Slow Burn

A/N: Spoilers for Extreme Prejudice

Chapter 8 - Fanning the Flames

The ringing of Tony's cellphone startled them both and Tony glanced down, seeing Gibbs' name on the display.

Abby grinned. "Wow, I know Gibbs is magic but I'm never quite sure which one of you is the more psychic… or whether it's this whole spooky mind meld vibe you have going between you."

Tony returned her smile. "It's a gift. Anyway, I swear the Bossman knows when we're talking about him."

"He's probably got our apartments bugged." Abby tilted her head on one side, pulling a face. "Which is kind of a scary thought. Okay, moving on, I'll get some more coffee." Abby ruffled Tony's hair and headed for the kitchen as Tony snatched up the phone.

"Yeah, Boss. What's up?"

"Nothing good, DiNozzo." Gibbs' familiar deep voice sounded tired. "Dearing's taken out an FBI team downtown. Fornell just left here with his ass on fire."

Tony slumped back on the couch, keeping his voice down so as not to alert Abby yet. "Jeez… another bomb?"

"Yeah. They thought they'd gotten him cornered but Dearing blew up half the building instead."

"Huh, sounds familiar." Tony paused, trying to get his head straight. "How many down this time?"

"One agent and the SWAT team."

Tony blew out a breath, rubbing a hand over his face. "Okay, Boss, what d'ya need? Want us to come in?"

Tony heard Gibbs sigh and wished he was there to see him and read how the other man was really taking all this.

"No, DiNozzo. Nothing to be done till morning. Need you to stay there with Abby. It'll be safer if no one's on their own tonight."

"That include you, Boss?" Tony could almost hear the eyeroll and Gibbs' voice was dry as he responded.

"Fornell's left two babysitters outside."

To Tony, that was nowhere near enough and he certainly didn't trust the Feebs to watch Gibbs' back, but he sensed it was all he was going to get tonight. That didn't mean he had to keep quiet about it though.

"O-k-ay… I hope that's enough bodies out there but you know it makes sense to have some protection, Gibbs. If this is turning personal and in Dearing's twisted mind, he blames you somehow, even if we know that's crap, then he could come after you too, y'know."

Gibbs sounded mildly exasperated. "I'll be fine."

"Well, I hope so coz if you're not, I'm gonna come over there and kick your ass… or get Abby or Ziva to do it while I supervise." That got him a tired chuckle. "You want me to call Ziva, tell her what's gone down?"

"I'll do it. She was gonna pick McGee up from the hospital and take him back to his apartment. I'll tell her to stay there."

"Okay… You get hold of your dad yet?" Tony knew Gibbs had tried to call his dad a couple of times, but hadn't been able to get through before they'd left the Navy Yard.

"Yeah… he's okay."

"Jack musta been worried."

"Yeah, he was. Asked after everyone." Gibbs paused a moment. "You call yours."

Tony sighed. "Yeah, Gibbs… I eventually gave in to Abby's nagging." He held the phone away from his ear and raised his voice so Abby could hear in the kitchen and he heard her chuckle.

"And?" Gibbs voice sounded in his ear and Tony sighed at his persistence.

Between the two of them, they didn't let him get away with anything.

"He said he hadn't called coz he didn't know… said he was on a yacht all day and they didn't turn on the news."

"Sounds like you don't believe him?"

Tony shrugged and then realized Gibbs couldn't see him. "I dunno. Force of habit, I guess, to be wary of whatever my father says."

"Maybe you oughta give him the benefit of the doubt this time, Tony." Gibbs commented after a pause.

Tony huffed a soft laugh. "That's what Abby says."

"Then you should listen to her."

Tony shook his head, fighting a grin. "Don't you two ever tire of being right?"

He heard the simultaneous 'No' shouted from the kitchen and said quietly in his ear and snorted. Gibbs must have heard Abby too and Tony heard the dry chuckle in his ear and fought a sense of longing to see the warm blue eyes and smirk he knew usually went with that rare sound.

Tony pulled the phone from his ear and looked at it for a moment before putting it back against his ear. "Okay, that was spooky… moving on. Abby managed to get through to Luca earlier on too…"

"Good."

Tony debated with himself about asking his next question but let his curiosity get the better of him. "You, er… you manage to get in touch with Dr Ryan and let her know you're okay?"

Dead silence.

As it dragged on, Tony mentally kicked himself, opening his mouth to start digging himself out of the hole he'd just dug when Gibbs finally spoke.

"No."

Not sure what to make of that clipped response and whether that meant Gibbs hadn't managed to get through or whether he hadn't even tried, Tony went on tentatively. "She must be worried about you."

Gibbs didn't comment, instead changing the subject. "You feeling okay? Your lungs alright?"

Tony sighed. Gibbs wasn't the first person today to comment about the dust stirred up from the explosion getting into Tony's scarred lungs.

