Chapter Eight: The Good Samaritan

Tony moved quickly, hiding himself in the shadows as he put as much distance as he could between himself and the Baltimore PD precinct he'd just escaped from. He didn't know how long it would take them to notice he was missing but he was sure when they did that they'd come looking for him and if they captured him again, there was a good chance he wouldn't come out of it alive.

A clock in one of the shops he'd passed by told him it was just after 5:00 in the morning. The streets were nearly empty but as he hurried along, Tony stumbled on a nicely dressed businessman who, after watching him for a few short moments, seemed safe enough to approach.

"Excuse me, Sir," Tony said cautiously.

The man took one look at him and immediately stepped back. He reached into his pocket, fished out a bill and handed it to Tony. "Here you go," the man said.

Tony took the bill and the man immediately hurried off, causing Tony's anger at his current predicament to grow. He unfolded the money and was surprised to discover it was a twenty dollar bill. "Probably didn't have anything smaller than a twenty," he muttered snidely. "Too rich for your own good businessman."

He pocketed the money and continued walking, knowing he needed to get out of the city immediately. The only question was, how?

He could call Jethro to come get him… if he knew the man's phone number. He didn't trust the phones at NCIS. If they were being monitored, his tormentors would be able to get to him a lot faster than Jethro could. He ruled out a taxi because of the cost and a rental car for the same reason. That and the fact that he had no ID. He could steal a car, again, but he really didn't want to risk committing a crime. His former colleagues would have a field day with that.

The sound of a train horn off in the distance had Tony stopping in his tracks. He turned to face the horn and a smile spread across his face.

Not long later, Tony was inspecting his reflection in the bathroom mirror at Penn Station. "Holy shit," he mumbled. "No wonder nicely dressed business dude gawked."

He tilted his head, letting the light hit his face at a slightly different angle. His eye was black and bruised and almost swollen shut. Dried blood had dripped down from his split lip and the ring Danny had been wearing had split his eyebrow, causing even more bleeding and that was only the injuries you could see. He was a mess.

He grabbed a handful of paper towels, wet them and went to work cleaning himself up as he formulated a plan to get a ticket with no identification. Once he deemed himself presentable, he poked his head out of the bathroom door, made sure the coast was clear then headed for the ticket counter. Thankfully the morning rush hadn't started yet.

"May I help you, Sir?" an elderly woman sitting behind the nearest ticket counter asked.

"I hope so," Tony answered as he stepped up to her counter. He could tell the little old lady was trying not to stare at his ghastly appearance and he really couldn't blame her. "How much is a ticket to Alexandria, Virginia?"

"$37."

"Damn it. What about DC?"

"DC is $13."

Tony perked right up. "I'll take it."

"Identification," the woman requested.

Tony laughed awkwardly. "Well, you see," he said, cringing at the story he was getting ready to tell. Maybe he should've just stolen a car after all. "I was mugged last night, beat up, brought up here to Baltimore and left with no way to get home. I barely escaped with my life. This nice gentleman I ran into this morning was kind enough to give me a twenty dollar bill but my wallet was stolen and all my other identification is back home in DC. Is there any way you could help me out? I'm so sorry to put you in this situation."

The woman remained silent for a long moment. It may have been the first sob story she'd heard that day but it wasn't the first one she'd heard during her time as a ticket salesperson; not by far. Judging by Tony's appearance though and the desperation in his voice, he wasn't lying and her heart went out him. "I can make an exception but just this one time."

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much!"

The woman offered him a smile as she printed the ticket, took his money and gave him his change. "Your train leaves at 5:43am and gets to DC at 6:30. Good luck, Sir."

Tony thanked the woman again then hurried off towards the train platform. All he had to do once he got to DC was catch a bus to Alexandria and $7 would be enough to do that. He was one step closer to freedom; one step closer to safety.

Exhausted didn't even begin to describe how Jethro was feeling. He'd been up for more than twenty four hours and the last cup of coffee he'd stopped for while he was out driving around looking for Tony had spilled all over his lap on a turn that had been sharper than he'd anticipated.

"Damn it, Abby, will ya just answer the phone?" he grumbled as he listened to it ring.

"Abby here!" Abby finally answered.

"What the hell took you so long?" Jethro grumped.

