Chapter Four
Bad
It wasn't until they'd pulled into the parking garage at Tony's apartment building that it dawned on him that they'd taken his car, so Gibbs wouldn't have a way of getting home. His head was spinning, and he'd just shut his eyes for a moment after they'd left NCIS, but somehow, he didn't recall any of the ride over.
"What time are you going to pick me up in the morning?" he asked groggily. He felt as if he'd worked a twenty-four shift rather than leaving early, which they'd done after his visit with Ducky.
Gibbs frowned, looking over at him from the driver's seat with a furrowed brow. "What are you talking about?"
"Well, I assume you're going to take my car home," Tony said.
"Not going home. I'm staying with you," Gibbs said before opening the door and stepping out of Tony's Mustang.
Tony's mouth dropped open as he stared at the now empty driver's seat. Staying with him? What the hell? Gibbs had stayed with him for a few days after he'd been released from Bethesda simply because he'd been weak as a kitten, and they wouldn't allow him to leave if he was going to be alone. Gibbs thought Tony would be more comfortable in his own bed, so he'd stayed on Tony's couch. Tony knew, however, that Gibbs wasn't interested in his movie collection, and would've been much happier with access to his boat.
Tony had appreciated the gesture more than Gibbs would ever know, but that didn't mean he needed a babysitter every time he caught a cold. Before he'd had time to protest, however, Gibbs had rounded the vehicle and yanked Tony's door open. He looked down at him as if he was an idiot for still sitting in the car.
"You," Tony began, but had to clear his throat which triggered another coughing fit. When he'd finally caught his breath, he said, gasping, "You don't have to stay with me. I'm fine."
Patience had never been one of Gibbs' strong suits. He looked down scathingly at his agent still seated in the car. Tony's mind inexplicably flashed on the disappointment he was used to seeing in his father's eyes, and he brutally squashed that comparison.
"Yeah, I do have to stay, DiNozzo. Didn't you listen to Ducky?" Gibbs asked, reaching out his hand.
Tony reluctantly took it and allowed Gibbs to pull him into a standing position. Truthfully, the entire visit with Ducky was a bit of a blur, but he knew that the ME had confirmed that he had a fever.
"He said I needed to rest, but I don't need someone watching me do it – not that I don't appreciate your concern, Boss," he said, realizing he could be coming off as ungrateful.
Gibbs shook his head and began walking toward the elevator. Tony had no choice but to follow. "Boss–," he began, but Gibbs stopped walking abruptly and spun around to face him. Tony could swear he saw sparks emitting from his head.
"If you say you're fine one more time, I'm going to dope smack you so hard your grandchildren will feel it. You're not fine. Ducky says normal pulse oximeter levels are ninety-five to one hundred percent. Less than ninety requires hospitalization, and you're at ninety-two. I'm staying."
Tony gaped like a fish, aware that was a lot of words for Gibbs, but the meaning behind them caused his heart to thump painfully, and it was suddenly even harder to breathe.
"Pulse oximeter levels – that's what they monitored when I was sick. I don't have the plague anymore, though. It's gone. That's not what's wrong with me," he said, aware his voice was higher than it should be. Memories, sharp and vivid were assailing him: Blue lights… Confusion… Gasping… Sterile… Helpless… Kate.
"Tony," Gibbs voice was far gentler than it should be. That meant he'd panicked – and even worse – in front of his boss.
Gibbs pushed him into the elevator and hit the button for the fourth floor. "Ducky just wants to avoid a relapse. He said you need rest, and someone needs to keep an eye on you, so you don't try one of your boneheaded ideas."
Tony realized his boss was using levity to make him feel better, but he just couldn't seem to unwind the tight knot of tension that had descended on his insides. A few hours ago, he'd been anxious about going to work and facing Gibbs after their fallout, now the man was going to be his houseguest while they waited to see if the fucking plague was making a comeback? Seriously?
And Gibbs was being a nice.
Tony felt as if he must've entered some alternate universe like Kurt Russell and James Spader in Stargate – without any ring-shaped device to save the day. He shook his head in an attempt to clear it, but it only made him dizzy. He had to grasp the elevator's handrail to avoid further humiliation. Of course, Gibbs had to notice and reached out a hand to grasp Tony by the upper arm – painfully.
He really needed to lie down.
"No sense worrying. Focus on what you can control," Gibbs said, staring straight ahead.
Tony realized he was giving him a moment to pull himself together, and he appreciated it. He nodded jerkily, knowing his boss would understand.
They entered Tony's apartment, and Tony walked straight into his living room. He sank wearily onto his couch, letting the familiar leather cocoon him. Gibbs went into the kitchen, where Tony knew he wouldn't find much of anything edible. Tony had been in a bad mood all weekend. Funny thing was, his mood was directly related to feeling unwell and wanting answers from his boss. Now, both situations were being accommodated as if on a silver platter.
