BONDS FORGED

AN: Since these stories are in no particular order, I just thought I would go back in time a little. I wondered how it would be if NCIS met up with Matthew Keller. I would have to invent a story line or two, but hey, that's fan fiction, right? I think it would make for a very interesting story. I hope you guys think so, too. Enjoy!

Neal had not expected to be woken up at 3:30 a.m. on a weeknight. June's housekeeper was at his door pounding on it and speaking very rapidly in Spanish. Something had upset her greatly.

Luckily Neal knew Spanish. He followed the maid downstairs as she explained that Neal's tall Italian friend was downstairs and that he had been injured. She led Neal to the front door where June and several other members of her house staff were kneeling down beside Neal's friend, trying to tend to the man's wounds.

Though all the women were talking, Neal finally got the story. Carmella had been awakened by a noise. She had come out to see what it was. And she had found NCIS Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo unconscious and bleeding on the front steps.

Neal knelt down beside his friend and called his name. He didn't get a response. He then looked at June.

"9-1-1 is on its way, Neal." June stated. "Tony is going to be okay. But why didn't you tell me he was coming?"

Neal shook his head. "I didn't know. I didn't even know he was in town."

June looked at Neal and shook her head. "Who, in the world, could have done this?"

Neal shook his head. He took over caring for Tony's wounds as one of June's maids got up to hold the outer door open for the EMT personnel.

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Peter paced his office. He ran his fingers though his hair. Where was Neal?

Peter went downstairs to Jones's desk. "Pull up Neal's tracking data." He demanded, looking at his watch again. Neal was now, officially, 15 minutes late.

A location popped up and Jones looked up at Peter worried. "He's a Mercy General Hospital."

Peter nodded, turned on his heel, and headed back up to his office. He hurried to grab his jacket and was about to leave as his phone rang. He grabbed it, ready to rip Neal a new one. It wasn't Neal.

"Agent Gibbs, how may I…?" Peter started. He put his jacket on and juggled the phone at the same time.

"Agent Burke, I wanted to give Agent DiNozzo time to check in with you. I haven't heard from him. I…."

"Agent Gibbs, Jethro, I haven't seen Tony. I had no idea he was in town. And I'm sure Neal doesn't either or he would have…." Peter said, his concern growing with every word.

Gibbs gut twisted at Peter's announcement. He gripped his phone tighter.

"…Neal didn't come into work this morning. His anklet puts him in the hospital. I will…I'll call as soon as I know something." Peter replied as he hurried out of the building.

"I'll see you in a few hours." Gibbs said then hung up his phone.

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Neal had been pacing the floor of the OR waiting room since Tony had been taken into surgery a few hours ago. He had barely even noticed the sun rise and had not had anything to eat or drink.

"Please Neal, stop pacing. You're making me nervous." June had told him several times, and he would stop, for a little while, then he would start again.

"He's gotta be okay, June." Neal replied.

"He will be, Darling." June assured Neal. She watched the young man she had come to care for so deeply fall into the chair next to him. She took his hand and willed him to rest as he closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the tiled wall of the waiting room.

June squeezed his hand gently as she ran over the list of injuries the doctor had given Neal. She was astounded the man had made it to the hospital. Tony had been beaten and stabbed, twice. He heart went out to this young man, too. She knew that Neal saw Tony as an older brother and she, herself, had come to care for him a great deal too.

June looked up when she heard the voices approaching. She met Peter out in a small hallway, away from the sleeping Neal.

"It's not Neal, Peter. It's Tony, he's…he's in bad shape." June shook her head. "Neal didn't even know that Tony was in town. Carmella found him at our doorstep this morning at about 3:30. He's in surgery right now. The doctors are not saying much, just a list of injuries. He's…he's luck to be alive." June said. She then noticed Peter looking over her shoulder at Neal. "Don't be angry with him, Peter." June replied. "He refused to leave the hospital. He wanted to be here when Tony got out of surgery and he had refused to even try to sleep. He collapsed into that chair just a few minutes ago."

