"Anthony?" Ducky's voice woke him, making Tony realize that he'd nodded off. "Your test results are back."
Blinking his eyes and still seeing nothing but darkness, Tony turned his unseeing eyes towards the source of noises. "And? Do I need to learn Braille?"
"With your job, that might come in handy." Turner answered. "But hopefully, you won't need that for any other purpose."
It took a few seconds for Tony's drowsy mind to digest Turner's words, but when he finally got it, he felt a rush of relief.
He hadn't felt that way for years and it was funny how almost losing an ability that you take for granted every day, could make you realize how lucky you have been the whole time. "When- I mean-"
"As soon as the swelling goes down. The faster it goes down, the safer is the bet that you'll make a full recovery."
"You mean I might not regain my eyesight?" Tony asked anxiously.
"No, that's not what I mean. But we can't be sure how much of your sight you'll get back. We're hopeful that you can make a full recovery, but there still might be some damage to the optic nerve which could result in blurry vision or mild to moderate vision loss."
Tony gulped, that still would affect his job.
"But you don't need to worry! Like I said, the chances of a full recovery are high. You might have headaches and blurry vision at first when you get your eyesight back, but it'll go away. In the meantime you need to rest, aggravating your injury won't help you and we really don't want to open your head in an OR. So take it easy and rest."
Heaving a sigh of relief, Tony let the first genuine smile adorn his face. He wasn't one to borrow trouble and if the doctor said his chances were good, then he'd make a full recovery! He vaguely registered it when Ducky and Turner started to talk about his condition, before he felt Ducky's hand on his arm, telling him to get some rest. But before he could follow Ducky's instruction, Abby, Ziva and Tim walked in his room, and Tony was sure that it hadn't made the strict staff happy.
Soon, he found himself in a tight embrace and as much as he loved the feeling, he was glad when someone pulled Abby back. "He needs to breathe, Abs." Tim's voice came.
"I'm so happy, Tony. I never believed that you wouldn't wake up, but every minute that passed and you remained unconscious-" Abby sounded really upset, "But I guess that's your way of resting, right? I'm so glad you're OK."
Tony smiled. "Yeah, me too."
"Tony?"
He actually heard the frown in Ziva's voice. "What?" he asked.
"Why do you-" she paused and with the way Abby gasped and Tim mumbled an 'Oh', Tony realized that they had no prior knowledge of his temporary -God, he loved that word- blindness.
Before he could explain anything, Ducky helped him. "It's temporary. The swelling in his brain is putting pressure on his optic nerve and that's why he cannot see at the moment. It will hopefully go away in a few days."
"O my God, Tony." Once again Abby threw herself into Tony's arms and this time he just closed his eyes and rubbed her back. Who thought that the patient would be the one comforting the others?
"I'm-" Tim stammered. "I'm sorry."
"You're not the one who hit me." The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. Abby pulled back and shared a worried glance with the others.
"I didn't mean it that way." Tony sighed when the silence stretched.
"It's OK. It is his fault." Abby soothed.
"He made a mistake and apparently I already had a concussion, so not entirely his fault." Tony tried to justify.
"Still he shouldn't have hit you that hard." McGee said back.
"Well, we all make mistakes." Tony sighed; he couldn't help but defend Gibbs in front of everyone else; he cared too much about the older man and sometimes it irritated even him. "Guys, Umm... I have a headache. Do you mind if-"
"Oh, sorry, Tony. Sleep. Sleep and get well soon. We'll be here." Abby kissed him on the cheek. "And Tony, I really am sorry for what I said the other night, I didn't mean-"
"Not now, Abs." Tony interrupted her and decided to change the subject. "You didn't leave a lipstick mark on my face, did you?" he pouted.
"No?"
Tony didn't believe her. "McGee?"
Sending a glare towards Tim, Abby dared him say otherwise.
Ziva chuckled. "She has. A black one." She grabbed a napkin and rubbed it on Tony's cheek. "Now sleep. We will come back later." She bent down and kissed him. "We are sorry for making things harder for you. But we shall talk about it another time, when you feel a bit better."
Nodding his head, Tony smiled tiredly and after exchanging goodbyes, the team finally left.
...
"Jethro?" Ducky called as soon as he entered the other man's house. When he didn't get an answer he walked to the basement.
"How long do you think you can hide down there?" He asked, finding Gibbs working on a piece of wood.
"Not hiding." Gibbs replied, not looking up from his work. "How's Tony?"
"Why don't you go and see for yourself." Ducky's tone was reprimanding.
"Dammit, Duck. He doesn't want me there." Gibbs threw his tool away and looked up.
"Did he tell you that himself?" The medical examiner frowned. "Because the way he talked to me, I'm quite certain that he has not seen you since waking up."
"That's because he can't see a damn thing." Gibbs said bitterly.
"I meant it figuratively." Ducky sighed with annoyance. "He's upset, Jethro and we both know that he has every right to feel that way, but he wants you there. You know how Anthony is; you wait too long and he will think you've given up on him and don't need him anymore now that he can't see. And you know that you need to talk to him, too. You need to apologize."
"I know. But I can't, Duck. Not after-" he rubbed his forehead. "I'm the reason he's blind. How can I face him?"
"So you prefer to escape and hide instead of facing the problem? Is that it, Jethro? I assumed it was the complete opposite of everything you believed in."
Gibbs hung his head and took a deep breath; when he finally looked up, there was determination in his eyes.
