Thursday, 1712, E Street Cinema, Washington, DC

Gibbs answered the questions Fornell's young pup asked him, and they were reasonably sensible questions, he had to admit. It just galled him not to take an active part in the investigation. Unwillingly, he surrendered his gun. It would have to be tested, per procedure, since he had fired it.

"Thank you, Agent Gibbs," Agent Martin said finally. "Agent Fornell knows how to reach you if we have further questions."

"He does," Gibbs said. He turned to see that both Ziva and McGee were being interviewed as well. Glick was talking to McGee, and someone Gibbs didn't know was talking to Ziva. Jeanne appeared to be finishing up with Fornell. He walked across to them and stopped a few feet away. He didn't want to interrupt, but he had made a promise to her and intended to keep it.

After a couple of moments, Fornell turned bad-temperedly. "Yes, Gibbs? Why are you hovering?"

"I promised Dr. Benoit to see that she got to the hospital. If you're done with her, I thought I'd drive her over."

This had the expected effect on Jeanne's mood. Her impatience became an almost palpable thing. Fornell turned back towards her, saw it and sighed. "I will need to speak with you again later, Dr. Benoit. Please call in the morning and make an appointment."

"Of course," Jeanne said. "Jethro?"

"My car," Gibbs replied, and she immediately started towards it. No question but that she wanted to be gone. "Tobias, tell Ziva and McGee to take a cab, would you?"

"I can have someone drop them at the Navy Yard if you like." Gibbs nodded and turned away. "Let me know how DiNutso's doing, would you?"

Gibbs grimaced and shook his head. "Sure, Tobias," he said. "Just make sure and tie him up tight this time."

"He's been shot twice, Gibbs. How worried are you, seriously?"

"He's not dead," Gibbs replied flatly. "No doubt you'll want to question DiNozzo. Just make sure nobody makes out like he's at fault here, okay?" He shot a glance at Glick.

"It won't be a problem, Jethro," Fornell said. "Go. I'll see you there."

Giving Fornell a warning look, Gibbs headed to the car and found Jeanne already belted in and ready to go. He slid into his seat and started up, taking off with a peal of rubber. Jeanne was holding on, but she didn't look upset like most of his passengers tended to. He had a strong suspicion that she'd be just as happy if he went faster.

He pulled out his phone and tossed it to her. "Call Ducky. He'll meet us there."

She didn't bother with questions, just pulled up his contact list and found the name. "Dr. Mallard?" she said after a moment. "This is Jeanne Benoit." Gibbs could almost see Ducky's alarm at receiving a call from Jeanne from his phone. "Tony's been shot," she said. "He's at Bethesda already, and Jethro and I are on the way." She paused. "Lower abdomen. He was able to talk, he was lucid, and though they were urgent, the paramedics didn't seem exceptionally concerned." She nodded. "We'll see you there." She hung up and offered the phone back. He took it and put it away. "He said something about finding someone to baby-sit his mother."

Gibbs nodded, and they continued in silence. DiNozzo had been talking – and joking – but that didn't fill Gibbs with confidence like it would with McGee. DiNozzo was a stoic jackass. He'd make jokes while he was bleeding to death.

He dropped Jeanne at the entrance and then went looking for a parking spot. Before he even turned off the engine, his phone started to ring. He picked it up and looked at the display. Jeanne Benoit? Flipping it open, he growled, "What?"

"He isn't here," she said urgently. "He had complications on the trip in and they took him to Georgetown because it was closer. I'm back at the entrance."

Gibbs' phone beeped. "Be ready." He hung up and answered it again. "Yeah?"

"Gibbs, they took DiNutso to Georgetown," Fornell said.

"Yeah, I heard," Gibbs replied dryly. "Anything else?"

"No, I –" Gibbs shut the phone and cut him off. He stopped with a screech at the entrance and Jeanne got in without wasting a moment, allowing him to take off instantly back towards DC.

"Did they say what the problem is?" Gibbs demanded once they were on the road again.

"Not specifically, but they were calling Dr. Pitt."

Gibbs put on an extra burst of speed and got to Georgetown in record time. He pulled his car into a staff spot and they both hurried into the hospital where Gibbs went straight to the desk. "Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo?" he said without prelude to the woman behind the counter.

