Thank you to everybody for all your kind words and support. I hope that you enjoy this final installment. With best wishes for a very happy 2012.

The next morning Gibbs dressed with more than usual care. A crisp white shirt, suit and black leather shoes replaced his more regular layers under a sports jacket. His hand hovered over the tie DiNozzo had given him last birthday, before selecting one Abby had chosen. Running a hand over his freshly washed hair he fixed his cuff links, straightened his collar and prepared to face the day.

"Oh my," Dr Mallard greeted him as he stepped off the elevator. "Surely, things cannot be so bad. You look like you're going to a funeral."

"Seemed appropriate, if this is going to be the end of my career."

Gibbs straightened up, as he saw the Director, escorting Senior through the bullpen. Behind him, being pushed by McGee was Tony, dressed in a pair of grey sweatpants, a red sweatshirt with a baseball cap on his head. Across the room he saw Senior glance over in his direction.

"See Junior, I told you, you should have worn a suit."

Tony glanced up at his father, then across at Gibbs. Nothing in his expression changed, but he held up an arm, signalling McGee to come to a halt, like a roman emperor in his chariot.

"Excuse me, Director, but before we get started, I need a bathroom break," He looked apologetic. "Sorry, all those bumps in the road messing with my kidneys. You know how it is. Or maybe you don't. Thing is I really need to go."

"Of course," Vance nodded. "I'll take your father through to the Conference Room. McGee, will you assist Agent DiNozzo?"

"You want me to take Tony to the bathroom?" McGee paled. "Um, sir?"

"Relax, McNursemaid, just wheel me to the door, I can take care of business from there." Tony rolled his eyes.

"Oh right," McGee nodded.

"Jethro?" At his elbow Mallard attempted to attract his attention. "We should go in."

"I'll be there in a monent," Gibbs assured him, not taking his eyes off DiNozzo as he tracked his progress towards the men's restrooms. "Just need to make a quick pit stop."

"I'm not sure that is such a good idea," Ducky countered. "Perhaps, it would be better to .."

"I won't be a minute, Duck."

Gibbs patted him on the arm and as Mallard had known he would, headed straight towards the bathroom Tony had just entered. At his entrance, McGee looked up, his expression creasing in consternation as he looked between his Boss and his partner.

"Go wait outside, McGee." Gibbs ordered.

"You two aren't going to kill each other, are you?" McGee just needed to check.

"Guard the door, McGee. Don't let anybody in," Tony reaffirmed Gibbs'order. At McGee's look his anticipated his question. "Espeically, not my father."

As soon as the door closed behind McGee, Tony grinned as he looked Gibbs up and down.

"Nice suit, Boss. Your jacket actually matches your pants for once."

"Only you could insult my wardrobe whilst wearing my sweatshirt, DiNozzo," Gibbs scoffed fondly. "And my sweatpants. Hat's overkill though."

"Boss, I'm wounded, I always liked this hat," Tony pouted. "Besides, I wasn't sure if we'd have time to talk. I wanted to be sure we were on the same page. Didn't want you to miss my coded message. And you know how your eyesight can be. Why aren't you wearing the tie I bought you?"

"Because it has a cartoon character on it and this is an offcial Federal investigation," Gibbs reminded him. He lifted a sleeve. "I'm wearing the cuffs you got me."

"And people think you can't be subtle. I know my eyesight's good, Boss, but was I really supposed to spot that from across the room?"

"Wearing a suit, DiNozzo?" Gibbs pointed out. "Don't do that every day."

"So, you are. And no, you don't. So, do you think anyone else has noticed that you're dressed like me and I'm dresssed like you? Better still do you think any of them have worked out what it means?"

"Means, you didn't sign that letter," Gibbs pointed out. "Knew that already."

"Yeah, sorry about that. My Dad got me doped up on painkillers and then gave me the letter in a bunch of other papers. I didn't even know what he was up to until this morning," Tony eyed him carefully. "Are you sure you didn't think I'd written it? Because I know you and guilt, Boss."

"I hurt you." Gibbs looked away.

"Yeah, you did," Tony acknowledged. "But better a hole in my knee than a hole in my head. Need your head in that Game when we go in there, Boss. You try throwing yourself on your sword and I'll kick your ass. Are we clear?"

Gibbs looked at his partner and friend with a mixture of affection and respect. He had been so busy focusing on how having his father in town put DiNozzo off his Game that he had overlooked how focused Tony was on always having his six.

"Yes Boss." He smiled fondly at him.

