Gibbs sanded.
All the thoughts in his mind were passing over him in a cascade, but from a distance, as he focused on the texture of the wood under his hands.
It was a trunk he was making for Abby, after McGee had discreetly come to see him two weeks into Tony's coma.
He recalled the details with a little smile.
FLASHBACK
"Boss?" McGee called at the top of the basement steps.
"Yeah," Gibbs called back. At the time, he wasn't working on anything at all. Just drinking bourbon by himself. Thinking about Tony.
McGee came slowly down the steps, taking in the sight of Gibbs, sitting in the corner of his basement, with a glass in his hand.
"Uh…I, ah…" McGee finally arrived a few feet from Gibbs, and was shuffling a little on his feet. He was nervous, by the look of it.
Gibbs remained siilennt, though curious, waiting him out.
McGee seemed to gather his resolve, and looked the older man in the eye.
"I… I know, this is a really, really bad time to talk to you about this."
"Abby," Gibbs breathed out, amused, when McGee's mouth dropped.
"Uh, yeah." McGee paced a little, rubbing his face. He took a deep breath. "We're all…so worried. About Tony, and, Boss, I know," he stopped and looked Gibbs in the face, "I know, he's going to wake up from the coma."
Gibbs gripped the glass he was holding a little tighter, but kept his gaze on McGee.
"But…this has been…so scary…all of it. And, Abby and I…I just…I want –"
"Okay." Gibbs said it quietly.
McGee looked at him incredulously. "You don't even know what I was going to say – wait…" his eyes widened as a small smile played on Gibbs' lips. "You did know!"
"Tim," Gibbs said softly, "it's been a long time comin', between you and Abby. You don't work together directly, and I've never stopped you before. And if you wanna' make the big move…well, I'm not gonna stop you now, son." He took in the slightly astonished look on McGee's face. "You make her happy. She just needed to figure it out for herself. And everything that's …happened…" he broke off, a little sadly, "is just a remider that you may not get another shot."
McGee looked dangerously close to crying.
Gibbs turned and dumped out a jar for him, and poured him just a finger.
He handed the glass to McGee, who's hand was shaking a little. "Thanks, Boss…but y-you realize…I'm ahhh…going to…I mean, once Tony's better –"
"You're going to ask her to marry you, McGee, which makes you brave, or stupid. But either way, here's to you!" And with that, Gibbs gulped down his glass, raising his brow, as McGee struggled along to swallow the liquor.
He put down the glass, and hissed, "Jeezus. How do-" and his voice almost disappeared for a moment, "how do you and Tony drink that stuff?"
Gibbs smiled, thinking about how Tony would rib McGee if he were with them at that moment.
"You'll have to ask him, when he's back."
They were both silent for a stretch of time.
"So…" McGee began, and Gibbs knew he needed to iron it in so the younger man would not obsessively repeat himself. McGee liked to be absolutely sure about things like this.
"I wish you all the happiness in the world. And I hope she knows enough to say yes. You're a good man, Tim. And Tony…wouldn't want you to wait. So, you'll have to figure out the timing but…he'll just ask you what took ya' so damned long anyway…when…"
McGee nodded, looking at Gibbs with a mix of sadness and hope, "When he's back."
End FLASHBACK
And now that Tony was awake, and Gibbs was almost overcome with relief, something still roiled in his gut.
Abby had been the first one to race to the hospital to see "Rip Van Winkle" (as the nursing staff was calling him) awake.
FLASHBACK
She was running in her platform dragon boots and fishnets at breakneck speed, almost knocking Gibbs down at the doorway of Tony's hospital room.
"Whoa! Abs!" He caught her by the arm, stopping her as she almost toppled over him.
Then she started to hop excitedly, chains on her clothing jangling. "GIBBS! Gibbsgibbsgibbsgibbsgibbs! "
He laughed, her genuine excitement was so brightening. And it had been a while since they'd seen it from her…the lab had become a very cold place while Tony was in the coma.
She looked into the room, seeing Tony's eyes closed as nurses checked his IV and other assorted things.
"Is he- did he- is he awake or not?" She frowned a little, looking back at Gibbs with wide pale green eyes.
