Thanks for hanging in there with me guys, here is another chapter! I hope you like it, tell me what you think!
Something smelled amazing.
Tony found his eyes opening and himself moving towards the smell before he even realized he was awake.
Blinking the sleep out of his eyes he studied the spectacle in his hall/kitchen.
Ducky stood at his stovetop simultaneously searching through his cabinets and frying something that filled the entire room with that fantastic smell, while Abby was holding one of his DVD's and gesturing excitedly to Gibbs, who looked to be listening her with very little patience.
"Gibbs, this is the 1931, Special Edition of Dracula! On DVD! This is one of the scariest movies ever, it scared me death as a kid! I love this movie! I've been looking everywhere for it, I can't believe he has this!"
Tony pulled himself off the couch and turned to face Abby, quoting in a deep voice.
"Listen to them. Children of the night. What music they make."
Abby squealed and leaned forward eager for him to continue.
"The spider spinning his wed for the unwary fly. The blood is the life, Mr. Renfield."
Abby laughed and skipped over to Tony, wrapping her arms around him in a gentle embrace.
Tony returned her hug and smiled down at her.
"Good morning Abby, Doctor Mallard, Agent Gibbs."
Ducky waved at the young man.
"I told you Anthony, Ducky is just fine."
Tony chuckled and nodded his acknowledgement.
Gibbs grunted a good morning in Tony's general direction before turning back to Ducky.
"You find any yet Duck?"
Ducky shook his head.
"I am most sorry Jethro, maybe our young friend here can enlighten us to its whereabouts?"
Tony looked curiously at the two men as Gibbs swiveled in his direction.
"Something I can help you two find?"
"Don't you have any coffee in this place?"
Tony laughed and leaned against the kitchen counter.
"I don't actually drink it Agent Gibbs, but I do have some- it's on top of the fridge. Coffee machine is in the hall closet."
Ducky stood on his tip toes and smiled when he caught sight of the familiar container. Abby dashed down the hall and came back with the machine and set it on the counter with a flourish.
"Here you go Bossman, go for it."
Gibbs snatched everything up and began making his coffee, grumbling about the unnaturalness of those who didn't drink it.
Grinning Tony looked past the man to see what Ducky was making on the stove.
"Watcha doing Ducky?"
Ducky didn't look up from the spatula he was moving the food around with, but answered with his usual gusto.
"Cooking breakfast my dear boy. You were certainally correct about the state of your refrigerator, not a speck of edible food in there, though you may have inadvertently discovered a new strain of penicillin. So Abigail and I went grocery shopping to find us all some breakfast."
Tony blushed seeing the spread that Ducky was bringing out. Bacon, eggs, pancakes and hash-browns were all being scooped on plates along with sliced fruit and glasses of juice. They were really going all out.
"Ducky I-"
Ducky put a hand up to stop the comment before it could be said. He slid a plate of food to the other man.
"Don't say a word my boy, it's the least we could do. Please enjoy."
Tony glanced around and saw the others digging in using his plates and silverware without thought and he relaxed, spearing the eggs with a fork that was cleaner than he thought.
Thank goodness he had remembered to turn on the dishwasher.
Last week.
It really had been a while since he had been home.
Munching on the food Tony couldn't stop the moan of pure pleasure that escaped his lips. For the past month he had been living on junk food and what he could grab running through the station. This was the most delicious, not to mention nutritious food he had eaten in longer than he could remember.
"What do you think Anthony?"
Tony swallowed quickly and beamed at Ducky.
"This is-"
He was interrupted by the ringing of a cell phone. Gibbs looked at his cell and cursed under his breath before flipping open the device.
"Gibbs."
He was silent for minute, listening.
Tony and the others watched as Gibbs rolled his eyes and spoke with thinly veiled contempt.
"Yes director."
With that he shut the phone and drained the rest of his coffee.
"Abs, Duck, vacation's over, Morrow needs us back D.C."
Abby looked at Gibbs with shock.
"But Gibbs! We're supposed to be on leave all weekend!"
Gibbs patted her shoulder.
