A/N: New chapter, same standard disclaimer... head back to the first chapter to read it. Just so you know, this chapter revolves around "About Face," which I clearly don't own. Tony's back at work... Yay! :D I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and please review.

Chapter 25: Starting Over Again

When Gibbs walked into the bullpen that morning at 6:30, the last thing he expected to see was Tony working behind his desk. He had known Tony was coming back to work that day, but didn't think the kid would come in early.

"You okay, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked softly. Tony looked up, smiling genuinely.

"Fine, Boss," he replied.

Gibbs smirked. "Missed this place that much, huh?"

Tony gave a half-shrug, turning his head back to the paperwork on his desk. "Both Sydney and the Director gave me the go-ahead to return to field work. I woke up early. Why sit on my ass at home when I can actually do something?"

Gibbs tilted his head to the side, understanding what Tony meant. Without a word, Gibbs sat behind his own desk, starting work for the day.

At 7:00 on the dot, McGee walked off the elevator. He nearly dropped his coffee cup at the sight of Tony back at work. The older agent simply looked up. "Something wrong, Probie?" he asked.

"No," McGee replied. "Just… welcome back, Tony."

"Thanks."

McGee made his way over to his own desk, putting his stuff down. Ziva stepped out of the stairs, giving Tony a small smile. Her lack of reaction proved to Gibbs that she had been there earlier and had already seen DiNozzo at work. The team all together again, Gibbs was quietly watching them interact when his phone rang.

"Yeah, Gibbs," he answered. After listening for a little while, he hung up, turning to his team. "Grab your gear."

The three of them obeyed quickly, following behind Gibbs as they entered the elevator. For the first time in months, the four of them were back together at work.

*~*~*~*

Gibbs took witness statements while the rest of the team went up to analyze the crime scene. As Tony lay out what the scene was telling him, McGee stepped up, looking over the edge. Tony inwardly smirked.

"Man falls over the edge," Tony continued. "Lands on the roof of the cage, which was three stories down…" He bent over, reaching for an evidence marker. "…and then he rides the elevator all the way back up to the crime scene." As he finished his statement, he moved his hand up, scaring McGee and causing the junior agent to wobble slightly. Tony grinned.

"Yeah, it's funny 'til someone plunges to their death," McGee said dryly.

Still mildly amused, Tony said, "Oh, come on. Still with the height thing? You gotta get over that, man."

"You don't just get over irrational fears, Tony. They're irrational."

Ziva silently smiled to herself at the moment, thankful to know that Tony was back as he always had been. And despite his utter annoyance at the situation, McGee too was relieved to know that Tony was mostly the way he always had been.

The three of them continued their work as Ducky and Palmer arrived at the scene. McGee went back downstairs, and both Tony and Ziva stepped away from the body. After a moment, they went downstairs, and were followed a few moments later by Ducky, who went to retrieve the gurney.

The agents were all talking to Gibbs about the crime scene when they heard the gunshots upstairs. They quickly ran up there, knowing that Palmer was still up there and Ducky had been heading back that way. They reached the room to find neither Palmer nor Ducky anywhere to be seen.

"Duck?" Gibbs called out, gun drawn. His agents followed behind him. As they navigated the floor, they found Ducky sitting there with his hand on Palmer's shoulder as the younger man tried to calm down. "You guys alright?" Gibbs asked.

"We're fine," Ducky said.

"What happened?" Tony asked.

"Apparently there was some unfinished business."

Ziva, McGee, and Tony took a moment to exchange glances while Gibbs and Ducky helped Palmer off the floor. No one said anything, but they were all thinking the same thing- this could get real ugly real fast.

*~*~*~*

Tony was silent as they worked in the bullpen. Gibbs watched on quietly, wondering just what exactly was going through the younger man's mind. "Go home," he said softly. "It's late."

Ziva and McGee nodded, grabbing their things and leaving without another word. Tony continued typing and staring at his computer, seemingly too wrapped up in his thoughts and work to have heard what Gibbs said.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs said sharply. Still the younger man didn't move or react. "DiNozzo!"

Tony's head finally snapped up, finding that he and Gibbs were alone in the bullpen. "Sorry, Boss," he said softly.

"What are you doing?" Gibbs asked, his voice caring and concerned.

"Uh… I was checking my email."

Gibbs hid his shock at Tony's honesty. "What's got you so distracted?" he asked, walking to Tony's desk.

"I hadn't checked my work email since…" Tony's voice trailed off. "There's a lot to go through here. Lot of well wishes from other NCIS agents, some FBI agents… Even one from Kort, despite him saying that I did something to deserve it."

Gibbs was about as amused about that as he was pissed.

"Didn't think that many people cared," Tony continued. "No one ever had before."

"It's different," Gibbs said with a shrug.

"Yeah. Because this could've happened to anyone, and every agent remembers that whenever it does happen to someone. Shootings, stabbings, those all come with the territory. Being kidnapped and tortured, that's a different animal. And it's got heavy consequences."

"Something like that."

Tony nodded, sighing.

Gibbs continued to stand in front of Tony's desk, waiting for the younger man to let the other shoe drop.

"There's also an email from Jeanne," Tony said softly after a few moments.

"What'd she say?" Gibbs asked, trying to keep the surprise out of his voice.

"That she had heard about it on the news, how I had been kidnapped and hurt badly, and that she was praying for me to do better. Despite that she still hated me, she truly wished I would get better and be okay."

Gibbs watched, trying to gauge his agent's reactions as the younger man scrubbed his hand over his face.

"I've been trying to figure out how to respond to her email, but… I also think that doesn't matter at the moment. Not while Palmer could be in danger." Tony sighed, closing down his email as he finished that statement.

Gibbs half-smiled inwardly at Tony's reluctance to focus on his own personal problems when something was wrong with one of his coworkers.

