Gibbs looked at Tony's sleeping form. Wilson and the nurse quietly left the room as Gibbs and Abby sat down and waited for Tony to wake up.

Hopefully he wouldn't take another 16 hours this time.


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To their surprise, it didn't take Tony even an hour to wake up.

Blinking his eyes heavily, Tony tried to focus on the faces that were hovering above him. "Hey, Boss." He croaked.

Gibbs frowned as Abby's eyes widened, "Oh my GOD! Tony you can remember him?"

Tony looked puzzled. "Well, Umm, yeah? Shouldn't I?"

"Who am I? And I want a complete answer." Abby demanded.

Tony blinked and looked at Gibbs, but noticing that Gibbs was waiting for his answer, as well, he mentally shrugged, "Abby Scuito. Our Lab Tech. extraordinaire."

"Why thanks." Abby grinned widely but then frowned. "I can't believe you actually can remember everything."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tony frowned. "Normally, people get shocked when the others cannot remember anything."

"Apparently you couldn't remember a thing the last time you woke up." Gibbs explained. "Abby go fetch his doctor."

Abby nodded and left the room.

"What do you remember from the last time you woke up?"

Tony's gaze turned to his left as he tried to remember. "Um, I don't know. You were here, we talked about... About... Damn, we talked about my Dad; I should be there, Gibbs; not lying here." He tried to push himself up but Gibbs' firm hand stopped him.

"You're not going anywhere, DiNozzo." Gibbs growled. "That conversation happened over 17 hours ago; so, if you think you'll go anywhere in this condition, then you must've forgotten what I'm capable of."

Tony gulped. "17 hours ago? Gibbs, what if he dies?" His mind was working in a totally different way! Instead of getting worried for missing the last 17 hours, he was worried that he'd wasted so much time without knowing about his father.

"Then he dies." Gibbs blurted bluntly. "Dammit, Tony. Forget about that bastard for a second and focus on yourself. I promise you; once you get better, I'll take you to see him myself. Even though I believe he doesn't deserve it."

Tony sagged into his pillow. "I know, and I'm not looking for his love or approval; even I am not that pathetic. It's just..." he trailed off.

Gibbs sighed. "You're not pathetic at all. It's called being a good man and a good son which your father doesn't deserve. But like I said, let the doctors do their things and then we'll be on our way to New York."

Tony nodded. "Actually it kinda hurts."

"What?"

It wasn't like Tony to admit he was in pain.

"My head."

"I'll go see what's taking Abby and your doctor so long. Will you be alright?"

Tony smiled. "Yes and thanks. You know, for everything."

"I'm not doing anything you wouldn't have done for me." Gibbs replied. "Just try to stay awake. OK?"

Tony nodded but when they got back with his doctor he was fast asleep. The good thing was that they were able to wake him up for the MRI and he still could remember everything.

So, they took him to perform his MRI while Gibbs and Abby waited outside for some answers.

About forty five minutes later the doctor finally came out, looking truly thoughtful, and a few minutes later 2 orderly left the room, pushing Tony's bed towards his room.

Gibbs took a look at his once again asleep agent and looked back at the doctor, waiting for him to say something.

"We know what's causing the problem."

"And?"

"And there is a blood clot and some swelling, but it's not significant. One of our best neurologist was inside the room with me. We decided to start with new medications and wait and see if the clot disappears and the swelling goes down."

"What if the drugs don't work?" Abby asked anxiously.

"Then we'll have to open his head," Wilson answered. "The swelling is mild, the main problem is the clot but like I said, we believe the drugs will work. We'll start them right away and change his other meds."

"How long will it take till you find out if it's working?" Gibbs asked gruffly.

"By this time tomorrow we can say if the new meds are working or not. But it'll take a while for him to be able to get back to normal. He might face confusion and memory loss another couple of times, but it'll go away completely and he'll be able to get back to his work in a couple of weeks."

Gibbs nodded, and then another question popped into his head, "Will he be able to fly to NYC?"

The doctor thought for a few seconds, before answering, "Maybe next week if it's totally necessary. If everything goes as well as we hope, then I don't see any problem with it. He might just feel some headaches, fatigue and nausea because of the changes in pressure."

"But he'll be alright, right? I mean one hundred percent." Abby inquired.

"Hopefully. I'll tell this to him as well, but try to keep him from another concussion; one more hit to the head, and he might fall into a permanent coma."

Abby's face darkened, but Gibbs put his hand on her shoulder to reassure her. "That's gonna need an army, but we'll do our best."

Wilson chuckled and told them that he'd check up on Tony in a couple of hours and left.

Gibbs realized that he wouldn't be able to get any more work done that day; so he sent Abby home and told her that she could stay with Tony the next day since he couldn't do it himself.

When Abby finally left the hospital, Gibbs went and found himself some decent coffee before getting back to Tony's room to spend the night with his stubborn agent.

.

The next few days passed without much excitement. Unless you call Ziva and Tim's shocked faces 'exciting'! They couldn't believe it when Tony didn't recognize them and would just assess them without saying a word.

It happened a few hours after the doctors started the new meds on Tony and neither one of them were aware of Tony's condition. When they got to the hospital, Tony was awake and it seemed like Gibbs was talking to him and was trying to calm him down.

Tony looked at them for a few seconds and then turned his gaze to Gibbs and blinked quizzically.

"Your teammates." Gibbs answered the unasked question. "It's OK; it'll all come back to you in time. Don't be hard on yourself."

Tim and Ziva would've seen it as a big joke if Gibbs hadn't looked so serious and determined to calm Tony down and Tony hadn't looked so distant. He was even more distant than the past month, like he didn't even know them. And well, he didn't really, at that moment.

So after a few minutes of awkward silence and occasional phrases, Gibbs sent them away and told them to stay away for a while.

So far, that was the biggest event that happened during those days. Because, little by little, Tony started to stay awake longer and sleep lighter. And he actually could remember what was happening around him. It'd been a real scare but things were finally getting back to normal.

A week later Tony was finally released from the hospital; a fading scar on his neck, one above his left eye and one on his hairline were the only visible reminders from his latest ordeal.

After everything that had happened during the last few months, Gibbs wasn't surprised when Tony insisted on going to his own apartment. He was still on medications, but he reasoned that if he was released from the hospital, it meant that he could deal with things on his own.

Gibbs decided to give him some space. That would be for just one night anyway and the younger man clearly needed it. He'd booked two seats on a flight to New York for the next day, so Tony could go see his father. He hadn't said anything about it to Tony, though; so, when he turned up at Tony's place the next day, Tony was totally shocked to see him with a backpack.

"Umm, did I forget something again?" He asked uncertainly, looking really upset about his problem.

Gibbs shook his head. "Nope, I haven't told you about it. Go grab some stuff. We're leaving in 30 minutes."

Tony looked confused.

"And don't forget your meds."

"Where are we going exactly?"

"New York. Isn't that what you wanted to do?"

Tony's eyes widened. "I... Oh... You didn't have to, Boss."

"I said I'd go with you." Gibbs looked him in the eyes. "Hurry up or we'll miss our flight."

Tony smiled genuinely and thanked his Boss before walking to his bedroom to get his stuff.

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... TBC ...


A/N: Tell me what you think? :)

Thank you everyone for your encouraging words. :)

Sorry for any mistakes.

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