AN - despite the fact that I have rather shocked myself and managed to a chapter without a cliff hanger this is not the end but it is the beginning of the end - I think two more chapters will do it.

Tony came awake slowly, first of all feeling the dull ache in the centre of his body that spoke of a sharper pain, controlled by heavy medication. Then he became aware of the crisp, starched sheets beneath him, the pulsing throb of an IV in his arm, and the way his mouth felt like sandpaper. Well used, sandpaper.

He was in the Hospital.

Inwardly he gave a small scowl. Because either he was one hell of an investigator for deducing that without even opening his eyes or he had been in the Hospital way too many times. His ego wanted to believe it was the former, but in his heart of hearts, he figured it was the latter. Now if only he could remember exactly how he had ended up here this time he might be making some progress.

Baltimore. There was a car wreck. Mike had died. Not in the car but afterwards, on the operating table. And he had hurt his arm. But that couldn't be right. He flexed his fingers. His arms seemed fine. This felt like his gut.

"Gibbs, I think he's waking up again."

The footsteps, quick and sure, that crossed the room, brought memory flooding back, Leroy Jethro Gibbs suddenly and impossibly there dragging his ass out of that car wreck when Tony knew, knew, the NCIS Agent had been ordered to return to DC, the IA hearing, the move to Washington, becoming a Federal Agent, joining Gibbs team.

"DiNozzo? You back with us?"

The voice was Gibbs, gruff with that no-nonsense brand of caring that suited Tony down to the ground, although, the hand that came to rest lightly on his brow seemed too gentle to be the ex-marine, more like the caress of a loving parent than the deft touch of a concerned CO. Tony swallowed painfully over his dry throat. His mother used to touch him like that, when he was very small, before his father started having affairs and she starting drinking in the mornings. He swallowed hard over his parched throat.

"Easy," Gibbs tone was soothing as the hand lifted from his brow, coming around to support his head as a straw touched his cracked lips. "Here, you know the drill. Take small sips."

Tony sipped obediently, feeling the blessed trickle of cool water, making a small mew of protest when it was taken away much too early. Gibbs dry chuckle didn't seem like a fair reaction at all and he arranged his face into an appropriate pout.

"You can have some more in a while," His Boss assured him. The hand supporting the back of his head tousled his hair slightly before it lifted, leaving him feeling slightly bereft. There was a small silence before Gibbs spoke again. "You want to try opening your eyes for me?"

Oh right.

Blinking slightly sheepishly, Tony waited as his eyes adjusted to the light and looked around the Hospital room. Gibbs stood at his right, Roberts was positioned at the end of his bed. A nurse hovered by the doorway. Looking down, Tony saw the small frame, keeping the blankets clear of his torso. Peeking under the covers all he could see was an expanse of bright white bandages, a very broad expanse.

"Ouch." He managed. "That's gonna hurt when the happy juice runs out. What happened?"

"You still don't remember?" Gibbs asked him.

"Um," Tony screwed up his features as he tried to recall. But all he could remember was a big blank nothing. "I went to see an apartment. After that narda, did I hit my head or something? And what do you mean, still?"

"We went through this the last time you work up." Gibbs shrugged.

"I woke up before?" Tony looked around, for the first time seeing the get- well cards and flowers pilled up on the dresser to his left. How long had he been here? "I don't remember that."

"You were pretty out of it," Roberts informed him cheerfully. "You called Gibbs, 'Gibbsy."

"I did?" Tony swallowed hard. Not daring to look at the very taciturn ex-marine. "Um, sorry about that Boss."

"And then, when we were leaving you grabbed Gibbs' hand and begged him to read you 'just one story' before we went."

"I did?" Tony could feel his ears burning, as he found himself unable to look anywhere but at his blankets. "Well, that's definitely embarrassing."

"Agent Roberts, take the car back to the Navy Yard. Give Morrow an update on DiNozzo's condition and let Ducky know as well. Then you are done for the night. I'll see you at 0800 tomorrow."

"But its almost a forty minute drive back to the Navy Yard at this time of night," Dawn whined. Not to mention Morrow would want a full sit-rep, Ducky would press her for medical details and Gibbs knew she had dinner reservations tonight. "Can't I just make a call..?"

From his vantage point in the bed, Tony couldn't see the look Gibbs directed over his shoulder, but even through his lowered lids he saw he saw the way Dawn paled and swallowed, as she almost hit herself with the door on the way out as she hurried to obey.

