Section 37

Tony groaned as he sat down next to Jethro who smirked and offered him a drink of his beer. "I warned you."

Nothing would do but Abby had to go shopping for her newest nephew. Unfortunately, she insisted on dragging a parent along. Tony lost the battle; Jethro simply said "no" and Abby pouted till Tony gave in. She had drug McGee along to help carry packages. Tony figured he gave in rather than spend the afternoon with Jackson and Jethro.

"It wasn't that bad." Abby stepped over the piles of bags Tony had dropped. "Baby!"

Tony eluded Jethro's attempt to reclaim his beer. "You drug me to five pet stores. Five!"

"Zuma deserves the best," Abby looked around for her little nephew. "Where is Aunt Abby's angel?"

Tony almost jumped when a nose touched his side and, in shock, lost the fight over the beer. He looked down to the small gap between himself and Jethro; saw Zuma peeping out.

Holding up the bottle as if to take a drink, Jethro whispered behind his hand. "He jumped up here when he heard her voice."

"Zuma…" Abby called. "Come see what Aunt Abby got you."

With a small whimper, Zuma retreated back to his hiding place between Jethro's back and the couch cushion. Tony snickered and looked across the room where Jackson was smiling behind Abby's back.

"What did you all do with McGee?"

"He's getting stuff out of the car." Tony said.

"How much did you buy?" Jethro glared at the pile of bags and then at Abby.

"Not much." Abby protested. "He's getting the food."

"For us." Tony clarified. "We stopped and picked up take out."

"Chinese?"

Tony shook his head at Jethro's question. "Mama Zee's." He watched Jethro's eyes light up and smirked. "Jackson, I got you what I ordered Jethro. Bistecca alla Fiorentina, Gibbs' style."

Jackson was shocked when Jethro gave a moan. "What's ... what do you call it?"

"Take Mama Zee's porterhouse and skip the wonderful Dijon, wine and spice rub, ditch the sautéed spinach and you basically get a wonderful steak with sautéed onions and double potatoes."

"You could at least have left the door open." McGee complained as he struggled into the entry hall with the bags of takeout. Immediately the smell permeated that room was making mouths water. Tony even felt Zuma poke his nose out to take a whiff before retreating when Abby moved.

"Here." Abby took some of the boxes, placing them on the coffee table.

As McGee moved to place the rest on the table, he looked out the double window behind the couch. "Hey, Boss, you expecting company?"

Jethro sat up his gut suddenly churning. "Why?"

"There's a dark sedan pulling in front of the house."

"Down. Get down."

Without missing a beat, McGee turned and took Abby to the floor covering her with his body. He knew his boss' instinct too well to doubt him. If he said get down, you got down.

While McGee was taking care of Abby, Jethro grabbed Zuma from behind him. He shoved him into Tony's arms as Tony moved to the floor in front of the couch. Satisfied that Tony, Zuma, McGee and Abby were okay, Jethro launched himself at Jackson yanking him out of his chair and shoving him to the floor. As he did, shots rang out. In seconds, the front window shattered and the living room was sprayed with bullets.

Waiting for a pause, Tony placed Zuma under the coffee table and pulled his own revolver. Tony took advantage of a break in the gunfire. Popping up over the back of the couch, he emptied the gun at the sedan. A second burst of gun fire erupted.

"McGee, gun." Tony reach under the coffee table as McGee pulled his service revolver and handed it to him. Just as he had before, he emptied the clip; this time taking out the rear window. In response the sedan pulled out, squealing its wheels and disappearing down the street.

Tony stood. "All clear. Everyone alright?"

"Abby and I are okay." McGee reported.

"Jethro? Jackson?"

"Will you get off me?" Jackson groused from the floor. "You're twisting my back."

"Give me a minute."

Tony started towards him; having heard the pain in Jethro's voice. "Jethro, what's wrong?" Rounding the coffee table, he started towards him. A red patch was spreading, as Jethro struggled to move to the side of his father and he panicked. "He's hit. McGee, call 911."

"On it."

"No." Jethro gritted out. "Agent DiNozzo, take command."

Tony started, then he took a breath to clear his head. It took Gibbs reminding him of his training to snap Tony out of his panic. "McGee, call Vance. Tell him we have a situation, Agent Gibbs is down and we need Ducky and Palmer over here ASAP. Then call Fornell."

"Got it."

"Abby, upstairs in the bathroom there's a big first aid kit in the closet."

"On it." Abby saluted and went running for the stairs.

Kneeling beside Gibbs, Tony helped Jethro lift enough for Jackson to slide out. "You alright, Jackson?"

"Yes. What do you need me to do?" Jackson asked.

"Can you put on a pot of coffee? I know Fornell and Gibbs will want it." As he spoke, Tony was trying to enlarge the tear in Jethro's pants to see the bullet hole.

"Tony, Vance has the on-call team headed our way. Palmer's enroute with Ducky."

