This one is pretty long, but I hope you enjoy it as much as I did :)
Much, much, much love for all the reviews and recent favorites/follows! Y'all really know how to make a gal feel appreciate!
Chapter 37
Tony pulled up behind Gibbs in their driveway. He put his car in park and turned the ignition over. After Tiffany and Shane had gotten to see Greg, they had called McGee to take them back to the Yard, and then had driven their cars home separately. Looking up at the house, he thought about how he still needed to get everything from his apartment and find room in Gibbs' house for it all. Finding the time was going to be a bitch. They were about to spend the weekend explaining to Jackson the developing nature of their relationship. As stressful as their night had been, it was about to be an even more stressful weekend, and on top of that, his team was supposed to be on call.
He wondered how well that was going to go with Parke out of the field for a while. He figured that he was going to have to make Dorneget a permanent fixture on his team to round things out, or chance needing to bring in someone with more experience, and he kind of liked the idea of having a fresh team to mold from the ground up. They would learn together both in the field and personally, and he hoped they would become as tightly bound as the MCRT. He decided he would talk to Vance about him being placed there until Parke was able to go back into the field as a test run.
He leaned back against the seat of his car for a moment, closed his eyes and sighed. He was still wound up. He had finally started to come down from the adrenaline rush of the night, and he was wired but exhausted. Everything seemed to suddenly be flying at him at a thousand miles per hour, and all he could do was watch it happen.
He heard the tap on the window and jumped. It was just Jethro looking at him curiously, wondering why he wasn't getting out. Tony smiled at him with tired eyes, then unbuckled his seatbelt to get out. He grabbed his bag from the back seat and took Jethro's outstretched hand. He hated to admit it, but he was feeling a bit clingy. He'd never been one to need someone like he needed Jethro, but after a night like that one, he wanted nothing more than to be near Jethro's side every second until morning.
They made their way into the house, the door closing behind them. Jethro sighed in relief that they had the house to themselves. Tiffany had offered to let Shane come home with her, and Jethro had never been so grateful.
They hung their coats up by the door, and Tony kicked off his shoes. Jethro watched every move he made, checking for any discomfort from the shot to the vest. Other than Tony rubbing his chest slightly now and then while they waited in the hospital, he hadn't shown any signs of pain, and Jethro wondered how much he was hiding it, or if he was just too keyed up to feel it all yet.
Tony turned to him, and with just one look in Tony's eyes, Jethro knew what they both needed. They had started this nightmare of a day with an exchange of lusty teases, and just the mere thought of Tony having him pressed against the wall earlier made his heart race. He'd returned fire in the elevator, and Tony's reception to his commands stirred the beast within. Thinking about the last time he had tied Tony up, and the relief it had brought both of them, he knew it was time to make good on his promise to make Tony beg for mercy.
Tony noticed the change in Jethro immediately as he moved towards him. The stress of the day was suddenly gone, and the authoritative Gibbs was in his place. He felt a tingle run down his back and the hairs on his neck and arms began rising. He suddenly ached inside for a release he hadn't realized he needed, and he knew that Jethro wanted to take him there.
As Jethro came closer and closer, Tony's heart beat harder and harder. When he was less than a foot away, he stopped and stared into Tony's eyes for a moment until he was sure they were on the same page. Jethro's eyes slowly scanned Tony's overdressed body, beginning with his lips, down Tony's chest and torso until he shamelessly checked to see if Tony was aroused yet. He wasn't disappointed to find Tony was starting to stiffen just from the anticipation of their silent agreement about how the rest of their night would go. He smirked and gave Tony a short, cocky chuckle.
Jethro's hand gently pressed Tony's chest until his lover's back hit the wall. Tony looked at him with smoldering eyes, and Jethro trapped Tony with a hand on each side of his body. Jethro's lips moved until they were only an inch away from Tony's ear, and he whispered into it. "What's your safeword?"
Tony felt himself sinking into the relief already. "Mercy," he whispered back.
"Don't forget it." His eyes met Tony's again, and he saw the yearning there, and he felt his own cock stir. He found himself drawn to Tony's lips, and he hovered an inch away from them, trying to restrain himself while making it seem like a tease to the man in front of him. "Go upstairs." He finally said, an edge to his voice that asked for defiance. "I'll be up soon, and when I get there, I want you naked, face down on the bed."
Tony nodded quickly, but when he went to move, Jethro didn't, which meant he slammed against him in his eagerness. Jethro's arms came around him to keep him in place and kissed him hard. Tony dissolved into the embrace and accepted the brutal kiss gratefully. He felt Jethro's hand in his hair, pushing their faces together even harder until suddenly that tug went in the other direction, and Tony groaned at the pleasurable pain that ran across his scalp.
Jethro watched Tony's eyes roll back into his head before the lids fluttered closed.
"Go," he said, finally stepping back so that Tony could move past him and up the stairs. Jethro watched him go without even looking over his shoulder, and he smirked at Tony's enthusiasm. He headed for the basement and opened his drawers, looking for something specific. He wondered if maybe it had ended up in the truck when he remembered where it was. He reached up on the top shelf and pulled down a tied up roll of flat cotton cord about two inches wide and twenty feet long. He used it to tie things down in the truck, but he knew that it would be much more comfortable than the fraying rope he used on Tony last time, and since he planned on keeping him tied up a lot longer than last time, he decided to grab it.
He was almost past the workbench when he saw the wide plastic spool of rubber that he had left over from insulating the back door frame. He took it down with a smirk and grabbed a box cutter. He cut a strip off, then took one end of the four inch piece of hard rubber and cut an inch off of both sides to be able to grab it. He wasn't sure what it was going to take to push Tony to the edge, but Jethro knew that he wanted to be taken there, wanted to be pushed. He had made it very evident since their discussion about the safe word, and every day that went by, with everything slipping more and more out of his control at work, he felt driven to transfer that drive to his sex life with Tony.
He tossed the knife back on the bench, and headed up the stairs thinking about what else he had around the house he could play with Tony with. He stopped in the laundry room and grabbed a couple of clothes pins, and then grabbed a candle and holder from the drawer in the kitchen where he kept them for when the power went out. He tried the lighter in the drawer to make sure it worked, and then slid it into his pocket with a smirk. The last thing he grabbed was the large green D shaped clip that Tony used for his keys. He left the keys spread out on the coffee table, and took the spring-locking clip with him upstairs.
