Jackson Gibbs heard laughter coming from the back room, where his houseguest was supposed to be resting. His curiosity piqued, he reached in the cooler and grabbed a soda and went to check on DiNozzo.

He lightly rapped on the door frame. "Mind if I come in?"

"It's your place," Tony answered.

Jack watched the younger man struggle to sit up. He motioned for Tony to lie down as he pulled up a chair beside him. "There's no need to get up, Tony."

"That's good. Because right now, I don't think I could."

"Maybe that's a sign that you need to be in the hospital."

Tony quickly averted his gaze and Jack knew that DiNozzo was probably thinking that he was trying to get rid of the young man. "Not that you aren't welcome here," Jack quickly clarified, hoping to ease Tony's guilty conscience. "Katherine just said that you need to get some tests done."

"You mean, Kate?" Tony asked. "I told her that I was fine."

"Kate, huh?" Jackson smiled. "She must like you. The last person that called her Kate had to go and see a chiropractor."

DiNozzo shrugged. "I just told her that she didn't look like a Katherine."

"Like I said, she must like you."

Taking the soda and opening it, he offered it to Tony, who shook his head. "Anyway," Jack continued. "She wanted me to find out who your doctor is so she can get your history."

"She doesn't need to bother. I'm fine," Tony repeated, his tone forced and controlled.

Jack leaned back in his chair. "Son, have you looked in the mirror lately?"

"Yeah, I have and believe me I haven't liked the person staring back at me for a long time now."

Anthony DiNozzo was hurting and not just physically. Jack was at a loss, unsure of what to do to help Tony. Leroy knew the agent so much better, but yet Tony had come to him for help. There was no doubt in his mind that Tony needed to talk about what was bothering him, but Jack wasn't a psychologist. He couldn't wave a magic wand and make all of DiNozzo's problem go away. But the one thing he could do for Tony was to be his friend.

"That didn't come out like I wanted it to," Jack said. "I tend to speak first and think later; if you don't believe me, ask Leroy. It was one of the reasons why we didn't talk for so long. I'm not sure what's going on in your head; but just for the record Tony, the man I know is a pretty incredible person."

"You don't know me very well, then," Tony whispered.

"You've worked with Leroy all these years; that tells me all I need to know."

"How can you say that?" the agent wanted to know. "You've only known me for a few months."

"Leroy's told me a lot about you. He says that you've been with him for almost eight years and you've even passed up on your own team to stay with him."

"I didn't think he knew about that."

Jack grinned. "This is Leroy we're talking about."

"Good point," Tony conceded.

"He says that there's no one that he trusts more to watch his six that you. That tells me that you're loyal and have integrity. Not many people have that combination."

"I don't think anyone has ever told me I have integrity before."

Jack lightly squeezed Tony's shoulder. "If you'd let people see the real Anthony DiNozzo, then there would be no way that anyone would question your integrity."

"The real Anthony DiNozzo isn't a very likable person, Jack."

He wasn't sure how to respond to Tony's last remark. Leroy would probably head slap the boy, but considering the severe concussion the agent had, that probably wouldn't be a good idea. Jack watched as Tony began to shut down, closing his eyes, as if he were trying to close out the world. DiNozzo was through talking and Jack knew better than to push him right now.

"So, do you want to give me the name of your doctor, or do I call Leroy?"

Jack met Tony's hardened gaze. "It's one or the other, Tony. Your choice."

Tony sighed. "Dr. Mallard."

"What's his number?"

Jack wrote the number down on a piece of paper and stood up. "Get some rest and I'll check on you later." He set the bottle of soda on the table. "You need to drink that, it'll help settle your stomach."

"Thanks."

Jack stopped in the doorway. "By the way, what was so funny earlier?"

"Huh?" Tony asked, obviously confused by Jack's question.

"I heard you laughing as I came in," Jack explained. "What was so funny?"

"Oh."

Jack thought maybe he had embarrassed Tony when the young man's cheeks flushed slightly, but the grin that appeared on DiNozzo's face told him otherwise.

