"Gibbs, is he going to be alright?" Abby asked, her voice full of concern, as she watched the ambulance taking Tony to the hospital pull away.

"DiNozzo? Yeah, I think he'll be fine," he replied. "The hit on the head might actually improve him. I'll stop by the hospital and check on him after I drop you at my place."

"I'll be fine here, really," she answered.

"Abby, it's been a long day and it's not up for discussion. You're staying at my place tonight," he told her sternly. "Meeting Kyle wasn't very smart, you do realize that, don't you?"

"I know," Abby sighed and looked up at him forlornly. "I just thought I would be able to make him understand how I felt. It wasn't fair, you know? I had to deal with everything and he got to pretend like nothing happened."

"Sometimes, Abs, it's better to just walk away," Gibbs said quietly.

"That's what Tori said," Abby responded. A few seconds later she suddenly said, "Gibbs, I have to call her to let her know what's going on. She's going to be so mad. Last time we talked I wasn't exactly nice to her and when she finds out what happened she won't be talking to me for years, not that I blame her."

"Abby, I'll call Tori and explain everything," Gibbs told her.

"Really?" she asked. When he nodded in affirmation, she said, "Thanks. I really didn't want to have to tell her about Tony. This is so not good. When she finds out he was shot, she'll never want to go on another date with him. She was afraid something like this would happen." Abby gasped and placed her hand over her mouth when she realized what she had uttered out loud. When she looked over at Gibbs she found him staring straight back at her, calm as ever.

"I know," Gibbs told her.

"You know?" Abby asked doubtfully, her eyes narrowed.

"I know," he repeated nodding his head, a slightly indulgent smile on his face. "Now go pack a bag."

After dropping Abby off at his home, Gibbs went over to the hospital to check up on how Tony was doing. "How'd you feel, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked Tony when he finally located the hospital room he was in.

"I feel great, boss," Tony replied from the bed. "I'm not sure what they gave me but this is the best my shoulder's felt since college."

"Don't get used to it," Gibbs admonished. "It's going to wear off."

"Yeah, I know," Tony answered and then asked, "How's Abby?"

"She's at my place," Gibbs replied. "She's worried about you and about what her sister's going to say?"

"Tell her I'm fine," Tony said. "As for Victoria, I'm guessing she isn't going to be so happy with things."

"Did you call her to let her know you're in the hospital?" Gibbs asked.

"Abby knows I'm here, boss," Tony said doing his best to avoid where Gibbs was leading the conversation. As Gibbs glared and raised an eyebrow he relented and answered, "No, I didn't call Vic. I didn't want to worry her over nothing, and I'm sure it's nothing, even if they are keeping me here overnight for observation."

Leroy Jethro Gibbs shook his head in reply and walked out the door of the hospital room. When he finished leaving specific instructions at the nurse's desk on Tony's floor, he left the hospital. He dialed Victoria Theriault's number, as he walked through the parking lot to his car. "Tori, this is Jethro Gibbs," he said when she answered.

"What's happened? Is Abby okay?" she asked rapidly.

"Abby's fine," he told her.

"Then why are you calling? Something has to be wrong," Tori replied. She knew this was no casual phone call. She had learned enough about Gibbs personality, not only from Abby's tales but also from the week she had spent at NCIS, to know he wasn't one to call to say hello.

"Kyle was at her apartment and didn't want to leave. Things got a little out of hand; but it's taken care of and he won't be bothering her anymore," he said.

"Okay. Now, what aren't you saying?" she asked brazenly but with a bit of apprehension. "You didn't call to tell me that."

"No," he agreed. "I didn't."

"Then what?" Tori asked again.

"Tori, Kyle had a gun with him. Tony was hit," he replied calmly.

"Tony? Was shot?" Tori asked her voice full of concern. "How bad is it?"

"He's at the hospital now," Gibbs told her. "He's going to be fine in a few days but someone should be here to look after him. He's not always good at following doctor's orders."

"I appreciate you calling to let me know what's going on, I really do," she replied. "Why do you sound like you think I should be that someone?"

"Tori, Tony's father doesn't exactly make himself available to him," he explained. "I have a feeling Tony would rather see you anyway."

"Are you sure about that, Agent Gibbs? You called to let me know what happened tonight, he didn't," Tori stated, thinking back over the past couple of weeks and the more recent conversations she had with Tony.

"Well, with the medication they gave him, he's not really thinking straight," Gibbs countered. "Can I count on you to be here?"

"I'm not even sure if I can get a flight tonight. If I do, and that's a big if, they're not going to let me in to see him, you do know that?" Tori said matter-of-factly. "Visiting hours are probably almost over now."

"They'll let you in," he said with certainty.

"I can't promise anything. I've got to make a few calls first," she finally told him after a moment or two of silence. "I will call you back and let you know one way or the other as soon as I can."

"Am I dead?" Tony asked as he woke from the light sleep he had fallen into. As he looked across the room, he saw Tori in the dim light coming from the television.

"No. Why?" she said quietly as she placed her purse down on a chair near the door.

"You're here in my hospital room, in the middle of the night," he replied. "That's the only explanation I can think of."

