A/N: Here's another chapter folks! To all my new followers/favourites, welcome aboard this wonderful ride! To my reviewers, thank you so much! Reading your comments brings a smile to my face, so please keep them coming, I love reading your thoughts on my story!

To the Guest reviewer enquiring about Gibbs' ex-wives, yes, I plan to include something about them. It will be a fairly tough thing for Gibbs & Shannon to navigate, emotionally speaking.

To my other Guest Reviewer: yes, the next few chapters will interesting, so stay tuned!

This is a shorter chapter than usual, but I think it warrants it's own chapter... :)

Tony stared at the ceiling as he lay in bed, it was hard to fathom, today was the first day in court! Somehow they'd managed to get everything done, filed & prepared to have the hearings proceed. The assailants had even gotten lawyers & they were being tried as a group to streamline things. They were taking 9 men to court, first were the 7 from Mac's staff roster, then there was that 1 extra man that had been in Stillwater, the same one that had been in the standoff with Myles in New Orleans, and lastly there was the court martial for Lt Rooney, that was taking place at the end of the week. There was also a civil case against Mac's estate for restitution but that would come after the criminal trials.

Tony knew that they'd done the hard yards, it was now in the hands of the lawyers, namely Michael & Viviane Barnes, along with Commander Rabb. He still knew though that he had to be at his best, he was testifying as the Lead Agent in the case, his testimony was going to be a contributing factor in the outcome of what happens to those men. He'd make sure he'd give it his all, he wanted to keep making Gibbs proud.. he couldn't help but cast his mind back to a few days ago.. when he'd been summoned to Gibbs' place…

Flashback

"Hi Boss" Tony grinned, he knew he was late, but he had something up his sleeve.

"You're late DiNozzo!" Gibbs barked.

"Yea I know" Tony conceded "but….. I come baring gifts" he grinned as he opened the trunk.

Gibbs narrowed his eyes at his charge as he approached the rear of the car, he looked into the trunk & then at his man "what the heck were you thinking DiNozzo?"

"That people need to eat boss, it's almost lunchtime" Tony answered, he thought this would be a good & welcomed idea he was doing, but he wondered now if it was, he looked at his boss warily.

Gibbs let out a breath, he could Tony was now a bit worried "and you thought you'd go buy what is it, 2 dozen pizzas all by yourself?"

"Well, actually, 20 pizzas, 6 garlic breads, 6 packs of buffalo wings, 3 salads & 5 bottles of drink, plus you know paper plates & stuff" Tony corrected "I ahh… didn't know..…"

Gibbs' eyes bulged at the order that was sitting in the trunk in front of him, what was Tony thinking, but he now looked really worried "you didn't know what?"

Tony swallowed before speaking "well boss, I'm not really good at you know, handyman stuff, so I wanted to be able to contribute somehow"

Gibbs closed his eyes for a moment, why did his charge always do this? He was better at more things than he realised! And he always went to his wallet to make up for things "you don't think I didn't know you aren't exactly a builder when I ordered you here to help?"

Gibbs saw his man was lost for words, he turned slightly & looked for someone "Michael!" he barked.

Mike's head shot up from what he was doing to look for where the call came from, it was Gibbs on the street front, he took a few steps closer "yes sir?"

"Find 4 others & come collect lunch from this trunk & take it into the dining area, no one eats until I advise!" Gibbs ordered, he looked back at his charge "keys!"

Tony handed his keys over without even thinking.

Gibbs moved a few steps when he saw Mike, along with his brother, Harry & 2 SWAT officers approach quickly "lock the car up securely once it's all removed & return the keys to me!" he ordered briskly.

"Yes sir" Mike answered, he thought it strange though, the car was clearly Agent DiNozzo's, so why wasn't he getting the keys back?

"DiNozzo, with me!" Gibbs ordered as he walked away from the car.

"Yes boss" Tony responded without thinking again, his mind was still thinking about what Gibbs last said.. what was he getting at?

Gibbs led the pair a short way away for some privacy "Let me ask you this DiNozzo, who is it that handled the finalisation of all the reports for this case in shortest timeframe likely ever seen at NCIS, ever!?"

"Ahh.. well, I guess I did boss" Tony admitted, he had no idea where his boss was going with it.

"And have we or any other team ever dealt with so many individual reports, interviews, threads for any case?" Gibbs queried.

"Well I don't know about other teams boss, but maybe not" Tony responded.

"Definitely not" Gibbs corrected "now, who was it that ensured my son's safety at his campsite?"

"Well, me, McGee, his teachers…" Tony started, but he saw his boss's eyes narrow at him so he stopped speaking.

"You took charge of that, you kept your eyes on him, you did that" Gibbs corrected his man again.

