Slow Burn

A/N: Apologies if I've missed thanking anyone for reviews… FFNet has been playing up and wouldn't let me reply. Probably about another three chapters after this one… provided I can sabotage Kesterpan's bunny launcher and stop her adding any more! And after last week's episode Anonymous, how could I miss out Amira's way of greeting Gibbs?!

Chapter 15 – Sparks of Life

As they pulled up outside Leyla's house, the front door opened and a dark haired mini whirlwind flew out of the door almost before Gibbs had even turned off the truck's engine.

"Gibbsy!"

Tony couldn't help his broad grin at Amira's usual greeting. She was probably the only one who could get away with calling the Marine something like that… although he'd put money on Abby trying and probably succeeding, even at the risk of her first head slap.

As Amira ran down the driveway, Tony watched that rare boyish grin he loved break out on Gibbs' face as he got out of the truck to greet Leyla's daughter, holding his arms wide. Gibbs scooped up the little girl as she reached him, swinging her up off the ground as Amira giggled, her arms going around his neck as she hugged him tight.

"Whoa… too heavy." Gibbs grunted, grinning as he lowered her to the ground.

"I'm not heavy!" Amira protested, laughing. "Hey Tony." She ran over to him, holding her arms up. "You don't think I'm heavy, do you?"

"Hi Amira… Don't listen to him, he's getting old." Tony bent and picked her up, staggering around as if under a heavy weight. "On the other hand… noooo… too much. Gotta agree, Boss, waaay too heavy."

Amira punched him on the shoulder and giggled as Tony winced. "Hey! That hurt… and I know who you learned that move from. You're turning into a mini Abby."

"Totally!"

Tony joined in the laughter as he straightened up, holding Amira more firmly in his arms as the young girl clutched his neck. "Nah… okay… I give in, you're not heavy at all."

Leyla emerged from the house, walking down the driveway, smiling. "Hello Gibbs… Tony."

"Hey, Leyla," Tony replied as he put Amira down, ruffling her curls.

"So do I finally get to see my table? I've not been allowed in the basement while he was working on it," Leyla confided in Tony with a smile as Amira moved over to stand by Gibbs, slipping her hand into his.

"No patience," Gibbs teased. "Wait till we get it unloaded and unwrapped, you can see it properly then." Gibbs bent to kiss her cheek as Leyla reached them.

"Although you can see the bit that I did," Tony pointed. "Right there, Leyla… halfway down that side on the left… I sanded that… oh, and those two legs there, varnished with my own fair hands."

"Very impressive, Tony." Leyla chuckled before turning towards Gibbs. "If my daughter will let you go for one moment, Gibbs, the coffee is ready."

Tony laughed. "Ah, the magic words, Boss. Okay, on your mark, get set… and look at him go!"

Gibbs rolled his eyes, smirking as he wrapped an arm around Amira's shoulder and walked with her towards the house. "Grab the gear, DiNozzo."

Tony shook his head with a fond smile, picking up the flowers from the front seat of the truck. "I'll get these, shall I, Boss?" Tony called out after Gibbs' disappearing back. "Hey… what about the table?"

"Let's bring it in after lunch, Tony," Leyla suggested.

"Mmm, you're probably right… stand not between a Marine and his coffee, eh? Oh, and these are for you…" Tony held out the bunch of flowers with a flourish.

Leyla smiled, taking the tulips from Tony, burying her nose in the blooms and breathing in the scent. "Thank you."

"Well… I gotta confess, Gibbs bought them," Tony added. "Should've thought of it myself."

"I'm not keeping a record, Tony. Come into the house, let me put them in some water." Leyla turned towards the house.

Tony hesitated as he closed the truck door, leaving his own tulip on the seat. Leyla might think it was also for her and explanations could be awkward, so maybe it was best if he left it in the truck. It had its own vial of water so hopefully it wouldn't wilt.

Tony followed Leyla into the kitchen where Amira was babbling on excitedly to Gibbs, who was pouring coffee. "Mom says we can go to the park later and I can take my bike, and I wanna show Tony how high I can go on the climbing frame, and will you push me on the swings? And will you come outside now and play, oh, please?"

