Abby and Tony are the first back from lunch and when they return Abby spots the rose, now perched on the bookcase. “Did you?”
He shakes his head, “Liz being funny. At least that’s what it sounded like to me. He couldn’t exactly explain to me.”
“Sounds like something Liz would do. Want to one up her?”
“No sweetheart, it’d be a little too obvious. Maybe I’ll leave something at the house before I go to my basketball game this week.”
McGee returns as Abby answers, “As long as I get to read the note.”
“You’re meddlesome Abbs, you know that? Yes you can proof read the note. Now get along back to your lab before the Bossman slaps me for distracting you.”
Abby chuckles, “Or for being distracted.”
“You’re evil. Pure evil. Hell you’re your father’s daughter.”
She laughs outright at that, “Guilty.”
Before Abby’s back in the elevator Gibbs returns hanging up his cell, “Grab your gear, we got a body at Little Creek.”
“CIA report this one boss?” He winks, “Or maybe a nude sunbather?”
“This one was found during a routine S&R training mission.”
Avoiding the imminent question Tony calls Ducky before following Gibbs. He’s glad to find that Ziva hasn’t arrived yet as it allows him the freedom to slide into the front seat and sit flush against Gibbs, no questions asked. He’s down right delighted when he finds a cup of his favorite coffee beside Gibbs’. He shoots Gibbs an appreciative smile. And then McGee ruins the moment by joining them, leaving Ziva to contend with a ride in the back of the truck.
A few minutes into the drive McGee turns to him, “So Abby knows your mystery woman then?”
“No. Abby wants me to send my stepmother flowers because I missed her birthday party,” The lie is easy and plausible.
“Why would Abby care about that?” McGee probes curiously.
“I missed it because I was teaching Abbs to make the perfect pork Florentine medallions.” Which is true.
“If you don’t want to tell me just say so.”
“Are you suggesting I can’t cook Probie?”
“No I’m outright saying it.”
“You’d be wrong,” Gibbs states matter-of-factly.
“I thought you agreed never to mention that incident again Boss.”
“I didn’t DiNozzo.”
Tony collects himself, “I was ordered to take cooking lessons four years ago. I’m very good at it now.”
“There was an incident?” Ziva asks through the window behind Tony.
Deciding to lessen the impact rather than prolong the interrogation Tony gives a curt, “I started a small fire.”
“On the job?” Ziva’s smile is alight with cruel amusement.
“No. At Gibbs’ house. There was a fire on the floor above mine, they kept us out of the building for a week. I was supposed to be paying for the use of the guest room in home cooked meals.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Talk to me Duck.”
“Patience Jethro. All I can say for certain Jethro is he died at least twenty four hours ago. He’s been in the water too long to be of much help here, I’ll have more for you once we get him home.”
Choosing not to comment Gibbs turns to the Lieutenant waiting for him, “Where exactly did your men find him?”
“Right here, when they made it to shore the body was lying here. As you can see he was clearly dead. My men know their SOP Special Agent Gibbs.”
Gibbs nods, “DiNozzo sketch. McGee photographs. Ziva interview the sailors that found him.” He turns back to the Lieutenant, “How long were your men in the water?”
“About two hours. They were about a hundred and fifty yards straight out. If he was washed in by the tide he was moving Southwest.”
“Are any of the base facilities in that direction?”
“A few of the docks and one of the fueling depots.”
Gibbs considers it a moment, “DiNozzo’s in charge until I get back.”
“Sure thing Boss,” Tony’s pleased pride is clear.
Gibbs allows himself to smile as he walks away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“You have something for me Ducky?”
“Will time and cause of death do Jethro?”
“It’s a start.”
“He was in remarkably good health at the time of his death. He bled out from one stab wound to the chest, thirty-six to forty-eight hours ago. I’d say he was in the water most if not all of that time.” He moves to the light box to examine the dental x-rays. “Fingerprint identification is obviously not a possibility. Abigail is running his DNA and I’m working on matching his dental records. It’s unlikely we’ll find anything tonight.” After a quick glance at Jimmy, who is studiously cleaning another body, Ducky drops his voice a bit. “On a personal note, Jenny stopped by. You’ve provoked her again haven’t you?”
“Provoked? I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Ducky stares him down. Not in the least intimidated, but getting the point the sighs, “I did not provoke her. She was trying to meddle in my private affairs and I refused to play along.”
“Perhaps you should tell her. It might prove useful in helping her to… move on.”
“I won‘t contribute to whatever it is that has her meddling with my team. Especially not considering the damage she could do if given a chance.”
“You may have a point. But don’t judge her too harshly Jethro. In life one amasses many regrets, when given a chance to correct one it is only natural to want to do so.”
