A Dare, Or Something More Sinister?
Rating: T
Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS... I'm just taking the characters for a spin!
Author's Notes: Thank-you all for the reviews, I'm glad you all like it... as always a few more wouldn't go unnoticed! Please!
And of course, again a humungous thank-you to Kate for her terrific inspiration and fantastic work!
This chapter is a lot longer than the rest, hope you enjoy it!
Hope everybody had a fantastic New Year!
Tony woke up to find Kate and Ducky were up already. He rubbed at his eyes and got off the bunk, cursing himself for not changing into PJ's before going to bed. He walked back to the hospital wing to find Ducky and Kate in Gibbs' room, talking quietly. Gibbs looked slightly better, his colour was no longer grey and the tube that was down his throat last night had been removed, replaced with an oxygen mask.
Tony yawned, "What's for breakfast?"
Kate rolled her eyes. "Actually, I believe it's closer to lunch time, Anthony" Ducky replied
"Special Agent DiNozzo" a voice said from behind Tony
"Have you found Brown yet? Srg Vinci" Tony asked without turning around, remembering the young man's voice from last night.
"No, sir" the Srg replied, "He left on a chopper"
"What!" Tony asked, turning around
"S-sorry, sir. He's a pilot. He flew himself outta here" Vinci replied
"I thought I said that no chopper was to leave here without my permission!" Tony snapped
"You did…I'll take care of it, sir, sorry" Vinci replied quickly after seeing the glare on Tony's face, and almost ran out of the room
Tony sighed then glanced at Gibbs, before looking down. "We'll get him, boss"
"So, why are, you standing there, telling me about it?" Gibbs asked, between breaths
Tony looked back to the bed to see Gibbs with his eyes half-open, with one of his hands resting on his chest, holding the oxygen mask down so that he could talk.
"Boss, you're awake!" Tony exclaimed.
"Jethro, you need to keep that on" Ducky chided him, getting up to replace the mask
"Where is Brown?" Gibbs asked
"He did a Keyser Soze, boss" Tony replied
Gibbs took off the mask again and gave Tony a puzzled look, "Who?"
Gibbs began coughing, making Ducky get up and replace the mask again, giving him a concerned look
"Keyser Soze, one of the characters in The Usual suspects." Tony said, "Kevin Spacey and Stephen Baldwin. Great movie…"
"Tony!" Gibbs snapped, and between coughs asked "Where the hell is Brown?"
"Do you want the long version or the abridged version, boss?" Tony asked, then after a look from Gibbs, quickly added "We lost him"
"So find him" Gibbs snapped
"On it, boss" Tony replied, but didn't move.
"Now! Tony" Gibbs said, trying to sit up
"We can't, Gibbs. He flew himself outta here on a chopper. We've notified all airports, police, local authorities and anybody else worth notifying within flying distance." Tony replied
Gibbs breathed out heavily and swung his legs over the side of the bed, tossing off the oxygen mask. Sitting upright on the side of the bed, he began trying to pull out the IV line, when Ducky stopped him.
"Gibbs, you need your rest" he told him sternly
"I have a murderer to catch, Ducky!" Gibbs barked
"Yes, but you won't be much help to anybody if you pass out" Ducky responded
"I won't pass out, Ducky" Gibbs growled, shaking off the ME's hands, and pulling out the IV line
Ducky sighed. "You won't be able to do much from the boat, Jethro"
"That's why we're flying outta here" Gibbs said slowly, starting to cough. He took a few deep breaths to regain his breath and slowly put weight on his feet, "And it's a ship, not a boat"
"There are no helicopters on the ship at the moment, Gibbs" Kate said
"Actually one just landed" McGee said as he walked into the room, "Morning, boss"
Gibbs grunted, pulling his hand back from the bed to stand without support, on his own two feet, swaying a bit from standing on his own steam. He gave a small smile and looked over at Ducky, "And they said I wouldn't make it" he said, referring to the nurses and his condition. "Where are my clothes?"
