Hi ^^ Thanks everyone for being so kind and patient :) I feel really guilty about not answering anyone's questions, but seriously, they'll all be answered eventually (I hope lol)
"You're kidding!" Abby cried out in excitement, "Really? A couple of hours?" Tony grinned at her as she bounced him up and down on her knee. Gibbs had been told to go and see the Director, and while he was confident he wouldn't be seriously punished for what he did to Lacey, he said he would rather have Tony in with Abby.
"Yeah, she said that I could take it in a couple of hours and I'd be me again." Abby grinned,
"And you're excited?"
"Hell yeah!" Abby looked down at her friend. She was the only one of all the team who Tony could talk to, seriously talk to. There were some things he wouldn't even say to Gibbs, and he knew that whatever he told Abby, she'd keep it a secret. She still looked at him, waiting for the moment he would back down and admit that there was something wrong.
Sighing, Tony began, "Well, I am excited for it, I mean, I really do miss my job, alcohol, freedom… I can't wait for our next movie night!" He said enthusiastically to her, and she smiled, remembering their last one, which had involved getting so drunk that they laughed all the way through 'Flesheater' and had tried to act it out, which meant they were both sporting bite marks on their arms the next day (Abby had actually drawn blood on Tony's),
"It's just… y'know, all this time I've got with Gibbs, and he's not always yelling at me or head slapping me, and you know how I… how I see…"
"You see him as a father figure." Abby finished for him, knowing her friend inside out.
"Yeah," Tony nodded, "And well, what if that all changes? Like, as soon as I turn back he goes back to old, mean Gibbs?"
"He won't Tony, you should know by now how much he cares for you, and how he sees you like a son. I mean, seriously, if he didn't, why has been changing your diapers for the past week?" Tony blushed slightly and nodded, before replying,
"Yeah but look, now he's nicer to me even in front of people. But when I go back, he'll continue to hit me at work…"
"So go round to his after work," Abby suggested, smiling at the thought of them playing happy families at Gibbs' house, "He'll be fine then, when there isn't an audience around." Tony grinned at her, but she asked,
"If you're so bothered about all this, why are you choosing now to go back?" She had heard that he could have waited until his arm was better, so was curious to know what had made his mind up,
"It's nothing, like I said before, I miss my job, our drinking games." Abby beamed, before lightly hitting him on the arm and saying,
"Don't lie to me Anthony! I know you're hiding something, and I can get it out of you faster than Gibbs can." She growled this threat menacingly, so he hastily spat out,
"I just don't think Gibbs can be bothered with me anymore. And also," He added, hurrying on before she could yell at him, "I'd still go through this all again in a couple of weeks when my arm's better, why delay the inevitable?" Abby shook her head, before cuddling him slightly and saying,
"Tony, trust me when I say I do know just how insecure you are. But really, what would make you think that? Did he say it to you?" Blushing, Tony shook his head, "Then what? You just assumed?" Tony cast his gaze towards the floor, and nodded softly, crying out in shock as he was hit across the back of the head,
"Don't assume." He heard Gibbs growl to him, making Tony look up at Abby, agonized,
"How long has he been there?" He whispered, getting in reply,
"Since you mentioned our movie nights." He closed his eyes,
"Sorry Boss." He felt himself being lifted from Abby's lap into Gibbs' arms, being held so close he could feel his Boss's heartbeat. There was silence in the lab for a few seconds, before Gibbs said,
"It's our lunch break. Abbs, you want to go out somewhere?" Abby bounced up from where she had been sat on her chair and grabbed her coat enthusiastically,
"Can I come?" Tony asked quietly, sounding devastated he'd been forgotten,
"It's what I meant by 'our' Tony." Gibbs said gruffly, putting him on the floor so he could put the baby's coat on. Buttoning it, his eyes met Tony's and they came to a silent understanding. For some reason, Tony knew his Boss was telling him they'd talk tonight, and he smiled at him, a warm, trusting smile that lit his eyes up into a bright emerald green, causing Gibbs's to light into a bright blue, the ice gone as for a moment all the pain in them vanished for a second.
Unbeknownst to the two of them, Abby slipped her camera in her pocket.
--
Tony sat happily on Abby's lap, smiling as she tried to be discreet in her hugging. Gibbs had said he was going to get them all drinks, and she had suggested waiting in the play park. Tony snorted as he saw at once what she wanted him to do, but for the moment he was content in sitting with her, the cold mixing with her body heat to make him the perfect temperature. He gazed around idly, watching in the distance as Gibbs walked down the path carrying two coffee cups and a juice carton,
"There's another good thing about coming back tonight Abbs," He said to her, "No more juice. I'm getting kinda sick of it."
