There was a strange feeling of foreboding when Tony and Gibbs arrived at their destination, like something bad was going to happen, the kind of feeling that would make any normal people hesitate. That didn't stop Gibbs from jumping off the car before it had even stopped. It was already getting late by now and he had plenty of pent-up rage, ready to explode.

"Gibbs, wait!" Tony cursed as the old man was already gone, breaking down yet another front door on that day. For a moment Tony just sat there, staring at his hands on the steering wheel and then he smiled sadly. He hated feeling so envious toward this kid who had a father ready to turn over the entire world, just trying to get to the man who took him. "I hope you know what a blessing it is to have been born to such parents," he mumbled and finally got out of the car, hoping he wouldn't find any dead bodies by the time he got inside the house.

Meanwhile, Gibbs pretty much repeated his act of kicking open any doors he saw and yelling for the old man to come out. Finally, a young man walked to him, looking angry. And who wouldn't be, having a stranger just making his way violently inside your house.

"Who are you; what do you think you're doing!? Get out, before I call the cops!"

"Where's DiNozzo!?" Gibbs growled, wondering for a moment if he should have just taken his rifle with him and waited outside the house, until the bastard came out... But then again he remembered that he needed to first find out about his son. Questions first, sniper gone crazy later. Although to the outsider's eyes, he had jumped to the crazy wagon already. It was also one of the many reasons why his friends had tried to follow him and why he had left D.C. earlier than planned.

"I don't know who you are talking about. Now, get out! Last warning!"

Gibbs, being the bastard he was, snapped. Taking hold of the man, he pushed him against the wall with a mad look in his eyes. "Where's DiNozzo!?"

Swallowing, the man mumbled something in Italian. Could have been a prayer of some kind. "I-I don't—"

Gibbs pushed harder. "Where!?"

"Upstairs... In the bathroom..."

Throwing the man aside like a piece of trash, Gibbs made his way upstairs in the bedroom. You couldn't go wrong with the loud singing coming from there. After seeing the clothes on the bed and then the closed bathroom door, Gibbs sat down on a chair. While he did 'fancy' the idea of going in the room and shooting the man right then and there, he didn't fancy the idea of having to watch another man's naked body. So he waited and took out his gun, holding it between his knees.

"This no longer concerns you, Tony. Go home," he said, when the door opened and the young man stepped in the room.

"Actually, this has everything to do with me." Gibbs looked up and Tony scoffed. "I brought you here, remember? And this is my cousin's house, which by the way, you owe me. Do you have any idea what I had to give up, just to make sure he didn't call the cops?" When Gibbs gave him a blank stare, Tony rolled his eyes and walked closer, eyeing the gun wearily. He really shouldn't have brought the man here... "My car, you dumbass. I gave it to the idiot so you could leave without any trouble. So please, at least put that thing away."

"Never asked you to do that." Gibbs made no move to put the gun away.

"I didn't say you did, but you owe me anyway. Big time." Tony glanced over his shoulder when the singing stopped. Senior was coming out. "Please, Gibbs, put the gun away. You're not going to get your answers with violence. I know him better than you do. He breathes violence."

Before either man could decide or do anything, the door opened and Anthony DiNozzo stepped out. While the years had done their job on him and as old as he now was, he still had that charm in him, like a poison snake that fooled the prey until it was too late. Seeing them there, Anthony went from confusion to anger. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Rubbing his forehead, Tony muttered, "Please, cover yourself..."

Putting his pants on, Anthony narrowed his eyes and turned to look at Tony, demanding answers, "Who is this man? Why are you here?" When Gibbs stood up, Anthony noticed the gun. "Well, well. What do we have here?"

The sound of a gun safety going off was the answer he got and Gibbs moved forward. When Tony tried to hold him back, he pushed the young man out of his way and lunged forward, forcing Anthony to walk backwards until his back connected with the bathroom door. "Where's my son?!"

"Clearly you know me, but I still have no idea who you are. Let alone who this son you are talking about is."

Gibbs snarled, pushing the gun painfully against Anthony's shoulder, clearly tempted to pull the trigger. "My name is Jethro Gibbs. You stole my son from my wife, Shannon!"

Anthony stared at him for a moment and then a recognition flashed over his face. He looked from Gibbs to Tony and then he started laughing. "Oh. Isn't this situation just... What's the word? Delicious."

Tony stood behind Gibbs, looking for that moment when he could safely grab the gun. "Dad, please... Just tell him what he wants to know and then maybe he won't shoot you."

Gibbs snarled again, "Don't make any promises for me!" And then it was like something hit him through his mist of rage and he blinked. He looked at the amused smirk on DiNozzo's face and then he finally glanced over his shoulder at the worried looking young man, with his green eyes looking suddenly so very bright in Gibbs' eyes, as if asking him how could he have not seen it? And he felt that same odd feeling in his gut from before. "Dad?" Gibbs finally dared to whisper and Anthony snorted. Gibbs pushed the gun even harder against him, making the man flinch. If no other damage, then at least there was going to be a huge bruise there.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Yeah. You got me. I'm the son of a bastard." Gibbs only kept staring at him with an odd look on his face, which made Tony smile nervously. "I know I've tried to keep you from killing my father, but now you're making me nervous."

"Tony, how old are you?" Gibbs' voice was strangely soft, completely different from before, when he was yelling at Senior.

"I already told you—"

"Your real age. Forget your security reasons for a moment. It's important."

