Here you go, the next chapter. I'm doing my best not to keep you all waiting too long. You have all been so great with the reviews and I really appreciate it. Thanks so much :)

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xxxxx

Anthony DiNozzo Sr. was seriously pissed off. He couldn't believe he was being held in this damn cell without a word from anyone. "Damn you to hell, Gibbs!" he shouted. This was all Gibbs' fault, sticking his nose where it had no business being, trying to steal his kid. He had been taking care of him just fine. He wondered how Gibbs had tracked him down so quickly. He really thought he had sufficiently covered his tracks. He should have been more careful. Now he was being held on whatever trumped up charges Gibbs was going to throw at him. Of course, he supposed he had kind of lost it with his son, but Tony had only himself to blame the way he was constantly asking for Gibbs when his own father was with him. How was he supposed to react to such disrespect? He had to teach the boy a lesson. It was the only way he'd learn.

xxxxx

"No...no...get away from me...leave me alone...please..."

Gibbs awoke immediately and stumbled out of bed as he made his way to Tony's side. The younger man was thrashing about on his bed in the obvious throes of a nightmare.

"Don't... don't... please," he whimpered.

Gibbs put his hand on Tony's shoulder and shook it gently. "Tony, wake up...Its okay. It's just a dream."

"B...boss?"

"Yeah, I'm right here with you...you're safe."

Tony took a few moments to get his breathing back under control. "I had a nightmare?" he asked shakily as his heartbeat, which had been racing out of control, started to slow.

Gibbs nodded. "You want to talk about it?" he asked quietly, his eyes filled with concern. He couldn't help but wonder when his agent was going to get a break.

"I...I..." Tony pondered that for a bit as he struggled to remember what he had been dreaming about that had scared him so badly. "Maybe I would if I could remember it, but I don't," he said with a worried look on his face.

"It's okay." Gibbs patted his hand reassuringly, thinking it could be a blessing that Tony didn't remember the nightmare based on his reaction to it. "How are you feeling?"

Tony considered the question as he mentally took stock of his body. His chest still felt achy and congested, but thankfully the horrible nausea which had tormented him had abated. "I'm feeling better," he replied truthfully.

Gibbs placed his hand on Tony's forehead and found it to be relatively cool, albeit somewhat sweaty as a result of the nightmare. Satisfied that Tony really did appear to be improving, he sat down on the chair by Tony's bed with a relieved sigh.

"Don't you believe me, boss?" Tony quipped with a bit of a smirk.

"I believe you, DiNozzo," Gibbs replied. "But it's been a long few days. Just making sure..."

"I'm beginning to think maybe its good I can't remember anything," Tony said as he studied the serious expression on Gibbs' face. "Are you okay, boss?"

"I'm fine, DiNozzo. You're the one lying here in a hospital bed, not me."

"Maybe you should go home and get some rest, boss. No offense, but you kind of look like you could use it."

"There's a perfectly good bed right here, Tony and I've been informed that I'm welcome to it unless you get a roommate."

"Even so, I'm sure your own bed is more comfortable than these...I know mine is," Tony said a little bit wistfully.

"It won't be long before you're home in your own bed," Gibbs replied.

"Well it can't be soon enough for me."

"Just keep doing what the doctors say, DiNozzo. That'll get you out of here sooner rather than later."

Tony nodded. .They sat in comfortable silence for a few moments before Tony felt the familiar tickle in the back of his throat and he had another episode of coughing. Finally, the coughing subsided, leaving him red-faced and breathless.

"You okay, Tony?"

"Yeah..." Tony said hoarsely. "Can you pass me some water, please?"

Gibbs picked up the plastic pitcher and poured some water into a cup then handed it to Tony.

"Thanks," he said as he took a couple of long sips from the cup. "Mmmm...good."

Tony put the cup back down on the bedside table and sighed. He was starting to feel a little bit restless and bored. He saw the remote control for the television, attached by a cord to the railing on the bed. He picked it up and aimed it towards the t.v., frowning when it didn't work. "Hey what's up with this? No t.v.? What are we supposed to do for entertainment?"

"Uh...sorry, Tony...I didn't think to get it turned on," Gibbs replied quickly. "You weren't doing very well and it didn't even enter my mind..." It had actually been deliberate on his part not to get the television turned on, not wanting Tony to catch any of what had been happening on the news.

"Not a problem, boss. I'm sure I can get someone to turn it on."

"Yeah...right...I just remembered…I need to make a call. I'll be right back."

"No hurry, boss," Tony said as he settled himself back against the pillows and watched as Gibbs headed for the door. "I'm not going anywhere."

xxxxx

"McGee! What are you doing?" Abby asked, giving him an annoyed look. "You're supposed to be helping me."