"I'm just peachy… really I am, Gibbs. Anyway, there wasn't much time to get too much crap inside me this afternoon coz Abby and Ziva kept frogmarching me out of the bullpen every half hour so I could breathe the traffic clogged air of the Navy Yard. I'll give you a deep breathing demonstration if you like, but I might sound like a heavy breather and we don't want you to get too excited, thinking it's an obscene phone call."

Gibbs huffed a laugh. "Okay, Tony… I get it, your lungs are fine." His voice softened and Tony's stomach did a flip flop at the concern he could hear in the tone. "And if they're not fine during the night or tomorrow?"

"Then I promise, Scouts honor, to get them checked out… and you can be sure if I so much as clear my throat tonight, Abby'll have me down the ER faster than you can say, is the coffee on? Or she'll look after me herself and with any luck, she'll be wearing a nurse's uniform." He raised his voice at the end and heard Abby laugh as she shouted back.

"In your dreams, DiNozzo."

Hearing Gibbs laugh, Tony grinned before calling back. "Well, yeah, that's kinda the point, Abbs." He listened to her laughter for a moment before asking quietly, "Satisfied, Gibbs?"

"Guess I'll have to be."

Feeling both a dose of the warm fuzzies and also slightly uncomfortable from the quietly voiced concern drifting into his ear, Tony cleared his throat and softened his own tone as he answered in all seriousness.

"Look… I'm not gonna mess about with my lungs, Jethro. Trust me, the alternative isn't worth risking. I've been there and done that, remember? If there's anything wrong, I'll call Brad, I promise…" Feeling the need to shift the focus away from himself, Tony asked, "You gonna do some basement time tonight?"

Gibbs sighed. "Maybe."

Surprised at the 'maybe' rather than a definite, 'yeah,' Tony sat back, resting his head against the back of the couch. "Well, I won't deny that some time with my piano wouldn't be a bad idea fairly soon… But tomorrow is another day, huh? Although I should maybe get Abby to say that line coz she's got a better voice for Scarlett O'Hara than I have."

"No kidding," came the dry reply. "Get some rest, Tony. Try and make sure Abby does too."

"You too…" Tony found himself casting round for something to string out the conversation, not wanting to let that voice go quite yet. "And lock your door, right?"

Gibbs snorted. "You sound like Tobias."

"Hey," Tony laughed. "There's no need to be insulting." There was another pregnant pause before Tony went on softly. "I'm, er, glad you're okay, Jethro… I said that already, didn't I?"

"Yeah… yeah, you did."

"Okay then… so long as you know." Tony went on after a moment or two, conscious of the presence still at the other end of the line when he'd expected the usual abrupt Gibbs' sign-off by now. "G'night, Jethro."

"Night, Tony."

Tony was deep in thought when Abby came back in, carrying two mugs. Something on his face must have given him away because she eyed him anxiously as she sat down on the couch again. "What's happened?"

Tony explained as succinctly as he could about the second bombing and Abby gnawed her lip as she listened.

She threw up her hands when Tony had finished and jumped to her feet, starting to pace her small living room. "Jeez, is there gonna be anything else from this bastard? We so nearly lost everything today, Tony, and who's to say Dearing's finished now?... Oh my god, what if he comes after Gibbs… at home? He blames Gibbs, doesn't he?" She came to a stop in front of him, hands on hips. "You should be there, Tony, on his six."

She was just echoing his own worries but hearing them voiced wasn't helping his own peace of mind. "Of course, I wanna be there, Abbs, but the Boss wants me here and he says he's got it covered at home. There's two FBI agents outside the house."

"Is that all?!" Abby gestured animatedly, glaring at him. "For god sake, Tony… that might not be enough."

"Don't you think I don't know that?" Tony shot back. "But what d'ya want me to do, Abbs? Run over there and say, hey, Boss, it's okay, I'm just having a panic attack, don't mind me. I'll just squat in the hallway with my gun trained on the door… you just carry on with whatever you're doing, you won't even notice I'm here."

They stared at one another and Abby's mouth twitched as the mental image flashed across her mind. Her angry stance softened and she slumped onto the couch beside him, her voice quieter. "Well, that would be a start but how 'bout, hey, Gibbs, I wanted to see if you're okay coz I really care and I could have lost you today."

He looked away, shaking his head. "Abbs… don't go there."

"No, don't Abbs me, Tony, and I will go there." She reached out to turn his face towards her, waiting till he made eye contact. "If today doesn't tell you that life's too short to waste, then I don't know what will. I know you care about him, Tony… a lot and it goes way beyond the job… More than care maybe, huh?... Don't deny it."

Tony broke her gaze, looking down while he gathered his thoughts. He was so tired… not only physically but mentally and emotionally and he really didn't wanna do this right now.

But then when would be a good time?

Because Abby was right.

