Abby dialed Jack's number and waited anxiously, silently counting the number of rings it took for someone to answer. Gibbs had warned her not to use her phone to call Tony, in case their lines were being monitored. It bothered her to think that the Director would resort to such extreme measures to find her friend. She knew that whatever was going on between Tony and Vance could not be good; making her concern for the senior agent grow every second that she was unable to hear his voice. Abby had been thrilled when Gibbs had said that Tony wanted her to call him.
Knowing Tony, she realized that he probably just wanted someone to help keep him awake. Whenever DiNozzo was hurt or tired, he seemed to be plagued by nightmares and Abby would find herself over at his apartment either watching movies or talking until he fell asleep. Usually his head would be on her lap or against her shoulder and the two of them would stay like that until morning. Since Tony was in Stillwater, they had to settle on the next best thing and use the telephone.
Since she couldn't use any of her phones, including her house or work phone, she came to the one place where she figured it would be safe to call DiNozzo—the bowling alley. Abby knew that Sister Rosita and the nuns would be bowling tonight, so no one would think it odd that she there. She smiled at her stroke of genius; Tony would be so proud. Mac, the manager of the Leisure Lanes Bowling Alley was an old friend and was more than happy to let her use the phone in his office.
After speaking to Sister Rosita and asking her to say a special prayer for Tony, Abby had retreated to the office to make her call. She had mentally counted the fifth ring before someone picked up.
"Hello?"
Abby smiled, instantly recognizing the voice of Jackson Gibbs. "Hello yourself, you handsome devil," she answered.
"Abby? It's good to hear your voice, sweetheart!" Jack said.
"Yours too. How have you been?"
"I've been doing well." There was a slight pause before Jack asked, "Abby, where are you at? What's that noise in the background?"
"Oh, I'm at a bowling alley and I think Sister Rosita just got a strike," she hastily explained.
"A bowling alley? Why are you at a bowling alley? I'd figure that you'd be at work."
"I had to use the phone," Abby said, hoping that Jack would understand the underlying message. Of course, he would. He was just like Gibbs, only older.
"Of course," he replied.
Abby could almost see Jack's charming grin as he realized why she wasn't using her own phone. "So, I hear you have some company. Anyone I know?" she playfully inquired.
"I believe so. Just hang on a minute and I'll take him the phone."
"Jack? Is he all right?" She had the feeling that she already knew the answer to her question.
"No," Jack admitted. "But I do think that hearing from you will make him feel a lot better."
She could hear Jack saying something to Tony and then it was just a few seconds before she heard Tony's voice. Gibbs had been right, Tony sounded exhausted.
"Hey Abs," the weary voice greeted.
"Tony? Oh my gosh! Are you okay?"
Silence. Abby hated silence. "Tony? Are you still there?"
"Yeah, I'm here Abby and no, I'm not okay."
For Tony to so easily admit that he wasn't all right, things had to be worse than she originally thought. "Talk to me, Tony," she pleaded. "Tell me what's going on."
"I can't Abs; not right now. Besides, I don't think you have that much time," he quipped.
"Tony, I have all the time in the world for you."
She heard Tony sigh. Abby wished that she could reach through the phone and embrace her hurting friend. Holding the phone on her shoulder, she wrapped her arms around herself. "I'm sending you a hug, Tony."
"Thanks Abs," he whispered. "I needed that."
"You're welcome. I'm here and ready to listen."
Another sigh. "Not right now. Right now, I don't want to think about my problems. I just…"
"Need a friend?"
"Yeah. I need a friend."
Abby leaned back in her chair and began talking about anything and everything that didn't pertain to work or to the real reason Tony was in Stillwater. She would pause long enough to make sure that Tony was still there. Satisfied that he was still listening, she would continue chatting.
If her talking non stop was what it took to get Tony to the point that he felt like opening up, even a little, then she would ramble on all night. Abby refused to give up on Tony. He was more than her colleague; he was like her brother and family looked out for each other.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Director Vance was furious with Gibbs and his team. He had expected Gibbs to ignore his calls, but he had to admit that he was surprised that David and McGee had followed suit. They all knew where DiNozzo was and they obviously were going to great lengths to make sure that he didn't find out the location of the missing agent.
