AN – Apologies for the delay in updating, I had this all ready to go last week and there was a glitch with my data stick and I lost this and the rwhole est of the story. I'm not going to abandon it, but I will have to re-write it and I'm very busy at work this week and then away for three weeks so I'm afraid updates will have to come when they can. I'm really sorry but I can see no way around it.

Gibbs struggled to keep his face impassive as the quiet words hung the air between them. He knew DiNozzo was a light sleeper. Plus he had ears like a bat. Hadn't Baltimore been proof enough of that? Why hadn't Gibbs even considered taking Fornell down to the basement where they would have been safely out of earshot?

Hey knew why, of course, he just didn't want to admit it.

For reasons he was reluctant to take out and examine too much, he had been unwilling to let the kid out of his sight. He knew that Abby was right. He had been riding DiNozzo too hard lately and not because the younger man had screwed up on the job but because his own feelings had been hurt. Gibbs had always prided himself on being a good CO the fact that DiNozzo hadn't trusted him enough to tell him that Matthews had attacked him had hit him hard.

When he had seen the conditions in which his newest Agent had been living, his gut had twisted with an oblique sympathy. He knew loneliness when he saw it. He'd hoped that bringing him into his house, into his home, would be enough to make amends. Now it seemed like he had he even managed to screw that up. He ran a hand through his hair as he struggled to think of some way to make this better.

"You didn't agree with him." Tony observed quietly.

Gibbs blinked, a soft, rueful, smile spreading across his face as he shook hid head in admiration. He knew there was a reason he had hired DiNozzo. Despite his irreverent exterior the younger man had a way of cutting through the crap and focusing on what was really important.

"No," He agreed simply. "I didn't."

He watched as Tony nodded solemnly, accepting that. The younger man's jaw clenched, as a shadow crossed his face and he looked away, unable to meet Gibbs eyes. Fornell's words had cut deep but they weren't anything he hadn't heard before. He had spent most of his adult life trying to run away from who he was. No easy task when you worked in law enforcement and your colleague investigated illegal business practises and dubious contacts for a living.

"My first CO couldn't get past it. There I was, straight out of the Police Academy, no track record to speak of, and my old man was a person of interest to the FBI," Tony gave a hollow laugh. "I've know since I was twelve that he wasn't exactly above board. I've spent almost my entire adult life trying to bring him down. But he's good and his lawyers are better."

"You want some help with that?" Gibbs offered.

Tony blinked, his eyes widening with surprise, before a soft, almost shy, smile, spread across his face as he recognised the sincerity of that gesture. Gibbs knew that there was no way he could acknowledge what DiNozzo had let slip about his childhood abuse. Not now and maybe not ever. One day, perhaps the kid would trust him enough to tell him when he wasn't half cut and dead on his feet. Much as he wanted to give the man a taste of his own medicine but his hands were tied until the younger man trusted him enough to confide in him when he was stone cold sober. But helping to destroy David DiNozzo's dubious business empire would be a damn good start.

"Yeah," Tony managed a grin at the almost predatory gleam in his Boss' eyes. "I'd like that."

Gibbs nodded once, before taking a long hard look at the pale, almost translucent skin of the exhausted younger man. The normally bright green eyes were dull holes in his face. Two bright spots of pink in his cheeks suggested a light fever.

"Think you could eat something now?"

Tony felt a pang of embarrassment as he recalled the image of Gibbs in the kitchen carefully putting the finishing touches to a meal left to spoil. His mouth felt thick and sour and his head was pounding with dehydration. He knew he had been sick, emptying his stomach of its already meagre contents. He had a vague memory of Gibbs' deft touch ghosting across his injured back. But for the life of him he couldn't remember anything else about the last few hours.

And that scared him. He wasn't the type to let his guard down. Not undercover. Not in a relationship. And certainly not with people he had only know for a few weeks. What was it about Gibbs that offered such a sense of safety and security? He would have to watch that. He had too many secrets to be selling his soul for a hot meal and a little human kindness. The thought drenched in a sudden cold sweat, making his mouth go dry and his chest tighten. Surely, if he had let that slip, Gibbs would have said something? Wouldn't he? Tony searched his Boss' face carefully. Finding no clues there he was forced to ask.