"I haven't gotten any sleep in the last twenty four hours, Gibbs!" Abby protested. "No sleep means extra Caf-Pow is required and extra Caf-Pow means extra trips to the little girl's room, if you know what I mean. I was in the head when you called and there's no way I'm answering the phone while I'm doing… that."

"Never mind," Jethro grumbled. "Do you have anything?"

"Unfortunately, no," Abby answered. "I just checked the BOLOs before I went to the bathroom. Maybe we should consider a news conference, Gibbs. If we get Tony's picture out there, that's a lot more eyes looking for him."

"Not sure how much good that would do, Abs," Jethro replied somberly.

"No! Don't say it."

"I doubt whoever has him is parading him around in public somewhere. I'll run it by Morrow when I get back though. I gotta stop by my house and change clothes and then I'll be in."

"Drive safe and bring me some pancakes, will ya?"

"Sure thing, Abs. Call the diner and order whatever you want. I'll pick it up on the way."

Jethro fought against the knowledge that his house, turned home when Tony had arrived, would once again be the cold, empty shell of a house as he hurried up the front sidewalk. Getting too sentimental wouldn't help anything and he didn't have time to deal with emotions and feelings. He reached for the door handle only to walk right into the door with a grunt of surprise—the locked door. He tried the handle again and was confused when he realized that it really was locked. He never locked his door.

In fact, it had been so long since he'd locked his door that it took a moment to remember he had a house key on the same keyring his truck key was on. He fished the keys out of his pocket and unclipped his sidearm then unlocked the door and entered the house.

"Is that you, J?"

"Tony?!"

"Yeah, it's me. Where's your backup?"

"My backup what?" Jethro asked incredulously in response to Tony's casual tone. "Where have you been? I've had every law enforcement agency on the eastern seaboard looking for you all night."

Tony paused his frantic searching around Jethro's living room just in time for the man to reach over and turn the light on. It was light enough outside that both could see fairly well but it wasn't until the room was lit up and Tony was facing Jethro that the shadows were erased and the true extent of Tony's injuries started falling into place.

"What the hell happened to you?" Jethro demanded.

"This is my battle to fight, Jethro," Tony replied, determination set in his battered features.

"The hell it is." Jethro grabbed for Tony's wrists to force the man to focus on him but released him immediately when Tony jerked away with a yelp. "These marks are from handcuffs," he said, noticing them for the first time.

"It's not what you think," Tony insisted. "Jethro, I really need a backup weapon. I know you have one around here somewhere."

There were so many questions swirling around in Jethro's head that it was quickly causing a headache but Tony wasn't answering any of them which made him want to yell and scream. He could tell just by looking at Tony though, that the man would simply yell and scream right back at him and then, quite possibly, storm out of the house… again. The swelling and bruises took away none of the expressiveness of Tony's features.

Jethro took a deep breath, willing himself to be patient for both of their sakes, then continued. "Tell me why. Where are you planning on going?"

"My old partner from Baltimore arrested me last night," Tony finally explained. His words were venomous and practically spat out of his mouth. "I knew it was bullshit from the start but when they got me back to the precinct, they did this," he added, gesturing to himself with his arms only to cringe in pain at his wounded shoulder. He might have to get that looked at when he got a minute.

"Arrested?" Jethro asked. Despite getting answers, he was even more confused than before. "I put out a BOLO out on you when you didn't make it back to NCIS. If you were arrested, your name woulda popped up in the system."

"Yeah, well, I told you it was bullshit and now it's my turn. If this is how they wanna play, this is how we'll play," Tony said firmly.

"What are you planning on doing?" Jethro asked, despite having no intention of letting Tony's emotions get him into real trouble.

"I haven't really gotten that far yet," Tony admitted, "but I thought I'd start by beating the hell outta Danny."

Jethro raised his eyebrows as he quickly assessed Tony's condition but Tony interrupted him before he could object.

"I know what you're thinking and that's why I need backup."

"Tony," Jethro said, his tone patient and hiding none of the love he felt towards the man standing in front of him.

"I can't just let this go, Jethro," Tony replied pleadingly.

"I'm not asking you to but if you go up there angry, in this condition, it's not gonna end well for you."

"Son of a bitch," Tony huffed angrily. "I hateit when you're right."