Gibbs had been right when he had remarked that losing contact with his undercover operative made Vance look bad. Leon had barely been able to appease the SecNav with his excuses, but his peers had not been so easily fooled. Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo was attempting to play him for a fool and he was not going to that happen.
As soon as Gibbs had left, Vance had ordered all of the ex-Marine's team phones to be monitored. DiNozzo would have to contact one of them soon. He had to give the agent credit; Tony DiNozzo didn't want to be found and had covered his tracks well.
His phone rang. The caller ID revealed that the SecNav was calling him. Flipping open his phone, he answered, "Yes, sir?"
Vance listened carefully as the SecNav spoke. His superior was informing him of some new information that had come to his attention pertaining to DiNozzo and the undercover operation that he had been involved in. The NCIS Director's anger steadily grew as he listened with a forced calmness. When the SecNav was done, all Vance could manage was a terse, "I understand, sir."
He hung up the phone and poured himself a drink. After quickly downing it, he threw the glass across the room. Vance didn't flinch as the glass shattered against the wall. Damn DiNozzo! The bust hadn't gone as planned and he was just finding out about it. The fact that two men had been killed and DiNozzo had not taken the time to inform him of this development infuriated the man even further.
"You better have a good explanation, DiNozzo," Vance growled, "because you'll be the one taking the fall."
A tiny smile danced upon his lips. He now knew how to find out where DiNozzo was hiding and Gibbs would be the one to lead him to the agent. All he had to do was convince Jethro Gibbs that his boy was in danger of losing everything, including his job, his freedom, and his life. Of course, as far Vance was concerned, it wasn't far from the truth.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Gibbs sat at Abby's desk going through the emails that Vance had sent Tony. Most of them were short and to the point, consisting of various times followed by one or two words. He assumed that it was some kind of code that only Tony understood. There were also a couple of emails that Vance had forwarded from the SecNav congratulating DiNozzo on a job well done.
He scrubbed his face with his hand and sat back in his chair. When was DiNozzo finding time to pull these undercover operations off? Since Tony had been back from the Seahawk, his team had stayed busy with back to back cases and DiNozzo hadn't been prone to disappearing like he had when he was working undercover for Jen. How could Tony keep up that pace for so long? It was no wonder that his senior agent sounded completely and utterly exhausted. Gibbs sighed. Hopefully, Tony would provide him with some answers sooner than later.
His phone rang and he flipped it open. "Gibbs."
"Leroy Jethro Gibbs?" a female voice hesitantly asked.
"Yes."
"My name is Dr. Katherine Marshall," she introduced herself. "I'm the doctor here in…"
"Can I call you right back?" Gibbs interrupted.
"I'm not going to take up to much of your time, Mr. Gibbs. I just need to ask you a few questions about…"
"I assure you that I'll answer your questions to the best of my ability, but I need to call you back. Give me ten minutes." Hanging up his phone, he pushed himself back from the desk and stood up.
"I'm going for coffee. I'll be back in a few minutes," he called back over his shoulder to Ziva and McGee as he headed towards the elevator.
Within a few minutes, he was at his favorite coffee shop, purchasing a prepaid phone card. He went over to the payphone, thankful that the manager of the shop hadn't taken the payphone out when he had remodeled. Glancing at his cell phone, he quickly memorized Dr. Marshall's phone number and then entered the card information and the number on the payphone. He wasn't surprised when the doctor picked up on the first ring.
"I don't appreciate being cut off like that," she blurted out.
"I had to switch phones. There wasn't very good reception where I was," he lied.
"I could hear you just fine."
Gibbs blew out a frustrated breath. "What can I do for you, Dr. Marshall? Are you calling about Tony?"
"Yes, I am. You're listed as his next of kin," she stated.
"I have been for years, ever since he came to work for me."
"Then you are familiar with his medical history."
"Is that a question or a statement, Dr. Marshall?"
"Both," she coolly replied. "I've just been reviewing his medical history and it seems that Mr. DiNozzo has been injured in the line of duty several times."
