Monday morning finally arrived. Tony was pissed, having been kept on bed rest all weekend long for no reason. Emma hadn't even been there to help, so he had been stuck on his own. He couldn't wait to see Brad and tell him what had happened over the weekend.

"Good morning, Tony," said Brad cheerfully when he entered the room ten minutes later.

"Hi," Tony huffed angrily. He refused to look at Brad.

"Tony? What's going on?"

"I want to go home. Now."

"Alright. I was planning on sending you home. Dr Mallard is on the way in to pick you up as we speak. What's got you so upset?"

Tony shook his head, trying to keep his tears at bay.

Brad sat on the bed. "What happened? Talk to me."

"I hate them."

"Hate who?"

Tony finally looked at the doctor. "The nurses. I have been stuck in this bed all weekend. My body hurts because they wouldn't let me get up for anything other than the bathroom."

"Why?"

"I don't know. There was no reason for it."

"Okay. I'll deal with them. How about we get you checked out and sign the discharge forms so we can send you home?"

"Promise? You aren't just saying that?"

"I mean it. I've seen the check-up results from the last two days. Everything is looking good. However, I won't be sending you home alone. Dr Mallard is going to stay with you this morning, and a nurse will be there this afternoon. You'll like her, she's a lovely lady. She'll be with you each day this week, and Gibbs has agreed to stay with you overnight each night this week. It's just a precaution, but you aren't well yet, and I'd rather you not end up back in the hospital."

"Okay." Tony was willing to accept any conditions given if it meant he could go home.

"And you will need to come in on Monday for a check-up. I've made the appointment already. It's for ten-thirty in the morning. Is that okay?"

"Yes."

"Great. Let's get you out of here then." Brad left the room for a moment and came back with papers. "Sign these while I get your check-up done."

Tony quickly signed the papers Brad handed him, then sat back, allowing the doctor to examine him.

An hour later, Tony was opening his apartment door. Ducky was behind him, carrying a bag containing Tony's antibiotics and pain killers.

"It's much cleaner in here than what I left it like," said Tony a moment later.

"Caitlyn came in yesterday to restock your fridge for you. She cleaned up before leaving so that you wouldn't have to exert yourself," said Ducky as he placed the pharmacy bag on the kitchen bench. "Go and relax on the couch, Anthony."

"Already ahead of you," called Tony from where he had made himself comfortable in front of his TV. "Do you want to watch a movie with me?"

"Sure." Ducky came and sat next to Tony, noticing that Tony was already watching some movie.

"It's the Wizard of Oz. Don't tell anyone I like this movie."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want them knowing. Especially Kate." Tony had gone red.

"Relax, Anthony. Your secret is safe with me." Ducky patted his arm reassuringly. "I promise."

Lunch time arrived too quickly. Tony had been enjoying Ducky's company, and now he was leaving. He had promised to come by after work and check in with Tony, but it still made Tony sad that his friend was leaving. His nurse was nice, like Brad had said, but they didn't know each other and Tony wasn't sure if he wanted to be friends with her yet.

"Agent DiNozzo?"

"You can call me Tony, Sasha. I prefer that," said Tony with a smile.

"Okay. Tony, did you have lunch?"

"Yes. The guy that was just here, he's our medical examiner at work, and kind of like a team doctor. Trust me, when he's here, I'll definitely be eating and doing the right thing."

"Good. Now, Dr Pitt gave me some instructions, but they're pretty flexible. I'd like to discuss them with you and get your opinion on them."

"Really?" Maybe he could be friends with this woman. She was nice.

"Yes. I'd like for you to be comfortable with me here."

Tony smiled. "Thank you."

Sasha pulled a piece of paper out of her bag and came over to Tony, sitting on the couch with him. "These are the instructions I was given. Have a read of them."

Tony took the paper and looked at it, seeing that Brad had written a number of things down:

1. Tony must eat every meal- I'll let you be the judge on how much he should eat

2. Tony needs to keep his fluids up- I don't want him to end up back in hospital because he isn't taking care of himself

3. You must check Tony at least twice a day- preferably in the morning when you arrive and the evening before you leave

4. Keep an eye on Tony's breathing- this is non-negotiable, and probably the most important instruction on this paper

5. Tony must go outside at least once a day- you can judge the timing

6. Starting Wednesday, I want Tony to go for at least one walk a day- no less than ten minutes

7. Make sure Tony takes his medication in accordance with the instructions on the bottle. DO NOT LET HIM MISS ANY DOSES. The painkillers are there if he needs them.

Tony handed the paper back.

"What do you think?" asked Sasha.

"I don't have a problem with any of it. I do have some questions, though."

"Ask away."

"Well, as for going outside, I was hoping to be able to do that more than once a day. Nobody would let me go outside this weekend that just passed, and I was bored. I hate being stuck inside."

"We can go out as much as you want. You let me know when you're ready to go out there."

Tony smiled. "Thank you, Sasha. My next question is, do we have to wait until Wednesday to go walking?"

"No. It is the recommendation, but if you feel well enough to get up and walk before then, we can certainly go. Dr Pitt mentioned that he is a little worried about you walking though, after you told him that you didn't do anything over the weekend. That's why he put that into the instructions."

"Thank you. Is my breathing a problem? Is that why Brad wants you to keep checking?"

"No. He wants me to check your breathing just to make sure you don't develop any complications, especially after walking around. Ten minutes is the least amount of time we are going to spend walking, and since you've been in bed for the last week, there is the possibility of have some problems. It's nothing to worry about, I'll make sure you're alright."

"Okay. The medication that I have to take, is that the same as the antibiotics I was getting in the hospital?"

"Yes. You were about halfway through the course when you were discharged this morning, so you do need to keep taking it."

"How long will I be on them?"

"The rest of this week. You should be finished on Saturday."

"How many times a day? Majority of the time I spent in hospital, it was being given to me through an IV. Over Saturday and Sunday, it was tablets, twice a day."

"It'll still be twice a day. Dr Pitt said that you had this morning's dose before you were discharged, so we'll start the tablets at dinner time. What time do you eat dinner?"

"When I'm not working, it's around five-thirty, six o'clock."

"Okay. Do you have anymore questions?"

"What's involved in the check-ups?"

"Pretty much, I'll just check your breathing, blood pressure and pulse. I may check your temperature once a day too, just to make sure you aren't getting a fever."

"When are these checks going to happen?"

"I'll do one when I get here each morning, and one before I leave each night. I will probably do one after we come back from walking, mainly just to check your breathing. And if it's needed at any other time of the day, I'll do one. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine. Are you staying overnight?"

"No. I will leave instructions and my phone number for Agent Gibbs, just in case you need me, but you'll be alright."

Tony nodded. "Can we go outside now?"

Sasha laughed. "Of course we can." She stood up and held a hand out to Tony, not sure if he needed help or not. He hadn't left the couch since she had arrived.

"I'm okay." Tony got up and swayed a little, but was fine a moment later. He followed Sasha to the door, making sure he locked up behind himself.