Found Chap. 3

It took some convincing, and Abby agreeing to stay the night before Tony finally gave in and stayed. Something about overstaying his welcome or some such bullshit. Hell, Gibbs was glad to have him so close still. Almost losing him had made certain things come to light that should have been dealt with months ago. There was no time like the present, or so Ducky said. As with most things, the old man was right though.

Heading up to bed, instead of down to the basement for the second night in a row felt off. Rarely did Jethro Gibbs just sleep without completely exhausting himself first. He supposed the break from routine had something to do with the young man sleeping in one of his guest rooms. Tony said he was alright, Ducky confirmed that yes, physically "young Anthony is, not fine, but well on his way", and Tony acted more like himself this evening. Still, something was gnawing at Gibbs' gut. He would be willing to bet the boat that Tony wasn't as "fine" as he claimed.

Mulling that over while he brushed his teeth, Gibbs decided not to push and let Tony come to him. Surely the stubborn kid had sense enough to know he couldn't deal stuff like this on his own. Well, he was referring to DiNozzo after all.

"Gibbs?"

Placing his tooth brush back into the protective casing, Gibbs turned toward Abby. She was wearing the purple silk pajamas with black and silver skulls on them that Tony had given her as a birthday present. Only Abby.

"I thought you were already in bed, Abs."

"I was, but then I started thinking about Tony. He hasn't really said anything about what happened."

Gibbs leaned against the bathroom door facing and sighed. He had noticed that, too.

"I think maybe he's still processing the whole ordeal. And I'm hoping he's relying on his training to get him though some of this. Don't forget that, Tony, as goofy and childish as he sometimes acts, is a highly trained federal agent."

"I'm not disagreeing, but you have to realize that while he's trained for this stuff, he's also human and more vulnerable than he lets on. I just worry, Gibbs."

Gibbs kissed the top of her head and smiled. Abby had the biggest heart in the world.

"I know you do, but he's got us. We'll take care of him, Abs."

Nodding her head in agreement, Abby made her way back to bed, satisfied that Gibbs had things well under control. After turning down the bed and flipping on the bedside lamp, Gibbs decided to check on Tony one last time.

Peeking into the bedroom that held so many memories, he let his eyes adjust to the dark and the slumbering figure in the bed. The blankets were askew, no doubt kicked sideways by Tony moving about in his sleep. After righting them and tucking them back around his Senior Field Agent, Gibbs paused to take in the scene. For the moment, Tony seemed to be sleeping peacefully.

Heading back to his own bedroom, Gibbs resolved to keep a closer watch on the kid. If Abby felt something was hinky, it usually was. He wasn't about to borrow trouble though. Especially for Tony. The boy was so guarded under normal circumstances, the old marine couldn't imagine what it would be like extracting information from the kid now.

"Sleep well, Tony"

Gibbs had been in that weird state between sleep and wakefulness when he heard it. Was it whimpering? Moaning? Thrashing? Tony! He was having a nightmare. Jumping out of bed, Gibbs darted out of his bedroom and into the hallway, sliding into Tony's room just as Abby rushed out of her own room, both in a state of mild panic.

Coming to a stop at the side of Tony's bed, Gibbs knew better than to touch him. That might startle the kid even more.

"Tony! TONY!"

Nothing was working. Deciding to go against his better judgement, Gibbs reached out and placed a hand on Tony's forehead.

Tony bolted out of bed with a pitiful yelp, trying in vain to protect himself from some unseen threat.

"Tony, it's alright. You're okay, bud. It was just a dream."

The heavy breathing worried Gibbs. As did the trembling. This wasn't just a run of the mill nightmare. This had shaken the kid to his core. Reaching for Tony's hand, Gibbs found them to be clammy and cold.

Abby scooted closer to him, Gibbs noticed, wrapping her arm around his back, offering whatever comfort she could. Whatever comfort he would allow.

"Tony? Are you with us?"

The flinch was surprising, but not all together unexpected given the circumstances. Gibbs was still concerned enough to want to dig deep into whatever was troubling his SFA.

"I'm good now. I'm fine. You can go back to bed."

"Like hell! That looked like one hell of a nightmare, son. I'm not going to just leave you to it."

"Why not? After what you said to McGee, I don't see why you care."

"What are you talking about? What I said to McGee."

"It's nothing, never mind."

Abby tightened her hold on him as he tried to get up.

"Tony, don't leave. Let's talk about this."

"It's fine, Abs. It's nothing."

"It isn't fine, Tony. It's bothering you."

Gibbs watched as Tony turned away from his best friend, trying to avoid the obvious. What had he said to McGee that upset Tony so much? Well, Tony wasn't talking. He would just have to ask Tim the next time he saw him. Tomorrow maybe.