SquidgeWorld Archive

"DiNozzo, you're with me," Gibbs barked as he rounded his desk, watching as the younger man almost leaped from his own desk to follow him.

"What's up, boss?"

"We got a lead on Richardson."

"Great!" Tony said, following Gibbs into the elevator and bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Where is he?"

"He's been seen entering and leaving a restaurant in Alexandria."

Tony nodded. "So does it look like that's where he's been storing his stuff?"

"It's a possibility," Gibbs said. "That's what we're going there to find out."

Tony fell into step with him as they headed for the car, then folded his body into the passenger seat, almost bouncing with excitement. They'd been tracking Richardson for the better part of a week and had been unable to turn up anything, which caused Gibbs' mood to get progressively grumpier. But now the only tension in the car was anticipation, and Tony let it infect him as well. This was, after all, his favorite part of this job. And, of course, it didn't hurt that he got to spend time with Gibbs. So Tony was in an understandably good mood throughout the drive to Alexandria, which passed in surprisingly companionable silence. But when they got out of the car, he was all business, following Gibbs to the restaurant door.

Gibbs tried the door, eyebrows going up when the door swung open easily on its own. For a man who'd managed to elude them for so long, this seemed extremely careless. Or... quickly, Gibbs drew his gun, and Tony mirrored the action. Then he nodded at Tony, who preceded him into the restaurant. The restaurant was eerily silent and still without the hustle and bustle of operation. Gibbs remembered reading that this place was one of those lunch places, the kind that his ex-wives had always dragged him to, with the kitschy decorations, fancy salads, and flavored teas. He'd hated them, but at least the nature of the restaurant guaranteed that it would be small and easy to search.

Just then, Gibbs heard a noise, and he glanced at Tony, who inclined his head in the direction of the noise. Gibbs nodded, then stepped forward, trusting Tony to watch his back. The noise came again, and this time, Gibbs could pinpoint the room it came from. Richardson was being sloppy. He peered around the corner, catching a glimpse of a shadowy silhouette. Gibbs caught Tony's attention and gestured at the room, letting the younger man know without words that Richardson was in that room. Then he rounded the corner and brought his gun to bear on the man in the middle of the kitchen.

"Put your hands up," he ordered, gesturing with the gun. The man smirked at him before slowly, mockingly raising his hands. Gibbs took a step forward, and all hell broke loose. He heard the sharp crack of a gun going off behind him and Tony's muttered curse. As he turned, trying to assess this new threat, he felt someone move up behind him. Then something hard and blunt smashed into the back of his skull. His vision disintegrated into sparkling lights and, finally, darkness.

***

Gibbs slowly woke up to a concerned, insistent voice and a gentle hand on his cheek.

"Boss. Hey, boss. Boss," Tony repeated until Gibbs' eyes began to flutter. He felt one last soft caress on his temple, so soft he almost thought he'd imagined it, and then his eyes opened to reveal Tony's worried face.

"Hey," Tony said, relief clearly evident in his voice. "Welcome back to the land of the living."

Gibbs blinked at him, then shut his eyes again as he raised his hand to rub his forehead. His whole head ached, and he was... cold. He frowned at that realization and looked at DiNozzo again.

"How long?" he asked.

"Not too long," Tony said, sitting awkwardly back on his haunches. "About half an hour, give or take. But you have quite the bump there... I was beginning to get worried."

"I have a hard head," Gibbs grunted as he pushed himself to a sitting position.

"Yeah," Tony said with a grin that he made no effort to hide. Gibbs glared at him, but it was a halfhearted effort at best, and Tony's smile widened. Gibbs shivered once, convulsively, and crossed his arms over his chest. He noted, absently, that he could see his breath and Tony's in the still air, an unusual event for the middle of August in D.C. Slow, he chided himself, but then again, he *had* just been hit upside the head.

"Where are we?" he asked, although he was pretty sure of the answer.

"The meat locker, believe it or not," Tony said, confirming what Gibbs had thought.

"How did we get here?"

"Robertson had an accomplice. He distracted me long enough for Robertson to pull out his gun and club you on the head, then they dragged you in here and 'encouraged' me to follow. Then they shut the door and we've been in here ever since."

"I take it that doesn't work?" Gibbs asked, nodding at the small white knob next to the door. Tony shook his head, shifting again, this time sitting back against the wall, but still moving uncharacteristically awkwardly.

"Nope. First thing I tried."

"Cell phones?"

"I can't get a signal on either yours or mine."

Gibbs glanced around the smooth gray walls, noting the door built into the far wall from them. "Where does that lead?"

