A/N: Hi, this is my first fic...ever, and I hope you guys enjoy it. Few things I'd like to mention: Kate is still alive, so I guess this is a little AU, and there's plenty of slash and competentawesomesexyTony in this story, so yeah.

ONE.

FIVE WEEKS. Kate internally cheered. She had never thought she'd miss Tony so much as she had these last few weeks. The whole team had taken two weeks off from work—the Directors orders, of course, after a few bumps and bruises, and a particularly grueling case had gotten them down—even Gibbs hadn't been too reluctant on giving his team a well deserved break, and had even begrudgingly accepted his own two weeks paid vacation. Kate had gone to Maui and taken a load off, even met a very attractive gentleman in the hotel she'd been staying at. McGee had gone home to his parents house in California, and hung out with some high school friends who still occupied the old neighborhood—he'd missed his family dearly, and needed reassurance after the harsh case they'd endured. Gibbs had predictably stayed in his basement for the most of the two weeks, and preoccupied himself with his boat.

Even Gibbs had to admit it was somewhat relaxing—although he had missed his team—one in particular. Two weeks later, and the Gibbs team were occupying their desks, early Monday morning, ready to get back to work. Gibbs had gotten there first, Kate could tell, because his second coffee cup was already there, at his empty desk, by the time she'd approached hers. McGee got there five minutes later, and the two made small talk, mostly about how their weeks were spent, and both had grinned when they'd mentioned Abby texting them at least twice every few hours, wanting updates on her favorite NCIS team. Not ten minutes later, Gibbs strolled by, with his third cup of coffee that morning, and nodded a greeting to both his employees.

"Where the hell's DiNozzo?" he barked out, as he sat behind his desk, without bothering to turn on his computer—useless contraption that it was.

Kate hid her grin, when she replied, "Probably forgot his two weeks were up, Gibbs."

One hour and twenty eight minutes later, Gibbs was beginning to think maybe he had forgotten his two damn weeks were up. Worried, but not wanting to admit it to his team, he called Tonys' cell phone. Kate and McGee traded concerned glances, as they saw their boss reach for the phone. Kate was hoping Tony really had let it slip his mind and slept in. McGee, who didn't think Tony was that dense, figured maybe his plane had gotten delayed from wherever he'd gone over the past two weeks.

The second the phone was answered, Gibbs geared up to give his senior field agent a good reaming out, "DiNozzo! Where in the hell—"

"Boss?" Tonys' voice interrupted, confused, then, "Crap, I'm sorry Gibbs, it's Monday, isn't it?"

Gibbs sat there for a moment, stunned to silence. "You did forget?" Furry ignited him. Kate and McGee, secretly listening in, both gaped.

Kate bit her lip and muttered, "You idiot." Her concern for her fellow agent going up a notch when Gibbs face became a mask of utter fury. Tony was dead for sure, the second he got here—if he wasn't fired first, of course.

"If you don't have a damn good excuse for being an hour and a half late, after a two weeks paid vacation, I swear, DiNozzo, don't even bother coming in!" Gibbs took a small pause to take a breath and continue, but Tony beat him to it.

"My Dad died." Tony said, sounding solemn and little jaded, at the same time, his voice sounding very soft over the phone, all of a sudden. Gibbs realized this was the first time he'd heard him call his old man anything but 'Father'. "It happened yesterday night, so I took a flight out first thing this morning, for Long Island, and I completely forgot about work, and about notifying you that I wouldn't be in—I'm sorry Boss." He sounded genuinely sorry, and like he was about to keep going, but Gibbs cut him off.

"Damn, DiNozzo." He said, truly feeling for his agent, "Take as much time as you want—"

"I'll need three weeks—I've got to handle the funeral and his company and all that jazz, so I'll be pretty occupied for a while." Tony informed the older man, hating the fact that he was partially lying to his boss.

"That's fine, Tony—just, call if you need anyone to…" Jethro paused for a moment, not very good with handling these sorts of things, "To talk to. I'll inform the Director about your three week leave. And Tony? For what it's worth, I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thanks Boss—for everything. I'll see you guys in a few weeks." With that, for the first time in history, Tony was the first to hang up on Gibbs, instead of the other way around.

Kate and McGee both looked with heightened interest as Gibbs put the phone down on its holder.

Agent Todd was the first to speak out. "What happened with Tony, Gibbs?" she inquired.

"He'll be taking a leave for the next three weeks, Kate, his father just passed away." With that said he got up and went upstairs, the two shocked agents assumed, to tell the Director of his senior field agent's absence.

