Gibbs came into Tony's hospital room holding a hot box of Tony's favorite pizza – Tony had been in the hospital for a little over a month now, and that was his one constant craving, the doctor's had finally lifted his dietary restrictions that morning and Gibbs thought it to be a nice surprise for the younger man to lift up his spirits.
Gibbs stopped dead in his tracks as he stared at Tony's empty hospital bed; Tony wasn't scheduled for physical therapy today, and also wasn't meant to be moving around without assistance. Gibbs quickly set the pizza down on the rolling tray table and headed to the closed bathroom door, knocking on it loudly "Steven, are you in there?" Gibbs asked, pressing his ear to the door.
"Yeah… I'm here…" Tony replied, his breathing slightly labored – He'd finally gotten over the pneumonia but still got easily winded. "The door is unlocked…" Tony added, a dry coughing fit following his words.
Gibbs pushed the door open, frowning as he saw Tony sitting dejectedly on the closed toilet seat "What are you doing in here?" Gibbs asked curiously as he crouched in front of Tony, who was only dressed in a pair of thin cotton shorts, a t-shirt draped over his shoulder.
Tony looked towards the shower stall "I just… I wanted to take a shower. Tired of being helped with doing everything, thought if I could just do this one thing… That I'd feel normal again…" Tony said quietly, shaking his head as he rubbed at his knee slightly "But I couldn't stand up on my own long enough to even turn the water on." Tony added, looking down at Gibbs and shaking his head.
Gibbs sighed as he carded his fingers through Tony's hair lightly "What if I helped you? Would that make a difference?" Gibbs asked softly, brushing his thumb lightly over Tony's cheek and smiling.
Tony shrugged as he leaned into Gibbs' touch "I don't know, maybe?" Tony said, sighing as he laid his forehead against Gibbs' shoulder.
Gibbs nodded as he kissed the side of Tony's head, slowly standing up and stripping down to his boxers, he then carefully helped Tony out of his shorts, setting them and his t-shirt on the sink counter. "Alright, you ready?" Gibbs asked after he'd turned on the water to Tony's desired heat and moved the shower seat underneath the sprayer.
Tony nodded as he wrapped his hands around Gibbs' forearms, slowly pulling himself up to his feet "Let's do this before we get into trouble." Tony said, laughing softly as he and Gibbs shuffled towards the shower together "Aren't you going to take your boxers off?" Tony asked, looking down at the plaid blue boxers that Gibbs was wearing.
Gibbs shook his head and kissed Tony tenderly on the lips before settling him on the shower seat "Don't worry about my boxers, you're taking the shower, not me." Gibbs said as he pulled the curtain shut, standing behind Tony and gently massaging into the younger man's shoulders "Now do what you can, and I'll help you with the rest." Gibbs added as he handed Tony his shampoo.
Tony tilted his head back and smiled slightly "I don't think I can do any of it." Tony said, his smile widening as he squirted a bit of shampoo into his hand and then lathering the citrusy scent into his hair.
Gibbs chuckled as he snagged Tony's soap and poured some into his palm, "Alright, I'll do your back, you do your front until you can't anymore…" Gibbs said as he began lathering Tony's back up with the soap "This is better than a sponge bath with a nurse, huh?" Gibbs asked, looking up from his crouched position into Tony's sparkling green eyes.
Tony nodded as he carded a soapy hand through Gibbs hair, smiling lightly "Yeah but I mean, some of the nurses were pretty cute… They just… Didn't get this reaction." Tony said, nodding towards his hardening erection.
Gibbs laughed as he kissed the back of Tony's neck "Can't do anything about that today. Maybe when you get out, we'll fix this problem." Gibbs said softly against the shell of Tony's ear.
Tony sighed, laying his head against Gibbs' shoulder as the older man sat down next to him on the shower seat "And do you know how much longer that will be?" Tony asked as he reached forward, turning off the shower water then looking at Gibbs curiously.
"Doctor's think you should be able to go home tomorrow, if you're up to it… And you know you'll have to wear a stabilizer brace for a few weeks. You gonna be okay with that?" Gibbs asked as he reached over to the towel rack, grabbing two towels and handing one over to Tony while he used the other to dry his hair and body off.
