AN: I cannot begin to tell you how much I struggled with this chapter and how happy I am to just be done with it lol. Thanks to all of you for your comments throughout this story. There were a couple of times I was just so tempted to come up with a quick ending, but your reviews got me through the rough patches and I appreciate them more than I can say :)

xxxxx

The following Friday, Tony left work before Gibbs, who was tied up in a meeting with Vance. They had driven in separately that day. He wanted to get a head start on preparing a special meal for Gibbs' last night at his apartment. He had gotten really used to having the other man around and was feeling more emotional than he wanted to admit about Gibbs leaving the next morning. He knew they would still see each other at work every day, but it still wouldn't be the same. Their relationship had changed over the last few months. There was a more easy camaraderie between the two of them. Gibbs was a lot more easy-going with him at home. They had shared many enjoyable talks, even just sitting back, watching a movie or a game had much more meaning now. Tony knew it was the kind of thing fathers and sons did all the time, but he'd never had that opportunity with his own father. This was new for him and he was going to miss it.

He expertly finished layering the lasagna, then placed it into the oven, and set the timer. He found himself wandering into the guest room which had evolved into Gibbs' room over the past months. With a pang, he saw that most of Gibbs' belongings were already packed up and neatly stacked alongside the wall. The room already looked barren and deserted and Gibbs hadn't even left yet. He closed the door and went back into the kitchen to cut up some vegetables for a salad. He had just finished tossing everything together when Gibbs came in the door.

"How'd everything go?" Tony asked as he put the salad into the refrigerator.

"Fine. It was nothing important, just a bunch of boring administrative stuff. What's cooking?"

"It's my special lasagna extraordinaire. Its a secret recipe passed down by my family for generations, straight from Italy. You're going to love it, boss," Tony said grinning.

"Special occasion, DiNozzo? You must be really happy to be getting rid of me," Gibbs joked. Tony's face fell and he quickly recovered, but not before Gibbs had noticed. Damn...he had been so busy lately between working and taking care of last minute details with the house that he really hadn't had a chance to think about how Tony might feel about his leaving. "I'm kidding." he added softly.

"I know that," Tony said as he glanced at the oven timer. "Dinner will be ready in a half hour." He headed out into living room and Gibbs followed him, watching as Tony began rapidly flicking through channels with the remote control. He sat down next to him and pulled the remote out of Tony's hand then used it to shut off the television.

"Feel like talking?" Gibbs asked quietly

"No, not really," Tony said shrugging, then looking back at Gibbs. "Why? Do you?"

Gibbs nodded. "I know I've told you this before, Tony, but I just want to say how much I appreciate you having me here over these past months."

"It was my pleasure, boss."

"I've really enjoyed spending time with you...and I'd like it to continue."

"Yeah?" Tony asked, looking back at Gibbs uncertainly. "Really? I thought maybe you were just kind of sick of me by now...you know, with seeing me morning, noon and night."

Gibbs chuckled. "Though you can get a little bit annoying sometimes, I'm not sick of you. I'll actually miss having to fight with you for the morning paper. Hell, I've probably spent more time with you than practically anyone else in my life. I know you pretty well by now, Tony. You won't be getting rid of me that easily." He saw the look of relief flash in the younger man's eyes and was glad he had managed to quickly ease any uncertainties Tony might be having.

"That's good...I've liked having you here...it'll be a little bit lonely after you've gone," he admitted.

"Come on," Gibbs ruffled Tony's hair playfully. "Now you can go back to bringing your dates home at the end of the night." Tony hadn't really dated a lot since Gibbs had been staying at the apartment, but when he had, he had never brought any of the women back to his apartment. Gibbs was certain things had been quite different in the past.

Tony smirked as his cheeks colored slightly. "I'm going to go put the garlic bread in the oven."

A short time later, dinner was on the table and Gibbs looked surprised after he sampled his first bite of the lasagne. "This is really, really good, DiNozzo...I'm impressed."

"Don't look so shocked, boss. I told you it was good, didn't you believe me?"

"Well, yeah I thought it would be good, but this is outstanding, definitely the best I've ever tasted."

"I know, it is, isn't it," Tony said with a confident smile. "I'm glad you like it."

The two men ate their dinner then spent the rest of the evening companionably chatting late into the night before finally hitting the sack. The next morning Gibbs awoke at 9, which was late for him. He quickly got out of bed and pounded on Tony's door. "DiNozzo! DiNozzo! Wake up. It's already 9 o'clock."

Tony yawned and stretched as Gibbs walked into his room. "What's the big rush, boss?" he asked. "It's not like you have much to move." Furniture had been delivered during the week and as far as Tony knew, nothing was scheduled to be delivered today. Besides, he had been instructed not to let Gibbs get to the house before 10:30. The rest of the team was to have arrived at the house early to set up the surprises. Tony had given them the key which Gibbs had presented to him.

"I just want to get things organized," Gibbs replied.

"You need to relax," Tony smiled as he snuggled further under the covers. "Besides, I'm going to make us some breakfast."

"It doesn't look like it," Gibbs glared at Tony who had allowed his eyes to close again.