"To an even colder room than the one we're in."

"So we're stuck."

"We're stuck," Tony confirmed. "Until Kate realizes something happened, or they open the restaurant in the morning."

"When would that be?"

"Well, the restaurant opens at ten, so I'd say probably around seven or eight in the morning. That would be..." Tony checked his watch. "About twelve hours from now."

"Then let's hope Kate misses us."

"Yeah," Tony said. They subsided into silence for a while, then Gibbs stood up. He walked around the narrow perimeter of the room, searching for something that Tony might have missed that would let them out of there. It was starting to get uncomfortably cold, the light jacket he'd thrown on as they left no longer providing even the slightest protection. He glanced at Tony, noting the white, slightly pinched look he was already beginning to sport. The younger man was obviously cold, and it wouldn't be too long until Gibbs himself was in the same straights. And try as he might, he couldn't see any way out of here.

"There isn't a way out," Tony said, echoing his thoughts. "I tried everything while I was waiting for you to wake up."

Gibbs sighed and moved closer to Tony. "Kate will come looking soon when we don't report in. She'll be here soon. We'll just have to wait it out."

"Yeah," Tony said. "Gives new meaning to the phrase 'chilling,' doesn't it?"

Gibbs snorted with reluctant laughter, and Tony chuckled with him until a brief spasm of pain crossed his face. He concealed it quickly, but Gibbs caught it, and his eyes narrowed.

"DiNozzo, what's wrong?"

Tony's eyes widened a little. "Nothing, boss."

Gibbs stared at him, noting the stiff way Tony was holding his right arm against his side. He closed the distance between them and grasped Tony's arm, gently but firmly pulling it away from his side. Tony tried to squirm away, but stopped with a gasp when his twisting sent pain shooting through him. Taking advantage of his sudden compliance, Gibbs pulled Tony's arm away and sucked in a breath. The right side of Tony's shirt was covered in blood from under his armpit to just above his abdomen, a fact he'd managed to hide through his jacket, judicious placement of his arm and Gibbs' own distraction. There was a rip in Tony's shirt, and Gibbs used it to look closer. He noticed the blood seeping sluggishly from a long, angry-looking furrow tracing across the upper part of Tony's ribs. Although it was long, it appeared relatively shallow, and the edges were clean. Still, it was going to need medical attention, and soon.

"Goddamnit, DiNozzo, why didn't you say something?" he barked, reaching into his pocket for the clean handkerchief he always kept there. Tony shrugged, then hissed yet another pain-filled breath.

"What were you going to do?" he asked. "You can't get me out of here. Besides, it's not bad, and it's almost stopped bleeding. One of the benefits of being locked in here, I guess."

"You still should have told me," Gibbs said. The words were harsh, but the hands that pressed the clean cloth into Tony's side were gentle. The pressure seemed to help, but that wouldn't last for too much longer. The wound would definitely need stitches. Of course, if they didn't get out of here soon, the wound was going to be the least of their problems.

"There wasn't any need. It stopped bleeding heavily almost as soon as we were locked in here. And anyway," Tony grinned at him mischievously before affecting a British accent, "'It's just a flesh wound.'" He looked at Gibbs, waiting for a reaction, but Gibbs continued to apply pressure to the slow-bleeding wound.

"Oh, come on, boss, you gotta laugh at that."

Gibbs shrugged. "I don't see what's so funny about flesh wounds."

"It's not the flesh wound, it's King Arthur and the Black Knight..." Tony trailed off, watching Gibbs intently. There was no sign that the older man was following him. "Are you telling me you've never seen "Monty Python"?"

When Gibbs shrugged yet again at Tony, the younger man's eyes widened. "How can you not have seen "Monty Python", boss? Everyone has to see it once, it's like a law or something. When we get out of here, I'm gonna make you watch it."

"Are you," Gibbs said noncommittally.

"Yup," Tony said. "You can come over to my place. I'll provide the movie and beer, and you can bring the pizza. It'll be fun."

Gibbs was about to refuseâ€"the movie didn't sound like his idea of fun, and he had lots of work to do on his boatâ€"but the hope and almost... vulnerability in Tony's eyes pulled at him. Tony really wanted this, really wanted to spend time with him. His mind shot back to the brief, almost forgotten caress as he woke up, and the thought occurred to him that this could be quite dangerous, and he should *definitely* refuse now. But then he looked back into Tony's wide, blue-gray gaze.

