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 work and inspiration!
Warning: Mild slash
A very long chapter, I kinda got carried away…okay, i got hugely carried away...
Tony looked up at the elevator dinged and McGee walked out, yawning. He walked to his desk, dropping his bag and slumping into his seat and putting his head on the desk, "What time is it? And why are we here?" he croaked
"Abby didn't tell you?" Tony asked, remembering that Abby had answered McGee's cell
"No, she told me to get changed and into the car, ASAP. Then she dropped me off here and told me to have fun and not piss-off 'boss-man'" McGee answered, closing his eyes
Tony smiled, "You're gonna have to look more alive than that when 'boss-man' does arrive, probie, don't know what I interrupted, but he sounded majorlly pissed off"
McGee opened one of his eyes and groaned, finally sitting up, and yawning again.
"So, what time is it?" McGee asked again
"Depends what clock you go by, the one on the wall says five past three. The one on my computer says," Tony paused and gave a 'humph', "Six past three"
McGee frowned, putting his head back on the desk, "You know, I saw that clock on the wall stop," he closed his eyes, "Thought I'd made time stop"
"I know you're up with technology and all, Probie, but making a clock stop just by staring as it is a bit too much, don't you think?"
McGee mumbled something and stifled another yawn. They both looked up as the elevator dinged and Kate and Gibbs walked out, each carrying two cups of coffee and looking equally annoyed. Tony narrowed his eyes at them, wondering why they had arrived together. They walked into the bullpen and Gibbs handed Tony one of the coffees whilst Kate gave McGee the other.
"This had better be good, DiNozzo" Gibbs said
"Oh, don't worry, it is, you're gonna love me" Tony responded
"I'm not worried" Gibbs said
"Good. Ok, so for the last couple of weeks I've been looking at some places in Idaho, places just to stay in, until I found this one cabin near Lewiston and Moscow. Anyway, I put an offer in to buy it, and it was higher than everybody else's bid…" Tony started
"This going anywhere, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked, agitated
"Ah, yeah. Well, I thought I'd got the place, until yesterday, somebody had come in with a higher offer and the owner sold it. Then tonight, I was wondering why it was bugging me so much, the place was in the middle of nowhere and nobody else was interested. So, I looked up what amount the guy offered, he'd almost doubled mine, then I found the name of the guy, Antonio Baileys" Tony said, smiling
Gibbs and Kate exchanged frustrated glances, "Ok, I can see how you got his first name, but, Baileys?" Kate asked
"Yeah, it was his mum's maiden name" Tony replied
"Actually his mum's maiden name was Daly" McGee said, sitting up
"Right" Tony agreed, still smiling, "But you're wrong. Her surname was Baileys, before she married Mark Daly. They divorced but she kept his name, then she married Anthony's father David Brown. So when she got married to David, her name on the marriage certificate was Daly, not Baileys."
Kate frowned, "Isn't that a bit of a stretch?"
"A bit, that's why I looked up Antonio Baileys," Tony replied, pointing to the plasma as a picture came up, "When I found the picture, I did more of a work up on him and found a more complete financial record," Tony switched the picture on the plasma, showing the records, "Which show the last place he stayed, a hotel called 'The one stop inn', where he's been for the last day. I did more of a work up, but it's not very relevant". Tony changed the picture of the plasma again, to show a map, "And that's where the hotel is"
Gibbs nodded, "Good work. McGee can you download that to Kate's PDA?" he said as he walked back to the elevator, "I want you all at my car in 5, we're going for a road-trip"
Gibbs drove with McGee giving him directions from the back seat, whilst Tony played with the stereo, trying to get some music.
"Boss, you're sound system is fubar" Tony told him as he turned off the stereo
"He doesn't have a sound system, Tony" Kate replied sleepily, from the back seat
"I do, it just doesn't work well" Gibbs replied, taking a sharp left, making everybody hang onto their seats
"It doesn't work at all, boss" Tony responded
"It does, it screeches. Perhaps you should come shopping with us when we go shopping for a car" McGee said
"I don't think so, Probie" Tony said
"Why not? It could be like, a boy's day out, a bit of male-bonding" Kate said
Tony snorted, then coughed to cover it up. Gibbs gave him a side-ways glance, before over taking a road-train.
