Ducky looked at his patient and gave a weary sigh. The boy had fallen asleep a couple of minutes ago after a valiant struggle to avoid being injected with painkillers, but Ducky was not to be deterred and had won in the end. The dose wasn't as high and under normal circumstances wouldn't put the young man to sleep, but Ducky guessed there were other factors to consider in this case. The elderly MD quickly took advantage of the younger man's state and gave him a more thorough examination. Anthony had been very uncooperative during the initial treatment of his wounds, refusing to let Ducky see all of them. He checked Tony's nose in case there was a fracture that wasn't visible at first glance but was relieved to find none. The younger man had refused to be touched anywhere near his face for some reason, so Ducky had to base all his findings on just looking at the injuries. The bleeding had stopped on its own accord, so there was no reason for any further actions there; an icepack should do well enough for the swelling and bruising. The cuts and scrapes were of various lengths, but thankfully, none were deep enough to require stitches; just a little bit of cleaning up.

The elderly ME sighed at the black and blue face of his young friend and the way he struggled to get air through his swollen noise; hard to imagine the cause of all this was a person he should have been able to trust, his partner. He moved to re-check the ribs, even though he was sure his original diagnose was correct, but Anthony had been very fidgety and it never hurt to double-check. He carefully pulled Tony's shirt up and gently prodded the bruised rib cage, earning a hiss from the still sleeping man. Satisfied that there were no broken ribs, just bruised and cracked ones, he was just about to put the shirt back down when he noticed the thin, white scars scattered randomly across the abdomen and side of his patient.

"What do we have here, my dear boy?" His trained medical examiner's eye was quick to determine just how old the soft lines were."These didn't happen recently, did they?" There was no reply, not that Ducky expected any.

"No, these seem far older than that. Childhood scars, perhaps?" He looked at Tony's face and frowned; he had been intrigued by the younger man's erratic behavior, by what made the boy act as he did, but now, when suspecting the cause, Ducky felt oddly defeated.

"Don't worry, Anthony," he reassured the young detective, "your secret's safe with me."

Patting him on the shoulder, Ducky stood up and left the room quietly. He still had to inform Jethro and Abigail of his findings.

"Gibbs?" Abby's uncertain voice brought Gibbs out of his thoughts and he looked down at the Goth who was sitting next to him on the sofa. Putting an arm around her shoulders he brought her closer and she gladly accepted the comfort, cuddling into his side.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine." He soothed without looking at her.

Abby's eyes filled with tears. "You haven't seen him when I've found him. H-he was unconscious, bleeding from all the cuts on his face…and from his nose…it was terrible, Gibbs!" She buried her face into his jacket, breathing in the comforting scent of sawdust mixed with a hint of something undeniably Gibbs.

"It's funny," Abby began, grinning through tears, "how a couple of days ago, we've known absolutely nothing about a detective named Anthony DiNozzo and now, here we are, a couple of days later and worrying about him."

Gibbs had to laugh at the truth behind her words. "Yeah, I have a feeling DiNozzo is a magnet for more than just trouble."

"You noticed that, huh?" She gave him a dimpled smile that quickly faded into a frown when catching sight of the tired looking MD, who made his way into the room with a distressed expression on his face.

"Ducky?" Abby bit her lip in a nervous gesture. Gibbs turned around to watch as his older friend sighed and sank wearily into the couch.

"Abigail, Jethro," Ducky acknowledged them and smiled slightly at the cup of tea that was waiting for him on the table. "Thank you for the tea, Abigail."

Abby cocked her head to one side, confusion evident on her face."How did you know it was me?"

"You tend to…get restless when worried, my dear. It doesn't take an investigator to figure that out," he replied before smiling and looking in Gibbs' direction, "and I can imagine Jethro had other things on his mind than remembering to make me tea."

"Damn straight," Gibbs grumbled. "So, how is he?"

"Well, the lad has been lucky," Ducky sighed, "he received quite the beating, but other than some particular nasty and tender bruises, there was nothing some rest and painkillers can't cure."

"But what about all the blood?" Abby asked, remembering how she had found Tony and shuddering at the memory.

"Don't concern yourself with that," the ME soothed, "his face had some nasty cuts and it is most unfortunate that facial injuries tend to bleed a lot. He suffered a mild concussion and a swollen nose but thankfully nothing broken. I had been concerned about possible rib fractures but thankfully they are just cracked. They should heal on their own and the best we can do is help him fight the pain. "

Ducky finished and looked at the duo in front of him. Abby had tears in her green eyes but looked content was nothing was seriously wrong with her new friend. Gibbs' face was unreadable but the taut lines of his jaw and the way he curled his fingers around the poor unsuspecting cup of coffee told a story of its own.

"He tell you what happened?" Gibbs inquired but Ducky could easily read the true question behind his words. Who did that to him?

"I am sorry Jethro but I am not in a position to reveal this information to you. I was sworn to secrecy in this matter and you know how seriously I take my role as a confidant. "

Gibbs scowled before noticing Ducky's amused expression. "What?"

