I survived the spider attack so here's a new chapter to celebrate! Yay! And to all the wonderful reviewers who commented on the Criminal Minds cameo, the opportunity was there and I really couldn't resist, I'm glad you enjoyed it. :) Thank you so much to everyone who commented and reviewed (or whatever it is fanfic is having us do now) it means a lot to me and I love hearing everyones thoughts, please keep it up! Hope you're having a great one!
~Renee
Tobias slammed his car door shut and marched up to the front door, ready to charge into the house and give that bull headed man a piece of his mind.
Or at least that was the plan until he ran smack dab into the door.
"What the hell?"
He banged his fist against the door.
"Gibbs! Jethro!"
The door swung open and an irate looking Gibbs stood in the doorway.
"Where have you been?"
Tobias shoved his way past.
"Where have I been? The hell Jethro, seriously? I was on assignment! I'm not your d*mn dog, I can't just drop everything and come when you call. And since when do you lock your front door?"
Gibbs straightened and glared at the man.
"Since I have a reason to lock it! Which you would know about if you would have showed up here three weeks ago when I called you! Now quit cursing."
"I... quit cursing...What? Gibbs, you're not listening! I had an assignment! I do have a job to do, I work for the FBI!"
Gibbs rolled his eyes and stalked into the kitchen, leaving Fornell alone in the entryway.
Tobias squeezed the bridge of his nose and muttered something under his breath in Italian.
"That wasn't very n-nice."
His head shot up and his eyes met those of a boy who lounging on the staircase with a book open on his lap.
"What did you say?"
The boy's smile was small but genuine as he looked over his brightly colored book and responded back in Italian.
"I know c-c-can he be pretty stubborn but c-calling him a jack*ss wasn't very n-nice to do."
Tobias turned his head to the side and studied the child.
"You're probably right, but he brings that side out in me."
The kid's grin twitched, his eyes warm.
"I've noticed he has that effect on a l-lot of people. I wouldn't w-worry about though. F-for acting s-so grumpy, he n-never really gets m-mad. W-well not at m-me..."
Tobias chuckled and regarded the strange boy. He seemed pretty at home half asleep on Gibbs' staircase.
"Well you're a pretty lucky fellow if you're someone who Gibbs doesn't get mad at. Name's Tobias Fornell."
"Nice to m-meet you. I'm Tony. Why are you m-mad at Gibbs?"
Tobias put his hands on his hips and glared at the direction the man had gone.
"Because he's...he's..."
The kid leaned against the railing of the stairs and looked at Tobias with amusement.
"He's G-Gibbs."
Tobias felt all the anger go out of him in a rush.
"Yeah Tony, He's Gibbs. You're right, I shouldn't let my anger get away with me like that. Sorry if I scared you."
The boy shrugged and grinned again, as if hearing a joke only he understood.
Tobias felt a shiver go down his back at the smile.
The gesture was dark and hard, not a smile of joy but one of sorrow.
It was disconcerting seeing it on such an innocent face.
With a noticeable effort the boy shrugged off the shadow that had covered his face and stood, moving down the stairs to stand at Tobias' feet before turning towards the kitchen, gesturing for Fornell to follow.
"Trust m-me Mr. Fornell that wasn't scary. C-come on."
Tobias curiously followed the child to the kitchen where Gibbs was pouring a cup of coffee.
Tony brightened at the sight, his eyes lighting up.
"There, that sh-should soothe the savage s-soul."
Gibbs crossed his arms at the child.
"I thought we agreed, no more talking about me in Italian. Rule seven."
Tony effortlessly switched to English.
"He st-started it. Besides you said you would be n-nicer to your friends."
Gibbs took a sip of his coffee and mumbled.
"He started it."
Fornell stared at the two and pushed a hand through his hair.
What hell is going on?
Tony snagged the cup of coffee out of Gibbs hand and took a swig. Sticking out his tongue at the taste the kid rolled his eyes and handed it back, leaning against the older man.
"Th-that is horrible coffee."
"You're too young for coffee."
The kid grinned again.
"Never too young for coffee. S-sugar Gibbs. It won't kill you. It was nice m-meeting you Mr. Fornell."
"Call me Tobias. It was nice meeting you too Tony."
