6 weeks later
It was almost eight o'clock in the morning when Gibbs walked off the elevator into the squad room, almost an hour later then normal. That wasn't the only strange thing. Dangling outside of Gibbs' normal coffee cup was a teabag string...something that would never be in Gibbs' coffee.
Tony was sitting at his desk, reading something random when Gibbs walked in. He looked up and was about to say 'hi' to his boss when he noticed something. Was that a tea bag string? He ended up coughing to hold his outburst.
Gibbs turned to look at Tony once he was standing behind his desk. "Problem DiNozzo?" he questioned with a look in his eyes that said 'mess with me today and you're dead'.
"No Boss" he sighed, "I'm good just swallowed down the wrong pipe." he shook his head and continued to work
McGee looked from the screen to glance at Tony before glancing at Gibbs a bit before going back to his work.
It was Ziva coming out of the restroom that broke the silence in the squad room. "Why is everybody so down in the dumpster today?" she questioned looking at all three men.
Gibbs didn't respond but simply took a sip of his tea, making a face.
"Dumps, Ziva" Tony and McGee said at the same time. "It's just a quiet morning for once" Tony continued "and it looks like McGee didn't sleep last night."
"Very funny Tony" McGee growled. "But I can handle it I use to stay up playing my video games and writing my book"
Ziva shook her head and went to her desk. "So nothing case wise come through Gibbs?" she asked the older agent.
Gibbs licked his lips and put his cup down. "Not yet," he said and in the back of his mind he was thinking. 'And PLEASE don't have it happen.' He had already been dashing to the bathroom to get sick three times since he got up at 5am.
"Yes another good day" Tony sighed stretching his back against his chair. Since the last week has been slow Gibbs has let them go home early. He thought about the nice nap waiting for him when he got home. He had been sleeping like a baby.
Gibbs on the other hand had NOT been sleeping. He wasn't even sure if he got a combination of 5 hours of sleep over the last 5 days. He figured that was why he was upset to his stomach but deep down he knew something else was going on. Just thinking about had his stomach churning. He was then realizing he really needed some water to hopefully calm his stomach but was scared to get up to go get it. He looked up and noticed Tony was the only one looking in his general area. "DiNozzo..." he said looking pointedly to have him come over to his desk.
Tony got up immediately and did a fake salute to Gibbs. "Yeah Boss"
Something told him to worried but he wasn't sure.
"Get me a glass of water..." Gibbs said and then added "...please."
"Sure thing boss" and without hesitation or questions, out loud at least, he was out to go and get it. 'I wonder why' he thought, 'but I better not question him today" he grabbed a cup over on the shelf and filled it with the clean tap water. Before heading back to the bullpen.
Gibbs glanced up when he heard Tony coming back into the room. He knew by asking his second in command to get him water that questions weren't far behind. He just hoped that they stayed away until the nausea that he was feeling went away.
"Got it for ya," Tony smiled walking into the space and heading for the man's desk. He hoped that his casual mask of being who he was wasn't breaking if anyone saw the possible worry in his eyes. But he kept away from that and gave the boss his water.
"Thank you," Gibbs said as he took the water but shut down right away in hopes to get Tony to just leave him alone. Part of him hoped they got a case so his agents would be distracted, but at the same time he didn't think he could walk let alone survive dealing with human remains.
Ziva glanced up from her computer and looked over at Tony while he walked back to his desk. She knew Tony and could see the worry in his eyes even though he tried to hide it. She wasn't completely sure whom the worry was focused at but had a feeling it had to do with Gibbs and his much grouchier then normal behavior.
Just then Abby came into the squad room balling. "Timmy!" she cried rushing over to McGee's desk.
McGee looked up from the screen frustrated with the issue he was trying to solve. He hadn't heard much of the conversation before hand, but glanced up to his lovely lady running over to him. "What's the rush Abs?" he asked smiling as she continued to bounce.
Abby sniffled as she tried to talk. "Major Masspec is sick!" she exclaimed acting as if the masspectromiter was actually a human being and could get sick. "I...I had to call somebody to come to fix him!" her pregnancy hormones were all over the place. Even watching somebody kick a rock the other day had caused her to start balling.
"Oh hunny come here" McGee back away from his desk and opened his arms wide, to let Abby sit on his lap. He agreed with everything she said, because she still was frightening at times and now it could have been ten times worse if he didn't.
