Ok, I know the last chapter wasn't exactly Gibbs and Tony heavy, but here's a whole one of just them ^^ Oh yeah, the whole nursery thing. It's not like actual nursery if you get me. It's like a place parents can go and just relax while their kids play and meet other kids. As far as I'm concerned, there isn't an age limit ;P

The car slowed to a halt outside Gibbs' house, and one by one they all got out, with Gibbs carefully taking Tony, who had fallen asleep without any of them noticing,

"Isn't it a bit early for him to have a nap Gibbs?" Abby asked, smiling at the sleeping baby. Gibbs shrugged, and merely offered,

"He didn't get much sleep last night." She left it, not wanting to probe deeper, sure Gibbs would do his own probing when Tony was awake. She dipped her head and said,

"Bye Gibbs, see you tomorrow?" He grunted in reply, aware that Tony was shaking slightly, the wind rustling around them in cold blasts. She offered her cheek and sure enough was granted a kiss, and off she bounced, towards her own car, getting in but waiting for Kate,

"Boss, I..."

"I'll talk to you tomorrow." Was what she got in reply, so she merely ducked her head and walked back to Abby's car. He must be really pissed. But she hadn't done anything wrong. If it wasn't for her, they'd never have gotten anywhere with this case. Gibbs breathed out slightly when Abby's car drove off, turning a corner, blocking it from view. He had his usual half-smile on his face as Tony shuffled closer to him, the breezes becoming more frequent.

"Let's get back inside, hey DiNozzo?" Gibbs muttered, and walked in, carefully shutting the door behind him. He went upstairs and put Tony in the crib, before backing out silently. How long would he have like this? How long would he be able to gently pull the covers over a baby, hearing their little breaths in and out? He fiercely loved having small children around, and Tony was no different. He smiled as he thought about what they would all say when he was better. The first day back, coming out of the elevator and into NCIS. Kate would have several snide remarks ready he was sure. And McGee... would McGee even respect Tony anymore? Gibbs wasn't daft. McGee looked up to Tony in the same way Tony looked up to him.

He realised he hadn't moved at all, just being stood there with his own thoughts. About to move, he was surprised when he heard slightly ragged breathing and a small,

"Gibbs?" The ex-marine crept into the room, slowly, and found Tony stood up at the crib, with tears sliding down his face. As soon as he saw the older man, his breathing hitched slightly, and he held his arms up quickly, hoping to be taken out of the crib and into Gibbs' comforting arms. As soon as he was he started to sob less, although he was sniffing slightly. Gibbs sighed as he took Tony downstairs and into the front room, sitting down on a chair,

"What was it this time?" Gibbs asked, careful to make his voice sound comforting rather than weary. Tony rubbed at his eyes and murmured,

"It was nothing, I just got... too hot."

"Like hell DiNozzo. Tell me." The order couldn't be ignored, but there was a hint of soothing in it, like he could just not bother, but it would be better if he did,

"It's just... a nightmare. That's it. All there is to it."

"Well this nightmare is stopping you sleeping, and if Abby sees those bags under your eyes, she's going to kill me. And talking about nightmares helps, so tell me."

"It's... it's stupid really. It's just the same as yesterday's... night's? Anyway, it's just... you'll laugh." Gibbs brought Tony's head up to look at him as he looked down in embarrassment,

"Tony, look at me. If I haven't laughed so far, why would I laugh at this?" Tony shrugged and said, in a very quiet voice,

"There's a monster in the cupboard." Gibbs' mouth did indeed twitch, entertained, but he kept his word and didn't laugh. Instead, he asked,

"How do you know?"

"There always is though, isn't there? My father always said so. He said if I got up in the night or whatever and wandered around the bedroom, the monster in my toy cupboard would get me." Gibbs snorted,

"That is pure BS Tony, and you know how I know?" Tony looked up into Gibbs' eyes and shook his head, his green ones sparkling with tears, "'Cause my father told me the same thing. He said that if I got up in the night to play when I should be sleeping, the monster in my cupboard would eat me."

"How do you know he wasn't telling the truth?" Tony asked shrewdly,

"Because I grew up DiNozzo. This is just your kid mind, trying to scare you. It's not real."

"Really?" Tony asked, his eyes sparkling as if hardly daring to believe it. But he had to, because it was Gibbs telling him,

"C'mon Tony, if this was under normal circumstances would you believe it then?" Tony shook his head, but cocked it slightly, thinking,

"I don't know Boss, I'm still not sure about vampires..." Gibbs laughed now and asked,

"Is this monster of yours a vampire though?" Tony shook his head again, looking pleased as he conquered the fear in his cupboard, "Anything else in this nightmare of yours kid?" Tony mumbled something that Gibbs couldn't quite hear. Gibbs didn't say anything, sure the baby knew him well enough by now to know that he couldn't hear it. Sure enough Tony repeated himself louder, without being asked,

"My father." Gibbs' expression became stony, and he asked, trying to keep his voice calm,

"What did he do Tony?" Tony's lip wobbled and tears leaked from his eyes, but he stuttered out what happened,

"I was-was just looking around his study. A-at home... there was a... a room I wasn't allowed in, which was h-his off-office and he f-found me... and... I didn't mean to!" He cried out, clutching at Gibbs' sleeves, as if checking the man was still there, "I accidentally knocked over his vase! It was an accident, but he wouldn't... wouldn't believe me!" Gibbs' hands shook ever so slightly as he rubbed comforting circles on Tony's back, bouncing him up and down on his lap. This did nothing to stop the tears, and Gibbs found himself walking up and down the room, bouncing the baby, as he had done so many times before with Kelly, if she was ill or just plain cranky.

