Easier said than done, Gibbs thought a half hour later as he watched Tony leave with Ducky and Jackson.

His father hesitated in the doorway, looked back at him. "I'll take good care of him, Leroy," he promised. "He'll be all right."

And Gibbs sighed. "I know he will, Dad. It's just…" He felt Abby pick up his hand and squeeze it. He glanced at her, managed a smile, then returned his gaze to Jackson.

"I raised you," his father grinned before he had a chance to say anything more. "And I didn't do a half bad job."

"You did a great job, Boss Dad!" Abby enthused, either not seeing or choosing to ignore the roll of Gibbs' eyes.

"I'll take care of him," Jackson assured again. "You get some rest. I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight, Abby."

"Goodnight," she replied, watching his retreating form as she settled into the chair by Gibbs' bed, his hand still held firmly in hers. She waited until he looked back at her. "Don't you worry, Boss. Tony'll be fine." She leaned over and kissed his forehead. "No need to be scared."

He grimaced at her words. Hell, was there a damn sign above his head?

~vVv~

While Tim and Jackson talked quietly in the front, Ducky leaned close to Tony in the backseat and let him rest his head on his shoulder. He knew the younger man was tired, and a little scared, for his hand had found its way back into Ducky's grasp. He held onto it tightly.

"Boss will be just fine," he reassured him. "The nurses we'll keep an eye on him all through the night. There's no need to worry."

Tony's head moved on his shoulder. "I'm not worried," he whispered. "I just… miss him."

Ducky understood. Except for the night before, when he'd finally cried himself to sleep in Jenny Shepard's arms, Tony had never spent a night away from his Boss since leaving the hospital. Gibbs' words echoed in Ducky's mind: We gotta have some new routines.

And he was right. They did.

But no one said they had to like them.

~vVv~

Ducky helped Tony take off his jacket and shirt, then went to run the bathwater while he finished undressing. Tony kicked off his shoes and pulled off his socks, then unbuttoned his jeans and pushed them, along with his underwear, down his legs and off. He shivered in the cool air, then walked across the hall to the bathroom. Ducky looked up from where he was seated on the edge of the tub to find Tony leaning in the open doorway. As a gregarious extrovert, Tony had never been modest, and he was even less so now. Ducky couldn't help but smile at the memory of the story that Tim had told him about their last visit and how a dripping, naked Tony had greeted him and Ziva at the door. Tony's innocence, while at times revealing, was also refreshing; he felt safe and secure in the home he'd made with Gibbs, and was comfortable and unashamed in his state of undress. And while Ducky suspected that Tony's greeting at the door last week had been a bit unsettling for Gibbs, as a medical examiner, the naked body didn't faze Ducky at all.

"Can I have bubbles?" Tony asked as he watched the hot water flow into the tub.

Ducky shook his head, adjusting the taps, slowing the stream as it neared the midway point. "Not this time, Anthony. Bubbles tend to draw out the bathing process, and you need to take a quick bath tonight. Timothy and Jackson are making dinner – pizza, I think. We don't want to keep them waiting."

"I like pizza," Tony smiled, moving closer and accepting the hand that Ducky extended as he helped him step into the tub. Ducky turned off the water and held firmly to Tony as he sat down, stretching long legs out in front of him.

"I like pizza, too," Ducky agreed. He pulled his hand away and picked up a washcloth, gave it to Tony, then pressed a bar of soap into his other hand. "Bathe quickly, or Timothy and Jackson may eat all of it."

And Tony laughed. "No, they won't!"

Ducky pursed his lips in thought, cocked his head to one side. "Well, I don't know," he teased. "Pizza's awfully good."

The smile on Tony's face faded. "They won't," he insisted. "Will they?"

And Ducky chuckled softly, patted Tony's shoulder. "No, I'm sure they'll save you a slice or two."

"Or three," Tony said firmly, rubbing the soap against the wet washcloth, then scrubbing it over his chest and stomach.

"Three?!" Ducky exclaimed. "Is that all you can eat? Why, I remember a time when you ate an entire pizza all by yourself."

"When?"

And while Tony continued to bathe, running the soapy cloth over his arms and legs, between his toes, and across the soles of his feet, Ducky launched into a story about a late night stakeout and a ten-piece pizza which Tony had consumed all on his own.

"I ate all of it?!" Tony questioned when the short tale was completed.

"All of it," Ducky said definitively, taking the washcloth from his hand and bathing his shoulders and back. "I believe Boss and Timothy were hoping to eat a piece for breakfast, but, alas, when they opened the box, there was none to be had."

Tony sighed. "I don't remember that." He knew there was a time before, a time when he didn't live at Boss's house, a time when he worked at NCIS, but he didn't remember much about those days.

Ducky squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. "It's all right. I can tell you stories whenever you want to hear them." Then he rinsed the washcloth and dripped fresh water over Tony's back, washing away the soapsuds. "There now – you're sufficiently clean."

"And wrinkled," Tony added, holding his fingers up for Ducky to see. "That's what Boss says." He reached down and picked up one large foot, twisted it to see underneath. "Toes, too," he confirmed.

"Well, then, proof that you've spent enough time in the bathtub." Ducky stood up and retrieved a towel, then held onto Tony's arm, helping him out of the tub and drying him off before sending him back across the hall to put on his pajamas.

"Do you need help?" Ducky asked from the doorway.

Tony shook his head as he opened his dresser drawer. "Nope. I can do it. Just sweats and a t-shirt – easy clothes."

"Even with your arm?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I can put on shirts better than takin' 'em off." He rummaged through the drawer until he found his Spiderman shirt. Then he looked up. The older man was still there. "Thanks… for helpin' me with my bath. Boss helps, too."

And Ducky smiled. "You're very welcome, Anthony."

~vVv~