DISCLAIMER:- I do not own NCIS or its characters and no copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 14
Tony spent a restless night battling the pain from his injury and the nausea from the anaesthetic. Despite the relentless throbbing, he had resisted using the morphine pump and tried to keep his mind sharp as he went over the events of the last 36 hours. Once again he'd been targeted as Anthony DiNozzo, perennial fall guy – and this time he and McGee were very nearly killed.
When the morning eventually arrived, the lack of restful sleep had left him exhausted and the acute pain from his shoulder finally convinced him to press the morphine pump. He dozed lightly until the mid-morning visiting hours when the door to his room burst open.
"Tony!" Abby squealed, zeroing in on her friend's hospital bed and engulfing him in one of her infamous hugs.
"Hey Abs!" Tony replied forcing a weary grin.
"I missed you so much! Oh my poor baby, you're so pale, look at you! Can I get you anything, water, ice chips, pizza – just kidding about the pizza, Ducky said nothing rich and spicy in your diet for a few more days."
"I'm fine, Abs."
She busied herself fluffing his pillows, straightening the blankets and hovering over him like a hyperactive Gothic humming bird.
"Tony, you'll never guess what?"
"Okay, um...you've overcome your fear of clowns and you're running away to join the circus?"
"No, silly…you know I'm still scared of clowns!" Abby said, playfully punching his good arm.
"Oh right…I know…you've dusted off you're Ouija board and you're joining a witch's coven."
"Ooh, interesting…but wrong again!"
"I'm all out of guesses, Abs."
"Director Vance likes the Mummified Muskrats, he has both of their CDs!" Abby said brightening the room with a dazzling smile.
"Vance?" Tony said in disbelief.
"Yes!" Abby nodded emphatically.
"Leon Vance?"
"Uh huh!"
"Director Toothpick?"
"The one and only!" Abby confirmed watching Tony's sceptical expression.
"Knock, knock…are you up for some company?" Palmer said as he and Ziva guided McGee's wheelchair into the room.
"It's about time you woke up!" McGee said. "I came to see you earlier but you were still sleeping."
"Sorry, Probie, I had a bad night," Tony said casting an appraising look over the younger man. "New mode of transportation?"
"Hospital policy, it's the only way they'd let me visit you."
Tony nodded sympathetically. "So…how are you feeling? What's the damage?"
"I'm okay," he replied. "Concussion, headaches, I have some more scans tomorrow and then I should be able to go home."
"That's great, man," Tony said with genuine relief as he fought the residual effects of the morphine.
Ziva gently held Tony by the chin and moving his head from left to right as she inspected the bruises on his face.
"Hmmm…you are not as handsome as you were 48 hours ago but you will recover," she said appraisingly.
Their attention was drawn to the end of the bed where Palmer was shaking his head and clicking his tongue very Ducky-like.
"This could have been so much worse," Palmer said as he read Tony's medical chart. "If the bullet had hit a little lower, you may have bled out before they got you to a hospital."
"Let me guess, Palmer," Tony replied wincing as he shifted to a more comfortable position. "They haven't taught 'bedside manner' yet at med school."
"Sorry, Tony," Jimmy said feeling a blush colouring his face. "It's just that, until now, most of my patients have been animals or dead."
"Don't worry about it," Tony said, his eyes darting nervously toward the door. "So…where's Gibbs?"
"The Boss came to see you after your surgery but said you were sleeping," McGee replied, not noticing Tony's guilty expression.
"Gibbs is interrogating Saleem Akram and some of the surviving terrorists," Ziva replied. "He will see you during visiting hours this evening."
She exchanged a concerned glance with Abby, as Tony appeared to relax at the news that the lead agent wouldn't be arriving anytime soon.
McGee sighed heavily.
"Something wrong, Timmy?" Abby asked.
"I just wish someone had been able to intercept the Under Secretary before he left the country," McGee said. "I suppose we'll have to be happy that Brady will have to stand trial."
"You know what they say, McGee," Jimmy said clapping a supportive hand on Tim's shoulder. "A bird in the hand…"
"Catches the worm," Ziva finished incorrectly and while there were a few furtive glances among the group, nobody had the heart to tell her that she'd slaughtered another proverb.
"Oh! I almost forgot," Ziva said lifting a large gift bag onto Tony's bed. "I have a gift for you both."
"Really? That's very nice of you, Ziva, but you shouldn't have," McGee gushed.
"The gifts are not from me, they are from Agent Fornell."