"You are?" she asked, already typing.

"His boss," Gibbs replied sharply. "Where is he?"

"In surgery," she said. "Go up to the second –"

"What's wrong?"

"If you go up to the second floor, you can find out everything you want to know from the surgical liaison."

Jeanne grabbed his arm and led him towards the elevators. They reached the surgical waiting room, and Jeanne hurried across instantly to engage a young man behind a desk in conversation. Gibbs followed and listened to them babble in technical language and then tapped her on the shoulder. "What does all that crap mean?"

"Tony's blood pressure dropped dramatically in the ambulance, indicating that he was bleeding internally."

"Why did they call Dr. Pitt?"

"He was having breathing problems, related to trauma to his diaphragm," she replied.

Gibbs glowered at the wall. "How long will he be in surgery?"

"That depends on the amount of trauma they find," the liaison said.

Gibbs wanted to smack him on the back of the head for stating the obvious, but he didn't employ this jackass. "I'd better call the director." He turned as he spoke and discovered that Jenny had just walked into the room.

"I'm glad you finally thought of me," she said acerbically. "How is he?"

Jeanne's lips went very tight. "He's in surgery," she said. "There's trauma to his bowel and his diaphragm."

"How bad?"

"I don't know exactly," Jeanne replied. "But if the bullet damaged his diaphragm, it took an unexpected path through the body, since it entered just below and left of the umbilicus."

Jenny's eyebrows went up, and Gibbs gulped uneasily. That didn't sound good. He walked over and sat down, uncertain suddenly that his legs were going to hold him. He rested his head in his hands, and a moment later he felt someone sit down next to him, putting her hand on his back. He looked up to repel Jenny, but discovered that it was Jeanne.

He hated waiting. Last time DiNozzo had been in the hospital, he'd had a case to investigate, a cure to locate, but this time he had nothing. He wasn't allowed to investigate, so instead he was waiting. Ducky showed up and was allowed into the observation room as Tony's doctor, then Ziva and McGee arrived. Jeanne filled them in with the information coming from the liaison, and then they sat down, like him, to wait.

Thursday, 1951, Georgetown University Hospital

Two hours had passed since they'd arrived, and the surgery was still in progress. Jeanne looked absently through the bag of Tony's effects. Shortly after their arrival, the nurse had given them to Gibbs who had passed them on to her immediately. "Fiancé," he'd said, jerking his head towards her, and the nurse had nodded and taken down her information.

Knowing that it could gain her greater access both to information and Tony's room, Jeanne hadn't demurred, but when the nurse had left, she'd turned to Gibbs. "You know, we aren't actually engaged."

Gibbs had shrugged. "You've been back less than a week and you're already moving in together. I give it two weeks."

She hadn't responded to this optimistic assessment, but her internal reaction told her what she hoped would happen. She actively wanted to be engaged to Tony, and it wasn't just all the trauma talking. She picked up his phone and stared at it. "I'll be back in a moment," she said to Gibbs, and she stepped out of the room, hurrying down the hall to a safe zone for the phone. Then she looked in Tony's contact list. She didn't find a number labeled Dad or anything that related to his father, but she did find one labeled Joyce. Pressing the button, she put the phone to her ear, hoping devoutly that this wouldn't piss Tony off.

"Hello, Tony?" said a pleasant alto voice. "Tell me you're not canceling lunch."

"Um . . . this isn't Tony," Jeanne said. "Joyce DiNozzo?"

"That's me," Joyce said, sounding faintly alarmed. "Who is this?"

"Jeanne Benoit," Jeanne replied. "Tony's girlfriend."

"Oh, I . . . is everything all right?"

"I'm afraid not. Tony was shot about three hours ago, and –"

"Shot?" Joyce exclaimed. "Is he all right?"

"He's in surgery, and everyone's being very guarded," Jeanne said. "They're not giving us a lot of detail at this point."

"What hospital?" Joyce asked urgently.

"Georgetown University Hospital," Jeanne replied. "Are you coming down to DC?"

"Of course I am."

"You might want to check with me again before you come out to the hospital. I'm pretty sure that the minute Tony's stable, he'll be moved to Bethesda."

