Tony sighed, shifting uncomfortably for the hundredth time since boarding their flight back to DC – He'd finally been cleared for travel again, and with a lot of regret of having to explain to his doctors, the friends he'd made in San Diego and even the base commanders about their deception towards who they were, they were finally on their way back to DC with recommendations from the doctors on great physical therapists and even, after much arguing, an actual therapist that could help Tony through the mental healing portions of what needed healing.
Gibbs rolled his eyes as Tony's elbow jabbed into his arm yet again "We should have just drove back to DC… Even if it would have taken us three days to get back." Gibbs grumbled irritably, they had discussed driving back for Tony's sake, but Tony rebuffed the option almost immediately, because all he wanted to do was get back to DC as quickly as possible, leaving behind all that he'd endured in San Diego.
Tony rolled his eyes, leaning the airplane seat back as far as it would go "What's the point in driving back if we can't stop and see all of the neat little landmarks along the way?" Tony retorted, turning his head to look at the side of Gibbs' face.
Gibbs shook his head as he thought about how he wanted to respond to Tony's question, what he really wanted to say was 'Some people have to get back to work…' but he knew that would be completely insensitive and he didn't want to deal with a pissed-off Tony throughout the remainder of their flight. Gibbs was having more than a difficult time trying to think of something that would both soothe and defuse the situation before it escalated "I've done the cross-country road trip before Tony… The landmarks aren't all that great." Gibbs said, shrugging his shoulders slightly as he reclined backwards and looked over at Tony.
Tony scoffed slightly and turned his head towards the window "Ass, I haven't done the cross-country road trip thing – They would have been great for me!" Tony replied, crossing his arms over his chest and huffing out a breath in aggravation.
Gibbs sighed, the one thing he didn't want to do was piss Tony off, and by the hurt expression on Tony's face, and he'd successfully succeeded in pissing him off "Tony… I'd love to do a cross-country road trip with you, but… I'd rather do it when you're better, can actually enjoy the scenery… Not having to hobble around on crutches or being in constant pain." Gibbs said sincerely, tentatively reaching towards Tony's hand that was rubbing vigorously against his thigh.
Tony interlocked his fingers with Gibbs' and sighed as he turned his head back to look at Gibbs "I'm holding you too that, because whatever you say is law." Tony said, smirking a little as he leaned over, capturing Gibbs' lips in a heated kiss that quickly escalated, thankfully the first class cabin was barren except for the stewardess' who would occasionally walk past.
Gibbs found himself with half of Tony in his lap, groaning low in his throat as Tony pawed relentlessly at his groin that was so stiff he thought he'd lose control, "T… Tony…" Gibbs said breathlessly as Tony's lips went from his mouth to his earlobe "Public… Place…" Gibbs managed to get out through panted breathes.
Tony sighed as he curled up against Gibbs' side, his injured knee resting on top of Gibbs' thigh, "I'm sorry… I uh… I lost myself there for a few seconds." Tony offered lamely as he caressed up and down Gibbs' stomach and chest slowly.
Gibbs grunted as he kissed the top of Tony's head, smirking as Tony squirmed against his side, feeling the younger man's erection pressing into the outside of his thigh "Ya think?" Gibbs questioned as he ran his hand from Tony's shoulder and down to his well-rounded ass, slipping the tips of his fingers underneath the elastic waistband of Tony's shorts "Glad we can do this now…" Gibbs whispered as he idly kneaded into Tony's bare behind.
Tony continued squirming restlessly against Gibbs' thigh, his erection never waning "I'm gonna end up making a mess of my shorts if you keep this up." Tony whispered sternly, biting repeatedly against Gibbs' side playfully.
Gibbs chuckled as he slapped Tony playfully on the ass, then withdrew his hand, although still resting his hand on Tony's behind as they got into the best comfortable position on their seats in the airplane. Gibbs kept protective arms around Tony as he fell asleep, and Gibbs was content just staring at the in-flight movie, he didn't know what was playing, but that wasn't of any concern, because even though Tony was sleeping, he knew he'd learn everything about every movie that would play on the screen once they were back in DC.
