NCIS:Rag Doll. Angst/Drama PG 13 14/? (Tony-centric)
Title: Rag Doll
Chapter: 14/?
Fandom: NCIS
Author: cheekymice
Rating: PG13
Beta: Scousmuz1K
Genre: Drama/Angst
Disclaimer: I don't own anything relating to the TV show NCIS sadly.
Notes: So here I am back again with another multi chapter fic. I hope you enjoy. This will be my usual brand of overblown angst with a soupcon of whumpage. I can say that this story will not be dwelling on anything graphic regarding the subject matter, it is mainly a study on how difficult some undercover assignments must be.
~~~ ~~~~
Rag Doll
“So, Anthony’s safely back home I take it?” Ducky asked.
Gibbs ran a hand along one of the empty autopsy slabs.
“Yeah, we got him settled yesterday and left him being mothered by his neighbor. She’ll keep him in line.” Gibbs’ mouth quirked up into a smile at the memory of the bustling woman tucking his agent into a blanket and threatening him with a spanking if he so much as moved from the spot. The fact that Tony took the scolding spoke about how much he respected the no-nonsense woman. “I dropped by to check on him before work but he was sound asleep, didn’t even hear me come in, Duck. I think a steam train and a marching band could have passed right by his bed and he wouldn’t have woken.”
Ducky stripped off his latex gloves and dumped them in the surgical waste bin. He turned off the x-ray boxes and instructed Palmer to sew the chest cavity on the corpse on the table.
“I know Anthony likes to think he is immune to such rigors, but sadly I’m afraid he’ll be feeling weak for some time yet. His body has gone through a great deal and that’s without adding the emotional effects of the past few months.” Ducky sighed. “I’m afraid it has all rather caught up with him.”
Gibbs followed Ducky into his office and it didn’t escape his notice when the ME shut the door behind them. That only ever happened when the doctor wanted to discuss something confidential or of a delicate nature.
It wasn’t like he didn’t know what was on the ME’s mind. Hell; it was the same thing that had been on his ever since he’d found out the true nature of DiNozzo’s assignment.
Ducky looked pensive and stared at the clock on the wall before he eventually opened his mouth. “Have you tried to speak to Anthony, Jethro? I mean really tried speak to him?” he asked.
“Duck….” Gibbs warned.
“The boy is hurting in more ways than one,” Ducky said firmly.
“He doesn’t need to ‘talk’, we do the job and we move on. That’s how it goes,” Gibbs lied.
“Jethro, this was more than just another undercover case, I know you understand that.”
Gibbs sighed. He wasn’t going to win this one. Ducky wasn’t fooled by his fake nonchalance over DiNozzo.
“Look, have you ever had a deep and meaningful conversation in hospital?” Gibbs huffed out a breath. “It’s impossible. Every time I opened my mouth a doctor or nurse came in, and if it wasn’t the staff interrupting, then it was the visitors. DiNozzo’s saying it was just another undercover op. Yeah, he admits that he’s relieved it’s over but he said it was no big deal.”
Ducky looked at Gibbs in disappointment and clucked his tongue in frustration; he knew he was one of the few who could get away with it and live to tell the tale. Gibbs leaned against the wall and waited for the chewing out that he knew was coming.
“Jethro. The implications of immersing himself into the mindset of a pedophile will be impacting on Anthony heavily. More so than I think the lad even realizes, and pretending that this was simply just another job will do him no good in the long run.” Ducky sat down behind his desk and swung his chair around to face Gibbs. “He may be acting like the life and soul of the party right now but he’s far from okay”
“I know, I know… but he doesn’t make it easy, Duck. How the hell do you get through to someone who stonewalls the whole time?” Gibbs folded his arms over his chest. Tony may have bared his soul to him during the op but he was a closed book now.
Ducky pursed his lips.
”That my friend is the conundrum that we will all have to work on solving.”
~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
Tony clicked the TV off and threw the remote down on the couch next to him.