"I know Abs but we've got a dead marine, a missing senator's daughter and a lot of angry people and Morrow doesn't want anyone but us touching it. We got to go."
Abby sighed and turned back to Tony with wide eyes. Throwing her arms around him she buried her head in his shoulder. He winced but returned her hug.
"This weekend off so didn't go the way I thought it would and I am really sorry you got hurt but I am so happy I got to meet you! You are such a great guy! Someday I am going to come back here and spend time with you properly and we'll watch Dracula!"
Tony smiled and plucked the DVD off the counter where she had put it.
"You know what Abby, I have another copy of this one, why don't you take this."
Her mouth opened in a wide circle.
"Tony I couldn't!"
He laughed and put it in her hands, stepping backwards so she had no choice but to hold on to it.
"I insist."
She hugged him again.
"Thank you so much Tony. You are the greatest guy ever!"
He squeezed her shoulders.
"I think you're pretty great yourself Abby."
She sniffed and clutched the DVD close to her, moving behind Ducky who walked up to the younger man.
"You take care of yourself my boy, take it easy the next few days, pain killers, and ice those ribs!"
Tony chuckled and shook his hand.
"Yes doctor."
Ducky and Abby walked out the door together, as Ducky gave a knowing glance to his friend.
Gibbs turned to Tony who was leaning on the counter again, the long night showing on his face. Tony looked up and caught Gibbs' eye, and smiled, wiping all the fatigue from his face.
"You don't have another copy of that DVD do you?"
Tony smiled sheepishly at being caught and turned towards his kitchen, staring out the window.
"Nope. Took me nine months to find that one. Don't tell her though, I want her to enjoy it."
Gibbs nodded and began towards the door.
He walked to the hallway but paused, his back to Tony.
"DiNozzo. This won't be the last you see of us."
Tony looked back at Gibbs but he was already gone.
He moved slowly to door and poked his head into the empty hall. Seeing no one, he closed his front door and turned back into his apartment, looking around his kitchen. There were four plates of half eaten food, there was still warm coffee in the machine and his stove still had food in the various skillets. His kitchen was a mess.
And so very quiet.
He sighed and flipped on the multi-media center, starting Frank Sinatra's Ocean's Eleven where he had left off the other night. Listening to the sound of the heist movie fill the room he began to clean up the kitchen as he tried not think about how empty the apartment now felt.
NCISncisNCISncis
The car was filled with noise.
Gibbs sat in the front seat, negotiating the traffic from Baltimore to D.C. His thoughts filled with out of work detectives, tired eyes and pictures colored by six year old hands. Who was this man? This complete stranger who had risked his life for a girl in trouble, then opened his home to three unknown faces, denying his own pain and even giving up his belongings just to make a stranger smile. This person he had spoken with in the middle of the night, who had managed to sneak up on him, find his identity and hide his thoughts so perfectly. Someone who was the best friend of a six year old girl yet still able to win in a fight against five angry grown men. He was a mystery in every since of the word, a mystery that Gibbs was determined to crack.
He tightened his hands on the steering wheel and pushed the accelerator just a little bit farther.
Ducky sat next to him, writing observations down in spiral notebook he had pulled from his bag. He muttered to himself, comparing to Tony to a young man he had met in Belgium and scratched another note down. His own mind filled with thoughts of thier new friend.
Abby sat in the back chattering happily to herself, studying the movie reverently in her hands.
"I can't believe he gave this to me. This movie is incredible! Gibbs, this was the first scary movie I ever watched. My parents and I watched it together when I was five years old. I insisted on wearing a black cape for six months. I haven't seen this movie in so long. I'm going to take this home and watch this with them, they will be so excited. I can dig out my old cape! I swear Tony might be the nicest- oh my gosh! Gibbs! I don't even know his last name!"
She turned to the driver with a horror stricken expression. Gibbs answered in a neutral voice. Obviously still lost in his own thoughts.
"DiNozzo. His name is Tony DiNozzo."
Abby and Ducky exchanged looks.
"How did you-"
Gibbs quirked a smile.
"Work smarter, not harder."
