As soon as Tony pulled into the parking lot of his apartment his cell phone rang. Tim had conked off and was sleeping peacefully, his head leaning to the side on the headrest, his lips parted with a bit of drool in the corner of his lips. Tony smiled, "Yup; good sleeper."
He glanced at the caller ID and could see it was Gibbs. "DiNozzo here...You can't seem to get enough of us…We seem to have made a strong impression on you, Special Agent Gibbs. Hey, what's up?" Tony's sentences had all run into each other; a grin formed on his face when a substantial pause persisted before Gibbs spoke, ignoring Tony's comments.
"I wanted to confirm you made it home. I'm at the crime scene now. Apparently our jumpsuit guy has been dead for at least three days-"
"Oh. Since the time we first met, or rather you met him." Tony chuckled.
"Uh, DiNozzo, I can hardly say we 'met'. Its more like my head met the brunt of the door he ran through. That was the extent of any introductions that day." said Gibbs. "He died from a round to the head. There were also some abrasion marks on his wrists and ankles and some bruising on his face-"
"Ah, he had a little 'meet and greet' with his murderer beforehand." said Tony.
"Yeah, a get-together I'm sure he wasn't too fond of attending. We were able to ID him…Frank Judd. Does that name ring any bells?" asked Gibbs.
"Uh, no. No tingle-lingeling here." Tony was sure the man was rolling his eyes even if he couldn't see him in-person right now.
"Uh, can you ask Tim?" asked Gibbs.
"Sorry, no can do. He's out."
"Out? What do you mean-Oh. Do you mean sleeping?"
"Yup."
"Well, Judd is a janitor over at The Four Seasons."
"Janitor? Four Seasons? You mean, the Inn over on Washington Street?"
The Four Seasons was a nice place but was also known for its high volume of nooners ; business men escorting prostitutes for a quickie.
"Uh…Yeah. Apparently so. You sound…Confused?"
"No, just processing. These are some of my personally-mastered skills and techniques to investigate and discern any given case that had always brought me to a complete…exact conclusion-"
Tim yelled out in his sleep; his head rising instantly from the headrest. He blinked, then his eyes closed and his chin hit his chest and he fell back down as fast as he had popped up.
"What was that?" asked Gibbs.
"Tim is sleeping next to me…In the car. I arrived home and haven't got him inside yet. I gotta go-"
"One more thing. One of Metro's found a strange substance on Judd's shoes. I'm gonna have Forensics analyze it. When I have something I'd like you to accompany me in the investigation-"
"And Dan-"
"Just you. Get someone you can trust to watch Tim. And no one that's going to sit there with his thumbs up his ass doing crosswords the whole time."
A quick image of a man trying to accomplish both feats at once flashed in Tony's thoughts before he answered, "Yeah I'll get…" Again, Danny came first to mind but Tony quickly thought against it. It was slowly growing into his new thought pattern. "I'll get someone." Tony looked at his phone when he realized Gibbs had hung up. "I gotta teach that man the word, 'bye.' He put his phone in his pocket then looked at Tim, "Ah, Timmy? Wakey uppy. Time for beddy byes."
Tim didn't move but remained asleep.
"Ok. I know where this is heading sleeping beauty. Just don't get used to it. I don't have this caring, vigilant bedside manner for just anyone. Consider yourself very special." He reached for his door handle, knowing he'd have to practically carry Tim inside.
/
The next morning…
Tony slid across his hardwood living room floor in his tube socks, underwear and one of his old team basketball shirts from the military academy he attended when he was a teenager. What did Tom Cruise have that he didn't, he thought to himself.
He slid to a stop directly in front of his stereo; nestled securely in a shelf built into his wall. He pressed a button to open his CD player inserting Catrina and the Waves. He took that moment before the song started to concentrate and collect his whirring thoughts; his eyes closed, his breathing deep and slow. His body was trembling in anticipation to what was next. Inhaling through his nose he let a breath out through his parted lips then swung his hips to the left then a quick right. As soon as the music blasted from the speakers mounted on either wall, he lost himself, now in a quick-moving meditative state, deep in his own element.
This was his own Tai Chi but just with loud music and quick hip-swaying moves. He was starting the day with his morning ritual as he had for the last two years. When Wendy slept over she'd always join him…It just took longer to get out the door to start their day, usually detouring to the bedroom or anywhere else they broke into an ardent, sexual frenzy .
