Second to last chapter! And a sequel planned, just so you know. Unbetaed, so all mistakes are my own; I can't even blame the tree spirits. Special thanks to everyone who has reviewed and alerted on this story, especially the guest reviewers.
11: Return
Dreaming, Again
They were on the mountain again, near the stump and the tree they'd planted. It was bigger now, and Gibbs laid his hand on the bark. There was a shimmer of light and motion, and the skin of his hand turned warm and took on a slight glow.
Tony saw Gibbs abruptly move back from the tree. He took a few steps forward, then stopped as something emerged from the bark.
The thing that came out of the tree looked like what Gibbs had seen in the dream with the dancing… unnaturally thin, white, elongated face and fingers, looking like some strange combination of plant and person. He tried to back away faster, but his feet seemed glued to the ground. He turned his head and saw Tony standing just a few yards away; he tried to call out to him, but the only sound that emerged was a growl that trailed off into a whine.
Tony stared as the being that came out of the tree raised an arm toward Gibbs; a bright light ran from the tips of its fingers to Gibbs, enveloping the man in a white glow. Tony tried to shout a warning, but he couldn't make a sound.
Gibbs struggled against whatever hold the thing had on him, but he couldn't move. He felt his body changing… it didn't hurt, but he could feel himself panicking as he once more took on the shape of the fox.
Tony fought to move, to shield Gibbs from whatever the tree spirit was doing, but even as he was able to put one foot in front of the other, he knew it was too late. Gibbs was gone, and the fox was there, ears pinned back, teeth glinting as he snarled at the being who was now pulling him toward the tree.
Gibbs fought the pull, but he couldn't stop his forward motion. His feet were dragging along the ground and the spirit and the tree got closer and closer. He turned toward Tony again, saw him running, but knew he wasn't going to get to him in time.
Tony saw the fear in Gibbs' eyes as the spirit melted back into the trunk. Gibbs was only inches away from it now, and Tony's heart skipped a beat as the fox was pulled against the bark and then into the tree, howling and struggling to get away. He screamed out Gibbs' name –
"Jethro!"
Tony bolted upright, staring wildly around, and then quickly reached over to turn on the bedside lamp. Gibbs was still stuck in the dream; Tony could see him twitching and sweating. Thanking any deity he could think of that Gibbs was still there, Tony scrambled out of bed and moved quickly to the man's side.
"Jethro – wake up. It's just a dream, you're safe, you're here, you're still human – there's no tree spirit."
Gibbs relaxed as Tony's hand gently gripped his shoulder, and after a moment his eyes blinked open. He stared up at Tony, who stared back.
"Well, hell," Gibbs said, with feeling.
"I second that. I'll add a few other choice words, if it will help."
Gibbs let out a humorless laugh, then closed his eyes. "You had the same dream?"
"If it's the one where we're at the tree and I can't stop the spirit from turning you back into a fox and then pulling you into the tree, yeah."
Gibbs reached up to rub his eyes. "Great."
Tony weighed his options, then sat gingerly on the side of the bed, keeping his hand on Gibbs shoulder. "You're awfully tense, Jethro. Want me to work on you for a minute?"
Gibbs let his hand drop to his side and looked up at him. He nodded slowly. "Yeah. Might help." He flipped over onto his stomach, let his arms rest on the mattress, and closed his eyes.
Tony moved to straddle his partner, then set to work on his shoulders and neck. Gibbs sighed after a few minutes, and Tony could feel him relax. He kept at it until the muscles under his hands were completely pliant, then gradually stopped and moved so that he was sitting on the bed next to Gibbs, his back to the headboard. Gibbs took a deep breath, then turned over, sitting up so he was mirroring Tony's position.
Tony debated with himself, but finally decided to just ask. "You remember what happened in the dream after you, uh, went into the tree?"
Gibbs stared straight ahead for a minute, then moved his hands in an aimless gesture. "I don't think I ended up all the way in. I was fighting pretty hard."