When he got to the top of the stairs finally, he told Tony to close his eyes as he approached the door. Tony did, and Jethro trusted that. Jethro came in and carefully set the items he had down on the dresser, trying not to let anything make a clatter that would inform Tony of what he had. He once again grabbed one of Tony's darker and thicker ties from the closet. He came over to the bed and bent down, using one finger to tilt Tony's head up for a deep kiss and lingering look into his eyes before the tie was placed over them. No words were spoken during the exchange, and Jethro took a moment to stand off to the side of the bed and take in the sight of the beautiful body laid out for him like a sacrifice.
Tony had taken all of his clothes off, laid himself out on the bed, and from the mint Jethro still tasted on his lips, squeezed in a tooth brushing somewhere in there. He smiled and shook his head.
Going to the dresser, he picked up the flat rope and approached Tony. He found Tony's body tight and tense as he trailed kisses down his spine before starting in on the restraints.
"I'm going to do this differently than last time," Jethro said with a husky voice next to Tony's ear. "I want you completely bound and helpless, your only way out begging for my mercy." Tony groaned, and Jethro felt his cock twitch. He was definitely looking forward to this. He fed the flat rope under Tony's chest, then looped it around each bicep, tying a knot, then wrapping it around his back, under his chest again, and then finishing with a tight knot against his back, restraining him by pinning his arms to his side. He watched Tony testing the restraint unable to budge his knots. He smiled as Tony moaned low in his chest at the realization that he was starting to be immobilized.
"I like this kind of restraint because I can roll you onto your back or your front, and your arms won't fall asleep," Gibbs continued in his quiet, raw tone. He grabbed the normal length of rope he had under the bed, and started a series of knots that lead from around one of Tony's ankles to the other, a long stretch of cord with a loop knotted in the middle stretched between them. He grabbed the D-Clip and he pulled the loop through the footboard of the bed until the clip could link it with itself. Tony tested this restraint as well, and although he had much more slack than he did last time, he knew that he wouldn't be able to get out of bed, and that was good enough to make him feel that heady eroticism of restraint.
Gibbs ran his hands up Tony's back, then fingered the rope across them. He loved how he could see it digging into Tony's skin, confining him there in their own little world. He stood up with a happy sigh.
"You're so fucking beautiful, Tony."
"Well-"
"DON'T SPEAK." Jethro suddenly commanded fiercely. "The only words you're allowed to say from this point forward are your safeword, my name, and the sweet sounds of you begging for more. Don't make me gag you." He saw the slight nod from Tony, and nodded himself. "Good."
He slowly slid his jacket off, hanging it over the hook on the closet door. He pulled his polo over his head, and then his tee, all the time thinking about how he had a naked, bound Tony on the bed behind him, just waiting patiently to be taken. He left his shoes in the closet, unbuckled his belt, laid it on the dresser, and then stripped the rest of his clothes off before leaving Tony with one last reminder to stay still while he went into the bathroom to wash up.
Tony laid there feeling his excruciatingly hard cock pressing into the mattress, but his head was swimming to the point that he was able to ignore it for now. Jethro always seemed to know what buttons to push, and he knew that tonight would be the most extreme example of that. He had to admit though that from the first moment he heard Jethro walk into their bedroom, he felt the tension from the day starting to bleed out of his body in a trickle to be replaced by desire. As the cord wrapped around his body, he felt his head stop pounding and his tense stress changed to an arousal that flooded his body with much needed endorphins. He knew he couldn't get up, but he also knew that Jethro was taking responsibility for him, and that meant he was safe. He could finally relax for a minute.
He listened to every sound around him, from Jethro's noises in the bathroom to the wind picking up outside as an early spring storm tried to approach. He loved the anticipation, knowing that everything would happen on Jethro's time, and that all he had to do was trust his lover and they would both find the release they so desperately needed. He heard the water turn off, the tick-tick-tick of Jethro tapping the extra water off of his toothbrush, and then the click of the light switch turning off and taking the bathroom fan with it.
Jethro took in Tony's body again. There was so much he wanted to do to it, and he knew that Tony would accept it all. He had his very own playground lying in front of him, and he was eager to play. He moved over to the bed and ran one finger down one of Tony's arms, making him sigh. He let that finger trail up and down the arm again, down his spine, outlining one of his tempting ass cheeks, and then down his thigh and leg until it ran across the bottom of his foot, causing a knee-jerk reaction that painfully reminded Tony that he was restrained.
Tony groaned quietly to himself as he felt the situation truly slipping out of his control. He tried to let it go, but a part of him was still holding on, and that internal battle was just as sweet as what he expected he had ahead of him for the night. He could almost hear Jethro's smirk as his leg jerked up from the tickling finger running across the bottom of his foot. He'd never been a big fan of being tickled, but the way his legs were bound from moving only a few inches above the mattress made it impossible to escape Jethro's touch. He took a deep breath and tried to settle in again now that his lover had moved to the other side of the bed to repeat the action of tracing his body slowly.
Jethro had felt an odd grounding sensation come over him as Tony tried to jerk away from the way his finger glided across his foot. He knew that there was very little Tony could do right now, and that his lover was trying to turn over power to him for the night. He heard Tony's struggle in the way that he forced himself to breathe deep and settle down. He took the offered control solemnly and gratefully, and he silently vowed that he would not abuse it and make sure they were both enjoyed everything they did.
Jethro's finger reached Tony's foot again and instead of tickling the heel, he ran his finger over the top of Tony's foot. He heard Tony sigh in relief, and that small act of mercy set the mood for the rest of the night between them.
Looking over the items he'd brought up from the basement, Jethro picked up his modified piece of plastic molding. It was approximately four inches wide with groves running through the center of it in an inch strip. He went over to the bed and undid the D-clip so that the rope that connected Tony's ankles wasn't attached to the foot board anymore. He moved Tony's legs, feeling his blood boil through his body as he realized how pliable Tony was. He pushed Tony up on his knees and stacked the pillows in a tall pile that he placed under Tony's head.
With his ass sticking up in the air, Tony had to wonder what was coming next. He didn't think Jethro was going to start fucking him right off the bat, but he knew that would happen eventually. He felt his breath coming faster and his heart racing as he waited, alert, for what was going to happen next.
Jethro looked at Tony's flushed body and knew that he was anxious still despite everything. He decided that the rubber paddle-whip he'd made would have to wait a minute. He instead rubbed Tony's ass with his hands, squeezing before he reared back and spanked it hard enough to leave a perfect pink handprint.
Tony groaned, all thoughts suddenly evaporating. He was lost in the sensation of that hand on his ass and the scorching pain that shot through him. He felt the action repeat on his other cheek and a sharp breath escaped him. A few more quick smacks landed across his butt without breaks between them and he moaned again.
