A/N: Hello everyone. First, I want to sincerely apologize for the wait to this chapter and for the wait on the next story in my other series. Life has been a rollercoaster. One day I think I'm finally going to get out of the rut and the next…well. Three steps forward, seven back.

Thanks to all those who read and review, you guys have no idea how much your words cheer up a rather bleak day.

Oh, and a little shout out to CSIGeekFan whose awesome story, Facing Forward, (go check it out if you aren't reading it! Go go!) has helped greatly to get this chapter on paper..er, Microsoft Word. Haha. (I'm serious. Go on, read her story. I don't mind waiting…)

Back? Good. Alrighty, let's get down to the nitty-gritty….here's the next chapter. It's been un-beta-ed because as I've mentioned, I really don't have the time or energy (curse you insomnia) to do all the necessary stuff to send it off to my wonderful beta. Does that sound lazy? Well, maybe. But I've been operating on less than five hours of sleep collectively since Monday night. So if some parts don't make sense, just send me a message. Or ignore them. Lol.

"Morgan."

Tony was still in the hospital, laying in his room while Morgan busied herself with insurance forms or something akin to that.

Hearing the pained tone in Tony's voice, Morgan hurried over and bent down, knowing to talk in whispers.

"Again?" Morgan spoke quietly, lowering the pitch of her voice so that it didn't aggravate Tony's migraine.

Tony opened his mouth to respond but no words came out. Instead, a pained whimper escaped his lips before Tony could stop the noise.

Morgan placed her cool hand on Tony's forehead and smiled minutely when Tony leaned into the touch. After being admitted to the hospital a vicious cycle had begun. Before one migraine could fully go away, the pain trigged another migraine which in turn, triggered another as it waned.

Tony's neurologist, who was an old man with salt and pepper hair and who always seemed to be smiling, had been treating the migraines with non-inflammatory drugs, caffeine and large doses of acetaminophen.

So far, the treatment was not working as well as everyone had hoped.

Dr. Webber, the neurologist, had told Tony and Morgan that if the cycle didn't stop by today, he would start Tony on an attack-aborting drug called Naratriptan. Hopefully, it would stop Tony's migraines. The doctor had been hesitant to start Tony on this drug however, because he had hoped the other medications would stop them before it got this bad.

"How's are you doing, Mr. DiNozzo?" Dr. Webber asked as he walked into the room.

The pain cry that Tony gave off was all the answer the doctor needed.

"So they've at least stopped?" Gibbs asked as he sat with Morgan in the hospital cafeteria. Ducky and Abby were sitting with Tony but upon arriving in the hospital, Gibbs had gone in search of Morgan, who had been down in the cafeteria with her children, helping them with their homework. .

"Yes," Morgan nodded as she watched April work out her math problems, "Tony fell asleep about an hour after the doctor gave him that drug. It seems to be helping."

"That's good," Gibbs nodded and sipped his coffee. From the corner of his eye he could see AJ watching him. The protectiveness that the boy showed in regards to his family was impressive, "They say anything about discharging him?"

Morgan shook her head and scowled at Benny, her left eyebrow lifting in annoyance, "Young man, you will sit and finish coloring that page or I will walk over there and smack you into next week."

"Sorry Momma," Benny mumbled but a second later Gibbs saw the glint of mischief reappear on his face.

"I mean it Benjamin Michael," Morgan said once more, pinching her youngest on the arm.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry," Benny smirked as he sat down and twisted in his seat. He also dropped the piece of rotten something that he had found and had been meaning to put down April's shirt. April, who had just caught wind of what her younger had almost done, scowled at Benny and scooted closer to AJ, away from Benny grubby little hands.

The whole scene made Gibbs smile, despite having one of his own still in the hospital.

Morgan gave Gibbs an apologetic smile before sighing, "I'm sorry Special Agent Gibbs. You probably want to talk about Tony and here I am doing homework. AJ, April and Benny were suppose to stay with Ms. O'Leary, our neighbor, this evening but she had a family emergency come up and wasn't able to watch them."

"I understand," Gibbs nodded, "Have the doctors told you anything else about Tony's migraines?"

"They took him for another MRI and CT scan today," Morgan kept an eye on her kids, especially Benny, as she talked with Gibbs, "They wanted to make sure that the migraines aren't caused by Tony's brain swelling or a leaking blood vessel. They didn't find anything though so they're pretty sure this is just the cumulative effect of all the concussions Tony's received in the past."

