Ahhhh… my old friend! So glad to be back in this 'verse. It has been percolating for over six months, and I'm really looking forward to this journey! Only two chapters have been written so far, so the updates won't be very quick, but I promise to do my best to make them worth the wait! Much, much love for everyone who has taken the journey through Out of the Basement. I hope you'll enjoy its continuation! :)

As It Seems: Chapter One

"…through sickness and health, 'til death do you part?"

The minister's words echoed through Jethro's head. As they were repeated back, he reached out and took Tony's hand. Tony's eyes met his, and he smiled at him. They were heavy words, a vow meant to last a lifetime, and promising that the lifetime would be spent together.

Tony leaned over and whispered in Jethro's ear, "Three months, and that's us."

Jethro's smile only got bigger, and he and Tony locked eyes through the rest of the vows as Breena took her turn. They were distracted by the sudden outburst of clapping and cheers as the couple in front of everyone shared their kiss, the marriage now official.

The small, packed church started emptying, and they made their way out with the rest of the crowd to head over to the reception. Twenty minutes later, the NCIS group gathered outside of the reception hall, waiting for each other. They would be sitting together once inside, and were eager to congratulate the bride and groom.

Finally, the limo pulled up. Palmer got out, holding the door open for Breena as she climbed out as well, and took her hand. Tony joined Abby in shouting their congratulations, and Tim even whistled. The happy couple approached the group, and hugs and handshakes were shared as they took their turns telling Breena how beautiful she looked, and Palmer how lucky he was.

They headed in together behind the bride and groom. Tony felt Jethro's hand in his, and he smiled at him. Tim had Abby's arm linked through his, and Dion's hand was on the small of Ziva's back. Even Ducky's date was leaning in closely, whispering in his ear, and Tony felt that romance was in the air.

They made their way to their table, clapping as the bride and groom were announced. Breena had a huge family, and there were close to two hundred people in the room. Tony considered the plans he had yet to really start for his and Jethro's wedding. He was on the fence about what to do. He wanted something simple, but how simple was yet to be determined. He looked around the room at the fancy lighting and the ribbons everywhere, and shook his head the slightest bit to himself. He did like the candles in the middle of the table, but he imagined them more on the mantle at home than as the centerpiece for their wedding.

Abby had him looking through wedding planning books at lunch a few days prior, and she was desperate to help him plan the perfect wedding, but he had no idea what the perfect wedding really entailed for him. He knew Jethro wanted simple as well, but other than that, his fiancé hadn't been really forthcoming with details, and he didn't know what to do. Part of him just wanted to shove everyone into a courtroom and get it over with, but he knew it was too important to them both to not do something special. He didn't even know who he wanted to perform it. All he could think about were the people around that table, his team, and a few others being with him and Jethro as they said those magic words, standing with them as they vowed to make it through anything and everything.

He suddenly missed his team. They weren't really close with Palmer, so they weren't at the wedding, but it still felt weird to not have them there. They'd spent the past month and a half working on getting Dorney settled in, and were slammed with a stack of cases a mile high. Parke was finally back in the field, and they were spending a lot of time together with their workload, and had even been mingling with the MCRT as they tried training in various areas together.

He was actually looking forward to Monday. Parke had worked to gather all sorts of information from the Melinda Stafford videos while he was confined to the office. Based on that information, Critten and McGee had worked together to compile a database that could be ran against murders in any area that Stafford had ever lived in. It was running its search over the weekend, and they were going to come in on Monday to the results.

Jethro knew that Tony had gotten lost in his thoughts again, something that had been happening more and more over the past month, and he poked him under the table. Tony smiled sheepishly back at Jethro, and realized that everyone else had left them to stand in the buffet line.

"What ya thinking about?" he asked quietly, a small smile on his face letting Tony know he wasn't mad.

"Everything," Tony said. "From our wedding to the Stafford Database."

"Any ideas yet on what you want?" Jethro asked, turning to Tony with a hopeful look on his face.

"Nothing like this," he said with a chuckle, and Jethro looked relieved. "What do you want, Jethro? Honestly."

"I don't really care as long as you're there, our people are there, and we're happy."