"Good," Tony noddded back. "So, shall we go in, or do you really need to ..?"

Gibbs waved away McGee's offer of assistance and wheeled Tony into the conference room himself, taking a moment to see that the chair was properly situated, pouring a glass of water and setting it within reach, before taking his own seat, all whilst pretending not to notice how Senior had half risen from his place in protest, shaking off his lawyer's hand on his arm.

"Just what is going on here?" He demanded.

"Sorry for the delay," Tony spoke blithely. "I was busy apologising for somebody having obtained my signature by deception to use it for their own purposes. Director, refresh my memory, what is the penalty for fraud?"

"Mr DiNozzo, I do have to advise you that I am in possesion of a statement from your son, which indicates that neither now, or at any time in the future, does he wish to proceed against Agent Gibbs in this matter."

"Director, you can't tell me that you think this scenario is acceptable!" Senior protested. "Agent Gibbs did my son serious and possibly permanent injury."

"Thanks for the encouragement, Dad," Tony looked at his fingernails, a sure sign he was feeeling uncomfortable. "You know, there is still a chance I can beat this thing."

"Junior, weren't you listening? The Doctor said there was only a 20% chance of you recovering full mobility," Senior appealed to the assembled company. "Would any of you take those odds at Vegas?"

"Not at Vegas," Gibbs spoke up. "But my money would be on DiNozzo, every time."

"Indeed," Dr Mallard spoke up. "He has beaten worst odds."

"It doesn't really do to count, Tony out," McGee added. "He can bounce back better than anyone I've ever met."

"Mr DiNozzo, according to youe son's after action report, the only reason that Agent Gibbs laid a hand on him was because Agent DiNozzo told him it was a vital part of maintaining his cover." Vance looked up from the file. "You should be aware that Henderson was an extremely dangerous man. I can assure you that he wouldn't have hesitated to have your son killed, if he had become suspicious."

"So, Gibbs adds a little local colour," Senior conceeded. "Junior was already a mass of brusies. There is no excuse for kicking him when he was down."

"Yeah, because, taking out my knee when I was still standing up, would have been so much better," Tony scoffed. "I probably would have cracked my head on the concrete on the way down."

"Junior, this man is your Boss. He is supposed to look out for you. I just don't understand why you keep defending him."

"Because, he knew what he was doing, Dad. And it killed him to do it. But he did it anyway because he knew it was necessary to save my life."

Looking at the faces around the table and seeing no support. Not even from his own lawyer, who discreetly shook his head, Senior hastily regrouped.

"Well, why didn't you just say so before?"

"I tried to Dad," Tony sighed. "You were too busy trying to do what you figured was in my best interests to actual listen to what I wanted."

"Perhaps, I can help with that." Vance surprised them all.

Gibbs watched Senior frown in concetration as he sat at Tony's desk and read through file Vance had given him, taking in all of Tony's awards and commendations, reading the testimonies of people he had helped, and his most recent performance reviews.

"Do you think it will help?" Gibbs murmured.

"I don't think it can hurt." Mallard allowed.

"Alright," Senior admitted as he closed the file. "I'm starting to see why Junior might want to keep on doing this. But let me ask you this, Gibbs. I know that you've seen Junior, fall off buildings, come near to drowning, be held hostage, take a bullet, almost die in hundred different ways. If you really care about him how can you let him risk his life day in day out?"

"Because there's nothing on earth your son would rather do than be an Investigator. If he didn't work for me, he'd be with some other Agency. At least this way I get to be the one watching his six."

"This from a man who has been conspicious by his absence all this week." Senior mocked slightly.

"Only because you didn't know where to look." Gibbs smirked.

"Ah," Ducky nodded in realisation. "I was wondering how you were so familar with the mansion's security arrangements, Jethro."

"That's not possible." Senior shook his head. "I was with Junior this whole time and I never saw you."

"According to the security footage, Tony, spent an adverage of two hours each day in your company," Gibbs gave Senior a level look. "He doesn't do so well if he has too much time on his hands."

"He's not a child," Senior protested. "He had his friends coming by and everything that house had to offer to keep him occupied. I still had a business to run, I couldn't be holding hishand the whole time. I was there when it mattered. I was the one who convinced him to use the wheelchair."

"Actually," Ducky coughed lightly. "According to the night shift at the Hospital, it was Gibbs who came back after visiting hours and talked Tony around on that particualr issue."

