Hiding in Plain Sight: 7/21
Oct. 22nd, 2008 06:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xantheficTitle: Hiding in Plain Sight: Part Seven
Author: Xanthe
Fandom: SGA/NCIS crossover
Pairings: Gibbs/DiNozzo, John/Rodney, Carson/Caldwell, Teyla/Ronon, Ziva/McGee, and some other pairings that would spoil the story if I revealed them. Gibbs/Ducky friendship.
Rating: NC17 for explicit BDSM sex (m/m slash, femslash and het) and spanking.
Author's Notes
Summary: When a serial killer murders three marines on Atlantis, NCIS are called in to investigate. However, their arrival brings complications for everyone – revealing a lie, a prophecy, a secret and a nemesis.
Part Seven: Sure, the evidence did kind of point to Rodney’s guilt…but was this man really capable of murder?
Okay, I'm off out for the day to a work thingummy later (a nice work thingummy so I'm not actually complaining!). But if I'm slow replying to comments that's why! Enjoy :-)
Hiding in Plain Sight
By Xanthe
Part Seven
Gibbs sat on the bed for a long time, reading Evan Lorne's service record file, which John Sheppard had provided for him. Every now and then he stroked Tony's hair idly with his free hand, revelling in the post-spanking protectiveness he was feeling. It had been a long time since he'd been able to give full reign to his more toppy instincts and they had taken him by surprise today. No – that wasn't right - *Tony* had taken him by surprise today. Gibbs had spanked a good many submissives in his life, and it was something he often enjoyed, in the right circumstances, but even so, today had been a revelation.
He'd long ago made it a rule to spank Tony every day, because he instinctively knew it was what Tony needed, to ground him, help him perform well at his job, and, in some freaky DiNozzo way, to keep him happy. Tony was a sub through to his bones, and he responded best to consistent caring discipline and a firm hand on his leash.
It was different with his other subs – he had rarely ever needed to spank them, and when he did he always went with what felt right, trusting his own innate instincts as a top. Gibbs felt that his gut feelings as a top had rarely ever let him down, any more than his gut feelings in his working life had let him down. He made his rare spankings of the rest of his team memorable enough to leave a lasting impression – in his view, discipline was useless unless it served a purpose and made the point – his subs might not like it, but he knew the discipline he handed out *always* made a point.
Tony was different. The occasional hard spanking was wasted on him – he’d been there, done that too often, and it had had little effect on him in the past. No, he needed something much more regular in his life. Tony needed Gibbs’s attention – and Gibbs knew if he didn’t give it to him by spanking him daily, even if it was just a couple of swats, Tony would find some other way to get it – and Tony’s ways of getting attention had always got him into a whole heap of trouble in the past.
Gibbs mostly kept the spankings light, occasionally delivering a big one when he felt Tony needed it most, and always keeping Tony on his toes so he never knew when it was coming, or how hard it would be. Mostly Gibbs only left marks that would fade within a day – but sometimes, when he felt Tony needed it, he made sure to leave a couple of harder strap marks that would last a bit longer – Tony had a real need for that kind of grounding.
When Gibbs had first looked at Tony’s resume, he’d almost not bothered interviewing him for the job, but something about the pattern of misdemeanours and eventual expulsions from various law enforcement agencies and police departments had caught his eye. He’d agreed to interview Tony as much out of curiosity as anything else, but as soon as he met him he knew, instantly, that this was a sub he had to have on his team. Tony had turned up looking rumpled, with couldn’t-care-less body language but hungry-to-impress eyes, and something very old in Gibbs’s blood had responded to this sub’s obvious need for a firm hand. Tony, in return, had responded to Gibbs’s discipline, smartened himself up almost overnight, and turned out to be the best damn agent Gibbs had ever had. Playing Tony right, to get the best out of him and stop him messing up, was like playing a finely tuned musical instrument. Gibbs wasn’t a man of much patience but he did like a challenge – and Tony was definitely that. He’d ended up collaring his new agent within three weeks of putting him on his team which was a record for him – but an un-collared Tony was too dangerous to have around and Gibbs knew he couldn’t protect the young agent’s ass unless he owned it. Damn it, Ducky was right – he DID have a rescue complex.
Today, seeing Tony tired and clearly troubled about something, although he wasn't saying what, Gibbs had felt strongly that his most difficult and exasperating sub needed more than an impersonal strapping over the back of a chair. He'd never seen Tony like this – he seemed distracted and was clearly running on empty. Gibbs had let that pass for most of the day because Tony was a like a cat with a mouse when he got on the trail of something, and Gibbs assumed that whatever was bothering Tony was related to the case. Now he wasn't so sure. It was only when Dr Beckett had expressed his concern about Tony's health that Gibbs had finally decided to step in – Tony wasn't likely to get any breakthroughs in the case if he wasn't well.
So he had offered Tony a choice of spanking – which wasn't his usual style with Tony – and he hadn't been surprised when Tony went for the over-the-knee option with his hand. Most subs assumed that was the easier option – they were wrong.
But he had been wrong too, in not realising how profound an experience it would be. He knew Tony was an experienced sub, and while it was always a pleasure to have a good-looking, naked, collared submissive over his knee, Gibbs was skilled enough to put that to one side in order to get the job done and bring Tony down to where he needed to be.
That was all it should have been about but then Tony had done that *thing*. Not one of those subby tricks he'd been putting out there all day – the smiles, and the eyelashes, and the ‘I'm not worthy to kneel at your feet, oh strong top’ shit that Gibbs had found so amusing. No - this had been the real deal. Tony had given himself up to Gibbs, completely and totally. He'd submitted on a deep level – and that wasn't a place many subs could go to without a lot of help and direction on his part. For Tony it had seemed almost effortless, and Gibbs had responded to the sense of absolute trust Tony placed in him.
Tony's body had been relaxed over his knees – and Gibbs hadn't held back on the spanking, as Tony's glowing bottom showed. Most subs in that situation would hold themselves tight and tense and sob their hearts out while resisting all the way, until finally they had no choice but to let go. It took a skilled top to get them to where they needed to be, and Gibbs *was* a skilled top, a master of his subject, instinctively able to judge the dips and peaks in a sub's responses, and alter his approach accordingly.
But he hadn't needed that level of skill today because Tony had just stretched out and offered himself up, giving himself to Gibbs without holding back. It had been beautiful – like a choreographed dance between top and sub, each of them knowing the precise moves to make without saying a word to each other - and Gibbs hadn't experienced anything like that in a very long time. Not since…Shannon.
Gibbs got up, quietly, so as not to wake his sleeping sub. He went over to his luggage, still largely unpacked, and found the box he'd been looking at the previous night. He opened it, and touched the gold links of Shannon's collar. He'd had it made especially for her, wanting the moment of her collaring to be one they both remembered for the rest of their lives, and it had been a beautiful moment too. She had had that same sense of trust in him that Tony had just displayed, and that none of his other wives ever had – but then perhaps that had been his fault. Perhaps Ducky was right, and he'd always held back with them, never loving them for who they were but only for the ways in which they reminded him of Shannon. Tony though - Tony was nothing at all like Shannon.
Gibbs glanced at Tony, lying naked and dishevelled in his bed, his collar just visible above the sheets. It had been a long time since Gibbs had had a sub in his bed, and, even though they weren't sleeping together, somehow it felt easy and natural that Tony was there – as if it was where he belonged.
Tony was trouble though – Gibbs had known that when he collared him. He was bright, street-smart and brave; but he was also promiscuous, immature, and mischievous. He really was nothing like Shannon at all, and yet…they shared some quality that was hard to define – something about how they, as subs, responded to Gibbs, as a top.
Gibbs shut the box and replaced the collar in his bag. He wasn't ready to let go of Shannon just yet; in fact, he didn't think he'd *ever* be ready to let Shannon go.
~*~
Tony smiled, and muttered something as he slowly dozed towards wakefulness. He was in bed, and he was warm and endorphins were whizzing through his body, making him feel so good. There was a burning ache in his bottom which implied he'd been spanked, and spanked well, and Tony loved the post-spanking haze. He felt completely relaxed and safe, enveloped in the reassuring scent of his top, whose bed he was in… Tony woke up fully with a start. He was lying naked in Gibbs's bed – something he'd wanted for the past five years, and, okay, so no actual *sex* had taken place, but that spanking had been almost as intimate. He and Gibbs had shared something during that spanking – he wasn't sure what, but it had felt damn good.
He opened his eyes and saw Gibbs gazing at him from where he was sitting at his desk in the corner of the room.
"Hey, sleepyhead. About time too," Gibbs said, with a grin. He looked softer and more relaxed than usual, although those blue eyes were still sharp.
"How long have I been asleep?" Tony asked, yawning.
"About five hours. The others just got back so I was about to wake you," Gibbs told him.
"Five hours?" Tony sat up fast, surprised, and then yelped as his sore butt protested. "I slept for five hours?" he said, in disbelief. Gibbs rolled his eyes.
"Get up and get over here, Tony," he said. "I'm not done with you yet."
Tony groaned as he had to leave behind the warmth of the bed, with its intoxicating scent of Gibbs. His body felt loose and relaxed as he walked, naked and unself-conscious, over to Gibbs. Gibbs might be his boss but he was also his top, and as such Tony's body belonged to him. Gibbs had made it perfectly clear when he first collared him that there were certain rights he wouldn't be claiming, but he still had them, even if chose not to exercise them. Seeing Tony naked was certainly one of them – and besides, Tony enjoyed it. He knew he looked good and if all Gibbs wanted to do was look, well, that was something.
"Turn around," Gibbs said, when he got close, and Tony did so, presenting his ass to his top for inspection. Gibbs ran his hands gently over the still sore flesh and Tony bit down on his lip and tried to think of really un-erotic things so that his cock wouldn't immediately spring into life. Gibbs had seen him with an erection before but it was always embarrassing. "Okay – looks fine," Gibbs said.
"Might look fine but it feels like it's on fire, boss," Tony told him with a grimace.
Gibbs just gave a wry shake of his head. "Regardless, like I said, I'm not done with you yet, Tony. Kneel down next to me, facing the desk, hands behind your back."
Tony sighed – Gibbs clearly hadn't been kidding earlier when he said he was going to make him switch off. He knew Gibbs liked to spend time with his subs after a serious punishment but he'd never spent *this* long with him following a spanking before.
Tony hoped that Gibbs wasn't going to follow up his half-lie from earlier because he was feeling vulnerable right now, glowing ass exposed as he knelt beside Gibbs's knee, facing his desk. He wasn't sure how long he could hold out if Gibbs seriously went after the truth, but it also wasn't a truth he thought he could bear telling.
The last thing he wanted to see was the look of pity in Gibbs's eyes when he admitted he was in love with him – lust was one thing; they could all laugh and ignore that, but love? Tony had always been the untouchable one in relationships, the commitment-phobe, the one with all the power to break hearts. Now he was in love and he wasn't going to dump those unwanted feelings on this man. They were his problem and his alone – no reason why Gibbs should be troubled by them. Gibbs had made it perfectly clear he wasn't interested, and Tony would cope. He always had. He'd felt alone inside for his entire life and he had grown accustomed to it. He'd be fine…but only if Gibbs didn't find out the truth.
"When did you last eat anything, Tony?" Gibbs asked, unexpectedly.
Tony shrugged. He'd messed up with the not-sleeping thing but he was sure he could get this over with as soon as possible and get Gibbs off his back so he wouldn't get near the truth.
"Lunch-time, boss. At the cafeteria. You saw me – we were there together."
"Uh-huh." Gibbs got up, went over to the night-stand, and picked up his strap.
Tony turned his head, following his top's every move. His stomach did a little flip of fear; his butt was in no shape to take more right now. Gibbs returned to the desk and put the strap on it, right in front of Tony's nose. "What I saw at lunchtime was you pushing your food around your plate, while making a lot of noise to cover up the fact you weren't eating," he said quietly. "Now, let me ask you again; when did you last eat anything? And *think* before you reply, Tony." He let his hand rest on the strap. Tony glared at it, but he wasn't about to give in. He wasn't going to let Gibbs get to the truth.
"This morning – before you guys got up. I ate some of those cakes Ducky left in the kitchen," he said. Gibbs picked up the strap and Tony bit on his lip. How the hell did Gibbs always *know* when he was lying? It was uncanny.
"You sure about that, Tony?" Gibbs asked dangerously, slapping the strap against the hard, flat palm of his hand.
Tony sighed. "No. Look – I haven't eaten anything in awhile. I don't know when – maybe sometime yesterday, or even the day before. I honestly don't remember. Things are different out here – kind of exciting. We're in a whole different galaxy in case you hadn't noticed. Maybe I let it get to me a bit too much and forgot to eat, which yes, I know is not like me, but go figure. I'm sorry – I know it's unprofessional and you've had to take time out to deal with it but it won't happen again. I promise."
"Last time you stopped eating you were sick, Tony," Gibbs said, still holding the strap.
