Chapter: 5: Truths
Setting: during season eight, episode tag 'Dead Air', AU after that
Summary: What if when Ziva and McGee had turned off the radio, Tony had ended up in a deadly situation and needed their help? Will his teammates realize something is wrong in time to save both their partner and the victim? And what happens when the real reason why Tony didn't have any back-up is revealed? Will Team Gibbs survive the truth? Or will it be the end of them?
Chapter Word Count: 9,422
A/N: wow…the reviews were amazing! You guys really love this story! And, it seems as if everyone's favourite scene last chapter was Jimmy telling off Ducky, Abby and Gibbs; it was one of mine as well! The other was the agents going off on Ziva and McGee. Thanks for reading and loving this story so far. Enjoy the new chapter!
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Disclaimer: NCIS and all its affiliates belong to its creators Donald P. Bellisario and Don McGill, and CBS Television. No trademark or copyright infringement is intended and no money is being made from this. In other words, I DO NOT own.
"Speaking"
'Thinking'
"Speaking over the phone"
Original Posting Date: Friday 5th October, '12.
Sometimes you put walls up not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to break them down-Unknown
It's been four days since Tony had been rushed to the hospital, and three days since the others had gotten the news that Tony was going to be ok.
True to their word, the doctors had removed Tony out of the medical induced coma, but had explained that doing that wouldn't guarantee that Tony would wake; that his body and mind had been through tremendous stress and needed to recuperate.
So in essence, Tony would wake when he felt like waking.
Despite the fact that Tony was unconscious, his vitals remained strong and improved each day, so they moved him out of ICU and to a regular room.
But Gibbs and the others had something else occupying their thoughts.
Gibbs, Abby and Vitalia were sitting in Tony's hospital room talking in low tones as to not disturb the sleeping girl.
"Gibbs what are we going to do?" Abby said as she looked at Vitalia in the older man's arms. "We can't let them take her."
"I know Abbs," Gibbs nodded.
The day after Tony had been admitted, a social worker had shown up at the hospital.
Flashback
Gibbs stepped out of Tony's room and crossed the hall to lean against the wall opposite the door. His body felt relaxed, or marginally more relaxed than yesterday when he had gotten the call about Tony. Hearing that not only had Tony made it through the night but that his vitals were stronger was such a relief.
The clicking of heels on the floor had him looking up and he saw a woman heading in his direction. She was dressed in a black, knee-length skirt with a blue, short-sleeve top and had a briefcase in her hand.
Gibbs watched with narrowed eyes as the woman walked directly to Tony's door. He straightened off the wall. "You mind telling me who the hell you are and why you're entering that room?"
The woman jumped and whirled around, brown eyes wide with a little fear and shock. "Oh my God, you scared me! I didn't see you there."
Gibbs just stared at her.
The woman fidgeted, obviously uncomfortable with being pinned under the harsh and unrelenting stare. After a few more minutes of staring, the woman shifted her gaze and took a deep breath, silently chiding herself for her reaction, and when she spoke, she was thankful her voice was steady, "My name is Margaret Trenton. I'm from Child Protective Services."
Gibbs' body froze at her words. He knew immediately what she was there for; Vitalia.
"It is to my understanding that you have a little girl in your company; four year old Vitalia Morrison," Margaret stated.
"What about her?" Gibbs asked, though he already knew the answer to the question.
"Due to the fact that her mother is dead and her father is the one responsible and now resides in jail," Margaret said, "Vitalia will be placed into foster care until her closest living relative can be found."
Gibbs' eyes narrowed. "No."
Margaret startled and looked up at him with a frown, "Sir-
"It's Agent Gibbs," Gibbs cut her off, "and you are not leaving with that little girl."
"I'm afraid, Agent Gibbs," Margaret glared at him, "you have no say in the matter. Ms. Morrison is not of any relation to you, therefore, where she goes is not your choice. Vitalia will be coming with me."
Gibbs took a step towards the woman, the Gibbs' glare in full effect, inwardly smirking when he she took a step back and her knuckles turned white from the force of her grip on her briefcase.
"Let me tell you something," Gibbs spoke, his voice low and unforgiving, "that little girl in there has been through hell and right now, the only people she trusts, the only people she wants to be around is in that room. You are not taking her anywhere."
Margaret mentally cursed herself for her step back and for showing her fear. She had been doing this job for years, and had thought that she had met every difficult person there was, but obviously she was wrong. But, she had a job to do. "Listen Agent Gibbs, the law is the law and that little girl is coming with me."
"You…are…not…taking…her…anywhere," Gibbs repeated slowly. He took another step closer, "You want her, go get a court order. In the meantime, leave, and don't come back."
Margaret glared at Gibbs, "I will get that order, and then, that little girl is coming with me."
With that, she turned and walked away.
Gibbs watched her leave, and then pulled out his cell, dialling the director's number. "Leon?" he said the moment the director answered, "I need a favour."
"Gibbs?" Abby called softly, drawing the man from his memory, "Do you think the director will be able to help?"
"I hope so Abby," Gibbs sighed. He hadn't heard back from Leon about getting temporary custody of Vitalia. There was no way he was letting the little girl out of his sight. Not when Tony had gone through hell to save her.
The door opening drew their attention and they watched as Palmer and Ducky walked in.
"Good morning," Ducky greeted with a smile, "how is our favourite patient?"
Abby smiled in response, "getting stronger."
"Well that's good," Palmer grinned as he took a seat close to Abby, and as far away from Gibbs as he could. While they had spent the last four days in close proximity, he still didn't feel completely comfortable around the man, especially after he had pretty much yelled at him that first night when Tony was admitted.
"Hopefully he will awaken soon," Ducky said as he took his own seat.
"Hopefully," Abby agreed with a smile. She looked over at Tony, "We need you Tony, so you need to wake up."
They had just settled down when the door opened. While Abby and the others looked at the woman standing there in confusion, Gibbs' eyes narrowed and he stood up, careful of Vitalia in his arms.
