Once again, apologies for the delay… work has taken over my life recently. As always, tremendous thanks for the alerts and reviews, with special thanks going out to the guest reviewers to whom I can't respond directly. Some other special thanks are in order: to blarney and Luvliacd, who made some requests a while back… hope I addressed them well enough! Unbetaed, as usual, so all mistakes are my own.

10: Heading Home

Waking Up

Gibbs jumped up onto the rock and yipped, waving his tail high in the air. Tony grinned at him, crouched, and made an aborted move forward. Gibbs snorted in derision, leapt off the rock, and took off into the underbrush. Tony followed, laughing, and calling out that it wasn't fair. Gibbs darted under a tangle of brambles and froze, watching as Tony ran past and then slowed, turning in a full circle, eyes searching the forest.

"Gibbs! Come on, Boss… where are you?"

He didn't see Gibbs in his hiding place; as soon as Tony's back was to him, the fox shot out from under the brambles and jumped, all four feet hitting Tony square in the back. Tony stumbled forward with a surprised shout, while Gibbs pushed off, landed easily on all four feet, and took off running again.

He slowed down when he realized he couldn't hear any sounds of pursuit. He stopped and turned, sniffing the air, tilting his head and listening carefully. There was no sign of Tony, so he cautiously went back the way he had come, reaching the clearing quickly, only to see Tony sprawled unmoving on the ground.

Gibbs' ears pinned back flat against his skull; he ran to Tony's side, soft whines coming from his throat. Had Tony hit his head? Gibbs sniffed at his partner's face, then jumped back when Tony rose suddenly, reaching out and grabbing hold, pulling the fox in close and saying in a sing-song voice, "Two can play at that game, Jethro!"

Tony smiled at the canine in his arms; Gibbs gave him a foxy grin in return.

Gibbs made it slowly back to consciousness, feeling a combination of panic and relief. He wasn't sure how to react to that mix of emotions, so he lay perfectly still, using his Marine training to breathe deeply and let his senses bring him back to full awareness. He remembered the dream clearly; it was so vivid that he wasn't entirely sure it was just a dream. He kept his eyes shut, barely admitting to himself that he was half afraid he was a fox again. A small voice in the back of his head pointed out how happy he'd been in the dream, and would it be so awful to be a fox if he had Tony at his six?

He firmly shut that voice down, took a deep breath, and opened his eyes, blinking in the morning light. He ran his tongue over his teeth, and sighed heavily when he didn't feel the sharp points of his canine self. Just to be sure, he moved his arm and grabbed the edge of the sleeping bag, lifting up to look in and see his own very human body lying there.

Idiot. Of course you're human if you can pick up the sleeping bag.

Lips twitching in amusement at his own stupidity, he relaxed back into the warm nest he was sharing with Tony. They were more or less in the same positions in which they'd fallen asleep; there wasn't much room in there, so moving around would have been difficult anyway. Tony's arm was flung over Gibbs, the lax muscles indicating the younger man was still asleep.

Gibbs let himself doze a bit, enjoying the closeness that he was sure would fade away once they were back in D.C. He felt some regret about that, and made a vague resolution to put forth the effort to keep this new connection with Tony. That got him thinking about Abby; he wished Tony's cell battery had lasted long enough to tell her the good news, as he was sure she was worrying about them. He sighed as the thought nudged him to full alertness; he knew Abby, knew it was likely killing her that she couldn't talk to anyone about this. Somehow he couldn't see her and Vance having a heart to heart about his former predicament.

He stretched and then carefully and reluctantly made his way out of the sleeping bag, glancing back at Tony. His senior field agent was still sleeping soundly, not reacting to Gibbs moving away except to shift over a bit and mumble something incoherent. Gibbs dressed quickly and quietly, then left the tent, zipping the door shut to keep the cold air out, and heading into the bushes to relieve himself.

Returning to the tent, he was tempted to let Tony sleep a little longer, but he really wanted to put Abby out of her misery; he also really wanted to get off this mountain and away from tree spirits. He opened the tent door, ready to call out to Tony to get his butt in gear, but the tent was empty. He blinked, impressed that Tony was able to move that quietly. He straightened and turned, starting visibly when he saw Tony standing only inches behind him.

Tony grinned. "Two can play at that game, Jethro. Figured I owed you one."

Gibbs froze as he remembered Tony's words from the dream. Tony's brow furrowed.