Fate loved to fuck with him.
"What the hell do you eat other than junk food at the office, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked, staring into Tony's empty refrigerator.
"Pizza," Tony mumbled, shutting his eyes. He was so tired. Truthfully, he'd had a pot full of Kate's chicken soup that he'd ate sparingly over the weekend. His appetite was nearly non-existent.
Gibbs sighed. "Take out it is, then. What d'you want?"
"Had some of Kate's soup left. She made enough for a family of seven," Tony said, eyes still closed. "Been a week though."
Gibbs didn't respond, but Tony hadn't expected him, too. He knew his boss would understand. It had nearly killed him to have to throw away the remainder of the soup, but he didn't want to risk adding food poisoning to his growing list of ailments.
Tony's eyes shot open when he felt Gibbs' hand on his shoulder, not roughly, but giving him a gentle shake. "Get changed. You're wrinkling your fancy suit," he said.
Tony dragged himself to his feet, using much more energy than it should've required and shuffled into his bedroom. Truthfully, he wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep, but he couldn't abandon Gibbs. He laid his suit on his bed, pulling on a well-worn and comfortable pair of OSU sweatpants and a T-shirt. It was too warm a night to wear a sweatshirt despite the fact he felt chilled.
He shuffled back into the living room just as Gibbs was shutting his phone. Tony sat back on the couch and looked around for his remote, figuring they could put a movie on to fill the silence. Usually, it was Tony's job to carry a conversation, but he just wasn't up to it tonight. Gibbs had placed a glass of water and some pills on the coffee table, a gesture that was eerily familiar, but Tony ignored them.
"Pizza's on the way, and I asked Abby to bring over a few groceries," Gibbs said, sitting in the chair on the other side of the coffee table.
"Abby's coming over here?" Tony asked, his heart sinking. Another person to entertain.
"Later. She's still at work. Truthfully, DiNozzo, how do you feel?" Gibbs asked.
Tony wasn't too far gone that he didn't catch the irony of Gibbs asking anyone how they felt? He tried to avoid feelings even more than Tony did.
"You're asking me about my feelings, Boss? Who are you, and what have you done with Gibbs?" he quipped.
Gibbs narrowed his eyes. "I'm asking you about your health, smartass."
Tony shrugged. "Same as I told Ducky. Fatigue. Headache. Sharp pain in my chest when I breathe," he said wearily. The symptoms hadn't changed since the weekend, but now with the knowledge that the plague could relapse, there was also that tight ball of anxiety twisting in his gut.
Gibbs seemed to hear it, anyway. "He also said you have a fever. That's not going to go down until you take those pills."
After spending a few days with Gibbs as a nursemaid after he'd been sprung from the hospital, Tony knew it was inevitable, so why waste energy fighting it? He scooped up the pills and washed them down quickly, shutting his eyes.
"Atta boy," Gibbs said, nodding. "Did you suspect over the weekend?"
Tony was startled by the question, and his eyes flew open. He often thought his boss might have some psychic abilities, but sometimes it was just plain freaky.
He shrugged, forcing himself to remain casual. "Knew I didn't feel right, but didn't suspect plague. Who would?"
Gibbs raised his eyebrows. "Maybe someone who'd just had it? Kate said you knew something was wrong in the hospital before they told you."
"She did?" Tony asked, surprised. "When did she tell you that?" The idea his co-workers had been discussing him while he'd been sick was still disconcerting him.
Gibbs gave his half-smile. Tony always liked when he saw that smile – the real one without any sarcasm. "You were out of it for a long time. We did exchange a few words without you."
Tony's fever had risen so high, he'd apparently entered some sort of altered state where he was conscious, but not present. He didn't remember any of it.
He chuckled. "She kept trying to get under my skin – make me fight back," he said fondly. He remembered sparring with Kate about movies and random cases. It was always easy to rile her up, but she gave as good as she got. He'd known what she was doing, and he loved her for it. He'd kept up the squabbling as long as he could, and he had vague images of her being dragged from the room. He thought she might've been crying, which really surprised him. He hadn't realized she'd cry if he died.
"She said you asked Dr. Pitt what you had before they told you that you were infected," Gibbs said, leaning back in his chair.
Tony twisted his mouth to the side, finding it more difficult to draw in air than it should be. "I was sweating, although the isolation room was on the cool side, and I just knew something was wrong. I tried to ignore it, but I couldn't."
"That what's happening now?" Gibbs asked, raising his chin.