The little girl woke up though and stared at the woman in confusion even as she moved to wrap an arm around Gibbs' neck.
"What the hel-heck are you doing here?" Gibbs demanded.
Margaret smirked, "I told you I would be back Agent Gibbs."
"Gibbs?" Abby questioned softly, wondering who the woman was.
"My name is Margaret Trenton," Margaret smiled at the other occupants in the room, but it was polite, not friendly, "And I'm with CPS."
The three gasped and Abby's eyes darted towards Vitalia.
"I told you you're not taking her," Gibbs growled.
"And I told you, you can't stop me," Margaret stared at him with narrowed eyes, mentally congratulating herself on not shaking, "especially with this." She pulled some papers out of her bag, "it's a court order, stating that child is to go with me and her custody belongs to the state."
Vitalia's eyes went wide and she let out a whimper as she tightened her arm around Gibbs' neck. She didn't like what the woman was saying. She didn't want to go with her; she was supposed to stay with Tony. The angels left him for her, no one else.
"I'm afraid that's not possible," a new voice said and everyone looked up to see Vance standing in the doorway.
"Excuse me, but who are you and why is it not possible?" Margaret demanded.
"My name is Leon Vance, Director of NCIS," Vance stated, "And that little girl is not going anywhere."
Margaret sighed, "I understand everyone is feeling protective of this little girl, especially due to the circumstances surrounding how she came to be in your care, but I have a court order stating that—
"What a coincidence," Vance cut her off sharply, "so do I, and my court order is signed by three different judges. Custody of Vitalia Morrison is awarded to Agent Anthony DiNozzo, and," Vance spoke over her when he saw her opening her mouth to speak, "due do Agent DiNozzo's condition, the custody is transferred to Agent Gibbs until Agent DiNozzo is able to care for her."
Five stunned faces looked up at Vance. Neither one of them believing what they were hearing.
"And this is real? It's not a ploy to not let her end up in the system?" Margaret was the first to break the silence.
"It's real and legal," Vance said firmly, "like I said, I have signatures from three different judges, who were very sympathetic after it was explained in detail what was going on. So, I appreciate you doing your job and coming down here, but as you can see, your services are no longer needed. Vitalia stays here."
Margaret looked around the room, noting the happy smiles on everyone's faces and the smug grin on Agent Gibbs'. Sighing, she stuffed her papers back in her bag, "Agent Gibbs, I was only harsh because I was doing my job and I wanted what was best for that little girl, especially after the hell she's been through."
Gibbs' smug grin faded slightly and he nodded at the woman, "Understandable, but taking her away would've hurt her more than help her."
Margaret nodded, her eyes taking in the way the little girl was resting so trustingly in the man's arms. If there was one thing she had learned on this job, was that children were very good judge of characters. "You do know you're work is not over? CPS will be sending someone over to check on her to make sure everything is ok? They will not let this go so easily."
"We know," Gibbs nodded, his blue eyes filling with determination, "they can come, but let them know that we are not letting go of her. She belongs to us."
Margaret gave a nod and left the room. When she was gone, all eyes turned to Vance.
"I suppose your timing could not have been better Leon," Ducky chuckled.
Vance stepped further into the room, letting the door close behind him.
"It's true?" Abby asked looking at the director, "Vitalia stays with us?"
"She's not going anywhere," Vance assured her, and the rest, with a nod. "Gibbs has custody until DiNozzo recovers."
The door opening had everyone turning towards it.
"Well isn't this a party?" Jackson Gibbs remarked as he walked into the room.
"Dad?" Gibbs narrowed his eyes at his father. "What are you doing here?"
"I called him," Abby admitted as she bit her lip. "I know how close he and Tony were and I knew he'd want to know."
"Leave her alone Leroy," Jackson scolded his son. "It's a good thing she did because you wouldn't have done it."
Gibbs ran a hand over his face. His dad could always make him agitated, "Yes I would've dad. I know what you mean to Tony. I didn't because I wanted to be sure Tony was out of the woods."
Jackson nodded, understanding and accepting his son's reasoning. His gaze drifted to the little girl in his son's arms who was watching everything with curious dark blue eyes. "And this must be Vitalia. Hello there; my name is Jackson. I'm his father." He pointed towards Gibbs with a smile.
Vitalia cocked her head to the side and stared at the man. He seemed nice and he reminded her of the man holding her. She looked up at him and then looked back at the man and smiled.
Jackson's grin widened when he saw how the girl looked towards his son first. He always knew Leroy had a way with children, but after losing Shannon and Kelly, his son hadn't interacted much with young kids after that. It was good to see that underneath all of his anger, hurt, cynicism and being an all-around-bastard, there was still that man.
Gibbs looked around the room, not stopping the warmth that filled him. He may have issues with his father and Vance, but the fact that they were there, made him feel good; though he wouldn't tell Leon that. This was Tony's family, and all it needed was for him to wake up.
As if his thoughts were heard, the machine monitoring Tony's vitals started beeping faster.
"What's going on?" Palmer asked as they all looked towards Tony, hoping it wasn't a relapse.
"I'll get the doctor," Vance said as he moved towards the door. He had just opened it when Abby gasped.
"Abby?" Gibbs called out, shifting his hold on Vitalia.
Abby wasn't paying attention though, she was looking down at her hand, the one holding Tony's. "Tony?"
And she felt it again, the slight pressure on her hand. She looked up at the others with tears in her eyes, "He squeezed my hand."
Gasps of excitement left the group and they all seemed to lean forward.
Gibbs reached out and placed on hand on Tony's head, "DiNozzo, can you hear me?"
To their astonishment, Tony's head turned slightly to Gibbs' voice and they saw the rapid movement of his eyes below his close lids and the way said lids fluttered.
"Get the doctor," Gibbs told Vance without even looking away from Tony, "Tony…come on…that's it…open your eyes."
Dr. Pitt and Dr. Hale stepped into the room just in time to see Tony open his eyes.