Tony watched the scene with a little interest, something was making him think-if he ever saw Ziva like this. He would have to run for the hills, both girls had the power to kill and hide evidence. He was not going to part take in any of that soon.
Abby snuggled into McGee as she continued to cry. "It's just so sad Timmy, he made this awful noise and then started smoking a bit! I don't know what happened." by this point she was wailing again.
Not able to take it anymore Gibbs looked up and glared in Abby's direction. "Would you shut up or leave Abby!" he exclaimed one hand rubbing at his head the other holding his nauseated stomach.
Tony was shocked; Gibbs had never and would never do that, especially to Abby. There was something wrong with the man. McGee was just staring blankly at his boss as well. Tony got up from his desk once more. "Boss are your feeling alright?" he asked, glancing over at McGee silently telling him to go take care of his girl. "Damn it boss, what's with you, you never would hurt Abby like that!"
"I'm fine," Gibbs, said through clenched teeth as he got up. The second he did though the sick feeling in his stomach only got worse and he found himself rushing as gracefully as possible, to the men's room.
Tony at first didn't go after him. He was still in shock, he had just yelled at his boss and all Gibbs did was leave, he didn't argue. This was crazy, something was wrong and he needed to know. Tony turned to look at Ziva; he figured she was going to ask him.
"Well I can not exactly go after him." Ziva pointed out looking at the bathroom door. Then again it wasn't like one of the guys going to the bathroom was something she took to mean they wanted privacy. She often went in after them to talk.
This made him frown, she had before or all the team had when he had the problem, why did he have to deal with this. Gibbs was going to kill him if he asked any more questions. "Damn it" with heavy shoulders, like he was carrying something that had to be carried-even if he didn't know what it was for the past few days. He went after Gibbs...again.
Meanwhile Gibbs was on his knees in the first bathroom stall, heaving what little contents he still had in his stomach. This was just crazy, he had never been sick to his stomach unless he was hung-over or had a concussion and even then he was never throwing up this much. He groaned as he heaved again, not hearing anybody coming into the bathroom.
"So you are sick," Tony stated staring at the back of his boss. But he knew his boss would never admit it unless it was necessary. He winced as his boss coughed up another blow. "You should be home boss...god damn it you would have sent me home at the earlier signs!" he wasn't sure if he should get closer to the man, but he chanced it and did so.
Gibbs finally felt like he was finished and flushed the toilet before flopping down on the floor and leaning against the wall. He looked up at Tony and sighed. "I'm not sick...I don't get sick." he said firmly even though his voice was more gruff than normal.
"That was the meaning sick" Tony stated he knelt in front of his boss, not to close for comfort but close enough to put his hand to the man's forehead. "Have you checked with Ducky?" he asked, as he didn't feel any type of abnormal fever.
Gibbs didn't know why but he felt a bit better when Tony touched his forehead. Just the idea of having somebody taking care of him was kind of reassuring. "No," he simply said to Tony's question. He had not talked with Ducky and he didn't plan to.
"You better," Tony said trying not to sound as if he was ordering the man. This just made him worry, a lot. "I mean just for the rest of the team." Really he wanted to know for himself; he wanted to make sure his boss was okay. The man never missed a day of work, and this time he may need to but no way was anyone going to admit that-he knew Gibbs wouldn't.
With that said Gibbs stood up slowly and leaned against the stall for a second before heading to the sinks. "This never happened." he said before cupping his hands and drinking some of the water.
"Sure, to you it hasn't, but to me it's gonna stay till your checked out" Tony said standing once more and following him. "Please for me... for the team at least" he tried to hide the on coming blush as he fixed what he said.
He then started for the door, knowing this was taking him nowhere.
Gibbs watched Tony walk out of the bathroom and sighed. He knew the younger man was right and was basically asking him to do the same thing he asked of his team when they appeared to be ill. 'What kind of a team leader would I be if I don't take my own advice?' he thought to himself. Sighing again he turned and left the bathroom but instead of going back to his desk he headed to the elevator and downstairs to autopsy.
He felt relief was over him when he walked in and saw Ducky at his desk rather then over a body. He didn't think he could survive not getting sick again if he saw a dead body right now, especially not in the middle of an autopsy. He stayed quiet hoping Ducky would just notice him.
