Put My Heart Down
Disclaimer:
You know the drill …
Rating:
T
Genre:
Romance/Family/Angst
Pairings:
Tibbs
Tony/OC
Lyrics Used:
Sara Evans - "You Never Know"
Might Be the Call That He Got
Might be a cold, blank, stare or a roll of an eye | You know it's slippin' through your fingers but you don't know why | Oh, oh, it might die fast or bleed out slow, you never know
Who can really say | Why love goes away | When it goes it's gone | We can't even see | We're watching as it leaves | Our eyes are closed | You never know the way loves goes
It can go in the middle of the night | If you'd have known, you'd have screamed, you'd have put up a fight | End up alone, but, at least you're right | You never know the way love goes
Don't close the door to you heart 'cause you think it'll break | Yeah, it's a roll of a dice, it's a chance you take | But, once you give it away, it's out of your control | You never know the way loves goes, yeah
The way love goes, oh (You never know) (Never know, never know) …
Tony DiNozzo learned just how long a day of desk work could be on little to no sleep. Looking over at Gibbs's desk, he could see that the team leader hadn't been faring much – if any – better. He couldn't help feeling bad for the older man, but, he didn't know what he could do for him. It also didn't help that he'd been receiving messages from Wren all day. Finally, he'd broke down and responded to his lover that he'd meet up with him, after work.
After Gibbs had dismissed them for the day, Tony couldn't leave without checking with Gibbs, first. "Gibbs." He spoke, gently, waiting until he had his boss's attention "Are you all right?" He asked, worriedly.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs had to bite back his honest remark that he hadn't been okay since the day Tony left him. He couldn't burden his younger former lover with that knowledge. "'m fine." Jethro lied. "Just a little tired's all. …" He added, before lowering his voice so that only Tony would hear what he was saying. "Doc says it's normal." He added, dismissively, hoping to satisfy Tony's curiosity.
Tony knew there was more to Jethro's fatigue than just the pregnancy. But, he also knew that – if Jethro didn't want to talk about it – there wasn't anything he could do to change that. "Okay." He nodded, accepting the proffered explanation. Leaning in to Jethro, Tony dropped his voice so that no one else would hear him. "I stand by what I said, last night … I wanna be there for you and the baby … That means you can call me – anytime, day or night – if you need anything … anything at all … Okay?"
Jethro fought with everything he had to suppress the shudder as Tony leaned in toward him. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he replied "Thank you … Tony … I'll keep that in mind."
Satisfied that there was nothing more he could say or do for the father of his unborn child, Tony nodded. "Okay, then … I'll see ya, later, Boss."
"See ya." Jethro uttered, quietly, not trusting his voice to speak any louder. He really couldn't believe how great Tony was being about the baby and the pregnancy. Though, he knew he could only hope that the younger man's caring attention would continue after he told his new lover about the baby.
Walking into his lover's apartment, Tony was immediately bombarded with questions. "There you are! Where have you been?! I've been so worried!" Wren Hastings demanded, anxiously, gathering his lover into his arms, briefly.
Pulling away from the embrace, Tony replied "I'm sorry … I know I should have called or … something … I just … I've had a lot on my mind." He added, rubbing the back of his neck, anxiously.
"What's goin' on?" Wren questioned, worriedly.
"Look, I have a confession to make and I need you to … not freak out because I have more to say afterward … Okay?" Tony asked, carefully.
"O … kayyy …" Wren replied, nervously. "I promise to let you finish."
"Okay." Tony sighed, lightly, realizing that he still really didn't know where to even begin. Finally, he just decided to wing it. "Okay, well … First of all … I wasn't completely honest with you, last night. My boss did call me, but … But, it wasn't professional …"
Trying to keep his word, Wren drew and released a deep breath as he asked, carefully "What was it?"
"Gibbs called because he had something important to talk to me about …" Tony replied, carefully. "Now, I don't really know how to phrase this, so, I'm just gonna come right out and say it." He added, drawing a steadying breath before finishing his thoughts. "Wren … Jethro's pregnant."