"I'll get up in a minute," Tony insisted.

"You'd better," Gibbs stated as he left the room and headed to the bathroom to shower.

Tony smiled to himself as Gibbs slammed his door shut. He wondered how much he could push it without getting Gibbs really angry. They needed to waste some time before they could leave. He still hadn't moved to actually get out of bed and was still feeling sleepy. Before he knew it, Tony had drifted off again.

Gibbs got out of the shower and dressed quickly then headed out to the living room. Tony's door was still shut. "Dammit, DiNozzo," Gibbs muttered, trying not to get too annoyed. It was Saturday after all and Tony was right that there wasn't really a time table on what needed to get done. Even so, he did want to get moving.

"DiNozzo! Are you up?" Gibbs called out as he knocked on the door again and received no response. Shaking his head, Gibbs opened the door and marched over to Tony's bedside, rapping him sharply on the back of his head.

"Ow!" Tony sat up immediately and rubbed his head as he glared at Gibbs. "What was that for?"

"For falling back to sleep," Gibbs couldn't help but smile. With his hair all tousled, Tony resembled an irate little boy.

"Its not funny, boss."

"From where I'm standing it is," Gibbs replied, still amused. "How about I make the breakfast while you get ready?"

Tony glanced at the clock and saw that it was 9:15. "Okay, boss. If you're sure. I really don't mind making it though."

"If we wait for you, it will be dinnertime before we eat. Now get up, get ready."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm getting up," Tony grumbled good-naturedly. Gibbs left the room and Tony got out of bed then headed into the bathroom to take a shower. He stayed under the hot, pelting water much longer than necessary and didn't rush to dress. He finally made his way to the kitchen at 10:00, quite pleased with his time wasting skills.

"Blueberry pancakes, boss?" Tony grinned appreciatively as he saw his very favorite breakfast piled high on a plate in the middle of the kitchen table. "I didn't think I had any blueberries."

"You didn't." Gibbs answered. "Since you didn't seem to be moving especially fast this morning, I ran out and got some."

"Yeah, guess I'm just kind of tired today. I'm sorry," he said, smiling happily, not appearing the least bit sorry.

"Its okay, DiNozzo," Gibbs said as he sat down at the table. "Come on, sit down and eat before they start getting cold."

Tony sat down and started in on the pancakes. "Thanks for making these," he said after swallowing a mouthful. "I sure am going to miss them." Knowing how much Tony liked them, Gibbs had started making them once a week on a weekend morning.

"Well then, I guess you'll have to come over to my place sometimes to get your blueberry pancake fix," Gibbs stated.

"Really?" Tony asked, looking back at Gibbs hopefully.

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "I already told you we'd still see each other outside of work, DiNozzo. What part of that didn't you understand?" he asked. "I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it."

"Sorry..." Tony said. "Its just..." He shook his head and sighed. "Never mind..."

"Come on, Tony, what is it?" Gibbs asked as he looked back at his agent. "What's going on with you?"

"Nothing really," he began hesitantly, hating that he was so insecure about things sometimes. "My father...he just never wanted to spend any time with me, I mean never. When he had to, for one reason or another, it was like he was doing me the biggest favor in the world. I knew he never genuinely wanted to do anything with me. I just...I never want to make you feel like that, you know? I don't want you to feel pressured into spending time with me. "

Gibbs hesitated before responding, wanting to say just the right thing. Tony was revealing little facets of his life that he, for the most part, had managed to keep carefully hidden. "You should know, better than anyone that I don't do things I don't want to do. If I say I want to spend time with you, its because I do, not because I feel pressured into it. Trust me when I say I like spending time with you and want it to continue. Its as important to me as it is to you. I don't really know how I can make it any more clear than that."

"I'm sorry, boss," Tony said a little sheepishly. "You have made it clear. I don't know what's wrong with me. You must think I'm pretty pathetic."

"I don't think you're pathetic. I just think you were shortchanged in the father department. Hopefully I can help remedy that a little bit."

"You really don't have to do that. Its not up to you." Tony protested as Gibbs reached over and swatted him on the back of his head.

"Do you not comprehend anything I say to you, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked. "We just went over this." He had no idea how Senior could have been so utterly callous regarding his son, basically tossing their relationship in the trash.

Tony nodded. "You're right, I'm sorry."

"Stop with the apologies and start eating. I want to get out of here before sundown."

Tony chuckled and focused his attention back on his breakfast.

xxxxx

"The house looks really great," Tony said admirably as he walked up the driveway to meet Gibbs who was pulling a box from the trunk of his car.

"That it does, DiNozzo. That it does." It had taken him a bit of time to adjust to all the changes, but once he had, he had really gotten into the spirit of the whole rebuilding process. The new house really was beautiful. "Here, make yourself useful." Gibbs shoved the box he was holding into Tony's arms and picked up another one. Tony just grinned and eagerly followed Gibbs up the driveway to the house. They had just entered the front door when the shouts of "surprise"greeted them. Gibbs jumped slightly, obviously startled as Tony laughed at the reaction of their usually unflappable boss. He placed his box on the floor and took Gibbs' as well, just in time for Abby to throw herself into the older man's arms.

