From downstairs Jethro could hear Tony's entire meltdown. At first he just ignored it. This was all part of the process. Tony needed to lash out and as long as another living soul was not on the receiving end of the rage. Jethro did not intervene. Until he heard Tony throw himself onto the floor above and begin screaming for help. Fearing that his boy had done something stupid. Jethro raced up the stairs two at a time and flung open the door to the guest room. Tony was unharmed at least seemingly; throwing himself down and screaming for help. Jethro got closer and saw how red Tony's face was and the look of sheer panic. Summoning all the strength he had. Jethro grabbed Tony and drug him downstairs. He dropped Tony into the car and threw the seat-belt over his friend, but left himself unbuckled. He drove at break neck speed to the hospital.
Ed Slater never dreamed he would be planning his own granddaughter's funeral. Here he was. Sitting in his office. Jimmy sat across from him. Breena was balled up on the couch sobbing her eyes out. Ed was at his desk trying to keep his composure. This was family but he still had to maintain a degree of professionalism.
"When do you want the service?" Ed asked.
"Tali's service is the day after tomorrow. I don't want them to be the same day but I want it to be over with." Jimmy explained..
"Breena? Any input?" Ed asked.
"I don't care." Breena replied weakly.
"I guess two days from now." Jimmy sighed.
"Three o'clock OK?" Ed asked.
"It's fine." Jimmy sighed.
"I don't care." Breena insisted.
Nothing was physically wrong with Tony. That was the good news anyway. He was sent home and Jethro was given strict orders to watch him. Which Jethro had been doing already. Now however he had to worry about leaving Tony alone. He had to check in more and he could no longer just ignore Tony's episodes of pain. He had to be there constantly, spending the coming days making sure that Tony did not harm himself. He wanted Tony alive more than anything but he could not help but wonder if that was the right thing to do. Tony had just endured the worst loss a human could endure. Was it really fair to force him to live?
Tori's service was arranged, Breena was upstairs crying. Jimmy was wandering around the house completely empty. He was trying not cry. Not that it mattered anymore. Breena was too hysterical to notice anything he did. He did not need to be strong anymore. At least not until the funeral. He tripped over one of Tori's toys. Some big expensive thing that all the kids had to have. She had promised to keep it picked up. He started to scream. He was midway through calling out her name when he remembered. She was gone. She was really, truly gone. With a heavy heart he collapsed to the floor, tears pouring down his cheeks. This was not how he wanted his life to go. He wanted his baby girl back. He wanted Breena to be happy again. He hated meningitis. He hated it even more when he remembered that Tali DiNozzo was gone too.
Tony was back in Gibbs' guest bedroom, back to staring up at the ceiling. Back to wondering how the hell he was supposed to move on. The only thing keeping him from blowing his brains out was Gibbs. Between the fact that anything even remotely weapon like was gone, and the fact that Gibbs had not committed suicide. Tony was not going anywhere. At least not as long as Gibbs was around. So he did the only thing he could. Lie up on that bed, watching the ceiling. The way the shadows passed as the earth moved. The way it grew darker and darker until night had fallen. Gibbs brought a tray up, two trays actually. Gibbs never left for more than a minute. He rarely made himself known but he almost never left at the same time. He picked at his meal but most of it ended up in the trash can.
"You will need to eat tomorrow. You did better than I did the third night." Jethro explained.
"OK" Tony replied not caring about anything Jethro was saying, anything that was going on in the world besides his own agony.
Jimmy carried Breena's still full tray away from their room. She had not eaten since Tori was admitted. He wanted to be concerned but he was eating only enough to keep his blood sugar stable. He thew the entire tray down onto the kitchen floor. He would deal with the mess later. In the meantime he stumbled into the living room and collapsed onto the floor. If this was life without his child. He did not know nor did he want to know how he was supposed to survive. Because in that moment he did not want to survive.
Jethro watched Tony sleep, closely monitoring every breath. Tony was asleep but it was a fitful sleep. He tossed and turned. Every so often he would cry out. It absolutely broke Jethro's heart that his friend had to endure this level of pain. What was worse. This was the one pain he would not want to take. He had already lost one child. He could not lose another. So he did the only thing he could do. Hold Tony close and pray that he kept on fighting.
"I love you, son." Gibbs whispered.
Tony woke from a night terror. His heart raced as he jerked from his sleep and searched frantically around the room. He quickly recognized it as Gibbs' guest room. He fell hard onto the pillow gasping for air and crying out. In his dream he had relived Tali's death all over again. The only difference was that he could not get to her. He could not hold her as she died. He could only watch her waste away and die. Never in his life was he more grateful to wake up.
A/N: Will Tony or Jimmy begin to open up more? New chapter will be up soon. Thanks for reading and please review.