Here you go, the final chapter...notes at end.

CHAPTER 10 - BIG PLANS

Silent Night [6.11]
Tony: Not what I expected to be doing on Christmas Eve.
McGee: What did you expect to be doing?
Tony: Not this.
McGee: You had no plans.
Tony: I had plans. I had big plans. Big, big plans.

There are always consequences to ones actions, no matter how benign. Tony knew this all too well. If he hadn't spoken up, Gibbs would never have made his own, similar admission and they would not be lying in Tony's bed, happily wrapped in each other's arms on the day after Christmas.

There was no doubt in Tony's mind that if he had not told Gibbs he was gay, Gibbs would have been content to keep his deeply buried feelings…well, deeply buried. That thought maddened Tony, not only because he would have been deprived of the hard-earned reward of being loved by Gibbs, but because Gibbs would defy all sense and choose to remain in a prison of his own making.

Except that Gibbs had shared a very personal part of himself with Tony, and the solitary, independent ex-Marine was going to have to deal with the repercussions of that choice. Gibbs had a straightforward way of dealing with things though.

"You. Me. We're having sex," Gibbs had said. Tony had tried valiantly not to laugh. Gibbs scowled and said, "So someone makes something of it. We'll deal with it." Don't fuck with me. Period.

He didn't seem to be concerned with the future, while Tony ran countless scenarios, possible actions and adverse reactions, creating a threat assessment in his mind. Tomorrow they would be back in the office at nine a.m., and uncertainty was beginning to eat away at the edges of the safe little cocoon Tony and was currently enjoying with Jethro.

Half asleep and spooning behind Tony, Gibbs gave a soft groan and tightened his grip on him. "What's the matter?"

"Work. Life. Where to go to buy a new bed," Tony said in an attempt to be light.

"Bed for you. Mattress for me. For us." Gibbs nuzzled Tony's neck, his breath hot. "It'll work itself out."

"What? No plan of action? No massive military campaign?"

"We need a plan?"

"Wouldn't hurt."

Gibbs sighed. "The team won't be in until noon."

They'd be full of stories about all the fun things they'd done while at Breena's aunt's home: sledding and games and eating to excess. Abby would bring back leftovers and cookies. Tim would have a hard time keeping his mind on work for a while.

And Tony wouldn't be able to tell them about how he'd spent his Christmas, not the full story, anyway. Even saying he'd eaten Christmas dinner and had gone snowshoeing with Gibbs would raise some eyebrows.

"I'm not ready for this," said Tony, wishing that his friends just knew and he wouldn't have to go through the whole process, telling them, explaining and even defending himself, dealing with their shock or disbelief, and then later, having people look at them sideways at work – because the word was sure to spread that Tony DiNozzo was sleeping with his boss. He covered his face and moaned. "Oh God."

Gibbs rested his hand on Tony's belly and gently stroked circles on it. "We'll figure this out, DiNozzo. There's no rush."

Tony turned his head. "I'm not sure I want…Do you keep this between just us?"

Gibbs kissed him. "Best kept secrets…"

"They'll catch on by the end of the first day," Tony groaned.

"So tell 'em. All at once." Gibbs oozed practicality.

"Rip it off like a band-aid? Yeah, right. I can just see you standing on your desk, announcing, "Gather round, probies. DiNozzo and me, we're doing it. Now get back to work. Grab your gear–" Ow! Did you just headslap me?"

Gibbs said 'obviously' with one raised eyebrow. "I never said I was gonna tell them, DiNozzo."

"Oh."

"I can do it if you want."

Tony stared at him. "Wait a minute, you're volunteering? Aren't you the guy who said it was nobody's damned business, like yesterday?"

"So, plans change," Gibbs said, ruffling the hair that trailed down Tony's stomach and back up to his chest again. He rubbed the pad of his thumb around Tony's nipple and Tony's breathing quickly became irregular.

Gibbs' hand moved down to rest on Tony's stomach, which gave him a chance to gather his wits and ask, "You'd do that? Stand up in front of everyone and out yourself?"

"Seems as though it would be outing both of us. But yeah."

"Wow. Thanks. But…I'll do it. I started this whole thing. Best if I finish it by telling our friends."

"Vance?"

Tony cringed. "Oh yeah. That won't be easy. I hate to think…"

"He'll give us a song and dance. Get all pissy. Lay down the law. He'll come around though."

Tony smiled. "We'll invite him for dinner."

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "That'll be fun."

