Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by the writers, producers, et al of the television show 'NCIS'. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person, internet persona, or other being, living or dead, is completely coincidental and unintentional unless otherwise noted.

A/N: Sorry this took so long to get out, but RL has been kicking me repeatedly in the ass lately.

When it Rains

Tony managed to fall asleep shortly after three, and was still sleeping when Jimmy let himself in at six. Jimmy sat the bag of breakfast burritos from Fat Al's Burrito Shack on the kitchen bar and set to making coffee. The coffee was almost ready when Tony's nose twitched and he slowly peeled one eye open. "Jimmy?"

"Yeah?" The younger man couldn't help but wonder what Tony's decision was. He really hoped that Tony was willing to give them a shot, but feared that he wouldn't be willing to risk their friendship.

"Oh," Tony replied, then reclosed his eye and burrowed a little deeper into the sofa.

"I brought breakfast," Jimmy said, pouring coffee into Tony's favorite mug. He quickly added the sugar and hazelnut creamer Tony preferred and carried the mug into the living room. He looked around and noticed that Tony'd cleaned up some, though there was a bundle of towels and sheets in the basket next to the archway to the hall that lead to the bathroom and bedroom. Jimmy leaned down and held the mug of coffee close to Tony's barely-seen face amid the couch cushions.

Tony's nose twitched again and both eyes slowly opened. Sleep-bleary green eyes met Jimmy's own and a slow smile surfaced on Tony's face, making his eyes crinkle up at the corners. "Hey," he said. Stretching more slowly than his smile, Tony reached for the coffee mug, letting his hand rest over Jimmy's for a long moment.

Jimmy hoped this was a good sign and not some sort of sleep-induced insanity. "Hey," Jimmy replied. "You awake yet?"

"Nope," Tony replied, fully taking hold of the coffee mug, "but I will be soon. Think we need to talk."

Jimmy's heartbeat increased at that and disappointed panic began to set in. "Oh," he said, returning to the bar and grabbing the bag of sausage and egg burritos.

Tony sipped at his coffee and climbed to his feet. "Hey," he said, settling himself on one of the barstools. "Lemme wake up some. It's not bad… At least, I don't think so. Just need to clarify something."

"What?" Jimmy asked, his heart in his throat.

"Food first," Tony said, reaching for one of the foil-wrapped packets of cholesterol.

Tony all but inhaled his breakfast, but Jimmy could only nibble – his nerves were getting the better of him. In what seemed to be both seconds and hours, Tony eventually crumpled the foil up and tossed in the trashcan beside the fridge and swallowed down the last of the coffee in his mug. He got to his feet and strolled into the kitchen to fix another cup. "You want any?"

Jimmy could only shake his head.

Tony shrugged and returned to his bar stool with a full mug. "So," he said, seemingly having a hard time looking up from his coffee. "I've been thinking about what you said."

"And what…" Jimmy tried to swallow, only to find he didn't have enough spit in his mouth to even moisten his lips. "What did you decide?"

Tony, still staring at his coffee, sighed. "I… Shit, Jimmy…" He finally looked up at Jimmy. Tony tried a different track and started over. "I actually asked McGee and Abby if it was worth it, breaking rule twelve. Before McGee started laughing at me, he agreed with Abs that it depended on the people. I've chewed this over every way I know how, and… Well, I do have a couple of questions for you before I make a decision."

"And what would those be?"

"First off, I know you said you wanted 'serious' – to be honest, I'm not too sure I can do 'serious'. I don't –"

Jimmy held up a hand, "No, Tony – I think you misunderstood. I know you, probably as well as you know me. I know neither of us is really wired for monogamy, but I figure as long as we both agree, it could be fun to go clubbing together." An odd little smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "You'd be surprised how many girls out there jump at the chance for a night with two men, even if all she does is watch."

Tony nearly choked on his coffee. So much for staying out of X-rated territory.

Jimmy patted him on the back. When the coughing was brought under control, Jimmy finally returned Tony's smile from earlier. "Have you ever read any Robert Heinlein?" Tony shook his head. "Well, most of his stuff, even though it's classic sci-fi, could also technically be labeled as romance, too. Especially the stories that center on Lazarus Long." Jimmy made a shooing motion with his hands as though brushing aside stray thoughts. "In any case, if you had, then I could get away with describing my childhood as being a lot like growing up in the Long household on Tellus Tertius, only on a slightly smaller scale. Since you haven't, then I guess you need a little more detail. Mom and Dad had what the rest of our neighborhood viewed as a sister living with us, when in reality, it was Mom, Dad, and Mama Jane. When Dad died, though, Mama Jane couldn't handle living with us any more and set out on her own."