"Yes, he has."
"And he's suffered a variety of injuries, from a sprained ankle to the pneumonic plague. That's quite an extensive history."
"Is there a point to this, Dr. Marshall?" the team leader snapped. "I thought that you would want to inform me about his current medical condition. I don't need a reminder about DiNozzo's past medical history; I need to know what's going on with him now."
He knew that she probably didn't welcome his abruptness, but at the moment, he didn't care. All Gibbs wanted to know was how DiNozzo was doing and what she was doing to help him.
"I'm sure that you spoke with Dr. Mallard and you're aware of his physical condition. I want him to go to the hospital for some tests and to make sure that I'm not missing something. I thought that perhaps as his next of kin, you could persuade him to go."
Gibbs smiled. The doctor had discovered Tony's stubborn streak. "That's easier said than done, Dr. Marshall."
"So, I've discovered. My main concern is that he could be bleeding internally, either from the bruising or from the ulcer. He also seems to be dehydrated and has lost some weight, which is taxing his system as well."
He mentally head slapped himself. How could he not notice that Tony was losing weight? Had he been that blind?
"Mr. Gibbs, are you still there?" the doctor inquired.
"Jethro," he corrected.
"Very well, Jethro."
"Is he still at my dad's?"
"Yes. I left him with strict orders to rest. He's had an eventful day."
"What do you mean?"
"It's a long story. Right now, I need you to convince him to let me admit him to hospital."
He sighed in frustration. "I'll see what I can do, but you have to understand, that I can't make any promises. When Tony makes up his mind about something, he doesn't change it so easily."
"I'm aware of that," she said. "However, at the rate he's going, he's going to end up in the hospital one way or another. I just want to get a handle on his condition before he ends up worse than he already is."
"I'll talk to him," the team leader agreed.
Gibbs took a sip of his coffee that he had purchased earlier and set it down on top of the payphone. "I have a feeling that something else is bothering you, Dr. Marshall."
"Is it that obvious?"
"I've spent most of my life learning how to read people and you seem like you're hiding something from me. Am I right?"
"You're very perceptive, Jethro. But, I'd rather not continue this conversation over the phone. How soon can you get to Stillwater?"
The team leader grinned. It seemed that Dr. Katherine Marshall preferred the direct approach as well. "I'll be there in the morning."
"I'm looking forward to meeting you, Jethro."
"Same here."
Gibbs hung up and took another sip of his coffee. He had wanted to give his senior agent the time to himself that he had asked for, but that was before Gibbs had discovered that Tony was hurt. DiNozzo had a habit of denying that he needed help whenever he was injured or sick, not believing that he was worthy of anyone's concern. The feeling of inadequacy stemmed from the lessons that Tony's father pounded into him. He couldn't begin to count how many times had he heard Tony say something like, "DiNozzo's don't pass out; DiNozzo's don't get sick; DiNozzo's don't cry."
Pushing these thoughts to the back of his mind, he purchased three more coffees and headed back to Abby's lab. As he walked down the street, his phone rang. It was Vance. He didn't want to talk to the Director, but something in his gut told him that he needed to take the call.
"Gibbs," he answered.
"So, you finally decided to answer my calls," Vance said.
"I left my phone in the car," Gibbs replied.
"I guess David and McGee left theirs in the car as well?"
"Something like that." Annoyed, Gibbs asked, "What do you want, Leon?"
"I just got off the phone with the SecNav. I need to know where DiNozzo is."
"Why?"
"Because his undercover operation got blown all to hell and I need to know why. Two men are dead and DiNozzo is suddenly missing. It's in his best interest if you tell me where he is."
Gibbs clenched his jaw tightly. "I don't know."
"Do you realize what kind of trouble your man could be in?" Vance pressed.
"I understand that you're trying to imply that DiNozzo somehow screwed up the mission and I'm here to tell you that you're wrong," he barked.
"Tell me where he is or you're going to leave me no choice but to suspend you for withholding information pertinent to a case."
"I'll leave my badge and gun on your desk, Director Vance."
