"Anthony, slow down," Ducky requested as Tony worriedly tried to get him to come back up. "What's happened?"

Tony nervously paced the floor with the phone to one ear, and a hand over his other. "The doctor said he needed emergency surgery. There's a hematoma that's causing massive pressure...something about possibly causing him to stop breathing if they don't act now. I told them to do...whatever they...needed to do to save him." He was shaking now, losing his breath from pacing or hyperventilating from panic...he couldn't tell which. "Ducky, I don't even know what I gave them permission to do, exactly!"

"All right, my boy, now take a breath. Calm down," he spoke comfortingly. "This may simply mean they're going to put a catheter into his brain to drain the fluid. It may not be necessary to do more invasive surgery."

"He didn't have time to explain," Tony told him. "He- he had to go. I didn't ask. I just told him to go- go save him."

"And that's what they're in the process of doing, Tony. Now, I'll head up there to you in a moment with Jackson. Do try and calm yourself by then, for his sake."

"I'm trying, Ducky. I...all right. I'm gonna go outside. Can't breathe in here right now..."

*~.~*

"Tony, what do you mean you can't breathe?" Ducky asked, but then realized the call had been ended. "Oh my," he said as he let out a breath. "Jethro...you'd be the one I'd call right now," he thought. "Unfortunately, I don't have that option. But I know two people who might be suited to assist..."

Ducky made his way back into the cafeteria. "Timothy, if you would please be so kind as to bring up something for Tony to drink and something light to eat. I'm betting he's had little in either department today." Tim nodded without hesitancy, and turned to get back in line.

"You're right," Abby confirmed. "We were making cookies and he said he was saving his stomach for the big dinner he'd planned to make tonight..."

"I'll need you to do something else for him," Ducky told her. "Excuse us a moment, Jack," Ducky said as he pulled her to the side.

"What's wrong, Ducky?" she asked.

"I believe our young Anthony is having a very difficult time remaining calm at the moment. They just rushed Jethro into emergency surgery to remove a hematoma." Abby covered her mouth as she attempted to stifle a gasp. "I'm sure they caught it in time," he assured her. "But in light of what Tony's already been through, he's beginning to lose whatever resolve he's been holding on to. Right now he's outside trying to catch his breath. Before Tim gets up there, I suggest you run ahead and see if you can't talk some reassurance to him."

She nodded mutely, which in itself almost frightened the M.E. But she left to do the task bidden to her, and Ducky found himself turning back to face the man he needed to bring upstairs and tell the current news to...

11 00 11 00 11

"Oh, Tony..." Abby said, softly, once she found him outside sitting on a cement hedge perch with his head between his knees.

"Hey, Abs," he replied without moving from his position. "Some nurse put me like this," he told her. "Said I was having an anxiety attack. She actually went inside to check my chart to see if she couldn't get a doc to okay giving me something. I ever tell how much I really really hate not being able to breathe?"

"Is this helping?" she asked as she sat down beside him.

"A little..." he sounded unconvinced. "I'm not willing to get up and find out, though."

She put a gentle hand on his back and soothingly rubbed up and down. "Everything's gonna be okay," she told him. "You'll see."
"When I see," he retorted, "Then I'll believe that. Not that I'm not hoping everything will be fine. But my gut...I can't tell if it's just fear, or a feeling of impending doom, and it's killin' me..." Abby felt the tremor that worked its way through Tony's body, then. "They're prodding around inside his brain, right now, Abs. Who knows what could go wrong? Who knows what's already going wrong?" His rambling was cut short by a painful jab on his shoulder. "Ow, Abby!" he picked his head up so he could snake his other hand over to rub the sore spot.

"Don't you dare," the broken sound in her voice made him meet her eyes; they were filled with unshed tears. "Not you..."

That's when he realized it; he was supposed to be the one keeping them together, keeping their hopes and spirits high and bringing them through this with a level head. And he'd been the first one to fall apart.

He forced himself to sit up and suck up whatever fears he had. "I'm sorry, Abs...You're right. I'm sorry." He pulled her to him and hugged her. "Everything's gonna be okay..."

Tbc...