Although it seemed like sacrilege to say it, there was only so much TV a person could watch before it started to scramble your brains.
Five days at home and the walls were well and truly closing in on him; he was bored and frustrated.
The first couple of days home had been kind of nice - mainly because he’d felt like crap - but now he was feeling better Muriel’s constant nagging for him to eat and rest was wearing him down, and he had to force himself to smile and take the fussing because it wasn’t fair to take out his frustrations on the woman.
He checked his watch. Lunchtime. It wasn’t as if he didn’t appreciate all the home cooked food, it was just he wasn’t used to eating so often; the job usually meant you grabbed on the hoof at strange times and all this regimentation was a little hard to take.
The tap on the door was right on time, but the voice that called out wasn’t.
“Tony, you decent?”
“Hey, Frank, not sure I’ve ever been decent but come in.”
The relief Tony felt was huge. He just wasn’t used to being mothered, and boy was Muriel going to town.
Frank walked into the room with a covered plate.
“Got to say it’s good to see you, Frank.”
Frank grinned.
‘Let me guess, from the look on your face the old ball and chain is driving you nuts, huh?”
“No, no, not at all.” Tony protested.
“Liar. How about I tell her to back off a little? She’s just gone into overdrive, I told her that you weren’t used to it.”
“It’s not that I don’t appreciate it but…” Tony smiled ruefully.
“But you need a little space now.” Frank laughed.
“She ironed my underpants, Frank! That’s just wrong.” Tony shuddered as he pictured the silver haired woman lovingly pressing steam into the crotch of his boxers.
“Thus spoke like a true bachelor. When you’re married you’ll get used to such things.”
“No offence, Frank… although the thought of a hot blonde manhandling my undergarments is a pleasant one… your wife wielding an iron’s the stuff of nightmares. I swear she gets an evil glint in her eye sometimes…”
Tony beamed as Frank handed over the plate. Lifting the foil, he sniffed the aroma of steak pie and veggies. He took the cutlery from the side and rested the plate on his knees.
He was expecting Frank to maybe leave now the delivery of his lunch had been made, but he didn’t. Instead he sat down and leaned back, placing his hands over his stomach.
As Tony started to dig in he opened his mouth.
“So, you offed a senator. Impressive.” Frank said simply.
Tony looked up in surprise, a fork full of food hovering near his mouth. It wasn’t something he’d shared and he knew that Gibbs wouldn’t have volunteered any information.
“How did I know? Internal Affairs guys have got a smell about them, and I can spot a fed a mile off.” Frank responded. “C’mon Tony, give me some credit. Several long visits from both IA and the FBI coinciding with all the who-ha in the press. Wasn’t hard to work out you were the one undercover.”
Tony didn’t say anything. Frank had it all worked out; he should have known the man’s analytical mind would have put all the pieces together. Once a cop, always a cop.
“I knew it was a bad one from the look you had on your face before you went under but hell, even I didn’t imagine just how bad,” Frank shook his head. “No wonder you look like someone spat you out…wading through the sewers with scum like that.”
Tony sighed and carefully placed his knife and fork together on the plate. He slid his meal onto the table. What little appetite he’d had was well and truly gone.
“You did good, Tony, you rid the world of several people who had no right to be walking on God’s good earth. Hell, you deserve a medal…damn perverts.”
“Frank…” Tony warned softly, letting the man know he really didn’t want to get into that particular discussion right now.
“Okay, okay, I can tell from your body language you don’t want to talk about it but I just wanted to say I worked that gig for a while in the eighties. I know how hard it is.” The ex-cop leaned forward and started to regale him with tales of things he didn’t want to hear about.
“Frank…please, not now….” Tony wasn’t aware he’d spoken, definitely wasn’t aware that he’d pleaded
The old man looked him in the eye. “Sorry, too soon huh. Look Tony, if you need to talk then you know where I am; I suppose that’s what I’m trying to say.”
Frank pointed at the rapidly cooling food.