Tony let out a harsh breath of air. "Yes. No. Maybe. I really don't know. I thought I was fighting something off, but… They told me I could relapse, but… I didn't believe them."
"You didn't want to," Gibbs said. "I can't say I would, either."
"Yeah, well… there is that. I also had other things on my mind over the weekend," Tony said. It was a roundabout way to bring up what he really wanted to discuss, but it was always hard to tell with Gibbs how he'd react to questions.
"Dammit, DiNozzo, you're like a dog with a bone. What else do you need to know? I killed him. Yeah, I was late getting to the funeral, but I was there. Wasn't going to do that to Kate. Wasn't going to leave you to face it alone," Gibbs said, glaring.
"I wasn't the one alone," Tony said.
"There were only three of us on that rooftop. Both of us who walked away needed to say goodbye," Gibbs said, his icy eyes burning.
Tony was rarely swayed by Gibbs anger, no matter how much he played it up. "I read your IR. You didn't have back-up."
"Did I miss an announcement of you getting promoted over me?" Gibbs asked in mock incredulity.
"No," Tony replied.
"My team. My call. If it helps, I went home to get changed, and he was waiting there for me," Gibbs said.
"But you knew he would."
"Yeah."
Tony pursed his lips, "So, if I run off without backup the next time?"
Gibbs tilted his head to the side as if it was a stupid question. "I'll kick your ass. Point taken, though."
The doorbell rang, interrupting them. Tony knew he'd never get a promise that Gibbs wouldn't act alone again, but he'd at least planted the seed. Hopefully, he'd still be around to watch Gibbs' six the next time he acted on one of his own bonehead ideas. Maybe Ducky was right, and they really were a lot alike.
Gibbs returned with the pizza, and put a slice on each plate. He popped the top on two beers, sliding one across the coffee table to Tony. Tony raised his eyebrows, knowing Ducky would frown about mixing the meds he'd already taken with booze.
"One won't kill you. Besides, it'll make the pizza go down."
Tony wasn't sure about that. He had no appetite. Still, he took a bite as he hit PLAY on the remote. He thought he'd picked just the right movie for tonight.
Gibbs settled back in his chair, and grinned as Air Force One began to play.
/* /* /* /*
Gibbs knee ached, but he ignored it as he moved as quickly as he could to DiNozzo's front door once he heard the knock. He hoped he could reach it before Tony awoke. He'd drifted off nearly immediately after the movie began. Gibbs paused it and shook him gently, telling him the movie was over, and it was time for bed. DiNozzo was so out of it, he hadn't even argued. That alone was enough to alert Gibbs that he was feeling a lot worse off than he was admitting.
Gibbs had finished the movie on his own, his own memories of their first meeting with Kate fresh in his mind. DiNozzo had chosen a good flick.
He opened the door and held a finger to his lips so Abby would know to be quiet. She burst in, loaded down with several shopping bags, McGee trailing her with several more. Gibbs had asked her to pick up bread, eggs and juice so he could try and get DiNozzo to eat breakfast. Abby had obviously been aware of the state of Tony's kitchen. The only thing Tony had a decent stock of was coffee, and Gibbs suspected that was for his benefit whenever he dropped by.
Abby moved directly to the kitchen and placed her bags on the counter. She began unpacking and stowing things away with practiced ease. She'd been the one to keep his apartment well-stocked during his recovery. McGee trailed her, looking around the apartment with blatant awe.
DiNozzo's apartment – while obviously a bachelor pad – was classy and elegant with a large bay window framing a baby grand piano. Probably not what McGee expected if he was going by DiNozzo's frat boy persona.
Gibbs knew that Tony rarely had anyone over to his apartment. He kept it as his haven – a place where he could let his masks down. Gibbs and Abby had helped him find the place which he'd bought for a below-market price after a tragedy had taken place there. They'd both helped DiNozzo clean it up when he'd first moved from Baltimore to DC. Kate and McGee had assumed he lived like a slob, and Gibbs had let them, even added to the illusion. If that's the image Tony wanted to project, Gibbs wasn't about to ruin it for him.
Kate had worn the same stunned expression that now graced McGee's face the first time she'd entered after Tony had been released from the hospital. Gibbs suspected a lot of things might've been altered in Kate's mind about her partner after that whole experience – but they'd never really know.
"Wow! This is… this is really nice," McGee said, once he'd finally found his voice. His eyes lingered on the extensive movie collection that lined the built-in shelves of Tony's living room.
Gibbs had built and installed those shelves when Tony had first moved in. He'd hated the shoddy bookcase DiNozzo had them stored in when he lived in Baltimore.
"I know. It's so Tony, isn't it?" Abby gushed, not realizing McGee's astonishment.