Tony wrinkled his forehead, trying to wrap his mind around what Jimmy was telling him. "So, you're telling me… What? Your dad had two 'wives'?"

Jimmy shook his head, "Not exactly. He and Mom had a live-in girlfriend. There is a difference, you know."

"Is your whole family that way? No wonder you've got so many cousins."

Jimmy laughed and shook his head again. "No, as far as I know, none of the rest of the family knows about Mama Jane." He took off his glasses and polished the lenses on the handkerchief he had in his pocket. Today, he was wearing a charcoal-colored suit with a blue button-down and a tie in alternating stripes of a grey the same shade as his jacket and a blue two shades darker than the shirt. By the wardrobe choices alone, Tony knew that Jimmy had class at nine, and wouldn't be expected at work until three that afternoon. Replacing the glasses on his face and the handkerchief in his pocket, Jimmy continued to speak. "Look, I'm probably not doing a real great job at explaining, but when I said 'serious' I meant that, regardless of who else we might bring in from time to time, we still stay together. That, if either of us want an evening off with someone else, we still wind up with each other."

"Basically, you're saying that we'd be together, but still allowed to date other people – either collectively or on our own?"

Jimmy nodded. "Exactly." He smiled brightly, "But if you do wind up out on a hot date with a barely-legal coed, I expect details!"

That managed to wrest a laugh from Tony. "Ditto on the details, Jimmy." Tony's smile evaporated suddenly. "What about money?" he asked.

Jimmy shrugged, "What about it?"

"I mean, I'm not exactly filthy rich, but we're not precisely even on that score either."

"So what? Fortunes come and go, it's the people who stick around – or should, if they honestly knew what was truly valuable in life." Seeing Tony's skeptical expression, Jimmy could tell that Tony couldn't see what he was getting at. "Hey, look at it this way – I'll be a real doctor here in another year, two at the most, then I'll start catching up. Don't worry about money."

Tony chuckled, "You really are not normal, are you?"

"Would you have me any other way?" Jimmy asked, an impish little smile perched lightly on his mouth.

"I don't think so," Tony replied and seized Jimmy by the shoulders. The younger man still had lurking fears floating behind his eyes, but Tony quickly set to erasing the doubts by returning, with interest, the kiss which Jimmy had used to capture his attention so easily the night before. Incrementally, realization began to dawn in Jimmy's mind that Tony really was taking him up on his offer. Tension eased out of his back, his hands came up to wrap around Tony's chest, and he began to kiss back.

Tony's hands moved from his shoulders, the right creeping up to cup the back of Jimmy's neck, and the other inched around to tangle itself in Jimmy's tie. As the kiss went on and on and on, the hand wrapped in the tie managed to undo the knot holding it closed before moving on to worry open the buttons on Jimmy's pale blue shirt. Jimmy's hands weren't still, they slid under Tony's t-shirt, fingertips tracing feather-light patterns on the smooth skin at the small of Tony's back.

The last button on Jimmy's shirt slipped through its hole and the light fingertip tracings had to pause for a moment. Jimmy grabbed the lower hem of Tony's t-shirt and pulled it up over Tony's head, even while the other man tried to nudge Jimmy's button-down off his shoulders. Once the tee had been discarded, Jimmy obliged and the shirt, tie, and jacket wound up in a tangled puddle on the floor.

When the kiss resumed after its momentary interruption, there was an additional thrill of skin-to-skin contact. The hair dusting Tony's chest tickled across Jimmy's well-defined muscles, making the younger man laugh.

"Ooh, you're ticklish, aren't you?" Tony whispered in Jimmy's ear, his breath hot and moist and seemingly seeking out every pleasure-receptor situated on or near the cartilage shell.

Jimmy let out a breathless echo of his own laughter and nodded helplessly. "Yeah," he said.