Gibbs slammed his phone shut and tossed it in the nearest trashcan. He entered the NCIS building and headed straight for the lab. As he handed Ziva and McGee their coffee, the team leader quickly explained what was going on and made them promise that they would simply lay low and wait for him to contact them.
"I don't know how long I'll be," he said. "Right now, stay under Vance's radar. He wants to know where Tony is and I need time to sort out whatever is going on. I've just approved you two for a week's vacation, so make yourselves scarce. I'll call you when Tony's up to having company. I know what I'm asking is a lot, but…"
Ziva didn't give him a chance to finish. "Tony is one of us and we always have each other's backs. He has always had ours; it's now time for us to watch his."
"Yeah, Boss," McGee added. "We all owe him a lot. You can count on us."
Gibbs patted McGee on the shoulder. "Never doubted it for a minute. Now, get out of here, both of you. I'll call Abby later and explain what's going on."
"Shouldn't she be back by now?" Ziva wanted to know.
The team leader glanced at his watch. "Nah. Knowing Abby and Tony, they're just getting started."
Taking one final look at his team, he realized that although he was always proud of his team, he had never been prouder of them than he was at that moment. "I won't forget this."
"Keep in touch, Boss," McGee said.
"I will."
Without a backwards glance, Gibbs headed up to the Director's office. He laid his badge and gun on Leon's desk and left as quickly as he had entered. Now he wouldn't have to worry about anyone looking over his shoulder and that should hopefully make things easier for him and for Tony. DiNozzo probably wouldn't be thrilled to see him, but hopefully the younger man would realize that Gibbs simply wanted to help.
He hadn't been much of one to pray in the past because he wasn't convinced that it did any good. Gibbs wasn't even sure he believed in a higher power any more, but he found himself daring God. "If you're listening," he began, "you've got to help me get through to DiNozzo. I can't lose him. I won't lose him. You've taken Shannon and Kelly; I'm not going to let you have my son…Tony. Do you hear me? I won't lose him!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Tony couldn't help but laugh when Abby told him about how she had talked Palmer into getting a tattoo. He could just see the ME's assistant walking into the tattoo parlor, trying to decide on what to get and where to put it.
"So, what did he finally decide on?" Tony wanted to know.
"A skull and crossbones," Abby answered. "Actually, he thought about getting a black lung, since that was his code name back when you…oops."
"Oops?" What do you mean 'oops'?"
"You didn't want me to talk about work or anything like that. I shouldn't have even mentioned Palmer's name. I'm really, really, really sorry, Tony," the Goth apologized profusely.
"Abs, it's all right," he assured her. "I'm not going to fall apart on you; I'm not that far gone."
Truthfully, Tony knew that he had a very tenuous grip on his emotions, but he had to convince Abby otherwise. He couldn't deal with her guilt on top of his own.
He had thoroughly been enjoying Abby's ramblings. She had successfully taken his mind off his problems, at least temporarily, and for that he was grateful. Tony had just started to relax a little, but now the tension was back as the all too familiar pain in his stomach reared its ugly head. He gasped as he shifted slightly on the couch, attempting to find a more comfortable position.
Unfortunately, Abby had not missed the hitch in his breath and began to rapidly fire questions at him. "What's wrong?" Tony, are you all right?" You're in pain, aren't you? Don't you think you should call the doctor?"
"Abby, I'm all right. I'm just a little stiff and sore and I moved wrong. I'm fine, really."
"You're not fine, Tony," she argued. "You might can fool Jack and you might be able to fool that doctor, but you know you can't fool me."
Tony weakly smiled. "I know, Abs."
"Then why aren't you being honest with me? Do I have to remind you about Abby's rule number one?"
"No, y
ou don't have to remind me."
"Tony, you're my best friend and I know when you're hurting, and I'm not just talking about the physical pain that you are obviously in."
He closed his eyes, listening and replaying Abby's words in his mind. Tony knew that she was right. He had always been able to open up to Abby, but this was different. How could he begin to tell Abby what was bothering him when he didn't fully understand it himself?"
"Tony, are you still there?" Abby nervously asked.
