Tony slowly awoke to find himself back at the Navy Yard. In Autopsy even, although he had no recollection of arriving. He groggily realized that he wasn't in as much pain as before, no doubt the work of one Dr. Donald Mallard. No argument there, Tony thought.
"Gibbs Gibbs Gibbs!" Abby flew through the sliding doors and directly into Gibbs' arms, who had just appeared at Tony's side. Where did he come from? Tony briefly wondered. "Tony!" she worried, "what did you do to yourself this time?"
Due to the thankful absence of pain, Tony had momentarily forgotten about his current situation. He opened his mouth to answer her and was surprised to find that no words were forthcoming.
"He injured his larynx, Abbs. He can't speak," Gibbs explained. "Ducky says it could be a few weeks before he gets his voice back, but he'll be okay."
"Oh, Tony! Why does this stuff always happen to you? You get in more trouble than all of the other agents combined!! That's okay, you can sign. I taught you when you were recovering from the plague, remember?" Abby bounced up and down excitedly, her pigtails swaying from side to side.
Now that she mentioned it, Tony did remember. His throat had been so raw and sore from coughing that he had found it near impossible to speak then too. Probably pretty rusty, he thought, but if nothing else I can fingerspell.
-Yes- Tony signed carefully, -I remember. Good thing you taught me. My handwriting sucks.-
Gibbs and Abby both chuckled. "Yes it does," they said in unison. Gibbs' smile quickly faded.
"Tony," Gibbs said, "can you tell me what happened? Do you know who hit you?"
-I was taking pictures near the trees and saw something run past. I followed and someone hit me with what looked like a metal pipe. It happened too fast, I just caught a glimpse. Didn't see their face.- Tony signed the last part with a look of regret. He hated the fact that he couldn't give a description of his attacker. Some investigator, he thought with disgust. I can't believe I didn't see anything useful to help us catch this bastard. He looked down at his hands.
Gibbs knew DiNozzo well enough to clearly tell what he was thinking, spoken words or no. "Hey. Don't do that." Tony avoided his gaze. Gibbs grabbed the younger man's chin and forced him to make eye contact. "DON'T. This is not your fault. You were attacked, there's nothing you could have done. It could have happened to any of us." Gibbs was firm. "I mean it, Tony. Don't torture yourself over this. We'll catch the guy. In the meantime, Abby is going to take you home."
-I'm fine- Tony started to protest, but Gibbs grabbed his long fingers before he could finish and gently forced them down. "GO. HOME. Ducky says if you rest tonight then you can come back on desk duty tomorrow if you feel up to it. And I need you here. So go." Gibbs knew that appealing to DiNozzo's sense of duty was often the only way to make him acquiesce in situations like this. DiNozzo knew it too, judging from the look on his face. He could tell that he'd been played, but Gibbs didn't care. Whatever it took to make his agent rest.
Ducky appeared just then, and proceeded to give Abby instructions for Tony's care. After many years of acting as DiNozzo's personal physician he knew exactly how stubborn the young man could be, which is why Abby made the perfect caretaker. She was the one person Anthony couldn't ever refuse. "He may have difficulty swallowing until the swelling goes down a little more, but the injection of painkillers I gave should hold him over until the morning so he won't have to swallow any pills. Eating could be an issue too so I recommend a nice milkshake for dinner. Plus the cold will feel soothing and may help with the swelling, so two birds with one stone."
-Not hungry- Tony signed sullenly. The trio ignored him.
"And he must keep absolutely quiet. No attempts at speaking, he needs to rest his vocal cords and larynx completely so that they have a chance to heal. You know how he can be, Abigail, so please make sure he rests," Ducky continued.
-Hey!- Tony moved his hands agitatedly. -Mute, not deaf!-
"Yes, Tony, we know that, but you are also ridiculously stubborn and neglectful of your own health. So hush." Abby scolded him, before turning her attention back to Ducky. Tony rolled his eyes.
Ducky finally addressed Tony directly. "My dear Anthony, do behave for Abigail. She has your best interests at heart."
"And if you give her trouble you'll answer to me," added Gibbs.
"That's right!" Abby chirped. "Now let's go, Tony." Tony sighed heavily, but allowed himself to be helped off the table and out of Autopsy.
-Where's Tim? I owe him a thanks.- Tony wanted to know.
"Uh, I'm not sure. I haven't seen him since he dropped the evidence off in my lab," Abby hedged.
Tony could tell that Abby wasn't giving him the full story. He easily conveyed his thoughts with a look.
"I kind of yelled at him a little. Maybe. But Tony, he didn't believe you when you called him for help! Timmy should have known you weren't joking around! You wouldn't joke about needing help! You never joke about that sort of thing, Tony. You hate asking for help!"
Tony scrubbed a hand down his face. Poor McGee. I don't blame him for thinking that I was goofing off, I'd been torturing the poor kid all morning. Need to tell Abby...it suddenly dawned on Tony that he was really wiped out and starting to get a little unsteady on his feet. He swayed back and forth and Abby grabbed his elbow.
"Whoa, come on. Let's get you home before you pass out."
-DiNozzos do NOT pass out!- Tony was adamant.
Abby laughed at that. "Whatever, tough guy. Let's go." They had reached her hearse by then and Abby helped him into the passenger seat. The gentle rocking of the big car, coupled with Abby's incessant chatter, lulled Tony back to sleep within minutes.
"Tony? Tony! We're here, wake up!" Tony groggily awakened, and was greeted by the sight of the wide-eyed Goth. "Come on, Tony. Time for bed!" She helped him up the stairs and into his apartment. Tony didn't think he'd ever been so glad to see his big fluffy bed. He had barely managed to get his shoes off before collapsing in a boneless heap. Abby smiled at her slumbering friend as she closed the door and skipped down the hall.