Ducky was just finishing reading over a file when he heard the automatic doors open then close. He tried to think who would be down at this time of day, no one had called him to get a body, Abby had gown up stairs a while ago... he had to think. Then he turned around. "Oh Jethro, what brings you down here?"
"I need a physical done," Gibbs simply stated, not saying if it was for him or a member of the team. It wasn't abnormal that he would come down and ask Ducky to talk to one of the team members about getting checked up for an illness or injury. It always worked to have Ducky bug them.
"For who, Abby looks fine, I'm sure McGee's over his late nights-you know he'll be having a lot of those to come, my mother use to tell me, when I was younger when she had difficult when I was just starting out. Saying I was always crying and she just let me do my thing and I would continue then end up babbling before I would fall-" He continued on, before talking about Tony. "Is that boy alright, I've seen him a bit down, he's seems fine and Ziva must be feeling good, it must be the quiet..."Ducky never thought it was Gibbs that truly needed the exam, it was a joy to wait till the man would ask if he would 'get to the point.'
Gibbs closed his eyes for a second as if silently praying for patients. "It's ME Duck," he said quickly. "Everybody else is fine."
"Oh yes, alright just sit," Ducky nodded, he turned to grab his stethoscope He thought for a moment, before speaking. "You know you should have come to me during the last one, you haven't been looking like your usual self. Tony had asked me, but of course you haven't, you think he would have gotten you down here himself by the way he sounded the last we really chatted..."
"He's been that worried?" Gibbs asked as he breathed in all the right ways when Ducky indicated. He then thought he should pin point what was really bothering him. "It's not my lungs Duck but my stomach. I haven't been able to keep anything down until at least 3 o'clock in the afternoon." he purposely left out how long this had been going on knowing he would be chastised by the older man if he told him it had been close to three weeks.
"Yes, quite, but it seems he's been doing his job, not wanting to bother you with as he said 'trivial matters'. Stomach you say... is it a stomachache, how long has this been going on?" Ducky needed to know, even if the man refused to tell him because he needed that to conform the condition. Of course the last time, he ever seen Gibbs confused was a bit during when Anthony had come to talk to him, gained he was asked to keep the matter under wraps.
Gibbs thought about the answer before replying, "I've been throwing up almost daily for like three weeks now." he said making a face as he said it. Just admitting it out loud makes it sound really bad. If it had been anybody else he would have ordered him or her into getting treatment if they had been sick like this. "Do you think it could be an ulcer? Or maybe my kidneys? My back had been hurting as well." as he said this he reached around and rubbed at his lower back.
"No offence, Jethro but can you get on the scale?" he started to think of what had happened between three weeks a go and now, nothing was really going on, but then he had to think of what had gone on before then, but again nothing serious was coming to mind. He stared at the weight showing on the scale.
"Well my conclusion from stomach problems, back problems, the time and weight, Jethro can you sit down again this is going to be hard to say"
"Just say it Duck," Gibbs said as he sat back down on the autopsy table. He figured there was something wrong with his kidneys...or prostate or some other 'older' man problem. Recently he was beginning to notice just how much older he was then the rest of the team. Even the oldest of them, Tony, was just barely 40.
"You are pregnant, now that's just with physical exam, and I can barely explain it but it's true" for himself he sat down on his chair and set his papers back in order, waiting for the burst.
Gibbs was silent for a second before he busted up laughing. "Nice one Duck!" he said through laughter as he hopped off the table. "But seriously what's wrong?"
"I'm serious Jethro" Ducky sighed, "you know me I barely joke. The signs say it all, unable to keep food down, weight gain, emotions I'm sure... Abigail had come running to me before going upstairs all happy before Turing to tears at the sound of one of her precious machines broke down"
When he realized just how serious Ducky was he stopped laughing and stood there staring at the older man like he had lost his mind. "Ducky...I'm in my 50s...I have not had sex in months and that was with women. I haven't had sex with a man in close to twenty years!" he exclaimed. "There is no way in HELL that I'm pregnant." he then glared. "Do a blood test, I'm not going to believe this shit until there is proof beyond weight gain and an upset stomach!" He didn't realize that his outbursts were a true sign of his hormones already going bonkers.