Gibbs grimaced at the thought of just how many concussions Tony had received in just his time on Gibbs' team. Gibbs didn't even know how many he had suffered before, especially while he had been a tight end in college football. Sighing, Gibbs took another sip of coffee before asking Morgan a question.

"Will they stop for good soon?" Gibbs said a few moments later, after Morgan helped April put away her math and take out her spelling.

"They're not sure," Morgan sighed, "But they're going to start talking about preventative medications with Tony as soon as he's feeling better."

"Soon then," Gibbs said before finishing off his coffee. He had no doubt that Tony would bounce back from this quickly.

"Hopefully," Morgan smiled before turning back to her kids.

Knowing that for whatever reason he made the woman extremely nervous, Gibbs excused himself to go find Ziva and McGee.

Morgan needed a break and hopefully, she wouldn't mind leaving her kids in the capably hands of his Agents.

McGee and Ziva remained quiet as they followed Morgan's car from the hospital to Tony's house.

Gibbs had asked them to watch Morgan's three kids: AJ, April and Benny, while Morgan napped and rested. It was a little after six and Gibbs was pretty sure Morgan hadn't been getting much rest since Tony had been re-admitted to the hospital.

Both agents had readily agreed, wanting to get to know Tony's other family better. Besides, Tony would kill them if he found out they hadn't taken care of Morgan while he was sick.

"Thank you so much," Morgan said about thirty minutes later when they pulled up in front of a beautiful two story brick house, "Please, make yourselves at home, I-um, Tony mentioned that you guys hadn't been to his new house yet."

McGee and Ziva nodded and worked hard to keep the surprise and shock of their faces.

This was Tony's home.

"It's beautiful," Ziva whispered as they walked into the living room. The flooring, McGee noticed was a dark wood flooring and the whole house was styled with earthy tones.

"It's big," Tim replied as they sat down on the couch.

Tim had never imagined Tony in a house like this. Tony had always been the one with an apartment in which he rarely lived in and a living area that had bordered on being an organized chaos.

But this house was clean, as clean as a house could be with three kids and a man who didn't care about keeping a room in perfect condition.

"I lived in places McGee, were my mother would get mad if I sat on the couch too hard, never mind moving a book or even a pillow," Tony had said once when McGee had called him on his rather odd way of keeping his apartment…tidy, "I never want to be in that kind of place again."

And this house wasn't. McGee noticed the dirty football equipment by the door, no doubt the oldest boy's gear, and he noticed that the TV center was in a bit of disarray, various gaming consoles spread across the floor.

"Sorry about the mess," Morgan said as she walked in, "But I've been so busy and normally I make the kids clean up after themselves but they're barely home lately and-"

"It's alright Ms. Welsh," Ziva smiled, "We are actually surprised Tony's house is this clean."

Morgan smiled at that and looked up the stairs, "Um, the kids are finishing their homework so they'll be down soon. They've eaten dinner but sometimes my youngest, Benny, likes to eat a fruit before he brushes his teeth. April, my daughter, will probably want to watch some TV and AJ will be around, though he spends a lot of his time in his room reading. Gibbs mentioned that you guys had some work to do for a case? Tony usually works in the kitchen table though his printer and copier are in his office. We have wireless network and the password is on the fridge. Drinks and snacks are in the fridge and feel free to help yourselves. Um, if you need anything else, AJ should be able to help you and if not, my door's up the stairs, the second on the right."

"Thank you Ms. Welsh," McGee placated her this time, "But everything is under control. We'll take it from here."

Morgan sighed, straightened her blouse nervously before wishing them good evening.

McGee and Ziva waited until she was up the stairs and in her room before they decided to explore Tony's house.

"Is that…us?" Ziva asked as she inspected a candid photo of the team, minus Gibbs and Ducky.

"I remember that," McGee looked at the photo of all of them in paint ball gear, "That was right after Gibbs left for Mexico. Remember? Tony had to practically bribe you to play with us."

"Yes," Ziva smiled, looking at them. That day seemed so far away, "I believe that Jimmy actually won that day, if I am not mistaken."

McGee laughed, "Oh yeah! It was only Tony, you and Palmer left and after Tony had almost hit you Palmer jumped out of nowhere and-"

"Are you secret agents like my uncle?" a little boy asked from the doorway. He was still in his jeans and t-shirt but he now wore a gladiator helmet on his head. Seeing the matching play sword wrapped around his waist, McGee could only guess both came from a Halloween costume.