"I'll get 'em" McGee said, leaving the room to go to the nurse's station
The four of them stood in silence until McGee came back a bit later with Gibbs' clothes. Gibbs took a few uneasy steps towards McGee, then stumbled into Kate who caught him. "Dammit!" he cursed under his breath
"Hey, I've got you, Jethro" she said, causing everybody in the room to raise their eyebrows
Gibbs smirked, "We're gonna have to stop meeting like this, people will start talking" he said between breaths as Kate helped him upright
"Or we could just go along with it" Kate suggested
"Nah wouldn't work." Gibbs responded seriously, "Nobody would believe it"
"Why not? You got a good body, and you're sexy" Tony said, "For an old man" he quickly added, explaining "I mean, to a women"
Everybody turned to Tony, raising their eyebrows at him. "Something you wish to tell us, Tony?" Gibbs asked, still leaning on Kate
Tony blushed and looked at Gibbs, then Kate "Ah, no boss" he said, uncomfortably, "I mean, yeah, I do actually"
"Would you like to expand on that?" Gibbs asked when Tony didn't say anymore
"Um, well, women are… I mean, women judge other women, say whether they think they are hot or good looking. Men do too; we don't necessarily say it aloud, at least not always. I'm just saying that you are good looking, for a guy." Tony explained, "Attractive even. But that's not too say that I think of you in that way, I'm not gay"
Gibbs frowned, and then nodded. "You're just, getting in touch with your feminine side" McGee commented
"Anthony, it is normal for men to be curious about…" Ducky began
"Ducky, I am not gay! I like women!" Tony insisted, interrupting Ducky
Kate frowned, then shrugged, "He's right though. Women judge other women, I'm betting men do the same." She looked up at Gibbs, "And you are sexy. Now, let me get you into bed"
McGee cackled and Ducky rubbed his face to hide his smirk, whilst Tony laughed outright. Kate blushed a deep red and looked at Gibbs who was smiling. "That an offer, Kate?"
Kate blushed a deeper red and opened her mouth to say something, but closed her mouth when she couldn't think of anything to say. She looked up at Gibbs who was still smirking at her; she looked over at McGee who had a thoughtful expression on his face as he looked between Gibbs and Kate. Her attention came back to Gibbs as she felt him almost lose his balance.
"Ah, Ducky?" Gibbs asked
Kate looked back up at Gibbs, to find that his face had gone pale and he was squinting in the general direction of Ducky.
"Yes, Jethro" he replied
"Where are you?" Gibbs asked
Ducky walked over to him and took his other arm. Gibbs gave him a small smile and stepped back. If it hadn't been for Kate and Ducky holding him upright, he would have fallen over. "This doesn't change anything, I want to go back on that chopper" Gibbs said
"And you will" Ducky replied, helping him walk back to the bed, "All in good time"
"There's no time like the present" Gibbs slurred, in between breaths as the effort of walking began to exhaust him
"Indeed" Ducky agreed, "But first you must regain your strength"
They reached the bed and Gibbs sat down on the edge of it, taking a few deep breaths, "I could do that in the chopper"
"Oh, stop with the whole 'macho-man' act, Gibbs" Kate said, "Do you even know how close we all came to losing you last night!". He looked up at her, surprised, and shook his head.
"We thought you were going to die, boss" Tony told him
Gibbs glanced at Tony, then looked at the ground.
"Yeah, then today you act as if its no big deal and that nothing happened" Kate said
"That's because nothing did" Gibbs replied, "I'm still here"
Kate looked at him in disbelief and left the room. McGee watched her leave and turned to see Tony glaring at Gibbs. "Go after her, Tim" Tony told him without looking away from Gibbs. McGee raised his eyebrows at being called by his first name, but did as he was told, "And close the door behind you". McGee nodded, then left.
