Thank you all so much for the kind words of encouragement and support. I appreciate all my loyal readers and I can't thank you enough for sticking with me and this story. I try and respond to everyone that I can, but for those I can't and the guest readers, I thank you as well!

As a reward, here is another chapter! I know! Hard to believe, isn't it? Actually, it was originally in Part 25 and then when I revamped it, the chapter became so long, I made a new one! I hope you enjoy! Thanks to my beta, JackiLeigh; I appreciate the help. All mistakes are mine. Have a great weekend…I'll be writing!

Part 26

Although no one would ever be the wiser, Gibbs' heart was aching for the man he thought of as a son. To actually hear Tony talking about how his dreams would never come true because of the brutality he had suffered in prison was almost too much to bear. Gibbs had to make DiNozzo see that he still had a future, and in order to do that, Tony was going to have to move past the anger that was blinding him. The team leader knew from experience that letting go was a difficult thing to do; after all these years, he still harbored feelings of hatred towards the man who had killed his wife and daughter. Even though he had exacted his revenge, it had taken him a long time to convince himself that he could move on with his life; Tony was going to have to come to the same realization.

Gibbs lay down on the couch, flinging his right arm over his eyes. Tired didn't even begin to describe how he was feeling. His nerves were raw and there were times he wasn't sure if his presence was doing Tony more harm than good. However, at the moment, DiNozzo didn't have a lot of options and probably considered Gibbs to be the lesser of the evils.

He permitted his eyes to close and the tension began to ebb from his body. His thoughts turned to Shannon and Kelly. They had been his life and had been brutally taken from him. Gibbs hadn't been there when they had died and the fact he couldn't save them still tore at his soul. A United States Marine Sniper had failed his wife and daughter and, as a result, they had died. He had already failed Tony once by allowing the young man to spend a year in prison because of his incompetence; Gibbs would not fail him again.

"How do I fix this?" he mumbled as slumber began to beckon him. Images of his young daughter danced in his dreams; he desperately missed her sweet voice that always called to him. He found himself sitting beside her on the swing set that used to sit in his back yard. She used to love for him to swing with her whenever he was in between tours and truthfully, it was one of those moments that he still cherished.

Fix what, Daddy?

"DiNozzo."

Is he broken?

"No, he's just…hurting."

Maybe a band aid would help.

"I don't think so."

Well if a band aid won't help, maybe time will. Mommy used to say that time heals all wounds. You just have to be patient.

"That's not one of my better virtues. It's not DiNozzo's either."

Well, I guess you'll just have to work at. You always tell me that if you want something that you have to work for it. It's like building your boat. It takes a lot of hard work to make it beautiful.

Gibbs smiled as he reached out to brush a stray piece of hair away from Kelly's face. "How'd you get so smart?"

Mommy says I take after her.

"Well, she's right."

She usually is.

The team leader nodded in agreement. "Yes, she is." Kelly's image began to fade and Gibbs was forced to let her go once again. He opened his eyes, remembering why he hated to sleep. It wasn't unusual for him to dream about Shannon or Kelly, but it was always heartbreaking when he woke up to the reality and knowledge that they were gone.

He sat up and rubbed his eyes, taking a moment to gather his thoughts. Gibbs had no idea why his daughter had come to him and given him advice on DiNozzo, but he had to admit that he was grateful for her presence. Sometimes, the answers to the difficult questions were simple; now, he just had to be patient and that in itself, was easier said than done.

Knowing that he wasn't going to sleep anymore, he headed towards the basement, seeking the solitude that came whenever he worked on his boat. Gibbs switched on the light and walked over to his workbench to pour himself a glass of bourbon; he definitely needed a drink. His thoughts turned back to Tony and found himself hoping that tomorrow, things would be better between them. Gibbs knew what he needed to do; he had to be patient and that was difficult for a man who was used to getting immediate results. It would be a lot easier if he could simply put a band aid on DiNozzo's pain, but there weren't enough bandages in the world to take care of the mental and physical anguish that Tony had been subjected to. Time. Shannon and Kelly were right, as was Ducky; it was going to take time for his son to heal.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Gibbs…you down here?"

The team leader sat up, silently cursing the fact that he had once again fallen asleep on the floor under his boat. Glancing at his watch, he realized that both he and Tony had actually been asleep for several hours. Gibbs stood up, watching DiNozzo carefully making his way down the stairs. Between yesterday's stunt and taking the stairs this morning, Tony's knee was probably throbbing; Ducky was not going to be pleased with either one of them.

"How long have you been up?" the team leader asked.

"About an hour. Took a shower, even remembered the plastic bag over my cast. Got dressed and made my way down here. Movin' slow, but I'm movin."

"Did you get any sleep last night?"

Tony nodded as he carefully sat down on the steps. "Actually, yeah. Probably more than I have in a long time."

"No nightmares?"

"A couple, but I went back to sleep."

Gibbs was grateful that Tony seemed to be in a better frame of mind, but the team leader also knew that his mood could change without warning. "That's good, DiNozzo. I got a few hours myself."

