, you staying here, or coming with me?" Gibbs asked, it was time to check on McGee and Ziva, they should be back by now. But if Tony wanted to stay in the lab he wasn't going to stop him.
"I'm coming." Tony said, Abby smirked at that, of course she knew something Tony didn't. "What is it?" Tony asked seeing the look, not sure what he'd said or done to get that look.
"Nothing, just, you'll remember." Abby said, assured that Tony would get his memory back, Gibbs would make sure of it. Abby had faith in her Gibbs and his ability to take care of Tony when he needs it.
Gibbs waited at the door, Tony shrugged at Abby then headed towards Gibbs, who turned and headed to the elevator. "You and Abby are close, you tend to talk to her when you don't think you can talk to me." Gibbs said, if Tony had to guess he sounded just a tad jealous at that fact.
"Oh." Tony said, then something flashed in his mind.
"Come on Tony spill, I know you like Gibbs." Abby said as we sat at a table in a bar not far from NCIS HQ, I had just taken a sip of my beer, which shot out in shock, I'd thought I'd hid my feelings for the boss better than that.
"How did you find out?" I asked.
"Oh please, Tony every time Gibbs isn't looking, you are, and it's defiantly not the back of his head you're focused on."
I shook my head. "Abby, you can't let Gibbs know how I feel about him." I begged.
"Tony, I wouldn't, but you know that Gibbs likes you too right, more than just a friend." Abby told me.
I shook my head. "It doesn't matter Abby, rule twelve remember." Abby nodded, she understood, even if I got lucky enough for Gibbs to feel the same about me as I do him, it's clear that nothing would ever come of it.
"Tony, Tony…DiNozzo." Gibbs snapped at him, Tony shook his head and looked at Gibbs who was closer to him then he'd been moments before and appeared concerned. "Are you okay?" Gibbs asked.
"Yeah." Tony said as he nodded, the elevator had arrived then. "Gibbs, what's rule twelve?" Tony asked as they walked in and Gibbs pressed the button for the bullpen.
Gibbs looked at him. "You remember something?" Gibbs asked slightly hopeful, it was a good sign.
"Yes. I'm not sure what it means, but I mentioned rule twelve?" Tony asked.
"It's a set of rules I live by and teach my team including you. Rule twelve: Never date a co-worker." Gibbs informed him.
"Well, my memory doesn't make much since, and there's nothing to explain it, just me and Abby in a bar talking, and for some reason rule twelve came up, that's it." Tony explained.
"It's a start." Gibbs said as the elevator doors opened and they walked off towards McGee and Ziva. Tony slowed as one of the detectives on a different team was coughing nearby.
I was lying on a bed, nasal cannula was helping me breath, my breaths difficult as I kept gasping and coughing. There was a doctor over me, he had a name tag, it read , there was a nurse as well. I was kind of distracted from the fact I couldn't take in a proper breath without coughing or swallow without choking, and the blue light was annoying. I think I was dying.
The doors slid open then and Gibbs walked in. Doctor Pitt went to stop him, I could hear what was being said just barely. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Who the hell are you?' Dr. Pitt asked.
"His boss. The bug has a suicide gene, its dead. It's been dead for over an hour, he's no longer infectious." Gibbs moved past him to me, sitting on the bed next mine and leaned in as he whispered to me. "Tony, listen to me. Are you listening?"
I swallow thickly before I manage a weak reply. "I'm, I'm listening, Boss."
"You will not die, you got that?" When I didn't reply right away he tapped the top of my head getting my attention. "I said, you will not die." He ordered me. I knew then that I wasn't going to die.
"Okay, I got you, Boss."
"Tony." McGee said
"Tony." Ziva said
"Dinozzo." And Gibbs said back to back, Tony was standing several feet away frozen like in the basement, lost in thought. Gibbs walked over and took his arm gently, Tony jerked in surprise looking at him. "Another memory?" Gibbs asked.
"Yeah."
