Chapter 19

Tony waited patiently as Ducky listened to his chest and monitored his pulse. Gibbs stood across the living room, taking a sip of his coffee. Brad had been over earlier that morning and declared that Tony could be off the oxygen during the day, but he still needed it at night. He had also prescribed an inhaler that Tony was to carry at all times in case of a problem with his lungs. The young man had protested, but after a look from Gibbs he shut up and agreed to keep it on him. Ducky was doing his own check-up. It had been three days since Tony had been released from the hospital and he was doing much better, though he still wasn't eating the best. He was desperate to go back to work, but Gibbs refused, stating that Tony was too weak.

"Anthony has a low grade fever," Ducky reported. "But other than that, he's healing well."

"Should we be concerned about the fever?" Gibbs asked, stepping closer to the couch.

"If it increases or remains for another twelve hours, I would bring him in to see me. It shouldn't cause a problem though."

"When can I go back to work?" Tony inquired.

"Not yet, Anthony."

"Ducky, I need to work. I'm dying of boredom, not that you're boring Boss."

Gibbs smiled softly at his agent, not answering. Ducky packed up his medical kit and touched Tony's knees before standing up and heading back to headquarters. Gibbs went into the kitchen and began to make lunch. Tony was now able to eat some solid food, but it still was a task to get him to eat it all. Brad said that his appetite would return once he was off the last medication for his lungs and his body was fully recovered. He made a small sandwich for Tony and brought him some applesauce, along with the strawberry nutrition shake he had to take at every meal.

"More of that baby food?" Tony teased, sitting up when he saw what Gibbs was carrying.

"Yep, you need to regain your strength and this is the best way."

"I beg to differ. A nice pepperoni, sausage, and extra cheese pizza sounds wonderful, washed down with a beer."

Gibbs gave him a half smile as he handed him the sandwich. "You'd be a lightweight DiNozzo and I don't think your stomach is ready for that greasy mess yet."

"Come on Boss. We could invite McGoo and Ziva; make it a little celebration that I'm off the oxygen, well kinda off the oxygen. We could even have Abby, Ducky, and Palmer come if they aren't busy. I promise I wouldn't drink anything."

"Tony."

"I need out of this house. I'm going stir-crazy. I might have to take up knitting while we watch soap operas together and discuss who isn't having whose baby. Boss, please."

Tony gave him a pitiful look and Gibbs knew that he couldn't say no. Tony had been doing quite well, even sleeping all through the night with no nightmares of being unable to breathe. He did deserve a little break and a chance to get out of the house. Gibbs sighed, gesturing to the food and waiting until Tony took a bit of the sandwich.

"I'll see what the team is doing for dinner tonight, if they want to get some pizza."

"Thank you Boss," Tony interrupted.

"But, if you don't eat your lunch and take a nap this afternoon, I'll call it off. And when I say that we're going home, you won't protest."

"Consider it done."

"Good. Holler if you need me, I'm headed to the basement and gonna make some calls."

Gibbs stood up and headed down to the basement to work on his boat. He called each member of the team and was pleased that they all said they would love to have pizza with them. Gibbs listened to the faint sound of the television and went to work. After a while, he went upstairs to get something for himself to eat and smiled at the sight he saw. Tony had finished the sandwich and applesauce, but drank only half of the nutrition shake. He had been watching Star Wars when he fell asleep. The movie was still playing. Gibbs covered him up with a blanket and went into the kitchen to make something to eat.

Evening came and Tony was upstairs getting changed while Gibbs cleaned up the living room, folding the blankets and make sure the television was turned off. He heard the young man talking to himself, but decided to give him some privacy. Gibbs sat down on the couch and sipped his coffee. A few minutes later, Tony appeared at the bottom of the stairs in a button down shirt and a pair of black silk boxers. He was holding a pair of dress pants in his hands, looking frustrated.

"I can't keep my pants up."

