Tony fell asleep shortly after lunch. He had been asleep for two hours when he woke up to find Brad there.

"Hey, Tony, are you feeling any better?" Brad asked as he picked up Tony's chart.

"A little. Isn't today Saturday?"

"It is."

"Then why are you here?"

"I was meant to work Monday and Tuesday, but I wasn't feeling very well, so I took the days off. I have to make up for it by working the weekend. So, you get to see me today and tomorrow, isn't that great?" Brad asked happily before laughing.

"It sure is. I can't wait to spend more time with my doctor," replied Tony in a sarcastic tone before he, too, started laughing.

"It's great to see you laughing." Brad made a note in the chart, then looked at Tony. "Time for your check-up."

"Okay."

Brad was glad that Tony was being cooperative. He grabbed his stethoscope and placed it on Tony's chest. He listened to Tony's heart, glad that it was still coping well. Then he listened to Tony's breathing, also happy with the clear lungs and the perfect breathing. He then checked Tony's temperature, glad to see it was back to normal.

"Time to check your blood pressure." Brad wrapped a blood pressure cuff around Tony's right upper arm gently. He didn't want to cause any pain because of the injuries, but he also wanted to make sure he wasn't going to scare Tony after he had been chained up with straps.

"Is it okay?" Tony asked.

"Actually, it is. Your blood pressure is perfectly normal."

"Great. Brad?"

"Yeah, Tony?"

"Thank you for being so nice to me. And thank you for not telling Gibbs about those injuries yesterday."

"You're welcome." Brad smiled at his friend. "Tony, I will never, ever betray your trust."

"I know. But, yesterday, I just couldn't think straight."

"All normal. You are supposed to be worried right now. But if there's anything I can do to help make things easier, just let me know."

Tony smiled, feeling a lot better now that he had voiced his concerns. "Thank you, Brad."

"I'll check in later. Get some more rest."

Tony nodded. He turned on the TV once Brad was gone, flicking through the channels until he found a decent movie to watch.


Sunday morning was hot again. Tony woke up to find that the window had been opened slightly, but only hot air was getting in. It made the room stiflingly hot. Tony pushed the call button for the nurse, hoping that they would come in quickly.

"Hey, Tony, how are you this morning?" asked Emma as she came in with a bright smile.

"Hot. Can you close the window please? Hot air is coming in."

"Sure. We have the air con on low, but I can turn it up a little more in this room if you want."

"No, I'm good."

Emma nodded. She closed the window, then came back over to Tony. She rested a hand on his head, glad to find that he was still at his normal temperature.

"Do I have a fever?" Tony asked in confusion. "I feel fine."

"I was just checking to be sure. But, no, you don't have a fever."

"Good. Hey, Emma, when can I get out of this bed?"

"Brad wants you on total bed rest for the rest of today, and probably some of tomorrow as well. But I'll speak to him when he comes in and see what he says. Have you been using the bathroom without any help?"

"Yes. I can walk perfectly fine. My legs don't even look as bad as they did on Friday."

"May I have a look?"

"Of course." Tony moved the sheet he had covered himself with the night before and put his legs on top of it.

"They're still pretty bruised, but the bruises are healing. That's good. What about under the gown? Are your thighs looking like that?"

Tony shrugged. He hadn't noticed. "You can check, if you want to," he said, somewhat shyly.

"Thank you." Emma moved the gown slightly, checking Tony's thighs without lifting the gown too high. "These bruises are also healing well." She lowered the gown and covered Tony with the sheet again. "Can I check your arms?"

"Of course you can." Tony rolled up the sleeves of the gown, showing Emma the bruises that had almost disappeared.

"That's great, Tony. You're healing really well. I might get Brad to do another x-ray so we can check on your ribs and your wrist. They must be healing by now too."

Tony smiled. He liked it when Emma was happy, and he was glad that he could make her happy.


Brad found Emma behind the nurses' desk, typing away at a computer, when he arrived that morning.

"Hi, Em," he said.

"Oh, hey Brad. I just finished checking Tony. He's healing really well, considering the extent of his injuries."

"That's good. Did he allow you to check him, or did you have to force him?"

"He brought it up. Then he willingly let me check his legs. He even let me lift his gown to check his thighs. He hasn't let anyone do that yet."

"You weren't here to do it yesterday, Em. He let you because he likes you. He trusts you."

"Well then, I had better keep my promise to him. I would like him to continue to trust me."

"What promise?" Brad asked suspiciously.

"I said I would talk to you about Tony getting out of that bed for a while. Tomorrow is supposed to be a nice day. Instead of staying in bed, what if we let him go outside for a while? He hasn't had any fresh air in a week."

"I don't see why not. I just wanted him to rest properly and get some energy back. That was why I wanted him to stay in bed."

"He's going to be really happy when you tell him he can get out of bed tomorrow."

"That's why I'm telling him tomorrow. I don't want him trying anything today."

Emma laughed. "It might be too late. Look." She pointed to something behind Brad.

Brad turned around and sighed. He should have known it was Tony.

"What are you doing?" he asked when Tony got closer before he realised that something was wrong. "Tony? Talk to me, what's the matter?"

Tony didn't say anything. He handed a piece of paper to Brad and then grabbed a hold of the desk for support. He was slipping when he felt Brad grab his arm and hold him up.

"Where did this come from, Tony?" Brad asked once he had Tony seated in Emma's desk chair, which had been brought to the front of the desk.

"I found it on the breakfast tray," said Tony quietly.

"Emma, find out who delivered this floor's breakfast, and then bring them to me when you find them." Brad folded the note and put it in his pocket. "Don't worry about it Tony. Nobody is going to hurt you, especially in here. I won't allow it."

Tony nodded, but he still looked frightened.

"Let's get you back to bed." Brad helped Tony up and guided him back to the room. "I have something to tell you, and I'm betting that you are going to be so happy about it."

"I can go home?"

"No. Not yet. Tomorrow, you can get out of bed for a while. Maybe even go and get some fresh air outside. Would you like that?"

"Yes. I'm sick of those four walls."

"I thought so. How about we check you and see what we can do about getting you out of bed a little later today?"

"I don't mind waiting for tomorrow, Brad. I think I might just go back to sleep."

"Are you tired?"

"Not really. But I already watched all the movies McGee brought to me, and there's nothing on the TV."

"Do you want a book to read?"

Tony shrugged. "Why not? Everyone always accuses me of not reading anything that doesn't have pictures in it."

Brad laughed. "Do you ever correct them?"

"I did, once. Nobody listened, so I didn't bother again. If they want to think that, let them."