Once Ziva had returned to the couch with Gibbs, McGee stepped forward and gave Tony a soft hug.
"I miss you so much. I can't wait for you to come back to work."
Tony smiled. "Thank you, Tim."
McGee smiled happily as he sat on the bed. "Listen, I have some photos to show you, but if you don't want to look, you don't have to."
"Photos of what?"
"People. They're mug shots of people that are suspected of being a part of the Baltimore mafia family. Ziva and I were hoping that you would be able to ID the ones you knew while you were undercover."
"I'm not sure if I remember all of them."
"That's okay. Just point out the ones you knew."
"Why do you want me to ID them?" Tony asked, feeling a little confused now.
"Because, the three men that hurt you were from there."
"Three men? What do you mean?"
McGee frowned, but Gibbs jumped in before he could say anything else.
"Tony, remember how we talked about the people that hurt your arm?" Gibbs asked gently.
"Yeah. The same ones raped me," Tony said sadly.
"Right. Those men were from the Baltimore mafia. McGee and Ziva want to know if you can ID anyone else so they can prevent you from being hurt again."
"Oh." Tony's face brightened a little. "I can do that. Tim?"
"Yeah, Tony?" asked McGee.
"Do you have the photos now?"
"Yes. Are you sure you want to look at them?"
Tony nodded. "I want to help."
McGee smiled to himself as he pulled the photos from the file he had brought along. Tony seemed so innocent in his confusion, and it was really adorable. He handed the photos to Tony. "Take as much time as you need."
Tony looked through the first page of mug shots, but he didn't recognise anyone. He was half way through the second page when a picture jumped out at him. He pointed at it and said, "that guy was here today, Gibbs."
"Do you know him?"
"No. He's the one that I thought was a nurse."
Gibbs' expression darkened for a second. "Does anyone else on the page ring a bell?"
"Nope."
"Good. Give me the page. I'll be back in a few minutes."
"Where are you going?" Tony asked, his tone all worry now.
"Just to make a phone call, bud. I'll be back before you know it." Gibbs turned to McGee. "Stay with him and try to reassure him if he asks for me again. I'll explain it later on." He beckoned for Ziva to join him and stepped out into the hallway.
"Why is Tony afraid of you leaving?" Ziva asked once they were in the waiting room.
"Because he thinks I'm going to leave him behind again." Gibbs sighed. "I know it's my fault, Ziva. Don't lecture me like Abby did yesterday."
"I will not lecture you. But I will kill you if you leave Tony sad like that again. He did not know what to do without you, Gibbs."
"So I've been told. Listen, I need to call Jen and get her to put out the word that Tony is dead. At least, if he's 'dead', they'll stop coming after him and Tony will get a chance to heal. I need to know who ratted Tony out as well."
"Abby is digging through the files of people that knew Tony was undercover and knew about his alias. She is looking for anybody that might know where Tony is now."
"Good." Gibbs shook his head. "Tony's lucky that the nurses got in as quickly as they did."
"I know." Ziva smiled. "I will go sit with him while you make your phone call. If anybody wants to hurt Tony, I will kill them."
Gibbs suppressed a laugh as Ziva re-entered Tony's room, then pulled out his phone to call Jenny.
Tony used the texta that McGee had given him to circle the last picture on the last page of mug shots. Then he handed both items to McGee.
"That's it. I think there may be more, but I don't remember them," said Tony.
"It's alright. That's quite a lot of people anyway. How far up the ladder did you get?" McGee asked.
"I was the right hand man for the don."
McGee nodded, impressed with Tony's skills. He knew that his friend was good at undercover operations, but that was unexpected.
"Tim?"
"Yes?"
"I know Ziva said that both of you still care and all, but she doesn't know what you're thinking. Do you still want to be my friend?"
McGee's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Tony! Of course I want to be your friend still! Who else would call me Elf Lord with such affection?"
Tony's lips twitched into a little smile. "Well, I guess you are my Elf Lord."
"Exactly. What those men did to you Tony, it's inexcusable. It doesn't make us see you any differently. You are still the annoying, smarty pants, teenager you've always been."
"Teenager?"
"Yes. That's what you act like." McGee smiled. "We still love you, no matter what happens. As for those three men- especially the two that actually hurt you- they're lucky that Ziva didn't get to murder them. Believe me, she wanted to kill them on the spot when we found out."
Tony laughed. "She's my ninja assassin."
"Who is your ninja assassin?" asked Ziva after closing the door behind her.
"No-one." Tony's face went red from being caught.
"Liar. Tell me."
"I'm tired," said Tony as he shut his eyes and pretended to be asleep.
"I know you are faking, Tony. Just tell me who this ninja assassin is, and I will leave you alone."
"I somehow doubt that, Ziva," said McGee as he tried to control his laughter.
"You know too, McGee. Tell me, or I will hurt you."
"Tony?"
"She won't hurt you, Probie. Ziva would have to work alone if she gets rid of you." Tony opened his eyes, and, although he really was tired, he smiled happily, declaring, "the ninja assassin strikes again!"
"What are you talking about?" Ziva demanded. "It is not nice to have secrets."
"Says the woman who talks in Hebrew when she doesn't want anyone to know what she's talking about."
"Please, Tony?" Ziva asked, giving him her best puppy dog eyes.
"Fine." Tony sighed dramatically. "The ninja assassin is..."
"Tony, you'll regret telling her," warned McGee.
"It's okay, Tim. Ziva, I was talking about you."
"Me?" asked Ziva, now confused.
"Yes. Who else would be a ninja assassin?"
"That is a good point. Okay, so I am your ninja assassin. Why?"