I've got so much love for y'all! Your response to the last chapter was so great :) Thank you! I hope you enjoy this one as well!
Chapter Seven
Tony had a million alarms going off in his head as the words slipped out. His mantra was flashing in big neon lights behind his eyes with a big red stop sign. No! This isn't healthy! he argued with himself, and then like the shoulder angel and shoulder devil, another part of him would counter with, But it is what you need…
He could tell by the shocked look in Jethro's eyes that the older man was stunned and scared. He decided he needed to explain himself.
"We're thinking about running off into a dangerous situation together that might cost us our lives. If you're willing to do that, to put your life on the line for me, then I want something to look forward to waiting on the other side. I want to know that we're going to give this a fair fight, a real try, and I believe that if you're willing to die at my side, you need to be willing to live by my side. I'm not saying this week or even this month, but tell me that you want this enough to make that promise in front of everyone that you do love me, and you are willing to do whatever it takes to make this relationship work. Marriage isn't the end of solving our problems, it's promising that come hell or high water, we'll get through all of the problems laid out before us, and I want that promise."
Jethro considered what Tony was saying. His past marriages didn't work out because he and his ex-wives had gone into the marriage with different expectations. They thought that it would mean settling down and finding some happy routine, but Jethro's life wasn't going to change for that. He was still going to work the long hours, go on dangerous cases, and be lucky to come home for six hours of sleep before going in and doing it all over. He knew that Tony understood that, but he knew that they still had a lot of work ahead of them in order to piece their relationship and their lives back together. The idea that Tony wanted to do that together, wanted to take those strides enough that he was proposing to him, had thrown him off guard. He was shocked by the depth of trust Tony had that they could do it, that they were going to work things through and find a peace in the chaos. He was also worried though.
"We don't see each other for two years, and then we run into each other, and, what, twenty eight hours later, we're thinking about marriage?" Jethro asked in confusion.
"Yes," Tony said immediately with confidence. "Because after two years, a few hundred major life changes, almost nine months of sobriety, a huge career change, the deepest depression and the reddest rage, not to mention adding my shrink to the speed dial on my cell phone, I'm still just as much in love with you as I was two years ago, and something like that deserves taking special precautions to hold on to."
Jethro stared back into the honest expression on Tony's face, ignoring the way the now icy water ran down their bodies, and knew that Tony was right. There was still so much there that they were both holding on to, and he knew that he would never let go of. If Tony was willing to fight through it all with him, to promise- no, vow- to stay by his side while they fought for what they both had gone to sleep craving every night for the past two years, then he was going to take him up on the offer.
"As soon as we catch this bastard and take him out, I'm dragging you down to the courthouse," Jethro said quietly as he reached out and pulled Tony against him, their faces only a few inches from one another.
"Really?" Tony asked, a shy and elated smile creeping over his face.
"Really."
"We'll make it stick, Jethro. We'll make it mean something worth holding on to."
"It already is something worth holding on to- always was. Like I said, I'm just a damn idiot."
"Yeah, but you're my idiot," Tony said with a chuckle that Jethro joined in on.
"Let's get outta here. It's freezing, and I have a plan that if we put into action right away could have us at the courthouse by next week."
"Liking the sound of that!" Tony said as he turned off the water, a sudden springy feeling inside that he hadn't felt for a long time.
Sitting on the couch around the coffee table, coffee cups in hand, Jethro went over the information that Tim had obtained, and explained that if they tracked down their wi-fi thief, they could bank on the Patriot Act and presidential pardon, and get the information they needed out of him. From there, they might be able to use the guy's computer to send the messages they would need in order to lure Frankie out of hiding, or at least move up the food chain to someone else that could. They considered the many roadblocks to the plan, but in the end, it was the best they had, and they felt they could make it work.
Tony was still looking for something they could give Tobias as a clincher. They had the hook and the line, they just needed that one definite sinker to give it enough weight to go straight to the bottom and put them in position to do what they needed to do.
"What if he doesn't talk?" Tony asked.
"He's probably not going to walk away one way or another. We get him into the river, and it looks like the mob did it. We use it as an excuse to bring in someone we can locate under the blanket warrant, and repeat the process."
