The first thing that registered was the annoying hum and beep of machines around him. After spending days upon days in hospitals he was intimately familiar with their noise and it gave him no comfort what-so-ever. Groaning he tried to open his eyes and begin an inventory of what hurt and what was really hurt. His side felt like it was tapped tightly, probably broke a rib or two and he felt the tell-tell signs that he was on pain medication. Great he thought how much of a fool he was when he was under that.
"What happened" Tony asked the room at last
Movement to his left caught his eye as he turned his head to see Vivian next to his bed, she smiled serenely down at him, "How ya feeling there Tony?"
"Like I've been shot"
Grinning with amusement she asked "so what all do you remember?"
"Oh no, what did I say? Stupid pain meds I didn't mean whatever it was" Tony sighed
"Oh I wouldn't be too sure of that, apparently you think I have a nice butt, not as nice as Ziva apparently though. I'm not sure whether to be offended or not. Also you think that balloons and clowns are not very nice. We passed a guy delivering some to a sick kid when you were coming out of surgery and waking up and tried to reach for a gun to shoot him. Care to explain that one?"
"What, clowns are scary, they have floppy feet and that makeup is just creepy Viv" Tony answered ignoring the Ziva comment.
"I'm glad you're okay Tony, the bullets all got stopped but you broke a rib and punctured a lung. With your history of lung issues you went into respiratory distress and they had to operate to repair the tear. At least you got another scar for your collection."
"Well the ladies do like a good scar or two. How long until I can bust out of here?"
"I'll call your doctor Tony, by the way you have to call Washington. I had to notify Director Shepard since you were out of commission and I'm sure she's about to get a plane over here if she doesn't hear from you soon."
Tony groan in response "Fine fine thanks for running my day Viv"
Vivian grinned at Tony and left the room. Tony found his cellphone on the tray in front of him and called Director Shepard. After a few rings on her direct line she answered "Shepard"
"Well I'm not dead yet"
"Tony" she breathed.
"Hiya, I had a bit of a spill no biggy though. I should be out of here in a few hours soon as I can get the Doctor to sign off" Tony replied; as he spoke though a stunning blonde walked in the door in a white doctors' coat. "On second thought I might be more injured than I think."
"Glad to hear you're okay Tony. After you write it up please call me when you have time to talk."
"Will do Director, enjoy your day" Tony snapped the phone shut and eyed the doctor. She was stunning, with long legs she was easily 5'10 without heals. Her sandy blonde hair and her eyes were a stunning shade of an emerald green. She was as Tony thought, well and very good HOT.
"Hiya Doc" Tony employed his trademark grin hoping his smile was still working well.
"Agent Dinozzo, Agent Blackwater said you're feeling okay? Any pain or tenderness in your arms or neck?" Her voice was very sweet and with just a hint of an Italian accent.
"Ora mi sento bellissima" Tony replied.
"Well I'm sure you feel that way, I hear you are quite the charmer Agent Dinozzo, however Agent Blackwater already warned me about you" She grinned as she replied.
"Call me Tony Ma'am"
"I'm Doctor Enrica Russo; I performed your surgery this morning to repair your rib. Your vest stopped most of the energy from the bullet but you still managed a fairly sever break that punctured your left lung and led to some fluid filling the thoracic cavity. That's the empty space around your lungs and heart inside your chest. We drained all that out and we have you on some antibiotics to attempt to stave off any infection you might contract. Infection is the most dangerous post-operative complication we expect to see with your type of injury so I really need you to rest and take your medication, ALL of your medication, on time and until its gone."
"Will do, I'm sure Viv will hound me anyway. However if you wanted to say stop by and check in on me at home I wouldn't object." Tony again turned on the charm.
"I'm sure you wouldn't Tony, I have a question while operating I noticed some severe scaring inside your lungs. I didn't find any excess of tar or other deposits so I don't believe you are a smoker so I was quite curious. I wasn't able to obtain your medical history in time for the surgery."
"I had the plague, nearly killed me Doc. But I fear that is a story for another time; so when can I get out of here?"
"You are only 8 hours post-op Tony, you're not leaving tonight. You're here at least until tomorrow and we'll evaluate after that. And I wouldn't mind hearing that story sometime."
"Only over coffee, away from this torture chamber you call a hospital Doc" Tony grinned.
"Forse, forse Tony, call me Enrica" Enrica answered smiling for the first time. Tony noticed she has a really pretty smile.
Vivian smacked Tony upside the head as the doctor left "Really Tony flirting with your doctor? Are you that desperate to get out of here?"
"Absolutely Viv, absolutely; so what's the situation at the scene?" Tony smoothly changed the subject.
"4 suspects killed another in custody and the man you shot in the legs is in the hospital here under guard on a different floor. One SSA agent is severely injured and is still in surgery from what I understand; it doesn't look good he took a full burst and two in the neck from an AK. Nobody has been questioned yet; we are still trying to unravel what went wrong. We are pretty sure they had a spotter that got away. Inside we found lots of bomb making material, including material that was used to make a bomb that has either been used or is going to be used and is no longer there. Lots of religious material, the Quran, and websites about terror and hate etc."
"So in other words we need to get back to work?"
"Very much so, the SSA have the scene secure. We need to go get the evidence bagged and labeled so we can start examining it."
"Okay Viv, go ahead and go do that. I'll be fine here, call me with updates as needed. Check in before you leave the scene tonight."
"Will do Tony, should I call Doctor Russo to come tuck you in?" Vivian asked with a wicked grin as she left for the door.
"I wouldn't mind!" Tony called.
