"Told you I was fine," Gibbs told Tony, as they entered the house.
"A concussion and dehydration isn't 'fine'," Tony countered.
"Mild dehydration," Gibbs retorted, "And we're home, aren't we?"
"Only because you threatened the doctors, and their children's children's children."
"That's not true," Gibbs said, though he smirked at the comment. "We're home because I'm fine."
"Well, I'm glad you're okay," Tony told him. "But you need to keep drinking those sports drinks Ducky dropped off on his way back from taking McGee home with Abby."
"They're in the fridge, right?"
"That's what he said. Are you gonna go to bed?" Tony asked.
"I'm wiped," he replied. "So probably. You?"
"Yeah, the painkillers are hittin' me pretty hard."
"You okay?" his brows furrowed.
"Yeah. Just tired."
"Was a long day."
"Was a couple of long days," Tony corrected. "Scary as hell, couple of days." His gaze drifted a bit as he thought back on how highly-strung he'd been, and he wondered how he had managed to keep it together. A hand on his shoulder pulled him from his reverie.
"Thank you...for what you did, Tony," Gibbs told him, in an uncharacteristically soft voice.
"You already thanked me, Boss," Tony shook his head.
"Well, I'm thanking you again."
"I thought you'd have been angry with me."
"Oh I am," he raised his brows, and Tony swallowed. "It was stupid. You could've been killed. But...if you hadn't done what you did, we'd be dead. And that's a fact."
Tony flinched, slightly, at the statement. It wasn't a revelation, by any means. But hearing Gibbs say it out loud to him really made it all the more powerful. "You know I'll always have your six. No matter what."
Gibbs' mouth curled up at the corners, proudly, and he nodded, "Yeah, I know ya do." He appraised the younger man, fondly, before scruffing a hand through the slightly messy brown mop of hair. "No one better for the job."
Tony's heart filled at the words, so much that he could feel the bloating in his chest.
"Now let's get both our sixes some sleep?" Gibbs raised a brow.
Tony smiled, gave him a quick nod, and headed up to the guest room feeling like everything was finally okay with the world...
*~.~*
Gibbs woke up at 0500 on the dot, as if his sleep schedule had never been interrupted that week. He was a little sore, but that didn't slow him down as he made his way down the stairs and to the kitchen to brew a pot of coffee. Once the grounds were in the filter, and he pressed the button to start the water going, a crash sounded from upstairs, followed by a pained cry that sounded so strange, it sparked a level of fear in his body so strongly, that his heart was racing immediately.
He took off for the stairs, and tore up them, skipping two at a time, until he reached the guest room and swung open the door. There on the floor, beside the bed, Tony laid tangled in the flat sheet and still asleep, yet thrashing and making a horrid sound. Gibbs couldn't see his face, but he heard the frantic sob, a rushing out of air from his lungs that was immediately sucked back in and held, until he couldn't help but to let it out again in the same fashion, repeating this over and over.
Gibbs was on his knees beside him, once he was able to process what he was seeing. He pulled at the sheets, trying to free the younger man from them, as he tried to gently coax him out of his dream. "Hey now, Tony, come on," he told him, gently gripping Tony's shoulders and trying to turn him onto his back. Gibbs figured that falling down off of the bed likely triggered memories of falling from the plane, and that Tony was having a bit of a panic attack. But the tear-soaked face he was greeted with, made him question what the nightmare might really be about.
"Wake up, DiNozzo!" he shouted, suddenly unwilling to hold off any longer. "Come on, you're just dreaming. Come on back... Open your eyes," he patted Tony's cheek, leaning in a bit, as if he could will him out of the dream with a glare. "That's it... Come on," Gibbs shook him, gently, as Tony's eyelids began to flutter.
"N...no...can't..." he slurred; consciousness not yet returning to him.
"Yeah, ya can, Tony..."
"Can't b...be," Tony's breath hitched. Gibbs narrowed his eyes, confused at Tony's words. "W-was too l-late..." his features crumbled, and Gibbs couldn't help but to gather the younger man in his arms...
*~.~*
The Dream...
"Tony, wait!" Agent Reid called from behind him.
"They're gonna kill her," Tony replied. "I can't stand here and let that happen." He made way toward the building, and suddenly the structure was completely transparent; the walls see-through and he could see everyone inside.
His path to the door suddenly stretched out long...and he took off at a faster pace toward it; eyes locked on the man holding the gun to Ziva's head. But the road lengthened as quickly as his pace grew. Tony was running full-speed, now. But he watched in horror as the gun went off, and Ziva's body fell to the ground, lifeless.
"No!" Tony shouted, pausing in his steps for a moment as he breathed through the terror he'd just witnessed. And given the moment to think, he realized what would happen next. "Gibbs..." he took of running, again, toward the building, as he watched them drag Gibbs into the room and throw him down onto his knees. "Gibbs!" he ran as fast as he could.