Gibbs used his hand to cover up his smile as Tony showed him that his belt didn't go any tighter. He figured that Tony would have this problem and had prepared for the occasion. Gibbs pointed to a bag of clothing on the floor and Tony opened it. Inside were two new pairs of dress pants in smaller sizes. Knowing that Gibbs couldn't have picked out such nice pants, Tony knew who to thank.

"Remind me to thank Probie for this."

"I will. Go get dressed before Ziva sees you like that. Don't wanna give her an excuse to make fun of you for not looking your best."

"Good point."

Tony disappeared back upstairs and returned a few minutes later wearing the pants. It was nice to see him dressing like his old self, but it was clear that he'd lost a lot of weight by the way the shirt hung on him. Tony had shaved his stubble and fixed his hair with his custom gel. He looked good. Gibbs had received a call when Tony was upstairs and gave him the bad news.

"Ducky and Abby can't make it tonight. She's processing evidence for an important case and Ducky has two autopsies to perform. They both promised to take a rain check."

"Are McGee and Ziva still coming?"

"Yes we are," Ziva answered from the doorway. "You look nice Tony."

McGee was still in his work clothing, but Ziva had changed into a soft dark blue dress with a sweater.

"Is is weird to get dressed up to have pizza?" Tim questioned.

"Nope," Gibbs answered.

The group laughed as they got into one car and drove to the pizza restaurant. Gibbs had called ahead and requested a booth in the corner, away from the other customers to prevent Tony from acquiring a new illness with his immune system still down. They ordered two pizzas, one being Tony's favorite, and waited for the food to arrive, snacking on some breadsticks dipped in marinara sauce.

"Any new cases?" Tony asked.

"Nothing for a while," McGee answered. "The Director has been keeping us out of the rotation due to our lack of team members since you two have been out."

"Mostly we have been doing paperwork and looking at cold cases," Ziva added. "Very dry stuff."

"Glad I'm missing that."

"We all know you hate paperwork," Gibbs chuckled.

"True Boss."

The group continued to talk, discussing Jimmy's latest gossip. He was seeing a girl and Ziva commented that she was very pretty. Tony tried to think of ridiculous reasons for dating an autopsy gremlin, causing the team to laugh at his attempts. The pizza arrived and Tony quickly dove for a piece, though he remembered to eat slowly and see if his stomach could take it. It was delicious. He only had one and a half pieces before he decided against any more. The team continued to talk and laugh as the night wore on. Tony grew tired, though he didn't want to show it. Gibbs noticed that he was contributing less to the conversation and his face was a little pale. It was time for the evening to end. Gibbs insisted on paying for the pizza and was met with protests until they received the "Gibbs stare" and sat quietly after thanking him. Tony didn't want to admit it, but the pizza wasn't sitting well in his stomach. He managed to make it outside and quickly walked a little ways away from the building before throwing up his dinner.

"Oh Tony," Ziva murmured.

Gibbs didn't say a word; no "I told you so" or a dressing down. He ran over to Tony and supported him until he finished. The older man fished a handkerchief from his pocket and let Tony wipe his mouth.

"You okay Tony?" Gibbs whispered.

"Yeah… I'm just embarrassed and tired."

"It's okay. Let's go home."

Ziva sat next to Tony in the car as they drove to Gibbs's house. Everyone was quiet as he dozed lightly on her shoulder. He woke up long enough to say good night to Ziva and McGee. Gibbs helped him upstairs and stripped him down to his boxers. Tony wasn't much help as Gibbs helped him into a t-shirt and covered him with the blanket.

"You were right," Tony mumbled as Gibbs hooked him up to the nasal canula. "I wasn't ready for the pizza."

"No, you weren't. But you needed to get out and have some fun."

Tony focused on Gibbs's gentle expression before closing his eyes and rolling onto his side.

"Good night, Dad."

Gibbs stood up and walked to the bedroom door, turning the light off before preparing to partial close the door. In the dim light from the hallway, Gibbs watched as Tony relaxed, pulling the blanket to his cheek again and breathed deeply. He was so peaceful.

"Good night son."

Only one more chapter left! After writing this, I really want some pizza. Tony's favorite actually sounds really good. :) Hope you enjoyed it!

Please review!

Emma