Gibbs felt pretty good after the night spent thinking how to win over DiNozzo's trust. It also made him feel a little odd that he bothered when he hadn't done that with anyone else since Shannon, which made the whole situation even stranger. His good moment crumbled when entering the bullpen that morning, he saw the young man sitting behind his desk with his head between his hands, barely even glancing up when Gibbs sat behind his own desk. There wasn't even the usual 'morning, boss ' or the many variations of it.

Sipping at his coffee as a way to buy some time to come up with the right words, not that he ever needed a reason to drink coffee, Gibbs finally spoke, "Rough night, DiNozzo?" He was so close to start preaching about drinking on a school night, but since he was pretty sure what the reason to get drunk was, he decided to keep his mouth shut for now.

"You could say that," Tony muttered carefully. He'd woken up early in the morning in his own bed, with no memory of how he ended up in there. The last very foggy memories were of Isaac, his bar and drinking something that tasted like... something indescribable. He might never get the foul taste out of his mouth. As far as he could remember, he never even finished that one glass of the drink.

"Don't make it a habit."

"Yes, boss. No, boss. I won't, boss..."

Kate entered the bullpen looking equally hangover, although she did try her very best to look as normal as she could. Of course Gibbs' eyes didn't miss anything.

"You drink on a school night again, don't bother coming to work," he growled.

Kate flushed red and she sat slowly behind her desk, every movement causing additional discomfort. "Yes, Gibbs..." She glanced at her partner who looked at least just as miserable as she felt. She thought gleefully that at least she wasn't the only one suffering today. The saying 'misery loves company ' was very fitting in this case.

"DiNozzo."

"Yes, boss?" Tony glanced up from his desk with a pinched look on his face.

"Go get some coffee. You're gonna need it."

That's it? Kate frowned and then even more at the gentle tone Gibbs had used when talking to the young man.

"On it." Tony stood up carefully and left the room.

"Gibbs..."

"Not now, Kate," Gibbs snapped.

Drinking his coffee, Tony stepped in the elevator. Just the fresh air alone had made him feel better. It was nowhere near enough, but still much better than before. Pressing the elevator button to take him to the morgue, he leaned against the wall, rubbing at his forehead. His head was still trying to kill him and he hoped everything would go well. He was mad at Ducky, but he still liked the old man and didn't want their friendship to end up ruined because of something like this. By the time he finally walked in the room, he looked much more relaxed than what he really was.

"Anthony, my boy." Ducky smiled when he noticed the silent man standing there by the door.

"Can we talk?"

"Of course... Gerald," Ducky turned to speak to his assistant, "would you please be so kind and get us some breakfast?"

"Sure thing." Gerald nodded and smiling at Tony who barely returned the smile, he left, leaving the two men stare at each other.

Finally breaking the silence, Tony walked closer, leaning against the clean autopsy table. "You ever think about redecorating this place? I mean it still looks just the same when I walked in this room first time. Maybe add some color on the walls or something, you know, to make this place look a little happier. Not that there's anything happy about dead people, of course, unless it's some bad guy who killed other people."

"Anthony."

"Right. I'm rambling." Tony chuckled nervously and then he bit at his tongue, hoping it would stop him from rambling again. "You remember that day I walked in here? You know, the day."

"How could I forget?" Ducky smiled gently. Patiently.

"Yeah, you're right. I did end up telling you this crazy story about how we had already met." Setting his coffee mug on the autopsy table, Tony started playing with one of Ducky's tools on the table, wondering how many bodies it had been cut open with. He then picked up the 'scissors'. Of course, he had seen Ducky use them before, but he was mentally preparing himself for whatever outcome their talk would lead to, which was why he asked, "What's this for?"

"To open the intestines."

Dropping it back on the table, Tony walked around the table and stopped next to Ducky, where the man hadn't stopped working on the body. Staring at the bloody mess unseeingly, Tony finally asked, "You know how big my trust issues are, right?"

"I certainly do, my boy... Could you please hand me the toothed forceps?"

Walking to where the tools were, Tony picked it up. "This?"

"Yes. That one."

Handing it to the man, Tony stepped back to watch the work being done. "Gibbs and I had a little talk yesterday."

"What was it about?"

"He... revealed me a few things. Things that didn't exactly make me happy and I might have even snapped at him because of it."