"Sorta," Tim smiled and bent down so he was eye to eye with the young boy, "But we're special agents. My name is McGee, and this is Ziva. We work with you Uncle."

The boy narrowed his eyes at them before raising an eyebrow, just like his Momma did when she thought hard about something, "My uncle says I gotta see your badge before I believe anything you say."

Ziva smiled at him before retrieving her badge as McGee did the same.

"Hmmm," the little boy inspected each badge carefully, "You pass."

"Thank you," Ziva nodded, "In that case, would you please tell us your name?"

"My name is Benjamin Michael but Momma only calls me that when I get in trouble," Benjamin smiled a toothy grin, "But everyone else calls me Benny. I'm five," Benny help up one hand, his fingers spread like a starfish, "So, since your badges are real, do you know James Bond? Cause I gotta ask him for a favor."

"No," McGee shook his head, "Sorry. But if you tell what the favor is, maybe me and Ziva can help you."

Benny adjusted his helmet as he thought, "You said you're secret agents right? Like my Uncle?"

Not bothering to correct Benny again, Tim and Ziva nodded.

"Alright," Benny said, taking off his helmet completely and grabbing Tim and Ziva's hands, "We need privacy. Cause I'm gonna tell you a secret."

Benny led them down a hallway and into a room that was more than likely Tony's, before closing the door behind him and sitting down on the bed.

"My Uncle Tony is suppose to do this but Momma says that his head hurts really bad so I'm gonna ask you guys cause Uncle Tony says that you guys are his friends."

"You know about us?" McGee asked, surprised by this five year olds maturity,

"Yeah, he tells me about you guys all the time," Benny nodded, "You're in that picture in the living room. Uncle Tony says you guys are really cool and that one day we were gonna meet you but that was before Uncle Tony hurt his head but it doesn't matter anymore cause you're here and I have a question to ask."

"What is your question Benny?" Ziva asked after Benny had finished his mini-monologue. This little boy could give Abby a run for her money, "What is the favor you need?"

Benny leaned forward, his face scrunched up in seriousness and whispered rather loudly, "Do you know about my dad?"

Making eye contact with her partner, both Ziva and McGee shook their heads, "No Benny, we don't. Did your dad die? Is that why you came here with your Uncle Tony?"

Benny shook his head and rubbed his forehead, a gesture that looked rather comical coming from a person so young, "No," Benny sighed, "AJ's daddy died cause a bad guy shot him. My dad's still alive."

"Oh," McGee and Ziva said, "Is he okay?"

Benny looked at each of them for a few seconds before shaking his head and putting the gladiator helmet back on his head, "I think I'm just gonna wait till Uncle Tony gets better. He'll know which kinds of questions to ask."

And like that, the little boy padded out of the room. A few seconds later, Ziva and McGee could hear him treading up the stairs.

"I think," McGee said when it was quiet in the house again, "That we just missed something pretty important."

Ziva sighed and agreed.

"Tired," Tony mumbled when he finally answered the doctor's question, "Head doesn't hurt though."

"Good good," Tony's neurologist wrote something down in his chart, "And the drowsiness is just a side effect of the medication we gave you to stop the migraines."

"Kay," Tony nodded as his eyes closed. Morgan leaned over and gently roused him.

Tony woke up again with a jerk, "Sorry. Tired."

"Understandable," the neurologist patted Tony's leg, "If everything keeps looking good, we should be able to discharge you in a few days. How does that sound?"

"Good," Tony nodded, fighting very hard to keep his eyes open.

"Alright then Mr. DiNozzo," the neurologist made his way out of the room, "You get some rest then. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Kay," Tony finally let his eyelids fall shut as he drifted back to sleep.

"Glad you're finally feeling better Uncle Tony," AJ said hopping to talk to his Uncle before he fell back asleep.

"I think Uncle Tony's asleep," April leaned forward, her face mere inches from her Uncle's, "But he doesn't snore like you AJ."

"I don't snore," AJ defended his honor.

"You do too!" Benny said as he spun around in the rolling chair, "You sound like a…bear!"

"Mom," AJ pleaded with Morgan, "Tell them to cut it out."

"Guys, leave your brother alone," Morgan said, fiddling with Tony's pillow and blankets, "It's not nice to make fun of people."

"Kay," April and Benny both agreed before apologizing to their older brother, "Sorry AJ."

