Thanks to everyone who reviewed and alerted following chapter 1… as always, the encouragement is fantastic! Unfortunately, posting again this quickly will not be the norm.

This one's from a request by Gloworm41… chapter 34 of FIO started with Gibbs being returned to his room in the hospital following his attempt to escape. It was later revealed that Tony helped him plan out his adventure. Here's the escape attempt, from planning through execution.

Escape

The Planning

Tony sat on a folding chair on the beach, watching the water and the bikinis. It was a comfortably warm day for late May, enough that there were plenty of bikinis on the beach, but not enough for said bikinis to go in the water. He had his sunblock and his book and was enjoying being rather mindless. The bikinis and the bodies in them were fun to observe, but he had no interest in doing anything beyond that. For the first time in his life, he was truly one hundred percent committed to someone, and he found that really did kill his interest in anything else.

There was one woman who kept eyeing him, a beautiful brunette with a lot of curves and only a little bikini. He was careful to just give her a polite smile and nothing more, keeping his sunglasses on so that she couldn't really see what he was looking at. He had no interest in encouraging her, and he found that the idea of flirting wasn't nearly so much fun without being able to anticipate comments from McGee and Ziva or head slaps from Jethro. It wasn't always easy, though, especially when she'd made a point of walking right in front of him several times already. He knew that B.J. (Before Jethro) he'd probably already have gotten her up to his room, but he wasn't regretting this change in lifestyle in any way whatsoever.

Tony's cell phone rang; it was the opening notes for the theme from Jaws. He picked it up and flipped it open. "Hey, Jeth! How are you doing? Have you killed any of the nurses yet?"

"Nurses are all still alive, but I think I chased away the one who gave me the sponge bath."

"Excellent. I didn't want to have to fight her for you."

"Wish you would. Could make things more exciting around here."

"Aww. Is 'oo bored?"

The ensuing silence on the other end dragged out for just a little too long.

"Uh… Jeth? You there?"

"I swear, DiNozzo, you baby talk at me again and I'll head slap you through this phone."

"Got it, Boss."

There was a loud sigh.

"So, what are you doing?"

"Sitting on the beach, wearing almost nothing, attracting a lot of attention, looking, no touching."

"Ah."

"I'm serious about that last one… you know that, right?"

"Yeah, Tony. I know."

"Okay, good. So, I could describe some of the gorgeous women out here for you, might make you less bored." He looked over at the brunette, who had moved close enough to listen in to his side of the conversation and was apparently engaged in stretching exercises. She met his eyes and smiled; he grinned back, then mentally head slapped himself for giving her an opening.

"Let me guess… there's one close enough to hear what you're saying."

"Uh… yeah. How'd you know?"

"You always did flirt more when you had an audience."

"You paid attention to my flirting before we got together?" A glance at the brunette showed her eyes narrowing as she looked at him; the look she shot him next was positively predatory. "Oh, crap," he muttered.

"Well, yeah, Tony… it was so blatant, I didn't have much choice. And why crap?"

"I think I just became a challenge."

"I could come down there and fight her for you."

"Now that would be awesome. I think you could take her." He grinned again at the brunette, who smiled back. He moved the phone slightly away from his face, keeping it close enough for Jethro to hear him, and said, "My boyfriend is offering to fight you for me. I warn you, though, he's a Marine." He could hear Jethro's surprised laugh over the phone.

The smile disappeared from her face. "You're joking."

"'Fraid not."

"Can I talk to him?"

Tony's eyes widened, then he smiled. "She wants to talk to you, Jethro."

"Tony…"

Tony held the phone out to her. "Here you go."

She took it gingerly, clearly surprised. "Umm… hello?"

There was a pause while she listened to whatever Jethro said. She laughed suddenly. "Is he really gay?"

Another short pause, and she laughed again. "You must be really something, Jethro." She handed the phone back to Tony, smiled at him, then went back to her things and started to gather them up. Tony brought the phone to his ear while he watched her.

"What the heck did you say to her?"

"I'll never tell."

"I'm hurt. You were clearly more charming to her than you've been to me so far."

"You want charming, get back here and make me less bored."

The brunette, possessions in hand, scanned the beach and set off for a spot near a small group of men some distance away. Tony watched her leave for a few seconds, then refocused on his conversation.

"Can you really do charming?"

"Been married four times. What do you think?"

"Point. You could watch tv."

"Done that."

"No visitors? No Abby, Ducky, McGee, Ziva?"