He had nearly lost everything he cared about today… and not just Gibbs but it had been the thought of losing the Marine that had scared him witless, and it would take a while before he got over the emotional battering.

And there was a part of him that wanted to talk to his friend about his feelings for Gibbs.

He needed to get his head straight about this because with everything else that was happening… the bombings… Ryan leaving… he felt very close to freaking out. Not sure if he should have a sliver of hope because Ryan was no longer around and Gibbs' reaction today, or if he was kidding himself and reading more into it than he should.

Tony rubbed the back of his neck, eventually glancing up at Abby. "Not gonna deny it, Abbs. Tired of denying it… but what the hell can I do about it, huh?"

Abby tugged him back until he was leaning against the back of the couch, and swing her legs across his lap and squirmed as close as possible. "What d'ya wanna do about it? Well, you love him, right? I mean I know you love him, you always have but it's more now, isn't it?"

Tony rested his hands on her legs, sighing as he relaxed into Abby's sitting version of her wraparound hug. "Yeah… it's more but this is Gibbs. I mean I couldn't fall in love with Mr or Mrs Ordinary, could I? Oh no… not me, it has to be Gibbs, has to be my boss, has to be my friend. If I could pick the one relationship in my life not to screw up, this one would be it. Well, other than you and me but we're solid, right?"

"As a rock, Tony. But this is different." Abby leaned the side of her head on the back of the couch, gazing at Tony thoughtfully.

"Yeah, very different. I mean we've both screwed up enough relationships… hell, it's the one thing I'm good at, screwing up. But if I get this wrong… I mean really wrong, then I've damaged our working relationship and our friendship, and I dunno, Abbs… it's scary..." Slightly unnerved at the way Abby was just gazing calmly at him while he rambled on, Tony threw his hands up in the air. "Well, say something will ya?"

"You done? I was just waiting till you got it all out." She squeezed his arm. "I get that you're scared, Tony… but does that mean you're not even gonna try?"

"I didn't say that."

"Coz if you don't, you could regret it for the rest of your life. And, y'know, not that I'm arguing that a Gibbs on the rebound is a good idea but you could argue that with her gone, the field is clear for you to do something about it now."

"Like what?"

Her head snapped up and she narrowed her eyes. "C'mon, you don't need me to spell it out. Don't look at me like a startled rabbit, Tony. What would you do if Gibbs were any other man or… a woman?"

Tony snorted. "You mean other than faint?"

Abby stared at him before dissolving into giggles. "Yeah… okay… perhaps not the best image to conjure with."

"Ya think?"

She punched his shoulder. "I'm serious, Tony. If this were any other situation, you'd know what to do… if Gibbs were a man... well, okay he is a man but you know what I mean, if he were another man or a woman, you'd sweep him or her off their feet."

"But this is Gibbs."

Abby rolled her eyes. "Well, yeah… I think we've got that."

"Yeah but this is Gibbs, widowed, three times divorced… and all with women. So let's not forget that crucial piece of evidence, shall we? A straight as they come, Marine. What makes you think he'd forget all that… and why would Gibbs even look twice at a guy like me? Or any guy?"

"Because, you said it yourself, he's Gibbs… if anyone can see beyond gender, it's Gibbs. If he cares about someone, then yeah, I could see it not mattering to him what sex they were. I could see him seeing beyond his het past and looking at the person. He's not a judgemental guy, Tony."

"I know that, Abbs." Tony rubbed his hand over his face. "I've worked with the guy, remember? But what makes you think he'd see the possibilities of all that with… with me."

"Will you stop putting yourself down, Tony. You know I hate it when you do that… and I've always wanted to strangle any person who's hurts you."

Tony smiled at Abby's fierce tone and glare. "My heroine."

"You got that right. Bring 'em on." She grinned at him before sobering. "But I'm serious, Tony. He cares about you already, you know that."

"Yeah, I guess… in a sort of exasperated older brother kinda way."

"Well, maybe at first," Abby conceded after a moment. "But not now… it could easily be more than that, don't you think?"

Tony eyed her, half wary, half hopeful, wondering what Abby had picked up on. "Could it?"

"You didn't see him prowling around today, waiting for you and Ziva to be rescued from the elevator, I told you how worried he was…" Abby tilted her head to one side as she considered. "And just think about this… why d'ya think Gibbs reacted so badly to EJ last year, huh?"

"Oh, now I know you're crazy," Tony scoffed.

Abby giggled. "That may be true… but all that growling at EJ could easily have been so much more than being pissed at Rule 12 being bent or because he disliked her as a person." She held up a hand as he opened his mouth to speak. "I'm not saying he realized it back then, or even if he realizes it now but you gotta admit, the woman could do nothing right… and when he found out you two were knocking boots, wow… growly bear doesn't begin to describe it."

