It had been a long and stressful night for Gibbs and Tony. Luke's girlfriend had assaulted Tony that afternoon. The incident had left the child so hysterical that he had to be sedated. Tony had woken up a few hours later, he was calmer this time but still not in a good way. He shrank back any time Gibbs put his hands near him and shuddered at the slightest noise. Gibbs was completely outraged by the damage Heather had done. Tony was far from trusting and seeking physical affection but he had made improvements now he was back at square one and somehow Gibbs had a feeling that it would take even longer to make progress this time. Tony may never trust Luke because of what had been done. He may never be able to trust anyone. Tony had already been through so much in his life and his trust was already so fragile. When Tony came out of the sedation he sat in his bed and cried for the rest of the evening. When lights out time came, Tony's sleep was plagued by nightmares. He woke screaming three times over the course of the night. It was one in the morning and Gibbs was sitting by Tony's bed, his hand resting on the child's bed. When it happened. There was this horrible electronic scream, then Tony's body started to violently jerk, and his eyes rolled in the back of his head. Two nurses rushed into Tony's room; one held his legs down, while the other monitored his stats. The seizure went on for twenty minutes before the nurses realized that he was not coming out of it. They yanked off Tony's underwear and shoved a pill up inside of him.

"Uh..." Gibbs started.

"It's a rescue med. We have to give it as suppository because it is too easy for him to spit it out or choke, or for us to mistakenly hurt him if we give it by mouth." Carmen, one of the nurses explained.

"So he's OK now?" Gibbs asked.

"He should be but if not we will be right back in." Nora the other nurse replied.


Gibbs had seen seizures before. Hell he had even suffered one himself back in the nineties. It was not long after the first explosion and the doctors chalked it up to him overexerting himself. Years later McGee was drugged by a suspect and suffered a seizure right in the middle of the bullpen. Gibbs had dealt with that like it was nothing. Around the same time Luke who was four years old at the time suffered what is known as a febrile seizure. Gibbs remembered hearing about the incident on the phone (it was before John's family moved to DC) and wondering how John had been rendered so effected by the incident. He was a doctor and had been trained to handle anything. It didn't make sense to Gibbs when John recalled being unable to handle the seizure but when it happened to Tony it all made since. It was different when it was your own kid. When your own child was suffering a medical crisis before your very eyes. It was purely terrifying. At least Tony had been in the hospital when he had his first episode. Because there is no way that Gibbs would be able to handle it on his own.


Tony was still now. Not the still that came from being in a a peaceful rest but the still that came from being in bad medical shape. His eyes were half opened and dazed and his breathing was shallow. His skin was too pale and he just didn't seem right. His heart monitor was beeping in a more rythmatic fashion. The nurses had assured him that he Tony was doing well but Gibbs was far from at ease. He hated seeing his son sick. Once Tony was declared "stable", he had rushed out to call John and Donna. He hated to disturb his brother and sister in law this late at night but he could not handle this alone. He needed family by his side. Just in case this happened again. To his relief John and Donna had agreed to come right over. They just had to tell Luke to keep watch over his siblings and then they would be right there. In the mean time Gibbs sat alone in Tony's hospital room, willing his son's brain to remain calm, praying that this would never happen again. All while being furious that Senior had left his son with yet another severe complication.

"Jethro?" John called.

"Hmm?" Jethro asked.

"How is he?" John asked.

"They say he's stable but I'm terrified that it will happen again." Jethro explained.

"Well I am here now." John replied.

"Thanks, where's Donna?" Jethro asked.

"Parking the car. She will be up soon but she wanted me to get to you right away." John explained.

"Alright" Jethro replied.

"You don't blame Luke for what happened, right?" John asked.

"It wasn't his fault. That girl is a bitch and I of all people should not be judging a man for being with a bitch." Jethro explained.

"Good because I know that Luke is worried about that." John replied.

"I'll call him tomorrow and we can work it out." Jethro replied.

"Good" John replied.

"I am going to try and get a little sleep. You mind keeping an eye?" Jethro asked, eyeing the couch in the back of the room.

"Of course" John replied.


Sleep did not come for Jethro that night. Anytime he heard a noise he would jump awake. It was like he was back overseas, always on guard. Because if he let his guard down for even a second, something terrible could happen. He wondered if this would be his new life, constantly terrified for his son. Unable to sleep at night, because at any second something could go horribly wrong. Could he really handle this at his age? Had he just made a huge mistake that would only be unfair to Tony. He loved that boy but was he really thinking in the best interest of the child or were his intentions more selfish than good?


A/N: Poor Gibbs having his doubts about raising Tony? Will his family be able to convince him that he is just having nerves? New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.