A/N: Thanks so much for all the reviews & PMs guys! Forgive me if I haven't replied just yet, really wanted to get this chapter out to balance out the last. Thanks heaps!

Chapter Five

Sat Morning

"Boss? We got a case?" Tony blinked to awareness while holding the phone, realizing he was sitting cross-legged on his mattress already, and had been for hours if the stiffness in his back and legs was anything to go by. Damn it, not again. Woke up from that dream at 03:00.

Remembrance of the crime scene nightmare starring his father as the pale corpse and the whole team staring at the blood on Tony's hands was mercifully cut short by Gibbs' voice in his ear. "Nope, got some wood I need your help with. You free in about 30?"

Cylinders not quite firing yet, "Um, Boss, you probably don't mean… or what that sounds… I mean, I haven't had my coffee yet, what exactly am I helping you with?"

"DiNozzo, do you feel a pain on the back of your head right now?"

Tony laughed, "Yeah Boss."

"That was my hand. I'll be over in 30, I'll bring you coffee."

"Thanks Boss."

Gibbs let himself in, just as Tony stepped dressed but barefoot out of bathroom. There was a moment of silence as Tony finished towel drying his hair, and Gibbs sipped his coffee. The older man finished looking around and said deadpan, "Like what you've done with the place."

Tony, hypersensitive to the echoes in the mostly empty apartment, felt the urge to ramble overcome him… as it often did. "Reminds me of your place actually, lots of wooden floor showing. The whole floor really holds the room together - ha! Remember, from The Big Lebowski? Gloria did a great job making it shine, something you hardly notice with lots of furniture in the way. One of the reasons I chose the apartment in the first place. Apparently she and Abby hit it off yesterday while I was out, despite the fact Abby was a little freaked out by…" he waved vaguely, "I called and straightened it out last night. She dropped jumbo muffins off, want one?" The urge finally ended as he smelled what was in Gibbs' hands.

"Nah, had one of those breakfast burritos you like. Some more in here if you want." he said, setting the bag and cup of sweet coffee down on the kitchen table.

Tony sat down at the table and, holding both burrito and muffin in his hands, said, "Ahh, best of both worlds. Breakfast with chocolate dessert. Thanks Boss. Your kind of coffee is in the pot, knew you'd be ready for a refill by the time you got here."

Gibbs reflected Tony didn't have to have any furniture to be a damned good host. He refilled his travel cup and indicated the lack of furniture, "How'd you sell it all so fast?"

Very experienced at talking with his mouth full, Tony said, "Same three guys - nice guys, everybody needed something different. Three fat checks deposited, plus we got paid this week. I'm rollin' Boss." He smirked, "Don't have to tell you of all people how good it feels to have money in the bank again."

Gibbs frowned as he stared at the bare bedroom with a neatly made-up mattress on the floor, casual clothes in and on top of boxes along the wall, an alarm clock and old desk lamp on the floor by the bed. "You gonna live here like this?"

Still with a full mouth, Tony's eyebrows rose, "Boss, I admit it's an adjustment, but compared to when I first went to college this is still the high life. My scholarship paid for almost everything back then, but I had some transition issues for a while. You can't just keep wearing a military academy uniform after you graduate, and besides I was still a growing boy, you know? All my clothes were too small in no time. And I had zero spending cash back then too. Any part-time jobs on or around campus were already taken, and besides," he shook his head, "work was strongly discouraged for those of us on athletic scholarships."

Tony peeled the paper off his giant chocolate muffin. "Any free time we had was supposed to be running drills, working out, building endurance and improving skills. Anyway, this one coach finally took the time to get me a work-study job in the Athletic Dept. and things started getting better. Was probably embarrassing being seen with a kid showing three inches of ratty tube socks from too-short trousers," he snickered as he finished the last of his desert-muffin.

"The point is," pointing his finger after licking them all thoroughly, "compared to back then, this is no problem."

Gibbs watched as Tony threw away his trash and washed his hands. "Sleeping down on the floor like that mess up your back? Still got shadows under your eyes and you're moving stiff."

"No, no - my mattress is the kind you don't even need box springs with really, can just lay it on a platform of wood. Quality Boss - individual taper-top spring coils…" he got a bit dreamy eyed, "it's a good bed, even if it's three feet shorter now."

Sipping from his coffee mug, Gibbs leveled a stare at Tony, not needing to point out he didn't answer the real question.

Tony attempted to give an answer that could be true, "Well, I helped the guys move most of the stuff because the elevator went out again. Might have done it." His small smile was sincere in appearance, but really just more hopeful that Gibbs would accept that explanation.

Yeah, it wasn't working.

"Tony."

Amazing how much Gibbs said with one word, Tony thought. Might as well, he'll get me to tell him eventually anyway.

"Sat in one position for too long. This morning. Lost track of time."

Gibbs always knew when his Second got choppy like this it was because of something important, something Tony was having to force out past the guardian of his many masks. "That been happening a lot?"

"I wouldn't say a lot. Just… several times. Trying real hard to stay on point, stay focused, have to not think about a … a thing. Gets… away from me sometimes… apparently." Tony swallowed.

