Thanks so much, as always, for all the great reviews. I really appreciate all of you who have let me know you're enjoying the story. J
Special thanks: WCUGirl, Sparkiebunny, pandi19, LongLashes1, vanishingp2000, NikaDex, NickTonyK, carismum, Gloworm41, Gaddkzmp, AZGirl, Rena-Spatz, Space1Traveler, shirik, , Meilea2010, godsdaughter77, fanfictionfan63, Stroma, NCIS-TIVA-FAN, combatcrazy, twomoms, ihearttony, sarahsrr, diana teo, angeleyes46, Jessykuh, TheNaggingCube, jgomez921, julie250, Tacpebs, Sarah1965, newgal, Tiffany331. Anci2506
xxxxx
Gibbs kept watch as Tony slept. He was more than a little bit troubled by the fact that Tony couldn't remember anything that had happened to him. He looked up as the door to Tony's room opened and Dr. Kennedy stepped inside. "I'm glad you're here, doctor," Gibbs said. "I'd like to talk to you about Tony's condition."
"Has something else happened?" Dr. Kennedy asked. He glanced over at Tony who appeared to be sleeping peacefully. "What seems to be the problem?"
"Its Tony's memory, or rather lack of memory...he doesn't remember anything that happened to him."
"That's not entirely surprising, Agent Gibbs," the doctor said. He walked over to Tony's bedside and began to listen to his lungs with his stethoscope. "He's been through quite an ordeal."
"I know that, but this whole thing that happened with his father has me worried." Gibbs lowered his voice considerably and he gave Tony a quick look, making sure he was still asleep. "I think he may have subconsciously blocked out what happened to him."
Satisfied with what he had heard on his examination of Tony's lungs, Dr. Kennedy removed the stethoscope from his ears and gave his full attention to Gibbs. "I don't think you should be worrying about this yet. Give him a day or two. Like I said, he's been through a lot and he's still quite sick. Let's give him some time before we jump to conclusions."
"You don't think he should talk to someone?"
"I'm not saying that," Dr. Kennedy said, shaking his head. "I'm just saying that for right now, let's get him get a little bit better physically. From what you've told me, it might be a very good idea for him to talk to somebody after all he's been through, even if he does regain his memory. I'd just like him to get some of his strength back and recover a bit before we throw a therapist at him. He can barely keep his eyes open as it is."
"I guess you're right, Doc," Gibbs said. Maybe he was overreacting, but he couldn't help it. He had seen all that Tony had gone through. First, at the hands of Bellingham, then Sam trying to burn him alive, topped off by his own father kidnapping him and trying to choke him to death. It was no wonder Tony had blocked these things out of his mind.
"Sleep is the best thing for him right now and you should try to get some yourself as well, Agent Gibbs," Dr. Kennedy said as he gave Gibbs' shoulder an encouraging pat. "I know I can't tell you not to worry, because you will anyway, but try to keep it to a minimum if you can. I'll be back soon to check on him again."
xxxxx
When Tony next woke up, he felt even worse than when he had first regained consciousness. Gibbs noted that Tony appeared to grow pale right before his very eyes. "Tony? What is it?" he asked, giving him a concerned look.
"I...I think I'm gonna be sick, boss..." Gibbs quickly scanned the room and found an emesis basin inside the top drawer of the night stand. He got it to Tony right before he began to violently heave. As his stomach was basically empty, nothing came up, but the spasms in his stomach were brutally painful and he had exhausted himself by the time they finally ended.
"You alright?" Gibbs asked automatically, knowing that he was anything but alright.
Tony shook his head, looking miserable. He collapsed back against the pillows not bothering to answer Gibbs' question. He still felt really nauseous and was afraid the slightest movement would set his stomach off again. Gibbs studied his agent for a long moment then pressed the call button. Tony didn't even notice. He was too focused on trying to keep his stomach under control.
"How'd I get so sick?" Tony asked, his voice so soft Gibbs could barely make out his words.
Gibbs was silent, unsure how to answer Tony's question. He looked up in relief when a nurse entered the room. "What can I do for you?" she asked with a smile as she went to the side of Tony's bed.
"He's really sick to his stomach, been dry heaving pretty severely," Gibbs replied when Tony didn't respond to the nurse.
"That doesn't sound like much fun. I'll let Dr. Kennedy know and we'll see about getting something to help you feel better. Is there anything else I can do for you?" she asked.
Tony remained unresponsive. "I guess not," Gibbs said with a shrug. He thanked the nurse and she headed out of the room, giving Tony a sympathetic look before she left.
"Well?" Tony asked after the nurse had exited from the room.
"Well what, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked, knowing full well what his agent was talking about.
"How'd I get so sick?" Tony was visibly getting upset as he repeated his earlier question and he started coughing. Gibbs helped Tony into a sitting position and finally his coughing let up. "What the hell is this, boss?" Tony questioned somewhat breathlessly. "Did I catch a cold that went out of control or what?"
Gibbs realized that keeping quiet was definitely doing more harm than good in this case. "You were drugged, Tony," he admitted
"Drugged?" Tony looked baffled as he considered this newest piece of information. "By who? What kind of drug did they give me?"
Gibbs shook his head. "Come on...we don't really need to be doing this right now.. Why don't you lie back and get some rest. The doctor says that's the most important thing for you to be doing so you can get better."
"Why all the secrets?" Tony asked. He was starting to feel worse which was only serving to magnify his frustration even more.
