Tag to S3E12 'Boxed In'

"DiNozzo, what's this?" Gibbs asked after reading an email. He glanced up to see his 2IC had arrived and was putting his badge and gun away. His arm was in a sling that he kept fussing with, a sling that had not been there Friday before they left for the weekend.

Tony had clearly not had a good weekend.

"Boss?" Tony asked, confused.

"What's this email from Dr. Pitt?" He clarified, concerned. Was there a problem with his lungs? Clearly he'd done something to his arm, but Dr. Pitt wouldn't be seeing Tony for his arm. "Are you alright?"

"Oh. I'm fine. Just a small infection." Tony tried to brush off. From what the doctor said, it was a little more serious then 'small', but he wasn't going to say anything if he could help it.

"Infection from what?" He didn't remember Tony getting hurt recently. Could it have been whatever happened over the weekend to give him that sling?

"From the bullet graze last week, when we were trapped in that box." Tony said, confused. He would have thought the Boss would know he'd been hurt in that. It wasn't serious, of course, but still. "It took twenty stitches." It had been fairly deep and long, after all.

"What bullet graze?" Gibbs demanded. "I thought... I was told it was just a scratch!" He stood and stormed to Tony's desk, casting a glare at Ziva, the one who'd told him it was just a scratch. And shouldn't he have gotten paperwork putting Tony on desk duty if he had stitches?

"No. It was a bullet. I didn't duck behind our barricade fast enough." Tony shrugged. "Anyway, according to the doc, some wood shards or dust got into it or something that they missed when they cleaned it out, because now it's infected."

"Why didn't you say something sooner?" Gibbs demanded.

"It wasn't a big deal." Tony tried to deflect again. "Anyway, what did Brad want?"

Gibbs stared at him, but decided to leave it for later, in private. He made sure Tony got the message from his glare. "He wanted to let me know to keep an eye on you because the antibiotics you're on could affect your breathing." He finally said, especially after Tony's bout with the plague. And to make sure he knew Tony would be on painkillers, because they both knew how he reacted to drugs like those.

"Oh. I got my stuff. I'm good for that." Tony assured him. Meaning he had his inhaler with him, and it was refilled, too.

"You going to use it?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. He knew how much Tony hated that thing.

"Yup." For some reason Gibbs wasn't reassured by that.

"Go see Ducky. You're at your desk 'till he says otherwise." Gibbs finally said. "Go!" He barked when he sat back down and Tony was still there. He rolled his eyes and made a quick call to let Ducky know he was coming and why.

"Why didn't you tell me that he was hurt?" He turned on Ziva as soon as the call was made.

"I... I didn't think it was that serious." She said, shocked. "I thought he was exaggerating when he said he was hurt. You know how he can be." She tried to defend herself.

"The next time you withhold information that your partner got hurt, even if it is the smallest of scratches. You are done with this team. Do you hear me?" He promised, deathly quiet. His glare could have frozen a glacier, it was so cold. She shivered.

"Understood, Agent Gibbs." She swallowed and made her retreat. It would be best for her to stay out of his sight for a while. She left just in time for Abby to come running into the bullpen looking for her.

Abby was not happy. Not happy at all.

"I didn't know he was hurt." McGee said quietly. Like Gibbs, he'd kind of taken Ziva's word for it, especially since Tony hadn't said anything different. Quietly he resolved to do better next time.