Tony sighed as he pulled away from the group, his entire body shaking from the uneasy feeling swimming through him. Leaning against the wall, he frowned and looked around the hallway slowly, "There has got to be another exit…" Tony mused quietly as he headed down one of the many hallways that were basked in darkness.

As Tony continued walking, he felt the odd sensation that someone was watching him, yet every time he turned around there was nothing there "Come on damn it, you're a trained federal agent… Thirteen years on the job… You've survived the plague, you've been shot at… It's just a haunted house, you can do this!" Tony told himself, setting his hand against the wall.

A picture on the wall turned slightly as Tony's hand brushed against it, causing a wall to open up, creaking loudly as it did. Tony jumped off the ground as he spun around to face the opening in the wall, "Oh hell… I know I'm going to pay for doing this…" Tony said as he walked towards the opening slowly.

He pulled his flashlight from his pocket, grateful that Gibbs' insisted on everyone carrying a light and knife tonight, and slowly began walking down the rickety spiral staircase, "Hello?" Tony called out into the darkness, shivering as his voice echoed back to him.

"You are not afraid… You are not afraid…" Tony repeated like a mantra as he continued down the spiral staircase, withdrawing his knife as he neared the end of the steps.

"You should be afraid." A voice rang out, echoing against the walls.

Tony shook his head, "It's just in your head Anthony, its not real!" Tony told himself, chuckling nervously as he stepped off the last of the stairs, looking around the cement room.

"Is it in your head? Can you be so sure of that, Anthony? Oh, but then again… You like going by Tony, now why would you call yourself Anthony, if nobody else can?" the voice asked, a menacing laugh echoing after the words.

Tony looked around the dull room he was standing in, his hands shaking rapidly, and the flashlight's beam of light shook erratically along the walls "You don't stand a chance, Anthony… You're scared, you've always been scared… Come on… What's your greatest fear? Ghosts isn't it?" The voice taunted.

Tony shook his head and closed his eyes tightly "No! I… I'm not… not afraid of anything!" Tony protested loudly, clenching his fist around the flashlight.

Laughter echoed through the room, a bright flash of light temporarily blinded Tony and he felt something prick into his thigh "No, that's right Tony… Ghosts aren't the thing you fear the most anymore… Losing the one person who loves you more than anything in this world is your greatest fear now… And you'd do anything to protect him… Wouldn't you?" the voice asked.

Tony remained silent as he carefully ran his hand along the cement wall, his bottom lip trembling rapidly "Oh, your silence speaks louder than words, Anthony… I know the lengths you'd go to, to save Jethro… I know the lengths you have gone to, to save him… before he loved you, before he knew your dirty little secret… You can't save him this time though, Anthony, there is no salvation here." The voice stated, a high-pitched shriek echoed along the walls.

Tony froze with his hand on the wall, "What the hell do you mean?! Gibbs is fine! He knows how to take care of himself…!" Tony protested weakly, his knees wobbling and threatening to fall out from underneath him.

A metal gear began churning loudly in the room, causing Tony to turn rapidly, facing the wall that was opening up, a red light flooding into the room casting an eerie glow across the walls and lighting up the shadows.

"There is only so much you can do… Can you save him again, Anthony? Can you protect the one thing that means more than anything to you?" The voice asked quietly, but still sounding loudly in the room.

"I… I'd do anything to protect him…" Tony whispered as he headed for the opening in the wall, taking a few deep breathes before walking past the threshold.

"Good choice, Anthony. Welcome to your new hell…" the voice stated, and just as quickly, the trap door behind Tony slammed shut and the red lights dimmed to barely visible.

Tony gulped audibly as he took a few tentative steps further into the room, letting his eyes adjusted to the new light level. As Tony continued down the short hall, he kept looking left and right, noticing several dried blood stains lining the wall, "Totally not real… Can't be." Tony whispered, clutching his knife tightly in his fist.

Tony froze in place as he looked around the open room, basked in a dull yellow light that was shining down on metal chains hanging from the wall with cuffs attached to the chains, "Hook yourself up, Anthony… I'm sure you will like this game, you used to like this game a long time ago…" The voice said commandingly, sounding closer than before, and not echoing nearly as much.