Tony shared a smile with Leyla as Gibbs let himself be dragged out into the back yard by Amira, clutching his coffee mug and unsuccessfully smothering a grin.

"I see the joint fan club is in full swing still," Tony commented.

Leyla nodded, opening a kitchen cupboard to lift down a vase. "She loves having you both here and Gibbs has always been wonderful with Amira, ever since she was very young."

"He's good with kids… always has been. Although I'm sure it would freak out half the agents at work if they could see him now… they don't know there's really a teddy bear underneath that terrifying exterior." Leyla shot him an amused look and Tony laughed. "Okay, maybe not a teddy bear, make that a grizzly bear with a marshmallow centre."

"He covers well… and so did Mike."

"And I bet Amira had Mike wrapped round her little finger, right?" Tony guessed.

"Always." They heard shrieks of girlish laughter outside and Leyla chuckled softly. "Gibbs too."

"Oh yeah… I noticed." Tony smiled before sobering and admitting quietly. "I like to think it's a bit like seeing a glimpse of how he was with Kelly."

"I'm sure it is." Leyla nodded, glancing at Tony as she filled the vase with water. "Mike told me a little about Kelly over the years, especially when Gibbs gave us his boat. I think Amira is about the same age now as Kelly was when she died. It must make it difficult for him sometimes."

"I'm sure he'd figure the good outweighs the bad memories. He's never more relaxed than when I see him like this with Amira… it's really nice to see," Tony confessed quietly as he leaned back against the counter, gazing off into the distance, momentarily unaware of Leyla' smile as she watched him.

Tony turned and Leyla turned her attention back to the tulips. "They look nice," he commented as Leyla finished arranging the flowers in the vase.

Leyla stood back, head tilted to one side. "They're beautiful. Gibbs knows I love tulips… so many different varieties and colours."

"I confess I don't know too much about them… other than when I've given them to women." Tony shrugged. "Although my fallback position is always roses. You can't go wrong with roses… especially black ones to Abby."

Leyla laughed. "Yes, I heard about her liking for those."

Tony grinned. "She's the only one I know who can view black roses as a romantic gesture… and not worry about their obvious meaning."

Leyla reached for two mugs and poured them both coffee. "I suppose we can take any meaning we wish to from a flower if we like it enough, and there are so many different meanings to choose from with most flowers."

Tony glanced at Leyla, surprised. "I didn't know you knew so much about them."

Leyla gave him a shy smile. "Only a little. It's an interesting subject."

Tony hesitated only briefly, trying to sound nonchalant as he gestured at the vase. "What do tulips mean then?"

"Oh, well, there are a few meanings I think." Leyla thought for a moment. "They can be given between lovers of course… or to convey a feeling of trust and loyalty… and I think they can also mean a renewal of warmth in someone's life, the return of love and hope."

Stunned, Tony stared at the tulips for a moment, not quite sure what to make of what Leyla said. Was that what Gibbs meant to convey to him with his flower or was it just a coincidence?

It made sense for the last sentiment to be so apt for Leyla and Amira… as they'd given Gibbs back so much in his life again.

Even though the reason Leyla and Amira were now here in D.C. was triggered by the trauma of losing Mike, helping the girls to move and looking out for them ever since, and being there as an honorary Uncle Gibbsy for Amira must have given a lot of meaning to the Marine's life.

Of course it couldn't be like having his girls back but Gibbs now had the opportunity to watch Amira grow up… something he'd been cruelly denied with Kelly. So while it was a wonderful opportunity, there had to be some bittersweet memories for the Marine as he was involved in Leyla and Amira's lives now.

But did the same sentiment of love and hope apply to him?

Anthony DiNozzo… Very Special Agent, loyal second and St Bernard, friend, hopeful lover… and failure at every relationship he'd ever attempted?

An explosion of girlish giggles drifted in from outside and Leyla laughed as she peered through the kitchen window before turning back with an impish gleam in her eye. "It looks like Gibbs might need rescuing, Tony."

Tony shook himself out of his thoughts and put his coffee mug down on the counter, grinning at Leyla. "On it, boss."

Tony opened the back door to find Gibbs flat on his back in the yard on a familiar Twister mat, with Amira sprawled sideways across his stomach, both of them almost helpless with laughter… and Tony felt a surge of strong emotion as he took in the sight of a Gibbs laughing, looking utterly relaxed, his arms around Amira.

