(8) 'Coz we are living, in a material world, and I am a material girl... Lol, gotta love Madonna ;) Anywho, thanks for all the reviews ^^ I really, really, really appreciate them :)
I shamelessly used Gibbslet's idea in this chapter, coz it rocked ;)
Plus, Poppy784's idea. You should be a spy :P
Many agent's mouths dropped open as they saw Special Agent Gibbs walk through the building. He was holding a baby in a very gentle manner, bouncing him slightly and rubbing his back softly. Also, the baby happened to be chewing on a flannel. Some of them quirked their eyebrows, perhaps thinking that the baby was only allowed a flannel as a toy when being looked after by Gibbs.
"You wanna take a picture?" He asked sarcastically, as they all glanced at him when they got to his floor. Quickly, they all shook their heads and got back to work. Gibbs grinned and made his way towards his desk,
"Gibbs! Abby said you wouldn't be in today." Kate exclaimed in surprise as he turned the corner into the bullpen. McGee looked up as well, his brow furrowed,
"Why is Tony chewing a flannel?" Gibbs glanced up as he set Tony down while putting the bag on the floor,
"Didn't Abby tell you?" McGee blanched and looked over at Kate quizzically,
"He just got in," She explained to Gibbs, before saying to McGee, "Tony's teething, so you have to extra nice to him today. Abby's words." She added, seeing the look she got off all three males.
"You changed the date time?" Gibbs asked her, causing McGee to look at her blankly again,
"Yeah, he said he completely understands, and said how's Friday?" Gibbs contemplated this, before answering,
"Three days from now. Should be ok. McGee!"
"Yes Boss?"
"I want you to find out everything about Lacey. From which hospital he was born in, to where he went to school, all until present." Gibbs had a toddler trying to crawl up his leg at this point, so it was quite hard to take his order seriously, but McGee sat down and started to type furiously at his computer. The older man quickly scooped up Tony before the boy did himself an injury on his desk. He was in such a desperate need for affection that he couldn't bear not be getting physical attention at any time.
Gibbs quickly worked out a system, where he would continually rub Tony's back, like he would if the kid was upset. This would soothe him enormously, and when Tony started to curl up slightly on his lap, and start to cuddle into his stomach, Gibbs actually got some work done.
Suddenly, his phone rang, causing Tony to stir from sleep and moan, rubbing his eyes and pushing himself closer to Gibbs,
"Gibbs, what?!"
"No need to take that tone with me Jethro, I'm merely calling to say that I've done our petty officer's autopsy."
"Sorry, Duck, I'm a little stressed. I'll be right down."
"Bring Anthony with you, I'd like to see how he's doing." Gibbs shrugged and put the phone down, taking Tony towards the elevators.
--
Gibbs had to walk back to the bullpen just before he got in the elevator, sensing how uncomfortable the kid was, and grabbed the diaper bag. Tony just stuck his head in Gibbs' shoulder and moaned slightly, leading Gibbs to take pity on him and wait until they got down to autopsy to change him,
"Alright if I do it on the table Duck?" Gibbs asked as the M.E hastily covered the body up until Tony was out of sight,
"Go right ahead Jethro, the tables are all sterilized. How is the boy?"
"Mending," Gibbs said, relieved at how Tony wasn't as warm as he had been, and the diarrhoea was nearly gone, "Bit clingy." He smiled at the baby, hoping he'd see it was a joke, but he'd fallen asleep, sucking his thumb and his flannel, completely exhausted. Gibbs smiled fondly, his smile seeming to light the cold room, and to Ducky it felt like Jethro had his wife and daughter back. However, this cosy scene wouldn't reveal what had happened exactly, so Ducky coughed and said,
"Jethro, however asleep he is, I'd rather do this away from his eyes, so if you could..." He gestured out the doors to the elevator, "I'm sure Abby could watch him for a few minutes." Gibbs looked torn between wanting to have Tony close, and wanting to spare him from a grisly scene. Eventually, Ducky made the choice for him, gently plucking Tony from off the table, now clean and dry again and put him in Gibbs' arms,
"Take him to Abby dear boy."