“Now eat or I’ll sic my wife onto you.”
When Tony didn’t respond Frank stood as if to leave, then he paused.
“Seriously, don’t let it mess with your head, Kid.” He patted Tony on the shoulder and gave him a sympathetic smile.
As the door clicked shut Tony got up and picked up his plate.
“It’s too late, Frank, too late,” he muttered into the empty kitchen. He scraped it into the trashcan and rinsed the dirty dish in his sink.
Going into the spare bedroom he stripped off his tee and threw it down on the bed. Reaching up he grabbed the bar that spanned the doorframe and started a repetition of pull-ups. Allowing his brain to switch off, letting the gradual burn of exercise overtake everything else.
~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
Tony’s car wasn’t in his allotted space yet again, the fourth night on the trot. If he were a betting man he’d think that his SFA was avoiding him.
The rest of the team would probably be surprised at just how often the two of them chewed the fat over a meal, be it to discuss a case or just because it beat going home to an empty house. It made him laugh actually, the fact that Tony had the perfect opportunity to play a game of one-upmanship with McGee or Ziva over it but he never did.
Gibbs cursed as he drove away from the apartment; as he idled at the lights he picked up his cell and called DiNozzo.
“Hey Boss.” Tony answered cheerfully.
“Just stopped by but you weren’t in.” Gibbs said gruffly.
“Out on a date with that cute nurse and I’ve got to say it’s good to finally get back on the horse.” Tony laughed.
“Did you just call your date a horse, DiNozzo?” Gibbs pulled away from the lights.
“Look I’ve gotta go, Boss…she’s starting to whinny…I think she needs her oats.” Gibbs could hear Tony grin down the line.
“Later, DiNozzo.” Gibbs snapped his phone shut and threw it on the passenger seat.
Tony was a good liar; one of the best he’d ever known - but the advantage of working with the man for so long was the fact that Gibbs could easily sort the lies from the truth.
Putting together all the clues the call had given him. Gibbs turned the car in a wide circle. Ten minutes later he had reached is his destination and slowly drove along keeping his eyes open.
He hated being right.
Gibbs parked and slowly walked towards the Potomac. It was late, a few joggers ran silently in the dark as the gentle lapping of the water merged with the sound of traffic.
Gibbs stopped by the lone figure and mirrored his stance. The metal railing was cold against his arms as he leaned against the barrier.
“You throw your date in the river?” Gibbs said quietly.
DiNozzo turned, seemingly unsurprised by the intrusion and gave a weary smile.
“Never could fool you, could I?” he said, with no malice that Gibbs had found him.
“Nope.” Gibbs replied.
Tony stared for a moment as if contemplating on explaining before he shrugged and turned his gaze back over the water.
Gibbs let his own eyes drift out across the far side of the river.
They stood in silence, letting the gentle sounds of the night become their conversation.
Gibbs now had all the information he needed to know. He didn’t need a degree in psychology to work out that the fact that DiNozzo was spending his evenings staring vacantly out into the water wasn’t a good thing, and screw all Tony’s protestations that it was business as normal.
Gibbs could see that lie was a crock of shit, and now DiNozzo knew he knew it.
~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
Tony dreaded his first day back, and it was everything he’d expected. The yard was like every other place of work and the gossip trail was the same. Okay the subject matters were usually more hardcore but the tongues still wagged and any salacious cases filtered downwards through the ranks until you felt like a goldfish swimming around a murky bowl.
He wasn’t wrong.
It started with the guards on the gate.
Then the security guys who manned the reception entrance at the front of the building stopped him.
Even the post room guys doing their rounds wanted a piece. Admin and the secretarial pool were next. Under normal circumstances he would have loved the attention from the women but the way they cooed, hugged and petted him only made him feel uncomfortable.
All the unanswered questions were there but they clearly didn’t know how to ask or if they should and for that Tony was thankful. He didn’t want to be their entertainment and he certainly didn’t want to talk about the undercover operation because the yard wanted a little titillation.