"I know, but that was extreme, boss. I had the plague," Tony replied, remembering how *that* had felt all too well, but most of all remembering that Gibbs had come to his hospital room and told him he didn’t have permission to die – so, like the good little sub he was, he hadn't.
"Do I need to get Ducky to take a look at you?" Gibbs asked. "No telling what diseases they might have out here."
"No," Tony said firmly, because Ducky had a knack of seeing right through him that was second only to Gibbs's talent in that area. "I'm fine and I'm sorry. I screwed up but I won't let it happen again."
He had to stop thinking about Gibbs and get more control. It was just so hard managing it 24/7. He'd had eighteen days at close quarters on the Daedalus and now he was sleeping in the room next to Gibbs – no wonder he was struggling. At least at home he got some time out from the situation.
"Okay," Gibbs sighed. He put the strap down, much to Tony's relief, and then turned in his chair, took hold of Tony's face between his hands, and gazed at him searchingly. "If you say it's not a problem I'll believe you. If it turns out you've lied to me, I won't be so kind – understand?" Gibbs said. "This is your last chance to tell me if anything is going on with you, Tony."
Tony swallowed, gazing into those sharp eyes. It would be so easy to confess his feelings, right here, right now, and let Gibbs handle the situation, but he had too much pride for that. He wanted this man's love, not his pity.
"Nothing is going on," he said firmly, crossing his fingers behind his back as he spoke. Gibbs nodded, looking disappointed that Tony was holding out on him but accepting his answer all the same.
"Okay then," he said, and then he dropped an unexpected kiss on Tony's forehead. "You allowed this situation to get out of control, DiNozzo," he said when he released Tony, and his tone was brisk and businesslike now. "So you can just kneel there and think about your sore ass until I'm ready to let you go."
Tony nodded, and relaxed into the submissive posture. There were worse ways to spend time. At least Gibbs was with him, and he could pretend this was more than it was. He felt himself go down into his own sub-space, and it was so easy when he was with Gibbs. He wished he could rest his chin on Gibbs's knee like a puppy but he hadn't been given permission for that and he knew it would be denied in any case. So he closed his eyes and leaned slightly against Gibbs's thigh where he was sitting at the desk – that much at least he might get away with.
They were silent for awhile, as Gibbs went through his notes and Tony zoned out beside him. The silence was so intimate, and he was so far inside his own sub-space, that Tony jumped when there was a knock on the door.
"Easy." Gibbs ruffled a hand through his hair, soothing him, but still didn't give him permission to get up so he stayed where he was. The door opened, and Evan Lorne stepped into the room.
"Sorry to disturb you, sir," he said, standing to attention in front of Gibbs. Tony made a small sound in the back of his throat. He really didn't like being naked and red-assed in front of another top but he was Gibbs's sub, and Gibbs didn't seem to have a problem with it. Lorne wasn't phased by it, either – it was common enough for a top to have a sub-in-discipline beside him. Gibbs rested his hand on Tony's shoulder and let it stay there, where it fulfilled the dual role of being both reassuring and making it clear to Lorne who Tony belonged to – if he'd been in any doubt on that score.
"I know the timing isn't ideal, sir," Lorne said, "but yesterday was so crazy I didn't dare approach you then. I know you're in the middle of a case but I don't know how long you and the rest of your team will be out here and I really wanted to ask you again about Abby. You said to present myself to you?"
Gibbs leaned back in his chair, his hand still resting on Tony's naked shoulder. Tony risked looking up and saw that Lorne looked as if he was due on the parade ground. He was wearing Air Force dress blues, and his shoes were sparkling, as were the buttons on his uniform which was crisp and freshly pressed. There wasn't a hair out of place on him. Tony was intrigued by the process whereby Gibbs interviewed prospective tops for Abby, and he shifted slightly, wondering what would happen next.
What happened was that Gibbs put his hand on his head and directed it downward.
"Head down, Tony. You're in deep submission," Gibbs told him firmly, and Tony swallowed down a sigh and did as he was told, gazing at the floor. Then Gibbs turned his attention back to Lorne. "I've been reading through your personnel file, Colonel," he said.
"Yes sir. General Sheppard told me you'd requested it, sir," Lorne replied.
"You have an excellent service record," Gibbs commented. "Everyone speaks very highly of you. You're also a painter, I see?" Tony saw him, out of his peripheral vision, flicking through the file on his desk.
"Yes, sir! It's a hobby of mine," Lorne said.
"That’s an unusual hobby for a military top," Gibbs commented. Lorne's shiny boots shifted a fraction.
"I'm not a usual kind of military top, sir," he said, softly. "That's why I like Abby – she's different, and she's fun. She's not like the subs I've met in the military. I would treat her with the utmost respect, sir, if you gave me permission to date her."
"Okay." Gibbs sat back in his chair. "You can date her, Colonel, but there are some rules."
"Of course, sir," Lorne replied, his eyes flashing happily.
"First – I need to know where she is. If she's with you, that's fine. But if she's with you she's with you – you don't leave her anywhere, or drop her off somewhere thinking she'll be safe. When she's with you, she's your responsibility and if anything happens to her on your watch I promise you that I will hold you accountable. Understood?"
Lorne took a deep breath. "Yes, sir."
"Okay." Gibbs nodded. "Secondly – you let me know when she's back with me – you bring her back in person and you see me – even if just to say goodnight and that Abby is safe."
"No problem, sir." Lorne nodded.
"And thirdly – if you decide to play you play safe and you play the way Abby wants to play. You ignore her safe word, or coerce her into doing something she doesn't want to do, and you'll wish you'd never been born."
"Yes, sir," Lorne said, and Tony detected just a little hint of a quaver in his voice. Gibbs sure as hell could be scary.
"Finally – you don't hurt her," Gibbs said. "It might not work out between you and that's fine, I won’t blame you for that. But if you're the kind of top who likes to pick up subs and deliberately break their hearts then think again; because I will come after you."
"Me too," Tony said, in a deadly serious tone, looking up, unaware he'd even spoken until it was too late. He bit his lip, waiting for Gibbs to smack his head because he was supposed to be in deep submission but Gibbs just gave a little grunt and his hand came up to rest on Tony's naked shoulder again, stroking softly.
"I promise you – both of you," Lorne said, glancing from Tony to Gibbs. "Abby won't come to any harm with me."
"Very well – then you have my permission to date her," Gibbs said.
"Thank you." Lorne pulled himself up and gave Gibbs a crisp salute. "And if you don't mind me saying so, I haven't felt like this since I was at high school and had to ask permission to date a sub from their parents," he said, with a little grin. "Only this was much, much worse. Abby sure as hell must be special if she has you two looking out for her."
"She is," Tony said, and Gibbs said it too, at the same time. Gibbs grinned at him, and stroked the back of Tony's neck with his finger. Lorne gave a little snort and then turned smartly on his heel and left the room.
They were only alone for a second or two when there was another knock on the door and Ducky entered. Tony gave a resigned sigh – as a sub, he was used to being naked at his top’s discretion, no matter who else was around, and it was only Ducky after all. The fact that he was a doctor and had seen Tony naked on many previous occasions made it feel a bit better at least.
"I was just wondering if you intended to join us for dinner," Ducky began. "Ah…I see Anthony has been in trouble again," he said, shooting an affable grin in Tony's direction. "Nothing serious I hope?"
"Nope – he just needed settling," Gibbs replied. "He's not been eating or sleeping for a couple of days and needed taking down."
“My dear boy, not eating, not sleeping – anyone would think you’re in love," Ducky said, with a little laugh. Tony stiffened, and Gibbs's hand tightened on his neck.
"Is that it, Tony?" Gibbs asked. "Has some top out here taken your interest?"
"No, boss," Tony answered, firmly and honestly. He glanced over Gibbs’s shoulder and saw that Ducky had seen right through him, even if Gibbs hadn’t.
"Here, let me see the damage," Ducky said, and Tony could see he was trying hard to cover up his mistake in drawing attention to Tony’s emotional state.
Ducky stepped forward, and Gibbs nodded and allowed Tony to get up and have his ass examined.
"I see it’s your usual exemplary handiwork, Jethro," Ducky murmured as he surveyed Tony’s buttocks. "No bruising or wrap marks – if indeed an implement was used. I'll get the special ointment to take the sting away, Tony, if Jethro is in agreement."
Gibbs nodded. "And while you're doing that I'm going to go and get us some food," he said. "I don't want us eating in the cafeteria tonight – I want to go through the results of everyone's day and see where we're at with this case. I also want to make sure you eat, Tony. Let Ducky do his thing and then get dressed and meet us in the living room."
Both of them left the room and Tony got up, feeling relieved. That had been close. Ducky returned a moment later and came towards him, brandishing his tube of ointment. He never told any of them what was in it but he’d rubbed it into Tony’s ass enough times for Tony to know it really did work.
Right now though, he had other things on his mind than relieving the sting in his ass. He caught Ducky’s wrist, and gazed at him intently. Ducky’s eyes widened in surprise behind his spectacles; Tony rarely let the mask slip for long enough for anyone to see the real him, but right now it was imperative.
“You must never tell him,” Tony said, in a low, urgent tone, completely different to his usual joking demeanour. Ducky’s eyes widened even further at that.
“Of course not – you have my word,” Ducky replied. “Although - you might want to tell him yourself, my dear boy.”
“No,” Tony said firmly, squeezing tight. Ducky winced and Tony released his wrist with an apologetic smile.
“It might not be as bad as you think,” Ducky said.
“No,” Tony repeated. “I knew the deal when he put his collar on me. He told me this was all I was getting and I told him I could handle that. I’m not pressuring him for more. I have my pride, Ducky – and he’s made it abundantly clear he isn’t even interested in taking me to his bed, let alone into that damn cold heart of his.”
“It’s not as cold in there as you think,” Ducky murmured. “How long?” he asked, unscrewing the cap on the tube of ointment.
“Five years,” Tony replied.
Ducky sighed. “Since he collared you? You’ve been in love with him for *that* long?”
Tony nodded, and turned to allow Ducky to spread the ointment on his ass. It was always freezing when it was applied but Ducky was gentle and it didn’t hurt. His ass would be sore for a few hours, especially when he sat down, and it might glow for a day or so, but that was the extent of the damage. Even when Gibbs left marks, as he sometimes did, Tony suspected it was more for his benefit than anything else. It was as if Gibbs *knew* how much Tony liked looking at those marks in the mirror after. Ducky finished, and then he turned Tony around to face him.
“We all knew you wanted him of course, you’ve made no secret of that. In fact you’ve turned it into quite the joke, haven’t you, Tony?” Ducky shook his head sadly. “I should have known all along that you were too smart to be acting so much the fool without good reason. It’s a good disguise, Tony - pretending to just be interested in jumping the man’s bones to hide the fact that you’re in love with him.”
“Hiding in plain sight, Ducky,” Tony answered quietly. “That’s always the best disguise.”
“And none of us knew it went this deep – not even him. Everyone just wrote off the lingering looks as pure lust on your part – which, given your history, is hardly surprising. You’re really in love with him, Tony? You’re sure?”
“Yes, Ducky.” Tony dropped all pretence now. There was no point to it with Ducky any more. “I’m in love with Gibbs and have been since the day I met him and it just gets worse. Being with him constantly these past few weeks is driving me insane. I need to get a handle on myself or I’m going to screw things up badly.”
“I wish I could bang your heads together, the pair of you,” Ducky said. “But this is for you two to sort out between you. I just hope you DO sort it out.”
“Nothing to sort out, Ducky,” Tony said, with a curt shake of his head. “I just need to find a way to shove it back down again so I can get it under control and it doesn’t screw with my work.”
“Oh Tony,” Ducky sighed. “I’m so sorry, my dear boy. I remember the agonies and ecstasies of the affairs of the heart all too well.”
“But you have him,” Tony pointed out. “You’ve had him for a long time – and he’s different with you. I mean, I get the feeling that you and he…”
Ducky cleared his throat. “Don’t enquire, Anthony. It’s private,” he said.
Tony nodded, flushing slightly, but feeling envious all the same. Ducky and Gibbs went way back, and they had an easy closeness. Ducky was also the only person that Gibbs ever confided in. Tony often wondered exactly what was between them and how they’d got together but neither of them was ever forthcoming on that subject. He knew Gibbs had married three times since taking Ducky as his sub, but he’d never married Ducky, and while the two men clearly loved each other, Tony didn’t get the impression that they were *in* love. So what they had was something else – something almost as important, to both of them, but not the same. It was certainly a deep friendship, and Gibbs was as protective towards Ducky as he was towards his other subs, but Tony had never known Ducky to have any other relationships and sometimes he wondered why.
“Are you even a sub, Ducky?” he asked suddenly, and he realised that this was something that that had been bugging him for some time. Sometimes he got a very subby vibe off Ducky, but others…not so much. He was certainly the only one of Gibbs’s collared team who could get away with occasionally giving the boss orders – and, more surprisingly perhaps, Gibbs would usually follow them.