Ducky nodded his approval and quietly walked up the stairs. He decided not to mention that the doctor had confirmed the fact that the blindness was temporary, thinking that Jethro needed to carry that guilt for a while longer.
Gibbs stood there for a few more minutes, but he knew what he had to do. He owed Tony more than that. He couldn't leave him alone now, making his young friend think that now that he couldn't see, everyone would just walk away from him.
No; it didn't matter if Tony hated him, he wasn't about to abandon him and act like he didn't care anymore.
Taking the stairs two at a time, he rushed to his car to get to the hospital before he could change his mind.
...
Entering Tony's room quietly, Gibbs stood there for a few seconds, looking at Tony's sleeping form. The pain lines were evident around the man's eyes but his breathing was steady and even.
"So you decided that I'm not a complete lost cause, after all. Huh?" Tony's voice startled him and for fraction of a second he was glad that Tony couldn't see anything to witness that reaction; but he wasn't surprised that not only had the younger man heard him entering the room, but also had recognized him without him opening his mouth. He knew that Tony was a top notch investigator. "Or did you come here to dress me down, again?" Tony's eyes were still closed, and if it wasn't for his hand gripping the bed rail, Gibbs would've thought that he hadn't talked at all and was still sleeping.
"You can't be a lost cause; not even if you tried." Gibbs' voice sounded strange even to his own ears. He was about to say 'sorry' for hurting him and for leaving him when he shouldn't have, but instead he asked, "How are you feeling?"
"Just peachy." Tony answered curtly; somehow the pain and his blindness was affecting his usual calmness. Taking a deep breath, he forced his nerves to calm. "You can sit, this is not contagious." he said, pointing to his eyes.
Sarcasm, he deserved it! Gibbs thought before sighing deeply and walking to the chair beside the bed and sitting down. "I'm sorry." 'There, you said it. It wasn't that hard, was it?' A voice mocked him in his head.
Tony was about to come up with a witty remark and ask the older man what he was sorry about, but stopped himself in time. He knew his boss too well and knew that uttering those seemingly simple words couldn't have been easy; that and Ducky's words about Gibbs feeling extremely guilty.
So he just nodded and mumbled an 'OK', before turning his head away.
Still, a simple 'I'm sorry' didn't really merit more than that. He wasn't about to talk until he was blue in the face just to reassure his boss that everything was alright when the other man couldn't even utter more than a simple 'sorry'.
Besides, he was still mad, he couldn't lie to himself; although he'd been told that the blindness was temporary, he couldn't help but wonder what would happen if it wasn't or if he wound up with low vision. They kept saying that brain was a strange organ and head injuries were always tricky; so what if he never regained his sight? What if this was his life? And against his effort, he was somehow disappointed and mad at Gibbs.
"You didn't deserve that slap." Gibbs cleared his throat; noticing how hard the younger man was trying to keep his emotions at bay. "Not even a mild one." He knew he had to talk more if he wanted to start showing he was actually remorseful.
"No."
"And,..." Gibbs clenched his fist in frustration. "And I shouldn't have treated you the way I did."
"No, I just needed to end up in a hospital for everyone to admit to it." Tony retorted sarcastically. "I'm just an easy target; always have been."
Gibbs closed his eyes.
Damn, he really had screwed up this time and had no idea how to fix it.
He really couldn't take it; couldn't take the resignation in the voice of his most loyal and most resilient agent and know that he'd been the one putting it there and causing the pain.
Standing abruptly from his seat, he caused the chair to make a loud screech on the floor which made Tony jump a bit and turn his head towards the noise; unseeing eyes darting to right and left.
Gibbs' heart clenched tightly in his chest at that sight and he felt like screaming and hitting something. "Damn." he cursed. "Sorry. It was nothing. It's OK." He put a hand on Tony's shoulder, indicating that everything was alright, but when Tony shrank away, he immediately pulled his hand away.
"I need a coffee; will be right back."
"You don't have to. It's OK." Tony sighed and closed his unseeing eyes for which Gibbs was grateful. Seeing those green eyes darting around aimlessly was too much to take; so he just walked out of the room with no more words.
Berating himself for showing his frustration and weakness, Tony punched the mattress with clenched fist. He was so distracted that he barely heard it when someone quietly entered his room some minutes later.
Frowning a bit, he tried to remember who those footsteps belonged to, but so far he couldn't recognize the owner; so he uncomfortably asked, "Umm, who's there?"
"Agent DiNozzo, we need to take you for a few more tests." A man, that Tony thought should be an orderly, answered. "I'll help you to sit in a wheelchair." He said as he gently put a hand under Tony's armpit and slowly helped him to his chair.
Tony felt his stomach churn, thinking that they might've found something new in his test results and that was why they were taking him to go through another set of tests. "Is everything alright?"
"What?" The man asked. "Oh, yes. Your doctor will answer your questions, shortly. I'm just here to take you to the MRI room."
Tony silently nodded and felt dizzy; the symptoms of his concussion weren't gone yet. He was about to ask for a nurse when he heard a familiar sound; but before he could open his mouth to ask about it, he felt a needle piercing into in his neck and then there was nothing.
.
.
... TBC ...
A/N: Tell me what you think? :)
I should thank my beta-Reader, XX-Samantha-XX, for her help. Any remaining mistakes are mine.
Thanks for your support, everyone. :D
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