Friends Like These

Summary: The team's disregard for Tony's safety seems to cause the end of DiNozzo's career. Old friends come around to help pull Tony out of another black hole and there's light ahead for a better life.

Characters: Tony DiNozzo, Gibbs, Abby Sciuto, Tim McGee, Ziva David, OCs, Eli David, Jenny Shepard, Leon Vance, Tom Morrow, Ducky Mallard, Michael Rivkin

Tags:Light angst, Hurt Tony, Clueless Gibbs, Emotional hurt/comfort, Canon-typical violence, Somewhat nice Vance, Bashing McGee, Bashing Ziva, Spoiled Abby, Tony DiNozzo leaves NCIS Team, Medical inaccuracies, Law Enforcement procedures inaccuracies, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe – Canon Divergence.

Notes: Thanks to the Nice English Lady ™ for the beta. All errors are mine.

Re-posted because I just notice ff net didn't keep my story breaks. I will do better for the next chapter.

Chapter 1

6736 words (30 min)

'Toneee…' Abby wailed.

'What's on your mind, Abs?' Tony's answer came out garbled because of the swelling of his face and all the medication he was under.

'Make Balboa and Bayley stop the witch hunt!' She stomped her boot-clad foot hard on the floor. Tony could swear he felt the vibration all over his broken body. 'What happened, happened. No need to go digging things up. Gibbs is officially back! The team is complete again!'

Tony turned to face Abby fully. 'Complete?'

Abby gasped. 'Sorry, Tony,' but she didn't really sound contrite. 'You aren't there, but then, you can't be, right? Sorry you were hurt, but there's nothing we can do about it. You can't be bitter and destroy the team because of it!' She cried.

'I didn't do anything, Abby,' Tony responded tiredly.

'So tell Balboa to back off!' She exclaimed.

'I didn't tell Balboa to do anything either,' Tony closed his eyes, really tired. All he wanted was to sleep and maybe escape the pain for a while. It didn't seem Abby would allow it though.

'So why does he keep harping on about investigating how you got hurt?! You were made! The bad guys got to you!' she cried, arms open wide, almost dislodging the support for the medication and plasma connected to Tony's arm. 'Case closed! You had arrested the midshipmen before going on this undercover op to get the arms dealers. If you had stopped there, you wouldn't have been hurt! So, it's your fault in the end!' She pointed toward Tony. 'Don't destroy Gibbs' team because of it!'

With Abby's words, another pain was added to his body. Tony's heart started aching like it was breaking. Someone he had felt close to, almost like a sister, since soon after he started working at NCIS, was decrying their relationship, saying, without words, that he wasn't important at all, that he was disposable as long as the others didn't get into trouble.

Tony fought back tears. 'Abby, I…'

'It's time for you to go, Abby,' the hard tone came from the door.

She turned abruptly to get face-to-face with Alex Bayley, the NCIS IA lead agent. 'You've said more than enough.'

'Ah, Alex, I was only trying…'

'I heard what you were trying to do, Abby. DiNozzo didn't request an investigation. Balboa did, per protocol. He is closing the case instead of DiNozzo's team, so he needed to investigate and report all details of the case.'

'It's Gibbs' team! He didn't ask for any investigation!'

'It was DiNozzo's team during that investigation. But none of this is your concern. Look at him, Abby! Leave now!'

'You can't tell me what to do!' Abby stomped her foot again.

Tony groaned from the bed, feeling his head about to explode. Abby half-turned because of the sound and looked with pity towards Tony's pinched face. It had been only a day after the surgery to pin his broken leg, two days since he got hurt, and with all the other injuries, he must really be feeling awful. Abby bit her lower lip, feeling uncertain, but remembering that Gibbs was back in the office, ready to go to work, she kept her decision of resolving the situation, so the MCRT was back on call without delay.

'I can,' the firm tone came from behind Agent Bayley. A tall man, with a doctor's white coat over a Navy uniform, moved from behind the agent towards the patient's bed, bypassing the woman acting like a toddler. 'You are upsetting my patient. DiNozzo's just out of a long surgery. He needs rest and calm. You are not it. Leave.'

'Brad, this is a misunderstanding…' Abby tried, turning toward Tony, noticing again his pallor and pinched face, showing his discomfort. Her lips trembled for a second but soon after her eyes hardened.