Tony sighed, silently chastising himself for zoning out. "Yeah, I'm here Abby. I was just…"
"Thinking about what you were going to tell me?"
"Not really."
"Tony, please," she pleaded once again.
Blinking back the tears that threatened to fall, Tony refused to allow himself the luxury of crying. He could remember only crying two times in his life; once when he found his mother's body and the second time was after Paula Cassidy had been killed. Showing his feelings had never been easy for Tony and now was no exception. He expertly hid beside the façade of a frat boy in order to keep people at arm's length. However, Abby was one of the few people that had seen behind his mask and yet, she had remained by his side regardless of his attempts to push her away.
He swallowed hard, ignoring the lump that had developed in his throat. "I'm tired, Abs."
"I know Tony, but if you would just…"
"No Abby, you don't understand. I'm tired. I'm just so tired of everything."
"What do you mean?"
Abby was ready to listen but Tony was at a loss of words. "I don't know…where to start."
"Just take your time," she urged.
"I can't go on like this, Abs. I can't go on living a lie. I don't know what's wrong with me; I can't seem to get my act together. Once I came back from the Seahawk, I thought things would be back to normal, but so far, it's been anything but normal."
"What's been going on?"
"I can't tell you that, at least not yet."
"Does this have something to do with Director Vance?" Abby guessed.
Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. "Abby, why would you say that?"
"Because I know that he's been sending you mysterious emails and that he's desperate to find you."
"You've been going through my emails?" Tony knew that his sharp tone probably caught Abby by surprise.
He shook his head in frustration, wincing as the pounding in his head intensified. Tony should have known that Gibbs would have ordered the others to search his hard drive. It wouldn't be long before Gibbs figured out exactly what was going on.
"Oops," Abby said again. "I guess I shouldn't have mentioned that."
"That's all right, Abby. I'm sure that you were just following Gibb's instructions."
"He's worried about you, Tony. We all are."
It wasn't his intention to cause his teammates concern; Tony certainly didn't believe that he was worth the effort. He had just wanted to get away for a while and decide if he could continue living that life that had been forced upon him since his return from his posting as Agent Afloat.
"Abby," he whispered. "I think I want out."
"What?"
He could hear the slight tremble in her voice. Tony wished that he could take back what he had just said; he really didn't know why he even said it. He had no idea what he wanted right now.
"Forget it," he quickly said. "I'm just tired; I don't even know why I said that."
"Oh, no you don't," Abby gently admonished. "You're not getting off that easily, Tony."
"Let it go, Abs," he begged.
"I can't. You either start talking or I'm driving up to Stillwater right now," she threatened.
Tony knew that she wasn't bluffing. He had played poker with Abby enough to know that she very seldom bluffed. Taking a deep breath, he said, "I think…I think it's time I left NCIS."
"Tony, you can't be serious," Abby replied. "I mean you love your job. We finally got you back from the Seahawk and now you decide that you want to leave? That doesn't make sense!"
"I've been with NCIS six years longer than I have any other job, Abs. It's probably past time I moved on," he tried to reason.
"Tony, you can't just leave."
Tony felt something snap inside him as his resolve began to crumble. "Abby, I'm kind of getting tired of people telling me what I can and can't do," he growled. "I've reached my limit! I can't keep going between working for Gibbs and working for Vance. I'm being pulled in so many different directions that I feel like that there's nothing left of Tony DiNozzo! I don't even want to be Tony DiNozzo any more. He's nothing but a disappointment to everyone around him!"
He cursed under his breath. Tony couldn't believe that he had just let the proverbial cat out of the bag. He had just admitted that he was working for Vance. Hopefully, Abby wouldn't catch his slip up, but he knew that she would eventually put two and two together.
"That's not true!" she tearfully protested. "You've never been a disappointment to me or to any of the others."
"Really?" Tony forced himself to sit up on the couch. He gritted his teeth against the pain, hating his own weakness. "Then answer a few questions for me, Abs," he grunted. "Tell me why Gibbs still blames me for Jenny's death. Why hasn't he head slapped me since I've been back? Why does McGee look at me like I'm not worthy to be the gum on the bottom of his shoe? Why does Ziva not want to be partnered with me anymore? Why does Vance think I'm expendable?"
