Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.


Chapter One

As Gibbs rode in the elevator with his friend, Ducky, to leave NCIS headquarters, he couldn’t ever remember being so angry with his superiors, though with his memory loss, it could very well have happened before. Losing most of his memories for the last fifteen years had given him a distance he hadn’t had before. To let all those men die for appearances sake was incomprehensible, and Jen just standing there and not backing him up was unforgivable. With her influence as the director of a federal agency, she could have swayed things in such a way that so many lives wouldn’t have been sacrificed. He didn’t think he could respect any of them ever again.

He was glad he had Ducky to take him to his home, as he didn’t think at this point he even remembered where his house was. As he got out of the car without a word, Ducky stopped him. “Jethro?”

“Yeah, Duck?” Gibbs answered as he turned to face his friend.

“What are your plans?” Ducky asked.

“Haven’t really thought much about it yet.”

“Just…”

“What is it you want to say, Duck?”

“Well, just don’t do anything rash.”

Gibbs didn’t reply to his friend’s words. Instead he said, “Thanks for the ride,” as he turned and crossed the front yard and entered his house.

As Ducky watched his troubled friend go into the house, he got a bad feeling. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and hit a speed dial number. When his call was answered he said, “Anthony, I think you should get home as soon as possible.”

XXXXXXXXXX

As he watched Gibbs get in the elevator, Tony couldn’t believe that his life partner didn’t really remember him. He couldn’t ever remember seeing Gibbs that angry, and Tony was afraid that Gibbs would not only leave NCIS, but would leave him too. Gibbs had promised him that he never would, but Tony didn’t think Gibbs remembered that promise.

Jenny came up to him as he held Gibbs’ badge and gun, wondering what he should do now.

“I hope you realize that Gibbs handing you his gun and badge doesn’t automatically make you leader of the MCRT,” Jenny said.

Tony looked up at her. He couldn’t believe that she wanted to get into a pissing contest now of all times. Although he should have expected it, given that their relationship was rocky at best, mainly because he had what she wanted; Gibbs. He asked, “What exactly does it mean then?”

She said, in that superior ‘I’m the director and you have to do as I say’ voice, as Tony liked to call it, “Gibbs isn’t the director of this agency. It isn’t his choice who leads the team if he chooses to quit. If you want the job, you have to formally apply for it and then go through the interview process, and frankly I don’t think you’re ready yet.”

Tony was feeling rather raw emotionally, after what happened in MTAC and then the scene with Gibbs leaving, so he didn’t censor himself as he usually did with her. He said, “Because I did such a terrible job leading the team when Gibbs was held hostage by that high school student along with his class?”

Jenny wasn’t going to give Tony any credit, whether it was due or not. She replied, “That was mainly luck.”

“Yeah, sure, if you say so. If it’s all the same to you, Director,” Tony said as he handed her Gibbs’ badge and gun, “I don’t think I want to work here any more anyway.” He then handed her his own badge and gun.

Jen wasn’t expecting that reaction. She really had just wanted to show DiNozzo that she was his boss now. She knew that the members of the MCRT always answered to Gibbs before her, even Ziva. “You can’t quit,” Jenny said as she juggled the guns and badges, thinking maybe she had gone a little too far. “The reports on this case haven’t been completed yet.”

Tony wasn’t going to cut her any slack, after she failed to do her job in MTAC earlier. “Those reports are the responsibility of the team leader, and you just said I’m not ready for that job,” He said as he headed for the elevator. “Besides, I don’t have faith in you as director of this agency any longer, if I ever did.”

Director Shepard placed the guns and badges on the nearest desk then followed after him, grabbing Tony by the arm to stop him. “I think you’re going to have to explain that remark.”

When Shepard grabbed his arm, Tony stopped and turned, looking pointedly at her hand until she let go. “You sure you want to get into that now?” He said, looking around at their audience. Ziva, Abby and McGee were all still there in the bullpen, watching their confrontation uneasily.

“You can’t talk to me like that; I’m the director of an armed federal agency,” Jenny said with that superior tone of hers.

“Okay, we’ll overlook the fact that you stuck you nose into nearly every one of Gibbs’ cases-” Tony started.

“I have the right to look into any case that I-” Jenny interrupted.

Tony talked over her, “And the fact that the only cases you chose to look into were the ones Gibbs’ team was on is just a big fat coincidence?”

Jenny just stood there at a loss for words, as it was blatantly obvious to everyone listening that what Tony was saying was true.

“How about throwing one of your own agents to the wolves without even telling his team leader about it?”

“We have to cooperate with fellow law enforcement agencies,” Jenny said.

“What about hiring an assistant for Abby without consulting her, a person I might add who shouldn’t have gotten clearance to enter the building as a visitor, let alone as an employee, a person who framed one of your agents for murder.”

“That wasn’t my-” Jenny said.

Tony wasn’t in the mood for her excuses, so her cut her off again, “Or how about going to the Marine Corps Birthday Ball dressed like a high-priced call girl instead of the head of a federal agency?”

