Chapter 20

Tony looked wearily around the hospital as he tiredly made his way inside. He glanced at his cell phone's clock as he walked over to the nurse's counter.

30 minutes until work began.

Well, 35 minutes in Tony time.

"Hello, sir. How can I help you?" The nurse questioned politely once he had walked up to the counter.

"I'm looking for McGee's current status." Tony exclaimed; making sure nothing had happened since his last visit. After a short while of buttons clicking, the nurse looked at him with a face of puzzlement.

"He's left the hospital, sir."

Tony stared at her with widened eyes that helped none-whatsoever in trying to hide his worry.

Not in the hospital?

The hell happened to him?

There's no way he's recovered that fast…

Unless.

Oh no…

"Wh-what?" Tony questioned, the words managing to bypass the knot that had jammed itself into his throat.

"NCIS picked him up this morning, sir, you could probably stop by after-"

"What the hell happened to Tim?" Tony roared as he slammed his fist onto the desk.

"Tim…?" The nurse questioned, confused. She glanced back at the screen. "I'm talking about Tommy McGee. Are you confusing him with someone else?"

Tommy…

Tommy.

Of course.

They grabbed Tommy out of the hospital to drag him into interrogation.

"No…" Tony laughed now, everything making sense. "No, I'm sorry, I'm talking about Timothy McGee."

The nurse nodded as she went back to typing, this time pulling out the correct file.

"He's the same as he was yesterday, sir. Would you like to visit him?"

That was Tony's original plan.

But now… knowing everything about Tommy, he knew he wouldn't be able to fully focus on Tim.

"No, no, I'm alright. Thanks though." Tony responded as he turned around and quickly made his way back to the car, knowing exactly where he needed to go.

This was it. This was the moment he's been waiting for. He breathed in heavily, foot tapping lightly against the elevator floor as it slowly made it's way down. When it came to the intended floor, Tony walked emotionlessly out of the elevator before snaking his way in between hallways before, finally, reaching the door.

He let out the breath he was holding since the elevator before reaching for the doorknob and opening the door.

Sure, maybe he was breaking a couple of NCIS rules and policies right now, but with the rage currently fogging his mind, he really didn't care.

The only other man occupying the room was seated at the only table, sitting at one of two chairs.

"Things aren't looking so good for you, Tommy." Tony started off as he flashed a grin at the man he despised with every ounce of his being.

Silence.

"Two charges of breaking and entering. Three counts of kidnapping, one of those being a navy marine and another one being a member of law enforcement. Three counts of attempted murder, same deal there. And finally one charge of aggravated assault." He recited the charges from memory as he glanced at Tommy, Tony's face would appear dead to the world if it weren't for the rage that covered it.

"The assault of Special Agent Timothy McGee." Tony turned towards the man. "The assault of a law enforcer who works here at NCIS." Tony's voice rose with each accusation. "The assault of one of my co-worker's." Tony quickly moved to stand in front of the man sitting on the opposite side of the table. "The assault of one of my teammates." Tony hunched over, glaring at the criminal. "The assault of my Senior Field Agent." Tony slammed his right fist onto the table.

"The assault of my best friend!" Tony roared as he grabbed the man in front of him by his collar before pulling him forcibly off the chair. "You call yourself a brother? You're a fucking disgrace! You have no idea what you took for granted!"

"Agent DiNozzo!" The door to his right opened suddenly. He turned, and immediately cursed to himself.

"Director Vance…"

"Come with me." Tony felt himself hesitate as he glanced towards Tommy. "Now. Special Agent DiNozzo." Tony sighed as he let go of Tommy and walked out of the room. Tension filled the air as he and Vance walked silently into the elevator. Having learned from Gibbs, Vance flicked the emergency stop switch before turning to Tony.

"Director Vance… I…"

"You shouldn't have been in that room, DiNozzo." Vance stated calmly. "You have no right to interrogate our suspect."

"Suspect? Did you just call him a fucking suspect?" Tony roared. "He's a criminal, Leon! You know what he did!"

"The only thing we know is that he was at the house when you two came to rescue Agent McGee. He could've just as easily been attempting to rescue McGee when you arrived. The McGees were unable to identify their captor, and plus, we still don't have proof it was the same person that kidnapped McGee."

"We have proof that Tommy kidnapped McGee though! His blood was at the apartment!"

"Yes, okay, so we have suspicion. Anything else?"

"Tim told me at the hospital! He told me enough! Tommy's responsible! And damn it, Leon! You're just making this more difficult then this needs to be!"

"We cannot use that alone as evidence in a court room. And besides, Agent McGee could be delusional from the painkillers." Vance stated blankly.

"Delusional? You're the delusional one, Vance!" Tony yelled as he flipped the switch.

"Agent DiNozzo." Tony turned to face him. "I am removing you and your team from this case due to your connection with the victim." Tony stared at him with an open mouth.

"What? Vance, I-"

"You have a week off, DiNozzo, as does David. McGee has as many days off until his injuries recover. I suggest you take this time to cool down." Vance replied before walking out once the elevator doors opened. Tony remained inside as they once again shut.

Cool down? How the hell am I supposed to relax when I know Tim's in the hospital?

Author's Note: I couldn't help myself. You all started thinking that last chapter was going to be Tony's 'confrontation' with Tommy, and when you did, I couldn't help but start getting ideas. I realized that I had to make it happen as soon as possible.