A/N: Just a short chappie for now. I'm not sure how many chapters there will be after this one, maybe two or three. Well anyways I hope you enjoy and thank you to everyone who has reviewed or put this fic on alert or favorites list.

When he came home there were a lot of different scenarios in his head for what he might find when he got there. Some of the things he envisioned were plausible, some really farfetched. But for some reason catching his injured lover in the basement where he had no business in being, didn't surprise him nearly as much as it probably should have. In fact he was pretty impressed that the man had not only dared to go down there after what happened last time but had also managed to get there despite the fact that he must have been feeling pretty stiff and the crutches were a hell to maneuver in the narrow stairs.

Being impressed did not however override the concern he felt, which unfortunately manifested itself in the form that Gibbs was most comfortable with expressing.

"What the hell do you two think you're doing!"

He probably shouldn't have just barked the words out like that from the stairs, but he really would have liked to come home to see his partner safely in bed, resting and recuperating and not doing what he always did by neglecting to take care of himself.

As it was he did bark the words which startled the two people in question and had Abby not had such fast reflexes, Tony would have ended up in a heap on the floor when he accidentally put weight on his injured leg while turning around to face the stairs.

The pissed of look was gone in the same flash it took him to rush down the stairs and make sure his idiotically pigheaded lover didn't manage to hurt himself further.

Okay so maybe he still was a bit pissed off.

"Bossman! You're home!" Abby squeaked as Jethro appeared by Tony's other side and helped the younger man right himself.

"Yes I'm home but it seems that I should have been back a lot earlier to stop you two from getting one of your master ideas." The look in his eyes made Abby swallow nervously but since Tony was too busy trying to breath through the pain of his stumble, he took notice of it.

"Well Jeth, you did tell Abby to investigate-" Tony panted out through still clenched teeth while gratefully leaning most of his weight on his solid partner.

"The operative word being I told Abby. You on the other hand shouldn't even be up." The reprimand was clear in the tone used to deliver the words but years had taught Tony that the man was all bark and no bite so he ignored the tone.

"Well I'm not really up, more like I came down.." The laugh was strained and more like a gasp than anything. But the sound made Gibbs decide that this was not the time now a place to do this, first medicate his man, get him to bed and then kick his ass.

"Abby, go get DiNozzo's meds. " Jethro ordered as he helped Tony over to the stairs and lowered the pained man to sit on the second step from the bottom, thinking that he really needed to get at least one actual chair in the basement.

"Awww, this really a 'back to last names?' situation" Tony asked as the pain receded back to a dull ache and he could actually muster up a smile that he shot up at his hovering lover.

"Just hope I don't count this as a situation that causes you to end up in the dog house."

"You don't have a dog house."

"My point exactly."

The familiar banter was interrupted by Abby's return and the resulting fussing as she plied Tony with painkillers and water, both which the man gratefully took. The goth also brought his muscle relaxants, but those he refused being adamant that he didn't need them.

"DiNozzo take the pills!" Gibbs didn't have any patience for niceties, he just wanted the other man medicated and then out of the basement. Abby he would deal with later, though he really wasn't angry with the goth.

Recognizing that he had no possible way of winning the particular argument, Tony took the pills shoved at him and swallowed them down with a grimace.

"We'll you'd better help me up before those things kick in or I'm spending the night down here." That prospect didn't sound at all appealing to Tony so he gave the older man his best wounded puppy look which turned into a smile when Gibbs rolled his eyes before motioning Abby to follow them up while he himself took the job of supporting his lover up the stairs.

Once they'd gotten the momentum going, Gibbs decided it best to continue the slow going all the way back to the bedroom though Tony tried his best to get the other man to deposit him on the couch in the living room.

Though when they got into the master bedroom and Tony was lowered onto the soft surface, he had to admit to himself that it did felt wonderful to lie down. Not that he was going to tell his partner that.

Tony closed his eyes ans sighed as his abused body started to relax and he was just about ready to settle down for a nap.

"Okay so now would you two explain what you were doing when I got back?"

Well there went that plan, Tony thought with a groan as he tried to think of something to say that wouldn't cause Jethro to want to kill him.

Luckily he didn't have to say anything as Abby started to explain her findings to Gibbs. Everything went well until she started to subtly hint that there might be something seriously wrong with the boat itself.

The look Gibbs threw her was enough to have her backpedaling and keeping to concrete facts.

"So it was a freak accident?" Jethro asked for comfirmation though for some reason his gut was telling him that it wasn't that simple.

Abby was disappointed that her silver fox obviously wasn't seeing what she and Tony was, but one look from Tony quieted any protest she might have had.

"Yep, Tony was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

The nod Gibbs gave at the explanation made her sigh quietly in defeat. She quickly said her goodbyes before giving both men a kiss on their cheeks and made her way out now that Gibbs was back and her job was done in the house. That didn't mean however that she was done yet, she had some more investigating to do.

Once Abby was gone Gibbs sat down on the edge of the bed next to his partner who looked sleepy and apprehensive, an interesting combo to say the least.

"Get some rest Tony, I'll kick your ass later." He ordered while soothing the other man to sleep by petting his hair.

Once the younger man started to snore peacefully, Jethro placed a small kiss on his forehead before making his way down to the kitchen where he got a cup of coffee which he took with him to the basement.

He sat on the workbench and looked at the fallen boat while sipping his hot coffee. For a long while he just sat there in contemplation as he tried to figure out his next move.

He didn't really believe in coincidences nor freak accidents, so he was sure something else was going on, but that only left even more implausible alternatives. He knew it wasn't Tony's fault, the man most likely had done nothing to cause the accident. But if he hadn't then who or what had?

He was also having trouble figuring out why couldn't he let go of the words Tony had said the previous day about the boat hating him. And why did he have the weirdest feeling that maybe there was a grain of truth in that statement.

"What the heck is going on in here?" He contemplated out loud, not really expecting an answer, but being disappointed anyway when none was forthcoming.

TBC...