Enjoying the feeling of Gibbs' rough hand on his stomach, Tony said, "I'll see about buying a bigger bed today. And we'll get your mattress, right? Maybe someone'll deliver same day. If not we'll just have to suck it up and sleep here."

"You plan to sleep?"

Tony smiled, eradicating the women of the past from his mind. "After sex, yeah. I need my beauty rest, Gibbs."

"So we can sleep at my house," Gibbs said matter-of-factly. "I guess the bed upstairs will do. For now."

Tony could feel the tension hiding underneath Gibbs' veneer of confidence. Did he really think that Tony cared about sleeping in a bed that had a long history? Well, he did, sort of. Tony was willing to ignore the fact that Gibbs had had sex in that bed upstairs in his house with at least one ex-wife (Steph, who Tony actually liked a lot), but he'd also slept there with Colonel Mann, Dr. Ryan, and possibly M. Allison Hart, who gave Tony the creeps every time he thought about her. Tony said, "That'll be good."

Gibbs nipped at Tony's neck just above the neckline of his old sweatshirt. "Only good?"

"Good, fantastic, incredible." Tony turned a little inside Gibbs' arms. "I thought you didn't want to sleep in that bed?"

"I thought you wouldn't want to…"

"Because of all your women?" asked Tony.

"All my women? You think I had a rotating door?"

"Don't get all pissy, Gibbs. It's okay that you enjoyed yourself. I'd be more surprised if you didn't have half the women in DC knocking on your door. You're an attractive man and –"

"Hey," Gibbs warned. "I don't care about them."

"You don't?"

"No. I don't. Okay?" Gibbs said, his tone saying he didn't want to hear any more about it.

"Okay." Tony kissed Gibbs deeply, showing his appreciation and love. Their lips parted and Tony whispered, "Your bed or mine, I don't care. It's you that matters." Apparently he had said the right thing because Gibbs' mouth descended once again, and Gibbs showed him exactly who he cared about.

※÷※÷※

After coffee came breakfast and they headed for the shower only somehow they ended up back in bed before they had a chance to get dressed. They'd pushed the bed against the wall and Tony was under the sheet, alternating flicking his tongue back and forth across the sensitive tip of Gibbs' penis and sucking on the head. Gibbs was groaning loudly, one hand clenched in the bedding, the other gripping Tony's hair. Tony barely noticed the pain because he was concentrating on sucking really hard with the intention of driving Gibbs crazy. It seemed to be working nicely. Gibbs started to thrust is cock into Tony's mouth and Tony was moaning away, but all of a sudden he had the feeling that something was wrong. He released of Gibbs' cock and pushed the sheet off his head, looking around. "You hear something?"

"Fuck, don't stop now," Gibbs growled, pushing at Tony's shoulder.

Tony brushed him off. "No, I heard something." There it was again, a door closing quietly, the sound of someone moving around – in his apartment. "Gibbs," Tony hissed.

Before either of them could move, there was a knock on the bedroom door and it opened, and standing there with a dumbfounded expression was Tony's father.

※÷※÷※

Senior: "Holy Father of Jesus!"

Tony: "Oh fuck! Fuck!"

Gibbs: "Shut the damn door!"

※÷※÷※

Tony was out of bed and into jeans in record time. At least he was already wearing the Marines sweatshirt. On his way out, he glanced back at Gibbs, only to find him laughing and shaking his head.

"That isn't helping," Tony hissed.

"You want help?" asked Gibbs, still grinning.

"No, I can handle this," said Tony, angry but not at Gibbs.

Senior was pacing up and down the living room, his face red, either from anger or embarrassment; Tony couldn't tell which. As soon as he spotted Tony, he strode up to him and, pointing at the now-closed bedroom door, demanded, "What the hell was that, Junior?"

Tony was sorely tempted to say, 'That was me giving my boyfriend the DiNozzo Blowjob Special, Dad.' Only, Senior's face was flushed dark red and Tony was afraid his dad was going to have a stroke.

While Tony took a moment to figure out what he was going to say, Senior took advantage of the silence and started in on Tony. He held up a small gift-wrapped box and said in a loud voice, "I come here, at great expense I might point out, to see my only son and to deliver this family signet ring to him, only to find him in bed with…who the hell was that?"

There had been many times when Tony would have backed off, given in or otherwise played the situation down. But, he quickly realized, as his anger grew, those times were just another thing he was relegating to his past. "Dad, this is my apartment," said Tony. His father started to talk over him but Tony rose to his full height and stood as he imagined Gibbs might, proud and with his back as straight as an arrow, and said firmly, "This is my home and I specifically told you that you were not invited here for Christmas. How'd you get in, anyway?"