"That was unfair, Jethro" Ducky told Gibbs as the door closed
"What!" Gibbs asked, apparently oblivious to what he'd done
"Okay, boss, I want you to listen to what I'm gonna say, and I want you to listen good" Tony said
Gibbs cocked his head on the side and frowned, but didn't say anything, waiting for Tony to continue.
Tony opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't think of anything to say, he closed his mouth and thought for a moment. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Gibbs was starting to get agitated, but decided to let him sweat it out for a while longer. He sighed and took his PDA out of his pocket and looked at it for a moment, then looked up at Gibbs. "Boss, I don't actually have much to say, because a picture speaks a thousand words". He turned the PDA around to show Gibbs the photo that he'd shown Kate only a day ago.
Gibbs looked up from the photo at Tony, let out a breath and swung his legs onto the bed and leaned back, to stare at the ceiling. Then he asked slowly, "How much is it gonna cost me…?"
"Oh no you don't. This is not just gonna go away." Tony replied, "She was worried sick about you yesterday, I don't know what she would have done if you hadn't made it"
Gibbs sighed and closed his eyes, "She would never feel that way towards me, Tony"
"What a load of bullshit!" Tony snapped
"Besides, she values her job too much" Gibbs said
"Jethro, there is more to Caitlin than meets the eye" Ducky said
Gibbs gave Ducky a confused look, before closing his eyes again. "You should talk to her" Ducky said
Gibbs mumbled something, but neither Ducky, nor Tony caught it.
"What was that, boss?" Tony asked
Gibbs huffed, "Nothing" keeping his eyes closed; turning onto his side, facing away from both men, "I guess I never thought she would think of me that way, like she didn't care or anything"
"Well, I don't know what made you think that" Tony responded, "I've never seen Kate like that before. She didn't eat, she hardly slept, she's been so worried about you"
"Really?" Gibbs asked, still facing the wall
Tony exchanged concerned glances with Ducky, "Yeah. Speak to her boss," Tony said as he put a supportive hand on Gibbs' shoulder. Gibbs flinched at the contact, "She might surprise you"
"The last time I was surprised by a woman was when my third ex-wife attacked me with a baseball bat. Not a surprise I want to experience again" Gibbs said
"There are no baseball bats on board, Gibbs" Tony responded, "And she would never do that"
Gibbs grunted, "I don't know. I need to think about it" he mumbled
"What is there to think about, Jethro? You are both attracted to each other and…" Ducky began
"And it could end in disaster." Gibbs interrupted, "Like every other relationship I've ever been in"
"Yes, but this relationship is different" Ducky responded
"What the hell makes you say that?" Gibbs asked frustrated, turning around
"Well, she's not a red-head" Tony quipped. Gibbs glared at him, then looked back at Ducky
"How do you know this won't end badly?" Gibbs asked
"Because I've never seen Kate cry before" Tony replied
Gibbs froze and narrowed his eyes at Tony, "She cried?" he asked, shocked
"Twice. Three times if you count her eyes filling with tears" Tony replied
"She cried for me?" Gibbs asked in disbelief
"No, she cried for world peace and because Goldilocks ate her porridge" Tony said sarcastically
"Shit!" Gibbs said under his breath and groaned as he lay back on the bed. He pinched his nose and stared at the ceiling, "Even if there was something there, between us, it would never work"
"Well it won't if you're not prepared to try" Ducky replied exasperated
"It's called self-preservation" Gibbs mumbled and closed his eyes again
Tony frowned, "You admitting you have feelings for Kate, boss?" he asked, a smirk appearing on his face
Gibbs made an unintelligible sound and pulled the covers on the bed around his shoulders
"What was that, boss?" Tony asked
Tony's question was me with silence as Gibbs didn't reply. Ducky watched the rise and fall of his friend's chest and gently called his name. When he didn't reply, Ducky looked at Tony, slightly surprised, "I believe our friend has fallen asleep, Anthony". He grabbed Tony lightly on the arm and led him out of the room, "Let's go and find young Caitlin"
That's it for chapter 21... I hope you like it! Please review, please!