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waldos_writings
Title: Bottom of the Ninth
Written for:
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anyothergirl415 at the ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif){kind=small}
ncis_ficathon Pairings: Gibbs/DiNozzo
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 17,865 (posted in 4 parts)
Given Prompt: Tony/Gibbs, a first date or Gibbs doing his best to woo Tony the way a proper gentleman would
Archive: Please ask first.
Summary: Gibbs realizes that if he and Tony are ever going to have a relationship, he's going to have to do something about it. It takes almost a year, but he gets there eventually.
Author's Notes: Thanks every so much to Amadi for her beta job - done fantastically quickly for the size of this story. She's the one who kept my ghosts from doing jumping jacks. :)
Gibbs had every intention of coming up with another not-date for that weekend but they’d ended up with a call about a body in a pick-up truck in storage locker. On top of that Tony had been preoccupied with the fact that his car had been stolen.
The truth was, that did suck pretty hard. Tony put a lot of time and money into that car, Gibbs knew. On the flip side, he could offer to go out and try and help him find a replacement.
But before he could do that, though, there was Kate with a cold and Tony with an envelope full of white powder.
Gibbs wanted to stay with Tony once he’d been shipped off to Bethesda, but he knew two facts: one – he wouldn’t be allowed into the contamination zone to actually be with Tony and two – he didn’t trust anyone else to track down the psychopath who’d contaminated Tony so he had to do it himself.
When all was said and done, when the case that had never been a case was resolved, when a psychotic – truly psychotic – mother had been locked up to die of her brain tumor and Gibbs had told both the doctor and Tony that the bug had a suicide chain, Gibbs had gone in search of a coffee machine. His cracked rib was still reminding him that it had been only about two weeks since he’d done it in and the way he’d been breathing lately wasn’t making it any better. He’d run into Cassie and the non-victim Sarah which had led him to really getting to the bottom of what happened. How a lie had turned into… all this. How a girl unwilling to explain to her mother that she’d had a little kinky sex had turned into Tony almost dying.
When he came back down he found Kate lying on the bed next to Tony and Ducky standing outside. Gibbs finally convinced them that they should go home, that he’d stay with Tony. That Tony would be here in the morning. And the next. And the next. And probably a good dozen after that, but he’d be fine and they should get a good night’s sleep. He was sure that if Kate stayed, Tony’s hacking would wake her up and she’d been under quite a bit of stress on top of her cold and she really needed to get some real rest. He’d even convinced her to let Ducky drive her home, if for no other reason than she didn’t tend to argue with Ducky like she did with him.
Paula Cassidy had volunteered to write up the new report on the ‘rape’ case and see that the germ-making mother from hell was locked up somewhere she couldn’t hurt anyone else while her brain tumor finished her off.
Gibbs had a vague wish that he could feel sorry for her. After all, she’d been a mother trying to get justice for her daughter. But she’d damn near killed an NCIS agent that had nothing to do with the original case in her crusade. And to top it all off, the original case was built on a lie. He understood the need for vigilante justice – he’d been there and done that – but he’d made damn sure that the only person who suffered for what the bastard had done was the bastard who’d done it.
Gibbs scrubbed a hand across his eyes. What a mess.
The lights in the isolation ward were still blue. Gibbs had come back as soon as they’d known the truth. As soon as honest-to-God justice had been served. He hesitated outside the airlock. Tony seemed to be resting for now, but from what Gibbs understood from Doctor Pitt, he’d be fighting coughing fits and fever for another week or two. Just because he’d live, didn’t mean Tony would instantly be better.
Gibbs leaned against the glass and just watched. There was something building between himself and Tony but he still wasn’t sure exactly where they were. There had been a lot more time together after the office and on weekends. There was more casual touching and less-casual conversations, but neither of them had been able to take the step that would officially bring them to that new level. Gibbs wished that he’d taken any one of the several chances he’d had in the last two months or so and actually kissed him. It would give him a much better idea of what Tony would want from him now.
“You can go in.”
