Tony woke up pinned to the ground feeling rubble beneath him and something on top of him pinning him down. It was almost pitch black and Tony's head was fuzzy as he tried to figure out what happened to him. Trying to move his head around to remember where he was showed him a mans legs not too far and it slowly started to come to him that he chased their suspect into a warehouse and Tim was supposed to be right behind him. Not sure what the man was wear Tony got one of his arms free to try and touch them.
"McGee, is that you? Probie!" The leg didn't move and Tony could wrap his hand around the ankle and did feel any sign of life. "Come on Probie, if that's you this isn't funny. Don't play games, I'm trapped." The leg still didn't move and Tony let go as he fell into unconsciousness.
"Tony … time to wake up." Tony felt himself in a soft bed and smiles in his sleep. "Come on honey, you need to wake up."
"Mama?" He heard Elizabeth DiNozzo's soft chuckle and his eyes popped open. "Mama, did I die? What's going on?" He looked around and found himself in his childhood bedroom.
"You didn't die Tony but your body's fighting in the rubble right now and you're going to get hurt. Right now you're passed out from the pain and that's a good thing because you're not fighting or getting hurt."
"But Tim … we left him behind. We can't leave him behind Mama he's ..." Elizabeth brushes his hair out of his face.
"That wasn't Tim, it was the suspect you chased. Do you want to see where the others are?" Tony nods slowly and then stops.
"Can we? I mean if I haven't died is it possible?"
"Yeah, just take my hand." Tony takes her hand worried but feeling safe. Tony suddenly found himself at the crime scene with the others watching the warehouse burning and saw Gibbs fighting with a fire chief.
"I don't care, one of my men is in there. You can't just let it continue to burn."
"I'm sorry Agent Gibbs but the inside is destroyed, or burned from a flash fire. Even if he survived the explosion there's no way that he can survive the fire. If I send my men in they won't survive either."
"Then let me gear up and I'll go in."
"I'm sorry but I can't allow you to do that." Ziva joins them.
"Gibbs, he would not want you to risk your life for him. You know that." Gibbs looks at her and Tony can see he's pissed and angry. "They will go in when they can and recover the body but more people will be hurt if they go in right now."
"But Tony's in there … even if he … the smoke will kill him. He can't be trapped with all that smoke." Tony was shocked and confused that Gibbs even cared.
"Why does he care Mama? I mean I know he wants us safe but that's going beyond boss and subordinate."
"He's more than your boss Tony." Tony looks at Elizabeth as the scene fades and they're back in his bedroom. "Anthony isn't your father."
"I know that, he's told me that every chance he's gotten since I was 9 years old when I wanted to know about the business. What does that have to do with anything?"
"I met Jethro when he was on leave in Spain. Anthony had proposed but I didn't know if I should accept the marriage proposal. I met Jethro who wasn't married and we were together one night. We spent the last night of his leave together in Spain and I forgot about him until 3 years later.
"But how ..."
"The only thing I took back with me from Spain was his child. We didn't know if you were his or Anthony's and Anthony assumed that you were his so we married. I never told him about my night with Jethro because I didn't know how to find him and I didn't want him to take it out on you."
"He did, he throws it in my face that he's not my father and that my real father didn't want me." Elizabeth sighs and touches his face.
"Jethro didn't know about you but he tracked me down and found out when you were 7." She takes Tony's hand again and Tony finds they're in the front hallway of the house playing in the living room when the doorbell rings. Shortly afterwards Tony see the maid he remembers as Izzy come into the room.
"There's a gentleman here to see Miss Elizabeth." Anthony looks at Elizabeth who was confused.
"Who is this man?"
"I have no idea Anthony … I'm not expecting anyone." Anthony gives her a look and then turns to Izzy.
"Show him in." A much younger Gibbs walks in dressed in his Marine's uniform.
"Jethro!" Anthony and Tony both look at her and the then Elizabeth turns pink. "Jethro, how did you find me?"
"I never stopped thinking about you and when I got the chance I came to look for you. Did I interrupt something?" Anthony got up.
"Junior go to your room."
"But daddy!" Anthony back handed him and Tony ran to Elizabeth.
"It's okay baby, go on up to your room. I'll be there in a little bit." Little Tony ran from the room and present day Tony suddenly found them up there with past Tony no where in sight.
"What happened?"
"Anthony and I got into a huge fight because I wouldn't tell him where I met Jethro but he eventually told Anthony. I never mentioned Anthony or that I thought of marrying him and Anthony put the dates together and realized that you were Jethro's child."
