Chapter 13:
If it had been like any other normal day, Gibbs would never have been able to tolerate driving in traffic this bad. He would have ended up taking the unpaved back-roads, or turned on the siren to clear the way, something. However, this was no normal day. He couldn't do either of those things; he had a cover to maintain after all.
But that did nothing to hold in his frustration at the general public. No, what was keeping him was one Anthony Dinozzo. When Gibbs had first asked Tony to tell him more about the diverse jobs that he had had over the years, he had been expecting to hear stories about working in various bars and clubs doing different things, hell maybe even at the movie theatre. Somehow those jobs seemed to fit Tony. The fact that he had worked in an auto shop at one point was just a blip on the radar, as far as he was concerned.
In hindsight, he should have known better. Every now and again he would get a glimpse of Tony without his mask, but it happened so rarely that it often left Gibbs puzzled. Still, nothing could have prepared him for the variety of jobs that Tony had taken on in the past.
"So, uhh, Where, or when I guess I should say, would you like me to start?" asked Tony.
Gibbs spared a quick glance in Tony's direction. 'Since when is there a timeline to choose from?' he thought. "Beginning of college an ok starting point?" he asked lightly, still unsure of what Tony meant about when to start. Gibbs didn't want to push Tony into talking if he didn't want to.
"Sure," replied Tony, seemingly not bothered by the chosen time point. "Well, I guess I'll start with the job I had the summer before first semester started. A friend of mine had an uncle out in Texas who runs a construction company. He was interested in construction work and was moving there to learn the trade. His uncle was more than happy to take me on for the summer. It was a chance to get away a hell of a lot sooner, couldn't pass it up, so I packed my stuff and had one of the best summers of my life."
"Construction work in Texas? In that heat? What exactly did you do anyway?" asked Gibbs curiously. Trying to imagine Tony doing manual labor like that was a bit difficult, considering how often he complained whenever grudging work like that came up during a case.
Tony snickered. "Yea I know, hard to imagine huh? Well, I never actually stuck to one particular job. Basically, wherever an extra hand was needed, I was sent. Learned a lot in a short amount of time. I helped lay down the wiring, pipe lines, the roof, the basement and whatever was in between."
"Bet it kept you in pretty good shape then," stated Gibbs.
"Yea, that was a pretty good side benefit. Was in better shape than a lot of the other guys on the team when the first day of practice rolled around," agreed Tony.
A thought suddenly occurred to Gibbs. Grinning, he turned to Tony and said, "So, the first time you saw my boat in my basement, you probably had a few reasonable ideas on how to get it out then huh?"
Tony laughed at that. "A few. Old habits are hard to break. It's sort of like walking in a crime scene, you automatically start observing and making notes to figure things out."
Gibbs nodded in approval at the explanation. "There's good money to be had in construction work," he said.
"Yup," nodded Tony. "I was even offered a full-time job there. But I was looking forward to playing college level sports."
"Did you ever consider going back to working construction?" inquired Gibbs.
"No. It was ok for a while. By being able to learn a little bit of everything, I got a pretty good idea of what it involved. Just wasn't something I could see doing for the rest of my life. It was a bit too repetitive for me I guess," answered Tony.
"It didn't challenge your mind enough, you mean," Gibbs translated for Tony, which earned him a startled look. Gibbs just shook his head. "You get bored easily, Tony. I see you do it at the office all the time. Its not for lack of understanding something, its just that you pick up on things so fast that while the rest of us are still catching on, your mind is already on to something else."
"Wow," said Tony quietly.
"What?" questioned Gibbs, worried that Tony might of misinterpreted what he was trying to say.
"Well, its just that I've never thought of it that way," Tony told him, and it was true. That Gibbs actually implied that he was smart was, well, he wasn't sure. It was definitely a compliment, but Tony was used to people saying that he had no focus on his work, or that he wasn't capable of doing the work, which was why he always goofed off.
Gibbs sighed inwardly. He hated people who took things at face value; not bothering to look behind the front that was shown to them. Tony was good at hiding things, too good. But then again that was what made him such an amazing undercover agent. "Well then that just goes to show you that you need to learn to think outside the box more in relation to yourself. So, you've worked in a bar, an auto shop, and now construction. What other careers did you have?"
