Warnings: Implications of Tiva, mentions of Ziva, angst, not as dark

A/N: Hello everyone. Late night update! Now that the bad guy is caught, time to move on to Tony's recovery. Hope you enjoy!

Despite Tony responding to Jack's giggles over FaceTime and squeezing Leah's hand, he still had not woken up by the time he was airlifted to Washington.

His doctors were not concerned. He was still responding to stimuli and they told her that sooner or later he would wake up in response to them. The main concern that Doctor Brad Pitt had was Leah and that she was not going home to sleep or see her son.

So, Leah went home for a few hours while Brad ran some tests on Tony at the naval hospital. It felt good to shower and change her clothes and to spend a few moments with her son. But now she was heading back towards the hospital, a stack of papers in her hands to grade while she sat by Tony's bed. The team had taken up their vigil once everyone returned from West Virginia.

Gibbs had disappeared for a while. Leah assumed to update Director Vance and possibly the Secretary of the Navy. He had been quiet, even for him, since they had returned to Washington. She wasn't sure why. Dr. Pitt had assured them that Tony was going to be making a full recovery. His lung was recovering, the damage starting to heal and once Tony was strong enough they were going to perform the surgery on his knee.

It still had not eased much of the tension and fears in the team. Leah had noticed they were still on edge since coming home. And she had a pretty good idea why. Ziva.

Leah was not stupid. She knew that Abby was talking about calling their friend when she had walked into that hospital room with lunch a few days ago. She also knew that the team had varying opinions on whether or not Abby should call her. Leah had made her peace with Tony's complicated relationship with Ziva a long time ago but it appeared that the team still didn't know how to deal with it. That was a part of Tony's life that was always going to be there, it had shaped him into the man he was today and she definitely hated that the team felt they had to protect her from it.

She was a big girl. She could certainly handle it if Ziva were to come back. She certainly had no reason to worry about Tony leaving her.

Which was why she found herself at NCIS before heading over to the hospital. Abby was surprised to see her too. "Leah? What are you doing here? Is Tony okay?"

"Tony is fine. Dr. Pitt is hoping to take him off the ventilator soon," Leah responded. "I came to talk to you."

"Me? About what?"

"Ziva."

Abby looked away, nervously. "Oh... you heard that."

Leah smiled, softly. "My hearing isn't as bad as you think."

"You don't have to worry... I didn't call her. Tim was right, you wouldn't want her here."

"But you were right too. She was his friend."

Abby shrugged and sat down on her stool. "When Tony started to go out with you, I thought about letting her know... but because I was so angry at her for just leaving us... I decided that she didn't deserve the chance to be with Tony. Tim and I didn't even get a goodbye. Tony had to explain her decision to us. Now... I'm not angry at her anymore. But I don't know how much Tony wants her to know."

Leah pursed her lips and sighed. "Are you worried she'd come back if you called?"

"Yes. Aren't you?"

"No. Because I know that Tony would never leave me and Jack."

Abby smiled. "Yeah... your loyal St. Bernard. Guess I was just worried Ziva coming back would cause a lot of... drama Tony doesn't need. He should be focused on recovering and getting home."

Leah nodded and reached for Abby's hand. She grasped it and whispered, "He's going home. There is no way he has made it this far to give up now... I'm not going to let him. So... if you're not busy why don't come with me, help me grade these papers, and sit with him."

"Let me get my coat."

"Great!"

Abby retrieved her things and together they walked to the elevator. "I'm glad we talked about this Leah... But I want you to know that I wouldn't have called her behind your back."

Leah knew this but showed her gratitude. "Listen, Abby, I'm okay with Tony and Ziva's past... because it's just that in the past. You, Tim... Gibbs... you don't have to hide it all from me. Tony was always honest about it and he's always been honest when it comes to his feelings for me. Someday... if she did return... I'd hope that they could keep their friendship like you and Tim have."

"Well... Tim and I... we were different. We actually dated. Tony and Ziva... it's..."

"Complicated."

"Yeah."

"Abby. Do you think he ever, truly, loved her?" Leah asked, pensively.

"I think Tony was looking for love in all the wrong places," Abby replied. "He knew what he wanted but he didn't know how to get that. I think he figured she would always be here and someday they'd get it right."

Leah thought back to all those times when Tony had told her that his feelings for Ziva had never been anything but lust... he just hadn't realized it until he'd met Leah. "Do you think she's found that peace she was looking for? Maybe she got married and has a baby too. Maybe she's not wallowing away like you're scared is happening."

Abby shrugged again. "I don't know... maybe. I love her and miss her and I want her to be happy... I just never understood why she couldn't let us help her, why she had to move so far away and stop talking to us."

