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Tony shook his head at the bravado of his new charge, one Leroy Jethro Gibbs. The guy couldn’t see him, yet, as Tony was an angel and only children could see him without him purposefully revealing himself. For right now, Tony was simply gathering information on his new charge in preparation for protecting him.
Technically, Gibbs wasn’t supposed to know he existed, but Tony could already tell that this was one of those guys who didn’t care what rules he broke so long as he got the job done. Tony was actually surprised that the guy’s dead wife hadn’t gotten his case, but apparently the powers that be felt that she was too close to Gibbs to do any good as a guardian angel. Tony wasn’t even sure why this guy needed a guardian angel to be honest.
Sure he was a Navy cop, but it wasn’t like hell had declared war on him or anything. Oh wait, they had. Damn it.
Tony knew he should have read the fine print before accepting this case. This was going to be even harder than he had originally thought then. The first time he had to rescue Gibbs, no one noticed anything.
Tony patted himself on the back for that. Unfortunately, that didn’t continue to hold true. If Tony had thought that Gibbs would take better care with his life, he was sadly mistaken.
If anything Gibbs appeared to think that it made him invulnerable. Tony cursed as he watched a car with Gibbs and another person drive off the dock into the water. He had a team.
Tony had seen them. If they’d been there they could have prevented this. Why had Gibbs gone alone with this woman?
Being an angel, water didn’t bother him, but it sure as heck bothered Gibbs and the woman with him. Needless to say getting them out of the water and bringing them both back to life was harder than it should have been. Tony wasn’t sure exactly what happened in his charge’s mind, but he heard the man whisper Shannon.
He actually shouldn’t have saved the woman with him, Maggie, but Gibbs had insisted before he would let himself be helped. Tony shook his head. He was pretty sure that Gibbs had actually seen him that time, but apparently it hadn’t really registered.
Nothing really changed beyond Tony getting more annoyed with the man. He actually thought when the man retired that he’d be reassigned. He should have known that the man was in even more danger in retirement.
What he didn’t expect was for that to be when Gibbs actually started seeing him. Tony hadn’t made himself visible, but suddenly Gibbs could see him. Tony noticed Gibbs staring at the exact spot that his presence was in consistently.
He hadn’t said anything, yet, but Tony was sure it wouldn’t be long now. Humans had an insatiable need to satisfy their curiosity. He was actually surprised that Gibbs had been watching him this long without saying anything.
Days passed. Gibbs drank himself practically under the table, but Tony couldn’t save him from that. He just watched as the man worked with Franks, he thought his name was, to keep occupied and drank the vast majority of the time.
Even Franks had noticed something was off with Gibbs. Tony didn’t give Franks much credit, but he did seem to care for Gibbs even if his motives and actions were suspect at best. Of course, the phone calls from Gibbs’ team grew more and more panicked.
Even the director got involved. It seemed the team was barely functioning and the MCRT was no more. Tony shook his head. He couldn’t save Gibbs from everything.
Still Gibbs remained in Mexico ignoring everything happening back home. His attention remained focused on Tony, though he said nothing. Tony had noticed a long time ago that he was a man of few words.
He’d first been assigned Gibbs’ case in Baltimore. He’d watched as a young detective tackled Gibbs making his cover for him. Gibbs had been more amused than anything.
Gibbs hadn’t even been worried about danger. At least, not until he’d discovered the corruption at the Baltimore Police Station. The young detective had been one of the few cops not corrupt.
Gibbs had left him in Baltimore to rebuild after helping reveal the corruption and making sure the people responsible paid for their wrongdoing. He’d then recruited a female agent, Todd, from the secret service and built his team around her. They’d picked up a techie, McGee, and a Mossad assassin, Ziva.
Apparently, Todd wasn’t strong enough to lead the team in Gibbs’ absence, however, and the MCRT had dissolved into chaos and petty fighting amongst themselves. At least, that’s what Tony garnered from the bits he heard when people called Gibbs trying to get him to come back. Gibbs wasn’t listening to them, though.
