AN – So sorry for the long wait and many thanks to all those who reviewed and pm'd waiting for updates. I haven't actually seen a computer for the last three weeks but in recompense this chapter is a little longer than usual. I'll get the next one up just as soon as I can.

"The basement?" Tony complained when he realised where they were heading. "Gibbs haven't you ever watched any horror movies? It's never a good idea to go down into the basement."

His back to the younger man, Gibbs grinned with open amusement as he led the way down the stairs, waiting for the inevitable reaction. Sure enough, the footfalls behind him stopped dead as DiNozzo took in the scene below him.

"Is that a boat?"

"Uh huh." Gibbs agreed easily.

"You have a boat, in your basement," Tony realised, as he came all the way down the stairs and started to circle the work in progress. He'd been afraid it might be something he'd have to feign interest in, like his cousin Petey's button collection or his father's obsession with the civil war. But the graceful curves of the wood had a cathedral like splendour. He looked around. "How are you going to get it out?"

"Need to finish it first," Gibbs shrugged, moving over to the workbench as he spoke with deceptive casualness. "You want to give me a hand?"

The offer was spontaneous but nonetheless heartfelt. Gibbs was beginning to realise that Tony wanted and needed his attention, at least as much as he craved his approval. He had no intention of feeding his insecurities with empty platitudes, if anything he planned on making him work harder than most for the least bit of praise, so even DiNozzo couldn't doubt that he'd earned it. But that didn't mean he had to be stinting with his time.

And if he was honest with himself he liked the idea of spending more time with DiNozzo. The younger man's sense of humour and irreverent attitude were refreshing, Gibbs admired the fact that the kid wasn't afraid to yank his chain a little. Like last week when he had told Agent Foster that Gibbs was nothing more than a 'big pussy cat." "That so, DiNozzo?" Gibbs had appeared behind him. The kid had made a big show of being surprised, even though they both knew dammed well he'd known Gibbs was there and had deliberately spoken loud enough for him to overhear. Gibbs could still remember the look of anticipation on the assembled Agents faces as they waited to see how this little scenario would pan out. "Silent and deadly, Boss," Tony had grinned unrepentantly at him. "I'm thinking Jaguar or maybe Panther?"

"Me? Help with that?" Tony actually took a step back.

"Why not?" Gibbs frowned a little at his obvious reluctance. He'd thought DiNozzo would jump at the chance. He had imagined him positively basking in the one-one-one attention as Gibbs talked him through the work.

"Wood workings not exactly my thing," Tony excused himself. "My Dad always got contractors in for anything like that. I can't even build a set of shelves."

"That right?" Now Gibbs figured he understood. For all his cockiness, DiNozzo could be pretty insecure. And he was smart enough to see that Gibbs had already invested a great deal of time and effort in the half finished shell. It was little wonder he was nervous about honing his non-existent skills on the smooth, sleek lines. Well, he figured he could set him straight on that point at least. "You know, I burnt the last one."

"You did?" Tony blinked, as he rapidly assimilated the new piece of information. "Second ex-wife?"

"Something like that." Gibbs turned away and headed towards the workbench.

He was reluctant to admit, even to himself, the real reason he kept finding excuses to destroy his handiwork. The manual labour helped occupy his hands and his thoughts and without it he knew that there would be too many dark thoughts and empty hours. Also, so long as the boat remained unfinished he could hang on to his memories of working on it with his daughter. He didn't much care that it wasn't the same boat.

Picking up a piece of sandpaper, he lifted up the younger man's unresisting arm and pressed the coarse paper into his lax hand, ignoring the younger man's dubious look as he curled his fingers around it and gave the closed fist a reassuring pat. In return Tony managed a watery smile, but it was clear he had no real clue where the ex-Marine was going with this. Tugging on his wrist, Gibbs towed him over to stand beside the ribs of the unfinished boat

"Gibbs," Tony shook his head, as realisation dawned. "This is a bad idea. I'm just no good at this stuff. You'd be better off asking Dave from security. He used to be a carpenter."