“Seems more like repeating the mistakes of the past than attempting to fix them Duck.”
“You know I don’t take sides.”
“Fair enough. Call me when you get a match.”
“I’m sure there’s someone who won’t appreciate that.”
“Then you’ll know why I’m not answering it.”
Ducky chuckles, “If that happens I’ll mark it on my calendar.”
Gibbs laughs, “Get your pen.”
In the bullpen the team are all glued to their screens, clearly tired. “Go on, have some dinner, get some sleep. We can’t do anything else until we get an ID. I want you all back here at 0800.”
“Night Boss,” Ziva and McGee chorus distractedly as they head for the elevator.
“Are we heading home Boss?” Tony asks quietly once they’re gone.
“I just need to check my email and I’ll go. Why don’t you head home and I’ll be there in a few minutes?”
“Your place, right?”
“Unless that’s a problem.”
“No problem.” A noise from upstairs makes him switch to signing, “Don’t be long.”
“Won’t. Love you.”
“You too.”
In a purposely loud voice Tony calls out, “Don’t work too late Boss. You need sleep too.”
“I’ll keep that in mind DiNozzo.”
Gibbs braces himself for the explosion as the tap of heels on the stairs descend toward him. “Jethro, I’m surprised you’re still here.”
“And why’s that?”
“Most people hurry home when someone’s waiting for them.”
“Who says anyone’s waiting for me? I’m dating someone, not remarried.”
“You don’t do casual Jethro.”
“I also don’t hide who I am. I’m a workaholic. Anyone who makes it past a first date with me knows that.”
The director sighs, “I understand that it’s not any of my business as your boss. And that I haven’t been a good friend these last few years… Longer really. I thought we had something Jethro. That you cared about me. When you said it was just a cover… I thought you were pushing me away because you were afraid of making the same mistakes again. When I turned up here you were flirting again, and I know it’s in your nature to flirt. I guess I thought it meant you were ready to try again. I’m sorry for the way I’ve been acting. But I really would like to know if you’re happy at least.”
He takes her words at face value and answers as he gets up to leave for the night. “I’m happy. Happier than I’ve been in years.”
He misses the soft “damn it” that’s muttered behind him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As he waits for the pizza delivery boy Tony dials his friend, “Hey Luke, sorry I didn’t get back to you earlier man, we were on a case. So Mark’s finally falling from our noble bachelor ranks?”
“He’s marrying Becky, yes. Leaving you the lone single brother from our pledge class.”
“So when’s the bachelor party?”
“November 18th in Baltimore. We’re all meeting up at the Hilton Baltimore Hotel and then it’s in Stevie’s hands.”
“So basically beers and strips clubs.”
“Or every porn video Stevie can lay hands on. I figure either way we‘ll have a little hair of the dog on Sunday and catch up.”
“No can do on Sunday.”
“What, you can’t get two weekend days off work?”
“Well there’s that possibility too. But no the problem is the St. Cecelia’s foundation fundraiser. I’m scheduled to scandalize the hell out of Dad by turning up with my boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend?”
“Lover, Partner, bed-warmer. We’ve never discussed how to refer to each other.”
“Serious this time around?”
“Very much so.”
“Good for you Tony. He treat you right?”
“Yeah, he does. A little over protective from time to time but I do seem to get shot at an awful lot.”
“So do we get to meet this one?”
“Not at a bachelor party. And maybe not everyone. Next time you and Sherry are having Paul and Lisa or Mark and Becky over call me. If I can tear Jethro away from his boat long enough we’ll join you.”
“At least bring us a picture Sex Machine, we need to see the man who took you out of the game.”
“We’ll see man. Look the pizza boy just pulled up and Jethro should be home any minute. See you in three weeks.”
“Night Tony.”
After paying for the pizza Tony makes an executive decision. He grabs two cold beers and the pizza and heads up stairs. Five minutes later when Gibbs appears in the doorway he’s leaning against the headboard, naked and halfway through his first slice. “Hope you don’t mind. I figured if we eat here then we can just wash up and go to sleep. For tonight anyway.”
“I’d bitch about eating in bed but right now I’m just happy you remembered food, because I complete forgot.”
“Even the great Leroy Jethro Gibbs cannot survive on coffee alone. It appears you need a keeper and I’ve been nominated.”
“Who ratted me out?” Gibbs asks with a chuckle.
“Ducky. I had an email when Abbs and I got back from lunch informing me that I was to make sure you eat dinner if I had to force feed you as you missed lunch.”
“Jenny ruined my appetite.”
“Should I be updating my resume?”
“I think I got the point across.”
“I hope so. I really don’t want to leave NCIS.”
