N/B Marlislash this chapter is for you g. You are the reason this story came about lol. Remember this is AU doesn't follow things I have mixed and matched, and yes Ziva is an agent.
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Tony winced as he closed his eyes. He hadn't known John was there. Last time he checked he had been on the other side of the room. John Sheppard and done a Leroy Jethro Gibbs on them and just appeared.
'You know how I love winding Rodney up.' Tony turned and smiled at him.
John just stared. It was annoying that Tony was so good at undercover work. He never knew when the other man was lying. Rodney, on the other hand, he could read. He hoped that this wasn't a joke. He also knew how difficult it would be for the scientist to make the next move without knowing what John's feelings were.
'I'd be really disappointed if it were a joke.' Jon whispered still afraid that he'd made a huge mistake. That was until Rodney spun around and stared at him. John realised that no matter what happened he would never regret this moment. He would always be glad that Rodney knew how he felt. Things were just too dangerous here not to take a chance like this.
Rodney just continued to stare. He was sure that he misheard John had said until Tony elbowed him. He turned to glare at his best friend and watched as Tony winked at subtly at him. That was when he realised John actually had spoken those words.
'Uhhh, no.' Rodney stuttered a little making him feel like an idiot. 'It wasn't a joke.'
'I think we need to talk about this privately.' John waited for a moment and there was no reply, 'My quarters?'
Rodney nodded.
Tony was so glad that it had turned out like this. He would have hated to put Rodney in a situation that made it so the two men couldn't work together. He would have never forgiven himself. They both waited for John to leave, who nodded at Tony and then smiled at Rodney. When he vanished, they turned to each other.
'I am so sorry. When I checked, he was on the other side of the room. If I'd known, he was there I would never have said anything.' Tony waited to get yelled at, but there was no reaction. 'Rodney?'
'I know you didn't do it on purpose. When you like to annoy and embarrass me, it would never be anything like that. What would you have said if John hadn't spoken up?'
Tony shrugged his shoulders. 'I would have told him, I was the one that liked him.'
'If you did that, it could ruin any chance you would have had with…' Rodney waved his arms around. He didn't want to say anything in case the other man turned up, and knowing their luck it would've happened.
'I know, but you're one of my best friends, and I was the one that created the situation.' Tony told him honestly. It might have lost him Gibbs, but then he might not have had him anyway. Protecting Rodney had been more important.
Tony might make jokes, create nicknames and do stupid things, but when it came down to it, he would always be there for those he considered friends or family. McGee had never understood that about him, that was one of the ways he showed he cared. Tony had never been taught these things growing up. Abby and Rodney both got that about him. The two of them had their own quirky ways as well.
'Thank you Tony.' Rodney hugged him awkwardly and quickly. The scientist's face was tinged red with excitement and happiness. He turned and suddenly rushed off leaving Tony alone.
Tony looked around at Atlantis, the place he called home. He watched Abby and Ronon walk away hand in hand. They were in a world of their own. He hoped one day he would have that. Suddenly he felt so very alone.
'Are you okay Tony?' Lorne asked as he placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.
'Yeah, I'm okay.' Tony replied sadness still could he heard in his voice.
'We've got a mission. Will you be alright to join us?'
'Yeah, I'll be fine to join you Evan. What would you all do without me?'
Lorne laughed as the two men walked off to get ready.
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Gibbs' eyes hardened as he watched Lorne touch Tony. He did like the other man except at times like this, times when he touched what belonged to him. There was no doubt in his mind that they were meant to be together. He, not knowing where Tony was showed him he had more than just friendly feelings. They had almost kissed before, but nothing else had come from that. Gibbs was at a loss on what to do next.
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John had no idea what Rodney was going to do. He'd never considered that the other man would have feelings for him. They were so different in so many ways, but there was something that made them click when they worked together. He'd had sex with a few men, a couple of one night stands. John never had any kind of romantic feelings towards those men. It had just been about the sex.
He remembered clearly when his attraction to Rodney became evident to him. Rodney had been arguing with Radek again. He turned saw John and just smiled. It had taken his breath away. All John had wanted to do was pull him into his arms and kiss him. Teyla had arrived and started to talk to him, stopping the fantasy before it went any further and got him into trouble. John knew that he had to bury this feeling deep down, very deep down.
