AN: Thanks, as always, for all your great comments and support :) (And Thanks to Poppy who I couldn't than personally) This is the second to last chapter. I'm hoping to have the final part up by the middle of the week or so. Can't believe its FINALLY coming to an end lol !

xxxxx

Gibbs gave Tony a sidelong glance as he drove. Tony was looking out the window at the passing scenery. "Can't believe I'm finally out of there," Tony said with a grin. "I thought it was never going to happen."

"Now, you just need to make sure you stay out of the hospital for a good long time."

"Trust me, boss. I have no intention of ending up back in there ever, if I can help it," Tony assured Gibbs.

"Good." Gibbs pulled his car into the driveway. He could see Abby's car parked out in the street. He had asked her to come by and prepare the room he had for Tony. He hadn't been home much so hadn't really had a chance to do anything. He was pretty sure the rest of the team was going to be there as well, since it was Saturday. He just hoped Tony wouldn't be overwhelmed. They got out of the car and headed towards the front door. Gibbs opened the door and let Tony go in ahead of him.

"Surprise!" Abby screeched and ran towards Tony who braced himself for the impact. However, Abby slowed down at the last second and her hug was surprisingly gentle. "Welcome home," she said with a smile.

It technically wasn't his home, but he wasn't about to quibble over small details. "Thanks, Abby. Its great to be out of the hospital." He turned his attention toward Ducky, Ziva, McGee and Jimmy Palmer, all of who were there to greet him as well. "Hey guys."

Warm greetings were exchanged and then Abby led Tony to the couch. "You need to rest, Mister," she ordered and Tony obediently sat down.

"Don't worry, Abs. I have every intention of doing just that."

"How are you feeling, Tony?" Tim asked.

"Pretty good, Probie, pretty good."

"Do you know when you will be able to return to work?" Ziva questioned.

"Not for about a month," Tony replied. "They're being a little on the overprotective side."

"Your body needs a chance to recover, my boy," Ducky stated gently. "There's no need to rush."

"Yeah, I know. Don't really have much of a choice anyhow so I'll just have to make the best of it," Tony said with a faint sigh.

Gibbs pulled Abby aside gently. "Thanks for doing this," he whispered. "Not too long, though, okay?"

Abby nodded understandingly. "Don't worry, Gibbs. We won't overstay our welcome."

"So Tony, are you hungry?" Ziva asked. "We could order in some food."

Tony shrugged. "Its up to you guys. Whatever you want to do is fine with me."

After a short discussion, Chinese food was decided upon. Abby called the order in from Great Chow, a local place recommended by Gibbs, then Tim and Jimmy left to go pick it up.

"Is there anything we can get for you, Tony?" Abby asked. She was curled up on the couch on his left side, while Ziva was seated on his right.

Tony shook his head. "No thanks, I think I'm good, Abs."

"So, Jethro, how is Anthony doing, really?" Ducky asked as he and Gibbs stood in a corner of the room, observing Tony.

"I think he's doing pretty well, considering. He is overeager to return to work, but I'm glad the doctors are holding him back a bit. I don't want him getting into any more trouble."

"I agree. He's had more than his fair share. However, you must admit, you'd be chomping at the bit as well if you were in his place."

"Yeah, you're right, Duck, but he's going to have to obey the doctors' orders. Of course, I don't want him getting overly spoiled either," Gibbs smirked as Abby placed a pillow behind Tony's head while Ziva covered him with a blanket then tucked it carefully around him.

"A little bit of TLC won't hurt the boy, Jethro," Ducky smiled.

"That's true... I don't think he's had a lot of that in his life," Gibbs admitted, his eyes turning serious.

At that moment, Tim and Jimmy returned with the food. After a lighthearted meal, the team departed with promises to visit often during Tony's recovery.

"You should get some rest, DiNozzo," Gibbs stated. Tony had been unsuccessfully trying to stifle yawns and his eyes were heavy-lidded. "You want to head upstairs to your room or just stay here for now?"

"Think I'll just stay here if that's okay." Tony was warm and comfortable and the whole process of going upstairs required an effort he didn't particularly feel like making at the moment.

Gibbs nodded. "I'll be right downstairs. If you need anything, just holler."

"Thanks, boss." Tony's eyes closed and he very quickly fell into a sound sleep.

xxxxx

"So...how are things working out at Agent Gibbs' house?"