"He is awake," Gibbs said softly, "but sleeping. He gets tired easily. Six weeks-"
"Is a long time, is forever," she said, smiling, "but he's gonna be okay now right?"
"Yes."
She squealed with delight, hopping on her big boots, which made another big racket, causing the nurses to turn for a moment and scowl at her.
"What did he say? Did he talk? Did he ask about us? Did he talk about what happened? About the ghost-"she was full steam ahead, as Gibbs raised his brows again at her.
"Abs. Not that again. I know something was off with him before the…the lake, but…there are no such thing as ghosts. I'm sure there's a logical explanation of what happened, and how he knew about the bodies in the greenhouse."
She became still, and silent, and hurt showed in her eyes. The same hurt he'd seen for weeks, after they had the same conversation several times over. He loved Abby…like a daughter. But he just couldn't even address the claims she made about Tony, and the strange events leading up to Dobson trying to kill him.
Gibbs had been glad when they said they saw Dobson go down in the lake. Poetic justice for what he tried to do …what he did do, to Tony.
Abby bit her lip and looked down for a moment. Then she put her arms around Gibbs and squeezed him tightly.
She said, in an emotional but controlled, gravelly voice, "I know that somewhere inside, you know, you know, Gibbs, that something weird was happening at that lake, and with Tony. It was so many things coming together. Tony's childhood, the French case. The full moon. And a body of water...it all came together. And it happened. They affected him. And he couldn't tell you. Because of how you're thinking right now. So, before I go in that room, and sit with him, I want you to know, that I know, you won't let Tony down. You won't. I know it. You're going to hear him out, when he tells you everything. And support him. Even if you don't agree. Right? Tell me I'm right. Tell me."
She pulled away and looked at him pleadingly from under her dark bangs.
He sighed, and glanced at Tony for a moment, and then back to her. "You're right."
She breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, quickly jumping up to kiss him on the cheek before she went into the room.
After that Gibbs had gone to get a fresh coffee, and when he returned, Tony was sitting up in the bed, pale and in some kind of serious conversation with Abby. They didn't see him, so he hung back from the door, listening for a moment.
"- remember all of it? Or some of it?" Abby was saying, while she held Tonys hand in both of hers. "We were so scared…"
"I was …really scared…"Tony admitted in his weak, hoarse voice. "I won't lie. I…thought I was going crazy. They…talked to me..told me…where to find them…but it wasn't at first…"
And with a sudden angry start, Gibbs knew. Tony was talking to Abby about…ghosts? He thought he was talking to spirits? And Abby was in there, believing him and supporting this nonsense. He just woke up from a coma. How could he even know his ass from his elbow right now?
And how the Hell would Tony be okay…would re-qualify to be in the field…would…still be his closest friends if he were bat shit crazy? They needed to get to the bottom of this. Not feed a fantasy, and especially not when he just woke up from a goddamned six week coma!
Gibbs left the hospital, knowing he needed to calm down, or the anger would lead him to yell at Abby, upset DiNozzo, and basically make it all worse. He needed to go home. To think. He'd promised Abby…
"Christ," he muttered disgustedly to himself as he got in his car.
End FLASHBACK
Gibbs inhaled deeply again, focusing his thoughts on the happier subject of the chest he was working on. Abby's trousseau. When Tim had asked her to marry him, she had said yes. BUT she was adamant there would be no date set until Tony was out of the coma. Normally, Gibbs knew she would have run all over the office, showing everyone the 1.5 carat black diamond engagement ring McGee had bought for her…but instead she was quiet about it, occasionally looking at it with a sweet smile.
More of her time had been spent in Caf-Pow withdrawl, punishing those around her and showing the powers-that-be that she would not be nice until her big brother's return.
Gibbs sighed. "And now what? We have to get him into a shrink?" He shook his head, feeling morose.
He distractedly dropped the sanding block he was using, and sighed once more.
He bent down to get it, and as he came up, he started violently at the sight of a man sitting on top of the trunk.
He sprang three steps back before he realized…"Charles Deveraux." Gibbs' heart pounded fiercely in his chest.
The man, who's body Gibbs had seen exhumed from it's grave in the greenhouse in Sandown, New Hampshire, simply smiled.