Tony wasn't even aware of Gibbs anymore, all he could think of was the trauma that had happened to him all those years ago. The nightmare wasn't a dream at all, it was a memory. Maybe Gibbs was aware of this, as he changed his tactic, sitting back down and turning Tony so that he was facing the older man's face, looking up, still bawling.

"Tony, listen to me. Are you listening?" He repeated the words he'd said to his senior field agent when he'd had the plague. This time, it was less life-threatening, but still just as serious. Thankfully, Tony realised where he was and gulped in some air, sniffing,

"Uh-huh." Was all he said in reply, but Gibbs still looked at him, bringing their heads closer so their foreheads rested together, looking into eachother's eyes.

"Tony, your dad, was a good-for-nothing, child abusing, beer swilling pig, who definitely didn't deserve you," He noticed that Tony was a little more stable, but carried on, "I can't even begin to imagine what must have happened to you, but look at it this way. You can pretend that never happened. You've been given a second chance if you like, a chance for a better childhood. I suggest you put your past where it belongs, behind you. Just... enjoy this. It's not every day you can get this much attention. Aw look kid, you know I'm not good with emotion, but I will say I'm proud of you Tony, you're like... like the son I never had. Like I said before, you've been given the chance to have a better childhood. With a... a better father than the one you had before." Tony gave a watery smile and stuck his arms around Gibbs' body as far as they could go, hugging him tight.

Gibbs smiled, glad that the boy seemed to have listened and put it all behind him. It was quiet in the room for a moment, before Gibbs asked,

"Do you want to go back to sleep now?" Tony shook his head and mumbled something that Gibbs could just make out, as the kid had his head firmly squashed up against the agent's chest,

"I wanna stay with you." Gibbs rolled his eyes, hoping to have gotten some more work done on his boat, and he definitely didn't want to bring Tony down there again, after last night's fiasco, which he'd only told a tiny part of what happened. It had involved a baby almost falling off the boat, trying to eat a screwdriver and whining that he was bored, which eventually turned into a shouting match. Which was made him fall asleep last night, out of pure exhaustion.

"Can you not amuse yourself for a few hours?" Tony shrugged, and asked,

"Are we going back to work tomorrow?"

"Well it is Monday tomorrow. And we have a case." Tony gently hit him on the arm,

"That's not what I mean. Am I going back to work?"

"You're going to have to squirt, I'm not going to hire a babysitter."

"I can help with this case right?" Gibbs raised an eyebrow,

"I know you go crazy if you've not been at work, but you get the mind of a child alot. That wouldn't help." Tony looked outraged and quickly defended,

"I do not!" To prove his point, Gibbs reached forward with his hand and swiped at Tony's face. Tucking his thumb into his fingers he waggled it at the baby and said,

"I got your nose." Tony gurgled with delight and tried the same thing at Gibbs. The special agent grinned at the behaviour and snorted,

"Yeah kiddo, 'course you don't act like a child." The baby looked slightly put out as to why the man stopped. So, doing what any good parent would, he carried on. About three minutes later however, Gibbs got extremely bored of this and clicked his fingers in front of Tony's face, not sure how to snap him back into his right mind. This worked though, and soon Tony was chuckling at Gibbs' expense,

"Y'know I was still aware of what was actually happening Gibbs. Wait 'till I tell Abby about this."

"And what would you say DiNozzo? 'The Boss played 'I got your nose' with me?'" Gibbs asked, looking amused. Tony scowled and prodded him in the side.

"I'm bored." He whined, making GIbbs push a hand up his face. What was he supposed to do with Tony for the next 24 hours? Trying to change the subject, Gibbs asked,

"Did you enjoy swimming?" Tony made a kind of raspberry noise and shrugged,

"It wasn't that bad. Mostly 'cause you didn't throw me in, but it would've been better if we'd done something. I mean, instead of watching Kate flirt with a murder suspect. It would've been fun to play a bit, y'know? There were loads of pool toys we could've used." He blushed slightly. Would Gibbs pick up on the slight hint that he wanted to play with him? He hadn't wanted to seem needy and childish in the pool, but he almost burst into tears as they got out, not having had any time with just Gibbs.