Jethro cautiously reached out towards his lover, breathing a silent sigh of relief when the man accepted his touch and even started to calm. He rested a hand on Tony's bicep, rubbing a thumb in soothing circles over the unmarked skin as he watched Tony's internal battle play out on his face.

"I gotta hit the head," Tony said before Jethro could speak again and a moment after that he was hurrying towards the downstairs bathroom. Before he was out of sight though, he turned and shot a cautious glance over his shoulder at the front door before looking back at Jethro again. "Just don't let anybody in."

Jethro cocked his head at the odd request and turned to look towards the front door for a moment before walking the couple steps towards it and turning the lock. "Okay."

Tony maintained eye contact for a moment longer, as if he were judging how serious the man was taking his request before turning and stepping into the bathroom.

Jethro shook off the odd request and rubbed his hand over his eyes as he headed for the kitchen. He needed coffee. Lots of coffee. But before he could even make it to the kitchen, he was interrupted.

"Jethro!"

The panic that Tony's voice held had Jethro rushing towards the bathroom where he was greeted just outside the door by Tony who still had his dick in one hand as he pointed towards the toilet with the other.

"What?!" Jethro asked exasperatedly. After spending the night searching and worrying, he'd had about all he could handle. His nerves were shot and he wanted nothing more than to get his hands on Tony's former partner and repay him for his hospitality.

"Look!" Tony fussed, motioning dramatically towards the toilet. He started peeing again, cringing in pain as he did so but clearly revealing the blood coming out in his stream. "It hurts when I pee and I am peeing blood. Blood, Jethro!"

"Okay, alright," Jethro said, trying not to panic, "I see that." He turned around and stood perfectly still for a moment as his thoughts finally got the better of him then he put his fist through the bathroom door, startling Tony and causing himself to curse in pain.

"What the hell?" Tony demanded.

"I don't fucking know!" Jethro said just as angrily. "Damn it."

"Are you cursing at me or your wrist?" It was Tony's turn to sound exasperated. He was on edge too and couldn't hide it any longer either.

"I'm not cursing at you," Jethro grumbled. "Finish doing whatever you're doing. We gotta go."

"Go? Go where?"

"Ducky," Jethro answered.

"Oh no," Tony insisted. "I do not need a doctor, especially not a dead person doctor. What I need is a little justice. Poetic justice would be even better."

"You're pissing blood," Jethro reminded the man. "It's either Ducky or the ER."

"I hate it when you're right," Tony said again, much calmer than the first time it had come out of his mouth. "If I wake up dead, I'm gonna be pissed."

"Ducky knows what he's doing," Jethro called over his shoulder as he left Tony alone in the bathroom to finish up.

By the time Tony had finished and made it back to the front door, Jethro was there waiting, holding a bag of frozen peas. The look on his face told Tony not to ask about it but to his surprise, Jethro tugged him into a hug, holding onto him almost desperately. It took only a moment for the tension to melt out of Tony's body and for him to wrap his arms around Jethro and hold him just as desperately.

"I was afraid I'd lost you," Jethro whispered. Tony had no idea of the weight of that statement; knew nothing of Shannon and Kelly but Jethro still felt the need to put a voice to the fear he'd felt.

"I was afraid you'd think I ran away or something," Tony admitted, "especially after last night." Jethro had been on his mind the entire time he'd been in Baltimore and much of his time had been spent wondering if there would be a Jethro to go home to. He was sure the man had given up on him like so many other people in his life had.

The combination of their feelings made for an explosive reunion filled with more tension than either had expected or knew how to handle.

"We should get going," Jethro said, releasing his hold on Tony.

Before he could get away, Tony grabbed the front of Jethro's shirt, tugged him close again and let their lips meet in a brief but passion filled kiss.

"I just had to do that," Tony explained shyly, putting a smile on Jethro's face.

Jethro chucked him under the chin, a gesture that was quickly becoming one of Tony's favorite shows of affection and a much calmer version of both men headed towards the truck parked in the driveway.

"You sure you can drive?" Tony teased lightly.

"Why wouldn't I be able to?" Jethro countered.

"You just put your fist through the bathroom door."

"You're not driving," Jethro informed the man. You can't see out of one eye and I don't want us to end up parked in a pine tree again."

"One time!" Tony quipped dramatically. "It was one time. I'm never gonna live that down, am I?"