Chapter Four
By
TonysSilverFox
DISCLAIMER: However much I wish it was so, I do not own these characters. I'm going to simply let them play for a little bit and then put them back a little happier.
WARNING: SLASH story! You have been informed! If you do not like the idea of two men together, pick something else to read.
A/N: Hospitals do not make for a conductive writing environment, (but they have colored my thoughts, which you will soon see) hopefully, that is all behind me now. Special Note: After reading the first section, take a deep breath and keep reading! ;-)
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Bright.
The lights were way too bright.
The glare from the lights in the waiting room were harsh and unforgiving, and hid nothing. Jethro Gibbs sat hunched over with his elbows resting on his knees, clutching Tony's NCIS jacket. The jacket was soaked in Tony's blood, and now Jethro's hands were also painted with it.
Six months.
They had been granted six months of bliss before it had all been ripped away, again.
'We didn't even get to our first anniversary.' He thought bitterly.
Jethro could still detect warmth in the garment he held. The last lingering trace of Tony's life.
Jethro's breathing came quicker as his mind supplied a never ending slideshow of images to torment him. He would never hear Tony's laugh again, never feel his touch, never see his laughing eyes or bright smile, never hear his deep voice whispering in his ear, they were forever lost to him.
Jethro was vaguely aware of Abby's sobs somewhere in the corner off to his right as Ducky comforted her in her grief, but her tears did not reach him. He knew the rest of the team were also there and they too needed comfort, but he had none to give.
Jethro was numb. His heart was gone, Tony had taken it with him, and he was nearly one-hundred percent certain he would be following Tony in a very short while to try and get it back. This was one step too far and he knew he would never come back from this. He could not.
He didn't want too.
There wasn't even anything to avenge, the bastard who had taken Tony was already dead, by Jethro's own hand. It wasn't enough though, it would never be enough and he was so tired of fighting.
Jethro Gibbs clutched Tony's jacket tighter and once again wondered what atrocities he had committed in a former life to earn him such misery in this one. It didn't matter anymore though, he was almost at the end of this painful existence and he hoped the next would be better.
He also hoped to see laughing green eyes waiting for him. That was one thing he desperately wished for the most.
Having made his decision, Jethro Gibbs stood, still holding onto Tony's jacket, and strode quickly out of the waiting room, to disappear into the darkness outside. If he hurried, he could be with Tony again within the hour.
Ducky watched his friend exit the waiting room at a brisk pace and feared that would be the last time he saw him. Locking his gaze with Agent Wilson, he got a quick nod in recognition of the silent order and the younger man hurriedly followed, only to return a few minutes later with a sad headshake, letting Ducky know Jethro had made his escape.
Sighing deeply, the older man tightened his grip on an inconsolable Abby and hoped their little family could survive this and inwardly cursing whatever genius had decided to install such headache inducing lighting in this room.
These lights were way too bright.
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Doctor Jeanne Benoit sat in a small alcove off the emergency room, warming her hands on a rapidly cooling cup of tea. She had yet to take a sip. She had gotten it to calm her frayed nerves, because tonight had been a nightmare.
Her scrubs were still splattered with that agents blood. She and her team had fought valiantly, but he had lost too much blood and they couldn't save him. She could still see his striking green eyes locked onto hers and silently pleading for her to save him.
Her eyes swam with tears as she recalled those eyes losing focus and finally staring upward, sightless and cold. The essence of life slipping away right before her. One second he was there, the next he wasn't and there wasn't anything she could do to change that.
Hearing someone enter the alcove behind her, Jeanne quickly wiped away the tears as a comforting hand caressed her back.
"Are you okay?" Annie asked her.
Jeanne let out a small wry laugh as she replied, "Not really, but I will be. Sometimes it's really hard." Jeanne felt her emotions overwhelming her again and leaned into Annie as she let the other woman comfort her.
"I know honey, I know." Annie hugged Jeanne, letting her cry. Annie sighed deeply, sometimes you just need to cry it out.
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Hollis Mann cringed as her commanding officer barked out her name and demanded she come into his office. Gathering her dignity tightly around herself, she squared her shoulders and strode in, trying not to flinch at his steely gaze.
"Close the door." He briskly ordered.
Complying with the order, she turned and stood at parade rest, waiting for him to get on with it. She was quite proud of herself for not fidgeting while he stared two holes into her. It took almost two full minutes before he spoke.
Sighing deeply, he thrust a file at her. Only her quick reflexes allowed her to grab it before it spilled out all over his desk, enraging him further.
"Against my better judgment, I'm assigning this to you and your team." He told her.
"Sir?" She asked, somewhat confused. After her performance at NCIS, she hadn't expected another assignment. Mainly, because her commanding officer had shouted at the top of his voice that she would be doing grunt work until he thought he could trust her to act accordingly in public.
Huffing out another annoyed breath, he replied, "You're only getting this because it's urgent and complicated and we don't have time to read someone else in."
Nodding her head in acknowledgement, Hollis opened the folder and was faced with the lifeless face of a federal agent she was all too familiar with. Sucking in a shocked breath, she asked, "What happened, Sir?"
Leaning back in his chair, her commanding officer crossed his arms over his chest and sarcastically replied, "Well Lieutenant, it looks like he's dead, what do you think?"
"Yes, I see that Sir. I meant, are there any suspects?" She ground out.
"Oh, the guy who did it is dead, blown away by the agent's partner. It happened right in front of him." He told her with an amused smirk.
"Then…what do you need us for?" She asked him exasperatedly.
"Finally, a good question!" He bit out, ignoring her annoyed expression.