"Hey Gibbs!"
Gibbs glared at him. It had to be a trick. Or a joke. Maybe someone had been tricking Tony…it would be a logical explanation-
"Nope. Nope. And…ahhh, no." Chuck said, with a patient tone. "You're a tough nut. But…" Chuck hopped up off the chest,"you're a good man. Thanks for helping get me outta' that greenhouse. What a relief! I mean, really man, you can't imagine-"
Gibbs walked straight over to his table, and pulled out his gun.
"Oh, now, calm down, Gunney. I'm here to help you see the light. Your friend Tony – he's not crazy at all. Not at all. And he is so brave. You must be proud of him."
Gibbs had the gun raised at Chuck, "I wanna' know who the hell you really are, and why you're doing this!"
"I told you…and you know who I am, Gibbs." Chuck walked slowly towards him, hands up in the air. "You gonna' shoot me? Well, that's pretty funny. Since I'm already dead. But hey, knock yourself out."
"Stay back! " Gibbs warned, but the man still walked towards him. "I will shoot you!"
"Go ahead, bossman," Chuck smiled, and turned serious, as he suddenly rushed Gibbs.
A shot rang out as Gibbs discharged the weapon, but all that happened is that as Chuck got close, he ran…through Gibbs. It made him shudder, the strange cool feeling like someone had dragged chilled molasses through his guts.
He looked around. There was no one in the room, and there was a hole in the plaster of the basement wall where the bullet had hit.
It should have hit the man…almost point blank in the shoulder.
"Jeezus," Gibbs said, now wide eyed and looking all around his basement. "Did that just happen?"
"Yep." The answer came as he spun around again, to see Chuck sitting Indian style, on top of the trunk like before.
Gibbs was for once, completely speechless and at a loss for what to think.
"What the Hell is this?" he growled angrily, motioning to raise his gun again.
"Ah-ah, it's just gonna be a shame when you shoot apart the young lady's trousseau, Gibbs. And it's coming out beautifully…" Chuck let his fingers drift over the skulls and flowers Gibbs had started to carve into the top panel.
Gibbs felt himself start to shake, and almost as if he had a bit of vertigo. Could this really be happening? He carefully put the gun on the shelf he was leaning against.
"How can I know…you…are what you're pretending to be?"
"Well, firstly, it wouldn't be pretending. Would it? Secondly, thanks to Tony, and to you, I'm going…home soon. And I'm just helping Tony out here, since it's pretty obvious no one pulls the wool over your eyes!" Chuck laughed. Then he looked at Gibbs more seriously. "He needs you. You're like…a father to him. If he can't talk to you…keep your respect…he feels he'll lose everything."
The words tugged at Gibbs, who was feeling as if his whole world was spinning out of control. "Did you…"
"Drug you?" Chuck said with a snort. "No. But you were doin' pretty good puttin' that bourbon down. Listen Gibbs, Like I said, I'm close to done here. And I can…get info from the other side. If it helps, ask me anything, and I'll get the answer. From Shannon."
Gibbs couldn't believe the nerve this man had. He mad a strangled sound between a yell and a grunt, and lunged after him. But his hands wrapped around air where there should have been a throat.
He was gone. Disappeared. Right in front of him.
Gibbs clumsily sat on the trunk, feeling completely insane.
"So?" the man said from behind him again. Gibbs spun around, as Chuck lightly touched some of the tools hanging on the opposite wall. "What's your question? Something only the two of you would know?" He was perfectly calm, though Gibbs had wanted to kill him for talking about Shannon. "She probably thought you were nuts down here, with your bourbon and your tools."
There was a small silence, and then Chuck turned to him. "I stand corrected. She liked it. She like your hobbies with wood, and she's telling me the bourbon used to be kept upstairs in a cabinet, that you'd never needed to keep it down here back when she was alive…"
Gibbs felt all the air rush out of him. How could he know?…it was so long ago…
"On her twenty-first birthday, I took her to Toronto. We drove up. Ask her what I gave her for her birthday," Gibbs said, still looking for some sensible tangent that would lead him to the real explanation of all of this.
