Secrets

By

Annie and Lyn

Okay, so maybe it hadn’t been the brightest idea but you know, on those nights when you’re so miserable all you can think of doing is drinking booze till your memory blanks out, you’re not really doing bright. You’re doing stupid. The booze was bad enough but I crossed the line from stupid into moronic with what I did while I was boozed.

Gibbs is watching me from his desk, not staring, just little flicks of his eyes up from his monitor every few minutes. I’m trying to sit as still as I can, pretending the gas chromatography report I’m pretending to read is the most fascinating thing I’ve ever seen. I shift minutely when I see Gibbs glance away again then bite back a curse as my very expensive suit pants rub across the inside of my thigh. It’s way too warm in here. Maybe I should have worn cut-offs instead. Despite how lousy I feel, I can’t help a grin crossing my face at the thought of what my team’s reaction would have been if I had.

“DiNozzo.” The voice is soft and oh so close to my ear. “What are you smiling at?”

I flick a quick look over my shoulder to see Gibbs behind me, leaning in close... way too close... How the hell did he get over here without me noticing? I shake my head, school my mouth to mirthless indifference. “Nothing, Boss. Just a random thought, you know.”

“Right,” he drawls. Then his hand comes out and makes a pass over my forehead. “You sick?” he asks as he pulls it back. “You feel a little warm.”

My leg has now set up a tom tom throbbing that’s echoing my pulse but I shake my head firmly. “Never felt better, Gibbs.”

“Good, then you won’t mind taking that incredibly fascinating gas chromatography report down to Abby, will you? Oh, and call in to see Ducky before you come back. He’s got some paperwork I need to sign off on.” Gibbs walks back around my desk and over to his own, sitting down and watching me again, this time as if he’s totally focused on me.

“Sure, Boss.” I stand up and bite back the yelp that tries to push past my lips as my pants ride down and settle where they’re supposed to be.

“You okay, Tony,” McGee asks as he walks past my desk on the way to his own. “You look a little pale there.”

“Fine, I’m fine,” I snap. At Gibbs’ raised eyebrow, I wave a hand at the elevator. “I’m just gonna go do what you asked, Boss.”

Walking towards the elevator, the pain makes me aware of every single step I take, and with relief, I reach out a hand and palm the down button. There are footsteps behind me and just as I step in a hand reaches through and stops the doors, the report held in the fingers. “Gibbs said you’d need this,” Tim says apologetically. He holds the doors open. “You sure you’re okay, Tony?”

I grab the report from his fingers and shove his arm back out. “Fine. Bye, Probie.” Then I sigh with relief and sag back against the wall as the doors close and the elevator starts down.

By the time I walk into Abby’s lab, I’m running the gamut of freezing cold to equatorial hot and I can feel the sweat beading on my forehead. “Hey, Abs,” I shout past the pounding music that assaults me and turns my headache up another notch.

Abby turns from scrutinizing her computer and runs over, wrapping me in a bear hug so tight, I’m sure she’ll crack a rib. “Tony! Didn’t we have the best time last night?”

Yeah, right. I can’t even remember most of last night, which is probably a fair indication that we had one heck of a time. Still, I hug her back and nod. “Sure did. Hell of a time.”

She backs off a little and gives me a wink. “So, where did you get to later? I was dancing with that cool guy. You know, the one with the dreads, and when I turned around, you were gone.”

Way gone. I shrug. “Ah, had to get my beauty sleep, not that I need a whole lot,” I quip.

She rolls her eyes. “You missed all the good stuff. Next time you’re staying till the end.”

“You betcha,” I promise. I hold out the file. “Gibbs wants you to take a look at this.”

“The gas chromatography? Cool.” She reaches out for it and then we both watch as it flutters to the ground.

Crap. All of a sudden, I feel sweat break out on my brow and a shiver snakes its way down my spine. I think I’m going to throw up all over Abby’s cool boots. Then the room does a slow roll and I know I’m way past throwing up. “Abs? I think I’m gonna…” And the last thing I see is her face, her ruby red lips wide open as I do a less than elegant swan dive at her feet.

~o0o~

There are voices buzzing over my head. It’s annoying having that going on when I’m laying here on the floor, trying to sleep. Okay, that’s wrong. Somewhere in the nauseated dizziness that’s my brain right now I know that’s wrong. I crack open my eyelids and groan as I see the blurred faces of Ducky, Abby, and… crap! Gibbs, above me.

“The poor boy’s burning up, Jethro. What on earth have you had him doing?” Ducky’s saying.

