Chapter 17

DISCLAIMER: However much I wish it was so, I do not own these characters. I'm going to simply let them play for a little bit and then put them back a little happier.

WARNING: Slash story - you have been informed!

A/N: Thank you to all Guest reviewers, your kind words are appreciated, also - I have played with birth dates a little and have shaved about 10 years off Gibbs, making him only 8 years older than Tony. I have also changed the introduction of Senior to better fit my story. You will be seeing him in the future, but not yet. Back to the show - Enjoy! ;-)

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Tony closed the ornate front door and turned around to find himself standing in a two-story foyer with a beautiful crystal chandelier. The walls were painted in a deep hunter green and the floors, woodwork and staircase were the same warm cherry wood as the front door. The wood seemed to glow from within as the light from the chandelier bounced off of it. Hallways lead off to the right and left of the foyer.

There were two, long black leather couches underneath the two large windows on either side of the door. A long-case grandfather clock sat off to the left, next to a closed door and the left-hand hallway. There was a beautiful antique mahogany console table directly in front of Tony that was nestled in the alcove created by the wide staircase that started on the right, next to the one hallway and curved back up to the left, disappearing up to the second floor. The table held about eight brass statues of horses, posed either standing majestically or running, with little plaques attached giving their names and the various races they had won.

Tony was impressed to see several had won the Kentucky Derby and two, in particular, Sir Barton in 1919 and Gallant Fox in 1930 had both been triple crown winners.

"There were two more." Jethro informed him as he walked in from the hallway on the right. Tony looked at him questioningly and he went on, "Whirlaway in 1941 and Citation in 1948 were both triple crown winners. Their statues are at the house in Philly. William picked them both and had a hand in their training, so the victories were his. Zach was very proud of him." Jethro told him.

Jethro walked up and wrapped his arms around Tony from behind as he continued, "He had a few near misses too. Tim Tam in 1958, Northern Dancer in 1964 and Pleasant Colony in 1981 all won the Derby and Preakness and in 1988 Risen Star won the Preakness and Belmont, but Citation was the last triple crown winner."

Tony had covered Jethro's arms with his own and pulled him tighter against his body as he listened to Jethro. He sighed as he remarked, "That would be so cool to have a horse running in those races, did you ever go to any of them?" he asked.

Jethro kissed his neck as he replied, "Yep. We were all there in 1988 for Risen Star, all three races. I had just come back from a deployment in March and wasn't scheduled to go back out until the following January. That was a good year." Jethro said softly. He tightened his arms around Tony as he continued, "We traveled all over that year. William rented us an RV and we spent Kelly's summer break traveling. We saw Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone. We went to Seattle and then down the west coast, through San Francisco, the Redwood Forest."

Jethro's voice got softer as he recounted his big family vacation and Tony gripped his arms tighter in a silent show of support as he continued. "We visited Disneyland and we even took a studio tour in LA." Jethro pinched Tony's arm as Tony let out an astonished "No way!" at that news and both men chuckled quietly. "Yes way, smartass! We went as far South as San Diego and then went through the Painted Desert, the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam. I drove through Monument Valley in Idaho and up through the Rockies to Denver.

Tony smiled as he listened, picturing all the places in his mind as Jethro's voice rumbled with his chest pressed against Tony's back. "We drove through Oklahoma and Texas to get to New Orleans, spent a few days there. We then traveled the Gulf Coast all the way down to Key West. We stopped at Cape Canaveral and took a tour. Kelly was thrilled, she told me she wanted to be an astronaut. That was not long after Challenger exploded, so I wasn't really happy about that, but she was only five." Jethro whispered and then, clearing his throat he said in a stronger voice, "We actually took her back for a shuttle launch in December of that year, never seen or felt anything like it, it was incredible." Tony heard the hitch in Jethro's voice and tightened his grip on the other man's hands.

