AN: I'm going to take some artistic licence here and assume that Ducky carries his medical bag around with him and that it contains saline fluid for hydration purposes. Indulge me! :)

Chapter 20 - Hair of the Dog

Tony awoke Saturday morning to the sound of the rain pounding on his bedroom windows.

"What! No!" he exclaimed, jumping out of bed and surveying the landscape through one of the windows. Then, for no logical reason, he ran to the other window to see if it had a similar view. It did.

"Daaad!" he whined, heading into Gibbs bedroom. Seeing the bed empty, he continued down the hall, muttering phrases such as 'It's not fair,' and 'Why does it have to rain today?' He stomped into the kitchen to find Gibbs and Ziva sitting at the table eating breakfast.

"It's not fair!" he moaned, throwing himself on the chair.

"What's not fair," asked Gibbs, biting into his piece of toast.

"The rain!" answered Tony, frustrated that Gibbs didn't immediately know what he was talking about.

When Gibbs still didn't seem to understand, Tony sighed and said in an annoyed tone, "The tree house?"

"Oh," said Gibbs, comprehension dawning. "Yep, not a lot we can do today I'm afraid."

"I was really looking forward to starting that today!" whined Tony. "Tim was coming over and the three of us could have made a really good start.

"Four of us," interjected Ziva. "I'm here too!"

Ignoring her, Tony continued. "Now it'll never get done."

"Tony," began Gibbs. "I realise you're disappointed, so am I, but it will still happen. Maybe I can ask Tim to come around early tomorrow before the barbecue and we can make a start then?"

"What barbecue?" asked Tony. "That was last week."

"We're making it a regular thing," said Gibbs. "Now that everyone is doing separate things, it's a good way to catch up and touch base."

"No one asked me?" replied Tony sulkily.

"Well to be perfectly honest Tony, I didn't think I needed to," said Gibbs, getting a little annoyed. "They're our family and I think it's good that we make an effort to see each other."

"We saw them last night. Wasn't that enough?" said Tony.

"Last night was impromptu. Besides, Ducky couldn't make it last night and tomorrow Jimmy will be coming as well." Gibbs informed him.

"Oh great, more people," grumbled Tony. "Why can't it just be you, me and Tim?" he asked.

"And me!" supplied Ziva.

Again, Tony ignored her. "Why does everyone need to come?"

"Because they're family Tony," answered Gibbs. "What's wrong? You normally like it when everyone is around?"

"I get sick of it sometimes. I really wanted to build the tree house today and I thought it would just be us guys."

"And ME!" interrupted Ziva.

"Shut up Ziva!" yelled Tony, frustrated with her constant interruptions.

"You shut up!" she retaliated.

"Hey! Both of you can it!" growled Gibbs. "Now Tony, I'm sorry, as amazing as I am, I can't control the weather."

Ziva sniggered.

Tony glared at her.

"The best I can suggest, is that I ask Tim to come around a little earlier tomorrow, providing it's not still raining, and we do some then. Other than that, it is what it is." Gibbs stood up put another piece of bread in the toaster. "Do you want any toast?" he asked Tony before pushing the lever down.

"No thanks," replied Tony sighing. He grabbed the cereal and poured some into his bowl. 'I hate the rain," he grumbled as he poured on the milk.

Despite the disappointing start to the day, Tony managed to cheer up a little and, after lunch, had even suggested he and Ziva play Uno, a card game both of them had discovered at the toy library. They were playing quite happily in Tony's room when Tim decided to drop in for a visit.

"Hey Boss," he said when he finally found Gibbs in the basement.

"Oh, hi Tim," replied Gibbs looking up from the work bench.

"What ya working on?" asked Tim.

"Just cutting some of the planks to length to make things easier when we start building this tree house," replied Gibbs. "Oh, that reminds me, do you want to come a little earlier tomorrow and we can make a start on this. Tony's very disappointed that Mother Nature didn't see fit to cooperate today."

"Ahh yeah, sure," replied Tim. "About 9.30?"

"Sounds good. Beer?" asked Gibbs, then seeing Tim's face he said, "Or something stronger?"

Tim smiled, "That obvious is it?" he asked.

Gibbs went to the bar fridge and took out two beers. Handing one to Tim he said, "What's up?"

