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"You two follow me," Gibbs orders as he walks out of the bullpen not giving either of his junior agents a second glance.
Gibbs doesn't say anything at all as they go to Autopsy. When the doors open, he points at Jimmy. "Go eat, take a coffee break, go see Abby. Ducky will call you when you can come back."
"Yes, Agent Gibbs," Jimmy tells him before bolting from the room.
"You two," Gibbs orders, pointing at Ziva and McGee, "sit on that empty table and listen."
Gibbs passes Ducky on the way to the filing cabinet, but says nothing to his friend. He knows what he is looking for as he has read the complete file. He takes the file out and hands it to Ducky as he whispers just what he wants.
"Ah, yes, I see," Ducky says. He then opens the file and begins to read. "The male child was first seen in the ER at age nine from a severe beating. Once stable, the child was taken from the hospital AMA. The admission papers state that the child was in a school yard fight. The child was seen at the hospital at age ten with a broken arm, a fall from a tree was the stated reason. At age eleven the child was in the hospital for two weeks with a broken leg and a dislocated hip. At that time the doctors did a complete physical and took pictures of all the scars and bruises that covered his body. Oh, yes, being thrown from a snowmobile was the excuse given for those injuries. Theses are just the highlights."
"Ducky, why are you reading an old file? What does all of that have to do with Tony?" Ziva asks.
"Everything, Ziva," Ducky replies. "The child that was abused so badly growing up was Tony. His father beat him all the time. When a business deal went bad, when a wife left him. Any excuse, and sometimes no excuse was needed at all. Anthony DiNozzo Senior is a drunk and a bully who took and still takes his anger out on his son."
"So why didn't Tony just hit him back, he could have shot and killed him and it would have been justified."
"Ziva, Tony is the better man. If he had hit him or even shot him, he would be no better than his father; a man that cannot control his temper and strikes out in a fit of rage. Our Anthony is a better man for having survived his childhood in one piece, than his father ever could be."
"What about you, Gibbs? Why didn't you?" She asks.
"If I had hit him, it would make no me no better than him, Ziva. Men don't hit their children no matter how old they are. And I will never harm Tony's father because of the respect I have for Tony. Hitting him would only cause harm to Tony in the long run. As much of a tyrant his father is, he is still Tony's father. I will honor Tony's wishes in this matter and leave his father alone."
"I have no such qualms," Ziva tells him.
"But you will also respect Tony's wishes. Leave his father alone. Consider it an order," Gibbs tells her.
"That explains why he was so by the book when that little boy died," McGee says softly.
"He'll know that we've told you," Gibbs says. "So don't mention it to him. Understood?"
"Yes, Gibbs," Ziva answers not liking the restrictions at all.
"Yes, Boss," McGee tells him, understanding Tony a little more. He might not have had to deal with the physical abuse like Tony, but his father was a mental tyrant and a bully all the same.
"Abby, you too," Gibbs says as he turns and looks at the monitor on Ducky's desk only to see a crying Abby with black tear trails staining her cheeks.
"I promise, Gibbs. I was there and I know just how strong Tony can be."
"Thanks, Abs." He changes the subject. "I really need those results, Abby."
"I'll get right on it. I'll do my best work for you."
"I know, Abby," Gibbs tells her then he makes a cutting motion across his throat. Soon the monitor is black as Abby closes the connection.
"Who is Micky, Boss?" Tim asks.
"A State LEO and a friend of Tony's from college. He'll be fine. He just needs to get away and clear his head."
"We should be together as a team, yes?"
"Tony's right, Ziva. He needs to get away and heal for a little while. He knows what he needs. Trust me on this one," Tim tells her. "Come on, let's get back to work."
Gibbs and Ducky silently watch them leave the autopsy suite. "Thank you, Duck, I know it was a breach of trust for you to do that."
"Anthony will understand, Jethro. He is going to go see Mandy isn't he?"
"Yes, Ducky, he is. At least that is what he implied."
"Good. So what time shall I meet you to clean and put right the damage that his father did to his home."
"You're a good man, Duck."
"Hello," Mandy says softly as she answers her cell.
"Hi, beautiful," Tony says. "How would you like to go to a nice quiet hotel I know in Florida. I have two weeks off and I really need to talk to you. I had a run-in with my father. Or I should say with his fist, a booze bottle and rolling pin."
"Oh, Tony, give me ten minutes to pack. Where are you?"
"Parked outside of your brother's house."
"Come on up. I'll let you in and you can meet them. Then we can go."
"Mandy, I love you. Thank you for leaving your family and coming with me."
"Tony, we are our family, just the two of us. But sometime down the line I want a cat."
"We'll get two," He tells her then he sadly chuckles to himself after he ends the call, wondering if he will ever find the peace and happiness that he longs for, that they both long for.