"Yeah, but neither of us would be happy doing something like this," he said, gesturing around the room. "So there has to be some kind of parameters for what would keep us within the happy zone."

Jethro saw the desperation in Tony's eyes for some kind of clarity, and he knew that Tony was struggling with it. He didn't want the wedding planning to be a stressor for him. He had left it in Tony's hands because he wanted him to be able to have whatever he wanted. He'd already been down the aisle four times, and he hadn't really liked too much of the frills, bells and whistles.

"Let me think about it?" he finally asked, knowing that if he could give Tony some kind of response, it would at least help him get started, and at the rate they were moving, he was afraid it was never going to happen. Tony's incredibly relieved smile and nod let him know he'd better think of something.

"I think I'm going to go hit the bar," Tony said. "Wait for the food line to die down a little. You coming?"

"Sure."

AIS-NCIS-AIS-NCIS-AIS

Abby and Tim were standing hand in hand as they waited in line at the buffet table. Abby leaned into him, talking softly.

"I was hoping that this would help Tony get some ideas, but he's been spaced out every time I look at him. I know he's thinking about that project you guys have been working on. He was totally spacing every few minutes when we were going through the books on Wednesday at lunch. I don't think he understands just how much is going to go into this! Time is of the essence! They only have three months, well, fourteen weeks until Labor Day Weekend. He's got to find a place for the ceremony, a place for the reception, someone to do the ceremony, caterers, a DJ, place settings, decorations, pick out some music-"

"Honey!" Tim finally cut her off, and she looked startled. "Just… give him some time. He wants to keep it simple. Maybe he doesn't want all that. He'll let you know when he starts making decisions. He knows you want to help, but don't you think he's a little overwhelmed right now?" Tim looked at her with his "Get Out Of Jail Free" look. Abby squinted at him, knowing that he was using it, but she was even more angry that he was right.

"I just want it to be perfect for them," she said with a sigh as she began putting stuff on her plate.

"And it will be." Tim loaded the rest of his plate in silence, thinking about how Tony had told him after his lunch with Abby on Wednesday that he was about to elope just to get out of planning the wedding. He knew that his girlfriend was trying her best to be there for Tony, but she was putting more pressure on an already pressured man. He knew that Tony was beyond anxious to get to the Stafford cases, sure that something was going to come of it, and he had seen him working with Dorneget, Parke, and Critten as they got used to being a team together, not to mention training him to be SFA. It was all going well, but it was stressful.

He wondered how much he was in the doghouse with Abby, but he knew that Tony needed someone to cut her off at the pass. He'd thought at first that giving Abby a wedding to plan would be good for them. She would be focusing on the idea of forever, and he had hoped that it would help ease her nerves about them. She was doing a lot better, but she had told him that she was afraid that her flight instinct would one day kick in, and though her honesty had hurt, it had been good for them. He had been honest with her and told her that he was afraid she would too, and they had been trying to keep as open and honest with each other as possible about it. He figured a heads up would be nice if the time came, but so far things had only been getting better.

He sat his plate next to Abby's at the table, and asked her what she wanted to drink. Abby tried to glare at him, but it turned into a smile instead. She asked for a glass of Shiraz if they had it, and he kissed her softly before going to get it.

Abby watched as Tim walked away towards the bar, and she smiled wider and shook her head. Just can't stay mad at him. She sighed heavily, and looked down at her food to decide what to sample first.

AIS-NCIS-AIS-NCIS-AIS

Ziva and Dion were talking while waiting at the bar for their drink orders to be filled. Dion's restaurant was opening that Friday, and there was a lot left to be done. She knew that he was going back over there after the reception to make sure all of the deliveries that were coming in that day were handled correctly. He had hired the entire staff now, and she had been helping whenever she could.

She found that she was actually pretty good at the business side of things, and she was surprised to find that she was enjoying it when Dion would ask her opinion on this or that. They had stayed up for hours on many occasions going over ideas that they had come up with that flourished into big plans. They were discussing the Assistant Manager Dion had hired, and whether or not he would be able to handle everything necessary. They had their doubts, but he was the best candidate that had applied, and time was up, so they had decided to give him a chance.