"Good job, Tony, you remember their names."

"Sarcasm is not an incentive for me to help you."

"Ducky was here earlier this morning, but he had to go in to work. Brucker's double homicide turned into a triple. Maybe more."

"You're jealous, aren't you?"

"Maybe a little. Wouldn't be so much if I wasn't stuck here."

"What about puzzles? You know, crosswords or something."

There was silence again, and Tony laughed. "You scared away the volunteers that hand out those books and things, didn't you?"

"It's your fault I'm bored, Tony. Give me something to work with."

"Well, if you're that bored, maybe you should try to leave."

"Ducky won't clear me, and the doctors here all know him."

"So, put those sniper moves to good use and sneak out."

There was a momentary silence; when Jethro spoke next, Tony could hear the smile in his voice. "Perfect. I knew you were my senior field agent for a reason."

"Ah, wait. What?"

"You're going to help me put together an escape plan."

"You're not serious. Ducky will lecture you and kill me."

"I'm serious, Tony. What do you remember about the layout of my floor?"

"Really, Jeth? C'mon… if Ducky doesn't kill me, Abby will."

Jethro's tone turned wheedling. "Tony… if you help me, I'll do something special for you."

Tony sat up straight. "Oh, yeah? Like what?"

"You must have a fantasy or two we could indulge in. When I'm better, of course."

"Of course," Tony said absently. His brain had kicked into high gear, and he started running a whole bunch of possibilities through his head. "Are the leather cuffs on the table?"

Jethro laughed. "You really have a thing for those, don't you?"

"More like I have a thing for cuffing you, Jeth. Think about it… powerful Marine sniper, the boss of all bosses, tied up, helpless…"

Jethro cleared his throat. "Yeah, I think the cuffs could be in play. Gotta get me out of here, though."

"Now that is what I call incentive. I'll go back up to my room, draft out what I remember of the layout, call you back. You do an inventory of all your stuff in the meantime."

"Sounds good, Tony." Tony heard the beep indicating the call was ended. "Damn, Jeth… your phone manners improved for everyone but me?" Grinning, he threw on a shirt, gathered his things and set off for his room.

Once there, he sat down and started sketching out what he could remember about the layout of the floor near Jethro's room. He also diagrammed the front entrance, then used his laptop and the wifi connection in his room to see if he could call up any plans for the building. He had no luck there, but he did get some pictures off the hospital website.

That done, he made a list of the things he thought Jethro would need if he was to get past the nurses. Then he called Jethro's cell.

"You ready, Tony?"

"I'm ready. You all set for your briefing?"

"Hit me."

"Kinky, Jeth."

"Ha. C'mon Tony, don't have all day."

"Sure you do… isn't that why we're doing this?"

"Yeah, you've got a point. Shoot."

"Okay – your room is the first one around the corner from the nurse's station. Turn right out from your room, nurses are down the hall on the right, across the hall, and the stairs just a little way to your left, same side. Shouldn't be too hard to sneak out there, assuming you're outfitted correctly."

"That could be a problem."

"What ya got?"

"Got shoes. Ducky took my clothes with him."

"Pre-emptive strike, huh?"

"He knows me too well."

"Not as well as I do."

"Very true."

"So you only have those hospital gowns?"

"Yup."

"The ones that open in the back?"

"Uh huh."

"Convenient."

"Focus, Tony."

"Gotcha, Boss! So, you need better clothes or you'll stand out."

"Mmm hmm."

"There's a closet on the far side of the nurse's station. Could be some scrubs in there."

"Not gonna be easy to get past them."

"That's where your sniper skills come in. Mount a diversion, get into position."

"Yeah? Where'd you pick that up?"

"History Channel."

"Huh. Nice job, Tony."

"Thanks!"

"So, once I get to the stairwell?"

"You're on the third floor… security station in the lobby has a clear view of the stairwell. If that stairwell goes down to the garage level, you can probably get out that way. You know, we could contact McGee, get him to find a floor plan somewhere online."

"Nah, makes it too easy. We've got the basics of a working plan."

"Uh, you're not going to let Ducky or Abby know that I helped, are you?

"What's the matter, Tony? Is 'oo afwaid?"

"Ha, ha, funny, Jethro. They can be pretty scary, you know?"

"Your secret is safe with me, Tony." There was a short pause. "You getting what you need down there?"

"Yeah, I think maybe I am. Thanks for not minding too much."

"Don't mind at all, Tony. Need you back on your game."

