Confrontational Tony

070208

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing here.

Summary: Attraction, realization and confrontation.

Reviews: Yes please. Readers Rock but Reviewers RULE!!

A/N: This chapter is relatively short. I had no way to track word counts in the mail draft program I used during the initial writing. It feels kind of awkward as well but couldn't figure out how to fix it. I hope all of you will give it a chance though. Read, review and criticize if you wish but give me your thoughts please. I will if you will.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Chapter 4

Abby grinned widely as Gibbs drew McGee off to the side for a semi-private conference. Her brilliant blue gaze roamed over Grant's compact form as if imagining what he'd look like without the suit. She seemed to like the image. She moved over, flipped the switch and turned the music back on, although a glare from Gibbs had her lowering the volume to less than ear bleeding levels. She grasped the FBI agent's slender hand and pulled him farther into her labyrinth. He allowed himself to be led. McGee watched with concern in his soft gray eyes as if fearful she'd hurt the seemingly timid agent.

"He'll be fine, McGee. He used to work with Tony so he should be able to defend himself. Don't you think?" Gibbs growled but there was an underlying thread of amusement.

"You're right, Boss. It's just that he seems so... " Tim paused, unsure how to express his 'gut feeling'. He and Abby had been involved but it had evolved into a close friendship rather than advancing to a more intense romance. He harbored no jealousy towards the Goth but continued to worry about her emotional wellbeing. He didn't want to see her brokenhearted. He didn't know Grant Mars and wasn't sure any former friend of Anthony DiNozzo could be trusted.

"Appearances, McGee, are seldom what they appear to be." The younger agent frowned in confusion at Gibbs' cryptic statement. "Take a closer look." Jethro continued. Tim did. While it appeared at first that Abby was intimidating the newcomer, after observing the couple a few more minutes, it became clear that the FBI agent was asking about Abby's equipment and she was animatingly telling him all about her babies. Grant was letting her do nearly all the talking, which did not surprise McGee at all - Abby loved to talk - but she was not getting what she nearly always got, a lot of information from the other person. A tiny smile was playing across Grant's mouth as he listened to Abby's chatter.

"It appears." Jethro stressed the word. "That our little Abs has met her match. She won't find out anything about Mars that he doesn't want her to know."

"Ah." Tim said and nodded his head but he clearly did not understand. Gibbs rewarded him with a small headslap.

"Come on. We need the info that's in his computer." The Team Leader said as he turned towards the elevator. As they'd left the crime scene, McGee had filled him in on the laptop Grant had entrusted to their care. Gibbs paused, irritated, as McGee hesitated.

"Are we just gonna leave him down here?" Tim asked, still unsure of the wisdom of such an act.

"He'll be fine." Gibbs reiterated irritably.

Still McGee hesitated and went so far as to take a step back towards the lab. He raised his voice so he could be heard over the music. "Hey, we're just gonna go back upstairs. Are you ok here or do you want to go with?"

Abby whirled around and glared at her friend. "He's fine, Timmy." She stated warningly. She turned back to Grant with a blinding smile. "Isn't that right?"

Amusement threaded through Grant's voice as he agreed with the Goth. "I'm fine. Abby is telling me what all these gadgets do for her." He took a leisurely sip of his energy drink before winking at her.

The scientist grinned as Gibbs impatiently tugged McGee from the lab. "I expect results when I get back." The ex-marine called back over his shoulder.

"I thought they'd never leave." She purred.

Grant returned the grin with a brilliant one of his own. "Why is McGee so afraid that Fornell will be angry that he left me here with you?"

Abby's smile turned evil. "No reason." She lied.

The gleam in Grant's gaze belied the swift disappearance of all humor from his face. "Are you lying to an agent of the FBI, Ms Sciuto?" His smooth voice sent a shiver down her spine.

Her crystal blue eyes widened in faux innocence. "Why no." She shook her head vigorously. "I would never lie to any Federal Agent." She lied again.

"That's good to know." Grant's voice lowered as his gaze was captured by the movements of her lips. Anything else they might have said to each other was lost when the LCD display next to them dinged out a warning as it halted on a set of fingerprints and a photo.

Upstairs...

Tony looked up from his computer as the elevator chimed its arrival. His face froze as he noticed that only Gibbs and McGee exited. He stood up in alarm. "Where's Mars?"

Tim's round face reflected his unease. "In the lab with Abby."

Tony paled. "Oh no, you didn't." He stalked over and grabbed Tim by the jacket. "Tell me you did not leave them alone together."

"But... but... Gibbs said it would be ok." The younger agent stammered. "He said Abby wouldn't hurt Grant."

"It's not Grant I'm worried about." Tony snarled and glowered at his boss as the older man strolled past them on his way to his own desk. With a small shove he let go of McGee, stomped into the elevator and jabbed at the button.

Gibbs smirked, settling into his desk chair, as the doors closed and the floor lights began their descent. McGee swallowed audibly. "Um... Boss?"

"Yeah?"

"What's going on?" Tim asked hesitantly.

