A/N: Standard disclaimers apply, as per usual. Don't own NCIS, and please take anything medical/technical/scientific with a grain of salt! :) I think there will be one more chapter after this one. Enjoy! -abby

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It wasn't long before a couple of nurses came in to remove Tony's nasal cannula, along with the bandages around his head. With Gibbs' help, they gently coaxed the reluctant patient into eating a few bites of toast and some juice. After his initial refusal, Tony managed to keep the food down and was pleasantly surprised to find that it actually helped settle the remaining nausea instead of making it worse. With the meds keeping his pain under control, the senior field agent had to admit that he was feeling a lot more like himself - if rather exhausted and foggy - by the time the rest of the team showed up for a visit. Gibbs was still sitting by Tony's side when Abby bounced in ahead of Ducky, Ziva and McGee. Her black pigtails bobbed wildly as she rushed over to her friend.

"Tony! I missed you! I'm so glad you're awake!" She gave Tony a gentle version of her usual crushing bear hug. He smiled wanly at the young Goth scientist in return. "Did you know that Gibbs has been here almost the entire time? Isn't that sweet? He wouldn't leave unless one of us was here with you, and even then only long enough to change clothes or grab some coffee! We were all so worried, but Gibbs was the most worried of all!" Tony looked appreciatively in Gibbs' direction, and in response received a fond look from the older man.

Ducky spoke up next, warmly greeting the younger man with a smile. "Abigail is right, my boy. You had us all quite concerned." He looked over at Gibbs. "What did his doctor say, Jethro?"

Gibbs summarized the doctor's report, finishing with, "He's still having a tough time with his speech, but Dr. Gray says that should improve soon."

Ziva and Tim had been standing quietly off to the side, taking in DiNozzo's appearance. He was very pale, a condition accentuated by the dark circles under his eyes and the bruising at his hairline. Tony seemed thin and fragile in the hospital bed. His wrists were wrapped in white bandages and an IV still slowly dripped into his arm. At the lead agent's words, McGee asked with concern, "But he'll be okay, right?"

"Okay," Tony tried to assure the junior agent with a dim version of his usual megawatt grin.

Gibbs could see from the look on Tim's face that he wasn't convinced. He looked the young man in the eye and said firmly, "Yeah, McGee. He's gonna be just fine." The junior agent nodded reluctantly.

Squeezing Tony's arm gently, Ziva said, "I am very glad that we found you in time, Tony." She hesitated. "And Special Agent Fornell sends his regards."

Tony was puzzled by that. Fornell? That's it. Time for me to hear the whole story. He gathered himself and shot a pointed look at Gibbs. "Story? Now." Tony was infuriated by his current inability to form a cohesive sentence. He glowered and tried again. "Fornell?" Dammit all to hell, he thought in frustration, his hands clenching into fists.

Abby gasped and covered her mouth with both hands. Concern was apparent on her face as well as those of her colleagues, all except for Gibbs. The lead agent placed a reassuring hand on Tony's shoulder. "Take it easy. It's gonna take time, remember?" However, stilted speech or not, Gibbs knew what Tony was saying. He supposed that there wasn't any point in continuing to hide the full story from his senior field agent. DiNozzo was a skilled investigator and would figure it out eventually, and Gibbs would prefer for Tony to hear the truth from him.

Gibbs took a breath and explained. "The FBI field office in Manhattan received a call about a ransom demand." The lead agent couldn't hide the fury that flashed in his blue eyes as he continued, "Your father had his secretary call it in as a 'public service'. He stated that he would not be paying the ransom," Gibbs hesitated for the briefest of seconds before finishing, "and that he was not interested in the outcome of the case."

Tony was quiet for a moment, and his friends watched carefully for a reaction. Finally the injured man said simply, "Surprised."

McGee exhaled loudly as he thought, I knew it! Out loud, he said "I was surprised too! I couldn't believe it, Tony. I mean, that your father would be so callous and completely refuse to consider paying a ransom, that's pretty unbelievable-" Tim was cut off with a look from his boss.

"He doesn't mean that he's surprised his father refused to pay," Gibbs' voice was quiet. "He means he's surprised that his father called in the demand at all." The lead agent's ice blue eyes flicked over to meet Tony's. From the look of pain on the other man's face, Gibbs knew that he had interpreted correctly.

