A/N: Hey, I'm back again! Let the raucous laughter and celebratory gunfire begin! The last few months have been a little crazy, but pretty awesome. I got a temporary promotion subbing for someone who is on maternity leave which means I get to actually do what I was trained for and I get paid about three times as much as before.

Anyways, here's the next chapter which finally includes a bit of Gibbs. Hopefully this chapter meshes well with the rest as it kind of deviates from the previous few parts.

Huskerfan: Hey there, I'm honored to be your first NCIS fic. Hope your opinion of Jeanne and this story doesn't change too much as you read more.

Thanks to everyone else who reviewed the last chapter, I hope this latest installment pleases. Also thanks to everyone who faved, followed or just read. It means a lot.

We Need to Talk

Tony stepped out of the elevator, one hand balancing a tray of steaming coffees and the other occupied with typing out the last few words of a text to Jeanne. She'd invited him over for dinner a few days ago, with the promise of a home cooked meal. As far as he knew Jeanne's cooking skills typically involved prepackaged food, microwaves and a pan if absolutely necessary. Still, he wasn't about to say no. The last couple weeks had been somewhat strained with no apparent reasoning behind it. Jeanne was quiet, almost repressed at times and unusually complacent which had Tony's radar on full alert.

Slipping his phone into the front pocket of his shirt, Tony swung his backpack next to his desk and began distributing the team's next dose of caffeine.

"McGee, you look like death." he observed as he handed Tim his skim milk latte and took the opportunity to peer at the other man's greyish complexion and bloodshot eyes. "You been up this whole time?"

"And good morning to you too, Tony. Of course, I've been up all night. Gibbs wanted me ready in case we got clearance to see that email." Tony sighed sympathetically in response to McGee's explanation, the latter half of which was mumbled as though he didn't have the energy to keep up a normal rate of speech. He wasn't sure why Gibbs was even making a stink over this case given that it was barely linked to the military.

"You should go home then." he suggested easily, glancing up briefly as he turned on his computer and looked over his inbox. "We can manage without you for a few hours. Right Ellie?" Tony addressed the last part to an unsuspecting Bishop who looked thrown off-guard.

"Uh, sure." she said hesitantly. "What exactly am I agreeing to? We're not sending Gibbs another crate of mini sailboats filled with bourbon, right?" Tony waved his hand dismissively.

"Nah, I don't think you could withstand another round of glares. You'd crack for sure."

"Hey!"

"Anyway, we're giving the McServer a break so he doesn't implode." he continued smoothly.

"You know I'm feeling less grateful." Tim commented dryly.

"Tony's right, you should go home. We can cover anything that comes up." Ellie said with her usual earnestness.

"Even Gibbs?" McGee asked halfheartedly.

"It's not like we're going to get this case so we'll probably be doing cold cases and paperwork for the rest of the day." Tony said. No matter Gibbs' ability to intimidate, he knew there was no way Fornell would hand over a case that had minimal military involvement. At best they would be called in to consult or as backup.

"True, but he's in one of his moods so be careful." McGee warned as he shoved a spare thumb drive and a couple of pens into his backpack. Tony resisted the urge to snort, wondering when Gibbs was ever not in one of his moods.

"Thanks for the heads up. Now go before Palmer decides to practice his embalming skills on you." Tony urged with a wave in the general direction of the elevator. McGee extended a lackluster middle finger while he picked up his backpack and started shuffling out amidst Tony and Ellie's chuckles.

Half an hour later Gibbs stalked down from MTAC, lips drawn thin and eyes narrowed in a way that never failed to remind Tony of an aging hawk.

"We get the case?" he asked.

"What do you think, DiNozzo?" Gibbs snapped. He glanced around, eyes landing on the still-warm cup of coffee on his desk and after taking a healthy gulp he appeared slightly mollified.

"We've been given restricted access." he drawled with distaste while he jiggled his mouse and shoved a pile of completed incident reports on top of a stack of budget requests. "Where's McGee?"

"Sent him home." Tony offered casually. He figured if he didn't make it a big deal there was just the slightest possibility that Gibbs would suffer a sudden lack of curiosity.