"Toby sent us get well gifts?" Tony asked around a jaw-cracking yawn. "Are they ticking, did you check for wires, submerge them in water, have Abby x-ray them, evacuate the hospital?"
"Come on, Tony, give the guy a break," McGee replied. "He did help us out yesterday and I think it's very nice of him to send a get well gift."
Dismissing Tony's scepticism, McGee turned to Ziva as she gave a parcel bag to both men.
"I love presents! What is it? What did you get?" Abby said excitedly as she assisted a "one-armed" Tony to open his gift.
McGee's expression changed from anticipation to confusion as he opened his parcel.
"Gap filler?" he said glancing across at Tony in time to see him awkwardly unveil a small hammer.
"The gifts also come with a message," Ziva said with a smirk, obviously enjoying her partner's confusion. "He said that as soon as you are both well enough, he expects you to help him to repair his cabin."
"Well, that's gratitude," McGee remarked. "We probably saved him a fortune in air conditioning."
"That is true," Ziva replied. "But the man's cabin has more holes in it than a piece of Swiss cheese. Be glad he does not expect you to pay for the cost of the repairs."
Tony tried valiantly to stifle another yawn and it was obvious that he was battling to stay awake.
"You are tired," Ziva stated, patting his leg through the blanket. "We will let you rest and will come back tonight with Gibbs."
Abby lowered the bed and helped Tony settle and then gave him a kiss on the cheek. She was a little worried that Tony seemed more subdued than usual but had put it down to residual weakness, post op lethargy and possibly the pain meds he was taking.
"Sleep well, I'll come back and see you later."
"Thanks, Abs," Tony mumbled, fading fast.
"Why don't I arrange to eat my dinner in here with you?" McGee suggested. "If it's as unpalatable as breakfast we can suffer together."
"Good idea, Probie, see you for dinner," Tony slurred.
Palmer bid Tony goodbye and guided McGee's wheelchair toward the door when Tony roused a little.
"Probie?" he said lifting his head from the pillow as exhaustion seeped through his veins.
"Yeah, Tony?"
"You did good, Tim."
McGee was caught off guard by the sincerity of the comment and the unflinching gaze. Not trusting his voice, he could only nod in response before the wheelchair was pushed toward the door again.
"Probie!" Tony called again. "Do something for me?"
"Sure, Tony, what do you need?"
"Alimente sus pollos y puso el gato fuera." Tony said fluently.
"Go to sleep, Tony," McGee said holding back a grin as Palmer resumed pushing the wheelchair into the corridor.
"Was that Spanish?" Jimmy asked. "What did he say?"
Ziva looked confused by the statement but was curious about the wide smile that appeared on McGee's face. She translated the phrase for Abby and Jimmy.
"He said, feed the chickens and let the cat out," she repeated in English.
As his friends made their way to McGee's room, Tony heard Jimmy's voice fading into the distance. "I didn't know Tony had chickens! I thought he lived in an apartment?"
Tony's eyes closed against his will and he fell quickly and deeply into a peaceful and healing sleep.
--oo00oo—oo00oo—oo00oo—oo00oo—oo00oo—
He heard the squeak of a plastic lid being removed from a Styrofoam coffee cup and the aroma of strong coffee wafted over to him. He kept his eyes closed as he heard the soft creak of the bedside chair as his visitor shifted his bodyweight. He held his breath for a moment and expelled a sigh of resignation knowing he could avoid the conversation no longer.
"Boss?" he said.
"Not the Boss you were expecting," the visitor replied.
Immediately alert, Tony's eyes snapped open and he turned quickly to face the man sitting at his bedside. He bit back a groan when his shoulder throbbed painfully.
"Director Vance," he said bitterly. "Come to see the results of your handy work or to finish the job yourself?"
"I've come to talk, DiNozzo, to explain," the Director replied calmly.
"With all due respect, Director, I'm off the clock and you're just about the last person I wanna see right now."
"Really? Who's the last person?" Vance asked curiously.
Tony ignored the question and responded flatly. "Say what you want and then get the hell out."
He fought against the pull of exhaustion and pain medication and silently listened as Vance proceeded to tell him how the Under Secretary and Jason Brady had fabricated the terrorist threat in order to confirm the existence of a "mole" in their own department and the possible existence of a terrorist cell in Virginia. They had hoped to use that information to gain political favour and secure their positions.
Adhering to his "confidential arrangement" with SecNav, Vance told Tony that both he and SecNav had been following orders when they, in turn, ordered McGee and Tony to undertake the assignment.
"I could have told you this was a set-up…no wait…I did!" Tony snarled.
