Seeing Gibbs disappear behind the door to his boss's office, Tony slumped dejectedly into his chair and ran his hand over his unruly mop of brown hair. He was screwed. The former marine wasn't one to mince words and neither was his boss. And who would be the casualty in the pissing match of the century? Tony. He sighed and slumped further in his seat. Not that he had much of a future in Baltimore, especially after that little incident with Daniel. Oh, who was he kidding, it was a beating in every sense of the word. He'd be stupid to stay with a partner like that. But he had been counting on leaving on his own, not being kicked out to the curb.
"Tony?" He raised his head to look at the pretty female police officer standing in front of his desk.
"Melissa," he greeted with a small smile, the slight throbbing reminding him of his previously split lip, "and how may I help you this fine day?"
"What the hell happened to you?" the young woman got straight to the point, not caring one bit about pleasantries. Stepping closer to him, she inspected his face, making him all the more self-conscious of the bruises marring his skin. "Don't tell me you got into a bar brawl over a woman."
"Melissa, you wound me." he defended, one hand over his chest. "Making such hasty and insensitive conclusions. What if I am a hero, who had been injured saving a poor old granny from a nasty robber? How would you feel then?"
"Surprised," she drily replied."That granny has to be one hell of a looker."
Tony crossed his arms over his chest, forgetting all about the cracked ribs he had sustained, and hissed at the unexpected pain. Melissa touched his shoulder lightly, as if afraid to hurt him with unnecessary strength. He wanted to shrug her off, not in the mood for her misplaced pity; he didn't need people looking at him with sympathy. They didn't know squat. Besides, the physical injuries were the least of his problems.
"Hurts, huh?" He snorted at her compassionate words; eyes tightly closed and trying to breathe through the pain. "No shit, Sherlock. Whatever gave you that idea?"
"Just trying to be sympathetic, DiNozzo," she scowled, earning and apologetic smile from the Baltimore detective.
"Sorry, the pain's having some adverse effects on my lovable character."
"The pain? I hate to burst your bubble but…that's just you, Tony. Nothing lovable there."
Tony gave her a mock glare, successfully hiding behind his cheerful front. "Many would disagree with you on that, my dear Melissa."
"Not after getting to know you! You'd probably disgust them with your eating habits." She laughed at his outraged expression."Chill Tony, I was just trying to make you feel better."
Tony stared at her incredulously."Make me feel better? You really have a strange way of going about it."
"Well, what did you want me to do? Fret about all your boo-boos?"
"How about kissing them to make it all better?" She snorted at the pleading look he sent her and shook her head in disbelief.
"You're hopeless." The young police officer sighed."You should probably go home if you're feeling lousy. I'm sure that CSI guy can do the investigation on his own."
"What are you? Dyslectic?" Tony muttered, a bit angry how dismissive Melissa was when talking about the murder of three people. It was his responsibility to bring them justice, dammit!
"It's NCIS. And this is my investigation, no way am I gonna let somebody else…" he trailed off earning a puzzled look from the woman in front of him, but at the moment, he didn't particularly care. Daniel had just entered the bullpen and was looking around as if searching for something. Or someone. He felt cold dread wash over him at the thought of having to face Daniel after what had happened the day before. Alone.
Logically, he knew his partner couldn't do anything to him in a crowded room, full of police personnel, but his emotions were all over the place and all he wanted to do was to hide somewhere, where he wouldn't be found. Tony immediately looked towards his boss's office; instinctively searching Gibbs and hoping that the older man would suddenly appear and make everything right. It was pathetic how quickly he had got used to relying on the ex marine; seeing as Gibbs was still busy with his boss, Tony realized he was on his own.
Taking in a deep breath and blowing it out, he stood up, drawing himself to his full height and hid his shaky hands behind his back, not willing to let Daniel see just how his presence affected him. He would be on top of his game and show his partner that Anthony DiNozzo Jr. didn't scare easily.
Tony met the other man's gaze, expecting to see disgust or anger staring back at him. He couldn't help but feel surprised when the normally self-confident detective Daniel Kinsey broke the eye contact, preferring instead to stare at his feet. He looked almost…ashamed? No way…
"Tony?" Melissa called his name and he spared her a brief look, before glancing back at Daniel, only to see his slouching back as he made his way out of the bullpen, taking slow and hesitant steps.