For a moment, Wren couldn't even form a thought of a response to that. "I … Um … Wow." He stammered, frantically wracking his mind for something to say. "Are you gonna get a paternity test?" He asked, not even realizing the effects that question would have on his lover.
Tony simply remained deathly quiet. I can't believe he just said that … The federal agent thought to himself. Did he really just ask me that?! He thought to himself, incredulously. "I'm-I'm sorry-What?!" Tony hissed, giving the other man a chance to retract his words.
"Well, I just mean that you two haven't been together in weeks …" Wren replied, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.
"Yeah!" Tony barked, angrily. "And, Jethro's eight weeks pregnant!" Tony hissed. "So, yeah … It's my baby! … I don't need a damn DNA test to tell me that!"
"And, you're just gonna take his word for it?" Wren questioned, curiously. "I mean, have you gone with him to the doctor?"
"Are you fucking kidding me, right now?!" Tony roared. "God knows Leroy Jethro Gibbs was not the world's greatest lover!" He conceded. "But, he never lied to me!"
"Sure, not while you were together." Wren shrugged. "But, maybe he went out and hooked up with someone after you broke-up and, now, he's fudging the time line to make you think it's your baby, so, you'll take him back." He offered, dumbfounding his lover.
"Look!" Tony growled, in warning. "If he wanted me back, he wouldn't have given me the choice of whether or not I want to be involved in the baby's life! He flat-out told me he's not asking a damn thing out of me! He said that I can be as involved or un-involved as I want!" Tony ranted, blinded by rage. "He even told me that I could just walk away – free and clear – if that's what I want!" Chest heaving in anger, Tony willed his voice to calm as he spoke again. "Why the hell would he do that if this whole thing is just a scam to get me back?!"
"Well, that settles it, then!" Wren clapped, happily. "It's easy! Just tell him you want nothing to do with him and his bastard chil-" The young man's speech was cut off by a resounding smack as Tony's hand struck him across the face.
"How dare you?!" Tony snarled. "First of all – where the fuck do you get off talking about my unborn baby like that?!" He hissed, advancing on his lover until he had him backed into a corner. "But, forget about that … You seem to have forgotten the one thing I have spent my whole fucking life trying to do."
"A-a-and … what-what is that?" Wren stammered, nervously, terrified of the new side he'd unleashed in his special agent.
"You know damn well that I NEVER want to be anything like my father!" Tony growled, leaning directly into Wren's face. "If I turn my back on my baby, now, all of that will have been for nothing!" He hissed, venomously. "I will not abandon my child simply because you're too fucking insecure to trust that I can be there for my child without getting back together with my ex to do it!" Leaning back away from Wren's face, Tony calmed his demeanor as he smoothed the front of his clothes, before speaking again. "Now … You can either accept that my child is going to be part of my life – our life – or I can walk out that door – right here, right now – and we can never speak again." He spoke in a calm, rational voice. "Now … The choice is yours … What's it gonna be?"
Standing tall, once more, as Tony backed away from him, Wren regained his composure before speaking. "I'm sorry, Tony. You know I trust you more than I've ever trusted anyone …" He began, carefully. "But, I don't trust that ex of yours. You said it, yourself, that you never know where you stand with the man … I'm sorry, but, I just can't trust someone like that not to have ulterior motives … So …" Drawing a steadying breath, he steeled himself for Tony's response. " … The choice is yours, Tony … Your baby … or me. … You can't have both."
Tony just released a curt, disbelieving snort as he replied. "Wow … When ya put it like that, it makes this whole thing so much easier for me … Thank you, Wren." Turning to walk back toward the door, Tony turned back for one last declaration. "We are through, Wren. I never want to hear from you or see your disgusting face, again." He spat, turning back around and storming out of the other man's apartment and – presumably – his life.
Author's Note:
So, after much debate, I've decided to just end this chapter, here. I tried adding other segments, but, nothing seemed to … work the way I wanted them to. So, here it is! I hope you've all enjoyed this little offering! Don't forget to drop me a review!
~Skye Coulson