"Don't let Gibbs hear you say that." She giggled, and cuddled him some more. He rolled his eyes before struggling against her slightly,
"I'm bored Abbs, just sat here doing nothing!" She tried to conceal her grin and looked over pointedly at the park,
"Well, if you're bored…"
"I got the hint as soon as we came here Abby."
"C'mon, it'll be fun!" Tony furrowed his eyebrows and thought. He was going back tonight, so it wouldn't be that bad to have a little play while he still had the chance, right?
"Fine, a quick go on…"
"I'll push you on the swings!" She burbled happily, bouncing into the play park, ignoring the mothers in there giving her nervous glances as she plonked Tony down in one of the baby swings and started to push. He clutched at the bars as hard as he could, his fingertips going white, terrified he'd fly out,
"Abbs, you look like you're trying to slingshot him outta there." Tony twisted his head round to see Gibbs stood by, an exasperated look on his face. Abby smiled bashfully and took the drinks off him, saying,
"Fine, show me how it's done Bossman." Gibbs glanced at Tony, who was quite pale from the whole experience. However, he nodded and walked round. Slowly at first, he started to push the swing, rolling his eyes as Tony started to giggled nervously as he swing up and down, slowly gaining speed until he was finally going the same rate he had been when Abby had been pushing. She pouted playfully, saying,
"It's not fair! Why can't I get him to laugh but you can?" Tony giggled uncertainly, not sure whether she was joking or not. Gibbs just shook his head and replied,
"You can't set them off to quickly Abbs, see how he was clutching on? It'll make 'em sick." She blushed and immediately took Tony out of the swing, who was trying (Unsuccessfully) to hide his grin, and how much he like it.
"We gonna drink now?" Gibbs asked, rolling his eyes as this wasn't heard over Abby's loud,
"Roundabout next!" She put Tony on the huge metal contraption and pushed it round, making sure she was going much slower than before. Tony grinned, but soon became dizzy, forever trying to fix his vision on Gibbs, who was stood off to the side, drinking his coffee with a small smile on his face.
"Can we stop now Abbs?" he asked softly, making the Goth slow it down immediately, seeing his green face. She hooked him out of it and hugged him, before passing him to Gibbs, whispering,
"You'll be fine, you're just a bit dizzy from the roundabout." She bit her lip however, as he stayed cuddled to Gibbs, closing his eyes in an attempt to stop seeing in double-vision. Gibbs glared at Abby, although not for very long as she put on a little puppy-dog face and patted Tony's head.
"I think we should head off now." Abby sighed but didn't complain as Tony stayed cradled to Gibbs' chest, eyes closed in half exhaustion/half dizziness.
--
When they got back, Abby said she had to go and check something in her lab, leaving Gibbs and Tony alone, as both McGee and Kate had yet to come back from their lunch. Gibbs smiled as he put Tony down in the pen and passed him the blanket, which he took and started to chew on as he fell asleep.
"Agent Gibbs?" He glanced up and saw Melissa stood in front of him, beaming at the baby, "I've got the antidote." She showed him some colourful liquid in a baby bottle and passed it to him,
"Already?" He said, gazing at Tony, who pulled himself into the foetal position and started to suck his thumb. Melissa nodded and patted his hand,
"You don't have to give it to him now," She reminded him, "Sometime tonight will be fine, and it takes about an hour to set in, so maybe before he goes to sleep, it's not a pleasant experience to go through awake." He nodded at her grimly, glancing back at Tony. Melissa sighed, and knelt down next to him,
"I know it's hard, trust me, I've seen it before, and been through it," Gibbs raised an eyebrow, inviting her to elaborate, "I lost a child," She said softly, eyes never leaving Tony, "He was the sweetest boy who ever lived. Matthew. He was only 2 when he died. Leukaemia." Gibbs stared at her, appalled. The only good thing that happened when he lost Kelly and Shannon was that he hadn't been there to watch them suffer. Melissa must have had agonizing days, where Matthew was in agony.
"I'm sorry." Was all he could say, before she shook her head, and said,
"The point is, be happy you'll still have him after this. You'll lose your baby, but not your child." Gibbs rolled his eyes, hating how soppy that had sounded, making her quip,
"I know what I'm talking about Gibbs, I can see it with you two, he's closer to you than he ever was, and if you don't tell him that…"
"He knows." Gibbs told her, remembering hearing Tony and Abby's discussion earlier.