Tony nodded as he dried himself off, then settled the towel down on the floor beneath his feet "I don't have a choice in the matter. I want to get better, and if that means I have to wear a brace, then I have to wear a brace… I just wanna go home." Tony said sincerely as he wrapped his arms around Gibbs' shoulders, slowly standing up as Gibbs helped him to his feet.
Gibbs helped Tony get dressed in a clean pair of shorts and a shirt, then stripped out of his soaked boxers, pulling his discarded clothes back on "I know you want to go home, and you will, if you stop trying to do things without someone at least being with you…" Gibbs said as he handed Tony his crutches, watching as the younger man stood up and slowly hobbled back into the room.
After Tony and Gibbs had eaten the cold pizza – Tony's absolute favorite – they laid back on the hospital bed, Tony lying against Gibbs' chest with Gibbs' arms wrapped around him "So how is the case going? You don't talk much about it…" Tony asked quietly, tilting his head back to look up at Gibbs.
Gibbs sighed as he rubbed Tony's chest soothingly "Lexi is still in the wind, but the OSP thinks they're getting closer to finding her than what they were last month. And Colonel Anderson has confessed to everything after Sam and Callen tag teamed him in a bit of an unusual way." Gibbs said just as quietly, continuing to caressing Tony's chest.
Tony sighed as he turned slightly, propping a pillow underneath his knee "What did Anderson have to say?" Tony asked, lying his head in the center of Gibbs chest, drawing a random pattern against the older man's stomach.
Gibbs frowned slightly, he really didn't think telling Tony everything that Terry had said would be beneficial to Tony's wellbeing and recovery, but also knew that not telling him could be just as devastating. "At first… He was reluctant to say anything, but once Sam and Callen had him open up to them… It was like a dam had burst wide open. Terry's father is where all of this apparently started, when he was sixteen he got caught with a boyfriend, and… I mean, I'm not going to try and make excuses for this guy, but back then, being gay was sorely frowned upon… His father was the religious type, and ended up sending him to a conversion therapy camp, which… I guess didn't work out, so his father forced him to enlist in the marines… Terry had no choice but to repress his feelings towards men, and for the next forty years he'd been trying to find a relationship that would meet his father's standards…" Gibbs began explaining, his hand ceaselessly moving on Tony's shoulders to keep the younger man calm.
Tony nodded, glancing up at Gibbs briefly, so he knew to continue "When Terry's father died, a year and a half ago – when all of the victims started turning up – something snapped inside of him, and he started taking out his anger on those who were in loving relationships. Lexi's involvement was simple, she was in love with Terry, and he knew… He used her, by getting the people of his choosing to become friends with her, gaining their trust and then setting up the situations for the kidnappings…" Gibbs said, shaking his head as he looked down at Tony, gauging the younger man's response.
Tony sighed as he curled up around Gibbs' body the best he could without jostling his knee "So, now all that's left is finding Lexi… Do you think I'll have to testify or anything?" Tony asked quietly.
Gibbs furrowed his brows as he wrapped his arms around Tony's body, feeling the subtle tremors of Tony's body "I don't think you will. Not with Terry's full confession of his and Lexi's involvement." Gibbs said, kissing the top of Tony's head tenderly, "Told ya that I'd get you through this Tony." Gibbs whispered as he rubbed up and down Tony's back soothingly.
Tony nodded slightly "Still don't know why, but… I'm glad you're here, Jethro." Tony whispered, sliding his hand underneath Gibbs' shirt and sighing contentedly from the heat radiating from the older man's stomach.
Gibbs sighed "You want me to stay with you tonight?" he asked while carding his fingers tenderly through Tony's hair, massaging into the younger man's scalp. Tony nodded as he twisted his fingers around the inside of Gibbs' shirt, "Alright. Go to sleep Tony, I'll be here when ya wake up." Gibbs said as he adjusted to a more comfortable position with Tony, both men falling asleep within minutes of each other.
Gibbs pulled the SUV up to the front doors of the hospital, sighing as he watched the nurse's aide wheel Tony out – Something that was adamantly protested by Tony, claiming that what was the point of having crutches if he couldn't use them to get out of the hospital by himself. Gibbs knew that caring for Tony in this state was going to continue to get increasingly difficult, especially with Tony becoming increasingly agitated with his physical limitations at this point.