“How I dress is none of-”

Tony’s voice got low and dangerous, “And let’s not forget about what just happened a few minutes ago in MTAC. It’s our job to protect Navy officers, not just stand by and let them die.” Having finally rendered Director Shepard speechless, Tony turned and left the room via the stairs.

Abby followed him and caught up with him in the stairwell. “Tony, you can’t just quit.”

Tony turned to address her. “It’s too late, Abs, I already have.”

“But, Tony, nothing will be the same around here without you and Gibbs.”

“I’m not staying if Gibbs leaves, and you saw how he looked when he left.”

“But, Tony-”

“You didn’t see what happened in MTAC.”

“What did happen?”

“I can’t tell you. I’m sure it’s classified,” Tony said with disgust. Just then, Tony’s cell phone rang. He removed the phone from his belt and saw on the caller ID that it was Ducky. He answered, “DiNozzo.”

“Anthony, I think you should get home as soon as possible.”

Tony replied, “I’m on my way.” He snapped his phone closed and told Abby, “I’ve gotta get home. That was Ducky. It sounds like I need to get there as soon as possible.”

“Maybe I should come over and talk to Gibbs,” Abby said hopefully.

“No, that’s my job. He’s my life partner. If he takes off, I’ll find him, but I might not need to if I get home in time. I’ll see you later.” He kissed Abby on the cheek and left.

TBC

Chapter Two

As Gibbs entered the home that he had shared with Shannon and Kelly, it hit him all over again. He ached for his dead wife and daughter, and he couldn’t comprehend how he had learned to live without them for fifteen years, but he must have. The proof was all around him. This wasn’t some elaborate scam. He’d seen the proof that so much time really had passed in the mirror, on the television while he was in the hospital, and he could see it now in his empty house. Shannon and Kelly were gone, and nothing could change that fact.

Gibbs ascended the stairs and headed to the master bedroom. When he opened the door and entered, he got another shock. He had forgotten that he had closed the room off. The mattress was bare and there were boxes stacked all over the room. He then remembered that after Shannon had been killed, he hadn’t been able to force himself to sleep in the bed he had shared with her for so many years. He had boxed all her things up and stored them in here. He couldn’t bear to see her things all over the house, but he couldn’t bear to part with any of them either. He had moved all his own things to the guest bedroom and had slept in there ever since he lost her.

He left the master bedroom, closing it off to the world once again. He went to the guest bedroom and let himself in. He didn’t remember much about this room, but it was clearly his. The bed was neatly made and the colors were ones he would have chosen. The room seemed to be smaller than he recalled, and then he noticed a new closet had been built at one end of the room. There was also another door that he didn’t remember. He reached under the bed and pulled out a duffle bag that he remembered was there. He had always kept one under his bed since he joined the Marines. He tossed the duffle bag on the bed and then he crossed the room and opened the door that hadn’t been there before, seeing that it was an en suite bathroom.

As he looked around the room, he had fleeting images of him and someone else working in here. He couldn’t see the person’s face, but that person obviously had to be close to him because he was territorial when it came to his house and he hadn’t ever permitted anyone to help him with any projects around the house other than his deceased wife. He entered the room and looked in the medicine cabinet over the sink, with the intent of gathering some of his things to pack. He didn’t think he could remain in DC near all those people who expected him to be the way he was before. He could barely remember any of them, and they all wanted too much from him.

As he looked in the medicine cabinet, he saw several things that he knew were his, but he also saw many things he knew beyond a doubt that he would never buy for himself. There was top-of-the-line mouthwash and toothpaste, along with a cheaper brand he knew he favored, as well as shaving cream he didn’t think he would ever use. He got the image of a man with his back to him, wearing a forest-green robe, carrying out his nightly routine at the sink. He didn’t know who it was, though he felt he should know. He felt it in his gut that this person was very important to him.

Gibbs wished he could turn back time and change the events of the past several days. He was so frustrated with his memory. He felt he was missing something, or someone, very important, but his fragmented memory just couldn’t grasp it.

He abandoned the medicine cabinet and walked over to the overly large shower and pulled back the shower curtain. There were also several things in there that he knew he would never own. He may have lost the last fifteen years of his life, but he knew himself well enough to know he would never buy the expensive shampoo, conditioner, and body wash that were in the shower caddy for himself. He turned around and saw a towel rack. The towels were thick and luxurious, much more expensive than he would ever buy. He touched one of the towels in order to feel its texture, and was surprised to find it warm. On further inspection, he discovered the towels were stacked on a heated towel rack, another thing he would never have invested in.

On turning to leave the room, he could see two expensive-looking robes hanging on the back of the door. One was a dark sky-blue, the other forest-green, the same color of the robe the man was wearing in the brief image he had seen in his mind earlier when he entered the room. He glanced at the counter next to the sink and saw several hair care products that he knew for certain weren’t his. He wouldn’t get caught dead putting hair gel or mousse in his hair.

Gibbs gave up on the idea of packing right now, and decided to explore his house. Maybe he could figure out who this mysterious person was that seemed to live in his home with him. He felt it was very important to figure that out as soon as possible.