Gibbs suppressed the flinch that wanted to bring him upright, hand on his gun. He was getting sloppy, first Tony and now someone else able to sneak up on him? He needed to stop getting so damn lost in his own head when one of his own was targeted. It made for even more mistakes. He turned to find a nurse standing next to him, head inclined to the airlock door. It wasn’t Emma, who’d been there most of the day, so Gibbs had no idea who she was. Instead of saying anything he just nodded and went through the door.
He hitched a hip onto the side of Tony’s bed. Tony was still flushed and sweating and shaking, even in his sleep. Gibbs grabbed a washcloth from the stack on the bedside table and dipped one end of it into the bowl of water left there. He moved up a bit and carefully wiped off Tony’s face and neck. Tony moaned and rolled his head. Gibbs couldn’t tell if he was trying to lean into the cloth or move away from it. He rested one hand against Tony’s cheek, effectively stilling him. “Hang on, almost done,” he whispered.
“Boss?” Tony croaked, eyes not opening.
“Uh-huh,” Gibbs answered, not wanting to actually start a conversation. He wanted Tony to go back to sleep.
“I thought –“ Tony began, but soon was coughing and wheezing and breaking out in sweat all over again.
Gibbs tossed the cloth on the table and leaned down to pull Tony upright. “It’s all right,” he whispered when Tony tried to sit up on his own. Eventually Tony’s forehead fell down onto the top of his shoulder. He coughed a few more times before being able to take in several deep, quick breaths without hacking again.
Tony moved to lie back down and Gibbs started to help him, but then decided to go with his gut. If he and Tony weren’t moving in the direction he thought they were, Tony would let him know. And in his current state he was too wrung-out to be polite about it, there’d be no misunderstanding. Gibbs realized that they’d reached the bottom of the ninth and he was up to bat.
He shifted to get just a little closer to Tony and put one hand behind Tony’s head and guided it back down, resting Tony’s cheek against his shoulder, Tony’s face pressed against his neck. “Just rest a minute,” Gibbs told him. He shifted again to get his arms around Tony’s back, one arm wrapped around his ribs up to his opposite shoulder. His other hand tangled in Tony’s hair for a second, settling Tony comfortably against him. When Tony finally relaxed, Gibbs began gently stroking his hair. He’d long ago learned that was a bit of a hot-spot for Tony. No surer way to convince him that everything was okay and that he could rest. Hell, Tony had even comforted him that way when he’d stayed after that fight that had banged up his rib.
“Just rest for a bit. I’ve got you,” Gibbs whispered holding Tony tight to him, his hand passing over Tony’s hair again and again until he felt Tony’s head go heavy against his shoulder.
They let Tony rest where he was for another twenty-four hours before moving him to the ICU. Gibbs stayed at Tony’s side. He rested for a few hours on the bed next to Tony’s, but refused to go home despite numerous suggestions from doctors, nurses and, the following morning, Ducky.
Tony had been less than pleased about being moved and had complained that he was going to spread the plague to the entire hospital if they moved him out of isolation so vehemently that he’d coughed himself sick. Gibbs held him up with one hand and held the basin with the other. Once he calmed and the nurse took away the basin, Gibbs helped him take a few sips of water before leaning him against his shoulder again and assuring him that he wasn’t going to get anyone sick, that he’d been there allm night and wasn’t sick at all. Tony had rallied enough at that point to repeat his earlier joke about germs being afraid to attack Gibbs.
Gibbs laughed and tousled Tony’s hair and finally got him to lean back against the pillow as they kicked off the brakes on the gurney and disconnected all the monitors for the trip upstairs. Gibbs squeezed his hand and Tony relaxed as they started moving him. He held his hand all the way up until they made him stand in the hall while they reconnected all the monitors and hung his I.V. back up.
He went back in as soon as they let him, but Tony had already fallen asleep. He stayed until Tony woke up. He just couldn’t leave him to wake up alone.
“Hey, how are you feeling?”
“Lights are bright?” Tony complained.
Gibbs went over and pulled the blinds shut and shut off the overhead light. “Better?”