Taking a drink from the bottle Tim thought about how to word things. He'd never really felt he could talk to Gibbs much in the past, well not about personal stuff anyway. He'd always found the older man intimidating. He respected him immensely and valued his opinion, but he'd often become tongue tied and self conscious around him. But, since Gibbs had taken on this new parenting role to Tony and Ziva, Tim had found him far more approachable, human even. And, seeing how his problem revolved around his sister, he thought maybe Gibbs could offer some advice.

"I er…got this email from Sarah yesterday and I'm not sure what I should do?" Tim began. Knowing Gibbs had met his sister, he knew he would have a bit of an idea of what she could be like.

"What does she say?" asked Gibbs.

"Well, she…"

"Hey Tim!" shouted Tony from the top of the stairs. "I didn't know you were here. Why didn't you come and see me?"

"Oh, hi Tony. Sorry, I um, didn't know where you were and, well, I needed to see Gibbs," Tim replied.

"Well ya know where I am now," Tony said cheerfully. "Come and play Uno with us, it's really cool."

"Ah, not right now Tony, I kinda need to, er, talk to Gibbs," said Tim a little awkwardly.

"Oh, ok," said Tony, coming down the stairs and into the basement. He took a seat on one of the benches. "Maybe I can help as well." He beamed at Tim.

"Tony," started Gibbs. "I think Tim wants a private word with me. He can come and see you later."

"Why?" asked Tony. "I won't tell anyone."

"Tony, please," started Gibbs.

"No, it's ok," said Tim. "Tony can stay. It's not that personal."

Tony smiled and settled in for a chat. Seeing the men drinking he asked, "Hey can I have a beer?"

"No Tony," said Gibbs. "You can have a soda though."

"Why can't I have a beer like Tim?" he persisted.

"Because Tim's an adult and you are ten," replied Gibbs. "You're body doesn't need alcohol and doesn't know how to cope with it. Now it's either a soda or nothing."

Tony sauntered off towards the bar fridge and took out a soda. Popping the lid, he took a drink and said, "So Tim, how can we help."

Watching Tony carefully, Gibbs was slowly beginning to understand what had been going on with him lately. He wanted to be 'one of the boys'. His attention seeking behaviour was his way of trying to be accepted. The throwing of the food, wanting to just hang out with himself and Tim, and now, this desire to drink beer and offer advice, were Tony's ways of being 'one of the boys'. Gibbs realised he would have to tread very carefully with this one. Not only was he dealing with a preteen boy, he was also dealing with a fragile ego.

"So, if she takes it, I can't see her being able to continue her studies successfully. But, knowing what she's like, I don't know how to approach her." Tim looked expectantly at Gibbs waiting for a response.

Suddenly realising that, apart from the last sentence, he hadn't heard a word of what Tim had said, he wondered if he could just wing it or be honest and say he hadn't really been listening. Thankfully he was saved the decision when Tony said, "So what paper is she going to be writing for if she takes the journalist job?"

Thank you Tony, Gibbs silently thought. Journalist job, now he could wing this successfully.

"It's just some local paper Tony, it's not that important," said Tim, brushing him off and looking again at Gibbs.

Feeling far more prepared to help, Gibbs tried his best to offer some advice. They were deep in conversation, discussing the merits of part time work combined with studying when a flash of reflected light caught Gibbs' eye. Turning to look, he saw Tony pouring some bourbon into the tumbler Gibbs always kept near it.

"Tony!" called Gibbs, effectively ending the conversation with Tim. "What are you doing?"

"Getting a drink," said Tony. "I wanna see what it's like."

"Well you don't just help yourself, especially when it comes to alcohol," replied Gibbs shocked at what he was seeing. "I've already told you why you can't have any."

Realising again that he had to tread carefully, Gibbs continued, "Look if you really want to try a drink, why don't you have a sip of my beer?" He remembered his own Dad offering him a mouthful when he had been young.

"Pass me the tumbler," Gibbs said. When Tony did so, he swallowed what was in it and then poured a couple of mouthfuls of beer into it. "There," he said passing it back to Tony. "It's just a taste."

Tony took a mouthful and swallowed. Smiling, he said "Thanks Dad."