"Is he sick?" Gibbs asked with mild concern.

"Nope, just exhausted." Tony answered in the same easy tone, but he paused to give Gibbs a pointed look. For a moment he saw something in the other man's eyes that might have been surprise or even admiration but it was gone the next second and instantly replaced by a look of cold fury intended to intimidate lesser beings.

"DiNozzo, you should have asked me." Gibbs snapped with the same tone of voice an adult might use with a misbehaving child.

"You were busy and McGee's server was two seconds from a meltdown." Tony explained reasonably. He knew the purposefully light, jokester voice would only enrage Gibbs further but he couldn't seem to stop himself.

"You think this is funny?" Gibbs growled, pushing himself to his feet and leaning over his desk in the same position he used to interrogate suspects. Raising an eyebrow, Tony watched the display with mild disinterest though inside a small ball of anger was steadily growing.

"No, I saw a problem and I dealt with it. You know, it you want to be technical about it I was the highest ranking officer present at the time." Gibbs smacked his hand against the top of his desk, making a sharp, painful sound and inadvertently knocking a spare coffee mug to the ground. Across the room he saw Ellie jump slightly and with a brief glance he saw she wore a mildly concerned expression. She'd gotten used to Gibbs' surly attitude, but had less experience with his temper tantrums. As he turned his attention back to Gibbs, she discreetly scurried several feet away.

He'd almost forgotten that there were other people present and with that in mind he closed the distance between them. Apparently Gibbs had noticed the audience as well since he shoved his chair back with a little more force than absolutely necessary and jerked his head towards the elevator.

"With me DiNozzo." he bit out, stalking off before Tony could protest. Bishop watched them closely, her eyebrows furrowed in concern. Shrugging innocently, Tony spun around and jogged a few steps to catch up with Gibbs who had continued past the elevator which was apparently in use.

Gibbs opened the first conference room they came to with a quick jerk of his hand. Fortunately it was empty, although Tony knew Gibbs would have no problem relieving it of any occupants.

"What the hell are you trying to pull, DiNozzo?" he asked, shoving the door closed with a movement reminiscent of a headslap. Just in case he got any ideas, Tony moved to the far end of the table and settled into one of the high-backed chairs before answering.

"I'm not pulling anything, Gibbs. I told you, McGee was tired and I didn't think he needed to sit through eight more hours of paperwork. If we get a case, we can always call him back in."

"So this was just another chance for you to pull rank, huh? Get one more chance to be in charge?" Tony shook his head, letting out a humorous laugh so he wouldn't grab hold of the infuriating man before him and attempt to shake some sense into him.

"Maybe if you weren't so busy charging after every red flag you see I wouldn't have had to step in." he said, forgetting for a moment that he was supposed be the calm one here. "There was no reason for McGee to be here all night. You know it, just as much as you know that I'm not trying to undermine your authority."

"You were out of line." Gibbs argued.

"Matter of opinion." Tony replied obstinately.

"If you want your own team, DiNozzo–"

"You still think that's what this about?" Tony asked incredulously, not even caring that he'd cut Gibbs off mid-sentence. "If I really wanted my own team all I'd have to do is ask, Gibbs. I've had lots of offers yet I'm still here. And for the record, I'm not trying to oust you either. It's nice to know you think so highly of me though."

"DiNozzo…" Gibbs said with a long-suffering sigh.

"Don't DiNozzo me! Every member of this team has put up with your crap for years and you know we don't have to. All of us could be doing something better, something higher paid and where we're actually get the respect we deserve." As he spoke, Tony got to his feet and casually strolled over to Gibbs who for once was floundering for a response. A very tiny part of Tony relished that he could read Gibbs so well, but there was a larger part that regretted how accurate his assessment was. He'd really thought that deep down Gibbs respected and trusted him.

"And maybe that's what scares you so much, why you're so damn paranoid about any of us taking initiative; you're afraid that we'll abandon you. That just maybe we're good enough to be on our own or replace you." He continued quietly. If Gibbs had appeared worried before, he looked downright pissed now as he pushed past Tony and muttered,

"DiNozzo I don't have time for this." Tony grabbed hold of Gibbs' upper arm, loosely enough that if he'd wanted the older man could have pulled free.