He went back into the bedroom and took a really good look around. He saw a picture on the nightstand. He went over and picked it up. It was a picture of him and his senior field agent, DiNozzo. They each had an arm around the other’s shoulder and were looking at the camera. They both had smiles on their faces.

Gibbs couldn’t comprehend being in a relationship with a man. When he was first in the Corps, he had exchanged a few hand and blow jobs with the other recruits, but that had just been for relief of tension. He had never been in a serious relationship with any of them. He then met Shannon when he was home on leave and never looked at another man in that way again, at least as far as he could remember.

By all accounts he had moved on from losing Shannon and Kelly and had even remarried three times, according to what Jenny had told him while he was in the hospital, but as he stood there looking at the picture, he finally recalled each of the women he had married, and then divorced. He didn’t think he had truly been in love with any of them. With his memory loss, he was able to look at those relationships more objectively, and now he thought he was probably just trying to replace his dead wife with a look-a-like. And while each of the women he married superficially resembled Shannon, they could never, ever truly replace her. It was no wonder each of those marriages had imploded.

Gibbs replaced the picture on the nightstand and went over to the closet. He could see that the original small closet had been enlarged and another door added, so that it took up the entire wall of the bedroom. He inspected the new portion of the closet and could tell from the workmanship and style that he had built it himself. He closed his eyes and he could remember himself and his second-in-command, Tony, working on the closet. He remembered now that when they were alone, he called him Tony, not DiNozzo. These memories lead to the realization that he spent a lot of time alone with Tony.

Gibbs was very encouraged by this. He knew the memories he lost were still there, somewhere inside his head, just waiting to be grasped. He hoped if he worked at it, he could recapture what he now knew he had lost in that explosion.

TBC

Chapter Three


As Gibbs continued his exploration of the guest bedroom, he opened the door to the older part of the closet. He saw clothes that he was sure were his. There were several different blazers and polo shirts, as well as jeans, khakis and dress slacks. There were a few pairs of sturdy shoes and sneakers lined up on the floor, and they were all his size. There were only three inexpensive suits. Something came to his mind. He could remember himself telling someone, “You only need three suits; one for weddings, one for funerals, and one for court. No need for more than that.” In his mind, he could see Tony in front of him when he said that. The clothes hanging in this part of the closet looked like clothes he would wear.

He then moved over to the newer, and much larger part, of the closet and opened the sliding doors. The closet was full to nearly bursting with several expensive, tailored suits, that he knew damn well didn’t belong to him. He knew himself well enough to know that he would never have spent that kind of money on clothing. There were also some casual clothes at one end of closet that he knew just from looking at were high end. He also noted that the clothes were a different size than the clothing he had pegged as belonging to him. The floor of the closet was lined with shoes, and while he couldn’t identify a brand, he could see these were also very expensive. Someone saying something some time in the past came to him. He was at a crime scene with his team. They had been theorizing about their victim and DiNozzo had noticed the brand of the shoes the victim was wearing, and told the rest of them, “Mine cost me over 500 bucks.”

It was now obvious to Gibbs that the expensive things he had seen in the bathroom and the closet that he had a roommate. The picture on the nightstand told him that this roommate was Tony DiNozzo. It hit him then; his senior field agent was living in this house with him, and it was fairly obvious that they shared this room, thus the same bed, and had been doing so for some time.

Gibbs needed to make himself remember if they were living and sleeping together for convenience sake, or if they had feelings for each other. Gibbs was leaning towards them having feelings for each other, because he couldn’t see himself letting someone live with him in his home if he didn’t have strong feelings for them. He just wished he could remember. He needed to explore his home further and see what he could find.

He went over to the dresser on the other side of the room and found his usual cologne. He had been using that same cologne since he was a teenager. There was another bottle of expensive cologne and he opened it and sniffed experimentally. He got an image of himself nuzzling Tony’s neck and telling him how good he smelled. He had heard at some point in the past from someone that smell was a good trigger for memories.

He went to the king-sized bed and picked up the pillow on the side of the bed that he figured would be Tony’s, as he had always slept on the same side of the bed for as long as he could remember. He sniffed the pillow and his mind filled with images of Tony naked in this bed, leaning over him, or him leaning over Tony. He got more images of pleasure filled nights and playful bantering. He got the feeling that he and Tony were very happy together; if only he could remember more than these fleeting images he kept seeing.

Gibbs replaced the pillow on the bed and decided to explore the rest of the house. He went down the stairs and made his way to the kitchen. There were several small appliances on the counter that he knew couldn’t have been his idea. His idea of a fully equipped kitchen included a refrigerator, stove, coffee maker and toaster. This kitchen included several gadgets, the purpose of which he couldn’t even begin to guess.

He crossed the room to the cabinets and opened one. There was kids’ cereal in this one, which he knew he would never eat. His roommate obviously had a sweet tooth. He further explored the cabinets and discovered several things that lead him to believe that DiNozzo was more than likely able to cook. Other than being able to make coffee and toast, Gibbs had never been much use in the kitchen, and he didn’t imagine that the last fifteen years had improved that much.

