AN: Here's the next chapter. I apologize in advance for any medical stuff that might not be quite right. As always, thank you all so much for the reviews. I appreciate each and every one of them.

Special thanks to: WCUGirl, Sparkiebunny, ncismom, vanishingp2000, Graphicmaker1, pandi19, diana teo, FDDBonney, carismum Tiffany331, murraysmom, combatcrazy, Gaddkzmp, Gloworm41, BleakRememberance, Stroma, and all of you who have reviewed previous chapters. Love you guys!

*****

"I'm not staying here. Just get me whatever forms I need to sign so that I can leave." Gibbs was adamant as he faced off against the doctor and his long-time friend.

"Jethro, you are being ridiculous," Ducky stated, frustrated at Gibbs' seeming inability to be able to do what was best for him.

"I'm only talking overnight, Agent Gibbs," Dr. Gil Patterson was trying hard to get the stubborn man to agree to be admitted. "It'll be over before you know it."

"It's over now because I'm not staying," Gibbs insisted. He turned his head towards Ducky. "Duck? Tony?"

"The doctors are still examining him. They'll let us know when there is something to report."

Gibbs nodded. "What about Tim? Is he okay?"

"He's being treated for some minor burns, but he'll be fine."

Listening to the conversation taking place had helped Dr. Patterson establish that Agent Gibbs was far more worried about his men than himself. "Agent Gibbs, I'll make you a deal," he began. "If you'll agree to letting me give you some IV fluids, I won't force the issue of you being admitted. You're going to be here waiting for word on Agent DiNozzo anyhow, right? I think that's a fair compromise."

Gibbs hesitated, giving Ducky the opportunity to break in. "That's more than fair, Doctor. Jethro accepts your deal."

"Thank you, Dr. Mallard," Dr. Patterson said with a slight smirk. "I'll go make the arrangements." He then high-tailed it out of the room before Gibbs could offer any more protests.

"Ducky..."

"I don't want to hear another word about it, Jethro," Ducky said. "You've been held hostage for days with next to nothing to eat or drink and you're exhausted. Now stop being so damn pig-headed."

"Okay, Duck." Gibbs gave a resigned smile. Truth be told, he was pretty wiped out, but he was just so worried about DiNozzo that he hadn't really given it much thought.

Pleased, Ducky returned Gibbs' smile. He had expected more of a fight and was glad to see his friend displaying at least a little bit of common sense. "You'll be feeling better before you know it."

"Yeah, I know." Gibbs leaned back against the bed which had been raised into a sitting position. "But will Tony be feeling better?"

"He's a strong lad, Jethro. He'll fight his way back."

"Will he?" The events of the past few days were finally beginning to take their toll and Gibbs couldn't stave off the doubts that were forming in his mind. "Damn it, Ducky. He was hurting so much. You have no idea what he's gone through."

"But I do know, Jethro," Ducky began hesitantly. "We saw the surveillance tape...we saw what happened to him…"

"I couldn't protect him, Duck...he was just so sick and defenseless and I couldn't do a damn thing for him."

"That's not true." Ducky was doing his best to calm Gibbs down. "You were there for him. We saw how you took care of him, comforted him. You did everything you possibly could have done under the circumstances. He's lucky you were with him."

"But it still wasn't enough..." Gibbs reached up and lightly began to massage his temples. He could feel the beginning of a headache coming on. "And he shouldn't have been there in the first place."

"This was not your fault...you can't blame yourself."

A part of Gibbs knew that Ducky was right, that he had done everything in his power for his agent. But, the other part of him felt an almost overwhelming sense of guilt. He still couldn't get past the fact that Tony was in this predicament because of him.

*****

"Timmy!" Abby got up from the hard plastic chair and flung herself into McGee's arms as he emerged from the ER treatment area. "Are you alright? What did the doctor say?"

"I'm fine, Abby, just got some minor burns." He raised his right hand which was swathed in bandages. "I'll be good as new before you know it."