"It wasn't in that order you know," Tony said teasingly.
"It's the order in which I learned about them," Gibbs replied with a grin.
"Ah, so I don't have to go in order then?" asked Tony with a small laugh.
"Whatever suits you." If there were any unpleasant memories associated with certain jobs, Gibbs was certainly not going to have Tony bring them up. "Or you could just list them and I'll just ask questions after."
"You aren't going to interrogate me are you?" asked Tony jokingly.
"Old habits are hard to break, but I'll try not to," replied Gibbs, using Tony's own words from earlier.
He just rolled his eyes. "Ok, a list. Well, I've been a hot dog vendor at a few sports complexes, worked as a valet, a lifeguard at a pool, baby-sitter, security guard at a mall, was an assistant coach for a couple of kids sports teams. That enough for now?"
"You mean there's more?" asked Gibbs surprisingly. "Would the list end up being shorter if I had asked what you hadn't done?"
Tony laughed at that. "Yes to your first question, no to your second."
Gibbs just shook his head. He took a few moments to ponder over the so-called list that Tony had just given him. 'He's switched jobs an awful lot, wonder if that's where his habit of switching police departments every so often came from,' Gibbs thought, but didn't mention it to Tony. 'Another topic for another time.'
"So, a baby-sitter?" Gibbs was fairly interested in seeing what Tony would say, given that he never seemed comfortable around kids much when working with them on a case.
"That one sort of generated from being an assistant coach," supplied Tony. "Some of the parents wanted someone that both them and their kids already knew and trusted. After the season was over they asked if I was interested, and I gave them copies of my schedules of classes, practices and games. Told them to feel free to call anytime. Most of them went to bed early, so I was able to study and get my homework done while I worked."
"And what age group was that?" Gibbs asked.
"Mostly six to eight year olds, and some of them had younger or older siblings too. I know how to change a diaper, warm up a bottle and all that," Tony said.
"Can you tie any of your other jobs together like that?" Gibbs asked.
"Yep. In order to be a coach you had to take first-aid classes and get certified in CPR. Worked in my favor when I applied for the lifeguard job at the school's pool," said Tony.
Gibbs nodded, taking in the new information. 'He certainly put his skills to good use there,' Gibbs thought. Checking the road signs, he noticed that their exit was almost up. "Got time for the rest of the list? We're almost there."
"Sure. There isn't much to tell," Tony agreed. "During spring break local concession stands were looking for extra help during games so a hot dog vendor I was. Lived in Las Vegas for a few months during winter break with a friend. We both got jobs parking cars for some big-shot hotel casino joint. At the end of my junior year I got the security guard job at a local mall. It's what sort of got me interested in being a cop."
"Care to elaborate on that any?" Gibbs' curiosity just shot up a notch. Tony had never before given any indication as to why he had become a cop instead of using his degree in physical education. It had always been a mystery, a mystery that he might finally be able to solve.
"Maybe later. Here's our exit," Tony said briefly. Gibbs took notice of how he hadn't said no, but didn't seem all too eager to share the information, either.
'Don't push,' Gibbs reminded himself. 'Now that Tony knows your interested and willing to listen, maybe he'll bring it up on his own.'
After taking the exit, it was a short drive to the entrance of the park. Not much further down was the tourist visitation/check-in center. Gibbs parked the truck and turned to look at Tony.
"You ready?" he asked him.
Tony nodded. "Ready as I'll ever be."
"Alright, let's go check in," said Gibbs.
And with that they got out of the truck and headed towards the entrance of the building.
Chapter End Notes:
Ooooooo, they're finally there! I hope Tony's jobs were interesting and different enough to everyone's interests. Had fun with it, that’s for sure. More Tony angst coming up! Oh, and could someone do me a favor and explain what OOC is or whatever. I'm new to fan fiction and I don't know what that stands for…I know its sad isn't it? Ah well, looking forward to your reviews! I post at night so in the morning I get to read them and it puts me in a good mood for work and writing the next chapter. Keep them coming please!