Chapter 2
Gibbs lightly dabbed at the tear dripping from the left eye that was swollen shut. Even though Tony was no longer crying, he’d told him that it continually leaked.
“The doctor said it would stop when the swelling went down.”
Tony’s words were slurred as much from his swollen lip as from the fact that his jaw was wired shut. Gibbs still didn’t have the whole story, but apparently Tony was able to get away from his abusive lover, his husband, after this last beating that closed his eye and busted his lip. The fractured jaw had come from a previous beating. They were waiting for Ducky to arrive. Gibbs wanted to know the full extent of Tony’s injuries not to mention the fact that he wanted to know just how Tony had become pregnant. He again dabbed at Tony’s eye but pulled his hand away when Tony gently took the tissue from him. He couldn’t help it as his eyes were drawn to the swelling under Tony’s zippered sweatshirt which looked to be about two sizes too small. It just couldn’t be real, he thought.
Later Gibbs watched from the other side of the bed as Ducky spoke soft, comforting words while he treated Tony with his gentle touch. Gibbs knew it was that gentle touch that got to Tony. It always did. He’d never known much gentleness in his life and he didn’t look like he’d known any gentleness in quite awhile…at least not since he left.
“It’s quite alright, my boy.” Ducky crooned as Tony again began to cry softly. “You’ve been through so much…” Ducky applied a cooling salve to Tony’s bruises. “I don’t see any deeper damage beyond the swelling and bruising…yes, and no additional damage to your poor jaw. It does seem to be healing nicely despite this latest offense.” Ducky gently probed along Tony’s neck. “There seems to be some quite serious chaffing here along your neck. I’ll just put some of this on you, Tony, and wrap it…”
“No! No, Ducky…” Tony said as he pushed Ducky’s hands away before he could bandage Tony’s neck. “I…I don’t…like anything around my neck…” he began nervously but he looked away refusing to meet Ducky’s eyes.
Ducky eyed Tony carefully. If he suspected anything he refused to say so. Instead he patted Tony’s uninjured cheek slightly. “That’s no problem at all, Tony; the salve is the main thing. May I examine the rest of you? I’d like to make sure your injuries don’t endanger your child…” He paused at the color that suffused the face before him and he glanced over his shoulder at Gibbs. “Do you want Jethro to leave…?”
Tony closed his eyes for a moment but then shook his head and chuckled humorlessly.
“No, he may as well get the full picture…”
Gibbs had to force himself to stay where he was when what had been done to Tony was revealed. He wanted to run from the room and either empty his stomach or grab his gun and go shoot the bastard that did this. But he did neither. He knew that if he left now Tony would feel that it was because he was disgusted by what he saw. And that was so far from the truth. The multiple bruises that marked Tony’s body attested to hands forcibly holding him down, fists and possibly feet leaving their mark on the body that Gibbs had worshipped and he was filled by a murderous rage that anyone could do this to his Tony, that another man had touched his Tony. And not just touched…hurt.
“It seems, my dear, that you are approximately five months along. Is that correct?”
Tony smiled slightly but Gibbs saw the sorrow in his eyes as he blushed. He figured it was because Ducky had called him ‘my dear’. Generally, Ducky only used that phrase with women, both alive and not. It seems that Tony’s pregnancy may have thrown the older man for a loop. It sure as hell threw Gibbs for a loop.
“Yeah, five months on the tenth. Is the baby alright?”
“As far as I can tell, Anthony, yes, though I believe an ultrasound would not be amiss. Have you felt movement?”
“Yes,” Tony sighed slightly in relief at Ducky’s smile.
“Very good, my dear. Now, you did bleed a bit from your most recent mistreatment. I have some salve that will help that considerably.”
Gibbs listened with only half an ear while Ducky continued chatting lightly as he applied the salve to Tony’s rectum. He said the tears were superficial. Tears…Tony had been forcefully penetrated…raped…and Gibbs guessed it wasn’t the first time. Where in the hell had he been? His attention was drawn back to the two men when Ducky’s voice changed from soothing to curiosity.
