Found

Hey, y'all! So, I'm back with something a bit different. This isn't a request, it's something I started a few years ago and never really finished. Well, I recently found it on an old flash drive and decided to tweak it and continue on with it. Hope y'all enjoy it. As usual, please read and review. Your feedback is always welcomed.

Gibbs opened the front door and turned back toward the car. The SFA sitting in the passenger seat looked like death warmed over. He probably felt like it, too. Being drugged, abducted, and forced to carry a marine through a sewer just to survive might have worn him out. Opening the passenger side door Gibbs reached over and unbuckled the safety belt, waiting for Tony to get his feet under him.

"You going to be alright?"

Tony nodded, then winced as his pounding head made itself known again. With that came the nausea and dizziness. Reaching up to cup the kids head in his hands, Gibbs noticed the trembling.

"Just breath, kid. We've got all the time in the world."

Gibbs waited a good three minutes before asked about moving to the house. After getting the go ahead from Tony, the older man hefted him out of the car and into the house. His first stop was the couch. After depositing Tony on the end, he reached up and grabbed the blanket behind the boy and wrapped it around the still shaking shoulders.

"Need anything?"

"No sir."

That was more than a little unsettling for the ex-marine. The smooth-talking Tony he saw every day at work would never sir him. This Tony, with his walls torn down because of the drugs and exhaustion was bound to be more open and vulnerable.

"Well, Duck said you should keep hydrated. How about some tea?"

"I thought you only drank coffee and bourbon, Boss?"

Gibbs smiled softly and smoothed the blanket down the kid's arms. There were several things most people would be surprised to learn about him.

"I do occasionally have guests over, Tony. So, tea?"

"You talked me into it. But I can get it. You shouldn't have to wait on me like I'm an invalid."

Squeezing the back of Tony's neck. Gibbs took in the heat there. Ducky had said there might be a low-grade fever as the drugs worked their way out of the younger man's system. The trembling had eased up some. That was a good sign.

"You've had a hell of a day, son. You're tired, sick, and exhausted, let me take up some of the slack for a while."

Eventually, Tony relented. Gibbs noted the slightly sagging shoulders and stood, headed for the kitchen. As he set about preparing the tea, he couldn't help but sigh with relief. Tony was home and safe. He could relax now. He would never tell Kate this, but he'd been beside himself with worry the whole time the fool kid was gone. Tony had to know that, right? Well, the comment to McGee had been insensitive, but Tony knew he cared, didn't he?

"Well, Jethro, if you're having to question that, then your answer is no."

Why did his voice of reason sound like Ducky? Was the old M.E. that much of a fixture in his life? Who was he kidding? The whole team was a huge part of his life and Tony had somehow landed himself smack dab in the middle of it without even trying.

Pouring the water into the teacup, Gibbs spooned a dollop of honey into it before grabbing his coffee and heading back to the couch. Setting his own cup down, Gibbs made sure Tony's hands were steady before he let go of the other cup. Noticing the strange look he was getting from his SFA, Gibbs sat back and assessed the situation.

"You're freaking me out, Boss. Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Are you implying that I'm not nice to you?"

"Yes. No! It's just weird. People are usually annoyed with me. You're usually annoyed with me."

Gibbs sipped his coffee and thought about that for a while. He was impatient, sure. He was demanding, but only because he knew how great Tony could be. What had given Tony the impression that he was annoyed with him?"

"I'm sorry. I talk too much. I'd probably barely tolerate me, too."

Gibbs stood and moved to the coffee table in front of Tony, then sat again. He needed to be eye level with Tony for this. He couldn't afford Tony's doubt right now. Not for this.

"Tony, look at me."

Once the bright green eyes were focused on him, Gibbs continued.

"I don't know why you assume I barely tolerate you, but I am sorry if I ever gave you that impression. You don't annoy me, either. I think you are one of the most incredible agents I've ever worked with. I just keep waiting for you to see that."

Gibbs watched as the little speech sank into Tony's muddled brain. The kid still looked like a lost little boy, though. Who had put that look on Tony's expressive face?

"Wow! These drugs must be amazing! I thought you just apologized."

"Are you finished with your tea?"

"Umhm."

"Then it's bedtime. Come on, the guest room is already made up."

Gibbs helped him up the stairs and into the pajamas Abby had sent with them, then into the bed, tucking the covers around him.

"I'm glad I showered before we left NCIS. I'm so tired now, I don't think I could manage now."

"Can you manage some sleep?"

"Maybe. I just keep thinking about something my father said to me when I was a kid."

"Yeah? What was that?"

Tony flipped over onto his stomach and sighed deeply, closing his drooping eyes.

"He said I'd end up in the gutter. And today I proved him right."

Gibbs closed his eyes and counted to ten before he said anything. Cupping the back of Tony's head, he leaned closer.

"You most certainly did not prove him right. You did your job to an outstanding extent. You saved Atlas and helped solve a case. You kept you and Atlas going when he wanted to give up. I'm so sorry he said that to you, kid. He was wrong."

"I don't know if he was."

Before Gibbs could say anything else, Tony was asleep. Not wanting to wake him, Gibbs tucked the blankets around him a little tighter and grabbed a blanket from the hall closet. Pulling up the overstuffed chair that sat in the corner of the bedroom, he eased down into it and made himself comfortable as he propped his feet up on the bed. He had a feeling he was in for a long night.

"I'm right here, Tony. You're safe now, son."

I do not own NCIS or its characters. I just like to play in their sandbox from time to time. Do Not Sue Me. I have nothing but Bills and Pets. You can't have the pets.