Thank you very much for all of the reviews and for the add on to favorites and alerts. To Arress thank you so very much for all the work.
I am very sorry that I did not reply to all of the reviews for the last chapter. I deleted them with a bunch of other emails. I will endeavor to do better.
Four days after Christmas Gibbs says nothing to his team as he leaves the bullpen; he is still angry with them. He climbs the stairs two at a time, knocks once then enters the director's office. He just looks at his boss then places the folder he is holding on top of the desk.
"Gibbs?"
"I found this in my car this morning. It's a report from Dr. Pitt. Tony has four cracked ribs and he'll be back to work January 2nd, but if we need him he can come in early."
"I thought he was in Pennsylvania."
"No, he went and picked up a friend. He was back in town late the next day."
"Miss Pig-Latin I take it?"
"Yes."
"Is it serious?"
"A life sentence if it turns out the way I think it will."
"You've met her then?"
"Yes. So has Ducky. They make a good pair."
"If you don't need him then let him be. I'd rather not take any chances with his ribs and lungs. What I would really like to do is stick him behind a desk teaching police procedure to the probies."
"And here I thought you only liked computer geeks, not flat-footed cops."
"He gets the job done."
"That he does, Leon, that he does."
He didn't talk to Tim and Ziva, he glared. Tim backed down immediately, and Ziva stuck it out for a few minutes before she, too, lowered her head and returned her attention to her work. He was curt and direct with them. He wanted them to understand what they had done and to treat Tony with the respect that he had earned and deserved.
Gibbs was happy for his senior agent, his friend. He wanted Tony to find the love that he had once with Shannon. More than anything, he wanted Tony to be at peace and not to struggle any more.
Having sent his team home for the night, he turned off his computer grabbed his Sig and badge. He didn't get three steps before his desk phone rang. "Gibbs."
"Agent Gibbs, it's Adams from legal."
"What can I do for you, Adams?"
"We have a problem with the arrest DiNozzo and McGee did a while back, First Sergeant Thompson. He's claiming that he was abused and intimidated by DiNozzo. We need him at the court hearing. I've been trying to reach him, but it keeps going to voice mail."
"When do you need him?"
"Tomorrow, 10 A.M."
"He'll be there."
"Thanks, Gunny. We'll take care of him. We know what happened. We drew up the legal papers. They are ready to serve to his father if he makes an appearance again. Did you know that Tony is one of a handful of agents that we never send reports back to for mistakes?"
"I'm not surprised, not at all."
A quick good bye and they end the call; Gibbs knows to play nice with the legal dept.
Holding a bag in one hand he knocks with a firm but heavy hand. It is the one place that he does not want to be, but he knows that he had no choice at all. He can hear the familiar footfalls coming to the door.
"Boss! Is there a problem?"
"Come in, Agent Gibbs," Mandy tells him as she walks toward the door.
"I took a chance that you haven't eaten." He says as he passes the bag to Tony after making sure that Tony locks the door.
"We haven't, I was just about to make some dinner."
Tony waits until half way through the meal before he asks Gibb about the elephant in the room.
"Gibbs."
"There's a problem with the Thompson case," Gibbs says slowly.
"I went by the book above and beyond."
"I know, Tony, I was there, and I read the reports for the part that I wasn't there for."
Tony lowers his head then lifts it a moment later with his mask and guards firmly in place. "When do I have to be in court?
"Tomorrow at ten A.M."
They finished the meal in relative silence. Gibbs just watches as Tony kisses Mandy on the cheek and leaves the kitchen. He follows a few paces behind him and listens as he makes a call.
"It's Tony, I need an interview pulled and put the whole thing on a CD, from the time I enter the room until the JAG lawyer comes in. Also, can you pull a copy of all the reports too, please? I need them for tomorrow morning nine sharp. I just got the call that I have to be in court at ten. It's the Thompson file."
Tony can hear some typing on a keyboard then a heavy sigh. "I'll have it ready for you, Tony."
"Thanks so much. I'll owe you one."
Tony quickly makes a second call. "Hey, Bill, I know it's short notice, but we are needed in court tomorrow. Ten A.M. And, Bill, wear your best power suit. The judges like it when we look sharp. I'll meet you in the lobby at nine." He looks up in time to see Gibbs' glare.
"Gibbs will be there, too.'
"This should be fun," Bill replies. "Is he in Papa Bear mode?"
"You know it." Tony laughs then says good bye.
Tony turns to Gibbs. "Mandy has the coffee ready, you know even I can smell it. She made coffee cake this morning if you want some."
"Do you have a power suit here?" Gibbs asks.
"No, I'll have to leave here early and go get changed before we meet in the lobby."
"Tony, if I could find a way for you not to go…"
"I know, but this is way too important; not for me, but for the little boy."
The three men walked into court, two of them wearing power suits and looking like a million dollars. Gibbs was there for support and he had nothing to prove to either the court or the defendant.
The trio sat through half an hour of the JAG lawyer calling into question the tactics that were used to arrest and hold his client.
Having heard enough, the judge holds his hand up to stop him in mid sentence.
"Agent DiNozzo, is there anything you can add to this?"
"Your Honor, I have a video of the defendant's entire time in the conference room from the moment he walked in until his JAG lawyer arrived. As you know, we stop recording once a defendant's lawyer enters the room and we leave."
"Play it, I want to see where this intimidation and abuse take place."
"Yes, Your Honor." Tony hands a plastic case over to the bailiff.
The quiet in the courtroom is deafening as the CD is played. No one says anything at all as they watch Tony read the man his rights in English, Spanish and then in Italian. When Tony starts to tell the defendant about the hierarchy in prisons, muffled coughs can be heard from the police and other lay enforcement people in the courtroom.
Coughing, the judge covers his mouth for a minute before he regains his composure.
"Agent Smalls, why were you in the room, and why did you stand by the door and not talk at all?"
"Protection detail."
"Who were you there to protect?" The judge asks.
"First Sergeant Thompson."
"From whom, Agent Smalls."
"From himself, Your Honor. We didn't want him to hurt himself."
"You knew the child died before you went into the room?"
"No, Your Honor. I just knew that he had been arrested on child abuse charges. I didn't know that the child had died until Agent DiNozzo turned and told the defendant that the charges were being upgraded."
"Perhaps I can explain, Your Honor," Gibbs says.
"Who are you?"
"Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, their boss."
"Go on, Agent Gibbs."
"We always send in an extra agent when a child is the victim so the alleged abuser will not hurt himself."
"I see. I do have one more question for Agent DiNozzo."
Tony stands and gives his full attention to the judge.
"Why did you tell him about hierarchy in prisons? Was it to scare him into confessing?"
"No, Your Honor, we had the evidence to convict him, our case is solid. I did it because he is a Marine and a Marine is always briefed before he goes to war. Where he is going he is going to have to fight for his life. I wanted to make sure he was well prepared for the future, what to expect. I had another reason, too, Your Honor, I wanted to scare the living stuffing out of him just like he did to his son just before he killed him."
Understanding exactly where the agent's mind frame is, the judge nods his head slightly. "You may sit, Agent DiNozzo." He looks at the JAG lawyer and raises one eyebrow.
"Your Honor, we would like to call a recess. My client wishes to talk to the prosecuting attorney."
"Very well, recess one hour, and Agents, none of you have to come back."
Standing on the court house steps, Tony smiles his famous million dollar smile. "I'm starved. How about brunch before we go back?"
"Sounds good to me," Bills answers. "Eggs Benedict and home fries are what I want."
The two men look at Gibbs. "Coffee."
"That was a given, Boss. What about food?" Tony asks cheekily.
