This story gets more ridiculous with every chapter. This one is no exception. Thanks everyone for reading, and for the reviews :) Hope you like - its a bit longer, just for The Swordsman :) All ya gotta do is ask!

Chapter Nine

"You better not be sleeping DiNozzo," Gibbs growled, coming down the stairs from MTAC. He knew his agent was injured and tired, but all that could wait when their killer was still out there.

Tony lifted his head from the file he'd been using as a pillow, trying to flatten his sleep-ruffled hair. "No boss. Just….reading."

Gibbs snorted. Tony's cheek was smeared with ink. "Right." He sat down in his chair, pausing a few seconds before shouting "MCGEE!"

McGee jumped, startled out of his computer-induced trance. "Yes boss."

"What you got?"

Tony tuned out as McGee began spouting his usual geek-talk. Cursing Gibbs under his breath for making him take the dreaded pain-pill, he pinched himself, trying to stay awake.

"Always knew you were a light-mass," Ziva said quietly from across the bullpen.

Tony gave her a dirty look. "It's light-weight, Ziva, and I'm not."

"Mhmmm. One painkiller and you're out like a torch."

"Out like a light, Zee-vah, and would you stop?" Tony wasn't in the mood. He pulled himself out of a chair just to prove he wasn't tired, reaching for the crutch.

"Where you going, DiNozzo?"

"Head, boss."

Gibbs narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, c'mon. Its not like I need someone to hold my hand, Gibbs. I hurt my knee, not my head."

Gibbs wasn't convinced, but his stare softened a little. "3 minutes. If you're not back, I'm sending Ziva in to check on you."

Tony almost tripped over his feet in his rush to get back, but he made it. Ziva looked a little disappointed.

The case picked up, and soon Ziva, McGee and Gibbs left to talk to another suspect. Tony was ordered to stay behind, but he was secretly glad, firstly because he was still shaky on two crutches, let alone one, and secondly because with Gibbs out of the office, it gave him a chance to hide the painkillers. Down the toilet.

Pleased with his efforts, he sat back down at his desk, booting up the ol' Shoot Osama computer game since Gibbs had left no work to do. Pretty soon, he glanced at the clock. It was time for him to take the next round of drugs. Pity that both Gibbs and the pills were nowhere to be found.

No such luck. A second later, the doors of the now-operational lift opened and Gibbs strolled out, coffee in hand, followed by Ziva and McGee who were leading a man in cuffs.

"Put him in interrogation," Gibbs told McGee. Ziva took her seat. Gibbs turned his attention to Tony. "Abby called again. You take your meds?"

Tony grinned.

"Why do I even bother asking?" Gibbs muttered to himself, walking over to Tony's desk to grab the pills. "…..DiNozzo?"

"Oh dear…. Someone must've taken them." Tony said blankly. He got an extra-hard slap.

"Lucky for you, Abby brought spares," Gibbs said with a hint of a smile. "Go see her now. No detours. Ziva, go with him, make sure he swallows them."

"My pleasure, Gibbs," Ziva said, smiling as she stood up and followed Tony into the lift. Tony shot Gibbs a dark look before the doors shut.

Inside the lift, Tony stood in front of Ziva, leaning against the side wall. He silenced a grunt as the throbbing in his knee made itself felt. Didn't do anything to change his resolve – he wasn't taking any more pills. The lift announced its arrival on Abby's floor with a cheery DING and the doors slid open.

Tony stopped, standing before the open doors. What followed was chain-reaction of moments culminating in one extremely unfortunate event.

Tony paused. He wasn't exactly keen on the idea of being force-fed sedatives by an Israeli spy and an over-excited Gothic lab tech dressed in spikes.

"Planning on moving, Tony?" Ziva teased. She gave him a gentle shove forward. At the same time, Tony took a step, momentarily forgetting that he was favouring his right leg. He stepped down on his swollen, strapped and extremely sore leg and it buckled under him just as Ziva pushed him forward. To his falling body, Ziva's playful push only increased his momentum downward. The crutch caught on the gap between the lift and the floor, and Tony's whole body slipped from under him. The end result? Tony's head slammed hard into the metal runner of the lift doors, his body going limp on the floor.