"Well, when you put it that way, how can I refuse?" Gibbs said. He glanced up in time to see the delight blossom in Tony's eyes, and it was suddenly too much. He pushed Tony's arm down abruptly against his side, muttering gruffly,

"Just keep pressure on it, ok?" Then he sat back, leaning against the same wall Tony was, but with enough distance between them that he felt comfortable. Tony, surprised at Gibbs' sudden withdrawal, fell silent, and they stayed that way for what felt like a long time, the only noise the hum of the refrigeration unit, continuing to lower the temperature in the room.

Slowly, Gibbs became aware of a rhythmic chattering noise. He glanced over at Tony and noticed the younger man's deep shudders and clattering teeth. Gibbs felt a sudden pang of guilt. In his haste to push away from feelings he refused to acknowledge, he'd forgotten about Tony's unfortunate state of dress. The other man was freezing, if his white-tipped ears were any indication. Gibbs scooted closer and put his hand on Tony's shoulder. Tony jumped, giving Gibbs a startled, slightly wary look.

"'M good, b-boss," he stuttered.

"Like hell you are," Gibbs said, but without heat. "You're freezing in that shirt."

"Y-yeah," Tony said with a half-smile. "I'll m-make sure that the n-next time I g-get locked in a f-freezer, I have advance w-warning so I can d-dress appropriately."

"You do that." Gibbs then tugged on Tony's shoulder, drawing the other man closer to him. Tony resisted, and Gibbs tugged harder in exasperation, but stopped when Tony's face contorted involuntarily. Making an effort to gentle his voice, he said,

"Come here. We're both freezing. We ought to share body heat while we can."

Tony's eyes widened and he shook his head. "I don't t-think so, boss."

"DiNozzo, don't be stupid," Gibbs said, voice hardening. "Get your butt over here."

Tony didn't disobey the command in Gibbs' voice, but reluctance was very obvious in his posture as he scooted in front of Gibbs. Gibbs parted his legs, making a spot for Tony to sit, and gestured the younger man closer. Tony gave him another dubious look, but shifted until he was sitting in the cradle of Gibbs' legs, back close but not touching Gibbs' chest. Gibbs sighed.

"Tony," he said, quietly, watching as the other man's head turned as he listened. "You're going to have to relax. It'll be ok, just relax."

He tugged gently until Tony's back was touching his chest. The younger man was sitting slightly slumped, so that Tony's temple was even with Gibbs' chin. He could feel the short, spiky strands brushing his cheek and chin as Tony breathed. He quickly wrapped the thin jacket around Tony, looping his arms around the other man's waist before Tony could bolt. Tony's muscles were still tense, but they slowly began to relax as Gibbs concentrated on keeping still and breathing evenly. Once Tony was lying quiescent in his arms, Gibbs tightened his hold and began rubbing Tony's back gently, careful to avoid touching Tony's side. He noted that the added warmth was easing Tony's shivers.

"So," he said quietly.

"So, what?"

"So how's the side doing?"

Tony shifted a little at the reminder and winced. "It hurts. Hurts to move, hurts to breathe a little, but I'll live."

Gibbs nodded, knowing Tony could feel the motion against his head. "So that's how Robinson's pal distracted you?"

"Yup. Pretty effective method, although rather painful. Not my distraction of choice," Tony joked.

"No, your distraction of choice is tall, blonde, and buxom," Gibbs said, snorting.

"Yeah, something like that," Tony said, but quietly, without conviction. Gibbs frowned, but didn't pursue the topic. They subsided into silence again, and time seemed to stretch and lengthen. It seemed to be getting even colder in the meat locker, and soon even the warmth of their combined bodies couldn't keep Tony from shaking. Gibbs glanced askance at Tony's bowed head, noticing his red ears and their worryingly white tips. When Tony's teeth began to chatter again, Gibbs had had enough.

"Tony, turn around."

"What?" Tony almost squeaked.

"Turn around. You'll be warmer that way." Tony just stared at him, eyes huge, and Gibbs lost patience with him. "Just *do* it, DiNozzo!"

Again, his tone of voice worked where reason didn't, and Gibbs silently thanked the years of military service that gave him that voice of command. Once Tony was turned, before he could hesitate or protest, Gibbs pulled him in. Tony's eyes met his from barely a breath away, then Tony buried his face in Gibbs' shoulder, a half-gasp, half-groan escaping him.

"Well, *this* is embarrassing."