Tony waved goodbye and slipped back down the hall, while Gibbs watched him carefully until he was out of sight.
"Gibbs..."
The man in question took a long gulp of of his coffee and then turned to his friend.
"What the hell is going on Jethro?"
Gibbs reached in the cabinet and pulled out another coffee mug, filling it and then handed it to the other man.
"Here, it's a long story. I need your help."
Fornell raised an eyebrow and accepted the mug, sitting at the table.
"What's the deal?"
"You remember a case you launched against Anthony DiNozzo Sr. a few years ago regarding embezzlement, fraud and the bringing over of illegal immigrants?"
"...Yeah, we couldn't pin him on any of it. What's DiNozzo got to do with anything?"
Gibbs waved his coffee mug towards the hallway.
"Meet Anthony DiNozzo Jr."
Tobias' jaw dropped.
"That's...DiNozzo is Tony's father?"
Gibbs growled.
"Given the loosest definition of the word father. Man was abusing his son. Barely got him out of the house in time. Nearly beat him to death, he ended up in the hospital before I got him out."
Tobias stared at the gruff marine in front of him in shock.
"My gosh. I knew DiNozzo was bad news but I never imagined… so he's living here with you now? How'd that happen?"
"I knew the kid before the fallout, suspected something was up, and the staff called me in from the hospital. One thing led to another and..."
Fornell leaned back in his chair understanding clear in his eyes.
"And you've got yourself a son."
Something in Gibbs' face softened at that.
"Yeah..."
"He staying here permanently?"
"Yup."
"What about his father?"
Gibbs' eyes went dark and dangerous.
"That's what I need your help with. It's been three weeks since I got that call and went to the hospital, and there has been no sign of DiNozzo. We think he's fled the country, we can't find a trace of him. Have any of you heard anything?"
Tobias shook his head regretfully.
"Sorry Jethro, haven't heard a word. I'll keep an eye and ear out though, most definitely. I have some contacts in Europe, I'll make some calls, see if they've heard anything. But Gibbs…we're not going to be able to extradite him-"
"Who said anything about bringing him back?"
Tobias raised an eyebrow and took a long sip of his coffee, both understanding and agreeing. If DiNozzo had hurt that kid, then Tobias would gladly help Gibbs hunt him down, jurisdiction be d*mned.
"Have you asked-"
"Yup. Tony hasn't left the country since his mother died, can't tell us anything about where he could be. Interviewed the staff, his business associates, everyone. Either everyone is covering for him or they don't know."
"Or both."
Gibbs nodded.
It was quiet as both men were lost in their respective thoughts.
"So, tell me about him. How...how old is he?"
Gibbs smirked.
"He'll be nine in less than a week."
Fornell blinked in surprise.
"Nine? He seems..."
"Not nine. Yeah I know. He looks like he's seven, can act like he's anywhere between nine and thirty five. Sometimes we have more intelligent conversations than I have with McGee."
Tobias smirked and took another drink.
"Seems like a nice kid."
Gibbs stared into his mug.
"He is. I've had to make a whole new set of rules just for him. We're up to thirty three now, he just keeps surprising me."
Tobias smiled but was surprised when Gibbs kept talking.
"He's got the whole of NCIS wrapped around his finger. Abby comes by every other day with board games and enough black and spikes to turn him into a mini-her. Kate's shoving cake and cookies down his throat in an effort to fatten him up, Ducky's so d*mn excited that someone will sit and listen to him without interrupting that he's spent more time at my house than his own, and Palmer's been doing...whatever it is Palmer does."
Tobias bit back a laugh at Gibbs' rueful expression, it looked like they had all gotten more than they bargained for. The warmth in Gibbs' eyes though, that was something Tobias' hadn't seen in years. Whatever this kid was doing...it was doing Gibbs a world of good.
"What about McGee?"
At that Gibbs out and out smiled, causing Tobias to almost choke on his coffee.
"Tony's taken to calling him McGoo. Haven't quite figured that one out yet, those two mix like oil and water but still get along great. McGee's trying to turn him into computer geek, but the kids having none of it. He's all books and movies and paper."
Tobias snorted at that while Gibbs rolled his eyes.
"So what are you doing about school? It's two o'clock on a Friday, why isn't he in a classroom?"
