Halloween Remembrance

A/N Thank you to all those people who alerted or left reviews or in one case sent me a lovely PM because they couldn't leave a review. Thanks to Em for revisions. This is not been beta read and so I apologise in advance for any mistakes. If anyone is interested in beta reading this story please send me a PM :)

Chapter 2

Dr Donald Mallard and Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs sat in companionable silence. The two old friends were watching over the younger agent, as he slept off the effects of the general anaesthetic. His surgery had been routine and successful in removing the bullet and repairing the subsequent damage. Keeping vigil over Tony in hospital was hardly a rare occurrence for either man. Sadly, the need for them to have to watch over their rather accident prone agent, happened far too frequently for either man's liking.

With no real family in his life, they always made it their business to be with Tony when he woke up. Both men understood how important it was, that he had a friendly face or two to reassure him that he was safe and more importantly, that he was needed. They also knew that he was terribly uncomfortable being in hospital, especially if he was unable to exercise his normal iron-control over his emotions and tongue.

Whenever he was in a vulnerable state and unable to protect himself by using his usual weapon of donning personas which he wore like masks; his strong flight response was triggered. This usually meant that the man would try to escape from his hospital bed, if it was physically possible. Although, Ducky was convinced that Anthony would give it a damn good shot, even if it were physically impossible and maybe still succeed! While this single minded survival trait annoyed Gibbs beyond distraction, whenever Tony managed to defy the laws of the physically possible and abscond, Gibbs couldn't help feeling a sneaking sense of pride in his stubborn friend. Although it never prevented Jethro relentlessly, eviscerating him for being so reckless and stupid, Ducky thought disapprovingly.

When it came to keeping secrets about his past, DiNozzo was obsessive beyond belief. If Ducky didn't know any better, he could almost believe that Anthony was a participant in a Witness Protection program. Although that was a ludicrous notion because Tony had brought down an entire Mafioso family, while he was part of the constabulary back in Philadelphia, which could hardly be seen as keeping a low profile. And while both men were at times, granted limited access to the man behind the mask, he still managed to keep much about himself hidden, even from them. His need for comfort, especially at times such as this, was at odds with his need to maintain his privacy.

Gibbs in particular, chaffed about the need for Tony to be so guarded with him, even after all these years but he understood that it was a protective mechanism of long standing; much as his own elective mutism protected him from letting people get too close. But just because he understood, it didn't mean that he had to like there being secrets between them, when it come to his Senior Field Agent or that he had to accept it. Tony was always accused of being insufferably nosy but Gibbs left him for dead, when it came to the obsessive need to discover every last detail, if someone tried to conceal things from him. Keeping secrets from Gibbs was like a red rag to a bull, Ducky chuckled softly to himself. Unlike Tony though, who wanted to know every single little detail about the lives of the people he cared about, Gibbs discouraged his people, sharing all the mundane details of their lives with him.

Ducky was more pragmatic and refused to take personally, the fact that Tony needed to keep them at arm's length; although he thoroughly deplored the reasons why Tony felt he needed to hide from the world. He was also was privy to additional details that Tony had shared overtly and covertly with him, sometimes confiding in him when he was distressed but also because he was Tony's personal physician. That meant he was well placed to make some well educated guesses about what his friend was hiding. Ducky knew that Jethro continued to demand to be told his underling's closely guarded secrets, which only made Tony hide his personal demons even more aggressively, if that was even possible. Ducky tried to explain to his old friend that by prying, Tony would only become even more secretive but as usual, Jethro when focused on a goal, wasn't receptive to his advice.

Meanwhile, as his friends' watched him sleep, their charge began to grow progressively more restless as the effects of the anaesthesia was metabolised by his kidneys and liver. It was clear too, that he was dreaming and that those dreams were not pleasant ones. Neither man was that surprised, as they knew from past experience that he suffered from crippling nightmares, from time to time. Gibbs had often witnessed them before, when they pulled all-nighters when working a case and the team would catnap at their desks, rather than go home.

Tony always seemed to be ashamed when they occurred in front of his team and refused to discuss any details, although Gibbs always figured that his six years of being a cop; in addition to the cases he has worked at NCIS, were responsible for his haunted sleep. Ducky had his own theories about the nightmares but he never contradicted his friend, because it would mean betraying Tony's confidence, not to mention divulging details of his private medical records. Not the cliff notes version that Jethro had access to, in his supervisory capacity.