"I uh… was just thinking about an episode of 'Magnum, P.I.'," Tony answered. "It was the one where…uh, never mind. I'm sure that you don't want to hear me ramble on about a T.V. show. I tend to do that quite a bit."

Jack returned his smile. "'Magnum, P.I.', huh? I haven't seen that show in a long time."

"You used to watch it?"

"Don't sound so surprised, son. Believe it or not, I used to look rather fetching in a Hawaiian shirt."

Tony laughed. "I'm sure you did."

"I'll have to show you a picture sometime."

"I'd like that."

"You just take it easy and I'll be back to check on you later."

"All right."

Jack left Tony alone and walked to his counter to call Katherine. Hopefully, she and this Dr. Mallard would be able to convince Tony of his need to seek medical treatment. He wasn't sure that Tony could even begin dealing with what was truly troubling him until he felt better physically. After he got done talking with the doctor, he was going to call Leroy. He had promised his son that he would call him back and let him know how Tony was doing and maybe he could get some idea of how to help his young friend.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Gibbs sat outside Vance's house, waiting for the Director to come home. He recalled Leon saying that his wife and kids were visiting her parents and would be gone the rest of the week, so he knew that he didn't have to worry about having this conversation in front of his family. He was going to get some answers and this time, he would not be leaving until he did.

His phone rang as he took a sip of his coffee. Glancing at the caller ID, he saw that it was McGee. He hoped that Tim and Ziva had managed to find something out about why Tony's car was in Norfolk.

"Gibbs."

"Boss, it's me."

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "Yeah, McGee, I know. What do you got?"

"We found Tony's car, Boss. It looks like it's been in a wreck: the entire driver's side is caved in. We found several bullet holes as well. Ziva talked to the mechanic and he said that it was towed in early yesterday afternoon."

"Get that car back to Abby," he instructed. "I don't want anyone else touching that car."

"Yes, Boss. Anything else you want us to do?"

Until he found out more about what Tony was doing, there wasn't much more Ziva and McGee could do in Norfolk. "Not right now. I want you two to come back and help Abby. She's going through Tony's hard drive to see if she can find anything."

"Will do, Boss," McGee replied. "Boss, do you want to tell us anything?"

"Like what, McGee?"

"Like what's going on with Tony?"

"I wish I knew." He closed his phone and threw it in the seat beside him. Gibbs didn't want to reveal anything until he had the full story and even then, he wasn't sure how much Ziva and McGee would need to know. For all outward appearances, Tony was a very private person and he knew that DiNozzo preferred to keep most people at arms length. It was bad enough that they were going through his phone records, financial records, and hard drive without his consent; hopefully, Tony would understand why they had to resort to such extreme measures.

Before he could take another sip of coffee, his phone rang again. This time it was Abby.

"Gibbs," he snapped.

"And hello to you too," Abby greeted.

"What do you need, Abs?"

"I've been going through Tony's emails since he's returned from the Seahawk, and I found something very weird."

"What, Abs?"

"Vance has been sending Tony emails at least once a week and they aren't just the generic departmental ones that he sends everyone. Most of them are very short and to the point."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, like the last one he sent to Tony just had a time on it. It was sent the day before yesterday and said 2:30 p.m."

"That's all?" questioned the team leader.

"Yep, that's it."

Gibbs could almost see the Goth sipping her Caf-Pow as she anticipated his next question.

"What about the other emails?" he wanted to know.

"I could just forward them to you and…never mind. I'll print them out for you and have them ready when you get back."

"I owe you another Caf-Pow, Abs," he promised.

"I'll put it on your tab."

Gibbs heard a slight pause and before the next question even came out of her mouth, he cut her off. "No Abs, you can't call him yet."

"He's got like 18 more hours and then I'm calling him," she said with a hint of defiance.

"Abs," he gently warned.

"I mean it, Gibbs. He better call me and if you talk to him again, you better tell him to call me."

"I will."

