A/N: I finished chapter 16 so in celebration here's a new chapter for all of you. If you find any mistakes annoying, find me a reliable beta reader, since i don't have one, you get to put up with the mistakes.
Tony's POV
I was sitting on the couch, next to Eric, when my cell rang, "DiNozzo, did you get those files where they need to be?" it was Gibbs.
"I'm at Eric's house, he said he'd bring them in with him tomorrow," I told Gibbs
"No, DiNozzo, there's been a change of plans, they want to grab this guy, as soon as he shows his face, I want you to get Eric to take you to Tim's place, I want you to guard him, until the FBI shows up, and even after, until I give you the word, that he's safe with who he's with, or I give the word, that the guy has been caught, got it DiNozzo?"
"Yes, Gibbs," I sighed.
"What is it, Tony?" Eric asked.
"I'm ordering you to protect a witness, DiNozzo, you have to do that," Gibbs reminded me.
"Gibbs has given me a new assignment, I'm supposed to protect Tim, from the killer he's been chasing," I said.
"Protect Tim?" Eric said.
"Those are my instructions, and I can't argue with them, will you come with me?" I asked.
"Sure, Tim might be more willing to have you there, if someone he knows is there, but one thing, I've never told him about us," Eric replied.
"Alright, I haven't told anyone either," I told him.
"Well, lets go," Eric said, We got into his SUV, as we drove, he asked, "Does anyone suspect, that you even like guys, or is your ladies man facade still holding up?"
"Kate probably suspects, but the Navy has a don't ask, don't tell policy, and I'm on the don't tell side," I replied.
Eric started laughing, "It's true, but it's funny, at the same time."
"Kate can ask, whenever she wants, I'll probably tell," I smiled
"It's strange, usually people don't have this kind of cooperation, with both wanting to keep their relationship secret," Eric said.
"That's because you don't hear about them."
We pulled up at a fair sized house, where Eric pulled into the driveway, I started looking around, alert, despite the fact that Gibbs seemed to think that I was irresponsible, I have gained responsibility since I started working for him, and was a responsible person before that.
We got out of the SUV, and I followed Eric up the front steps, he rang the doorbell, and Tim answered with a tired look on his face. "Do you know what time it is?" he asked.
"It's time for Gibbs to let me sleep, but I can't do that, until I follow orders, and the latest orders include protecting you," I said.
"Protecting me?" Tim asked.
"That's what he was told to do, so how about, we come in, make his boss happy, by being here, and if you want, you can go back to bed." Eric said.
"Come in, but I'm calling Gibbs," Tim said.
Tim walked away from the door, and we stepped in, it was a nice house, Eric pointed a few pictures out to me, as we waited for Tim to come back. "Alright, Tony, is it? You are welcome to sleep on my couch, but, Eric, you don't need to be here," Tim said.
"Actually, this, Jason Maverick has killed two men in Miami, who look enough like Eric, that even if he wasn't my friend, I wouldn't want to leave him alone," I told him.
"Fine, but you two are sharing the couch," Tim said, with a note of vindictiveness in his tone.
"Alright," I said, with a smile.
"Tony, his couch isn't a pullout," Eric said.
"Well, I call first shift sleeping, as I've been up since oh-five hundred this morning," I told him.
Tim started laughing, "Eric, I got a new couch last week, it is a pullout."
Tim pulled out some pillows, and sheets, dropping two blankets on top of the pile, he pulled the cushions off the couch, and pulled it out, "I bought it used, but the mattress is new, so you don't have to worry about what would show up under ALS," Tim put the sheets on, then the blankets, Eric and I pulled pillowcases on the two pillows. "Have a good sleep," Tim left the room.
I pulled off my jacket, and took off the holster I wore, causing Eric to pause, "You've been wearing that the whole time?"
"I always wear it, it's policy," I told him.
"Unless ..." Eric said, sensing the but.
"Unless I am on a submarine, plane, or am meeting the president," I replied. I took the gun out of the holster, checked it, and placed it on the end table, where it would be in easy reach.
I took off my shirt and pants, and was about to climb into the bed, when Eric said, "You can't sleep like that, not sharing a bed with another guy."
"Fine," I pulled open my bag, and pulled out a pair of training pants, that I used for my morning runs.
"Better?" I asked.
"Much, now, touch me, and I will beat you," he said.
"Me touch you," I laughed, "you're the one who's a cuddle bum," I had picked up an accent, spending time in an Irish neighbourhood, and it still came out once in awhile.
Eric and I laughed, while climbing under the blankets, we positioned ourselves at opposite ends of the mattress, I reached up, and shut off the light, then checked that I could reach my gun, and repositioned it, so that I could reach it, turning on my side, I looked at Eric, "This is strange, the first time we shared a bed, was one just like this, Gibb's office, I believe, he was ready to kill me in the morning, for breaking in there."
