Enjoy!

Family Chapter 4

Jethro sat in the waiting room with a cup of coffee in his hand and waited for Shannon to come. Tony had been transferred to a private room and they were allowed to see him even though he was asleep.

After ten minutes she came running in to the ER. She had a simple black t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants on her. Her red hair was in a sloppy ponytail. Jethro stood up and pulled her into a hug. He rubbed a hand soothingly up and down her back.

"How is he?" she whispered in his ear. Jethro pushed away from her so he could look her in the eyes. He brushed away some hair from her eye and smiled sadly.

"He's gonna be okay" He said and pulled her into a warm hug "He has been transferred to a private room, they have sedated him so he is still sleeping but we can sit with him"

They slowly made their way to Tony's room.

He looked much better than last time Jethro had seen him but it still looked bad. He had numerous of tubes and wires attached to him. The swelling on his face had gone down but had been replaced with dark bruises. The support collar was gone and the bandage around his head was changed. Jethro was glad that the hospital gown hid the ugly bruises and cuts that continued down Tony's chest and stomach.

"Oh my god" Shannon sobbed and grabbed Jethro's hand.

"What happened?" she asked and pulled out a chair to sit beside Tony's bedside.

"I think he tried to help a girl who was being robbed" Jethro answered and sat down on a chair on the other side of the bed. Shannon grabbed Tony's uninjured hand gently and squeezed it.

"We have to help him Jethro" Shannon said and looked deep into her husbands blue eyes.

"Yeah and we will" Jethro answered.

Jethro woke with a start. He sat straighter in the uncomfortable plastic chair and ran a hand through his hair. He looked over the bed to find Shannon's chair empty. She'd probably gone out to call Michelle and ask how Kelly was. He was about to go to the bathroom when he heard a moan coming from the bed. He looked down and saw Tony's finger twitch. He sat down in the chair and took Tony's hand and squeezed lightly.

"Hey Tony, can you hear me?" He asked gently. Tony's brow furrowed and another moan escaped his dry lips.

"Come on kid open those eyes for me" Jethro said softly. Tony's eyes fluttered open and met Jethro's before he screwed them shut as pain shot through his body. Jethro understood directly what was going on and reached for the call button.

"Hang on Tony, I called for the nurse and they can give you something for the pain" Jethro said and brushed away the sweat soaked hair from Tony's eyes. Dr Ryan came into the room and nodded at Jethro. He looked at the chart before turning to Tony.

"Hi Tony, I'm Dr Ryan, I took care of you when you came into the ER" he said and gently squeezed Tony's hand.

"I 'member" Tony groaned and squinted up at Ryan.

"Okay, Tony I'm gonna give you something for the pain" Ryan said and inserted something in Tony's IV. "That should help"

He looked over Tony's injuries and wrote something in his chart.

"Everything looks good, the fever has gone down and he's doing better than I thought. Just push the call button if you need something" He said and walked out of the room, leaving

Tony and Gibbs alone.

"You okay" Jethro asked after a couple of moments and looked down at Tony.

"Yeah I guess" he answered. Jethro didn't believe him, but he didn't push and he also thought that it would be best if he let Tony rest before asking him questions about his father.

"What are you doing here?" Tony asked and met his eyes for the first time since he woke up. Jethro was startled by the question, what did the kid mean, didn't he want him there?

"You asked for me so I thought you wanted me here"

"I do it's just that, don't you have more important things to do then to sit here with me. I'm not worth it" Tony whispered quietly and turned his gaze to his lap.

Gibbs gut was twisting, hot fury rising in him against the people who had messed up the mind of the poor boy. He grabbed Tony chin as gently as he could and turned his head. Tony avoided his gaze and kept looking down on his shaking hands.

"Tony what I'm about to say is really important so I want you to listen very carefully to me, okay?" Tony didn't answer and kept is gaze on his lap.

"Look at me when I talk to you Tony" Gibbs growled and immediately regretted his action

When he saw Tony flinch violently. Gibbs took a deep breath and tried again.

"Hey kiddo please just look at me, I won't hurt you. I promise" Tony slowly turned his glazed eyes and met Gibbs' blue.

"I never ever want to hear you say that again because that's not true, you understand?" Tony nodded uncertainly and began to fidget with the white hospital blanket.

"You understand?" Gibbs repeated and gave Tony's head a small shake.

"I understand" He whispered.

Tony's face displayed a struggle of emotions. All the self-doubt, fear, self-hatred and the insecurity were visible for a moment before he pulled away from Gibbs' grasp and looked at the wall opposite from Jethro.

"Tony, I talked to Dr Ryan before and he told me about some bruises…"

"Well yeah! I've nearly been beaten to death, I guess that's to be expected don't you think?" Tony mumbled back sarcastically.

"He said that they occurred before the beating" Jethro continued. He saw Tony stiffen and gently laid his big calloused hand over Tony's and squeezed his fingers.

"Talk to me kiddo, its okay" Jethro said softly. He ran his thumb over Tony's smooth hand.

"I fell" Tony answered quickly. Too quickly for Gibbs liking.

"Tony I promise he won't hurt you anymore. I got your six" Tony slowly turned his head towards Gibbs. The heart monitor sped up and a sob escaped Tony's dry lips. Tony laid his plastered hand over Gibbs' and twirled his fingers around it.

"Please don't make me go back to him, I… I don't want to go b-back" Tony whispered. Feeling his chest tighten at Tony's admission, the gruff marine leaned forward and wiped a single tear from Tony's cheek. He began to run a hand through the kid's brown messy hair and felt how Tony leaned into his touch.

"You don't need to go back to him Tony, I promise…" He stopped there, feeling his throat tighten and eyes burn. "I promise" He whispered. Gibbs saw how Tony's eyes closed before he stubbornly opened them again.

"Sleep kid, you need it" Jethro said and watched as his eyes closed without opening them again. Jethro sighted and closed his eyes. This was worse than he thought. He didn't understand what the hell Tony could possibly have done to deserve this. He got up from the chair and walked out of the room and saw Shannon lean against the wall down the hospital corridor. She was talking on the phone and in her hand was two cups of coffee. He walked up to her, took one of the cups and took a sip of the lukewarm coffee. Shannon ended her call and sighted.

"That was Michelle, Kelly was still sleeping" Shannon said and took a sip of her coffee and grimaced.

"That's good honey" He smiled. "Tony woke up before" Jethro said and tucked a string off hair behind her ears.

"Oh my god is he okay" Shannon gasped and quickly turned around to walk to Tony's room but Jethro stopped her.

"He's asleep now but he is okay" He said and pulled his wife into a hug.

"Did you ask him about the bruises Jethro?" she whispered in his ear.

"Yeah, yeah I did"

"And what did he say?" Shannon wondered. Jethro pulled away so he could look Shannon in her eyes. ¨

"I'm sorry Shannon" Jethro whispered and his wife understood directly what he meant. She wrapped her arms around his neck and sobbed quietly. Gibbs held her tighter and whispered soothing words in her ear.

TBC

Hope you enjoyed! I'm sorry for my English, I'm from Sweden.