Chapter 10

The next morning, Tim was glad that the only thing that woke him was the alarm clock. All they needed was another nightmare to set Tony off to the races before Brad had a chance to check him out. He reached over with his free arm and silenced the alarm. Tony still hadn't stirred, snuggled against Tim, lying on his chest.

Tim breathed in his scent and listened to his deep, even breathing. The quiet sound reassured him, calming the fear that had settled in his chest yesterday morning. He lay there in the dark, running his fingers along Tony's spine, wishing they could just stay here. Sighing, he called Tony's name.

"Huh?"

"Time to get up," Tim said, nudging his partner. "If you want a run before work, we need to get up."

Tony groaned and stretched, curling away from Tim and popping the bones in his spine. "OK, OK."

The two men got up and pulled on running gear and headed out as the sun was just starting to lighten the sky.

"Just three miles today," Tim said. "Gibbs will have my head if anything happens to you before you see Brad."

"I hate to say it, but you're right." The older man followed as Tim set the pace. They fell into stride together quickly, covering ground as the sun rose higher in the sky. Twenty minutes later, they were back at Tim's place and stretching on the sidewalk in front of the building.

Tim listened carefully, but didn't hear any of the horrendous wheezing that had marked Tony's breath the day before.

When they went in, Tim showered first. He could hear Tony in the kitchen, but the man was there waiting to step in when Tim got out of the shower.

"There's eggs and bacon on the counter," Tony said.

Tim reached over and kissed him.

"Best tip I ever got for cooking," Tony said, grinning. "Go on, before it gets cold."

Tim only stopped to pull on his boxers. By the time he was done eating, Tony was out of the shower. They stood side by side in front of the mirror to brush their teeth and get ready. Tim just ran a comb through his hair, while Tony mussed a glob of some styling something through his hair to get his usual spiky look.

As they were getting dressed in their bedroom... Tim paused. When did he start thinking of it as "their" bedroom? And why did he feel this warm feeling of rightness at the idea? Tony had walked back in the bathroom to check his tie in the mirror. Tim thought for a second and then raised his voice enough for Tony to hear him.

"Hey, Tony?"

Tony stuck his head into the bedroom. "Yeah?"

"I'm going up to Annapolis this weekend to visit my parents. Nothing major, just burgers on the grill. Sarah's going, too. Do you want to come?"

Tony walked slowly into the bedroom. "Meet the parents? Are you sure?"

Tim nodded. "I'm sure. We're not on call this weekend, and I've been wanting to tell them about you."

Tony opened his mouth, shut it then opened it again.

"If you're not ready, you don't have to." Tim tried to hide his disappointment.

Tony walked over and hugged him. "I do. I am. I think. It's just..."

"Just what?"

"The last time I met the parents, my car blew up."

Tim looked up as they pulled apart to see a smile on Tony's face that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"My dad isn't in EOD. And I know they'll like you. Sarah's mentioned to them I'm seeing a guy and they've been hinting that they want to meet you. I just didn't say anything because I wasn't sure if you were ready for that."

"So what changed?"

Tim shrugged. "Seeing you almost pass out yesterday. Waking up this morning and having it just be a normal day, us getting ready for work. I know we can't be out at work unless we want Gibbs to head-slap us all the way to Norfolk, but you deserve to get to know the rest of my family."

Tony thought for a second, then nodded. "I can do that." And this time, the smile did reach to his eyes. At least until he looked at his watch. "You'd better get going, or Gibbs will head-slap you for being late. And don't forget to grumble about the hard floor and sleeping bag, especially in front of Abby."

"Right." Tim pulled his gun and badge from the lockbox by his bed and handed Tony's to him. "Good luck with Brad. You'll let me know?"

"Of course, McMom. Now go. I'm headed out in a few minutes myself."

Less than half an hour later, Tony pulled into the lot at Bethesda. He made his way to Brad's office easily, remembering the location from his many visits five years ago, and annual exams since then.

He knocked on the door frame and Brad looked up.

"Tony, come on in." Brad stood up and shook his hand. "You guys had a tough loss to USC last week."

"Sure, rub it in just because you beat the Irish. We'll see who wins the big one this year."

"Don't count your touchdowns before they're scored," Brad retorted. "So tell me about what happened yesterday."

As Tony told Brad about his attack and answered the doctor's questions, he tried to gauge Brad's reaction from his expression. The man was almost tougher to read than Gibbs. "So what's wrong with me," he finished.

Brad smiled. "I'm good, but I'm not that good," he said. "I think Dr. Mallard is probably right about the asthma, but I just want to run a few tests to be sure, take some X-rays. I'll give you an inhaler for now, and I'll want you back in here next week once we get the test results back.

Tony bit back a curse. "Come on, Brad. Seriously?"

"Have you ever had this type of attack before?"

"Well, no."

"You've gone all out before, chasing suspects, though?"

"Gotta get the dirtbags."

"And you didn't have any problems after you rescued Gibbs and his daughter's friend from drowning a few years ago?"

Tony shook his head. "Just that cold you thought might turn into bronchitis. But nothing after that went away."

"Any injuries since then to your chest or lungs?"

Tony thought about it. "I took a couple kicks to the ribs this summer in Somalia, but nothing serious. Not even bruised ribs. Tim got all those."

"McGee?"

Tony nodded. "We infiltrated a terrorist camp and rescued Ziva." He was rewarded when Brad's eyes widened.

"Tony, you get yourself into crazier situations than anybody I know."

"That's my job," Tony said. "It's not going to change."

Brad frowned. "There are days that's what concerns me." He tapped his fingers on the desk. "Any chance you were exposed to something in the camp that might have affected your lung function, like a bioweapon?"

