I want to start this by saying sorry for taking so long but my computer crashed and burned with this chapter in it. If you ever wondered what would happen if a cat knocked a full glass of Diet Pepsi off a headboard onto the bed where your computer was sitting and it landed on top- I can tell you. LOL So I had to get a new laptop and then start this chapter all over again.

I'd like to remind readers that just because I write about slavery does not mean I support or believe in slavery. I've had some messages berating me for even writing about it, and I'm not about to bow to any attempts to censor my writing. This is fiction, depicting characters struggling with the government's laws that allow felons to be designated as slaves. If you find the content of the story is not to your liking, then move on.

Thanks go out to all the readers who follow my story, and wait for the next chapter so patiently.

My thanks once again to Rose Malmaison for her awesome beta skills. She's also my sounding board. Without her I think I would have thrown in the towel by now.

I make nothing off my writing as I said before. I write because I enjoy it and not to make money.

WARNING: As I have stated in each and every chapter- This is a slash slave fic. If you don't like the material please, turn around and back out and find something you will enjoy reading.

Chapter 28

It had been nearly a month since the confrontation with Senior at The Cellar, and Gibbs could see the stress of not knowing what was coming next was taking its toll on Tony.

Tony had lost even more weight and his clothes hung off his frame. His skin was pale and his facial features were shallow with dark circles under his eyes. Tony hadn't been sleeping at night, his dreams filled with images of being caught in his father's clutches. He'd become increasingly jumpy, startling at every sound, and feared leaving the house.

Gibbs knew the younger man couldn't take much more. He needed to do something to bring this to an end, and fast, before Tony made himself any sicker with worry. Gibbs was going to need help and he knew just the person to call.

Gibbs leaned against the doorframe of the kitchen and watched as Tony went about cooking dinner. His heart broke as he looked at the man he loved. His clothes were so ill-fitting now, his shoulders were slumped, and his beautiful hair had lost that healthy shine it had always had. If someone saw him out and about, alone on the streets, they would have believed he was a member of the sad, unloved, homeless population. But Tony wasn't homeless or unloved. He was Gibbs' lover, his heart and soul, and he had to do something to fix this.

Gibbs stepped up and placed his hands on Tony's hips, wanting him to know he was there. Tony jumped and whipped around, a look of fear on his face. Gibbs wasn't expecting the rather large butcher knife that Tony had in his hand. It was only due to Gibbs' Marine skills that he was able to jump back, out of range of the blade, avoiding what could have been a disastrous situation.

Tony's eyes grew wide when he realized who was behind him, and he immediately dropped the knife. "I-I'm sorry," He stuttered. "I-I thought...I didn't know..." Tony's head dropped to his chest as he shook it and turned back to the counter.

Gibbs stepped back up behind Tony and wrapped his arms around the man's waist, placing his chin on Tony's shoulder. "It's okay, babe," he said softly. "I know, and you have nothing to be sorry for."

"No?" Tony said sarcastically. "How about the fact I just damn near stabbed you? I think that deserves and apology."

"Hey, you listen and you listen good," Gibbs said as he gently turned Tony around and held him in his arms. "You did not almost stab me. I know better than to sneak up behind you, especially now. It was my fault, not yours."

"That's no excuse," Tony said quietly.

"Hey." Gibbs pulled away from Tony just enough to be able to see his face. "Your mind was on the dinner and I startled you. You had no way of knowing who was behind you."

"Come on Jethro," Tony argued. "I'm in my own home, alone with you. Who the hell else would it be?"

"You've had people who were doing your dad's bidding invade your home before and try to take you away," Gibbs countered. He gave a quick smirk. "Am I right?" When Tony didn't respond right away, Gibbs poked him in the ribs where he knew Tony was ticklish. "Come on admit it, I'm right. I'm always right."

Tony squirmed, trying to get away from the tickling finger but Gibbs held him tight. Finally Tony gave a sad laugh and admitted Gibbs was right.

Gibbs face sobered and he held Tony tightly to him again. "Besides, I would rather you be on guard and careful than take the chance of losing you."

Tony sighed and nodded his head before pulling away from the safety of Gibbs' arms. He turned back to the counter to finish preparing their evening meal, but leaned back against Gibbs when he wrapped his arms around his waist. "We'll never eat tonight if you don't let me finish this," Tony said with a smile.

"I hope you made enough for three," Gibbs said as he kissed Tony's neck. He immediately felt Tony's entire body stiffen up.

"Why?" Tony asked quietly, despite the tremors running through him.

"I have a friend coming over tonight," Gibbs explained calmly. "Someone who I believe can help us with your father."

"Who?" Tony asked nervously.

Before Gibbs could answer there was a noise at the front door that sounded like someone was trying to break in. Tony gasped and turned to run, but Gibbs held on to him. Then the doorbell sounded and Gibbs said, "It's probably my friend, Tony. I doubt if someone was breaking in they would stop to ring the bell."

Gibbs waited an extra moment for Tony to calm down and then went to answer the door. He had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing out loud at the man standing before him holding his nose with a look of dismay on his face.

"Since when do you lock your damned door?" the man asked as he stepped inside. "I damn near broke my nose walking into the thing."