"Yeah, we could make a day of it" McGee said optimistically
"I don't know if I could spend a whole day with you two" Gibbs stated
"Why? It's not like you don't do it all the time" Kate responded
"But that's at work, Kate," Gibbs responded, "Besides; I don't think the radio needs replacing"
"I do, it sounds like a fog horn" Kate said
"Never heard one of those…care to demonstrate Kate?" Tony asked
Gibbs smacked him over the back of his head, without taking his eyes off the road. "I like listening to the sound of the engine, Katie"
Tony rubbed the back of his head, and frowned, turning back to Gibbs as he realised he'd called Kate 'Katie'
"Katie? Is there a personal relationship going on here that I don't know about?" Tony asked, wriggling his eye-brows
"No!" Kate and Gibbs said in unison. Tony gave them his best charming smile and looked to McGee who was smirking
"What? Gibbs and Kate? Dunno Tony, I think that might be a long shot" McGee said
"It's possible, Probie, I think the coffee is affecting his brain" Tony said, studying Gibbs
"Are you two just gonna talk about us like we're not here?" Kate asked
"You hear something, Probie?" Tony asked
"Nope. But what about rule 12?" McGee responded
Tony's smile faded and he turned to look out the window. He rested his elbow on the arm rest and brought his arm up, chewing on the end of one of his fingers, "Yeah, what about rule 12?"
Gibbs glanced at Tony and frowned, wanting to ask if something was up, but missed his opportunity when McGee spoke again.
"Maybe his rules are subject to change at anytime without notice" McGee suggested
"Yeah, did I forget to mention that rule to you when I employed you?" Gibbs asked
Gibbs watched as the heads of Kate and McGee snapped to him, followed by a mixture of "Uh, yeah, boss/Gibbs". Gibbs smiled and tapped the steering wheel as he waited to overtake a convey of caravans.
Kate grinned, "Is that rule 15?"
"Nope. It's rule 16" Gibbs replied
Kate frowned, confused, "I thought you said there was only 15"
Tony looked lost, "Did I miss something?"
"Well, welcome back, DiNozzo" Kate said, "Gibbs just told us rule 16" she told him matter-of-factly
"16? What are 14 and 15?" Tony asked, confused, "And why weren't we told?"
"Because you weren't there, DiNozzo" Gibbs replied
"Well, I'm here now…care to explain?" Tony asked, slightly irritated
"No, not really" Gibbs replied, dropping down a gear to pass the caravans
Tony grumbled and turned back to stare out the window again
"He told us what rule 16 was though" McGee pointed out
"And what was that, Probie?" Tony asked, still looking out the window
"That his rules are subject to change at anytime without notice" McGee replied
"What!" Tony shouted
Gibbs winced. "Do you wanna say that any louder?" Kate asked
"So it cancels out rule 12?" Tony asked, excitedly
Gibbs glanced at Tony, frowning again, "Sometimes"
Tony laughed, "That's fantastic!"
"There's an agent you want to date?" Kate asked. The only response she got was Tony laughing again. "Honestly, Tony, why does that not surprise me? So, spill, what's her name?"
Tony blushed and said seriously, "That's on a need to know basis, Kate"
Gibbs watched Tony for a while, before saying, "Well, DiNozzo, I need to know"
"No you don't" Tony responded, but after a look from Gibbs, said "Ah, you don't know them, boss"
"Try me" Gibbs said
Tony turned to look at Gibbs, squarely in his eye, "I'd really rather not"
"Gibbs, coffee!" McGee said, pointing to the side of the road, where a star-bucks was located
"Good idea. I need to stretch my legs" Kate responded, thinking of the journey which they were only three hours into, and much longer until they got to where they were going
"But the convey will pass us, and the road trains" Gibbs grumbled
"Yeah, well, I'm sure you'll pass them again, boss" Tony responded, "And I wanna get outta the car too", then said under his breath to himself, "Get away from you guys, breathing space"
"See, you're outnumbered three to one, majority wins, pull over" Kate demanded, "And you need coffee as well"
"I do?" Gibbs asked as he pulled into the parking lot, "Don't know about needing it, thought I'd proven that already"
"Well, yes and no" McGee answered
"Well, which is it McGee, yes or no?" Gibbs asked as he parked the car and applied the handbrake
"According to Ducky, no" McGee answered as Tony got out of the car and walked off
Gibbs groaned and got out of the car, Kate and McGee doing the same.