"What's your number?" Jeanne passed it on. "Did Tony ask you to call?"

"No," Jeanne replied. "I'm not sure how he'll feel about it, either."

"Well, I'll call you when we get into DC. Thank you for letting me know." She paused. "Why didn't you call Leonard?"

Jeanne shrugged. "I don't have his number, and I couldn't find it on Tony's phone."

"I see. Well, I'll call you, and I look forward to meeting you."

"Likewise," Jeanne said. She hung up and went back to the waiting room where she found Dr. Mallard in the midst of speaking to a rapt audience.

"– fine. He just needs rest and time to recover."

"What about the problem with his diaphragm?" McGee asked.

"It was only a contusion, but Dr. Pitt asked to be informed if Anthony was admitted again. That's why he was called."

"When can we see him?" Director Shepard asked.

"I was told that I could bring his fiancé and one other close friend back with me," Dr. Mallard said, and everyone but Gibbs turned to look at Jeanne. Ziva looked accusatory.

"It's as good as true," Gibbs said with a shrug. "Well, Ducky, lead the way."

Jeanne escaped the incredulous glares of the two women by following Gibbs and Dr. Mallard to the recovery room.

"I cannot believe she told the staff that she is his fiancé," Ziva said in a throttled voice, and McGee glanced uneasily at her. Frankly, he thought Gibbs was right. If they weren't already engaged, it was only a matter of time, and Ziva was in denial if she thought otherwise.

Director Shepard shook her head. "I don't believe she did," she said slowly.

"Well, Tony certainly did not," Ziva exclaimed.

"Gibbs?" McGee asked tentatively.

Director Shepard nodded. "I'd say so," she replied. "I stepped away for a moment when we first got here, and when I came back, she had his back of effects. Regardless, it doesn't matter, in any case. If Tony doesn't want her in there, he won't be shy about saying so."

Given how firmly he'd sent the director away, McGee had no trouble believing that. He sat back down and took out his PDA. He had a couple of books on there, so he started reading. The director settled down with a file or something, and Ziva paced until Director Shepard ordered her to sit quietly. Ducky came out and reported that Gibbs had persuaded the staff to allow him to remain with Tony despite the official policy that limited guests' time in the recovery room. Somehow McGee wasn't surprised at Gibbs managing to overturn policy, though he wasn't altogether sure why their boss was insisting on staying by Tony's side.

Hours passed. Abby showed up and had to be calmed down. McGee got the lion's share of that duty, but he didn't mind. He just hoped Tony was going to be okay.

The liaison walked over to Director Shepard, a piece of paper in his hands. "He's being moved to ICU."

"Do we need to wait somewhere else?" the director asked, and the liaison handed her the piece of paper, explaining that it was a map. They all got up and wended their way through the hospital to the ICU waiting room. There were already people there. A young woman sat with an older woman, crying softly. Nearby a small child played with a collection of matchbox cars. An older couple sat near the window. They looked well to do. The man's face rang a bell for McGee, but he didn't think he knew them. A couple of teenaged boys sat in the corner, one of them had his face buried in his hands. McGee wondered what they all saw when they looked at his party.

Director Shepard walked across to the older couple and put out her hand, speaking quietly. McGee glanced over at Ziva, Ducky and Abby. Ducky looked as puzzled as he felt, but a light of understanding came into the elderly doctor's eyes as McGee watched. Both Abby and Ziva seemed unsurprised, and Abby actually looked a little peevish.

"Who is that?" he asked her in a quiet voice, but just then, Jeanne came into the waiting room. When she saw the pair, she headed straight for them, and the director made way for her.

"Mr. DiNozzo," she said, and McGee's eyes opened wide. That was why he looked familiar, he looked a lot like Tony. "I let Tony know that you were coming, but I'm not sure how much of what I said sank in. Morphine does strange things to his thought processes."

Tony's father nodded at Jeanne. "Dr. Benoit, this is my wife, Joyce DiNozzo."

"Please, call me Joyce," Mrs. DiNozzo said. "How is he?"

"He's been moved to ICU because they want to watch his breathing," Jeanne said. "Otherwise, his injuries were relatively easy to patch up, according to what they tell me."

