AN: Wow – I guess you like evil Senior :) Thanks so much for the great response to the last chapter. It was totally amazing and I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate all the great reviews. I really tried to respond to all of you personally and hope I didn't miss anyone. If I did, it was inadvertent.
Thanks so much: WCUGirl, Sparkiebunny, vanishingp2000, LongLashes1, pandi19, NickTonyK NikaDex, , sarahsrr, Gloworm41, combatcrazy, carismum, AZGirl, BnBfanatic, Stroma, WildFire203, Anne Fairymaker, angeleyes46, STLFAN, Taura Callisto, Julie 250, Lizzy Loves Pancakes, fanfictionfan63, Gaddkzmp, Space1Traveler, shirik, , jgomez921, Tiffany331, mizcsimiami, BleakRememberance, NCIS-TIVA-FAN, godsdaughter77, JayLo, ihearttony, peanutmeg, newgal, DIRECT SELECTION2010, Meilea2010, anci2506, Kurama111, Rena-Spatz, and WhiteTree.
xxxxx
"NCIS! Get the hell away from him!" Gibbs flew into a rage when he saw DiNozzo Sr. with his hands wrapped around Tony's neck. He yanked Tony's father away from his agent and landed a roundhouse punch to his jaw which sent the man crashing into the wall. Gibbs then went at Senior again, managing to get one more solid punch into his abdomen before he was grabbed by McGee.
"Boss! Stop!" the young agent protested as he tried to hold Gibbs back.
"Let go of me!" Gibbs growled as he twisted away from McGee.
"No." Tim put himself between Gibbs and DiNozzo Sr. "Come on, boss...it's Tony's father.."
"Don't you think I know that, McGee?" Gibbs shouted furiously. Father...that was a joke. That bastard was a father in name only, certainly not in any way that counted. His anger deflated though when he saw the state of his senior field agent, gasping for breath, looking like he was in severe pain. "Call an ambulance!"
"Already did, Gibbs," Ziva responded, who was in the process of handcuffing DiNozzo Sr, being none too gentle as she did so.
Seeing that Senior was under control, Gibbs rushed to Tony's bedside. "DiNozzo? Tony, where does it hurt?" Gibb asked as he grabbed Tony's hand.
"B..boss? Is that you? Ch...chest re...really hurts...can...can't breathe..." Tony gasped.
"It's okay, Tony. We're going to get you help. You're going to be fine," Gibbs soothed as he sat on the bed beside him.
DiNozzo Sr. had been watching the scene, growing more infuriated by the second. "I hope he dies, Gibbs!" he screamed, his face bright red with rage. "I hope he dies and then you'll know what it feels like to have your child taken from you! He was mine! You had no right, Gibbs! To hell with both of you!"
"Get that bastard out of here," Gibbs directed, never taking his eyes off Tony. "Now!"
Luke had been silently watching the goings on from a corner of the room and he now approached Gibbs cautiously, not wanting to anger the man any more than he already was. "I can take a look at him if you want..."
"Haven't you already done enough?" Gibbs snapped. He felt Tony's forehead and shook his head when he felt the warmth emanating from it. "You're already looking at kidnapping charges."
"Hey, I never meant to kidnap anyone. He just said he needed someone to take care of his kid." Luke gave Gibbs a nervous look as he began to listen to Tony's chest with his stethoscope. "He told me you were a stuffed teddy bear, an imaginary friend. I didn't know you were a real person."
"What?" Gibbs gave Luke an incredulous look. "Do I look like a damn teddy bear to you?"
Luke didn't respond as he was concentrating on Tony, a frown on his lips. "He has decreased breath sounds on the left. I think his lung may have collapsed."
"McGee! Get an ETA on that ambulance!" Gibbs shouted.
"Can hear the sirens now, boss," McGee responded as he cast a worried glance at Tony.
"Hang in there, Tony," Gibbs pleaded, clutching his agent's hand tightly. "You hang in there..."
xxxxx
"You're going to have to wait out here, Agent Gibbs," Dr. Kennedy said as he helped to guide the gurney towards the restricted treatment area of the ER. He had been notified of Tony's status and had been waiting in the Emergency Room when the ambulance arrived. The doors closed and Gibbs was left standing in the hallway. The ride in the ambulance had been nerve-wracking. Tony's breathing had worsened and he had eventually lost consciousness. Gibbs was beside himself with worry. He had a feeling of dread deep within his gut that he couldn't seem to shake.
Gibbs was pacing back and forth in the waiting area when Abby and Ducky entered the ER a short while later. "Gibbs! Have you heard anything about Tony?" Abby asked as she tightly embraced the older man.
"No, nothing yet, Abs," Gibbs said with a sigh.
"Jethro, why don't we go take a seat," Ducky said. "You're going to wear a hole through the floor."
Gibbs shook his head. He was much too on edge to sit still. "I don't want to sit, Duck. I just hope we hear something soon."
"You need to be patient," Ducky stated. "It may take some time." His attention was diverted as Ziva and Tim approached the small group.
"How's Tony?" Tim asked.
"No word yet, Timmy," Abby said as she pulled him in for a hug.
"Are Senior and O'Connell in custody?" Gibbs asked.