"But if you were to find out on your own." The elderly ME looked at him meaningfully.

"You want me to guess?" The disbelief was apparent in the ex-marine's voice."What is this, charades?"

"Oh, I love charades!"Abby squealed and jumped up from the couch. "Guess who I am."

She took the empty cup of coffee from the table, straightened up and glared. Ducky nodded appreciatively. "You make a fine Jethro, my dear."

The forensic scientist pouted."That obvious?"

Ducky and Abby continued their discussion but Gibbs wasn't paying attention to them anymore. Ducky got him thinking. It was obvious that the person who was responsible for DiNozzo's injuries was someone he knew, or else Ducky wouldn't have him guessing. That left only 2 people, Detective Sgt. Ward, Tony's CO or detective Daniel Kinsey, his partner. From what he had seen before, Ward was a good for nothing CO, showing no interest in the young detective with so much potential under him. No interest whatsoever, which meant he had no reason to do this to DiNozzo. That would leave just…

He clenched his fists

"It was his partner, right? Detective Daniel Kinsey?"

He ignored Abby's gasp and concentrated on the doctor who suddenly looked years older, his eyes conveying everything he couldn't voice at the moment. It was all the answer Gibbs needed.

"I'll talk to him," Gibbs announced, his feet already taking him in the direction of the bedroom. His path was suddenly blocked by Ducky, with his hands on his hips and a scowl plastered on his usually calm face.

"I can't let you do that, Jethro. He is asleep and rest is of the utmost importance during the period of his convalescence."

"This needs dealt with, Duck," he countered." Next time, he won't have to be so lucky. And now's the perfect time to get some answers from him; he's still weak, confused and on the edge. Give him some time to rest and recoup and you'll get nothing from him. Now's the right moment to strike."

Ducky shook his head and Gibbs couldn't help but feel remorse for what he was about to do, but it had to be done. Coddling wouldn't help DiNozzo at the moment, getting rid of his problem would. His problem was Kinsey, and if bringing out his bastard side was what could get him some answers and prevent the beating from happening again, so be it.

"You make it sound like a battle plan, Jethro." There was resignation in the elderly ME's voice, but Gibbs refused to feel guilty for doing what he thought was right.

"Feels like it, too," Gibbs drily replied, before continuing on his way to the bedroom, hearing Ducky's heavy sigh and a muttered, "should have threatened him with that syringe," from behind him. He would have to ask about that later. The door closed behind him, muting the conversation taking place in the living room, and he looked at the sleeping detective curled up on the bed with a pillow to his chest, hugging it with a surprisingly strong grip for someone unconscious. Ducky had left the small bedside lamp on and it illuminated Tony's face enough for him to see the bruises, cuts and scrapes even from his position at the door. Moving further into the room, he sat down on the chair Ducky had left next to the bed and waited for any signs of waking up from the younger man.

DiNozzo looked different in this drug induced sleep than he did when awake, Gibbs noticed. He looked younger and more carefree somehow. With the pillow tucked under his chin and mouth opened slightly Gibbs found it hard to believe this was a man that investigated homicide on a regular basis in a city with the highest crime rate in the US. When he was awake, there was an air of confidence, no matter how fake it was, and it led people to believe he could shoulder far more weight than was necessary for a kid like him. He had looked at DiNozzo's file and although the detective had an impressively long list of former work places during his relatively short police career, the fact that he managed to make detective in record time spoke for itself.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a muffled whimper. Tony curled up into a tighter ball with the pillow stuck between his chest and knees. He hissed as if in pain and Gibbs was just about to wake him up when he remembered Ducky telling them DiNozzo had some cracked ribs. No wonder he was uncomfortable in that position! The ex-marine carefully took hold of Tony's shoulder and set him so he was lying flat on his back.

DiNozzo made an appreciative "hmmm" before going silent again and looking the most content the NCIS agent had seen him so far. Gibbs leaned back in the chair. Guess he had to wait now; it would be a shame to wake him up now when he was comfortable.

Awareness came slowly to Tony. He felt as if his brain was wrapped in cotton candy, making everything around him look somewhat fuzzy and unreal. As if it wasn't even there, or maybe it was him that wasn't there? His mind was a mess of thoughts that kept swirling around without any logic and he had to try real hard to remember what had happened to get him into this situation. Everything came back in a rush to him and he sat up as fast as his injured ribs could manage, gasping for air.

"You ok, DiNozzo?" The gruff question caught him off-guard and Tony almost fell from bed when he noticed the older man sitting on the chair next to his bed.

"Wha-what are you doing here, Gibbs?"

Gibbs narrowed his eyes into slits at his stammered and surprised question. "What? You thought we'd bandage you up and just leave?"

Tony met his gaze bravely. "Why not? You didn't have a reason to stay."

"That isn't how it works."

"How what works?" Tony asked, truly having no idea what he was talking about. Everything was blank in his head, it was hard to think straight and Gibbs seemed to be eager for some weird small talk that made no sense to him.

