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Chapter 10

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"To-ny."

McGee knew that particular tone, coming from Abby, although not to be feared, was to be heeded.

Tony obviously knew it too, and started to attention with a, "What?"

They were in the lunch room: Ziva, Abby, Tony, and himself. McGee was most of the way through his own lunch, with Ziva and Abby not far behind. Tony had joined them at their table a few minutes ago, with the news that, apparently, Gibbs was going to be late for their already late lunch break. Not an unusual arrangement. Gibbs could practically live on coffee, and McGee had noted his boss had had a fresh cup in hand when they left, so it was likely "late" would wind up turning into never.

Apparently, today Tony had decided to mimic Gibbs in even the small detail of eating. Or, rather, not eating, but drinking. Tony had brought with him a Styrofoam cup of coffee, and seemed to be quite content with nursing it for the duration of his "meal."

Abby frowned her disapproval at Tony, setting her half-eaten apple down in her lunchbox to fold her arms on the table. "What are you doing?"

Tony's eyes darted from side to side in an exaggerated expression of consideration. One always at least pretended to take no-duh questions from Abby seriously. Sometimes the obvious answer wasn't the correct one according to her, and sometimes there simply wasn't a correct answer. In either case, being cocky was a bad stratagem. McGee knew from experience. Tony, favorite and spoiled child that he was (spoiled, at the moment, more than usual), could get away with more than he'd ever be able to, but even he knew the rules and occasionally abided by them.

Tony took a sip and shrugged. He hazarded, "Uh…having lunch with you guys?"

Abby shook her head. "No. We are having lunch; you are having caffeine."

It was more than a bit hypocritical for Abby to point fingers at anyone's caffeine consumption, but anything that could be misconstrued as disapproval of Caff-Pow was out of the question.

Tony toasted them with his cup. "All hail the nectar of the gods." His smirk broadened. "Or should I say the nectar of the Gibbs?"

"By the time you're finished putting all that sugar in it, it's just plain nectar." Ziva grimaced.

"It's not healthy," Abby concluded authoritatively. "You did bring something to eat, didn't you?"

"Well yeah…"

Abby was up, and moving towards the fridge in a moment. After a quick reconnaissance, she returned in triumph with a brown paper bag, which she plopped down in front of Tony.

"How did you know which one was mine?" Tony didn't make a move to open it.

"You always crumple the bag up hopelessly," Abby said, with more than a hint of pride in her observation. "Honestly, what do you do to it between home and here—play football with it? If you want your food to be edible, you could invest in some kind of a lunchbox…" She leaned forward as if to open the bag for him, since he didn't seem to be inclined to take the initiative.

Tony snatched it up first. "Hey. I think I can manage."

Abby picked her apple back up. "Then do it."

"Geez, impatient much, Abbs?" Tony complained with mock irritation, as he obeyed, opening the bag and withdrawing a Ziploc bag with a sandwich inside. He opened his mouth to take a bite, then closed it again to glare meaningfully at the other occupants of the table. "Guys, keep staring and I'll start charging ya admission to watch the DiNozzo eat."

"Well it's a rare sight these days," Abby retorted, but returned to paying her own food more attention.

McGee followed suit, and Ziva wadded up the plastic wrap, now empty of everything but crumbs. But McGee knew he wasn't the only one watching out of the corner of his eye. Hey, it wasn't like he was actually all that worried about Tony skipping out on a meal or two. Well, of course he cared, but the point was Gibbs would probably ask later. He could be rather endearingly conscientious about making sure all of them took the time to eat. McGee cringed inwardly. "Endearing" was so not a word he'd ever want Gibbs to know he was thinking in the same context as him…

In a second, Tony was transformed from an attitude of indolent thoughtfulness, as he chewed on his first bite, into one of wide-eyed panic. He made a startled choking nose, hand automatically shooting out to grab the nearest beverage—his coffee. The hot liquid obviously made it worse, as was testified by his pained expression.

"Tony?" Abby's face mirrored his panic, but she was quick to grab her own can of pop and offer it to him.

Tony shook his head, eyes watering, and gasped, "Water."

Abby grabbed Ziva's bottle of water—Ziva didn't complain—quickly twisting the top off and thrusting it into Tony's hand.

