Disclaimer: Nothings mine, except Mike and Sally

A/N: Just a short chapter with a Mike/Gibbs confrontation because there just needed to be one, right? Btw, thanks for all your reviews and get-well wishes. I survived! YAY But let me tell you: Never again! I don't want to see a bycicle for a long time...

And just in case you are wondering why you get this chapter so fast: Bow to and worship the awesomeness that is called "AZGirl", who volunteered to be my back-up beta and who beta'd this chapter super fast and super thoroughly! Thanks so much, hon! All remaining mistakes are my own.


Chapter 16

Michael Boston watched his young partner gather his personal belongings from his desk with a certain sense of loss. He had known that the boy would leave, but now that the moment was here he wished that he wouldn't. It was always hard to lose a partner but something about DiNozzo made it so much harder this time.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked for the umpteenth time. Tony had his back to him but Mike just knew that the young man was rolling his eyes. "I mean - there is a difference between being a Detective and being an Agent."

DiNozzo stopped with a sigh and shot him a look over his shoulder. "You don't say." he drawled with an arched eyebrow and a wry smile on his lips.

There were a lot of things Mike would miss about his young partner, but his sarcasm wasn't one of them.

He had to admit though, that Tony couldn't have picked a better time to leave. Right now the bullpen buzzed with rumors about his heroism. There was not a single soul in the PD who didn't know the story about Tony's brush with death, how he had single-handedly defeated a serial killer while being drugged to the eyeballs. The young man was considered a hero – especially by the women – and even those who usually pulled him to pieces every chance they got grudgingly acknowledged that he'd done a good job.

Although Tony obviously loved the attention he was getting, he had tried to set things straight, telling everyone that Gibbs was the one that had taken Crown down. But that was the thing about rumors; once they were out there, nobody was all that much interested in the truth anymore - for better or worse. No matter what he did or said, in the end Tony would leave Baltimore PD as a legend.

Mike didn't begrudge the Italian the admiration or his new job. The kid had risen through the ranks fast, much faster than Mike ever had, but the older detective knew that Tony had worked hard for that and deserved the success. He was more worried about the people Tony would be working with from now on. One in particular.

Tony noticed the pinched expression on Mike's face and turned fully to him. "Aw, Mike, don't be like that. You just don't want to break in another greenhorn. And how could I blame you," he continued and threw an arm over Mike's shoulder. "How could you ever hope to get another partner like me? Smart, courageous and let's not forget incredibly handsome."

"Yeah, how indeed? You really are one of a kind DiNozzo." Mike said, not unkind.

Tony held on a second too long and squeezed a last time before he reluctantly withdrew his arm. That little gesture proved to Mike more than anything that the young man wasn't nearly as relaxed and cool about this than he let on.

He observed how Tony absentmindedly grabbed a stapler that was obviously property of the PD and jammed it into the box with his other stuff. Either Tony was in desperate need of a stapler or he didn't even notice that he was stealing office supplies.

Mike found both notions highly amusing.

"I know what I'm doing Mike." Tony mumbled and blindly stuffed a handful paperclips into his pocket. The older detective suddenly noticed that Tony had finished collecting his stuff. It looked like he just needed something to keep his hands busy; like he was stalling just the tiniest bit.

Mike felt like an ass for not being more supportive. The kid was nervous about this and had obviously hoped that Mike would be encouraging and not the complete opposite instead.

Mike was determined to remedy that. No matter what his own feelings on the matter were, as long as Tony was still in this building, he was still his partner and you took care of your partner - no matter what.

He saw Tony eyeing the keyboard and steered him away from his desk before he had to arrest the boy for theft.

"I know that." he implored. "You know me, I just worry too much. I'm sure you'll be a great Agent."

Tony's eyes widened and his lips formed that shy, little smile that Mike hadn't seen all that often during their two years together. He was beginning to regret that.

The moment was fleeting however, as Tony was soon frowning again. "So, why are you worried, exactly?"

"Uhm, well-"

Just then the object of Mike's worry entered the bullpen and saved the older detective from having to answer. Agent Gibbs stood in the doorway and looked around until he spotted them. He sent them an acknowledging nod but only Mike saw it since Tony had his back to the Agent. Mike was about to say something but snapped his mouth shut almost immediately. This might be his only chance to get a few minutes alone with the man that would be looking out for his partner from now on. He had to take it if he wanted to be able to sleep in peace at night.

Without further ado he pushed Tony towards the elevators, making sure that he was facing away from the door where Gibbs was waiting. "Nothing really. Hey, I almost forgot to tell you, but the boys down in the lab asked me to send you down before you go. They want to say goodbye."

Tony was still suspicious but his eyes lit up at the mention of the few good friends apart from Mike that he'd made here. Despite their differences, he and the forensic specialists had hit it off almost immediately. He had spent most of his breaks with them, discussing the latest movie or bringing takeout. The guys adored him because he respected them and treated them like part of the team. Just another trait that set Tony apart from the other cops that only went down there when they needed results and insulted the 'lab rats' when they didn't get them fast enough.