"Ah. Good." They were both quiet for a moment. "Any idea what it all means?" Tony asked.
Gibbs shrugged. "You?"
Tony could tell Gibbs was hoping he'd say no and they'd leave it at that, but he didn't want to go back to sleep and end up in the same dream again because they didn't talk it out. "Could be a few different things." Gibbs tensed a bit, and Tony automatically reached out to rub the man's neck again. "Could be we're both worried about you turning into a fox again, even though the spirit's so far away. Or maybe we shouldn't take it too literally, maybe it means we're worried about losing this, you know, connection that we have now."
Gibbs stretched a bit, but didn't move away from Tony's hand. "Or it's a warning from the tree spirit that it's not done with us yet," he said darkly.
Tony smiled a bit. "They teach you cynicism in the Marines, don't they?"
Gibbs snorted and used his elbow to lightly poke Tony in the side.
"You know, Boss, I'm thinking you picked up some bad habits when you were a fox."
Gibbs smiled a little, and then they were both silent for a while, until Tony cleared his throat and took the plunge. "Do you feel like the dream is coming from us or from it?"
Gibbs shook his head. "I wouldn't know where to begin to tell the difference."
"Yeah." Tony slid his hand from Gibbs' neck. "For what it's worth, Boss… I'm not happy you had to go through all this, but I am happy that we're, um, closer, I guess."
Gibbs turned his head to look at him. "We were close before this, Tony."
Tony reached up to scratch at his head. "Well, yeah, but, I dunno, this is… different." He looked away, feeling his face heat up a bit. "Sorry, Boss, I must be more tired than I thought." He moved to get off the bed and go back to his own, but Gibbs' hand on his arm stopped him.
"Tony… it's okay." Gibbs tugged on him until Tony settled back and relaxed. "You're right, it is different, and I shouldn't have downplayed that. What you did for me… I couldn't be happier with my choice of backup."
Tony smiled a little at that, and looked over at Gibbs to see him looking back seriously.
"Or my choice of a friend."
Tony's smile widened.
"So how about we get some sleep so we're in decent enough shape to drive back to D.C., huh?"
Tony nodded and moved to get up again. Gibbs growled a bit, sounding enough like the fox that Tony turned quickly to look at him.
"Just sleep here, huh? Maybe it'll stop us from picking up where that dream left off."
Tony raised his eyebrows. "Or maybe we'll have a better dream?" he ventured.
"Yeah, maybe that too."
Tony reached over and switched off the light, then crawled under the covers that Gibbs held up for him. They lay there quietly, not touching, until Tony spoke again, his voice tentative. "You remember what I said, back when you were still a fox, about if maybe Abby and them are right about what I feel? You know, about… stuff?"
Gibbs chuckled and reached out to pull Tony closer. "Yeah, Tony, I remember."
Tony settled against him and relaxed. "Oh. Okay. Well, good."
"Get some sleep. You've got to do all the driving tomorrow, since you're the only one with a license."
Tony yawned and moved a bit closer. "'kay. But we should talk about that sometime, Boss."
"Whatever you say, Tony."
The Director
There were no more shared dreams that night. They were up and on the road by 7 a.m., stopping only for gas and food as needed, and made it back to the Navy Yard by mid-afternoon. Tony parked the rental in the underground garage, and they headed for the security check point.
"Good to see you back, Tony," Hank smiled as Tony passed through the metal detector. He nodded to Gibbs. "Agent Gibbs."
Gibbs moved through the detector, then stopped and stared at Hank, who began fidgeting. "Um… sir?"
"Don't call me sir," Gibbs growled. He reached out and very deliberately poked Hank hard on the shoulder with one finger, after which he smirked and strode off toward the elevator. Hank reached up to rub at his shoulder and stared wide-eyed at Tony. "What…?!"
