Tony was released from hospital the next day with a prescription of rest and quiet. A few days later he reflected that his otherwise intelligent friends seemed to have developed difficulties following directions as it seemed that he was never alone.

He assumed that Radhika felt she should do something to earn her pay: the movie theater was closed because of the damage caused by Smith so she had nothing else to do. She visited a couple of times a day and always brought something for Tony to eat. Tony's appetite was slow to return and Radhika's onion bhajis and lamb samosas were the first things to tempt him and he began to develop a taste for her Indian cuisine.

Archie was another frequent visitor but, again, Tony reasoned he had nothing to do as the theater was shut. He also suspected that Archie was enjoying a sense of freedom after decades of hiding, Archie was beginning to explore the city in which he had lived for so long and was constantly amazed. He was also thinking of starting to drive a car again – he had always stayed close to home and so hadn't needed to drive. Tony had mischievously suggested he asked Gibbs or Ziva for lessons but, when he saw that Archie was taking the idea seriously, substituted McGee as the more sensible choice. He and Archie often used to watch a DVD from Tony's extensive collection and he enjoyed having such a knowledgeable co-watcher. It was a little strange, he thought, that Archie always managed to select gentle, quiet movies which inexplicably led to Tony dozing off halfway through.

Tony was also not really surprised that Ducky came so often: he had probably agreed to do medical checks as a condition of Tony's release from hospital. It was lucky that his visits never coincided with anyone else's as this meant that Tony could be more honest about how he was feeling without anyone else around to judge that he was being a wimp for still having a headache and feeling a bit nauseous. Ducky was able to reassure him that such side-effects were not uncommon and that rest was the best prescription.

Tony guessed that they were quite busy in Autopsy so always had to leave someone as cover; that would explain why Ducky and Jimmy never came together. Tony realised quite early on that Ducky sent Jimmy there to gain experience and so he submitted patiently to Jimmy's questions and examinations. He knew also that Jimmy was on a tight budget with his medical studies so, even if he didn't really feel like eating something himself, he always made a point of getting Jimmy to share a meal with him.

McGee also came often. Tony could picture him judging when Gibbs was stuck in MTAC or a budget meeting and figuring out how long he could escape from the squad room for. Tony began to think it was quite useful for McGee that the former SFA was stuck at home. McGee seemed to be hitting a lot of problems in his new role which he needed to ask Tony about: when the requisitions needed to be done; how to get on the good side of Delores Bromstead; more details about how to manage Gibbs' diary creatively; how to avoid letting Ziva drive to crime scenes ... there was so much advice he needed from Tony.

Ziva was thinking of moving apartment and was looking at a couple of possibilities quite near to Tony's. This meant that she often dropped in while on her way to a viewing. Tony was a bit concerned that she seemed to be uncharacteristically indecisive about choosing a new abode but was always pleased to see her, especially as all the prospective apartments seemed to be close to artisan bakeries and she always made a point of going and buying some delicious treat to share with him.

Abby was going to a movie themed costume party and was trying to decide on her outfit. She kept on having ideas which she found herself allowing Tony to persuade her out of. He was puzzled that she had ever thought she could have been Shrek, Frankenstein or Thumbelina but he had enjoyed her visits anyway.

All in all, thought Tony on the third day since he had left hospital, it had been one of the best convalescences he had ever had. Little did he know, that at that moment, Gibbs was squinting at the wall-chart which McGee had put up in the squad room.

"Er, Boss," said McGee, "Abby has just reported in. She shared a sandwich and glass of milk with Tony while discussing being the Mother Superior from 'Sound of Music'. She left his apartment thirty minutes ago."

"Good," said Gibbs, filling in a square by Abby's name, "that means it's my turn and I've got half an hour before I need to be there".

"And what is the 'reason' for your visit, Gibbs?" asked Ziva.

"Not sure I need one but I took the precaution of ordering a new hand tool and getting it delivered to Tony's place. I have to go and collect it."

"Nice one, Boss," said McGee appreciatively.

"I may need to think of something similar," said Ziva thoughtfully, "I am running out of apartments to 'view' and chocolate muffins are beginning to pall."

NCISNCIS

Gibbs knocked on Tony's door in warning and then let himself in. He could smell the coffee brewing so guessed that he was expected.

"Hey, notBoss," said Tony, " a package arrived for you today. Not that I mind being your messenger service, but why have you stopped having things delivered to the Navy Yard?"

"Last wrench I had delivered got lost in the mailroom for ten days," said Gibbs ruthlessly sacrificing the reputation of the very efficient mail staff.

"Want something to eat? There's some of Radhika's fish stew; shortbread from Ducky (he's finally been given Arch's mom's recipe); a chocolate muffin from Ziva; fruit pie from Abby's nuns and, oh yes, Tim left his nutter butters behind".

In other circumstances Gibbs would have enquired about what Tony had eaten that day but when he'd checked the wall-chart it had shown Tony's approximate calorie, protein and carbohydrate intake for the day and he was satisfied.

"I'll take a piece of pie," he said and Tony decided to keep him company. They ate in silence for a while and then Gibbs said,

"We're not on duty this weekend. D'you want me to take over to the theater so you can see what's going on?" Tony hadn't been out further than the corner of his street so far, and wasn't allowed to drive until the dizziness had completely gone. Gibbs guessed that Tony must be anxious to see the extent of the damage.

