[Mother Hen]

Claire's POV:

After we had gotten back to D.C. Gibbs sent us all home and told us to take tomorrow off so we could catch up on our sleep. Protection detail was exhausting. As I walked over to my car Tony came running up to me.

"Hey you are staying at my place tonight." I looked at him wide eyed. Was this a perverted joke or a pickup line?...

"Why…" I cautiously asked. He rolled his eyes.

"Because you're still hurt so you need someone to take care of you." Oh this again.

"Tony I'll be fine on my own. I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself." I threw open my car door and winced. I had some stitches on my temple and on my ribs. I also bruised my torso pretty good from being thrown by the blast. Tony raised his eyebrow at me.

"Really?" he sarcastically asked. I sighed. Once he got something in his head it was hard to stop him.

"Fine" I reluctantly mumbled. He beamed and grabbed my keys from me.

"We will stop by your place so you can grab your clothes and then drive to my place. Leave your car here." He ordered. I followed him to his car and got in the passenger seat. We drove over in silence to my building. Once we parked he hopped out and opened my door for me. I gave him a weird glance. He was acting really odd and hovering over me like something bad was going to happen. We walked up to my apartment and once I unlocked it I went straight to my room. Grabbing a small duffle bag I stuffed a bunch of comfy clothes in it, knowing I didn't need to dress 'cute' for Tony. Once I had gotten all I needed I met Tony back in my living room. He was looking at some of the pictures on my wall thoughtfully.

"How is Devon?" Tony asked. Devon was my younger brother. I smiled fondly at the picture he was looking at. Devon had me thrown over his shoulder, since he was much bigger and taller than I was. I was holding his torso and grinning at the camera from my upside down position. It was my favorite picture of us. We were always close since he was only a year younger than I was and our parents were always a bit distant. Well mom left and dad got absorbed into his training gig. So we relied heavily on one another. Tony and Devon got along great, thankfully.

"He's doing good. He's still on deployment." Did I mention he was in the navy? That's part of the reason I joined NCIS. I wanted to be able to protect and defend him, and his fellow sailors.

"Good. You ready to go?" Tony asked. I nodded and we headed to the car. The whole way over Tony kept glancing over at me and scanning my face for any discomfort. What is up with him? We walked into his apartment and I threw my stuff onto the couch. Tony immediately picked it up and tossed it onto his bed.

"You're sleeping in my room tonight. I'll take the couch." He told me.

"Tony, no I can't do that." I protested. He was having none of it.

"No, I insist. You're the cripple." I glared at him, and he cheekily smiled. I was not a cripple. I grabbed my bag and headed into the bathroom to take a shower, too tired to argue at the moment. After a little bit of struggling to get my clothes off I stepped into the shower and felt my body relax under the warm water. After washing all the grime off me I stepped out into the now steam filled room. Dressing into my pajamas I walked out of the bathroom and grabbed a brush to start combing through my wet hair. I headed into the kitchen and saw that Tony had heated up some dinner for us. He wasn't really one for actual cooking. He handed me a plate and I gratefully took it as we both headed over to the couch and sat down. I winced a little and resituated myself.

"Are you ok? Do you need any painkillers or icepacks?" he quickly asked, picking up on my discomfort. I looked over at him curiously. Why was he so motherly and protective right now? Seeing my inquisitive look he stood back up and popped in a DVD. I wasn't paying attention to it as I kept thinking about his odd actions.

"What's up with you?" I finally asked him. He glanced over at me.

"What are you talking about?" he asked dumbly. I wasn't playing this game.

"Tony why do you keep looking at me like I'm gonna collapse any minute. I really am fine, just a little sore" I insisted. He sighed and turned off the movie.

"Look when you got hit, I freaked out. When I first saw you and you weren't moving I thought of all the worst case scenarios. I just couldn't handle the thought of losing you." he explained to me sincerely, maintaining eye contact the whole time. My heart skipped a little hearing that. Well of course he would think that, he's my best friend. I would be the same way.

"Tony. I. am. Fine. You couldn't have done anything to stop what happened. I will be ok. I promise nothing is going to happen to me. I couldn't do that to you, you'd be so hopelessly lost without me." I told him seriously. He smiled a little at my last comment.

"Oh please I can handle myself just fine." he scoffed jokingly. I laughed at the thought. Suddenly the painkillers started to kick in. I tried to hold back a yawn but it didn't work.

"Tired?" he asked, yawning himself. I smirked. He stood up rolling his eyes and took my plate since I was done with it. While he went to put the dishes in the sink I nestled myself onto his bed. Tony came into the room and grabbed some clothes before walking into the bathroom to change. He came back out a little later dressed in shorts and a t-shirt. I watched silently as he started to grab some extra blankets. I stopped him before he could leave.

"Tony just stay in here, we can just share the bed. I know that couch is really uncomfortable to sleep on." He looked at me hesitantly but shook his head.

"No I don't wanna risk hitting you or causing you any pain. I can sleep on the couch, it's not that bad….." he trailed off. He was terrible at lying to me.

"Tony the bed is big enough for both of us, plus some extra heat might just help my muscles relax so I can sleep." I tried to persuade him. I totally made the muscle thing up, I just didn't want him waking up with a sore back just because he wanted to take care of me. He rolled his eyes and agreed.

"Now don't worry I won't try any funny business, I promise." I joked smirking at him. He snorted, but I thought I detected a hint of a blush. Maybe it was just the lighting. Yea, that has to be it, why would he blush at a comment like that? I slipped under the covers and he got in after me. I had a weird calming feeling with him next to me, but I shook it off. He reached over and turned off the lamp so the room was plunged into darkness. I closed my eyes and rolled onto my back, so my ribs would be comfortable.

"Goodnight Tony." I whispered.

"Night Claire." I faintly heard before falling into a deep and blissful sleep.

3rdPerson POV:

Tony laid there for a moment on his side, looking at her sleeping face. She meant a lot to him and he was glad that she wasn't planning on leaving anytime soon. He knew the job was dangerous and unpredictable but knowing that she would be willing to stick around for him was comforting. Seeing that picture at her house, reminded him of the time he missed when they were apart. Maybe if he had tried harder to stay in touch things would have ended up differently between them. He shook his head and settled down to go to sleep. Those were crazy thoughts. Just to know that she was safe and for the most part unharmed was enough for him.

During the night he unconsciously reached over and put an arm over her waist, while she rolled slightly into him. That night they both slept without waking up, they were both instantly at ease just being in the same room as the other. Unfortunately when they woke up the next morning they had moved back to their original sleeping positions, unaware that their subconscious naturally drew toward the other. Perhaps one day they will realize the feelings that they both keep pushing aside.