"Happy Housewarming, Gibbs!" she exclaimed as she kissed his cheek. "Did we surprise you?"

"Yeah, you surprised me, Abs," Gibbs admitted with a smile as he greeted Tim, Ziva and Ducky. "Is this why you were so turtle-like this morning, DiNozzo?"

"Yeah, boss. We weren't supposed to get here until after 10:30, but I really did fall back to sleep."

"Is this a private party or can anyone join in?" a familiar voice asked from the doorway as Jackson walked in, carrying a large shopping bag.

"Dad! What are you doing here?" Gibbs asked as he went to his father and the two men embraced.

"Oh, a little birdie told me," Jackson replied, smiling. "The place looks beautiful, Jethro."

"I'm happy with it, dad."

Jackson greeted the rest of the team and then everyone's attention focused on Abby who was jumping up and down. "Time for your gifts, Gibbs!" she said excitedly.

"You didn't have to get gifts." Gibbs looked more than a little bit embarrassed by all the attention he was receiving.

"We wanted to," Abby said as she took Gibbs' arm and led him into the living room. "Tada! Gift numero uno." She waved at the grandfather clock which was displayed prominently in a corner of the room. The wood was polished so that it gleamed and there was a red ribbon around it.

Gibbs immediately knew who it was from. "Aw, Duck, you shouldn't have," he said, obviously moved by the gift.

"I can't think of anyone I would rather give this too, Jethro." Ducky replied as Gibbs thanked him.

"Mine next!" Abby called out gleefully as she reached for a large flat package on the floor, leaning against the wall.

"I think he'd better open hers before she jumps right through the floor," Jackson whispered to Tony who grinned delightedly at the comment.

Gibbs tore the wrapping off the package and stared in awed silence at the framed collage filled with family photos. "This..this is beautiful, Abs," he said as his eyes roamed over the artistically placed photographs. "Look, dad." He beckoned his father to him and the two men stood together admiring the pictures. "Thank you so much," he said as he pulled Abby into his arms and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"I'm glad you like it," she replied, finally having toned down her exuberance, momentarily anyway. "The rest of your gifts are in the garage."

With that, they all headed over to the garage entrance way and Gibbs eyes at first went to the weights and weight bench. "This is great," he said, looking back at his team. "Thank you."

"They're from Timmy and Ziva," Abby informed him. "There's more though." She pointed to the workshop section of the garage.

Gibbs walked over and then he spied the tools on top of the tool bench. He moved his hands over them, struck by the fine craftmanship of the hand crafted tools. "These...these are perfect..." He looked at Abby who pointed at Tony with a smile on her face. "How...how did you know what to get?" he asked.

"Your dad helped me," Tony stated, pleased that Gibbs seemed to like the gift so much.

"When?" Gibbs asked, looking from Tony to his father.

"Young man paid me a visit last weekend," Jackson answered with a broad smile. "And I must say we had a very good time. Speaking of which, I brought a big batch of that fried chicken you liked so much, Tony, and a couple of pies as well."

"Yeah? That's great," Tony replied, then turned his attention to the others. "Wait until you all taste it. Its really out of this world."

Everyone then started chatting at once and Gibbs had to clear his throat loudly to get the group's attention. "I just want to say thank you for everything you've all done for me today," he began. "I can't tell you how much it means to me...I couldn't ask for a better group of friends..."

xxxxx

After a fun-filled afternoon of chatting, food and some lively sessions of McGee's Lords of Rock game, the party finally began to wind down at around 5 o'clock. Tony was the last one remaining and he decided to head on home to give Jackson some alone time with his son.

"It was nice seeing you again," Tony said as he shook Jackson's hand at the front door.

"Nice seeing you, as well," Jackson replied as he glanced at Jethro. "Don't you think you should tell him?"

"Tell me what?" Tony asked.

"I'm going to head to Stillwater next weekend," Jethro replied. "My dad has a lot of repair work around the place that needs to get done."

"Well...that's nice boss," Tony said, looking at the two men in obvious confusion. "I hope you have a nice visit."

"I thought you said he was your lead agent?" Jackson asked, looking at Jethro mischievously.

"He is," Jethro stated, biting back a grin, "just isn't always too quick on the uptake. You're coming with me, DiNozzo."

"I am?" Tony asked, looking back at the two men in obvious delight.

"Yes, you are," Jethro said, smacking him lightly on the head. "I think its about time you learned how to use some of these tools, don't you?"

"Yeah, boss. I guess you're right," Tony replied with a happy smile. "Guess I'll see you next weekend then," he said to Jackson. They said their goodbyes and Tony headed toward home, feeling like he was part of a real family for the first time in his life.

xxxxx

AN2: Yeah, I know...really sappy lol. Like I said, I struggled with this one big time ;) Angst comes much easier to me. Speaking of which, I am almost finished with the first chapter of my new story, "Hello Again," which is a sequel to "Saying Goodbye." I'm hoping to start posting it tomorrow. Its going to be a long one and pretty much an angst fest ;) Hope some of you will come along for the ride. Thanks again for reading :)