That was something else that Ziva had found herself surprised by. Dion was saying things like, 'We decided on' and 'What do we think about this?' He had started including her in so much, relying on her opinions, and it was making it feel like they were starting the business together.

She watched the man standing next to her as he took their drinks, and when he turned to hand her a glass, she wondered if this was the real thing, possibly her happy ending.

Funny, she thought. Feels more like a beginning.

AIS-NCIS-AIS-NCIS-AIS

Ducky's date, Candice, had excused herself to the restroom, and he watched her go with a smile. She was a charming woman that he had met at a conference three weeks prior. He hadn't been planning on bringing a date, but they had been in constant correspondence since their introduction, and he was quite taken with her. She was intelligent, polite, funny and warm. Her compassion for people was beautiful, and her sense of humor made him feel lighter the more time they spent with one another.

She had moved to D.C. from Chicago, taking a position at George Washington University to teach Public Health classes. He related well to her, and they had already been on multiple dates together. When Palmer encouraged him to bring her to the wedding, he took him up on the offer, and was surprised that she said yes without hesitation.

He watched her leave the room, and turned to Jethro next to him to find him wearing a crooked smile. When his eyes drifted to Tony next to him, the younger man wasn't nearly as shy about his glee.

"Looks like the two of you are hitting it off. We could always use someone around who specializes in communicable diseases. Added bonus- she seems pretty stable!" Tony reached for his wine, and took a sip.

"Jethro, if you would, please," Ducky said. Immediately, Gibbs' hand smacked the back of Tony's head.

"Ow! Been a while since you've gotten me that hard!" Tony said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Whoa! What did I just miss?" Abby asked appearing by his side with a plate of cake.

All three men turned red, Tony going the darkest. "Just a headslap, Abs!" he said, realizing how that had sounded.

"Oh! Good! Was kind of worried for a minute there." She sat down with her cake, and a moment later, Tim sat down next to her.

The group settled into lighthearted chatter as Candice rejoined the table. The music playing wasn't half bad, and Ziva and Dion were part of the crowd of swaying people. Once Abby and Tim had finished their cake, Abby pulled Tim out onto the floor with her. Ducky and Candice excused themselves to go get another glass of wine from the bar, and Tony and Jethro sat together at the table, suddenly ignoring everyone around them. They were leaning in to one another, talking softly.

"Have you thought of anything, yet?" Tony asked with a smile, looking calmer than he had been in days.

"I was kind of thinking I'd like the ceremony to be outdoors," Jethro said with a shrug, glad to see Tony looking relaxed. "Churches aren't really my thing, and I don't have any place special in mind, but the weather is usually really nice that time of year."

Tony smiled broadly, and leaned in a little closer. "I think that would be really nice. Maybe we could find some place where we could have the reception right there so there's none of this back and forth stuff. No sense in dragging everyone all over town. Less hassle for all of us."

"I could definitely go for less hassle," Jethro agreed.

"Wow! I think we just made our first decision!" Tony said with a sudden energy that made Jethro chuckle. Tony watched him smile, and took in the way his blue eyes shone. He felt that calm core inside that he was feeling more and more lately, and he reached out for Jethro's hand. "Come dance with me," he said quietly.

Jethro looked up him a little surprised, but shrugged and got to his feet with his fiancé. They made their way out to the floor near Abby and Tim. As they had done on a couple of occasions now, Tony slipped his hands around Jethro's neck, while Jethro slipped his hands around Tony's waist, and they made slow, swaying circles in time to the music. With their eyes locked on one another, they didn't notice the stares around them, both good and bad.

Abby was practically pounding on Tim's shoulder in excitement to watch the two of them in such an intimate pose. Ducky stopped mid-conversation with Candice when he saw them, and she stopped to look as well, smiling at Ducky's joy. Ziva caught a glimpse of them over Dion's shoulder, and smiled to herself before leaning the side of her head against his happily.

Multiple people in the room saw them dancing and began talking quietly with one another, making comments that sparked political discussions amongst those at their tables. Neither man noticed, nor did they care. Jethro didn't even know the song playing, but he followed the soulful rhythm and held Tony close. His eyes closed as he leaned his forehead against his lover's, and let their bodies move in time.