Somehow, he made it to the door and swung it open. One of the cartel members quickly approached him from the left, and Tony turned his gun and fired, sending the man to the ground. Trying to force his way to Gibbs, he fended himself by firing at the other two members on each side. But as he reached his goal, the last remaining member fired his weapon, and Gibbs' body flopped to the concrete floor; dead eyes fixed on Tony's...
Tony lifted his gun at the now-surrendering murderer, and didn't hesitate to pull the trigger, shooting him between the eyes, and watching him drop to the floor as well.
Then Tony dropped his arm down, letting his gun hit the floor, as his gaze fixed on his Boss. He dropped to his knees, as the anguish overwhelmed his entire body. Ziva lay not three feet away, surrounded by a puddle of her own blood.
He didn't know what to do. He was alone. He'd failed. He was too late...
*~.~*
"Tony, it's okay. You're just dreaming. Everything's okay; just open your eyes and you'll see that."
"I'm...too late..." Tony's face scrunched with pain. "I'm so...s-sorry..." sobs wracked his body as it curled into Gibbs' chest. "So sorry, Boss..."
"You've got nothin' to be sorry for," Gibbs' heart sank in his chest at the realization of what the agent had been dreaming about. "You weren't late, Tony. You saved us. Remember? C'mon, now...wake up." He grabbed Tony's face with the hand that wasn't holding onto him, and forced it away from where it hid in his chest. "Wake up, DiNozzo!" he said, more firmly.
Tony's lids fluttered, right before shooting completely open. It took him a moment to see past the burning ache in his chest, and into the reality of where he was. But Gibbs was patient, and waited for the younger man to meet his eyes. "Boss?" Through the still-heavy breath, littered with course, scratchy undertones from the sobbing, his voice cracked.
"You had a nightmare," he told him, as if to remind him why he was confused. "You okay?"
Tony glanced around them. "I'm on the floor."
"Yeah."
"How did I get on the floor?"
"Fell outta bed," Gibbs raised a brow.
"Guess that'd explain it," Tony seemed embarrassed, and started to twist away from his boss. "Sorry... What time is it?"
"Little after five."
"Damn... Sorry I woke you."
"Was already up." He moved, so that Tony could get himself up, and pushed up off of the floor to extend a helping hand.
Tony reached up to grab onto Gibbs' hand, after realizing how stiff his legs felt, and that he'd likely be better off accepting the assistance. But upon pulling up, intense pain shot through both limbs, so severe that he actually cried out and tried to release Gibbs' hand to stop the motion. But Gibbs was quickly beside him, hoisting his arm over his shoulder and wrapping an arm around Tony's waist to support him from falling back down, and he quickly maneuvered the younger man to sit down on the bed.
"Guess it's time for meds," Gibbs said, as Tony let out the breath he'd been holding.
"G'uh..." he grunted, still in pain, "This-this is worse...than before." His breath came in huffs, as he ran a hand roughly over one leg, then the other, hoping to alleviate some of the pain. But the motion only seemed to make it worse, and his hand went to the mattress instead, gripping onto the sheets.
"I'm gonna call Ducky," Gibbs told him, concern written clearly on his face.
"Okay," Tony told him in an outburst of breath. He watched the older agent leave the room to grab his phone, and once out of sight, let himself release some of the panic he'd been holding back from Gibbs' view. The amount of pain he'd experienced when he'd stood with Gibbs' help, was worse than when he'd been in the woods after the crash. Back then, he'd been able to suck it up and trudge himself through the forest, even though the pain was pretty bad. But now... Well, he couldn't even stand up. He couldn't stop himself from shouting out in pain, even with Gibbs right there. And that terrified him.
"Yeah, Duck," Gibbs voice started up the hall. "He didn't even protest when I told him I was calling you. It must be pretty painful." He appeared in the doorway, as he continued the conversation. "You want me to do what?" he paused in front of Tony, listening to the voice on the other line. "Okay. Hang on," he placed the phone on the bed. "Ducky wants me to do a quick check on something," he told Tony. "You ready?"
"Doesn't involve...taking my temperature rectally, does it?" Tony tried to smile.
Gibbs shook his head, with a slight smile curling the corner of his mouth. "Can you pull your pant-legs up a bit?" he motioned to the shorts Tony was wearing. Tony slid each pant-leg up a few inches as Gibbs took a closer look and picked the phone back up to his ear. "Yeah, I think they do look a little swollen, Duck." He listened as the doctor spoke. "Okay," he wedged the phone between his shoulder and ear, so he could use both hands to start palpating Tony's quadriceps.
"G'ah!" Tony yelled out, almost immediately after Gibbs' started, halting him from further exploration.
"Yeah, I'd say it's aggravated by my touching it," he told Ducky. He took the phone in his hand and straightened his head, and Tony had no problem hearing Ducky's reply.
"You should get him to Bethesda, straight away, Jethro..."
*~.~*
TBC...
AN: You asked for a lil more Tony-whump. You got it. ;). Still, only a couple more chapters to go! I've got so much on my plate right now. Hoping to get this finished, and take the rest of August to finish another very important one...
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