Tim was speechless. He opened and closed his mouth, looking for something to say. Silence hung awkwardly in the room for a moment.

Finally Abby spoke up. She knew Tony wasn't comfortable discussing his relationship with his family, so she deftly changed the subject. "Tony! You haven't even heard the part about the guy that took you hostage! You'll never guess what his deal was!" Abby plowed ahead, fully aware of the relief in Tony's posture. "He didn't have a criminal record or anything like that! His name was Jerry Foster, and he was just a regular guy, had a good job and a house and family and everything."

Ziva picked up the story when Abby paused to take a breath. "He was recently diagnosed with a terminal illness and given less than three months to live. It seems that he...how do you say...lost it? He decided that he needed to earn some fast money to leave for his wife and three children when he died."

"A noble gesture, but his methods were a bit lacking, I'm afraid," Ducky noted.

Abby nodded as she commented, "He figured he could win no matter what - either he would successfully rob the bank and get the money that way, or he would get killed in the process and his family could get an insurance payout." The Goth put her hands on her black-clad hips. "Obviously he wasn't thinking clearly. I don't think an insurance company would pay that claim without a fight."

McGee had finally recovered from his shock enough to chime in. "Foster was a demolitions expert for a construction company. He used his considerable knowledge of explosives - and his access to C-4 - to wire the little coffee shop across the street as his backup getaway plan. It was already a very complex plan, then he recognized your name and decided to take it in a whole new direction."

Tony looked somewhat baffled by the convoluted story. "Wow. Different," he managed, earning a chuckle from his friends.

"I know, right?" Abby agreed cheerfully. "It's so crazy! Who would have thought he was just a regular Joe? The way he killed his two men..." The smile dropped off the scientist's face as she trailed off. "We were so worried about what he might do to you and Gibbs!"

"But luckily, my dear, you found the crucial bit of evidence just in time." Ducky patted Abby on the shoulder as he explained, "There was a strange residue on the boots of the men Foster killed-"

Abby interrupted the tolerant ME, her excitement renewed with the chance to talk forensics. "It was from a steel mill! Timmy ran a search and found that there used to be a steel mill in the area, but it closed up years ago. Anyway, we took a chance that he would be holding you there and now here you are!" Abby bounced up and down with a grin.

Tony smiled at her. "Thanks," he said, then looked over at McGee. "Tim." He was clearly thanking the junior agent as well.

McGee sighed. He still felt bad for his earlier awkward statement, but figured there would be plenty of time to apologize later. Tony did not seem angry, and certainly wasn't in any shape to talk about it. Tim decided to take the path of least resistance - for once - and said sincerely, "You're welcome, Tony. For a while there we didn't have any leads at all, so I'm just really glad we were right."

Dr. Mallard looked at his watch. "We should go, I think we're about to overstay our welcome," he said to his colleagues. "Anthony needs his rest. Goodbye, my boy, we will check in with you tomorrow." The ME began the often-lengthy process of herding Abby toward the door.

"Bye, Tony!" The Goth waved cheerfully. "See you later!"

Ziva and McGee took their leave as well, and yet again Gibbs found himself alone with his senior field agent. He noticed Tony looking at him, but couldn't quite read the expression on the younger man's face.

"Stay?" was the only thing Tony could come up with. Jesus. That makes a whole lot of sense, he thought, frustrated and annoyed all over again.

Gibbs regarded his agent before asking carefully, "Are you asking me why I stayed? Or if I'm going to stay again?"

Tony was surprised. He had hardly known himself what he was trying to ask. He chuckled inwardly. Why are you surprised? Gibbs always has the answers, so why not the questions too?

"Yes." was Tony's response.

The silver-haired agent shook his head bemusedly. "I stayed because I wanted to. Because I care what happens to you, and there was nowhere more important for me to be than right here watching your six. And yes, I'll stay now. For the very same reasons." Gibbs continued mentally, and because one of these days I'm going to get it through your thick skull that you are worthy of such attention. He thought he had already made that clear to the younger man, but with DiNozzo's history it was really no wonder that Tony had such a hard time believing it. Gibbs sighed. "Now go to sleep, Tony."

Tony looked at his boss and smiled gratefully before obeying.