Tony drank the entire thing in one go, tilting his head back and inhaling it greedily. He finally set it down, it empty, and him gasping for breath.

"Tony, what is it?" Abby's eyes were round in concern as she leaned over to put a hand on Tony's shoulder.

"Woah." A gasp from Tony. "Man." Another gasp.

"Tony," Abby pressed.

"I so do not remember putting pepper jack cheese, jalapeño peppers, and Dijon mustered on my turkey sandwich…" Tony stared at his meal as if it'd turned sentient and bit him.

The not-so-subtle sound of someone trying to hold in laughter, and snorting instead, could be heard behind them.

Hank Forester, prankster extraordinaire, legend of the building—Tony's match any day—stood, leaning against the sink with his trade-mark Red Bull beverage in one hand, and a sub in the other. His ever-present buddy and partner in crime slouched nearby with a smirk to mirror his brave leader.

By now, Tony would usually be in Hank's face, witty repartee flowing easily off the tip of tongue, and revenge on the brain. Instead, he sat in a hunched-over position, looking self-conscious and a little sick.

Abby was at his side. "Tony? Are you all right?"

Tony, looking as if he was barely winning the battle against nausea, offered a feeble smile that was obviously only an autopilot response. However, although he was breathing rather heavily, he seemed mostly mortified and miserable as he recovered from the aftermath. McGee wondered how high Tony had had the dials turned up. Maybe his sense of taste had unconsciously been tuned up in anticipation of some real food after a one marathon of paper-work filled morning. Then, when instead of plain ol' lunch meat and bread, his taste buds had received jalepnos, pepper-jack, and Dijon… McGee cringed at the thought. If it'd been him, he would be throwing up now.

McGee also wondered, given Tony's current state of huddled misery, if he'd even heard Hank, or connected the dots. He felt acutely aware of Forester, himself.

Wait. Look before you leap. Be rational. Don't pick on the playground bully. That was the way the way he worked. Though he didn't consider himself as brave as the rest of the team, McGee didn't think he was actually a coward. He'd simply always considered self-preservation to be a good idea, and anger management had never been his biggest problem.

Tony was a different story. Despite his devil-may-care attitude, McGee had seen Tony jump to the defense of his teammates before. He'd never forget the late-night confession Tony had made during that nightmare investigation when McGee had been accused of killing an undercover cop unnecessarily. The confession had been an embarrassing one for Tony, and yeah, he'd come right back with a flippant remark about killing McGee if he told anyone else. But being willing to embarrass himself in front of McGee—in front of the "probie"? Well, it'd shown McGee the lengths to which Tony would go just to cheer him up. Following that with Tony's unwavering belief in McGee's story had definitely been a turning point in how McGee looked at Tony.

And the picture McGee had of Tony never involved him being in a place where he acknowledged needing defending from anyone. Until now. Hank and Miles—Forester's horizontally challenged minion—were talking more loudly than was necessary, and laughing—not about Tony, of course. McGee felt heat spread up the side of his neck, and realized that not only were his fists clenched, but he was pushing back his chair, standing, and glaring…at Hank.

The question "What on earth am I doing?" did flash through his mind, but only briefly. And then he was standing in front of Hank, taking a ridiculous amount of reassurance in the fact that Abby had joined in him his attack. Ziva, he noted, was utilizing her own brand of intimidation by circling around on his other side, supposedly with the intent of snagging a fresh cup of coffee. Her dark eyes were glued on their two objects of prey with a deceptive coolness and ease of manner.

Hank, probably wisely, chose McGee to focus on. "Agent McGee."

"Agent Forester." McGee thought he sounded confident enough, even bold. He certainly felt like he could've punched the guy at the moment, regardless of consequences. Hadn't Gibbs' rule number eighteen been something about asking forgiveness later, instead of permission to begin with? He could do something hot-headed now, make excuses later. Gibbs would understand. Forester might not have had a clue, but the fact remained, he'd just hit Tony when he was, figuratively, already down.

Abby shared his feelings, and then some.

Hank Forester might very well have just met his own personal Grim Reaper, black regalia of a slightly unconventional style and absent scythe regardless.

McGee hadn't even concluded on a fitting approach—one that wouldn't reveal Tony's secret—before Abby had placed herself in Hank's personal space, and pointed a finger directly at his nose.

