Gibbs' house had become the center of operations for their investigation. McGee set up a couple of laptops in the dining room and was busily trying to track down anyone from Tony's past with experience in medicine, chemistry or marine biology. He was frustrated when his search turned up nothing. Gibbs and Ziva were going over their notes from the interviews they conducted.
"There's nothing here, Gibbs," Ziva said, sitting back in her chair tiredly.
"We're missing something," Gibbs said, his eyes sweeping over the papers and photos scattered on the table.
"What?" Ziva asked, waving her hands at the evidence. "We've gone over the photos and witness interviews with a boar bristle brush. There's nothing there."
Gibbs looked at her blankly for a moment. "You mean fine-tooth comb?"
"You people are entirely too focused on my use of the English language," Ziva replied, annoyed. "You know what I mean."
"McGee," Gibbs turned to the younger agent, "any leads on possible suspects?"
McGee shook his head. "Sorry, Boss," he replied. "There's nothing on this end either."
Gibbs pushed his chair back angrily and stood up. "Come on, people, think," he said impatiently. "Somebody got into Tony's apartment somehow, drugged him and shot the pizza delivery kid. We have partial prints and a witness who saw two possible suspects."
"Maybe Tony can identify who attacked him," McGee said.
Gibbs nodded. "Maybe," he agreed, "but right now he can't tell us anything, can he?"
"Abby said he can blink his eyes," McGee replied. "Maybe he can answer yes or no questions about the attack."
Gibbs stopped pacing and glared at McGee. "When did you get this insignificant piece of information, McGee?"
McGee looked embarrassed. "Sorry, Boss. I called Abby to find out if she got any results from her tests and she told me Tony had opened his eyes."
"And did she?"
"Not yet," McGee replied.
Gibbs grabbed his car keys. "I'm going to see if I can get any information from Tony," he said on his way out. "You two go back to Tony's place and see if we missed anything."
oOoOoOo
"... he's been working hard to try to move, Gibbs, he's exhausted."
"We mustn't overtax him, Jethro. It could harm rather than help his recovery."
"I just need to see if he can give us any information about the men who attacked him, Ducky. Simple yes or no answers, that's all."
I open my eyes to see Gibbs standing at the foot of my bed, with Abby and Ducky on either side of him. He looks a lot better than the last time I saw him. He's got that look in his eyes when he's onto something. He sees my eyes are open and smiles at me.
"Hey, Tony. You can't do anything halfway, can you?"
I try to smile, and I think a corner of my mouth moves. Ducky was right, things are starting to get better, but I'm still afraid that every new movement will be my last. Gibbs comes around to the side of the bed and turns my head towards him.
"Tony, we need your help finding who did this to you. Did you see who attacked you? Blink once for yes, twice for no."
"That's twice for yes, three times for no, Jethro. We wanted to make sure we didn't mistake normal blinking for an affirmative."
"But Ducky, I thought that we decided that would be too much blinking. Once for yes, twice for no makes more sense."
"Well, maybe if he squeezes your hand when he blinks once for yes..."
I can see the muscles in Gibbs' jaw start to twitch. I can tell he wants to yell, but Ducky and Abby are two people he would never yell at, or headslap, for that matter.
"Okay." Gibbs' voice is deceptively calm. "Tony, blink once and squeeze my hand for yes, blink twice for no. Can you do that?"
I blink and squeeze his hand.
"Good," he smiles at me reassuringly. "Did you get a look at who attacked you?" Two blinks. "Was there more than one person?" Blink and squeeze. "Were there more than two people?" Two blinks. "Okay, so there were two attackers." Blink and squeeze. "Did they say anything?" Two blinks. "Did they do anything to make you recognize them?" Two blinks. "Okay, were they tall?" Blink and squeeze. "Muscular or heavy?" Blink and squeeze. "Do you know anyone named Mike who might have a grudge against you?"
I have to think a moment. Gibbs is patient, watching my face. I blink twice, frowning slightly.
Gibbs sighs. "That's okay, Tony. It was a shot in the dark. You rest and regain your strength. Don't think you're going to be able to lie around here forever. Work's piling up on your desk."
"Everyone thinks he's dead, though, Gibbs."
Gibbs sees the surprise in my eyes and explains. "We don't know who tried to kill you, Tony, so we're keeping you under wraps in quarantine so no one tries to finish the job." He gives me an ironic grin. "You'd be touched to see the outpouring of grief for you. Just don't let it go to your head." I blink twice, and he chuckles.
"I talked to your neighbor, Rockwell. He seems like a good guy. He might have seen the two perps, maybe we can get something else out of him."
He signals for Ducky to walk with him to the door. Abby moves to take Gibbs' place at the side of my bed. She takes my hand and smiles brightly.
"Want to try talking some more?"
I blink twice.
"Tired?"
Blink and squeeze.
"Okay, you get some sleep, Tony. I'll be right here when you wake up"
I manage a quirk of a smile, close my eyes and promptly fall asleep.
oOoOoOo
"How's he doing, really, Ducky?" Gibbs asked.
"He seems to be improving, Jethro," Ducky replied. "It's slow, but with Tetrodotoxin the first twenty-four hours are crucial. He's well past that mark, so I don't think we need to worry about him dying."
"What about the paralysis, " Gibbs asked. "How much movement will he recover?"
Ducky shook his head. "That depends on the amount of the toxin and how strong Tony is. We still don't know what the other substance was, or if it will have a permanent effect. If things continue to progress as they have been, Tony could very well make a full recovery. Much of it depends on his will."
"He's strong," Gibbs said confidently. "He'll pull through this. There's no way he's going to let himself get stuck in a wheelchair or behind a desk."
"From your lips to God's ears," Ducky replied fervently. "I know he's a resilient young man, but this is particularly rough, physically and emotionally."
"He'll have plenty of support," Gibbs said, patting Ducky on the back. "I've got to get back. Don't let Abby wear him out, okay?"
Ducky chuckled. "I won't."
On his way back to his car, Gibbs called McGee for an update.
"There's nothing here, Boss," McGee said. "There's no sign of a struggle at all. There are drag marks where it looked like they dragged Tony from the door to the living room. They must have overpowered him right away."
"Okay, you and Ziva wait for me ," Gibbs said. "I'll be there in fifteen minutes. We'll try talking to Rockwell again, see if we can coax something out of his memory."
"Right, Boss, we'll be waiting for you."