Tony looked at Gibbs with a raised eyebrow. The term ruthless came to mind, and he was surprised to find himself completely on-board. I guess we've both hardened over the past couple of years.
"So we're going to use the mob's own game on them: kidnap, torture, and dispose. Meanwhile, to the outsider, it looks like the mob is to blame, and keeps our agencies out of the limelight. We're going to have to go completely dark during this. No calling in Tim or Abby for special favors, no updating Fornell with information. No back-up, no connections, just us." Tony's voice was solemn but challenging as he confirmed with Jethro where this was leading.
"Exactly- just us." Their eyes locked for a long moment, and they realized how much trust this was going to take.
"On the up side," Tony said. "If we can make it through this without killing each other or getting one another killed, I'm pretty sure we can take on all the other crap life throws at us."
Jethro smiled broadly and looked down at the folders. "Yeah, though, I think it's more that we can do this because we've already taken on so much together, and we're hellbent on taking on a lot more."
"Oh, yeah, because let me tell you something mister- you are so not finished groveling yet! I'm expecting breakfast in bed on the weekends we're not on call, and I'm going to love all those back massages you're going to give me, and let's not forget-"
The sudden head-slap made them both laugh, and Tony felt like something was breaking free inside of him that had been chained for two years now.
"I'm going to call Fornell and tell him we need to meet him alone this morning. You need to call Vance. I'm going to head over to my place to get the stuff I'll need, and put next month's rent in the super's mailbox for the landlord in case this takes longer than expected." Tony went to get to his feet, and he was suddenly pulled back to the couch so that he fell over onto Jethro. They were immediately locked into a kiss that conveyed so much emotion that Tony wasn't sure he'd ever breathe again.
"You are going to want to live together once we get married, right?" Jethro asked.
"Yeah, that's definitely part of the plan," Tony said as he looked down into the eyes of the man below him.
"Good. Then hopefully that's the last check you'll ever cut to your landlord."
Tony kissed Jethro again slowly. It didn't last long enough for either of them before Tony sat up and got to his feet.
"I'll see you in an hour at the Hoover building." He picked up his keys and his jacket and headed for the door, leaving Jethro to scoop up the paperwork in front of him and sort it back together.
Gibbs took a deep breath, acknowledging the task ahead of them. He headed to the basement and he slid out the third drawer of his work bench. There was a small tackle box in it, and he opened it up, taking stock of what was there. A series of hunting knives and fish skinning knives were in it, as well as two icepicks, a heavy spool of line and another of wire. For all intents and purposes, it seemed like an ice-fisher's tackle box. There were even a series of fishhooks in various sizes and some rubber glittering worms wrapped up in little compartments on top. However, if someone looked close enough, they would see that the bottom could be lifted out, and inside, there were a few small vials and needles.
Ducky had worked with him after the Wallingford case to gather what would be needed to create a truth serum. By mixing so many CCs from each bottle, and dosing their victims, they would be much more pliable. There was also a small vial of cyanide tablets that he'd acquired without Ducky's knowledge. He prayed he'd never be in the position to need them, but they would be good to use on someone else if they were trying to cover their tracks like they were this time. He packed the kit up again, making sure the vials were snuggly in their Styrofoam homes before starting upstairs to gather his personal belongings.
Gibbs caught his reflection in the mirror as he grabbed a couple of things from the bathroom and stopped. There was a brightness in his eyes that he hadn't seen for a while, and a determination in his shoulders he hadn't felt in just as long. He suddenly felt like things were getting back on track, and it was like that point in a nightmare when you finally realize it isn't real and you're going to wake up. It was a game changer, and he felt the world melting from the macabre dream into a much brighter reality, despite the danger he was walking into. He knew that Tony would have his six through everything, and together, they could take on the world.
**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**
Tony dialed Tobias in the car. He let him know that there was a break in the case, and that he and Gibbs had come up with a plan they couldn't talk about over the phone. Tobias was suspicious from the word "Gibbs", and was quick to bypass the case for the personal details.
"What did you do?" he asked.
"You told me last night to get the head clear, and I did," Tony said, trying to control his emotions and not let the idea that Fornell would be disappointed in him rule his thoughts.
"You slept with him."