Gibbs got out of the SUV and came over to Tony who had his arms wrapped tightly around his chest "I can do it myself! Why don't you get that?!" Tony growled at the young aide, who couldn't have been more than twenty.
The nurse's aide sighed quietly "Mr. Gray, it is policy that all patients be wheeled out of the hospital and helped into their vehicles!" she protested, not deterred by Tony's attitude or anger.
Tony looked up at Gibbs pleadingly, "I can help him, Meredith, that won't be a problem, will it?" Gibbs asked, looking at the aide with a small smile on his face as he grasped Tony's shoulder, tightly.
Meredith rolled her eyes "You two are the most stubborn pair of men I've ever met!" she complained lightheartedly, grinning sweetly at both men as Gibbs slowly helped Tony up to his feet and into the passenger seat.
"I take that as a compliment." Gibbs said, winking at the younger girl then turning to Tony who had an affronted look on his face. Meredith quickly went back into the hospital, and Gibbs shut the door and quickly got into the driver's seat and sighed "God I am so glad that this nightmare is over…" Gibbs said in exasperation.
Tony scoffed as he crossed his arms over his chest, staring out of the window as they started pulling away from the hospital "You were flirting with Meredith…" Tony stated angrily, glancing at Gibbs then back out of the window.
"I wasn't flirting with Meredith! How… How did you get that idea?!" Gibbs questioned, looking over at Tony with a slight frown on his face at the angered expression on Tony's face.
Tony rolled his eyes and shook his head "Then what was with the wink and the 'I take that as a compliment'?! That sounds like flirting to me!" Tony stated, glaring at Gibbs angrily now.
Gibbs sighed as he pulled out his base ID, showing it to the guard at the gate "I wasn't flirting with Meredith, Tony… I was simply stating a fact… I didn't mean to wink, it was just an automatic response… I'm sorry." Gibbs said, parking the SUV in their driveway.
Tony shook his head as he pushed the door open and grabbed his crutches "I don't wanna talk about it right now…" Tony said as he carefully moved down from the seat and across the lawn to the front door.
Gibbs followed Tony to the door and unlocked it, watching as Tony hobbled into the living room and curled up on the couch. Gibbs hated the dejected look on Tony's face, he just wished he knew what Tony was thinking or feeling so he could fix it, because losing Tony before their relationship really had a chance to begin was not an option at this point.
Meanwhile, in DC, Abby was pacing back and forth in front of McGee's desk "Nobody has heard from Gibbs or Tony in a month! What has happened to them?!" Abby asked frantically, looking between McGee and Ziva.
McGee shook his head "Don't know Abs… We've tried contacting them, but neither of them has picked up or emailed back…" McGee said, pulling up his email and checking through it.
"I've got nothing as well…" Ziva said as she stood up from her desk and joined her two colleagues, perching on top of Tony's desk and looking between Abby and McGee curiously.
"What if Tony and Gibbs aren't coming back? What if they decided they were going to stay in LA with the OSP? Or they were both kidnapped? Or…" Abby started rambling, quickly cut off by McGee's hand cupping over her mouth.
"I'm sure if any of those scenarios were true, Vance would have informed us… Or Tony and Gibbs would have said something – All of their stuff is still here in DC, so why would they not come back Abby?" McGee questioned reasonably, looking directly into the goths eyes.
Director Vance came around the corner of the bullpen at that moment, shaking his head slightly as he withdrew his toothpick from between his teeth "Agents Gibbs and DiNozzo will be returning to DC. I cannot tell you when, as even I do not know that information yet. Right now though, Gibbs has been focusing on DiNozzo's recovery after being rescued… I've been in contact with Gibbs as of an hour ago, and he assures me that they are both fine, they are just waiting for their last suspect to be found and arrested. Agent McGee, if you could…" Vance said, handing McGee a sealed envelope "That is all the information on Alexis Campbell that the OSP managed to dig up, see if they missed anything and assist them in finding her in any way that you can." Vance said, sticking the toothpick back into his mouth and heading back upstairs to his office.
McGee pulled the confidential seal off the envelope and sighed as he dumped the contents out onto his desk, rifling through the pages "They have quite a lot of information on her…" McGee commented idly as he read through the papers "Seems that they lost her trail somewhere between San Diego and Mexicali – Apparently she has dual citizenship in both America and Mexico…" McGee added as he handed a few pages over to Ziva, and a few over to Abby.