Gibbs however, had an uneasy sense about it. He didn't feel right giving Tony the drink even though he knew fathers did it all the time. But they weren't dealing with a child, who only three weeks ago had been an adult. Not that Tony seemed to be acknowledging that today. Since yesterday morning, he had slipped back into his ten year old self and had quite forgotten about any former life. But still, it didn't sit right and, if there was one thing Gibbs trusted, it was his gut. And today, his gut was churning.

Checking his watch, Gibbs saw that it was just after four o'clock. Wanting to move Tony away from the basement, he suggested they head upstairs and see what Ziva was doing. Tim, realising that Gibbs was uneasy, followed his lead and, collecting the empty bottles, started up the stairs.

When they reached the kitchen, Tim said, "Well Boss, thanks for the chat. I'd ah, better be going. I'll be seeing you tomorrow then?"

'Yeah," replied Gibbs, distracted. "See you tomorrow."

When Tim had left, Gibbs had wandered upstairs to see where Ziva was. He smiled when, once again, she had put herself to bed and was sleeping peacefully. Taking the opportunity to have a chat to Tony, he headed back downstairs and into the kitchen. Seeing Tony wasn't there, he panicked thinking he'd gone back into the basement, but the sound of a tennis ball being thrown against the wall, had him sighing with relief. Going to the side door, he called Tony in.

"What's up?" Tony asked when Gibbs told him to sit down.

"We need to have a chat," replied Gibbs.

Seeing a flash of apprehension cross Tony's face, Gibbs continued, "Why did you pour yourself some of that bourbon?"

Tony shrugged. "I just wanted to try it," he said. "You drink it."

"Not very often," Gibbs answered. He could actually say that with honesty to the ten year old Tony. In his short existence, this Tony had probably only seen Gibbs have one or two glasses at most, three if you counted the mouthful he'd had ten minutes ago.

"I'm more concerned that you just felt you could help yourself to it. You do realise that was wrong don't you?"

Again, Tony shrugged.

"Was it because Tim was there? Did you want to feel grown up and one of the guys?" Gibbs asked.

Another shrug. Gibbs was starting to recognise the different shrugs Tony used. This particular one was Tony's way of saying "Yes, but I don't really want to admit it."

Gibbs inwardly smiled. Great, now he was an expert on the non verbal communications of the ten year old.

"Well the thing is Tony, alcohol is fine to drink in moderation when you're an adult. Your body is bigger and able to process the alcohol through your system. Alcohol is taken very quickly into our bloodstream, and from there it passes to our organs including our brain. That's why, if someone drinks too much alcohol, their brain is affected. They find it difficult to make decisions or complete certain tasks that require concentration. Now that's when an adult drinks. If a child drinks, those problems are multiplied many times over. A child's body is much smaller so therefore they can't cope with the effects of alcohol and, even just a little bit of alcohol can affect them very quickly and to a much higher degree than an adult. Do you understand what I'm trying to say to you?"

"Yeah," said Tony.

"What am I saying?" Gibbs asked wanting Tony to clarify so he could ascertain how much he was actually taking in.

"You're saying that kids shouldn't drink alcohol because it can make them do stupid stuff." Tony said.

"Yeah, ok. But it's more than that Tony. Now, I might be able to drink three beers quite quickly and, while I couldn't drive, I would still appear to be in control of my body. I might be a little affected but not a huge amount. Now, if you were to drink that much, it could cause something called alcohol poisoning. That's when your body has taken in so much alcohol that it can't process it anymore and it becomes like a poison, damaging the way your body works. It affects all the messages your brain sends to various parts of your body. They get confused. So suddenly, your heart doesn't work very well, your brain isn't doing what it's supposed to, your body can't stay warm, you find it hard to swallow, all those things are caused from too much alcohol."

He looked carefully at Tony. "What I'm trying to say is, when you're a child, drinking alcohol is very dangerous. You may think you're only having a little bit, but your body can't cope with it. You heart can stop, you can fall unconscious and stop breathing, you can choke. Tony, tell me, what does it mean if those things happen?"

"You can die," answered Tony, looking down at his hands.

"Exactly," said Gibbs.

"I only poured a little bit in a glass," Tony said trying to defend his actions.

"Yes, but Tony, bourbon is a very strong alcohol, much stronger than beer. I don't know the exact figures but it's probably 5 or 6 times stronger. So one mouthful of bourbon is like six mouthfuls of beer."