"I proposed to him," Tony countered without thinking in his defensiveness.
"You WHAT?!" Tobias shouted through the phone. Tony steeled himself, taking a deep breath.
"This morning, after I slept with him, after I went the fuck off on him last night."
"You went off on him? I would have paid to see that. What'd you say?"
Tony chuckled to himself at how nosy and yet protective Tobias had become.
"I told him he had no right to apologize after all this time, that he's a fucking idiot, and that he's been the cause of more pain in my life than I'd wish on my greatest enemy, until I realized that he'd become my greatest enemy and he had been in just as much pain. That changed things a little."
"So, what? You propose to his sorry ass?"
"Yeah, pretty much. I told him that if he really wants to fix it, if he's really in it for the long haul, I want it official. No marriage is pretty. There's always going to be arguments and hurdles, and we're certainly not any different. At least going into this we're not going to have some fairytale expectation of perfection. To be honest, I kind of like that."
Tobias sighed. "You know I still think you need to deck the bastard, but if being with him is what you think is right for you, I'm not one to stand in your way. I do have a question for you though."
Tony pulled up into his apartment's lot and turned off the car. "Okay?" he asked as his hand fell into his lap with his keys.
"What are you going to do when he asks you to go back to NCIS?"
Tony sat in silence. The thought hadn't occurred to him. He remembered the weird looks that Ziva and Tim had given him in the lab when he said he was only back to help with the case, and he wondered if they held some kind of illusion that he was trying to find his way back to the team. He wasn't, but the sudden idea of having his life exactly as it had been two years before was tempting. He considered the conversation he'd had with Jethro earlier. Nothing was ever going to be the same again. They had both changed a lot. They were going to build something new, a new life together. He didn't know if that could happen if he returned to NCIS.
"DiNozzo?" Fornell asked, breaking him from his spell.
"I- I don't know. I hadn't really thought of that being an option."
Fornell sat in silence for a moment as he thought about what he was going to say, knowing that the next words to leave his mouth would be crucial to keeping one of the best agents he had ever worked with. He began slowly.
"Look, I know we've only worked together a couple of years now, and I know that the two of you, and you and the old team, have a lot of history together, but we've been through a hell of a lot in these two years. I really hope that when the time comes, you stay here. I may have ridden your case when you were with NCIS, but I always knew you were a good investigator. Jethro wouldn't have put up with you for so long, or at all, if you weren't. If there's one thing the ass knows, it's this job. But I'd like to think I've gotten to know you pretty well, and I trust you and count on you, and I kind of feel like you've had that here, too."
Tony nodded to himself as he thought of all the times Fornell pulled him outta bars and dragged him back to his place to sleep it off, making sure he was up and sober for work the next day. He thought about some pretty sticky cases they'd gotten through together, and about how Fornell had forced him to go see Meghan and sober up before he did something really stupid and lost his job and professional reputation. He took a deep sigh, feeling the weight of this decision settle in his stomach. "If that time comes, I'll make sure that whatever I do is right for me, and what's healthiest for me."
Fornell nodded on the other end of the line, wondering if his agent's head would be clear enough to do that when tempted with his old position under his lover. "What do you think Meghan would say about your decision to propose to Jethro?"
Tony winced. "Hopefully I can find time to tell her today, because it doesn't sound like I'll be making my Friday appointment," he said, checking his watch for the time as he got out of his car and headed up the stairs to his apartment.
"Well, get in here so we can hash this out."
"Be there soon," Tony said before disconnecting the call and sitting down on the couch in his living room. What the hell am I supposed to do now? He stared down at the phone in his hands for a moment, and then dialed Meghan's personal number. She'd felt compelled to give it to him in case he needed a back-up sponsor after hearing how he couldn't get ahold of Dale one night when a bad case that was pushing him. He'd barged in on Fornell in the middle of the night instead, which had worked out as they commiserated on how shitty the day had gone, but when he'd told Meghan, she offered herself up for any future needs he may have.
"Tony?" she answered. "Everything okay?"
"Uhhh… I think so. I don't know. I might be leaving today to go undercover for a case, and… I kinda did something I need to talk through." He got up, and began pacing the room.
"Okay. Well, give me a minute, and let me check on something, and I'll call you right back."