"Poor Tony." McGee sympathized, thinking back on the fact that he'd just spent two calming weeks in the presence of his own beloved family.

"Yeah," Kate agreed, knowing what a wreck she'd be if either of her own parents had died. She couldn't even think of the possibility. "I hope he's okay." She said aloud, almost to herself.

"You hope who's okay?" Abby, who'd waltzed into their pen unnoticed, despite the large, black, spiked boots she had on, asked curiously, tilting her head so that her pigtails went with it.

Kate bit her lip and grimaced; she'd been hoping not to be the one who had to give Abby the bad news, she always took tragic news to heart. "Tony's dad died, Abby. He won't be coming in for the next three weeks." She told her nonetheless.

"What? Oh my God, my poor Tony!" she nearly sobbed, large eyes going watery. "He must be miserable! I have to call him, quick Kate, give me your phone!"

"Abs, give him some time—he didn't exactly sound talkative over the phone, he'll call you when he's good and ready." A voice from behind her said, spooking all three.

"Gibbs!" She yelped in surprise, then pouted, "This sucks, I can't even comfort him, or give him Bert, Tony loves Bert, you know!" she babbled sadly.

"I'm sure he does," Gibbs assured, patting Abby on the head gently, "The moment he calls, I'll tell him how worried you are, and to call you, ok?"

She nodded forlornly, and sighed, hoping that phone call came sooner than later, because she needed to know her favorite NCIS agent and best friend, was alright.

Except, this call did not come soon—in fact, it didn't come at all. Three weeks without hearing a single word from DiNozzo, hell, he wouldn't even answer his cell phone; it just went straight to voicemail.

So, Kate found out that five weeks without Anthony DiNozzo did not bode well with any of the NCIS team. Gibbs was an extra brand of bastard—making several people, witnesses, secretaries, other agents, even criminals, cry over the three week span, and Kate had never really considered herself a Probie, but even she was reluctant to face Gibbs, in fright she might stutter, as McGee had been doing nonstop for the last three weeks. Poor Tim, he'd reverted completely back into his shell, and was fulltime Probie. And the tension in the pen was always unbearably high, without Tony there to say some dumb joke, or make paper balls and toss them at Kate and McGee. And Kate had never realized how Tony blocked Gibbs bad moods from completely obliterating her or McGee before—Tony had completely shielded them from him, and she'd never even appreciated it before now. McGee had similar sentiments and found himself praying at nights that the teams' senior field agent came back soon.

In fact, they missed him so much, that after the first three days, the two had marked a calendar in the office, and in their own separate homes, with Tonys' return date. Of all people, Abby was in a crabby mood. She nearly growled at them whenever they came downstairs for results on a DNA sample or something—she had marked her own calendar with black skulls and complained constantly that time wasn't going nearly fast enough. Even Ducky, known for his calm and peaceful presence, was behaving oddly. Palmer missed the talkative older man, he'd come to see as a wise mentor, and hoped the former cop returned soon, to where he was not only needed, but missed as well. Ducky was much quieter, and he and Gibbs would exchange slightly mournful looks whenever they crossed paths.

Upon observing all this, Kate was quite shocked to find that without Tony, their dynamics literally fell apart. They'd had two cases in those three weeks—each had taken longer than usual, and when they had managed to solve them, they'd found Tony probably would've made the connection a lot earlier on than they had, and chided themselves for it. Gibbs was insufferable and just plain old mean, Abby was miserable and moody as hell, Ducky was quiet and sighed almost constantly—they were all acting as if their best friend had died, God forbid. Kate found that she actually had looked forward to trading barbs with Tony, and fighting for the front seat of the car, and bickering obnoxiously, and, hell, she missed him! Jesus, something was wrong with her. Something was terribly wrong with their little surrogate family without Tony there, she came to realize.

McGee missed all those dumb nicknames—McNerd, McObvious, and even McGoo! Tony was sometimes unbearable, but always took it upon himself to keep a look out for McGee, no matter what. When they were in the gym, and he was paired up with Tony, the man actually took the time to teach him some moves and technique, and how to defend himself properly, instead of intimidating him, like only Gibbs could, or going all out, like Kate did, trying to impress the Boss. He could honestly say he missed the guy. He'd never take Tonys' presence for granted again, he vowed to himself, as he crossed off the last day on his calendar, that Sunday night.