The news that Tony was leaving had hit them even harder than Mike, and the older detective intended to carry on with DiNozzo's tradition of visiting them from time to time to simply talk.

"Really?" Tony asked while Mike shoved him into the elevators and pushed the button that would take him to the labs. "Sweet. I wanted to say goodbye to the lovely Sally down in human resources anyway." Mike got a good look of DiNozzo's leering smile and waggling eyebrows before the doors slid close.

Detective Boston took a deep breath and decided that it was time to make sure that his protege wouldn't regret his decision.


Gibbs had watched the little scene with obvious amusement. At first he'd been taken aback when the older detective had steered Tony away from him, but he'd soon realized that there was probably more to it than he knew. The two men hadn't spent much time together but Gibbs wasn't blind and it was pretty obvious that Boston cared about DiNozzo and was very protective of the boy.

Detective Boston stared at the closed elevator for a long time, and seemed to compose himself before he wandered over to Gibbs. His facial expression was grave and maybe even a little bit hostile. Gibbs knew that he was going to be threatened by this man who was about to relinquish his partner and friend to him. Surprisingly enough, he wasn't all that bothered by that. If anything at all, he was a bit peeved that Boston seemed to think that he needed to be threatened. Gibbs took good care of his own. Too bad Boston didn't know that yet.

The Detective came to a halt in front of him and crossed his arms, as if to say 'Don't mess with me'. Gibbs copied the action almost immediately. Just because he understood Mike's need to do this, didn't mean that he liked the man any better.

"He's just saying goodbye to a few friends."

Gibbs nodded and casually leaned against a wall, arms still crossed, watching Boston do the same a few seconds later. "I see." After a moments thought, he added, "I got the impression that he didn't have many friends here."

Boston's eyebrows twitched and a snarl scurried over his features but when he spoke his voice was calm and low. "That may be. But the few he has make up for that, take good care of him, you know?"

It was said casually enough but Gibbs didn't miss the hidden threat that he'd already anticipated. He hadn't thought that it would come this fast but he also knew exactly what Boston wanted to hear. To tell the truth, he was secretly impressed with the man's loyalty. And he even knew where Mike was coming from. His attitude towards Tony had been more than poor most of the time, but that wouldn't be an issue anymore. The Gunny just had to make sure that Mike believed him. For one reason or another he wanted this man to know that Tony would be in good hands.

"I know. He will have that in DC as well."

Mike released a long breath but Gibbs knew that he was still wary, that it wasn't enough yet. "He better." the older Detective growled. "But you know what you're getting into, don't you? The kid's worse than an overexcited terrier most of the time. And let's not forget stubborn as hell. You'll have your work cut out for you with this one."

The elevators opened and both men watched the young man in question stumble out of it. Tony had a dreamy look on his face and rubbed at his cheek where Gibbs could barely make out the remnants of red lipstick. The goofy smile faded a little when he saw Gibbs and Mike standing together and hurried over to them.

Gibbs couldn't help the little smirk when he saw Tony's worried expression and only spoke when he was sure that the Italian was close enough to hear him. "Believe me I know. But I think I'll manage."

DiNozzo was in front of them now, his eyes widening at Gibbs' words. His eyes darted from Mike to Gibbs and back, the confusion in his eyes now replaced by suspicion.

"Did you talk about me?"

"Why would we do that, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked. "You are not that interesting."

Tony gave him a wicked grin and lightly elbowed Mike in the ribs. "Sally thinks different."

Detective Boston rolled his eyes but Gibbs thought he saw also a bit of melancholy in his face when he ruffled Tony's hair. It was obvious that the older man took the parting much harder than he let on. They exchanged a quick look over Tony's bent head and after a tense second Mike nodded almost imperceptibly. Gibbs took that as a good sign.

"Try not to break too many hearts when you're at NCIS, Casanova."

Tony ducked from under his hand and laughed before turning dead serious. "You know I can't promise that."

Gibbs wanted to give them more time, but they had to go if they wanted to catch their flight. They could have taken the car but Morrow had already called Gibbs to let him know that he expected his best Agent and his newest addition back as soon as possible. Ducky was already waiting downstairs in the cab with their luggage. "You ready DiNozzo?"

Tony startled but then nodded quickly. He turned to Mike and the two just stared at each other, before the older Detective huffed impatiently and simply pulled him into a quick, heartfelt hug. Tony didn't hesitate returning it. "Take care kiddo. Try not to get into too much trouble, you hear me?"

Nobody missed the pleased flush that spread over Tony's face. "Me? Trouble? Don't be silly, I never get into trouble."

Gibbs shook his head. Somehow, he found that hard to believe. He remembered all the stories the other detectives had told him about the young Italian. And how could he forget all the stunts Tony had pulled when he himself had been present to see them. He suddenly began to wonder if he really knew what he was getting into...

Detective Boston's mocking laughter didn't really help either.

TBC

A/N: Short and sweet, or so I hope. Before starting to work on this story I considered killing Mike off but that had been done enough and I actually like Mike, so he gets to live. :)

Another short epilogue to go! I hope to be able to finish this story by next week.