Gibbs wasn't surprised that Tony knew that. In the short time he had worked at NCIS he seemed to have made friends with almost everyone. He knew the names of their spouses and their kids. He knew when there was a family crisis or celebration. Gibbs wouldn't be surprised if he knew everyone's birthdays.

Even his.

"You see Dave here, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked in his usual no-nonsense way. He figured it would work as well here as it always did at a crime scene. If he acted like he had complete confidence in Tony's abilities, the kid would straighten his shoulders, swallow his doubts and step up to the plate. "Stand here, run your hand down the side," He instructed, moving his hand in the right direction. "Feel the line of the grain? Work with that, small circles, nice and slow." He demonstrated. "Go on. Give it a go."

Tony looked at the boat, his expression soft with an odd sort of longing. He actually reached out a hand, almost but not quite touching the wood, before he abruptly turned away.

"You know what, I think I'll just leave you to it. It's been a long day," Tony dropped the sandpaper on the workbench as he passed. "I'm gonna hit the rack."

It was a testament to just how surprised Gibbs was by his actions that DiNozzo was able to get half way up the stairs before the ex-Marine's bark stopped him in his tracks.

"Hey!"

DiNozzo froze, closing his eyes in something like defeat. He should have known it wasn't going to be that easy. For a second, a wave of despair washed over him, before he swallowed hard and arranged his features into a mask of acceptable neutrality, as he turned to face Gibbs' wrath. The look of concern in the bright blue eyes took him by surprise.

"Your back hurting you?" Gibbs hazarded.

Tony hesitated, totally wrong footed by the un-expected compassion. He wouldn't even have to say anything, a sheepish look and an awkward shrug and Gibbs would draw his own conclusions that his injuries made the necessary movements awkward, painful even. Except, Gibbs had made it plain he felt about lying, even by omission and Tony had too much respect for him to make that mistake twice.

"No, it's not that." He admitted quietly.

Below him, Gibbs waited his expression quizzical. His patient concern only serving to strengthen Tony's resolve, he should never have let things get this far. He knew better. And Gibbs deserved better. Swallowing hard, he met his eyes. After all, his Boss was just being polite, Tony's sharp eyes had already seen the bottle of bourbon and the single chipped mug on the shelf, not to mention the one set of very familiar footprints tracking through the thick layer of sawdust on the floor. This was obviously not a place where the man welcomed company. The least Tony could do to repay his hospitality was respect that.

And if that generosity of spirit just happened to fit in with his own plans to get the hell out of there as soon as humanly possible, then so much the better.

"Look, I appreciate the offer," He smiled brightly. "Really, I do. But frankly, I would rather chew my own arm off than give this a try."

Gibbs worked grimly, smoothing the sandpaper across the wooden frame, as he resolutely ignored the voices coming from his kitchen. He tried to tell himself that DiNozzo had brought this upon himself and if he was sounding slightly panicked then it was no more than he deserved.

Abby.

His brain identified the familiar rise and fall of the second voice, even if he couldn't actually make out the words. DiNozzo had called Abby, which at least proved he hadn't taken leave of all of his senses, since a well as being one of the best persons to help understand him, Abby also had the added advantage of still habitually being awake at this time of the night, or rather what was now really early in the morning.

It also meant the kid was seriously rattled.

Gibbs laid down the sandpaper as he thought about that. Much as he hated to admit it, he knew this mess was mostly his fault. It wasn't like DiNozzo didn't give off enough warning signals, encouraging others to keep their distance. Hell, almost everything about him was smoke and mirrors, using his charm and easy banter to keep people at a distance and stop them seeing the real man beneath. Maybe, even to stop himself seeing it too. That was something Gibbs knew a little about himself. And why he usually hid behind his customary reserve.

He was dammed if he knew why DiNozzo had acted like he did. But he wasn't actually thinking about that right now. Even his own wounded feelings at the apparent rejection had subsided. All he could think about was the look of shock and fear on DiNozzo's face, when he realised that he had somehow managed to break through that tough exterior and actually hurt his Boss's feelings.