Tony shrugged and gave Hank a disarming smile. "We're just back from undercover… he's slow to readjust."
Hank gave Tony a quick visual scan, taking in the flannel-lined shirt, jeans, and hiking boots. "Ah, okay. Gotcha."
Tony clapped Hank on the same shoulder, making him wince a bit, before he jogged after Gibbs, who was waiting impatiently at the elevator.
They walked purposefully through the bullpen; a sweeping glance showed Tony that all of their desks were neatly cleared of paperwork and there was no sign of either Ziva or McGee being around. Gibbs quick-marched up the stairs, with Tony just behind and to the right, and they breezed past the Director's assistant and through the open door to Vance's office.
Vance was standing in front of his desk watching a report on ZNN on the plasma. He shut it off as soon as the agents walked in and moved forward a few steps, looking Gibbs over carefully. "It's done?"
Gibbs' eyebrows shot up. "I look like a fox to you?"
Tony rolled his eyes and doubled back to close the office door. "What he means to say, Director, is yes, it's over."
Vance shot Tony an amused look, then brought his gaze back to Gibbs. "Any chance of it happening again?"
Gibbs shook his head, then shrugged. "Abby said I had to be very close to the tree spirit for it to change me. Long as I don't buy any more haunted wood, there shouldn't be a problem."
Vance relaxed his stance a bit, then fished around in his jacket pocket, pulling out a toothpick. "Any chance we can get you to find a new hobby?"
Tony grinned at that one. "I already gave him that suggestion. Don't think it will take." Vance's gaze shifted over to Tony, but the Director remained silent. "Uh, sir."
Vance's lips twitched slightly, then he looked back at Gibbs. "You need any down time?"
Gibbs shook his head. "We'd like to get right back to work."
Vance nodded. "I'll get McGee and David reassigned to you effective immediately… they'll just need to wrap up whatever they've got going on, but neither has an active case right now, so they should be back to you within the hour."
Tension melted away from Gibbs' shoulders. "Thanks, Leon."
Vance nodded. "Someday you'll have to tell me what it was like."
Gibbs grimaced. "You bringin' the bourbon?"
Tony looked at him, surprised.
Vance stared at Gibbs, meeting his eyes for a long moment. He nodded. "Go see Ms. Scuito; she's only called up here about five times today to find out if you're back yet. Then give me something I can show SecNav if he wants to know what two of my best agents were doing in the White Mountains."
Gibbs nodded, then turned and headed for the door. Tony followed, glancing between the two men.
Abby's Lab
Abby was pacing and muttering to herself when they walked into the lab. She looked up, and Tony would have sworn her smile lit up the room.
"Gibbs!" She ran forward, throwing herself at Gibbs, who managed to catch her and stay on his feet. He hugged her tightly, and she grinned at Tony over Gibbs' shoulder as she returned the favor. "Finally! You're back! I mean, you're human and you're here."
Gibbs set her back down on her feet. She stared at him for a moment, her eyes searching his, and then she reached up and planted a kiss on his cheek. After that, she launched herself at Tony, giving him much the same treatment. Tony laughed and planted a kiss on her forehead as he set her down. She looked between the two of them, then reached out with both hands, grabbed their arms, and hustled them into the inner office, closing the door behind her.
"So, it worked? It was the ritual that did it, right?"
Gibbs and Tony exchanged glances, and Tony moved forward to wipe the lipstick off of Gibbs' cheek while he spoke. "I think so."
Abby watched Tony lick his fingers to get the last of the lipstick off Gibbs' face. "I see things are moving along with you two."
Tony shot her a look, and Gibbs rolled his eyes. Abby frowned suddenly, crossing her arms. "Wait… what do you mean, you think so?"
Tony looked at Gibbs again, and got a small shrug in return. Taking that for the permission it was, he explained. "We planted the seedling and did the ritual just like you said… but nothing happened until the next morning."
Gibbs picked up the story. "The seedling grew into a much larger tree overnight, and I turned back to human after that."