“Thanks,” Tony whispered, trying not to aggravate his throat and start coughing again.
“Need anything else?”
Tony shook his head.
“I’m going to go home and get cleaned up and change clothes. I’ll swing by your place and pick up your little DVD player. Any particular movies you want?”
Tony just shrugged. “Whatever. Get my laptop?”
“Tony the last thing you need to worry about is filling out a report on this. You didn’t work the case, you were the case.” Gibbs sat on the edge of the bed again, his hand resting over Tony’s. Gibbs frowned at the way Tony’s fingernails were still tinted blue.
“Video games,” Tony whispered before coughing again. Gibbs sat him up, patting his back like he’d seen the doctors and nurses doing the night before. When the coughing was over, Tony leaned further forward until his forehead rested on Gibbs’ shoulder. Gibbs hugged him in tight, one hand rubbing up and down Tony’s back briskly. “I know this sucks, but you’re gonna get better now.”
Tony nodded weakly against him. “I know. Thanks.”
Gibbs hugged him again and then turned his head just enough to place a gentle kiss on Tony’s temple. He wasn’t even sure if Tony noticed, but it made him feel a little better for having done it. “You ready to go back to sleep?”
Tony nodded and Gibbs leaned him back into the stack of pillows they had propping him up. “I’ll be back in a few hours, okay?” Gibbs pulled Tony’s cell phone out of his pajama top pocket. “If you need anything, or think of something else you want from your place, you let me know, okay?”
Tony wrapped weak fingers around the phone. “’Kay, boss. You should get some sleep too. You don’t look so good,” he added.
Gibbs stood and rested his hand on the top of Tony’s head. He leaned down and kissed his forehead. “Look who’s talking.”
Gibbs was grateful to see the way Tony’s eyes lit up at the unexpected contact. “I’ll be back soon.”
He was pretty sure Tony was asleep before Gibbs made it to the door.
Four days later they moved Tony out of ICU. Gibbs had taken the first three days off and stayed at Tony’s side as much as ICU rules allowed. He went back to work on the fourth, but came to visit at lunch and again after he left the office. Tony mostly slept and complained about how hard it was to sleep practically sitting up, that was until he fell asleep again.
When Tony was finally moved to a regular room, Gibbs quit coming by at lunch, but headed over straight from the office each day. As Tony was finally up to eating regular food, Gibbs usually stopped off somewhere and got them both dinner.
Tony had been in the hospital ten days when Gibbs showed up with ribs and fries from one of Tony’s favorite restaurants. Tony smiled when he saw the bag, “You know, you this is starting to turn into a standing date,” he quipped.
Gibbs gave him half a smile as he set the bag on the bedtable and sat down next to Tony’s knees. “That a problem for you, DiNozzo?” He’d been giving a lot of thought to finally just saying something, seeing what Tony thought and then dealing with whatever the fall-out was.
“Not for me, boss,” Tony said pushing himself more upright to start digging in the bag. “Lunch was tomato soup and cheese sandwiches. Really nasty, rubbery cheese sandwiches.”
“It’s not like you actually eat them,” Gibbs said pointedly. Tony still had his I.V. since he still hadn’t recovered his appetite and it was a source of concern for Gibbs given that Tony usually ate anything that sat still for long enough. He pulled out a container of cole slaw and set it in front of Tony before pulling out two clamshell trays of ribs and fries. “Seriously, eat this. They aren’t going to take that,” he pointed to the tube in Tony’s arm, “out until you’re eating regularly.”
“I eat ‘regularly’,” Tony protested. He’d gone three rounds with both the nurse and Doctor Pitt after he’d mostly just rearranged his lunch on his tray. He didn’t want to have the same argument with Gibbs.
“Okay, let me rephrase that: ‘regularly and sufficiently.’” Gibbs pushed Tony’s ribs a few inches closer.
Tony sighed and began eating. The ribs smelled great, but after about half of them and a few fries he realized he just couldn’t eat any more and pushed the container back towards Gibbs. “Want the rest?”
