Chapter 2
Six in the a.m. came far too early Monday morning. Tony was still groggy. He had stayed over, past his shift, to see how Shelly did with her surgery. He had consulted with her surgeon who conformed to him that Shelly would be able to still have children. He was glad. He felt she would make a great mother, when the time was right.
Tony looked at the clock again. He had a laundry list of things to do. He had to shower, shave, and wash clothes. He wanted to try to clean up his apartment a little. He hoped to call in and talk to Shelly before she was discharged, thought he would not be doing that this early in morning. And he had hoped to be able to get a run in before he started any of it. He changed into his running short and shoes and donned his beloved, faded Ohio State t-shirt. He then ran out into the cool crisp air to start his day.
"You're late." Gibbs stated, on his typical 'Monday morning grouch.'
Tony looked at his watch. It said 9:02 a.m. Damnet! Tony cursed under his breath. "Just two minutes, Boss. I'll stay two minutes after school today. I promise." Tony made the scout pledge.
"You told me you were never a scout." Tim piped up.
"Gibbs did not know that until you opened your big mouth, McNosey." Tony scowled.
Tim just grinned as Gibbs looked from one to the other of them and shook his head. He then snatched up his phone as it started to ring. He listened for just a moment before hanging up. He threw the keys to Tim. "Get the truck. Tony, call Ducky. Kate, you bring the car around. We have multiples here."
Tony sighed. He grabbed his bag and followed the rest of his team out of building. He and Tim took the van as Kate and Gibbs rode in the car. Tony liked his NCIS job, not this part of it. Not the carnage. And he thanked God that that was just a small part of it. They processed the scene. And yes, sometimes the 'scene' was bloody and gory. But still, the majority of that was Ducky's domain. He took the pictures and he examined the evidence. But he didn't have to examine the dead bodies. That may seem like a minor thing. But to Tony it was everything. He loved to investigate. He loved finding the missing piece. Whatever it was that would make all the other pieces fall into place. He used those skills as an ER doctor also. He had to find the problem. The thing that was causing the person whatever problem they were having. Sometimes, in fact, most of the time, it was fairly obvious. He would have car accident victims, victims with gunshot wounds. But it was the cases were the cause of the problem was not obvious that got his investigative juices flowing.
Tony drove to the scene on autopilot. He was following Gibbs so he didn't have to do a lot of navigating. He let his mind wander just a little. He had told Kate he would be a dermatologist. People don't die from zits. He didn't remember the exact conversation or context. And he had considered that route actually. But after spending time in a dermatologist office, looking at every size, shape and color of mole known to man, he knew this was NOT for him. He needed excitement. He needed to be busy. He needed to be able to make a difference. He knew he would not get that freezing warts, lancing boils, or removing moles. He would, however, get that in an ER. There was no such thing as a slow day. Things were constantly changing and you never knew who, or what might walk through the door next.
Tim had taken notice of the unusually quiet trip to the crime scene. He kept sneaking looks at Tony. He didn't just look tired, he looked worn out. Tim made a mental note to take a look at the NCIS video surveillance footage from over the weekend to see if Tony had come in and worked.
"So," Tim asked smiling. "…who was she?"
"What?" Tony asked, dragging himself back to the present.
"The reason you're so tired."
"Oh," Tony said his mind in overdrive. He nodded. "Monica…from accounting." Tony replied smiling. He hoped, like hell, that there WAS a Monica from accounting.
Tim nodded. But he was still going to check the surveillance.
After a couple of hours of snapping pictures and bagging and tagging and cataloguing evidence Tony was finally able to find a moment to himself. He stepped away from the group and called the hospital. He was then connected to Shelly's room. He turned his back on the team as he spoke in hushed tones. He finished his call in minutes and turned around to see Gibbs glaring at him.
"DiNozzo, make your calls on your time. Not mine!" Gibbs growled as he gathered up the last of evidence bags and headed for the car.
Tony ducked his head and made his way back to the van. He figured he was going to have to stay after school a lot longer than two minutes today. The entire week progressed pretty much the same way. By Thursday night Tony had had enough. He showed up in Gibbs basement beer in hand. He sat down on his accustomed step, selected a bottle, opened it and took a big swallow.
Both men were quiet for a few moments as Gibbs sanded a rib and Tony nursed his beer.
"Gibbs…." Tony started.
"I don't get it Tony." Gibbs asked, cutting in, obviously irritated. "Do you like this job?"
Tony's mouth dropped open. He had expected Gibbs to yell at him. He had expected 'the look.' But this…this threw him off. "Do I…What?"
"Do you like this job, Tony?" Gibbs said. "A simple question deserving a simple answer."
Tony's mouth opened and closed once before he could find the words. "Of…of course, I do, Gibbs?" Tony paused. "Where is this coming from?" Tony couldn't believe his ears.
Gibbs started to pace. "Try EVERY Monday morning, after every free weekend. You…you come in like you haven't gotten over your partying." Gibbs paused. "I used to not say anything. But…but Tony you…at first it wasn't every weekend. I wasn't too concerned. But now…it is every weekend we aren't on call. I…you're not a college kid anymore."
Tony smiled and started to chuckle a little. OhGibbs,ifyouonlyknew. Tony thought, but he just continued to smile.
Gibbs, now, was unsure what to think. He certainly hadn't expected this reaction from Tony. Then it dawned on him. Tony was REALLY hiding something, something big. He had to be, Tony thought he had one over on him. Gibbs didn't like it. He had to find out what Tony was doing with his weekends.
TBC
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