"I didn't say anything stupid, did I?" He asked carefully. "I mean, earlier?"

"No," Gibbs met his gaze steadily. "You didn't say anything stupid."

"Right." Tony nodded.

When it became apparent Tony wasn't about to say anything more Gibbs gave a small shake of his head. They both knew that those words could be taken several ways. And Gibbs wasn't lying. But Tony was obviously unwilling to call him on exactly what had been discussed. For all his apparent talkativeness, DiNozzo could be as closed mouthed as him when there was something he didn't want to talk about. That was fine with Gibbs. He was a patient man. And he was in this for the long haul.

"How about an omelette?" Gibbs suggested, as he rummaged through the refrigerator. It would be quick to make and easy on the stomach. Only to raise a brow as he stuck his head around the refrigerator door to catch the hopeful, puppy dog look that drifted across DiNozzo's face. "Are you serious? You need real food."

"Pizza is real food," DiNozzo defended his preference, not at all surprised that his Boss could read his mind. "It has carbohydrates in the base and protein in the meat and the tomato sauce is vegetable."

"You actually know all that crap?" Gibbs raised a brow.

"I'm a Phys Ed major," Tony reminded him, puffing out his chest a little. "We had to learn all about proper nutrition."

"Yeah," Gibbs grinned at him, no malice in his look. "You didn't learn that tomato is a fruit."

"Hey, I was a sportsman not a gardener."

Gibbs snorted his opinion of that as he peered in the refrigerator he really needed to visit the store. But the conversation has sparked a memory, crossing over to his freezer he pulled out a carton of soup, home made from some kind of pasta and stuff his neighbour had brought over one time, emptying the frozen contents into a pan to warm.

"Carbohydrate, protein and vegetables." He gave a thin smile.

"Smells, pretty good." Tony conceded the point, even as his nose wrinkled.

"What?"

"Don't you own a microwave?"

"Sit," Gibbs ordered around a smile. The place settings were still on the table from before, as Tony obediently sank into a seat. Digging out a couple of bowls Gibbs stirred the soup, until it was piping hot, stilling DiNozzo's one attempt at a knife and fork percussion session with a single look, before placing a bowl in front of him.

"Eat it. All of it." He commanded, knowing DINozzo wouldn't be fooled by the brusque tone. Sure enough.

"You know for a grade "A" bastard, you're a pretty nice guy." Tony grinned around a mouthful of soup.

"My second ex-wife would tell you otherwise."

"Your second ex-wife?" Tony looked his expression perking up, his sudden curiousity, reminding Gibbs there was a downside to hiring such an astute investigator. "So, how many times have you been married, Boss?"

"You talk to your father much, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked, keeping his eyes on his soup, at least as curious to find out the genuine answer as to that question, as to make his own point. The flat, shuttered, look he caught out of the corner of his eye was more than he wanted to know.

"Maybe, we should just steer clear of personal questions," Tony forced a brightness he obviously didn't feel and made a deliberate effort to change the subject. "Do you like sports?"

"Baseball," Gibbs acknowledged. "If we have a free weekend I like to hit the cages once in a while, keep my aim in."

"Ah," Tony almost winced at the revelation. "I'm a football and basketball guy myself, I never really that into baseball. I think it was something to do with the outfits," Worried he might have offended the ex-marine he dug around for another topic. "What about music?"

"Only ever listen to five songs." Gibbs admitted truthfully.

"Right," Tony looked around the room, craning his neck to peer into the hallway and the lounge room as he cast his mind about for something else they could talk about. "No TV, No DVDs, No Art, Furniture's pretty nice but no Antiques. You cook to eat but judging by the small number of your recipe books it's not a hobby. No plants so not really a gardener. House is well maintained but you're no Home Improvement guy. Ex-wife so you probably date sometimes but I really don't want to go there."

"Damn straight."

Defeated Tony pinned the ex-Marine with a look. "Alright, I give up. What the hell do you do when you're not working?"

"Eat up and I'll show you." Gibbs grinned.