Tony shook his head as he started walking backwards, "No! I'm… I can't do this… Please… I don't know who the hell you are, but I can't – WON'T – do this!" Tony protested, his voice wavering slightly as he dropped the flashlight and his knife to the ground from his hands shaking so viciously.

"You will do it Anthony, you have too… It's the only way you can save your precious husband… Or, do you not love him nearly as much as you say you do?" The voice asked menacingly, a devilish cackle echoing in the hall.

"I… I do love him… I do…" Tony whispered as he began walking closer to the chains on the wall, he carefully hooked himself to the wall and hung his head "Okay… Now what?" Tony asked, his voice still shaky, silence followed Tony's question, causing Tony to lift his head, looking around the room that seemed to be getting darker every second until there was nothing for Tony to see.


Tony heard gasping in the back of his mind, he tried opening his eyes, but they didn't cooperate, his mouth was inoperable as well, so he sighed internally, letting whatever mind-game that was being played on him, play out completely.

He felt his body being lifted up into a pair of strong arms, and the chains that had bounded him felt like they were no longer constricting his movements, yet he still couldn't move his limbs, he heard garbled noises in the back of his mind, but couldn't decipher any of the words that were being said around him.

The feeling of being carried was a different sensation all together, the bouncing of his own body was making him sick, especially at the pace that he seemed to be traveling.

The sound of a loud whining sound was the next sense that hit him, and it made him wince, wishing that he could cover his ears to block out the sound that was assaulting his hearing, when the sound finally stopped, he wanted to thank whatever deity listened to his internal ranting.

As things seemed to calm down around him, he saw shadowed blurs passing over his eyes, and although he couldn't open his eyes, the shadows seemed familiar, safe somehow, which made him relax just a bit more, and had him feeling just a bit tired, knowing he was safe, he decided rest was worth the risk.

The next thing Tony knew, he was being pushed through a brightly lit area, flashes of white streamed over his head, then dimmed slightly, his nose was picking up on familiar scents as he was wheeled… Wheeled! He was being wheeled down a hallway, the familiar scents he could recognize as antiseptic, the smell he hated the most in the entire world.


"What happened to him?" a voice demanded angrily, Tony knew that voice, and it was comforting and soothing, even as angry as the voice sounded – His boss… No! His husband! That was his husband demanding to know what happened to him!

"Tony was drugged with Thiopental and L-DOPA… Thiopental is used to render someone unconscious, it's typically used before surgery… and L-DOPA is a drug that interacts with the brain, causing hallucinogenic nightmares to occur, both of which we gave him an antidote to counteract the effects." An unfamiliar voice stated, his voice was clinical and professional – A doctor… Tony wanted to just roll his eyes and slam whoever this doctor was into a brick wall, even if whatever he was saying was true.

"Well, if you gave him the antidote… Why the hell is he still asleep?!" Gibbs shouted angrily. Tony chuckled internally, rooting his husband's angry tirade on.

"It might take a few hours, if not days Mr. Gibbs! You just need to be patient and let your husband rest!" the doctor shouted back, equally as angry.

Gibbs growled as he turned away from the doctor and sat on the edge of the bed "Alright…" Gibbs said quietly as he grabbed Tony's hand, squeezing it firmly "Not going to leave your side Tony… So, whenever you're ready to open those beautiful green eyes, I'll be right here…" Gibbs stated as he brought Tony's hands up to his lips, kissing his husband's knuckles softly.

Tony growled as he tried to do anything to acknowledge Gibbs' statement, but nothing worked, he still couldn't even open his eyes to look at the – what he knew was there – worried expression on his husband's face.


Over the next several hours, while Tony stayed helplessly locked inside of his own mind, and listening to Gibbs ramble on about anything and nothing, Tony couldn't help but think about the night that preluded him being stuck in a hospital bed and having to listen to his normally silent husband prattle on about things he had no idea about, like wood and the right tools for specific wood selections, or the scores of the National's recent post-season baseball game, Gibbs knew he hated baseball, yet here he was talking about the Dodger's and the National's latest game.

"Boss!" McGee called into the room, then walked in, followed by several other footsteps that Tony only had to guess was the rest of their team.

Gibbs stopped rambling and looked up at McGee expectantly "We went through the entire house, the room we found Tony in had no other exits except what we came across… There was a needle on the floor that we must have missed, but once we got the flood lights down there, we found it underneath the staircase… We sent that back to the lab with Abby, but there was nothing else… No fingerprints, at least none that didn't belong to us… No DNA, nothing that would point to whoever did this." McGee reported tiredly.