By the time he got to the elevator the fake smile was pretty much fixed on his face.
Tony nodded to the staff already in there and said a few words but he suspected he was projecting vibes which stopped any further interaction despite the smile. He knew what they were all looking at even if he couldn’t see their reflections in the steel but he steadfastly stared at the doors as they traveled upwards.
He tried not to feel self-conscious about the ugly raised scar that bisected the back of his skull. His hair had grown and he’d had it cut so it didn’t look as ridiculous as it had after he’d been shaved but he still suspected that he looked like Boo Radley. As the elevator doors opened he forced himself not to bring his hand up towards the back of his head.
Walking onto the floor with his head held high even though he was feeling tense and deflated, he smiled as McGee’s head popped up over the partition to their desks, followed by Ziva’s. Both grinned at him.
“Tony!” Abby leaped up from behind McGee’s desk and launched herself as he approached and hugged him tightly.
“Good you have you back, DiNozzo.” Gibbs looked up from where he was reading a file.
“Good to be back, Boss.” He wheezed as Abby squeezed.
Once released, he looked at his desk.
“Um…what the hell is that?” Tony yelped.
They all looked over at the effigy that still sat behind his desk.
“Oh, that’s Tony Mk.II; he kept us company while you were away.” Abby explained.
Tony narrowed his eyes.
“He was a lot better behaved than you, DiNozzo, got more work done than you too.” Gibbs huffed from behind his monitor.
“Boss…you wound me.” Tony shook his head and stared at the God-awful ensemble his doppelganger was wearing.
“I’ll wound you more if you don’t get your ass behind that desk and start working. Abs, take your little friend with you.”
Tony looked over at Gibbs but his boss was smirking.
He picked up the blow-up doll and handed it to Abby. She manhandled it under her arm and dragged it towards the elevator.
“Come see me later, Tony,” she called out. “And go easy on him, Gibbs, you can’t use a puncture repair kit on the real one.”
Tony settled behind his desk and with a satisfied look around the bullpens he fired up his PC and started the arduous task of catching up on his e-mails. Other agents on the floor stopped by intermittently throughout the morning but Gibbs’ glares and comments soon chased them away after a few brief words of greeting. He didn’t know why Gibbs was doing that as it wasn’t like they were busy but he was grateful he was. For a social being he wasn’t feeling particularly gregarious; but considering that they all wanted to talk about the senator and the op that wasn’t surprising.
Several hours later and he moved on to form filling and now he wasn’t so thrilled about returning to work. The place had a form for everything; the backroom boys liked nothing more than wasting agents’ time, it seemed, with pointless paper pushing. Hell, they were probably bringing in new legislation that you had to requisition via a triple form if you wanted to use the head. He chuckled to himself and wondered if Ziva would have her own form provided allowing her to enter the men’s room.
His desk phone trilled and he picked it up expecting it to be Abby asking why he hadn’t been down yet.
“Very Special Agent DiNozzo…here at your service.”
“Sir, you have two visitors down here but they aren’t on the list so I can’t send them up.”
Okay, that was intriguing. Couldn’t be anyone in law enforcement as they were allowed right up.
“Who is it?” Tony asked aware that Gibbs was ear wigging the conversation.
The security guard gave him the names and his heart took a downward lurch.
Shit, he’d been half expecting it but it didn’t make it any easier.
He was tempted to just send them away but he owed it to them.
“Okay, George, I’ll be down.”
He put his extension down and got up. He’d take the stairs to give himself a moment.
“Problem?” Gibbs’ voice broke through his train of thought.
Tony whipped his head up.
“No, Boss. I’ll be back in ten.”
Gibbs nodded but he didn’t go back to his work, instead Tony could feel his eyes following him as he made his way to the stairwell,
Once the fire door had shut behind him, Tony leaned against the wall and took several deep breaths.
He ran his fingers through his hair and tried to figure out what he was going to say but nothing cut it.
This was not going to end well.
