[From Mind Games]

"Have you gotten the call yet, because they're not going to kill me know. I'm the only one who can identify the killer." Boone rattled off smugly. Gibbs stared at him blankly.

"Do you think she screamed when he cut out her tongue Jethro?" Boone teased again.

"I don't know. Why don't you ask her yourself?" he suggested. The men turned to see Claire step out of the observation room. She had some cuts on her face, a black eye, her arm in a sling and had one of Tony's old t-shirts on….but she was alive and standing. Boone's expression dropped rapidly.

"I'm afraid your lawyer is going to miss your execution tomorrow" she informed him in mock sympathy, setting a glare onto the psychotic man. Tony walked out and stood behind her protectively.

"He's kinda dead." he added with a sneer.

"Enjoy hell." Gibbs dismissed and the team stood there as they watched a screaming Boone get dragged away. Once he was out of sight Claire let out a relieved sigh and leaned against the wall. Gibbs had taken his leave so it was just Tony there with her.

"You ok?" he asked, a panicked expression across his face as he analyzed her from head to toe. Claire chuckled humorlessly.

"Yea, just peachy. Thanks for letting me borrow your shirt. I promise to get the blood stains out of it later." She told him with a soft smile. They stared at each other for a long moment, her eyes furrowing as she noticed that there was a distant look in his eyes.

"Are you ok?" she asked on turn. Tony's gaze came back to the present and he rolled his eyes at her.

"That is a stupid question. How are you getting home?" he asked, secretly hoping she didn't know yet.

"Abby called my brother, so Devon is waiting outside. I'll be using him a lot seeing as I can't really drive well for a couple weeks." She joked, lifting up her injured arm in the sling. Tony nodded silently.

"Goodnight, Tony." She told him, squeezing his hand comfortingly as she passed.

"Night." He called back, watching her go. Once he was alone in the hall, his mind became flooded with thoughts. Tony slid down the wall as he recalled everything that had happened a few hours previous.

...

Gibbs slammed on the breaks as they arrived at the abandoned barn that McGee had tracked the lawyer's phone to. Without waiting for him to park, Tony threw himself out of the car. The sounds of shouts and sharp thumps caused his throat to constrict painfully. Drawing his gun out he darted inside. In front of him Claire's head was thrown violently as O'Neil landed a heavy punch to her eye. She stumbled on her feet before tripping backwards over a stray piece of wood. The world seemed to move in slow motion as the man lifted up the knife, laughing manically. Claire had nowhere else to go. As his arm came down to kill her, a shot rang out and his body fell limply to the side. Claire screeched in shock and whipped her head around towards where the sound came from. Tony stood there, breathing heavily as he stared venomously at the dead lawyer on the ground. She had never seen him so enraged before in her life.

"Tony." She whispered out, blood trickling down her face. The sound of her voice, broke him out of his trance and he holstered his gun before sprinting towards her. Gibbs had shown up and was checking that the man was truly dead. Tony slid on his knees next to Claire who sat up and buried her head onto his chest. He didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her tightly, one of his hands pressing her head closer to him. His eyes welled up with tears as he gently laid his head on top of hers, taking comfort in the fact that she was in his arms. She let out a sharp hiss as he squeezed a bit too tightly, causing him to reel back frantically.

"Are you ok? What's wrong?!" he hovered trembling hands over top of her, terrified that he had inflicted some more damage to her. She shook her head dismissively.

"I just have a bad shoulder. Can you untie me?" she asked him with a tearful laugh. Tony nodded and quickly set to work. Once her hands were free she immediately wrapped her arms around his neck in a relieved hug.

"I'm so sorry." He muttered into her hair as they sat there.

"You didn't know…" she started but he leaned back to look at her seriously.

"No, I mean for everything. I'm sorry I ignored you for Paula and I promise that I won't ever do it again. You're my best friend Claire, I couldn't even begin to fathom what I would do without you." He told her earnestly. Claire's eyes watered in happy emotion and she just leaned forward in a hug once more, unable to form words. As they sat there Tony became lost in thought. The words 'best friend' tasted like acid coming out of his mouth. This was so much more than that. When he thought of her dying it was like a piece of his soul was being crushed. He couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't function. The strong overflow of powerful emotions had floored him on the way over here. What he thought he felt for Paula didn't come anywhere close to what he felt for the girl in his arms right now. Holding Claire close to his body felt so….right. There was no other way to describe it. Nothing else had ever filled the emptiness in his life other than this raven haired, blue eyed beauty with him right now. She had been with him through everything and he hadn't given it much thought until now. When he was faced with the possibility of losing her permanently, it all clicked into place. The fuzzy feelings, the comfort he had in her presence, the second glances her way. He was in love. Tony DiNozzo was in love with this woman and it terrified him.

...

Shaking himself out of his daydream, Tony drew in a deep breath. He had chalked up this realization to adrenaline, but even now when it had worn off…..the warmth in his heart remained. He loved Claire, he always had. Now it was just going to over-complicate things with them. Then again maybe not. She didn't know, nor did she need to. Kate was right. She had hinted to his feelings long before he even knew himself. Tony ran a hand down his face as he let everything settle in his mind. He would just have to ride this one out and see what happens. Being in love was a first for him and he wasn't ready to just dive in. Besides, Claire didn't need this burden on her shoulders. For now it was best to just keep it to himself. Claire saw him as a best friend, but who knows?...Everyone needs something to hope for.