The ride to the hospital was a complete blur. Tony did not let go of his son's hand until he was forced to at the hospital. All the horrible memories of the accident came roaring back. He wondered how he would carry on if he lost his boy too. He knew that the girls needed him but if Jack died. Who's to say the girls would not be next? A few moments later Gibbs fell into the chair beside him, saying something about the kids being with McGee. The minutes ticked by and Tony swore that an entire lifetime had passed. At long last the door opened and a doctor stepped into the waiting area. There weren't many others in the room and Tony prayed that the doctor was coming for him and that the news would be good.

"Family of Jackson DiNozzo" The doctor called.

"That is us." Tony replied.

"I am Dr. Monroe, I am the on call attending physician." Dr. Monroe

"How is my boy?" Tony demanded.

"We ran a cat-scan and discovered the reason for Jackson vomiting blood. He has a small mass at the base of his stomach." Dr. Monroe explained.

"A tumor?! My five year old has a tumor!" Tony cried.

"That is what it looks like but we will not know anything until we preform surgery. We will preform a biopsy tomorrow at two. I know it's a long wait but that is our next surgical slot. If all goes well we will be able to remove to tumor that same day. If not we will proceed with radiation and possibly chemotherapy." Dr. Monroe explained.

"OK" Tony choked out.

The coming hours and day were beyond miserable. It killed Tony to see Jack drugged and weak. He hated the wait but was terrified of the surgery. His greatest fear was that the tumor would be cancerous and Jack would not be strong enough to survive. He wished that Ziva were here. She was the brave one, the one who could handle things. His heart was breaking in two and he just wanted somebody to be by his side. He had Gibbs but he wanted Ziva. Ziva gave a certain warmth that Gibbs just could not give. Tony was lost in thought when the surgeon came into the room, to take Jack away.

"Mr. DiNozzo, it is time to take Jack for pre-op." Dr. Harris announced.

"OK" Tony replied.

Dr. Harris gave Tony a few extra moments between pre-op and the actually procedure. Tony sat on the bed and wondered if this would be the last time he had ever spent with his son. Annalyse had been by early that morning. She had cried when she was forced to leave. Tony knew that he was sharing her fears. Jack was only half-awake on the bed. He was drugged out of his mind to prepare his little body for the operation. Tony ran his hand through Jack's hair and kissed his forehead. He studied every one of his son's features. Making sure to memorize every inch of the boy. This may be the last time he saw the boy alive. He shed a single tear and hastily wiped it away. He felt like such a coward but he had never been so scared in his life. Not even when he knew that he was going to lose Ziva and in the days afterwords.

"I love you so much Jackson, you are going to do great." Tony said, before giving his son one last kiss.

The entire team had come to wait with Tony. They gathered around the waiting room. Tony was so riddled with fears. That he was practically sitting on Gibbs' lap. They had said that the operation could take up to four hours and by the end of hour one. Tony was going stir-crazy. He jumped out of the chair and raced out of the hospital room. He ran like he had never run before, until he came to the bus-stop just outside of the the hospital's parking lot. He heard a driver shout "Are you getting on?!" Before he could answer Gibbs answered for him. With a harsh no. The driver scoffed and yanked the door shut. Tony turned and faced his boss. Before collapsing into his arms, shaking with fear.

"I am so scared!" Tony cried.

"Jack is a strong kid. He will do great." Gibbs assured.

"What if he comes through the surgery OK but it is cancer and he dies?" Tony asked.

"It will be benign and Jack will be fine in now time." Gibbs assured.

"I just lost Ziva and dealt with that trial. I can't take anything else!" Tony cried.

"Do you want to go to the chapel?" Gibbs asked.

"It couldn't hurt." Tony replied, even though his faith was greatly shaken.

Tony spent half an hour in the chapel, praying to God that his son would survive. He begged, cried, and bargained. He vowed to give twenty years off his own life. If he could get just one more with his beloved Jackson. He returned to the waiting room and Gibbs told him the surgeon had just said that it would be another hour. The last hour drug by longer than the past thirty-six had. Tony's body shook as he released even more tears.

"Tony?" Dr. Harris called entering the waiting room.

"How is he?!" Tony demanded.

"Jack did great. We were able to remove the entire tumor. We will have to wait on the pathology report but it appears to be benign." Dr. Harris explained.

"When will we know?" Tony asked.

"Three to seven days" Dr. Harris replied.

"And if it is cancer?" Tony questioned.

"We will follow up with a round of preventive chemotherapy." Dr. Harris explained.

"What are his chances if it is cancer?" Tony asked.

"I would say about ninety-five percent. His only risks now are infection and if is cancer he would have the risk of complications associated with chemo." Dr. Harris explained.

"Thank you" Tony breathed.

"Is there anything else we need to know?" Tony asked.

"He will be on a temporary feeding tube for the next six weeks. Longer if he has cancer. From there he will be introduced to a liquid diet and slowly be reintroduced to solid foods. I would say it will be a three to six month process." Dr. Harris explained.

"Thank you, Dr. Harris. May I see my boy?" Tony asked.

"He will be in recovery in recovery another twenty to thirty minutes. You can see him as soon as he is in a regular room." Dr. Harris explained.

A/N: Jack is on the road to recovery but how will Tony handle a long term sick kid? New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.