"Hey," Gibbs smiled briefly when he saw the green eyes looking at him. "Welcome back."
Dr. Pitt hurried over to the bedside, Dr. Hale following. "I know you guys don't want to, but I need you to step outside just for a moment."
Gibbs saw the way Tony tensed at the Dr's words, so he reassured him, "Don't worry. We're just gonna step out for a minute so the doctors can work on you. We'll be right back, I promise."
Tony's body relaxed in relief. He felt better knowing Gibbs would be close by.
The group stepped out the room and Jackson pulled Abby to him and wrapped his arms around her.
"He's awake," Abby cried as she curled into Jackson's embrace, "He's awake."
"Yes he is," Ducky wiped his tears, though a smile filled his face. "Our boy is going to be fine."
"He is a fighter," Jackson grinned.
"I'm going to call Jackie and let her know," Vance said, "she and the kids have been worried."
Gibbs nodded without saying anything, his attention more on his Second in Command than anything.
About ten minutes later, the door opened and the three nurses came out, each of them smiling.
"You can go in now," one of them said.
"Thank you," Ducky replied for the group and they all made their way back inside.
When they got back inside, they were pleased to see that Tony was no longer intubated and he was now wearing a nasal cannula.
"How's he doing doc?" Gibbs asked as he made his way back to his customary chair.
It wasn't the doctor that answered.
"I-I'm f-fine," Tony's voice was hoarse from being intubated and not being in use. He looked at each of them, his eyes holding confusion when he saw Vance, but lighting up when he saw Jack. "H-Hey."
"Don't speak Tony," Jackson advised with a smile, "Although it is good to hear your voice."
"Never thought I'd miss that," Gibbs grunted, the teasing clearly heard in his voice.
Tony turned his head to glare at him, but lost it when he saw the little girl in his arms. He stared at her in confusion, but seconds later, his eyes went wide as everything came rushing back to him.
And then, his monitors started going crazy.
"Tony!" Dr. Pitt grabbed his shoulder. "Calm down!"
"Abbs!" Gibbs called the girl to him and when she came, he stood and passed Vitalia to her. Hands free, he stepped closer to Tony's bed, resting a hand on his agent's head, "Tony…hey, look at me," when he had his attention, he continued, "it's ok…calm down…just breathe…"
Dr. Hale stepped close with a syringe, but Brad stopped him. "Wait."
"Relax Tony," Gibbs ordered softly, "and breathe…slowly…"
Tony's eyes never strayed from Gibbs and as always, he followed his boss' instructions.
"That's it," Gibbs praised softly. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw Tony's heart rate and blood pressure stabilize. "Scare me like that again DiNozzo, and I'll head slap you into next week."
"G-got it boss," Tony wheezed out as his breathing calmed down and he relaxed into his bed. He closed his eyes briefly and reopened them.
Dr. Hale looked at them in shock, but Brad chuckled, "Never could disobey him, could you?"
Tony's eyes flew to the doctors, "Hey Brad."
"How are you feeling?" Brad asked.
"Tired," Tony replied softly.
"That's normal," Brad nodded, "You've been through hell Tony. I know you hate this, but it's standard procedure. Do you know where you are?"
"Hospital," Tony replied.
"And I know you remember Gibbs, but do you remember anyone else?" Brad asked.
Tony looked around the room; his eyes stopped on Ducky, "Ducky." They shifted to Palmer, "Gremlin."
Jimmy grinned at the nickname, "Hey Tony."
"Gremlin?" Dr. Hale asked, confused, and a little worried that Tony's memory was messed up.
"Tony calls me Autopsy Gremlin," Jimmy explained with a smile, "It's his nickname for me."
"Ahh," Both doctors nodded.
Tony shifted his gaze to Abby and smiled, "LMPT."
Everyone in the room, with the exception of Gibbs, looked at Tony in confusion.
"LMPT?" Palmer repeated.
Tony grinned at Abby, "La Mia Principessa delle Tenebre." (My Princess of the Dark)
Vitalia giggled when she heard that. She liked it. She thought Abby liked black because she had a lot of it; like how she liked pink because she had a lot of it. She liked how pretty it was.
Abby's bottom lip trembled and tears filled her eyes. She hadn't realized how much she had missed hearing that until just now. "Tone."
Tony smiled at her before turning to the next in line. He was still shocked to see the man, "Director."
Vance nodded in response, "DiNozzo."
"I know you remember me," Jackson smiled.
Tony chuckled, but stopped when it made him cough.
"Easy," Dr. Hale warned as he helped him sip a little water, "your lungs are still healing."
"S-sorry," Tony replied as he drank the water, sighing at the cool relief on his throat. He looked over at the girl in Gibbs' arms, "Is she ok?"
"She's fine," Gibbs nodded, "you protected her."
"And her mom?" Tony asked, but deep down, he already knew the answer.
"Didn't make it," Gibbs told him, "when I got there, she was already gone."
Tony's eyes closed briefly.
"Hey," Gibbs called, making Tony open his eyes, "It's not your fault. She fought, and so did you, but her injuries were too much. If it wasn't for you, this little girl wouldn't be here."
Tony nodded. He smiled at the girl, "What's her name?"
"Vitalia," Abby answered with a grin.
Tony smiled at the girl, "My name is Tony, Pretty Girl."
Vitalia giggled and reached out to touch Tony's arm, "Hi Tony. I stay with you now."
Tony's brows furrowed at her words, but before he could say anything, Gibbs spoke up.
"I'll explain later," the older man said.
Tony nodded and then turned back to the two doctors. He opened his mouth to ask about his injuries, but a yawn escaped instead and he blinked his eyes as he tried to fight the sleep.
"Tired?" Brad asked, looking at Tony.
"No," Tony shook his head even as he settled further down on the bed into a more comfortable position.
"It's ok Tony," Brad assured him, "Even though you've been unconscious for a few days, right now, your body just wants a natural sleep, so go ahead."