Ducky stopped working for a moment, looking at Tony. "I see... So Jethro did indeed finally tell you the truth."

"What? How?"

"He told me."

"Of course he did."

The silence between them was painful. It almost never was silent when the two of them spent time together and yet right now Ducky was waiting for Tony to say something and Tony tried to ignore the suddenly growing headache. Doing this with a hangover might not have been such a good idea after all. All he really wanted to do right now was to go home and sleep.

It was Ducky who finally spoke, with a hint of shame and looking concerned, "Anthony... I apologize. I know I should have let you know the moment I found out Jethro had been listening."

"You're right, so why didn't you?" Tony forced his voice to remain calm. As upset as he was, he didn't want to yell at Ducky, like he'd scream at Gibbs. Not to mention all the times he actually even felt like punching his boss in the face. Although that reaction was mostly all thanks to the 'dream Gibbs' and the memories he had of him. His random flashbacks certainly didn't make things any easier.

"I had been hoping that Jethro would have told you himself, although much sooner than this. I didn't want to be the one you heard it from. Certainly not after you made it clear how easy it is to make you leave. I am sorry, Anthony... If it ever happens again, you have my word I will not keep it to myself."

Tony sighed and closed his eyes for a few seconds. Forgiving Ducky came much easier than forgiving Gibbs. "You're forgiven... if you do me a favor."

"Certainly. What do you need?"

"Do you still have those pain meds you usually give to me?"

"Of course. They are where I always keep them. What did you to yourself this time?" Ducky frowned, wondering how he hadn't noticed any injuries.

"Just a hangover. And my head feels a bit... floaty." At least it wasn't as bad as it had been when he woke up, plus he was able to think again.

"Anthony..."

"He didn't tear me a new one for drinking during school night and I already promised to not make a habit out of it."

Ducky chuckled. "You misunderstood me... I was going to ask if you are alright."

"I'm fine." Tony shrugged. He then decided to not let there be left any other misunderstandings. "You know how big my trust issues are, Ducky. I get it why you didn't tell me, but I'm still not sure how much I can share with you after this; how much I'm willing. It will take a while to build up that level of trust again..."

"I understand." Ducky smiled sadly, knowing he would have to earn it back.

"I know it's stupid. It's not like you actually told people my secrets behind my back or anything."

"No, Anthony. It's not stupid."

Tony sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Thank you for... For understanding."

"No, thank you."

They shared a short moment of understanding; very short since that's when Gerald rushed back. "I didn't interrupt something again, did I?"

"No. You came just in time." Tony gave a friendly pat on Gerald's shoulder as he left, picking up his somewhat lukewarm coffee on the way out.

Gibbs sat behind his desk, not doing much, other than glancing at the time every now and then. He was starting to feel a little worried when DiNozzo still hadn't returned. His hand went more than once toward his phone, but he stopped it each time before he did. He couldn't believe how one man made him worry so much and the way he preferred knowing where DiNozzo was or else he became agitated. It was not something he would freely admit to anyone though.

The elevator doors opened, revealing three men. Like most people in the bullpen, Gibbs didn't pay much attention to it, although now was one of those times when he probably should have. As it was, he barely even glanced and when he saw that it wasn't Tony, he lost whatever interest he may have had. Two of the men were their own agents, but the one in the middle looked old enough to retire. The man between the agents didn't follow them, instead he stood there for a moment, until he finally moved. What happened next, happened too fast to give anyone time to stop it.

Pointing his gun at Gibbs, the man screamed, "Leroy Jethro Gibbs!"

The whole bullpen was suddenly deadly silent, as if someone had pressed the 'freeze button' to freeze time around the man and his weapon.

Gibbs stared at the man and tried to think if he knew him, but he came up with nothing. Truth be told, he had made far too many enemies during the years to remember all of them. He kept his voice steady and calm when he spoke, "Look, why don't you put that thing down and we can talk."

"There will be no talking, Agent! I came here for one reason only; to kill you, you bastard!"

"It's my middle name," Gibbs stated calmly. In his mind he was cursing himself for spending too much time with Dinozzo, since it sounded just like something that fool would say in a situation like this. It had been a reason for several head slaps.