He could feel it in his bones and it was no more than he deserved.
TBC
Cake and cookies to all who review. xx
Chapter: 14/?
Fandom: NCIS
Author: cheekymice
Rating: PG13
Beta: Scousmuz1K
Genre: Drama/Angst
Disclaimer: I don't own anything relating to the TV show NCIS sadly.
Notes: So here I am back again with another multi chapter fic. I hope you enjoy. This will be my usual brand of overblown angst with a soupcon of whumpage. I can say that this story will not be dwelling on anything graphic regarding the subject matter, it is mainly a study on how difficult some undercover assignments must be.
~~~ ~~~~
Rag Doll
“So, Anthony’s safely back home I take it?” Ducky asked.
Gibbs ran a hand along one of the empty autopsy slabs.
“Yeah, we got him settled yesterday and left him being mothered by his neighbor. She’ll keep him in line.” Gibbs’ mouth quirked up into a smile at the memory of the bustling woman tucking his agent into a blanket and threatening him with a spanking if he so much as moved from the spot. The fact that Tony took the scolding spoke about how much he respected the no-nonsense woman. “I dropped by to check on him before work but he was sound asleep, didn’t even hear me come in, Duck. I think a steam train and a marching band could have passed right by his bed and he wouldn’t have woken.”
Ducky stripped off his latex gloves and dumped them in the surgical waste bin. He turned off the x-ray boxes and instructed Palmer to sew the chest cavity on the corpse on the table.
“I know Anthony likes to think he is immune to such rigors, but sadly I’m afraid he’ll be feeling weak for some time yet. His body has gone through a great deal and that’s without adding the emotional effects of the past few months.” Ducky sighed. “I’m afraid it has all rather caught up with him.”
Gibbs followed Ducky into his office and it didn’t escape his notice when the ME shut the door behind them. That only ever happened when the doctor wanted to discuss something confidential or of a delicate nature.
It wasn’t like he didn’t know what was on the ME’s mind. Hell; it was the same thing that had been on his ever since he’d found out the true nature of DiNozzo’s assignment.
Ducky looked pensive and stared at the clock on the wall before he eventually opened his mouth. “Have you tried to speak to Anthony, Jethro? I mean really tried speak to him?” he asked.
“Duck….” Gibbs warned.
“The boy is hurting in more ways than one,” Ducky said firmly.
“He doesn’t need to ‘talk’, we do the job and we move on. That’s how it goes,” Gibbs lied.
“Jethro, this was more than just another undercover case, I know you understand that.”
Gibbs sighed. He wasn’t going to win this one. Ducky wasn’t fooled by his fake nonchalance over DiNozzo.
“Look, have you ever had a deep and meaningful conversation in hospital?” Gibbs huffed out a breath. “It’s impossible. Every time I opened my mouth a doctor or nurse came in, and if it wasn’t the staff interrupting, then it was the visitors. DiNozzo’s saying it was just another undercover op. Yeah, he admits that he’s relieved it’s over but he said it was no big deal.”
Ducky looked at Gibbs in disappointment and clucked his tongue in frustration; he knew he was one of the few who could get away with it and live to tell the tale. Gibbs leaned against the wall and waited for the chewing out that he knew was coming.
“Jethro. The implications of immersing himself into the mindset of a pedophile will be impacting on Anthony heavily. More so than I think the lad even realizes, and pretending that this was simply just another job will do him no good in the long run.” Ducky sat down behind his desk and swung his chair around to face Gibbs. “He may be acting like the life and soul of the party right now but he’s far from okay”
“I know, I know… but he doesn’t make it easy, Duck. How the hell do you get through to someone who stonewalls the whole time?” Gibbs folded his arms over his chest. Tony may have bared his soul to him during the op but he was a closed book now.
Ducky pursed his lips.
”That my friend is the conundrum that we will all have to work on solving.”
~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
Tony clicked the TV off and threw the remote down on the couch next to him.
Although it seemed like sacrilege to say it, there was only so much TV a person could watch before it started to scramble your brains.