"You like that?" Jethro asked with that same raw voice as earlier.
"Mmmmyeah," Tony managed right before another series of spanks. He'd never really been one for spanking, or at least being spanked, but Jethro wasn't trying to play it out as part of a fantasy scenario, and he was able to get lost in it simply as the sensation it was. Suddenly though, it was no longer a hand smacking him, but something that stung even more sharply, and Tony had no idea what it was. All he knew was that his ass was on fire, and between each smack, Jethro would reach between his legs and run that teasing finger across the head of his cock, making him whimper and groan, whimper and groan.
Jethro watched as Tony's ass turned bright red in front of him. Tony seemed to be enjoying the spanking more than he expected him to. He was surprised by how much he was enjoying it himself. He'd whack Tony's perfect ass with the rubber piece, and then reach forward, tracing his finger around the head of Tony's cock, smearing precum as he did so, then let the rubber crack down on Tony again. The grunts and groans Tony was making made him want to keep going, but he knew that Tony would have to sit down at some point tomorrow, and he didn't want to make the pain he was feeling too obvious. He finally stopped his assault and leaned forward to rub his hands reassuringly down Tony's back and leave a trail of kisses in their wake down his lover's spine. He felt Tony shiver at the contrast of the gentle touch to the spanking and whispered in his ear, "Your highs, your lows, all of your in-betweens, now belong to me."
Jethro finally got down off the bed, and he saw Tony sag against the pillows and mattress. He could see the heavy rise and fall of Tony's panting body from across the room as he lit the candle and picked up the clothespins. He put the candle on the nightstand and then rolled Tony over on his back, rearranging the pillows under his lover's head before straddling him.
Tony felt Jethro's strong hands on his arms, turning him over on his back. Their strength was reassuring, and when Jethro straddled him, he moaned long and low at their contact. Jethro's lips found his and they swapped a slow, lazy kiss that Tony wanted to get lost in forever. He felt Jethro's hands on his chest, rubbing and tweaking his nipples that stuck out between the two passes of cord, and sighed into the kiss. He forgot the rest of the world. All he could think about where the sensations running through his body; Jethro's hands on his chest, the way their kissing made him feel like he was melting into his lover, the stinging burn of his ass and the ropes that bound him safely to Jethro's care.
Jethro was tracing patterns across Tony's chest in the sheen of sweat there, pinching his pert nipples with every pass. He took a nipple in each hand and pinched hard as he bit Tony's lower lip, causing Tony to gasp. He sat up and looked down at the man beneath him. He was starting to regret the blindfold, wishing he could see Tony's incredible eyes looking up at him instead, but he knew the lack of vision was heightening the sensations for Tony, and he wasn't about to take that away from him yet. He reached for the clothes pins and pulled on Tony's left nipple, then clipped it, making the man below him hiss. He did the same with the right nipple, earning a hiss and wiggle from Tony.
He saw Tony's chest rising and falling faster again, and he wondered if it was because of the pleasure, the pain, or both. He reached forward and flicked each clothes pin as they stood up straight from Tony's chest. They wobbled and Tony's groin arched off of the bed, raising them both up.
"Stop!" Jethro commanded, and Tony exhaled, dropping back down onto the bed. He reached down and stroked Tony's cock, making him moan and settle deeper into the pillows under him.
"Yes… please… don't stop…" Tony begged quietly as Jethro made a few more passes over his cock. Jethro growled quietly. He loved hearing Tony's pleas, especially when he knew that he had all of the power.
"You want me to keep going? You want me to make you come?" Jethro asked quietly as he stroked. Tony's body shivered hard under him.
"Yes! Yes, please, God, Yes!" Tony was shaking now as Jethro let his fingers graze Tony's balls.
"No," he said with that quiet voice of authority that Tony had been clinging to all night. "You are not to come until I tell you to, understood?" The keening noise that came from Tony's throat made Jethro's cock twitch hard. "Answer the question!" Jethro barked.
"Yes!" Tony gasped out as Jethro gave him one last stroke before climbing off of his body.
Jethro moved Tony's legs so that they were pushed up against his stomach, and used the D-Clip to link the rope that held his ankles together to the rope going across his chest. Once he was secured, Jethro rolled him back over so he was face down in the pillows. The candle next to the bed had started melting and running down the sides. Jethro picked it up and looked down at Tony's back, watching it glisten with sweat.
"Take a deep breath," he commanded, and Tony did so immediately. Jethro tipped the candle over Tony, letting little white splatters of wax fall across his back a couple at a time.
Tony felt the sudden piercing heat start tapping along his back, and he couldn't let the air out of his lungs. Every little drop that fell on him made his cock twitch underneath him, and he heard Jethro's voice echoing in his head over and over again that he wasn't allowed to come. The incredible mixture of pain and pleasure made every inch of him feel like it was on fire, and it seemed to last forever before Jethro's hands started gliding across his back, picking the dried pieces of wax off of him one by one, making him shiver as goose bumps bristled across his skin.
When he had gotten all of the wax pieces off of Tony, Jethro reached between Tony's legs and stroked his cock a few times, making Tony groan and whine, and then undid the D-Clip. He rolled Tony back over, and then helped him sit up with his back against the headboard. Once he had him comfortable, he once again straddled Tony's lap, and took his own cock in his hand, rubbing it across Tony's lips, which immediately parted to take him in.
"I love how you're always so eager to please me. I miss having you at my beck and call at work, but that's okay, as long as I can do this," he said, pushing forward until he felt his head slip past the back of Tony's mouth and into his throat. He felt Tony try not to gag and smirked when he not only got it under control, but pushed his head forward to take more of him. Jethro wound Tony's hair through his fingers, setting up and push and pull rhythm as Tony sucked him off.
"So fucking good… you're so… so incredible, Tony," Jethro said through his own pants and gasps.
Tony was flying high as Jethro plunged into his mouth over and over again. He really was eager to please the man that had been setting every nerve in his body on fire for the past hour, but Jethro's work comment took that eagerness somewhere even deeper in him, and he promised himself that he was about to give the best blow job ever. He licked and sucked and swallowed and thrusted his head forward and back as he took Jethro's girth down his throat again and again.
When he felt Jethro reach down and grab his cock though, Tony moaned around the dick in his throat. He wasn't sure he was going to be able to last much longer as was, and with Jethro's hand stroking him so expertly, he knew he didn't have a chance to restrain himself. He began shaking hard as he fought his body's natural urge to come, and Jethro felt the shaking under his fingers. Jethro smirked, leaning forward to whisper down at Tony as he kept pulling him forward and backwards over his cock.
