A/N! Hey Anon e. Mouse, hopefully you're reading this, I agree with you on that note, while writing the last chapter I actually edited it, so that Tony didn't tell anyone how crappy he was feeling, which I realized belatedly is a very cliche' thing to do when it comes to fics like these, so I hope this chapter makes up for the dissapointment in the last one, yeah? Well, here it is, thanks to everyone who has taken the time and reviewed up until this point, you're all awesome. :D Enjoy!
Three.
"WHERE'S DUCKY?" Tony asked Palmer, when it was clear the older doctor wasn't behind him, as he traveled inside the office with three packages of food.
"Oh, he was called down by another team on call right now-he should be joining us soon enough though." the young man sputtered. When he'd first heard about Anthony DiNozzos' remarkable de-aging occurance, Jimmy Palmer hadn't believed it, but after seeing it in the flesh, he was more or less inclined to believe whatever else next came to mind than he had been before.
Palmer was a doctor too, technically, Tony decided, and the pain had become unbearable shortly after Gibbs' departure. His side was on fire right now. "My stomach feels weird, can you check it or whatever it is you doctor-types call it?" he asked nervously, not ever one to openly ask a physician to poke at him.
"W-Wha'?" Palmer started, surprised as well, but regained his composure. "What's wrong?" he asked.
Tony's face was pinched, "My side," he began, "I don't know if it's something caused by the explosion or what, but it feels like Bruce Lee kicked me in a fit of rage." he described, hunching over now, arms both intertwined, wrapped across his aching stomach.
Palmer had the very wobbly teenager walk across the room and into autopsy, helped him climb atop the table, and laid him down flat on his back. "Now which side hurts?" he asked, and Tony could almost imagine Palmer in an actual hospital taking care of...live patients.
"Here." he said, pointing to his right lower side. "At first it was everywhere, but as the day went on it shrunk to just that one area, but like, it hurts a lot more." Tony felt like one of the patients in House as he tried to explain what hurt-idiotic; but you had to admit, for a pill-popping, vicodin addicted genius, Dr. House rocked.
"How's the pain? Sharp? Stabbing?"
"Sharp." Tony replied without hesitance. "But then when it's less severe it's just a throbbing pain. Can you give me some vicodin or something? Dr. House seems pretty peppy when he takes some. And he's also a super badass."
Palmer chuckled, "I doubt vicodin would help you, Tony. In fact, if my suspicions are right," he said, as he felt around the area Tony had complained about before. "It's probably not an effect of the explosion."
"Then what is it?" Tony hissed as Jimmys' hand touched a particularly tender spot.
Jimmy frowned, "Tony, we're going to have to take you to the hospital, your appendix is inflamed. There's a huge possibility it's appendicitis." he diagnosed.
"What?" Tony sat up, regretting the movement when the pain increased. He breathed, "No, that's not possible, Palmer; I had my appendix taken out years ago." he explained.
Jimmy blinked, "When?"
Tony thought for a minute, through the fog of pain that was begining to overwhelm him. "Uh, like, a little over ten years ago? I was seventeen I think? Yeah, seventeen." he nodded.
"If I'm correct, you're seventeen now, Agent DiNozzo." Palmer pointed out, "And...you clearly still have your abdomen, I felt it just now. So, I'm certain for sure that it's apendicitis." he rattled off nervously.
Tony groaned, from both pain and irritation. He should've know; this was the same awful feeling he'd had before his appendix had burst in the boys' dormitory all those years ago. "Fuuuck." woah-where had that come from? He realized abruptly his speech had admittedly changed ever since yesterday. He'd cursed like a sailor in his teens, but had grown out of the nasty habit in college-the decent girls weren't exactly attracted to loud, foul-mouthed jocks.
"I'm going to call for an ambulance now-"
Tony shook his head, "No way, I hate those things. Can you call Gibbs instead?" he winced, realizing how pittifully childish he sounded. Since when did he need his Boss at his side for this kind of thing? He'd been to the hospital tons of times.
"Course," Jimmy didn't see anything wrong with it, "It'd be easier to just drive to the hospital this time of night anyway." he had already dialed Gibbs number. "Uh, h-hi, uhh, this is-this is Palmer, n-no, it's not a s-s-social call, what I mean is-"
Tony whimpered, he was in agony and Jimmy chose now to stutter? He snatched the phone from the young doctor. "Gibbs?"
"Tony? What's wrong?"
"Can you come get me? Palmer says I need to go to the hospital; I don't wanna' ride in an ambulance." he whined, certainly feeling all his seventeen years.
In less than five minutes, Gibbs had run down the stairs and down to autopsy, Ducky at his heels. "What happened?" he demanded, expecting to step into a scene of blood and disarray-this was DiNozzo afterall.
"His appendix!" Palmer announced, trying hard not to stutter again. "We need to get Tony to the hospital immediately, before it bursts."
"Urgh." Tony groaned. "Gibbs." he called out, feeling particularly needy, hunched over further into himself.
Jethro picked the teen up from the table, cradling him in his arms, and started walking for the elevator, Duck and Jimmy not far behind.
NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS
"Oh my God, my poor baby!" Abby arrived at the hospital not long after her companions, along with the rest of team Gibbs.
"Palmer called us." Ziva explained, in response to Gibbs questioning look.
"What's the matter with Tony?" Kate asked, when she saw the boy huddled next to Gibbs, head on their Bosses chest, gritting his teeth, eyes shut tight, in obvious pain.
Ducky frowned darkly. "Mister Palmer deduced Anthony has a case of appendicitis, however, the incompetent doctors running this hospital simply put him on the waiting list!" it was the first time anyone had seen the doctor so angry.
McGee grimaced. "Waiting list? Can't they see how much pain he's in?" Tim was no doctor, but even he could see that Tony was far from well.
Tony gripped at Gibbs shirt desperately, face buried in his chest, the other hand wrapped tightly around his mid-section. He was breathing hard now, making tiny sounds of discomfort, trying not to outright cry on his Boss.
Gibbs wanted to throttle someone. He held onto his boy, whispering comforting nothings into his spiked hair, rubbing his back up and down, wishing he could take Tonys' pain instead. "Somebody get a damn doctor here now!" he demanded sharply, regretting his tone when the teen under him let out a heart-wrenching sob-he knew it was due to the appendicitis, but he couldn't help but feel guilty. Screaming wouldn't exactly make things better.
Ziva cracked her knuckles. "I will be right back." she announced, glare in place, as she went to the front desk.
Kate felt completely helpless. Not only was Tony in so much palpable torture was a torture in itself.
Gibbs realized Tony was practically out of his seat, half of him laying across Gibbs, and lifted him as easily as he had done in autopsy, onto his lap, where he continued to hold him as tight and delicately as he could. Tony had barely registered the move, chest heaving, willing air to enter his lungs, as his body was racked by sobs.
Ten years ago, when he'd been in this much awful pain-the first (and he'd thought last) time he'd had appendicitis, he'd had absolutely no one to turn to. His father hadn't sent for his that winter in boarding school, all of his friends had gone home for the Christmas break, and the teachers, even, were quite scarce.
This time around, the pain just as bad.
The only graspable comfort he could find in the midst of all this affliction and his wailing, were Gibbs steady hands holding onto him. And that was enough for him.
A/N! Another chapter is on it's way soon! And congrats to Combatcrazy for being the only one to guess it was appendicitis. :P Review! You know you want to! Button's right there, guys. :o!