A/N - Thanks, again, everyone for reading and reviewing... I've been having great fun with this!
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12 slaps for Christmas
Chapter 4 – Tim vs Tony
Whack.
Like McGee's slap, it hadn't been as hard as expected and... as he lifted his gaze to meet her eyes he saw that they shone... they radiated warmth and concern and he was reminded of the beautiful, sensual voice that matched them. He found himself lost... entwined in the curls of her hair...
McGee nudged Abby.
"Me next... what are we on?"
"Nine!" Ziva, McGee, Ducky, Gibbs... and Palmer chorused.
Ziva's hair straightened and Tony slid back from deep thought into shallow humour. "Months without a head slap?" he ventured optimistically.
"Never going to happen, DiNozzo!"
"Hmm... worth a try boss", Tony responded, spying the sly grin that Gibbs now sported. "C'mon Abs... don't keep us in suspense. What has the boss man got you for Christmas?"
"Mass Spectrometer", she stated, "nine of them... so I can have results for you like..."Abby clicked her fingers, "that".
"I don't think Gibbs earns that much Abs... how much does a Mass Spectrometer cost anyway?"
"A lot DiNozzo", Gibbs replied gruffly.
"Ah..." He knew he was pushing it, "so that's why we've been doing all this overtime then".
"Keep this up DiNozzo and I'll be asking for an encore"
Gibbs's voice was low and controlled but the eyes told a different story as they flashed, briefly, from hardened 'don't even think about it' glare to an appreciative 'good job' stare and then back to hardened glare.
It was a duet. They hadn't batted back and forth like this for a while. Not since... well not since that day he'd almost lost Gibbs... and Maddie. Tony liked it. It felt comfortable... reassuring... balanced... like master accepting student... boss accepting senior field agent... senior field agent always accepting boss. To the rest of the team, it would appear he'd been suitably chastised... but he knew different.
"Abby", McGee poked her arm.
"Ow! McGee!" Abby rubbed her arm and began walking towards Tony. "Okay... okay... On the ninth day of Christmas the boss man gave to me... nine mass spectrometers..."
"Eight SIG-Sauers... seven upset stomachs... six dead bodies... five d-e-ath stares... four copies of 'Deep Six'... three Caf-Pows... two cups of coffee... and... a slap for acting not unlike Tony", they all chorused.
Smack.
They laughed. He winced and then grinned at the rest of the team. They were still laughing. He was amongst friends. He was actually enjoying this. He missed this at Christmas. He dropped his gaze and the grin fell from his face.
Christmas was a time for family. He had a family and yet he was always alone. It felt like these people... his colleagues... his friends... it felt like they should be his family although he wasn't sure what a family was supposed to feel like... it had been so long. He suddenly felt oddly exposed and he lifted his gaze to find six pairs of eyes staring back at him. He saw the warmth and affection in each and a smile returned to his face. "Okay... nine days down, three to go", he clapped his hands, "Who's next? Probie, you haven't had a go for a while".
"Okay Tony, just let me think a minute"
"No problem... I'm happy to wait", Tony rubbed his head again, "by the way McGee, you've got 10"
"Uh... Tony"
"What... what's up?"
McGee looked at Tony with wide eyes and an infectious, friendly smile. "Don't need to wait anymore, Tony". McGee began to sing, "On the tenth day of Christmas the boss man gave to me... ten minutes to trace a hacker..."
"Nine mass spectrometers... eight SIG-Sauers... seven upset stomachs... six dead bodies... five d-e-ath stares... four copies of 'Deep Six'... three Caf-Pows... two cups of coffee... and... a slap for acting not unlike Tony", they all chorused... including Tony.
"Sorry Tony"
"Prego", Tony screwed his eyes tight in anticipation of the slap. When nothing came he gingerly opened one eye, "well... what are you waiting for Probie?"
"I don't want to... you know..."
He opened the other eye.
"Aww..." Abby held her head on one side, "tiny Tim doesn't want to slap big bad Tony".
Ducky patted McGee's back. "Very commendable young Timothy".
"Yeah... that's nice McGee"
Slap.
"Only kidding Tony"
Ziva snorted and they all laughed. Gibbs, who had been watching the proceedings with some amusement, chuckled and a broad smile broke through the 'accept no nonsense' expression he more commonly wore.
"Very funny McGee", Tony hissed.
"DiNozzo!"