Tony abruptly stopped his tirade. He had said too much. His head now ached with an intensity that he had never experienced before. Tony dropped the phone and clutched his head. Sliding off the couch, he cried out in pain. He could hear Abby screaming at him through the phone, but his body was shaking so badly that he couldn't answer her.
The last thing that he remembered was someone turning him on his side and Dr. Marshall calling out to him. What was happening to him? Why couldn't he control his own body any longer? Was this how his life was going to end? Was he ready to die or were there too many things left unsaid? Tony would have to wait for the answers to his questions; he couldn't hold his eyes open any longer, succumbing to the blissfulness of darkness.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Katherine Marshall sat across from the table from Jackson Gibbs, sipping on a cup of coffee. After getting off the phone with Jethro Gibbs, she had decided to check on her patient. When she got there, Jack had informed her that Tony was talking on the phone to one of his friends, so she decided not to interrupt them. Jack had insisted that she stay for a cup of coffee and a game of chess and she had readily accepted.
"I've had the pleasure of talking with your son," she said as she studied the board, trying to decide her next move.
Jack grinned. "Leroy? I bet you had an interesting conversation."
"Well, he hung up on me the first time and then called me back. Despite his lack of phone etiquette, he seemed genuinely worried about Tony."
"That boy in there is like a son to Leroy, although I'm not sure that he'd ever admit it."
"I'm just hoping that when your son gets here, that he can talk Tony into going to the hospital." She moved her knight and said, "Check."
"Leroy's coming here?"
"You seemed surprised."
"Well, I knew he would come. I just thought he'd give Tony a few days to himself. That boy in there is in a world of hurt."
"I know. But until he starts feeling better physically, he can't begin to heal emotionally. It's your move," she reminded him.
"Don't rush me."
Katherine sighed impatiently, waiting for the older man to make his move. "Any day now, Jack," she taunted.
"I said…"
She never heard Jack's reply. A strangled cry and a crash emitted from the room that Tony was occupying. The two of them ran in the room to find Tony writhing on the floor, his body wracked with tremors. "Get him on his side, Jack. It looks like he's having a seizure of some kind."
Katherine knelt beside Tony and called out to him. "Tony? Tony, can you hear me? It's Doctor Marshall."
His eyes were unfocused and dilated and a trickle of blood was running out of the corner of his mouth. "He must have bit his tongue," she mumbled to herself.
Glancing over her shoulder, she heard someone yelling through the phone. "Jack, tell Tony's friend that you'll call her back and go get my bag," she instructed.
She kept a hand on Tony's shoulder and quietly encouraged him. "It's okay, Tony. I know you're probably scared right now, but it will be over soon." Looking at her watch, she mentally figured that it had been close to two minutes now and Tony wasn't showing any sign of stopping.
The doctor grabbed her bag from Jack and prepared a syringe of Valium and quickly injected it in Tony's hip. Within a couple of minutes, the tremors had subsided to an occasional twitch and Tony had lost consciousness. As she sat there monitoring the young man, she heard Jack on the phone trying to calm Tony's friend.
"He's all right, Abby. I promise, sweetheart. The doctor's here with him. He had some kind of seizure, but he's resting now. I'll call you back in a little bit," he promised. "Bye."
Katherine pulled out her own phone and requested an ambulance. "Looks like you're going to the hospital the hard way, Tony."
She hung up at the same time Jack did. "The ambulance is on its way. I'm going to ride in with him."
"I'll be there as soon as I lock up," Jack said.
"All right," she agreed. "You might want to call your son and tell him to come to the hospital."
"I will."
Within a few minutes, the ambulance had arrived and Tony was heading for the hospital. Katherine frowned as she took his blood pressure. It was too low, which could indicate that he was bleeding internally. Tony hadn't regained consciousness yet, but she hadn't really expected him to. Sometimes when people had seizures, they would sleep for several hours afterwards or in extreme cases, for several days.