Gibbs nodded, fervently agreeing. If Tony hadn't been shaking still, he wouldn't have done this. Tony was pressed up against him in every possible way, and Gibbs couldn't say he was finding the experience repellent. Far from it, actually. He'd always found Tony handsome-you'd have to be blind not to-but it had also always been an abstract appreciation. The few looks and touches that had lingered he could easily pass off as momentary aberrations. After all, Tony was a coworker, and he had a policy against dating coworkers. And DiNozzo was straight. Very straight, if his skirt-chasing and bragging were to be believed. Besides that, Tony was a man, and while that wasn't completely out of the realm of his experience, he'd put that part of himself behind him a long time ago. Or so he'd thought. Now, with Tony's body so close, his soft exhalations warming the skin of Gibbs' neck, Gibbs wasn't so sure. For the first time since he'd awakened, he thanked the cold that kept his body from betraying a more-than-friendly interest in his young partner.

Tony shivered again and buried his face in Gibbs' neck. The older man gasped as Tony's cold nose made contact with his warm skin, but didn't pull away. Tony laughed, a little nervously, breath huffing against Gibbs.

"Hey, boss?"

"Yeah, DiNozzo?"

Tony pulled his face up so that he could look Gibbs in the eye, his own dancing merrily. "You still gonna respect me in the morning?"

Gibbs couldn't help it. He snorted in amusement, then shoved Tony's head back down on his shoulder.

"Shut up, DiNozzo."

"Sure thing, boss."

They were silent for a few more minutes, but Tony's shivering showed no signs of ceasing, and Gibbs was starting to get a little worried.

"DiNozzo, I can't see my watch. How long have we been in here?"

"Um..." Tony slowly dragged his arm out from behind Gibbs, the movement uncoordinated. "'Bout... an hour or sho." The slur was new, and definitely not a good sign. He pulled Tony a little closer, trying to impart as much as his warmth to him as he could. Tony snuggled in a little closer, face buried in his neck. Gibbs knew that he had to keep Tony talking, so he cast about for something to say.

"So, how do you know when people would come in here to start opening the restaurant?"

Tony laughed again. "Worked at a fasht food joint in high school. Had to open in the morningsh."

Tony could hear himself slurring, but couldn't make himself stop, anymore than he could stop the shivers that were now coursing continually through his body. He felt strange, like he was disconnected from the outside world, and he was tired, his body heavy and unwieldy. The only thing anchoring him to the here and now was the warmth of Gibbs' body against his, a feeling he was enjoying far too much for the circumstances surrounding it. He'd longed for Gibbs to hold him like this almost since the first time they'd met, even though he knew the other man was anything but interested. Just like he wasn't interested now. He was just trying to help Tony, just like he would anyone whom he was trapped with. Even knowing this, however, couldn't stop Tony from deriving enjoyment from the strength of Gibbs' arms and body around his.

"What place did you work for?" Gibbs asked, shaking Tony out of his thoughts and back into some semblance of awareness. Tony made a face, wracking his brain, but couldn't come up with an answer. The name hovered just beyond the edges of his consciousness. He chased it for a while, then decided it wasn't worth the effort. Snuggling his face deeper into Gibbs' shoulder, he murmured,

"I dunno. Just some place."

"Tony..." Gibbs was now very worried. He pushed the younger man back, trying to see his face, ignoring the muffled words of protest that move generated. The younger man didn't look good, face too pale, slightly pinched and sunken. And his eyes were definitely not focusing properly.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs said sharply, watching as Tony's eyes slowly tracked up to meet his. "Come on, you need to stay focused here."

"Am focused!" Tony protested. Gibbs sighed and relaxed his grip, and Tony snuggled right back up against him, despite the pain the action obviously caused. Gibbs tried his hardest not to think about how right that action felt. He prodded the young man in his shoulder again, grinning at the grumble Tony produced in response.

"If you're so focused then, I need you to talk to me."

"'Kay," Tony said. "'Bout what?"

Gibbs cast about for a topic of conversation. "How about you explain to me this "Monty Python" thing you want me to watch?"

"Nope. Can't 'splain it. You gotta watch it."

"Ahh."

"Yup. You gotta see it. Be like old times, when we hung out and watched movies."

"We used to hang out and watch movies?" Gibbs asked, almost amused.

"Hm... true. We never ever did." Tony's next words were whispered so softly that Gibbs could barely make them out.

"Wish we did, though." Tony then brushed his lips oh-so-lightly against Gibbs' neck, the barest brush of a kiss, before relaxing completely in Gibbs' arms, a boneless, cold weight.

Gibbs froze, thrown into a tailspin by the kiss, if you could call it that. And Tony was delirious from the cold, and the blood loss, so it probably didn't mean anything, but... what if he did? Thoughts of that nature managed to distract him for a few minutes, long enough that he only slowly became aware of the change in the rhythm of Tony's breath against his neck. Then all worries about whether Tony meant it or not were shunted aside by fear for Tony's safety.