“What an extraordinary question, Anthony!” Ducky said, with a surprised smile. “I wear Gibbs’s collar, don’t I?”
“So does Ziva,” Tony pointed out. “And she’s definitely a top.”
“Ah well…we all have our own stories, Tony, don’t we, those of us who wear Gibbs’s collars?”
“Hmm, that’s enigmatic. He ever spanked you, Ducky?” Tony was intrigued now – Gibbs’s relationship with Ducky was a mystery to him and he often wondered what had brought these two together and kept them so close for all these years.
Ducky grinned. “You’re fishing, Anthony,” he said.
“Yeah.” Tony grinned back at him. “So – has he?”
“Once or twice,” Ducky conceded. Tony laughed out loud, taking a perverse pleasure in learning that Ducky had to submit to Gibbs's discipline the same as the rest of them. Ducky leaned towards him, conspiratorially. “But only when I asked him nicely,” he added. Tony stopped laughing and pulled a face.
“You suppose he’d *stop* spanking me if I asked him nicely?” he said, easing his pants on over his ass and wincing as he did so because while Ducky’s special ointment was good, Gibbs’s hand was even better.
“You could always try,” Ducky mused. “But you might want to wait a day or two until the sting in your nether regions has died down a little, Anthony, before embarking on such an inherently risky strategy.”
“Yeah. Ha, ha,” Tony said sourly. Ducky patted him on the arm and then left the room, chuckling away to himself as he went.
Tony pulled on the rest of his clothes and then followed the doctor out into the living room, to find that Gibbs, Ziva and McGee had returned from the cafeteria with several trays of food. He was surprised to find that it smelled good and that for the first time in days he was hungry; Gibbs’s method of taking him down had clearly worked.
He perched uneasily on the side of the couch, wincing slightly as he eased himself down. He caught the jolt of realisation in McGee’s eyes as the probie realised he’d just had a tough spanking, and then McGee glanced at Gibbs, with that rabbit-caught-in-the-headlights gaze of his. Tony bit back a laugh, wondering whether McGee would always be scared of tops. Then, to his surprise, McGee’s gaze flickered uncertainly towards Ziva, and it wasn’t that usual look of love-cum-terror that McGee had whenever he looked at her. It was tender, and almost speculative. Tony filed that away for future reference.
“So…what did you find out today?” Gibbs asked, pushing a tray of food Tony’s way with a look that told him if he didn’t eat he’d spend the night hanging by his ankles from the ceiling in Gibbs’s bedroom. Which wasn’t *such* a bad thought but it was bad enough to make Tony pick up his tray in a hurry. Not that he needed urging – he really was starving. He began shovelling food down, while listening to the team each say their piece.
Ducky didn’t have a whole lot to add, although he spent about fifteen minutes adding it all the same, with all kinds of Ducky-like embellishments. Tony loved the way the doctor talked so he sat back cautiously on his sore ass and let the sound wash over him.
Then Abby gave her report and Tony was thoroughly zoned out in a post-spanking haze now but he allowed the words to drift into his subconscious because sometimes he got great flashes of insight this way. There was certainly something out there that tied all the puzzling aspects of this case together – he just wasn’t sure what.
Next up was Ziva, giving her report in her usual clipped tones, with McGee butting in occasionally.
“The fire on the Daedalus was definitely started deliberately,” Ziva said. “We found evidence of a small incendiary device. The device itself was not all that powerful – but it was placed where it would cause the maximum amount of damage. It was located near an oxygen tank which was why it took them so long to get it under control.”
“So we’re talking about someone who had access not only to explosive materials but who also knew the schematics of the Daedalus inside out?” Gibbs asked.
“That’s right.” McGee nodded.
“How does that tie in with Dr Keller’s murder though?” Abby asked.
“Diversion,” Tony said, without even thinking about it. “Someone wanted someone else out of the way. Question is - who and why?”
“Carson Beckett is the obvious choice,” Gibbs mused. “Jenny Keller was killed in the infirmary – maybe Carson was supposed to be out of the way helping casualties on the Daedalus.”
“But Carson Beckett *was* out of the way,” Tony pointed out. “He wasn’t on duty and his radio was switched off all night.”
“But the killer couldn’t have known that. It was a failsafe,” Gibbs replied.
“There’s something else we found out…” McGee said, glancing anxiously at Gibbs. “Or, at least…I found out…I’m not sure if it’s important. I mean, it’s not directly related to the case but…”
“Just spit it out, probie,” Tony said, rolling his eyes. Gibbs was too far away to slap the back of his head but he gave him a glare anyway, before turning his attention to McGee, raising an eyebrow to get him to continue.
“Well…it’s we were told we couldn't gate through from Earth a few weeks ago because the Atlantis gate was experiencing some kind of a temporary problem with intergalactic transfers,” McGee said, stuttering slightly, as he always did when he had the full force of Gibbs’s stern gaze on him.
Gibbs cleared his throat to hurry the explanation on a bit and McGee stumbled to get the rest of his words out.
“Well, I found that isn’t the case, boss. I'm not an expert on this tech, but the gate seems to be working just fine. I checked back on the logs, and there was some routine maintenance run on it back when before we set off from Earth on the Daedalus, but it was working okay.”
“Who would benefit from lying about that?” Gibbs asked. “Who wouldn’t want us here?”
Tony felt everything slot into place. “Dr Rodney Sheppard,” he said firmly. “Think about it – he had access to explosives, he knows the Daedalus schematics backwards, and he would have been the person who lied to Woolsey about the gate glitch.”
“But why? You think he’s our murderer, DiNozzo?” Gibbs asked, frowning. “What’s the motive?”
“Well, I always say you should look for a jealous lover first,” Tony replied, on a roll now. “Look at the facts, boss! We KNOW that Jenny Keller had a crush on John Sheppard – Sheppard told us so himself. He also told us that Rodney is a jealous kind of sub – remember what he said about the hot water in the showers? Rodney confirmed his jealousy himself, over lunch – remember what he said about half of Atlantis having a crush on General Sheppard and how he didn’t look too happy about that?”
“No way!” Abby said vehemently. “Tony, you’re wrong. There is no way Rodney did this! I’ve spent more time with him than anyone these past few days and he’s just…he couldn’t do this. He couldn’t hurt anyone. He’s not like that.”
“Hold on, Abs,” Gibbs said, holding up his hand. “Go on, DiNozzo.”
“Think about it, though,” Tony continued, warming to his theme. “The first three victims were all marines – and subs of pretty easy virtue, or so we’ve been told. And there’s General Sheppard – a good looking, charismatic top and their superior officer – what’s the betting they all made a move on him? And Rodney’s jealous – so he starts picking them off, one by one. The message is clear – lay off my husband or else.”
“But John is totally in love with Rodney!” Abby protested. “He wouldn’t have slept with them, even if they did make a move on him!”
“How many tops do you know who can turn down a willing sub when they throw themselves at them?” Tony asked. “Tops are easily manipulated - all it takes is a few compliments and some subby eyelash fluttering.”
“You have a very low opinion of tops, Tony,” Ziva said, her dark eyebrows furrowed.
“Yeah…well…I’ve known a lot of tops,” Tony replied, with a shrug. “I don’t care how much General Sheppard seems to be in love with his husband – he could have taken the bait.”
“No, I don’t think so,” Gibbs murmured. “Leaving aside your jaundiced view of - what was it you called us yesterday? ‘The weaker half of the dynamic’?” He shot a glare in Tony’s direction. “I don’t think General Sheppard is the type to play around. But it doesn’t matter whether he did or not – all that matters is whether Rodney thought he did – or even whether Rodney was so jealous that he couldn’t stand to have people flirting with his husband. He certainly has the motive and opportunity to have committed the murders.”
“Exactly!” Tony grinned. “He set the fire on the Daedalus to make sure Carson wouldn’t be in the infirmary, and to cause a general diversion, and he went and took care of Dr Keller – one less person to try and charm their way into his top’s pants.”
“We know that Rodney was in his lab at 4 a.m.,” Gibbs said, flicking through the notes. “Because the general was there with him.”
“Yeah – but he only stayed five minutes. And Rodney had plenty of time to set the fire on the Daedalus beforehand, and to go murder Jenny Keller after. In fact, he might even have called the general to his lab on a false alarm to provide an alibi for himself.”
“Is it enough?” Ziva asked Gibbs.
“It’s enough for me to want to question Rodney again,” Gibbs said, throwing his plate down and getting to his feet.
“No – please – Gibbs, you’re wrong!” Abby wailed. “Rodney didn’t do this. You don’t know him.”
“We know he’s anti-social and rude,” Tony told her, getting up to follow Gibbs. Abby grabbed his arm.
“Yes…but…not underneath - underneath he’s just a bit insecure, and he’s really kind. He hates it when anyone gets hurt, let alone dies.”
“He didn’t seem that cut up about Jenny Keller,” Tony pointed out. “He told us that ludicrous story over lunch about how he thought she might be alive in another universe to hide the fact that he doesn’t give a damn about the fact she’s dead – and why would he if he’d killed her himself?”
“No, you’re wrong – he meant that!” Abby said. “That really is how he deals with things.”
Gibbs reached out, and put an arm around Abby, then pulled her in and kissed her cheek. “Abby, this is what we have to do,” he said firmly. “If Rodney is innocent then we’ll find out – but right now, he’s our main suspect and that means we have to question him some more. DiNozzo, McGee, David – you’re with me.”
He strode towards the door, and Tony was right behind him. They walked fast down to Rodney’s lab and Tony felt exhilarated. This all made sense! Well – almost; there was something that didn’t but he couldn’t put his finger on what it was. He just *knew* that he hadn’t liked Rodney Sheppard from the moment he first met the guy, and it seemed his gut was right after all.
Gibbs threw open the lab door, and Tony was first inside. Rodney Sheppard was working in there on his own, and he stood up, startled, his mouth opening and closing in surprise at the sudden intrusion.
“Dr Rodney Sheppard,” Tony said, walking forward. “We'd like to question you again, about the murders of Dr Keller, Sergeant Maloney, Corporal Evenden, and Lieutenant Sarkovsky.”
Rodney’s eyes widened in shock. “What? Why? Oh my god – you don't think I killed them, do you?"
"Did you?" Gibbs asked.
Rodney looked as if he was about to keel over. "Of course not! You can’t be serious. Me? I mean…me? Why would I want to kill them? Oh my god…you can’t mean me…”
"Will you accompany us to the interrogation room?" Tony asked.
"No!" Rodney looked panicked. "I didn't do anything!"
"Then you won't mind being questioned." Tony stepped forward, and put a hand out to gesture him out of the room. Rodney squirmed away from him.
“No, no, no!” he protested. “You can’t do this. Don’t *touch* me. John won’t like it.”
Tony was sure he wouldn't but a top's sensibilities didn't over-ride the necessities of a federal investigation.
“And you don’t like anyone touching him, either, do you?” Tony asked.
“What do you mean?” Rodney looked very confused, and Tony wondered, for the briefest moment, whether they had this all wrong.
He reached out to push Rodney towards the door, and then hesitated, because it was never good form to touch a top’s collared sub without permission. However, Gibbs had drummed into him often enough over the years that he didn’t give a damn about such niceties where law enforcement was concerned, so he over-rode that automatic instinct and reached for Rodney’s arm again. Rodney shoved him away. Tony stepped forward and there was a minor skirmish as he tried to get Rodney under control. The scientist tripped and went down, banging his head against the desk as he went. Tony cursed.
Gibbs stepped in and hauled Rodney to his feet. There was a small cut on Rodney’s forehead, oozing blood. Tony sighed – it never looked good when a suspect got hurt in custody. Gibbs didn't look happy about it either – he took a second to peer at it and make sure it wasn't serious, but it was just a small cut.
“Dr Sheppard,” Gibbs said, briskly, in the kind of tone subs always took notice of. Rodney went still at the sound of his voice, and stopped struggling. “We’re going to take you to the interrogation room for questioning – that’s all. It’s in your best interests to come with us and co-operate fully. If you *are* innocent, then I’m sure you’ll be able to prove it. For your own safety we're going to handcuff you.”
“You don’t know what you’re doing,” Rodney whispered. “Seriously – you have no idea. This is all totally wrong.”
“Okay…we’ll see,” Gibbs said, nodding at Tony.
Tony cuffed Rodney's hands behind his back, took hold of Rodney’s shoulder, and pushed him towards the door. At first he’d been exhilarated by the thought that he might have solved these murders – anything that would make Gibbs think highly of him. But now…an uneasy feeling was settling in the pit of his stomach. Had his dislike for Rodney and his jealousy over his relationship with the general influenced him too much? Sure, the evidence did kind of point to Rodney’s guilt…but was this man really capable of murder?