“You could lounge around the house for a few months while I did my bear with a sore head impression at the office. She’d beg you to come back.”
“No, we’d both be unemployed.”
“Probably,” Gibbs strips and attacks the pizza with real enthusiasm.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gibbs examines the fresh hickey on his neck in the mirror as Tony stands beside him styling his hair, “How much planning did this take?”
“Not all that much. The sounds you make during the first cup of the day, or occasionally if someone slips you a particularly good cup, pretty much ensure I’m going to watch you drink it. Which has left me with a very extensive knowledge of just exactly what shows and what doesn’t.”
“And you accuse me of being possessive.”
“I’m not the one who was harassed by his ex on at least three separate occasions yesterday.”
“She can harass all she wants Tony, she can’t have me.”
“I’m just staking my claim Jethro.”
“I thought you were concerned about the questions a hickey raises.”
“On me. None of them are going to ask you about it.” He kisses Gibbs’ cheek. “I’m stopping for good coffee. See you in a while.”
Gibbs shakes his head and decides Abby won’t be covering this mark, Tony has every right to mark his territory. And it’ll keep Jenny off his ass.
Abby pulls in next to him just as he gets out of the car, a sure sign of an early arrival. He hugs her and kisses her cheek, “Morning baby.”
“Good morning Pop. Have a good night?”
“Fair enough. Pizza in bed and six hours sleep. I did however have a very good morning.”
“I can see that,” She chuckles then pouts. “No caff-pow?”
He kisses her temple and whispers, “Your stepfather is on a caffeine run as we speak.”
“Should I give him a big kiss in thanks?”
“It would confuse the hell out of Ziva,” He snickers. “But no, no lipstick.”
“You’re no fun sometimes Pop.”
He shrugs, “You get a DNA match on our body?”
“He’s not in the system. I would have called if I got a match.”
“Shut the ringer on my cell phone off.”
“Who are you and what have you done with my father?”
“I’m his evil twin and I put him in bed with a pretty young thing and convinced him to stay there.”
“Oh, sorry Roy didn’t recognize you. Didn’t take much convincing, did it?”
“Have you seen his pretty young thing?”
“True. It’s good to see you like this Pop.”
“Like this?”
“Happy, less frustrated. I knew it would be good for you to fall in love again. I’m just glad to see that unlike the stepmothers, Charming actually makes you smile without even being by your side.”
“You are entirely too amused by all this.”
“It’s fun. Don’t be too nice today, you’ve got a case. Which Major Mass Spec should be working on, I should get down to my lab.”
“Don’t do too much damage to your ear drums today Baby,” He advises with a kiss on her cheek before taking her arm and leading her into the elevator. “I’ll drop you off as I suspect Ducky needs me.”
When Abby arrives in her lab she’s surprised to find McGee waiting for her. “If you’re hiding from my father Tim this is the wrong place to do it.”
“No Abby, I’m not hiding from Gibbs. I came to ask you some questions… About Tony.”
“What questions would those be?”
“Are you two really trying to pick up a pair of twins at Club Emerald?”
Abby laughs, “No way I’d let Tony within twenty yards of Greg or Thomas, he’s too pretty. Besides they’re not Tony’s type if you know what I mean. I’m only flirting with both because it doubles my chances of success.”
“Did he tell you what to say to me when I asked?”
“We didn’t discuss you beyond the look on your face when it really hit home that Gibbs is in fact my father.”
McGee seems to study her a moment, “Do you know why he’s being so evasive about this new woman in his life?”
“Who says there’s a new woman in his life?”
“The goofy distracted smiles. The whistling. The fact that aside from name calling he hasn’t done a thing to me in weeks. He bought breakfast for everyone on Sunday. He got flowers. He’s not talking about any girl. He’s had hickeys. And he’s off whispering with you in dark corners all the time lately.”
“I’m not telling you anything Tim. When you think you know why he’s acting the way he is you ask him about it. He’ll tell you the truth if he’s willing.”
“And if he’s not?”
“Then you don’t need to know. Try showing him you’re a friend. Someone he can trust. If he can trust you he’ll tell you the truth.”
“Of course I’m Tony’s friend.”
“Really? What’s Tony’s favorite book?”
“Do magazines count?” McGee asks without even thinking.
“Nope.”
He thinks about it for a moment, “Moby Dick?”
“Nope. What’s Tony’s favorite coffee?”
“Starbucks Italian Roast with Hazelnut creamer and three sugars.”
“No, that’s what he gets when you’re making a run for the Bossman as they’re the closest source of Gibbs approved coffee. Not his favorite either. Tony’s favorite is Panera Bread’s Hazelnut coffee with one cream and two sugars.”
“What’s Gibbs’ favorite?”