"You were the one who invited me, the same weekend as a conference, where there were no hotel rooms, and then your building was being fumigated," Eric said.
"That was not my fault, I was told two days before," I reminded him.
"Are you two done arguing yet?" Tim called from the bedroom.
"Yes daddy," I called, causing Eric to laugh.
"How long is it now?" Eric asked quietly.
"How long for what?" I asked.
"Since you saw him last?" Eric responded.
"I don't know, how long have I known you?" I usually answered questions like that, with a question.
"Just answer the question."
"I was fifteen, I don't know why I ever stepped on a base again, after what he did," I laughed, "he kicked me out, disowned me, and now I work to protect the likes of him in some cases."
"Fifteen, out on your own, I'm glad you found my mother, best thing that ever happened in my house, we saved you, and you saved my brother, more than once," Eric smiled.
"He wasthree, whenhe came ashore, right? Your mom eight and a half months pregnant with you?"
"Yes, you should call him sometime, he was fifteen, when you left, such a usual number, don't you think? The killer's first victims, the ones who survived, you, me, my brother,"
"Yes, Eric, I do call him once a week, but he doesn't want to talk to me, not since he found out," I told him.
"That's Mark for you, he won't talk to anyone if he's mad, I sometimes wish I could call him, for you, but I know that would only make it worse."
We fell asleep soon after, and I slept like a log, getting up at seven the next morning. Eric was cuddled up to my side, and I slipped out of his grasp, I pulled on a t-shirt, from my bag, then my holster, then I checked my gun, before putting it back in it's holster. "You remind me of an FBI agent," Tim said, I hadn't realized he was up. I walked to the table, where he sat, and said, "I used to be, personal protection, for witnesses, between moves, and on vacation, whenever they had need of additional security,"
"And you have no problem slipping back into that role?" Tim asked.
"Nope, that's one of the reasons Gibbs hired me," I told him.
"I was just waiting for you to get up, what would you like for breakfast?" Tim changed the subject.
"I'm not sure, I'm not used to eating right after waking up, whatever," I told him.
"How can you not be used to eating right after you wake up?" he asked.
"I usually go for a run in the morning, or when I sleep at work, it's usually a big case, and I don't have time to eat."
"Interesting, so does Eric always cuddle like that?"
"Whenever we end up sharing space," I told Tim.
Tim seemed about to say something, when my cell rang, "DiNozzo," I said.
"DiNozzo, he's killed someone else in Vegas, he took a flight that landed in Miami an hour ago, how far are you currently from the airport?" Gibbs asked.
"How far is your place from the airport?" I asked.
"Less than an hour," Tim said, "Why?"
"Less than an hour, Gibbs, I'll stay alert," I told him.
"Get him to the crime lab, where security is tighter," Gibbs told me.
"There is risk involved in moving him," I told Gibbs.
"There is risk in everything, get him to the lab,"
"Yes sir," I said. Hanging up my phone, I turned to Tim, "grab what you need, we're going to the lab."
"There's more risk in moving me, than staying put, I know that, so I don't think it's a good thing to do," Tim said.
"I tried to tell Gibbs that, but he wouldn't listen," I told Tim, I went back to the living room, and shook Eric, "Get up, we have to go."
"Why?" he asked.
"Orders," I Grabbed my jacket, and pulled it on, I opened the bag with my things in it, and pulled out my second gun, putting it in my waist band. There was a thud, above us, in the attic, "get your gun," I told Eric, and moved towards the bedroom, Tim was standing at the closet door, shoving some things in a bag. "Where's your attic door?" I asked.
"Hall closet, why?" he looked at me.
I didn't respond, just left the room, and drew my gun, Eric came up beside me, "Stay with Tim," I whispered to him, and grabbed a footstool, in the closet, I pushed the attic door open, and looked up, there was a pull down ladder, I pulled it, and climbed up. "I am me, who am I? I am me, who am I?" There was a moaning, coming from the corner, I looked over, and pointed my gun at him, "I'd ask who you are, but you're asking yourself that, What's your name?"
"All I wanted was for you to know my name," he yelled, and charged me.
I had two choices, let him hit me, and fall, and probably die, or shoot him, I chose the third, to step out of his way, he fell head first, through the trap door, and I jumped down behind him, cuffing him. He rolled himself over, as soon as the cuffs were tight, "Why, Nick, why, you and I, we were so close,"
"I'm not Nick, who are you?" I asked, "What were you doing in the attic?"
"I was looking for Nick, have you seen Nick?" he asked.
"Who are you?" I asked again.