Gibbs then opened the refrigerator and saw several things that he knew he would never have purchased. There were fresh fruits and vegetables in the drawers, along with several different kinds of cheese and the makings for salad. Gibbs had never cared much for salad and knew he wouldn’t have kept his refrigerator stocked with all of these things.

Gibbs closed the refrigerator door and went to the cabinets on the other side of the room. He opened a door and saw what he recognized as dishes he had had when Shannon was still alive, but there was also a set of China that he didn’t recognize. He pulled out one of the plates to inspect it. He then remembered the room being dark, lit only by two candles on the table, two place settings with linen napkins, and glasses of red wine. He closed his eyes and let the memory come. It was someone’s birthday, his own if he remembered correctly. Tony had surprised him with a candle lit dinner that he had made himself and some very good wine to go with it. Afterwards they had gone upstairs to the bedroom and made love.

He replaced the plate in the cabinet and went into the living room. He looked around the room and saw the solid book cases he had made many years ago, while Shannon was still alive. He remembered them being stacked with books and magazines, and a knick-knack here and there. Now one entire book case was filled with nothing but, what were they called again? He couldn’t really remember what they were called, but he knew they had replaced video tapes, and you could use them to watch movies. There seemed to be hundreds of them. He pulled a few out randomly and as he looked them over, he remembered lying with Tony on the sofa watching some of these movies. He remembered that they usually ended up making out before the movie ended.

Gibbs crossed the room and sat on the sofa. There was what he thought must be a television on the other side of the room, but he couldn’t remember TVs ever looking like that. This one looked like the large monitor on the wall in MTAC that he had seen a short time ago, only not quite as big. It was hanging on the wall like a painting. He knew this monstrosity hadn’t been his idea, much like the many gadgets in the kitchen.

He glanced at the coffee table in front of the sofa and saw a couple of picture albums on it. He picked up the one closest to him and began to leaf through it. The first several pages contained pictures that he remembered. They were taken while Shannon and Kelly had been alive and covered the years they had been together. Then there were pictures of him with Tony, some posed, but most were candid. There were pictures of just the two of them together and others with the people they considered family; Kate, who Gibbs now remembered had been killed in the line of duty, and Ducky, McGee, Abby, and Ziva.

The pictures were of holidays celebrated together, or just a simple barbeque in the backyard. There was one photo that Gibbs studied closer than the others. It was summer and he remembered he and Tony had invited everyone over for a cookout. In the picture he was lying on the ground, Tony straddling him and using his hands to pin Gibbs’ arms over his head. They were both laughing. Gibbs remembered that incident. Gibbs had been teasing Tony and then Tony had chased him all over the yard, finally tackling him and playfully pinning him to the ground.

Looking up from the photo album, Gibbs noticed pictures on the walls of him, Shannon, and Kelly, along with pictures of him and Tony. Tony acknowledged his past with Shannon and Kelly, and Gibbs remembered how Tony had encouraged him to put the pictures of his lost girls on the walls, right along side the pictures of Tony and Gibbs together. He remembered how touched he had been when Tony suggested that. His ex-wives had always felt threatened by Gibbs’ memories of his lost family and wouldn’t permit him to hang any pictures of them on the walls.

Gibbs closed the picture album and replaced it on the coffee table and picked up the other one. This picture album was made of wood. Gibbs recognized his own style and knew he had been the one to make it. The wood was smooth and varnished and the front and back covers were held together with braided strips of leather. There was a round hole cut in the front cover with a picture in the center of him and Tony wearing tuxedos and each holding a glass of champagne. They each had an arm around the other’s shoulder and they were both smiling widely. Over the picture were the words, “Our Wedding.”

Gibbs muttered to himself, “I guess that answers the question of whether we’re living together just for convenience or not.”

TBC

Chapter Four


On seeing the evidence that he was actually married to Tony, Gibbs looked at his left hand and could see the evidence on his ring finger that he usually wore a ring there, but he didn’t know where it was now. He checked his neck and he wasn’t wearing it on a chain either. He wondered where it was.

If he and Tony were married, he wondered where Tony had been while he was in the hospital. He knew that if his spouse were in the hospital, he would want to be with that person as much as possible.

Gibbs turned his attention back to the wedding album and opened it. On the inside cover was what could only be their wedding vows to each other.

His vows to Tony read:

** I, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, take you, Anthony David DiNozzo, to be my partner, my friend, my confidant, my soul mate. Together, we will be better than we could be alone. Through the good and bad, I want you to always know that I will be by your side. We have already been through a lot together, and I believe that God has been preparing us for this moment and for our future together. I promise to keep the good memories alive, and to let the bad ones die. I vow not to let the sun go down on our anger, and to treat each morning as a new day to love you, a gift I have been given. I will not forsake you or these vows that we have made, but rather strive to show you my love for the rest of our lives. This is my promise to you. **

Tears filled Gibbs’ eyes as he read these vows he had made to Tony. He had made a promise to Tony, and today he had actually been planning to leave, which would break that promise. He couldn’t do that to Tony, whether he remembered everything or not. He now remembered how insecure Tony had been in their relationship at first and how much work he’d had to do in order to gain Tony’s trust. He could never betray that trust.