Tony stared blankly at the steel doors of the elevator, he was happy to be back in DC, but all he really wanted right now was to be at his home, or Gibbs' home, hell he'd even take a rat-motel bed right now, because he just wanted to lay down and wake up sometime in the middle of next week.
Gibbs looked over at Tony and smiled sadly, he could see the obvious signs of fatigue on Tony's face, and the slight trembling of Tony's leg as they stood in the elevator "We won't stay for very long, I promise… then I'll take you back to your apartment, and you can get into your tub and relax…" Gibbs promised, reaching over and gently caressing Tony's back before the elevator doors opened up.
Tony led the way out of the elevator, swinging slightly on his crutches as the two men headed for the over-populated section of the MCRT. Ziva, McGee, Jimmy, Abby and Ducky were all sitting in the bullpen, anxiously awaiting the arrival of their two favorite men. Abby was the first to her feet, squealing in joy as Gibbs and Tony stood in between the opened partitions, she quickly slung her arms around Gibbs' neck, hugging onto him for a brief moment, before moving over to Tony and hugging him with less ferocity than she had Gibbs "I'm so glad you guys are home, and safe, and whole!" Abby exclaimed as she looked between the two men, smiling widely.
Tony snorted disdainfully as he made his way over to his desk, carefully dropping down into his chair and dropping his crutches with a clatter of metal on metal, everyone in the bullpen jumped slightly except for Gibbs – now used to Tony dropping the crutches whenever he was in pain or angry – "Whole isn't exactly the word I would use." Tony said tensely as he began pulling open the drawers of his desk, pulling everything that belonged to him personally out and tossing them into a box carelessly.
Everyone looked between Tony and Gibbs, their eyebrows almost raising in unison "We'll talk about this later… Get back to work." Gibbs said definitively, watching as the team split up and either returned to their desks and minded their own business, or returned to their ends of the NCIS building.
Gibbs didn't bother informing Tony where he'd be, knowing that Tony knew he would be heading up to Vance's office to start the debriefing process. Tony continued angrily shoving his things into file boxes, the last thing he wanted to do was be here packing away his life at NCIS, but the odds of him coming back to the building without a visitors tag stuck to his shirt were seemingly implausible at this point and he wanted nothing more than to just take all of his stuff and begin smashing it into tiny pieces because of the rage he felt towards everything that had happened to him.
Ziva looked hesitantly up at Tony, then up at the catwalk, noticing Gibbs had disappeared completely, she stood up and crossed the bullpen, "Tony, is there anything we can do to help?" Ziva asked tentatively, not wanting to further anger Tony as they'd never seen their senior field agent look so pissed off before – and although Ziva had years of Mossad training, Tony pissed off did in fact scare her at least by a little bit, they'd seen Tony angry only a handful of times, and neither time ended up being a pretty sight for the other involved party.
Tony managed a calming breath before he looked up at Ziva "No, not right now…" Tony said quietly as he looked back down at the now mostly empty drawers, shoving each one of them closed and not caring that papers were sticking out oddly from between the cracks.
Ziva nodded as she headed back to her desk, glancing up at the catwalk as she felt a pair of eyes bearing down on her "Tony, I believe that Gibbs and Vance are looking for you." Ziva said, inclining her head in the direction of the catwalk where Gibbs and Vance were standing beside one another, Gibbs making a vague gesture in Tony's direction when looking at Ziva.
Tony nodded as he reached down and picked up his crutches, slowly pulling himself up to his feet, he glared at the steps that led up to the catwalk briefly, shaking his head as he hobbled to the back elevator that would lead him up to the catwalk faster than it would take him to use the stairs. Tony slowly moved across the catwalk until he was in front of Vance and Gibbs "We'll start the debriefing now – and then we have further things to discuss." Vance said, looking pointedly between Tony and Gibbs before turning back to his office.