"Well, that's what you get for being away for so long," Gibbs laughed. He saw his friend's eyes suddenly grow large with surprise and he turned to see what had shocked him. Gibbs smiled and then held his hand out for Tony to take. "Tony, this is my good friend Tobias Fornell of the FBI. Tobias this is Tony, my slave, and the man I love."

"Wait, what?" Tobias shook his head, sure he hadn't heard correctly.

"You heard me just fine, Tobias," Gibbs smiled as he wrapped his arm around Tony's waist and pulled him close. Tony kept his eyes lowered as he had been trained.

"But you said he was your slave," Tobias said. "Since when do you own a slave?"

"Since a little over six months ago," Gibbs explained. "You were under cover when this all came down, that's why you're just hearing about it."

"But, you said he was also the man you love," Tobias said. "I knew you had an interest in men, but a slave? With your past history, a terrorist slave is the last person I pictured you falling in love with. Hell, he ain't even a redhead."

Gibbs felt Tony try to turn to walk away, but he just tightened his grip. "Tony isn't a terrorist slave, Fornell," Gibbs said sternly. "It's a long story and I'll explain it all to you over dinner, unless you have a problem having dinner with a slave."

"I don't have a problem with your slave, Jethro," Fornell snapped back, his eyes narrowing in anger. "I just have a problem with the way most are treated. I can't eat in the same room with a man kneeling on the hard floor or a stupid ornate slave pillow."

"Good, because Tony sits at the table with us," Gibbs stated outright. "In this house he isn't a slave, only out in public where we have no choice."

"Thank God for that! My apologies, Tony. I didn't mean to exclude you from the conversation. Gibbs' news just shocked me. Now," Fornell rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "What's for dinner? It smells wonderful and I'm starved."

***NCIS***

Fornell sat back in his chair and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Damn, kid, where'd you learn to cook like that?" Fornell patted his stomach and let out a burp. "Don't think I've eaten a better meal in my life, and that includes Diane's cooking."

Tony saw the annoyed look that crossed Gibbs' face when Fornell mentioned Diane, and he had to ask, "Who's Diane?"

Fornell glanced at Gibbs and wondered how much he should tell Tony. It was obvious from the look on Gibbs' face that he hadn't told him the whole truth, so how much should he reveal? He settled on just the very basic information. "Diane was my ex-wife."

"If you're going to tell it, tell the truth," Gibbs said, in disgust. "She was a slave. My slave actually."

"Y-your slave?" Tony asked, shocked.

"Yeah," Gibbs continued, as he looked down at his plate and pushed the rest of his food around. "She was sent into slavery because the man she was dating at the time was connected with a group of men helping a terrorist cell. She knew nothing about the cell, but that didn't matter. The law was the law, as you well know." Gibbs finally looked up at Tony. "I bought her because I felt she was wrongly convicted and she reminded me of someone I knew once. Fornell here fell in love with her and she wasn't happy with me, so I turned her over to him."

"But, I thought it was illegal to marry a slave?" Tony was confused now.

"Oh, it is, but I fought for her freedom and won," Fornell announced proudly. "Then I married the bitch only to have her clean me out and run off with another guy."

Tony stared at Fornell in total shock. Then, without warning, he burst out laughing. "You're shitting me. She cleaned you out and ran off with someone else after you won her freedom? That's, that's just…Oh my God, that is hilarious."

"Well, I'm sure glad you think so," Fornell said indignantly. He looked over at Gibbs, expecting him to chastise his slave, but he was laughing just as hard as Tony. Fornell shook his head and started to laugh himself. "Okay, so it is kinda funny. Enough about me, let's get back to your situation."

Gibbs' mood quickly sobered and he nodded his head. The next hour was spent telling Fornell everything he needed to know and some things he didn't.

Fornell sat quietly, listening, and he was growing more and more uneasy. He couldn't believe all that he was hearing. His government, a government he was proud to say he served, had thrown an innocent man into slavery for simply doing the job he was not only trained to do, but was good at. Jesus, this damned slave law is getting out of hand.

But what made this whole situation worse was the fact that Tony's own father wanted to get his hands on the boy. Fornell could understand it, if the man were a loving father wanting to gain control of his beloved son so he could free him from a life of slavery, but that wasn't the case here. The bastard actually wanted his son to be his sex slave! That was just sick. The thought of any parent doing such a thing to their own child was incomprehensible to him, although he had seen it many times before during the course of his work. Those memories were causing bile to rise in his throat and he had to swallow hard quickly.

But the thing that shocked Fornell the most was the name of Tony's father. "Wait, wait! Your father is Tony DiNozzo Sr? Really?"

"Yes." Tony grew a little uneasy at the tone of Fornell's question. Did Tobias know his father? Was he also in his father's pocket? Had Gibbs made the ultimate mistake by asking for Fornell's help? "Why," Tony asked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Do you know my father?"

"Do I know him?" Fornell said angrily. "I've been after that bastard for ten years. But it's like he knows when I get close, and the slimy son-of-a-bitch slips through my fingers."

"After him for what?" The seed of a plan was forming in Gibbs' mind as he looked from Fornell to Tony.