"Boss, where are we going with this?" Tony asked cautiously, he'd rarely had this kind of talk with his boss.

"Who was the one that took charge of the investigation into finding my wife so I could spend some time with my children?" Gibbs asked instead of answering the question.

"Me boss, but you were always checking in, steering it" Tony responded.

Gibbs eyes narrowed "DiNozzo, you made sure it stayed on track, and I have no doubt you used your 'out of the box' thinking to nab those staff who went the other routes"

Tony simply nodded.

"Who was the one that that stepped up to take on MacDonald when I'd been taken down to ensure my wife's safety?" Gibbs asked.

Tony had to think about that one "I did, boss"

Gibbs nodded in agreement "that's right, you did"

"Boss" Tony sighed, he was getting sick of this!

Gibbs held firm "Who is the one Agent representing NCIS in the trials, to give the evidence of everything the entire team were up against & dealt with?"

"Me boss" Tony sighed.

Gibbs nodded "right, so let's look at this, you Anthony were the one that ensured my son's safety, you Anthony were the one that kept the search for my wife on track, you Anthony were the one stepped up to protect my wife from that bastard when I couldn't. You Anthony were the one to ensure all reports, interviews, files were finalised in record time from a record number of individuals with a record number of lawyers. And you Anthony will be the one NCIS agent to testify in the trials on behave of the agency"

Tony swallowed, his boss was speaking with such determination & he was actually listening to what he was saying, and he was starting to feel pretty proud of himself!

"So after all of that, why on earth would you think you'd have nothing to contribute? And I don't mean a monetary contribution!" Gibbs asked eyeing his man.

Tony swallowed again "Ahh… well, that's all work stuff boss… this is…"

"Do not finish that sentence Anthony" Gibbs warned darkly "yes, it happened in a work environment, but it is not just about work. What you did goes beyond that, you made a difference to my life, to my family's lives, without any thought to your own safety & wellbeing." He took a breath, as he stepped forward and placed a hand on his charges' shoulder to cup his neck "I've never been prouder of you Anthony"

"Thanks boss" Tony managed to get out, he couldn't believe it, his boss had spoken to him more than any other time right now & he was calling him Anthony! He'd never done that.

"Do not ever feel like you cannot contribute to anything!" Gibbs asserted "you've shown you can do anything you put your mind to Anthony, understood?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes boss" Tony smiled.

"Good" Gibbs nodded "you are not to work more than necessary, which isn't necessary right now. And you will not be partaking in any of the heavy lifting as you are still recovering. In fact, I have a project right up your alley"

"Which is boss?" Tony asked curiously.

Gibbs just smiled as he turned & headed back towards his house "move it DiNozzo!" he'd draw it out for his charge, he had to have some fun after all.

End of Flashback

Tony lay there as he grinned to himself, he'd never had such a conversation with his boss before, in fact he'd never had such a conversation with anyone like that before. He'd never really even heard those kind of words from his own father! It made his chest burst with pride. Then he thought about what Gibbs had done next, he'd made everyone contribute to the cost for the lunch, saying he knew it would have costed him a good couple of hundred dollars & he wouldn't allow him to cover it all, and then no one even batted an eyelid as they all put money onto the table for him. But the funniest thing was that when Ziva had tried to goad him into finding out what he'd be doing to help out around the house given his lack of knowhow & injuries, she'd been put into her place by Gibbs! He'd replied instantly stating that he'd be helping himself & Phoenix finalise a few things with Nix's room given his knowledge of superhero movies & alike, and he'd be helping the family choose some of the décor in the various rooms as he was the most in tune with fashion & what was in style. It had really put her into her place! The feeling Tony had now was something he didn't think he'd ever felt before, he was bursting with personal pride, and the knowledge that he'd made Gibbs proud was probably the best feeling ever! Boy did he want to keep feeling it.

With that energy he got himself out of bed, he'd already taken some pain killers, so his ankle was feeling pretty good & his wrist was too. Opening his cupboard he surveyed his suits, he needed… he needed one of his power suits! He needed…. Ah huh! He pulled out his 3 piece dark grey suit, this one was one of his go-to power & stylish suits.

He then pulled out his blue shirt that he always liked to wear with it, followed by his dark grey tie. This was an important day, he'd watched from the sidelines so many times as Gibbs testified in cases, and now he'd be the one testifying. And after the time with Gibbs & his family, he had to make sure he was at full capacity & strength. He'd do anything to keep making Gibbs so very proud of him! Securing his tie & pulling on his jacket he gave himself a look in the mirror "right Anthony, do not screw this up!"

A/N: Guess Tony's feeling quite proud right about now :)

You know I love hearing your thoughts, so review away! More to come.. including the trial!