10. Chapter

Abby was in a good mood. Tony seemed to have forgiven her and that was enough to add spring to her step and plaster a wide, beaming smile on her face. She twirled around, ignoring the curious looks people were giving her, as she made her way to Tony's apartment. Frowning, she realized that she had no idea where she was or which way to go next. Abby searched for the little piece of paper Gibbs had given her, with Tony's address, but was having no luck. Where had she put it?

"Aha!" Abby exclaimed, causing a couple of heads to turn her way, but she paid them no attention. Her boots! That's where she put it!

She sat down, right on the sidewalk, took off her platform boot, turned it upside down and shook it.

"I really should get a purse," she murmured to herself, grabbed the small paper that had fallen out of the black shoe and put it back on. Standing up she studied the address Gibbs had given her. Asking a couple of people for directions, she soon found herself standing in front of Tony's apartment building with a silly grin on her face.

Abby couldn't wait to see the young detective's face when he tasted her super delicious "Happiness-pie" she had made especially for him. Gibbs' expression when he had tasted it first had been priceless alright.

She wanted to do a little cartwheel right there on the street, but decided against it; what if she got dirty? This wasn't her squeaky clean lab, after all.

Abby slowly made her way towards Tony's apartment, her mind brewing with ideas of what she could do to bring a smile to the young detective's face; he had a nice smile, too. And he looked so depressed when she had seen him before. Depressed and totally not aware of his own worth! She was determined to show him how wrong he was and earn his trust. Abby just knew they could hit it off perfectly fine when given a second chance.

The Goth suddenly found herself in front of Tony's apartment. She smiled brightly and knocked energetically on his door, only to have it open on its own. She frowned.

"Tony?!" her yell got no response in return. Abby was now officially worried. She knew Gibbs would probably kill her for this, but she had no other choice but to go in. What if something was seriously wrong? She clutched at her pepper spray and cautiously entered the silent apartment, calling Tony's name. Still no answer.

As she walked through the hall into the living room, she couldn't help but notice how empty, hollow the apartment seemed, with no pictures, no personal belongings; it almost appeared as if no one lived there and it saddened Abby to think this was what Tony called home. She put the pie on the table and wondered if Tony left on his own. Perhaps he didn't want to have anything to do with her but was afraid to tell her?

She sat down on his sofa and stared dejectedly into thin air. Now what? She sighed and looked down towards the floor only to jump up with a yelp a second later. There was a bloody trail on the worn out carpet. Abby swallowed hard, her breathing twice as fast as normal. The trail started at the door with a puddle at the door and continued through his living room. Good thing she wasn't an investigator, she'd probably overlook every piece of evidence, including the body. Not that she wanted to find a body in here. And now she was rambling in her mind, great. She followed the trail through the bedroom to the bathroom, where she found him. Tony. Curled into a tight ball, passed out and bleeding from seemingly anywhere.

"Tony," she whispered and quickly joined him on the cold, tiled floor, wanting to help but afraid to even touch him. Tears filled his eyes, but she quickly wiped them away; there was no time for that. With trembling hands she touched the side of his neck and breathed a sigh of relief when she felt the slightly erratic pulse under her fingers. She took out her cell phone and dialed the only person she could think of that could make everything right again.

"Gibbs!" came from the other end of the line and just hearing the gruff voice of her favorite bossman calmed her down. He would make everything better.

"Gibbs, you have to come to Tony's apartment right now," she pleaded, "please! At first I thought it was hinky when the door opened on its own, but then I thought he left, you know, because he was still mad at me. Not that I would blame him. I was really m-"

"Abbs," Gibbs cut in,"You're rambling. Take a deep breath and tell me what happened."

She took his advice and took a deep breath."You have to come to Tony's apartment, I've found him bleeding in his bathroom, covered in bruises and I don't know what to do! Should I call the ambulance?"

"N-no…" The choked word surprised Abby so much that she almost dropped her phone. Tony was attempting to smile at her, but it looked rather gruesome with his lips and teeth covered in blood. She gently touched his cheek and tried to clean up the mess, but it was futile.

"No hospital, please," he repeated and Abby bit her lip in indecision. But the croaked please managed to convince her in the end.

"Gibbs?" She pressed the phone to her ear."Are you still there?"

"Yeah, I'm on my way right now with Ducky."

Abby grinned."You a mind reader now, bossman?"

"No, he's just too predictable sometimes."

"Or he's just too much like you in this aspect," she countered, stealing a glance at Tony to see if he was keeping a track of their conversation. He was too concentrated on breathing regularly to notice they were talking about him.

Gibbs didn't reply right away but she could hear Ducky's indignant "Jethro, do slow down, please," in the background. She could imagine it wasn't much fun to be in the car with them right now.

"Hey, Gibbs. Taking another one of your famous shortcuts?"

