AN: Not too much going on today, so I thought I would try to get another chapter in this weekend. As always, thank you so much for the amazing support and all your comments. They are very, very much appreciated. Here's the next chapter – hope you enjoy :)

Special Thanks: WCUGirl, Sparkiebunny, pandi19, LongLashes1, vanishingp2000, Space1Traveler, diana teo, NickTonyK, Stroma, Gloworm41, carismum, faldo, NCIS-TIVA-FAN, angeleyes46, Sarah1965, peanutmeg, combatcrazy, AZGirl, Rena-Spatz, Meilea2010, julie250, Gaddkzmp, newgal, Tacpebs, anci2506, TheNaggingCube, GibbsGirlAbby, twomoms, and Kaco327.

xxxxx

After Abby and Tim had left, Gibbs opened the door to Tony's room with one hand as he carefully balanced the DVD player and DVDs in the other. He silently made his way to Tony's bedside and put the items he was carrying down on the nightstand. He then turned his attention to Tony who appeared to be sleeping soundly. Gibbs sat down on the chair by Tony's bed and studied his agent as he slept. He was relieved to see him resting so easily since their last conversation had been anything but peaceful. "I'm here if you need me, DiNozzo," he whispered, then tried to get comfortable as best he could as he waited for Tony to awaken.

xxxxx

The sound of water slowly dripping was the first thing Tony heard as he slowly forced his eyes open and tried to get his bearings. He found himself securely chained to a stone wall in a cold, dungeon-life room. "Hello? Is anybody here?" he called out, his voice echoing throughout the area. No one answered his call. His arms, which were bound over his head, were aching fiercely. He struggled against the manacles binding his wrists, but they were fastened much too tightly for him to be able to slip out of them. Finally, after what seemed like an endless period of time, he could hear the sound of approaching footsteps. He felt his heartbeat speed up as his adrenaline kicked in and he waited for his unknown visitor. The footsteps seemed to take forever to arrive, but finally they halted and the ominous creek of the door being opened reverberated throughout the cell. He found himself holding his breath as he waited and then breathed a sigh of relief when the man's identity was finally revealed to him. It was his father.

"Dad...thank God...I need your help."

DiNozzo Sr.'s face was expressionless as he approached his son. "Anthony," he stated coldly as he stopped in front of Tony and just stood there, staring at the younger man.

"Dad? What's wrong?" Tony asked a little bit nervous at the way his father was looking at him. "Don't you have a key? Call Gibbs...he'll be able to get me free."

"Call Gibbs?" At that, DiNozzo Sr. started laughing, but it was an evil laughter which sent a chill down Tony's spine as he watched his father's eyes become dark and angry. "Your precious Gibbs will never come to rescue you. I've taken care of that."

"Wh...what are you talking about?" Tony asked as a cold fear began to settle in his belly. "What did you do? Where is he?"

"Dead." DiNozzo Sr, smiled malevolently, enjoying the obvious pain in his son's eyes.

Tony shook his head as he looked back at his father in disbelief. "No...you wouldn't do that...you couldn't..."

"Well, I suppose in one respect you're right," DiNozzo Sr. stated. "I didn't actually pull the trigger myself, but I found a very capable man to do the job for me. People will do just about anything you want them to if the price is right. Gibbs never even knew what hit him. One shot through his head was all it took. The only thing that would have made it better would have been for you to see it happen in living color. I know how you enjoy your dramatic movies. I do wish I had thought to videotape it for you."

"No. I don't believe you." Even as he uttered the words though, Tony knew that his father was telling the truth. "How could you?"

"How could I? You dare to ask me that?" DiNozzo Sr. aimed a strong punch at Tony's head, sending it crashing back against the stone wall. "That's what you like, isn't it? The hits to the head he gives you? Well how did that feel? Can I do it as well as he could?"

"Dad...please..." Tony's head was spinning as he stared back at the monster who was his father. "What are you doing? I'm your son..."