Senior waved his hand dismissively in the direction of the door. "That nice lady down the hall. She said she had a key for when she feeds your fish when you're away. Look, I was going to take you out for our traditional Christmas breakfast even if it is a day late and…what is all this?"

"I don't want you here Dad. I thought I made that clear on the phone."

"But Son, I'm trying to make up for all those missed Christmases. This is the family ring, solid gold with the DiNozzo crest inlaid in precious–"

Tony snatched the gift out of his father's hand and interrupted him. "Fine, I've got it now. About twenty years too late, I might point out. Look, I'm busy right now and I have to go to work soon, so how about you go back to your hotel and we can meet up later…" – Tony knew he was going to regret this – "…like for dinner or–"

But Senior wasn't easily distracted. He looked from the bedroom door to Tony and said, as if the penny had just dropped, "But…that was a man."

Tony almost laughed at the incongruity of it all. He almost rolled his eyes, too. Instead he looked steadily at his father while he took hold of his arm. "You need to leave now."

"But…you're not…you're not homosexual! Oh…oh! How could you? Oh God, where did I go wrong? That man, he forced you, he…Junior, what would your mother think?"

For a second Tony's mouth hung open. Then his anger kicked in and he replied tersely, "My mother would support me for following my heart, Dad, and don't you go bringing her into this! Anyway, who the fuck are you to judge me? I…I…You know what? You need to get the hell out of my home. Now."

Senior tried to drag his arm out of Tony's grip, but Tony had years of experience dealing with uncooperative suspects. He not only didn't loosen his grip but he shoved his father against the wall. Seeing his dad's eyes widen with confusion and a hint of fear gave Tony a small feeling of satisfaction.

Unfortunately, DiNozzo Senior was not a man used to accepting the word 'no' and he struggled until Tony was forced to twist his arm and propel him towards the door. When Senior cried out in pain Tony wondered what he was doing. He was about to release him when from behind them Gibbs asked, "You need a hand here?"

"No, he's just leaving." Tony let go of his father's arm and stepped back, not wanting to even touch him at this point.

While Senior spluttered and complained, Tony stepped back and crossed his arms, settling what he hoped was a neutral expression on his face. Gibbs moved to his side in an unspoken demonstration of support. A glance at him told Tony that although his lover had pulled on his pants, he was shirtless and, even if it was a little distracting at that moment, Gibbs had a physique to be proud of.

Gibbs caught Tony's double-take and quick assessment and he smirked in response.

Senior, straightening his clothing and muttering about being manhandled, sent Gibbs a dirty look. He took a step forward and said loudly in Gibbs' face, "My son is not a fag! This is all your fault, you cocksucking–"

Tony launched himself at his father and, honestly, after it was all over, he couldn't remember what he'd done, just that he'd been blindly furious and that he'd thrown some punches, and from the state of his right hand, that he must have caused some damage.

※÷※÷※

Gibbs had not only thrown DiNozzo Senior out of the apartment, but he'd followed him into the hall. There had been shouting and a thump or two, but as Gibbs returned unharmed – except for reddened knuckles on his right hand that matched Tony's sore knuckles – that was all Tony cared about.

The skirmish with his father had left Tony feeling down, almost weak, as if he'd gone ten rounds in the ring. Nobody wanted to fight with their own flesh and blood, even if the guy was a 'homophobic asshole.' Those were Gibbs' words, muttered under his breath. There was no satisfaction in it although Tony suspected that Gibbs was more than pleased about being able to rough Senior up.

※÷※÷※

Tony was in the bathroom, soaking his right hand in cold water when Gibbs appeared in the doorway. Tony turned, reluctant to talk about it, but all Gibbs did was look at him with a slightly sad smile while holding out his arms. Tony didn't need any more of an invitation. He was immediately wrapped in Gibbs' warm, safe embrace, and it took all his strength not to break down like a little kid.

"I hate this," Tony said, his words muffled in Gibbs' chest. "Fighting," he added, to be clear.

Gibbs patted him on the back and said, "It's done. Let's get washed up."

※÷※÷※

They showered together, gently washing then drying each other off with big fluffy towels, being careful of the bruises Tony had sustained from his run-in with the unfortunate Joe Minor. Tony had a feeling that Gibbs liked taking care of him. He didn't mind it, really. Okay, it was satisfying, knowing that Gibbs loved him enough to be there for him when he really needed the support, no questions asked.

