A/N Argh it's getting close to the end now. Im afraid there won't be any more action as it's all about character development now. Enjoy... & review!

It was the last night Tony was to stay at Gibbs' house. They had organised for him to return to Baltimore the next day after a night of drinking had kept them at bay and Gibbs couldn't have been any more disappointed. It had been a rare treat working with a homicide cop that wasn't completely ignorant. A little juvenile maybe, but he could see Dinozzo's instincts were well past par. It was also clear that Tony was Turners trophy prize, why else would he have agreed to Tony showing off his brilliant skills other than to make the department look good. They could easily have arranged another detective to do the joint investigation, but Turner used his tools wisely. This time, they had happened to included Tony.

Gibbs rubbed his palm along the rough textured wood in his basement. He used his ruler to scratch off the extra shavings clinging on to the side of the plank when he heard the top door open.

"How are you getting this out Gibbs?" Tony looked down from the top of the stairs at the decking structure.

"Not really sure. Never thought about it." Gibbs didn't look up from the wood as he began sanding once again.

Tony climbed down the steps with a coffee in hand.

"No coffee Gibbs?"

"Only bourbon down here, Tony." DiNozzo chuckled as he set his mug down on the small table to the side before picking up a sander and striding to the middle near Gibbs. They stayed in silence whilst they worked on Gibbs' project.

Both Tony and Gibbs had long discovered of the silent conversation they were able to have when both were relaxed or needed comfort, which made the silence a comfortable one. They continued to work on the wood early into the morning.

Tony picked up his rucksack holding his clothes and any items he was able to pick up before leaving. He swung it over his shoulder as he turned to face the middle of the bullpen. It seemed wrong to be leaving it. Yet, at the same time Tony knew something good was going to come out of it. He had no idea what but a funny tingling feeling in his stomach clawed at him.

DiNozzo walked to the edge of the bullpen as looked at the smaller woman in front of him.

"It was nice meeting you Abigail Scuito." He held out his hand in farewell. Abby chocked out a sob before wrapping her long arms around the detective's neck. Tony happily returned it before realising he couldn't breathe.

"Abby. Please…" He managed out as she let go. He took a moment to right himself before placing a small kiss on her cheek.

"You still owe me a dinner Mr. DiNozzo." She said emotionally but jokingly.

"That I do Abs. Next time I'm in D.C, Kay?" He winked and caught her nod and slight smile.

Tony turned to look at the older M.E waiting by the elevator.

"It was a pleasure meeting you Anthony." This time Ducky was the one to produce his hand. Tony shook it kindly and grinned at the Scotsman.

"And you, Duck. See you around alright." Ducky grinned and patted his back as Tony reached the lift.

"Where's Gibbs?" Tony asked.

"I think he's gone, Tony." Ducky responded sympathetically.

"What? He didn't even say bye?" Ducky shrugged as waved Tony goodbye as the doors shut in front.

Abby ran up to Ducky and squeezed him to show her sadness.

"Did Gibbs really leave without saying goodbye?" Her eyes shimmered with tears.

"Do you really believe that Abby?" She wiped away the tears in her red eyes before standing tall. She grinned and stared at the shut elevator.

"No."

Tony waited on the pavement outside the NCIS building. He had been standing for about 10 minutes and not one taxi had shown up. Getting more and more impatient as he waited he began to amuse himself by playing on his phone. Busily engrossed in his Tetris game, Tony only looked up as a blue sedan jerked to a halt in front of him. He climbed in and smiled.

"Thought you left me hanging for a second there, Gibbs."

Jethro responded by throwing the car around a tight bend at the end of the road. Once again, the car was put into a soft silence Tony didn't dare break. His hand had every urge to reach forward and crank up the radio so he could hear it. Sure, he had good hearing but he doubted even a dog would be able to respond to it. As if reading his thoughts Gibbs reached forward and put on the radio. He caught Tony's grin out of the corner of his eye and smiled himself before grunting out a short laugh and a large grin spread across his face.

"Is Turner expecting you at the department?" Gibbs asked Tony,

"Probably. I think he is already pissed off with me anyway so I better not hurt my career anymore." Gibbs grunted out a response, inaudible to Tony. Deciding not to press it, Tony got comfortable in silence.

They pulled outside the large building with police cars dotted around. Gibbs pulled the car into a small space in the corner and climbed out. Tony followed at met the ex-marine around the back of the corner. This was the part Gibbs hated. He had never been good at Goodbyes. He thrust out his hand with power and Tony returned the strong shake with equal force.

"Pleasure to work with you Gibbs." Tony grinned as stressed the word. Deciding to play along, Gibbs responded.

"Yeah, it was good to have a decent detective, obeying your orders." Jethro replied with a shit-eating grin. Tony laughed and gave a last shake to Gibbs hand before throwing his bag over his shoulder and placing his sunglasses on the bridge of his nose.

"See you around Gibbs."

Gibbs watched Tony enter through the double doors and into the large bricked building. A million thoughts raced through his head at once as he got back into the dark blue car.

Tony was a fantastic detective. He had undercover skills like he hadn't seen in a long time and he could interrogate properly. Hell, he could even see a bit of himself in the young man, though he would never admit that out loud. Tony had a strong independent character and that was what pulled Gibbs to him. Sure he had the good investigation skills, but his personality was the thing that had interested him the most. Gibbs had such a huge urge to find out the mystery of Anthony DiNozzo and the facts that weren't found in his file.

On the opposite side, Tony had betrayed Gibbs' trust. He had gone behind his back to give information to another source without even letting him know, and that's what had riled Gibbs. Jethro was sure he had this argument in his head once before and again hadn't been able to come to a conclusion.

"GOD DAMNIT DINOZZO!" Gibbs thumped the steering wheel and stared at the building once again, in thought.

A/N Heh, Gibbs is thinking too much again! I hope your enjoying. Maybe just one more chapter left, but that all depends on the reviews lol. Once i've finished this story however i'm moving back on to my other about someone infiltrating the NCIS HQ by force, which lots of people have reviewed so check that out once this has finished.
Hope you enjoyed it so far. xxx Leigh