"Nigel Crane," Eric said, from behind me, startling me, "A friend from Vegas told me about him, he escaped from the psychiatric ward, recently, they didn't know where he went, so they called me, in case he came to Miami."
I groaned, not only did we have a prisoner now, but we still had to get to the lab, somehow. I pulled out my cell phone, and hit the one memory key, I didn't think I would ever need again, when I joined NCIS. There was a noncommital touch tone message, I had long since memorized what numbers were for what major cities, I hit Miami's code, it was answered by a car rental company, I used old codes, hoping that they would still be good. "I requested a moving van, for an hour and a half ago, it's not here," I told the man.
"I'm sorry sir, I have no record of that," The man replied.
"I have a receipt here, it was paid for by my friend, Speedle," I told him.
"What are you doing?" Tim asked me.
"He used to be an FBI agent," Eric replied.
"Used to be?" Tim asked.
"He joined NCIS almost three years ago, because he discovered the FBI was discriminating against him, whenever he was up for a promotion," Eric told him.
I finally got through the codes, and had the van on it's way, I hadn't realized, being on the other end, what it was like, to need to move someone fast, and having to go through the long code, to get some backup. "Backup's on it's way," I told them, "let's be ready."
"What about him?" Tim pointed to the mumbling guy in handcuffs.
"The FBI takes him back to Vegas, where he's going to go back to the psych hospital, he'll be charged with home invasion here, if it will keep him locked up longer, but if someone called to tell Eric this guy was loose, my guess, is he did something that will keep him locked up for most of the rest of his life." I told Tim.
We all sat in the living room, Tim, and Eric were arguing over the tv channel, but I sat alert, watching the front door, I had never been on this side of things, the waiting, was harsh, I was used to assembling the team, loading eight men into three cars, or vans, depending on the situation, and getting to the location.
At the location, I'd go up to the Sniper's position, in most cases, but occasionally, I'd be part of the entry team, go in, get the witness, and get out, with someone watching my back. I knew what was supposed to go down, I heard a car pull up, and a door slam, that meant a single occupant, I stood up, and walked to the door, looking through the peephole, I saw a man in a grey suit walking up the driveway, he was unfamiliar to me. A neighbour ran up to him, and they talked for a little while.
Horatio's POV
I was walking up to Tim's house, neither him or Eric had shown up for work, Eric wasn't at home, either, but his car was in the drive. One of Tim's next door neighbours came up to me, "Mr Caine," the man looked at the house, "I saw a couple of men, go into Tim's house, late last night, early this morning, I was trimming my side of the hedge, when I heard a thud inside, I don't know what happened, but I'm kind of worried, and to scared to approach, one of the guys looked pretty tough, the other looked kind of, scared."
I nodded, and told him to wait out of sight, with his cell phone, if something happened.
I walked up to the door, and rang the bell, "Tim, do you recognize this guy?" a strange voice asked.
There were footsteps inside, and Tim's voice, "Yeah, he's our boss, let him in," the footsteps moved away from the door, a minute later, the door opened, I was pulled in, and the door closed behind me, someone pushed me into the living room, Tim and Eric were there, and some guy was sitting on the floor, rocking, his hands cuffed behind his back. "Who's he," I asked.
"Which one?" Eric asked.
"The guy who looks ready to shoot someone," I said.
"Oh, that's Tony DiNozzo," Tim said.
"Who?" I asked.
"Special Agent Tony DiNozzo," he said, flashing a badge, to quick for me to catch an agency name, but it reminded me of the FBI.
I sat down on the couch, and asked, "What's going on here?"
"There's a murderer after two men, that my team is protecting, one of them is Tim," DiNozzo said.
"And the other?" I asked.
"He's in Las Vegas," DiNozzo said.
"And there's only one team protecting them?"
"Not by choice, trust me," DiNozzo sat on the armrest, further from me, Eric sat on his side of the couch, and Tim in the chair.
We just sat there, silent, I jumped, when a cell phone rang, Eric answered, after the second ring, DiNozzo seemed to be in his own little world. "Hold on," Eric held the phone in front of DiNozzo, who took it silently. "Tony here."
A minute later, he hung up, and turned to Eric, "I need to talk to you."
A/N: I origanally posted this chapter a couple days ago, but now, my computer died, I had just started chapter 17 and was working on finishing touches for 16, when it began to malfunction, I know i have to the end of 15 backed up, but i can't even access those files from my mom's computer to check, b/c her USB port is blocked. I'm ready to cry, if in order to fix my computer i lose all my files, i lose overa week's worth of writing, and other things, including homework. I'm hoping beyond all hope, that doesn't happen, b/c that's just not cool. N/E way, as stands, until my computer is fixed, which may not be for awhile.
