The rest of the day went very slowly for Gibbs and Jenny. They tried to go about their days normally but they were both very worried about Tony. Neither of them got much sleep that night and they thought 3 o clock would never come. Finally they were both on their way to the doctor's office with Tony. By the time they were called in Tony was again asleep in Gibbs arms. They both took the seats they were in yesterday and waited for the doctor to start.
"How has Tony been." She asked as she checked her notes.
"He's been sleeping a lot." Jenny replied "Do you have the test results.
"Yes I do." Kathy replied "Tony has a chest infection and he is anemic ."
"Anemic?" Jenny asked as her eyes filled with tears of relief.
"Yes, we are going to need to admit him to the hospital."
"What's the treatment?" Gibbs asked as he gently rubbed Tony's back.
"Well we will want to do a few more test to see what the cause of the anemia is." Dr O'Neill replied. "But hopefully it can be managed with a change in diet and some supplements."
"Does he need to go to the hospital straight away?" Jethro asked.
"As soon as possible but you can go home and pack a few things for him first." The doctor replied with a smile."I will call them so that they can have a room ready."
Jethro and Jenny said a quick thanks before leaving and heading home to pack. As they drove home Tony finally started to wake up.
"Are we going to the doctor?" He asked as he noticed he was in the car.
"We've been already honey." Jenny replied. "We are just on our way home now."
"Oh and um, what did she say?" Tony asked nervously.
"She needs you to go for some more tests." Gibbs replied softly.
"So am I really sick?" Tony asked worriedly.
"You're a little sick but you are going to get better." Jenny replied. "We'll talk about it more after the tests."
"Ok." Tony replied and relaxed for the rest of the car journey.
When they arrived home, Gibbs carried Tony into the house where Ducky was waiting for news.
"Do you want to lie down for a while Tony." Jenny asked softly.
"Can I go out and play?" Tony asked as he watched the others playing outside.
"You can go out for a few minutes." Jenny replied with a smile. "Just be careful."
"I will." Tony replied as he hurried to the door.
"Sit down and tell me what Dr O Neill said." Ducky said when Tony was outside.
"She said that it was anemia but that they needed to do more tests." Jenny replied with a sigh. "Tony was asleep the entire time so he doesn't know what's going on just that he has to go for more tests."
"The poor lad is going to have a tough few weeks." Ducky sighed. "Both of you are going to need to take a few days off work to help him through this. I will help you as much as possible with the other children to give you time with Tony but Jethro, I would suggest asking your father to come stay for a week or so to help out as well. You will need all the help you can get."
"Getting time off work won't be a problem." Jenny said "But I think it would be good to ask Jack to stay for a while."
"I'll talk to him when we get to hospital and have Tony settled."
"Yes of course Jethro.." Ducky replied "Now, when you do know what the treatment is, you need to explain to Tony what is going to happen but try not to go into too many details. He is going to be frightened as well as feeling ill so it is important to explain things."
"We will Ducky." Jenny sighed. "I just can't believe this is happening to him, he has been through so much already."
"I know my dear." Ducky sighed "But he is strong and will overcome this as well. We just have to help him through it. It is treatable."
Meanwhile out in the back garden, Abby was interrogating Tony about what was wrong with him.
"They have to have said something to you Tony." Abby sighed. "Did the doctor say anything?"
"I don't know Abby." Tony replied and backed away from her. "I was asleep the whole time and Jenny just said that I was sick and had to go for more tests. I really don't know what's wrong, Abbs. I just thought it was a cold again."
"I'm sorry Tony; I'm just worried about you. I don't want you to be sick." Abby said and gave Tony a hug.
"Do you want to play on the swings?" Tim asked "I'll push you."
"Yeah ok." Tony agreed and sat on the swing. Abby sat on the other swing and Ziva pushed her while Jimmy helped Tim.
They stayed outside playing until Jenny called them in to bring Tony to the hospital. Jimmy and Ducky were staying so Ducky could watch the other kids.
"Tony, the doctor wants you to go to the hospital today." Gibbs said as he crouched down in front of Tony. "She needs to do some more tests."
"Um ok." Tony replied uncertainly "Should I get ready."
"We've packed some things for you so we're going to go now."
Tony nodded and after giving a quick glance at the other kids. He waved bye to Jimmy and then to the others before following his parents to the car.
Tears were now streaming down Tony's face as he climbed into the car. He was absolutely terrified of what was going to happen.
"Hey kiddo, it's going to be fine." Gibbs assured as he pulled Tony into his arms and hugged him. "You might have to stay at the hospital for a few days but you are going to be fine. What you have is something called anemia, and once they find out why they can make you better. You'll be fine."
Tears streamed down Tony's face as he gave a slight nod and lay his head on Gibbs' shoulder. Gibbs gently ran his hand through Tony's hair trying to comfort the child.