"Don't worry, Jeth. I'll be ready to go back to work."

"I know that, Tony. Not talking about work."

Tony smiled. "You've got me, Jeth."

"Good to know." Jethro was quiet for a moment, then cleared his throat. "Guess I'll get things in motion."

"Hold on… you need one more thing."

"What's that?"

"The right attitude – you go marching around looking grim, someone's going to get suspicious. Especially since you won't have an ID badge. Smile occasionally, meet people's eyes, that sort of thing."

"I have done undercover work before, you know."

"Yeah, but it's been a while."

"I'll take it under advisement."

"Let me know how it goes."

"Of course."

The Execution

Gibbs put his cell down on the small nightstand and listened to the noises from the hallway. It was fairly quiet for a change, which could work in his favor… or make him more noticeable. He slid out of bed and stood up, wincing a little as he felt the stitches pull a bit. The injury didn't hurt much unless he moved the wrong way.

He found his sneakers under the chair near the bed. He put them on and instantly knew he looked ridiculous. He could practically hear Tony making fashion comments. Smiling slightly, he grabbed the flimsy ties to the hospital gown and tied it closed as best he could. Can't understand why they go out of their way to demoralize the patients. He looked at his cell and hesitated; no pockets, and he might need both hands. Besides, if his phone was sitting there, anyone going in might think he was coming right back.

Moving quietly and as quickly as his injured side allowed, he went to the open door and peered cautiously out. One of the nurses was wheeling a cart down the hall to his left; she appeared to be counting pills or something, and was fairly focused on the task at hand. The intersection with the main hallway was just to his right; he listened again, hearing very little except for the noises of various machines and the phone ringing at the nurses' station. Another glance at the nurse with the cart; she had her back to him and was preparing to go into one of the rooms. He moved silently to his right and glanced around the corner. This would feel more natural if I had my gun.

Luck was on his side. No one to the right, just one nurse in sight at the station. No one to the left either; the door to the stairwell was tempting, but he wouldn't get far in his current get up. There was an alarmed emergency exit at the end of the hall (why put an emergency exit practically next to the stairwell?) and next to that a couple of wheelchairs sat idle. That gave him an idea. Another glance to his right, and he watched as an orderly came toward him, then turned to his right and went down another hallway. The nurse he could see was laughing about something, so he guessed there was another nurse out of sight.

A quick glance behind him showed the nurse with the cart still moving away from him. Another check around the corner to his right, then he moved quickly to the left toward the wheelchairs. He stumbled slightly as the pain in his side flared up a bit, but pushed through it.

Gibbs reached the chairs and ducked down behind one of them, taking stock. The same orderly came around the corner a second later, moving in his direction, then turned left down the hall. Gibbs looked down and started slightly as he saw a hand poking out from under a sheet. Closer inspection showed it to be plastic. He lifted the sheet and saw several CPR dummies stacked on the bottom shelf of a storage unit sitting next to the wheelchairs. A check of the rest of the unit revealed a stack of hospital gowns.

Within moments, Gibbs had one of the CPR dummies covered in a hospital gown and sitting in a wheelchair. He pushed the chair slowly forward, glancing down the hall to his right and seeing the cart but no nurse. Moving a little faster, he drew even with the hallway the orderly had come from. No one there, just the sound of a loud television. He could hear two female voices coming from the back of the nurses' station.

Gibbs took a deep breath then held it, trying to steady the muscles in his side… this was going to hurt a bit. He wheeled the chair back and forth a few times, gauging its ability to go in a straight line. Then he drew it back, let out a yell, and pushed the chair forward as hard as he could, hissing slightly at the pain.

He couldn't believe his luck; the dummy stayed upright and the chair went careening down the hall. Loud exclamations from the nurses were followed by the sound of running feet. He moved quickly to the side and peered around the corner to see two nurses running after the chair. One of them was calling out, "Mr. Hughes! Mr. Hughes, you come back here! We warned you last time – you'll lose television privileges!"

It was all Gibbs could do not to laugh, although the ache in his side helped with that. He moved quickly past the now empty nurses' station and to the closet door Tony had told him about; it opened easily and he slipped inside, closing the door behind him.

I did it, Tony… diversion done, in position.

He found the light switch by feel, and looked around quickly. Again, his luck held. There were green scrubs piled on a shelf. He dug through them, finding a set that looked like it would fit. He ripped off the hospital gown and stood there for a moment, wearing nothing but sneakers. He imagined Tony's hysterical laughter if he had to tell him that someone walked in right then, but no one did. Moments later, he had the scrubs on and was ready for the next stage of the plan.

