A/N: Well, here comes a new chapter and I really, really hope you like it *smiles* because I'm not too sure if I managed to keep them at least a little in character... *sigh*
Comments of course would be greatly appreciated *puppy dog eyes*
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Thank you to BellaHickenbottom, krynny, Lidil, LoveMarines, Jebeth, Herky Illiniwek, kbotr, ladykale1985, 21JumpStreetMcQuaids, MarineLvr84, fangirl36, Headbanger Rockstar, keembur, finlaure, TonyGibbsFan, Maydin, katydidnt, TonyDfangirl62, McCoy's Secret Lover, CMAli 1, Gibbs4Eva, CriminalMindsLove1, DS2010 and AMAPADME (yeah, this is kind of AU where male pregnancy is more or less normal even though not too common) for all your kind comments for the last chapter *hugs you all*
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Disclaimer: None of the NCIS characters belong to me. I just borrowed them for a little while… this is not for money but for entertainment only…
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Chapter 4
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"But it is important, Jethro. The man I slept with and who could be the other father of the baby is Tobias Fornell..."
Gibbs really hadn't thought that Tony would be able to shock him even more than he had already done today, but those words hit him like a sledge hammer.
"Tobias? You slept with Tobias Fornell?"
Jethro tried to keep any accusation out of his voice, because as Tony had so cruelly pointed out earlier, they hadn't been in a relationship so Tony had had the right to sleep with whoever he wanted and Gibbs didn't have any right to hold it against the younger man.
But Tobias Fornell...
That Tony had slept with the FBI agent was a whole other matter.
Fornell was, in a sometimes twisted way, the only real friend Gibbs had outside of NCIS.
And he was the only person that had known about Gibbs's feelings for the younger man.
And that made things even worse.
Fornell had known how Gibbs felt and had still approached Tony.
That Tobias himself held some sort of lust for the younger man was no secret to Gibbs either and also not that surprising.
Fornell and Gibbs had always shared a common taste in men and women. Tobias had been married to one of Gibbs's ex-wives after all.
But they had never knowingly interfered with each other relationships or would-be-relationships.
Sure, Fornell wasn't the only one to blame since Tony could have said no after all.
But from the looks of it, Tony had been drunk, hurt, confused and still vulnerable after Gibbs's harsh rejection, so he had been easy prey for anybody who found the right things to say.
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And somehow Gibbs was a little relieved that it had been Tobias Fornell, who had taken Tony home that night, because he probably had at least been gentle with the young man and would have accepted if he had said no at some point.
Jethro shuddered when he thought about what could have happened. He didn't even want to imagine what might have happened, if some pervert would have taken advantage of a drunk and vulnerable Tony.
Unconsciously he pulled Tony closer to his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around him just to assure himself that the younger man was safe in his arms.
And he couldn't help a slight smile when Tony snuggled against him without hesitation.
Gibbs looked down at his senior field agent, who still didn't dare to look up at him after his admission of who the other father of the baby could be..
Jethro gently put a hand under Tony's chin and gently forced the younger man to look at him.
"Tony, I can't say that I'm thrilled to learn that you've slept with Tobias and that he could be the father of the baby, but that still doesn't change anything I said earlier. I want us to try and have a relationship and be a real family, no matter if I'm the father of the baby or not," he assured and his smile became a little brighter, when he saw the way Tony's whole face lit up and the first genuine smile in a long time graced Tony's features.
"Do you really mean that?" Tony asked hopefully, but still with a hint of disbelief and fear of another rejection in his voice.
And that look of fear and uncertainty was one Gibbs didn't ever want to see in Tony's eyes ever again, especially when Gibbs himself was the cause for it.
He quickly pressed his lips against Tony's and it was a gentle brush of the lips just to assure the younger man that he was indeed serious.
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"Yes, I really mean that. We've denied ourselves some happiness for way too long and I plan on changing that from now on," Gibbs insisted, running a hand through Tony's hair, loving the feel of it between his hands.
He separated a little from DiNozzo and smiled at him.
"And the first step in changing that is me asking you out on a real date," Gibbs then said, wincing a little when he realized how un-Gibbs-like that sounded, but with Tony everything was different and for once Gibbs didn't care.
He finally had the chance to have a real family again and he was finally ready for it after Shannon and Kelly.
And he sure as hell wasn't going to let this opportunity slip through his fingers.
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Tony only stared at him, his mouth slightly open, because he knew that this was really new for Gibbs to ask someone out on an official date. Normally it was Gibbs who got asked out on dates by women. And the younger man was so glad that Gibbs seemed to accept so easily that he had slept with Tobias Fornell.