Tony felt the warmth of the man against him, and smiled contently. He could stay like that forever, safe in Jethro's arms, their friends next to them, and he decided that there would definitely be dancing at their wedding. He sighed happily, and let himself be carried away on the sounds of the music playing and the idea that in a few months, they would be dancing as husband and husband. All thoughts of work finally left his mind, and the crowd of people around him disappeared. Right then, he was happy.

Two songs later, they were still dancing. Abby kept watching them over Tim's shoulder, and he kept holding back the chuckle. He loved how happy she was when she thought of them being together. He knew that she cared about them deeply, and she had told him multiple times that she didn't think either would ever be happy, so for them to find it with one another made her ecstatic.

He leaned in and whispered in her ear. "Are you that happy, Abs?" She pulled back and looked at him in surprise.

"I never really thought of it like that," she said softly, wondering if that was insecurity she heard or a genuine curiosity. "I'm pretty happy, though," she whispered with a smile, leaning in to kiss Tim gently. He kissed her back with an equal smile, and held her a little closer. She rested her head on his shoulder, realizing that she'd been so deeply enthralled in how cute and brave she thought it was for Tony and Gibbs to be dancing, that she had forgotten she had the same thing, or at least pretty close to it, in her own arms.

As Abby laid her head on Tim's shoulder, he decided that he'd gotten his point across. As happy as he was for Gibbs and Tony, he was kind of feeling overlooked. He held Abby close as they danced, and he felt her focusing on him. It was incredible. He tilted his head against hers, and smiled.

"You really do look beautiful tonight," he said softly.

Abby sat up, a dreamy look in her eyes as she saw Tim's honest expression. "Thanks," she said so softly that she almost whispered. She'd gone dress shopping with Ziva, and she picked out a dark royal blue dress that fit a little more snugly than she was used to, but Ziva assured her was perfect. They found a matching blue tie that Tim wore with a dark grey suit, and she thought it did something for his eyes. They were somewhere between blue and grey tonight, and she stared into them as they danced, finding herself falling into them further and further.

McGee brushed one of the loose curls out of her eyes from the way she had her hair styled, and the look that he gave her made her heart beat twice as hard in her chest.

"Tim?" she said, her voice breaking.

"Hmm?" he said, watching her face for what she was thinking.

"I really do love you." Tim's smile stretched across his face, and he leaned forward, letting his head rest against Abby's.

"I really love you too, Abby."

Something changed in Abby. It was like a train switching tracks. It was still going in the same direction, only now, instead of how focused she had felt on Gibbs and Tony lately, she felt that focus being trained in on her and Tim. She started wondering if they would one day have a wedding like this, and what she would want, and what Tim would want, and who would be at their wedding, and where they would have their ceremony. She thought she should freak out at the idea, but it suddenly seemed so right inside.

She breathed in the fresh scent of the man in her arms and his cologne, and she imagined smelling it as they danced at their own reception.

AIS-NCIS-AIS-NCIS-AIS

Jethro was holding Tony tightly on the dance floor when Tony whispered in his ear. "I think I need to grab something to drink." Jethro pulled back the slightest, a happy smile on his face as he took Tony by the hand, and led him back to the table. Tony reached for his glass of water, and lifted it to his lips before he had even sat down. Jethro sat in the chair next to him, and Tony saw that Jethro's focus was completely on him.

"I don't think I've ever enjoyed a wedding this much," Tony said before taking another drink from the glass.

"I think I'm having a better time with you at Palmer's wedding than I had at most of my own weddings," Jethro said with a chuckle before raising his own drink to his lips. Tony chuckled as well with a sad smile.

"Weddings shouldn't be so stressful. They should be special, intimate, important, but not stressful. I don't want ours to be stressful. The only thing I want to have to worry about is whether or not everyone is there, and that there's cake, laughter and some dancing."

"I'm liking the sound of this more and more," Jethro said as he leaned in to place a soft kiss on Tony's lips. Tony pulled back in a happy daze, loving the affection.

"Who do you need to be there, Jethro?" Tony asked, looking into Jethro's eyes with such a gentle expression that he felt the honest answer being pulled from him.