He saw Tony nod his head.

"But that doesn't mean it's ok to drink beer either," added Gibbs. "No alcohol is good for kids. I let you have a little taste today, but I was there with you and knew exactly how much you were having. And those two mouthfuls were your limit."

Gibbs lifted Tony's chin so they were looking eye to eye.

"Tony," said Gibbs making sure he had the boy's full attention. "You are not allowed to drink any alcohol unless I have given it to you. And that, in itself, will be very rare. You already know you aren't allowed in the basement without me, so even touching the bourbon is breaking a rule. But, if I ever find you pouring yourself a glass of alcohol or, worse, drinking any, you will be in major trouble. Alcohol is off limits. Now I want you to be very clear on this, because I'm not kidding you about the amount of trouble you will be in. And the reason I'm being so serious about this, is because of the danger alcohol presents. It can kill you Tony. And I love you way too much to allow you to put yourself in that kind of danger. I can't protect you from what alcohol can do to you. All I can do is trust that you won't go near it until you are an adult. So, tell me, what is the rule about alcohol?"

Tony sighed. "It's not that big a deal Dad. I get it,"

"No Tony, I need to hear you tell me the rule. I have to know that you are very clear on this,"

"Fine," said Tony, "Don't touch any alcohol, don't drink it, don't pour it, don't breathe it in." He rolled off the rules as if he were saying the alphabet.

'This is not funny Tony," said Gibbs seriously. "You may think it's not a big deal, but trust me it is."

"Ok," said Tony quietly. "I'm not allowed to drink any alcohol unless you have given it to me. I'm not allowed to touch it or pour it into a glass. Alcohol is dangerous and it could kill me." Gibbs still felt he was parroting but at least he recognised the dangers.

"Correct," said Gibbs. He waited a bit, then said, "Ok, you can go." He watched as Tony left the room and sighed. He knew the boy understood the rules and the dangers. He just had to trust that Tony was sensible enough to stay away from this new found fascination. If nothing else, he hoped the threat of serious trouble was enough to deter him.

By Sunday afternoon, Gibbs was beginning to feel more relaxed about the alcohol issue. Tony hadn't mentioned it again and, even as people were enjoying a beer or a glass of wine at the barbecue he hadn't seem the least bit interested in wanting to participate. Gibbs had held his breath when Tim had offered Palmer and himself a beer while Tony was sitting with them, but all Tony had asked was if he could get a soda.

The other thing that had Gibbs feeling particularly happy was the fact that Tony and Ziva had almost managed to go a full 48 hours without either one being put in time-out. Considering their track record of the previous week, Gibbs felt this was an event worth celebrating.

The closest call had been this afternoon when both Tony and Ziva thought it would be hilarious to sneak up behind people and scare the living daylights out of them by jumping out and screaming at the top of their lungs. This game however, had come to an abrupt end when the pair of them had decided to jump out on Ducky and Brigette as they were sitting peacefully eating their lunch. Gibbs wasn't sure who had been scared the most when, after jumping out from behind Brigette's chair, the poor woman had screamed louder than Ziva, standing so abruptly her lunch launched into the air like a rocket and landed all over Tony's pants and shoes.

The ensuing chaos saw Tony apologising profusely while he made every effort to refill Brigette's plate by asking her what she would like to eat and, when she couldn't answer, he took the initiative of checking out what was still dripping from his pants as a clue as to what she might like. Added to that was Ducky's extremely annoyed chastising of both children, while trying to avoid Ziva's pointed finger in his face as she frantically tried to inform him that, should he wish to, he could put them in time out but was not allowed to spank them.

Thankfully, once she had recovered from the fright, Brigette saw the funny side of the whole event and reassured Tony and Ziva that no harm had been done, no time-outs would take place and she accepted their apologies along with Tony's offer of a refilled plate. Seeing the terrified looks on Tony and Ziva's faces, Gibbs hadn't even had to say a word to them. The law of natural consequences had managed to achieve what no time-out could have done.

Peace had reigned once again as everyone sat around in the warm afternoon sun, picking at the leftovers and chatting happily with each other. Tony and Ziva were busy checking out the progress that had been made that morning on their tree house so Gibbs stretched back in his chair and closed his eyes, enjoying the tranquility.

