Love in every sense of the word
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Author: Tritanis

Feedback: tritanis@sol.dk

Fandom: NCIS

Pairing: Gibbs/DiNozzo

Genre: Romance, Established relationship

Rating: PG, just to be sure

Warnings: None, except for OOC and a lot of sweetness

Summary: After the Watson case, Gibbs starts thinking and makes some conclusions, but does Tony agree?

Spoiler: See No Evil

Author's Note: I started writing this while watching the episode, but then I kinda forgot all about it for months, so therefore the quotes probably aren't correct

Beta: No one, except myself

Dedicated to: my beautiful girlfriend who I love very much. This fic was written as a birthday gift to her
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"Honey, I'm home," Tony announces while kicking of his shoes, before walking to the living room. "Don't kill me, but the store was out of your usual coffee brand, so I had to…" Tony trails of when he catches sight of his boyfriend who's just sitting in a chair with a glass of bourbon, staring in front of himself without seeing or hearing anything.

"Jethro?" Tony asks softly while moving to the chair. When Jethro still doesn't react, Tony gets to his knees before placing his hand on the older man's arm while calling again.

This gets Jethro's attention and he jerks slightly away from Tony. "Huh?" he asks confused, looking into Tony's eyes. "When did you get home?"

"Just now. I tried to talk to you, but you didn't react…" Tony answers. He places a gentle kiss on Jethro's lips, before straightening up. He goes to the front door to pick up the paper bags with the groceries before taking them to the kitchen.

"I'm sorry. I was lost in thoughts." Jethro downs the rest of his bourbon before going to the kitchen.

Tony sticks his head out from behind the fridge door. "Still thinking about the Watson case?" Tony knows that this case has been particularly difficult for Jethro to deal with. Sandy had hit him directly in the heart and he really felt for the girl. Normally Jethro was just a hard-ass marine with no warmth or love for anyone when he was at the office. Even Tony was ridden hard by him, but Sandy, the talented blind girl, had really made Jethro weak. When they found out that Watson himself had hired the Grayson guy to kidnap Watson's own wife and daughter, Jethro went ballistic and all he had wanted to do when they caught Watson at the bank was to pull out his gun and shot Watson. That night they hadn't even made it to the bedroom before Jethro practically jumped Tony. It all ended in Jethro taking Tony on the kitchen table. Their lovemaking had been hard, almost brutal and the next day Jethro had apologized. After that, neither man had brought up the Watson case.

Now, almost a week later, after they have gotten Watson thrown in jail and Sandy and her mother home safely, Tony thought his boyfriend was alright, but clearly he wasn't.

"I still don't get why he had someone kidnap his daughter and wife! I fucking don't get it!" Jethro was shouting at the tops of his lungs at the end.

"Shh, honey, we got him," Tony says quietly before reaching out to cup Jethro's cheek.

Jethro leans into the caress while trying hard not to loose further control of his feeling. "What if we hadn't…"

"But we did, honey," Tony interrupts. He pulls Jethro into his arms. Jethro's arms immediately go around Tony's waist. "We got him. He can't hurt Sandy and her mother anymore," Tony whispers before hugging Jethro closely.

At that Jethro's last control slips away and he starts crying softly. It's not often Tony gets to see his boyfriend like this and he knows that Jethro hates being weak, so Tony just tightens his arms around Jethro and whispers reassurances to a shaking Jethro.

"I know he can't hurt them anymore, it's just…How could he do it? He had a beautiful wife and a wonderful daughter. How could he just…throw all of that away? I…I just don't get him…." Jethro's voice isn't much more than a whisper and Tony has to listen carefully to catch all of what he's saying.

Sensing his boyfriend isn't finish; Tony just places a gentle kiss on Jethro's temple, but stays quiet.

"Seeing Sandy just…got me thinking. Watching her cry, watching her smile, watching her want to help, watching…" With a deep sigh Jethro pulled back before continuing, "just watching her made me realize how much I regretting never having children."

When Tony opens his mouth to say something, Jethro gently presses a finger to his lips to keep him quiet. "And watching Watson made me realize why I didn't get any children with any of my wives."

At Tony's puzzled expression, Jethro adds, "I now see how much a blessing a child can be. And how important it is to always protect your child. I now realize how important love is. I now realize that no one should be allowed to have children if they would rather jeopardize their loved ones than protect them."

Tony still looks like he can't make head or tail of what Jethro's saying. "What I'm trying to say is that I would like to raise a child. With you."

Tony's jaw drops open and he just stares at him for a few moments, before collecting himself enough to speak. "You want to adopt a child?" At Jethro's nod, Tony exclaims, "but I'm not the father type."

"Yes you are." When Tony still looks like he's staring a shark right into the eyes, Jethro continues, "You're a funny, loving and caring guy; you'll make a great father."

"But what if…"

Jethro interrupts Tony by kissing him. Several moments later he ends the kiss. "I love you, Tony, and I want to be with you for the rest of my life. I love you so much that I want to watch a child grow up and know that it's the product of our love. I know it won't be our biologically child, but the child sure as hell won't be short of love."

When Tony suddenly starts to laugh, it's Jethro's turn to look surprised. "You've really gotten this planned, huh?"

Jethro can't stop himself from blushing. "Well…actually…," he starts, but at Tony's raised eyebrow, admits, "Yeah, I've gotten it planned, pretty much. But I needed a husband."

Tony's smile vanishes like dew before the sun and his eyes widen. After several tries to speak, Tony manages to ask, "A-are…y-you…proposing to…me?"

Grinning like a mad man, Jethro kneels in front of Tony and pulls out a velvet box. "Anthony DiNozzo, will you marry me?"

Tony just gapes at him for several moments. "I…I need to think about it," he stutters while backing away from Jethro. When Jethro frowns and starts to get up, Tony just bolts and runs to the front door, grabbing his coat on his way.

Jethro just looks after Tony with a hurt expression on his face. He knows it's a huge decision to make, but he thought Tony loved him. He knows that Tony's history of relationships is long, but that the relationships all have been very short. Tony and he have been together for 1½ months and he knows that it's the longest relationship Tony has been in.

Jethro sighs. He knows a proposal offer is a lot to take in. "I just hope he keeps out of trouble," he mumbles while he grabs the phone and dial Abby's number.

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TBC