"I need you there, obviously, and I need Ducky and Abby, Tim and Ziva, Tobias and Dad." Tony nodded at his list, and smiled. "What about you? Who do you want there?"

"Other than you? Hmm… Let's see. There's Ziva, Abby and Tim, Ducky, Jimmy, Greg and Elly, and I'd really like Dorney, Shane and probably even Vance there." Tony noticed the slightly surprised look on Jethro's face towards the end of the list, and he gave him a curious look. "Who surprises you most?"

"I guess I shouldn't really be surprised about Shane and Vance, but I am a little."

Tony nodded. "Well, you know that Shane and I have been in touch frequently for safety check-ins, and after everything that happened, he's kinda one of the family now. And Vance has really been there for us in the past couple of months. Hell, he knew I was going to propose the same day the rest of the team found out. I think he's trying to find a place amongst us, and though it will never be as close and intimate as the rest of the team, he's definitely put his ass on the line for us. Guess I just feel like he's supposed to be there."

Jethro nodded in understanding, and then took a deep breath, afraid to ruin their evening by broaching such a sensitive topic, but he wasn't able to keep from asking. "What about your dad?"

Tony simply smiled, and shook his head. "I don't want him there. I don't think he's going to be okay with us, and I don't care whether or not he is. He could have changed his tune completely on the subject, but I don't want him there. I want those people close to me, that have always supported me, and encouraged me to be there. Those people that I know I may turn to in our not so great moments. Those are the people that deserve to be there; those are the people I need."

Jethro smiled brightly at him. "I'm really glad you feel that way."

Tony laughed. "You really don't want him there, do you?"

"Nope. I'd rather run him over with my truck. If you want him there, if you change your mind, I'll understand though."

Tony took Jethro's hand in his again. "Let's dance some more. Imagining you running over my dad is making me all warm and fuzzy, and I want an excuse to be as close to you as possible!"

Jethro chuckled, but went with Tony to the dance floor, immediately pulling him close. He slipped his hands around Tony's neck this time, loving the feel of Tony's hands on his waist. They danced through a couple more slow songs before the DJ decided that it was time for the traditional wedding floor crashers, and they ran for the safety of the table as the chicken dance came blaring through the loudspeakers, and a group of people flocked to the floor.

"There will be NO chicken dance, no YMCA, no Electric Slide… none of that, at our wedding!" Tony said over the music.

Jethro nodded, and pulled Tony past the table and towards a side exit. Tony followed willingly, knowing Jethro wasn't going to leave without saying goodbye to at least Abby and Ducky. They stepped out into the lot next to the building, and Jethro pulled Tony past it into a garden that was designed for the photographers to use. The sun had gone most of the way down, and there was only a faint pink glow on the edge of the horizon.

"That's actually really beautiful," Tony said quietly, looking up at the sky.

"Yeah, it's peaceful out here."

"No chicken dance. Definitely no chicken dance." Tony's head was shaking, and Jethro laughed.

"I had something I wanted to ask you, but I didn't want to add to the stress of the wedding, and I have gotten the sense lately that it's becoming a bit overbearing for you." Jethro looked up at Tony tentatively as they walked along the cobble walkway, and saw that Tony's expression confirmed it.

"Yeah. You know, it wouldn't be so bad if Abby wasn't so set on throwing us this big huge ceremony. I just need to find a way to get through to her that all of the traditional stuff means nothing to me. It's going to mean everything just to have them there, and to be saying those words, and making that promise. All of the other stuff is just extra fluff, and boy does she love the fluff. I know she wants to help, and I'd love to let her, but she wants to blow it so far out of proportion, and it's just not us."

Jethro nodded, finally understanding the true stressor was not hurting Abby while putting together a ceremony that they would actually enjoy. He wondered if he should talk with Abby about it, and decided to think about that for a while.

"Don't worry about Abby, Tony. Just tell her what you just told me. I'm sure she'll understand."

Tony shook his head. "I tried, but it's just not getting through. I'll think of something though."

"Well, what I wanted to ask was what you wanted to do for our honeymoon?" Jethro stopped, and pulled Tony close to him by the waist.

