Disclaimer: Nothings mine, you wouldn't do well to sue me, I don't have money.
A/N: Okay, first of all I want to thank everyone who reviewed and send me PM's with well wished for my grandpa. I was overwhelmed by the response and it just proves once again how seriously awesome the fanfiction community is.
A special 'Thank you' goes out to Hermione's Shadow and AZGirl. You are incredible individuals, both of you. And of course my beta Ktwesterna, who made me smile when I felt anything but. This chapter is dedicated to you three. Hope you'll enjoy.
Their Day in Baltimore
Chapter 10
Michael Boston watched the scene unfold in front of him with a growing sense of unease.
He had known how stubborn Tony could be from his own experiences, but he'd never dared to imagine that somewhere out there was another person who was just as bad - if not worse - than his partner.
Knowing that there were two men with the same stubborn streak walking the earth was terrifying on its own. Having said two men in the same room, each one with a different opinion on the matter at hand, was a lot like Mike would have pictured an apocalypse.
Or maybe it was more like watching a train wreck. You see the two trains heading for each other and you know it's about to get ugly. And although you know all that, you can't help but keep watching in horrified fascination until it's too late.
Yes, maybe that was a more appropriate way to describe what was going on inside the Baltimore PD that day.
However you wanted to describe it, Mike knew that things were about to escalate.
It was the duty of a cop to know his partner almost as well as he knew himself. You had to if you wanted him to trust you with his life and vice versa. Trust was essential. Without trust, there was no partnership. If you didn't know your partner, trust your partner, you were as good as dead in this city.
Mike had always lived by these principles. And after he'd decided that there was more to Tony than met the eyes, he had spared no effort to get to know the young man. His likes and dislikes, his strengths and weaknesses. Hell, he'd even managed to get Tony to tell him that his favorite color was blue. (1)
It had been one of his hardest jobs yet and not for a second did he believe that he knew all about Tony. In fact, he was pretty sure that he had barely scratched the surface and that, no matter how much time they spent together, he would never be able to achieve more. But what he had seen had only reinforced his trust in the young man. And, much to his amusement, he'd also been able to figure out that, despite DiNozzo's calm exterior, the boy possessed quite a few tics.
Those tics were subtle and the untrained eye probably would have never noticed them. But Mike had always been more attentive than his fellow pupils.
And that's why he knew that, although Tony still seemed pretty much in control of himself, the young detective was barely holding it together.
There were many little subtle hints, but the most prominent was the way he was always running his fingers through his hair. It had taken Mike just a few interrogations to discover that, the more annoyed the Italian was, the more often his hand would wander to his head.
And judging by Tony's fairly disheveled hair, he must have been beyond annoyed right about now.
Mike's eyes wandered to Gibbs who seemed to be feeling even worse. Admittedly, he didn't know the Agent nearly as well as his partner, but even a blind man would have been able to tell that the older man was about to explode.
The blue, pulsating vein on his forehead was a dead giveaway.
"No." the aforementioned Agent growled. After he'd realized that his dark scowling alone wouldn't be enough to put the young Italian in his place, he'd apparently decided that dark growling would do the trick. Mike would have been able to tell the man that that wasn't going to work with DiNozzo either, but he didn't particularly like the guy.
'He'll learn.' Mike thought, not the least bit ashamed of the glee that cursed through his body at the thought.
"Why not?" DiNozzo's voice was smooth and his posture laid-back, but his hand was once again buried in his hair. "It's a good plan. And you know we need to act fast. Maybe he's already searching for his next victim."
"Okay DiNozzo, first of all: the plan is not good. I wouldn't even call that crazy idea a plan. And secondly, we can't be sure that he's already on the hunt again. Between Lowe's and Speer's deaths was a two week gap. We'll probably have a few more days before he strikes again."
Tony crossed his arms. "And you really want to count on that, huh? Well I'm sure the third victim won't hold it against you if you are wrong."
Mike was a little taken aback by the heavy sarcasm in DiNozzo's words. And the way Gibbs narrowed his eyes told him that the boy had landed a direct hit as well. Such dirty tricks were very unlike Tony, and Mike wondered once again what had happened between the two men to create such tension.
"I won't say it again DiNozzo. You are not going to play the decoy. End of discussion."
Mike felt pretty torn. On the one hand he didn't appreciate one bit how this man talked to his partner. It wasn't like he had any right to treat the kid... well, like a kid. If there was anyone who could afford to act like some overprotective mother hen it was Mike himself. This young man was his partner after all.
But on the other hand he couldn't help but agree with Gibbs. This plan was nuts. Sending Tony to the 'Mona Lisa' and hoping that he would catch the attention of their killer was a bad idea. Not because Mike thought that it wouldn't work, but because he feared that it would. Actually, he knew that it would. Tony looked just like their victims. He was the perfect third victim.
The old man inside of him, the one that had raised three kids himself, didn't want to endanger the boy like that. But there was also the cop. And the cop knew that, while this plan was completely nuts, it was also their best bet to catch this bastard without driving him off first.
