Gibbs came awake with a start when he heard the door open. He pushed the lever that would put the footrest down and sat up in time for Tony to step in the room in his expensive suit. He looked a little tired and his gaze turned curious when he set his gaze on Gibbs.

"Did I wake you up?"

Gibbs rubbed his eyes. "Yeah, I must've dozed off." He stood up stiffly, pain in his knee made him feel old. "Gotta hit the head."

He heard the timer go off in the kitchen while he was in the bathroom and seconds later, Tony turned it off. Gibbs washed his hands and headed to the kitchen to see the pan of cornbread sitting on top of the stove and the oven turned off.

"Thanks."

"What's the cornbread for?"

"Abby's soup."

Tony's eyes went wide. "Abby's soup? You mean that spicy one? You have some?"

"Yeah. Was in the freezer. Thought we'd have it for dinner."

"I knew I loved you for a reason."

Gibbs laughed. "How was work?" he asked as he took the soup out of the fridge and dumped it in a saucepan to heat.

Tony yawned. "Exhausting. This morning, Vance told me that the paperwork was received and that it would definitely be approved and that I could start taking the rest of my leave. So, I went downstairs to tell Abby before the scuttlebutt reached her. I wanted her to hear it from me. She was upset, but she actually took it better than I expected. I told her I was moving down south and that she was welcome to come visit, and she seemed to accept that as well. Was kind of weird after how upset she was over Ellie and Tim leaving. She said she'd talked to Ducky and he had made her feel better about the changes happening and that he told her that I really should be out of the field now. So, it could've been worse."

Gibbs got out bowls and spoons while Tony talked.

"The three of us cleaned out our desks together today, and I cleaned out yours though I wasn't surprised that the only thing you had was a change of clothes in your filing cabinet. Crap, I left that bag in the car. I'll go get it."

Gibbs sat down at the table while Tony went out to his car. Tony returned with a bag of clothes and Gibbs jerked his chin over to the ironing board for him to set the bag on it.

"How'd Tim and Ellie take the news of your retirement?"

"Surprised, concerned and Tim was actually upset. He kept asking me how I was breathing and if I had a new inhaler and on and on until I threatened to take him down to the gym and beat the tar out of him." Tony chuckled a little. "McMother Hen shut up after that but man, he made it sound like I was going to die imminently. It was depressing. They're taking the rest of the week off and they will start at the Hoover building on Monday. A lot of people came over to say goodbye to all of us. Good news spreads as fast as ever."

Gibbs was glad to have missed that. "Delores cried, didn't she?"

"God! Did she ever! She hugged me like ten times. If it was anyone else she wouldn't have even blinked. She even hugged Ellie, I hadn't known Ellie buttered her up."

Gibbs laughed. "I coached her on how to get on Delores' good side. She hates me but I knew you wouldn't be around forever so I needed someone else to be on her good side."

Tony snorted. "Never did win her over after all, huh?"

"Nah, mutual dislike. Never tried."

Tony chuckled, then went into the bedroom to change.

When the soup was heated through, they ate in companionable silence. The soup was thick, spicy, full of vegetables, and had a broth that Tony was determined he was going to learn to make.

"So good!" he raved, as he took another spoonful. "Can't believe you shared this. I'm not sure I would've."

Gibbs chuckled but didn't say anything as he finished his soup.

"Abs has to give me that recipe. Oh my God, that was good!" Tony decided while they were washing up the few dishes they used. "That's the second best soup I've ever had."

"Second best?"

"Yeah. My father's housekeeper made the best but that's worthy of its own trophy. "

"You got the recipe?"

"Of course. I learned how to make it watching her."

"You're full of surprises, Tony."

"You ain't seen nothing yet!"

Gibbs paused a moment and then snorted. "Bachman Turner Overdrive."

Tony laughed. "What?"

"Bachman Turner Overdrive. The song. Not like you to quote song lyrics instead of movies."

"It was appropriate for the moment. I'm surprised you knew the band."

"Song came out in the '70s. Used to listen to music while working on cars."

Tony smiled a little at this glimpse into Gibbs' youth. "I can picture that. Grease monkey listening to the radio."

Gibbs smirked a little. "Yeah, doing laundry was a bitch back then." He chuckled at the thought.

Tony considered that a moment and frowned. "How do you get car grease out of clothes anyway?"

Gibbs snorted. "I didn't bother. I just changed into those clothes to work on them."

"So you don't know how to get stains out?"

"I do, but it was too much work."

"Jet, were you actually a lazy teenager?"

Gibbs chuckled. "Yeah. Just learned to work smarter, not harder."

"Hey! That's my line."

"Worked for me."

Tony smiled at him then and Gibbs smiled back. "How about you? Were you a lazy teenager?"

