A/N: Sorry this wasn't up yesterday. However, thanks for all the reviews. I hope I responded to everyone. Here's the next chapter. Hope you like it. :)

Chapter Four

My vision can get really bad sometimes. The doctors at the hospital said I had blind spots and that they might go away or they might not. I don't really know what that means, having blind spots exactly, but I know that I have to turn my head sometimes to see things right.

That, and when I was in the hospital, everything looked really funny and not how I remembered stuff to look.

Especially my head. I didn't get to see it for a long time after I woke up cause no one would give me a mirror but when I did see it, it looked a lot different. My hair was gone and I had lots of lines crisscrossing all over my head.

Boss told me later that the reason there were so many lines was because when I hit my head, my brain moved a lot and I got two injures, one in the front and back of my brain. That's why the doctor's had to make lots of lines.

When I was younger, I remembered going to the beach. I didn't like the water cause the water by the beach is different than the water in the ocean and I use to draw in the sand. I liked doing it cause the water was a big eraser and it always erased all the lines I had drawn.

When I got a bit better in the hospital, I tried pouring water on my head to get rid of the lines. It didn't work and I got really wet and the nurse got really mad because I got everything wet. I didn't like the lines though cause they didn't go away. Boss says that lines never go away but that when my hair grows it will hide the lines.

But till that happens I like wearing my helmet cause it hides the lines all over my head and I don't have to see the lines.

"Tony, come on lets go," Gibbs called out again. They had been home for almost a week already and Tony had a few follow ups at the hospital. One of them was to see Dr. Pitt, who had carefully monitored Tony's lungs during his whole hospital stay.

"Beach. Boss," Tony said, shuffling on by a moment later, his memory book firmly in his good hand.

"What beach Tony?" Gibbs closed and locked the door behind him. He didn't keep the doors unlocked now. For one, it was Tony's house now too and Gibbs would never forgive himself if Tony was hurt because someone had been able to get in because he hadn't locked the doors. And also, the few weeks before Tony was discharged, Tony had a habit of getting out of bed and wandering the halls, often disorientated and confused. When that happened, Gibbs was often the only one who could coerce him to walking back to his hospital room.

Tony shrugged his right shoulder, "Lines. I like drawing on the sand," Tony lightly touched his helmet, "Head. The lines go away with water on sand at the beach."

"What do you say if we go to one?" Gibbs asked, watching as Tony got himself situated in the backseat before walking around the vehicle and getting in, "If the doctor says okay, we can go to one."

Tony seemed to think about that, "Lines. Beach. Sand. But there's not a beach around here. I don't- I don't remember going to ah-" Tony stuttered. Tony only remembered beaches that were far away. Could there actually be a beach that was close? Had he forgotten that too?

"You're right Tony," Gibbs gently squeezed Tony's arm, the gesture getting Tony to focus again, "It's not really around here but it's close. But we don't have to go if you don't want to or we can go to a different beach that's farther away if you want."

"Lines. I," Tony made a high pitch sound, obviously anxious and shut his eyes really tight. He didn't understand. He only remembered beaches far away and Boss said he was right but that beaches were close too. He couldn't be wrong and right at the same time. What did he forget?

"Tony, Tony hey," Gibbs said in a calming tone. Tony was having a "meltdown" as one of the therapist called it and when he got this bad it often took him awhile to calm down, "What's wrong?"

Tony tried to talk but he himself didn't know what was wrong. His brain was moving too fast again, just like it did when he got hurt. He tried to slow it down but he couldn't. He didn't know what was wrong because he didn't remember a close beach but Boss said he was right but he wasn't because beaches were far and it was all getting confused in his head and it hurt really bad.

"Tony, Tony listen to me," Gibbs angled his body towards Tony, "Listen son, tell me what you remember. Just whatever you remember say it out loud, let all the words out, even the wrong words. Come on Tony, I'm here, just take a deep breath, like me," Gibbs gently grabbed Tony's bad arm and put it against his chest, "Like this see? Follow me. In and out, up and down, up and down."

Tony seemed to pick up on what Gibbs was getting at and stopped hyperventilating. It took a few more minutes of slow deep breathing before Tony opened his eyes and looked at Gibbs.

