Thanks to all who faved this story. As promised, here is chapter 2!
Tony had always felt there was something disorienting about air travel, especially the military kind. You sat inside a cold, pressurized tube for hours, and landed a continent or two away with no real sense of the thousands of miles of earth which passed below you during the flight. Sure, there was a vast difference between DC and the deserts of Afghanistan and Iraq, but even there he could almost imagine that he was just somewhere in the dismal abyss of Nevada. If Nevada was surrounded by razor wire, mine fields, and smelled of falafel, that is.
Hawaii was different. The moment he stepped from the plane onto the tarmac the scent of sweet blooming flowers and the distant salty tang of ocean water reached his nose even above the stink of asphalt and jet fuel. The air was thick and humid but not at all unpleasantly warm. Beyond the towering hotels of Honolulu in the distance, impossibly green and rugged mountains, so vastly different from the rocky, pine-covered slopes of the Shenandoah, rose up to kiss a blue sky not dissimilar in depth and hue from the eyes which had been trained unrelentingly on him for the last hour of their flight.
He remembers. The words pounded in his head over and over and Tony dug his thumb into his palm again, trying to work away the tantalizing tingle he still felt from the trail of Jethro's fingertips over his skin.
He remembers. Jesus, fuck, Gibbs remembers. But how much? Tony's head was spinning as he realized that perhaps the impetus to this trip hadn't been what he thought it was at all.
Fortunately, Tony was forced to set aside his disturbing line of thought and fit the mask back in place as a tall man in a linen shirt and khakis with an NCIS badge at his hip approached them from a sedan that was parked on the tarmac.
"Special Agent Gibbs?" the new arrival inquired, speaking over the hum of utility vehicles which had begun unloading the plane's cargo.
Gibbs nodded, shouldering his duffel enough to extend his hand.
"I'm Special Agent Cabbot, but Jason's fine. We're pretty informal out here. Welcome to Fantasy Island." His easy grin took in both of them, fading only slightly at Gibbs' obviously unamused stoic response.
"Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo." They shook hands in greeting. "So you're the Herve Villachez of NCIS, Pearl, huh?" Tony said as Cabbot led them toward the sedan.
"You could say that," Cabbot chuckled. "Except I'm taller and better looking."
"I don't know," Tony quipped, "I always thought Tattoo was the real star of the show. You know he was the one fulfilling all those fantasies when Roarke wasn't looking." For some reason he'd taken an instant liking to their host, and his easy, relaxed manner made him comfortable despite the thoughts of Gibbs still roaming the back of his brain.
"You two finished?" Gibbs slid into the passenger side and nailed both of them with a steely blue glare.
Cabbot laughed again. "This your first trip to the islands?"
"Yeah," Tony answered quickly.
"What about you Gibbs?" he prompted when Gibbs didn't respond.
"Spent some time here. Before I joined NIS." His voice was slightly distant and he stared straight ahead as Cabbot merged onto a freeway on-ramp.
Tony studied the side of the older man's face but found no clues there. Obviously it was feasible that in the many years before Tony had known him, Gibbs had travelled through here, even during his years in the Corps, but something in his voice said this was more personal. Another mystery to solve.
"We've got base housing set up for you both for however long you're here. Nothing fancy, but I'm sure you're used to that. With all the extra personnel, accommodations are a little scarce." Tony forced himself to focus on Cabbot and not Gibbs.
"We'll be staying off base. Got a friend with a place up on the North Shore. 'Bout a half hour out of Pearl." Gibbs kept his attention focused out the window.
Tony started in genuine surprise, mouth parting slightly and then closing again as his brow furrowed in contemplation.
"Can't blame you there. Sure we can dig up a vehicle for you," Cabbot said. "Figured we'd give you a day to settle in before we threw you into the mix."
"We're good to go. Just need an hour or two. Appreciate a Sit Rep thought."
Tony really wanted to argue this point. It was already early evening and with a six hour time difference that made it some time in the middle of the night back in DC. He'd take a day to settle in if they were willing to give it to him. And another day to figure out just what in the hell he was settling into with Gibbs.
"'Friad we're a little behind in organization," Cabbot confessed. "We've got Agents on loan from Homeland, six NCIS field offices, and Army Intelligence out of Schofield all trying to prove who's got the biggest Johnson. And if that wasn't enough of a pain in the ass we've got spooks throwing in sketchy foreign intelligence info through even sketchier backchannels. NCIS has jurisdiction but we're just trying to keep everyone from crossing swords right now, if you know what I mean."
"Any credible threats?" Tony piped up before Gibbs this time.