Peter sat down beside Neal. Neal slowly opened his eyes. It took him a second to realize who it was. "Peter, I…." He said, realizing that it was daylight and that he was hopelessly late for work. "…I'm sorry. I should have…."

Peter shook his head. "It's okay, Neal. I'm just glad that you're okay. I…how's Tony doing?"

"Still in surgery." Neal said, shaking his head. "I don't know why he was here."

"Agent Gibbs called before I left to come here. He was checking in, it seems that Tony was here working. He was supposed to have checked in with me." Peter replied.

"When? What case?" Neal asked.

"Apparently yesterday or this morning, I told him he had not checked in with me. And I told him you hadn't heard from Tony, or you would have told me." Peter stated.

Neal rubbed the back of his neck. He was exhausted still, but he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep now. "I'm guessing Gibbs is on his way." Neal looked at Peter. "What case, who is NCIS looking for?"

Peter shook his head. "No idea, Agent Gibbs didn't say."

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Gibbs plane landed on schedule and he took a cab straight to the hospital. He made his way up to the waiting room.

"June." Gibbs said. He had taken an instant like to June and greeted her warmly.

"Hello, Jethro." June replied.

"Agent Gibbs." Peter said offering his hand.

"Agent Burke. Neal." Gibbs replied. The men nodded, and shook hands

"DiNozzo never made it to your office?" Gibbs asked, recalling their phone conversation.

Peter shook his head.

"And you never heard from him?" Gibbs asked Neal.

Neal shook his head also.

Gibbs looked towards the O.R. doors. "How is he?"

Neal shook his head. "We haven't heard anything. He's been in surgery for a while though." He ran his hand through his hair. He was so tired.

"What was…why was Tony here?" Peter asked.

"We got a tip on a U-boat treasure, supposedly sitting at the bottom of the New York harbor." Gibbs replied. "We have a tip that a Med Shipman Lawrence Davis was moving pieces from the treasure. We found a piece on the Davis's body. We assume they didn't do a very thorough search or were chased away before they could find what they were looking for. We also discovered that Davis was working for a guy named William Barris from a couple of his shipmates. We can't find Barris in our databases, so we assume an alias. But we can't tie him to anyone, as of yet. I have Agent McGee working on that angle. But our last intel has Barris in New York working to fence some of the pieces. If he killed Davis, I want him."

"So, Tony was in New York to…." Peter started.

"…to get your help, to bring it to your attention, and to see if you knew of William Barris." Gibbs finished.

Neither agent had noticed, immediately, that the color had completely drained from Neal's face.

"Neal, what?"

"Keller!" Neal said.

"Are you sure?" Peter said, panicked.

Neal swallowed. He then recovered his voice. "It's one he's used in the past."

"Keller? Who is Keller?" Gibbs asked, Neal's reaction had him very concerned.

"His name's Matthew Keller, and he's tried to kill me. He kidnapped Peter and El on two separate occasions." Neal replied.

"Nice guy." Gibbs replied his gut churning. This guy was, obviously, bad news.

Just then the doctor appeared. "Mr. Caffrey, Ms. Ellington." He said, getting their attention.

They all stopped speaking and went to where the doctor was standing.

"Agent DiNozzo made it through surgery well. He's still weak and we'll keep him sedated for another 24 hours to give his body a little time to heal." The doctor stated. "But, barring further complications, he should recover completely. We are still giving him blood. He lost a great deal from the injuries he sustained."

"Thank you, Doctor." Neal stated. "This is Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Doctor Spencer. He's Tony's emergency contact."

Doctor Spencer nodded. "Agent Gibbs."

"Was there lung damage?" Gibbs asked.

The doctor just looked at him.

"Agent DiNozzo had a really bad case of pneumonia a few years ago. His lungs were badly scared as a result." Gibbs replied. "He needs to be very careful."