He prodded the younger man in the shoulder, not stopping until Tony groaned and Gibbs could feel his eyelashes fluttering against his neck. However, he couldn't rouse the younger man any more than that. More worried than he wanted to admit, Gibbs gathered Tony closer, trying to make sure the man didn't lose any more body heat. That was all he could do until Kate got here; keep Tony as warm as he could and keep him from falling asleep. And that's what he was going to do... he sure as hell wasn't going to lose one of his best agents to a fucking meat locker.

And so what felt like an eternity later, Gibbs was still periodically poking Tony, trying to keep the other man awake, but the young man's grumbles were becoming steadily quieter and quieter. Gibbs himself was having trouble not shivering at this point. He wasn't sure how much longer Tony could stand this. He probably would have been fine if it weren't for the complications of the gunshot wound, but with it, his susceptibility to the cold only seemed to be increased. He brushed a hand over the cold, puffy skin of Tony's cheek, wondering what he should do, when he heard voices outside, one of which he recognized.

"I don't see them," Kate said, voice oddly muffled by the thick door of the meat locker. Excitement pushed away the cold for the moment, and Gibbs shook Tony happily.

"DiNozzo. Come on, Tony, Kate's here."

Tony didn't respond, and his head lolled loosely back when Gibbs let go. Worry began niggling again at the back of Gibbs' mind, but he wasn't about to let Kate leave them here. Deciding that he could worry about Tony just as easily in a minute as he could now, he dragged the younger man to the locker door and pounded on it, yelling at the top of his lungs.

"Kate! Kate, we're in here!"

"Did you hear that?" Kate asked. When she next spoke, her voice was much closer, and therefore clearer. "Gibbs?"

"Kate! We're in here!"

"They're in the refrigerator," Kate yelled. "I'm gonna need some help getting the door open."

"And call an ambulance," Gibbs ordered. "Tony's been shot, and if he isn't hypothermic now, he soon will be."

"Got it," Kate said. He could hear her voice, but the words were obscured by the hum of the refrigeration units. There was also a lot of noise from the other side; most likely the people who were with her trying to get them out.

"Gibbs?" Kate said. "It's gonna be a few minutes, but we'll get you out, ok?"

"Yeah," Gibbs said, settling onto the floor and pulling Tony back into his lap. The blue tinge to Tony's lips worried him, as did the shallowness of his breath.

"DiNozzo," he barked, putting some command into it. The younger man didn't stir. "DiNozzo, we're gonna get out of here. Now wake up." He slapped Tony's cheek lightly, but the younger man showed no signs of having registered any of it.

"Come on, DiNozzo," Gibbs said, a hint of desperation entering his voice. "Wake up." He smacked Tony's cheek again, this time a little harder, but received no response. Gritting his teeth, he prodded the blood-soaked handkerchief pressed to Tony's side. This elicited a soft groan and a flutter of eyelashes, and Gibbs relaxed a little. At least Tony was still responding to pain. It certainly wasn't great, but it did buy them the time Kate needed to get them out of here.

It seemed as if he waited hours for the freezer door to open, staring at Tony's pale, still face and hoping that he'd be all right, but in actuality it was only a few minutes. When the door opened, bringing a welcome blast of warm air, Gibbs staggered to feet grown numb and clumsy with cold and pulled Tony along with him. Seconds later, Kate was there helping, her eyes worried.

"The paramedics'll be here any minute," she told him. As if affirming her statement, Gibbs could hear sirens wailing, the noise getting closer with every step they took. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Gibbs told her briefly, then gasped as he hit the warmth of the outside restaurant. His exposed skin immediately began to burn, and the shivers started again, this time much more violently. Luckily, the paramedics arrived then and swarmed over Tony, easing him from Kate and Gibbs' arms and taking his pulse and pressure. One wrapped a blanket around Tony, and they quickly hustled him off to the ambulance, brushing past Gibbs in their hurry. Another paramedic hurried over, dropping a blanket around Gibbs' shoulder and herding him towards the second bus. Gibbs submitted with uncharacteristic mildness, too worried about Tony to put up any kind of a fuss.

"You were really lucky," one of the paramedics commented, and Gibbs looked sharply at her.

"We'll see," was all he said.

***

"He's been here two days already. You said he could go home today if things were going well, and they have been," Gibbs said, voice low but emphatic.

"True, Mr. DiNozzo's temperature has stabilized, and he doesn't appear to be showing any other ill effects from his time in that freezer, but he also has yet to regain consciousness for more than an few hours," Tony's doctor responded.

