A/N: Okay so I know I said that there would be only one more chapter but seeing how this worked out, I feel it's best to cut the final chapter in two and then I'll write an epilogue that will be posted at the end of the last part, also this way I can post this now and get a few days to write the rest without making you wait for so long for an update :D My logic is always interesting ;) Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I love hearing from readers and the comments have been great :) Gibbs may seem a bit out of character but I hope it's not too bad...
The next morning before even the sun had time to rise properly, the two men were trudging down the driveway with their last bags, Tony grumbling all the way about the early wake up.
"You know if you'd prefer I could go alone and leave you here to get more beauty sleep." They both knew that the threat was idle but still it was enough to stop the grumbling for a while.
The drive to the marina was spent with the men engaged in conversation about their plans for their vacation and other everyday stuff. For once Gibbs was forced to drive carefully and according to the speed limit since the heavy boat they were pulling after them was affecting the behavior of their vehicle and the last thing Jethro wanted was to get into an accident.
So the drive that normally would have taken them less than two hours, now took them well over that.
But neither man was bothered by that. Jethro was content as he imagines getting the boat on the water and spending some quality time with his lover and Tony... well Tony was just plain nervous. He was looking forward to the time with Gibbs but for some reason he still felt a little flutter in his gut that he contributed as being the result of not having sailed that much before and being afraid of messing it up.
Once they would get on board the boat Tony was sure the feeling would ease.
Hopefully.
Getting the boat to water was easier than he'd expected, but getting on board was another matter altogether. Jethro was the first one to climb onto the deck and Tony handed him the bags from the pier.
But when it was time for him to follow his partner, it turned out not to be so easy. Every time he put his foot on the edge of the deck, the boat would rock back a bit making him take a step back. Finally after the second aborted attempt at trying to get on the boat, Tony decided to just go for it and almost jumped over the gap between the boat and the pier. Just as his foot hit the edge of the deck the boat rocked once more and he would have started flailing to stay on board if it hadn't been for Gibbs who took a hold of his hand and pulled him into his arms.
"Well hello there." Tony smiled as he wrapped his own arms around his partner and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. "Thanks for the catch."
"Anytime." Jethro answered with a smile before pulling the younger man with him.
"C'mon lets put our stuff away and get going."
It didn't take the men long to unpack their stuff and the groceries, the most trouble was trying to navigate the small inside of the boat that held only a small area for the bed with few drawers for their clothes and a small galley.
Though both knew it would be a tight fit, they still bumped into each other in every turn while unpacking. After the first few accidental bumps it seemed that the contacts were a little less accidental and a little longer.
"All done Captain!" Tony said with a grin and a salute as he once more bumped his hip against the other man's.
"Well then, let's get sailing.." Jethro said as he made his way towards the steps.
"Lead the way." Tony agreed as he followed with a more sedate pace as the rocking of the boat made his step falter a few times, obviously it would take a while for him to find his sea legs, though Gibbs obviously had no such problems.
"They probably get sea legs installed in the marines..." Tony muttered as he clumsily made his way up to the deck.
Obviously Gibbs heard him since there was a snort from the older man before a hand connected with the back of his head as soon as he cleared the steps.
"Hey!" Tony yelped at the contact "I'll have you know that I'm on vacation and that-" He pointed an accusing finger at the other man "is considered domestic abuse."
"You thinking of pressing charges?" Jethro questioned mock seriously while getting ready to set sail, though in reality they would be using the motor more than the sails to get out of the marina.
Tony tilted his face and tapped his chin with a finger in contemplation. "Well maybe I could be persuaded to drop it."
The almost grin on Jethro''s face made him smile and when the other man turned and pulled him into his arms the smile turned into a full blown grin.
"And what kind of persuasion did you have in mind?"
"Oh I'm a very reasonable guy so I'm sure we can find a solution that'll work."
"I'll let you steer the boat." Gibbs offered as he pressed a kiss to Tony's cheek.
"Oh you're on, I've always wanted to drive a boat!"
"Steer DiNozzo, it's not a damn car. Go untie the boat from the pier so we can get going. I'll take care of the motor.
"Ay ay Cap'n!" Tony threw him a salute before going to untie the rope that was holding the boat next to the pier and swiftly bundled it up.
As the boat started to more away from the harbor, Tony made his way over to Jethro who was carefully navigating around the poles sticking in the water, marking the safe passage out of the area.
