Title: Facing Forward
Author: CSIGeekFan
Rating: T (mild language)
Disclaimer: This is a disclaimer, because I don't want to get sued. So here it is. It's complicated, and filled with legal-eze. Ready? I don't own NCIS.
Author's Note: I am well and truly sorry for the delay. After my laptop's 4th power supply this year started smoking (and I mean that in a literal way), I was without a means to write for a bit. Then some RL emergencies cropped up and I've been swamped ever since. I hope you enjoy. Reviews are appreciated.

X X X

From last chapter…

…"The boats are the shells."

"And Curt's the pea," Tony concluded for Michaela.

"Naw," she replied. "Curt's not the pea. That would be the bag of drugs Gibbs is sittin' on."

X X X

Tony just stared at Michaela with a mix of fear and awe. Damn, but the woman was devious. Then he laughed after she shrugged and said, "Saw it in a movie once."

Glancing at Gibbs, he watched the older man shake his head in disbelief, while Ziva looked on in amusement.

"Where are the other vessels?" Tony asked, grinning at his woman's ingenuity.

"Don't rightly know just yet. We've been using short burst on the hour to transmit common name locations," she explained and then took a long draught of her coffee. When she added a sigh, he couldn't help but admire the way she'd handled the entire situation so far. She looked the part of tough sea captain; no one ever doubted her abilities, regardless of size.

As Tony watched his lover, his former partner slipped from her seat and removed the plastic-encased bricks duct taped to the bottom of Gibbs chair; thin enough to be hidden by the thick lip below his seat. If someone weren't on the floor, they'd never notice the stash.

"So, this is what they are after," she murmured, admiring the hiding spot. "Clever."

"Yeah, I swapped 'em off another boat a few hours back. We've been handin' the stash around, trying to confuse the boat following us," Michaela said. "It finally settled here, since we have the boy." Glancing at Tony and holding his gaze, she added, "We hoped you'd figure it out and come with the cavalry."

Under her praise, Tony couldn't help but feel a great deal of pride toward the captain and her crew. The affirmation of his choices these last years to stay put in his boondocks town felt good. He'd made the right choice. That led his mind to the young Marine nearby, who lay pale and silent.

"The boy kept insisting you'd know to meet us here," Michaela softly said, running her hand down Tony's jacket-clad arm. When she ran a knuckle over his cheek, his breath stuttered out and he turned his attention to her warm gaze. She would understand how terrified he was, he mused. Of everyone there, she'd be the one to know just how much Curt and his sisters meant. And in her eyes, he saw that spark of recognition wrapped in sympathy. With a nod, he blew out a rapid breath and got to business, because the situation wasn't about to resolve itself.

He turned his attention to Gibbs.

"The only place Curt and I came out alone was this inlet," Tony explained. "He wouldn't let the girls go with us. Too dangerous. I agreed, once I'd been out here and we'd spent some time playing in the caves."

Then he grinned and added, "Curt can drive a small power boat like no one else, and docked us in the cove on a calm day. We spent a few hours playing Swiss Family Robinson, although he'll insist it was more Lord of the Flies."

For a moment, the occupants of the galley let silence surround them after Tony's explanation, until the police chief's mind began to wander once again. As if reading his mind, Michaela stopped any worry or brooding before it could begin.

"It's time," she announced, slapping her hands on the table for attention, and rising slowly. Just a few steps away, she flipped on the radio. It took a few minutes, but Morse code finally flowed across the channel, and she scribbled violently at a piece of scrap paper. It took several minutes, because as soon as one set of codes ended, another began, until she tossed down her pen, flipped off the radio and sighed heavily.

Frustration leaked into her voice, when she said, "Some of the boys on these seas might make damn fine fishermen, but they have no imagination."

Tony didn't dare argue the point – that they were doing something way outside of most people's ability by playing games with drug traffickers. He didn't want to incur his lover's wrath. So instead, he waited, while she calmed.

"Both of 'em are just around the bend. I told 'em not to stay together, but they did," she explained. Stalking over, Captain Mike popped her head up through the hatch and yelled to the crew, "Engines up. Time to head out."