Monday morning came, and all five co-workers—Gibbs, Kate, Tim, Abby, and Ducky—showed up early, at six am sharp, awaiting the arrival of one Anthony DiNozzo. The emotions in the room ranged from anxious to nervous excitement to full-blown happiness (Abby). "Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God! I can't wait!" Abby was bouncing all over the room, and for once, no one exactly minded, since this was the first time in weeks they'd seen the Goth truly happy. "I hope his plane got in on time! What if he isn't able to come today, 'cause of some delay? Oh my God, what if—"

"Dear Abigail, I am certain our boy will walk in through those elevator doors any minute now—" Ducky was saying, just as the elevator doors slid open, and five pair of eyes remained fixated on that one spot, until a figure stepped out.

Abby bound over, and hugged the figure, only once she'd pulled back slightly, did she notice how five weeks had changed her best friend almost dramatically—but in a good way, mind you. Tony had lost whatever 'extra' weight he'd had before those five weeks, and was now thin, but lean with pure muscles, and his green eyes stood out, startling on his face, now darkened to a light caramel colour by the sun, his hair dyed with natural streaks of light brown by the sun as well, and it was much thicker, longer in both the front and the back, it curled slightly at the nape of his neck, the front was untamed and slightly spiked—his hair resembling MacGyver's, Abby thought, just before noticing that he wasn't wearing his designer suit or his expensive tie, or even his Gucci shoes! He sported a white t-shirt, underneath an open red hooded sweater, and hip-hugging jeans, with regular worn out hiking shoes—similar to sneakers, but a dark beige color, black at the bottoms. He looked like a world-renowned model, who'd just stepped off the runway, if Abby had a say! And she did.

"Tony! You look incredibly gorgeous, and if we weren't surrogate siblings, I'd take you home right now in my purse!" Abby exclaimed bluntly, but then remembered herself, and blushed, throwing herself at him, in a big embrace, mumbling into his shoulder, "I'm so sorry about your dad, Tony." And then kissed him on the cheek, and promised to bring Bert over to him later this afternoon, to which Tony smiled and then kissed her back, on the forehead.

"I missed you too, Abs."

In the meanwhile, four NCIS workers were completely awe-struck and dumb. Abby was right, Tony looked much younger than his thirty years—twenty four, maybe. Gibbs pushed down the lust in his eyes and swallowed hard. He walked over to his senior field agent—his very attractive senior field agent, and gave him one of those odd one armed hugs, along with a "Welcome back, DiNozzo." And a half-smile he preserved for small children and victims. God, he had missed this man. He'd missed his amazing, infectious smile, his handsome face, his attracting personality—he'd missed everything about Tony.

"Thanks Boss." Tony smiled that wonderful smile of his in response, and the greetings went on, McGee also giving him an awkward hug, but with both hands, and a 'Glad to have you back, Tony, we really missed you.' Then apologizing for his loss.

Kate hugged Tony, not admitting she'd missed him like crazy, because it showed on her face, and then she too said how sorry she was for his loss. Ducky had given Tony a very warm and affectionate hug, that made Gibbs momentarily jealous that he couldn't find it in him to be that close and comfortable to the man he pined for. "Dear Anthony, I am so terribly sorry for your loss, and do offer my sympathies, but we felt our own loss here without you, we missed you awfully." Tony nearly melted in Ducky's embrace; he'd honestly missed them all too, and after five weeks of basic hell, it was nice to be back, and even nicer to hear that he'd been missed.

Had he returned to cold shoulders and barely acknowleging greetings like he had when he'd come back after the plague fiasco-even if they had been joking, it'd still been a complete bummer to come back and realize they'd functioned just fine without him. So this was a huge surprise and a simultanous relief.

Not to mention, he was dead on his feet right now, and practically leaning against Ducky, whom couldn't find it in himself to take his hands away from the younger mans back; now that he was 'home', he wanted Tony to remain there. Ducky was a bit taken back at how much he had longed for the mans' company-the man he looked upon as a son, friend, and co-worker, but certainly not surprised—he'd known he'd miss him the moment he heard the devastating news.

Half an hour later, Abby and Ducky very reluctantly went back to their separate labs, and the team went to sit behind their desks, in the bullpen.

Kate couldn't help but stare at Tony for a moment longer before powering up her computer; he was even more handsome than before, and that was an understatement. Gibbs kept shooting short, unnoticed glances towards his senior field agents direction, every now and then, these looks varying, either one of concern for Tony, or utter lust. He hadn't thought it could be possible for his young crush to get any more good-looking, but he had, and it was driving him nuts!