Despite the green eyes that impaled him with enough intensity to make him squirm, Vance continued to hold Tony's gaze as the agent spoke his mind.
"You made it abundantly clear from the start, that there's no place for agents like me at NCIS," Tony hissed. "We all know that you'd prefer an agency with a lot of McGee and Keating clones running around. Well, you may have got your wish, Director, because I'm considering my career options."
"I won't deny that I believe as technology improves, agents like McGee and Keating will be the future of this and many other government agencies," Vance said and to his credit, he looked Tony straight in the eye. "McGee informed me that he would not have made it out alive had you not been with him. Your instincts, your skill and your experience saved you both and allowed us to neutralise a dangerous terrorist cell."
"Did McGee also tell you that he saved my life?" Tony asked.
"No, he didn't. I'll read about it in your report," Vance continued. "The point is, heedless of your warning; I sent you and McGee into a situation that I knew next to nothing about, without accurate intel and without back-up. Whilst I assure you that I was acting under orders and I can't elaborate on the details, I give you my word that, effective immediately, no agent under my direction will ever knowingly be placed in that situation again. You did an exceptional job and you did NCIS proud. "
Tony nodded sullenly; temporarily unable to find the words to respond.
"Agents like you and Gibbs are a pain in my ass…but you get the job done and you keep me on my toes," Vance said as he stood to leave. "I hope you change your mind about leaving – NCIS will be sorry to lose you." He had almost exited the room when Tony called after him.
"Director!" Tony took several deep breaths, determined to ask Vance the question he'd been asking himself since this assignment began.
"Was Gibbs involved in this? Did he know about the assignment?"
Vance's calm features belied the surprise the question evoked.
"Gibbs learned about the assignment when he got back from Parris Island. He smelled a rat immediately and demanded answers. His first and only priority was finding you and bringing you home safely."
Tony searched the man's eyes for deceit but found only truth and sincerity.
He closed his eyes and pulled the covers up over his injured shoulder, listening to the sound of the closing door as the Director left the room.
--oo00oo—oo00oo—oo00oo—oo00oo—oo00oo--
Director Vance's words kept echoing in Abby's mind and she swiped angrily at the tears that spilled down her cheeks. She drove her bright red 1931 Model A Ford Coupe, frantically back to the Navy yard.
"I hope you change your mind about leaving – NCIS will be sorry to lose you."
As two members of the Major Case Response team were currently hospitalised and due to their recent heavy workload, the Director had removed the extended team, including Abby, Ducky and Palmer from rotation for a few days break.
Despite Vance's instruction, Gibbs had refused to allow anyone other than himself to interview and take the statements from Saleem Akram. He was not about to risk a mistake that would let Akram off the hook on a technicality. He told Ziva that once all the reports and paperwork were completed, he would call at the hospital to see Tony and McGee during evening visiting hours.
Ziva, Abby and Palmer had visited their friends at the hospital earlier in the day and while they had headed home, intending to return this evening, Abby stayed to keep a restless and bored McGee company in his hospital room and periodically popped into the room next door to check on a sleeping and slightly feverish Tony.
Although Tony was still sleeping, Abby felt bad that there was nobody watching over him. She walked quietly to his room, intending to place Bert the Hippo on his rollaway table, so he would see him when he woke up. She was about to knock on the door when she heard the words that sent her running for her car and heading for the Navy yard.
She tried to phone Gibbs three times during her trip, each time reaching his voice mail and leaving a garbled, tearful message for him to call her back right away. Finally, upon arriving at NCIS she passed the security checkpoint and quickly made her way to the bullpen, her heart dropping when she saw that Gibbs was not at his desk. She tried his cell again and angrily snapped her own closed when she reached his voicemail again.
Abby spun around at the soft ding of the elevator, praying it heralded Gibbs' return. Her shoulders slumped as Agents Mitchell and Matthews stepped out from the elevator.
"Are you okay, Abby?" Agent Mitchell asked.
"I need to find Gibbs," she replied.
"Try interrogation room one," Matthews said. "He's been in there all morning."
She entered observation room one and watched as Gibbs slammed the palms of both hands onto the table in front of Saleem Akram and impaled him with a withering glare. The man rocked back but then resumed his insolent, repugnant expression.
Abby took a deep breath and braced herself as she knocked on the door to the interrogation room. The door swung open and Gibbs' furious expression ignited her fear and anger.
"Before you say anything, Gibbs, yes I know about rule 22 - 'Never, ever bother Gibbs in interrogation,' but…like…right at the moment, I just don't care!" she said as her resolve crumbled and she sobbed against his shoulder.