Feeling a shadow cross his face, he opened his eyes to see Jenny standing there. He smiled as the late afternoon sun highlighted the lighter tips in her red hair. He had always loved her hair. Well, it was red wasn't it? He was pleased to see it beginning to grow again. He hadn't liked it when she'd had it cut short, not that he'd said anything of course. But the extra length brought a softness to her face, something that he had missed dearly over the last seven years. Still, dwelling on the past wasn't going to change things. Jenny had made her choice seven years ago, a choice that didn't include him. Although, the last three weeks had seen a return to some of those familiar looks, little touches here and there. He had found himself extremely grateful for her support and, having listened to her discussion with Ziva yesterday, had wondered where she saw herself in their lives. However, it would be up to her to make that first move. Not through any sense of hurtful pride, but simply because he knew where he stood. In seven years, his feelings for Jennifer Shepherd hadn't changed at all, that had been obvious the minute he saw her in MTAC when Morrow had informed him she was the new Director. But it had been her who had stepped back from him and so, it would have to be her who chose to step forward again. Until then, he was happy to accept their friendship for what it was, and he was certainly happy to accept her support and assistance with Tony and Ziva.

"Penny for them," she said softly as she sat next to him, pulling him from his musings.

"Ahh, not worth a penny Jen," he replied, smiling at her.

"So, how are you going?" she asked. "I could see things were taking their toll on Friday night. Has everything settled down a bit since then?"

"Yeah, a little," he said. "This week has been pretty hard on Tony. He's had a lot to deal with, trying to figure out what's happening to him, trying to remember things. It was interesting the other day. He was watching old news footage of things that have taken place during his lifetime to see how well he could remember them. They were pretty fuzzy, but what amazed me was Ziva. While she didn't remember the actual events, she could sprout the day, the year and the details of what had happened. The Challenger for example, she said without even thinking that it took place on January 28th 1986, that it exploded and that seven people including a civilian were killed. It was incredible. She did the same for other things as well."

"You're forgetting her memory Jethro," Jenny said simply.

"What do you mean?" he asked confused.

"Well think back to when she first starting working for you, after Ari. What was one of the things that struck you?"

"Of course," he said, annoyed that he could have forgotten. "She had a photographic memory."

"Has," replied Jenny. "It's still there. Even though she can't explain it, her brain has it all stored in there, dates, times, all the details. Everything. Seeing a picture would trigger the information about the event, while not necessary bringing back the memory of it happening."

Gibbs wondered what kind of impact that would have on her. Suddenly her brain was storing a whole new set of information around what happened when she was five. Thank goodness she was so accepting of her knowledge he thought remembering how she had laughed and called herself 'magic' when she remember Tali. Thank goodness he hadn't pressed her for information about Ari. That could have sent her brain into a total melt down.

"I see Tony has started to feel 'safe'." Jenny's voice penetrated his thoughts.

"Huh?" he began. "Oh yeah, real safe!" he laughed.

"It's a good sign, remember that," Jenny reminded him.

"Tryin Jen," he said. "I remind myself every day when I'm counting down those ten minutes on the timer."

She laughed.

"Listen Jethro," she began. "I was thinking the other day. Maybe you could do with a little break from them both. I'd be more than happy to take them for a weekend. It's a bit hard through the week because of work, but I could maybe wrangle a Friday or a Monday?" She looked at him gauging a response.

"Thanks Jen, that's kind of you to offer but…," he started, but was interrupted when Tony suddenly leapt out from behind him and began running towards the tree house.

"Careful Tony," he called out. "You might run into something!"

Tony didn't even respond but continued running. He must be chasing Ziva, Gibbs thought to himself. Turning back to Jenny he continued, "But, I couldn't send Tony away. That's his greatest fear. He wouldn't understand what was happening and would just assume I was giving up on him like his father. However," Gibbs paused, suddenly realising something. "If you're serious about having them, it would be great if you could take Ziva for a weekend. Tony's been feeling a little out of things with Tim and is trying desperately to be 'one of the boys' so to speak. If you could take Ziva, that could give me a chance to spend some quality time with Tony, maybe have Tim and Palmer around and we could work on the tree house. A bit of 'male bonding' as you girls like to call it." He laughed.