"His left lung was punctured from a stab wound. We will take extra precautions with him. I'll start him on antibiotics right away. I'd like to speak with his doctor…." Dr. Spencer started.

Gibbs nodded. "His pulmonologist is Dr. Brad Pitt. He works at Bethesda. I've got his number right here." Gibbs produced a business card and handed it over.

The doctor took the card and nodded. "I'll call him as soon as I get the chance. Thank you." The doctor started to turn. "Agent Gibbs, I'll let you know as soon as we have him in a room. He'll be in the Surgical ICU for a few days, at least."

Neal grinned. "Brad Pitt?"

Gibbs smiled. "He kept telling us he was not the actor. He doesn't look like that Brad either."

Neal nodded. "Yeah, I remember him."

Gibbs just looked at Neal.

"I flew in from Florence." Neal replied. "Tony made international news. I had to see him." Neal grinned. "You may remember a Doctor Johnson."

"I…there were so many doctors in and out." Gibbs grinned. "Did he know you were there?"

"Probably not, I've never asked Tony, actually." Neal replied. "I only got to spend a few minutes with him. I talked to him for just a few minutes. His roommate, Kate…she was awake. She asked me who I was. She hadn't seen me before. I had to come up with something really quick. Kate said she knew everybody who came in. I told her that I was new to the hospital. I was the doctor's new intern." Neal paused. "I was really sorry to hear about what…happened."

Gibbs nodded. "She was a really good agent."

Peter and June looked at each other and then at Gibbs and Neal, wondering what they had missed. Who was Kate and what had happened it her?

"Back to this Keller…." Gibbs said, steering the conversation. "Tony was supposed to check in with you, Peter. He was supposed to let you know we were after Barris and to get information from you about him." Gibbs began to pace. "He…I don't know. If Tony got a lead and went off on his own…." Gibbs shook his head. "It's very like him to do something like that."

Then a nurse came out of the O.R. "Come with me, Agent Gibbs. I'll take you to Agent DiNozzo's room. We can allow you in, two at a time. But you can only stay 15 minutes. The rest of you can wait in the ICU waiting room."

Gibbs nodded. "Come on, Neal. We'll go in first." He said, knowing Neal wanted, very badly to see Tony. Gibbs put his arm around the young man's shoulder. "He'll be okay, Neal.

"You didn't see him, Gibbs. He just…." Neal shook his head.

"DiNozzo has more lives than an alley cat, Neal." Gibbs replied. "He'll be okay."

Neal didn't speak, and Gibbs could see his worry.

Neither man said anything at first when they walked into Tony's room. Tony was too still, too quiet. His face and his chest were covered with bruises. He was on a heart monitor and a ventilator. His left hand was in a cast, too. That was something the doctor had not mentioned.

Gibbs went to Tony's bedside. He immediately slipped his hand into Tony's. He leaned down and whispered in Tony's ear. "I'm here, Tony. Neal's here too. We need you to get better."

Neal put his hand on Tony's arm. It hurt to see the man Neal considered to be his brother hurting. Neal wiped his eyes, unbelieving the sight before him. He squeezed Tony's arm gently, willing him to get better.

Gibbs could see Neal's pain. He felt for the young man. He left the room, standing outside the door so that Neal could have a few moments alone with Tony.

Gibbs walked back out with Neal, then Peter and June went back.

"How did… what happened?" Gibbs asked.

Neal told him all about how they had found Tony this morning and about them transporting him to the hospital.

"So…how does he know you…?" Gibbs asked.

"We were…partners in crime." Neal shook his head. "If this was Keller…he…I don't know why Tony is still alive. He's ruthless, Agent Gibbs."

Gibbs nodded. He decided, right then and there. Matthew Keller would pay for what he did to Tony.

"Would he try to get to him in the hospital? Is he that brazen?" Gibbs asked.

"He is." Neal replied. "But he…I don't think he will. If he's sending a message, he…."