Kid had looked like he was about to be shot. Or worse.

Much as he hated the talking about stuff like this Gibbs knew they couldn't leave things the way they were. And that he had better find a way to fix it before DiNozzo got it into his head to call Morrow and put in his resignation. Tom had already given them about as much leeway as they were going to get. If DiNozzo offered his badge odds were Morrow would take it and Gibbs wasn't about to let it come to that. Reaching a decision, he began to make his way quietly up the stairs.

"Tony you didn't!" Abby's voice shrieked tinnily from the cell phone placed open on the kitchen island, leaving DiNozzo's hands free to run through his hair, over his face, and clench and unclench into fists as he circled the room obviously in deep agitation.

"Can we just assume because I'm an idiot and go from there?" Tony asked. "And before you say anything, believe me I know, I should just have gritted my teeth and gone through the motions."

"So why didn't you?" There was no censure in Abby's tone. Only genuine curiosity, a need to know that wasn't remotely diminished by the long silence that followed on the other end of the line. "Tony, you said 'no' to Gibbs over something that's a really big deal to him. Letting you work on the boat is like the Holy Grail. I don't think he's ever let any of his Agents touch her before."

"Are you trying to make me feel worse?" Tony demanded, as he came to a dead halt, and scowled at the phone.

"I'm just saying, you must have has a really good reason," Abby pointed out, her tone indicating that she wasn't going anywhere until she heard what it was. When Tony's only response was merely another desperate sigh her conviction wavered slightly. "You did have a good reason, right?"

Gibbs paused, tilting his head on one side as Tony put both his hands on the counter top and dropped his head, even from this distance Gibbs could see the tremors in his arms and the unnatural pallor of the usually tanned looking skin against his dark hair. For a second, he wondered if the younger man was fighting back tears, but when he finally spoke his voice came, soft, but with a steady resolve that made Gibbs heart proud.

"Look, most of the time, my Dad never really noticed I was alive," Tony confided. "But every now and again, usually when Nonna or one of my Aunts had gotten to him, he decided he should teach me something," Tony shuddered slightly at the memory of those trips. "It never ended well."

"Gibbs isn't like that," Abby was quick to reassure. "He's a really good teacher. You said yourself he's taught you a whole lot about being an NCIS Agent."

"I know," Tony straightened up, scrubbing at his face, exhaustion clear in his features, so that Gibbs couldn't tell what exactly had caused the red-rimmed eyes. "But that's work. It's part of his job as team lead to teach me about procedures and stuff. This is different. This is about him and me."

"Aw, that's so sweet, you guys are bonding." Abby enthused.

"Abs, if this is your idea of a thriving relationship, remind me never to double date with you," Tony countered dryly. "I think I really hurt his feelings."

"You totally need to talk to him," Abby decided. "Tell him, what's going on in that head of yours. Once he realises how important this is to you, he'll forgive you. That's how families work."

"Maybe your family," Tony shook his head wrly. "You really think Gibbs is going to just let this go?"

"Sure, all you have to do is to march back on down there and say you'd changed your mind and now you really, really want to learn how to work that wood." Abby didn't see a problem. "Oh and take, coffee. Lot's of coffee."

"Maybe, I should just resign now." Tony wasn't joking.

"Tony! No!" Abby protested. "Don't you dare even think like that. Why would you think like that? You can fix this. You can talk anyone into anything. And I've never seen Gibbs warm up to anyone the way he has with you. You guys are so good for each other. And you need him too. You said yourself he's already done so much for you. Why can't you just do this teeny tiny thing for him?"

"Because it'll make him hate me." Tony confided softly. "And I'd rather quit than have him look at me like my father used to."

"What?" Abby's shock mirrored Gibbs' own his eyes narrowing with concern. Even as Tony half-turned away he could see from his profile how defeated he looked, his eyes dark and his expression anguished. He barely seemed to be listening to Abby any more. "Tony, Gibbs would never hate you. Why would you think that he would?"

