33. What Price? (James Wilson)

Wilson had no intention of going out this evening but when Dr. Gregory House was your best friend you found yourself dragged out potentially on any day that ended with a y.  He was sad because he had ended his relationship with a woman he thought could be wife number four.  

He was being ridiculous and maudlin and alcohol was bound to improve his disposition (House’s words, not his).  Hence, why he was being dragged to a bar.

“Why am I here?” James asked House.

“You need a drink if only to stop your whining.”Wilson rolled his eyes. “Thanks House, good to know that I can always rely on my best friend for sympathy.” He added none too subtle with his sarcasm.  

House’s response was an inelegant snort as he ordered two more shots. “If you wanted that you should have gone to Cuddles.  What you need is alcohol and a one-night stand so for tonight I am your wingman.”

Wilson couldn’t help his retort. “You are not suggesting hookers? Do you feel okay?”House smirked. “No, I know how your sensibilities get on things like that.”

Wilson did smile at that. “I am so sorry my moral sensibilities get in the way of you having a good time.”House shrugged it off.  “I just wait until you’re gone and phone one if I’m bored.”James was staring at the bar.  The guy at the bar was hot in all the right ways. He had gorgeous eyes, a crinkling smile and his jeans fit his ass in all the right ways.  House broke his musings. “Someone caught your attention Jimmy boy?”Wilson shook his head. “No House. Just my mind is wandering.”

House was like a dog with a juicy bone so there was no way he was going to let this drop.  “Yeah - on the hot cop at the bar.”Wilson frowned in intrigue. “How did you get cop?”

House rolled his eyes because his friend was a genius in his field of oncology but his observational skills needed some work, plus he could be clueless about matters of the heart.  “The badge on his jeans and the gun in a shoulder holster. You may have missed it with all the staring at his ass you’ve been doing.”Wilson frowned because he expected way more comments from House - he tended to go extra outrageous in a bid to get him out of his funk.  “No comments.”House shook his head. “Nope, he is hot and I would so take him for a spin if I was that way inclined but alas I am not.  Go for it. You never know - you may have more luck with a man than you’ve had so far with women.”“I love women.” He said almost reflexively.

House could not resist that opening. “Yes and if you could just settle one relationship before falling in love with another then you would be fine. That’s unfair, this last bitch was just whiny.  Hey, plus side, Hot Cop has a gun and will shoot you if your eyes stray.”

Wilson snorted but knew he’d get nowhere just staring, whilst sitting next to House.  “Wish me luck.”

House watched intrigued because whilst he knew his friend swung both ways - he’d never seen him go after a male.  Wow, his boy was smooth and the cop hadn’t rejected him out of hand. In fact, he was listening to Wilson. The temptation to mess with his friend was extreme but that would defeat the purpose of the exercise.  So he was going to exit in his own style, he slid up next to Jimmy clapped him on the back.  “Well, I am going to leave you to get to know hot cop better. I hear hookers Vicodinodin calling my name.”The cop didn’t raise to the bait which impressed him.  In fact as House was walking away all he heard was hot cop saying. “That is some friend you have there.”Wilson sighed. “Oh, he gets better or worse depending on who you ask.”

*&*&*&*&*&*&

Tony watched the other man walk out the door. “So now your minder is gone. What do you want to do?”Wilson smiled, tentative and a little shy. “I would love to go somewhere quieter.”

Tony smirked. “I know just the place. Come on, take a walk with me.”

Wilson got his coat. “So do I get a name or do I just keep calling you Hot Cop in my mind?”

The smile he got for the compliment made it worthwhile.  “I don’t mind that nickname but, I’m Agent Anthony DiNozzo, NCIS, but please call me, Tony.”

“James Wilson. MD. So now we know each other’s names let’s see what else we can find out.”

Tony grinned and motioned with his arm towards a street.  “I found this place my first night in Princeton.”James could admit to being impressed as the bar was an old blues bar. You could easily fall in love with the atmosphere in this place and the company.   “Good taste.”“Of course I have, I started talking to you didn’t I?” Tony said with such ease and confidence that James couldn’t help but smile.

