Tonio stretched and yawned as he awoke, a girl lay by his side, Con... something, he couldn't remember her name, but she was pretty and she had been a bridesmaid at Marco's wedding yesterday.
She stirred and looked up at him, "Good morning Tonio." She said sweetly.
Tonio smiled, "Good morning Bella."
She giggled as she moved to get up, he rolled his eyes when she couldn't see, but moved to allow her to take the blanket with her to the bathroom.
He grabbed some boxers and got up, walking to the window of Marco's large townhouse.
The door knocked and Tonio turned, "Come in?" He called.
Marco walked in, "Good Morning, Have you seen Conchita, her mother is looking for her?"
Tonio cocked his thumb in the direction of the bathroom.
Marco rolled his eyes, "I thought you were seeing Lia?"
Tonio shook his head, "She was last month, I was with Luisa, but met...?" he stopped as he realized he didn't even know the name of the girl in his bathroom.
Marco rolled his eyes, "Conchita!" He sighed.
"Yeah, her. Yesterday, she's in the bathroom."
Marco shook his head, "One day one of these girls will catch you."
Tonio smiled, a thousand watt smiled that reminded Marco of his late friend. "Never, I'm clever, not stupid."
Marco patted him on the head, "You make sure you are Tonio." He warned. "Get her moving her mother needs her help in the kitchens."
Tonio nodded and knocked on the door to the bathroom passing on the message.
"Hey?" He asked Marco as the older man headed to the door, "Are you and Rosanna going on a honeymoon?"
Marco laughed, "No, we have business today, get dressed and meet me downstairs in twenty minutes."
Tonio looked horrified. "Twenty minutes?! I need longer than that to look this good."
Marco grabbed Tonio's pants and threw them at him, "Get moving."
Tonio laughed and took the bathroom as Conchita left it.
Tony sat on a bench in a jail cell. He knew he wasn't guilty of killing that girl and he had no idea why he was being framed. It had only been a month ago that he had been undercover with Ziva, staying in a posh hotel being one of a pair of married assassins. Now he was in a jail cell, charged with murder and he had no idea how he was going to get out of it.
Gibbs walked up and handed him a pizza through the bars. Tony tried to play it off, not wanting his dad to worry, but in his panic revealing more about his relationship with his mother than he had ever said.
Gibbs raised an eyebrow in understanding as Tony mentioned that he had been dressed in sailor suits till he was ten years old.
The cell was bugged.
Tony and Gibbs both knew that hadn't happened. Well, not until he was ten anyway.
Gibbs nodded once in understanding, allowing Tony to monologue hoping the person listening would get bored of listening to him.
Eventually, when he realized that Tony was starting to believe himself, he motioned for his son to come closer, and he head slapped him.
Tony grinned. "Thanks Boss!"
"We are going to get you out of this DiNozzo." Gibbs promised, winked at his son and left.
A man in the next cell looked at him dangerously, but didn't say anything and Tony sank down on his bunk to eat his sausage cheese and pepperoni pizza.
Later that evening, acquitted and tired Tony walked into his father's house.
"Hey Boss, Abby here?" He asked brightly as he stuck his head around the corner of the basement.
"You're safe kid, she's with Ziva and McGee. Something about a team dinner?"
Tony nodded sadly, this wasn't the first time Ziva had thrown one of those.
"Shouldn't you be there?" Gibbs asked.
Tony shook his head, "Had a date." He replied.
"Shouldn't you be there, then?" Gibbs pressed.
"I am." Tony smirked. "Could hardly tell them I was going to spend the evening with my dad now could I?"
Gibbs poured him a drink, "You ok?" He asked as he handed him the glass.
"I was worried." Tony admitted, "I mean all the evidence was against me, I was locked up in that cell and even the other guy in the cell across from me looked scared of me. I'm not like that dad, am I?"
"Of course not, what made you say something like that?" Gibbs asked shocked at the question.
"The guy in the other cell, I mean he never said two words to me. He wouldn't look at me directly but when he did, he looked scared of me."
Gibbs shrugged, "I have no idea son... Maybe...." He stopped as the front door opened.
"Anyone home?" Fornells voice came from the front door.
"He's got a nerve." Tony growled as Fornell got to the top of the stairs.
"Hey, Don't shoot the messenger DiNutso." Fornell said as he appeared. "I was just doing my job. Slacks... er Sacks, wanted to arrest you earlier."
"I bet he did." Tony growled.
"Something about you being as crooked as your old man." Tobias revealed.
Tony stood up and paced the basement floor. "I am nothing like him!" he snapped.
"I know this, but I could hardly tell Ron that without having to let him and my boss know how long I've known you. They sent me because your dad and I go way back and no one else wanted to tell him a member of his team was dirty."
"I'm not dirty!"