He just wanted to be left alone. Tony was surprised that Gibbs hadn’t growled at him to be left alone. Perhaps there was more going on than simply wanting to be left alone.
Franks was involved in some pretty deep shit. Of course, it wasn’t all Franks' fault. Gibbs had played a hand in it too.
Apparently, this went back to his wife, Shannon’s death. Franks had helped Gibbs get revenge on the man who killed his wife and child. Now, the Reynosas, the children of the man who killed Shannon, wanted revenge on their father’s killer.
That was the reason Gibbs stayed retired instead of returning to help his team. Tony knew Gibbs still considered them his and that there would be hell to pay when he returned. Gibbs had expected them to do better than they had and he would get to the bottom of why they hadn’t.
First, though, Gibbs had to deal with his past. He had to handle the Reynosas in a way that would eliminate the threat of them coming after him once he returned to DC. He couldn’t have them deciding to strike when his team was still a mess.
Tony shook his head as Gibbs and Franks headed for the Reynosas’ home base. What they hoped to accomplish he really didn’t know. The Reynosas would have the advantage this way.
Were they both suicidal? Tony just knew this was going to go bad for him. Not much from the mortal world could hurt an angel, but there were ways.
Why did he have to be given the charge that paid no attention to his own life in his attempt to save others? Of course, there was a gunfight at a drug dealer’s base. Of course, some of the product went up in flames because of it.
Of course, Tony had to dive in front of Gibbs to prevent the bullets from killing him. Franks didn’t have the same protection Gibbs did, but the bastard was a wily one and managed decently on his own. Not that Gibbs wouldn’t have survived without Tony’s intervention, it was just easier this way.
“Why?” Gibbs whispered.
Tony ignored him, assuming he was asking a rhetorical question not directed at him. After all, Gibbs so far hadn’t actually talked to him.
“Why won’t you let me die?” Gibbs eyes pierced Tony’s being almost like a physical sword.
There was no doubt now that Gibbs was talking to him. “It’s my job.”
“Is that all it is?”
Tony simply nodded. Why would it be anything more than a job? Angels and humans didn’t mix. He knew of angels that slept with their charges, but it was frowned upon.
Tony had never been one to break the rules or at least not the rules that weren’t stupid. There were very valid reasons not to have a relationship with a human. One being that they lived longer than humans and if they were in a relationship would be more tempted to try to find a way to make the humans live longer which inevitably was fraught with danger for the entire world.
After that exchange, Tony caught Gibbs looking at him even more speculatively. The raid on the Reynosas had not turned out well. Franks was down with a severe injury that would have to be nursed back to health.
Gibbs would have been as well if not for Tony. Fortunately, they had also dealt some severe blows to the Reynosas, but this was not over by a long shot. With Franks in and out of consciousness as he rested to heal his injury, Gibbs talked more to Tony.
Oh, he still wasn’t a talker. It was mostly the random out of the blue statements that perhaps revealed more about Gibbs than he intended them to. Of course, Tony already knew a lot about Gibbs so little of it was a surprise to him.
Now, though, the silence was heavy. There was a presence to it, a comfort, but it wasn’t the silence of two complete strangers anymore. Tony wasn’t sure what he felt about that.
It was a myth that angels were too full of God to feel anything resembling human emotions. The truth was angels were closer to humans than most of them would like to admit. Few angels remembered their life as human, but Tony was one of them who did.
He wasn’t sure why he remembered it when no one else did. It wasn’t really something he wanted to remember. His father had been neglectful at best, outright abusive at worse.
His father was actually the reason he was in heaven as he’d died too young. Way before he’d even made it to college. He’d lost his mother before he died, but his father made sure he followed her to heaven shortly after.
Maybe that’s why Tony remembered because his father told him to give his best to his mother. Tony wasn’t sure. Still he had zero desire to become human again which was one of the main ways human and angel relationships worked.