"Gibbs also paid off the Pizza delivery guy and brought me roast chicken and green vegetables," Tony put in from across the room where he had obviously been eavesdropping whilst playing tetris on his phone. "No tip for you, Boss."

"Tony, set up the security camera to run in a loop, so you would think he was asleep in bed, when he snuck out to over exercise," Gibbs retorted, sticking his hands in his pockets. "Until I kicked his ass for it."

"Gibbs borrowed Jethro the dog and posed as one of the security guards, so he could put the fear of God into the Physical Therapist you hired," Tony shot back. "I couldn't get away with anything after that."

"Talking of which, you do your exercises today, DiNozzo?"

"Not yet, Boss," Tony frowned at his phone. "Just need to finish this level .."

He never saw Gibbs move, but suddenly the man was right in front of him, having plucked his phone right out of his hand.

"Or I could go right no," Tony grinned brightly. "I'm already dressed for a workout. You on the other hand, Boss. You won't want to get your only good suit wrinkled."

"Oh, you shouldn't be worrying about my suit, DiNozzo," Gibbs advised, with a feral smile as he spun the chair around and headed towards the elevator. "If I was you I'd be more worried that I have my workout clothes in my locker."

Senior's eyes followed the pair as they disappeared into the elevator. Looking at Dr Mallard he raised his brows in concern.

"Should I be worried?"

"Rest assured, Tony is in safe hands. Jethro will take good care of him."

"Better than me, you mean?" Senior bristled slightly.

"Mr DiNozzo, if I could offer you a word of advice, your son very much wants a closer relationship with you. But if you are sincere in your desire to achieve that, do not try to make him chose between you and Jethro. I can assure you that it won't end well. Perhaps, the next time you meet it would be in your best interests to view Jethro as an ally rather than an enemy."

"In case you hadn't noticed, Dr Mallard, Gibbs doesn't like me very much," Humbled by the events of the day, Senior was uncharacteristically candid. "He's not going to help me reconcile with my son. We can barely be in the same room together."

"The thing you need to remember, Mr DiNozzo, is that a good parent, will do what is in the best interets of their offspring, regardless of the personal cost to themself."

Gibbs waited until they had worked right through DiNozzo's exercises, taking care to ground him with his touch when he tried to push too hard and encourage him with steady words, when the pain threatened to overwhelm him. By the time they were done, their t-shirts were damp with effort and the gym was deserted.

"Here," Gibbs sank down on the mat beside him, cracked open a bottle of water and passed it across. "You've got more movement there."

"Yeah," Tony nodded. He glanced across at Gibbs. "It's still going to take a while."

"We'll get there," Gibbs assured him. "One day at a time."

"Yeah," Tony paused. "You think that will work with my Dad?"

"Gotta admit, he's trying."

"Yeah, it's been a pretty good week. I mean, the house was amazing and I had staff to take care of my every need. And my Dad might not have been in the same room all that much, but at least he was in the same building. That hasn't happend since I left for College."

"Uh huh." Gibbs waited.

"I really do think he was trying his best, I mean, he was more of a father to me last week than he has been for the last twenty years," Tony reflected. He fiddled with the water bottle in his hands for a moment. "In all these years thinking about it .. I just never imagined his best might not be .. exactly enough."

Gibbs had been afraid of this. In his opinion Senior was still too focused on his own issues to see what Tony really needed from him wasn't the lavish lifestyle but his father's time and attention. And he was enough of an investigator to understand that part of what made it all the harder now was that Tony had something, or rather someone, to compare Senior to.

"There's still time," Gibbs reassured. "Look at me and my Dad. The important thing is, now you know what you need. This doesn't just have to be on his terms."

"I guess not," Tony blinked, as if he had never considered that. "I keep feeling like I'm still that kid being sent off to baording school. But I am seasoned investigator and a decoated Federal Agent. It's past time my Dad starting seeing me as an adult."

"Well that file Vance gave him is a start, the rest, that's up to you."

"Maybe, we could get the FBI to frame him for murder," Tony joked. "If I solved the case and kept him out of prison, he would have to start taking me more seriously."

"Or you could just try acting more like your age when he's around?" Gibbs raised a brow.

"That might work too. Thanks, Boss," Tony gave him a fond look. "You always know what I need."

Gibbs simply nodded in response, before rising to his feet and reaching down to help DiNozzo, rather akwardly to his feet, using the opportunity to pull DiNozzo's arm around his neck, as he wrapped a steadying hand around his waist.

"What you need right now, DiNozzo, is to take a shower, you stink."