'"Oh, poor Timmy." She tenderly took his bandaged hand and raised it to her lips, kissing it lightly, then led him over to the waiting area.

"So, how are Tony and Gibbs? Have you heard anything?" Tim asked as he took a seat.

"Gibbs is doing fine," Abby replied as she settled herself next to McGee. "Ducky is with him. They're giving him some IV fluids before releasing him."

"What about Tony?"

"We haven't heard anything yet. They're running a bunch of tests." She leaned her head on Tim's shoulder. "So how does it feel?" she asked after a few moments of companionable silence.

"Not too bad," Tim answered. "They gave me something for the pain."

"Not your hand, Tim." Abby raised her head and looked at him intently. "How does it feel to be a real live hero?"

"What?" Tim could feel the heat rising to his cheeks and he grew uncomfortable under Abby's gaze. "I'm not a hero, Abby. It was no big deal."

"Yes it was a big deal and you are a hero. Ziva told me what you did, how you ran into that burning house and carried Tony out of there. If you hadn't done that…Tony would have died. You saved his life."

"I just hope he's going to be alright." He felt ill at ease being described as a hero. He had just done what he had to do. He draped his arm around Abby as she settled her head on his shoulder once again.

"Tony will be fine," Abby stated, a note of certainty in her voice. "He has to be."

*****

Ziva wandered aimlessly through the hospital corridors. She had been sitting with Abby for a while, but had really needed to just get up and walk. Sitting and waiting patiently were not her strong points. She ultimately found herself in the hospital cafeteria and stopped to look at the display of puddings, pies, cakes and other little treats. Tony would love these. She would have to bring him some when he was feeling better…if he got better…

Her mind drifted back to when she had first spotted McGee carrying Tony from the house. He had looked so vulnerable…and then when she realized he was not breathing…she had truly thought he was going to die…

"Miss? Excuse me, Miss? Are you alright?" Startled back into the present, Ziva saw a woman looking at her with concern in her eyes.

"Yes…yes, I'm fine, thank you." Feeling the wetness on her cheeks, Ziva hastily brushed away the tears and made her way out of the cafeteria, ignoring the curious look the woman gave her. She needed to get back to the waiting room. Hopefully, they would get news on Tony soon and the news would be good.

*****

Anthony DiNozzo Sr. hovered outside of the room where the doctors had been examining his son for what seemed to be an endless amount of time. He took a sip of coffee, which was now ice cold, and crinkled his mouth in distaste, then tossed the offending drink into a nearby wastebasket. Finally, a pair of doctors exited the room. DiNozzo Sr. hurried over to them. "How is he?" he asked.

One of the doctors headed off while the other one gave him a questioning look. "I'm sorry, I need to find Agent Gibbs. He's listed as the patient's next of kin. And you are?"

"I'm his father," DiNozzo Sr. retorted, the anger evident in his voice.

"I'm right here, Dr. Kennedy," Gibbs said, coming up alongside DiNozzo Sr. "It's okay for Mr. DiNozzo to listen in."

DiNozzo Sr. bristled at the audacity of it all. Who the hell was Gibbs to be giving him permission to get information about his own son?

"How is Tony?" Gibbs asked.

"He's pretty sick, but he's holding his own, right now." Dr. Kennedy replied. "He has a nasty case of double pneumonia and he's severely dehydrated. We've started him on O2, IV hydration and an aggressive course of antibiotics. I've consulted with Dr. Brad Pitt who sent over his records. We're going to be moving him to the Pulmonary Care Unit very soon."

"What about the drugs he was injected with?" Gibbs asked.

Dr. Kennedy shook his head. "The preliminary tox screen was negative. It didn't show anything."

"Nothing?" Gibbs asked with concern. "He got pretty sick after he was injected."

"That could well be true, but whatever it was just isn't showing up in his system," Dr. Kennedy said.

"So we don't really know what kind of damage was done…" Gibbs stated.

