Hearing his son's yell, Gibbs ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time. He rushed into the room, his eyes scanning for a sign of a threat while he turned on the light. What he saw crushed his heart and put a lump in his throat.

Tony sat on his bed, his clothes clinging to him with sweat, silent tears running down his face, and fear in his eyes.

Gibbs approached him slowly, "Tony?"

Tony's head whipped around and he stared at Gibbs for a moment before recognition set it, "Did I wake you up?"

Gibbs shook his head and sat on the edge of Tony's bed, "Wanna talk about it?"

"No," Tony answered without hesitation.

There was no way he was gonna talk about his dream. It had been weird and daunting. He didn't want to re-live it a second time.

Gibbs gave a soft sigh, "You sure?"

Tony's eyes gave away the fact that he wasn't sure about his answers. Still though, he shook his head in the negative.

Before Gibbs could reply, Ducky walked into the room and handed his friend a glass of water and wash cloth. With that task done he did his best to blend into the background, wanting to stay close but not wanting Tony to feel overwhelmed and shut down.

Gibbs let instinct take over as he handed his son the water. Tony's hand shook and, to his embarrassment, his dad had to help guide the glass to his lips. Tony's embarrassment heightened when Gibbs gently ran the cloth over his face.

If Gibbs saw his son's embarrassment, he didn't show it. He slowly wiped the tears and sweat from the younger man's face before setting the wash cloth on the back of Tony's neck.

"You still with me?" Gibbs inquired noticing a far away look in the younger man's eyes.

"Yeah," Tony finally vocalized an answer, taking the glass into his own hands.

Tony shivered slightly as the cool air hit his sweat matted body. Gibbs frowned, "Why don't you take a quick shower."

Realizing the idea was a good one, Tony allowed Gibbs to usher him towards the bathroom. He stood under the shower head, allowing the water to wash away some of the tension he felt.

In his room, Gibbs grabbed his son an extra set of pajama's, putting them on the counter so Tony could see them. When he exited the bathroom, he left the door slightly open so that he could hear if his son needed him.

Ducky already had Tony's bedding off the bed and together the two older men put on an extra set. Ducky said nothing as he watched his friend going through the motions of making his son's bed.

Having heard the water turn off almost fifteen minutes before and still no sign of his son Gibbs went to the bathroom and stuck his head in. Tony already had on his pajama bottoms and was about to put on his shirt.

"Tony you…what the hell happened?" Gibbs words came out cross causing Tony to jump as he caught sight of his son's arm.

"I…I…" Tony started to stutter.

Gibbs features softened, "I'm not mad at you Tony." Tony blushed. "What happened to your arm son?"

Tony looked down at his arm, "Nothing."

"Tony…Ducky made some tea," Gibbs bit back the words he truly wanted to say.

Tony followed his dad downstairs, knowing it was pointless to argue with either older man.

OoOoOoOo

Tony sat down on the couch and rolled his eyes as Gibbs handed Ducky a blanket before going to grab the tea and coffee; Ducky wrapped the blanket around Tony's shoulders.

"I'm fine Ducky," Tony protested not wanting to make a fuss.

Ducky smiled but remained silent. He grabbed a cup of tea and handed it to the younger man before grabbing one for himself and once again blending into the background. Gibbs had made himself a cup of coffee and he sat by Tony, taking a few sips.

"What happened Tony?" Gibbs didn't look at his son when he asked, knowing that if Tony gave him, what Abby referred as, 'puppy eyes' he'd break down and allow Tony to not tell him anything.

Tony sighed knowing there was no way out, "He just showed up. He grabbed my arm and I tried to pull away…"

Tony's voice trailed off and he started to blush.

"Tony…" Gibbs looked at his son with worry.

"I panicked," Tony admitted softly. "I tried to yank my arm out of his hands. I think that's how I got the bruise. And then I told him if he didn't let go I'd press charges and then Abby showed up. He was acting nice but…"

"But what?" Gibbs insisted, wanting to know just how much danger the younger man was in.

"He's planning something Gibbs," Tony met his dad's eyes. "I can tell and he said something about you making me believe that everything's alright."

"Did he say anything else?" Gibbs hid the confusion he was feeling.

Tony shook his head, "I just know he's planning something."

Dad and son sat in silence for a moment before Gibbs looked over at his son. "Tony…you said you panicked. You do know that it's a normal reaction after everything that…man put you through as a child?"

Tony shook his head, "I've seen him before dad. He's never made me do that before."

"Anthony, what was your dream of?" Ducky's voice came from a corner of the room.

Tony looked down at his cup of tea and took a sip. He didn't want to talk about the dream. He could only imagine what he looked like when his dad first got there. At all cost, he did not want to seem like an even bigger idiot.

"You're not an idiot," Gibbs voice broke through Tony's revere. Tony looked over at him with a raised eyebrow, "You talked out loud."

"Anthony," Ducky interrupted. "I know you don't want to talk about it but we may be able to help you make sense of everything if you tell us."

"I was in a park and I felt safe," Tony finally started, "But…I don't know, the next thing I know I'm in a restaurant and I made a mess and my father is really mad so I run. I keep thinking I'm gonna get away but he always gets me."

"In the restaurant, did you feel safe?" Ducky inquired intrigued. Tony nodded his head in silent communication. "Oh my dear boy, that explains a lot."

"Care to share Duck?" Gibbs raised an eyebrow.

"Of course my boy," Ducky smiled patiently. "Anthony's subconscious is giving him some of his memories back. Unfortunately, it's also confusing as Tony's nightmares invaded the memory." Ducky turned his attention to Tony, "We agreed not to tell you anything until you remember at least half of a certain memory but in this instance I will explain. The first park you saw was the one Abigail, Mr. Palmer, and myself took you to. The restaurant is where we all took you when you visited NCIS for the first time. You spilt some juice and became quiet frantic."

"Which is where his run in with him came into play," Gibbs finished. Seeing the look of confusion his son's face Gibbs explained, "You were scared that you were going to be in trouble. It took me fifteen minutes to calm you down. When the memory surfaced you had that fear and remembered you're…with him."

Tony nodded his head in understanding, "Dad, can I go to sleep now?"

It was obvious his boy was done talking for the night. Gibbs agreed and gave him a hug. With a quick good night to the M.E. Tony went up to his room.

"We can talk to him again in the morning Jethro," Ducky said calmly. "Let him digest what he has been told tonight."

Gibbs said nothing, his way of agreeing.

OoOoOoOo

Twenty minutes after Tony went to bed Gibbs silently made his way upstairs. When Ducky went to check on him, he found Gibbs sitting by Tony's bedside.

Ducky said nothing as he changed into some pajama's and made his way to Gibbs room knowing his friend the way he did, he knew Gibbs would be at Tony's site all night long.

TBC…