A/N: See profile for full disclaimer. Thanks so much for all of the reviews and alerts. I think I responded to all of the reviews but I apologize if I missed any. A longer chapter this time – hope you enjoy.

Chapter 4

When Tony heard the 'ding' of the elevator, he expected to see the team returning from lunch. Instead he saw Maggie Turner (the teen age girl they had rescued the previous day) and her mother. Tony smiled and said, "Hey, Maggie, right? Special Agent Tony DiNozzo at your service. What can I do for you?"

Maggie returned the smile and spoke quietly, "I just wanted to thank you. If you hadn't come when you did, I just. . ." She stopped, overcome with emotion, and turned her face into her mother's shoulder.

Tony walked over to Maggie and gently placed his hand on her back, "It's okay, Maggie. No one should have to go through what you did. You were very brave. I'm just glad that Tim got there in time. That's who you really need to thank – Tim McGee. He's the one that found you. They went to lunch but they should be back in a few minutes." The elevator 'dinged' again. "And here he is now. Hey, Tim! Somebody wants to talk to you. Tim, this is Maggie Turner and her mom."

Maggie and Mrs. Turner were dismayed at Tim's bruises. Maggie apologized for Tim getting hurt, but he wouldn't hear it. "It was worth it, Maggie," Tim said firmly. "You're safe. That's all that matters. My bruises will heal in no time." After being introduced to the rest of the team, Maggie and her mother left. Abby was pleased that Tim was getting the recognition that was due him. She turned to say something to Tony and realized that he had left the bullpen. Abby took it as another sign that Tony was jealous of Tim, since Maggie and her mother had spent their time talking to Tim and not Tony. In actuality, Tony had taken advantage of the focus on McGee to slip down to Autopsy for another short nap in Ducky's office. He knew that Ducky and Jimmy would cover for him, and Gibbs wouldn't mind since Tony worked through lunch.

Ducky was concerned that Tony still had a headache but Tony waved him off. "It's almost gone, Ducky," he lied. "I just need to rest for a few and I'll be good to go."

"Alright, Anthony," Ducky said reluctantly, "but if your headache persists, I insist that you go to the ER." He hesitated before adding with a smirk, "And I will be telling Jethro."

Tony groaned and not with pain. He knew that Gibbs would watch him like a hawk – if the headache was still there in the morning, he had no doubt that Gibbs would haul his butt to the ER in a heartbeat. "Fine, Ducky. Now – can I use your couch?" At Ducky's nod, Tony went into the darkened room and gratefully sank down onto the couch.

Gibbs noticed that Tony left but didn't know why. He called down to Autopsy and Jimmy told him that Tony was resting in Ducky's office. Gibbs frowned, hanging up the phone without saying goodbye (as usual). He took the stairs and went to Autopsy but Ducky intercepted him before he could go to Tony.

"Let him rest, Jethro," said Ducky. "He took some more Tylenol and he should be fine in just a little while. I looked him over and, other than the headache there are no other signs of concussion. I suspect that his blood sugar is a little low, which could account for some of it, so he needs to eat. However, if he is not better in the morning, or if the pain intensifies, he needs to go to the ER right away."

"Are you sure he shouldn't go now?" asked Gibbs worriedly. "He's had that headache since this morning and he didn't eat lunch – are you sure he's okay?"

"No, I am not sure. As you well know, Anthony is notorious for downplaying his symptoms. But the only thing that we can do is keep an eye on him. Just let him rest for now – I'll send him up in about 30 minutes."

Gibbs didn't like it but he went back to the bullpen. Half an hour later, Tony came back looking a little better than he did before lunch. He looked at the clock and sighed – three more hours until he could escape to his apartment. His head did feel better but he just wanted to take a long shower, put on some comfortable sweats, and veg out on the couch for the whole weekend. And while he had made progress, he still had more paperwork to complete before he could leave. Finally, after what felt like the longest afternoon in the history of mankind, he put the last stack of folders on Gibbs' desk for the team leader's signature. He stretched and popped his back, then sighed, "Please tell me it's time to go home."