"Well, since we went to Disneyland, we had to check out Disneyworld, we had a blast, but if I ever hear that 'Small World' song again, I'll shoot someone." Tony could hear the disgust in Jethro's voice and he chuckled as he settled more comfortably in Jethro's arms. "We went to Savannah Georgia and the last stop was Myrtle Beach before heading home. Biggest damn circle I ever went in, and I would never trade the memories for anything." Jethro finished as he again tightened his arms and nuzzled his cheek next to Tony's.

Tony closed his eyes and basked in the closeness of Jethro as he replied with a voice husky with emotion, "That sounds like a great trip. I've never been to any of those places, always wanted to go though. Kelly was a lucky little girl to have you as a father. If my mom hadn't died, I'd like to think we would have done something like that, just me and her. She loved to travel. She took me to Boston when I was six and we visited Martha's Vineyard a few times, but nothing else. She got too sick to go anywhere and, well you know how my father views things. Could hardly see him loading up the family truckster and taking off across the country, unless it involved impressing someone or making a business deal." Tony said resignedly.

Jethro was once again astounded at the level of selfishness Senior stooped to. He wished he could have met Senior when Tony was eight. However, he would have only been sixteen at the time, maybe when Tony was twelve and the bastard disowned him. Yeah, he would have been twenty and already a Marine, the son-of-a-bitch would have been no match. Not that he was now either, he was almost itching to drive to New York and track him down. Yeah, it would only take about 2 hours to make it up there and then he could…

"JETHRO!" Tony shouted. Jethro was surprised that Tony had turned around in his arms and it seemed he had been calling his name for a few minutes. He had really gotten lost in his revenge fantasy against Senior. "Are you back with me now?" Tony asked with a pointed look.

Jethro ducked his head and looked back up at Tony with a sheepish look on his face as he replied, "Yeah." Before looking back down. Tony huffed out a breath and said in a stern voice, "Jethro! Look at me!"

Jethro took a deep breath before looking up to meet Tony's sharp gaze, because he knew what was coming. He squared his shoulders and looked into Tony's emerald eyes and knew right away he was in for it. Tony's eyes looked like they were spitting fire and his face wore his Don't even think about fucking with me! look.

Tony squeezed his arms tighter and he would not let Jethro look away from him. "I want you to listen very carefully, Jethro." Tony started. "He is NOT worth it! He is not going to ruin the best thing that has ever happened to me! You STAY AWAY FROM HIM! Do you hear me?" Tony emphasized his point by squeezing Jethro's arms even tighter and shaking him a little. "The only thing he does is ruin things! I've spent my entire life watching him cause disaster after disaster and then just walk away. I know how tough you are and I sure know how smart you are, but he always retaliates and he never gets caught! Talk to Fornell! The FBI has been trying to nail him for as long as I can remember and he always slithers away!"

Jethro could feel Tony trembling, but his look was no less intense. His voice took on a quiet, urgent tone as he continued. "I've learned the hard way that there is no better way to deal with him than to just keep yourself as far away from him or his schemes as possible." Jethro could now actually see Tony shaking, he wasn't sure if it was from anger or fear, maybe a little of both. Jethro pulled Tony to him as Tony nearly sobbed out, "Promise me, Jethro, promise me you'll stay away! I-I can't lose you, I just can't…" Tony's voice cracked as Jethro held him close and wrapped his arms tightly around him.

Jethro rubbed circles in Tony back with his left hand while his right carded through Tony's hair while whispering in his ear, over and over, "I promise, Tony, I promise. I love you, I'm so sorry, I promise."

Jethro felt about two inches tall. He remembered how much Senior had hurt Tony, both as a child and as an adult. He also remembered having a similar conversation when they had been together about a year. Senior had breezed into town and wrecked havoc in their lives. He had only met him briefly at the Navy Yard, but that meeting had left him cold.

Senior had no regard for Tony's feelings and took great pleasure in pointing out how lacking he perceived Tony to be. He didn't care about all the great things Tony had done or what an exceptional person he was, he only saw the 'bottom line' or what Tony could do for him. Tony was a public servant, a peon in his eyes, and he treated him as such. At that point, McGee had been new to the team and had initially been delighted that Senior threw Tony off his game so much. That opinion changed when he witnessed how the old bastard treated Tony in front of others. He remembered Kate and Abby had also been charmed at first, but they were both smart women and saw through his charming mask quickly.

