Warnings: None for this chapter. Slight spoilers for my story, "Slowly Fading Away".

A/N: Tony is still in the hospital at this point, but is now awake. Figured Tim would stop by from time to time to keep him updated on cases :) And I need some McNozzo fluff. I think some of these one-shots will help explain Tony's depression in "Fire". It isn't just about Ziva, remember in this verse Tony has been through Gibbs getting shot, being shot himself... I'm doing my best to tie everything together, promise :)

"Responsible"

Tony smelled the take-out food even before Tim appeared in his hospital room. Grinning, the senior field agent shut the TV off and pulled his little bedside tray closer in anticipation for what was going to be his first "real" meal in weeks.

Tim stepped into the room, juggling a tray with sodas and a bag of Beltway burgers. He ignored the harsh look from the nurses at the nurses' station; they weren't going to say anything anyways because Tony was driving them crazy and if a burger and fries kept the NCIS agent from annoying them, well, they were not going to argue with it.

"Don't tell my wife about this," Tony said as his lunch was plopped in front of him. "She seems to think I need to eat only fruits and veggies."

"You do need to eat fruits and veggies," Tim argued. "A deluxe cheeseburger and fries are not going to help you recover."

"No, but it will help me feel better."

"If Leah finds out about this, I'm telling her it was your idea."

Tony grinned, wickedly, and ate his cheeseburger. "So, what's happening in the big orange room?" he asked between bites. "Gibbs still being passive aggressive?"

Tim shrugged his shoulders. "Some days he's better than others. You know, you really scared him, Tony. For a while there it looked like we were going to lose you and well... Gibbs has suffered enough loss."

He couldn't argue with that fact, but he could argue with that fact that it seemed that Gibbs didn't really care about him anymore. Gibbs had barely been by to see the SFA since he had woken up in the hospital. Tony picked at his food, suddenly not hungry. "He has a funny way of showing me he cares."

"Maybe he feels responsible."

"Responsible? Did he ask the serial killer to shoot me?"

"No," Tim said with a shake of his head. "Responsible because he sent you alone."

"He thought I could handle it," Tony countered with a shrug. "Obviously... I couldn't."

Tim had noticed a mood shift in Tony the last few days. He was trying to be jovial, but was just missing the mark. It made Tim worry for Tony's sanity. It was entirely possible that this life threatening experience, where Tony had indeed been dead for fifteen seconds, was going to be the SFA's breaking point. "It was a situation that none of us could have prepared for."

Tony laughed, harshly. "My job as a federal agent means I should be prepared for anything. I didn't even get any warning signals from the guy. I was so worried about calling Leah to let her know I was okay and then I ended up almost dying. If I had been paying attention at that motel none of this would have happened."

"I smell cheeseburgers," Leah's voice interrupted as she entered the room. She frowned a little at her husband. "Anthony, we talked about this."

"Yeah, yeah, I should be eating kale and spinach and other super foods to regain my strength," Tony mumbled.

Leah sat down on the edge of his bed, opposite the side Tim was seated against, and reached out to push Tony's hair back. "You can have a little indulgence, sweetheart," she told him, leaning down and kissing his forehead.

Tony sighed, pushed his conflicting emotions aside, and went back to eating his lunch that Tim had so kindly brought him. He knew he was surrounded by caring, loving people, so why was he having such a hard time feeling it?