A/N! I'm extremely happy right now (festival tomorrow and my new awesome hair!) and in between doing laundry, buying flashlights and canned foods for the hurricane, babysitting tiny kids who asked "Why are those two boys kissing?" when I foolishly let them watch music videos on Youtube to Katy Perrys 'Fireworks' -.- I got this chapter done! Enjoy :D
Five.
TONY STARED AT himself in the mirror that morning.
It had been a week since his "change", and the team had finally managed to track the doctor. The dead doctor. Dr. Simone had hung himself in a motel room on some highway road, a long detailed letter describing his work as the future and something more about the greatness of evolution. In short, they'd gotten no where.
They'd had to move on from the case and were now working on the Peterson Case-Tony had gotten the gist of the details, a murdered petty officer at base, three suspects, inclusind a fiance'. The Director still had no idea of what really went on in Dr. Simones' home or why Tony really wasn't around the office lately, either. Thankfully, Gibbs explanations had a tendency to sway people away from asking any questions, and he had accumulated a lot of vacation time.
Last night, he'd been rough housing with Abby and Ziva and he'd torn a stitch, which Ducky hadn't been pleased about, as he'd fixed him back up, telling him "You'll have quite the scar, young man."
And Gibbs. That had actually been a little funny. For Kate and Tim, anyway, who'd gotten to watch Gibbs chastise the three sternly, as if they were children again. He'd even done the whole wag of the finger routine.
So with his still healing wound from the surgery, Tony had been made to stay home the next day. By the time he'd woken up, surprised to see it was nearly three in the afternoon. He hadn't woken up that late...ever. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he'd yawned and stummbled out of bed, nearly tripping on his own feet on his way to the bathroom. On his way to the toilet he passed the mirror, went back, did a double take, and just stood there.
"Oh my God." his voice cracked. Oh God, his voice cracked. His voice hadn't hitched or cracked or anything that embarrasing in years, not since he'd turned thirteen and hit puberty!
For a minute he thought 'Least I skipped ages 14-16' that's when he'd had all those unsightly zits and outbreaks of acne. Thriteen and down, and seventeen and up had pretty much been his glory years when it came to appearance. He shook his head, "Really?" he asked himself in the mirror. "You wake up four years younger than you were just twelve hours ago and you're obsessing over pimples?" he sat on the tiled bathroom floor and landed a little too hard-he couldn't remember ever feeling so light. He'd been a scrawny kid until his senior year in high school, after all.
His cell phone started ringing in the other room, and he scrammbled up to answer it. "Hello-"
"Christ DiNozzo! I've been calling all day! Rule Three: Never be unreachable!" Tony heard the underlying concern, even if most people could only distinguish the anger. "Where the hell have you been?"
"Asleep." he replied quickly, trying to make himself sound older through the phone.
"Asleep?" he sounded incredulous.
"Boss, I shrunk." Tony blurted out.
He could almost hear Gibbs rolling his eyes. "Yeah DiNozzo, that's kind of why Abbs is still studying the chemicals and we're all still reading Dr. Simones research on the downlow." the sarcasm was palpable.
Tony glared at the phone for a minte. He so wasn't in the mood. "No Gibbs, I mean I shrunk again! I'm a kid!" he squeeked near the end there and cursed, trying to clear his throat.
At the end of the phone Gibbs was so quite one could've heard a pin drop. After a pregnant pause he spoke again. "How young are you?"
"My best guess is like, thirteen?"
"I'm going over there right now jus-"
"What? No, Gibbs, just stay at work, I'll be fine here 'till you come back, I can still take care of myself you know; the only things that have really changed are my height and weight, I can deal with it." Tony didn't want to admit to himself that given the odd circumstances he did want the older man here with him, if not to assure him he wasn't slowly shrinking away to nothing, than to just be there for the sake of not going through the whole thing along. But he couldn't very well tell him that. His father had told him enough times through out his childhood not to depend on others, not to be a coward, it made you weak. And DiNozzos' are not weak.
It sounded busy in the bullpen, he couldn't take Gibbs away from that simply because he was frightened. "Like hell, we wrapped up the Peterson Case, the paperwork can wait 'till tomorrow, I'll be home in ten." with that, he hung up the phone, giving Tony zero chance at retaliation.
If he smiled as he put his cell back on the counter, it certainly wasn't relief, he told himself.
NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS
Abby had him wrapped up in her arms the second she saw him. "You're so tiny!"
Tim balked. "You're like, twelve."
"Thirteen, McGoober." Tony corrected, trying to wiggle out of Abbys death-grip hug. "Anyway, what are you guys doing here?"
"The Bossman sent us. They got another case shortly after you called them and couldn't leave, so he took Ziva and Kate with him, McGee bought his laptop and stuff to work from here, and I don't have any evidence 'till they come back, and that could take a few hours."
Tony just barely hid the dissapointment that wegded itself in his chest at the news. He loved Abby and McGee was fun to poke at, but he'd really wanted Gibbs to have shown up too. For some reason his stupid heart was relating this letdown to every other letdown his Father had provided for him growing up. He'd missed all his soccer games, all his football games when he'd become quarter-back, he'd even joined the mathletes (and was damned good too) so that his father would think it worth his time and come to at least one of the competitions, but nothing.
Even when his Mother had been alive, when he was younger, neither of them had personally taken him to his first day of pre-school or kindergarden or first grade. Neither had ever gone to any of their plays, not the one about the planets and the sun, not the one about healthy vegies, and not the one about anti-bullying. He'd always worked hard to get the big parts, in hopes that if either of them came to see him, they'd smile and clap and be proud, like all the other parents of his classmates. There was always a hidden dissapointment everytime he looked out at the crowd of parents filming their children, and never once spotted his amongst them.
He shook his head. But this was different. Gibbs had a legit excuse. And at least he'd sent appropriate replacements, and he didn't even really have to, because Gibbs wasn't his dad or anything close to that. He was his Boss, and Tony counted himself lucky that he'd even been let to stay here while his body was still being affected by the drug.
So, with a heavy heart, he smiled up at the two, and let Abby drag him outside to the car, where she'd stored some goodies, ranting on about Gibbs house not being 'child-friendly' then pausing and ammending quickly 'or adult-friendly...or like, not friendly to anyone except his team-friendly.' she'd nodded at her specific description and pulled him along the street.
A/N! Review Please! Wish it could've been longer, next one will be! Now click the button down there and make my day :D