"You're trying so hard not to come. You're not allowed to though. I don't want you to come until I'm fucking that tight ass of yours, got it?" Jethro shoved his cock back down Tony's throat and held him there for a moment, then moved Tony's head like a nod. He then pulled Tony's head off of him and sat back, letting him breathe for a moment.
Jethro couldn't take it anymore. He reached down and pulled the tie off of Tony's eyes. Tony opened his lids slowly, and Jethro's heart pounded even more wildly in his chest when he saw the heavy glaze coated green eyes that looked back at him with perfect trust. He sat back and took Tony's lips in a heated kiss that conveyed as much love as it did passion. Tony kissed Jethro back with everything in him, suckling his tongue, lips, and his tongue again.
When Jethro's hand started stroking Tony again with long, slow strokes, Tony couldn't take it anymore. He felt like he was going to shatter into thousands of pieces, never to be put back together again. He was fighting off the pleasure with whatever sad and gory idea who could think of, but there was that tongue in his mouth, and those skilled fingers around his cock, teasing the head with each pass. There was the overwhelming scent of the sweaty man in his lap that Tony wanted to snort up and remember forever. To top it all off, there was the stinging pain in his ass, across his back, in his nipples and the way the ropes were cutting into his arms, all feeding the overwhelming pool of sensations running through his body.
He had to pull out of the kiss.
"Please, Jethro! Please! Fuck me! Let me come! Please!" Tony's pleading voice and even more desperate eyes were hard to resist, but Jethro did.
"No. Not yet," he said before sucking on Tony's neck, making Tony squirm. "Hold still!" Jethro said, placing his free hand on Tony's shoulder while he worked on his neck. Tony's head fell onto Jethro's shoulder, gasping for air as the need for release made him feel like he was going to pass out. Jethro bit down hard on his neck, while at the same time wrapping his thumb and forefinger around the base of Tony's cock, staving off his orgasm. Tony's head flung back and he yelled at the top of his lungs, needing some kind of release even if not sexual.
Jethro reached up and slipped two fingers into Tony's open mouth, and Tony immediately began sucking on them. "You must be missing my cock," he said, leaning in to whisper into Tony's ear. He knelt back up so that his own leaking member was in front of Tony's face again. Taking his fingers out of Tony's mouth, he grabbed Tony's chin and pulled it forward to start sucking him off again. Tony tried desperately to get Jethro to come so that he could as well, but no matter what trick he tried, Jethro managed to hold off. Tony couldn't take it anymore. He needed the release. He pulled back out of Jethro's hold, and started begging.
"Please let me come! Please, Jethro! I'll do anything! Just, please fuck me and come with me! I need you!"
"All it takes is one word, and this all will stop. One little word," he said, leaning in to suck on Tony's neck again.
"I don't want it to stop!" Tony cried. "I just need to come! Please! Let me come and you can keep doing whatever you want to me! Anything!"
Jethro looked down at Tony's flushed body and the way he was shivering and twitching. He couldn't deny those pleading eyes anymore. He leaned in and whispered in Tony's ear. "Say it."
"But then you'll stop!" Tony cried. "Please don't stop!"
"Say it, and I'll finish taking care of you. I'll always take care of you, Tony. Always." Jethro's hand resumed its excruciating pace over Tony's engorged cock.
"Oh, God! I can't hold it anymore, Jethro! You need to stop!" Tony begged, the sounds escaping him almost like sobs.
"Say it, and I'll stop."
"MERCY! FUCK! MERCY! Please! Fuck me! Let me come!" Tony felt Jethro's hand leave his cock immediately and then he was rolled over onto his stomach as Jethro undid the knot on his back, then the knots at his arms. His arms could barely hold him up with how weak they were, but he held on tightly to the headboard as Jethro lubed his cock and plunged into him.
"God, Tony! I thought you'd never say it!" Jethro said as he ran his hands all over Tony's back and stomach, all the while plunging in and out of his ass.
Tony started feeling the strength returning to his hands and slammed back again and again against Jethro's thrusts. They smashed into each other again and again, Jethro's balls slapping and swinging against Tony's cheeks, making them raw. He felt the sudden heat flaring up at the base of his spine, crackling with energy like a ball of lightning, and he shouted out.
"Come for me, Tony! Come with me!" Jethro yelled over the noise, and on command, Tony came so hard that he blacked out while Jethro filled him with his release.
NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS
When Tony came around, he was rope-less and Jethro was staring into his face, brushing his hair out of his eyes with a tiny smile that looked so perfectly content that it took Tony off guard.
"You okay?" Jethro asked quietly.
"Oh, yeah," Tony groaned out with a dazed and hazy smile. "You?"
Jethro nodded and stroked the side of Tony's face. His blue eyes searched Tony's green eyes for any signs of unhappiness, and he couldn't find any. There was nothing staring back at him but perfect trust, joy and love. He felt in awe as the dreamy feeling finally cleared and the reality that the man in front of him had actually proposed to him, and wanted to spend the rest of their lives together, settled in.
"I really, truly, love you, Tony. I still can't believe that you actually want to spend the rest of our lives together. I keep wondering when I'm going to wake up from whatever coma I've slipped into this time, and find out that this never happened."
Tony turned his head to kiss the palm that lay against his face.
"You're not dreaming, and this isn't a coma. This is real life, and I really want to spend this real life with you, and only you."
"Good, because I'd probably never come back from Mexico this time if I woke up and we weren't together."
"I'd stalk your ass down! I am not going through that again! I'd be right there on your tail, and there would be no getting away once I caught up with you," Tony smiled and Jethro chuckled. "If we weren't together already, we would have been."
Tony watched as Jethro's blue eyes sparkled. He had never seen them shine so brightly. He looked so happy, and it was beautiful. To think that he could be part of the cause of it was humbling. "Thank you for everything today. You have no idea how much it means to me that you have my back like you do."
"Tony, it doesn't matter how great or how horrible your day goes, I will always be there for you; every day for the rest of our lives."
"Especially when we get to end the day with mind-blowing sex like that! I mean, I think we do pretty damn well, but that was… whoa. There's not words for what that was. I never really got into all of that before, and it's not something I'd want to do all of the time, but once in a while we definitely need to go there."
Jethro chuckled sheepishly, and Tony found it to be a stark contrast to the man that had just taken him for such a wild ride.