Tony leaned against the doorframe, folding his arms. "Well, I gotta say that's not the usual way to play Twister. You're clearly not trying hard enough and need my help."

Amira giggled as she looked up at Tony, propping her elbows on Gibbs' stomach. "We fell over."

"Well, yeah, I can see that." Tony exchanged a grin with Gibbs.

"You knocked me over." Gibbs reached down to tickle Amira, who squealed and wriggled out of his grasp.

"I only leaned across you… like this," Amira made to repeat the movement, giggling as Gibbs threatened to tickle her again and she rolled away to land on her back next to him, "and we sorta collapsed." She held up her arms. "Help me, Tony."

"You mean they don't teach Twister in the Marines, Boss?" Tony sauntered over and pulled Amira to her feet and reached a hand down to help Gibbs up. "I'm shocked."

Tony waited till Amira ran back into the house before looking Gibbs up and down… relishing that warm gaze and the smile which took years off the Marine.

Tony grinned. "Twister, huh? I think Probie would have heart failure if we set it up in the bullpen, although it might be worth it just to see his face. Hey, maybe we could play it in Abby's lab… she'd love it. She'd have us all tied up in knots faster than you could say," Tony lowered his voice, "going for coffee."

Laughing, Tony ducked out of the way of the playful head slap before stepping closer to Gibbs and lowering his voice. "Or better yet, we could set it up in the basement coz I gotta say if we… no, make that when we play Twister, it'll hopefully turn into a red light situation pretty fast."

Heat flashed in Gibbs' eyes and his gaze flicked down to Tony's mouth, his own relaxing into a crooked grin. "Count on it."

Much later that day, Gibbs was in the kitchen with Leyla, helping her move some things around to accommodate the new table. When they'd finished, Leyla stepped back, hands on hips as she surveyed the changes.

"Looks good," Gibbs commented.

Leyla smiled warmly, leaning up to kiss his cheek. "It does… thank you."

Gibbs tilted his head in acknowledgement as Leyla headed for the fridge. "It's quiet outside," he commented after a moment.

Leyla laughed. "Yes, I noticed that… I wonder who has fallen asleep exhausted."

"Nah, if it was DiNozzo, he'd be snoring by now. You want some help?"

"No, you go outside… relax for a while. Go on, go…" Leyla glanced his way, smothering a smile as she poured coffee and handed Gibbs the mugs. "Here… take this to your Tony."

Gibbs stared at her, startled but all Leyla did was give him a warm smile, patting his arm as she held the door open.

Leyla was a perceptive woman but Gibbs honestly hadn't realized the changes between himself and Tony would be that obvious, although she'd been giving him knowing smiles and looks all morning. She either knew him too well by now or she'd spotted something… which he guessed was possible.

He'd even startled himself today.

He hadn't intended giving Tony that tulip. It had been a spur of the moment thing, after he remembered thinking the other night about seeing Tony's face if he bought him flowers.

So he'd added the Parrot Tulip to the bunch for Leyla merely as a joke to start with, only realizing afterwards how it might be viewed by the man himself. As the assistant in the flower shop had wrapped up the tulips, she'd been babbling on about their meaning and it had dawned on Gibbs what message it might send to Tony.

So he'd spent a good part of the morning battling with a little bit of insecurity, wondering if he'd done the right thing and trying to get his head around it all.

And judging by Tony's shocked expression and nervous banter at the time, it was clear the younger man wasn't sure how to take the gesture either.

But then, if he were honest with himself, some of the meanings fit Tony, as much as they did Leyla and Amira.

The sight which greeted Gibbs as he walked outside caused him to smile inwardly as he approached the swing seat he'd set up months ago on Leyla's back porch.

Tony was sitting at one end of the seat with Amira curled up fast asleep in his lap, her head resting on his shoulder, her small hands fisted in his T-shirt. She looked as tired as Gibbs felt after spending the morning playing with his goddaughter in the park and trying to keep up with Tony. He wasn't sure which was more exhausting.

Tony looked up with a smile as Gibbs sat beside him on the seat, handing him coffee.

"Thanks… Gibbsy."