"Sounds good," Tony said, and they hung up. He got into the closet, pulled out a duffel bag, and packed a few things into it that he knew he would need. There were a couple of pairs of jeans, plain t-shirts, a plain hoodie, a pair of slacks, his hardest to wrinkle dress shirt and sweats. He added underwear, socks, deodorant, shaving cream, razors, soap and a bottle of shampoo. He changed into his favorite jeans, a tee, a black button down shirt and a black belt. He put on his most comfortable dress shoes, and tossed sneakers into his duffel. He was about to get his toothbrush and toothpaste when the phone in his pocket started ringing. He pulled it out and saw it was Meghan.
"There's no one I can move around today, but if you can come by after my four o'clock, I can stay and see you at five." Tony thought for a moment if they could wait that long to leave, and decided that they had a lot of the details to figure out, so that would probably work.
"I should be able to do that. If I don't show up, expect an email. I don't know when we're going to have to leave for this case, and once I go, I won't be able to contact you for a while, possibly weeks. I'll be dark."
"Sounds like your case broke," she said with some enthusiasm, knowing that Tony had been working on something that had his concentration for a long time now.
"Yeah. My old team has a great way of breaking things wide open, and shining light into those corners we didn't even know existed. We've found a crack, a mistake, a flaw, and it's now or never, and never is not an option."
"You're not about to go and do something stupid just to get away from Gibbs are you, Tony?"
"Heh," Tony said with a nervous chuckle. "Uhh… no. Gibbs is coming with me."
"OH. You're not about to go do this just because Gibbs is going, are you?"
"No. It's more like he's doing this because I'm going."
"Okay. You've piqued my interest! I hope to see you at five!" Tony could hear the anxiety in her voice, and was worried that he'd alarmed her.
"I'll do whatever I can to make that happen. Thanks, Meghan."
"That's what I'm here for, Tony!" Tony smiled and they hung up as he pulled his checkbook out of his nightstand and sat down to write out next month's rent. He slipped it into an envelope with a note letting the super know that he'll be gone but might have a friend staying at his place for the next two weeks, and then locked up behind him. He slipped it into the mail slot in the super's door on the way out, and pulled out his phone to call Abby as he got into his car.
"Tony! Hey! What's up?" she answered, and Tony could hear her clicking on the machines in the lab.
"If you don't hear from me for a couple of days, can you start checking up on the apartment and feeding Kate?"
"Whoa. Why? What's going on?" she asked, tensing up and freezing mid-reach to turn on Major Mass Spec.
"I have a case that might require me leaving the area for a while, and I don't want her to starve. My super knows that someone will be coming by. Do you still have your key?" he asked.
"Yeah. It's on my ring. It's the cool one with the flames on it. Kinda forgot I had it. Haven't had to use it in a while." Tony smiled at the approving pep in her voice. She'd had a copy made before Tony's sober days when he'd quite often have to have someone let him into his place once the barkeep took his keys.
"Well, use it for me. She has those little three day feeder shells and the flakes in there. Feel free to eat whatever is in the fridge. I didn't think to clean it out before I left."
"Do you think you'll be gone that long?" she asked, concern and panic rising even more in her voice.
"Might be a while, Abs."
"What's going on, Tony?" she asked quietly.
"I can't tell you, Abs. Just remember that I love you very much, and am infinitely grateful for you."
"Tony?" she said, suddenly crying. "You sound like you're saying goodbye."
"I really hope not, Abs, but this one is going to get dangerous, and though I've got good company that I trust, I just need you to know that. Please, don't get involved. I need you to promise me that you, Ziva, and Tim won't get involved. Even if the Director tells you to, I don't want you anywhere near this case. Promise me that, Abs."
"I can't promise you that, Tony," she said, tears streaming down her face, leaving little black dots on her white tee as her mascara ran.
"I need you to promise me this, Abby. If I don't know you're safe, I won't be able to concentrate, and I'm going to screw up. I need to know the people I care about are safe."
Abby swallowed hard and crossed her fingers. "I promise, Tony," she whispered.
"Uncross your fingers Abby. And your toes. Eyes and feet and legs, whatever you're doing."
"I hate when you do that," she said sniffling hard.