"Yeah, that's sounds like a good idea. Abby, Ziva and I could have some 'girlie' time as well. We could…"

Her words were cut off by a loud kerfuffle coming from the direction of the tree house. Standing up, she and Gibbs headed in that direction to find Tony trying to pull off the planks of wood he, Tim and Gibbs had worked hard to put together that morning.

"Hey! Tony!" shouted Gibbs, breaking into a jog to get to the tree house. "What are you doing?"

Tony was completely out of control. He was yanking at the wood, kicking the tree, screaming something that Gibbs couldn't understand. Tim was trying to grab his hand, to pull him away from the tree house, but Tony was completely ignoring him.

As he reached the screaming boy, Gibbs took hold of his arms to try and stop him from hurting himself. However, all this did was infuriate Tony more. He started to struggle and kick, screaming for Gibbs to let him go and leave him alone. Knowing that he needed to remove Tony from this scene, he wrapped his arms around the boy's waist and lifted him off the ground to take him inside. Still kicking furiously, Tony managed to catch Gibbs on the shin. The man cursed, it had hurt.

"Tony!" he said firmly. "What is going on? Why are you behaving like this?"

Still struggling, Tony refused to answer.

Putting him down on his feet, Gibbs grabbed Tony's arms and shook him slightly.

"Stop this!" he said forcibly. "You need to calm down and tell me what's wrong."

Finally Tony spoke, but it wasn't what Gibbs was hoping to hear.

"I don't have to do anything for you! You and your stupid rules! Telling me that you love me! I hate you! I hate everything about you!" and biting down hard on Gibbs arm, Tony managed to free himself and ran, sobbing, into the house.

Everyone stood there, stunned at what had just transpired. Gibbs, still too shocked to speak, just looked at everyone, praying someone would say something that would explain this completely bizarre behaviour.

Finally, finding his voice he asked, "What happened?"

No one spoke.

"Where was Tony right before this happened. The last I saw, he was tearing past me and over towards the tree house," Gibbs said.

"I don't think he wanted to stay at Jenny's house," said Ziva. "I don't know why though, I think it would be fun," she added.

"Ziva," said Gibbs, crouching down to her level. "What do you mean, 'stay at Jenny's house'?"

"We were hiding in the bushes behind your chairs when you and Jenny were talking," explained Ziva. "We were going to scare you. Then when Jenny said we could stay with her for a bit, he just ran off."

"Damn!" exclaimed Jethro and without saying anything more, he suddenly took off into the house.

Having seen the look on Gibb's face, the sudden paling of his skin, the others followed him, scared for what may have happened. As they entered the kitchen, they could hear Gibbs calling for Tony. They heard him run up the stairs, check each room, then return again to the kitchen.

"What's wrong Jethro," asked Ducky, afraid of the look on Gibbs' face.

"We have to find him," said Gibbs' desperately. "The one thing Tony fears most is that I will send him away like his father did. What he overhead wasn't what we were talking about, but in his head, he thinks I've had enough, that I can't deal with him anymore." He spun around on the spot, hand to his face, wondering where on earth Tony could have gone. The basement!

Slamming on the light, he took the stairs two at a time. Reaching the bottom, he scanned the room, checking under workbenches, behind shelves, delving into every corner he could see. Then he spotted it. The empty space on the shelf where he kept the bourbon.

"Shit!" He cursed again. "Why didn't I move it?" he berated himself.

"Move what Boss?" asked Tim.

Looking up the stairs, Gibbs could see Tim and Jenny had started to descend. He headed up, pushing past them and arrived back in the kitchen. He grabbed Ducky's arm.

"He's taken the bourbon Duck," he said frantically. "He had this fascination for it, and we had a huge discussion about it. He knew the dangers, but he also knew it was the one thing I was so adamant he didn't touch. In his ten year old mind, this is payback. We've got to find him. There was about one third left in the bottle. Is that enough to really do some damage Duck?" Gibbs was desperate. He needed to be reassured.

"Well it wouldn't do him much good," replied Ducky, not really wanting to be too blunt. He knew a third of the bottle could do some serious damage but it all depended on how Tony's body processed it.

"What does he weigh, around 65 to 70lbs?" Ducky asked trying to remain optimistic. "Well, if we can find him quickly, get him rehydrated, and depending on how much he's managed to consume, I…." Ducky was very reluctant to make assumptions.