He hung up when he saw Vance's car pull into his drive way. Gibbs gave him a few minutes to park and get inside and then he went up and knocked on the front door. It took just a few seconds for the Director to answer.

Gibbs was amazed that Vance had the nerve to look surprised to see him. "You didn't think I'd give up that easily, did you Leon?"

"I guess I didn't expect you to show up at my house," the Director admitted. "But of course, you've been here before—without an invitation."

"Actually, I was invited," Gibbs pointed out. "Your wife invited me in."

"Well, she's not here and I certainly don't recall inviting you. If this pertains to work, it will keep until tomorrow."

"The hell it will," Gibbs snarled. "Now, you can either invite me in or we can do this out here in front of your neighbors. It doesn't make any difference to me."

He walked in when Vance stepped aside, allowing him to enter the house. "I'm through beating around the bush, Leon. I want to know why DiNozzo has been working undercover for you."

"So you know. I'll have to find out who is leaking that information."

"I know that he's been undercover to infiltrate a drug running ring based in Norfolk. I want to know why."

"He volunteered," Vance icily replied.

"No, he didn't. He wouldn't. Not after getting burned like he did on the op he did for Jen."

"Then perhaps you don't know you're agent as well as you thought," Leon taunted. "Actually, this has been the fourth operation Agent DiNozzo has been involved in since his return. He really is very good at what he does."

Gibbs clenched his fist, fighting the urge to pommel the man in front of him. "You bastard," he spat.

"So I've been told."

"Pull him off," Gibbs insisted. "There'll be no more undercover operations for DiNozzo."

"I can't. I don't have the authority to do that."

"Then you tell whoever does have the authority to pull him out that Tony's off the case."

"I can't do that either. You see, until we find DiNozzo and find out what happened yesterday, our hands are tied."

"What do you mean what happened yesterday?" the agent pressed.

Gibbs stony glare followed Leon as he poured himself a drink and sat down on the couch. "Leon, I asked you a question."

"I can't. It's on a need to know basis and Jethro, you aren't on that list."

"Read me in then."

"I can't at the moment."

The team leader's gaze narrowed. "Why DiNozzo?" he asked again.

"I've told you what I can."

"Why DiNozzo?" Gibbs continued to press. "Is it some kind of punishment? You don't think he was punished enough for what happened in L.A.? You don't think that he beat himself up enough over the death of Jenny, so you wanted to help? What is it, Leon?" Gibbs yelled, no longer trying to reign in his temper.

Vance stood up and opened the door. "I think you need to leave before you say something that you regret."

"If I find out that you're doing this to punish him, I'll have your job," Gibbs vowed. "If something happens to him and he dies," the agent continued. "I'll have more than your job."

Gibbs headed towards his car. He stopped mid stride when Vance called out to him.

"Gibbs Do you know where DiNozzo is?"

The agent smiled at the fact that the only good thing about this situation is that Vance had no idea where Tony was.. "Worried about him, Leon?"

"If you talk to him, tell him that he needs to get in touch with me ASAP," Vance ordered.

"You know Leon, not knowing where your undercover agent is must make you look bad in front of all your friends," Gibbs retorted as he got in the car.

He could tell by the clenched jaw that Vance was now fuming. Gibbs pulled off and headed back to the headquarters. Since Vance wasn't forthcoming with any useful information, he would go through the emails that Abby printed off and see what he could piece together.

His phone rang once again. He didn't even have to look at the caller ID to see who was calling. "What do you need, Ducky?"

"Jethro, we really must work on your phone etiquette."

The team leader grinned and shook his head. "Something wrong, Duck?"

"Well," the Scotsman began. "I just got a rather interesting phone call."

"From who?"

"From a doctor in St…"

Gibbs cut Ducky off as his foot pressed down on the accelerator. "Meet me in Abby's lab in ten minutes."

"But I thought that you would want to know…"

"Not on the phone, Duck. I'll see you in ten." Gibbs hung up. If this pertained to Tony, he didn't want to do it over the phone. He wouldn't put it past Vance to put a tap on his phone in case Tony called him.