"If you keep pushing us away, eventually you will lose us. Bishop and McGee might not have reached their limits yet, but just give it a few years and you won't have to worry about any of us vying for your job cause we won't be here." Gibbs jerked away as though he'd been burned, tore the conference room door open, and stormed from the room.

"Grab your gear, Bishop." he snapped when he was about five feet from the bullpen. He didn't bother to grab his gun and Tony wondered if he even had a legitimate place to go. Ellie shot Tony an apologetic look as she hurried to grab her back pack, badge and weapon as well as Gibbs'. He smiled briefly, hoping she understood that he didn't blame her for being the favorite at the moment.

He wasn't entirely sure were his whole diatribe had come from. Well, that wasn't exactly true; it had been brewing in some form for years but he didn't know why he'd decided today was the moment for it to all come spewing out.

Tony spent the rest of the day filling out reports and playing gopher for Gibbs via shortly worded texts from Bishop. They weren't called in for another case and as expected, the FBI didn't request their assistance aside from handling interviews. When Bishop and Gibbs returned at a quarter to five, the latter looking as surly as ever, Gibbs sent him home with a few terse words. Rather than taking it for the punishment it was meant to be, Tony gladly packed up, relieved that he wouldn't have to spend another minute in the stifling atmosphere.

McGee hadn't returned which Tony figured meant he'd most likely crashed the moment he'd gotten home and wouldn't be resurfacing for the next 12 hours or so. It was just as well since McGee would hold himself responsible and this time at least, Tony had absolutely no desire for Tim to feel any guilt.

He'd also have enough time to go home and straighten up a little before heading to Jeanne's. His unresolved confrontation with Gibbs had left him feeling argumentative and eager to deal with whatever was going on with Jeanne. Perhaps it wasn't the best timing considering his current mood but he knew things would just fester the way they had with Gibbs if he didn't do something soon.

Tony arrived at Jeanne's apartment at seven as requested, a canvas bag containing a bottle each of pinot grigio and chardonnay in one hand. Jeanne had been just as insistent about him not knowing the menu for tonight as she had been about cooking for him in the first place so he figured he'd play it safe and brings wines that would be enjoyable even if they didn't pair well with the meal.

Jeanne answered the door in a scoop necked blue dress that came to about mid-knee and wrapped tightly around her waist before flaring slightly. A faint garlic scent wafted out after her and Tony's hopes for the meal brightened considerably.

"Tony, hi, come in." she said with a slight smile, moving aside so he could enter. "I thought you said you wouldn't have time to change before coming." she added and nodded to his obviously freshly shaved jaw and pressed shirt.

"Ah, got let out early for bad behavior." Tony joked.

"I'm pretty sure that's not right. And what did you do that was so bad you got sent home?" Tony hummed noncommittally, taking hold of Jeanne's hand and pulling her into the closest room to the door which happily enough appeared to be the den.

"I'd rather not say, but I did bring a housewarming gift if that helps." he said, skirting the issue. Jeanne accepted the chardonnay with a grateful nod.

"Well, that sounds ominous. Should I be looking through the want ads?" Tony was fairly certain he was still employed, but one never knew with Gibbs.

"I think it's just a suspension for now, but I'll keep you posted. Now what smells delicious?" Jeanne accepted his segue with a roll of her eyes and directed him to the dining room with a light push.

"It's shrimp scampi and there are wine glasses on the table." she said then headed for what Tony assumed was the kitchen.

After taking a brief glance around, Tony grabbed the red wine, popped the cork and poured a glass for each of them. Giving in to his curiosity, he rounded the half wall that separated the two rooms and started exploring the series of picture frames that were featured on the walls and side tables. For the most part Jeanne seemed to have a minimalistic approach to decorating, but the pictures were obviously of great import. He bent over a frame that held two photos just as his phone buzzed twice.

"Those were taken during my first internship; first and last day. I think 11 of us made it through." Jeanne offered quietly from behind him. He turned slowly, not wanting to give the impression he'd snooping unduly.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but you look incredibly young." he said. Jeanne chuckled softly, waving a hand at Tony's couched apology and came to stand beside him, cocking her head slightly as she considered the photos.

