A/N: Kinda cliffhanger chapter, yay. I don't own NCIS, blah blah blah, enjoy and review.
Tony didn't hide the fact that he was impressed and then some when Jessica walked into the elevator around twenty minutes later in a classic little black dress. "Whoa, Jess, you've been holding out on me."
Jessica smirked. "You wish."
"Hell yes, I do." Tony leaned back.
Realizing he was now staring at her ass, Jessica practically threw herself against the wall to prevent him from continuing. "Uh uh."
Tony smirked. "You can't stop me. Are you packing heat?" He raised his eyebrows suggestively. "Where are you keeping your gun?" He leaned back again.
"Again, back off." Jessica replied, smirk still intact.
"Or else I'll find out?" Tony's grin widened.
"No, or else I'll kick you were it counts." Jessica shot back.
Tony laughed. "Again?"
Jessica smacked his arm.
Tony hissed. "Ow! Hey!" He smacked her arm in return.
Jess smacked his shoulder now.
Again, Tony returned the action.
Before either of them knew it, it was a full-out smack fight.
--
When it came to things that didn't surprise Gibbs when it came to what was on the other side of the elevator, the man felt nothing could surprise him. He had seen people slumped half dead against the side, bleeding all over the floor, coworkers bickering, having a friendly conversation, people delivering mail, or just plain waiting for the doors to open. However, when he saw Jessica and Tony on the other side of the automatic doors, more specifically, Tony and Jessica making out against one of the walls, he wasn't sure if he should've added it to the things he expected, or didn't. One thing he did know, was that Sam was now gawking at the two.
"MOMMY?!"
Gibbs covered the boy's eyes and mouth, then turned him around, just as the two shoved each other away. He raised an eyebrow, but that was all. Classic Gibbs.
Ducky, who had been reporting something to Gibbs, looked amused and covered up a chuckle.
Tim nearly dropped his coffee. "What?" He looked from Jessica to Tony, horrified. "How'd that happen?!"
The guilty parties just looked down and kicked at the floor.
Gibbs shook his head. "Don't wanna know, don't care. Just get out to Delios."
Tony laughed. "Boss, I uh…"
Gibbs frowned at him.
Tony looked down. "Need to get my car keys." He ran over to his desk.
Jessica blinked. "I'll uh… meet you in the car…Trent's meeting us there, apparently."
"Uh huh." Tony mumbled.
Jessica quickly turned on her heel and got back into the elevator. Gibbs had asked to see them, but she figured it couldn't have been that important if he just stared at them after… that, and told them that he didn't want to know. With that thought, she smacked the side of the elevator. She had just made out with Tony. Her ex goddamn boyfriend. She didn't even know how it began. One second, they were exchanging slaps and shoves, and then he had her against the wall, and their mouths were together. She didn't even know if she had initiated. The fact that she was the one against the wall hinted at Tony, but he was just that kind of guy, initiator or not. "Shit…"
Back on the main floor, Tony had gotten his keys and was now looking down at the floor again, not meeting any looks. He never realized how long it actually took for the elevator to get from point A to point B. He finally looked up when he realized something. Gibbs was still holding Sam against his jacket. "…You're gonna suffocate the kid and Jess is gonna find a way to blame me." He pointed out.
Gibbs looked down and pulled Sam away.
The boy coughed and sputtered overdramatically, then collapsed against Gibbs' leg. He looked at Tony, and the admiration that was once in his eyes was now gone, replaced by confusion and shock.
Tony laughed once, then practically dove into the elevator when the familiar 'ding' sounded and the doors opened. He jammed his thumb into the "close doors" button, and went to the side to avoid the look that Tim still had on his face. "Now Probie has leverage. Damn it!" He hit the wall with the side of his fist. Within five minutes, he was in the car, and the two were on their way to Delios restaurant, without so much as a word to each other.
Another few minutes passed, and they arrived. Again, no words were exchanged as they made their way to the front, where Trent was waiting, apparently amusing himself by swinging himself around on his crutches.
Tony smirked. "Don't hurt yourself, Lennox." He clapped the man on the back, nearly sending him to the ground.
Trent glared at him. "Charming, DiNozzo," He turned to his sister. "Hey, this place is like, right behind your house!" Trent grinned, pointing over his shoulder.