Gibbs leaned back in his chair and looked at the ceiling.
"Senior pulled him out of school when he was in the first grade, got him a fancy tutor that crammed so much learning in him that he could go into the 5th grade if he wanted. He tested right out of the third grade with flying colors so we're trying to figure out what to do next."
"Huh. And you? What about work?"
Gibbs' lips twitched.
"Morrow gave me paternity leave."
"What?"
He shrugged and took another drink.
"Tony needed some attention medical wise for the first week or so and then Morrow said to just take some time. I have till the end of the month. Like I said, all of NCIS loves him."
"I didn't know that included the director!"
Gibbs nodded looking back down the hallway.
"Morrow might be his biggest fan."
"Tom's the b-biggest fan of wh-what?"
Gibbs gave Tony a fond look as the boy came back in the kitchen, a new book in his hands.
"The Redskins."
Tony grinned at him and glanced at one of the empty chairs, not asking, but his desire obvious. Tobias kicked a chair out and looked pointedly at it, gesturing for the boy to sit.
"Th-thank you."
"No problem. I didn't know Morrow liked the Redskins."
Gibbs rolled his eyes and then turned to Tony who looked like the cat who swallowed the canary.
"Me neither."
Tony glanced up at Tobias.
"He has us t-tickets for the g-game next w-week."
Fornell leaned back in his chair.
"You're going to a Redskins game? With the head of NCIS?"
Tony nodded.
"It's for my b-birthday, I'm turning n-nine. Tom and Gibbs and I are g-going. W-would you like to c-come, I have an extra ticket. Tom said I could bring a friend."
The gruff FBI agent blinked in surprise and glanced up at Gibbs, who raised an eyebrow expectantly.
Tobias looked back at the boy who was staring up at him, his green eyes bright with hope and happiness, a half smile dancing on his face.
He didn't know if it was the sparkle lighting up his face or the fact that this kid had made Gibbs talk more in the twenty minutes they had been sitting than in all the years they had known each other, but he found he just couldn't say no.
And to be honest, he just didn't want to say no.
He had known the kid for a half an hour and he could already see how hard it would be to deny him.
"Yeah, I'd like that a lot."
The answering smile wasn't big, his lips didn't pull very high, but it was honest, and his eyes lit up.
"C-cool! I'll t-tell Tom t-tomorrow!"
Shaking his head unbelievably, Tobias replied.
"You do that."
The sound of a slamming door startled Tony, and both Gibbs and Tobias put their hands to their weapons, each of them moving automatically to shield the boy.
"Tony? You here?"
The boy slipped in between the men, squeezing Gibbs free hand as he moved.
"H-hi Abby. In the k-kitchen."
The woman fairly bounced into the room and grabbed Tony's hands, spinning him in a circle.
"Guess who has the rest of the night off?"
Tony titled his head and squinted his eyes, a teasing tone in his voice.
"Jimmy?"
Abby stuck out her tongue and pulled a deck of cards out of her pants pocket.
"Rematch. You. Me. Kitchen table. No way you're beating me again."
Tony rolled his eyes and turned back to the kitchen heading to the fridge.
"Abby, w-we've had f-f-fifteen rematches. I've t-taken a t-ton of m-money f-from you. You s-sure you w-want to d-do this?"
Abby sat at the table and glared at him.
Tony sighed and grabbed some glasses from the cupboard.
"Sh-shuffle. W-want some l-lemonade?"
"Please. Hey Fornell, what are you doing here?"
Tobias looked between the boy pouring drinks and the woman shuffling cards and shrugged. He supposed it was time to change his expectations for Gibbs' home.
"Popped in for a visit. Poker?"
She beamed at him and began to deal.
"Yup, want to join? I'll warn you, Tony'll clean you out!"
"Seriously?"
Gibbs nodded and leaned against the wall.
"Kid's a card shark."
Tony's lips twitched as he came to the table and handed Abby her drink, sliding into his chair.
"Yeah sure, deal me in."
To Fornell's shock, Gibbs stepped forward and ruffled Tony's hair.
"Remember rule 17."
Tony sighed dramatically.
"No t-taking your agents for m-more than twenty f-five dollars at a time."