"A few. Cyber and the rest of my FCI team are still putting together scattered intelligence, but give me 18 hours and I'll have something for the two of you to start running with on your own. Right now we're just pulling at strings and seeing what holds together and what unravels. We've chased down more than our fair share of dead ends so far."
"I'll give you your 18 hours but we'll take some of those dead ends of yours in the meantime. Might be able to revive a few of them. We've got our own backchannels." Gibbs resumed his watch out the window.
Tony had felt a brief surge of hope and then suppressed an inner groan. A few hours of beach time was one thing, stuck alone with Gibbs in some hut somewhere bogged down in cold leads was his idea of slow torture.
"So how long have you been with NCIS, Agent DiNozzo? Agent Gibbs' reputation kind of precedes him." Cabbot grinned at Tony in the reflection of the rearview mirror.
"Five and a half years, I guess. Was a detective in a few places before Gibbs here picked me up off the street." He realized the way it sounded but didn't correct himself. "How about you? Don't take offense but you seem young to be leading your own team."
"Ha! I'll take that as a compliment, DiNozzo. Did a four year haul with the Navy right out of high school. Got into the MA program. When I got out I tried local law enforcement but I missed intelligence work. NCIS seemed like the best compromise. Was at the Central Field office for awhile, but when they downsized I got assigned Agent Afloat for six months on the Abe and we passed through Pearl a few times. Put in for the gig here and I'm going on six years now. Had my own team for a little over three years." Cabbot made the information very matter-of-fact and Tony didn't sense any kind of boasting.
Cabbot had had prior experience in the Navy, but still, Tony thought they were probably pretty close in age. The fact that he'd been leading his own team for three years did make him give a little thought to Spain and the possibility he'd set himself back by choosing as he had. Then again, there were extenuating circumstances, and FCI Pearl was definitely not the DC MCRT. How did you quit the starting line-up in the show for a coaching job in the minors?
A few minutes later and they were pulling off the freeway and through the checkpoint at the naval base. So far Pearl Harbor looked pretty much like any of a dozen city-adjacent bases he'd been on and, aside from the distant scenery, it was hard to believe he was on a tiny island in the Pacific. Cabbot had given them a running tour of everything significant they'd passed and, while he'd indulged Tony's endless string of questions about the best beaches and nightlife, they had yet to even catch a glimpse of the ocean.
"This is us. Not much compared to DC but we make it work." Cabbot pulled up in front of a two story white building that looked similar to several other structures they'd passed on their way in. "We've got passes ready for you, maps of the island and Pearl as well as MCBH. You can meet the rest of my team and I'll make a quick call about transport."
Tony could feel the difference in the atmosphere between this field office and DC immediately. DC had a constant buzz, a sense of propriety, of authority, of mission. NCIS Pearl, despite the current level of readiness and focus, still felt more relaxed, less stuffy. He liked it.
"This is the rest of my team." Cabbot led them into an open, airy space with a lot of natural light and walls the color of the ocean. Two agents, identified by the badges at their waists, rose from behind their desks. The first was a woman so stunningly beautiful Tony couldn't believe she hadn't stepped out from the pages of a magazine. The other was a younger, balding man of middling height who made McGee look like he belonged on a GQ cover. "This is Special Agent Amber Spencer and Special Agent Ted Borling. These are Agents Gibbs and DiNozzo from the DC field office."
Hands were shaken and clipped pleasantries exchanged.
"Agent Spencer, aren't you a little too beautiful to be a federal agent?" Tony flirted shamelessly on instinct. The woman before him obviously had native Hawaiian blood and her long dark hair flowed loosely over her shoulders and framed a face that must have turned a thousand heads.
"Excuse me?" Her mouth tightened and she raised an eyebrow at him sharply.
Tony fumbled, not used to being met with such icy calm in the face of his charms. Well, at least not often. "I, uh…what I mean is, you could model or, you know, be a trophy wife or something." He tried to gather himself. "Not that…I'm sure you're a great agent." Tony took a deep breath and let the train wreck just happen. "You're just pretty." He smiled gawkily thought the pain of it. He didn't dare look over at Gibbs right now and he was surprised he hadn't felt a palm striking the back of his head.
"That's what my girlfriend tells me every day, Agent DiNozzo," Spencer said calmly, quirking a small smile. "I try not to let my looks get in the way when I'm shooting at people."
"You're... with a woman. That's…" Tony made an odd and somewhat awkward gesture with his fingers and cleared his throat loudly. "Good for you." He gave an uncomfortable thumbs-up and could feel the heat in his face as he turned back to Cabbot and Gibbs who were already going over some files at another desk.
