19 April 2016

Tony was relieved to be going home. Although both his legs were still broken and he was pretty much confined to bed rest for the next twenty-four hours, he was excited to be out of the hospital's white rooms and halls. Gibbs had organised a ground floor bedroom for him, and had made a few changes to his house so that Tony could get around in his wheelchair. As Tony looked out the window of Gibbs' car, he saw that his boss had gone to a lot of trouble to let Tony stay with him- a ramp had been built out the front of the house to let Tony get in and out of the house. It was nice to know that someone cared about him.

"Come on, Tony," said Gibbs kindly as he unfolded the wheelchair Brad had given Tony and helped the younger man into it.

"Thank you for doing this, boss," said Tony, who had found out the day before from McGee that his memory was now up to April of 2008. "I'm really grateful for your help."

"Always, bud." Gibbs pushed the chair up the ramp and into the living room. "Your bedroom is across the hall until we can get you up and down stairs, alright?"

Tony nodded. He looked around and spotted a blanket on the couch with pillows. "Boss, where are you planning on sleeping?"

"On the couch. It's easier if you need help during the night."

"You don't have to..."

"I want to, Tony. I won't argue with you about that."

Tony smiled. "Okay," he said, feeling warm inside. He looked at the second couch and saw that it was made up as a bed already. "Boss?"

"That's for you. Brad wants you on bed rest, and I figured you would enjoy being able to watch TV during the day, so I made the couch into a bed."

"Can I watch movies?"

"Of course. McGee connected up a DVD player and brought over a bunch of your movies for you." Gibbs helped Tony onto the couch and covered him with the blankets. "What do you want to watch?"

"I can do it..."

"Apart from the bed rest, you have two broken legs. I doubt you would be able to move around very well. Besides, McGee showed me how to use the machine, and it's pretty easy."

Tony shrugged, glad that he wasn't having to get up and down all the time. "Okay. I'll watch a western with you."

"You hate westerns, Tony."

"Only when I watch them alone," Tony admitted. "I like watching them with you."

Gibbs smiled. "Alright, I'll put on a John Wayne movie." He quickly inserted the DVD into the machine, then sat next to Tony. He could see that the younger man was already falling asleep, so Gibbs coaxed him into resting his head on the pillows. Then he gently rubbed Tony's back soothingly, providing some comfort for Tony.

When Tony woke up and looked at the clock, he noticed that he had been sleeping for the last two hours. Sitting up, he yawned, then looked around for Gibbs.

"Boss?" Tony called out when he couldn't find the older man. "Where are you?"

"Kitchen, Tony. Do you need some help?" Gibbs asked.

"No. Can I come in there?"

"Bed rest, remember? I'll be there in a moment."

"Okay." Tony leaned back against his pillow while he waited.

A moment later, Gibbs appeared with a smile and a tray. "How are you feeling?" he asked Tony.

"Pretty good, actually. The pain is minimal," answered Tony.

"Good. It's time for lunch, and you have an appointment after you eat."

"Appointment? With who?"

"Me, Tony."

Tony looked up and grinned. "Hi, Rachel," he said happily. "I never thought I'd be so eager to talk with a shrink, but I really like you."

"Good. I like you too. Let's see if that helps you remember anything else."

"Okay. I can talk and eat at the same time..." Tony looked at Gibbs. "When can I have pizza?"

Gibbs laughed. "I guess some things never change. I'll look into pizza for dinner, alright?"

"Thank you, Gibbs." Tony turned back to Rachel after taking a bite of the sandwich Gibbs had made him. "Where should I start?"

Twenty minutes into their conversation, Tony smiled. "I think I remember something else," he blurted out.

"Good. Tell me about it," said Rachel.

"Jenny... she was in trouble..."

"What kind of trouble?"

"She was being investigated for murder."

"Who's murder, Tony?"

Tony scrunched up his face while he thought. "The Frog... La Grenouille. Jeanne's father."

"When was this?"

"April... 2008. The end of April."

"Did she kill this person?"

"I'm not sure. I could understand if she did, but I don't know. I'm guessing it's something I never found out. Jenny was our director up until the end of May that year, and she never would have told us the truth."

"Was the director? Why did she leave?"

Tony shook his head. "Something happened to her... I don't remember what it was." Tony suddenly inhaled a deep breath. "Actually..."

"What happened to Jenny?"

"She was killed. Shot. Ziva and I... We were supposed to protect Jenny... We failed..." Tony's lip quivered as he remember what had happened to him after that. "We were punished. Ziva went back to Israel... And I went to..."

"Where did you go, Tony?" Rachel asked gently, being careful not to hurt her friend.