"It's the drugs you're giving him for the pain," Gibbs said. "He's fine. He looks much better, he's all stitched up... he's good."

"Be that as it may, I think Mr. DiNozzo will do better in the hospital where we can keep an eye on him."

"And I think Agent DiNozzo will do better at home, where he's more comfortable. He can rest and recover just as well there as here. I'll be there to keep an eye on him, and if something happens, I'll bring him back."

"You'll be there the entire time?"

"The entire time," Gibbs promised, knowing that he'd won.

The doctor sighed. "All right. He *is* doing well enough to be released, and he did ask to go home the last time he woke up. I'll have the release papers sent down."

Gibbs nodded, then hurried into Tony's room. The younger man was lying propped up, his face turned away from the door, and Gibbs paused for a moment to study him. The graceful line of his neck, the soft curve of his cheek all spoke to Gibbs in a way they never had before, but then, Gibbs didn't think he'd ever been so close to losing Tony before. He still couldn't believe how worried he'd been when Tony had stopped making sense in the freezer. Well, actually, he could believe it, but he didn't like it. He wasn't sure when his world had shifted so fundamentally, when it had become impossible to imagine his life without Tony in it, but now that he'd acknowledged it, he didn't think he could go back to the way he was before. And honestly, he didn't think he really wanted to, either. Even if it did mean worrying over Tony and his well-meant but sometimes harebrained ideas, or keeping quiet as Tony chased the newest love of his life.

As if Tony knew he was being thought about, he stirred and turned towards the door, stretching and wrinkling his nose as he slowly woke up. Gibbs smiled, a rush of tenderness filling him and causing a smile to appear, one that he couldn't quite quash as Tony's eyes slowly fluttered open and met his. The younger man smiled in response, a sleepy, open smile, then yawned.

"Hey, boss."

"Hey," Gibbs said, waiting for Tony to completely wake up. It didn't take too much longer. Tony pushed himself into a completely upright position, eyes widening.

"You here to spring me?"

"You bet," Gibbs said. "Here."

He tossed a bag at Tony, who fumbled it, reflexes still slow as a result of all the medication that had been pumped into him. Gibbs hid a smile, knowing that Tony wouldn't understand. The younger man reached into the bag and pulled out a shirt.

"Hey, clothes!" he said, looking surprised. "Thanks, boss."

Gibbs nodded. "Go get ready."

Tony slowly levered himself out of bed and walked to the bathroom. It took him what felt like an inordinate amount of time to get ready, limbs still slow and awkward, but he finally emerged, feeling better than he had since that horrible evening. Gibbs tilted his head at the doorway as Tony emerged.

"You ready to get out of here?"

"You have no idea," Tony said, following him and reluctantly allowing a nurse to usher him into a wheelchair. Gibbs followed the chair and Tony to the nurses' station, then waited for Tony. Tony signed out at the nurses' station, then followed Gibbs to his car. He got settled quickly, leaning his head against the headrest as Gibbs started the engine and pulled out. His eyes still felt heavy, and he resisted the urge to shut them, trying to pay attention to his surroundings. The last four days were a complete blank in his memory, a natural reaction to what he'd gone through, according to his doctor, but it still made Tony uncomfortable. He was used to making his living by paying attention to details, and so to have such a long period of his life completely inaccessible made him feel slightly itchy. Therefore, he was trying to fight his way out of the drug-induced sleepiness, vowing to never take those pain pills again.

Tony glanced at Gibbs, noticing the sidelong glances he was getting in return. When he caught Gibbs' eye, he gave him a bright smile.

"Thanks for springing me, boss. I can't wait to get home."

"Yeah, I figured," Gibbs answered. "I know how you hate hospitals."

Tony shuddered. "Yeah. So... thanks."

Gibbs nodded in response, and the car fell into silence again, but a warm, comforting silence. Tony's eyes began to close again, and this time he didn't have the energy to fight it. He let them slip shut, lulled by the silence and the sun's warmth. The next thing he knew, someone was shaking him lightly, calling his name. He tried to respond, but couldn't muster up the energy for it. The voice quieted, but the hands moved, brushing against his hip, an action startling enough for Tony to open his eyes a little. His gaze met Gibbs' surprisingly soft blue eyes, and he smiled, feeling safe, before shutting his eyes again.

The hands moved to his shoulders, pulling him upright, and Gibbs' voice sounded in his ear.

"Come on, Tony, you have to work with me here."