“He’s been working, Duck. That’s what he gets paid for,” Gibbs bites back.

“Oh my god, he’s bleeding, Ducky. Look!” Abby says.

“Okay, let’s get his trousers down,” Ducky says and I make a failed attempt to grab at my pants and my dignity. “Hold him still, Jethro, but do it gently.”

I clench my fingers tightly into the waistband of my pants but Gibbs knows more pressure points than I know even exist in the human body and with a whimper of pain, I’m forced to relinquish my grip.

“Just lie still, DiNozzo, and let Ducky take a look,” Gibbs barks.

I close my eyes and wish fervently for unconsciousness to take me again as my pants are lowered.

There’s a collective gasp above me, and then Ducky’s shoving a thermometer into my ear as Gibbs hauls my pants back up.

“His temp’s 105. He’s got a nasty infection brewing there,” Ducky says softly, a minute or so later. He pats my arm soothingly. “Abby, call an ambulance. It’s off to the hospital for some intensive antibiotics for our Anthony, I’m afraid.” He leans in close and whispers in my ear. “Your secret’s safe with me, dear boy.”

Nobody says a word for at least ten minutes, except for Ducky, who’s telling Abby about some tribe he once encountered who got drunk once a year, got tattooed and woke up the next day believing the tattoos had been put there by their god while they were passed out from the local hooch.

“Is Tony okay?”

I open my eyes again and see McGee’s standing at the door to the lab, his eyes wide.

“Sorry,” he goes on. “Jimmy said he collapsed and-“

“”Anthony’s got a nasty infection in his leg, Timothy.” Ducky accepts a helping hand from Gibbs to get to his feet. “He needs to go to the hospital. Abby’s called an ambulance. He’ll be fine. Just needs some medication. This reminds me of a young lad I knew in prep school. Poor boy wanted so badly to fit in that he went and got a-“

“The ambulance is here,” Abby interjects blessedly and I thank god that they must have been nearby.

“Boss,” I begin but Gibbs just gives me that slow smile of his and helps the medics lift me onto the gurney.

“We’ll talk later when you’re feeling better, DiNozzo,” he says with a promise in his voice.

I give a little shiver of anticipation at the look in his eyes and McGee rushes over and pulls the blanket up around my shoulders and tucks it in.

“Um, Boss.” McGee straightens up and turns to look at Gibbs. “Someone should probably ride in to the hospital with Tony…”

“I’ve got work to get back to, McGee. Guess that means you’re babysitting DiNozzo tonight,” Gibbs replies. He pats my shoulder as he turns to leave. “I’ll come by the hospital later, DiNozzo, and see how you’re doing. By the way, nice art work.”

I cringe and wish I could pull the blanket right over my face at that but then Abby’s kissing my cheek and Ducky’s giving the medics instructions and finally I’m pushed out of the lab and into the elevator, McGee dogging the gurney’s wheels.

~oOo~

A finger pokes my cheek and I squirm away from it, wanting to stay in the cotton wool depths of no pain.

“Tony, you waking up,” a familiar voice says close to my ear.

I mumble something nonsensical in the vain hope that I’ll be left in peace but then my shoulder is given a not so gentle shake.

“I saw your eyes open. I know you’re awake.”

I groan and give up the act. Opening my eyes, I see McGee bending over the bed, a worried look in his eyes… and I can still smell the garlic prawns he had for dinner last night. “Probie, hey.” I add a pain-filled groan for good measure and I’m rewarded when he shifts back a little and reaches for the call button.

“I’ll get the doctor,” he says, sounding a little panicked.

I reach out and grab his hand, stopping him from pressing the button. “S’okay. I’m fine, really.”

“You sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“What the hell were you thinking, Tony?”

“I was thinking about declaring my love for someone finally, for the first time in my life.”

McGee smiles at that. He leans forward and gives me a gentle, lingering kiss. “Can I see?” he asks with a bashful grin.

“You’re not gonna tell anyone, are you, especially David?”

He crosses his heart and kisses me again, and how can I not show him when I did it for him? Inebriated I might have been, but my heart was definitely in the right place when I did it. I grumble a little for effect then pull open my gown.

He grins and reaches down and presses a kiss just above the tattoo. “Tim,” he whispers. “At least you didn’t choose Probie.”

“Well, that would have cost me an extra hundred bucks,” I say, smiling to take the sting from my words. I reach up and wrap my arms around him, pulling him closer so I can kiss him properly and whisper in his ear. “You do know Gibbs knows about us now?”

End