Tony felt uncomfortable at being reminded of the problems he'd had last year in his relationship with Gibbs but again, she had a point.

He sighed as he conceded reluctantly. "Okay, I'll give you that one. But you know how he doesn't like his rules being broken… and she did go out of her way to wind up the Great White. So I just put it down to that."

"Well, so did I at first but, just remember, he never reacted like that when I was dating McGee," Abby pointed out.

"That's because you can get away with pretty much anything."

Abby grinned. "Also probably true. But you could look at the whole EJ thing another way."

Tony shrugged. "I dunno… maybe… maybe not."

"Wow, Tony, you're hard work tonight. I'm just trying to give you some hope here." She shook her head with a fond smile. "And that hug I saw earlier today was way more than just simple relief… so much more than that. Not to mention hot."

"Abbs…"

"What?" She smiled, her eyes twinkling. "Two hot men hugging... yowza. My very own dark haired, green eyed stud muffin and one silver haired, blue eyed fox."

"You think Gibbs is hot too, huh?"

"Well, duh, Tony." She rolled her eyes. "I'm female… and I'm breathing... He's sex on a stick, you both are, and the two of you together." Abby fanned herself, her smile widening. "Hubba hubba. It's bad enough when Gibbs walks across the Navy Yard, leaving a trail of hyperventilating men and women all over the place, but when the two of you do it, there's like an orgasmic wave that moves slowly across the whole Navy Yard."

Tony started laughing. "Abby. Stop it."

"Oh, you know you love it." She squirmed closer and managed to get her arms around his neck in a tight squeeze. When she pulled back, she framed his face in her hands, telling him seriously, "You gotta do something, Tony."

"At the risk of repeating myself, like what?"

She dropped her hands, shaking her head. "And at the risk of sounding like a stuck record, what would you do in any other situation? If you want someone, you charm them… you woo them, Tony. So… that's all you gotta do."

"All?!" Tony rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right. Woo Gibbs… Sure… simple."

Abby nodded as if it was. "Yup."

Tony stared at her. "Now I know you're crazy. That's a surefire way of being posted to Alaska."

"Don't be silly… he'd never be mean to you like that. And you need to try coz I think you two would be totally fantastic together."

"Is this your hormones talking or your head right now?" Tony teased with a smile, taking in the mischief in her eyes.

"As hard as it is to separate those two sometimes when we're talking about hot men, it really is my head this time… and my heart. You know I love you both, right?" She waited till Tony nodded and gazed at him solemnly, all trace of teasing gone from her expression. "Well, my head and my heart says you two deserve happiness… you both don't deserve to be alone. So you listen to your Aunt Abby."

"Abbs… look, I know what you're saying and there's no one who wishes you're right more than I do and god knows, I wanna do this." Tony took a deep breath. "Hell… I look at the guy and sometimes I can hardly breathe. But it's more than just risking a job. He's my friend and I don't wanna do anything to jeopardise that."

"I know you don't… but do you honestly think you would? Gibbs isn't like that…"

"No, he's not," Tony acknowledged with a sigh. "He'd let me down easy but I'd know that I blew it and then I wouldn't be able to look him in the eye again… and then I might as well be in Alaska. All that trust and friendship… gone."

"I doubt anything could make that go away, whatever happens between you… or not." She leaned in to kiss his cheek. "Think about it… just promise me that."

"Oh, trust me, Abbs, it's all I think about at the moment… well, in between getting blown up and stuck in elevators with a pissed off Ziva, which is not an experience I recommend, by the way, or wanna repeat any time soon. Okay... but you promise to scrape me off the sidewalk when Gibbs kills me?"

"I do but I won't need to." Abby reached down to take his hand, squeezing his fingers tightly. "Go for it."

"Go for it, she says… Go for it. Oh boy." Tony let his head drop back, staring at the ceiling for a moment before a thought struck him and he glanced at Abby. "You realize this could all be academic. I mean just because Ryan is gone now doesn't mean she's gone for good… if this thing with her ex gets straightened out, she could be right back and straight into his bed again."

"Well, then, you gotta ask him about her."

Tony suppressed a snort. "Oh… just like that, ask Gibbs about Ryan."

"Yup… why not?"

"Well, he barely answered me tonight when I asked him if he'd called her, so I doubt asking about their relationship is gonna go down too well" He shook his head. "You make it sound simple, Abby."

Abby stared at him seriously. "No… what's simple is that you love him and want to try and start a relationship with him, and all you don't know is how Gibbs feels or if he's willing to give it a try too. That's the evidence, Tony. Follow the evidence. I think you can do it. I have faith."

"I'm glad someone does."

A teasing grin crept across her face. "Besides, the thought of you two together, it's just so totally hot. And if you do get it on, I want details… and pictures."

Tony shook his head, chuckling. "All this is not just to feed your fantasy life, Abbs."

"Damn."

TBC...