Chapter 32

Gibbs' phone rang just as he was considering rousing his senior field agent, so he'd have enough time to fully wake up before they arrived at the Navy Yard. DiNozzo stirred and sat up, rubbing his eyes and looking vaguely adolescent. Gibbs picked up his phone. "Gibbs."

"Jethro, are you bringing DiNozzo back here, or what?"

"We're about ten minutes out from you, Jen," Gibbs said irritably. "We'll be there shortly."

"Good. Bring him straight up to my office."

"Right." Gibbs flipped the phone shut and dropped it on the console.

"I'm in trouble, aren't I?" DiNozzo asked, his voice thick with sleep.

"Probably," Gibbs replied. DiNozzo nodded, and Gibbs could see that he was still trying to wake up. Spotting a coffee drive-thru up ahead, Gibbs pulled off the road into its driveway. "What do you want?"

DiNozzo placed his order for syrup and cream with a side of coffee, and took it with murmured thanks. Gibbs didn't want him appearing as sleepy and out of it as he currently seemed in front of Jen. She was already gunning for them both over this whole situation. No need to give her ammunition.

Tony pulled himself gradually out of the funk brought on by napping. Jenny – he stopped himself – Director Sheppard undoubtedly had what she saw as valid reasons for being angry with him. He just had to figure out how to convince her that she was wrong. It occurred to him suddenly that Gibbs had failed utterly to read him the riot act or even give him a smack on the head. Just how pissed was he? He gave Gibbs a sidelong look and sighed. San Francisco might be his best bet after all.

They came to a stop at a light, and Tony started to take a sip of his coffee. A thump against the back of his head made him turn suddenly. "What was that for?" he exclaimed, thankful that his coffee hadn't spilled.

"What do you think it's for, DiNozzo?"

Tony looked at Gibbs' imperturbable expression and scowled, even though he felt a bit reassured by the gesture. "I can think of too many reasons," he muttered. "I don't want to give you any ideas." Gibbs smacked him again and Tony snorted.

"What were you thinking, DiNozzo?"

Tony grimaced. "That it wouldn't be any big deal to drive down to Stirling Falls and pick McCormick up at the sheriff's office, and that she'd feel safer, all in all, with someone she recognized rather than a total stranger." He looked appealingly at his boss, but Gibbs was focused on the road. "I called the local LEOs for support, I called you, and I didn't expect it to get that woolly."

Gibbs shrugged. "We never do, DiNozzo, but you have to be prepared."

"I know," Tony said with a sigh. No one said anything for a long moment, and Tony squirmed internally, sure that his boss was just about fed up with him.

"You know my rule about apologizing?" Gibbs asked, and Tony blinked uncertainly, not sure what the question was apropos of. He nodded. "You may have to break it today."

"What?"

"When you talk to the director. Don't overdo it or anything, but . . ." Gibbs shrugged, and a comfortable silence fell. Gibbs pulled into a parking spot, turned off the car and grabbed his stuff. He stared forward through the windshield for a moment. "Good work, DiNozzo," he said, then he opened the door and got out.

Tony stared through the windshield for a moment, feeling as though a great burden had been lifted off his shoulders, though he wasn't quite sure why. He got out of the car hastily and hurried after Gibbs. "Hey, Boss, since I'm having such success with cold cases, maybe I should keep on that while I'm stuck at my desk."

"Sounds good," Gibbs replied.

"And not so much of the filing," Tony ventured hopefully.

"Don't push your luck, DiNozzo," Gibbs growled, and Tony laughed.

"This reminds me of the end of –"

"DiNozzo, are you about to make a movie reference?" Gibbs demanded.

"Um . . . yeah, Boss."

"Don't."

Tony closed his mouth with a grin. Gibbs hadn't shut him up in three weeks. He followed his boss inside with a great feeling of well-being. Life was back to normal again.

Besides, San Francisco was far too foggy.

finis

Thank you for following me on this exciting and slightly insane ride. Now I invite you to join me on another one. Another one that includes Brody Harris, even. If you could peruse my hard drive, you would find that I have written alternate versions of a number of my stories over the years, as AUs have always appealed to me in many ways. If you're reading my Supernatural stuff, you'll already know this, though that's less a deliberate AU than a variation on a premise and an exploitation of the theory of parallel universes.

In six days, I will begin posting another take on how Brody and Tony deal with their 'break up,' called Bound and Rebound, a not so subtle pun on the name of this story, and yes, taken from Pixar. This one takes place later in the time frame of NCIS. Jeanne Benoit has already come back and accused Tony of murder, and he's been cleared, and she's gone away again. Now she's back. Be warned, I like Jeanne, so I present her as a positive character. If this will pose you a problem, I'm sorry, you'll have to forego the story. If you think you can give it a go, please do try.