'Oh, I agree,' came the clipped response. 'You misunderstood the situation, what's really important, and you thought that Tony would be defenceless against your manipulation. His real friends are ready to support him at any time. You've outstayed your welcome.'

'I'm his friend!' She cried.

'Obviously not,' Dr Brad Pitt, no relation to the actor, answered. 'Not when his injuries are not as important as protecting that self-aggrandising IT tech and that spoiled Mossad spy.' Brad remembered the ill-disguised quips from when Tony was talking about his team, trying to make everything sound like a joke or unimportant. The time they spent together, regularly monitoring Tony's health after his bout with the pneumonic plague, gave Brad the tools to get to know DiNozzo, to understand the hurt beneath his words. Tony introduced him to his frat brothers, the dastardly six, the close-knit group of friends, together since college, and soon afterwards, to Jimmy Palmer, his Autopsy Gremlin colleague. The last eighteen months had been a pleasure, being made part of that friendly and fun group, and working to bring Jimmy out of his shy shell. Being in the Navy and going through medical school made it difficult for Pitt to keep in close contact with his own college friends. So now he was the lone Wolverine in the middle of a lively group of Buckeyes, and he hadn't been happier with such a group of friends in a long while.

'But Gibbs,' Abby tried again.

'Was not here when he needed to be. He has no say.'

Tony groaned again in his bed, and one of the machines attached to him beeped loudly. Brad moved quickly to his side, forgetting about the woman.

'Leave, Abby, you've done enough,' Agent Bayley said. When he saw the fight in her eyes, he continued. 'I will have you removed. The doctor told you to leave.'

Abby stomped out of the room, grumbling all the way. Agent Bayley positioned himself by the door, inside the room but as out of the way as possible. Dr Pitt kept checking his patient, whispering quietly to him. He raised the pain medication dose coming through the drip in DiNozzo's arm and waited to see the other man fall asleep before stepping back from his bed.

'How is he really?' Bayley asked when Brad walked towards him and the door.

'In pain. Tired. Sad. Depressed.' Brad answered curtly. 'He knows McGee and David walked out on him during the undercover op and said something to make the perps suspicious. That's why they beat him up.'

'Perps?' Bayley smiled.

'Ah,' Brad said bashfully. 'Spend enough time around Tony and Jimmy, and you start using their terms.'

'Will he get better?'

Brad took a noisily deep breath. 'Probably. They didn't beat his face too much. It should be better in a couple of weeks or so. The dislocated shoulder is painful but not dangerous. The arm and hand breaks are clean, so it's an issue of time and rehab.' He ran a hand over his hair. 'The leg… that was the worst. Broken in 4 places, one of the bones was twisted. The surgery put things back together, we used some pins. He will need a lot of rehab with that. No broken ribs, thank God. But I still worry about his lungs. With his injuries, he will be bed, or chair-bound for a while. That's not good. He'll be in a lot of pain. I'm only thankful that leg was his left, not the same one he broke during college.'

'Balboa said he played it like he's a lefty,' Bayley commented. 'You know, picking things up with his left hand, using the left leg more. The perps probably thought they were breaking his dominant hand and leg. They discussed the op beforehand. Tony asked Balboa to monitor the situation, and oversee his probie while the rest of the team was on the op.' Bayley shook his head. 'Tony didn't trust McGee and Ziva. Maybe he didn't trust Abby with it too. Even if he didn't say anything.'

Brad nodded in agreement. He had seen Tony changing the way he behaved, walked, and talked when demonstrating undercover skills. 'Well, he had reason not to trust them, right? What of his probie? Tony talked a bit about Michelle, and said she was timid as a mouse.'

'Yep, nervous thing, she is. Tony asked Balboa to look after her, maybe even find another place for her. Gibbs would never have her in his team, but I think Tony worries more about the director.'

'What about the investigation? Will anything come out of it?' Brad asked since he didn't have a comment on Michelle's situation.

Bayley shook his head. 'The director closed it off.'

'What?!'

'She said she would never have authorized the op if she was at the office,' he huffed. 'As if she should have anything to do with how an investigation is conducted. But the perps connected to the Navy were arrested. Finding the outside link would be a bonus, but not a necessity. So, the director decided there's no need to have an internal investigation related to the injuries of Agent DiNozzo.'