A mischievous glint entered Tony's eyes and a small, evil smirk flashed across his face. "I'll make sure I remember that," he replied, "but that's for later." He kissed Jimmy again, intent on performing his very own version of a cavity-check as his tongue memorized every ridge and valley in the topography of Jimmy's mouth. Slowly, slowly, ever-oh-so-slowly, the kiss wound to a close, and Tony moved on, his mouth latching on to the sensitive spot of skin on Jimmy's neck, just under where his ear sat. A rash of goosebumps broke out on Jimmy's skin and a loud moan escaped his throat. Tony redoubled his efforts. On Jimmy's end, it felt like every nerve in that part of his body was wired directly to his dick.

Unaware that his hands had slipped under Tony's waistband, Jimmy simply tilted his head to the side, providing ample space for Tony's multi-talented mouth to wrest moans and whimpers out of his own. When Tony seemingly grew bored with that small spot of skin, he maneuvered around to provide the same slow torture to the same spot of skin on the opposite side of Jimmy's neck. When his hand came up to tease a nipple, Jimmy simply couldn't hold still any longer and – as his own hands were so nicely placed on the globes of Tony's ass – he simultaneously let out an animalistic growling noise, thrust his own hips forwards, and pulled Tony's hips towards his own.

Jimmy's move caused sparks of pure lustful pleasure to zing up and down Tony's body. He groaned, letting go of Jimmy's neck. "Bedroom," he managed to choke out. If they didn't get horizontal soon, the lack of blood flow to his brain was likely going to kill them both.

Jimmy didn't need to be told twice, as he supported the idea wholeheartedly. Jimmy's pants sprawled out from the edge of the sofa to the hallway that lead to the bedroom. Tony's jeans wound up inside-out and in a similar position just outside the bedroom door. Though neither man could recall how it happened, Jimmy's boxers wound up hanging off of the door knob.

Sprawled on Tony's queen-sized bed, one leg stretched flat on the mattress, the other bent upwards and slightly outwards invitingly, with his cock arching up to his navel and pupils blown wide, Jimmy watched as Tony ducked into the bathroom. His unspoken question was answered when Tony reappeared with a box of Trojans. The condoms were tossed aside for the moment, discarded temporarily in favor of a full-body embrace, punctuated with kisses.

A thin glaze of sweat coated both men and the scent of sex began to fill the air, and just as Tony was reaching for the box of condoms, a shrill cry sounded throughout the apartment.

"Damnit," Tony groaned.

"Agreed," Jimmy replied.

Tony crawled off the bed and quickly slid into his lighthouse-themed pajama bottoms. He laid a sweet, chaste kiss on Jimmy's lips. "Hold that thought," he said, then hurried back to the living room to see what his daughter needed.

After waiting for several minutes, the passion of the moment faded, and Jimmy helped himself to a pair of Tony's sweats and joined him in the living room. Tony was feeding the baby and reciting the plotline to – if Palmer recalled his Disney correctly – Sleeping Beauty. Even though his camera phone wasn't handy, Jimmy knew the moment would be branded into his log of 'happy Tony memories' for the rest of his life.

"You finally find a name for her?" he asked, slipping up behind Tony and wrapping his arms around the older man's waist, just under the baby.

Tony paused in describing the allure of the cursed spinning wheel and smiled, "Yeah, I think I did." His mind flashed back to his conversation the night before with Sarah.

Jimmy lightly kissed the spot where Tony's neck merged with his shoulder, still somewhat unbelieving that he could do so without risking… well, everything. "Well? What is it going to be?"

"Isabel Jarah DiNozzo," Tony pronounced her first name with the European inflection making the 'I' sound into a long 'E', the 'S' softly sibilant.

"It's pretty," Jimmy replied. "It suits her."

"I think so, too."

Isabel's demands for attention swallowed up the remainder of Jimmy's free time that morning, though the apprentice-ME couldn't find it in himself to be upset. After he finished getting himself back in his suit, he kissed Tony farewell, and headed to his ethics class. On the somewhat-frustrating drive through morning traffic, Jimmy's brain started hatching plans to get some quality alone-time with Tony. I wonder if Abby would be willing to baby-sit for us?

Tim hid his face behind his copy of The Washington Post as he, yet again, had to laugh at the memory of Tony's unscheduled visit. The café was busy enough that no one took notice, or so he thought until Ziva's voice asked, "What is so amusing?"