He switched off the light in the closet and stood listening. Voices were getting louder, and he could make out the sound of the wheelchair. "But who would do this? Bella Abrams would be the obvious choice –"

"Yes, but she left two days ago."

"Maybe Stan Hutchins in 316… he likes attention."

"He'd be here bragging that he did it."

"Well, I'm at a loss."

The voices faded a bit, and Gibbs guessed that they were taking the chair and the dummy back to where he'd found them. He cracked open the door, then quickly stepped out and moved toward the stairwell. Just as he drew even with the counter, another nurse came around the corner. He immediately grabbed the nearest clipboard and stood contemplating it.

"Hi, Doctor."

He glanced up to see a very young, unfamiliar nurse smiling shyly at him.

Channel DiNozzo.

He grinned at her. "They just keep making you nurses younger and prettier, don't they?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized they could definitely be taken the wrong way, but instead of getting offended, she blushed and giggled.

"Can I help you with anything, Doctor…?"

He put the clipboard down and reached out to take her hand. "McGee, Tim McGee. Very nice to meet you," he glanced at her ID tag "Annette." He maintained eye contact, willing her not to notice his lack of an ID. "No help needed, but you sure brightened my day."

She smiled and blushed again. Gibbs gave her his most devil-may-care grin, then set off purposefully toward the stairwell door. The other two nurses nodded to him as he passed, though one of them did give him a slightly puzzled second glance. He thought he remembered her bringing him his dinner last night.

A moment later he was through the door and in the stairwell. Gibbs stood there for a moment, assessing the dull ache in his side, before moving carefully down the stairs. He made it all the way to the ground floor without running into anyone; presumably most people preferred the elevator. The stairwell ended there, so going down to the garage wasn't an option.

Gibbs looked through the window into the lobby. The security guard was relaxed but alert; Gibbs had no doubt he'd notice the lack of an ID if he saw him exit the stairs. As he watched, the guard picked up the phone at his station and listened attentively, then hung up and stood quickly, surveying the lobby. Damn, they missed me quicker than I expected.

A grey haired man around Gibbs' age moved through his field of view, and the security guard set off after him. Gibbs took the opportunity to exit the stairwell and quickly scanned the various signs, looking for some indication of the service entrance. After a moment he set off for a door marked 'Authorized Personnel Only.' He ended up in a wide hallway, with various carts along the wall. At the end of the hall was another door leading to the outside. Grinning, Gibbs headed for that door, only to be brought up short when another door near it opened and a male nurse stepped through. He spotted Gibbs immediately and grinned at him. "Gotcha!"

Gibbs turned sharply, grunting a little as his side protested, then stopped abruptly and stared up at another male nurse, about four inches taller than he was. The man reached out and grasped Gibbs' shoulder. "Back to bed with you."

Gibbs sighed, defeated. The first nurse caught up to him. "You know, Dr. Mallard warned us that you'd probably try something like this."

Ah well. At least I'm not bored anymore.

The Debriefing

Gibbs was trying to be interested in the late movie on tv when his cell phone rang. He picked it up and looked at it – DiNozzo.

"Hey."

"Hey, Jeth. Just wanted to let you know I'm back at your place."

"Good."

"Want me to pick up anything in particular for food?"

"Nah. Whatever you get will be fine."

"'Kay. Umm…"

"What?"

"So, uh… you didn't manage to get out, huh?"

"Told you that earlier."

"Well, yeah, but you didn't give me many details. C'mon, tell me a bedtime story."

Jethro smiled and recounted his adventure. As expected, Tony was impressed by the diversion with the dummy and the wheelchair, and laughed hysterically at the idea of Gibbs naked in the closet with sneakers on.

"Damn, Jeth! I wish I could have seen all that."

Jethro chuckled. "It was fun."

"I bet. I have one question, though."

"Only one?"

"Uh… since you didn't get out, does that mean…"

"Deal was the cuffs for a successful escape."

"Oh, man… you almost got out!"

"So you can almost cuff me."

"I can't believe this. It's a tremendous let down, you know."

"You'll live. Just think, the anticipation will make it better. Or you could go back to the beach and cuff that girl."

"I'd rather wait for the good stuff."

"Smart man."

"Good night, Jeth… looking forward to seeing you tomorrow."

"Yeah, Tony – me too."