"But what about Gibbs? Did he know? Does he even care?"
"Yes he knows and that's why he's so frantic to get to you. He feels he couldn't protect you and he blames himself for it."
"That's just stupid Mama, it's not like he set off the explosion."
"No but doesn't he blame himself when one of you guys get hurt?"
"Yeah but this is different. What's going to happen now?"
"Well right now you have a choice of going back and getting rescued and found alive. Go back to the team, your father and all of that or staying here. They'll find and rescue you but you'll be in a coma." Tony sighs,
"Will you leave me?"
"I've never left you honey. Just because you can't see me doesn't mean I"m not there. I always hear you when you talk to me and I know what you're up to."
"Uh oh," Elizabeth laughs with a small chuckle.
"You haven't done anything to disappoint me. Don't listen to Anthony when he says that. Go back and be with your new family."
"Okay Mama. Mama?"
"Yeah baby?"
"I love you." Next thing Tony knows is water's dripping on his face and he uses his free hand to wipe it off. He hears people talking and sirens going and what sounds like the alarm on an air ventilator. When someone grabs his leg he screams.
"We got a live one over here." They lift debris off Tony and he felt his chest inflate. "What's your name?"
"Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo. Who are you?" The fireman removes his mask.
"Todd Issacs. You don't know how good it is to see you." Tony slowly pulls himself to a sitting position feeling light headed. "Take it easy, you've been trapped in here for almost 12 hours. We barely found this area but we thought the whole place was burnt and we'd be pulling out bodies."
"Don't say that, it's not that bad."
"When you see the rest of the warehouse you'll understand. Where do you hurt so we can bring in some help?"
"My ankle and my head but I feel okay. That concrete slab is sitting on it."
"Okay, you have some scraps too. Let me see about getting the paramedics in here and someone telling your team that you're alive." Tony was moving his body once the concrete was lifted and found he wasn't hurting as bad just stiff, cold and wet. He was sure that being cold and wet wouldn't do his lungs any good but he'd take that over being dead any day. "Okay Agent DiNozzo we can't bring the paramedics in here to you because it's too dangerous so we're going to carry you out to them."
"No, I think I can walk. Once the concrete was lifted I could move my foot more. I'm mostly stiff but I would like to try to walk out on my own."
"Dr. Mallard said you would insist if you could but said only if you could make it. Otherwise to tell you he insists that we carry you."
"Okay," Issacs looks at him and Tony smiles. "Ducky knows my not wanting to rely on anyone if I can help it. Are the others still here?"
"No, he sent them home when it became a recovery mission. We thought we were just going to recover bodies but he said he'll contact them." Tony slowly but surely limped his way out of the warehouse with little help from the fireman. Tony felt better the longer he was upright and started to wonder just how he made it out when he saw the burnt remains of the warehouse.
"Anthony, aren't you a sight for sore eyes."
"Ducky, it's good to see you too."
"Not just to see you Anthony but for you to be walking on your own. We certainly didn't expect to find … well I'm glad you're okay. I tried to reach Jethro but Timothy has his phone. Said he left it behind at work and they don't know where he is."
"I know how to find him." Gibbs had a land line in his basement that only Tony and Vance had the number to. He gave it to Tony after he busted down the door worried about him one day.
"Let's get you into the ambulance and then we'll call." Tony was covered from the media who the police chief refused to say who was brought out and taken to the ambulance where Tony was wrapped in warm blankets and given water. "Sip it, you've been through enough without giving your lungs more trouble. How do you feel?"
"Stiff from laying trapped for 12 hours but I'm okay. I mean I don't feel like I've been around smoke, I don't feel sick from being wet … I feel okay." Ducky looks at the notes from where he was getting his stats.
"You certainly look well for someone we feared dead." Tony smiles and dials Gibbs' land line.
"I'm not in the mood dad."
"Its me,"
"Tony?"
"Yeah, they're taking me to Bethesda so if you want to head over there ..."
"No, this has to be a dream or something. They said you couldn't have survived and why didn't Ducky call? He said that he'd call when he had any news."
"Look at the phone you answered. Only me and Jack have the number so I doubt Ducky could call you. He did call you and you left your phone at work. Do you want to talk to him?" Tony hands Ducky the phone who told Gibbs that it was really Tony, he was alive and they were taking him straight to Bethesda. Gibbs agreed to go and make sure he was okay before calling the others as per Tony's request. He didn't mind Tim and Abby knowing but he wasn't ready to see Ziva who if Gibbs had seen his file knew she was technially his next of kin.