If the doctor in Stillwater was calling Ducky, then Tony must be hurt worse than he had originally assumed. Gibbs had learned long ago not to take DiNozzo at his word when it came to his health. He silently cursed the cars in front of him as he weaved his way through traffic. If DiNozzo was injured, then Tony could just forget about having a few days to himself; Gibbs would be by his side by sunrise.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Looking around to make sure that he was alone, Tony carefully sat up on the couch, using his arm to brace his aching ribs. It had taken every ounce of his reserve not to scream when Kate was poking and prodding around the tender bruises that littered his chest and stomach. He still felt bad that he had vomited in front of her; that was not the best first impression that he had ever made.

He grabbed the bottle of soda that Jack had left for him and took a sip. Tony winced against the burning sensation of the liquid as he swallowed. "I shouldn't have done that," he muttered to himself.

Setting the bottle down, he laid his head back against the cushion of the couch. Tony could hear Jack talking to someone in the store. He figured that the older man had called Katherine to give her Ducky's number. The agent hadn't wanted to involve Ducky, but Jack had backed him into a corner by threatening to call Gibbs. He knew that Gibbs Sr., was a lot like his son in that he didn't back down when he thought he was in the right.

Tony wasn't ready to talk to his Boss just yet, so he relented and gave Jack Ducky's phone number. He could just hear the ME now once Kate had informed him of her findings.

"Anthony, my boy," Tony said, doing a weak imitation of the Scotsman, "what have you gotten yourself into now?"

"Well Ducky, it's like this," the agent answered. "You really don't want to know."

Tony again emulated the voice of the ME. "How do you expect us to help you, Anthony?"

He sighed and shook his head. "I don't know if you can. I'm not sure anybody can."

Running his hands through his disheveled hair, Tony laughed to himself. "You are so screwed up, DiNozzo. If Kate or Jack sees you talking to yourself, they'll call the men in the white coats. Pull yourself together!"

Tony forced himself to stand up. If he stayed still too long, he would be tempted to go to sleep. While he was staying with Jack, he would not take another chance of hurting Gibbs' father, or worse, killing him. He began to slowly pace the room, his mind racing. Where did it all go wrong?

Sometimes Tony wondered if God hated him that much. Sure he wasn't a saint, but he wasn't that bad of a person, was he? He didn't think so, but Tony was certain that there were those who would disagree. Director Vance certainly didn't care for him; in fact, according to the director, Tony was expendable. He briefly wondered if Vance knew his father, they seemed to share the same opinion of him.

Vance. That name alone made him feel sick. Tony was completely aware that he needed to report to the Director, but Leon Vance was the last person he wanted to talk to. He would find out soon enough that the bust didn't go down as planned. Tony's cover had been blown and he had barely escaped with his life, but that wouldn't matter to Leon Vance.

He didn't figure that Vance knew where he was, or the Director would have already been here. All that mattered to the man was making himself and the agency look good and right now, that was the furthest thing from Tony's mind. DiNozzo didn't have the energy to care about too much except remaining upright and putting one foot in front of the other.

Tony swayed slightly as the room began to spin. "Gotta stay awake, DiNozzo."

Knowing that there was one person who could keep him awake, Tony felt his pocket for his cell phone. "Oh, yeah. I threw it against the wall. We can just add that to the list of stupid things I've done."

"Maybe I should make a list of stupid things that Anthony DiNozzo has done in his lifetime. That'll certainly pass the time."

"What are you doing off the couch?"

Tony startled at the sound of Jack's voice. He spun around too fast and nearly went to the floor. The agent felt the strong arms of Jack holding him and helping him back to the couch. He could certainly add this stunt to the mental list he was forming in his mind.

"I…uh…just was tired of lying down," Tony lied.

He didn't have to look at Jack to know that the older man didn't believe him. "Well, it looks like to me that lying down is about all you can do. You certainly can't walk too well at the moment."