"Tony," Abby bounced down the steps. "What can I do?"

"I need scissors. I can't see the wound."

"What are you doing?" Gibbs tried to twist his head to see.

"Lie still." Tony heard a whimpering. Turning he saw Zuma, who he had left under the coffee table, dragging himself across the floor with his body flat to the floor. He couldn't resist laughing. Zuma resembled a marine recruit crawling under wire as he wiggled and used his paws to pull himself; whimpering as he came. He crawled all the way to where Gibbs lay and then pulled closer until he could reach out and tap his nose against Gibbs' nose. Once there, he whimpered and whined occasionally casting a suspicious look at Abby.

"Well, you did tell us to get down." McGee observed. "You have him trained all ready, boss."

"What are you doing?" At Gibbs' question, Zuma sat up and barked protectively and gave a low growl.

"It's okay, Zuma. Daddy has a booboo." Abby explained. While she did, Tony took the scissors from Abby and slit the seat of Gibbs pants.

"Stop that." Gibbs growled.

"I have to see where you're shot."

"You don't have to expose my ass to the world."

"Abby, get some pads and hold the pressure."

"Abby is not touching my ass." Gibbs tried to roll away and put his hand over the area in question.

"Jethro!" Tony leaned over to look him in the face. "We have to see the damage. You may need an ambulance."

"I'm not going to the hospital for a gunshot to my ass." Jethro growled. "Wait for Ducky."

"You're being ridiculous." As Tony talked, Abby pushed his hand away.

"I mean it. Stay away from my ass."

"Give me those." Jackson had watched the scene. "I trust, since I washed and diapered you, you won't object to me seeing your ass for the umpteenth time." With a slight wince, Jackson knelt down in Abby's place. "What do you need me to do, Tony?"

Ruthlessly, Tony cut a large section of boxers away. And hadn't that been a shock? He would have sworn Gibbs' was a tidy whitey fan. True, they weren't silk like Tony's but he could work on that. The left buttock cheek was exposed and Tony took his hands and examined the area. He noted with relief that there was an entry and exit wound. He motioned for Jackson to put pressure on the exit while he put pressure on the entrance.

"Good news, the bullet's out. It's a through and through." Tony leaned down to look at Jethro. "It went in slightly to the side of your hip and out through the cheek. Looks like you're going to need a few stitches. You're lucky it didn't hit the bones of your hip." The look the two shared reflected their relief that it was not a potentially career-ending wound.

"Well, there's something I thought I'd never see…never really wanted to…" Fornell said as he came in to the living room. "Must be an eclipse, I didn't hear about."

"Fornell…" Gibbs snarled. When Gibbs snarled, Zuma popped up on four legs and went around his body to stand at the feet of the new person. He barked and growled.

"Easy, Zuma. He's a friend." Tony soothed him.

"Why, DiNutso, I didn't know you cared." Tobias snickered as Zuma looked at Tony and then back at him unsure whether they needed protecting. Deciding to err on the side of caution, Zuma planted his front two feet and barked another warning.

"Zuma, stand down," Gibbs said his voice taut with pain. Immediately, Zuma abandoned guard duty for comfort duty coming back to rub his nose on Gibbs' cheek.

"Zuma?" Tobias watched the puppy lift his head to look at him and then go back to comforting Gibbs.

"He was a wedding gift from Jackson and he's quite a daddy's boy." Tony explained. "Do you know Agent Fornell?"

"Good to see you again, Mr. Gibbs. I wish it were on better circumstances." Tobias circled around and hunkered down to speak to Jethro. "You okay, Jethro?"

"Just ducky."

"No, that would be me, dear boy, did you hit your head, too?" Ducky entered with Palmer hard on his heels, carrying a doctor's bag.

Tobias put a hand on Jethro's shoulder for a minute then offered his hand to Zuma to sniff. With a look at Jethro, who nodded, Zuma permitted him to scratch behind his ears before curling up next to Jethro. Standing, Tobias headed to where McGee was for information.

Jackson accepted Palmer's hand and stood, allowing Ducky to take his place. "What do we have, Anthony?"

"Appears to be a through and through." Tony allowed Ducky to hold pressure while he and Palmer swapped places. Satisfied that Jethro was in good hands, he scooped Zuma up, to his displeasure. "Hush, Zuma. Ducky and Palmer will take good care of him." Tony winced as he realized his hands were covered with blood and that he was transferring it to the pup. Gibbs' blood. Jethro's blood.

"Here, Tony," Abby took Zuma in her arms and lead Tony into the kitchen to wash. While Tony scrubbed the blood off his hands, she used a wet paper towel to gently remove the blood from the disgruntled puppy.

"Hey, you." Tony lifted Zuma up with his clean hands so that he could look in his face. "It's okay. Settle down." Holding the pup snuggly against him, Tony reentered the living room. Looking at Ducky working on Gibbs, he moved to join Vance, Fornell and McGee. He could see several NCIS and FBI agents on the front lawn.