Gibbs peered over the top of the package. “Better than you’ve been doing,” he muttered and helped himself to a few of the fries.
Tony leaned back and rested his eyes while Gibbs finished eating. The t.v. was on ZNN and he listened to the low drone of international news, occasionally cracking one eye to see whatever it was they were talking about.
Fifteen minutes later, Gibbs had cleaned up their dinners and moved the table out of the way. When he sat back down he moved closer to Tony’s hip. “Can I turn this off for a minute?” he asked picking up the remote for the t.v.
“Uh, sure.” Tony had the feeling something serious was coming and he wasn’t sure he was up for it. If there was bad news on the medical front, surely the doctor would have told him first. Unless they thought he’d take it better hearing it from a friend. Maybe he was being fired. If his lungs weren’t expected to recover, he’d never be able to chase down suspects.
He felt Gibbs hand cover his gently. Oh, this was going to be bad.
“Reign it in, DiNozzo. I can see you head spinning. Yeah, I want to talk, but it’s not that big a deal.”
Tony settled himself back into the pillows. This was Gibbs show, he’d just wait to see what was going on.
“Doctor Pitt seems to think you’ll be able to come home by the weekend if you’re eating better.”
Tony sighed. “I’m eating, boss, really. I just get too damn tired to eat much at one time.”
“I know. He says you need to take about two more weeks after you’re released before you come back to work,” Gibbs said.
“I know, he told me. Though I don’t really think I need two whole weeks, really –“
“Tony,” Gibbs interrupted, “You just admitted to not having enough energy to eat. You aren’t coming back to work until you’re cleared. But that’s not the point of this conversation.” It was now or never.
Tony canted his head and studied Gibbs. “So what is the point of this conversation?”
“Well, I was thinking about what you said after the Leeka case. About how it sucks to have to look after yourself when you aren’t feeling well.” Gibbs watched Tony to see how he was receiving what he was saying. “So I thought maybe you’d come stay with me at least until you go back to work.”
Tony seemed to think the offer through for a minute. “Yeah. Yeah, that’d be nice. I’d appreciate it.”
With that going well, Gibbs plowed ahead, “And when you’re feeling up to it, we can go see a movie or something.” He mentally rolled his eyes. He sounded all of twelve. ‘or something’? He was surprised Tony wasn’t laughing at him.
In fact, Tony did have a slight smile on his face, but Gibbs really had no idea what that meant. “Like… like a date ‘or something’?” Tony asked.
Gibbs gave up and gave him a slightly flustered, slightly irritated look that begged for Tony to let him off the hook.
Gibbs smiled when Tony turned his hand over to take Gibbs in it. “I think that’d be great.”
Gibbs let out a huge sigh of relief and pulled the entertainment section of the newspaper out of his coat. “Find something interesting. And eat, so you can get out of here.” He headed for the door.
Tony pulled on Gibbs hand as he tried to disentangle them. “You know I’m not contagious anymore, right?”
“Uh-huh. As I recall, I’m the one who had to keep telling you that.” Gibbs raised an eyebrow at the look in Tony’s eyes. He went unresisting when Tony pulled on his hand until Gibbs leaned over him. Their first kiss was soft, a promise. Just enough to make sure they were absolutely on the same page at that point. By the time Gibbs stood back up, though, Tony’s eyes were drifting shut for a whole different reason.
“Get some rest, Tony. I’ll be back tomorrow.”
Tony smiled at him without opening his eyes. “I’ll be here. And I’ll eat. I’ve got a damn good reason to want to get out of here asap now.”
Gibbs ruffled Tony’s hair. “Damn straight.”
(no subject)
Date: 2011-05-08 04:13 am (UTC)This story was just, plain bad and boring..There was really NOTHING new but just a bit of added slash between the two.
Sincerely,
(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-17 06:43 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-19 05:10 am (UTC)I keep hoping you'll do a sequel. :-)
Or did you and I missed it? :-)
(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-05 09:59 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-07 09:18 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-09 11:11 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-17 09:53 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-07-28 04:44 pm (UTC)