Dredging up the last of his energy, Tony opened his eyes and managed to stumble to his apartment door, leaning heavily on Gibbs. Then he was leaning heavily against the wall as Gibbs opened his door, and finally, they were inside. Gibbs guided him to the bedroom, where he pulled down the covers before gently helping Tony's fumbling fingers divest him of everything but his boxers. He pushed Tony down on to the bed, then pulled the sheets over him, unable to resist the urge to ruffle the spiky strands of hair as he did so.

Lost in a fog of drug-induced sleepiness, Tony felt the caress and opened his eyes. Gibbs was still leaning over him, the look in his eyes still so warm and soft. Gibbs had never looked at him that way, not once, except in his dreams. So the fact that he was doing so now made this a dream, Tony reasoned. And if this was a dream, then he could do whatever he wanted. He forced his arm to rise, moving as if it were underwater, and looped it around Gibbs' neck. Gibbs blinked at him, startled, but didn't pull away, and Tony pulled him down, brushing his lips over Gibbs' softly. The older man gasped, and Tony relaxed his arm, giving Gibbs room to pull away. Gibbs did, but only slightly, and Tony met Gibbs' eyes and smiled. He then leaned up, closing the distance between them to kiss Gibbs one more time, then fell back onto the pillows.

"Love you," he murmured, before drifting off.

Gibbs stood there, hovering over the bed, frozen with shock for a good five minutes. Had Tony just said what he thought he'd said? And those kisses... Gibbs suddenly smiled, one of his rare, full smiles. Looked like his unrequited feelings for Tony weren't quite so unrequited after all. And now all he had to do was wait for Tony to wake up. Almost whistling, Gibbs headed into Tony's living room to watch some tv and wait, happier than he'd been in a long time.

***

Tony slowly surfaced from his sleep, feeling clearheaded for the first time in four days. He blinked at his surroundingsâ€"when did he get to his apartment?â€"and rolled out of bed. He walked to the hall, then followed the noises he could hear to his kitchen, where Gibbs was fussing with his coffeemaker.

"Gibbs?"

"How're you feeling?" Gibbs asked.

"Um, better, I guess."

"You guess?"

Tony sighed. "I don't really remember getting home. I'm sure it'll come back to me soon... it usually does. It's just weird, you know?"

"Yeah," Gibbs said, expression shuttering a little. Tony gave him a curious look, but Gibbs just looked blandly back, so he gave up.

"Are you hungry?" Gibbs asked.

"No, not really. I'm just gonna take a shower. Hopefully, it'll clear my head. And I'm never taking those pain pills again."

"Don't blame you. I'll be watching tv, ok?"

"Yeah, sure," Tony called over his shoulder as he headed to the bathroom, starting the water running as he grabbed a towel from the tiny closet next to the bathroom. When the water was finally warm enough, he eagerly stepped into the stream of water, letting the gentle pounding on his neck and back ease the headache that lingered. It felt so good, and the comfort and ritualistic feeling of showering was helping him bring back memories that were still obscured in a hazy, drug-induced cloud. He was starting to remember waking up in the hospital and taking a couple of pills, but then the memories started to fragment. He had a picture of bright blue eyes very close to his... Gibbs helping him unbuckle his seatbelt. And then... Tony froze, suddenly almost as cold as he had been that night in the freezer.

*Oh, please, please let that have been a dream,* he thought wildly. It wouldn't be the first time he'd had a dream like that about his boss. *Please, don't let me have actually done that.* But the sick feeling in his stomach and the odd look he'd caught in Gibbs' eyes this morning told him the truth. He'd actually kissed Gibbs last night. He'd even told him he loved him. Tony groaned, and his pleasure in the shower dissipated.

He knew there were times he'd been less than subtle about his admiration for his boss, sometimes so much so that others caught on. Ducky, Tony knew, definitely suspected him, and Abby knew it for a fact, having cornered him once when they'd gone out after work. But Gibbs had never shown any indication of having picked up on Tony's attraction for him. Even if he had picked it up, Tony suspected Gibbs wouldn't mention it unless it became a problem. And he *highly* suspected that kissing Gibbs, even if it had been in the throes of a drug-induced lapse of common sense, would be a problem.

With a sigh, Tony shut off the water and stepped out of the shower, toweling off vigorously. It was time to go and talk to Gibbs. If he was going to get fired for this, he wanted to know as soon as possible so he could make plans for moving on. Of course, there was the chance Gibbs wouldn't fire him. And maybe... Tony firmly shunted that hope away. There was no chance Gibbs felt the same way Tony did. He sometimes didn't even act as if he liked Tony, and his three ex-wives definitely proved which side of the fence Gibbs stayed on. No, the best Tony could hope for was to keep his job. With that thought in mind, Tony dressed and stepped out into the hall, turning at the end to enter his family room, where Gibbs was watching CNN.