McGee looked over at the piano and the black leather couch, his eyes finally resting on the stylish inlet bar. "It's… it's not what I expected," McGee said.
Gibbs could understand McGee's confusion. The apartment was polished and sophisticated, very much the way DiNozzo dressed – but his clownish behavior tended to overshadow that. It was part of the reason why DiNozzo excelled at undercover work – he could hide in plain sight.
"Where is he?" Abby asked, her eyes straying longingly to DiNozzo's closed bedroom door.
"He's asleep – and he really needs to stay that way, Abs," Gibbs said, knowing she would be tempted to wake him just so she could fuss. Somehow, DiNozzo managed to bring out the mother hen in all of them.
"Did he eat?" she asked, looking over at the pizza box.
There were two plates on the coffee table, one holding a slice of crust with a lot of pizza still on it. Gibbs could imagine DiNozzo giving McGee hell for it if he'd left that much good pizza still on the bone, but Tony had struggled to even swallow the little he'd managed.
Gibbs shrugged, "Not much. Help yourselves." There was no sense letting it go to waste, and he didn't think Tony would be looking for it in the morning.
"How is he?" McGee asked.
Gibbs just looked at him, but it was Abby who answered, "He's scared, McGee. Wouldn't you be?"
Gibbs lifted his beer to cover his smirk. McGee's face was easy to read – of course he'd be scared, but he had trouble imagining it of DiNozzo. Tony really had managed to pull the wool over both his partners' eyes.
"He'll make it," Gibbs said. He wouldn't allow anything else. He pulled two more beers from the six-pack and handed one to each.
Abby slumped onto the couch in DiNozzo's former spot and began eating a slice of the pizza, staring forlornly at the remains on DiNozzo's plate.
"I wish he'd eat. It's so unlike him not to, and nothing will be right ever, ever again until everyone is acting like they should. Our whole team is off-kilter. Tony not eating pizza proves that. He always eats pizza. I know he's lost a lot of weight – I felt him up," Abby said, eyes brimming.
Gibbs nearly choked on his beer.
"You what?" McGee asked, looking horrified.
Abby rolled her eyes impatiently. "It was after Ari shot up my lab. Tony pushed me out of the way. He landed on top of me, covered me, really, and I made some comment about his being heavy, but I knew there was a difference. I grabbed his ass when he got up to be sure."
"He must've loved that," McGee said, looking distinctly put out. He cracked open his beer and took a long swallow.
"Actually, he seemed oddly disconcerted by it," Abby said, puzzled.
Gibbs stood up and walked over to the kitchen on the pretense of grabbing another couple plates for them to rest their slices, but honestly, he didn't want them to see how amused he was. He didn't want to ruin the image of his grumpy disposition. He already suspected DiNozzo was onto him.
"I'm guessing he won't be in tomorrow. What about you, Boss?" McGee asked. "We're lucky we don't have an active case at the moment."
"I think a lot of Marines are even luckier we don't," Gibbs said.
McGee's eyes widened and he began back-peddling, "Well, yeah, of course they are. That's not what I meant. I just thought–"
"I know what you meant, McGee," Gibbs interrupted. Usually, he enjoyed letting the young man flounder. It was taking McGee forever to toughen up, despite DiNozzo's enthusiasm in training him, but he was just too weary for it tonight.
"I'm staying with DiNozzo. I'll let the Director know. You can continue with the cold cases. I'll call you if anything changes," he said.
"You look tired, Gibbs," Abby said, reaching over to pat Gibbs arm. "You really need to take care of yourself, too. You and Tony are both funny about that."
"It's been a rough few weeks," Gibbs said, believing it was the understatement of the century.
"Do you think the new Director will go for that? After… I mean, we were off all weekend," McGee asked.
"Wasn't planning on giving her a choice," Gibbs replied.
"I don't see why she'd complain. I mean, Tony was basically attacked right inside NCIS, and this is all still related to that. If he needs a little help now, well, then – we're all going to do it. It's Tony," Abby said as if that settled everything.
A series of harsh, wet coughs were heard coming from DiNozzo's room, and Gibbs jumped to his feet in a flash, already heading for the closed door despite the protests from his knee. Before he'd reached the door, however, they'd stopped. Gibbs listened with his ear to the wood for any signs of distress, but all was silent.
"We're going to go so you can get some sleep, Gibbs. It might be a long night," Abby said, staring at Tony's closed bedroom door.
Gibbs nodded, glad for the opportunity to lie down. He thought he might even take a few Advil to try and relieve the tightness in his knee.
Author's Note: Melinda's NCIS Rule Number One – Review! I really enjoy hearing your thoughts on the story, or even just chatting about NCIS, so, go on, hover over that reply box and give me something.