Gibbs knew Tony wouldn't tell Keller he was an agent. They would have had to beat it out of him, which they obviously did. And if Keller was sending the FBI or law enforcement a message…. The very thought made Gibbs see red.

"I'll kill him with my bare hands." Gibbs muttered.

"I want a crack at him first." Neal replied.

June and Peter returned to the waiting room a few moments later.

"I'd like to post a guard on Tony's door, Agent Burke." Gibbs stated

Peter nodded. He had already called. "I told Hughes I would call and let him know when Tony was assigned a room; an agent is on his way."

Gibbs thanked Peter and went off in search of coffee. Peter called the office. He brought Hughes up-to-date, telling him about Tony, why Neal was not at work, everything. He then got permission for all agents to work on finding Matthew Keller.

"What does this bastard look like?" Gibbs asked. He had returned from his coffee run and was sitting in the waiting room waiting for Hughes to arrive. Gibbs was alternating between pacing and sitting. He also kept looking in on Tony. The nurses had chased him out after his allotted 15 minutes. But Gibbs has managed to sneak back in a few times, only to be kicked out again.

Gibbs noticed Neal, fighting sleep. He sat down beside the young man and smiled. "Let June take you home, Neal. He said. "Tony's got about 20 hours left on that 24-hour thing."

Neal nodded. "What are you going to do?"

"Keep my agent company." Gibbs said. "And drink lots of coffee."

"You've done this before?" Neal asked.

Gibbs nodded. "A few times…Tony has a knack…a gift…for getting himself into trouble." He paused. "But it's usually for the right reasons."

Neal smiled. "Sounds like somebody else I know." He was referring to himself.

Gibbs nodded. "So Peter tells me."

Neal stood up and stretched and yawned. He nodded to Gibbs.

"See ya later, Kid." Gibbs replied.

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"I know I have no jurisdiction here, but…." Gibbs stated as he sat in Peter's White Collar office. He had left Tony only after promising to return and having seen that the guard was in place.

Peter nodded. He slid Keller's file across the desk to Gibbs. "Neal was right. Barris is one of Keller's aliases. We just got word this morning. He's in town and he's dealing with some fences we've collared in the past. We should be able to squeeze those guys and get information."

Gibbs looked at the information carefully, memorizing the man's face. He then gave the file back to Peter.

"I have Jones and Diana out doing some official canvassing." Peter explained. "We'll know something soon."

"Not soon enough." Gibbs muttered. "I need to get back…."

"El, my wife, is with him now." Peter replied. "She can stay as long as you need her too. Plus, June would be glad to come stay with him. I know she'll come visit, at some point, anyway."

Gibbs grinned and shook his head. "DiNozzo is quite the charmer."

"El is a remarkable woman. She sees what Neal and Tony have in common. I just…I don't see it." Peter admitted.

Gibbs smiled. "They both have good hearts, a penchant for trouble, and they both can turn on the charm in a heartbeat."

Peter nodded. He agreed completely.

"They also care a great deal for the people they consider family." Gibbs continued. "They are completely selfless when it comes to helping said family. And they tend to be way too reckless for their own good."

Peter grinned. Gibbs was absolutely correct.

Gibbs stood to leave. "I want first crack at this Keller when you find him."

"Absolutely." Peter agreed. He watched Gibbs walk down the stairs before returning to work.

Gibbs took a cab to the hospital taking the time to call and update Tim and Ziva and the director. Now, in the hospital, he stopped in the doorway of Tony's room. He was not sure what he had expected, but Elizabeth Burke was not it. He just stood and stared for a moment.

Elizabeth looked up from her spot beside Tony's bed. She let go of Tony's hand and whispered something to him before she left his side.

"Who are you? How did you get past the guard?" El demanded.

Gibbs grinned; impressed with the way El protected Tony. "I'm Agent DiNozzo's boss, Ma'am. Who are you?"