"I'll get the coffees" McGee said, wondering inside
Gibbs nodded and walked around the car to stand in-front of Kate. "What's up with Tony?" he asked
Kate shrugged, looking up at him, "He's been acting weird since you went missing"
Gibbs shook his head, "No, I think this has been going on longer. Any idea about the agent he's interested in pursuing a relationship with?"
She shook her head, "But I don't think you should push him about it. See if he can work through it himself"
"Yeah" he replied, "Let's go for a walk"
They walked off to a nearby park, Gibbs taking her hand as they walked. Passing a few benches that didn't look stable enough to sit on; they entered the playground and sat on the swings. Kate smiled as she sat down and looked at the big tree just off to the side of the playground. She stood up again and approached the tree, feeling Gibbs' eyes follow her. She reached out and touched the trunk of the tree, noticing the colour of the bark and the sap that clung to one of the branches.
"So, are you gonna hug it?" she heard Gibbs' voice call out from the swings
Running her hands along the bark and up to the first branch, she tightened her grip and hoisted herself up onto the branch, to straddle it. "So, Jethro, how long has it been since you climbed a tree?" she called
"Not long enough" came Gibbs' voice from beneath her
She looked down to find that he'd somehow moved from the swings to over here without her noticing.
"You gonna give me room to get up, Agent Todd?" he asked
Kate smiled and continued climbing, looking back in time to see Gibbs lift himself to the first branch. They climbed until they found a spot half-way up the tree where they could both sit comfortably.
"Ah, boss, I don't think that's a wise idea" McGee's voice came from the bottom of the tree, "I don't think Ducky had this in mind when he said you have to take it steady"
"Got my coffee, McGee?" Gibbs called down
"Yeah" McGee replied
"Well, are you going to bring it up to us?" Kate asked
"No. If you want it, you're gonna have to come down" McGee responded
"Ah, don't spoil their fun, Probie. I'll take it up" Tony's voice came floating up to them. They heard him puff them ask McGee for their coffees. A few minutes later they saw Tony's head appear a few branches beneath them.
"So, you decided to join us, DiNozzo" Gibbs stated
"Yeah," Tony replied, climbing to the next branch, so they were almost level, "You're coffees" he said, holding out the cup holder, taking one of the cups.
Tony sat down and took a sip of the coffee and screwed up his face, "I think that one's yours, boss"
Tony and Gibbs exchanged coffees and fell into silence. Tony rubbed his face with his free hand and looked at Gibbs, "Were you serious?" he asked. Gibbs frowned and Tony decided to clarify, "About um, rule 16 overruling rule 12?"
Gibbs took another sip of his coffee and looked over the brim of the cup, squinting at Tony as the sun began to rise and shone in his eyes, "I said it depends"
"On what?" Tony asked
"I want to know who" Gibbs stated
Tony swore and looked away, "Why can't you just respect my wishes? That I don't want to tell you who"
"Why not?" Gibbs asked, "I can tell you who to avoid, some of them are great agents, but in relationships…"
"Gibbs!" Kate glared at him
Gibbs sighed and held out his hands in surrender "Okay, then my answer is no, rule 12 still applies. I don't want you getting hurt"
"You're such a bastard!" Tony said under his breath, looking down at his coffee
"Never pretended not to be" Gibbs responded
Tony looked back up, "Fine, well, I'm going to resign. I'll have my resignation on your desk when we get back. My two weeks notice is effective immediately"
"What!" Gibbs almost shouted. Kate's eyes widened and her mouth dropped in shock. "Like hell you are! I'm not accepting your resignation! Tell me who the goddamn agent is!"