Tim, still grinning, closed the paper and sat it aside. "Oh, not much. Just that Tony dropped by last night." He took a sip of his coffee and explained, in what Tony would have dubbed 'excruciating detail' had he been present, just what had him laughing. By the time he finished, the two of them were garnering no few odd looks from the other patrons as they cackled wildly.

Eventually, they managed to calm themselves, and a waitress came by to take Ziva's order and refill Tim's mug. "Speaking of Tony," Ziva said, a smile still lingering on her face, what do you plan to get him?"

Tim shrugged, "Dunno. Hadn't decided yet. Probably a gift card. You?"

Ziva shook her head. "Not a gift card. He might be annoying, but I think he deserves something with a bit more thought than just a gift card."

Tim rolled his eyes. "So what are you getting?"

"A walker," Ziva smugly replied.

McGee blinked in confusion for several heartbeats until it dawned on him what Ziva had meant. "A stroller, you mean?"

Ziva's smile faded and her eyebrows inched together on her forehead. "Is not strolling and walking the same thing?"

"Not in this case – a walker is that metal frame that the elderly use to help them walk. A stroller is the kid-carrier with wheels."

"Ah. Yes, that is it. Abby said she was going to find something 'funny', but would not say what, exactly. I spoke with Ducky this morning and he is putting together a first-aid kit with things like a baby-thermometer, children's aspirin and such. Any idea what Gibbs will be giving Tony?"

Tim shrugged. "No clue, but I bet it's something that added to the collection of sawdust he keeps in the basement."

Ziva nodded in agreement. "Of course – he would not be Gibbs if it was something he simply bought."

The arrival of Ziva's breakfast order interrupted the conversation.

Despite only having snagged a couple hours of sleep that morning, Tony was in no way tired. He got Tom to keep an eye on Isabel for him and finished up his laundry. While waiting for the washer to finish cycling, he contacted Dr. Blair to let the man know what names to fill in on the baby's birth certificate. Mere heartbeats after finishing that call, his cell rang. It was Liza, who hadn't much appreciated Tony's pre-emptive visit with Tinka Michaels the day before, but who still understood why Tony had done it. She was calling to let him know that the paperwork for Ms. Michaels was ready for signatures. Tony let her know he'd be by her office to pick it up on Monday.

After transferring the bedding and towels from the washing machine to the dryer, Tony checked the time on his cell – it was nearing noon, and his contractor was supposed to drop by to discuss the changes he had in mind at two. Satisfied that he had plenty of time, Tony tucked the cell back into his pocket. He was completely unaware that he'd been grinning like a lunatic all morning, even though he was fully aware that his thoughts kept on drifting Jimmy-wards.

The meeting with the contractor went well, and both men were pretty sure that everything other than the assorted repairs Tony had yet to list from the tenants would be able to be completed both under Tony's projected budget for the project and within a month. The only real downside was that after the first project was completed – replacing the elevator – Tony would need to find a temporary place to stay until the fifth floor was done. Had any of the other units been empty, it wouldn't have been an issue, but aside from 5C, all the other apartments were filled.

Tony's immediate thought was to crash at Jimmy's place, but he vetoed that idea even as it surfaced; Jimmy's apartment was roughly the same size as a postage stamp, and even an extra duffle bag would probably cause its walls to split at the seams. He next considered Gibbs, but… Well, he really didn't want to impose. Sure, his boss had put him up a time or two in the past, but that had been when he could crash on the sofa and live out of a suitcase for a couple of days – this was going to be significantly more invasive than that, simply because of Isabel, and that was to say nothing of the fact that it would likely be for a full two to three weeks, maybe even longer if something unforeseen came up.

Tony sighed, and could literally hear his boss growling in his ear, "Quit being a dumbass, DiNozzo." To complete the rather surreal experience, Tony went ahead and headslapped himself. Fine, I'll ask. Probably won't say yes, but it never hurts to ask, right?

Across town, Gibbs was clamping the last piece into place on the second of his five self-appointed projects for his SFA's latest addition to his life, unaware that Tony's thoughts were mimicking him with such unerring accuracy. He made sure the clamp was secure and not marring the wood on which it rested before heading up to his kitchen for lunch. The glue would take about twelve hours to cure, then a final sanding and a couple of coats of varnish would have it ready. Mrs. Johnson from down the block had promised her addition to his gift would be ready that evening.