Closing the door behind him, he placed his hands on her shoulders and asked in a quiet, concerned voice.
"Abs, what is it?"
He knew the answer before she responded and Abby confirmed his suspicion with a choked reply.
"It's Tony, he's leaving Gibbs – you have to stop him!" she sobbed.
"Did he talk to you, Abs, did he tell you he was leaving?"
"No, I heard Director Vance tell Tony that he hoped he would change his mind and that NCIS would miss him," Abby's green eyes were swimming in an ocean of tears as she looked at Gibbs for answers. "You need to go and see him, Gibbs. You know how stubborn he is! You're the only one who can talk to him when he gets like that!"
"Abs, I can't leave now. I've got two more interviews and then I have to sign off the reports."
Abby curled her fingers into a fist and punched Gibbs in the shoulder.
"What was that for?" he asked.
"You've had that coming for a while now, Mister," Abby scolded. "And when Tony feels better, I have another fist with his name on it. I don't know what's going on between you and Tony and I don't want to know…okay, so maybe I do want to know but not right at this moment…anyway, you need to fix it, Gibbs. Tony's been shot and he's in the hospital! You have to go and talk to him before it's too late. He won't listen to anyone else!"
"I will, Abs, as soon as I finish up here, I'll go and talk to him."
"But that could take hours!" Abby whined.
"He's not going anywhere! Ducky says the docs are gonna keep him another three days."
"You'll talk to him tonight?"
"I promise," he said leaning in to place a kiss on her cheek. "Your exhausted, Abs. Why don't you go home, grab a few hours sleep and I'll meet you at the hospital for evening visiting hours?"
Abby's quick acquiescence laid testimony to how tired she was and with another hug for good measure he watched her walk wearily toward the exit.
'I don't know what's going on in that head of yours, DiNozzo, but you can bet I'm gonna find out tonight,' he thought to himself before opening the door and continuing his interrogation of the shamelessly repugnant terrorist.
--oo00oo—oo00oo—oo00oo—oo00oo—oo00oo--
Gibbs entered McGee's hospital room to find the younger man reaching for the bedside phone.
"Boss, I was just about to call you?"
"You okay, McGee?"
"Yeah, Boss, I'm fine. The doc says I can leave in the morning after some precautionary scans," McGee replied. "I wanted to call you about Tony."
"He's not in his room," Gibbs said. "Thought he might be in here with you."
"That's why I was calling. Tony and I were going to have dinner in his room but when I got there he was gone," McGee explained worriedly. "Boss, the nurses said he signed himself out AMA about 30 minutes ago."
"Dammit, Tony," Gibbs muttered under his breath.
"Boss, he shouldn't be walking around. Why do you think he'd just leave like that?"
"That's what I intend to find out," Gibbs replied curtly. "I'll take care of DiNozzo, you get some rest. Abby will be here soon – tell her I've gone after Tony and I'll call her later."
Gibbs turned on his heel and headed for the exit. Reaching the elevator he pressed the call button with far more force than was necessary, startling two nurses who were also waiting.
He knew Tony hated hospitals with a passion and this wasn't the first time he'd been boneheaded and stubborn enough to sign himself out before he was medically cleared. The soft ding heralded the arrival of the elevator and, in his haste; he squeezed between the doors before they were fully open.
He had a sick feeling in his stomach as he remembered his conversation with Abby. He didn't blame DiNozzo for being so damn fired up that he was thinking of leaving NCIS, but usually he would seek out Gibbs and air his feelings. This time was different, this time Tony was avoiding him and he intended to get to the bottom of it if he had to kick in the door of Tony's apartment and tie him to a chair until he talked.
--oo00oo—oo00oo—oo00oo—oo00oo—oo00oo—
"Gibbs, what are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same question, DiNozzo," Gibbs replied gently shouldering passed Tony and entering the apartment. "Last I heard, you were supposed to be in Bethesda for another 3 days."
"I'm fine," Tony said frowning at the intrusion. "The doctor said rest and sleep and I was just heading for bed...so...if you wouldn't mind leaving?"
Gibbs frowned as he saw the slight tremble in Tony's hands and the sheen of perspiration on the younger man's face - obvious signs that he should still be in the hospital.
"Not until you tell me why you've been avoiding me," Gibbs said taking a seat on the couch and giving every indication that he wasn't leaving anytime soon. "Let's have it. What's on your mind?"