"You okay, Boss?"

Gibbs huffed out a breath. "Yeah. Yeah, Tony, I'm fine… didn't know you could move as silently as that."

Tony smiled happily. "I do pay attention to you, you know."

Gibbs grinned. "I do now. We'll have to test this out later."

Tony's smile turned predatory. "What, you want to play tag in the woods again?"

Gibbs tilted his head and looked at him curiously. "Why do you bring that up?"

Tony shrugged and stepped back, scratching at his head. "Had a pretty cool dream… you were a fox again, we were playing tag like we did the other morning. You snuck up on me, hit me in the back and took off as I went down. I played possum, grabbed you when you came back."

Gibbs stared at him. Tony walked over to their fire put and crouched down, arranging some sticks and taking his lighter out of his pocket, getting them to catch within a few seconds. He glanced back over at Gibbs. "What's wrong?"

Gibbs shook his head. "Nothing. I'm fine."

Tony gave him a look that clearly said he didn't really believe him, then got up and moved toward the tent. "Figured we'd eat and head back down to the car right away, huh? Wanna call Abs as soon as possible."

Gibbs nodded, then scratched at the stubble on his cheek, trying to work it all out in his head. Coincidence? I don't believe in that, right? What the hell?!

Just Desserts

Breakfast had been quiet. Gibbs hadn't felt much like talking as he tried to puzzle out what to make of their shared dream. Tony didn't know what was bothering his friend, but he knew better than to push. He had faith that Gibbs would tell him if he suddenly experienced foxy feelings. They'd packed up quickly, Gibbs still insisting on carrying the backpack, then made their way down the trail.

Gibbs had kept an eye on the sky the entire way down. When Tony asked why, he just shook his head. "Not sure. Feels like snow, I guess."

Tony looked up at the sky too, as if he could see what Gibbs was feeling. "Snow? Isn't it kind of early for that?"

Gibbs had only shrugged and picked up the pace a bit.

The hike was uneventful the rest of the way, until they reached the parking lot. There were several park rangers there, talking with people, directing them out of lot and away from the trail. One was standing at their rental, looking at the license number and writing something down in a small notebook. Tony and Gibbs exchanged a glance, then headed for him.

"Is there a problem?" Tony asked.

The ranger looked up at them. "This your car?"

They both nodded, and the man broke out into a relieved smile. "Hold on a sec." He grabbed his walkie talkie, pressed a button, and said, "We're all clear here… last hikers accounted for. They just showed up at their car." He listened for an acknowledgment, then hooked the device back on his belt. "Bad storm coming in… looks to dump an awful lot of snow even down here. We're trying to keep people off the mountain." He gestured toward another ranger with a German Shepherd on leash. "We were getting ready to try to track you guys before the storm hit."

Eyes wide, Tony turned to look at Gibbs, who just looked back at him impassively. Tony shook his head. "Long range forecast didn't say anything about snow."

The ranger, whose nameplate read 'Torrence,' shrugged and smiled. "Welcome to the White Mountains. D.C., huh?" He waved toward the license plate.

Tony nodded as he fished in his pocket for the key, hitting the button to unlock it. Gibbs unbuckled the backpack and hoisted it into the backseat as soon as Tony opened the door. "Just up here for a few days to see the sights, you know?"

Torrence nodded. "You've got good timing. Way the weather's shaping up, you could have been stuck up there for several days."

Gibbs was looking back the way they came; his gaze shifted to the ranger. "You got a map of the mountain on you?"

Torrence nodded and pulled a map out of an inner jacket pocket, handing it to Gibbs. Gibbs opened it up, taking only a moment to find the Crawford path, then followed it up and off to the left, pointing at a spot fairly high up the mountain. "Here," he said. "We found a cleanly cut stump, no downed tree. Looks like someone's been doing some illegal logging."

Torrence looked at the map carefully, then nodded. "Yeah, we got some reports of someone hauling logs off the mountain. Staked out the place last week, caught this local guy practically in the act."

Tony stared at him. "He didn't cut down another tree, did he?" He glanced over at Gibbs. "Get a new hobby," he whispered.

Gibbs' lips twitched. "We didn't see any more signs of logging," he said, shooting Tony an amused look.

Torrence shook his head. "Nope. Guy went up, and we were giving him just enough time to get started so we could catch him in the act, and then he comes flying back down the path, screaming about ghosts. Took a long time to get him to calm down; he gave it all up, though, so all the better for us. Funny thing was, I could've sworn he had dark hair going up, but it was shock white when he came back down."