However, he had to admit that he no longer regretted being Gibbs’ angel. Despite hell seeming to have decided to place a target on Gibbs’ back, he was still easier to deal with than the person he’d looked after before Gibbs. Tony still couldn’t believe that Gibbs had ended up chained in a sewer and gotten the plague.
Who got the plague these days? Gibbs had no lasting ill effects from the plague thanks to Tony, but Tony was beginning to wonder what demon Gibbs had pissed off. Still without his dislike of his charge in the way, Tony found his feelings for Gibbs growing more than he expected they would.
The man was a master of one liners and generally a gentle soul despite having been a soldier before he lost Shannon. It was fair to say that the man was also hitting all of Tony’s kinks without even trying. It wasn’t fair.
Franks was starting to get to the point where he was ready to try the Reynosas again. Gibbs and Franks had been discussing what their next move should be. Clearly, the frontal assault had failed; Tony could have told them that would happen.
Tony shook his head as he listened to them discuss strategies. Gibbs saw it and turned to him. “You have a better plan?”
“Who are you talking to?” Franks asked as he realized that Gibbs had specifically turned away from him before asking that question.
“Tony.”
“Who’s Tony?”
“My guardian angel.”
“Are you drunk?”
Gibbs chuckled and turned back to Tony waiting for his answer. Tony knew this was his chance to help them make a sane plan that actually had a chance of succeeding. “You need more information. Spy on them first or use other methods to get information on them.”
“We tried that already.”
Tony shook his head. “Try again. You need to find out their normal patterns. Also, you need to find out what they are planning, so that you can counter it.”
Gibbs frowned thoughtfully. “What about this?” He detailed out a plan to gather more information on them and then use that information to determine what to do next.
Tony nodded in approval. There were a couple tweaks that he would make if it were him, but it would work. He didn’t know enough about Franks or Gibbs to say that his tweaks would be better for them.
Franks eyed the plan suspiciously. Something was off with Gibbs. He wasn’t about to be led to the slaughter by whatever demon was possessing Gibbs. He couldn’t find anything wrong with the plan, though, and finally nodded in approval.
Franks still had a few contacts that Gibbs didn’t know about. He would reach out to them and see if they had any information on the Reynosas. Gibbs would be charged with actually watching the Reynosas movements to find out what they did every day.
Well actually Gibbs wasn’t eager to do that. He fully intended to hire someone who would be less conspicuous if caught to do it for him and report back. The information wouldn’t be as good as doing it himself, but it would be less likely to tip off the Reynosas.
The Reynosas’ place was isolated. Not many people could get close to it without being spotted or looking out of place. Gibbs wasn’t into putting innocent people at risk.
Luckily, Camila knew one of the maids already employed by the Reynosas. It was a non issue to pay Camila enough for both of them to talk with her friend about the Reynosas habits. Soon they had more information about the Reynosas daily life than they knew what to do with.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. It was enough to tell them daily movements, but it did nothing to tell them what the Reynosas were planning. They’d have to figure out a way to investigate deeper to find out what the Reynosas were really planning.
All the maid could tell them is that they were planning something and spent an excessive amount of time in the cellar. Gibbs knew they needed to get into the cellar, but he wasn’t sure how to accomplish that. Franks had found out a little, but not much more.
Now, they were planning how to get into the cellar. It wasn’t going well. It wasn’t that the cellar was well guarded so much as that it was in the middle of the compound and to get that far into the Reynosas' stronghold without detection would be extremely difficult.
Actually, it would be relatively easy for Tony to do so, being an angel and all, but it was technically against the rules, so Tony hadn’t offered it. It was a stupid rule that you could only protect your charges after the fact and not do preventive moves. Tony had actually broken it before, but he didn’t want to get known as a troublemaker.
He’d seen what happened to angels with that reputation. He wasn’t eager to experience it himself. However, if Franks and Gibbs came up with a plan that would be overly dangerous to his charge, he might step in and scout for them.
