Chapter 4

"What was the cause of death?" Gibbs asked, rubbing his hand across his mouth.

"She died as a result of smoke inhalation. There was little that the doctor could do for her after she was exposed to so much smoke. Anthony did a brave thing, risking his life to save her, but I'm afraid it was too late for her to survive. I'm sorry, Jethro. Would you like me to inform Anthony?"

"No, I'll tell him when the time is right. He's sleeping right now."

"Make sure he gets something to eat and keep me informed on his condition. I'll be by to check on him this evening."

"I will Duck. Thanks."

Gibbs stood up, leaving Tony asleep on the couch as he put his phone in his pocket. He watched the young agent, listening as he coughed lightly in his sleep and tried to roll over, but quickly gave up. Gibbs went into the kitchen and made himself a sandwich, deciding not to wake up Tony and just let him sleep. The kid didn't get enough sleep most of the time, coming in to work late and staying on cases until they were closed. He was a good agent, but he was gonna wear himself out if he wasn't careful. Gibbs pulled out a cleaning cloth and prepared to clean around his house, to minimize the sawdust, dirt, and dust that Tony could breathe into his lungs and cause irritation while he was healing. He wasn't taking any chances.

Tony woke up to the smell of fresh, warm pizza. He stretched, realizing that he was still lying on Gibbs' couch. His back was slightly sore from sleeping on the uncomfortable surface. He listened to the sound of Ziva, McGee, and Ducky talking in the dining room. There was soft laughter coming from his teammates. Tony coughed, taking a deep breath before standing up and heading into the dining room as his stomach grumbled and he ignored the slight queasiness, attributing it to standing up too quickly.

"You guys eating without me?" he asked.

"I told you the smell of pizza would wake him up," McGee commented with a smile on his face. "How you feeling Tony?"

"I'm a bit sore, but mostly hungry. Is that pepperoni, sausage, and extra cheese?"

"Just like you like it," Gibbs said, handing Tony a plate and putting two pieces of pizza on it. "Have a seat."

Tony sat down and polished off three pieces of pizza before stopping and relaxing at the table. Ducky brought him the antibiotic pill and something for the pain in his arms from the burns. Tony was hesitant to take it, but after receiving the Gibbs stare, he took it with a forced smile.

"So, how's the case?" Tony asked.

"It turns out that Sergeant Harris did commit suicide and the fire fighters determined that the source of the fire was a candle in the kitchen. They believe the fire was intentional and set by Harris since there's no sign of forced entry or another other person being in the house at the time," Tim reported.

"Abby determined that all the physical evidence links only to Harris and no one else," Ziva added.

"Well, then case closed. What's gonna happen with his daughter?"

No one answered and the room was strangely silent. Ziva and McGee wouldn't make eye-contact with him and Gibbs had his focus on Ducky. It hit Tony like a ton of bricks and their silence spoke the words they couldn't say. The air in the room felt still and it was harder to draw in breath as he swallowed the lump forming in his throat. She didn't make it. That bastard killed himself and murdered his own daughter in the same stroke. It almost made him sick; his stomach flip-flopped a few times.

"She's dead," Tony stated out loud. "What happened? I thought that she was stable."

"I'm sorry Anthony. The child breathed in too much smoke and most likely died as a result of burns to her respiratory tract and lungs. Her doctor did his best, but she didn't have much hope after so much exposure. I'll be performing her autopsy tomorrow," Ducky responded softly.

Tony nodded and stood up, heading into the living room and sitting down on the couch. He placed his hands on his knees and leaned back, closing his eyes lifting his head up to the ceiling. The image of the little girl came in his mind and he could feel her trembling body as he carried her through the house, desperate to save her life. She had been holding a teddy bear and crying, making his shirt moist. His hand had been on her curls as he kept her in his jacket. He wondered what her laugh would have sounded like as the sound of her screams echoed in his head. Ziva watched him as he sat thinking as the rest of the team proceeded to clean up the dining room and give him some privacy. She slowly walked into the living room and sat down next to him. He didn't stir.

"It's not your fault," Ziva whispered.

Tony opened his eyes and she saw the pooled moisture there. His expression was blank at first until she spoke.

"You did your best to save her and I am very proud of you Tony."

"It wasn't enough," he hissed. "We should have checked the upstairs when we entered; called out to see if anyone was there."

"We had no idea that the girl was in the home. The place was filled with smoke and you could not see anything."

"That's not the point Ziva! I risked everything to save her, but it wasn't enough and she died! I couldn't save her."

Ziva's voice went soft, almost too quiet for Tony to hear. "You cannot save all of them."

His expression softened, but before he could ask Ziva what she meant, Ducky entered the room with his doctor's bag and asked if he could examine Tony before he headed home. Ziva excused herself, going to talk with Gibbs and McGee in the kitchen. Ducky listened to Tony's lungs, having him cough and still not happy with the sound, but he didn't think much had changed since morning. His body temperature was slightly elevated, but the antibiotics would take care of it. He wanted to assess the mental state of Tony, but he didn't look like he wanted to talk just quite yet.

"How do your arms feel?" Ducky inquired.

"Alright, Ducky."

"Anthony…"

"Please, not now."

"Alright, but if you need someone to talk to, I'm here for you, along with Ziva, Timothy, and Jethro."

Tony nodded as the rest of the group entered the room. He sighed, trying to ignore the uneasiness in his stomach and he began to regret eating that pizza. They quickly came to the conclusion that they should watch a movie together, and Tony picked an old spy movie. Ziva sat next to him on the couch and Gibbs next to her. Timothy placed himself on the floor, but Ducky declined, needing to get home for the night after a long day. He was performing an autopsy on the little girl the next day. Tony kept the blanket covering him and noticed that it was a little cold in the room. He made it half way through the movie before his stomach revolted and he ran to the bathroom.

"Tony?" Ziva called after him.

The sound of Tony throwing up came from the bathroom, causing Ziva to grimace and Gibbs got up off the couch to check on him. Tony was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. Gibbs handed him a towel to wipe his mouth. He listened as Tony coughed and tried to relax. Tony was embarrassed, getting sick in front of his friends like that. Gibbs flushed and put the back of his hand against Tony's forehead, feeling the warm skin.

"You've got a fever."

Thank you for all of the birthday wishes and I hope you had a great start to the New Year! I had a wonderful birthday!

There's going to be a lot more of hurt Tony in the coming chapters and I think you'll like it. I know that I love it. :)

Thanks for reading! Please review!

Emma