"Yes." Ziva nodded. "They are both back at headquarters."
"Good." Gibbs was itching to give Tony's so-called father a piece of his mind, but Tony was his first priority right now. Senior was going to have to wait.
"Does anyone want anything? Coffee or something?" Abby asked, looking pointedly at Gibbs.
"No thanks, Abs," he answered and everyone else shook their heads.
For the next hour or so, everyone paced, sighed and directed worried glances at each other. Time seemed to be going by at a snail's pace.
"What the hell is taking so long?" Gibbs snapped. He was worried, exhausted and reaching his breaking point.
Ducky gave Gibbs' shoulder an encouraging pat. "These things take time, Jethro. I'm sure they'll be out soon to give us some word of Anthony's condition."
"I hope you're right, Duck." Gibbs said as he resumed his pacing. He couldn't help but blame himself for Tony being in jeopardy, yet again. It all went back to that damn night of his dinner invitation to DiNozzo. In his head, of course he knew there was no way he could have foreseen what was to happen, but he still couldn't shake off the guilt that he felt. Now, things were even worse. DiNozzo's own father had tried to kill him. He could only imagine how that was going to mess with Tony's mind.
Finally, Dr. Kennedy entered the waiting area. "Agent Gibbs..."
"Doc…how is he?" Gibbs asked anxiously.
"He's stabilized right now," Dr. Kennedy replied. "His left lung did collapse. We inserted a chest tube which will likely be removed in a few days, barring any complications."
"Is he going to be okay?" Gibbs asked.
"Right now, I'm cautiously optimistic. His body has gone through a lot. He needs to get plenty of rest and we'll see how he does."
"Can I see him?" Gibbs asked.
Dr. Kennedy nodded. "You can see him, but it will probably be a while before he wakes up."
"That's okay," Gibbs answered softly. "I just want to sit with him."
"Alright. He'll be up in the same place he was before, the PCU. I'll see you up there in a bit." With that, Dr. Kennedy headed off and Gibbs turned his attention back to his team.
"I'll keep you posted," he said.
"You make sure you take care of yourself as well, Jethro, and get some rest," Ducky said.
Abby went over to Gibbs to give him a goodbye hug. "Do as Ducky says, Gibbs. We don't want you getting sick too."
"I don't get sick, Abs," Gibbs said, a faint smile touching his lips.
"Gibbs!"
"I'll make sure to rest, Abby." He directed his gaze toward Ziva and Tim. "Thanks for staying."
"Tell Tony we hope he's feeling better soon." Tim said.
"And that we will visit him as soon as he is up to it," Ziva stated.
"I'll tell him," Gibbs replied, anxious to get back to Tony's side. "I'll see you all soon." He then headed out of the ER to stay with his senior agent.
xxxxx
Tony groaned softly as he started to regain consciousness. He winced as he swallowed, his throat feeling painfully raw and dry. He also felt an aching pain deep in his chest. He started to cough which only served to increase his discomfort. The next thing he knew, strong arms were supporting him, sitting him up as he choked and gasped, then easing him back onto the pillows once the coughing had abated. He knew who was with him without even opening his eyes. "Thanks, boss," he whispered, his voice gruff and unrecognizable.
"How you feeling, DiNozzo?"
"Thirsty." He finally managed to open his eyes and gazed up at the man sitting by his bedside, Gibbs looked utterly wiped out, more so than Tony could ever remember seeing him. "You...you look like crap, boss."
"Thanks, DiNozzo." Gibbs smiled as he put a straw into a cup of water then placed it between Tony's lips. "You want to see crap, you should take a look in the mirror."
Tony took a few sips of the water and gave a relieved sigh as the cool liquid eased some of the fire in his throat. "So...what happened to me?"
"You tell me," Gibbs replied as he took the cup of water and placed it back on the bedside table.
Tony bit his lip as he tried to remember, hesitating for a few seconds before answering. "I got shot in the chest?" he finally questioned uncertainly.
Gibbs raised his eyebrows in surprise at Tony's answer. "No, Tony. You weren't shot. You've been pretty sick, but you're going to be better in no time."
Tony could tell by Gibbs' expression that there was a lot more to the story. "Do I have the plague again?"
Gibbs shook his head. "No. You have pneumonia and your left lung collapsed, but they put a chest tube in and they expect everything to go well."
Tony's eyes widened. "My lung collapsed? Isn't that really bad?" he asked, starting to feel a little bit panicked.
The fear Tony was feeling was apparent in his eyes. Gibbs grabbed his agent's hand and gave it an encouraging squeeze. "DiNozzo, look at me," he instructed and waited patientlyfor Tony's eyes to meet his own. "You're going to be fine."
Tony stared back at Gibbs for a long moment then nodded. "Is that it?" he asked looking at Gibbs doubtfully. He still had a feeling there was more to this, but everything just seemed to be one big blank. He couldn't even remember how he got sick.
"Just get some rest, Tony," Gibbs replied. "You don't need to worry about anything right now except getting better. I'll be right here when you wake up."
"But..."
"Tony, sleep."
"Okay..." He still felt somewhat uneasy, but for now, his fatigue overpowered the need to try to sort things out. After one last look at Gibbs, Tony fell into a troubled sleep.