"So, we find her – Tony and Gibbs get to come home! I'm so on it!" Abby said, whirling around on her heel and clomping off back down to her lab with a bit more enthusiasm than she had earlier in the evening.
McGee sighed as he set aside the papers "She's right – We have to find this Alexis person… Even if she's in Mexico…" McGee said tiredly as he began pulling up databases and typing rapidly into his computer.
Ziva nodded as she headed back towards her desk "I have a few contacts in Mexico that I can call…" Ziva said, mostly to herself as she sat down and picked up her desk phone, dialing the first of several contacts.
Tony sighed as he slowly made his way out onto the back porch where Gibbs was whittling a block of wood. Tony lowered himself down into one of the Adirondack chairs and looked over at Gibbs "I'm sorry about this morning… I kind of lost my cool." Tony said quietly, twisting his hands together nervously.
Gibbs nodded as he set the block of wood down and turned towards Tony "Yeah, ya kind of did… and I forgive you for that… I really didn't mean to upset you." Gibbs said as he reached his hand out towards Tony.
Tony smiled slightly as he interlocked his hand with Gibbs' hand "I know, and that's something I have to work on. I've… always had insecurities when it comes to relationships… I guess… I don't know what happened Gibbs, I really don't… Everything is just… so messed up now." Tony said quietly, shaking his head as he looked down at the porch, swiping at his eyes with his other hand.
Gibbs sighed as he moved over to the wide chair and sat down next to Tony, wrapping his arm around Tony's shoulder and pulling the younger man closer "You don't gotta be insecure in our relationship, Tony… You know I'm loyal to a fault, I ain't goin' nowhere. And everything is messed up, but we'll get through it – You're stronger than you know, and you can overcome this, and I will be there, one hundred percent of the way." Gibbs said softly, kissing the top of Tony's head and smiling sadly.
Tony nodded as he snuggled into Gibbs' side, "I think I'm starting to get that. Don't know about my being strong, but as long as I have you with me… I think I can do just about anything. Thank you, Gibbs, for just being you and not letting me give up when I didn't think I'd get through it." Tony whispered, wrapping his arm around Gibbs' stomach lightly and smiling up at the older man.
Gibbs smiled as he leaned down slightly and kissed Tony softly on the lips "Love you Tony." Gibbs whispered as he slid his hand into Tony's hair and continued kissing the younger man softly and lovingly.
Tony whimpered against Gibbs' lips, his fingers curling around the fabric of the older man's shirt as the kiss grew more passionate and heavy. "We should stop." Tony murmured against Gibbs' lips, both breathing heavier than before as they looked into each other's eyes.
Gibbs nodded as he continued pressing feather-light kisses against Tony's lips "We should… You're right…" Gibbs whispered as his fingers slowly began working open Tony's button up shirt.
Tony chuckled as he gathered Gibbs' questing hands and pinned them to his chest "That's not stopping." Tony whispered as he rested his forehead in the curve of Gibbs' nose.
Gibbs smirked as he nipped at Tony's bottom lip gently "A guy can try, can't he?" Gibbs questioned as he relaxed backwards and propped his feet up on the porch banister, gently rubbing up and down Tony's arm and shoulder.
Tony shrugged as he snuggled back into Gibbs' embrace, sighing contentedly as he drew random patterns along Gibbs' chest and stomach "I suppose so, but… we really should wait, like we said we would… At least until we're back in DC, the comfort of one of our own homes…" Tony said softly, tilting his head back to look up at Gibbs curiously.
Gibbs nodded, kissing Tony's forehead tenderly as he snuggled against Tony's side as well "Shouldn't be much longer… Vance is putting McGee and Abby on the case, and you know those two can find pretty much anyone at any time…" Gibbs said, chuckling softly as he carded his fingers through Tony's hair soothingly.
Tony smiled slightly "That's good… Can't wait to get home… Don't ever wanna come to San Diego again…" Tony whispered sadly. As he thought about it, he really did just want to go back to DC and get back to at least somewhat of a normal life, even if he couldn't have NCIS, he knew that he would at least have Gibbs by his side no matter what he decided on doing with his future, something he would have to think about if he couldn't recover mobility beyond the predicted seventy-five percent.