"You want to go back?" The question took him by surprise and he looked up, his eyes wide,

"Are- are you sure?" Gibbs rolled his eyes,

"It's not really any skin off my nose DiNozzo. It's not as if it costs all that much anyway."

"No I mean... you don't mind that... I don't really... you don't mind if I sound... needy?" Gibbs snorted and replied,

"You don't sound needy DiNozzo, you sound like a kid. And as far as I'm concerned, what I'm looking at at the moment is a kid. So what's your problem?" Tony beamed and asked,

"Can we go now?" Gibbs thought for a moment before nodding. It would give them something to do for a while.

--

After being changed and getting the swimming trunks back on him, Tony was carefully lowered into the pool,

"Would you rather go in the normal pool or the kid's one?" Gibbs asked, seeing how uncomfortable the kid looked surrounded by splashing children, just like this morning. Tony shook his head but didn't answer, looking over to see one small kid being pulled along by his dad in a tiny rubber ring, which had a bottom on it, so Tony guessed he couldn't class it as a rubber ring, but what the hell. Gibbs followed his gaze and asked gently,

"You want a go DiNozzo?" Tony blushed, but remembered he'd actually admitted to Gibbs that he wanted to play with him in the pool. He nodded and Gibbs gently took him over to a spare one, and stuck him in it. Tony started to giggle as Gibbs bobbed it up and down. He 'accidently' made it hit into another child's one, who had been screaming the pool down and got a smiles and nods of gratitude all around the pool from other parents.

Other parents?

"Gibbs?" Tony asked unsurely, glancing around and seeing his carer was nowhere to be seen. He started to get slightly unsettled, grizzling slightly as he couldn't see him anywhere. Then suddenly, Gibbs appeared right in front of him, giving a small 'Boo', causing Tony to jump violently. Unfortunately, it was a rather large jump, and Gibbs found himself with a capsized ring, and a wailing baby, who was choking as well, having swallowed some water. The arm bands had prevented him from drowning, and he'd only gone slightly under before resurfacing, but it was one time too many, and he couldn't stop crying, terrified.

Gibbs knew someone was bound to come along and ask him to try and quiet the baby, or at least ask if he was ok, but he really didn't like that kind of interaction. Grabbing Tony, he made his way to the steps of the pool and got out, going to the changing rooms and cradling Tony in a towel.

"Hey... shush, it's ok kiddo, it's fine, I'm here. Relax, it's fine, it's over now..." He continued this mantra until Tony stopped and was hiccoughing. With a miserable cough, he mumbled,

"Sorry..." Gibbs was surprised. He'd known it was his own fault, jumping out at the kid like that. Using all his marine training so Tony couldn't see him just made it worse,

"What are you saying sorry for Tony?" He asked softly, starting to dry him down completely and get him changed so he was ready to go,

"'Cause I made it so we had to get out the pool, and we're not gonna come back now are we?" Gibbs shook his head grimly and said,

"Mostly because trouble follows you like a moth drawn to a flame DiNozzo. But look, it's not your fault, you hear me?" Tony nodded, but Gibbs knew he was just doing that so the older man would give it up, "Look at me and tell me that it's my fault."

Tony looked up, his eyes wide,

"Why? I was the one who made the ring fall over..."

"Because I shocked you," Gibbs interrupted, "Don't look so mopey Tony. If you want, I'll play with you at the house." Tony looked up, as if hardly daring to believe it,

"Didn't you want to work on your boat?" Gibbs shrugged and said,

"I can live without sanding for a few hours Tony."

--

He was true to his word and he did indeed play with Tony for a good few hours before the kid finally fell asleep, sucking the dummy Gibbs had offered him at least half an hour before he slept. He shook his head fondly as he left Tony sleeping on a play mat underneath some soft dinosaur toys hanging from an arc, like a mobile. Making coffee, he drank it slowly. As much as he loved spending time with the kid, it was tiring, and the childish games of 'This little piggy' on the baby's toes, and the endless stories he read had taken their toll on the ex-marine. The phone rang in the hall, although thankfully, it didn't wake Tony up, who slept blissfully, the nightmares long forgotten,

"Yeah, Gibbs."

"Uh, Boss?" McGee started, sounding rather nervous, "We've got another dead marine in an office building. Apparently he was on leave, and came to visit his cousin at his work." Gibbs nodded, even though McGee couldn't see that and asked,

"Do we have a name?" McGee shuffled some papers and replied,

"Petty Officer Oliver Lacey."

"Lacey?"

"Yeah, it's... it's Arthur Lacey's cousin, he went to visit him. His injuries are... are the same as Petty Officer Green's." Gibbs glanced over to Tony, who had now rolled on his side and had his hand on his dummy. He didn't want to disturb the kid, but there was no one who could come round and look after him. Making his decision, Gibbs answered into the phone,

"Ok McGee, we're coming."

Review? Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far, I might be able to make the chapters more frequent actually, woo, Easter holidays! And it's Jesus weekend soon, so we get chocolate ^^ xx