"Only fair. You know me pretty damn well, too."
"Okay," she said taking a deep shuddering breath. "I promise."
"Thanks, Abs. Love you." Tony hung up the phone, and turned it off. He pulled out the battery and put the pieces in his backpack. He would leave it with Fornell to keep safe until he returned.
Twenty minutes later, he was at work, standing alone with Fornell and Jethro in a tiny office with no windows and a thick wooden door.
"Okay," Fornell said, leaning back against the desk in the office, arms crossed and legs crossed at the ankles, addressing Tony while barely looking at Gibbs. "Tell me what's going on."
"McGee found a connection to our ring syphoning wi-fi outside off a school and got a mug. We have a name and address. Plan is to take him, get our information, and dispose of him mob-style to throw the trail off of us while we go for bigger fish. We probably won't get Frankie right away, but we can follow the chain."
"Why not send Pammy and Ja'Rell in? That's what they're here for."
Gibbs spoke up. "Because they've never had to use torture techniques to withdraw information, and we have."
"And frankly, I don't think they have the stomach for it," Tony said confidently. "If they made it through, it would change them in some serious ways. I don't think their heads would be in the game after torturing someone for the first time- not enough to follow through and possibly have to do it multiple times. Not to mention, if they were to get caught, and tortured, I don't think they'd live up to it. Then we'd really be screwed."
Fornell looked at the two men in front of him. He had no qualms about sending Gibbs in. He almost thought the man deserved to be caught and tortured, but he'd heard very skimmed details about Tony's time in Somalia, and he'd heard what he'd had to do in the Wallingford case right before he left NCIS. It hadn't been pretty, and he wouldn't have thought carefree, goofball Tony would have had it in him back then. He knew differently now.
"You're planning to black out, aren't you?"
"As soon as I have my appointment with Meghan at five today." Gibbs looked at him sideways wondering what that was about, but he knew he'd find out soon enough, so for now, he just played along.
"And what does Vance have to say about you going, Jethro?" Fornell asked with a bit of snark.
"He's aware, though he doesn't like that I'm keeping him out of the loop. At this point, I think he's just happy to get rid of me for a while. Though he doesn't know what I'm doing or why I'm doing it, it's pretty obvious it has to do with this case, but considering Tony threatened my life if I told him or the team about the level we're playing on here, I've figured it's safer dealing with Vance's wrath. Tony has much more of a reason to kill me than he does."
Fornell nodded with a devious smile that showed his teeth as he turned an approving look on Tony. "I'll let him know what we're dealing with once you two have taken off."
"So this means we're good to go?" Tony asked.
"Yeah. I'll inform the Director that we're working multiple angles, and I'll have Gibbs added to the blanket warrant and pardon. Come see me before you leave for your new information. You know what you'll have access to and what you won't. I'm not going to tell Pammy and Ja'Rell what's happening unless they stumble upon one of your bodies- er- your victims' bodies-er- Aww hell! That's just not going to come out right. Sorry."
Tony just shrugged.
"That brings up the other issues, though. Try not to kill each other while you're out there, will ya? I don't want to have to explain to SecNav why Gibbs' body ended up in the river with cinderblocks on it. I'd certainly try, but I don't think we've got any more get out of jail free cards in our stash."
Tony matched his seriousness and nodded. "I know, after the last time, we'd be screwed. Plus, I lost my connection to the guy we got our cinderblocks from." Tony's face was stone still, and Fornell gave him a solemn nod of understanding.
Jethro raised an eyebrow at the jab, but simply watched Fornell leave the room, resting a hand on Tony's shoulder as he went by. He saw Tony's smirk, and he looked back and forth between the two men. Tony moved to go behind the desk and sit down in the chair, turning the PC on. Jethro turned around to see what Tony was doing, and that's when he realized there was a name plate sitting on the desk.
"This is your office?" he asked.
Tony looked up at Jethro, and then at the nameplate on the door in confusion. "Yeah?" he asked, wondering how Jethro hadn't seen that.
"Huh," he said as the realization hit him that Tony was actually comfortable in his position. He must be. He had black level security clearance, his own office, Tobias' confidence and trust to let him loose after a five minute conversation, and he was already knee-deep in the files they would need, printing them on top-secret stationary that was pre-loaded into the printer as if though he printed on it constantly.