Tony blinked, and Gibbs' eyebrows shot up. "Ghosts, huh?"

Torrence shrugged. "There's always a few people telling stories… more so since that Blair Witch movie came out several years ago."

Gibbs glanced over at Tony, a blank look on his face. Tony just sighed and shook his head. "Creepy. You don't want to know."

There was a sudden volley of barking, and then some yelling. They all turned toward the noise, and saw none other than Angela and Justin over by the ranger with the shepherd. The dog was growling loudly, and the ranger was clearly giving them a severe talking to.

Torrence sighed. "Damn woman. This isn't the first time. Can't keep her hands to herself."

Tony and Gibbs looked at each other, and Tony couldn't help himself; he smirked at Gibbs, who rolled his eyes at him. Torrence caught the look. "Oh, I don't mean it like that… she calls herself an animal lover, but I'm guessing the animals have another name for her. She's always gettin' in their space, can't seem to get it through her thick head that working dogs should be left alone." He sighed. "Too bad she's local."

Angela was shouting back now, and suddenly her hand flew up and she slapped the ranger across the face.

Torrence dropped his head into his hands. "Damn it. Gotta go, guys… hey, if you're heading back south and you start now, you'll likely beat the storm." He gave them a wave, then set off at a run, grabbing his cuffs off his belt. The ranger with the dog was trying to hold the shepherd back; the dog clearly took offense at someone striking his partner. Another ranger had grabbed Angela's arm and twisted it behind her back; she was screaming now, and Justin was getting into it too. Gibbs and Tony watched for a moment while Torrence reached them and quickly cuffed Justin.

"Think we should help out?" Tony asked.

Gibbs shook his head, grinning. "Nah. Glad we saw that, though."

Tony chuckled and headed for the car, making for the driver's seat. Gibbs stared at him. "I'll drive."

Tony shook his head. "No, you won't. I didn't think to bring your wallet."

Gibbs sighed and made for the passenger side.

Calling Abby

Tony started up the car, then took a moment to plug in his phone. Both he and Gibbs fastened their seat belts, and then Tony put the car in reverse.

"Thought we were calling Abby," Gibbs protested.

Tony shook his head. "Can't yet, not on my cell. It won't switch on until it powers back up to a certain level."

Gibbs grimaced. "Don't want to make her wait any longer."

Tony nodded. "I hear you. I remember a pay phone outside the diner near the motel we stayed at, figure we can call from there, and then head south. Wanna stop over in Connecticut again, or just drive straight through?"

Gibbs shook his head. "Stop over. Too long a drive to go all the way back."

They were only about ten minutes from the pay phone; Tony pulled in and parked next to it, commenting on the empty parking lot. "Must be a heck of a storm coming."

They got out of the car and went to the phone; Tony dug out an old prepaid calling card. Gibbs looked at it. "That thing still any good?"

Tony nodded before tucking the receiver between his head and shoulder, holding up the card and punching numbers. "Yeah, these things never expire. Always figured it would be good backup to carry one around."

Gibbs watched Tony's face as he finished punching in the numbers; he knew the minute Abby picked up from the way Tony's expression brightened and he turned the receiver away from his ear so Gibbs could listen in. "Hey, Abby."

"Tony! Oh my god, you're okay?! There's like a huge monster storm heading your way, if you're still in New Hampshire. I've been freaking out over here, and McGee's been watching the weather and talking to himself, and whatever you said to him about not bugging me about you guys must have worked, but it's obvious that it's killing him. And Ziva's moping. But, GIBBS! Tell me he's okay, Tony!"

Tony just glanced over at Gibbs, who smirked and said, "I'm fine, Abs."

Tony wasn't quite fast enough; the ear-splitting shriek made them both wince, even as he reached to cover that part of the receiver.

"Gibbs! You're back! I mean, it's not like you ever left, but you're you again! Not that you weren't you, you were just a different you, or a you in a different body… you have to tell me everything!"

Gibbs grinned into the phone. "We will, Abby. Not now, though – we need to head south before the storm hits."

"Yes, of course! Go. Want me to tell the Director that you're you again and that you're coming home?"

"Yeah. Tell McGee and Ziva that the op is over and we'll be back in a couple of days."

"You got it, Bossman! Hug Tony for me, okay? For you, too! And tell Tony to hug you for me! And for him!"