Tony also loved that even if he made fun of Tony's expensive mango-pineapple shampoo, Gibbs chose to wash his own hair with it instead of the generic brand that sat on the shower shelf. When Gibbs squinted at the plain shampoo bottle, Tony explained, "Ducky gave it to me to use whenever I get a head injury. Antiseptic." Gibbs nodded in understanding.

They shaved and dressed, and both men downed another cup of coffee while sitting at Tony's breakfast bar. The little box sat on the counter. Tony gave in and opened it. Gibbs was watching him, curious, so Tony removed the heavy gold ring and held it up so he could see it. "The DiNozzo family ring. See the coat of arms? It's ancient, been passed down to the heir on his 21st birthday for generations. Only somehow Senior got mugged and the ring was stolen right before my birthday," he said, his tone neutral.

Gibbs took the ring from Tony's hand and squinted at it. "This just turn up?"

Tony shrugged. "Apparently. Took twenty years."

"Hmmm."

"Yeah. Exactly what I thought," Tony replied glumly, taking the ring back. He returned it to the box and neither of them talked until Tony said reluctantly, "I should call him."

Gibbs stared and then a neutral expression slid over his face.

Tony sighed deeply. "Go ahead, say it."

Gibbs walked over to the sink and washed his cup before turning to Tony. "He won't give an inch," Gibbs warned.

Tony's shoulders slumped. "Yeah. I know. But…"

"But he's still your dad," said Gibbs, nodding in what may have been understanding, even if he didn't like what it was that he understood. He leaned across the counter and gently took hold of Tony's right hand. He kissed his knuckles. "You're a good man, DiNozzo, but he will never see it."

After a while, Tony nodded. "I'll give it a few days and then I'll send an email. That way I won't lose my temper again." He could see that Gibbs was upset over what had gone down. Tony squeezed his hand. "What I hate, apart from the intolerance and stupid things he said, is that he's managed to make a beautiful morning into something really sad. Me, I can take it, but I hate it so much that he hurt you. And I hate that I brought him here, even if it wasn't directly, and–"

Gibbs pulled Tony to his chest, hugging him tightly. "Don't. Don't," he said, his breath warm on Tony's neck. He kissed Tony with warmth and affection, confirming his love for him. Tony clung to him and tried not to let the pricking behind his eyelids develop into tears, which would be totally embarrassing.

Gibbs said in a firm voice, "Let's get dressed. We'll put this behind us and move on."

Tony nodded, unable to respond, though with Gibbs, words weren't really necessary.

※÷※÷※

Gibbs sat by Tony's side on the couch. Tony slumped against him, staring into space. Eventually Tony took in that the sun was streaming in the windows and that it had to be well after ten. "Work," he asked, his voice slightly rough.

Gibbs made an affirmative sound. "I called in. We've got until noon."

※÷※÷※

The rest of the day was as Tony had predicted. The team returned with everyone in good spirits, bearing gifts of food and stories of snowball fights and a marathon game of Washington-Opoly. Tim was beaming. He'd netted the Bureau of Engraving, the Pentagon and the White House and made a bundle of cash.

"I'm sorry to tell you, Timmy, but it's not real money," Tony said with a smirk.

Tim had smiled right back. "Actually it is, we played for cash. Pennies on the dollar amount but it added up. Made a sweet two hundred."

Tony did his best to act happy, but the morning's fight with his father had left a bad taste in his mouth. At noon, Tony checked and confirmed that his dad had left DC. At 12:05 Gibbs cornered Tony in the elevator and held him in place with hands on his cheeks and kissed him, open-mouthed and just that bit aggressive. It was thoroughly arousing, making Tony moan and go so weak in the knees so he had to grab onto Gibbs' coat just to stay upright.

Afterwards – after Tony and Gibbs ventured out into the bitterly cold afternoon to pick up hot drinks and lunch for the whole team – Tony felt better, renewed somehow. And late that afternoon Tony came to grips with the fact that nobody else's opinion mattered because he was in love with Gibbs, and Gibbs, apparently, was in love with him, and neither of them was going anywhere anytime soon.

Tony tried several times to announce to everyone – colleagues and friends – that he was now with Gibbs, and they were together, but he was either interrupted or he started to feel panic rising and had to head for the bathroom to dash water on his face. Ziva was eyeing him suspiciously, Tim kept frowning in his direction, and Ducky asked him – twice – if he was all right. Tony deflected and regrouped.