"You seem surprised," Tony said, only halfway paying attention to the man in front of him as he started printing another set of files.
"It's just weird to think of you in the bullpen, and then in an office. Didn't think you wanted to be cooped up in a tiny room."
"It's easier to think in a tiny room with a hangover than in a big room full of sunlight and noise, and since I need a secure line, I have an office. Pammy and Ja'Rell are sharing an office down the hall. We're going to have to make sure we kinda sneak out of here later." Tony looked up with a little wince as he said that.
Jethro realized how different Tony was at work here than he was at NCIS. He had more confidence, concentration, and by the way Fornell was acting, responsibility and respect. He wondered if Vance's plans to invite Tony back to NCIS would be accepted, or if Tony was lost to the Feebs forever.
He decided not to think about it and concentrate on the case at hand. The next few weeks could change his whole outlook on a lot of things, and it could change Tony's as well. He decided to play it by ear and see where Tony was happiest. He smiled as he realized that he'd considered Tony's happiness before his own. It's his life, he has to live it. As long as I have him back in my life, he should do whatever he needs to in order to make him happy. I just really hope I can live with his decision.
Two hours later, they snuck out of the office and down the hall to Fornell's. Tony tapped on the open door and Fornell motioned for them to come in, but he was on the phone. He hung up a minute later, and looked up at the two men.
"You two heading out?" he asked.
"Yeah. Leaving my phone with you, and a couple of other things," Tony said, plopping a plastic Ziploc bag with his phone, keys, badge and wallet on Fornell's desk.
Fornell traded him for two small cardboard boxes with brand new smartphones in them. They'd been sealed with classified tape as well, and Tony knew that they were not expected to return. Programmed by the techs, they were part of the government contract to be untraceable, just another number in the mix, not to be assigned to someone, just handed off.
Tony opened the first one, and took it out to get a feel for it. A phone number was on a sticker on the back plate, and he knew that he would have to spend an hour just teaching Jethro how to use the damn thing. He looked up to see Fornell handing him another slightly larger box.
"Just a few things you might need," he said. Tony looked at the box then looked back at him, understanding that this was not to be opened yet. He nodded. "Gibbs, can we get a minute?" Fornell asked.
Gibbs shrugged and turned to walk out of the room, catching that Tony was shooting him a reassuring smile. As he closed the door behind him, he suddenly realized a big piece of him was missing by having Tony on the other side of that door with his boss- a boss that wasn't him. He wasn't sure if he was going to be able to contain the green monster trying to claw its way out of him, but he knew that his relationship depended on doing just that, so he tried hard and started taking deep breaths, ignoring the emotions as best he could.
Tony watched Gibbs close the door behind him, then turned to Fornell. "There's another phone in the box. It's only to contact your sponsor and Meghan with. You need to let them know you're going under, and that communication won't be frequent. Texts only. Calls are easier to trace. The number is on the back of the phone, and you know to take the battery out between conversations."
Tony was touched. He hadn't really thought of how he was going to keep in touch with Dale, but once again, Fornell had his back. He watched the weird nervous look on Fornell's face as he stood up and came around the desk.
"I know this is completely against everything we've ever been trained to do, but do me a favor- keep me in the loop. No details. Just use that phone to send me a number, scale of one to five, "five" being an emergency, that you need to be pulled, and "one" that everything is going great. "Three" for things are moving, but are just so-so. Not just about the case though- let me know how you're doing. One through five. P for personal, C for case."
Tony could only nod. The fact that Fornell was asking him to break protocol on such a highly classified case was a profound testament to how far they'd come in the past couple of years together.
"You'd better come back from this, kid. We've put in too much effort together to have you lost to this creep. You go get him, you do what you have to do, and you come back here to us." Tony nodded again, swallowing hard. His mind wandered back to his conversation with Tobias after the separation.
Abby had gotten the team together to take Tony drinking, and to talk things through about what Tony's options were since he couldn't take working with Gibbs anymore. Tobias had gone over to Gibbs' to drink off a case, and Gibbs had told him about the separation. He'd apparently gone off on Gibbs, and then called Tony.