Tony sagged into his chair, totally spent, as if he had just climbed Mount Everest…only to be knocked down from the very top. He was tired. No, he was completely exhausted.
"What was that all about?" Melissa demanded; anger evident in the tone of her voice. He looked up, intending to answer her question, but was surprised when his normally overactive mind drew a blank. What was he supposed to say to that? Sorry, Mel, I truly couldn't give you my undivided attention this time because I've just had a little bit of a panic attack, triggered by seeing my partner, who in a drunken fit of anger beat me senseless yesterday. Yeah, that could work…when pigs would fly, hell would freeze over and Gibbs would knit him a warm sweater for winter. The mental image of the ex marine sitting in a rocking chair, like the one his grandmother had used to own, and carefully working on a ball of wool brought a smile to his face and before he knew it, he was laughing and not caring one bit how mad he must seem to the female police officer.
"You're crazy." Melissa shook her head."Let me know once you're back to your senses."
"Aye, aye, ma'am!" Grinning, he gave her a mock salute and watched as she turned around and left without a backward glance. Once she was out of sight, his smile turned downwards into a frown. Seeing Daniel had thrown him off balance. His reaction had been worse than he had anticipated. Sure, Kinsey did beat the crap out of him yesterday, but the sheer terror that had gripped him at seeing his partner had been a little overboard, right?
"Maybe I really am going crazy," he muttered, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes."Laughing at mental images of Gibbs knitting, talking to myself…next time I'll be hearing voices."
"Next time I find out you've been having mental images of me knitting, hearing voices will be the least of your worries."
"Please tell me you haven't really heard that and you're just a figment of my imagination." Tony pleaded, keeping his eyes closed.
Gibbs snorted, standing right next to younger man."You tell me." He slapped the back of his head."Does this feel real?"
Tony's eyes flew open and he rubbed the abused spot on his head."Too real. You do remember I still have that concussion from yesterday, right?"
"Oh, I do remember, DiNozzo, the shiner on your face is enough of a reminder for me. But it can't be that bad with all the whining you're doing."
"DiNozzo's do not whine," the Baltimore detective huffed," we get our point across in a very manly and dignified way."
"Yeah." Gibbs nodded and smirked at the other man's pouting face. "I can see that."
Tony was just about to open his mouth and reply, when the former marine's phone went off. He answered it with a gruff, "Gibbs." He really needed to work on his phone etiquette.
Tony observed as the NCIS special agent listened for a couple of seconds, before ending the call with a short, "We're on our way, Duck."
"Come on, Ducky has something for us."Turning around, he was already halfway through the bullpen when Tony finally managed to stand up from the chair he was sitting on, leaning heavily onto the desk for support. The pain from his ribs flared up at the sudden movement and he briefly considered yelling for Gibbs and telling the other man he needed some help. He quickly dismissed that idea; Gibbs would just tell him to either suck it up, or to get his ass back to the hotel if he wasn't fit enough for the investigation. No way in hell, would he let that happen. The ex marine had seemed to like him so far and he was not willing to ruin that by admitting he needed help standing up. He wasn't ready to lose that respect yet.
Gritting his teeth, Tony forced his body upright and made his way to autopsy, knowing the former marine wouldn't be very happy about his tardiness. In his haste to catch up with the older man, Tony all but forgot about the piles of paperwork littering the floor around his desk, sending it toppling over in a whirlwind of papers. He hurried his pace in case someone noticed the mess and wanted to make him clean it. Once he was out of the squad room, Tony breathed a sigh of relief, not expecting to find a scowling Gibbs waiting for him in front of the elevator with his arms crossed over his chest. He gulped at the menacing look the other man kept sending him, his mind already conjuring the possible ways Gibbs could kill him without attracting any unwanted attention.
"You could have just asked for help," Gibbs growled and Tony could have sworn he heard his jaw hit the floor at hearing those words. This wasn't expected.
"Uh, I, you see…"he stammered, not sure how exactly to react to that."Um, you were already gone?"