Ducky had never been taken in by him and he remembered with a smile the reception he got from Tom Morrow. Tom was also not fooled by the false charm and looked at Senior like something he had just scraped off his shoe. The reason for the visit was that Senior was broke again and was trying to hit Tony up for some cash. He remembered Tony being afraid that Senior had found out about his trust fund, but there was never any indication he knew. He thought he could cajole and bully Tony into doing what he wanted, but with the support of his team and Jethro, he did not give in. He sent Senior packing, only offering to buy him a bus ticket home. When Senior realized his bullshit was not being bought, he hightailed it out of town, mooching a ride from a business acquaintance he ran into.

Senior had only been in town a little under twenty-four hours, but the effect he had on Tony was felt for weeks. He withdrew into himself and got very quiet. He became apathetic with Jethro and started not coming over. They had dinner the night Senior left and Tony had not said two words. He did stay that night, but they did not make love and Jethro knew he didn't sleep well.

Jethro was incensed with Senior and the way he treated Tony and was making plans to illustrate to him the error of his ways. About a week after Senior left, Tony seemed to snap out of his funk and realized what Jethro was planning. They had a very similar scene to the one that just played out, and he now remembered his promise to Tony then that he would stay away. Tony was still rattled, but he started coming back over to the house after that and Jethro took great pains to show him just how much he meant to Jethro and how loved he was.

It was almost three full weeks after the son of a bitch left before his Tony started to emerge again. Jethro knew Tony had talked with Kate, Abby, Ducky and McGee about what had happened and thanked them for their support, and he had promised Tony more than once that he would keep his distance and not plan any retribution, however much he wanted to.

Jethro had been swept up in plans for revenge then, as he had been now, and Tony was just as adamant then to drop it. He was terrified Jethro would do something against Senior that would land him in jail and take him away from Tony. As much as he had accomplished in his life, and as smart as Tony was, he was still cowed by Senior and Jethro knew a small part of Tony believed in Senior's opinion of him and always wondered what he could do to gain approval that would never come.

To allay Tony's fears, he had agreed then not to go after Senior, but he had silently promised himself that if Senior stepped one toe out of line, he would make sure he paid. The wily old bastard never had though, he was just as slippery as Tony said he was, he did, after all, know him best.

Jethro and Tony's relationship had changed quite a bit since then, with Tony becoming more confident and self assured of his equality in their union, but Jethro could now see that broken little boy still lived inside Tony and he would do everything in his power to keep him safe. If that meant leaving Senior alone to his own devices, then that's what he would do - Tony came first.

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Jethro continued to hold Tony close, caressing his back and hair as he murmured endearments to him until he felt Tony calming down. The trembling stopped, and although still shaken, he was once again in control of his emotions. Tony pulled back from Jethro, but still staying in the circle of Jethro's arms, asked him, "You're not going to do anything stupid, are you?"

"What? Besides running off to Mexico and nearly destroying the best thing in my life? No, I think I'm done with stupid for awhile." Jethro replied with a cocky grin. Tony huffed out a laugh and smacked Jethro's ass before replying, "Yeah, you pretty much used up your 'stupid quotient' for a few years."

Tony yelped as Jethro grabbed his ass with both hands and pulled him tight to his body, grinding their groins together, "Is that so?" He asked Tony with a fond smile.

Tony moaned low and circled his hips, grinding their once-again hardening cocks together and causing Jethro to take a sharp indrawn breath. Tony had both of his palms flat on Jethro's chest and leaned in to kiss him sweetly before replying quietly, "Yeah. I think I really need you right now Jethro, is there a room we could use?"

Jethro moved one hand up to cup Tony's face while he kissed him again, this time with a little more urgency. While he was always ready to fuck Tony, he had a deep desire right now to make love to Tony. There was a difference. He pulled back after the kiss and took one of Tony's hands in his and pulled him up the sweeping staircase.

