A/N: Can't believe how long it's been... Still decided to finish this! - Hope you enjoy :)

"You wanna try taking a shower?" Gibbs eyed the younger man questioningly, internally debating the wisdom of his suggestion, even knowing that Tony would feel better for it…

Their first night together had been mostly uneventful. Tony had gone to bed early, courtesy of the pills he had grudgingly accepted after his second breathing treatment. After that, Gibbs had tried working on his boat for a while, but had continued to feel irritated and restless, the frustration of his forced inactivity and his uncharacteristic uncertainty about the situation disrupting his concentration and workflow. In the end, he had briefly checked on Tony and – finding him still fast asleep – worked out some of his frustration by a late-night run.

This morning, he had been up early – his usual workday rhythm hard to break – but had been very surprised to find Tony joining him in the kitchen not half an hour later. Remembering the reduced gusto with which Tony had forced down the hospital food the last couple of days, he had then broken his routine by preparing some toast and eggs for them in addition to his usual morning coffee.

And now, after they had both finished eating, he was waiting for his agent to decide on the next cause of action. – He wasn't entirely surprised when DiNozzo immediately nodded at his suggestion.

"Yeah, think that would be a good idea…"

Placing the dishes in the sink, Gibbs concentrated on keeping his tone both neutral and open. "You want some help with that?"

He could practically feel his senior field agent shaking his head behind his back and he heard the slight smile in his voice when he immediately declined the offer. "Nah, I'll be fine. But thanks, boss…"

.

When Tony returned from the bathroom about half an hour later, he looked pale and somewhat shaky, but he was again smiling slightly. "This feels much better…" Still, the way he immediately made a beeline for the sofa and quickly sank down on it, told Gibbs how much the simple act of showering had cost him…

"You need a hand with that?" Gibbs nodded towards the rib protection Tony was loosely holding in his good right hand. He was otherwise dressed in a warm bathrobe Gibbs had given him earlier, a towel additionally wrapped around his waist.

Tony eyed him for a moment, but then just gave a slight nod in response before somewhat reluctantly handing over the bandage.

"Can you stand up for this?"

Gibbs reflexively reached out for his agent's good elbow when Tony took a breath, before starting to push himself to a slightly shaky stance. – Patiently waiting for the younger man to get his bearings, he finally instructed calmly:

"You'll need to lose the bathrobe."

Once again hesitating briefly, Tony gave him a somewhat wry smile. "You sure you wanna see this? It's pretty colorful…"

The uncharacteristic shyness wasn't lost on Gibbs, and he wondered just how much this thing had changed between them and just how far Tony was willing to let it go... Not replying anything, he finally just gave his agent a patient half-smile in response and decided to simply wait him out.

Apparently steeling himself for what was to come, Tony eventually nodded slightly, briefly meeting his boss's calm gaze again. "Right, okay. Just get on with it, huh…?" With that he shrugged the robe off his right side, before very carefully letting it slide down his for the moment slingless left arm, all the while keeping the towel around his hips firmly in place.

Letting his gaze travel over the younger man's upper body, Gibbs had to fight to keep his composure. Tony's whole torso was covered in angry looking bruises, the rib section swollen and obviously very tender, if his carefully slouched posture and shallow breathing were any indication. Very gently touching the right side of the ribcage to feel for areas of maximal heat and swelling made Tony flinch slightly, though from pain or nerves Gibbs could not tell.

"Relax, Tony; you're okay…" The words left his mouth without conscious thought, as he automatically tried to alleviate some of his agent's discomfort during his careful examination. "Breathe out," he finally instructed, waiting for Tony to comply before starting to expertly wrap the injured ribs in the supporting bandage.

The moment he was done and had quickly made sure that the support wasn't too tight, he immediately prompted Tony to sit down again, worried by the bone-white hue his complexion had taken on by now.

"Okay…?" He finally asked quietly, when Tony had taken several semi-deep breaths and seemed a little further from simply fainting again.

"Yeah… Sorry about that. – Don't know why I get so shaky all the time. It's not as if I've lost a whole lot of blood…" Another somewhat embarrassed half-smile.

"Pain can do that to you, Tony." Gibbs replied matter-of-factly, before handing over two pills and a glass of water. "Speaking of which…"

Rolling his eyes, the younger man accepted the meds, but hesitated then.

"Just take them, Tony; they're not gonna kill you..." When that didn't produce the desired outcome, he added in his usual tone: "Not a suggestion, DiNozzo. We'll stick to the prescribed schedule with these; otherwise they'll lose much of their effect…"

When Tony had reluctantly followed the 'order', Gibbs gave him another questioning glance. "You been using the ointment the doc gave you?" He concentrated on keeping his tone completely neutral.

Tony gave a small nod in response, to his own horror blushing slightly.

Gibbs regarded him a moment longer. "Everything looking okay?" He finally prompted gently.

That caused the younger man to snort softly. "Okay's not exactly the word I'd use, Gibbs…"

The older man couldn't help but smile slightly at that, before quickly sobering again. "There any sign of an infection? Or more swelling?" he simply specified then.

Tony shook his head. "Don't think so. – I'll be fine, boss…"

Gibbs nodded slowly. "If you notice anything or the pain should be getting worse, you need to let me know, Tony…"

"That what the pamphlet says…?" Tony gave him another wry smile, tone a mixture of pained and teasing.

"That's what 30 years experience with gunshot and surgery wounds say, and that's what I am saying to you, Tony, so you damn well better not mess around with this."

Another crooked half-smile, but then something on Tony's face suddenly softened slightly.

"No messin' around – got you, boss."

tbc (eventually... ;-)