Gibbs lips quirked in an almost smile. "I don't see why not. Everybody take off." Abby came in to take Tim home just as Director Vance called out, "Hold on, I need to make an announcement." When he had everyone's attention he continued. "Agent McGee, I wanted to let you know that you've been put in for a commendation for your actions yesterday. The official presentation will be at the next awards ceremony. Congratulations, Agent McGee – good work."

Abby hugged Tim, thrilled that he was receiving the commendation. Ziva smiled and congratulated him as well. Gibbs was momentarily confused, knowing that he didn't give the director the recommendation, and then he noticed that Tony was trying not to look anyone in the eye. He realized that Tony must have spoken to the director on Tim's behalf. When Tony looked up, Gibbs smiled and nodded, conveying his approval in that simple gesture. Looking away again, Tony continued packing up. He suddenly became aware that the others were expecting him to make a comment so he said, "Way to go, Probie! Good job." He knew that it sounded off, but he was planning to be out of the bullpen when the director told Tim about the commendation. He should have been paying more attention.

Abby looked at Tony with narrowed eyes. His belated response to the director's announcement was just another piece of evidence in the growing case (in her eyes) of Tony's jealousy. She glanced at Ziva and nodded toward Tony. 'See what I mean?' she mouthed.

Ziva frowned. Tony's reaction did seem a little forced. She hated to think ill of him, but perhaps Tony was feeling some jealousy. As much as she did not want to admit it, Abby may be on to something. She decided that she would wait and see what happened on Monday when they returned to work before passing judgment.

NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS NCIS

An hour later, Tony was relaxing on his sofa. He knew that he should get something to eat but he just didn't have the energy. He smiled when he heard his front door open and the smell of pizza wafted into the room. "I knew I loved you for a reason," he called out.

Gibbs dropped the pizza on the coffee table. He leaned over and gave Tony a quick kiss followed by a light head slap. "Smart ass. Eat," he commanded as he went into the kitchen to get something to drink, a beer for himself and a bottle of water for Tony. At Tony's raised eyebrow, he said, "Ducky sent something a little stronger for the headache. You can take it after you eat."

Tony decided it was best not to argue so he simply ate his pizza, surprised when he felt full after only two slices. "I guess I'm more tired than I thought," he said. He started to protest when Gibbs handed him the painkillers. "C'mon, Jethro. I don't need those – the headache's almost gone."

"Yeah, right. 'Almost' being the operative word," Gibbs replied. "Just humor me. Take the damn pills and we can go to bed. I'll even rub your back."

"If you're trying to blackmail me, I just want you to know that it's working." The two went to bed and as promised, Gibbs began to rub Tony's back. After a few minutes, though, the painkillers took effect and Tony was asleep.

The next morning Tony was awakened by the feel of something cold being placed over his eyes. "What's going on?" he asked, trying to sit up only to be pressed back down into the pillow by Gibbs.

"Your eyes are swollen. And they look like they're starting to go black. Do I need to call Ducky?" Gibbs was worried, afraid that the bruising and swelling were indicative of a more serious issue.

"God, no, don't call Ducky. I'm not surprised. Unfortunately, when you get hit between the eyes like I did, the black eyes can show up two or three days later because the blood moves into the soft tissue around the eyes. And just so you know it'll get worse before it gets better. On the plus side, though, my headache is completely gone."

"It doesn't look that bad. In fact, if the swelling goes down, you probably won't notice it."

"Trust me, by tomorrow morning I'll look like crap. I better get all my errands done today. I hate the way people look at you when you have a black eye." He tried to get up again but Gibbs stopped him. "Jethro, you have to let me get up or I'm going to pee in the bed."

Laughing, Gibbs relented and Tony went to the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror and saw the tell-tale signs of bruising starting to appear. His eyelids were beginning to darken and he knew by evening that the bruising would spread to under his eyes. He wasn't looking forward to going in to work on Monday morning with two shiners, but like he told Ducky, there wasn't anything that he could do about it.