"What of that serious case, where you and Anthony had been kidnapped?" Ducky pointed out. "Now I know nothing, neither of you spoke to me of the case, privacy I understand, but physical signs say it all,
Jethro hadn't thought of that case in months. It seemed both him and Tony had pushed it to the back of their minds so they could continue to work and get the job done. Now the whole thing came rushing back to him with such a force that he actually sunk to his knees and tears came to his eyes. He remembered how he had not had his period for two months now and how sensitive he had been feeling both emotionally and all over his body. Of course he knew the signs of pregnancy because he remembered how Shannon had been while pregnant with Kelly. He never thought in a million years HE would be feeling these things. "No.." he whispered as he tried to keep the tears from falling.
"I'm sorry Jethro" Duck said giving the man a hand to stand up again. "Maybe you should go home, send the others home as well"
Gibbs shook his head in the negative as he stood up and then brushed at the seat of his pants. "No. I'm fine, Thanks Duck." he said before walking out of the room in somewhat of a daze. He didn't even exactly remember taking the elevator to the squad room and going over to sit at his desk.
"So I went to talk to Ricky yesterday, you know what I heard, Ziva and Vinny are dating!" Tony said really talking to McGee, trying to make the mood different from earlier. "I swear when he passed by he was blushing and smirking like a fool, I can tell this story all day now that I remember it" Tony laughs happily, before catching that his boss had returned.
He saw the distant look in the older man's eyes and it was a bit obvious that Ducky had shot him down a few pegs. "So boss, what's the diagnosis?"
Gibbs glanced up at Tony with a look of pain in his eyes before he was able to make it go away. He couldn't remember ever feeling so lost...angry and well scared. Swallowing to try and make his voice sound normal he responded. "All's fine...nothing that won't pass." he said out loud but was thinking 'Yeah won't pass for another few months.'
"Oh...okay," he said to Gibbs letting his shoulders slump. "So where was I, oh yeah, so where has Vinny taken you Ziva?"
Ziva had been looking at Gibbs as well; a little bit confused by his overall demeanor, but didn't say anything. Instead she turned back to Tony. "Why must you know? Is it that you need help finding a nice place to take all your women on dates?"
"No, I gave Mickey tips, I gave most of the guys tips, but I've taken only a few of my dates to that one restaurant," he kept the card, as he took another glance at his silent boss. Lying that he was still dating, Ziva didn't need to know, though she knows him, he hadn't gone a date since he treated his friends.
"Ricky and Mickey are really good guys, now if you want me to stay out of it I will, but he has been treating you right, not scaring him off are you?"
"We have been treating each other perfectly fine," Ziva said with a small smile as she thought about the great dates they had been on over the past few weeks. "Vinny is a real gentleman, I am not sure how you two are even friends."
"I can be a gentleman!" Tony huffed, "I just need to be out there, unlike they who can simply woo"
"You need to find somebody you can woo long term." Ziva said with a nod of her head. "You are not so young anymore Tony, time to settle down, yes?"
"For your information Ziva, the person I love with my life, doesn't want to date at this time, I'm not going to push them to love me in return"
He sighed deeply keeping his eyes and averted from anyone else, thinking of Gibbs, "I can wait, as long as I have too"
This had Ziva shocked and she glanced over at McGee. "Did you know this? Did you know that Tony loved somebody?"
"Yes?" he said slowly blinking, why did it have to turn to him. His mind was still on Abby, she had been in and out of his arms, and trying to focus ands he was doing something just to keep his mind busy, but why turn to him?
"Why am *I* the last to learn these things?" Ziva questioned shaking her head in disbelief. She was about to say something else when her cell phone started ringing. She saw on the caller ID that it was Vinny. She glanced over at Gibbs to see if he was paying attention and when he wasn't she answered the phone. "Hey!" she exclaimed as she got up and headed out of the room chatting.
"Well she looked happy..." Abby stated as she walked back into the squad room after using the bathroom. "Glad somebody is..." she glanced at Gibbs and glared at him.
"Well I got her into a relationship" Tony smiled. "So it seems your feeling better, I'm sure Gibbs was tired and didn't mean anything he said" he couldn't figure why he was defending the silent man, but this team was his family, he was going to support everyone with everyone. "You know nothing but trouble has happened today, can we please head home boss?"