Gibbs glanced at Tony meaningfully, sparing a brief smile that was more reassuring than Tony could have actually expressed with words "Do you think he knows?" Tony whispered as he and Gibbs trailed behind Vance at a considerably slower pace.
Gibbs shrugged, his fingers twitching slightly as he thought about just reaching out and holding Tony's hand for even further reassurances "He hasn't made any sort of gesture – other than just now – that he knows anything… We'll just play it by ear for now." Gibbs said, passing one last smile in Tony's direction before heading into Vance's office, thankful that Cynthia was out to lunch and hadn't overheard their conversation.
After several hours of painfully discussing everything that had happened since the time they arrived on base to the minute Tony was rescued from the cellar at the quarry, Gibbs and Tony were left alone to breathe for a few minutes while Vance went down to collect their meals that they had ordered.
Gibbs was staring at Tony, who had a closed off expression on his face, his concern rising once again for the younger man "I don't want to talk about it right now… Please." Tony said dejectedly, his tone lacking any emotion, even anger which Gibbs had at least expected, but was painfully reminded that Tony hadn't shown any emotion when recounting the events of his being captured and subsequently being tortured.
Gibbs nodded, on the verge of saying something when the door opened and Vance walked in with a paper sack "Alright, let's eat and then we'll talk about everything else." Vance declared as he set the bag down and served up their meals quickly.
After eating the subpar Chinese food – Tony hadn't been accustomed to eating out in over two months now, having spent more time cooking or being cooked for, with the exception of hospital food and the occasional sneaked in meal at the hospital – Tony stared blankly as he twisted his napkin around in his fingertips.
"I received all of your medical records from San Diego, and – I apologize in advance, but I'm not quite as literate with medical jargon, so I had Doctor Mallard assist me – we went over everything that both Doctor Lee and Doctor Stein said about your injuries…" Vance began, glancing at Tony's knee briefly "It's our impression that you won't be able to return to active duty, yet, if ever… correct?" Vance questioned curiously, because even though he'd gone over the records, he wanted to know first-hand that the assumptions were true.
Tony nodded slightly as he pressed his palm against his thigh "Their assessment is accurate, but… I'm still going to try and get back to where I was before the injury… If I could just… have the time to do it." Tony said, almost pleadingly as he looked up at Vance – this was the hardest part, not knowing if he would ever be able to return to work, not because of his relationship with Gibbs, but because of the low percentage of his knee ever being one hundred percent again.
Vance nodded understandingly "I get it, and I'll give you that time Tony… I'll of course expect monthly progress reports from you, specifically, not your doctors – Much like lawyers, I don't like dealing with their fancy words." Vance said, huffing out a small laugh, he then looked over at Gibbs nodding subtly.
Gibbs nodded as he stood up, setting his hand onto Tony's shoulder and squeezing slightly "I've got some things to deal with." Gibbs said as he turned and left, leaving Tony alone with Vance, wide-eyed and mouth gaping slightly.
Tony turned back to Vance, nervously twisting his fingers together "I wanted to talk to you alone…" Vance said in a soft tone, looking directly at Tony "This isn't easy on you and I can tell that you're uncomfortable Tony, but I need you to know that I'm on your side through this – You're a good agent, and losing you would be like losing a part of the family…" he said sympathetically, twisting a toothpick around in his fingertips "Have you ever thought about going back to school? Furthering your career?" Vance asked, looking at Tony with a raised eyebrow.
Tony shook his head slowly "No sir. Never really crossed my mind to further my education." Tony said honestly, shrugging his shoulders and looking down at his lap, his fingers still idly twisting together.
Vance smiled slightly as he put the toothpick into his mouth "Think about it, it could prove beneficial to your future when the time is right. In the meantime however, I'd like for you to stay on at NCIS – We'll coordinate your work schedule with your physical therapy schedules – I want you to consult on cases for other teams, not just locally, but globally… You have a gift for solving cases without a whole lot to go on Tony and I don't think you should let that gift go unused." Vance said as he stood up, buttoning his jacket then holding his hand out towards Tony.