"Ok," said Gibbs, cutting him off. "He's not in the house, I've checked. Let's split up and take the yard. He can't have gone far." And with that, Gibbs took off out the front door followed by Tim and Ducky, while Jenny, Jimmy, Brigette and Abby went out the back again.

After a couple of minutes, Ducky called, "Jethro, I've found him. He's in your car!"

As Gibbs ran towards the drive, he could see Ducky pulling Tony's limp body from the back seat and laying him on the grass.

"Mr Palmer, quickly, grab my bag and bring your glucometer," ordered Ducky as Jimmy came running around from the back.

Disappearing again, it wasn't long before Jimmy returned with the necessary items. In the meantime, Ducky had managed to make a quick assessment. To Gibbs relief, Tony wasn't unconscious as he first thought. Ducky had put Tony on his side in a half sitting position. Taking the glucometer he checked Tony's BSL. It was 3.2.

It's low," said Ducky, "but not dangerously low. That's one of the worries with children who have accidentally consumed alcohol. Their blood sugar can drop so low they can go into a coma. We're ok here though," he reassured Gibbs.

He quickly took Tony's blood pressure and pulse.

"I've found the bottle!" called Tim who had been searching the car. He brought it over. It wasn't empty.

"Well that's a good sign Jethro," said Ducky. "You said there was about a third of the bottle left?"

Gibbs nodded.

"Well, I'd estimate he's drunk about 150mls and probably about fifteen minutes ago. So far his vital signs are ok. But we need to monitor him closely over the next twelve hours. I would normally recommend taking him to emergency, but considering the situation with their identities, we don't want to alert any authorities particularly when a child has drunk alcohol."

He stood up. "Help me get him into the house, Jethro," Ducky said, bending down to grab his bag.

Gibbs picked up Tony and took him into the living room. Laying him on the couch, Ducky said, "Don't lay him down. Try to keep him upright as best you can."

He opened his bag and took out a bag of saline. "Now," he explained. "I'm going to set up an I.V. so that we can hydrate Tony as quickly as possible. I'm going to need one of you to hold it up so that it flows into him correctly."

"Yep, I'll do that," said Tim.

Ducky worked quickly to insert the needle. Tony, while not unconscious, wasn't very responsive and Ducky was able to insert the cannula with the minimum of fuss. Once attached to the saline, Tim was then responsible to keep the bag raised above Tony's head.

Ducky then turned to Jimmy and said, "Mr Palmer, would you be so kind as to go to the office and bring back three more bags of saline please?"

"Yes Doctor," replied Jimmy. "I'll leave the glucometer here so you can check his levels again. I'll be back as soon as I can." And with that, Jimmy hurried out the door.

With the makeshift saline drip inserted and working, Ducky looked at Gibbs and said, "Well I think we've been lucky Jethro. He doesn't appear to have drunk as much as we thought and we were able to get to him quickly. Added to that, he would have had a full stomach of food. I anticipate a great deal of vomiting over the next couple of hours," he said with a wry grin. "And I think our young man here might be in for a humdinger of a headache. The most important thing now, is to keep him awake and upright. Ahh Jennifer," he said, turning to Jenny, "You may want to get a bucket. I think our young Mr DiNozzo, is about to relieve his stomach of its contents."

Once they could see that the danger was over, Abby and Tim decided to go home. They didn't wish to get in the way, and knew that Gibbs needed some time to process what had happened. Tim quickly scanned the room and, noticing the coat stand in the entry, dragged it over to hang the bag of saline on so it remained high enough for gravity to continue working. Then, after offering to give Brigette a ride home, the three of them left making Gibbs promise to give them a call should he need anything or should Tony's condition change for the worse.

Jimmy soon returned with the extra saline bags, and having checked Tony's BLS again and noting that it hadn't decreased any, Ducky sent him home with the glucometer and a 'Thank you' for all his help.

Seeing the fear and worry in Ziva's eyes, Jenny felt that it might be better if she took the little girl out for a while to distract her from everything that was happening. When Gibbs agreed, he called Ziva over to him.

"Hey Sweat Pea," he said, picking her up and rubbing her back. "This is all a bit scary isn't it?"