Tony fought against the doctor's words, not wanting to close his eyes. He needed to talk to Gibbs, to explain and figure out what happened.
Knowing his agent, Gibbs leaned forward, "It's ok Tony. Rest. I've got your six."
At his words, Tony allowed his eyes to close down and he gave in to the sleep pulling at his body.
The occupants of the room watched him with smiles.
"How long do you think he's gonna be asleep?" Jackson asked.
"It depends," Dr. Hale responded, "it could be an hour, or more than a few."
"We'll check back in later," Brad said as he moved towards the door.
"Thanks doc," Gibbs nodded. He watched the two men leave before turning his gaze back to Tony. 'You're back with us Tony. And when you're better, things will change. It was too close this time. I almost lost you. We almost missed our chance. When you get stronger, that's gonna change.'
Satisfied, Gibbs settled back into the chair.
"LJ?" Vitalia shifted so that she could see him.
Gibbs' lips twitched at the nickname. Just a day or two ago, he had told her to call him 'LJ' as opposed to her calling him 'Gibbs' or 'Jethro' or 'Leroy'. "Yes?"
"Tony's ok now," Vitalia said, "The angels didn't take him."
"No they didn't," Gibbs smiled at her, "he's yours, remember? They left him for you, so they didn't take him."
Vitalia nodded, "Good. I'm glad. Does mommy miss me?"
Gibbs shifted Vitalia until she was kneeling in his lap, "listen to me; your mommy loved you very much and she didn't want to leave you. She misses you a lot, but, she knows the angels left Tony to take care of you, so she's ok."
"You take care of me too?" Vitalia asked. She wanted to be with Tony, but she felt safe around him too.
"We all will," Gibbs nodded to everyone in the room and Vitalia looked around at the others, smiling when she saw they were smiling too.
"We're a family," Gibbs continued, "we take care of each other and we don't let anyone hurt our family."
"Family," Vitalia repeated softly, the smile still on her face. "I family too."
"Yes you are," Gibbs nodded and he lightly pressed a finger to her sides, grinning when he heard the giggle that escaped her lips.
"Did I just here a giggle?" Abby got up slowly and made her way over to the two of them.
"No!" Vitalia giggled as she pushed back into Gibbs away from Abby.
"I think you did," Palmer grinned.
"Nuh uh," Vitalia shook her head.
"Uh huh," Abby grinned and pounced; soon, the room was filled with the sound of Vitalia's laughter.
Some of the nurses and doctors passing by, smiled to themselves when they heard it.
Later that afternoon, after everyone had left to go home to eat and shower and basically take a break from being in the hospital, everyone was sitting around Tony's room talking to him. He had woken up just ten minutes ago.
The door opened, stopping their conversations, and they all looked to see Brad and Dr. Hale walking into the room.
"Alright doc," Tony spoke, "Give it to me. How bad is it?"
Brad chuckled and without preamble, he listed the injuries, making Tony wince at each offense.
"So how long will I be in the hospital for?" Tony asked when the man was done.
"Well," Dr. Hale picked up, "to be honest, just a day or two more, just to be on the safe side, and then, you'll be released."
"And how soon will I be able to go back to work?" Tony asked, already dreading the answer.
"With your ribs and your right wrist," Brad said, "you'll be off work for about two weeks, and as for when you'll be able to go back in the field, I'll leave that up to your boss."
"Don't do that," Tony turned wide eyes on the doctor, "give me a timeline; a week, two weeks, anything. Don't leave it like that."
The others laughed at Tony's words.
"Sorry Tony," Brad grinned, amused by the man's antics.
Tony groaned. He really hated being on bed rest and he knew that Gibbs would follow the doctors' instructions to the tee and it would be a while before he was off of desk duty and back in the field.
Gibbs chuckled as he read the look on Tony's face. The Italian was predictable when it came to having to be off work due to an injury.
"With the pain medications," Dr. Hale continued, "you can't be on your own."
"He'll stay with me," Gibbs interrupted.
Vance stared at the man in shock, though he should've known better. Everyone knew Gibbs held a soft spot for Ms. Sciuto, but from what he knew of the team, there was only one person Gibbs had ever allowed to stay in his house when they were injured or just needed a place to stay and that was DiNozzo.
Tony's eyes flew to him in shock. "That's ok boss."
"DiNozzo," Gibbs cut him off, "you're staying." His tone was firm and final.
"Right, got it boss," Tony nodded. He should've known better than to try and argue against the man.
"Instructions," Dr. Hale continued, "Agent DiNozzo, because your ribs are still healing, you can't put too much pressure on them; no heavy lifting, no doing anything that would put a strain on your ribs; your shoulders—both of them—should be used carefully, so again, no heavy lifting and your wrist, the cast is not to get wet and it should be kept immobile as much as you can."
"So basically I'm on bed rest," Tony groaned.
"Pretty much," Brad chuckled, "but considering the alternative, bed rest is the better end of the deal, isn't it?"
Tony mock glared at his doctor, "No logic."
Brad laughed, as did the others, before he made his way to the door, Dr. Hale in tow. "Take it easy Tony. I'll be back to check on you later."
"Thanks Brad," Tony nodded to the doctor.
"No problem," Brad said and he left the room, closing the door behind him and Dr. Hale.
Tony's head fell back against the pillow.
"Man Tony," Jimmy grinned, "you can't do anything."
Tony groaned, "Shut up Jimmy." With a sigh, he lifted his head and looked around, brows furrowing when he didn't see who he was looking for.
"What is it Anthony?" Ducky asked, seeing the look.
"Where're Ziva and McGee?" Tony asked, not seeing his two teammates.
At his question, Gibbs' eyes darkened, Ducky and Jackson frowned, Palmer looked away, Abby scoffed and Vance folded his arms across his chest.
"What is it?" Tony asked, when he saw the reactions.
"They're not here," Gibbs answered gruffly.
Tony remembered the man's taunting words when they had been fighting and instantly feared the worst, "Are they-are they ok? They're not hurt, are they? They're fine, right?"