Finally, the phone on his desk rang, and he stood up, "Gear up, we've got a case!" he announced, not failing to notice DiNozzo's slow response. Gibbs let it go, figuring he needed a little more time to get settled in.

In the car, he felt a rush, as Tony got in next to him for the first time in five weeks. Kate and McGee took their places in the passenger seats, in the back, and both smiled as Tony handed Gibbs a coffee cup, just the way he liked it, according to Gibbs pleasant smirk, after a sip. "Buckle in, Boss, wouldn't want to get pulled over by the cops." Tony smiled sweetly, buckling in himself, then saying, "You too, kids!" referring to his fellow agents in the back, both whom were too happy to have him back to retort.

The location was way out of their jurisdiction, at least two towns away, in fact, but apparently their specific group had been requested. So, it was a six and half hour ride to the crime scene. Kate inaudibly sighed in relief that Tony had showed up when he did, because she didn't even want to attempt imagining that much time in a car with a pissed off Gibbs—he'd probably have thrown them out of the car—without stopping or slowing down, even! Yeah, she could definitely see that happening; however, with Tony there, they were safe from any bodily harm!

Half an hour into the ride, Tony said suddenly, and unexpectedly, "I missed you guys…a lot." In a very honest, very sober tone, that almost made Gibbs hit the brakes and ask if he was ok.

Kate smiled, "Us too, Tony—even missed getting hit with your balls." The minute the words came out, she turned tomato red, and Tony held his stomach as he shook with laughter, almost choking with glee.

McGee went red as well, and tried to keep himself from laughing, although his shoulders shaking gave him away. Even Gibbs had to bite his tongue from laughing, but did let his smirk show. Kate grimaced, embarrassed, "You know what I meant!" but she liked seeing Tony laugh with such sincerity, and eventually joined in. Ten minutes later, the car of full grown adults had settled down—sans Tony texting Abby Kate's exact words to him, with an added 'Lol' at the end.

Twenty minutes later, Gibbs was annoyed to notice that Tony had been fidgeting in his seat for the last five minutes, so far, looking decidedly uncomfortable. "What is it, DiNozzo?" he barked out, a little guilty, when his agent jumped a in his seat.

"I have to go." He replied unhesitating.

For a minute, Gibbs just looked at him with icy blue eyes, "Where the hell to."

Tony shook his head, looking like an impatient child, "No, Boss, I mean go, go!" he emphasized, and Gibbs eyes widened a little in understanding.

"We'll stop in the next gas station we pass, DiNozzo." He assured the young man.

Kate and McGee were smirking in the back, silently. Once they'd gotten 'potty time' out of the way, (Gibbs made sure they all went) they were back on the road, with a little more than five hours to go—even with Gibbs erratic, less than stellar driving on the highway.

"Hey Tony," Kate piped up, from the back, "How'd you spend your two weeks away?" she asked, curious.

He turned around a little, to face her, and smiled, happy he didn't have to lie entirely—after all, he had gone somewhere, just not exactly for vacation. "I went to the Sahara Dessert." He replied.

McGee gaped, "Really?" he asked, and then commented, "No wonder you're so tan."

Tony nodded, enthusiastically adding, "I got to ride a camel, McGoober! D'you know they have three eyelids? Senoia told me—she's very smart, like you—they have computers over there, you know." Tony rambled, and Tim blushed visibly when he commented on his intelligence, without a teasing or mocking voice at all.

"Who's Senoia? And why did you go to the desert, of all places?" Kate asked, incredulous.

"Senoia was the manager of the Auberge du Sud Hotel, where I was staying. And why not the desert? It's like…" he paused, "You know when you're in a crowded room, full to the brim, and everything's so loud you can't even hear yourself think, but you feel more lonely than you think you've ever been, despite it all? Well, being in Sahara was kind of the opposite of that feeling. It's so quiet, you can hear the wind whistling in your ears—it's like Utopia." He recalled fondly.

Kate's eyes softened. "Wow, that was…it must've been amazing." She uttered.

Gibbs had rarely heard his senior field agent speak so intricately and in detail about anything besides a film or a case. This was refreshing—Tony was almost philosophical, to a point.

The conversation varied, and the team caught up with eachother, and spoke about everything under the sun. Time had slipped by very subtley, and before they knew it, they were only a few blocks from their destined crime scene.

If only Tony had known what lay ahead of him, just maybe, he would have stayed in the desert...

TBC! I'm writing the next chapter now, I hope you guys review, let me know how you like it? (or if you don't, and have ways I can improve this story, feel free to tell me, too, please.) Thanks.