"There, that's better," Gibbs smiled, still using that same comforting tone, "Now, tell me what you remember."

Tony seemed to gather his thoughts before telling Gibbs, "Helmet. Fast. Sand. Beach. Stairs. Up. I-I remember beaches far away. And I was little and didn't like the water cause it was different then ocean blue water and it was warm and I was little and I drew in the sand and let the water take it away."

While Tony's rambling sentence didn't make complete sense, Gibbs saw the problem almost immediately. Tony only remembered beaches that were far away from D.C. and Gibbs had told him he would take him to a beach close by. It was this contradiction that was confusing Tony.

"Tony," Gibbs said, "That's sounds right. There are beaches far away but," Gibbs put emphasis on that word, "There are also beaches close by. Remember when I tell you the stories about the boat on the ocean?"

"Lines. Sand. Slow. Yeah," Tony whispered. He loved the stories.

"Remember how I talked about the beaches that the captain and his crew would land on?"

"Uhuh."

"Have you ever seen those beaches Tony?" Gibbs asked.

"Boat. No," Tony said, almost worriedly.

"But remember I told you that the captain saw the beaches and that I knew the captain?" Gibbs hurried, not wanting Tony to have another panic attack.

"Yes. Slow. Beach." Tony answered and Gibbs could see as Tony slowly but carefully put the pieces together. It hurt Gibbs' heart that it never occurred to Tony that other beaches were around. Part of it, Gibbs figured, was that by saying that a beach was close, Gibbs had gone against the memories Tony had of beaches and by doing so, he made Tony doubt the memories he had of before the accident.

"I get it Boss," Tony said a few seconds later, "Beach. I'm sorry I freaked out."

"Hey," Gibbs smiled and patted his shoulder, "What did I say about apologies?"

Tony smiled too, "Slow. Sign of weakness Boss."

"Hey Tony," Doctor Brad Pitt greeted as Tony walked slowly into the exam room, "How are you?"

"Better. Cold," Tony answered, before pausing to collect his thoughts, "I can open my bad hand almost all the way now, look!"

Tony put his left arm on his lap and both Gibbs and Dr. Pitt watched as Tony worked hard to get the fingers to uncurl slightly. It was a lot of work for a small result but Gibbs remembered when Tony couldn't even feel his left side of his body.

"Alright Tony, good," Dr. Pitt smiled, "How's your breathing doing?"

"Good. Out. Slow," Tony subconsciously played with the hem of his shirt, "No problems."

"That's great," Dr. Pitt wrote something on Tony's chart, "Remember this thing?" He held up the stethoscope.

Tony glared at it, "Cold. Lungs. I'm not sick right?"

"No," Dr. Pitt shook his head, a comforting smile on his face, "I have to use this even when you're healthy, not just when you get a cold."

Tony seemed to think that over a bit before nodding and sighing.

Tony used his good hand to lift part of his shirt up, silently giving Dr. Pitt the go ahead to put the cold metal object on his skin. Tony jumped slightly when it touched his skin, "A little cold."

Dr. Pitt smiled, "Alright Tony, big breath." Tony did as he was told and the rest of the exam went off without a hitch.

"Looks like you're all good to go Tony," Dr. Pitt turned to Gibbs, "Just remember, your next check-up is in one month."

Tony nodded, opened his memory book and wrote the information down.

"And Gibbs, if you have any concerns at all, don't hesitate to call. If Tony gets a cold, flu or starts breathing oddly, don't worry about bringing him in. His lungs were under a lot of stress these past months and while I hope there are no more complications, I know that some things take awhile to appear."

Gibbs nodded his thanks and left the exam room with Tony. His doctor visits and anything else Tony needed was taken care of due to the large amount of money Tony had received as a result of the lawsuit Gibbs had filed. All the money however, was tucked away in a bank account and other investments and was only used when Tony needed something.

Gibbs hadn't known this till a few days after Tony's accident but Tony had almost no health insurance, ever since he had survived the plague. Sure, NCIS covered any job related injuries but other than that, Tony had a small plan that covered mainly prescriptions and doctor visits and Tony had yet to qualify for disability, as crazy as that was. This fact alone had been one of the many reasons Gibbs sued the car rental company on Tony's behalf.