"Yeah, I know, Trent. I saw that on the way here." Jessica replied, a little too shortly for his taste.
Trent watched her as she walked into the restaurant without a word. "…What did you do to her, DiNozzo?"
"Nothing!"
Again, the answer came too quickly for Trent's liking. Knowing their past, he jumped to a conclusion that happened to be the truth. "Did a spark come back?. Our uncle Rob's gonna get his shotgun out and hunt Tony down."
"Shut up, Trent." Tony snapped. "You're a lot like the other Trent I know. Trust me, that's not a good thing." He stalked inside, leaving Trent alone.
It took that piece of information a while to register in Trent's mind. "What?" he turned around to address anyone who was around him, but found none. "Ugh! Guys! Guys!" He shook his head, righted his crutches, and went inside.
--
Inside, Tony was ready and willing to give the host or hostess that would seat them a run for their money. He wa in the middle of a drum roll on the podium when a rather tall, thin man in a suit approached them and grabbed Tony's hand to stop them. "May I help you?" He looked Tony up and down with contempt.
Tony smirked, catching the look. He pried his hand free. "Yeah, hiya, buddy." He greeted with an over exaggerated Chicago accent that seemed oddly familiar to Jessica. "We reserved a table for three under Jonathan Magnum."
The name was what gave away why the voice was familiar. "…Really?"
"Yes, Rikki." Tony nodded, giving her a 'play along' look. He clapped Trent's back again. "And this is my brother in law, Calvin Wright."
Trent kept from rolling his eyes and smiled at the waiter.
The waiter sent a sarcastic smile back, checked the list, then nodded for them to follow him as he led them to a table.
The three got settled, and the man hurried off.
"Wonder what's up his-" Tony began, but there was a sharp crackle in the earpiece he had in, and then Gibbs' voice, rudely, Tony might add, interrupted his thought process.
"You there yet?"
"Just got seated, boss." Tony replied, looking down, trying to make it look like he wasn't checking the file of Sean Grayson Gibbs had given him.
"You see our man yet?" Gibbs continued.
Tony glanced around, then spotted the one they were looking for: a dark haired, tall, chunky man, better known as Sean Grayson. "Yeah, we got him, boss. Two tables to our right." He said the last bit just a bit louder so the other two could turn around.
"Fine. If he mentions Robertson, you make sure you catch every word. I finished here, I'll be with you guys within a few minutes."
"Got it, boss." Tony mumbled, being that the waiter was back. "Hey, long time no see!"
"Mm hm. Can I start any of you off with a drink?"
"Water, thanks." Jessica replied.
"Same." The men chorused.
The waiter muttered something, then walked off.
Tony scoffed. "What's up his ass?"
"Not important." Jess cut him off, then saw Grayson get up. "He's mobile."
The other two looked at the retreating man.
Tony frowned. "You think he's onto us?"
"Only one way to find out. One of you follow him. I'll stay here with the other and hold down the fort."
"I'll go, you guys stay." Tony got up. "If I'm not back in ten, come find me." He replied. "Looks like you and I lucked out with the conversation, huh?" he looked at Jessica.
Jessica shrugged.
Tony speed-walked to catch up with the man.
A couple of minutes later, Jessica and Trent spotted Grayson coming out from one of the hallways and towards the exit.
Trent didn't care for the situation. "Where's DiNozzo?"
However, Tony came out of the same hallway a couple of moments later and made a hand signal for them to split up and use different exits.
"Something going down?" Trent mumbled.
"Again, only one way to find out." Jessica replied as she got up and headed towards the back.
"What, are you just gonna leave me here?!" Trent demanded.
"That's the only choice you have with those!" Jessica replied.
Trent tossed his arms up in retreat, and groaned as the waiter, who had already started to come back with their drinks, saw the retreating two, looked at him, and just sighed. "This is gonna be fun…"
--
Tony had never lost a mark so fast. The man had practically disappeared within the first few seconds of being outside. Had Grayson been onto them? He pressed the communication device in his ear closer. "I lost him, guys."
"He's not here, either." Came Jessica's reply. "But I have an idea. Maybe he tried to escape out back behind the fence. Tony, come back here to me."