The drinks were flowing and at one point Tony had even commandeered the piano to play a song for James.  The applause was deafening, Tony had bowed and just gone back to James.  “So what brought your mopey self out to the bar tonight.”“My friend, House trying to be helpful.” Was all James could say without sounding pathetic. He tried to deflect the attention back. “How about you?”Tony smiled ruefully.  “I have an offer to take over the precinct here at Princeton. It would mean a big change so it has me thinking.”

Wilson was more than happy to let Tony talk out his problems, maybe it was the Doctor in him.  “So walk me through the problem.”Tony was cautious. “Are you sure you want to go down that rabbit hole? I would kind of like a second date.”James did chuckle at that. “Well unless you confess to being a secret Dexter like killer I think we’ll be okay.”Tony shrugged because he could do with a sounding board only didn’t he trust anyone in Washington to be objective.  “I used to think of my team as a family but recent months have shown me their true colours. Team dynamics are just getting worse no matter what I do and whilst I’m not the type to slink away with my tail between my legs, neither can I tolerate the behaviour I’m being forced to put up with by my boss from those who are technically my subordinates. I think I should leave but it bothers me as I’ve never spent longer than two years in a place before NCIS. I thought I’d found a home there.”James listened to what was being said and more importantly, to what was not being said. “From what I understand this sort of thing can have fairly severe consequences for you guys when you’re out in the field. So I guess you have to ask yourself are they worth not only the risks out there but also your self-respect and is it a price you’re willing to pay?.”

Tony looked up like he’d had a revelation. He had never thought of it in that way, for too long he’d been the one trying to keep the ‘family’ together and as a reward, they tried to tear him down and remind that he wasn’t Gibbs. So why should he stay around?“You know you don’t pull any punches?” Tony said but with a smile on his face letting James know it was okay what he said.  

Wilson shrugged. “I don’t think you would want me to.”Tony shook his head. “No, I didn’t.  Now let’s talk about more fun things.”Wilson smiled at the change in subject, he was happy because he sensed Tony had what he needed.  “Well I was going to ask what would be an ideal date?”Tony quirked his head. “I think you should surprise me.”“So we are agreed this was one?” James had to check, he was rusty and he liked Tony so didn’t want to blow it.

“Yeah Doc. I will need to take care of a few things but I will be back on Saturday.”

&*&*&*&*&*&*&*

Tony had waited until late the next day to ring back the police commissioner and explain that he would be accepting the offer to become Captain DiNozzo.  When asked what made him say yes Tony smiled as he said it.  “I had a conversation that reminded me I needed to go back to what I am, which is a damn good honest cop.”The Commissioner wouldn’t crow but he was extremely pleased and he knew the rest of the board would be as well. “Well then, welcome to the New Jersey Police Department.”

Now all he had to do was go back to NCIS and explain what was happening.  This was not going to be fun in the least but Tony didn’t care. For the first time in so long he felt like a huge weight had been lifted of him. He was done living for other people and even if this thing with James didn’t work out, he would still have a fresh start and that counted for a lot.

Tony was in the office early and on the phone to the director’s secretary. “Hey Cynthia, can I get five minutes with Madame Director?”Tony was glad that it would still be early when he could have the meeting.  “Why are you in early? That won’t impress Gibbs.”Tony rolled his eyes as he wasn’t facing McGee but he answered the snotty question. “To do the work that needs to be done, you should know, like the four reports you owe that are stopping sign off by JAG.”“It’s your fault that they are not done.” McGee added with a sneer.  Wow, little probbie was trying to play with big boys and Tony didn’t care.  “Is that so?” Tony asked with a quiet voice, McGee was suddenly wary of the cold tone. Good.  

“Yeah, I mean if you want them done you should finish them shouldn’t you.” McGee tried with a yawn.  The book deal was taking a lot more out of him than he thought.  

Tony snickered with disbelief because Jesus, this didn’t need a wake up call - he needed an intervention. Tony stood up to his full height. “Let me make one thing clear. I am still your SFA and I will not act like your secretary ever .  It is your responsibility to complete those reports and everyday they are not done past midday I will write you up for it.  You need to decide if you are an agent or an author.  Personally I don’t care which but while you’re here do your damn job.”