~*~
Gibbs wasn’t happy – he didn’t like that Rodney Sheppard had been hurt, even though it was just a minor injury. Gibbs had an old-fashioned attitude towards submissives – part chauvinist, part chivalrous - and he didn't like to see them harmed; tops could take care of themselves, but subs were to be protected and cherished, just like the line in the wedding vows went. He also couldn’t shake the feeling they had the wrong man. Was Tony’s jaundiced view of human relationships influencing them too much?
All the same, he needed to get to the bottom of exactly why Rodney had lied about the gate glitch – that was the one tangible piece of evidence they had, and he was all too well aware of that. The rest was just conjecture.
He stationed McGee and David outside the door and went into the room with Tony and Rodney. Tony shoved Rodney down on a chair, still in cuffs, and Gibbs pulled up his own chair in front of the table, and gazed at Rodney Sheppard. He seemed dazed and confused – and *really* anxious.
“You got something you want to confess, Dr Sheppard?” he asked. “You seem pretty nervous.”
“I am - when John finds out he's going to go ballistic,” Rodney replied.
“Well…we’ll deal with that later,” Gibbs said. He thought he had an hour or two before Sheppard found out and if Rodney *was* guilty then he might be able to get a confession out of Rodney in that time.
“No…you don’t understand. John will be here soon,” Rodney said. “And I don’t know how out of control he’s going to be when he gets here.”
“Why do you say he’ll be here soon?” Gibbs asked, frowning.
At that moment there was a noise outside that sounded suspiciously like someone roaring in rage; Gibbs could hear Ziva trying to calm the situation down. He nodded at Tony to keep an eye on Rodney, and went outside.
John Sheppard was standing there, struggling with Ziva and McGee. He looked angry, upset and extremely dangerous.
“General Sheppard,” Gibbs said smoothly, gesturing that Ziva and McGee should release their grip on him.
“What the hell are you doing?” John yelled. “You have Rodney in there. Oh my god, what have you done to him? He’s hurt…oh shit…” He lunged for the door and Gibbs grabbed his arm and pulled him away. There was a brief impasse – the general was so angry that Gibbs had no doubt at all that he could take them all on and win.
“Yes, we have him in there, but he’s fine,” Gibbs said, in a low, reassuring tone. He remembered what *this* felt like – having a sub you loved beyond all reason. He remembered when they’d come to tell him about Shannon being murdered…and he sure as hell remembered tracking down the bastard who’d killed her and their daughter and putting several bullets into him – far more than were necessary to actually kill him. “We have good reason to believe that Rodney might be responsible for the recent murders and we want to question him again.”
“You what?” John looked outraged. “You think Rodney murdered someone? My god, are you insane?”
“How did you know we had him here?” Gibbs asked, curious. He hadn’t been aware that anyone had seen them go down to the lab and Rodney certainly hadn’t had the time or opportunity to radio anyone.
“We’re lifebonded,” John told him, through gritted teeth. “I FELT what you did to him. You’ve hurt him…he’s hurt, and he’s really upset, and someone has *touched* him. You can just be grateful that you’re protected by your badge of office, Gibbs because if you weren’t you’d be dead by now.”
Gibbs sighed. God he hated lifebonded couples. For one thing, the law said you had to treat them as one entity, so he couldn’t question Rodney without John being present and that wasn’t what he wanted at all. He gazed at John searchingly. The general’s hazel eyes were intense and he looked as if he was about to explode. Gibbs could empathise with John; Tony had once been framed for murder and taken away for questioning and that had tested Gibbs's patience and self-control to their limits. However, regardless of how much he empathised with John Sheppard right now, Gibbs knew he had a job to do.
“You’re lifebonded?” He raised an eyebrow. “Okay – if you can prove it, then you can sit in the interrogation room when we question him.”
John gave him a look of total disgust. “Of course I can damn well prove it,” he growled. “Now, are you going to let me in there, or do I have to shoot one of your people?”
“I wouldn’t do that, General,” Gibbs warned, in an icy tone. He didn’t take kindly to threats to his submissives, no matter what the circumstances. “You harm an NCIS officer doing their job and you’ll end up on the receiving end of a bullwhip – and one I’ll be quite happy to wield myself.”
“Just let me in there,” John said, in a tight voice. “Because if I don’t see him soon I can’t swear to what I’ll do.”
Gibbs nodded, clearly seeing a man on the edge. He opened the door and John ran in. He rushed over to Rodney and knelt down beside him, reaching out shaking hands to touch him.
“Oh shit…Rodney…” His fingers found the wound on Rodney’s forehead and probed it gently.
“It’s okay. I’m okay. It wasn’t their fault,” Rodney was saying, in fast, urgent tones.
Gibbs felt uneasy – Rodney seemed more worried about what his top was going to do than about being under suspicion of murder. “It was my fault – I was so surprised I kind of fell over,” Rodney said.
John’s hands went down Rodney’s arms, his expression darkening. Gibbs braced himself.
“You cuffed him?” he hissed. “Who did this? Who put cuffs on my sub?”
“I did,” Tony said, sounding completely unafraid, and John got up, a low, growling sound emanating from the back of his throat.
"Nobody - *nobody* - but me ever puts cuffs on my sub," John said, in a strangled tone, walking towards Tony, his body stiff with rage. Gibbs stepped between John and Tony, seriously concerned about the situation now.
“Easy, General. Rodney’s okay. We were just about to remove the cuffs when you showed up," he said, in calming tones. “We'll do that now.”
Tony got up, and Gibbs clicked his fingers and gestured him back down. Tony went, immediately, for which Gibbs was grateful because he had no doubt at all that anyone who touched Rodney right now, even just to undo his cuffs, would die a very quick death. He clicked his fingers again and Tony handed him the key to the cuffs; Gibbs handed it over to John.
John undid Rodney’s cuffs and threw them to the ground, then took Rodney in his arms and held him. Rodney’s arms went around John’s back, and Gibbs knew he’d done the right thing – the only person who stood any chance of calming General Sheppard right now was his husband, and Rodney sure as hell seemed to know how to do it. He was stroking his top’s back and murmuring something in his ear, and the general’s body was pressed so close against his husband’s that it was almost as if he wanted to merge with him there and then.
Finally, John’s body stopped shaking and he released his husband and turned back to Gibbs.
“You wanted proof?” he spat. “Here’s your proof.” He touched his fingers to Rodney’s cut head, and then moved his face towards the cut and sniffed at it. Then he licked it.
Tony glanced at Gibbs, an alarmed look on his face, but Gibbs just watched, fascinated by their dynamic. Despite their situation he almost envied the general and his husband the bond between them.
As he watched, something seemed to happen between them. John made a low humming sound in the back of his throat, and his fingers smoothed the cut on Rodney’s face…and then, before their eyes, the wound faded. It didn’t completely disappear, but it scabbed over, and the redness died down to a healing pink. When John turned back, he bore a similar scabbed scar on his own forehead.
“Wow,” Tony muttered, clearly impressed.
“You never seen lifebonding in action before, DiNozzo?” Gibbs asked, not taking his eyes off the volatile General Sheppard, unsure what he might do next.
“They’re lifebonded?” The envy in Tony’s voice was so palpable that Gibbs felt a jolt of surprise. “Okay, that makes sense. And no…I haven’t. Never even met a lifebonded couple before,” Tony said. “Seen the movies though – always thought it was crazy. I mean – if the general dies, Rodney goes with him, right? And vice versa.”
“That’s right,” Gibbs said. “I’m surprised that as a military man you’d risk it, General. You’re not exactly in a safe line of work.”
“His sub insisted,” Rodney said, in a shaky voice. “We were half-way there anyway and it was pissing me off that he wouldn’t take it to the next level.”
Gibbs nodded. He had once felt the stirrings of something similar with Shannon but had pushed it away – they had a child, and he wasn’t going to risk Kelly losing both her parents just because they had selfishly wanted to lifebond. Shannon had never mentioned it to him so he guessed she’d felt the same. Lifebonding was hard in any case, and few people ever achieved it. He had never felt it was something he had the mindset for.
“Okay – well, this changes things a little,” Gibbs said. “Obviously, legally you’re entitled to sit in on Rodney’s questioning, General.”
“I can’t believe you're doing this,” Sheppard growled. “Nobody could believe Rodney capable of murder.”
“Not even if his beloved husband – his beloved, *lifebonded* husband, was cheating on him?” Tony asked.
Rodney made a little sound in the back of his throat, and Sheppard turned, fists clenching.
“What the hell are you talking about?” he demanded.
“Sit down – all of you,” Gibbs ordered, gesturing to the chairs. John took his seat, but he grabbed Rodney’s hand and squeezed, hard.
“Rodney knows that isn’t true,” he hissed. “I’ve never cheated on him – never could.”
Tony rolled his eyes. “That’s what all the tops say,” he muttered. “My dad used to take his strap to me all the time for sleeping around but at least I was young, free and single.”
“And underage,” Gibbs pointed out. Tony shrugged, and Gibbs felt a pang of pity for his agent. It was no wonder Tony had such a jaundiced view of tops, considering his childhood experiences. Somehow he doubted that Tony's childhood punishments had been delivered in a loving environment, and he knew there had been no affection or respect there – and both were prerequisites for effective discipline to Gibbs's mind.
“John hasn’t cheated on me,” Rodney said defiantly. “You don’t understand what we have – I’d KNOW if he cheated on me.”
“Yeah, that’s what all the subs say,” Tony replied. “Face it, Rodney. John’s a good looking top, with one hell of a lot of charisma, and those marines weren’t shy about asking for what they wanted. You found out and…”
“No,” Rodney said quietly. “Is this it? Is this what you think?” He shook his head, chuckling slightly. “You have no idea how laughable it is. John and I…it’s not like that. It *couldn’t* be like that. I don’t know what kind of relationships you’ve had, Agent DiNozzo, or what kind of slimeball tops you’ve been with, but it’s not like you say. Just because you’ve never been with a good top doesn’t mean the rest of us haven’t.”
Gibbs didn’t miss the wince that crossed DiNozzo’s face – Rodney was winning this round on points even if neither of the two subs in the room had landed a knockout blow.
He had to admit that the more he questioned Rodney Sheppard the more his gut feeling told him that he had nothing to do with the murders. There was one thing that he was guilty of though, and Gibbs needed to get to the bottom of that.
“Rodney…why did you lie about that stargate glitch that prevented us from using the stargate to travel here?” he asked directly. Rodney’s blue eyes widened, and he glanced, guiltily, at his husband and then back to Gibbs.
“Rodney?” Sheppard turned, a puzzled frown on his face. “You said the gate was having problems with intergalactic transfers,” he murmured. "You said local travel was fine but that you couldn't guarantee the safety of incoming traffic from Earth and you weren't sure how long it would take to fix it."
Rodney bit on his lip.
“That wasn’t true, was it, Rodney?” Gibbs prompted gently. “Why didn’t you want us here?”
“Because we don’t need you!” Rodney burst out. “John can solve this! He doesn’t need you coming in here, undermining him, giving HIM orders. Elizabeth would never have allowed it!”
“So you lied, Rodney?” Sheppard asked, and Gibbs noticed him squeeze Rodney’s hand with his own. He looked upset, but not surprised. "I thought you got it working again pretty quickly - but now I see that was *after* the NCIS agents had set off on the Daedalus."
“Yes, John. I lied,” Rodney said quietly. “I thought I could buy you more time – that by the time they got here you’d have figured out who the killer was.”
“And in the meantime, another person died,” Sheppard said softly. “Jenny Keller died, Rodney. If NCIS had got here earlier she might still be alive.”
Rodney’s eyes widened in horror at that. “I didn’t mean…I just thought…” he began.
“He was trying to protect you, General,” Gibbs said flatly. “Question is why?”
Sheppard shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
“I’m sorry, John. I honestly am,” Rodney said desperately. “It didn’t seem like such a big deal at the time. I just…”
“It’s bad, Rodney. For both of us,” Sheppard said quietly.
“It sure is,” Gibbs commented. “Look – when we brought Rodney in I thought he might have killed those people but I don’t think that now.”
Tony’s head snapped up at that.
“But this is big; he’s lied to the commander of this expedition – Mr Woolsey - and he’s interfered with an NCIS investigation, and that’ll have to go in my report.”
“I understand,” Sheppard said, nodding. Rodney paled.
“Please…” he began, but Sheppard reached out and put an arm around his shoulder.
“It’s okay, Rodney. I’ll handle this,” he said firmly. “Agent Gibbs, if you’re done could you let Rodney go? He’ll go straight to our quarters and I promise he won’t leave in case you want to speak to him again.”
Gibbs nodded, ignoring Tony’s grunt of protest.
“That’s fine. DiNozzo – get Ziva to escort Rodney back to his quarters. You go and stand outside this door. I want to talk to the general alone.”
Tony got up, and Rodney did the same. Rodney wrapped his arms around his top and kissed his dark hair.
“I’m sorry, John. I really am,” he whispered. Sheppard sighed, and then kissed his sub firmly on the mouth.
“I know,” he replied. “Now go. We’ll deal with this later.”