It was Tony's first session with Jim since leaving the hospital. He was actually alone as Gibbs had taken a quick trip into headquarters after dropping Tony off at the doctor's office. There was a large fish tank against the wall and Tony found himself watching the multicolored fish as they darted around the tank. "Things are going well...really well."

"What have you been doing?"

"Not all that much really," Tony replied with a small smile. "Resting a lot, watching movies. I took a walk yesterday afternoon. That was nice." It had been a beautiful day, warm and sunny. It had felt really good to be out enjoying the fresh air and sunshine.

"And the nightmares?" Gibbs had mentioned those during his last session. Tony hadn't been thrilled about it, but he hadn't denied that he had been having them either. He just likely wouldn't have brought them up on his own,

"I haven't had any, at least not that I'm aware of," Tony answered truthfully.

"It sounds like being out of the hospital agrees with you," Jim commented.

"I can't argue with that." He thought about pressing for an earlier return to work, but it was probably too soon. He needed to give it a little bit more time. Maybe he would wait and talk to Adam about it at his upcoming appointment on Friday.

The hour passed quickly and Tony was grateful that Jim wasn't yet pressing him to talk about his father. He knew he wouldn't be able to avoid it forever, but the longer he could put it off, the better he liked it.

xxxxx

Tony crept down the basement stairs and wordlessly sat on a step near the bottom. He was beginning to get bored with just hanging around Gibbs' house. As much as he loved watching movies, there were only so many a person could watch. Gibbs heard his agent but didn't acknowledge Tony's presence at first. Finally, he spoke. "Are you going to just sit there, DiNozzo or are you going to help?"

Tony started slightly. "Didn't realize you knew I was here, boss." Gibbs stopped working and gave Tony a long look. "But, yeah I should have realized it..."

"So?"

Tony gave Gibbs a blank look. "So?" he echoed.

"I asked you a question. Are you going to help me or are you just going to sit there?"

"Help you?" Tony asked, looking a little bit bewildered. He'd been down in Gibbs' basement plenty of times in the past. Gibbs had never before requested his help. "Uh...I don't know anything about building boats, boss..."

"Did I ask you if you knew anything about it?"

"No..." Tony looked uncertain and a little bit nervous. He still hadn't budged from the step he was sitting on.

"Get down here, DiNozzo," Gibbs ordered.

Tony stood up and made his way down the last couple of steps then walked over to Gibbs, tentatively. "Relax, Tony. You're not going to hurt anything."

"You sure about that, boss?"

"I'm sure," Gibbs nodded reassuringly as he began to show Tony what to do. He was a patient teacher and Tony learned quickly. Before too long, the two men were working together in an easy rhythm. Finally, after almost two hours, Gibbs could see that Tony was beginning to tire. "I'm getting kind of hungry...how about some dinner?"

"I could definitely eat." Tony put down his tools and took a step back to admire the boat. He had never worked with his hands like this before and he liked the feeling it gave him. When growing up, he'd had friends who worked with their dads on all kinds of things, from model airplanes to rebuilding old cars. He'd always felt twinges of jealousy, knowing he was missing out, but that there was nothing he could do about it. His father would have never done stuff like that, especially not with him. It was just the way it was.

"You did well today." Gibbs couldn't miss the glimmer of pride in Tony's eyes and he was proud of him as well. "Come on, lets get something into our stomachs." He patted Tony's back and the two men headed back upstairs.

xxxxx

"Deep breath, Tony." Adam pressed the stethoscope over Tony's chest and listened carefully to his breath sounds. "Good. Your lungs sound clear. Any chest pain or coughing?"

Tony shook his head, "No. I feel fine."

"Good, good." Adam finished his exam of Tony's lungs and moved on to look at the bullet wounds which he found to be healing well. "So, are you still staying with Jethro?"

"Yeah, I'll be going home on Sunday. Gibbs is going back to work on Monday." He had mixed feelings about returning to his apartment. Although he was eager to return home, he'd found that he had settled into an easy routine at Gibb's house. Surprisingly, he also was getting a great deal of enjoyment out of working on Gibbs' boat. He would definitely miss doing that.

"Speaking of Gibbs going back to work..." Tony continued. Adam smiled, knowing what was coming. "I don't suppose you'd reconsider letting me return to work any sooner?"

"How are your sessions with Jim going?" Adam asked as he made a few notations in Tony's chart.

"They're fine." Frankly, he found the whole three times a week thing to be tedious at best, but he had so far managed to avoid complaining about it. He couldn't argue against the fact that he'd basically been in a catatonic state for a week and there was a part of him that was still a little bit unnerved over the fact that it had happened to him.