He then read Tony’s vows to him:

** I, Anthony David DiNozzo, take you, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, to be my partner, my friend, my confidant, my soul mate. Together, our love will grow into a bond too strong to break. When you need someone to encourage you, I want it to be me. When you need a helping hand, I want it to be mine. When you long for someone to smile at, turn to me. When you have something to share, share it with me. Though life may not always be as perfect as it is at this moment, I vow to always keep my love as pure as it is today. I promise to be there for you in your laughter and your tears, in your sickness and your health, in your comfort and your fears, in your poverty and your wealth. I know that our love is heaven sent, and I promise to be there for you for all your life, come what may. **

As Gibbs read Tony’s vows, he remembered seeing Tony at their ceremony, how happy Tony had been and he knew how seriously Tony took these vows he made that day. Gibbs made a promise to himself that he would allow Tony to keep his vows.

Gibbs leafed through the album. There were a few pictures of the ceremony and then there were pictures taken during the celebration afterwards. There were several pictures of him and Tony dancing; sometimes Gibbs leading, sometimes Tony. As he looked at the pictures, the actual event came back to him. He remembered he had been very happy that day.

As he remembered the wedding, he also recalled how he had met Tony. He’d gone to Baltimore to investigate the murder of a Marine, and he’d had to go alone, as his senior field agent, Stan Burley, had just been reassigned as an agent afloat. He remembered he had Ducky and Abby for support, but no agents to accompany him to the crime scene. Gibbs had met with the detective originally assigned the case, Anthony DiNozzo, and he had been impressed with the young man in spite of the way he had acted. Although the man was cocky and sarcastic, and prone to random movie references, Gibbs could see through all that and knew DiNozzo was very sharp and observant. They had the usual pissing contest over jurisdiction, and as Gibbs didn’t have an agent to work with at the time, he had accepted the detective’s help with the case.

Together, they had solved the case in record time, and when it was over Gibbs had offered Tony a job on his team. The rest, as they say, was history. Despite Gibbs’ rule about not getting involved with a co-worker, he found himself ignoring that rule because he fell for Tony in a big way, and Tony had felt the same way. They just clicked.

As Gibbs looked through the remainder of the pictures, he began to remember past events of the last several years and then he began to remember the feelings he had for Tony. He began to remember why he loved Tony like he did. Tony loved Gibbs just the way he was and had never wanted him to change, unlike his ex-wives and various girlfriends he’d had over the years. Tony understood him in a way no one else ever had, at least no one since Shannon. Any unlike his ex-wives, Tony didn’t expect him to pretend his first wife and daughter never existed. Less than a year after meeting, they had gotten married.

Gibbs had been so lost in his memories that he hadn’t heard anyone enter the house, but now he could hear someone moving around upstairs. He replaced the album on the coffee table and reached for his gun, belatedly realizing that he had given it to Tony before leaving NCIS. He went over the fireplace and grabbed a poker and then went over to stand on one side of the doorway and waited for whoever was wandering around his home.

A/N: Wedding vows from Bwedd.com, web address http://www.bwedd.com/

TBC

Chapter Five

Gibbs heard someone coming down the stairs and then that someone entered the living room. He raised the poker, intent on stopping the intruder. When he saw the intruder was Tony, he lowered the poker.

Tony had his hand over his chest and said, “Geez, Jet, you scared the shit out of me.”

“Sorry, didn’t know it was you.”

“You remember me now?”

“Mostly. Thought I covered pretty well earlier. Didn’t think anyone noticed my memory wasn’t really back as well as I let on.”

“That must have been one of the things you forgot about me. I know you,” Tony said.

“I know that now.”

“I was in the bedroom. I saw the duffle bag on the bed. Were you planning on leaving?”

“Was thinking about it,” Gibbs replied sheepishly.

“Let’s sit down and talk,” Tony said. “This is turning into one of our serious discussions.”

They went over to the sofa and sat close together.

Gibbs looked at Tony and asked, “Where’s my ring?”

Tony reached into his pocket and pulled it out and handed it to Gibbs. “Before the paramedics got there, I took it off your finger. Didn’t want it to get lost.”

Gibbs took the ring and placed it on his finger. “Thanks.” Once the ring was back on his finger, he felt a sense of completion come over him.

They were silent for a few minutes, then Tony said, “That was pretty bad, what happened earlier in MTAC.”

Gibbs just grunted in response.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you that angry before,” Tony continued.

“You weren’t there when I found out about Shannon and Kelly.”

“If I could give them back to you, I would,” Tony said.

“I know that, Tony. That’s one of the things I love about you.” Gibbs changed the subject. “Where were you when I was in the hospital? If I had seen you, I might have remembered sooner. Maybe all this could have been avoided.”

“I did come and see you, but you were still out of it. Then I had to run the investigation. When Shepard upset you so badly, the doctors banned all visitors except people you remembered, which left me out.”