“Yes, well, you know I’d read something to this effect very nearly a year ago, very close to the time you decided to leave us. It was a Dr. Thuergenson, I believe, that developed this procedure…” Ducky looked at Tony and saw him nod. “I wish you’d spoken to me before you’d decided to do this Tony, I would have been most interested to follow your case from the very beginning…”
“It wasn’t my choice, Ducky. Nothing I’ve done lately has been my choice…”
“I see. I take it the father took it upon himself to…”
“Please, Ducky, don’t…” Tony took a deep breath but directed his next statement to both Gibbs and Ducky. “I didn’t go into this willingly, but here it is.” Tony suddenly stopped and drew a shuddering breath as he covered his eyes with his hands. “Oh, God…I don’t know what I was thinking…I shouldn’t have come here…put you in danger…”
He dropped his arms and wrapped them protectively around his stomach and Gibbs figured he probably did that instinctively, especially when he was getting beaten, otherwise Tony would have gotten in a few good punches of his own. His arms showed all the signs of defensive wounds, but his hands didn’t show any sign of hitting back.
“Tony, whose baby is this?” Gibbs demanded, every bit of protectiveness rising up in him.
“This baby is mine and mine alone. He’s got the DiNozzo genes regardless of who his…his father is…” Tony’s voice caught as he fought back more tears.
“Tony, it’s okay.” Remorseful, Gibbs moved to run a hand over Tony’s surprisingly long hair. It was just as soft as Gibbs remembered. He didn’t want Tony to think he’d turn him away because he carried another man’s baby. “It doesn’t matter who the father is…but you gotta tell me, is he after you? Are you in danger?”
Gibbs continued to stroke Tony’s hair, running his hands over the shaking shoulders as he broke down. Tony said nothing he’d done lately had been his choice. He hoped that included walking away…walking away from him. So Gibbs made a decision. Tony was here now and here he was going to stay. And despite what Tony may think, Gibbs found the swelling of his belly and small breasts incredibly beautiful and, much to his chagrin, very erotic. He was going to protect both Tony and his baby no matter what.
“Yes. He wants what he thinks is his. But I’m not going back, whether you help me or not, Gibbs. I’m not going back…but I had to warn you, the team…”
“Shhh, it’s alright. You’re not going back, you got that? You’re staying here with me, where you belong.”
Gibbs moved his hand and brought his arm around Tony’s shoulders pulling him close. He saw Ducky preparing an injection. He figured it was a mild sedative.
“Now this will help you relax, my dear. All of this turmoil is not good for your baby.”
“No, Ducky, I can’t…I have to go…” Tony began to struggle in earnest but Gibbs held him still.
Ducky gave him the injection and watched as it took effect. It wasn’t long before Tony’s eyes began to droop but then forced his eyes open. With a hand fisted in Gibbs shirt he looked straight into his eyes.
“Warn everyone… Gianni Constantino…he’ll figure it out…come looking…”
“Okay, Tony. Shh now, I’ll take care of it…”
Tony slowly nodded believing that Gibbs was the only man who could take care of things and then the sedative finally took effect. With Ducky’s help they laid the young man back into bed.
Ducky gathered his things, watching as Jethro gently tucked the covers over the sleeping form, bringing the covers up over the arms still protectively wrapped around that most miraculous swelling. He’d been one of the few people whom Jethro had felt safe in telling of his new relationship with Tony. His heart had been gratified to see how well the two men fit together. Much better than Jethro had with any of the wives he had known which was why he was at such a loss to understand why Tony would leave like he did and why he had done everything in his power to keep Jethro from falling apart after Tony left.
He waited for a moment while Jethro gently placed a kiss on Tony’s brow and then the two men went downstairs. Jethro immediately moved to the cabinet where he kept his bottle. With two glasses in hand he sat down at the kitchen table across from Ducky.
While Ducky poured Gibbs pulled out his phone and made calls to each member of his team, telling them of an unspecified threat to them personally and to look into whatever they could find on Constantino. He wasn’t worried about Ziva who would soon be there to help keep watch, but Abby would need more protection. He knew that she’d be moving in with Tim for the duration. As for Ducky, not many people knew what Gibbs knew about his good friend Ducky, but the fact is that he was more than capable of taking care of himself and his mother. Finally, he made a call to Jenny and asked to be placed on leave status. He could tell she was curious as hell, but she didn’t have a need to know at this point. Once that was done Gibbs grabbed his glass and took a healthy drink. He knew he wouldn’t be doing much of this in the days to come, but he sure needed it now. He took a deep breath and looked at his friend.
“How is he?”
“Well, apart from the obvious injuries he is also somewhat malnourished and underweight.”
“They’ve been starving him?” Gibbs demanded in a furious growl and Ducky raised his hand in a placating gesture.
“Not necessarily starving the boy, Jethro, but I suspect that he is unable to get all of the nourishment he requires due to his poor jaw. Whatever he’s been drinking obviously does not meet his caloric requirements on a normal basis, let alone with his pregnancy. I’ll bring by some supplements along with a nutrient drink that should help but what the dear boy truly needs is to rest in a safe location so that he may heal and eventually deliver a healthy baby.”