He was actually quite surprised that Gibbs was so adamant to keep DiNozzo from executing his plan. It hadn't seemed like the Agent liked the Italian all that much but now he almost acted as if he cared. Tony wasn't one of his Agents. It wasn't his job to keep the man safe. Mike had honestly believed that the gruff man would welcome the risk Tony was willing to take to stop their suspect. Agent Gibbs had seemed like a man who would do anything to do his job. But it seemed like he had been wrong.
But even more surprising was the fact that Tony was even discussing this with the Agent. Tony never really discussed any of his ideas with his colleagues. If he thought it was a good one he just went through with it, no matter what the others thought. From time to time that trait was exactly what they needed to crack the case. In some cases procedure was more hindering than helpful.
But it had also given DiNozzo the reputation of a troublemaker. Especially because most superiors didn't exactly like underlings who used their own heads instead of following blindly. As hideous as that sounded, it was the truth. And Gibbs wasn't even his superior so Tony had no reason to obey his orders. They were equals in this case and if Tony wanted to go through with his plan, there was nothing, and nobody, stopping him.
Mike didn't think that either Tony or Gibbs realized what the boy's willingness to even discuss this as long as he did with the Agent implied how high his opinion of the man was. Or, better yet, how much his opinion meant to the young detective.
Mike still didn't know what he should think about the ex-marine. He still didn't like him all that much, but his behavior towards his partner had changed. He couldn't quite say what it was but something was different and whatever it was it affected Tony as well. He couldn't quite say yet if it was a good change or not but he really hoped that it was the former.
No matter what it was though, he couldn't help but appreciate Gibbs interest in Tony's well being. The kid had no sense of self-preservation whatsoever. There had been lots of situations that had driven that fact home for Mike, but there was one in particular, that had shown him just how much Tony didn't care for his own well being...
Tony stared at the tree with growing trepidation. He would have liked nothing more than turning around and forget about this but the little girl clinging to his trousers with a tight grip literally rooted him to the spot. And the pitiful sounds coming from the treetop didn't really help either.
It wasn't that he didn't want to help the girl get her cat back. He had volunteered after all. The Italian still couldn't understand how his colleagues, who were currently busy processing the crime scene in the house next door, had been able to resist the little crying girl when she'd asked them for help. But he'd always had an especially soft spot for crying children.
It probably wasn't that hard to figure out why.
So, helping the girl was a given, really. What had him hesitating was the tree itself. He'd never climbed trees when he was a kid, not even once. He had watched the other kids do it from a distance, only able to think about what his father would say, or do, if he ruined his tailored and expensive clothes. Those clothes had been more important than the one who'd been wearing them. No matter if little Tony broke his arm. God help him if the shirt had a tear. (2)
That was one of the reasons why he wore such expensive suits now. If he wanted to ruin them, rolling in the mud wearing his best shirt, there was no one to stop him. There was no one to punish him or scold him or make him feel lower than a worm. He didn't do that of course - they were awfully expensive after all - but it gave him a special kind of feeling. A feeling of control and power.
Everyone had thought that he'd climbed trees all the time as a kid though. Probably because he'd told them that he did. Before he got around to play sports it was the most convenient way to explain the bruises.
But this would be his first time actually doing it. He was surprised how nervous that thought made him.
A weak meow reached their ears and the little girl's sobbing increased.
"Blossom's gonna fall! Please, she's gonna fall. Get her down!"
Tony sighed. He almost hoped that the fur-ball would fall. He doubted that it would hurt itself, being a cat and all. But the cat was young and probably wouldn't try to jump or climb down by itself. Blossom would just wait until someone came and got her and since the little girls parents seemed to be absent, that someone would have to be Tony.
The young Italian noticed that his partner was shooting him concerned looks. Mike was probably worried that he would hurt himself since he'd barely recovered from the shot wound he'd received to his shoulder a few weeks prior. The older detective had tried to convince him that that was a bad idea and while his shoulder was still a little bit stiff, Tony had brushed it off. He had promised the little girl that he'd get her cat and that was what he would do.
Besides, how hard could it be?
Mike watched from afar when DiNozzo began to climb the big oak tree while the girl watched from below. The younger detective's movements were overly careful and slow. Mike frowned at that. He would have thought that the young man would be much more fast and agile. He came across as someone who had climbed a lot of trees when he was a kid...
Mike didn't like this. It was only Tony's second day back on duty after he had been shot and he was already putting himself in danger again. He didn't usually put 'Climbing a tree' in the category 'Danger' but if you were still recovering from a bullet in your shoulder, even crossing the street seemed kind of dangerous. Especially if you were a trouble magnet like Tony.
He watched DiNozzo disappear behind some leafs and was just about to turn back to the case at hand when he heard a high pitched scream and the snapping of branches. Mike turned just in time to see a body plunge towards the ground before he launched into a run.