Grief had always been a complicated emotion, Leah knew this, but she was still fascinated how people reacted to it differently. "Tony thinks she didn't want to drag you down with her."

But there was another sore subject because Abby did feel Ziva had dragged them down with her by just disappearing. Especially Tony who took months to recover. "There's no point in bringing it all back up. Like you said the past is the past... let's leave it there."

Tony struggled to open his eyes. He was so very tired and he would much rather sleep but someone was insisting that he wake up. It was time.

Blinking the crust and gunk away, Tony forced his eyes open... only to slam them shut when the bright lights nearly blinded him.

"Hey, come on Tony," a familiar voice said, "Leah and Jack are here to see you."

Jack. He wanted to see his son too. And Leah. She shouldn't have come all this way to just see him lay there. Come on, Anthony, open your eyes! Do it for Leah and Jack! Tony slowly opened his eyes and allowed them to adjust to the light. It was obvious he was in the hospital. He could hear a heart monitor, smell the sterile scent of the halls, and Brad was standing by his bed.

Tony shifted his eyes to find his family. He'd made it this far because of them. Leah suddenly came into his view, she was holding Jack on one hip and reached out with her free hand to push his hair back. Tears filled her eyes as she spoke to him, "Hi sweetheart. We've been waiting for you to wake up."

"You gave us a bit of a scare, Tony," Brad said, smiling. "You were difficult to wake up."

"I told Dr. Pitt that you were the same way on the weekends," Leah replied, smiling.

"What do you say to getting that tube out of your mouth?" Brad asked with a grin.

Tony softly nodded his head and Brad took the tube in his throat out. He coughed but reached for his family instead of the glass of water on the tray.

Brad ignored his silent request for his family and handed him some water. "You need to drink, Tony. You've been hooked up to the ventilator for almost two weeks. There will be plenty of time to spend with Leah and Jack later."

He threw the good doctor a glare and sucked down his water. "Two... weeks?" He repeated looking at Leah. She bit down on her lip and nodded. Tony felt ill to his stomach. How much had he put her through in those two weeks? "I'm sorry... Leah."

"Why are you sorry?" Leah asked. "You were doing the sensible thing stopping for the night in that bad weather. You didn't ask to be shot."

"How... how bad is it?"

"A fractured rib punctured your lung," Brad reported. "Doctors in West Virginia repaired the damage and stopped your internal bleeding. They put you on the ventilator because of your past history with the plague. But you're lucky... if Gibbs hadn't found you when he did, you would have bled to death."

Tony closed his eyes, picturing laying in the snow, blood rapidly leaving his body. He vaguely remembered Gibbs being there, telling him to fight for Leah, for Jack. He opened his eyes and looked at his wife. "He told me... he told me to hold onto you."

Leah grabbed his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "We weren't going to let you go that easily, Tony."

"Yeah," he whispered with an easy smile.

"I've got other patients to check on," Brad said before leaving. "I'll let you visit with your family." He left the room closing the door behind him, leaving Tony alone with his family.

Jack let out fussy whine and rubbed his eyes. Leah bounced the baby gently but his eyes kept looking at his father. She took his hint and placed Jack into Tony's lap. He gave his daddy a grin before snuggling against Tony and promptly falling asleep.

Tony chuckled. "I guess he missed me."

Leah frowned. "Of course he missed you. We both missed you."

"Come here."

She laid down in the space he provided for her, snuggling her cheek into his shoulder. He kissed the top of her head and immediately she felt her muscles relaxing. Leah knew that her husband had a long road to recovery, but now that he was awake, she knew everything was going to be fine.

Tony watched as Jack slept against him and took comfort in Leah by his side. "Hey..."

Leah shifted and looked up at him. "Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

"I mean it. You... you kept me alive."

"I know you wouldn't leave me and Jack without a fight."

Tony smiled at her, feeling exhaustion beginning to take over him. His eyes began to slip shut as he drifted off to get the rest his body needed to continue healing. They jerked open when Leah got up and took Jack with her. "Where are you going?"

Leah gently laid Jack against her shoulder. "My sister is coming to pick the baby up and bring him home for his nap. Which you should be taking as well so you're strong enough for your knee surgery next week."

"She'll bring him back right?"

"Yes. Of course."

"And you're staying?"

"Yes, sweetheart, I'm staying."

Tony felt better knowing he wasn't going to be alone in the hospital. He really did hate them... even if the doctors had saved his life so he could go home to his family.

Leah used her free hand to brush his hair back. "Tony. Go to back to sleep. I'll be here, promise."