“I’ll make sure of that, Ducky. He’s here now and I’m not letting him go again. But you gotta tell me. How can he be pregnant, Duck?”
Ducky smiled. Jethro was never one to beat about the bush, as they say.
“Several months ago there were several articles that came out regarding an extraordinary breakthrough by Dr. Thuergenson. You may not be aware of his work, Jethro, but he had perfected a process whereby he was able to replace the DNA within an ovum which he then implanted within an artificial womb in a male body. It is absolutely astounding, Jethro. He’d just finished clinical trials where he was able to assist several men in giving birth to infants that are the product of two sets of male DNA.” Ducky sat back with a look that was equally fascinated and astounded and shook his slightly as though still finding the entire situation unbelievable.
“Duck?” Jethro prompted when Ducky remained quiet in his fascination. That in itself spoke to what level of fascination this process had for Ducky. Normally he’d of rambled on about similar cases he’d come across but this, Gibbs knew, was completely new. With a small start Ducky brought himself back to the conversation at hand.
“Forgive me, Jethro. It is still so amazing to me and to think there is an example of that very miracle asleep upstairs. At any rate, it was that breakthrough that finally prompted the nationwide legalization of marriage between same sex couples. Up until then it had been left to the discretion of the individual states. Surely you remember, Jethro? There was quite a bit of joshing over the span of several days between young Timothy and Tony about what it would take for either of them to even consider marrying another man, let alone giving birth to another man’s child .”
“I remember it was in the middle of the Loren case…I came in the middle of one conversation that didn’t make any sense at the time…”
Gibbs remembered walking in and slapping both agents on the back of the head and demanding an update on their case. He remembered Tony having a strange look on his face at the time, just before he head-slapped him, but pushed it away as irrelevant. He thought about that expression. It had been…thoughtful. And it had seemed that Tony had something on his mind for a few days after that. Gibbs had wanted to ask but it had taken a back seat to the case they were working. He rubbed a hand over his face. It wasn’t the first time he’d let a relationship take a back seat to his work. And he’d begun doing that to Tony. But Tony had understood, hadn’t he? That wasn’t why he’d left, was it?
Gibbs mentally head-slapped himself. No. Tony said that he hadn’t had any choice in what had happened to him. That had to include leaving like he did, he told himself again trying to believe it. But he needed to hear it from Tony. There was a lot more going on than he knew right now and the only person who could tell him was asleep upstairs.
“So men can now have babies with other men.”
Ducky nodded, knowing that Gibbs was putting all of his facts together. “A donated egg must still be obtained from a female, but the gist of it is that yes, men can have babies with their husbands or significant others, so to speak.” He quieted for a bit, watching his friend’s mind work.
“And Tony was forced into this by the baby’s father. His resignation letter said he had to leave due to family concerns, but he didn’t say anything about his family to me. In fact, everything was normal until that day. I checked his apartment right after the director told me the news. It was empty and being cleaned for renting which meant that Tony had moved out before he officially resigned. Tony wouldn’t have had time to do that on his own. He was working right up until he left…”
“What happened that afternoon, Jethro, before he walked out?”
“I remember he got a phone call. I thought it had something to do with the case. He was on the phone when I went downstairs to talk to Abby. It was McGee who told me later that Tony had stood up and asked where Ziva was. McGee didn’t know so Tony just grabbed his bag and put his stuff into it and then handed him a locked metal box and asking him to hold on to it for him. Then he walked out saying he had a lead to follow-up on. McGee offered to go with him but Tony said that McGee wouldn’t want to go where he was going. Ziva showed up a bit later from a coffee run.”
“What was in the locked metal box, Jethro?”
“My medals. He always kept all those stupid awards because I would have thrown them out. But he kept them in his desk in that box.”
“They were important to him, Jethro. Perhaps that’s why he gave them to Timothy. He asked Timothy to hold them. He did not tell him to give them to you…you would have known then that he was gone and you would have followed. And for whatever it was he needed to do, he didn’t want you to follow too soon… Where are the medals now?”
“McGee still has them. He said that Tony asked him to hold on to them and so that’s what he was going to do.”
“Very loyal, our Timothy. Perhaps he feels that as long as he holds on to them, then there was a chance that Tony would return for them. Perhaps Tony knew that and one day hoped to return to claim them.”
Gibbs took another sip of his drink. There was so much he didn’t know…but he was damn sure going to find out.