"What was it?" Gibbs asked as he led Tony to his desk and had him sit down, he looked at Ziva and McGee who quickly got back to work.
"I'm not sure, I think, I was sick. In this blue illuminated room, and a Dr. Pitt was there. You ordered me not to die."
McGee's head shot up at that and shared a look with Gibbs. "What, what is it?" Tony asked confused.
Gibbs looked at Tony again. "Eight months ago you were infected with a genetically altered virus known as the plague." Gibbs explained.
"Oh, how did that happen?" Tony asked.
"I'll tell you later." Gibbs said. "In the meantime, McGee." Gibbs looked at McGee expectantly.
"Well, the guy had no ID on him, but his finger prints came back his name is Samuel Denson, he has an outstanding arrest warrant and criminal record." McGee put both up on the screen.
Ziva started reading aloud. "Assault, B&E, Rape, oh, and Indecent Exposure. He was out on bail, until three months ago when he didn't show up for his hearing."
"Why, would a guy like Samuel show up at Tony's. From this-" McGee was saying.
"They've never crossed paths." Gibbs finished. "Ziva, look into Denson's bank accounts, his finances I want everything."
"On it Gibbs." Ziva said and moved to her computer.
"McGee, find his friends, family, check his phone logs, see if he's had any contact with anyone in the last several weeks." Gibbs barked out.
"On it boss." McGee got to work.
"Boss." Tony said tentatively, something about that word, towards Gibbs just seemed so right.
"DiNozzo." Gibbs returned, he sent a look at Tony, stern and yet gentle at the same time. It spoke volumes about their relationship, if only Tony knew or could remember what those volumes were.
For the next several hours they worked, Tony, watched for a little while, then went down to visit Abby in her lab. He took something for his headache and was feeling better.
Tony is sitting on one the tables swinging his feet while Abby is running the evidence through her machines.
"Hey, Abby, how long have we known each other?" Tony asked.
"Almost five years now."
"How did we meet?"
"Tony, I'm sorry, Gibbs said that it would be better if you could remember on your own." Abby told him sympathetically.
Tony groaned at that, it was getting frustrating that no one will give him any real information on his life. "Calm down DiNozzo, you'll remember." Gibbs said as he came in having heard them, he squeezed Tony's knee stilling his restless legs.
"Abby what do you have?" Gibbs asked as he turned his attention to the energetic lab geek.
"Right, so I took a look at Tony's clothes that McGee fished out of the bathroom hamper." Abby led Gibbs to a table that Tony wasn't sitting on, his sweat pants, t-shirt with the collage logo and boxers set out on it. There was a clear blood stain on the left side, it had even soaked through the pants staining his blue boxers.
"All the blood from the gap in the stain on the floor match the clothes, it's on the left side. Nothing on the back that hadn't been soaked through. I believe from the evidence that Tony was already on the ground when Denson started bleeding out. Also from the pictures, Denson was on his stomach, next to Tony who was on his back. From the evidence I can say that Tony didn't kill Denson, someone showed up after Tony was down and saved his life." Abby finished explaining, pointing to the blood stains on Tony's clothes and the pictures on the video screen on the wall.
"Good work Abby." Gibbs praised, as the evidence just cleared Tony of murder. "It's late Abs, I already sent McGee and Ziva home, you need to call it." Gibbs kissed the top of her head and then turned to Tony as he hopped off the table.
"So, where to boss." Tony said. "Whoa." Tony grabbed his head as he got a little dizzy there.
"DiNozzo." Gibbs said concerned as he put his hand on Tony's arm to steady him.
"I'm fine, just a little lightheaded from a sudden sense of Deja vu." Tony felt better after a moment.
"You're coming home with me."
"Sounds like a proposition I can't refuse boss." Tony joked, and then Gibbs smacked the back of his head, not nearly as hard as usual due to the head injury but enough to get his attention. "Ow." Suddenly Tony got several flashes of Gibbs hitting the back of his head.