As they watched the normally hyperactive agent begin to shift and squirm, his face betrayed his terror and they both wondered if it was possible to rouse him out of his drugged state, to reassure him that he was safe. At that moment, a nurse arrived beside his bed to monitor his level of consciousness and measure his vital signs. She stared, for a moment at Tony's name plate above the hospital bed and flinched. She smiled weakly at the two men sitting in the uncomfortable visitor's chairs and wondered if they were related to her patient. Neither of them looked particularly Italian but then again, neither did the extremely good looking, younger man in the bed.

He was tossing and turning, muttering and obviously having some sort of bad dream, most likely courtesy of the various drugs in his system. She checked his chart to see when he was scheduled to have further analgesia and noted that he wasn't due for a hour or so, yet. As she recorded the new set of vitals and went to hang the chart back on the end of the bed, she heard Tony begin to plead in a high child-like voice, quite unlike his own.

"Please Father... Sir... I'm s-s-sorry, I took your suit. I won't c-c- cry anymore. No... Not the stairs... don't hu-u-rt me. I'll be good. I promise. Nooo ...it was all my fault, clumsy... I fell down the stairs... I was... running 'n I tripped 'n fell... I'm not allowed to run in the house... I'm baaad...I swear it was an accident. Noooooo... it hurts... where are you Father? ... Please I need you... Mama why did you leave? Please..."

Tony began to cry, silent tears tracking down his unnaturally pallid face and he became increasingly distressed while the nurse and the two men stood, transfixed by the terrible things that Tony was screaming. Finally, all three sprang as one and enveloped him with their touch; striving to reassure him that he was safe. All trying to comfort him, in their own fashion and prevent him from tearing open his stitches; no one wanted to see him physically restrained so that he couldn't hurt himself.

His nurse quickly and expertly, injected a sedative drug into Tony's IV port and he soon calmed down physically but whether his nightmares were silenced as well, remained uncertain. Ducky watched the nurse, as she continued to stare at her patient and her face lost most of its colour. She glanced nervously at the two men that were hovering over the bed, watching their charge with eagle eyes. She seemed to be struggling with herself, before she finally appeared to reach a decision.

"Did he fall down the stairs when he was shot?" The matronly nurse enquired, thinking about what they had just heard.

Gibbs silently shook his head, naked shock still evident in his piercing, cerulean, blue eyes.

She looked both men squarely in the eyes, before asking. "Are you gentlemen, family of Mr DiNozzo?"

Ducky and Gibbs exchanged sheepish smiles before Ducky who, as the more garrulous of the pair, answered. "Not by blood my dear, but in all the most important ways. Anthony means a great deal to both of us."

She processed this and seemed relieved by their answer. The last thing she needed, was to say the wrong thing if either of them should happen to be his father or related to him. She decided to risk asking another question.

"Do either of you know where Mr DiNozzo grew up?"

Gibbs jumped in this time and growled at her. "It's Special Agent DiNozzo, although he prefers to be called Tony and he grew up in New York. Why the hell, do you want to know so much about him, anyway?"

The nurse stepped back, put off by the aggression evident in Gibbs' tone and body language, before hastily deflecting. "Just that I thought I recognised his name, that's all. Excuse me but I have to see to my other patients. Call, if you need anything."

She left the room and Ducky scowled at his friend. "Why did you snap at her like that, Jethro? You frightened her off and I think she wanted to talk. When she comes back the next time, you need to hold your tongue, as well as your temper for a change and let me do the talking. Let's face it; it is hardly your strong suit, when all said and done. If you can't contain yourself, then leave; go and get a cup of that rather dreadful concoction that you loosely call coffee." He glared at Gibbs, to make sure that he realised how serious Ducky was. "Are we clear, Agent Gibbs? You are not to terrorise the medical staff."

Ducky had a bad feeling, not just about what Tony had been yelling out but also at the very strange reaction that it had had, on his nurse. Her face had lost every last bit of its colour, after the nurse saw Tony's name and heard him cry out. He'd truly seen less pasty individuals on his autopsy table and he wasn't about to let Jethro scare her away if she wanted to talk.