Tony furrowed his brows in confusion and Anthony sneered, "Yes. Tell the man the truth, Anthony Junior."

"I'm... I'm twenty-six."

Gibbs closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them again, his eyes were bright from unshed tears. "God..."

Anthony laughed, bringing their attention back to him. "Some good it did to me, taking your son. He never was worthy to be called by my name. Such useless and needy little brat, like you wouldn't believe. I only got him for my wife who then changed her mind and left, leaving me with another man's offspring."

With one swift movement, Gibbs moved the gun and shot the man in the foot.

"Gibbs!" Tony yelled, although in secret he was pleased that while Gibbs had indeed shot Senior, at least he hadn't shot to kill. Yet. It was obvious that either the man was indeed going to kill his father or at the very least send him close to the doors of hell.

"You shot me!" Anthony screamed as he fell down on the floor, holding his foot in agony. Swearing in Italian, he crawled toward his clothes, away from Gibbs who stared at him with ice cold fury and with his gun still pointed at the man.

"You son of..! You took my son! For all these years..! And yet you have the nerve to—!"

"Gibbs, if you don't calm down, you're going to kill him and you won't ever find out what happened to your son," Tony tried to reason with him and Gibbs shot him a look.

"I already have my answer and I can't believe how blind I've been when I knew it from the moment I saw you."

"When you saw me?" Tony was confused. Before Gibbs could answer, Tony saw it from the corner of his eye, like that scene from a movie; the bad guy was down and the good guys thought it was safe to drop down their guards, and that's when the bad guy pulled out a gun from somewhere. Then there was also the 'taking the bullet for the other person' scene. "Gibbs!" Tony didn't know what made him do it, but then he was suddenly pushing the older man down on the floor.

Falling down, Gibbs hit his back painfully against the floor. It was close that he didn't cause his own gun to go off. That was least of his worries though, because he had heard another gun do just that. "Tony!" he yelled and was barely in time to catch the falling young man, who was now looking confused.

"Couldn't let him shoot you. Don't even know why... Didn't mean to... get shot myself..." Tony chuckled.

Gibbs brushed his fingers over the tightly furrowed brows. He didn't have time to think about how much his fingers were trembling or how bad Tony's situation was. He heard the sound from behind his back again and when he turned around and shot Senior, his hand was steady and no mercy in his heart.

Dropping his gun on the floor, Senior grunted, putting his hand over his chest wound. Even with the blood coming from his mouth, the man had no remorse in him. "Looks like I... took him from you again."

"Shut up." Gibbs knew he sounded much calmer than what he felt. However, he had no time for the bastard now. After making sure there would be no more surprises coming from the man, he went back to his son. His son... Gibbs swallowed as he fell on his knees and stared at his bleeding boy, truly looked at Tony for the first time. He took out his phone and made few phone calls, hoping the help would get there in time. If not... Then God help those poor souls.

Still furrowing his brows, Tony mumbled, "You didn't... kill him?"

"No, Tony. The slimeball is still alive. Don't talk... Help is on the way." Gibbs couldn't hold himself back and that's why he soon found himself with Tony in his arms, both trying to stop more blood from escaping the body and to hold his son in his arms for the first time. Maybe for the last time, his mind tried to make him think, but he pushed it away.

"Good... Might be a bastard... Still the only... only one I've got..." Tony blinked, trying to keep the darkness away. Distantly he was also wondering why this stranger, whom he had only met today, seemed to be so concerned and even distraught by him getting shot. It figures, he thought with sarcasm and hurt, that his own father wouldn't even feel bad about shooting him and then some stranger comes, looking like it was the end of the world.

"You'd be surprised," Gibbs spoke gruffly.

"Huh..?"

"We'll talk later, okay? First gonna get you fixed up."

Even only half conscious, Tony was looking stubborn. "No."

"You'll forget it and I have to tell it all over again." For a moment Gibbs feared he was looking in the eyes of a dead, but then the eyes blinked, eyebrows furrowed again and Tony snorted softly. Making up his mind, in case the worst would happen and he'd lose his son, again, Gibbs decided to tell the truth. "You're my son. You are the son who was stolen from me."

Tony stared him in confusion, but before anything could 'click' in his brains, he lost consciousness.

"Holy—! What happened?" It came from the door and Gibbs looked over his shoulder, where the 'cousin' had finally been brave enough to come in the room to find out what had happened. Gibbs glared and the young man swallowed thickly. "Look, I heard some of the things. I don't get it, but I don't break my promises. As far as I'm concerned, you shot in self-defense and to protect my cousin... Tony, he is my cousin, right..?" He looked uncertain.

Gibbs ignored him and kept brushing his fingers over Tony's cheek and forehead. Then he thought he heard the sound of ambulance—and at least one police car—sirens. He was surprised that it happened so fast after his call, not that he complained.

"Okay, maybe I didn't completely keep my promise..." The cousin looked sheepish, but one more look from Gibbs sent him out of the room. Even if the look had been this time grateful.

Gibbs looked down at the peaceful look on Tony's face. If you didn't know any better, you'd think he was only sleeping. It was in that moment when Gibbs could see traces of Shannon there. Really though, the young man had parts from almost every member of their family. Again Gibbs wondered how could he have ignored his gut feelings from before. Perhaps this would have never happened...

As he heard the sound of people running through the house, Gibbs whispered in Tony's ear, hoping that maybe he'd hear him, "You can't die yet. I won't allow it. You don't have my permission. Not like this, Tony..."