“Idiots. Always think they know what’s best for everybody. Once I woke up, why did
Shepard of all people come and see me?” Gibbs and Shepard had quite a volatile relationship, given their previous involvement. He’d remembered that much while he was still in the hospital.

“I told her it wasn’t a good idea. I don’t know if you remember or not, but she doesn’t listen to me.”

“I remember more about her than I want to,” Gibbs chuckled. “You’re my medical proxy and next of kin, you should have been the last person they banned from seeing me.”

“The doctor kept me informed over the phone, but he was adamant about no visitors after they had to sedate you when you got so upset.”

“Shepard’s an idiot.”

“No argument there.”

They sat in silence for a while

Tony finally said, “God, I was so worried about you, Jet.”

“I’m sorry, Tony. I’m fine now. Just a little sore,” Gibbs said. Trying to lighten the mood, he then asked, “I let you call me Jet?”

Tony let Gibbs change the subject, sensing that he was still a little shaky. “Well, you didn’t want me to call you Gibbs or Boss when we were in bed, and when I called you Jethro for the first time, I started to laugh and hum the theme from ‘The Beverly Hillbillies’, so we compromised.”

Gibbs thought about it and then remembered that conversation. It had definitely put a damper on the consummation of their relationship when Tony started laughing when he said Jethro. “I remember now,” He said, laughing.

“I thought you had your memory back.”

“I said mostly,” Gibbs said. “Tony, as soon as possible, we’re gonna go to a lawyer and get papers drawn up so something like this never happens again.”

Tony was puzzled. “Like what never happens again?”

“I don’t think it’s right that you were kept from me because I had amnesia. And I know I wouldn’t have wanted to be kept from you if you were hurt or couldn’t remember me.”

“You’re right. I definitely wanted to be with you when you needed me so much, but is that even possible?”

“We’ll make it possible,” Gibbs said with certainty.

Tony changed the subject. “Were you really gonna leave?”

Gibbs could hear the hurt in Tony’s voice. “I didn’t remember what we had together at first. I remembered you, but I couldn’t remember how we met. I knew I could trust you, but I couldn’t remember why.”

“But you’re not planning on leaving now?”

“No, Tony. I made a promise to you and I intend to keep that promise.” Gibbs then said, “I want it all back. Make love with me, please?”

“You sure about that, Jet? You just got out the hospital.”

“I’m sure. Like I told you before, I’m just a little sore.”

Tony suddenly got up from the sofa and headed for the door.

“Where are you going?” Gibbs called after Tony.

“Don’t worry. I’m just making sure the door’s locked. I wouldn’t put it past Abby to stop by, even though I told her not to. I’m not the only one who was worried about you,” Tony replied as he locked the door. Then he returned to the sofa.

“She’s the one with the pigtails who dresses weird?”

Tony replied, “Don’t ever tell Abby you don’t remember her. You’ll really hurt her feelings.”

“I do remember her, sort of. Some things are still a little fuzzy. Now, enough talk. I think we have something more important to do.”

TBC

Chapter Six

As the two of them went up the stairs and into the bedroom, Gibbs remembered other times they had done the same. He didn’t want to think about all the times they barely got there or almost got their necks broken because their pants were around their ankles; he didn’t want to remember all the seductive smiles and sinuous movements Tony would make when he was in teasing mood; he didn’t need to remember any of that. Gibbs had the real thing, and the reality of the present was so much better. His mind kept firing images though, in spite of Tony’s feather light kisses on the back of his neck and warm, sure hands sliding over his hips.

They entered the bedroom and Gibbs stilled. He wanted to feel Tony, all of him, but for a moment he didn’t know how or what to do.

Tony, who was busy nibbling Gibbs’ ear lobe and trying to glue Gibbs’ back to his chest, noticed that. One lick along the shell and a shiver later, he whispered, “It’s okay, Jet. You don’t have to do anything but relax and enjoy.” Tony’s voice was dripping with lust and Gibbs felt heat pool in the pit of his belly.

“I… I can do that,” Gibbs croaked.

Tony gently pushed Gibbs onto the bed and straddled him. He put his hands next to Gibbs’ head and leaned into a chaste kiss that soon turned passionate. Tony’s tongue slid past Gibbs’ lips so he could taste his soul mate once again. His eyes started to burn when he thought how close he had come to never experiencing that intoxicating flavor again. Tony couldn’t get enough of it as he swept his tongue across the roof of Gibbs’ mouth.

The need to breathe broke the kiss, but the warm lips Gibbs loved so much never left him; he felt their soft slide along his jaw. Tony nipped the spot below Gibbs’ jaw and he bucked, gasping. Gibbs felt Tony smile against his skin, just for a second, and then he traced a hot line with the tip of his tongue, down his neck.

Gibbs grabbed Tony’s shirt and started to pull. “Take it off. Take it all off,” He moaned.

The lips disappeared as Tony suddenly pushed himself up. Gibbs started to protest, but the words died in his throat and turned into a growl when golden skin was revealed. Tony’s eyes were glowing, emerald and molten gold, and there was a small, happy smile on his face. He stood up, took off his shoes and socks, and shucked his pants down.

