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English
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2018 NCIS Secret Santa Gift Exchange, Jacie's NCIS Secret Santa (SeSa) stories
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Published:
2018-12-25
Completed:
2018-12-25
Words:
35,183
Chapters:
16/16
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44
Kudos:
577
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14,881

Healed By Moonlight

Chapter 16: Coda

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Derek saw the signet ring and yanked it off of Senior’s finger. He held it up and watched how the stone sparkled in the moonlight, like the moon’s reflection dancing on the ocean.

Sirens sounded in the distance as Morgan approached Tony, and slipped the ring onto his finger. He looked up at Rossi. “You need to do this. He’s losing too much blood.”

Rossi looked to Gibbs. “You got him?”

Gibbs nodded as he cradled Tony’s body close, putting direct pressure on his stab wound.

Tony’s eyes had fluttered shut. He struggled to breathe in short gasps of air and coughed occasionally.

Rossi dug into a pouch that was hidden in an inside pocket of his suit jacket. He withdrew a small vial filled with a milky substance and uncapped it before moving it to Tony’s lips. “Drink this. It will heal you,” he said.

“What is that?” Gibbs asked.

Rossi smiled as he recapped the vial and returned it to his pocket. “Liquid moonlight.”

Tony swallowed, and soon felt the warmth of the elixir ebb throughout his body. His breathing evened out and became easier. Within minutes, he looked up at Gibbs with curiosity in his eyes. “Do I know you?”

“Yeah,” said Gibbs. “Don’t you remember?”

“I remember my mother,” he said.

Gibbs smiled down at him. “Tell me about her.”

“We would sit together under the moonlight. She would tell me such glorious stories. She told me how the moon gives us strength and how the luna subcinctus, the moon shift, is the easiest time to change into our animal-selves. I remember.”

Gibbs looked to Rossi. “Luna subcinctus? What’s that?”

“Full moon.”

Tony reached up and cupped Gibbs’ cheek. “You’re a lion,” he said.

“What? You’re delusional.”

Morgan grinned. “No, Gibbs, you are a lion. We all witnessed it. I had no idea you were a filii luna.”

“No, I can’t be. Wouldn’t I know?”

“That depends,” said Rossi. “Did either of your parents die when you were young?”

“My mother. She had cancer.”

“Remember a few years ago when you asked me to tell you about the filii luna, and I told you that some of them don’t even know what they are because they’ve never been told?”

“Yeah.”

“I was talking about you.”

Gibbs stared at him. “What? You knew? All this time? Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

“It wasn’t my place to tell you. It was something you needed to discover for yourself.”

“And what the hell are you?” asked Gibbs. “I know you’re some sort of mystical supernatural being.”

Morgan gave Tony’s hand a squeeze. “He’s a wizard and a seer.”

Dave shook his head. “Just don’t tell the whole world, okay?”

“You’re secret is safe with us,” Morgan promised. “And thank you for healing Tony.”

“Tony was healed by the moon. The luna subcinctus is not only the easiest time to shift, it is also the best time to heal.”

Derek cocked his head with interest. “Then why give him the elixir?”

“It holds the power of the moon. Besides, I never figured out a way to carry the moon in my pocket.”

Derek lifted up Tony’s hand, displaying the signet ring. “And this? What can you tell us about this ring?”

Rossi leaned closer to inspect it. “There is an ancient rumor about rings of power.”

“What sort of power?”

Rossi took a couple of minutes to inspect the ring closely. “In this case, this is a ring with the power of persuasion.”

Gibbs glanced back over to Senior’s corpse. “Made him a successful conman.”

Derek nodded. “Made him popular with the ladies, from what Tony said.”

Tony crinkled his nose. “Who is Tony?”

Gibbs smoothed back Tony’s hair, then gave him a soft head slap. “You are. Tony DiNozzo.”

“Then who is Jethro? I know that name is important.”

“That would be me. I’ve got you.”

“Sawdust and bourbon,” said Tony. “You’re Jethro. I remember.”

Gibbs leaned down and pressed a kiss against Tony’s forehead. “You’re going to be fine.”

They heard over the TAC channel that all of Senior’s hired hands had been taken into custody. Rossi called for an ambulance and for the coroner’s van. Derek hiked up to the road to flag them down when they arrived.

