AN: First of all, I want to thank each and every one of you who has reviewed. It is so appreciated and I so love reading your comments.

Now to address the issue of security (or lack thereof) I admit that I messed up with that - I was thinking there wouldn't have been any guards until after the recovery room. That being said, I'm just going with it anyhow, so if you didn't like the last chapter, you definitely will not like this one and should probably skip it.

Thanks again - Enjoy the chapter.

xxxxx

"Tony...Tony, its okay. Take it easy. I'm not going to let him near you," Gibbs tried to calm his visibly agitated agent. "I'll go out there and make sure he doesn't come in here, okay?"

"No!" Tony grabbed Gibbs' arm, gripping it tightly. After a few moments, he loosened his grasp and gave Gibbs a sheepish look. "I'd rather you just stay here, boss...I mean, if you don't mind..."

"Sure, I'll stay with you, Tony. Of course, I don't mind," Gibbs said casually, not wanting to make a big deal out of Tony's request. He knew Tony never would have asked that under normal circumstances. His father had really done a job on him.

"Th...thanks, boss."

"No problem."

They sat in silence for a few minutes and Tony's heartbeat had just about gotten back to normal when Senior started screaming again. "You can't keep me away from my son! You have no right!"

Gibbs had had about enough. He got to his feet and was about to head out of the cubicle, but the look on Tony's face stopped him in his tracks. He looked positively sick and very scared. 'Damn' he thought to himself. He didn't think Tony would begin to recover mentally until he was well away from DiNozzo Sr. The man seemed to be hiding around every corner.

Just then, Dr. Sanders drew open the curtain to the cubicle and entered the area, pushing Senior in a wheelchair. "I know you said to keep him away, but he's really upset and wants to see HIS son," he explained, shooting Gibbs a dirty look.

"Anthony...it was an accident. I am so sorry. I honestly didn't mean to shoot you. I just lost my head," Senior talked very quickly, his words practically tumbling over each other as he spoke.

"Get him the hell out of here!" Gibbs shouted, beyond incredulous at what this supposed doctor had just had the gall to do. Tony's breathing was coming in short gasps and he looked like he was on the verge of hyperventilating. Every speck of color had drained out of his face. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Gibbs grabbed Senior's wheelchair and shoved it towards the other side of the room, almost toppling it over.. He then went back to Tony's cubicle. Dr. Sanders was standing there with a stunned look on his face. "You're supposed to be a doctor?" Gibbs asked, giving him a death glare. "Look at him. Look what you've done. You're a disgrace to the medical profession."

"I'm sorry. I thought you were exaggerating. I never..." Dr. Sanders trailed off, realizing he had no valid excuse for what he had done.

"God, Boss...I think I'm going to be sick," Tony called out. Gibbs frantically looked for an emesis basin, but he couldn't find one, and grabbed a bedpan instead. He helped Tony to sit up just in a nick of time before he got violently ill. The spasms ripped through his abdomen, causing him severe pain. When he had finished emptying the contents of his stomach, he curled himself into a ball on his side, moaning softly. The pain, which had been adequately managed before, was now becoming even more intense. "Oh God...God, it hurts, boss. It really hurts," Tony gasped. He wasn't sure he could take much more of this and longed to just pass out. The pains tearing through him though served as a constant reminder that he was very much awake.

"Somebody get him some help!" Gibbs yelled. He was angry and completely at a loss as to how to help his agent, not a good combination.

"I...let me help him," Dr. Sanders, who had been standing immobile, in shocked silence, approached.

"Get the hell away from him. You're not touching him. You'll be lucky if you still have a license to practice medicine when I'm through with you," Gibbs growled as he gently rubbed Tony's back, the only thing he could think to do for him.. "Someone get Dr. Kennedy. Please. He needs something for the pain."

He had only just called for the man when Dr. Kennedy came rushing into the recovery area. "What happened?" he asked as he made his way to Tony's side.

"That bastard Sanders brought Tony's father in here," Gibbs stated tersely.

"What?" Dr. Kennedy stared at Dr. Sanders who shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "How could you? What were you thinking?"

"I guess I wasn't thinking."

"Obviously. Get out of here, Sanders," Dr. Kennedy ordered. "I'll deal with you later. And close that curtain behind you." Sanders slunk away and Dr. Kennedy turned his full attention to Tony, fastening a blood pressure cuff around his arm. "His blood pressure is through the roof..."

"That isn't really a surprise, is it?"," Gibbs asked. "I would imagine mine is right up there with his."

"Tony, try to calm down," Dr. Kennedy directed. "I'm going to go get you something for the pain and to help you sleep. I'll be right back."

"How are you doing?" Gibbs asked quietly, after Dr. Kennedy had left the cubicle.

"Honestly, I've been better, boss," Tony admitted, clenching his teeth as another jolt of pain shot through him.

"I know you have...I'm sorry, Tony," Gibbs said, unable to stop the feelings of guilt flowing through him. He should have been more insistent about DiNozzo Sr. being transferred. He'd had a feeling in his gut that something bad was going to happen. He had known that once Senior left Recovery though, he would have been under heavy surveillance. He just should have made sure it happened sooner.