Gibbs mentally cursed at Tony's question and felt a renewed anger towards his former agents. And he wasn't the only one.
All of them were shocked that Tony would ask and at the memory of what the two had done, they were just as angry.
Vance especially, was shocked that Tony was asking about the two, considering what they had done, but then, the shocked gave way as logic sounded. Tony had no idea what the two had done, but he knew that the man couldn't be told the truth, not until he was stronger, "Agents McGee and David are fine."
Tony looked at Gibbs for confirmation. Not that he didn't trust or believe Vance, but he just needed the reassurance.
"He's right," Gibbs nodded, "both of them are fine."
Tony frowned, "then where are they?" he was surprised that the two weren't here as he'd expected them to be.
"Do you remember what happened Tony?" Abby asked.
"Yeah," Tony nodded.
"Are you up for telling us?" Gibbs asked, not wanting to push Tony.
Tony closed his eyes as his mind pulled the memories to the forefront. Taking a deep breath, he reopened his eyes and then nodded.
"Ok," Gibbs nodded, "Start with when you got to the neighbourhood."
"We had to decide who would actually go door to door and I volunteered to do it," Tony started.
"Why?" Vance asked.
"Ziva, as talented as she is, has limited people skills," Tony replied with a small grin, "because of the nature of what we were doing, I didn't think Ziva would've had the patience to do the job properly, and McGee, well, he may be a whiz on computers, but he's just as bad as Ziva when it comes to interacting with others. I've been undercover more than enough times, so I knew how to get what we wanted, even if it was just to get voice recognition."
Vance nodded, "Continue."
"I went from door to door, met a lot of interesting people," Tony continued, "got one or two doors slammed in face, but all in all, despite the fact that it was pretty much a gated community, the people were surprisingly open."
"What happened next?" Gibbs asked.
"I knew how boring stakeouts could get," Tony said, "So I kept talking, about anything and everything; I figured if I talked, Ziva and McGee wouldn't be bored and it would take their minds off of just sitting in the car doing nothing."
The others exchanged looks at Tony's confession; to think, he had been talking to his teammates, not to be a chatterbox, but to keep their minds occupied and they had turned off the radio because they didn't want to hear him.
"What's with the look?" Tony looked from person to person, wondering if he was missing something.
"Nothing," Gibbs said, "what happened after that?"
"Well, I was heading back to the car," Tony's brows pulled together, "but I stopped."
"Why?" Jackson asked. When he had been told what had happened he had been angry and disgusted, but right now, he was hurting for Tony because he knew once the young man found out what happened on the side of his teammates, it would hurt him. That kind of betrayal would be hard to get over.
"My mother," Tony replied, to the shock of the room.
"What?" Jimmy broke the silence.
"I don't understand," Abby said, "Tony, your mom is—
"Dead, I know," Tony smiled at her, "it wasn't her per se, but it was more like her scent."
"What do you mean Anthony?" Ducky asked.
"Lilacs were my mother's favourite flowers," Tony told them, "I remember as I kid, every time I was near her, I would always smell lilacs. The last time I smelled lilacs, was the day the SWAK letter arrived at the bullpen."
Gasps echoed throughout the room from everyone except Gibbs; he was just staring at Tony with unreadable eyes, but his whole body had tensed.
"That's why you grabbed the letter from McGee," Abby whispered, though they all heard her.
"Yeah," Tony nodded, as the memory rushed back to him, "Anyways, when I smelt the lilacs, I got a really bad feeling. I looked around, but I didn't see anything that signified danger or anything, so I brushed it off and continued to the car. I'd only taken maybe a couple more steps, when I smelt the flowers again and the bad feeling increased.
"I turned around and I looked at all the houses. When I stopped at 673, the bad feeling became even stronger and it was like I was covered in the lilac scent. I radioed in to McGee and Ziva to let them know where I'd be and I headed to the house. Vitalia opened the door and I asked her to get her parents and then, her father came to the door. I barely introduced myself before he slammed it in my face. Next thing I knew, I heard a woman cry out and a crash, so I drew my gun and kicked in the door. When I got in, I identified myself as an NCIS agent.
"I could hear him beating her and I saw the blood trail so I followed it to the living room. I saw the guy standing over his wife and Vitalia was hiding. I told him who I was and to step away from the woman. He ignored me. He was about to hit her again, but I dropped my gun and I tackled him."
"You did what?" Vance interrupted. "DiNozzo, dropping your gun was the one thing you should not have done."
Tony stared at the director with narrowed eyes, "Well excuse me director, but getting him away from her was my first and only priority. Did I know that discarding my weapon was against protocol? Yes, but honestly, I wasn't thinking about protocol just then. And I couldn't shoot him because there was a chance I could've missed and hit either the woman or Vitalia. I've been a cop for over ten years, and I don't need you telling me what I should and shouldn't have done. Sometimes, you just got to go with your instincts. I was caught up in the moment and I reacted."
Gibbs glared at Vance before turning back to his SFA, "Focus DiNozzo. What happened next?"
"We fought," Tony looked at his boss. "I remember him taunting me about McGee and Ziva, saying that he had had them taken care of, because when I called out to them for backup, they didn't answer. He went after Vitalia, and I couldn't let him hurt her. We fought some more until I was able to knock him out. Then I called you. The last thing I remember is seeing you come in the room."
He didn't say anything about what he had seen when he had been unconscious. It's not that he thought they'd be weird, but he felt uncomfortable saying anything; what had happened in his coma-like state felt too intimate for him to share with all of them. Sensing eyes on him, he looked up and saw Gibbs staring. He could tell that Gibbs knew he was holding something back, but he was thankful that the older man said nothing.
Gibbs could read Tony better than anyone, even Abby, so he knew Tony was not telling them everything. But he didn't say anything because he had his own issues; like the promise he had made when Tony had still been unconscious and just how he was going to tell Tony what Ziva and McGee did. He looked up at the others and saw they were just as perplexed as he was.
