Golden Child

Chapter 6

Gibbs strode purposefully through the bullpen on his way back from seeing Ducky. Ziva looked up and acknowledged him with a nod while McGee was working furiously at his keyboard. Satisfied, Gibbs ascended the stairs to Vance's office. The Director had summoned him and Gibbs knew in his gut that it was to discuss Dinozzo. Gibbs hoped he'd been successful in his ploy to make Tony scarce by sending him out to lunch with Abby. There was no way he wanted to witness a confrontation between Vance and Dinozzo when his senior field agent was impaired. He knew that Abby would squeal with delight at the thought of Gibbs protecting Tony from Vance, which was precisely why he hadn't told her about the summons.

Sure enough, Vance barely waited for Gibbs to sit down before he started grilling him about how long Tony would have his hand out of action.

'Some weeks,' said Gibbs, deliberately vague.

'You need an agent to replace him,' Vance told him, straight to the point. 'I've got a list for you to look at, or I'll select one if you prefer.'

To say that Gibbs was pissed off by Vance's approach would be a major understatement. For a start, Vance hadn't shown an ounce of concern about how Tony was coping. Secondly, Gibbs doubted Vance would be in a hurry to get Tony back if he was replaced. Thirdly, and most importantly, Gibbs was sick of hearing Vance tell him what he needed.

'I don't need to replace an agent that's doing his job, Leon,' he told him, his voice cool. Losing it at Vance wouldn't do Tony any favors.

Vance's reply was to raise one eyebrow.

'Dinozzo was due in court this morning,' explained Gibbs. 'He represented the agency on three cases. Three great results. No point replacing an agent who's doing a job like that.'

Vance was genuinely surprised. He had assumed that Dinozzo hadn't even been at work that morning. He must have put in a great performance in court because Leon knew those three cases had not been straightforward. However, days in court were not a daily requirement for an NCIS agent.

'What use is he gonna be in the bullpen?' Vance challenged Gibbs. 'I've seen the way the man types! And surely you can't be thinking that he'd be any use at all in the field.'

Gibbs was tempted to tell Vance that he'd prefer a one-handed Tony in the field to an able-bodied McGee, but he resisted.

'Apart from looking for Reed, things are slow,' said Gibbs. 'If we get a case that calls for legwork, I'll request a temp.'

Vance was firmly of the belief that Gibbs would rather walk over hot coals than replace Dinozzo. He'd seen that look in Gibbs' eyes before and it intrigued him.

'What's he got over you?' Vance bluntly asked Gibbs.

'What?' demanded Gibbs, taken aback by the direct, personal question.

'Well, are you related? Do you owe him money?' asked Vance. 'You put up a good act of giving Dinozzo a hard time, Gibbs, and Lord knows I've heard agents on other teams talk about the living hell Dinozzo must endure working with Leroy Jethro Gibbs, but you've got more than that man's six and I wanna know why.'

Gibbs knew it was true that he owed his life to Tony. The man had, after all, pulled him dead from a submerged car, and he'd always had Tony's loyalty. But he wasn't going to tell Vance that. And it wasn't the only reason Gibbs was so fiercely protective of him either. It might be because Tony was younger than Gibbs but still old school and appreciative of the methods Gibbs uses. It might be because Tony puts up with his crap but cheerfully sticks around anyway. It might be because Tony was as estranged from any biological family as Gibbs was. But none of that was any of Vance's business. He wasn't going to tell any of this to a man who couldn't even ask whether Tony was doing okay.

'He's got nothing on me Leon, other than being a member of my team,' Gibbs told him, standing up. He crossed to the door without waiting for a dismissal.

Vance doesn't buy it, but that's how they leave the discussion – for now.

…………………………………………….

Tony had stretched his 6 foot 2 frame the full length of Abby's futon in the dimly lit corner of her lab. Abby had flopped down next to him, and was curled against his side. She could feel the tension radiating from him. She can count on one hand how many times she's heard real anger in Tony's voice, and she doubts she's ever heard him really angry with another team member before. Pissed off, maybe. Sarcastic, definitely. Exasperated, sometimes. But never angry like she'd just heard him. Against her nature, Abby stayed quiet for a while. She knows that Tony is processing. She hopes he'll talk to her about what happened. She doesn't really want to leave him to interrogate McGee. She'd rather hear it from Tony, so she waits.