"Good. You've certainly earned it."

Neither man seemed sure how to handle the awkward silence between them. Before Tony's incarceration, the two of them didn't need words to communicate; that ability was now buried under layers of mistrust that had been constructed over the past year. Tony was still unreadable and always had been to an extent. It had taken Gibbs several years before he had been allowed to catch a glimpse of the man behind the mask; now, he was back at square one.

"You okay?" Gibbs pressed.

"Yeah," Tony replied. "I was just going to…I wanted to ask you something."

"Sure." Gibbs sat on the sawhorse across from him, reminding himself that he needed to be patient and wait for Tony to ask his question.

"I've been thinking about what you said about everyone wanting to help…," the younger man began.

"We do."

"I know. I just…" Tony exhaled slowly. "I was thinking about talking with the team. Not all at once, but maybe one at a time. I figure I owe them the courtesy of at least thanking them for getting me out of prison. I also figure I owe Abby an apology. I don't regret what I said, but I am sorry for how I said it. She wanted to help and I was a bastard to her."

Gibbs couldn't help but wonder why DiNozzo had experienced such a change of heart. "If that's what you think you need to do, then I've got your six," the Marine vowed. "I know the others will be glad to see you, but I will admit that I'm just a little confused as why the sudden urge to reach out to them. Last night, you didn't want to have anything to do with them."

A tiny grinned reached DiNozzo's tired eyes. "I guess I had a little push from someone special. I need to quit making excuses."

Gibbs knew that he probably wasn't that someone special that DiNozzo was referring to and truthfully, he didn't care who it was; as long as Tony was making the effort to reclaim his life. Unfortunately, his few seconds of hesitation had put DiNozzo on the defensive again.

The dark-haired man visibly tensed. "Something wrong, Gibbs?"

"No, not at all. I'm glad you're making the effort; just don't push yourself too hard." The words had come out a bit harsher than he had intended and unfortunately, DiNozzo had picked up on it.

Tony shakily stood to his feet. "Make up your freakin' mind, Gibbs!" he growled. "You lecture me about moving on but then your get pissed because I'm not doing it on your time table. What do you want from me?"

"I'm not pissed, Tony," Gibbs soothed. "I want you to do what's right for you, Tony. I kind of got a little push from someone special too, and I realized a couple of things."

"Such as?"

"Such as the fact that as much as I want things back to normal, I'm going to have be patient and accept that things have changed. Which is exactly what you've been telling me; I just didn't want to listen. If I'd been listening to you, things might have been better between us."

Tony sat back down on the steps. Gibbs was grateful that he hadn't bolted again. The last thing he wanted was for one of their rare civil conversations to escalate into another fight. "I want you to know that you don't have anything to prove."

"That's where you're wrong, Gibbs," Tony softly countered as he stared aimlessly at the sawdust covered floor. "I have everything to prove, especially to myself. I need to know if I can still be the man that I used to be. Right now, I'm not sure. You say that Ziva, Tim, and the others are with me, then I need to make sure that I can trust them like you said."

"You can."

"I have to find out for myself and even then, I don't know if I'll be able to trust them. I guess I have a few more trust issues than I used to."

"Can't blame you for that," Gibbs admitted.

DiNozzo met Gibbs' questioning gaze. Tony had always been able to see through the tough exterior that he preferred to exhibit and now, the Marine felt like he was being placed under a microscope. What was Tony looking for? Was DiNozzo trying to decide if he could really trust him?

"I couldn't trust anyone while I was in prison," Tony quietly began. "Every time I turned my back, there was a knife sticking out of it. The only person I could trust was myself. I…I got to where I didn't even trust you. Every time you visited, I spent the next week paying the consequences."

Gibbs swallowed hard. The thought that he had inadvertently caused Tony any pain was too much to bear. As much as he had wanted DiNozzo to talk to him, the team leader began to doubt his ability to handle the truth. "Explains why you didn't want me to visit. I thought you were just embarrassed and…I didn't mean to cause you more trouble."

"You didn't. I was pretty good at causing my own trouble."

Tony started to laugh and Gibbs had to admit that he had missed that particular sound. "What's so funny?" he inquired.

The dark-haired man shook his head. "I'm not nearly drunk enough for this. You still keep the good stuff down here?"

Gibbs walked over to his workbench and dumped the screws out of the spare glass. He poured Tony a drink and handed it to him. "Don't tell Ducky," he instructed.

"Right," Tony answered as he took a sip. "That's good stuff and enough of it will certainly loosen my lips. I don't think I'm quite up to giving up that much control yet."

"That's fine. Whenever you're ready; I'm here."

Tony nodded his appreciation as he finished the rest of his drink. "Thanks. I guess right now I better go make that first phone call. Do you mind if she comes over here?"

"Not at all. Do you mind if Duck comes and checks your knee?"

"I guess that's fair."

"Let's head upstairs and I'll fix breakfast while you call Abby."