Tony stood up slowly, holding his crutches in one hand and shaking Vance's hand with his other firmly, "I appreciate the offer sir. I'll make sure to get a schedule from the therapist and let you know everything there is to know." Tony said as he adjusted the crutches underneath his armpits and leaving the office slowly.
An hour later, Gibbs was unlocking Tony's condo door, holding several grocery bags in his arms, waiting for Tony to precede him into the condo "It's so great to be home." Tony said wearily as he made his way across the room and unceremoniously dropped into his leather sectional, stretching out with a languorous moan.
Gibbs chuckled as he walked into the kitchen, setting down the groceries, putting away the things that needed to be refrigerated "You want anything while I'm in here?" Gibbs asked, standing in the doorway between the kitchen and living room.
Tony shook his head slowly "No… no. I'm good… I really should probably just go to sleep – Long day today, long day tomorrow…" Tony said tiredly, yawning loudly into his fist as he pushed himself back up to his feet, situating his crutches underneath his arms "Night Jethro." Tony said as he slowly hobbled into the bedroom.
"Night… Tony." Gibbs said quietly, his features falling as the younger man disappeared into the bedroom. This wasn't at all what Gibbs was expecting, he knew Tony wanted to be at his apartment but he'd have thought that the younger man would have extended an invitation to stay, but… There wasn't one, even though he knew Tony was having trouble sleeping through the night without his being there. Gibbs sighed as he collected his stuff and headed for the door, silently leaving the condo, basked only in the one light on the end table in the living room in case Tony needed to get up.
Tony sat down on the edge of his bed in the darkness, staring blankly across the inky black room – His heart near shattering when he heard the front door shutting, knowing that Gibbs had left him alone. Tony had expected Gibbs to stay, much like they had been for the past month or better, so his thoughts began cycling through everything that had happened since waking up in California that morning to the minute he said goodnight a few seconds ago, coming up with nothing that would have sent Gibbs running for the hills – He knew that the house was safe, McGee had been vigilant in checking each of their residences each night before going home, so that wasn't it.
Tony sighed as he laid down, staring up at the ceiling. Tony shook his head slowly, this was ridiculous, he was a grown man – he should be able to sleep alone, he'd been doing so for the past thirty something years, what was so different now? He'd even had nightmares and still slept alone, not needing comfort or the strength of someone else's arms to protect him. Tony swiped angrily at his tear filled eyes as he turned over on the bed slowly, hugging his pillow to his chest and staring across the darkness of his room.
Twenty minutes had gone by and Tony was still staring wide-eyed across his bedroom, skeptically watching the shadows dance across the wall, every noise he heard made his body tense up painfully and he knew he would never be able to sleep like this. Slowly rolling out of bed, he collected his cellphone and dialed up the taxi company, grabbed a backpack and shoved a few basic necessities into it and then made his way downstairs from his building to wait for his ride.
After the short ten minute ride from his condo to Gibbs' house, Tony felt every nerve in his body jumping with fear, he hated being dependent on anyone, but despite his exhaustion, he knew that he would never be able to sleep without being wrapped up in the protectiveness of Gibbs' arms. Tony made his way up Gibbs' walkway and porch steps carefully, the only light provided to guide him coming from the lamppost a couple of houses down. Tony knocked on the door slightly, then pushed the door open, "Gibbs?" Tony called out as he pushed the door shut quietly, looking around the dark home.
Gibbs grumbled tiredly, tilting his head back on the arm of the couch "Tony? What… What are you doing here?" Gibbs asked, his voice rough and deep from sleep.
Tony sighed, shaking his head as he moved slowly into the living room "I… I couldn't… sleep." Tony admitted quietly, watching as Gibbs reached back and turned on the light, then sat up on the couch. Tony moved to the couch, sitting down beside Gibbs and setting his crutches down on the coffee table.
