In the Eye of the Beholder 5/8
Entering the ICU room, Tony gave a low moan at the sight of his life partner. The metal band screwed into Tim's head held his body taut with a series of pulleys and weights while various tubes went down his throat or disappeared under the blankets. Ducky wrapped an arm around Tony and led him to a chair.
"I know it is quite unsettling to see him like this, but all of this is a very positive sign, Anthony."
"Positive?" The sound Tony made was a cross between a laugh and a sob. "This sure doesn't look very positive."
"Do you know how rare it is to suffer a fracture like this and not lose significant function? The slightest wrong move during his rescue could have been fatal or left him paralyzed with no hope of improved function. This is minor in comparison to what he could be facing."
"If it works."
Ducky had to concede that one point. "Yes, if it works, but we must keep a positive attitude. It will work and he will have a significant gain in function."
Tony almost reminded him that compared to being in a coma and on a respirator, any improvement would be considered a significant gain, but looking over his shoulder at the expression on Gibbs' face kept him quiet. "Thanks, Ducky, you're right. Boss, it's all right, you can come in."
Gibbs moved closer, stopping about half way between the door and the bed. "You only have a few minutes with him, I didn't want to intrude."
"It's okay." Tony carefully threaded his hand through the equipment to rest on Tim's face. "You hear that, Tim? The Boss is worried about intruding. He can worry about that later when he catches us making out in a supply closet."
Edging closer, Gibbs laid a hand on the foot of the bed. "I think I owe you guys a pass."
"A one time pass from the Boss, we can't let that get away, can we Tim?" The arrival of a nurse told Tony that their time was running short. "They're not going to let me stay, but I'll be back first thing in the morning. I love you, Tim, and we're going to get through this."
There was no response and after a few minutes, Tony let himself be lead out of the room.
---NCIS---
Ziva, Jimmy and Abby ended up at a diner not too far from the hospital. After they ordered, Abby glared at her two dinner companions. "How long have the two of you known about them?"
Jimmy blushed as he played with his fork. "When Gibbs was in Mexico, I ran into an old friend that's gay. His date that evening was Tony, and well..."
"Hey, Jimmy, long time no see." Light brown hair and a bookish look, Martin Hayes had not changes very much since they'd been freshmen undergrads together.
"Marty, it has been a while, how have you been?" Jimmy shook the offered hand before being pulled into a hug. Over Marty's shoulder he recognized Tony DiNozzo as his suddenly uncomfortable dinner companion. Tony quickly gave a slight shake of his head as he stood and introduced himself as if they'd never met.
Jimmy played along, making small talk with the two men until his date arrived. Excusing himself, he tried to subtly watch as he listened to his blind date prattle on. Half way through their dinner of overpriced, overcooked fish with a French name, Jimmy watched as Tony and Marty finished their own meal and Tony made some excuse as to why he couldn't continue the evening somewhere more private. Both men left, but Tony returned a few minutes later and retreated to the bar alone.
Having no interest in the personality quirks of his blind date's pet cats, Jimmy ended their evening as quickly as he politely could and joined Tony at the bar as soon as her cab left the restaurant.
"Hey, Tony."
"Palmer." Tony waited until he ordered a drink, raising an eyebrow at the bright blue cocktail the bartender was mixing up for Jimmy. "Thanks for not telling Martin that we know each other."
"It's okay if you're not out yet, I was just surprised that you'd be interested in a guy like Marty."
Tony was clearly uncomfortable with the comment. "Yeah, well..." Jimmy continued on as if he hadn't heard the interruption.
"I mean he reminds me so much of McGee. Well, actually I guess McGee reminds me of Marty since I met him first, but you know what I mean."
Suddenly nervous, Tony stared at his drink as he swirled it around. "I hadn't noticed."
"Really?
"Drop it Palmer, okay? McGee's straight, end of story."
Palmer nibbled at the pineapple slice that came with his drink. "It's too bad that McGee's straight, because he sure forgives you for just about anything."
Story complete, Jimmy shrugged as he looked up at Abby. "It didn't last long between Tony and Marty. I'm not sure exactly when he and Tim got together, but he told me about them right before he was sent out as an Agent Afloat. He... he didn't want Tim to be here with no one around that he could talk to."
---NCIS---
Other than a few directions, it was a quiet ride back to the brick house Tim and Tony called home. Gibbs wasn't sure what he expected when he followed Tony up the walkway, but the interior was bright and cheerful with fresh paint on the walls and gleaming hardwood floors. It was the from the same era as Gibbs' home, but had obviously been renovated at some point. The traditional warren of small rooms was now an open concept with the living room, dining area and kitchen all open to each other.
Jethro had been sleeping on the covered back deck and bounded through the doggie door when he heard them arrive. Tony dropped down on one knee and hugged the dog, burying his face in the thick fur. "Hey, buddy, did you miss us? Daddy... Daddy's not going to home for a while."
The large Shepard pranced around, obviously looking for Tim, but was distracted when Tony fed him. Gibbs followed them into the kitchen, noting the bathroom and the laundry room down a short hallway. Aware of the subtle glances around their home, Tony talked as he poured the kibble into a bowl and refilled the water dish. "That door over there is to Tim's study."
Gibbs poked his head through the partially open door and looked around before stepping inside. Rich paneling and a deep colored Oriental rug gave the room the look of a traditional English library. The large antique desk and Victorian accents added to the mood. "I can see him in here working on a book."
Tony had a wistful look on his face when he joined Gibbs in the study. "We didn't have a legal wedding because there would have been records, but as far as we're concerned, we're married. Another thing we couldn't do was go on a honeymoon because how could we both take vacation at the same time? Instead, I built this room for Tim and he did the bonus room down in the basement for me."