He knew all the bedrooms were ready for use, but he wanted their first time here to be special, so he pulled Tony down the long hallway upstairs until they were standing in front of a set of double doors made of the same rich, cherry wood as the front door. These doors also had a scene carved into them and it stretched across both doors. This one seemed to be an aerial look at the farm itself. A very detailed carving of the farmhouse they were standing in took up most of the lower right portion of the right door. Tony could even see a miniature version of the elaborate front door below etched with the running horses and Sweet Williams visible on it.

The scene on the left door had the huge barn behind the house centered on it, doors thrown open and a horse and carriage emerging from inside it. The detail was so elaborate that Tony swore he heard the horses hooves clumping and the wagon crunching over the gravel. The upper portion of the right door was what he supposed the horse stable beyond the trees looked like. That building was smaller, seeming to be looking at it from a distance. Tony could see the stable and what looked like a small house attached to the side of it. The training circle was there and it showed a boy standing in the center holding the reins of a horse that was trotting around the circle. The rest of both the doors were covered with trees, representing the surrounding woods and Tony could see trails snaking through the trees and even smaller horses and riders traveling them. Tony reached out with wonder and traced the carvings, fascinated by the intricate details. He could even see lace curtains hanging in the window of the stable boys house!

Jethro stood next to him and smiled fondly at the look of astonishment on Tony's face. "These used to just be plain wooden doors. Zach got into carving when William was small and frequently sick. It was something he could do quietly while he stayed close to take care of William. One of the rooms down the hall was converted into a little workshop for him so he wasn't too far away. The little boy in the training circle is William at about age ten and the man driving the horse carriage out of the barn is Zach himself."

Tony looked closer at the two figures and saw the boy did seem to be a smaller, younger version of his father in the carriage. A sweet, wistful smile graced his features as he thought of the deep bond those two shared. He had no doubt William was a beloved child and Zach, who sounded more and more like Jethro with every new revelation he learned, a very proud father. Jethro, sensing Tony's melancholy, kissed Tony's cheek and then opened the doors and wrapped his arm around Tony to draw him into the master suite.

Jethro closed the doors behind them and turned to gauge Tony's reaction to the room. The floor was covered in plush emerald green carpeting and the walls were painted a lush moss green. The room was filled with large, obviously hand carved furniture in the same rich, cherry wood as the doors. There were two doors on each wall to the right and left. Tony supposed one was a closet and the other the bathroom, but he couldn't figure out the other two doors yet, maybe storage. There were two large windows on either side of the massive bed that held center stage in the room.

The bed looked bigger than a California king to Tony, but he wasn't sure. It had four rounded bedposts and Tony estimated the headboard at about five feet tall with the footboard just a little smaller at around four feet tall. The wood was thick, Tony thought it looked to be around 5 or six inches, very sturdy. The headboard had a large sunrise design carved into it, while the footboard sported a moon and stars celestial design carved out. The bedding was a deep emerald green with at least ten pillows piled on top of it. Two bedside tables, that also had the celestial design carved into them were on either side of the bed and they supported two Tiffany lamps. The shades appeared to be a mosaic of orange yellow and red leaves on a base that looked like a tree, roots and all. There were two identical Tiffany floor lamps placed next to the ends of the massive dresser that took up the wall on the left, between two of the doors.

On the right wall, between the other two doors stood an expansive stone fireplace with a cherry wood mantle. Two Tiffany wall sconces were above the fireplace, also with the leaf design shades. The fireplace screen was also no doubt Tiffany. The three-paneled screen showed a scene on a tranquil, wooded lake at sunset in autumn. The colors of the trees were vivid reds, yellows and oranges with the sunset taking on deep blues and purples. The screen complimented the other Tiffany pieces scattered throughout the room.

Each window had a deep cushioned window seat and sheer white curtains. Heavy drapes in a deep emerald that matched the rug were pulled back on either side of the windows to allow natural light in. There were overstuffed moss green chairs, in the corners beyond each window and each having an ornate side table with smaller versions of the Tiffany table lamps on them, same leaf shades. Low built-in shelves, filled with books were next to each chair. Tony was aware of two large armoires on either side of the door behind him and another long case grandfather clock was ticking away on the other side of one of the doors, with a lighted curio cabinet on the wall opposite the clock next to the corresponding door.

