<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'"><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#99ff99">Gibbs felt like he'd been gut-punched when she said he valued his job over his family.  Maybe worse than gut-punched -- for a moment, he couldn't breath.  "I let my job take my family once -- it will <i>never</i> happen again," he said in a low, intense voice.  "Never.  Do you understand me?  And my team -- they're my family now.  And Marines take care of their own."<br/>
<br/>
He had to respect the stoicism she presented, when admitting that her father would seek her out, and have her killed.  "Just because you've done it alone so far, doesn't mean you have to keep being alone."  Which was rich, coming from him -- he knew that in her place, it was vanishingly unlikely he'd have accepted help.  But he had to try.<br/>
<br/>
His efforts to sway her were interrupted by the entrance of Ducky and DiNozzo.  His lead agent made a beeline for him, doing a visual survey for new injuries.  "Boss?"<br/>
<br/>
In just one word, Tony asked what had happened, who was to blame, and how he could help.  Gibbs let his eyes close briefly.  He had no idea what he'd done to earn Tony's loyalty -- that absolute unwavering backup that he'd had since he'd first convinced DiNozzo to leave Philly and join NCIS.  Couldn't have explained it with a million words, but it meant as much to him as the simple affection Abby offered.  "Stand down, DiNozzo.  Threat's been neutralized -- permanently."<br/>
<br/>
Tony looked at the body on the ground -- at Gibbs, trying to block David's view of it -- and nodded.  Nothing else needed to be said.<br/>
<br/>
* ~ *<br/>
<br/>
Tony hadn't been expecting anyone in the hall to interrogation, and ran full-body into David.  "Whoa.  Sorry."  He was glad his cup of high-octane coffee had a lid on it... and that the contact had been brief enough that he couldn't dwell on her assets.  "Ducky -- Dr. Mallard -- took his body downstairs to autopsy.  I don't know if you can make arrangements yet, but I can check."  If Gibbs was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt -- and his trying to shield her view told Tony that much -- then Tony would give her the same courtesy.  But thinking about Kate, his expression drew tighter.  "Kate -- Agent Todd -- is in a coma.  Supposedly her prognosis is good, but... they have no way of knowing how long it'll be, before she wakes up."</span></span>