"The suspects death is not the end of the story. He was just a pawn, someone ordered this. It looks like we didn't weed out all the bad apples after all." he informed her with an accusatory glare.
"Sir, I went over every email and phone call personally, we arrested everyone involved in this operation!" Hollis heatedly replied.
"Well, I guess you didn't, because if you did, then that agent would still be alive and so would Corporal Mason." He taunted her, handing her another file. "And so would Ensign Davis." He added, handing her another folder.
"But…that's not possible! I didn't…" Hollis began before her commander cut her off.
"What you didn't do, is finish this job! And because you didn't, three more people are dead! Now, Lieutenant, I suggest you get your team together and get your ass over to NCIS where you will coordinate with the team handling this and the FBI team working on this now, since a federal agent has been killed!" He told her, with fists clenched and eyes spitting fire.
"Yes, Sir!" Hollis chirped before grabbing all the files and turning to leave. Her hand was on the doorknob before a growled "Lieutenant!" stopped her.
Turning around, Hollis Mann mentally kicked herself. 'How could I have been so stupid?'
"You haven't been dismissed yet." Her commander said in a deceptively smooth voice. Hollis swallowed and made her body as still as it could go as her commander stood and stalked around his desk to stand in her personal space.
"You will cooperate with NCIS and the FBI. NCIS is taking the lead because they lost the agent. You will not disrespect any agents or superior officers from any other agency - are these orders clear?" He told her in that same, smooth voice.
"Yes, sir!" She quickly answered. Her desire to head this investigation was quickly squashed. She was lucky she had only been demoted to Lieutenant after her last tangle with NCIS, it could have been much worse.
"That's good, because if I receive any negative reports from anyone about you, I will make sure you are busted to Private and spend the rest of your career cleaning latrines with a toothbrush, in the North Pole! Do you understand me?" He said, piercing her with an intimidating gaze.
"Yes Sir! I understand completely!" She answered, knowing he meant every word and had the connections to carry out his threat.
Narrowing his eyes, he nodded his head once, knowing his warning had been heeded. Turning quickly, he said over his shoulder, "Dismissed. Get the hell out of my office!" as he settled behind his desk and ignored her existence once again.
Lt. Hollis Mann quickly exited and scurried off to gather her team and head over to NCIS. Not even nine in the morning and she already had a headache.
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Leroy Jethro Gibbs sat bolt upright in bed, breath coming in pants and heart racing. The images playing across his mind, caused his body to tremble as he fought against them. His head whipped around and he focused his gaze on a boxer-clad Tony who was just entering their bedroom, carrying two cups of coffee.
"Did you fall back to sleep? C'mon, I've already had my shower and we have to get going!" Tony placed one of the cups on the bedside table and kissed the top of Jethro's head as he sailed over to the closet.
Jethro's heart rate slowly calmed as he watched Tony choose his outfit and start dressing, while he swung his legs over the side of the bed and ran his hands over his face to clear away any remnants of the awful dream he was still seeing in his mind. Taking a sip of the coffee Tony had brought him, he winced slightly, his body reminding him of all they had gotten up to last night, and then smiling to himself as he remembered all they had gotten up to last night.
Jethro heard Tony chuckle and he again focused on his beautiful husband, who was walking over to sit next to him. Tony was wearing undone trousers, his shirt on, but also open and his tie hanging loose. Jethro leaned into Tony's warmth, still shaking off his dream and craving his husband's touch. Tony, always able to read him, started carding his hand through Jethro's silver locks as he said, "I guess I really wore you out, if you fell back asleep after that call!"
Jethro's mind was starting to gear up again and he began to recall the details of the call they had received a little while ago. NCIS agent killed, his partner shot and killed the suspect, but it had something to do with a big investigation from about three months ago. Granted, he was half asleep when Tony had relayed the details, but he was surprised he had not spurred himself awake and instead drifted off again when Tony got out of bed and said he was jumping in the shower. Tony really had worn him out!
Jethro realized his mind had distorted the facts of the case and used their near-miss yesterday to supply him with a horrific scenario that still clung to him, like a cobweb he just couldn't brush away. 'It didn't happen.' he told himself. Tony had been hurt, but he was okay and sitting here next to him, warm and safe and gloriously alive.
Jethro leaned in muttering, "You can wear me out anytime!" before he captured Tony's lips in a tender kiss. Pulling back, he smiled into those laughing green eyes he so loved before saying, "You are incredible, I love you baby!"
Tony smiled mischievously and replied, "Ah, but will you love me when you're walking funny all day?"
Tony sprang up from the bed before Jethro registered what he had said and could grab him and danced away to the dresser, still laughing. "You better hurry up and shower, dear, we have to leave soon!"
Jethro pushed himself upright with another wince as he replied, "Paybacks, sweetheart, paybacks!"
Tony walked right up to Jethro and pulled him against his body, hands snaking around Jethro's waist to rest comfortably on his ass, which he squeezed lightly. Leaning in for a proper good morning kiss, he replied in a husky voice, 'Can't wait, love."
Jethro's chest tightened as the love he felt for this man, his man, swept through him and washed away the last vestiges of his awful dream. Smiling wickedly, he reached around and pinched Tony's ass, getting a squeak from Tony and a retaliatory swat on his own ass as he moved off to shower and dress as quickly as he could.
He heard delighted laughter behind him as he closed the bathroom door thinking, "Crap, I will be walking funny today!" Sighing happily at the reason for his condition, Jethro started his day with a hitch in his step, but a contented smile on his face.
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TBC….