She nodded, then said, "Is Tony going to be ok?"

"Yes, pumpkin," Gibbs reassured. "He's going to be fine. He's just going to be a bit sick for a while and it's probably best that you go with Jenny and do something fun. You don't really want to watch Tony throw up everywhere do you?"

"Yuck!" she said,

"Exactly!" said Gibbs smiling at her. "I bet Jenny has some pretty special things planned for you to do."

"I certainly do," said Jenny coming forward and rubbing Ziva's arm. "I thought we might go and see a movie! How does that sound?"

"Yay!" said Ziva. "What will we see?"

"I don't know Honey. We'll have to see what's showing." Jenny reached for Ziva and, lifting her out of Gibbs' arms, placed her on her hip.

"Daddy," said Ziva, looking up at Gibbs. "Is Tony in big trouble?" She looked a little apprehensive, wondering just what Tony's fate might be.

"At the moment Sweat Pea, I just want Tony to get better," said Gibbs, running his hand over her head. "I'll worry about that when he's feeling better. But it's not something you have to worry about, OK?"

"OK," she said. "But I don't like it when Tony's in trouble."

"I know," said Gibbs. "That's because you love him. But sometimes, even though we love someone, we have to do what is best for them even if it's not something they're going to like. It's a bit like when Tony had to come and get me when you were in the tree. He did that because he loved you and was worried about you, even though he knew it might get you into trouble."

She nodded her head. "I did get into trouble," she said quietly. "Daddy, you won't hit Tony with a stick will you?" she asked fearfully. "Abba does that to Ari and it scares me. Ari is very brave but sometimes he bleeds. I don't want that to happen to Tony."

"Ziva I would never, ever, do that to either of you," he said firmly. "I don't even know if I will spank Tony just yet, but, if I do, I will only use my hand. Remember my promise to both of you?"

"I remember," she said. "I just sometimes get scared and forget. But Daddy, if you do have to spank Tony, make sure you hug him afterwards like you did me. That made me feel so much better. Oh and Daddy?" She leaned in close as if sharing a confidence and whispered, "You've got to let him rub his bottom afterwards. It takes the sting away. OK?"

"Ok," said Gibbs smirking at her. "I'll remember that. Now you two go and have some fun and I'll see you later."

He kissed her goodbye on the cheek and then, without thinking, turned to Jenny and gave her a quick peck on the lips as well. It had been a instinctive reaction, neither one of them had even realised what they were doing.

Blushing, Jenny quickly said, "Bye Jethro, I'll ring before I bring her back."

"Yeah, thanks Jen," replied Gibbs, not making eye contact and leading them to the door. Once they left, he shut the door and returned to Ducky and Tony.

He looked at the M.E. who was smirking knowingly to himself.

"What?" asked Gibbs, annoyed at the grin.

"Nothing Jethro," replied Ducky, busying himself replacing Tony's saline bag.

Sitting down next to Tony on the couch, the young boy leaned into his side and said, "I feel awful."

"Yeah, I bet ya do!" replied Gibbs. "I don't know how much you can understand right now, but you need to know that I would never send you away. Jenny offered to have you for a short holiday and, as it turns out, I said that she could take Ziva and that you, me and Tim could have a boy's weekend. But you didn't hear that bit did you?"

He felt Tony shake his head.

"Yeah, well, we'll talk more about this later," said Gibbs, brushing the hair away from Tony's forehead. "Right now, all you need to do is get better. You're in for a rough ride Buddy, but I'll be here with you. I love you Tony and, no matter what you do or say, that will never change."

Tony's response was to quickly pull away and, grabbing the bucket, heave violently into it.

Gibbs looked at his son as Tony wiped his mouth and sat back, exhaustion plaguing his face. The boy was almost asleep, only kept awake by Ducky prodding him occasionally to maintain consciousness.

"Well Tony," said Gibbs quietly to himself. "I knew you would start testing me, but I certainly didn't think you would take it to this level." He stroked Tony's head as the boy slumped back, glassy eyes staring ahead. "I honestly have no idea what I'm going to do next, but for now, I am just thankful that you are still here with me. I don't know what I'd do if something ever happened to you."

As Gibbs put his arm around his son, he sent up a quiet prayer to the powers that be, thanking them for watching over his boy.