There was a nurse talking to him again but thanks to Ducky Tony was able to focus on what she was saying. Ducky had opened his eyes to the fact that the twins' chances were good and that he had to be strong for them and believe in them because there was nobody else who would. Ducky had said that things would be okay and Tony was shocked to realise that he was actually starting to believe that.

"I know how scary it is to have one child in the NICU; I had my daughter at just 26 weeks so I can't imagine how you feel with two in here," the nurse said to him. "But we're going to do everything possible to take care of both them and you."

"Thank you," Tony managed to say.

"Do these two sweet men have names yet?" the nurse asked.

Tony shrugged helplessly. He'd decided within hours of finding out that he was having twin boys that their middle names would be after the two most influential men in his life but he was yet to settle on first names for them. He'd thought that he would have more time.

God, there was just so much that he had to do, Tony thought, starting to feel overwhelmed. Picking their names was probably going to be the simplest task on his to-do list. Ducky was going to see Vance and fill him in on the situation but Tony knew he would have to see the director in person sometime soon to arrange a leave of absence. He needed to build the nursery. He needed to go shopping for baby supplies. He needed to get brave and fill the rest of the team in on his new situation. And that wasn't even taking into consideration the many things he would need to do if the twins had even one or two of the health problems that the doctor, whose name he had promptly forgotten, had warned him could be possibilities.

"I haven't narrowed it down yet," he revealed.

"Well, that's okay," the nurse said, squeezing his shoulder. She seemed to sense Tony's dilemma. "You just take your time."

She walked away leaving Tony alone with his sons. It equally awed and terrified him that these two tiny beings were dependent on him for everything. He alone was responsible for these two tiny lives. When he thought about it like that Tony couldn't help but feel jealous of the three couples hovering over their infants who were also in the NICU. At least they had each other.

Deep down Tony knew that he wasn't really alone. He believed it when Ducky said that he would help and the ME had also said he would fill Gibbs in on the situation. Ducky was sure that Gibbs would want to help but Tony wasn't sure what good the former marine could do, especially while the boys were in the hospital. Gibbs had been invaluable to him on the numerous occasions he had been in hospital but Tony doubted that the same strategy would work on his sons. After all, it wasn't as though Gibbs could just order the two boys to be okay.

That is, if Gibbs managed to get in here at all. Tony understood that Ducky had probably talked his way into the NICU with his medical credentials but the rest of the team probably wouldn't be allowed in because they weren't family, not that he particularly wanted most of them there. Abby's boundless energy and blindness when it came to Gibbs would probably do more harm than good right now and after the way they'd treated him Tony wasn't sure that he even wanted McGee and Ziva to know he had kids let alone to be near them.

Catching a slight movement from the corner of his eye Tony noticed that one of his sons was awake. He carefully put his hand through one of the portals in the incubator and stroked the boy's tiny hand. It bummed him out that he couldn't hold his children but Tony understood that the boys needed the support that being in the incubators gave them. The doctors had said that, if things went well, in a week or two they could try something called 'kangaroo care' in which he would be able to hold the boys for short periods of time. Tony could wait until then and in the mean time he would take what he could get. The nurses had told him it was important for the babies to get to know his voice and his touch.

"Hey buddy," he whispered. "I'm your dad. I have to admit I don't know much about being a dad but I swear I'll always do my best for you and your brother. I'll be strong for you but I need you to be strong for me, too. I need you to be okay!"

"Jesus!"

Gibbs needed a long swallow of bourbon in order to comprehend what Ducky had just told him.

After getting Ducky's message via the security guard earlier in the day Gibbs had hurried down to the morgue to get some more information, only to be told that the ME was gone for the day. With the search for Tony called off and knowing the rest of his team was unlikely to get any work done without the SFA around Gibbs had dismissed them, knowing that Ducky would seek him out eventually.

It hadn't been until quite late at night, though and by that stage Gibbs had already been at home, working on his boat in the basement. Ducky had stayed with Anthony for quite a while before returning to NCIS to speak to the director. He had suggested that six months would be a good amount of time for Anthony to have off. The young man would need that much time to get his sons through their many health issues and bond with them as well as to get used to single parenthood. If the worst did happen, though Anthony would also need that time to mourn.

Luckily, as well as being Director of NCIS, Vance was a family man and had readily agreed to the request, though Ducky was fairly certain Vance would have agreed even without his own family. The ME had noticed how, recently, Anthony's relationship with the director had greatly improved. It was ironic, in a sad sort of way. Even as Anthony had grown apart from the team, his surrogate family, he had earned the respect of the director he had long mistrusted and, in turn, grown to respect him as well. These days the pair were almost cordial with each other.

Then, Ducky had had to go and tell Jethro about the birth of the littlest DiNozzos, which was by far the hardest part of his night. The normally stoic marine's face had been a tumultuous range of emotions as he'd heard the news. Ducky knew that not only would this bring back memories of his lost wife and daughter for Jethro but it would probably open his eyes to how far his once close relationship with Anthony had fallen, that he hadn't already been informed of the twins' impending arrival well in advance.

Even worse was the fact that Ducky was going to have to tell him it would be a long while before he could make this truly right. The DiNozzo twins were going to be in the NICU for a long time, a place where, other than medical personnel, only parents and some extended family members were allowed. The hospital were already making an exception for Ducky and they almost definitely wouldn't make one for Gibbs who, although he considered himself Tony's father, had no medical or legal standing to enter the NICU and visit the twins. Tony wasn't going to want to be away from his sons for long periods of time so, at least until the boys were stable, it was going to be a while until Jethro and Anthony could sit down and talk.

For his part Gibbs couldn't believe it. Tony was a father! His son was a father!

A disturbing thought occurred to him. "Why wouldn't he tell me about this? Why wouldn't he trust me?"

Ducky frowned. "Really, Jethro. For the leader of a team with the highest case closure rate in the whole of NCIS you are surprisingly unobservant."

Gibbs glared at the ME. "I'm not in the mood for riddles, Duck."

Ducky usually liked people to figure things out for themselves but in this case he decided to give Jethro a break. "Really, it's been going on since you left for Mexico but its gotten worse in recent months. Ziva, Timothy and, to a lesser degree, Abigail have been tormenting Anthony awfully and you haven't lifted a finger to help him. I imagine you're probably about to say that Anthony is a grown man and can fight his own battles, which is true, but as team leader, isn't it your responsibility to ensure harmony in your ranks? I've watched as Anthony tried and tried to earn their respect but failed every time. The others either can't or won't look beyond that childlike mask that he wears. It seems to me that Ziva and Timothy, especially, have taken your non-action as a sign their behaviour is acceptable. If Anthony can't rely on you professionally why would he rely on you personally?"

Gibbs ran a weary hand over his face. "I never meant for things to get this bad, Duck. I have noticed what's been going on but I wanted to give Tony a chance to sort things out himself before I stepped in."

Ducky nodded. He'd expected an explanation like that. Jethro would certainly not act as malicious as his behaviour these past few months had seemed, at least not to Anthony. "I know but Anthony is going to need us all in the coming days, weeks and months, Jethro. You helped to cause this problem and now it's going to be up to you to make things right."