Section 13
"Dad…" Gibbs said as his dad picked up his phone.
"Leroy, what in the hades is going on down there?" Jackson snapped.
"Dad…"
"What's this about you marrying that fellow that works for you?"
"Dad…"
"Why didn't you tell me you were dating?"
"Dad…"
"Son, I've told you I'm no bigot. It may not be how it was in my day but I would have understood..."
"Dad!" Gibbs raised his voice interrupting Jackson's rant. Maybe two glasses of bourbon, he reconsidered.
"No need to yell, Leroy."
"Dad, I need you to just listen for a minute."
"Well, get talking." Jackson said impatiently. "Explain why my store was packed with reporters all day and I couldn't get any work done."
"Tony's in trouble, Dad." Gibbs listened to the blissful silence. "Someone is after him." His father listened quietly as he recapped the past two days. Was it only two days, Gibbs pondered. It seemed so much longer.
"Is Tony okay?" Jackson asked. The boy was a bit hyper but he did like him.
"I don't know, dad. We haven't really had a chance to talk what with SecNav at the house and now McGee."
"Can you protect him? He could stay with me a while." Jackson offered.
"I don't think they are trying to physically hurt him. It's more that they are trying to destroy his life and his career. Christ, dad, they were sending him to Gitmo." Gibbs ran a hand over his face.
"It this Sacks fellow involved."
"I don't know. He could be. He does hate DiNozzo, but I don't think so."
"What's your gut saying, Leroy?" Jackson was concerned at his son's indecision.
"I have to find Senior and Benoit." Gibbs sidestepped.
"Where are you, Leroy? I'll get Maxwell to watch the store a few days."
"No, dad, there's no need to come all the way down here."
"Where is down here?" Jackson asked not to be denied.
"We're about an hour out of Harrisonburg, Virginia, dad. Tony has a cabin in the woods, you'd never find us."
"What about those reporters?"
"It's under one of his relative's names. They won't find it listed."
"That's good, I guess. You need me, you call me. You understand?" Jackson demanded.
"Yeah, dad, I understand. Vance sent McGee with us; we'll be fine."
"I love you, son. You be careful. You watch out for you and Tony."
"I will, dad. You take care." With a sigh, Gibbs ended the call and let his head fall back against the chair. He opened his eyes when he heard the backdoor open.
"Tony thought you could use this." McGee held out a mock mason jar mug half full of bourbon.
"Thanks." Gibbs took the mug and took a long sip. His eyes closed in appreciation. It was definitely a better brand than he kept in the basement and it helped the tension building in his mind.
"He also sent these." McGee held out his hand and showed him two white pills. Gibbs gratefully took the two Aspirin™ and swallowed them down dry; before taking another slow sip of the bourbon. "Boss…" McGee stopped.
"Spit it out, McGee."
"I'm a little worried about Tony. He seems a bit more…"
"Manic?" Gibbs said wryly.
McGee replied. "Boss, is everything going to be alright?"
"We've got a lot of people on our side, McGee. From the VP and Secretary of Defense on down." Gibbs took another drink. "I'll feel much better about this when we find Benoit and Senior. You got all you need here?
"Yes. Tony told me to set everything up on that card table in the corner. It has plenty of plugs and everything."
"Once you're connected, get in touch with Abby. We need to know where this leak originated from and we need to find Benoit and Senior."
"On it, boss." McGee left Gibbs to enjoy the rest of his drink and the sunset.
"Gibbs."
Gibbs opened his eyes instantly alert; it had gotten dark. He turned his head to see Tony in the doorway. "What's up, DiNozzo?"
"Foods ready."
"How long?"
"Only about an hour. You drifted off while I was showering."
Gibbs stood up and turned to the cabin. For a minute, he paused to survey his SFA. Tony had ditched his suit and wore a pair of khaki pants and a polo shirt. He must leave some clothes at the cabin, Gibbs thought as they were not Tony's typical go bag attire. The polo shirt ended just above his tailbone giving Gibbs a tantalizing glimpse of where the khakis were fit snuggly defining the curve of Tony's well-muscled … Gibbs gave himself a hard mental slab. This wasn't some playgirl pinup, this was Tony, uh, DiNozzo, his hus… his senior agent. He blamed his sleep addled mind, regardless of the fact he was never sleep addled. "Why did…"
"I figured you could use the rest." Tony cut off his question and led the way back inside where McGee was already waiting at the table.
Gibbs rubbed his hand over this face as he walked over to sit down at the head of the table his subconscious automatically assuming the alpha position. Taking a deep breath, Gibbs tried to catalog the smells. He hear sizzling and could make out onions and beef.
"Dinner is served." Tony said setting a large iron skillet and a griddle onto the middle of the table. "Hope you don't mind family style."
Gibbs' mouth watered with one look. Beautiful rib eye steaks with dark sear marks still sizzled in the hot pan. On the griddle, large baked potatoes were already split and butter dripped from them. Before he could comment, Tony returned with bowls; one full of sautéed onions and mushrooms and the other covered with a heavy linen towel. Gibbs sniffed, it smelled like... Before he could fully focus; Tony lifted the towel and exposed hot rolls. Looking to his left, he caught McGee's glance, this was so much better than Tony's usually snacks. "You didn't have to do this."
Tony fingered the potholders somewhat ill at ease. "If you'd rather have something else…"
Gibbs noticed the self-consciousness in his normally self-assured SFA. "DiNozzo, sit." Only belatedly realizing his choice of seat Gibbs made to rise when Tony's hand on his shoulder stopped him. Tony jerked his hand back. The normal gesture feeling awkward in the wake of the recent circumstances.
"Wow, Tony. Did you pick this up earlier?" Oblivious, McGee interrupted the awkward moment.
"In a way. The local store keeps some steaks and that for those of us in the cabins who want fresh meat. The rest came from the root cellar." Tony motioned for them to help themselves and speared a steak for himself.
"Root cellar?" Tim queried. Gibbs was content to allow McGee to carry out the interrogation while he sliced off a bite of the steak he had smothered with onions and mushrooms. He bit back a moan as the flavors exploded on his tongue.
Tony pointed to a door next to the refrigerator. "That door leads to a pantry/storage area. It is one thing I really love about the cabin. One end has the hot water heater and a standby generator. The other end has a freezer and shelves. There's also a trapdoor that goes down into a wine/root cellar."
"That's unusual, isn't it?" Tim asked before taking another bite. "I mean to have a wine cellar in a cabin."
Although the SFA's face remained impassive, Gibbs could feel increasing slight vibrations in the table and concluded correctly that Tony's left leg was nervously bouncing. A sense of almost protectiveness came over him and he deftly redirected McGee's attention. "Anything from Abby?"
"Not yet, boss. I just got everything set up." McGee said apologetically. "I did text her and indicated we would be available for a video chat in about," he checked his watch, "thirty minutes."
"Better eat up." Gibbs effectively ended the conversation.