"Okay, Tony, everyone else is gone. Will you tell me why I sent them away?" Brad asked as gently as he could.
Tony shook as he thought of what Brad would see in a few minutes. "I… I can't… I don't want them to see."
"See what?"
"What they did to me." Tony looked away as tears slid down his cheeks.
"Hey, Tony, look at me. It's okay." Brad took his friend's hand and squeezed it. "Whatever they did, Gibbs will deal with them. I'm not going to hurt you."
"I know."
"Then look at me."
Tony finally turned his head back to the doctor. Brad was still concerned, but his smile and the kind look on his face helped Tony to relax.
"Thank you," said Brad. "Now, I'm going to ask you to undress. I'll get you a gown to put on, and then we'll start."
"Okay." Tony let Brad help him sit up as he adjusted the bed. Then he slowly undressed so he would avoid making his injuries any worse. He was grateful when Brad gave him a hospital gown to put on.
"Let's get started. I'll start with your feet and legs. If something hurts, tell me."
Tony watched as Brad carefully checked over his feet. He had been wearing shoes until the first time he had stripped in the motel, so his feet were injury free. Apart from dust, there was nothing there. Then Brad moved to Tony's legs. There were a few scratches on the backs of his legs, but they weren't' severe. Concern lit up Brad's face when he saw the marks left behind from the belt and whip.
"Tony, how did you get these injuries?"
"They did it… with a belt and a whip," whispered Tony.
Brad felt sick as he continued to check over Tony. He moved the gown up a little to check the rest of Tony's legs, finding more bruises and marks from the belt and whip, as well as burns. Apart from a small gasp though, Brad made no comment.
"Alright, let's move on to your upper body," said Brad a few minutes later while he finished documenting Tony's injuries. "This is where I need you to take your arms out of the gown and let it drop for a while." Brad figured that telling Tony what was coming would be better.
Tony reluctantly did as he was told. Even though he knew Brad would never hurt him or do anything to him, the memory of what the brothers had done to him each time they had asked him to strip scared him more than he would ever admit.
"Thank you, Tony." Brad started from the top of Tony's legs. He made notes of what he found.
Tony watched as Brad carefully moved the gown down Tony's body until it was resting on his thighs. He knew that Brad was about to check his penis, so he tried very hard to stay still and not think about everything that had happened to him.
"Okay, Tony, tell me what happened here. Did somebody do this to you?" Brad asked after seeing handprints on Tony's thighs and penis.
"Yeah," said Tony, trying to sound like it wasn't bothering him.
Brad nodded. He made a few notes and moved on. After another hour, he said, "Tony, you can put the gown back on now. I'm going to just check your head, then I'll get you to turn around so we can check your back, okay?"
"Okay." Tony closed his eyes as Brad touched his swollen, bruised face. He was thankful for the ice the medics had applied to his skin, bringing the swelling down a lot.
"This isn't as bad as it looks. I'll get you an icepack when I'm done and we'll try to bring the swelling down a bit more. How's your eyesight?"
"I can see, but a lot of it is blurry," admitted Tony.
"That's from the swelling. If it doesn't clear up in the next hour or so, we'll get some drops for your eyes."
"Thank you."
Brad nodded. He smiled as he made a few notes. "Okay, time to check your back."
Tony sighed. He turned around and let Brad work, feeling ashamed about the sexual injuries he had gotten, but also knowing that Brad wasn't going to do anything.
Twenty minutes later, Brad helped Tony back into a comfortable position on the bed.
"Let's get a look at your vitals, then I'll take you upstairs and you can get some sleep."
"Can I have a shower first?"
Brad nodded. "Of course." He grabbed his stethoscope again and listened to Tony's breathing. He was happy to hear that the wheeze from earlier was now gone.
Tony relaxed against the bed and pillows while Brad worked. The nasal cannula was gone, which helped Tony feel a little more comfortable. He was still attached to the monitors that the medics had hooked him up to in the ambulance, but he felt more comfortable than he had in days. He saw Brad undo the gown again, dropping the material just a little bit to listen to Tony's heart.
"Tony, take a deep breath for me," said Brad as he listened to the beating of Tony's heart.
Tony did as he was told. He took a breath.
"Thank you," said Brad. He moved the stethoscope around Tony's chest a few more times, then pulled back. He did up the gown with a smile. "Your heart sounds good and so do your lungs. I want to do some x-rays, just to make sure there are no internal injuries. Are you okay with that?"
Tony nodded. "Brad, please don't tell Gibbs."
"I won't. I do have to let him know about the injuries, but I won't mention those ones. They aren't really injuries anyway, but I won't mention them. When you're ready, you can tell him. I know it won't take you long to tell it to him anyway."
"Thank you." Tony felt relieved. His fear started disappearing as he rested against the soft pillows while he waited for Brad to come back and do the x-rays.