"Yes, see you around Tim, Abs, I need to catch up on some Zzz's, don't worry I'll tell Ziva. Hope you feel better Gibbs" he grabbed his coat and keys and left. Hiding his quickly worrying face from the rest of the team. Once he was sure the others seen him go into the elevator he headed back down to Ducky and Palmer. He didn't know if the young man was in, he just wanted to see if Ducky knew anything more with Gibbs.
Hearing something directly said to him, Gibbs looked up. It took him a second to realize what the question was but when he did he nodded his head. "Yeah...sure, but keep your phones on just in case I need to call you." His team might be getting to go home but he didn't plan on leaving. He needed to work he hoped in doing so he could keep his mind off of the news he had gotten from Ducky.
Ducky was back at work on the charts he had been looking at when Jethro had come down earlier. Now, he was looking at them but his mind was on his young friend and he was slightly distracted from his work, much like everybody else was.
"Hey there Ducky, can I talk to you?" Tony called out, as he went into the room. He was sure Gibbs was down here earlier. He knew Gibbs knew he wasn't feeling right. It was time he went to see this man.
Hearing Tony's voice startled Ducky out of his thoughts and he quickly looked up at the other man. "Oh Anthony...of course." he said with a small smile on his face. "What can I help you with?" he had a feeling this had to do with Jethro.
"Gibbs get down here yet? I've been worried, you know and he isn't telling me much, to that I think he hates my guts right now, so can you tell me what you told him?" he scratched the back of his neck. He tried to sound normal, but considering that Ducky already knew worries he let that drop.
Ducky sighed as he fully turned in his chair so he could really look at Tony. "Anthony, you know how strict I am with Doctor-Patient confidentiality. What information I gave Jethro earlier is his to share, not mine." he said even though he had a very good feeling this DID affect Tony as well.
"But Duck, he's been avoiding the issue with me ever since THAT CASE, I already told McGee and I swear Gibbs wants to murder me for that reason. But if I have to tell you I will" he took a breath, bring what he pushed and tried to forget about out into the open. "You know the case, where he and I got kidnapped, right" he watched as the doctor nodded. "Well I was... damn I just got to say it again don't I... I was forced to fuck him. I have a feeling there's more then emotional scars, and I've tried to talk to him about it, but that was weeks ago and now he's been looking sicker, I'm surprised that he let me leave early today!"
Actually hearing what he had suspected made Ducky feel very sad for both Jethro and Anthony. He could sense for quite some time that the younger agent had feelings beyond work and friendship when it came to the team leader. Part of him was thankful for this since both of them were up against something very difficult and emotional. "Anthony...you care for Jethro, yes?"
"YES! I'm in love with the man; I've been in LOVE with him for a damn long time! Every time he looks at me or slaps me or something-even when he says my name, I never wanted to do what I did to him..." Tony could feel himself shacking.
Ducky stood up and put both of his hands on Tony's shoulders and forced him to look at him. "I know for a fact Jethro does not blame you and knows you did not do those things on purpose," he said firmly. "He also knows and is grateful you care so much about him even if he has not said so." he paused for a second and then continued. "I still stand by what I said in that I won't tell you what happened earlier, but all I can say is that Jethro needs you more then ever Anthony."
"He won't tell me, Duck" Tony said quietly staring into the man's skillful eyes; he knew Ducky would never tell me, even if he wanted to. "What can I do, Ducky, I want to do something, but I can't-he's throwing up, telling me he's fine. Do you know he would kill me if I were doing the exact same thing? Yeah, there I see he cares for my health and the team's." he pauses and looks away for a moment and then steps away from the doctor. "Tell me..."
"Just think Anthony..." Ducky said hoping the younger man was as smart as he knew he was. "Think of the case...think of him being sick to his stomach...think of the overall change in his demeanor." He was not going to tell Tony what was going on, but he hoped Tony could figure it out on his own.
Tony thought, his eyes closed, going over everything they've been through. He is not acting like himself. There are the consent emotional change, the throwing up, and drinking tea instead of coffee. A few more minutes of silence then it came to him. "He's not... there is no why in hell... oh god...he's pregnant!"
"You didn't hear it from me," Ducky said before sitting back down and looking at the file on his desk again.
"I got to go Ducky, thanks for the help" without another second lost, Tony left and this time going home.
Ducky watched Tony rush towards the elevator and couldn't help but smile a little. He knew it was going to be an extremely bumpy and rough road, but just knowing Tony was going to be around seemed to make the situation a bit easier.