Once more I am stunned and humbled by the response this story's garnered. Thank you all, both those who've reviewed and those who've added this story as a favourite or who've set up alerts. It really does mean a lot to know that you're enjoying this as much as I'm enjoying writing it.

Many apologies for not getting this posted yesterday - the next part should be more prompt!

Disclaimer: Out of this story, all I own is the plot. The rest is borrowed from Bellisario et al with no offence intended and no (well, very little!) harm done.

No beta readers were harmed in the production of this story - but thanks to V for the help and advice.

Five times that Anthony DiNozzo met his guardian angel.

A Very Special Guardian Angel

3 - Thigh

Tony wasn't sure what sucked more. Being in hospital again, being stabbed and nearly dying through blood loss or being stabbed by his own partner.

On balance, he decided that the sense of betrayal Steven Thomas had left him with was currently outweighing the whole nearly dying thing. Which was, when he thought about it further, possible the most screwed up thing to have crossed his mind since back before he'd blown his knee and his chances of professional sport. It didn't help that it also left him feeling like a complete moron: he had known there had been at least one dirty cop in the precinct so, really, he shouldn't have been so surprised to learn that Thomas was dirty too, or that he'd reacted badly to being confronted.

He should have just gone to IA with his suspicions, but that hadn't seemed right. It hadn't seemed fair. Thomas was supposed to be his partner, and Tony had felt he'd owed it to the older man to give him a chance to explain. Maybe it wasn't what it looked like.

But it had been exactly what it had looked like and all he'd done was give Thomas the chance to drive a carving knife into his thigh - admittedly not where Thomas had been aiming, but it was no great improvement. It still hurt badly enough that painkillers were being given to him almost as if they were candy and he had even accepted some of them. Not enough to make him completely loopy, because at some point in the near future he knew Captain Harris would be by to take his statement and that would go far better if he was coherent, but enough to at least blur the edges.

"It's good you're taking your medicine this time," said a voice solemnly.

Forcing open eyelids that felt as if they were being weighed down by sandbags, Tony wasn't altogether surprised to see Kelly once more sitting pixie-like on the chair beside his bed. "Must be bad if you're here," he mumbled.

"You're hurting," she said simply.

Tony's eyes slid shut again. "Eight inches of steel through your thigh will do that to you."

Surprisingly, that got him a small chuckle.

"Not sure this is any better than Peoria," he murmured.

"No," she answered. "I don't think it is."

"Feel like a moron."

"You're not."

"Should have realised sooner what Thomas was doing."

"He was smart and sneaky."

"Doesn't matter." Tony forced his eyes to open again and met her sympathetic blue-eyed gaze. "I should have seen it sooner."

"What about the other people?" Kelly asked.

"Huh?"

She leaned forwards, clasping her hands together, and fixed him with one of her penetrating stares. "He worked with lots of other people," she said. "It wasn't just you."

"I was his partner. It's different." He let his eyes slide shut once more. "Supposed to be able to trust your partner."

"You never did trust him, though," Kelly pointed out, curious. "Why?"

And that was a good question. "I don't know," he admitted.

"Daddy would tell you it was your gut that warned you."

"Gut instinct, huh?" He focussed on that part of the comment and ignored the rest. The rest, after all, made no sense and he didn't really feel as if he had the energy to debate it. "Makes as much sense as anything, I guess." He grimaced. "Still should have seen it sooner."

"And so should the other people around you," Kelly insisted. "This isn't your fault."

Tony wished he could believe her, but he knew there were two women who, had he not had his head wedged up his own ass, wouldn't have been badly hurt. And they were just the ones directly affected. There were probably hundreds who'd been indirectly affected by Thomas' activities.

Kelly gave a sigh. "It really isn't your fault; you don't have to do penance." He felt her hands gently squeeze his forearm. "Promise me you won't."

"Kelly?" He didn't need to open his eyes to know she was giving him another of those heavy stares. He forced them open anyway and found that in addition to the stare, her whole expression was one of worry. "What?"

"Promise me you won't do anything silly," she demanded. "You don't have anything to make up for."

Tony grimaced. "Don't I?"

"No."

"Then why do I feel guilty?"

"Because you're a good person," she answered. "But this isn't something you need to make up for. You have nothing to prove. Please, Tony." There was a begging note in Kelly's voice now. "Promise me you won't do anything silly."

Everything flickered.

"You're waking up again," said Kelly. "Please, Tony; promise me."

"I-"

But Kelly vanished before Tony could say anything else and in her place was Captain Harris, together with another man. Neither man was in uniform and, for all he knew, the other man was simply a friend of Harris', but something suggested to Tony that the other man was also a cop. Daddy would tell you it was your gut. He grimaced and tried to force away the echo of Kelly's observation.

"DiNozzo, good to see you looking a little more human," Harris began. "Feeling better?"

"Guess so, sir."

"I still need to take your statement, but Steven Thomas has given a signed confession, so it's less urgent now." Harris waved a hand in the direction of the other visitor. "This is Captain Paul Donahue from Baltimore PD."

Tony blinked. Baltimore? What the hell would someone in Baltimore want with him?

"We're setting up a joint operation," Harris continued, "to try and tackle the Macaluso Family."

Now Tony stared at both visitors. The Macaluso Family were notorious in law enforcement circles up and down the East Coast. They ran a good proportion of all the organised crime rackets from the New York state line all the way south to Georgia, with their main power base being Baltimore.

"They're beginning to build up their strength in Philadelphia again," Donahue contributed, "so Philly's the place we're most likely to get someone in to the family to get the information we need to shut down their operation for good."

"Why are you telling me this?" Tony asked.

Harris gave him a long look. "Why do you think, DiNozzo?"

Tony flicked his gaze from one cop to the other and back again. "You want me to go undercover and infiltrate a Mafia family?" He didn't add the 'are you nuts', but it was palpable.

Neither captain flinched at the unspoken accusation. It was Donahue who answered with, "It is risky, but the payoff is worth it."

Tony closed his eyes for a moment. This, surely, had to be what Kelly had been concerned about. It was just about the stupidest thing an American-Italian cop could do. Going undercover with the Mafia was well-nigh suicidal for any law enforcement officer, but one who actually had ties to the community that spawned them? On the other hand, Thomas had been bankrolled by a suspected capo in the Macaluso Family. Actively doing something to put an end to that appealed to the parts of him that took pride in being a good cop.

He reopened his eyes and looked squarely at Harris. "Why me?"

"You've got the right background, you've got the right look, you're the right sort of age, you're observant and Christ knows you can think on your feet."

"It's a real chance to clean house," Donahue added.

The urge to refuse was strong. Even if it wasn't what Kelly classed as silly, it certainly fit Tony's own definitions. On the other hand, the nagging sense of having an opportunity to do some tangible good was just as tempting. Don't do penance. It would be a way to work off some of the guilt, but it wouldn't be penance. This wouldn't be about fixing a past wrong but preventing a future one. Sorry, Kelly - I think I have to do this. "I must be crazy," he murmured. "When do I start?"