"You do that a lot?" Tony asked.
"Only when you need it." Gibbs assured him as they headed down the corridor towards the elevators leaving Abby's smiling form watching them knowing that there Tony would be back in no time.
Tony laughed at that as the elevator doors closed and headed to the parking garage. They went to Gibbs car, Tony sat passenger as Gibbs drove them to his house.
As they arrived Tony looked at the house, it felt like home. Which is strange, when he was in his apartment, he hadn't recognized anything or had any sense of home, just that it was where he lived. But here, at Gibbs house, just seeing the exterior he feels more at home than he's ever felt.
Suddenly another memory flashed in his mind, the first time he ever stayed there.
Gibbs opened the door, I've only been at NCIS a couple of months, I've never been to Gibbs home before. But, I was knocked unconscious by our suspect a few hours ago, Ducky said I had a mild concussion and shouldn't be alone.
I insisted I was fine, but Gibbs and Ducky wouldn't hear of it, and was informed by Gibbs that I'd be staying with him. I followed Gibbs inside caring my backup clothes from my car. I looked around the front area, where the living room and kitchen was. He had no TV and nothing to really entertain myself with, in fact the whole place looked kind of spars, like it was more a place to sleep and eat then a home.
I followed Gibbs upstairs to a guest room, it was quite cluttered with boxes stacked against the walls. There was one twin bed, no sheets or pillows. "You can sleep in here." Gibbs told me as he moved to the hall closet and pulled out a red sheet set handing it to me, along with a comforter that was red with white stripes, as well as two pillows to sleep on.
Then headed downstairs to start on dinner. I walked around the boxes making the bed, I saw a partial window behind a stack of boxes, that didn't look all that stable but hadn't fallen yet. I was curious but wasn't about to invade Gibbs privacy, I wanted Gibbs to tell me in his own time about his past and such. There was something about Gibbs that made me feel safe.
I sneezed a couple of times it was so dusty like Gibbs hadn't been in this room for a while. As I finished making the bed, Gibbs appeared in the doorway causing me to jump. "Relax Tony." Gibbs said rather gently, he had a glass of water and Tylenol both of which he handed to me, which was good because my head was really starting to pound.
For the first time, in a long time, I finally felt at home, like I belonged and at the same time wanted.
"Tony." Gibbs said, Tony turned from where he sat in the passenger seat at Gibbs who was kneeling by his side.
"Sorry, I was just remembering something." Tony explained, he moved as Gibbs stood and got out of the car.
"What was it?" Gibbs asked as he opened the front door.
"I think it was the first time you ever brought me to your house."
"I remember that day."
As Tony walked into the front area he noticed the TV in the living room, with a game console, sitting off to the side in one of the alcoves of the entertainment center which hadn't been there in his memory.
"Do you remember where your room is?" Gibbs asked, he didn't say guest room, he said your, which informed Tony that he's been here multiple times. Enough times for Gibbs to call that room his.
"I think so." Tony headed upstairs as Gibbs started looking through the kitchen for something to heat up for dinner. Tony went to the room from his memory and opened the door, only this time it was different.
Instead of boxes piled up everywhere, there was a desk and chair against one wall. The window no longer covered, across from the door, and a full sized bed in the middle of the far wall, with blue satin sheets and a light green comforter on top with pillows to match. Along with blue curtains to tie the room together.
On the night stand was a picture of the entire team at NCIS, as well as a digital clock and small lamp, Tony went to the dresser next to the closet that were both along the same wall as the door Tony just entered.
He looked in them and saw clothes, more relaxed, less fancy then what he had at the apartment. This felt right, he felt like he belonged here with Gibbs. He has feelings for him, deeper than just friendship, love. He may not have the memories that he can cling to, but inside he just knows at the core of his soul he loves Gibbs. If only it wasn't for that blasted rule twelve, then everything would be perfect, but as long as Gibbs lives by that. Tony doesn't have a chance.