"In some ways I suppose I was. Naturally I thought I had everything figured out which meant I made a lot stupid mistakes. But you shouldn't worry, Tony, both of those pictures were taken years before I met you." Tony frowned at that, not entirely sure if it was meant to be admonishment. It almost sounded like an apology or a pardon of some sort. Taking a step closer he peered at Jeanne for a long moment. At first glance she seemed calm and at ease but there was something wrong about the almost perfect set of everything. Something was just a little off again.

"Is everything ok?" he asked, foregoing to the desire to just let things be and enjoy the evening.

"Of course, Tony. I'm fine, but I doubt the shrimp scampi will survive anymore discussion." Tony narrowed his eyes; someone had definitely been taking deflecting lessons.

There was something oddly intimate about eating in someone's home at a carefully set table that Tony hadn't anticipated. He and Jeanne had never cooked a legitimate meal for the other, mostly relying on elegant restaurants or takeout when their schedules got in the way. Knowing that Jeanne had likely spent hours making sure that this meal was perfect made it that much more significant.

Tony was in the middle of explaining the less sensitive details of a recent case when his phone buzzed again. He'd forgotten the earlier text completely and while he was fairly certain it wasn't from work, he didn't feel comfortable not checking.

"Is it Gibbs?" Jeanne asked as he stared at his phone and Tony fought the bizarre desire to laugh as he stared at the pair of texts from his DiNozzo Senior. God, he almost wished it was Gibbs. He had a feeling the evening was about to come to an abrupt end.

"Ah, no, no…it's actually my Dad." Tony answered reluctantly. Jeanne sucked in a short breath, choking slightly.

"I'm sorry, did you say your dad texted you?" she asked once she'd taken a sip of wine. Tony nodded, finding himself completely unprepared to have this discussion.

"But you told me he was dead." Jeanne said, sounding stunned and looking equal parts confused and hurt.

"I did. When I told you that it was for a very specific reason that wasn't intended to hurt you and I honestly didn't remember it until I saw these texts from my dad." Tony explained earnestly as he watched a series of emotions flicker across Jeanne's face, each too fast to fully identify.

"Ok." she said after what seemed like an eternity, her face clearing of anything but mild interest. "And your mom, is she alive too?"

"No, that part was true. She died when I was a kid." Jeanne nodded several times as though she was having a conversation with herself.

"Jeanne, I know it's difficult to believe–" he started, but Jeanne placed over his hand, bringing him to a halt. He watched as she very carefully linked her fingers with his and gave them a gentle squeeze.

"Tony, I don't blame you and I think you've done enough apologizing in the last few weeks. I'm just glad that you told me the truth now." Tony remained silent for a moment, slightly dumbfounded by the lack of reaction.

"I haven't always had a very good relationship with my father." He started again, still feeling the need to explain if only to ease his own sense of guilt. It seemed ridiculous now that he'd forgotten about his very-not-dead father.

Jeanne tugged his hand, cutting him short once more and pulled him to his feet, guiding him to the door. They'd barely eaten any of the apple tart Jeanne had baked, but his appetite had disappeared completely.

"I don't need an explanation, Tony." she snapped, her voice sharpening slightly from the even tone she'd used for the last few minutes. Tony was both relieved and terrified. Jeanne took a small breath and then softly said,

"Go call your dad." Tony resisted the gentle, yet insistent pressure she exuded, certain now that something was very wrong. Jeanne did not let things go without a discussion, it wasn't in her nature. Even if she truly wasn't angry with him, her curiosity wouldn't allow her to stop until she knew the full story.

"Jeanne, my dad can wait, I don't think this talk can."

"We don't need to discuss anything, Tony." Jeanne insisted. She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Tony's cheek. "I'll call you." Tony sighed as Jeanne closed the door behind him and barely resisted the urge to hurl his phone against the opposite wall.

"You always have the best timing, don't you dad?"

A/N: The observation that Gibbs looks like a hawk at times comes via my sister who has never watched NCIS but harbors a great dislike for Gibbs.

This chapter was very difficult to write but I think it's important for what will happen in the coming chapters.