Tony just wanted to shake his head and slap Gibbs in the back of the head for working the team as late as he had "That's… We won't know any more until Tony decides to come out of this… go home, all of you… Get some rest." Gibbs stated tiredly as he shifted on the hospital bed and laid down, resting his head against Tony's chest.

"Do you need anything? Change of clothes, maybe some coffee?" McGee asked cautiously, setting his hand on top of Gibbs' shoulder and squeezing slightly.

Gibbs shook his head "Just need Tony to wake up… Thanks for the concern McGee… Now go on, I'm sure Delilah is waiting to hear from you." Gibbs said as he curled up against Tony's side, twisting his fingers in the thin hospital gown.


When Tony first saw the popcorn tiled ceiling a day later, he thought he'd weep with joy at the ugly grey color dangling above him, but there were more pressing matters at hand, like… moving his limbs.

He commanded his finger to twitch, and when it moved the slightest inch, he nearly gasped out in pure excitement, but the weight against his chest told him that making any sudden movements would wake his exhausted husband up, so he opted for slowly tapping his fingers against the bed until he had a good rhythm going.

Tony grinned as he felt the head on his chest begin moving, and the snuffle of breath that escaped his husband's nose, "Morning Tony." Gibbs mumbled tiredly as he began gently rubbing Tony's chest.

Tony had to bite back the laugh that bubbled quickly in his chest, "Morning Jethro." Tony whispered, his voice rough and scratchy from having not been able to talk for hours on end.

Gibbs' head shot up at the sound of Tony's voice, and he looked down, eyes wide with shock as he stared at a pair of amused green eyes staring back at him "Oh my god! You're… you're awake!" Gibbs exclaimed, nearly falling off the bed as he scrambled to wrap his arms around Tony and hug the younger man to his body.

Tony laughed hoarsely as he wrapped shaky arms around Gibbs "Yeah… Well, I don't think I was ever really asleep… I could hear, feel, see and smell everything around me… I just couldn't speak!" Tony complained as he nuzzled into his husband's neck, thankful that he could do this once again.

Gibbs chuckled as he pulled back and brushed his hand over Tony's forehead lightly "Jesus Christ Tony, what the hell happened?" Gibbs asked, not giving Tony a chance to answer as he hugged the younger man once again, pressing their lips together in a well-needed kiss of assurance.

When Gibbs finally pulled back, Tony shook his head as he laid back down in the bed "Don't know… Last thing I can really remember was following you guys down a hallway, and stopping because I just… I couldn't stand being in that house anymore…" Tony stated, confusion clear in his voice.

Gibbs sighed as he laid back down next to Tony, interlocking their fingers and resting them in between their bodies, "Scared the shit out of me Tony… Thought… thought that I'd lost you forever…" Gibbs whispered as he turned his head, nudging Tony's shoulder with his head.

Tony sighed as he turned his head and kissed the top of Gibbs' head softly "Not gonna lose me, Jethro… I'm too stubborn to leave you, haven't you figured that out yet?" Tony asked, gently twisting the black wedding band around Gibbs' finger.

Gibbs nodded as he grinned widely, looking up at Tony "Oh, I figured that out about twelve years ago. But, do we have to keep testing the theory? It's getting kind of old." Gibbs said, chuckling softly as he moved up the bed and kissed Tony softly on the lips, his freehand going to Tony's stubble-covered cheek, a gentle thumb caressing back and forth against the short growth of hair.

Tony sighed contentedly as he laid his head against Gibbs' chest, "If I could make that promise, I really would… But our job is completely uncertain." Tony said quietly, frowning as he snuggled even further against his husband's warmth.

McGee walked in quietly, holding two cups of coffee and a bag of food clenched between his teeth, "Morning bosses." McGee mumbled as he set the coffee down then withdrew the bag from his teeth.

"Morning McGee." Tony and Gibbs said in unison, still clinging to each other as they looked at the coffee cups intently.

"So, Abby was able to pull a partial print off the plunger of the syringe… Do either of you know a Luca Moretti?" McGee asked as he pulled out the donuts from the white bag, handing Tony a raspberry filled donut and Gibbs a plain glazed.