"There aren't any secrets, Tony. I've just been hoping that you'd remember on your own, that's all."
"Well, I don't remember and I want to know so tell me!" At that point, his stomach started spasming again. Gibbs watched helplessly as Tony battled through the latest episode. At the end of it, Tony curled up on his side, with his back to Gibbs, shivering with one hand wrapped around his abdomen. Not knowing what else to do, Gibbs gently began to rub Tony's back, hoping it would provide at least some measure of comfort to him.
Tony wanted to continue to try to get answers to his questions, but he was extremely weak after what his body had just gone through. That, combined with the soothing motion of Gibbs rubbing his back were impossible to resist and it wasn't long before sleep claimed him once again.
A short while later, Dr. Kennedy entered the room. "Agent Gibbs," he greeted. "I hear our patient's not doing so well?"
"He's feeling pretty lousy," Gibbs replied. "And he isn't real thrilled with me at the moment."
"I'm afraid he's not going to be very happy with me either. I'm going to have to wake him up in order to examine him," Dr. Kennedy said apologetically.
Gibbs nodded his assent and gently shook Tony's shoulder, trying to rouse him. "Tony? Come on, Tony, you need to wake up."
"No, go away, leave me alone," Tony murmured as he tried to burrow further into the pillow, away from Gibbs.
"Come on, DiNozzo, wake up." He shook his shoulder again, a little bit harder this time and made his voice a little bit more authoritative, this time succeeding in getting the younger man to open his eyes.
"What?" Tony asked irritably. One minute Gibbs was telling him he needed to sleep, the next minute he was waking him up. He wished he would make up his mind.
"I'm sorry to have to wake you, but the doctor needs to examine you," Gibbs explained.
"Is that alright with you?" Dr. Kennedy asked, stepping into Tony's field of vision.
"Yeah sure, that's okay," Tony nodded his agreement, not seeing that he really had any real choice in the matter anyway.
"Can you lie on your back for me?"
Tony slowly rolled onto his back and Dr. Kennedy began examining his abdomen, palpating all four quadrants, checking for any signs of pain or tenderness as he pressed and prodded the area. Finally, he ended the exam and Tony gave a sigh of relief as the doctor stepped away from him. "Well I don't see anything remarkable going on."
"Do you think this is from the drugs he was given?" Gibbs asked, not wanting to say too much about the time he and Tony had spent as hostages. "He was vomiting on and off when he first got injected."
"I can't really be sure," Dr. Kennedy stated. "It may just be a reaction to the meds he's on now. We've got him on some pretty heavy duty ones. I'll try changing the antibiotic, see if that helps." He directed his gaze towards Tony. "Are you in pain right now?"
Tony shrugged. "Not really pain. I just feel kind of sore."
"That's to be expected,": Dr. Kennedy said, nodding. "Probably strained your abdominal muscles. How are you doing with the nausea? On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate it?"
"Probably about a nine," Tony admitted reluctantly, giving a sideways glance at Gibbs.
"I'll order you some Compazine. It should help settle your stomach. Try to get some rest. I'll check back in with you a little bit later." The doctor scribbled some notes into Tony's chart and then left the room. Tony stayed silent after the doctor left. He settled his eyes on Gibbs as he desperately tried to stay awake. Gibbs bit back a smile at his agent's attempt to do the Gibbs glare. He definitely had some work to do on that. He decided to put Tony out of his misery and tell him a little of what he wanted to know. He would just avoid any mention of DiNozzo Sr.
"Alright, DiNozzo...I'll give you the condensed version of what happened, but after that, I want you to promise me you'll get some sleep."
"I don't know why. Everyone just keeps waking me up," Tony grumbled.
Gibbs raised an eyebrow and stared back at Tony who lowered his gaze. "Fine...I'll go to sleep...I promise," he mumbled as he swallowed and almost felt like he was on the verge of getting sick again. This was awful. He couldn't remember ever feeling so bad before. Shivering slightly, he pulled the covers up just under his neck and looked back at Gibbs expectantly.
Gibbs sighed softly. He really wished Tony would start feeling better. He hated seeing him like this. "It all started after your last undercover case," he began quietly. "You looked like you needed a good meal and some rest so I invited you over for dinner. When we got to my house, an ambush was waiting for us."
Tony listened to Gibbs attentively and tried to remember, but he still couldn't recall anything.
"Nothing?" Gibbs asked, seeing the obvious frustration on Tony's face.
"No." Tony shook his head. "Go on."
"Anyhow, there was this guy, Bellingham, who wanted revenge on me because he blamed me for his daughter's death. She was murdered by a serial killer right before we caught the guy. It was when you were on medical leave." He answered the unspoken question in Tony's eyes. "Long story short, he decided to drug you to get to me. You've been pretty sick for a while now..."
Tony nodded as he absorbed the information Gibbs had just given him. "Thank you for telling me." At least now he had a valid explanation for why he felt so god-awful. He looked back at Gibbs and could see the guilt written all over his face, as plain as day. "Wasn't your fault, boss," he murmured drowsily, allowing his eyes to close. "I know you've always got my six..."
Gibbs watched as Tony fell back to sleep and hoped he would stay that way for a while this time. He definitely had not had DiNozzo's six when he had let his father get to him. Not that he ever would have expected Senior to nab Tony from the hospital, but he still should not have left them alone together. "It was my fault, Tony," he whispered. "But he won't be getting near you again...not if I have anything to say about it..."