Chapter Text
Chapter 6
They met an ambulance on the main road, transferred Tony, and whisked him off to the nearest hospital. It was a small medical center, but the staff in the emergency department was efficient and, best of all, didn’t mind that Gibbs stayed at his side. They did scans of his injury and were able to remove the large splinter from his neck under a local anesthetic. Tony had to remain overnight, but as it was about four in the morning by the time they finished the procedure, he didn’t complain.
The next day involved getting transferred to Bethesda and getting checked out there – Ducky insisted on it – and finally, late that afternoon, almost 24 hours after he’d jumped the fence of the Warheads’ compound, Tony found himself sitting on Gibbs’ couch with Abby curled up at his side, while McGee and Ziva drank beer and went over the case. Gibbs sat in his easy chair, working on his fourth coffee of the day, seeming oddly satisfied.
It turned out the second lot of DNA from the murders of the two Navy men belonged to Bob Woods. As he’d told Tony, James Huston’s parents had fostered him throughout his teenage years. He’d become especially close to James and had followed him into the Warheads, even helping him murder petty officers Green and Hansen, and dispose of their bodies. He’d won prizes for sharpshooting as a teen, and had been the one to kill PO Hansen. Both Hansen and Green had been early recruits but both men had decided to leave the Warheads, and had made the fatal mistake of telling Huston they planned to go to the cops.
Bob had acted as a front for Huston, handled the money and leased the old farm they made into the Warheads’ compound. He was also instrumental in planning the terrorist attack. Being a city a building code inspector, it hadn’t been difficult for him to obtain the floor plans of the convention center where the gala was being held.
There wasn’t much left of the Warheads’ compound after the weapons stash and barrels of black powder had blown. Several of the recruits had been injured, and Kellogg had died in the blast. Tony voted they arrange for a bulldozer to plow down anything that remained. “Especially that fence,” he said.
“There’s one more thing,” Abby ventured.
“What?” Gibbs asked suspiciously.
“Bossy. The dog. He needs a home, and nobody seems to want a pit bull and I know he’d love to live–”
“No. We are not having a dog, and that’s final,” Gibbs said sternly, shooing Abby, McGee and Ziva out.
Gibbs got Tony upstairs with the minimum of fuss. They’d done a cursory job of sponging off the worst of the blood and grime in the hospital, but Tony insisted he needed a really hot shower. Gibbs insisted he couldn't do it alone. Before he could say anything else, Tony found himself in the master bathroom being soaped up and sprayed down with a hand-held shower, then rubbed dry with a warm towel. He was dressed in PJs and put to bed – in Gibbs’ bed, and it wasn’t until Gibbs joined him in that bed that Tony turned to him, careful of his injured neck, and asked, “Is it always going to be this way?”
“What way?” Gibbs asked, slipping his arm under Tony’s shoulders and pulling him closer.
“You taking over?”
After a moment of thought, Gibbs said, “Only when you’re hurt.”
“That’s nice. Being taken care of. And…unexpected.” Tony stared at Gibbs, trying to figure things out. “You’ve been thinking about doing this for a while?”
“Helping you shower?”
Tony narrowed his eyes at Gibbs’ attempt to appear dense. “No. I mean this.” He made a motion with his hand to indicate the two of them.
“Oh. Us.”
Tony rolled his eyes. “Yeah, us.”
“For a while,” Gibbs admitted.
“Really? How long?”
Gibbs cheeks turned pink. “Since I met you.”
Tony was floored. They’d been friends, colleagues and more, but he’d never dreamed of them being… this. Whatever this was. Connected, maybe. He smirked though, and said, “Took you long enough.”
“Worth waiting for,” Gibbs replied, with a satisfied smile.
“Yeah, I guess it is. I didn’t see it coming though. You were sorta sneaky.”
Gibbs kissed Tony on the forehead, and then lightly on the mouth. “Good, have to keep you on your toes.”
Tony pulled Gibbs close for a kiss, a real kiss. Gibbs opened up willingly, his mouth hungry, tongue slick, cheeks flushed. Tony wrapped his arms around Gibbs’ shoulders, feeling slightly desperate because this could not be real. Gibbs’ rough hand stroked the side of his face, soothing him, telling him he would still be here in the morning.
“Gibbs,” Tony whispered, wondering how this had come about.
“Not Gibbs.”
Tony smiled. “Leland?”
“DiMaio…?” Gibbs teased.
“Jethro,” he said fondly.
“Go to sleep,” Jethro ordered.
“Bossy.”
“Are you calling me bossy?” Gibbs asked.
“No. I’m talking about Bossy, the dog.”
“Tony… what have you done?”
“He needs a good home and I like him,” Tony said firmly. He yawned and closed his eyes. “God, I’m tired.”
“Are you sure?”
“Mmm?” Tony mumbled.
Jethro sighed. “Never mind. Tomorrow.”
“Mmm. Tomorrow. Night, Boss,” Tony murmured as he fell asleep in Jethro’s arms.
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