"There's not enough opportunities for that in this damn city," Gibbs growled, accompanied by a screech of tires and a yelp from the elderly ME.

"You should have got that jet I've told you about," Abby looked back at Tony to see him staring back at her, eyes black and swollen.

"Jet?" He asked with a slight smile. "Great idea for a driver like Gibbs, less traffic up there."

"Tell him I heard that," came Gibbs' dry reply and Abby giggled at the easy banter between the Baltimore detective and the NCIS agent.

"He heard you," she repeated to Tony, who just rolled his eyes.

"I'll be there in a couple of minutes Abbs," the older man announced and she could hear Ducky tell him to drive with both hands like every sensible person.

"See you in a while, Gibbs."

"Yeah." And he hung up. She really should teach him about phone etiquette; that was not nice. Putting her cell back into her pocket, she leaned against the wall next to Tony.

"You want to move to the bed or something? It's not very comfortable on the floor."

"You're very straightforward, you know that?" He smiled at her cheekily.

"That's not fair! I can't even punch you in the shoulder for that comment, like I'd normally do! "She pouted and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Sorry," he replied and looked through the bathroom door to the bedroom as if measuring the distance to the bed. He looked so unsure that Abby almost hugged him right then and there. But she refrained from doing so, remembering how he had reacted the last time she had tried that. Not to mention her hug could potentially make his injuries even worse. It was not fair! Her hugs were supposed to be soothing and give him joy, not hurt him.

"You know, there's no shame in asking for help," she scooted closer to him and put her arm around his waist. "Ready when you are."

Tony nodded and carefully, with Abby's assistance, stood up. The walk to the bed was harder than either of them thought it would be. Tony kept wincing and gasping with every step and Abby insisted they stop each and every time he did so. When they finally reached their destination, he fell down on top of the covers with a sigh. Abby looked at him for a moment before joining him on the bed and sitting next to his sprawled form.

"That went well," he muttered and buried his face deep into the pillow. The forensic scientist hesitantly touched his hand, wanting to offer comfort but not knowing how exactly. She didn't know him that well yet.

"So," she began, uncertainty creeping into her voice, "you wanna tell me what happened?"

He raised his head a fraction, just enough for her to see one swollen green eye look at her, before he let it fall back down once again.

"Nothing," he simply replied but Abby wasn't buying into his blasé act.

"Tony, I may not be a detective like you," she huffed," but I'm not stupid. Want to try it again?"

"You've been taking intimidation lessons from Gibbs?"

"Tony!" She leaned forward and grabbed his ear, pulling hard. She figured his ear couldn't make his injuries worse and she really was frustrated with him at the moment.

"Ouch," he yelped and gave her a mock glare, but she paid him no heed; she needed to know the truth, not this crap he was giving her. Didn't he know she just wanted to help him?

"Ok," he sighed. "I've had a rather rough run-in with the stairs. And as you can see, I've lost."

She reached for his ear again, but he rolled away before she could grab it. Of all the silly excuses…

"You're lying! You don't even have stairs in your apartment!"

"Um, well…it didn't happen here?"

"Cut the crap, DiNozzo," Gibbs' no nonsense tone caught both of their attention. Abby whirled around sighing in relief when she saw the older man standing in the doorway with a scowl on his face. Abby quickly jumped off the bed and ran towards Gibbs, enveloping him in a tight hug, needing to have Gibbs take control of the situation; she was at her wit's end with the stubborn detective.

"Could you please move out of the way, Jethro? I do believe I came her for a reason." Gibbs quickly moved to the side and let the older man into the room. Ducky took one look at his patient and shook his head at the side. Abby couldn't really fault him for that; Tony looked as if a horde of elephants decided to make him their trampoline.

"What happened to you, my dear fellow? These are some spectacular bruises you have here," Ducky asked and sat down on the bed next to Tony, who tried to sit up but was finding it a bit difficult due to his injuries. He was so silly, Abby thought, trying to act brave all the time; didn't he know he could be himself with them?

"Nothing much, Ducky," Tony replied, finally managing to sit up with Ducky's help.

"Let me be a judge of that." The elderly MD opened his medical bag and began rummaging through it in search for the right medical tools.

"I would appreciate if you gave my patient bit privacy," Ducky dismissed both Abby and Gibbs without even looking at them. Abby wanted to protest but one look from the special agent standing next to her was enough to silence her.

Gibbs gave a curt nod, even if Ducky couldn't see it, sitting with his back to them and all. "I'll be waiting for your report, Duck."

"Certainly, Jethro," the medical examiner answered but frowned when he took in the scowling face of his patient.

"What is it, Anthony?"

"I'm sulking," he replied, crossing both arms over his chest and Abby could have sworn she saw both Ducky and Gibbs crack an amused smile at the indignation in the younger man's voice.

"And why is that, my boy?"