Tony sighed and looked down, biting down on his lower lip until he could taste blood, "Ah, Agent…" Tony paused and stared off into the distance. He didn't notice as his hand loosened on the coffee cup, letting it fall to the ground. "Agent, um…" Tony squinted at a spot behind Kate and Gibbs, feeling his face burning.
"Spit it out, Tony!" Gibbs snapped
Tony's eyes focused back on Gibbs, and almost lost his balance, his hand quickly shooting to the nearest branch to stop his fall.
"Shit, Tony!" Gibbs said, softly, putting his hand on Tony's shoulder.
Tony shook his hand off and looked out to the distance, blinking back tears. He bit his lip again, and tried to think of how to tell them.
Kate sensed his reluctance, "Tony, you don't have to tell us"
He nodded, "And lose my job, Kate?" he asked, not looking at her. Then he gave a small smile, "Passed my use-by date, hey boss?"
"You never had a use-by date" Gibbs told him seriously. "Tony, do we know this agent?"
Tony nodded, looking away from them again as tears started to fall down his face.
"Do we work with them?" Kate asked
"Not all the time" Tony responded, his voice shaking. He looked back into the distance, seeing the mountains and wondered when he'd be taking his much needed time off. "They kinda, help all the teams" he added
"Has she worked with us at all?" Kate asked, trying to extract more information
Tony nodded again as more tears rolled down his face.
Gibbs frowned; "We're not going to be able to guess, Tony" he prodded
"And you call yourselves 'Special Agents'?" Tony replied
"Agent Lewis? I've seen you two together a few times and we've worked with her, she's good-looking" Kate asked
Tony gave a small laugh, wiping away his tears, "No, she's not good-looking, she's hot. But it's not her"
"What about Agent Cassidy? You liked her" Gibbs asked
Tony sniffled and smiled, "We had a few flings, but it's not her either"
Silence fell over them as Kate and Gibbs tried to think of the agent. They exchanged glances, gathering their thoughts, "Agent Hood? She liked you" Kate asked
Choking back tears, which ended in another sob, Tony shook his head, more tears falling down his face. "No, she liked you" he responded
"Agent Bowman? You liked her too" Gibbs asked
"No, you liked her Gibbs" Tony replied
Gibbs sighed, "Tony, give us some kind of clue"
He looked off into the distance, "It's, ah, Agent…" Tony closed his eyes, making more tears roll down his cheeks; he let out a shaky breath, "Agent Smith"
Kate frowned, confused, "I didn't think she was you're type, Tony. She's your age"
Tony gave a small smile "No, Kate. The other Agent Smith"
Kate's frown disappeared as she thought of the other Agent Smith, replacing her frown with raised eyebrows. "But, you…" she said, "You're always talking about your weekends and flirting with women"
Tony looked down, "Doesn't mean I can't think of women as being good-looking, attractive or even hot. I just prefer…" he left the sentence hanging, then looked back up "And on weekends, I kinda, made some of that up, I haven't seen anybody for … a while"
Gibbs still looked a bit surprised, "How long have you known you were gay?"
Tony winced "Always straight to the point. Ah, not long, a few weeks. You guys are the first people I've told, apart from Ducky". He looked back down as his eyes started to well up again, "I'd, ah, appreciate it if you didn't tell anybody"
"Why didn't you tell us earlier?" Gibbs asked
Tony looked up as the tears ran down his face, "I don't think I wanted to tell you at all. I didn't know how you'd react or how to tell you" he wiped his face with the back of his hand and looked away, "I know the Navy's position on this sort of thing, and thought you might have the same sort of opinion. And I didn't want you to think of me as some fag or something"
Tony sniffled and let out a deep breath, "This is kinda getting weird now, I'm getting another coffee" he said as he started climbing down, "And, ah, I'm sorry"
"For what?" Gibbs asked softly
"For not living up to your expectations" Tony said as he disappeared from view
That's it for chapter 29... I hope you like it! Please review, please!