Tony blushed a little. "Uh, not exactly, I guess. I mean…boarding schools didn't really allow that. There was a lot of schoolwork, and chores, we all had to do our share. Some of the kids who were there could be lazy if their parents would pay the full tuition, but they offered a lower tuition if the boys worked around the school. Dad thought it would build character for me and he told them I was good at scrubbing toilets so they stuck with me bathroom duty. God, I hated it. Teenage boys are disgusting."

Gibbs cringed as renewed disgust for Tony's father surfaced. Tony smiled when he saw his face. "It wasn't all bad though. I mean, I got to play sports, found out I was pretty good at it. If I'd still lived at home, I probably wouldn't have been allowed to play and never known. I still like to play football and basketball whenever possible. Now that I can afford it though, there's a reason I pay someone to come once every two weeks and clean. To this day, I hate scrubbing toilets and shower stalls, even my own."

Gibbs stood up and put his arms around him and just held him, not too tight, but not loose either. Tony relaxed in his embrace and soon big arms wrapped around him. Gibbs closed his eyes, savoring the moment. He was used to hugging Tony now. It felt good, felt right for Tony to be there.

"I won't make you clean the bathroom as long as you don't get on my case over laundry," Gibbs said and gave Tony a squeeze before he tried to release him. Tony held on though, tightening his own grip. Gibbs smiled a little. "You okay?"

Tony reluctantly let go. "Sorry, just never been hugged like that before, just for comfort. It's …nice." Tony blushed.

Gibbs blinked. "Never?"

Tony shook his head.

"Your mother never hugged you?"

A grimace of pain flashed across Tony's face. "She would sometimes snuggle when she was drunk but…" Gibbs could see by Tony's expression that this wasn't a good memory. "When she was sober, she wasn't the hugging type."

Gibbs didn't like the sound of what he was hearing. "Tony, when your mother was drunk…was she…inappropriate?"

Tony shrugged. "Not exactly…I mean, she didn't molest me or anything if that's what you're thinking. She bitched a lot about dad and cried on my shoulder, and she smelled like drunk. She always told me I was a good boy for being there for her."

Gibbs muttered a curse. "You don't put that on a child!" He shook his head.

"Yeah, well she didn't really want to be a mother. I overheard her once say she was pissed when she found out she was pregnant. Apparently, her birth control failed or something."

Gibbs swore again. He'd known Tony's childhood was anything but stellar but he hadn't known his mother was almost as bad as his father.

"I have some good memories of her, Jet. It wasn't all bad...really! And I think she loved me though she wasn't one to say it."

Gibbs closed his eyes. "You think she loved you?" he deadpanned. He suddenly felt nauseous. He'd give anything...anything...to have Kelly back so he could hug her and tell her he loved her. Tony thought...thought!...his mother loved him. Senior was trying in his own way now, but he still fell very short and he could never make up for the sorry excuse that was Tony's childhood. If he had his way, he would've arranged an 'accident' for DiNozzo, Senior, but Tony was happy that his father was at least sort of trying now, so he grit his teeth and kept his mouth shut, mostly.

Tony studied Gibbs' face for a long moment. "I know it makes you mad, but my mom…well, she was who she was and I can't change that. She was a naïve, spoiled, rich girl who was conned by my dad and never wanted to admit she got played for a fool. She felt stuck and frustrated. She didn't know how to cope so she drank. It sucked for me, it hurt, but I get it."

Gibbs opened his eyes and stared in shock at the understanding in Tony's eyes. How the hell did he do that? He had so much empathy and compassion and he could look back and 'see' what his mother went through with the eyes of an adult and put himself in her shoes. Most people went through their lives choosing bitterness, regret and pain rather than looking back and putting themselves in their parents' shoes, never realizing that their parents were people like they are.

He was as guilty of it as everyone else. He'd been upset and angry at his mother for years after she committed suicide. At the time, he didn't understand how she could've done that to them, to him. It was only after he got old enough that some of his colleagues and friends were diagnosed with cancer that he could see things differently and understand.

In that moment, Gibbs understood how Tony put up with him so long. He could see past his bastard and bluster to what was really there. He stared at Tony for a long time, a wave of love and affection rushing through him and his body moved before he realized it and pulled Tony close and kissed him deeply, pouring every ounce of love he felt for him.

Tony gasped in surprise but kissed him back. Tony's lips were soft, pliable and his hand seemed to automatically go the spot on his head where he'd head-slapped him so many times, taking in the feel of the soft strands of hair. He could feel the love and care in Tony's kiss and felt hands around his waist, creeping up under his shirt. Tony's hands were warm against his back and the world was reduced to the two of them and he squeezed Tony a little tighter.