"You had to go and get yourself shot, didn't you? Was your life not quite cinematic enough these days, so … this?" Tori responded and gestured around the room. She had spent every moment of the flight trying to plan what she would say to him. Now that she was there and saw he was going to be okay, every carefully planned possibility escaped her mind. The flood of emotions running through her body colored the words that did come out and gave them an edge of anger and sharpness.

"Yeah, that's it, Vic. It was kind of boring this week, so I thought a bullet in the shoulder and slight concussion, that'd make it almost Oscar worthy," he answered sarcastically, perceiving the anger and oblivious to the concern hidden behind her words. "Maybe I just wanted to see you."

"You can't pick up a phone like everyone else?" she asked tersely.

"I figured getting shot would get you here quicker," Tony said quickly and then regretted it just as quickly when he saw the pained look on her face. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean that. This has got to be a nightmare for you."

"It's not my worst nightmare, Tony, but it's close," Tori told him as she remained on the far side of the room. She decided to try starting the conversation again and took a deep breath. "Can we try this again? Are you okay?" she asked quietly.

"They patched me back up; I'm just here for observation," he answered calmly wanting to smooth over his earlier gaffe. When he saw Tori's face relax a bit, he continued, "Personally, I think the head nurse wanted to get to know me better. Since you're here now, I'll have to tell her to try the guy next door."

Tori shook her head and tried not to laugh as she walked closer to the bed. "Do they know that you're always like this and it's not the concussion talking? My observation is you're fine. I think they could've sent you home."

"And saved you a trip?" Tony replied flippantly.

"Why do you want to argue?" she asked. "You wanted to know how I felt about you … here I am."

"I don't want to fight, Victoria," he told her. "I wish I didn't have to end up in a hospital for you to decide."

"What do you want me to say, Tony? I'm sorry I couldn't give you an answer immediately, I really am, but I needed some time," Tori told him. "I had to sort it all out. You deserved serious consideration, not a snap decision." As she was talking she picked up his cell phone that was sitting out on the table next to the bed. She handed it to him and said, "Before you say anything else, you might want to check your email."

The painkiller the doctor had given him earlier was wearing off and he winced as he moved. He logged into the network and opened the email she had sent him early that morning. He read her message silently as she pulled a chair close to the bed and sat down. "I … uh … I was out on a case," he said as he put the phone down.

"When you didn't reply one way or the other, I sort of guessed that," Tori said as he looked at her. She exhaled loudly and continued, "Of course, as it got later I thought that maybe you didn't want to talk to me at all. I planned what I wanted to say to you on the flight and on the drive over, in between looking at the nav system so I didn't get lost, but when I walked in this room and saw you and realized that you're going to be okay, it all got forgotten and everything I did say came out wrong and now you…"

"Victoria, stop," Tony interrupted with an indulgent smile. "I thought Abby was the only person who could talk like that. You are definitely sisters."

"Do you still want to see if we can make this work? I know it won't be easy and it's a hell of a long weekend commute, but I'd like to try?" she asked. Tony looked over at Tori from the bed and started to shake his head, however the smile in his eyes gave his feelings away.

"You're sure? You're not just saying that because I'm hurt and you're feeling a little guilty?" he asked with an impish grin.

"I'm definitely sure I'm not feeling guilty," Tori told him. "Why would I be feeling guilty?"

"For not bringing flowers or candy or flowers and candy," he told her. "Just so you know, three strikes and you're out."

"I'll keep that in mind," she said smiling.

"I'd come over there and kiss you but they told me to stay in bed as much as possible and I'm not really properly attired," he told her pointing to the hospital gown.

"I don't know, it might have possibilities," Tori replied with a wink and a wicked smile as she stood up. "Are you going to announce the kissing thing all the time because that is going to be a problem?" she asked and then leaned over to kiss him.

"How'd you get here?" he asked a short time later.

"I drove here from the airport. Why?" she answered as she sat in the small space he managed to make for her next to him on the bed.

"It's late," he said in reply and pressed the button to call for a nurse as Tori looked on trying to figure out what he was doing. When one of the nurses on duty that night entered the room he asked for an extra pillow and blanket.

"We don't usually do this, Agent DiNozzo," the older woman told him with a slightly disapproving look as she saw Tori sitting on the bed next to him. "We're already bending the rules with the visiting hours."

"It's Tony," he replied with a charming smile. "My girlfriend just flew in from Montreal when she heard I was here. It's late; she's tired. What kind of guy would I be if I let her drive at this hour?"

"I'll make an exception for tonight," she said and went to get the pillow and blanket. When she returned to the room, she handed them over to Tori who thanked her. "He needs to get some sleep," the nurse curtly said to Tori.

"So do I," Tori answered and pulled the chair her purse was resting on to face the one she had been sitting in earlier. She seated herself again and put her feet up on the other chair and spread the blanket over her legs.

"You could come back up here," Tony said from the bed with a raise of his eyebrows.

"You stay right where you are, Anthony DiNozzo," she retorted. "I'm not getting in trouble with the nurse; she didn't look too happy to see me up there the first time she came in. Now go to sleep."