"Where'd everyone go?" Tony finally asked.

"Home for the night," Gibbs replied. "You go too."

Tony nodded, not wanting to argue with his boss. He grabbed his gear, shutting down his computer. "Night, Boss."

"Night, Tony."

*~*~*~*

The next morning found the agents hard at work tracking down any leads on the case with their usual banter, including Tony making cracks about putting a BOLO out for Matt Damon. After relaying their findings and statements of digging deeper, Gibbs left the bullpen for autopsy.

Ducky relayed his findings to Gibbs quickly, and as they were done, Gibbs turned to leave with a quick, "Thanks, Duck."

"How is Mr. Palmer?" Ducky asked.

Gibbs turned back.

"I really miss his assistance," Ducky continued. "You never fully appreciate someone until they're not here."

"Eh, he'll be alright," Gibbs assured, turning for the door again.

"Jimmy may not have had a good look at the shooter, but I fear the shooter may have had a good look at him," Ducky said, following Gibbs.

"Duck," Gibbs said softly before patting his friend on the cheek. "You let me worry about the shooter." With that, Gibbs left autopsy and Ducky, with the latter hoping that his young protégé would be safe from harm.

*~*~*~*

Palmer and Abby were in her lab, working hard on a composite of the guy. After realizing that the face they had come up with wasn't right, Abby said they should start over. Palmer sighed, stepping back and putting his hands on his hips.

"I couldn't catch him, and now I can't even identify him," he said. "I'm sure Gibbs thinks I'm completely useless."

"No," Abby said, turning around and standing up. "Jimmy." She put her hand gently on his shoulder, trying to offer him some comfort along with her speech. "You chased a crazy guy with a gun. You're a stud muffin. You're an iron fist with a velvet glove. You're Baby Gibbs."

"Really?" Palmer asked, his voice and facial expression giving away his disbelief.

Abby simply looped her arm through his and led him back over to the table to start again.

*~*~*~*

They were all doing their best to work through the leads and solve the case, all the while keeping Palmer comforted in that he would be okay and they all had their faith in him. The only people who didn't step forward at first were Tony and Gibbs, with both being involved in other emotional issues at the moment as well.

But even the latter found time to talk to the M.E. assistant.

Palmer was in autopsy, using the computer to work up an email to his mother when the older man walked into the room. He put his hand gently on Palmer's shoulder, causing the younger man to gasp and jump slightly in surprise.

"Sorry," Palmer offered.

"Never say that," Gibbs replied, leaning in over Palmer's shoulder to read the screen. "You writing a letter?"

"Email to my mom. I'm trying to figure out how to describe what happened."

Gibbs said nothing, letting go of Palmer's shoulder to move and sit on the desk, facing the younger man.

After a few moments of silence, Palmer finally said, "How do you do it?"

"Hmm?" Gibbs replied, questioning what Palmer meant.

"Block out fear."

Gibbs gave a slight smile as he contemplated the answer. "You don't. It's what you do with it."

Palmer scoffed, looking back at the screen. "What I'm doing with it is nothing to write home about."

Gibbs gave him a slight nod and a somewhat proud look, more at the fact that the kid was talking to him than at Palmer's insecurities. "The look in someone's eyes can tell you a lot."

Palmer shifted in his chair, looking at Gibbs. "What do mine tell?" he asked softly.

Gibbs smiled slightly before tipping his head to the computer. "Hold off on that," the older man advised. "You'll have something to tell them." He stood up, slapping Palmer lightly on the shoulder before walking out of autopsy and leaving Palmer to his own devices.

*~*~*~*

"Anthony," Ducky said, walking up to Tony later on in the day.

"What's up, Doc?" Tony asked.

"I'm curious."

Tony smiled slightly, knowing where this was going before Ducky even got there. "I have a plan, Ducky," he said softly. "I'm not leaving him high and dry."

Ducky nodded, seemingly satisfied.

*~*~*~*

After the case had wrapped, Palmer had been in autopsy when Tony finally strode in. "Hey, Jimmy," the senior agent said with ease. Palmer looked up.

"Hey," he said softly. "I'm sorry your first case back was me."

Tony shook his head. "That doesn't matter. Come on, let's go out for a beer."

At the agent's casual manner, Palmer agreed, grabbing his coat and leaving. Tony patted the assistant's back gently as they headed out of NCIS.

*~*~*~*

"How're you holding up?" Tony asked after both he and Palmer had been served their drinks. The younger man sighed, squirming slightly.

"Never thought something like this could happen," Palmer replied.

Tony smiled slightly, snorting lightly with his nod.

"I don't know… I guess I'm okay."

"The guy who shot at you is off the streets," Tony told him. "You stopped him. You're not in any danger anymore, Palmer."

"But who's to say something like this won't happen again?" Palmer asked.

"You always think like that, you'll never get out of the rut."

Palmer took a drink while he contemplated Tony's words. After a few moments, he caught onto the double meaning of Tony's statement.

"What about you?" Palmer asked.

"What about me?" Tony replied.

"How are you doing?"

Tony shrugged. "It gets better every day. But this is about making sure you're okay."

Palmer nodded, sighing heavily. "That guy could've killed me," the younger man said after a moment.

"He didn't, though," Tony replied. "You know, I've never been one to believe that things are sometimes out of our hands, but maybe the fact that you're alive means something greater is planned for you."

Palmer nodded quietly, taking a drink. "You really believe that?" he asked.

"I do," Tony said, nodding. He took a drink from his own glass, looking over at the younger man. "You're stronger than you give yourself credit for, Jimmy."

"Maybe," Palmer relented, drinking from his own glass. Tony patted him on the shoulder, taking a drink. Both of them said nothing, not really needing to as not being alone was comfort enough in itself.