Hey everyone! Once again, I am a late updater :( Truth be told I had this written for awhile now, bu I just couldn't find the time to actually post it! On the bright side, the next two will probably follow up in the next couple days alone with my grand finale couple chapters :P Anyway, hope you enjoy!
"Be careful of your actions. You never know when your creating a memory." -Ricki Lee Jones
Chapter 9- Truth
Everything was a blur. There was shouting...And yelling... Pain burst through Tony's body as he gasped for air. He felt something beneath him but he wasn't entirely for sure. All that he knew for certain were the Italian words that rang through his head.
He is here, they said. That sealed it. The words made everything crystal clear. He. Is. Here. God, how could he be so stupid!
Red spilled around him and Tony felt panic overtake him as he touched the liquid. There was blood.
"Who?" Tony gasped, trying to look up at his team mates. Blurs were surrounding him and he heard a voice next to him speak.
"We don't know DiNozzo, but we'll find them." What? How can he not know?
"You don't know who's bleeding?" Tony gasped back "Which one of you is hurt?" he asked, trying to look up. He saw Ziva and McGee by his side, doing...Something… He wasn't for sure what. Gibbs was by his side trying to push him back down.
"DiNozzo...You're the one bleeding." there was a pause in which Tony blinked and looked forward, seeing Ziva pushing down on...on...Oh god. A bullet wound.
"Shit." Tony hissed out and leaned back, now understanding. He had been shot! It was only then that the pain began to register the fiery feeling overtook his body, leaving him wanting to scream. Agony ripped throughout the side of his lower abdomen as he leaned back, grinding his teeth so he wouldn't pass out. The sounds of sirens filled his ears before he felt more hands wandering over him. Tony was vaguely aware of the poking and prodding going on around him, but at the moment, he just wanted the pain to go away.
When he opened his eyes, he found himself alone. There was the steady beeping of machines around him and Tony recognized the familiar scene of a hospital room.
"No." a voice came from outside the door and Tony sank back into his pillows, already devising a plan to get out of the building "She can't leave yet... Well that isn't my problem then is it? Too bad then... McGee...Good." there was the familiar sound of a phone snapping shut and Tony watched as Gibbs entered the room, shaking his head.
"Finally." he commented as he pulled over a chair and sat down next to him.
"How long was I out?" Tony said, trying to keep the scratchiness out of his voice.
"Three days." Gibbs said gently "You got shot in the lower side of your stomach and hit your head hard on the way down. The doctors said something about the bullet hitting a bunch of places, but nothing to serious and the concussion is mild." there was a pause in which Tony allowed himself to digest the new medical information, but found himself not really caring, he usually was very nonchalant when it came to his health.
"Vance is pissed." Gibbs added and Tony felt a small smile grace his features. Not at the fact the case was being compromised because of him getting shot, just the fact the Director was upset over it.
"My day has been made."
"I thought so." Gibbs told him, a bit of amusement showing in his eyes mixed in with...Relief? Tony couldn't be certain.
"McGoo on the phone?" he asked, jerking his head at the door and Gibbs nodded solemnly.
"You're...Cousin wants to see you." he told him, leaving the distinct impression that Gibbs was thinking of another words aside from 'cousin' would have been suitable.
"Ah, Mia Fiorella. Figures." he sighed, running a hand over his face. Absent mindedly he began messing with the IV in his arm until Gibbs slapped it away, leaving Tony to pout. There was a moment of silence in which Gibbs suddenly leaned forward and grabbed Tony's face with a gentleness Tony didn't know he possessed, forcing him to meet his eyes.
"I need to know what they said, Tony." Gibbs said quietly and Tony paused, not entirely for sure how to respond. He didn't want to bring his team into this. Now that he understood what was going on, he felt a pang of fear of what could happen if his band of federal agents intervened. On the other hand he couldn't lie to his boss...
"'There he is.' I asked them what that meant and who they were. Instead they just yelled out 'shoot' and then, well... You saw." he explained and Gibbs let him go and leaned back into his chair, his eyes troubled.
