Chapter 4

About fifteen minutes later Tony emerged from the Autopsy locker room clad in one of Ducky's scrubs. He was warmer now in fact he felt hot but put it down to the hot shower he had just had.

"Anthony, just remove your shirt and hop up on the table and we shall see if you have done yourself any harm," requested Ducky as he began his examination.

As soon as Tony removed the scrub top he found a thermometer shoved in his mouth with the directions to keep it under his tongue while Ducky took his vitals. As soon as the thermometer was removed Tony shivered as a stethoscope was placed on his chest so Ducky could listen to the function of his lungs. "Couldn't you have warmed that first," complained Tony but Ducky paid him no mind as he continued to listen all the while making disapproving clucking sounds.

"Well Ducky…did he catch anything with his foolishness?" asked Gibbs impatiently.

"Jethro if it wasn't for the fact that Anthony is now sporting a fever I would recommend you busting his butt but good but due to the fact that his temperature is now at 102 degrees I wouldn't recommend it. His lungs also are sounding a bit congested. I can give you medicine to bring his fever down but what he really needs is rest and eating healthier so his immune system can get stronger and fight off symptoms when he acts so stupidly," explained Ducky.

Gibbs nodded and looking sternly at Tony said, "What he needs is a few days of care and I've got just the place for him to go…to Stillwater with his Grandpa Jack.

"Oh, not, not Grandpa…he's just as bad as you when it comes to my not minding him. I remember when I was thirteen and wanted to go swimming and he said no. I pleaded and pleaded with him but he said that it was still too cold and then he spanked me," remembered Tony. "He spanks just as hard as you do, Dad."

"Jackson spanked you just for asking? That doesn't sound right, Anthony?" asked Ducky.

"Oh, I might have forgotten to mention that I went anyhow and came down with a cold. First he nursed me and when I was well he tore my butt up; I couldn't sit comfortable for two days later," added Tony with a wince.

Gibbs smiled remembering, "and what did I do when I found out that you had disobeyed your grandpa?"

"You spanked me soon afterwards…I had to ride back home on my stomach in the back seat," remembered Tony. "Do I have to go Dad?"

Gibbs was moved by Tony's pleadings and relented; "I tell you what I'll do, if you follow the good doctor's instructions, take all of your meds and get plenty of rest we will just go for a visit but if I find that you have varied from those conditions you'll have to stay and recuperate with your grandpa."

"Deal," promised Tony, now all he had to do is follow whatever Ducky said and then he would be free of Jack's attention.

"But Tony if you stay with Jack the same rule applies as it was when you were a kid," warned his father.

"No, you can't be serious Dad," argued Tony, "I'm grown now."

"Not too grown to stop acting foolishly with your health and I do mean what I say; for every time you are spanked by your grandpa you can expect a second one by me when I return…and with what I already owe you for getting yourself in this mess you had better be an angel or you will not be sitting comfortably for a month," threatened Gibbs.

Tony lay back with a huff knowing he if he was forced to recuperate at Grandpa's his father would make good on the threat.

While Tony was pouting Gibbs remembered the day he introduced his son to his father. It had started out innocently a few weeks after adopting Tony. He had found the boy looking at the pictures of his wife Shannon and daughter Kelly.

"Who are they, D-Dad," the boy had asked hesitantly; fumbling over the name of "Dad." His biological father hadn't wanted his son to call him something as impersonal as Dad; he had always wanted to be called "Father" and then had gone out of his way to alienate the boy. Now Tony was finding it hard to change...if he had failed to call his father by the required name he would have been beaten.

Gibbs had looked up from what he was doing to see who the boy was asking about and said quietly, "The lady was my wife Shannon and the little girl my daughter, Kelly. They were killed two years ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry…I didn't mean to bring up bad memories," the boy had apologized at once. He knew what bringing up bad memories would mean in the household he had left.

Gibbs noticing the fear in the boy's eyes had quickly come to his side and said, "You don't have to be afraid of asking me anything Tony; I'm not going to hurt you," and had given him a hug of assurance.

"Thanks, Dad," he had responded the fumbling all gone now. Tony looked around for more pictures and finding none had asked, "Don't you have any other pictures of family around Dad?"

"My mom died when I was a teenager Tony?"

"Oh…I'm sorry…what about your dad?"

The silence filled the room as Gibbs contemplated lying to Tony about his father. They hadn't been very close since his mother's death; it was like he blamed his father for her dying even if he knew it wasn't so and then at Shannon and Kelly's funeral he had shown up with a date, something that Gibbs regarded as the worse thing he could have done and they had grown even further away. But after watching Tony's eagerness of learning about his new family he just couldn't do it. "He's alive and still living in Stillwater, PA. He runs a little general store up there."

"But haven't you any pictures of him around Dad?"

Gibbs left him then and returned to his basement causing Tony to wonder what he had said to drive his new father away. Tony waited for what seemed like hours, but was only a few minutes, uncertain on how he could fix the pain his asking must have caused when he heard his new dad's footsteps coming up from the basement. In his hand he carried a framed old photograph which he handed to the boy. It was a picture of three, two parents and one small boy standing in-between them.

"This is a picture of me with my mom and dad," explained Gibbs. "I must have been ten when the picture was taken."

Tony looked at it trying to see the man that had become his dad in the picture of the small boy and finally saw the resemblance mainly in the eyes. The adults looked happy with smiles all around.

"I think you should display it with the ones of Shannon and Kelly," remarked Tony as he handed the picture back.

"You might be right, son," replied Gibbs with a smile and with a show of affection added, "how would you like to meet your grandpa?"

"Could I? that would be great…can we go now?" he had asked excitedly.

"Tony, I haven't talked to my father for years…let me call and check it out with him first and then I've got to clear it at work…but if all goes according to plans we can give it a try this weekend."

Tony was so excited about meeting another family member he could hardly stand it and pushed Gibbs towards the only phone in the room. "Call him…please dad?"

Gibbs remembered that it hadn't taken long to reconnect with his father and that his father had been delighted to hear from his son again and had invited him for the weekend. He had promised to be there and was bringing a surprise for him.

"What's the surprise you have for grandpa?" Tony had demanded and had to smile when Gibbs had told him that he was the surprise.

With that memory gone Gibbs' focus returned to notice Ducky handing him a prescription. "Now go and get this filled so our Anthony can get over his cold. He's going to need to eat something with it, Jethro and get plenty of rest."

"Oh, don't worry about that Duck…I'll make sure he follows your instructions to the letter," replied Gibbs seriously as he caught his son's eye.

Tony straightened up on the table and interrupted, "No Dad, I don't need to go home with you," guessing what his father was going to say next, "I can take care of myself. Anyhow all I want to do is sleep and I can't get into any trouble by sleeping. I'll even take my medicine like a good boy," he added sarcastically for Ducky's benefit.

Ducky and Gibbs exchanged a glance before Gibbs saying, "if I allow it and then find out that you haven't been taking your meds, resting or not following any of Ducky's directives I will be bringing you back home with me for the duration of your illness."

"Yes, Dad."

"Now Ducky if you will write down exactly what you want him to do and more importantly what you don't want him to do then we can get his medicine filled and then get our little boy in bed," requested Gibbs of his old friend.

"Daddddd…I'm not a little boy," cried Tony as he felt his face blush from embarrassment.

"You'll always be my little boy, son," replied Gibbs as he moved to help Tony from the table.