Gibbs tried to put Tony into the back seat but the child wouldn't let him go. Jenny took the keys and slid into the driver's seat while Gibbs got into the back with Tony still in his arms.
When they arrived at the hospital Jenny grabbed the bag she had packed while Jethro carried Tony. They were quickly shown to a room where a doctor was waiting for them.
"Hi I'm Dr. Caldwell. Now the first thing we need to do an x-ray. We also need to do an ultra sound and possibly a colonoscopy" the doctor explained. "Now Tony these tests can be kind of sore and scary so what I would like to do is to put you to sleep before I do it. That way, it won't hurt at all. Does that sound ok to you?"
Tony considered it for a minute and then nodded his head while he was still in Gibbs arms.
"Great, what I need you to do is change into this gown and then we'll get started. I'll be back in a few minutes."
Gibbs gently helped Tony into the gown and then sat on the bed with him while Jenny tidied up the clothes. The doctor returned a few minutes later.
"This is nurse Ellie and she is going to help me get you ready." The doctor explained as he pulled out a syringe. "Now I have to give you an injection but I am going to us a special cream first so that it doesn't hurt."
Tony eyed the syringe warily but nodded his head. The nurse quickly applied the cream to Tony's arm and they waited a few minutes until the area was numb. Tony clung to Gibbs as Ellie injected the sedative into Tony's arm. A few minutes later Tony was fast asleep in Gibbs arms.
"Now while he is asleep we are going to do a few tests and an maybe an MRI.
"Alright." Gibbs agreed as he gently laid Tony onto the gurney. "Take care of him."
"We will." Ellie promised as they wheeled the gurney out. "Everything is going to take about three hours, why don't you go home for a little while, spend some time with the other kids. I'm sure they are scared as well."
"No, one of us needs to be here." Jenny said. "Jethro you stay here and I'll talk to the others."
Gibbs nodded and Jenny left the room. Gibbs went to get some coffee while Jenny went home to talk to the other kids. She pulled into the drive way and sat in the car for a few minutes to gather herself. Eventually she got out of the car and went inside. The kids were all outside playing with Ducky so she sat and watched them for a few minutes before calling to them.
"Hi Mum, where are Dad and Tony?" Abby asked as she sat on the step beside Jenny.
"Tony had to go to the hospital and Dad is with him." Jenny explained
"What's wrong with him?" Tim asked worriedly as the rest of them also sat down.
"Tony has something call anemia as well as having a chest infection." Jenny explained. "He is going to have to stay in the hospital for a while to get medicine but it's going to take a long time for him to get better."
"What's Anemia?" Abby asked worriedly.
"It's something that's missing in Tony's blood." Jenny explained. "But Tony is going to be fine, once he gets medicine."
"But Tony was sick already, was he not." Ziva asked worriedly. "Would this make it harder for him with his lungs."
"The plague." Ducky sighed. "Tony was recovered from that and although he still has scaring on his lungs. They will have to do some more tests because of it. It might just mean that he will need extra oxygen while he recovers."
"Is he going to be sick for long?" Tim asked.
"He will feel very tired and sick a lot for a few weeks, we don't know how long yet"
"What about school?" Abby asked suddenly "Will he be able to go school. We are going back next week."
"He won't be able to go to school for a few weeks." Ducky sighed. "He will be in the hospital for a few days and will be very tired."
"Can I go visit him?" Jimmy asked "He won't like being on his own, he's scared of doctors and hospitals so I told I'd visit so he won't be on his own."
"We won't leave him alone Jimmy." Jenny assured. "Jethro or I will be staying with him all of the time but you can visit anytime you want."
"Ok." Jimmy replied with a sad smile. "Can I visit now?"
"He's asleep right now. They needed to do some tests so they gave him something to help him sleep. Why don't you come visit tomorrow when he's settled into his room?"
"Ok." Jimmy sighed.
"Ducky can you stay with the kids for another while; I need to talk to the Andersons about everything. They might be able to help out with the kids."
"Yes of course Jennifer and I want you to know that I will be here for anything you need. I have taken a leave of absence for the next six months so I will be at home. Anytime you want the children to stay over they are quite welcome."
"Thank you Ducky. We really appreciate it. I think we will both be taking some time off. I need to make arrangements before I go back to the hospital."
"Of course my dear. I will stay here with the children and feed them and put them to bed. Don't you worry about them?"
Jenny gave Ducky a smile before leaving the house again. She spent the next hour organizing temporary replacements for both herself and Jethro and informing the Andersons of what was going on.
A/n: I would like to thank everyone for all of the lovely reviews. I love to read them. Thank you for all of follows and favorites. I had originally decided to give Tony leukemia and had a few chapters written but I decided against it and re wrote them.