"Hopefully, it was all short-term," Dr. Kennedy replied. "We'll run some tests and see what we can find out, but for now, there's no use borrowing trouble. We'll get him upstairs and see how he does."

Gibbs nodded. "Okay. I'm going to let the rest of his team know what's going on and then I'll head up to the PCU. He should be there soon?"

"Yes," said Dr. Kennedy. "It shouldn't be very long at all, just waiting for transport." He looked over at DiNozzo Sr. "Do you have any questions, Mr. DiNozzo?"

DiNozzo Sr. shook his head. He was pretty pissed off about the way things were going so far, but he couldn't really blame the doctor. "No thanks, I think that's all for now."

His eyes followed Gibbs who was already heading off towards the waiting area. He had a feeling he would be seeing a lot of that man, whether he liked it or not.

*****

Slowly, Tony started to regain consciousness. The first thing that registered in his mind was a constant beeping sound and the familiar sterile smell that was unique to hospitals. He could feel something over his face and reached for it, but a hand came over his and gently pulled it away.

"Just leave that there, Tony. It's oxygen. It's helping you to breathe easier." Gibbs' voice. Gibbs' hand still clasped over his own was comforting somehow. Content to stay in this half dreamlike state, he was about to drop off again when he heard it…the voice that definitely did not belong with this picture…at least it never had in the past…

"I'm right here with you, son…everything is going to be alright."

He could feel his heartbeat quicken and heard the beeps in the background speed up as well. He felt Gibbs' hand squeeze his own reassuringly. "You're okay. Tony…I'm not leaving you…"

Okay. That was good. Gibbs wasn't going anywhere. Gibbs would keep him safe…but keep him safe from what? Confused, he tried to remember, but everything was muddled and he was just so tired. He thought his mother had been there too, but that didn't make any sense, did it? His mother had died, hadn't she? The pull to drift back to sleep was too strong to resist and hearing Gibbs' voice telling him to rest was the last thing he heard before sleep claimed him once again.

*****

"He's asleep." Gibbs was relieved as the younger man's breathing evened out and he knew Tony was getting the rest he so desperately needed.

DiNozzo Sr. was about to ask how he knew that, but he didn't want to give Gibbs the satisfaction so he remained silent. As far as he knew, nothing had changed. Tony had reached for the oxygen mask, but that was it. He hadn't even opened his eyes. Gibbs' presence was irking him. He wished he would leave. He resented the easy familiarity the other man had with his son. "You must be exhausted from your ordeal. You should go home and get some rest." He tried to make his voice sound concerned, but it didn't ring true…not even to himself.

"I'm staying here with him. I always do…"

"What's that supposed to mean? "

Gibbs shrugged as he methodically rubbed the top of Tony's hand. "Doesn't mean anything," he replied.

DiNozzo Sr. could feel his anger beginning to rise. "It's not like anyone has told me when he's been sick or hurt."

"We tried to contact you. You were always unreachable."

"That is bullshit. You're supposed to be investigators. You could have found me if you had really wanted to."

"We're not going to do this now…not in front of him." Gibbs kept his voice calm and soft, barely above a whisper. His attention was focused on Tony, making sure he saw no signs of him awakening. He was not going to let his father upset him, not after everything he had been through.

"Who are you to give me orders?" DiNozzo Sr.'s voice rose to match his temper. "I'm not one of your agents."

Gibbs' eyes were like ice as he glared back at him. "Your son has been through sheer hell the past few days," he whispered fiercely. "Do you really want to upset him right now?"

DiNozzo Sr.'s anger deflated as quickly as it had risen. His eyes went to his son lying in the hospital bed looking more fragile than he had ever remembered and he shook his head. "No…no, I don't want that," he admitted.

"Good." Gibbs gaze was steady as he looked back at the man who had fathered his senior agent. As much as he didn't trust him, he was Tony's father and for the time being he needed to try to get along with him. He would do whatever he had to in order to make Tony's recovery as easy as possible.