The older man didn't know what to say. The more he saw told him how deep the relationship was, even more than just the length of time they'd been together. He nodded slowly. "You must be tired, I'll be here early to take you back to Bethesda, then I'll arrange to get your car over there."
The idea of being alone and without a car while Tim was in intensive care was unsettling. "It's late, Boss, why don't you just crash here? There's a guest room upstairs or the chair in the corner folds out into a twin bed. That way if Ducky calls tonight..."
Gibbs wanted to kick himself. Of course that would be a worry. "Sure, Tony, that's probably a good idea."
"Yeah, umm, I'm going to take a shower and try to get some sleep. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen. There's a pot of soup in the fridge, if you want to warm some up, and coffee's in the cupboard over the coffee maker." Tony didn't wait for an answer before disappearing up the stairs.
Alone in the kitchen, Gibbs wandered over to the refrigerator and checked out the leftovers. A hearty bean and vegetable soup was in a large pot that matched several more hanging over the stove. He didn't know either of his boys could cook, another clue of how much he'd missed. By the time he had the coffee pot going, the microwave beeped and he took the bowl of soup with him as he started to wander through the house.
Curiosity drove him downstairs first, to see the bonus room Tim had created for Tony. He caught himself laughing at the huge Tetris game mural that covered the side wall, the first thing he noticed as he walked through the door. The largest screen Gibbs had ever seen outside of a theater dominated the front wall and comfortable leather seats and floor pillows were ready and waiting for movie viewers. For those not interested in movies, the back of the large room held both a game table and a pool table, while the shelves on the back wall contained glass jars of every treat you'd ever find in a theater lobby. An alcove near the door was large enough to fit Tim's massive computer set up along with a second, smaller system he assumed belonged to Tony. The final touches were an old fashioned popcorn maker, ready to fire up with the opening credits and a small refrigerator tucked under the counter. Not surprisingly, Gibbs opened it to find it full of Tony's favorite beer.
Sitting in one of the overstuffed chairs, Gibbs had to smile, imagining the entire team down here after a long week. Still noting the personal touches, the older man enjoyed the soup. While the public areas upstairs had a definite neutrality about them, this space screamed Tony and Tim, right down to the sofa pillows made from both Ohio State and MIT t-shirts.
Gibbs finished the soup and returned upstairs to heat a second bowl. The shower was off and Gibbs took the food up to Tony. Knowing which direction he'd heard the water gave Gibbs a pretty good idea which bedroom was the master. The door wasn't latched and opened as he softly knocked. "Tony? You hungry? I brought up some of that soup for you. Ah, Tony."
The younger man, dressed in a pair of boxers, hair still damp, was asleep across the bed, clutching a pillow against his chest. Gibbs recognized the position, remembered how many times he woke up with his arms wrapped around Shannon's pillow, remembered how he was convinced even years later that he could still smell her shampoo on the pillowcase.
It was a grief filled memory he would not wish on any of his team, let alone be the cause. Helpless to fix it, he set the bowl on the nightstand before pulling the covers over Tony. With nothing else to do, he returned downstairs, poured himself a cup of coffee and settled in to wait.
---NCIS---
They were half way through their dinners before Abby turned to Ziva. "Okay, so when did you find out?"
Ziva sighed, knowing that the conversation could not be avoided. "When Director Shepard died, the night we returned from California Tony and I went out to a bar. We were both very upset and feeling extremely guilty for what had happened to Jenny. It was a bar we went to often and apparently as we became more and more intoxicated, the bartender made a phone call...
"Hey, Tony, Ziva, you guys aren't planning on driving anywhere tonight, are you?" The bartender looked hesitant about serving them the next round.
Tony looked at him and slammed the empty glass on the bar. "Hell, no, I need to be a whole lot drunker than this before I'm done."
Shrugging, the bartender took their keys and handed over another round. Two more rounds after that and the bartender finally cut them off.
"Oh, come on, I can still feel my fingers."
"Sorry, man, you're going to start scaring the rest of the customers."
"It's okay, I'll get them home." Both Tony and Ziva turned around to find McGee standing in back of them. The bartender gave him a relieved grin and slipped him both sets of car keys. With an arm around each waist, Tim managed to get both of them out the door.
Half way through the parking lot, Tony shook off the help and turned to stare at him. "You enjoying the show, McGee?"
Tim let Ziva lean against his car. "Tony, come on."
"Like seeing the great DiNozzo screw up?" Tony turned around in a wobbly circle, arms out. "Come on, take your best shot. Tell me how much I screwed up."
"Did you?" Tim had a very serious expression on his face. "Why'd you leave her without protection, Tony? What did you think was happening?"
Tony went from angry to devastated in under three seconds. "She ordered us to, Probie. I figured she was hooking up with some old boyfriend and the one thing I've learned is to never get mixed up in Jenny Shepard's personal life."
"Ah, hell, Tony."
"If I'd just followed her, she'd still be alive, Probie."
Seemingly forgetting about Ziva standing there. Tim grabbed Tony's face and pulled him close, until their foreheads were touching. "I could have lost you." He stiffened and stepped back in time to see Tony's face soften as he confessed. "I can't lose you."
Ziva laughed and shook her head. "I think I was too drunk to really understand what I was seeing, but Tim sent me home in a cab and drove Tony home himself. The next morning, when I hadn't heard from Tony, I went to his apartment and picked the lock."
Abby couldn't deny her curiosity. "So, did you get to see some action?"
"They were still in bed, their legs tangled together. Tony was asleep, draped over McGee's chest, and McGee was just running his fingertips up and down Tony's back. I knew right then that Tony had finally found the home he has always craved."
"Wow."