"Cause you're talking about me as if I wasn't even here," he retorted, "or as if I was one of your bodies, Ducky."

Suddenly Tony's eyes widened at the realization and he pointed an accusing finger at the MD in front of him. "You treat dead people!"

Ducky gave him a tolerant smile. "Why, I do. I think we've already established that on our first meeting."

Tony opened his mouth only to promptly close it a second later, no words coming to mind.

"Suck it up, DiNozzo; it's either that or the hospital." Gibbs announced and the Baltimore detective gave him a betrayed look.

"Now, Jethro, you make it sound as if I was just the slightly better alternative to something horrendous." Ducky admonished and turned back to the younger man in front of him. "I'll let you know, my dear boy, I used to treat living patients before you were even a mere twinkle in your father's eye."

Abby was suddenly turned around and gently pushed out of the room by Gibbs. The last thing she heard before the door closed behind them was Ducky's, "Off with the shirt, Anthony," and Tony's, "You tell this to all your patients or is it just me?"

Abby smiled, Ducky had it under control.

Ducky was concerned. The young man in front of him had most certain received quite the beating; the dark bruises covering most of his body and the cracked ribs were evidence enough. But that was not what concerned the MD the most. It was the sadness and despair in the boy's eyes that worried him the most. From what he had found out about Tony so far, the young man seemed like a cheerful fellow; joking and content in his own skin. But Ducky had enough life experience to know that not all was as it seemed at first glance. And he was starting to realize that maybe Anthony DiNozzo was better in pretending than your average person.

"You'll be fine, my boy, just some bruises, cuts and scrapes, a slight concussion and cracked ribs. I would strongly advise you to take it easy for the next couple of days and you'll be right as a rain in no time. "He patted Tony's shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. The young detective just nodded and resumed his previous activity – staring blankly out of the window.

Ducky frowned and once again sat down on the bed besides the silent man.

"What is bothering you, Anthony? You know you can confide in me, I'm silent as a grave. "

"I'm fine, Ducky," Tony replied, not even sparing the ME a glance. But Ducky was nothing if not persistent. He grasped the younger man's chin and turned his face around to face him.

"You are certainly not fine, my boy. So we could do it the easy way or the hard way."

Tony furrowed his brow. "What exactly is the hard way?"

Ducky grabbed his bag and rummaged in it before taking out a big syringe and holding it against the light. "You don't want to know, believe me. So, do both me and yourself a favor and out with it."

The younger man gulped and looked fearfully at the object in Ducky's hand. The elderly physician watched as Tony sighed and slumped even further into the cushions. He looked so defeated that it broke the older man's heart. A boy his age shouldn't feel like that!

"My partner…Daniel," Tony whispered and Ducky had to come closer to hear him at all.

"Go on," the physician encouraged.

"Well, he has problems with alcohol." He flushed deep red as if he was the one who should be ashamed. "And since Gibbs threw him out of the investigation…well, he wasn't very happy about it, if you know what I mean."

"Your own partner did this to you?!" Ducky couldn't believe what he was hearing; his own partner, a fellow detective did this to the poor boy? If there was something that Ducky had learned from Gibbs over the course of the years they had known each other, it was that the bond between partners be cherished as one of complete trust. Not…not this! No wonder the boy was so out of sorts.

"It isn't his fault, I was the one who caused this mess," Tony tried to reason, tried to justify the actions of his bastard of a partner! Ducky couldn't believe it. This was wrong on so many levels and it made him angry. Not at Tony, but at the whole world for letting the boy live his life thinking he was responsible for everything bad that had ever happened to him.

"I don't want to hear you say such nonsense ever again, you hear me, Anthony? This is in no way you're fault. Do you understand me?"

Tony just nodded meekly and sent a fake smile his way, but Ducky saw right through it. He wasn't so naïve as to think this issue was dealt with, but that would have to wait for some other day, Anthony clearly was too exhausted to continue this talk.

"This talk is far from over, my dear boy," Ducky warned, "but for now, it'll have to be enough, I suppose. Now roll over. Let's give you something for the pain."

Tony's eyes widened at the words and the syringe in the elderly MD's hand.

"B-but I thought it was just, you know, 'the hard' way if I refused to tell you what happened!"

Ducky gave him a wide, innocent smile. "Whatever gave you that idea?"

Tony swallowed hard.

To be continued :)

A/N: Thank you all for your beautiful reviews! Each and every one makes me heart jump from joy, seriously. I am blessed to have such wonderful readers! Especially after such an awful week I've had. To sum it up, it started with some stupid test at school, continued with a demanding boss at work, permanent headaches and some nausea and dizziness and ended with being chased by a junkie through the forest…yeah, no kidding there. Leave a couple of sweet words for me and I'll love you forever :)

Hugs,

Andy

Ps: Sorry if there were some mistakes…I was impatient and wanted to upload this chapter as soon as possible :D