When Tony woke up and found light shining in through the window, he sat upright. How had he slept through the night? Was Fiona okay? Did she need to eat or be changed? He then remembered to breathe and looked around the room. Only then did he remember he was staying at Gibbs' house while Abby was watching Fiona. He breathed a sigh of relief and lay back down, burrowing into the warmth of the covers. He stomach gurgled as his nose picked up the scent of bacon and eggs wafting into the room. Gibbs must be making breakfast. Gibbs…

Tony sighed and flopped onto his back, one arm thrown over his eyes. He was awake to hear what Gibbs said, right? He hadn't dreamed it? Not that he would be dreaming about that…right? No, he had been awake. Because he remembered Gibbs falling asleep, snoring lightly, and Tony had wanted to stay up and figure out what just happened but he was too damn tired.

Jethro had said "Love you too." Tony didn't want to face love. He knew he loved his daughter, obviously, but he didn't let people into his heart that easily, so he preferred to not let it happen at all. Next issue: he said "too". As in "also". As in "you said it first and the feeling is mutual". But he hadn't said it, because he doesn't say it! Tony Dinozzo does not fall in love and that was a fact. And it really wasn't going to do him any good thinking about it in Gibbs' bed. He swung his feet out from under the covers, complaining at the feel of cold air and cold floor, and followed his nose to find Gibbs.

While this inner debate was going on, Gibbs preferred to avoid thought. He simply stood at the stove, waiting for the eggs to be done and for Tony to wake up. But although he had been waiting for the tell-tale footsteps in the hall, he didn't turn when he heard Tony enter the kitchen. He resumed poking at the eggs with the spatula, knowing Tony would get around to speaking at some point.

After a long, awkward silence, Tony finally cracked. "What did you mean last night?"

"Exactly what I meant" was the short and clear as mud response he got from the wooden statue in front of the stove.

"Come on, Jethro, why did you say it? And what did you mean by 'too'? Usually you say 'too' when other person has said it first."

Gibbs did not want to scare Tony off, so he figured moving slowly with this subject would be the best choice. "I won't explain last night to you yet, Tony, so I'll drop the subject and not say it again. I didn't expect to hear it from you, but you should remember that I said it and meant it."

"I—I don't—okay, yeah." With that, Tony went to the coffeepot and poured himself a cup of coffee, fixed with generous amounts of sugar and milk. A few sips made him feel human again and only then did he wrap his arms around Jethro's waist and rest his chin on his shoulder. It was only a small gesture, but Tony recognized and appreciated it immediately as a cheek rested briefly against his.

Early in the afternoon, Tony was dozing against Gibbs' chest when his phone rang. He practically fell off of the couch to get it, causing Gibbs to raise an eyebrow. "It might be Abby… about Fiona…" he said, but when he picked up in the bedroom, it was actually Angie.

"Hey Tony, how's she doing?"

"Hey Ang, I'm actually at Jethro's because Abby took her for the weekend."

"That's nice for you," she said, sounding oddly distracted. "The interview today went really well…. Actually, I got the job."

Tony's face lit up. "Awesome! I knew you'd rock them. Where is the job again?"

Deep breath. "They're in Illinois."

"Ah."

"It's a great job, but I'll be so far away from you guys. I don't know if I'll be able to leave her behind." Her voice started to break. "I mean, I know you'll do a terrific job with her…"

Tony, detecting the tears in her voice, began trying to calm her down. "Shh, Angie. You don't have to give an answer right now, do you? When you come over next, we'll sit and talk about it, okay? It'll all be alright; we'll figure out what to do."

She sniffed a few times and, seeming to recover, said, "Thanks Tony. I always know I can trust you. Hey, not any guy could become my baby-daddy."

He chuckled and then excused himself, saying he wanted to check in with Abby. After hanging up, he dialed Abby's phone and waited.

"Tony!! Hey! Hey Fiona, it's your dad on the phone," he heard her call into the room.

"Hey Abs, how're you doing?"

"Oh, we're doing awesome! We watched Fantasia and went for a ride in the hearse; I hope you don't mind I pulled the car seat out of your car…. So what're you up to?"

Her voice was a little too innocent in that last question. "Nothing, I've just been sleeping. Why?"

"Weeellll, I'm just a little curious as to why GIBBS' shirts are in YOUR closet? Hmm?"

Tony chuckled and once again appreciated Gibbs' impeccable timing as the man in question entered the room and passed through to the bathroom. "I guess for the exact reason you're thinking right now. Kind of. He's been staying over to help me with Fi."

"And…?"

"And yes." He heard Abby squeal and coughed to cover his own laughter as he saw Gibbs settle down on the bed out of the corner of his eye. "Anyway, I'll let you get back to whatever you two are doing. I don't want to find my daughter has crawled out a window or something." Ignoring Abby's protests of her talent with watching infants, he said good-bye and hung up.

He sat on the bed and looked at Gibbs, who was already looking at him, studying each line of laughter in the boyish face. He had heard from the bathroom part of what Tony had been saying to Abby and figured the cat was probably out of the bag on that front. He trusted his forensics girl to be discreet when necessary, however, so he didn't mind.

While studying Tony's face, he noticed color starting to flood his cheeks and the way his eyes seemed to be examining Gibbs' own body. Pressed by this and by the way his own body was begging him, he said roughly, "I took the liberty of packing some other things from your apartment," and nodded toward the duffel bag. Tony looked at him curiously and then knelt at the bag. He dug through the clothes and started peering in pockets. Gibbs' lungs seemed to be laboring as the anticipation rose. And then he saw Tony's muscles freeze. After a few seconds, which seemed like an eternity, his body slowly rotated until the two pairs of eyes met. Gibbs saw how Tony's had darkened and knew the emotion was reflected on his face. "This isn't an order," he said, the side of his mouth twitching. "Say the word and I'll put these away for another day. I want to be sure you're ready."

He admired the graceful movements as Tony rose and placed on the bedside table the box and bottle Gibbs had found in Tony's nightstand the night Fiona was born. Not wanting to leave the burden of decision on Tony's shoulders, Gibbs stood and grasped his upper arms. Looking into his eyes inquiringly, he softly asked, "What do you want?"

"You."

With so little distance between them already, it wasn't long before Gibbs felt Tony's firm, insistent lips upon his own. Returning the kiss with the same fervor, he felt the vibration as Tony moaned into his mouth. He pulled his lips away reluctantly and, with his mouth on the shell of Tony's ear, whispered, "You're sure?" The hands tugging his shirt up and skating across the muscles of his chest were the only answer he needed before he bore his lover down to the cool sheets.