The smile had gone and the tone was commanding. He wondered what he'd done this time.
"Gibbs?"
"What do you want me to give you for Christmas?"
A single memory popped into his head bringing with it warmth and an overwhelming feeling that one Anthony D. DiNozzo had done good... then, as quickly as it had appeared... it vanished.
He knew what he wanted but he doubted he'd get it. And he wasn't going to tell them anyway.
"Oh I don't know", he shrugged, "S'pose a copy of the rule book would have been useful when I first joined... would have made the first couple of months a hell of a lot easier".
"It'd still be useful now, DiNozzo"
A growl but no malice.
Tony Smirked. "Good one Gibbs"
He thought for a moment. He had no idea what to say. He'd never been asked what he wanted before. Granted this was for a song... a carol... but he couldn't think of anything. Ziva approached and his heart fluttered.
"There must be something, Tony" she soothed.
"I... can't..."
"I don't believe it... Tony, stuck for words", McGee laughed but stopped when he saw the steely eyed glare from Gibbs.
"What do I usually give you DiNozzo?"
"Ahh... not going there boss!" Tony backed off, shaking a finger in his direction and then sliding his hand down the back of his head to cup the back of his neck.
"Come on DiNozzo", Gibbs smiled, "I could have gone for coffee... and pizza"
"Got it" he yelled triumphantly. He cleared his throat and began to sing, "On the eleventh day of Christmas the boss man gave to me... eleven curt remarks..."
They all joined in.
"Ten minutes to trace a hacker... nine mass spectrometers... eight SIG-Sauers... seven upset stomachs... six dead bodies... five d-e-ath stares... four copies of 'Deep Six'... three Caf-Pows... two cups of coffee... and... a slap for acting not unlike Tony".
Tony put on his best puppy dog eyes and whimpered. "Do I have to?"
"Yes!" they all barked, wagging their tails in anticipation.
Smack.
Tony angled his head to the left and screwed his eyes...once again, an unsuccessful attempt at eliciting sympathy from his colleagues.
"Okay DiNozzo", came the slow, determined, stern voice, "my turn"
TBC...
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A/N – Ooh... I'm scared for Tony...
Almost there now... so I added an extra bit... a small bite size chunk... but definitely hard 'cheddar'. And that meant I had to swap things around a bit... and... because of that I had to update you on the continuing adventures of 'SA3'', 'McColleague' and... 'the boss'. So here goes... a bit longer than expected...
McColleague handed the neatly wrapped box to SA3466996. "Here you go SA3'", he grinned, flashing his brilliant white teeth.
"Ah... thanks, McColgate", SA3466996 replied and shrugged his shoulders sheepishly. "Didn't think you'd... well... you know... what with... yesterday"
"Nah... you know me... never mad at you for very long SA3'. Go on... open it!" McColleague urged.
"But it's not Christmas yet?"
"Since when has that stopped you?"
"True" said SA3466996 ripping the wrapping paper off.
Click.
McColleague pressed the button on his brand new camera phone just in time to snap the look of horror on SA3466996's face as he removed the lid, revealing the mangled pieces of the brand new cell 'he'd' given to McColleague for Christmas yesterday.
McColleague grinned and patted SA3466996 on the shoulder.
SA3466996 just stared at the pieces of mangled cell. Then he smiled and dug deep into his inside jacket pocket to withdraw a small gift. "It's not much..." he said nervously, "I didn't have a lot of time... sorry McColl".
"It'll be just fine SA3". McColleague accepted the gift and produced a small gift from his own pocket. "Here... your real one!"
"Thanks", SA3466996 replied, a pink tinge beginning to spread across his face, "so... wait until Christmas day?"
"Christmas day SA3', and not a second before..." the boss warned from the doorway. He jabbed a finger in McColleague's direction, "either of you".
"Yes boss", SA3466996 and McColleague chorused, wondering how much of their conversation the boss had actually heard... and... why they'd not heard 'him' earlier.
"Now, not another word about Christmas..." the boss ordered, "we've got work to do!"
"Boss?" SA3466996 whined.
"What?"
"Was that 'really' my gift yesterday?"
"SA3'... did you not 'hear' what I just said". The boss raised his voice, "Work!"
"But I didn't even mention Christ..."
Whack.
"...mas"
McColleague grinned and shook his head. SA3466996 just didn't know when to stop.