"Got it." Tony headed around to the back of the building, flashing a badge at a worker who was yelling about something. He had to do a double-take when he realized what the yelling was about. Jessica was actually climbing the tree in the back. "Jess?! What the Hell?!"
"Getting a better vantage point. Here, hold these."
Tony ducked and covered to avoid the pair of black high heels that nearly came down on his head. "How?!"
"Higher equals better view, genius." She replied.
"Duh, but seriously, how'd you…?" he laughed, seeing a glimpse of a black pants leg from the tree. "Under the dress."
"Uh huh. Anyway, I'm trying to see if he's making his way down one of these streets, now shut up."
"…Can you see your house from there?" Tony offered up a change of subject.
"Yes, actually. It's right… wait…"
"What?" Tony called up.
Jessica gulped. "Tony… did Gibbs say that he sent a babysitter to my place, or Sam to a babysitter's place before this?"
"Yours… why?" Tony asked, and then for the second time in five minutes, had to duck to avoid something land on him. He never expected it to be Jess, and she was pale.
"Screw this stakeout right now, at least for me." Jessica replied, shaking off the impact and hurrying off towards the break in the fence.
Tony followed her. "Why?"
"Because someone uknown guy in all black with a gun is is my house, two rooms down from my son's room, Tony!" Jessica replied.
"What?!"
Tony jumped, forgetting his mic was on, and Gibbs could probably hear everything going on. "You heard that, boss?"
"Hell yes, I did! How does she know?"
"…This place is practically her backyard and the glass door in the master bedroom has a clear view of the hallway since the bedroom door's open?" Tony replied in one breath.
"Where's Jess?"
"On her way over there."
"And why aren't you with her?!"
"Trying to find our guy Gray-"
"We found Grayson easy enough today, we can get him again! Help your partner! Backup's on its way."
"Sure thing, boss. Jess, hold up!" He went to catch up with her, only to find she had disappeared as well. "What is it with chases today?!" He ran to the back and up the stairs, only to hear screeching towards the front. He cursed, jumped over the banister and landed back on the ground and ran to the front, to see a car beginning to speed up. However, the most important detail slammed into his head a moment later.
Someone was in the middle of shoving someone with a small, familiar head of light blonde hair into the back as the car was going. "SAM?!" He ran after the car, knowing the attempt was going to end in failure. It always did. Sure enough, the car got enough speed, and within seconds, it was half a block down the road. "DAMN IT!" Tony grabbed hold of his hair. How was he going to tell Jess, who was probably still inside worrying about her son, that he had just watched said son getting shoved into a car? He groaned, then was back to running into the house, since he heard Jessica scream his name through one of the open windows. He knew it had something to do with what he had just seen.
He quickly made his way back to the back stairs and into the house. "Where are you?" There was no reply. He winced, expecting it. Sam's room. It made sense. He went inside the boy's room, and sure enough, there was Jessica, kneeling on the floor, holding a slip of paper, using one of Sam's blanket as a makeshift glove. His heart went out to her for the first time in the entirety she had been there, being that the way she was kneeling, it was obvious her knees had given way. He couldn't not tell her, now. "We… uh… missed it by seconds. When I got into your yard, they were driving… whoever has him.… I tried to get 'em… you can imagine how that went… is that a…" he practically choked on the next words. "Ransom note or something?"
Jessica nodded slowly, then moved it up for him to see.
Tony squinted to read it, and his stomach flipped once again.
You should be more careful about what your friends say out loud. We have your son. We're going to carry on with our business without your team's interference. If we so much as see one of you, the boy dies. We have our way of knowing, too.
Tony winced. They were always so simple, but sinister. The ones without a money ransom like this one were always the worst, even if it didn't seem like it. Not knowing what else to do, Tony put a hand on Jessica's back, and she practically fell against his side. "We're gonna find the bastards who did this. I promise." He heard the door creak again and brought his gun up, only to find it pointed at Gibbs. He relaxed and let the weapon drop.
Gibbs, who also had his weapon out and pointed at Tony, also lowered his. He looked from Jessica, to Tony, to the note, then Sam's bed, and back to Tony.
After all the years Tony had known Gibbs, he had come to learn that Gibbs talked and asked questions with his eyes, and the unvoiced question was the most easy to translate. The younger man nodded at his boss, then pulled Jessica closer. At the moment, it was just about all he could do.