Sticking Together
The captain laughed and clapped Gibbs on the back. "You are incredible! How'd you get the dirt on him? I had no idea that joker had a criminal history!"
Gibbs smirked. "I didn't. I just figured he had something to hide and gambled with that." The captain roared with laughter at the deception and Jethro's cunning.
When Gibbs finally made it back home he was physically and mentally exhausted. The night's events were troubling, and they scared him especially because of the parties involved. Abby met him at the door and threw herself into his arms. Between sobs, she recounted her interaction with Winston and admitted that Tony had tried to warn her and had begged her to dump Winston. After nearly a half hour Gibbs finally got her calm, then sent her up to bed.
It worried him that Tony hadn't made it back, and he was on edge, scared that Tony wasn't ok. He chided himself for not personally going to Tony and telling him he wasn't mad, but was, in fact, proud of him. He knew how it devastated the senior field agent when he thought he'd disappointed his boss. Gibbs paced the kitchen as he reviewed what had transpired that night. Tony had been motivated to involve himself because of his love and loyalty to Abby.
Finally, Gibbs heard the front door open and Tony quietly enter and he felt incredible relief. He moved to the foyer to greet him.
Unsure of the reception, Tony smiled weakly and tried for levity. "Did I make curfew, or am I grounded now?"
"Tony, we need to talk."
Tony addressed him guiltily, "I know you're upset because I got in trouble, Boss, and especially having an NCIS agent about to be arrested. I'm sorry. I just reacted."
Gibbs walked over and slapped him softly on the head, then pulled him into an embrace and held him. "That headslap was for saying something so incredibly stupid. I am not angry. What I am is proud of you, Anthony, very, very proud." They stood like that for almost a minute, then Jethro pulled back and looked at Tony critically. "Come on, let's get you fixed up. Your hands have got to be hurting."
They went up the stairs quietly, and Jethro pointed to Abby's door and motioned that she was asleep. Tony nodded, relieved, and followed into Jethro's bedroom. He sat down on the bed and kicked off his shoes while his boss gathered bandages and first aid necessities. Neither spoke. Tony was exhausted, but he sat patiently, waiting tiredly for his boss to finish so that he could go to bed. His body ached, and he was fighting his emotions. He wanted to finally put an end to the long, exhausting night.
Jethro had just finished applying the last bandage when Abby appeared at the door, her stuffed hippo, Bert, dangling at her side. Her lip started quivering when she saw Tony. Running towards him, she began babbling how sorry she was, how wrong she had been, and how appreciative she was that he had defended her. Tony didn't answer, but pulled her on to the bed beside him, then scooted to the headboard. He smoothed the pillows behind him, then held out his arms and ordered softly, "Come here, Baby Girl." Abby crawled from the foot to the head of the bed and snuggled up to him. Tony stayed silent, just letting her talk herself out while he wiped her tears and rubbed her hair.
Gibbs watched Tony and Abby from the other side of the room for a couple of minutes. His heart swelled as he witnessed their interaction, and he pinched the bridge of his nose to keep his own emotions under control. He finally cleared his throat and clapped his hands together. "Ok, bedtime kiddies, both of you. It's been a long night, and we all know how I feel about long nights. It's way past time to hit the rack."
Abby sat up and regarded him tearfully. "Gibbs, please, please- can we stay in here tonight?" Surprised, he examined her face, innocent and pleading, and then Tony's, hurt but also imploring. Nodding, he cut off the lights as Tony pulled off his belt and emptied his pockets and Abby pulled down the covers. He watched as they scrambled beneath the sheets. Settling against his own pillows he straightened the covers over both of them and felt the slight movements as they physically snuggled into the depths of the bed, then surrendered minutes later to the pull of sleep. He watched them both, first Tony, then Abby, snuggled together like puppies, and he acknowledged the love and responsibility he felt for the pair. In a moment of clarity he realized they would look after each other if anything ever happened to him. His protection detail would be over, while theirs for each other had really been forged tonight.