"Shut up!" The man didn't give anyone another chance to talk or stop him. He knew how they would try to buy some extra time and try to talk him out of this or take him out before he made his move. He knew all those trick; he had been doing this work much longer than Agent Gibbs, the man whose backup his son had been weeks ago, only to be killed in a shooting between the 'victim' and the agents. This so called victim had then been sent to live in some fancy crazy house, with the blessing of Agent Gibbs. There was no justice in that. It was unforgivable!

Gibbs stood frozen. Not that he was scared or anything, he wasn't, but he worried that now he might never get the chance to make things right with Tony. From the corner of his eye he saw movement; one of the agents, he assumed. There were two gunshots, one just a split second sooner than the other and Gibbs felt one of the bullets graze his left arm. He barely even flinched, staring at his shooter who was screaming in agony as he held his right hand, now covered in blood. A bullet had gone through it, taking one of the fingers with it.

Tony stood there with his eyes cold. He had fully intended to shoot to kill, but changed his mind right before shooting, knowing that killing in cold blood wouldn't do him any good. Not when he didn't have to kill. He was a killer, not a murderer. Even if no one else would find out, he'd know the difference and it would haunt him later. So instead the bullet had hit the hand holding the weapon, which wasn't something he had aimed for per se. The people staring at him didn't know it since there were some looks of awe. Others were either impressed or calmly professional, the latter being the first to deal with the situation. The weeping and cursing man was taken away without fight, leaving the finger somewhere where it would be found much later.

"Boss, are you alright?" Tony rushed to where his team was, leaving his gun on his desk. His worry was written all over his face and he wasn't trying to hide it.

"Ah, Tony..." Gibbs walked forward and almost pulled the man into a hug. Since it would have ruined his bastard image doing it in front of everyone and Tony probably wasn't ready for that either, he simply laid his hand over the shoulder. "That was some shot, DiNozzo. And from that spot... Should shoot like that more often. If I find out you've been holding back..."

Glancing around the room, Tony looked at Gibbs. Feeling uncomfortable. "It was a lucky shot. I was aiming someplace else. It could've ended up much worse. You could've... I should have shot in the head or something."

Gibbs hit the back of Tony's head, leaving his hand there. He said again, "Some shot, DiNozzo. Although, next time it better not be just a lucky shot." He grinned evilly. "Now that I know what you're capable of, I'll know exactly how much more I can expect from you at the shooting range."

Tony swallowed. "Couldn't let him kill you, boss."

"Oh, really?"

"Boss... We're not okay, but I'd never..."

"I got it." Forgetting his previous decision, Gibbs pulled Tony into a uncharacteristic hug, not hearing the shocked gasp coming from his other Agent.

Although he froze for a moment, Tony allowed himself to relax. Just for this one time, he told himself. Just for now. He tried to keep his mind calm, but from the corner of his eye he saw where the bullet had grazed Gibbs and the memory and the moment of understanding that this was it, finally reached his emotions. The moment when he realized that Gibbs was going to be killed and no one was doing anything. Surely there could have been one person with the brains and opportunity? Maybe he was being a little unfair... And Gibbs was still alive. That was the most important part. He still had to let off some steam later though.

"You did good," Gibbs whispered as he felt the slight tremors.

A little too soon, Tony pulled away, catching a glimpse of Kate staring at them with a thoughtful look on her face. He knew that he couldn't keep avoiding her attempts to talk with him. She obviously had noticed how he kept calling her 'Agent Todd ' and never joined in the playful banters that she tried to start with him. Part of him would have loved to jump in since arguing with Kate had been one of his favorite things, when it didn't go too far of course... But he couldn't trust himself or her enough to allow that to happen right now. He liked her, really did, but he was just too worried and focused making sure 'history' didn't repeat itself. Maybe he was bit too focused on it. At this rate he'd never start actually living his life. This life. The real life. Not the dream and always thinking about it and what could happen and how to stop those things from happening... No wonder he was so tired all the time. He could not possibly keep doing this much longer without finally losing it and ending up with some sort of mental breakdown.

"You know we're never going to live this one down... You won't be able to live it down, boss."

Gibbs grumbled and glared at the few agents still staring at them, making them squirm and leave the scene. "Watch me."

Some things never changed and with some of it Tony was glad to have it so. He needed the change, the difference, but he also needed the safety of something 'old' and familiar. However, much as he needed that, his biggest and constant fear was that Gibbs would let him feel and see his caring side, only to snatch it back the moment he would get used to it.

Please don't do that to me again, Gibbs...