Tony walked into Gibbs' home like it was any other day. The fact it was the middle of the afternoon on a weekday, he was wearing Gibbs NIS sweatshirt and had a red angry mark on his forehead not impacting his perceptions in the slightest. The ease with which he felt at home here now didn't surprise him as much it once had. Gibbs' house had become, in his mind, the well loved childhood home most adults had memories of and enjoyed visiting.

"Go sit down before you fall down." Gibbs instructed gruffly as he carried in Tony's things the hospital had boxed up.

"I won't, promise." He heard Gibbs harrumph behind him, but it went over his head.

Tony looked around the never changing décor and saw something he'd never seen before. There were photos hanging above the basement door and as he looked closer he caught sight of his own grinning face in one of them. He smiled back at it, wondering how he'd never noticed it. The thought reminded him that he had been off the grid for a while and that maybe it hadn't been there that long. He felt tears prick at the back of his eyes. He could have died never knowing it was there.

"You okay?" Gibbs came up behind him.

"Sure Boss!" Tony quickly stepped away, though he was sure Gibbs had seen what he'd been looking at.

Tony shuffled over to the couch and sat down with a thump while Gibbs disappeared upstairs. His mind travelled back a few weeks, remembering one of the last times he'd been here before everything hit the fan.

He and E.J had been lucky in their escape from whoever was trying to shoot them, and Tony had no doubts believing he was as much of a target as she was. After that it had taken Tony no time to conclude they were well over there heads in whatever political power game was being played. And when he was in trouble there was only ever one person he would turn to.

Gibbs' reaction to his reappearance was priceless and he could've kissed his boss for being so normal with him. Tony had feared memories of three years ago when the last deep cover assignment he'd been involved in without his team got blown all to hell would cloud everyone's judgement. Though this time he had been more open, or as much as he could, with his team and especially Gibbs. They knew he had an assignment and they knew he couldn't tell them. Like he'd told Dr Kate's sister, of course they were concerned, didn't mean he could do anything about it. He was right about the other thing to, these people weren't like family to him, he'd never had a family in the sense the word implied. These people were his family, forever and always. The thought turned him back to the photo hanging on Gibbs wall, the one he may never have seen if things had been different. He was glad Stratton was such a lousy shot.

Just thinking about it threw Tony back into the memory and that terrifying moment when he realised they had all been played. Set up to take the fall for a cover up all because E.J had removed that damn microchip instead of trusting them and letting Ducky find it.

Hands clasped his face and jostled him hard. He blinked and pulled away fast, fighting off his would be attacker.

"DiNozzo, calm down," Gibbs shouted at him, "Its okay, it's just me."

Tony snapped his eyes front and saw Gibbs almost kneeling in front of him. Recognising he was breathing in short, sharp breaths, he concentrated hard to calm down, his chest aching like he'd run a marathon.

"She should have let Ducky find the chip." Tony blurted out his second epiphany of the day while shaking off the very vivid flashback.

He watched carefully as Gibbs sat back onto the coffee table and calmly played along, "who?"

Tony smiled shaking his head, Gibbs knew who he was talking about, "If she had trusted us, trusted me, then none of this would have happened." Then another thought occurred to him, one that frightened him. "Is that..."

"What Tony?" Gibbs said his name so carefully, Tony figured he already knew what he was going to say or maybe just thought he was losing it completely, and after the night they'd had it wouldn't be a surprise.

"Did he know about me and her? Is that why he chose me?" Tony let the question hang a second, knowing there was no way Gibbs could answer him on that one. "Rule number twelve boss," he chuckled sadly, "I should have listened."

Gibbs patted his knee, "You're not the first DiNozzo, why do you think the rule exists in the first place?"

Tony had to smile at that. As he looked up at Gibbs he didn't know what he was hoping to find, forgiveness, understanding, anger or all of the above. In the hospital he was too upset, too scared to really know what he was seeing, but now, sitting in this room, on this couch with that same wide eyed sad look facing him Tony knew he was seeing proper fear on his boss' face for the first time.

"I'm sorry I put you through this boss." Tony spoke shyly, part in recognition to the trouble he'd caused within NCIS and part in regards to the personal trauma he knew he'd inflicted on those closest to him.

Gibbs ruefully shook his head, rule fifty-one standing out in his mind, "I'm just glad you're alive DiNozzo, how about we try and keep it that way?"

"Going to make it a rule?" Tony smirked.

Gibbs stood and headed into the kitchen, "I just might."

End!

Thanks for reading!;)