Chapter Text
David Rossi did not want to be back at the bureau. Damn Erin Strauss and her arrogance in demanding he be brought back on some spurious reason. There was a reason he’d walked away from the FBI in the first place. He’d gotten into the minds of one too many serial killers. It was starting to damage his guide abilities and once Blair Sandburg had confirmed his suspicions that his neural pathways were showing empathic damage he’d processed his retirement. He might not have found his permanent sentinel but he was self-aware enough to know he needed to get out. He’d only stayed in the Bureau because he’d always thought his Sentinel would be an agent.
His musings meant he wasn’t paying attention to where he was going and h e bumped into an agent wearing a visitor's pass, and time stopped. It was not a cliche. It actually felt like the whole world froze. He grasped hold of the man to stop him from falling on his ass but his whole entire being felt connected to green eyes. Jesus, this was his Sentinel. Finally. The jokes about his ex-wives were legendary but he’d never met his Sentinel so looked for temporary connections. He’d finally stopped seeking a stop-gap that couldn’t fill the void of where his Sentinel should be.
“Hello.” He said, voice rich with wonder. David had figured this day would never come.
“You’re my guide?” The man asked, confusion flitted across his face that David didn’t understand.
Rossi nodded, feeling it in his very core to be true . “I am. Let me make arrangements and then we should get out of here.”
Tony’s head was pounding, the pain was the worst he’d ever felt . “I don’t understand. Not a Sentinel.” He then collapsed fully as his mind was not able to compute what his body already knew.
Damn. Well, Dave guessed he wasn’t going to be consulting on the BAU’s case after all. His Sentinel was taking priority and Strauss could go and screw herself .
Speak of the devil, a shrill voice shouted his name. “Agent Rossi!”
David looked up with a growl. There were times where you had to draw a line and this was one of them. “Not now, and for god's sake will someone call me an SG medical team. My Sentinel is the middle of an empathic event!”
“That is impossible!” Strauss was not a sentinel or a guide. However, she’d read up on the literature as she had so many sentinels and guides who worked under her authority.
Dave hadn’t let go of his Sentinel but managed to convey his anger. “Tell that to my Sentinel!”
Tony was groaning in pain, it felt like someone was trying to cleave his skull in two. The only thing stopping him from completely shutting down was the presence at his side. He instinctively grabbed on to the only thing that felt like safety. A Sentinel, his father had said he was null! This made no sense.
Then again, thinking, in general, was becoming too difficult. His guide was in control and he surrendered to unconsciousness as his body adjusted to some serious changes. If he saw Senior anytime soon he would punch him in the face.
~*~
Rossi gave the small amount of information he’d found out. “This is Agent Anthony DiNozzo.” Rossi had managed to figure that out thanks to the visitors pass.
“He is not on the register.” The Sentinel paramedic said with surprise, looking at the database. “Not even on the latent files.”
Rossi rolled his eyes because he’d guessed that from his Sentinel’s shock. “He was as shocked as you but you could be a level one and know he is a powerful sentinel.”
The paramedic nodded because it was obvious to anyone that the man was going to be a powerhouse once he got over the shock. The power was practically flowing from him. “How did this happen?”
Rossi hadn’t let go of his Sentinel. “I have no idea but they are going to pay when I find out.”
He may have been out of it in shock from finally finding his Sentinel but the circumstances were such that he’d messaged Blair. He knew instinctively that he would need the head of his tribe to solve this riddle.
Rossi never let go of Tony’s hand as he was wheeled into a white room. The only person allowed into the room to begin with was David. The best treatment for Tony was to allow his guide to help him recover his equilibrium.
Tony was comfortable and Dave was working on his shields that were a weird blend of Sentinel and Guide based. If Dave didn’t know that Tony was his Sentinel he wouldn’t be too sure if the man was a guide or a sentinel. This was unheard of and Dave would love to know how that happened.
~*~
“I don’t care. I demand to see DiNozzo now!” Came the rude demand of the agent who was looking into Tony’s room.
Rossi had stepped out to get a coffee and food at the behest of Blair. He didn’t like the possessiveness pouring off the man. This was his sentinel! And no one but him had a right to feel like that. Added to the fact, his Sentinel was currently unconscious and David was getting madder by the second. It had the potential to be an explosive mix but the laws would be on Dave’s side.
“Who the hell are you?”
“Agent Jethro Gibbs and I want to know why DiNozzo has been dragged to a Sentinel and Guide centre. I was contacted as his ICE number.” The man announced, like that explained everything .
Rossi was unimpressed by the bluster. He guessed that Gibbs was used to getting his own way. Well, he was going to be disappointed today . “So you’re his boss.”
“Yes. I still haven’t heard an answer.” Gibbs countered.
Rossi quirked an eyebrow and met his glare with one of his own . “The last time I checked, I don’t work for you. And as a retired FBI agent, I still wouldn’t.”
“If you were retired why were you at the bureau?” Gibbs asked, part question, part interrogation.
Rossi answered even though he was under no obligation to do so. Still, he was aware enough to know that his Sentinel had to work with the guy and there was no reason to make things awkward unnecessarily until they figured out their plans . “Sector-Chief Strauss wanted to see me, I bumped into your boy and plans got derailed.”
“He is not a Sentinel.” Gibbs repeated, as if by saying it enough he could make it true.
Rossi snorted because just by saying it he wasn’t going to change the outcome . “Yeah, that’s a lie. I get the feeling he had no idea either. He is going to have a steep learning curve ahead of him.”
“You going to stop him from being an NCIS agent?” Gibbs demanded trying to figure out how this would affect his team .
Rossi quirked an eyebrow because he had no clue where this man got off demanding such things from him. He was patient because this was his sentinel’s boss. “That’s something that I’ll be talking over with my sentinel before anyone else.”
Gibbs huffed and stormed away, someone was lying to him and he had no idea who it was but he was going to find out. He had no idea the answer lay so close to home, so to speak .