He saw the storm forming on the doctor's face and raised a hand to forestall any comment. 'I know. Balboa was… infuriated. But it's her prerogative. Doesn't mean that we won't keep a file on our own misgivings about this op and the agents involved. And I might even add Abby's attitude to it. She didn't really know what was going on before running here to pester Tony. She only cared that Gibbs was back in the office, but the team wasn't on rotation.'

Brad huffed but started walking out of the room, waiting for the agent to pass before closing the door. They walked towards the nurse station where Brad stopped to inform them that the list of permitted visitors to DiNozzo's room just got shorter, especially from NCIS people. The standard order was to call Dr Pitt himself or DiNozzo's friend, Henry Lewis, who held his power of attorney.

The two men had barely sat down in the doctor's office when a knock on the door interrupted them. Brad called a 'Come in', without a second thought. The nurse they just saw at their station opened the door and waved for another woman to enter the office, leaving immediately.

'Beverly?' Alex Bayley asked, standing up.

'Oh, Agent Bayley,' the young woman was clearly unconformable, fidgeting and holding an envelope that was in danger of being shredded. 'Didn't know you would be here.'

'Sit down, Beverly, and calm down. What are you doing here, though?'

'Well,' she looked between the doctor and the agent, took a deep breath, and lifted the envelope. 'Director Shepard send me here to hand in the retirement papers for Agent DiNozzo.'

'What?!' The twin cries made the young woman jump in her seat.

'No, sorry,' Bayley tried again, motioning for her to stay seated and reaching for the envelope. 'Retirement papers?'

'Director Shepard ordered me to prepare the documentation to retire Agent DiNozzo on medical grounds and told me to hand them in immediately after she signed it.'

'And Delores was okay with this?' Bayley asked, going through the documents he took from the envelope.

'Ms Bromstead wasn't in the office. She's in an HR meeting at the DoD. I told the Director that would be better to wait for her, but she said no, asked if I was capable of doing the paperwork or if I was just a glorified copy maker,' Beverley said with a tremor in her voice. Then she completed it in a very low tone. 'She scares me like she's out of control half the time.'

Bayley hummed at the comment and passed the documents to the doctor, who asked: 'This is valid?'

'Oh, yes,' Beverly answered anxiously. 'Usually, we would wait for the normal 3 months of sick leave that can be offered to agents injured while in service, but the report of the hospital about the injuries and the assessment from Dr Mallard guarantees its correctness.'

'Ducky signed off on this?!' Bayley was surprised again.

'I don't think he came to the hospital,' Beverly said in a thoughtful way. 'He used the emergency and the pre-surgery reports for his assessment. I know Agent Gibbs talked to him before he signed it off, though. I think Agent Gibbs agrees with the Director,' she said, still looking scared. 'He can be scary too.'

Brad and Bayley exchanged astonished looks.

'You think Gibbs convinced Ducky to sign this off?' Brad asked.

'This smells of set-up,' Bayley answered, annoyed. 'I hate how Shepard is always scurrying around, putting her nose in everybody else's business. I miss Tom Morrow,' he sighed.

'I agree,' Beverly surprised the two men again. 'Ms Bromstead is mightily exasperated with her requests that go against policy,' she completed. 'I think Ms Bromstead likes Agent DiNozzo,' she giggled again. 'She complimented his reports!'

'Oh, that is high praise indeed!' Bayley laughed.

'Why is Director Shepard doing this?' Brad asked, pointing at the papers.

'She wants Gibbs,' Bayley answered.

Beverly's eyes opened wide, and Brad snorted.

'Yep, they had an affair when working together in Europe before Gibbs came to DC. She got a promotion out of it; Gibbs got another red-head notch on his bedframe.'

'Alex!' Brad exclaimed.

'I think there's more than the Director being interested in Agent Gibbs,' Beverly commented.

Both men turned toward her, making the young woman blush with intense attention.

'Ms Bromstead said something…' she gulped. 'Agent DiNozzo asked to discuss something with her after this HR meeting, she was in. Ms Bromstead expected to have a formal complaint in her hands afterwards. I don't know details,' she exclaimed, seeing the curious look the men were sending in her direction.

'Well,' Bayley said. 'One more thing to dig around. I'll ask the other agents if they have seen or heard anything. Almost everybody likes DiNozzo. They are all enraged by what happened to him and how the Director, and Gibbs, are dealing with it. This,' he pointed at the papers. 'won't help'.

'So, this is final?' Dr Pitt asked, returning the papers to Agent Bayley, who put them back in the envelope. 'DiNozzo is out of NCIS?'