Five days at home and the walls were well and truly closing in on him; he was bored and frustrated.
The first couple of days home had been kind of nice - mainly because he’d felt like crap - but now he was feeling better Muriel’s constant nagging for him to eat and rest was wearing him down, and he had to force himself to smile and take the fussing because it wasn’t fair to take out his frustrations on the woman.
He checked his watch. Lunchtime. It wasn’t as if he didn’t appreciate all the home cooked food, it was just he wasn’t used to eating so often; the job usually meant you grabbed on the hoof at strange times and all this regimentation was a little hard to take.
The tap on the door was right on time, but the voice that called out wasn’t.
“Tony, you decent?”
“Hey, Frank, not sure I’ve ever been decent but come in.”
The relief Tony felt was huge. He just wasn’t used to being mothered, and boy was Muriel going to town.
Frank walked into the room with a covered plate.
“Got to say it’s good to see you, Frank.”
Frank grinned.
‘Let me guess, from the look on your face the old ball and chain is driving you nuts, huh?”
“No, no, not at all.” Tony protested.
“Liar. How about I tell her to back off a little? She’s just gone into overdrive, I told her that you weren’t used to it.”
“It’s not that I don’t appreciate it but…” Tony smiled ruefully.
“But you need a little space now.” Frank laughed.
“She ironed my underpants, Frank! That’s just wrong.” Tony shuddered as he pictured the silver haired woman lovingly pressing steam into the crotch of his boxers.
“Thus spoke like a true bachelor. When you’re married you’ll get used to such things.”
“No offence, Frank… although the thought of a hot blonde manhandling my undergarments is a pleasant one… your wife wielding an iron’s the stuff of nightmares. I swear she gets an evil glint in her eye sometimes…”
Tony beamed as Frank handed over the plate. Lifting the foil, he sniffed the aroma of steak pie and veggies. He took the cutlery from the side and rested the plate on his knees.
He was expecting Frank to maybe leave now the delivery of his lunch had been made, but he didn’t. Instead he sat down and leaned back, placing his hands over his stomach.
As Tony started to dig in he opened his mouth.
“So, you offed a senator. Impressive.” Frank said simply.
Tony looked up in surprise, a fork full of food hovering near his mouth. It wasn’t something he’d shared and he knew that Gibbs wouldn’t have volunteered any information.
“How did I know? Internal Affairs guys have got a smell about them, and I can spot a fed a mile off.” Frank responded. “C’mon Tony, give me some credit. Several long visits from both IA and the FBI coinciding with all the who-ha in the press. Wasn’t hard to work out you were the one undercover.”
Tony didn’t say anything. Frank had it all worked out; he should have known the man’s analytical mind would have put all the pieces together. Once a cop, always a cop.
“I knew it was a bad one from the look you had on your face before you went under but hell, even I didn’t imagine just how bad,” Frank shook his head. “No wonder you look like someone spat you out…wading through the sewers with scum like that.”
Tony sighed and carefully placed his knife and fork together on the plate. He slid his meal onto the table. What little appetite he’d had was well and truly gone.
“You did good, Tony, you rid the world of several people who had no right to be walking on God’s good earth. Hell, you deserve a medal…damn perverts.”
“Frank…” Tony warned softly, letting the man know he really didn’t want to get into that particular discussion right now.
“Okay, okay, I can tell from your body language you don’t want to talk about it but I just wanted to say I worked that gig for a while in the eighties. I know how hard it is.” The ex-cop leaned forward and started to regale him with tales of things he didn’t want to hear about.
“Frank…please, not now….” Tony wasn’t aware he’d spoken, definitely wasn’t aware that he’d pleaded
The old man looked him in the eye. “Sorry, too soon huh. Look Tony, if you need to talk then you know where I am; I suppose that’s what I’m trying to say.”
Frank pointed at the rapidly cooling food.
“Now eat or I’ll sic my wife onto you.”