"These are just the leads that have run out on us. We're still sorting through at least a dozen more. Borling's convinced we're just missing a piece of the puzzle on this one in particular, Assam Fayed. Chatter says his branch of Al Kaida is calling for martyrs to target "A great gathering of whales", which we think is code for PACRIM, but we can't find a definitive target or plan." He held out a folder to Gibbs. "We're watching everything that comes through right now to see if we get a connection but Fayed's gone off the radar for the last four months."
Gibbs took the folder and nodded. "I'll make some calls." He scribbled a few notes on a piece of paper and handed it to Cabbot. "This is where we'll be and these are our cells. You get anything that fits together before tomorrow you let me know."
The ringing of a phone on Cabbot's desk interrupted anything further.
"They're bringing a vehicle around for you. You'll just need to sign it out," he said after a exchanging a few perfunctory words into the receiver. "I'm sure you're familiar with the paperwork." Cabbot grinned widely.
"See ya at 1300 tomorrow unless we hear from you before then." Gibbs nodded and headed for the double doors they'd entered only a few minutes ago, small stack of files in hand.
"Enjoy the North Shore." Cabbot and his team were already settling back in to work as they departed.
Tony followed on Gibbs' heels. "Kinda like the paint job in here, Boss. Little more soothing than all the orange," he said hopefully.
"Well, you'll have at least a week to enjoy it, DiNozzo. Try not to get too attached."
XXX
By the time they left the base the sun was setting. Tony craned his neck in every direction but all he saw were buildings, the winding stretch of crowded freeway before them, and distant mountains. Not that the mountains weren't pretty, but they certainly weren't the ocean.
"You seem to know where you're going," Tony said as the freeway ended and became a two lane highway bordered by the lights of houses on one side and blackness on the other.
"Yeah."
"So…you've been here before."
"Yeah."
Tony waited patiently.
"Friend from the corps I met at Pendleton is a native. Came down here for a while once." There was a finality to the statement this time.
"And as usual you're not going to tell me any more than that." Tony sighed.
At this Gibbs remained silent.
Tony let it pass. There had never been a point to pressing Gibbs on something he didn't want to talk about in the past and he didn't think much had likely changed. The silence left him alone with the heaviness of his thoughts and the stone-weight of his gut that wondered just how long it would be before Gibbs let him in on where in the hell his head was at.
Gibbs had given him something in that plane earlier, had perhaps even laid a tiny piece of himself at Tony's feet, and he'd be damned if he knew what in the hell to do about it. Four months ago he would have scooped the other man up in his arms, NCIS and consequences be damned. A month ago he'd have punched him. But now…he didn't want to think about now, couldn't think about it. It made his chest and his head hurt in equal measure.
With practiced care he tied up the bundle of frenzied thought that was Leroy Jethro Gibbs and shoved it to the specially carved out spot in the back of his head where he could almost, almost, pretend it didn't exist for a few hours at a time.
Eventually both sides of the road grew dark and Tony continued to stare out the window at the inky blackness and the vague outlines of rugged hills and palm trees. The road began to wind more and now the sedan's headlights caught the sides of steep cliffs which sometimes bordered the side of the road as well as homes set back just out of sight behind tall fences. He sensed that they had changed direction but was disoriented in the darkness. "We almost there? Can't be much more to this island." The silence had finally made him uncomfortable.
As if in answer, they passed a brightly lit area with a supermarket and several other stores. "Another mile or so. It's changed a bit since I was last here. Used to be a little less crowded."
Indeed, cars lined the sides of the road even though it was dark, and there were several people out walking, biking, or carrying surfboards. Surfboards meant the beach and Tony perked up immediately. "So, how close are we to the ocean then?" Of course he'd grown up on the Atlantic coast but somehow this was different.
"'Bout thirty feet." Gibbs looked at him quizzically. "Been right outside for the last ten minutes." He gestured out his window.
Tony was suddenly almost in Gibbs' lap, straining to see anything in the darkness.
"You mind, DiNozzo? I'd like to see where I'm going," Gibbs growled lightly and pushed him back.
"Sorry." He still craned and squinted at the non-descript blackness he assumed to be the Pacific Ocean but could make out nothing to fix his eyes to. He didn't have long to be disappointed as Gibbs suddenly swung into a nearly invisible hole in a high fence immediately beside the road.
The home in front of them was two stories with a flat roof and wide awnings. It's light green color and slightly darker shutters somehow gave it a tropical feel. Tall palms lined one side of the drive and separated it from a smaller building toward the rear of the property which had the look of a guest house. Overall it seemed well cared for but had a casual, open feel with its wide windows and glass entryways. Warm, welcoming light shone from inside.