Tony finished as he strode up the steps up to the Director’s office.  It was funny, even though he had no doubts about his decision, that little exchange had reinforced his conviction that he needed to go.  “Where are you going?” McGee shouted.

Tony smiled and it was his genuine killer smile. “To resign.”“TONY!”  No doubt he was calling the cavalry but Tony was laughing. He could disappear before they even figured out their plan of action. He was polite and professional, he wrote each of them a letter explaining his reasons although he had no doubt they would try twisting the reasons and blame him but Tony simply didn’t give a shit anymore.

&*&*&*&*&*&

Jenny was sitting behind her desk. “How can I help you today Tony?”Tony sighed because he liked her but this was about his career as well as how he was being treated by the rest of the MCRT.  “I need to hand you my resignation letter.”Well that got her attention. “Oh, why?”Tony shrugged. “I am a good cop and I know I can lead but I am done playing a role to make everyone feel better.  McGee and Ziva both feel like they have more intelligence and should be SFA, well good luck to them when they realise neither is eligible due to their masters or lack thereof.  They were both nightmares to work with when I had to lead them and I picked up the slack to make sure the solve rate didn’t drop.”Jenny was quick to reassure him. “And it didn’t.”

Tony smiled. “I know because I worked at it, then when Gibbs came back and dumped my stuff back on my desk the others treated that as an evaluation of me as a leader and are being insubordinate little twits.  McGee told me that I should finish his reports myself if I wanted them done soon.”Jenny frowned at that, not liking what she was hearing. Gibbs was supposed to be leading this team. What the hell was he doing? For the first time, she was regretting letting him return.  “Surely we can find you another position. How about Rota?”Tony shook his head. “No ma’am but thank you. I took a long hard look at myself and I didn’t like what I saw.  It’s not all on the others, as I let myself be used and I forgot that at my core I am a cop.  I want to go back to that. I need to go back to that”She sighed. “I’m sorry to see you go but I know the futility of trying to keep someone by coercion.  You were a great asset to the Agency and you will be missed. Do you have a role lined up?”Tony smiled. “I have accepted Police Captain for the Princeton precincts.”

Jenny was annoyed but she could adjust her plans. There was always a risk of asking DiNozzo to go after Benoit but maybe she could use McGee’s anger to get him to do it.  If she was going to do that then she needed Tony far away from Washington as he would pick up on the signs.  She would give him one last gift.  “You have a ridiculous amount of vacation time saved up. What if I say that you can leave today in lieu of back pay?”

Tony let out a sigh of relief.  He knew that today was going to suck so bad. He regretted telling McGee he was leaving and he had no doubt the word was already spreading. The longer he stayed meant the longer he would have to run the guilt and anger gauntlet.  “That would be appreciated Ma’am.”Jenny shook his head. “No Captain DiNozzo, thank you.”He left with a sheepish grin and headed down to HR, she would phone down to make sure his exit paperwork was started.  

&*&*&*&*&*

The Ducklings of House were slowly being driven insane by their boss.  “You want me to what?” Dr. Cameron asked just checking.

“I need you to spill your feelings to find out if Jimmy scored with the Hot Cop at the bar.  He has been secretive all week, and smiley, and I want to know why.”  House explained.

Chase rolled his eyes and asked his question even knowing it was futile. “Have you tried asking your best friend?”House snorted.  “You have met me?”

Foreman shook his head. “How about we focus on the patient we need to cure?”“You’re no fun.” House said, sticking his tongue out.  You would never believe House was the boss of them all.

Later that day,  Allison actually caught a clue when the door was open between House’s and Wilson’s office. Wilson was talking on his mobile phone.

“You okay?” Wilson was asking, concern evident in his voice.

Whatever was said in return. “You just have to get through the week and then you have our date to look forward to. “

So yeah it sounded serious and Cameron made up her mind that she wouldn’t say a damn thing to her boss until Wilson decided he was ready to say something himself.