"Tony is allergic to jalapeños, you idiot."

Forester didn't even get out a stammer.

Abby's finger jerked emphatically closer. "You idiot, he could've had a seizure! He could in the hospital right now, because you had the brilliant idea to try pulling a juvenile and completely irresponsible prank on a co-worker."

"Miss Scu—"

"Oh, yes, be polite now. Stick random things—like peppers—in peoples' sandwiches later. This could easily be a lawsuit, Mister."

Man, Abby was going to be one nightmare of a wicked old lady some day… McGee enjoyed the show thoroughly.

Ziva, who'd casually been strolling in closer, until her proximity to Forester and Miles was undeniably trespassing on personal space, spoke up softly, "Oh, I do not think a lawsuit will be necessary, Abby."

Abby shot Hanks her infamous pout, and death glare, wrapped up into one. The pout was probably aimed at Ziva for her interruption, the glare a sign of her restrained blood lust for a certain practical joker.

Ziva wasn't done, however. Her voice was almost a purr. Never a good sign. "If Agent Forester's more unprofessional behavior is made public, I do not think we will have the time to sue him, hmm?"

It only took Abby a moment to catch on. "Gibbs." She said his name with gleeful spite, and followed it up smugly with, "He'll kill you if he finds out."

Forester finally got a haughty laugh in. "You know, you guys really are a hoot. You're great. Very, very good tactics. I'm sure you get criminals shaking in their boots." He looked around Abby, and called out, "Hey, DiNozzo, you gonna join your little posse here, or what?"

McGee glanced over, and saw Tony, who looked a little more like himself, but was apparently only mildly interested in where his friends had so hastily gone off to as he sipped gingerly at Abby's pop. He ignored Hank entirely.

Hank laughed again. "You guys really don't know how to take a joke, do you?"

Abby looked almost cheerful. "Oh, we're all just a little upset, Mr. Forester. Just a little. The Bossman…" She shook her head. "He doesn't do a 'little' angry." To illustrate, Abby made a dramatic slicing motion with her hand across her throat.

Miles, The Short and Silent, finally found his tongue, "You know, I hate to break up the party, but my lunch break is like, way, way over, and—"

Ziva "patted" his shoulder, and didn't remove her hand. "Miles—it is Miles, no?"

Miles' smile quaked. "Yeah."

"Miles," Ziva resumed, voice full of warmth. A reptilian kind of warmth. "We are all friends here, are we not? What you did to Tony—nearly giving him a seizure—it was, as they say, all fun and games?"

"Yeah, and it's all fun and games until some gets hurt." Abby snapped her teeth together on the last word, like an alligator closing its jaws.

"Someone got hurt, Abbs?"

"Gibbs!" Unlike the rest of them, McGee had never heard Abby sound guilty in her surprise over Gibbs' unanticipated and arrivals.

McGee could see Gibbs'eyes rove over the "crime scene," taking in a sheepishly cowed and still-pale Tony—discarded meal in front of him, along with a collection of depleted beverages. And the rest of them: his team, plus two uneasy outsiders at the center of the mob. Gibbs might not have gotten the whole picture, but he got enough.

Instinctively, McGee and Abby, and even Ziva, parted and partially dispersed as Gibbs approached. Gibbs smiled cordially at the two prime suspects. To the casual observer, Gibbs would have seemed friendly enough. There were no casual observers around, however, due to the late hour of Gibbs' team's "lunch" break (Forester had doubtless stuck around to see the results of his handiwork). McGee thought that fact placed them, Team Gibbs, rather at an advantage. Ziva prowling in the background, and Gibbs smiling pleasantly in the fore… And, of course, Miss leave-no-evidence Sciuto scowling not far away.

Forester cleared his throat. "Special Agent Gibbs… Just getting to know your team a little better."

"Yeah, I can see that." Gibbs glanced from Abby to McGee in not-disapproving acknowledgment. "They weren't giving you any trouble, where they?"

"Well, they were getting a little…intense," Miles piped up. He was obviously naively buying into the sympathetic Gibbs idea.

Gibbs made a considering noise. "Yeah, they get that way sometimes."

"Look, we're all professionals here—"

Abby interposed in a not-so-quiet mutter, "Some more than others…"

Forester ignored her. "—still, pranks will get out of hand sometimes." He shrugged. "But hey, no harm, no foul, right?"