Gibbs reached out and hit the metal piece that disconnected the call. Tony replaced the receiver, and they turned to look at each other for a minute. Then Tony grinned and reached out, pulling Gibbs into a hug. "Welcome back, Jethro."

Gibbs went with it, smiling as he resting his forehead on Tony's shoulder. After a moment, though, he reached up behind Tony's back and gave him a light smack on the head. "Let's get out of here."

They were both smiling as they got back in the car and set off down the road.

Back in Connecticut

They made it back to the motel they'd stayed at on the way north by late evening. The storm had hit the mountains well after they'd made it to the southern part of New Hampshire, and they were both glad of it; the news reports weren't good: high winds and heavy snow. Tony had visions of trees coming down on their tent, and decided maybe he was rethinking the hiking thing.

He carried the backpack into their room, dumping it on one of the double beds and then collapsing into the single armchair. Gibbs was in the bathroom; they'd already stopped for dinner on the way and had decided to call it an early night, get back to D.C. in time to meet up with Abby and debrief, as Gibbs put it.

Tony popped into the bathroom as soon as Gibbs came out; he wasn't in there for long, but by the time he emerged, Gibbs was already in one of the beds, hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. Tony watched him as he got under his own covers, leaving the light on for a moment while he decided whether or not to ask what Gibbs was thinking about.

Gibbs decided it for him when he turned his head, looking over at Tony and raising his eyebrows. Tony shot him a small smile. "You okay, Jethro?"

Gibbs nodded, still looking at him.

Tony allowed himself a mental sigh, once again regretting the loss of the fox, just a little. "Pretty impressive, you knowing about the snow before we actually knew about it. They teach that in the Marines?"

Gibbs shifted to look back up at the ceiling, then shook his head slowly. "Always liked the outdoors, but never did have much weather sense, not like some people."

Tony turned onto his side and looked at Gibbs thoughtfully. "Why now? Yesterday you knew the weather was fine to stay on the mountain, today you knew it wasn't."

Gibbs was silent for so long that Tony thought he was going to ignore the question, but then he spoke slowly, as if he was talking it through and puzzling it out at the same time. "I don't know, Tony. I think… maybe it's a holdover from being a fox. I seemed to be able to sense things I couldn't before."

"A foxy instinct, you mean?"

Gibbs nodded, then shrugged. "Maybe. Or maybe… maybe it's something the tree spirit gave me."

Tony stared at Gibbs for a long moment, long enough that Gibbs turned to look at him. "Think I'm crazy?"

Tony shook his head. "You were a fox, Gibbs. If you're crazy, we're both insane together. What makes you think it's from the tree spirit, though?"

Gibbs hesitated, then turned onto his side, mirroring Tony's position. Their eyes met for a long time, Gibbs weighting his options and Tony clearly a bit confused but patient. Finally Gibbs seemed to shake himself a little. "Remember that dream you had this morning?"

"Ye-eah…"

"I had the same one."

"Say what?"

Gibbs' lips twitched just a bit. He went on to describe the dream in detail, and Tony felt his heart rate pick up a bit as he remembered everything Gibbs mentioned – except that they'd each had the dream from their own perspectives.

Tony sat up abruptly. "So… you think the dream was – real?"

Gibbs sighed. "I don't know what to think. I do know one thing, though…" His voice trailed off, and he looked uncomfortable.

Tony waited for a moment. "What do you know, Jethro?"

Gibbs' eyes met his again. "I was happy, in that dream. And I remember thinking, when I woke up, that maybe it wouldn't be so bad to be a fox again…"

Tony blinked rapidly, sure that Gibbs was leaving something unsaid, and also sure it involved him. He opened his mouth, then closed it as he realized he didn't know what to say. Gibbs gave him one of those ironic half-smiles, and suddenly Tony felt brave. "You think maybe this is the tree spirit's way of saying thank you?"

"Like some sort of a gift, you mean?"

"Yeah, maybe. It was apparently in our heads, right? So it knew how we felt about… stuff."

"Stuff."

Tony grinned. "Yeah, stuff."

Gibbs chuckled. "Maybe."

Tony reached up and switched off the one lamp sitting on the table between the two beds. "Maybe I'll see you in a dream tonight, huh?"

Gibbs answering laugh was reassuring. They both fell silent after that, and it wasn't long before Tony fell asleep.