'Ah, yes, Doctor,' Beverly confirmed. 'The agency will be responsible for his hospital and rehabilitation costs, and for any follow-up related to his injuries now and the bio-attack he suffered almost 2 years ago. But his career as a field agent is pretty much over. I made sure that the payment he's due, for all the leave he earned, is listed, and accounted for. I'm sure Ms Bromstead will guarantee extra payment for the 3 months medical leave he should have had instead of the immediate retirement.'

'Oh, fuck,' Bayley said. 'This will not help Tony to recuperate.'

'No, it will only contribute to his depression. Time to call the cavalry.'

Beverly looked between the two men. 'Cavalry?'

'Tony's frat brothers, starting with Henry Lewis, who has power of attorney over Tony's business. He can check this documentation and be sure that DiNozzo is protected. Then he can organise the troops to support Tony. It will be a long recovery.'

'Oh, anything I can help with?' Beverly started and blushed again. 'I'm sure Ms Bromstead would help also. Agent DiNozzo is always nice to us, the admin staff.'

'And I'm sure the agents would also do what they can,' Bayley said. 'And I know he also has a lot of friends in the police around the DMV area.'

Dr Brad Pitt, no relation to the actor, smiled. Then he picked up the phone to call Henry Lewis while Agent Bayley walked out of the office with Beverly.

Henry Lewis shook Dr Brad Pitt's hand with a smile.

'Hey, Brad, nice to see you, but it's a shame it's because Tony's hurt again.'

Brad clapped the other man's shoulder. 'Come into my office, let's talk.'

Henry raised his eyebrow. 'So, not just an injury? What's going on?'

Brad closed the office's door and signalled the other man to sit. 'His injuries are worse than normal,' he raised a hand to stall Henry's questions. 'But the results of them are what I'm more worried about. He got beaten up, got a few broken bones, he'll need a long rehab period.'

'Shit,' Henry run a hand over his hair. 'Months of rehab? Tony will be climbing the walls in a few weeks. I thought it was another concussion.'

'He escaped one of those this time,' Brad smiled lopsidedly.

'Will he be able to do desk duty after he's mobile? That usually helps.'

Brad took a deep breath. 'There lies the worst part of the situation, I think.' He faced the other man, head-on. 'He isn't with NCIS anymore, he was retired.'

'What?! How?! Why?!'

'The first reports from his injuries were bad,' Pitt sighed. 'The director used them to draw his retirement papers for medical reasons. The HR representative delivered them yesterday morning,' Brad completed, passing on the envelope received from Beverly.

'Can they do that?!' Henry accepted the envelope and started looking at the papers he took from it.

'The normal procedure would have been to wait for his surgery and re-evaluate his chances, waiting a month or so. Alex said he believes DiNozzo has something on the director, and she wanted to prevent him saying anything. If he complains now, it will look like sour grapes or such.'

'Alex?' Henry asked, his attention still on the paperwork.

'Alex Bayley, the IA lead agent at NCIS DC. Nice guy, invested, Balboa vouches for him,' Brad answered, knowing that Tony had introduced Balboa to most of his frat brothers in the area. Balboa had become the point of contact at NCIS after Gibbs went on his Mexico siesta.

Henry put the papers back in the envelope and gave all his attention to Brad. 'So, is there an internal investigation going on?'

'There was, but the director closed it.'

'Shepard is too invested in DiNozzo's team.'

Brad nodded. 'Alex and Balboa agree. They say she wanted something that Tony didn't want to do. She was putting a lot of pressure on him. But then Gibbs came back into town, even if he said he wouldn't go back to NCIS, and her attention was divided.'

'Tony said Gibbs would be back any minute because he couldn't stay away from work. The three months was more than Tony expected.'

Brad nodded again. 'I agree. The guy is too intense to just live at the beach. The memory loss really shook him, but when he was back on an even keel, I too expected him back at NCIS.'

Henry exhaled loudly. 'Where do we go from here?'

'He can't stay in his apartment, he won't be able to use crutches for a while,' Brad said. At Henry's enquiring look, he went into more detail. 'Dislocated shoulder, a broken arm and fingers. The leg is broken in 4 places, and he had to get pins in the shin. All on the left side.'

Henry shivered, hearing the list of injuries. 'So much worse than when he broke the right leg in college,' he said, looking at Brad with a smirk.