"What aren't you telling me?" Tony asked, when he noted how Michaela wouldn't look him in the eyes.

"Oh, probably the part where, since they decided to hide together, they got caught together," she muttered. Finally meeting his gaze, she added, "They've been boarded."

"The other boat captains told you that?" Ziva asked, confused by the prospect. The bad guys would lose the element of surprise if they had allowed the captains to actually state that they had been boarded.

"Nope," came the captain's reply. "They gave me coordinates. Only reason to give me coordinates is if they haven't got any reason to hide their location anymore. We used common names before, because only the locals would know 'em."

"Well, it could be worst," Tony replied with a grin.

When everyone looked at him like he'd lost his mind, he shrugged and said, "Hey, I'm just trying to keep the spirits up here. You all looked like you were about to cry."

X X X

"Just once more, explain to me why we are doing this?" Captain Mike asked as the vessel drew close to the mouth of the inlet and aimed towards open seas.

"You know me. I like the action," Tony replied, earning an amused snort from the woman at the wheel.

Behind the police chief, Gibbs rolled his eyes and muttered, "Same old smart-ass answer for everything, huh?"

The last thing Tony expected was Michaela to go all Rambo on Gibbs, but the petite woman never held back when riled. So he watched in amusement as she half-turned, with one hand on the wheel, and the other pointed at the NCIS team leader, and ground out, "I don't know why he thinks highly of ya, if you're this big of an ass."

She paused for all of three seconds before dropping her pointing hand and asked, "Do you have any idea the damage you did to him? The shape he was in when he landed in our town? Pitiful! That's how I'd describe him. Pitiful."

Tony couldn't help the way his cheeks burned. He also knew he had no control over the woman in front of him, and he really didn't want to look back at his old boss. Actually, he wanted to slink away and maybe jump over the side.

At least she'd taken a deep breath before more calmly adding, "Tony couldn't decide to fish or cut bait the first year here. He didn't have much of a choice when we tossed the kids his way. It was as good a reason as any to make him stay, though."

Well, that was a revelation, Tony mused. He'd talked to everyone in town after the kids' parents died, trying to get someone to take his three kids. It had never occurred to him that they worried about him leaving, and got everyone to deny responsibility for the trio to give him a purpose. Looking back, he couldn't deny the need to fit in somewhere. By then, he'd lost himself so completely, he'd momentarily contemplated just… ceasing. But just momentarily. Enough to wake him up.

Grateful for the silence, he watched Michaela turn back to focus on steering them around the side of the island. In place of the soft woman who could melt in his arms, the persona of Captain Mike stood out. Maybe that was why they got along as well as they did. Neither minded when the other wore a mask.

Pride filled him at the chances she'd taken, because he had no doubt she'd been scared to death. His lover didn't fear the sea, injury, or even death; but she feared the unknown. Dealing with illegal narcotics and gunshot wounds wouldn't have been easy on her – especially with it being Curt at the bad end of it. The boy might not be hers in the way he was Tony's, but she loved Curt all the same.

Reaching out, Tony gently squeezed her shoulder and felt her stiff muscle loosen under his palm. They both knew she needed to be calm. Soon they'd round the bend to the outer edge of the islands, where they would find the other fishing boats. They'd be going in with guns blazing.

McGee might be bringing the Coast Guard in from the south, but they were hours behind. The reinforcement from the north, with Ian, would arrive sooner, but not soon enough. No, the best they could hope was that those who labored on the fishing vessels knew well enough to drop down when the first bullet rang out.

At least Tony had one thing going for him.

The feral glint in his eyes contradicted the smile on his face, when he said, "We know to expect the worst. The bastards that started this don't know we're coming."

With those words, Gibbs slid out of sight with a gun in each hand to join Ziva out of sight near the railing.

Giving Michaela a quick kiss, he caught her eye and said, "When it starts, head below. I need to know you're all safe."

For once, she didn't tell him not to worry or roll her eyes. Instead, she kissed him back, and said, "Of course. Me and the boys'll be hiding with Curt until you come and get us."

With a nod, he headed out, as adrenaline kicked in. He was ready for a fight.