"I suppose so," came the surprisingly reluctant reply.

"I thought you'd want to go," said Gibbs tentatively.

"Arch has told me what it looks like," said Tony, "I trust what he says."

"Even so," said Gibbs, "you'll need to see what needs to be done for yourself".

"There's no hurry," said Tony, "besides, I think Arch wants to go off on a road trip."

"Road-trip?"

"Not surprising really. Man's been cooped up in Seymour Boulevard for years. He feels as if he's been let out of prison. He wants to spread his wings a bit".

"Is he going to make contact with his family?" asked Gibbs.

"If Abby had her way, he'd be flying down there straightaway and booking his happy ending."

"And what do you think?" asked Gibbs.

"I think that if this was a movie there would be a great happy ending ..."

"... but?"

"But this is real life and despite what some people think, I do know the difference. We've talked about it, me and Arch. You know, Boss, I've known people do some brave things in my life: soldiers risking their lives, men and women standing up for what they think is right. rescuing people ..."

"... and you've done a few brave things yourself," pointed out Gibbs.

Tony shrugged and continued, "What I mean is that I thought I knew about courage, but what Arch did went beyond anything I'd ever thought about. He walked away from his family, let them think he was dead and submitted himself to a life sentence of loneliness. His family were free to move on after they'd grieved but he could never bring himself to find someone else. And now, how can he go back? His wife and children think he's dead, how would they react to finding that he left them all those years ago? His wife might be married again. How do you unpick all that? But, he deserves to be happy, doesn't he? He might have grandchildren that he doesn't know about; they might need him."

"What does Archie think?" asked Gibbs.

"He longs to know what's happening but he thinks he should stay away. What do you think, Boss?" Tony looked at Gibbs and was startled to see a look of pain on his face. "Oh damn, Jethro, I'm sorry." In that moment, Tony realised how difficult this might be for Gibbs. Shannon and Kelly had been reported as killed when in witness protection. Was Gibbs now thinking that their deaths might also have been 'fixed' and that they were living somewhere under assumed names?

Gibbs shook his head, "It's all right, Tony. I saw them, I know they're dead," he paused and took another sip of his coffee, "but you're right when you say Archie is a hero. I don't know if I could have done what he did. And I don't know what the right answer is. Would his family understand why he left them. Could they understand? How old were his boys when he left?"

"About eight," replied Tony.

"How much would they remember about him?" mused Gibbs.

"I remember quite a lot about my mom," said Tony, "but I don't know what I'd do if she suddenly re-appeared in my life and said, 'Surprise, guess who's not dead?'"

"Is Archie going to find out where she's living, where the boys are?" asked Gibbs.

"I don't think so. He's torn: if he finds out she's happy and married and so on; well, I guess that's not so bad but painful for him. If he finds out she's lonely or ill, then what does he do? And anyway, after thirty years would she want to see him? Gibbs, I think we need to keep Abby out of this – you know she'll want to make a happy ending and she won't understand why it might not be a good idea. I think you're the one to have to tell her, she won't listen to anyone else."

Gibbs winced but said, "OK, but you need to tell me something."

"Deal," said Tony.

"Something Archie said to me didn't make sense."

"Yes?" said Tony warily.

"He said that you seemed to know that he had a panic alarm".

"Aahh," said Tony.

"Tony, did you know Archie was in witness protection?"

"I guessed," came the reply.

"How?"

"Do you remember ages ago I said I'd done a background check on Arch before signing on the dotted line?"

"Yes," said Gibbs, "and we laughed because I said I'd done one too. Or had McGee do one."

"Well, there was something hinky about it," said Tony.

"What was wrong with it?" asked Gibbs.

"It's difficult to say. It looked a bit too neat, a bit too uneventful for someone like Arch. I don't know, there was something not quite right".

"I think I'd better be having a word with McGee about how he runs background checks," said Gibbs a little grimly.

"Hey, don't blame the Probie," said Tony, " it was difficult to spot and I'm not sure even now that I could put my finger on anything in particular. And I had the advantage of knowing the man."

"We'll see," said Gibbs in a tone that didn't augur well for Tim the next day. "So what did you do about your hunch?"

"I asked Agent Slacks. Asked him if there was anyone in witness protection in Seymour Boulevard and, if there was, were they good guys or bad guys."

"And he told you?" said Gibbs in a tone of disbelief.

"He feels guilty about keep accusing me of murder," said Tony unconvincingly.

"DiNozzo ...?" asked Gibbs threateningly.

"Well, I might have given him the impression that it was for a case. Hey, I was still a federal agent at the time with that high level security clearance."

Gibbs was about to tell him off but then realised that his own record in such matters was not exactly spotless and so changed his mind.

"Still, you were taking a risk, Tony."

"I didn't think it was much of one. Arch had been settled in that place for years without any disturbance, it seemed likely that it, whatever it was, was long forgotten. My mistake was letting Hope write that article in the 'Bugle' but I managed to hold her off from writing anything else. Still, all's well that ends well."

"Of course," said Gibbs drily, "it's all perfect. You nearly cracked your skull open and your movie theater looks like a bomb hit it, but otherwise everything's fine."

"Well, it is, isn't it?" said Tony with a bright smile which Gibbs didn't quite buy into.