Tony glanced over at the FBI agent with a critical eye.
"T-Tobias isn't one of your agents..."
Gibbs chuckled and squeezed his shoulder.
"New rule buddy."
Tony nodded, his eyes sharp.
"Number th-thirty four, br-bring it."
Gibbs looked at Tobias, his eyes laughing.
"When it comes to the FBI...do what you have to."
...
Gibbs was sanding in the basement when he heard the light footsteps come down.
"How much you take him for?"
"D-did you r-really mean that? Rule th-thirty four? I could go for it?"
Gibbs put down the sander and turned, raising an eyebrow at his boy who looked exceedingly guilty.
"Well that explains the shouting in Italian and why I could hear Abby laughing all the way down here. Is he so mad that he's not coming to the game?"
Tony shook his head.
"He's still c-coming. He even laughed and sh-shook my hand and t-told me we'll have to p-play again. He was r-really nice."
"Alright then. How bad could it have been?"
Tony fought a nervous grin and looked down at his feet mumbling something Gibbs couldn't quite catch.
"What was that?"
"S-seventy three."
Gibbs took a step back.
"You-you took seventy three dollars from Fornell?"
Tony nodded, his eyes careful as he studied Gibbs.
The room was quiet and then-
Gibbs burst out into laughter.
Tony listened in shock as the sound filled the basement, reaching the corners and flowing through the room until all the tight and cold places inside of him loosened and warmed up.
"Fornell has been claiming that he couldn't be beaten for years. He wins every inter-agency game, no one ever wants to play with him. And you… I can't believe he was wiped out by a eight year old!"
Gibbs laughed again and pulled Tony into a hug.
Seeing the happiness on Gibbs' face and knowing that he was the one that put it there, Tony found he couldn't resist.
He laughed.
Gibbs paused when he heard the sound.
It was soft, quiet, full of air and light, like soap bubbles, it was barely there. If you moved to quickly or said the wrong word it would disappear without a trace, but for the moment it was there and it was the most precious sound.
Gibbs smiled grew and he tightened his grip on Tony, their laughter mingling for different reasons.
Tony for finally feeling like he did something right.
And Gibbs for finally getting to see one of Tony's missing pieces come back.
XxxX
"Th-that was the m-most fun I've ever had!"
Gibbs smiled down at the boy who has all but hopping to the front door.
"I can't believe they won Gibbs!"
He chuckled and watched as the boy bounced by the door, waiting for the man and pizza to catch up with him.
"Just for you kid. Good birthday?"
"The b-best! Ever! No one's ever d-done something like th-this for me before. This was...wonderful!"
In one swift movement Tony threw his arms around Gibbs and held on tight, smiling into his chest.
"Looks like I made it just in time."
"Toby!"
Tobias smiled at the nickname that he hated from everyone except the boy as Tony turned and greeted the FBI agent with enthusiasm. Gibbs regarded the man curiously.
"You were right behind us, where's you go?"
Tobias looked at him with dark eyes, but smiled, clearly not wanting to discuss it around Tony.
"Phone call, had to pull off and get it. I'm here now though, let's dig in and start those movies."
Tony smiled and dashed to the kitchen to get some plates while Gibbs pulled the DVD's out of the brightly colored sack.
"I can't believe you finally broke down and bought a DVD player. How'd you manage to hook it up?"
"I figured it out."
An amused snort came from the kitchen along with a childish voice.
"Don't believe him T-Toby."
Tony walked back in carrying plates with a smile on his face.
"After l-listening to him t-try not to curse at it f-for an hour I called McGoo. He had it up and running in ten m-minutes."
Tobias laughed at the glare Gibbs unsuccessfully tried to give to Tony.
"That sounds about right. Well let's put those suckers in and get this movie night started. How long are these movies?"
Tony pulled a piece of pizza out of the box and gave the men his signature grin.
"About th-three hours each."
Tobias looked over at Gibbs.
"I'm gonna to sit through twelve hours of pirate movies?"
Gibbs fought a smile as he snagged some pizza and popped the first film into the player.
"Don't look at me Fornell, you're the one practically living here. You should have known what you were getting yourself into. You don't want to sit through it, you could always go home, probably forgotten what it looks like by now."
