A/N: Thank you for all the favorites, follows and comments. I am really pleased so many are enjoying the story. Here's the conclusion. Thanks for tuning in.
Muted voices crowded his mind. Then, he smelled coffee. Gibbs. Was Gibbs here? Where was here?
Suddenly, the voices were in focus. "Ah, Jethro, I do believe Anthony is waking up."
Ducky! Gibbs! A small smile touched the corner of his lips which he realized were parched. Slowly, he opened one eye, then the other. Everything looked bright and blurry and he tried to raise his arm and felt weight on his hand. He lifted the other hand easier and wiped his eyes, blinking steadily, trying to make the world come into focus. First thing he realized was the smell, it was distinctly hospital. Second thing he realized that Ducky and Gibbs were standing to his right. Ducky was smiling at him. Gibbs looked grim but as he took a moment to focus, he recognized concern in his eyes.
Tony opened his mouth to speak but his lips and mouth were so parched, he couldn't. He tried to produce saliva but he felt too dry to do it. Gibbs who was standing closest, poured a cup of water and put in a straw and held it close to Tony.
"Small sips, Tony," he instructed.
Tony gratefully obeyed and the cool, fresh water felt wonderful on his tongue. He took several more small sips until his whole mouth felt moistened and felt a little more human.
"What happened?" Tentatively, Tony started moving individual limbs, wondering if he'd been shot or stabbed again.
"Were hoping you could tell us."
They were interrupted by a nurse stepping in. "Ah good, you're awake. How are you feeling Agent DiNozzo?"
Tony looked down at his hand with the IV for a few seconds before lifting that hand slightly toward her. "Fine. You can take this out now."
"No can do," the nurse said smiling. She pointed the bag above. "You have that bag to empty and another one after it. Then, the doctor will consider taking out the IV. I will let him know you're awake. She smiled, checked his vitals and left the room again.
"What's wrong with me?" Tony asked.
"You were found unconscious, face down in a snow bank and partially in a slush pile. You had a dangerously high fever, Anthony. You were also dehydrated. You are receiving IV fluids and antibiotics for pneumonia prophylaxis. You are lucky to not have frostbite but you were found in time.
A man in a white coat entered the room smiling. "Ah, Agent DiNozzo, I'm Dr. Dale Kirshner. It's good to see you awake. You gave your friends here quite a scare. "
"Hi Doc," Tony tried to sit up in bed. "When can I get out of here?"
Dr. Kirshner laughed. "Dr. Mallard warned me you'd be chomping at the bit to leave when you woke up. Are you in any pain?"
Tony mentally assessed his body. "A little sore, I guess. Not bad. Does that mean I can go home?"
Dr. Kirshner chuckled. "Not yet. I'm afraid you have to stick around for at least today. If you do well through tomorrow morning, I will consider letting you go home tomorrow afternoon. I talked to Dr. Pitt and he advised observation for 48 hours due to your history of pneumonic plague." He chuckled. "I had to see your chart to believe he wasn't joking. You're tough to kill, Agent DiNozzo, a good trait to have in your line of work."
Tony groaned and flopped back against the pillow. "Not for lack of trying." Tony looked around his room and grimaced. "I just want to go home."
Gibbs shook his head. "Tomorrow, DiNozzo, if you don't relapse." The tone, while soft, was clearly an order.
He huffed but let the doctor examine listen to his heart and lungs and then take his blood pressure.
"Sounds good," he smiled. "Your lungs sound fine and your blood pressure and heart rate are coming down nicely. Get some rest, Agent DiNozzo. You'll need it if you want to leave tomorrow."
"I'll be ready to go," Tony avowed.
Dr. Kirshner smirked. "Call a nurse if you need anything. I will check in on you again later."
As the doctor left, another person walked in his room.
"Zoe!" Tony smiled.
"Hey Spider, nice to see you awake." She smiled at him. She handed Gibbs and Ducky two cups of what Tony assumed were coffee and tea.
"Okay, so what happened?" Tony repeated. "Why am I in the hospital?"
"We're not quite sure, Anthony," Ducky sounded puzzled. "You were found unconscious in a freezing pile of slush on a residential street. You were on foot. Tim traced your car's GPS and it was almost 4 miles away from where you were found. We have no idea how or why you ended up where you did. A gentleman who lives on the street you ended up on found you and called 911."
"What happened after you left work, Tony?" Gibbs asked, his voice gentle.
Tony paused to take another sip of water and took a few minutes to think about it. "It was just so weird. All day yesterday after that guy attacked me, I felt like everyone was watching me. I noticed security cameras like it was the first time I'd ever seen them even though I've known they were there. I was also seeing them in places I thought there shouldn't be any. I felt like I was being followed, there was this one car, a Camry, that followed me quite a ways but when I stopped for food, he drove on. Then, I felt trapped in traffic and panicked. I never panic in traffic. That was a first. Then I was being followed on foot and people kept asking me if I was okay. And it was men who were asking. I would've expected women to ask, but men were asking. Not that it's weird for someone to care about the well-being of others but just the way they looked at me…like they weren't sure what to think of me. It felt kind of…surreal, I guess."
Gibbs was still looking at him a little curiously but Ducky's countenance was one of understanding. "Anthony, you had a fever of 103.1 when the EMTs reached you. It's possible you were hallucinating that you were being watched and followed but you weren't. You may have been flushed or sweaty with fever and why these strangers were concerned. They would see something was wrong."