"So, you got any hunch yet where she's taking us?" Tony asked him as he reached down into the cooler they'd left on the deck and pulled out a bottle of water. He took a long drink of the cool liquid before passing the bottle to his lover who was gazing at the horizon.
"Nope." He answered with a lopsided grin as he took the offered bottle.
"Fine." Tony sighed in exasperation. "Keep your secret." He couldn't resist sticking out his tongue before turning around and going to check if there was anything that needed to be done down below.
Jethro just shook his head fondly at his exasperated lover. In reality he did have a destination in mind but it would take them a few days to get there as they would have to find a place to get something to eat other than the provisions they'd packed with them. Then he'd let Tony in on his plans, but until then they could just enjoy the journey.
But Jethro greatly underestimated his partner's curiosity. That very night after they'd found a place to anchor down, take a swim and eat a light dinner, the two were sitting on the deck just looking at the stars. Tony rested most of his weight on Jethro as he let his feet hang from the side of the boat and occasionally he dipped his toes into the cool water. With one hand he drew lazy patterns on Gibbs' arm while with the other he held closed the blanket they'd draped over themselves to keep at bay the evening breeze.
"So," He started in a quiet voice. "Where are we really going?"
Jethro sighed as he moved so that he could look at his partner's face though they were still sitting close together.
Seeing the move and hearing the sigh, Tony was prepared to take back the question but before he could open his mouth, the look on the other man's face stopped him.
"I should have figured you wouldn't let it go." There was a tired smile on Jethro's face as he gathered his thoughts. He wasn't a talkative man, but what he wanted to say was important and he knew a one word explanation wouldn't cut it.
"I noticed after the accident you had with the boat that you haven't really been down to the basement much." He frowned a bit at the beginning as it wasn't the way he had envisioned telling Tony this, but in for a penny in for a pound.
"I think I missed you. I figured that as long as I was working on this boat, there would be a distance between us." At the guilty look on Tony's face he knew that his gut had been right about the reason for why the other man hadn't been to the basement much.
"So I asked Bobby to help me with her so I could finish her and then when she was done, I realized that this boat would never be our boat, I made it for Shan and I know for you it would always have a negative feel. So I want us to built a new boat, one that will be just for us and that we will built together from the beginning. That one will have good memories for both of us and hopefully there won't be no painful ones attached to it. "
It was more words than Tony had ever heard Gibbs string together at one time and he was touched that the other man knew him so well, he also knew his partner well enough that he knew the boat was bringing up a lot of bittersweet memories for the other man and though he'd hoped that getting her finished would bring come closure for him but Tony knew it hadn't been enough.
"What about the lady?" He asked indicating the boat they were currently on though he had a suspicion about the plans Jethro had for her.
"I needed to finish her and take her out to the water for my girls, but now I realize that 's all it was. She was always going to be Shannon's boat and I can't keep her and I can't give her away. So now we sail her to this small bay a few days way ahead, there's a small cabin on the shore that's owned by my friend. He has a boat there we can use to get back to the marina we left from so we'll head to his cabin, spent a few days there and sail back on his boat. For The Dark Lady this is the first and the last voyage. The area there is secluded enough for it to be a safe place for her to be burnt there."
At those words it felt as if a shock had run through the boat and both men were worried that something was wrong, but after the first shudder there was nothing so both men relaxed.
"Are you sure you want to do that Jethro?" Are you ready to let go of them? I know how much they mean to you. The words were unspoken but still Jethro understood the look of concern and uncertainty in the other man's eyes and he couldn't help but smile at the way they seemed to understand each other.
Placing a kiss on the other man's lips Gibbs replied. "I'm sure." It's okay, I'm ready. "What do you say we get some sleep?"
Tony studied Jethro for a second before nodding as he found nothing but honesty in his expression.
The two men made sure the boat was well secured and the lights were on so that any passers by would know they were there, before going to bed.
But the Dark Lady had no intentions of resting, her time had just been cut short and she needed to act faster than she anticipated. But no matter, she could do it. She could get rid of Tony and then there would only be Jethro and her and her Jethro would never try to get rid of her then, after all once Tony was gone, he would be so happy to have The lady with him and all the memories of Shannon that she brought with her that they would have much more good times ahead of them.
But before that she had two days left to go find an opening. Two days and then it would all be right again.
TBC...
The next chapter will really be the last one, I have it drafted already so I just need to get it done and get the epilogue written.