Tony saw the looks, "Ok, that's the second time you guys have exchanged looks. What is going on?"
"Tony," Abby started, but stopped and bit her lip. She had no idea how to even begin to tell him.
"What is it?" Tony asked, "Just tell me. I mean, you said they weren't injured or anything, right? So then, tell me. Why aren't they here?"
"I banned them from your room," Gibbs answered.
"Why?" Tony asked.
"Because none of us wants them here," Jimmy answered, "Not after what they did."
"What did they do?" Tony asked.
"Maybe we should leave this off for another time?" Ducky suggested. He could see that Tony was getting agitated and he really didn't want the young man to put any more unnecessary stress on his body, not when it was still healing.
"No!" Tony shook his head, "I need to know. Tell me; what did Ziva and McGee do?"
For the first time since they met, Vance felt pure sympathy for the agent lying in the bed. He knew how close this team was and how they considered each other family. He knew of how much DiNozzo cared about his teammates and how he more often than not, went out of his way to cheer them up if they were in a bad mood, and he knew that he found out the truth about their betrayal, it would break him.
And as he looked around the other people in the room, he knew he had to leave. He and DiNozzo still had their issues. He wasn't a part of this core, so he couldn't be here. He couldn't watch one of the strongest person he knew break. With that thought in mind, he slowly—and without drawing attention—left the room. As he made to leave, he threw one last glance through the window; he knew that they were DiNozzo's family and he would need them. They would help him get past the betrayal of two people he had trusted.
Back inside, Tony still stared at Gibbs. He was vaguely aware of Vance leaving, but he didn't focus on it. "Just tell me."
"They left you without backup," Gibbs answered after a short silence.
Tony thought he heard wrong. 'I had to have. There's no way Gibbs just said what I think he did.' "What?"
Abby spoke up, "It's true Tony. They never came to your rescue because they never heard your calls."
"Maybe the radio malfunctioned or something," Tony stammered out.
"It didn't," Abby shook her head, "I checked and rechecked it. The radio was working fine. They never answered because they turned off the radio. They left you alone Tony."
Tony felt his heart freeze. What Abby was saying, what she was trying to tell him, no…it couldn't be true. "You're lying." His voice was raspy with his emotions.
"She's not," Gibbs countered, "While you were fighting for not only your life, but Vitalia and her mom's, the two of them were sitting in the car with no idea what was going on because they had turned off the communication between you and them."
"Why?" Tony felt his head spinning. It was clear that none of them wanted to tell him, but he needed to know. "TELL ME!"
Gibbs repeated what Ziva and McGee had confessed.
Tony was struck silent. His teammates, the people he had relied on to have his six, had left him alone in a dangerous situation because they had been tired of hearing him talk?! He trusted them.
"I was-I was fighting and they were-were doing nothing because they cut me off," Tony repeated, his breathing started picking up speed.
Ducky watched his heart monitor, "Anthony, you need to calm down."
"Calm down? How can I calm down?" Tony clenched his hand into a fist. He couldn't believe it. "They left me. I trusted them…I needed them and they left me. I could've died. And all because they wanted to play a prank? All because they wanted peace and quiet?"
As the words sank into his mind, the pain and betrayal from two people he had considered friends, the people he had considered family and who he had trusted with his life, crashed into him. His breathing became even more irregular and his monitors started going haywire. Within seconds, an alarm went off and nurses were rushing into his room.
"You need to leave!" A nurse yelled at the group as the rest tried to get Tony's BP under control.
"Get Dr. Pitt!" another nurse ordered.
Gibbs and the others were pushed from the room just as Brad and Dr. Hale ran past them.
"Oh God," Abby sobbed as she fell back against the wall.
Vitalia was staring at Tony's room with wide eyes. She turned to look at Gibbs. "What's wrong?"
Gibbs stared at the little girl, wondering how he could explain what was going on; how could he tell her Tony's mind couldn't deal with the betrayal of two people he trusted and so he was shutting down?
"I don't know," he replied eventually. 'God Shannon…I can't lose him. I love him. Don't take him away.'
'Wouldn't dream of it Gunny.'
Gibbs thought he was going crazy. 'I think worrying about Tony is stressing me out.'
Soft laughter echoed in his mind, causing Gibbs to shake his head. Tony being in the hospital was really stressing him out; he needed to get better. This was the second time he thought he heard Shannon's voice.
~…~
Hours later, Gibbs was sitting in Tony's room by himself. After the doctors and nurses had been able to get Tony's blood pressure down and his heart monitor stable, Brad had told them that Tony had been given a sedative and that he would be knocked for a few hours, so Gibbs had suggested that the others go home and get some rest.
Of course, Abby put up a fight, but Jackson had been able to change her mind; to no one's surprise though, she had promised to be back early morning, and so had Ducky and Palmer.
A sigh drew his attention and his gaze turned to rest on the figure sleeping on the cot across the room. Vitalia had refused to leave, not even with Abby and they knew how much she liked her.
Gibbs had had another motive for wanting everyone to leave. He needed some time alone with Tony. He had a promise to keep after all and he still had to explain Vitalia to his second in command.
There was a part that whispered that Tony might not feel the same way he did; he told that part to shut up. He's always trusted his gut, but he couldn't use his gut in this situation. Instead, he was using something he hadn't used in a long time; his heart. His heart was telling him that Tony returned his feelings and he listened.
Tony was his and he planned on letting the Italian know just that. He just needed him to wake up now so he could tell him.
(Dream)
"You just love doing things the hard way, don't you?"
Tony whirled around and saw Shannon grinning at him.
"I swear, you and Jethro are so much alike, but somehow, you still come off as the more stubborn one," Shannon laughed.
"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," Tony grinned at her. "So what's going on? Did I relapse or something? Are you here to lead me to the Great Beyond?"
Shannon laughed, "Oh yes. You are just perfect." She walked over to him and cupped his cheek, "You have been through a lot, haven't you?"