Within ten minutes, the ambulance they’d had on call arrived and whisked Tony away. Gibbs insisted on riding to the hospital with him, and stood vigil while his wound was stitched up.

Andy, Sally, Sam and Madge all visited Tony in the hospital the following day. He thanked them profusely for all their help, and promised to buy Andy a new suit as the one he had borrowed was most definitely ruined beyond repair.

Tony and Derek both agreed to take a couple weeks off from work to allow their wounds to heal. They met up nearly every day for lunch. Tony’s memories returned in bits and pieces, and he was finally given a clean bill of health.

Tony and Gibbs returned to their normal lives. Some nights, Tony would sit on the basement stairs and watch Gibbs work. Other nights, he would help with the sanding and the drinking of bourbon.

One night they sat in the basement and Gibbs poured them each a glass of bourbon and handed one to Tony.

“I’m fine,” said Tony, accepting the glass. “Thanks for saving my ass.”

“We were all worried about you. Derek was so mad at himself.”

Tony grinned. “I know. He won’t stop apologizing.”

Gibbs put his glass down and picked up a sanding block. “It wasn’t his fault.”

“I know. But it’s payback for all the times he snuck up on me and howled in my ear.”

“It would mean the world to him if you would tell him he’s forgiven.”

“Have you forgiven Rossi?”

Gibbs shrugged. “Nothing to forgive. He had no proof, only a suspicion. Not sure it would have changed anything.”

“And your mother never mentioned she was filii luna?”

“Never. Dad never said anything either. I had no idea. And it could have been either one of them. Or both. I’ll probably never know.”

“It was really cool though; watching you shift into this mega-alpha lion. Your roar shook the trees. You’re like my very own Aslan.”

“I have to be more careful than you or Derek,” said Gibbs as he reached for his bourbon again.

“Why is that?”

“It’s not unbelievable for a wolf to be in the area. You fade into the darkness of night, so no one even knows you’re there. But this lion thing, I have to be super careful no one ever sees me,” he said as he reached for the sanding block again.

Tony grabbed the sanding block and tossed it aside, then wrapped his arms around Gibbs’ neck and kissed him. “We’ll work on that.” After dropping his jeans and tossing his shirt aside, Tony headed for the stairs, got halfway up, then leaned down and said, “You going to come join me on the patio? You know there is nothing better than making love under the light of the moon.”

Gibbs slammed the rest of his bourbon, wiped his mouth, then ran after Tony, grabbed his hand and led him outside. Working as a team, they swiftly pulled out the patio mattress and laid it out flat. Tony fitted on the bottom sheet, while Gibbs unfurled the top sheet and a light blanket.

Tony settled onto the mattress, lying on his back and staring up at the moon.

Gibbs sidled up beside him, looking into his eyes. “I’m so glad to have you home,” he said softly, before closing in and kissing Tony’s lips.

Tony ran his hand along Gibbs’ ribcage before settling it on his hip for a moment. “It’s good to be home. I must be looking at the most handsome face in the world,” he said as he ran a finger along Gibbs’ jawline.

“Then you must be seeing your own reflection in my eyes.”

“How did I ever get to be so lucky?” Tony asked.

“You smiled at me and melted my heart. This is really all on you.”

A bare whisper of the moon was reflected in Tony’s eyes before he closed them and wrapped his arms around Gibbs’ neck. Their lips met as they kissed. Their bodies fit together perfectly as they made love beneath the starlit sky.

In the days that followed, Tony helped Gibbs harness the power of shifting and holding his animal form. Gibbs would join Tony when he ran at night. They would shift and work their way up to the clearing atop the bluff. They soon discovered that they enjoyed wrestling together in their feline forms, nipping at each other playfully. Once they exhausted themselves, they would bask in the moonlight and purr with satisfaction as they lounged together peacefully in the cool night air.

A month after the incident, Tony and Gibbs went out jogging. They met up with Derek in the clearing atop the bluff at the park. With the full moon shining above them, one wolf, one black panther and one lion sat together looking up at the moon and contemplating their lives.

~The End~
12/09/2018

Notes:

Healed by Moonlight front cover by Starwatcher.jpg

Healed by Moonlight cover by LJ Starwatcher307.jpg

Many thanks to Starwatcher307 for creating the wonderful banners in December 2019! Thank you for bringing such beautiful art to my story!