Pitt flicked his middle finger, continuing with the explanation. 'Physio will be a beast, but I think Tony is getting depressed. He was pissed with his teammates, Abby came here to harass him, and Ducky and Gibbs never showed up at the hospital. I haven't given him this paperwork yet.'

Henry made a motion, asking for more information.

'Gibbs doesn't seem to remember Tony and their time working together. Ducky called to ask about him but didn't want to talk to Tony himself,' Brad said. 'Abby was being her usual spoiled self if you consider the stories we heard. I think they all hurt Tony. He counted on Abby and Ducky's friendship, even if it was a bit stretched with Gibbs' absence. And Tony had a close-knit mentor-disciple kinda relationship with Gibbs, but he had to hold everybody else's hands instead of feeling the loss.'

Henry nodded. 'We were never actually introduced but I talked with Gibbs on the phone a few times. Usually when Tony needed minding because of injuries.'

'Gibbs isn't himself. I have a colleague who commented how repeated severe blows to the head can cause a shift or change of personality and traits. I'm afraid this is what happened here. I think Gibbs will never be the friend Tony remembers.'

Another deep breath from Henry. 'One step at a time. Let's see if Gibbs wants to keep in contact if he remembers details about Tony. For now, let's focus on Tony's needs.' He pulled out his smartphone, opened an app and started typing. 'Find a place without stairs or broken lifts for Tony to recuperate.'

'Find something to keep his mind occupied, not only movies,' Brad contributed.

'Rotation with the brothers to keep him motivated,' Henry continued.

'Their schedules suck, but Jimmy and Balboa might help,' Brad added.

Henry nodded and kept typing. 'We could lease Tony's apartment, after moving him out. A different place might help his mindset. Should we hide NCIS stuff from him?' He asked.

Pitt shook his head. 'It's part of his life, even if it has ended in such a painful way. Nothing good comes from denying one's past. He needs to move on.'

'I think I'll invite my sister to visit. She's a psychotherapist, she might help.'

Brad laughed. 'Tony eats therapists for breakfast! I don't want to see your sister hurt by his antics.'

'Ah, but you don't know Charlie!' Henry shook his finger towards the doctor. 'She's good and she knows DiNozzo since our time in college. But let's see how things go first,' he said pensively.

Brad shrugged. 'Want to go talk to Tony now?'

'I want all my ducks in a row before going to Tony. He can be a stubborn bastard. Better to have everything organised and don't give him enough time to complain or try to burrow himself into a hole and hide.'

Dr Brad Pitt agreed. Tony DiNozzo was a medical miracle for surviving the pneumonic plague without antibiotics, mostly based on his stubborn streak. But that streak could get in the way when he was in a bad mood.

It took two more days before Henry Lewis thought it was time to talk with Tony. The patient was asking about leaving the hospital non-stop, and Dr Pitt was running out of excuses without giving up the frat brothers' plan.

Finally, the two men met at DiNozzo's hospital room door, ready to put their "DiNozzo rehabilitation" plan into action. Henry Lewis opened the door, walking into the room without waiting for Tony's acknowledgement, Dr Pitt following in close behind.

'Hey, 25, still being an insufferable patient?' Henry asked lightly, using Tony's old sports shirt number on the Ohio University basketball team as an appellation, something the frat brothers used to do while still in college.

'Henry!', Tony's face lit up. 'Come to spring me free? Dr Pitt here is having too much fun keeping me prisoner.'

'As if I want you around my hospital and flirting with all the nurses,' Brad answered back, going to check on the machines still connected to DiNozzo, holding his chart under one arm.

'Not today, Tone,' Henry answered, raising a hand to stall DiNozzo's objection. 'Brad warned me about the long rehab and how you won't be able to navigate stairs, so Benjie, Jacob and I arranged to close your apartment and move you to Belle Haven. HJ has space in his house. Too big for a bachelor, anyway.'

'I don't want to be a burden, Henry,' Tony started but was quickly interrupted by his friend.

'You are not a burden!' Henry emphasized; unhappy that this was the first thought in Tony's mind.

'You're our friend; we want to help. You're always available for us, any way you can. Let us do this for you now.'

Tony hmphed. 'This is not a couple of days of concussion check. Brad and Dr Dalton were clear on how long the rehab will be.'

'Yep, Brad was clear with me too. So?'