"I'm glad, because no matter how much I have enjoyed tonight, it's not something I'd want to make a habit of."
Tony nodded with a smile and curled up against Jethro, feeling the strong arms wrap him in a tight embrace as they lay there together. "Love you, Jethro."
"You too, Tony."
They slipped into a deep sleep, held tightly in one another's arms.
When the alarm went off the next morning, the smell of coffee was thick in the air. Tony rolled over to shut off the clock's obnoxious noise, and then smiled at Jethro who was pulling the pillow out from under him and covering his head with it. Tony chuckled to himself in surprise at the vision in front of him. He was eager to get to the hospital and see Greg though, so he leaned forward and cautiously tried to pull the pillow off of Jethro's head. He heard the man underneath the pillow growl, and he laughed.
"Jethro? There's coffee brewing downstairs. By the smell of it, I think it's already done." Tony was all smiles as Jethro lifted the edge of the pillow and sniffed the air. "Smells like a strong pot. Nice and hot." He watched as Jethro slowly lowered the pillow off of his face and ran his hands over his eyes as he yawned. "There ya- GO!" He yelped as Jethro's arms came around him and he was flung over onto his back. Jethro rolled on top of him, kissing him so hard it took his breath away. When they finally backed away, Tony gasped over and over again for air, and he could see that Jethro's chest was rising and falling in sudden heaves as well.
"That was- WOW. That's all I got." Tony reached up and pulled him back down for another kiss and was just as blown away by how tender this one was.
"Love you, Tony," Jethro said softly, looking down into Tony's face as he ran his hand through Tony's hair.
"Love you, too, Jethro," Tony said with a smile.
"I have a favor I want to ask you, but you can feel free to say no." Jethro looked nervous as he looked down at Tony's chest then up into his eyes.
"Anything," Tony answered, a serious tone settling over them.
"After work today, I was thinking we could get my team, and your team, other than Parke of course, and maybe go pack up your apartment. I think things will go easier when I explain us to Dad if it really felt like you lived here, and I really want it to feel like you live here, for us."
Tony finally understood how nervous Jethro really was about telling Jackson about them. He knew that Jethro and his dad didn't have the best track record, but he also knew it was still better than his own with his dad. He hadn't really wanted his team going through all of his stuff, but he really liked the idea of finally being moved into Jethro's house and settling in.
"We can do that. I'm on call all weekend, and I'm really hoping that we don't get a case. I want to be here with you and Jackson, spend some time with the family." Tony smiled up at Jethro, who was smiling back at him.
"Thanks, Tony. It's going to be hard enough coming out to him in my fifties without explaining that the man I am marrying is living with me, but none of his stuff is here because we're both workaholics that have spent the past couple of weeks getting blown up and then shot at." They both chuckled.
"We may be workaholics, but I honestly wouldn't have it any other way," Tony said with a smile, reaching up and playing with a piece of Jethro's short silver hair that was sticking up.
"Okay, I need coffee, and I know you're dying to get out of here and check on Parke." Jethro rolled off Tony, threw on a tshirt and boxers before he made his way downstairs.
Tony couldn't stop smiling as he crawled out of bed and stretched, heading for the shower. He felt like the luckiest man on the Earth, and he knew that things were only getting better.
(NCIS)(NCIS)(NCIS)
Tony sent a mass text to everyone on both teams and the basement team of Abby, Ducky and Jimmy, asking if they would be free that night and willing to help them pack up his stuff and move.
Tim was the first to text back.
I'll bring the beer, and Abby said she's going to grab some snacks.
Tony smiled down at his phone. Critten's came next.
We going straight from work? I'll bring a change of clothes.
Tony replied back that he would need to stop for boxes, but they'd pretty much be going right over. He knew that Elly would jump on any chance to be included. He decided to make it his personal mission to make sure the kid felt included in not only the agency, but the team family. He knew that he had a lot of talent, but Elly needed that reason to be there, that reason to stay. Tony understood that. He had been looking for it for years, going through three different police departments and transplanting himself each time until he landed right where he was and found that it was where he belonged. He knew that Elly belonged where he was, and he was going to prove it to him.
Ducky and Palmer were on board, though Palmer would be coming from class and would probably only be there for the unloading.
Ziva was the last one to reply back, asking if he minded if Dion came along, and he smiled and shook his head. He was happy that they had gotten over her suspicions while he was away, and seemed to be moving forward. He didn't see himself becoming very close with Dion, but he was glad that Ziva had someone so different in her life than her usual flavors of disaster.
He chuckled to himself as he walked into the hospital that morning as he realized that anyone that he would have gotten along with probably would have been under extreme suspicion. He didn't want to see her with someone in their field, or any related field. Her entire life had always been focused around espionage and police work, and he believed that she deserved to be able to step away from that and have a real life. He thought about all of this as he headed through the hospital hallways, thinking about how lucky he was to have Jethro, and how much he wished the same for his friends.
Tony knocked on Greg's door quietly enough to just alert to him that he was there.
"Hey, Boss! Didja come to spring me?" Greg's demeanor reminded him a lot of himself whenever Jethro would come to get him after he was released from the many stints he'd stayed in the hospital for some injury or another. That made him smile.
"I think your wife is coming to do that in a few minutes. I saw her and Shane parking the car on my way in. Wanted to come check in on you. They wouldn't let me back last night; only next of kin." Tony came to sit down in the chair next to the bed. "Tiff and Shane said you were doing well though, so I finally got some sleep."
"Yeah. You know, I really wasn't looking forward to being shot, but I'm really looking forward to never being shot again. It's not even the pain, it was that ultra-serious look you and Elly had that made me wonder just how bad it really was. Normally, I can read people like a book- you know, their twitches, their expressions, the way their eyes move- all things I've been trained to observe, but neither of you were giving away anything. I couldn't tell if you were lying when you said I'd be okay or not." Greg stared off into space and shook his head.
"Well, you know, that's what we've been trained to do. I spent years on police forces before NCIS, and though Elly wasn't in the field, he still had academy training. He really surprised me yesterday. Kid is usually so hyper that I thought he'd really flip out, but it's almost like he calmed down. I was thinking about it last night, and I realized that this is only the second time either of you have had to fire your weapons during a case. I'm impressed with you both. You handled it really well." Tony smiled proudly at his agent.
"You need to make sure you tell Elly that. He'd appreciate it. Speaking of firing your weapon! Damn, Boss! I know you said you'd rough the guy up for me, but you shot him in the face!"