Gibbs' eyes narrowed."What do you think you have your vocal cords for, DiNozzo?" He opened the doors of the elevator and motioned for Tony to get in. "Move it, before I decide you're not fit for duty and send you to Abby."
Tony hastily did as he was told and waited for Gibbs to join him, before pushing the button for autopsy and leaning against the wall in relief. The pain was getting worse with each breath he took.
The former marine glanced at him from the corner of his eye."Why didn't you take the pain killers Ducky gave you?"
DiNozzo shuffled his feet nervously, unsure of how to explain his reluctance to take his meds."I-ah…I sometimes have this weird reaction to pain meds…not something you'd want to see, Gibbs."
The elevator came to stop and both men got off."Define weird, DiNozzo," the NCIS special agent ordered.
Tony sighed, realizing Gibbs wouldn't let the matter go unless he had a truthful answer."You know, I talk a lot, laugh a lot and generally don't make much sense. That kind of stuff."
Gibbs led the way to autopsy, his pace slow enough for Tony to keep up even with his aching ribs. Stopping right outside of the doors, the former marine turned around and gave the younger man a look that coming from someone else could almost be called playful. Gibbs giving him that look was just plain scary.
"And how's that different from what you do usually?"
Despite his ribs giving him hell, Tony couldn't help but cross his arms over his chest and glare at the older man. "Ha-ha, very funny Gibbs. I can hardly keep from cracking up."
Gibbs cocked his head to the side and smirked at his reaction. "I thought so too."
Tony sighed, but couldn't help but grin in response, even if it hurt like hell because of his split lip. Seeing Gibbs smile, even if it was at his expense, was so rare that he couldn't find it within himself to be angry. He was actually proud of putting that smile, smirk…whatever on the ex marine's face, as stupid as it sounded.
Gibbs opened the door and strode in, the smirk slipping off his face in favor of a blank expression Abby had told him was the 'Gibbs default' look. Unless he had a bad day, then it was replaced by 'default angry look'.
Tony followed the special agent into the room and spotted Ducky standing next to the autopsy table with his back to them. He seemed to be mumbling something as he was inspecting the opened chest cavity for internal damage. Tony immediately thought of his sore ribs, of the cracked bones in his chest and how easy it could have been for Daniel to kick a little harder, to break his rib cage and put him on Ducky's cold, metal table. He was here earlier…maybe he wanted to finish the job; maybe he's waiting for him outside with his friends, ready to end it all. Next time, it could be his chest lying open with Ducky's hand in it and…oh God, he was going to be sick.
He took a shuddering breath to calm down but it only caused the pain to worsen. His breathing quickened and he had to grab the wall for support.
"You got something for us, Duck?" Gibbs asked, oblivious to Tony's struggle not to lose the stomach contents all over the floor.
The elderly MD turned around, his hands streaked with red blood of the victim, and smiled in greeting."Ah, Jethro, Anthony, what a coincidence! I was just telling the poor Mrs. Curiton about you."
Gibbs just shook his head in amusement, already used to Ducky's odd habit of talking to his 'patients' and half-expected a comment from DiNozzo how it reminded him of some horror movie he had seen. When hearing no witty response from the usually chatty young detective, Gibbs turned around to see what was causing the unnatural silence and drew in a sharp breath at DiNozzo's state. The younger man was pale and shivering, grasping the wall with shaking hands and staring at the body of the dead woman.
"Tony?"
The Baltimore detective managed to briefly meet the older man's gaze before bolting for the nearest sink and throwing up.
"Oh, my…"Ducky gasped as he quickly disposed of his bloody gloves and went to fetch a bottle of water for the young detective. Gibbs hurried to Tony's side and put a comforting hand on his quivering back, wincing at the painful retching sounds.
"Just calm down, kid. " He gently rubbed a spot between Tony's shoulder blades and sighed. "You could've just said you weren't feeling well, Tony."
Tony didn't hear much of what the other man was saying but just the feeling of not being alone in his misery had a soothing effect and he managed to get the tremors under control. Feeling Gibbs' steadying hand move to the back of his neck in silent support gave him the strength to straighten up after he was done puking out his guts and smile shakily at the two older men in the room.
"Ewww," Tony whispered, grimacing at the bitter aftertaste in his mouth. "That was disgusting."