He'd been doing so well at that until Rodney had been hurt. Yes, the irascible scientist had been injured before. This accident happened after John realised his attraction to Rodney. Seeing him in the infirmary all bandaged up and looking so very pale, more than normal John wanted to take care of him. That was when he realised he was in deep shit. John Sheppard had fallen head over heels for Rodney McKay. He had no idea what to do about it.
Then he heard the conversation between Tony and Rodney. His heart almost broke at the joke comment. One look at McKay and he knew. He knew that they both loved each other.
John was tired of being alone. His happiness was in the hands of one snarky scientist. His head shot up and the beeping of his door.
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Rodney was just about to turn around and run away when the door opened. There stood John looking so incredibly beautiful in his eyes. His feet seemed to know what to do, and in he walked.
He began to feel faint, his hands were sweaty, and his heart started to pound. Rodney had never felt like this before.
'Oh my god, I'm having a heart-attack.' Rodney muttered.
John laughed, suddenly feeling relieved. 'You're not having a heart-attack. It might be panic attack, or you could just be nervous and a little scared.'
John grabbed hold of the other man's hands and pulled him further into the room. Rodney scowled at him.
'Nervous, scared of you….who do you…'
John pulled Rodney against his body; he lowered his head and kissed him passionately right in the middle of his rant. He felt the mouth beneath his fall open, and the once tense body melted against his. John knew that he could get use to this.
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Jenny was annoyed with everyone. She had to figure out a way to find Jethro and bring him home to be with her. If not, maybe she could join him. She was sure that they would need someone to be in charge of wherever they were. Jenny knew that she had to be careful, if she was caught not only would she be fired, but possibly arrested.
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Ziva didn't like being here much now. The only person she'd wanted to work for was Gibbs. She would have gone with them if they'd asked, or if she'd known about it beforehand. Ziva would have even played nice with DiNozzo to get there. Once that had happened all bets were off. She was sure she would have been able to get rid of him somehow. Now what was she supposed to do?
Ziva turned and noticed another team eyed her with distaste as they walked past. It seemed that somehow the other agents had found out what they'd done. Before they knew that she and McGee had talked about how useless they thought DiNozzo was, and how better it was here without him. She had thought because of whom she was and who her father was that they would agree. It had always been that way before. Not here, they didn't care and Tony was a popular agent, even now when he wasn't around. It had completely backfired on them.
She had wanted to go back home, but her father insisted that she stayed. He wasn't happy about how she had treated her fellow agent. Her being in the top team in NCIS had been a feather in his cap. He'd boasted it had been her training that had been the reason. It meant a lot to him, and also to the image of Mossad. If Ziva managed to get placed where they had all gone, it would be even better. Was it possible to find out where Gibbs was? She would have to use her own contacts. These would be ones that SecNac couldn't follow; he wouldn't know that they even existed.
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McGee looked into the lab. It was strange not to hear loud music, or Abby bouncing around. He loved her so much. How could she have left him? Who would take care of her?
'Are you okay McGee?' Jimmy asked as he came out of the lab.
'I miss Abby.'
'I know you do, I do too, but this is something she wanted to do.' Jimmy smiled at him. 'I'd never seen her so excited about anything before.'
'She's all alone. She needs to me to protect her.'
The young ME assistant stared at him. 'You don't really see her, do you?'
'What do you mean? Of course, I do, I love her.'
'McGee, Abby can, and in the past has taken care of herself. She told you that herself. She's not alone she's with Agent Gibbs and Tony. They would do everything they could to make sure she was safe. They'd also be better at it than you.' Jimmy argued. Abby was many things, but a delicate flower that needed non-stop protection was not one of them.
McGee glared at Jimmy and stormed off. He didn't understand what they had between them, no one did. He and Abby had an extraordinary connection. They were meant to be together. Tim bet that Tony had stopped her from asking him to go with them. He was jealous of McGee's abilities and skills. He had to find out where they were. He knew that Abby needed him.
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Gibbs stormed into John's office. 'Where the hell are they? Where is Tony?'
'We've tried to get in contact with Lorne's team. We've had no reply.'
TBC