"I don't understand how he could do that to me..." Tony whispered. He was in obvious distress and trying his best to try and fend off the physical and mental pain he had been bombarded with. "I just always thought..."

"You always thought what?" Gibbs prompted as he continued to rub the younger man's back in a soothing circular motion. Tony didn't answer the question at first and the silence went on for so long that Gibbs thought he had fallen asleep.

"I always thought that somewhere way down deep he loved me..." The hurt and raw emotion was evident in Tony's voice and Gibbs once again cursed the man who had basically tossed his son away like garbage.

"Tony..."

"I'm back." Dr. Kennedy announced as he stepped back into the cubicle. He was holding a syringe, the contents of which he injected into the IV. "That should alleviate your pain very quickly."

Almost immediately, Tony felt his pain begin to decrease dramatically and he started to feel woozy. "Thanks, Doc...that's much better..." He allowed his eyes to close and soon slipped off to sleep.

"Thanks Doc...Adam.." Gibbs was immensely relieved to see Tony sleeping peacefully again. It had just about killed him to see Tony in so much pain.

"Not a problem," Dr. Kennedy said, shaking his head. "That never should have happened, Jethro. Just so you know, his father has been escorted to a secure ward. He won't be able to hurt Tony anymore."

"Good." Gibbs nodded, his eyes on his sleeping agent. "I wonder if he's ever going to get back to his old self..."

"He should, with time."

"You've never seen him how he usually is," Gibbs said as a smile touched the corners of his mouth. "Brave, smart, always joking around, playing pranks. He can be a little on the cocky side sometimes, but he's a great investigator...He'll be a great team leader someday...actually he already is..."

"I can see how much he means to you," Dr, Kennedy observed.

"He means everything to me. As I told you before...he's like a son to me. I just want to see him healthy again...I want him to be able to put all this behind him and get on with his life."

"Well, from what you tell me, he should be able to. He's strong or he never would have come as far as he has and certainly has a lot of support behind him, which is key."

"You're right...he definitely has that...I just hope he doesn't try to push me away...He can be stubborn."

"Well...you seem pretty stubborn yourself," Dr. Kennedy said with a grin. "I have a feeling you're entirely capable of pushing back."

"Ya think?" Gibbs smiled back at the doctor. He then looked thoughtfully at Tony and brushed his hand back through his hair affectionately. "So, how long do you think he'll be asleep?"

"I gave him a pretty good dose of medicine. He should be asleep for a few hours, at least. He really needs to get some good uninterrupted rest. Best way for him to get better."

"And you'll be transferring him upstairs soon?"

The doctor nodded. "Yeah, it shouldn't be too long. Why? Are you leaving?"

Gibbs nodded. "I'm still going to be in the building though. Call my cell if he needs me. You have the number, right?"

"I do."

"Okay...thanks Doc, I'll see you soon."

xxxxx

"Hey Rollins," Gibbs greeted the agent standing guard outside Senior's door. "How's it going?"

"Everything's quiet, Gibbs. How's Tony?"

"He's holding his own.. I'm just going to go in and check things out for myself."

Rollins grinned at Gibbs. "You're not going to do anything to make my life difficult, are you?"

Gibbs shook his head "Nope. Just want to talk to him. No big deal."

Rollins nodded. "Okay, go ahead."

Gibbs quietly entered the room and stood in the doorway for a few moments trying to keep his composure. Senior was lying in the bed, cuffed to the bedrail. He narrowed his eyes as he stared at back at Gibbs. "What the hell do you want?"

"Just came to see how you're doing. You must be pretty happy with yourself."

"Get out of here, Gibbs."

"Just curious about a couple of things and then I'll let you go...or rather I'll go...you'll be staying here."

"Ask your questions Gibbs and then get the hell out of here."

"I just want to know why...How could you have done it? Do you know how much he wanted your approval?" Gibbs shook his head in disbelief. "He would have done anything for you and you threw it all away..."

Senior stared back at Gibbs, saying nothing.

"Well?" Gibbs asked, finding his patience was wearing thin.

"I don't know..."

"YOU SHOT HIM." Gibbs was deliberately keeping his distance, knowing if he got too close, the urge to pound the man would be too strong to resist. "Your own son...you shot him, could have killed him. You didn't have a reason?"

"He was disloyal...he's not my son anymore. He's yours..."

"You're wrong. He was nothing but loyal to you. Hell, he wanted me to let you off the hook for what you did. You could have had it all, but now you're going to go to prison. Was it worth it?"

Senior remained silent as he defiantly stared back at Gibbs.

"Well, I hope it was worth it for you, because now he sees you for what you are. You're a pathetic excuse for a man."

"This is getting tedious, Gibbs. You've got what you wanted, now just get out of here."

Gibbs hesitated and realized he just had nothing more to say to the man. He clearly had no feelings of remorse for what he had done. "I'll leave, DiNozzo," Gibbs stated. "But mark my words...someday, I don't know when, you're going to realize what you've done and you're going to regret it."

"Leave."

Gibbs gave Senior one long last look and then he headed out of the room to go rejoin Tony.