Tony woke up with a jerk. For a second he didn't know where he was, and then he felt the nausea coming at full speed. "Boss…" as all he could say, and then he felt it coming. But luckily Gibbs reacted fast. He saw what was about to happen, and in an instant he had pulled over to the side of the road. Tony got the door open and removed his hand from his mouth. He leaned out of the car and let it out, not even bothering to unbuckle his seatbelt.
Ziva looked back at him, and then reached into her bag in search of a napkin. She found one, which she handed to Tony when he sat back up again. He took it and wiped his mouth and face with it. Then he took the water bottle Tim handed him without saying a word. He took a sip and spat it out, trying to rinse the taste away. Then he took a few sips, and then slowly and carefully, he put the lid back on the bottle, not looking up at his teammates.
"Alright... well that… that was fun. Aren't you going to try it? McGee? Ziva?"
At his words Ziva just shook her head at him and turned around to face the road again.
"You're disgusting Tony," McGee said, and turned his attention back to his computer screen.
"You done, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked, looking at him in the rearview mirror.
"Yeah, Boss, for now I think I'm done."
"Good. Then can you close the door?"
"Oh yeah, of course, Boss." He quickly shut the door, and let out a sigh.
Gibbs started to drive again. He noticed that the sky in the northeast was getting darker. The rain would soon be upon them. He looked at DiNozzo again. He was leaning his head back against his seat. His face was pale, except for his flushed cheeks. He was looking at McGee, and didn't notice Gibbs' eyes on him. They would soon be able to leave the smaller road and get onto the highway. What if DiNozzo got sick again there? They couldn't stop then. So at the intersection towards the highway Gibbs made his decision. Ziva noticed it right away and gave him a questioning look. All he did was nod back towards DiNozzo, and Ziva glanced back at Tony. Gibbs was probably right. Tony did not look well.
"Why are you sick, Tony?" She asked him.
Tony was startled by her question, and it took some time for his eyes to meet hers. "I don't know, Ziva. Why do people get sick, really? I mean, what's the point of that?"
"Yes, I don't see the point in getting sick, that's why I don't do it, Tony. Especially not while I'm in a car."
"Well, I knew I had to be in a car for three hours with you and McGeek here, so I just thought I would make it a bit more interesting."
"Well, you can stop with that now, DiNozzo, maybe you could actually do some good instead then," Gibbs added to their discussion.
"Oh, sorry, Boss, I forgot, it's always interesting enough with you around." After a glare from Gibbs he added, "Shutting up now, Boss."
Tony really wished they would stop soon, though he knew they had a few more hours of driving left before they got to the Engberg cottage. He just wished he could lay down for a bit. The nausea just wouldn't go away. No matter how he turned his head it was there. He felt like if he moved too much, he would throw up again. What did not make the whole thing any better was that the road was narrow with many sharp turns, and with Gibbs behind the wheel, that was no good. After an especially sharp turn, Gibbs had to hit the brakes hard. They all were thrown forward, and with that sudden movement Tony felt the vomit emerge.
"Stop! Boss!" Tony panted, and with that Gibbs again hit the brakes, almost causing McGee to drop his laptop onto the floor.
This time Tony released his seatbelt and stumbled out of the car. He barely managed to stay on his feet as he vomited once again.
When he didn't came back after a couple of minutes Gibbs sighed and stepped out of the car and went to check on his agent. He found Tony leaning heavily against the car with his eyes shut.
"What's up, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked quietly, so as not to startle the other man.
It took a while before Tony could bring himself to answer. He really felt like crap. All he wanted to do was lie down in a cool, dark place and just wait it out. When his boss asked
the question, his first thought was to answer like he always did. I'm fine Boss, just out here and enjoying the fresh air. But he heard the hint of concern in his boss' voice, so he decided to tell him the truth.
"Actually, I don't feel so well, Boss. I… I feel a bit sick."
"Yeah, really DiNozzo?"
Tony just nodded. He didn't even look up. He heard his boss walk past him and heard him say something to Ziva. The next minute she was there and he felt their hands on him, hoisting him up.
"Come on, Tony, we are switching places," Ziva said. They helped Tony get into the car. He noticed that Ziva had lowered the seat for him so he could lay down a bit. Someone strapped his seatbelt on. He wasn't aware on who it was. Then everything went dark, and he fell asleep.