Either way, he would definitely be going with Gibbs on this adventure. He was bound to get himself in trouble somehow. The final plan that they came up with didn’t actually seem too bad to Tony’s eyes, so he decided to just come along rather than do it himself.
The first part of the plan went off without a hitch. In fact, they made it all the way to the cellar before they hit an issue. Tony wasn’t actually sure if Gibbs and Franks were aware of the problem.
Tony now understood what demon Gibbs had pissed off enough to send the armies of hell after him whenever they got a chance. It was rather obvious when he realized that the shrine the Reynosas had was to the demon Hernandez. In fact, Tony wondered if the person who killed Shannon and Kelly had actually been possessed by Hernandez since this looked to be a family shrine.
This changed everything. “Get out, now!” Tony yelled in his more strident, do not disobey me voice.
Gibbs immediately turned at the tone in Tony’s voice. “Mike, OUT,” he yelled as he started booking it out of the compound.
Franks didn’t know what had spooked Gibbs, but he’d worked with him enough that when he said they needed to get out, Franks just followed. It wasn’t until they were back at Franks’ villa that Franks turned to Gibbs and demanded, “What was that?”
Gibbs turned to Tony, “What happened back there?”
“Oh great. You made us leave because of your ‘guardian angel’. How stupid are you, Gibbs?” Franks snarled in disgust and stormed off.
Gibbs ignored Franks' temper tantrum and waited patiently for Tony to answer him.
Tony tried to figure out how to answer. He didn’t think that Gibbs knew that he killed a demon or at least a human possessed by one. He wasn’t even sure that Gibbs knew hell had practically declared war on him.
“Tony?” Gibbs prodded when no answer was immediately forthcoming.
“We weren’t alone there,” Tony finally admitted.
“Who else was there? I didn’t see anyone.”
“The demon, Hernandez.”
“Hernandez?”
“Yep.”
“The same Hernandez that I killed?”
“Yep. Well not exactly. That Hernandez was probably a human possessed by the demon, but essentially.”
”What does this mean?”
“The Reynosas are really a secondary concern. They have a shrine setup to Hernandez, so most of their power must come from him. We need to neutralize Hernandez before dealing with the Reynosas.”
Gibbs just gave Tony a look. “How?”
“I don’t know.” Tony frowned. “I’ll ask some other angels, see if they have any suggestions. In the meantime, maybe you can research how to exorcise a demon?”
Gibbs looked at Tony like he was insane, but he went off to find Franks and see if between the two of them they could figure out something. Of course, Franks wasn’t eager to hear they apparently had to contend with a demon. The distrust rolled off of Franks that Gibbs’ “guardian angel” was the source of this information.
Unfortunately for Franks, the little bit of research he did into the demon Hernandez immediately revealed a link between him and the Reynosas. He didn’t want to trust the angel, but he couldn’t deny that there appeared to be truth in what the angel said. He hated it.
This also made the feud with the Reynosas more complicated. They were just human. How could they fight a demon?
Franks wasn’t the kind to give up even in the face of odds stacked against him, but he had to admit he wasn’t prepared for this fight. Even Gibbs looked a touch overwhelmed. Tony had the insane desire to offer physical comfort to his charge.
He didn’t let himself do so, however. Instead he asked a couple more angels about how to rid the earth of the demon Hernandez. So far the angels had mostly laughed at him and protested that he couldn’t possibly be serious.
Tony had glared at them, but it hadn’t really changed much. None of them had been overly helpful and Tony was beginning to think that Gibbs, Franks, and him would have to just figure it out together. He couldn’t say that he was looking forward to being a trendsetter on this issue.
On the other hand, what was the alternative? Let his charge die while he did nothing because demons were beyond a human’s capability to handle? Or was this something humans could handle and he was just supposed to prevent his charge from dying before he succeeded in handling it?
Why didn’t this angel gig come with an instruction manual? Things would be so much easier then. He returned to Gibbs with his news or lack thereof.