"I don't know what to say, Boss," As soon as they were alone, Tony tried awkwardly to apologise for his behaviour. "Sometimes, I get these really bad reactions to pain medication."

"Not your fault." Gibbs said gruffly.

Gibbs couldn't help but remember the bright joyous grin that had spread across the younger man's face as he had walked into the room. Despite his slurred speech there was no mistaking DiNozzo's joy and relief at seeing his Boss. Dammed kid had all but lit up at his entrance. Gibbs didn't have that affect on a whole lot of people. None of his ex-wives had ever been that glad to see him even before the divorces. Only his first family had ever made him feel that warm inside.

And he didn't think he would ever forget the plaintive look on the boyish features when Tony had tugged on his hand and pleaded for him to read him a story before he left. The Doctor had looked awkward, and quickly amended the medication but what Roberts didn't know and Tony would probably never remember was that Gibbs hadn't been able to bring himself to extract his hand from the desperate grip, and had sat by the bedside until he was sure DiNozzo was safely asleep.

"If you say so," Tony was looking at him curiously. "Things seemed to have settled down now at least. Did I get shot?"

"Knife wound." Gibbs supplied succinctly, obviously waiting to see if his Agent could fill in any of the blanks.

"Oh," Tony thought about that. Images came unbidden, a flash of steel, a blur of colour and movement, white hot pain and dark crimson blood, lots of blood, both his own and others and far too much of it. "Oh."

"You remember." Gibbs read his expression.

"Yeah, some, I'd been to see the apartment. It was pretty much perfect but I knew I had to move fast. They needed the bond and the first and last month's rent by the following day to secure the lease so I .." Tony stopped dead as his foggy brain caught up with his memory and his expression took on a distinctly 'deer in the headlights' look as he tried to find a way to gloss over the next part. There was no way he wanted to admit to his Boss that he was having to sell his beloved car because he didn't have the money.

"According to the whose life you saved," Gibbs said blandly as he pulled his notebook from his pocket to check the exact wording of the witness's statement, looking over the top of it at DiNozzo as he read aloud. "All at once there was this screech of tyres and the sound of feet running. The dark haired guy came from no-where. He must have seen the gang pull a knife on me and pulled over to help."

Tony blinked once. But otherwise his face showed no reaction. Gibbs narrowed his eyes slightly and was glad to see Tony visibly wince. Out in the field the kid might be a whiz at undercover work but things had to be straight between them. That was the way it was supposed to be with partners.

"Guess I just happened to be in the neighbourhood." Tony tried a little too brightly.

"That so?" Gibbs countered dryly. They both knew that wasn't true. The apartment Tony had been to view was right across town from Sullivan's place. Just as they both knew that this particular conversation wasn't over, but so long as Metro were prepared to take the witness statement at face value Gibbs wasn't about to say anything different in public. "Get some rest. I'll hold Metro off as long as I can but they're going to want to take your statement."

"I'll be ready." Tony assured him.

Gibbs had no doubt that he would be. The fact that the witness had assumed that Tony was just passing by was a real piece of luck. It let them off the hook, this time. And there sure as hell wasn't going to be a next time. Not on his watch. And they were going to talk about that but he would let the younger man get back on his feet first. Nodding a curt goodbye he turned on his heel and was almost at the door when Tony's voice stopped him.

"Boss, I was wondering ... "

At the ensuing silence Gibbs turned around and looked curiously at the younger man. Tony was looking out of the window and his jaw was taut, his throat muscles working. Gibbs sighed he knew what was coming. He had hoped to put this off until Tony was a little stronger but he should have known better. Even running on fumes the younger man didn't miss much.

"You want to know who authorised the surgery." Gibbs put him out of his misery.

"Yeah," Tony turned to look at him, his eyes a little bright and his face a little pale as if braced. "I mean, I know Mike's dead so who ..?"

Gibbs hesitated. He knew how devastating the truth would be. But he could not bring himself to lie to him. Not about this. He knew that if the truth ever came out DiNozzo would never trust him again. Taking a deep breath he tried to deliver the news as straightforwardly as he could.

"I called your father ..."

"Guess it must have come as a bit of a surprise to realise that no one at his company had ever heard of me?" Tony interjected hollowly. "My father doesn't have the greatest track record when it comes to employee turnover. Not since he started drinking. I don't think there is anyone left among his people who worked for him when I was a kid."

"You ever know me to give up that easily?" Gibbs challenged. There weren't many ways he could make this better but he was going to make dammed sure that DiNozzo knew he had had his six. "Abby called your cousin Tony and got the number of your father's personal cell."

