Notes: Thanks to all who have reviewed. I'm passing an OOC warning for Tony at this point in the story, to alleviate any concerns. If anyone is uncomfortable with an OOC Tony, please do not read. Thank you.

Tony hadn't spoken for days. The ER had released him, but he insisted on being with Ziva. He'd planted himself in her room, refusing to leave. Abby started bringing him lunch and coffee, hoping she could get through to him. He'd simply take her lunch offering and eat silently.

Abby's worry o-meter was off the charts. She'd been splitting her time between her duties at NCIS, taking care of Tim, and visiting Tony and Ziva at the hospital. She wouldn't admit it, but she was completely exhausted. She made it painfully evident when Gibbs came into her lab one morning, about two weeks after the accident. Abby was sleeping at her desk. He shook her shoulder gently, to wake her.

"Abbs," he said gently. She stirred and sat up.

"Gibbs?" she looked at her watch. "Oh my gosh, I've been asleep for two hours! My test is ruined!" She bolted across the lab, to the unfinished experiment on her lab table. The chemicals she had been working with had been sitting way too long, and were starting to react badly. Gibbs blocked her path as she disposed of the ruined chemicals.

"You need to relax, Abby."

"There's not time to relax, Gibbs! I have work to do around here, and I have to take care of Timmy, and—"

"You need to take a nap. Use your futon if you need to. I'll make sure no one bothers you."

"It's been so hard to sleep, you know. I can't stop thinking about Tony and Ziva. I just want everyone to be okay."

"We all do." He kissed her on the forehead. "Go take a nap."

"Thanks."

"Anytime, Abbs."

Gibbs sighed and turned to leave the Lab. His next stop was Director Vance's office. Vance already knew about the accident, and Gibbs had been purposefully avoiding a trip to his office. McGee was on desk duty, and Balboa had loaned out agent McAvoy to Gibbs, as he was needed. The ding of the elevator brought Gibbs back from his musings, and he made his way into the Director's office. The secretary ignored him as usual, and he let himself into Leon's office.

"Good to finally see you, Gibbs," Leon said dryly. "How is Agent David?"

"Still in a coma. The doctor says the swelling on her brain has gone down considerably. We're just waiting for her to wake up, at this point."

"And DiNozzo?"

"I can't get him to leave her side."

"I figured as much." Leon sat down at his desk, and motioned for Gibbs to have a seat. Gibbs elected to stand. "I need to talk to you about the circumstances surrounding the accident." He handed Gibbs a file. "You may want to sit while you read that, Jethro."

Gibbs opened the file. It contained the accident report, and photos. Gibbs fell into the chair behind him as he read through the report. The pictures were quite graphic. Tony's car was totaled. There were photos of Ziva as she lay in the vehicle, and McGee's twisted body in the backseat. There was another car as well. It didn't suffer quite as much damage as Tony's car. When he finished with the file, he looked up at Vance.

"It wasn't Tony's fault."

"No, it wasn't. He isn't out of the woods completely on this, but the accident was not his fault." Leon rose from his chair, and Gibbs followed suit. "Go tell him, Gibbs. Put his mind at ease."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tony stared at Ziva as she slept soundly. It had been a week since the accident, and he hadn't been home. It didn't seem right leaving Ziva alone. Abby had come up and brought him clean clothes, food and coffee, but her gestures brought him little comfort. It didn't change the fact that he put Ziva in that bed. Her right leg was casted all the way up to her hip, she was covered in bruises, and her forehead was bandaged, from being thrown into the dashboard when his passenger airbag didn't deploy.

"How is she?"

The voice startled Tony out of his musings.

"She's the same, Boss. No change. Just, in a coma."

"Can we talk for a minute?" Gibbs asked, motioning to the door.

Tony glanced between Gibbs and Ziva. He didn't want to leave her alone, not for a minute. What if she woke up, and she was alone?

"I can't leave her," Tony said quietly.

"You can step out for a few minutes, Tony. She'll be all right."

"No, she won't. You don't understand—"

"It's not a request. Come on," Gibbs said firmly.

Tony opened his mouth to respond, but stopped himself. He followed Gibbs into the ICU waiting room. It was empty at the moment, and quieter than the main waiting area. Gibbs pointed to a couch to their left.

"Sit down."

Tony sank down onto the soft couch. It had been a while since he'd sat on something soft. Gibbs held a file in his left hand.

"Are those my termination papers?" Tony said.

Thwack!

"Why would you think you're fired, DiNozzo?"

"I got behind the wheel under the influence of alcohol, and I caused a serious accident! How is that not grounds for dismissal?"

"The accident wasn't your fault."

"Of course it was! I was drunk!"

"Read the damn police report, before you pass judgment on yourself." He held the folder out to Tony. Shakily, Tony took the folder and opened it. Right on top was a police report. The room was quiet while he read. Finally, he closed the folder and looked up at Gibbs.

"The accident wasn't my fault."

"No, it wasn't. Stop sitting around here, blaming yourself."

"If we'd taken a cab, this wouldn't have happened! It's my fault for making everyone get into my car."

"You didn't ask for that pickup to swerve in front of your car. You're lucky you were aware enough to swerve."

"Yeah, right off the beltway, into a ditch. Was anyone hurt in the pickup?"

"No. The guy kept on driving. There's a BOLO out on the vehicle."

Tony leaned back and closed his eyes, until he remembered something else from the report.

"The report says my blood-alcohol content was over the legal limit. What's going to happen to me?"

"You're damn lucky, is what's going to happen. Vance is pissed, but he doesn't want to see you in jail, either. He wants to meet with you to discuss it."

"W-when?" Tony stuttered. I must be tired, if I'm starting to stutter like McGee, he thought.

"He'll be calling you."

"Great."

"In the meantime, go home and take a shower, get some rest. I'll stay with Ziva."

"No, I can't leave her!" Tony said, jumping up.

"It's not a request at this point, DiNozzo. Go home."

"If something happens to her—"

"You'll be the first one I call."

Tony nodded mutely. He handed Gibbs the report, and left the waiting room.

TBC…