"Here you go, my boy, use the water to rinse your mouth. But no drinking yet." Ducky handed him a bottle of water and Tony accepted it with a grateful smile and did as he was told.
"It's flat soda; it'll calm your stomach." The ME added.
"Thanks, Ducky!" the young detective exclaimed, trying to sound as upbeat as possible; he didn't want to make a big deal out of this little episode."Just what I needed."
"You are most welcome, my boy." The elderly doctor smiled, patting his arm."Now hop up on the second table, I want to examine you and see what you have done to yourself this time. "
"No, Ducky, it's ok. Just the…well, I saw the body…and it's nothing, really I'm fine and don't need to be checked over," Tony stammered, coloring slightly under Gibbs' intense gaze. It was better to let them think he felt queasy when seeing blood and opened chest cavities, than explaining that the vomiting had been caused by a freaking panic attack of all things.
"I'll be the judge of that, Anthony. As far as I know, I'm the only one with a medical degree in this room at the moment. So, shush and hop up."
Tony was just about to open his mouth and argue further, when Gibbs stepped into his personal space with a glare on his face.
"You will do as Ducky says," he growled, "You're not fine, just look in to the damn mirror! You look like hell and that's saying it lightly. Puking your guts out isn't fine, it's far from fine and I don't need to be a doctor to tell you that."
Tony flinched at the angry tone, but Gibbs was far from finished reaming him out."Do I look like an idiot to you, DiNozzo?"
"No, sir." The younger man mumbled, staring at his feet in defeat.
"Then don't make one out of me. I don't appreciate being lied to; you'll do better to remember that. Now." He pointed to the second autopsy table in the room without taking his eyes of Tony."You'll sit down on your ass and have Ducky check you out. Are we clear, detective?"
"Yes, sir," Tony solemnly replied, cursing his stupid body for betraying him like that in front of the ex marine. Gibbs was disappointed in him and he had every right to be, considering how weak he must have seemed to the special agent. He sighed and with Ducky's help managed to sit down on the metal table.
The elderly ME wasted no time in examining him from head to toe, making Tony feel even more useless than before. Mrs. Curiton's body was lying on the autopsy table next to the one he was sitting on with a fucking bullet hole in her temple and instead of finding her killer, here he was, being fussed over by a ME because he couldn't keep his food down. Stupid, stupid, freakin' stupid.
"Well, Anthony," Ducky began cheerfully, "You're blood pressure's a bit high for my tastes as is your pulse, but I think it's understandable given the circumstances, my boy. I was mostly afraid you'd done more damage to your already cracked ribs, but thankfully, no such thing happened. But I do believe you are due for another dose of your pain meds, hmm?"
Tony just nodded, not trusting himself to speak.
"As for your concussion, everything seems ok in that head of yours so far. But if yo-"
Gibbs snorted at that, earning a disapproving look from the MD. "As I was saying before Jethro rudely interrupted me, if you feel any dizziness, headache, double vision or-"
"I'll let you know immediately, don't worry. We've already had this concussion talk this morning, Ducky; you don't need to repeat it all."
"I would hope so, my dear fellow. " The ME opened a bottle of pills with and looked at him sternly."Open wide, Anthony."
"Uh, Ducky, I can take them on my own." Tony reached out and took the meds from the elderly doctor's hand."Thanks"
"Sure you don't want us to make airplane noises while we force-feed you the pills?"
Ducky sent Gibbs a warning look. "Jethro."
"Just take them already."
Tony looked uncertainly in the ex marine's direction, the bottle of pills firmly grasped in his hand, as if asking permission."What about the…you know… side effects?"
Gibbs sighed, anger dissipating when hearing the insecurity in the usually confident young detective's voice. Sitting on the metal table, legs dangling from the edge, pale –faced, hesitant and cradling the bottle of pills to his chest like the world's most valuable treasure, Tony DiNozzo looked more like a lost kid than a seasoned police officer. It hurt Gibbs to even look at him like that.
"Just take those meds, Tony, I don't care how loopy you get. You need them. And like I've said before, it can't be that much of a difference from the usual."
DiNozzo still looked unsure and hesitant, and it was all wrong because the Baltimore homicide detective he had first met was confident and cocky...he was anything but unsure and hesitant.