He loved the way the music made him feel alive, the energy it produced deep within his soul. He loved the way his cotton tube socks slid across the well-polished wood floor. He twirled in front of his stereo watching the blue digital numbers and audio bars that blinked and jumped on the stereo display like a tiny light show. "I'm walkin' on sunshine! Whoa…Oh!"
A loud crash behind him; broke his self-absorbed, state of mind. He turned to find Tim dressed in basketball shorts and also wearing tube socks and a basketball shirt. 'Wow, it's like we called each other so we would dress the same,' Tony thought to himself. 'Impressive and cool.'
Tim was trying to steady a wobbling coat rack. Tony keenly calculated; he must have entered the room and caught Tony dancing and tried to escape before he was discovered but only backed up into his coat rack in the corner of the room. Tony knew he probably embarrassed the kid but he didn't care about any of that and chose to ignore Tim's social ineptness.
Tim up righted the rack then placed a hand on his stomach, wincing. Tony noticed the dark circles under his eyes and how pale he was. From where Tony was standing across the room he was surprised to see sweat on Tim's forehead.
"Hey, why are you up so early?" asked Tony.
As soon as the words left his mouth, trying to speak over the music, he realized how loud the stereo was and turned it down. "Oh, uh, sorry."
"Uh…Nah,it's okay. You warned me about, uh…The underwear. I just didn't know what you planned on doing in it."
"You're in time for my morning ritual…I'm refreshing my… mojo." Tony enunciated the word before he continued. "You can join me if you want."
Tim's face flashed a beet red and Tony had an idea the only way Tim would join him was if he was three sheets to the wind.
"Uh, mojo?"
"Yeah, you know," Tony thrust his pelvis forward, "mojo."
"Gee..Thanks, but that's okay. I was going to head to the kitchen and grab something to eat so I can take my meds."
"Yeah, you're all stitched up…Probably not a good idea. Too sore for, uh, doing …this kinda thing. You probably have your own techniques of waking your mojo each morning. Hey, I have Lucky Charms." Tony's eyes brightened. "They're magically delicious." He winked.
"I could use some 'magic' about now." said Tim. .
"Come here-" Tony's phone went off. He reached into his underwear and retrieved it, checking the caller id. He looked up in time to catch Tim's eyes widen making Tony chuckle, "Well, you never know when you'll get an important call." He flipped open the phone, answering.
Tim teasingly glanced towards Tony's underwear then looked up at him, "Well, that explains a few things."
Tony mockingly gasped and gave Tim a soft swipe on the shoulder. "Gibbs!" He glared at Tim as he spoke to the Federal Agent on his cell.
"DiNozzo. I want you to come with me to the Four Seasons. Judd resided in a small apartment on the hotel's premises."
"Oh, that janitor guy. Lemme get coverage and I'll meet you there."
Tony followed Tim into the kitchen as he immediately called the precinct, watching Tim pour himself a bowl of cereal. Tony could tell he was still in a lot of pain by the quiet grunts he made with almost every move and the frequent grimace that created deep lines in his face.
It wasn't too difficult for Tony to get someone from within his precinct to come over and watch Tim. Officer Mac Devins was more than happy; excited he would be off of traffic detail for the morning.
Tim sat at the table looking out a window that looked over the front yard. Tony walked over and closed the curtains wanting to make sure no one could spot Tim through the window. Tim looked at him with an innocent, puzzled expression that quickly turned to understanding. Tony knew Tim had read the concern in his face. Tony smiled admiring the look Tim had of contentment. Tony wanted to remind him he was immune to any dangers he may face by staying there in Tony's home once he was off the phone.
Still on the phone, Tony paced the kitchen, waiting for Devin's confirmation while noticing the quick recovery Tim's plant had achieved overnight. Tony had doused the fern with water the night before, placing it on the kitchen table in a spot in front of the window. It had perked up, straight, fuller and greener that the previous night. Tony tapped Tim's shoulder then pointed to the greenery with his thumbs up and a look of self-admiration. Tim's eyes were sleepy and swollen but he cracked a smile looking genuinely happy; satisfied it was showing progress.
A deep dread hit Tony like a blast of wind at the beach. He inhaled tensely, realizing the plant was faring better than Tim. He tried to ignore the sinking feeling of leaving Tim with Devins, of leaving him at all. He looked so wounded, vulnerable and innocent, eating kids' cereal that contained marshmallows shaped like lucky charms. Tim had left the hospital too early and the man that was apparently stalking him was now dead; murdered. Would Tim be safe enough for Tony to leave?