"They wanted you." he said and Tony tensed, quickly shaking his head before averting his eyes to the window. The next couple minutes were filled with a comfortable silence, Tony too weak to talk.
"I want to see her." he finally said and Gibbs raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"I don't think so."
"Boss, come on. Just for a couple minutes. I need to ask her something important." Gibbs frowned, staring at his agent for a moment before sighing.
"Abby gets to see you first. She's been causing a riot. I'm fairly certain that staff are scared more of her than me." Tony's eyes widened at the comment, his face in disbelief that anyone could be scarier than Gibbs. Well...It was Abby after all he supposed. "And I want Ziva and McGee with you while she's here." Gibbs continued and got up before Tony could even think about arguing.
"...and then I ran over here- well actually I drove, because the hospital is a long ways away from here, but I still ran inside you know and I saw you!" Abby was saying, her voice slightly higher pitched with worry. Tony smiled at her and squeezed her hand, trying to keep her calm.
"I'm fine Abby." he told her "I'll get out of here soon." Abby paused and looked him over with critical eyes.
"You better be fine Mister. You can't go getting hurt on me, understand? I need that DiNozzo charm to go clubbing with on Saturdays." she said, pointing a finger at his chest. She then yanked it away and gasped "Did I hurt you? I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I just went to-" she was cut off by Tony squeezing her hand and shaking his head at her again.
"No Abs. Calm down, I'll be fine. Pinky promise." he said, offering her his finger. Smiling she grabbed it and they shook, her features finally relaxing. Abby had been there for about three hours but it felt like minutes. The moment she had walked in, he had been greeted with her voice telling him everything and anything he missed; her drawing shapes in is hand as she held on tightly.
"Abby?" a voice said from the door and Tony waved.
"Hey there Ziva!" he called out and the Israeli smiled at him vaguely.
"Abby, you can visit Tony again soon, but Mia needs a turn now before she is escorted back to custody." Tony felt Abby's hand tighten and for a moment, he was afraid she knew something, but quickly dismissed the thought. He had taken precautions after all to make sure his secrets stayed...well, secrets. She couldn't possibly know.
"Alright..." she sighed and then turned and kissed Tony on the cheek, no doubt leaving a black lipstick imprint on his skin. "You get better ok? Because I know where you work, live, and pick up girls!" she called over her shoulder as she headed out, still blowing him kisses as she left. Tony chuckled and wiped away the lipstick on his face and then turned to see Ziva staring at him.
"How you doing Ninja?" he asked and her face grew an almost angry expression.
"How am I doing?" she said quietly "You are the one that got shot, yes?" she asked him as she fell into the plastic chair Abby had just occupied. "Then you wake up and...And...You do not even realize you are surrounded by your own blood." her face was completely calm but, there was a wave of emotion that still escaped her voice.
"You saved me." Tony told her "You and McDoctor over there. Without you two I would be six feet under. Hey, have you seen that movie? The one with-"
"Stop talking about your stupid movies!" Ziva exploded "You. Were. Shot."
"I've been shot before Zee, what's the big deal?" he asked and Ziva took a shaky breath before leaning back into her chair.
"They were after you specifically, no?" she whispered and Tony didn't answer. How could he answer to something like that?
"Ziva-"
"How can you joke about this?" How could he? Well, that was an easy question with an easy answer. It was his way of coping, it always was. With stress, pain, any emotion really. How else was he supposed to escape those damn feelings? By talking about them? She must know that that was not his style. It was part of his defense mechanism, ingrained in his brain by sleepless nights with bruises, alcohol, trust, betrayal, and God knows what else. He didn't say that though. He wouldn't- couldn't.
"How can you not joke about it?" he asked her instead and before she could answer, McGee entered the room, Mia cuffed by his side.
"How you doing Tony?" McGee asked, his eyes raking over his partner's body for any sign of injuries.