Gibbs almost tore his shirt in his haste, it burned his skin and he wanted it off. His hands were stopped by Tony’s when he tried to take off his pants though. Slowly Tony put them on the bed and got Gibbs out of the remaining clothes himself.

And then their skin touched and Gibbs closed his eyes enjoying the warmth and weight of Tony’s body on his. He spread his legs and Tony fitted perfectly between them. They moved slowly, their bodies gliding against each other. In his mind’s eye, Gibbs saw them doing the same thing over and over again; he didn’t want to, he wanted to stay in the present, but the call of the past was too strong.

Tony could feel Gibb growing distant and he knew his lover was drowning in memories. So he did the only thing he could think of; he ground his hips into Gibbs’ almost painfully. Their erections touched and slid against one another; white hot sparks sizzled up Gibbs’ spine and exploded behind his still closed eyes. Tony repeated the move and finally Gibbs’ eyelids fluttered and Tony saw dark blue gaze boring into his eyes. He smiled evilly and moved his hips faster. Sweat and precome made it easy and the smell of their arousal hung heavily in the room.

“Tony-” Gibbs panted. He was close and if Tony didn’t stop it would all be over way too soon. “I’m gonna-”

“Oh, no you’re not, Jet,” Tony grounded through his teeth. He moved his right hand between their bodies and took hold of Gibbs’ cock and squeezed its base. Gibbs moaned loudly and tried to move away, but Tony’s grip was unrelenting. Another sound of displeasure escaped Gibbs’ throat when Tony pulled away, but Tony just smiled, opened the bedside table drawer and took out the lube and a condom.

Tony squeezed a generous amount of lube on his fingers and slowly slid them beneath Gibbs’ balls and between his buttocks. Gibbs splayed his legs as far apart as he could, his eyes glued to Tony’s. Slicked fingers traced around his entrance and Gibbs relaxed. He would never let himself be so vulnerable with anyone else, but it was Tony he was giving himself to; he loved to be made Tony’s in the most profound way.

One finger slid inside Gibbs and his body gripped it firmly, claiming its stake. It was always like this, the one giving was the one that was being taken. Tony smiled and slid another finger, the slight stretch waking another set of memories. Gibbs almost cried out in frustration; it was so hard for him to stay with the present. Tony moved his fingers in and out, gently oh so gently, wiggled them around and swept across Gibbs’ sweet spot. A whine was ripped from deep inside his chest and all of his muscles tensed. Tony just smiled and slid a third finger in.

The slight burn finally tore Gibbs away from the past. He was in the here and now, and with Tony. Tony, who was pulling out his fingers and putting on a condom. Tony, who was gently and slowly entering his body. Tony, who was starting to move, filling him completely.

Tony lowered his body on Gibbs’ again and now they were a perfect match. They locked their eyes and breathed each other’s air. Tony’s strokes were long and powerful, his cock sliding deep and tagging Gibbs’ sweet spot again and again. Everything else ceased to exist; there was no past and there was no future. No memories either. Only the two of them, moving in perfect tune. Their bodies joined, their souls touching.

Gibbs’ gaze dimmed and his eyes became shiny. Tony was looking the same as he sped up his movements. Gibbs’ cock was pressed between their bodies and it rubbed against Tony’s belly, getting the friction Gibbs was desperate for. Gibbs took hold of Tony’s upper arms and dug his fingers deep enough to leave bruises.

Tony thought how close he had been to never having this again. How little it took to be the one left behind. His breath hitched as tears started to fall down on Gibbs’ face. He lost his rhythm and stuttered, the feel of Gibbs’ warm body beneath him getting to be too much. “C’mon, Jet,” He hissed.

Gibbs felt the knot in his stomach tightening almost painfully, then uncoiling, undoing him and releasing fire to spread through his veins. He gasped and looked at Tony wide eyed when he stilled, crying Gibbs’ name. It was all too much and they both sagged into the bed trying to breathe, their hearts beating furiously.

TBC

AN: Only one more chapter to go!

Gibbs and Tony lay silently together following their lovemaking, both of them trying to get their emotions under control. Gibbs finally said, “Tony, that was just…” He paused, unable to express the deep emotions he felt, then said, “I don’t have the words. Thank you.”

“You never have to thank me for loving you, Jet. All you have to do is love me back,” Tony’s voice catching towards the end as he remembered how close he’d come to losing his partner.

Gibbs leaned over and kissed the younger man, and said, “I do love you, and I’m not going anywhere, at least not without you.”

“Well, if you had left, I’d have chased your ass down.”

“Only my ass?” Gibbs laughed.

Tony reached over and slapped Gibbs’ arm lightly, and said, “You know when I meant.”

“Yeah, I know, and I’d have done the same if our positions were reversed.”

“Good to know,” Tony said.

They lay silently for a few more minutes, then Gibbs said, “I don’t think I can go back, Tony.”

Tony didn’t have to ask what Gibbs was talking about. They both remembered what happened earlier in MTAC and how senseless it had all been. He trailed a lazy finger over his lover’s chest and asked, “Why not?”