El relaxed. "I'm sorry. I'm Elizabeth Burke, Agent Peter Burke's wife. Everybody calls me El. I…I'm sorry."

Gibbs nodded. "That's okay. I'm Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs."

El extended her hand. "Nice to meet you, Agent Gibbs."

Gibbs shook her hand. "Nice to meet you too, El. You can call me Jethro." He said, taking an instant like to the woman. She obviously cared a great deal about Tony. She had even moved in between Tony and Gibbs when she had spoken to Gibbs, blocking his way.

El moved back to the other side of the bed now and took her place back at Tony's side. She took his hand again and held it. El smiled. "I've only known Tony for a very short time, Agent Gibbs. But he's…."

"He makes an impression." Gibbs replied.

"Yes, he does." El agreed. "And he's good for Neal. He loves it when Tony visits. Peter is really fond of Tony, too." She paused. "He knows Neal will stay out of trouble, for one thing."

Gibbs nodded. He went to the bedside opposite El and took Tony's hand. He looked at his agent and sighed.

El stood, she wanted the give Gibbs some time with his agent. "You look like a coffee drinker, Jethro. I'll go see what I can find."

Gibbs nodded thankful for the alone time with his agent.

"DiNozzo…" Gibbs sighed. "…when you wake up…. I can't keep doing this, Tony. I've sat at enough bedsides in my lifetime. I just…you go rogue agent on me again and I'll rip you a new one. Then I'll hand you over to Fornell." Gibbs knew that Fornell called and asked if Tony was happy with his job about every six months or so. "Though I'm not sure the FBI would hire you after I'm done with you."

Tony's response was the steady beep of his heart monitor and the sound of the ventilator.

Gibbs sighed and squeezed Tony's hand. "I really am getting too old for this."

El reentered the room, a moment later, with two cups of coffee. "Got it black, I wasn't sure what you took."

Gibbs nodded his thanks and took a long swig. "Black is good."

El and Gibb sat in a comfortable silence for just a moment drinking their coffee.

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Neal returned to the hospital about 8 hours after he left. He slept for about 4 hours, woke, showered and headed into the office, first. He needed to find out how the case was going with finding Keller. Neal would be so very much happier if the man was finally off the streets, once and for all. He then headed to the hospital.

The doctor came in a couple of hours later. He took Tony off the medication that was inducing his coma. The doctor estimated Tony would fully awake in 4 to 5 hours.

Tony opened his eyes. He closed them again, almost immediately. It all came back to him, where he was, what had happened. He groaned. He had been stupid, gone off the reservation, and it had almost gotten him killed. If Gibbs found out….

Tony opened his eyes again. Too late…he thought, seeing Gibbs as his bedside. He tried to speak, but his throat was still raw, having had the tube out only an hour before. He tried to clear his throat, but it only made things worse.

"I know, DiNozzo, we'll talk about it later." Gibbs said. "Peter is looking for the guy right now."

Tony opened his mouth to speak again.

Gibbs shook his head. He looked at his hand. He could feel Tony lightly tapping his palm.

"Morris Code…quick…paper and pencil…write this down!" Gibbs concentrated on the taps.

El grabbed her purse and pulled out a pen and a notepad.

"…K-I-D-N-A-P…." Gibbs deciphered.

Tony stopped. His eyes were closed, as if the exercise had exhausted him.

"Kidnap? " Neal asked. "Who was kidnapped?"

Tony didn't open his eyes, he just shook his head.

"So, you're not talking about you." Gibbs reasoned out loud. "Somebody is going to be kidnapped?"

Tony nodded.

"Who…Tony?" Neal asked.

Gibbs felt the tapping again. "Y-O-U." He looked at Neal.

Nobody said anything for a minute.

"Keller is coming after Neal?" Gibbs looked at Tony for confirmation.

Tony nodded in response.

"Why?" Gibbs asked.