XXXXXXX

Nurse Marion Watson bustled around the room, settling in her newest patient who had been admitted, following a vehicle accident. She stayed busy, taking her temperature, measuring blood pressure and placing the oximeter which measured blood oxygen saturation, on the sedated woman's finger, before fluffing up her pillows.

All the while, she was thinking about the federal agent, lying in the room down the hall and also about a small vulnerable little boy some twenty five years ago, who had come into another ER in New York. He had been all alone, except for his father's lawyer who was legally authorised to make medical decisions pertaining to the boy's care. Marion remembered a frightened child with wide green eyes and an infectious but tentative smile. He had been placed in a body cast, following surgery and stayed in the hospital for almost two weeks.

He was special child, who had stolen the heart of every doctor, nurse, orderly, aide and cleaner that clapped eyes on him. A child, frightened and alone, yet who was so grateful for the smallest acts of kindness by strangers; who took none of them for granted and was unfailingly kind and courteous. A little nine year old boy that cried silently into his pillow for his mother when he was alone and thought no one would know. Who, when he was finally told that he was going home, had seemed less than excited at the news.

Was it possible, that the child that had captured her heart and made her feel such overwhelming guilt, every single day of her professional life ever since, could be the same person who was once again her patient, lying sedated in the room down the hall? It didn't seem likely, yet the name was the same and his friend said he had grown up in New York. Marion had heard of coincidences but this was a pretty big one. It didn't seem likely though, that a boy born into such a wealthy and powerful family, would end up in law enforcement.

Thinking of the small boy all those years ago, that had been brought to the hospital where she worked; Marion was overwhelmed with guilt, a burden that never went away. She despised her weakness, in not speaking up for little Tony when he had been her patient, so long ago. It had been clear to everyone on the ward, that he needed rescuing from his abusive parent and yet they had all turned their backs on him. Although, if the federal agent and the small boy were one and the same person, then someone must surely have rescued him, from the horrific situation he had been in.

That might explain why he ended up, having to work for a living. Marion decided that should she get an opportunity to speak to the older man with the kindly, blue eyes and the gentle English accent on his own, without the angry guy, perhaps he could tell her more about his friend's childhood. The man with the silver hair and crackling blue eyes was scary though and seemed to be either very protective of the patient or angry with him; she wasn't sure which but she decided to avoid him as much as possible.

The next time Marion entered Tony DiNozzo's room to check on him and to give him his pain medication; she was pleased to see that the scary guy had his hand resting on her patients arm. Hopefully it was helping to remind him that he was safe, while the older man who was apparently called Ducky was talking to Tony, telling him about a holiday in Tuscany during his student days. She had learnt that the older man was actually a doctor who was, according to the patient's file, a medical examiner and for some strange reason, Special Agent DiNozzo's personal physician. If she could get him alone for a few minutes, he might be able to give her the some answers that had been eluding her for the last twenty five years. The empathy that he showed to his young patient, might also grant her some understanding.

She knew that no one who was responsible for that young, broken boy deserved any form of absolution but if he did turn out to be the same person; if destiny had chosen to cast him across her path again more than two decades later, she could at least apologise for not protecting him. Perhaps it might balance up the scales just a little. At any rate Tony deserved to hear why people that should have been protecting him, had let him down so badly.

Marion was sitting at the nurse's station later that night and she watched Dr Mallard quietly exit from Special Agent DiNozzo's room, as he rubbed a hand across his tired, drawn face, before smiling kindly at Marion.

"I'm off to find a pot of tea and some of that disgusting swill that my friend calls coffee, my dear," he informed her courteously. "Can I get you a hot beverage or perhaps something cold to drink, Marion?" he enquired in his old worldly and charming manner.

"Actually Doctor, I am due a tea break, so if you don't mind, I'll tag along with you to the cafeteria? That is, if you feel like some company?" she asked nervously.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Ducky nodded imperceptibly to himself at her request. It confirmed his suspicion that Marion had something important that she needed to discuss with him, regarding his favourite young field agent. She was obviously too nervous to speak in front of Jethro, especially after he had bitten her head off, earlier and so he smiled charmingly, and patted her hand. "That would be lovely my dear, I'd like that," he told her earnestly and waited while she informed her second in charge, that she was on a break.