Tony closed his eyes as the memory of his two friends—no, former friends—betrayal. "I don't understand. Why would they do that?"
"I don't know," Shannon bit her lip, "but what I do is you're not going to get your answers being here."
"Are you sure he loves me?" Tony asked, looking so much like a lost little boy that Shannon's heart ached and she wished his father was standing in front of her.
"I'm dead Tony," Shannon smiled, "but even when I was still alive, I knew Gunny better than anyone. You are the first person to come close to knowing him as good as I did. He loves you just as much as he loved me. He's just waiting for you."
"I never thought," Tony began.
"I know," Shannon nodded, "but you have the chance now. You just have to be there and not here. Let him know how you feel. The two of you can make each other very happy and Gunny being happy is all I've ever wanted for him and I know you can make that happen. Just tell him."
Tony stared at the redhead for a few seconds before he smiled and stepped close, pressing a kiss to her cheek, "I can see why he fell for you. You are one of a kind Shannon."
Shannon giggled, "Such a sweet talker."
Tony laughed and stepped back.
"Oh and Tony?" her eyes sparkled mischievously.
"Yeah?" he turned to her.
Shannon grabbed his arm and grinned, "Gunny may be not be a young man anymore, but that doesn't mean his libido has dimmed."
Tony's eyes went wide with shock.
"Have fun," Shannon grinned before she pushed him.
Tony stumbled backwards and fell and as a white light surrounded him, the last thing he heard was Shannon's laughter.
(End Dream)
Gibbs had just started nodding off when he heard the groan. He looked up and saw Tony shifting in his bed. He leaned closer.
"Crazy redhead."
At the mumble, Gibbs' blue eyes narrowed in confusion. "Tony?"
Tony heard his name and after a few more minutes of shifting and blinking, he opened his eyes and saw Gibbs. His mind still groggy, he didn't even stop to think about what he was about to say, "Hey boss. Your wife is one naughty woman."
Gibbs leaned back in shock. What? "What was that?"
Tony came fully awake at the question and he stared at Gibbs. His mind ran back over the last few minutes and he groaned. "Nothing boss." He looked around, noticing how dark out it was and that they were alone. "Where is everyone?"
"They went home hours ago," Gibbs told him. "How are you feeling?"
"Tired," Tony replied.
Gibbs nodded, "the sedative. It'll wear off in a few minutes."
Tony lied on the bed, allowing himself time to get his bearings. He could feel himself wake up even more and as he did, Shannon's words came back to him. She had encouraged him to tell Gibbs how he felt, but he was scared; to open up himself like that to someone…it was terrifying.
Gibbs watched as the emotions played across Tony's face and wondered what was going through his mind. He had to talk to Tony, but first, there was something that was bugging him, "Tony?"
Tony shifted his head to look at the older man, "Yeah boss."
"Just now when you woke up," Gibbs said, "you made a comment; something about crazy redheads and how my wife was naughty."
Tony's eyes went wide and his cheeks went pink. He cleared his throat, "Oh, you heard that."
Gibbs nodded.
"It was nothing," Tony tried to play it off, "just me mumbling and say—
"DiNozzo," the name came out firm and tinged with a command.
"Right," Tony nodded and took a deep breath, "this may sound crazy and you might not believe me. Hell, I don't believe it and it's me it happened to."
"Tell me," Gibbs said.
"Ok," Tony said, "here goes." He told him about seeing his mother and then meeting Shannon and Kelly and he told about seeing Shannon just now. He left out though, what Shannon had told him about confessing how he felt.
Gibbs was shocked by what he heard.
"Told you, you wouldn't believe me," Tony grinned.
'Well, that explains why I keep hearing Shannon.' "I believe you," Gibbs said out loud.
Tony stared at Gibbs, silently wondering if his boss was just humouring him, but dismissed the thought. He laid his head back down on the pillow and stared at the ceiling. He could remember Shannon's words and her encouragement. Taking a deep breath, he decided to lay his heart on the line, "There was something else."
Gibbs looked at him, blue eyes filled with curiosity, "What?"
Tony kept his gaze on the ceiling. 'How do I do this? How do I tell him I'm in love with him? Where do I even start?'
'At the beginning.'
The voice echoed in his mind and he couldn't help but to chuckle.
"Talk to me Tony," Gibbs implored, "tell me what you're thinking."
'Like a Band-Aid; quick and painless.' "I'm in love with you," Tony said. He heard the sharp intake, but refused to take his eyes off the ceiling, "I can't tell you when exactly I fell for you, but I did. And it scares me. And it's not because you're a man, that's not the issue, the thing of it is, I've never felt this way about anyone before. It scares me because from the moment we met, you've always been able to see through the act and see me, the real me, and no one had ever done that before. The more time I spent around you, the more you pushed through the haze surrounding me, the closer you got to me.
"Sooner than I thought, you became important to me. All I wanted was to please you, to make you proud of me. You became a constant fixture in my life and for the first time, I had someone I could actually depend on, someone who actually wanted me around. At first, I couldn't believe it, so in a way, I decided to test you."
Gibbs nodded, "that's why you acted the way you did those first few days."
Tony chuckled, it didn't surprise him that Gibbs had figured him out, "Yeah. I had thought that there was no way you really wanted me around. So, I pushed your buttons and got on your nerves, but you didn't get rid of me. You still wanted me around and that threw me. I couldn't understand why you would want me around, me, the worthless screw-up that never outgrew his frat boy antics. But you did. And slowly but surely, I started relaxing around you; more of the real Tony DiNozzo came out.
"When I first realized how I felt about you, I denied it. Out of all the men, why did I fall for you? I mean, you were Gibbs; my hard-ass, stubborn, bastard of a boss with three ex-wives. I denied and denied, even went with women, dated a few guys too, but I had to accept the truth; I was in love with you. After accepting that truth, I had to face another one; you would never feel the same for me. As far as I knew, you were straight, and even if you weren't, I was sure you could've done better than me. I decided to keep my feelings to myself and I hoped you'd never find out because honestly, while I knew you wouldn't shun me or anything, I was terrified of what it would do to our friendship."