--
"Hey! Gib..." Abby was stopped by a hand put over her mouth and Gibbs then removing it to put it into the shushing gesture on his own lips. He motioned down to Tony, who was still fast asleep,
"He didn't get much sleep last night." Abby's face switched to distraught in just a mere blink that Gibbs thought her face might be computer generated,
"Aw! I completely forgot, is he ok? Did you get the fever down? Are you giving him plenty of fluids, so he doesn't get ill from the diarrhoea? Are you making sure you don't give him a hard time? Of course you won't, you're Gibbs, and he's Tony, so..." Gibbs passed Tony over to her without speaking, making sure he was getting physical contact all the while. As soon as Tony started to snuggle up to Abby happily, he crept out, whispering,
"I'll be with Ducky, so try not to disturb us unless it's important."
"Medical emergency, limbs dropping off, that kind of thing?" Abby was familiar with Gibbs' rules about disturbing him, but his answer surprised her,
"If he doesn't feel very well, or if he needs me in anyway. You know where I am." She merely nodded, with her mouth slightly open as he went out. Still, she soon recovered, and cuddled Tony happily, grinning as she saw the flannel almost falling out of his mouth,
"Here baby, let me make it colder for you." With some tricky positioning, she managed to hold him comfortably while running cold water over it. Wringing it out as Gibbs had done, she offered it back, nearer to his mouth, and smiled as he took it automatically and squeezed her hand protectively, as if checking she was still there,
"I'm not going anywhere sweetie." She said to him, hugging him again, before realising that she was stood there with an adorable baby and no way she'd be able to work. In a minute however, she relaxed and rested herself comfortably on the floor, with Tony on her lap. She, like Gibbs, didn't get bored, she merely watched Tony sleep, stroking his head and crooning small lullabies into his ear.
--
An echoing crash resounded through the autopsy room, as Palmer, nervous as Gibbs constantly breathed down his neck, crashed into him, causing Gibbs to catch the side of his head on a table. Ducky tutted and let Gibbs yell at Palmer until the young man needed to change his trousers, before intervening,
"Mr Palmer, do me a favor and start on our next visitor, I'm going to have take Jethro to hospital."
"The hell you are Duck, I need to get to work." Ducky stood firm, his arms folded in front of his chest,
"That head wound requires stitches Jethro, and I don't have the proper treatment here. Trust me, I'd keep you here if I did. And don't even try to persuade me!" He added, as Gibbs opened his mouth angrily, "You need to be in full working condition to look after young Anthony, and he needs you right now."
This seemed to persuade Gibbs entirely. He shut his mouth and nodded, going up in the elevator. Just as the elevator was about to open, Gibbs exclaimed,
"Tony! He needs to know what happened! So does Abby, what if he wakes up and she can't find me? They'll both be nervous wrecks!" Ducky had to pull Gibbs out of the elevator and said,
"We'll tell Caitlin, she'll tell Abby." Gibbs didn't look convinced for a second, and he tried to pull back into the elevator, but Ducky stood firm, walking over to Kate's desk,
"My dear girl," He started, "I'm afraid Jethro needs to go into hospital for some stitches. Will you please let Abigail know? Anthony's with her, and he'll need to know." Kate gawped at them for a while before calling Abby, gazing at both men retreating towards the elevator once more.
"Abbs? It's Kate."
"Kate! Hi! What can I do for the guys upstairs?" Kate managed a chortle and said,
"Ducky's had to take Gibbs to hospital, he said he needed stitches. He told me to let you know so that if Tony wakes up..."
"WHAT?!!" Came a loud yell down the phone, immediately followed by a louder one as Abby had doubtless woken Tony up, "Aw heck," Abby moaned, and Kate guessed she was probably rocking the baby, "Oh no baby it's ok, don't cry, come on baba. I'm sorry, Abby didn't mean to scare you..."
Kate laughed, imagining what Tony was thinking about the babyish names, but then guessed that he'd gone to Tony Junior, as the way Abby talked to him would probably shrink him.
