A/N: Sorry for the long delay..again!! Just a little update: I had exams on Thursday and Friday and I started a seven day (straight) work week on Thursday also. I've had more doc appointments then I have time for and I'm having surgery this coming Thursday! I start classes again on the 22 so hopefully I can finish up (or at least have it ready to post) by then. Sorry if it seems to go faster from here on but with free time coming to an end...thanks for being so patient!

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Gibbs stared at the man in front of him, his anger building, "What do you mean you don't know

Gibbs stared at the man in front of him, his anger building, "What do you mean you don't know?"

Mr. Welling had to push down the nervousness he was feeling, "Forgetting, for the moment, what Mr. DiNozzo will say about the encounter he had with your son, if Tony sticks with the story that he panicked, no judge will even think of giving us a restraining order."

The older man stood up, his fist balling into a fist, "If you won't help us then I'll find someone who will."

Gibbs strode for the door quickly, knowing that if he didn't get far enough away from the younger man he wouldn't be able to hold his temper.

Welling, for his part, did nothing more then call out, "I didn't say I wouldn't help you, Agent Gibbs."

Gibbs spun around, his eyes blazing. He did nothing more then glare at the attorney, still not trusting himself to speak.

"I'm being honest with you Agent Gibbs," Welling continued quickly, "As an NCIS agent you know, better then most, how hard it can be to get a restraining order; correct?"

Mr. Welling waited until he saw just a hint of a nod. Under normal circumstances he would have just continued with what he was saying but this wasn't a normal circumstance. For one, most of his clients, while having the ability, wouldn't actually shoot him out of pure frustration. For two, he knew how much his father looked up to the man standing in front of him; at all cost he didn't want to let either of the older men down.

"I'm going to help your son Agent Gibbs," He continued, "for him, more then anything. I'm going to talk to my partner and see what we can come up with. I'm simply letting you know that as of right now, there is nothing legally we can do. That does not mean I'm going to do nothing. I'll call you when I have something, until then my suggestion to you is to watch your son carefully and make sure he's not alone anywhere where Mr. DiNozzo can reach him."

This time Gibbs gave a stiff, deep nod to show his understanding before storming out of the office. This time his anger wasn't towards the attorney but at the man who had so rudely disrupted his son's life.

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Tony stormed into work. He was mad…no he was furious. Why couldn't Gibbs just leave well enough alone?

He didn't even notice that route he was taking and surprised himself when he ended up in the NCIS gym. He didn't bother to change, going straight for the punching bag.

Twenty minutes later he heard a voice from beside him, "You're dad's not gonna be happy if you get hurt."

Tony mumbled, finally stopping his actions. "How'd you know?"

"I tried to call you," the other man explained, "but you'd left your cell at home."

"I didn't stick around this morning," Tony shrugged.

"What happened?" the other man asked.

"Nothing," the senior agent wasn't ready to talk.

With a sigh, the other occupant of the room got up to leave. He knew when to leave the older man alone.

Tony hung his head, "Jimmer?"

Palmer stopped in his tracks. Tony only called him that when he was either extremely excited about something or extremely upset. In truth, when Tony first started to use the nickname, a mix of his first and last name, it had annoyed him to no end but it had, eventually, grown on him.

He had been surprised that Tony would choose him as a friend. He'd been even more surprised at the roles they each took as their friendship seemed to go into a brotherhood of sorts. Though most of the time it was clear that Tony was the older brother in the relationship, there were times, such as now, where Palmer, the eldest of four, would take the big brother spot.

He sat down by his friend's side and said nothing. He knew at times like this, much like Abby did, that to talk now would cause Tony to shut down completely. He didn't have to wait long.

"He found me yesterday," Tony's voice was quiet.

The younger of the two had to take a deep breath before talking, "What happened?"

Tony told him about the encounter, finishing up by showing his friend the bruise still fresh on his arm. It no longer surprised him that he opened up more to Palmer then anyone else.

Ducky and Gibbs were, for lack of a better term, adults and he had simply not learned to trust or lean on adults in his life. Sure the school had tried to help but no one knew that at times they made things worse for him.

Ziva…well…Ziva wouldn't show anything which was just as unnerving as it was annoying. She would offer no advice he could use; after all, who wanted to know how to kill someone with a paperclip!

McGee would pity him. The last thing Tony wanted was someone's pity. He'd had enough to last him a life time! Besides, if McGee showed him pity then Tony would be forced to drastic action and he didn't think Gibbs would appreciate having to find another technology geek.

And then there was Abby. One couldn't help but love the Goth lab tech. Love her…and want to protect her. Tony couldn't even conceive of telling her an eight of the horror he lived through. Even if he had managed to tell her, the sympathy in her eyes would have made him wish he hadn't. He didn't want sympathy any more then he wanted pity.

As for Palmer…well, Palmer was a rare breed. He showed Tony neither the sympathy he didn't want nor the pity he despised. The young M.E.'s assistant had three younger siblings by blood and had seen foster siblings come and go. He had learned to show only the emotion needed for the moment.

The younger man gingerly held Tony's upper arm in his hand, "Pain?"

Tony rolled his eyes, "Only if you…OW!" He glared at the other man as he finished, "touch it. Damn it Jimmy; that hurt."

"Quit being a baby," Palmer mumbled, carefully inspecting every inch of bruise. "I'm assuming Gibbs knows about this?"

"Great deduction Sherlock," Tony finally yanked his arm out his friend's hand.

"I'm a Watson fan myself," Palmer countered, reaching once more for Tony's arm.

Tony rolled his eyes again but didn't say anything knowing Palmer wouldn't give up till he had finished his mother hen routine.

"So what was the fight about?" Palmer finally broke the silence.

Tony gave a soft sigh, "He took pictures."

"And…" The M.E. assistant finished his administrations by putting a gauze wrap around the arm still in his hands."

Tony put his jacket back on and remained silent.

"You can't push him away," Palmer warned.

"It's not his problem," Tony responded, standing up.

The younger man followed suit, "The hell it's not Tony. You're his son."

"Easily reversible," The senior agent declared.

"You don't believe that." Came the shocked response. Sure, Palmer knew that Tony had certain issues but still…

"Why would anyone want to go through this much trouble for one person?" Tony demanded to know.

"He loves you Tony," Palmer answered, not having to pause to think.

"I gotta go," The older man started to leave.

"Tony…" Palmer called out. Seeing his friend wasn't going to stop he called out firmly, "Stop right now Tony."

Tony paused with a frown, "Let it go Jimmy."

Jimmy Palmer stood in front of his friend and looked him in the eyes. "Agent Gibbs is your dad and he's not going to leave you."

Tony could only look down at his feet, "What if he decides I'm not worth the trouble?"

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From a corner of the room, unseen, Gibbs slipped out and stormed down the hall. Some one had made his son feel so utterly useless that he felt no one could possibly love him. That someone would pay.

TBC…