Abby's arms fell to her side and she leaned back against her desk. "Wow. The spirit's power may somehow be proportional to its physical link to this world, which is the tree…" Her eyes grew abstracted and she began muttering to herself.
The two men exchanged slightly alarmed glances. "Uh, it might be more complicated than that," Tony said.
"How so?"
Tony explained the dreams he had that night, and the feeling that someone was investigating his memories and perceptions of Gibbs. "You think maybe it was judging Gibbs, deciding whether to turn him back?"
Abby thought it over. "Maybe? Or maybe it was just curious about you guys? I don't know enough."
Tony looked over at Gibbs, eyes questioning. Gibbs grimaced a bit, then shrugged again. Tony nodded and looked over at Abby, who was smiling at them. "What?"
"It's just, it's so cool how you guys are connected. I mean, you just had an entire conversation and neither of you said a word."
Tony smirked a bit. "I've got more practice in now, since he couldn't talk as a fox."
Gibbs rolled his eyes. "We were doing this before the spirit came along, Tony."
Abby clapped her hands together. "This is so great! You guys have definitely come a long way on this trip."
Tony tried to get the conversation back on track. "Abs… we think maybe the spirit is still influencing us somehow."
She frowned. "What do you mean?"
"We're sharing dreams… two nights in a row now. Same dream, same details, but we're each having the dreams from our own perspectives. It's a little… disconcerting." Tony looked at Gibbs, who just looked back.
"Are these good dreams or bad dreams?"
Gibbs fielded that one. "Both. The first one was – nice. The second, not so much."
"Was the first one a sex dream?"
""ABBY!""
"Cool, stereo sound!" Abby grinned at them, completely unrepentant. "I don't know if the spirit could influence your minds from so far away."
Gibbs looked uncomfortable. "You think I'm carrying it around in my head?"
Abby shook her head quickly. "No, nothing like that. It can't be in two places at once, and it's still a single being, even if it's not entirely of this plane. I can try to look into it, though, see what you might be dealing with, if you want."
They looked at each other, then Gibbs nodded. "Yeah, Abs. When you have time."
"I'll get right on it." She looked at him seriously for a moment, then trotted forward and pulled him into another hug. "I'm so glad you're back, Gibbs!"
Gibbs returned the hug again, closing his eyes for a brief moment. "Me too, Abs. Thanks."
She stepped back and watched him as he set off out of the lab. "Tony."
He stopped his forward motion and turned to look at her. "Yeah, Abs?"
Abby moved quickly to hug him again. "I didn't want to say it in front of him, but I'm gonna miss the fox, a little."
Tony smiled gently. "Yeah… me too." He pulled back and patted her shoulder, then ran to catch up with Gibbs. "Let's do dinner soon, Abby!"
Abby followed them far enough to see Tony reach out and lay a hand on Gibbs' arm while they waited for the elevator. "Awesome," she whispered happily.
Truth
Tony and Gibbs both settled at their desks and started to put their reports together. They'd spent much of the drive south hashing out a story that could measure up to scrutiny, so Tony found it easy to begin putting it together on paper.
Gibbs, however, was uncharacteristically unfocused. Tony kept an eye on him while he worked on his own report; Gibbs alternated working on his report with poking through some files he'd taken out of a drawer or simply staring off into space.
Less than an hour after they'd sat at their desks, the rest of their team showed up. Ziva was first, greeting them quietly, stowing her bag under her desk and watching them both while ostensibly reviewing the reports on their last case. McGee arrived soon afterwards, moving quickly. "Good to have you back, Boss. You too, Tony."
Then it was business as usual, except for the slight tension and unnatural silence. Finally, after one more five-minute staring session, Gibbs abruptly pushed his chair back and announced he was going for coffee. He met Tony's eyes on the way out, giving him an almost unnoticeable shrug and half smile, which allowed Tony to relax a bit. The three agents continued to work in silence for a while, until the senior field agent steeled himself and rose to file a few papers, which, as expected, galvanized his team members into action.