"DiNozzo? Where the hell are you?" he asked when he was greeted by the sound of a fairly drunk Tony and loud club music.
"At Onyx with the team. They've brought me out drinking to get over that jackass bastard you call a friend."
Tobias had shown up at the club twenty minutes later, and Tony had given him a big drunken hug that Fornell laughed at. Abby had seen it from across the room where she was chatting up the DJ, and she immediately came over.
"If you're here to try to get Tony to go talk to Gibbs, forget it! He-"
"Whoa, there!" Tobias said with his hands up in defense. "I'm no messenger boy! If Jethro is going to be a dumbass and throw away the first thing in twenty years to make him happy again, that's all on him. I'm here for a much more selfish reason, and it might be a solution to your problem." Tony had eyed him suspiciously, and realized that there were starting to be two and three of him where before there was just one. He shook his head, and sat down at the bar motioning for another drink. The seat next to him opened up, and Abby sat at it while she and Fornell waited on drinks.
They waited a minute for them to arrive, and then Fornell turned back to Tony. "You know that Sacks' position is still open."
Abby looked at Tony with a slide headshake, meanwhile feeling an ache start inside as she realized that Tony really did need to leave. He had been miserable for the past couple of days, and he was only getting worse. Tim and Ziva had taken refuge in her lab under the guise of all sorts of excuses and lies, and finally, McGee had flat out told Gibbs that he couldn't be around him and Tony, and that he needed to leave for a while.
Tony had looked back at Fornell in confusion. They had spent plenty of nights drinking in the basement around the work table telling stories over the past six months, and though they had gotten to be surprisingly good friends, he still gave him hell during cases, and he'd never felt Tobias had taken him seriously as an agent.
"With the reasons for Sacks' departure, we're looking for someone we can trust to fill the position. There's a dozen candidates in the office, and it's becoming a political, ass-kissing, dramatic nightmare. Thing is, none of them deserve the position. They're all pretty mediocre. I checked your credentials, and you're already beyond them on every level. If you want it, it's yours."
"Wait," Tony said, "You're poaching me?"
Tobias smirked. "I figured I married the bastard's ex-wife and lived, how much harder could working with you be?"
Tony and Abby had both started laughing so hard that Tobias had to keep Tony from falling off the stool.
"Seriously, though. Your security clearance is at least two steps higher than any of the candidates, your input on cases has always shown insight, and you're a natural at this. We need someone who will be able to hold their own while undercover, sniff out information without alerting the wrong people, and I figure you'll keep things interesting at work now that I don't have someone to pick fights with when I'm pissed off."
"I don't know, Tobias. NCIS has been home for thirteen years. That's a big change." Tony looked down at his drink, playing with the little red stir straw.
"I need someone I can trust in that spot, Tony." Tony's eyes came up to meet Fornell's and saw the truth written there. It was a genuine offer, and what he was saying was honest. "After Sacks… I can't…"
Tony knew the feeling that went across the older man's face intimately. He'd felt it for a long time after Danny had betrayed his trust and been found to be dirty. Sacks' betrayal not only cost him his job, but three to five years in federal prison. He thought about how Jethro had brought him on board, telling him that you don't waste good, implying that he was good. He chewed his lip as he thought. He didn't want to stop doing the work he was doing. It was his lifeblood. Working with Jethro couldn't keep happening though, and this was a way out.
"I need to think about it," he said quietly. Tobias smiled hopefully, and clasped Tony's shoulder.
Fornell had spent the next two years getting Tony in and out of more trouble than either had bargained for. They'd saved each other's asses on a couple of cases, and then Fornell had pulled Tony together, getting him into therapy and sober. He'd been a constant source of support, right there with Abby, Ziva and Tim. Now, he was standing in front of him, looking like he was saying his final goodbye, sending him off with instructions and the means to break protocol.
"I'll be back, Tobias. I'll be in touch, too." Tony smiled crookedly and headed for the door, Fornell clasping his shoulder on the way out.
"You'd better, Tony," he said softly as the door shut behind the younger man. He sat heavily at his desk and considered what was happening. He felt like he had just sent his little brother off to war without the right armor, and he felt itchy all over inside.