Chuck smiled, with a knowing glance. And then his face softened. "I won't repeat this, Gunney, but here it goes. She says 'You never made it to Toronto because the car broke down. You had a distant cousin who was a jewler in the area up there, who was supposed to give you a deal on a bracelet or something when you got there. Instead, you ended up staying in a run down hotel in Saratoga, while your car was in the shop. And she did get a bracelet. You got her one there, in the town, a little silver bracelet that had a little crescent moon and two stars on it. And she loved it, and she loved you'.
Gibbs was shaking, his whole body felt like it would fall to pieces. How? How could he know?
"She says you should…stop spending so much time down here. You deserve to be happy. You need to open your heart up to let someone in again."
Gibbs let out a little puff of air through the tears that were running down his face. He hadn't expected this…any of it…
"Well that's it pal." Chuck said warmly. "Just…give your boy the benefit of the doubt. That's all. And without further ado, adios!"
And like a film that stopped abruptly in an old school theater, the man's image simply cut-out.
Gibbs put both hands to his head for a moment, and then gave his own face a little light smack.
"Sonofabitch…" he breathed into the silent basement, as he gazed at the bullet hole in his wall.
Everyone had come. Tony's room was filled with balloons and flowers. He was frustrated that he kept falling asleep on everyone.
The doctors told him that he'd need a few weeks of rehab, and might have a little residual cough that would subside as well. And they also pointed out he would be tired, a lot. At least for the first two weeks.
On the hospital floor, he was something of a celebrity. Some of the pretty nurses were smiling at him, and oh how he wanted to flirt with them. But he was still too tired. And preoccupied.
The night before, Ducky and Palmer had stopped by.
Ziva and McGee had both been in before work this morning, and after tears of relief, and smiles and hugs, they began to ask him questions.
Questions he didn't want to answer about Christian Dobson and the Daydream Inn.
So instead he congratulated McGee on his engagement, and complimented him on the ring Tony had seen on Abby's finger the day before. He was genuinely happy for them.
Still, Ziva pressed him, so he feigned exhaustion, which wasn't far from the truth, and sent them away with no answers.
It was almost lunchtime when he opened his eyes again, and saw Gibbs, sitting in a chair, staring at him in an odd manor.
"Hey Boss…" Tony's voice was still soft but much stronger than the previous day.
"Hey," Gibbs said kindly. But said nothing else, and just continued to stare at Tony, as if trying to figure something out.
"Ehh, did they surgically attach something strange to my head or something? Cos…the way you're looking at me…making me think of that movie, The Man with Two Heads…"
Tony nervously played with the bed bar with one hand.
Still Gibbs was quiet.
"Okay Boss, you have to talk to me-"
"No, DiNozzo, I think it's the other way around. You need to talk to me."
Oh fuck. This is it, he thought. May as well bend over and kiss his ass goodbye. He briefly wondered what he would do when he was "retired" from NCIS. He hadn't really come up with a plan, of how to lie about it all to Gibbs. He didn't want to lie to Gibbs. But he had to, didn't he?
Tony frowned and looked down at his lap. "you…wanna'...talk about the lake."
"Yeah," Gibbs said and leaned forward, "and I want you to be honest. About everything, Tony." He saw the distress in the younger man's eyes as he looked everywhere but at Gibbs.
"Honest, huh?" Tony swallowed harshly. "I want…I just…" he looked at Gibbs with a tragic expression, "You…would probably think I'm nuts…"
"Aw Hell, Tony," Gibbs sighed, seeing the green eyes getting misty, and then grabbed his SFA's hand, giving it a queeze, "I thought you were nuts the moment I met you in Baltimore. But…"
He saw Tony smile, but still look away, fear evident in his face.
"Are you listening, son?"
The green eyes turned back to him. "Yeah, Boss."
"I want you to trust me. Tell me everything. I'm never gonna' turn my back on you, you got that? Never."
Something like hope flashed in Tony's eyes. He smiled nervously, "Okay, Boss. Got it."
"Okay." Gibbs sat back in the chair. "I want you to tell me everything that happened, everything you experienced at the lake, whatever you remember. But before we start, I just have to tell you something.
Your friend Chuck says hi."
THE END