Tony was always on the move.
"He moves at hyper speed..." Gibbs used to think as he watched the frenetic beauty move from place to place. "...running from here to there and back again."
And when he wasn't running, he was dancing. So much energy that he could easily tire out his friends.
"Damn Dinozzo," Abby was panting, "Give the rest of us a break... slow down."
But Tony laughed that endearing laugh of his and once again he was off.
He wouldn't even slow down for Gibbs who loved Tony dearly but enjoyed life at a slower pace.
"Come on old man," He would tease,"It's time to live a little."
"Dinozzo my love," Gibbs would reply attempting to kiss Tony on the lips but it usually wound up on his cheek because Tony was already moving, "I may be older than you but if you don't slowdown, you're going to burn out."
Tony just smiled and shook his head,"Me? Never... But you, you'll wind up stuck in a rut if you don't get the leadout."
And so they went teasing back and forth. But Tony did slow down... a year later.
You see Tony was what the old folks called, "A `fast' boy." And they all knew that bad things happened to `fast' boys.
Tony had been at a club and Gibbs at home watching It's a Wonderful Life when he got the call and right then and there decided that life was not so wonderful. And now, years later, Tony moves very slowly.
But at that time, Gibbs had moved very quickly. He quickly found out who the men were and he was quick to make them pay. Then he quickly had himself named as the baby's father.
Gibbs takes the pretty three year old girl in to see her other daddy. Holding her in his arms, he approaches Tony,
"Honey," He says in his slow way, "Abagail is here to see you."
The little brown-eyed girl peeks from beneath light brown curls and waves chubby fingers at her other daddy. Then she throws her arms around Gibb's neck and hugs him with an almost crushing force and he feels the wet tears. And that's okay because their twins are running down his cheek.
But Tony doesn't know any of this.
Because now he moves so slowly that he is frozen... frozen in time, reliving that horrible moment again and again.
Gibbs leans over, kisses his cheek and whispers, "See you tomorrow my love."
As he exits the room carrying the now quiet little girl, he runs into Abby, Ducky, McGee, Palmer and Ziva.
"How is he?" Abby asks giving her goddaughter a kiss on the cheek.
Gibbs gulps as the tears begin again and says,
"I never thought I'd miss fast."
Comments are welcomed...
Story Notes:
Disclaimer:All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.