'Three months for me to start moving some, after the shoulder and arm get better. I don't know how long for the leg rehab. You guys don't have the time to babysit me for that long. And I'm hoping to be on desk duty after a couple of weeks or so. Better to be closer to work then.' Brad and Henry exchanged looks mixed with heavy sighs. Tony looked between them, a heavy ball of unease dropping into his stomach. 'What?'

Dr Pitt stayed close to Tony's bed and Henry approached, looking his friend in the eyes. 'Director Shepard processed you out, retirement on medical grounds,' he informed. Taking a deep breath, he put hand on Tony's good arm, squeezing it to show support. 'No desk duty for you, but everybody is contributing ideas for what you can do with your time during rehab.'

Tony looked lost, his eyes vague, his mouth half open in surprise. 'She retired me?' He turned to Dr Pitt; eyes wild. 'Why didn't you tell me? Am I ever going to walk again?'

Brad pressed a calm hand on his arm. 'Of course you will, Tony! It's a bad break, but nothing that physiotherapy can't overcome!' He turned to Henry who nodded in approval. 'Agent Bayley thinks she just wanted you out of the way now that Gibbs is back on the team.'

'Gibbs is back in town? Has he come over and I missed him?'

'Sorry, Tony,' Brad was heartbroken to have to dispel his friend's hopes. 'He hasn't come to visit you yet.'

Tony took a harsh breath. 'But why… She was mad at me, but…' he seemed to remember something. 'She would need the sign-off from Ducky! The paperwork wouldn't be valid without his assessment! I don't remember Ducky coming by to talk to me.'

Another exchange of sad looks in front of him made Tony deflate, expecting to be disappointed again.

'Ducky did sign off on the retirement, Tony,' Brad said in a sombre tone. 'And he used the emergency and pre-surgery reports as base, he didn't see you. I'm pretty disappointed in Ducky for this. We're all angry, Tony, how they seem to sell you down the river. Nobody understands why they did it.'

Tony dropped fully back into the bed, closing his eyes, his breathing a little shallow.

'I'm sorry how things went with NCIS, but we have to plan your move as soon as Pittbull here let's go of you,' Henry tried to joke.

'Whatever,' Tony murmured, turning his face away from his friends, withdrawing.

Brad gestured to Henry towards the door. 'I think one or two more days and you will be ready to leave, Tony,' he sighed when no response or reaction was forthcoming. 'I'll talk with Henry here about what you need to be able to move around and for the rehab.'

The two men waited for a moment for some reaction but when the patient didn't even move in the bed, they just turned and left the room, closing the door behind them.

'It was worse than I expected,' Henry ran a hand over his hair. 'That's a hard bump in the road.'

'It's DiNozzo!' Brad exclaimed. 'Nothing seems easy for him, but we will help him go through this. He'll be stronger on the other side.'

Henry nodded in agreement and walked back to the doctor's office with despondent steps.

The orthopaedic post-surgery area was down for the night. The lights were dimmed, most of the patients were asleep, nurses and orderlies walked softly, with less urgency through the corridors. It was easy for the federal agent with military training to pass by without being seen. He stopped in front of a closed door and took a deep breath before opening it and entering. He stayed by the door, even after closing it, watching the patient in bed. He really didn't know what he was doing here. He shouldn't have listened to Balboa and Ducky after all about how he needed to talk to DiNozzo.

The man there had his face turned away from the door, but it was possible to see a wrapped-up shoulder, a cast from mid-arm to almost the wrist, keeping the arm bent at the elbow. At least 3 fingers of the same hand were also wrapped-up. The leg, on the same side, was propped up over pillows, with the top half in a cast and the bottom half with protruding metal pins.

'Come to check your agents' work, Gibbs?' came the soft question from the bed.

Gibbs startled, looking away from the injuries to see DiNozzo's black and blue swollen face. 'They didn't beat you up, DiNozzo,' he retorted.

'No, they just let the perps know I wasn't who I presented myself as,' Tony said, still softly. 'Maybe I should be thankful they didn't say I was a cop or federal agent. That would have got me a bullet in the head.'

'McGee said you botched up the op,' Gibbs responded, trying to hide his uncertainty.

'And McGee's barely two years as field agent trumps my ten years of law enforcement,' Tony scoffed. 'Sure.'

'Ten years…?' Gibbs was feeling really out of his depth now.

'Still Swiss cheese, huh?'

'What?!'