"Yes, Anthony," DiNozzo Sr. nodded. "You are my son, but by birth only. Maybe you should have thought of that before you chose a new father to replace me. Maybe if you had, Gibbs wouldn't be lying on a table down in Ducky's autopsy lab right now, but you made your choice and now I have made mine.

"What choice?" Tony asked, already quite aware of what was about to happen.

"I think you know that, son." DiNozzo Sr. reached down under his jacket and pulled a dagger from a sheath attached to his belt. "Nice, isn't it?" he asked as he lightly fingered the gleaming metal of the blade. "It's Italian. Look at the intricate detail on the handle. Only the best for my boy."

Tony stared at the long blade and made one last desperate effort to try to free himself, but it was futile. "How can you do this?" he asked as his father menacingly drew closer to him. I...I don't understand..."

"Understand this...I am only doing what you did to me. You cut my heart out, and now I am going to cut out yours. This is your fault, Anthony...all your fault. You and Gibbs can rot in hell together for all eternity..." With that, DiNozzo Sr. lunched at Tony, aiming the dagger right at the center of Tony's chest.

xxxxx

"Noooooooo!"

Tony's scream immediately awoke Gibbs who had fallen into a light doze. "Tony? DiNozzo, wake up. Its just a dream." He gently shook Tony's shoulder, trying to ease him out of this latest nightmare. Tony awoke with a gasp and stared up at Gibbs in obvious terror, still very much caught up in the dream.

"Bo...boss? Is that really you? I thought...I thought you were dead..." Instinctively, Tony flung himself into Gibbs'arms and hugged the older man tightly.

"Its okay, Tony," Gibbs murmured softly as he returned the embrace. He could feel Tony's entire body shaking as he held him. "You're safe...I've got you..."

They stayed that way for a few more moments before Tony was entirely back in the present and realized he was hugging his boss. 'Shit.' Feeling unbelievably awkward, Tony pulled back from Gibbs as he felt the heat rising to his cheeks. "Sorry, boss," he mumbled, keeping his head down, unable to look up and meet Gibbs' gaze.

"You've got nothing to be sorry about, DiNozzo," Gibbs said quietly. "Tony? Tony look at me." Finally Tony looked up and met Gibbs' eyes, his face still red with embarrassment. "You want to talk about it?"

Tony quickly shook his head, lowering his gaze once again. Gibbs sighed softly. This was not going to be easy. "Come on. DiNozzo...talk to me," he said, a little more firmly.

"This...this is all my fault, boss..."

Gibbs shook his head in frustration. Damn it. This was entirely the opposite of the way he wanted things to go. "How is it your fault?"

Tony remained silent as he stared down at the blankets covering him. He felt awkward and emotional and so very messed up. He wanted to be anywhere other than where he was at that moment.

"Tony? How is it your fault?" Gibbs repeated.

Tony opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. His eyes started roaming around the room, looking anywhere other than at Gibbs. He saw the pile of his DVDs on the nightstand and what was likely cold soup and warm Jell-O on the tray by his bed. Both looked extremely unappealing to him now and he felt his stomach flip flop at the thought of eating them.

"Tony...talk to me," Gibbs pleaded. Tony briefly made eye contact with Gibbs when he heard the tone in his voice. It wasn't a tone he heard often and he had never heard it directed at him. sometimes at Abby or maybe a child, but never at him.

"I'd really like to be alone..." If he could just get Gibbs out of here, maybe he could get himself back together again. His father was right to be jealous. He was always trying to latch onto other people as fathers when he had a perfectly good father of his own. So what if his father had batted him around a little bit? A lot of it had probably been his own fault. It was no excuse to turn his back on the man. First he had wanted Chris' dad to be his father and now Gibbs. It was pathetic really. He was pathetic. His body felt ice cold and he started to shiver. He pulled the blankets up around him and wrapped his arms around his chest. Why was Gibbs still here? "I said..."