"You're really serious?" Tony asked again, still unsure how to handle this situation and this Gibbs he had never seen before.
Gibbs nodded slowly, a slight smile on his face.
"Yeah, Tony, I am serious. Do you want to have dinner with me tonight?" he questioned seriously.
"I'd love to, but I should warn you beforehand, the baby causes me to eat twice as much as I usually do," Tony replied, feeling a lot better than only a few minutes ago, now that he knew that he actually stood a chance with Jethro.
Yeah, they still had a lot to talk about and that sure as hell wouldn't get done today, but at least they had made a step in the right direction. And anything else they could work out with time.
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Gibbs laughed lightly and gave Tony a gentle head slap, more a caress than an actually slap, but it helped them both to regain some sort of normalcy between the two.
Gibbs knew too, that they needed some time to fix everything between them, but at least they had both admitted what they felt for each other and that meant they could work on the rest.
"I think my bank account can cope with that," he stated, but then he got serious again.
"Does Tobias know about the baby?" he questioned, not sure if he'd be able to accept it if the answer was yes, because that would really hurt.
But to his relief, Tony shook his head almost immediately.
"No, I only told Jenny about it and of course I had to tell Ducky. He would have recognized the signs soon anyway," Tony explained.
No, he hadn't told Fornell, because he had always hoped that the baby would be Gibbs's and he didn't have to tell Tobias Fornell anything.
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Gibbs raised an eyebrow.
"Did you happen to also tell Ducky about the possibility that I might be the father?" he asked and the way Tony ducked his head was already answer enough.
"He wormed it out of me somehow. You know how he is," Tony defended himself, because, yes, he really hadn't wanted to tell the ME, but one look from the older man and he had given in and told Ducky about everything that had happened.
Gibbs had to chuckle for a moment.
"Yeah I know how Ducky can be. And I finally have an explanation for his strange attitude towards me in the last few weeks," he stated dryly.
Now Tony had to laugh too and some more of the tension left him.
He looked at Gibbs with a serious expression on his face.
"So we're going to have a date tonight and then we're going to talk about how we're going to go about this whole situation?" he summed up and Gibbs nodded again.
"Yeah, that sounds like the best plan," he replied, knowing that this wasn't going to be as easy as it looked right now and that there would be some more emotional breakdowns, but at least they had a starting point.
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"Good, then maybe we could get this elevator going again, before they call a technician or something and I need to tell Abby about the baby before she learns it from someone else. She'll never forgive me...," Tony stopped for a second and blushed a little, before he continued: "... and I really need a toilet right now."
Gibbs chuckled again and hit the start button, so that the elevator started moving again, down to Abby's lab and as soon as the elevator stopped, Tony nearly ran out of it to the nearest restroom.
Gibbs watched him go with a fond smile on his face, but that quickly vanished when he once again thought about the possibility that Fornell might be the father of Tony's baby.
And despite the fact that he had kept it together in the elevator, the thought made him really angry.
Gibbs pulled out his phone and for a second he was tempted to just call Tobias Fornell and tell him exactly what he thought about this.
But when he saw Tony walking towards him with a bright smile on his face, he put the phone away.
That could wait until him and Tony had worked their problems out.
And knowing their luck, he was pretty sure that Fornell would appear at NCIS soon because they had another case to work together.
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"Okay, I'm ready to face Abby now," Tony stated when he stood beside him again, a goofy grin on his face.
Gibbs smiled and resisted the urge to kiss the younger man again, because he wasn't sure how open they should be about this, well, he couldn't even call it a relationship yet, so it was better to keep it out of the office... for now at least.
"Do you want me to come with you or do you want to talk to her alone?" Gibbs asked.
Tony tilted his head to the left a little and then he looked at Gibbs pleadingly.
"Can you come with us?" he questioned softly, putting a hand on his baby belly to emphasize on the "us".
Gibbs chuckled and now he really couldn't resist the urge anymore.
He bent down and kissed Tony after he had checked that they were alone.
"Of course I'm going to come with you two," he said and put his hand on the one of Tony's that still rested on his baby belly.
"In fact, I'll have a hard time letting you two out of my sight anyway," he informed, because he knew of DiNozzo's track record to get himself into trouble and Gibbs didn't want that to happen, especially not now that he was pregnant.
"Thanks," Tony said, looking still a little dazed from the kiss.
But then he took a deep breath and walked towards Abby's lab, hoping that she wouldn't be too mad at him for not telling her earlier.
Gibbs followed his senior field agent and he felt happier than he had in a long time, but he had the distinct feeling that this happiness wouldn't last too long...
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to be continued...
