Tony hadn't realized he'd fallen asleep until it came time to open his eyes. It took him a moment to realize where exactly he was. He laid there for a moment as he allowed his thoughts to collect.

"Are you feeling any better, Anthony?" Ducky's voice sounded somewhere beside him.

He turned his head toward him. "Think so." He furrowed his brow. "I...came down here with a headache..." he verified as he began to push himself up.

"Quite a severe one," Ducky confirmed as he steadied the wavering agent. "You don't happen to have any idea what might've brought it on, now do you?"

Tony shook his head, closing his eyes through the sudden wave of dizziness. "I didn't sleep much last night," he told him. "And haven't eaten today."

"I suppose that could be part of the problem," the doctor told him. "You've also been running yourself ragged lately. Any particular reason for that?" Ducky asked carefully as he raised his brows.

Tony met his eyes then and his own flashed for a split second, incredulously. "What's that supposed to mean?" He glanced up at the clock and his eyes widened. "Oh my god... It's almost five?" He jumped down off of the table and nearly stumbled the rest of the way to the ground, had Ducky and Jimmy not been there to catch him a second time that day. "The hell ya give me, Ducky?" he asked as the room spun.

"Something to stop the pain," he replied vaguely. "Needless to say, there's no rush to get back upstairs. Jethro would've informed me, had a case come up."

Jethro. That's when Tony remembered that Gibbs had been there; seen him like that, and told him they'd talk later. But Tony didn't want to talk. Talking would mean he'd have to remember, and he didn't want to remember...

Ducky watched the conflicting array of emotions dance disturbingly around the younger man's face. But just as quickly, Tony seemed to shove whatever had been causing him these emotions back down into whatever reserve pit he usually kept these kinds of thing in, and he straightened himself.

"Allow me to take you home, Anthony," Ducky said. "You obviously need rest-"

"I'm not going..." he started out angry, but stopped and took a breath. "I can't go home right now, Ducky."

"Why on earth not?"

"I just...please. Trust me, my apartment isn't the place to go right now." Even through his mask, the pleading in Tony's eyes was evident.

"Alright," Ducky conceded. "If you can't go there, I think I know someplace." He wagged a thoughtful finger and turned to Jimmy. "Mr. Palmer, would you be so kind as to escort Tony down to your car?"

"Uh...my car, Dr. Mallard?" Jimmy asked, slightly confused.

"Yes, Jimmy. And whilst you're doing that, I'll go and make a verification and give you a call as to where you might bring him..."

11 00 11 00 11

"Not that I have a problem with it, Duck," Gibbs told his friend after having heard the request that Tony stay at his house for the night. "But what's wrong with his place?"

"I'm not certain," he replied. "But he seemed very much unwilling to go back there. I don't think I would've been able to get him to agree to leave at all, had I not provided another option."

"Uh, boss?" McGee looked up from his computer. "I found something."

Gibbs maneuvered around Tim's desk to lean over and look at the screen as the younger agent moved out of the way for him to read it. Gibbs' eyes narrowed as he focused on the small print.

Once read, his features slackened and he slowly stood. He glanced up at Ducky's questioning gaze and motioned for the doctor to read for himself. Then he looked over at Tim, who had a sad expression on his face, but also one of finally possibly understanding...

Tbc...