End of Part Seven
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Hiding in Plain Sight: Part Eight
Author: Xanthe
Fandom: SGA/NCIS crossover
Pairings: Gibbs/DiNozzo, John/Rodney, Carson/Caldwell, Teyla/Ronon, Ziva/McGee, and some other pairings that would spoil the story if I revealed them. Gibbs/Ducky friendship.
Rating: NC17 for explicit BDSM sex (m/m slash, femslash and het) and spanking.
Author's Notes
Summary: When a serial killer murders three marines on Atlantis, NCIS are called in to investigate. However, their arrival brings complications for everyone – revealing a lie, a prophecy, a secret and a nemesis.
Part Seven: Sure, the evidence did kind of point to Rodney’s guilt…but was this man really capable of murder?
Okay, I'm off out for the day to a work thingummy later (a nice work thingummy so I'm not actually complaining!). But if I'm slow replying to comments that's why! Enjoy :-)
Hiding in Plain Sight
By Xanthe
Part Seven
Gibbs sat on the bed for a long time, reading Evan Lorne's service record file, which John Sheppard had provided for him. Every now and then he stroked Tony's hair idly with his free hand, revelling in the post-spanking protectiveness he was feeling. It had been a long time since he'd been able to give full reign to his more toppy instincts and they had taken him by surprise today. No – that wasn't right - *Tony* had taken him by surprise today. Gibbs had spanked a good many submissives in his life, and it was something he often enjoyed, in the right circumstances, but even so, today had been a revelation.
He'd long ago made it a rule to spank Tony every day, because he instinctively knew it was what Tony needed, to ground him, help him perform well at his job, and, in some freaky DiNozzo way, to keep him happy. Tony was a sub through to his bones, and he responded best to consistent caring discipline and a firm hand on his leash.
It was different with his other subs – he had rarely ever needed to spank them, and when he did he always went with what felt right, trusting his own innate instincts as a top. Gibbs felt that his gut feelings as a top had rarely ever let him down, any more than his gut feelings in his working life had let him down. He made his rare spankings of the rest of his team memorable enough to leave a lasting impression – in his view, discipline was useless unless it served a purpose and made the point – his subs might not like it, but he knew the discipline he handed out *always* made a point.
Tony was different. The occasional hard spanking was wasted on him – he’d been there, done that too often, and it had had little effect on him in the past. No, he needed something much more regular in his life. Tony needed Gibbs’s attention – and Gibbs knew if he didn’t give it to him by spanking him daily, even if it was just a couple of swats, Tony would find some other way to get it – and Tony’s ways of getting attention had always got him into a whole heap of trouble in the past.
Gibbs mostly kept the spankings light, occasionally delivering a big one when he felt Tony needed it most, and always keeping Tony on his toes so he never knew when it was coming, or how hard it would be. Mostly Gibbs only left marks that would fade within a day – but sometimes, when he felt Tony needed it, he made sure to leave a couple of harder strap marks that would last a bit longer – Tony had a real need for that kind of grounding.
When Gibbs had first looked at Tony’s resume, he’d almost not bothered interviewing him for the job, but something about the pattern of misdemeanours and eventual expulsions from various law enforcement agencies and police departments had caught his eye. He’d agreed to interview Tony as much out of curiosity as anything else, but as soon as he met him he knew, instantly, that this was a sub he had to have on his team. Tony had turned up looking rumpled, with couldn’t-care-less body language but hungry-to-impress eyes, and something very old in Gibbs’s blood had responded to this sub’s obvious need for a firm hand. Tony, in return, had responded to Gibbs’s discipline, smartened himself up almost overnight, and turned out to be the best damn agent Gibbs had ever had. Playing Tony right, to get the best out of him and stop him messing up, was like playing a finely tuned musical instrument. Gibbs wasn’t a man of much patience but he did like a challenge – and Tony was definitely that. He’d ended up collaring his new agent within three weeks of putting him on his team which was a record for him – but an un-collared Tony was too dangerous to have around and Gibbs knew he couldn’t protect the young agent’s ass unless he owned it. Damn it, Ducky was right – he DID have a rescue complex.
Today, seeing Tony tired and clearly troubled about something, although he wasn't saying what, Gibbs had felt strongly that his most difficult and exasperating sub needed more than an impersonal strapping over the back of a chair. He'd never seen Tony like this – he seemed distracted and was clearly running on empty. Gibbs had let that pass for most of the day because Tony was a like a cat with a mouse when he got on the trail of something, and Gibbs assumed that whatever was bothering Tony was related to the case. Now he wasn't so sure. It was only when Dr Beckett had expressed his concern about Tony's health that Gibbs had finally decided to step in – Tony wasn't likely to get any breakthroughs in the case if he wasn't well.
So he had offered Tony a choice of spanking – which wasn't his usual style with Tony – and he hadn't been surprised when Tony went for the over-the-knee option with his hand. Most subs assumed that was the easier option – they were wrong.
But he had been wrong too, in not realising how profound an experience it would be. He knew Tony was an experienced sub, and while it was always a pleasure to have a good-looking, naked, collared submissive over his knee, Gibbs was skilled enough to put that to one side in order to get the job done and bring Tony down to where he needed to be.
That was all it should have been about but then Tony had done that *thing*. Not one of those subby tricks he'd been putting out there all day – the smiles, and the eyelashes, and the ‘I'm not worthy to kneel at your feet, oh strong top’ shit that Gibbs had found so amusing. No - this had been the real deal. Tony had given himself up to Gibbs, completely and totally. He'd submitted on a deep level – and that wasn't a place many subs could go to without a lot of help and direction on his part. For Tony it had seemed almost effortless, and Gibbs had responded to the sense of absolute trust Tony placed in him.
Tony's body had been relaxed over his knees – and Gibbs hadn't held back on the spanking, as Tony's glowing bottom showed. Most subs in that situation would hold themselves tight and tense and sob their hearts out while resisting all the way, until finally they had no choice but to let go. It took a skilled top to get them to where they needed to be, and Gibbs *was* a skilled top, a master of his subject, instinctively able to judge the dips and peaks in a sub's responses, and alter his approach accordingly.
But he hadn't needed that level of skill today because Tony had just stretched out and offered himself up, giving himself to Gibbs without holding back. It had been beautiful – like a choreographed dance between top and sub, each of them knowing the precise moves to make without saying a word to each other - and Gibbs hadn't experienced anything like that in a very long time. Not since…Shannon.
Gibbs got up, quietly, so as not to wake his sleeping sub. He went over to his luggage, still largely unpacked, and found the box he'd been looking at the previous night. He opened it, and touched the gold links of Shannon's collar. He'd had it made especially for her, wanting the moment of her collaring to be one they both remembered for the rest of their lives, and it had been a beautiful moment too. She had had that same sense of trust in him that Tony had just displayed, and that none of his other wives ever had – but then perhaps that had been his fault. Perhaps Ducky was right, and he'd always held back with them, never loving them for who they were but only for the ways in which they reminded him of Shannon. Tony though - Tony was nothing at all like Shannon.
Gibbs glanced at Tony, lying naked and dishevelled in his bed, his collar just visible above the sheets. It had been a long time since Gibbs had had a sub in his bed, and, even though they weren't sleeping together, somehow it felt easy and natural that Tony was there – as if it was where he belonged.
Tony was trouble though – Gibbs had known that when he collared him. He was bright, street-smart and brave; but he was also promiscuous, immature, and mischievous. He really was nothing like Shannon at all, and yet…they shared some quality that was hard to define – something about how they, as subs, responded to Gibbs, as a top.
Gibbs shut the box and replaced the collar in his bag. He wasn't ready to let go of Shannon just yet; in fact, he didn't think he'd *ever* be ready to let Shannon go.
~*~
Tony smiled, and muttered something as he slowly dozed towards wakefulness. He was in bed, and he was warm and endorphins were whizzing through his body, making him feel so good. There was a burning ache in his bottom which implied he'd been spanked, and spanked well, and Tony loved the post-spanking haze. He felt completely relaxed and safe, enveloped in the reassuring scent of his top, whose bed he was in… Tony woke up fully with a start. He was lying naked in Gibbs's bed – something he'd wanted for the past five years, and, okay, so no actual *sex* had taken place, but that spanking had been almost as intimate. He and Gibbs had shared something during that spanking – he wasn't sure what, but it had felt damn good.
He opened his eyes and saw Gibbs gazing at him from where he was sitting at his desk in the corner of the room.
"Hey, sleepyhead. About time too," Gibbs said, with a grin. He looked softer and more relaxed than usual, although those blue eyes were still sharp.
"How long have I been asleep?" Tony asked, yawning.
"About five hours. The others just got back so I was about to wake you," Gibbs told him.
"Five hours?" Tony sat up fast, surprised, and then yelped as his sore butt protested. "I slept for five hours?" he said, in disbelief. Gibbs rolled his eyes.
"Get up and get over here, Tony," he said. "I'm not done with you yet."
Tony groaned as he had to leave behind the warmth of the bed, with its intoxicating scent of Gibbs. His body felt loose and relaxed as he walked, naked and unself-conscious, over to Gibbs. Gibbs might be his boss but he was also his top, and as such Tony's body belonged to him. Gibbs had made it perfectly clear when he first collared him that there were certain rights he wouldn't be claiming, but he still had them, even if chose not to exercise them. Seeing Tony naked was certainly one of them – and besides, Tony enjoyed it. He knew he looked good and if all Gibbs wanted to do was look, well, that was something.
"Turn around," Gibbs said, when he got close, and Tony did so, presenting his ass to his top for inspection. Gibbs ran his hands gently over the still sore flesh and Tony bit down on his lip and tried to think of really un-erotic things so that his cock wouldn't immediately spring into life. Gibbs had seen him with an erection before but it was always embarrassing. "Okay – looks fine," Gibbs said.
"Might look fine but it feels like it's on fire, boss," Tony told him with a grimace.
Gibbs just gave a wry shake of his head. "Regardless, like I said, I'm not done with you yet, Tony. Kneel down next to me, facing the desk, hands behind your back."
Tony sighed – Gibbs clearly hadn't been kidding earlier when he said he was going to make him switch off. He knew Gibbs liked to spend time with his subs after a serious punishment but he'd never spent *this* long with him following a spanking before.
Tony hoped that Gibbs wasn't going to follow up his half-lie from earlier because he was feeling vulnerable right now, glowing ass exposed as he knelt beside Gibbs's knee, facing his desk. He wasn't sure how long he could hold out if Gibbs seriously went after the truth, but it also wasn't a truth he thought he could bear telling.
The last thing he wanted to see was the look of pity in Gibbs's eyes when he admitted he was in love with him – lust was one thing; they could all laugh and ignore that, but love? Tony had always been the untouchable one in relationships, the commitment-phobe, the one with all the power to break hearts. Now he was in love and he wasn't going to dump those unwanted feelings on this man. They were his problem and his alone – no reason why Gibbs should be troubled by them. Gibbs had made it perfectly clear he wasn't interested, and Tony would cope. He always had. He'd felt alone inside for his entire life and he had grown accustomed to it. He'd be fine…but only if Gibbs didn't find out the truth.
"When did you last eat anything, Tony?" Gibbs asked, unexpectedly.
Tony shrugged. He'd messed up with the not-sleeping thing but he was sure he could get this over with as soon as possible and get Gibbs off his back so he wouldn't get near the truth.
"Lunch-time, boss. At the cafeteria. You saw me – we were there together."
"Uh-huh." Gibbs got up, went over to the night-stand, and picked up his strap.
Tony turned his head, following his top's every move. His stomach did a little flip of fear; his butt was in no shape to take more right now. Gibbs returned to the desk and put the strap on it, right in front of Tony's nose. "What I saw at lunchtime was you pushing your food around your plate, while making a lot of noise to cover up the fact you weren't eating," he said quietly. "Now, let me ask you again; when did you last eat anything? And *think* before you reply, Tony." He let his hand rest on the strap. Tony glared at it, but he wasn't about to give in. He wasn't going to let Gibbs get to the truth.
"This morning – before you guys got up. I ate some of those cakes Ducky left in the kitchen," he said. Gibbs picked up the strap and Tony bit on his lip. How the hell did Gibbs always *know* when he was lying? It was uncanny.
"You sure about that, Tony?" Gibbs asked dangerously, slapping the strap against the hard, flat palm of his hand.
Tony sighed. "No. Look – I haven't eaten anything in awhile. I don't know when – maybe sometime yesterday, or even the day before. I honestly don't remember. Things are different out here – kind of exciting. We're in a whole different galaxy in case you hadn't noticed. Maybe I let it get to me a bit too much and forgot to eat, which yes, I know is not like me, but go figure. I'm sorry – I know it's unprofessional and you've had to take time out to deal with it but it won't happen again. I promise."
"Last time you stopped eating you were sick, Tony," Gibbs said, still holding the strap.