The ambulance pulled up to the hospital. As Tony was ushered into the emergency room on the gurney, Katherine began spouting orders to the nurses. She was determined to find out what was wrong with her patient, knowing that if she didn't have something substantial to tell Jethro Gibbs, there would be hell to pay.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Jack slammed the phone down in frustration. This had made the third time that he had called Leroy and each time he had gotten a recording. He decided to go ahead and call Abby back, hoping that she could get in touch with his son. Jack dialed the number that Abby had hastily given him and waited for her to answer. She picked up on the first ring.
"Hello? Jack?"
"It's me, Abby," he answered.
"How's Tony? Please tell me he's going to be all right."
"He's been taken to the hospital and I don't know anything else," he informed her. "Katherine thinks he had a seizure and I'm sure that now she's got him in the hospital that she will be running some tests to find out exactly what's going on."
"He's never had a seizure before," Abby said. "Oh my gosh! What if I caused him to have one? I shouldn't have pushed him to talk. He was fine before I started demanding..." Abby sniffled. "Poor Tony! I'm coming up."
"There's nothing you can do up here. Why don't you wait until you know something more?" he suggested.
"Because if our situations were reversed, Tony would be by my side no matter what!"
"I'm not disputing that," Jack said. "I tell you what, why don't you find Leroy? Dr. Marshall asked me to get hold of him, but I'm not having any luck."
"Okay," she agreed. A few seconds later, she stated, "I found him."
Puzzled, Jack asked, "You found him?"
"Yep," she said. "He just walked in."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Jethro Gibbs wheeled into the parking lot of the Leisure Lanes Bowling Alley. He had known that once he told Abby not to use any of her personal phones to call Tony, that she would have either come to the bowling alley or to the convent. Since it was Monday night, his choice was easy. Sister Rosita wouldn't miss league night.
He walked in the front door and the manager pointed towards his office. Nodding his thanks, he walked in to hear Abby say, "I found him."
He took the phone from her and answered it. His eyes met her worried gaze as he said, "Gibbs."
"Leroy? I've been trying to get in touch with you," his dad said. Gibbs could hear a hint of irritation in his voice.
"What's wrong?"
"Tony's in the hospital," Jack began. "He was talking to Abby and he had a seizure. Katherine called an ambulance and he should be at the hospital by now."
Gibbs felt sick. Was he too late to help Tony? "I'll be there as soon as I can." Gibbs hung up the phone and held his arms out. Abby fell against him and started to sob.
"It's all right, Abs," he soothingly whispered. "I'm sure that he'll be all right."
"It's all my fault, Gibbs," she cried. "He didn't want to talk and I kept pushing him. Next thing I know he was shouting and then I heard him yell out like he was in pain, and…"
The team leader kissed her on her forehead. "He'll be okay, Abs."
Abby shook her head. "I don't think so, Gibbs. Did you know that he's thinking about leaving NCIS?"
"He won't, Abs," he promised her. "I won't let him."
"I don't know, Gibbs. He was so sad and then he got mad. I can't explain it."
Gibbs put his arm around her and guided her out of the office and towards his car. "Why don't you tell me everything that happened?"
"But you need to get to Stillwater."
"You're coming with me. We'll go by your house and you can grab what you need."
"Don't need to," she grinned, wiping away her tears. My bag's in my car and Mac will let me park my hearse here, even though he says it's bad for business."
Gibbs should have known that Abby would have been ready at a moment's notice. She and Tony were close and short of dying herself, nothing would have kept her from his side.
"Let's go then."
He saw Abby look around for his car. "Over here, Abs," he called out as he opened the door for her.
"This isn't your car," Abby observed.
"Nope."
"Rental?"
"Sorta."
"I know this car. It's Fornell's," she exclaimed.
"Yep."
"Smart Gibbs, very smart. Tony would be proud of your sneakiness."
The two of them began their journey towards Stillwater. He would never admit it, but Gibbs dreaded going to the hospital. The last time he had set foot in Stillwater General was when his mom died and he was not looking forward to facing those demons once again. But, for Tony, he would do what he had to in order to help his agent, even if forced his own memories to resurface.