“I can’t work with someone I can’t trust.”

Tony started to get up, hurt by Gibbs’ words. Gibbs wrapped his arms around him to stop Tony leaving, then he gave him a pretty hard head slap and said, “I wasn’t talking about you, Tony.”

Tony rubbed the back of his head for a minute and then settled back on Gibbs’ chest in relief and said, “Who were you talking about then?”

“Jenny.”

“Why do you think you can’t you trust her?” Tony asked, knowing instinctively that Gibbs needed to voice his concerns out loud.

“She’s the director of a federal agency,” Gibbs explained. “She could have, should have, done something. She just stood there and didn’t say a word.” Gibbs still couldn’t believe how she had failed to back him up; had just stood there in silence as the decision was made for 19 men to lose their lives needlessly.

“I think you’re right,” Tony said. “She sure didn’t show much backbone.”

“She really has changed since she became director, and not for the better.”

After a few more minutes of silence, Tony asked, “What will you do then?”

“I’m not sure.” Gibbs looked into Tony’s eyes. “I guess that depends on what you want to do.”

“I do have something I need to tell you,” Tony said, somewhat sheepishly.

“What’s that?”

“After you left, Jenny said a few things, then I said a few things. To make a long story short, I turned in my badge and gun, too.”

“But you’d make a good team leader. You should have more confidence in yourself,” Gibbs said, as he remembered his never ending battle with Tony’s insecurities.

“I do, mostly thanks to you. And it’s not that I don’t think I can do it, or that the director doesn’t think I can do it, and she made is perfectly clear that she doesn’t think I can,” Tony said. “I only trust you to watch my six. If you leave, I don’t want to stay either. And frankly after what happened today, I don’t have any more faith in Shepard than you do.”

“What about Ziva and McGee?” Gibbs asked. “You know they’d watch your back.”

“McGee’s still pretty green, and I know you trust Ziva, but I don’t.”

“Why not?”

“She just seems to have a hidden agenda,” Tony said, not meeting Gibbs’ eyes.

This was news to Gibbs. After a rocky start, he’d thought that Tony trusted Ziva, at least as far as he could remember. Obviously, some things had happened that he hadn’t been made aware of. “Has she said or done anything to make you feel that way?”

“Nothing I can really put my finger on,” Tony replied. “One minute she’s like a sex kitten, acting like she wants me in bed, and the next she says or does something so cruel that it’s all I can do to not run crying from the room.”

Gibbs got angry about that. Ziva would know how to push Tony’s buttons, having done a dossier on him for her brother, Ari Haswari, the man who had killed their teammate, Kate Todd. He asked incredulously, “She’s come on to you, knowing you and I are together? You should have told me about that, Tony.”

“I know she saved your life and you trust her. I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt.”

“I don’t trust her now as much as I used to,” Gibbs said. “Tony, you still should have told me.”

“It doesn’t really matter now, Jet. If you leave NCIS, I’m not staying,” Tony said.

“It’s your decision, Tony. Don’t let my decision to leave ruin your career.”

“Jet, if Shepard has anything to say about it, after the things I said to her earlier, I no longer have a career at NCIS anyway.”

“What did you say to her? More importantly, what did she say to you?” Gibbs asked.

“You don’t want to know, but in my own defense, she started it.”

Gibbs chuckled at Tony’s childish words, then said, “I’ll just get Abby to tell me later.”

“Good idea. She can tell you the story much better than I can. And she had a ring side seat,” Tony said and then changed the subject. “So, if we both leave, what will we do?”

“I’m gonna officially retire, and if you quit, maybe we can do some traveling. Maybe we can even finish the boat and actually take this one out on the water.”

“That sounds really good, but I’m too young to retire,” Tony said. “And will we be okay financially if both of us quit? We both know boat building isn’t cheap.”

“Between my retirement benefits from NCIS and the Corps, the interest you have coming in from the trust fund your mother left you, plus what we have in savings, we’ll have more than enough.”

“What about McGee and Ziva?” Tony asked. “Neither of them can be team leader. Ziva isn’t even officially an NCIS agent.”

“They’ll have to be assigned to other teams and a new MCRT will have to be formed. They’ll be fine. Abby and Ducky don’t work for our team exclusively, so they’ll be fine, too,” Gibbs assured Tony. “And just because we don’t work at NCIS any longer, doesn’t mean we’ll never see any of them again.”

“So it’s settled then,” Tony said. “You retire, I quit, and then we travel, for reasons other than work for a change.”

“Yep,” Gibbs said. “Tomorrow we’ll go to NCIS headquarters and make it official and talk to the others.” He was very glad that he and Tony were on the same page with this decision. He would have supported Tony if he wanted to stay at NCIS, but he would have worried endlessly about him working there as long as Shepard was the director.

“And when we both get bored, which you know we will sooner or later, we’ll figure something else out, but it’ll be just the two of us, together,” Tony said, very happy with the decision they had made.

Gibbs kissed Tony again and then vowed, “Forever, I promise.”

End