It was at that point that Tony realized Greg had opted for the pain meds. He suppressed the chuckle in his throat and just shrugged. "Protect my own. Told you guys that the night we got back from the Americana, and I meant it."
He was saved by Tiffany and Shane coming into the room. They all said their hellos, and Tony informed Greg that he was to stay home for the weekend, except for dinner at his and Jethro's house on Sunday, to which he extended the invite to Tiffany and Shane. Greg smiled and told him they'd all be there, and then Tony headed out, leaning in to whisper in Shane's ear to watch out for the pain meds. Shane chuckled and nodded, patting Tony on the shoulder on the way out
As he headed for his car, he considered everything that he had to make sure was done by the end of the day. He knew that there was a report to write up, but it was more of an extension to the case they had already written the report for last week. He had to call around to find a place that sold boxes, but he was sure he could find that easily enough. He decided that his first priority was to go have a talk with Vance about Dorneget. He pulled out his phone and shot him a quick email.
He laughed to himself quietly. He would never have been making plans to go talk to Vance about anything a month ago, but now he was trying to find the time. He wondered if he should invite him to dinner on Sunday, and then decided against it. They were closer than they used to be, but he didn't want to make the rest of the team nervous or uncomfortable. He smiled to himself though as he decided he would definitely be invited to the wedding.
He considered the wedding as he drove back to the Yard. He had no ideas about what he wanted it to be like. If he had his way, it would be extremely simple. For him, it all boiled down to the vows and the company. He figured Jethro would be the same way. He was going to need some time to write those vows though. Life was too hectic to do that right now with having a new team, moving in with Jethro, and still breaking the news to everybody. Yeah, his team knew, his closest friends knew, and Jackson would know by the end of the week, but what about everybody else? He laughed to himself as he pulled into the Yard remembering Fornell's reaction to seeing Jethro's ring the night before. It was classic, and he tucked it away as a tale to be retold later on in life over beers with Jethro.
A few minutes later, he was in the bullpen, and he noticed that McGee was alone on the MCRT side.
"Gibbs and Ziva aren't back yet from their interview?" he asked over the wall.
"Not yet, but they're on their way. They got the information they needed. Self-defense." McGee looked up with a nod, then went back to his paperwork.
"Ugh, is that the NC-72 form?" Tony cringed as he realized what McGee was filling out.
"Yes! This thing is archaic! What do you normally put for section F?"
Tony smiled to himself and came around the wall to pull up a chair next to Tim and go over the form with him. They went over changes they would like to see done to the form, and they decided they would work a new version up and propose the change together.
"So, have you decided who is going to be your SFA?" Tim asked Tony quietly. Tony was glad that they were alone in the bullpen with Gibbs and Ziva still out, and Critten coming in for a half-day after their late night before.
"I'm torn, actually. I really like what they both bring to the table. I think it's going to be Critten though. I'd been thinking Parke, and he'd be great, but so would Elly, and he deserves it. I miss you guys already, but they are both incredible to work with, and they have so much potential.
"I am really hoping I can get you to work with Critten more. He practically idolizes you, and you guys can learn all of this stuff together. I can go over the more screwed up forms with both of you at the same time when you have questions. He seems to be a quick study to all your techie doodads. If you end up with some free time, Gibbs said I'm allowed to steal you to work with him, so let me know if you find some somewhere under this mountain of paperwork." Tony started shuffling through the unusually cluttered desk. "What is all of this anyway?"
"I'm still trying to figure it all out. I have no idea. I came in and there was a stack of forty-two different forms collated on my desk. And I don't think Gibbs put them there, so I don't know where they came from." Tony laughed at Tim's confused and leary expression.
"I'll go over them all with you after we get our reports done over there. I'm still doing the SFA paperwork for my team, too, so when I get to that part, I'll call you over."
"Thank you! Oh, thank you! Gibbs tries, but it's hard to learn from a functional mute. I need words, not pointing."
Tony gave Tim a fake glare. "Careful there, Timbo! That's my fiancé you're talking about!"
"Uhhh…" Tim tried to think of how to respond, but Tony laughed, unable to contain himself.
"You know, he does actually talk! Surprising, I know, but I've known that for a lot longer than the past month." Tony picked up a stack of forms, confused about where in the world the outdated thing had come from. They hadn't used it since 2005. He turned around and started feeding them into the shredder. He saw Tim's odd glance and shrugged. "This one is outdated."
"How long have you…" Tim looked confused, and Tony tried to figure out what he was asking. He realized what he had said about Jethro and a shy smile fell over his mouth.
"There was a time that it was just he and I on the team, back in the day. We've been friends a long time, Tim. What we have now is nothing like what we've had, but he's always been there for me, since before I even came to NCIS. That's how I ended up here. He knew what had happened with Danny, and he… he wouldn't let me let go of a job that I love doing. So, I ended up here, and now… here we are. Life's just funny like that, sometimes." Tony shrugged.
"Not to get all Lifetime, but I think this might be the first real discussion we've ever had." Tim smirked at Tony.
Tony chuckled. "Yeah, well, who knew I had it in me to be mature and all that?" He went to get up to go see if Vance was free, and Tim's voice stopped him.
"I think we all did, we just never thought you'd own up to it."
Tony stared back at Tim for a moment. "I guess I just needed something worth taking the chance to try it out."
"And Gibbs is that something." Tim's words were a statement, not a question.
"He's always been that something." Tony took a step back towards Tim's desk. "I can tell you what all 42 of those forms are for, what each field's purpose is in the long run, and how to process each one, and I've known that since my first year with him. The two of us set the standards for half of the processes used today in the agency in those first couple of years together. Before you, before Kate, before Vivian, it was the two of us. The only difference between now and a month ago is that everything that means anything to me is out in the open for everyone to see." Tony shrugged. "That's the chance I took- letting you all know just how much it means to me."
Tim nodded, and Tony turned around to head up the stairs. He found Vance staring over the railing at him. He had obviously heard a good portion of what they had just been talking about, and he waited for Tony to join him.
"And here I thought Gibbs being a hard ass is what set the standard," he said with a smirk.
"If no one would have met his expectations, then someone would have eventually made him lower the bar. Takes two to tango, Director."
Vance slowly nodded at him. "Point taken. How's Agent Parke?"
"He's good. He's on plenty of pain meds, and it was a through and through. He's probably home already and annoying the crap out of his wife and brother." Tony smirked.
"Good. I got your email. I have a few minutes. Let's go to my office." Tony nodded and followed him. Once inside, they sat at the conference table together.
