Facts of the week:

This chapter is late, as I'm sure you've noticed. I apologise profusely, but being sick and taking 22 kids on an overnight camp was not conducive to my already limited writing time.

Random fact- Jackie Chan sings the best version of Mulans' "I'll Make a Man Out of You" that I have heard. Look it up on YouTube

As always, unbeta'd and don't own.

Jess x

Chapter 6

The next day was even worse than the team thought it could be. Gibbs wasn't loud angry, no he was silent angry, and they didn't know how to deal with it. With their boss on such a short string and no Tony there to make him talk or lighten the atmosphere for the rest of them, Tim was about to give up.

'Why Gibbs? Why do you freak out like this on my first day as team leader?' Tom was at the end of his tether, and with Director Vance leaving him to solve the problem, he ended up ringing the one person who would get Gibbs to talk, and wasn't in the Gibbs' doghouse.

"Fornell"

"Hi, Agent Fornell, it's Tim McGee. We need some help here, it's Gibbs…"

Tim cut off when he heard Fornells sigh, so he was expecting something like this.

"Yeah, thanks McGee. I can get away in twenty minutes to take him off your hands."

A small chuckle broke the tension.

"Have a bus on standby though if you would, I'm not allowed to step foot onto his property until 6pm and we all know how he sees that building of yours."

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"You told me you know about Stillwater. What exactly do you know?"

"I know why after Shannon your marriages didn't work. I know why you are scared of being alone with Tony. I know that when you were seventeen, the first month of school you took the back alleys home, but when you started losing fights in those alleys, you did what they said and used the main streets. I know that it took your dad over a year to hear what had happened, but he didn't know why, so he had to ask you. I also know that you didn't know how he would react and you didn't what around to see his reaction, you skipped of to join the Marines. I know that is why your relationship is so strained."

"Oh yeah, Fornell. What would you say to your dad? 'Hey dad, I got beat up after school today like I have been every day this week. Why, you ask, because they caught me making out with Michael Irwin in the P.E. shed, but they're not beating him up 'cause they're scared of his sisters.' Real smart."

Fornell looked at his friend and sighed, hopelessly.

"Ok Jethro, why do you think your last 3 marriages didn't work out?"

Tutting at the blank look he received, Fornell tried a different avenue of questioning.

"Have you ever had a relationship with a man?"

"Yeah, once."

"How old were you?"

"16"

"So was it just a sexual relationship or was it a committed relationship?"

"We were together 9 months, which for teenagers is a pretty big deal, I suppose."

"See, now we are getting somewhere. Did you ever sleep with him?"

"Yeah." Fornell was shocked to see a small smile grace Gibbs' face.

"Ok, so you have been in a committed relationship with a man, which you got beat up for and practically kicked out of your home town. Then, when confronted about it, you run away. Twice. In the mean time, you have been working with a man for over 9 years, come to know him, come to love him, found out he is in love with you and driven him out of absolutely every aspect of your life. All you need to do is admit to yourself first, and then to him, that you love him, that it is OK to have a relationship with a man and that you want to have a relationship with him. He's your damn Saint Bernard, Jethro. He won't let you down."

Turning away, the FBI agent had another thought.

"You know, you aren't just hurting yourself and him with this attitude of yours. Think of Ducky, think of Ziva. Think of Abby who freakin' cries when you get mad around her. Think of McGee who was so scared of you today that he called me in. You ignoring your emotions and your heart has made you a bitter old man who scares those closest to him. You haven't scared them away, yet, but you certainly scare them."

With that, Fornell turned and left the room. He didn't even look back, hoping to impress on Gibbs what a bastard he was being.

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When Fornell left the navy yard, Gibbs in tow, McGee called a campfire down in Abby's lab. Ziva had already accepted the change in power by lunch time and was reading McGees mind almost as well as they usually read Gibbs.

"Hey Ziva, I know how I'm feeling about all this, and we all know how Abby feels, but I don't know about the others. What do you think…"

"I will get Ducky and Palmer and meet you in Abby's lab."

Snapping out of his surprised head space, McGee trotted down the stairs to warn Abby of her labs' upcoming invasion.

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"Dear Abigail, since you look so upset, would you like to open this campfire?"

Not even waiting for Ducky to finish his sentence, she started pacing.

"Why would Gibbs do this? It's one thing to not return Tonys' feelings, but to make him lose trust and faith? He is Gibbs' loyal Saint Bernard. I don't like it, and I won't like it until Gibbs and Tony sort things out, Gibbs gets back to kissing me on the cheek and buying Caff- Pow! Tony is back in this family, not that his isn't just because he's not on the team 'cause he's still family but…"

Throwing her hands up in the air, Abby lumped into her chair, feeling defeated for the first time in her life.

McGee looked around at his friends before going next.

"I'm afraid that Gibbs won't get his head out, I'm afraid that Tony won't come back, I'm afraid that he will leave this team all to me, but most of all I'm afraid that we will drift apart and our movie nights and guy dates will stop."

This was a surprise to everyone. No one knew how close those two were outside of work, yes they acted like two brothers who spend to much time together, but out of work , who knew that McGee would actually miss Tony.

Palmer decided to go next.

"I too, am afraid that Tony will drift off losing contact with the team and myself, but mostly I'm afraid of Agent Gibbs taking his anger out on everyone, including me, until he reaches compulsory retirement in 7 years."

Ducky decided to follow along the same vein.

"I am afraid that Jethro will lose himself. I don't think he will be able to face whatever it was that provoked this reaction from him. I am afraid that Anthony won't be able to give Jethro another chance. I am afraid after this we may have neither Anthony nor Jethro with us."

"Well, I believe I can help to allay some of those fears, Ducky."

Startled, the team turned to find Tobias Fornell in the doorway.

"I probably shouldn't tell you about this, but I think he needs to hear it from one of you."

And with that, he told the, about the conversation of Stillwater, and everything that stemmed from it.

I know it is short and late, but know you know what's up with Gibbs. Now I just have to wait for his reaction/retaliation to come to me.

Jess x

P.S. It's my birthday today (hint hint).