He had the most awful images running through his head. DiNozzo lying on the ground with a broken neck wasn't even the worst.
When he finally reached his fallen partner, the first thing he noticed was the strained smile on Tony's lips. He was lying on his back, one of his legs still partially raised into the air, leaning against the tree trunk. His arms were wrapped around a little white ball of fur. Further inspection revealed that the claws of the quivering cat were tearing into the expensive Armani shirt its savior wore. Tony made soothing noises at the animal and stroked its fur until the little thing calmed down long enough to retract its claws.
Mike noted that the shirt was ruined but he also noticed that Tony didn't seem to mind all that much. It had always baffled him that, while DiNozzo was always warning people to stay away from his suits and acted as if he would disembowel anyone who even thought about damaging them, he was surprisingly nonchalant about the whole thing when they actually were damaged.
The little girl practically shoved Mike out of the way before he could ask his partner if everything was okay and swept down to pluck the cat out of the Italian's arms.
"Oh God Blossom. Are you okay? Did the man hurt you?"
Blossom purred happily while the girl walked away, softly talking to it. Mike watched them go with a disgusted look on his face.
"What an ungrateful brat. I would love to have a chat with her parents. What are they teaching children nowadays anyway?"
A weak chuckle drew his attention back to his partner who was still lying on the floor like a bug on its back.
"When your next sentence starts with 'In my days', I'm going to call my grandfather so you two can have a chat."
"Don't get cocky with me, young man." Mike snapped and decidedly ignored Tony's smug grin. "What is wrong with you anyway? Why did you fall?"
DiNozzo sat up and Mike didn't miss the wince that accompanied the movement. "I just lost my hold when I reached for the cat."
"Let me guess. Your shoulder acted up, didn't it?" When his partner merely shrugged, Mike snorted. "What the hell is wrong with you? Why did you climb when you knew that you weren't up for it? You could have broken your neck."
And that's when Anthony DiNozzo looked up at him with such an incredulous expression on his face that Mike really wondered whether he'd spoken in another language.
"But... I got the cat, didn't I?"
That fall had caused two cracked ribs and a sore back. And, although Tony would never learn about that, it had revealed quite a bit about Tony's sense of self.
'A cat.' Mike had thought. 'Why is the cat of a spoiled brat more important than your own well being?'
Raised voices caught his attention and drew him back into the present. Just like he'd predicted, Gibbs and Tony's argument had long since reached its climax.
"I'm warning you, DiNozzo. You are not doing this!"
Gibbs sounded deathly serious now and Mike felt immensely proud when Tony, instead of backing away, took a step into Gibbs direction. "And why would you think that I care about what you want? So far as I recall, you are not my boss."
Gibbs visibly seethed and Mike really feared bodily harm for his partner and decided to intervene. He just hoped that he wasn't making a mistake.
"I think we should go through with it." Tony visibly relaxed while the vein on Gibbs forehead seemed to develop its own life. Mike decided to continue as long as he still could. "I was in that bar, Agent Gibbs. The barman didn't see anything out of the ordinary and that place is huge. I mean, enormous really. If we just wait and see we could miss something. Especially since we don't even know what our suspect looks like. I think a decoy is exactly what we need."
Gibbs still didn't look convinced but at least he wasn't barking anymore. Mike counted that as a good sign and decided to play his trump card.
"And you don't really think that you'll be able to stop him, do you? If you try to stop him, he's just going to do it behind our backs, without back-up. He is stupid like that, you know."
"He," Tony grumbled under his breath, "is still in the room, thank you very much."
It didn't escape either men's notice that the young detective didn't deny Mike's assumptions.
"Yeah, I know." Gibbs answered Mike. The two detectives watched in silence as Gibbs sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair. The Agent didn't say anything for a while and just stared at the cause of his frustration but when he finally moved to invade DiNozzo's personal space he seemed more frustrated than angry. "You are not going to take any risks. You are not going to do this on your own. You are not going to screw this up. Are we clear, DiNozzo?"
There was a flash of something in Tony's eyes, too fast gone to be sure. "Crystal, Agent Gibbs." He grinned reassuringly at the older man. "You'll see. It's gonna be fine."
And if Mike didn't voice his thoughts about that, it was just because he was tired and didn't want Gibbs to start the argument all over again.
'Famous last words.'
TBC
(1) My faithful beta found out that Michael Weatherly's favorite color is blue. Yay for great betas.
(2) She also mentioned that it season 4, Tony mentioned that he loved to climb trees. But you can't take everything that he says for fact value, especially my slightlyAU Tony. And the perfect little boy climbed trees so that's what Tony would tell others he did as well.
WoW, Chapter 10 already. I honestly thought that this one was going to be the shortest of the three stories, maybe around 8 chapters long. But your reviews and suggestions kept me going and going...
Next chapter: More Abby-goodness and Gibbs finally decides to do something we all think he should have done a lot sooner... at least I think it's way about time.