"I know, but that was extreme, boss. I had the plague," Tony replied, remembering how *that* had felt all too well, but most of all remembering that Gibbs had come to his hospital room and told him he didn’t have permission to die – so, like the good little sub he was, he hadn't.
"Do I need to get Ducky to take a look at you?" Gibbs asked. "No telling what diseases they might have out here."
"No," Tony said firmly, because Ducky had a knack of seeing right through him that was second only to Gibbs's talent in that area. "I'm fine and I'm sorry. I screwed up but I won't let it happen again."
He had to stop thinking about Gibbs and get more control. It was just so hard managing it 24/7. He'd had eighteen days at close quarters on the Daedalus and now he was sleeping in the room next to Gibbs – no wonder he was struggling. At least at home he got some time out from the situation.
"Okay," Gibbs sighed. He put the strap down, much to Tony's relief, and then turned in his chair, took hold of Tony's face between his hands, and gazed at him searchingly. "If you say it's not a problem I'll believe you. If it turns out you've lied to me, I won't be so kind – understand?" Gibbs said. "This is your last chance to tell me if anything is going on with you, Tony."
Tony swallowed, gazing into those sharp eyes. It would be so easy to confess his feelings, right here, right now, and let Gibbs handle the situation, but he had too much pride for that. He wanted this man's love, not his pity.
"Nothing is going on," he said firmly, crossing his fingers behind his back as he spoke. Gibbs nodded, looking disappointed that Tony was holding out on him but accepting his answer all the same.
"Okay then," he said, and then he dropped an unexpected kiss on Tony's forehead. "You allowed this situation to get out of control, DiNozzo," he said when he released Tony, and his tone was brisk and businesslike now. "So you can just kneel there and think about your sore ass until I'm ready to let you go."
Tony nodded, and relaxed into the submissive posture. There were worse ways to spend time. At least Gibbs was with him, and he could pretend this was more than it was. He felt himself go down into his own sub-space, and it was so easy when he was with Gibbs. He wished he could rest his chin on Gibbs's knee like a puppy but he hadn't been given permission for that and he knew it would be denied in any case. So he closed his eyes and leaned slightly against Gibbs's thigh where he was sitting at the desk – that much at least he might get away with.
They were silent for awhile, as Gibbs went through his notes and Tony zoned out beside him. The silence was so intimate, and he was so far inside his own sub-space, that Tony jumped when there was a knock on the door.
"Easy." Gibbs ruffled a hand through his hair, soothing him, but still didn't give him permission to get up so he stayed where he was. The door opened, and Evan Lorne stepped into the room.
"Sorry to disturb you, sir," he said, standing to attention in front of Gibbs. Tony made a small sound in the back of his throat. He really didn't like being naked and red-assed in front of another top but he was Gibbs's sub, and Gibbs didn't seem to have a problem with it. Lorne wasn't phased by it, either – it was common enough for a top to have a sub-in-discipline beside him. Gibbs rested his hand on Tony's shoulder and let it stay there, where it fulfilled the dual role of being both reassuring and making it clear to Lorne who Tony belonged to – if he'd been in any doubt on that score.
"I know the timing isn't ideal, sir," Lorne said, "but yesterday was so crazy I didn't dare approach you then. I know you're in the middle of a case but I don't know how long you and the rest of your team will be out here and I really wanted to ask you again about Abby. You said to present myself to you?"
Gibbs leaned back in his chair, his hand still resting on Tony's naked shoulder. Tony risked looking up and saw that Lorne looked as if he was due on the parade ground. He was wearing Air Force dress blues, and his shoes were sparkling, as were the buttons on his uniform which was crisp and freshly pressed. There wasn't a hair out of place on him. Tony was intrigued by the process whereby Gibbs interviewed prospective tops for Abby, and he shifted slightly, wondering what would happen next.
What happened was that Gibbs put his hand on his head and directed it downward.
"Head down, Tony. You're in deep submission," Gibbs told him firmly, and Tony swallowed down a sigh and did as he was told, gazing at the floor. Then Gibbs turned his attention back to Lorne. "I've been reading through your personnel file, Colonel," he said.
"Yes sir. General Sheppard told me you'd requested it, sir," Lorne replied.
"You have an excellent service record," Gibbs commented. "Everyone speaks very highly of you. You're also a painter, I see?" Tony saw him, out of his peripheral vision, flicking through the file on his desk.
"Yes, sir! It's a hobby of mine," Lorne said.
"That’s an unusual hobby for a military top," Gibbs commented. Lorne's shiny boots shifted a fraction.
"I'm not a usual kind of military top, sir," he said, softly. "That's why I like Abby – she's different, and she's fun. She's not like the subs I've met in the military. I would treat her with the utmost respect, sir, if you gave me permission to date her."
"Okay." Gibbs sat back in his chair. "You can date her, Colonel, but there are some rules."
"Of course, sir," Lorne replied, his eyes flashing happily.
"First – I need to know where she is. If she's with you, that's fine. But if she's with you she's with you – you don't leave her anywhere, or drop her off somewhere thinking she'll be safe. When she's with you, she's your responsibility and if anything happens to her on your watch I promise you that I will hold you accountable. Understood?"
Lorne took a deep breath. "Yes, sir."
"Okay." Gibbs nodded. "Secondly – you let me know when she's back with me – you bring her back in person and you see me – even if just to say goodnight and that Abby is safe."
"No problem, sir." Lorne nodded.
"And thirdly – if you decide to play you play safe and you play the way Abby wants to play. You ignore her safe word, or coerce her into doing something she doesn't want to do, and you'll wish you'd never been born."
"Yes, sir," Lorne said, and Tony detected just a little hint of a quaver in his voice. Gibbs sure as hell could be scary.
"Finally – you don't hurt her," Gibbs said. "It might not work out between you and that's fine, I won’t blame you for that. But if you're the kind of top who likes to pick up subs and deliberately break their hearts then think again; because I will come after you."
"Me too," Tony said, in a deadly serious tone, looking up, unaware he'd even spoken until it was too late. He bit his lip, waiting for Gibbs to smack his head because he was supposed to be in deep submission but Gibbs just gave a little grunt and his hand came up to rest on Tony's naked shoulder again, stroking softly.
"I promise you – both of you," Lorne said, glancing from Tony to Gibbs. "Abby won't come to any harm with me."
"Very well – then you have my permission to date her," Gibbs said.
"Thank you." Lorne pulled himself up and gave Gibbs a crisp salute. "And if you don't mind me saying so, I haven't felt like this since I was at high school and had to ask permission to date a sub from their parents," he said, with a little grin. "Only this was much, much worse. Abby sure as hell must be special if she has you two looking out for her."
"She is," Tony said, and Gibbs said it too, at the same time. Gibbs grinned at him, and stroked the back of Tony's neck with his finger. Lorne gave a little snort and then turned smartly on his heel and left the room.
They were only alone for a second or two when there was another knock on the door and Ducky entered. Tony gave a resigned sigh – as a sub, he was used to being naked at his top’s discretion, no matter who else was around, and it was only Ducky after all. The fact that he was a doctor and had seen Tony naked on many previous occasions made it feel a bit better at least.
"I was just wondering if you intended to join us for dinner," Ducky began. "Ah…I see Anthony has been in trouble again," he said, shooting an affable grin in Tony's direction. "Nothing serious I hope?"
"Nope – he just needed settling," Gibbs replied. "He's not been eating or sleeping for a couple of days and needed taking down."
“My dear boy, not eating, not sleeping – anyone would think you’re in love," Ducky said, with a little laugh. Tony stiffened, and Gibbs's hand tightened on his neck.
"Is that it, Tony?" Gibbs asked. "Has some top out here taken your interest?"
"No, boss," Tony answered, firmly and honestly. He glanced over Gibbs’s shoulder and saw that Ducky had seen right through him, even if Gibbs hadn’t.
"Here, let me see the damage," Ducky said, and Tony could see he was trying hard to cover up his mistake in drawing attention to Tony’s emotional state.
Ducky stepped forward, and Gibbs nodded and allowed Tony to get up and have his ass examined.
"I see it’s your usual exemplary handiwork, Jethro," Ducky murmured as he surveyed Tony’s buttocks. "No bruising or wrap marks – if indeed an implement was used. I'll get the special ointment to take the sting away, Tony, if Jethro is in agreement."
Gibbs nodded. "And while you're doing that I'm going to go and get us some food," he said. "I don't want us eating in the cafeteria tonight – I want to go through the results of everyone's day and see where we're at with this case. I also want to make sure you eat, Tony. Let Ducky do his thing and then get dressed and meet us in the living room."
Both of them left the room and Tony got up, feeling relieved. That had been close. Ducky returned a moment later and came towards him, brandishing his tube of ointment. He never told any of them what was in it but he’d rubbed it into Tony’s ass enough times for Tony to know it really did work.
Right now though, he had other things on his mind than relieving the sting in his ass. He caught Ducky’s wrist, and gazed at him intently. Ducky’s eyes widened in surprise behind his spectacles; Tony rarely let the mask slip for long enough for anyone to see the real him, but right now it was imperative.
“You must never tell him,” Tony said, in a low, urgent tone, completely different to his usual joking demeanour. Ducky’s eyes widened even further at that.
“Of course not – you have my word,” Ducky replied. “Although - you might want to tell him yourself, my dear boy.”
“No,” Tony said firmly, squeezing tight. Ducky winced and Tony released his wrist with an apologetic smile.
“It might not be as bad as you think,” Ducky said.
“No,” Tony repeated. “I knew the deal when he put his collar on me. He told me this was all I was getting and I told him I could handle that. I’m not pressuring him for more. I have my pride, Ducky – and he’s made it abundantly clear he isn’t even interested in taking me to his bed, let alone into that damn cold heart of his.”
“It’s not as cold in there as you think,” Ducky murmured. “How long?” he asked, unscrewing the cap on the tube of ointment.
“Five years,” Tony replied.
Ducky sighed. “Since he collared you? You’ve been in love with him for *that* long?”
Tony nodded, and turned to allow Ducky to spread the ointment on his ass. It was always freezing when it was applied but Ducky was gentle and it didn’t hurt. His ass would be sore for a few hours, especially when he sat down, and it might glow for a day or so, but that was the extent of the damage. Even when Gibbs left marks, as he sometimes did, Tony suspected it was more for his benefit than anything else. It was as if Gibbs *knew* how much Tony liked looking at those marks in the mirror after. Ducky finished, and then he turned Tony around to face him.
“We all knew you wanted him of course, you’ve made no secret of that. In fact you’ve turned it into quite the joke, haven’t you, Tony?” Ducky shook his head sadly. “I should have known all along that you were too smart to be acting so much the fool without good reason. It’s a good disguise, Tony - pretending to just be interested in jumping the man’s bones to hide the fact that you’re in love with him.”
“Hiding in plain sight, Ducky,” Tony answered quietly. “That’s always the best disguise.”
“And none of us knew it went this deep – not even him. Everyone just wrote off the lingering looks as pure lust on your part – which, given your history, is hardly surprising. You’re really in love with him, Tony? You’re sure?”
“Yes, Ducky.” Tony dropped all pretence now. There was no point to it with Ducky any more. “I’m in love with Gibbs and have been since the day I met him and it just gets worse. Being with him constantly these past few weeks is driving me insane. I need to get a handle on myself or I’m going to screw things up badly.”
“I wish I could bang your heads together, the pair of you,” Ducky said. “But this is for you two to sort out between you. I just hope you DO sort it out.”
“Nothing to sort out, Ducky,” Tony said, with a curt shake of his head. “I just need to find a way to shove it back down again so I can get it under control and it doesn’t screw with my work.”
“Oh Tony,” Ducky sighed. “I’m so sorry, my dear boy. I remember the agonies and ecstasies of the affairs of the heart all too well.”
“But you have him,” Tony pointed out. “You’ve had him for a long time – and he’s different with you. I mean, I get the feeling that you and he…”
Ducky cleared his throat. “Don’t enquire, Anthony. It’s private,” he said.
Tony nodded, flushing slightly, but feeling envious all the same. Ducky and Gibbs went way back, and they had an easy closeness. Ducky was also the only person that Gibbs ever confided in. Tony often wondered exactly what was between them and how they’d got together but neither of them was ever forthcoming on that subject. He knew Gibbs had married three times since taking Ducky as his sub, but he’d never married Ducky, and while the two men clearly loved each other, Tony didn’t get the impression that they were *in* love. So what they had was something else – something almost as important, to both of them, but not the same. It was certainly a deep friendship, and Gibbs was as protective towards Ducky as he was towards his other subs, but Tony had never known Ducky to have any other relationships and sometimes he wondered why.
“Are you even a sub, Ducky?” he asked suddenly, and he realised that this was something that that had been bugging him for some time. Sometimes he got a very subby vibe off Ducky, but others…not so much. He was certainly the only one of Gibbs’s collared team who could get away with occasionally giving the boss orders – and, more surprisingly perhaps, Gibbs would usually follow them.