It took Neal a moment or two to get over his shock. "A long-standing grudge, we used to be partners…did some jobs together. It's a long story…. He probably thinks I'm the one who put the feds onto him. I just…I don't get how he connected me and Tony."

"Maybe he didn't. Maybe he figured out he had a tail." Gibbs reasoned. "If he's as ruthless as you say, he tried to beat the information out of DiNozzo. But he stopped short. He wouldn't take the chance on killing a fed. He knew you knew his alias, Barris." Gibbs paused. "He knew he would be figured out, and quickly."

"That's great, Agent Gibbs, we have an idea of what he did." Neal said. "But we still don't know where he is. And if he's coming after me…."

"You'll stay here, with Tony. I'll get on the phone to Peter and tell him what Tony said and what we've come up with." Gibbs replied. "He won't come after you here."

Neal opened his mouth to protest.

"I'm not Peter, I can't tell you what to do." Gibbs said. "But I am asking you, as a friend. Besides, Tony needs the company."

Tony squeezed Gibbs hand. "I'll be back soon. And nobody is going to take Neal. I promise, Tony. You did good."

Tony nodded and smiled. He then closed his eyes.

Neal nodded. He and El stayed behind as Gibb left the hospital and headed to the White Collar offices.

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The White Collar Division worked for a solid week to find Keller and his cohorts. His muscle gave him up easily enough. But Keller knew that they would, if caught, so he managed to stay ahead of the game for a few days.

Meanwhile, in a week's time, Tony was up and about ready to be discharged. He was healing nicely and the fingers Keller's thugs had broken on his left hand were healing well. He hated the cast he had on his wrist to help keep his hand immobilized. And he hated the sling, but it kept his hand from hurting and swelling.

Tony and Neal had taken a walk and were heading towards Tony's room when Tony stopped short.

Neal looked at him. "What…?"

Tony shook his head to silence Neal. "Behind me." He ordered.

"Where is the damn guard?" Tony hissed in a whisper of frustration and anger.

Neal noticed, just then. The guard was missing. He looked around but did not see the man.

"That's Keller isn't it, looking for you?" Neal asked.

Tony nodded. "I have a plan. Call Keller's name. Let him see you. That'll distract him. I'll take care of the rest."

Neal nodded. He walked down the hall, and started into Tony's room. He feigned surprise when he saw Keller. Neal stood outside the door, knowing Keller would leave the room to join him. And it worked, Neal and Keller were standing in the middle of the hallway. Tony, now, needed someone to walk past, so that he could appear to be a part of a group. He needed to blend in. Just his luck, a group of students was coming his way, and Tony walked with them. As they passed his room Tony ducked into the door. Keller had not seen him. Tony removed his sling. Then he silently came up behind Keller and swung his casted arm as hard as he could. He made contact with the back of Keller's head and Keller dropped, knocked out cold.

Neal looked at Keller, then looked at Tony. "I had no idea what your plan was but…nice."

"Not so much…" Tony said in pain. "…I think I broke something."

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"So, let me get this straight…" Gibbs said as he paced Tony's hospital room floor. "…you broke your cast on Keller's head. You knocked him out. But, you sprained your wrist and re-broke two fingers in the process."

Tony looked at him. "You make it…it sounds so bad when you say it."

"It is bad, Tony." Gibbs replied.

"Then why are you smiling?" Tony asked.

"That doesn't mean I wouldn't have wanted to be here to see it." Gibbs admitted.

"And what was your part in all this?" Peter asked Neal as they both leaned against the window sill in Tony's room.

Neal smiled. "I was his front man."

THE END

End Note: I am not adding anymore to the actual story because I love Neal's last line there. But I do want to let you know what happened to Keller. He got sent back to prison for attempted murder of a federal agent, kidnapping, aggravated assault, and whatever other charges they could throw at him. He's in a supermax where he gets one hour of recreation. The rest he spends in solitary. And I say it couldn't have happened to a nicer fellow. I hope you guys enjoyed. JackiLeigh