Gibbs pulled up next to a large Jeep and put the car into park but stayed where he was. The tension Tony had been feeling for the better part of the drive was evident in the set of his shoulders and jaw even in the shadows.
"Gibbs…" Tony ventured. Something was playing out right now that he didn't fully understand but he sensed that this wasn't something related to their conversation earlier.
"Been a long time since I was here, Tony. And the last time…" Jethro began. His knuckles were white on the steering wheel and his voice caught just a little before he stopped himself. "Just need a minute."
It was more reveal than Tony was used to and he simply nodded. A moment later, however, a bright porchlight illuminated the inside of the car, making him squint. The door to the house opened and the outline of a tall man appeared.
As soon as they exited the car, a booming voice greeted them exuberantly. "Aloha, welcome to the North Shore." The dark haired stranger stepped close to Gibbs and the two embraced as warmly as Tony had ever seen Jethro embrace another man. The breeze carried whispered words to Tony' ears. "Welcome back, kaikua'ana. It's been too long."
Tony stood awkwardly as what was clearly a significant moment unfolded between the two men. He didn't recognize the softly lilting language but the unfamiliar words were spoken with deep affection. Eventually they released each other and turned to him.
"Holokai Kama, this is Anthony DiNozzo." Gibbs introduced him only somewhat awkwardly as their host came around the car to greet him.
"Tony." He put on his warmest smile and extended his hand, but was immediately engulfed in strong arms and patted soundly on the back.
"If you had any influence at all in getting Gibbs to come back to his island home after all this time you should call me Kai." Even in shadow his face was a broad grin.
"Think I'm just along for the ride, Kai." Tony grinned up at him. Kai easily stood two inches above him, maybe even three, and had much broader shoulders than either he or Gibbs. He was wearing tan board shorts and a Hawaiian shirt printed in muted greens and blues which was loose fitting and concealed, what Tony assumed to be, a well-muscled frame.
"Thanks for agreeing to put us up. Sorry for the short notice." Gibbs hefted his duffle onto his shoulder from the other side of the car.
"My door was always open to you, Gibbs. You know that," Kai said, a hint of regret and maybe even sadness coloring his voice. "I can see by your eyes that it's been too long."
Tony didn't miss the subtle shake of Jethro's head as though he was warning Kai off from saying too much.
"I've got you set up in the guest house out back. There's more than enough room for you in the main house if you'd prefer that but I thought you might want more privacy?" He quirked an eyebrow at Gibbs. "For working," Kai added after a clearly intentional pause. "I know what kind of hours he likes to keep." He turned and smiled at Tony, bringing him back into the conversation.
Tony's eyes had drifted to the side of the house. Now that his vision had adjusted to the light he noticed a row of several surfboards varying in size and length leaning against the side of the house. "You surf?" He asked hopefully.
Kai nodded. "Of course. You manage to leave out all the important parts, Gibbs?"
"Told him what he needs to know. Figured he'd get the rest on his own soon enough." He walked over and traced the line of one of the boards almost affectionately.
"You don't grow up a hundred yards from some of the best waves in the world without learning a thing or two." Kai turned his attention back to Tony now who was watching Gibbs curiously. "I was riding the waves as soon as I was big enough to carry my own board."
"So you're pretty good then?"
"Not as good as some," he admitted. "I had to learn the rhythm of the ocean. Others are born to it," he said quietly.
There was something odd in Kai's voice, something Tony knew must have to do with Gibbs but he didn't have enough to quite connect all the dots yet. Still, he filed the conversation away for later review. "You ever give lessons?"
Kai laughed, a warm and pleasant sound. "If you can talk Gibbs into giving you some liberty I'll put you on a board down in the bay anytime. But if you're lucky I might be able to find you a better teacher before you leave the island."
"Don't get ahead of yourself, DiNozzo. Still got a pile of files to tackle tonight and who knows what waiting tomorrow." Gibbs' warning wasn't as stern as it sounded thought and Tony thought there was even a hint of amusement there.
"You're gonna at least let me feed you first, hoaloha. I won't take no for an answer. We have some catching up to do and I can't let Tony spend his first night on the island without some Hawaiian barbeque." Kai draped and arm over Gibbs' shoulders and led them toward the house.
Tony perked up at this. "Barbeque?"
"Best on the North Shore."
"He's not lying," Gibbs agreed. "Think I put on ten pounds the last time I was here."
"You were too skinny anyway," Kai laughed.
Tony followed the two men into the house, marveling at the easy banter between them. He hesitated at the threshold, glancing speculatively one more time at the row of surfboards. He wondered, not for the first time, just what kind of secrets Leroy Jethro Gibbs was still hiding after all these years.
Thank you for reading. I'd love to hear what you think so far.