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Gibbs closed the door softly behind him as he entered the Director's office.

"You wanted to see me, Leon?" He enquired.

"Yes. Sit down, would you?" Vance replied. Gibbs frowned, the look on Vance's face wasn't a happy one, but complied, raising an eyebrow in question.

"Why'd you call me up here?" He asked.

"Jimmy Richardson. You know him?"

"I know more than one Jimmy Richardson, you're gonna have to specify."

"Baltimore. Eight years ago?"

"That Jimmy Richardson. Yeah, I know him. What about him?" Gibbs said, suddenly not liking where this conversation was going.

"He escaped from prison. They were transferring him to a lower security jail late last night when the bus was attacked. He got away. The locals believe that it was planned. They called me this morning, said we had to be informed due to the ties to one of our own." Vance said.

"Why were they moving him to a lower security joint anyway? He brutally murdered an entire family, kidnapped and shot a cop, made threats to that cop's life. He should be in maximum security. What the hell happened?" Gibbs demanded.

"I don't know, I'm trying to find out but... people are being tight lipped. I'll get to the bottom of it. Now. Agent DiNozzo's life is in danger with Richardson on the loose. He needs to know Gibbs, are you going to tell him or am I?" Vance asked.

Gibbs thought about his lover, who had been so happy when they'd left the house that morning, so happy bouncing balls of paper off McGee's head when Gibbs had been called up to the Director's office. Gibbs would usually have called him on something like that, but Tony hadn't been back from the Seahawk for that long so Gibbs was letting him get away with things a little more. He'd have to crack down on it at some point, but so far Tony hadn't been too bad, mostly just throwing things at McGee and verbally tormenting the younger agent. No super-glue had been near any keyboards, floors, chairs or other areas. Yet.

"I'll tell him." Gibbs decided. "He needs to hear this from me."

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Gibbs strode into his team's section of the squadroom, Vance half a step behind him. All three members of his team were sitting at their desks, typing up their reports from the previous day. Gibbs was glad to see that Tony had quit the target practice, not wanting the younger man to be seen acting less than professionally by Vance. He knew that McGee didn't really mind as much as he said he did, but Vance didn't know this and Gibbs was worried Tony would get a reprimand, something the other man could very much do without.

Tony looked up from his computer screen as Gibbs strode past alone, Vance having decided to lean against the divider next to Tony's desk, arms folded along the top.

"What's up Boss? We got a case?" Tony asked.

"Not exactly DiNozzo." Gibbs replied. McGee and Ziva looked up then, having been listening in.

"What then?"

"Jimmy Richardson escaped custody last night." Gibbs gave it to the younger man straight. He never danced around the facts where Tony was concerned. For the most part anyway.

"Escaped custody Boss? Shouldn't that have been jail?" Tony questioned.

"No. Apparently he was being transferred to a lower security joint. He escaped when the transport was attacked. Locals believe it was planned." Gibbs stated.

Tony frowned. "Why was he being transferred? He should be in maximum security, that's what he was sentenced to at trial."

"I haven't been able to find that out yet Agent DiNozzo. I'm looking into it." Vance interjected.

"Okay..." Tony trailed off. McGee and Ziva finally decided to speak up.

"Who's Jimmy Richardson Boss?" McGee asked.

"He's a murderer McGee. Murdered a Marine Gunnery Sergeant, his wife and his two daughters at The Rose Hotel in Baltimore eight years ago." Gibbs replied. "Marine Gunnery Sergeant Tom Oxley, his wife Elena and his two daughters Lily and Josie. Slit the kids' throats, shot the wife three times, twice in the chest, once in the leg, and shot the Gunny eighteen times total. Oxley put up one hell of a fight; as far as me and DiNozzo could gather he was bleeding from at least ten GSW's and still tried to fight the perp."

McGee winced. Ziva decided to ask a question, spying Abby and Ducky exiting the elevator.

"So. Baltimore, eight years ago...?"

"Yes Ziva. This case is how I met Tony." Gibbs answered the unspoken question.

"Now that was a crime scene I will never forget Jethro, and not because it was a bloodbath." Ducky piped up. Six heads swivelled to face him.

"What do you mean Ducky?" McGee asked.

"The fight over jurisdiction was rather amusing, Timothy."

"How so?" Ziva asked.

"Neither Anthony or Jethro wanted to give up the scene. It was quite the sight, watching the two of them stare each other down." Ducky smiled at the memory.

"Gibbs won though, right?" McGee said.

"No, actually Timothy. Anthony did."

Both Ziva and McGee's jaws dropped.