"Tell me the thing. Was it the phone call from your Dad?" Gibbs sat at the kitchen table, and with his foot pushed a chair out for Tony.

Tony sat and wished he hadn't just eaten so much. "Heh, yeah… you can't fire a person just for what they're thinking, right?" He waved his hand like swatting at a mosquito, "The call was just more of the same. Nothing new, Bastard was..." He swallowed again and felt a little green. Seeing a flash from his dream of his blood covered hands, he could feel some part of him reaching for the oblivion of 'just stop'...

Gibbs reached over and got Tony's attention with a finger to his wrist, "Hey. Here. Just the words. Say the words."

Held by Gibbs's eyes and one index finger, Tony found it much easier to derail the emotional response, and give his Boss exactly what he wanted. "Worried I'm going to kill my Dad. With my bare hands. Become a murderer. Really worried… about that. Just have to stop, then."

"Hmm," Gibbs let Tony breathe and calm down for a few minutes. He was saddened his friend was going through this, but not too surprised. Either at Tony's desire to hurt his father back, or at his complete moral inability to accept it. Most people didn't see the deep anger in the younger man, well leashed by many layers of goofiness and distractions. This kind of provocation, from a man that probably put most of that deep anger there in the first place… no, not a surprise it would boil out this way. But apparently a surprise to Tony. Gibbs was glad it was finally out. And strangely impressed that, despite the shut-down episodes being a dysfunction, apparently the many layers of Tony's psyche would rather close down than let him make a terrible mistake.

He briefly squeezed Tony's wrist before leaning back. Still looking him in the eye, he nodded slightly, and said, "Ok." Two letters, full of expression.

Tony closed his eyes while sucking in a deep breath, and rubbed his face with both hands. It literally felt like he'd just surfaced from under heavy water. He's ok with what I'm worried about. Ok with me worrying. And saying it'll be ok. Looking gratefully across the table at the man supporting him so much… and apparently effortlessly. "Thanks Boss." Tony's two words expressed almost as much back.

Not feeling so green now, or so twisted inside, Tony took another refreshing deep breath, "Except for that, I'm doing a lot better. I'm feeling a lot better, I'm moving on, taking care of business, really positive stuff. Feel like I'm doing well, you know?"

Gibbs smiled fondly, "Yeah, I know." He also had a feeling Tony would do even better now that he'd gotten that weight off his chest.

And, deciding the therapy session was over… and that his butt was starting to hurt sitting on the uncomfortable kitchen chair, "Let's go pick up my order of wood. Mostly need your help unloading it at the house. Also want you back over tonight to help me with something."

Smiling just as fondly, with a large dose of relief, Tony said, "On it Boss."

Tony DiNozzo smiled as he drove with the windows down, enjoying the crisp early evening air and admiring the sunset. As he pulled onto Gibbs' street, he could see three of his teammates' cars in the driveway and street outside the house.

Wary, he pulled over and called Gibbs, "Ah Boss, looking a bit crowded in there, what's going on?"

"Having a… campfire in the basement. Nothing you need to be a part of. Come on in."

"Not that I ever get freaked out Boss, ever, you know me. But I'm just a little freaked at the moment. Not really in the mood for… maybe I should just come at another time?"

"Get your ass in here DiNozzo, park behind my car. Now there's two things I need you to do."

As Tony walked in the front door, his trepidation was blown aside as he recognized the shape set on an end table to the right of the fireplace. Not seeing anyone other than Gibbs, he walked towards the object, as though the one true Grail had materialized in Gibbs' living room.

"My God. Is that…?" he could barely say the words.

"Yeah, bought it from a guy I know in the Marine Reserves. In addition to hooking that and the DVD player up, I want you to sign a power of attorney so I can do some things for you." He plucked a dazed Tony's phone from his belt, intending McGee to make sure no more unwanted calls were received on it. Instead, they would go straight to Gibbs' voice mail.

Still flummoxed at the idea of a working widescreen color TV in Gibbs' house, in the living room, Tony couldn't make sense of the rest of the words. "Wait, say what?"

"You trust me to have your six out of work too, right? Do right by you the way you would want?"

Instantly, "Of course." Looking his big brother/better father in the eyes, thinking of all the trust issues, complications and resolutions they'd already hurdled, he said with a smile, "We've come along way over the years haven't we Boss? Of course I do."

"You trust me to do the best I can for you, especially about things you can't think about right now if you're going to keep moving forward? Things I can't help but think extensively about?"

A long silence. Tony thought this was how you're supposed to be able to trust a parent, wishing to god his Dad had been worthy of the title. And how glad he was Gibbs apparently didn't think less of him for needing to face only forward on this issue. "Yeah Gibbs, I do."

As Tony signed the paperwork Gibbs said, "This is just temporary. It'll end up in your safety deposit box after I arrange some things."

Tony smiled, a bit misty eyed, "Aren't I supposed to get a ring now Boss? Jump a broom or something?"

Gibbs laughed, not untouched by the emotional moment himself, "Oh my boot'll make you jump real far DiNozzo. Now get a beer and get in there and make the damn thing work. Tim made a bet with Abby and Ziva you'd need help within 30 minutes. There's stew and biscuits for dinner later."