Gibbs just shrugged. “It’s fine.”
Tony watched as Gibbs and Franks gathered an impressive amount of information not only on the demon Hernandez, but demons in general. Tony was reminded again how impressive humans truly were. The gift of will that they had made it possible for them to overcome things that would normally be impossible.
Some angels would try to convince you that they didn’t really have a sex drive. They were lying. It was just more complicated to indulge the sex drive as an angel.
That didn’t mean that Tony wasn’t getting turned on watching Gibbs put his entire soul into solving this problem. He wasn’t quite sure what to do with himself. He’d never felt attraction to a charge before.
He couldn’t help thinking that he was compromised and he should find someone else to be Gibbs’ guardian angel. Of course, with his developing feelings he wasn’t sure he could actually let someone else watch over Gibbs either. If this is what other angels felt like when they broke the rules regarding sleeping with their charges, Tony couldn’t blame them any longer.
He was very tempted to sleep with Gibbs. The only thing stopping him, the fact that they needed to deal with Hernandez first. There was also the minor fact that Gibbs appeared to be straight, as well.
Though, his question when he’d discovered Tony made Tony wonder just how straight Gibbs really was. Still, he couldn’t be the one to make the move. If Gibbs came onto him that was one thing, but it would be an abuse of power for him to initiate a relationship.
While Tony was distracted, Franks and Gibbs had made a plan to deal with Hernandez and hopefully the Reynosas. Of course, the Reynosas were undoubtedly alerted now, so they would have to be even more careful than before. At least, this time they were going armed to deal with a demon.
Gibbs had strapped on an actual sword, who even had one of those these days, on top of his normal knives, gun, and other equipment. Apparently, one of the things they’d found was that a sword was actually more effective against demons than guns or more modern day weapons. Why Gibbs had a sword stored at Franks was beyond Tony, but it was lucky for them that he did.
Franks had his own medieval type mace that he’d brought along. Again, why Franks had that was beyond Tony. There was clearly more to these two than he’d originally thought.
Tony had his own sword. All angels were able to summon one for battle as needed. He hadn’t needed it in the past, but maybe he would need it today.
The trip to the cellar was a lot more harrowing this time. The Reynosas had definitely added more protections. There was no doubt that they were expected this time.
Tony just hoped that they weren’t heading to their own slaughter. Even with the new traps, this was feeling just a tad too easy to him. He couldn’t help wondering what horrors would await them when they finally arrived at the demon’s shrine.
The Reynosas were better prepared this time and met them before they made it anywhere close to the cellar. Apparently, they would have to take the Reynosas down before they could tackle Hernandez this time.
However, the Reynosas preparations had nothing on Gibbs’ and Franks’, who quickly dealt with the sister and brother that made up the Reynosas. Tony couldn’t help being impressed. Wary for other traps, they slowly made the way to the cellar.
Only once they arrived, they found it completely empty. No sign of the shrine that had been there before. Gibbs cursed once under his breath and Franks kicked the wall.
Looked like they would have to do a thorough search to find where they moved the demon to. While the Reynosas were not dead, Tony hoped they would remain tied up until after the demon was dealt with. Distraction when dealing with a demon would lead to nothing good.
They rounded a corner and Tony quickly moved to the front as a fireball came barreling down the corridor right at them. Gibbs blinked as he watched Tony take the fireball intended for him. Pulling his sword out of its sheath, Gibbs moved past Tony as he recovered from the fireball and towards what he assumed was the demon shrine.
Franks stayed at his back and together they made their way carefully down the corridor and into the dark dungeon. Seriously, there were no lights here. Gibbs had his sword out, but couldn’t do much with it as he had to be careful not to hit Franks and he couldn’t see crap right now.
They hadn’t realized they would need a torch. Gibbs fumbled in his pocket. Maybe he had a lighter?
Gibbs frowned when he couldn’t find a lighter. How would they see to fight this battle without light? Demons thrived in the darkness, but humans didn’t.