When Tony didn’t respond Frank stood as if to leave, then he paused.
“Seriously, don’t let it mess with your head, Kid.” He patted Tony on the shoulder and gave him a sympathetic smile.
As the door clicked shut Tony got up and picked up his plate.
“It’s too late, Frank, too late,” he muttered into the empty kitchen. He scraped it into the trashcan and rinsed the dirty dish in his sink.
Going into the spare bedroom he stripped off his tee and threw it down on the bed. Reaching up he grabbed the bar that spanned the doorframe and started a repetition of pull-ups. Allowing his brain to switch off, letting the gradual burn of exercise overtake everything else.
~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
Tony’s car wasn’t in his allotted space yet again, the fourth night on the trot. If he were a betting man he’d think that his SFA was avoiding him.
The rest of the team would probably be surprised at just how often the two of them chewed the fat over a meal, be it to discuss a case or just because it beat going home to an empty house. It made him laugh actually, the fact that Tony had the perfect opportunity to play a game of one-upmanship with McGee or Ziva over it but he never did.
Gibbs cursed as he drove away from the apartment; as he idled at the lights he picked up his cell and called DiNozzo.
“Hey Boss.” Tony answered cheerfully.
“Just stopped by but you weren’t in.” Gibbs said gruffly.
“Out on a date with that cute nurse and I’ve got to say it’s good to finally get back on the horse.” Tony laughed.
“Did you just call your date a horse, DiNozzo?” Gibbs pulled away from the lights.
“Look I’ve gotta go, Boss…she’s starting to whinny…I think she needs her oats.” Gibbs could hear Tony grin down the line.
“Later, DiNozzo.” Gibbs snapped his phone shut and threw it on the passenger seat.
Tony was a good liar; one of the best he’d ever known - but the advantage of working with the man for so long was the fact that Gibbs could easily sort the lies from the truth.
Putting together all the clues the call had given him. Gibbs turned the car in a wide circle. Ten minutes later he had reached is his destination and slowly drove along keeping his eyes open.
He hated being right.
Gibbs parked and slowly walked towards the Potomac. It was late, a few joggers ran silently in the dark as the gentle lapping of the water merged with the sound of traffic.
Gibbs stopped by the lone figure and mirrored his stance. The metal railing was cold against his arms as he leaned against the barrier.
“You throw your date in the river?” Gibbs said quietly.
DiNozzo turned, seemingly unsurprised by the intrusion and gave a weary smile.
“Never could fool you, could I?” he said, with no malice that Gibbs had found him.
“Nope.” Gibbs replied.
Tony stared for a moment as if contemplating on explaining before he shrugged and turned his gaze back over the water.
Gibbs let his own eyes drift out across the far side of the river.
They stood in silence, letting the gentle sounds of the night become their conversation.
Gibbs now had all the information he needed to know. He didn’t need a degree in psychology to work out that the fact that DiNozzo was spending his evenings staring vacantly out into the water wasn’t a good thing, and screw all Tony’s protestations that it was business as normal.
Gibbs could see that lie was a crock of shit, and now DiNozzo knew he knew it.
~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
Tony dreaded his first day back, and it was everything he’d expected. The yard was like every other place of work and the gossip trail was the same. Okay the subject matters were usually more hardcore but the tongues still wagged and any salacious cases filtered downwards through the ranks until you felt like a goldfish swimming around a murky bowl.
He wasn’t wrong.
It started with the guards on the gate.
Then the security guys who manned the reception entrance at the front of the building stopped him.
Even the post room guys doing their rounds wanted a piece. Admin and the secretarial pool were next. Under normal circumstances he would have loved the attention from the women but the way they cooed, hugged and petted him only made him feel uncomfortable.
All the unanswered questions were there but they clearly didn’t know how to ask or if they should and for that Tony was thankful. He didn’t want to be their entertainment and he certainly didn’t want to talk about the undercover operation because the yard wanted a little titillation.
By the time he got to the elevator the fake smile was pretty much fixed on his face.