"If you don't tell him he'll never be sure," She finished, "Tell him tonight, don't let him grow up thinking his dad doesn't love him."
Gibbs got a lump in his throat as he watched her walk away. That had already happened to Tony once in his life, and that was one time too many. He damn sure wasn't going to let it happen again.
"Gibbs?" Kate asked, seeing her Boss in deep contemplation at his desk, "Are you ok?" He glanced up, and nodded. Seeing he wasn't going to start off a conversation, she initiated it instead,
"What's that?" She asked, pointing at the antidote on his desk. Only Abby had found out what was going to happen that night, the others hadn't been told,
"It's the antidote Kate," He answered, watching her closely for a reaction, "He's getting changed back tonight." Her eyes widened, and she stuttered out,
"So… he'll be coming to work tomorrow? Actually physically coming into work without being carried or holding someone's hand?" Gibbs nodded, and had to bite back the chuckle that was forcing its way down his throat. He knew there'd be all sorts of jokes and snide remarks due tomorrow, but he didn't want any part in it. Standing up, he stretched and said,
"We don't have a case, and all your reports have been filed and handed in, I don't see why we can't go home now." Kate stared at Gibbs, amazed that he was being so nice, he hadn't really been in that good a mood since beating Lacey, no matter how good it had felt. She merely nodded however, and picked up her back, smiling at McGee as he went to sit down,
"What?" He asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes,
"We get to go home early tonight." She declared happily, watching as Gibbs was already walking towards the elevator, Tony in his arms. McGee's eyes widened and he glanced over to the elevator,
"Is something wrong?" He asked, "Is Tony ill?" Kate shook her head, replying,
"He's getting changed back tonight." McGee's mouth dropped open, before saying,
"So I can finally get him back for everything he got me into trouble for!" Kate grinned evilly. She started to ferociously write down everything they could do come tomorrow.
--
"Hey Tony, wake up kiddo, we're home now…" He paused, and laid Tony down on the floor on his blanket, surrounded by various soft toys. The phone rang, and he picked it up,
"Yeah, Gibbs."
"Gibbs, it's Melissa, sorry that I'm forever trying to remind you of stuff, but I just remembered something."
"Not a problem. Shoot."
"It's just I forgot to tell you back at NCIS that it's better if you keep him off work for a few days after today, he's going to need to get used to it all. I'd also really appreciate it if he had someone to look after him those days, he'll have quite a bad headache, and like I said, he needs to get used to it all."
"It's fine Melissa," Gibbs said, almost robotically, "He can stay here a few more days." He felt her smile and she said goodbye. Putting down the phone, he glanced over at Tony, who had no woken up and was gazing at him, rubbing his eyes and yawning,
"Who was that?" Gibbs swallowed and answered,
"It was Melissa squirt, seems you're going to grow up sooner than you think." Tony's eyes bulged (In a cute way) and he cried,
"What? Really? When?" Gibbs snorted and replied,
"Whenever you feel like it kiddo, I got the antidote now, you just need to drink it." He saw Tony freeze in his fidgeting and say,
"Oh… Okay, er… how about we wait a tiny bit, just until…" He paused, not knowing how long to stall for.
"How does before bed sound?" Gibbs asked, "Melissa said it's not a very nice experience awake." Tony nodded, looking reassured as he glanced at the clock. They had a good 5 hours or so left. However, he stayed quiet, and didn't say anything until Gibbs said, hesitantly,
"Tony, about what you and Abby were saying…" The baby blushed and shook his head,
"It doesn't matter…"
"Yeah Tony, it does," Gibbs interrupted, "You know as well as I do that what you said was true. Of course this can't last, and you know that I can't treat you the same as I'm doing now, as how I'll treat you at work. But you must know by now Tony…" He paused, struggling, wondering how to say it, "You know by now how much I… I care about you, right?" Tony nodded, a lump in his throat, "I… ah hell kid, we're both pretty much emotionally crippled, so I don't need to go through the whole thing do I?" Tony giggled uncertainly, knowing just as well as Gibbs that he did. They both needed this. Seeing as how Gibbs already looked slightly uncomfortable, he started,
"I know you can't treat me any different at work Boss, but… I don't think it matters anymore. I mean, I always tried to convince myself that you were being affectionate with those head slaps," Gibbs chuckled, "But I do know that you care now Gibbs, and all I can say is… I wish you… I wish…"
"You can say it Tony." Gibbs said softly, you know I won't laugh. Tony blushed but managed to get it out,
"I wish my father had been like you," He said it softly and quietly, but Gibbs heard it, "Or… I wish you were my dad." Gibbs nodded, blinking hard to stop any unwanted tears getting out,
"Me too kid," He choked out, "Me too." Tony nodded against him and slung his good arm around the older man's neck, tears falling down his cheeks.