"Kate, I'm coming up, he's... he's in a right state, he just wants Gibbs."
"How do you know?" Kate asked, intrigued. She guessed Abby put the phone near Tony, who was yelling loudly, mixed with hiccoughing from the crying,
"Daddy!!! Da-dyyy!!!" Kate bit her lip. This wasn't good. The only person to solve this was Gibbs, who was obviously out. And she didn't think they should bring a screaming baby into the hospital. Abby hung up, and Kate flinched as she realised that meant she'd be coming up here. She stood up and said,
"McGee, Abby's coming up here with Tony, we're going to see Gibbs," He nodded, knowing there was more, "He's Tony Junior at the moment though," She explained, "And is practically screaming for Gibbs, we need to try and calm him down." McGee gulped slightly, and a few quiet moments passed before they heard the yelling coming up in the elevator,
"Da-Deeee!" The cries had become more desperate, and Tony was howling, causing every agent in the room to look over in interest. Abby came over looking pale, worried about Gibbs and Tony,
"I'm sorry Kate," She said, "I can't calm him, and I made it worse by changing him, he's teething, and one of the symptoms is..."
"Abby, I know," She said gently. Then, a thought came to her, "Wouldn't it be better if we made him Tony again? Got him out of Tony Junior?" Abby nodded, but said,
"I've tried, I tried shouting like Gibbs, I even tried a tiny miniature head-slap, but I can't get him out. Oh Kate, what if he's stuck like this?!" Kate put her hands on Abby's shoulders and said,
"Don't worry Abbs, it'll be fine. I guess we'll have to take him to Gibbs." Abby nodded and at once passed the still bawling Tony to Kate, and pulled out her phone. She pressed a button and after a while hung up, shaking her head,
"He's not answering." Kate nodded grimly and passed Tony over to McGee and said,
"Hold him 'till we get to the car McGee." He looked gobsmacked and squeaked out,
"Why?!"
"Because maybe he'll stop if he has something different to chew on."
--
In no way did Tony quieten down during the journey. He wailed, whined, waved his arms around (Consequently hitting McGee in the face. Alot.) and wriggling around so much he almost fell on the floor.
"I think it's Separation Anxiety," Abby said, full of knowledge, "If he's separated from his main carer i.e Gibbs, he'll become restless, and will be more prone to tantrums and the like. And I think that the reason he can't get out of Tony Junior, is because he's gotten himself so wound up. Haven't you sweetie?" She turned around and looked at Tony, who was still sobbing pathetically and now mumbling the word 'Daddy' over and over.
She felt so bad that she couldn't do anything, she let a few tears go herself, thinking how awful it must be for Tony, the thing he loved and trusted most in his life (In Tony Junior's life anyway.) was Gibbs, and now he wasn't here, and the poor baby couldn't understand why.
"Are we nearly there?" She asked Kate, who was driving as though she'd been taught by Gibbs,
"Yep, we're just nearing the car park."
As soon as the car stopped all passengers emptied quickly, all going crazy at the sound of the baby's desperate crys,
"C'mon the accident and emergency is that way!" Abby cried out, pulling at Kate who was locking the car, and taking Tony out of McGee's hands, who looked as though he was going to pass out.
--
Gibbs looked up to Ducky from the chair he was sat on while the nurse tried to stitch him up, eyes twinkling,
"Can you hear something, Duck?" Ducky cocked his head and smiled,
"I believe your boy doesn't want to be parted from you Jethro." Gibbs chuckled as the sound of a screaming baby ripped through the department. Gibbs smiled as he realized that nothing would stop Tony from finding him, and he was good at manipulating (Although torture might have been a better word at this point) his co-workers into getting him there. He tried not to smile when he heard what Tony was screaming, although he almost didn't manage it,
"Daddy!!" The nurser who was stitching him said,
"Goodness, what a racket! Is he your son?" She asked, as the noise was getting closer. He nodded grimly and she blushed slightly, but didn't say anything as the troupe finally made their way into the cubicle,
"Gibbs!" Abby said happily, and had to struggle, even though he was only 18 months old, against Tony, who was trying desperately to reach Gibbs,
"Daddy!" Gibbs smiled indulgently at him, and allowed the boy to climb onto his lap as the last stitch was put into place. He cuddled the boy, rolling his eyes as everyone smiled at them,
"Guess you missed me, huh?" Tony didn't say anything, and continued to snuggle into him, still hiccoughing slightly from the sobs. Gibbs ran his fingers through Tony's hair, who was obviously still upset at having been away from Gibbs for so long,
"We tried to get him back to Tony rather than Tony Junior," Abby explained, waiting until the nurse had left, "But he wouldn't. I think the trauma..."