Tony nodded to the staff already in there and said a few words but he suspected he was projecting vibes which stopped any further interaction despite the smile. He knew what they were all looking at even if he couldn’t see their reflections in the steel but he steadfastly stared at the doors as they traveled upwards.
He tried not to feel self-conscious about the ugly raised scar that bisected the back of his skull. His hair had grown and he’d had it cut so it didn’t look as ridiculous as it had after he’d been shaved but he still suspected that he looked like Boo Radley. As the elevator doors opened he forced himself not to bring his hand up towards the back of his head.
Walking onto the floor with his head held high even though he was feeling tense and deflated, he smiled as McGee’s head popped up over the partition to their desks, followed by Ziva’s. Both grinned at him.
“Tony!” Abby leaped up from behind McGee’s desk and launched herself as he approached and hugged him tightly.
“Good you have you back, DiNozzo.” Gibbs looked up from where he was reading a file.
“Good to be back, Boss.” He wheezed as Abby squeezed.
Once released, he looked at his desk.
“Um…what the hell is that?” Tony yelped.
They all looked over at the effigy that still sat behind his desk.
“Oh, that’s Tony Mk.II; he kept us company while you were away.” Abby explained.
Tony narrowed his eyes.
“He was a lot better behaved than you, DiNozzo, got more work done than you too.” Gibbs huffed from behind his monitor.
“Boss…you wound me.” Tony shook his head and stared at the God-awful ensemble his doppelganger was wearing.
“I’ll wound you more if you don’t get your ass behind that desk and start working. Abs, take your little friend with you.”
Tony looked over at Gibbs but his boss was smirking.
He picked up the blow-up doll and handed it to Abby. She manhandled it under her arm and dragged it towards the elevator.
“Come see me later, Tony,” she called out. “And go easy on him, Gibbs, you can’t use a puncture repair kit on the real one.”
Tony settled behind his desk and with a satisfied look around the bullpens he fired up his PC and started the arduous task of catching up on his e-mails. Other agents on the floor stopped by intermittently throughout the morning but Gibbs’ glares and comments soon chased them away after a few brief words of greeting. He didn’t know why Gibbs was doing that as it wasn’t like they were busy but he was grateful he was. For a social being he wasn’t feeling particularly gregarious; but considering that they all wanted to talk about the senator and the op that wasn’t surprising.
Several hours later and he moved on to form filling and now he wasn’t so thrilled about returning to work. The place had a form for everything; the backroom boys liked nothing more than wasting agents’ time, it seemed, with pointless paper pushing. Hell, they were probably bringing in new legislation that you had to requisition via a triple form if you wanted to use the head. He chuckled to himself and wondered if Ziva would have her own form provided allowing her to enter the men’s room.
His desk phone trilled and he picked it up expecting it to be Abby asking why he hadn’t been down yet.
“Very Special Agent DiNozzo…here at your service.”
“Sir, you have two visitors down here but they aren’t on the list so I can’t send them up.”
Okay, that was intriguing. Couldn’t be anyone in law enforcement as they were allowed right up.
“Who is it?” Tony asked aware that Gibbs was ear wigging the conversation.
The security guard gave him the names and his heart took a downward lurch.
Shit, he’d been half expecting it but it didn’t make it any easier.
He was tempted to just send them away but he owed it to them.
“Okay, George, I’ll be down.”
He put his extension down and got up. He’d take the stairs to give himself a moment.
“Problem?” Gibbs’ voice broke through his train of thought.
Tony whipped his head up.
“No, Boss. I’ll be back in ten.”
Gibbs nodded but he didn’t go back to his work, instead Tony could feel his eyes following him as he made his way to the stairwell,
Once the fire door had shut behind him, Tony leaned against the wall and took several deep breaths.
He ran his fingers through his hair and tried to figure out what he was going to say but nothing cut it.
This was not going to end well.
He could feel it in his bones and it was no more than he deserved.
TBC
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