All of a sudden, there was a bright flash and the whole room was filled with light. Gibbs looked around to see where it was coming from, realizing that he could see Tony a lot clearer than he normally could.
“My god. You do have a guardian angel,” Franks gasped.
Gibbs shook his head, turning to look for Hernandez. He had zero desire to go up against the demon twice. He didn’t have to look far though.
“You would sacrifice yourself for them, angel?” Hernandez’s voice boomed, a grizzly tint to it.
“If I must.”
“Why?”
“It’s my job.”
“Don’t give me that crap. I’ve had many men with guardian angel’s attempt to face me down. They all failed. They couldn’t even contemplate sacrificing themselves to save their charges and banish me for good. Why do you?”
Gibbs glanced at Tony, wondering if that were true. Was there more to Tony taking the attacks meant for him than just his job like he’d said? Tony said nothing continuing to radiate light from his being to allow the humans to see.
It also had the added benefit of making the demon squint. Supposedly if the light were strong enough it could actually hurt the demons, but that would require using more of his energy than Tony was willing to do, right now. Still he would if he needed to.
First, he would let Gibbs and Franks do their things. They had plans, which Tony hoped would work. He didn’t put a lot of faith in one angel cancelling out all the demons at Hernandez beck and call.
He wasn’t sure if it was a good or bad sign that Hernandez seemed to be focusing on him. It would give Gibbs and Franks more time to utilize their weapons and plans, but it was also more dangerous as it made it difficult for Tony to be the backup plan. He would really have to work to conserve his energy given Hernandez would be doing his best to deplete it.
Hernandez was so focused on Tony that Gibbs was able to sneak up behind him with his sword and deliver a crushing blow straight down the middle with his sword. Hernandez hissed and shrieked in pain. Of course, it also served to turn his attention from Tony to Gibbs.
Franks took advantage of his focus on Gibbs to sneak up behind him with the mace and swing it straight into his face. Smack. The demon’s face bulged around the mace, cracks appearing from the hit.
That’s when the true fight started. The demon was beyond annoyed now. Puffing up to his full height, Hernandez let sparks of electricity shoot from his fingers towards both humans.
Franks tried to dodge, but he was too slow and shivered as a large shock traveled through his body. Gibbs was able to dodge the first bolt of electricity and swung his sword aiming for the demon’s neck. He’d hoped that separating the head from the body would bring a quick end to the battle.
Unfortunately, while he succeeded in separating body and head, it did nothing to help them in this battle. In fact, it was quite creepy to have a head cackling and floating separate from the demon’s body. Gibbs’ glared at the head as he tried to determine his next move.
Tony hung back, knowing that it would be better if the humans could defeat Hernandez on their own. Of course, it was about that time that the two Reynosas burst in wild eyed. There was no sanity left in their eyes, but having to keep track of a moving demon body and demon head along with two humans made it excessively more dangerous for Gibbs and Franks.
Franks pulled out his gun and took a couple of shots at the Reynosas in an attempt to get them out of the fight. They dodged. They didn’t have time for mercy.
They needed to end this fight before Hernandez was able to call in reinforcements and completely overwhelm them. Franks shot at the floating head, but as their information said it had no effect despite hitting the head dead center. Cursing, Franks swung his mace to clear space around him, slamming it deep into the demon’s body.
Gibbs didn’t bother pulling out his gun even though it might be more effective against the humans, The demon was the most concerning opponent, right now. He speared the floating head through the center, but aside from some snarling, it seemed to have no impact on the demon.
They still had some other tricks up their sleeves, which was a good thing as their current ones didn’t seem to be having much effect. However, they couldn’t waste their other tricks. They were one shot things.
Tony was beginning to understand why the angels had laughed at him. Even the things that caused the demon pain were not enough to really do any sort of damage to him. He was just too powerful.