Tony shook his head. "These guys weren't the bioweapons type. They had plenty of the metal ones, though. The only thing I inhaled there was dust from the roads as Tim and I tried to find those guys."

"Hmmm." Brad jotted down a couple of notes. "That might have made a difference." He paused. "Tony, I know you like working for NCIS, being a field agent."

"You're not going to yank me from the field." Tony felt his belly twist at the thought.

"No, I'm not. But I do want to monitor you closely for a while, make sure that this is a one-time decline, not a progressive one. I also might have some drug therapy we can do to try and improve your lung function, some things we've been testing on the older sailors that were exposed to asbestos early in their careers."

"So I can stay in the field?"

Brad nodded. "You can stay in the field. Once a week, you come here for an exam. We can do it first thing so you're not too late to work. After I've got a good baseline and we have you started on drug therapy that works, we'll cut back to monthly visits. But expect to stay with weekly visits until we get through cold and flu season."

Tony grimaced. "On one condition."

"What's that?"

"You call Gibbs and tell him. He's going to have lots of questions and go all Papa Smurf on me if I tell him."

Brad laughed. "I can do that. And Tony, I'm sorry for this. I know it's going to be an inconvenience for you to haul yourself up here every week from Georgetown."

Tony grinned. "Oh, no worries there. My latest conquest lives in Silver Spring. Staying there the night before isn't a problem."

Brad chuckled. "This one's actually lasted more than a few dates?"

"Four months." Tony's grin got even bigger. "It's that Buckeye charm. You Michigan boys wouldn't understand."

Brad just rolled his eyes. "Four months of that and she's still with you? It must be love."

Tony decided not to correct Brad. "Oh, you know."

"So do I get to meet this one?"

Tony thought frantically. "Hey, honey. This is the guy who saved me from a medieval disease." He shook his head. "She knows I'm an agent. She knows about some of the dangers. But no need to scare her too badly. That's why the gang at NCIS doesn't know about her yet. Too many stories about times I've almost gotten killed. I just got the OK to meet the parents this weekend."

"Meeting the parents? Sounds serious." Brad smiled. "When you get ready to tell her about bionic Tony, bring her along to one of your appointments. I'll reassure her."

Tony smiled. "No need, Brad. But thanks for the offer. Now how about doing those tests so I can get back to the Navy Yard before Gibbs sends out a search party."

"Gibbs."

Brad laughed at the gruff greeting. "Agent Gibbs. Dr. Pitt."

"DiNozzo?"

"He's on his way to the Navy Yard now, with a new inhaler."

"He OK?"

"I think so."

"Think?"

Brad winced at the anger in the agent's voice. "Dr. Mallard was right, Tony does seem to have developed a mild case of asthma. With the some caution in his workout choices, he should be fine. His inhaler will help him if he overexerts himself chasing a criminal." He waited for a reply, and when Gibbs stayed silent, Brad kept talking. "Tony asked me to call and let you know so you could ask any questions. I've also asked him to come back in for weekly checkups for a while, and then probably monthly."

"Thought you said he was fine."

Brad rubbed the bridge of his nose. "He is. But the asthma indicates some changes in his lung function. After he told me about his injuries from Somalia and what they went through out there, I think it's possible that it might have triggered the changes. Since we don't have any statistics on plague victims, I'm being overcautious and monitoring him more closely to make sure this isn't a progressive decline."

"Appreciate it. Wouldn't want to lose DiNozzo."

Brad smiled. For all his gruffness, the former Marine really cared about his people. "We didn't lose him to the plague. I'm not losing him for anything less."

"Running?"

"Tony said you'd ordered McGee to run with him ever since the attack. I asked him to continue to run with a buddy if he's going more than two miles, though it doesn't have to be McGee."

"If you've got him trekking to Bethesda every week, they'll be running together those days. McGee's sleeping bag will be getting a workout."

"You lost me, Gibbs." Brad wondered what McGee had to do with Tony's new girlfriend.

Gibbs snorted. "McGee lives in Silver Spring. Tony stayed there last night rather than pick his car up there and drive back to Georgetown then drive back to Bethesda. McGee doesn't have a couch, so he slept in a sleeping bag and let Tony have his bed. McGee was grumbling about it this morning."

Brad was glad this was a phone call not a video conference because he knew he looked as confused as he felt. "I'm sure they'll work it out. One other thing, Gibbs. Don't treat Tony any different because of this. He has his inhaler, and he knows how to use it. As long as he's got it, he's no less capable than he was a week ago. I know you're protective of your people, but if you make Tony feel like he's being babied, he's more likely to do something stupid."

"Will do."

Brad grinned at the dial tone in his ear. The grin slipped from his face as he thought about what Gibbs had said. If McGee was complaining about sleeping on the floor, he must be helping Tony cover his new relationship from the rest of the team. But Tony had said nobody at NCIS knew about it. He puzzled over it for a second, wondering what Tony was trying to hide. Tony wasn't faking his pleasure at spending the night near Bethesda, that Brad was sure of. Gibbs wouldn't be lying about McGee - he didn't even know Brad knew Tony was seeing somebody. And McGee had been running with Tony when he had his attack. So why would...

Brad smacked himself in the forehead. McGee wasn't helping Tony cover his new relationship. McGee was Tony's new relationship. He smiled. He didn't know the younger agent as well as he had gotten to know Tony, Kate and Gibbs, but he remembered a quiet man who brought a laptop to the hospital and worked from Tony's room so he could stay with him during the day while he recovered from the plague. The entire team had taken turns, but McGee, Dr. Mallard and Abby were the only ones there during the day. McGee had said it was because he could work as long as he had a computer. Brad was suddenly glad he hadn't said anything to Gibbs. He couldn't wait for next week's appointment to ask Tony about his creative version of the truth.