Physically, Adam had no problem cutting a week off of Tony's return to work time, but mentally he just wasn't sure it was a good idea. "I don't know, Tony...We're only talking another three weeks. I know it might seem like forever to you right now, but it really isn't all that long. I'd rather just leave things as they are."

"Well, it was at least worth a shot," Tony said with a smile. He hadn't really expected Adam to change his mind, but he had needed to try.

"It'll go by before you know it," Adam reassured Tony.

Tony doubted it would go by very quickly at all, but he supposed he just needed to make the best of it at this point. What else could he do?

xxxxx

"You want to come in, boss?" Tony asked. The two men were sitting in Gibbs' car which was parked in front of Tony's apartment building.

"Sure, I can come in for a bit," Gibbs replied. They gathered Tony's belongings then got out of the car and headed inside, arriving at Tony's apartment a few minutes later.

"I can barely even remember what this place looks like." Tony grinned as he put his key into the lock. He swung the door open and they entered the apartment. Tony put his overnight bag down on the sofa as Gibbs deposited the box full of DVDs he was carrying onto the floor.

"You want a drink?" Tony called as he made his way into the kitchen. "I'd offer you something to eat, but I don't think there's much left that's edible around here." He made a face as he opened the refrigerator door, not particularly relishing the thought of dealing with whatever science projects were now growing in there. He was surprised at what he found though. The inside of the refrigerator was spotless and filled with new packages of cold cuts, drinks and fresh fruits and vegetables. There were some delicious-looking desserts as well and when Tony opened the freezer he found it to be well stocked with homemade meals, all neatly stacked and labeled. "Wow..." Tony was a bit awestruck by what he had discovered.

"See something you like, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked as he came up behind his senior field agent, his eyes sparkling.

"Yeah...I...who did all this?" Tony questioned as he turned around to look at Gibbs.

"A lot of people chipped in. Abby and Ziva organized things. McGee and Ducky got you some groceries. And it seems you have an awful lot of fans of the female variety around headquarters. They were more than willing to cook for you."

"I...I can't believe they did all this. How will I even know who to thank?"

"Abby has a list of who did what. We didn't want you wasting away to nothing while you're recovering."

"No chance of that happening now. You want something to eat?" he asked as he poured two drinks and handed one of the glasses to Gibbs.

Gibbs shook his head. "No thanks. I've got some paperwork that I need to catch up on and some bills to pay before tomorrow." He couldn't miss the bereft expression that crossed Tony's face. "Come on, DiNozzo. It's really not that long..."

"That's what everyone keeps telling me," Tony said as they walked back into the living room. "But, its really not true..."

"This past week went by quickly, didn't it?"

Tony nodded. "Yeah it did, but..." he trailed off with a sigh. "You're right...it'll be fine..."

"But what?" Gibbs questioned, sensing there was something more going on than just Tony wanting to return to work..

"This week was just different, boss," Tony replied with a shrug "We were working on the boat and stuff...its just going to be me now, you know?" He felt kind of like a whiny little kid, but Jim had been encouraging him to be more open with his feelings instead of hiding behind quips and jokes. It definitely wasn't easy for him and he fell into his old habits quite often, but he was trying.

"Well, the boat will still be there, Tony and my door is always open. There's plenty of work that needs to be done." Gibbs hadn't really been sure if Tony would even like working on the boat when he had first brought it up and was very pleased at how the younger man had taken to it. It had been a very welcome surprise.

Tony seemed to brighten for a moment, but then his expression became downcast. "But...I might not know what to do on my own...I wouldn't want to ruin anything..."

"You have natural instincts, Tony and you've been doing good work," Gibbs praised. "I can leave you notes on what to do next. Even if you make a mistake, there's nothing you can hurt that we can't fix."

"I'll think about it..." Tony said, but just the thought of it made him feel a little better. He supposed he could go away somewhere for a few days. He knew Jim would let up on his sessions if Tony wanted to get a little R&R at some vacation spot, but he didn't really know where to go and the timing for a trip just didn't seem right.

"Well, give it some serious thought...I think its a good idea and on the days I don't get home too late, I'll likely join you." He didn't want Tony to sit around in his apartment day after day. That could lead to depression and Gibbs wanted to avoid that.

The idea was sounding better to Tony and he decided to take Gibbs up on it. Maybe this forced medical leave from work wouldn't be as intolerable as he had first thought after all.