As impressive as the huge bed was, the ceiling was really something to behold. The moss green of the wall seemed to melt upwards and onto the ceiling and then change hue to a light sky blue, which in turn continued to darken through shades of blue and purple until the center was a black velvety expanse littered with thousands of stars. The stars were also sprinkled outward from the heavy concentration in the center, through the lightening shades of color until only a few were dotted around the ceiling, just before the sky blue shade took over. Tony had never seen anything like it.

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Tony stood where Jethro had stopped him with his eyes wide and mouth hanging open, taking in everything. Jethro chuckled and wrapped his arms around Tony, nuzzling his face in Tony's neck and trailing kisses as he whispered, "You can explore later, right now I need you."

Tony's face took on a dreamy look and he closed his eyes while he savored the feel of Jethro's arms around him and his mouth tasting him. Tony's arousal spiked again and he willingly allowed Jethro to lead him over to the bed. Jethro stopped them next to the bed and took Tony into his arms again, kissing him deeply. Both men pulled apart when oxygen became a necessity and rested their foreheads against one another as they caught their breath.

"I need to make love to you." Jethro panted out. "I want you to know how much I need you."

Tony closed his eyes as a beatific smile spread over his face. "I know how much you need me, Jethro, but do you know how much I can't do without you?" Tony whispered.

"Oh, I know. If it's half as much as I can't be without you, we'll never get enough of each other." Jethro responded as he held Tony's face in his two hands tenderly.

Tony's smile got even bigger as he replied, "Yeah, that sounds about right."

Jethro leaned in for another sweet kiss and then the time for talking was over. Jethro quickly removed Tony's clothes as Tony worked on Jethro's buttons and zippers. Both men kicked off their shoes and parted briefly to completely divest themselves of all clothing. They took a few seconds to appreciate the other's naked bodies before coming back together for another deep kiss while pressing together as close as they could.

Jethro reached over and pulled the bedspread down with one hand as he continued to map out the inside of Tony's mouth with his tongue. Tony was fully hard and pressed against Jethro's stomach. Jethro was so hard he could probably cut diamonds and he was happy he had thought ahead and retrieved the tube of lube from his jeans before tossing them on the floor. He didn't think he could stand to be away from Tony's body for the time it would have taken to get it otherwise. He had finally gotten the bedspread and top sheets down and turned them both so Tony's back was to the bed.

He pushed Tony down to a sitting position on the bed with his feet still on the floor and pulled his legs apart, stepping in between them and again crushing their erections together, making both men moan at the contact. Tony was running his left hand up and down Jethro's right arm and his right hand was running through Jethro's chest hair. Jethro used both of his hands to bring Tony's legs up to wrap around his waist. Tony closed his eyes and sank backwards on the bed, reveling in the feel of the soft bedding on his hyper-sensitive skin.

Jethro leaned forward, following him and kissing his way up Tony's chest to suckle at the juncture of Tony's neck and shoulder, causing the man below him to squirm. Tony's hands came up, one cupping the back of Jethro's head, the other smoothing up and down Jethro's side. Jethro's mouth kissed its way up to his ear where he whispered, "Scoot up." Tony immediately complied, moving back towards the center of the large bed, Jethro climbing up onto the bed and following him.

Tony was lain out in the middle of the bed with his legs bent at the knee and spread wide. His erection was rock-hard and curved back, leaking pre-come on his own stomach. Tony wrapped his right hand around his cock and lazily ran it up and down. He ran the fingers of his other hand through the come already on his stomach and brought them up to Jethro, who sucked the fingers into his mouth, cleaning every bit of Tony's come off of them as Tony's eyes darkened with desire.

Jethro grabbed the lube that he had tossed on the bed and quickly coated three fingers before moving his hand down to tease and finally breach Tony's entrance. Tony was still somewhat loose after their vigorous activities yesterday, so it didn't take long to stretch him out. As he removed his fingers to prepare himself for entry, Tony grabbed his wrist to stop him.