"I was doing fine," Tony protested, "until someone snuck upon me."

"I didn't sneak upon you. You just didn't hear me come in."

"There's a difference?"

"Yep."

Tony sighed, too tired to argue. "If you say so."

"I called Katherine with that number you gave me."

"And?"

"She was going to call Dr. Mallard and she said to tell you that she would be back to check on you within the hour."

"All right."

Tony could tell that Jack seemed hesitant. There was obviously something else that Jack wanted to tell him, so the agent decided to make it easy on the man who had opened his home to him. "Something else, Jack?"

"Yeah, Tony," Jack replied. "I'm getting ready to call Leroy. Do you want to talk to him?"

Tony shook his head. "Not yet."

"All right. I thought I'd ask."

He nodded his thanks as Jack stood to leave the room. "Jack, there is someone I'd like to talk to. Can you tell Gibbs to have Abby call me?"

"Abby, huh?"

"Yeah. Not that I'm going to do a lot of talking, I just need her to keep me…I just want to hear her voice."

"I'll tell him," Jack promised.

"Thanks."

Tony knew that Abby would be worried sick about him and had probably put a time limit for him to call her. Right now, he just wanted to hear her talk about Sister Rosita, movies, clubs, anything but work. Since he no longer had a cell phone, and he doubted Jack did either, it would be better for Abby to call him, so that Jackson didn't end up with as Abby would put it, a 'ginourmas' long distance bill.

Until she called, Tony planned to keep his mind busy. He had already gone through all the seasons of 'Magnum, P.I.', now he would start on 'Airwolf'. Tony silently wished that his life was like a weekly television series with the problem of the week being solved in 43 minutes. Tony's life was more like a box office movie with endless sequels.

"So much for wishful thinking," he whispered as he began to hum the theme to 'Airwolf'.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ducky had just finished faxing the last of Tony's medical records to Dr. Marshall when Jethro stormed into Autopsy, coffee cup in hand. The ME wasn't looking forward to having this conversation and judging by the steely expression on Gibbs' face, the team leader wasn't in the mood for any of Ducky's usual tangents.

"All right, Duck. What's going on?" Gibbs demanded to know.

"I just finished faxing Tony's medical records to a Dr. Katherine Marshall in Stillwater. She is quite concerned about the lad."

"How badly is he hurt, Duck?"

"Well," the ME began. "She said that Tony has a rather nasty concussion and is suffering some side effects from it. Dr. Marshall went on to say that he has quite a few bruises on his chest and possibly a couple of cracked ribs, not to mention a slight possibility of some internal bleeding."

"Why isn't he in the hospital, then?"

"Tony doesn't want to go," Ducky simply stated.

"He doesn't want to go? From the sound of it, Ducky, he really doesn't have a choice," Gibbs exclaimed.

"There's always a choice, Jethro," the ME pointed out. "Right now, Tony is making his choice."

Gibbs threw his cup in the trash, sighing in frustration and anger. "Anything else?"

"Yes, I'm afraid there is."

"Spit it out, Ducky," the team leader ordered.

The ME crossed his arms and studied the concerned features of his friend. How was he going to tell Gibbs that Tony had been hiding information about his health? "Jethro, were you aware of the fact that Anthony has an ulcer?"

"DiNozzo? An ulcer?"

"Yes," Ducky answered. "Dr. Marshall said that he was throwing up blood and during her examination, his abdomen was tender. She said that Tony admitted to being diagnosed with an ulcer on the Seahawk."

Gibb's expression softened. "An ulcer," he repeated. "I would have never thought about DiNozzo getting an ulcer."

"I don't know why not, Jethro. That boy internalizes everything," Ducky pointed out. "I'm just amazed that it took this long to show up. After all he's been through, especially the past two or three years, it was bound to happen."

"He didn't say anything about it when he returned from the Seahawk?" Gibbs questioned.

"No and I don't have his medical records from the time he was on the ship either. I'm waiting on the physician of the Seahawk to contact me and then I'll know more."