At the end of the day, when Gibbs announced everyone should go home, Tony still hadn't said anything. There was always tomorrow he reasoned, even though he knew that it would be no easier the next day. Gibbs nodded at Tony, meaning see you later, and remained at his desk.

Gibbs was still at his desk when Tony stepped into the elevator with Tim, Dornie and Abby, who was being driven home by Tim because her car didn't handle snow-slicked roads at all well. Palmer and Ducky joined them, and at the last moment Ziva slipped in. They crowded together in the small elevator car, buttoning up their coats in preparation for the cold weather, chatting about road conditions and the holidays. The elevator descended and suddenly jerked and halted in between floors. There were small cries of mild alarm and just as Ducky was about to hit the emergency button the elevator started up again.

"Hey, we're going back up," exclaimed Palmer.

He was right. The elevator rose to the floor they'd just left, the doors opened and standing there was Gibbs looking expectant.

"You going down, Boss?' Tony asked, getting the feeling that Gibbs was up to no good. "How'd you…? Never mind."

Gibbs stepped in, nodded at the others and shouldered his way to the back so he could stand next to Tony. A second after the doors closed and the elevator began its descent one again, Gibbs turned towards Tony and, as if were the most normal thing in the world, adjusted Tony's woolen Burberry scarf around his neck.

Tony stood stiffly, eyes wide, and wondered what the hell Gibbs was up to. He felt his face turning red. Abby, who was standing next to Gibbs, seemed amused by Gibbs' attention to Tony. But then her eyes narrowed with suspicion and when Gibbs grinned and grasped Tony's hand they became impossibly large. "Tony?" she whispered.

Tim turned his head to see what was going on and he, too, saw Gibbs' hand holding Tony's. Tim's mouth fell open, his eyes grew big and he shook his head, muttering, "Jeez."

"Boss?" asked Tony, his voice high-pitched.

"Where're your gloves?" Gibbs demanded.

"Uh, pocket?" Tony extricated his hand from Gibbs and looked up to find everyone watching them with interest.

The elevator bell dinged, the doors opened, and its occupants piled out. Abby, Tim and Dornegat stood to one side, speechless, though Abby was clinging to Tim's arm and jumping up and down in excitement. Ducky and Palmer seemed to find it very amusing, Palmer even going so far as to punch Ziva in the arm in his excitement. Ziva, after she got over being punched by Palmer, studied her boss and her co-worker, and said, "Does this mean I win the pool?"

Abby shook her head, never taking her eyes off the couple. "Not yet. Wait, wait and see…"

Gibbs walked past the gawking people, ushering Tony ahead with a hand to his back. They stopped a few feet from the elevator. "Put your gloves on, DiNozzo." Tony, dazed and unsure what rabbit hole he'd fallen into, did as he was told. Acting as if they didn't have a small audience, Gibbs sniffed the air. "Good night for fire." He looked at Tony, his blue eyes twinkling, "How 'bout I cook us up a couple of steaks?"

Tony whispered, "What are you doing?"

Gibbs shrugged and pulled on his own gloves. "You know what? I should go shopping for a new mattress after dinner. And I'm not sleeping in that twin bed of yours again, so you'd better bring your checkbook."

"Gibbs," warned Tony in a low voice. His face felt like it was burning up out in the cold air and he could literally feel his co-workers' eyes burning holes into his back.

In a quiet voice that only Tony could hear, Gibbs said, "You know I love you, DiNozzo."

His mouth hanging open, Tony nodded. He croaked, "And you call me impulsive and crazy?"

Gibbs' face lit up. "Guess you must be rubbing off on me." He shoulder-bumped Tony and grinned. "Hey, you know you owe me? We never finished what we started this morning."

Coming to his senses, Tony pulled on his gloves and said, "Okay, that's enough!" He tore his eyes away from Gibbs and headed for his car – only he stopped in his tracks a few steps towards his regular parking spot. He'd driven in with Gibbs that day. "Oh, man…"

Gibbs snuck his hand in the crook of Tony's arm and smoothly guided him to his own car. "The way I see it, this is about us, DiNozzo. Just you and me. Nobody else." He let go of Tony and walked to the driver's side while Tony stood at the passenger side door. Before Gibbs unlocked his car he looked across the roof towards Tony. "That is, if you'll have me."

"You know I will," Tony replied, barely aware that his friends were straining to listen to everything he and Gibbs were saying.