“Jack’s Beans’ Jamaican Blue Mountain.” Spotting Tony with her caff-pow she waves him in, “But don’t try to use it to kiss up, it’ll just make him snippier.”
McGee flushes at Tony’s entrance, “I would never. Excuse me, I’m sure by now Gibbs has something for me to do.”
“He’s snippy already?
“Nope. Laughing and cracking jokes. Timmy was just spying. Hope you didn‘t go to Jack‘s Beans.”
“Not today. I brought him some of Johansen’s sinfully expensive Hawaiian. Just to watch him try not to make those noises in the bullpen. It’s win-win for me. He succeeds I get to laugh at him. He fails I get to hear it…”
“You, Tony DiNozzo, are a strange man.”
“True enough. McGee’s not the only one due upstairs though so here, milady, is your particular poison. Enjoy,” He kisses her on the cheek and returns to the elevator.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Ah, there you are Jethro. I assume you had a pleasant evening.”
“Morning Ducky. I assume you marked your calendar. Did we get an id?”
“We did. His name is Kevin Simpkins. He’s the son of Commander Holden Simpkins based out of Little Creek. Lived with his father and mother in base housing until he started attending Waverly University this fall.”
“Thanks Duck.”
When he arrives upstairs there something of a tense silence in the bullpen, he pauses out of sight to see if they can resolve it without interference.
“I am sorry Tony, I truly did not mean to.”
“Of course you didn’t Ziva. Unless you’re secretly pining for me shirtless why the hell would you spill your ice cold coffee drink of choice on me? I’m mad because now I have to go attempt to make myself less sticky before I can change my shirt.”
“Sounds like a personal problem DiNozzo. McGee, pull up anything you can find on Kevin Simpkins, naval dependant and Waverly freshman. Ziva you’re with me, we’re talking to the family. Tony when McGee’s got an address you two check out his dorm, talk to his friends, teachers. Find out if somebody wanted this kid dead.”
“Sure thing Boss,” Tony nods and pulls a fresh shirt from the drawer. As he’s headed into the men’s room Gibbs passes behind him and sips his coffee, making the anticipated extremely satisfied noise. Tony just grins.
It figured if someone had to spill Mocha latte on one of his shirts it would be a white one. He’s tempted to throw it in the trash, it’s not like it’s one of those ridiculously expensive ones Tammy sends him. In the end though he just washes up and rinses it out. When he gets back to his desk McGee is waiting.
Once in the car McGee faces him, “So which twin are you supposed to end up with, Greg or Thomas?”
“Greg of course. Thomas is a stick in the mud. Not as bad as you, mind you, but still too stuffy for me. I guess Abby needs ‘em boring, opposites attracting and all.”
“Good one. Are you okay Tony? You haven’t been quite yourself lately.”
“Look McGee, I know it seems that way, I even know why. But I’m fine. I’m just happy, relaxed. Get used to a more mature me, okay?”
“If you’re sure you’re okay.”
“I’m great Probie. Genuinely doing well.”
When they arrive on campus Tony takes a considering look around before popping the trunk, “Grab the kit. His dorm room might be our primary scene. I doubt it, but stranger things have happened.”
Unconsciously responding to the demanding tone McGee does as he’s told. When he hears the trunk close Tony starts towards the dorms but stops and turns around when a feminine voice calls out, “Tim? What are you doing here?”
Tony recognizes her from McGee’s ipod and gives her his best flirtatious smile just to irk him, “Hey McGeek who’s the pretty girl?”
“DiNozzo,” He glares at Tony, “this is my little sister Sarah.”
“And you must be Agent Tommy,” Sarah smiles back and offers a hand.
“No, my name is Tony.”
“Oh, in Tim’s book you’re Tommy.”
“Tim’s book?” Tony is genuinely surprised by that.
McGee shoots her an annoyed look, “Agent Tommy is not based on you Tony.”
“You’re much cuter than Tommy at any rate. And it’s such a waste…” Responding to Tony’s repressive look much more readily she smiles at him, “It’s called Deep Six. They sell it at the campus book store.”
“I’m going to kill you,” McGee growls at her.
“You should have told me it was a secret.”
“Don’t we have a scene to search?” McGee practically whines.
“We sure do Probie. Nice to meet you Sarah.”
Without saying a word Sarah pulls out a post it note and writes a quick “SMcGee@WaverlyUni.edu E-mail me, I have questions.”
Tony chuckles and shrugs noncommittally, figuring his anger level after he starts reading the book will decide his course of action.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Spoilers for Twisted Sister in this chapter.
Chapter End Notes:
Special thanks to Phoenix414, Mary, and Marianne for consistently reviewing. Thanks to my other reviews as well.