Tony finally got the log to catch fire and he sat back on his heels and watched it as it began to glow orange. Being alone with nothing to do, now that the fire was going, was making it difficult not to think.

It was only a matter of time now, Tony thought, until Gibbs found out what was bothering him. He would be a fool to believe Gibbs hadn't seen through his claims that everything was fine, after the migraine that ended him in the morgue for half the day. Gibbs would investigate, and he'd figure it out.

In a way, he was frustrated by that fact. But in all honesty, he didn't want to have to tell anyone. It wasn't any of their concern, and he certainly didn't want them to think it would affect him as much as it did. In reality, it really shouldn't. Or at least, it shouldn't change him overnight, like Ziva had claimed he had.

Quickly, he forced these thoughts out of his mind; they were leading too closely to the thoughts that he was trying to avoid...

11 00 11 00 11

Gibbs left the office once McGee filled him in on what they'd discovered at Tony's apartment. Gibbs had done a little research himself, and it was clear to him now that this had to be the root reason for Tony's behavior.

After pulling up into his driveway, Gibbs entered the house quietly and found Tony crouched in front of the fireplace with a poker, tending to one of the burning logs. A quick glance around the room told him there was little else the agent had been doing since he'd been brought here.

He entered a bit into the living room and waited a moment before speaking.

"Why didn't ya tell me, Tony?" he asked quietly.

Tony paused in his administrations to the fire. For a long moment he was perfectly still, and Gibbs thought maybe he hadn't actually heard him. But then he spoke. "Last time he was here," he began, "He said he wanted us to be more like we used to be. More like a father and son..." He let out a small laugh and placed the poker back in its stand. "We even started talking more on the phone. Talkin' like family talks, ya know?" He stood but didn't turn his gaze from the fire. "He was gonna come for Christmas," he told him in a quieter voice. "It was gonna be the first..." his voice caught as he tried to breathe through the pain that flooded back into his reality.

Gibbs narrowed his eyes, sympathizing with his agent, and took the few steps that brought him to Tony's side.

"I was real...excited, boss," his voice cracked, but he didn't seem to notice. "Happy even... I made...all the preparations. It was gonna be real nice; just like old times. But then...then I got that call..."

"I'm sorry, Tony," Gibbs told him, turning to face him.

Tony shook his head and tried to put on a smile. "Just...really harsh. I finally let myself believe I'm getting my father back, and he goes and..." he couldn't finish the sentence.

There was a moment of quiet before Gibbs replied, "I doubt he did it on purpose."

"Yeah," he sniffled. "Yeah, I know." He nodded.

The crackling of the fire was all that could be heard as they stood there silently. Gibbs studied Tony's profile. The younger man seemed to be struggling to keep control of what he'd been holding inside of himself this whole time. That's when he realized that he hadn't just been hiding it from them, but from himself as well.

He saw the moment Tony's resolve broke. His face morphed into the acceptance of sadness, and for a few seconds Gibbs wasn't sure how to react.

"It's not fair..." Tony let out in a whisper, most likely to hide the fact that he was near tears.

Gibbs put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him into a comforting embrace, resting the other hand on the back of the senior field agent's head. "I know," he told him, and felt the younger man's head fall to rest on his shoulder. "I know..."

Tbc...