Tony's Salvation—Chapter 9

Two hours later, the nightmare hits Tony again. This time Laurie is watching outside his mental walls to see what happens. She keeps her body relaxed against Tony's and runs her hands up and down Tony's back. Without notice, she finds herself pinned and Tony's hands have captured hers.

Laurie stays still, not moving against him, wanting to see what he'll do next. She knows that any wrong move could get both of them hurt. Mentally she waits, wanting his mental shields to open without her interference. When the door slams open she runs inside, knowing she might not get another opportunity. Once inside she stops cold in her tracks unable to believe what she's seeing.

Young Anthony DiNozzo is hunched over another child, preventing the little boy from receiving a beating. From what she can immediately see, the two boys are five years old and twins. Their attacker—their father. The eldest DiNozzo is yelling at the twins, telling them to be quiet or next time he won't be so lenient.

"Tony, what's lenient mean?"

"I don't know Richie. I think it means he'll hit both of us."

Twins, and Tony from what Laurie's observing is the older of the two. The scene flashes forwards two years. The twins are celebrating their 7th birthday, only there is no party and no one is celebrating. Tony and Richie eat their cake and ice cream with their tutor then softly make their way downstairs where their dad is yelling at their mom.

"You choose which one goes and which one stays!" Their mom is crying so hard that they can't hear what she's saying. Tony tiptoes closer to the door in an attempt to hear what is begin said the door is yanked open and both boys fall into the den.

"Well, boys come on in. You've just made it easier to make up mommy's mind."

Both boys sit up, too scared to do more than wonder what is going on and why Mommy is crying so hard. Watching the nightmare unfold, Laurie Fields now knows why the man known as Tony DiNozzo seems so familiar to her. She's watched this same dream, this same nightmare several times. Only it was over 20 years ago, when her husband Rick was still alive.

For the first time in her professional career she breaks protocol as she softly says, "Oh my God."

Both mental boys turn towards her at that point. Richie fades from view and Tony is now in front of her. Only it's the adult Tony and an angry Tony at that. He strides over to her and pins her to a mental wall, his hands holding her wrists. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

A soft ghostly voice echoes across both their minds, "Take care of her Tony, she means a lot to me."

"Richie? Richie! NO!" Tony crumbles and Laurie stands in shock for almost ten seconds before kneeling down and pulling him into her embrace. He resists her for almost a full minute before accepting the comfort she's offering. His mental weeping brings her to the edge of tears as she continues holding him.

Physically Tony has Laurie's hands locked in his and he's unconsciously beating them against the wooden floor. Gibbs is woken up by the faint scream that emerged from Tony's lips, and then by the rhythmic beating of hands against wood. He runs down the hall, and stops in momentary shock as he sees Laurie's hands being hammered against his floor.

Before he can move, McGee is beside him and hands him a pillow. Gibbs immediately places one right under the couple's hands. He can tell that Laurie is going to have bruises if not broken fingers by the time the evening is finished and wonders how best to wake up Tony without anyone else getting hurt.

*Leave him alone, he's grieving. I can heal myself later, just let him be.*

The mental message is more of a command than a request and it rocks Gibbs and Tim back on their feet. No one has ever given them mental commands before, or even attempted mental communication; except for Abby's failed attempt so many years before.

The two silent men exchange worried glances, and then watch in wonder as the pounding stops, and soon Tony is shuddering as he succumbs to tears and pent up grief.

Now that he knows it can be done, Gibbs issues a mental command of his own to the one person in the room who will hear and obey it.

*Commander I want a full report from you once he finally gets back to sleep.*

*Yes, Gunny.*

The tears are subsiding as is the shaking. Tony's mental figure finally falls asleep, still holding tightly to Laurie's mental. Laurie lets out a small sigh of relief. She knows that her hands are severely bruised and she's going to be in some major pain come morning.

"Commander? Ummm…Laurie? Can I get you anything before I go?"

Bless his heart; Tim McGee hadn't left the room yet. Laurie asks him to bring her pack from the bedroom. When he does, she instructs him to open the front left, third pocket and to give her two of the pills that are inside. As he does so, McGee also brings forth the bottle of water he'd brought from the kitchen. He helps her raise her head enough to drink the pills down.

"Thanks Tim, those will help my healing kick in a little quicker than normal."

"My pleasure, can I assist you with anything else? You have some nasty cuts on your hands."

Gibbs is back in the den and hands Tim a warm washcloth. Tim smiles up at his boss's thoughtfulness as he gently swabs at the cuts on Laurie's hands. Gibbs suggests moving Tony so that Laurie can sleep in a more comfortable bed but she shakes her head. Tony's sobs are quieting and he's shifting into a deeper, dreamless sleep.

"He's not moving and I'm not that uncomfortable. You guys just try and get some sleep as he's going to need you when he wakes up."

"Are you sure about that, commander? Your hands are pretty bruised." Gibbs has seen the bruises, the swelling that is going on in both of her hands. He wants to make sure there will be no repercussions.

Laurie nods, knowing that he's concerned about her as well as his agent. "He's sleeping mentally as well as physically; he should sleep for at least the next two hours."

"What about you and your hands?"

"I can heal while I sleep." She knows a secret now, one that even Gibbs doesn't know. Tony is a healer too. The man just doesn't know it yet.

"All right commander I'll see you in a few hours. DO NOT MAKE BREAKFAST. We will take care of it." his tone brooks no refusal and she honors him with her reply.

"Yes boss." Gibbs and McGee both smile when she says it. Once the two agents are out in the hall, Laurie settles more comfortably in Tony's embrace; her hands are sore and bruised, but she's had worse injuries when she was an active participant in the war and her hands are healing. She closes her eyes and breathing in Tony's scent, gradually falls asleep.

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A/N: New chapter by Thursday. Reviews are welcomed