Then Ducky, who in his prime was just as much the lady killer as Tony and Gibbs, gently tucked Marion's arm into the crook of his own and escorted her down towards the cafeteria. His intuition told him that she wanted to tell him something important and that he needed to listen. As they waited for the elevator to arrive, he could hear the familiar clomp-clomping of his favourite Goth as she climbed the stairs; too impatient to check on Tony, to bother waiting for the elevator. Ducky smiled as she threw herself at him, demanding to know how Tony was. After assuring her that he was recovering well, he encouraged her to go in and visit her friend. He thought that her appearance may prove to be fortuitous and promised to get her a Caff-Pow if they sold them in the cafeteria.

Marion and Ducky sat together in the almost deserted cafeteria, along with a small number of staff members, dressed mostly in scrubs as they sat taking their breaks. A few wan-looking family members were also dotted around the room, taking time out from holding vigil over loved ones; they generally sat, staring at frequently untouched cups of coffee, their minds elsewhere. An occasional ambulatory patient, having difficulty in sleeping were also to be found, sipping drinks or demolishing sweet snacks and Ducky watched Marion as she warmed her hands around her mug of coffee. Ducky busied himself pouring tea into his cup and added a small dash of milk, before he sipped his tea and watched her unobtrusively, as she sought a way to broach the topic that was bothering her.

"Dr Mallard," she began tentatively. What do you know about Special Agent... um Tony's background?"

Keeping his voice and eye contact very non-threatening, he asked. "Why do you want to know Marion? I think my young friend might have frightened you earlier on, during his nightmare?"

Marion looked like she was considering bolting. She looked scared and curiously enough, guilty too and Ducky felt nervous about what he might hear. She finally drew in a deep breath and steeled herself to speak.

"I think I ... I might have met your friend many years ago on Halloween. Twenty five years ago I was working in St Francis's ER in New York, when a small boy was admitted with horrific injuries. He had a fractured pelvis and femur plus several cracked vertebrae and was placed in a full body cast after they reduced the fractures," she whispered sadly.

"Ah yes, Anthony mentioned about being in a car crash with his mother, I believe," he said guardedly, glancing at the nurse to see her reaction.

Ducky saw confusion on Marion's features, before she shook her head. "No Doctor, he told the doctors he was running around on the first floor and he fell down the stairs. His mother had died the year before, I believe," she said emphatically.

Ducky cursed the fact he had missed that detail. He hadn't questioned that account of Tony's injuries because he had confirmed that Anthony's mother did indeed have a history of driving under the influence. There had been a charge laid which was later dropped, no doubt due to influence being brought to bear, by Anthony's father. Add to that, her death due to so called accidental overdose and it seemed a plausible enough explanation, for such serious injuries in a child.

Certainly much more plausible than falling down the stairs as any Medical Examiner worth their salt would tell you. This was no doubt why Anthony had decided to lie to him about the car crash. Ducky suddenly felt an overwhelming desire for Jethro to be present and hear what Marion had to say. He had no doubt that the child that Marion treated, was indeed their Very Special Agent. Coincidence was one thing but the confluence of factors plus the similarities in injuries seemed almost like fate had brought Marion and Anthony back together again. While many doctors had little time for the concept of fate or destiny, Ducky had encountered some very odd things in his lifetime, many of which could not be easily explained away by science.

"What of Anthony's father? What did he have say about how the injuries occurred, Marion?" Ducky asked trying to keep his tone and words neutral so that he didn't frighten her off.

Marion blanched and said, "He didn't Doctor... The child was accompanied to the hospital by his father's attorney when he was admitted. He was authorised to make all medical decisions, which he did. After that, apart from the attorney phoning in daily to get medical reports, Tony didn't receive any visitors... well except for the housekeeper when she came to collect him."

She searched the elderly medical examiners features, noting the devastation she saw mirroring her own. She asked him nervously, "do you think that it is possible that my little Tony it is the same person as your Special Agent DiNozzo, Doctor Mallard?"

Next chapter: Ducky and Gibbs learn the truth about the Halooween comment

NB Saint Francis Hospital is a figment of my imagination as I didn't want to malign any existing institutions or individuals.