&*&*&*&*&

Tony found a stairway to phone James. “Well I am making Princeton my new home so you better be ready.”“You resigned.”Tony grinned hearing the joy in James’ voice. “I did - so we can celebrate my new job on Saturday as well. Any hint on where we’re going?”

“ DINOZZO! ”Tony sighed and he was even more glad that he’d managed to sneak a quick phone call with James.  “I gotta go and talk sense into Gibbs. I’ll call you back and let you know how the guilt and anger gauntlet goes.”

“I’m at the end of the phone whenever you need a friendly voice.”James didn’t know how much of an anchor Tony was using that fact.

“Who was that on the phone?” Gibbs demanded to know.

Tony looked up at the question.  “You can ask, but I have no obligation to answer Gibbs.”

Gibbs growled. “McGee said you’ve resigned, why? I say when you leave the team.”

Tony chuckled and he was so glad Jenny had pushed the exit paperwork through today as it meant that it would be only one day he would have to put up with this crap.  “No, you don’t. I am a grown ass adult and can do what I please.  You’re my boss, not God.”

Huh, he didn’t realise how good that would feel to say.  “This is not over,” Gibbs said.Tony smirked. “I’ve already accepted a job and unless you end up crossing paths with the New Jersey PD it is.”Gibbs sneered. “What, going back to being a Detective? It’s a waste of your talents.”Now that got Tony chuckling. “Wow, that is the first positive review of my performance you’ve given in two years. And no Gibbs, it will be Captain DiNozzo.”Gibbs sighed, hearing a finality that not even his stubbornness could beat. “Where did we go wrong?”DiNozzo shrugged. “I don’t know but I will never regret being your SFA, no matter how much of a bastard you’ve been but I owe it to myself to see where this goes.”

Gibbs wouldn’t say sorry as it was against rules but he did deflect the tantrum trio from harassing him too much throughout the day. So Tony would take that in lieu of an apology as it was far more practical.

&*&*&*&*&*&*

Tony had spent most of the day shifting and unpacking boxes so he was more than ready to unwind.  He had changed into his best black jeans and simple black shirt, he topped it off with the tan leather jacket and boots.  He was dressed to impress and James was worth it.  

Tony was using a rental and it was a sweet corvette. He could afford it and was treating himself and sped off in the direction of Princeton Plainsboro.  He had promised Jimmy that he would meet him at the hospital.

He followed the signs pointing him in the direction of oncology and ignored the odd look he got.   Well, he managed to ignore looks and comments until he got a shout of. “HOT COP!”

Tony remembered that voice, it belonged to James best friend. “Hello Dr. House, have you seen Jimmy?”House smirked. “Should I be giving you the shovel speech?”Tony rolled his eyes. “You are welcome to try but I would caution you with threatening a Police Captain.”

House pouted. “Well, you are no fun.”

Tony flashed a wicked smile and one of the nurses passing by walked into a wall. House just rolled his eyes but did grin at Tony’s retort.  “I’m a lot of fun but only for James.”

James had just entered his office and heard the end of the conversation, he went from impatient to grinning at the way Tony could keep up with House.  He hadn’t missed the way House’s ducklings had their noses almost pressed to the glass that separated their offices. For smart doctors, they could be stunningly childish, James figured it was House’s influence.  

Hearing Tony’s promise that he almost purred out James could admit that his arousal spiked in a way that he didn’t want House to stick around to witness.  He did interject. “Well, well, promises, promises.”If Tony’s smile before was friendly, upon seeing Wilson it was a knock out.  Jesus, House could see Nurses and some of the Doctors fritzing whenever Jimmy’s boyfriend came to visit.  

Still, House approved of this one of Jimmy’s conquests.  Hot Cop wouldn’t break Wilson’s heart and could keep up with House’s sarcasm.

Yeah, House could see this date being the first of many - Hell they better not expect him to play nice at their wedding because he could see that in their not too distant future as well. He looked forward to some interesting verbal sparring matches in the future and walked off in the direction of Cuddy’s office to make bet’s about future husband number one.