"What happened here, Agent DiNozzo?" Vance asked.

"Ms. Scuito, Agent McGee and I were out. When we returned, Agent McGee was the last to enter the house carrying the take-out. As he was placing it on the coffee table, he noticed a dark sedan pulling in front of the house. Agent Gibbs ordered everyone to the floor."

Vance interrupted, "Gibbs' gut?"

"Yes, sir. "

"Continue."

"Agent McGee ensured Ms. Scuito's safety. I took cover in front of the couch while Agent Gibbs ensured his father's well-being. As we moved, an individual in the car opened fire, with I believe a semi-automatic. When they stopped to change clips, I used my service weapon to return fire. Agent McGee realizing I was in a position to return fire, also gave me his service weapon. When the gunfire stopped again, I emptied his clip. I broke two windows and believe I may have hit a tire."

"Any license number? Any identifying marks?" Tobias asked.

"No. Standard late year dark sedan. Nothing distinguishable. Two occupants; one driver, one shooter with a mask."

Vance and Fornell exchanged looks. "NCIS will cede the investigation to you, Agent Fornell. In the interim, NCIS will provide security for Agents Gibbs and DiNozzo."

"Do you think this is related to my father, sir?" Tony was concerned that they had become targets.

"I'm not sure, but I think that we should err on the side of caution. Agent Gibbs?"

"Will be fine, Director. He's very lucky." Ducky joined their group. "A few inches over and it could have hit his hip socket. Agent Gibbs has declined a trip to emergency room as I administered aid. No large blood vessels were severed. I gave him a local anesthetic, then cleaned and stitched the wounds. The entry wound took four stitches; the exit six. There are a few supplies that will be needed. I have taken the liberty of giving a list to Abby and sending her out for them."

"Thanks, Ducky." Tony looked past him to where a couple of agents were helping Jimmy get Gibbs to his feet. They were escorting them upstairs. "I should assist him, if you'll excuse me, Director."

"Go on, Agent DiNozzo. There are people enroute to fix the window for you."

"Thank you. Tim?"

"I'm staying. Check on Gibbs, I'll handle this."

Tony nodded his thanks. He and Zuma hurried up the stairs where they could hear Gibbs' yelling. Stopping at the bedroom door, he snickered at the attempts to undress Jethro. "Gentlemen, thanks for your help. I think Palmer and I can handle this." He stepped forward and put Zuma in his bed. The agents gracefully filed out.

"I don't need help."

"Jethro, if you lean over you run the risk of popping a stitch. Let me help you. Palmer, hand me a pair of boxers from the top drawer." As he spoke, Tony waited for Jethro to toe off his shoes, unbutton and unzip his ruined pants. He let Jethro push them down, only taking over when Jethro winced. Palmer handed the requested items to Jethro and beat a hasty retreat downstairs before he saw more than he wanted to.

As Tony knelt at his feet, Jethro put a hand on Tony's shoulder and stepped out of one pants leg and then the other. Tony could feel his face heat up as he took the fresh boxers and helped Jethro into them. From his position, he couldn't help but get an up close and personal view of "Little Leroy". In retrospect, maybe "little" was a misnomer. As Tony guided the boxers up, he pulled out on the front to accommodate "Little Leroy" and his hands met Gibbs'. He looked up into Jethro's eyes, seeing a look he never expected to see. Tony licked his lips and "Little Leroy" gave a twitch.

"Leroy, you decent? Director Vance wants a word."

"Give me a minute." Gibbs handed the sweats to Tony. "Remember where we were, before the interruption." Flushing hotly, Tony helped him step into the sweats and busied himself picking up the ruined clothes as Gibbs granted Vance entry.

"Leon."

"Gibbs, Agent Fornell is taking lead. Until we get some information, I'm placing a team in rotation for security." With his father and Tony's safety in mind, Gibbs didn't protest which caused Vance to raise an eyebrow. "Agent McGee has indicated that he plans on staying until the repairs are finished. I assume you want kept in the loop."

"Ya think?"

"Until we get to the bottom of this, your team is listed as being on stand down. I'm not suggesting that you work cold cases, as I know that you and Agent DiNozzo have other concerns. I assume that Agent McGee will be assisting you. As soon as there is any news, you'll hear from me. Gentlemen."

Jackson watched the man go downstairs. "How are you, son?"

"Fine, dad. I could use a cup of coffee."

"Pot's on."

"Why don't you lay down for a while?"

"Only if you plan on staying with me." Gibbs whispered in Tony's ear as he slowly crossed the room to his father's side.

Blushing again, Tony busied himself with Zuma. Picking the pup up out of his bed, he praised Zuma for staying. As he passed Jethro and Jackson on the way to the stairs, he felt a hand caress his buttocks. Shocked, he looked over his shoulder to see the smirk on Jethro's face.