Before any of his teammates could react Tony attacked the man… (END 1ST POSTING)

He pulled Jones out of his chair and slammed him against the wall. "How dare you, you bastard! All he ever did was love you and what did you do?" Tony slammed the man against the wall again, "Tell him he was worthless!" And again "Make him feel ashamed of himself!" And again

Gibbs rushed to his senior agent. "DiNozzo let him go!" Gibbs ordered.

His words didn't even register into Tony's thinking. McGee and Kate arrived at Tony's side seconds after Gibbs. Together they drew the angry agent away from the Commander.

"He was worthless since the day he was born," Commander Jones sneered.

Tony broke away from his teammates and once again slammed the commander against the wall. "You didn't deserve him." And again "You're nothing more then a bastard," and again "and your son was ten times the man, you'll ever be!"

Tony wasn't given the chance to slam the man against the wall again as Gibbs came up behind him and all but carried him out the door. Tony managed to yell one last thing, "You rot in hell you bastard!"

When they were outside the room Gibbs gave Tony a shake. "That's enough DiNozzo!"

Tony couldn't stop himself though. All the emotions he'd ever hidden were now spewing out of him and he had no control. Truth be told, it scared him. He'd never felt like this before.

Gibbs could sense Tony's distress. He wasn't sure what to do about it but he was sure it wasn't doing any good to have Tony yelling where everyone could see them. With that in mind he dragged Tony towards the elevator.

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Knowing that what ever was bothering his senior agent would take more then a couple minutes Gibbs brought them down the autopsy. Tony was still spewing his anger; it never seemed to register in his mind that he was no where near the commander.

Ducky and Palmer looked at the duo in shock. "What happened Jethro?"

"I'm not sure yet Duck; can we use your office?" Gibbs asked.

Ducky nodded his head and as soon as the two entered the office turned to Palmer and told him to go ahead and go to lunch. After the younger M.E. had left Ducky sat down at the farthest side from his office. He wanted to be around in case he was needed but did not want Tony to think he was eavesdropping.

Gibbs released his grip on Tony who promptly slammed a fist into a wall.

"Damn it! The stupid bastard; how dare he do that to his kid! Who the hell does he think he is? He killed that boy! He deserves to be in jail!" Tony was screaming by now. Looking around it seemed as if he'd just realized that Jones was no longer around; he turned and started for the door.

Gibbs stopped him and Tony began to push his boss; trying anything to be allowed out of the room. "DiNozzo, stop it!" Gibbs yelled sternly. It didn't do any good; if anything it seemed to cause Tony to struggle harder.

Gibbs suddenly grabbed Tony's upper arm and spun him around. SWAT, SWAT, SWAT "I said that's enough Tony!"

Tony stopped and stood stock still. The glazed look in his eyes disappeared. He looked at his boss in wonderment. Gibbs himself couldn't believe he'd just swatted his senior agent but seeing the affects of it, was glad he had. He now had Tony's attention.

"I want you to sit, be quiet, and listen to me." Gibbs said sternly.

Tony nodded his head in understanding. He tried to get his arm out of Gibb's vise like grip but the action only caused Gibbs to restrain him harder. When Tony finally stopped trying to 'escape' Gibbs led him to the small sofa Ducky had brought in just weeks before.

"Sit down," Gibbs told Tony firmly. "What was that about?" Tony shook his head, not wanting to answer. "DiNozzo, I don't have time for games. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't fire let alone suspend you over the stunt you just pulled."

The fury in Tony's eyes blazed up again. "I should be fired! You're a heartless bastard Gibbs; if anyone deserves anything it's that worthless thing upstairs. He did nothing but torture his son! He deserves to rot in hell!"

Tony continued to yell and none of Gibbs 'calming' techniques worked. Growing tired of the younger man's tactics Gibbs quickly stood him up, sat where Tony once had, and pulled the younger man over his lap…face down. If yelling at him wouldn't work then he would go the one way that had positive results just moments earlier.

SWAT, SWAT, SWAT "I said that is enough." SWAT, SWAT, SWAT "You will calm down," SWAT, SWAT, SWAT "and talk to me." SWAT, SWAT, SWAT "I will not," SWAT, SWAT, SWAT "allow your tempter," SWAT, SWAT, SWAT "to be the cause," SWAT, SWAT, SWAT "of you losing your job." SWAT, SWAT, SWAT "Do you understand me?" SWAT, SWAT, SWAT

Tony had tensed at the first few swats but by the time Gibbs had finished his lecture Tony was openly crying. Yes, his backside hurt and so, in a sense, did his heart…on the other hand he felt strangely protected and loved. It was feeling Tony could make total sense of…in his thinking he failed to answer Gibbs.