Gibbs wrapped his arm around Tony's shoulders and pulled the younger man to him "What happened?" Gibbs asked softly, rubbing soothingly across Tony's arm as he leaned back against the couch with him.
Tony frowned as he curled up against Gibbs' side, wrapping his arms around the older man's waist "Couldn't sleep… I uh… I'd thought you were going to stay the night… after you found a place to put all the groceries…" Tony said quietly.
Gibbs sighed a bit, feeling the dampness from Tony's tears slide down his bare chest "Didn't know you wanted me to stay. Should have said something Tony." Gibbs whispered soothingly against the top of Tony's head as he held him just a bit tighter to ease the tremors away.
Tony nodded against Gibbs' chest "Just wanna sleep…" Tony whispered hoarsely. Gibbs nodded as he slowly stood up, and unexpectedly swooped Tony up into his arms, one arm behind his back and the other supported firmly underneath Tony's thighs, Tony squeaked and wrapped his arms around Gibbs' neck "That was unexpected." Tony whispered, lying his head against Gibbs' shoulder.
Gibbs kissed Tony's forehead as he headed upstairs without even breaking a sweat "I am unexpected." Gibbs retorted as he kicked open his bedroom door and then carefully laid Tony down and then climbed into the bed beside Tony, wrapping his arms firmly around Tony's torso and stomach "Now… Go to sleep." Gibbs said quietly as he began the soothing strokes against Tony's body, listening as Tony's breathing evened out and was asleep within just a few minutes, Gibbs following behind the younger man in falling asleep, a contented smile on his face.
Tony woke up slowly, opening his eyes as he looked up at the ceiling, a slight panic setting in and his entire body tensing up until he felt a familiar and comforting hand on his shoulder, Tony looked over to see Gibbs still lying in bed just as they were last night "Morning." Tony said groggily as he slowly turned over and snuggled into Gibbs' chest, inhaling the comforting scent that seemed to always linger on Gibbs' body.
Gibbs grinned as he hugged Tony softly "Morning. We have to go to the office in an hour… You did bring clothes in that backpack of yours, right?" Gibbs asked softly, rubbing a strong hand down Tony's back slowly.
Tony nodded as he slid his hand across Gibbs' bare hip "Mhm, why do we have to go?" Tony mumbled as he rolled his hips slightly, his morning erection rigid and pressing firmly into the curve of Gibbs' pelvic bone.
Gibbs chuckled as he nestled his own erection against Tony's "Cause Vance called and said he had to talk to us…" Gibbs said huskily, rolling his hips in counterpoint to Tony's hips moving.
Tony clutched onto Gibbs' bicep, his head tipping back slightly "Why… Why does… everyone… get in the… oh god… way?" Tony asked, his breath hitching as Gibbs continued pressing their clothed cocks together with just the right amount of pressure.
Gibbs shrugged as he finally stopped moving, resting his forehead against Tony's shoulder, breathing heavier than before "Don't know… Hopefully we can get this over with soon and then make good on all of the promises we made." Gibbs said quietly as he reached up and stroked Tony's cheek softly with his thumb.
Tony nodded as he turned his head, kissing the inside of Gibbs' palm lightly "Can't wait for that." Tony said as he slowly rolled off the bed, slightly shocked that his crutches were right there leaning against the nightstand – Now wondering when Gibbs actually woke up, and surprised that the older man had gotten back into bed with him, knowing that once Gibbs was up, he was up until he was ready to sleep again.
Gibbs and Tony were escorted into Vance's office an hour and five minutes later – Gibbs hated being late to anything, but Vance stood up "I apologize for the delay. Just got off the phone with Hetty in LA – Alexis and Terry have both just been prosecuted and are now both serving life sentences. Colonel Anderson is on his way to Leavenworth and Alexis is in Valley State." Vance informed them as he walked over to the conference table, inviting both men to sit down.
