Gibbs was relieved to hear from Abby that Tony wanted him back at the hospital after work. He was hoping that by the time he got to Tony's room, the younger man would have gotten a few more memories back. The knowledge that his senior agent missed him gave Gibbs a warm feeling that helped him calm down and speak nicely to his team that afternoon.
"Alright, Tim, how's the case going?" Gibbs asked.
McGee pulled a file from his desk and handed it to Gibbs. "Petty Officer Stone is elusive," McGee said with a sigh. "Bishop and I followed him all morning, then he disappeared at a cafe in Georgetown. We searched and asked around, but nobody knew where he had gone. Sorry, boss."
"No problem, Tim. We'll try again tomorrow."
"Really?"
"Really. Now, Abby mentioned that everyone was pitching in to buy a gift for Tony. How much do I need to put in?"
"Nothing, boss. We have it covered."
"Don't be silly, Tim. This is for Tony. How much do I need to put in?"
McGee shrugged. "We put in twenty each. Abby has the money and is going to buy the gift tonight so she can take to Tony tomorrow."
"Right. I'll go see Abby then."
"Boss? How's Tony doing now?"
Gibbs sighed. "Not much better. He's happier, but only slightly."
"Is he past 2003 yet?"
"Not that I'm aware of. I'll ask Abby when I go see her, but I doubt it."
"He remembers me, doesn't he?"
"Yes."
"Good. I'd like to visit him after work."
"Okay. Actually, you know what? Take Bishop with you and go now. Maybe he'll remember something if he sees her."
McGee nodded. "On it, boss."
"And tell him that I'll see him later. I'll bring him some dinner."
"Hey, Abbs," said Gibbs as he entered her unusually quiet lab.
"Hi," said Abby distractedly.
Gibbs sighed. Abby had been extremely sad and detached since Tony's accident, and Gibbs had been hoping that she would cheer up a little by seeing her best friend. It clearly hadn't worked.
"Abby, McGee mentioned that you were going to buy Tony's present tonight. I want to put some money in for it."
"What?"
"Abbs, are you listening?"
Abby turned around. "Sorry, I was thinking about Tony's gift. I don't know what to get him. What did you say, Gibbs?"
"I said that I want to put money in for Tony's present." Gibbs handed over two twenty dollar notes.
"That's too much..."
"Not for Tony, it isn't. I want you to not have to put extra money in later, Abby. Now, what were you thinking of getting?"
"I don't know. I wanted to get him something to do with movies. Tony really loves his movies."
"What if you get him a few of the new movies that are out? In his mind, he hasn't seen them yet."
Abby smiled. "That's a great idea, Gibbs! What should I get?"
"How about that new cartoon movie? I don't know what it's called. The one with all the animals."
"Zootopia?"
"Yeah, that one."
"Tony didn't really enjoy it when we saw it at the movies."
"Okay. What other movies came out recently?"
"Well, Jurassic World just came out on DVD. Tony liked that movie."
"So get that. And find a few other movies you can give him as well. What about all those older movies he likes? It's a Wonderful Life is one of them."
"He has that already. I'll look around and see what I can find. Thank you, Gibbs."
Gibbs gave Abby a smile and kissed her head. "Tony will probably be bored with me by the end of tonight. Take tomorrow off and spend it with him, okay?"
Abby grinned. She looked happy for the first time in almost a week. "Thank you! I've missed my Tony."
McGee and Bishop were a little worried about seeing Tony. Both knew that his memory was only up to the end of 2003, which posed a problem. For Bishop, the problem was that Tony had no clue who she was. But she saw it as a chance to let Tony get to know her again, and as a way of starting off on the right foot with him. For McGee, the problem was that he knew so much about Tony that Tony himself did not. And with that came all of the burden to be the one that explained it all again.
"Hi, McGee," said Tony brightly, scaring both agents. "Come in."
Bishop recovered first. She stepped into the brightly lit room that had clearly been decorated by Abby earlier that day, giving Tony a smile. Extending her hand for him to shake, she said,
"Hi, Tony. I'm Ellie Bishop. You probably don't remember me right now, but we work together."
Tony smiled back and shook Bishop's hand. "Did you replace Kate?"
"Uh... no. I replaced someone named Ziva, I think. Who's Kate?"
"She was an agent with us. She just died... Uh, I mean, to me, she just died."
"That's alright, we understand what you mean. Sorry, I don't know who Kate is. McGee probably does, although I think he may have forgotten how to close his mouth before a fly gets in," laughed Bishop.
"That's how he looks after Gibbs has told him to do something that is really hard or impossible. He'll get over it soon." Tony indicated the room. "Do you like the decorations?"
"They're unique. Abby did it, right?"
Tony nodded. "She loves the colour black, but she lightened everything because she knows that black is not necessarily my favourite colour."
"She's been really sad since you got hurt. She misses you so much."
Tony frowned. "I don't like it when Abby is sad."
"None of us do," said McGee, who had finally joined them. "She'll be okay. She's probably trying to convince Gibbs to give her tomorrow off to spend it with you."
"I'm not much company right now. I've been doing a lot of sleeping."
"Abby won't care. She'll just want to join you on the bed and sleep next to you. Or cuddle you until you can't breathe, depending on how tired she is."
"Is Gibbs coming too?"
"He said to tell you he'll be here later, after work, I guess he meant. He's going to bring you dinner."
Tony smiled. "That would be nice. I don't like the hospital food."
"We know. You are probably the most in..."
Bishop elbowed McGee and shushed him. "Ignore him, Tony. He's just being paranoid."
"I don't like hospitals. I never have, but after that stupid plague... Yuck."
McGee grinned, quietly relieved that Tony hadn't registered what he nearly said. "You were definitely the favourite during your hospital stay, Tony. All the nurses loved you. I caught them discussing the patients that they were caring for once, and the nurse that got you as her patient was almost dancing around with joy."
"Really?"
"Oh, yeah. Trust me, even when you weren't trying to be friendly, you were making everyone be your friend."
Tony laughed. "It's part of my charm." He looked at Bishop. "You're pretty, you know that? Are you married?"
"Not anymore. I was, but we got divorced." Bishop shrugged. "It's for the best. He was cheating on me, and he didn't even try to deny it."
Tony glared at the wall. "If I ever find him..."
"No, Tony. It's not necessary."
"I'll make him regret hurting you. I don't know you, but I don't like it when people cheat on other people. He's a jerk."
"He is. But you don't need to do anything. He's already aware that I've got great friends willing to look after me."
Tony smiled again. "Good. If he decides to hurt you again, I'll come to your rescue," he said happily.