"Take them, or I'll go through with my threat and force them down your throat. I'm not kidding, Tony."
"Of course you're not," Tony muttered under his breath and Gibbs almost smirked; that was the DiNozzo he knew.
He took the pills and hopped off the table, hoping both the ex marine and the ME would stop looking at him as if he'd fall flat on his face every time somebody sneezed. He just wanted to get back to the case and feel useful again.
"So, you got something for us, Ducky?" Tony asked, glancing at the ME and walking towards the body of their victim. He took a deep breath and forced his previous thoughts of broken ribs to the back of his mind. Now wasn't the time to play the 'what if' game.
He saw Ducky and Gibbs exchange a look from the corner of his eye, before the good doctor answered, "Why, yes, indeed, I have some information about the death of Mrs. Curiton."
The elderly doctor joined Tony next to the autopsy table, followed closely by the former marine.
"The cause of death is a gunshot wound to her right temple, right here, as you may see gentlemen." Ducky turned the head on her left side, making it easier for them to see the deep round wound."I took out the bullet and sent it to Abby for analysis."
"We found her with both her hands on the steering wheel, there's no way this could have been a suicide, right Ducky?" Tony inquired, wanting to know if they were at least on the right track with the investigation.
Ducky shook his head."It couldn't have been suicide; that I can tell you for sure. I have found a number of bruises covering her body, the most notable being the ones on her wrists, see here?""He pointed to the ugly red abrasions on both hands.
"Looks like rope marks to me," Gibbs noted and the ME nodded his head.
"I have been able to salvage some fibers from, where the rope had dug into the poor woman's wrists. I have sent those to Abigail as well."
"So, there has been a struggle, our victim lost, was tied up, loaded into the car and killed on a road in the middle of nowhere." Tony summarized, his eyes taking in the damaged skin on the victim's hands."The first two victims were found floating on water in the harbor, cause of death ricin poisoning, right?"
Ducky nodded."Partly, Samantha Morgan had been indeed poisoned but I have finished the autopsy on Mr. Curiton just yesterday and there had been no traces of ricin in his blood. He had been strangled and stabbed repeatedly post mortem."
"But both of them were disposed of in the harbor," Gibbs caught on what Tony was trying to tell them, feeling proud of the younger man," but not Mrs. Curiton. You have any idea why?"
Tony seemed to think for a moment, biting his lip in concentration before replying, "I think he wasn't planning on murdering her. She could have surprised him when he was disposing of the bodies…or he could have come back to the house after getting rid of her husband and his daughter and then decided he'd kill her too. "
"I don't think she was at home when the murders took place, "Gibbs added, leaning against the table and looking at the body. "We'll have to find out where she was and why. It was in the middle of the night, the murderer could have lured her out so he could kill her husband and his daughter. It would make sense."
Ducky watched in fascination as the two younger men traded ideas and thoughts, amazed at how in tune they were after only a couple of days of knowing each other. Although, when he thought about it more thoroughly, it wasn't that surprising; they were after all, quite similar in many aspects.
"I have sent Mrs. Curiton's blood sample to Abby, but I doubt she'll find anything. I've found nothing during the autopsy that would suggest she had been poisoned as well."Ducky finished his report on the autopsy and glanced at Tony and Gibbs. Both were standing hunched over the body, leaning against the metal table with a look of concentration on their faces. Ducky fought the urge to grin at the picture in front of him. They had no idea how alike they were.
"Let's go and see what Abby has for us," Gibbs announced and looked at the young detective across from him. Tony nodded his head, agreeing with the plan and both men left with a simultaneous, 'see ya later.'
Ducky was left staring at their retreating backs, his grin growing larger. Similar indeed.
TBC
A/N: Sorryyyyy! I am so sorry this chapter took so long…but I've had some big exams at uni and when I finally finished those, this chapter was so not cooperating with me. It was like pulling teeth LOL
Not to mention it came out totally different that I wanted…hope it's not too bad!
Grrr, it's 3:34 am, my eyes can barely see…please be gentle with me :D Off to bed now…
Thank you for all the wonderful reviews, favorites and alerts! Each and every single one means the world to me! Thank you!
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-Andy