Respite

Despite Abby’s poking fun at him, Tony was very grateful for the respite Abby had offered him from the mastiff. Taking one last look at the dog that was now happily chewing on the meat Abby had brought, Tony made his way into Gibbs house.

Gibbs heard his door open and figured Tony must have resolved his dog issue. Hiding the present he’d been working on for Tony, Gibbs moved to work on his boat. As Tony started down the stairs, Gibbs couldn’t help teasing him. “Did you have fun?”

“No.” Tony grumbled. Under his breath, he muttered. “Bastard.”

Gibbs just grinned at him. “Why’d you let him off the chain anyway?”

“He couldn’t reach food or water, Jethro. What was I supposed to do?” Tony flashed his puppy dog eyes at Gibbs trying to get at least a little sympathy out of his partner.

“Bring it to me.” Gibbs glared at Tony as if that should have been obvious.

“I’m bringing it to you, now.” Tony offered with one of those guileless smiles that never worked on Gibbs.

Gibbs grunted.

Tony moved closer to Gibbs and wheedled. “Come on, Gibbs. You can’t leave the dog without food and water, can you?”

Gibbs grumbled. “Fine. We’ll go over and sort it out tomorrow.”

Tony beamed before he remembered Abby’s demand. “By the way, don’t make plans for tomorrow night. I told Abby we’d bowl with her.”

Gibbs hummed in acknowledgement as he continued to work on his boat.