Tony closed the door forcefully. He had planned to wait until he felt stronger before having this discussion but Gibbs had taken the initiative and Tony felt rushed and unprepared. Too worked up to sit down he began to pace – frustration, pain and anger emanating from every pore as he tried to choose his words.
"I'll tell you what's on my mind," he laughed humourlessly. "I know that paperwork is not my strong suit, but somewhere along the way, I missed the memo that named me as the fall guy for my bosses every time one of them has a damn personal agenda! I love my job, Gibbs, but when the people who are supposed to have my back are the ones pinning bull's-eyes to it, then it's time to consider other career options, don't you think?"
"Your bosses?" Gibbs queried.
"First Jenny, now Vance or the Under Secretary or whoever the hell thought up this freakin assigment – oh and let's not forget you!" Tony said, his anger boiled over as his pacing continued. "Each time I followed orders and each time I took the fall. Did Jenny ever tell you that I was offered my own team in Rota? I turned it down because I felt there was still a lot I could learn from you, but I gotta tell you, Gibbs, if that's the kind of stuff you're teaching now, then it's time I moved on."
Gibbs didn't try to hide his confusion as he matched Tony's volume.
"I wasn't involved in the Khalil operation, DiNozzo!"
"No, but you masterminded that whole Agent Lee/Domino fiasco that you didn't see fit to tell me about," Tony accused.
"Hey, we discussed the Agent Lee thing - that's history. I thought we'd moved on!" Gibbs defended loudly.
"You moved on, Gibbs, you moved on!!" Tony shouted. "I'm still lying on the floor of that fake security facility with a huge headache, wondering why the hell my partner of eight years would set me up and leave me twisting in the wind!"
"I explained why I didn't tell you about that!"
"You said you didn't tell me because you knew I could handle it. Well, guess what? I tried to handle it, Gibbs, I really did. I understand that Langer was a member of your team and he was killed on your watch – I get that – and I get that you were hell-bent on finding his killer. What I don't understand is why you would risk the lives of two more of your team to make that happen. Ziva and I could have been killed going after Domino, did you even think about that?"
Gibbs felt a sharp pang of culpability at the truth of Tony's words but he knew guilt was a useless game, one he had no desire to lose himself in. Sure, he wished things had gone differently and he certainly hadn't meant for Tony and Ziva to be injured but he did what he had to do to clear Langer's name and to expose Agent Lee as a traitor and a murderer.
He looked at Tony, noting the corded neck muscles and the pained expression on his too pale face. For someone who made their living from reading people, Gibbs hadn't seen this coming and he realised that, sometimes, he had no idea how to read his Senior Field Agent.
"I never meant for you to get hurt," he said in a strong and steady voice, "but that happened months ago. How does that relate to now?"
"I'll tell you how it relates, Gibbs, it relates because I hesitated. We bought the cell phone an hour before we went to the safe house and I could have called you straight away but I didn't," Tony said, still agonising over his decision. "I was the senior agent and my decision to wait could have got McGee killed."
"But it didn't," Gibbs told him calmly. "It was an oversight made in the heat of the moment."
"It wasn't a damn oversight," Tony yelled. "I chose not to call you."
Frowning, Gibbs replied. "Why? Why wouldn't you call me for help?"
"Because I didn't know whether this was one of your secrets, like Domino, another elaborate plan that you chose to keep to yourself. Another "situation", this time with McGee and me as the means to an end," he paused slightly and Gibbs could see the anguish that had been tormenting him.
"I didn't call you because I didn't know if I could trust you!" The words tumbled from Tony's mouth before he could censor them and they cut Gibbs deeply.
Gibbs saw no vestige of the friendship they'd shared for the last eight years – just raw and exposed feelings of betrayal.
"A thousand times, I've heard you say, when you share your foxhole with a stranger, you become brothers. I've been watching your back for eight years, Gibbs, what the hell does that make me?"
Tony stopped pacing, breathing hard with a hand pressed against his aching shoulder; his green eyes searched Gibbs' for an answer that, for once, the lead agent didn't have.
"Tony, I…"
Tony waited until it was obvious that Gibbs couldn't complete the sentence. His legs were shaking with the effort of staying upright and his breaths were coming in short sharp bursts.
"I need to sleep." Tony cleared his throat and with it, any hint of emotion. "You should leave…lock the door behind you."
Leaving Gibbs still sitting on the couch, Tony turned and walked into his bedroom, closing the door firmly behind him.
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A/N:- The cat is now well and truly among the pidgeons! I hope you join me for the final chapter to see how Tony and Gibbs resolve this situation. Thanks for reading and for your amazing support of this story, L