'Your brain,' Tony clarified sarcastically. 'The old noggin isn't firing on all cylinders yet.'

'My brain is good!' Gibbs bristled.

'Not if you've forgotten that we worked together for four years before your memory went AWOL.'

Gibbs made a dismissive gesture. 'Not the point.'

'So, what is the point? I've been in the hospital for almost a week, why show up now?'

'Ducky said I should…' The uncertainty was back.

'Ah, dear old Dr Mallard… And how is the old duck?' The sarcasm was back too.

'What's your problem, DiNozzo?' Gibbs barked, uncomfortable with the whole conversation and how he couldn't read the other man at all.

'Problem?' Tony asked in a light tone. 'Ah, I don't know… Maybe it's that I'm in this hospital bed with the prognosis of a long and painful recovery. Or that I'm here because my teammates bailed on me. Maybe it's because you and the director pushed to kick me to the kerb without even talking to me first! How did you convince Ducky to sign off on it? Or he was so overwhelmed that you came back and want to be his friend again that he did you a favour? Or maybe it's because my law enforcement career is over because those two blockheads can't follow orders! Maybe it's because Abby gave me a headache whining that she didn't want them to get in trouble and separate the team again! Because me not being there wasn't a real problem after all!' Tony started slowly but by the end of the rant, he was shouting.

Gibbs was surprised by the fury spewing out of DiNozzo's mouth. He tittered, unsure how to respond. A bump on his back made him move and the door was opened forcefully behind him.

'What's going on here?' a nurse asked in an angry whisper. 'This is a hospital; we are in the middle of the night! You don't come by to brawl here!' She moved quickly closer to DiNozzo's bed, checking the equipment and drip attached to him.

Tony tried a charming smile, but it came out more like a grimace. 'Sorry, Adele,' he faced the nurse directly, dismissing Gibbs completely. 'I lost my temper.' He tried to use some puppy dog eyes on her. 'Remember that Brad said I would have mood swings because of the medication.'

'Hush you,' the nurse smiled back at the patient. 'I know all your tricks, mister charmer. You need to rest. Let's raise the painkiller so you can sleep.' She started to manipulate one of the machines connected to DiNozzo.

'They make me really dizzy…' Tony said while starting to doze off.

'That's the point, sweetie.' She watched the patient fall into a deep sleep before turning to the other man in the room. 'You,' she pointed at Gibbs' face. 'Out!'

Gibbs raised his hands in a surrender gesture and walked out of the room, stopping in the corridor.

The nurse checked the patient again before leaving the room and closing the door behind her. 'And who are you? What were you doing here, disturbing my patient in the middle of the night?'

Gibbs huffed but tried to placate the woman. 'It's not even twenty-two hundred yet,' using the military term for time, as he was used to. 'But he's my agent. I came to check on him.'

'NCIS, huh?' She asked, an eyebrow rising, knowing already that DiNozzo had been retired by the agency. People were commenting on how pissed Dr Pitt was with his friend's whole situation. 'And your name is?' She asked again, walking towards the nurse station halfway down the corridor.

'Gibbs,' he answered in a surly tone.

The nurse arrived at her station, picked up a folder and opened it swiftly. She used her index finger to run through a list and then turned back to face the man who followed her, while the other hand discreetly moved to the side, pressing a button under the desk.

'Your name is not on the permitted list for visitors,' she closed the folder and took a step back. 'Please leave now. If you want to talk with Mr DiNozzo, it's better you contact the doctor beforehand.'

The sounds of heavy steps coming towards the position stopped Gibbs' response. He turned to see a security guard walking their way. He looked back to the nurse and saw her stern countenance. Gibbs shrugged and started walking away from the station, passing the security guard on his way out of the hospital. Now he could tell Balboa and Ducky he came by, and he wasn't welcome.

The guard stopped by the nurse station and raised an eyebrow. The nurse returned a tight-lip smile. 'Thanks, George. I'm glad he didn't cause any more trouble.'

'All good, Adele. Let's hope the rest of the night is a calm one,' he waved and walked away to follow his normal pattern of security checks.

Harrison Jennings, HJ to his friends, surveyed the garage turned into a one-bedroom flat that some of his frat brothers' wives were giving the final touches to. They'd had to do a rush job to take out a partition wall that separated the garage from the toilet in the house so Tony could have easy access to a half bath. When he became able to take a shower or an actual bath, he would have to go into the house though. But with the casts and lack of mobility, Tony would have to accept a hospital wash for a while. HJ turned his nose up at the idea of only being able to use wet towels to wash but tried not to worry too much about it now.