"Trauma, Abbs?" Gibbs asked quietly as Tony started to snuffle and chew at his hand slightly,
"Yes Gibbs, trauma. He was terrified. He didn't know where you were, or what had happened, and I think he was so wound up he couldn't go back to Tony." Gibbs wondered if he should have a go now. Although... Tony was quite endearing as he was now... No. He cast that thought aside quickly, and after another cuddle he barked out (Making everyone else jump),
"DiNozzo!" The baby jumped as well and answered,
"Yeah Boss! I... what happened to your face?" Gibbs smiled and said,
"Palmer crashed me into a table."
"That fuc...er," He paused, as Abby and Gibbs raised their eyebrows at him, "I mean... that darn autopsy gremlin! I'll get him for you Boss, you say the word." Gibbs chuckled and said,
"The nurse said I'm good to go. What say we go to the cafe or something?" Tony smiled and asked,
"Can I have a biscuit?" Gibbs ruffled his hair and replied,
"How're your gums and everything?" Tony considered this. They actually didn't feel that bad. He was quite tired though, and he supposed he had a bit of a headache from the screaming fit (He hadn't been able to help it though). It would be useless trying to lie to Gibbs, so he relayed this information, and waited.
"We should get you home," Gibbs decided, "I know of a certain baby who hasn't a good night's sleep in quite a long time." Tony blushed and, obviously for lack of something better to do, started to chew at his hands again. Gently pulling them out of his mouth, Gibbs reached into his pocket and pulled out the dummy he'd bought when they went shopping. Immediately Tony clamoured for it, and asked Kate, who was looking at him oddly as he started sucking,
"What's'a matter Kate, you never seen a baby with a dummy before?" She laughed and patted his head. After a short conversation, it was decided that Gibbs should go home with Tony, as Ducky said he'd tell the Director that Gibbs wasn't focusing too well after the head wound.
"Bye baby! Look after your Poppa for me, he's not well," Tony laughed and nodded at Abby, "Play doctors or something!" She suggested excitedly, which reminded Gibbs of the picture he took of Tony when he was dressing up,
"Speaking of playing," He brought up, causing them all to look at him, "I found someone playing what looked to be dress up the other day." Everyone spluttered with laughter, and Tony blushed, hitting Gibbs' arm as hard as he could,
"He made a good marine," Gibbs added, mostly for Tony's benefit. Quickly, he passed Tony over to Kate, saying, "Go get to the car." She nodded and walked off, as McGee started to talk to Ducky as they strolled out of the hospital,
"What d'you wanna say Bossman?" Abby asked, knowing Gibbs would want to say something to her when it was private,
"Just thought I'd tell you I took a photo of it." Her eyes glittered and she replied,
"Gibbs, I'm impressed! As well as the fact you finally admitted he was cute, you worked out the camera on your phone!" Gibbs laughed and joked,
"Maybe we can take loads and give him a photo album, pretend he'd always had it." Abby's eyes lit up,
"Gibbs! That's a fantastic idea! I'll sort it all out, don't worry. This is gonna be perfect!" Gibbs snorted as they reached everyone stood around the two cars, his and Kate's.
"I suppose we'll go back to NCIS in mine." Kate said shrewdly, to which Gibbs nodded and said,
"I'm going to take Tiny over there home." Tony giggled and held out his arms, waiting for Gibbs to pick him up.
I didn't think that was one of the best chapters, but hey-ho :( Review? xx