He watched Gibbs hack and slash the demon with Franks landing blow after blow with his mace and realized that they could cut the demon into a million pieces and he still wouldn’t die or return to hell. They needed something else if they hoped to win this battle. On top of that the Reynosas were taking advantage of their distraction to slice them up and try to fill them full of bullet holes as well.
Tony wished that there was something more he could do to help. For some reason, he didn’t want Gibbs to die. It was more than the normal protective feelings he had for his charges, much more.
Unfortunately, he hadn’t the slightest idea how to make sure Gibbs lived. Even sacrificing himself for Gibbs would not be enough to eliminate the demon. This sucked.
Things were looking bad. Gibbs and Franks were back to back now as the various demon parts along with the two Reynosas surrounded them. They weren’t out, yet, though.
Gibbs grasped the salt shaker he’d tucked into his belt and poured salt in a circle around them, incidentally also pouring it on the demon who screamed in rage and pain. It had no effect on the humans, but the small demon parts vanished in their entirety.
That left only the bigger parts like the head and the body which had stepped back in an attempt to avoid the salt. They still got hit by it, but not as badly. Franks’ iron mace followed the salt and slammed first into the demon’s head and then into the body.
The demon’s head was pretty wrecked now. Blood streamed everywhere leaving grizzled and pain etched features behind. It wouldn’t take much more to destroy the head.
The mace continued into the demon’s body which also grabbed hold of the mace and wrenched it out of Franks’ hands. It pulled it out of its own body and swung it in a circle forcing Gibbs and Franks to jump backwards.
“You just had to give it a weapon,” Gibbs grumbled.
“Just take it out. I’ve got the Reynosas.” Franks pulled out his gun and started aiming for the humans that weren’t Gibbs.
Gibbs nodded and covered Franks from the demon’s attack using his sword both for defense and for offense as he alternated swinging it in huge arcs and short slices. It was making an impact on the body as chunks were falling off making it look like a decomposing zombie almost. Still, it wasn’t enough.
They needed a final blow. Hopefully, Franks was making good use of his time. Tony could hear bullets ringing out.
Franks grinned maliciously as he shot the Reynosas full of multiple holes. He needed to clear the gun of real bullets anyway, so that he could fill it with salt bullets instead. If he managed to take the Reynosas out at the same time all the better.
The male Reynosa went down to one knee. Franks wished he had his mace, a good whack in the head ought to finish him off. He pulled out one of the knives he had with him and slashed Alejandro, he thought his name was.
He then proceeded to kick the guy in the head as he clutched at the new slash on his arm, knocking him out for good. That left Paloma. She was a tough bitch, much tougher than her brother.
The three bullets in her weren’t slowing her down at all. In fact, her eyes glowed with vengeance or possession. Franks wasn’t sure which.
It didn’t really matter. She had to be taken out regardless. Franks aimed and threw his knife, hitting her dead center of the body and sticking.
The knife wasn’t long enough to hit the heart, but it did slow her down. Taking advantage of her distraction, Franks aimed the gun with the salt bullets now loaded in it at first the head vanquishing it with a final hit and then at the body. Between the salt bullets and the iron sword Gibbs wielded, they finally managed to get rid of the demon entirely.
Franks grabbed the mace up now that it was free of the demon, turning to face Paloma again. Paloma stared at the two men and the now gone body of the demon and cursed. She ran to the center of the room and called, “Hernandez, I summon you to my body.”
Gibbs and Franks froze. Had she really just done what they thought she had? Tony groaned as the idiot human opened herself up body and soul to the demon.
He glanced at Gibbs and Franks who were just standing there staring as the demon poured into Paloma. Her features changed losing all the beauty she had in her human body to be replaced with grotesque demon parts instead. Gibbs raised his sword ready to do battle even though it would not have as much effect on a human body possessed by a demon.
Tony couldn’t take it any longer. This battle had to end. It was a miracle that Franks and Gibbs were still alive with only minor scratches as it was.
If they had to fight the demon from scratch again, they weren’t going to make it. There was only one choice in Tony’s mind. His radiance increased one hundred fold as he moved towards the demon.