"Tony," the low self-esteem in Tony's voice stirred Gibbs' protectiveness and it had him wanting to hunt down Senior. He knew Tony had issues, but he hadn't realized just how deeply they ran and how much they still affected him.
"Let me finish Gibbs, or I'll never get this out," Tony pleaded.
"Ok," Gibbs nodded, "Go on."
"I don't want you to hate me, and I don't want our relationship to change," Tony continued, "I know you don't feel the same, and I'm willing to put this behind us and get on with our lives."
"I don't want to put this behind us," Gibbs spoke up.
"What?" Tony finally turned to look at Gibbs.
'Now or never,' Gibbs thought. "Tony, I could never hate you for being honest about how you feel." He leaned forward and reached out to grab Tony's arm. "You were wrong about me not feeling the same. I love you Tony."
"What?" this was not what he expected.
Gibbs chuckled, seeing the stunned look on the younger man's face. "I said I love you."
"You do?" Tony questioned, hope building in his eyes.
"I do," Gibbs nodded.
"Why?" Tony asked, needing to know and understand.
"For the same reasons you love me," Gibbs said, "I'm a bastard, you know that and you don't care. Somehow, you got past all the pain and anger and you broke through the wall that I had built around my heart after I lost Shannon. I've had issues with other relationships because they all told me that I couldn't let go of Shannon and they were tired of competing with a dead woman."
"She was your first wife Gibbs, your first love," Tony interrupted. He smiled as he remembered the redhead, "She was a big part of your past. I know Shannon has your heart, all I'd want is to know that I'm in there as well."
"And that's why I love you," Gibbs smiled, "You accept that I love Shannon. What I feel for you, it scared me too. After losing Shannon, I never thought I'd feel this way about anyone and then you came along. You being a man played a part in my denial, but I wasn't ready to let go of Shannon yet, so I buried how I felt about you. And then this happened and I realized that I was wasting time hiding my feelings. You almost died and all I can think of is how we almost missed our chance. I'm tired of hiding how I feel about you Tony. We've had too many close calls and I don't want to regret not taking this chance."
"So what are you saying?" Tony cleared his throat. He had never heard Gibbs say this much…ever.
"Do I really gotta spell it out for you DiNozzo?" Gibbs raised an eyebrow, his blue eyes flashing playfully.
Tony grinned, "What? I want to hear the words mister."
Gibbs rolled his eyes, but didn't stop the smile, "I want us to be together. I want you to live with me, to make my house a home, for the three of us to be a family."
"Three of us?" Tony questioned.
Gibbs nodded towards the sleeping Vitalia. "She's yours. You have custody of her."
"What?" Tony looked at the little girl in shock.
"Can explain all that later," Gibbs said, "right now, I'm still waiting on an answer."
"Oh," Tony's cheeks flushed. "I want the same thing you do G-Jethro. I want to be with you, but are you sure about the living together part? I mean, shouldn't we date first?"
"Tony," Gibbs grinned, "I'd say the entire time we've known each other we've been dating. We just didn't realize it."
Tony laughed for a few minutes before it died down and a shy smile toyed on his lips, "So, you really mean it, huh? You really want to give us a try?"
"I do," Gibbs nodded.
Tony closed his eyes briefly and reopened them, before admitting a fear he held, "I'm scared you'll see what everyone else does and you'll leave me too."
"That won't happen," Gibbs squeezed his arm, "I know you Tony. I know who you are underneath all the flirting and acting like an irresponsible goof and I love you. Even if I didn't love you, I still would want you in my life."
"I've never been enough for anyone, and I've never felt like I measured up," Tony said softly, his green eyes shimmering with unshed tears, "but you're telling me that I'm enough for you."
"Because you are," Gibbs said gently, but firmly.
Tony bit his lip, "Ok. It's gonna take a while for me to believe it because I have a lot of issues."
"I know," Gibbs nodded. And he did; he knew how insecure Tony was and he would spend the rest of his life making sure the man never doubted his worth or his place in his life.
"And just so you know," Tony grinned suddenly, "I want a real date. Not one where we sit around your basement drinking bourbon and eating steak. No, I want to dress up and go out, the whole nine yards."
Gibbs shook his head as he listened to the man ramble on about their future date. He must really love him if he couldn't even muster up any objections to what Tony was saying. A sudden thought hit him and he couldn't help but to chuckle.
"What's so funny?" Tony cut his plan-making short at the sound.
Gibbs grinned and his blue eyes flashed with amusement, "Nothing, nothing, except, I just realized the difference between this relationship and my previous ones is the fact that you're a man; you're just as high maintenance as a woman, if not more."
"Hey!"
The indignant look on the Italian's face had Gibbs laughing.
"See if I give you any," Tony grumbled, though inside he was pleased.
"Already using sex as a bargaining chip," Gibbs chuckled. Seeing he was still pouting, he leaned over and kissed him. "I love you."
Tony practically melted and then groaned, "it's gonna be really hard to stay mad at you, isn't it?"
Gibbs shrugged as he leaned back in his chair. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Uh huh," Tony said as he snuggled down into the bed. A yawn escaped and shifted even more to get comfortable.
"Go to sleep," Gibbs ordered softly, "I'll be here when you wake up."
"Hmmk," Tony mumbled as he closed his eyes.
As Gibbs watched him sleep, his thoughts drifted off to his first wife. "Thanks for taking care of him Shan."
'Be happy with him.'
He planned to.
A/N 3: and that's the chapter. I wasn't too sure on how the final scenes with Gibbs and Tony were; I think they were ok, but, not too sure. So, Tony's awake, and he knows the truth, and he also got his man *grins* Next chapter, we deal with the betrayers. Since you're at this point, review so I can know what you thought.
Next Update: Friday 19th October, '12.