Gibbs watched Tony carefully as he sat, then moved the crutches out of their way and sat down beside him "So, what did you need to see us for Leon? I really hope that wasn't all you needed to tell us because you could have done that over the phone…" Gibbs said, his voice edging on irritable as he glared at Vance.
Vance shook his head slowly "No… No. That's not why I called to see you both." Vance assured as he clasped his hands together and set them on the table, leaning forward slightly "Have either of you wondered, why, specifically I requested you two for this assignment?" Vance asked, looking between both men curiously.
Tony and Gibbs glanced at each other, then back at Vance "We've thought about it a time or two, but we were more focused on the job at hand than mulling over your reasons why we were better suited for this position than anyone else." Tony said in a cordial tone, linking his own hands together and setting them on the table, Gibbs just simply nodded, letting Tony take control of the situation.
Vance sighed "I requested the both of you to see how you two would be able to work together, while dealing with the feelings you had between one another." Vance admitted, and for the briefest of moments he actually carried a look of both embarrassment and guilt as he looked between Tony and Gibbs.
Gibbs snorted disdainfully "You set us up?!" Gibbs demanded, slamming his fist into the table as he stood up – the heavy oak chair falling backwards with a loud clatter.
Tony quickly turned to Gibbs and set his hand over Gibbs' fist "Stop… This won't solve anything." Tony said quietly, now becoming the soother rather than receiving the comfort from Gibbs. Tony waited until Gibbs had sat back down, then turned back to Vance "Why would you set us up on a mission, that you knew could have ended my life? If you knew that Gibbs and I both felt something towards each other? Why not just confront us? Why do something so… backhanded like this?" Tony questioned, keeping his voice calm and even, although he definitely didn't feel calm with what Vance had done to them, reminding him too much of the way Director Shepard had abused her position to get what she wanted.
Vance shook his head "I have no excuse for what I did, and I do apologize for using the two of you in the way that I did… I had thought, several times, to confront the both of you about it – but I noticed things… You two didn't even know you were into each other, did you?" Vance asked, his voice rather low as he kept his head down, knowing he did make a grave mistake in putting not only Tony in danger, but Gibbs as well, had things gone even more wrong than what they had.
Tony and Gibbs both shook their heads "We didn't know, and we probably would have continued not knowing, had you not forced us into this situation – We were happy being oblivious to each other's feelings." Tony stated, now wishing he hadn't said it quite like that, so he quickly amended "Not that we aren't happy now, hell, happier than before even – But our feelings for each other, raises a lot of questions, and puts both of our jobs, and our lives at jeopardy!" Tony said angrily, curling his hand into a tight fist a few times.
Vance held his hand out "There won't be any questions, nor will it put your jobs or lives at risk – I've read the handbook… Sure, Gibbs is your boss, but relationships between two co-workers is not prohibited. As you, and your doctor's have pointed out Tony, you're not fit for active duty… When – not if – that time comes when you are ready to return to active duty… You and Gibbs will still not face inquiry. I support this relationship, one hundred percent, and I will field any and all questions that may arise in the future." Vance stated, looking between the two men with sincere honesty written in his features.
Tony turned to Gibbs, sighing slightly as he held out his hand tentatively "Wha'dya think big guy? Think we can take this on at a whole new level?" Tony asked with a barely contained smirk.
Gibbs grinned as he set his hand into Tony's hand "I know we can. We can do anything together, babe." Gibbs said affectionately as he locked his fingers with Tony's and brought Tony's hand up to his lips, tenderly kissing the back of his hand.
Vance cleared his throat awkwardly "Well, now that that's been settled – You two should take a few days off, get adjusted to being back in DC." Vance said as he stood up, heading back towards his desk, effectively dismissing the two men from his office.
Tony and Gibbs both nodded, Gibbs got up and collected Tony's crutches, helping the younger man up. The two men left Vance's office and headed down to the bullpen, they both glanced at their teammates, then proceeded to the elevator, and if anybody noticed that Gibbs set his hand against the small of Tony's back as they got onto the elevator, they'd know better than to say anything to either man when they returned to work.