"Why is his breathing a concern?" Mrs. DiNozzo asked, and the rest of them drew closer to hear her answer.

"Two reasons, one, his diaphragm was injured slightly, and two, the state of his lungs tends to complicate any injury that requires surgery."

"The state of his lungs?" Mrs. DiNozzo repeated. "What state of his lungs?"

"He has extensive scarring from . . . a few years ago," Jeanne said, and McGee was just as glad she hadn't said the 'p' word. In a hospital waiting room, that might just cause panic. "It's only a precaution, he should be fine."

Mrs. DiNozzo looked uneasy, but she didn't press. Her husband grimaced. "When can we see him?"

"I don't know," Jeanne said. "They kicked Gibbs and me out when they moved him, and they're supposed to let us know when we can go back in."

"What are the rules about visitors here?" Director Shepard asked.

"Family only," Jeanne said. "But since Gibbs is listed as his medical contact, that counts."

"How were you in with him, then?" Mr. DiNozzo asked, his brow furrowing, and McGee glanced over at Ziva, whose eyes narrowed at the question.

"Agent Gibbs told them I was his fiancé," Jeanne said. "And I didn't argue." Ziva scowled, but she didn't speak.

"He's okay, though?" Abby asked, and it was like a dam let loose. "I've been so worried, but Timmy said I shouldn't worry because Ducky was calm, but when is Ducky ever not calm? I can't believe that jerk shot him, and you have to tell me he's going to be okay and that he's coming back to work because he just has to. And I'd love to be in your wedding even if I have to wear a truly awful color like orange." Jeanne blinked at her, and Abby stopped dead. "And that was totally inappropriate given the situation."

"He's going to be okay," Jeanne said, and if there was a hint of amusement in her voice, it wasn't exactly surprising.

"You must be Abby," Mrs. DiNozzo said with a smile, and Abby looked up, clearly startled. "Tony mentions you frequently when we talk."

"He does?" Abby said. "I didn't know he talked to you."

Not the most tactful of remarks, but Mrs. DiNozzo didn't take it amiss. "We have lunch whenever I'm in town. I'm Joyce DiNozzo and this is my husband, Leonard, Tony's father."

This produced a round of introductions during which Mr. DiNozzo was largely silent, nodding and shaking hands when necessary.

The door to the ICU opened and a nurse came out, heading straight for their group. "Is one of you named Jeanne?"

"I am," Jeanne said, eyes going wide. "Is something wrong?"

"Not wrong, he's just asking for you and I don't think he'll calm down until he sees that you're okay."

Jeanne hurried after her and the doors closed behind them. "Why would he be asking for her?" Mr. DiNozzo asked testily.

"Probably because the bastard who shot him was actually aiming at her," said Fornell, walking up. "I gather DiNutso's talking now?"

Ducky cleared his throat. "I'll go see if he's up to being interviewed," he said, and he used some kind of pass to get through the ICU door.

"Who are you?" Mr. DiNozzo demanded.

"Agent Fornell, FBI. Who are you?"

"Anthony DiNozzo is my son," Mr. DiNozzo said, and McGee thought he detected a hint of emphasis on the pronunciation of the surname.

"I see," Fornell said, but before they could get into further posturing, Ducky stuck his head out the door.

"Agent Fornell?"

Fornell walked away and McGee felt the tension in the waiting room shift up a notch. Gibbs walked in and looked at them. "What's everybody standing around for?" he asked. "McGee, Ziva, DiNozzo's going to be fine. Go home and get some rest. Director, I'd advise you to do the same." He turned to Abby. "Abbs, he's in good hands. Go home, get some sleep. Hopefully he'll be out of ICU tomorrow and you can visit him." Abby nodded, her eyes glittering.

"Are you going home, Jethro?" the director asked.

"Nope," he said. She raised her eyebrows, clearly prepared to protest, but Gibbs wasn't done. "DiNozzo asked me to stick around."

Director Shepard nodded. "All right. Call us if you need anything," she said, and then she put a hand on McGee's shoulder and started herding Ziva and Abby towards the door. "Good night, Gibbs. It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. DiNozzo."