A double bed in a hospital frame that allowed it to be raised or lowered as a whole, or to move the head up or down, was tucked on the left side of the room, with enough space around it for any necessary equipment or for people to approach it. In the middle of the wall behind the bed, was the door quickly put in place after they took down the wall to the half-bath. A small cupboard was on the other side of the door for clothes and the patient's other needs. In the corner was the original door to the house.

The big garage doors, since the space accommodated two cars, already had glass windows on top, allowing light to come into the space, but the frat brothers made sure that good lighting was added to the ceiling. On the side wall, visible from the bed, was the big widescreen tv from Tony's apartment, along with his media unit and all its equipment. One tall shelf by its side was filled to the brim with his videos and dvds. The rest of Tony's furniture and stuff was packed and in storage, all done by the great workers of Jacob's moving company.

Jacob, Henry, and Steve were on their way now to the hospital to pick Tony up. HJ wanted to go with them but thought it was better to be on hand for anything the ladies needed to finish the space for their friend.

Dr Brad Pitt smiled at the small invading army walking through the hospital corridor. The frat brothers had really shown up for Tony. In less than a week they had organised the space to move DiNozzo in, and a full rotation of people to keep his spirit up. Now it was time to take him out of the hospital and to his new, temporary home at Belle Haven.

Henry Lewis, Steve Adler, and Jacob Cohen were walking toward him with purposeful steps. Behind the three men, Pitt could see the tall physiotherapist he had contacted to work with DiNozzo, Jayna Liske. By her side walked two burly men who looked more like bouncers than members of the hospital staff. Both men were retired Navy with plenty of nursing training and experience. Again, another finding from Pitt, to help DiNozzo's recovery.

'Hey, Brad,' Steve waved. 'The package is ready for transportation?'

Brad was surprised. 'Package?'

'No!' Jacob said. 'We are picking up the MVP!'

Brad looked between the frat brothers, feeling lost.

'I think you mean the charm master,' Henry said.

'Ah,' Brad stuttered. 'I don't think I drank anything this early in the morning.'

Henry laughed. 'We're doing this move secret service style.' He pointed at Steve. 'His idea. But we couldn't agree on a codename, so everyone is using the one they liked best.'

The group laughed and the medical personnel accompanying them could only shake their heads at the playfulness. Brad smiled and hoped that all the jokes would raise their friend's spirit that, at the moment, was lower than he had ever seen before.

'Well, acting secret service agents,' Brad said. 'This way to the case subject,' he decided to try his hand at the codename game.

The group walked to DiNozzo's room, where a couple of the hospital nurses were preparing him to be moved. The patient in the bed wasn't paying attention to the movement around him, keeping his eyes closed.

Brad sighed, made a gesture for the nurses to wait outside, and let the frat brothers into the room. The physio and the contracted nurses also waited outside.

'Hey, Buckeye, time to spring you out of here,' Brad infused his tone with the most cheeriness he could.

Tony's eyes opened half-mast and he made some effort to smile. 'Tired of me, Wolverine?'

'Nah, but we can't watch any game here, so the house would be much more inviting.'

'My apartment…' Tony started.

'We talked about it, Tone,' Henry interrupted. 'You can't go the apartment while you're in a cast, using a wheelchair or crutches. Too many steps. HJ created the perfect nook for you. Enough space for a couple of friends or we can use his lounge if the whole gang is around.'

'I don't want to be a burden…'

'Never!' Jacob exclaimed. 'Henry's already been through this with you. You would never be a burden! You were there for every one of us whenever we needed. Let us be there for you too.'

The sad smile was back on Tony's face. He just nodded and closed his eyes again. Brad motioned to the nurses to help move the patient and stepped out of the room with the frat brothers.

'We'll need to make sure he doesn't dive too deep into himself.'

'Three months,' Henry said. When the others gave him questioning looks, he expanded. 'When he broke his leg in college, the first three months he just went through the motions, doing the bare minimum. Then we were able to light a fire under him and he really made the effort to get back in shape and finish his degrees. Let's get him through the delicate part of rehab, make sure everything is healing okay, then we can push him.'

The others nodded in agreement and started walking behind the gurney taking their friend on the next part of his journey.