"His records should have transferred back with him."

"But where are they? You know this reminds me of the time…" Ducky caught himself before Gibbs could say anything. "It's not important."

"Anything else?"

"Nothing yet. I've asked her to call me should Tony be hospitalized. I'm going to call Dr. Pitt and ask him to fax Tony's records from the time he had the plague as well."

"That's good thinking. Find out what happened to Tony's records from the Seahawk," Gibbs instructed. "I'll be in Abby's lab if you need me."

He let Gibbs get to the door before he called out to him. "Are you planning on a visit to Stillwater any time in the near future?"

Gibbs merely smiled. That was the answer that Ducky had been expecting. One thing for sure was that Gibbs looked out for his own, especially Tony. Whether Jethro ever admitted it publicly or not, Anthony DiNozzo held a special place in the team leader's heart; he was like the son that Jethro never had. Most people never saw the smile that Gibbs tried to hide when Tony managed to crack the case by using some kind of movie comparison, or when Tony would outsmart McGee and Ziva, and truthfully, the list could go on forever.

Ducky knew that Gibbs was bound and determined to help Tony, but the doctor couldn't help but wonder if Jethro would be too late.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As Gibbs entered Abby's lab, his phone rang. Glancing at his caller ID, he saw that it was his dad. "Gibbs," he answered.

"Don't you ever say hello like normal people?" his dad inquired.

"Nope. What's going on, Dad?"

"Just thought you'd want an update."

Gibbs hoped that his dad would pick upon what he was about to do. "Yeah, you were going to tell me about Mike the last time you called. How's he doing?"

There was a brief second of silence before his dad replied. Gibbs breathed a sigh of relief when Jack answered, "Well, you know Mike. He's as stubborn as they come."

"Yeah, I know. Is he feeling any better?"

"Not really, but he did want you to do something for him."

"What's that?"

"He wants to talk to the hugger. Do you think you can set that up?"

Gibbs smiled. Jack always referred to Abby as the hugger. His dad had once made the comment that he never met anyone who could hug so well. "I'll do my best. Dad, I'm going to have to go. I'll call you back later."

"All right, son."

The team leader hung up to find three sets of eyes staring at him. "That was my dad."

"Your father? Is something wrong?" Ziva asked.

"No, at least not with him. Tony is with him. I don't want Vance knowing where Tony is and I wouldn't put it past the director to use us to find DiNozzo."

"Tony is in Stillwater? Why?"

"I don't fully know." Gibbs studied each member of his team. He could trust them, he knew that, but what he was about to tell them could change how they viewed their senior field agent. "Tony's been undercover per the director's orders. I don't know the details of this latest case, but whatever has happened, Tony can't…Tony just needs some time to work some things out and that's what he's going to get."

"Is he all right?" McGee asked.

"No."

"What can we do?" Ziva asked.

"What you're doing now. Keep going through his computer and see if there is anything that will tell us what Tony has been doing. Any emails from Vance to Tony, print them out and give them to me. Abby, I have a special assignment for you while you're waiting on Tony's car."

He took Abby by the arm and led her away from the others. "Tony wants you to call him, but don't use your phone."

Deepening her voice, she answered, "On it, Boss. Did I sound like Tony? I've been practicing all day."

"Good job, Abs. Now go!"

He watched as Abby ran out of the lab as fast her thick platform soles would carry her. Turning his attention back to Ziva and McGee, he wondered how much more he should tell them. They were Tony's friends too and were as equally worried about him. He watched them work as they went through Tony's emails, debating on what to do. His phone rang again and this time it was Vance.

Gibbs hit the mute button, refusing the answer the man's call. The next phone to ring was Ziva's and she followed suit as did McGee when his rang.

"The equipment in here sometimes messes up my phone," Ziva said.

"We really should see about getting a new service or something," McGee added.

Gibbs smiled. He knew where his team's loyalty lied; with him and with their friend, Tony DiNozzo.