"Duck?" Gibbs asks softly as he closes the door.

"Ah, Jethro."

"Why?"

"Self preservation. He survived the only way he knew how and now he lives his life."

"You knew about the abuse?"

"Yes, I knew. After about a year Anthony came to see me here late one day and gave me his medical file, the complete one. He said that if I was going to be his personal physician then I should know his complete history."

"But you knew beforehand didn't you?"

"I suspected," Ducky answers him simply with a tone that Gibbs recognizes as conversation over. Gibbs knows after all these years that Ducky will not elaborate anymore.

"Jethro, rein in your foul mood. Go home, drink your bourbon and mourn your loss. As for Anthony, remember he is not the fool he wants everyone to think he is, don't ever forget that."

"Now that you have returned, Tony, perhaps you can get back to work. Gibbs will stop slapping you if you show him some results," Ziva tells him in a very condescending manner.

"I needed some pain reliever, Ziva. I have a very bad headache. My bottle is empty and I know that Ducky always has some on hand."

"I would have given you some. I have a full bottle in my desk drawer."

"Tony is allergic to most kinds, Ziva. That is why Ducky always keeps extra on hand for him," Tim tells her.

"Then he should get a new bottle and make sure he does not run out, like a responsible adult does, Tony," Ziva advises.

"Report," Gibbs says as he walks into the bullpen.

"I am half way through the financials. Nothing out of the ordinary so far," Tim tells him.

"I am waiting for a call back from his Captain, Gibbs. And there is nothing to report on the BOLO," Ziva adds.

"DiNozzo?" Gibbs barks. He knows better than to change his behavior. It would set off alarm bells for both Tim and Ziva.

"A local LEO picked him up. He should be here," Tony says as he looks at the elevator doors open. "Now."

"Why didn't you say anything? It would have saved us time and extra work," Ziva grouses.

"You still have to talk to his C.O. and Tim still has to go through his financials. Besides, I was being a responsible adult taking care of my headache before it turned into a full blown migraine."

"Hey, Tony, thanks for the bust," The LEO says as he walks into the bullpen. "He was right where you said he would be."

"Not a problem, Steve. I'll write a letter to your Captain letting him know you helped with an investigation for us. I'll even use the NCIS letterhead. It will look good in your jacket."

"Thanks, Tony."

Gibbs looks at Tony and smiles then hides it just as fast. "Peterson, bring him to interrogation room one," Gibbs barks out.

Gibbs watches as Tony signs some papers and hands them over to his friend. After a few minutes of conversation Steve leaves.

"I do not understand why you didn't inform us where he was so we could get him ourselves," Ziva says in a huff.

"I had a hunch and all it took was a phone call. Steve is a good cop and he was willing. It saves us time, money and resources, and if Gibbs can make him confess to the crime then Steve will look good and he'll get the credit."

"You're always complaining that we don't get credit on the news," McGee reminds him.

"This is about a drug bust and a supplier. A baddie yes, but we don't need the credit for this one. Steve does. He is getting ready to take the detective exam to move up one grade and he could use the recognition and the letter. His new baby is due in three months. He needs the promotion and it will look good in his jacket; a nice thank you letter from a Federal Agency."

"Agent DiNozzo, there is more to this than you are telling," Vance says as he strolls into the bullpen unannounced. "You usually don't like to give away our credit."

"Steve's former partner was a good friend of mine. I've only known Steve for two years. His partner was killed in the line of duty. Steve returned fire and killed the perp. He was wounded and had to stay in the hospital for a month. He is a good cop, smart and honest. I would trust him with my life; yours too, Director."

"I'll add my letter to yours, DiNozzo." The director knew there was no love lost between them, as he also knew that DiNozzo would not willingly put him in harm's way. It was enough for him, and he could add his friend's name to a growing file of younger people with potential.

"Thank you, Sir."

The cases came and once solved they were quickly forgotten. Tony lived his life like he always did, his masks firmly in place; the court jester/class clown he was a master at play acting.

Gibbs knew that he was very good at undercover work. It was just another mask to add to his collection. In the years that Tony had worked with Gibbs, some of his masks had come down, but never completely. Gibbs knew this and hoped that in time Tony would trust him with the truth as much as he trusted him with his six.

It was a phone call that brought his sanding to a halt on an early Saturday evening; a call from the emergency room. His agent once again was receiving treatment. He closed the cell and called Ducky, knowing that the older man would start the phone tree as he raced to the hospital.

Gibbs barged up to the intake desk demanding to know about his Senior Field Agent. The older nurse just looked at him and glared back. She handed him a clipboard with insurance papers that needed to be filled out.

"Sit down and fill them out, Marine. I'll call you when you can go back there."

"All of this information should be in your computers already. I want to see my Agent."

"Of course it is. This is just busy work to keep hardheaded Gunnies out of our hair. Now go sit down and behave or I'll reactivate you so fast it will make your head spin."

"Just who the hell are you?"

"I'm Lt. Col. Mary Murphy. They were short staffed so I came in to cover. Any more questions, Gunny?" She asks with a sweet smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"No, Ma'am," Gibbs says as he takes the clipboard and sits down, but not without one last glare.

The rest of the team came in, each one wondering what happened. They all had the weekend off and he was not working on any undercover assignments that they knew of.

They sat with the rest of the people in the waiting room and could do nothing but wait. Even Ducky had no luck at all. Mary had simply smiled at him and told him no, that he was not allowed to go back there at this time.

When the emergency room doors opened they all looked up only to see a woman in her late thirties with brown hair, simply dressed. She was average looking. Nothing about her appearance set off any signs that she was dangerous. She had a man's jacket draped over her shoulders and had a large bandage on her arm. Her face and dress were dirty with smudges of soot and her dress looked wet in some places.

Ziva kept looking at her. There was something there, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She shook her head and focused her attention to the doors when Tony and Dr. Pitt came out.

"What happened?" Gibbs barked.