"Honeymoon? I hadn't even thought about that. You mean we're actually going to take off work for a week, and leave Balboa all alone?"

Jethro chuckled, and shook his head. "That's what we have SFAs for, Tony. If you want, you can even combine our teams while we're gone. I know they'll all be more than willing to take direction from McGee. Critten has been around him more than Ziva or I lately, and I know Parke and Dorneget have been working closely with Ziva in the gym. We'll figure it out. Could be nice to get away together for a while."

"Definitely! We thinking some fun in the sun, or some place with a view, or what?" Tony looked more excited than he had been in days, and Jethro smiled broadly back.

"Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to go to Italy. Naples? Rome?"

Tony was stunned. He stared back at Jethro with wide eyes and a slightly gaping mouth. "Uh, yeah! That sounds awesome!" A bright smile spread across his face, and a moment later, Tony was kissing Jethro.

Jethro relaxed into the embrace and kiss now that he had his answer, and breathed in relief. He'd already ran the idea past Vance that they would need some time off, and the idea of combining teams was a possible solution that they had discussed. He was startled from the kiss as Tony suddenly pulled away.

"We're never going to get to see anything though." Tony suddenly looked serious, and Jethro looked at him quizzically. "I'm going to have to speak Italian most of the time, and you're going to be constantly clawing my clothes off and taking me back to the hotel room," Tony said with a playful smile.

Jethro shook his head and held Tony tighter, bringing their lips closer together again. "I've definitely thought of that," he whispered before kissing Tony again.

They'd been standing there making out in the garden for almost ten minutes when Tony's phone started ringing from his pocket, startling them both and making them jump back. Tony groaned and pulled it out of his pocket, recognizing Elly's ringtone. "Must be a double header tonight, and I'm up to bat," Tony said, shaking his head. Balboa's team was on first call, but Tony's was second seeing as he was the only one at the wedding.

"Hey, Elly. What's going on?" he asked, putting the phone on speaker so Jethro could hear.

"Boss? I really hate to disturb you, I know you're at the wedding, and I'm so, so sorry, but you wanted to know if we got any direct hits from the search, and we do. We have a highly likely victim. My phone just alerted me of the results." Elly sounded genuinely distressed to be calling his boss during the celebration, but Tony was suddenly energized. They'd been working their asses off for this for almost two months now, and it was suddenly starting to look like a fruitful labor.

"Call Parke and Dorney, tell them to meet us at the office." Tony hung up as Elly was saying "Will do."

Jethro looked at him with a sad smile. "Go. I'll find my way home."

"If you want to leave now, I can drop you by the house on the way. Wouldn't mind a quick change of clothes actually," Tony said.

"Okay. Let's go say goodbye to our people, and let them know why we're leaving. McGee will probably be interested to know that your program worked." Tony nodded, and they hurried back inside. Tony pulled Tim and Abby aside and told them as Gibbs said goodbye to Ducky and Candice.

About fifteen minutes later, they were back at the house. Tony was slipping out of his suit, and Jethro was grabbing the pieces to hang up for the drycleaners. When all was said and done, Tony was in a much more comfortable pair of black pants, and a dark green button-down. He was feeding his belt through his pants when he noticed Jethro was staring at him.

"What?" he asked shyly in that way he got when Jethro was shamelessly checking him out.

"Will you wear green at the wedding?" he asked in a slight tone of amazement.

Tony smiled brightly. "If you'll wear blue," he bargained.

"Deal."

Tony leaned forward and kissed Jethro while he secured his gun. The kiss deepened, and a minute later, Tony finally broke away, both men breathing heavily.

"I will be so glad when this damn case is over," Jethro more growled than spoke.

"Hold that thought," Tony said back just as seductively. "If this turns out to be a false alarm, or something we need to wait for more information on, I'll be waking your ass up when I get home. And tomorrow's Sunday, so who knows? I might get you alone for a while before the weekend is over anyway."

Jethro raised an eyebrow at Tony before Tony gave him another quick peck. "Love you, Jethro."

"Love you, too, Tony."

With that, Tony turned and left Jethro standing there to go find out if his long held theory about Melinda Stafford was correct.