Tony nodded slowly, his color draining to the color of the powdered sugar on his donut "Uh huh… I… I do." Tony croaked out, his hands trembling slightly.

Gibbs grabbed the donut from Tony's hand and set it on the rolling tray, "That… That slimy son of a bitch! How the hell did he… McGee… I want him-…" Gibbs started, his tone obviously angered as he stared at his senior field agent.

"Already in interrogation boss, we picked him up earlier this morning. We did try calling you, but nobody answered the hospital phone, or your cellphone for that matter." McGee stated as he pulled a Cheese Danish from the bag and began gnawing on the sugary treat.

"Has he said anything?" Gibbs asked, keeping his eyes trained on Tony the entire time, watching as a million emotions flitted inside of his husband's eyes, while keeping a rather blank facial expression.

"Only thing he's said is that he won't talk to anybody who isn't in charge… So… Vance has been sitting in there with him for the past… hour I guess." McGee said, shrugging slightly as he wiped his fingers and mouth, tossing his napkin into the now empty bag.

Gibbs reached over to the trash can on the floor and placed it into Tony's lap, then he quickly stood up and ushered McGee out of the room "I want everything recorded McGee and brought here – Bring me Tony's laptop… I want to know if the bastard even sneezes, you got it?!" Gibbs demanded, staring the younger man straight in the eyes.

"Got it, boss… Uh, is… Is Tony going to be okay?" McGee asked, glancing past Gibbs' shoulder at his best friend who was hugging the waste bin, his head practically buried inside of it.

"He'll be fine McGee… Now go! I needed this stuff, yesterday!" Gibbs said, pushing his SFA towards the exit doors.


When McGee returned to the hospital two hours later, he frowned slightly as he looked at his two bosses who were still in the hospital bed, this time Tony was lying against Gibbs' chest, and he could see that the younger man's body was trembling, either from the crying he could hear or the fear that was plaguing the man's mind, he didn't know, but he knew he'd be able to settle his best friend's nerves just a bit with the information he now had.

McGee set the laptop down on the rolling tray table and pushed it over top of the bed, "His interrogation has been completed, as of forty minutes ago. Director Vance was able to get a full confession, written, signed and sent to the District Attorney's office as of twenty minutes ago. I oversaw everything except for the beginning of the interrogation, which Ellie was watching." McGee reported as he crossed his arms behind his back.

Gibbs nodded as he pushed the lid to the laptop up and looked blankly at the screen that had a circled triangle waiting on the screen. Tony sighed as he shifted slightly on the bed, then reached over, pressing play on the screen, tears still heavily running down his cheeks.

McGee handed Tony a box of tissues without saying a word, and sat down on the uncomfortable reclining chair next to the bed as the three men watched the two and a half hour long interrogation together.

After the video stopped, McGee stood up and shut the laptop lid, "Director Vance said he would be by later to get Tony's statement, he's conducting this investigation with Balboa's team, since we're all too close to this…" McGee informed both of them, looking between the two silent men.

Tony nodded slightly "He never said why he did it in the video… Is it in his confession?" Tony asked, his voice deeper than normal from the emotional buildup clogging his throat.

McGee nodded slowly "Yeah, but I don't think either of you really want to know the answer…" McGee said quietly as he sat back down, rubbing a tired hand over his face.

Gibbs shook his head and cupped his hand over Tony's mouth "We will read his confession later. Go home McGee, get some rest. You did good." Gibbs stated as he pushed Tony's head down against his chest and carded his fingers soothingly through his husband's hair until the younger man fell asleep from exhaustion.


I've said it once, I'll probably say it a thousand times, especially dealing with accident-prone characters. I do not possess a PhD, I have never, nor will I probably ever possess one. My medical knowledge is brought to you in part by Google and will always be brought to you by Google. Also, don't know if there is an 'antidote' to L-DOPA and Thiopental, but I would assume there is drugs out there that can counteract the effects of both drugs, so yeah...

I hope everyone enjoyed my Halloween excerpt, now I just need ideas for the next episodes (yep, they're no longer chapters, they are episodes. :D)

Oh and P.S. much of the first part of the story was a dream/hallucination (once Tony was pricked in the thigh, that's when it went from his mind playing tricks on him to the dream/hallucination part of the situation.)