Tony's Salvation—Chapter 10
Gibbs escorts McGee out into the hall and looks at his youngest agent in question. Tim had purposely stayed behind this time, clearly wanting to discuss something with him.
"Come on, we'll talk downstairs." He leads the way to his basement and Tim follows him slowly as he remembers what he's just heard.
Downstairs, Gibbs waits with unheard of patience while McGee finishes processing everything that he's learned in the past few hours.
"Boss, have you ever heard of Richie DiNozzo? Should I try and find him? Why is Tony in so much pain?"
Gibbs sighs as he answers or tries to answer Tim's questions. He too had learned something tonight and knows that he will be hearing that pain-filled scream for months to come.
"Calm down McGee and let's figure this out. No, I haven't heard of Richie DiNozzo until tonight. If you want to try finding out what happened to him, I have no problem with it. As for Tony's pain—I don't know. That's why I asked Abby to bring in someone who might be able to bring him back to us."
Tim nods, concerned for the man he considers his brother in all but blood. He smiles as he realizes that Gibbs has given him the okay to investigate Tony's brother and vows to do what he can to keep his friend from having any more nightmares. The two men head back upstairs. Gibbs heads for a shower and Tim steps back into the den to pick up his laptop. He smiles at the picture before his eyes: Tony sleeping peacefully with his hands wrapped around the commander's waist and the commander equally at peace with her head on Tony's shoulder. He snaps a quick picture with his phone, not really sure why he does so.
When Gibbs comes back down the hall, Tim has started the coffee pot and is plugged into the internet, searching for anything on Richie DiNozzo. He finally hits pay dirt when he decides to double check Tony's birth records and cross references them for the information he needs on Richie.
"Hey boss, I found a birth certificate and an adoption certificate. That's odd, there's no name of the adoptive family."
"Not so odd, McGee. It's possible that the family never formally adopted Tony's brother, in which case, there would be no names on it, other than the DiNozzo's."
Gibbs doesn't bother saying that if Richie DiNozzo had been sold to another family, in the guise of an adoption, they'd be lucky to find any trace of him.
Another hour passes and by this time, both Gibbs and McGee are getting worried. Other than the first documents that Tim had found, no other record of Richie DiNozzo appears to exist. Abby comes downstairs and hugs the two men as she reaches in the fridge for her back-up Caf-Pow.
They bring her up to date on what they're working on and Abby frowns as she remembers that Tony had been left alone on Maui for two whole days. She starts inputting that information into the search that Tim's been running.
Two minutes later they all hear the ding of a search being completed. Three pairs of eyes turn to the computer. Gibbs reads what the computer says and curses before heading downstairs. Tim and Abby read what the screen says; Abby sits down in the nearest chair and Tim pales as he continues reading.
Gibbs comes back upstairs to find Abby weeping quietly in Tim's arms. The computer geek is holding back his own tears as he continues probing Tony's past. He looks up at the gentle squeeze on his shoulder. Tim sighs and dutifully recites what he's learned.
"Richie DiNozzo was born the same day as Tony only five minutes later. Both boys grew up in an abusive home. No child abuse reports were filed due to lack of evidence. When they were eight, Mrs. DiNozzo passed away; coroner's report stated death by natural causes. At the age of twelve, the DiNozzo males were on a trip to Maui, when Mr. DiNozzo was given an ultimatum."
Tim pauses long enough to take a deep breath and pinch the bridge of his nose as he continues the path of Tony's past. "Richie was sold during the same time period that Tony was left alone at the hotel. I was actually able to come up with a bill of sale for Richie in the amount of ten thousand dollars.
"I lost him for about 6 years but when he enlisted in the marines I found him again. His name by this time had changed to Richard Thorpe. The one thing they didn't change was his social security number. He was killed saving several members of his unit; among the surviving members, one Leroy Jethro Gibbs. There is a marriage certificate in here for him boss; he married Laurie Fields three months prior to his death. Boss, she miscarried their child a few weeks after Richie died."
Gibbs grip on Tim's shoulder tightens as Tim concludes his findings. He remembers Thorpe; the man had indeed given his life for Gibbs, just prior to Gibbs being sent to Afghanistan. Thorpe had been full of life, yet there had been a shadow in his eyes that never faded, not even when they received mail or phone calls from home. Yet he had been a marine, and to Gibbs that was all that mattered.
A/N: New chapter by the weekend.