"Petey actually gave up that number?" Tony looked shocked. "Wow. He must have really thought I was dying."

"Abby black mailed him." Gibbs lips quirked, it was easier to think about that than how close Tony had actually come to passing away.

"Did you speak to my father?" Tony asked quietly.

His voice soft with a hope that almost broke Gibbs heart, for once he had hoped that his famous gut might be wrong, but all of Tony's longing for the care and support of a loving parent came through in those few words.

"Spoke to him. Didn't get anywhere. He thought it was all a plot by the FBI to foil on of his business deals." Gibbs cut to the chase.

He tried to keep his voice as emotionless as possible, but he knew he had failed to keep the bitterness and anger out of his tone when Tony's eyes widened and his expression softened in something like gratitude at the ex-marine's version of emotional support.

"Figures." Was all he said, but there was a world of loss in that word.

For several minutes neither of them spoke. Gibbs sure as hell didn't know what to say. He wished for Ducky or Abby. Anyone who might be better at this, he considered calling them but that would mean leaving DiNozzo alone which was simply not an option. So he stood by and offered what support he could by his steady presence.

"So, if my Dad didn't sign the papers, who did?" Tony asked, at last, his voice only a little rough.

In answer Gibbs pulled out the facsimile of the paper he had taken to carrying around in his pocket in case an over officious nurse decided to challenge his presence. Unfolding it he held the paper were Tony could see it.

Tony quickly scanned the official NCIS form, which asked for details of next of kin or medical proxy. His eyes widened slightly when he saw the name supplied in a large, loopy, handwriting, his large, loopy, handwriting, only to skip to the bottom of the page. Gibbs waited as Tony took in the hastily scrawled, but nonetheless entirely familiar signature.

"That's my signature."

"Hell of a thing paperwork," Gibbs observed, if Tony didn't know better he might think that the ex-marine looked a little awkward, even slightly nervous. "I've lost count of the number of times I've had a new Agent transfer in and it's taken weeks, months sometimes, to get all their information straight in their jacket. Good job we realised this had been misfiled just when we needed it."

"Misfiled, huh?" Tony looked back at the name on the form, feeling strange warmth in his chest when he realised that the words 'medical proxy' had been struck out and 'next of kin' firmly circled. He raised questioning eyes to his Boss. "Next of kin?"

"You have a problem with that?" Gibbs asked lightly, but his eyes were deadly serious.

Tony pressed his lips together. It was enough that Gibbs would dig out the form, painstakingly copy his subordinate's handwriting and forge his signature, as the younger man lay bleeding and unconscious, before pretending to the doctors and nurses, NCIS human resources and Morrow himself for all Tony knew, so he could get the surgery he needed. That Gibbs would also choose to designate himself as his 'next of kin' rather than the more formal 'medical proxy' was extraordinarily touching.

"No, Boss, no problem," Tony's eyes were drawn to Gibbs freshly bandaged hand, hints of fresh bruising peeking out under the gauze, feeling a surge of affection for this man. "Was that before or after you put your fist through the wall?"

He was more than a little surprised when Gibbs lifted up the abused hand and ran the swollen knuckles down his cheek in a cross between a cuff and a caress. Looking up, for a second Tony saw his own loneliness and sense of abandonment mirrored in Gibbs eyes and realised just how much this man understood. Tony nodded slightly in acknowledgement. Then Gibbs was turning on his heel and striding over to the door, tossing his words back over his shoulder.

"Get some rest. You're got a taxing day tomorrow. You need to build up your strength."

"I know, I'll be good to go when Metro get here." Tony promised.

"Hell DiNozzo," His hand on the doorknob, Gibbs flashed him a grin. "I wasn't thinking about Metro. I promised Abby I'd let her visit with you on the way into work. You're gonna need your sleep."

"Already on, it Boss." Tony yawned.

Satisfied, Gibbs opened the door. He had one foot in the hallway when Tony's quiet voice stopped him, the words slurred with an edge of sleep.

"Hey Boss? Does this mean we get to start picking out china? I like the plain stuff myself. Patterns always date so quickly."

Gibbs turned around, a retort on his lips but Tony was already asleep, his features relaxed and apparently content. Gibbs smiled broadly at the sight for the first time in what seemed like days, glad to know he had made the right choice and before he turned to leave he responded to what he knew Tony had been trying to find the words to say.

"You're welcome, DiNozzo."