"Seriously?"

"Yes. I do believe Anthony threatened to shoot Jethro at one point if he didn't back down and get out of his way, even going so far as to pull his gun." Ducky looked directly at Tony, causing the younger man to blush when everyone else followed suit. "His fate was decided in that moment."

"His fate, Ducky?" Vance asked.

"Yes. Jethro was never going to let Anthony stay working for Baltimore PD when he could stand up to him without flinching and win." Ducky clarified. "Only three people have ever managed to stand up to Jethro like that and not get shot that I know of, and of those, only Anthony is still alive."

"Who were the other two?" McGee asked. He had a suspicion, but needed clarification.

"Shannon and Kelly." Ducky said quietly. McGee nodded, his suspicions now confirmed. There was silence for a few seconds.

"So. What else happened, you just find the perp and put him away or...?" McGee looked between Gibbs and Tony, silently asking either for an answer.

"We spent two weeks chasing him, Tony's partner having finally had a hissy fit and left us to solve the case in peace. Shared jurisdiction in case you were wondering. Richardson ended up taking a hostage in the hope that he'd be able to get away easier. Ended up taking them to the hotel where the original scene was, planning to shoot them in the head to distract the cops while he made his getaway." Gibbs said.

"Did he do that? Did he kill them?"

"No."

"Who was the hostage?"

"The lead detective on the case. DiNozzo." Gibbs said. All heads turned to Tony again, who shrugged.

"Hey, it wasn't as bad as it sounded. Not like he hurt me or anything." Tony played it down.

"DiNozzo?" Gibbs barked.

"Yes Boss?"

"Has all the repeated head trauma finally caught up to you?" At Tony's frown he continued. "Cause I'm pretty damn sure you had a hole in your stomach when we got to ya. Was I, the doctors and paramedics all wrong in saying it was a gunshot wound and your stomach just spontaneously acquired a hole or not?"

Tony blushed again.

"Well... there was that I guess..." He trailed off. Gibbs shook his head and sighed. Vance decided now was the time to speak up.

"Okay. Due to threats made against Agent DiNozzo's life by the escapee, both originally when he was taken hostage, in interrogation, at trial and apparently also in prison, I think the best idea would be for Agent DiNozzo to be placed in protective custody until Richardson is captured."

"He doesn't need to, Director." Gibbs stated.

"Why not? He lives alone, he should be with someone at least."

Gibbs looked at Tony, who shrugged.

"Up to you." Tony said. No-one else had a clue what they were talking about.

"He doesn't need someone to stay with. He lives with me." Gibbs said, inwardly hoping and praying that this wasn't going to end both his and Tony's careers.

"Lives with you? Since when?" Vance asked. He didn't make a habit of checking where his agents were living.

"Since just after that incident with Maddie Tyler, Sir."

"Okay. Why, may I ask?" Vance asked.

"We... we're... together, Sir." Tony stuttered, edging back and around his desk to be closer to Gibbs.

"Together?" Vance raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Together." Tony had reached Gibbs' side by now, and to demonstrate, the older man wrapped his arm around Tony's waist.

"Ah. I see." Vance said. "Well I guess you won't be needing protective custody then, unless you both...?"

"No. We won't be needing it. Neither of us." Gibbs informed the Director, who nodded before turning back to walk up the stairs to his office.

"It won't affect your work, this relationship, will it?" He turned around a few steps later to ask.

"No. We've been together for just over a year now, it hasn't affected our work in any way."

"Okay. There's probably some things we need to talk about, but we can do that later." He turned and left. Abby squealed as soon as Vance's office door shut behind him, grabbing both Tony and Gibbs in a hug.

"I knew it I knew it I knew it!" She squealed, hugging the two of them tightly before letting go and punching them both on the arm simultaneously. "Why didn't you tell me?" She glared at them.

"Sorry Abbs, we just... decided it would be better kept as a secret. From everyone except ourselves." Tony said.

"Hmm. Okay. I have tests to run, and Ducky has to help me, but you two better come down and explain yourselves to me later, okay?" She kept glaring until they both nodded meekly before grabbing Ducky and dragging him off towards the elevator. Gibbs released Tony, and McGee came up to stand in front of them, Ziva alongside.

"You got a problem with this, either of you?" Gibbs asked.

"Nope, no problem at all." McGee said. Ziva shook her head.

"Okay."

"What are we gonna do Boss?" McGee asked.

"We are going to catch Richardson, before he kills again." Gibbs stated, fire in his eyes backing it up. "First, we're going back to Baltimore."

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