"We're working on a triple homicide right now. Together. That makes us a team." Gibbs answered and Tony could almost hear the silent "duh" somewhere in that sentence. "And teams don't work like that. I don't leave people behind."

Tony heard the sincerity in the other man's voice, and had to bite his lip hard to prevent his big mouth from telling him everything he never wanted to know. How not all teams worked like that. How his partner had beat the hell out of him just because he had been kicked off the case; just because he was a mean drunk with some unresolved problems. How people got left behind all the time, not only in teams but in families as well. But what good could it do? Telling Gibbs would just open a can of worms for him that he just wasn't ready to face yet. Not to mention how stupid it would be to break down in front of a man he had only know for a couple of days. He wouldn't, couldn't do that to him.

"Abby and Ducky still around?"

Gibbs gave him an exasperated look. "Haven't you been listening to a word I've said?"

"Hey, I'm just figuring how big this team of ours is. You know, just in case more people came barging into my apartment, hugging the crap out of me in true team spirit."

The words were biting and harsh and Tony wanted to take them back as soon as he saw the hurt look that briefly made an appearance on the stoic face of the silver haired man. But the look disappeared as fast as it had appeared.

"You want us to leave? No problem there, DiNozzo, if that's what you really want."

"I didn't mean it like that," Tony replied. "Sorry, everything's still a little bit mixed up in my bed."

Gibbs just nodded and they were once again left in silence. It was uncomfortable and Tony was so desperate that he was contemplating starting a conversation about the weather, when Gibbs finally broke the quiet atmosphere.

"You ready to tell me what happened?"

He didn't need to specify what he meant by that, Tony knew. Lying would probably get him nowhere with the NCIS agent, doesn't mean he wouldn't try it, though.

"A word of advice," he leaned closer to the older man, "it's not a good idea to try doing forward rolls down the stairs."

Tony was expecting a glare, or maybe an impatient scowl with a demand to tell the truth…but not this. Definitely not a slap to the back of head.

"Ouch!" he yelped and rubbed the spot where Gibbs' hand had connected with his skull. Although, it wasn't that hard of a slap…but it was definitely unexpected and he didn't know what to think of it.

"You remember I've suffered a concussion, right?"

Gibbs nodded with a quirk of his lips. "Just helping you set your head straight."

"I think it'll be permanently tilted forward from now on."

The older man held up his hand with a smirk. "I could give it another try."

Tony looked aghast and inconspicuously tried getting out of reach of the second slap but he got tangled up in his sheets and fell forward, face hitting the wrinkly bed covers.

"Bed not cooperating, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked with humor evident in the tone of his voice.

Tony raised his face, a sheepish smile on his face. "Is it still so hard to believe I fell down the stairs?"

Gibbs snorted at that. "No, it wouldn't be. I still think you're lying, though."

Tony sat up slowly, careful of the vicious sheets and took a deep breath. There was no sense in keeping it a secret, he had a feeling Gibbs would find out one way or another.

"It was my partner," Tony started, voice detached, as if he was recounting case facts," and he had two other men with him."

Gibbs nodded. "Why did he do it?"

"Was pissed because you've kicked him off the case. He has some problems with alcohol and I guess he probably jut lost it. No big deal."

Tony was surprised to see anger on the older man's face. What did he do now?

"No big deal?" Gibbs growled. "Look into the mirror recently?"

"Yes, I did see, so what? It's not as if it was his fault! He doesn't have it easy, you know? Lots of nasty stuff happened to him in the past."

"So that makes it right? You think his well-being is more important than yours?"

Tony huffed and turned around, intent on ignoring the older man altogether.

"Think he is more important than you?"

The words hurt, a lot, Tony had to admit. These were the questions he kept asking himself over and over again all his life, but he could never really find the right answer. Every time he convinced himself he was worth something, somebody came and proceeded to show him why he was wrong. Why was Gibbs so insistent?

"He isn't, just so you know."

Tony ignored what the other man was saying, opting instead for bringing his knees up to his chin and staring out of the window into the night. The stars were out tonight.

Silence stretched between them but the young detective was refusing to be the one to break it. Not this time. He heard Gibbs sigh in the background and stand up from the chair. Then there were footsteps and Tony was sure the older man would leave without another word. The thought hurt more than he expected it would. Except Gibbs didn't follow the script, he did say something to him.

"It's too dangerous for you to be alone right now. You'll be staying with us at the hotel, for the time being."

And before he could turn around and reply to that, Gibbs was already out of the door.

To be continued

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the longer wait but this week has been one big struggle. Struggle to find time for school, struggle to find time for writing and reading…a struggle not to cry…but your reviews helped a lot! It means so much to me, when you leave me a line or two. I am truly blessed to have readers like you…

Sorry if there were some mistakes, my eyes are gritty from lack of sleep…it's 3 AM and I have school tomorrow :(

Please leave me a review? I'll love you forever! :)

Hugs,

Andy