Tony grinned as Gibbs glared at him half-heartedly, his mouth quirking in a smile.

Tony gestured with his head at Amira. "The cushions weren't good enough… seems I'm a better pillow."

"I'll remember that."

And there was that flirting again… the intense blue eyes, deep voice and confident manner that promised so much.

Tony grinned. "I feel like a nap myself… she's worn me out."

"Looked the other way around for a while back there." Gibbs reached over to smooth Amira's curls back from her face but the child didn't stir, even when Tony shifted slightly, easing her into a more comfortable position against his arm.

"She's fun." Tony sipped his coffee. "Leyla want any help back there?"

Gibbs shook his head. "Says not. I got shooed outta the kitchen."

"Shooed, huh?" Tony snorted. "Hard to imagine you getting shooed anywhere."

Gibbs chuckled. "It happens… you gonna argue with her?"

"Oh no, not me. I remember she even managed to boss Mike Franks around." Tony glanced down. "This one looks as if she could sleep the day away."

Gibbs watched Tony gazing down at Amira, wondering what he was thinking. Despite Tony's protests about feeling uncomfortable with kids, he got on well with Leyla's daughter and Amira adored him. It was a marked contrast to his usual unease around most children.

Gibbs remembered the day they'd spent here at Christmas and once Tony had gotten past his initial nerves with the girls, the younger man had seemed to enjoy himself, and had come here several times since… mostly to dinner or to help Gibbs with something for Leyla on the house.

"Amira's a lot easier to get along with than Fred, that's for sure," Tony revealed. "Wendy's kid didn't like me at all."

Gibbs shrugged. "Not surprising. You were dating his mom."

"Yeah, guess he was scared I was trying to replace his dad."

"Maybe," agreed Gibbs.

"I remember the same feeling when I was a kid… when dad remarried for the first couple of times. I thought he was trying to replace my mom and I resented the hell out of the new wives, even if they didn't last too long," Tony admitted quietly.

"You were young, Tony… and still hurting."

"Yeah… yeah, I was." Tony was silent for a while, lost in his memories. He glanced at Gibbs with a rueful smile. "Anyway, Wendy couldn't understand it. Thought I should've been able to get through to Fred and be best buddies real quick. So I doubt that helped the whole thing with Wendy second time around either. Doomed from the start… as I said before."

Gibbs let the silence drift for a moment. "You two discuss kids… the first time?"

"Yeah, but in a kinda vague someday we'll have them sorta thing." Tony shrugged. "We didn't have any definite plans but I knew Wendy wanted kids when we got together. To be honest, I never really thought of myself as father material… not after the kinda role model I had growing up, but I was willing to go along with it if that's what Wendy wanted."

"You're wrong. You'd have made a good dad."

Gibbs let his mind drift to the glimpses he'd seen of his alternate realities where Tony had had kids… with Kate.

Tony eyed him curiously before shrugging. "You're just trying to make me feel better."

Gibbs quirked an eyebrow. "Is it working?"

Tony smiled gently. "Maybe… but I'm not so sure, and we didn't talk about kids this time around either. But then it never lasted long enough for that, did it?"

"Guess not."

"Anyway it's great like this," Tony nodded to the sleeping girl in his lap, "when I can sort of borrow Amira like this and share her with you, but I get to hand her back at the end of the day. But I don't think I'm cut out for fatherhood… not day to day."

"Think you're doubting yourself again, Tony." Gibbs turned sideways slightly so he could see Tony's face more clearly.

"Maybe… but I'm not a natural at it like you. You are so great with kids… any kids. Used to envy you… watching you with the kids we met through cases. You remember Carson?" Tony waited till Gibbs nodded, smiling before going on. "He was great. Kids are drawn to you and it's really great watching you with Amira… it's like… like I imagine you were with Kelly."

Gibbs was silent for a long moment, gazing off into the distance before smiling slightly and meeting Tony's gaze. "Being a dad was one of the best experiences of my life. You shouldn't turn your back on it."

And don't give it up for me.

The thought remained unsaid but from the gentle, understanding smile Tony gave him, Gibbs figured the younger man had heard him loud and clear.