Gibbs looked up when he entered the room, pressing 'mute' on the tv remote. "Feeling better?"

"Not really," Tony said, hovering uncomfortably at the entrance to the room.

Gibbs frowned, worry making his voice gruff. "Is the medicine still making you sick, because the doctor said to call if you were still feeling bad tomorrow."

"No, it's not the medicine." Tony took a deep breath, eyes dropping to the carpet. "Look, I... I remember what happened when you brought me home, boss." He chanced a look up at Gibbs, whose face was as inscrutable as it normally was.

"Oh," was his only response.

"Yeah," Tony said quietly. He couldn't read Gibbs' face, so he looked back down, forcing the rest of his words out in a rush. "I'm... sorry, boss. I don't know what happened. I was drugged up, didn't know what I was doing." Tony shrugged helplessly, then fell silent, waiting for Gibbs to respond. The older man stood up, watching Tony intently.

"So you're saying you didn't know who you were kissing?" Gibbs asked.

"I..." *Lie,* Tony's mind hissed fiercely, but Tony balked at the idea of lying to Gibbs, even about this. *But a lie is better than having to find another job. At least this way, you'll still get to see him almost every day. Isn't that worth it?* Tony couldn't make up his mind, so he hedged.

"I'm saying I definitely wasn't in control of my actions."

"But that doesn't answer my question." Gibbs took another step closer. "Did you know who you were kissing? Did you mean what you said?"

Tony flinched and looked away. He couldn't lie, not about this, even though it meant that he was going to lose everything that had made life better for the last two years. But maybe...

"Does it matter?" Tony asked, not looking at Gibbs. He knew that his indirect response was an answer in itself, but maybe Gibbs wouldn't force the issue.

"I think it does."

Well, damn it. "Fine," Tony said. "Fine. Yes, I did know who I was kissing, and yes, I did mean what I said. Happy now, boss? You don't have to worry about firing me or anything," Tony continued recklessly. "My resignation will be on your desk tomorrow morning. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go back to bed and stay there for a few days."

Gibbs' hand shot out and caught the other man's arm. "No."

"No, what?"

"No, I'm not going to excuse you. I..."

Tony interrupted him, pulling away angrily and glaring at his boss. "What more do you want from me? I've already..."
Gibbs had had enough. He grabbed the back of Tony's head and pulled him into a kiss, silencing him in the best way he knew how. Tony made a muffled noise, then gasped, his mouth slack with surprise. Gibbs pulled away and looked into Tony's face, waiting for a reaction. He didn't have to wait long.

"What-what was that?"

"That's what I want from you."

Tony's mouth opened and closed a few times. "You do?" he finally managed to squeak.

"Yeah. And I'd better not see your resignation on my desk tomorrow, either."

"Why?"

"Why do you think, DiNozzo?" The words were sharp, but the tone was not. When Tony just stared at him uncomprehendingly, Gibbs sighed. "Tony, I want this. I want you. I have for a while."

"Could have fooled me," Tony said, but there was hope dawning in the back of his eyes, and Gibbs took heart from that.

"Yeah, well, you get really good at hiding these things in the military," Gibbs said with a shrug. "And it's not like you were being very obvious yourself until lately. All that skirt-chasing... I didn't have a clue."

Tony snorted. "Then you were probably the only one. I haven't been as good recently at hiding it the way I should have."

"I'm glad," Gibbs whispered, leaning in close and capturing Tony's earlobe with his teeth, giving it a quick tug and delighting in eliciting a shudder that had nothing to do with cold from the younger man. Tony squirmed and managed to break away, putting a bit of distance between them.

"But..." he floundered, looking everywhere but at Gibbs.

"But what?" Gibbs said, stepping closer, crowding into Tony's personal space again. This time, Tony did look at him, and the doubt in his eyes was heartwrenching.

"Are you sure you really want this? Want me?" Tony asked.

In response, Gibbs kissed him again. This time, Tony responded, one hand cupping the back of Gibbs' neck, the other stroking Gibbs' back. When Gibbs pulled away, Tony's eyes were slightly dazed but sparkling, his face flushed, full lips smiling.

"So do you believe me now?" Gibbs asked. Tony's grin widened, and he looked up at Gibbs from under his eyelashes.

"I think I might need a little more convincing."

And Gibbs was only too happy to comply.

~fin~