"You, DiNozzo…?"

Tony couldn't help shaking his head, even as he smiled. "Yeah, I take you, Gibbs."

"Damn right you do," said Gibbs.

"God help us," Tony sighed, and Gibbs laughed aloud.

They both got into the car and Gibbs started the engine.

"Did you plan this?" asked Tony, cranking up the heat.

"Nope. I plan to have a good time tonight, though." Gibbs leaned over and slipped a hand behind Tony's neck, drawing him in ever so gently and kissing him, long and slow.

When Gibbs pulled away, Tony complained, "They'll see us."

Gibbs glanced through the rear window and turned to smile at Tony. "Yup."

"Oh, what the hell." Tony flung his arms around Gibbs' neck and accused, "You are such a show-off."

While DiNozzo was busy kissing Gibbs in his car in the parking garage at NCIS, their friends – who were soon joined by what seemed like half the workers in the building as they left work – were laughing, hooting and applauding in the distance.

Although their jubilant voices only vaguely registered in Tony's mind, he thought about his big plans for Christmas and how much his life – both of their lives – had changed in such a short time.

"Gibbs?"

"Mmm?"

"I forgot to tell you. I ordered our beds today from Bob's Big Beds and they said they'd deliver your mattress first, this afternoon. They'll do my bed tomorrow. They said they wouldn't deliver without us there so I told them it was a matter of national security that it was delivered right away, so they agreed. They seemed to know you. I told them to leave it on the porch. So we don't have to go shopping. We can go straight home. To your home."

"National security, huh? We'd better go rescue it then, before it gets kidnapped," Gibbs said with a smirk, starting the car and driving fast in the direction of his home.

※÷※÷※

After they'd tested Gibbs' new mattress, for sturdiness as well as comfort, and Tony was lying sated within Gibbs' arms, Gibbs said, "You know the ring?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"You know your family crest has two unicorns on it?"

"Yeah?" Tony knew Gibbs; he was leading up to something.

"Sorta unusual, dontcha think? Two male unicorns with those big pointy horns meeting over a crest."

"Wait a minute." Tony scrambled out of bed, rummaged in his jacket and brought the ring back to bed with him. Gibbs was looking at him oddly so Tony said defensively, "I brought it with me to show Ducky today. He thinks it really is old." Tony had a close look at the crest and damned if there weren't two unicorns facing each other. "They're rampant over a field of azure blue," he said, describing the inlaid crest on the gold ring. "Like the color of your eyes. And okay, yeah, it's unusual. Except the DiNozzo males are known for their virility so it makes perfect sense."

Gibbs tried to conceal a smirk. "Rampant, huh? They've even got big dicks."

Tony immediately looked closely at the crest. "They do not! Those are hairy bits."

"Uhuh. So, you read the motto?"

"It's in Latin, Gibbs. I took Latin but I don't know what it means."

Gibbs retrieved his reading glasses from the nightstand and put them on. He read aloud, "Fidelis et Verus."

Tony looked at Gibbs with interest. "Fidelis? As in Semper Fidelis? Cool. Faithful and…Verus...uh…A little help here?"

" Fidelis et Verus. Faithful and True," Gibbs translated, holding onto the ring.

"That's a good motto," said Tony, thinking how Senior didn't know the meaning of either of those words. He was glad that he had the ring, even if the way his father had butted into Tony's apartment, and his life, had left a lot to be desired.

Gibbs removed his glasses and put them safely back on the nightstand. He then turned to Tony and took hold of his left hand. As Gibbs slowly slid the gold ring on Tony's finger he looked in Tony's eyes and said solemnly, "I pledge to you, DiNozzo…Tony…that I will live by your family motto. I will be faithful and true so long as you'll have me."

Tony couldn't prevent tears from welling up in his eyes, but this time he didn't care if Gibbs saw them. "Gibbs…Jethro…I guess this means you're going to be stuck with me forever because I plan to be faithful and true, too, and I love you so much I…" He couldn't get anything else out and had to reach for a tissue.

Gibbs twisted and turned off the light before settling down in the bed with Tony in his arms and a smile on his face. "I know, DiNozzo. I know."

※÷※÷※÷※÷※ the end ※÷※÷※÷※÷※

End Notes: Thanks for leaving comments, which are always appreciated! If you would like to see my version of the DiNozzo coat of arms, visit my LiveJournal page: rose-malmaison dot livejournal dot com. It is rated 'M.'

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