"I know that." Tobias said, holding up his hands in surrender at the panicked look Tony was giving him and the angry one from his friend. "But I could hardly tell them I've known you since you were a kid and that my best friend is your adoptive dad now could I?"
Tony sank down on the padded armchair Gibbs had installed in the corner of the basement for his son a few years ago. "I suppose not... Thanks Toby." He sighed with a small grin as Tobias rolled his eyes at the nickname Tony had been calling him for years.
"Maybe if you were a little more serious and hadn't hammed it up in interrogation with Sacks, he wouldn't have gotten so mad at you."
Tony smirked, "Why mess with perfection!"
Both Jethro and Tobias rolled their eyes.
Tobias stood up and walked over to Tony, "You haven't been playing both sides of the fence though have you?" He asked.
Tony moved from his lounging position to look at Tobias. "What do you mean?"
Tobias shook his head, "Something I heard recently, maybe it was about your old man."
"What?" Tony asked.
"I don't know." Tobias said honestly. "Just some chatter, and we have an agent missing. Nothing concrete. Thinking it's LCN related."
"So, you just decided to come and ask me? Come on Fornell, you know I've had nothing to do with them since I was sent on the Macaluso case in Baltimore."
"Yeah?" Tobias stopped and leaned against the workbench, "About that, you told your guys it was Peoria?"
Tony smiled, "I started the case in Peoria, it ended in Baltimore, what can I say I'm a busy man."
"If you hear from your father you'll let me know?" Tobias asked.
"I haven't heard from him since I came back to America, I very much doubt he's gonna just turn up at work one day and say 'Hi junior, it's me!'" Tony grouched sarcastically.
"Maybe not, but you will tell me if he does show. The name Tonio DiNozzo keeps coming up in relation to the Macaluso family, just little bits here and there, nothing concrete yet, but maybe your father is looking into going into business with them again."
Tony shrugged, "Not my problem, but I do know if Macaluso keeps calling him Tonio there won't be any business, Senior finds that version of his name disrespectful."
"I'll remember that." Tobias smiled.
"And yet you still call me DiNutso." Tony sighed.
Gibbs smiled and turned to Tobias, "If you're staying for dinner, light the fire."
"Light the fire? Jethro you have a red blooded Italian male as a son and me, your oldest friend staying for dinner?" He turned to Tony, "Come on kid, let's show him what real food tastes like."
Tony laughed as he followed Tobias up the stairs all earlier animosity forgotten, as it usually was five minutes after he arrived.
Tonio stood outside the large wooden door that lead to his grandfather's office. He'd been ordered to be there after dinner, so clean, tidy and looking his best he had shown up promptly at seven pm.
The door opened and his father's second walked out, "He's waiting for you." He said looking at the boy with thinly disguised disgust.
Tonio shook it off as he always did and walked into the room.
"Have you been working against the family." Mike asked without any preamble.
"Sir?... No, not at all, Never?!" Tonio denied.
"Then you want to tell me why word reached me you were in jail for murder?"
Tonio looked confused, "Sir, I've been with Marco all day, it was his wedding to Rosanna yesterday, the only time I haven't been with him was when I went with Orazio to collect the payments for the family. I haven't been arrested at all!"
Mike looked at him, "Are you sure, because they looked into me as well boy, luckily my double is still in prison doing time, if the FBI find out that's not me in there and we lose all this it's you I'm coming too." He growled menacingly.
"Honestly Sir, I haven't killed... Well, apart from the one hit with Marco, he swore it was sanctioned!" Tonio started to panic.
Mike waved him away, "I will be looking into this, but for now you go to the wall, no movement in or out of Marco's without someone with you. No more collecting with Orazio."
Tonio was crushed, Orazio was a good friend. But better no friends than no life.
He looked up at Mike and for a moment the old man softened, seeing his own daughter in the face of the young man in front of him.
"Marco says you have been working hard for the family, that I would be proud of you?" He said.
Tonio nodded, "I hope so Sir." He looked hopeful for a moment.
Mike pursed his lips and placed his hands on his desk, "I hope it continues. Your mother would be proud of you."
Tonio smiled at the rare compliment. "Thank you, sir."
Mike waved him away, "Go to the kitchen wait till I send someone to escort you back, I mean it Tonio, I want you going nowhere alone until I find out who is digging into our affairs and why."
"Yes, sir!" Tonio replied and left the room, not daring to make eye contact with the man who entered in his wake.
Mike looked at his second, "Do you have anything?" He asked as the door closed.
Lucio nodded, "It isn't the FBI like we thought, some small agency NCIS, it might be nothing, they were just checking to see if you were still inside."
"Lucio, my friend the Feds do nothing without another motive, find it. Find out why they wanted to know where I was and why? This happening now cannot be a coincidence."
Lucio sank into his seat the other side of The Don's desk, "I agree, but if we go poking too much, we may tip our hand." He warned.
Mike gave a cold smile, "Then poke carefully." He ordered.