Tony felt totally drained. In less than forty-eight hours, he'd gone from being rapt that McGee had agreed to come to the gym with him, to practically yelling at him in the bullpen. There had been the shock of the serious injury, a wave of self-pity and then the arrival of Gibbs to drag him out into the world. The morning had gone really well, but now all the euphoria of the courtroom and Gibbs' approval had dissipated. The situation had become very complicated and he didn't have the physical or mental energy to deal with it. He seriously needed some rest. But as tired as he was, his mind could not rest. He was troubled by the exchange he had just had.

'McGee hates me Abby,' he finally told her with a sigh.

'Why do you think that?' asked Abby, being careful not to dismiss what Tony had said, even though she didn't believe there was any truth in it.

'I dunno. Took the whole Probie thing too far?' suggested Tony, his voice quiet. 'He's not so green anymore.'

'But he's still your Probie,' said Abby. 'Gibbs was a Probie, and he still is to Mike Franks. You're Gibbs' Probie, and even if you leave here to run your own team, (which you won't because if you did I'd be so, so cross with you), you'd still be Gibbs' Probie. It's just the way it works.'

Tony said nothing in response to that. In truth, he didn't know what to say. McGee had said he wanted to 'fix things', but Tony had ended up making a cutting remark that probably said more about Tony's own insecurities than it did about his relationship with McGee. Vance had made his dislike and disapproval of Tony very clear, while he took every opportunity to pat McGee on the head like he was some kind of Golden Retriever. Tony got no points with Vance whatsoever for being Gibbs' loyal St. Bernard. While Tony had no particular desire to please Vance, it did cut him that the Director was so dismissive of him, despite his seniority over McGee. It bothered Tony that he'd given McGee a serve because of his own feelings of rejection.

Abby reached up and began to gently run her fingers through Tony's hair. Although she knew his mind was full of racing thoughts, she could also see that he needed some rest. There was no way Tony would get any rest unless he aired some of his feelings. She knew that the general rules were that Dinozzos didn't cry and Dinozzos didn't air their feelings, but those rules didn't apply when they were sharing a futon in her lab.

'Does McGee really have a golden crown that I don't know about?' she asked quietly.

'Because if he does, I'm gonna punch him on the arm for not showing it to me.'

Tony smiled slightly at the way Abby had revealed she had heard the tail end of his exchange with McGee.

'He thinks Gibbs isn't taking any notice of him because of what happened,' Tony admitted, his eyes closing as he felt the soothing effect of Abby's fingers. 'He feels like Gibbs is giving him a hard time.'

Abby wasn't surprised, but she still managed to feel annoyed with McGee. McGee was sensitive to criticism and didn't like being told he'd made a mistake, but his whole way of life meant that any unfortunate incident at work like that was really just a tiny blip on the radar. McGee had a great relationship with his parents, a strong bond with his sister, respect of his colleagues, plenty of material possessions and a second career as a writer. He was also really, really smart, albeit in a geeky sort of way, making him the apple of Vance's eye. McGee was 'new school' with I.T. skills to die for. For Tony, however, criticism and disapproval at work affected him on a much deeper level. His biological family was practically non-existent, and making Tony an agent afloat was pretty much irrefutable evidence that Vance disliked him. Sure, Tony had great looks and loads of charm, but Tony knew that neither of those qualities earned him brownie points with the director. No wonder Tony had uncharacteristically lost it with McGee. Compared with Tony's situation, McGee really had nothing to complain about.

'You're both having a hard time in different ways,' Abby told him, diplomatically. 'McGee doesn't hate you. He's just stressing out under Gibbs' death stare. Gibbs will settle down soon, and McGee will get over it.'

Tony felt his mind calm down as Abby's fingers slowed their motion through his hair. While moments ago he was wound as tightly as a spring, now he felt close to sleep.

'Will you put toothpaste on my toothbrush again tonight?' he whispered.

'For as long as you need me to,' she whispered back.