Disclaimer: I own nothing…..sad but true.
Tony was walking through the warehouse with his weapon drawn. He could hear McGeek breathing behind him. Ziva and Gibbs had entered the building on the other side. He signaled to Probie that he was going to check the room on the right. McGee nodded and Tony entered, McGee on his six. Once they cleared the room they exited and repeated the procedure in two more rooms. Tony knew they were moving closer to where Gibbs and Ziva were, he could feel them up ahead. He could also tell that McGee was becoming more tense the longer they went without finding their suspect. Where the hell was this guy hiding? The suspect was a Seal who had killed his commanding officer.
Suddenly Tony heard a commotion. Ziva's voice rang out, "GIBBS!" Then they heard a gunshot. Three more quickly followed. Tony knew without looking that Probie was behind him as he ran toward the shots. As they turned the corner time seemed to slow down. He saw the suspect lying dead to his right. Directly in front he could see Ziva kneeling over a body but he was having trouble understanding what he was seeing. "Oh my God," Probie whispered. "Gibbs."
As Tony's mind finally cleared, he saw his boss's face. He had been hit in the chest and he was losing blood quickly. He finally heard Ziva saying over and over, "Why did you push me? It was meant for me!" He pushed her out of the way and leaned over Gibbs catching his eyes. "Boss? Can you hear me?" Gibbs looked into Tony's eyes but it was obvious that he was unable to speak. His blue eyes were starting to glaze over. Tony could feel the panic and pain building. He started to scream, "NO NO NO NO NO PLEASE NO DON'T DO THIS, DON'T LEAVE ME AGAIN! YOU CAN'T GO! PLEASE, I LOVE YOU, PLEASE!"
Someone was shaking him and calling his name, but he was too far gone to respond. Finally he felt the familiar smack on the back of his head which shocked him into opening his eyes. Gibbs was holding him by the shoulders and talking to him but Tony had no idea what he was saying. All he could think was that Gibbs was alive. He was so happy and relieved that he threw himself into the man's arms and hugged him with all his strength. Gibbs smelled so good! He nuzzled into his neck and kissed him. "Thank God you're alive; I thought I'd lost you." He felt his boss tense up and hold himself still. Tony finally realized what he was doing and let go of Gibbs, scooting back to the other side of the bed.
He looked up at the older man apprehensively. Gibbs just stared at him in shock. Tony was afraid to speak, finally Gibbs broke the silence.
"Do you remember the dream?"
"Yes" Tony whispered.
"And it was about me?"
"Yes"
"Did you know that before now?"
"Not really. That first night, when you told me what I was screaming, it surprised me. I didn't remember any details of the dream, but I knew how I felt about you. At least, I knew how I felt about you leaving me and I wasn't sure but I wondered..."
"You felt abandoned again. Just like everyone else who meant anything to you, like your parents and Wendy."
Tony was shaking his head, "No Gibbs, I had no right to feel that way. You needed to recuperate, and you've always been there for me in ways that no one else ever has been. I was unfair."
"No you weren't Tony. You couldn't help how you felt. I'm sorry for hurting you."
Tony couldn't help but be shocked by the older man's words. "Boss, you just said sorry."
Gibbs laughed softly as he moved closer to Tony, "It's never weak to apologize to someone you care about."
Tony was suddenly feeling nervous, "Are you saying that you care about me?"
Gibbs frowned, "Have I been that much of a bastard that you would really doubt that?"
"No, I just thought you meant something else by that."
"You mean do I care about you as more than my friend?"
"Yes."
Gibbs didn't answer right away and Tony was afraid to look up and see the expression on his face.
"Yes Tony, I do care about you as more than a friend."
Tony looked up in shock; he was not expecting Gibbs to say that. "Really Boss?"
Gibbs had settled himself next to Tony on the bed and was now leaning into him. "I'd really prefer it if you called me Jethro right now."
"Jethro...?"
Tony was cut off by Gibbs' lips touching his.