"I am going to be a man down for a few weeks while Parke heals. It's his right shoulder, and he's right handed. I was thinking it would be the perfect opportunity to give Dorneget a trial run on the team to see if he has a prayer of fitting in." Tony saw the surprise on Vance's face. "I'm not saying that it's a sure thing that I want him on the team, but I think a month's trial would be a good place to start. That gives him time to fit in, and when Parke is completely back in the game, if Dorneget's still doing well, meeting expectations, we'll go through to the end of summer and evaluate if he wants to stay with us, or see if he'd be a better fit with another team."
"You know," Vance started. "I really had no intentions of him sticking with you or ending up on your team. I know he's got a backwards sense of things. You'd never know meeting him that his bumbling idiot storefront hosts a mind that can do what we need him to be prepared to do in MTAC one day. That's why he's here, but he's going to have to be sanded down first, and I had expected Gibbs' rough file to be the one working on him." Vance shrugged. "I figured you'd be more likely to get the social awkwardness under control to a level that would keep Gibbs from killing him and then turn him over, but if you want to try working with him, see if he can really mesh well with your team, go for it. I'm not going to stop you."
Tony smirked. "I kind of like the idea of having such a fresh team. I feel like I'm really starting to see all of the great facets of Critten and Parke being brought to the surface. They aren't afraid to tell me what they want to be doing, and we're doing it. Critten is going to be working with McGee, and I'll be training them both he and McGee on SFA stuff. I'll probably train Parke in some of it, too though. I think sharing some of the work load would be good for them. They're both responsible and capable, and after spending a decade buried under all of these forms, I can tell you that it would have been nice to have a little help sometimes. It was always nice when Gibbs would come in to give me a hand."
"Speaking of Gibbs giving you a hand!" Vance suddenly said. "Looks like he said 'yes'."
"Yeah, he did." Tony's smiled reached his eyes, and he looked down at where his fingertips were tapping on the table. "I've never been happier," he admitted.
"I have never seen him look this happy, either." Vance gave Tony a smile and a shake of his head.
"Me neither. I still can't believe it."
"I still can't believe that the two of you are together, but hell, it would take an unbelievable relationship to see the changes I've seen happen around here in the past month." Vance took out a toothpick and stuck it in his teeth. Tony nodded in agreement.
"Tell me about it. Well, I think I'm going to go talk to Dorney. He's sulking back in the basement now that he doesn't have to babysit Shane." Tony got to his feet, and Vance did too to move to his desk.
"I'll send you the paperwork you'll need."
"Oh, yes. Can't forget the paperwork," Tony groaned as he headed towards the door.
"If you thought the paperwork an SFA had to do was bad…"
"Come on!" Tony said in cheerful disbelief as he went to open the door. "Gibbs didn't just help me with my paperwork- I've helped him with his plenty of times." Tony could hear Vance chuckling as the door swung shut behind him. He nodded to Pam at her desk, then went to find Dorneget.
NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS
Gibbs and Ziva came into the bullpen as Tony was coming down the stairs. Tony caught Gibbs' eye and they smiled at each other, but nothing else was said.
"McGee, pull up the information on Ivert."
"Yes, Boss," Tim said, immediately bringing up the information and forwarding it to the plasma.
"We're really going to have to sell this with the forensics. What were you and Abby able to determine?" Gibbs' voice faded away as Tony moved across the room and down the stairs until he couldn't hear it at all when the door closed behind him. He let it settle into him, and he smiled to himself as he thought about the night before and that morning.
He opened the door to the evidence garage and peeked his head in. He saw Dorneget sitting behind his desk as he worked on the logs, or rather stared off into space with the logs in front of him. He let the door close behind him and announced himself. Other than Dorney, he was the only one there. He almost laughed at the surprised look on the younger agent's face when he shouted his hello and made him jump ten feet in the air. He decided he needed to hold it in though considering how seriously he needed Dorney to understand what he was about to tell him. He knew that he'd always been perceived as a big goofball by the younger man, and this needed to be handled maturely.
He pulled one of the stools into the small area that Dorney's desk was in, and sat down on it.
"We need to talk about something," he started. Dorney's eyes went huge with fear.
"Oh, God. McGee told you, didn't he? I swear! I never would have hit on you, or flirted with you, or asked you out or anything like that!"
Tony was in shock for a quick moment, then slapped Dorney in the back of the head. Now I know why Gibbs started doing that to me, he thought to himself.
"First of all, I've already known that for a long time. Second, Gibbs would have killed you."
"Oh. I didn't realize Agent Gibbs had a problem with gay people." Tony looked at the way Dorney's face fell and his whole demeanor crashed.
"Oh, trust me, he doesn't! Uh…" Tony knew that what he was about to do would probably come back to bite him in no time, but he realized that he'd opened his big mouth, and now he had to fess up. He rubbed the back of his head with his hand, and looked across the room for a moment. "Oh, boy. Dorney, listen. The reason why I left the MCRT was because Gibbs and I are in a relationship. Actually, we're recently engaged."
Dorney looked at him like he didn't believe him, and Tony nodded, making direct eye contact to show he was serious. The silent affirmation made Dorney's eyes grow wide again, and his mouth dropped open to make such a truly shocked expression that Tony thought he might pass out.
"There's a lot going on under the surface of everything around here, and though you know a lot of people, it's critical that you understand how secret this has to stay. I'm telling you because you're assigned to me for the next month while Parke recovers." He watched the shock slowly change to excitement, and smiled. "I've read over your file. You have some pretty specific talents- talents that the agency is really going to need in the upcoming years. In order to get to that point where you can really start using them though, you're going to have to make it through being a field agent for a while. Over the next month, you're going to get your feet wet, and we're going to see what to do from there." Dorneget nodded, and Tony continued.
"The people who know about Gibbs and I include Greg, Elly, McGee, Ziva, Abby, Ducky, and Palmer. Oh, and Vance, but you are never to say anything to anyone that might for some reason go far enough to reach his ears and let him know that you know. Gibbs and I were discussing what to do about being on the same team when Vance approached me to fill in for Kathy Simmons while she was on maternity leave, and we discovered some serious flaws in her time as Team Lead. She was furious when Vance gave me her position. If you let anything get outside of this ring of people I've mentioned, she will claim an unfair bias that we'll have to fight forever, and in the meantime, she could regain control of the team, and she isn't the kind of person that's going to patiently train you and work with you. I want to take the time to do that."
"So, this could be a permanent thing?" Dorney asked.