"Hey, listen to me," Gibbs started; bouncing Tony up so that he was sat straighter, "I know we can't be all…"
"Carey?" Tony offered, making Gibbs smile,
"Yeah. That, at work, but any time you want to talk, you'll know where I am. Just as long as you're not gonna use Abby's suggestion of coming round and being all… clingy."
"What's wrong with being clingy?" Tony asked softly, snuggling into Gibbs that little bit more. The older man sighed, and shook his head, laughing softly,
"Nothing I guess kid," He said, "Just… nothing."
--
They'd had a relaxing two hours simply watching a film that was on the telly, 'The Wizard of Oz'. Just as it finished, and Gibbs stumbled over to the kitchen to make yet another coffee, there was a knock at the door. Tony slid off the sofa and toddled over to see who it was as Gibbs opened it. He grinned at Abby came bouncing in,
"Hey Abbs," Gibbs mumbled, "Coffee?" She smiled and said,
"No thanks, but wait 'till you see what I've got." She held out a bag that had a thick rectangular object in it,
"What is it?" Tony asked, intrigued as even Gibbs paused on his way to the kitchen. She put her finger on her nose and tapped it, making Gibbs roll his eyes and grumble,
"I need coffee." Abby's eyes widened as Gibbs went to the kitchen,
"Wow," She said, as they sat down in the living room, "What's wrong with him?" Tony shrugged idly, picking up random toys before putting them down, not sure what to do,
"Dunno, he might be tired, we just watched a movie, and were really comfy." She noticed that the blanket was nestled on the sofa and smiled at him,
"So how are things? All ready for tonight?" She asked, jumping up and down in excitement at the prospect. He grinned at her and replied,
"Yeah, it's gonna be awesome. And…" He paused and lowered his voice, "I think everything's gonna be ok between me and Gibbs." Abby's eyes brightened and she laughed triumphantly,
"I knew it! Tell me everything!" Tony giggled and was halfway through his story when Gibbs stepped into the room, looking better now he had a cup of coffee,
"Ok Abbs, what've you got?" She grinned and pulled the bag up from beside her feet,
"Would you like to do the honours Bossman?" He raised an eyebrow, but pulled a book out of the bag. It was rather large, with material around it, and was obviously a photo album. On the front, it said 'Tony's early years', making him giggle and ask,
"Are these all pictures of me?" She nodded, and let Gibbs and him look through, and backed out the door, saying she'd call in tomorrow,
"When on earth did she take all these?" Tony gasped, his eyes wide as he saw all the photos stuck in the book. There was his crime scene, a picture of him playing dress up (Also courtesy of Gibbs), him chatting to Kate; thumb in mouth, him on the swings with Gibbs pushing, him asleep; curled up and clutching George, endless snaps of him, all amazingly cute. Gibbs smiled,
"I guess she wanted you to remember a good childhood instead of, your other one." Tony beamed at him, tears in his eyes,
"Thanks Gibbs. Really, this is… this… this is making me tired…" Gibbs smiled sadly. If Tony went to sleep now, he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight, and he would have to drink the antidote before going to sleep,
"You know you'll have to drink the antidote now…" He said softly, tailing off as Tony glanced up at him, his eyes closing and then being wrenched open.
"I know," He answered, "I'll miss this…" He slurred when he talked, and Gibbs was amazed someone could become that sleepy so quickly.
Picking up the bottle, he watched as Tony drank from it, again resorting to feeding the baby when he could no longer do it. When every last drop was drunk, Gibbs stood up, before sitting down again. He couldn't put Tony in the cot now, not if he was going to grow. He settle the baby on the floor and put the blue blanket over him.
"Night night Daddy…" He mumbled, rolling over and clutching at Gibbs's hand,
"Night night Son," He replied, tears in his eyes as Tony finally succumbed to sleep.
I know it sounds rushed believe me, and I know this isn't how a lot of you wanted the ending to be, but how do you feel about a sequel ;) I'm not giving anything away now, but it'll be good, promise. May be a while though, so I'll give you a hint – what do you feel about adoption fics? Anyway, review? xxx