Gibbs wolfed down his sandwich, then headed for his pickup. There was one part of his gift that needed to be purchased. No time like the present.

After his class was over with for yet another week, Jimmy all but bounced to work. He strolled into Autopsy whistling Ode to Joy through his teeth. Ducky looked up from where he was checking his email on the computer in the corner and smiled at his assistant. "Am I to assume that all went well?"

Palmer blushed lightly and nodded, "Yeah, it did. Don't know why, but apparently Tony's nuts enough to give me a try."

Ducky chuckled. "Though the status of Anthony's sanity is always something of a mystery, I've no doubt that the pair of you shall do far more than simply 'try', my lad."

Jimmy's blush turned rather more crimson than pink, but his grin was bright enough that Ducky had to wonder, If I stepped slightly to the left, would I see daylight through his dimples? Out loud, however, Ducky merely said, "And speaking of Anthony, has Abby told you about the baby shower she's roped us all into tomorrow?"

Slowly, the blush was beginning to fade. Jimmy shook his head, "No, I hadn't heard. But I did miss a call from her while I was in class, but my battery had died before I got the chance to check it. I just figured that whatever it was could wait until I got here."

"Well, I'm sure she'll appreciate a visit. On your way back, would you be so kind as to drop next month's requisitions off?"

Palmer nodded and took the sheaf of paperwork with him.

The distinctive sound of heavy bass thudded from the lab as he exited the elevator. Abby was reviewing some documents from a cold-case on her computer, the images she was looking at were duplicated on the plasma hanging on the wall. "Hey, Abby. What's this about a baby shower?"

Abby glanced over her shoulder and smiled brightly before rushing over to hug Palmer – something which Jimmy could count the occurrences of on one hand and still have fingers left over. Jimmy simply stood there in shock for several long minutes before tentatively patting her back. "Abby?"

"Yes?"

"Could you let go of me? You're kinda freaking me out here."

Reluctantly, Abby pried herself off of him. "Sorry, didn't mean to. But you're, like, happier than I've ever seen you before and me and Timmy and Ziva have been chatting and since Tony came by last night while I was out bowling I know he's gonna break rule twelve for you and –"

"Abby!"

She halted mid-babble. "What?"

The look of total confusion on her face had Jimmy chuckling. "What's this about a baby shower?"

She brightened again. "Oh! Well, Ziva's going to bring a cake and bought a stroller. I found this really cool baby vampire collection – a black-and-red blanket, a little sleeper-outfit in black that says 'bloodsucker in training' on it, and a pacifier that looks like a mouth with fangs – and I'll bring the drinks. Ducky's putting together a bunch of first-aid stuff and said he'd get a party-sub from Alessander's Deli. Tim's having a little trouble deciding on something for the ankle-biter, but said he'd bring some chips and dip. It's at Tony's place, tomorrow evening, six o'clock."

"I guess I'll bring the fruit-and-veggie trays, then," Jimmy replied. "But I'm in the same boat as McGee in not knowing what to get for Isabel."

A nearly super-sonic high-pitched noise emerged from Abby's throat, and Palmer quickly found himself smothered in another hug. "Isabel's the baby's name?"

"Isabel Jarah DiNozzo," Palmer confirmed, and deciding that he simply didn't want to be uncomfortable any more, enthusiastically returned Abby's hug. "I found out this morning."

Abby released him, hooked her left arm around his right, and pulled him into her office. "Come, Jimmy – I need details."

Jimmy grinned and couldn't help but think that this thing with Tony – wherever it may lead – was going to be fun in ways he hadn't even considered before.

A/N2: I had the near-miss sex scene in my head when this plot bunny first introduced itself to me – it's satisfying to see its place finally come up in the tale. I hope everyone likes it as much as I do! In any case, I find myself in need of a little guidance. There are two ways for me to handle this story from here: Option One – I continue on for many more chapters, starting up a story-line that will take a while to wrap. Option Two – I leave this at the conclusion I'd originally intended (another 1-3 chapters) and explore the new plot in a sequel at some later date. I'm equally open to both options and can't really make up my mind at this time, so please lemme know what y'all would prefer to see. Thanks in advance!

Reviews are always appreciated.