“What an extraordinary question, Anthony!” Ducky said, with a surprised smile. “I wear Gibbs’s collar, don’t I?”
“So does Ziva,” Tony pointed out. “And she’s definitely a top.”
“Ah well…we all have our own stories, Tony, don’t we, those of us who wear Gibbs’s collars?”
“Hmm, that’s enigmatic. He ever spanked you, Ducky?” Tony was intrigued now – Gibbs’s relationship with Ducky was a mystery to him and he often wondered what had brought these two together and kept them so close for all these years.
Ducky grinned. “You’re fishing, Anthony,” he said.
“Yeah.” Tony grinned back at him. “So – has he?”
“Once or twice,” Ducky conceded. Tony laughed out loud, taking a perverse pleasure in learning that Ducky had to submit to Gibbs's discipline the same as the rest of them. Ducky leaned towards him, conspiratorially. “But only when I asked him nicely,” he added. Tony stopped laughing and pulled a face.
“You suppose he’d *stop* spanking me if I asked him nicely?” he said, easing his pants on over his ass and wincing as he did so because while Ducky’s special ointment was good, Gibbs’s hand was even better.
“You could always try,” Ducky mused. “But you might want to wait a day or two until the sting in your nether regions has died down a little, Anthony, before embarking on such an inherently risky strategy.”
“Yeah. Ha, ha,” Tony said sourly. Ducky patted him on the arm and then left the room, chuckling away to himself as he went.
Tony pulled on the rest of his clothes and then followed the doctor out into the living room, to find that Gibbs, Ziva and McGee had returned from the cafeteria with several trays of food. He was surprised to find that it smelled good and that for the first time in days he was hungry; Gibbs’s method of taking him down had clearly worked.
He perched uneasily on the side of the couch, wincing slightly as he eased himself down. He caught the jolt of realisation in McGee’s eyes as the probie realised he’d just had a tough spanking, and then McGee glanced at Gibbs, with that rabbit-caught-in-the-headlights gaze of his. Tony bit back a laugh, wondering whether McGee would always be scared of tops. Then, to his surprise, McGee’s gaze flickered uncertainly towards Ziva, and it wasn’t that usual look of love-cum-terror that McGee had whenever he looked at her. It was tender, and almost speculative. Tony filed that away for future reference.
“So…what did you find out today?” Gibbs asked, pushing a tray of food Tony’s way with a look that told him if he didn’t eat he’d spend the night hanging by his ankles from the ceiling in Gibbs’s bedroom. Which wasn’t *such* a bad thought but it was bad enough to make Tony pick up his tray in a hurry. Not that he needed urging – he really was starving. He began shovelling food down, while listening to the team each say their piece.
Ducky didn’t have a whole lot to add, although he spent about fifteen minutes adding it all the same, with all kinds of Ducky-like embellishments. Tony loved the way the doctor talked so he sat back cautiously on his sore ass and let the sound wash over him.
Then Abby gave her report and Tony was thoroughly zoned out in a post-spanking haze now but he allowed the words to drift into his subconscious because sometimes he got great flashes of insight this way. There was certainly something out there that tied all the puzzling aspects of this case together – he just wasn’t sure what.
Next up was Ziva, giving her report in her usual clipped tones, with McGee butting in occasionally.
“The fire on the Daedalus was definitely started deliberately,” Ziva said. “We found evidence of a small incendiary device. The device itself was not all that powerful – but it was placed where it would cause the maximum amount of damage. It was located near an oxygen tank which was why it took them so long to get it under control.”
“So we’re talking about someone who had access not only to explosive materials but who also knew the schematics of the Daedalus inside out?” Gibbs asked.
“That’s right.” McGee nodded.
“How does that tie in with Dr Keller’s murder though?” Abby asked.
“Diversion,” Tony said, without even thinking about it. “Someone wanted someone else out of the way. Question is - who and why?”
“Carson Beckett is the obvious choice,” Gibbs mused. “Jenny Keller was killed in the infirmary – maybe Carson was supposed to be out of the way helping casualties on the Daedalus.”
“But Carson Beckett *was* out of the way,” Tony pointed out. “He wasn’t on duty and his radio was switched off all night.”
“But the killer couldn’t have known that. It was a failsafe,” Gibbs replied.
“There’s something else we found out…” McGee said, glancing anxiously at Gibbs. “Or, at least…I found out…I’m not sure if it’s important. I mean, it’s not directly related to the case but…”
“Just spit it out, probie,” Tony said, rolling his eyes. Gibbs was too far away to slap the back of his head but he gave him a glare anyway, before turning his attention to McGee, raising an eyebrow to get him to continue.
“Well…it’s we were told we couldn't gate through from Earth a few weeks ago because the Atlantis gate was experiencing some kind of a temporary problem with intergalactic transfers,” McGee said, stuttering slightly, as he always did when he had the full force of Gibbs’s stern gaze on him.
Gibbs cleared his throat to hurry the explanation on a bit and McGee stumbled to get the rest of his words out.
“Well, I found that isn’t the case, boss. I'm not an expert on this tech, but the gate seems to be working just fine. I checked back on the logs, and there was some routine maintenance run on it back when before we set off from Earth on the Daedalus, but it was working okay.”
“Who would benefit from lying about that?” Gibbs asked. “Who wouldn’t want us here?”
Tony felt everything slot into place. “Dr Rodney Sheppard,” he said firmly. “Think about it – he had access to explosives, he knows the Daedalus schematics backwards, and he would have been the person who lied to Woolsey about the gate glitch.”
“But why? You think he’s our murderer, DiNozzo?” Gibbs asked, frowning. “What’s the motive?”
“Well, I always say you should look for a jealous lover first,” Tony replied, on a roll now. “Look at the facts, boss! We KNOW that Jenny Keller had a crush on John Sheppard – Sheppard told us so himself. He also told us that Rodney is a jealous kind of sub – remember what he said about the hot water in the showers? Rodney confirmed his jealousy himself, over lunch – remember what he said about half of Atlantis having a crush on General Sheppard and how he didn’t look too happy about that?”
“No way!” Abby said vehemently. “Tony, you’re wrong. There is no way Rodney did this! I’ve spent more time with him than anyone these past few days and he’s just…he couldn’t do this. He couldn’t hurt anyone. He’s not like that.”
“Hold on, Abs,” Gibbs said, holding up his hand. “Go on, DiNozzo.”
“Think about it, though,” Tony continued, warming to his theme. “The first three victims were all marines – and subs of pretty easy virtue, or so we’ve been told. And there’s General Sheppard – a good looking, charismatic top and their superior officer – what’s the betting they all made a move on him? And Rodney’s jealous – so he starts picking them off, one by one. The message is clear – lay off my husband or else.”
“But John is totally in love with Rodney!” Abby protested. “He wouldn’t have slept with them, even if they did make a move on him!”
“How many tops do you know who can turn down a willing sub when they throw themselves at them?” Tony asked. “Tops are easily manipulated - all it takes is a few compliments and some subby eyelash fluttering.”
“You have a very low opinion of tops, Tony,” Ziva said, her dark eyebrows furrowed.
“Yeah…well…I’ve known a lot of tops,” Tony replied, with a shrug. “I don’t care how much General Sheppard seems to be in love with his husband – he could have taken the bait.”
“No, I don’t think so,” Gibbs murmured. “Leaving aside your jaundiced view of - what was it you called us yesterday? ‘The weaker half of the dynamic’?” He shot a glare in Tony’s direction. “I don’t think General Sheppard is the type to play around. But it doesn’t matter whether he did or not – all that matters is whether Rodney thought he did – or even whether Rodney was so jealous that he couldn’t stand to have people flirting with his husband. He certainly has the motive and opportunity to have committed the murders.”
“Exactly!” Tony grinned. “He set the fire on the Daedalus to make sure Carson wouldn’t be in the infirmary, and to cause a general diversion, and he went and took care of Dr Keller – one less person to try and charm their way into his top’s pants.”
“We know that Rodney was in his lab at 4 a.m.,” Gibbs said, flicking through the notes. “Because the general was there with him.”
“Yeah – but he only stayed five minutes. And Rodney had plenty of time to set the fire on the Daedalus beforehand, and to go murder Jenny Keller after. In fact, he might even have called the general to his lab on a false alarm to provide an alibi for himself.”
“Is it enough?” Ziva asked Gibbs.
“It’s enough for me to want to question Rodney again,” Gibbs said, throwing his plate down and getting to his feet.
“No – please – Gibbs, you’re wrong!” Abby wailed. “Rodney didn’t do this. You don’t know him.”
“We know he’s anti-social and rude,” Tony told her, getting up to follow Gibbs. Abby grabbed his arm.
“Yes…but…not underneath - underneath he’s just a bit insecure, and he’s really kind. He hates it when anyone gets hurt, let alone dies.”
“He didn’t seem that cut up about Jenny Keller,” Tony pointed out. “He told us that ludicrous story over lunch about how he thought she might be alive in another universe to hide the fact that he doesn’t give a damn about the fact she’s dead – and why would he if he’d killed her himself?”
“No, you’re wrong – he meant that!” Abby said. “That really is how he deals with things.”
Gibbs reached out, and put an arm around Abby, then pulled her in and kissed her cheek. “Abby, this is what we have to do,” he said firmly. “If Rodney is innocent then we’ll find out – but right now, he’s our main suspect and that means we have to question him some more. DiNozzo, McGee, David – you’re with me.”
He strode towards the door, and Tony was right behind him. They walked fast down to Rodney’s lab and Tony felt exhilarated. This all made sense! Well – almost; there was something that didn’t but he couldn’t put his finger on what it was. He just *knew* that he hadn’t liked Rodney Sheppard from the moment he first met the guy, and it seemed his gut was right after all.
Gibbs threw open the lab door, and Tony was first inside. Rodney Sheppard was working in there on his own, and he stood up, startled, his mouth opening and closing in surprise at the sudden intrusion.
“Dr Rodney Sheppard,” Tony said, walking forward. “We'd like to question you again, about the murders of Dr Keller, Sergeant Maloney, Corporal Evenden, and Lieutenant Sarkovsky.”
Rodney’s eyes widened in shock. “What? Why? Oh my god – you don't think I killed them, do you?"
"Did you?" Gibbs asked.
Rodney looked as if he was about to keel over. "Of course not! You can’t be serious. Me? I mean…me? Why would I want to kill them? Oh my god…you can’t mean me…”
"Will you accompany us to the interrogation room?" Tony asked.
"No!" Rodney looked panicked. "I didn't do anything!"
"Then you won't mind being questioned." Tony stepped forward, and put a hand out to gesture him out of the room. Rodney squirmed away from him.
“No, no, no!” he protested. “You can’t do this. Don’t *touch* me. John won’t like it.”
Tony was sure he wouldn't but a top's sensibilities didn't over-ride the necessities of a federal investigation.
“And you don’t like anyone touching him, either, do you?” Tony asked.
“What do you mean?” Rodney looked very confused, and Tony wondered, for the briefest moment, whether they had this all wrong.
He reached out to push Rodney towards the door, and then hesitated, because it was never good form to touch a top’s collared sub without permission. However, Gibbs had drummed into him often enough over the years that he didn’t give a damn about such niceties where law enforcement was concerned, so he over-rode that automatic instinct and reached for Rodney’s arm again. Rodney shoved him away. Tony stepped forward and there was a minor skirmish as he tried to get Rodney under control. The scientist tripped and went down, banging his head against the desk as he went. Tony cursed.
Gibbs stepped in and hauled Rodney to his feet. There was a small cut on Rodney’s forehead, oozing blood. Tony sighed – it never looked good when a suspect got hurt in custody. Gibbs didn't look happy about it either – he took a second to peer at it and make sure it wasn't serious, but it was just a small cut.
“Dr Sheppard,” Gibbs said, briskly, in the kind of tone subs always took notice of. Rodney went still at the sound of his voice, and stopped struggling. “We’re going to take you to the interrogation room for questioning – that’s all. It’s in your best interests to come with us and co-operate fully. If you *are* innocent, then I’m sure you’ll be able to prove it. For your own safety we're going to handcuff you.”
“You don’t know what you’re doing,” Rodney whispered. “Seriously – you have no idea. This is all totally wrong.”
“Okay…we’ll see,” Gibbs said, nodding at Tony.
Tony cuffed Rodney's hands behind his back, took hold of Rodney’s shoulder, and pushed him towards the door. At first he’d been exhilarated by the thought that he might have solved these murders – anything that would make Gibbs think highly of him. But now…an uneasy feeling was settling in the pit of his stomach. Had his dislike for Rodney and his jealousy over his relationship with the general influenced him too much? Sure, the evidence did kind of point to Rodney’s guilt…but was this man really capable of murder?
~*~
Gibbs wasn’t happy – he didn’t like that Rodney Sheppard had been hurt, even though it was just a minor injury. Gibbs had an old-fashioned attitude towards submissives – part chauvinist, part chivalrous - and he didn't like to see them harmed; tops could take care of themselves, but subs were to be protected and cherished, just like the line in the wedding vows went. He also couldn’t shake the feeling they had the wrong man. Was Tony’s jaundiced view of human relationships influencing them too much?