AJ mumbled that he forgave them before adjusting in his seat, "Mom, who's picking me up from my football game tomorrow? I mean, Uncle Tony's still feeling pretty bad and you should stay here because you know how he gets when he gets bored."

"I don't know," Morgan sighed. She couldn't wait till Tony was well and out of the hospital and life could go back to normal, "But I'll make sure someone's there. Deal?"

"Yeah," AJ agreed before flipping through his play book. His coach expected them to know all the plays and AJ wanted to make sure he knew them when they played their next game.

"Hey mom?" Benny asked when he finally had stopped spinning and had made his way over to his backpack, pulling out a coloring book and crayons.

"Yes honey?" Morgan asked, happy that Tony was pretty much out of it and didn't even stir when Benny dropped his crayon box.

"Sorry," Benny said, picking the box up and putting it on the table, "Um, mom?"

"Yes honey?" Morgan said again, trying not to get frustrated when her youngest lost track of the conversation.

"Uncle Tony is uh, he's coming home right? Soon?" Benny asked, opening the book to a random page. Finding the page satisfactory, Benny opened his crayon box and carefully selected the blue crayon to start coloring the ocean around the submarine, "He's still living with us when he leave the hospital, right?"

"Yes Benny," Morgan placated her younger boy's worries, "Uncle Tony isn't going anywhere."

Benny paused before looking at his mom in the eye, "Good."

"So," Tony's eyes were closed but he had a smile on his face nonetheless. The medicines he had been given to fight the migraines were finally working. He had been pain free for close to forty eight hours and he was catching up with his niece and nephews while Morgan went and picked up his medication from the pharmacy downstairs, "How was the football game AJ?"

"Good," AJ shrugged. He didn't really care about the football game. He was just glad his Uncle was coming home tomorrow, "We won and I got two touchdowns."

"That's my boy," Tony smiled and opened one eye carefully. Tony found that even now he still was a wee bit sensitive to the light, "Hey April, can you close the blinds for me sweetheart?"

"Sure Uncle Tony," April hopped off the bed and scampered over to the blinds, twisting the little pole like her Momma had showed her to do whenever Uncle Tony asked, "Better?"

"Much," Tony sighed in gratitude and opened another eye carefully, "How was school April?"

"Awful," the little girl lamented after she had taken her customary spot in between Tony's legs at the foot of his bed, "Macy didn't want to do anything during recess and there's this boy named Elijah who keeps leaving love letters on my desk."

Tony chuckled at the utter look of revulsion on April's face when she mentioned the love letters, "Really? What do they say?"

"Well," April said, "He keeps wanting to know if I'll be his girlfriend but doesn't he know that I'm too young to be tied down? I'm a free spirit Momma says. I don't need a boyfriend. They're too much work. Hannah, she's in another class, she has a boyfriend and she's always with him. She doesn't like playing with us anymore."

Tony smiled, knowing that in a few years he would be having very different conversations with his only neice, "Have you told Elijah you don't want to be his girlfriend?"

"Yes," April rolled her eyes in frustration, "But he started crying and my teacher made me say I was sorry but I wasn't really, and I told her so I had to go sit in the quiet chair until the end of the day."

"Bummer," Tony kept the smirk off his face, but only barely, "And what about you Benny? You went to school too didn't you?"

"Yeah," Benny said, the normally active child had been unusually subdued since Tony had woken up, "It was okay."

"Just okay?" Tony asked, hugging the little boy close to him. There was something…something he was forgotten. Benny had told him a secret in the hospital and for the life of him, Tony couldn't remember exactly what it had been.

"Yeah," Benny shrugged again before snuggling into Tony's side, grabbing onto his Uncle's OSU shirt, "I'm tired Uncle Tony."

"Well then take a nap buddy," Tony put his arm around the boy, feeling the undeniable urge to protect him, "I'll wake you up when your mom brings some dinner."

Looking into his Uncle's eyes, Benny sighed and nodded before moving closer towards his Uncle. His Uncle was big and strong and wasn't sick anymore. He could take care of everyone.

And Uncle Tony would be home when his dad came just like he said he would in the message that Benny had deleted by himself before anyone else heard it because he didn't want anyone to here the bad things his dad had said about his Momma and his Uncle Tony.

Uncle Tony would make sure his dad didn't hurt anyone every again.

A/N2: Another chapter done! Next one will be up hopefully soon but I make no promises. But I will try very hard because I know how it feels to be on the other end, waiting for a story to be updated. I will try!

Once again, reviews are appreciated. :)