Ziva was the first to approach him. "The rugged, manly look is a good one on you, Tony."
Tony rolled his eyes. "I'm always manly, and any look is good on me, Zee-vah."
She leaned against the file cabinet, forcing McGee to dodge around her on his own approach. "So," she purred, "are you going to finally explain what you two were up to?"
"About nine thousand feet," Tony commented, focusing on his filing.
Ziva stood up straight, dropping the act. "Are we not a team, Tony?"
Tony looked at her, pushing the drawer shut. "Of course we are, Ziva. I'm following orders… remember what that's like? Need to know. You didn't, and you still don't."
McGee cleared his throat. "Looks like you did well with the hiking and camping."
Tony turned to him and smiled. "Thanks to you, McScout! I owe you an opportunity to try to beat me at your latest favorite cyber-obsession."
McGee returned the smile. "You're going down."
"Well, duh."
Ziva wasn't about to let it go. "McGee said Gibbs' life was in danger."
Tony shot McGee a look. "I take it back. Game's off."
McGee's face fell. "C'mon, Tony! I told you I'd talk to Ziva about backing off. How else was I supposed to get her to take me seriously?"
Tony tilted his head to one side, considering that. "Okay. Game's on."
McGee grinned.
Tony turned back to his desk, seating himself to continue working on his report. Ziva moved in close and leaned over, trying to read over his shoulder; Tony's hand shot out and switched off the monitor. She growled in exasperation while Tony glared at her.
"Ziva…" McGee said, hesitantly.
"I do not like being left out of the circle, McGee! If we are a team, we should work together all of the time, not just sometimes!"
Tony sighed. "Loop."
"What?"
"Not a circle, a loop. Left out of the loop. I could have sworn I taught you that one already."
Ziva glared at him. "That is not important. In Mossad, we did not keep such secrets."
Both men stared at her, eyes wide. "Uh, Ziva," McGee began.
Ziva shook her head, waving one hand in his direction. "All right, I admit, that was a poor example." She focused on Tony. "Can you at least tell us if we have to worry about someone coming after Gibbs? Or you?"
Tony shook his head. "It's over."
"Are you sure?" McGee looked worried.
Tony sighed and looked up at them. The concern on both their parts and the hurt on Ziva's was genuine. "Alright. I'm only going to go through this once." He glanced around the room, and the others leaned in close automatically. He then spoke in a loud whisper.
"An angry tree spirit that was living in the wood Gibbs was using to make his latest boat turned him into a fox. The only way to get him back to human again was for us to bring the spirit back to the White Mountains, which we did. We planted a tree for it to live in, and it made Gibbs human again as a thank you."
He stared seriously at Ziva and McGee, who stared back. McGee clearly didn't believe him, while Ziva was just angry. "I cannot believe that you would tell such a silly story. You must know that it will not make us stop asking questions!"
Tony opened his mouth to respond, but it was Gibbs' voice they all heard.
"Tony saved my life on that mountain."
They all straightened up to see Gibbs standing there, two coffee cups in his hands, looking at them seriously. "That's all you need to know."
He set one of the cups down on Tony's desk, met Tony's eyes for a moment, then moved toward his own desk. All three agents stared after him for a moment. Then McGee reached out to clasp Tony's shoulder and smile at him before heading back to his own desk. "Glad you're both back," was all he said.
Ziva blinked and looked at Tony seriously, then offered him a small smile. She nodded once, then followed suit and went back to work.
Tony reached out and grabbed his coffee, removing the lid and smelling the hazelnut creamer. He smiled and took a sip; it was perfect. He looked over at Gibbs, who was looking back at him. Gibbs raised his cup in a silent toast; Tony mimicked the action and they each took a sip, gazes still connected, before getting back to work.