"You name it, he's into it," Fornell explained. "If it's illegal, you can bet DiNozzo's involved. Money laundering, gun running, drugs, extortion, blackmail, he's got his hand in all of it. The problem is trying to prove it. I know just before I went undercover that Agent Sacks was looking into him for slave abuse resulting in death."

"Death?" Tony ask quietly as he fought to keep his meal down.

Gibbs reached across the table to grab Tony's hand and gave it a squeeze. He was concerned with how pale Tony had suddenly become. "He's not getting his hands on you, Tony. I swear."

"You can't promise that, Gibbs." Tony shook his head while looking down at his plate. "I know you want to protect me, and you'll try, but you don't know my father like I do. He doesn't like to lose, and that little show we put on at The Cellar is going to push him over the edge. He's going to pull something, and soon. I can feel it, and I don't want you hurt because of me. I'm not worth it."

"You are to me," Gibbs said with a smile. "You're worth that and more."

"I hate to say it, Gibbs, but your boy's right," Fornell said with sympathy. "Not the 'not being worth it part' but the other part. This guy is a real piece of work. You can bet he's planning something and…"

Suddenly there was a tremendous crash. The front door burst open and two large men rushed into Gibbs' house. Gibbs jumped up immediately, and shoved Tony behind him, while Fornell was up and reaching for his gun at the same time. The sight of two men, dressed in suits, with guns drawn and directed at them caused Tony's knees to go weak. This was it, his father's plan. The straightforward, kidnap the slave and bring him to Senior plan. Great!

"Who the fuck are you?" Gibbs yelled. "And why are you breaking into my home?"

"FBI, stay where you are," the older of the two men snapped.

"Reilly, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Fornell took a step forward, only to stop when the second man turned his gun on him. "Do you have any idea whose home you just broke into, and without announcing yourselves I might add?"

"Don't know, don't care," Reilly replied shaking his head. "All I know is, me and Conway, got an order to pick up one Leroy Jethro Gibbs and take him into custody."

"Yeah and if I were you, Fornell, I'd stay out of it," Conway added. "You're probably already in trouble just being in the same house as a suspected terrorist collaborator."

"Are you out of your minds," Fornell yelled, shocked at what he was hearing. "This man is a Federal Agent and was the top slave trainer in all the USA. He would never be associated with terrorists."

"Use to be," Conway said sarcastically. "Apparently he's forgotten everything he's taught, considering his own slave is not only wearing regular clothes but is sitting at the dinner table with you like he owns the place."

"I have special concessions with my slave, approved by the President," Gibbs growled. "I have a letter…"

"I don't give a damn what you got, mister," Reilly cut in. "My orders come from the top and I intend to follow them."

"You damned well better listen to me, if you want to keep your job," Gibbs' shouted back.

"Ain't our jobs on the line, low-life," Conway snapped back maliciously. "Your freedom, on the other hand…"

"That's enough, Conway," Reilly barked. "Just do your job and keep your opinions to yourself."

Gibbs could feel Tony trembling behind him and knew he needed to get these fools out of his house and fast. "You're making a big mistake, but I'll go with you," Gibbs conceded. He then turned to Fornell. "Call my Director and let him know what's happened, and would you stay with Tony until I can get this cleared up?"

"Nope, ain't going to happen," Conway said with a smirk. "You lost all rights to your slave. The slave reclamation center will be taking him with them."

Two huge men stepped into the house and immediately headed for Tony. One held the restraints that would hogtie Tony, and the other held the hated canvas hood.

Tony began to back away from the two men as he cried out, "No, I'm not going anywhere with you! Gibbs, help me, they work for my father! I know they do! Please, don't let them take me!"

Gibbs blocked the two men, he was going to do whatever he could to keep Tony safe. "You're not taking him anywhere," Gibbs growled as he prepared for the fight he knew was coming.

Suddenly the room erupted in chaos. Gibbs put everything he had behind every punch. He pulled out the stops, knowing that if he failed and went down, then Tony would go down, too. Fighting tooth and nail, he launched himself at anyone who stood between him and Tony, but these men who had invaded his home were hardened fighters, and gradually they beat Gibbs down. He was aware of Tony struggling, getting in hits in a frenzied attempt to remain free, but he was no match for these men who were willing to use any means necessary to steal him from his master.

Meanwhile, Fornell was locked in a battle of fists with Conway. He also, had no intention of letting these men, who he was sure worked for DiNozzo Senior and not the government, remove his friend's slave from the house. Unfortunately, Conway was half Fornell's age and he quickly gained the upper hand. The battle, long and hard fought as it was, ended with Fornell being knocked out.

Gibbs, believing he had the advantage since he had dispatched Reilly, turned to help Tony, who continued to fight for all he was worth. Giving out a profane yell, he attempted to launch himself at the two men.

He hadn't taken but a few steps when a blinding pain exploded in the back of his head. His body hit the ground hard, his head smacking the floor with a sickening crack. He fought the darkness threatening to overtake him as he made one last desperate attempt to get to Tony. The last thing Gibbs saw before losing his battle was the canvas hood being pulled over Tony's head. Then he saw nothing at all.