Sucker Punched

Jethro looked questioningly at Ducky.

Ducky responded, "Go ahead, Jethro, but let me run two things by you first."

Jethro paused, studying his friend impatiently.

"First, Anthony didn't get sick suddenly tonight. I think he must have been covering up the fact that he was ill for a few days at least. He probably guessed that you would bench him if you thought he was ill."

Gibbs sucked in a breath, and filed that information away for later dissection.

"Also, I think that we need to contact his father, we need to notify Mr. Dinozzo."

That brought about an audible gasp from Jethro, but Ducky held up his hand. "Don't speak, Jethro. I am saying this in agreement with Dr. Pitt. Your boy is in bad shape. Now I know that Tony is not that close to his father, but the man needs to be notified."

Ducky's words hit with the ferocity of a bullet. Jethro felt the room start to spin and suddenly Brad was by his side, grabbing him around the shoulder to steady him. "Breathe deeply," he ordered, rubbing his hand soothingly against the older man's shoulder until Gibbs was back under control. Brad spoke quietly, "It's not over for Tony, Agent Gibbs, but as a professional, I will not lie and tell you that his chance of coming out of this is anything but slim."

With that, the two medical professionals waited quietly, each suffering inside at the look of stark pain on Jethro's face. The agent was the master of disguising his emotions, so seeing his terror so raw and exposed cut through them. Within a couple of minutes Jethro stood up straight, squared his shoulders, and headed into Tony's room.

Ducky turned to Brad, "I have rarely witnessed a display of emotion like that with him, and we have been friends for years. He's afraid, as are we, and feels helpless that he can't fix this."

Brad shook his head in agreement. "You call Tony's father, and I'll go notify the nursing staff to take some extra bedding to the room. They'll be pleased that Tony's dad might sleep and not bother them."

Inside the hospital room Jethro stood still near the door, allowing his eyes to take in the entire panoramic view. It was difficult to even find Tony's body under the tubes and equipment which encompassed him. Gibbs noted the different noises emitted from various pieces of diagnostic equipment, and the fact that there were so many numbers illuminated on the various screens that there was no reason to engage the light.

Finally he approached the bed, and he startled himself by having to stop and get his emotions back under control. Usually his outward appearance was unreadable and stoic, and he realized that his mentoring/ parenting of Tony and Abby had changed him. They mattered, and they mattered, and they mattered- very much so, to him.

Tony's laboured breathing came in erratic spurts, despite the oxygen mask clamped on his face. Jethro knew immediately from Tony's expression that irregardless of the sedation, his body was fighting for survival. His restlessness and discomfort manifested themselves in jerky twitches. The lack of oxygen had already tinted his lips an eerie blue. Jethro couldn't stop himself from shuddering when he recognized the same tint that had presented itself years earlier in Tony's bout with pneumatic plague.

Gibbs leaned over and began gently brushing his hand through Tony's hair, murmuring soothing words. Within a couple of minutes the patient visibly relaxed, and the restlessness stopped. Jethro continued a few more minutes until he felt confident that Tony had fallen into a deeper sleep, then he dragged one of the room's chairs to the side of the bed and dropped wearily into it. He positioned it so that Tony would see him if he woke, then settled back, his head resting against the vinyl top of the chair.

Jethro dozed fitfully, and sprang to attention once an hour when the nurses came in and worked at Tony's bedside. He made the medical professionals explain everything they were doing, and insisted they teach him how to read and understand all of the displays from the surrounding machines. For their part, they all smiled sympathetically as they taught him, sympathizing with how terrifying it was for him to see that Tony was so close to death.

After each visit Tony's agitation would resurface, and Gibbs would quiet him again by caressing, or stroking, or touching him gently while he spoke soothingly. Tony needed him, not as his boss, but as a parent and source of comfort. The night exhausted Gibbs as much as it did Tony, but Gibbs refused to rest when Tony needed him so desperately.