Abby heard the bang, the noise produced by the contact between Tony's skull and the metal, running out of her lab. In fact, Ziva would've been surprised if everyone in the building hadn't heard that noise.

"Tony!" Ziva squatted over his body, her eyes filled with concern.

She turned his head. A thin trickle of blood ran down from his scalp. Abby froze, seeing her best friend lying prone on the ground.

"Abby, call Ducky." Ziva told her. Abby nodded numbly, spinning on her heel and running back to the lab. Ziva gently pulled Tony's body out from the elevator, propping him up against the wall.

"Tony?" She touched his cheek gently.

He groaned, stirring a little. Gradually he came to, blinking his eyes before they focused on Ziva. "God." His hand went straight to his head and he winced, shifting so he was sitting upright. "My head's all sticky." He removed his hand, wrinkling his nose at the blood coating the tips of his fingers.

"Oh Tony," Abby sat beside him on the floor, wrapping her arms around his neck. She peered at the wound on his head, chewing on her bottom lip. "Ducky's on his way. And Gibbs."

"Oh man, Gibbs is gonna kill me," Tony said with a grimace.

"That right, DiNozzo?" Gibbs stood, arms crossed. Tony blinked at him. He hadn't even heard the lift doors open. Ducky emerged, standing beside Gibbs. Must've been in autopsy together.

"Dear boy, what happened now?" Ducky knelt down, brushing apart Tony's hair.

"I…slipped?"

"He hit his head on the metal," Ziva answered. "Knocked him out for about a minute."

Gibbs shook his head. "Only you, Tony. What do you think, Duck?"

"Quite a nasty bump on the head, Jethro. The bleeding is mostly superficial, although I would like to put a few stitches in the wound. Follow my finger, Tony." Ducky moved his finger left and right. Tony squinted, trying to keep up with the gloved finger. It was a little blurry.

"You have a concussion, Anthony. Not too severe, although you'll have quite the headache for the next day or so. Do you think you can stand?"

"Sure. Why not." Tony held out his hands. Ziva and Abby each took one, pulling him to his feet. Balancing on one foot, Tony swayed a little. Gibbs' hand held him steady as Abby passed the crutch. It looked a little worse for wear.

"Come, Tony, lets get you fixed up," Ducky said, placing a hand on Tony's shoulder to guide him back into the lift. Gibbs followed them in.

"Abby, Ziva, McGee, get back to work." He ordered. They nodded, all heading into Abby's lab.

Tony winced as he felt Ducky's needle pierce his scalp. The area around the wound had been numbed, but he could still feel the prick and the friction between the thread and his skin.

"Hold still, Tony. A couple more." Ducky said from above him. Tony closed his eyes against the bright lights of Autopsy. The bump on the head had made him sleepy. At least in the commotion, the painkillers for his knee had been forgotten. Although Tony was beginning to wish they hadn't been. The throbbing in his head, coupled with the dull ache in his knee was beginning to magnify. Aware of his concussion, Ducky was wary of giving him anything stronger than aspirin.

Ducky finished, cutting the thread. He placed a bandage over the top, wrapping thick white gauze around Tony's head to keep it in place. "Now Tony, I know the first thing you probably want to do is have a shower, but you need to keep this dry. I'll take out the stitches in one week. In the meantime, I suggest you get some rest. And you of all people should know the concussion drill, somebody will have to wake you up every two hours."

"I'll do it, Duck."

Tony had forgotten Gibbs had come down with them. He turned his head, squinting at his boss. "Thanks…"

"C'mon DiNozzo, I'll drive you home."

Tony slipped off the metal table, thanking Ducky and taking the proffered crutch. As they were heading toward the parking garage, Tony remembered something.

"Ah…boss, I don't have a spare room."

Gibbs turned his head, eyebrow quirked. "I know, DiNozzo. You're coming home with me."