thank you thank you thank you everyone who reviewed! really brightens my day :) so wow, we're up to chapter 10 of this silly little story already. hope you enjoy!

Chapter Ten

"DiNozzo! Wake up!"

Tony jolted awake. It took a second for him to realize where he was. In the passenger seat of Gibbs' car. He was impressed he'd managed to sleep with Gibbs at the wheel. The hit to the head must've been harder than he realized.

Gibbs pushed open the door to his house. He never bothered locking it, apart from the skeleton of a boat, there was nothing he considered worthy of stealing. He held back the wooden door as Tony limped through and sat down on the couch with a slight grimace.

"You want a drink?" Gibbs asked.

"Sure," Tony said wearily. Gibbs nodded, heading to the kitchen. He returned with a glass of water for Tony and a bottle of bourbon for himself.

"Bourbon?" Gibbs offered the bottle.

Tony shook his head, grimacing at the wave of nausea brought on by the small action. "I feel like crap already, boss. Don't need a hole in my stomach lining as well." He managed a smile. Gibbs couldn't hit him when he had a concussion.

Gibbs shrugged, bringing the bottle to his lips and taking a swig. He recapped it, placing it on the coffee table. "Got some leftovers in the fridge if you're hungry."

Tony scrunched his nose. "Don't really feel like eating, boss. I thought I'd-"

"Second door on the right," Gibbs said, anticipating his words. He could see how tired his agent was, the fine lines of pain and fatigue showing on his face. Tony smiled, a warm smile. It wasn't as bright as usual, but it was a smile nonetheless.

Tony leaned back on the couch, stifling a yawn. The second door was so far away, and while the couch wasn't the most comfortable he'd sat on….

"Do I have to carry you, DiNozzo?"

Tony couldn't decide if he was serious or not. He was tempted to take Gibbs up on the offer, but decided it wasn't worth the embarrassment if McGee or Ziva found out his boss had carried him to bed. He stood with a groan, grabbing the crutch. Gibbs made a mental note to accrue a new set of crutches the next day. It wasn't doing his knee any good hobbling around on one crutch.

"Night boss. And…thanks." Tony said quietly before he shut the bedroom door behind him. Gibbs acknowledged him with a nod, checking his watch. Two hours until he had to wake Tony up for the concussion check. Two hours to kill….. Gibbs stood up, heading to the basement and his boat.

Tony eased himself onto the bed in the spare room. Wasn't his first time staying there. Gibbs had begun a habit of bringing him home lately when he'd been injured. It started with the plague, Gibbs had made him stay a few days after his release from Bethesda. From there it became habit, Gibbs dragging him home to make sure he was looking after himself, although usually it was only after a visit to the hospital that Tony earned himself a stay at Gibbs' house. Abby usually came too, sometimes sharing the double bed in the spare room with him and other times choosing to sit and talk all night with Gibbs as he crafted his boat. They had strange bedtimes, those two.

With only a few soft curses, Tony maneuvered his shirt over his head, not bothering to undo the buttons. With a wistful look he threw it into the corner of the room. It was ruined, stained with the blood from both his fall down the stairs and his little accident in the elevator. No amount of bleach could salvage it now. He glanced down at his jeans. A large new rip ran from just above the knee to half-way down the shin. No longer office-worthy, but still wearable. Still, it seemed like to much effort to take them off. Even the thought of slipping them past his throbbing knee was too much to contemplate.

"Stupid knee. Stupid hill." Tony muttered under his breath, gently swinging his legs up onto the bed. It wasn't cold so he didn't bother with the sheets, shifting his body up the bed so his head was closer to the pillows. He had to grip the edge of the bed as the world spun before his eyes. "Stupid head. Stupid Probie. Stupid stairs." He clenched his eyes shut, wondering if his fatigue was enough to overpower the thumping within his skull. "Stupid crutches. Stupid Ziva. Stupid lift."

Tony wiggled a little, trying to find a position that aggravated neither his head or his knee. In the quiet of the house he could hear a rough grinding sound coming from below. From the sounds of it, Gibbs was sanding the boat. Tony smiled, his features relaxing as sleep finally overcame his battered body.

Gibbs glanced at his watch, wiping his face with an old towel. It was coming up on 11pm, almost time to wake Tony. He swallowed the last of his cold coffee, bringing the mug upstairs with him for a refill. He switched on the coffee machine, the kitchen filling with the sounds and smells of fresh coffee brewing. The smell alone made him feel awake, although it wasn't that late by anyone's standards. Coffee machine hard at work, Gibbs figured it was close enough to two hours. Time to wake up Tony.

He paused in the hallway as a retching sound reached his ears. Setting the steaming coffee mug down on the nearest flat surface, Gibbs tore into the room, slamming back the door. Tony was in the connecting bathroom, both rooms filled with darkness. Gibbs made out Tony's silhouette hunched over the toilet bowl, his body shaking as he heaved out his stomach contents.

"Tony?" Gibbs filled a glass with water as Tony seemed to finish. The younger man leaned back against the bathroom, running a hand through his sweaty hair.

"Yeah boss?" Tony's voice was raspy and tired.

Gibbs held out the glass. Tony took it, squinting into the darkness. He took a tentative sip before holding the cool glass against his forehead.

"Headache?"

"You could say that," Tony said, taking another sip of the water. He kept his eyes closed.

Gibbs mentally cursed himself for not paying more attention to his agent. Tony had admitted, freely admitted to him earlier that he wasn't feeling well. In the four years they'd worked together, Tony had been injured countless times, but it took a lot of pain for him to admit any weakness. Hell, he'd been kicked in the knee after pulling a ligament and hadn't said a word. In fact, the only time Gibbs could ever remember Tony admitting to pain, he'd barely escaped an explosion after coming back to work early from his pneumonic plague sick-leave. If that wasn't some sort of indicator that something was really wrong, Gibbs didn't know what was.

"C'mon, lets get you back to bed." Gibbs said softly. He placed his hands on Tony's shoulder's gently pulling the man upwards.

Tony winced at the movement, and he knew Gibbs had noticed. "S'okay boss. Just haven't been hit this hard in a while."

Gibbs didn't argue with that. He'd already talked to Abby about what happened, and from her description, it was no ordinary hit to the head. The 'trip' down the stairs couldn't have helped either.

"I'll give Ducky a call. There must be some painkiller you can take for the headache."

"Nah boss, its late. I'll be okay. I've had worse."

Gibbs didn't ask, but there was something about the way Tony said it that made him think he wasn't talking about one of his many NCIS work-related injuries. Gibbs filed that away for later.

"Just need sleep."

Gibbs didn't argue. He was practically carrying Tony to bed and he knew Tony'd be out like a light the moment he released him. He drew back the bed covers, helping Tony down.

"Thanks boss…" Tony murmered, eyes still closed.

"I'll be back in two hours, DiNozzo. You need help again, just yell out."

Tony's reply was incomprehensible, but Gibbs knew he understood.

yeah, nothing too super-exciting this chapter...but more is to come, i promise :)