Gibbs offered his hand to help Tony up from his position on the steps. As the former agent slowly made his way up the stairs, the team leader stood ready to offer whatever assistance DiNozzo would need. It took several minutes but the injured man finally made it to the door way and then hobbled over to the couch. Propping his knee on the coffee table, Tony laid back against the cushion in order to catch his breath.

"You need anything?"

"Just a phone. Preferably a push button or better yet, a cell," Tony replied. "By the way, how old is that phone in the guest bedroom? You know how outdated that phone is?"

"Does it look like I care, DiNozzo?"

"No, Bo…Gibbs."

Tony still couldn't call him Boss; it grieved the Marine that the name that had once come so naturally to the younger man almost seemed like it burned his tongue. Gibbs handed Tony his cell and headed towards the kitchen.

"Thanks," Tony replied. "And Gibbs?"

"Yeah?"

"I know I haven't acted like it, but I do appreciate everything you're trying to do for me. I haven't made this easy for you."

"No, you haven't," Gibbs honestly answered. "But it comes with being a family."

He continued his trek into the kitchen, a weary smile shattering his normally stoic countenance. Gibbs was beginning to feel like things were beginning to take a turn from the better and at that moment, he wouldn't trade that feeling for the world. Putting the coffee on and then gathering the ingredients to make pancakes, he picked up his cordless phone and dialed a familiar number.

Within two rings, he heard his old friend's distinguished voice. "Good morning, Jethro. Is everything all right?"

"I think so. I mean DiNozzo's doing a little better today than he was yesterday," he proclaimed. "He's actually calling Abby this morning."

"Well, I would say that is a vast improvement. Was there some sort of catalyst that would explain this change in attitude?"

Gibbs began to recall everything that had happened yesterday and during the morning. He informed the ME about DiNozzo trying to leave and ending up on the sidewalk and then how he ended up in his room, wanting to be left alone. "I'm not sure what happened last night, but this morning, he seemed less agitated. He even laughed, Duck. Now, he's talking to Abby and inviting her over here. I'm not sure how that's gonna play out, but hopefully, it will be good for both of them."

"It is certainly a step in the right direction."

"Hope so. He needs something to go his way."

"Now Jethro," Ducky gently scolded. "Let's not forget that things started turning around for him when you proved his innocence. The rest will take time."

"Yeah, I was reminded of that last night." The team leader wasn't about to provide the doctor with any details about his dream last night; it was personal and that was how he intended for it to remain. "Anyway, I thought you might want to drop by and give DiNozzo a once over. He strained that knee pretty good yesterday."

"I'll be over around lunchtime; perhaps, I'll even bring a pizza."

"I'm sure he'd like that, Duck. See ya then."

As Gibbs hung up the phone, he poured the pancake batter on the griddle. He wondered if Tony had reached Abby; he didn't hear DiNozzo talking to anybody, so he surmised that they must have finished their conversation. He flipped the pancakes and waited a few more seconds for them to finish. Gibbs then put them on a plate and grabbed the fresh maple syrup and headed into the living room.

Tony was still sitting just like he had left him, except the phone was tightly clutched in his hand and DiNozzo's gaze was fixed on the opposite wall. "Tony?" he called out. "Pancakes are ready."

"I…I'm not hungry, Gibbs. Sorry."

His gut began to scream at him that something was wrong. Setting the plate down on the table, Gibbs sat beside Tony and studied the broken man before him. DiNozzo's demeanor had changed within the last few moments and the haunted look that had been prevalent in his eyes until this morning had returned. "Tony? What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Did you call Abby?"

"Yeah."

"When's she coming over?"

Gibbs could feel the anger radiating from the younger man as he gripped the phone even tighter. "She said she couldn't come today. She was working on something for Balboa's team."

"Well, maybe she can come…"

"She doesn't want to come, Gibbs!" Tony snapped. "I could hear it in her voice. I asked her about tonight, and she said she had plans. You know as well as I do that if she wanted to be here, nothing would stop her. She's scared to come see me, and the crazy thing is that I can't blame her!"

"Tony, I'm sure that Abby wants to see you," the Marine reasoned. "After all, she snuck into the hospital..."

"Where I proceeded to yell at her."

"Tony…"

"Just leave it alone, Gibbs. I was stupid to try. I should have known better. So much for trusting others; I should have left well enough alone!"

Tony slowly and carefully placed his knee on the floor and clumsily rose to his feet. "I'm going upstairs," he announced.

He felt like someone was twisting a knife in his heart as he watched DiNozzo slowly head towards the stairs. Everything had been going so well and Abby had to seemingly act like a petulant child. "Tony, eat something."

"Maybe later."

Gibbs had no idea what to say to a man whose spirit had been broken yet again. How many times was DiNozzo going to have his feet kicked out from under him? As soon as he heard Tony's door shut, he grabbed his cell phone that had been left on the couch. He would find out what the hell was wrong with Abby and hopefully make her see the damage that she had inflicted on such a fragile soul.

He hit the appropriate speed dial and didn't even give her a chance to say hello. "What the hell were you thinkin', Abs?"