"Oh, I don't think I'm doing too badly out of this deal so far, Jethro." Tony stared at him seriously for a moment. "What about you… You never thought of having another kid? Although I think I know the answer to that one already."

Gibbs shook his head, the familiar pain welling up and it took a moment or two to control it. "Too painful… couldn't go through the risk of losing another child, Tony."

Tony nodded. "Can understand that… even if lightning shouldn't strike twice."

"Still couldn't."

Tony rested a hand on Gibbs' leg, watching his face and the glimpse of the anguish the older man couldn't quite hide. "Sorry… didn't mean to…"

Gibbs covered his hand and Tony twisted his over to entwine their fingers. "S'kay, Tony… Don't mind you asking."

Tony smiled, shaking his head slightly. "Who are you and what have you done with my functional mute?"

Gibbs returned his smile briefly, looking sheepish. "He can talk when he needs to"

"Yes, he can… and does and says just what I need to hear." Tony squeezed his hand.

Tony felt he was getting a glimpse of the guy who'd gotten four women to marry him and the more he saw, the harder he fell.

He was still getting over the shock of the chair, never mind the flower. The chair itself was huge enough and Tony wasn't blind to the implications. Gibbs could have given him the key to the house and it could hardly have meant more… well, it would have if the guy ever locked his damn door.

Tony looked down at their joined hands. "Y'know, I'll have to be careful Leyla doesn't catch me doing this. Might leave me with some s'plaining to do, Lucy."

"No need to tell her."

Tony stilled and started to withdraw his hand. "No, you're right… no need at all to tell her about this."

Gibbs saw Tony's face and felt the sudden tension under his fingers and gripped his hand tightly to stop Tony pulling away, reading the not so carefully hidden hurt at the thought Gibbs wanted to hide them.

"Hey… didn't mean that. She's already guessed I think."

Tony's eyes widened. "She has?"

Gibbs smiled. "Oh yeah."

"And are you okay with that?" Tony asked, surprised.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Gibbs shrugged. "She's family. We gotta keep this quiet from almost everyone else coz of work but that doesn't mean I'm ashamed of this… of us."

Tony smiled widely and stared at Gibbs who paused in the act of swigging his coffee. "What?"

"You said us." Tony pointed out.

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "Well, yeah… thought that was the point of all this. You okay with Leyla knowing?"

"I'm very okay with it."

"Good." Gibbs nodded briefly.

He was too.

In fact, he was surprising himself with how comfortable he was with it all.

The kiss yesterday and the ones this morning had been more than okay… the remembered taste and feel of the young man in his arms had only made him want more.

He'd always believed in his head about gender being irrelevant but had never thought to experience it himself, simply because he'd never been this close to another man – either mentally or physically.

And far from freaking out about kissing Tony and touching him, his body was starting to tell him that he wanted the same again and so much more.

And the armchair he'd been thinking about for a while anyway, even before they moved this something on beyond friendship. He'd meant what he'd said… it was better for Tony's back, although he'd long remember the surprise and joy on Tony's face for something so simple.

But the invitation yesterday at the cemetery had been as spur of the moment as the flower today, and all had more of a significance than he'd be able to explain, even to himself.

But it all felt right to make an effort.

More right than anything had in a very long time… and maybe it was time to share something else with Tony.

"You got plans next weekend?"

Tony glanced his way. "Not thought that far ahead yet. Why? You got plans?"

Gibbs nodded but didn't elaborate, supressing a smile when Tony lasted barely half a minute before asking his next question.

"These plans involve me?"

Another nod was all he got and Tony grinned as he saw the amusement lurking in the blue eyes. "You're not gonna tell me, are you? Not even a tiny clue."

Gibbs considered for a moment. "Bring your hiking boots."

Tony looked alarmed. "I knew it… you're taking me up in the hills to lose me. It's gonna be some bad ass Marine survival thing and if I make it back by Monday, I can keep my job."

Gibbs smiled. "Don't put ideas in my head." He looked over at Tony. "It's a surprise." Gibbs knew Tony was going to plague him all week and he was going to have just as much fun not telling him.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Well, I got that much… I like surprises."

"No, you like working out what the surprises are."

Tony glared at him. "Jethro… you're an evil man."

Gibbs grinned. "Ain't got started yet."

TBC…