Gibbs sat waiting, one hand poised to fall and land another swat to the Tony's backside. Gibbs was astonished with himself to have spanked his senior agent as much as he had. It was in the moment when he started to lecture that he was no longer Tony's boss though…he had turned into a father. In this moment he wanted to protect Tony, for he knew that something about the case had driven the younger man to this point. He also knew that Tony was feeling guilty for allowing his emotions to control his actions. With that in mind he let his hand fall…

SWAT, SWAT, SWAT "You know better," SWAT, SWAT, SWAT "then to attack a person." SWAT, SWAT, SWAT "I don't allow myself to act like that," SWAT, SWAT, SWAT "and I'm not going to allow you to act like that." SWAT, SWAT, SWAT "You will apologize to the commander." SWAT, SWAT, SWAT "Do you understand me?" SWAT, SWAT, SWAT "I expect an answer this time Anthony." SWAT, SWAT, SWAT

"Y-yes, sir," Tony cried. His crying had become harsher and he could no longer hold back the sobs that came to his mouth. After applying six more swats, each of which caused Tony to yelp, Gibbs was done. Tony lay over his lap, completely drained, not all aware that Gibbs had stopped spanking him.

Gibbs offered no words of comfort, as it would have seemed insincere coming from him. Instead he helped Tony up, sat the younger man beside him, and held him in the way a father should. Tony held on to Gibbs like one would a lifeline. After a few minutes Gibbs asked gently, "What happened Tony?"

Tony shook his head, "I don't know. This c-case was j-just too hard."

Gibbs couldn't help but frown; sad though the case was the team had definitely had harder ones. "Why was it so hard?" Gibbs asked concerned.

Tony began to cry harder as he spoke. "It brought b-back mem-memories from my p-past. Th-then I g-got a phone c-call…" Tony couldn't speak as his sobs took over.

Gibbs held him tightly. His own emotions were going crazy. On the one hand he wanted to smack Tony upside the head and yell…to tell Tony that if he acts like he did again he would fire him on the spot. On the other hand he wanted nothing more then to be the father that he knew Tony never had.

When he calmed down a little Tony finished his tail. He told of the phone call from the nursing home where Nanny had lived the last five years. The call stated that Nanny had died peacefully during a nap earlier that afternoon. Tony cried as he hadn't done in years and Gibbs held him.

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When Tony had finally calmed down, Gibbs had led him out and had Ducky look at his fist which he had punched the wall with earlier in their 'discussion'. Gibbs left Tony at his desk and went and talked with Commander Jones; the two reached an agreement. Jones wouldn't press charges or file a complaint against Tony and Gibbs wouldn't have him arrested for child neglect, fleeing the scene of a crime, or impeding an investigation. Though Gibbs had told Tony he would have to apologize, in the end he didn't make him do so.

Gibbs was at Tony's side two days later when Nanny was placed in her grave…which was next to Cook's. He allowed Tony to cry on his shoulder and after the burial Gibbs took Tony to his house and allowed the younger NCIS agent to share his tales of the two people in his life…the two people whose love he never questioned. It was there Tony admitted a painful truth.

"When I started the case I knew something was wrong. I just knew Gibbs. The Commander was like my father. Nothing I ever did was good enough, fast enough, smart enough…after a while I gave up. Nanny and Cook were always there though. Nanny would baby me and Cook would discipline me. When Cook died I…I had Nan. When she died though…it was like I was alone and I didn't know how to deal with that. Billy never had anyone to love him like I did. He killed himself because he was alone…now I am…" Tony's voice trailed off as he started to cry once again.

Gibb's gripped Tony's chin in his hand; forcing the younger man to look at him, "You are not alone."

Tony looked into his boss's eyes and saw…his words were a promise. Tony nodded before laying his head on Gibb's chest and crying. Gibbs stayed content to hold the younger man in his arms as long as he needed.

PROLOGUE:

True his word Tony never felt alone. On days when he was feeling low Gibbs was always there. The hardest part for Tony was that Gibbs called him on his behavior at all times. The first couple of weeks after Gibbs had spanked him Tony had been embarrassed but Gibbs pretended to not to notice. At the end of the day though, Tony was glad Gibbs had…done what he did. It had shown Tony that there was someone out there willing to love him despite all his faults. Truth be told, there were times when Tony kind of wished Gibbs DIDN'T love him so much…

THE END