Tony was laying on the bed in the back of the ambulance, but he was still clinging to Gibbs tightly. He was terrified beyond belief, despite knowing that he was safe. He knew that Gibbs wouldn't let anyone do anything now that he was there, but he was still afraid that they would come back to take him again.

"Tony, buddy, take a deep breath," Gibbs said encouragingly. While he never acted fatherly at work, when it came to Tony, he always had the urge to protect and care for him.

"Don't let them hurt me again," Tony whimpered.

"Nobody will hurt you, Tony. I won't let them. Who are they?"

"I can't... they'll hurt me. And then they'll hurt you."

"Tony, nobody is going to hurt me. They'll be dead before they lay a hand on me," snorted Gibbs. "And if anyone comes near you, I'll murder them."

Tony smiled weakly. "I'm scared."

"I know. Your grip on my hand is pretty strong. Who are you scared of?"

"No..."

Gibbs nodded. They were pulling into the hospital. "Alright, bud, you don't have to tell me."

Tony just nodded. He was still holding Gibbs' hand a minute later when he was wheeled into the ER.

"Tony," said Brad brightly. "Welcome to my home. How have you been?"

Tony tried to grin, but he couldn't muster enough strength for it. He wanted to just sleep.

"Jokes?" Gibbs questioned as Brad led them into a trauma cubicle.

"I noticed when Tony was sick that he used jokes to distract himself from the pain and sick feelings. I've been using jokes as a way to help him feel comfortable." Brad looked at Tony for a second. "What happened to him?"

"He was held hostage for four days. The last two were spent in a hole in the ground."

Brad's eyes widened in shock. "Excuse me?"

"He won't tell me anything other than they had him tied up with straps. He freaked out when the medic tried to wrap the blood pressure cuff around his arm at the scene."

"That would explain why there's no recorded blood pressure on here." He indicated the notes from the medics. "Let me try and calm him down before you step out."

"Good luck with that." Gibbs turned to Tony. "Hey, Tony, I'm going to the waiting room, alright?"

"No!"

"Why not? You're with Brad. I know you trust him."

"Don't leave me!" Tony looked around the room, his eyes flashing with fear.

"Tony, relax," Brad soothed. "Gibbs isn't leaving you."

"That's what he said last time," Tony said as tears started to fall from his eyes.

"What's he talking about?"

Gibbs sighed. "I left NCIS a few months ago and moved to Mexico. I guess Tony took it pretty hard."

"Well, even I know he looks up to you, sees you as a father figure, Gibbs. That much was obvious when he was sick."

"I thought we parted on good terms. I should have known better. Tony never lets anyone see when he's hurting."

Brad nodded. "Tony, I need Gibbs to leave the room, okay? He can come back after I check you out and do some tests."

"He'll leave," whispered Tony.

"Not if he knows what's good for him." Brad gave Tony a smile. "I promise that if he leaves, I will make him regret it. You need him here, and he will be here."

"I don't want him to leave me again," Tony admitted finally.

"I promise not to leave," said Gibbs. "Let Brad do his job, then I'll come back in." Gibbs turned to the doctor. "Call me if he gets too distressed."

"Of course." Brad waited until Gibbs was gone, followed by the medics and several nurses. "Tony, I noticed that your left wrist is quite swollen. How did that happen?" Brad picked up Tony's left arm gently when Tony whimpered in pain.

"They did it," said Tony. "They pulled my arm until it snapped. I heard the bone break."

"Okay. Let's get some x-rays done on it. Are we going to need to get x-rays anywhere else?"

"I don't know. I want my dad," Tony said softly.

Brad frowned. He knew Tony didn't have a relationship with his father. "I'll call him later. Do you have a number for him?"

"Who?"

"Your dad."

"I want Gibbs, not my dad."

"You just said you wanted your dad, Tony."

"Yeah. Gibbs."

Brad nodded. He understood now- Tony had more of a father/son relationship with Gibbs, so no wonder he wanted the older man. "Alright. After we check you out, I'll get Gibbs back in here."

Tony nodded. "I'm scared," he told the doctor.

"I know you are, Tony. I promise that everything will be alright." Brad began to check Tony. He was doing his job quickly and efficiently until it came to checking Tony's blood pressure.

"Don't!" Tony shouted suddenly. He tried to move away from Brad, but it was clear that Brad wasn't the one he was seeing at that moment.

"Tony, relax. You're safe," said Brad as he stepped closer. "You're in the hospital."

"Don't touch me." Tony's voice had dropped to a small whimper, but he still looked like he was seeing ghosts.

"I'm not going to touch you. I just need you to come back to me, alright?" He took another step closer.

Tony shut his eyes tightly. He was shaking and his heart rate had skyrocketed.

"Emma, go and get Gibbs. Bring him in here," said Brad. Then he went back to Tony. "Tony, hey, whoever is hurting you, they aren't there. You're in the hospital, with me, and Emma, and Gibbs. You can relax now. You are safe."

Tony finally opened his eyes, still shaking. He was looking at Brad now, and recognition lit up his eyes. "Brad, don't let them near me."

"Nobody is coming near you, Tony. Gibbs will shoot them before they can get in here. And if they happen to slip past, I'll stab them with a needle. We aren't going to let anybody hurt you."

Tony slowly nodded as the door opened and Gibbs came in with Emma. In a flash, Gibbs was at Tony's side, carefully rubbing soothing circles into his back. Tony grabbed Gibbs' hand and held it tightly, letting the calming effect Gibbs provided help him relax.

"Alright. Tony, I need to check your blood pressure. There is no way of changing that fact. Can you let me do that?"

Tony shook his head.

"Please?" Brad asked.

"No." It was a whisper, but it conveyed Tony's fears clearly.

"Let me try something," said Gibbs. "Tony, move over a bit."

Tony moved across the bed, closer to Brad. He felt a little better when Gibbs sat next to him.

"Tony, Brad is going to need to check your blood pressure at some point. Wouldn't you rather that be done now?"

Tony shook his head again.

"Okay." Gibbs looked at Brad. "Check my blood pressure first."

"Why?" asked Brad, but it was Emma that answered.

"If Tony sees Agent Gibbs get checked the same way that you want to check him, it will help Tony feel safer and more comfortable. It'll show him that you aren't going to hurt him, and it will allow Tony to see that it isn't something to scare him." Emma smiled at Tony. She always liked him, right from the moment she met him.

"Okay." Brad shrugged. "Gibbs, can you take off your jacket for me?"

Gibbs took his jacket off and held his arm out to Brad. He stayed in a relaxed position next to Tony as Brad wrapped the cuff around his arm and pumped air into it. In less than a minute, the test was over and the cuff was off Gibbs' arm.

"See, Tony? It doesn't hurt, and Brad is a very gentle person. There's nothing for you to be scared of," Gibbs said to Tony. "I'll be right here with you."

Finally, Tony nodded. He could feel Gibbs' arm around his shoulders and put his head down onto Gibbs' shoulder. He held his right arm out to Brad.

"Thank you, Tony," said Brad softly. He could still see fear in Tony's eyes. "I'm going to wrap the cuff around your arm, just like I did for Gibbs." Brad quickly wrapped the leather cuff around Tony's arm and pumped air in, then took the cuff off. "Done. We'll get your x-rays done, then you can get some sleep."