On Sunday morning, Gibbs saw that Tony hadn't been lying about the bruising getting worse before it got better. Tony looked like he had come out on the losing end of a barroom brawl. While there was very little swelling, the black eyes had darkened considerably and looked awful. Gibbs still wanted to call Ducky but Tony convinced him that there was nothing to worry about (and for once, Tony was being honest about an injury.) "It just has to run its course, Jethro," Tony said. "You've had a black eye before – you know how it is."

"But whenever I had one, it showed up right away, like McGee's did," Gibbs said.

"I already explained that. This is probably the peak of the bruising – they'll fade to that God-awful greenish color and then they'll be gone in a week. It doesn't even hurt."

"Well, it looks like hell."

By Monday morning, Tony could see a little green around the edges of the bruises but they still looked bad. He sighed, dreading the looks that he was going to get at work. He knew he was going to have to explain how he ended up with two black eyes, probably more than once. He decided that he would leave his sunglasses on until he got to the bullpen. At least he wouldn't have to deal with comments from anyone else before he dealt with the team.

Gibbs was already at his desk when Tony came in, but Ziva and Tim weren't there yet. "Let me see," Gibbs said, shaking his head when Tony took off his sunglasses. "Hope you're ready for the raccoon jokes."

"Gee, thanks, Boss," Tony said. "I really appreciate the sympathy."

"Sympathy for what?" asked Ziva. She froze when she saw Tony's face. "What happened to you? Did you get into a fight over the weekend?"

"No fight, Ziva," Tony said, but before he could explain, Tim and Abby walked in. "Holy crap, Tony!" McGee said. "What happened to you? You look almost as bad as I do."

"I'll always look better than you, Probie. Even at my worst," Tony jibed. "As I was about to tell Ziva . . ." Before Tony could continue, however, Abby burst in, "I really don't believe you, Tony. Can't you let someone else have a little attention once in a while?"

Tony was stunned and more than a little confused, "What are you talking about, Abby?"

"That!" she said, pointed at his bruised face. "What did you do? Go out and pick a fight so you would get the sympathy instead of Tim? Or maybe you just inflicted the injuries yourself!"

Everyone was shocked into silence at Abby's tirade, Tony more so than anyone else. His first reaction was one of hurt that Abby would think that about him and then he got angry, "Yeah, that's me," he said sarcastically. "I'm such an attention whore that I resort to self-harm so people will pay attention to me. You know what, Abby – kiss my ass!" And with that, Tony got up and left the bullpen, heading for the stairs and presumably down to Autopsy.

Gibbs was livid. "What the hell, Abby? What in the world brought that on?

"Come on, Gibbs," Abby said, suddenly nervous in the face of Gibbs' anger. "You know how Tony is. He likes to be the center of attention and he can't deal with Tim being the focus instead of him."

Surprisingly it was Tim who spoke next. "Have you gone crazy, Abby? Tony has been pushing the attention towards me, even though I really don't deserve it." When Abby started to interrupt, Tim held up his hand and continued. "Yes, I found Maggie and stopped the rape, but if Tony hadn't come in when he did that guy at the very least would have put me in the hospital; he might have even killed me. Yet Tony didn't take any of the credit for the rescue of Maggie or me." His tone softened. "I know you care about me, Abby, but enough is enough."

Abby was unwilling to relent. "So why didn't he go to lunch with us? And you saw how he reacted when the director told you about the commendation. How do you explain that?"

"He was in my office during lunch." Everyone turned at the sound of Director Vance's voice. "He brought me the request for Agent McGee's commendation. If he was jealous, Miss Scuito, why would he have done that?" He looked at Gibbs and said, "Don't you think you should go check on him, Gibbs? He seemed to be pretty upset when he left."

"Yeah, I better go find him," Gibbs said. Glaring at Abby, he stated, "I'll deal with you later." He headed for the stairs, hoping that Ducky and Palmer had been able to calm Tony down. But there was no way he could have been prepared for what he found when he walked through the door.

TBC