Jethro's head snapped up to find Tony sitting back up with a smoldering look in his eyes. Tony explained in a sultry voice, "Allow me." Jethro handed the lube to Tony who opened the tube and dribbled it onto Jethro's hard cock. He then closed the container and used his hand to liberally spread the lube over Jethro's cock while the other man moaned at the contact. Tony leaned further up and kissed Jethro deeply while continuing to move his hand up and down Jethro's cock, making him impossibly harder.

Sensing the older man would not be able to take much more, Tony broke the kiss and leaned back on the bed again, pulling Jethro to him by not letting go of his cock. Jethro moved forward between Tony's spread legs and allowed the younger man to position his cock at Tony's entrance and then push it inside as if he were some living, breathing sex toy that Tony was pleasuring himself with. If Tony wanted him to be his sex toy, he could live with that, gladly.

After feeding Jethro's cock inside himself, Tony reclined back on the bed with a deep sigh. He pulled his legs up and wrapped them around Jethro's waist again and pushed his hips down to impale himself further onto Jethro. Jethro leaned forward so that he was laying on top of Tony, with Tony's cock trapped between them and continuing to leak come on their stomachs. Jethro wrapped his arms around Tony's torso and pulled him as tightly against himself as their position allowed.

Jethro nuzzled and kissed Tony's neck and shoulder as he moved his hips in slow, deep thrusts and occasionally in circles, pulling gasps and moans from the gorgeous man squirming beneath him. Tony's arms were around him and he felt Tony's fingers playing with his hair and caressing his back and his ass as he continued to make love to him.

Neither man were aware or even cared about the passing of time. They were both lost in each other's bodies and the deep love they felt. They traded kisses as they each thrust against the other, prolonging their passion as long as possible. Sooner than either man wanted, biology caught up to them and the need for release became to great to ignore. Jethro's thrusts became faster and harder and Tony bore down on every down thrust to get as much friction as possible on his own cock and to get Jethro as far inside him as he could.

Both men came simultaneously, always perfectly in tune in everything they did. The waves of their orgasm crashed over them again and again as they worked to empty themselves of their all-consuming passion, knowing they would never actually be sated and quite happy with that knowledge.

At some point, Jethro must have pulled them over so that they were lying on their sides, still connected as they fought to catch their breath. Jethro was brushing the hair back from Tony's sweaty brow as he said, "I love you so much, Tony."

Tony's face broke into a smile as he replied, eyes still closed, "I should hope so! If that was your casual sex, I don't think I'd survive the deep stuff!"

Jethro smiled back as he retorted, "That was as deep as it gets DiNozzo, I hope I didn't disappoint!"

Tony's eyes opened and a lump formed in Jethro's throat upon seeing the depth of love and trust Tony projected. "That's not possible." He replied in a soft voice. "You may have really pissed me off a time or two, but you've never disappointed me." Jethro felt wet tears running down his face and he didn't know what to say. He wasn't sure he deserved the faith Tony had in him.

"You deserve it." Tony told him with a fond smile as he used his thumbs to brush away Jethro's tears. Jethro chuckled, again marveling at the level of unspoken communication they had with each other. He wasn't sure he was even this attuned to Shannon.

Tony leaned forward and kissed him affectionately. He whispered, "I love you too Jethro, always." as he continued to kiss him. When they were finished, Jethro reached behind Tony and pulled the bedspread and sheets over their cooling bodies and they snuggled together, still intimately connected as they drifted off in each other's embrace.

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TBC…

A/N: The horses mentioned above are real and did win the races described. I found a list of winning horses and picked the names that appealed to me. They are in no way affiliated with my fictional horse farm because, well it's fictional. :-) There was actually a shuttle launch on December 2, 1988, STS-27, the Atlantis. I also mentioned the family truckster, that reference is from a favorite movie of mine, "National Lampoon's Vacation" from 1983, Warner Brothers Pictures.