"It could. Or we could decide you need to work with Gibbs' team eventually since he has more experience in MTAC, and I know eventually, if we put in the work together, we could be grooming you to work in there on high classification projects." Dorney's eyes went wide again.
"Me?"
"Uh! Yeah! Do you have any idea how off the charts your scores were in strategic planning and analysis?" Tony shook his head.
"They were the classes I liked, but I guess I just focused more on the things I wasn't good at, because everyone gave me such a hard time with that stuff."
Tony nodded his understanding. "Well, kid, we've got a lot of work to do, but if you're up for it, I'm up for it."
Dorney smiled and nodded.
"It's going to seem like I'm ragging on you sometimes, and sometimes, yeah, I probably am, but we're going to work on your professional people skills pretty intensely. You've got the friendly people skills down, but I'll teach you how to use them to be sneaky when you need to, and what to listen for when people talk. You'll develop your own way of doing things over time, but I'm going to point out all of those little things that you do that opens the door for those awkward moments that stand in your way of fitting in on a team of agents." Tony really didn't want to be so blunt, but he knew that if he didn't come right out and say it, it wasn't going to sink in. He saw Dorney take in a deep breath and exhale. He knew that he'd hit a nerve, but it was a situation that Dorney obviously knew needed to be addressed. Tony could tell by the look on his face as he swallowed hard and nodded.
"Okay. I can do that. I can do this."
"We can do this. I'm not going to leave you alone through this, kid. While you're with my team, no matter how long it is, you're one of mine, and I take care of my own." Tony saw the same look in Dorney's eyes as the guys had when he had said that to them. Hopeful, desperate to believe him, but hesitant. Something about that look was a soft spot in him. He knew the feeling all too well. He remembered feeling it in that moment that Gibbs dropped him off in front of NCIS HR.
"Now what kinds of questions do you have?"
"Do I get to move my stuff up into the bullpen?" Tony nodded. "Awesome! Okay, and I get to go out on cases and everything like Agents Critten and Parke?" Tony's hand reached out and smacked him on the back of the head again.
"Uh, yeah! You're an agent, aren't you?"
"Uh, yeah?"
"Then step into the shoes. Don't let anyone make you feel like you don't deserve to be there. You've made it through what everyone else had to make it through to get here, and you excelled in a specialty area that I wouldn't trust most of the agents in that room to even attempt. We're going to train the hell out of you in the areas you don't feel comfortable in so that you're ready to step into that position when your time comes, and the rest of them can go to hell." Tony watched Dorneget take a deep breath and sit straighter as he exhaled, a bit of determination settling into his eyes. "There you go! I'm thinking Parke will work with you on reading people, listening to their bodies and criminal pathology. Critten will work on your tech skills to help you with researching now that the systems are different than when you were in FLETC, and he and I will take turns with the physical training. Might even get Ziva to work on weapons training with you." Dorneget cringed.
"I don't know if that's such a great idea," he said. "Me and weapons have always equaled disaster and-"
"Hey! That's exactly why you need the training! The first lesson starts now- confidence. I will not hear you, and you will not hear you, say things like that from this point on. You will look at every attempt to train you as an opportunity to get better. You will look at every experience you walk into, inside and outside of the job, as an exercise in shaping who you are becoming. You will go into it with an open mind and believe that you can and will manage to get through it. Ingenuity, skills, improvision, struggle- no matter what it takes, you'll find a way to muddle through. It's not always going to be pretty, but you will come out the other side a better person for it." Tony was already thinking of what kinds of situations the next month would grant them learning opportunities during.
"Another question?" Dorneget asked, and getting a nod, continued. "What happens when Agent Parke is better and you don't need me anymore?"
"Both Gibbs and I have open spots on our teams. Right now, you're filling mine. If after this month, you're really giving it your all, you'll be probationary though September, at which point we'll reassess. Depending on what your focuses become, you could either stay with me, go to Gibbs, or be put with another team elsewhere in the country."
"Will I have a say in that?"
"Most likely. Your actions over the next month, or four months respectively, will be the largest determining factor of your future. You're laying the bricks now for the path you're going to take. It's time to start considering your plans. You need to begin asking yourself the big questions. Where do you want to be in ten years? Twenty? Are you doing everything you can now to get there? What do you need to do to get to that point?"
"I need-"
Tony watched as Dorneget stopped midsentence and gritted his teeth, an odd look coming over his face that Tony recognized as anger and disappointment.
"What do you need?" he asked.
"I need for you to be honest with me. If I'm going to do this, be honest with me. Tell me exactly what you think about how I'm doing. Don't-" Dorney got to his feet and Tony knew that he was confronting some inner demon from his past by the way the anger suddenly heated his words. "Don't- don't- don't coddle me, or tell me some sugarcoated version of what you think I need to hear! I might not like it at the time, but I really do want this, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes, but if I'm not doing enough, I need to know. That's how I ended up here in this basement! I wasn't doing well enough where I needed to be, but instead of teaching me how to be better, everyone either just gave up on me as a hopeless case or- or- or fed me lies and platitudes!" His hands were gesturing around him as he talked, and Tony wondered how long he'd been waiting to get this off his chest.
Tony stood up to meet him, putting a hand on each shoulder to steady him. He gave him a serious look in the eyes, put his grimmest face on, and then said, "I promise- if you suck, I'll let you know, and we'll try to make you better."
Dorneget suddenly burst out laughing, and Tony chuckled with him, letting him go. "It's going to be okay. I will make sure you get pushed, but you need to make sure you don't get pushed around. There's a big difference there. From here on out, I'm the only one who gets to push you around. And while I'm thinking about it, Parke and Critten are your equals. Don't address them by "Agent". If you're announcing them, then you say it out of respect, but you also announce yourself as "Agent". It's different of course with Gibbs, myself and Balboa. In my case, you can call me Tony or whatever you feel like, as long as it's not something like, "Hey, You" or "Prick". I'd generally stay away from "Asshole" and "Jerk", too, at least to my face."
Dorneget chuckled again, and Tony started thinking that not only was Dorneget ready for the challenge, but he might be ready to help him take it on.
"Alright. Pack your desk up. Move your stuff upstairs. Critten is probably wondering what the hell I'm doing. We're going to be working on our reports from last night's raid. I'll give you more instructions when I see you've gotten settled in." Tony turned and walked towards the door.
"Hey, Tony?" Dorneget called.
"Hmm?" he asked as he turned around.
"Thanks."
Tony smiled and nodded. "Don't thank me yet, kid. We have a rough four months ahead of you."