He didn't want his agent, because Tony would forever be his agent, to have to deal with the hundreds of thousands dollars worth of cost on top of having to get better. Now it was all taken care of and all Tony had to worry about was reaching the next goal.

After Tony's visit with Dr. Pitt, Gibbs drove Tony a few blocks away, this time the hospital that had done Tony's therapy and rehabilitation. There were other people there and since this particular rehab hospital was partnered with Bethesda, many of the people were part of the Navy or Marines. They nodded a greeting to Gibbs, before glancing at Tony's shuffling walk and helmet protected head and giving him a brief smile.

"Ouch. Push. Stop. Go. Boss," Tony spoke in low tones as he held onto the back of Gibbs' shirt with his good hand, "I don't like it here."

"Yeah I know Tony," Gibbs settled Tony on a nearby chair before going to sign in, "But you want to get that hand better right?"

Tony looked dejectedly at his left hand, "Squeeze. Yeah. But it doesn't want to get better."

"Hey," Gibbs gently chided, "There'll be none of that kind of attitude. I know you can do it."

Tony gave his lopsided smile before opening his memory book, flipping through the pages. He landed on the page pertaining to occupational and physical therapy and Gibbs watched as Tony re-read the page slowly, his shaking finger working hard to make sure he didn't skip a word.

"Mr. DiNozzo?" the receptionist called out. When no response came, she glanced back down at the file, reading the note attached there saying to refer to the patient by his first name only, "Tony?"

Tony didn't respond and Gibbs gave his a pat on the knee.

"Stairs. Squeeze. Ouch. Huh?" Tony glanced up, looking at Gibbs.

"Your turn," Gibbs pointed towards the waiting receptionist. The door led to the room where Tony would do his occupational therapy. His physical therapy was in a different room down the hall and that was after OT.

Tony placed his feet a shoulder length apart before using his good arm to help him stand, "You comin' Boss?"

"If you want me too," Gibbs made no move to show whether or not he was going. He wanted this to be solely Tony's decision.

Tony glanced around nervously for a second before nodding slightly, "Push. Yes."

"Alright then, let's go."

I don't really like therapy. Boss said that it's good for my bad hand and leg but I get really tired and sometimes I get a headache afterwards and that messes everything up if I'm having a good day. Today my occupational therapist helped me hold my pencil better when I write and then I had to follow these dotted lines in the sheet of paper. It was really hard cause my hand shakes a lot and I can't follow any lines that good cause if I get nervous all of me starts to shake but it's a different kind of shake than the seizures I get when I don't take my medicine.

After that we worked on getting my shirt on and off and I still can't do it too well but Boss doesn't mind helping me so I'm not too worried about it.

Then we went to another therapist that made me push weights with my bad leg and arm. That was really hard because I was already tired and I still had a lot more to do. Boss stayed with me though and when I started getting mad at myself, Boss told a really funny story but I don't remember it all right now cause I couldn't write it down because I was working with weights to help my bad leg and arm.

But Boss will tell me again if I ask him so I'll do that later when I'm not so tried and I can write it down in my memory book cause even my good hand is tired and it shakes when I'm tired and I can't read my writing when I have a shaky good hand.

After that we went back home cause I started getting a headache but before Boss helped me up the stairs, I told him I wanted to go to a beach where I hadn't put lines in the sand yet. He said that was okay and asked if I ever been to North Carolina.

I know North Carolina is a state cause the college plays basketball but I didn't know it had a beach and told him that. He laughed and said if all states had basketball teams and I don't think he watches basketball very much because I know that. So in a couple days we're going to drive there and I can't wait to see if North Carolina beach is different or like the beaches that I remember. I hope it's a little bit the same because I like the beaches in my memory.

But I wrote that we are going to a beach cause I didn't want to forget and Boss found a map and he drew with a big blue marker where the beach is. It looks tiny from the map but that's because Boss said they made it tiny for everyone to see the roads.

But we're going to a beach and I can't wait to draw on the sand. Maybe we'll even see a boat.