Tobias rolled his eyes but smiled settling himself on the couch on one side of the boy.
He wasn't practically living there, but he was spending an awful lot of time there since meeting Tony. Watching the interaction between Gibbs and the boy was too much fun and the smile that greeted him every time he walked through the door (that he now had a key to) made his day a little bit brighter.
Besides, he genuinely liked the kid.
Other than being both quietly funny and able to handle Gibbs in a way no other seemed able to, the kid had something so many others in his situation didn't.
He had a heart.
Sympathy.
Kindness.
Gentleness.
He was all in all a good kid.
Tobias found himself stopping by after work when he had the chance and putting more time and effort into finding his so called father.
Neither him nor Gibbs wanted the man to get the chance to be anywhere near their boy again.
Tony smiled as Gibbs sat on the other side of him and snuggled in-between the two men sighing contentedly.
"We're not w-watching all f-four movies. J-just the first. It's t-too bad Mayer and M-Miguel couldn't come."
"They'll be here next time."
Tony yawned and leaned his head on Gibbs' shoulder.
"R-really? Just how m-many movie nights can you handle G-Gibbs?"
Tobias laughed and Gibbs propped his feet on the coffee table, hitting play.
"Don't push it kid."
Just as the DVD started, the door swung open again.
"Boss! We made it!"
Gibbs ran a hand down his face and muttered just loud enough for Tobias to hear.
"Doesn't anyone have their homes anymore?"
Fornell laughed again as McGee, Abby, Jimmy and Kate settled themselves in Gibbs' living room and called out their hello's and birthday wishes to Tony.
"You should have seen this coming when you opened your home."
Gibbs glared at the man.
"This is Tony's home now. He's the one I made the offer to. Not to two NCIS agents, a forensic scientist, a medical examiner and his assistant, a british butler, an illegal immigrant chef and a spare FBI agent. You all have homes, why do you keep showing up in mine?"
Tony looked up at Gibbs and beamed.
"It's your ch-charming personality. They k-keep coming back for more."
"Coming back for more huh? I told you not to push your luck..."
To the shock of everyone in the room he reached down and began to tickle the boy, causing peals of laughter to echo across the room. Unable to stop herself, Abby joined the laughter and soon everyone else did also, even the notoriously cranky Tobias laughed at Gibbs and Tony's obvious joy.
Finally Tony called uncle and collapsed against Gibbs side, exhausted. Still giggling, he managed to get the words out through the laughter and gasps for air.
"N-now look… I have no idea what's happening in the m-movie."
Gibbs smiled at him indulgently.
"You're a smart kid, you'll figure it out."
Tony rolled his eyes, and stared at the screen, engrossing himself in the plot and characters.
A little over and hour later Tobias watched with amusement as one by one the members of Gibbs teams slowly fell asleep until the three on the couch were the only ones awake, and it was obvious that soon it was only going to be two.
Gibbs and Fornell watched with warm eyes as Tony fought to keep his gaze on the film, trying not to fall asleep, even as his head began to fall to the side.
Finally he couldn't stop it and his eyes didn't reopen, his breathing evened out and Tobias and Gibbs were the only ones left awake in the room.
Gibbs looked to Fornell and rolled his eyes before casting his gaze fondly over his team who looked like a litter of puppies scattered across his floor. The good natured look on his face faded however when he saw the seriousness on Tobias'.
Fornell gestured to the hall and began to move, while Gibbs carefully removed himself out from underneath Tony. Pausing to pull a blanket over the child, he ran a hand through his hair, and watched his face for any signs of stress. It had been a few days since his last nightmare but that didn't stop Gibbs from worrying. Seeing no fear or strain, he smoothed his boy's hair and stepped towards the FBI agent.
"Fornell?"
"Basement."
Raising his eyebrows, Gibbs followed the man into basement shutting the door firmly behind him.
"What's going on?"
Tobias crossed his arms in front him, his eyes dark and dangerous.
"My phone call..."
Gibbs felt his gut lurch, he didn't like where this was going. He felt the instinctive need, a pull he couldn't explain to go back upstairs. To go back to his Tony and stand over him, make sure he was okay. He had to ask though...
"What about it?"
"There's been a sighting of DiNozzo. He's back in the US."