"Tony has issues he needs to deal with." Gibbs told the younger man. "Now, how about that computer?" He pointedly glared at Tim's desk where Grant's computer resided.

Tim sat down. "On it, Boss." He whistled as he pulled the state of the art machine out of the expensive leather case. "Wow. He told me it represented most of his savings, he wasn't joking." He opened the laptop, hit the power button and grinned. "Good, it's got full battery. Now, let's see what's in here." He began to check the files. "It's gonna take some time to sort though this, Looks like he just scanned everything into one file." He shook his head in disbelief. "I might have to have Abs help me on this one."

Abby's lab...

The couple involved in the intense discussion didn't hear the elevator's arrival. One LCD screen was showing a mug shot with corresponding prints while yet another one flashed as it ran its own search program. Tony paused at the door and watched for a moment. His green gaze sharpened as he watched Grant's slender hand reach up and pull the neck of Abby's T-shirt to the side so he could get a closer look at her spider web tattoo. After a few seconds of admiration he let the shirt slide back into place. Long fingers fondled the thin leather collar that enhanced the black design. The uncharacteristic shyly abashed smile on Grant's face nearly broke Tony's heart as he watched Grant pull his hand down and begin to fiddle with the cuff of his shirt that peeked out of the suit jacket sleeve. Tony was achingly aware of what lay underneath that shirt cuff. It was one of the reasons he'd been so drawn to Abby. The perky Goth had almost single handedly healed the hole the loss of Grant's friendship had created in Tony's life. The scientist was seated in her favorite chair with Grant sitting next to her in a similar chair. They were very close together with their heads mere inches apart as they talked. The flashing screen above them stopped suddenly while the computer that ran it beeped out a warning. Both heads flew up as the alarm sounded. Abby bounced in place.

"Is that him?" She asked Grant excitedly.

"Yeah." He replied quietly. "Franklin Romar. The New York PD had him six months ago but they let him go forty-five minutes before our witness could identify him. He instantly disappeared. Two days later I walked out on the task force I'd helped set up and five months after that I got transferred out of the Boston office. This is the first lead I've gotten since then."

"Why'd they let him go?" Abby chewed on the straw of her Caff-Pow drink, a frown on her pretty face.

Bitterness roughened Grant's voice. "They didn't have cause to keep him. He'd pretended to be a witness. By the time we discovered differently it was too late, they'd cut him loose. They acted like it was no big deal. I'd been after this creep for over three years and they just turned him back out onto the street." He finished his Red Bull and crushed the can in his hand, anger in the unconscious motion.

Tony could now understand part of what had so drastically changed his old friend. He'd come down to the lab with the idea of keeping Grant and Abby apart, he couldn't stand the thought of losing yet another best friend. He winced, that didn't make sense even to himself but then logic had never gotten a look in when he'd been dealing with either Abby or Grant, they both meant too much to him. With a silent sigh, Tony admitted that Grant Mars was unfinished business and was still very important. He'd missed Grant fiercely for years, he just hadn't realized it. Subconsciously, he'd come down to the lab with the intention of confronting Grant over the way he'd left Baltimore but residual guilt over his own lies stopped him. Without intending to, he spoke. "I was undercover. I couldn't tell you without getting you killed."

Grant's head whipped around and the squashed can fell from suddenly nerveless fingers. He slipped off the chair, preferring to stand for this conversation. He hadn't wanted to face the issue so soon but he'd never been able to get Tony to hold off on difficult discussions... until that final argument. "Yeah, I know." He admitted quietly. "One of the guys called a couple of days after you got back. You were pissing people off and they wanted me to come back and pull you back in line." His dark blue gaze flicked up to Tony's face and away again.

"Why didn't you?" Tony asked so quietly Grant almost missed the question. The Italian walked farther into the lab until he was only a couple of feet away from his ex-partner.

"I couldn't." The FBI agent admitted.

"Couldn't or wouldn't?" This time Tony couldn't keep the accusation from his voice.

"Ok, fine! Wouldn't. All right?" Grant yelled as his temper flared. "You broke my nose, Tony. You didn't trust me to watch your back. We'd worked together for a year and you threw it all away for..."

"To save your life!" Tony interrupted furiously. "And your career. The captain swore he'd ruin you if I told you what I was doing. Did you really think I'd turn on you that fast? After all we'd been through and all the time we spent together? You were my best friend, damn it!"

"I didn't know what to think!" Grant admitted but the heat had gone from his voice. He shoved suddenly shaky hands through his hair and spun away from Tony. "Look, I can't do this right now, ok? I just want to catch this guy once and for all."

"Fine. But we're not through with this." Tony's green eyes stared at Grant's back for several minutes before he turned to the wide-eyed Abby.

Grant nodded tensely and walked toward the elevator. "I'm going to see if McGee needs help with my computer." He didn't look as he jabbed at the buttons, willing the doors to close quickly. He didn't notice that he was going down rather than up. He paused on the threshold, blocking the doors and blanched in shock when he realized that the only room in sight was a morgue. Grant seriously did not like morgues.

TBC