"Yeah, I know...sorry...I just can't believe how any movies he has," Tim said, looking around Tony's apartment in amazement. The walls were lined with shelves containing all kinds of DVDs. "He could open up his own store."

"How can you possibly be surprised?" Abby asked. "Tony talks about movies constantly."

"I know...I just…I don't know how he even finds the time to watch them," Tim shrugged.

Abby rolled her eyes as her eyes roamed over the DVD collection and she added some to her stack. "Grab some of those Magnum DVDs over there, Timmy, and some of the James Bond movies."

Tim did as Abby requested and silently handed the movies to her. "Thank you. Did you find the portable DVD player?" Abby asked.

"No...I don't see it anywhere."

Abby scouted around in search of the DVD player and finally found it on top of the dresser in Tony's bedroom. "I think this should be good, don't you?" Abby asked as she looked at the respectable bundle of DVDs they had gathered. We can get Tony some magazines too and maybe a couple of puzzle books."

"The boss is certainly concerned about Tony having enough to do, isn't he," Tim commented as he gathered most of the DVDs and the DVD player into his arms, just leaving a few for Abby to carry.

"It's because he doesn't want Tony watching t.v," Abby said as she and Tim walked out of Tony's apartment and she locked the door behind them. "He's afraid that he'll see something he shouldn't on a news broadcast."

"Hopefully he'll just start to remember on his own soon," Tim stated, following Abby down the hallway of Tony's building. "Gibbs is jumping through hoops to try to keep it from him."

"He just wants to protect him, Timmy," Abby stated. "You can certainly understand that after everything Tony's gone through, can't you?"

"Of course I understand," Tim said, nodding. "It's just that no one can protect Tony from everything...not even Gibbs.

"Oh ye of little faith, McGee. Gibbs, he's like superman. He can keep Tony safe like nobody else can." By now, the two were outside. Tim unlocked his car and placed the DVD player and the DVDs on the back seat of his car and closed the door.

"I really hope you're right, Abby," Tim said as he opened the front passenger side door for her. He had an unexplained feeling of foreboding that he couldn't seem to shake. "I hope you're right..."

xxxxx

Gibbs sat by Tony's side, content to just be watching the younger man sleep. He was almost afraid to believe how much better he was doing. Tony had even claimed to be hungry and they were going to try him on some soup and Jell-O to see how he did with that. "You really had me worried, DiNozzo," Gibbs whispered as he listened to the sound of Tony's even breathing. Just then, Gibbs' phone began to vibrate. Gibbs pulled the cell out of his pocket and saw Director Vance's name on the caller ID display. Satisfied that Tony was soundly sleeping and would likely remain that way for the time being, Gibbs decided he had better return the director's call. He had been putting it off for long enough. "I won't be gone long," he said softly as he gently squeezed Tony's hand. He then headed out of the room to find a private place where he could make the call.

xxxxx

Sandra Knight escorted her trainee, Bonnie, into the next room. "This patient is on a liquid diet." Seeing that the man in the bed was asleep, she lowered her voice. "Just put his tray over there on the bedside table,"" she directed the young dietary aide.

Bonnie put the tray on the table as she stifled a yawn. This job wasn't exactly brain surgery. She didn't see why she needed someone accompanying her to deliver food trays. It really wasn't much different than when she had delivered newspapers on her paper route. Her look of boredom changed to one of excitement though when she recognized the sleeping man. "Oh my God, Sandra," she squealed at the sight of the man who had been all over the news the past few days. "Do you know who this is?"

Knowing full well the identity of the patient, Sandra tried to usher Bonnie out of the room. "We don't discuss patients, Bonnie," she said sternly. "Come on, let's go."

"But this is Anthony DiNozzo!" Bonnie was practically gushing. "He's the federal agent who was kidnapped by his own father! He's so gorgeous, isn't he? Though, how awful that his father did that to him. He must be some kind of a nutcase."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Gibbs' voice was low, but filled with wrath as he stood in the doorway. The infuriated expression on his face reduced Bonnie to immediate tears.

"I...I'm so so...sorry," Bonnie stammered.

"Get out of here, now," Gibbs hissed, having not an ounce of sympathy for the young woman.

Sandra gave Gibbs an apologetic look as she grabbed Bonnie by the arm and practically dragged her out of the room. Gibbs glared at the women as they left and he then stepped into Tony's room. Taking a deep breath, Gibbs quietly approached Tony's bed, hoping and praying that his senior field agent was still sleeping soundly. However, when he saw the stricken look in Tony's eyes, he knew that he had heard every word...