Gibbs stared hard at him, not agreeing or disagreeing.

Forester squirmed. Miles was looking nearly as queasy as Tony.

Gibbs titled his head back, and slightly to the side. "If my team gets too 'intense' again, you let me know." Forester let his posture relax too soon, as Gibbs added with a hint of something sinister, "I'll make sure they don't tear you to pieces."

Forester and Miles left with a minimum of response. Though Forester did try to maintain some face and show of bravado, the odds weren't in his favor.

By unanimous, unspoken consent, the rest of them reseated themselves at their original table, Gibbs taking a prime position opposite Tony. Gibbs didn't need to ask what happened; Abby was talking before she'd reached her chair.

Gibbs raised an eyebrow at some of the opening adjectives she used for Forester, but only channeled the direction of her ranting by asking calmly, "What happened?"

Tony didn't appear willing, but Abby made up for it, pouncing on the open invitation.

"That slime Forester put all kinds of spicy things in Tony's sandwich—"

"Abbs," Tony spoke up at last, sounding weary. "It was a joke."

"A joke—a joke?" Abby spluttered indignantly.

"Yeah. Not funny on my end, but a joke all the same." The way Tony's lips formed a lopsided smile didn't negate the flatness of his tone. "I get my kicks on boring afternoons the same way, ya know. Slipping peppers into someone's sandwich isn't actually all that original, either…"

"Don't defend his actions, Tony," Abby censored sternly. "Just because he didn't know the effect it would have doesn't excuse his actions."

"Doesn't it?" Tony drawled.

"Nope."

They all looked at Gibbs, who smiled. He was getting the full picture now. First, he addressed Tony, "You all right, DiNozzo?"

"Yeah, Boss. I don't think I'll ever be able to face a turkey sandwich again, but I'm good."

Abby had explained her bland foods theory to McGee, and how she'd "forced" Gibbs to buy a list of self-recommended items at the grocery store. McGee was thinking now that perhaps Abby had been right on in her intuition.

Gibbs had a considering look on his face. "Ziva."

Ziva brightened. "Yes?"

"No maiming."

She pursed her lips disappointedly. "Of course not."

Gibbs glanced around at them, lingering on Abby. "No death threats."

There was an echo of "of course not"s around the table.

Gibbs nodded in satisfaction.

No maiming. No death threats. It was limiting, and it definitely put a crimp in their style, but they weren't insurmountable parameters. Ziva's disappointment had already given way to a thoughtful expression, and Abby definitely had schemes formulating in that ingenious mind of hers.

McGee ventured, "Anything else off limits, Boss?"

While he was talking Gibbs had, McGee noted, snagged a bottle from the center of the table. Now McGee realized that it was not the salt, or pepper, but a pocket-sized Tabasco sauce. Gibbs set it down with emphatic force, and replied with a twinkle in his eyes, "Nope."

***

A/N: Yay, for team bonding? =)

Okay, I feel like I should give you guys sort of a heads-up. Almost wrapping up the story, here… I know some of you were looking forward to Tony getting to be really proficient in using his "superpowers," and I'm sorry to say we don't get to see much of that. Yet. One more chapter after this, then an epilogue for (hopefully) a feeling of completion. But, that said, I have so many ideas buzzing around in my head, you wouldn't believe it. *g* I'm already, let's see…over 15,000 words into a sequel to this (and I have some shorter follow-up pieces I should be able to post much sooner). I've actually got ideas for a sequel to the sequel to this… Y'all will definitely get to see lots of Tony when he's more experienced in using his new abilities. So many ideas, so little time. Lol. Unfortunately (or…fortunately?), another NCIS x-over has dominated me for the past few weeks as well, temporarily diverting my writing attention. =P If you guys are interested, I could post some summaries/short teaser snippets in my bio, for both the sequel to this, and the other x-over. ;) I'm having a lot of fun with both of 'em, but it's hard to juggle them simultaneously.

I'm also hoping to have the music video I made for this fic finished soon. =)

Thanks so much for reviewing, everyone! Your comments really keep me going. I appreciate those anonymous reviews very much: Gold Berry, Dani, Phoenix414, Verdad y Vida, jac marcus, and richefic.