A bright flash echoed throughout the room. When Gibbs and Franks could see again, Paloma Reynosa lay on the ground completely knocked out. The demon Hernandez was nowhere to be seen.
A man lay on the floor in front of them. Gibbs turned him over and found he had the face of his guardian angel. Lightly smacking the guy’s face, Gibbs called, “Tony!”
Franks ignored Gibbs and the man. He instead headed for the shrine to the demon Hernandez and slammed his mace into the shrine. It smashed into a million pieces.
To really purify the shrine so that it couldn’t be used to summon a demon again, each piece would have to be washed with holy water. Franks spotted a big bag off to the side and used that to scoop up all the pieces to take back with them. They could be purified once they got back to his villa.
”Where am I?” Tony groaned.
“What do you remember?” Gibbs helped Tony into a standing position.
“What happened to me?” Tony looked down at himself. “Where are my wings?”
“Do you remember anything?”
“Gibbs?”
“That’s me.”
“Why are you here?”
“Where do you think you are?”
“Heaven?”
“I’m afraid not.”
Tony looked around. “Wait. We’re still on earth?”
“Yep. What did you do?”
“I used the last resort. I thought it would return me to heaven to be assigned a new charge.”
“Apparently not.”
“Where are my wings?”
Gibbs shrugged. “They were gone after the flash of light.”
“Wait… Am I human now?” Tony gasped.
Gibbs shrugged. “Well you’re more solid than I’ve ever seen you.”
“As interesting as this reunion is, we should really be going before they wake up,” Franks interrupted.
Tony and Gibbs exchanged looks before nodding and heading out of the room in sync. Franks just shook his head, carrying the bag of shrine pieces with him.
“Why did you save me?”
“I couldn’t let you die if I could do something about it. Plus, someone needed to put an end to the demon for good.”
“Do you love me?”
Tony shrugged. “I think I might. I’m not really sure. I’ve never felt this way before.”
Gibbs chuckled. “We better get you some identification then.”
“Why is that?”
“I think it’s time for me to return to NCIS and I’m not leaving you behind.”
Franks grunted. “I’ve got that handled, Probie.”
After they arrived at Franks’ villa, they worked on purifying the shrine together. Then Gibbs and Tony left to head back to DC, leaving Franks to deal with the now cleansed shrine pieces. For now, Tony and Gibbs would live together.
Whether that would continue depended on how their relationship went. When Gibbs walked into the bullpen, the team excitedly gathered around him, “You’re back.”
“Gibbs. My office.” Shepard barked.
Gibbs tilted his head at Tony to follow him. Ziva, Kate, and McGee all stared after Gibbs and the unknown male in shock, wondering what was going on. Then the speculation began.
They didn’t even notice when Gibbs walked back down the steps, Tony still trailing after him. Gibbs let them continue their discussion, interrupting with perfect timing, “His name is Tony and he’s your new SFA.”
“But Gibbs,” Kate protested.
Gibbs just gave her a look, “Jenny has a new assignment for you, Kate, and you two better shape up. The behavior you displayed while I was gone won’t fly now.”
“Yes, Gibbs.” McGee gulped.
Ziva’s eyes narrowed as she glanced between Gibbs and Tony. This was unexpected. She didn’t like it.
Before she could protest, she found herself facing Gibbs’ intense glare directly. She tried to return it, but failed miserably. Finally, she conceded with a slight nod.
“Good,” Gibbs nodded, “Let’s get to work people.”
It would take some time for Tony to get used to being human and for the team to get used to their new teammate. Gibbs truly hoped that Kate appreciated the undercover assignment to get close to the frog. Both Gibbs and Tony were looking forward to the future.
Things were looking up as far as both of them were concerned. Tony may not have wanted to be human, but getting Gibbs was a fair trade for it in his book. Gibbs was just glad to put the whole Hernandez mess behind him and gain a partner that wouldn’t divorce him like his ex-wives.