"That's a good question, I'd kind of like to know the answer to that one myself," Gibbs spoke softly into the ensuing silence. Tony's head snapped around, his eyes wide with shock, Gibbs didn't react. He simply stepped forward into the light, never once breaking eye contact with his newest Agent. Finding his voice, Tony spoke into the phone.

"Abs, I have to go."

Gibbs watched with some sympathy as Tony clicked his phone shut, rubbing his thumb across the casing as he obviously tried to decide whether he should try and talk his way out of this, or just be a man and offer his resignation right off. The usually confident young man shifted nervously from foot to foot, as the tips of his ears burned, clearly uncomfortably aware that Gibbs must have heard every word he had said.

"Boss, I .." He faltered.

Gibbs couldn't help but soften his expression in the face of such obvious pain. It didn't take a Federal Agent to work out that DiNozzo's father had been the type of demanding taskmaster that would make the kid leery of disappointing his Boss.

"You want to talk about it?" Gibbs offered gently.

"No," Tony assured him fervently, even in these circumstances slightly proud that he could elicit a wry smile from Gibbs in understanding of that sentiment. Then again, no-one had ever asked him that before and the man had earned some kid of explanation. He sighed. "But maybe I should."

"I'm listening." Gibs tilted his head.

"It always started out well. I was so excited to actually get to spend some time with him and you could see he was really trying. He'd tell me about the civil war or how to swing a gold club or whatever it was this time and I would swallow my disappointment that it wasn't football or basket ball or something I liked and do my best to make him proud," Tony paused, before riskinga small glance as if to gauge Gibbs' reaction. "Look, its late, we both have work in the morning, maybe we should just call it a night?"

"Go on." Gibbs wasn't giving any ground.

"Sometimes, I actually did make him proud," Tony recalled that brief window of opportunity, when he might earn an approving look or a few cherished words of praise. "God knows, I tried hard enough, but after the second or third drink his expectations rose, he'd compare me to his friends kids, always the ones who were older or stronger than me and he'd get mad when I didn't measure up to what they were doing, until he couldn't stand the shame any more and order me to get out of his sight."

Tony bowed his head, feeling totally wrung out and wretched. Part of him was glad that he'd finally let out that much at least but he also wished he'd just kept his mouth shut. As he waited for the inevitable reaction he couldn't help reflecting that he might have found Gibbs fury easier to deal with than his pity.

The firm, cool, hand, cupping his neck was a surprise, as Gibbs' gave a supportive squeeze.

"Thank you."

Tony's head came up sharply, scanning Gibbs' expression, still acutely aware of the hand, cupping his neck, as his Boss looked back at him with a calm sincerity and just a hint of the gratitude that he had heard in his voice. Tony blinked, Gibbs wasn't appalled or disgusted, he wasn't even shocked or demanding to know all the gory details, he was just grateful that Tony had shared that with him.

"Um, you're welcome?" Tony offered uncertainly.

To his surprise, Gibbs face split into a broad, genuine, grin, as he shook his head in rueful amusement. Tony wasn't quite sure what he had done to deserve it, but the fact that he had managed to make Gibbs smile like that was reward in itself and he found himself grinning back, feeling better without quite knowing why.

"C'mon," Gibbs' hand slipped down to slap him on the shoulder in a clear gesture of approval and affection, as he moved. "Time to get some shut eye."

"Um," Tony made a face. "Maybe, I'll just hit the shower. We have to be at work in less than two hours and my Boss gets really cranky if I'm late."

"You want me to tuck you in?" Gibbs fixed him with a look.

"Uh, no, that won't be necessary," Tony hastily backtracked, not at all sure that his Boss wouldn't enjoy making good on the threat. "Sleep sounds real good right about now. Um, which way is the spare room, Boss?"

"Never actually got around to making it up. Too late too worry about it now. You can bunk in with me for tonight," At Tony's slightly panicked look he simply grinned. "Don't worry, DiNozzo, I promise I'll still respect you in the morning."