Baby sitting Chapter 6

Gibbs had already started organizing soup and toast for dinner when Josh came downstairs in clean clothes and damp hair. The boy hovered by the doorway until Gibbs spied him out of the corner of his eye.

'Take a seat,' he told Josh. 'Dinner's nearly ready.

'Not really hungry,' said Josh, even as he obediently sat down across from Tony.

'Wrong answer,' hissed Tony, theatrically. 'That's what I said and he gave me a smack to the back of the head. Can you believe that? I've only just got out of hospital.'

'My Dad does that to me when I say something that he doesn't like,' said Josh, wistfully. 'Not hard,' he hastened to add. 'Just enough to knock some sense into me. I kind of like it, in a weird sorta way.'

Tony looked from Josh to Gibbs and back to Josh again. He wouldn't have put it past Gibbs to bribe the kid to make that kind of statement, but Josh seemed totally sincere and Gibbs didn't even blink.

'Dig in,' said Gibbs as he placed steaming bowls of hearty soup in front of Josh and Tony. He then retrieved a plate of hot toast and a bowl for himself and sat down at the table. When Josh made no move to start eating, Gibbs gave Tony a pointed look and gestured towards the spoon. Interpreting the look accurately, Tony took up his spoon and began eating. Not long after, Josh did the same.

'So,' said Tony between spoonfuls, 'your Dad's a marine.'

'Was,' Josh corrected him. 'He stopped doing that a coupla years ago. He works at a gym now.'

'Uh-huh,' acknowledged Tony, before sampling the toast. He looked across at Gibbs who was munching contently on a slice of toast. Tony knew Gibbs well enough to not expect the older agent to make conversation, but he wished he would. Tony wasn't exactly comfortable making small talk with a kid.

'What about your Dad?' asked Josh. 'Is he a special agent too?'

Tony nearly choked on his food. Gibbs looked up, his eyebrows raised.

"My father……..is a business man,' Tony eventually managed, and Gibbs turned his attention back to his soup.

'My mum died when I was 8,' continued Josh, stirring his soup and watching the patterns he was creating. 'There's just me and my Dad left now. Have you got any brothers or sisters, Agent Dinozzo?'

'Nope,' said Tony. 'But Agent McGee's like a nerdy, annoying little brother without even being blood-related.'

'He was the one Gibbs was chewing out on the phone on the way here,' said Josh. 'I guess Gibbs must find him annoying as well.'

Tony's face split into a wide grin.

'So it seems,' he agreed. 'And it's Tony, by the way. My friends call me Tony.'

Satisfied that Tony and Josh had something in common, even if it was just the fact that they were both only children and shared contempt for McGee, Gibbs felt a lot more relaxed about possibly leaving the two of them alone together the next day. Under normal circumstances, Tony didn't click with kids. He usually tried too hard, particularly in front of the team. But these weren't normal circumstances and Josh wasn't a typical 10 kid. He'd already lost his mother and had had to grow up fast. Gibbs also knew that Tony has lost his own mother at a tender age. He would surely feel some empathy towards the boy.

Gibbs halted his reverie and tuned back into the conversation between his senior field agent and friend's young son.

'And his fingers were so stuck to the keyboard that he had to follow us into the elevator with it,' Tony was telling Josh, complete with an imitation of McGee at the time.

'How did you know he was gonna touch it as soon as he came in?' asked Josh, his eyes wide. He was hanging on Tony's every word.

'He's McGee,' said Tony by way of explanation. 'He can't function without the technology. He's obsessed.'

'My Dad can't even turn on a computer,' revealed Josh. 'He'd think McGee was from another planet.'

'Why don't you two go into the living room,' suggested Gibbs. 'Dinozzo, you need to stretch out again.'

'Have you got any more stories about McGee?' asked Josh as he watched Gibbs help Tony stand up and lead him towards the couch.

'Are you kidding?' was Tony's reply. 'I could write a book, except that Mc Typewriter already has.'

By the time Gibbs had cleared the dishes, made up the two spare beds in the guest room and locked up (something he thought was advisable given who his guests were), he went into the living room to find Josh asleep in the chair.

'Nodded off right in the middle of McGee running through the car wash,' reported Tony in a hushed voice. 'It's okay, though. I'll finish telling him the story in the morning.'

Gibbs snorted his disapproval, but he couldn't really be angry. After all, Josh had been thoroughly entertained and distracted, and Tony had been particularly animated. Gibbs gathered Josh in his arms, took him upstairs and put him to bed. Coming back down to the living room, he found Tony staring at the ceiling.

'He's a good kid,' said Tony, his voice low. 'Think you'll find his old man?'

'I'm not giving up til I do,' Gibbs told him, extending his hand. 'Come on. Bed time for you too.'

'I can sleep here,' protested Tony.

'You can,' agreed Gibbs, 'but you're not going to. The bed's warmer and better for your back.'

'You're the boss,' relented Tony, allowing himself to be helped up.

……………………………………………

It was after 1.00am when Gibbs finally made his way up from the basement and went straight into his own bedroom. His mind had been swimming with questions about Mick's disappearance and images of the last few days. As it usually did, sanding the boat had helped.

Gibbs had only settled himself beneath the blankets for a few moments before unbidden into his mind came memories of the last time Tony had slept over. Waking to the sight of the younger man curled up in pain beside his bed had shocked Gibbs. He didn't think he'd ever quite forget it. The concern he had felt for Tony during the dash to the hospital had startled him.

With a sigh, Gibbs left his bed, quickly walked to the guest room and quietly opened the door. Josh hadn't moved since Gibbs had placed him in the bed. He'd obviously had very little sleep during the previous night in protective custody. Tony, to Gibbs' intense relief, was sleeping peacefully with one arm framing his head and the other atop the blankets. The fact that the bed was about a foot too short and caused Tony's feet to stick out over the end made Gibbs smile. Maybe Tony had been right about preferring the couch! Peering at Tony's face from the doorway, Gibbs' smile faded as he recalled how the medics had assumed Tony was his son, and how he hadn't said anything to correct them. Gibbs doubted he'd ever feel comfortable bringing it up with Tony, and Tony, it seemed, had tactfully chosen not to mention anything about it.

Leaving the door ajar, just in case either of them needed him, Gibbs returned to his own room.

…………………………………………

Finally Mick O'Connor was free of the bonds that had held him. He had heard Slim and Shorty leave some time ago. He knew he didn't have much time. Rushing to the window as fast as his numb legs would allow, he pushed aside the curtain. It was night outside. Looking downwards, he saw strange, glittering movements. Puzzled, he pushed open the small window and tentatively put his head through the opening. Below him was water. He was on a vessel. Suddenly, escape, and a reunion with his son, seemed to be a much more daunting prospect than it had a few moments before.