"Hallucinations?" Tony repeated stupidly, doubts forming in his mind. "You mean hallucinations like schizophrenics? This doesn't mean I'm schizophrenic, does it?"
Ducky chuckled. "No, my dear boy, you're not schizophrenic though after what happened at the hospital yesterday, I can understand your concern. Very high fevers can induce hallucinations though it's not an absolute. You really should've told one of us you felt unwell."
"But I didn't, Ducky. I felt fine, well, I was sore where the guy crashed me into the wall but I didn't feel sick, I mean."
"The footprints in the snow we followed appeared that you had run quite a distance. That's why you're sore."
"Two men had followed me. One reminded me of Jason from the Friday the 13th movies."
Zoe's eyes grew wide at this. "I thought you didn't watch horror movies."
"I used to when I was younger. Now, they're just too gory. I see enough gore at work without watching them."
"I quite agree with that sentiment, Anthony."
"So two men weren't following me?"
"Anthony, it would be impossible to say. It is possible that like the car that followed you for a distance, it's possible that these men were walking in the same direction but were not purposefully following you."
"They weren't running after me. They were just walking."
"Then it was either a visual hallucination or a real person just going your way."
"Huh," Tony shook his head. "So, I'm not crazy, right? I sure felt like I was going crazy."
"No, my dear boy, you're not crazy…yet." Ducky smirked at him.
Tony smiled back but his smile turned to a yawn.
"Get some rest, Anthony. We have to get back to work but we'll be back later to check on you."
"Oh, the case! Did you figure out how Park died?" Tony was suddenly wide awake.
"Ah yes, our unfortunate Lance Corporal had a sudden cardiac arrest caused by a condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. It's a shame really. If it had been discovered sooner, he could've received preventative treatment and possibly prevented his death. Unfortunately, it was never discovered. There was no record of it in any of his previous physicals.
Zoe frowned. "Excuse me, Ducky, but isn't that congenital? Wouldn't they have found that when he joined the Marines?"
"Not necessarily, my dear. Some diseases can also cause it. Abigail is currently running some blood tests in the hopes of discovering what precisely caused this since it was not discovered in time to prevent his death. Sudden cardiac arrest is not uncommon in athletic young men with the condition. Unfortunately, it was probably exacerbated by the antidepressant used to treat his PTSD and the stress caused by his experiences in Afghanistan and the PTSD symptoms. All these factors caused excessive strain on his heart."
"Huh," Tony said, realizing he was too tired to take in the medical mumbo jumbo. "So, there was no foul play."
"Does not appear to be, no."
"Oh, thank God!" Tony breathed.
All three sets of eyes were focused on him, surprised by his outburst.
Tony reddened, realizing how that must've sounded. "Sorry. It's sad he died so young. I just meant I'm glad we don't have to go back to that psych hospital and interview anyone else. Just…not in a hurry to go back there."
Gibbs rolled his eyes though Tony swore there might've been a tiny glint of amusement in his eyes. "Did you really think I'd let you back there to interview anyone after that guy attacked you?" Gibbs gently tapped the back of his head. 'Get some rest, DiNozzo. And don't even think about sneaking out of here or signing out AMA!" Gibbs ended his head tap with a slight ruffle but his order was also a warning.
"Wouldn't dream of it, Boss."
"We'll stop in after work, Anthony." Ducky smiled and said his goodbyes and followed Gibbs out.
After the men left, Zoe stepped closer and pulled the chair up by the bed and smiled at him. Tony gave her a small smile back. "Do you have to go back to work too?"
"Nope," she said as she sat down. "I'm here." She placed her hand on his arm, not squeezing on account of the IV.
"Sorry if I scared you."
"I was a little worried. Just glad you're okay."
"Was just a bad day."
"I got that. Next time you think someone is following you though, call me. If you can't reach me, call someone on your team. Don't go it alone like that. If it hadn't been rush hour, who knows how long it might've taken someone to find you."
"Yeah, I'll try to remember. I really hadn't expected…"
"I know, Spider."
"Where's Ellie and Tim and Abby?"
"They're at work. They're coming in this evening to visit. Gibbs didn't know how you would feel when you first woke up and didn't want you to be overwhelmed with company."
Tony smiled a little. Gibbs always had his six. Yeah, Ducky, Gibbs and Zoe had been enough for the moment. "Did you call my dad?"
Zoe sighed. "I didn't, no. We were so busy trying to figure out what exactly happened to you, I didn't think about it. I can call him if you want me to."
"Nah, no big deal. I'm fine. I'll tell him about it at Christmas. No point in worrying him for nothing."
Zoe nodded and smiled. "Sleep now. If I'm not right here when you wake up, I'll just be getting a drink or using the bathroom. I'll be back." She stood up, leaned down and kissed his forehead.
Tony's eyes involuntarily closed with the kiss and he yawned again, letting his eyes stay closed. At least this little adventure wouldn't ruin their Christmas, even if he did end up having to take a day or two off work. Light stroking of his fingers made him smile a little and he took comfort in Zoe's touch. He felt his body relax, knowing she had his six. The motion soothed him and he fell asleep in moments, happy that all was right with the world again, at least until the next case.