All the same, he needed to get to the bottom of exactly why Rodney had lied about the gate glitch – that was the one tangible piece of evidence they had, and he was all too well aware of that. The rest was just conjecture.
He stationed McGee and David outside the door and went into the room with Tony and Rodney. Tony shoved Rodney down on a chair, still in cuffs, and Gibbs pulled up his own chair in front of the table, and gazed at Rodney Sheppard. He seemed dazed and confused – and *really* anxious.
“You got something you want to confess, Dr Sheppard?” he asked. “You seem pretty nervous.”
“I am - when John finds out he's going to go ballistic,” Rodney replied.
“Well…we’ll deal with that later,” Gibbs said. He thought he had an hour or two before Sheppard found out and if Rodney *was* guilty then he might be able to get a confession out of Rodney in that time.
“No…you don’t understand. John will be here soon,” Rodney said. “And I don’t know how out of control he’s going to be when he gets here.”
“Why do you say he’ll be here soon?” Gibbs asked, frowning.
At that moment there was a noise outside that sounded suspiciously like someone roaring in rage; Gibbs could hear Ziva trying to calm the situation down. He nodded at Tony to keep an eye on Rodney, and went outside.
John Sheppard was standing there, struggling with Ziva and McGee. He looked angry, upset and extremely dangerous.
“General Sheppard,” Gibbs said smoothly, gesturing that Ziva and McGee should release their grip on him.
“What the hell are you doing?” John yelled. “You have Rodney in there. Oh my god, what have you done to him? He’s hurt…oh shit…” He lunged for the door and Gibbs grabbed his arm and pulled him away. There was a brief impasse – the general was so angry that Gibbs had no doubt at all that he could take them all on and win.
“Yes, we have him in there, but he’s fine,” Gibbs said, in a low, reassuring tone. He remembered what *this* felt like – having a sub you loved beyond all reason. He remembered when they’d come to tell him about Shannon being murdered…and he sure as hell remembered tracking down the bastard who’d killed her and their daughter and putting several bullets into him – far more than were necessary to actually kill him. “We have good reason to believe that Rodney might be responsible for the recent murders and we want to question him again.”
“You what?” John looked outraged. “You think Rodney murdered someone? My god, are you insane?”
“How did you know we had him here?” Gibbs asked, curious. He hadn’t been aware that anyone had seen them go down to the lab and Rodney certainly hadn’t had the time or opportunity to radio anyone.
“We’re lifebonded,” John told him, through gritted teeth. “I FELT what you did to him. You’ve hurt him…he’s hurt, and he’s really upset, and someone has *touched* him. You can just be grateful that you’re protected by your badge of office, Gibbs because if you weren’t you’d be dead by now.”
Gibbs sighed. God he hated lifebonded couples. For one thing, the law said you had to treat them as one entity, so he couldn’t question Rodney without John being present and that wasn’t what he wanted at all. He gazed at John searchingly. The general’s hazel eyes were intense and he looked as if he was about to explode. Gibbs could empathise with John; Tony had once been framed for murder and taken away for questioning and that had tested Gibbs's patience and self-control to their limits. However, regardless of how much he empathised with John Sheppard right now, Gibbs knew he had a job to do.
“You’re lifebonded?” He raised an eyebrow. “Okay – if you can prove it, then you can sit in the interrogation room when we question him.”
John gave him a look of total disgust. “Of course I can damn well prove it,” he growled. “Now, are you going to let me in there, or do I have to shoot one of your people?”
“I wouldn’t do that, General,” Gibbs warned, in an icy tone. He didn’t take kindly to threats to his submissives, no matter what the circumstances. “You harm an NCIS officer doing their job and you’ll end up on the receiving end of a bullwhip – and one I’ll be quite happy to wield myself.”
“Just let me in there,” John said, in a tight voice. “Because if I don’t see him soon I can’t swear to what I’ll do.”
Gibbs nodded, clearly seeing a man on the edge. He opened the door and John ran in. He rushed over to Rodney and knelt down beside him, reaching out shaking hands to touch him.
“Oh shit…Rodney…” His fingers found the wound on Rodney’s forehead and probed it gently.
“It’s okay. I’m okay. It wasn’t their fault,” Rodney was saying, in fast, urgent tones.
Gibbs felt uneasy – Rodney seemed more worried about what his top was going to do than about being under suspicion of murder. “It was my fault – I was so surprised I kind of fell over,” Rodney said.
John’s hands went down Rodney’s arms, his expression darkening. Gibbs braced himself.
“You cuffed him?” he hissed. “Who did this? Who put cuffs on my sub?”
“I did,” Tony said, sounding completely unafraid, and John got up, a low, growling sound emanating from the back of his throat.
"Nobody - *nobody* - but me ever puts cuffs on my sub," John said, in a strangled tone, walking towards Tony, his body stiff with rage. Gibbs stepped between John and Tony, seriously concerned about the situation now.
“Easy, General. Rodney’s okay. We were just about to remove the cuffs when you showed up," he said, in calming tones. “We'll do that now.”
Tony got up, and Gibbs clicked his fingers and gestured him back down. Tony went, immediately, for which Gibbs was grateful because he had no doubt at all that anyone who touched Rodney right now, even just to undo his cuffs, would die a very quick death. He clicked his fingers again and Tony handed him the key to the cuffs; Gibbs handed it over to John.
John undid Rodney’s cuffs and threw them to the ground, then took Rodney in his arms and held him. Rodney’s arms went around John’s back, and Gibbs knew he’d done the right thing – the only person who stood any chance of calming General Sheppard right now was his husband, and Rodney sure as hell seemed to know how to do it. He was stroking his top’s back and murmuring something in his ear, and the general’s body was pressed so close against his husband’s that it was almost as if he wanted to merge with him there and then.
Finally, John’s body stopped shaking and he released his husband and turned back to Gibbs.
“You wanted proof?” he spat. “Here’s your proof.” He touched his fingers to Rodney’s cut head, and then moved his face towards the cut and sniffed at it. Then he licked it.
Tony glanced at Gibbs, an alarmed look on his face, but Gibbs just watched, fascinated by their dynamic. Despite their situation he almost envied the general and his husband the bond between them.
As he watched, something seemed to happen between them. John made a low humming sound in the back of his throat, and his fingers smoothed the cut on Rodney’s face…and then, before their eyes, the wound faded. It didn’t completely disappear, but it scabbed over, and the redness died down to a healing pink. When John turned back, he bore a similar scabbed scar on his own forehead.
“Wow,” Tony muttered, clearly impressed.
“You never seen lifebonding in action before, DiNozzo?” Gibbs asked, not taking his eyes off the volatile General Sheppard, unsure what he might do next.
“They’re lifebonded?” The envy in Tony’s voice was so palpable that Gibbs felt a jolt of surprise. “Okay, that makes sense. And no…I haven’t. Never even met a lifebonded couple before,” Tony said. “Seen the movies though – always thought it was crazy. I mean – if the general dies, Rodney goes with him, right? And vice versa.”
“That’s right,” Gibbs said. “I’m surprised that as a military man you’d risk it, General. You’re not exactly in a safe line of work.”
“His sub insisted,” Rodney said, in a shaky voice. “We were half-way there anyway and it was pissing me off that he wouldn’t take it to the next level.”
Gibbs nodded. He had once felt the stirrings of something similar with Shannon but had pushed it away – they had a child, and he wasn’t going to risk Kelly losing both her parents just because they had selfishly wanted to lifebond. Shannon had never mentioned it to him so he guessed she’d felt the same. Lifebonding was hard in any case, and few people ever achieved it. He had never felt it was something he had the mindset for.
“Okay – well, this changes things a little,” Gibbs said. “Obviously, legally you’re entitled to sit in on Rodney’s questioning, General.”
“I can’t believe you're doing this,” Sheppard growled. “Nobody could believe Rodney capable of murder.”
“Not even if his beloved husband – his beloved, *lifebonded* husband, was cheating on him?” Tony asked.
Rodney made a little sound in the back of his throat, and Sheppard turned, fists clenching.
“What the hell are you talking about?” he demanded.
“Sit down – all of you,” Gibbs ordered, gesturing to the chairs. John took his seat, but he grabbed Rodney’s hand and squeezed, hard.
“Rodney knows that isn’t true,” he hissed. “I’ve never cheated on him – never could.”
Tony rolled his eyes. “That’s what all the tops say,” he muttered. “My dad used to take his strap to me all the time for sleeping around but at least I was young, free and single.”
“And underage,” Gibbs pointed out. Tony shrugged, and Gibbs felt a pang of pity for his agent. It was no wonder Tony had such a jaundiced view of tops, considering his childhood experiences. Somehow he doubted that Tony's childhood punishments had been delivered in a loving environment, and he knew there had been no affection or respect there – and both were prerequisites for effective discipline to Gibbs's mind.
“John hasn’t cheated on me,” Rodney said defiantly. “You don’t understand what we have – I’d KNOW if he cheated on me.”
“Yeah, that’s what all the subs say,” Tony replied. “Face it, Rodney. John’s a good looking top, with one hell of a lot of charisma, and those marines weren’t shy about asking for what they wanted. You found out and…”
“No,” Rodney said quietly. “Is this it? Is this what you think?” He shook his head, chuckling slightly. “You have no idea how laughable it is. John and I…it’s not like that. It *couldn’t* be like that. I don’t know what kind of relationships you’ve had, Agent DiNozzo, or what kind of slimeball tops you’ve been with, but it’s not like you say. Just because you’ve never been with a good top doesn’t mean the rest of us haven’t.”
Gibbs didn’t miss the wince that crossed DiNozzo’s face – Rodney was winning this round on points even if neither of the two subs in the room had landed a knockout blow.
He had to admit that the more he questioned Rodney Sheppard the more his gut feeling told him that he had nothing to do with the murders. There was one thing that he was guilty of though, and Gibbs needed to get to the bottom of that.
“Rodney…why did you lie about that stargate glitch that prevented us from using the stargate to travel here?” he asked directly. Rodney’s blue eyes widened, and he glanced, guiltily, at his husband and then back to Gibbs.
“Rodney?” Sheppard turned, a puzzled frown on his face. “You said the gate was having problems with intergalactic transfers,” he murmured. "You said local travel was fine but that you couldn't guarantee the safety of incoming traffic from Earth and you weren't sure how long it would take to fix it."
Rodney bit on his lip.
“That wasn’t true, was it, Rodney?” Gibbs prompted gently. “Why didn’t you want us here?”
“Because we don’t need you!” Rodney burst out. “John can solve this! He doesn’t need you coming in here, undermining him, giving HIM orders. Elizabeth would never have allowed it!”
“So you lied, Rodney?” Sheppard asked, and Gibbs noticed him squeeze Rodney’s hand with his own. He looked upset, but not surprised. "I thought you got it working again pretty quickly - but now I see that was *after* the NCIS agents had set off on the Daedalus."
“Yes, John. I lied,” Rodney said quietly. “I thought I could buy you more time – that by the time they got here you’d have figured out who the killer was.”
“And in the meantime, another person died,” Sheppard said softly. “Jenny Keller died, Rodney. If NCIS had got here earlier she might still be alive.”
Rodney’s eyes widened in horror at that. “I didn’t mean…I just thought…” he began.
“He was trying to protect you, General,” Gibbs said flatly. “Question is why?”
Sheppard shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
“I’m sorry, John. I honestly am,” Rodney said desperately. “It didn’t seem like such a big deal at the time. I just…”
“It’s bad, Rodney. For both of us,” Sheppard said quietly.
“It sure is,” Gibbs commented. “Look – when we brought Rodney in I thought he might have killed those people but I don’t think that now.”
Tony’s head snapped up at that.
“But this is big; he’s lied to the commander of this expedition – Mr Woolsey - and he’s interfered with an NCIS investigation, and that’ll have to go in my report.”
“I understand,” Sheppard said, nodding. Rodney paled.
“Please…” he began, but Sheppard reached out and put an arm around his shoulder.
“It’s okay, Rodney. I’ll handle this,” he said firmly. “Agent Gibbs, if you’re done could you let Rodney go? He’ll go straight to our quarters and I promise he won’t leave in case you want to speak to him again.”
Gibbs nodded, ignoring Tony’s grunt of protest.
“That’s fine. DiNozzo – get Ziva to escort Rodney back to his quarters. You go and stand outside this door. I want to talk to the general alone.”
Tony got up, and Rodney did the same. Rodney wrapped his arms around his top and kissed his dark hair.
“I’m sorry, John. I really am,” he whispered. Sheppard sighed, and then kissed his sub firmly on the mouth.
“I know,” he replied. “Now go. We’ll deal with this later.”
End of Part Seven
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Hiding in Plain Sight: Part Eight