NCISncisNCISncis
Marissa Alexander heard the doorbell ring at five till six, the exact time she expected. It was so like Tony. He would never run the risk of being late, not when they invited him to supper. Even when the invitation was more of an order than anything else. He had declined their invitation the night before but judging by the choice words Daniel had exchanged with him on the phone this afternoon, Tony didn't have a lot of say in the matter for joining them tonight.
"Tessie, would you get the door."
A blond head poked out of the play room off the kitchen.
"What mommy?"
Marissa smiled at her daughter.
"Someone is at the door, would you like to see who it is?"
Tessie's brow furrowed. She was never allowed to answer the door by herself. She stood and walked, not knowing her mom was watching her carefully, just in case.
Swinging the door open she saw the tall brunette standing in the doorway and screamed.
"Tony! You're here!"
She launched herself at the man.
Marissa smiled and moved back in the kitchen to help Daniel with the steaks.
Laughing Tony reached his arms out and caught her, putting her up on his shoulders as he came in the door, careful not to let her bump her head.
"How are you gorgeous girl?"
Tessie glowed under the attention and wrapped her hand around his neck.
"I'm great Tony, I've missed you so much. I have to show you my new doll house and the toy I got for Suzy and I started another coloring book. Why is your face all blue and purple?"
Tony smiled and nodded until she mentioned his face. At that his mouth screwed as he tried to figure out the best way to answer her question.
Hearing her daughters comment, Marissa and Daniel exchanged looks. Marissa came out of the kitchen again and walked up to Tony, worried. She stopped Tony from answering Tessie by placing her hand on his chin, trying to get a closer look at the bruising all along his jaw and framing his bright green eyes.
"Oh my...Daniel get in here."
"Coming Mari."
Daniel came around the corner and paused when he saw his former partners face.
"Tony… Hey Tessie why don't you go finish the picture you were coloring for Tony why he and Daddy talks."
Tessie looked from her parents to Tony.
"Is Tony in trouble?"
Daniel smirked then grew serious again looking at the bruising.
"Yup. He's in big trouble."
Tessie nodded seriously and gave Tony a kiss on the cheek.
She put both her hands on his face and leaned in close to whisper in his ear.
Tony smiled at what she said and gently placed her on the ground.
She looked up at him.
"It'll work, trust me."
He winked at her.
"I'll give it a shot."
She nodded and ran back to the play room, eager to color her friend another picture.
Marissa waited until her daughter disappeared then pointed to the couch.
"Sit."
He did. There were few things Tony feared in this life but one of them would always be his former partners wife.
Daniel stood in front of him and crossed his arms.
"You've got some explaining to do Tony."
Tony fought the urge to quote I Love Lucy and smiled. He looked up at the two angry blondes standing guard over him and raised an eyebrow.
"You know... your daughter just told me that if I cried you'd take it easy on me. Is it worth trying?"
NCISncisNCISncisNCIS
It was past midnight.
Again.
One of these nights he was actually going to go to bed at a decent hour.
Tony sat in his Mustang and closed his eyes. It had taken fifteen minutes to explain the story to Daniel and Marissa and another twenty to get them to calm down. Really it wasn't so much of a big deal that they needed to freak out like that. Daniel went directly into cop mode and had taken his statement along with a description of men. Marissa, a nurse, insisted on seeing his injuries, then threw another fit upon coming to the realization he had a concussion and hurt ribs and had not gone to a hospital.
He rubbed his forehead and sighed.
What a mess.
He had finally gotten them calmed down enough to sit down and eat dinner. The rest of the evening he had spent playing with Tessie until Marissa had told her it was time for bed and Daniel began talking to him about what he was going to do next. Apparently there was no changing Bergan's mind and even if there was, Tony didn't want to go back to Baltimore. It was time to move on. He just hadn't decided where.
He honestly wasn't thinking that far ahead yet.
Maybe San Diego.
Sun, palm trees, California girls.
Yeah...San Diego.
Tony was so deep in thought with the events of the past few days and a future in bright sunny California that he missed the dark Mercedes parked across the street from his apartment.
And the long lens camera following his steps into the building.
Dun Dun Dun! Uh oh.