"I heard what you said, but I'm not going anywhere...Not this time..."

Damn...damn....damn... Tony closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he tried to clear his mind and calm himself down. He couldn't do it though. Instead of a clear mind, unfamiliar images began invading his thoughts... He and Gibbs in a room, Gibbs holding him...Gibbs comforting him...

He popped his eyes open and looked back at Gibbs who hadn't moved an inch from his side. "I think I'm starting to remember."

"Yeah? That's good. What do you remember?" Gibbs asked supportively.

"I...we were in a small room. I was really sick. I think you were trying to keep me warm."

Gibbs nodded, a faint smile on his lips. "That all happened. What else?"

"Uh...Tony struggled to recall more details. "A fire?" he questioned uncertainly.

"Yes, there was a fire. Anything else?"

Tony tried to remember more, but that was all he could recall. He shook his head in discouragement. "No...no that's it."

"You did really well, Tony. Really well." Gibbs clasped his shoulder and smiled encouragingly. "The rest of it will come back too...you'll see."

Tony nodded, his expression downcast, not even attempting to return Gibbs' smile. "Yeah...yeah, I guess so." He wasn't really sure if it mattered whether or not he remembered. It all just seemed kind of pointless.

Gibbs looked back at Tony with more than a little bit of concern. This was a far cry from the wise cracking agent he was used to. Tony was sullen and seemed to be depressed. Gibbs supposed this was all normal after all he had been through and the fact that he was still sick. It was still disconcerting though and very worrisome.

"Tony...you said this was all your fault." Gibbs didn't want to press too hard, but he really wanted to try to figure out what was tormenting him so badly. "What's your fault? What were you talking about?"

Tony shrugged. "I don't remember, boss. I was just rambling, I guess. Where did all my DVDs come from?"

Gibbs had to fight not to roll his eyes at Tony's blatantly obvious attempt to change the subject. "Abby and McGee brought them by."

"Yeah? That was nice of them." He didn't ask why they hadn't come in to visit. He figured that was pretty clear.

I thought that maybe tomorrow you'll feel up to some visitors."

"Yeah...yeah that'd be good, boss," he said automatically. His mind started drifting to thoughts of his father in a cell. He knew the man wouldn't be very happy about it. He couldn't believe that any of this had really happened. It just didn't seem real. It didn't make sense why his father would have taken him from the hospital. Why had he ever been here to begin with?

"Why was he here?" he asked, focusing his eyes on Gibbs once more.

"Huh?" Gibbs looked at Tony in confusion. "Why was who where, DiNozzo?" He had absolutely no idea what his agent was referring to.

"My father...why was he in town?"

"He got a call from the kidnappers. He brought money for your ransom..."

Tony's look of confusion matched Gibbs.' "I thought we were kidnapped because Belling...that guy wanted revenge against you? I didn't know there was a ransom."

Gibbs sighed heavily. This was much too complicated to explain. The guys who kidnapped you worked for Bellingham. They killed him and then called your father about the ransom.

"Oh...so my father brought them the money?"

"Yeah, yeah Tony he did, but..."

"So he must have really wanted me back but now he's in custody?"

"Tony..."

"What if I don't press charges?"

Gibbs shook his head. "Doesn't matter, DiNozzo. This isn't up to you. Everyone knows what happened. There was a manhunt...witnesses. He isn't getting out of this scot free."

Tony shook his head miserably. He knew all this, but it didn't help the conflict he felt inside or the huge knot in his stomach. "I think...I think I'm going to try to sleep now, boss..." It was the only way he could think of to try to escape everything that was going on, if even for only a little while.

"Okay, Tony...you do that...I'll be right here." He wasn't sure, at this point, if that would even be considered a good thing or a bad thing in Tony's eyes, but he did know that he couldn't leave him alone...not now, not yet. He just hoped the younger man would be able to have some rest, undisturbed by nightmares, and that things would look a little bit better when he woke up. It was the very least that Tony deserved.