"Pretty good McWorry. I'll be out of here in no time! Let's just hope I don't get stuck on desk duty- again. Though, that might make Vance happy... Hey, Mia doesn't have to wear those cuffs." he added and Tim looked over at the girl next to him- who had said nothing so far, her eyes were firmly planted on her cousin.
"Tony, I don't think-"
"Just take them off, Probie." Tony sighed and nodded in approval as he removed the silver bracelets. Mia still hadn't said a word. She simply watched Tony.
"Guys, why don't you go take break. I have something I want to ask Mia Fiorella."
"Gibbs said-" Tim started.
"What Gibbs doesn't know won't hurt him- or rather us as Jenny once said." Tony smiled and he could feel his partners' confusion over his tone and blatant disregard to Gibbs' orders. Normally, the SFA tried to gain their leaders approval, not... This.
"Tony...I do not like this." Ziva said, looking at Mia without trust "We should stay."
"No. Go Ziva, I really need to talk to her alone. It'll be fine. Promise." Tony told her and she shook her head stubbornly.
"Tony. We have direct orders to watch her. We cannot leave her side."
"I'm an agent still aren't?" Tony said, trying a different tactic "Come on. It is only for a couple minutes Ziva. I mean, you guys are still in the hospital aren't you?" he coaxed and smiled lightly as he saw his partner's resistance wearing down.
"Fine." she snarled stiffly "We will be down the hall. You have five minutes." she announced and gave another lethal look at Mia before grabbing McGee and dragging him out the door.
Mia didn't say a word. Her quietness wasn't unexpected, at least not to Tony. He took a long look at her before finally speaking, his voice expectant.
"Well?" he asked and Mia pulled out a gun, pointing it straight at her cousin.
"You knew." she said accusingly "You knew the whole time."
"I wouldn't say the whole time. Just a good chunk of it."
"And you never told your co-workers?"
"There would have been nothing they could do- and it would have put them in danger that they didn't need to be in." Mia bit her lip and pulled the curtain over so no one could see her with the gun before speaking again.
"You know what I need. So just give it to me and no one will get hurt. I can just leave and you'll be safe."
"I don't understand why though, Mia." Tony said quietly.
"Because I had to Tony!" Mia snapped "The moment I found out what they wanted I knew what was going to happen. I volunteered for this mission so I could protect you!"
"Real rich considering you are the one pointing the gun at me."
"I had no choice." Mia said evenly "It was either this or watch you die. Just give it to me Tony. It has no use to you, anyway. I don't want you to get hurt. The only reason you are still alive is because I was the one on this mission. If it had been anyone else they would have already tortured and killed you by now and you know it."
"So you did have something to do with that Petty Officer's death?" Tony asked sharply and Mia shook her head.
"No. That was the group. They wanted to send a message to me, telling me that just like Aunt Robyn, they could kill you too."
"Mia...I'm not going to give it to you." Tony whispered and Mia stared, raising the gun slightly higher.
"Sorry Tony, but you don't have a real choice in the matter."
Abby hummed to herself, rocking her head with the beat of the music as she let her babies do their magic. She was about three minutes away from proving Mia's innocence- she knew it! Drumming her fingers she allowed herself another sip of the Caf-Pow before the beeping sound came on and Abby flew to her computer, smiling at the results.
Then the smile dropped.
Within a second she had her phone out, dialing Gibbs as fast as she could- since in this case Speed Dial wasn't fast enough. This wasn't possible...It couldn't be possible. Yet, the results were clear as day.
"Gibbs." she heard from the other end of the line and didn't even attempt to register the tightness in the man's voice.
"Gibbs, we have a serious problem." she said, her mind beginning to panic. Abby may not be for sure exactly what was going on, but there was one thing for certain- The test results just changed a lot of things.
"Yeah Abs, we do." Gibbs told her "DiNozzo isn't in the hospital anymore."
Ok, so if this chapter was really confusing...Don't worry. It was supposed to be. I promise that all the answers will appear shortly and make sense. Anyway, I have to go! Remember to review and all that jazz :P
~XFixYouX
